Friday, 11 July 2014

Egyptian Adventures - The temple build part 1



So this afternoon I put down the gardening tools and started in earnest on my Egyptian Adventures Project. I decided to build an Egyptian temple fronted with a pylon tower.

This is very much work in progress but for an afternoons work I am quite happy...




As you can see I still need the roofs - I ran out of foam core.


The whole building is going to be clad in a blue foam skin. This way I can etch on the detail of the stone work and if I am lucky the heiro glyphs. Ideally I am looking for a stamp with heoroglyphs on so I could use this for indenting the surface.



The resin statue in the middle was a cheap buy on ebay  its very heavy !

We are off to Northampton shire this weekend for a family bash so no more progress over the weekend...

 off for a cold beer

part 2 can be found here

http://shedwars.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/egyptian-adventures-temple-build-part-2.html





Wednesday, 9 July 2014

Egyptian Adventures - the Next Big Project


Hi Folks

Over the last few months Shed Wars has seen a host of new terrain builds and several games. We have ranged from the Dark Ages to Sci Fi with a fairly major focus on the VBCW. In this post I am announcing the next major project of 2014, this doesn’t mean to say that I won’t be returning to the others its just that I get itchy feet and always want to start something new.
 
With a few weeks Gardening leave to look forward to I have pulled together all the bits and pieces accumulated for the Egyptian Adventures.

A few months back I was inspired by War in 15mm post on the Lead Adventure Forum and his build of an Egyptian temple complex. I wanted one of those and thought it would be a great backdrop for all manner of games ranging from Pulp & Horror through Ancients and into Science Fiction (think Stargate). The Dry desert would also represent one of those terrains that didn’t currently exist in the shed so again this would all be new territory.
 
The assembled pieces so far...
 

So where did I start?

A search of all forums for Egyptian terrain revealed a host of possibilities but of course the starting point was a pyramid.
 
This of course is going to be stripped down and repainted
 
 
 
Perhaps the best and cheapest option would be to build my own but in the end I managed to pick up a playmobil version on ebay for a £20 (including postage).  For some strange reason they only come with three side panels. So I bought another !
 
If anybody wants a pyramid with two sides - make me an offer
 
Having travelled to Egypt a few times I was aware of the variety of tat that exists in the souvenir shops and I am delighted to report that many of these things can now be easily purchased on ebay.
 
The following pictures illustrate my growing hoard. Many of these will be repainted to a sandstone colour and represent the statues and ruins of my complex.




A trawl of aquarium ornaments revealed some nice pieces also picked up for good prices.

I'm going to scratch build a pylon tower and gate, as well as a rocky cliff face with a tomb complex in side. I managed to pick up twin Egyptian themed photo frames which will be perfect for entrances 
One of two picture frames purchased for a £1

I also have the playmobil Sphinx but I am not sure iof this is going to work...we will see 
 

From a figure perspective I have also been busy. An alert to a 50% off deal with Black Tree design saw the procurement of some Afrika Corps figures. Coupled with my Pulp figures already collected Il be able to kick off this period quite quickly. Of course my Afrika Corps need transport so this half track (solido) was bought on ebay for a fiver
 
Five of the 30 or so Africa Korps I purchased hiding behind their halftrack - these of course need painting
 
Bought these Brits in tropical dress years ago - might get to use them
 

  Of course we need a plane and a landing site to whisk away those treasures...
 
 
 
 

Of course we need Indiana as well
 
The palm trees all came from my Pirate games and of course I have this lot of adobe buildings for the nearby town...
 
ignore the church !!
 
 
The base boards will need to be created, sandy of course. Ill need dunes and wadis, plus of course the tomb cliff face. Cork bark has been acquired for the project...
 
Where do I start...
 
 

Tuesday, 8 July 2014

A few Photos from the last couple of games

Hi Folks

Its been a week since my last post - I must be slacking - ;-)

Actually I have started an eight week period of gardening leave and believe it or not I have been ....gardening!

So very little has been accomplished on the painting and terrain builds. I have however had a couple of cracking VBCW games with my good mate Mark and although there are no battle reports to publish (just didn't want to type..) I thought a few pretty pictures might be of interest.

However before I kick off I would like to share with you my latest ebay finds - a couple of French WW2 tanks each bought for less than a tenner. They are the Solido diecast toys but work very well with 28mm







Onto the games - the first game sees a lot of toys on the table top...the church, the bridge, the railway embankment etc - I just got too engrossed to take any action photos.







Rather pleased with the way the road signs have added to the flavour

I repainted the old Jarvis ruins to blend in with all the other buildings 








The second set of photos saw the action take place in a more upland and rural setting (notice change in backdrop). In this you get to see some of my poorly painted figures. Yes I know they are shiny.


Not such a good place to park an AT gun...

The school house (a dolls house) is now complete - see centre of picture

The station now has some benches courtesy of an o gauge Chinese supplier...





And finally an aircraft swooping over the battlefield.




We have a big all day & night game coming up soon so more action news to follow

Until next time









Tuesday, 1 July 2014

Roadsigns for Little England


Over the last few months I have been scouring the internet for all sorts of treasures to place on my Very English Battlefield. Rather than talk about them in advance on the blog and subsequently drive up interests and potential competition on ebay I have held fire until I have made the necessary purchases. In this post Ill cover off a few items which will no doubt add another layer of interest to the gaming table.

