11. It's A Jungle Out There!

As many of you know, I've been working on my Dahomeans to fight the French Foreign Legion. Alas, they still remain unfinished (it's in progress though). I got seriously sidetracked recently, but in a good way. I knew I was going to be needing lots of jungle terrain for my Dahomey battles; it's equatorial Africa, after all! I'd been on the lookout for easy ways to make some, but kept putting it off, telling myself not to mess with it until I'd finished the figures. But when the Muse strikes, I must obey. And it will be better this way: now the jungle is waiting for the invaders, instead of the other way around. I like the sound of that: The jungle is waiting.... I wanted to use some old CDs for bases. That's how the Muse snuck in. "Here, just try a couple and see how it looks." So I went to Wal-Mart and bought three packages of small aquarium plants, and one package of medium plants. I prepped the CDs with spray primer so the glue would have something to adhere to, and the next thing I knew I've got 4 CD bases, 12 medium bases on circles cut out of matte board, and 2 small bases on 1" washers. Not wanting to stop there, I also based the Woodland Scenics Learning Kit trees I bought two years ago; the trees were done, but were un-based. More matte board and washers, depending on the size of the trees. Oh, and I also re-based and touched up the painting on some Games Workshop W40K palm trees I had. I plan on getting more palm trees (of another brand) to represent North Africa soon, and when I do I will be returning to these trees. I remain unhappy with the paint job, although the new larger bases on two of them are quite nice. (Side note: trees are not something that should be necessary to paint. Boo, Games Workshop.) But wait, that's not all! I also made some movement trays for my Rorke's Drift set. I was tired of moving 30 stands of Zulu individually, so I whipped up some cardboard and textured trays. But wait, there's more! Way back in February, I bought a package of six ping-pong balls. I had read somewhere (and I apologize that now I am unable to remember/find it again) a blog or forum posting about using black-painted ping-pong balls as "unidentified bogey" markers in Sci-Fi spaceship games. So I painted four of them black, but I couldn't resist making a Sun and an Earth-type Planet. So here we go. Click the pictures for a larger view, if you really want to see plastic aquarium plants up close. My gaming table turned into a work table. That's an old shower curtain protecting the work surface. Worked a treat! Some may criticize me for using perfectly round CDs and mostly-round cutouts of matte board for terrain bases. To them I say, "Phhhbbbt." I quite like the simplicity of the round design, and this way I can use them wherever I wish. They are not "locked in" to a terrain piece, as they would be if I had built them as part of said terrain piece. Plus, they're free and very low work to get ready. Here we have the finished products, all lined up neatly in rows, just as they are to be found in the Wild. Here's some close ups of the CD terrain: Here's the medium-sized based terrain, with the palms in the background: This is more of the same, with an actual rock I used, unpainted! Amazing! Be in awe of my abilities!!! ! <--for extra emphasis Palms, pines and deciduous trees: These are the movement trays I made out of cardboard. I used wall-filler/spackling to fill in the edges so they weren't open. Note that none of these match any terrain cloths I own: I just used the same Woodland Scenics flock and ballast as on the jungle stuff; I only own so much, and not really all that many different colors. In fact, I'm missing the main green I wish I had. One is just plain sand. And finally, the SF stuff. I'm not sure what scale this is, but it's probably in the neighborhood of 1:1,000,000,000: Oh, I completely forgot the two baby craters. They're from a package I've had for I-don't-know-how-long, called "Sci-Fi Miniatures For Science Fiction-Space Gaming 1/285th Microscale" copyrighted 1987 by The Little Mini Shops. They're made of what feels like plaster of paris. They were a "huh, I forgot I had these, I'll paint them up real quick and get something else done too" addition. There's what I have to show for the last two weeks of my life, give or take. Please bear in mind, this is the first large scale terrain building I've ever done. I've no doubt that there is better looking stuff out there, and that if I were to do this again I would do some thing differently. But it has served its purpose, which is to make a jungle for me to play in. Next up, a battle report of the FFL vs African pygmies! (hopefully). Thanks for reading this far down the page. The African pygmies have agreed to vote for me for Emperor Of The Known Universe; I'm still working on the Foreign Legion.

