It's the little ones that are tough!

       Another outburst of rigging, complicated this time by the size of the model. As the size of the ship gets smaller my fingers do not, this complicates matters and slows things down. Despite working at this most of the day I only got one model finished. Things were also slowed down by my decision to provide photos of my method of rigging, this found me constantly swapping back and forth between the phone and the model. I can close to dropping both of them on several occasions (the model would have been a tragedy, the phone is insured). Anyway, what follows passes for as good a tutorial as I can manage right now. I hope it helps.

A Busy Day at the Ropewalk

 

the more I do this, the more I think about tiny crewmen, am I mad?

       I didn't have the energy or mental focus to paint today, and I didn't feel like pushing forward with a bunch of reading I need to do for my next rules modification project, and it was WAY too hot to do anything outdoor so I was stumped as to what to do with myself. Casting my eye around the workshop I spied the as-yet unrigged Zvezda galleons. That would do nicely! No need to pick colors or contemplate shading, no need to sort fact from prejudice (or try to remember later which was which) just the simple Zen-like threading of rigging on a model boat. Aaah!

        How wrong I was! By the time I was done with these two I had a headache and my shoulders had cramps! My fingertips are covered with superglue and there are tiny bits of thread all over the workshop. Fortunately I was home alone all day so I don't have to confess to the amount of blue language I used. But, at last, they are finished and I am back to liking them. 

 

now, if I could just stop getting them sunk when I game with them

With Anton's permission another Quarter 2 update

As I second Anton's concerns over the state of affairs we find ourselves in and look to steps towards a better normalcy, I do note one positive sign.  The proper alignment of the stars has obviously been achieved in one thing, Anton has out produced me significantly this quarter. 

This quarter I managed to get: twelve 1/200 scale planes painted (3 Japanese and 6 German and 3 Russian), 5 Blimps and 8 Zeppelins Painted, twenty five 1/1250 scale vessels organized and based into convoys and individual warships, a small city organized and painted in 1/1200ish scale, I built and painted eleven 1/160th scale oddball warships, built three different styles of Chain Home Radar stations, and built and painted a 1/160th scale oil refinery. 

A truly disparate group, but at least production continues. 

What is this ... more trains? No it is much worse, true Horror!

One last post from the second quarter.  These elements have actually been done for a few weeks, but I misplaced two of them and had no pictures so I finally found the jail breakers today.

Wasting time on the Telly

       During the shutdown I have watched FAR more television than I normally do. Most of it varied between wretched and horrible, but there were a few bright spots. If you have access to cable channels Amazon Prime is you friend, Netflix less so and Hulu just stinks. Here is my watch/don't watch list based on my viewing (and taste);

AD2020 2nd Quarter

       It has been a rough quarter for all of us, a few more so than others and I wish all my readers health and happiness in the coming months. Looking back over the past three months I am struck by how much of a long strange road it's been; two-week lockdowns that degenerated into months of inactivity and ruin, the virtual disappearance of any social gaming, the cancellation of many future events and the general doubts if things will ever return to normal (whatever that really was). We have all coped with the struggle in our own ways; I tried to reduce the Lead Mountain in The Vault by some small margin and bombarded you with posts covering my efforts. This mass of postings was ably added to by The Housemartin who has undertaken the self-appointed mission of representing Operation Ironclad by air, land and sea as well as his Zepplins vs Blimps WW1 aircombat  game.
        Over the last quarter the blog got 37,736 views averaging 414 per day, and gained two followers for a total of 204. In that period I managed to paint twenty-nine 28mm figures and fifty-one 15mm figures (all mounted; so I get double credit for them right? making 102). I completed and painted 32 models ranging in subject from 15mm shanty-town buildings to 1/350 scale Armada era galleons. I did five book reviews and eighteen general interest articles. Ten of the postings covered scratchbuilding efforts, these recorded the final completion of the long-running Afghanistan project and the balance chronicled the 1/350 scale star-fort that spun out of control (why do so many of my scratchbuilding efforts gain a life of their own?) and ended up with the fort getting its very own island home. With the lockdown limiting travel I only managed to visit and record one place of historic interest. Also impacted by the lockdown I was limited to two after action reports, both covering fights in the Great Epicurean Wars Campaign. Finally I reviewed fourteen model kits or figure sets. The Housemartin added fourteen postings covering his two projects. I will defer to him regarding further details of those efforts.
       In all it has been a productive quarter, I would greatly prefer that the world would return to the Old Normal as I very much liked the outlook on 1JAN20 rather than the sobering situation we find ourselves in now. There is nothing for it but to put our shoulders to the wheel and keep on pushing forward, a better day awaits!
        Stay healthy, stay sane, remain calm and keep rolling sixes.

