Blog Update: The Missing June Post....

 So it seems dear reader that somehow or someway I seemed to have missed putting in a June update to what is going on around House O' Murphy.

So please consider this a late June submission, and some other stuff also....

D&D Game....

Yikes! Where do I go with this one?

Well...we continued our D&D game and the June adventure was one of frustration for everyone. The summer season, and "real life" has cut into our gaming tremendously, and that being said, we were only able to get one game in for the month of June. We are also taking an August break so we have 2 games for this month planned.

The game was also frustrating, because I knew due to the players previous actions, not only were the bad guys going to be waiting for them for some hard fighting combat. I also told them to be prepared "as this will probably be the hardest fight in this part of the scenario that you will encounter." 

And so it began. 

And it took almost three hours of real time to finish one major combat. 

The two big bads for the scenario were reinforced by some low level NPC assistants, and the PC's not only had bad dice rolling, but the rolling was horrible, and the fumbles were many.

The ranger had three fumbles in a row, (breaking bowstring, slipping, and mishandling weapon), while trying to get one up on the evil cleric.

(Click on pics for larger version)....

(Snacks this game included fresh stollen, chips, salsa, queso, pastries, jerky, and fresh lemonade and tea...)

(Meanwhile the fridge was ready with backup munchies and drinks!)

(Mr. Fridge is well stocked. BTW...the Mezzo Mix is MINE! NO ONE ELSE gets it!)

(The party prepares for the adventure! Treasure, XP's and Glory await!!!!....or errr....something like that....)

(The PC's burst through the trapdoor ("X"), into the room, to be greeted by the bad guy in armor (BGIA),  the evil priestess in the back and a couple of flunkies! Battle is joined!)

(The evil priestess steps through the doorway into the other room to prepare a spell as the BGIA, and the flunkies hold a defensive line in the room. Meanwhile the ranger tries to get off a shot with her bow.)

(Realizing that the battle is "not going the way they want it to", some of the players huddle and start to plot and scheme...Is it against the BGIA, the flunkies, and the evil priestess? Or is it against the DM???....oh dear....)

(The struggle continues as bad rolls hamper the PC's and they take damage. Meanwhile the evil priestess returns back to the room, to cast a spell....)

(Only to luckily be taken down by a critical hit as two of the PC's go at her. Another flunky from behind appears and drags her body back into the room. Meanwhile the rest of the group is seriously stuck in a problem with BGIA as yet MORE flunkies come to join in the fun....)

(The ranger player after her third fumble in a row... Things were not good for the party...)

(Eventually the party succeeded in beating BGIA, and the flunkies, but the priestess and her flunky had vanished! Following a small blood trail, they were now moving to the stairs of the second floor of the temple. Here they take a well deserved Chinese Dinner Break, and while eating a delicious Chinese dinner, listen as the ranger players speaks with them on "Needing to fight smarter and NOT harder"....   Meanwhile, behind my screen, orange-cola mix, dice, note stickers, egg rolls and crab rangoon....)

So the party starts this weekend going into the second floor to find out and hopefully end this part of the scenario. TBH, I wasn't happy with the battle, and neither were they, but as I explained to them, this was indeed going to be difficult.

Meanwhile, some folks asked me about Mezzo Mix.

It's a German Cola-Orange drink that I fell in love with, and am only NOW being able to find it (somewhat) in Indy when I get down there once a week.

(Mezzo Mix goodness....mmmmmm.....)

PAINTING:

Meanwhile for the month of June, I was able to get some figures painted up. These are mostly from Reapers Bones IV and V KS line. 

(Everyone needs a bear figure at some time in their gaming life. This one was easy to paint up, and the groundwork was fun, however, the gloss effect is what throws me off. I did a base coat of gloss spray for protection with two overcoats of flat and the gloss still came out.  I'm going to go back and try some brush on flat to take out the shiny effect.)

(A Reaper figure that came out pretty good. Painting on him was quick and easy. I really like the skin detail that was highlighted on this guy.)

(Tessa, a village maiden. Each village has that "one gal" that you don't know whose side, or which side she is on, or if she is just playing both sides, and looking for a husband in the process. This one has the look on her face of "I've got a secret."  Another Reaper Bones Villager figure.)

