Figure Painting Total - November

After Valleycon, I found out that there were some Barnes and Noble exclusive sets for both Blitz Bowl and Space Marine Adventures. I had to order them to keep complete. I also got a 3D printed figure of Sam, from Trick R Treat. It is a bit rough looking but has already been basecoated, so finishing it up should not be too hard.


Blitz Bowl: Halflings - 6
Blitz Bowl: Undead - 7
Space Marine Adventures – Recon – 3
Space Marine Adventures – Rescue - 3
Sam (from Trick R Treat) - 1 – 3D printed – already painted (basecoated).

Nov total - figures bought 20, figures painted 0
Running total 2019 – figures bought 149, figures painted 1

Stairway!

At my wife’s work, each department is decorating there area in different themes for Christmas. Her department was originally going to do a Die Hard theme, but decided to change it to Home Alone theme instead. She said that I could make the staircase – five feet tall, out of cardboard.

I mean, of course I can. But I didn’t have enough large cardboard, so I asked if I could make it out of foam core, which she was okay with. The key requirements would be that it had to be at least 5 feet tall, and it had to be transportable.
I worked out the dimensions and told her it would cost about $20 - $40, which she was again okay with. I would not add a railing, would have very fiddly to make in sections, and have added another $10 - $40 depending on what I made the rails out of.


It had worked out to 12 sheets of 20” x 30” foam core, which I got at Dollarama for $1.50 each. I picked up 14 sheets, in case I needed more or messed up, so $21 for that. I ended up mis-cutting the second sheet I worked on the other side of the first set of stairs. I used a lot of the scraps for reinforcing seams and adding supports.
I picked up 2 rolls of wood grain flooring stickers, which I also got at Dollarama for $4 each, so another $8. I only used it on the stairs for the part that shows on the sides of the runner, so only ended up using a bit more than 1 sheet. I have plans for the rest of the second sheet.
I found 36” square pieces of red felt for the runner at Oomoomoo, a Japanese dollar store. They were $4 each and I picked up 4 of them. I only ended up using 3 of the squares but I bought the extra so as to not have to worry about matching the color if I needed more.


Using the plans, I cut out the sides of the base. I had to glue a second piece of the foam core behind the first three steps to give them the proper depth. These first three steps are normal size. The first two steps have a rise of 6 ¾” and the third has a rise of 6 ½”. This way the first three steps fits nicely on a single with of foam core. The steps have a run of 10 ½” which leaves a ½” overhang and allows these three steps to fit together on one length of foam core. The steps themselves are 20” wide, the same as the width of a sheet of foam core.

The upper piece is 30” deep, but 50” high. The upper section has 7 steps using forced perspective. The rise of the next three steps remains the same as the first three, but the next four on the next sheet are 6 ½” high. The steps get progressively smaller – 8 ½”, two at 6 ½”, 4 ½”, and the last three are all 2 ½” deep.
I cut out all the steps and risers. Using white wood glue, I glued the risers on first to allow some time for them to dry. I put some braces across the backs to help support the sides.
Then I cut the wood grain into 4 sections – 3 at 5” wide and the remaining one at 4.75” wide. I cut each piece an inch longer than the step it was going on so I could fold it over the exposed end. I put them on 4 ½” inches from the sides, again allowing overlap. The narrower ones I put on the left side of the steps as that would be against the wall.
I glued the steps on next, pinning through to the foam below to help hold it while drying. I later went in and taped all the steps from behind.

I switched to tacky glue and glued on the felt runner. I was careful to line up the pieces under the overhang of the lower steps, and at the back of the steps on the upper ones.
I then went back and used hot glue from the inside to tack the corners of the steps as well as to strengthen the supports. The finished stairs are 20” wide, 60” deep, and 70 1/8” tall.

Craft - Advent Wreath

Every year the kids would make Advent Wreaths in Catechism. They were usually made using birthday candles. Back when I was teaching grade four level, I didn’t want to do the same. I was going to make a flat picture with construction paper but could not find any pink paper in Dollarama.
Since I had waited until the last minute to get supplies, I had to change plans in a hurry. I ended up buying foam board, colored craft sticks, wreaths, hot glue guns, and chenille stems. (Side rant - Back in my day, chenille stems were still called pipe cleaners, and craft sticks were called popsicle sticks.)
It went over well, and in later years I bought crafts sticks in advance and painted them beforehand. This brought the cost down even more as the colored craft sticks I bought only had a few pink and purple sticks in every package.

