2010 Photo 42 of 52

New Hat

Thunders weekend.

Kit making and acquiring frenzy for last event over and I'm feeling totally worn out, although I think most of that is down the change of weather over one week from frosty mornings to humid temperatures in the high twenty's.

The AscendancyLRP event I helped AndyL put together was set in the Thunders a land mainly based on historic & mythical Japan & China. For this event I decided we needed a bit of extra kit, mainly because we set the event in monastery.

So I made four Buddhist robes, they were very simple based on the real thing which is basically a couple of large rectangles of fabric tucked under the arm and over the shoulder, so all I to do was do straight hems no pattern to follow.

This photo is a example.


I also recycled a robe made by Julie for a post apocalypse game we played and turned it into the kit of the Incredible Wang, which although made from wool, not your traditional oriental fabric looked great with the hat and sash.

Photo of the Indiscernible Wang.


My other bit of costume was purchased direct from China and is a copy of Qing Dynasty Imperial Suit, I did have to spent a couple of hours re-working the belt which despite the size description was made to fit around the waist of someone four inches smaller in circumference than me. I think it looks great with its many embroidered dragons and well worth the price paid, which was only a bit more than the shipping cost.

Photo of the now dead Shogun wearing the costume, although he is now the new Golden Vampire, so the costume use will continue.


I also painted up masks for the Puppet master and Yo-Yo, found some really cheap fans and oriental hats.
The fans can be seen in the picture below, found in a shop in Ripley for 50p each and well used given the heat during the event.


The last thing I made was three clockwork bullets for use by an assassin, although due to massive crop of nettles he found himself cornered when he wanted to escape and fire his last bullet.
Bullets.

Easter week.

Easter weekend I started a weeks holiday with lots of plans starting with a trip to Stratford upon Avon with JulieS to visit the Butterfly Farm which was great, especially to practise your camera skill, took loads of photos a small sample below (wish I took my SLR). The Butterfly Farm is quite warm being kept between 25 and 30deg C, and at 80% humidity since its full of tropical butterflies as well a few fish, reptiles and birds that don't like the taste of butterflies.





This photograph is stolen from Julie and shows me with a butterfly.


Photo of Julie taking a photo


Mr Iguana


After the butterfly farm we had quick wander around Stratford, which looks interesting, didn't visit any of the other attraction or Shakespeare properties although we did pop in Nash's house garden which was free and full of odd but interesting sculptures inspired by Shakespeare plays.



During the following week I mainly spent my time making steam punk guns, a sniper rifle and kind of grenade launcher which I converted into stun gun for the weekends larp event.



The sniper rifle was made from a old cap gun stock,plenty of screws, bit of brass tube, some smaller tube cut to act has spacer for a toy telescope sprayed with brass paint for the gun site. Added to this was decoration in the form the nozzle from old brass paraffin blow torch,some drawing pins, and a bit of wood stain/varnish.


The grenade launcher used the rest of the paraffin blow torch, a cardboard tea tube, a couple of pipe fittings, a sink strainer, another old cap gun stock, a few screws, a bit glue and some more brass spray paint.


After several days of searching for bits I now have lots more junk to make several more steam punk guns or gadgets.

Last weekend I crewed a larp event and got to play a new long term character, currently called the Hermit, he was a bit of grumpy and plenty of fun to play.



The crew (excluding me and AndyL)


The weather on Saturday was the warmest of the year and with lots of carrying kit up and down slopes quite hard work for a unfit chap like me. Sunday was much better, well cooler anyway.

ChrisA with his new steam tech gun and also the one I made.


Took plenty of photos most are the ascendancy website.



I did also go to see Kick Ass, yet another new movie based on a comic book. Enjoyed it, although found myself quite shocked by the language coming out the 13year old girls mouth, I suppose that was intended. Very funny dark humour, don't go and see if don't like comics books

Fairs and battles

Over the past 3 weeks or so I have been to International Living history fair in Warwickshire, The Foreign Field LRP Kit Fair in Yorkshire with Julie and Dave.

At both fairs I bought very little, shirt, second hand sword, I was talked out of spending hundreds on other costume items which I think was the correct choice since as they where not what I wanted.
I did buy a cheap second hand top hat for bargain price and loved the steam punk kits the same store had for sale, but most of the content was stuff I already had.

I did buy the odd Christmas present though and enjoyed myself running into people I knew and just seeing all the interesting items for sale. I also got to encourage other people money spending.

This item was not bought by Julie she was testing the clasp



This weekend was the table top battle or should I say battles to conclude a season of many Ascendancy battles, to be bigger and better than last year we decided to run it over 3 continents which meant 3 battles
Never again will I coordinate 3 battle in one day it took 3 1/2 hours just to get started, with briefing people, placing the terrain and taking the figures out their boxes, luckily I had made the battles fairly small in scale so they could be played quickly.

Overall it was fun

Here are a few pictures

The commanders and their lieutenants.


Carnelium Battlefield


Frontier Battlefield


Stronghold battlefield


For one the battle was not that exciting.


Snow getting run down by Cavalry

Science of Murder event

Had great fun this weekend all be it very tiring, at the Ascendacy lrp Science of Murder event, probably the nearest Ascendancy will ever get to a traditional murder mystery.

Yes the Butler did it, although the butler killed himself after transferring the murder victims brain into the butlers body, so I suppose the butlers body did it, but not the butlers consciousness I'm sure that makes sense to all my readers.

My main contribution to the event was lots of steam punk props which I will write about separately soon, plus a really obnoxious character.

