The Big Lock In

I have been off work for a few days now. I've not got "it" I don't think but I have a cough that wakes the kids up. Not that I am getting to see them as I am currently in "splendid isolation". Still the bench is in good shape and I don't handle boredom well....so....

These have already been strange days for me. I went from working from home for eight years back to the real world of work. Mainly because I was about to become a dad, which I now am. This hasn't allowed as much me time. Until now.

At one point last year I really was getting back into painting and then the job and then the baby came along. No such excuse but good problems to have. In fact, as I am not allowed to go anywhere I have no excuses.

So back to the paint table. There are some figures to paint but I am currently feeling the terrain side of things, with maybe a little bit of figure painting on the side. So I have some post apocalypse stuff in mind.  For years now I have wanted to do some junk fences and, since around 2015, I have really been looking for the bits. Just about have enough now but still feeling the urge to over supply myself. There are a few bits that might make it useful for other things like modern or even sci-fi but they were really aimed to have the end of the world look. There is some junk piles. Always good for dressing up the battlefield. When I was having a tidy up I found some aquarium plants that I got to make trees for 6mm sci-fi in the mid nineties. They are getting incorporated into the junk, the fences and some areas of scrub. Last summer I started working on some mesa type terrain. I hope to get them finished off too. There are some scrap cars (some all out war and some really cheap stuff my mum got me before she died, imagine, still having toys brought for you in your fifties) that need that post apocalypse vibe finishing off. I have been planning a post apocalypse game set in London for a few years now and wanted to do something for that too. I have some ideas for scrap vehicles and thought I might do a scrap tank and a ruined scrap tank too. There are also some toy vehicles that I would like to make a bit more table top friendly. There is also some quasi industrial stuff to do. This is all scratched built but I am aiming for the higher end of scratch built so very little in the way of soup cans and bottle tops. The plan is a real deep  dive into the bits box I have been sat on for thirty years topped off with all the bit I have been acquiring over the last few years.

A long time ago (twenty plus years ago) I wanted to do something a bit more in keeping with more modern 28mm terrain alongside a version of the building that has been post apoclyfied (it is a word, I made it up). If time and the current pre-apocalypse allow, I might get here too.

I am also liking the sci-fi vibe at the moment with X-Com leading the way. I can see some terrain and maybe even some figures being done for that. Some of what I am doing and planning will work across a number of genres. I have been playing X-Com 2 which covers sci-fi and even post apocalypse which works out fine for me. Some of it should also work with the concepts I have for a mecha game.

There are some All Out War minis to finish off which I guess are also post apocalyptic. I was in the very early stages of doing a doom lords Blood Bowl team and there is also a Nurgle team which is just about ready to go. There are a whole load of random stuff on the bench to. There is stuff from twenty years ago from the future wars range by Foundry and some wild west stuff, which may also be foundry or Northstar. On a number of occasions I think I have said that I have finished off all the dark ages stuff. I just found some more so they are going to go into the queue to.

My main interest this year has been the Star Wars Legion game. At some point I would like to give it a go but my main interest was in using them for roleplaying as the only game I am in (was in/on hiatus). I ordered some more yesterday and I have a pile on the table.

There is a lot of stuff going on in the big wide world. Not sure what to do about it in this forum as there is plenty of good information out there. That said Now that I have a reason to pass stuff on to the next generation, maybe I will chose to post some stuff here.

Good Weather Means That I Can Do Something - Spray Painting For X-Com

28mm Cars in Progress

This really is going to be a quick post. I am tired and I need some sleep. As the weather was a little better for much of the day. Well there was no rain at least, for a while anyway. Got to love the British weather. I managed to get some spray painting done on the cars I started in the time that I had. It really did not go as well as I was hoping so I guess that more spray will be needed yet. Still another step closer. The cars are going to need at least another coat of paint.

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I also got round to playing about with the Cyber disc for X-Com. This is a different one which I got gold off the other day. The last one in the shop and was a different colour. I have chopped the lip off and glued the movable shield in place. It has also had a spray undercoat. I know you can't tell but apparently the stuff I got was clear.

Another busy day tomorrow so, given that I feel lousy now, I am not sure what I am going to get done.

Short Term Plans - 28mm Miniatures, RPG, X-Com and Vikings

I have spent a lot of time not doing anything productive. In fairness I have had a lot on. Family and work have taken over for a few days. That said, there is a bit of a mojo problem going on. I do keep doing stuff a bit at a time. I am lacking a bit of focus. I had a plan and I had focus but I kind of lost it. The focus was on the cars but the weather got in the way then there were problems getting the time. I am hoping for a better day tomorrow and I have some masking tape so the cars, as part of X-Com and other projects, might actually get some traction.

There is more than a glimmer of personal interest in the Viking game but I doubt that I will keep this going for long. There are a number of other games I have in mind. The truth is there are a number of games that there would be little problem getting going. I think it's more a question of confidence at the moment.

Generally, I do this blog for my own amusement. I am not a good social networker as well. There is no grand plan for the blog. Sometimes, like today, a bit of feedback would be nice.

