Category: Musings

Welcome to this week’s Musings!

Fantasy Knights?

In bed the other night I mentioned to she who must be obeyed that I was thinking of a fantasy knight.  Judging by the look on her face it was clear we weren’t on the same wavelength.  I was thinking modelling while she … well lets just say she wasn’t!

Having been married for 36 years the need for words at a time like this are unnecessary.  Quietly we slipped into our well rehearsed fantasy ritual, one I’m sure you are familiar with.  Yes, I’m talking about the one where one of us pretends to be a sleep while the other reads a book.

Timescales

Something I am occasionally asked is “how long did it take you to do that?”.  The answer to this question is purely guess work as I do not keep track of such things.  I typically sit down at my desk and work away to a background of either music, a film or football.  So was when I was asked recently “how long did it take you to tile that roof?” I replied – “Well, the front took me the entire time it took to listen to the Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers album followed by David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. The back took as long as Sgt Pepper by The Beatles, Tina Turner’s Greatest Hits and Thriller by Michael Jackson”.

I’m not sure this was the answer the guy was expecting but undeterred he then asked “Is there anyway to do it quicker?”.  “Yes” I said “don’t sing along at the same time!”.

Don’t blame me blame the dog!

Let me introduce you to Buddy.

Buddy is a border collie and he is largely responsible for the creation of the Mid Week Musings.  But how can this be, he is only a dog?  I shall explain.

Like most dogs Buddy needs to be walked and like most men of my age I need exercise.  I don’t think I’m in bad shape but let’s just say if it came to running for a bus I would fall into the wait for the next one to come along group.  In a typical week Buddy and I walk around 35+ miles.  Sometimes more, sometimes less, much depends on the weather and how wet I want to get.

The amount of walking we do in a week has a significant bearing on how much thinking time I have to myself.  It’s when I’m walking the dog that I either problem solve or simply allow my mind to wander aimlessly.  Much of this thinking time is devoted to modelling which in turn often gives rise to Musings.  

As Buddy and I get older the walks will get shorter and so I expect will the Musings.

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Until next time.

TIM

 

 

Welcome to this weeks Musings!

Some recent posts by others got me thinking this past week, not a good thing I grant you.  This led me to ponder two things, the first of which was …

How expert are experts?

Red, White or Rose?

I am referring to wine.  Now I like wine but I am no connoisseur.  I willingly buy into Red for red meat and White for fish and cheese (I never drink Rose unless I’m drunk and it’s all that’s left.  Is it for surf ‘n turf’ or just the dregs of red and white mixed together?).  A grape variety grown in different countries with different soils and levels of sunlight logically gives rise to a variation in taste.  Wine left in an oak barrel for several years will taste differently to a newly casked wine and wine with a greater infusion of fruit will similarly be distinguishable when comparisons are made to less fruitier examples.  Similar things could be said about beer I’m sure.

So what is my point?  Well the basic taste differences I get, they are logical and not beyond the limits of my pallette.  Some are less obvious to me but I become appreciative once explained and pointed out by others.  Thereafter we are beginning to talk about very subtle changes.  Some I can pick up on, others simply fly over my head.  All of which gives rise to the following question.  Is my palette lacking in sophistication or is the wine expert simply being pretentious?

I suspect the answer lies somewhere in between.  I am not the product of a privileged upbringing so my exposure and understanding of some of the finer things in life are often lost on me.  This is offset by the fact numerous experts I have encountered in my former professional life love nothing better than to show off their expertise, something which I have found to be directly proportional to my lack of knowledge on the subject.

And the relevance of all this to modelling?

Well the way I see it is this.  Let’s take paints just as an example.  The differences between oils, acrylics and enamels is clear to see, just like Red, White and Rose wine.  The effect of washes is also evident and the impact of colour is a no brainer.  Some of the subtle variations and techniques are either obvious when applied or obvious once explained.  However, for me, and it is only me I’m talking about here, there are some things which are simply lost on me (for now).  For example, paint brands and manufacturers.  Do they really differ that much or are they all made in the same factory and put into different pots with other labels added to them?

Brushes potentially are the same.  Big differences at one end of the scale but so subtle at the other end that I suspect I would not be able to tell the difference.

Some of the experts (or is it the manufacturers?) would have us believe these things make a difference.  Perhaps they do but I cannot help but think some of it, to put it bluntly, is bullshit.

So am I knocking the experts?  Far from it.  The proffesional advice offered by the folks in the video link that Azazel recently provided for example was excellent and I have every intention of following through on some of them.  These people should never be ignored, they are professionals and make a living (presumably) from what they do.  They have my respect.  The issue is that even the experts do not agree on everything.  In fact some of the opinions offerred were polar opposite and this is the crux of the matter.

