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Tuesday, April 08, 2014

The Watcher terrain board - progress, and ouch!

Over the weekend I also managed a little time to make more progress on my Watcher board terrain... and got the doors added....


Cut from foamcard or foamboard or whatever you call it. Into which I recessed two small brass hinges; one for each door. These were then glued into the foam block of the walls. Once set I then cut out the interior, enough for there to be a darkness behind the open doors...


Once that was done, I then clad the whole thing in slightly thinned polyfilla to seal and part texture it. I forgot to take a photo of that step, sorry. Anyway once that was dry I then clad that and the whole board in a very dark Grey/Brown sand textured paint mix... being careful not to get filla or gluey paint into the hinges!

So here's where I am up to now...


Next step is to add model railway ballast and cat-litter along the rocky levels, and base of the cliffs and wall...

Other work for the scenario has seen the set of Watcher tentacles prep'ed and undercoated last night, and then I made a start on the full model of the Watcher in the Water...


A Finecast kit, that I started trimming... all was going OK, until the knife slipped... which glanced off my thumbnail, then sliced into the side of my thumb...

To paraphrase Gorbag ... it bled me like a stuck pig! I am always amazed how much blood a relatively small wound produces...

So there I was, hopping around the kitchen with thumb in gob trying to get into the first aid kit with one hand and open an Elastoplast and get it on straight. A fly on the wall would have had a laugh at my expense! Once plaster on and pressure applied for a few minutes the bleeding thankfully stopped... then it was clean the blood up time. My poor watcher model was covered in it! Ah well, its already battlefield christened!



A grainy Ipod picture, probably just as well..., the morning after!

But a salutary lesson to all those using sharp pointy things... try and remember to cut away from your self.

Oh well, its still rather sore this morning, and thus my grip on left hand is buggered up, so this might slow my hobby work for a few days....

It makes me chuckle, pondering those gaming wound charts - "Ha, 'tis naught but a flesh wound!" Yeah right! Try holding a sword or pistol with a sore thumb!

Till next time... stay safe people!

31 comments:

  1. Now you know why you should only play with sharp things under adult supervision, just like Blue a Peter always told you!!!

    I have a scar on my left thumb from just such a wound when I was about 10! ... It's maybe just a right of passage thing.

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    1. I keep going down that passage! I now keep a supply of anchor/butterfly plasters with my scalpel blades. They easy to open and apply with one hand, and apply pressure to the wound. No modeler should be without them. Scott, good to hear that the Watcher has drawn first blood though ! I would watch out for it in future! You may have awoken the Kraken!

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    2. LOL, yeah Dave, I remember Blue Peter well... ;-)

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    3. That's a very good idea Herman. I think I may well do just that!

      Its a great looking model, looking forward to getting the wee beastie painted up! :-)

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  2. looks painful! I think we've all got them kind of wounds, what we do for the hobby ah??

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    1. Yup - certainly! I don't think I've caught myself as badly with the Xacto blade, since I was a teenager - and I can't even blame the vino - I hadn't had any! ;-)

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  3. Suffering for your art huh mate?

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    1. Yep, and not getting any compassion from the missus either, when I showed my plastered thumb this morn, all I got was a roll of the eyes and one of those looks... you know the one eh?

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  4. Another battlefield hobby scar to mark the trails and tribulations of a wargamer!

    Christopher

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    1. Most certainly Chris! ;-) Always puts me in mind of that classic scene in Jaws, when they compare scars... ;-)

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  5. So that means pursueing a hobby with blood, sweat and tears? ;-)

    That terrain piece looks excellent so far and get well soon, Scotty!

    Cheers
    Stefan

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  6. That is a lovely piece of terrain, nice idea with the foam stuck in place.

    Hopefully there won't be a next time, but if so, trying supergluing (if it's handy) a wound together, especially if its this kind of slice. I've tried it after reading that they used to practice this during Vietnam. Obviously works in seconds and then allows you to find a plaster without spraying blood everywhere.

    Regards,
    Matt

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  7. Oh dear! I always get "Don't bleed on the carpet" from the Old Bat!

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  8. Spilt blood is a part of war! Almost chopped a thumb off a few years back cutting up thick card bases, the blade ran out off steam half way through the nail! Hope your thumb is back in action soon Scott!

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    1. Ouch indeed, thankfully this wasnt as bad as your experience... though I did have a close call with an angle grinder a few years back,,,

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  9. Another reason not to like finecast! Great progress on the terrain though Scott.

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  10. Ouch it looks excellent mate. Looking forward to seeing it finished.

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    1. Thanks Simon, hopefully not too far off now...

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  11. Terrain looks awesome mate - much better without real blood on it too!
    Get better soon

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  12. Great terrain as ever. I'm envious of your rock face, I struggle to get polystyrene to look like rocks.

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    1. Thanks. I guess it take a little practice, with various cutting and sawing and layering techniques. Theres several terrain how to's on youtube...

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  13. You have a dangerous work !
    do you have got a good insurance ?

    Sacrificial ritual ! and you think that you will win the next game with that ?

    More seriously : I like the terrain board !

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  14. Thanks and no worries... indeed, we are enjoying it, hoping for some more action this weekend...

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