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Woodworking Fun

Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2021 8:34 am
by Karak Norn Clansman
G'day!

With my father having run a carpentry firm for as long as I have existed (founded the same year I was born, in fact), working with tree has always been a part of life here. We made tree swords and shields for playing at war (4 wounds, 20 seconds countdown when killed before back up, hands, feet and head not counting for hits) as well as tanks, planes and lots and lots of naval ships to play D-Day in Normandie on our gravel garage driveway together with lots of plastic soldiers. Now that my mother has got new inhabitants in her home, life for me has turned even more childish and playful than it usually is, and I have served as my stepsiblings' (aged 10 and 12 at the moment of writing) playmate slave regularly for over a year now.

This has included whipping out the best of our old wooden creations, some of those I built can be seen here. Most of our wooden armada had to be burnt a few years ago since it occupied too much storage and most of it was ramshackle were hastily built, but we saved the better pieces. As I have helped my stepsiblings with building wooden tanks, cruisers and amphibious limousines out in my mother's workshop, I also took the chance to dabble in wooden toyships again. In the middle of this picture can be seen the new creation, from summer 2020, surrounded by the better of my non-weapon wooden creations from around 1998-2001:

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These, on the other hand, are some simple, and most importantly cheap Christmas presents made out of plywood for various family members in four intense days of work before Christmas eve 2020.

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Recievers of presents in top row, from left to right: Younger brother, maternal grandfather and grandmother, father.

Recievers of presents in bottom row, from left to right: Stepfather, stepsister, stepbrother, mother.

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Note that the rightmost piece in the bottom row is based on this lucky photograph:

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Also, as mentioned elsewhere previously, some Star Wars woodworking occurred:

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Wood is such a nice material to work with. Just some quick non-Warhammer projects from last year.

Have you done any fun things in wood? Please share stories and pictures.

Re: Woodworking Fun

Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2021 8:26 pm
by SpellArcher
Great work KNC, nice camouflage on the ship at the top.

:)

Re: Woodworking Fun

Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2021 11:36 am
by Prince of Spires
That cat photo is just awesome! :lol: =D>

And it's your own fault for being an uncle. Playing with those kids is part of the job... ;)

Re: Woodworking Fun

Posted: Fri Jan 22, 2021 4:17 am
by Karak Norn Clansman
@SpellArcher: Thanks a lot! Razzledazzle. :)

@Prince of Spires: A very fortunate photo in a quick series of photos I took while playing with the cat. Her wildness is at full display. Haha, indeed part of the job! :mrgreen:

Ah yes, and this wooden horse was also made during summer 2020 at the same time as the ship:

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Re: Woodworking Fun

Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2021 7:06 pm
by Karak Norn Clansman
We're having a contest in pumpkin growing at my mother's place. Made some pompous namesigns for me and my brother:

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Re: Woodworking Fun

Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2021 7:49 pm
by Aerendar Valandil
=D>

Re: Woodworking Fun

Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 7:41 am
by Prince of Spires
Nice! Any sign of who's winning the contest?

I'm pretty sure it's not going to be me ;) All my pumpkin plants are performing terrible this year. Those that survived at least. Not sure what it is, but they have trouble growing and a fair few of them simply decided to die on me...

Re: Woodworking Fun

Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2021 8:49 pm
by Karak Norn Clansman
@Aerendar Valandil: Thanks!

@Prince of Spires: Thank you! My stepsister won with a fat margin. Two enormous pumpkins! That smothered my and made it die, haha.

Your plants that survived fared better than mine, mate! :D


Christmas Presents and Other Gifts 2021 A.D.

These are some simple, and most importantly cheap Christmas presents and other gifts made out of plywood and wood for various family members and friends during 2021.

Hohoho!

Note that the two wild cat presents are based on this lucky photograph.

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Re: Woodworking Fun

Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2021 7:36 pm
by SpellArcher
I do like the dragon especially.

Re: Woodworking Fun

Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 3:57 pm
by Prince of Spires
They definitely look great and like very personal holiday gifts. I'd be happy to get something like that.

I decided, as a gimmick, to give my family a signed copy of my latest novel. They're pretty rare so they make for a great gift ;)

Though, to be fair, my youngest brother did go into Corona quarantine over Christmas, so it was a timely gift. At least he has something to read...

Re: Woodworking Fun

Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2022 11:54 am
by Karak Norn Clansman
@Prince of Spries: Thanks!

Great choice of gift there, especially for your youngest brother. I hope he enjoyed it. :)

Paint Your Tools

Being something of a handyman that people often turn to for help with simple manual labour, you could confidently classify me as a tool user. A colleague would rather have it as a slave, which is reasonable since I mostly work for free, all things considered. My hands will be active at tools, writing on keyboard or turning pages in a book most of my waking time.

