From TamsinP: Operation Rescue Oscar Part 5 (47 points)

Extract from the Journal of TamsinP: Time Traveler, Society Girl and Adventuress

"Please don't let it be that place again! Please don't let it be that place again!" I repeat under my breath as we pass through the rift.

"It's OK. I think you're safe to open your eyes now!"

"Huh?" I take a sniff - no smell of badly tanned furs. Maybe it's not there? I steel myself and open my eyes. Thanks heavens! I'm not half-dressed in furs! Actually, this is rather a cool get-up! Leather jacket, knee boots, denim trousers, flying helmet - thankfully no wet celery or egg whisk!*

"See, I told you!"

"You did. Maybe this isn't Robert E Howard's homoerotic dream, but nevertheless do keep an eye out for a tall, powerfully built chap in a suit and Panama hat!"

"So, do you think he's still here?"

"Oscar? Let's see." I check the instruments. "He could very well be - the readings suggest we've arrived a few minutes behind him!"

"That's positively brilliant news! I guess we'd better go and find him."

"I seem to have acquired a flying helmet!"

"You have. I wonder if the outfitting glitch is caused by time-travel device proximity?" I ponder.

*BOOM*

"What on Earth?"

"Sounded like a cannon."

"Oscar! Oscar!"

"Oscar! Oscar!"

We start calling out his name - maybe he'll hear us.

"Oscar! Oscar!"

"Oscar! Oscar!"

*Row-row!*

"I think that's him!" Curt exclaims, ""Oscar! Oscar!"

"Oscar! Oscar!"

"It is! We've found him!"

"Hello, yes, I've missed you awfully! Ewww! Whatever have you been eating?"

"Hello, Oscar" I greet him, "Peter D wasn't wrong about him being a crotch sniffer!" I joke to Curt.

"Hold on - what's that noise?"

"Sounds like lots of horses, and they're heading this way!"

"Oh, crap! It's those bloody barbarian cavalry. This is his bleeding dream again!"

"Scarper time?"

"Most definitely!"

"You take the guns, I'll get us out of here" I call to Curt, "Oscar - in the front with me!"

I start the engine and press the button I've pre-programmed to return us to Curt's "secret lair".

The rift opens, and I drive through...

"That's a shame - I didn't get to shoot those Lewis Guns!"

"Yeah, sorry about that." I lie, glad to have got out of there so fast. "Still, here we are back safe and sound, with Oscar."

"Well, yes, but it's still a shame. My word, is that Byron still there on the loading bay?"

"It is indeed." I check the instruments "Well, that's a bit of a shocker - we've been gone for exactly fourteen days and one second!"

"Incredible!Well, I guess I'd better get this scamp home where he belongs. Thanks awfully for sorting out the rescue!"

"My pleasure!" I lie again. "Now, before you go, let's just check that we've got all the devices. Obviously we have the vehicle-mounted one, here's my replacement one that Dave knocked up...hold on...where's the original one, that Oscar took?"

We hunt around through the ice cream van. There's no sign of the device.

"You don't suppose he dropped it back there do you?"

"I guess he must have."

"Well, there's no way I'm going back there to retrieve it. I've had enough of Robert E Howard and his flaming homoerotic dreams about muscular barbarians! "

"It's not as though they'd be able to use it" Curt says hopefully.

"Let's hope and pray!" I say, cautiously. "Anyway, I'm going to take both of the ones we have with me, just to be sure there are no more dog-related accidents with them!"

"Yes, that's probably a good idea. It's such a shame that dogs can't talk - just think what tales he must have!"

"I imagine it would be just lots of food scrounging and barking at squirrels, knowing him."

"You're probably right about the squirrels, but he looks rather thin to have been scrounging food."

"Hmmm, he does look rather less beefy than he does in the photos." I reply. "Goodbye, Oscar! Oh, I almost forgot - here's a big bag of English Squirrel Droppings** for you!"

Oscar's ears prick up as I give him the packet.

"Toodle-pip, Curt! Don't call me - I'll call you!" 

"Yes, toodle-pip! my dear!"

I set the device to return me home for 6pm on 20 March. The rift opens and I drive through. "Oh, hell! It must have been set for 6pm Regina time, so it's midnight here! Crap! And the vehicle hasn't changed! Crap - where the heck am I going to park a huge ice cream van at this time of night?"

* some people will get the reference

** see my first post from 21 December 2021

The Rescue Party

OK, I might have gone a little bit overboard! Originally it was just going to be the vehicle and crew, then I decided to get the foot figures and alternate crew (mainly because the car came with female driver and gunner).

The car and drew are all from eureka's Maximillian 1934 range; Oscar is the third one I painted from the pack from The Assault Group, which I left out of the scoring for my first post.

Such a happy boy!

