iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Youtube: "I'll make you watch commercials unless you pay me!" Me: Jokes on you,

Firefox browser extension manager page showing ClearURLs (removes tracking info from URLs), DuckDuckGo Search & Tracker Protection (anonymises web searches & removes ad trackers), Facebook Container (prevents Meta from tracking your activity outside of Facebook), Privacy Badger (auto-deletes cookies) and uBlock Origin (an adblocker that still works pretty well on most sites including YouTube).

Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Show us your tanks! These represent most of the vehicles of the 42nd Crusade (later known as the Arrakeen Jihad). There's a second Land Raider, an old Forge World Venerable Dreadnought and another Rhino hull still waiting for full assembly and paint in my stack of stuff.

Vehicles of the Arrakeen Jihad. back row, there's the Dreadnought "Faust," Rhino "Zensunni," Land Raider Crusader "Emperor Worm," Rhino "Manus Imper" and Dreadnought "Leto I"

Front row there is Predator Annihilator "Crysknife," Razorback "Fedayeen," Razorback "Auliya" and Predator Destructor "Maula"

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Since my tabletop stuff is still languishing on the painter's block let's run with a few of my favourites from MechWarrior 5 Mercs. Here's my 5 'mechs.

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

You can equally just make them with Green Stuff or whatever other kind of epoxy putty you have available since the GS factory closed. These are my Terminator shoulders.

A bunch of shoulder pauldrons for Space Marine Terminator miniatures with custom sculpted epoxy putty details including skulls and purity seals

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Quote with women? Quote with women. One drawing, two custom sculpts and two Sisters. #Nerdlings

Drawn image (markers on paper) showing The Protagonist (a young woman) stepping over a seabed horizon as the waves part to either side of her, with the moon large and full immediately overhead.

Custom sculpted miniature of The Protagonist character (with a 25mm base). She is from the concept background for my friends' band Mountain Caller's story, adapted from their album cover artwork.

Custom sculpted miniature (25mm base) of Lady Nightscale (AKA the Black Dragon of Canopus), a Battletech mercenary character (belonging to Lady Nightscale who is a Twitch streamer and a friend of mine). She has bioelectronic horns and a tail and is holding a large assault rifle at a high port.

Two Sisters of Battle (Adepta Sororitas) miniatures for Warhammer 40,000, each with boltgun and power weapon.

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Quote with something old you're proud of? Gotta love a bit of classic Man O'War. I should probably follow with one of my Gothic ships, but this one's closer to the brief for me. Made this in about 2005ish? Based on the artwork from the 3E rulebook (at the start of the battles section). #Nerdlings

Miniature of a Black Templar Space Marine Standard Bearer (Ancient) from Warhammer 40,000. He's standing on the bodies of two of his Battle-Brothers and wields a Bolter and powerfist, the latter of which is partially hidden behind his tattered banner.

Black & white artwork piece of (if I did my job with the mini right) essentially the same Marine.

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

This is what's left on a couple of my 4E Termie kit sprues for example:

Two partially empty plastic Space Marine Terminator sprues made for 4th Edition Warhammer 40,000 showing a number of accessories including four Purity Seals on each one.

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Today's progress on the #Nerdlings #MiniOfTheMonth entry has been pretty slow but I did make some progress. The left hand one of these was a learning process and I thought I was happy with it but I had material left so I figured "why not give it another go?" Turns out, good idea!

A pair of small Imperial Eagles for a Warhammer 40,000 miniature, each about a centimetre wide, sculpted using "green stuff" epoxy putty. The one on the left is much less detailed and a bit more wonky than the one on the right, which I think looks pretty good actually.

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

This is still my favourite Zelda meme

Image of Princess Zelda, labeled "Anatomy of Zelda."

Zelda's top half is labeled "The head end of Zelda." Zelda's lower half has a legend across it reading "The Legend of Zelda."

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Giovanna Grana, the witch on broomstick with the cats. If you check the Bestiary entry 030 ("Undead Fancy Witch") it says:

Bestiary entry 030 from Vampire Survivors ("Undead Fancy Witch").

