From Curt: Resurfacing, a Mine Entrance and a Construction Project

Forgive me hobbyists, for I have sinned. It's been over a month since my last submission...

Yes, work has certainly amped-up, there is that, but in fact it's more about the wonderful spring weather we've been having that's stolen me away from the hobby desk. While our winters here in the Canadian prairies can often be brutal, the other three seasons can be glorious, and when this happens the paints, brushes and figures play second fiddle to the dogs, deck and yard stuff. 

Nonetheless, while I've been shamefully absent from posting to the blog, I've still managed to keep involved in a few hobby-like things. 

First, my rather uninspired submission to the QC is this protected mine entrance for my Siege of Malta project. 

During the siege, the Ottomans made very clever use of sappers who dug shafts and mines meant to collapse the island's outer defenses. I thought it would provide for a nice scenario where the defenders sally out to try to disrupt the besiegers.

This is a one piece vac-formed terrain piece from Vatican Enterprises (previously Hudson & Allen). A great piece and a good value.

The other hobby project that has been absorbing a BIG portion of my spare time has been the planning for the construction of a hobby-studio on our property.

Having a gaming studio has been a long-time dream of mine. Our home, while very comfortable, is limited in its layout in providing a dedicated space for gaming and hobby stuff. I typically host games on our dining room table (with all the frantic game preparations and laborious tear downs which that entails), and my hobby storage is limited to where I can find nooks and crannies around the house to squirrel things away. One scenario had us looking for a new house that could accommodate our various wants/needs, but we found the search next to impossible as we've grown quite attached to our existing home and were loath to leave our beloved neighbourhood. So the resulting compromise was to construct a structure on our existing property that could serve as an additional hobby space. So we contracted an excellent designer who took my notes and did a great job of drafting up a few concepts for us to choose from. Below is the one we went with.

A few views from the architectural plans of the proposed hobby studio.

It's a bit of a Q-Ship really. For the purposes of getting a building permit and local tax assessment the structure has been disguised as a 'detached single-car garage', but in reality the interior will be kitted-out for full-on hobby geekery (i.e. loads of shelving, figure storage and a decent sized game table). With us living in Canada this project involves lots of infrastructure considerations like heating, cooling, venting, vapour barriers, water drainage, property line setbacks, the works. It's really like building a separate mini-house.

One of its best features is that it features a 12' bank of glass sliding doors overlooking our deck and garden. This will allow in lots of light and provide a nice place to step out have a drink or two during games. 

Anyway, the building site has been cleared and we're just awaiting the city's go-ahead to begin foundation work and construction. To say I'm very excited would be an understatement. My plan is to have the basic structure up and enclosed by autumn with the finishing work to be wrapped up next spring. Wish me luck!

Curt

From Curt: Siege of Malta, 1565 - Barbary Corsair Spearmen and a Archer Command Stand

Switching tack from the Grim Dark Future to the sun-kissed Middle Sea, I thought I'd finish off a few more figures for my 1565 Malta project which have been sitting half done since the winter Challenge.

Here are half a dozen spearmen to add to Turgut Reis' slowly growing contingent of fierce Barbary corsairs.

These are from Footsore Miniatures' excellent Caliphate range. Similar to my other efforts, I've had fun using a lot of colour with these guys. I may get another pack later to bulk-up the unit, but this group will stand as a good start.

The full unit of spearmen.

I also did up a command stand for one of my corsair archer units which was bereft of one. 

The piper and standard bearer are from Brigade Games, while the leader is a Footsore model. I did a small modification to have him holding a crossbow along with a small targe, just to make him a little more distinct from his bow-armed comrades. 

The archers with their new leader.

At first I just had the three figures on the base, but for a bit of additional colour, I decided to give them a banner as well (I figure you can't have enough flags on the tabletop).

These 9 models will give me another 45 points, for a grand total of 135.

Thanks for popping in for a visit!

-Curt