The Imperfect Modeller

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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This weeks miniature is the Baron’s War take on Friar Tuck.  I nice little sculpt which will sit alongside Will Scarlet and Little John who I painted a week or so ago.  Tuck is sold as a pair with Robin Hood which surprised me as I would have paired Robin with Maid Marion who is sold as a single figure, not that it matters a great deal.  All being well I’ll get Robin and Marion painted soon.

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Well It Made Me Laugh

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The Knights On TIM’s Modelling Table

Outside of my WordPress blog I’m not a great one for social media.  The main reason for being anti social on the World Wide Web is mostly an age thing but I’m also aware from what others have posted that various platforms have there pros and cons.  The biggest con being that far to many people are incapable of being kind to one another, the complete opposite of our little WordPress gang.

Nevertheless I recently posted a few images of my knights on Facebook having discovered by chance that there is a Baron’s War group.  On a number of levels it’s not a patch on WordPress blogging but I have to report that so far it has been a pleasant surprise.  Time will tell if I continue to contribute but I must say some of the posts have been very informative and as a further research source it has proven quite useful.

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Give Me Five

This week I’ve been pondering unsolved mysteries.  In reality there are hundreds to choose from but if I live long enough I’d like to see these five resolved before I expire.  Not much chance though!  In no particular order:

1. UFO’s and Alien life forms, do they exist?
2. Who was Jack the Ripper?
3. Does the Lochness Monster exist?
4. Was there a city of Atlantis?
5. Was George Mallory the first man to climb Mount Everest?

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This week TIM has been listening to …

“You can Call Me Al” by Paul Simon.  I remember when the Graceland album came out.  It was very different at the time and was a very popular album and one I played a lot.  I’d forgotten just how good it was.

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This week TIM has been watching …

“Kill Bill Volume 1” and “Kill  Bill Volume 2” starring Uma Thurman.  Classic Quentin Tarantino.  Totally over the top but fun.

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Remember …

When having sex it is OK to say “Yea”, “Yes” and “Oh Yes” but not “Yep”.

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TIM

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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This weeks miniature is once again a double bill.  As I have mentioned previously, the Baron’s War range of figures is not just about knights but also other members of the rank and file too.  In this instance we are talking archers.  Not a great deal to say about them.  Both nicely cast figures and, given the historical period, not overly complicated in terms of clothing and attire to paint.

One of the things I have enjoyed about buying so many figures up front is being able to vary what I paint.  So far I haven’t found myself bored or stuck in a rut and for now at least long may that contnue.

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Well It Made Me Laugh

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Give Me Five

Sticking with the theme of “cool” from last week I took a look at male musicians who, for me, fall within that genre, needless to say I could have included plenty more.  I have no music talents of my own, unless in days gone buy putting an album on the record player counts (confused young people please message me and I’ll expalin), but these are people I would have liked to have been in their heyday and my youth given half a chance.  So my top five cool dudes in no particular order are:

1. Elvis
2. John Lennon
3. Bryan Ferry
4. Keith Richards
5. Marc Bolan

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This week TIM has been listening to …

“Sweet Caroline” by Northern Irish footbaall fans.

Now I don’t mention it very often, mainly because this is first and foremost a modelling blog but I am a huge football fan.  With the European Champioships on this, along with numerous other video’s, popped up in my feed so I gave it a listen.  It did two things for me.  Firstly, it reminded me just how much fans are such a huge part of a game and the atmosphere it creates and secondly, just what a buzz it is being part of a large gathering that unites as one.  Not everyone’s cup of tea I know but it is so raw and gives me goose bumps

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This week TIM has been watching …

“Mare of Easttown” starring Kate Winslet.  A seven part series which I binge watched over a couple of evenings.  Very watchable with a couple of twists and turns along the way together with some good actng and believable characters.

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Remember …

The annoying thing about house work is just when you’ve finally made the bed and washed the dishes six months goes past and you find yourself having to start all over again!

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TIM

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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This weeks miniature is actually a couple of figures.  As mentioned at the outset, the Footsore  Baron’s War range of 28mm figures comprises of more than just knights and here we have my first Crossbowman and Spearman.  Individually these little chaps are nowhere as exciting at the knights to paint or look at but hopefully once they are all done they will swell the numbers and make the eventual army look all the more impressive.  Well that’s the plan!

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Well It Made Me Laugh

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Here, There and Everywhere?

