Gerry Anderson passes

Earlier this evening I read of the death of Gerry Anderson, the creator of such TV greats as Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet (to name but a few).

These were prescribed watching for me when I was a lad and the thought that yet another icon of my miss-spent youth has passed away has left me feeling a little down.

Rest in Peace and thank you for some fantastic memories.

Tony

Build Something Contest on LAF - a further update

Construction is now finished - over 50 separate pieces have been used, mostly scratch-built to build this entry. I had stated that I would not show images of the finished piece until the contest was up and running, but couldn't resist posting this image. "Can you tell what it is yet?"

The standard of entries so far is truly epic. Check them out here. My entry is small, just 110 mm x 80mm and 60mm tall but is something that I have wanted to build for some time. Now it is time to start painting.

I enjoy these contests as they prompt me to build something, something that I might otherwise have left on the drawing board. This small scenic base will be part of my Flintloque collection - particularly a Bog Orc terrain piece - Those Bog Orcs are always up to something!

Further updates may come - but then again, I might wait until the contest start date - sometime in January 2013.

Merry Christmas

Tony

RAGNAROK 59

Regular readers and followers of this Blog will know that earlier this year I joined The Society of Fantasy and Science Fiction Wargamers (SFSFW). I have been a regular purchaser of the societies magazine Ragnarok, and even had an article published, but had never joined as a full member.

All this changed when I read some comments on the Flintloque inspired Yahoo site - The Notables, (see this link for more details). Then yesterday I received my first issue of Ragnarok as a member - issue 59 for Winter 2012 through the post.

I will admit that I was a little disappointed - as I read it all from cover to cover in one evening - I would have liked it to have been bigger, with more pages, more articles, more images, but those that were included were great fun to read and have already given me a great deal of inspiration and ideas for future games.

Of note were two articles that I thought were very well written and full of intriguing scenario ideas. the first was Aftermath, written by Alan Patterson and covers a multi-player Fantasy game that takes place immediately after a huge battle. The tailored race or objective orders were very well written and I feel would lead to a very good interactive game. The Barbarian orders of Follow Ox (Ox being a giant), were particularly intriguing.

The second article called Fall of the Goblin Empire was the winning entry from a SFSFW contest and was written by Mark Caldwell. The rules set Goblin against Goblin but with a twist - The battles took place as aerial engagements, Balloons, Dragons, Gliders, Rockets etc. I can think of nothing more haphazard than a Goblin in a flying machine, a guarantee of fun and chaos. I thought the nine pages of rules were simple, but effective and great fun to read - for example each race was given different states of mind - the Halflings had three, they are Smokin, Drinkin, Sleepin, well done Mark.

Other articles covered Star Trek, Aeronef, Kill Zone and Traveller as well as a Every World Needs a Hero (Superhero gaming) and a look at the works of Cordwainer Smith.

Steve Bleese (editor for a third time) has a plea on page one - asking for additional members and articles, are you up for it? Can you join or supply content? Details of how to join SFSFW can be found here.

Tony

Build Something Contest on LAF - an update

The small terrain piece is moving along - this image shows the modified barrel, a Grand Manner resin casting that has been hollowed-out. I used a 3mm drill in my Dremel and then a boring bit to give the impression of an open barrel. The barrel is mounted on to a plastic card wooden pallet.

Here are some of the 'clutter' pieces that will be added to the finished piece. They come from a variety of manufacturers with most being modified in some way.

Finally for this post - something I have not used. Can you guess what it is yet?

Details of this contest can be found here and my first post here. Stay tuned for more updates.

Tony

Look what I've won!

Upon checking my e-mails yesterday afternoon, I read that I am the very lucky winner of a bench mounted air vent - The Exagon R.

The competition was easy - just show us your Workspace. For details go to this post.

I will write a full review once I have it fitted-up. For some time my Wife has been saying that I need some sort of vent in the-shed-at-the-bottom-of-the-garden, Father Christmas has come early for me.

Thanks to Bench Vent for the prize. For further details go to this link

Tony

Update 19th December 2012
The Bench vent arrived this afternoon. It took just 10 minutes to fit it together and then plug it in for a test run. It is quite a machine and I look forward to giving it a proper test later this month.

A Quartet of Goblins. Another Advent Calendar On-Line Build

Day 13 of the 2012 Advent Calendar from Orcs in the Webbe and another On-Line Build written by me, a second group of Goblins.....

A Quartet of Al-Garvey Goblin Cacadores. For full details of the tutorial/article go to this link.  For details of the earlier Goblin Painting Masterclass go to this link.

The Goblins were originally painted up for a planned Barking Irons/Orcs in the Webbe article by Craig Andrews to link with the re-release of The Bridge on the River Que, this image shows all 12 Goblin Cacadores in a scenic setting scouting alongside the River Duo.

It would be boastful to say that this Advent Calendar is the best so far (having four articles in this years advent), however this really has been a great Advent, and still twelve days to go. Thank you Craig.

Tony

Fine Sand for modelling

I recently found this small ornament in a local Charity Shop, a Glass Bell filled with coloured sand. I use this fine sand to texture models, mixing it with either Acrylic Medium or uPVA glue and painting it over plain plastic card or card. You can also mix it-in with Polyfilla to add some surface texture.

The Glass Bell cost just 99p and after breaking the glue seal at the top of the bell I was able to remove all of the fine sand.  The sand has the texture or consistency of fine salt or caster sugar.

The sand has been spread out on to a piece of plain paper to show the fine grains. The lumps will disappear when shaken.

You do not need much when modelling as I also mix it with coarser grained sand. This small plastic container will last for ages.

It is possible to buy a similar product used by children to make coloured sand pictures, you apply the sand over a thin layer of craft glue. However this source is much cheaper.

Tony