Review of the Battlefoam Spear Bag

Side view of the Bag

In the midst of preparing for a move I decided it was time to invest in a new travel bag for my Warhammer collection.  I went to Strategies Games and Hobbies on main street my local store for almost 3 years to see what they had. After looking through the spear bag it offered exactly what I was looking for. It doesn't look as cool as the new generation of Battlefoam bags but it meets all my needs for the right price. It was $144 completely loaded with foam. It comes with:

• Two Troops Trays.

• 1 Medium model tray

• 3 inch pick and pluck foam.

• 4 inch pick and pluck foam.

• 2 foam toppers

Medium Model Tray 

3 Inch Pick and Pluck

I spent around an hour rearranging the bag with foam I already owned to be the perfect layout for my new night lords army. The model count on this army is pretty low but everything is awkward in size and shape. With 14 inches of height to work with you can really make sure your models have the space they need without packing stuff together too tightly. In the case I got:

·         Two land raiders.

·         2 Vindicator battle tanks

·         1 rhino

·         10 raptors with custom 32mm bases (Making them almost 3 inches tall)

·         10 terminators on 40 mm bases

·         14 Chaos space marine models on 32 mm bases

·         Miscellaneous models from the move.

Tank tray from 4 inch pick and pluck.

I could have gotten more in but the point of buying a new bag with new foam is to make sure nothing breaks. This bag also has great features. It has a massive book sleeve on the front capable of holding 2 hardback codex and a rulebook. I'm sure you could get an IPad in there as well.

Spear bag top view with book pocket open.

 It also has a nice pocket on the top that would be perfect for games workshop objective cards and a flat dice tin. It has a nice carry handle and shoulder strap. It is also a wheelie bag which is great for longer trips. My only real critique so far is that I wish it had small pockets on the sides for dice boxes and tape measures.

Thanks for reading.

Review of the Neo by Iwata dual action airbrush and the Iwata Ninja Jet compressor

   I have been using these products for the last 6 months and have been happy with the way they have performed. Let's start with the airbrush.

    Neo by Iwata is Iwata's cheap brand. It's made in Taiwan and hence much cheaper than the main line of airbrushes they make. They market this airbrush as a cheap starter brush and in that regard it is excellent.

    It is easy to clean and maintain. The pieces feel like they all fit together quite well. And the chrome finish is really nice. But you can definitely feel that this is a product made on the cheap. After only 5 or so sessions I noticed all the screw in parts were starting to get a little rough and the seals used are quite cheap.

    The biggest problem I have had with this product is the chamber where the air comes up. I had a problem for 3 or 4 sessions where I could feel air moving through the product even when I wasn't holding the dual action button down.  I have since fixed the issue by disassembling the airbrush down to its component parts. I let it sit in pieces for a day to dry out and whatever was letting the air through is now resealed.

    I think this is a great starter brush but costing around $100 Canadian compared to just $40 US makes me feel a little cheated. If I had paid the US price I would be ecstatic with my purchase but it's not worth the $100 Canadian.

Advantages
·        Easy to clean and maintain.
·        Nice finish.
·        Feels sturdy when using.

Disadvantages

·        Seals and parts feel cheap after a few months of use.
·        Small air leak issues.

    The much bigger let down is the Studio Series Ninja Jet Compressor. I love the look of it. it comes well equipped with all the adaptors for different brands of airbrush. The airbrush stand is nice. The air pressure control is great. But the thing is so damn loud I usually have to wear headphones if I use it for more than 20 minutes. Ninja is the last word I think of when I use this thing. You can mitigate the sound by putting cloth underneath it. But for a portable compressor it really it is silly loud.

    A friend of mine has a portable badger equivalent which was much cheaper. It has less controls and a lower build quality but it probably produces a third of the sound. It also has a nice auto shut off feature which is very nice.

Advantages

·        Nice build quality
·        Looks great
·        Comes with a handle and airbrush holder
·        Can change the pressure quickly and easily.

Disadvantages
·        Loud
·        I mean really Loud
·        So loud this quality had to be mentioned three times.

    The ninja jet does come with a five year warranty. Which means I can look forward to the sound for many years to come. All in all I think this is a nice starter combination for novice airbrush users. The Dual Action brush combined with the pressure controls on the compressor give lots of control. In the coming months I'm sure I will invest in a better Airbrush. Likely one of the general use badger brushes with a finer needle. 

The Great Tau Re-Paint

  I originally started my Tau army in late 2011. My goal was to create a 1250 point army that I could play at my local gaming store. My Tau army has since grown to around 2500 points. My local store at the time was Strategies Games and Hobbies (Strats) on Main street. The Owner Darren generally promotes 1250 point fully painted games. I started painting my Tau army in the most basic way possible to get them playable. Looking back now I realised how much I regret speed painting everything. 

Original Paint Scheme

My basic paint scheme was:

• Prime the models with black paint
• Paint a layer of Ulthuan Grey
• Use Kantor Blue as a secondary colour on smaller details
• Wash everything with Drakenhof Nightshade
• Then paint one accent colour to meet the 3 colour minimum of my Local Gaming Store (LGS)

Airbrush and Compressor

   Around August of last year I decided to invest in an airbrush and compressor. After 2 weeks of learning to use it I realised that my first major project should be to re-paint my Tau. As a test model I bought a second Tau Riptide. Something nice and big that would allow me to go nuts with the Neo by Iwata airbrush I bought. I also figured this would be a good project to enter into the annual Strategies painting competition. But after 2 weeks of trying to get a decent basic layer down I realised how much of a novice I really was with the airbrush. With the deadline for the painting competition around 5 weeks away I finally had a break through. I started to thin my paints down more and use lower pressure settings on the compressor to get better looking layers.

Basic Blue Scheme

I finally got the basic blue scheme to where 

I wanted it to be. I then started trying Object 

source lighting with the airbrush. 

Basic Object Source Lighting

I was happy with the result as it looked great on the 
table top but a little over the top when looked at 
up close. After around 25 hours of work over 
the course of a month I was happy with the result. 

First Riptide Front View

First Riptide Rear View

I knew it wasn't going to be a winner at the painting 

competition but I was happy that this project had made 

me try my hand at techniques like:

•          Airbrush gradients
•          Object Source Lighting (OSL)
•          Non Metallic Metals (NMM)
•          Highlighting

Perhaps my favourite thing about this project was making a more cinematic base. Having traditionally stuck with basic bases made with sand or grit. This project offered something larger in scope. I decided with a model of this size I could use the base to create a story. I had the idea of trench bases in my head for a while. I sketched out a design in MS Paint, sophisticated I know.

Base Plan

I then started layering cheap cork lining together 

to create a frame. I used a few straws to look like sewer pipes. 

Base Frame

After I was happy with the size, I used spackle of all things to mimic rough stone. I then used Starbucks coffee stirrers to build the trench. I added a few more details from my bits box to make it look like it belonged in the Warhammer 40k Universe. 

Unpainted Base

Painted Base

After the painting competition was over I decided to extend this basing style throughout my entire Tau army. I was very happy with how the base turned out. I have received more compliments about the base than the actual model itself. In the last month I have finished my other Riptide and new Tau Commander Model.

Second Riptide Completed

Tau Commander Completed