Category: Musings

… continued from part 1.

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Background

Several months ago I decided I would, after much deliberation, try to sell some models on Ebay.  This is is the continuation of my journey!

Research

The nice thing about researching things in this day and age is you don’t have to do much more than hit the keyboard.  Thanks to Google (other search engines are available) pretty much everything is available at the touch of a button, there is no need to leave your desk let alone your house.

I started my research with eBay.  I’m not naive, there are very few new ideas these days, it’s all about doing things better and cheaper than your competitors, or so it seems to me. Not surprisingly other people paint figures to sell.  The bigger questions were who buys them, what do they buy and how much do they sell for?

I’m no expert but I know that people collect anything and everything so why would figures be an exception?  They are not.  Of course lots of people paint there own but some are collector’s of figures, some simply cannot paint but want a good looking figures on the table, some just don’t have the time.  The thing to do was search eBay and “watch” numerous items to see how they fared.

One of the first things that struck me was the standard of painted figures and the different selling methods people were using.  The standard ranged from professional to, well let’s just say not very good.  Now I’m not knocking the poorly painted stuff, I wish those sellers good luck but in their narrative some like to describe their work as “pro-painted”.  I can only assume that by pro they are using an abbreviation for the word prostitute as I can’t believe for one minute that the work was that of a professional painter.  At the other end of the spectrum the standard is extremely high and clearly the work of skilled painters.  As I would have expected prices tended to correspond with the quality of the work for sale although I couldn’t help but feel one or two sellers were being optimistic.  That said one figure I monitored sold for £142.00!  On average though figures at the top end of the spectrum generally seemed to sell in the region of £50.00/£60.00.  The question now was how to value my own work?

Selling methods were also varied.  As well as the traditional auction method some sellers chose to adopt a fixed price while others were open to offers or a combination.  All have there merits of course but what would work best for me?

Another factor was genre.  There was a market for Old Wild West figures and the SAGA period figures appeared to be popular too.  Some fantasy figures appeared to sell as well but there were fewer up for sale, or so it seemed.  Other categories might have been popular too but with so much scope in those three genres alone I had more than enough options to get started.

Postage was another consideration.  Do I offer free postage as some sellers did or do I seek to recover my costs?  Would I be willing to sell to an overseas buyer?  One thing was for sure, I would need to sit down and do a reasonable costing.  Only then could I determine if the whole exercise was worth it or not.  Before going further I decided this now needed to be my next step.

The Cost of a TIM Figure?

Armed with a pen and paper I jotted down what I considered to be the key costs of painting and posting a figure:

• Cost of the figure and base
• Time taken to paint and base the figure/hourly rate
• Packaging
• Postage
• Basing materials
• Painting materials  – brushes/paints
• Ebay/PayPal fees

Strictly speaking any product should be properly costed to the “n”th degree but I felt in my position it wasn’t appropriate.  Firstly I decided to ignore the cost of painting materials.  This is my hobby first and foremost and as long as I can continue with it I will buy and replace all consumables.  Simply doing more figures with the aim of selling some wasn’t going to change that and the rate of consumption would, certainly from a starting out perspective, be insignificant.

Secondly, I decided to make some assumptions on painting time and thus the knock on effect of any hourly rate.  I’m in the fortunate position of being retired.  My aim here is to paint and fill my time enjoying what I do.  If I couldn’t sell any figures I would still paint them anyway wouldn’t I?  Was there any need to actually charge for my time?  Another factor when considering this point is the people I am competing against, the professionals.

So who are the professionals?  Well my assumption was this.  Now if I were a sculptor, but then again no.  Or a man who makes potions in a traveling show … whoops, Elton John tangent there, let’s start again.

If I were a sculptor then my aim would be to create figures and sell them direct via my own website.  To help sell them it would look better if the figures were professionally painted.  If I paint them myself they might not look that great but time spent painting could be time spent sculpting and that’s where my strength and the money lies.  Better to commission someone to paint them?

Sticking with this scenario I reckoned that the professional painter would probably get the figures for free, get paid for painting them and possibly get paid too for sending back tip top photos for the sculptor to use.  Of course the actual painted figure could be sent back but that would incur the additional cost of postage and still require the sculptor to have photos taken which is more money and more time.  Under this scenario we have a professional painter who gets his figures free, has been paid to paint them and take photographs and who now has figures that can be sold on eBay for a 100% profit!  Not a bad little system.

Now I can’t be fully certain that the system works that way but I did manage to identify two ebayers who’s work appears on figure sellers websites so at the very least  I felt confident I was thinking along the right lines.  The thing now was what conclusions could I reach from this?

One conclusion I reached was I couldn’t set a starting price for any figures I list higher than the professional guys.  In time I might be able to if my own work improved and if what I was selling was of a different genre perhaps.  For now though I felt I had an indication of the highest price I could set, now I needed to determined the minimum.

To determine the minimum price I needed firstly to ensure that any sales income would at least cover my costs, essentially the sum of the figure plus postage and packing.  It also needed to cover eBay and PayPal expenses.  I then needed to see a profit, a price which to my mind made the whole thing worthwhile.  Anything less would beg the question, why bother?  I settled on an arbitrary amount and decided that would do for starters.

All that now remained was decide how to sell on eBay.  Auction?  Buy Now?  Accept Offers?  Something to ponder while I actually painted some figures for selling!

To be continued …

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TIM

Welcome to this weeks Musings!

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Plymouth Model Club Annual Competition

The Monday before last was the Plymouth Model Clubs annual competition.  Now I know competitions aren’t everyone’s cup of tea but I like them.  I’m genuinely relaxed about winning or losing (I prefer the former but am far more experienced in the latter!) as I’m more interested in getting feedback, being inspired by others and trying to gauge my own standard.  The way I see it there is always room for improvement and entering competitions is one way of determining what works and what doesn’t in the eyes of other people.