So what do “I” conclude?  There is great advice out there but it can be conflicting, potentially even false.  Listen to it all, try some of it or even all of it if yiu have the time but at the end of the day it’s what works best for you.

The beauty of our little community is we get to share our thoughts and experiences.  We won’t agree on everything, there is after all more than one way to skin a cat as my grandmother God bless her would say.  So to those who pass on their tips and experiences for us to check out, THANK YOU.  I will give them a try.

On to my other thought for the week …

Lionel Messi

Yes we are talking about the footballer (soccer player).  If you prefer feel free to swap Messi for Ronaldo.  In any event we are talking about the two best footballers currently playing today.  And what does this have to do with modelling?  I shall explain.

If I remember correctly the eighty/twenty rule goes something like this.  It takes 20 percent of our time to learn 80 percent of something and 80 percent of our time to learn the other 20.  In reality few of us if anyone at all ever learn the other 20 percent, 80 percent is often good enough.  It’s why computer systems have errors in them.

This rule in general can be applied to modelling.  A novis can learn very quickly.  We’ve all been there, we’ve all done it and now we are all trying to bottom out the remaining 20 percent.  Some of us are closer to that goal than others but none of us are or ever will make 100 percent.

There are two realities at play here in my opinion.  Firstly, the more you put in the more you get out.  Attaining 80 percent is achievable and further hard work will make advances into the remaining 20 percent.  Secondly, 100 percent is not achievable but only a natural ability will take you as close as it is possible to go.  Do other professional football players train and practice as hard as Messi or Ronaldo?  I think they do but they just don’t possess that extra something which elevates them to a higher plane.  That said neither Messi or Ronaldo are perfect, they miss goal scoring opportunities and fail with passes, they just don’t do it as often as other players do which is why they are better but not perfect.

My conclusion is a simple one.  Work hard and practice.  It is not a coincidence that the more you practice and the harder you work the better you become.  Perfection  is beyond mere mortals (that’s why I will always be the Imperfect Modeller) but it should not stop our pursuit of excellence, to be the best we can be.  Above all enjoy what you do.  Life’s to short!

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Until next time!

TIM

Welcome to this weeks Musings!  

A problematic week, allow me to explain …

Problem No: 1 – Hitting the wall!

It’s happened before and it will happen again, I’ve hit the wall.  Not physically but mentally.  I’m happy with the models I’m working on and happy with one or two things I have planned.  I also have a list of things I’ve jotted down in respect of potential future ideas and projects.  The problem is nothing on that list is jumping up and down at me saying “do me first, please, please, do me first!”

I’ve methodically trawled through the various book marks I’ve saved but still nothing.  Don’t get me wrong, plenty of great figures and a few additional ideas but nothing that’s got me truly excited.  I’ve looked over things I’ve done and it’s tempting to do one or two again, especially as some older models are poor relative to what I feel I could do now.  The trouble is it is reworking and not the same as doing something for the first time.

It’s not a problem in need of an urgent solution, well not yet it isn’t, but I’m a planner and there in partially lies the problem.  It’s not good enough for me to know what the next few models are going to be I need to look beyond that.  My first mistake was not biting the bullet and going to Salute 2018 at the Excel arena in London this coming weekend.  I’m sure that would have done the trick but to be fair I didn’t envisage the problem until after I’d made other arrangements by which time it was too late.

I think the best idea is not to think about it, it’s an approach that’s worked in the past.  In the meanwhile all ideas gratefully received!

Problem No: 2 – To Ebay or not to Ebay that is the question!

There are pro’s and cons of being virtually retired as I’ve been discovering.  On the positive side I get to spend much more time on my interests, in particular modelling.  On the negative side I get to spend much more time on my interest, in particular modelling!

You see the problem is this.  Like all hobbies they don’t particularly come cheap.  What generally costs, say fifty pounds is often rounded down to costing just over a fiver when explaining to Her Who Must Be Obeyed what the postman (oops, politically incorrect, should have said post person or more accurately “the twat who doesn’t shut the gate so the dog can get out) has just delivered.  

Now having Fathers Day in June, a birthday in August and Christmas in December helps things along a fair bit but the bottom line is I am at risk of spending more than I feel can justify.  Put another way, I am at risk of running out of excuses as to why it’s not a good idea for why She Who Must Be Obeyed shouldn’t waste money on something for herself.

There is another problem too.  I’m creating figures and dioramas to the point where I am running out of places to put them.  The china cabinet, more a model cabinet if I’m being honest, is increasingly becoming the subject of matrimonial angst.  Clearly something has to be done and I’ve been told in no uncertain terms that the models have got to go.  Sadly I wasn’t given the choice between the models or She Who Must Be Obeyed, life’s not that simple!  I seem to recall a similar conversation over whether or not I should have a vasectomy, I lost that one too.