Switching over the driver and gunner:

The gunners:

The drivers:

On foot:

As this is my last post for AHPC XII, I will do my customary "Vote of Thanks":

• To Curt, without whose insanity there would be no AHPC and for all of the organisation he does behind the scenes to pull it all together. Huzzah!
  
  
• To Lady Sarah, for keeping Curt caffeinated (and moderately sane) and simply for your very presence behind the scenes and, indeed, this year in the scene - it's been lovely having you along as a participant this year. Huzzah!
  
  
• To my fellow minions for all your hard work. Huzzah!
  
  
• To the sponsors whose generosity allows Curt to bestow various prizes. Huzzah!
  
  
• An finally to my fellow Challengers, an incredible ninety-six of you! Your posts have kept me amused, sometimes bemused and also challenged to both increase my output and quality of painting. Huzzah!

****INTERMISSION****

The Adventures of Oscar: Time Traveler, Slayer of Squirrels and Very, Very Good Boy

Epilogue

Tamsin was very nice - she gave me a big bag of English Squirrel Droppings! I love those! I guess I'll have to share them with Felix though, now that I'm back home. Anyway, daddy-Curt is driving me back there now, ooh! We're turning into the driveway! Row-row! And there's Felix! And Mummy-Sarah!

"Oscar! Oscar! Where have you been? You've been gone for simply years!"

"I've been time traveling, Felix!"

"Time traveling? Don't be so ridiculous!"

"It's true! I was looking for Christmas presents and found a box that smelled of Tamsin. I knocked it over and this device fell out. Anyway, I pressed one of the buttons and it took me back in time!"

"Noooo! So, where have you been?"

"I've been to the jungle - the smells were fantastic and swamp water tastes delicious! So does the rotting vegetation! But nasty Japanese men kept chasing me away and then two other men wanted to eat me!"

"They wanted to eat you? Noooo!"

"They most certainly did! And I didn't find any food there, but I did slay a jungle squirrel!"

"You slayed a jungle squirrel! I'm sooo, sooo jealous!"

"Yes, I did. I also slayed some ancient reddish-brown squirrels in Europe!"

"Noooo! Stop making me jealous! So what else did you see?"

"I saw lots of hairy men who threw big sticks at me and chased me off. And  I saw what Daddy-Curt calls "Romans" and they through smaller pointy sticks at me."

"It sounds very dangerous! I'm glad you made it out alive!"

"So am I! I had so many close calls! I even saw a battle!"

"A battle! Sounds exciting!"

"I thought it would be too, lots of men on horses killing each other but it was all over very quickly. And then I got chased off. Oh, and I've been to the future too!"

"The future?"

"Yes! I found this brilliant playground. But it was in a  desert so it was very hot, dry and there was no food! So I got bored and left there after a while."

"No food? How awful!"

"It was! So I went back to the jungle and almost found food, but got chased off again! Then I did get some food from some British soldiers - they were nice and gave me some beef stew, but it wasn't a lot. And there were lots of big explosions so I got out of there!"

"I don't blame you. Loud explosions must have been very scary."

"They were! Oh, the future. Yes, I went to the future again, but it was a city this time and I almost got food but there were lots of robots fighting so I skedaddled!"

"Robots fighting! You have seen a lot!"

"Yes, and then I met this strange man who seems to know Tamsin. He gave me some chewy beef, but then ran off for some reason after seeing some big, muscular chaps. I thought he was excited by them, but I think he must have known what they were going to do."

"Very odd - what did they do?"

"They put something in a big tube, put a flame to it and then there was a big *boom* so I skedaddled!"

"That does sound scary!"

"It was, it was!" And then I heard someone calling my name - it was Daddy-Curt and Tamsin!"

"I did wonder where he'd gone!"

"But then there were muscly men on horses chasing us, but we got away and now I'm home!"

"And it's so good to have you back!"

"And it's great to be back! I've missed you sooo much! But it was fun, and maybe you'll get to go with me next time."

"Next time? How?"

"Well, Tamsin didn't see, but I did - Daddy-Curt slipped my time travel device into his pocket..."

For Scoring

4 x 28mm foot @ 5 = 20 points

2 x 28mm drivers @ 2.5 = 5 points

1 x 28mm vehicle @ 20 = 20 points

1 x dog (count as 15mm foot) @ 2 = 2 points

Total = 47 points

_________________________________

Hahaha! That was just brilliant Tamsin. I especially liked it when you had Oscar recount his story to Felix, very clever. 

Now, that jalopy and crew is simply superb, so wonderfully mad. I think I need to get some of these for my collection - an early 20th century version of Gaslands perhaps ('JazzLands', hmm, I LIKE it. You heard it here first, folks!). Now we'll just have to see if Felix and Oscar have continuing time-travelling adventures in Challenge XIII... Until then, I think the Boyz need to have a good nap.

- Curt