Last year I got a great buzz from winning the club Diorama and Single Figure categories.  Notwithstanding the fact that the club is not huge the club members are nevertheless my peers and if they like what I do then that’s a good start to the year ahead.  It’s also worth noting that prior to last years modelling success I would at best described myself as a serial loser.  Despite years of devotion to sport and hundreds of pounds spent on lottery and raffle tickets for good causes it is true to say that up to last year I had won the square root of sod all.  To find out that I was reasonably good at something was to put it very mildly, bloody amazing!

A year on and with several talented new club members it was never going to be easy to emulate last years success.  This year saw a lot more entries within each of the nine categories and for sure the standard had increased throughout.  I knew this would most likely be the case and with that in mind felt I would have to pull out all the stops in the three categories I had chosen to enter.  I wasn’t wrong.

With very little to chose between 1st, 2nd and 3rd places in every category I was delighted to learn that I had managed to defend the two titles I won last year whilst adding a third.

“Operation Overlord – The Road to Caretan” came first in the diorama category, “True Grit” first in single figures and “The Dragon Slayer” first in the miscellaneous category.  To say I was delighted was an understatement.  I’m not getting carried away, far from it.  I plan to enter all three into one or two other competitions during the year but am well aware that the competition will be much, much tougher.  There are without a doubt some very, very talented people out there and as I have said before the best modellers don’t even bother to enter.

Already I’ve started to think about next years competition.  As our club chairman pointed out, the standard within the club has significantly increased and winning any of the competition categories in the future is going to get harder not easier.  So the search for ideas has begun.  Finding a figure which appeals to me shouldn’t be too difficult and I’ve seen a couple which appeal to me already.  I have some diorama ideas floating around in the air but something for the miscellaneous category, which includes Si Fi and Fantasy, is  very much a blank for now.  So, if anyone has any ideas don’t be shy!

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Conversions

Now as the above article might come across as a bragging post (which it isn’t meant to) I thought I ought to balance things up a bit.  I am well aware of my failings as a modeller and one of the biggest by far is figure conversations.  I’ve done a couple of extremely minor things like bend arms and limb amputation but beyond that nothing to write home about.  Why is this?  Well to tell the truth I simply cannot see beyond the composition of the original figure.

Try as I might I cannot picture the figure any other way and as such feel unable to even get started.  Swapping body parts and weaponry from one figure to another requires a level of imagination which so far continues to elude me.  I’m not without imagination, I’d like to think I apply it to the scenery and composition of my vignettes and dioramas but for some reason I cannot seem to apply it to figures.

Many of you, IRO and Thomas for example, both of whom posted excellent pieces just recently, have a vision which I can only admire.  I on the other hand don’t which of course is another reason I will continue to remain the Imperfect Modeller.

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This week TIM has been listening to …

Waterloo Sunset by the The kinks

Now I’m not called Terry and my wife isn’t called Julie (listen to the lyrics) but Waterloo station is where I proposed to She Who Must Be Obeyed almost 40 years ago.  It seemed like a good idea at the time.  These days the final verse of “Paradise By The Dashboard Light” by Meatloaf seems a more meaningful track as I reminisce!

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This week TIM has been watching …

Rhod Gilbert

We are fortunate to have some great comedians doing the rounds at the moment.  One of the things I like about Rhod Gilbert is he is funny without the need for f’ing and blinding every few moments.  This link is to one of my favorite pieces.  If you enjoy it then I would recommend two of his full length shows on YouTube –

and,

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Until next time.

TIM

Introduction

Several months ago I decided I would, after much deliberation, try to sell some models on Ebay.  The experience of doing so is still very new but nevertheless I thought it might be of some interest to share with you my journey thus far via a post or two.  Like all stories it’s best begun at the beginning and therefore the first thing I should explain is why I decided upon doing so in the first place.

Why?

Before I retired She Who Must Be Obeyed rarely if ever questioned the amount of time I spent modelling.  Now fully retired there is an expectation that jobs around the house should be shared, her jobs not mine, I still have mine to do.  Now I love my wife, we’ve been married nearly 37 years (it feels like only yesterday, if it was tomorrow I would cancel it!) but retirement for me was about spending more time modelling (and anything else I wanted to do) not more time working.  I needed a plan, not just any old plan but a cunning plan.  One which would enable me to openly do modelling without the expectation of doing anything else and remove the feeling of guilt for doing so which I often feel is being heaped upon me.  But what?

Then I had an idea – make modelling my job!

Let me say right up front it’s not about making money.  Well that’s not entirely true, it is about making money but not for money’s sake.  Making money is relevant but more as a performance indicator and to justify what I am doing to SWMBO.  There are other reasons too of course.

Before I finally decided to fully retire last September I had spent all my full and part-time working life in UK corporate companies.  I did a job, they paid me.  Simple.  I wouldn’t describe myself as a specialist but I wasn’t a Jack of all trades either so if I had an IT problem I spoke to the IT department, likewise, HR, Legal, Risk, Marketing, etc.  I was never self-employed and I never had to make something to sell in order to live off the proceeds.  As I look back I’m beginning to wonder what it was I actually did do!

Over the years I’ve known several people who have set up their own businesses and I have admired each and every one of them.  They all had two things in common.  They worked extremely hard and they had to become knowledgeable on just about everything, not just what they did.  No corporate security for them, they needed to learn marketing, HR legislation if they employed staff , IT, finance, the list goes on.  I would like to say they were all successful but alas I’m sorry to say most of them failed.  Not because of their own product, work ethic or service but simply because they got swamped by everything else.  Well that’s how it seemed to me.

