Trench Hills Finished and Blog Birthday

 

The blog turns 8years old this month.  Time flies when you're having fun, which is why the last year dragged on and on and on...

But more on that later.  First, Trench Hills finished.  How exciting for everyone involved.  Which was just me as it was a solo project.  So, I'm excited and no one else.  

Trench Hills

If one wishes, one can see previous steps Here (Part 1) and Here (part 2).  Which are just the previous posts and not in the way back internet.  Kinda a quick project all in all, which is good because it fits my brain programmed by MTV, back when it showed actual Music Videos.  Which still gives me an edge in focus versus today's youth, which is programed by Youtube Shorts.  And in my opinion the whole... 

Lost focus there for a second.  Here are the completed hills.

taadaa!

Contruction notes following up from Part 2 are really basic and hardly worth covering.  So, I put in minimal effort to document it. 

1, Paint all the 'dirt' brown.  But don't get too concerned since it's all being covered in flock anyway.
2. paint all the wooden planks a different brown.  You do have a brown for dirt and a brown for wood right?  These can't possibly be the same brown right?
3. Coat the stairs in black paint + Modpodge.  because that's what crafters do to strengthen the foam.  I think.  I don't know, I see everyone on Youtube shorts do it.  
4. Paint individual stair stones different colors for variation.

That last step is wrong.  You should probably do that after you dry brush the gray for a stronger contrast. Don't be like me.

5. Afterward give everything a heavy drybrush in grey.
One grey for stone, and one for old wood.
You do have 2 different greys right?  Couldn't just use the same one.

When dry, give everything a black wash, and then flock away.  I wanted to ensure that these Hills matched my Quar trench table.  While creating the perfect flock mixture for the This Quar's War Trench terrain Board (Trade mark pending), Past Me made extra because he knew that Future Me wouldn't remember the mix.  Past Me stored it in a container and labeled it accordingly.

Way to Save the Day Past Me!!

Except that I used it all for this project which means that while Present Me is satisfied, Future Me will struggle with matching further projects and will blame Past me for not writing it down. So way to drop the ball Past Me.  

lastly, cut away any excess basing.
Leave just a little bit around the hill.

Now these are made for Quar gaming.  Quar being funny creatures with strange trenches..

Examples of Quar like trenches...

...which has a certain esthetic.  And I kinda, sorta, conceivably, probably, maybe, perhaps, absolutely NAILED IT.  

Especially when you stack em..

I think these came out rather nice.  Now to go do something else.  

but lastly, subject change.  

Blog Birthday

8 years is a long time.  Some of you have been following, reading, and more importantly commenting for several years now.  Thank you.  I mean it sincerely, Thanks a Bunches. 

There are other forms of media to consume besides blogs.  Namely these being Facebook, Discord, and YouTube.  These have their good points.  When you join a Facebook group or a Discord server they tend to focus on a topic / genre, like ACW gaming.  This way, all the posts are at least somewhat related to your interests.  This is an advantage over blogs as blogs tend to wander with whatever topic the author is doing or into.  Sometimes this can be beneficial, as it expands your awareness of what's out there. Maybe even leading to a new project of your own.  Though can also be boring if it's a topic that you already know you're not into.  A good example of the former is my talking about Quar, because everyone loves it and enjoys the breath of fresh air.  An example of the latter is when you blog about Warhammer or even worse, Naps.  Utter snoose.  Yawnstown, population you.  

But a big drawback to Facebook (besides all the AI slop) or Discord is what I will charitably label "the incomplete thought post' but accurately describe as "just noise posts.'   These are posts where someone puts together one 28mm miniature and takes a picture and posts "started!  I'm so excited!"  ... and that's it.  

And maybe I'm being a grouchy older guy, and I do understand the enthusiasm, but I just think "so what? what kind of Youtube short post is this?  Hit me back when you've done a unit or actually accomplished something."  

You tend not get these types of posts with blogs.  Or maybe it's self selection as I don't read blogs with that post in that style.  Blog posts tend to be 'complete thoughts' which I like better.

So with blogs you get Person focused content, and with groups you get Topic focused content.  YouTube has the same challenges and features.  Though YouTube channels tend to be Person focused rather than Topic focused.  Talking head YouTube videos (where the person looks at the camera and talks to you) aren't any better than blog posts really.   YouTube really only has an advantage when it comes to Terrain making, as seeing something done is waaaay better than a picture and a paragraph. 

