Sunday Roundup 27/09/20

 Everything is sort of 'between' or 'in the works' at the moment so there's not much to show you, particularly by way of military models. 😟 (But they are definitely on the way!)

So, here are some snapshots of what is on the main painting bench at the moment...

My little Boeing P.26 is coming along nicely and should be finished soon. I've really enjoyed making this model, the design worked out very nicely, so much so that I can see me making more models based off the design. I'll probably be following up my original plan for this and make a slightly modified monoplane but in Molatarian colours so I can add it to my air force!

Next up are the series of Christmas tree decorations that I've designed - part of my plan to make a lot of my festive gifts this year - though, luckily, these little pegs are quick to do...

On a similar theme, I've also started painting my peg mini-nutcrackers, but I'm starting with a sort of un-traditional figure for my eldest daughter who is a bit grinchy when it comes to the festive season. So I'm making a set of decorations that are probably more to her twisted tastes! 😃

Yarrr be a Christmas pirate... Dunno what pirates have to do with Xmas, but who doesn't like pirates?

Even more left-field is the work I'm doing on my latest set of Lovecraft Mythos inspired figures, including this model of a Wendigo (no, it's not a reindeer for another Xmas gift idea)! 😂

And finally, a set which is totally unrelated to toy soldiers but has, in fact, taught me a couple of additional techniques that I will certainly be adding into future models - my completed Wedding Cake Toppers!

Now, this project has actually given me a few ideas regarding Funny Little War related models, specifically adding civilian costumed models into my collection. I have seen other FLW collectors who have already done this by adding nurses, photographers and members of the aristocracy to their game tables to add some amusing atmosphere.

I'd personally love to do some period costume models (especially Edwardian).

And that's it for this weekend! 👍

More Lovecraftian Mythos Shenanigans!

 Although my fantasy world of Molatero is primarily based on the principals of war-gaming H. G. Well's 'Funny Little Wars' I cannot help myself but imagine that while conventional warfare is underway that a very secret and weirder type of war is simultaneously ongoing. That war is the struggle against cosmic horror as conceived by the mind of H. P. Lovecraft! (Tongue firmly in cheek as I write this!) 😉

My latest Lovecraftian duo - A stalwart British Bobby for those mysterious
adventures in foggy old London town and a lowly Cultist foot-soldier,
minion of the creeping cosmic terror!

I have always been a fan of 'weird wars', whether they be a Steampunk version of Funny Little Wars, or the science-fiction influenced 'Luftwaffe 1947' which re-imagined a 'what if' scenario had WW2 extended and allowed the use of some of the more fantastical 'secret weapons' to come into play (including Nazi UFOs). But also, as a fan of Gothic horror, I have mulled over the idea that the fantasy world of Molatero might also have room for a dark and nightmarish sub-culture?

After all, I base my concept of Molatero on the real world cultures and geography of Romania and the Carpathian Mountains, the locale of Transylvania and the haunt of Dracula! 😃

The Molatarian Mountains - 'Where wolf?'

LOL... Enough frivolous fairy-tale nonsense, however entertaining it may be, as you can guess the above tenuous fiction is but an thinly disguised excuse for me to justify the inclusion of Gothic horror and the later Lovecratian Mythos into my blog! 😏

I've featured a few of my Lovecraftian peg figures in past passing before, but I thought it was about time to add 'Weird' characters as a regular feature on this blog. As if I needed extra incentive to do so, I posted a question on the H.G. Wells FLW Facebook Group enquiring whether other FLW enthusiasts added fantasy elements to their games and I was pleased to find that - indeed - other players do!

Unconventional units like Steampunk inspired airships and steam tanks are popular additions and I have even seen some models relating to 'Martian Wars' on sale (although these are intended for other rule systems). This should not be surprising, really, as H. G. Wells was - of course - better known for his fantasy fiction, including 'War of the Worlds'.

So, my sneaking in the fictional entities from another legendary fantasy author kinda has a president! 😆

Peg Monoplane No. 1 Scheme & Decals

 My original idea for this little monoplane was for it to be the next addition to my Molatarian Air Force. It was going to have a purple and orange based colour scheme and emblems, BUT then...

As I mentioned in a previous post, this little aircraft's design is loosely based on the 1930's Boeing P. 26 pursuit fighter of the U.S. Army Air Force and - frankly - the historical schemes are so darn attractive that I found that I just could not persuade myself to do anything but one of these colourful designs. Here's an example...

Very pretty, and very typical of the era. So, you see, I couldn't resist having a crack at a real world scheme (maybe I can pretend it's on loan to the Molaterian Air Force). 😆

Well, the next thing was to transfer the scheme and it's lovely emblems onto the primed model ready to paint. I thought the easiest way to do this would be to trace the designs onto the plane using old fashioned carbon paper. But first I needed to create a suitably sized emblem template, this I did by drawing a copy using Affinity Designer (vector design software)...

The design drawn to the right size for the wings I convert it to a black outline and printed it out with guidelines to make sure I place it in the correct position on the model's wings...