So what is to be done?  Putting vignettes or dioramas on Ebay isn’t going to work.  Firstly, they are one offs and far from easy to post, secondly I couldn’t part with them so they may have to be stored which seems a shame.  Figures on EBay on the other hand are more easily replaced and arguably I might replace them with better painted ones.

It’s a dilemma and one to mull over.

Problem No: 3 – Dubious “Likes”

Over the last week or so someone by the name of “sexy” something or other has been liking my posts.  Not only does she like my posts but she is willing to have carnal knowledge with me to show just how much she likes what I do. All very flattering given we have never even met for a drink but it just goes to show I’ve still got it!

Now call me naive but my curiosity did tempt me to follow her link (you would have done the same!). Apparently what was on offer was the opportunity to “f..k” a lady from Southampton. Imagine my horror …. Southampton!  That’s getting on for a four hour drive!

Despite being a legend in my own pants I grew concerned that the lady from Southampton might not be serious about a formal relationship and worried that she might be attempting to hack into my account.  To be on the safe side I contacted WP Support via a chat room.  A very nice lady, in Canada I think, told me that all was safe and sound and that such things were to quote her “a pain in the butt”.  This left me wondering if she had gone a step further in such a relationship but after further consideration suspect something got lost in translation.

I’m reminded of an old joke (apologies in advance to any ladies) – “If all the women in Southampton were laid end to end nobody would be at all surprised!”

  —000—

Until next time.

TIM

 

Welcome to this weeks Musings.  

This week there is only one topic, more a question really but a significant one and a subject which all of us are likely to have an opinion on.

“What is Cool?”

I suppose the first thing to address is why ask the question?  Well the July challenge is to do something “cool” which got me thinking what in modelling terms does this mean?

Away from modelling it is easier to identify, the cinema is a good example I think.  At some point I’m guessing we’ve all been to the pictures (movies for those in the US) and wished to be the guy (or girl) up there on the screen.  I for one would have loved to have been Bond, James Bond.  The girls, the cars the don’t give a damn attitude to authority which can only happen knowing you’re the best and that the authorities have to accept you no matter what.  Then there’s The Man With No Name played by Clint Eastwood in the spaghetti westerns or Steve McQueen riding the motor bike in The Great Escape.  Go back further and you have James Dean and the young Marlon Brando.  Another actor not to be forgotten is Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke.  He was so cool in that film that they even put “cool” in the film title!  The list goes on and on and for younger readers there are numerous current hero’s with which to identify with.  The point is they are easily recognisable.  They look sharp, get the girls and best of all they don’t give a shit!

Music and dance are also relatively easy areas to identify with as well.  Think Elvis, John Lennon, Mick Jagger, etc, etc.  The list is endless but we can all identify with someone “cool”.  When I think dance I think Patrick Swayze and John Travolta.  Forget Travolta in Saturday Night Fever and Grease, I’m talking Pulp Fiction.  If you’ve never seen it check out the dance scene.  Again we can identify cool as people doing what we would love to do but can’t.

Now fashion is a lot tougher.  We’ve all known someone, male or female, who could wear a bin bag and carry it off.  Key here I think is body shape and good looks.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but as a general rule hero’s aren’t to thin, fat, short or tall.  What they are is perfectly proportioned.  They are also drop dead gorgeous with good bone structure and perfect teeth and hair.  The only slight alternative to this is to be tough and hard.  People wont take the piss out of you to your face if you dress badly but stand six-foot six and are built like the proverbial shit house door (although they may do behind your back!)

Another area of “cool” is to be very, very good at what you do, exceptional would be even better.  You don’t have to dress well or look good but if you are the best in your field then plenty of people will think you are cool.  This is why even geeks and nerds can be cool.  Mark Zuckerberg springs to mind.

Money and plenty of it can also go along way to being cool.  I’m reminded of the English football (soccer) player, Peter Crouch.  He stands about six-foot eight inches tall, thin as a rake and looks like he fell out of the ugly tree and hit most of the branches on the way down.  However, as a professional player he earns a fortune and has a model for a wife who when walking arm in arm makes him look good.  Asked what he would have been if he hadn’t made it as footballer he reportedly said “a virgin”.  Says it all about money.

So, back to modelling.  Why is “cool” important?

Quite simply as figure painters, gamers and modellers it’s nice to do something which our peers think is cool.  Cool is everywhere, even in our niche hobby.  We like “cool” figures, vignettes or dioramas.  We do our best to achieve excellence and perfection and feel we have achieved it when someone says “that’s cool”.  It makes us feel good to hear those words (or similar) and for that reason “cool” is important.  But how do we go about painting or building something cool in the first place?  What makes for “cool”?

