The Covid Blues (with apologies to Rory Gallagher)

" ...I woke up this morning and I got 'em too!"  To misquote the esteemed Mr Gallagher's Bullfrog Blues.  

Although to be accurate I tested positive on Saturday just nicely in time to scupper my plans for a trip to the Joy of Six show  just down the Motorway at Sheffield on the Sunday.  Bugger!  I was looking forward to that as well.

The good news is that I don't seem to have it too badly as it's about the same as a light dose of Flu or a very nasty cold (so far at least).  That's what being three vaccinations to the good and avoiding chances to be infected for two and half years has achieved.  I'm currently very sneezy but otherwise not too uncomfortable.

2mm ACW - The Army of the Potomac

I have hit another milestone in this project. The infantry for the AoP is completed. No more matchstick miniatures for me for a while! That's fifty-four Federal brigade bases completed, each with 4 blocks of figures on them (and those pesky pairs of flags). On top of which I have almost all of the generals for both sides completed as well. Which means I have come to the point where I have to get my wallet out (the moths will enjoy getting to see the light of day again!).  I have worked out what I need to order and I will probably make two orders to avoid clogging up the painting table and not has been suggested by some, so it doesn't shout 'Warning, Warning Elenderil is spending money' from the pages of the bank statement when the memsahib checks it.

I'm not going to bore you with a picture of the massed ranks of blue clad infantry  (BTW the groaning sound you are hearing in the distance is the shade of 'Little Mac' who loved to display the massed ranks of the Army of the Potomac) instead I will wait until I can do a shot with the artillery and cavalry present as well (exit 'Little Mac' feeling  somewhat mollified).

Well I say no more matchstick miniatures but somewhere in the back of my head I can faintly hear a murmur of 'Blucher, Blucher...you know you want to...go on, just a division of two....'.

Well I already made test bases.

I invested in yet another Really Useful Box to store the figures in.  This one is a 9 litre one as it takes four trays which, really usefully (ba dum...ting), are made up of fifteen 60mm x 60mm sections which is the ideal size for these bases.  So all my little matchstick warriors have new purpose built barracks to live in.

In other news Mrs Elenderil tested positive for the dreaded 'Rona this morning so it cannot be long until I too have the lurgy which will probably put a crimp on blogging (and walking, talking etc).  She is uncomfortable and has a racking cough but it doesn't seem to be as bad as we feared it might be.  I think she deserves a medal for testing the ailment out first before letting me have a go.

The Painting Table - June 2022

So what is the state of play this month?  Well there are still some 2mm ACW sat waiting for finishing touches, but not the same ones as last month.  Something like 60 bases of 2mm ACW stuff  has passed over the table in the last month.  In fact most of my out put has been 2mm ACW.  The number of 2mm buildings has also reduced significantly, although I did put some back into the lead pile as JBM had very kindly given me painted versions of the same buildings, so no point in duplicating until I need to.  

New to the table are the bulk of the generals I will need for Altar of Freedom (Those are the square bases) these just need the odd bit of work here and there to complete them so they will be gone by the end of the week.

The 6mm ancients are still sat there although a few additional licks of pain have been applied, so they are moving forwards now.  So all in all a productive month especially as I snuck in a long weekend away with Mrs E to see The Eagles at the BST Festival in Hyde Park and very good they were too.  Still a couple of days left in the month as well.

Still crowded but less than last month!

How - to make a light box for photographing miniatures

I have a been interested in photography for most of my life, ever since my Grandfather gave me an old box brownie when I was a child (no they had not just been invented, thank you very much!).  I worked my way up to shooting slides with an SLR camera before digital became a thing.  Mostly I use my phone now a days which is simply for convenience.  I do have an old Fujifilm digital SLR that does everything I need but I only use it for special events, or when I want to look like I know what I'm doing!  All the pictures to date on this blog have been taken on various mobile phone cameras.  Because I have an interest in photography and toy soldiers both, I tend to read about anything to do with taking shots of miniature subjects.   That's when I became aware of the idea of a light box.

A light box is exactly what it sounds like, a box that lets light in.  More accurately it controls the way light falls on the model by diffusing the light to give a more even light across the subject.  Studios do that with big lamps, reflectors and similar expensive kit.  We don't need that, all we need is a cardboard box, greaseproof paper and some sticky tape.  If you want to go high tech you can buy cheap(ish) LED daylight strips as a source of illumination.

I used a cardboard box I found at the supermarket that was roughly the size of a box of printer paper.  To start cut the front off the box (assuming it hasn’t already been done.  You will want to get a good clean cut flush to what will be the base so it doesn’t interfere with photographing the model sat inside.  Next cut windows in the sides and top but not the back, so that’s three in total.  Mine are roughly 7 inches by 4 inches which is around 80% of the area of the sides of my box.  Cover these with grease proof paper and secure with the sticky tape.  Last but not least use a sheet of printer or artists paper to create a monochrome back drop.  This should line the base and back of the box but not be pushed into the right angle between those two walls of the box.  You want a nice curve between the two surfaces so that light reflects evenly.  I currently use a sheet of white printer paper which is why I wanted a box about the size that printer paper comes in.  I have also seen black paper used which works really well.

The 'windows' are to the sides and top.

The front has two edges left as supports

The paper diffuses the light as you can see here.  The curve in the backdrop is also visible

The result is not exactly pretty (see above) but it does what it needs to do.

The monochrome background removes anything the camera might auto focus on so that it should latch onto the model as the thing to focus upon.  The box will give you even illumination with no harsh shadows the rest is down to you.

