Gowan's 1/72 scale models

Modern street war

2012-03-03T21:41:00.000-08:00

OK I have no finished all my Latin American Special Forces. But I have enough or just the right amount to make this little set up...

Something is brewing in the city streets troops rush to take up defencive positions. enemy jets fly overhead. and all the while gunfire shakes the buildings

in the cafe a sniper and a grenade launcher prepare for tanks and other vehicles

across the road the medic runs to the site of the battle. other troops fire round the corner and try to stay out of the line of fire

on the cafes ground floor more troops fight. firing out of windows and doors they try to pin down the enemy. And by the end window a soldier with a stinger missile scans the skies

In the street the captain leads the fight. here also is a stinger in case of air attack. But also here are the LMG's not much use against advancing armour but death to anyone in the street

up in the shop across from the cafe more troops lay fire down on the buildings across the road

while down below they fire and hide as they come under heavy fire

marching towards the fight is the Elite gaurd. they are ready to lay down the law with brutal force and no remorce

So there you go. I cannot imagine doing a little display like this with all the figs. It would not be big enough. But I can already see how usefull the city streets project is so I am pleased.

Latin American special forces2

2012-02-28T20:43:00.000-08:00

Ok now onto the next batch of soldiers to enter the fray. this time the troops are mostly part of the support teams and specialists rather than the special forces troops them selves...

the troops have assembled now in the streets. thanks to the other teams success at removing the sniper

the captain downloads the latest stats on the enamies movement while a soldier readies his weapon in case of an attack

something is rolling down the road towards them...

bang!!! a large explosion shakes the ground (and my camera) the blast injures one of the squads LMG troopers

in the street near by 2 more mambers of the support team are on the move

One a medic rushed to the injured soldier

the Other a member of Elite Guard. Distinguished by his body armour blue shirt and gold medals and emblems patrols the street to avoid any counter attacks

the medic runs as fast as he can but will he be in time?

And what was rolling down the street you ask? Well I have just got my order of a tank and a truck with rocket launchers. I think that it was the truck heading for them or else they would have run away!

:-D there you go I have more to paint and do but hang around and comment on these figs.

Latin American special forces1

2012-02-27T21:25:00.001-08:00

OK I recieved these figs yeasterday. These are the famous went to the wrong adress the first time figs.

Why Latin American special forces? why not?
besides my era is 2020 and I am always finding stuff to do with russia and iran in near future conflict but not South and Central America. So I decided that must change.

here are the figs. they are armed with the german X25 R invented in 2019 and looks very similar to the m16 but it is more advanced. they wear the latest in composite armour and a rough boaring camoflage as modern technology decreases camo's effectiveness.

the 4 man group is the smallest unit of these troop. seen here they are trying to get out of a store

the food is tempting but dicipline, self control and the expirery date stop the soldiers from stealing

they see thier chance and run

they escape and cross the road using the cover of sandbags as defence

and they storm the building which is thier mission objective inside are some snipers which have been killing many troops who have advanced through the city

as they prepare to move out and take out the snipers by the window they secure the room to stop thier targets fleeing.

As they move in one man keeps his eye out the window. They need to watch out for rienforcemants.

so there you go. My first set of modern troops I ordered. the second I painted. A big thankyou to Wayne russle and sam for resending the figs after I messed up.

Also I have started a new blog devoted to my projects and ideas so that this site can be left for figs and kits and the news I have. oh and the finnished projects

Karri .C. Tuf Vs snipers and project update

2012-02-24T22:04:00.000-08:00

Ok here we go the 7th update on the project and not alot of progress to report... sort of. But to make up for that I've included a little story that unfolded today in the streets of this lawless town. just go past the first few entries that relate to the project update to get to the pics.

the 1st floor of the hotel with nice rug laid down

a view of the hotel. It may not look like much now but all it needs is a bit of details and...

... it'll be cool. as you can see here there is a nice amount of room down stairs to put in desks and other forms of cover

in the shop Karri .C. Tuf's minions get to work

but snipers get into posiotion atop the hotel

one has a grenade launcher this could turn ugly. Like Karri herself

but the minions find cover and avoid the bullets

the floor above is abandoned as the bullets rain down

a second group of snipers sets up on the cafe

more minions abandon their positions as the sand bag wall is bombarded

the streets are cleared but the war continues

the snipers can only hope Karri dosen't escape

here is a print off sheet of some details I got online. it's an easy way to get rugs, paintings, blue prints, ect.

as you can see there is a wide verity of pictures in here guess what they are and you'll guess what buildings I might build next. ;-D

that is what I've done this week. Hope you've enjoyed this update. Oh and about Karri she hasn't appeared yet!

MY first metal figs!!! painted.

2012-02-24T16:14:00.000-08:00

OK I am unsure whether I will call them finished or not. They look decent enough so I shall include them in my things to put up on my blog today list.

two national force troops are waiting to launch a surprise attack

the two soldiers see them

sorry a bit fuzzy. but loverly focus on the walking guys shoe :-P

the whole lot together.

the two national force troops. they are modern germans but I think they look great as a force for 2020 south america

there you go I may call them finnished I may not it all depends on when the other figures I ordered arrive.
Oh and if you are a casual visiter with no blog. look at the blogs of my followers... If I impress you they will amaze you ;-D.

MY first metal figs!!!

