Theater: Acting! Brilliant! Thank you.

One of my hobbies  - that doesn't involve collecting and building models and toy soldiers - is theater.   For this hobby, I collect costumes and props.  ;)

I perform in live theater shows, as well as doing historical reenacting.

This was something I was very involved in as a teen,       https://ccct.org/       and for part of my time in college.    I also played the role of a Warsaw Pact soldier for part of my time in the US Army, but I'm not sure if that counts - although tanks and armored personnel carriers make pretty cool props!


I got involved in the Great Dickens Christmas Fair (if you are not familiar with it, it's kind of like a Rennaissance Faire, but set in the Victorian era, and with a Christmas theme) a few years ago, and found it more fun to attend when dressed up so I would fit in.     https://dickensfair.com/

At the Dickens Fair as a customer - 2013 (iirc).

Dickens Day at the school where I was working
at the time, with a great coworker.

The last year before I left (the Banana Republic of) California, I joined the cast of the Dickens Fair.

My mom visiting me at the Dickens Fair -
Crystal Palace / Great Exhibition stage - 2016.

Victorian Ball with my dance partner, Virginia.

Hogwarts Ball, again with Virginia.

This led to me starting to learn period ballroom dancing, and attending themed dances with a great group of people, who are one of the small number of things I miss about CA.   http://peersdance.org/

The long-suffering chauffer.

A fun dinner show that we did as a fundraiser.

Now that I am in Nevada, I have become involved with two local theater groups, as well as being a somewhat active member of the Nevada Civil War Volunteers, an ACW reenactment group that primarily engages in educational activities.   https://www.nevadacivilwar.org/

Giving the new singer in town the once over.

Everyone seems to be turning on Vince - is he a killer?

Welcome to the blog!

The hat gets all the attention.

Hello,

Welcome to my "Outside the Classroom" blog, where I post things I am thinking about and working on.  At the time I first created this blog, I used a classroom blog to communicate with students and families, so this was my "Outside the Classroom" blog (I have since switched to a combination of Google Classroom and Class Dojo to communicate with students and families through the web).

When I started this blog, it was my "serious thoughts about educational and societal issues" blog, and I had another blog where I posted about politics and such, and a third blog about hobby things - possibly through a different host (or different gmail account).    I took a few years off from miniatures, and somehow lost track of the other blog, so have started posting about hobby things here.  Meanwhile, the 9-11 blog post about Rick Rescorla sat here waiting for company.

This means that the blog may be a bit eccentric, with posts on different topics depending on what I am currently interested in.   But then again, I have also been accused of being eccentric, so that's okay.

I will try to keep from posting on political issues - yet some of the opinions I present on things like miniatures, conversions, and painting may be controversial to some (for example, I feel that tournament play is the dark side of miniatures gaming, while other people love tournament play).

Who is Mr. B anyway?

Soviet vehicle operator for the US Army.  Note the cool '80s shades.

I am a medically retired veteran, with cranial nerve damage and other disabling conditions.  Among other things that I did while in the military, I was a Combat Engineer, Force-On-Force Trainer. Public Affairs Specialist/Broadcast Journalist,  Military Policeman, and Small Arms Instructor & Maintainer.

One of my first school jobs - PE specialist.

I am a public school teacher, and have been doing that as my "day job" since 2005.   Long before that, I worked part time doing after school care, summer camps, and working as a PE specialist at an elementary school - while in college and also for a while as a second job while on active duty in the military.









I am a gamer that has been involved in miniatures gaming since using minis for D&D and other RPGs in Junior High and High School (At least that is when I started using them with printed rules-sets - I played with toy soldiers when I was younger).

Battletech while in HS.   Note the cool glasses.

Running a multi-player Pirates of the Spanish Main game at my friend's shop.

I recieved the WH40k Rogue Trader rulebook as a Christmas gift from some friends in 1987, and started seriously collecting models for science fiction and fantasy miniatures tabletop wargaming, adding WW2 gaming to the mix in the early 2000s.
         I can quit any time I want to - I swear!







I have worked at several game stores, have run gaming events at stores, conventions, and other events, and after being retired by the military, was a full time GW employee and store management trainee while waiting to be accepted into my teacher training program.

At this point in my life, I spend far more time working on models than actually playing games.

Adorable Little Dog (tm).

I live in a small community in Northern Nevada, with my adorable little dog. 

At a dance at the theater
where I perform in plays.

Aside from teaching and working on minis, I also read a lot, participate in local theater, attend lectures at the local historical society, and am a Civil War (ACW) and historical reenactor.   I also still enjoy trips to the range, and sometimes volunteer as a safety officer, instructor, and youth coach.   






Oh, and I try to have a dating life.     As a teacher...  who dresses up in historical costumes......   and who plays with toy soldiers...

