Ivor the Engine

Another new board game - this time Ivor the Engine by Tony Boydell. This was the first time Sue and I had played this boxed game and I have to report mixed opinions.

Gary and Holly (who had played before) were very positive, Sue and I (first timers) were a little less so. I found that the first few turns were confusing, but things did get better towards the end when I was getting the hang of the turn sequence and picking up stray sheep. In the end a reserved welcome and possibly this is a game that you have to play a couple of times before you can fully pick it up.

I will add that production values were top notch and the value for money very good.

Further details can be found here.

Tony

Wooden Clothes Pegs

Sue and I were visiting Bewdley, a small riverside town in Worcester last week when I saw a pack of 36 old fashioned wooden clothes pegs for sale for just 99p. I had been looking out for a pack for some time as my own supply had dwindled quite a bit over the years. What do you use those for? I hear you ask.....

Well they have many uses;

1 - The obvious is holding things together while glue sets - I can remember old Airfix Magazine articles stating the usefulness of these simple clamps as aids while scratch-building and even today their use in holding plastic kits together while the glue dries is as relevant as it has always been.

2 - Holding illustrations or sketches up while modelling. I like to have my inspirational images on display as I'm working on new projects. Usually the sketch is pegged to my overhead lamp.

3 - Lately I have used clothes pegs as grips while sculpting. If you need a bit more 'bite' just add a rubber band around the claws and you can hold your sculpted pieces with ease.

4 - Figure holders while painting or in my case while varnishing. I find that a simple wooden clothes peg either as it comes or with a large wooden lollipop stick glued on the top gives me a great figure holder (with the figure either glued in place with a tiny drop of glue from my hot-glue gun or just plain Blu tac).

The clip means that you can clip them to a spare piece of cardboard while waiting for the paint/varnish to dry.

Do you have a simple low-cost hint or tool that you could share?

Tony

An Industrial Narrow Gauge Adventure - the layout part nine

At long last, the Salt Pan base is fully clad. I have used brick slips from an e-bay supplier called Minaco-streamline101. The slips are intended for 1:24th scale dolls houses and so I had to trim each individual brick by about 2mm to get a correct 1:27.7 scale brick.

The black/dark grey bricks were standard red bricks painted with acrylic paints. The wooden clad area to the lower, front right was modelled from green foam and the filled arch to the right side was modelled with DAS modelling clay over PVA glue and painted with acrylics.

The roughly made wooden door and support were modelled from more green foam and detailed with both plastic card and plastic rod.

The brick slips were a real pain to apply one-at-a-time and in truth, I'm not that impressed with them. They still look a little 'toy like' to me.

Tony

IPMS Scale Model World Telford - just one week to go

Just one week to go to the IPMS Scale Model World Show. For full details see this link.

My plan is to be there on the Sunday.

Tony

An Industrial Narrow Gauge Adventure - the layout part eight

Adding the brick slips is a slow and mind-numbing task, each one is first cut to size (removing about 2mm from the length) then glued in place over PVA glue and fine filler. The arched bricks have been painted black/grey as the original Lion Salt Pan (see earlier post).

The large wooden beam or support across the front was first cut from a strip of Green Foam, then textured with the blade of a razorsaw. I then added some more wood grain by carving with a scalpel and brushing with a wire brush before glueing extensions to the sides and painting black/grey. The beam was glued in place with superglue.

The smaller arch to the left was filled with more brick slips, the larger arch to the right was modelled from Green Foam carved into vertical wooden planks and painted dark brown/grey while the large arch to the side was filled with DAS modelling clay. Then back to adding the brick slips one-by-one.

Tony

Orcs in the Webbe Advent Calendar 2016

Following closely on the heels of yesterdays Blog post, Craig Andrews of Orcs in the Webbe has uploaded all of the 2016 Advent Calendar to the site, for full details follow this link.

I should also add that Craig will be looking for content for the 2017 Advent Calendar soon. If you are interested in supplying a story or scenario, follow the links to Orcs in the Webbe.

Obviously I will be supplying at least one story for the 2017 Advent and look forward to seeing what Craig has to offer.

Tony

Q. What is the Orcs in the Webbe Advent Calendar?

A. 25 daily updates in the run up to Christmas offering a free article, story or scenario for the featured games of Flintloque, Pax Bochemannica and Panzerfauste each day.

The Cursed Snuffbox - a tale for All Hallows Eve

Image 'borrowed' from OITW site

It has become something of a tradition for me to write a short story for All Hallows Eve and Craig Andrews to include it on his Orcs In The Webbe site. 2017 is no exception and I present my latest Flintloque inspired short story - The Cursed Snuffbox.

For full details see this link.

Last years story - Dead Birds Don't Lie can be found here.

I hope you enjoy this bit of fun.

Tony