Castle Aching

[Schooner]

Thank you!

[RedGemAlchemist]

22 hours ago, Annie said:

I still remember the time I showed the staff in a Games Workshop store a couple of my very nicely painted Ral Partha figures and judging by the expressions on their faces it was almost as if I was inviting them to enter into the gates of hell.   They didn't quite go as far as throwing me out, but did emphasise that I couldn't use them in any game played within the store's hallowed walls.

I had little liking for their expensive plastic figures and mostly collected the vintage Citadel metal figures from the days before they started calling themselves 'Games Workshop'.  Most of those older figures were lovely characterful pieces and to my mind much considerably better than the plastic figures.

I do agree with you there. This is why I don't play in actual Games Workshop stores and instead play as part of a small casual wargaming club.
Also pretty sure I've showcased some of my heavily kitbashed Space Marines on here before at some point.

Edited October 19, 2023 by RedGemAlchemist

[Annie]

1 hour ago, RedGemAlchemist said:

Also pretty sure I've showcased some of my heavily kitbashed Space Marines on here before at some point.

Yes you did, - though it would be a good while ago now.

[16Brunel]

12 hours ago, Edwardian said:

Things occasionally got really, really small. In this case, on D-Day

 

 

I really like the look of this one - any idea what the scale is (beyond "very small")?

 

- Scott

[Compound2632]

11 hours ago, Obsidian Quarry said:

The aesthetic of the game was heavily inspired by the 1995 Ian McKellen Richard III film.

 

A brilliant film that makes brilliant use of such landmark London buildings as the Midland Grand Hotel, University of London Senate House, and Battersea Power Station. Richard's line "A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!" as his armoured car fails during the last battle is a touch of genius. But then, the film does benefit from a first-rate scriptwriter.

[Edwardian]

11 hours ago, Obsidian Quarry said:

The aesthetic of the game was heavily inspired by the 1995 Ian McKellen Richard III film.

 

Yes, and you can see where the filmakers were going ....

 

 

It is an excellent film in every way and the 1930s-40s aesthetic was very well realised. Tha was an excellent bit of world-building and I can see how it would have inspired the game and its figure range. 

 

Gratifyingly, you can see here how cleverly the costumers combined what is essentially a German SS uniform with British notes. On the cap we see the cross batons and wreath of a British field marshall's cap, but, rather than surmounted by a crowned lion, it is surmounted by Richard of York's Boar symbol, though at a distance the position and colour of the boar badge echoes the SS death head.

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Compound2632]

Unfortunately cropped in this still:

 

 

[Embedded link] but the coat of arms of Edward V, as displayed on the wall above that balcony, is disturbingly familiar!

 

But speaking of wargaming and the Midland Railway, we've been experimenting with this:

 

 

I like the box art!

 

For history and gameplay, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1829_(board_game)

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1823/1829

 

We've not been able to experiment with multiplayer play (owing to the reluctance of two family members) but as a two-player game between myself and No. 1 Son, I can report that:

 

The Midland always wins!

 

(And guess who opts to be the Midland...)

[Nearholmer]

3 hours ago, Edwardian said:

It is an excellent film in every way

It sure is.

[monkeysarefun]

I do not remember it being released here, though in 1995 I had a newborn son so all I recall of that time was sleepless nights and whenever I turned on the telly in the early hours it seemed to be wall to wall  live coverage of the OJ Simpson trial.

 

I have just found a copy of it on Amazon who say they will deliver it tomorrow, which is perfect since  the weather forecast is "glorious" so I plan on going down to Jervis Bay in the morning for a swim and a snorkel  (I guess Lord Jervis has not had anything shonky uncovered about him yet  hence he still has managed to keep a Bay named after him) for the day. Hopefully it'll be on the doorstep waiting for me on my return for me to watch.

 

Quick question - do you need to watch Richard 1 and Richard 2 first, or can you just  pick up the story line as you  go along?

Edited October 20, 2023 by monkeysarefun

[Compound2632]

6 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

Quick question - do you need to watch Richard 1 and Richard 2 first, or can you pick up the story line as you go along?

 

No, you'll be glad to hear. But the bad news is, you really need to see Henry VI Parts 1, 2, and 3.

 

I'm told that when Alan Bennett adapted his play The Madness of George III for cinema it was renamed The Madness of King George not because, as is often claimed, US audiences might not go as they would think they'd missed the earlier films in a franchise but because they're only really aware of the one King George against whom their revolution was staged. They're not quite as daft as we like to think, even those without passports.

[monkeysarefun]

1 hour ago, Compound2632 said:

No, you'll be glad to hear. But the bad news is, you really need to see Henry VI Parts 1, 2, and 3.

 

 

 

I think that books of at least some of those were also released?