Keep It Brief - X-Com And The Cybderdisk

I suppose today is all about little steps. I have felt lousy today. I think (hope) the pain from the lactic acid build up and unexpected exercise from Sunday has reached it's peak. The last time my legs were this painful was when I broke my leg and didn't realise it.

 One thing of note has happened today. I think I have found the model for a cyberdisk for the X-Com Game. What I want is the look of the cyberdisk from the original game but the new game's cyber disk, before it transforms wasn't too bad either. This model will be neither but then none of the other stuff is perfect either. No point being a perfectionist and it is close enough to what I want.

It is actually a £1 eraser from Wilkos in a snazzy plastic cover. So Not quite a Pound Shop find but close enough. I might make a couple of trims to see if I can smooth it out the front end. It might even look better than the original. I also thought of using it as a template for the UFO but I think I will stick with paper templates for them.

Early Post

After not feeling too well, I started having a go at stuff on the workbench again. I am still really just messing around. I did some more pallets out of matches and coffee stirrers. I now have a good pile of the things which supply my immediate needs. I thought I wasn't going to need so many, then I saw a pile of pallets whilst playing X-Com 2 on Thursday.

After

So I got on to do a few more bits. then I had the idea to play around with some of the trucks I got. I showed one of these the other day and I now have three of them. So I decided to do a stretch body with one of them. This required what was on the back of two of them to be chopped up and stuck together to form a longer bed and chopped up the body of one of them so that I could put the wheels in the right place. I am wondering of it should have another set of wheels but too late now.

Then I strengthened the body with coffee stirrers (not my first choice but it was what I could find). Looks a bit odd now but will be unnoticeable when it's painted. The bed was left a little uneven so I thought I should put a bed on them. The plan is to use it as a terrain feature so an even surface for figures to climb on was important. More coffee stirrers and a bit of green stuff and here we are. All it will need is a bit of a finish on the greenstuff when it dries to smooth it off. If there are anymore gaps, the primer will hopefully sort them out.

Befrore

Most immediately this is for the X-Com game. That said, this vehicle should do fine in anything modern or near future, especially zombie related.

Silly Ideas And More Primer

As I was set up to use some primer and the weather was a little bit better this morning, I decided that I might do a bit more. The good weather did not last long and the heavens opened up again so I have come back inside. In previous houses it was possible to do this in the garage, here, not so much unless I want the whole house to smell of primer.

Most of it was just random stuff left in the draws next to the work bench. All sorts of stuff really. Some for X-Com, Frostgrave/Viking game/Skyrim, post-apocalypse, a reaper dragon and even some D+D in the form of some plastic carrion crawlers from a D+D board game I found cheap on a market.

One bit of frivolity though. A relatively time consuming piece of frivolity though. I saw someone online with a painted a Blood Bowl range ruler, throw in template and scatter template online. I have had some gold paint knocking about for years so I figured I would give it a go, So a coat of primer, paint and varnish later, U had this. Nicely dull thanks to the matt varnish.

What I didn't get round to doing was varnishing the figures I already have painted. Probably a good job, I am not sure matt varnish and rain mix well. Maybe another day. Still, I might try and get some painting done.

Pound Shop Find #1

Well in this instance I guess it is not technically a pound shop as what is on display actually cost £4. They are cheap made in China mouldings. I have had better but then never mind the quality feel the width. Some of it is junk. There are a couple of jeeps that I can see no use for at the moment but I might be able to make something usable when I have had time to think. The traffic cones are massively over size. There is even a plastic wheel barrow. I can see this going into the junk box and staying there for a while.

 

The first thing that caught my eye were the lorries. There is very little out there that can be used for articulated lorries. Khurasan do one that is a little bit car wars but there is nothing really suitable for modern.variable but more or less.   

 This is a sporting looking car and I am not really sure what it is doing in a construction set but there you go. The pick up it's next to is from Peter Pig. It looks a little long but the height, which is normally the bigger problem is about okay.

I could see this in a car wars setting. Some of the classic counters don't look too different.  That said I think I am going to take the wheels off and turn it into a Traveller style grav-speeder. One of the 15mm figures have bases which give them a little of a height rise but it kind of works.

I was less sure about these. they are definately out of scale for what they are. The one on the right could be turned into some sort of G truck or maybe a transit style can. The one on the left kind of looks like a candidate for the bits box. Behind it is a skip that came with the set. I have skips from TheScene so suspect that is heading for the bits box too.

I got two mixer trucks for my money. I can see one being dismantled. Next to some older style WW2 vehicles they look a little taller but that is to be expected.

Another articulated lorry. The storage container on the rig is pretty good. It could be detached with a little effort. The set it came from cost a pound so it would still work out cheaper than buying something from a mini manufacturer.

The last of the articulated trucks. I'm not sure what they were thinking in the trailer design team but I guess there is plenty that can be made out of what's here. Compared to the other big trucks I have seen, I'd take these.

Last but not least a couple more trucks. The ecovery truck is an odd construction but I guess it will turn into something if you think about it long enough. For £4 I thought this was a pretty good deal.