A few months ago I read an interesting article on the VBCF (Very British Civil Forum) about roadsigns. That same day I was visiting a toy fair and found that Corgi & Gilco had produced metal versions of what I was looking for. At the toy fair the vendors were asking for anything upwards of £5-6 per piece. This was too steep for me.

On returning home I trawled ebay and threw in a few bids on some items – to my surprise I won a number of these and as a result I seem to have accumulated a rather large collection of roadsigns.





 

I know that these are the right shape as a quick bit of research revealed that the Road Traffic Act of 1934 (perfect timing) standardised roadsigns in the UK with the coding of triangles, warning signs etc.
 
I sorted the signs into two piles – those I wanted to keep and those that will be sold. I will initially advertised these on the Lead Adventure forum.

http://www.lead-adventure.de/index.php?topic=68499.msg830389#msg830389

These signs due to their old age already look weathered but the basing needs some attention. So these have been stuck down on washers and given some ground cover. I have kept a few back from this treatment for town locations.
 
The following photos give some flavour on how they add to the setting
 
 

 
 
 
These are the ones up for sale - head here if interested
 
I am looking for £2.50 per sign - bear in mind these are already based - cheaper than your average mini
 









The picture below shows the sign in scale with a 28mm mini and lledo truck


I also acquired five shorter signs - these are £2 a pop


This is them next to the same mini


Finally I have a couple of politia beacons and traffic lights for sale (£1.50 each)

 
Until next time....

Monday, 30 June 2014

2014 Half Year Blog Report...


Its almost half way through the year so a quick update on the blog progress and what’s planned for the rest of the year.
 
First up the statistics…

I have finally managed to convince 252 of you to follow the blog – thank you to everybody.

Back in December I achieved the 100k hit mark – the good news is that I am now passed 165k page views and on the current run rate I’ll go past 200k around September. I am typically averaging 10,000 views a month which works out about 330 views per day. I am going to do my best to hit 250k by the end of the year!

This will be post number 225 so over the last two and half years I have been averaging 7.5 per month – around two per week. Its been tough to keep this rate going but I do believe content is king and to maintain interest I need to keep focussing on turning out new builds, reviews or battle reports.

With these sorts of numbers I think that the blog is now getting some serious traction so here goes a couple of requests….

1.       If there are any manufacturers interested in either advertising on the blog or would like me to do a review on their products please do drop me a line.

2.       If there are any publishers out there who would like to publish any of my articles or would like to feature any of my games again please do drop me a line.

In both cases you are probably best contacting me via the Lead Adventure Forum under the name of Eric the Shed. I should add that I am not looking for hard cash payments but discounts on ranges would be more than welcome.

The focus this year has been building Little England in the shed for my VBCW project. Its been great fun and there is still so much more to build.

I have plans for an aerodrome, a coastal village and some other smaller bespoke pieces. My initial plans are drafted but the serious work of construction has yet to begin.

Whilst working on the big stuff I have also been slapping paint on figures (close to 300 since January) and can now field forces from four of the major belligerents (BUF, Royalists, Partisans and Anglican League). These forces have been supported with a number of vehicles.

Of particular interest was finding out that the toy company Solido manufactures die cast tanks which are perfect for 28mm  - I have bought tanks for half the price of an equivalent resin version. They of course need a paint job but are worthy of the battlefield.

Perhaps the big highlight later in the year will be BLAM, a games festival for 20+ serious players who frequent the LAF. I have taken it on myself this year to coordinate the planning of this event…three days in my local pub in Surbiton. If its anything like the last couple of years we will be in for a big treat. The event is taking place in October so more on this as the time approaches.

I should state that this is an invite only event to LAF members and that all the available spaces have been taken.

Aside from the VBCW project I am also planning to get started on my Pulp theme games  - these will be based in the ruins of Ancient Egypt. Over the last few weeks I have been steadily building up the paraphernalia required and photos will appear shortly.

On a final note I seem to have managed to find myself another job and as such Ill be leaving my current employer later this week. With the new role starting in August It would appear that a few weeks off are on the agenda.

All the best

 

Eric the Shed

Sunday, 29 June 2014

Tickets Please - An English Railway Station part 2


If you want part 1 first start here

Part 1

When I left you last the station was nearly complete. Well a bit of work later we are nearly there as you will see from the final photos.

To begin with a new parcel arrived on Monday from China. This contained 8 lamp posts of Victorian style. They are O gauge railway products bought on ebay working out at a about £1.50 a pop. Two of these sit in front of the station. 28mm German to scale.

These were purchased from here

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/8-pcs-O-Scale-Long-Life-antique-Lampposts-LEDs-Made-H8-/150645171719?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item231326e607




You can both of them in the lower picture. These were glued onto the base board. They come with a copper wire inner for structure and support.



Next up I had to give my weary travellers somewhere to rest from the rain. The shelter is built from some old sprue and plasticard. The roof was given the same treatment as the rest of the building.

In time Ill add a door at the back of the building


With the station finished time to work on the groundwork opposite the tracks. The usual static grass and tufts



Starting to get there...




and now onto the finished product. The posters signs etc were all sourced from a railway company called Tiny Signs



From the front with level crossing on the right

A view along the tracks....









The telephone box is a tourist souvenir key fob - I bought 7 from my local newsagent for a £1 a pop


You can see in the above picture the final paintjob on the platform



The train will be here soon Godfrey....



The posters add a little bit extra of old England


So that's the station built ...onto the village hall and local school next....
 



Until next time