Tents!

When I got the American Church from Renedra, I also purchased a sprue of tents, and as Duregar's stunties need something to hide in, I've decided to get a couple of bell-shaped tents ready for Horisont (next weekend).

I simply removed them from the spues, cleaned them up, and sprayed them with Army Painter Skeleton Bone. This evening, I'll give them a Devlan Mud wash, and then we'll see if they need a drybrush, or if they'll do as such!

Hopefully, they'll be ready for Tuesday, when we should get together for a test game of the scenario.

Some Luggage (Scatter Terrain)

I am trying to get some 'baggage' ready for next weekend, where Duregar/ulolkish and I are going to run an intro-game of Good of Battles at Horisont VI.

I got some Pulp Luggage from Slug Industries back in the spring, because I wanted something to put in camps/on trucks for Pulp Alley and other Pulp games, but, as so many timnes before, I got side-tracked by other projects.

I am going to make some bases with various combinations of trunks (maybe I'll add hat boxes and other small stuff at a later time), and for this purpose I have prepped some large steel washers with a piece of adhesive tape and some filler.

I doubt that I'll be able to finish all three bases, but if I manage to do two, it will have to do. I can go back later and add more to the collection.

Below are some pieces I don't recall the manufacturer off. It may be Fenris Games, I've had a load of nitbits from there stocked up for quite a few years, now.

They are fairly generic, that's why I keep them together on one base - it should then be useable for a wide array of periods/settings.

I am waiting for the fgiller to dry up, si I can glue the bits onto the bases, and get them primed, ready for painting!

Renedra American Church, Part 1.

The fever mists are slowly beginning to clear from my brain, and I've decided to do something about some of the many terrain projects I have bought stuff for over the years.

First up, my plastic Renedra Church. I wanted to use it for Von unaussprechlichen Kulten and Strange Aeons, back when I had finished painting 2 cults, but as I went through the parts on the sprues, one vital piece was missing.

Renedra sent me a replacement PLUS a sprue full of headstones, which I think is VERY good customer service - but the delay meant that I got my butterfly mind set on other subjects.

Now I've finally started assembling the kit!

It is a bit fiddly to get the side walls and gables aligned at 90 degrees right angles - I used one of the roof sides to align them against.

When I dryfitted the roof plates, I couldn't get a good fit. There are two of these 'tabs' on each side wall, meant to support corresponding tabs on the underside of the roofs, but in my case they prevented the roofs from sitting correctly on the building - so had to be removed.

Below is the same wall with tab(s) removed.



There are a few peculiarities to the kit - nothing that can't be overcome by the seasoned modeller, but I wouldn't recommend this kit for kids.

Example:

Renedra has opted to do the church bell in two halves.

Nothing wrong with that - BUT, why havent they made it a 'real' bell, then, instead of this pearshaped lump that results from assembling the 2 halves?

Another example:

The bell tower is made of four side pieces and a floor.

Nothing wrong with that, per se, but I had to put the roof/spire base in place and twirl a rubber band around the construction for the glue to cure, otherwise I could not be sure that the roof would fit after the glue had settled.

And, no, I couldn't glue the roof/spire base in place at the same time, as the bell has to hang from a rod inside the bell tower.

The plastic used for the kit seems the same as used for GW's building sets; it's prone to warping, and as you can see below, I had to put some weight on the front of the tower to make it connect with the roof pieces while the glue settles.

Conclusion so far:

It's a nice kit, with good texture and details, and I'm sure the  end result will be very good. The kit, although simple, is not for absolute beginners in the art of model building, but I think it will be worth the extra effort to get things to fit right.

I shall continue, and probably finish, the build tomorrow, and I shall, of course, round it off with part 2 of this little installment.

Another Game of ZOMBIES!!!

This evening, Lea coerced me into another run for the helipad.

She's winning again... Her zombie-score is in the top of the pic; 8 against my 5. I shouldn't play games in my feverish condition.

Boardgames A'Go-Go

Over the last week, under heavy influence of drugs (paracetamol), late afternoons/early evenings I have been playing some games with my daughters, who, thanks to my condition, no doubt, beat the crap out of me. So far 2 games of Quicksand (a favourite of the girls), and 1 game of Ludo.

Then today my youngest, Lea, beat me at ZOMBIES!!!, while Anna did her homework in the kitchen.

We play with open hands, as Lea has English for the first time this year, and I have to be able to help her with the cards.

Lea won by default at bedstory reading time (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone), by having killed the most shamblers.

Trap Door!

The hatch is nearing completion!

The carpenter has placed the hinges at the back. I think I would have preferred the hatch to open away from the long wall edge to form a natural barrier to the staircase, but, heck, I wasn't paying attention (sleeping on the couch, my flu is still raging through my veins), and this will have to do (at least for now - maybe I'll do something about it at some point - but some stuff will be stored in the area just beside the hatch, so maybe no alterations will be needed).

Stairway to Heaven

The stairway to Argonor's Attic is finally getting installed!

The first picture shows the winding staircase going up from the far end of the workshop. There will still be plenty space for winter/summer tyres and other seasonal stuff, like sleighs and swings.

I think the wooden 'bookcase'/shelf-thing is going to be put just around the corner you see at the front of the pic, to ease access to the staircase and the stuff stored beneath it.

The picture below shows the opening for the new access 'trap door' - there is going to be a wooden hatch so I can keep our - and other - cats off the attic.

I'm going to have to varnish the staircase myself, so I shall also have to find a solution for keeping the cats away from the stairs while the varnish dries, but I guess I shall have to make a frame with chicken wire that fits between the walls just in front of the stairs.

I am very much looking forward to get this project finished, as it will facilitate access to the attic - not only for my guests and me, but also for moving stuff to an from storage up there.

The next Attic Attack should see both the stairs and the stove in place, and the gaming room is then amply enhanced for the benefit of the hobby!