Large 28mm Darkest Africa Gallery

[War In 15MM]

aggro84, thanks for the very kind words.  I'll pass them along to the other two Richards. 

[Denizen Kane]

Just wonderful!

[FifteensAway]

Well, look-ey there.  Two of three Richards, one right after another!   

I just couldn't resist.   And I hope Richard ain't a-mad at me.  I'm only a half day drive away from him. 

And, yes, I'll take any excuse to keep this thread up near the top.  Pathetic, ain't it.

[Bunkermeister]

The thing I find amazing about all this is that so much of what we see here was junk when Richard purchased it.  He lives very near a local college and they have a swap meet every weekend in their parking lot.  Richard visits the swap meet and picks up old toys, broken models and various bits and bobs.  Frequently he will stop by my house and show me a box of not much more than junk.

Then he takes it home and with the magic of putty and paint he creates a masterpiece.  After doing this for a year, he then puts it all together into a coherent display.  His daughter visits him and takes photos for him and he posts them for our enjoyment.  I keep asking him to post before and after shots of his stuff.  It's unbelievable what he often starts with before he works his magic on them.

The other thing that makes his projects so great is an elephant herd is not just momma, daddy and baby elephant, there is a whole herd of elephants.  His flock of flamingos is more than two or three.  He works in the large animal herds and I like that.  I think Richard is the Cecil B. DeMille of diorama building.

Mike Bunkermeister Creek

[War In 15MM]

Denizen Kane, glad you enjoyed the collection, and I really appreciate not only the very generous words but the fact that you took the time to write.
FifteensAway, I always enjoy/look forward to your comments.  Thank you, and that is sincere!
Mike (aka Bunkermeister), I am indeed lucky to have a friend like you who is as nuts as I am about his enjoyment of this hobby and who I can share creations with.  I think "the Cecil B. DeMille of diorama building" is one of the best compliments my work has ever received.  Thank you!
Richard

[FifteensAway]

Just 'cause it deserves a reprise - and, hopefully, if Richard sees this, he'll give a hint as to status on his French and Indian War project (so I don't miss it when he posts his gallery!).

Also, just rode the jungle cruise at Disneyland earlier in the week and was thinking of this while riding.  Now I have to figure a game that combines pirates, the Old West, and Africa?  

[Vonkluge]

Hey Richard,

Just saw this post for the first time! (Yes I've been involved in life and just haven't logged in to LAF) but having a bit of time at work today I cruised through and came across your DA post here and WOW!!! I have always loved the period and as you know have a fair sized setup myself. This however just blew me away! Sort of made me mad as well since "you" have completed many of the goals and ideas I had for my setup...(great modelers think alike) Hats of to you for having the perseverance to complete the project (are these projects ever truly finished?) and posted it to the LAF. As I perused the collection's photos I I was struck with the similarity in your painting treatment of the the African huts in your collection and the ones in mine but in reading the post here discovered that you took some inspiration from seeing my African gallery!...LOL! I got my original idea for the colors from a turn of the century cigarette card album from Germany. Again "Hats off to you Richard!"

Bill Witthans

[tin shed gamer]

I've no idea how I've missed this for so long.
You've restored my faith in my own projects.Which were rapidly heading towards CBA. Status .
By doggedly dragging this project to life. You've shamed me into action(and probably into poverty as I'll  spend sometime on my own projects   this week and take break from the paid ones)
Look forward to seeing more.
Mark.

[War In 15MM]

Mark, thanks for the kind words.  Good luck with your Africa... don't let it fall through the cracks.

Bill,  I'm really glad you enjoyed this gallery especially because the work you did on your huts was so strikingly excellent that I knew when I saw it that I had to incorporate the color scheme you used when I painted my African huts.  As to the question of whether these projects are ever finished, we both know they aren't; in fact, I just bought another elephant at the swap meet a couple weeks ago.  It is now painted and part of the herd... this is despite the fact that I probably only used half of the elephants I have in the gallery you see posted on LAF.  But it is a great elephant and only cost me 50 cents.  I really do appreciate being able to borrow you color scheme for my huts... love the way they look thanks to you.

FifteensAway, thanks so much for the reprise of the gallery.  I really love this one myself and it makes me happy to know that more people will see it now because you brought that into view.  My wife and I just got home this evening from a week in Montreal and Quebec City... how's that for a segue to your question about my French and Indian War project?   As for that project, I finished the painting and construction work on it Friday, September 4.  The following Tuesday I did some practice layout work because in terms of board space used the FIW is going to be much bigger than anything I've done before.  I have two boards that are each 5 ft x 7 ft and I will be using both boards twice... four big table layouts.   In terms of figures I'm sure I over did it with about 1500 figures completed, but I have been dreaming about a FIW collection since I was 8 years old and that's a lot of decades ago.  There's a huge amount of terrain involved in this one with two forts, a large Woodland Indian village, a British colonial farm community and more than 300 spruce and pine trees.  I plan to have it photographed in the first half of October and hopefully it will be posted before the end of that month or very early in November.  I've been working on it now for 9 months (painting and building/the collecting took years), and I'm very happy with the way it turned out.  I'll soon be starting on my next project which is my 28mm (probably shouldn't have said that) Pulp Gangster collection... I'm going to go a little crazy with that.  It will have two tables (a city and a harbor).  It will also include a sewer and lots of other stuff but I'll save talk of that for another time.