Although I never had the urge to break away from the corporate world a part of me always wanted to see if I could do my own thing, to sell something with a degree of regularity and generate an income.  My own little business if you like.  With the onset of retirement and the need to keep physically as well as mentally occupied I started to give the matter some further thought.  I wasn’t looking to make a living off of any idea, I just wanted to dabble and to see if I could produce something which people would be interested enough in to buy and to see what I could learn from the experience.  SWMBO and her expectation of sharing domestic chores tipped the balance!  I got started and sold the idea to her.  She bought into it far to quickly which tells me she has got one over on me but so far I’m buggered if I can work out what!

The first question I had to address was what was I going to try to sell?  The second was how was I going to try to sell it?

The second was the easiest to answer.  I had already decided that initially eBay would be the vehicle for selling.  Why reinvent the wheel?  The first was a little more difficult.  Modelling is a passion and what interested me the most but my major concern was who would want to buy vignettes and dioramas and even if they did how on earth could I post them without them arriving in pieces at the other end.  There was another problem too.  Each vignette and diorama is unique, a one-off and as such I didn’t think I could bring myself to part with them, even if many of them do now reside in boxes and are stored away.

What to make and try to sell continued to elude me until the obvious hit me, just paint figures!

The more I thought about it the more this made sense.  The figures, typically one piece castings could be easily posted and packaged to arrive safety (if sold!), could be very simply based and if I really liked a figure and wanted to keep it, unlike the more unique basing of a vignette or diorama, I could do another identical one.

I felt now that the idea was taking off, well in my head at least.  There was more to consider though.  What figures would I paint and try to sell?  What price could I realistically charge?  How would I package them up?  What else did I need to consider?

If I was going to do this then I was going to try to do it as good as I possibly could.  The good thing was I had the time and motivation to do so and more importantly it really didn’t matter a jot if things didn’t work out.  The main thing was to avoid doing any cleaning, cooking and shopping.  Nothing financially rested on success or failure, I didn’t have bills to pay or major overheads to meet, only time spent modelling was at stake.

I was just keen to try it, to see if I could make it work and if it did then great and if not then at least I can say I gave it a go and would just have to lie to SWMBO at how well it was going.  Lie to SWMBO?  Yes, lie.  What’s wrong with that?  Most marriages involve lies at some point don’t they?  OK, so there are good lies and bad lies.  A bad lie is saying “I was out with the lads” when actually I was screwing a hot girl I met in the pub (oh how I wish!).  A good lie is saying you had a good day at work when you just got made redundant and don’t want the little lady worrying needlessly.  One way or another they are all lies.  Besides, wives lie too, just think about all the headaches they have!

Whatever the final outcome would turn out to be the fact was I was nearing the launch pad but far from ready for take off.  I needed to do more research.

To be continued …

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TIM

 

Welcome to this weeks Musings!

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Charlie Foxtrot

As some of you will have seen, just before Christmas I completed a WW2 diorama which I called “Operation Overlord” (link below).

https://wordpress.com/post/theimperfectmodeller.wordpress.com/4052

The buildings I used in this model were all from a company called Charlie Foxtrot Models albeit with some customization on my part.  The buildings themselves are of a high quality and I would recommend them to anyone.  Having completed the model I thought I would email a couple of photos to Colin at Charlie Foxtrot and let him know how pleased I was with his kits.  Let’s face it we all like good feedback and I thought Colin would be no different so with it being the season of goodwill to all men I thought I would pass on my thanks to him.

I didn’t anticipate a reply but to my surprise he came back and said he was impressed with what I had done.  More than that he asked if he could put the images up on his Facebook page in the lead up to Christmas.  I was happy to agree that he could but if I’m being honest thought he was being polite and that would be the end of the matter.

Good to his word Colin did put up the photos, along with a few kind words, just before Christmas as he said he would.  It made me feel like an author getting his first book published.  I was chuffed!

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Carry On Carrying On?

Over Christmas one of the TV channels, I can’t remember which one, aired a few of old Carry On films.  I’m not sure how well known these films are outside of a certain age group or outside of the UK either for that matter.  The humor is mostly built around the English language and the use of the “double entendre”.  Although dated the humor is nonetheless what I was brought up on and to this day I love the adaptability of the English language and the ability it has for word play.

Another outlet for this type of humor, again turning the clock back to when I was a kid, were saucy seaside postcards produced by Bamforth.  These were, and still are to my mind, very funny.  They also played a significant part in my sex education and must have caused my dad much embarrassment when he was asked to explain what some of them meant!

Needless to say there is now a down side to this humor in today’s world.  Only yesterday I read an article on the BBC website about sexual harassment in the work place, it included a quiz to help determine your understanding of what is and what isn’t acceptable in this day and age.  I didn’t do very well!  I’ll go one step further, if I was still working in an office environment I would probably be hung, drawn and quartered.  Goodness only knows how kids flirt these days!  With internet dating I guess they don’t.

These days not only do we have to be more careful about what we say but we also have to be aware of where we are saying it.  For example, “Have you ever had a PC go down on you?” is an innocent enough question in an IT environment but said inside a police station it could be misconstrued.  Personally I’d find it funny but others might take offense.  Similarly, “Wow, that’s a lovely figure can I hold it?” is not an unreasonable request said to someone at the Plymouth Modelling Club but could well upset someone in an office environment.

It gets trickier though when the words are potentially innocent and said in the correct environment, for example “Those are lovely looking melons” is fine when you are in the supermarket fruit and veg aisle but heaven help you if you happen to be standing next to a large breasted female at the time you say it!  Here’s another example …

Now I appreciate in the examples I have given the female of the species is at the butt of the joke and as such there are those delicate soles who would be most offended.  There is however an alternative, join in!  If, as she is inclined to do, She Who Must Be Obeyed happened to say while I was doing some DIY – “That’s a hell of a big tool you’ve got in your hand!” I’d be quite pleased.

