Me 1, Wife 0...um, I think?!?

[Jimster]

You’re reading my mind (although maybe just a short story).

[HERMAN BIX]

I reckon that as long as Mr(and Mrs ) EAO share pictures of this mythical beast with us, who cares how its obtained
Oh you will Soooooo be called to account Mr EAO, and you know this will be certain

However the process- we all are the winners at your expense
Bring on the pictures mate

[EAO]

Jim,
If the Wife doesn't kill you but instead kicks you out, you could move in with me and Boje. I have a very large tent that would hold two 1/6 scale tanks, 2 full grown adults, and one very large German Shepherd! Be warned he's a bed hog and fairly gassy! I believe Will Capri said he has a friend who has a 1/6 scale Otto Carius figure that he may sell....if the price were right! Jess seems to still be fairly stable over all this so far, but she is sick of me counting off the days on the calendar like a child waiting for Christmas! The tent is just backup in case things get ugly.

She may not have to smother me with my pillow (she said this was her preferred method, but did ask when the two of us could go to the cabin together "to play murder")!!! Smothering should leave sighs of petechial hemorrhages, a sure giveaway of foul play. What I'm getting at is that there seems to be plenty of things for an idiot like myself to die from down here in the pucker brush of Arkansas without her "help". Some of you know that I was bit by a rattlesnake in the Fall of 2019, this very one to be exact:

And yes, after he bit me I picked him up to take a picture...you know for posterity's sake!

So Monday, I opened up the water meter access and saw this:

Then yesterday, I moved the splash block under the downspout and found this:

Ah, Mother Nature...the horror, the horror...

Here I thought Australia was the only place with with everything that will kill you?!?

Oh, Herman, glad you dropped by! Yes, I'm sure there will be some price to pay for my "much needed" toy! I'm sure Jess wishes it would be a "myth" that only rumbled about in the cobwebs of my mind! Mark is busy assembling all the parts for this build, and once he has them all he will update me with photos of the Panther's construction process, painting, testing, etc. He keeps a "build log" of all the models he's ever done. I've seen a couple of these and was highly impressed with it all, not to mention how cool it was, watching your "baby" come to life! As soon as my first update comes in, I'll post the pics here.

Well, I think it's time for a cigar, and to go and look for something venomous, or at least mildly poisonous. Remember friends, that that doesn't kill you, makes you wish it had!

Cheers,
Eric.

[Will01Capri]

this made me laugh hahahahaha
lets hope that if your wife does find out(really hoping not so) how much you spent and then reads these pages, she knows exactly where not to dump the remains.
Keeping my fingers crossed for you, otherwise Jim is going to miss out on a cool collection lol

Enjoy the new toy when it arrives and take care

[jee]

well, if I see all these pictures of the animals, I guess she already found out. She is just trying to find the best way

If I were you, maybe to check if she raised the bounty of your life-insurance already

But looking forward to more pictures, of the tank of course although wildlife is also very interesting

[EAO]

Thanks Will,
She does look over my shoulder every so often to make sure I'm not looking at something more sexy than a JP, sans side skirts and zimmerit if you know what I mean! Yes, leaving this written trail could work against me, or for me. I'm trying to grow eyes in the back of my head, just in case!

Yes Jee,
Seeing these two elusive, fairly rare, venomous creatures on back to back days does make one suspicious! At one point, it became a little like a suspenseful, "who done it" thriller! I was starting to think "how'd she manage that" and "no, she really wouldn't, would she"?!? Just my paranoia building!

The one thing she has started doing is watching the currency exchange rates, as all payments must be in Pounds. The U.S. dollar is taking a Royal beating by the British Pound...get it? From the time I started looking into this, to the day I finally sent the deposit, the price went up nearly $500! One can only assume that in another 6 months the rates will progress further. Oh well, my Grandfather always said, "you have to pay to play"! So very true!

Watching my back as always,
Cheers,
Eric.

