One Happy Team…

Category: *.BAK

  • Painting Ghostkeel Battlesuit

    I already painted one 10cm base model, Horticulus Slimux from Warhammer. It had a lot of detail, but Ghostkeel Battlesuit is interesting in many different ways. First, I’ve never seen instructions to paint before assembly. When I painted Commander Farsight, I cursed and swore that the next model I will paint in parts, but here they’re basically saying “no way you’ll manage to paint the details once you put it together”.

    And the reason is, that this model has moving parts. The barrels of the not-minigun and not-grenadelauncher rotate. But also, the highlight is that the cabin opens, showing grumpy Tau pilot inside. Speaking of pilot, that’s also the first model that has choice of parts. You can pick its main weapon, it’s side weapons mounted on the top, whether you want a missile rack or some sort of a radar on the back, and there are even two heads for the pilot. There are also a few decorative pieces you can choose from, like the top of the “helmet”.

    There are practical reasons for some of those choices too, I guess. I’ve heard that those suits are so effective in tabletop play, some bring 3 of them, and you’d want to be able to distinguish between them at a glance.
    On top of that, I also decided to magnetize the model. Magnet Baron have some good instructions and even kits at a reasonable price, but their shipping to the UK in unfortunately unreasonable. So I bought the drill and the magnets separately on Amazon, for half the price too.

  • Pokeno Origin whisky

    18 taster from the Advent calendar, this one is from New Zealand. It’s very floral on the nose, jasmine like, and very light and smooth, to the point I thought it’s a blend. At 50GBP, it’s not great, but it is discounted to 30GBP, which make it not great but cheap whisky.

  • Gouden Carolus Whiskey Infused

    It’s a good strong Belgian beer, that starts with molasses and ends up with canned pears. The only issue is that it’s not as complex as I’d expect from a whiskey infused beer. But then, it’s also reasonably priced for what it is.

  • Vibram Fivefingers Scramkey

    After wearing Scramkeys just a couple of times, I decided to sell them. Would have returned them altogether, I already removed the tags. Maybe I should have gotten one size bigger than my usual, or maybe it’s just not a good model, but after spending the whole day in them, my thumbs became blood swollen as if I put them in heating jars. Two weeks later, they still haven’t fully recovered 😬
    Spyridons are great so far, though.

  • Gulliver’s 47 whisky

    17th whisky from the Advent Calendar. Bottled at a strange 47% ABV. The palest whisky I can remember, lightest white wine. Light smoke on the nose. Peach sweetness on the palate, then some more light smoke, like smoked bacon. Surprisingly long warm finish in the throat. I was never impressed by English whisky, and this isn’t different, and considering it’s almost 60GBP, I wouldn’t say it’s a good bargain.

  • Aberlour A’Bunadh Alba Batch 5

     

    Whisky enthusiast always chase the rare, the weird, Springbanks of the whisky world. But sometimes, happiness is under the palm. I had both Abunda and Abunda Alba, and I considered the later too sharp and not sweet enough to my liking. But nowadays, I find it perfectly pleasant in terms of taste and headfeel. Like pineapple syrup. Not a bargain, but also not a bad deal either.

  • Black Hole Mikkeler

    Mikkeler is a Danish brewery, but confusingly, this one they brew in Belgium
    Only after trying it I discovered that Black Hole is what Mikkeler uses for all its imperial stouts. In any case, this was the regular one, not one of the barrel aged ones.
    The taste is what a cold brew imperial stout would be like, I’d imagine. Not very sweet, smoky, with almost chili warmth, not sure if it’s honey or ABV.
    What I didn’t like is how bitter the aftertaste is. Interesting and complex, but not something I’d buy again.

  • Nikka From the Barrel

    3rd bottle from the Master of Malt taster set.
    I had a bottle of this about 3 years ago. But it still positively surprised me, despite being blended, with no age statement, and all the talk that most of Japanese whisky is just imported Scotch (Ben Nevis, most likely).
    It has some of this barley smell, the taste is sweet and quite smooth, finish is almost apple, and warmth very long.

  • Painting Commander Farsight

    Finished painting it a couple of days ago.
    This model absolutely needs to be painted is subassemblies, painting it as a whole was a total pain.
    Not only you can’t paint the armpits, the jetpacks also block the back.
    I didn’t want to go with the standard scheme, as I find black and white to be too boring. But I just couldn’t find a scheme that would work for the buckler.
    Also, I wanted to avoid metalics at first, but nothing else worked, while Balthazar Gold actually did wonders.
    Same goes for the sword: at first I tried what worked well for Krittok, but it didn’t look good at all, so I went back to Leadbelcher.
    I didn’t have good blues for the plasma effect, so I went for the greens, Tesseract Glow and Hexwraith Flame. Those worked out well enough.