It’s often inferred that this type of humor was one way traffic.  Some people tend to forget that men were “victims” of this humor too.

Having worked part time in a Pharmacy I’ve dispensed numerous prescriptions to men who suffer from Erectile Dysfunction.  I’ve never met one who didn’t see the funny side of the situation or had a Viagra joke to tell.  In fact it’s taking Viagra with a glass of water which gives us British guys our stiff upper lip!

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This week TIM has been listening to …

Heroes by David Bowie.

Now the problem with an icon, any icon is they are iconic.  To become an icon you need to have done a lot of great influential stuff which by definition means it is hard to select a single track (or film) from a comprehensive list of outstanding music.  So it is with Bowie.  I chose this one because even if you don’t like Bowie you can’t argue with the title.  Well you can but I wont be listening.

Probably an artist who is not every bodies cup of team but that’s music for you, it’s personal, no rights or wrongs just different opinions.

Expect to see me list more of his tracks in the future.

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This week TIM has been watching … 

JFK’s Secret Killer: The Evidence

Now I’m sure I’m not alone in liking a good old mystery and one of the more fascinating and most popular is the Kennedy assassination.  Theories abound as to what actually happened and many of the things which simply did not add up were featured in the film JFK starring Kevin Costner.

Some years ago I saw this documentary on TV.  I stumbled upon it again recently on YouTube and thought I would share it.  For me this represents the most likely scenario of what actually did happen.  It provides a very realistic answer, backed up with evidence, which addresses the numerous anomalies of the Warren commission and also explains why there would have been a cover up.

Mystery solved as far as I am concerned but I’ll let you draw your own conclusions from watching this fascinating investigation.

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Until next time.

TIM

Welcome to this weeks Musings and the first of this year!

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2019 – The Initial Plan

The clue is in the title, this is the initial plan, which is to say it hasn’t got a hope in hell of coming to fruition.  So why bother?  Well old working habits die hard (now there’s a title for a film, wonder if anyone has thought of that?) and I like the idea of objective setting and having some focus.  That said I’m not in the slightest bit bothered if I deliver against it or not.  This is my hobby after all and the aim is to enjoy it and if, as I suspect I will do, I choose to go off in a different direction at some point then that’s just what I will do.  I can be so rebellious when I want to be!

So, what do I currently have in store for 2019?

First up, but in no particular order are Knuckleduster Miniatures.  Possibly the finest range of Old Wild West figures on the market.  My modelling roots lie in this genre and I’m really quiet excited at the prospect of a major return to simply doing some figure painting.  With well over a 100 figure in the range (and being added to) it is my intention to do them all so expect to be bored silly during the course of the year (and probably beyond!).

Reaper will also feature this year in what I plan to do.  I’d like to do another dragon at some point but first up will be a boxed diorama.  I’ve only ever done one and I found it bloody difficult.  Expect some serious f’ing and blinding as I “enjoy” myself on this one!

Hasselfree Miniatures have also grabbed my attention and several figures have already been purchased.  Also sitting in my “to do” pile are quite a lot of WW2 figures, some 28mm and some 54mm.  Most of these are intended for the Plymouth Model Show in June where the theme is D-Day as it is the 75th anniversary of this landmark event.  I’m not sure how many I will get done but there is a time critical element to it so at some point I will have to get my finger out.

In the second half of the year I would really like to start work on my next mega project, mega by my standards that is.  It has long been a desire of mine to do a Western town diorama and if possible I’d like to get it under way this year.  Research is the biggest need right now and I’ve yet to fully decided between several ideas on how best to do it.

As if I didn’t have enough to do IRO suggested I do something around Rorke’s Drift.  To be fare it’s a great idea of an amazing historical event and a great film to provide further inspiration if more were needed.  This is one which needs a lot more thought so if I do go down this route it wont be for a while.  I might just go down the vignette route rather than a full blown diorama.  If that wasn’t enough he had some other ideas too!

Another dabble into the horror genre appeals but I need to get my head around this one as well.  Plenty of options but I’d like to do a film crew again for sure.

A look at my neglected pile left me feeling more than a little guilty but I hope to reduce it a little by riding off the back of some Azazel monthly challenges.  No rush though as the pile is far from inspiring me right now.

Away from actual modelling I’m hoping to attend a few model shows during the course of the year and entering a competition or two as well.  Standards are high but the idea of bench marking my work appeals to me and win or lose I find it motivational too.  In all honesty the best modellers don’t enter.  It’s a bit like asking the Beatles to do the Eurovision Song Contest, but I’m happy trying to become one of the best of the rest even if I have to embarrass myself along the way.

I’m also aiming to continue my weekly Musings, certainly for the foreseeable future at any rate.  I’m currently contemplating a new mini series of perhaps 3 or 4 posts in which I will reveal the cunning plan I implemented allowing me to spend as many hours a day as I want modelling with the full support of She Who Must Be Obeyed!  

Last but not least I think I have found a solution to my growing storage problem.  Alas plans A and B have had to be shelved for now owing to the reluctance of both my kids to move out but plan C has great merit.  Unfortunately SWMBO is also reluctant to move out so plan D, a garage revamp, is looking the most likely right now.

So there you have it, the initial plan.  Time will tell just what and how much gets done but whatever the outcome is hopefully the journey will be fun.

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This week TIM has been listening to …

Another couple of tracks by ELO.  I couldn’t decide between “Rock’n Roll is King” and “Don’t Bring Me Down” so I went with both.  Great video’s accompany each although “Rock’n Roll is King” steals it for me.  Some brilliant movie clips in this one including “The Breakfast Club”, “Pulp Fiction”, The Wolf of Wall Street”, “Back to the Future”, “Love Actually” and “Footloose” (the remake).  I must sit down and watch all of them once again!

This week TIM has been watching …

Mission Impossible:  Fallout.

