March 29, 2020
My workbench attention this week continued to be directed at completing my siege guns. Last week I completed the first battery of British siege guns… the three 10” siege guns. This week I completed the second battery of British siege guns… the 24 pdr siege guns plus one British foot artillery crew moving a 9 pdr into position, and I completed a wounded British foot artillery gunner. With those done I turned to work on a small battery of three deployed British horse artillery guns which I finished painting by the end of the week. Next on the workbench agenda are some British Congreve rockets. The ones I have are by Essex, and I bought them many, many years ago. They are a real pain to glue together.
My collection of pieces for my HO scale Norman Rockwell-style murder scenario continued. The Preiser fishermen, the Preiser Emergency Team (medical team for victim removal), the Preiser Feeding the Rabbits, and the Preiser Bank Robber arrived this week as did a cameraman. The cameraman will serve as part of my police investigation team. Three more vehicles also arrived… a tow truck, a Porsche 356A and a Pontiac Bonneville. In addition to those, I rediscovered a 50’s VW bug that I purchased several years ago that had been stored and forgotten. The rediscovery of the bug was accompanied by the rediscovery of the Woodland Scenics’ HO Checker Players that I purchased about a decade ago for another project and were never used.
This was very much a week of rediscoveries that also included two Preiser HO chefs (used in my Boxer Rebellion collection), five bags of HO scale telephone poles (probably 10 telephone poles per bag) and the Hawthorne Village gazebo that I purchased several years ago and will now become part of this collection. Several more Preiser figure packs are still on order and have not as yet arrived plus a gas station that I have recently ordered. I went a little eBay crazy late in the week when I found that Preiser made a Robbers & Victims pack and several Flea Market packs. The Robbers & Victims are a natural for this project and as a dedicated swap meet guy, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to include a flea market grouping in this collection. The insanity continued with a hunt for the Hawthorne Village/Kinkade Village 79741 version of Julianne’s Cottage. This is one of the less common Kinkade buildings, and finding it is made even more complicated by the fact that it comes in two sizes, so I used a lot of care to find what I believe to be the larger of the two versions. It is the last of the Hawthorne Village/Kinkade Village buildings that is of interest to me. Hawthorne makes a few other Kinkade buildings but those don’t have a look that will work with my plan and are not viable for modifation.
The one rediscovery that didn’t happen was finding some resin fall trees that I know I have but can’t locate. Luckily I do have a box of three resin Dept. 56 trees that are more 28mm than 15mm, but one of them is small enough to serve the need I have which is to use it next to the IMEX gas station I ordered. The reason that is important is because the Dept. 56 tree has a look that is compatible with the Hawthorne Village buildings and I will place it on the base I intend to create for the gas station to tie it more closely to the look of the rest of the collection. I’m getting very close to having everything for that project, but I am considering a few more items by Woodland Scenics.
March 22, 2020
In terms of actual work done at the workbench I continued my focus on my British Napoleonic artillery. I completed the last two guns of my fourth British foot battery and two artillery officers. I also painted and based a battery of three British 10” siege guns. Because I am not sure how easy it will be to get Testors Dullcote spray, I am holding off spraying my siege guns with the clear, dull stay-fast until all six of the British siege guns are done… an act of paint conservation. Because they have not been sprayed with a clear dull finish, I could not put the Woodland Scenics ground cover on their bases. For clarification, I should say that the six siege guns will constitute two three-gun batteries, one of 10” siege guns and one of 24” pdr. siege guns. I should also note that the entrenchments seen in these pictures are the ones I will be using with this collection, but they are being recycled after having served in my FIW collection… great pieces purchased decades ago from Galia.
Away from the workbench but directly related to it, I did a google search for Vallejo Model Color paint to replenish my supply since, given California’s stay-home policy, going to the hobby shop isn’t a practical option. Luckily I found what I needed at a very reasonable price so that feels good.
