As promised, I spent the whole week working on various Fallout things and so I have several things done which is a nice feeling. Let’s go from least exciting to most exciting.
This one is less exciting because it is not that great of a photo, especially without a hobby table to use. I finished my third piece of street terrain (its the one on the right) and had some challenges getting it close to the previous one. I think its safe to assume that there will be variation in these as I work on them. I can probably pair up ones that look similar to help make the road look realistic when its all said and done. I have two more of these to go and then I’ll try finally play another game of Fallout. I definitely will try to get them done over the next few months as I’m eager to get some other terrain done to add variety and depth to my collection.
Speaking of, I got another computer terminal finished this week and just like the previous one, I found it very fun to work on. It really doesn’t take long at all to do these (the three coats needed to basecoat them is the worst part) and I think they look quite nice when done. I only have one more of these to paint so I wouldn’t be shocked if I knock that out sooner than later.
And if that isn’t enough, I also got a Fallout mini done too. Its a member of Vault Security which is interesting in that it can be a good or bad guy in your games. For those less familiar with Fallout, the vaults are large underground bunkers that were designed to protect people in the event of nuclear war which is fact exactly what happened in the game. Many vaults ended up being cruel scientific experiments or utopias gone wrong so the security people in a vault can be used for good or ill. This guy took quite a bit of patience to paint and every part of him seemed to take longer than expected. In the pictures below, that is a speck of dust on the leg and I just finished the mini an hour or so ago so I haven’t had a chance to varnish him yet.
There’s plenty more to discuss this week, some of which I held off on last week. First up, I decided to get rid of some MESBG miniatures that I’ve owned for years and never painted. I also have some rulebooks that I haven’t used much or at all. Truthfully, I’m probably heading towards getting rid of my entire LOTR/Hobbit gaming collection (which isn’t actually that big, its mostly The Goblin Town box set) over time because I haven’t had the desire to play it since I quit but I’m not in a huge rush to make a decision there.
I sold a modest amount of stuff to Noble Knight Games and while it was worth quite a bit more than they gave me, I really wanted to clear the stuff out and a lot of it was going to be a pain to sell individually. I sold some other MESBG minis on Ebay a couple of months ago and was underwhelmed by how much money I received. Shipping fees really ate into the “profit” and I didn’t want to have the same experience here. Obviously, I haven’t been feeling my best for the last month so going to the post office a bunch of times is out of the question right now too. With the money I earned from the sale, I bought this book.
I’ll review the book once I finish reading it so hopefully some of you will find that interesting. Its around 450 pages long so it will take me a while to finish it.
I did something extravagant that may or may not prove to be wise in the long run. I bought a video game that is more expensive than anything else in my collection. Why did I do that? Well, it is a collection of Castlevania games which happens to be one of my all-time favorites. It has my favorite Castlevania game (Symphony of the Night) in it as well.
There are quite a few awesome things in the box, including the box itself which is quite attractive. The replica shield and steelbook case are both really impressive too. This is my first steelbook case and quite frankly, I’d love to own more of them as this one is a piece of art. Just as importantly, I think there’s a good chance that this release will grow in value over time. It was a fairly limited release and strangely, this is a PS4 exclusive currently and unless it comes to PS5 later, I don’t think it will show up on other consoles. So I’m quite happy with the purchase overall. When I added it to my video game collection tracker, PriceCharting.com, the value is almost $100 higher than what I paid for it, so I feel like I got a great deal on it as well.
I generally don’t like to spend time talking about things going on outside of the hobby that aren’t fun but I think this is worth discussing because it is affecting some of my stated goals for this year. What makes me regret buying this game a couple of weeks ago ever so slightly is that yet another appliance has given up the ghost in my condo. This time it was the washer’s turn. At this point, my wife and I are getting close to having spent $10,000 on appliances and repairs on this condo which is disappointing. To some degree, we have needed to financially grow into affording this place but having to spend so much on unexpected expenses has made it really difficult. I am growing frustrated because I have been looking forward to traveling with my wife and that keeps getting pushed further and further back due to things out of my control. We haven’t even really gotten all of the furniture we want either because we can’t seem to get ahead on all of these expenses.
