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80s Retro TV Minis

02.22.2021

This latest batch looks to have a lot more stuff than when I normally post an update, but the majority of what's included didn't take much work.

The minis were a flashback to the 80s thanks to Studio Miniatures. First up are not Crocket and Tubbs, from Miami Vice, with their white shoes. After that are not the A-Team. I've got to admit, I had fun with not Mr T when painting these up. I used less (maybe no) washes on the clothes on this batch. My washes tend to over-shadow and darken all of the clothes, which I didn't want on these. As such, I played it safe.

During some down time during the week, it was too cold and snowy to seal the above minis or prime whatever the next batch was going to be, so I dug out some little MDF kits and put them together. From Christmas 2019 (maybe 2018) was the 4Ground playground pieces Keith got for me. It took all of about 10 minutes to punch and glue together the swing set and see-saw (or is it a teeter-totter?). Afterwards I added in some grass flocking since these will likely end up in neighborhood back yards instead of an urban playground. The light poles came from Sarissa Precission, and are close to the same quality as the plastic light poles I've gotten in the past, but much more affordable! After the fact, I saw that the MDF on parts of these light poles could have used some sanding, but as they are should work well enough. I may add some weathering effects later, but just plain, simple light poles is what they'll be for now.

Next up on my hobby list: Are the new map tiles going to work out?

Permalink 4ground gaming miniatures studio miniatures

Mini Church

02.07.2021

In the miniature world of terrain and buildings, I've got a lot more to make than just the 4Ground mall. The mall is a huge, multi-year project that I keep telling myself that I'm in no hurry to finish. If you base that timeline on when I first started purchasing pieces of the mall back in Oct 2019 I'm taking that timeline to heart. I'm in nor hurry, no reason to rush, and I want to enjoying the process of putting it all together. With that comes a need to take a break and do something different every once in a while.

One of those "not-mall" buildings I picked up was Rev Johnson's Church. It reminded me of the kind of churches Pawpaw preached at. This is also one of those buildings I want to customize depending on (1) how it turns out and (2) if the customizations I have in mind will actually work. They're not big customizations, so don't get too excited. First up, though, is putting the kit together.

And that gives you the basic church. There's fencing and a cemetery included in this bundle, but I'm saving that for another time. With the final result here, I think my little customization ideas will work. Part of those ideas needs the garage to warm up enough for the 3D printer to be cooperative.

And that's how my hobby timelines get strung out.

Permalink 4ground gaming miniatures scenery

Mall Signs Up

05.15.2020

Since my store sign test went well enough, I decided to go ahead and make all the signs for the first 6 stores that came with the mall bundle. I'm not sure id I've stated it here before, but my goal for these sign frames was to have something non-permanent so I could both switch out store names, plus when I come up with a better idea for how to display store signs I won't have to tear everything apart since these are just held on with sticky-tack.

The store names are mixture of third tier chains you might find in the dwindling days of a mall's existence, plus shops from Grand Theft Auto. For whatever reason, that just felt right.

I learned that the plastic for the larger mall entrance signs was a little too porous for the Elmer's glue I was lopping on. The paper sign ended up with a bit of the wavy, "too much glue" finish. Next time I'll add the glue to the paper instead of the plastic. Since this is all printed in paper and plastic, printing up another batch of each just takes a little set up and time.

Adding in the Mod Podge Dimensional Magic, or "e-z clear resin", really helps to keep these from looking like paper in a plastic frame. I was printing the images on glossy paper, but with the Mod Podge on top I don't think I have to do that as the resin gives the glossy look.

Overall, I'd mark this as a nicely decent first pass at signs.

Permalink 4ground 4ground-mall hobbies

Mall Is Ready For Tenants

04.12.2020

The final 5% of the outside of the mall ended up being 4%. The roof sections had a piece to add to cover seams. These were a little more straightforward than how I was interpreting the instructions. I can see Alabama humidity and the durability of Elmer's glue requiring some touch-up adhesion as time marches on.

There are notches at the top/bottom of the outer brick walls. I think these come into play when adding a second story - which is part of my long term plan. There are single bricks and vent covers to place over the notches, but I'm going to wait and see how the second floor attaches before going forward on that part. I'd hate to cover up a notch that's needed to keep something above in place.

For now, I'm calling the exterior of the mall done.

What does one do with an empty mall? Stock it full of store stuff! The kit came with various shelves, counters, and sellable goods. ½ the instructions are for putting all of that together. And that's what I'm going to do. Later. Next I'm going to take a mall-break and paint some more of those minis I primed in December.

Permalink 4ground 4ground-mall

Entranced Mall

04.09.2020

I'm not sure if it really took 2 weeks, but the mall now has entrances. I must admit, putting together the entrances was boring. I'm not really sure why, but I kept finding other things to do. Cutting 5 sheets of clear plastic into windows for roofs and doors may have been a bit part of it. Cutting clear plastic - not fun. Sandwiching little bits of that clear plastic between 2 pieces that make up a door - not too awfully bad. Repeating for 20 doors - back to not fun.

The basic (kit) mall is 95% done. There are some pieces that go on the roof sections that should cover up gaps. There's also some vents and little bits that go on the outer brick sides of the stores. At that point, I will have a little empty mall. There are still pieces in the kit to help fill the mall out - furniture and stuff for sale. Signage - there's signage to put up. That's where I'll have fun.