I do love a true story!

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Until next time.

TIM

Welcome to this weeks Musings and to 2019.  Happy New Year to you all.

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2018 – That Was The Year That Was

This being the first week of the New Year it seemed appropriate to review the modelling year just gone.  So, where to start?

Well the first question I guess is just when should a year end review take place, just before the end of the year (as some of you have done and excellent write ups they were too by the way) or at the dawn of the new one?  Well, after much soul searching I reached the conclusion that it doesn’t much matter at all and I suspect none of you could give a toss anyway.  Besides I expect you are all still nursing hangovers even though this is 2019 day 2.

So, where to start?

Looking back I surprised myself with just how many models I actually produced.  Whilst a long way short of the numbers that Azazel and others produce I managed to create 35 or so vignettes and dioramas along with a good many stand alone figures which I couldn’t be arsed to count.  No wonder I’m struggling to find a home for all of them!

Overall I’m pleased with most of what I done but there were disappointments.  Not everything works out the way you hope.  An idea which seems exciting at the time can unfortunately look shit when finished.  One such example was a little diorama that I put together called “Lights, Camera, Action!”.

https://theimperfectmodeller.wordpress.com/2018/06/16/lights-camera-action-28mm-hammer-horror-diorama-part-3-final/

It wasn’t so much that the end result was that bad, more a case of it not turning out the way I had imagined it.  Definitely a concept I’d like to revisit at some point.

On a more positive note the WW1 timeline figures which I started in 2017 and completed in early 2018 were, at the time, quite a departure for me and one that I came to enjoy.  They also helped to establish myself at the Plymouth Model Club which was also significant on a personal level.  I also dabbled throughout the year with Reaper fantasy figures, another area which a year or so ago I would never have thought about doing.  So glad that I did, really enjoyed doing those and in particular the freedom of colour choice.

Do I have some personal model favorites?  Well yes I do.

“Fantasy Island” caused a bit of a stir at the time and represented my 100th blog post.  It provided something of a challenge to do and was a little different as well.  I entered a couple of competitions with it getting two third places which I was happy about, particularly as I had never entered any competitions before.

https://wordpress.com/post/theimperfectmodeller.wordpress.com/3107

 

Another favorite was “The Dragon Slayer”.  Another fantasy based model which again provided something different and I loved doing this one from start to finish.  I even surprised myself with how well this one turned out (probably shouldn’t say that, a bit like laughing at your own jokes).  Seems this one went down well with the viewing public too, with 85 views, 58 comments and 25 likes it’s been my most successful post to date.  Looks like another dragon is on the cards.

My aim is to enter this one into a couple of competitions in 2019 and although I don’t expect to win anything I will be interested to see how it gets on and what other people think.

https://wordpress.com/post/theimperfectmodeller.wordpress.com/3730

 

Last of all, and possibly my personal favorite was Rooster Cogburn.  A return to my Old Wild West roots and 54mm scale.  It had been a while since I did a 54mm figure and the difference between painting at this scale and 28mm is significant, well to me it is.  Painting horses using oil paints is a joy and this one came up pretty good.  How good we will have to see.  Another possible competition entrant but the standard in the single figure class is amazing but hey, if you don’t buy a lottery ticket you can’t win can you?

https://wordpress.com/post/theimperfectmodeller.wordpress.com/3822

 

Last year also saw me trying out some new techniques.  Making trees and buildings mainly come to mind and if the tutorials I also put together have been helpful then that is simply an added bonus.

My blog itself has grown a bit too.  I have a few more followers than I did this time last year and whilst I will never reach numerical dizzy heights I do love the banter with those of you who participate.  Not just banter but some great feedback and ideas too, valuable stuff.  It’s tempting to list you all but I will end up leaving someone out which will piss us both off and then I’ll get abuse and lose a follower and the world as I know it will cave in and I just don’t need the aggro at the start of the year and neither do you.  I have enough of that from She Who Must Be Obeyed and from my 15 year old daughter She Who Thinks She Should Be Obeyed Too (if you have ever seen the film “Uncle Buck” you’ll have some idea of where my daughter’s attitude is right now).

I will however just make reference here though to Azazel’s monthly challenges as they are inspirational and motivational to us all and I hope to participate in as many as possible throughout 2019 although January is looking extremely dodgy already.

Publication of my modelling memoirs – This Is Me! – caused me some angst.  Should I or shouldn’t I? In the end I decided what the hell and adopted the Fleet Street maxim of publish and be damned.  On reflection I’m not entirely sure it was a great idea but fuck it, it’s too late now!

The News at TIM – Mid Week Musings continues to surprise me.  Firstly because it’s still going and secondly because they get more views that my model posts.  Has to be a message there don’t you think?  The aim of my Musings is to try to put a smile on peoples faces and create the occasional debate and if that only works every now and then that makes it worth while to my mind.  The world needs more fun and if I can add to that by generating the odd smile here and there then so be it!  Perhaps this year we might even be able to crank it up a bit.  Remember I’m Ginger, you can have fun at my expense too!

Last of all but by no means least comes the Plymouth Model Club.  I continue to enjoy it.  It’s been great fun and meeting interesting people at various events has been an added bonus.  The competitions have also been enjoyable and I managed to pick up 3 silvers and 3 bronzes from the two I entered.  Maybe next year I might be able to go one step further but it wont be the end of the world if I don’t.  More than anything they are a source of inspiration and motivation just like the monthly challenges and if it helps me to improve then so much the better.

Next week I’ll try and put together a plan for the year ahead.  Of course it wont be worth the paper it’s written on but you’ve got to start somewhere.

If you have any thoughts on ideas for 2019 don’t be shy, feel free to comment.

—000—

This week TIM has been listening to …

Joan Jett and The Blackhearts and “I Hate Myself for Loving You”.

