Category: Musings

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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This weeks miniature is another Foot Sergeant from the Baron’s War range and alI I had time to get done this week.  The shield design is known as a “Party Per Pal” and is a first for me.  I rather like the three colour mix so may well do this design again at some point but with different colours.

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Well It Made Me Laugh

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WordPress Stats

On a monthly basis I check my stats with particular attention to the countries which have viewed my blog.  As I’ve mentioned before I get a buzz seeing where my blog has been viewed even if it is only one view and the likely result of an accident.  On the positive side I’m pleased to report Estonia, a lovely country I visited briefly a few years ago, has now been added to my list.  On the negative side I noticed that my other stats have seen a steady decline. 

I’m not entirely sure why my figures have fallen as there could of course be numerous reasons.  Blog content could be one of course but the slow downward trend has been over many months and coincides with the ending of lockdown in the UK.  There is no doubt that my stats peaked during lockdown and now it very much looks like they are returning to normal. 

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IPMS Scale Model World Telford

IPMS announced a while ago that they would make a decision on whether or not the Telford show would go ahead at the end of August.  They have been true to their word and I was delighted to learn that the show is confirmed to go ahead in November.   More details will be released in due course and doubtless there will be some inevitable changes due to Covid.  The wearing of masks and the need to produce a Covid passport to gain entry are likely I would imagine and it remains to be seen just how many overseas visitors, traders and exhibitors attend.  For now though all I can do is keep my fingers crossed and hope things don’t get worse than they are and the show can go  on. 🤞 

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Give Me Five

This week I thought I’d take a look at disaster movies.  To some extent this is a very wide genre so I chose to restrict it to films which were either based on real events or had a “realistic” feel to them rather than, say, being Science Fiction based.  In no particular order I came up with the following five. 

1. Apollo 13 (1995)
2. Titanic (1997)
3. The Towering Inferno (1974)
4. The Perfect Storm (2000)
5. Twister (1996)

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This week TIM has been listening to …

“Too Late for Goodbyes” by Julian Lennon.  I have just finished reading “John”, a book written by Cynthia Lennon, his first wife, which my brother passed on to my mum who in turn passed it to me.  An excellent read and quite an insight to the legend which is John Lennon and the early days of the Beatles.  His son Julian had a pretty tough time and knowing he later produced a couple of albums of his own I checked out a few tracks on YouTube.  Years since I had heard this and I’d forgotten just how much he looked like his dad.  Spooky.

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This week TIM has been watching …

“Erin Brockervich” starring Julia Roberts.  This film came out in 2000 and completely passed me by.  It popped up on a list of must see films so I thought I’d give it a watch, especially as it is based on a true story.  All in all an excellent film and glad I sat down to see it.

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Remember …

The phrase “Don’t take this the wrong way” has a zero percent success rate.

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TIM

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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This weeks miniature is another 28mm Footsore Baron’s War foot knight. 

I found a image online of a couple of snakes entwined around a flame and thought it would look quite cool on a shield so I thought I’d give it a go.  Not sure it scores points for authenticity but it was fun to try and do and didn’t come out looking to bad. 

Having been originally determined to make my knights authentic I’ve started to move towards doing my own thing a bit more often.  Does it matter?  Nah!  It’s All good fun and for a change I thought I’d paint some hoops on the tabard.

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Well It Made Me Laugh

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BBC Gaming Articles 

By chance I came across an article on the BBC News Internet app which was interesting and led to a couple more articles which I checked out.  All the links are very short but worth taking a look at.  The first is about lockdown gaming and the therapy it provided.  The second and third are short video’s.  The second focuses on the revival of gaming and is set in Games Workshop HQ Nottingham and the third is about the creation of Games Workshop.     

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-57996237

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-44255287

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-43518477

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Give Me Five

I do Iove a film which contains a surprise or an element of mystery.  The downside of course is they are best first time around although that doesn’t mean they can’t be watched again.  All in all there are a lot of films which are able to meet this criteria but my five short list, in no particular order, is as follows:

1. Gone Girl (2014)
2. The Girl on the Train (2016)
3. Prestige (2006)
4. The Sixth Sense (1999)
5. Seven (1995)

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Footsore Miniatures

Mark Farr who runs Footsore Miniatures produces a weekly newsletter which is emailed to those who choose to subscribe, myself included.  In each newsletter Mark includes a “Community Spotlight” highlighting the work produced by people who have caught his eye and one source for this is the Baron’s War Facebook group which I have begun to post weekly to.