  • Vibram Fivefingers Scramkey and Spyridon EVO

    I wanted to replace my V-Train (17M6603) for a long time, since, like my FiveFinger often do, they started to tear at the thumb.

    The newcomers are Fivefingers Scramkey and Spyridon EVO.

    I picked Scramkey precisely for their reinforced thumbs. But they surprised me in other ways too. First, they have two hook-and-loop straps. I’ve seen one, I’ve seen it with shoelaces in V-Train, but I’ve never seen two. Also, that’s the first time I see two heel pull loops instead of one. And considering that the single loop on my V-Train tore off some time ago, I can see why.

    Spyridon EVO have very little to do with original Spyridons. They have kind of two layers now, and also the hook-and-loop goes all the way around the ankle.

  • Glenallachie 12

    Another whisky I wanted to taste from the Master of Malt box. It has that corny smell I associate with Irish whisky, strangely, but the taste is sharply Scotch, sweet and oily, with nice finish. For its price, it’s a good deal. But I’m not after good deals anymore.

  • Senja Kolkjerka Imperial Stout

    This one I brought from Norway’s Vinmonopolet. It’s very reminiscent of Garun from Iceland. Scandinavian Imperial Stouts have lower ABV, lighter body and less sugar. Still hit like a truck, since it’s 500ml, not 330. But I definitely prefer something more complex.

  • Kilkerran 12

    I’d be honest, I mostly bought this whisky because it was limited stock, and it was limited stock because it’s Cambletown. Still, here we are.
    It smells like Irish whisky, what others call “toast”, and what I call “corn”. Tastes nothing like Irish, though.
    There’s a surprising amount of sweetness for a whisky that’s only 30% sherried, and spiciness of the chilli level. Speaking of chilli, it has a lot of warmth on the finish.

  • Redbreast 12

    Since I already had it in the taster set, I decided to refresh my memory. It’s oily, and has almost corn-like quality. I guess that’s the unmalted barley popping. Suprised me how I finished a bottle of this years ago without noticing.

  • Kasteel Donker

    Not the rarest of beers, but since I haven’t had it in years, worth mentioning. It is sweet, molasses or demerara sugar, which is amazing for the first few sips. The problem is that it’s not very complex, unlike Imperial Stouts. The last sip is very much like the first. But it does give lightness I haven’t felt in ages.

  • Japanese Whisky Advent Calendar

    It’s almost July, and Japanese Whisky Advent Calendar is selling for 175GBP, which is below 250GBP, but above 160GBP I paid for it.

  • Master of Malt Secret Speyside 15 Father’s Day Edition

    I wrote recently about independent bottlings and also about Olorosum bottling from Master of Malt. They released a Father’s Day bottling, and a decently priced tasting set that included it, so I decided to give it a try.
    And it’s a good one. Berry&Rudd Speyside 12 level. Malty sweet, with that tart oaky finish, and some nice warmth. Definitely worth 60GBP they’re asking for, although I’m not sure if I want a full bottle in my collection.

  • Advent Calendar

    15th bottle is Starward Ginger Beer Cask, from Australia. The ginger comes through very strongly. I might not be a fan, but I can understand the appeal. Not for ~100GBP, though, no way.

    16th is Tullamore DEW 14 years, and Irish one, bottled at a weird 41.6%. It has nice warmth, but even compared to Redbreast 12, not much flavour. At 56GBP for a bottle, it’s not too expensive, but considering you can get a bottle of Arran at that price, or even aforementioned Redbreast 12, I can’t imagine why anyone would buy this one.

  • Northern Monk Oath and Harrogate Best Bitter

    I tried another Imperial stout from Northern Monk a few years back. Northern Monk Oath is a bit light for Imperial Stout. Not as sweet or syrupy. But its 8.5% hits like all 10% ABV. For a beer that’s sold in the supermarkets, it’s a bargain.

    And Harrogate Best Bitter (not the best name for a beer) we brought from actual Harrogate. And it has a very distinct rye taste, quite flavourful for 4.5% ABV.

  • Knife magnet

    I’ve been using IKEA knife magnets for years. Don’t remember if I brought the one I had from the old apartment or just bought a second one. But with my knife collection growing, I got a bit tired of scratches from metal on metal. So I decided to buy a wooden knife magnet instead.
    It’s a slight disappointment, I must say. For four times the price (IKEA magnet is around 15GBP) the magnets are weaker, and the knives leave marks on the magnet.
    I tried varnishing the magnet, but my varnish wasn’t fresh, so the rack ended up being sticky. So I had to scratch everything, buy a new varnish, and do it properly.