Gingerbread House

There are Christmases and then there are very special Christmases. When I was about 12 years old or so my brother Dallas and his wife Marge invited me along with them to a Christmas village in Michigan.

It was located in one of the many German townships in Michigan. This particular town was well-known for its Christmas theme.

There was one particular shop that displayed Christmas trees, decorations, accessories, etc. all year long. I loved that store. My favorite section in the store was the gingerbread section.

Gingerbread was everywhere! Cookies, cupcakes, pastries, gingerbread themed jars, bags, clothing, candles-wow!

Giant gingerbread figures sat on or about displays, candy canes and other Christmas paraphernalia helped accent the gingerbread holiday theme.

Imagine a little shop with a Gingerbread Bakery sign atop a red, six window, Christmas wreath decorated door surrounded by a candy cane border and inset in a gingerbread roof doorway with white swirling walls, twin gold bells, a large peppermint at the roof’s peak and a small decorated Christmas tree out front on the snow-covered, cobblestone pavement.

On top of brick chimney is a gingerbread man next to a striped peppermint pole holding a Bringing Christmas Magic Home banner. The peak of the main part of the cottage is a stripped candy cane with another gingerbread man with presents.

In the Rolife Gingerbread House are gingerbread goodies of all types: pastries, cakes, candies, and cookies all sitting on tiered counters and a table.

There is a banner strung across the back wall highlighted by the beautiful overhead glass shade light.

Cups hang from hooks on the wall, a colorful menu offers tasty goodies, there is a hot coco machine, tins of gingerbread confections and a large gingerbread man figure that rocks back and forth.

Check out the windows on both sides and on the door that actually opens.

There is so much color, details and amazing miniatures with clearly legible labels, signs, stripped wallpaper and other holiday hidden gems.

Parts come in bags or are shrink wrapped in plastic along with various paperwork and Instructions.

I started to put together the kit beginning with the floor and wall sections eventually moving on to furniture, brick-a-brac, the lighting, wall hangings, etc.

Folding the small paper products and applying the stickers was a little bit cumbersome to me so I used tweezers to apply them and the pointed tool to peel off stickers from their paper.

A Flathead screwdriver came in handy for popping out small parts. I was careful to only open the bags for parts that I needed them at each sage of assembly. A Phillips-head screwdriver and tweezers come with the kit.

I’ve included a photo below of the tools I like to keep on hand when assembling a kit. Big hands, old age and less than perfect eyesight makes using tools a must.

With small loose 3D pieces I occasionally had to use tweezers to pick them up and be careful to make sure I didn’t drop them or have them fall off the table I had the kit on.

Unfortunately when assembling one of the small pieces of furniture I broke off a tab. But with a little glue it was as good as new. Gotta be more careful, klutz that I am.

All the large parts have tabs that easily pop into place securely holding the parts in place. Lighting was easy to set up.

Any small adhesive strips were difficult for me to remove so sometimes I used glue instead. Whatever works. The Gingerbread House will make a great table decoration when Christmas rolls around.

Like always when assembling a Rolife kit be sure to take your time, enjoy the process, follow the Instructions to the letter and never, never take out more parts that what you need for each step of the building process.

The box the Gingerbread House comes in is bit different than most Rolife boxes. It has a slip-on lid with a huge color photo of the Gingerbread House on its lid.

On the back of the box are two large color photos, a list of materials used, a notification that batteries are required and more info. The kit consists of 250 pieces, is recommended for those 14 years old and older and includes LED lights.

As I assembled the kit I could almost hear Christmas music playing in the background and could smell the wonderful gingerbread goodies. Suddenly I feel very hungry-gingerbread goodies perhaps?

To see what other Rolife kits has to offer click here. For photos and video of the Gingerbread House click here and click here to see more Robotime products.

Jeremiah 29:11For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

How To Survive Anywhere Second Edition

Usually whenever anyone mentions survival books it is usually associated with surviving in the wild. In How To Survive Anywhere Second Edition by author Christopher Nyerges and published by Stackpole Books, readers are provided with guide to survive in not only in the wilderness but in urban, suburban and rural environments as well.

