Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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This weeks figure is from Hasslefree and goes by the name of “Joanne”.  Clearly she is a woman with an attitude but if I found myself in trouble I would prefer her on my side.  I went with a Union Jack freehand flag on her T-Shirt and an Anarchy symbol on the back of her waistcoat just to add some more interest.

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Well It Made Me Laugh …

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Interesting Site?

At some point in the distant past I considered doing a model tank.  I think at the time I was painting some figures based on the film Kelly’s Heroes and fancied the idea of a Sherman tank to accompany the figure of Oddball, the charachter played by Donald Sutherland.  In searching for a suitable manufacturer of model tanks I came across the site Blitzkrieg Miniatures.

Whilst the figures got finished I never did get around to purchasing the tank.  Maybe one day I will but with so much in my to do pile and so many other things on my “essential, must have, purchase now before they all get sold out, shrewd investment for the future list” I can’t see that being any time soon.

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Happy Birthday

Just over a week ago it was my birthday, my third time of being 21 and my first in a Covid-19 woŕld.  Under normal circumstances I would have been taken out for a meal and a few drinks.  Presents typically would comprise of some items of clothing, a DVD or two and something pointless that I just don’t need in this world or the next.

This year though things were different.  Wisely putting health and safety first I was the recipient of nothing but a few cards and some money and offered the line “We didn’t think it was safe to go out to eat and we didn’t know what to buy you as you have everything already don’t you?”.

Actually as it happens I don’t have everything I want but as luck would have it I’ve got this bloody great “essential, must have, purchase now before they all get sold out, shrewd investment for the future list” to spend the money on.

Happy days.

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This week TIM has been listening to …

MC Hammer and “U Can’t Touch This”.  I’m not abig fan of rap music but this is one of a very few commercial tracks that I quite like.

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This week TIM has been watching…

“The Cry” starring Genna Coleman.  As Genna is is the girl of my dreams I couldn’t resist watching this when I discovered it on BBC iPlayer.  Set in the UK and Australia it turned out to be an excellent 4 part series.

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Remember…

Don’t buy pre-shredded cheese, lets make Britain grate again.

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TIM

When I woke up this morning I did what I always do.  I went to the toilet, got back into bed, reached for my Samsung Tablet which was on charge on the bedside cabinet and began to see what was happening in the world.  I checked the latest news and football headlines and then I took a look at my emails.  One from WordPress caught my eye.  My worst fears were confirmed.  Just like that I had been thrown into the world of the new editor function!

Suddenly my head ached and I found myself sweating.  I told myself to stay calm.  Surely it cannot be that bad?  Think logically.  Read the email, it will explain everything.  Remember, others had said you can still use the classic editor.  Cool, no problem, I can do this.  The email says there are two ways to choose the Classic Editor.  The second option doesn’t involve “Blocks” and looks easier.  Just hit the link and go to WordPress Admin.  Nothing, fuck all.  The link worked but when you get there nothing to explain how to use the Classic Editor.  Bastards.  OK it might be me there, I’m a guy, I don’t read everything and I certainly don’t look at instructions.  Even if there is something there they are still bastards.

A light bulb moment!

Not the first to experience the new editor I remembered that others had provided a solution to this problem and I recall saving the tip for such a moment as this.  Now where did I save it?  Yes, yes, I book marked it!  Now what does it show?  Right, press the funny green symbol, then choose “options” and then select “Classic Editor”.  Simples!  Fuck, fuck fuckety fuck.  No Classic Editor option under Options.  Now what?

Keep calm, the email said there were two options, just take a look at the other one.  OK, it says you can choose the “Classic Block”.  I touched a few icons, a plus sign I think and then hit a few buttons, can’t recall which then scrolled down and some how found something that said “Classic”.  Is this it?  Let’s give it a try.  Wow, something I recognise at last but now I only have half a fucking screen!  How to get a full screen back?  Touch a few buttons.  No, no, no, yes, it’s gone.  What did I touch last?  Bugger, do it all again and make a note.  No, no, no, yes, hit the plus button again.  Progress.  you wont beat me you fucker. Now I’m on a role!

Let’s take a look at the Classic Editor.  Looks the same so it must be the same.  That button works, so does that one and that one.  How do I insert a photo?  OK so that works but the symbol is new but I can live with that.  Now how do I justify the text?  That looks like the button but it doesn’t do anything.  Must be another icon.  Nope, none of the others do it.  But I have to JUSTIFY!!!  Everything I do I Justify, it’s an OCD thing.  If I can’t Justify it’s the end of the Blog!  Check help.  To Justify use Shift, Alt and J.  Simples.  No fucking ALT on the Samsung Tablet keyboard!

Calm down.  Think.  Think.  Yes I remember now, I bought a Bluetooth QWERTie keyboard to use with my tablet.  Now where did I put it?  Ah, there it is.  Now why the fuck is that not working?  Needs to be charged!

Pause for 20 minutes.

Now Bluetooth enabled.  Shift, ALT, J.  Yippie I aye mother fuckers we can now justify!

Time to review where I am.  Can bring up Classic Block √.  Can insert photo √.  Can Justify √.  Can add a tick √.   Can link to Categories, not yet.  OK now I can √.  Publish, not yet.  OK now scheduled √.   Starting to look like I “might” be able make this thing work.

So what do I think of this new experience?

