Wednesday, October 31, 2007

I miss Art Bell


I tried to listen to Coast to Coast the other night. As I listened to some one drone on about a book about time travel the only sound the host made were "hmmm" or agreeing with the guest. It was some of the worse radio that I have heard in a while. I miss Art Bell. Art would have at least interjected some interesting points or noticed that the guest was boring. No matter how crazy or whacked out the caller or topic, Art made it entertaining to hear. I am hoping that he will be on tonight for a Ghost to Ghost episode. Come back, Art. Late night radio needs you.

Past Figure Wednesday

Behold, the Wizard! I have to get better lighting at some point but the darkness hides how badly this figure is painted. I have no idea what I was thinking with the colors of the staff and hat. They must have been close to hand.

Happy Halloween


Happy Halloween

Monday, October 29, 2007

Farming 47




Farming 47 reached. Two more levels to go....



Sunday, October 28, 2007

Paddy and his pig


Today was a gaming day. I headed down south to visit a friend and take part in the D&D Miniature Desert of Desolation pre-release tournament down at Crossroad Games. I had a great time having people hand me defeat after defeat. I am truly sorry that I could not hang around for the last round. My friend could have been a contender.... but he had to bring me back. So if you are down that way, make sure to stop into Crossroad Games and say hello.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Flashback


Phantasie was THE GAME that started my addiction to computer games. I think that Shaggy and I did that game from start to finish in a weekend. O what joy when the monsters were defeated.... the entire party would jump up and down. There were three games in the series. The other two did not really compare to the first one. I don't even remember if Shaggy and I finished the last one. I think we had moved over to the Ultima series by then. Perhaps even The Bard's Tale.

My father made a comment on the old Commodore 64 taking up space upstairs the last time I visited. It would have come home with me if SHE did not give me the look of Medusa. Boy and I would have had a great time with that system. I wonder if the discs still work. It would have been a steal... since it is my brother's machine. It is my hope that since it has been sitting up there for about twenty years it can wait until a solo visit is made. As long as I can get it down into the basement and Boy or Girl hooked before SHE notices. The planned responses when she does notice are first, "Whuut?", and when that fails, "but it is for the children...."

You a farmer? Then why do you have that pig on your back?!

Boy does not like me to farm on Runescape. I have to admit, I do not care for it all that much either. Until I reach level 49 I will continue to get the digital dirt under my fingernails. It is a slow process. The best way is to plant and grow trees. Naturally, it is hard to come across tree seeds. This springs from my need to have farming level 49 in order to finish a quest. I thought that it would only take me a while to accomplish it but it as slowed to a crawl. At least I am working on my woodcutting and fletching skills during the long grow times.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Hirst Arts


I stumbled upon Hirst Arts a few years ago. It is a great site to visit and a great product to own. I remember that Bruce Hirst gave me a call after I ordered the smooth pyramid to ask me if it was really what I wanted or was it the sandblasted pyramid. He was correct. I wanted the sandblasted pyramid. Now that is customer service!


I have had other mold purchased recently and they are great too. I am using them to support my units on Ancient Rome and Medieval Europe. The only limit that I have found is the type of material you cast with. We started out with plaster of paris. It pays to get material that is harder than that when dry. We are using Densite at the moment and it is a little better. I want to get the dental plaster but I think that we need to work on our mixing and pouring technique first. Attempting to get all of the air bubbles out is difficult. I will have to build one of the vibrating pour boards that Mr. Hirst built.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Old figures






















Here are some older figures. I went through a spell where I was painting almost every night for a while. I think that I have to do some more about the lighting for the pictures but it might also be becasue of my lack of painting skill... It was fun anyways.

Guardian of the Throne


This is the guardian of the Throne. She demanded her picture to be snapped when I took the other pictures. I got to read a little more about snapping pictures of figures. I don't think that they came out very good. I will have to find the others and put them on this site. She has been a great guardian except she sheds hair on the painting station and figures. She also drools when you scratch the back of her head... much like her owner.

Throne of Bone


Here is the state of Throne of Bone as of tonight. Primed and ready for paint. Actually it has been primed since this summer. Just got to find time to spend on it. Boy and Girl want to help paint it too. That might be interesting but I don't think my fragile ego could take it if they do better than me. I guess I would have to pass my few brushes to them.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Yes, but skeletons are white......


There are moments within one's life that all becomes clear. I have had a few and have named this great effort for one of them. Back in the early 90s I started painting D&D figures. I had some of the Ral Partha box sets among others. One set stood out among the figures... Throne of Bone. A wizard and his wench lounging upon an elevated platform of skeletons. I tried several times to paint that pile of lead to no avail. The shading was off or it just did not look right. In frustration I gave it away to a fraternity brother who also painted. After some time I asked him how his efforts were going with that project. He amazed me by saying he had finished it. He said that he spray painted it because.... wait for it..... skeletons are white.


All hail the one and only Mutant, Ed Bantz for his Zen wisdom.


AAAAAGGGGGGGGGG!!!!! It still is a knife in the eye almost 20 years later. I saw that set on EBay last winter and bought it. It is now primed black (spray painted) and is waiting for my tender brush strokes. It can wait a while longer, I have gotten use to its cold whisperings in the back of my mind.