Lazy Week...

So I didn't go to Recon this weekend. I sort of passed thru it like a breeze in the night, picking up a handful of Cigar Box cut-out-terrain mats from Raven Banner Games. I ordered a few other items from them, but those hadn't arrived, so I'll have them shipped. I drifted past the sale tables around the walls, but everyone wanted cash and I hadn't any, so I just said hi to a few people from the club and was off again. My aunt lives nearby so I was really there for an overnight visit. My eldest cat is at the point where I'm wary of leaving her alone for long, though she seems to be okay since I've returned. She's frantically hungry, or rather she really prefers to have me sit with her and watch her eat.

Four-hour drives are tiring, though, and next time I may try a train ride and Uber to and from the stations. So may try again in August, maybe two nights.

The only other thing I've done in the last couple weeks is assemble a handful of Paperboys units to stick on the walls of the new club.

Irish, Bavarians, and Hessian grenadiers.

Have been meaning to run a quick playtest of Pikeman's Lament on my bedroom table, but my constant procrastination gives Lex the opportunity to have her way with the setup:

The rules do say I should have an obstacle in each quarter.

Also been messing with Kerbal Space Program, for the first time in years. Last week was "National Dark Skies Week" and we always have a special event at the library; the local physicist who gives a well-attended talk couldn't make it, so as the staff space enthusiast I got volunteered. I considered running an Artemis II reenactment with the game as a demonstration, but there was too little time and in the event I just showed a few videos before we went outside and looked at Jupiter with telescopes. Usually we have 25 or so people, this time we only had five. My boss was still pretty happy. So I've been watching KSP videos on Youtube, desultorily playing the game, and thinking about how to wedge it into library programming. I never got into the sequel, KSP2, which was abandoned in preproduction on Steam but looks still pretty usable. I will wait until there's a sale before buying it. I also prefer using an autopilot (called MechJeb) and this doesn't seem to be available for KSP2, so I'll also want to hunt down a mod that reproduces it. I'm not that great at "controlling" video games, so I treat KSP as a "mission control" game rather than a "flying spaceships" game.

What next? No specific plans. Might paint a few of the Fife and Drum militia figures, cut out the terrain pieces I just bought, or consider my next vacation. Dad wants to visit Bermuda, I want to see (in order of distance and effort) Ft. Augustine, Boston, St. John's Newfoundland and Australia. (That last is on hold until my sister in New Zealand puts her own plans into action.) A summer Boston trip might not be a great idea, this year is likely to be pretty crowded. I'll let you know what I decided next post. Here's hoping for an uneventful week.

Fluttering By

No gaming this week (other than a couple rounds of Chess and Tafl at work). Have been under the weather all week, more tired than actually sick, but coworkers calling out have kept me busy. 

• Built a couple more regiments of Paperboys Continental infantry, continuing to experiment with basing. I got hold of a few beer mats from my favorite watering hole and I like them. They are a bit difficult to glue the Paperboys to, simply because the figures are divided into ranks so that you actually have three flat areas to stick down, not just one. This, I imagine, is one of the benefits of the "new" style where figures are not accordion-folded but directly stuck to the base.
• In other Paperboy news, Peter Dennis is able to receive shipped figures now, and I have mine to send him. However, they've been sitting in the car for weeks now and I should probably check them over and build some spares in case of damage in transit.
• Received some orders of my own. An Usagi Yojimbo action figure in samurai armor, a little stiff so I haven't messed with it yet. The color scheme is actually black armor heavily highlighted with blue, grey cloth, and yellow lace and armor/helmet trim. The blue being standard for comics, but might be interesting to experiment with painted figures. It comes with a sashimono banner with Mifune mon in red - three dots in a triangle, surrounded by a circle.
• A copy of The Pikeman's Lament. The For King and Country box set contains 58 infantry and 12 cavalry, so with six cav, twelve pike, twelve shot and six "forlorn hope" per side, this would be 18 points for each force, smaller than normal but a good starter to experiment. There are no bases, so I bought some GW ones. They are 25mm in width but though wider than the norm for Black Powder, units will still fall within the limits for normal size as well, so I can experiment with 28mm BP too. I am more likely to use the Japanese figures for that, though. The rules for a company officer in The Pikeman's Lament look fun and may be useful for a solo campaign.
• I haven't built any of the Warlord figures yet, but hope to next week. I will want a mask before I undercoat them, however; I think I will try the "stick" method this time! I would like to try painting some of the ECW types with the speedpaint markers.
• Read The Battle of Adwa, about a battle and period I know little about. It covers all the characters, political background and international reaction as well, an excellent introduction to the campaign. I may delve back into my copy of CE Callwell's classic Small Wars to see what he has to say about it.
• Read the Helion wargamer's guide to Leipzig, another battle I don't know much about. A fair overview that makes the battle comprehensible to a beginner. The scenarios are useful and can be played as a small campaign, a tempting target for a binge weekend at the club.