I've been quiet lately...........

       Mostly because I have been pounding away at painting these. In a moment of madness I volunteered to paint these for Rich Uncle Pat. Nothing new about the minis or the techniques so there wasn't much to report on. The infantry and the small hover tanks come from Ground Zero Games while the big hover MICVs and the tank come from Khurasan Miniatures. The range from Khurasan is enormous . Both products are rock-solid minis; well cast, nicely detailed and realistically proportioned. Well worth a look if you are into near-future sci-fi minis, they are a tad on the larger side of 15mm, but that is to be expected these days.

A "less un-promising problem ..."

So having laid down the gauntlet to Anton and awaiting what will be, I presume, his epic response; I have moved on to other things, as the title says "less un-promising problems.

Have I lost my mind?  Have I meandered into training?  You will have to read on to see.

But here is a very small hint

Robert Watson-Watt, the man who uttered the quote that titles this post.

Notices and Updates

       Several items of interest;

       First; I will be hosting a game on Thursday, 2JUL20 at 1800hrs. I haven't decided yet what we are playing, so if you have an idea feel free to chime in!

       Second, we played another game in the Great Epicurean Wars campaign the other day. A Sneak attack by the Freedonians that resulted in a rather large fight and surprisingly even struggle.

       Third, I will be hosting a Fourth of July party again this year. Very low-key, starting the barbecue up at about 5pm. Bring your own fireworks.

       Fourth, Squadron is having a big closeout sale and is offering a good many of their book sat $5.00US each. This represents a great deal take a look.

Gaming Update 27JUN20 1800hrs

       WOW! It feels good to type that!

       HUZZAH!!!
        I will endeavor to have the game set up and ready to play to speed things along. Please call or reply in the Comments section if you are planning to attend so that I may suit the size of the game to the expected number of players.

       Currently I am contemplating an action from the Epicurean Wars campaign, if others would prefer different please contact me directly to state your case.

Random Bizarre Inspirations

near-future infantry in 15mm

       From time to time I fall victim to my mouth's tendency to say stupid things. Things like, "I could paint some of those minis for you". Next thing I know I'm painting a bunch of (very cool) figures for somebody else in the gaming group. But the mind-numbing tedium of painting hundred of tiny boots on half as many tiny figures leaves the mind to ponder the cosmos in an unfettered state. While viewing the state of reality in this enhanced level of consciousness my mind turned to the issue of galleases, particularly the scratch-building thereof. A strange thing to be considering, you say.......well I have a fairly strange mind, I reply.

         The upshot of this was that (for me at least)the greatest stumbling block was making and positioning hundreds of tiny oars, a hull could be knocked together in nearly no time at all, masts and rigging a slightly longer time; but oars! Oh, those miserable oars! I thought of their symmetry, I though of their size, I thought of their parallelness (is that even a word?). As despair darkened my thoughts a tiny glimmer appeared in the back corner of my head. An Image of symmetry, an image of size, an image of parallelness. A comb. A cheap plastic comb. The kind that men carried when (unlike today) grooming was something that was done on a regular basis. With that epiphany I secured a pair of cheap combs, some balsa and a sturdy pair of heavy-duty shears; the adventure had begun!

How is your Hokoko Maru this morning?

The Japanese were invited by the Germans and Vichy French to use Madagascar to attack the allies.  As a result of this invitation the Japanese command dispatched two merchant cruisers and four A-1 class Submarines to Madagascar, they also brought along 8 aircraft and six midget subs. 

A smaller force, but powerful in its own right.