December Projects an Update

As often is the case I have gotten off track this month and instead of working on this month’s projects I have started some new projects. To be fair, several of this month’s projects are underway; however I don't see many of them coming to fruition this month.

So what got my attention; some old Reader Miniatures? These are some of the first miniatures I purchased when getting into the hobby. Among the other miniatures I purchased from Reader were two of their familiar packs. These two packs contain several aquatic creatures, of mostly, the whimsical type. I had and still do like all things that are fantastic and whimsical.  Although there are many fantastic miniatures available, there aren't many I would consider whimsical.

I will make posts on these miniatures as they are completed and I am making plans for next year and will be sharing these plans with you in very near future. To think, the 2015 is only two weeks away. 

My Winter Reading List-War Stories

When I started my search for military stories I was rather surprised with the titles and authors that I came up with. Although I have read military themed stories before I usually read them in a mix with other types of stories. This reading list is a collection of military stories from multiple conflicts and eras..

• Sea Hounds, Lewis Freeman
• Battle of Dorking, George Chesney
• Interesting Back Story about the Battle of Dorking
• Battle Pieces, Herman Melville
• The Blockade Runners by Jules Verne
• Soldiers Three, part1, Rudyard Kipling
• Soldiers Three, part2, Rudyard Kipling
• The Road to Frontenac, Samuel Merwin

Projects or December

The holiday season almost upon us and with the holidays is some time off and winter weather that May keep me more home bound than I care to be; thus the expanded project list.

1. Ykreol et le Pere Noel miniature This miniature accompanied their Nativity set 
2. 7 Dreadfleet Grand Alliance & Cogs ships and Dreadfleet Graveyard Leech Wyrm (sea serpent) 
3. Continue to work on Ykreol Nativity set 
4. Cut out the Battle of Dorking print and play game components 
5. Cut out the Battle Honey Springs print and play game components 
6. Cut out paper dragon or haunted bungalow

My Last Order of Miniatures for 2014

This is my last order of miniatures for this year. Hoard O'Bits has received a second order from me and will probably receive at least another order sometime next year. Although Hoard O' Bits specializes in surplus Warhammer bits they also have a large collection of bits and miniatures from other manufacturers. This order, with what I already have on hand, should take me through the winter and possibly through part of spring.

Warhammer Bin Bits Orc Arachnarok Spider - Trees

Warhammer Bin Bits Island Of Blood - Skaven Poisoned Wind Mortar

Warhammer Dreadfleet Bin Bits - Graveyard - Leech Wyrm

Warhammer Dreadfleet Bin Bits - Grand Alliance & Dreadfleet Cogs

Warhammer Dreadfleet Bin Bits - Dice

Leprechaun and Owl - Reaper Dark Heaven Legends

Walking Fish - Reaper Bits Aquatic Familiars

My Mid-Fall and Early Winter Reading List

A Son of the Sun, Jack London

A Son of the Sun is a sea story set in the turn of the last century in the South Pacific and I am just starting it. Just staring, but I have already found a couple few nice quotes, which I will be sharing very soon.

The Count of Monte Christo, Alex Dumas

This is second reading of this story. The Count of Monte Christo is one of best novels I have read. This time through I will be looking specific and particular facts that  might be expounded on.

The Land of Hidden Men, Eger Rice Burroughs

I have read a few of Burroughs works, but have yet to read this one. It was an interesting story along the fantasy lines.

A Log of the Flying Fish, Harry Collingwood

This volume is related to another Collingwood’s stories about the “Flying Fish” a vessel that flew and was also was submersible.

The River of Death: A Tale of London in Peril, Fred Merrick White

Okay, I must admit that the title of this novel caught my eye and it begs to be read. This is my first novel by this author.The River of Death: A Tale of London in Peril is a short story and was good reading.

My Late Summer and Early Fall Reading List, An Updated

I am reading my last novel from my  Late Summer and Early Fall Reading List. Across the Spanish Main, Harry Collingwood is a real swashbuckler and is story of two young gentleman looking to make a name for themselves while serving on the Stag Royal.

Starfish, Peter Watts
Maelstrom, Peter Watts
Behemoth, Peter Watts
Michael Strogoff or Curer for the Czar, Jules Verne
The Kite Runner, Khaled Hossini
Across the Spanish Main, Harry Collingwood
The Great Stone of Sardis, Frank R. Stockton

My Late Summer and Early Fall Reading List

Starfish, Peter Watts

Maelstrom, Peter Watts

Behemoth, Peter Watts

Michael Strogoff or Curer for the Czar, Jules Verne

The Kite Runner, Khaled Hossini

Across the Spanish Main, Harry Collingwood

The Great Stone of Sardis, Frank R. Stockton

Aqua colored titles are those that I am currently reading.

Projects for September

Houston, we have a problem here. I should have known that I wouldn’t get to all those projects I had planned for the month of August. Last month I aimed a bit too high, so I am going to be a bit more conservative with my estimates this month.

