Shownotes for Episode 66

Theme                       Enchiridion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8NkG3bhIxU

Welcome                   148 Barovian Castle https://tabletopaudio.com/

Previously On   Scott Buckley Legionnaire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uIYYEM45b4

Part 2                        Darren Curtis – She’s Watching Me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGguA2HUUr4 

Dramatis   RPG SOUNDS “Realization”

Some  FX:                 https://www.zapsplat.com

Cross Promo Partners: Resting Glitch Face & Billowing Hilltop

Shownotes for Episode 65

Theme                             Enchiridion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8NkG3bhIxU

Welcome                         148 Barovian Castle https://tabletopaudio.com/

Previously On         Scott Buckley Legionnaire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uIYYEM45b4

Dramatis         RPG SOUNDS “Realization”

Some  FX:                       https://www.zapsplat.com

Cross Promo Partners: Resting Glitch Face & Rollbound

Adventures in Acetone - part 2

 I've been continuing with some experiments in making Sprue Goo without actually having any sprues, and using acetone instead of plastic cement.  

At first, the only thing I successfully melted was styrofoam, and it worked OK, but I knew that I was not truly getting the best results, so I started experimenting.  Eventually, by trial and error, I found three kinds of plastics that worked correctly (most trial plastics just sat in the acetone and did nothing).  

These were: plastic bread tags, CD jewel cases and plastic push pins.  All three melted into a squishy liquid plastic-putty that could be put in an Oyumaru mold and - after letting cure for 1-2 days - became a hard plastic figuring or 'bit'.

Here's a goblin I cast with Oyumaru and then re-created with bread tabs.  Some detail is lost, but overall, it's not too bad (I still need to cut off all the flashing, or course).

Front

Back

Shownotes for Episode 64

Theme                     Enchiridion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8NkG3bhIxU

Welcome                 148 Barovian Castle https://tabletopaudio.com/

Previously On Scott Buckley Legionnaire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uIYYEM45b4

Dramatis         RPG SOUNDS “Realization”

Some  FX:               https://www.zapsplat.com

Cross Promo Partners: The Sprouting & Rollbound

Adventures in Acetone

 Last Year, around Xmas, I got into kit bashing and scratch building figurines. My goal was really just to keep everything super cheap... if I was buying green stuff for 20 bucks, it just wasn't worth it.  Eventually I stumbled on some potential game changers: oyumaru and sprue goo.  With these, in theory, I could recast figurines infinitely for pennies.  As usual, I gave myself a deep dive into Youtube for an education and started to experiment.  The first experiment was an utter failure.  I bought dollar store nail polish remover and used spare plastic minis (because I didn't have any actual sprues).

I soaked them for days and nothing happened.  Eventually I figured out that the dollar store nail polish remover was more water than acetone and wasn't strong enough, so I bought this...

Success was just around the corner ... except it wasn't. This didn't do anything, either.  I was frustrated and considered giving up, having spent ten bucks on useless acetone.  Then I thought I'd try another experiment and put Styrofoam into the acetone  ... and it worked! The resultant goop was not very easy to work with, but it had a couple of good points.  It didn't stick to my fingers and it didn't stick to the oyumaru.

I found a few immediate uses for it, including as a medium for basing.  

It is also possible to recast this stuff if you are patient and let it dry for about 2 days. In the photo below, the legs and one arm are done with melted Styrofoam goop, and the rest is with thermoplastic (which is much easier to use, but still limited in other ways).

Shownotes for Episode 63

Theme                              Enchiridion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8NkG3bhIxU

Welcome                          148 Barovian Castle https://tabletopaudio.com/

Previously On                 Scott Buckley Legionnaire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uIYYEM45b4

Part 1                 Just One Fix “Red Dawn” https://justonefixnz.bandcamp.com/track/red-dawn

Dramatis          RPG SOUNDS “Realization”

Part 1b                 Just One Fix “Hades Rising”

Part 2 final section         Darren Curtis – She’s Watching Me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGguA2HUUr4 

Some  FX:                               https://www.zapsplat.com

Cross Promo Partners: The Sprouting & Dread Maps

Toronto Comicon!

 Thanks to CanPodAwards for inviting me to promote my show at their booth last Friday at Comicon.  It was my first big con and I was suitably overwhelmed :)

I ran a "Guess-How-Many-Dice-Are-In-The-Jar" game and gave away a few sets of fancy dice to the winners.

