Now that the competition has closed, I can spend some time talking about it.

-Why I did one
- Why I choose the type of competition I did
- Getting a prize together
- Promotion & Presentation (or lack of)

Still a good turn out with 4 entries. For quite a while it was just 1 entry.
And for me to run a competition feels good. I've never won any competitions and have had bad experiences each time. I don't think that's how competitions should be, where people feel cheated all the time. I prefer the more true spirit of competition where it's not only about the prize or level of ability (I prefer to see people pushing themselves with pride and effort).

-Future comps
Hopefully this will be a yearly event which will get better and better each time.

5/10/11 Update:
I have choosen my winner and have mae certificates for everyone who entered. I'm rather proud of them and so should our entries. Prizes are more or less packed, but while I wait for the certificates to get printed on photopaper there's still time to squeeze in something as they're comnig outta the moulds. But once I get the prints and sign them, the packages are gonna be sealed and shipped, hopefully before the weekend.
The prize:

Everyone who enters gets a certificate.

Oki,

Just to share with the world our little bundles of joy; we have 3 guinea pigs, all girls (ahem, Ladies). [Pics added later]. Their names are Beans (Beanie), Pea, & Polo. They're about 4 yrs old now but still babies to us. They got a 2 cages which are joined by 2 pipes. There's also a slide door at floor level so that they don't have to be hoisted out all the time. The hay rack is something I fashioned together and I made the holster for the drinking bottles. I gotta make another salt stone dangly thing at some point. They got a bunch of bedrooms I made from bits of wood. They also used to have other toys I made, but they destroyed them.
Beanie is a ditz. She lives in a world of her own without a care. Her bubbley personality means she bumps into things quite a lot (might explain the ditziness). She's not very well toilet trained and she really loves her hay.
Pea is most elegant. She's very well behaved and licks us lots (even when having eyedrops). Her hair can be a bit of a problem as it grows long fast. She enjoys resting on top of bricks.
Polo is loud lol. She's well behaved when out and about. She has excellent hearing and sense of smell. Her ears flicker which is funny. She knows where the toilet is. She is also Ladydust's alarm clock waking her up by biting on the bars for breakfast.

What model making means to us

At a glance, many people just look at models and think they're just for kids or just as pretty little objects with not much real use other than perform maybe a few functions. Perhaps that’s what keeps them from being everyday items. However what is generally being overlooked is the statement the model is making and what went in to achieve it. Every model has a story and a background behind it and is a window into the mind of the artist (at the time).

Models reflect things in real life, imagination, and situation. They convey emotions, thought, desires and more. These are all communicated by the artist who is transferring their mind through to model. Therefore models are an extension of one’s imagination; bringing ideas into reality, and ultimately creating and shaping the world around you. Regardless of skill, one can see the mindset of the artist. Regardless of the brush, or sculpting tool, the mind is the greatest tool. Your hands are just extensions of that, and what they touch (as in art) is just a further extension of that. By studying how a model has been tackled, one can see the chain of thoughts the artist goes through. Things like what colours, trims, detailing, effects (or lack of), show the degree of thought. How it is all presented, photographed. All these subtle things highlight what matters most to the artist and gives an opportunity for the audience to see the world in a new light (so to speak). It also highlights what features the artist perhaps considers less important. Models are often used to pre-plan what our reality look like and how we would interact within that (look at architectural models). In the world of medicine, models can be produced from using patients actual details (such as their skull), and doctors can practice performing any surgery before actually doing the real thing. Dentistry uses many skills (and tools even) similar to sculptors.

The way in which models are made or built is another fascinating insight into the mind of the creator. Being able to see WIP these days is very insightful. What methods, materials, tools, planning they use are all interesting aspects of how the mind transforms imagination into reality. Ambition, courage and faith are also found here. Problem solving not only causes hours of head scratching but it forces the individual to push for a solution. So behind the scenes, there are constant little achievements (which would otherwise jeopardise the project) which have to be addressed and overcome, most of which goes unnoticed. The model maker is quite a warrior in some respect. There is vision, desire, passion, performance, execution and glory. The fight can be on a personal level or though competing with others. Regardless, the quest to be victorious is still the same.