It reads:

"Giovanna resented being assigned mage at birth, and proudly took up the way of the broom and pointed hat. Her sisters, who claim they want to "protect witches' spaces," have sworn to oppose her and all who fight by her side. Maybe one day they'll accept that anybody can be a Sassy Witch if they truly want to be.

HP: 500
Power: 20
Speed: 200

Resistances: -
Skills: -
Found in: Inlaid Library, Gallo Tower

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

I started well before the 4th Edition codex gave the different units distinct colours so I basically made up my Crusade's scheme on my own. I love your conversions & customisations- I definitely agree with you that the scope for custom individual detail on a BT force is one of the big draws for me!

A group of Black Templars led by Imam Stilgar and Na'ib Kynes of the Arrakeen Jihad accompanied by a pair of Hive Ganger Sentinels faces off against Ork Boyz of the Deathskulls clan.

(L to R): Na'ib Kynes, Ancient Halleck and Imam Stilgar of the Arrakeen Jihad

Bashar Leto II of the Arrakeen Jihad portrayed at two stages in his service; on the left, early in his career, as a Na'Ib with powerfist and Storm Shield and on the right, much later, as Bashar with a Maker Scythe (Thunder Hammer) and Storm Shield in Terminator armour.

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

That's a really impressive force :) I started playing BTs in 2001, pretty much the first 40K army I picked up. I've got a substantial Crusade but they're much less cohesive than yours as they run the gamut from being some of the first models I ever painted to some of the most recent!

A Black Templar Space Marine Crusade for Warhammer 40,000 in miniature on the tabletop. There are too many individual minis here to describe, with a command squad (including standard bearer) front and centre, two Dreadnoughts and several vehicles arranged throughout the force.

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Had to go and check. I have 15 Hellguns, 3 Plasma guns, 4 Meltaguns, 1 flamer and 1 Sergeant with plasma pistol for a total of two full squads with some special weapon options (using 3E rules).

24 3rd Edition Imperial Stormtroopers for Warhammer 40,000, arranged in two squads of 10 with 4 additional special weapons troopers.

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

The other thing currently on my operating table is (still) all the Terminators I've been working on (on and off) since about 2012. I got decision paralysis about the last five, so I decided eventually to use magnets instead. Just about ready for paint now. #Nerdlings #Warhammer #WarhammerCommunity

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

So I do still work on models sometimes. These are the #Battletech 'mechs I'm working on just now. I've shown detail on both Riflemen and the Orion before, but the Crusader, Atlas and Marauder II are more or less finished today. I, err. You know, I question my decision-making sometimes. #Nerdlings

A lance and a half of Inner Sphere Battlemechs for Battletech (six mechs). From left to right there is an Atlas AS7-D, a Rifleman RFL-3N, A Marauder II MAD-5A, a Crusader CRD-3R, an Orion ON1-K and a Rifleman RFL-8D. They have all had all of the mould flash cleaned off and been modified and cleaned up cosmetically in various ways.

Close up of the Marauder MAD-5A showing the cleaned-up lines of the 'mech (the cockpit especially was a lot of work) and the added whip aerial on top of the 'mech.

Close up of the Atlas AS7-D showing the added aerials either side of the "head," drilled gun barrel on the AC-20 and other details. I toyed with the idea of reshaping the chest plate into squares like the MechWarrior 5/MechWarrior Online model, but it didn't look great so I patched it back up with superglue.

Close up of the CRD-3R Crusader showing the individually drilled missile tubes on the arm-mounted LRM-15 launchers and cleaned-up lines.

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

This is Garm. Probably my most personal OC to be honest, though I do obviously use Captain Hat as an avatar more directly most of the time.

Big gladiator robot with claws for hands and what appears to be a Machine Head T-shirt and baggy jeans on.

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

I took a video on the waterfront too:

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Oh yeah, snow's great! That's a really lovely shot! I have a whole set I took in the snow. These were all taken without any kind of flash between roughly midnight and 2 AM, mid winter. All the light here is radiated light from the town, trapped between the solid white clouds and snow on the ground.