Well, in no particular order these are my thoughts on what makes for a “cool” model.

• Paint work.  It doesn’t have to be the best paint job but I think it’s fair to say we all admire well painted figures or base work.  Put another way, we notice it when it’s not that great.  Further more we are our own worst critics and don’t usually need someone to tel us!
• The figure itself.  The pose can be significant as can be the “attitude” of the figure.  Something different and unusual often stands out for me but the more the figure has Hollywood looks, which is to say it has been sculpted well, then so much the better.  As the saying goes, “you can’t polish a turd!”
• Detail.  I think we all admire detail.  Wether it’s in the paint work, the conversion/sculpting or base work we all have an eye for detail.
• Simplicity.  Sounds like a contradiction to Detail but sometimes the simpler something is the better it looks.  Goes for base work as well as figures.
• Something different and original.  Many of us are copiers having been inspired by the work of others to do our own take on something.  Nothing wrong with that, even the Beatles had their influences.  But coming up with something truly creative and original has the potential to be the coolest thing of all!

So there you have it.  Not an original list by any means, nor is it a definitive one.  It’s also a question for which there is no right or wrong answer, it is subjective.  That said I would really love to know what others think makes for a cool model.

Please discuss!

Until next time.

TIM

 

Welcome to this weeks Musings.

The List!

The to do list for the coming weeks/months, in no particular order currently looks like this:

• Complete WW2 US Winter Diorama – Done✔
• Get figure(s) done for The Good, The Bad and The ugly
• Complete 2 x WW1 vignettes/dioramas to complete timeline
• Complete Willys Jeep kit (for April challenge?)
• Start Wood Elf figure (for April challenge?)
• Sort out neglected figure(s) for May challenge (plenty to choose from!)
• Something “cool” for July challenge
• 3 x SAGA Gripping Beast figures to be started/completed

Now anyone who followed last weeks Mid Week Musings is probably wondering what was all the fuss about a list if the above is all I had to jot down.  A fair question deserving of an answer.

The thing to note here is that the above list is only one list and is also a high level list.  It is not the list I have of the things I need to acquire to complete the list.  It’s not the list of models that I wish to do at some point in the future, neither is it the list of things I would like for father’s day or that I aim to buy with my  birthday money (no real rush as it’s not until August but I like to be prepared).  It’s not the list of materials which I need to buy to replace used items nor is it the list of things relating to the model club or the list of potential future blog posts.

Putting modelling aside there is the list of indoor jobs and the list of outdoor jobs.  Both of these lists have yet to be merged with the indoor and outdoor jobs lists which She Who Must Be Obeyed has prepared for me.  Then of course there is the holiday list and shortly after that there will be a need to start the Christmas list and sitting above all of that is the list of the lists.

What can I say, I’m a lists person.  I just have to remember where I left them.

Willys Jeep Update

In the first of my Mid Week Musings I mentioned that I was planning to build a Rubicon Willys Jeep kit which I had purchased.  The main idea behind buying the kit was to try to encourage the folks at the model club to base their vehicles instead of building them to just stand alone and, if I’m being honest, to have a go at kit building for the first time in more years than I care to remember.

I’m not entirely sure why I set myself this challenge because since I bought the kit I’ve been putting off getting started. To say I’ve not been looking forward to it is an understatement, however last week I knuckled down and took the first bold step.  It didn’t go smoothly.

The first issue I had was shortly after I had opened the box ands started to assemble the kit.  The following conversation with “She Who Must Be Obeyed” provides an insight.

Me: “This kit is shit!”

SWMBO: “Why is that dear?”

Me: “There are far too many parts and I’ve no idea where half of them go. Some of them look like duplicates.  It’s crap!”

SWMBO: “Are there any instructions with it dear?”

Me: “There’s a bit of paper here somewhere.  Yes, it says instructions on it and has some pictures too”

SWMBO: “Have you read them?”

Me: “Of course not!”

What can I say? I’m a guy and I don’t do instructions.

Turns out there are four configurations to chose from hence the additional parts.  Progress promises to be painful.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Have managed to find and purchase two figures for this challenge although they both fall under The Good category.  Both look pretty cool to me but we’ll see how they paint up.  Hopefully I will have one of them ready for next week if all goes well.

—000—

Until next time.

TIM

 

Welcome to this week’s Musings.

A list, a list, my kingdom for a list!

I looked at my work space over the weekend and decided it looked a mess. More than that, because I had figures and bits and pieces all over the place I realised I’d lost control over what I was working on and what I was planning to do.