6mm figures taken from a distance by camera phone

Taken closer in with the same phone

To take your photos place a decent light source over the box.  I use my daylight painting lamp.  If you buy a set of LED daylight lamps place one shining into each window so the are all roughly the same distance from the model.  With a 'proper' camera try using a long lens from a distance so that the entire model is in the field of focus.  With a camera phone you might have to play around to get everything into focus.  Then crop the resulting photograph to get a good tight image with your model in pride of place.  You will find the right distance and light level with practice.  As you can see from the two shots above I'm still playing with distances to get the look I want.

Oh Bugger #1 - Flags error

 I'm sure we all have them, those moments in a project where you discover (usually after you are half way done) that you have made a basic error.  Yes folks welcome to the dreaded 'Oh bugger' moment!

In this case it's ACW regimental colours for my Federal infantry.  I researched the matter, entire seconds I took looking at google images.  Who knew images could be reversed on screen or that wargamers could get thing wrong.  I have happily placed the colours on 136/236ths of my Federal infantry blocks the wrong way round.  I should have realised, I understand seniority of units and files from ECW research and it should have carried over to this project.  The National Colour has seniority and is placed on the right in the position of honour and not on the left as I have done!  Oh the shame, the shame.

The offending  flag placement!  I'm appalled at my self (well not that appalled TBH)

Now lets be very clear here there is no way on God's green earth I am redoing 136 sets of colours!  I will be correct in the placements for the last 100 regiments and will redo the others if and when the flags fall off.  I blame ...er.....um...GOOGLE! yes that's it, Google made me do it, and they are American and should know these things, so it's really all their fault.  I'm incensed!  How dare they host inaccurate images etc etc.  Phew, well I think I got away with that one.

This is how I should have been doing it

Incidentally the last picture is the first taken using my new home made light box.  For a free cardboard box and a couple of pennies worth of greaseproof paper and tape I think it is OK.

Life with our Ukrainian guests

They say that the Chinese ideogram for strife is a stylised image of two women under one roof!  It’s not reached that stage but there has been a certain amount of feminine role realignment going on in Chez Elenderil, most of which I am staying well clear of until lines of demarcation are settled.

There are a few small cultural differences and a handful of larger ones that had to be ironed out in the first few days. Although Google translate helps it can only take us so far in clarifying these things and it has very clear disadvantages, every sentence has to be reviewed before hitting translate and the result usually isn’t idiomatically correct so misunderstandings do arise. Some translations are downright funny others just nonsensical. It doesn't help that you can’t take your eyes off the phone while having your end of a conversation in case the software misidentifies what has been said. Still if you had told me I could explain the rules of cricket to a Russian speaking Ukrainian woman (not a group renowned for a knowledge of the game) via a phone app translator a few years ago I wouldn’t have believed you and it’s easier than having to have a Babel Fish in your ear!

The key difference between Ukrainian and British lives revolve around children and soup.  Our guest has a nine year old son with her.  He doesn’t like to stay at the table to eat, and gets up and wanders off mid meal with phone in hand (this seems to be fairly standard as other hosts have had the same experience), he argues with his mother about everything and gets away with it.  Strangest is his liking for sitting in the (empty) bath for long periods of time playing on his phone.  I have wondered if this was classed as a safe place while still in Ukraine, you know the old use a cast iron bath as protection against shrapnel thing.  Mind you, ours is glass fibre so I don’t think it would be much help.  If he was a few years older I’d wonder about the type of phone apps he was viewing!  

As for food, soup seems to be a go to food stuff with large panful's being made and kept for a couple of meals eating.  We have had to buy a bigger soup pan!  It’s a bit like the housekeeper’s obsession with tea in Father Ted but with vegetables in.  Our guests also don't like to waste food so the fridge is crammed full of left overs, the problem is that they don't seem to eat these so we are actually wasting more than is saved.  Again this is something other hosts have commented on.

Borscht - but with beef in it, ours is mostly vegetables and is available wholesale

The other key difference is that they always change clothes after any trip out.  Separate clothes for indoors and outdoors, so a lot of time can be taken up changing between indoor and outdoor sets.  This makes setting times for meals a little 'interesting' as while changing they do other things as well, what these are I haven't ascertained yet but coming back down for dinner is almost optional.

Still, the important thing is that our guests are safe, warm, fed and that most of the initial admin is either done or in progress.  School has been started, Medical registrations and initial health reviews done, English language assessments booked, biometric visa meeting set and NI number application is in train.  We are now starting on second tier needs, a judo class, social interactions with other Ukrainian families and just general familiarisation with different ways of doing things.  All I need to do now is learn some Russian!  I'm sure that in a month or so it will all be running like clockwork.  But Oh that soup!

George Dog is unwell!

Sad to say he has a tumour under his tongue and bumps, lumps and sore patches elsewhere as well.  He seems OK in himself and the Vet is of the opinion that for the moment there is nothing to do other than keep an eye on how things develop.  Although it is quite a large tumour it isn't interfering with his ability to eat or breath so until it does we wait.  At that point it may be possible to remove it without too much trouble but we wouldn't know at that point if it was malignant or not, and if the latter if it has spread.  Bugger!

George last year, before he became ill

Still happy especially with a new toy

He is about nine years old now, I say about as he is a rescue from Spain so we can't be certain as to his exact age.  He has slowed down a bit in the last couple of years but still loves his walks, although of late he's struggled with the stairs and doesn't always want to come upstairs to sleep at night.

We knew that there would come a time when health issues would arise, we just didn't realise how quickly that was going to be upon us.

Barney on the other hand continues in the same old way, barking at every passing dog cat, squirrel or hedgehog and generally lording it around the house and garden.  No signs of slowing down with him.

Barney doing cute