In the end, I used some MDF and strip wood to build the new bench and spent most of the time repairing and modifying my home-made workstation. This image shows the newly cleaned work area (it very rarely looks this clear and organised).
The two angle-poise lamps have daylight bulbs and magnifiers, but I usually just use the 'clip-on'magnifiers for painting. As you can see I have a very wide variety of different paints from numerous manufacturers with tube acrylics and craft paints kept in a drawer behind the chair. Most of the modelling tools I use are either in the set of drawers under to bench and to the left or stacked in a tool caddy to the left and within easy arms reach.
I have a DAB radio to the left which is constantly on when I'm down the shed.
The shed is now over twenty three years old and has just had another coat of wood preserver, although I think the window frames may need replacing next year.
My wife calls the shed-at-the-bottom-of-the-garden my TARDIS as time has a habit of moving at a very different rate while I'm sitting at my workbench! "I'm just going down the shed for 5 minutes" - 2 hours later the bell (yes I have a doorbell which Sue can ring to call me in for food or tea) will ring, where I'm told I've been two or three hours.....
Tony
Thank you for all of the gifts.
Tony
My latest Flintloque miniature for the Flintloque/Silver Bayonet cross over project is this Finklestein Ogre Officer - 56017. For more information, see this link.
I have added some scratch built detail and painted him in this pale blue and brown/red trousers scheme for use with my Spanish.
The latest issue of Miniature Wargames (issue 468 from April 2022) has another tutorial written by me showing how I built this 28mm scale Crypt inspired by the film The Lost Command (1966).
The model was built as another piece of terrain for my Flintloque/Silver Bayonet project.
Miniature Wargames is available from most WHSmiths outlets and local model or wargame stores.
This image was taken from the Tabletop Gaming site - see this link.
Tony
Sue picked these magazines up from a charity shop in Evesham. I am not familiar with this title but found that there were a number of interesting articles for me to study.
Apparently there were others, but Sue picked up this limited selection for just 25p each. I have issue 1 and the Third Issue.
I have included the contents page from both magazines for you to see the selection of different articles and authors.
The latest addition to my Flintloque/Silver Bayonet collection of painted figures is this modified Ghoul. The mini is from the Dark Heavens Legends series by Reaper, Garravank the Ghoul King (03388) sculpted by J. Weibe. I replaced the flail with a plastic bone as I felt that this was more in keeping with a SB Ghoul.
The skin tones were built up over a sickly grey flesh mix with drybrushing and washes as well as painting all those pustules.
The final image shows the model alongside a Flintloque RifleOrc for comparison.
This latest post shows all four finished plaques with a simple glue stick shown for size comparison. The largest plaque (top right) is 10.5 inches x 7 inches.
I have added a personalised label to the back of each plaque. Here is an example;
Once again inspiration came from the book DRAGONWORLD by S. A. Caldwell, in fact the claw is a near copy of one of the illustrations - Claws of the Drakon Exhibition. I had planned on modelling the claw from thick plastic card, but in the end the claw was made from MDF, cut out with a jigsaw and shaped with a rasp and my belt sanded before being sanded smooth. The bone area was built up with modelling compound, ready-mixed filler and DAS modelling clay before being painted with various acrylic paints and varnished. The claw is only finished on one side and glued in place with my hot glue gun.
This is the most impressive Dragon's plaque so far - but Sue has instructed me that this will be the last! Once again the boy's loved it.
Tony
Two of the teeth are from the Horrible Histories Dangerous Dinosaur kit, while the third, the Pygmy Forest Dragon's tooth was sculpted from FIMO over a garden stone and then sanded smooth and painted. I've really enjoyed this modelling interlude and I can report that all three plaques have been very well received.
Tony
Once again the models were great fun to make - The Blue Dragon and Swamp Dragon teeth are carved and sanded resin (old resin figures I had in my 'spares box') while the Ice Dragon fang is a stone found on the road side while taking a walk. Then taking inspiration from DRAGONWORLD by S. A. Caldwell I labelled and mounted them on to the home-made plaque.
Tony