Now I can’t begin to tell you how out of character this is for me. I am by nature neat and tidy, a methodical worker and above all a lists person. I have a list of my lists!  As a list person I have only two things to remember in life. Firstly to write whatever needs to be done on the list. Secondly, to remember where I put the list.  The latter is becoming trickier with age.

I have no idea where things went wrong but the situation is way out of my comfort zone. A tidy up is drastically needed and a list, especially a list!

Monthly Painting Challenges

Azazel kindly provided me with details of the challenges lined up for April, May, June and July and I have been mulling the matter over since then.  I will probably give June a miss, being a non wargammer I don’t have squads to start let alone complete.  A neglected model (May) and a centre piece or something cool (July) both sound good although if my attempts at being a cool teenager all those years ago is anything to go by then my idea of a cool figure should be interesting.  In any event I’m up for May and July.

April is a choice between build or convert/kitbash something that you have wanted to do for ages.  Whilst I’ve been known to undertake the occasional amputation conversions are not generally my thing (something to consider more for the future perhaps?).  “Kitbashing” I assume is constructing a new figure from the parts of at least two other different kits to make hybrid figure. As I don’t have the kit figures for this then for now I will have ro rule that option out too.  This leaves me aiming to complete a model, possibly a vignette, that I have wanted to do for some time.  But what to do?

On more than one occasion over the years I’ve contemplated doing something within the Si-Fi/Fantasy genre, purely for something different but have never been able to get my head around how to satisfy my vignette/diorama needs.  This all changed following a recent post by Wyrd Stones & Tackle Zones entitled “Tinkering with Elves”.  A dodgy title it must be said and I did point out that in was something I felt sure you could get arrested for.  Nevertheless the post led me to doing a bit of elf searching which in turn threw up some images of “wood elves”.  In particular “Athrand Nightblade” a Wood Elf Sergeant made by Reaper Miniatures caught my eye.  Wood Elf, woodland setting?  Works for me.  The start of a new genre?  Perhaps but one step at a time, we’ll see how the April challenge goes first.

Something deep and meaningful?

It occurred to me that I know very little about the people I follow or who follow me other than where in the world they are.  I believe IRO made a brief mention on this matter a while ago too. The occasional snippet might present itself but generally “I know nothing” as Manuel would say in Fawlty Towers.

I do not know if you are black or white, tall or short or fat or thin.  I don’t know your religion, if you have been in prison or your sexual orientation. You could be young or old, a working professional or unemployed.

I do know that we all have a shared interest and that we all get on because of it. Bias and prejudice it would seem has no place in our blogging.

If only the rest of the world could be like that!

—000—

Until next time.

TIM

Welcome to this weeks Musings.

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear TIM, Happy Birthday to you!

This month, the 22nd to be precise, sees the first anniversary of The Imperfect Modeller blog.  It’s hard to believe that a year has gone by and even harder to comprehend that I’ve managed to keep the thing ticking over and gain some followers along the way.

I’ve no desire to get all slushy and sentimental but I must at this point single out IRO, not that the rest of you that follow me aren’t inportant (more on that in the second musing in just a moment) because you are but he was my first follower and although he had no way of knowing he started doing so at a time when I was thinking of calling it a day.  I wont embarase him further as I suspect he is a stereotypical Australian, which is to say he can crush cans of Fosters with his eye lids, surfs on the backs of Great Whites and particpates in weekly bar brawls (notice how I didnt mention modelling for fear it might not be macho enough!).

So, to IRO and indeed to the rest of you thank you for your interest, your “likes” and your “comments”, they all help to inspire and motivate me to being a better but “not perfect modeller”.

This Time Next Year I Wont Be a Millionaire!

In the lead up to Christmas I received a newsletter email from Wayland Games, Europes biggest game store,  which carried an advert asking if anyone wanted to blog for them to get in touch.  After some initial thought, and spurred on by my plans to retire later this year, I thought I would express an interest.

Now I’m not under any illusions.  I’m not the greatest modeller or blogger, I simply enjoy both, so it came as somewhat of a surprise that after a brief exchange of emails and content I was told they would like me to blog for them and also for Warcradle Studio!

Remuneration was never discussed but I feel certain it would have come with a six figure salary, an endless supply of modelling freebies and invitations to countless corporate jollies in exotic locations.  So where did it go wrong?  Well, perhaps not unreasonably Wayland Games wanted exclusive content which essentially would have left me with next to nothing to put on my own blog.  The question therefore was do I give up my blog and my small but hugely important number of followers for the fame and riches of blogging for them?

When it came to the crunch I decided I couln’t turn my back on my followers, that’s you lot by the way.  My blog is my baby.  As Golum would say it’s “my precious” and I value sincerly each one of you that follow TIM.  I’m also, and my brother can vouch for this, an idiot!

