Mini-making On the Move

Styrene is a must as you can put numerous strips in one bag or have small sheets cut to a portable size and run hither and yon with them. I’ve had this bag of strips for years and I’ve just refilled with whatever odds and ends I buy to pull what I need at the moment. The normal size I use are the .010″x.060″ which measure just right by sight for boards. Superglue and plastic cement are also tools of the trade that are a given for putting things together quickly. As an alternate you can use acetone to bond styrene but be sure to use a glass bottle for storage and non reactive materials to spread it about.

Simple base work of cutting out four side walls of around 33x15mm from plain styrene. Over that I put on the .010″x.060″ clapboard siding and added texture to it. I capped the corners of the one base with angled plastic and chipped away to give it a weathered metal look.

Creating believable bases is best done with little details. The floorboards give the air of imperfection and handiwork after being roughed up with sandpaper. Here I’ve used 36 grit from the used discs I pulled from work. Normally I’d use 100 as it ends up being more pronounced. The same treatment was given to the sides of the base and all planks were given small nail holes with a couple turns of a pin vise.

Inspiration has struck! I have thought about wooden structures and have just the right images to work from

Here I’ve built up the door and wall around it. With the thickness of the plasticard sheet (.020″) there is a hazard of cutting through so a single cut is made with the blade edge and then scribing done with dragging the blade back turned at a 90 degree angle. Aside from that

Now for some horror related stuff. Basswood chunks and some 3x25mm MDF rounds (used for other base work) is the way to make this flat area more interesting. I will cover this with pumice medium later for gritty soil that I can drop other ground cover on.

From here I’ll get the headstones on and arrange some dilapidated fencing for the ‘oh so spooky’ neglected ambiance.

Having little to do in the hotel room after a long day of work that does not stimulate the mind I am in the throes of a dopamine drawdown. I have limited my “fun time” stimuli to working on my mini basing and saying farewell to neurotransmitter garbage. Some clarity and focus with limiting things can be a good thing.

In the meantime I’ve started another base, since I can’t find my modeling putties, which will be a shallow inset for later water effects. This will not require anything other than plastic to make lumber details for a while. The technique for worn wood is great for the nautical theme.

I’ve already set thought to another hobby resin product that I have yet to purchase so I can set thin paper and, potentially, thread to shape. This will help greatly as I might have found something to make scale netting with.

What can one do with so much time unplugged? The answer is keep building.

I’ve found that preparation of plastic strip with the 38 grit sandpaper before cutting does lend to being easier to just cut later. The difficulty with this is only that you’ll likely bend the strip around in trying to scrape the side you want textured. The next details will be more nail holes. This base is close to being structurally complete. There are some gaps in the corners but these are minor fills for later. After a basecoat of something like Burnt Umber the area between the boards will be hidden. The color of the wood will be built and dipped/washed to draw attention to the overall build. No worries from my side on this.

I abide by the pub rule for the weekly unofficial weekender and avoid politics. I respect the digital venue afforded me by the OTT crew and enjoy the fellowship as a CoG. I am an American and I foresee the possibility of a Chinese style lockdown, for the sake of public health, coming here to my own country as it becomes a reality in Europe.

My hobby is my stress relief. We as a community share the general joy of gaming. I give you all my best in what I can share from the inconvenience of being in a hotel without a dedicated hobby space or actual home at present. If anything, as ridiculous as I think it may be, take this as my bare bones notes to a “hobby prepper’s” guide. It is too late to be prepared for this and I am managing to show you how hobby might be better for you should you become displaced/dislocated. In time, when things are gaming as usual, I hope to look back and know you out there in the digital wilds have benefited.

My kit is simple to be carried as needed. I use a small plastic tackle box that would otherwise be used for fishing purposes. The divided shelves make it easy to separate my hand tools. Despite this I still have mandatory creative chaos running amok.

Hand tools are mixed up with a few odds and ends that might seem like they shouldn’t be there. LEGOs fitted together for a small thermoplastic press mold can be explained but the brass etch barbwire from Eduard seems like a thing for my basing bits (I tried but its safer with my tools).

A jeweler saw with multiple replacement blades for your figures is a good investment not only for plastics but metal. A handle for just such a tool is up to your own discretion and can vary in price. I bought mine in a GW hobby kit a little over two decades ago and it still serves my need. 00 or 000 blades from an online retailer can last you for some time. Otto Frei sells blades by the gross and I’ve given dozens away to younger hobbyists from my one purchase years ago with quite a few to spare. If you happen to work with square plastic rod and want squared edges a mini miter saw and guide will make that possible. These are great for small structure builds.

Hobby knives are a must and you end up with a few (more than needed when finding the first ones when cleaning hobby areas). General smaller sizes (#11 by some companies I think) are staples while larger chunky blades help with bulk base material whittling and heavier jobs. Plastic nippers for delicates sprue removal have been a recent addition and I can’t recommend them enough. Other nippers for cutting thin wire to pin with are a must as they also double to cut thicker plastic injection mold.

