Wednesday 30 November 2011

Vampifan's Views 16 My Monthly Musings part 4

Vampirella by Joe Jusko. How perfect is that lion's head?
Monday the 28th of November was the day of my dad's funeral and he couldn't have asked for a better send off. Everything went so smoothly on the day and everyone was so kind. His funeral service was attended by over 200 people, a sure indication of just how well-liked and respected he was. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who left me messages of sympathy and support.
There is never a good time for anyone to die, but what made the timing of my dad's death particularly poignant is that he died on the day of his brother's birthday (sadly long dead) and it was also my birthday less than a week after he died. So this was a memorable birthday for me, but alas, for all the wrong reasons. Still, I have no complaints about the presents I received. My mum just gave me money for my birthday, so that I could buy what I wanted. I've already spent it on a big order to Miniature Heroes for a bunch of Reaper 28mm scale Chronoscape figures (9 civilians, 9 zombies and 2 killer clowns). My brother bought me the Bones series 6 DVD set. I'm a big fan of the show and of the novels by Kathy Reichs. I'd ordered a few zombie-related items for myself and they arrived shortly before my birthday. They consisted of two books and a DVD. The books were The Walking Dead Chronicles by Paul Ruditis and The Official Zombie Handbook (UK) by Sean T. Page. The DVD was of my all-time favourite zombie film - Dawn of the Dead by George A. Romero. Yes, I did already own a copy of this film, but when I was browsing on Amazon, I saw what has to be the ultimate version of this film - a four disc boxed set, containing the theatrical version of the film, the director's cut and the Dario Argento cut (all varying in length, with the director's cut being the most complete version). In addition, there are over 11 hours of extras on the discs (awesome!), including some very long documentaries about the film. There is also a poster and booklet included. In short, it is a fanboy's must have item and I certainly had to have it.
Obviously, a lot of my hobby work ground to a halt during the latter part of this month, but I still got a fair bit done prior to my dad's death. On the figure painting front, I finished painting 9 Studio Miniatures 28mm scale zombies from their Wedding Party and Halloween boxed sets, and 11 Foundry 28mm scale zombies, 5 of which I converted to corpses. Expect reviews of them soon. At the moment I am painting 20 Recreational Conflict 28mm scale contemporary figures - 12 civilians and 8 survivors.
I am busy working on furnishing the evidence room room for my WWG 28mm scale Mayhem City Police Station. I hope to get that room finished very soon. Next in line will be the toilets for the police station.
For the second month running I failed to get to the cinema. Ho-hum! Still, I have plenty of DVDs to watch.
I finished reading a couple of zombie novels this month. First up was Rise of the Governor by Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga. This was a tie-in to The Walking Dead comic series. If you've only seen the TV show, this will make little sense to you as the Governor has yet to appear. I'm thinking he'll probably appear in series 3. It was a fairly good novel right up until the last page, when the rug is pulled from under your feet. I won't spoil how it ended but it left me feeling somewhat bewildered, knowing what I do about the Governor. He is an evil and sadistic son of a bitch, with a quick temper and an unhealthy relationship with his daughter. This is primarily a book for fans of the comic.
The second book that I read was Fighting to Survive by Rhiannon Frater and it was excellent. This was part two of her As the World Dies trilogy and I'll do a full review of it very soon.
I am currently reading Dead of Night by Jonathan Maberry, one of my favourite authors. It's a zombie novel but it is not part of the Joe Ledger series.
Earlier this month I bought and downloaded about 20 Microtactix 28mm scale card buildings from their Twilight Streets sets. Yet more buildings to add to my Mayhem City project. When will I find the time to make them all? I also received a fantastic offer from Robert, one of my followers from Germany, which I'd like to talk about at some length in a future post. I've mentioned the kindness of others before but this offer may just be the most amazing yet. Robert, if you're reading this, thanks very much. I still can't get over what you sent me!
On that happy but somewhat cryptic note, I'll wrap up. It is great to get back to blogging again but I know you'll understand why I had to take an enforced break.