When you add to that the fact that there have been issues in the condo building since an owner moved out and decided to rent their unit to someone, I’m very much ready to move on from this condo which is also disappointing to say and feel after only being here for two years. It is a long story to explain it all but basically one owner of the three (the same exact one who is renting their unit) has more control over the building than the other two and they’re holding the building back from what it could and should be. Additionally, since the building is not being taken care of properly, one of these days there are going to be major repairs needed like a new roof and whoever lives here at the time is going to have to pay for them because of the way the condo association is being run. I am hoping that will not be my wife and I. We’re planning on moving from here to something better but have to wait until the interest rates get better because we bought when they were incredibly low. So that part of my personal life has not been great in 2023 and I don’t see it changing for the rest of the year because the renter is going nowhere and we aren’t close to being able to move either.
And the main reason I share this info is that my hobby room has not really been improved in any way so far this year like I had hoped and promised to do. Every time I catch up on a major expense, the next one comes along and its back to square one. Since I don’t plan on staying here any longer than I have to, its probably not wise to invest much further in my room until I move. I do still need to upgrade/replace my aging camera, computer, and TV so hopefully I’ll figure out a way to do some of that in the second half of this year anyway. I guess we’ll have to save the hobby room renovation excitement until the next place but hopefully that won’t take as long as it feels like its going to at the moment.
In some better news, I am off this upcoming week due to Independence Day so I will have some extra time to relax. My long awaited doctor appointment is tomorrow too so I look forward to seeing what information I can find out there. I don’t think I’ve ever eagerly anticipated an appointment such as this one before which is not a place any of us should aspire to be. I do have a bit of a surprise project to work on this week too so hopefully you will look forward to that as well. I know that I am excited to get started on it.
Kuribo's Painting 
First the scenery looks great Jeff, and wouldn’t worry too much about sections not matching totally, it is after an apocalypse, so the maintenance crews are slower than normal ! LOL
The second hand market always surprises me, some bits selling for well more than they are worth, and others falling well short, for no reason, so glad you were able to get something you wanted with the sales.
Owning a property can often feel like a moneypit, and if you want to move as well, can make it all seem a lot worse, unfortunately, goods today aren’t designed to last, otherwise the companies would not be able to sell you their latest upgrade.
Hope the appointment goes well, and you can get some answers.
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Thanks for the kind words, Dave! I agree that the streets aren’t likely to be uniform so I’m trying to accept some variation in each section. I can put some additional scatter terrain on top of them like cars to help blend it all in too.
As far as owning a property, those are some real words of wisdom. When we bought this condo, I was much more motivated and happy to spend the money to “upgrade” or replace things but at this point, I feel like we’re having bad luck with how many repairs and new appliances have been needed in two years of ownership Being ready to move doesn’t help either. Hopefully those interest rates come down soon so we can find an even better place to live.
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I would echo Dave’s comments.
Sorry to hear some things have not worked out as hoped. It is amazing just how many barriers life throws up to impede hobby project progress.
As always, a joy to see you bringing the Wasteland to life bit by bit!
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Thanks for the kind words on the Fallout terrain and mini. I would agree that life is full of obstacles. I think 2023 has presented more than my wife I were expecting and we are tired of them at this point. We’ll push on though because that’s the only real option and hopefully things get better soon.
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Chin up and soldier on old boy. Things could be worse. At least you are not in a Super Mutant cook pot just yet.
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They certainly could be. I could be an escaped synth recaptured by the Institute for example…
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Your computer terminals are really nice, well done.
I’ve used Noble Knight before, you’re right, maybe not the most for your money but if you factor in the time to post and mail on Ebay I feel it’s worth it.
Not going to worry or comment on appliances, hope your dr. appointment works out fine.
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Thanks! They’re meant to be background pieces more than anything but I still like to see the terminals turn out well.