Why not bring some joyful colour into the toolkit you're going to use so much?

Even if your life will be filled with mass produced factory wares, you can still put a personal touch on some long-lasting things in your surroundings, as our ancestors have done since time immemorial. Crafting patterns and ornamenting things has a therapeutic quality to it, for good reason. Minimalist modern man is a pauper in regard to decorating his own stuff, compared to his forebears, though there are still places where people dare to pimp their rides, as evidenced by South Asian jingle trucks and Japanese dekotora trucks.

The idea to paint tool shafts was born after viewing through AMELIANVS' late antique and medieval Roman artworks. This artist brings a great deal of lively period detail into garb and gear. Striped spear shafts appear on the famous mosaic of emperor Justinian, and provides a simple idea for upgrading the looks of common tools.

The means were provided after I was gifted left-over facade paints of various kinds, which were put to use first on homemade lightsabers and wooden toy weapons, and then on the tool shafts. Plastic and metal shafts have been spray painted.The recent set of tools painted this week were given a matt varnish spray as an experiment in endurance.

Yes, paint will fade, wear out, flake off and get dirty when you use the tools. That's part of the charm and lifecycle. Viking runestones and classical Greek, Roman, Egyptian and Assyrian statues were also painted, yet all that remains now is the carved stone, seemingly eternal. As grey as an unpainted miniature collection.

I can recommend painting your tools in your favourite colour and colour combinations. I painted those I am going to use red and blue, the colours of Karak Norn, which are my Warhammer army colours and incidentally also the Carolean regimental colours of my landscape province.

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Re: Woodworking Fun

Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2022 6:37 pm
by SpellArcher
Karak Norn Clansman wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2022 11:54 am Crafting patterns and ornamenting things has a therapeutic quality to it, for good reason.
Totally.

As a Mr Robot aficionado I especially approve of the red wheelbarrow!

Re: Woodworking Fun

Posted: Tue Dec 19, 2023 7:57 pm
by Karak Norn Clansman
@SpellArcher: Haha, nice!

Christmas Presents and Other Gifts 2023 A.D.

These are some simple, and most importantly cheap Christmas presents and other gifts made out of wood for various family members and friends during 2023.

The cat portraits are based on this photograph.

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Here is the background for the Astro-Ungarian officer:

Portrait of an Astro-Ungarian Lieutenant Colonel

Depicted here is Lieutenant Colonel Arpad Heinz Josef Milan von Badenschtoss, a noble officer of the Imperial and Royal armed forces of Astro-Ungaria. Sworn to serve the Duarch and the Emperor, von Badenschtoss is an honest-to-Chorus Ringestrasse soldier, an upstanding exemplar of his dear homeworld's corset army, according to serpent-tongued detractors. A hard-drinking man fond of gambling, dancing at balls and other forms of highborn socializing, Lieutenant Colonel Arpad cannot be expected to attend to his military duties with the utmost zeal. Standards must be maintained, after all!

And so, a sloppy schlamperei conduct of operations in the field follows wherever von Badenschtoss leads. Yes, the logistics and worn-out uniforms of the men might be in shambles, but at least the bravery, infantry marksmanship and artillery is in fine shape. Too bad about the costly butcher's bill, but that is a problem for General von Dorfenhötz to solve by shovelling in more reinforcements. It is just the way of things, better not think too much about it. Death must be Ljietranese, after all. It is better instead to drink up and be merry!

A toast for the splendid homeworld! A toast for the Duarch! A toast for the divine Chorus! And a toast for the God-Emperor of Holy Terra!

To waltz! Now let us swagger about and drink like good Loyalists should. Last one to finish their drink is feed for the moon wolves. Cheers!

Ave Imperatore Dei.


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Christmas present made for my friend Jaberoo.

Note the suspicious symbols and purity seal writ on the Astro-Ungarian officer. Astro-Ungaria has somehow managed to retain the Divine Chorus (also known as Saint Horus) as not only a revered figure from its past, but as its patron saint. Clearly, the Imperial Cult must have already been festering on Compliant Astro-Ungaria when its star system became isolated by Warp storms at the onset of the Horus Heresy. This background twist serve twofold purposes:


First, it showcases the confused mess of the Imperium of Man in comedic fashion (just imagine the parade of random shenanigans through the ages that has made Loyalist Astro-Ungaria escape great purges for its unwitting heresy). Second, this ancient reverence for the Luna Wolves of yore is a reference to the Austro-Hungarian soldiers that were eaten by wolves in the Carpathian mountains in 1915, during Franz Konrad von Hötzendorf's threefold offensive to relieve the besieged fortress city of Przemyśl.

Re: Woodworking Fun

Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2023 8:44 pm
by SpellArcher
Very nice KNC! I especially like the dragon’s head.