2012-02-21T18:31:00.001-08:00

OK today I got my first metal figs. :-D. they were a sample Kindly sent to me from the guys at S&S models. so thankyou alot guys. I will use this moment to ask for advise on how to paint them... They aren't my first metal figs really I used to get the games Workshop LOTR models but I never got anything like these before. So I do know A few things... Base coat acryllic and then paint.

the 4 samples from strait on

from a snipers point... they are dead meat. hahahaha

OK there you go these are a sample of the S&S model range of Modern Germans and Troops with M16's and M60's. I really like them can't wait to paint them.

modern streets post6

2012-02-20T20:53:00.000-08:00

Ok here we go 2 buildings done, sort of I will add more in soon of coarse but they are done so far as they need to be. (for me to be happy with them). So here we go then.

after his failed attack on the town the cat went home and his brother licked his wounds...

this gave the citizens time to build. Here is the water tower added earlier but now it is up and running

the streets. the shops roof is done. It's ment to be tilled with tarpoline over areas where it is leaking. it is leaking alot :-P

the hotel has been given it's first paint and basic weathering

the sand bag wall. made from cooked playdough.

the shops and it's roof

the sand bag wall is removable

the shops roof close up to give a better look at the tiles and tarp. Also made from cooked playdough and paper-towel

the whole board from a different angle

Hope you enjoy this update. once more I have found support in the locals of Waiuku. maybe progress will speed up :-D

modern streets post5

2012-02-15T23:39:00.000-08:00

Ok project update I am putting in the next building now.

the new building a hotel or shop. It has some battle damage

the buildings so far

shot of the corner af the street and hotel

the battle damage... a large whole blown in the wall.

and if you were ever wondering what type of glue I was using

There you go an update to bring you up to speed. there is a bar going to go in on the opposite side of the road from the hotel and small shops and an alley way next to it.

Karri .C. the beast slayer?

2012-02-13T20:08:00.000-08:00

Ok here is a funny post for once. Karri .C. may be a good Terrorist but her beast slaying skills, well....

NEWS FLASH!!!!

we have recieved reports of a giant gurilla attacking the city. Look one brave citicen has gone to attack the... Oh dear... I hope she has insurance

Now A giant cat attackes... The Woman has finnaly bribed the Gorilla with bannanas and has started shooting it....and the cat...

does nothing... A very borring news flash dont you agree. I'm N. Otar. Eporter saying good bye for Gowan's news.

I would like to say that no annimals, plastic gorrilas or Karri .C. Tuf's were harmed during the making of this post. They were however board witless, forced to lift objects bigger than them or not included in their own story.

Karri .C. Tuf and her truck

2012-02-11T21:49:00.000-08:00

ok not a usual post anywhere but this is a first for me.
Ok let me answer the question on everyones lips...who is Karri .C. Tuf. well actualy if you rearrange the letters it becomes clear. karri .c. tuf = friar tuck :-D. yes that is right she is a converted fig.
she is the first fig that I used some moddelling putty on. and from an old dirty priest emerged a modern clean terrorist, with a sex change :-P. so here she is and here truck which is armed.

she is fat but don't say it too loudly. She is the first figure I have based.
I have used a 10 centivos coint from Argentina it is worth nothing

I wonder what is in that bag? a bomb?

And if you were wondering why is this fat woman so dangerous remember the burnt out police car...

this was here doing

How did she do that? you ask

her truck. heavily armed and armoured

It won't remain black if you request a colour. Maybe pink :-D

both models were die casts I just converted.

To all of you who do not know which friar tuck fig this is it is the arfix one. the same one HaT reissued. Ok there you go more figs for my modern era on the way as well as more progress on the building front

modern streets post4

2012-02-10T23:16:00.000-08:00

Ok more progress to report on the streets.

the over view. I have been banished from the table for taking up too much space :-( now I occupy the garage floor

I added a water tower to the cafe it is made from an old lid to a bottle for medication.

It says "the super- market" in spanish

an over view of the supermarket and it's graffiti

a look inside. Look at the shelves full of food and goods. There is also an antique globe/lampshade on the counter

the two buildings

NEWS FLASH... I have inlisted the help of friends in the design process and am also going to get them to help in the construction of this city. we have made plans and I am going to show you the ones we have done for the next building the bar.

the ground floor of the bar

the top floor

I hope you like this update. Comments, recomendations and requests for a perticualar building or board are welcome.

here is a list of boards me and my friends made
streets (current)
Bunker
outskirts
city centre?
Highway?
forestrie/woodland tree houses (camps)?
Deep mountains/forts?
deep jungle
river board

And there you have it hope you all enjoy watching this project progress. Soon I will post pics of a conversion of Friar Tuck into the modern Karri .C. Tuf. yes that is a woman but Friar Tuck was just to efeminative to convert into a modern man :-P

Cafe for city streets finished

2012-02-05T16:32:00.000-08:00

ok I have finnished the first building the cafe here it is

first floor

ground floor

main elevation

looking in

through the windows

This end of the street shall be occupied by the terrorists so now they have a useful base. windows for sniping furniture for cover all they need in their fight for freedom. :-D
So there you have it one cafe for the terrorists and citizens alike.

modern streets post3

2012-02-05T12:47:00.000-08:00

Ok alot of progress since the last post so here is the first building almost done and the second on the way. :-D
It has to be said that because of the long week end I have made more progress than I will be making next week. So here we are then...

a overview of the interior of the first building-cafe

the city streets

looking at the first building the cafe

here we can see building 2 in progress. It will be some type of shop what type I have yet to decide

second floor of the cafe as you can see I am finishing the details.

here is a fig for scale

a look downstairs. In Argentina it is normal for floors to be left as plain concrete a style copied here

So there you have it alot of progress for 2 alotments hoping I can complete the cafe today so maybe another post tonight about the completed version :-D

modern streets post2

2012-02-04T12:00:00.000-08:00

Ok more pictures of the doveloping project :-D

the first building is in place

a look inside

the first floor removed

the finished cop car

not so good shot of the lights

ooh look at that burn

the rear

and finnaly a better one of the lights

As you can see it is coming alone nicely. I am already onto putting in the next building.