I thought I would dedicate this to all of you!

Fancied a bit of Rock and this young lady made for a pretty hot rock chick at the time this track came out.  Sadly I don’t think she looks a patch on what she used to and it’s not all down to age.  Shame.

This week TIM has been watching …

Red Sparrow.

Knowing that the Christmas TV would be crap yet again I decided to keep this DVD on hold for something to fall back on.  After the parents went home, the wife nodded off and the daughter went back to hibernate in her room I decided to sit down and enjoy a couple of hours of watching Jennifer Lawrence.

I can’t say I knew a great deal about the film but the synopsis appealed to me so I decided to take a punt on it.  Turned out to be a real bonus.  Not only was it an excellent story with an unexpected twist at the end but Jennifer, a future Mrs TIM if only the planets would align (never let it be said I’m not an optimist) can be seen getting her kit off!

—000—

Until next time.  Happy New Year.

TIM

Welcome to this weeks Musings!

—000—

Christmas 

This time next week Christmas Day will be over and Boxing Day will have begun.  As a consequence this is my last Musings of 2018.  It is therefore appropriate to wish each and every one of you and your families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  I hope you all enjoy the festivities whatever you have planned and I look forward to reading and following your blogs into 2019.

—000—

She Who Must Be Obeyed

I feel I must give SWMBO an honorary mention as it is her birthday on 22nd December.  It’s not just any old birthday, it’s her 60th.  What do you give the women who has everything, including me?  Yes that’s right, nothing.

To be fare a December birthday that close to Christmas is a nightmare.  Unrealistic to go away, pointless going out for a meal when everywhere is rowdy and all that is being served is turkey and hopeless getting people together when everyone is off to their respective families.  In short a disaster and one best deferred until the New Year.

Of course this is my interpretation not hers.  I’ll let you know how well my sales pitch is received in the New Year.  In the meanwhile I’m still trying to get my head around the idea of sleeping with someone who when I was a kid would have been the age of my granny.

—000—

Model Feminism

Let me say up front I’m not anti women nor am I a racist or homophobic.  If I don’t like someone or take exception to what they say it’s because I don’t like them or what they have to say.  One of my best mates is gay and I know and like many people from different ethinic backgrounds.  I’ve also had several women bosses over the years one of whom was probably the best boss I’ve ever had and I didn’t have to sleep with her to get on which on reflection was a shame.  The problem is some of people within these groups need to seriously lighten up.  As far as I am concerned I’m with Ricky Gervais in that there is nothing, and I mean nothing that cannot be laughed at and taken the piss out of.  There is only one rule and that is that you have to be able to give it out as well as take it.  As a ginger I’ve been taking it for years!

So where is this leading to?

Well I recently got embroiled in a conversation, quite how I’m not entirely sure.

At a recent gathering I found myself chatting to a women I had never met before and of all things found myself talking about modelling.  To be more specific the Plymouth Modelling Club.  I didn’t pick up straight away that she was some sort of feminist, partly because I was looking at her ample chest rather than registering what she actually had to say.  It was when she said “don’t you think you ought to do more about it?” that I realized that she had asked me a question.

Trying to remember quickly what I had been nodding my head in response to I recalled her asking how many women there were at the club.  Unsurprisingly there are none (you can’t count one of the young lads mum because she has to bring him and stay at the meetings because he can’t drive).

Although I pointed out that women were more than welcome to join (my witty “the pretty the better” remark wasn’t received terribly well) it was probably perceived as a male only club, a remark which was equivalent to lighting the blue touch paper and standing well clear, or so it seemed.

At this point she seemed to go off on one which was shortly followed by my having had enough.  Big chest she may have had but I couldn’t listen to her ranting on any longer.  Bringing the subject to a close I told her that when the WI allows male members and changes its name from the Women’s Institute and when the local swimming pool brings to an end female only swim sessions when there is no male equivalent, then she should feel free to come back and preach to me.

Just to be clear, the Plymouth Model club is open to women although I’m not sure how successful the advert “Plymouth Modelling Club seeks Females for club nights and Exhibitions” will prove to be.

—000—

This week TIM has been listening to …

Nothing.

Well that’s not entirely true, what I thought I would do as it’s Christmas week was to nominate my favorite Christmas song.  To my surprise this was tougher than I thought it would be.  It was easy to dismiss everything by Cliff Richard and Paul McCartney simply because their contributions are, to put it mildly, shit.

I Believe In Christmas by Emerson, Lake and Palmer was a candidate, so to was Happy Xmas (War Is Over) by John Lennon and Fairy Tale of New York by the Pogues and Kirsty MacColl.  If I went down the romantic route then East 17 with Stay Another Day would have won through.

As it turns out I like more Christmas songs than I realized but a decision for the number one spot had to be made and so in the end I went for …

I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday by Wizard.

A fun song which is what it should all be about at the end of the day.  Besides Roy Wood shouting “OK you lot, take it” has to be a classic line.

This week TIM has been watching …

Nothing.

Yes, you’ve guessed it, that’s not entirely true either.  I thought I would nominate my favorite festive film.  Not quite so hard for me this time round although to be fare there are some decent nominations.   After some deliberation I decided to go for …

Love Actually.

The film has a great cast and some great moments.  I could have gone for any number of brilliant clips but chose to go with “Colin’s Trip To America”.  Having been state side myself I can vouch for how true this scenario plays out.  I guess we English just have what it takes.  Meanwhile I’m off to Wisconsin for Christmas.

—000—

Until the New Year.

TIM

Welcome to this weeks Musings!

—000–

Modelling Pretensions

Having been to a few model shows now it’s clear to me that accuracy is very, very important to a great many show attendees and participants.  In fact some people I’ve encountered seem to take great delight in highlighting inaccuracies.  It’s one thing to take constructive comments from peers and respected experts, it’s another matter entirely when the critique is from pretentious twats who can’t model to save their lives and just want to put people down.  From my point of view it takes great deal of will power not to give them a smack!

