Making Tables

I took some wire screen with 1/2 inch holes and cut out a small piece.  Then I clipped it into this shape and bent four of the pieces of wire downward with needlenose pliers.

Use a heavy duty wire cutter, a sprue cutter may actually break, I have broken two over the years.

Close up for the long table framework.

Bend the long wires down to make the short table..

This is the template for the long table.  

Sheet plastic will make the table top.

Put the sheet plastic between the horizontal pieces for a narrow long table or on top for a long and wide table.

Long narrow table with a chair.
 

Fidelis Models Update and News

 

 

Update on the link it should work now.  My error.

 

 https://www.ebay.com/str/fidelismodels?_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l170197

Fidelis Models where I have gotten models for over 25 years now has an eBay store.

My friend Randy owns Fidelis and before I retired and moved to Kentucky we used to wargame together almost weekly for over 20 years.  Now he is still working and I am playing with the army men full time.

 His website https://fidelismodels.com/ is primarily 1/87scale and similar small scale items.  His eBay store will likely have some of them in the future but for now he is selling military models that don't fit that category.

The first offerings on the eBay store are Dragon Models 1/6th scale World War Two era figures.  I have several of these exact figures and they are wonderful.  The detail is fantastic, the figures are very poseable and each figure has a unique head and face sculpt.  While I love my G.I. Joe figures these Dragon Figures are amazing.

Fidelis Models have also launched a new newsletter, and you can subscribe for free on their website.

  

 

Kiss Kiss Band

James Bond, Thunderball movie, he visits the Kiss Kiss Club.  Here is how I built the band stand.  I started with some model airplane sprue.  I cut off the branches and trimmed up the mold lines.

I used bits of glue to make a base for these bits of sprue that will make the uprights for the band stand cover.  

I got bits of sprue that had a slight curve at the top.  I glued a small base to each one.

Then I took a Barbie serving tray that I got at Dollar Tree and cut off the handles.  Then turned it over and used it as the stage.  Then I glued the sprue uprights to a piece of sheet plastic that fit the serving tray.  I used beads for the drums with a little very thin sheet plastic for the drum skins.  Two of the smaller drums are pins from interlocking bricks, like Lego, but generic.  The figures are generic civilians from Amazon, each one on a small sheet plastic base.  I printed out pictures of curtains from the Internet to use as curtains.  I found a font similar to the one used in the movie and made the sign for the band name.

The figures are not painted yet, but but this is the general mock up I came up with.  The Barbie tray was used for another project after I decided I wanted a larger bandstand for this group.  Still needs more paint and touch up but you get the idea.  Guitars, maracas and tambourine are cut out of plastic.
 

Clipboard and James Bond

In the James Bond movie Thunderball, he visits the Kiss Kiss Club.  It is on the beach, in Nassau, in the Bahamas.  https://jamesbond.fandom.com/wiki/Kiss_Kiss_Club  Here is a link to more information on the club.  I decided that the club could be useful in spy games, Batman 66, low intensity conflict games, and Beach Party games.  While the club is fictional, I want to make a model of it that reflects the look of the club without spending too much time and money.  I use a simple clipboard to help keep my research together.

I got a pack of clipboards at Staples.  I choose to keep the plastic wrap on the clipboard as it is smooth, so I can write on it easily, and will help to keep the clipboard dry and stain free.  

My intention is to keep all of my notes and other papers in one place so that I can refer to them easily, without having to have the space of a binder and to be able to re-sort the papers as needed.

I made a number of screen captures, printed them out and use them as reference.  I made maps of the club and determined how to make the furnishings, the buildings and even the trees and the signage.  You can see this little note below that is on the top of the clipboard.  It is a plan for the entrance and rest room area.  The red thing is little plastic jewels that I will use on the lighting, and below that the black rectangle is a photo of the club that I downloaded.

This is were I am at in the construction of the club.  This is a diagram of how I intend to make the front entrance ticket booth and the rest rooms.  I am using two of the little tiki bars that I got from Dollar Tree more than a year ago, before I even planned this project.  I keep 3x5 cards and pens around the house in case the muse strikes me.  Often I wake up at night and jot a note or two, then the next day I spend a long time trying to figure out what I wrote.
 

Storage Plan

How does the Bunkermeister store his collection?  This is how I store some of it.  These are Sterilite   boxes, that have been discontinued.  They still make a very similar box.

Often, I put loose times in the box, but sometimes I put smaller boxes inside or more commonly zip lock bags as shown here.