Supplies:
Foam board – each 20"x30" board will make 15 bases.
Craft sticks – you will need 4 for each wreath.
Garlands – each 8' garland will make 10-12 wreaths
Chenille stems – the ones with the 4 wider sections - you will need 1 per wreath. Red and yellow are preferred but some kids preferred white, and even blue flames.
Purple paint
Pink paint

Tools:
Pencil
Ruler (preferably metal)
Knife – to cut the foam board
Paintbrush
Hot glue gun and hot glue sticks
Craft scissors or wire cutters (optional) – to cut the chenille stems

If you do some of the preparation beforehand, you can have your entire class make these in an hour. If you have more helpers with the glue guns, you can do it in less time.

Cut the foam board into smaller squares. I used 6” x 6” (15cm x 15cm) but you can adjust as needed. This does leave a small amount of scrap foam board left. I was able to get 15 squares from each sheet.

Paint the craft sticks. You need to paint three sticks purple and one stick pink for each wreath. I painted them in batches using closes pins to hold one side of the stick to a box while it dries.
Once dry, I separated each set of 4 painted sticks into snack bags.

On the day, I had the kids draw a circle on the board. You want a fairly big circle but still leave about 2 fingers of room between the edges. Get them to write their name on the back of the board at this time.

Then they need to mark 4 spots around the circle where the craft sticks will go. I prefer to put them in the corners as it leaves more room. Then they have to decide whether they want the sticks parallel to the circle or perpendicular to the circle.

Once they have the spots marked, get them to take a craft stick and push it through the top layer of paper into the foam at each of the marks. This works best if the board is on a table so it doesn’t push through the bottom sheet of paper.

Four quick dabs of hot glue in the holes holds the craft sticks. A quick line of glue on the circle holds down the garland to simulate the wreath. Get them to hold the sticks up while the glue cools. I usually burn myself a bit sticking the garland down.

For the flames, take the chenille stems and cut them into 4 sections with a thick part in the middle and thin parts at the ends. Depending on the age of your crafters, you can use wire cutters, craft scissors, or even cut them by hand. If you pinch the stems tight between your fingernails, you can wiggle the stem up and down until the wire breaks due to overstressing. By curling one end of the chenille flames around the craft stick candles, you can ‘light’ them each week. If you want them more permanent, you can hot glue the flames instead.

Figure Painting Total - October 2019

I only picked up a game with a few figures this month. I did also pick up two large semis from Walmart that I will probably give a quick wash but I am not counting them as figures since they will be used as terrain. I also found some camper trailer ornaments at Dollorama – two to a package. So I picked up 5 sets. I will need to sand off the glitter and repaint them, but they should make a nice trailer park.

Combat Arena - 5

Oct total - figures bought 5, figures painted 0
Running total 2019 – figures bought 129, figures painted 1

Road trip: Moorhead - original of the Dilly Bar

While at ValleyCon this year, we decided to do some touristy things. Shan had looked up points of interest and came across this.

The Dairy Queen in Moorhead is where the Dilly Bar originated.

We had been by this location before and had noted it for the very large umbrellas but had never known of its history.


The American Dilly Bars are larger and flatter than the ones up here. They also come in different flavors.

Lander - base

I noticed that the seam where the two parts of the base were joined left a straight line after being painted. It’s only noticeable from certain angles but, from that angle it is quite noticeable.

So I sanded along the seam with an emery board and then applied model putty.

After it dried I did a bit more sanding to blend it a bit better and then repainted.

It is better but still noticeable. So the paint needed to be sanded again. More putty applied, more sanding, and painted again.

Action figure - army building

I recently came across the RetroBlaster Channel on YouTube. I got lured in by the Restoring the Death Star videos and have now watched a bunch of them. One that really hit home was his video on Building an Army.

In it he talks about how hard it was to collect multiples of the troop figures. Given the choice between getting a new figure and a duplicate of a figure you already had, most kids opted for the new figure.

I was lucky enough to be picking up Star Wars figures from the "original 12" days. It didn't take long to get all the originals so extra stormtroopers were an easy choice. I also was able to get some figures for $2 from a clearance center after some store must have had a fire. So I had a pair of Jawas, a couple of Tusken Raiders, and a few Stormtroopers.