The single individual model maker, bless their souls. In our eyes, these people are some of the most highly talented (maybe ambitious) people in the world. The skills involved can be applied to almost any walk in life. Each skill could be a profession in their own right but it is these individuals who attempt to do it all themselves. Not only is it skilful, but the mind in which brings all these things into balance must be organised, in-tune, and foreseeing. In the world of the model maker, they are god.

When people create things using essentially what is considered as junk, that's something quite special. It's looking at things, breaking away from the initial thought/intention, and creating a new in such a way that it was not intended in its original design. This process is giving extra value to what was thought of as rubbish. One man's junk is another man's treasure and in today's economic climate, creating stuff from recycled materials is good for the environment.  This approach really does push imagination and problem solving as recyclables are usually odd shapes and sizes and it’s quite magical bringing it all together. If ever someone was considering doing model making and was hesitant to actually really get into it. We would highly recommend trying this approach. It is cheap, easy to get hold of, large models can be made and lots of them. And if ever you decide to throw it away, you won’t feel so bad for chucking out hundreds of pounds on materials.

Without models, the world would be a very very boring place. They can take many forms and in today’s world the possibilities are endless and becoming evermore self-creating. The distinction between model and consumable is becoming greyer. However to think the practice of actual model making as an art form will cease, we believe is unlikely. People apply creativity all the time without realizing it. And generally people like to be creative if possible given the opportunity. All that might change is the medium in which it is formed. The proof will be found in the determination of the artist. Even with computer technology, there will still be the need for real life models and reference material to work from. Film makers now combine model, computer, effects and other factors like music and acting in such a harmonious way that it becomes hard to distinguish what is what. Half the time audience aren’t aware that what they are seeing is actually a model.  

So to all artists, of all natures, a huge well done for doing what you do. Never give yourself a hard time if things aren't going according to plan. Not all projects are meant to be but that is not to say they are not worth pursuing. Without art, the world would lack expression and we would all be like robots. So a huge 'Thank you' to all of you for contributing to make this world a much more vibrant place. They’ll never find a planet in the universe with art and imagination like this one.

Howdy,
This is where we try to explain what going on with the DustStore.

The problems:
Arranging stuff
As there can only be 1 sub category per page, extra consideration is being taken into account to avoid making things hard to navigate or look like an eye-sore. Also as we stock other consumer products and trying to separate that page whilst keeping it within the DustStore shopping section is another challenge. As the categories expand, it's likely things will need to shuffle around a bit.

Products
Casting is a bit problematic and doing on such a mass scale at the moment is hard to do. Each cast is also being cleaned and tidied up which is time consuming.

Things like the Plinths are actually machined from blanks. So manufacturing them is actually a process which makes overall production time longer. So currently a set of blanks are being machined and then they'll be remoulded as plinths. This will speed up production as well as give the blank moulds a little rest (they'll still be available for blanks and other profiled plinths). So this situation is taking a while to complete as square and octagon sets are being done as well as in between sizes such as 35mm, 45mm, 55mm.
Other products have other similar problems. Generally lots of moulds need to be redone to optimize quality and production and avoid mis-casts.
We want to be in a comfortable position to pump out products without too much addressing attention. We also want to make sure things are of best quality and thus avoid unhappy people and returns.

We would love to have proper packaging in place but seeing how things are going; we are focusing on product and forgo the  fancy packaging for now.

