Occasional Green Pastures and Quiet Waters

13 Jan - I've finished cleaning the figurines, removing excess metal, and filing down moulding scars. Finding those studs left behind wasn't a very easy task. I really wanted to make sure that I didn't discover any while I was painting. [Turns out, I missed out one on a boot corner. Discovered it while painting the boot, sadly; had to file through the paint] Decided to give two of my figures a darker shade, so I went with Chaos Black as the foundation colour. Was about to start on the third figure when my friends turned up for dinner. Next time, I guess.

Three Faces of Aldir

This is Aldir_Green, a figure I intend to use for playing in plains or forest terrains. Sporting a ghillie suit made out of Dark Grass, he's rising out from hiding to take a deadly shot at his quarry.

The most challenging part of this figure is not the painting, but more the customising of details. I spent quite a while deliberating on whether I should cover him in grass or foliage, and also how to fill the unstrung bow.
Initially, I had decided for the standing figure to be used for Aldir_Green, and this one for a 'sniper in the trees' concept. I got hesitant after a while and decided to scrap the foliage cover, and do a ghillie suit instead. I'm thinking of using the standing figure for something along the lines of Ezio or something... we'll see. hehe.

I gave quite some thought to how to fill in the missing details, like the bowstring and arrow. The guy who sold me the figures said the reason why they aren't there is that the manufacturers can't make them thin enough without compromising structure, and if the details are too thick, they look awkward. I was in the car thinking of what to use when a strand of hair got caught in between my fingers as I reached for the gear stick. Eureka! After about half an hour of scrounging around, I found that the fibres from this old floor brush worked really well as an arrow shaft after some modification. I'm also considering painting the shaft to match the those in the quiver.

Said brush

Having started painting the figures, one strange detail caught my attention. These fellas are supposed to be rangers, well known for stealth and tracking. Why on earth are they carrying weapons with reflective surfaces like the sword hilt and the gilding for the quiver? Wouldn't that be a dead give-away? Strange indeed...

Kids grow up and eventually leave the house. When we did, my parents decided to box our stuff up and chuck them... well... here and there. Prime areas are the now unused study room ('cos who studies anymore?), and the little space under the stairs I like to call the dungeon.

'The Dungeon'

Deep in the recesses of the Dungeon, I found a scroll. Pretty cool, seeing how scrolls and dungeons usually go together. I think it must have been a gift from my uncle in Singapore. Rather tasteful Chinese calligraphy of a poem by renown Tang poet, Li Bai. Next step is to find a bit of wall worthy to hang it on.


Ah... my old treasure trove. The childhood equivalent of oil deposits - everybody wanted that unique piece, and if you didn't have it, you'd do anything to get it, including a fist fight. God knows how many fights I've gotten into with my brother and sister over these little tiny pieces of leg godt.

By the way, ever stepped on one in the dark before? Haha...


Of all the treasure I've dug out so far, I think these are the best by far. A possible 1957 edition of Alexander Dumas' Three Musketeers, and 100 Nursery Rhymes which has now gone out of print. A quick search on the Great Internet reveals that there's only one copy of the nursery rhyme book available for sale. Whoa... pity my copy's wrecked beyond redemption.

Here's a picture of my favourite rhyme of all time.