In this uncertain age where services and goods prices are escalating, rents and mortgages are soaring in price and it seems everyone is out for themselves having survival skills are necessary.

Knowing how to grow and preserve food, to make due with less, how to acclimate to different climates, provide shelter, stay healthy, provide medical aid and so forth are important capabilities.

There is so much information contained in this small softbound book that provides practical and tried and true information, skill sets and insights. Filled with photos demonstrating various skills the book is handy book to have around at home and whenever you go on trips, camping and vacations.

Psalms 28:7The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.

US Tank Tactics In World War II

As a kid I loved watching Hollywood movies about World War II. I especially liked films about Tanks. I thought it was so cool to be able to drive around battlefield, fire off the tank’s cannon and be safe and secure in my little metal box.

Boy, was I wrong. Tank life was anything but pleasant. It was hot, claustrophobic, taxing, dangerous and exhausting.

In US Tank Tactics In World War II, written by Steven J. Zaloga with illustrations by Steve Noon and published by Osprey Publishing, the history of tanks during WWII is examined along with tactics used during the war years, different campaigns in Europe, in the Pacific and Africa, difficult terrains and weather conditions, the challenges, personnel, victories and defeats accompanied by archival photos and full-color illustrations.

Tank warfare during WWII was more than aim and fire. It involved humans pushed to their physical and mental limits.

2 Timothy 1:7For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Dasher’s Bumper Boats

Every wonder what Santa’s reindeer do to have a little fun? Who would have thought that reindeer like water bumper boats!?

Dasher has it all figured out for a little relaxation and fun. Lemax's Dasher’s Bumper Boats number six in all and look like plump reindeer-antlers and all, and all the numbered boats but one carry red and green dressed elves.

They float about in a large blue pond surrounded by a yellow escarpment with silver rails in the front-just add water.  Three lights illuminate the pond from the front and other lights brighten up the candy-stripped lighthouse with its green roof and translucent lens area topped by an gold pole red flag. A larger Dasher’s Bumper Boats sign in red and white is held up by candy cane poles and a small lit up Christmas tree is to its right.

A large archway allows the boats to pass underneath. It is covered with snow and has a red-capped polar bear leaning against a candy cane pole with a North Pole sign.

In front of the lighthouse is an elf and just to the right of the lighthouse’s door is an open window with another elf leaning out of it.

Stone steps lead down the snow covered stone pool enclosure and at the bottom are four pine trees, an Enter Here sign and a large sign that reads: Dixon’s Cove & Snack Bar, Reindeer’s Game Arcade and Comet’s Bobsleds above a North Pole Transit red and white sign with pine tree art on both sides.

I absolutely love the wooden walkway around the pool, the pool floor decoration, the penguins, the twin outdoor lighting on a pole, the small bench, silver trailing, little brown rabbit, guardrails with a red life flotation ring, polar bear, reindeer in the tower window, small evergreen trees, signs, lights, music and bumper boat action. the small lighthouse with a translucent light globe, its wraparound windows, gold trim windows and door and the snow-capped archway.

For a decidedly different type of Christmas check out Dasher’s bumper boats. Great detail, coloring, sculpting and all of it wrapped up in a protective shell inside a flip lid box. The floating elves come in their own little pack away container within the box. Christmas just got a little more aquatic.

1 Corinthians 15:51-57Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

Inventing The Wild West

Americans were and are fascinated by The Wild West. It all started in the middle of the 19^th Century.

As explorers, fortune seekers, entrepreneurs and those seeking to start a new life the wide open spaces of the mostly unexplored Western United States was a natural draw.

Add in the California and Alaskan gold rushes, the expansion of the railroads, free government settler land, the Civil War and other factors and its only natural that The West would foster romanticism, wonder and stories of danger, excitement and the promise of wealth.