(Ed, the Villager. He's not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he works hard and does what he is told. Unfortunately I expect him to be killed by either a monster or a group of wandering murder hobos in the future...)

(Ella, an angry woman villager. Her emotions are running just as hot as that torch she is carrying and with her fierce yell, she is ready to use the rolling pin to dispense justice and vengeance upon drunken husbands, tax collectors, murder hobo characters, elected politicians and French Aristocrats as the need requires....)

Meanwhile, on one of my trips to Indy, I stopped by my favorite Middle Eastern market....

(Nice to see you can get this here if needed....)

However it was the tea that confused me....

("Green Gunpowder"???....)

(From Morocco...)

Meanwhile the Chinese refuse to be done over by the Moroccans....

("Special Gunpowder Tea"

So after my store visit, I got back onto the Old West project that I was working on years ago and stalled.

I decided to delve into my Arnica Montana resins.

(The Hotel, Shop, and Boardwalks all drying after being thoroughly cleaned...)

(Base colors for the boardwalks went on easy. Some TCL building parts are also painted up. I found out that I use A LOT of "Burnt Umber" in my Western building painting, so Apple Barrel Craft Paints for this color happens to be my friend.)

I got the hotel assembled and base colored. There are a few design issues with it that I am not happy with, but being the creative sort I am, I can get around it. "Improvise, Adapt, Overcome."

(Not a bad kit....)

(A cowboy on his way to being "The Rawhide Kid", with the base colored shop building in the back, that would soon become "Wun Hung Lo's Chinese Laundry".... Figure from Pulp Figures.)

The building was also an easy assembly and open to customizing and modification, (which I did somewhat). Of concern was an issue with the roof support which I easily addressed with two pieces of plastic supports.

(The main work is done....)

(The inside of the shop. I have added ceiling supports to the front angles, (marked here in pencil), and added a floor to help strengthen the walls. Soon it will be painted up and smelling of bleach, hot water, and lye soap....as dirty drawers and stinky socks get cleaned. All for a fair price....)

Other fun things....

Things in life continue to go on even as I and others continue to try to game and I keep trying to decrease my little lead mountain and pile o' stuff.

Some of the other things we have had happen.

1: I got the replacement flex shaft for my Dremel 4300, so it's up and running again. A good 30 buck purchase. Glad it was the flex shaft and not the Dremel itself.

2: I got our property tax assessment lowered by 24K.

3: We had storm damage at the end of May and are currently waiting on the insurance adjuster to call us about filing the claim.  The roof tiles are the original roof tiles to the house, (from October 10th, 1916), and we have to find tiles of a style and color that is close to what the house had as it's historically registered.

4: I've gotten my A1C down to 7.0 and have lost over 40 lbs.

5: I'm planning on going to Little Wars next year.

So that's it for now with me, and June's post here (posted in July), is submitted for your approval.  As usual, there is more to come and things that will be happening, so stay tuned, and enjoy!

Comments are appreciated!

Thanks for reading!

"The Chinese Laundry"

 So as I have said in my last post, I have gotten back onto my project of my Western Town of Rimfire, (Arizona Territory), and have been busily getting back into building some of the buildings and structures needed.

I was finally able to get one finished today.

So for your enjoyment, may I present to you, Rimfire's only "Genuine Chinese Laundry" run by none other than Mr. Wun Hung Lo himself!

(The weathered front of Wun Hung Lo's Chinese Laundry. He'll get your clothes clean one way or another....)

(A side view of the shop, showing one of their business signs. "You get what you pay for. You pay for what you get."  The boardwalks are separate from the building as is the miscellaneous stuff on the side of the building. You can easily see the weathering and the fading and worn paint.)

(A front view of the shop. Boardwalks are from the Arnica Montana line, produced by Hawgleg. Fence, barrels, and the pile of stuff on the side (not seen here), are from Acheson Creations. I have to touch up the white edges of the signs...)

(Lars Larsen (recently from Norway, via Minnesota, speaks with Mr. Wun Hung Lo about his "laundry bill", while Lo's nephew, Wang Chung speaks to a couple of gentleman that are "looking for a Chinese girl with green eyes...." Figures are by Pulp Figures and Dixon. Don't ask about the duck...)

The building is resin and from the Arnica Montana Line produced in limited quantities by Hawgleg.