Let me try to be objective for a minute.  My blog, like most of those who I follow, is a relatively simple affair.  A few paragraphs and photo’s and voila.  It is a basic diary, it’s not a a newspaper or magazine and neither is it a fall blown website.  The Classic Editor, essentially a word processing tool with a few bits added to it is all I and most people need.  It seems to me that the new editor is over kill for me and I would hazard a guess and say for most people too.  I’m an old dog and happy to learn a new trick but it feels like I am being asked to learn a whole new show.  The problem with technology is just when you get the hang of something and it becomes time saving some spotty wanker on a skateboard living in California or wherever decides it’s time for a change for no other reason than they are bored.  In future please leave things alone and when you do get bored do some modelling.

So, in conclussion it gets a big thumbs up from me.

It might only be 10:30 am but I need a beer.

TIM

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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When I was young kid way back in the 1960’s there were several puppet shows on TV,  such was the technology available.   Thunderbirds and Stingray were both popular but my favourite was Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons.  When I saw this figure on the Crooked Dice website I decided he was a must have, another nostalgic piece following on from my Quadrophenia post of a few weeks or so ago.

As I have mentioned before Crooked Dice do a lot of nice figures many of which are based on TV shows from the 1960’s so I will almost certainly be adding to this collection in due course.  As for this figure it came with an alternative hand option.  Originally cast with his right hand pointing I chose to make the minor hand chop conversion and went with the gun instead.  There was also a need to adjust the holster which had a gun in it.

For a while I was stuck on the base.  I wanted a metal mesh type look but wasn’t sure how to go about it.  I suspect there are several ways but in the end I went for some fine plastic netting, the sort that some grocery bits you buy from the supermarket come in.  It was harder to stick down than I thought because it wanted to contract but the use of pins to stretch it got me there in the end.

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Well It Made Me Laugh …

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Recent Purchase No: 1

The other day I finally decided to buy one of the fantasy buildings made by Table Top World.  By all accounts they are amazing if some of the YouTube reviews are anything to go by and I eventually settled on a small cottage as a tester.  I have been putting the idea off due to a lack of enthusiasm for larger dioramas of late but am hoping this will provide the necessary incentive to get me back in the mood.  Hopefully it will arrive in a few days time but quite where I’ll put it eventually is another matter entirely.

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Recent Purchase No: 2

Having committed to buying a Table Top World building I decided now would be a good time to check out Artis Opus Series D brushes.  It is a range designed for dry brushing and something I have wanted to try out for a while now.  I decided on a medium and a small brush along with a wet pad thing that they use.  Like the building they should be with me in a few days time.  In due course I’ll let you know what I think of them.

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This week TIM has been listening to …

“Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley.  Is there a better song for these troubled times?

 

 

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This week TIM has been watching…

“Rainman” starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman.  One of the nice things about the unfortunate circumatances we find ourselves in for me is having more opportunity to watch films I haven’t seen in a long time.  This classic falls into that category.

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Remember…

Sometimes you can tell people are judgemental just by looking at them.

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TIM

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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A return to Reaper this week and another of their fantastic wizards, this one goes by the name of Oman Ruul and is from the Dark Heaven Legends range.

I wanted to try something different on this little chap, an idea I got from an image I had seen somewhere, Pinterest I suspect.  From the front he is just a regular paint job but on the back I have tried to create a moon and galaxy look.  I love the idea and am going to have another crack at it at some point.  For a first attempt I was pretty happy with the outcome but it is a different type of freehand and needs working on.

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Well It Made Me Laugh …

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Interesting Site?

This site will have limited appeal to most of you I think but I will throw it out there anyway.  Like most sites it rather depends what you are interested in.  I like my little dioramas and occasionally enjoy adding a building or two into the mix.  Detail is high on my list as I strive to make whatever I am doing as authentic as possible.

It was when I started doing a WW2 diorama, Operation Overlord, that I decided my buildings needed to be fitted out internally and to add to the realism I needed wallpaper.  My google search led me to Jennifers Printables. a site I have used a few times now.  All simple stuff but effective.

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Playing it Safe

For the first time in four months I met up with my mate John for a couple of pints at the village pub, The Blacksmiths Arms.  The nice thing about being retired is you can go to the pub at any time and unsurprisingly at three in the afternoon it was empty.  Social distancing was therefore not a problem and it made a nice change to get out.  The only downside was the reintroduction of alcohol to my system after four months being teetotal.  It hit me hard and so I vowed to put in more practice.

Unfortunatley there is talk of a second wave of Covid-19 hitting the UK.  Hardly surprising as it hasn’t gone away.  Will it be worse second time around?  Will we return to full lockdown?  Will the economy survive?  Will people survive?  The list of questions goes on.  All I know is I can only control my own movements and encourage those nearest and dearest to me to do the same.  With that in mind I have no wish to get caught out again either so I recently placed and order for a shed load of figures, paints and other materials to keep me going.  Just to be on the safe side you understand.

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This week TIM has been listening to …

“Gimme All Your Lovin'” by ZZ Top.  I love the music intro to this track but it’s not often I get to turn the volume up without a member of the family moaning but with everyone out I had a blast.

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This week TIM has been watching…

“Unsolved Mysteries” on Netflix.  There has been a little bit of hype around this series so I decided it would make good background fodder while I was painting.  I was wrong.  It was OK I guess but I was expecting more to be honest.  In my mind there is a difference between mysteries and unsolved cases and so I wasn’t blown away.  Yes each case was odd for sure but overall I was left underwhelmed.

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Remember…

If you put an electric fence around your house don’t be surprised if your neighbour is dead against it.

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TIM