Giftmas 2022

I’ve gotten my present for Pundancer (aka Sundancer.. i.e. Tim of UHH fame) purchased. I have begun the modification process. There is a high likelihood that Gerry (and probably Tom) will be seeing this and giggling as this is the first step in a year long effort. There are big plans that will require much thinking and lots of creativity.

Considering Gerry as the other half of the UHH I can say that there will be more fun had. Its not a done deal as thoughts develop still. There’s time yet and I might catch a random hint from the universe at large as to what direction I might dive.

Ben-voglio.. Benjamino.. The Kind and Thoughtful Ben-ediction has much to look forward to already and will simply beam with astonishment and wonder come time for his unboxing. He will not care that he missed out on Brutality.

Edit: written well before her escape

For Free and her buns (not those ones, degenerates) I’ve devised a plot that will involve international intrigue. As a man of mischief and mystery I am wont to do such things and Giftmas can only ever be a large affair. I might need to promote a moustache for this kind of thing.

Lloyd, the ever faithful hobby  slacker who gives us groans and regular pun-ishment, will see another box delivered into his hands which shall be a torment. It can only be said that I am as kind as I am cruel.

On that note I am not remiss in having thought of Justin. His pale domed prominence will rejoice in the care of selecting what things his care package shall include. So many things to work with its difficult to rein in the possibilities.

Warren in his over the top glory can await with glee, every day, a present that is sure to remain top tier per growing tradition. There are addenda which will fill out the box but he will find the fun in miniature form.

John as an odd on again off again attachment to the lineup and general presence on screen does have something to look forward already. The digging took some doing but I believe there are some details that he would find appealing and relevant to his interests.

Other recipients not on OTT staff have yet to be fleshed out for gifts but I think there is leeway in time yet to do that. It is one day a year and it will be utter entertainment for everyone when it happens.

Why yes indeed he can. I have managed a means of making this more interesting that even his wife can watch and wonder about. Stand by for more innuendos.

Here’s the game system.

It seems Gerry has found the project. How best to deal with this? I’ve posted images reading censored and redacted on these pages. It really helps when I know he’s already gotten fun stuff and I can post images like this without yet posting pictures until Giftmas. You’re welcome Gerry. There’s a whole year of this to come.

Warren, though not in top form from his lung affliction, can smile without issue. The first part of his gift has been assembled entirely and just awaits paint.

As mentioned before Ben has a gift that is in the works of being settled into a special container. I think I might have a way of sending it packaged inside its own hard shell/outer box in order to avoid damage. International shipping has been a learning process.

Speaking of specialty packages and shipping I’ve yet to find one for Free’s parcel. I should say that parcel might hint at a general size. I might need crating performed. In the meantime I’m quite proud of my villainous ‘stache. Its pretty much a requirement for this kind of dastardly doing.

John, what can I do to top last year? A resin “toy tank” from Bits of War’s goblin scrap tanks with a jar of The Pinkest Pink pigment from Culture Hustle is hard to beat. Let me consider the kind of over-the-top villainy which can only be found in the movies and tone it down ever so slightly. You’ll give me plenty more to work with at some point.

Gerry, don’t clue the man in. This, my unwitting (unwilling?) conspirator, is our little thing to keep to ourselves. By the by, this Great Game does extend to you as well. The thing of it all is that by your own admission you do say a lot and I’m free to run all willy nilly with what to get you. Mwahahaha!!!

*ahem* Justin will find the parcel I send both pleasant and painful to his nerves. It will all be ok in the end. He just will need to be petted on the head like a puppy for reassurance when its all over.

Seeing as Lloyd has found his samurai I’m glad I didn’t get him jidaigeki tiny fighting men for Clash of Katanas. That’s alleviated my need to create a force, paint the lot and ship it to him.

All parcels will be receiving letters (much to my chagrin and that of the community).

I’ve made another command decision that will include the use of plinths… needless to say… there’s all sorts of love for Lloyd here…Bwahahahaha!!!!!

Army Painter Speed paints have been my friend. Beautiful bases will make for interesting models to play with. I feel one force isn’t enough for Lloyd so I ordered a second, with resin bases, not only to make him feel guilty about not doing as much hobby as he should but to have awesome pieces he can show off at the shop. Then again we know he’ll never leave his self imposed quarantine so Gerry might have to find him some sort of NBC suit that can afford him manual dexterity to pick up figures.

