Just before I turn in for the night I thought I'd regale you all with a chilling bedtime story. One of my first adult forays into model-making as an adult was collecting 28mm metal figures from a Doctor Who range. These I painted and based for display rather then gaming purposes. I made a cabinet for them and occasionally look them over - particularly the ones I'm especially pleased with.

Recently an unremarkable silver android caught my eye - I had decorated the base with some small flakes of stone - but for the life of me I had no memory of putting a puffy white alien-type plant on the base. On closer inspection I realised that this wasn't an imitation plant at all - but that something was GROWING out of my base all by itself!

My only guess is that since the flakes of stone were taken from a beach that somehow either the paint I used on them, or the glue, somehow reacted with the minerals in the stones and leached this white substance out of them - possibly salt - NO I haven't tasted it!

Take a look...








Has anyone else had experiences of using natural materials - only for them to take on a life of their own? Have you checked your old models recently?

Sleep well - don't have nightmares!


A

My biggest problem is when looking back at some of the old dioramas something crawls out of something, I haven't had anything actually grow yet. I couldn't even hazard a guess what it might be. Besides not tasting it remember not to touch it, remember the blob.
Bob

Just had my workbench overrun by a million baby Black Widow spiders recently. Hatched from a discarded paper cup behind my paint brush jar.
I gotta build more often than what I'm doing now......
Rick

Hi, I have not had any experiences like that, other than the occassional spider moving into and manning one of my armor peices. but you say the stones came from the beach. Its possible that you have some coral growing there.. Thanks for shareing. milvehfan

I usually microwave any organic stuff that I collect from outside to use on dioramas and bases.
You never know what type of living things are dwelling on or inside.
You should dry sticks and stuff out in a microwave because of the moisture content.

Cheers,
Charles

We don't get black widow spiders here in the UK - outside pet shops - that does sound truly revolting! Though I do like the idea of more benign breeds manning the stations! Perhaps that's even a dio idea - using creepy crawlies instead of figures!

I usually l just let wood and moss etc dry naturally on a windowsill- obviously heating stones from a wet environment is a recipe for a small but dangerous explosion!!!


A

Lead disease it might be.

Turns white then your lead dissolves.

Maybe as said.

Well as stones and not lead that leaves that idea out.

weird, looks like cotton to me

It's definately coming out of the stones - not the figure. It's very soft to the touch - I accidentally brushed it against the pot I was keeping it in after I took the pics and the big puff flattened where it touched- it's like a very delicate crystalline structure.

Mostly likely Salt then.

Or a strange Alien substance.

if it was black, it would be a scale replica of my hair do

same thing you get from old school car batteries and cables.