I enjoyed watching Dave's comedy Cybernetic Gorilla handler who forgot his name and did eventually unleash his not so deadly Gorilla. I did have a lot of fun being in the middle of two or three players mad pressing of the "Do not press this Button" moment which resulted in a couple of hours of chaos and brain swapping.

Anyway this is a quick post with a few photograph below, as soon as I have chance I will put the rest on the photos of players Ascendancy web site.

My steam punk props specially prepared for the event


Julie and Andy the two rotters who tried to steal the money my character was about inherit.



Heather with her urchins pre yellow face paint, which is pre red face paint.


Heather playing a combat nun

Julie working repairing the chains

Me playing a unnamed boot licker of Ubilatis Grim, with newly painted green legs

Amy pre Cybernetic Gorilla.

Julie playing Mrs Periwinkle the murder victims wife.

Dave has just strapped a ladle to Grahams head then covered it in fabric, the improvised Heron costume highly amused those present.

Do I Have a Hat Problem?

After getting a few hats for birthday from my friends Julie and Dave who know I like wearing and collecting hats I thought I would see how many I actually have.

Well I managed to find 41 (excluding turbans and wigs), which I don't think is that bad, I obviously need more.

I definitely need to find a few more Chinese hats, a stove pipe and perhaps normal top hat, straw boater, perhaps a stetson, oh and a good wizards hat.

Here is a few of the hats I have.


My latest hats is this one made by Julie for my birthday, its great, I love it.


I was informed it took quite few hours to make and includes her 1st tassel, no doubt when Julie finds a bit of spare time she will blog about the making of it.

Weekend of Chaos

Lots of fighting this weekend as I crewed an AscendancyLRP event, crewing involves lots of waiting around with intermittent bouts of running and falling in the mud, with a bit of rain thrown in.

Saturday was lots of fighting and player malingering while Julie and Gabriel put on beards to play dwarves along with us natural beardies as photo below. My steampunk gun is in the photo as well, freshly made for the event.



I also got to play one of the head nasty bad guys before being dissipated by the players, as you can see by smiling face below, I was evil but not at time of photo, got to wear my furry hat for the 1st time though.



I then turned up with Julie on MidlandMidlifes doorstep to be fed; unfortunately the message had arrived a little late so she had to spread what she had about between all her guests.


Julie made some scarecrow mask as photo below which you can see on her blog about the weekend.



Sunday Jock and Julie left us to be replaced by two newbie’s at crewing, one of them another Andy, far too many Andy’s in my world, and we spent all day painting on black stripes across our wiping them off and painting on red, I think we went through a large box of wet wipes after doing this around 7 or 8 times, with the stripes gradually going a muddy brown colour.



After dinner I spent another evening AndyL and Midland Midlife's along with Sam and Gareth who stayed over for a further night so they could play the table top battle the following day.

By Monday my muscles had become a little stiff from the hills of shining cliff, but I got up 6am to sort out figures for the battle and print off some details of various characters.


The battle itself was attended by a couple of players Phil and ChrisF along with Taya (sorry don’t know her real name) at Chimera who along with AndyL represented the Ascendancy players side, while Sam and Gareth fresh from crew played the nasty Chaos lords side.




The points value ended up totally even after the players did good and they mainly with AndyL's help totally conned the enemy and won a outstanding victory one of the best I’ve seen in long time, the Chaos sides guys will say they had a bit of bad luck and I would agree, but mainly it was the tactics that won the day, all I can say is well done AndyL.








I had to go back to the wood while it was light after that since my sword went missing, I failed to find it which is bit rubbish from a otherwise good time.

Last night I went to pub for yet more Larp stuff as I met Jock and AndyH to go through their characters for the upcoming event they will be playing.

I bought a new hat.

Nice trip to Living History Fayre in Warwickshire yesterday with Julie and Dave, we also ran in Doug and Izsy for a quick chat, and few other friends not has many as usual though. The fayre was very busy and I heard one trader comment "what recession" and another mention to Julie that all the stock they had left was on display.

I bought myself a 18thC knitted seaman's forage cap from 'Tinkers Tailor' as per the photo below, a pretty book with blank pages as a birthday present.



After watching Doug and Izsy buy cakes from the confectioners (Angela Pantry) stall I also succumbed and bought a packet of Whiskey and Ginger Fudge, and some small round white sweets called Whores Farts (warning do not put this into your search engine to check the ingredients as I did you get all sorts xxx related links even if you add extra words like sweet or confectionery) can't tell you whats in them since there's no label and forgot what it said on the stall which is very irritating. Both packs of sweets are for my mother, although I won't be telling her what the sweets are called, I did get to try the fudge since Doug started a trend and Julie also bought some, and gave me bit to try, very nice.

Dave tried on a Tail coat without asking the price as the photo below on what was from previous experience a very expensive stall, so after 15 minutes of dressing looking and examining the garment he finally asked the price to which the nice man replied well the outfits six hundred pounds, the coat on its own three hundred and fifty pounds, to which Dave replied a little out my pocket I was thinking well hundred pound tops, hmm did see that one coming still Dave did go back and buy some very nice epaulets from same guy.



After the fayre we went for bite to eat at the Cocked Hat in Coventry rather than try the cardboard food at the Fayre which is most unappealing.

Today my tasks were and are to get information from AndyL and start the map for the Acendancy Borgengast campaign and also paints some toy soldiers, I'm currently painting Lizardmen one unit is complete, 1 started and 3 undercoated to make my five unit target.