10. A Sop To My Conscience

Hi, and welcome to the update. Hoody-hoo! And while I am sticking to my principles (more or less) and am working on The Project Which Must Be Finished, I find that I can still sneak in a twenty-minute session of painting once in a while. What's more, I can take pictures of all the stuff I've painted previously, which hasn't been photographed yet, and make it look like I'm making a lot of progress. My "French Invasion of Dahomey 1892" is coming right along. Yesterday I finished the last of the French forces (another damn set of eight identical Tirailleurs, bleah), so now all that's left are the Dahomeans. It's back to eight, but in four groups of two's. (If that grammar is too weak for you, just read a couple of posts back and you'll understand what I mean.) I am now more than half way finished, having completed 64 French, with only 48 Dahomeans to do (plus two mules). I realize this is a little heavy on the French side, but it's the way the packs came: when I bought them, I bought two full sets of all the packs, with no regard to balance; just a straight-up purchase of what Dixon makes. What's more, 8 of the "French forces" are porters (ie, non-combatants) and 16 are Tirailleurs Sénégalais who will probably run away fairly quickly. Then there's the set of 8 of which 4 are dead/wounded. So truthfully I have 36 battle-ready French troops versus 44 Dahomeans (hey, King Behanzin can't be expected to fight!). Anyway all this will make more sense when you see the final product. For now, here's what I've accomplished since May this year. Click on the pictures for a bigger view. FFL Skirmish Line - Pack 1 poses 1&2: FFL Skirmish Line - Pack 1 poses 3&4: FFL Advancing - Pack 2 poses 1&2: FFL Advancing - Pack 2 poses 3&4: FFL Officers & NCOs - Pack 3 poses 1&2: I have them as (L to R) the Colonel, Captain, Major, Lieutenant. FFL Officers & NCOs - Pack 3 poses 3&4: I have them as (L to R) Sgt, Cpl, Cpl, Sgt. (Ya see, the Sergeants have the grey hair....) FFL Bugler, Mule Minder & 2 Dead - Pack 4 poses 1&2: FFL Bugler, Mule Minder & 2 Dead - Pack 4 pose 3: I have them as 1 wounded, 1 dead. (Might make for a good game objective, rescue the wounded prisoner, oops too late.) FFL Bugler, Mule Minder & 2 Dead - Pack 4 pose 4: FFL Marines - Pack 5 pose 1&2: FFL Marines - Pack 5 pose 3&4: This is the only set I have where the figures are not the same from both packs. You can see there are three of one fellow, and only one of the fellow on the right. Just worked out that way. Native Bearers Carrying Loads - Pack 6 pose 1&2: In diapers.... Native Bearers Carrying Loads - Pack 6 pose 3&4: In colored Underoos.... Tirailleurs Marching - Pack 7: Tirailleurs Advancing - Pack 8: Don't even think of getting marching and advancing mixed up. You...you heretic. And so we come to the end of our update, wherein many voters have been persuaded to vote for yours truly as Emperor Of The Known Universe. And you thought this was just about miniatures! Thanks for visiting.

9. Please stand by while we experience technical difficulties

We're all familiar with "Physician, heal thyself," and its collorary, "Philosopher, live by your own rules." (O.k., I admit I just made that last part up.) Alas, I am living by my own rules, that's what sucks. I have not updated the blog here, nor have I painted much at all, precisely because I am living by my own rules. Real Life (©, ®, TM) has intervened, sticking its ugly long nose into my business. I have some things I have to accomplish, as quickly as possible, that preclude me spending time on painting. Maybe a little, but not much. But "Do it now" rules my day. And by "do it now, " I mean not painting and doing this other thing. Fear not, I will return. (Then again, maybe that's cause for fear....) P.S., Watch out Shadam IV, I'm after your job! (And if you know that reference, you win a shiny new No-Prize!)

