The Imperfect Modeller

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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TIM’s Mid Week Miniature

Another Knuckleduster miniature and another one for Ebay.  One of the downsides of selling on Ebay is the need to replace the figures you sell if you want to sell more.  I already have this figure in my own collection but certain real old west characters such as this one, Jesse James, can sometimes attract a little more interest.  I suspect I have now jinxed any future sale having said that so it will probably sit there for a good few months!

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Modelling Frustration

I feel certain I am not the only one ever to have gotten frustrated from modelling or painting.  Sometimes when things aren’t going well for me my anger grows to the point where I could quite happily throw the bloody figure out of the window.  Fortunately I have never allowed myself to let things go quite that far.  This is partly due I think to the wisdom Confucius.

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To Bee or not to Bee

Sticking with the insect theme it is that time of the year where the wasps are getting drowsy and dangerous.  Unfortunately She Who Must Be Obeyed got stung by one on the forehead the other day.  I stopped what I was doing out in the garden and immediately rushed her to the Accident and Emergency department at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth.  Her face was all swollen and bruised and she was in a terrible state.

I dread to think how much worse it might have been if I hadn’t been on hand to hit the wasp with the shovel I was holding.  Sometimes you do get the feeling that someone is watching over you.

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TIM’s Revenge

Now before you all start feeling sorry for She Who Must Be Obeyed you might wish to note the following conversation which preceded the above incident a day or two earlier.

Me – “Darling, love of my life, am I the only one you have ever been with?”

SWMBO – “Yes my love, all the others were nines and tens!”

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This week TIM has been listening to …

“AC/DC – You Shook Me All Night Long”.

Best played loud and after a few beers!

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This week TIM has been watching …

“A Confession”, a six part TV series starring Martin Freeman.

This series has only just finished but I confess to being unaware of it until a good friend of mine pointed it out to me.  Turns out it is a true story which I was equally unaware of too.  A fantastic series and if you have got access to watching it I would recommend that you do.  I doubt any legal system is flawless and this series certainly highlights some shortcomings with the British one.

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Until next time.

TIM

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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TIM’s Mid Week Miniature

Following a few more sales on EBay (yes I am still trying to sell some!) I needed to paint a few more figures for listing.  Having not tested the market so to speak with SAGA figures I bought a few from Gripping Beast.  This is one of four Anglo-Danish Huscarl’s.  He doesn’t have a name of his own so I am calling him Brian.

Images of Brian below.

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New Paints – Experiment No: 3 – Citadel Textured Paint

After the disappointment of my Crackle Paint and Metallic Medium experiments I am pleased to report that my view on Citadel Textured paints is far more positive.  I purchased two pots – Mordant Earth (left) and Martian Iron Earth (right).

Applied thinly I didn’t think it did much but applied thickly and allowed to dry it shrank and cracked providing a very nice finish.  I then decided to cover a couple of old round bases in some coloured paint which I then left to fully dry.  Next I applied a nice thick coat of the textured paint and was pleased at seeing the paint show through after it had all dried and cracked.  Definitely better with the Mordant Earth in this instance.

This has already given me a few ideas for future uses and I will let you know how I get on with it.  I already have one little diorama in mind for using this effect on and I will leave you to guess what it might be.  If you are guessing on volcanic lava then great idea but not what I have planned!

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Stash Review

With Christmas not that far away I thought I would review the various items I have waiting to be done.  I figured it would also allow me to compile a list of items for Santa.

The bad news is I have more than enough to do without buying anything new.  The good news is I couldn’t give a fuck about the bad news and have an extensive list of things I want to have.

Applying some basic maths I reckon I will have enough to last me until the year 2077 by which time I will be 120 years of age.  Here’s hoping for further breakthroughs in medical science.

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Worthy Causes

Begging on the streets of Plymouth is on the increase in the lead up to Christmas with everyone it would seem trying to get in on the act.

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This week TIM has been listening to …

“Won’t Get Fooled Again” by The Who.  Classic 60’s Mod band and a classic song with some great lyrics such as “new boss just like the old boss”.  So true and I’m sure we have all experienced that at some point!

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This week TIM has been watching …

“Sully” starring Tom Hanks.

My brother recommend this one for me and as we generally share similar tastes in film and TV I thought I would give it a go.  I was familiar with the true story of the crash but not of the hearing which followed.  An excellent film.

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Until next time.

