Never Idle!

Funny title,but true,there always seems to be something to do,for example, Chris sent me a box of his 3D printed stuff(which was mistaken for a Mother's Day pressie!!!!unopened because I assumed that it was for THE WIFE,on Sunday-obviously didn't look at the name on the box!!!-imagine the surprise on THE WIFE's face when she opened it-oh how we laughed!)

This is the stuff that Chris sent-a wood pile,a stack of barrels,some boxes and two Fu(Foo?) dogs.Detail is great-I still can't wrap my mind around the technology involved-I'm sure Brian will help me out on this! Had to paint them asap!!

Painted to my usual high standard-I'm actually quite pleased with the result-they will be used in many and, differing, scenarios and periods!

But what next can I turn my idle mind and hands to? Kallistra terrain pieces-well turned out but a bit bland,I think........................

They definitely need something to give them a bit of "life"................................

THE WIFE was throwing out some plastic flowers that adorn our house(I know,I know!) so I salvaged these pieces,and with a bit of drilling and and pushing,achieved........................

Now that looks better!

I had a colonial game last week,that was a disaster!! so I'm only going to post the two photographs that made me grin........................

The British Rocket Battery fires-where will it land????

Right in amongst the bloody Egyptians,that's where!!!!-This was the only British success of the game-I was gutted!!

Next blog soon!

 

Look who came to visit ! 

So there was I, confined to barracks when the door knocked. Amazon ? Royal Mail ?

No, all of the parcels in the north east have been delivered. 

There are no more things left to buy !

It was none other than a fellow inmate and friend John. 

Apparently good news had been announced .. not sure if the Angel Gabriel had confirmed it but we can go out for walks. Halleluiah.

So after lots of chat and natter at the door, the voice of reason, Janet , said I could go out to play ... or was that Doris ? You know, he's that bloke down south.

Who cares, shoes and coat on and out I went. Really good to talk of games, painting and the usual stuff that has the rest of the family rolling eyes and nodding approval at the right times whilst feigning attention.

We are both looking forward to more walks and eventually getting down to some serious gaming.

Brian, there's your intro about fishing! Carpe something???

Stay safe and enjoy the moment.

Project WW2 diorama part 2

The ME BF109G was left with a fuselage and cockpit waiting to be put together and the wings ready to be attached.                So far so good.  

The additional photo etched parts have the cockpit detail as well as the flaps and radiator extras.

Kitchen foil was glued onto the wings and the outline of the panels traced to enable me to chop out part of the original plastic. This is where the wing split is going to be. The wings come in two parts, upper and lower so getting them aligned was tricky. I couldn't glue them together at this stage as there were radiators and flaps to add.

I have invested at great cost a set of pegs (they look like bulldog clips) for holding the bits together while waiting for the glue to dry.

The cockpit sits really well into the fuselage so on with the sticky stuff and leave to set.

Next job was to get the saw out. Point of no return now.

Now for the additional photo-etched parts.. wing flaps and radiators. 

Imagine my delight as they levitated off the desk onto the carpet ... black with silver flecks ! Bugger !

I had hours of fun bending these ultra fine sheet metal.

Wheel housings fitted on both sides and radiators.

More hacksaw work slicing out the flaps of the original model. Looks a mess ! 

Both halves glued together Yippee!

Now for some paint!

 

I also had the little matter of creating the damage to the plane inflicted from an unknown source ..

 was it an enemy plane, AA fire or just poor flying ?

The tail has suffered major damage and the rudder is nearly blown off  ...  fatal

Next stage decals and getting the terrain to complete.

3D printed warehouse

I’m currently enthused with the Back of Beyond. In particular, 1920s China; the warlord era. I can recommend the Osprey book as a good and cheap introduction to the subject. 

I’ve printed and painted a few small pieces of suitable scatter terrain to help set the scene.

Browsing thingiverse for anything useful I came across several files for Victorian London buildings. I rather liked this warehouse and could picture it with Chinese features

I tried to add Chinese window grills to the 3D file but it wouldn’t have it. Think it was just too fine for the printer to handle it reduced to the size I wanted. So the model was printed without alterations 

It is a really nice model. As it’s digitally designed the pieces go together well. However I wasn’t happy with the wall texture

I can imagine perhaps applying glue and sprinkling sand on the walls. I’ve seen Adrian’s Walls doing that with mdf buildings. I applied a rough render of watered down Polyfilla

The build was straightforward. I added a base to the warehouse as I wanted a door ajar and a base just makes the model robust and you can add little bits of interesting groundwork to a base

I pinched some images from http://majorthomasfoolery.blogspot.com/?m=1

From which I created a suitable sign and window grills for the warehouse. Just printed on paper and backed with card. The finished model... 

Pretty pleased with that! The 3D printing adventure continues. I will post again when the armoured train is complete. It’s on a siding so to say whilst I decide what track to use. 

All the best

Chris

Battle of Majorca.Vikings vs Moors.

I have used up my supply of superlatives for the solo games I am playing during this Virus thingy,but last night's game had it all-the closest run game ever!!!

Scenario and troop dispositions.

For the first few moves,everything went according to plans-centres clashed and Magnus,supported by Bloodnok attacked the Moors camp.

A view of the table,showing the centre and left of the Viking position-Bloodnok has formed and is just about to join in the fight.Magnus(attacking the camp) threw himself into the fight,which his warriors were losing! and got himself wounded-this camp was not an easy position to take!! However in the centre and right flank things were eventually going the Viking's way-hurrah!

Top photo shows the massive melee in the centre,which the Moors contested ferociously.Brian took the right flank hill,and then moved his warriors onto the flank of the moors,but not until Eric had to throw himself into the fray,to stop his warriors retiring(it's good being retired by the way!)Once the flank was taken,the Moors' position was untenable,and a general retreat was made,but the camp was still firmly in the Moors hands,and Magnus' whole command was wiped out!!!!

El Murtada's camp-still intact,but being threatened by Bloodnok on the flank-Viking casualties were horrific,but not as many as the Moors,who sued for peace,with the "usual" payment of gold etc. etc.

The game did not go as I expected it to go-my dice throws for the Vikings was,at the best,dismal! and my dice throws for the Moors was "brilliant" how the Vikings pulled off a victory is amazing!! I think the Vikings had better have a rest before they go onto the mainland!!!

I have a "large"Sudanese-type game planned for this week-Egyptians and allies vs British.