[EAO]

Yup, still here. No shallow grave just yet. I'm not sure where July has gone. I got most of my chores done down at the cabin just before the 4th, during which mid Missouri received 12.3 inches of rain in 7 days. Then it was mowing, mowing, and more mowing back up there so that I could go up to Wisconsin and see my Parent's for the first time in a year and a half (damn Covid). Made it up here in time for my Mother's 85th birthday, and have for the most part successfully kept my 86 year old Father off the ladder by painting the side of the house for him. So I'm up in our fellow Good Herr Doctor's native State and covered in two shades of yellow paint. I should be on my way back to Missouri today, but I'm waiting on tests to see who and how many of our employee's have been exposed to Covid or not. Some have had the vaccine and some not. Jess and I both got our jabs long ago. At least I did bring 308 up and have enjoyed an evening cigar while chasing young rabbits through the rhubarb patch.

Mark is still acquiring all the parts needed for my Panther build. It seems that supply chains and shipping are still lagging a bit post Covid (I heard this the other day and thought "are we truly post Covid?" Seems mighty optimistic to me!?) At any rate, I've had a bit of luck again regarding all things 1/6 scale. Jess and I went to our favorite pizza place which is located in just a wide spot in the road. As always it was very busy, so we placed our order and deceided to just return home with it. In the time it was going to take to make this pizza we decided to wander over to a nearby upscale, residential, estate wide garage sale (think urban sprawl) . The first table I walked up to had a NIB, unopened DID figure of Johann Meiling. The elderly lady behind the table was asking $25 dollars for it but when I was rummaging through my wallet and pulled out a $20 bill she said "Oh, that will be fine". Jess then looked at her and said "Great, now he's playing with dolls". I promptly replied that this is a perfect to scale action figure, not a doll!

A good find, though not quite the right time frame, nor division. It is pretty cool that Johann has the armored version of the MG 34 too. As I've said before, I'm not a real big fan of 1/6 scale figures, but for this price it will be fine to display him next to "Geli' as I have christened this as yet built Panther. As soon as we got home and dispatched the pizza I took Johann out of his box and started putting his accessories on. Jess who has been bombarded with all sorts of historical details over the last 32 years on all manner of topics, knows that most WW2 tanks were crewed by 5 men. So then I received the question: "so just how big is this tank of your's going to be exactly?". Seems she's having a problem imagining just how large a 1/6 scale tank will actually be. I guess in all truthfulness, so am I!

Cheers,
Eric.

P.S. Sorry about the pictures. My Parent's computer is a little archaic. Update: only one employee has come down with Covid and got it while on vacation. He's not been in since then, so no cross contamination of other's here has resulted. Guess I'm heading South tomorrow.

[Herr Dr. Professor]

Well, you probably got a chance to dry out a bit: at least here in the far south--of Wisconsin--we are parched! What's most important is that you had the chance to visit your folks and keep your father from harm!

It will be fun to see your new doll with the rest of his crew. You are getting the rest of the crew, right? Ahem!

Did you have to write "pizza"? Great: it's 11:30 at night at least 17 miles from any pizza place that might be open. Thanks a lot.

[EAO]

Our good Herr Dr.,

You are right, Southern Wisconsin is pretty dry. On the 14th, Baraboo got 2.3 inches of rain along with some strong winds that took down many trees and power lines in the area. We missed all the action as we were out stuffing ourselves at a fish fry. Not a Friday fish fry, but lake perch none the less.

As for pizza, the Badger Steam and Gas Engine Show is coming up on the third weekend of August. If you get a chance and get over that way I highly recommend stopping at the Gem City Saloon and Eatery in Baraboo. Otherwise there is Mama Mia's on the Square there too. Mama's is an original Italian family and the daughter is very, very, pretty with a sexy accent to compliment her looks! It's a toss up (get it? ) over which pizza is actually the best. Every time I'm in town I make sure to order from both places as I'm simply a pizza fanatic. If you do get over to the show my Dad can usually be found in the Antique Woodworking Building, stop in and say hi.

And remember they are action figures...NOT dolls!

Cheers,
Eric.

[Herr Dr. Professor]

That might he the same Mamma Mia’s that I used to go to in Milwaukee. I will have to see if I can go to Baraboo this year: it’s been a long time.

Now back to the matter you neatly avoided: the rest of the 1/6 crew.