Norse Beserker in Winter

I've been messing around with the base on this miniature for quite a while and I think that I may just have finally cracked it as far as getting it to look wintry but now snow bound. I'm not really a big fan of fake snow etc, it looks just that, fake(!) so I thought that I could produce a similar effect by just choosing the colours for the base well and dry brushing layers of first brown and then a couple of 'whites' over the brown.

I'm beginning to come around to the idea that I could have used a heavier dry brush of the 'whites', what do you guys think?

A Late Frankish Commander

Ever been late for an important date? Well this guy certainly is!

Before all my health problems began I was sent this miniature by Mindenbrush on the Steve Dean forum as part of a painting swap deal. Then came the two consecutive Cancer scares followed by a very serious bout of Depression and the poor chap was going to have to wait for his mini. so, as the air cleared; I was cleared on both counts of having Cancer and the shock and depression were brought into control, I was finally able to start painting again and get some bloomin' work done. 

For those that have been following my posts of late you will know that no sooner am I ready to dive into my painting refreshed and I lacerate my thumb and am out  for another two weeks!! Well, that's healed now and it is my absolute pleasure to present the Frankish Commander, who, barring any more accidents etc will be on his merry way to Canada in the next couple of days.

A Big Thumbs Up.......

...... to all the staff in the Plastic Department of North Durham University Hospital for saving my thumb and thus allowing me to enjoy my hobby again and thus continue with my dream job!

My thumb has healed extremely well, the stitches melted away without any problem, the incision is very clean and all I have to worry about now is to remember to apply some moisturiser every now and again to stop the dry skin around the wound from flaking and getting very itchy!!

A job well done IMHO.

Sorry for the crap quality of the pic, it was taken at 5:30 this morning and I was a bit groggy and half asleep.

Darrell.

Orkneyinga Saga Book

Hi,

This is a very quick post as I'm currently on a small break in London for my nieces first Birthday.

If you're anything like me then you probably have a long standing interest in the so called 'Dark Ages' and collect books and miniatures to compliment this passion? Well, I've just come across the Orkneyinga Saga online and I thought it a terrible wrong not to share it with you chaps/chapesses. There are other books that may be of interest to you on the same site too.

You can read it HERE.

Enjoy the read!

Darrell.

A Stitch in Time Saves?

Well eight actually!

Just a quick update on my thumb!

Had it re-dressed yesterday and the nurse says it's healing very nicely and I no longer have to hold my hand upright all the time- a great relief. Bad news is that I still can't use the thumb until the surgeon has removed the dressing and checked things over.... could be worse though not being able to do any work is driving me up the wall.

Next post should see me back in action!!

A Slice of Luck!

OK. Been for a cracking surprise holiday thanks to my other half Sabrina. The sojourn was in celebration of the fact that I've 'survived'  two consecutive cancer scares! Well done, time to crack on some might say?

Well.....

We all know the rule about always drawing a knife away from your body, yeah? How many times have you forgotten this and pulled the blade towards your body? In my case I very rarely do this, except on Wednesday at 6pm when cleaning up some miniatures I broke the golden rule and payed the price big time, slicing deeply into my left thumb down to the bone. Ouch indeed! So, I cupped my hands quickly moved like lightening to the bathroom to avoid staining the carpets (I know!) whilst shouting for Saby to bring a bandage upstairs so I could stop the bleeding that rapidly filled my hands and overflowed into the basin! This she did with a tea towel! With the potential risk infection from the tea towel I, having realised that I had happily missed the vein and although the cut was very deep, it wasn't going to make me pass out like a big girls blouse!

A&E then. I was very surprised to hear the practise nurse tell me that she had made an appointment for me at the Durham Plastics Department at the University Hospital as she was worried that I may have cut into the nerve and also the tendons! It quickly dawned on me that in my line of work this could spell doom as I could lose the dexterity of my left hand! A sort of panic set in......

Pic of the original dressing and one worried looking self.

Next day started early with what I assumed would be a long day. It was........ I got to the hospital at 8am and was still there waiting for surgery at 5:30pm. Luckily the excellent staff in the Short Stay Surgical Department had opened up another theatre as my wound was considered to still be an 'open wound' and the possibility of infection of the tendons was high. Now, bearing in mind that I've had two major cancer scares I'm not a fan of hospitals at all and as the day went on my anxiety grew, especially when they finally called my name out! To be fair the surgeons were great, after a local anaesthetic, they checked for nerve damage; none was there though I did miss the anterior interosseous branch of the median nerve by 1mm!!!!! If the cut had been 1mm in one direction I would have lost any meaningful dexterity in my left hand and possibly the use of my thumb! One very lucky lad really. It was then a general cleaning of the wound to make sure that the tendons were sterile etc and they bandaged me up and popped me into recovery!

Oldish nurse excellent 'moring' dressing.

Souvenir

Post op dressing

An interesting couple of days if you're into thumbs(?) but perhaps more importantly (and upsetting) I have been ordered not to use my left hand for eleven days and that it why you will find this article has been cut and pasted on all my blogs :O)

Darrell.