TIM’s Miniatures & Musings (No: 67)

by theimperfectmodeller, posted in Musings, Uncategorized

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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Hasslefree Miniatures do three versions of “Ray” based on Simon Pegg in the film “Shaun of the Dead”.  Having done the other two it kind of made sense to complete the set by painting the third.  In my case the third figure was “Zombie Ray” although in the film Ray never actually became a Zombie.  Some pictures below including a group one of all three.

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Well It Made Me Laugh …

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Domain … Help!

When I upgraded my WordPress package a month or two ago it came with the offer of a free  Domain for the first year.   Unfortunately it would seem that theimperfectmodeller.com has already gone (there are two of us?) but theimperfectmodeller.co.uk is available.  I am more than happy with the co.uk extention, in fact as a Brit I think I prefer it but I have two concerns.

Firstly, given the glorified cockup WordPress have made upgrading (!) the editor how easy is it to change the domain address or am I better leaving things as they are?

Secondly, in past posts I have added links which contain my current wordpress.com domain name.  Do these links now need to be changed or do the links remain intact and link automatically to the new domain address?

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.  Cheers.

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Scale Model World Telford

Disappointingly but not surprisingly I received an email last week informing me that the show had been cancelled as a consequence of Covid-19.  This event is the high point on my modelling calendar and one of the major occasions in the year that I really look forward to.  The email felt like the final nail in the 2020 coffin notwithstanding that there are 4 months still to go.  My feelings and my mood can best be summed up in one word.  Fuck.

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This week TIM has been listening to …

“Cal Me” by Blondie.  Popped up on a YouTube playlist.  Nice bit of nostalgia.

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This week TIM has been watching…

“Defiance” starring Daniel Craig.  A film which came out in 2008 but passed me by until seeing it on Netflix the other day.  A watchable WW2 film made more interesting given that it is based on a true story. 

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Remember…

If a women says you’re right that’s called sarcasm.

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TIM

TIM’s Memory Monday (No: 35)

by theimperfectmodeller, posted in Memory Monday, Uncategorized

One of the nice things about looking back at my past models is reminding myself of the things I learnt along the way, either in terms of scenery building or figure painting.  At the time this model taught me a lot and the techniques I employed were refined a little in future builds.  I am also reminded of the mistakes I made and how Imanaged to cover them up!

For those of you who might be interested a  link to Part 1 of this diorama can be found here.

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The Last Of The Mohicans – 28mm Diorama – Part 2

A succesful week, helped considerably by the stay in doors weather, which has seen the completion of this model and also of one of my outstanding WW1 vignettes, the subject of a separate post to follow this one.

Not a great deal to say on this one.  The fir trees were completed with a couple of applications of static grass, the water effects were applied but need to dry a little further and the figures were painted and fixed in position.

The figures are in my opinion nicely designed but they aren’t the greatest of castings and they lack the crispness of other models that I have painted.  As a consequence they aren’t the best but perhaps I’m just getting my excuses in early!

The last photo was taken with the Magua model placed behind this diorama (my brothers idea, credit where it’s due).  The idea was to see how dramatic, if at all, the backdrop would look.  I think  a combination of both bits of landscaping could make for an interesting diorama, I just need to get my head around what figures to use.  There is no rush however as right now I’ve got more than enough lined up!

Photo’s below.

TIM

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“Dorothy” – A 28mm Twisted Miniatures Figure

by theimperfectmodeller, posted in Steampunk, Uncategorized

Today we have a Twisted Miniatures figure from Demented Games based in Australia.  The figure goes by the name of “Dorothy” and is very nicely cast and highly detailed.  I bought a few figures from the range, seven to be exact, and have been slowly working my way through them.   Despite being distracted by other figures I have bought I now only have two more to paint.  I will get around to completing both of them, just not sure when!

Dorothy had plenty of detail to pick out which made her nice to paint but once again I can’t say I am very pleased with the base.  I seem to have lost my way a little just lately and this is some thing I need to focus on.  Despite that a deserved shout out to Kerry my neighbour who turned a few more wooden bases for me of which this is one.

TIM

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TIM’s Miniatures & Musings (No: 66)

by theimperfectmodeller, posted in Musings, Uncategorized

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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Back to Hasslefree Miniatures this week and a female figure which goes by the name “Young Maria”.  She was bought along with numerous others, several of which I have painted and recently posted, to be part of a diorama which never materialised.  Individually I loved each and every figure but I had a firm idea of what I wanted to do but some how just couldn’t get my head around how to put it together.  What are the odds that once I finish the last figure I will have a light bulb moment and then need to start all over!