With the success of the first batch of minis I’ve ordered more and some resin bases. Well, with some things, according to GW fans, we know that there exists the phrase “More is More!” despite not being a GW game. So I went a little further and there will be more figures in Lloyd’s future. This being said he is not the sole focus, just the happy recipient of some skirmish based fun.

For Ben there has been development in finding the best of 3D prints which will be turned into something he will likely be putting on his shelf and adoring all the time, maybe during streams, when he isn’t caressing it as His Precious. I think I will have made up for Brutality last Giftmas. Then again I could send it to Gerry and cement my status for Golden Button awards in future to be like crispin (the epic drama is real).

Speaking of Gerry, I have used my resouces of mental faculties in creativity to devise a plan for his gifts and found the parts that I need. The matter at hand is whether or not to be a bastard and ship them based “as nature intended” on squares or “do it wrong” with rounds. Oh, my villainous mustache weighs heavy on my mind.

Thinking of villain ‘staches…. Justin should be very very afraid. I do take care of my friends though. With friends like me there are no better enemies.

John… heh heh heh… yeah, there’ll be laughs (mostly mine).

On the front related to Warren I am set and putting the finishing touches of the builds. Paint schemes are being considered and evaluated for suitability. There is thinking going on which might well be dangerous.

Another week and another post, this time around there’s actual stuff to reveal. I’ve sourced some bases for a band of minis that will come to me from a 3D printer which will allow me to use my long unused resin crystal clumps from Spellcrow. I’ve made a quick look over ones I have left and considered the amount of leftover space on the bases that won’t be taken up by the figures and come to believe there will be a happy marriage of the two elements. There is the back and forth of how many are too many so I’ll cross that bridge when I get the figures.

There also is a second bit of news for this update that in playing with the AP Speedpaints Magic Blue has come to my attention as being quite useful. I don’t think that I’d replace the Vallejo Dark Blue I’m using for the Arabian Knights but the striking nature of the hue is arresting when taking in the 2’/2″ Rule. I might add a shock color to contrast in order to cement that notion. I have decided against real metallics as previous work doesn’t use that technique.

Now since last post there is yet one more important point as there has been quite a stirring development with bringing on the imaginative and ever busy Blinky465 onboard. This has been noticed, of course, and will be a crucial point of fact when Giftmas arrives with all its bells and whistles.

Blinky, will there be bells and whistles or should we leave those off on technical grounds? Hold off on answering here, you never know who’s listening *cough cough* ahem.

So I’ve thought that tying gifts into each other might be a good idea. As such, Free will have a force of figures tied to Lloyd’s. I’m thinking on who to tie what else to at present.

Beyond that, I’m progressing with the builds and painting happily as ever and getting Sundancer’s Giftmas present together. All around this is looking to be a good haul for the crew.

So I’ve received the secondary force for Lloyd so that he may have a real game go on with high end tabletop quality minis (I’m nowhere near the level of a certain Hobby God… yet?).

Its all been built and based to my liking and just needs the slapdash of color. Its a little awkward as the general paint schemes and art I see rely heavily on monochromatic themes. I’m trying to wrap my head around a way to make the pieces pop and still remain faithful to the overall theme of basing and faction colors. I’ll continue having a think on it and putter about on Sundancer’s stuff. I think the distraction for things bound for Germany would allow my strain to wane and allow for creativity to burst forth. If not that I’ll have a bit of a laugh in looking at Justin’s gifts again.

The moment you look at a group of figures ans you want to keep them for yourself is when you know it was an amount of effort that has paid dividends. The first batch is done. The second group has been settled with basing and hit with the base colors. I’ve made a decision on how to make them stand out and I believe it will work. We’ll all see how it comes out in the end. I also have that third selection to process once the bases arrive so I’m actually doing this hobby thing. The Sundancer Select (I think that’s a rather catchy title, if I may say so myself) has been undergoing some technical rework so it might be more than I intended initially. Like Darkvoivod and the wargaming9 Dragonfiend Dollhouse (Lisa Simpson can keep her Malibu Stacy unless its all upscaled Frostgrave) this thing grows beyond intendes scope.