Here is some useful info for anyone who wan'ts to make this a story is 35mm high and doors are 28mm high by 20mm or 15mm I forgot which one. also this foam stuff I got for free from someone who works at a place where they make mountings for pictures, these are off cuts. so I don't know if you can get hold of them.

modern streets post1

2012-02-03T17:24:00.000-08:00

Ok it is finnaly here my modern project ;-D
The year is 2020 and somewhere in the western world civil war has brocken out. the cities are in caos as outside troops march in to stabalise and/or take advantage of the countries instability. What will hapen next? Zobies, aliens, both, WWIII, who knows. Let us find out.

Ok this is just the basic board. as you can see my painted on roads have turned out well. You can also see the pathements going in. I was going to use coark but desided that with so much carboard left over from moving I should use that.

another angle here you can see how thick the paint is and the pathement better

ah the police the same in every country in need of fire extinguishers

this is just a die cast car with a bit of melting from a lighter and some paint here and there. As you can see I am working on the lights on top of the car

fron on view. Can you see the bullet holes?

they are easier to see now. To make them heat up a pin with a lighter and force it through the windscreen

And there you have it a now project for a new era. Hope to progress a bit more soon. School is back and Study gets in the way.

I have returned :)

2012-01-27T16:03:00.000-08:00

Helo one and all I am back from a loverly 2 weeks in argentina and I have done so much.

The trip was organised by the school and was a trip designed to help those of us on the trip with our learning of spanish. Of coarse we did more than just lessons. infact we did so much that I will have to show only a few pictures of the trip so here they come...

Dut first my middle name is james and because that is what my friends call me I got the name santi on the trip santi being short for santiago which is james in spanish.

So the group became known as santi y chicas james and girls because I was the only boy apart from my father who acted as the male teacher on the trip. He is a teacher and came mainly because of his experiance he notably co-lead the first european school trip to south korea.... Sorry onto the pics!

Auckland international airport waiting to depart

flying over south america

welcome to argentina

the wheels on the bus...

the art factory hostel a haven for the artistical traveler

like the person or people who did this

the streets of Buenas Aires at night

my first meal in Argentina

one of the walls in my room at the hostle

Some other students relaxing at the art factory

breakfast. The closest people are on the left my German spanish teacher and on the right my father

more students relaxing in the hamachs. When will I get a turn?

BA's Big monument

UP! I liked that movie

the theater

now we come to the rich's haunting ground literaly

Look at all those mausoliams

BA's cathedral

BA's old town-city hall

the pink house

the cathedral from the outside

the pampas

welcome to San Antonio de Areco. Where we met our host families for a week and our argentine spanish teacher

O dear they found a pool

there are so many stray dogs. However they are so well behaved

at work during the siesta

my host families pool

the BBQ. this thing is an assado grill it makes the beast steak in the world

the house I stayed in

pretty house, no?

The towns church

on the left "Pato my argentine shanish teacher and on the right my German, New Zealand , spanish teacher.

Ok Look at this I wanted to buy this suit of Armour. I did not have enough money though. Could you imagine the look on immigrations face if you walked through the metal detector wearing that :-P

inside the shop

All shuch interesting weapons

ooh shiney

plaza principal. Main square

the church again

one of my more artistic photos

this is mate (Not the girl, rather what she is drinking) it is the most doggdey looking of all drinks in the world. Some would also say most revolting I love it but I know it is an aquired taste

purple grass?

more pretty houses

yours truley. enjoying the shade during a break between lessons.

and when siesta came the girls came to my place to enjoy the pool

we did special things each day for one day we did horse ridding

they got excited

and their off. It was my first time horse ridding and I loved it. Notice how we held the reigns in one hand. That is the Gaucho way, the gaucho's are Argentina's cowboys. Oh dear my father is trying to teach students during the holidays :-P

I wasn't at the front all the time just alot of it as this photo shows

I'm in the lead

now I'm not

my horse and I

Ok here come some sunset shots

another

and another

simon Pato's cat

oh dear.

yes simon we saw you

more of what we did between lessons

my host family. They were really kind and took great care of me

Oh no I have to think

just another fancy photo. Tacken from within pato's house

on our third to last day in san antonio. we were shown the sights

the museum. San antonio de areaco is the setting for the book Don Segundo Sombra which is about the Gaucho

here is a gaucho

here is a german gaucho

funny comment- one of the girls said "why can't I have Easter eggs like that for christmas?" :-P

more of the chicas

Chookee Pato's dog

here is more but the 2 here we see a student with her host mum.

second to last day at the estancia ombu. A ombu is a very large type of shrub native to the pampas

more horse ridding this time on a Gaucho saddle which is more similar to a armchair than a saddle

Oscar the Gaucho. He may be old but as you will see he can still ride

the bond between man and horse is great

and later more ridding

oscar on horse back

the other horse I road that day

then came the emotional monet where our week in san antonio came to an end

back in BA about to fly out to iguasu

bye bye BA

the rio de la plata is the widest river in the world. Wider than the english channel

welcome to tropical iguasu which is actualy south of the tropics but still tropical

another hostel

This T-shirt may be about new zealand but you can't get it in NZ.

tres fronteras. Foreground-this side of the river argentina. right Brazil left paraguay

sunset

day one of our trip to the iguasu falls

this thing is to help monkies cross the road

more falls

and some bigger ones

and more

and don't look down

our group in the tropical heat and humudity

I went ahead and was followed by the girls

and more waterfalls

same one differest angle

more waterfalls

and back to town for dinner

day 2 of our trip to the falls

a tookan in the wild an awsome experiance :-D

la garganta del diablo. the devils throught the most famous falls in iguasu

and there was a thunder storm just to add to the amount of water in the air

ok don't look down or jump

out wet and winded group

not my hat

later we went to an animal rehab centre. here is some capuchine monkeys.

and a caman

all too soon we had to leave iguasu. Here is a monument to...

la guera de las malvinas or the falklands war. My home country certainly seemed like a evil nation after I went and saw Argentina

back in BA in the art hostel. My new room

more art work

we went to the grand theater

another flashy photo

which suited this flashy building

wow

wow. hang on what?