Conflicts with native Americans, robber barons, railroad tycoons, rustlers, cutthroats and other unsavory characters also sweetened the pot.

Folks back East and around the world thrilled at the exploits of real cowboys, wild encounters with Indians, traveling Wild West shows, saloons, train and bank robberies and the rough and tumble life of those who traveled West.

Stories proliferated in dime novels, Wild West shows, heroic exploratory conquests, bloodshed and romanticism.

Nostalgia, folklore and fakelore fed the public’s appetite for excitement and there were those only to happy to contribute to the myth of life in The Wild West.

Newspapers, magazines and cheap novels fed the flame and soon radio, motion pictures and television all contributed to the myth. Marketing executives, publishers, broadcasters and merchandise manufacturers all benefited by perpetuating a vision of The Wild West that was more fiction than fact.

Did you know that at one time Westerns were the most popular movies being produced and at one time almost 40 Western TV series were being broadcast in a short span of years?

Cowboys became heroes while in fact they were hard working, rugged individuals that existed and endured the worst conditions for little pay.

Author Jeremy Agnew and McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers present the truth behind the legend of the West in Inventing The Wild West.

It successfully peels back the myth to present the real Wild West and how media created an idolized picture of life in the West. It provides an insight of how, with a little modification and marketing, The Wild West transformed from a dry and dusty and dangerous region into a haven for heroes and Wild West justice.

Ephesians 4:29Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

Manga Shop

I was absolutely thrilled when a representative from Lumibricks contacted me to say they would like me to review their Manga Shop Neon City Cyber model kit.

I've always been fascinated by Japanese Manga.  I've followed the growing Manga market here in the United States and how more and more young people are choosing Manga over American comic books.

I've read my fair share of Manga, mostly the old classics like Ghost In The Shell, Akira and Astro Boy.  I can understand the draw Manga has here in the United States.  It is not limited to just superheroes but encompasses all genres of fiction and real life.

Previously I contacted Lumibricks about reviewing their model kits when I’d spotted a Lumibricks video on YouTube about Lumibricks’ various model kits and I was blown away by the complexity, lighting and overall design of each model kit.

If you like to see what Lumibricks has to offer click here to visit their website. There are photos, videos and all sort of fascinating information.

To be clear Lumibrick model kits can be complex. There are a lot of parts. The Manga City set-up clocks in at a whooping 1,699 pierces and is best assembled by those 16 years old and older although for younger kids adult supervision is best.

The main material used in the model kit is ABS and there is a LED Light Kit.

First things first. I received the model kit in a large cardboard shipping box securely sealed. Inside the model kit product box was protected by a wraparound plastic bubble sheet.

The Manga Shop box features a full-color photo of the shop on its cover. The box is black and made of heavy-gauge coated cardboard. Specs, small photos and other information are on all sides.

The box has a flip-lid with fold-in flaps. When I opened the box I was floored after seeing all the part bags. Wow!

Bags are sealed in plastic and numbered. Instructions refer to the bag numbers. There are a lot of bags of various sizes as you can see by the three photos I’ve included. Also there are two very comprehensive User Manuals filled with color photos and part illustrations that coincide with the part bags. Assembly steps are page-by-page.

The User Manuals provide step-by-step assembly instructions. Look over the User Manuals-they are chock full of photos, fun images and other cool stuff. 

Be careful to follow the instructions carefully and never remove more parts that you need through each construction phase. I like to have a few tools: tweezers (included), a small pointed tool (a Phillips-head screwdriver (also included) and strong light (such as flashlight or small stationary light, on hand because my eye-to-hand coordination and eye-sight are not what they used to be.

You may use your own favorite tools or use none at all.  I've included a photo of the various tools I use whenever I assemble model kits.  Various kits use different tools.

A small box contains all the lighting components separated in small paper bags that are numbered. Lighting assemble is a breeze and so easy using the plug and secure tabs. Likewise the model kit parts snap together and are easy to take apart and adjust if you mess up. The Brick Separator comes in handy.  Think of the model kit like a certain well-known snap together product but on steroids.

