Not a creature was stirring

We had mice again this year. We haven’t heard anything or seen any sign for over two weeks now, so we are calling this year’s invasion done. The end count was another six, with three being really small ones.

We didn’t catch any using the regular spring traps. All were caught using the sticky traps. They didn't get into as much as they did last year. But they did get into the end of a box of After Eight mints.

We’re going to have to spend some time this summer checking the foundation carefully to see where they are getting in. I thought I had blocked everything last year, but there must be more places that I have missed.

Danger zone!

When the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie came out they had miniature toy figures that were a bit bigger than 1/35. They also had some ships that were actually closer in scale to 28mm figures. They had also brought out an Avengers Quinn Jet that fired heroes on motorbikes that were also about the same scale.

People have picked up both the Milano and the Quinn Jet to use as scatter terrain in Marvel Universe Miniature game. I had it on my list when I went to the States and have been looking for them spring but have not been able to find either. I see them on ebay but haven’t been able to pull the trigger due to the shipping costs.

But I was in Save On Foods at the end of November, and they had some toys out on their Christmas section, and they had a Quinn Jet. It looked like it had been opened, but was on sale for half price from $30 down to $15, so I snapped it up.

Light the Batsignal

I had already picked up a Bat-Signal at Chapters already, but I ended up getting the official one from Knight Models from FunAgain when they were on sale.

The one from Chapters is already made in a grey plastic. It looks okay out of the box. A simple wash would make it look better but you would have to be careful of the electronics. It has a working light, and is slightly bigger than official one.

The one from Knight Models has to be built and painted. Like most of their kits, it goes together pretty well without trouble. You could add a light to it, but it does not come with one. It costs about $10.

There are also two Heroclix Batsignals. The larger one was an object from the Streets of Gotham set. It is a bit bigger than the others. There was also a small one with the Commissioner Gordon. It is the smallest one but also probably closer to actual scale. Both are already assembled and prepainted. Lighting either would be a major alteration. They go for about $12 and $2 right now respectively.

The cost for them is all within the same range so it really depends on which one would be easier for you to buy. If you can’t buy one locally, shipping would skew the cost significantly. Unless you want to make one from scratch.
Which one is better for you? If you only play with friends it really doesn’t matter. But if you are playing in official events, you should get the official one.

Figure Painting Total - Oct 2017

Miniature Market had a sale last month and I picked up the Justice League and Secret Society of Supervillians sets for the DC Universe/Batman Miniature game as well.

BM/DCU – Black Manta – 1
BM/DCU – Flash – 1
BM/DCU – Green Arrow – 1
BM/DCU – Hawkman – 1
BM/DCU – Killer Frost – 1
BM/DCU – Professor Zoom – 1

Oct figures bought - 6, figures painted – 0

Running total 2017 – figures bought 131, figures painted 0

Passport to adventure - renewed!

We used to be able to travel across the border to the states with only a driver’s license for ID. In the last two decades they tightened up security – needing a passport to fly to the U.S., but we were still able to drive across the border with just a license.

Then they tightened up the border as well and we came out with an enhanced ID that you could get instead of getting a passport. Since I don’t fly a lot, I got that instead. It was a bit cheaper, but you had to go for an interview to get it done.

When it was came up to expire in 2012, I was told that I had to interview again. Since we were travelling too soon and their office hours were not good, I was unable to get an appointment before we had to travel so I rushed a 5 year passport.
I then got a renewed enhanced license in the mail.
On the upside, when we went to Disney World last year, my passport was still valid so I didn’t have to get one.

This summer, I kept mentioning that I should probably check to see if I needed to renew it. When I finally got around to digging it out and checking, it turns out that my instincts were right. So I had to scramble to get it renewed before it expired.
The office close at 4:30 pm but I was able to squeak in and get it done in time. I ended up getting a 10 year renewal. This should cover most of my remaining travelling days. It works out to under $20 a year, which I consider a bargain for the ability to go anywhere at a moment’s notice.

Not that I often get a chance to do that. But I could.

State of the Marvel Universe - miniature game

With a bit more searching, I was able to get more figures for the Marvel Universe Miniature game. I think I’m good now. I have all 5 starters, 13 of the 19 single figures, the 3 sets of markers, and the spray template. Of the Spider-Man game figures, that work with the Batman Miniature game but also have cards to use with the Marvel Universe game, I don’t have any of the 3 starters, but do have 4 of the 5 figures.

I have all the key figures I had wanted. There are still two figures that I am interested in, Loki and Elektra, but those both seem to be rare and expensive, so I will substitute Heroclix figures. I would also substitute for the rest of the figures I need unless the price drops on them significantly. These are Thanos, Doctor Octopus, Incredible Hulk, Venom, Hulkbuster MK44, and the other sculpt of Black Widow. If I run across the Spider-Man starters at a good price, I would get them as well – Superior Spider-Man, Spider Robots, and Goblin Cult.

Now I just have to paint them.

Figure Painting Total - September 2017

I was finally able to get a Jean Grey for Marvel Universe as well as another Emma Frost. The one I already owned had a casting issue with one of her legs. I will see if I can use some green stuff to fix it, and modify her to be a Scarlet Witch.
FunAgain had another sale, so I picked up some of the bigger figures to use with both Batman Miniatures and DC Universe.

BM/DCU – Clayface – 1
BM/DCU – Deathstroke – 1
BM/DCU – Harley Quinn – 1
BM/DCU – Soloman Grundy – 1
MU – Emma Frost – 1
MU – Jean Grey – 1


Oct figures bought - 6, figures painted – 0

Running total 2017 – figures bought 125, figures painted 0