Photographic Light Boxes

Until recently I was completely unaware of photographic light boxes.  I think it was a throw away remark in one of Azazel’s posts that brought the matter to my attention.  Curious to know what he was refering to I Googled the subject to learn some more.  Most illuminating.  Sorry that’s a dreadful pun.

It turns out they are relatively inexpensive and potentially could improve the quality of the photographs I’ve been posting.  I have a decent SLR camera but consistent quality is to say the least hit and miss.  Will it improve with a light box?  Maybe.  In any event I have ordered one from Amazon and it is due to arrive later this week.  For better or worse I’ll let you know how I get on with it, well for better I will.  If the photo’s are still crap I’ll keep quiet.

—000—

Until next time.

TIM

 

 

 

 

Those of you who were kind enough to read and even comment upon my last Musings may recall that I said I would consult with my brother, Alan.  IRO had suggested a “Western” themed model challenge based around “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” and this led to me mulling over who, in Hollywood acting terms, would be the nominees.

Now my brother is a world leading authority on all things “Old West”, so much so that Google refer to him before responding to user enquiries on the subject.  I should also point out that he, possibly like a good many of us, has OCD, to such an extent that we refer to it as CDO – you gotta have those letters in order!

Before handing over to my brother I think I ought to take a leaf out of the BBC’s book.  When they introduce the sports news they invariably say something along the lines of “for those of you who do not want to know the score look away now”.  This article is very much about Western Movies so log off now if it’s not your cup of tea and simply try to contain you excitement between now and my next more modelling related post.  That doesn’t excuse you IRO for whom his 5th film choice, set in Australia, may surprise you!

Over to my brother …

TIM

—000—

Having pondered the question posed by TIM, or my brother as I call him, as to who really were the goodest, baddest and ugliest actors, from within the western movie genre, I came up with a shortlist of about fifty. However, I doubted that my list would match anyone else’s by a country and western mile, so I decided to take another look at this and try to do better.

A good western usually has a hero, a villain, a smattering of love and if you’re really lucky some degree of authenticity. For example: Nobody wants to see Gary Cooper’s portrayal of an 1880’s Sheriff using a Luger from the 1940’s, falling in love with someone that looks like your grandmother, or having to defend the townsfolk from a baddie, who is only 6 feet 3 inches tall when sat on his horse.

You catch my drift I’m sure.

So, with that broad generalisation in mind, what western movies have some, if not all of those elements, which ones to choose and where to start? Shane was mentioned by TIM and I can’t fault that movie for the first of my Top 5 choices, which are in no particular order, other than release date.

Shane, made in 1953, was one of the first grown up westerns, based on a grown up book by Jack Schaefer. Alan Ladd plays the hero, Jack Palance the baddie, Jean Arthur is the love interest and Van Heflin, although not the ugliest of actors, definitely clipped a couple of branches when he fell from the ugly tree. The Ryker brothers are no oil paintings either, being played Emile Meyer and old time character actor John Dierkes. The movie was directed by George Stevens and the scene where Shane (Alan Ladd) shows the young Brandon De Wilde how to shoot, includes one of the fastest ‘real-time’ draws by any actor in movie history.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, made in 1962, has two hero’s for the price of one in this classic John Ford western. John Wayne and James Stewart play the hero’s, Lee Marvin is the baddest of baddies, Vera Miles is the love interest and as you would expect from a John Ford movie, there are more character actors than you can shake a stick at. John Carradine, Andy Devine, Strother Martin and Edmund O’Brien, are just four of them and although none are truly ugly, they’re close enough. The excellent Denver Pyle and Woody Strode also appear.

Ride The High Country, made in 1962, has another two hero’s for the price of one in this early Sam Peckinpah western. Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea play the hero’s and Mariette Hartley is the love interest. The Hammond brothers, acted by John Anderson, John Davis Chandler, James Drury, L.Q. Jones and Warren Oates play the baddies and uglies between them. This vastly underrated and rarely seen movie is a real gem and well worth checking out.

Once Upon A Time In The West, made in 1968, is a sprawling epic of a western by Sergio Leone. Charles Bronson plays the hero, Henry Fonda the baddie, Claudia Cardinale is the love interest and Jason Robards rides the rail between goodie and baddie. The uglies, for want of better candidates, are played by Woody Strode, Jack Elam and Al Mulock, but as these guys don’t speak and are all killed off within the first fifteen minutes, I’m not sure they count. Nevertheless, with a run time of nearly three hours, this film is now generally acknowledged as a masterpiece and one of the greatest films ever made. So who am I to argue with that?