1. Finish painting Dreadfleet Leviathan Island (Scenery piece)
2. Finish painting my SplinteredLight Badger (20mm)
3. Create and paint a three detail pieces for the base, (the one I completed last month) gears, slab of steal, and rusty spring.

My Late Spring and Summer Reading, an Update

It seems that I have barely made a dent into my reading. But, alas, I am not one to stick strictly to anything, much to my determent. Not listed here is the Chronicles of Narnia, that I was in the middle of reading when I created this list, nor is The Alchemist, a book I through into my reading of two other texts. At any rate here is an updated list of my reading thus so far.

Unfinished Tales, J.R.R. Tolkien

The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien

Mossflower (Redwall #2), Brian Jacques

The Scarlet Pimpernel, Baroness Emma Orczy

El Dorado, Baroness Emma Orczy

The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel, Baroness Emma Orczy

The Elusive Pimpernel, Baroness Emma Orczy

Five Weeks in a Balloon, Jules Verne

Michael Strogoff or Curer for the Czar, Jules Verne

The Adventures of Captain Horn, Frank R. Stockton

Aqua colored text indicates texts I am currently reading.

Projects for August

Here it is August already! Where have the last two months gone; another academic year is almost upon me.

The 28mm Persian miniature did not get painted last month or the month before. Perhaps this miniature will get some attention sometime in the near future. It seems that am a bit more ambitious this month. We will see.

1. Paint Dreadfleet Leviathan Island (Scenery piece)
2. Finish painting my Splintered Light Hare and Beaver (20mm)
3. Paint base piece (this will be used to display a couple of steam engines that I have completed some time ago and some robot miniatures that I will be painting in the near future)
4. Complete small metal shed (This is my first DIY project in a while. I also have a few other DIY projects that I that want to accomplish in the near future)
5. Create and or paint a few prop pieces for the base, see number 3 (gear, slab of steal, and rusty spring)

Projects for July

Half the year has passed and I am so far behind in completing my miniatures. I purchase new items faster than I can complete them. As a fellow blogger has recently mentioned it is the collecting that is more than half the fun of this hobby.

Creating a project list seemed to work last month. I completed three out of the four projects that I had designated for the month of June. Perhaps I should have stuck with three projects instead of the four, so this month I have only designated three projects for the month of July.

I have brought the incomplete project forward to this month list.

1. Assemble and paint one 28mm Persian miniature
2. Assemble and paint the 28mm Games Workshop Bretonnian Horse
3. Complete painting two Splintered Light mice miniatures

These projects may be completed in any order, as the mood strikes.

My Order from Amazon has Arrived

Even though I have a very long Wish List, this will probably be my last order from Amazon for a while. The order is a mixed bag. I have added two more texts, a book and a graphic novel. Both of these volumes are a bit different than my normal reading material. However books on diverse subjects and topics have always fascinated me.

I have added a new board game to our small, but growing collection of games. Past times against the boredom; board games give my wife and I something to do when there is nothing else to do.

In addition, I have added a new video to my collection. I have been acquiring World War Two movies. These classics are great to watch before playing a war game of any sort as they put you the mood and mind set for these strategy games.

More information on these topics will follow.

Projects for June

Although I am rather free with my posts I am rather slow in getting my projects completed, I keep on purchasing new items, which of course adds to my “to-do” list. However, unless I plan, nothing gets accomplished. Here goes:

1. Finish painting 1/285 WWII German Panzer tanks
2. Paint 1/285 WWII American Sherman tanks
3. Assemble and paint at least one 28mm Persian miniature
4. Assemble and paint the Games Workshop 28mm Wolf miniature

These projects may be completed in any order, as the mood strikes.

The list is small and by rights I should be able to accomplish these tasks within the month of June. Well let’s hope so.

Ancients

A few weeks ago I relabeled a post I had made about a couple of horse drawn wagons I wanted to build in 2104. At that time I had used one label called ancient Rome. Since then I have decided to use a label Ancients as it will better suit my needs.

I had no intention, at first, to model ancients, but with the Roman Nobelman's Chariot and am planning on purchasing a Macedonian War Elephant. I felt these models would be fun to build. Why else would purchase a particular model?

In addition, I just received a set of Persians from the Wargame Factory. Wargame Factory is offering a set of six sprue with a total of twelve 28mm Persians with assorted equipment, ETC; more about these plastic figures in an upcoming post. Who knows what other interests might perk my curiosity and add to my miniature collection?

My Late Spring and Summer Reading List

I just added the first three novels in my list to my library. I have a long list of novels to read including several new epubs that I recently downloaded. I will most probably be making posts on some of these titles.

