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Another great scientific advance
Feb. 8th, 2006 03:58 pmThe world needs a LEGO Difference Engine. Even if it thinks it doesn't.
General Update
Nov. 6th, 2005 12:15 pmSometimes this blog goes quiet for a bit, but the last couple of months have been more quiet than most, as I've been a bit busy; not with anything big and important, it's just that generally there's been a lot to do and I haven't had the time to spare for blogging.
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Victoria and Albert
May. 30th, 2005 11:19 pmEdit: decent photos of the figures after painting added, and some minor text changes to reflect that.
Having read and enjoyed![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sharikkamur's sagas of audacious, swashbuckling needlework in the Viking colonies, not to mention pink_weasel's fabric-related exploits, I thought I'd have a go at a handicrafts saga myself.
( Can you tell what it is yet? )
Having read and enjoyed
sharikkamur's sagas of audacious, swashbuckling needlework in the Viking colonies, not to mention pink_weasel's fabric-related exploits, I thought I'd have a go at a handicrafts saga myself.( Can you tell what it is yet? )
Up until a few months ago, there was an interesting range of 25mm dinosaurs and other prehistoric beasts produced by a company called DZ Historical Miniatures. As far as dinosaurs were concerned, they went for the larger and less obvious choices - for example, a gigantic Liopleuridon emerging from the water (strictly speaking, a pliosaur rather than a dinosaur), the Spinosaurus, a couple of Iguanadons and a Baryonyx. At the other end of the scale there was a pack of a dozen or so tiny Dimorphodon. They also produced some prehistoric mammals, including cave bears, mammoths, coelodonta (woolly rhinoceros) and arsinoitherium, among others. They also had some modern animals, including officially the best tiger figure ever (because I say so).
Rather frustratingly, they disappeared from the North Star web site just as I was about to start buying the prehistoric ranges. I've made some inquiries since they disappeared, and it seems that the moulds now belong to the editor of Wargames Illustrated.
I've written to him requesting that the figures be re-released, but one letter isn't likely to make much difference. If you have an interest in this sort of figure, especially if you might actually buy, please consider writing a polite letter asking for the ranges to be brought back on the market.
In the meantime, if you want dinosaur figures, the best place to look is The Honourable Lead Boiler Suit Company. I can't say enough nice things about HLBS, their customer service is great.
Rather frustratingly, they disappeared from the North Star web site just as I was about to start buying the prehistoric ranges. I've made some inquiries since they disappeared, and it seems that the moulds now belong to the editor of Wargames Illustrated.
I've written to him requesting that the figures be re-released, but one letter isn't likely to make much difference. If you have an interest in this sort of figure, especially if you might actually buy, please consider writing a polite letter asking for the ranges to be brought back on the market.
In the meantime, if you want dinosaur figures, the best place to look is The Honourable Lead Boiler Suit Company. I can't say enough nice things about HLBS, their customer service is great.
Velocitate!
Aug. 18th, 2004 10:53 pmIt's been a good couple of days for deliveries. Yesterday, some rather nice figures arrived from The London War Room, via Newline Designs.
Today, my 28mm scale penny-farthings arrived from Eureka, via Ground Zero Games. Since I may never have the chutzpah to use this particular one in a game, I bring your attention to the rather excellent armoured penny-farthing.
Today, my 28mm scale penny-farthings arrived from Eureka, via Ground Zero Games. Since I may never have the chutzpah to use this particular one in a game, I bring your attention to the rather excellent armoured penny-farthing.
Digging Your Scenery
Aug. 17th, 2004 11:01 pmThe last couple of weekends have both featured visits to annual events for big kids. Last weekend was Claymore in Edinburgh, the wargamers' convention, while this weekend was the St. Andrews Model Railway Exhibition.
I'm not an adherent of either hobby per se, but I do tend towards the wargaming end of roleplaying, as I like games that include the visual element of scale figures on the table. Personally, I also find that a reasonable selection of scenery or props also helps. These range from free (ominous looking chuckie stanes picked out of the aggregate on the unsurfaced access road outside my window in Hepburn Hall in the days when it was still a hall of residence and the road was unsurfaced) or historic relics of childhood through low cost (match sticks for marking boundary lines such as walls) up to the current commercial stuff on offer at the events in question.