You gave me the idea to sell to them a while back and I’m glad you mentioned it. I needed to clear some room and this was the easiest and most convenient option to be sure.
Today’s appointment wasn’t too eventful and the wait will go on for a while yet. I expected this outcome so there’s no disappointment on my end.
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First off, the Fallout minis look great.
I really like the visor on the guard.
Probably because it’s something I have to practice more.
I’ve sold a lot on Ebay. I got burned on free shipping too often, so I make the buyer pay shipping now. Selling on their can be completely random though. Sometimes I’ll get decent money for something, often I don’t. My main goal is to make space in the house and get a little money back though.
Does the Castlevania box come with the old NES games too? I really liked the first several of those, but haven’t played past that. Maybe I should see what they have available for PS3.
Are you keeping any of your LotR stuff or selling it all off? I’ll definitely miss seeing you paint those up!
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Thanks, Brian! I had to do that darn visor twice and I still didn’t nail it, I don’t think, so your positive words are much appreciated.
I’ve sold a fair bit on eBay as well and while I haven’t been burned on free shipping too many times, it stings when it does happen for sure. I try to be careful with free shipping on anything heavy or that needs a big box because you know that’s going to be pricey at USPS but even smaller stuff can surprise you.
I did a little research and you should check out Castlevania: Anniversary Edition. That comes with all of the old ones including NES and SNES. There are are expensive collector’s editions available on Switch and PS4 but if you just want to play the games, it just so happens to be $4 on Steam right now which is a bargain! It might be for sale on PS3 digitally too.
For LOTR, I’m only selling off stuff I painted 4-5 years ago. Anything I did more recently I am keeping for sure. I will certainly paint more MESBG in the future. I enjoy LOTR too much to ever completely stop with it 🙂
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No, that visor looks good. It’s something I would reference next time I have to do one. I’m sure your practice with NMM has made you more keen on light reflections. It’s something I never quite got in other arts, and always just faked it.
Well, I once had an auction end for something way below a resell price. Probably around a few dollars. Then I went to ship, and the person lived on some island…so it ended up costing me $20 to ship! They were happy as a clam, but I had a hole in my wallet. After that, I quit doing free shipping. Like I said, I usually get next to nothing on most things but at least it’s a little and nets me more closet space!
Oh, thanks for checking that out! I forgot they would have it on Switch too. To me Castlevania is more of a sit on the couch console game, so that’s likely what I would buy. I’ll check out both options though. 😃
Also glad to hear you won’t be giving up on LotR. You’ve painted some really nice LotR minis, and I don’t see too many paint them. So it’s really cool to see them! 😃
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The main trick with visors, windows, etc. is to try and get high contrast and go from dark to light quickly. In other words, you need to do some glazing for a top-notch effect.
Oh man. I have had a situation or two like that now that you mention it. I got killed once on having to send something to a military PO Box. If you don’t already do so, I would make it clear that you don’t do international shipments of any kind. I should probably do the same with PO Boxes too now that I’m thinking about it… While the fun part of a hobby is getting new stuff, the necessary part is keeping the collection manageable so I completely agree on cleaning out the closet.
Agreed on Castlevania. I played a tiny bit of Rondo of Blood today and now I’m wondering if I too should own Anniversary Edition. Just because I didn’t play the old games when they were newer doesn’t mean I might not enjoy them now! 🙂
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Do you use EBay’s Global Shipping program? I’ve never run into the one with military PO Box yet.
Thanks for the tip on the visor! 🙂
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No, I’ve never tried it but I figure its probably worth it if you have an item that you want to make available to a wide audience. The idea of eBay dealing with the hassle of international shipping sounds good to me!
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Yea, I always use that. Trying to calculate international shipping and answering all the questions isn’t worth it. You just mail to their center in the US, and they take it from there. The downside is that it’s much more expensive for the buyer. So sales depend on someone wanting something bad enough to pay the extra cost. I’ve had a few, but not too often.
