woensdag 1 april 2020

Set up.....complete?

Decided to go over the 2nd hand groups one more time and keep looking for tables, and ended up finding a seller who was selling the contents of a bankrupt office. But not at used shops prices, always a big bonus! (100 euros including shipping)

I settled on  a double workdesk as it came in just 4 pieces and 8 bolts, so that made it manageable to get up the attic. Assembling it took maybe 10 minutes in all, and I unscrewed one side, slotted it against the other table, drilled new holes and fixed it in place. So....now I have a 200cm x 160cm gaming table / hobby space.

The only issue, and it is a minor one, is that the height of the table is 72.5cm....but is has smallthreaded risers in the feet that I might be able to get risers to screw in or even lockable wheels, who knows.







Next up cleaning out more cases to see what I can sell, and try to get some 40x60 sheets of 10mm multiplex so I can add my large surplus of wheels underneath them and make my crates a bit more mobile (and save my back)

Also a plus: a large space for the girls to draw and play when Kim wants them out of the living room :D

zaterdag 21 maart 2020

How do you like this set up? (games table)


Looked at what my max possibilites are gaming table wise. Storage underneath, book case at the end. You can move around the 3 sides easily enough. What do you think?

zondag 8 maart 2020

Change is afoot

A few changes are happening (or are about to happen).

I'm currently halfway into my course on Chronic Pain Management, and, as I was warned beforehand, my pain levels and pain killer use seem to be maxed out on a daily basis. Excercise is going ok-ish, saying no to people (as not to overextend myself) could be better, but at least some progress has been made. It's nice to be back in a regular small group of people, who more or less have the same issues. It's costing me a small fortune in parking fees though, sheesh.

It's been 4+ years since my accident, in this time I got another degree, did internships and looked for jobs that my physique and mind can handle. Sofar....no luck. My benefits will run out on the 18th and I've been to the benefits agency to be tested by their physician to see what my future possibilities are with my current (and future) limitations. This could mean I'm 100% cleared for work, or 100% not, or anything in between. As much as I want to work again, I aso have to take into account what I can handle on a daily basis. Which to be honest, isn't much. I can do a bit of work, either physical or mental, and need frequent breaks just to keep going for a few hours. Hardly alluring for employers...and bloody annoying to run a house hold with2  small children. Anyway, I should have a decision from them in 1-2 weeks and from there we will see how my life gets turned upside down, again <sigh>

Moving on up (into the attic) is going rather well, but in bursts. As I'm being taught now to put myself (and my family) first I just planned 2 afternoons a week to work on getting stuff up to the attic. The occasional box or item in between is fine, but by planning I can get some help from Kim or a friend to lift stuff up. I'm quite happy with the results sofar, even if it is going slow......steady wins the race. Also, it's very relaxing to be uphere with the wind and rain tapping on the window.

(Ignore the labels, they all need to be resorted and reprinted....at a later date)

And I've even done a bit of modelling <shocker>


A old Airfix Chi-Ha I picked up for 3 euros, now a wreck for Vietnam. Well, it will be once painted and tufted.

Right, I'm knackered.....more later this week.

donderdag 27 februari 2020

Clean Desk Policy


Slowly moving stuff up into the attic storage space. Tired from everything, and having a shot fuse makes a not very fun Johan. Can't wait till the old room is cleaned out so we can start rebuilding it for Nikki, and I have a ton of sorting to do.

Till then, I'm enjoying my new desk space, but I really need to find a webcam with a decent mike so I can do more voice to text as my hands are killing me. And yes, I realize I'm very lucky to have such a fantastic space. Just sometimes wish that the reason I have been able to pay for all of this had never happend, as sometimes it is just too much and the pills cannot dull the pain.



maandag 10 februari 2020

Aziz, light!



Hung the main room LED panel. Didn't fit as advertised. Got fed up, took a break, grabbed 30 cents worth of washers from my spares box and dropped the light by 6mm, and then everything fit.

Shot taken with door closed and screen closed (pitch black room) and new light on. Thats a lot of light :)

Same one will be over my workdesk, still figuring out the best way to mount it.Also fixed the ripped out door with longer screws, and replaced them with the other doors as well.

Now....sleep.

zondag 9 februari 2020

Sea of Grey

Everything is painted, and the first room has the levelling compound added. Not long now, hope to start laying floring this week :) Next weekend we will level the other room (as we can't drag down the washer/dryer)


Looks lovely as is, tbh. Soundproofing though, not so much....


The leveller did open one of the doors thinking it opened away from the wall.....and completely ripped it out of the wall. Oops.  The builder apolagised, but he and I know those are the standard screws that come with such doors. I'll put in new, longer ones somewhere this week. Shame about the door, but such is life.

I made a small visit to Gerard Boom (from Shifting Lands) to have a chat and pick up a set of power pylons for This is not a Test. They are a bit basic, but look the part and are easy enough to build, only 1 part gave me a bit of a headache and that got sorted soon enough. There are no power line couplings so I will have to scratchbuild those or have someone lasercut them for me so I can add them. Every little bit helps.



I also picked up some used H0 bits, a fixed crane, a diesel/LPG btank and a transformer housing. This, combined with the 5 bags of Faller Cemnet Factory and Diesel Storage I picked up the other day, will keep me busy for a while.  After stripping the broken (or easily broken) parts I'm now at this stage, all parts for the factory complex. They need details that I can't add atm as my tools are hidden behind all of the crates. Oh well.






donderdag 23 januari 2020

Sanding the floor, glacier style

One of our friends had offered to sand the concrete as it is a bubbly and wavy mess, with lots of cracks, holes and raised pebbles. Not quite up to date to current conrete casting tbh (far from it). He does this for a boss, but wasn't scheduled to work today so he passed by to help us out.
Our contractor scoffed at the idea, didn't think it would be easy at all to sand the concrete, but he did not take into account the industrial model sander our friend brought with him (it didn't look like much, but the sander had some serious big cutter teeth discs)



Like a glacier went over a rock bed, excellent, he really knows his job well. I need to bring up a large level tomorrow and go over the floor and see which areas need levelling before we can put down the flooring.


We stripped back the old stairsway up to the attic.....removed all the bits of carpet, and about 5 kilos of staples, nails and dirt. Will be sanded tomorrow.

Slow but steady, we are getting there.