I still won't get a chance to go in the hamache

now that looks cool

I don't get this sign?

these 2 look not so tough as funny

all to soon we were packing up to return home

but first we went ot BA's oldest cafe

but the plane was waiting

so we boarded

and before you knew it helo NZ

I Hope you like this post it is totaly off topic for this site but hey this was a once in a life time experiance. But I guess I had better start thinking about school it will start in a few days... So my enthusiasum and work rate for models will slow but hey. Better eduction= better degree's= better paid job= more adventure's

:-D I have jet lagg :-D why am I putting in happy faces?

I am now in Argentina

2012-01-14T15:20:00.000-08:00

Hi all we have all arrived safley in Argentina. the key board I am using is missing the symbols for many letters and it includes some I don´t have on my normal one. :-( like ñçº and ¿? :-D

More pics of the Tournament

2012-01-13T16:49:00.000-08:00

Ok here are some more pics this time no figs but a backdrop :-D

Path goes off into the forest

same pic but different angle. Which angle is better?

what a poor person would see

what a poor person would see if he started a riot against the nobility

some tents and the quintain

view from the campfire

the last few tents and another path leading off into the forest

Well hope you enjoyed this finnal post before I leave. This is the finnal one I promis. :-D I'll resist the urge to post more stuff

Tournament Project Finnished

2012-01-12T18:23:00.000-08:00

Here it is long awaited by many here for your viewing. :-D

The not so grand grand stand in all it's grandure :-P

The quintain and some tents

I am trying out my new camera. It has 10 megapixels so this out of focus shot is my fault not it's

The foreground shows the rich peoples stands and in the distance an area behind the guard rail for the riff raff

Look at this knight isn't he moving fast

This one ain't

The herald

The trumpetures

ref and guard

a peasant rushing in trying not to miss the tournament

The loverly ladies and their poor old father

Banners

now onto the duels...

Knight A with huge spooky eyes

The man who has to break up the fights. i would not wan't his job

Knight B who is slightly scared by Knight A's eyes

The cleaner attending to his duties by his masters tent

The quintain

The whole Joust

The whole Tournament grounds

I hpoe you have enjoyed this project as much as I have. :-) I am off on the 14th of January on a school spanish trip to Argentina. I am gone for 14 days accompanied by 14 girls and my father a great leader of school trips, He famously (in Korea) co-lead the first European school trip to South Korea, also we have my very funny profesora de Espanol (female spanish teacher) who is actualy german, go figure. So I hope to have lots of pics to show you though they are a bit out of place here. :-D

See you all again soon....Gowan

Gowan's Tournament project post7

2012-01-12T00:11:00.001-08:00

It is done...........All I need is to replace the batteries in the camera and tomorrow I shall post the pics of it

Gowan's Tournament project post6

2012-01-07T17:47:00.000-08:00

Ok after much trial and error mostly error here is the first finnished tent

more tents on the way I hope that I can reach my Jan 13 deadline or else we will all have to wait another 2 weeks

Gowan's Tournament project post5

2012-01-05T17:02:00.000-08:00

The Tents are going up :-D

Just to show scale for you

Pauls plans...My attempts

can you imagine what it will look like once done

Well it may not be much progress but it is a preview

Gowan's Tournament project post4

2012-01-05T00:27:00.000-08:00

Ok nearly there I guess here we are then so close to the finnish line yet so far.

The grand stand with the shields of the nobels on top

Banners displaying the Heraldry of the great knights taking part

a campfire

The whole grounds from a birds or giants perspective

the small ruin

the not so small ruin

and an exit or entrance.

Hope you like this project as much as I do and I hope that it will be done soom. Next up I will add some knights tents using Pauls tutorial on how to make Medieval tents. It is very good and I give my thanks to you paul for all those loverly tutorials you post on your blog :-D

Gowan's Tournament project post3

2012-01-04T00:11:00.000-08:00

Ok some work was done today and for all those who wish to see it here it is

This is the fencing from the Italeri medieval Challange set. It is ment to be the dueling area for dismounted knights

I also added this bit of fence. It might be used for crowd control but we will see

the jousting arena. I will also add the banners and shields from the challange set once I find out how to apply the type of decal that is included in that set.

the whole grounds

Right for any of you who knew my birthday went really well :-D

Gowans Tournament project post2

2012-01-02T23:51:00.000-08:00

Hey I got that PVA today and made some rapid progress you are going to love this. I hope.

An overview of the whole Tournament grounds

a close up on the quintain

another one this one also highlights how the areas in this dio are linked by sandy tracks. These tracks are made from the finnest saw dust I could find.

The Jousting arena. You may be able to spot the ruins

a few path ways. The major areas where events or practices are to be held are outlined with stones

So there you have tomorrow I shal hopefully wake to find this all nice and dry and not destroyed :-P

Hassite gunner conversion

2012-01-02T16:19:00.000-08:00

Here is another gift from you know who. Same thing as before this guy was a gunner now he is a spearman. Emjoy

close up on his face

the pose is a spearman bracing ready for a cavalry charge while covering his head with his shield to protect him from arrow fire.

and the back

Home made spear and spear head. All you need is some wire, twink/ white out, pliers and paint

So there you have it yesterdays work. I did finnish another fig but he was deemed unworthy to feature on this blog at this time.

works in progress post5

2012-01-01T15:13:00.000-08:00

Ok this is just a view of the figs I am painting along with that peskey quintain.

the whole lot. A special thanks to jmchasco who gave me some revel french knights and a spure of Red Box Hassites as a gift

you should all remember these fellas

and him

This was a hassite gunner but a bit of welding and scratch building soon turns him into a spearman.