Chatham and Rochester in the snow, looking down off Jacklson's Hill towards the New Road and across the river. The sky is solid white, the whole scene fading into thick mist in the middle distance. The foreground is equally solid white.

Looking up Jackson's Hill from next to the Star Hill roundabout. The solid white ground meets the solid white sky in such a way that the horizon fades into itself in places, heaven and earth merging into a sort of amorphous combination.

Rochester Cathedral at midnight, in the snow. The Cathedral is well-lit, but there is nobody in sight. There is evidence that people have been here, but it appears to have been recently abandoned.

Rochester Castle in the snow, at midnight. The blank white clouds in the sky are keeping all the light of the town trapped close to ground level, meaning the whole scene is lit as if it were midafternoon on a cloudy day.

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

I can obviously go on about this forever, it's one of my favourite things, simultaneously weirdly comforting and unsettling. Sometimes liminality is better communicated by video than stills. If anyone wants to see more, I've got a few of these.

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Liminal spaces aren't limited to just Backrooms-type empty buildings. The original liminal events were twilight and dawn, at the druids' ritual hour when reality is distorted by the quality of the light and the barrier between reality and the spirit realm seems to break down.

Outdoor photo of an overgrown field, taken in late autumn or early winter at dusk. There are tall weeds silhouetted in the foreground against the rough grassy mud and fading light in the background, and trees silhouetted against the grey-blue skyline, a hint of yellow or pink underscoring the clouds at the horizon. In the foreground, there is a bluish reflective patch, half-hidden in the gloom; the suggestion of a boggy patch, perhaps?

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

I absolutely love this photo (in the QP). I've always been a huge fan of liminal spaces, but I love them most when they're real or unedited views of the world. I've taken a fair few photos of liminal events myself. Here's one of my best; if you've taken any liminal photos I'd love to see them too :)

A dimly lit row of wooden shelving racks in the background of a dark room. Taken in the upstairs storage area of an abandoned Argos shop.

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

If you see this, post your getaway vehicle I know I should post one of my #gaslands cars or something for all the #nerdlings but honestly

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

So the key thing is to think about where the heat comes from and how much material there is between the heat source and the surface you can see. The heat originates at the firing chamber, so there's more heat toward the root of the barrel but there's also more material there. Check my alt text.

This is a Russian 12.7mm machine gun with a glowing red hot barrel. note that the barrel of the gun is thickest close to the chamber and tapers towards the muzzle, so while the hottest part of the gun is probably inside the firing chamber the most visibly hot part of the gun externally is roughly the middle of the barrel, where it gets thinner.

Most of the barrel fittings are visibly cooler than the barrel itself (showing black against its glowing heat) with the exception of the muzzle brake/flash hider, which is hottest at the barrel end but has a steep heat gradient visible showing it is relatively cool at the open muzzle. This is because the brake is much thinner material than the barrel with more surface area so it heats up much faster, but the expanding gases rapidly lose temperature as they go forward out of the gun.

Photo of an FN Minimi light machine gun with a glowing red barrel and a damaged muzzle brake or suppressor. Again, you can see a clear pattern in the way the heat shows externally; as mentioned in the earlier description, the barrel end of the muzzle brake will heat up fast because it's made of relatively thin material and in this case has partially melted, leading to it bending and subsequently being shot through while the gun was firing.

Note that there is a cool spot on the barrel next to the forward sight fitting, which is also where the gas extractor for the mechanism that automatically reloads the chamber is. This is because the sight block and gas system act as an external heat sink, allowing heat to escape via conduction. Note also that the gas parts of the gun show that the barrel is hot all the way back to the chamber.

This photo shows a metal "silencer" or suppressor mounted on the end of a gun barrel, glowing red hot at its root on the barrel with a nice-looking heat gradient down to relatively cool at the muzzle end. Note how you can see where some of the internal structures of the suppressor are because there are darker rings visible on the outside, and also that where the material is thicker the exterior of the suppressor is visibly cooler.