1. Unfinished Tales, J.R.R. Tolkien
2. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
3. Mossflower (Redwall #2), Brian Jacques
4. The Scarlet Pimpernel, Baroness Emma Orczy
5. El Dorado, Baroness Emma Orczy
6. The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel, Baroness Emma Orczy
7. The Elusive Pimpernel, Baroness Emma Orczy
8. Five Weeks in a Balloon, Jules Verne
9. Michael Strogoff or Curer for the Czar, Jules Verne
10. The Adventures of Captain Horn, Frank R. Stockton

Back to My Voyages Extraordinaires

It has been awhile since I last read anything of Jules Verne and especially titles from his Voyages Extraordinaires. Here is a list of his works that are part of my spring 2014 reading list. Although some of these titles can be heard from readings, all of these titles will be read as epubs.

• A Journey to the Center of the Earth
• Five Weeks in a Balloon
• Robur the Conqueror
• Eight Hundred Leagues on the Amazon
• Michael Strogoff, or the Courier of the Czar

I will start with the A Journey to the Center of the Earth and after that I will pick from these titles randomly.

Rockets and Rocket Men

This is a rather new topic. I had formally combined Sky Pirates with Rocket Men, but thought that I could provide better coverage if the two were separated. So now I have Sky Pirates and Rockets and Rocket Men as seperate labels.

I am planning on obtaining a few rocket men miniatures this year. Elhiem Figures has a set of 3- 1/72 rocket men that are armed with broom handle Mauser pistols and Drum magazines. Elhiem also has a retro rocket man with a ray gun.

Pulp Figures offers several sets of U.S. Rocket Corps in 28mm. The sets include five individual miniatures. However I am leaning toward the Elhiem Figures because they also have several other miniatures I need for the Mutants and Machine-Guns’ RPG and a miniature that I will use with my Pirates of Mysterious Islands game.

My Splintered Light Miniatures Have Arrived

My Splintered Light Miniatures have arrived and I cannot wait to get home to take a look at them. I will need to clear an area on my bench for these miniatures. It is far past the time for my workbench to get a good cleaning and to be reorganized anyway. My workbench is a mess. I have so many projects in different levels of completion that are taking up most of my workbench.

One of my goals this year is to get to more assembly and painting accomplished. That is the assembly of some plastic kits and now that I have replenished the few of colors that I was lacking, to paint several of my sets of 28mm miniatures.

I have already have set out some of my paints out for these Splintered Light Miniatures; browns of every description and a few shades of black. Let’s not forget the greys and few metallic colors for the creature’s armor and weapons. I will also need some reds for sashes and perhaps some greens for their mantles.

Two Horse Drawn Wagons I Would like Build in 2014

The two horse drawn wagons are scaled at 1/72 and represent two unique periods of history. There is ancient Roman Nobelman's Chariot and a WWI Field Wagon.

The Roman Nobleman’s Chariot comes with a chariot, 2 horses and 2 figures. The two figures represent the nobles man and servant rider. The chariot is an elaborate affair, at least for that period. The manufacturer is Ykreol. This will be my second model that I will build from Ykreol, a French company. The model has been reviewed by the Plastic Soldier Review.

This is my first piece from this period. I am not all that interested in this period of history, but thought the model would be a nice addition to my collection of horse drawn wagons.

For supplemental miniatures Linear-B Roman Port set could be used to add to the scene. This set has 48 figures in twelve poses.

The WWI Field Wagon is a product of Hat Industries Figures. This kit includes three complete wagons, with two riders and two horses each.

WWI is one of my favorite periods. I like this eras mechanized and armored vehicles. These vehicle, still in their infancy, used some very singular designs.

Supplements for this set is a set of Airfix Models’ WWI German infantry. This would give me several soldiers walking carrying their guns. They would play the part as guards.

What’s New for 2014?

20mm Miniatures

Although I have had my eyes on these miniatures for some time, this size of miniatures is new to me. I thought these fantasy miniatures might be fun to paint and made use of in some war game or RPG.

I recently ordered the following from Splintered Light Miniatures: “Faithful Heroes 2” which includes five of the following figures an otter, a badger, a hare, and 2 mice. In addition I also ordered Splintered Light’s “Villager Personalities” which includes the following six figures: a rabbit gentleman and his muskrat lady housemaid, a crazy toad, a distinguished badger, rat and mole. I already have something in mind for the rabbit gentleman.

I will eventually have to order a set of their Rebels, which are the counterparts of their Faithful Heroes.

1/72 Scale Models and Dioramas

I made a brief post about some of the goodies I received as gifts (via gift certificates). I am planning on creating some dioramas this year and ordered several 1/72 scale kits for this purpose. I became inspired to do so by viewing the fabulous work of Sam Wise.

Pre-Dreadnought Battleships

WTJ Naval Store offers a large collection of Pre-dreadnought Battleships. I made a post on this topic last year. This era 1890, the era in which these battleships were introduced, has some significance to me, but as of yet I could not tell you exactly why I am being drawn to this era.

I was thinking about going with the 1/1800 scale, however this scale miniatures are quite on the expansive side, so I am contemplating on ordering a smaller scale.

WTJ does offer some free rules for era of ships, so I would like to order enough of these miniatures to allow me to play some type war game with these Pre-Dreadnought ships.