Emperor Karl Franz Orders You to Buy!

Well, the first army that my sons and I decided on was the Empire.

They have lots of neat infantry, knights, cannons, and steam tanks! Plus, I already had a couple of things from many, many years ago. Namely, a Great Cannon and the War Wagon. Now, the cannon lost its crew somewhere along the way, so I had to buy two of them off eBay. But the War Wagon is complete. Just needs to be reassembled and repainted. The old paint job leaves a LOT to be desired. But then, that was 18 years ago.

So, this week, I have ordered:

• 2x crewmen for the cannon
• 8x knightly orders (plastic box set)
• 1x Burning Sun Grandmaster
• 1x Burning Sun Standard Bearer
• 1x Reiksguard Hero (mounted)
• 1x Light Wizard
• 1x Acolyte
• 17 x Halberdiers (plastic)
• 18x Swordsmen (plastic)
• 9x Handgunners (plastic)
• 1x Engineer
• 3x Reiksguard (foot) - a command set
• 6x Knights of White Wolf
• 1x Mounted Warrior Priest of Ulric

I suppose I need to get painting. Fast. I need an Army Book, too, if anyone has one they don't want, let me know. So far, I'm into this for $158.46. Not including shipping for some of them.

-J

Project List Updated

Two posts in two days! Amazing!

So, nothing much today. I updated my Current Projects listing. A few comments regarding that:

I abandoned the plastic pre-cast rivers project. I decided they looked nice, but were too much work overall. I got about half or three-quarters done with them, but will not be finishing. Anyone wanting them can have them for shipping costs. Let me know (email is probably best).

Quite a few projects have been finished. They are marked "DONE!"

A few new projects have been added, as well. These include Martian Canals, Resin Rivers, an Ethership Field (on Mars) and a Mine Entrance (also on Mars). I was thinking of casting the canals for fun and profit. Anyone interested?

On a final note, having done a lot of re-organizing of my gaming space and looking over all of the stuff I have, I am thinking I need to get to work on more projects! With the newly cleared area available to work again, I think (hope, pray) you should see more activity in that regards and on this blog as a result.

For those of you who have remained with me through the dry spell, thanks. I hope you find some interesting new content here in the coming weeks and months.

-J

RTV Purchased

   I bought this past weekend the first RTV I have ever had.

   For those of you who don't already know, RTV stands for Room Temperature Vulcanizing. It's a silicone rubber material used to make molds for casting resin, plaster, etc. It generally can NOT be used for lead - the temperature is too high, melting the mold. I believe there are some types that can handle the high heat, though.

   What I got was a Smooth-On product, called OOMO 30, IIRC. It mixes in equal parts by volume (easy!). I have read good things about it on the internet, at TMP and other places. Found it at a local art supply store.

   So, obviously, the plan is to sculpt up some items, make molds, and get to casting. Some of these things will be scenics related, so I thought I would mention it here. Specifically, I want to create some doors and windows to be attached to buildings, in both 15mm and 25mm scales. It is a pain to try and scratch build them each time, so I am going to try and create some good masters to cast from. Might make some railings, chimneys and such, too. Start simple before trying something ambitious.

   Anyway, wish me luck. I have a nasty feeling I am gonna need it. When I get a space cleared to work on it, I'll get to work. Hopefully, pictures and such will be involved as well.

Toys in Post, Warning of Heresy

   Friends, I have what most of us would call good news, and what many might consider grave news.

   Good news first: I have gotten more toys in via the post office! Received today were:

• 15mm Japanese, painted (16 cavalry, 2 guns, 4 crew, and 17 infantry). Rebase these fellas and find them some command, and we're ready for Japanese Imperial troops on Mars.
• Hydra Miniatures' Warbot Destroyer.
• Miniaturicum Paint Rack (via Hydra)
• Picquet Main Rules, 2 ed.

   The grave news is that my sons have expressed a desire to play (shudder!) Warhammer Fantasy Battle! Not surprising, as it does tend to appeal to younger players more than historicals do. So, I've been buying more GW stuff. Empire and Lizardmen mostly, as we have a friend with Orks and Gobbos, Dark Elves, and Chaos Beastmen. Luckily, I have some old Empire stuff (a cannon and a war wagon) and a goodly number of skinks and saurus, plus a stegadon. Plus, both are available rather cheap right now.

Goals for February 2010

As part of my ongoing commitment to getting a dent in the lead pile (which grows daily, somehow, even though I have sold off things and traded away others), I am trying to set achievabel goals to complete each month. Some of the things I will do are projects already started but never actually finished. Some are totally new.

Without further ado, the list for February:

• Finish current vessels for Republic of Venice's Aeronef fleet (need some more ships)
• Finish ten Hydra Miniatures Vardu sprout warriors
• Finish projects from January that are undone
• Repaint on old edition of GW Skink Stegadon for Venus
• Ten 28mm Copplestone German Marines as Atherbattalion
• Armorcast Gothic Laboratory Power Generator

It's a short month this month, so I think that's a good amount. Wish me luck!