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

As hot as the day already was in the ashen deserts of Armageddon, it was about to get a whole lot hotter for the unlucky Deathskull boyz as the Tempalrs of the Arrakeen Jihad revved their chainswords and Ratboy's heavy flamer started to whine...

A desert scene depicting several Black Templar Space marines of the Arrakeen Jihad alongside a pair of Hive Militia (the enlisted gangers Ratboy and Skunk of the Sump 38 Rodent Crew) taking on a patrol of Ork Boyz from the Deathskullz clan during the 3rd War for Armageddon.

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

Went out for a walk today. Delete felt, cute later might. Anyway, this is what I look like out of cosplay. Probably should have worn more sensible boots really (I have a blister now) but these look nicer. Be fun to maybe see what some of you other #nerdlings look like, if you're happy to share.

Photo of the author, taken in a mirror and then mirrored back to "normal." Author is 6'2" and presents as white and male with long brown hair, pale blue eyes, glasses and a beard. Wearing a worn cap (from the 2007 national airsoft event at Ground Zero), headphones, a Mountain Caller band T-shirt, a faux leather kilt and a pair of calf-length New Rock boots. The boots and kilt have Sith Empire sigils on them made from plasma-cut steel.

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Let's see if this fuckin works

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

I can't imitate your posting and I'm a terrible photographer but what I can do is post a bunch of photos of things I think you might either think are cool, be a bit envious of or plan to own if you don't already. Some guesses are likely more accurate than others. *Way too much* in the alt text.

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Mentioned to @tammi.bsky.social that I've been tinkering with my Terminators earlier today. Thought I might show you what form that tinkering's been taking lately. This might be some form of masochism, I'm not sure. Anyway, I think it looks good. #WarhammerCommunity #Nerdlings #SpaceMarines

three unpainted Black Templar Space Marine Assault Terminator miniatures with Lightning Claws for the tabletop wargame Warhammer 40,000. This photo shows them all from the front.

These are 40K Terminators with the lightning claws modified to use the "claws" from the 30K "Cataphractii" Terminator sets, with long clawed fingers instead of the "normal" 40K "knuckle duster" type lightning claws.

The model on the right has the shoulder pauldrons replaced with 30K "Cataphract" style shoulder guards (with Green Stuff epoxy putty details) as well; the two on the left and in the centre have "normal" 40K-style shoulder pauldrons (together with shield-shaped basagews on the left shoulder).

This photo shows the three Terminators from the left hand side, showing that the models on the left and right have been modified by cutting the 40K lightning claw hands in half and replacing the front half with the 30K parts; the model in the centre is more complex, with the cut made in a "stepped" fashion to keep the "skull knuckle" detail from the 40K kit.

The model on the right has additionally had the seam in the rebuilt lightning claws filled in & smoothed with "green Stuff" epoxy putty, while the other two are as yet unfinished.

This photo shows the three Terminators from the right hand side.

This photo shows three different views of the centre Terminator's lightning claws, displaying the complex "stepped" cut used to preserve the skulls on the knuckles in greater detail.

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

I suspect the main driver of the change is MechWarrior games tbh. You want to have a Nova in MWO but you want players to be able to actually play the thing without feeling like it's a huge disadvantage, you know? Anyway, here's a comparison old & new:

Four Battletech miniatures, left to right we have the old Ral Partha Mad Cat (Timber Wolf), the new Catalyst Game Labs Mad Cat, the old Black Hawk (Nova) and the new Black Hawk. The newer miniatures are bulkier and made from plastic, while the old minis are made from pewter.

The new Black Hawk design has the arms mounted to a torso that can rotate on the hips, while the old Black Hawk model has the arms emerging directly from the hips (or the legs attached directly to its shoulders, depending how you look at it)

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

At this stage I think I make more custom models than standard ones. Some of these are old, some are new, for several game systems and none in particular. These aren't the best photos, but there are better shots of most of them on my profile. Loads of detail in the alt text if you're interested.