TIM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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TIM’s Mid Week Miniature

My attention is back on the Old West and Knuckleduster miniatures.  As my collection so far consists only of male figures it was high time I added a token female to the collection.  This little lady goes by the name of Dicey Lee.

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New Paints – Experiment No: 2 – Vallejo Crackle Medium

On the face of it Crackle Medium seemed like a good idea so I took the plunge and bought a bottle not quite knowing what I would ever use it for (ideas welcome!).  The instructions were clear and simple.  Do not shake the bottle as bubbles will form.  Paint over a base coat.  Allow to dry and then go over with a contrasting colour.  Simples.  Well yes it was simple but the effect was essentially non existent.

Naturally I had another go but the outcome was no better than the first time around.  Wearing my magnifying head visor I could just about see some cracks but nothing was visible to my naked eye.  Hence no images to post either.

Mark Morin, picking up on last weeks post commented that he found Vallejo Crackle Medium disappointing but that AK Crackle was much better.  I might experiment a bit more, not least of all because I have a bottle of the stuff, but it rather looks like I need a better alternative.  Hopefully it’s me but given Mark’s review I think I am being optimistic.

Hopefully I will have greater luck trying out my Citadel textured paints this week.

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Has anyone seen IRO?

What with it being Orktober I thought IRO would have been back blogging by now but alas he is either busy working or still setting up his super duper new modelling room in the new house.  He did reappear briefly but all has gone quiet once again.  Has anyone heard from him?  If not I shall drop him an email to see if all is well.

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Parenting

As a kid I was always told by my parents never to talk to strangers and never, never get in a car with one.  Sage advice which I in turn passed on to my kids.  However, due to an ever changing world, it was also incumbent upon me to advise both my kids that they should also never meet people they may get to know on the Internet alone.  You just do not know what weirdos are out there.

Now I hear there is a thing called Uber where you get in touch with a complete stranger on the internet who you then meet alone and get in a car with.  Every day the world becomes more and more fucking stupid.  Either that or I am just getting old.

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If like me you ever wondered …

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This week TIM has been listening to …

“Rock and Roll” – Led Zeppelin.

Best played loud!

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This week TIM has been watching …

Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

It’s always nice to sit down and watch a modern classic.  Stands the test of time as far as I am concerned but was simply mind blowing when first released.

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Until next time.

TIM

 

 

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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TIM’s Mid Week Miniature

This week we have a Christian Priest from Gripping Beast.  I don’t typically do a lot of SAGA based figures so this represented a nice little change and I may well do a few more in due course.

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New Paints – Experiment No: 1 – Metalic Medium

Now don’t get to excited by the title.  Firstly what is new to me will I suspect not be new to you.  Secondly this is a mini series of only three experiments and my first impressions, therefore a brief review if you like.

A quick introduction.

I needed to replace a couple of paints so I went online and deposited the relevant items into my shopping basket only for the invoice cost to be doubled due to the cost of postage.  With free postage if you spent over £20.00 I decided to do some more shopping and found myself buying Vallejo Metalic Medium, Vallejo Crackle Medium and a couple of Citadel Texture paints.

So, Metalic Medium.  Simple to use, just a 50/50 mix of the medium and whatever acrylic paint you want to turn metalic.  The only thing to note is the original colour is diluted by the medium and so the end result will be a lighter colour.

How did I rate it?  Pointless to be honest.  Firstly, I could have achieved the same result by mixing a colour 50/50 with the metalic silver I already had.  Secondly, I consider it to be inferior to my preferred method of making metalics which is – Humbro or Revel silver enamel mixed with whatever other colour enamel or oil paint you chose and thinned with a little white spirit if the mix is to thick.  It’s all about personal opinion but this mix I find produces a far better metalic finish.

Try to contain your excitement for next week when I will deliver my verdict on Crackle Paint!

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Matrimonial Top Tips 

Time spent alone modelling often provides time for personal reflection.  Today I found myself mulling over the nearly 40 years of my life spent with  She Who Must Be Obeyed.   Now I am no expert when it comes to marriage but I do feel qualified to pass on a couple of pieces of advice to those of you with less matrimonial experience.

Top Tip No:1

If your wife says “Do what you want” do not under any circumstances do what you want.  Stand still.  Do not blink.  Do not even breathe.  Play dead.

Top Tip No: 2

No man has ever won a game of “Do you notice anything different about me?”.  Never ever play this game.  Feign a heart attack.

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This week TIM has been listening to …

Thriller by Michael Jackson.