I like waterproof, insect proof bags for GI Joe items since they often include cloth and I want to protect the collection from damage.  Also some GI Joe items are made by rubbery plastics that can have a chemical reaction against hard plastic toys.

Over the last two weeks I have been re-stacking and re-sorting the boxes.  Each box gets a hand written 3 X 5 card taped to the inside of one end of the box describing the contents.  I have recently begun moving the card higher up on the box because it makes it easier to read.  Also, in the past I did not tape the cards to the inside of the box and many have slipped down making them hard to read.

The white tape with numbers on them is the weight of the box, so that I can put the heaviest boxes on the bottom.  Also stacking the boxes like this can put a lot of pressure on the lower boxes.  After storing them like this for 6 years I have never had a box collapse due to the weight of the boxes above, but it is possible and I check for it frequently.

I am hoping that by the end of this year I can build a rack to put these boxes on so that I can reach the lower boxes without having to move all the boxes above it.  This project has been in the queue for 6 years with the delay caused only by a lack of money, materials, skill, tools and labor.  Of course, if I had the money the other four would be easier to get!

It's not hoarding if the boxes are labelled. 
 

Cutting Mat

I picked up this cutting mat from Hobby Lobby a few days ago.

It is a big mat and only $10.99.  I got two small ones from the same company weeks ago and they have held up well from constant use.  I got them as a test to see if it was worth it to get the big one.

It was worth it and this is how large it is.

Warning label because everything will kill you.

California requires a warning on anything that could cause cancer.  I bought this anyway, I accept the danger.
 

Batman Vehicles

Batmobile from the TV series Batman.  They only used one vehicle in the TV show but it was modified a few times.  At the first it was painted flat black.  Over time they added a cutter to the front of the car.  And they also changed up the pin striping color and locations.  Hot Wheels has made dozens of variations of this vehicle, in a couple sizes.  All the 1/64th scale versions will interchange the interior, wheels, body, and window glass.  They are easy to take apart and easy to put back together if you want to swap parts.  This one was taken apart and given a different body version.

Stately Wayne Manor from Funko Pop Town series of buildings.

Jada Batcycle, one of two versions.  The first was a Harley-Davidson motorcycle with sidecar.  This one is a Yamaha with sidecar that carries a dismountable go cart.

Batboat was made about the same time as the Batmobile and there was no real coordination between the car and boat makers. So the boat came out blue and white while the car is black.  Model by Hot Wheels.

The last TV show vehicle is the Batcopter.  It is a real flying helicopter modified with a special paint job and bat wings.  The helicopter still exists and still flies.  The FAA made them take the wings off however, because it reduced lift too much.  Still pretty cool that it still exists.  This is by Hot Wheels and can be modified to a large number of other versions, mostly by removing the wings, which is simple, and repainting.
 

Batcycle

Generic 1/72nd scale figure with the Jada Batcycle.

This Batcycle was built on a Yamaha Catalina 250 motorcycle.

The sidecar carried a go cart that could drive off of a ramp and Robin used it to deploy to his side of the Batcopter.

This is an excellent model and the markings are great.

I have two of them and I am considering making one with the removable go cart, or making the combo with a Batman and Robin figures riding them.

This set is not exactly rare but it is not new either so it can be hard to find.

Looking down you can see the go cart sort of nestled into the side car.  The go cart and side car are cast as one piece.

Batmobile in front of Stately Wayne Manor.
 

Joker Mobile and Batmobile

Jada makes this set that at first glance seems too small for my 1/72nd scale figures.

It is true they are tiny.

But they are nicely detailed.

My intention is to try and find a Hot Wheels car that  looks at least a little like the Joker Mobile and see if I can cobble one together, using this one as a guide.

These two cars will end up in my Batcave Batmuseum as display vehicles.

Of course the Batcycle is another matter entirely.
 

Tiki Bar

I got this little building at Dollar Tree a while back.  

I want to use it for some 1/72nd scale figures but it is taller than I would like.  So I used my belt sanders to buzz the base down about 3mm.  I then used my Dremel too to buzz out some of the bottles because they are too large.

Original versus the modified version.  Still buzzing out the inside.

These are the three tools I am using to cut out the inside of the tiki hut.

The big X-Acto knife is helpful for scraping off some of the excess and smoothing out the line.

Dremel tool, probably 20+ years old.  It's my new one, the other one is much older and I still use them both.

Bottles and sign cut out now.

How it looks so far.  Obviously it needs paint and maybe some more work.