I also got some extra Stormtroopers when my fried Arron moved. As well, I got some of his buildings based on the Woman's Day plans. I had set up many dioramas on the basement pool table with them. They lasted for many moves but have sadly passed on.
I also inherited his Death Star when he moved. My son was very impressed to play with this back in the day.

Freestar finished, torch passed to Terrain

Because we were having trouble with the Freestar we started looking for a new vehicle. We figured that we would rather do it on our time instead of having to rush and get a car when the next car died.

In July we ended up getting a new 2019 GMC Terrain. It was brand new - with only 50 km on it. It has a sun roof, and the black-out package - which means that the chrome and rims are black. It doesn't have a CD player so I finally had to figure out how to rip our CDs onto a USB drive. It also doesn't have a gear shifter so I am getting used to changing gears with the buttons instead.

We've mostly been using it on the weekends, and gave it a good run out to Regina on the August long weekend. It seems like it will be a good fit for us. It's also the first new brand new car that we have bought.


Which is good as the Freestar didn't want to start after Labor Day long weekend. We had it towed to the shop and they asked if we had driven through water. It seems that it wasn't the battery or even the starter. They said the engine crankshaft had seized. If we wanted to fix it, we were looking at replacing the entire motor - about $3500.

It's a tough call, as we hoping to get at least another winter out of it. But it is starting to rust, and the brakes would probably need to have been done soon as well. So we really can't justify putting that much into it.
It's a shame as it was a good fit, and had tons of room. But it really doesn't owe us anything. We had a lot of good road trips in it and I will miss it.

Books read May to August 2019

May
The Biggest Lie in the History of Christianity: How the Modern Culture is Robbing Billions of People of Happiness by Matthew Kelly
Outremer: Faith and Blood by Jamie Gordon
Dracula’s America: Shadows of the West: Forbidden Power by Jonathan Haythornwaite
Billiards – The Official Rules and Records Book (2000) by Billiard Congress of America
Star Wars: Lightsabers – A Guide to Weapons of the Force by Pablo Hidalgo
Born A Crime by Trevor Noah
Camelot edited by Jane Yolen

June
Heroes for Wargaming by Stewart Parkinson
Escher on Escher: Exploring the Infinite by MC Escher
Dream Sewing Spaces: Design & Organization for Spaces Large & Small by Lynette Ranney Black
Storage & Shelving by Jill Blake
Singer: Sewing Activewear by Cy DeCosse Incorporated

July
The Dracula Centenary Book by Peter Haining
Killing Floor by Lee Child
Heat Rises by Richard Castle
Brian Froud’s Goblins! By Ari Berk
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Aug
The Official Art of Big Trouble in Little China by Tara Bennett & Paul Terry
Time-Life Books: The Epic of Flight: Knights of the Air by Ezra Bowen
The Costume Making Guide: Creating Armor & Props for Cosplay by Svetlana Quindt aka Kamui Cosplay
Art of Atari by Tim Lapetino
Marvel Heroic Roleplaying Basic Game by Cam Banks
The Book of Cosplay Sewing – Starting from Zero by Svetlana Quindt
Gunslinger Girl by Lyndsay Ely

Lunar Lander assemply started

I got a good start to the assembly on the Lunar Lander when I had time on the weekend of the anniversary of the Moon Landing. I put together the main parts of the upper and lower assemblies. I painted parts of it as I went – especially around where the clear pieces would go. The clear pieces were glued in with white glue to prevent crazing.

I got the basic structure of the upper module done as well as the bottom half. I had knocked over the liquid glue and had to go out and get more, as well as getting some copper paint.


I put the base together but the seam is still rather noticeable from certain angles. I may have to fix that.

While working on the lander, I watched a bunch of the Apollo 11 shows on CNN and NASA. I would occasionally pause the program and take a photo of the screen if there was a good picture for reference.

Figure Painting Total - July 2019

With the switch to resin, Knight Models still had their older metal sets available for a while before they phased them out. They had even bundled some of the figures into 3 packs with cards for DC Universe. I had picked up the other sets but did not pick up the Teen Titans set. I was hoping they would get a better sculpt of Cyborg. Knight Models did release a Teen Titans set in resin but it did not have Cyborg or Kid Flash, and the Starfire is the newer, TV costume. So I was able to find someone who had the old individual metals and was selling them. I was also able to get the original, pre-game Flash, which I like better than the newer models.