Quigley Down Under, made in 1990, is my last choice and is certainly not your average western, being set and filmed in Australia. However, this is a terrific movie which echoes back to Hollywood westerns from the 1940’s and 1950’s. Great music, a good storyline and strong cast. Tom Selleck plays the hero, Alan Rickman makes a nasty baddie, even for an Englishman and Laura San Giacomo is the love interest. There are no uglies, the whole cast being as good looking as the epic locations. The film was directed by Simon Wincer.

Finally to sum up. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Good: Charles Bronson, Alan Ladd, Joel McCrea, Randolph Scott, Tom Selleck, James Stewart and John Wayne.

Bad: Henry Fonda, Lee Marvin, Jack Palance, Jason Robards and Alan Rickman.

Ugly: This was a difficult category to fill, especially with names that anyone would remember and therefore it has been left intentionally blank. Hollywood rarely employ ugly people and there are three good reasons for this:

1: They are not good box office.
2: Roles would be few and far between.
3: No one wants an ugly person crying in their office.

–000—

Have you ever had one of those weeks when everything you do and everything you touch turns to gold?  No, neither have I.  In fact this week has been the complete opposite of a Midas week and I’ll leave you to determine just what everything I have touched has turned into.

Welcome to this week’s Musings.

This Weeks Objectives

I thought I would start by focussing on my aims for this week, chiefly for my benefit so I don’t get side tracked. Normally the order I work in doesn’t particularly matter, mainly because end dates, if any, are self-imposed and therefore entirely flexible. However, the WW1 project that I keep banging on about is the first time I’ve ever made a modelling commitment to anyone but myself and I’m determined to stay focused. My primary aim therefore is to fulfil my promise of last week which is to complete another unfinished WW1 model by the end of this week which will bring the end of the project in sight.

Having achieved last week’s aims I thought I deserved to reward myself, it’s only right and proper to have an incentive. To this end I have ordered various figures and also begun a little WW2 diorama for which I purchased the figures before Christmas.  As this model will possibly be a post for the coming weekend I’ll not bore you with more details at this stage.

Female Figures (and civilian figures too)

Those who follow Azazel, and I’m guessing most of us do, will have seen his recent post questioning the lack of female figures.  To be honest this is something I had just accepted without question in much the same way that I simply accepted the shortage of civilian figures too.  My logic, particularly given the historic periods that appeal to me, was that women and passers-by simply do not feature in war and therefore war games and figures.  Bollocks really but that’s as much thought as I had ever given the matter until now.

In mulling over the matter I was reminded of two incidents which took place on a visit I made to Euromilitaire, Folkestone with my brother Alan many years ago.  The first occurred when looking at a table containing Phoenix Follies figures.  I don’t know if they are still in existence but Andrea do something similar.  Basically they are figures of scantily clad females in titillating poses aimed presumably at perverts.

Why perverts?  well the guy standing next to me, not my brother, said “they’re nice aren’t they?”.  “Yes” said I not wishing to be rude.  “when I paint them I always do the underwear before I paint their clothes over the top” he went on to say.  “Uh! What the f…” said I and quickly moved on.  The point of this tale is that as best I can remember these were the only female figures I saw at this huge event.  Whilst things may not be great now some progress has been made since those dark days, or at least I would like to think so.

My other memory was of the trade stand for Hornet figures.  Hornet had not long before brought out a Wild West range of figures which at the time stood at 12 figures.  Talking to the guy he told me that another 6 were due to be released but the remaining 6 of the 24 series would mostly likely never see the light of day (and they haven’t).  Naturally I asked him why and was told that for every Wild West figure he sold he could sell 40 WW2 figures.  Quiet simply it was all about supply and demand which leads me to think the same could be true for female (and civilian) figures too.  Of course there is a chicken and egg situation here as well.  If there are no figures then you can’t buy them!

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

Those that follow IRO will presumably have seen his post last week of a western themed project/challenge under the heading The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. 

Now the old west is not everyone’s cup of tea, and of course the challenge doesn’t have to be met in the traditional style, but given my interest in this period I cannot say no. I suspect I will go traditional if I can find the figures I want out there, hopefully I can.

The obvious thing is to go down the route of the film of that title featuring of course Clint Eastwood, and this I may well do, but then I got to thinking who in silver screen Hollywood terms was the “Goodest” cowboy, the “baddest” and the “Ugliest”?

My brother is the font of all knowledge on these things so I will discuss the matter further with him. If nothing else I’ll be interested to see if he can come up with anyone “gooder” than Alan Ladd in Shane – but is there a figure out there?

Goodbye Old Friend

Sadly this week I had to say goodbye to an old friend, my Renaissance Pro Arte No: 1 Sable paint brush.  Despite the fact that I buy the same brushes in the same various sizes and from the same supplier some seem to work better than others. This brush had become a firm favourite and seemed to apply paint where I needed it without fuss or protest, a true friend indeed.  Sadly nothing lasts forever so now the task of breaking in a new brush begins. Like a new puppy it wants to please but simply doesn’t understand.

