10) Sixty-Nine Dollars: Nice, nice.

These units are often represented in KoW by GW Jezzail teams or by Mantic Ver'Myn gunners. Mine are different. I was able to obtain a number of old Grenadier Miniatures from the Ratscum line. They are dated 1989 to 1993. I absolutely love these sculpts, and they are a lot of fun to paint. They are joined by a few of the PiRat miniatures, as well. I have no idea who made the PiRats, or how old they are, but they are cartoony, characterful, and wonderful. I based the first clawshot unit with a split rail fence made from wooden coffee stirrers. As with the Ogres, I stuck to the same color schemes as my core warrior infantry units, so this unit was painted blue.

I didn't get to paint the second unit, yet, but they will, of course be painted red. I had hoped to get some painting in over the last two weekends, but there were a few projects around the house that required immediate attention.

We had noticed a musty damp smell in the kitchen recently. Further investigation revealed that our kitchen faucet was leaking down into the cabinet below, and soaking into the wooden base. It was a very cheap faucet, and we got ten years out of it, so I suppose it was just time. I got a much nicer faucet this time around, and installed it on Saturday. I had to pull up some rotten wood beneath the sink, but I didn't have to replace the entire cabinet base. I also vacuumed the house, cleaned the bathroom, and got a lot of laundry done. The kid was at a gaming convention with the boyfriend for the weekend, so my wife and I watched anime together all evening. If you aren't watching Vinland Saga, you should be.

While cleaning the rat cages, I was once again puzzled as to how the little white and grey rat named "Soup" keeps acquiring loose change, metal washers, and cheap jewelry. This has been going on for some time, and we have really been scratching our heads about it. Finally, I figured it out. The ceiling of his cage was loose, and easy to open up, like a trap door. I have now zip-tied it shut. Sorry, Soup. Adventuring is too dangerous for a little rat in such a big world.

The last two weekends were also occupied by overdue automotive repairs. My wife's faithful '04 Toyota Corolla has needed new brakes for months, but the winter weather has not been conducive to work on cars in the driveway. Despite the snow and the slush, I finally had to suck it up and install new rotors and pads. In addition to the brakes on the Corolla, my Subaru needed the transmission fluid, differential gear oil, and motor oil all changed out. The Ranger got a radiator flush and an oil change. Hopefully, all three of our vehicles are good to go now, heading into Spring. The Subaru certainly shifts MUCH better now, thanks to the new fluid and some Lucas Transmission additive, and the brakes feel much better on the Corolla. I figure I probably saved at least $1k doing all this myself, so to me it's worth sacrificing a weekend or two. Besides, I made the kid do the oil change on the Ranger. It's their truck, after all. 

So here's to next weekend! Ideally I will be able to finish up the second unit of clawshots. Once they are done, I will need to make a decision as to what my next units will be. I am equally excited to start on the Tunnel Runner wheels, and the Vermintide swarms.

Working on the Tunnel Runners means that I get to assemble and paint up a vintage Doom Wheel, and convert some Mantic Tunnel Runners from the mega army box to look less sci-fi and more fantasy. I might also base an old chariot from the Celtos game along with them for some character and variety. Maybe have it being pulled by dogs or something?

Working on the Vermintide swarms means that I get to paint up the absolutely tiny, adorable little mousefolk minis that I picked up from Noble Knight. The minis are so cute, and so tiny compared to the Ratkin, and I have 45 of them in a ziploc bag. They are from an indie game called Heroes and Hedgerows, that was a smaller scale regimental wargame featuring cute woodland creatures like mice, bunnies, badgers, and squirrels. They have a very whimsical storybook feel to them, kind of like Brian Jacque's Redwall characters. Come to think of it, I do believe that they are the first figures that I spent non-hobby money on, without doing any sort of trades or anything? So I guess it is official. I am $69.00 into this Army project.

Nice.

So tiny!