The proportion of scenery to figures at Claymore seemd to have increased, with some particularly impressive pieces from a vendor I hadn't seen before, Grand Manner, as well as the usual suspects like Ainsty, Hovels and Scheltrum. Many of the prices are also impressive, which is a shame, but the odd piece is worth it.
At Claymore, I picked up a few things which may make for impressive set pieces at some point, particularly now that there is a UK importer (Newline Designs) for things from The London War Room. It was well worth the trip to Edinburgh, as the most interesting pieces came from another company I'd never heard of, Monolith Designs. Purchases at the model railway exhibition were more in the line of various kinds of scatter for applying grass or gravel to bases, though it's also a good opportunity to buy small-scale tools if you have a requirement. I didn't.
I'm not sure of a year for the picture with this entry, but it was pretty certainly while I was an inmate of Hepburn Hall.
I'm not an adherent of either hobby per se, but I do tend towards the wargaming end of roleplaying, as I like games that include the visual element of scale figures on the table. Personally, I also find that a reasonable selection of scenery or props also helps. These range from free (ominous looking chuckie stanes picked out of the aggregate on the unsurfaced access road outside my window in Hepburn Hall in the days when it was still a hall of residence and the road was unsurfaced) or historic relics of childhood through low cost (match sticks for marking boundary lines such as walls) up to the current commercial stuff on offer at the events in question.
The proportion of scenery to figures at Claymore seemd to have increased, with some particularly impressive pieces from a vendor I hadn't seen before, Grand Manner, as well as the usual suspects like Ainsty, Hovels and Scheltrum. Many of the prices are also impressive, which is a shame, but the odd piece is worth it.
At Claymore, I picked up a few things which may make for impressive set pieces at some point, particularly now that there is a UK importer (Newline Designs) for things from The London War Room. It was well worth the trip to Edinburgh, as the most interesting pieces came from another company I'd never heard of, Monolith Designs. Purchases at the model railway exhibition were more in the line of various kinds of scatter for applying grass or gravel to bases, though it's also a good opportunity to buy small-scale tools if you have a requirement. I didn't.
I'm not sure of a year for the picture with this entry, but it was pretty certainly while I was an inmate of Hepburn Hall.
Vague Stuff
Jul. 22nd, 2004 11:18 pmAnother "round-up" posting with no one topic to cover. Last time I did one of these, I said I was waiting for a reply on whether or not it would be OK to blog work. Well, I got a sort of half-hearted nod a while back, so maybe I'll have a bit more to say about technical issues in future.
I'm already writing a monthly "column" (between 400 and 600 words) for the internal company newsletter, but of necessity it's pitched at a non-technical audience. Here I can maybe go into a little more detail for anyone who's interested, and if you're not - it'll be easy to skip those entries.
I caused some consternation a few weeks ago by announcing that hippos were pink, but I've now been vindicated. Our art department, completely independently, featured a pink hippo in a questionnaire in development for primary school children.
It's not quite as daft as it sounds. If you're painting a hippo miniature then English Rose makes a good undercoat for repeated washes of Raw Umber - although on my monitor, Coral Rose looks a closer match to the actual shade of the pink paint. Hippos are heavily tanned, but if you have a look at a photo there's actually quite a lot of pink on show. It's most noticeable around the eyes, ears, nostrils and underneath. A series of dark brown washes lets it show through a little all over, and more in those areas.
I found that Inscribe also do a crackle medium which I have tried out more successfully than the one I wrote about a while ago. I now have a small rowing boat miniature with cracked paint - if you look closely enough. Maybe I should have chosen a lighter colour...
The T-Rexes have been undercoated but I haven't dared put a brush to them seriously yet, and the front garden has had its exuberance checked a little. The berberis was barbarous, as you'd expect of a plant the Italians say made up part of the crown of thorns, and a pair of secateurs died in the onslaught. The back garden still requires attention.
Finally, just as that last round-up posting welcomed Janice andscottymcleod's son Andrew (and although most interested parties who're reading this will already know) congratulations to kateaw and tobyaw on the birth of Beth last weekend.
The picture this time is of me and my sister after her christening.