BM/DCU – Cyborg – 1
BM/DCU – Batgirl – 2
BM/DCU – Kid Flash – 1
BM/DCU – Starfire – 1
DCU – Flash – 1

July total - figures bought 6, figures painted 0
Running total 2019 – figures bought 124, figures painted 1

50th anniversary Moon Landing

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, I figured that I would put together this kit.

It’s the Apollo 11 Lunar Lander model by Airfix. It’s 1/72 scale so should be close in size for miniature figures. It seems to have all the parts, as well as the instructions and decals.
I had picked it up a few years ago at Value Village for $2.99. It seems to be worth a bit online, and I’m not sure I’ll do it proper justice, but I figured I would give it a go.

With plastic kits, it’s always good to give them a quick wash before starting. Using dish soap and an old toothbrush to gently scrub the mold release agent from the parts helps to prevent problems with painting later. It’s always good to wash the sprues in a tray or container instead of the sink itself. If a part becomes loose, it helps to contain it so you don’t lose a critical piece down the drain.

Make sure they are well rinsed and you can let them air dry or dry them gently with a paper towel.
Now it’s ready to start on the assembly.

Stuck in the middle?

On Canada Day, we took a short trip to the longitudinal center of Canada.

It used to be just a road sign but they have updated it for the 150th anniversary.

New-master reels?

My wife and I are of an age where we used to have Viewmaster reels. These were little white discs about the size of a coaster that you could put into a special viewer and, if you held it up to the light, you would see a 3D image. There were ones for cartoons as well as the more grown up travel ones.

We still have a number of the reels, and we have picked up some of the old ones on the secondary market. When we were still planning to go to Disney World, I had picked up a bunch of the old Disneyland reels for my wife.

She has picked up some of the new VR viewmaster reels that work with a new viewer that has a similar style as an old viewer but holds your cell for VR.

There is also a site that allows to submit images and they will print new reels for you. But the reels only hold 7 images each, so if you have a big event with more pictures, you either have to get multiple reels (like the old 3 packs with A, B, C reels) or choose your best 7 shots.

For her birthday this year, I was tempted to do a Disney set, but that would be hard to edit down to even a few reels. Instead, I was able to select 7 shots to use from her fiftieth birthday and put together a reel with those. I placed the order on May 5 and it came on May 10. It’s supposed to have a five day turnaround before shipping according to the website but I guess they were slow so they finished early and sent it out.

It was sent by UPS so that’s always a tossup. I got an email telling me that there would be duty charges and I could pay online. So I pulled out some money to leave my son in case they came while we were at work but in getting the paper this morning it seems that they just dropped it off in the mail. We were home but they didn’t even knock, they just left it in the mailbox. So I guess the $6.82 in duty wasn’t enough for them to worry about.
I got a letter from UPS about two weeks later collecting on the duty that they should have collected on delivery. So I called them and paid it over the phone.

Figure Painting Total - June 2019

Even though I have the resin version of Swampy, I prefer the metal version better. I was able to find one at a good price and picked it up.

BM/DCU – Swamp Thing - 1
June figures bought – 1, figures painted – 0

Running total 2019 – figures bought 118, figures painted 1

Make a 3D layered photo

I remember old photos and pictures where they used to take multiple copies of the same image and cut out parts of the image and layer them up so that it gives depth to the picture. We had done one of these back in art class in school.
I cannot remember what this is called. Searches for stacking and layering photos give much more results for manipulating digital pictures rather than working with physical images. I was able to find a few sites which gave enough of an overview to follow. It seems it might be 3D decoupage.

I was trying to see what was used between the layers. Using foam seems like it would be too thick for more than 4 layers so I was thinking about gluing the images to cardboard. This would also allow you to work with as low as two pictures (or even a single image but your cuts would have to be super precise).
When it came time to do it, I ended up using foam after all. I had concern about whether the multiple layers would still fit in the frame but when I put it on the first layer it was less puffy than it was on the roll.

You will need as many copies of the picture as you will have layers. I took a photo from our trip to Universal and got mine printed up at Walmart. You will also need something to give the layers depth. I went with the foam tape from Dollarama. I also got a deep frame from Dollarama.

In addition, you will some thing to cut the pictures into the layers. You can use small scissors but I used a craft knife and a cutting board.

You need to decide which parts of the image will be on which layers. It helps to write these out to help you decide how many prints you need to make for the layers. It also helps to keep track of what to cut off of each layer.

I was going to do five layers. I had a sixth layer that I was going to do using regular double sided tape but ended up using the foam tape for that as well. Starting with the full image, I stuck the next layer down on top of it. The I kept sticking down the smaller layers until I was done.