The boardwalks are separate and are from the same line.

Fencing, barrels, and baggage on the side, are from Acheson Creations. 

Assembly was quick and easy, with a slight modification needed for the roof. 

Paints were a primer of black spray from Krylon, and then Apple Barrel Craft Paints of Burnt Umber, Primary Red, Cherry Red, and Cadmium Yellow with a drybrush of Burnt Sienna, and then another of Antique White for weathering. 

This can show that you really don't need expensive eye dropper paints to be able to achieve a good effect. 

I still need to weather the boardwalks, and do a little interior work, but for the most part this is done.

I'm happy with how it turned out, and it will add a bit of color and flavor to my Western Town. 

More to come, so stay tuned!

Thanks for reading!

Building a Western Town: Seriously late update...

 Howdy everyone.

So far this summer and for the past year pretty much I have mostly been involved with getting some of my umpteen thousands of fantasy figures painted up for running my D&D game.  This has put a serious pinch on most of my historical painting, (with the exception of some pirates I did), and even more so on finishing up some buildings. However with us currently taking a bit of a summer gaming recess, (thanks to the heat, real life, and the price of gas), I am refocusing some efforts back onto a previous project that I slouched off in waaaay back in 2017 and that is "Building a Western Town."

Back then I had started the town of "Rimfire", (originally known as Crabtree for the amazing and talented 19th Century personality Miss Lotta Crabtree but went back to Rimfire), Arizona, Territory.

From the period of Feb 2016 - June 2017, I cranked out a series of buildings:

1: Some outhouses.

2: Miss Melodie's Ladies Emporium.

3: General Store, (H. Thinglum Prptr.).

4: The Paradise Saloon.

5: Barber Joes Barber Shop.

6: An adobe warehouse.

I had also purchased some tents to use.

At the same time I had a series of buildings being worked on:

1: The Bank.

2: The Sheriffs Office and Jail.

3: A Cafe.

4: The Newspaper Office.

Somewhere around June of 2017, I got busy with life and work and ran out of steam. Then 2018 came, and the hellish years of 2019-2020. It was only after being able to move and finally set up that I was able to get back into building it. 

Once back here and set up, I slowly restarted it. 

I finished the bank. 

The building is one of the first line of  TCL buildings sold by Knuckleduster. Sad to say they are no longer available from either Knuckleduster or TCL: (Click on the photos for larger views.)

(Finally getting the fancy trim all painted up for the sucker....errr...."Customers" to deposit their hard earned cash in.)

(The final layout and setup of the bank.)

(Annnnnd the walls are in!)

(An oblique shot of the bank front showing the "glass" in the windows and the size of it.)

(One-Eyed Jack Carlson stands outside the bank waiting for it to open so he can go inside and make an early morning .44 caliber cash withdrawal....)

(Col. Belvedere, (Confederate Army, retired), stands outside of bank waiting on it to open to discuss "Why they do not accept Confederate money....")

The bank went along nicely.

The sheriffs office didn't.

I didn't like the original setup of the jail cell, so I have had to do some modifications. With this modification came a lot of headaches, and believe it or not, I am STILL working it out. I'm hoping to have it done, and have some pics posted, "soon".

However to keep things going, I am still going ahead with other buildings. This is to include the following:

1: The Imperial Hotel, (Resin Arnica Montana structure).

2: Mrs. Morley's Mockingbird Cafe. (A TCL building).

3: The "Weekly Gazette" Newspaper and Printing Press. (A TCL building).

4: Two more adobe warehouses, (Old Glory Foam Buildings).

5: "Hung-Lo's Chinese Laundry", (Another Arnica resin structure).

(Buildings in progress from L to R: "Hung-Lo's Chinese Laundry", The Imperial Hotel, and "The Weekly Gazette" Newspaper and Printing Press.)

I've got quite a lot to still build, but it is good to get back to seeing progress on these kits.

More to come as it happens!

June 2021 update...Middle of the Year already?!?!....

 It seems like the blink of an eye since May and suddenly we are at the high point of June. Solstice and the shortening of the days. So I guess it is time for me to get on with another update.

CLEAN UP THAT ROOM YOUNG MAN!!!!!

Okay, so in tried and true miniature gamer tradition, I trashed my work area. 

