Quick Racer

Just a quickie...

I finally solved my peg racer wheel problem, though perhaps not to my complete satisfaction. I had hoped I could turn some nice complete - one-piece - wheels for my racers out of wood, but I could not afford the modelling lathe I wanted this month (and probably not for a few months either).

So...I've been thrashing about trying lots of alternatives, but nothings been to my liking. I resorted to using buttons, but then, I had to think of a way to cover up the tell-tale holes in them - maybe by the addition of a wheel-hub or hub-cap of some sort.

Well, I just happened to be in good old Wilko's the other day and I came across a pack of thier 'Foam Pieces' for arts and crafts projects. Now I have seen foam bits and mixed medium being used before - over on  Wooden Warriors - but I had it in mind that I would have liked my peg figures to have been all wood.

BUT...(There's always a 'but')...

I've come to the end of my tether trying to knock together a wooden solution (without the proper tools) out of down and from flat sheets. All my attempts were...Rubbish!

So, foam...

Actually, I like the yellow wheels! :)

I suppose the one positive about this is that it has gotten me to explore mixed media. But, I'd still prefer to stick just to wood components if I can.

Relaxing Weekend, Peg Fun

I'm having a rest from peg soldiers this weekend as I don't want to do my usual thing, which is to obsessively work on a particular project until I burn out and get bored! So, I've been deliberately working at a couple of things completely unrelated to my usual stuff (although, still in wood).

First off, in the same vein as my little peg bi-plane I decided to explore what else I could make from small pieces of wood and peg related parts! I have always liked traditional 1930s toys and so racing cars quickly came to mind...

I have actually gotten a bit further on than the basic work seen in the above snap and reckon I will have these banged out by mid-week. I'm keeping the modelling very simple and stylised in keeping with the 'toy car' idea.

Next, I have been getting interested in RPG game like Dungeons & Dragons (in fact, I attended my first game of D&D just last Thursday) and so I thought it would be nice to see if I could make something 'Tolkien-esque' looking out of pegs. My first attempt is a little basic (most of the wok will be in the painting)...

And that's it really, a bit Molatero un-related, but it's all good practise for working with wood.

Hope you all had a nice weekend (now that the World Cup has started)!

A Fist Full of Armoured Car!

By complete chance I came across a photo of an early armoured car of the Edwardian period which happened to be the very car featured in Sergio Leone classic Spaghetti Western 'A Fistful of Dynamite' (1971)!

This is one of my favourite Spaghetti Westerns, based as it is during the 1913 Mexican Revolution. And I was always curious about the little armoured car driven by the arch-baddie - Colonel Günther "Gutierez" Reza (played by Antoine Saint-John) - and speculated that it might have been a 'made up' vehicle. Well as it turns out - it wasn't...

In fact the car was an authentic design (though still may have been assembled by the film-makers on a modern chassis perhaps) and is in fact a c. 1904 vintage Austro-Daimler armoured car!

Austro-Daimler 4x4 four-wheel-drive Armoured Car (1904). Source: Wikipedia

"It was first demonstrated during manoeuvres of the Austrian army in 1906. It was turned down because Emperor Franz-Josef said it was unsuitable for military use since "it would frighten the horses"." [Source: The History Of The 4 Wheel Drive.]

So there you go. Not only a real vehicle but one that was very advanced for it's day. But's what's more interesting - for me - is that's it's development date is within the target date I have set for my Molatarian Army!

A possible scratch build do you think? :)

Molatero mechanises! Circa 1904 automobiles

Old news really but I wanted to have it noted in this blog. Last month I snapped up these two early 1900 motor cars models. Made by Arko in 1/32 scale the represent a 1903 Ford Model A (front) and a 1904 Cadillac Model B and are quaint examples of combustion engine technology of this period.

I liked the idea of them as staff run-abouts as they are a bit different to the Rolls Royce Silver Ghost that appears to be the default staff car in FLW collections. The proliferation of Silver Ghosts seems to be because of the ease of which one can pick up a vintage model of the vehicle - there are usually several Airfix and SMER kits knocking about eBay at reasonable prices.

Anyway, I wanted to reflect the rickety nature of motor transport at the time and have to admit that the inclusion of picnic baskets on the side of the vehicles - for the champers! - swung it for me.

The question now is do I paint them? And if so in what colour?

A generic military green would allow me to utilise these cars in any army I intend to field I suppose, but I have the urge to deck them out in Molatero Purple or black!

PS - Whilst looking up Arko on the web I found another lovely car which I would like to add to my small fleet, it's a 1904 Buick Roadster. An ideal mount for the dashing Prince Vallzack III!

...But this will have to wait until next payday now.

Despatches - Simm's Motor Scout

Ministry of War Despatch: A delegation from the Molatero General Staff examined what may very well be the future replacement for light cavalry when Mr. Frederick Simms demonstrated his combustion engined quadricycle. Called a 'Motor Scout' this one person conveyance is fitted with a 1895 Maxim machine gun.

His Royal Highness The Prince Regent inspected the machine and was impressed by it's mobility and firepower. It is known that His Highness is a proponent of modernisation and is keen to equipe the armed forces of Molatero with the very latest technology and weapons.