I used the double sided tape to stick it to a card for the backing to help keep it centered. I ended up using a comic backing board. I had picked up a couple of extra boards to use for the layers in case the tape was too thick.

The joy of stuff

I was able to do a bit of a sift on my desk. It took three hours to take about half the boxes off and then put them back in slightly different spots. It only cleared a small spot of table space, but it moved a whole bunch of boxes that I need to go through to the front so that I can access them easier. This should allow me to keep working away at it when I have time.

I do still have a lot of stuff, but so much of it still brings me joy. I am slowly becoming less attached to some older stuff. I have moved a lot in my life, a few times before I started school, and five times since. I am currently in the place that I have lived the longest – at over 16 years.

We still have a few years before the kids move out and we get to reclaim those rooms. Until then, I need to work with the space I have currently. I hope to finally unpack some boxes from 2 moves ago and reclaim my desktop in order to start doing stuff again.

Then I can work at reorganizing the storage locker to make it more of a living storage that I can access and get thing out of instead of an oubliette where things get put in to be forgotten. I will need to get a good shelf for the boxes of books, as well as some of those rolling shelves to allow me to move things to get to the items in the back easier.

Figure Painting Total - May 2019

I finally finished a figure! It was for my wife, for her birthday. Back when we were still dating, on the way to GenCon, we had picked up an X-Men Alert game. I had told her I would paint the figures for her. I painted up the rest of the figures in the set over twenty years ago but never got around to finishing the Cable figure.
We were never big fans of Cable, who had gone through a few costumes over the years. The costume on his card is his silver outfit and different than the costume on the figure. The internet hasn’t been much help either. I didn’t want to dig through all the back issues to find out the colors for this particular outfit.
Finally, I recently checked on BoardGameGeek, and two people had posted their versions of the outfit. Using a combination of the two, I was able to make a passable attempt at finishing him. It’s not my best job ever, but it’s not really a figure either of us care about and will probably never use.
So this now completes that game. It also puts the first figure in the painted column. Now I can work away at other figures without this one hanging over me.

Painted
X-Men Alert: Cable – 1

May figures bought – 0, figures painted – 1

Running total 2019 – figures bought 117, figures painted 1

Goonies birthday

For my wife’s fiftieth birthday a few year ago, we did a Goonies-themed party. She was a big Goonies fan, so we made invitations based on the map, had a table piled up with treasure, and I gave her a replica metal coin like the one used in the movie as well as some newspapers from the Goonies reunions in Aurora, and I have since gotten her a replica metal skull key.

Using pictures of the map, I did the Mad-magazine fold first and drew the two sides of the coin.

Then I opened the paper and drew the rest of the map. I modified the wording with our address and date of the party. I weathered it using some tea. This I sent out as the invitations.

On the back of the map, I replaced the musical notes with the notes for Happy Birthday. I’m not sure anyone noticed, but I thought it was a nice touch.

For One-Eyed Willy’s treasure pile, we bought a bunch of plastic coins, as well as some actual Chinese coins for the stacks. We bought a bunch of gems from Dollarama, and used some pirate weapons from the kid’s Tickle Trunk.

Figure Painting Total - April

I only picked up one more figure for the Batman Miniature Game when I picked up the second edition rules and the Magic rules.

BM/DCU – Batman (Nightmare)– 1
Apr figures bought – 1, figures painted – 0

Running total 2019 – figures bought 117, figures painted 0

Books read January to April 2019

Jan
Haynes Star Wars Death Star Owner’s Technical Manual by Ryder Windham, Chris Reiff, and Chris Trevas
Haynes Star Wars Millenium Falcon Owner’s Workshop Manual by Ryder Windham, Chris Reiff, and Chris Trevas
Stuck in the Middle: Dissenting Views of Winnipeg by Bartley Kives and Bryan Scott
The little book of Inappropriate Morals: Stories that aren’t helpful at all by Holly Green
A Plethora of Poor Decisions: and other tales of Misadventure by Holly Green
Perfectly Yourself: Discovering God’s Dream for you by Matthew Kelly

Feb
Stuck in the Middle 2: Defining views of Manitoba by Bryan Scott and Bartley Kives
Trigger Mortis: A James Bond Novel by Anthony Horowitz
A Wanted Man by Lee Child