I'm already writing a monthly "column" (between 400 and 600 words) for the internal company newsletter, but of necessity it's pitched at a non-technical audience. Here I can maybe go into a little more detail for anyone who's interested, and if you're not - it'll be easy to skip those entries.
I caused some consternation a few weeks ago by announcing that hippos were pink, but I've now been vindicated. Our art department, completely independently, featured a pink hippo in a questionnaire in development for primary school children.
It's not quite as daft as it sounds. If you're painting a hippo miniature then English Rose makes a good undercoat for repeated washes of Raw Umber - although on my monitor, Coral Rose looks a closer match to the actual shade of the pink paint. Hippos are heavily tanned, but if you have a look at a photo there's actually quite a lot of pink on show. It's most noticeable around the eyes, ears, nostrils and underneath. A series of dark brown washes lets it show through a little all over, and more in those areas.
I found that Inscribe also do a crackle medium which I have tried out more successfully than the one I wrote about a while ago. I now have a small rowing boat miniature with cracked paint - if you look closely enough. Maybe I should have chosen a lighter colour...
The T-Rexes have been undercoated but I haven't dared put a brush to them seriously yet, and the front garden has had its exuberance checked a little. The berberis was barbarous, as you'd expect of a plant the Italians say made up part of the crown of thorns, and a pair of secateurs died in the onslaught. The back garden still requires attention.
Finally, just as that last round-up posting welcomed Janice and
scottymcleod's son Andrew (and although most interested parties who're reading this will already know) congratulations to kateaw and tobyaw on the birth of Beth last weekend.The picture this time is of me and my sister after her christening.
Auld Reekie
Jun. 6th, 2004 04:18 pmThis week's trip was a Saturday in Edinburgh.
Given Edinburgh is a striking historical city with plenty to see and do, I wasn't really in the mood to make much of it. I wandered around a few shops (Transreal, Mr. Wood's Fossils) in the Grassmarket below the castle, and made a foray into Games Workshop on the Royal Mile.
As usual, GW contained almost nothing of interest, all over-priced. However, this time there were a couple of things that actually suited my taste: quite a good rendition of Shelob from their Lord of the Rings range, and a steam-powered tank. Shame the prices were outrageous - about twice what I reckon they would cost from other manufacturers. I wonder how they manage to sell stuff that expensive to their younger target market? Although I liked the figures, there was no way I was paying that much over the odds.
Giving up on the shops after the Grassmarket, I headed up past Greyfriars Churchyard and the wee dog to the Royal Museum in Chambers Street. I still haven't really made it into the Museum of Scotland next door. Although I'm sure Tony Blair's guitar is a sight to see. Instead, I wandered round the stuffed animals and the well-hidden evolution exhibit, which was both interesting and disappointing - I'd have liked to see a lot more. The stuffed animals may help with some figure-painting. In the museum shop, it was nice to see Marianne's book on prominent display.
On returning to St. Andrews, I was just in time to get into the NPH to see the new Harry Potter movie. As with the rest of the day, I felt a bit detached from it, but it seemed to be a passable movie. Although it's obvously part of the same series of movies as the earlier ones, the change of director has made a difference, mainly to the look of it. There's a lot more use made of Scottish scenery for the countryside outside Hoggwarts, which I wouldn't mind if it wasn't that it felt like a different location!
Viewing the Potter movies without having read the books (I'll buy them once they're all out), it seems to me that they're not anything terribly special in most ways, but that they're a bit better at dramatic twists than other children's stories.
Given Edinburgh is a striking historical city with plenty to see and do, I wasn't really in the mood to make much of it. I wandered around a few shops (Transreal, Mr. Wood's Fossils) in the Grassmarket below the castle, and made a foray into Games Workshop on the Royal Mile.
As usual, GW contained almost nothing of interest, all over-priced. However, this time there were a couple of things that actually suited my taste: quite a good rendition of Shelob from their Lord of the Rings range, and a steam-powered tank. Shame the prices were outrageous - about twice what I reckon they would cost from other manufacturers. I wonder how they manage to sell stuff that expensive to their younger target market? Although I liked the figures, there was no way I was paying that much over the odds.