Just a couple of weeks ago I had occasion to welcome a few more countries to have visited my blog.  New countries don’t come along very often these days but it seems they arrive like buses when they do.  Time now to say a big welcome to the Lebanon and St Vincent and Grenadine which takes my total now to 85.

There seems to be some dispute over how many countries there are in the world according to a Google search I made but the general consensus is 196.  Whatever the accuracy of the total figure the fact remains TIM has yet to reach out to over half the world.  Looks like I’m going to have to travel to some of the missing places and logon to my own site if I’m to make greater progress.  Not sure just how much I fancy the Middle East and swathes of Africa though.

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Give Me Five

“Cool” is something we probably all get but is, well for me at least, hard to explain.  I don’t think you can simply choose to be cool you simply are or you aren’t.  Although I am a legend in my own pants the reality is I would have loved to have been cooler than I am.  If I could choose who I would want to be as cool as within the world of acting then any on this list of my top 5 classic actors would do.  Next week I might take a look at the music world.  In no particular order:

1. Clint Eastwood
2. Steve McQueen
3. Paul Newman
4. Sean Connery
5. James Dean

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This week TIM has been listening to …

“The Galway Girl” by Fiddler’s Green.  This popped up in my YouTube presumably because I’d been listening to the Ed Sheeran track called Galway Girl recently.  The songs are not the same however and this is not the original version of this song either, that was performed by a chap by the name of Steve Earle and is a classic in its own right.  Anyway I had a listen and found myself hooked.  If I couldn’t be English then I’d choose to be Irish I reckon.  As much as the girl in the video is stunning with her red hair it would have made more sense to have gone with someone who matched the lyrics.

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This week TIM has been watching …

“Prime Suspect” starring Helen Mirren.  Borrowed the box set from my mum and dad and just watched series one.  Hard to believe it’s 30 years old now.  Amusing watching how the world has changed with things like smoking in the office for example.  Classic TV though and looking forward to working my way through the rest.

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Remember …

Always love a women for her personality, they have like 10, so you can choose.

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TIM

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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This weeks miniature is of a Baron’s War Footsore Sergeant, the first of four which comprise of pack No:1.  More than a peasant less than a knight would be my description, certainly from a painting perspective.  As he isn’t a knight as such I thought I would make up the heraldry using the rules I shared a short while ago.  The shield design is a “Pile” with a star denoting this Sergeant as the “third son”.

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Well It Made Me Laugh

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Give Me Five

Not sure what prompted this, probably the fact that my daughter has now finished school which had me reflecting on my own school days many, many years ago.  It occurred to me that there were lots of things I did at school which I have never done or used since.  Here is my list of five.  Feel free to add, could make for quite a list!

1. Used a ruler to draw a margin on every page I write on
2. Ended the day by putting my chair on the desk for the cleaner
3. Ever climbed Gym Ropes
4. Played (or tried to) the Recorder 
5. Used Pi 

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The Knights On TIM’s Modelling Table

Now it’s not very often I invent something, in fact I will go as far as to say I have never done so.  However, confronted with a problem I needed a solution.

The problem I was having related to my mounted knights.  When it comes to mounted figures I generally drill a whole in the bum of the figure, glue a piece of paper clip into the whole and then press the other end of the paper clip into the end of a cork which I then hold to paint.

Now this method has its pros and cons.  On the positive side I am forced to drink more wine in order to have a fresh supply of corks.  On the negative side the corks often have a slightly curved bottom to them and they easily topple over which is far from ideal.  This matter required some thought. 🤔

What followed was hundreds of man hours spent on numerous blue print designs based on mathematical and geometric theorem together with test model, after test model.  The end result, a superb example of modern engineering and ingenuity if I says myself, has now been patented and will be going into mass production in a matter or weeks. 

I use a specific clamp from my collection to hold horses and using the latest technology added  a drawing pin to the base.   Before and after images below display this perfect piece of engineering.

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This week TIM has been listening to …

“I Love To Boogie” by T-Rex.  As a kid I did love T-Rex and Mark Bolan. Sad he died so young, killed in a car crash in Barnes not so far from where I used to live and I would pass by the site on my way to watch Chelsea play every other week back in the day.

Unsure what track to go with I settled on this dance mash up because it has a brief glimpse of dancing knight’s from Monty Python’s Spamalot!

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This week TIM has been watching …

“The Pact”, a six part BBC series set in South Wales.  Notwithstanding that I predicted the ending, all be it within the last half an hour or so, this proved to be very watchable.

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Remember …

Everyone is beautiful, but sometimes it just requires the right amount of alcohol to see it.

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TIM