                                                        You can stop laughing now.

It's sixties day!  Dress like it's the sixties Mr. B!

One of my schools recently had a "60s Day" as part of "spirit week".    They did not specify a century, so I went with a look that was popular in the 1860s. 

;)

Hobby Gaming: Leaping (Space) Lizards!

I was inspired by my recently delivered Garn miniatures from Khurasan miniatures 28mm Sci-Fi line
http://khurasanminiatures.tripod.com/28mmscifi.html   to revisit an older project of converting some plastic GW Lizardmen for use as 'cold blooded villains' in Pulp Sci-Fi skirmish scenarios.

Here's a basic Garn warrior.

They scale well together, with the Garn being slightly larger than the plastic GW Lizardmen.

While I have not basecoated and painted these minis yet, I have put some wash on a few of the minis to make them more photogenic.



I used some GW parts to accessorize the Garn, including using Conversion Beamers from the old Chaos Weapons sprue.



The Lizardmen are armed with a selection of Imperium, Ork, and Eldar weaponry, from the bitz boxes.

The plastic lizardmen suffer from being three part minis - with the left arm sculpted in place, and the head allowing minimal repositioning.   My idea was to use a variety of weaponry to add variety to the poses. 

Hope they inspire you.

Hobby Gaming: Evolution of the Space Marine Missile Launcher

Over time, the missile launcher has been the most versatile of SM heavy weapons.    Of course, its stat lines have changed, as have the models for it.  Some of those changes have been dramatic.

The original missile launcher, as sculpted for the 1986 C-100 Space Marines range appears to be a simple single shot tube with targeting equipment.

By 1987, with the release of the RTB01 set of plastic marines, we saw a new look, with a magazine fed missile launcher and a distinctive (iconic) curved front.  In this example, the nose of the RTB01 "beakie" marine has been cut down to make it look more like an Imperial Stormtrooper from Star Wars (a simple conversion that was so popular that later marine models started having flat snouts).

A variant missile launcher was also released (in plastic) on the Chaos Weapons Sprue around 1989 or 1990.  This one is also magazine fed, and features it's own distinctive muzzle design.




With the release of the GW/MB crossover game Space Crusade in 1990, we saw the first full body, "push in weapon" space marines.  In this case, all of the models had their weapons added to the front of the model.   The missile launcher retains a lot of the distinctive features of the RTB01 style launcher.  In 1992, the 2nd edition (first boxed set 40k game) featured full body marines with "push in bolters/flamers", but the full body marine with the missile launcher had an arm attachment.    Like many people, I did not find the "statue marines" particularly interesting, so have not kept many of them through the years.  In this case, I have a plastic body for a missile launcher marine, but  not the plastic arm and missile launcher.   I have placed a metal missile launcher of the same era with it, it returns to a basic tube, with a magazine feed.   It is chunky, clunky, and like the 2nd ed "Statue Marines" and other plastics of that era, it is just plain ugly.




With the release of 3rd edition in 1998, the new, multi-part Space Marine tacticals included a new launcher.   This one is a single launch tube, with optics.   Rockets were provided as accessories.  Over time, variations were produced - including a special "loader" backpack, and a shorter tube version of the launcher.




With the release of the "30k" "Horus Heresy"  "Betrayal at Calth" game and the MkIV Marines, we saw the (welcome) return of the RTB01 style of launcher, but in a larger and more robust version.

Hope that look at some 40k history was helpful and inspiring.

Hobby Gaming: Panhard VBL to Sci-Fi Scout Car

Panhard VBL to Sci-Fi Scout Car

I managed to get a little time in at the modeling and painting table this weekend (no papers to grade, and no theater rehearsal this afternoon), and made some progress on several miniatures projects - but this is the one thing that I actually finished

I took the Edison Giocattoli  die-cast 1/43 Panhard VBL, which is a very cool and futuristic looking light armored car/scout vehicle, and gave it a quick "grimdark" makeover.    The weapons mount is a spare twin lascannon from a GW SM dreadnought, mounted to rotate.   I had to remove/paint over the modern era French military decals, touched up the mounted tools, and gave it a bit of weathering (basic dry brush).

While I enjoy building models (especially doing simple conversions),  I also like time and labor saving options.   One of the reasons I seek out things like diecast vehicles and other toys to use in tabletop wargaming is the fact that they are things that can be made ready for the table pretty quickly and easily.   You can't get much more "STC" than "pull it out of the box and stick it on the table".  Other reasons I like to use "non-standard" items are cost, variety/flavor, and aesthetics.   I like customizing my armies to match my taste - and since I am not planning to ever use them in company sponsored tournaments, I have the option of using whatever I think looks and works well.

I took some pictures next to some GW Space Marines for scale comparison purposes.   I plan to use it for Imperial Guard or other humans on the gaming table, so they will be a better fit.