Giving up on the shops after the Grassmarket, I headed up past Greyfriars Churchyard and the wee dog to the Royal Museum in Chambers Street. I still haven't really made it into the Museum of Scotland next door. Although I'm sure Tony Blair's guitar is a sight to see. Instead, I wandered round the stuffed animals and the well-hidden evolution exhibit, which was both interesting and disappointing - I'd have liked to see a lot more. The stuffed animals may help with some figure-painting. In the museum shop, it was nice to see Marianne's book on prominent display.
On returning to St. Andrews, I was just in time to get into the NPH to see the new Harry Potter movie. As with the rest of the day, I felt a bit detached from it, but it seemed to be a passable movie. Although it's obvously part of the same series of movies as the earlier ones, the change of director has made a difference, mainly to the look of it. There's a lot more use made of Scottish scenery for the countryside outside Hoggwarts, which I wouldn't mind if it wasn't that it felt like a different location!
Viewing the Potter movies without having read the books (I'll buy them once they're all out), it seems to me that they're not anything terribly special in most ways, but that they're a bit better at dramatic twists than other children's stories.
Not dead yet
May. 25th, 2004 11:35 pmThe main reason I haven't written anything in a while is that I've asked for company guidelines on blogging work and I'm still waiting to hear...
In the meanwhile,scottymcleod and Jan (especially Jan) have multiplied successfully, so welcome to young Andrew. Last week, most of our team attended a very helpful two day Microsoft Technical Roadshow in Edinburgh, and a minor leak in my house was fixed after three weekends of plumbers' visits. Fortunately, only one visit actually cost me and the leak was under control at all times.
I've put off putting paintbrush to T-Rex (here's someone else's effort) and also avoided assaulting the garden with a machete and vicious chemical pollutants. I've looked at the price of a round of golf on the local golf course (£50 concession price for locals and £135 full price for others [faints dead away]) and eschewing golf matters in favour of more sedentary pursuits I've acquired the latest compact disc offerings from Alanis Morissette and Avril Lavigne.
Other stuff may have happened too, but if so it must have been less memorable than the above, you'll be glad to hear.
In the meanwhile,
scottymcleod and Jan (especially Jan) have multiplied successfully, so welcome to young Andrew. Last week, most of our team attended a very helpful two day Microsoft Technical Roadshow in Edinburgh, and a minor leak in my house was fixed after three weekends of plumbers' visits. Fortunately, only one visit actually cost me and the leak was under control at all times.I've put off putting paintbrush to T-Rex (here's someone else's effort) and also avoided assaulting the garden with a machete and vicious chemical pollutants. I've looked at the price of a round of golf on the local golf course (£50 concession price for locals and £135 full price for others [faints dead away]) and eschewing golf matters in favour of more sedentary pursuits I've acquired the latest compact disc offerings from Alanis Morissette and Avril Lavigne.
Other stuff may have happened too, but if so it must have been less memorable than the above, you'll be glad to hear.
Crackle ho hum
Mar. 14th, 2004 12:10 amI've been painting a small 25mm rowing boat and I thought I'd try out some of the crackle varnish that I've had languishing in a drawer for a number of years, to give it a bit of added texture.
Luckily I tried a bit on a test surface first, as it was not a success - I failed to get any crackle resulting, just a bit of a smear. I'm not sure whether I just haven't got the hang of applying it yet - maybe there's a knack to it - or whether it may have expired due to old age.
In theory, you apply a coat of "Stage 1", then a coat of "Stage 2" on top, and as Stage 2 dries, the crackle should appear. Apparently the results depend on the thickness of the coats, which was a strong motivation for testing first.
Maybe I'll try again later, but for now I think it's back to applying Milliput scales to dinosaurs (around the joins where they have been assembled) and gloating over the Cybermen I've just painted...
Luckily I tried a bit on a test surface first, as it was not a success - I failed to get any crackle resulting, just a bit of a smear. I'm not sure whether I just haven't got the hang of applying it yet - maybe there's a knack to it - or whether it may have expired due to old age.
In theory, you apply a coat of "Stage 1", then a coat of "Stage 2" on top, and as Stage 2 dries, the crackle should appear. Apparently the results depend on the thickness of the coats, which was a strong motivation for testing first.
Maybe I'll try again later, but for now I think it's back to applying Milliput scales to dinosaurs (around the joins where they have been assembled) and gloating over the Cybermen I've just painted...
