Mighty Empires

Mighty Empires

 The box contains six identical panels of eight tiles each

(plus various cities, towers and little flags etc)

There are two mountain tiles which are single sided leaving six double sided tiles.

So, 14 different designs altogether.

With the grandchildren staying or popping in all the time,

 it's been tricky lately.

Add in the heat waves, all summer, requiring copious watering,

so I've made no time for Hobbits.

Rather than start another hole,

I decided to tackle the plastic version of Mighty Empires.

Much easier, I thought,

 and much less to put away if the kids do descend on us again.

My eye is not so great either.

The tiles are fun to paint but have a serious problem.

Unless they are drastically trimmed, they jam together or simply don't fit.

I've spent nearly as much time chopping out bits of the 'keys' as I have painting.

I've used darker green for the forest than the scrub

and dry brushed each with lighter greens.

The river is a green/brown mix.

The Shire's first Airbnb

The Airbnb has a cut off door

so Gandalf, beware!

This frontage makes for difficulties with windows near the front door.

Silly not to make use of the area above the door.

I now have the gravel coming right up to the door.

It's all shaping up.

I've used one of FutureForgeonline porch lamps.

It's been left burning all night.

The forsythia really helps.

I scraped back the gravel and used Greenstuff to lay a small step.

Last thing to doo is to cap the RHS chimney.

 

Longbottom Leaf?

 

That's this one finished for the time being.

The beds are for the growing of tobacco plants but

despite several tries, I've not come up with 

anything resembling the real thing.

The metal stove pipe on the roof of the 'shed'

is not the final version.

Too large and the rust is not very good.

FutureForgeonline do a very good one 

but that awaits a larger order.

The shed is where he dries the tobacco leaves.

Raised beds etc

Top soil has arrived

though the little hillock at the rear is still bare.

It was awaiting a rather nice twisted root.

You can see it at the back of the main hill.

I regret not putting it in a better position.

Fences and raised beds constructed.

The fence in the foreground above is too sturdy.

I used slices of wooden bread baskets for the improved versions.

Fences are up and raised beds glued down.

Corking

I'd got to the point of finishing off the windows for the next hole,

when an idea struck me. 

Rather than using tubes which are random sizes

and have to have their ends filled in

why not use old wine corks that I have laying around.

The faces take paint, they are easy to cut and sand

and are all the same size.

They also perfectly fit the 15 mm windows from FutureForgeOnline

 

Ithilien Job

 

A better shot of Michel Delving's Mayor, on a day off.

He was previously out of focus.

Here, the rest of the Shire is.

'You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!'

This model and problems with glues is the cause of  much of the recent delay.

(Settlers too, of course)

Crippled God Foundry halflings

 

Wonderfully detailed set from Crippled God Foundry.

The truck in the background is an Airfix Bedford QL Gun Portee

with a 6 pdr anti tank gun still very much in bits.

The kit is about 50 years old.

Assembly was full of problems

until I found out that plastic cement goes off.

My glue was less than 50 years old but it was well past it.

A new tube of Revell allowed some progress.

The crippled God ones are the two young ladies, 

the pipe smoker and the drunk.

Forgemaster provided the four travellers

who bear some resemblance to four Hobbits we all know.

The Halfling Trader with pumpkin and barrow 

is from Print Goes Ever On.

All excellent!

The drunk is finished (well, look at the state of him)

And the other two bases belong to one of the ladies

and the tall pipe smoker.

I used brown earth on them all and 4mm grass

so that they could slip, un-noticed among the Hobbit Holes.

I may not even use the bases though their detail is excellent.

However, I'm not sure if the spiky plant is meant to be grass

or an odd succulent plant.

I matt varnished him and the base items

but used gloss varnish on the bottles and the spilt beer

as well as on the metal work.

That includes a fancy medal thing on his left shoulder,

perhaps signifying that he's the mayor of Michel Delving.

I'd forgotten how matt varnish dulls the whole thing.

As well as old glue, I'm using some very old paints.

The yellow jacket didn't turn out so good.

Futureforgeonline Potter's Hobbit Hole

At last I've found some of the shots recently taken.

Note the excellent paving supplied by Joined Curtains Esq.

This is the potter's hole and, as you can see,

he's a rubbish potter.

By sheer coincidence, however, his name is Hal.

This is the hole belonging to a Hobbit who has a large family

and doesn't have that reluctance to having rooms upstairs.

The back view shows the window into the girl's room.

 

About Time!

 

About time too!

A little progress on the 'current' Hobbit Hole

following a period of invasions

and a week in Goole for Sheree's wedding to Jack.

Two grandsons have been living here, on and off.

One for months.

Perhaps I can get on now.

(There was also Settlers, of course)

NOT FutureForge! Hobbit Hole

Of course it's not the excellent FutureForge front. It's one of the two Games Workshop ones. Good, but pricey.

The cause of the long delay has been visitors and hot weather. The latter involving me in hauling many watering cans morning and evening. Now, rain at last!

The windows for this one have the usual kitchen foil tube base

with bamboo skewers used instead of coffee stirrers.

It took about 160 odd, cut, sanded, glued and painted.

Tedious.

Here they are in situ with excellent rock/stone chimneys erected too.

My plan was to have that rarity, a Hobbit Hole with an upper floor.

However, I abandoned the front facing window.

I might have kept it if I'd placed it centrally.

I built up the 'hill' a little, around the windows,

as they were far too deep,

making the interior even darker than usual.

I need to reconsider the angle I cut them at

or the slope of the hills.

I retained the rear facing window, so it's still very Tookish.

Grass next.

Not happy though and I still don't know who lives there.