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!!!

Update...stuff, worktable, Blue Moon figures, etc...

Well a long overdue update to this blog o' mine.....

I've put aside my 15mm worlds for a while, and lately have been working on trying to reduce my 25-28mm lead pile by working on some of the numerous pulp figs. Each weekend, when work, or life doesn't take a domineering chunk of my so called "off time", I try to get some painting done. My current goal as in TMP's "The Pledge" is to "Paint more than I buy". That way I can get figures done, control my spending, help reduce my lead pile to a more manageable level and of course, get stuff ready to game.

In the meantime, I've been doing other "gaming related" things....read on dear read....

1: Weekend shopping:

Ahhhh...the fall season. It's the time when the Halloween stuff is coming out, and some places are putting the Christmas stuff out.

And you know what that means dear miniature gamer?

Yes, Lemax and Department 51 accessories!

So this past weekend, my wife, (Gawd bless her!), and myself did the weekend shopping errands. 

We stopped at The Dollar Tree to see what was there, and I noticed a set of cheap Halloween stuff in the tradition of Lemax/Dept. 51, called "Tombstone Corners".  Very poorly painted, but still.

They had a "Skeletal Gazebo" there that would've been nice but needed some work, and I don't have time for any more conversions.

With that, the only thing I did buy was two of their scenic "trees".

Hey...every cemetery has to have dead trees in it, right?

Oh and I also got a small car for my 15mm world, and a Batman figurine, with some odd notion that I am going to work on it and make it a statue..perhaps for said cemetery?....

After that it was a side trip to the local bookstore, (Half-Price Books), in which I picked up a hardback Ravenloft campaign guide and a copy of GW's "How To Make Wargames Terrain"

The GW book was a good find, and I look forward to seeing how I can use the ideas in it.

A nice little haul if I do say so myself....

And returning to that I decided to get down to work.....

At a messy desk.

2:  Now granted, I, (like so many others), have numerous projects in various stages of completion. I sometimes think out hobby is a form of ADD treatment, or perhaps an easy way to diagnose the affliction. 

However it had simply gotten to the point where I had NO real open workspace, and a lot of clutter on my desk.

So I cleaned it...(mostly).

And here is where I sit and do my madness.....

My mad scientists lair...muah hah hah....

I took some sectional photos so you could get an idea of what it does look like close up.....

This is the "left flank"....

My glues, tape, green stuff, Litko bases, wire, epoxy, etc...are all there, along with a photo of R.E. Lee, and a 1989 Citadel Hill Giant that a friend of mine got me when he came back from England.

The left flank....that which holds it all together, (well the glue and stuff actually)....

An old figure.....from an old friend....

And on the right flank, I had "the groundwork"; ie: "turf"...Woodland Scenics, GW "Sand", cat litter, (clean cat litter I might add to those that were curious), GF9 groundwork, baby powder, some pumice and sand spackle, etc....

This is OUR turf! Get it?....Oh and please disregard the padlock...I have no clue why it's there....

And finally, that which holds it all together and is where all the action is....the center, (aka "Amidships")....

Here we have my paints, pallet, brushes, tools, etc; Most of them are being held in "Commemorative" Froo-Froo Drink Mugs that I got while in Las Vegas back at the Excalibur Jousting Show, or Back when "TI" was actually "Treasure Island" and had the "Pirate Show"....sigh....that's gone now, and well....it's sad...

Also on the wall is a photo of Col Horatio H. Mustard and his hunting party in Africa in the latter half of the 19th Century, after a successful lion hunt. 

In all reality this was 2006 game run by Jason Coffey as part of his annual "Big Hunt" games, and the good Colonel easily bagged his lions by having his hunting party (consisting of Texas Cowboys and Mexican Banditos), simply ambush the Russian Players Hunting Party, gun them down with some of Colonel Colts best wares, and "claim" their lions....
Dastardly, but it won me the game....

Next to it is another prize....a page from a Coloring book, lavishly colored by my son when he was four years old and I was stationed in Korea....That means a lot to me....

Yeps...this is where I sit and where it's allllllllllll created.....

 Above my work table are some framed items including a copy of "Fiddlers Green"....

And a piece that explains Cavalry...

And my autographed photo from Adam West...Batman keeping an eye on things....

As well as my pic of Linda Blair...*ahem*....


3: Blue Moon Figures....
So this past weekend in a recent discussion with a TMP member ("Wyatt The Odd"), he remarked that he was going to be getting some Blue Moon Figures soon. I had told him that I think that there is a remarkable difference in them as opposed to other figures. My wife has said that it looks like the sculpts and productions are "cruder" than some other figs, (She's a big Bob Murch "Pulp Figures" fan), while I tend to agree. I have also noticed that they had a lot more deep, angular cuts in them as opposed to some other figs, as well as what seems to be an obvious metal composition difference. So the next batch that I am going to prime up will be my second batch of Blue Moon Figures. This batch will consist of "Russian Agents, German Agents, Egyptian Agents, School Days, and Lord of The Manor and His Servants"; five packs in all.
My first set was one of their hillbilly packs and I do believe that in a previous post I had discussed how much primer they took as well as the grit feeling. I do believe it has to do with the primer and the humidity, so this next batch should be better. We will see, as I will be reporting it when I get onto painting them.

Let's see how this works out.....stay tuned!

Well, that is about it for now...I will be posting some of my projects (including the "de-skulling" of a GW "Gardens of Morr" set) here in the future, as well as some other figures recently painted.

Comments are always appreciated....

Thanks for reading!!!