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Well It Made Me Laugh …

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The Return of My Diorama Mojo

In Miniatures and Musings No: 63 I mentioned that I had bought a building from Table Top World, to be precise I purchased it through Zealot Miniatures in the UK.  You can buy direct from Table Top World who are based in Croatia but it is a little more expensive.  Now I am not often blown away by the quality of models these days, standards are high and I guess that is what I have come to expect, but the little building I bought is simply exquisite.

I am really looking forward to painting it now that it has arrived and I have several ideas for dioramas.  The search is now underway for the figures and accessories needed to accompany it.  Availability will doubtless determine the route the diorama takes, it typically does.

It will be a while before the project gets properly underway but for now I feel my mojo has definately returned.

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Is It Just Me?

I think I made it clear that I am not a fan of the new WordPress Editor.  Just to be clear I fucking hate it.  More than that my hatred is growing day by day.  It is only a matter of time before someone will say something and I will stab them.  It’s got me in that kind of mood.  If I lived in the US then I would probably be heading towards Silicon Valley armed to the teeth with an AK47 instead of being a keyboard warrior here in the UK.  So what has riled me now?  Four things.

Firstly, I schedule some of my posts.  In the old world the calendar function showed me what had been scheduled already and it was easy to determine the next date for the post I was about to schedule.  The new version I am looking at doesn’t.  I now need to look at scheduled posts, make a note of the dates and then go back in and try again.  Progress!

Secondly, if I dip out of a post I am writing to check something out then when I toggle back the post I had opened no longer automatically saves.  I have to go back out and start again and then I am asked if I want to restore the back up version.  Helpfull?  No.

Thirdly, if I cut some text with the aim of pasting it elsewhere it will allow me to paste it in the new position but the same text in its original postion is still there so I have to go back and delete it.

Fourthly, apologies if I have missed any posts of late but some are not finding there way to my email account or other feeds.  I know I am not the only one experiencing this but cannot see that this is down to me so I am blaming WordPress for this too.

Maybe it is just me.  Perhaps things work differently on my Samsung Tablet.  I might be better off using my laptop instead.  Then again I might just be hitting the wrong keys or something.  Whatever the problem I can’t help but feel there are a lot of glitches to be ironed out.

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This week TIM has been listening to …

“I Knew The Bride When she Used To Rock And Roll” by Nick Lowe.  What can I say, I do like a bit of Rock and Roll and I quite like this video too.

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This week TIM has been watching…

“World War II In Colour” on Netflix.  I suspect a great many of you have already seen this but if you haven’t and World War II is your thing then definately a series to watch.

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Remember…

You cannot control who walks into your life but you can control what window you throw them out of.

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TIM

TIM’s Memory Monday (No: 34)

by theimperfectmodeller, posted in Memory Monday, Uncategorized

This weeks post makes for a welcome change from WW1 which for a while had dominated my modelling.  I hadn’t finished with my WW1 timeline but I needed a break from the genre.  There is only so much khaki I can paint before getting bored with a bland colour palette.

I had forgotten all about this particular model.  I did enjoy it but it is an awkward size to dsiplay and thus is condemed to live its days out in a storage box in the garage.

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The Last Of The Mohicans – 28mm Magua Figure

My third and final post for this weekend and the background to the first post on “How to Make Fir Trees”.

One of my favourite films is The Last Of The Mohicans staring Daniel Day-Lewis and Wes Studi.  I love the story, the cinematography and the sound track.  A winning combination all round.  Truth is from a very young age I have always had a soft spot for the Indians.  There is a reason for this and it is a true story.  Allow me to enlighten you.

My Grandfather on my mother’s side had three older sisters and back in the time of the Great War 1914 – 1918 the family lived in Windsor.  During the war the Canadians sent over an expeditionary force who were billeted in Windsor Great Park.  Many of these men were lumber jacks and native indians who were brought over to chop down trees to supply some of the timber used in making trenches.  Two of my Grandfathers sisters met and later married two Canadian service men and went to live in Canada when the war ended.  In the case of my Great Aunt Rose she married a man by the name Pete Commanda, a native north American Indian.  They spent their lives living on the indian reservation in a log  cabin on the shores of Lake Temagami, Ontario.  A story which has fascinated me from an early age.  For interest a couple of pictures below.

Commanda Pete

So, whilst trawling the Warlord Games web site some while ago I discovered a set of six figures based on the movie.  I couldn’t resist the temptation to buy them.  I decided they would make two models.  One, this one, would feature Magua on his own.  The other five figures would feature as the basis for a separate diorama.