With its translucent, transparent and neon lighting the Manga Shop is a real eye-pleaser. Flats, bricks, a brick Separator and Service Card are also included.

The Manga Shop model kit is not for the timid. It takes patience, determination and it’s not a quick slap together model kit. It takes time-but time well spent.

This is the first Lumibricks model kit I’ve ever assembled. I’m taking it slow, easy and I can’t wait to see what it will looks like once finished. I may get my wife and grandkids to give me a hand.

There are a lot of small parts in different colors, shapes and sizes. Various part colors make it easier to assemble the model kit.

The Manga Store combines both modern and classical Japanese aesthetics and design. Look for holographic signs, neon lightning and some cyberpunk mechanisms-future shock! Some flash, strobe or are constant.

Lights! Lights! Lights! They are everywhere from storefronts, lanterns, displays and machines. Look for warm hues to bright neon in all shapes and sizes.

The are two floors with an incredible amount of interior design and items including comic book covers, bookshelves, vending machines, reading niches and other little hidden corners where you just might find some interesting hidden Easter Eggs such as pop culture references, art and other objects. You can connect to other Cyberpunk synchronized model kits (with working lights) that expand to make an entire city block!

Both floors are easily accessible and be sure to check out the exclusive figures with the set.

Here we go. The first thing I did is to go over the lighting and familiarize myself where it goes and when.

I admit that I was a little confused on how to use the User Manuals until I realized that the part bag numbers refer to chapters.

A chapter may require two or three bags of parts or more. So, by taking the parts out of their bags and putting them in separate ‘dishes’ it is easier to find parts in each section especially since they are different colors that coincide with the part colors in the User Manuals. It’s that easy. Sometimes my old brain takes a moment to kick in.

Also you wire and test the lights as you go. The covered light channels aid in keeping the lighting set up clean and tangle and damage free. Very clever.

OK onto the floor and wall flats where all the parts assemble on. I opened the first bags, looked at he instructions and dove in. Full speed ahead!

That wasn’t so bad. The User Manuals are easy to follow. Instructions are uncluttered and have just a few images per page. It’s so easy to follow and no confusion. Even an old timer like myself can do it!

I find it best if I work on the model kit a little while, put it aside for a day or so and then tackle it again. That way I don’t frustrate myself and the whole experience is enjoyable-which is what it is intended to be. Deep breaths, slow down and enjoy the process. What a great way to relax and it makes a good family project. I’m in no hurry. I’m retired, there’s no need to.

Even better there are no stickers just printed parts. Lumibricks snap together firmly. Wiring is threaded as you assemble the model kit and special bricks hide the wiring safeguarding pinched or broken wires. Special electrical connectors allow you to connect other buildings resulting in uninterrupted
electric current flow.

Finally I’d like to talk about the design and packaging components of the model kit. Having been in the graphic design, marketing and drawing occupation for over 30 years I appreciate the work it goes into creating a product.

How Lumibricks is able to produce such a complicated, well-designed and cohesive product for what I consider a very good inexpensive price astounds me.

The detail, numerous illustrations, 3D renderings and comprehensive and informative text in the two full-color User Manuals are a work of art with well thought out designs and very time-consuming and thorough pieces of print material. It took a lot of work to prep them for print and the printing process takes lot of knowledge and skill. Add to that the selection of paper stock and binding and the User Manuals can get expensive.

Lumibricks must have a very talented group of designers, artists and production people to coordinate the printing, package design, part manufacturing (so many varied parts in different colors!), parts packaging and assemble.

It truly is a huge group effort and it shows in the high quality products Lumibricks turns out. I am truly impressed. I know I would really have had to struggle to develop and produce such a product. Talk about a lot of work!