Projects came and went, repair jobs are waiting to be done. Old projects coming back to life, new projects trying to start, figures needing paint....AAAAAAHHH!!!! *runs screaming*....

Okay...*huff huff*...I am back now...*wheeze*

So the other day I came down into the paint room and realized just "what a mess" it had become.

YIKES! My mom would kill me!

So I sucked in a big ol' gulp of air, put on some music, and went to work cleaning up the area, and the paint/work table.

Trash was thrown away, old paint water drained, dropper bottles and paint pots, back into the rack, tools and brushes back into their respective containers, stuff picked up off the floor, etc.

Finally I got it looking decent once again....

Now I can sit down and start working without "Stuff" everywhere....

After getting all of this cleaned. I got to work.

Projects Galore...

So with my D&D game on hold for the month of June, I am currently on a "Western" kick. I've been busy getting back into building my old Western town of Rimfire, and with dogged determination, I am finally finishing up some of the TCL buildings I started back in Feb of 2016 and stopped working on in June of 2017. 

First up was to finished the TCL bank building.

This wasn't so hard as it was mostly just putting in the walls and trim, and adding "glass" to the windows and a door to the wall. 

The setup of the bank before I started the final assembly....

With the walls inserted, and a rubber band holding it together while it dries. 

The outer framework and golden filigree for the bank. I went with golden trimming to make it look "more attractive", (err..."robbable"), than normal. And the gold on green gives it a nice touch don't you think?

The interior walls of the bank. Installed and ready for tellers to smile at you as they take your money...

Another view of the inside of the bank.

A nice angular view of the bank, showing the interior...

With the front trimming on the building, the bank is essentially complete. 

A close up side view of the finished building. Here you can see the reflection of the clam shell blister plastic I used for "glass" for windows. 

A further away shot showing the size of the building... This is a standard TCL size long building...

With the building itself done, it was time to set up a couple of figures for scale and reference. They look pretty good next to it, if I do say so myself...

After this it was off to complete the Sheriff's Office and jail.

I finally got off my duff and started redoing that mess I created of making separate jail cells. I added some walls, and got more parts installed.  This one is about 95% done....

Aided by an ice cold Triple XXX Root Beer, I got to work on the Sheriff's Office and Jail, and started base-coating some Arnica Montana boardwalks.

A frontal comparison shot of a small store, the Sheriffs Office and Jail, and the bank.

Looking down you can see the size difference in buildings as well as two interiors.

ARNICA, MONTANA...

One of the other things I wanted to do while working on these buildings was to get onto to building my Arnica, Montana line of resin buildings that I had for a couple of years. 

The Arnica line was purchased a few years back by Hawgleg, and is currently in a semi-retired status as many of the molds are seriously worn. Due to the conditions of some of them, Hawgleg only produces kits per special request order at the moment. We are hoping to have this fixed soon...

So I decided to start off with the sidewalks/boardwalks.

For these (and other resin kits), it is HIGHLY SUGGESTED AND ENCOURAGED that you clean (wash), the resin pieces in warm (NOT HOT), water with a mild dish soap, (Ajax lemon or Dawn), and a scrub sponge. Once the pieces are washed, rinse them thoroughly in cold water, and set aside and let air dry for approx. 24 hours.

You can then prime them how you want them.

After doing this, I went with painting the boardwalks.

For a base coast, I am using Burnt Umber, and a darkened brown. 

For a little more variety, I did the middle one with a light coat of "Burnt Sienna".

After this I did a little adding additional colors....

"Lookin' a little worn there, Tex..."  The color mixture is nice....

After this I will use a drybrush of cinnamon and a lighter drybrush of off white for wear and tear on the wood and to show the middle being worn... 

More pics on this to come.

I've also started the wash and dry process with two Arnica buildings; (The Hotel and The Mercantile)...

I will be priming these in the next day or so, and getting them ready for assembly.

So I guess I am back to building my Western town...YEE-HAW!

And for Father's Day, my wonderful wife, (Gawd bless her!), fixed me a German Apple Pancake and Bratwurst!

Hence the obligatory food pictures!!!!

Mmmmmmm......

And that's it for now. 

Actually there's more, but I think I will need to make another entry into the blog to catch up.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.

More to come!