This week I also continued my planning and collecting of items for my HO scale Norman Rockwell-style murder scenario. I picked up a few more Preiser packs plus a NOCH canoe, and some great 1/87 scale cars from the Oxford Automobile Company. I also got a Bachmann HO scale swimming pool and a pack of Model Power park benches with a lot of seated unpainted HO scale figures. For a couple weeks now I have been searching for a resin tree house of the Hawthorne Village style that I bought at the swap meet about a decade ago. I have never used it in a project, and I was beginning to think it may have vanished, but this week I found it. More Preiser figures and a couple more 1/87 scale cars including a Porsche 356A will be coming in the mail soon, and those should complete my need for HO figures and probably cars. I’d like a tow truck, but I am finding that the ones I like are much more expensive than the cars I’ve been buying so no tow truck yet. I was hoping to find a Porsche 356 B which is a real car I own (I’ve had it 35 years), but I couldn’t find a hard-top version of the B so I went with the A. Since I won’t be going out to my local model train store for some time, I probably won’t be happening upon a great deal from their bargain table… too bad.
March 15, 2020
I began the workbench week dealing with a project unrelated to my 15mm/18mm Peninsular War collection. As recent followers of my workbench know, in addition to focusing my workbench efforts on a Napoleonic collection, I am also planning and collecting for a future project focused on an HO/Hawthorne Village crime scenario using lots of HO scale figures by Prieser and Woodland Scenics. One of the details I will have is an outdoor BBQ using Woodland Scenics figures. Unfortunately to get the BBQ and the tables requires two packs of figures, and that is a lot of money. I decided that the BBQ pack was the essential, but I would pass up the tables pack (called Outdoor Dining) and see if I could make a table using Evergreen plastic. That little project is how I began the week. My table (only needed one) isn’t perfect, but it will do, and saved me $21.99. It will look much better when painted, but that will have to wait because the Napoleonics are calling.
In terms of the Napoleonics, I returned to British foot artillery. I completed my third British foot artillery battery, two artillery officers, and began my fourth British foot artillery battery.
My accumulation of figures and vehicles for my future HO scale Norman Rockewell crime/murder collection continued.
March 8, 2020
My real-life weeks continue to be extremely busy, and don’t leave much time for the workbench. Fortunately, I continue to get some work done. Once again this week my focus is on British artillery, and I did complete another British foot artillery battery. I’ll be working on the third British foot battery next… hope to get it done, but this will be another very busy week away from the workbench so perhaps that won’t happen.
Away from the workbench but hobby related I have continued to gather material for my Hawthorne Village/HO collection. The three Hawthorne Village/Thomas Kinkade buildings I recently ordered arrived. They look great… very little work to do on any of them. I went a little crazy this week in terms of HO figures and vehicles. I blame that on the fact that my local train shop had some great deals on their bargain table… especially Woodland Scenics. I just didn’t want to find myself paying full price because I waited too long… some of these were 50% off and in terms of Woodland Scenics that can add up to big savings. Fortunately, there were also some great deals on vehicles, so I went for those as well. With these purchases I’m getting close to what I need for what I am planning… a Norman Rockwell crime scene.
March 1, 2020
The workbench isn’t getting a lot of attention these days. My son-in-law had surgery on his ankle on Wednesday (we’re doing a lot of childcare for our granddaughter), and I am looking at the possibility of jury duty this coming week. With that said, I did get a battery of British foot artillery done this week… four guns and six artillerymen. I hope I can squeak in another battery in the upcoming week, but a lot depends on how my son-in-law’s recovery goes, and if I get picked for a jury.
This past week I also picked up more figures and material for the HO project I mentioned in my last posting. That included my Woodland Scenics and Bachmann HO police. I also got some Woodland Scenics Beekeepers, and a Backyard BBQ. In terms of terrain items, I got four packs of HO Life-Like miniatures that include telephone poles, mailboxes, and fire hydrants.
I ended the week by purchasing three more Hawthorne Village buildings on eBay… Falbrooke Florist, Lamplight Tea Room, and the Village Market. I may use the Florist building as an upscale café. The Tea Room will be given minor modifications to allow its use as a home, and the Market will remain a Market. Unless I find more at the swap meet, this will probably mark the end of my building purchases for that project. The pictures of these buildings posted here are taken off eBay… mine are still in the mail.