Take a tour of the Manga Shop and check out the rooftop articulated and lit racoon, the floating screen, lit doorways and windows, the cool characters, interior details and merchandise, the vending machine, a clever second story with its slanted roof and wild electronic gadgets, hidden niches and corners, pop culture Easter Eggs, a retro robot, awnings, signs, a base with a walkway, printed images with no stickers and much, MUCH more!

It is an amazing assemble of bright, colorful, high-tech gadgets and goodies with an amazing attention to detail and working lights. And at the price you pay you get far more than expected. It’s well worth your money and time.

For ore Lumibricks kits click here.

Mark 11:24Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

I’m A Believer

Just to show how old I am I remember when the Monkees debuted in the mid-1960s on NBC TV.

Originally created to cash-in on The Beatles craze-a sort of Americanized version, the Monkees went on to become a respectable and creative band on their own.

At first many of their songs featured instrumentation by studio artists but as the band progressed they performed their own hits and proved that they were more than a cookie-cutter Bubble Gum band.

Only Micky Dolenz is left from the band and his book: I’m A Believer, co-written with Mark Bego and published by Lyon Press, looks back over the last 60 years from the band’s genesis to its current status as a pop culture phenomenon and nostalgic icon of Baby Boomers.

While Micky is the last member he keeps the band’s music alive by performing on his own and paying tribute to his lost band members. He shares his life of Monkees, music and madness.

The book delves into the band’s beginning, its turbulent years, band conflicts, fame’s ups and downs, hilarious anecdotes, rough times, the cost of fame and more.

Micky recalls his life with the Monkees, their music and the madness.

In celebration of the band’s 60th Anniversary there is a new chapter, an updated discography and filmography.

”Hey, hey, we're the Monkees
And people say we monkey around
But we're too busy singing
To put anybody down”

1 Corinthians 16:14Let all your things be done with charity.

Old West Gold Mine

Gold! The bright shiny metal is the thing dreams are made of. People have fought and died trying to acquire it. Kingdoms rise and fall when its gold reserve grows or shrinks. What is it that makes gold so precious?

Way back in the middle of the 19^th Century gold fever hit the United States. People from far and wide traveled to far away territories rift with danger, severe weather and harsh conditions. Robbers, cutthroats and con artists proliferated.

Lumibricks’ Old West Gold Mine captures the feel of the age of prospectors with its craggy cliff and open mine, sparse vegetation, dry dessert floor, cobbled together mine equipment, a flickering camp fire, a mine car filled with gold nuggets, rails, a lit lantern and fire, a cow skull, a camp tent, cooking and mining utensils, supply boxes and barrels, a small creek, a crude wench with hooks, a Hanford Gold Mine sign, wooden pylons, and more.

The crane works, you can set of a simulated explosion with the a simple push of a stone and the mine car rolls on the track, creaking along. Rotate the spit over the fire and don’t forget to turn on the mine light and lantern.

All of the various components are very colorful, cleverly designed and executed and the kit looks great on any bookshelf, table or wherever you want.

I really like the way Lumibricks ships and packages its kits.

I received my Lumibricks Old West Mine Kit sealed in a heavy duty cardboard box sealed with tape.

Once opened the box contains the kit. The kit box is also made of heavy gauge cardboard and features a flip lid with side flaps. It too is sealed shut.

A full-color photo of the completed kit is on the front of the box. On one side are a couple close-up photos of the figures that come with the kit. Unlike ‘other’ building kits the figures in the Lumibricks Old West Gold Mine have heads that actually swivel making different poses possible. Cool!

The kit is made for those 16 years old and older and consists of 658 pieces. On the back of the box is a warning section cautioning about the danger of batteries (not included). Keep out of reach of children.

Inside the box is a full-color User Manual with a Service Card insert. Pages progress through the build of the kit using highly-detailed, full-color diagrams that follow kit construction page-by-page. Bags inside the kit are numbered to coincide with the pages in the booklet.

Be sure to follow the User Manual to the letter beginning with the lighting. Light wires are cleverly hidden by channel bricks on the kit.