Reading through the newsletter I was very pleasantly surprised to read the following written by Mark under the Community Spotlight section which also included a couple of photographs.

“I spotted this too late for last week’s newsletter so here it is this week. David Green has shared some pictures in the Barons’ War. The freehand on the shield is especially skilled, mine would look like roadkill”. 

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This week TIM has been listening to …

“Morning Glory” by Oasis.  I always considered the Gallaghers to be a right pair of nobs and to be honest nothing I’ve seen, read or heard about them has changed my mind.  Quite how they came up with some great music and a couple of excellent albums I’ll never know.  Just one of life’s mysteries I guess.

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This week TIM has been watching …

“Man Of Steel” starring Henry Cavill as Superman.  On the positive side I guess it’s fair to say the special effects are OK but alas I don’t have much else to add.  The story line was all over the place as far as I’m concerned and I found Henry Cavill unconvincing in the role.  For me the 1978 film “Superman” starring Christopher Reeve, Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman was a far better film and hit all the right notes for a comic book production.

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Remember …

Don’t believe everything you read in public toilets.  It’s highly likely that Sharon isn’t up for a good time and that it will lead to an awkward phone call.

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TIM

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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This weeks miniature is another double act.  For some reason I’ve tended to overlook the Footsore Baron’s War crossbowmen.  No particular reason for doing so but I thought I ought to address the imbalance.  Some of the figures have crossbows cast with the figure while for others the weapon is seperate and needs fixing in place.  In this instance we have one of each.  I kept the painting simple on both figures but will see what I can do with the others to pimp them up a bit, maybe add some stripes. 

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Well It Made Me Laugh

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The Knights On TIM’s Modelling Table

According to my rough calculations I’ve now done 5 mounted knights and over 40 foot figures.  Somehow I thought I had done more but I reckon that must have just been wishful thinking.  That means I’m left with about 14 mounted figures and 60 or so foot figures still to do.  I think I’ll count them up again just to make sure I’ve got it right.  

My aim was to get them all done before the third Footsore Baron’s War kickstarter is released at the end of September.  To be honest it is looking unlikely.  Come September I also aim to start on my next big (for me) diorama.  One way or another it looks like I have my work cut out.  To be fair it’s not a race, simply self imposed timescales to keep me motivated and as I am far from bored yet (you might be but I’m not!) I have no problem extending my deadlines.  

A display base remains a concern but I’m in no rush to resolve the issue.  Although the movement trays arrived and were fine I’m having second thoughts about using them.  For expediency I might look at buying some sort of mat instead.  I can’t say I’m struck on that idea either so I’ll continue to give the matter more thought.

Looks like I’ll have to use SWMBO’s green table cloth for a group shot for now at least.   

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Give Me Five

I do like Romantic Comedy, not least of all because they make for some good family viewing.  It’s also a well represented genre and therefore gave rise once again to some difficult choices.  In the end I settled on these five.  In no particular order:

1. Annie Hall (1977)
2. Groundhog Day (1993)
3. Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
4. When Harry Met Sally (1989)
5. Serendipity (2001)

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This week TIM has been listening to …

“Gimme All Your Lovin'” by ZZ Top.  I was in the mood for something a bit louder and settled on ZZ Top.  This is a great track with a great intro and the video features a great car and great girls.  What’s not to like?

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This week TIM has been watching …

“The Tudors”, a Channel 4 series which I am watching via catch up online.  There are four series in all making up 40 episodes in total and I’m near the end of series 3.  I’ve no idea how factually correct it is, I’ll assume it’s 50:50 but I’m finding it a good watch. 

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Remember …

If it wasn’t for Thomas Edison we would all be watching television in the dark.

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TIM

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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This weeks miniature is one I originally received free from Footsore because I placed a qualifying order for Baron’s War figures above a certain amount.  I then got another one with a further order and that one is still in the to do pile.  At the time the figure was not part of a particular pack but it has since been released in a three figure pack entitled “Veteran Sergeant Group”.  In that pack the figure has also been given a shield.  As shields can be bought separately I may add one at a later date or simply buy the three figure pack as one of the other figures is particularly cool. 

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Well It Made Me Laugh

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TIM World

As I have mentioned on previous occasions I don’t get to excited about my WordPress statistics, not least of all because they are far from impressive, but I do get a kick from seeing where my humble little blog gets viewed.  whilst I am sure most people simply stumble across my blog having been searching for something else entirely the fact remains it was viewed all the same, even if only once!  So, whilst I have not gained a new follower I am pleased to report that I am now big in Jordan, which is to say I have a single view which is good enough to take my country total to 86.

