Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Flooding and Reinforcements

Well....with all the rain we've been having, I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later. Our power went out during a heavy rainstorm, which meant that the basement sump pump stopped, and the water came rolling in like an artisian fountain. It was nothing like those poor souls in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois are enduring, but it was bad enough. The worst of it was most of my wargaming stuff got soaked and drying it out may take a while. The scenic items took the worst of it (Cardboard buildings and Lichen trees), and it looks like I'll be rebasing a lot of miniatures, which means there might be repainting (Sigh!). On the other hand, I get to gut the entire basement and start over (After installing a battery powered back-up sump pump). The inspiration of an "Alte Fritz" like gaming area keeps shimmering before me like a glimpse of the Promised Land. Raubenstadt will arise from the primordial slime, better, stronger, faster than it was before!

On a happier note, I took Mr. Bill McHenry's advice and latched onto ten boxes worth of Zeveda's "Great Northern War" Swedish Infantry. The Squadron Mail Order guys were having a sale, and the addition of 430 new recruits has cheered the Markgraaf significantly. These are some great figures! Check them out on Plastic Soldier Review. Russian Infantry (The Opposition) are also available (They have no turnbacks and can be used to represent troops well into the 18th Century). Swedish Dragoons and Russian Artillery are scheduled to be released sometime this year. So there are Horse, Foot, and Guns in the works and I'm excited. I'm still waiting for my first Scruby light infantry unit, the Grunwald Jagerkorps, to arrive from HistoriFigs, but since I've waited decades for these guys, a few more weeks is nothing.

So....it's on with the rubber boots and breathmasks. Fire up the wet/dry vac. Break out the bleach and spray bottles. Where did I put that crowbar?

4 comments:

Bluebear Jeff said...

Martin,

Ouch! That doesn't sound like a fun job . . . but the final result could be wonderful for you.

One suggestion (if I might offer it) is to provide for plenty of light . . . and paint the ceiling (and probably the walls) white to help spread and reflect the light.

Good luck with the project . . . and with painting those Zveda boys.


-- Jeff

Martin said...

Hi Jeff,

Yeah....Mom always said, "Into each life some rain must fall.", but I haven't seen rain like that since the Monsoon Season in South Korea!

The former owner of our place was an electrician, and he left quite a few florescent tubes and fixtures out in the garage. I intend to use them all. Thanks for the suggestion about the white paint! I'll use it too.

It's going to take a while, but I've been digging through my old MWAN's (They were out in the garage as well! WHEW!), and Hal Thinglum (Bless 'im) has quite a few suggestions about a wargaming room that will come in handy.

Maybe I can convince the kids to take some photos of the whole process, and show me how to post 'em on the blog.

Yours,


Martin

Martin said...

Hi Jeff,

Yeah....Mom always said, "Into each life some rain must fall.", but I haven't seen rain like that since the Monsoon Season in South Korea!

The former owner of our place was an electrician, and he left quite a few florescent tubes and fixtures out in the garage. I intend to use them all. Thanks for the suggestion about the white paint! I'll use it too.

It's going to take a while, but I've been digging through my old MWAN's (They were out in the garage as well! WHEW!), and Hal Thinglum (Bless 'im) has quite a few suggestions about a wargaming room that will come in handy.

Maybe I can convince the kids to take some photos of the whole process, and show me how to post 'em on the blog.

Yours,


Martin

DCAja said...

fantastic!
drp