Now don’t get me wrong, as far as I am concerned I try to be as accurate as I can be or on occasions want to be.  I wouldn’t paint a WW2 British Uniform blue for example but if the colour I have painted is not quite the right pan tone of khaki then to put it bluntly I couldn’t give a toss, I’m not about to go to bed worrying about it.  In any event weathering plays havoc with colours anyway so who’s to say exactly what shade of khaki it should be at any given time in the life of the uniform?  Sadly though this matters a great deal to some people, I just don’t happen to be one of them.

To be fare the highest level of accuracy possible is key for some people and for them this is what modelling is all about.  I do get that and respect it, each to their own.  Personally I don’t have that level of knowledge or desire to replicate microscopic detail to the lengths some people will go to.  For example, as long as a vehicle has a registration plate number then that’s good enough for me, if it’s the wrong one for a particular regiment then I figure 99.9% of people aren’t going to notice anyway.  Overall what matters to me is does the piece look good?

Now while I can at least comprehend the level of detail some people will go to for historical pieces I do however draw the line when dealing with non-historical models.  There is a new wave of critic out there which is rather disturbing.

When I was at Telford I was asked if one of the wizards I was displaying would really have a cloak the colour I had painted it?  This wasn’t a wizard figure which featured in a movie or anything, just a one off model unrelated to anything.

Really?

It’s a fantasy figure I told him, it can be any colour I, you or anybody else wants it to be, it’s not fucking real!

I didn’t make a dent.

—000—

Autumn (or Fall) and it can only mean one thing …

… yep you guessed it, time to get the leaf cutter out!

The leaves gathered during their various colour changes are nicely drying and when I’ve grown bored of watching paint dry I shall start to build up my stock for the New Year.

Exciting times people, exciting times.

—000—

What do you plan to do with your new display case TIM?

For those of you who were kind enough to wonder what I might have planned for my recent acquisition the answer is a western town scene.  Not sure how many buildings I will be able to fit on it but at a guess I’d say four or five.  It’s something which I’ve always wanted to do so now is the time to actually begin to make it happen.  Don’t expect to see anything soon though.  There is much to plan and buy.

In the meantime there are a lot of other things to do.

—000—

This week TIM has been listening to …

John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett

Who?  You may well ask.  To be honest if you’ve heard of them I’d be very impressed but nowhere near as impressed if you like them too.  To be fare I did say my music taste was random!

I was introduced to these guys by my brother many, many years ago and for reasons which are hard to explain I absolutely love their first album.  The first album was simply called “John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett” and is full of great tracks as far as I am concerned.  Their follow up album entitled “Deep and Meaningless” is made up of the tracks which were not considered good enough for the first album but the two albums were put on a combined CD which is the cover that appears below.

The two of them never really made it to the big time although they did appear once on Top of the Pops and the Old Grey Whistle Test, two UK music shows of yesteryear.  They tour constantly and have done for years, playing at small venues up and down the country.  Often Otway is on his own because he and Wild Willy often fall out with each other.  I can see why they would because Otway is a complete nutter.

In Tavistock which is a couple of miles from where I live we have a small venue and Otway visits every few years or so.  I saw him on his own in 2007 and the whole performance is available on YouTube in two parts, just search John Otway Tavistock and both should appear. I’ve also saw him with Wild Willy a couple of years back and that was another great evening as well.  Very different live and highly entertaining.  I even had a nice chat and a beer with Otway at the 2007 gig, he’s that kind of guy.  In fact at one point, believe it or not, you could even pay to have a place on his tour bus and go on tour with him.  For all I know you still can, I’ll have to check it out.  Anyway the guys are legends are as far as I am concerned.

Below are a couple of links.

First up is a video from one of the live shows where he does his take on “House of the Rising Sun”.  Unique audience participation in my opinion.  Worth a quick read of some of the comments too.

Next we have “Bluey Green” a nice little song and one of my all time favorites for reasons I wont go into but I love the tune and the lyrics.  Gets me every time.

—000–

This week Tim has been watching …

Spartacus.

Not the recent TV serious but the classic original starring Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis to name but two of an amazing cast list.  I’ve been toying with the idea of delving into SAGA and Gangs of Rome, not to play but to paint a few figures of the period.  Not top of my “To Do List” right now but on the list that’s for sure.

As for the film?  Simply awesome.

—000—

Until next time.

TIM

 

 

Welcome to this weeks Musings!

—000—

The Unforeseen Implications of Being Impulsive

One of the many traders at the recent Telford show was Paul, a chap I know who runs a company called “Just Bases”.  We got talking as I was browsing his stand and he mentioned that he was looking to gradually wind down his business over the next year as he was aiming to retire.  How quickly he would realize this was to some extent dependent upon how soon he shifted his stock, especially the larger items which didn’t sell as well but which he was willing to part with at a knock down price.

By a nice coincidence something I’d been checking out recently was the idea of buying a large perspex display case for a project I have in mind and the one thing I learnt straight away was they don’t come cheap.  In fact for the bespoke size I was looking at (100cm x 30cm x 26cm approximately) I could expect to see little change out of £150.00 or more. So, out of idle curiosity I asked Paul how much a particular base was which had caught my eye and he told me I could have it for £50.00!

Without further ado the deal was struck, the case was bought and I was a happy bunny.

Happy that is until I realized I had no room in the car to bring it home!  Had I taken the estate car then I would have been fine but I drove up to Telford in my beloved two seater and coming all the way home at night, in November with the top down and it pissing down with rain wasn’t going to happen.

Fortunately Paul came to my rescue and agreed to drive it back for me and on the Saturday just gone I collected it from him.