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I’ve always thought it sounds good for the seller so I’ll have to keep that in mind in the future. Thanks for the suggestion!
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Great terrain, sorry to hear about the housing woes. As for eBay v money made selling them for less, time and hassle is also a factor… I am heading down the getting rid of stuff road so am weighing up that conundrum.
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Thanks for the kind words and support, mate. It is a tricky thing sometimes selling online but it is worth the effort if its time to clear some stuff out. For me it was more about that than trying to make money or recoup expenses.
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Oh, I can understand the constant cycle of things breaking and then getting fixed or replaced inside the residence. While it’s cool to own property it’s such a hassle. I sympathize.
Also, hope the Dr appointment will be helpful.
Great job on the terrain and such. Looks really good. I wouldn’t worry too much about the streets matching as long as it’s in the same ballpark.
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I figured quite a few people could relate to the headache of home ownership. I wasn’t expecting it to come at the cost of other goals this year but that is the way it goes sometimes.
The appointment happened but its just another step in the process. Next up is a test or two to get more info.
Thanks for the kind words as well. Its taken me awhile to accept that terrain isn’t a diorama but I’m getting there 🙂 A little variation won’t look bad on the battlefield, especially a post-apocalyptic one!
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I really like the scenery, the computer looks great I love the damaged paint affect you do on it.
Sounds like where you live is a bit of a pain, and bad luck on something else breaking on you, I got my fingers crossed for you that you will get some good luck soon.
And I hope all goes well at the Dr’s for you!
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Thanks, mate! The damaged paint effect is surprisingly easy to do. A bit of foam or sponge-like material is all you need. Thanks for the kind words on real life matters too. With any luck, things will get better soon.
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The roads look great mate. I would’ve liked to have seen some blood splatters though haha. I hope all goes well with the Doc
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Haha, I reckon you would like a bit of blood on there which is probably why you’re such a greenskinz fan 🙂 And thanks for the kind words as well!
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Well, the advantage in me being late to this party is that I’ve been able to read all the comments! 🙂 Scenery and mini are nice and the game looks really good as well! You’re not alone in treating yourself to something only to find that your hard-earned cash is required for something else more mundane not too long afterwards! Maybe just got to try and enjoy what you can when you can and let time sort everything else out sometimes. Glad to hear you’ll still be doing LOTR and MESBG stuff in future – I wouldn’t like to see you give that up! 🙂
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It can be a good thing or a bad thing, I figure, John! 🙂 Thanks for the kind words and it is nice to know others have made that sort of mistake before. I think more than anything, I’m going to have to find a way to save some money up to accomplish other goals and I’m willing to put the work in to do that. Since Brian brought it up, I’ve been looking around and trying to see if there is anything LOTR that strikes my fancy so I would definitely expect to see more in the future.
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Love the look of those terminals, great paint job they look bang on.
Sorry to hear about the house woes, when it rains it pours on that front sometimes.
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That’s the truth, mate. This year neither health nor home have been quite right, unfortunately.
Thanks for the kind words! I may be working on the final one now to finish off the three of them 🙂
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Excellent work on the scenic bits, Jeff, you’ve nailed an almost 70s-ish look on those terminals. Really sorry to hear about your housing issues, it sucks when you think you’ve found a good home and it turns out to be a nightmare.
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Thanks, Matt! There’s more scenic stuff coming so hopefully you aren’t tired of it yet 🙂 Thanks for the kind words on the housing situation too. With any luck it will get better one of these days!
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Nice painting on that Fallout mini.
I was thinking of you this week as I’m on holiday with my brother and we’re working our way through a four-player game of Arkham Horror. I’ve hardly played before so all is new to me but it’s very enjoyable.
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Thanks for the kind words, mate! I’m flattered that you associate Arkham Horror with me as its a great series. Were you playing the board game or the card game? Both are a fun way to experience Lovecraft’s world!
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We played the card game, doing the Road To Carcosa campaign. I thought it might be a little clunky with four players but it seemed fine; admittedly we did it on the easiest difficulty level. I don’t think that I was even aware of a distinction between board and card game versions – which is your preference?