Mar
Cyndi Lauper – A Memoir by Cyndi Lauper with Jancee Dunn
Treasures by The Canadian Museum of Civilization
A Wish Your Heart Makes: From the Grimm Brothers’ Achenputtel to Disney’s Cinderella by Charles Solomon

Apr
A Company of Wolves by Peter Steinhart
The Universe in a Nutshell by Stephen Hawken
Firefly RPG by Monica Valentinelli, Mark Diaz Truman, Brendan Conway, Dean Gilbert, and Jack Norris
The Makeup Artist Handbook by Gretchin David + Mindy Hall
Invaders from the North by John Bell
Parenthood by Paul Reiser

Low High-Density Lipoproteins

Back in October, I had gone to the doctor for my annual tune-up. My blood pressure was fine, and my LDL cholesterol levels were fine, but my HDL cholesterol levels were low. As this seems to be a major precursor to heart issues, she was concerned.

So she scheduled me back for 6 months to check again. I've been a bit more active but haven't made drastic changes in my diet. My weight doesn't really seem to change. I still seem to be in the 170 to 175 range with occasional spikes up near 180 for holidays.

After 6 months of this, my HDLs haven't really increased. In fact, they have actually deceased slightly. This concerns my doctor even more. It seems that I will need to take this a lot more seriously. Now that the snow has melted, I'm going to need to get out there and move a lot more, and reach for apples instead of chips more often.

Wife, unretired

The wife has got another job at about the same as she was getting paid when she was ‘retired’. Since she is also getting a pension from her old job, we should be a bit better off than we were and able to do a bit more upkeep. This should take a bit of the pressure off the cost of maintaining a storage locker for the overflow items. I still need to go through it and streamline, but this should give me a bit more time.

While she was home she managed to go through the kitchen cupboards, her books and clothes, and the file cabinets in the office. I helped where I could and mostly stayed out of her way. The weather hasn’t been nice enough yet to start yardwork so she was running out of stuff to do inside before starting in on my stuff.

With her going back to work, I am less worried about coming home and finding out that everything I have has been moved while I was away. This should allow a bit more time to get things cleaned up. It should also allow some money for a new car. We may be able to rethink taking some trips although she will not have the free time that she used to have.

Figure Painting Total - March

Getting The Gangs set with the figures included meant that I didn't have to chase them down. It does mean that I have to assemble and paint them.

Gangs of Commorragh – 16

Mar figures bought – 16, figures painted – 0

Running total 2019 – figures bought 116, figures painted 0

Time for a new vehicle?

Last week Wednesday, the van stalled out while backing out from the library parking lot and it took three times to restart it. On the Thursday it stalled on the way to work but I was able to pop it into neutral and restart while it was still rolling. So I called the garage and booked it in to get checked and get the oil changed.

I dropped it off last Friday and they looked at it. It stalled a few times for them when they tried it. Which is always nice in that’s it’s not just me.

They worked on it on Saturday, and Monday, and were having trouble figuring out what was wrong since it wasn’t giving them an engine code. We had had trouble with the alternator back in December so they checked that and found that it was overcharging. It should be sending 140 magical units and it was producing 210 magical units instead. So they tried swapping that but then it wouldn’t work at all.

On Tuesday we got a call on the machine and when I called them back this morning then found that it might be the battery. I had asked them about the battery when I dropped it off but I’m not really a car guy, so I was only guessing as it was one of the few systems I am familiar with. They replaced that, and it seems to be working now.
Another $400 dollars later, for an oil change, and a new battery. We’ll still have to look for a newer vehicle but at least now we are not as rushed.

Gangs of Commorragh - acquired

Since the beginning of the year, I’ve been watching ebay for a copy of Gangs of Commorragh. I figured that I could always buy a copy of the rules for about $30 and buy the figures later from Games Workshop for $120. Most of the non-figure sets were either too expensive (over $100), or did not include the box.

I was finally able to find a few complete sets that weren’t much more than the cost of the ones that were just rules plus the cost of the figures. I bid on a few but they exceeded my limit.

But persistence paid off and I finally won an opened but complete set for about $100 including shipping. That was totally in my price range. It came and seems more than complete. It looks like it has double sets of reference guides, Get Started booklets, assembly guides, and packs of dice.

I can cross another set off my list. Now I have to save up for Blackstone Fortress.