Accuracy & Preparation
This was another big concern for us. We strive for perfection whilst knowing it is a false concept. As a result we would have to say ‘approx’ and encourage some additional modelling to really get the best out of our products. The plinths for example have been centre marked so that stacking them can be easier. However if layers aren’t properly centred then things will start going wonky. Things like pillars would reflect this more.  So things like tutorials are needed to help show tips & tricks on getting it all together. The base toppers need to be sanded down which is something we’ve noticed people aren’t really doing. So currently we’re sanding every one down and it’s taking ages.

Organising deals
Seems like the only way to do a deal is to add it as a separate product which isn't ideal really as it’s splitting the stock count into two lots of products. What we might do is a sub-page for ‘deals & discounts’.

Stock control and being notified
We want to make sure the stock count actually controls purchases. We don't want a situation where people are purchasing when stock is actually at zero. Ideally we would want a 'out of stock' displayed and not have to remove the product from the page.

Policy/Disclaimer/Term&Conditions (whatever you call it)
Working out the exact nit-pics is annoying. We would like to keep it short and sweet, but feel like we could be missing some keys points out. Postage is another area which concerns us a little (posting is no problem). To try to simplify it we are considering doing flat-rate charges. Time to prepare package for dispatching is taking longer than we’d like. This is mostly due to preparing the actual casts and making sure everything is in good order.

Pics
Not a huge problem, but the quality isn’t exactly great.

We hope you can understand and we appreciate you for all your patience. Thanks

Oki

To do Blog list:

• Making Videos
• Looking to the future - What I dream about, Where I want to go, What will Dusty's Corner be doing? What are Dusty's predictions.
• Becoming Self-Employed - The journey, motivation, struggles, competition, the market, inspirado
  
• Other stuff - Diabetes, Pets, interests
  
• Community involvement - Podcasts, tuts, schools, recycling etc
  

Rightio,

Been working on a video - tense stuff.
Been preparing for Salute - getting clothing done with the D-C logo.
Cryostatsis MkII slowly coming along - Working on the hatch part.
Been doing some sculpting just to keep practice up.
Had to go and get stock - Then return/exchanged it as it was leaking.
Yup...It's all piling up now, yikers.

Howdy,

-Been studying webmastering this site. Finally figured out the emails and contact form. Don't like how the contact form is a complete page of it's own (but nvm it's there now).
-Pics uploads are on hold as I've got hold of a new Nikon D3100 and it's great so far, but still learning.
-Model making has slowed down, painting is ticking over. Finsihed painting some more plinths and a frog.
-Started to produce a new video (gonna make an impact). Watch this space!
-Having a look at Mantic's Ghouls. I'll be converting and showcasing these and hopefully Mantic might like them. These ghouls I bought for Ladydust's birthday, I was hoping to get her the Dwarf King's Hold game, but it was only available on preorder. Perhaps at Salute we'll pick it up.
-Salute, got tickets, we're going and with our new camera. Should be awesome!
- Been working on the Cryostasis MkII. All I wanted to do is make the upper block more as one piece. It's now resulted in nearly a complete redesign to enable a hatch at the top to open and allow the tube to be replaced. The tube itself is being worked on, sealing it independantly.

That'll do for now, catch y'all soon :)
-Dusty

Well I've updated the site after a long time putting it off. The main reason is navigating/using the control panel. It's weird and takes ages to do slight alterations. Each time you have to go through the menu system again, jeez. But after a while, I've become familar to it and it's limitations.
Workwise - lots of terrain making, terrain painting (not much on model figures), graphics and designing.
Preparing for an interview or something for Interesting Tactics Podcasts. I've no idea what to say but we'll give it go.
Other news - My mum is returning, yikes! How long is she staying I don't know. But I do know that it's going get really crazy and stressful. And she lands on the same day as Ladydust's birthday! Which btw I'm getting for her is the Mantic's Dwarf King's Hold game.

Been moulding/casting/painting. Done some paperwork woot! Designing new product range. Cleaning house up. Been messing around with Skype. Haven't done much sculpting/airbrushing lately.

Quick Blog posdt to see what this feature looks like.