The french

there are a few things I need to work out but I know what the futre holds for these guys

Now the guy with the golden armour wont stay that colour don't worry

the quintain almost done :-D

So a bit more for me to do. Let us hope I can finnish these before I go to Argentina

Gowans Tournament project post1

2012-01-01T14:48:00.000-08:00

Ok I'll make a seperate post for this project so that those who wish to only look at this project may do so. Here she is so far the earth and base layer of grass has been added along with the fence that runs down the centre of the joust.

A birds eye view of the whole Tournament grounds. Wow this image makes me look really tall. It is very earthy at this stage but that is a good thing

the end of the fence...The ground is not too flat but that shall be amended later on when I start to sort out ground cover and grass

almost a moon scape. Well to me this means a whole lot of potencial would you not agree. :-D

Not too many pics but hey not much to show. More on the way I've just got to buy some more PVA glue it runs out so fast.

works in progress post4

2011-12-31T16:20:00.000-08:00

ah well here is a progect for 2012. A base and lanscape for my Tournament and challenge sets part dio part wargame terrain here is a plan of it on the plywood base

well just to show you that plywood is a good material. Look how the pieces line up. nice and uniform and it is less likely to warp

zoomed out shot. You all proberly recognise the wall and gate

part of it is set aside for the joust

the ruin slightly out of focus. You will note the block. This is the remains of the rest of the structure .

view of the other end othe ruined structure these blockes are made out of shaped pumice

So I have something to do this year you can follow this project on this site or on bennosfigureforum. I will put it under projects with the title Gowans tournament. Happy new year. And to any of you who think the world will end this year it better not or I'll only be able to see the first half of the hobbit :-P

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T16:04:00.000-08:00

He He I was one of the first people in the world to feel 2012. Now it is 1pm here so I guess alot of you out there have just celebrated or are about to. :-D any way happy new year here in waiuku there was fireworks and parties as well as the local steam train wistle I bet they were going for the world record for the longest wistle ever made. :-D so many progects so little time many of the things I wanted done in 2011 cold not be finnished ah well I've got a whole year now eh ;-) but form jan 14-28 I am in Argentina on a school, spanish trip so No posts between those dates unless I get a laptop or my sister gets on here :-P but after that there will be pics of the trip so stick around.

Works in progress post3

2011-12-30T15:04:00.000-08:00

Ok is it done or nearly done? You decide. Personaly it is not done.

HERE IS THE (ALMOST) FINNISD "BUSSSTOP" , RUIN, STAND, STADIUM, THING...

ah there she is. My cup of tea, I don't get excieted over bussstops :-P

Hey where did my tea go I was going to drink that

It is not here

Or here

Well I cant find that cup of tea. Ah well at least the "bussstop", ruin, stand, stadium, thing is almost done :-D

Works in progress post2

2011-12-29T15:54:00.000-08:00

Ok no figs this time but hey I have worked on the ruin...

So it is almost put together now. The Tube of paint in the background should give you a hint as to the colour of the roof :-P

Still a bit of drybrushing to do but it looks ok. GRRR that mold line is still there

Even as I was taking these pictures I could not resist the urge to add vines growing up the ruin. They are made from Lichen that I painted green and, as is plain to seee, applied with a bit of PVA

Well there you have it not much work has been done on the figs though. Oh and any of you who were interesetd in the maps I was doing for my RPG sorry no progress to report I have other things like this ruin to do.

Works in progress post1

2011-12-28T17:10:00.000-08:00

Ok well I thought that maybe I should start a new topic on my blog. One that people could enjoy to look at and respond to. After not much thought I came up with a work in progress thread. Here you can see what I am up to and make comments on what I should do next, give me tips, ask for advice or make a special request. Like one of the figs be made in your likeness :-P

So Here is the first shots of my work in progress...

This is part of the stands for the Italeri Medieval Challange set. Basicaly this part is done but the rest needs doing

Here is the ruins thet go with it I am going to move onto drybrushing the stone work. Then adding some other texture like moss growing in the mortar. Then the roof and assembley

The quintain I've added a scratch built shield

Oh I forgot to show you the wood texture I added to the stand.

Now onto some figs...

A mixed bag here some English archers and a English man-at-arms. A French man-at-arms. All of which will make their way into my wizards army for my RPG. Also Finnaly I have a Thracian who is likely just to become a generic barbarian.

A nice close up on the Thracian and his shield. I really like this pattern and would like to hear your advice on this. He is a HaT figure and I don't know why when I look at him why HaT have a "bad" reputation.

so here if the first work in progress post. I am working on more stuff alot more but this here is what I am doing today. I am hoping to finnish everything you see above soon. The Tournament stands this week if I am luckey :-D

Knight

2011-12-27T17:38:00.000-08:00

Here is a little man from my Italeri Medieval Tournament he is one of the french knights. So he is now a standard bearer for the wizards, one more thing is that he is the first fig that I primed before I painted. :-D I finnaly got some acrilic primer (For Christmas :-D I also got some other useful stuff). So without further adoo here he is!

Close up on his face. Look I have done his eyes :-D

Oh this guy is fussy he says that I didn't get the picture from the right angle

Front

Back

Detail on sword

So I hope you all enjoyed christmas. Some of you may have got all those useful things you needed, Like I did. Some of you may have got those figs you wanted all year. I did not :-( I cant seem to get hold of any figs from Valdemar. But I know some of you got both and some got none but hey thats life. So Look forwards to the new year. Oh I should mention that it is summer here so to all of you in the northern hemisphere don't expect to much from me, as I am likely to be on the beach :-P

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T00:31:00.000-08:00

It is I Gowna bearer of fire, bringer of death Oh and christmas cheer :-D

Felic Navedad. I hope you all have a merry christmas and a happy new year.