So that's what my internal hobby butterfly has been bouncing between all week. See you next time.

Speedpaint Markers!

Got them markers last week. I have about twenty now, only about five repeated colors. I haven't got all those available at present. Most importantly, I have no white or gold. I'll wait on the FLGS, who don't get shipments frequently or orders quickly.

So far, I've tested them out on a Quar Crusader, a Warhammer wall and fence, a strip of Black Powder Epic ACW infantry, and an Age of Sigmar Stormcast Eternal.

The undercoat for all is Army Painter Matt White spray, which ended up a little dusty. I had a bit of a scare when I misjudged the wind and the stuff blew back at me, but a quick visit to an emergency clinic reassured me. It probably helps that I am heavily hydrating myself these days. Anyone who's ever spoken to me knows I'm a motormouth, which doesn't help my throat if I'm talking on and on about hobbies or interests...

That said, I will try paint-on primer for a while, and wear a mask next time I spray.

Uniform: Orc Skin
Weapon, buckles: Polished Silver
Bootstraps and pack: Pallid Bone
Boots and straps: Hardened Leather
Skin: Zealot Yellow, Magic Blue

A poor photo, it looks a bit better in person. The Crusader uniform is supposed to be a pale green, and this was the closest I had. I think the gun came out best, but with more practice I think it will work. I don't think these pens are capable of doing the distinctive spots, however; they look more like blotches to me.

Stone: Gravelord Grey
Wood: Dark Wood plus a layer of Sand Golem
Metal bits: Polished Silver
Grass: Orc Flesh

I'm most proud of this terrain piece. It really looks good, though I say so myself. The downside is that the pen tips were damaged, mostly by sticking them into gaps and cracks. I've learned to be a little gentler, and luckily it's easy to change the tips.

Coats and caps: Magic Blue
Trousers: Caribbean Ocean
Weapons: Hardened Leather, Polished Silver
Boots, hats: Grim Black
Skin: Crusader Skin

Not happy. Probably has something to do with the poor undercoat, but looks more grey than blue, and the marker tips aren't quite precise enough.

Shoulderpads, shield: Magic Blue

Skin: Crusader Skin

Straps: Hardened Leather

Haft wrappings: Familar Pink

Hammer and base: Runic Grey

Tactical bricks: Blood Red

Hair: Pallid Bone

Shoes and joints: Grim Black

Armor: Sand Golem

I enjoyed this one. Not having white, I left as much of the markings as untouched as possible. Not having gold, my brother suggested Sand Golem as part of his non-metallic metal recipe. Doesn't look half bad to my eyes.

Overall, I think the experiment was a success. While the paint isn't as bright and could certainly use extra highlighting, I loved the lack of mess and the speed of coverage. Even occasionally shaking a pen or pressing more paint into the nib, I wasn't constantly adding paint to a palette or dipping or cleaning a brush. Also, I had more room to work - no need to cover the table, find space for a water cup and a dozen bottles of paint. The pens are just stacked in a box to one side. They don't drip, either, though it's still easy to touch something you didn't intend to.

You do need to be careful with the nibs. They're reasonably durable, but be gentle when painting heavy texture. They are a bit large to use the side unless it's something like large armor plates, so it's easy to work the point too hard.

Not sure how I should store them - point up, point down, or sideways?

I'll keep using them - for individual minis and details on terrain. I look forward to trying them on historicals. Until next time.

A Quiet Year

 
Thirty-five posts for the year. Not much in comparison with past years.

I haven't actually got much gaming in last year. The club has moved closer to me, though, so I hope to visit more frequently.

There has been more "preparation". Things like building up collections and obtaining new rules and terrain.

• I have some Warlord Pike and Shotte on the way.
• Games Workshop terrain to paint.
• Speedpaint markers also on the way.
• The Paperboys Hastings 960 project - 300+ figures cut.

Ready to edge and stiffen.

I've been wanting to take some time off. A lot of time off. The first week of the new year will do for a start; I will not be back at work until Monday the 12th. Some of this time will be spent on self-care - making appointments, visiting the bank, housecleaning. But I'll try to do some hobby, too. I ought to be able to finish my portion of Hastings 960 at the very least. Painting some terrain is the next part - the GW hills and barriers. I hope to have the Speedpaint markers in my hands next week, which (as there is a grey) will be used on the stone walls, while leather-brown will do for the fences. In the meantime, I've had a large brush, green and brown paints waiting for me to try them on the hills. So those are my hobby goals for the first third of January.

Looking ahead? I want to try some Pikeman's Lament, and minis for that are coming. For the club, I have really got to get cracking on the damn Picacho Pass scenario, and March or April would be a good target. I also need to practice Charge!, and the scenario books I picked up last year should help with that. I might be able to run a remote game or two with my brother.