I've never done a 'realistic' peg model aircraft before so I was a bit unsure how to go about doing all the detailed emblems and - indeed - how much to do (as this is a simplified model). So I decided to try a mix of masking and transferring the USAAF roundels and painting on the rest of the 'decals' straight on.

At the same time I painted on the two primary base colours of yellow and blue... (Can you tell that I'm making this up as I go along, as usual?)

Well, that's where I got to as I have so many projects on my workbench at the moment so I'm having to careful manage my time. The list of Christmas presents grows ever longer BUT I am making sure - for my own sanity - that I am doing some personal projects in between the 'jobs'! 😉

Indeed, I should have some good old toy soldiers to show you again very soon!

Peg Monoplane No. 1 - Props & Stuff

 Next up on the wee plane to-do list is the stand. I want my little peg planes to be displayed in the flight mode - for possible use in tabletop gaming - and so I am adding some transparent flight stand (by Dropzone Commander and available from WaylandGames.co.uk). This entails fitting a small socket component into the underside of the fuselage of my model...

I drilled an appropriately sized hole and then inserted the socket into it on top of a blob of Green Stuff putty. I chose Green Stuff as it is slightly flexible even when dry so will allow the socket to flex a bit when the end of the flight stand is inserted into it (it's quite a tight fit)...

Next I primed the plane ready for painting using my usual Grey acrylic spray primer. At this point I usually notice any problems with any joints I have made or if there are any major bumps or dents in the model as the flat grey paint tends to make these easier to spot. If there are any dinks (and there was a couple) I filled and sand them and reapply a bit of primer.

That done and dry it's time to think about the plane's 'engine' and propeller. I left these until this point as I won't be able to fit them - or, at least, it would be perhaps better to fit them - once all the rest of the model is painted.

Unlike previous peg planes I fancied having this prop spin freely so I had to put some thought into how I was going to make this work. I had to think back to when I used to make plastic Airfix aircraft and how they went about making a spinning prop unit, and then I devised cunning plan...

I assembled all the little components I thought I might need to make my prop and sketched out a rough shape on a lolly stick!

The next bit was slightly tricky as I wanted my model propeller to have that slight twist in it that they do in real life. So what I did was to drop my lolly stick into a cup of warm water and leaf it to soak for a while, then I removed it an *carefully* twisted it and held it in place for a while (wish I had some sort of desk clamp to help with this). After a while - and as the wood dried out - the stick retains the twist...

Job done! Though I'm sure I could have done this more easily and made a better job if I had rigged up a pair of clamps... Sitting watching TV for an hour holding the lolly stick in this position wasn't the most entertaining way to spend your evening! 😆

Anyway, once I had the shape I wanted it was just a case of cutting out the propeller...

I was quite pleased with the result. My only misgivings were - ironically - just how nice the wooden propeller looked!  I couldn't help but thinking how nice it would have looked if treated with just a simple coat of clear varnish, which would have really brought out the grain. Had my plane been a WW1 fighter this would have looked superb, but - a little sadly - my 1930's P.26 inspired monoplane has a silver painted prop. 😟

Anyhoo... Prop made, now to start putting together the bits that will make it free spinning once attached to the fuselage...

I decided to add a brass rod for a shaft as this would result in less friction and so would make free spinning much easier. The prop would be glued to the shaft and the faux engine piece would be glued to the inside of the engine cowel, in this way the shaft and propeller would spin freely around with the 'engine' holding the whole thing in place...

The shaft will be trimmed and a propeller spinner or cap glued in the end. However, all this will have to wait until the plane is painted, then we shall fit my contraption and see if it actually works. Fingers crossed, eh? 😉

Edit: Could't resist - had to test fit the prop (minus spinner) and I think it looks rather spiffing! 😆

Next: Choosing a paint scheme and painting the model.

What's On the Workbench? September 2020

 As I've mentioned, I have a lot going on at the moment and not all of it is the usual military toy related projects. Christmas is firmly at the back of my mind and several jobs are to do with getting some little gifts in the bag - but another new source of projects is jobs my wife is giving me for friends of hers!

Wedding cake 'toppers' for a family friend's daughter. I may be in
danger of creating a monster and I don't want to encourage this
sort of project! 👎

I'm not really keen to take on 'commissions' yet - although the question has been asked of me several times. I'm a bit worried about a relaxing hobby becoming unintentionally a mini-business as there is a difference between doing things because you like to do them and having to do things because a customer want you to do them!

Anyway, I had a bit of a priming day today and as I had all my current jobs which were ready to be painted - I have more projects that are still in the construction phase - in the one place, I decided to take a 'group shot'! 😀

Lovecraftian Pegs!

 I guess this comes under the 'slightly off topic' heading for this blog! But as usual, my excuse is that all my peg characters are great practise for making better toy soldiers! (And I'm sticking with that!) 😂

For those who do not know 'Lovecraftian' refers to subjects relating to the works of the horror author H. P. Lovecraft and in particular to those things connected to his 'Cthulhu Mythos'...