 

I do remember  we got to study   a couple  of them in 3rd or 4th form. Which one had the  funny fat bloke in it? 

 

My sharpest  memory of studying  which ever one it was is  of hot  dusty post-lunch time lessons in an oven of a classroom,  everything  just a little bit disturbingly too-warm  to the touch.  Gazing outside, the occasional weak willy-willy would stir up a spiral of dust and dried gum leaves that would spin in a tiny cycloney- way for a few seconds, reaching tree-top height  before deciding it was too hot to be that active and would  give it all up and float back down to the ground. 

 

Usually a  small mob  of cockatoos would be clustered around the  tap across the other side of the dust bowl that was the playground in summer, fighting each other for the chance to hang upside down from the tap to  catch the occasional drip.  Instead of politely  waiting their chance and thus ensuring everyone got a go, they would fight and pull each other off the tap thus making it impossible for any to get  a drink. I think watching that  example of everyone-for-themselves played out in a thousand playgrounds  has made Australians  the work-together society that we have become.

 

Back inside, a   blowfly  would be going through the motions of attempting to escape from the heat inside to the lesser heat outside  by bouncing  its way  along every window searching for an escape.  It lacked the wit  to just    stop and examine the problem for a few seconds ,  because then it would realise that the windows hinged  outwards from the bottom  so if it merely followed the glass upwards it would find the  6 inch gap of escape.

 

  Occasionally a smaller fly would land within catching distance - on your desk, or on your arm. If you were fast enough you could catch it gently in a cupped hand, then  reach forwards to yank out one of the long blonde hairs from Jenny-Lynne Warren who sat in front of you. If you tied a slipknot in the hair and placed it carefully around the flies neck  - while being careful not to tie it too tight so its head fell off -  you had a fly on a leash  that would bob and weave around as you held the other end,  kind of a cross between a pet puppy  and a helium balloon.

 

Through all this Miss Dwyer would be at the front of the class,   rivulets of sweat running down her cheek,  gallantly explaining  English medieval royal succession  and  intrigue to us.

 

Looking back now though , the incongruity of it all charms me, I do recall that even under those completely ridiculous conditions, Sir  Francis Bacons words did have the power to engage with us,  we young  dust-covered sun bleached 1970's  Australians.

Edited October 20, 2023 by monkeysarefun

[Edwardian]

18 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

 

I think that books of at least some of those were also released?

 

😄

 

18 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

I do remember  we got to study   a couple  of them in 3rd or 4th form. Which one had the  funny fat bloke in it? 

 

That would be Henry IV, Parts I and II and The Merry Wives of Windsor. Expires offstage in Henry V, IIRC

 

EDIT: Picture

 

 

18 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

My sharpest  memory of studying them was of hot  dusty post-lunch time lessons in an oven of a classroom,  everything  just a little bit disturbingly too-warm  to the touch.  Gazing outside, the occasional weak willy-willy would stir up a spiral of dust and dried gum leaves that would spin in a tiny cycloney- way for a few seconds, reaching tree-top height  before deciding it was too hot to be that active and would just float back down to the ground. 

18 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

Usually a  small mob  of cockatoos would be clustered around the  tap across the other side of the dust bowl that was the playground in summer, fighting each other for the chance to hang upside down from the tap to  catch the occasional drip.  Instead of politely  waiting their chance and thus ensuring everyone got a go, they would fight and pull each other off the tap thus making it impossible for any of them to get  a drink. I think watching that  example of everyone-for-themselves played out in a thousand playgrounds  has made Australians  the work-together society that we have become.

 

Back inside, a   blowfly  would be going through the motions of attempting to escape from the heat inside to the lesser heat outside  by bouncing  its way  along every window searching for an escape.  It lacked the wit  to just    stop and examine the problem for a few seconds ,  because then it would realise that the windows hinged  outwards from the bottom  so if it merely followed the glass upwards it would find the  6 inch gap of escape.

 

  Occasionally a smaller fly would land within catching distance - on your desk, or on your arm. If you were fast enough you could catch it gently in a cupped hand, then  reach forwards to yank out one of the long blonde hairs from Jenny-Lynne Warren who sat in front of you. If you tied a slipknot in the hair and placed it carefully around the flies neck  - while being careful not to tie it too tight so its head fell off -  you had a fly on a leash  that would bob and weave around as you held the other end,  kind of a cross between a dog and a helium balloon.

 

Through all this Miss Dwyer would be at the front of the class,   rivulets of sweat running down her cheek,  gallantly explaining  English medieval royalty and  intrigue to us.

 

Ah, they just don't do winters like that round here. 

 

Ours are more of discontent.

 

18 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

Looking back now though , the incongruity of it all charms me, I do recall that even under those completely ridiculous conditions, Sir  Francis Bacons words did have the power to engage with us,  we young  dust-covered sun bleached 1970's  Australians.

