20, 30’s Sedan in 1/86

This metal kit is 20, 30’s sedan of some sort. This scale model was created by Auto Replicas, which at one time manufactured automotive models in a various scales.The kit include the chassis, body, seats (both front and back), steering wheel, front bumper, four wheel, stick shift, windows insert, and front lights.

A Host of Characters-Mad Carew

“There’s a one-eyed yellow idol to the north of Kathmandu,
There’s a little marble cross below the town;
There’s a broken-hearted woman tends the grave of Mad Carew,
And the yellow god forever gazes down.”

Professor Moriarty, The Hound of the D’ Urbervilles, Kim Newman

Model Railroading Tips, Tricks & Techniques

I performed a random search on Model Railroading Tips & Tricks and found two useful pages of Tips and Tricks.

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• Structure Techniques
• Scenery Tips

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A Host of Characters-Major Humphrey Carew

Major Humphrey Carew…There’s a bloody awful poem about him:

He is known as ‘Mad Carew by the subs at Kathmandu,
He was hotter than they felt inclined to tell;
But for all his foolish pranks, he was worshipped in the ranks,
And the Colonel’s daughter smiled on him as well.

Professor Moriarty, The Hound of the D’ Urbervilles, Kim Newman

Inferences to the King in Yellow

‘Ambrose Bierce, created a fictional character, a god: Hastur; “Haite the Shepherd”, 1891. H. P. Lovecraft made an inference to Hastur and elements from Bierce’s story in his “The Whisper in the Darkness” and his poem “The Elder Pharos”. This character Hastur was further developed by August Derleth. Derleth depicts Hastur as one of the Great Old Ones.’

Jasper Stoke-A Host of Characters

Jasper Stoke, Trantridge, Wessex

“In a long life at gaming tables, in brothels, up mountains, and in the bush, I’ve gained valuable insights into human nature. Any one called ‘Jasper’ is an arrogant, untrustworthy scoundrel. Anyone called ‘Cedric’ is liable to be worse. And anyone called “Piers’ should be shot on sight. Don’t say you’ve never learned anything from my memoirs for these are "True Facts”

From the Memoirs of Colonel Sebastian Moran

Professor Moriarty, The Hound of the D’ Urbervilles, Kim Newman

Standard Codes of Engine Headlamps

Here is another curious list lifted from Farrington’s Railroading Around the World.

1. "Two lights or disks on pilot beam-express passenger train or breakdown van going to clear the line or light engine going to assist disabled train.
2. One light under the stack on smokebox-local passenger train, or stopping passenger train, as they call it.
3. One light on pilot beam and 1 light in center of smokebox on pilot beam-express goods; also authorized empty coaching stock.
4. One light or disk on smokebox under stack and 1 light on right side of pilot beam-express goods or empty coaching stock
5. One light in center of smokebox and 1 light in left side of pilot beam-express goods.
6. One light under stack, on smokehouse, and 1 light left side-class A goods. One light on smokebox under stack and 1 light in middle of smokebox and pilot beam-class B goods
7. One light on pilot beam right side-class C goods or ballast train. One light on left side on pilot beam-class D goods or local fright.
8. One single light on pilot beam in middle if smokebox-light engine or engine with not more than two breakdown attached."

Railroading Around the World, S. Kip Farrington, Jr., Castle Books, New York, 1955.

Marty's Matchbox Makeovers

The Marty's Matchbox Makeovers YouTube site features a small collection of "make-overs" of Matchbox vehicles. The author does not get into all the intricacies of restoration as baremetalHW, but he does prove what a little paint and TLC will do to bring back life to those played with hard Matchbox cars and trucks.

Making Small Scale Trees out of Cardboard Shards

I start by cutting thin shards of grey cardboard, the kind you might find in packaging. The thinner the better, but they don’t have to be too thin. Once you have several shards it is time to get a bottle of Elmer’s glue. Decide how tall you want the tree to be, I am making trees for N and HO gauge, so decide how many scale feet tall you want the tree to be.

I start with two shards of cardboard. I roll each of the strips between my fingers to round them out a bit. I then put them together and dip one end in some Elmer’s glue. I roll these together at the bottom to form the tree’s trunk, adding other strips at various lengths to create the tree’s limbs. Sometimes, for a more complex tree structure, I add these limbs to the center of the much.

Once you have the basic structure, it is time to add some leaf texture. I soak the whole tree in Matte Medium, (you could also use a diluted white glue, like Elmer’s), one to stiffen up the tree trunk and limbs and too supply some sort of adhesive for various textures and colors of ground foam and or poly fiber.

I am not trying to model any one species of a tree, except for the one evergreen tree. This was created by spearing bits of scotch bright pad on a round stained tooth pick. Foe the other trees, I just wanted to create set of random tree and used random colors and textures of ground foam.

Great Owls and other Fowl

“Not feeling inclined for slumber, however, instead of turning in Quatermain sat at the doorway contemplating the beauty of the night while I watched the countless fireflies that seemed to dust the air with sparks of burning gold; also the great owls and other fowl that haunt the dark. These had come out in numbers from their hiding-places among the ruins and sailed to and fro like white-winged spirits, now seen and now lost in the gloom.“

Chapter XXIII, What Umslopogaas Saw, She and Allen, H. Rider Haggard

Ingoldsby Legends, “The Nurse’s Story”

Then I (Allen) took a little book out of my pocket, it was my favourite copy of the Ingoldsby Legends—and began to read.

The passage which caught my eye, if “axe” be substituted for “knife” was not inappropriate. It was from “The Nurse’s Story,” and runs,

“But, oh! what a thing ‘tis to see and to know
That the bare knife is raised in the hand of the foe,
Without hope to repel or to ward off the blow!”

This proceeding of mine astonished them a good deal who felt that they had, so to speak, missed fire. At last the soldier in the middle said,

“Are you blind, White Man?”

“No, Black Fellow,” I answered, “but I am short-sighted. Would you be so good as to stand out of my light?” a remark which puzzled them so much that all three drew back a few paces.

When I had read a little further I came to the following lines,

“‘Tis plain,
As anatomists tell us, that never again,
Shall life revisit the foully slain
When once they’ve been cut through the jugular vein.”

Chapter II The Messengers, H. Rider Haggard

The Cardboard Republic’s Risk Variants and Solo Game Play

Judging from where this bookmark is located in my list of bookmarks I found this site some time ago. What I was originally searching for is any ones guess, however having found what looked like an interesting resource, and I saved the bookmark.

Although I just started to explore this site in earnest, I came upon two topics that are near-and-dear to me. They are the board game “Risk” and Solo board games.

Variant Risk

This page list three different variants of Risk; Vendetta or otherwise known as Assassin, or Paranoia. Vendetta takes two of revised versions missions and applies them to everyone. This variant is said to shorten a five player game down to two hours.

The second variant allows one to accumulate territory cards past the usual five card maximum. That is to say you can cash them in at a more appropriate time when the number of armies issued is at an all-time high.

The third and last Risk variant mentioned is One World Dominion, which includes a PDF for a print and play version of Risk. One World Dominion includes its own set of Territory cards, and its own set of rules and situations. This variant looks like a very interesting and might prove to be quite challenging to play.

One World Dominion, Territory Card

Solo Edition: The Appeal of Single Player Board Games

This page lists three board games that include either rules for or components for playing solo. The three listed board games that include solo versions are: Race for the Galaxy: The Gathering Storm, Arkham Horror, and Ascension: Storm of Souls. Race for the Galaxy: The Gathering Storm includes a miniature game board for solo play.