And filming a game is often way better than a written AAR.  Just easier to follow and flows better.  Written AARs are hard to digest.  With written AARs I tend to just look at the pretty pictures and make some funny comment at the end.  No, not your AARs.  OBVIOUSLY, I mean everyone else's AARs.

In summary, as this has gone on long enough: If blogs tend to person focused, in that you're following the person's hobby throughout various topics, then I really appreciate the time you spend with me.

I do try to make it worth your while.  I try to make my blog posts have a beginning, middle, and an end.  I try to make them complete thoughts.  I try to make it that if the topic isn't to your liking, then at least it might illustrate how I did something or at the very least, have a chuckle. 

I reckon I got two more years until I think about the end, as 10 is a nice round number.  So, count on more blogs posts to come.  At the blistering pace of 2 or 3 a month.  Until then:

Thanks for Reading.
Double thanks for writing a comment.  Bigger thanks as it's my blog bday. You probably want to wish me a happy one.
Till next time.

Trench Hills part 2; further along the hills

 Whoa, an update so soon?  How did I manage that?  

It's due to the parent-kid ratio formula.  Observe:

When you have 1 Kid and have to watch 1 kid:

Feels like you're watching all the kids.

If you have 2 kids and have to watch 1 kid:

Feels like you're watching 1 Kid.

If you have 3 (or more) kids and have to watch 1 kid:

Feels like no kids.  

Parents will back me up on this.  So, when my 2 sons went to their grandparent's house for a few days, leaving me with just the wife and daughter, I got quite the uptick in free time.   Especially since the daughter is the oldest of the children and the most self-sufficient, as long as there are no spiders.  Especially since (strangely) the wife didn't have a long list of honey-do projects over that time.  Might be because I tied her up and put her in the garage...

More Hills

First I spent some time using The Choppa! to cut some more sticks and then glue them to the edges of the remaining hills.  Once dry, it was time to move the operation outside to do the ground cover...

The backyard operation.

Outside.  yuk.  my old enemy.  I hate the outside, all bright, sunny, and warm.  disgusting.

But this is likely to cause a mess so outside is a good choice.  Messes outside can be left outside, and the outside can clean itself.  

A simple process of painting on a layer of slightly watered down white glue..

Like so...

And dumping on the ground cover of your choice...

Action shot!

As per usual, my choice of ground cover is a big tub of cheap decaf coffee.  I just like the way it looks and it gives enough texture.  Plus, it's a public service because all the cheap decaf coffee I buy for terrain is coffee that someone can't be forced to drink.  No one should drink decaf. 

Take care to put a bead of glue along the bottom of the wood and the card shelf to stick on ground texture there as well.

The leave outside to dry while it's 90 degrees outside. 

And finally, brush off any loose coffee grounds with an unused paint brush and bring inside.

Ah, inside is SO much better,
When placed close together you can see the trench hill aspect more,
as several of these placed close together creates the illusion of a trench network.

Seems like I should of gotten more done.  Yet, a big step forward in trench hill development.

Bonus Works

While the trenches were drying and in-between steps; I took to the painting desk for some easy painting wins.  

Things!

Not everything in the Quar verse has a direct correlation to our world, but in this case there is.  These are called Huvi and are the Quar analogue to chickens.  Least I think so.  Anyway, they'll be added to the farm scenery, because what kind of farm wouldn't have chicken...things.

And some more markers.

Clash of Rhyfles is a great game but can be kinda marker heavy.  While I do have a bunch already made, a few more wouldn't hurt so I can accommodate more players.  

To satisfy your curiosity: The larger flower circles are for Prone status and the smaller ones with a bag are for Stunned Status.  

Because you were dying to know.  I know I know I know. 

And I thought: wow, this is the life.  So productive.  Maybe I could someone who blogs 3 times a week?  maybe I can be someone who paints 1000 figures a year?  Maybe I can get in great shape with home cooking and plenty of exercise?

The next day I went and picked up the boys, and the free time evaporated with cries of "DAAAAD!" and questions of "Will you play with me?' and "what's for dinner?"  "eww that's yucky can we have something else?"   "I don't know, ANYTHING!"  

Thanks for Reading.

Double thanks for writing a comment.

Till next time.