The Minions Are Coming

Not my best work but I still can't find the magnifying lamp base.

Amongst the many things I have been playing about with were some figures I got for a super hero RPG game at the same time I got some supers. I figure that they can be used for generic bad guys in modern and sci-fi settings. There are still not finished as I need to put some details on them,  but close enough for now.

I can see them playing a part in my X-Com game. I might even have to do a James Bond things...

Snakes - Or A Coincidence Of Needs

I am currently short of things I want to paint. I thought going to a show last Sunday would change that but to be honest...not really. Half of what I have painted is now done and drying off so I'll post a few pics of that soon. So I have been fiddling about with there projects that are not really what I want to do. I have been going through storage trays I can find at the moment and I am amazed at what I have been dragging out. I'll put some pics up as I start to finish things off. The oldest was got from a shop that closed down twenty years ago but for most part, they are a lot newer. As I am sure you will see, not the most challenging of subjects.

I'll finish the details off when I find my magnifying lamps base

So I found these snakes from Critical Mass Games. They have been stuck on bases for a well over a year, so that constitutes being in the paint queue. At one point, the plan had been to do a 15mm X-Com game. I think I have given up on this idea now in favour of doing something in 28mm. Snakemen don't make an appearance in the new X-Com games but they were a staple of the original. They were the easiest of the races to over come. They weren't especially tough and they had no psychic powers.

The main crux of the argument is, well they were really just there. So the thinking goes, snakemen, eh? Aren't they a bit lame. So I thought I could use them as a really weak opponent race, just ensure that there are lots of them. So I will probably get some more when I next see Critical Mass Games at a show.

Fiasco

As I missed out on Donnington show earlier in the month, I thought I'd make an effort to go to Fiasco. It's not a big show, but it's fairly local and easy to get to (not so easy to get out of tho). It was quite slow really. I didn't spend much, as the picture below shows the booty hall for the show (technically I got two packs of this). This is a shame as I had money to burn, it being my birthday.

These are planned to be done up as stand alone stuff as part of my never ending quest for tabletop scenery. The other pack are destined for the Summerland/death by trees apocalypse game I am planning. Speaking of which, I could kill Doctor Who's writers who seem to have stolen my idea.

My memories of Leeds are that it is always cold and usually wet, even during the summer. Pudsey, just outside of Leeds where Recon will be held in a few weeks seems colder. It was no different this time around.

Drink Up + Shut Up

Another year older, not sure I am any wiser and just a little bit poorer. It's been an odd day. Reconnected with an old friend recently and was just chatting with him and found out that another old friend had died in a car crash whilst I was chatting away on Facebook. All in all it's not been a bad day. Nice cake, some Star Wars movie books, a new mug, a reception bell and even a cuddly toy. The bell is a particular fave and I am sure that I will make this work for me so well that my other half will be driven to distraction.

Nothing orange, no zombies and no figures. People are trying to tell me something.

Another Building...

This time in 15mm. I was playing around with this prior to starting the derelict project. I was thinking then that this was a nice idea. This is another project that will have to be stopped as lack of toys has stopped play.  I wanted something to go with all the stuff I already have but something a little more industrial in natures. I guess this gives a passing glance at what industrial units actually look like and not much more. Still it's the thought that counts. The general idea is that this is a post apocalypse building/combat zone, hence the upended floor paving slabs.

Today I have done a few tiny little bits to this and there is now not much more to do. I would to change the roof. This will mean finding some black flock covered sheeting I have in a box somewhere. The floor tiles are made from foam sheeting I got from hobby craft ages ago. The tiles are 1cm squares to give me an idea of size. The vents and windows are from TheScene and the door is GZG.

I have no immediate plans to do any more 15mm stuff as I am going to do some more 28mm stuff. That said, I cut out another blank box to do anther smaller industrial unit.

Hitting A Dead End At The End Of The World

 

I guess that there is a lot more I can do with the derelict but to be honest, I guess there is one big step that needs doing and I haven't got the resources so I can't finish it. On top of this, I have started to get distracted. anyway, this is kind of a window (or in this case a door) looking into the world.

The interior rubble has manage to just about get the look I wanted. I need to put some greenery in their to fill it out. This is all in boxes at the moment so will have to wait.

One I have finished putting the pebble dash on the walls, I'll work on making the outside a lot greener too. Then I might put on a few finishing touches like pipes and maybe a rubbish bin.

 Anyway, time to move on.

I have done much figure painting lately because I can't find the clamp for my lamp and my eyesight isn't up to much these days. I have found a few figures that I could do without this being too much of an issue. Stuff I can go back and finish off at a later date. So I guess that what I am going to move onto next.