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Give Me Five

This week I took a took at Monster Movies.  There were far more in this genre than I imagined and once again I could have come up with a top ten quite easily.  In the end I needed to make a self imposed choice and decided to go with films I have seen loads of times and could easily sit down and watch again and again.  So much so that I think I’m going to have a Monsterthon and watch all of these back to back very soon.  In no particular order:

1. Jurassic Park (1993)
2. The Thing (1982)
3. King Kong (2005)
4. Jaws (1975)
5. An American Wherewolf In London (1981)

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This week TIM has been listening to …

“Praire Rose” by Roxy Music.  It’s been a while since I listened to my Roxy Music albums and I’ve promised myself to work my way through them again as they are one of my very favourite bands.  Accordingly you can expect more of them in future posts.  There was also something attractive about their album covers too.

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This week TIM has been watching …

“Deadwater Fell” a mini series on Channel 4 starring Daveid Tennant.  I found this one watchable but predictable.  I think I need to change genres for a while.

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Remember …

There is a big difference between a guy and a girl saying “I went through an entire box of tissues during that movie”. 

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TIM

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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This weeks miniature is a single knight and not one based on a real character.   The aim here was to experiment with some more freehand painting and I settled on the idea of a rearing horse.  The head isn’t quite right but given the actual scale of the figure and the size of the shield I think I can just about get away with it for a first attempt.  The positioning ended up being a little off centre which I didn’t like either, leaving the top right hand corner a little bare so I added a cross which again kind of works.

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Well It Made Me Laugh

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The Knights On TIM’s Modelling Table

With a reasonable number of figures now painted (I need to do a proper count but it must be close to 40 or so) it’s time to give more consideration to how I will display my army.  Getting my head around this will also enable me to start taking some larger group photo’s too.  Well that’s the plan anyway!

I have a few ideas circulating in my brain but have yet to fully decide on what to do.  I do know that I want to keep it very simple.  The figures are unlikely to be on display at home, the usual issue of space, but I would like to take them to the occasional show.  There are two things I am clear about though.  The base is not intended to be a diorama, I don’t want to distract from the figures themselves, and it will need to built around movement trays so the figures can be easily placed.  With the latter in mind I ordered some movement trays to experiment with.  Hopefully they will arrive in a few days and then I can play around a bit.

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Taking Photo’s 

I came across this article on the BBC website (link below) and thought I would share it.  When it comes to taking Photo’s of my figures I really need to up my game.  It’s certainly an area where I would be happy to invest more time.  If I only had more of it!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ukuk-england-dorset-58015659

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The Beatles – When I’m 64 (Lennon and McCartney) 

Give Me Five

This week I thought I’d take a look at the “Spy” genre and within it my favourite films.  To some extent it would have been easy to just list most of the Bond movies but there are plenty of other good films out there.  My short list in no particular order is:

1. Casino Royale (2006)
2. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
3. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)
4. Eye of the Needle (1981)
5. The Bourne Identity (2002)

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This week TIM has been listening to …

“She Drives Me Crazy” by the Fine Young Cannibals.  It’s been a while since I listened to this band and this particular track.  Not sure why that is but I reckon it has a lot to do with the fact that it reminds me of She Who Must Be Obeyed!

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This week TIM has been watching …

“The Accident” a four part mini series I discovered on Channel 4 and another one based in Wales.  I’m beginning to think that Wales is a dangerous place to visit.  Not a bad series and worth a watch I’d say.  Most things with Sarah Lancashire in usually are.

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Remember …

Women always have the last word in an argument.  Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

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TIM

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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This weeks miniature is not one but two figures again.  As planned I manged to complete the two remaining figures which comprise Spearman Pack No: 1 of the Footsore Baron’s War range.  As well as images of the two figures I’ve also added a group shot of the four.  As facial expressions go l think the sculpt for the first little chap is spot on for the pose.

Still plenty more to paint and I’m growing conscious of the need for some sort of group shot of those I’ve painted to date.  I’ve still not got my head around how to do this.  Ideally I’d like to do some sort of base but right now I don’t want to take my eye off of painting so I might just have to go with a green table cloth if SWMBO has one I can use without moaning!