Here's the vehicle before I worked on it - GW Rhino and SMs there for scale.

Front oblique view,

after modifications.

Head -on view.

View from above.

Hope you found the post enjoyable and inspiring.

 ~ Joe Dog

Hobby Gaming: More vehicle size/scale comparisons - APCs, a Flying Saucer, and a Rocket Ship

Here are a few more vehicles for size comparisons.

  I try to look for items in the under $30 price range, because some of the specialty miniature gaming vehicles can get quite expensive.
   

We'll start off with

The Flying Saucer

The saucer is a Dragonball Z toy, the 5.9 inch version of  "Frieza's Spaceship" (there is also a slightly smaller version available, but this one seemed better suited to conversion.use with 28mm minis).
Banpresto Dragon Ball Z 5.9-Inch Frieza's Spaceship Figure





Our hero and his faithful Askaris  wait to see what emerges from the alien vessel. 

 Minis by Wargames Foundry  https://www.wargamesfoundry.com/

GW Space Marines posing with the xenos vessel before destroying it.


Ground Vehicles

Again, I am using a GW Rhino model and GW Space Marines as my baseline for comparison for ground vehicles. The first ground vehicle today is a Minimates battle damaged Aliens APC.

https://www.amazon.com/Minimates-Damaged-Armored-Personnel-Exclusive

This is a hefty vehicle, and is much larger than the Rhino.

It is much closer in size to the GW Land Raider, but is still a reasonably sized vehicle for 28mm minis.

Minimates also has a non-damaged version of this vehicle.

https://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Select-Toys-Aliens-Mini-Vehicle

Next up are a couple of 1/43 scale Die Cast modern vehicles.

First up is an Edison Giocattoli 1/43 Fiat  Iveco 6614 APC.

This vehicle would work well for moderns, of course, but would also work well as a scout vehicle or small APC for 28mm sci-fi humans, particularly with a bit of conversion work. 

Today's last ground vehicle is also from Edison Giocattoli, and is a 1/43 Panhard VBL.   

Again, could be used for 28mm sci-fi humans as a scout car or light weapons carrier, with some basic modifications.

But wait!  There's more!

I am also including this rocket ship from Green Toys.

www.amazon.com/Green-Toys-Astronauts-Vehicle-Playset

It is a nice "50's" style rocketship, made of durable plastic.



   








The hatch side of the rocket will need some conversion work, such as placing clear plastic in the hatch portholes, and sanding off the recycling and other symbols, but it should work very well, for sci-fi or (even better) for pulp sci-fi uses.

Hope you found this post helpful and enjoyable - and am even more hopeful that it inspires you to do some fun things with your minis!

Hobby Gaming: Rethinking the "Rusty Lemon" - Modifying the Leman Russ tank design for 40k.

Nobody wants to drive a lemon - let alone go into battle in one.

I like AFVs (Armored Fighting Vehicles) - drove several during my military career, and like working with AFV models.

M-551 Sheridan Vismod (OPFOR!)

M577 Command Post Vehicle

MTLB APC (OPFOR!)

BTR-60 APC (OPFOR!)

GW Photo of Leman Russ.

I also have a bit of a 40k modelling habit, so I had to come to terms with the terrible design of the Leman Russ tank - whose most obvious feature is the tiny one man turret with the huge gun - allowing no space for a breech block, loading system, recoil, or even the body of the tank commander to fit inside the turret.

I took inspiration for my modification from historical vehicles, namely the US M3 Lee/Grant tank from WW2.   The Lee/Grant had a short 75mm cannon in a hull mount, and a lighter 37mm (2pdr in Lend Lease?) gun in the small turret.

M3 Lee in service with UK in WW2.

I thought that the Russ would make a lot more sense if the larger gun was also hull mountd, while the lascannon (which has no recoil, and no in-line breach mechanism) would fit nicely into the turret.

WIP - Tracks need to be added.

Same WIP, different angle.

Then I decided that, while I was at it, I might as well reverse the tracks, giving the tank a much more agile and "aggressive" appearance - and one much more in line with the Land Raider.   It has been pointed out that this would make it hard for the tank to deal with sharply rising terrain, but it goes nicely with the Land Raider -  and who puts that kind of terrain on a gaming table, anyway?

WIP with reversed tracks.

Command tank needs paint.

My thinking is that the "faster looking" LRs with reversed tracks will be the  "Cruiser" tanks, while the ones with the slower looking, traditional, track set-up will be "Infantry" tanks.

Still needs paint!

And here's the Leman Russ (C) Demolisher that I have painted up.

"Cruiser" model with "Demolisher cannon".

Dmeolisher should probably be an "Infantry" model, but...      I was caught up in the conversion. 

Please share your thoughts on this conversion, and - as always, I hope this inspires you.