Spring has sprung

Well, after some erratic weather here in the midwest I think we might finally have some consistant spring weather. It's been very busy around the household. I started playing coed softball after a long hiatus. It's been fun. It's a church team and everyone is fun to play with. It's been a little hard on my 41 year old body though. We finally got the car licensed. It took a while to get all the paperwork, but now it's done.

Since the last writing we've seen the passing of a couple of fellows that have served the miniature figure hobby well in their lives. Bob Knee passed this past week and Dieter Mattingly the week before. Bob was very active in the hobby with many articles to his credit. Bob could be seen at every Atlanta show. I met him a few years ago and was immediately impressed with his openness and warm nature. Dieter was well known and well collected and had been for many years. He had contagious enthusiasm and was key in getting many folks their start in painting miniatures. He was a key organizer of what would become the HMSNEO, host of the Tulsa show. Both of these fellows will be missed by all who knew them. We're all richer for having experienced their gifts.

Workbench update: It's been a while since my last update. I have been quite busy at the bench. I have moved to the painting of my 1920's miner, and the joint project with Kreston has moved to the backdrop/groundwork stage. I'm looking forward to getting some stuff done for Tulsa. I should have the miner ready by then and I imagine I'll have about four pieces.

Trip to the movie house

I went to see 300 the ohter day with my son. I had planned to go with friends as well, but jury duty precluded this. I had to go to a later viewing than planned, so it was just my son and me. The film was a lot of fun and very faithful to Frank Miller's comic book vision. I was a bit disappointed that I didn't find it very moving. I was expecting something like Gladiator, or Saving Private Ryan I suppose. I felt the sacrifice of the Spartans and their cohorts at Thermopolae deserved a bit more reverence. That's a small point I think and probably not the vision that the producers had in mind. I love going to the movies and 300 is a prime example of the type of movie that must be seen in the theater. Grindhouse is the next film up for me and my movie buds.

My home show, HMSNEO's Tulsa show, is coming up very soon. HMSNEO INFORMATION HERE Pieces are being gathered up in anticipation for the fund-raising auction. I've donated my ACW Cavalry General to the cause. I'm sure others will be added as we get closer to show time.

My wife bought a used car yesterday. It was a new experience for her as I've always taken care of these things in the past. She did a good job and got one of the best deals we ever got on a used car. It's an '05 Nissan Altima and a nice ride.

Workbench update; I finished the Royal Horse Artillery figure. I've been working a bit on my joint project with Kreston. Sculpting with differnt materials in mind is a little challenging. Leather behaves a little different than wool, wool different than linen etc.. I'm also knee deep in a project for Der Bunte Rock, a Pawnee scout from the Indian wars. I'm returning to the spaceman I started a while back. I'll be trying to come up with a scene for him to occupy. My 1920's miner has stalled a bit because I wasn't happy with the drapery of the denim jacket. I'll get back to it today. I really want to have it completed in time for Tulsa.