Transport skiff

Posted on September 4, 2019 by grumpyoldtin

This model was loosely inspired by a model I saw in the Trash Bash Bits group on Facebook. The original was made from a fly-swatter. It wasn’t quite what I had imagined but it sparked an idea.

The first iteration looked like this.

Standing figure from Moonraker Miniatures and the seated figure is from a batch of “O” Guage model railway figures sourced from eBay.

There were some issues, some of which I addressed in the next iteration.

The next iteration was like this.

Correction required.

Comparison shot of the two. You can see I have added some extra detailing to the cabin roof.

Iteration two with cargo and kitten for scale.

Iteration three will elimate these issues and hopefully be the final model.

Salute 2017

Posted on May 1, 2017 by grumpyoldtin

I would have written this a lot closer to the event, but I was a bit put off by events and didn’t really feel like communicating.
This was to be my fourth visit to the Austrian Salute, my third as a trader.
Plans had been made since Christmas to make and paint a display board. The aim was to win the prize for the best game. i may be crap at sports and generally poor at life but I really wanted to be good at something for once in my life. My wife thought I was bonkers and said that if I applied that much energy into other areas of my life who knows what i might achieve. I have proposed that she teaches me guitar for the next two and half months. It is something I have always wanted to do for a very long time. I actually bought a guitar thirty years ago. So maybe the time is now.
Note: this tuition hasn’t happened.
Two and a half months of feverish building and prevarication and one afternoon of actually playing the game. This seemed to throw up more questions than answers.
I had a t-shirt printed up for Number One Son and made sure the Gameboy had plenty of juice.
n1s
We arrived slightly later than planned which didn’t seem to be a problem as the venue hadn’t quite got it together to open up. Omens of later.
Setting up was slightly difficult as I had both Boys trying to “help” but it did get done.
salute17
I managed to persuade my Son to play, but he only lasted half an hour as the Gameboy was more exciting.
After a very disappointing lunch (sent back for being unappetising after an hour wait and rude and abusive staff) it was back for the afternoon.
In fact the lunch experience spoilt the whole show for me and I wasn’t really in the mood for anything.
On the plus side, I did win best gaming table.

My overall impression was that it was a lot sparser than last year.
A more eloquent view of the show can be found here
http://www.battlebrushstudios.com/2017/03/show-report-austrian-salute-2017.html

Wot i lerned dooing my bord

Posted on February 24, 2017 by grumpyoldtin

I learnt quite a few things actually and most, in hindsight, are pretty bleedin’ obvious. I’m not out of the woods yet, by a long way but I thought I might share these nuggets of wisdom with you.
* Do you have a clear idea of what you want to achieve?
* Make a plan
* Do you have an idea of the budget? Does the project realistically fit this budget?
* Screw the plan up, throw it in the bin and start again
* Tell your Wife/SO you love them
* Does your Wife/SO have any idea about what time, money, mess and swearing the project involves?
* Do you?
* Tell your Wife/SO you love them
* Do you have enough materials at hand to complete the project?
* Go and buy what you need
* NOW!
* Revisit plan
* Check plan
* Set yourself a reasonable timescale breaking down jobs into manageable chunks/milestones
* Start building
* Check plans
* Start swearing
* The razor saw/scalpel/hammer is your friend
* Tell your Wife/SO you love them
* Tidy as you go
* It is better to paint any fiddly or hard to reach parts BEFORE assembly
* Photograph as you go. Somebody may learn from your stupid mistakes.
* As you build you’ll get flashes of inspiration for your next project. Write them down. Do not, repeat, do not start this next amazing project until this one is done and dusted.
* Don’t be afraid to ask for people’s advice on dedicated forums.
It’s what the interweb is for.
Actually it’s for porn (Avenue Q)
Or pictures of kittens
* Speaking of which, if the kitten wants to play either put it out or play with it. You cannot work with kitten.
* When doing closeup touching-up don’t keep the paintbrush in your mouth
* Tell your Wife/SO you love them
* Take your time don’t rush. If that extra detail takes five minutes, take those five minutes. The end result is worth it
* Finished! Now collapse in a heap for five minutes
* Where the photon are you going to store it now?

Rogue Stars Gameboard

Posted on February 22, 2017 by grumpyoldtin

My regular readers will know that I set myself the goal of making a gameboard to run a demo game of Rogue Stars at the Austrian Salute this year. I’ve yet to play it. Here is a progress report.
First off a plan. I wanted to have raised walkways and a twisty-turney town part. My initial plan was a little too ambitious and too large. It was based on a metre by metre board, it was only when I got the rule book that I learnt that the play area was three foot by three foot play area. The idea is that the board can be used for a variety of games so it needs the maximum amount of empty space and the minimum of fixed scenery. I still wanted my twisty-turney streets. So a back wall is used and the scenery only projects about seven centimetres into the play area.
Something else the game uses is tokens. So I knocked out a couple of examples. The wound marker was something I already had and thought I would use.
Here was the first building, the Gatehouse. I would have liked it higher and more imposing, but using steps at one centimetre intervals didn’t allow it. Next time I will make the steps at two centimetres. Maybe.
In all there are three different types of Desert House that I have made for the board. This is one type, the others have either a glass dome on top or stairs up the side. One problem is that they make the wall buildings rather insignificant.
The beginnings of the wall, trying bits out for size.
A view of the wall buildings in situ. There is an edging to the gameboard which I have added extra shapes to suggest some depth.
You can see everything painted up and glued down and work started on the cliffs.
This is an overview where I am working on the positioning of the landing pad and the goods yard.
Work started on the cliffs using my new EBay purchase, a hot wire foam cutter.
Filling in any gaps with “No More Nails” a most excellent product which I haven’t yet sourced over here. If anyone knows what it is called in Austria/Germany I would be most grateful.

I plan to have three different groups of adventurers for the game. This is the first group, the “Star Cops” lead by the redoubtable Captain Robert Smythe. Figures by Pig Iron Productions
http://www.pig-iron-productions.com/
Nice figures and I will certainly be revisiting their ranges.
Cutting the foam to insert a small bridge.
Glueing the roadway together.
One unfortunate effect of painting the roadway was that the card warped. It did straighten a bit when it dried. I shall say that it warped in the hot desert suns.
Here we are at today’s state of play. There are four more stepped houses to make, but as they are loose they are a lower priority. The next job is to glue the roadway down and then apply sand.
More pictures will follow when this project draws closer to completion.