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Well It Made Me Laugh

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Give Me Five

This week I decided to focus on Super Hero films.  The problem with this genre is there are several films involving the same super hero and various remakes which take advantage of better special effects.  I decided to simply base my top 5 on those films I enjoyed the most.  Clearly I haven’t enjoyed much since 2010!  In no particular order:

1. Superman (1978)
2. Batman (1989)
3. Kick-Ass (2010)
4. The Dark Knight (2008)
5. Spiderman (2002)

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Model Club

Last Monday I attended my first model club meeting in over 18 months.  It was good to meet up with some familiar faces and enjoy some nerdy conversation for an hour and a half.  It will take a while for somethings to return to normal, particularly with regard to attending and participating in shows.  Although restrictions have been greatly relaxed in the UK it takes a good while for such events to be organised and arranged.  That said the calendar does now have a couple of events on it and fingers are crossed that this November will see the return of Telford in particular.

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This week TIM has been listening to …

“Pour Some Sugar On Me” by Def Leppard.  Thought I’d go for this remix version, something about it caught my eye. 😉

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This week TIM has been watching …

“Vanilla Sky” starring Tom Cruise.  I like Tom Cruise (we could be twins) and thought I’d seen just about all of his films but this one l never managed to get around to watching for whatever reason.  Truth be told I wish I hadn’t bothered.  Great cast but far to confusing for this old brain of mine.  With hindsight I should have seen it 20 years ago, then I might have made a lot more sense of it.

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Remember …

It’s only appropriate to say “My, aren’t you big?” to children, adults tend to get offended.

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TIM

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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This weeks miniature is yet again another figure double, I’m on a roll!  In fairness these are a lot easier to churn out than the knights.  The lack of a shield keeps these figures much more simple.  It’s not that they are that much quicker to paint because they have faces to be done but I don’t have to spend time wondering what heraldry to do.  These two Baron’s War figures are from the “Spearmen No: 1” pack and I’m hoping I’ll get the other two done next week.  If I do, and if I manage to remember, I’ll also do a group photo of the four of them.  I also need to get my head around a larger group shot too, in particular what to use as a base and a backdrop.

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Well It Made Me Laugh

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Give Me Five

I’m not sure just how many films feature in this genre compared to topics of previous weeks but I decided to consider my top five musical bio films.  I still found myself leaving out a couple of excellent movies though!  In no particular order I listed the following five.

1. Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen)
2. The Glenn Miller Story
3. Nowhere Boy (John Lennon)
4. The Buddy Holly Story
5. Backbeat (The Beatles)

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Model Club

After what seems like forever the Plymouth Model Club will be meeting for the first time next Monday.  Lockdown restrictions have been lifted to allow for this to happen although common sense precautions will be in place.  It will feel strange meeting up after such a long time and it will be interesting to see what members return.  Who knows, membership may even increase due to the growing interest in the hobby as a result of Covid.  It’s even starting to look like some shows will now take place too.  I’ll let you know how it goes.    

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This week TIM has been listening to …

“Go Solo” by Tom Rosenthal.  My brother put me on to this guy a little while ago and slowly his music is growing on me.  I think it helps that this track has been taken by Renault for a UK TV advert and as such it’s exposure has grown.  A nice slow track with touching lyrics.  I can be sentimental at times! 

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This week TIM has been watching …

“The Inbetweeners Movie”.  Like Marmite there is no half way house with The Inbetweeners, you either love it or you hate.  Personally I love it.  Watching series one to three of The Inbetweeners, along with the first movie, followed by Ricky Gervais in the “The Office” would, together, pretty much make up up 80% of my life before I retired.  Sad but true. 

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Remember …

If you see someone wearing camouflage make sure to walk straight into them to show its working.

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TIM

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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This weeks miniature is yet another double act.  Not sure how much longer I’m going to be able to keep it up for but a change in weather meant outdoor jobs and other life inhibitors were put on the back burner and as such I was able to dedicate more time to painting.  As a consequence I decided to press on with getting the two remaining “Foot Sergeants with Hand Weapons” done so I could complete pack 1 and also take a couple of group photos. 

The shield design for the first figure is called a “Per Pile” while the design for the second shield is a “Bend”.  Nothing difficult but the variety of design will help to make each figure different once the eventual army is all grouped together.

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Well It Made Me Laugh

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Give Me Five

This week I thought I’d take a look at Gangster Movies.  Another genre with plenty to choose from and as a consequence a few good films left out along the way.  After some consideration I short listed the following in no particular order.

