The Blog of Michael T. Murphy and his lifelong obsession with "little army men" and their imaginary glory, miniature wargaming, and other things...

Sunday, July 31, 2016

Update: "And June slips into July"...

This post was supposed to be called, "End of June Update #2", but we all know who these issues go with this hobby and life...

Okay, so the month of June, slipped into July and my feverish painting frenzy has dropped down over the last couple of weeks due to the ever increasing travel I am having to do for work. But there are a lot of things I did get done, and I can at least show you some of them.

Running Out of Room:

Egad, I had hit the mark recently!
While adding in my latest collection of figures, I realized that my current storage drawer in the dresser that I had was essentially full up for figures.
Each drawer is for a certain scale or certain items.
Drawer #1: is for 15mm
Drawer #2: 25-32mm (mostly 28)
Drawer #3: Scenic pieces
Drawer #4: Molds, etc.
I also had Cabinet #1, (Models, kits, etc), and Cabinet #2, (Molding and Casting Supplies).

So with the addition of the new figures, suddenly I was out of room.

Egad! Where are these figures going to go????


An overview of the 28mm drawer...sigh


Foundry, Crusader, Dixon, Bolt Action, Eureka Reaper Bones and Dark Heaven, among so many others...


Mostly Reaper, a couple of RAFM, and some others in there also...

So indeed this was a situation that needed to be solved...and fast.

But that was for another time.

Now it's onto "What I have painted!"....

What I have painted:

So between massive trips for work, I've been trying to keep up with the painting vs the acquiring.

First up to be complete are some "Arrogant Nazi's; (Are there any other kind?)...

I'm especially proud of these guys as Crucible Crush displayed them on their Facebook page and said "Excellent job!"...
The figures come from Bob Murch's excellent "Pulp Figures" line.


Nazi's....When you care enough to send the very worst...

Johann takes aim with this trusty Luger, at a cute, little, fuzzy, kitten (not pictured in photo), while egged on by his comrade Dieter. Remember folks; these are EVIL, Arrogant, Nazi's and we all know that Nazi's NEVER do "cute"...
We hate these guys...

The debate between "Whether or not Frau Blucher makes the best Apfel Strudel in Hasserburg" between Wilhelm and Hans  continues as they wait for orders to "round up the usual suspsects and get the answers that they want."  We really hate these guys...

Gerrhart Finklehauser is an evil Nazi spy; (really, is there any other kind?).  While not as arrogant as the others, he makes up for it by being twice as sneaky, oily, and weaselly. With a thin, raspy, voice and thick silver rimmed spectacles for his poor eyesight, he doesn't seem to be the cold blooded murdering agent for Der Fuehrer, but that always seems to work to his advantage. It was his sneakiness that allow him to get the secrets of "Project L" from England and back to Berlin., as well as breaking up the ring of Dutch jewel merchants in Rotterdam. His actions,, smile, voice, and essentially everything about him makes people very uncomfortable, and no one really likes being around him for any length of time.

And moving on to other figures....

One from the Foundry Range...I think their 19th Victorian Street Gangs Line....
The fact that he seems to be in the same color outfit as a certain "Walking Man" on a well known bottle of Scotch is entirely coincidental mind you...

Lord J. Waler on one of his usual daily strolls, reacting typically to yet another group of small children approaching him smiling and perhaps hoping to get a shilling or a pece or two from him.

And then from Foundry's Western Line, we have "Ol' Chuck Wagon Charlie".


Chuckwagon Charlie has been around a while and can fix a pot of beans or a bucket of Bunkhouse Slop Stew faster than most cowboys can write their name. But, he's got a secret....

And then onto some gangsters from Pulp Figures once again....

WIP: More gangsters for the city...
"From L to Right: "Roosevelt "Chopper" Johnson, Donnie Malone, and Stan "Da Polack" Dumbrowski"
Roosevelt "Chopper" Johnson, doesn't let things get in the way of what he needs to do. With a fiery hot temper to match the red scarf he wears, he is suspected of killing 11 men so far; including being involved in the Dewey Park killings last April.
Donnie Malone is one of those "Strong Silent Types". He doesn't make a lot of noise and keeps to himself, He likes baseball, and is a die-hard Yankee's fan. He's also suspected of being the trigger man behind the hit that sent Louie "Chimp-Ears" Olvetti to cool his heels at the city morgue last month. But as usual, there's no witnesses or proof.
Stan "Da Polack" Dumbrowski, came over on the boat, and within 15 minutes of stepping ashore was beating some guys head into a concrete pylon. Needless to say, he easily found work, and although his English is limited, his skill with a Chicago Piano is excellent. He is also commonly seen with a cigarette dangling from his lip. He says it keeps him calm when he is murdering someone in cold blood..."

From L. to R: Stan "Da Polack" Dumbrowski and Donnie Malone...

Roosevelt "Chopper" Johnson...

It's not all guns and gore...Sometimes there's music and dancing!  Dwight Beaverton plays his cross version of "Turkey in The Straw/Bonaparte's Retreat" while Johnny Davidson does his best to "Walk like an Egyptian"...(Figures by Dixon)...

Meanwhile at a truck stop near I-88 outside of Des Moines, Iowa....As the old saying goes; "One man's trash is another man's treasure..."