Sixteen bags containing parts are in the kit. Parts are color-coded to match the colors in the assembly schematics. It makes the build soooo easy.

Two bags contain the LED lights (batteries not included) and a Brick Separator is also included. You’ll need tweezers and a small Phillips-head screwdriver (included). A Brick Separator comes with the kit. I suggest a strong light and a magnifying device.

I have large hands and since I’m 73 years old my eyesight and eye-to-hand coordination are not what they used to be. I can use all the help I can.

I started with the lights, progressed to the base and before I knew it the kit was complete. And I didn’t mess up once-well, maybe once. But I’m an old codger. Give me a break!

The trick is to go slow and enjoy the process. Parts snap together easily and securely and by following the User Manual step-by-step mistakes are at a minimum. If you goof up, use the Brick Separator and start again.

Visit the Lumibricks site to see what other kits are available by clicking here. To see more of the Old West Gold Mine click here. There is even a video, click here.

The quality of the kit is excellent. Bricks fit together with a snap, the User manual is very comprehensive, part bags make building the kit organized and easy and the color bricks coinciding with the schematics make finding the right bricks a breeze. I especially like the lighting that flickers, the moving parts and the attention to detail.

Psalms 34:4I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

Baby Godiva

Imagine being a young man (Carly) attracted to an innocent, naïve and beautiful young girl. Suddenly your world is turned upside down when a series of unfortunates accidents targets you as guilty of attacking and raping her. Even the girl: Godiva (Godie) says you’re guilty. Who will believe you?

Baby Godiva, by Marty Holland and published by Stark House Crime Fiction, examines the political, societal and sexual norms of the 1940s and 1950s.

No one will listen to Carly when he explains how Godie was injured and that there was someone else there hiding in the shadows by the swimming hole where the incident occurred.

The trial is overseen by a corrupt, adulterous Judge and a townspeople screaming for hangman justice with Carly’s fate hanging in the balance. Will he be saved from the electric chair?

Marty Holland started her career as a script typist and eventually her writing efforts were rewarded first in Pulp magazines and eventually screenplays.

Baby Godiva was very edgy for its time. It touched upon themes and subjects mostly ignored or avoided during that time period. Marty Holland pushed conventional writing and dared to speak of things mostly hidden in the shadows.

Isaiah 26:3Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

 

Henry's Chocolate

I love chocolate! Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate-you name it I love it.

I have so many wonderful chocolate memories: a big solid chocolate Easter Bunny, chocolate ice cream on my birthday, going to the candy store and loading up on all sorts of chocolate goodies, Valentine chocolate and so forth-it’s a veritable chocolate wonderland.

I recall years ago when my wife and I were living in the Fort Worth/Dallas metropolitan area we were out shopping at a local mall. There was a smell-a wonderful aroma. 

We walked around a corner in the mall and it was like something out of a dream! There it was a chocolate shop! So many goodies! We both gained a couple of pounds that day.

I’d like to do something a little different this review. In previous reviews I’ve gone into detail and step-by-step on how I go about assembling Rolife kits.

In this review I’d like to talk about why I like Rolife kits and what attracted them to me. I’ll get into Henry’s Chocolate kit a little later on.

I like organization and planning. I appreciate logic, quality work and high standards when it comes to professionalism.

When I first spotted Rolife kits in a local Michael’s store I was immediately struck by their incredible detail. I was blown away by how realistic everything looked in even such a small scale. Having come from a graphic design background I am very familiar with product design, print production and promotion.

Looking at the open and assembled Rolife kits on display I could not help but be impressed by the printing and design of such simple things as packaging and accessories in the small room reproductions. Signs, packaging, wall and floor textures and colors were spot-on and the overall ‘feel’ of individual settings was perfect.

Nostalgic kitchens felt old, bookstores exuded shaded niches and warm earth tones and shops felt well-lite and open. Everything seemed to fit with whatever setting was recreated.

Miniature 3D printed accessories were perfect right down to every little detail. Furniture, lighting, wall decorations, windows, and doors-everything worked.