1. The Godfather Trilogy – (OK I know that’s three!)
2. The Untouchables
3. Goodfellas
4. Miller’s Crossing
5. The Long Good Friday

Footnote – of late I’ve started to struggle to keep this article going, time as ever being the biggest problem.  If any of you have any thoughts on future topics of any description or genre please feel free to comment below. 🙂 

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This week TIM has been listening to …

“Freelove Highway” by Ricky Gervais aka David Brent.  Can’t believe it was 20 years ago that The Office first aired on the BBC.  The series was not everyone’s cup of tea but having worked in an office all my life the level of accuracy and character portayls were simply amazing and so cringe worthy!  Loved every minute.  Must break out the box set once again!

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This week TIM has been watching …

“The White Queen” starring a very hot Rebecca Furguson (Mission Impossible; The Greatest Showman) and Eleanor Tomlinson, the stunning female lead in Poldark.  Based on the book by Phillippa Gregory it’s a great drama.  I’ve watched the box set a couple of times before and will doubtless watch it again in the future. 

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Remember …

Without freedom of speech we would never know who the idiots are.

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TIM

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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This weeks miniature is in fact another double act and no prises for guessing they are both Baron’s War figures (are you bored yet?).  First up we have a foot Sergeant from the “Foot Sergeants with Hand Weapons Pack 1” followed by a cossbowman from “Crossbowmen Pack 1”.  Both nicely composed figures which I’m happy to add the my expanding army.  At some point I must do a count up of just how many I’ve now done.  Whilst the figure will be encouraging it will still fall well short of even half way.  For now though, and with the limited time I have available these days, the figures are filling a need and keeping my painting level up.  The summer will come to an end soon enough and then it will be time to mix things up a bit.

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Well It Made Me Laugh

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Give Me Five

One of the things which intreagues me is people’s surnames.  My own surname is Green, derived perhaps from a family which once might have resided near the village green.  Some surnames recognise trades such as Baker or Butcher while others reflect a family member, for example, Jack’s son giving rise to Jackson.  Simple actions and occupations often lead to names which stick and are handed down through the generations.  I’m sure you get the idea but some names make me curious.  All I’ll say is I’m glad my surname is what it is but what exactly were these people once up to? 

1. Lillycrap
2. Rogers
3. Woodcock
4. Blewitt
5. Windass

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This week TIM has been listening to …

“Victim of Love” but Erasure.  I seem to have found my self indulging in another decade of late and as such YouTube has throwing some memorable tunes at me of which this is one of my favourites.

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This week TIM has been watching …

“Timeline – The Victoria Cross” – Narrated by Jeremy Clarkson.  My brother brought this documentary to my attention and I’m glad he did.  If you haven’t seen it then it is well worth a watch to learn about some truly remarkable people.  Even though Clarkson is like Marmite to some (I like Marmite) don’t let that put you off, his narration is terrific.   

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Remember …

There is no better feeling than someone playing with your hair or running their fingers down your back.  Unless you thought you were alone.

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TIM

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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This week saw two more archers done and with it the completion of Archers Pack 1.  Two more archer packs to go based on a quick glance of the to do pile.  Still progressing well but more impressively I’m managing to maintain my discipline with the project.  Although I’m confident of getting all the figures painted, albeit not for a while, the real challenge is not deviating along the way. So far so good but I’m sure a couple of unrelated figures have been winking at me!

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Well It Made Me Laugh

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Give Me Five

This week I got to thinking about cars in movies, particulalry vehicles which have become iconic.  Unsurprisingly there are quite a lot, more than I had anticipated in fact.  Needless to say opinion will be divided as I have left out some great vehicles but my top five, in no particular order, are as follows:

1. 1964 Aston Martin DB5 (James Bond, Goldfinger)
2. 1963 Herbie, VW Beetle (The Love Bug)
3. 1961 Ferrari California Spyder (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off)
4. 1968 Ford Mustang Fightback (Steve McQueen, Bullitt)
5. 1981 DeLorean (Back to the Future)

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This week TIM has been listening to …

“Don’t Leave Me This Way” by The Communards.  An excellent 1980’s cover version of a 1970’s classic.  I love this version.

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This week TIM has been watching …

“Salmon Fishing In The Yemen” starring Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt.  A quirky little film which came out ten years ago but caught my attention this week.  Easy going and very enjoyable and not what I was expecting.

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Remember …

Always live within your income even if you have to borrow money to do so.

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TIM