Some of you may be watching HBO's 'Lovecraft Country' at the moment and my 'Lovecraftian' pegs relate to this sort of sinister supernatural mystery/detective narrative. Think of a cross between Scooby Doo and the X-Files and you get the gist - but base it in the 1920s and 30s. 👍

Anyhoo, here's my latest duo. I'm doing these figures in pair, including one 'good guy/gal' and one 'baddie' and in this case I have a heroine called 'Rosie the Librarian' and a dodgy Mythos cult goon in the shape of a Innsmouth Fishman!

In all, I'll probably be producing a series of about a dozen of these peg characters covering a sample of well known archetypes within the Mythos stories. Once done, I'll then move onto another series based on other popular literary or media fiction such as - for example (off the top of my head and in no particular order) 'StarTrek', 'IT Crowd', 'Parks & Recreation', 'Classic Hammer Horror', etc, etc...

Enjoy! (Hopefully.)

Peg Monoplane No. 1 - Progress Update

It's been a long week and a busy weekend, but I managed to reach my goal of getting the main construction of my monoplane done by Sunday evening (before I settle down to watch a movie)! 👍 

This project has been completely problem free - so far - and went together really quite quickly (for me). Obviously the model is a simplified - almost cartoonish - take on the aircraft which inspired the design (the Boeing P. 26), but even so I am quite pleased with the progress... Particularly because I have so many projects on the workbench at the moment.

I really like making my self-imposed 'Sunday night deadline' as it give me a real sense of achievement and I feel like I have actually done something before I return to work on Monday morning.

There's not much I can tell you about the construction really as the accompanying photos say it all, I think. However, I should point out that I have not made the engine and propeller part of the model yet as I want to install this after I have painted the rest of the aircraft. [I'm working out how to make the prop free spinning.]

Well, that's another weekend gone. I am starting to think seriously - though - about my peg model hobby and how it's kinda starting to take over everything. I've almost totally ceased a couple of my other hobbies and their associated blogs and I am aware that peg model making has hijacked this blog as well.

I have NOT lost interest in Molatero and the idea of creating a Funny Little Wars army, but at the same time the making of funny little peg soldiers seems to fit into this blog quite nicely. Though, I may stray slightly off-topic on occasion with my tenuously related non-military peg project - such as my Lovecraftian Horror based figures and Pop Culture characters. O hope you - my audience - will forgive their trespass! 😁

New Project - Peg Monoplane No. 1

 So much going on at the moment and it seems I am a bit of a victim of my own success! Yes, the requests for peg figure commissions have begun. In truth, I have already had a few enquiries about purchasing custom peg  models but so far I have kinda ignored the thought of this becoming a cottage sideline... The thought of a relaxing hobby becoming a business has not really appealed to me.

Anyway, that's my problem to figure out. In the meantime, I'm starting a new little plane model - as if I didn't have enough going on! 😉

It'll be in the style of my previous little cartoon style bi-plane fighter - my 'Purple Baron'...

But this time I fancy trying out a different period. I have a particular liking for the aeronautic history of the early 1930s as it was a very exciting time, foreshadowing - as it did - the next World War with the Great Powers trying out their latest technological advances. Yet, at the same time, it was still a time of the romance of air travel and adventure!

In 1930 the bi-plane fighter was still queen of the sky and monoplane warplanes were still something of a novelty. Designs were quaintly crude and still included features that were soon to become obsolete - like open cockpits and fixed landing gear - but which lent these war-birds a certain cuteness. 😃

For my first attempt at a peg monoplane I decided to use a particularly endearing American design as a template for my little model...

The Boeing P-26 "Peashooter" was the first American all-metal
production fighter aircraft and the first pursuit monoplane to enter
squadron service with the United States Army Air Corps. [Wikipedia] 

Making a Peg Plane...

Calling this a 'peg plane' is a little bit of a fib as I am starting the main bit of construction - the fuselage - will be done using a length of dowel rather than one of my usual beech dolly pegs. This is due to my decision to try out dowel as an economic alternative to pegs as dowel also offers the posibility of less waste cut-offs.

I begin by roughly sketching out the basic shape of the body of my plane on a section of dowel...

This is then roughly shaped using my rotary sanding machine, thinning the tube down to a point to create the tail of the plane. The length of the fuselage will be about 60mm, the effect being to shorten the overall size by squeezing it into a cartoon version of the real aircraft's dimensions (I believe the Japanese call this caricaturization of vehicles 'chibi' which is Japanese slang for 'something short).

Once I have the underlying shape I want it's time to work on some of the detail, like carving out the cockpit and adding the elongated flared headrest and the engine cowel...

With these rough shapes added they can then be smoothed down into their final shapes, blending them into - hopefully - a seamless and aerodynamic appearance. Additionally, I created a little pilot - or at least his head - using a small wooden bead, which I pinned in place...

It's starting to look like the P.26 now! The next job will be to work on the wings, but I'll leave it here for now and get on with some of my other 'production line'! 😂