Another bit of information that I’ve run my head back and forth over has been the fact that these are gaming pieces. I’m aware of the Gerry Cans on noting sealants and I’m pretty much settling on a clear floor sealant to spray on everything once I’m done. Warren’s notoriety for dropping things and my own clumsiness with such light plastics made the decision for me. I was steered away from clear resins for boating by the absolute state of the price for not only the resins but the thinning/cleaning agents I’d need to use when spraying. I know the pain of having lost an airbrush to clogging and having to replace it. That won’t happen again.

Addendum: I have come up with a name for John’s present and I can’t stop laughing. I’ll warn Warren now to be ready. I also believe it will tie nicely into Justin’s. I need no ab workout after this.

I’ve gone and done the unthinkable in getting Gerry what he may never know he wanted but always needed! I’ve tied in a gift to Ben and there will be much in the way of mirth and merriment this Giftmas. The ghosts of the past haunt you friend and all will be laid bare for all to see. May the Fourth be with you!

Alright, its not really something I had commissioned or even reached out to the creater to do but I found it on Myminifactory.com and decided it was appropriate for the purpose of this project and needed to share.

I’m certain that there is a certain sense of relief that an actual image has been posted instead of all the “Redacted” “Censored” and “Image Not Available” that I’ve presented before Giftmas.

All other things proceed at a rate… damn well zipping along as the snail crawls. Broken parts have been repaired. Functional parts have been cut open. Building seems to be more fun right now as I purchase more paints and minis unrelated to this project. I am however getting floor sealant to coat the fine paint job I’m doing now. Play pieces are meant to be handled all the time so hard wearing coverage is mandatory. I’ll say it won’t be like trying to coat with Testor’s enamel as a kid without a damn idea of what I was doing.

Success! I have received my bottle of Pledge gloss floor varnish and Lloyd’s first batch of minis has been sprayed. This stuff works very well as I’ve managed to drop a figure and save the paint (albeit breaking a sword, which I was able to be repair). Its definitely glossy and covers splendidly as a thicker layer than Testor’s. I have no idea as far as what comprises the material other than what is likely an acrylic varnish when compared to the lacquer that I’d normally use to finish minis. I’ll still hit these with my standard Dullcote as par for course removing the sheen and giving them the matte treatment.

Aside from that I’ve found a new shipping solution for all packages and it will cut down on cost to ship (global issues not withstanding). I’ve also changed my mind on Warren’s upcoming gift and made slight changes to Justin and John’s which may need a bit more work than anticipated. Time gives me so much to work with as things are said and done over the course of a year and I love the slow build of progress.

Speaking of progress, Blinky465 will be getting Sundancer’s package soon. I’m making it a point to have the paint done and all things I do to the outside complete in the next two weeks. I’ve slacked off enough. I’m kicking this pig.

I was quite motivated… and then hit a block. I think it was the dopamine crash from being all over progress that I finally fell to earth.. hard. Now I’m back as I’ve cut away bits, reinforced others and sculpted some greenstuff. I am ok. The paint will now be sprayed and I’m debating on using stencils. Its all uphill again but thia is baby steps. I have other things to finish but this will be in the post before month’s end in order to give Blinky his time to work.

Other than the Sundancer Special the other bita are coming along. I also have a possibly idea to send along. This is all tenative and I’ll curb my enthusiasm for the time being.

I have just received my order of stuff that will wow Gerry and I can say it is to die for. I think I’ll need to place a second order with how awesome it is.

Second order of bits placed and more basing on the way as well. This will make for an awesome post-hardship present. With the way this year has gone I think the Giftmas pick-me-up haul is well worth the wait.

So I’ve made progress in finishing the second of Lloyd’s forces. The only thing now is to get the Big Guys in hand and painted up. I’m working on that with a Canadian Connection. Yes, I’m an International Man of Mustachery and things are afoot.

This has spurred me forward to Free’s portion of things and I must say the shipping solution to the shipping problem was fun. Now time to slap it all with paint.

Warren will be getting a fine surprise on top of his first gift and I believe this all to just be a gift that keeps on giving or might well just be shared openly among the OTT crew. Thinking of that, Justin’s part in these shenanigans has been cleaned up and I’m looking for a display appropriate for the gift. Ben’s gift is almost done but also suffering from the same issue but I believe some sculpting will alleviate the problem. John…. heh heh heh… “We All Love You”…(quiet chuckle as the countdown to opening the present moves ever closer).

This is the one gift the OTT crew get before true Giftmas. It is a hint as far as what is related to the upcoming celebration.