Not surprisingly She Who Must be Obeyed was curious to know where I thought it was going to go and needless to say all my well considered ideas were given the thumbs down so for now it sits across an armchair in our upstairs conservatory!

Still at a loss as to where to put the thing until I get to use it, divine intervention and an “idea” from SWMBO provided a solution.

The divine intervention came on Sunday, the day after I collected the case from Paul, in the form of the garage fridge/freezer breaking.  Now we only had this fridge/freezer because a few years back we used to have our own pigs which we kept on a nearby farm and reared for pork and bacon.  It was great fun until they went for slaughter and then the kids got upset like kids do and eating there pets no matter how nice they were didn’t seem to console them very much either.  After the pigs went SWMBO took over the fridge/freezer and expanded her empire beyond the kitchen and utility room and into “my” garage.

Now the way I saw it the broken fridge/freezer would go to the dump and the vacant space would be mine and serve as an ideal temporary home for the newly acquired perspex case.  As luck would have it SWMBO saw it that way too.   Unfortunately she also saw the need for a replacement fridge/freezer and a revamp of the utility room where she wanted it to go!

What The f**k!

It seems SWMBO had it all thought out.

“The dog (Buddy) and his bed can move to the hall, one of the work tops can be shortened, the notice board can move to another wall, the electrics can be “jiggled” with, the shelf unit can go and it can all be decorated”.

“Oh, and the new fridge/freezer is being delivered by John Lewis on Wednesday (that’s actually this morning by the way!)”.

What the f**k!

“… and just when am I going to get any modelling done?”

—000—

This week TIM has been …

F*****g decorating!

This week TIM has been listening to …

The sodding radio while he’s been bloody decorating!

I don’t like the radio much, the repetitive adverts drive me up the wall and the playlists seem to be the same show after show too.  One catchy little number seemed to get played a fare bit and as a consequence grew on me.  It sounds like it belongs to the 80s but apparently it’s new(ish), well to me anyway.  I found it on YouTube and the link is below.  The guy looks a little odd, the dodgy haircut doesn’t help but the girl is rather hot.

This week TIM has been watching …

Men Behaving Badly

This seemed rather apt given the week I’ve been having.  Fortunately, while waiting for paint to dry in the utility room, I have found some time to do some modelling this week but it’s been bits here and there so far.  As a consequence I thought half hour episodes would be better than trying to watch a feature length film.

It’s best to ignore series one which featured a miscast Harry Enfield and jump strait to series two and beyond which starred Neil Morrissey instead.

Another timeless classic where the comedy is as good now as it was when first aired.

—000—

Until next time.

TIM

Welcome to this weeks Musings!

—000—

Making the right choice! 

As modellers we are used to making decisions when confronted with choices.  What colour scheme?  What to paint next?  What to buy next?  You get the idea.

Life however isn’t just about modelling and occasionally life throws us some tough choices which, like it or lump it, we have to make decisions on.  Some people bury there head in the sand, others take a lead role and others do as instructed by others.  One way or another we’ve all had to make difficult choices and they don’t get much tougher than this one.

—000—

Brexit

Sticking with difficult choices …

This is, believe it or not, first and foremost a modelling blog but if you live in the UK it’s been pretty difficult to avoid the subject of Brexit just lately.  If you listen to either camp it would appear Armageddon is just around the corner.  Put simply we are heading for disaster and our media can’t get enough of it, or so it appears to me.  Now it won’t surprise you to know that I have a view on the subject.  Without getting to technical I would best describe the whole process, irrespective of which way anyone voted, as complete and utter bollocks.

There has been much talk about the impact on Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the customs union, defense and the free movement of people, etc, etc, and last week a 585 page document was published outlining the deal on the table.  Now I doubt many of you have taken the trouble to read this tome but I have and I was disturbed to learn that there is not a single mention about the implications for modellers and modelling!  The government claims to have the interest of everybody at the heart of what they do but clearly this is not the case.

Modellers have been totally overlooked and quite frankly that’s not good enough!

—000—

Politicians and Hobbits 

Continuing with the political theme and making choices …

I’m sorry to say that I wouldn’t trust a politician further than I could throw one.  This of course begs the question “what politicians, if any, can you trust?”.  Well, if we base our trust on the basis of how far a politician can be thrown then we can immediately rule out all the heavy ones.  With all the will in the world we ain’t about to pick those mothers up.  Any attempt to do so would almost certainly put our backs out.

I think it is also safe to rule out ethnic minority politicians and female politicians too.  In a world gone mad the risk of picking up a politician from either group would almost certainly result in claims of either racism, sexual harassment or both.  I think it is also reasonable to assume that attempting to throw a politician with a disability would be described as both inappropriate and insensitive regardless of how good the intention for doing so was.

Although by no means certain, by my reckoning the only politicians with the potential to be trusted based on how far they can be thrown are non disabled white male dwarfs.

Personally I think JRR Tolkein reached a similar conclusion.  It cannot be a coincidence that he trusted the Hobbits to go in search of the ring can it?

—000—

This week TIM has been listening to …

ZZ Top.

Hard to find fault with these guys in regard to their taste in cars and women.  Facial hair on the other hand …

Two of my favourites – “Gimme All Your Lovin'” and “Sharpe Dressed Man”.  Play LOUD!

—000—

This week TIM has been watching …

The Inbetweeners.

Not sure how available this series is across the globe but if you haven’t seen it, aren’t offend by foul language and are willing to reflect honestly on you own miss spent youth it’s almost impossible not to relate to these guys.  Watching the series from start to finish along with the two films for the umpteenth time and it gets better or worse every time.

Personally it feels like a biography as far as I am concerned.  Impossible to watch without fond memories, uncomfortable squirming and pissing myself with laughter.  Perhaps it’s just me!

—000—

Until next time.

TIM