One of my favourite sequences in the film is at the end when all the main characters are high up on the mountains.  Somehow I wanted to create a mountain scene, albeit with a degree of poetic licence. I wanted height, I wanted rock faces, I wanted fir trees and to aid the impression of altitude I wanted snow (the poetic licence bit as none featured in the film!).  I wasn’t sure how I was going to achieve this and even if I could I wasn’t sure how good a single 28mm figure would appear dominated by a 30 cm high base.  As a consequence the idea sat on my to do list.  Then I got some inspiration on how to make fir trees.  I still wasn’t sure how the overall model would look but then decided to hell with it, let’s give it ago!

The first step was to sift through my outdoor log pile for a suitable log.  This was followed by some saw work to cut away sections which would house the trees and the rocks.  The photo’s below show some of the stages in that sequence.  I then cast some rocks using Woodland Scenics molds.  While various things were drying and doing their stuff I painted the Magua figure.  The Trees were made following the “How To Make Fir Trees” article that I recently published.

Everything painted and dried it was then all about assembly, more painting and then applying the snow.  My overall impression is that it came out looking OK.  I think I achieved the depth of scale I wanted and if nothing else then it’s a little different.

Now to deal with the other five figures!

TIM

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“The Scribe” – 28mm Other World Miniatures

by theimperfectmodeller, posted in Dark Age, Uncategorized

As far as my miniatures go this week sees a different manufacture/supplier – Other World Miniatures.  If memory serves me correctly, and at my bloody age it’s doing well if it does, then this was the third of three figures I bought more than a year or so ago.  The other two were a Rat Catcher that featured in Miniatures and Musings No: 40 and a Medieval Knight which I used in a mini diorama entitled The Temptress.  For far to long this little chap has been sitting primed in the to do pile.

I do like figures which I consider have some charachter about them and this little chap falls into that category which is why he appealed to me at the time and still does.  All of which adds to the mystery of why it has taken me so long to get around to painting and basing him.  All in all a nice little two part casting where the arms and the book are a seperate piece to the main body.

I am reminded to take another look at the Other World website as I seem to recall they had some other very nice figures too.  But can I can  justify any new purchases?  Of course I can!

TIM

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TIM’s Miniatures & Musings (No: 65)

by theimperfectmodeller, posted in Musings, Uncategorized

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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A straight forward figure this week, a little Hasslefree chap who goes by the name of “Finn”. Nothing much to say, just another figure from the pile of lead that I have been working my way through.  Originally intended for a diorama which I lost interest in but a nice little figure in its own right.  Images make his jeans look a little to glossy but having taken another look they are quite matt in the flesh so not sure what has happend there.

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Well It Made Me Laugh …

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Perfection or Imperfection?

When I buy a new pair of Levi jeans they are perfect.  They have never been worn and they are stiff and unfaded.  Perfect but I don’t like them.  Only when they have been worn in, become less stiff and more than a little faded do they become perfect as far as I am concerned.

And so it is with figures that I paint.

I could, if I choose to, paint all my figures in nice sharp colours and end up with the modelling equivalent of a new pair of Levi’s but would it look right?  In some cases the answer is yes.  For example a soldier on the parade ground would probably look imaculate but in a combat situation would that still be the case?  For me the answer is no but I accept that some people like the figures unweathered, I just don’t happen to be one of those people.

Personally I like weathering as it adds realism to the figure subject of course to composition and basing.  Perfection in imperfection is how I see it, like a nice worn in pair of jeans.

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The End of the Lead Pile!

My lead pile is no more.

No I haven’t finished all the models that I have and if I am being honest I never will.  Nor before anyone asks I haven’t given them all away either.  Instead I have simply renamed these never to be painted (by me) figures the “Investment Pile”.

The way I see it, left unpainted and kept safe and hidden for a number of years, they will one day be worth a small fortune.  One day future figure painters tired of 3D printed plastic will spend their cash to acquire old metal figures.  Think vinyl records.

Am I being delusional?  Almost certainly but for now at least I no longer have a lead pile.

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This week TIM has been listening to …

“Morning Glory” by Oasis.  Been a while since I listened to this album and had forgotten how good it was.

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This week TIM has been watching…

“The Fall” series 1, 2 and 3 starring Gillian Anderson.  Missed this series first time around but caught up on it on Netflix.  An excellent programme and well worth a watch.

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Remember…

If a book hits you on the head you may have only your shelf to blame.

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TIM

Hasselfree Miniatures – A Review By TIM

by theimperfectmodeller, posted in Tutorials, Uncategorized

I suspect for a great many painters and modellers the bottom line is the sites which interest us the most are those which align themselves to what we prefer doing.  So it was for me several years ago when my interest was almost exclusively the Old West.  However, whilst I still love the period my allegiance to the genre has moved on, my figure searches have widened and I now paint whatever takes my fancy.  As a consequence I am very much open to each and every site I come across.  If I discover a figure(s) I like the look of and I am inspired to paint and base it then I am almost certain to buy it.