Flex-i-file offers an abrasive cleaning disc that has worked really well for me as I’m using one from a FLGS. I’ve been able to extend the life of my current diamond coated files by pulling off the metal grit and not strip the coating more than regular use. Past sets were worn hard and others hobby files I was unable to find cleaning brushes for. For those of you not using diamond coated there are smaller versions of file brushes just for our size use.

Precision measurement and drilling are not to be overlooked. A small ruler can get you along just fine for almost any task you need to get scale. Mine came feom that old GW set and still serves. If you want to get fancy a set of calipers are quite handy and finding them in a ‘junk drawer’ of an older home is always a boon. So be sure to rummage through long forgotten spaces for hobby oddments.

Sculptors take note that small sculpting tools are varied. The knife and spatula tool is very useful but limited in some ways. If you don’t need to get fancy go ahead and skip these tools. Dental tools can be useful but tend to be more specialized with their angles. Be aware of the clay shapers that you get. Black is generally the firm type of rubber but it might not always be. Try and get yours in hand to test them or find a lot of reviews online to verify. Normally these are pretty pricey for other art work and might be found for dollmaking. Again, be aware of the item quality as most (if not all) of these come from China.

One thing that has been a help but may not be an absolute necessity is soft jaw needle nosed pliers. Mine have managed to save the detail of metal figures as I’ve stripped glue in layers that might’ve built a halfling into an ogre. Pulling off parts and not bending/snapping bits can be tricky. Its feasible with patience and firm/gentle pressure (much like eating a pomegranate).

I’ve rambled on over quite a bit and this is a collection of its own. I know my toolbox needs cleaning so it might lose some of the random detritus to streamlining. Good luck all you out there.

Woot! Looks like scrap from work has turned out to be quite useful. I was just looking over the metal mesh that gets used for particular purposes and thought it would be great for the piece. I have smaller weave stuff but I’d need to go to storage for that. Its also pretty pricey for the amount I get.

Forming the mesh over the edges wasn’t bad and needed only minor trimming for length. I’ll be making twisted line to weave into it and adding floats to have it look more like proper fish nets.

As a side note in general I find that some of the best basing bits of random shapes and sizes in alleys and along roads. As long as street sweeping doesn’t catch them there is all sorts of things to be gained for reuse.

Some thin line was added to stabilize the woven steel so far shown. It was a bit tricky as far as gluing since fingers touch both sides of the open faces. There was a lot of scraping to remove thre excess. After this floats needed to be added and were easy enough with green putty. After finding my stock of other putty that had been put in storage I feel very dumb. There’ll be work done later to cover them with gloss varnish to even out the surfaces. I had extra material and decided to press mold some crabs from the detritus bits Werner Klocke sculpted for the Freebooter’s Fate game.

Beyond this base I’ve revisited a base I planned for a copy of Herald of Slaanesh that I’ve tried sculpting. I am not happy with the results at all. I’m thinking of scrapping it but apprehensive about doing so. Its like a first draft to a written work and does not make me pleased as to how clumsy my hands seem compared to the image in my mind’s eye. *Huff* This sucks compared to my other work.

A product that I saw when I was with my gf in a craft store last week caught my attention. This is the same physical material that I picked up which was marketed as a file cleaner in a hobby store. This is one thing to look out for if getting the gunk out of your files is an issue.

Aside from that I’m going further afield with YouTube. This might not be the best thing for those following and actually listening to the music. My gf is thankful for me storing my video collection at this point as she will be safe, for now, from movies like Kung Pao Enter the Fist.

Downsizing yet again I am starting to take photos of all the work and ruminations I collected in my old sketchbooks in order to turn and throw them out. It reminded me of once when I was in highschool and my art teacher had me draw sketch after sketch during class and throw each one out once it was done. I had put some amount of effort into the pieces and I was personally invested. I think this seems more raw because I am doing it myself and stripping away things of the past I’ve carried beginning nearly 15 years ago.

This is hard to remove things that I have believed I was attached to. I think it is better as a reminder that I want to do more with my hobby and allow my past to fade away as surely I will someday. The practical application is that I literally carry less. Emotionally I think this is good as it is less tragic than a sudden fire in the home that is beyond one’s control.

Delving back into zen philosophy, stoicism and some basic Taoism I think there’s a lot to be said about simplicity. In the current world situation and in my own life there is change. I think about how lucky we all are to enjoy the luxury of this hobby. All the time, money and effort on playing with toys is not all something to be sneezed at. We are a social lot that agrees on rules for imaginary worlds between each other and egg each other on in pursuit of fun. Time and technology has allowed us to make more interesting things. I think I’ve come to a point of saying I like and want some things and don’t need others. This allows me the chance to enjoy that which I’ve gotten.

It seems a little convoluted to get to the point where the post meets the minis but it all comes together for all of us. How much effort do we put into build/painting/playing? Making the best use of time for these things we love and finding a time to pass them on is crucial to be healthy. I wish the best for all my fellow gamers.

I’ve been living with a friend for a few weeks now and I think I can say I’m not on the road per se. I’ve essentially been adopted and given a place where I’m hobbying again in earnest. The search for an apartment in the area is still underway and I’m happy to not be on the street in my car or in a hotel bleeding cash. I think I’ll call this one done and put in something more cheery and reasonable for people to follow. Thanks all for checking this out.