The link to the File has been changed

2011-12-22T18:44:00.000-08:00

OK now this is the new link you want I've done a bit of edditing and I've added the first 2 maps of Terra incognita
The updated PDF
Have a good look It's now 10x better

How to: weapons from chicken wire and paper ;-D 2 the details

2011-12-22T15:13:00.000-08:00

Ok now comes the hour we test our meddelers courage. Here is my continued tutorial on how to make weapons out of chicken wire and paper. But this time I will focus on the details and how to make use of both of the previous techniques on making swords to full effect to make the best looking sword around :-D

First up it is How To... make more details on a sword with just cheap and simple materials ;-)

You will need... A sword you prepared ealier, PVA glue and some "white out", "twink", "pen eraser", whatever you call it

Step 1: Put a little Pva glue on the areas shown, I don't know what they are called but is is the pommle?
then when the glue is starting to set add the first layer of twink/ white out.

Step 2: Once the first layer of twink/white out has set apply another one so that you build up these areas. Look at the top one see how it is starting to get that roung shape. I recomend that once this layer is dry you coat it in a wash of PVA and water to harden it if needs be

Once everything has dried take a look. Does it look right to you? If not add more layers or file back the ones you've made. I recomend that if the sword is going to go in a ring hand you do not to the top pommle, what ever it is called. Also I used white out because it was cheap I got hold of one pen of it and a little bottle of it for just $2 at the dollar shop. You could use "Green Stuff" but a tube of that I bought for $14 so you can clearly see the savings

Next up is the string for a bow
This next tip is similar to Paul's one but I've used a slightly different material and one that you really don't have to use I just used it for fun and because there is so much of it lying around.

Right get that cross bow you made earlier. Some PVA and some very thin string thread or hair.

Todays hair comes from the huge amount left behind by my very funny dog Oscar!

Step 1: Get somthing to hold the cross-bow in place. Add a bit of PVA glue to the stock and the ends of the now arms. next put the thread hair or string onto the bow, make sure it touches the PVA. Leave to dry

Step 2: Once dry you can take the bow out of whatever was holding it and trim off any extra thread, hair or string. hey guess what all you need to do now is paint and your done. If you want you could add an arrow to the cross bow but there are other tutorials for this so I won't carry on.

And last but not least we have the best looking sword. I made a broad sword here but you could make any sword with this method. The first few pictures are the same as before but that is because the first few steps are the same...

Step 1: You don't need any new equipment just the same as before so... Firt cut out.

Step 2: Scale it

Step 3: Hammer flat and shape

Now things change...

Step 4: Cut out a bit of paper fold it in half. Open it up apply PVA put sword in the middle of one half and fold both sides together and press together as shown. Leave to dry.

Step 5: Once dry cut to shape, bath in plastice glue, once the glue is dry add other details if desired, paint and done!

And there you have it details and improved swords here is a finnal picture showin them all lined up

Not bad eh ;-D

So once again a chep and easy way to produce weapons on the cheap. I hope that some day soon I will be able to do another tutorial but my school trip/spanish trip to Argentina draws near and so to does my need to prepare for that. But anyway hope these prove as useful to you as they did to me. :-D

How to: weapons from chicken wire and paper ;-D

2011-12-21T19:38:00.000-08:00

Ok well recently moved into my new home, started getting my stuff in order and looking around for stuff left behind that could be usefull for modelling. So today I went to the bottom of the garden and fount some chicken wire that had been used in a fence but the person who put is there forgot to cut the excess off but hey now I'm using it :-D

Ok I can imagine that many of the things that are included in this how to have already been used by the people viewing this blog but for those that don't know these methods here is a tutorial. It is mainly to show how to make swords out of chicken wire and paper but I have included how this method can be adapted for making a cross bow and how to make a sword without the paper... In another tutorial I will explain how to add other details to these weapons :-D but for now here is the basics...

You will need... Chicken wire, scissors, plires, wire cutters, normal paper, PVA glue, Plastic glue a hammer (not shown), newspaper, paint, a hard surface (prefrebly an anvil (not shown, or owned) and paint.

Step 1: cut the chichen wire into pieces, using the wire cutter, these pices should be a rough representation of the weapon you want to make. i.e Swords like in this case should be like little crosses.

Like this one :-D

Step 2: Make sure it is to scale. I feel that it is so moving on then...

These next few steps include a technique I got off Paul! It is essencialy his how to make a paper halbard but adapted for swords.

Step 3:Right if you have seen Pauls tutorial you just need to look at the images if not...
Cut out a bit of paper , fold in half, open it up and put the "Blade" in the middle of one of the halves, take the blade out and apply a bit of wood glue to the paper, put the blade back fold the paper over again, press halves together, wait for glue to dry and cut into this shape.

Step 4: Bath in plastic glue and stand it up, I stuck it in news paper but I imagine foam or cork is good. Leave it to dry, you will find when it's dry it is rock hard this is thanks to the plastic glue.

The sword is now complete all you need to do is paint. :-D nice and simple, for those of you want something more complex I will add another "How to" in which I will discuss who to add details, and basicaly complicate the whole thing :-P But here is a few variations...
Cross bow

The edges os the wire are only slightly even so it is easy to make a cross bow
1. Cut out a T shaped bit of wire
2 Bend the top of the T to make it look like a bow
3 cut out a piece of paper and fold it over the main part of the cross bow.
4 Put some PVA on the paper and then fold it over the bow. I recomend you try add another bit of paper just so you double the thickness this is mainly for aesthetical/proportional reasons.
5 Leave to dry.
6 Once dry cut to shape if you don't know what this is look at an illistration of a cross bow.
7 Bath is plastic glue and leave to dry solid.
8 Paint and add bow strings ( I will hopefully include a tutorial on that in the next post).