8. Self-Discovery is painful

I learned something about myself recently, and it's always unsettling when you first make the realization that you are "X." I learned that I don't like painting multiple copies of identical miniatures. That's why it took me so long to finish my Tirailleurs. I have eight of exactly the same pose, and it...just...wears...on...me.... All the previous sets of eight in this range are actually two sets of four, and each of the four is different, so there are only two miniatures each who are the same. I can handle that. But, even though I knew it, it didn't click that this set was different. It just didn't register in my brain. If it had, I would have swapped four of them with the next batch, which is also eight identical figures, and of Senegalese Tirailleurs at that. Alas, after that, it's back to the "normal" mode of two sets of four, so I can't mix it up with them. I'll just have to cowboy up and get it done. (I know what you're about to say: just mix them up anyway, what difference will it make? To that I answer, well duh, I can't because the next eight is the last of the French forces; after that, it's all Dahomeans. And while, yes, they will have the same skin color, I can't paint four Tirailleurs Advancing and four Dahomey Women-Musket & Machete. I just don't roll that way.) At any rate, here's what I've finally accomplished. Eight Dixon Miniatures FL7 FFL Tirailleurs Marching, more correctly known as the Tirailleurs Sénégalais. After some soul-searching and online discussions, I went with the blue pantaloons, or serual. I based my decision largely on "Colonial Armies in Africa 1850-1918" by Peter Abbot from Foundry, yet the final decision was entirely selfish: they look better in blue! Click the pic to make it bic...er, big. I've got big plans for The Known Universe, just as soon as I become Emperor Of it.

7. Red Alert! He's been painting!

I got two hours of painting in today. That's a pretty good stretch. I finished their beards and got two of the three shades of blue on, plus a tentative test of the backpack kit color. It's going to take multiple coats to cover smoothly. Progress! Yadda yadda, me Emperor Of The Known Universe.

6. A blast from the past

In honor of my kids starting school today, I've uploaded some pictures of a diorama I built from practically before they were born. My son was 6 months old, and my daughter wasn't even a gleam in my beady eyes yet. (Actually, I don't really need a reason to upload pictures, but it seemed like a good excuse at the time.) I proudly present my pièce de résistance: the Bridge of Sorrows from Ral Partha, sculpted by Dennis Beauvais. Sadly Ral Partha is no longer in business and this model is long out of print. It is a truly beautiful sculpt. I finished this in 1998. Please click on the thumbnails for a larger view. I also put this blog link out there for the world to see on Facebook, so I hope to have a lot of new viewers. I thought this might make a good welcome shot for them. Hi, new viewers! Please "follow" me with the link on the left-hand side of the screen. Anybody? Hello? Echo!...echo echo echo.... And yes, I am completely ignoring the Three Rules of Kelly; sad but true, since I am their originator. (Please see post #3 for an explanation.) Here I am posting an eleven-year old miniature, instead of working on my Tirailleurs! Now for some close-ups. Don't forget me on Emperor Of The Known Universe day. I could use a nice greeting card.

5. The greatest inventions since sliced bread

Two inventions stand out in the history of miniatures painting: acrylic paints and the wet palette. Before acrylics, all you really had were enamels, which stink, and their brush cleaner/thinner stinks too. And they're hazardous substances. I once spilled a jar of brush cleaner; it ran off the table onto my ankle. It burned the lines of my sock into my skin! When I "discovered" acrylics for myself, I've never looked back. That's a topic many others have covered better than I can here. Just remember: water clean up is a good thing. My latest "discovery" is the wet palette. I know I come to this game waaay late. For years I used a plastic bowl. I'd put paint and a little water in it, it would last a short time, then it would dry up. I think I wasted nearly as much paint as I used. Then I switched to a ceramic tile. It made cleanup a little easier. Before, when the paint dried in the plastic bowl, it had to be soaked and scraped out. Not hard, but not easy. With the ceramic tile, I could let the paint dry as much as it ever would, and it would rub off with just a little water and a fingertip. Now, however, I use the wet palette. I don't know why I waited so long. It's the easiest thing in the world, and practically free. Get a plastic tub with an air tight lid. Put a folded paper towel in it, add enough water to soak the towel, then put a single square of kitchen "parchment paper" on top (it's also called baking paper). The water won't soak through the parchment paper, but it will keep the paint you put on top just damp enough to not dry out in the usual three minutes. If you don't finish the paint, just pop the lid on and come back later. I've had paint stay usable for days! Here's my setup with the lid on. Open it up and you can see the paper here. It doesn't look very appetizing, but it works great. Thanks for stuffing those ballot boxes for me for Emperor Of The Known Universe.