A group of customised Warhammer 40K walkers. L to R we have:

-custom Imperial Guard (Astyra Militarum) armoured Sentinel with seeker missile, storm bolter and chainsaw (chainsaw on a custom gymbal mount and a partial Star of Chaos Undivided embossed across the cab)

-Custom Imperial Guard sentinel with extended Lascannon on a high mount with custom Green Stuff sniper's canopy over the driver's roll cage. This Lascannon is actually half of a Space Marine Land Raider's Godhammer-pattern mount, with the barrel extended.

-(in front) Irk Killa Kan with custom wiring and a modified augur bit. This augur is a relatively subtle modification but the work requred to get it looking right was pretty intensive.

-Custom Eldar Wraithlord. Again, some of the more subtle modifications were the hardest; one leg completely repositioned, all the iconography embossed with Green Stuff, ankles, right knee, shoulders and Bright Lance mount all rebuilt with Green Stuff and wire.

-Custom Ork Killa Kan. This one was less work but the wires powering the close combat tool, dodgy plasma-cut edges on the panels and weathering are all custom work.

-Custom Imperial Guard Sentinel (looted by Hive Gangers) with modified exhaust, lightened roll cage and "damaged" legs

-Custom Imperial Guard Sentinel (looted by Hive Gangers) with custom exhaust, removed roll cage and custom-welded heat shield to protect the driver from the worst effects of a malfunctioning Heavy Flamer

These are some of my custom Warhammer 40K minis, mostly from my Black Templars army.

Front row (L to R) is:

-Sentinel pilot with laspistol and melta bomb
-Inquisitor Vorik in power armour (converted from Space Marine parts including custom shoulder pauldrons, Necromunda power axe and Space Marine Commander's boltgun)
-Deathwatch (Black Templar) Veteran Space Marine
-Black Templar Veteran Space Marine Hekate with Bolter and Chainaxe
-Imperial Fists Scout Veteran Sgt with two plasma pistols and close combat weapon

back row is:
-Chaplain (Master of Sancity) Stilgar, a custom True Scale Space Marine made from 3E Firstborn kits with a custom-built power scythe, a Chaos Marine head and a bunch of Green Stuff
-Ancient Gurney Halleck, a custom-made (fully reposed) Space Marine Standard Bearer with custom banner pole, belt order and standard, Captain Cortez's powerfist, an older-pattern Boltgun from the 3E biker kit and a bunch of Green Stuff
-Na'Ib (Castellan) Liet Kynes, a "True Scale" Firstborn Space Marine made from modified 3E Marine parts, with boltgun and powerfist
-3rd Edition Space Marine wielding a vehicle-scale Heavy Bolter from the Land Raider kit. In the fluff, the vehicle mounted Heavy bolters, Lascannons etc were supposed to mostly be literally the same weapons as the ones the Marines carry themselves (the Predator Annihilator was literally "invented" by retrofitting infantry Lascannons into Predator Destructor turrets) and I thought testing that idea was an interesting concept for a model.

Custom models for other systems. L to R:

-Hot Wheels custom model for Gaslands with the shell off showing the full custom interior including crew. This is the Dwagon, driven by Big Laura with Jaws on guns.

-Custom miniature of a female mage or sorceror, made from Green Stuff over brass wire.

-(at rear) Rifleman Battlemech for Battletech, with custom guns (and in a custom pose with a customised base)

-(in front) Hot Wheels Ferrari Testarossa with "cleaned-up" bodywork (casting flash removed, some small physical details added) and a custom paintjob

-Custom-built Cyber-Mastiff for Necromunda, made from sheet styrene, styrene extrusions and Miliput

-Hot Wheels custom for Gaslands, again with the shell off showing the fully-detailed interior including the driver, Jim.

Customised and custom-repaired Battlefleet Gothic miniatures. A few of the BFG kits I bought back when they were available by mail order arrived missing bits, and I trod on two of my Forge World Space Marine escorts once. GW's solution when I said I had models with bits missing was to send me *entire new models* so I decided to build the kits with missing parts into complete models by making my own custom bits as well.

At the very back is HIMS Invincible, an Emperor-class Battleship with Voss-pattern prow, made by modifying an Apocalypse-class Battleship kit. The side panels on the engineering space at the aft of the vessel are also custom made from sheet styrene.