Sword without the paper

To make this just follow the first 2 steps for making the other sword then these
Step 3: put blade on a hard surface, I recomend an anvil.(I used concrete :-P)
Step 4: Hammer the blade flat, do this on both sides.
Step 5: Straiten the blade out with plires.
Step 6: Use the wire cutters to make the blades point.
Step 7: Paint :-D

Ok here they all are side by side so that you may compare them.

From Left to Right... Paper and wire cross bow, just wire sword (its at an odd angle :-( ), paper and wire sword , paper and wire sword

And there you have it an easy and cheap way to mass produce weapons :-) I will include another tutorial to explain how to make these more detailed and how to combine both methods of making swords to get the best results.

Cultists Vs wizard and knights

2011-12-20T17:09:00.000-08:00

If you have read my pdf you know what this is about if not read :-P. The evil cultist worloard now strives to kill the great wizard Nilrem and his accomplis Lord Ruhtra and his knights of the square table.

They charge their warcries fill the air with anger

Ok this is an example of my fathers camera in action... Here is it in normal photo mode

in macro mode

in super macro look at the image quality. It shows all the mistakes I make very well

The cultists carrying out their orders while the warlord calls for rienforcements.

more cultists this one seems to come from gondor :-P

They close lances at the ready swords waving in the air

The wizard orders the cavalry to form a wedge

Nilrem the powerful carrying the great golden staff

Lord Ruhtra flanked by his knights

Notice this knight's horse. It has a strange tail. The tail is scratch built because the origional fell off.

So they charge into one anouther who will win the day? Who knows all I know is that those cultists are ountumbered

The unhelpful generals

2011-12-18T13:15:00.000-08:00

Here is a few generals who defenitly aren't going to be the next Ceasar or Alexander

"Hey do any of you know the way to the tournement I was ment to get there yesterday but I got lost"

And they all say "That way"!!!

Which one of you stole my money

They all say "He Did"!!!

The persians shouts "He did he's an untrustworthy Greek"!

The Greek says "No he did he is medieval not ancient"

The medieval General wispers "He did he's a persian and not to be trusted"

the knight sighs "I give up"

notice that the three generals are still arguing in the background :-D

The Tournement!!!

2011-12-17T17:32:00.000-08:00

"Come one, come all too the tournement there will be jousting by our very special guests the Rus twins... Then back by popular demand it is the mad knight sword fight. Who will win todays events and go home with one of the lovely ladies in waiting... Will one of the Rus twins go home unhappy as the other gets the girl. Or will friar tuk be happy as he walks of with lady silvia after she bet on her hand in marrige that the great Sir H Edd Less would win the duel"....Finnaly to the relief of many I return to my models with this pretty picture perfect post. :-D alliteration

First up the joust. The Rus twins charge with real lances :-(

The spectators friar Tuk is there behind Lady Silvia

The officials and support crew. It's just like a modern football match. Look going from right to left we have the commentator the coach the referee and the riot police :-P

They charge again

and again. they can't seem to hurt one another they just keep saying "family violence is not OK"

The crowd is getting bored time to move on to the duel

The ladies watch as Sir H Edd Less takes on the undefeated Sir Chea ting

Who is that guy on the left talking too and where is friar Tuk. He's ment to be watching this

It looks Like Lady Silvia is distracted by Sir H Edd Less's motionlessness

the comepetitors close

On the right Sir Chea Ting on the left Sir H Edd Less

Well then the results... The joust was a tie as both men could not dismount each other so no prize for them. Sir Chea Ting won the duel but friar Tuk could not take Lady Silvia's hand in marrage as he was found later by police with multiple stabb wounds, in a ditch by the side of the road with a note that read "Sir H Edd Less is the only man I lady Silvia would ever marry". Police have no suspects in this case and believe friar Tuk died of natural causes. Lady Silvia went on to marry Sir H Edd Less. Sir Chea Ting was given 100 coins for his vicoty.

The map of the land so far...2

2011-12-16T14:19:00.000-08:00

Ok that was quick I'm posting this now just because The change is so!!! dramatic so what do you think goood average or bad. Unfortunactley the camera lens made such a shadow but ignore that as best you can.

Plebium a small roman farming town

Equitebus a small roman town

Bregust (during an eclips :-p) the capital of the Bregustans

whole map with that man again. Look closely can you spot the dragon and his caves in the mountains?

Closer look at the map. Still there is that eclips or is it the shadow of a UFO?

Shadows gone :-D. Try and spot the dragon now...

Flavaicum the romans main city

a view of magnus and the roman boarder wall

Ok I will work more on this map some other time but thats enough for today and yes I will get back to working on the models. But the next post will be a medieval tournemant hosted by the wisards and then some silly stuff! He He :-D

The map of the land so far...

