Joke of All Trades

Two sets of Birka brackets, completed and shipped! One is made from pine, the other red oak. These are hand-made reconstructions of the 2014 aquatic find at Birka of a very well-preserved bracket dated to the 9th-10th century, now on display at the Swedish Maritime Museum. Other similar designs have been found in several other places such as Haithabu, and we believe they were used to frame the opening of bags and pouches based upon similarity to later designs and the presence of fibers inside the holes of some of the finds.  

Sometimes, you don't have time to sit down for hours to do a big project. Instead, the biggest jobs are often composed of hundreds of those moments where you have 10 minutes to spare and can do a small part of it-- like eating an elephant, one little bite at a time. Here is a 28mm door, constructed of basic crafting materials, to be used in a large-scale tabletop motte-and-bailey palisade fortress I am constructing from household materials. It may not look like much, but this little door represents the spirit of what I love doing most in tabletop gaming-- upcycling and repurposing basic materials or garbage into good-looking terrain, and making a part or a kickass table. The door is made of popsicle sticks and coffee stirs. The handle is a piece of plastic sprue and a tiny metal washer. It may be a while before the fortress is done, but never forget to savor the little victories!

  Not a lot of time in the workshop this week, but here's something I've been tinkering with for a while that finally got the finishing touches. These two pencil sharpeners came to me at a garage sale for the low price of $1. I had them for years and didnt know what to do with them. Last week sometime I was struck with inspiration to use them for 28mm fantasy terrain. I first removed the oxidation by letting them sit in Coka Cola overnight, then hit them with Brasso and a toothbrush. I used an enamel primer after, then hand painted. There were 5 wheels between them, so I used the 4 good ones for the coach. I took out the pencil sharpener, and in its place I installed a flickering candle light. I covered the windows with painted rice paper for the desired effect of curtains. Since the wagon had no wheels, I crafted some by drilling holes through 1" wooden bases and mounting them on toothpick axels. I cut some metal away from the bottom so that the axels sit in place and can...

She comes to me now Blonde hair agaisnt the bluest skies I've ever seen She takes my hand And leads me to a place where I've never before been I rest my weapons in the grass And look up to the shining sun This is the victory I foresaw When I imagined battles won There are no more battles left but one No more battles left but one I see friends around me Laughter in the greatest din there's ever been I hear my name There's fire on the borders of the northern flank I take my weapons from the grass And look up to the shining sun There's the victory I foresee When I imagine battles won There are no survivors left but me No more battles left but one There is sun above me Morning in the only home I've ever known I see my love The only thing worth the bloodshed that I've sown And look up to the shining sun There's the victory I've fore-dreamt When I dreamed upon the past to be But there are no survivors here Victory was never meant to be No more battles left...

Here's one from the trash heap that I saved! While making bridges the other day, I had an idea to make a "stone" bridge by just using two chainlink fence ties as a frame, gluing down some cardboard, and then laying a bit of this Christmas Village brick road on it. I left the edges wide so that I could put in a stone brim, utilizing plaster. Unfortunately, about half the plaster didn't take to the cardboard! I thought that was it, it was shot. I came back to it later, cleared off the bad plaster, and did a little dry carving. In the places where the plaster was removed, I utilized hot glue to make "mortar" where it would have been, then dry brushed it and covered the ugly bits in flock for an overgrown look. For a piece I almost tossed, I'm pretty happy with it! Here's an action shot of a clever mouse burglar with a bag full of loot evading some pursuing rats!  

  Crafted a few bridges for the 28mm table today! I've always liked the overgrown "fairy garden" look, that what's what I went for with these two bridges. I started with some chainlink fence ties, straightened in a vice then bent to a specific curvature. Then I chopped up some planks out of popsicle sticks. I glued them in place, primed and base coated in dark brown, then scratched the woodgrain in by hand. Drybrush in khaki and ink wash. Then for the overgrown look, I lightly flocked the sides and glued some hanging moss in place along the edges and coming up between some of the planks. Here's some action shots in Burrows & Badgers style, showing a mouse camp under attack by some territorial frogs!