Heroclix Overview 2018

I didn’t really buy much in the way of Heroclix last year. I bought a few of them but didn’t really keep up with all of the Fast Forces/Starter sets that came out. I didn’t really get any of the new sets again this year, but did get a few figures to use as substitutes for DC/Marvel Universe. I was going to pick up a few more older figures but the dollar did not improve, and I ended up using my figure money on Blood Bowl and DC Universe figures instead.

I did not complete any more sets this year. I do plan on continuing to complete the older WizKids sets, even if it to be able to box them up and put them away.

Having not picked up any new figures last year, I am as close now as I was last year on Ultimates (0+3), Mutant Mayhem (3+2), Legacy (0+3), Origin (4+0), Mutations & Monsters (1/3), Crisis (0/2), Hammer of Thor (3/8), Brave and Bold (8/7) and Batman Classic TV (3), and TMNT (3+3).

I still need Spectre, both green Fooms, both of the Phoenixes, and the Starro. I need the original Manhattan and Galactus but will not be pursuing them further.

NECA seems to be winding down. I only have 5 sets listed for in 2018, none of which I got figures for. I didn’t even get all of the Fast Forces sets.

Needing well over 2500 figures, it is even more apparent that I will not reach this goal. If I hit the lottery, I will give it a solid effort but even then, the storage would be a huge hurdle.
The stat numbers are now beyond calculations.
From this point, I am not even looking to keep up with starters. I will still try to complete some of these sets even if it so I can pack them away. The numbers from the old sets are more reasonable - I need 21 figures from the old WizKids sets (8 REV and 13 Uniques). I might still get a few Necas as available, especially for proxies for others games, and might pick up some of the smaller Gravity Feed sets, and the first few Neca sets.

Figure Painting Total - February 2019

I picked up a few more figures in February. I picked up some hockey figures at Dollarama to use with the Jugger game. I also got a good deal on the Big Trouble in Little China game. It was a bit crunched in one corner, like it had fallen, so it was 25% off.

Big Trouble in Little China game – 40
Hockey Champions – 24
Chronoscope - Black Mist – 1
Chronoscope – Nightslip – 2
Chronoscope – Sister Marie – 1
Chronoscope – Frank Buck – 1
Chronoscope – Jane Porter, Victorian Heroine – 1
Chronoscope – Pulp Era Female Pilot – 1
Chronoscope – Jack Ryan, Pulp Explorer – 1

Feb figures bought – 72, figures painted – 0

Running total 2019 – figures bought 100, figures painted 0

Straw Holder

With the push by many communities to ban or phase out plastic straws, a lot of people have started using glass straws. While this is great for the environment, carrying around a hollow glass rod is challenging. We have tried a few options but nothing has been the best yet.
There doesn’t seem to be a good product, already in place, that could be used as a transport case that is not too expensive, not too big, and rigid enough to prevent damage to the straws. I keep thinking that a chopstick holder might work, but I have not been able to find one yet.

The first thing that came to mind was to use a toothbrush holder but it was not long enough to fit without modification. We ended up cutting the ends off of two holders and butting them together and duct taping them to extend the holder. This works fine, but my daughter tends to hold the ends when she opens it so it slips from the tape.

While I fix that one, we found another solution to use. We found this dustpan at Dollarama.
The pan end removed easily and it was cut down to length. The grip holds well enough while still being removable. It is too long so not a perfect solution. Plus, it looks a bit like an electric cattle prod. But it is solid and does work for now.

Figure Painting Total - Jan 2019

Looking over my lists from last year I noticed that I seemed to have missed both the Firefly board game from last year, and the expansions that came in just before the end of the year.

Firefly Adventures: Brigands and Browncoats - 20
Firefly Adventures: Respectable Folks - 4
Firefly Adventures: Wanted Fugitives - 4

Jan figures bought - 28
Jan figures painted - 0

Top Ten Games - 2018

I have put together my top 10 games for 2018. Note that these are games that I have played for the first time in 2018, not necessarily games that were released in 2018. With all the games that I already have, I got another 29 games plus expansions last year. Some were gifts, some were purchased at the thrift stores, and most were new.

The new games were: Axis & Allies & Zombies, Batman Miniatures Arkham Campaign, Blitz Bowl, Broken Legions, Deathwatch: Overkill, Domination, Downforce, Downforce: Danger Circuit, Dracula’s America: Shadow of the West: Hunting Grounds, Firefly Adventures: Brigands and Browncoats, Gaslands, Get The MacGuffin, Godzilla: Kaiju World Wars, Highlander board game, Last Days: Zombie Apocalypse, Poseidon’s Warriors, Santorini: Golden Fleece, Space Marine Adventures: Labyrinth of the Necrons, The Horus Heresy: The Burning of Prospero, Through the Desert, Unspeakable Words, Zombies!!! 14: Space Bites, Zombies!!! 15: Another One Bites the Dust.