Middle row (L to R):

-Mars-class Battlecruiser HIMS Illustrious, with custom Nova Cannon mounted in the prow

-Space Marine Strike Cruisers Sietch Abbir and Sietch Ammit, both with custom-built prow sensor arrays and rear fins

Front row:

L: Bashar Farok, a Space Marine Nova-class Frigate, with a custom prow Lance made from brass wire and copper pipe

R: Muad'Dib, a Space Marine Hunter-class Destroyer (which I actually broke in half when I trod on it) with a custom starboard fin and conning tower both made from brass wire and sheet styrene

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Couple of extra shots Garry took:

Inquisitor Doyle looking down his nose at the camera

Close up shot of Doyle's right shin guard and boot; the shin guard has a very large Inquisitorial "I" symbol up its length in red and gold with a skull motif in the centre. It has the words "CORAM IUDICE" ("A judge with authority is in session") inscribed in gold at top and bottom of the main shin panel and "Vixere" ("They lived" with emphasis on the past tense) under the skull.

Close view of Doyle's Inquisitorial rosette. It is a simple Inquisitorial "I" design with three lines through the centre and a skull in the middle. It is painted mostly red with gold details (except for the skull, which is painted in "realistic" colours).

Doyle faces the camera wielding his sword Vixere in his right hand (this is a lower-resolution colour photo).

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Met a bunch of lovely people at #Salute53 this year. One of them was a gent in a Raiders cap called Garry Neesam, who it turns out is a really good photographer. I don't show my actual face on here often, but this is me in my #40K #cosplay as Inquisitor Doyle of the Ordo Hereticus. #Nerdlings

black & white photo of Inquisitor Doyle wielding his pistol "Ultima Ratio" at a high port in his right hand. Doyle is white-presenting with long hair, glasses and a long but thin beard. He is facing to the right of the image (to his left).

Inquisitor Doyle in colour, facing the camera with his Inquisitorial Rosette on display on his chest. The Rosette is relatively basic as Doyle is a junior Inquisitor and doesn't have an extensive heraldry yet. It is mounted oh his chest in a red leather pouch that can be clipped closed to conceal it. He wears flexible armour made of overlapping plates on his chest and shoulders.

Doyle looking down his nose at the camera. In this photo the colours have been processed to make Doyle appear sweaty, bruised and somewhat bedraggled, as if at the end of a difficult, stressful encounter or fight.

This is a close enough shot of my (Doyle's) face that it might as well be a photo of just me; it is colour graded much more neutrally and actually looks pretty good IMO.

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Used to drive one at work. lovely vehicles :)

Military Unimog at the old Imperium Airsoft site where I used to work as a marshall: I'm driving, with a bright orange cap on, but you can't really see my face because I have a mask on.

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

Without downloading any new pictures, where are you mentally?

photo of a theme park boat floating into a tunnel; there is a swarm of insects all around and the tunnel entrance is labelled "Tunnel Of Bees."

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

Thank you! Yeah, she's mostly Green Stuff over a brass wire armature (with some details in styrene and copper tube) and I couldn't be happier with how she turned out :)

photo of the Lady Nightscale custom miniature, unpainted, sitting on top of an ink pot.

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

I know it can be dangerous to take detailed photos of minis but I'm about to post this one across the ocean so I wanted to document it in detail. Character is @ladynightscale.bsky.social 's, mini hand sculpted by me, painted & photographed by my friends. #Battletech #sculpt #MiniPainting

This is a custom 25mm scale miniature of a Battletech mercenary with cybernetic enhancements that resemble horns and a tail. She is holding an assault rifle at high port and has a large-calibre pistol on her right hip, as well as two ammo pouches on her left. Her skin is pallid because of a subdermal armour implant.

This is Lady Nightscale, the Black Dragon of Canopus and leader of the Black Dragon Irregulars mercenary company.

This photo is taken from the front, and is a layered composite image that shows the entire miniature in sharp focus.

This is a photo of the same miniature taken from a slightly lower angle and slightly to the left of head on. This image is from a single exposure.

