STRANGE AEONS PROJECT COMPLETED (almost)

A lamentable lack of activity on the blogging front in the last few weeks. I have just found time to comment on some of the blogs I follow, but that is about it. . No particular reason other than normal day to day existence and perhaps a lack of focus, hopping from one wargaming project to another almost on a daily basis, which of course is no use whatsoever. I have just been diagnosed with osteo-arthritis in my knees,  which have been giving me trouble over the last year or so... happily not life threatening but a bother in my line of work, as I am on my feet (or knees) all day. I decided to give myself a day off today and try and finish my Dunwich Horror gameboard, and I have just done so..... the second wargaming project I have finished in my life!! Actually I am waiting for a  friend to sculpt me the Dunwich Horror itself, but as it spends most of the story invisible and hidden in a decaying farmhouse I can show pictures of the board as it stands so far,

Dunwich Village

Osborn's General Store. The loafers outside are Airfix and Imex, the building from Hovels with a scratchbuilt ruined steeple.

The dark and tenebrous bridge over the dark and muttering Miskatonic river.

Wilbur Whateley outside his repellent farmhouse. Wilbur is from Rafm miniatures, a 25mm figure, but as he is meant to be 9 feet tall the figure works well with 1/72 figures. The house and shed are by Model Power.

The queer stone circle on Sentinel Hill

Some nervous villagers confront the Aylesbury Police. Note tentacle emerging from cart.

The intrepid Professors. Armitage, Rice and Morgan from Miskatonic University.

Detail of Wilbur and one of his sickly cattle. Wilbur's twin brother lurks in the house.

The ramp to an upper storey window, making it easier to feed the twin brother.

Some villagers

Wilbur has a strange anatomy

His back is squamous and piebald in black and yellow.

Police from Redbox and Model T from Reviresco

All in all I was quite pleased with the way it came out and I am tempted to have a bash at another 2' x 3' Strange Aeons board....either Innsmouth or the Antarctic.

Temple of Nodens

Following on my Lovecraftian theme, we took a trip over the Severn to Lydney Park today where there are some lovely gardens and a ruined Roman temple. The gardens of Lydney Park were laid out in the 1930's by Viscount Bledisloe and are open only a few days a year in the Spring when they are looking splendid, colour coming from a myriad range of Rhododendrons and Azaleas. The deciduous Azaleas were wafting their perfume throughout the valley, where there are series of interconnecting pools and streams

Some fine Gunnera manicata at the waters edge

A jolly hot day

Some stunning Rhododendrons

Perched on a hill above the valley are the remains of a fourth century temple dedicated to the god Nodens (a local deity). In H P Lovecraft's tales Nodens appears as a generally genial god who thwarts Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos. The temple was excavated in the late 1920's by Sir Mortimer Wheeler aided by (among others) a young Professor called J R R Tolkien and it seems probable that news of the discoveries reached Lovecraft in Providence, Rhode Island.

The bath house



part of the entrance complex with the Severn visible in the background.

Ramsey Cambell wrote a series of Lovecraftian pastiches set in this area of England, creating sinister towns such as Temphill and Goatswood. Strangely the temple was built in the 360's, fourty years after the Roman Empire had converted to Christianity, but then this area has always had a reputation for witchcraft and paganism lingering on. The word witch comes from the old English Hwicce, the tribe that lived in these parts.... perhaps we were lucky to get home safely.



PAINTING FIGURES FOR STRANGE AEONS

What a hectic week. We have suddenly become busy at work (thank goodness) and are pulling out all the stops , buying in lots of lovely plants. The trade is so weather dependant, we are at the mercy of the elements. I also took delivery of a couple of DVDs this week. The X-Files season 4, and The Whisperer in Darkness (latter produced by the H P Lovercraft Historical Society)



, so I have been distracted by a) Gillian Anderson and b) six foot flying lobsters bent on world domination. I was a bit disappointed by the Whisperer having waited 3 years to see this film made, I hoped the HPLHS would have faithfully followed the original story but they turned it into a corny B-Movie with slightly horrific additions. The trailer they made was very good however and promised great things

Either way, eldritch horror has been high on the agenda (particularly this morning tackling George's nappy) and I have started making some scenery for the game Strange Aeons, hoping to make a gameboard based on Lovecraft's story The Dunwich Horror. Work in progress at the moment, but as it is a small project with few figures needed I may even get things finished. The boards for Strange Aeons is only 2' x 3' so it is possible to custom make terrain for different scenarios.

So far

Some Dunwich rustics and straw sucking hayseeds (mainly Redbox figures but the guy on the far left holding the rabbits is a Pegasus chap)

Professors Armitage, Rice and Morgan (Airfix)

The ill fated policemen (they get eaten) Redbox figures again.

Some of the Whateley clan's diseased cattle (Pegasus figures)

The Whateley House, boarded up to contain Wilbur's twin brother!!

The dark and tenebrous covered bridge that leads to Dunwich

the ruined church of Dunwich, now Osborne's General Stores.

More to follow soon..........