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New Post: Saving my Chaos Knight How I saved my broken Chaos Knight model with some stressful drilling
Great time today at Southampton Model Railway Exhibition. Thanks to David and the McKinley Railway team for answering my many DCC and computer-control questions. I’ve been following the project for years, so it was fun to talk to the people โฆ
Wonderful display by two short-eared owls yesterday, including a guest appearance from a kestrel. See the full album
I couldn’t resist buying this when I went to London. Lovely little set to get back into building. I forgot how annoying stickers are ๐คฃ
Nice day exploring London. St Pancras is gorgeous, with Paddington ranking a close second. King’s Cross is lovely too. It’s a shame it’s mostly behind the barriers. The Elizabeth line is good; I’m a fan. The shops being โฆ
Finally seen a short-eared owl. Well worth getting stupidly wet and cold for ๐คฃ. See the full album
World’s Greatest Train Journeys from Above (S1) ๐บ 5/5 - I know I’m a train nerd, but this was fantastic. I think I have some new travel goals. The DHR’s NDM6 was a real delight, it reminds me of a mini Class 08 ๐ฅฐ. Also the Hudson โฆ
The Blues Brothers (1980 - Extended Version) ๐ฟ 5/5 - This film gets better every time I watch it.
Disney’s Newsies: The Broadway Musical (2017) ๐ฟ 5/5 - I love this musical; just wish there were fewer crowd shots. Very tempted to try and get tickets to see it.
No Time to Die (2021) ๐ฟ 3/5 - For my first Bond film in years, it was pretty engaging. I imagine with all the context of the previous films, I would’ve enjoyed it more.
Finished my Goff Rocker. Pretty pleased with the result; still a few little touch-ups to do, but for my first Ork, I’m very happy, the skin is a lot of fun to highlight.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022) ๐ฟ 4/5 - A weird but good movie. It’s very different from any of the Disney ones and is better for it.
Finally got a chance to start painting my Goff Rocker. Ork skin is a lot of fun to paint. Still got a long way to go but not bad for an evening’s work.
Spotify wrapped time. Interesting mix; surprised by Green Day being so high. Wish they generated a panel like this themselves rather than having to combine the screenshots myself.
New post: Leaving the Twitter nest A look back at some of the better tweets I’ve put out. Putting this together was a fun trip down memory lane.
Painting competition 2022 - Week 6: After 4 weeks of no progress, thanks to Lifeโข๏ธ, it felt good to finally make progress. Got most of the models primed and some base layers down. I’m going to miss the deadline for the competition, but I will โฆ
The Greatest Showman (2017)๐ฟ 2/5 - Disappointing. After listening, playing and enjoying the music for several years, the movie was a letdown.
Toy Story 4 (2019) ๐ฟ 5/5 - What a beautiful movie. After avoiding it for fear of it just being another cash-grab sequel, I could not have been more wrong. The story is excellent and ends the saga well. The visuals are outstanding and far outshine โฆ
Successful adult day: The integrated washing machine that came with my house died. One transplant operation later, and I got my old free-standing machine from my old place up and running. And I only sprayed a small bit of water over me; who knew that โฆ
F Is for Family (Seasons 3, 4 & 5) ๐บ 4/5 - The show continues to improve. The last two seasons touch on much more serious subjects and the show really shines for it.
After many years of playing the trumpet, I’m giving the French horn a go. Ended up going to the Paxman music store and selecting this horn. While many of the techniques are similar, the difference in fingering positions and intonation makes me โฆ
Great time at Marwell Zoo on Tuesday, I got some wonderful pictures despite it being rainy and overcast most of the day. See the full album.
What We Do in the Shadows (2014) ๐ฟ 4/5 - Enjoyed it, the dedication to the movie style is excellent
Painting competition 2022 - Week 2: Made some good progress this weekend; 21 models are done. That still leaves a squad and the truck. Aiming to have all the models built and primed by next weekend, leaving me about 4 weeks to paint them. Previous โฆ
F Is for Family (Seasons 1 & 2) ๐บ 3/5 - Pretty good so far, could be tempted to raise it to a 4, but some of the jokes feel a little clichรฉ.
The Birdcage (1996) ๐ฟ 2/5 - I have mixed feelings about this one. (Spoilers ahead). There are some lovely moments, but some of the main characters are awful people, and it’s never resolved. They get away with treating people poorly when they โฆ
Phantom of the Opera (2004) ๐ฟ 4/5 - Overall, very good, having only ever listened to the soundtrack, it was good to get some context for the music. Makes me want to see it live even more.
Painting competition 2022 - Week 1: I didn’t make much progress this week, these models are very intricate and are taking me much longer than I expected to build. Hopefully, I’ll get more done next week, as I’m a little worried โฆ
This year I decided to take part in a “pick a random start collecting box and paint it” competition. I happen to pick the Genestealer-Cults box, which was the 4th largest. Which, as a slow painter, is scary. I now have 8 weeks to build, โฆ
Had a great time at Fareham Model Railway Exhibition. It was my first time going to a show since moving to the UK, and it did not disappoint. Thanks to the Bridgeburry Gate team, who thoroughly explained their ingenious n-gauge uncoupling system.
Finished reading: Deathwatch: Shadowbreaker (Warhammer 40,000) by Steve Parker ๐ 4/5 - Good read, the plot is engaging, and the imagery is well thought out. I was previously interested in Deathwatch, and this book has only interested me further. What โฆ
Finished reading: The Devastation of Baal by Guy Haley ๐ Excellent book, the descriptions of both the Blood Angles and Tryranids are amazing. I would highly recommend it to anyone who’s a fan of either faction (or space marines and Warhammer in โฆ
Finally got round to finishing some test models for my new Tyranids army. Not all of them are finished, but I think I’ve narrowed down what scheme I want to do.
Decided to try Asda’s Plant Based Choc Chip Cookies, they’re very nice. I think they might become my go-to cookie. Modern vegan food continues to impress me, they’re far better than any of the vegan cookies my friend got me to try โฆ
My first Civ6 domination victory. I got lucky with a pair of early wars, leaving me an entire continent. The Mapuche’s loyalty tricks are fun, it allowed me to take a few cities and let the rest fall to me through loyalty issues. They’re โฆ
New blog post: Creating a Micro.blog Theme + Tailwind Creating my own theme proved more challenging than I’d have liked, so hopefully this helps others. Thanks to @rknightuk for keeping me sane while working this out!
I’ve finally won my first Civ6 game. I was going for a religious victory but somehow ended up with a diplomatic victory. And it was on prince difficulty! (I was worried I’d have to lower it). Shout out to PotatoMcWhiskey’s videos, โฆ
I finished reading Caves of Ice by Sandy Mitchell ๐ 4/5 - It’s hard to talk about this book without spoiling it. I enjoyed it a lot and ended up reading it surprisingly quickly. I’m very tempted to start a “small” Imperial โฆ
I finished reading For the Emperor by Sandy Mitchell ๐ 4/5 - A great entry into the world of Warhammer books, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It conveys the grim darkness of the universe while being comical and approachable. I highly recommend it. I’m โฆ
Spent some time down at Farlington Marshes and got some great photos The Little Egret is easily some of my favourite photos I’ve taken.
Painted up some test models after a long break after my first attempt, and decided to try a few different things
Throwback to the first model I ever painted a few years ago. Many things I couldโve done better, but I donโt think itโs too bad for a first go
Elysian Fire at the Acapulco Some of these portraits are among the best I’ve taken. See the rest of the album