"The Boys", (aka Crooner and Mulligan), in between sets of their latest motion picture "The Road to Kookamunga" (produced by Miracle Pictures; "If it's a good picture, It's a Miracle!").

What's a setting without scenery? Some "cargo"....


Stuff I am working on...

While it is nice to have things finished, there are always more figures to be painted, more scenery to be worked on, more "stuff",...and more and more and more..
Including some figures that have been languishing for a while.

Here's one of those. He's the Long John Silver figure from Foundry's Old "Treasure Island" set.

Still being worked on...but there's an adventure nearby me boy....Arrrr...


And then there are witches...
This is from Reaper "Dark Heaven-Legends"
It was only after painting her up that I noticed how creepy and unsettling her eyes were, and how "that stare" just seemed to make you go "brrrrr!"



Yeaaaaah.....whatever you do, DON'T get caught in her neck of the woods late at night...

Well that is it for now, and as usual, July is now moving into August....
Gen Con is next week...so lets see what happens then!

Thanks for reading and more is one the way.

Saturday, July 2, 2016

Update: "End of June update; Part 1"


Well dear reader the month of June has passed, and I am once again giving an update.
This one is pretty photo heavy, so you might want to get a drink and relax before going on.

Of Trips...

The last four weeks have been a whirlwind for me; essentially being on the road all four weeks travelling between Indianapolis, Columbus, and Kenosha  for work related issues.
However it has given me some interesting travel ideas.
Downtown Kenosha, Wisconsin is slowly growing on me like a foot fungus that won't be treated. There's a certain "Weird charm" to the city, that I really can't put my finger on.  A good portion of the town is just crying "Pulp Adventure".
One of these is "Yees Oriental Inn", aka "The Chop Suey Palace".





Yeps...that's an electric/neon sign that shines in the darkness of night, advertising "Chop Suey"...

And another "sign"...Could this just be a sign for Tsingtao beer, or could it be a symbol for something much more "sinister"?....


 I'll admit, this place fascinates the hell outta me.
It's a longtime establishment down near the waterfront, (go figure), and it's one of those places that lots of locals say "Oh yeah, I know the place, and no I've never been there."
I had driven by it a few times and one afternoon was just curious and hungry, so, "adventure (and chop suey), here I come!"

Walking into the place, it's like a setup from the 1950's. There's a bar to the immediate left. (I need to get pics of this), and then you walk around the divider on the right and into the restaurant.
They are always, ALWAYS advertising "Help Wanted" for a dishwasher.


But the menu is pleasant...
  
I find it interesting that he continues with the name "Oriental", as today it's considered pretty "UN-PC", and to some folks, is actually "offensive". But hey...to each their own.

One of the more fascinating things in this place is the retro-ish, (but probably original), plastic "glass" beads and gems style divider hanging from the ceiling., (and yes ou can see part of the bar in the back)...

You can see part of the bar in the background...


It's a nice joint to get a drink, a quick meal, or to get shanghaied in....

What's a pseudo-Chinese joint without screen dividers?...

Or illuminated by genuine 110-120 Volt  "Chinese Lanterns"? 

Needless to say I ordered their special for lunch; The Beef Chop Suey with Eggroll; and they brought out this:



Being the hungry cad that I was I dived into it. But I also decided on a special treat.  Being a pulpy sort of place, I wanted a "Pulpy Style" sort of drink, so I looked through the small (and dated), cocktail menu and made the decision on a Singapore Sling:


Choices any good fella should like. No modern day froo-froo stuff here. This is good old fashioned froo-froo.

Mmmm....tasty!

I'll admit, the chop suey was very tasty and it didn't last long around me...


So yeah,. Yee's was a good place to delve into some Chinese chow, (and I don't mean the dog!). I've noticed also that there is a back counter towards the rear in which "Mrs. Yee" also sells "jewelry".  
But while in Kenosha, the hotels were full, so I ended up in Milwaukee at the Crown Plaza and of all things...sharing a hotel with a psychic  um..."Evidential Spiritual Medium"...(whatever the hell that really is, other than scam).

Funny, with a name like Morning Star, I am not sure if she is going with the new agey stuff, the "pseudo Native American" angle, or just happens to be named after a piece of Medieval Weaponry. That picture makes her look like she is more ready to do a morning aerobics class than contacting the spirits of the dead....but hey...Who am I to judge?

Even though I wanted to check it out, I didn't have time.
But sitting at the bar, I did some reading...

Yes, a recent copy of "Toy Soldier Porn"...

And of course I bought some more figures. Mostly Fantasy this time...

 

 

 

 
     
As you can see I made a big purchase on Reaper stuff.
So it seems that I am okay on the "Female" gender and class stuff for RPGS. Now I just have to get some more cannon fodd...errr...I mean "males".

But while perusing I did pick up some of the LOTR stuff also:

Kings of Men...always need some type of "Royalty" figure to cause issues....

And of course, this...

Yeah...this thing is trouble with a capital "T"....

And finally I ended up picking up the rest of the Tamaya clears (thanks to the suggestion of Wyatt D. Odd), and with that, I got ready to get home and paint, (IF I got home)....


More to come...including painting figures and other projects!!!