Thanks to Ikea, I now have a shiny new workbench!

Well, okay, technically back at the very tail end of December 2021 I got a shiny new workbench. I really thought I’d posted since then… but apparently not. 😅

So what have I accomplished in the six months since the last update?

Lots! (Thankfully!!)

So Many Props!

I got an order in early in the year for two new 7×9 bases as well as some LittleBit scale fencing… and followed that up a few months later with requests for fencing in a bunch of new scales.

I wrote up a post for the LittleBit scale fencing and the others should be following shortly. It was a lot of fun coming up with the design for the new modular fences! (And yes, the free-standing ones come apart for easy storage and expansion.)

During this adventure I found a good place to order craft wood online, since my local hobby store has been having stocking issues. This means not only will I have enough wood to fill orders… I’ve also got enough to play around with! 😁

And Then There Was Math

Figuring out the scales and calculating the cost of everything has been… interesting. Thankfully, I’m addicted to spreadsheet, so this first draft will turn into something pretty eventually.

The wood costs per inch actually don’t vary too much between sizes (from 0.02 to 0.10) so it turned out the amount of work to put things together was the deciding factor in pricing.

There are a few scales where I have to glue things together to get the right widths and that means a lot of sanding. And sometimes wood putty to smooth things out.

So not all the scales work well with the lighter stains (alas), but I’m having a lot of fun prototyping! 🎨

These will go up in the shop soon (both as premades and orderables) and I’m hoping to get them up to all the various hobby boards once they are.

Still need to figure out where the best place to post these are…

NaMoPainMo (National Model Painting Month)

Once again, my horse for NaMoPaiMo got off to a good start… and then wandered off into the Land Of Unfinished Things. 😭

He’s a Safari Ltd. Shire and he’s been hanging around the body box with his twins for a looooong time. He was meant to be a simple dark-medium bay with nothing flashy, but even that was a bridge too far.

I also randomly started these two… even though I have plenty of WIP Stablemates already hanging out in the body box. 🤦‍♀️

A Whale of a Good Time

I did a lot of ornament casting in prep for Christmas presents and am only now getting around to finishing off some of extras.

First up on the block were the orca trio!

The black and gold was a normal white cast, while the two blues started out as blue-dyed resin. The one that then got painted blue was slightly sticky, so I’m hoping paint and sealer will take care of that. 🤞

If not… I’ll just end up with another critter for the Home Herd!

The light blue is still the dyed resin, but there are some small discolorations that I’m going to cover up with markings and decorative spots.

Fantasy FTW! 😅

When will they actually be done and up in the shop? …no clue, but I’m hoping to get back to listing things sometime before June. Hopefully.

Anwyho… Onwards! 🎉🎨