On the workbench

This is whats up next. The first is my contribution to the APG. It will be a Berdan Shapshooter around the time of the Battle of Gettysburg. I picked the new Hornet head set with frightened/surprised expressions.

The next is a Metal Models Chasseur. Alot of this line is "cookie cutter" but to have one in hand is really inspiring. The detail is wonderful and the casting superb. And the price wasn't bad either!

Stay tuned.

5th Chasseur Redux

Pip's tambourine

I added another feature to the 'Moby Dick" scene. The illustration design came from a couple scrimshaw carvings I dug up on the net. Painting the thing was a bear as it's no bigger than my little finger nail!

I'm re-working chasseur's shoulder belt now and hope to have it posted before Chicago.

Thanks for checking in.

New digs

I'm just about ready to move back into my play room. This was my summer project. Over the past couple years I noticed some damp spots in the corners of the far two walls and the drywall was getting soft at the bottom. Fearing the worst and tired of procrastinating, I decided to gut the two walls. Sure enough the base boards were water logged and rotting. I've had some construction experience so I was not too unfamliar on what needed to be done. The walls were ripped down, insulation taken out and the base boards pried from the frame. I had to "sister" some of the boards because water damage was climbing it's way up some spots and these had to be cut off. Mold was our biggest fear so everything was washed down and left to dry. My next project was filling in any cracks with fast setting cement. I also calked the heck out of everything. A coat of masonary paint was applied over the walls... Two and three coats over the problem area's. I replaced the base boards with treated wood, replaced the insulation with basement quality stuff and went on to hang sheet rock. I've done some "mudding" in the past so that went pretty quick. I finished painting the walls with a color called "swan sea" which is really a cool shade of white. We went and bought some cheap vinyl flooring with a faux stone pattern thats pretty convincing from a short distance. I finished the wall trim today and will start moving in tonight.

Organized chaos...

Here's what my workbench typically looks like at the tail end of a project.