Heroic Dreams - All Things Medieval

Recently I was scrounging around and trying to think up a new diorama project that I could work on. I couldn’t come up with something I really liked and mentioning this to a friend he suggested I do a 300 Diorama.

I thought it would be a great project so I embarked on the challenge. Anyway, ordering spartan miniatures ended up to be a real hassle but after a couple of weeks and a whole lot of emails I finally got my first batch of the little warriors in. So, time to start on the diorama.

And now it is off to the races. I am currently building the diorama and should have it completed within the next week or so. It is two feet by three feet so quite a bit of work. Anyway, it is coming out really nice. I am also wiring it up for sound and lights. I really want to make some night lighting for it. It should make it pretty dramatic.

Here is a look at the current stage of it. It is designed and framed out; now it is ready for the plaster shell.

If you want to see the whole process of how I am making it or you are interested in making your own fantasy dioramas check out the tutorial which begins here: The making of a 300 Battle of Thermopylae Diorama

 I also have this tutorial and diorama in a youtube video

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We live in a pretty crazy world! <-- I guess that is an understatement!

What I an exactly referring to is how everything is set up to make it real easy for us. Everything aims at doing more for us so we have to do less. Just about everything in the world is available to us at the click of a mouse, or the pull up at a drive thru. And this brings me to the topic of the martial arts. 

Please excuse the pun but Martial Arts are the perfect way to combat the sedentary lifestyle that is imposed upon us.

Many of the martial arts were born in times that required them for survival, and this is no longer applicable to us today. It is very unlikely the town you live in will be over run by barbaric hordes forcing you to take the sword down from over the fireplace and defend yourself and your family.

So why should you learn how to sword fight, or fence, or karate kick?

Well, aside from the romance, mystique, intrigue, and tradition of many of the  martial arts there is a component that is very important yet very seldom talked about: The exercise of it.

Let me explain why martial arts is one of the best things you can do for yourself in comparison to other forms of exercise. There are three basic levels of exercise:

 First level: Go to the gym? Run, Jog? Treadmill? Calisthenics? These are all great. You will get healthier, look better, feel better and improve overall!

Second level: Learn a sport? You get all the above benefits and you add in the facts of having fun, and improving eye to hand coordination, spatial abilities, reflexes, and more. More benefit!

Third level: Martial Arts? You get all the benefits listed above and you add in the third level of philosophy and tradition. All martial arts are woven with the thoughts of generations of practicioners.  You benefit even further!

Now you are probably a fan of medieval things predominantly because of the romantic aspects of it. Who doesn't want to be the hero that rescues the princess and slays the dragon! (After all the name of this blog is "Heroic Dreams")

But, you really should consider the fact that the world we live in is quite different than that one. There are still dragons, but they are different; Now they whisper in our ears to sit down, relax, watch a little TV, surf the internet, drive to the store rather than walk. And a million other things that will quickly put a few extra pounds on you.

So, how can you combat this whispering of dragons?

Even though the dragons have changed the techniques to fight them are still the same. Pick up a sword and swing it around. Find an instructor and learn a martial art. Get a staff or a stick, or a tonfa, sword, wooden sword, bo, nunchaku, shield, mace, or any other number of things and learn how to use it! Take it down off the wall and swing it!

If nothing else, it is a wonderful form of exercise that you will benefit greatly from.

Popularity: 46% [?]

I have been into the art of building small catapults for a while now and I have built several different ones. I have even built a few trebuchets. Anyway, on of the best things about a project like this is that once you are done building it you are not done with it. You can play with it and use it. It’s an interactive project that people really enjoy. I have one particular catapult project called “The Table Top Troll” which is extremely popular. I get a lot of visitors to the project and I get a lot of email from people thanking me for it. It’s a totally free project that takes you through all the steps of making a nice little rubber band powered catapult.

To do the project I had to build two of them. The first one was a prototype where I figured out all the details then I built a second one so I could take pictures of the parts and every step of the way. You just need a few basic hand tools and a little wood to make this catapult and it’s a blast.

If you want to do this project then check out my make a catapult projects here:

Make a catapult

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If you want a kit with everything included so you can easily make your own catapult check this out at Amazon.com Easy wooden Catapult Kit

Popularity: 90% [?]