2011-12-16T13:01:00.000-08:00

Ok well it's clear that the whole map is not going to fit on a single page but here are the pics with a man to show you the scale :-)

Ok it's not such a great looking city but thats because it's just a draft the finnal will be in pen

The mountains don't shou up but their ment to be the alps this is the south of the fantasy land and as such is ment to be in southern germany

The link to the File

2011-12-14T18:22:00.000-08:00

Link to the PDF file :-D
Ok I've checked that this is the right file I just hope that it is all included so best of luck at looking at it :-)

The story behind my fanticy land

2011-12-14T15:39:00.000-08:00

Some of you may know that I have been working on a pdf file that includes all the information about my fanticy land. Well it's done... almost... still needs a map :-( but I'm goin to put it online here any way!
SOON

Barbarian's town gate

2011-12-13T13:35:00.000-08:00

Wow those barbarians obviously didn't realise that people can go around walls :-)

I don't know what that sign say's but it's proberly something like "please don't go around the wall because otherwize you can't pay the toll"

Simple ladder to get atop the walls

View down the passage behind the wall. I might put some accessories in there when it's done :-D

Looking from inside the town at the closed gates

same view but the gates are open. But no one is coming in :-(

This little beuty is hand made. It's only a few bits of balsa, foamcard, plywood, card, cocktail sticks, bits of wood, dirt, glue and paint. It's not finnished but it's almost done. I just need to fill some cracks (no rude jokes you lot) add some grass and ground cover. I might even try to edit the base by removing a few layers of the plywood so it would match up with other hard board. :-)

Elvish Ambush

2011-12-12T19:19:00.000-08:00

I decided a while back my world needed some elves but the only set of 1/72 scale elves I could find were by ceaser not that it was a bad set it looked great, but what I wanted was a selection of sets I could get. My other dilema is that I have all these old sets that do not fit into my new fantasy world...

SO... I, after alot of thought, decided to solve both problems in one fell swoop :-). My old greek models were reserected and now are going to represent the elves in my world. Now for all of you out there who think elves and greeks have no similarities here is a line out of "The Children of Hurin" by the great fanticy writer J.R.R Tolkien "Now the phalanx of the guard of the king broke through the ranks of orcs, and Turgon hewed his way to the side of his brother". Now if you don't know who Tolkien was HE'S THE MAN WHO WROTE THE LORD OF THE RINGS!!!!!!!
So my elves are greeks if you don't like that I don't care :-p

This guy (the greek/elf) may not look like much but he was the first 1/72 scale figure I ever painted. So you could say this is the man who started this all

A few elf hoplites have blocked an escape route while the skirmishers rain fire down on the hapless barbarians

Not the three musketeers but their pre gunpowder forebears, yes they were decennded from elves, the three archerreers

overview of the whole ambush. Yes that is my leg in shot.

some barbarians flee while some fights and others are paralized with fear, or maybe it's because their plastic and can't run away and have realized resistance is futile. :-D

Roman Confrence in farm house?

2011-12-12T12:36:00.000-08:00

Ok here are the first of the Romans and they are slightly lost but they found this nice farm house (hand made) and are talking about: Why is there a baby in that cradle when the parents aren't home?

Who have we got here a baby, a couple of centurions, two generals, a guard and someone coming to burn the house down.

The guards and a toarch bearer.

Nice view of the muddy garden and roof

These two would be promoted if they had been smart enough to realize it's harder for people to get in when the door is closed :-p

The baby is not so easy to see but it's in the cradel next to the table

What do you think I may not have produced an excelent model building but it aint bad eh.

Improved Pics of fantasy models

2011-12-12T12:21:00.000-08:00

So here are some better pics not perfect, very quickly done but atleast decent :-)

I'ts a showdown

The wraith. Like I said before this fella is home made with due-kit and paper towel, oh and paint :-)

Men at arms and an injered knight. A little shadow sorry I was in a rush but much nicer don't you think

A Mounted worrior Wizard. Ok alot of shadow still nice and look the staff and it's head are hand made once again due-kit and some wire

Close up on the man at arms with a ridiculously long halbard like thing. Look he's got eyes and if you look a little closer eye brows.

The injered knight he is a cross between an Italeri mounted Crusader knights (Top part) and an Italeri English Knights of the 100 yaer war, Dismounted Knight or man at arms.

Ok We'll all agree that these are much better and I feel at least they do my work more justice than those other pics ;-) Please comment

The fanticy world in which my Game is set

2011-12-11T21:04:00.000-08:00

This is a short intro to my world

Terra Incognita is a roman/fantasy war game where the mighty legions of Rome are pitted against the supernatural forces of the Arch demon. The war game is set on one of Rome’s northern boarders. There are many barbarians in this game who will play a key roll as they fight for survival. The game starts with the forces of the arch demon in the far north in a dark fortress surrounded by mountains, they are ready for an invasion called by all the tribes surrounding the dark lands; a ravaging. In the south start the Romans blissfully unaware of the terrible plague coming from the north. In between the two super powers of the game are various barbarian tribes and villages some loyal to Rome others neutral and peaceful wile some of those in the north are infected by a madness that causes them to be savage and worship the arch demon. The fate of the land hangs in the balance as the arch demon prepares for war who will warn the Romans who will save the lands who can stop the Arch-demon?

well now here we go.

2011-12-11T14:25:00.000-08:00


		Made this guy myself. With stuff caled due kit and paper towle

sorry realy out of focus but I used my sister's i-pod so not a very good camera

this is my final one not so bad a focus this time

These are the first figures I'm going to show you. Now you may be wondering: What are these? Well the ringwraith thing is ment to be a normal wraith, the guys below are a few men at arms and the final guy is an armoured wizard. So what are these all about. Well I've been collecting many different 1/72 scale models for years now and because of all the different genres I finnaly thought of a way to combine them. A Fanticy world that exsists on Rome's German Boarder. This world includes elves, who are my old greek models, a wizard power made up of differnt types of wizards, dwarves, orcs, barbarians, roman's of coarse and much more!

The wall in the background is scratch built and unfinnished and I'am hoping to use a better camera in future!

Hello to all. my name is gowan and this is my blog

2011-12-11T13:36:00.000-08:00

Well after see'ing the large community of bloggers out there who specialise in 1/72 scale models I decided why not. So now I've made my own. :-)