Shownotes for Episode 62

Theme                     Enchiridion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8NkG3bhIxU

Welcome                 148 Barovian Castle https://tabletopaudio.com/

Previously On Scott Buckley Legionnaire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uIYYEM45b4

Some  FX:               https://www.zapsplat.com

Cross Promo Partners: Dungeon Dads & 5 Gms in a Trenchcoat

2 Beautiful Character Drawings

 While I was away, I was lucky enough to get - not one, but two - pieces of art from TOTM listeners.  One is from Season 1 (remember Harl Stonecarver?) and the other is from the current Season 2 (you'll recognize Shahnay right away).  The pieces are different in style but both are excellent!

Thanks so much to Charles and Erik!

Harl Stonecarver by Charles Fetherolf

Shahnay by Erik H

Back in Toronto

 

I got back from an extended trip to Mexico just a couple of days ago and I'm doing a little catchup on the pod, which I had set to 'automate' while I was gone.

The automation went fairly smoothly, though there were a couple of hiccups, namely a problem with file naming that made S1E57 get replaced with S2E57 (my thanks to everyone who wrote in to inform me of the problem).  I have set things right now, though it might take a few days to update to all podcatcher services and Spotify.

While away, I was unable to record, but I did bring dice and that let me produce a lot of script, so for the next few weeks, I'll be focusing my efforts on recording and mixing.  

Also while away, I received some very cool listener made art that I am very eager to share here - that'll be coming up soon!

In other news, I was recently invited to attend ComicCon here in Toronto at the Canadian Podcast Awards booth.  More on that in a few days.

Shownotes for Episodes 60 & 61

60

Theme                     Enchiridion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8NkG3bhIxU

Welcome                 148 Barovian Castle https://tabletopaudio.com/

Previously On Scott Buckley Legionnaire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uIYYEM45b4

Some  FX:               https://www.zapsplat.com

Cross Promo Partners: Weird Games and Weirder People & 5 Gms in a Trenchcoat

61

Theme                     Enchiridion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8NkG3bhIxU

Welcome                 148 Barovian Castle https://tabletopaudio.com/

Previously On Scott Buckley Legionnaire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uIYYEM45b4

Dramatis         RPG SOUNDS “Realization”

Some  FX:               https://www.zapsplat.com

Cross Promo Partners: Weird Games and Weirder People & Pink Fohawk

Shownotes for Episodes 57, 58 & 59

57

Theme                     Enchiridion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8NkG3bhIxU

Welcome                 148 Barovian Castle https://tabletopaudio.com/

Previously On Scott Buckley Legionnaire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uIYYEM45b4

Part 1b Kevin Macleod Unnatural Situation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsjSb9oFLZI

Some  FX:               https://www.zapsplat.com

Cross Promo Partners: The Rolled Standard & Damsels in Dicetress

58

Theme                     Enchiridion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8NkG3bhIxU

Welcome                 148 Barovian Castle https://tabletopaudio.com/

Previously On Scott Buckley Legionnaire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uIYYEM45b4

Some  FX:               https://www.zapsplat.com

Cross Promo Partners: Dice & Desire & Professional Questers

59

Theme                     Enchiridion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8NkG3bhIxU

Welcome                 148 Barovian Castle https://tabletopaudio.com/

Previously On Scott Buckley Legionnaire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uIYYEM45b4

Part 2c 313 Dusk of the Dryad:  https://tabletopaudio.com/

Part 3 RPG SOUNDS “Dark Continent”  https://tabletopaudio.com/

Some  FX:               https://www.zapsplat.com

Cross Promo Partners: Dice & Desire & Professional Questers

Dread Maps!

 Well, you know, I thought I wouldn't be posting again until I got back from out of country, but I couldn't wait that long to post this sheer awesomeness:

Dread Maps has created a very, very detailed map of the Goddard Estate.  It's just stunning (and you can really see how just much hard work went into it...)

You can get the full maps here

Shownotes for Episode 56, and ...

Theme                     Enchiridion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8NkG3bhIxU

Welcome                 148 Barovian Castle https://tabletopaudio.com/

Previously On Scott Buckley Legionnaire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uIYYEM45b4

Part 3b Kevin Macleod Unnatural Situation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsjSb9oFLZI

Dramatis      RPG SOUNDS “Realization”

Some  FX:               https://www.zapsplat.com

Cross Promo Partners: The Rolled Standard & Damsels in Dicetress

and, ... I wanted to say that there will be a delay in issuing shownotes for eps 57-61 as I'll be out of the country and won't be able handle that while I'm away.  Actual episode releases are set to happen automatically, however.

Next Stop: One Million!

 I already announced it on social media, and I put a special message into tomorrow's episode (56) too, so I hope I am not overdoing it in my excitement, but... TOTM finally hit the half million downloads mark. This is a huge milestone for me and it definitely fuels my engines..  I am so grateful to all the listeners, boosters, actors, musicians and other talents who have helped build the show. Thank you so much!!