The Derelict Is Looking Worse

Well the derelict is moving on, slowly. Time has been a bit short, but I have had some time today to sit in front of the work bench. I am kind of kicking myself at the moment as I have started a project that I know that I can't finish right now. The outside needs something to looking like rendering and the two things I can use, I can't find. I have had to do a few changes from what I originally planned. First I have extended the ground floor walls in two places so that there is something their to support the ceiling. I have also added a first floor. This is partly aesthetic and partly structural.

 I thought I would put a figure in to give the picture some perspective. The plan now is to do some internal painting, weathering and just generally improve on the derelict feel. I have a few bits to do away from this but I am running out of prime projects and even projects that I would class of new at the top of the list are hard to find. I may have to do some major moving of boxes and...open up some boxes that I was hoping to keep sealed up. The other alternative us that I might go to a show at the weekend and spend some of my money Lets hope something will turn up.

Roof

I have had a bit more time today but I have been dependant on glue drying so I haven't donr that much. The objective for the day was to get the block work of the roof done. I haven't got as much done as I would like. That said it is starting to take shape and it will turn into something worthwhile. Pity it's such an ugly duckling a the moment. I plan to make a space in the roof where it has completely collapsed so that there is a space for a few figures to stand up. So I have put some floorboards in. I don't want to put too many in as I have a really limited stock of them at the moment. I'll use some stirrers to make the eaves. Then I'll cover that in mounting card and then use thin card to do the roof tile.

The fact that I haven't made a lot of progress today is really my fault as I have mad a few mistakes. The biggest was putting the base of the roof upside down which meant there was not covered of some of the extension. This took a bit of time but at least the glue hadn't dried when I realised what I had done.

So I have been able to put right but others have proved impossible without starting all over again which is something that I am not prepared to do. The house is supposed to look rough so I am not that bothered.

 

It will look okay when it's finished. All I need is some more time, sand, stirrers, fence panels, flock, foliage, imitation water and a dozen bits of clutter. All of them (except the time) are stuff in boxes which I can't find, so I guess there might be a pause coming up.

The Derelict

I haven't had too much time to myself today but I have spent what I had wisely. One of the things I have managed to get hold of was coffee stirrers. Thank you Cafe Nero. So I have put them to use and put in some floorboard and window frames. Amongst that I have added a little bit more rubble and ruin.

One of the problems with doing you own buildings is getting the proportions right. These are not architectural models so there is no need to make them too accurate. I find a problem with doorways. I would like the door to be able to fit a figure base through it. In order to get doors to look in proportion, the bases one have to be about the size of a penny which is not good for the figures. So instead of making the walls 50cm high I settled on a doorway too narrow for figures to pass through

I had another think about how the buildings should look. I am moving towards the idea of derelict buildings and communities rather than ruins. I want overgrown and crumbling rather than blow up and devastated. So I go back to what I know. I search the internet for ideas as you would be surprised how few derelict buildings there are in leafy suburbia.

Although I am a Brit, a lot of the games I have been involved in are set in America. This is not always down to American cultural imperialism but because there are many great stories to be told in America. It is also home to many ghost towns which look exactly like what I am after in this game.
I am also looking at overgrowth. Waist high grass and head high shrubs are what I am looking for. Whilst the plants have taken over the long grass is home to many dangerous creatures. I keep thinking about Jurassic Park 2 and 3.

What is the everyday today, will still be there in the world overgrown. The old world is still there but often it is just hidden away behind trees and under ivy. Trees may also be a  place to find the things you need to live. There have to be reasons to venture out into the wilds or the games will be very short and very dull.

The Walking Dead Season 5

Well it's back.  It goes to prove that the real problem with this world will never be the zombie it'll just be people. The season starts well and without going into too many details, it is exactly what I was expecting as a follow on from last season. No Beth Jerky just yet although you will find that there are a couple of ideas for those of you who might want to be considering a career change to butchery. The episode really kept me sat there focussed on the screen for the whole of the show. Not quite enough to make me a vegetarian but pretty close.

If you were looking for bad guys for your game, this is a good place to look for ideas.

A New Post Apocalypse

I have had an idea in my head for a while. I watched a film about seven years ago called Origins: Spirits of the Past. I don't mind a bit of anime as long as there are not too many tentacles. I saw it on a monitor in a Virgin Superstore which should date it a bit. I just fell in love with the look. The apocalypse in this case was plants taking over. Then I read a roleplaying game called Summerland. Very Indie, more about the story. Less about dice and not very figure friendly. The game I am planning is not really either of these but I guess there will be elements of them in there somewhere.