This miniature was hand-sculpted by me (Captain Hat) and painted by a friend of mine (Cpl "Wires" of the 601st Warhammer cosplay group).

This is the Nightscale image taken from the rear-left side, showing the ammo pouches, tail and knife holster across her back in detail.

This photo is from the rear right hand side of the image, showing the pistol holster and Nightscale's grip on her rifle. Note that Scales knows her gun safety- her weapon is held at ease so her forefinger is firmly outside of the trigger guard!

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

haha I often take my glasses off to paint these days (but then I am very shortsighted and it is in some cases a bit of a cheat code).

$The Invincible "Look at what they need to mimic a fraction of our power" meme with the fighter jets labelled as "magnifier glasses" and the Vitruvians labeled as "extremely shortsighted model painters." A crude pair of glasses is drawn onto Nolan (Omni-Man)'s face in black using MS Paint.$

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

Ooh, lovely! I painted both of mine a while ago :)

A pair of 2nd Edition metal Space Marine Dreadnoughts for Warhammer 40,000, painted in Black Templar colours; the one on the left has an assault cannon & powerfist with a storm bolter, and the one on the right has a twin-linked lascannon and missile launcher. Both have large back banners. They have "Leto II" (Left) and "Faust" (Right) written on the fronts of their bases.

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

Because of the shame I associate with vulnerability I am numbing myself completely Can you hear me right now? I watched you mother bury you today, with tears in her eyes And it wasn't her words that shook me, but the resemblance you shared

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

Ah! An individual of taste and culture! I too love my weirdly rare 80s shitbox :)

1987 Honda Civic Mk3 hatchback in light blue.

The usual lookup websites reckon there are less than 10 left intact in the UK. No idea how accurate that is.

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Drew this piece of Garm after a fight he almost lost a while ago now, & honestly it's still one of my favourite pics of him. Sure he's a robot, he can be rebuilt in a way that humans can't but still I think it's similar. Sometimes you want a picture to tell a story, and scars are a hell of a tale.

Pencil drawing of a badly damaged gladiator robot. Its left foor is blown in half, its left hand missing entirely and the left side of its head is smashed to pieces. There's also a large ragged chunk missing from its left side and numerous holes in its protective "clothes" and armour layers; the claw that is its right hand is only partially-powered, and one of the blades is snapped in half.

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

Honestly makes me want to convert up a bunch of these guys (from the early 3E Guard Codex) & paint them in Pride colours:

Small sketch from the early 3rd Edition Imperial Guard Codex for Warhammer 40,000 showing a soldier with a visored helmet, chin guard and armoured shoulders (including spikes on the left side). Labeled

"The Gate Keepers
Stationed on Death World,
Ghulag 97 Imperial Penitentiary"

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Captain Hat @captainhat.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

Aye. The next appearance in actaul GW art after this was in the second 3E Guard Codex later in September 2003, and you can already see a widening gap in the illustration (see below). Note that the Forge World Siege of Vraks Pt1 book that went into more detail on the DKoK wasn't released until 2007.

Short fluff piece about the Armageddon Steel Legion from the second Imperial Guard Codex for 3rd Edition Warhammer 40,000.

The text reads:

"The Steel Legions are renowned for their skill in opposing the Orks on the great wastes of their native world. Fully mobile in their Chimera transports, they are able to launch rapid attacks in which the Chimeras overrun enemy lines before the Steel Legion infantry dismount to finish them off. Fighting in proximity to the great Hives of Armageddon, the Steel Legions are sometimes supported by Hive Militia conscripts eager to join their ranks."

There is then some additional text about the special rules the tabletop army follows.

Small fluff piece and picture about the Death Korps of Krieg, from the same book. The fluff text reads:

"Krieg was laid to waste when rebellion led to a 500 year campaign of atomic purging. The Death Korps now seek to make amends for their earlier heresy by martyring themselves to the Imperial cause. The Death Korps fight without fear of death, disdaining retreat and surrender. They excel in grinding their enemies down in battles of attrition, making extensive use of razorwire and entrenchment."

The remaining text is about 3E tabletop rules.

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