The 12 Days of Kit-Bash (Part 2)

 One of the things that I didn't expect to be a challenge was the photography part... but wow, this was actually much harder than I expected, especially as I had to do quite a bit of it after sundown and electric lights don't produce as good results as daylight (unless you have proper equipment, I suppose...).  Still and all, I did my best.  Here's the back half of my kit-bashing run:

Day 7

Ruined pillars made with dollar store clay, pressed inside a ring of crayons, dried and then hit with a hammer.

Day 8

These zombies were my first project and the reason I got interested in kit bashing in the first place.  I had ordered a bag-o-knights from amazon for ten or 15 bucks and got like, a hundred minis.  Great deal, right? Well, the scale was off... I joked with my D&D buddies that I had bought an army of halflings.  Since I had so many, I figured I could try an experiment and 'stretch' them, cutting off their limbs and cutting the waist, then adding a bit of hot glue in the gap.  These would deform them, sure, but... that could make for cool zombies.  I think it worked alright.

Day 9

Got this idea from The Dungeon Minister, who suggested buying Xmas model trees and using caulking to make snow.  I combined that Idea with Professor Dungeon Master's 'Dungeon Pizza' and, voila!

Day 10

Giant Frogs.  Is this even kit-bash?  I glued kitty litter onto some toy frogs' backs, glued the rubbery ones to a base, used a dude from the bag-o-halflings as a tasty treat, then a uniform paintjob.  This one was super easy and looks quite good.

Day 11

For Day 11, I was, to be honest, getting worried that I wouldn't actually be able to finish on time.  It took me all day and I shot the photos at night, but in the end, I managed to get a cool looking scene together with some fairly simple dungeon dressing bits.  This is true mixed medium.  The stairs are jenga blocks and foam; the crates are wooden blocks with cardboard details. The trapdoor is just cardboard with a bent wire pull. The altar (I'm quite proud of it) is clay with a fimo skull earring casting as a detail. The sarcophagus is clay with a foam lid. Tower round, curved stairs and wall are all clay.  I hand made a texture roller with 3-D paint on a bottle that worked a charm for the floor pattern. (I'd highly recommend making one of these. I liked it so much, I made another.)

Day 12

The only way I was able to get all 12 done was by doing a few each day.  In a way, these were the most successful, though I kind of ruined them by sealing the finished models with Mod Podge.  [Turns out, spray varnish (which I used on the dwarves) is better.  Mod Podge dries too thick and I lost some hard-won detail, especially in the skulls/faces.]  Still, the wire armature coated with 3D paint, fimo or soldered ribcages, and the fimo skulls worked well.  Weapons and shields are from the endless bag-o-knights, mostly.  The archer is the worst of the lot - an experiment on using a twist tie armature and not stripping off the plastic (it shows). Cultists are fimo with soldered hands and faces cast from a real mini.

The 12 Days of Kit-Bash (Part 1)

 As a teacher, I often have quite a bit of down time during the holiday season and as a retired teacher, I have gobs of it.  To kill the time in a fun way, I decided to issue myself the "The 12 Days of Kit-Bash" challenge, which was to make my own minis by kitbash, hand sculpt, or... whatever I could manage.  I learned a TON along the way and I have new respect for the artists who do this and post their work on Instagram.

By comparison, my stuff is ugly and childish, but I don't really care - I had a grand old time trying new things and learning a new craft.  Here's what I made:

Day 1

This is a roper made of hot glue and paper clips wire. Eye is a bead. Teeth are finishing nails.

Day 2

A pair of hydras made with a plastic dino, a fimo snake body and a bunch of hot glue snake heads I made by casting a plastic snake in clay.

Day 3

3 Trolls made with paper clip wire armature, '3D' fabric paint and some odds and sods.  I messed up the scale on the small ones (too small).

Day 4

I made 4 elementals, one of each type. Hot glue, epoxy, a skull earring cast and then rendered in fimo and some actual rocks crazy glued together are among the media here.

Day 5

Epoxy slimes.  Literally anything cand be made into a slime. The bubbles in the top two were done by using disposable contact lens cases.

Day 6

Dwarves.  Now these were real kitbash.  I used bits of other figurines (you'll see them in many of my builds... a big ole bag of mixed knights).  Also a lot of handcrafting here using various beads, stars and random shapes. Black beans for bodies and popcorn kernals for some heads. 2 of the heads were cast from a real dwarf mini I bought.  The other four have drinking straw helmets.

OK, I'll post the other 6 days tomorrow.  This was such a good time, I kind of think I might try it all again next year...