—000—

Until next time!

TIM

When I issued my recent post on my trip to the Bovington Tank Museum it occured to me that from time to time there are perhaps somethings to say which are model or modelling related but which don’t necessarily relate to a specific model that I am working on at the time.  With this in mind I thought it might be a good idea (you may think differently!) to occasionaly share these musings as a seperate suplementary mid week post.  In any event I have decided to give it ago and if it holds no interest either for me or you the reader then I can simply drop it.  In short, nothing to lose by trying.  So welcome to the first, and quite possibly the last, of The News at TIM!

—ooo—

Is creativity is a dangerous thing?

Until I started this blog, incredible to think that was almost a year ago now, I was pretty diciplined, which is to say I generally worked on one model at a time.  Now for the first time I find myself working on at least six different projects, mostly small items it must be said, with an ideas bank of at least another couple of dozen or more.  The danger is that either I will rush what I am doing in order to start the next idea or, possibly worse still, fail to complete some or all of my current projects.

Now judging by my fellow enthuiasts this is not something peculiar to me alone.  Some, for example, Steinberg Shed Space, have adopted the approach of creating a plan and awarding himself positive points for when he ticks something off the list and negative ones when he goes off track.  So far he’s on +9 and all is well.  Others, Azazel I think I am right in saying, have been wonderfully creative in establishing monthly challenges aimed at encouraging participants to revisit and complete unfinished works.

Doubtless there are other schemes which can be adopted too that will rekindle interest in forgotten and set aside projects but what dear reader is right for me?  Truth is I do not know but I fear I am on a slippery slope.  I have therefore decided to do the modelling equivalent of going cold turkey.  In short I have set myself the objective that next weekend I will complete and outstanding WW1 model.  More than that I will complete another outstanding WW1 model for the week after!  After that I’m not so sure but for now something has to give.  To infinity and beyond!

—000—

To base or not to base that is the question!

Should tanks, vehicles and the such like be presented on a base with groundwork?

As some of you may know I am not particularly into vehicles of any kind, I’m strictly a figure guy and in all forms be it modelling or the female form.  That’s not to say I don’t like vehicles because I do.  I also have the utmost respect for those that make and paint them, they posses skills I do not have.  The truth is kits need glue and glue and I do not get on.  The last time I did a kit I must have been about 11 or 12 and when I had completed it the ratio of plastic kit to glue must have been in the region of 3:1 in favour of the glue.

OK it was a long time ago and it’s partly because of this that I have just purchased a Rubicon 28mm Willys Jeep which also includes 4 US army figures.  There is another reason for doing it too.

At the model club I go to a number of the members produce some fantastically well made tanks, planes and other vehicles but they do not present them on a base with some ground work of any kind.  They are just a free standing kit.  Perfectly made but to my mind they just don’t look finished.  Is it just me that thinks this?  Now I get it when some of the war gamers don’t base their vehicles as they need to move the pieces about but even then their vehicles are positioned on base boards which are often works of art in their own right.  But when its sole purpose is just to sit there wouldn’t it look better in a more natural type of setting befitting its period?

Of course at the end of the day it’s all a matter of personal preference and I respect that.  However, I’m on a mini crusade and thus have decided to take a journey over to the dark side.  My Willys Jeep will be built, the excess glue will be weathered and made to blend in with a small amount of base work and then it will be taken to the club for comment.  I expect it to be derided but in any event I will keep you in formed.

—000—

You don’t know what you don’t know but somethings are bleeding obvious!

Having recently posted an article on How to Build Fir Trees Azazel kindly commented with a link to a fellow modeller and blogger who amongst other things was also into scenery making including trees.  If you check out the comments on that article you will also be able to follow the link.

As it turns out one of his methods was largely known to me and I had in fact produced a similar post of my own some while ago.  Having said that the method employed was a little different to the one I had been using, the stand out difference being that filler was applied once Sea-foam had been attached to the wire armature thus covering up the join.  This step was missing from my approach, I applied filler to the armature first then attached the Sea-foam after.  The more I think about it the more I can’t believe I missed the bloody obvious!

Now I appreciate if you are not familiar with making your own trees that this may not mean a great deal to you but that is not really the point of my raising the subject.  The real point is that we don’t know what we don’t know until someone points it out to us either directly or indirectly as was the case here.  The truth is since starting this blog I think I can say I have learnt something from everyone I have engaged with and I have no doubt that I will continue to learn from you all in the future too.

Constructive comment and shared knowledge is a great thing.  Thank you!

—000—

Further musings for another day?  Let’s wait and see!

All the best.

TIM