Thanks again to all for writing.  Richard

[FifteensAway]

Richard, even here in the gentlemanly halls of LAF, may I say you are one of the finest gentlemen of gaming - always taking time to reply to each individual within your threads to the best of your ability (which is pretty darn good).  I just thought you might appreciate that it is noticed.

And by the way, no foul in discussing 28 mm. While I am a strong defender of 15 mm, your reasons for doing some things in 28 mm are sound and understood.  There are times I do wish someone would make more detail pieces for the old west, things like room furnishings and the like in 15 mm.  Though I do have a fair amount of items for my setup -much of it is really from the 1/144th dollhouse world so a bit smaller than I'd like.  But sometimes something is better than nothing.

I'm really looking forward to your FIW gallery - as I'm sure many people are.  You are prodigious in your production!

[War In 15MM]

FifteensAway, as one gentleman to another thank you for your generous words.  Let me add that I actually enjoy our little back and forth about 28s... always brings a smile to my face.  As to the wish for more detail pieces in the 15s, I fully appreciate that feeling and have long had it myself.  I'm rather sure you know the Blue Moon 15mm/18mm ranges inside out, but just in case, let me pass along that in their 15mm/18mm Building line there is an Old West range that includes Western Furniture (15BOW-107) that is very nice stuff.  I plan to pick up a pack myself.  There is no picture of it on the site but a friend of mine has a pack, and I like what I saw.  Also in the Blue Moon 15mm/18mm Old West there is a pack called Saloon Set (150W-104).  There is a picture of that on the website and it looks good.  As I said, you probably are well aware of these, but just thought I would pass it along on the off chance they had slipped your attention.  Always good to hear from you, and thanks once again for the reprise of my African Adventure... much appreciated.  I look forward to seeing your 15mm Africa when it reaches completion.  Be well.  Richard

[FifteensAway]

Oh, so sue me for bringing this back to the top of the pile!    

I just want those who haven't seen it to get a gander at this amazing piece of perseverance and creativity.  I just love this thread.

Must add a few words for Richard's benefit and as partial explanation for why my own Africa project is on hold - sort of.

First, I've commissioned my first custom sculpts (I've been lucky enough to have a manufacturer create some requests - related to my Africa animals, all of them).  A leading sculptor is creating a variety of poses of African Cape Buffalo for me and should be ready some time towards the second quarter of 2017.  And, naturally, in 15 mm - or rather 18 mm.  Most of my herds top out at 48 animals each, though some are a bit smaller.  I think this one I might allow to grow much larger than that as a point of pride (or maybe to justify the expense!).

The primary point of delay on working on my own figures has been my mother and her health situation.  She is now 86 and was diagnosed with dementia three years ago and I've been using most of my spare time the last year and a half involved in her care since I have the legal responsibilities.  Recently she lost her ability to walk and can barely hold anything.  I suspect her time grows short.  And since she is in the midst of dementia and growing worse I know there will be a mixture of relief at her passing to go along with the natural grief.  And, please, while anyone's sympathy is appreciated, it isn't needed.  I only point this out because of its significance in delaying work on my Africa figures - and just about everything else in life.  Not that those and other figures have been entirely ignored, tiny bits of progress do occur.

Still hoping for chimps, baboons, and some other items, especially more varieties of ungulates and feathered critters like cranes and vultures.  And the 720 I posted here earlier might eventually top 900!  I know, I know, crazy.  Though at the very least I hope to have all the animals painted soon enough to entertain Richard.  Considering how much enjoyment his multitude of galleries have inspired so many of us, it is the least I can do.  Just don't expect his masterful brushwork.  I'm more into the spectacle of numbers than the detailed paint job.  And I have to overcome access issues to my blog.  But between holidays and mom stuff, not quite there yet.

And here is a point of irony for you - or maybe a delusional element.  I suspect once I have my stuff all done and its made public visually across the internet a lot of what I don't have but want will become available as others seek to emulate, on a lesser scale most of the time, what I did.  But no matter what I do, it will not rival what Richard has achieved - but it will be much inspired by his efforts which he will obviously appreciate.

[vodkafan]

I just looked at four of the galleries.  Just amazing. I think I liked the Victorian gallery best.

[gamer Mac]

Lovely stuff well worth the bump

[philhendry]

Superb! Hugely inspiring.