The ones I picked up not new were: Bommerz over da Sulphur River, Forbidden Island, Lawmen of the Old West, Take the Train, Tetris Dual, Tetris Link.


A lot of these did not hit the table this year. Some games from previous years were finally played.

Games that I played for the first time that did not make my list were:


14 – Dutch Blitz – seems very reminiscent to G’Nertz or Nertz. I like the idea that it can play 4 people but it seems like a bit more confusing compared to the original.

13 - Iron Man 2: Game of War - really doesn’t seem like there is much to this one. I didn’t pay much so didn’t expect much but it only seems a little bit better albeit much quicker than classic War.

12 – Patchwork – This plays okay but is only for two players. I wasn’t impressed with my first play of it. I may need another play to see if I’m missing something.

11 – Tetris Dual – it is basically an electronic version of two-player Tetris Link with a modified scoring. Tetris Link does it better. It also loses a few points as the sound effects cannot be turned off.


10 – Sleeping Princesses – A simple game for kids. There is a bit more to it to keep adults somewhat entertained.

9 – Monopoly Hotels – Not a great game but kind of a neat little filler. The hotels are a bit overproduced but they do look nice. Only for two players.

8 – Queendomino – A bit fiddly to pick up for the first play. The scoring is a bit involved. But once you get the hang of it, it plays pretty well.

7 – Neopets – Adventures in Neopia – a simple kid’s game with a bunch of minigames, some random, some dexterity.

6 – KUUDUK – a deceptively simple card game. It looks like it comes from the 70s but there is something there. It can play with a larger number of players.

5 – Battleship Express – a nice variation which does away with the grids and pegs and uses dice. It allows to up to 4 players and has two levels of play.

4 – Veritas – It seems pretty simple enough once you get a few rounds in. But once the monasteries start burning, a runaway leader can easily occur.

3 – Super Mario Bros. Power Up Card Game – nice in that it can handle up to 8 players. We tried it with 3 but found that there was not a lot of gameplay. We tried again with 5 players and found that it really sings with the extra people. One of them mentioned that it is similar to Chase the Ace but with added powers.

2 – Tetris Link – A vertical linking game. It is quick and scales well from 2 to 4 players. Easy to pick up and explain.

1 – Downforce – It’s has the extra complexity of betting layered on to Daytona 500. It also has rules for a more streamlined version without the auction or betting that plays well with new or younger players.

Books read September to December 2018

Sept
Ty’s Tricks: Home repair secrets plus cheap and easy projects to transform any room by Ty Pennington
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
The Mighty Aztecs by Gene S Stuart
The Incredible Incas and Their Timeless Land by Loren McIntyre
Robotech Art 1: The Official Guide to the Robotech Universe by Kay Reynolds and Ardith Carlton

Oct
40K: Crusade of Fire by Andrew Kenrick
Crimson Slaughter (6th edition) by The Games Workshop Design Studio
Blood Bowl – Death Zone Season One! By Games Workshop LTD
40K: Shield of Baal: Exterminatus by The Games Workshop Design Studio

Nov
Blood Bowl – The Inaugural Blood Bowl Almanac by Games Workshop Ltd
Disney-Pixar: The Art of Cars 2 by Ben Queen with Karen Paik

Dec
The Greatest Comeback by Patrick J Buchanan
Inside the Magic Kingdom: Seven Keys to Disney’s Success by Tom Connellan
The Antiques Roadshow – A Celebration of the first 21 years by Fiona Malcolm
Ship Modeling from Stem to Stern by Milton Roth
Based on a True Story (A Memoir) by Norm Macdonald
Lady Parts by Andrea Martin
Wildflower by Drew Barrymore

Figure Painting Total December and 2018

I did get more figures in December especially at Christmas. Even though I had made a good start on my Blood Bowl team, I was not able to find time to finish any. With things calming down, I hope to get back to it.

Elfheim Eagles – 12
Highlander board game – 7
Highlander board game expansion – 7
Space Marine Adventures – 5
Blitz Bowl – 12
40K First Strike – 15

Dec figures bought – 58, figures painted – 0

Running total 2018 – figures bought 238, figures painted 0