$20 Tool-Fest, Part 1 - Striking Tools

 To start out this comprehensive assessment of the recently acquired tool stash, I will begin with the biggest items first.

Here are the hammers found in the tote:

On the left is a Plumb 3-pound hand sledge/drill hammer, model USM3.  This tool was manufactured post-1980, as denoted by the Cooper tools logo. Cooper bought out Plumb in 1981.  

Next is a standard, run-of-the-mill claw hammer, covered with paint splatters. It is of Chinese manufacture. 

After that is a smaller claw hammer with no makers mark.  There is a remnant of a paper label on the handle.

Lastly is a small rubber mallet with no markings except for a 'TAIWAN' on the end of the rubber grip.

All of these are fairly useful tools, but nothing out of the ordinary.

 The drill hammer and rubber mallet will be added to my tool arsenal, while the other two will be cleaned up and put out at my next yard sale.

More coming up on the next post.

An Outstanding Tool Score!!

 This weekend, a nearby neighbor has been conducting a yard sale.

The offerings included a large plastic storage tote packed nearly to the top with all manner of hand tools, shop consumables, and a little bit of hardware.

I asked the homeowner what he would take for the whole lot.  

I nearly hit the pavement when he replied, 

"How about twenty bucks?"

Needless to say, I went home pretty darn happy.

Clearly this lot of tools was the result of someone cleaning out their shop/tool box and being interested only in just getting it all off their hands.

Even a quick look through of the lot reveals hundreds of dollars worth of tools.

So, at this point, the focus of Eddie's Random Ramblings is now shifting gears from army men to a series covering the contents of this tool find.

After all, this blog is all about randomness and is prone to sudden changes of content!

Stay tuned.... 

A Cool Fort For The Green Army

 During the days when my 4-year-old grandson is present, I have been working on building a LEGO fortress for the green army man set.

I have a fairly extensive LEGO parts stash, so running out of materials to build a good-sized structure isn't a problem.

I pulled out every box of gray and dark gray bricks and plates that I have and just started building.

Not working to any plans, I just started clicking bricks and let the design evolve.

Here is the end result.

The fortress features a high wall with parapets, a guard tower on each front corner, a working front door, a two-story HQ building with a fortified roof, and a tall observation tower complete with flag mast and banner.

I even built up a few sections of abatis to place out front.

More pics:

This fort is nothing fancy - just the necessary elements to make it play-worthy. Over the next few weeks I might add some additional aesthetic details here and there, but in the meantime it will serve as a splendid centerpiece for many playroom battles!

Army Men, Part 15 - What's Wrong With These Pictures?

 While beginning my examination of the Confederate soldiery in the HL Civil War Value Pack (hertofore to be referred to as CWVP), I noticed this very strange footwear anomaly on the kneeling rifleman figure:

At least they got part of it correct!

Army Men! Part 15- Back To The Civil War!

 Now that I am through with posting about the old army man collection, I am turning my attention back to the Civil War figures, since that is my primary area of interest.

Now it's decision time. 

Do I leave the soldiers as they are for play with the grandkids,  or do I modify and apply paint to render them diorama worthy?

I am leaning toward the latter, as my penchant for Civil War history will definitely factor in.

Since I actively build and fly model rockets, and engage in woodworking, I have a fully equipped and supplied shop as well as the skills and patience for building quite detailed miniature battlefield scenarios.

I also intend to build up my Union and Confederate armies through the purchase of additional sets from various other sources beyond the Value Pack at Hobby Lobby, gaining as many different soldier poses as possible.

Speaking of that, I closely studied the problematic rebel soldiers from that Value Pack, and learned that they will need extensive modification to render them historically accurate.

This project will definitely provide lots of fodder for future posts on the blog.

Let the fun begin!

Army Men! Part 14 - The Wretched Refuse

Rounding out my army man collection is a small handful of random figures. 

In this instance, it's a couple of spacemen, a ninja, and a small minuteman. (Minute man, get it? Nyuk!), and a western figure.

I don't recall when or where I acquired any of these. They just appeared.

Also, I have this guy, made of rubber.

This gentleman came from a farm play-set that I had many years back. With the addition of a lone miniature rifle he became a citizen soldier.

Back in the farm days he had an accompanying wife figurine. Same blue color. I recall she wore a long dress with apron, a bonnet, and was carrying a bowl of eggs. Sadly, she disappeared many years ago, leaving him a widower with little else to do but pick up arms and fight in my play-room floor Alamo battles.

Finally I have these six horses, five of which are equipped with separate strap-on saddles.

I plan to use these in a diorama of one of the Civil War Napoleon cannons and its limber being pulled by the standard six-horse team.

Lastly, while we're on the subject of animals, I have a few camels that go well with the Tuareg Arab warriors.

This wraps up my old collection.

Next post, I'll be re-visiting the Civil War set. 

Cheers!

Army Men, Part 13 - The Great Rescue!!

 Way back in the 1960s I was living in a house in the Ivywild area of Colorado Springs.

Back in those days families were allowed to burn paper trash and yard leaves in a backyard incinerator. The above illustration is one I drew from memory of the incinerator at our house.  This was a purplish-color clay structure. One built a fire in the bottom and loaded the trash into the opening at the top. An air vent/smoke escape was at top rear.

When I was old enough, it fell to me to assume the chore of emptying and burning the household paper trash. This was great for a ten year old kid, because it amounted to sanctioned playing with matches and fire!

Anyway, one afternoon I went out to burn a load of trash. Just after loading the paper products, I bent down to light the fire when I noticed something colorful among the ashes at the bottom.

Upon closer scrutiny, it turned out to be one of my Tuareg toy soldiers. I plucked it out and noticed the presence of a couple more figures.

What??

It turned out my entire army of French Foreign Legion and Arab soldiers was there at the bottom of that incinerator!

I don't have an idea about why they were there, but I suspect that sometime during the week I might have pissed off my mom or older sister, and the disposal of one of my favorite toy sets was my vengeance- driven punishment. 

The insidious part is that I would have unknowingly been the designated executioner!

Nobody ever copped to this deed, and, to this very day it remains a mystery.

Needless to say, I pulled out all the trash, dug through the ashes, and retrieved every single one of those soldiers!

With my army completely rescued and safely moved to a shoebox in my bedroom, I returned outside and cheerily lit a fire in the ol' incinerator.