What I was going to do was take the figures from Scavenge Skirmish Survive which are all outdoors types and some fantasy figures and make into something that would fit into the wild woods. This means moving into 28mm buildings which is not something I have done for a while.

The world as we know is now covered with trees. So houses are ruined, building collapse, roads are overgrown and wild things run around the woods. The look is similar to Stalker. I can also see things like the surface in Metro 2033, I am Legend (but with more ruin and trees) or The Last Of Us.

So I want so terrain to reflect that. This is not the kind of thing that is easy to find. So I thought I would do my own. This is the first one.

There is a lot to do on his one, not least it needs to be fastened to a board. I have decided to use a standard sized board which will be cut down from something that I found in B+Q (which I will get a picture of eventually).

Odd Little Things

I used to go to a lot of wargame shows. These days, not so much. Most of the time you see just exactly what you would expect. Every now and again you see something that makes you think you've picked the wrong scale. Well maybe for a minute. Angel Barracks is one of those manufacturers.

These were a bit of an impulse. They are called Drill Worm Nests according to the website. I didn't have a clear idea of what to use them for at the time. In truth I guess I still don't but they look scary enough to make the players think twice about going anywhere near them. They look nicely alien so maybe it's some sort of infestation or maybe something like  shrieker mushrooms from the back of beyond. Maybe something for the X-Com wargame or the Fallout and modern horror RPG games that I run.

They are notionally 6mm figures but I can see uses for them in 15mm and maybe even larger scales.

So I am working through the resin mountain. I am picking my way through what I can find to do. I am now scratching my head wondering what I can do next.

Bob's Iguana Bits

I was looking up stuff to do for Fallout. Images of the web are a great source of ideas. In the original Fallout game there was a stall called Bob's Iguana Bits, the brain child of Iguana Bob Frazer. Bob was actually selling chunks of human, not exactly the food of choice, even in the wasteland.

So I thought I'd do this. It took about twenty minutes of work, not a huge job but I am looking for something to do and I had the bits to hand. It will do as a little bit of table scatter. It's a little bit tall but close enough. If I was going to do any more, I think I would make them a little shorter.

Actually Done Some Painting...

...but not quite what I was expecting to paint. Although I now have a workbench to paint on, I am still scratching around for things that I can do. My eyesight is not brilliant so I depend on a magnifying lamp. I can find the lamp but I can't find the base. No problem I thought, I'll do some buildings. I use pins to keep these together and I can't find them either. So I went looking.

So....No pins and no lamp base. They are probably in a box in the garage. Which is piled high with sealed boxes. So using the lemons to make lemonade I found something that I can do. whilst searching I found some small castle walls. I got them in a shop in the Arndale in Manchester which I think has been closed for twenty years. I think I got them as an impulse buy. I had played in a HOTT game run by Chris Johnson at the MAWS wargame club and I never got round to getting a stronghold for the army I used. The army has never been used since and the walls have been sat in various boxes ever since. Not so much lead mountain as resin mountain.

 So...A nice little project seemed the obvious choice. The paint is almost the same colour as the resin. You can only really tell the difference because the unpainted one has some marks on it.

So...I have the urge and a bit of time. I am now looking for something else to do. I was goin to have a play about with doing some post apocalyptic I started on this then realised that I had no  sand. It looks a bit little bit poop but I am sure that it will work out.

So...I'll look around and see what I can do.

I have an idea that these could be used for a fallout game. They might well be of use to a HOTT game in 15mm. I guess they have some scope for the skyrim/viking game but they are a littlle on the small side for that. Other than that, I have no idea.

Now I need to varnish them. Guess what, I can't find the varnish either.

A Newish Workbench

Well I have put as much into the workbench as I am going to, at least for the time being. It's just getting in the way of me doing stuff and it was starting to rind me down. A lot of the stuff I do for shelving is a little over engineered. This is not what I have done here. This is a temporary measure whilst I wait to move. The phrase wired together with flexi cord and spit springs to mind but if I am going to move it might be some time. It is also looking like I might be staying in Warrington which is no bad news.

We are having a bit of a make down and mend thing at the moment (that's repair reuse recycle to some). so most of the selves are stuff I have previously owned, torn down and stuck back together. I am not really happy with it as I am too far away from the paint but at least it works.If I was doing it again there are a lot of things that I would do differently.Not least of which is buy a table saw.

I did think of painting it white. The whole thing is going to get chavvy, I mean shabby chic'ed by my other half, so I guess it doesn't really matter. The white would  give me a bit more light. The spot I am in now has a lot less light to play with so I am going to need something.

Now where's my brushes...