It was during such a search that I discovered Hasslefree Miniatures.  I first came across images of a female fantasy figure called “Lenore” which was enough to make me go to the site and look more closely at what they had to offer.  The menu offers three prime categories – Fantasy & Steampunk, Modern & Post-Apocalyptic and Sci-Fi & Weird War.  There are numerous sub headings under each category.

My first purchase was for a few female fantasy figures.  They arrived like every order I have made since, well packaged and containing a couple of packets of sweets.  Yes that’s right sweets.  I always give mine to my daughter as her tooth is sweeter than.

The figures themselves are simply superb with very little, if any, clean up needed.  Each one is perfectly in scale with nothing out of proportion at all.   They are the work of a master sculptor for sure.  Some manufactures can equal the work of Hasslefree but I have yet to come across anyone who can better them when it comes to quality.  You do pay a little more for the figures but you certainly get what you pay for.  Generally the figures retail at around £4.00 to £5.00 each plus the dreaded VAT and you can expect to pay double that price if you want the resin master figure insead of white metal.  Occasionally Hasslefree will gave a 20% sale on everything and when they do I try to take full advantage.

One of the other things which attracts me to Hasslefree is that the figures are so well posed.  Each one has a charachter and expression of their own and for me and what I do they are simply perfect.   The level of detail is spot on and there is plenty of opportunity for some freehand painting shoild you so wish.  I could paint and base these figures all day long (and often do!).  They are so cool in my opinion and offer so many inspirational ideas.  If you didn’t know previously then I guess you know now that I am rather keen on Hasslefree Miniatures!

I am not sure that I can or that I would want to pick favourites within the ranges they have on offer but the Modern Adventurers category is simply class.   They are popular too and it is not unusual to see certain figures out of stock.  It doesn’t take long for them to become available again although one figure, “Joe”, I just don’s seem to be able to get my hands on at all.

As I said at the start, much depends what you are into but if you do decide to check out the site and take the plunge of buying some figures I am confident you wont be disappointed.

A couple of links to models and figures I have done featuring some Hasslefree figures I have painted below.

TIM

https://theimperfectmodeller.wordpress.com/2019/09/07/apocalypse-what-the-fk-was-that-september-challenge-a-28mm-diorama/

https://theimperfectmodeller.wordpress.com/2020/05/02/covid-19-lockdown-breakout-a-28mm-diorama/

 

 

TIM’s Memory Monday (No: 33)

by theimperfectmodeller, posted in Memory Monday, Uncategorized

As part of my WW1 timeline I wanted to have a centre piece model and made up my mind that it would need to include a scratch built building of some sort.  I settled on the idea of a farm house and the finished result and final post appears below.  If you want to see or remind yourself how the building and diorama was constructed then please take a look at parts 1 through to 6 which you will be able to find scrolling through the WW1 menu above.

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28mm Building Project No: 7 – WW1 Farmhouse Diorama

Off the Work bench!

This week was all about assembling the various bits and pieces to complete the diorama.  All in all it went together pretty well after some careful thought as to what should be placed into position first.  It wouldn’t have been the first time I’ve boxed myself into a corner but on this occasion I managed to avoid any such dilemmas.

Not a great deal to add in terms of narrative as I think I covered most aspects of the build in previous “On The Work Bench” posts.  Will be interesting to see what, if any, feedback I receive when it receives its first public outing.  If nothing else my mum likes it and thats good enough for me!

The aim of the diorama, as mentioned in the first post of this sequence, was to depict a small group of British soldiers making their way through the French/Belgium farming countryside.  Hopefully I managed to convey that.

Now on to the next project(s).  Still have a few WW1 items to do to complete the series but think I need a change of period in the coming weeks too so still deciding what next is on the agenda.

Pictures of the completed diorama below.

TIM

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“Clyde” – 28mm Steampunk

by theimperfectmodeller, posted in Steampunk, Uncategorized

This figure was part of a two figure set from Lead Adventure which was sold under the package name of “Bonnie and Clyde”.  When the figures arrived I really did not like the look of Bonnie at all.  Overall I think the sculpt was fine but something must have gone a miss with the casting because the face on the figure was a little out of sink and there really wasn’t anything I could do about it.  Consequently I decided to go just with Clyde which was by far the better of the two figures any way.

The website images show Clyde painted in white as befitting the real life charachter but as mine would have no Bonnie I chose to do my own thing completely.  I also went with an entirely knew base idea (for me at least) and set the figure on clear acrylic which I sunk a few watch parts into.  Overall I was pretty pleased with how the figure and the base turned out.

TIM

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