Blowing up (out?) the roof!

Took a afternoon off just to build a bit on the not-La Maisontaal, and since I can't find (enough) material for the shingles, I've set my sights on what the hell happend here. So, an explosion or 2 I reckon should do what it needs to cause this sort of damage. Told you not to get fire too close to these "spices", Albert.....

Wanted to make a section of roof completely blown off, with a light squash to the sides, and a door in the wallsection....just to have a spawnpoint for *insert monster of the day or door to a stash, or a entry point for Ratty & Co.

So, after a superquick sketch to check the concept, and a few quick cuts with my Proxxon, I got the basics, and just went to town from there. Really wish I could work faster, but I prefer this glue which sets fast but not as fast as a hot glue gun, but it bonds everything really well so it becomes really tough. My hands aren't helping either, the shaking got really bad near the end so I took a nice long break and did a bit more work just now in the evening, including cutting and sanding a base for it.

Well, hope you like. Needs some more work tomorrow evening for the final planking and gritting, and then work a bit on another bit of roofsection, but purely as a barricade-sort-of-thingy.

Hope you like. It keeps me and my head occupied at least :)

La Maisontaal....needs a new name.

 Added in a chimeny, which went well. Added in arches in stone....which went shit. Added the roof, the burned parts of it (on purpose). Building on the fly is fun, but a bit more planning would be nice tbh. Already have 2 partially built bases from last year lined yup after this, when this is done (and painted!) I'll have a sit down and put some ideas some ideas to paper. Would be nice if I could find the old tower I made for La Maisontaal as well, but I'll be damned if I know where it is.

Lot's more to do, and a story is building, but not sure if I'm going with a Merchantshouse for exotic wares (explaining the blocked off storage area underneath the living area) or.....what?

Her's some pics to keep you entertained.

Hope you are. I'm also working on my years old 10mm Afghan comission (Rob is a really nice gent and never puts me down por being a slow as a frozen Chipmunk) and I'm aiming to have those built and plastered somewhere in the week, but pictures of that at a later date.

Remember La Maisontaal?

Back in January 2016 I started La Maisontaal, well, my version anyway. This then ended up in storage, parts broke, and was never finished. I found it while clearing out storage boxes last week, and I want to put my mind off of things, so.....why not.

So, we start with the only piece I have left (as far as I know, the other parts broke and I just gave them away). And from there, things just happen.

Add some wood from leftover fireworks, and add more and more.....

And more wood.....and sand. It's nice to be back working on it.....even if it's no longer La maisontaal but just a large house for Mordheim. Really keen on finshing this one for a change, a new goal as you say.

I've put it all to side for now, let it rest a few days, I need to sort some life stuff out, finances, get stuff catalogued and ready for sale for some hard needed extra cash.

And then the house of cards fells apart....

I'll keep this short.

Still sorthing through stuff, getting a lot of kit ready to be sold when I have the time, currently focussing on the larger items. I'm also looking at removing the extendable part of my desk and dumping a small couch there, I need a place to chill and for the girls to sit and play to keep out of my wife's hair.

But....in all their benevolence, the UWV has decided I'm fully fit for work, to do light office or assemebly work for 40 hours a week, and they tell me this pays 13 euros on average. I'll get the letter with their conclusion next week, and have informed my mental health coach and the job coach and a few others as they don't seem to udnerstand 40 hours is completely out of the question, and I've been trying for the past 9 months to find a 20-24 hour a week job to ease back into a working life.

But having the stamps of Autism and (not) recovering from being run over makes finding a job really, really hard. Heck, I've had 3 professionals look for work for me in the past 3 years and they didn't find any that would have me. But sure, on my own I must be able to find a 40/week job. Oh, there is a pandemic going on..... I have 4 months of unemployment benefits left, and then we will just have to eat into our savings (well, mine) so in theory we should be able to make it into 2021. There should be some jobs by then, right?

So, rather pissed, feeling ignored again by "professionals" who seem to read medical reports in the most positive way possible.

To keep myself sane I started a 4 week challenge: Colouring the Guard. Building Frostgrave sprues into a 10 man squad of lowly town guards / deserters. Got to try something, right. Not that my hands work properly or anything, but hey.

<sad emoji>

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

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?

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.