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Awesome! The game is designed for 1-4 and I think when you have 3 or 4, it opens the game up even further. There are a few investigators that are better in a 3 or 4 player game from what I hear.
Arkham Horror, the board game, precedes The Card Game by many years. Second Edition of the board game is a seminal board game. The game is huge. There is a very large board (and expansions come with extensions to that) and tons of cards. In the board game, you basically move around the board and try to seal gates/rifts to prevent the elder god from taking physical form and wreaking havoc. You also draw a card for your location and something Lovecraftian happens generally. If you fail to close all of the gates before a timer runs out (which happens pretty often), then you face the Elder God in a final confrontation. You can pick which Elder God you want to face before you start playing and they add variety to the game. There are common enemies similar to the Card Game as well. So there’s no investigating but otherwise, its somewhat similar. The board game takes anywhere from 2-4 hours to play if I remember right and there were a lot of rules to remember. I found it mentally exhausting and didn’t get as far with it as I would have liked. Truthfully, I think the board game is best played with others to help make the burden of knowing all the rules either.
I think the Card Game is the superior version but there is also a Third Edition of Arkham Horror which is quite a bit newer and is pretty different than Second Edition. I think it is a bit controversial among fans and isn’t nearly as popular as Second Edition or the Card Game. That was a pretty detailed answer but hopefully it helps! Fantasy Flight Games makes a couple other Lovecraftian board games set in that universe as well. Its one of their cash cows for sure!
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Wow, that’s a detailed answer indeed! I think that I like the way that the story unfolds in the card game but of course I’ve never yet tried the board game so perhaps it would suit me better.
Playing with four players (or in fact anything more than one) is my preference for these games. If I’m looking for a solo experience I generally find that I’m better off with a computer game.
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I think that Arkham Horror: The Card Game has a better story overall. Its more cohesive, certainly. That’s interesting on preferring four players. I haven’t had a live participant in Arkham Horror but I think it’d be fun to play two player as the game time would still be pretty quick but you have the shared experience which is great too.
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I mean that I prefer any number of players over just playing solo; it’s not that I think that four is specifically the best number for Arkham Horror Card Game. I like my gaming to be a shared, social experience because part of the fun is spending time with friends. That said, the flipside is also true – I like to game with friends because the act of gaming gives a nice structure to the time and means that no-one is left feeling that they don’t have any interaction with the rest of the group.
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You’re lucky to have regular opponents! I enjoy gaming with someone of a similar mindset and interests but that isn’t always easy to come across so I’ve grown accustomed to playing solo.
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The terminals look good – good enough even that I’d be happy to use them on one of my own tables! 😉
I think when you’ve finished all of the street tiles it would be worth going over all of them lightly in patches, and especially where they connect with one another with a fresh but light coat of weathering product – that will tie them together much more fully. At the moment the road surfaces look like they’re from separate batches. The weathing in the cracks also looks to use different styles in the two tiles (dark cracks vs. sandy cracks). If it were anyone else, I’d just say “great job” but given how often you discuss wanting constructive criticism to improve your work, I’ll go into “teacher mode” on stuff like this. 🙂
The vault security guy looks great! my “level up” advice on him would be that you could choose to roughen up his brown armour with tiny scratches to add a worn texture to it amidst the smooth blends. Of course, that’s completely the kind of extra detail that I almost never bother to do on my own models, so feel free to completely disregard that one! Though a layer of careful drybrushing in there can be a nice cheat to get that onto a surface – it’s a big part of my “blue jeans” method, and I’m slowly expanding it elsewhere when approriate.
It kinda makes me sad to see you talk about getting rid of your MESBG stuff – I used to give away/sell models but stopped after I got his by the regret shovel a couple of times. I figure money can always keep coming (though space is the bigger issue!) and that way I’ll always have a [inset game faction here] force to play with with some awesome sculpts. eBay’s 17% will really screw you over, and the best way to make money back on minis is to sell them piecemeal, but it’s also a LOT more work than as a lot.