When it came to the packaging the Rolife kit boxes provide full-color photos of the enclosed kits, on the back of each box are full specs as it pertains to age assembly ranges, what the kits pieces are made of, safety instructions, assembling instructions and much more.

Once opened everything in boxes are either sealed in plastic or in plastic bags. Parts are numbered and the numbers coincide with the numbers in the step-by-step Instructions. 

 

Everything is so organized, thought out and executed. Is it any wonder why I like Rolife kits so much? See the photo below of Henry’s Chocolate’s kit contents:

Rolife’s Henry’s Chocolate is a small cozy corner shop jam- packed with so much chocolate that your taste buds will burst just by looking at it and you can almost smell the chocolate aroma.

Candies and confections of all sorts spill over and fill the front and back shelves and small tables.

The shop’s walls are painted in soft yellow and white enhanced by rough cut stoneware and accented by the wood overhead open ceiling, the checkerboard floor and decorated shelves, the floor borders, the framed artwork, the candy boxes filled wall shelves, the fall floral, the signs, the candy containers, the boxes, trays and loose displays, a decorative urn, an antique cash register and baskets, boxes and other paraphernalia.

Chocolate, chocolate everywhere! All the chocolate goodies look so real you can almost taste them. Miniatures of plastic, paper and wood are perfect in their details including package text and images, shop decor and all the lit nooks and crannies filled with chocolate goodies.

When it comes to assembling any kit I take my time, check my Instructions, make sure all the parts are included, go over the lighting instructions (batteries are not included) and assemble my tools. I’ve included a photo of the tools I use. Tweezers and a Phillips screwdriver are included in the kit.

Henry’s Chocolate kit (like all of Rolife’s kits) has all of its components separated by type.

Henry’s Chocolate box contents include a Material List, Instructions with fully illustrated pages in color providing step-by-step assembly instructions, an Icon Illustration pamphlet, Product Safety instructions, sticker sheets, folded paper sheets, an electric light and wiring and a tools bag, two 3D accessories bags, a shrink-wrapped package with small wood part flats and large shrink-wrapped large wood parts flat. 

All the parts have numbers that coincide with the numbers in the Instructions. Be sure to put the kit together page-by-page and do not remove more parts than what you need for each phase.

Rolife kits are a great way to increase your eye-to-hand coordination, develop cognitive and assembly skills, follow instructions, think three-dimentionally and if assembled by two or more people a great way to work as a team and cooperate and develop social skills. Family and friends will love it.

To see what other Rolife kits are available click here. For photos and a video of Henry’s Chocolate click here and to see what Rolife’s parent company Robotime click here. So many kits!

Psalms 55:22Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

Wehrmacht Auxiliary Forces

Say what nasty things you want about the Nazi during World War II and it’s probably true. They were a force of evil, hell bent on world domination and set about trying to achieve that goal using any means at their disposal.

But, even skeptics have to admit they had some pretty cool uniforms, weapons and accessories which attributes to the fact such articles are highly sought after by World War II collectors.

The Wehrmacht Auxiliary Forces uniforms and duties were different from their armed forces equivalents.

Uniform colors, insignia, the placement of insignia, type of equipment varied from the fighting forces.

As the war progressed and things weren't looking good for the Nazi’s the auxiliary and fighting forces uniforms, etc. began to have more in common.

Whether by design or necessity or both they soon became almost unrecognizable in their differences.

In authors N. Thomas and C. Caballero Jurado’s and illustrator S. McCouaig’s book Wehrmacht Auxiliary Forces (part of the Men-At-Arms series from Osprey Publishing) those similarities and differences are examined.

Also included is the breakdown of the the war effort itself, how things changed and morphed as the war progressed.

This is a very thorough, comprehensive, fact-filled and impressive piece examining the history of the Nazi military force.

Archival photos, color illustrations, charts and highly-detailed text make for a fascinating read.

Psalms 37:4Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.