Castle Gate

Part of a small diorama for a GB at Modelismo na Net. Must hurry, as it ends next Saturday!! :-o
Here's a step-by-step of the gate and the harrow, but it's not finished - the metal parts are next, just after posting this!
Materials: PVC foam, balsa, wire, and the chain was an adornment on a pair of boots...


Parte de um pequeno diorama para um GB no Modelismo na Net. Tenho de apressar-me, que o prazo para a conclusão acaba no Sábado!
Aqui fica um passo-a-passo do portão e da grade levadiça, embora ainda faltem os metais, que é já a seguir a este post!
Materiais: PVC foam, balsa, arame e as correntes eram um adereço de umas botas...

And these are the figures:

E estas são as figuras:

Strelets Muslim Archers

They are supposed to represent this kind of troops on the East, but I will use some for my dio.
It's only a sprue (well, almost, as I've already used one figure for the "Russian" army.

Started in December, side by side with other things, but now it's done.

28mm Blacksmith (final pictures)

As promised...

2013 Projects

Already ongoing or just ideas for the next year... (not to mention the Siege of Silves and both Napoleonic projects - Roliça and Waterloo!)

This one had another name, but now it will be "The Gate". To be finished until January 12th!

My Fairey Fulmar... started about an year ago.

The Calypso, started back in 2011!!

Something about Mouzinho de Albuquerque and his "adventures" in Africa... It will not be easy to find the figures!

And some Sci-Fi!

There are a few more ideas but I reckon that accomplishing the above is already a good goal!

2012 summary

Many modelers are listing their works of the ending year and I thought I should do the same. Let's see if this has been a good modeling year...

First finished work already came back from 2010. An ox cart.

Then, a smith. Now I see I've never posted photos of the vignette as it is today...

I'll post new pictures of it soon! Promise!


Still in January, my first modern figure. Just one, for a duel at Benno's. A US Soldier in Iraq.

February wasn't productive...
A few medievals for my Silves Project:

And a few more:

March came and I finally had my Downfall vignette finished:

Then, another duel at Benno's. Another loss... since then I've stopped with duels, but not because of fearing defeat. :D  I hadn't much time for the hobby and other projects called my attention.

Trying to get my Tempos Medievais army ready for the beginning of April, I did a little effort to finish a good group. They look good on the table, but weren't lucky...

April was the month for trying new things, like trees and houses... and casualties with molded Milliput.

Between these, I've managed to paint a few Russian Knights (I love these Zvezda sets!!).

Then, a pause until July, when I "built" a medieval tower.

At the beginning of August I finished this little piece. Achilles defeats Hector...

But then, 2 new modeling projects started. The first, a Group Build at Modelismo na Net, which will end early in January and only the figures have been finished (worked on them since July) and the big Waterloo diorama (this one, a real group build!), ending on 2015 but giving me headaches right from the start!
So, only last November I posted new things. Started with the first figures for Waterloo and the defense of Hougoumont farm, Foot Guards and Nassauers.

And December was the month to finish the little Cutty Sark.

So, I have less than two weeks to finish a small medieval dio (working on the base) and I'll start 2013 finishing 11 muslim archers (2 to go).
Well, it wasn't that bad, but I could have used my time much better!


Have a great 2013!!

Strange Spanish way of doing business

I went to a toy shop that used to have a fair amount of modeling stuff and, once more, I saw the ever smaller pile of... anything, the high prices, well, the disappointment that I am now used to when I visit that store. It's a big Spanish company (another one) working in Portugal, so I had higher expectations!

Anyway, wife sent me to a clothing shop (also Spanish, at the same shopping center!) and, already at the line to pay, a few boxes called my attention: plastic plane kits!
They don't have any known brand, the sprues don't mention the manufacturer, they don't even refer the scale, but it's "scale model"! Right! And include 4 small bottles of ink and a brush. And the price? €1. Yes, ONE euro! Well, after I opened them I saw that they aren't good kits. It's a starter kit, cheap, ok, but could be better.

The 3 available models are the P-51 (around 1:60 scale), the MIG-29 (around 1:90 scale) and the F-16 Fighting Falcon (around 1:79 scale)... Not easy to work with these...

For me, it will be a good training. And one can always use them for crashed plane dioramas!

PS: A fellow modeler pointed out that the MIG isn't a MiG-29 but a MiG 1.44 !

Flags and Merry Christmas!

Hi there!!

I should already have posted this but the right opportunity didn't come up!
Anyway, at the beginning of this month I won (here) a set of Burgundian Mounted Knights. The promoter is the creator of the game Tempos Medievais for which I've been painting my Russian army. Thanks, Rui!
I'm not sure of what I'm going to do with them as they don't seem to fit in any of my projects, so it may take a while until I paint them.

Já devia ter postado isto mas a oportunidade nunca surgia. Enfim, no princípio do mês ganhei uma caixa de Burgundian Mounted Knights num passatempo promovido pelo Rui Sena, criador do Tempos Medievais (jogo para o qual ando a pintar um exército medieval [predominatemente] Russo). (Obrigado, Rui!)
Ainda não sei o que vou fazer com eles porque não encaixam em nenhum projecto... ainda pensei em fazê-los passar pelos cavaleiros franceses em Aljubarrota, mas acho que não servem. É capaz de demorar até lhes dar uso...

Meanwhile, inspired by Paul and his Almoravid army and flags, I decided to do something with my own Muslim forces that will defend the mighty Silves in Al-Gharb.
I'm painting a few figures but I tried to come out with some flags as there are a few differences: by 1189 the rulers of Muslim Peninsula were the Almoahds. The only difference for us modelers are the flags and not all of them! I searched the web (and the first ones reflect that) but the ones I know more historically accurate are from this blog. It's dedicated to Portuguese history and by someone that really knows the subject.

Entretanto, inspirado pelo mestre Paul e o seu exército Almorávida e suas bandeiras, decidi arrancar também com os meus mouros de Silves! Estou a pintar uns arqueiros (Strelets) mas decidi tentar fazer também umas bandeiras e uns estandartes. É que há uma pequena diferença entre os Almorávidas e os Almoadas que lhes sucederam e já dominavam a Peninsula aquando da tomada de Silves em 1189. A pequena diferença é para nós modelistas e consiste apenas em alguns símbolos e bandeiras diferentes.
Procurei na net e estas são uma amostra disso mesmo, mas onde sei que posso confiar em termos históricos é neste blog, dedicado à nossa história e feito por quem domina o tema.

From what I could learn, the checked pattern was Almohad. Can be used as you wish (as long the first square from the top left is black (nice, now I see that the first flag is wrong!!). The red flag with the sun and the crescent moon is one of the few I got from the blog I mentioned before.

Pelo que vi na net, o padrão em xadrês era próprio dos Almoadas. Pode usar-se com qualquer design de bandeira, mas o primeiro quadrado (1ª coluna, 1ª linha) deve ser preto (como podem ver, a primeira bandeira tem isso errado!). A bandeira vermelha com o Sol e a Lua crescente foi retirada do blog mencionado, pelo que tenho a certeza que está historicamente correcto.


I quickly tried some but this must take some time.

Rapidamente experimentei mas isto tem de levar o seu tempo.

I'll post some more flags soon. I'll keep posting during the season, but here's my Merry Christmas to all who keep following the shameful miniatures I insist showing here!

Mais bandeiras em breve. Conto continuar a actualizar o blogue durante esta época, mas aqui fica um Feliz Natal para vocês que continuam a ver as pobres figuras que vou colocando aqui!