I totally “get” the appeal of videogame special editions & steelbooks – I’ve got a fair few of my own as you can probably believe, so I see nothing wrong with getting the Castlevania set – if you enjoy it, then it’s “worth it”. Does it look cool on your shelf and bring you a smile? Then again – worth it! Sometimes they’re better than the actual game as my Fallout 76 Helmet will attest to!
I can sympathise with the funds on applicances – we’ve shelled out for a replacement AC in the main room of the house as well as one for the War Room in the last 2 weeks. Hopefully you guys get to travel sooner rather than later, but as long as you still get to without too much of a delay it should still be worth it!
Speaking of hopefully – hopefully you manage to get your own standalone place at some stage. You still may need to deal with asshole neighbours (hopefully not!) but at least you won’t have to interact with them when it comes to the building you own.
When it comes to the Hobby Room items, you may not be able to work on the room itself, but you can still work on the things that will go inside it in the meantime – it’ll be like a grand unboxing when you finally move into your eventual hobby room!
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Well now, that is high praise! 😀
Your feedback is timely, mate. I’m working on the last stretch of road (for a little bit anyway) and I went back and added some dust after your comment. I appreciate the suggestion on the vault guard as well. I think their armor is meant to look pristine but I should double-check. I’ve got another one to paint up one of these days too…
You know, I do intend to get rid of at least some MESBG stuff because its taking up room that I could use for something else but I haven’t made any real progress on this. Part of that has been health issues and the other part is laziness. I know I won’t get what they’re worth but I can’t keep them all and need to downsize the collection a bit unfortunately. The real question is how long I drag my feel on doing it!
I wish I could buy more Collector’s Editions of games but truthfully, I don’t have the storage space to get the huge ones like Castlevania. They are nice and I totally get why people collect them. Its one of those things where I would if I could and I had more space.
That is rough on replacing your A/C. Our A/C and furnace could go at any time I reckon so its an expense I’m trying to prepare for. Money seems to be getting better as the year progresses so I’m optimistic about traveling in 2024. As far as moving goes, I hope to upgrade to a better place at some point soonish. The interest rates aren’t getting any better so its hard to predict when that will be.
I appreciate your kind words on all this and I’m happy to report that things have gotten better since I wrote this. My wife is accepting a new job where she will get a pretty decent pay bump so we’re excited about that and what it means for us too.
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Good to hear that things are looking up fiscally. That’s a huge weight in life unfortunately!
Tiles can be a pain like that. I’d hoped to be able to get back to my own road tiles and finish them during my post op time off bit given my current state I think it may have to be a Christmas break project instead. I’ll no doubt have to do the same thing in an attempt to unify them even with the plan to work on and finish many at once.
Hopefully once you move to the next place you will have a larger dedicated hobby space and maybe a bit more shelving amd display space for both your models & terrain bit also for whatever gaming collectables or special editions you choose to pick up! 😉
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It really is, mate. Money challenges are not fun at all.
I think these street tiles are the first time I’ve attempted this sort of thing so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that I’m learning new things as I go.
I’d like to have a bit bigger room at the next place for sure. I will definitely get better storage and display stuff too. I started collecting action figures years ago and told myself that I’d get a display case and its probably 8-9 years later and still no case. Shame on me! 🙂
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I hear you there! I’ve gotten back into collecting some Star Wars figures this year (my first love were the original kenner figures in the 70’s) so I’ve gotten a few of the new larger scale Black Series figures, and also some of the Joy Toy 40k stuff, which are …very nice. Having somewhere properly dedicated to display them, though… eep!
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That’s awesome! I still have all my old Star Wars figures from the Special Edition re-releases and Episode One. They aren’t terribly impressive by modern standards but they fill me with nostalgia because that was a time where Star Wars was one of my favorite things. Being a kid when those came out and having no critical eye towards the Special Edition movies and Episode One certainly helped too 🙂 One day, we’ll find a display solution…. hopefully!
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