It’s like Christmas in August

I had three orders I’ve been anxiously awaiting. One each from Northstar Miniatures, Wargames Illustrated and Green Stuff World.

They all came today which was both awesome and annoying as I muttered it’s like Christmas in August and the Mrs heard it and proceeded to ask various questions about finances etc. Oops!

Anyhow, one shouldn’t dwell on trivial matters like money. LMAO.

I should start by saying I have a pretty big Wild West collection and have been looking to grab some more. I’ve also been into Rangers of Shadow Deep and think it could be re-skinned to a Wild West setting.

Lastly, slavery was and is bad and the south who fought to keep it were wrong. I purchased the following figures first and foremost for the zombies.

First up is the Artizan Designs, the Risen South box set. Two confederate necromancers and 8 confederate zombies.

Next up is from Dracula’s America. The Dark Confederates boxed set. One Necromancer (evil looking dude in white) 5 ragged confederates and 4 confederate zombies.

Lastly on the Wild West frontier, I picked up three new single figures from Artizan and 5 foot and mounted packs.

From Green Stuff World, I got two packs of barbed wire for my WWI trench boards and some fallen leaves for scenery.

From Wargames Illustrated, I purchased the August issue and a Giants in Miniature figure I plan on leading a future expedition to Mars.

Latest projects

Lots of time since my last post. This year my plans are to continue with my Back or Beyond project and work on my Wild West project. That was it. I’ve maintained pretty good discipline thus far but I did grab 2 Rumbleslam figures and about 40 Spectre/Radio Dish Dash insurgents.

January and February have been busy with non hobby projects. I found a paint/stain hack online and have transformed my golden oak staircase to a more modern dark stained handrail and newel posts and white spindles.

The top picture shows the original colour of the stairs and the new stain.

The bottom picture shows the finished product with the white spindles. 

We also had new carpet laid on the stairs.

Several years ago I had 11 Wild West buildings scratch built by Colin Rush. They are truely works of art. Unfortunately, I’m not able to get any for the time being, so I thought I would try to mimic his style and usedthe excellent guide in The Rules With No Name by Wargames Foundry. 

This is about 1 hour worth of work. I didn’t photocopy the templates so had to measure all the openings which was probably the longest part. I bought a “Stick Cutter” from Kelvin Tools which made cutting the balsa wood super easy.

I used an artist board for the backing and 1/8 thick balsa for the siding. I have some 1/16 thick balsa for the trim. 

I actually cladded the whole bottom piece and about 1/4 of the one on the left. 

These will be two side walls and are for a 2 storey building.

Western Town Redux

A few months ago, I broke out the start of my yet-unnamed Western Town built by the talented Colin Rush, some newly acquired painted Foundry figures and the Legends of The Old West rules for a quick game.

Well, my passion for all things cowboy was re-ignited and I decided to treat myself to some new buildings to expand my set-up.

Below is the second of my three purchases. Detailed posts of each will follow shortly. I plan to post pictures of the other buildings as well.

I ordered the Schmidt General Store. It is truly a beautiful building loaded with detail. When it came to the door, I noticed the box was a little crushed. 

I also had to pay $30.00 for handling. 

I opened the box to find extensive damage to the General Store. Luckily by super glue skills are above par and I fixed all of the damage.

I've included before and after pictures.

Two 2nd floor deck supports are broken.

 

And fixed. Just look at the detail!

The balcony rails have been pushed in and come apart.

And fixed. So much room for figures. And a close up of the flags.

 

A roof strut broke and the framing on the top of the building cracked in three pieces.

Fixed. This was the least of the damage. Maybe a touch of paint to hide the cracks?

Lastly, the stairs to the second level. Thankfully the stairs were pretty solid and just detached from the wall and posts.

That's a long drop down. And the fixed photo below!

Excuse the photos. The lighting in my hobby corner sucks. Anywho, all the damage is repaired. It only took 5-10 minutes.

And I do not blame Colin at all. He packs the boxes very well, stuffing styrofoam popcorn in every crevice, under porches and stairs to ensure minimal movement. Somewhere someone put a much heavier box on mine and crushed it, or kicked it down a hallway. 

Thanks for sticking with me. See you soon!