This doesn't have a whole lot to do with miniatures or gaming, so feel free to fast forward to the suck button.

Still with us? Ok, here is today's story. My grandmother passed away recently. Among her things we found this box, which ended up with me. It was made by her grandfather, my great great grandfather if I didn't get mixed up with all the greats in there.

He was a goldsmith by trade, a profession that no one in the family has since continued. I'm no expert, but it seems to me he wasn't completely unfamiliar with woodworking either. Unfortunately, the box had suffered damage some time in its history. The hinges were broken and small pieces were broken off, luckily most of them were still with the box.

I have no idea when he made this, but it is definitely significantly older than me. As he had passed away before I was born, I have no personal memories of him. But one thing I do remember.

When I was a kid, we had a fabulous dollhouse he had built. We were forbidden to play with it, which probably contributed to its continued survival but somehow I doubt that was really the original intention.

To cut to the chase, I had a bunch of miniatures on the workbench waiting to be finished as January is proving to be a busy month. But I decided to fix the box first anyway. If my New Year's Resolutions crash and burn due to this, then so be it.

I have no training in woodworking. But I do reckon I have some experience with building small things and I'm not afraid to tackle a project. In the end it wasn't that difficult. Maybe it's not perfect but I managed to restore the functionality. I feel he would have preferred this rather than having it restored by a professional.

It just made me wonder what my great great grandchildren will think of the things I have made. Will they appreciate them? Would they be able to replace a broken spear into a 28mm hoplite's hand?

maxxon