Well when I say listening I also mean watching too as this is the full length official video which was ground breaking at the time and has been seen over 618 million times.  Stunning in its day but still OK now.  Even Michael himself looks normal!  I’m contemplating doing a zombie based model.  No idea what to do yet but thought this was a good place start some research.

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This week TIM has been watching …

“Shaun of the Dead” starring Simon Pegg.

Sticking with the Zombie genre and the need for further research this was an obvious source.  A classic and one of my all time favorites!

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Until next time.

TIM

 

 

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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TIM’s Mid Week Miniature

This week we have another Reaper wizard.  This little chap goes by the name of Anuminar Winterbeard.  I have no idea what the owl is called to I have decided to name it Eric.

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The Cornwall Model Show – A further Update 

Last week I mentioned that I attended the Cornwall Model Show in Penzance.  Since then a few things relating to the show have been posted on the clubs Facebook page including an article which was put together by a chap called Greg Martin.  I had a nice chat with Greg who took some interesting photo’s but at the time I had no idea who he was.  Post the event and thanks to the Facebook post I learnt that Greg is a photojournalist and was at the show to do a write up.

The write up can be seen via the link below.  I am featured along with a few other modellers.

https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/gallery/large-men-captured-dwarfing-tiny-3346593

A slightly edited version of the same article also made its way to the Online tabloid newspaper The Daily Mail.

While I was talking with Greg and he was taking some photo’s of my models I asked him if he would be able to take a photo of my boxed diorama “The Wizard Library”.  As you know my own photo’s, which you can see again via the link to the original post below, were far from ideal.

https://theimperfectmodeller.wordpress.com/2019/06/01/the-wizard-library-28mm-box-diorama-part-3-final/

My skill level for taking photographs isn’t great at the best of times but through glass and close up it is non existent!  Greg kindly obliged and then emailed me the result.  I think you will agree that his photo below is far better than mine!

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Modelling Retirement Planning  – Step 10 “The Domestic”

This week sees the conclusion of this series and how to achieve more time for modelling when retired.  If you have followed steps 1 through to 9 then all things being equal you will have no need for this one.  If, however, you have failed miserably then this really is the last port of call!

In essence Step 10 is an easy one.  The problem is that it could have either far greater consequences or much higher rewards pending your point of view.  The aim is to pick a domestic dispute which will allow both of you to go off and sulk with each other for few days thus leaving you to paint and model uninterrupted for at least 48 hours.  Much depends on the strength of your relationship.  Ideally you will be talking and “making up” in a few days and after a suitable period of time you will be ready to have another go if you have still not made progress in any of the other previous steps.  There are, however, some downsides.

Almost certainly during a period of sulking you may end up having to cook your own meals.  That said baked beans on toast doesn’t take long and if you get your timing right any issues around clothes washing shouldn’t present a problem.  The bigger issue is that prolonged use of this step could lead to divorce.  But is that a bad thing?

In all honesty most women in their 60’s are past their best.  If SWMBO is anything to go by she could do with a good ironing to smooth out a few of those wrinkles.  As a general rule they complain endlessly of being tired and under appreciated, something I just cannot get my head around.  Hardly a day goes by when I do not encourage SWMBO to sit down and take a break because she can always get on with whatever chore she is doing later.  Might as well be talking to the wall.  Only the other week I was away for the weekend only to return to a torrent of abuse because she hadn’t stopped working, walking the dog and looking after the kids.  Quite how I got the blame when I wasn’t even there is beyond me!  Still, at least I got a lot of modelling done that week.

So there you have it, TIM’s 10 Steps to a modelling retirement heaven, a series inspired by none other than John over at Just Needs Varnish.  Whether you are retired, planning to retire or just feel the urge to try these tips out please keep me posted.  I have listed the laptop in my part of the divorce settlement so I should be able to maintain contact with you all.

Meanwhile please remember …

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This week TIM has been listening to …

“I Predict A Riot” by the Kaiser Chiefs.

It’s been one of those weeks and this sums up my mode!

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This week TIM has been watching …

“The Victim”, a four part TV series set in Scotland.

Trawling through my BT player I discovered this series which I had recorded back in April but for whatever reason simply had not watched.  An excellent four hour  binge over two nights even if I did struggle with the Scottish brogue at times!  I have no idea if it is available to watch still but if you missed it at the time then well worth giving it a chance.

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Until next time.

TIM