 

Cheeky!

 

 

Edited October 20, 2023 by Edwardian

[Compound2632]

7 minutes ago, Edwardian said:

That would be Henry IV, Parts I and II 

 

But just to add to our sunbleached antipodean's confusion, it does help to have seen Richard II before those two...

 

But it's all a bit like Star Wars. WS wrote Henry VI Parts 1, 2, and 3 first, then the prequels and sequel.

[monkeysarefun]

12 minutes ago, Edwardian said:

Ah, they just don't do winters like that round here. 

 

Ours are more of discontent.

 

Ah, they just don't do winters like that round here. 

 

Ours are more of discontent.

 

 

Edited October 20, 2023 by monkeysarefun

[Nearholmer]

They seem very small. 
 

We did study one of The Histories, but clearly not very closely, because I genuinely can’t remember which. What I do recall is how closely our mixed class of teenagers identified with the lust, doomed love, and sudden outbreaks of extreme violence in R&J; even in a dull rural town it all seemed very familiar indeed.

 

Our English teacher was a proper 1970s liberal, so she ran barely-supervised weekend theatre trips to London (very good for lust and doomed love), and taught classes outdoors on the grass, under the trees, as soon as the sun came out (some extreme violence at the very back).

 

 

 

Edited October 20, 2023 by Nearholmer

[Caley Jim]

52 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

Instead of politely  waiting their chance and thus ensuring everyone got a go, they would fight and pull each other off the tap thus making it impossible for any to get  a drink. I think watching that  example of everyone-for-themselves played out in a thousand playgrounds  has made Australians  the work-together society that we have become.

Was there not a Kookie around to do the 'benevolent policeman' bit and keep them all in order as we used to see at my friend's cabin in Halls Gap?

 

Jim

[monkeysarefun]

25 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

 

But just to add to our sunbleached antipodean's confusion, it does help to have seen Richard II before those two...

 

But it's all a bit like Star Wars. WS wrote Henry VI Parts 1, 2, and 3 first, then the prequels and sequel.

 

That's what I like about Mad Max. There's Mad Max 1, which is set in a time where civilisation is still there , if a bit frayed around the edges, then there's Mad Max 2 where something apocalyptic has obviously occurred so we are all driving around in crazy cars with spikes all over them looking for petrol.   Mad Max 3 is forgettable so we can ignore that,  then in  Mad Max 4 he;'s had a complete makeover and  looks nothing like what he used to, but then James Bond has had more re-generations than Dr Who, so we can make allowances for that. 

[monkeysarefun]

Cockatoos  are incredibly clever birds.. Although They have possibly not yet  been credited with writing Shakespeare's works, they have obviously evolved to the point that they now know standover tactics.

 

These ones here for example will look in our window waiting to be fed. If we don't get up straight away to serve them, they have a mafia-style escalation of violence where they throw something on the floor, then look at you to see if you respond. If you dont they just wreck more stuff.

 

 

Edited October 20, 2023 by monkeysarefun

[Donw]

Marion enjoyed that having kept parrots in the past we are quite familiar with that behaviour. Here we do get Robins tapping on the window for food if we ignore their calls. 

 

Don

 

[Caley Jim]

My friends (wooden) cabin now has metal sheeting about 3ft up the walls and also round the uprights supporting the roof over the veranda after the cockies attacked them (the walls and uprights, not the people!) one year.  At a neighbouring cabin they actually got through the walls and made a mess of the interior!

 

Jim

[St Enodoc]

11 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

the long blonde hairs from Jenny-Lynne Warren

I think we all knew a Jenny-Lynne Warren, although not necessarily by that name...

[figworthy]

On 20/10/2023 at 18:31, Donw said:

Marion enjoyed that having kept parrots in the past we are quite familiar with that behaviour. Here we do get Robins tapping on the window for food if we ignore their calls. 

 

Don

 

 

Years back at work, we had a duck who used to waddle up to reception at about 10:00 in the morning.  If the door was open, she would stick her head around through and give us a quack, otherwise it was a knock on the door.  Once she'd had half a slice of bread, she's waddle off again.

 

Adrian

[Compound2632]

I  remember the oft-heard cry of "The ducks have got into the library again!"

[RedGemAlchemist]

On 19/10/2023 at 23:15, Annie said:

Yes you did, - though it would be a good while ago now.

In which case here are some of my more recent creations. 

 

Edited October 22, 2023 by RedGemAlchemist
One of the photos was of an unfinished piece

[Compound2632]

I suppose one could see The Merry Wives of Windsor as occupying a similar place in the franchise as Rogue One.

 

(Excuse the lag and have pity on the slow of thinking.)