28 comments:

  1. Good to hear the funeral went off well my friend and to hear you're coping, yet again my condolences.

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  2. Glad to have you back mate, it sounds like your keeping your self very busy, I look forward to seeing some of the stuff you have completed.

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  3. @The Extraordinarii. it's good to get back to the old routine. Normal service has been resumed.

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  4. Good to see you're back Bryan; everyone here will no doubt support you with whatever you do decide to do to get back to your usual output, no matter how long you decide to take.

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  5. Glad to hear things are getting back to normal for you, and that you had a good birthday despite the circumstances.

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  6. @Joe. That's very kind of you to say. I don't envisage any more delays to my blog from now on, so I should be posting every Wednesday and Sunday as normal.

    @Adam. I'm glad the funeral got delayed until this Monday as I would have hated to have had my birthday and the funeral on the same day.

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  7. Ooops, just missed you, Psychobob808. Thanks for your condolences.

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  8. Glad to hear that your Dad had a nice send-off. Welcome back to the web.

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  9. Hey Vamp - glad to hear that your father's funeral went off so well. Always nice to see when people come to show their support of you, and share stories of your loved ones.

    On a brighter note, sounds like you got quite a haul for your birthday. Merry Christmas in November!!!

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  10. nice to have you back mate. I have the region 1 of the 4 disk dawn, i think the pacage is better than the region 2

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  11. @Luckyjoe. We couldn't have wished for a better send off. Dad would have been so proud.

    @WarRaptor. The funeral was far from a sad occasion. It was more of a celebration of my dad's life.

    Yes, Christmas has come early! I really can't complain!

    @Shintokamikaze. My DVD player will only play region 2 discs but even so, I am absolutely delighted with my 4-disc set.

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  12. I'm glad the 28th went well and best wishes for your birthday, sounds like it was a good one, even after the sad events of the last couple of weeks.

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  13. Many thanks, Ray. I appreciate your sentiments,

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  14. Glad it went well. Welcome back to the web

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  15. Glad to hear your spirits are back up again. I hope the stuff you got from me and others helps you get back to work on the nicer things in life, i.e. minatures and paper terrain, after this difficult time.

    Greetings from Germany

    Robert

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  16. @Simon. Thanks and I must admit, it's nice to be back!

    @Robert. My father died on the day after I received my parcel from you and consequently, I've only had time for a brief look at everything you sent me. Believe me, that will change now that I have loads of time on my hands. I want to do a full review of everything in your parcels to show my followers just what a generous person you are. You mentioned about taking photos of everything when I unpack the boxes. I shall certainly take up your suggestion.

    Words alone can not express just how grateful I am to you but I will make sure that you get the credit you deserve.

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  17. it is a great set, fantastic extras, i think their is a day of the dead set allso

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  18. As long as I can be sure that the stuff doesn't collect dust for years and finally lands in the garbage can, I am happy :) And I am sure you will put it to good use someday.

    Robert

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  19. @Shintokamikaze. I'd be extremely interested in a 4-disc Day of the Dead set but I've seen nothing about it on the Amazon website. Of course that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

    @Robert. Oh, I can assure you that your "gift" will see good use... possibly in my next batrep.

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  20. My thoughts are with you and your family.

    CS

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  21. Good to have you back in action Vampifan and lots to look forward to in the New Year.

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  22. @Colonel Shofer. Many thanks for your kind words.

    @PhilH. I have a lot of catching up to do and so much stuff that I want to post. Still, it beats the alternative of not knowing what to post!

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  23. it does exsist, its the same compant as dawn, its a two disk 25th anniverersary edition, it has the same style pacage as dawn with the poster

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Day-of-the-Dead-DVD/dp/B003TTBA1M/ref=sr_1_5?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1322823257&sr=1-5

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  24. Thanks for that info, Shintokamikaze. I'm a sucker for DVDs with loads of extras, especially if they come in two-disc (or more) versions. Order placed already!

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  25. So much fuel for the fire. So much more to look forward to.

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