Farther ahead, my employer is planning to commemorate the United States' 250th birthday. I doubt I can get away with a wargame at work, but painting or papercrafting minis is a possibility, for display if nothing else. Last year's Olustee diorama went over well, as did a display of WWII facsimile memorabilia. Another thing I'd like to do would be a folk music concert. 

And more time off. Undecided whether I'll go to the Orlando conventions this year, but am thinking of visiting the UK at some point, and maybe New Zealand to visit my sister (she's near Christchurch on the South Island). If the former, I would like to visit Nottingham, meet Peter Dennis and do the "lead belt" tour. I have about four months saved up, so we'll see.

Wish me luck. Here's hoping your own "gaming resolutions" are as successful. Keep your friends close, and take care. Thank you for reading.

Miscellanea, and a Treat

Work has been <bleeping> tiring this week. Hopefully that will turn around tomorrow, as we have a couple new staff joining us. In the meantime, I've only got bits and pieces done, but they are usefully inspiring nonetheless:

• Basecoated my Citadel hills in white. Will finish them in speedpaint green, brown and grey.
• Received and read much of Talking Miniatures:

A remarkably good oral history of Games Workshop.

I'm serious. It's worth the money.

• Started on my bit of the Hastings960 project:

Three sheets of Saxon Fyrd (300 figures).

Trimmed.

Frames separated...

... and folded.

Next is gluing them all - then cutting with my new Beaditive and Fiskars scissors.

This is a test strip on 80gsm paper rather than the
requested 120gsm. If you see a green tinge, it's because
I experimented with a speedpaint marker on the edges.

• Tested a speedpaint marker on a couple Reaper Bones orcs (no good pics).
• Finally, a treat - my talented brother has made some progress on the LDV I sent him. Here's the first Scottish militia!
  
  

A how-to, mostly Speedpaints:

Undercoat: Slap-chop
Cap: Caribbean Ocean

Skin: Pallid Bone
and Crusader Skin

Straps: Pallid Bone
Hair: Dark Wood

Uniform: Noble Skin
and Tyrian Navy

Boots: Grim Black

Weapons: Broadsword Silver

Base: AK Muddy Ground

Base highlight: Pro Acryl Pale Yellow

Base detail: Vallejo Scorpy Green

Ready recruits.

My intent was to have only the guys in tam-o-shanters be in Scottish Republican grey, with the other twenty being more generic, but my brief confused my brother who has never painted historicals before. Part of the problem may have been a picture that scanned fuzzy.

He was a bit disappointed, but hey, I'm not going to look a (beautiful) gift horse in the mouth here. I'll take what he gives me and work with it. The guys in caps could be Scottish BUF, or Republican militia who couldn't find tams. VBCW offers plenty of explanations!

All in all, a productive week for him, not so much for me, but still - making progress!

Happy Solstice, Merry Yule, or whatever you celebrate. Life gets brighter from today (in the northern hemisphere, anyway). See you around.

Reading and other Miscellany

You'd think I'd get something gaming-wise done during a four-day weekend. Nope.

I had a couple things planned:

• I broke out my two Kill Team boards with thoughts of playing 8th edition 40K on them. Never got around to it, since the pieces have to be removed from three different boxes first, all of which are buried under the table. But I was looking through a Charles S. Grant scenario book, and realized that 30"x44" (the size of both boards together) is barely over half the size of the 5'x7' Tabletop Teaser maps. Add a drop cloth so the game isn't set on Mars, play at half move/range, and I can use the 18mm Wofuns just as I did for Blasthof.
• Jim Johnson is running his annual Christmas Carnage game at Das new Kreig Haus tomorrow. I can't make it due to a prior commitment, though if it finishes quickly I might be able to drop in at the end. Traffic around here is hell though on Black Friday weekend. We'll see.

On my reading list:

• Wargamer's Annual volume 1 - with a miscellany of articles on 17th-to-19th century topics - mostly by Charles Grant, Phil Olley and the late Stuart Asquith. Also lots of lovely Bob Marrion illustrations and other eye candy. This series is hard to obtain in physical form, and I was delighted to find this issue in pdf on Wargames Vault. I hope they publish more.
• Challenger, by Adam Higginbotham - about the space shuttle Challenger disaster, this was chosen by my former workmate for next month's book discussion. Looks very thorough. Sadly, the members were reticent (despite my assurance that it's not quite as technical as it sounds) and I selected something more "conventional," but I'll still read it, and maybe try to talk them into using it for January. The 40th anniversary is next January, and a manned flight to the moon (!) is scheduled for February. Good luck to them.
• Homer's Odyssey, translated by Robert Fagles - an old and spotted Penguin edition I weeded from the library collection. I never have read the Iliad or the Odyssey, might as well get to it now.
• Anzac to Amiens - an old classic by CEW Bean, a one-volume extract of the twelve-volume official history of Australia in WWI. Pretty good, though it takes a third of the pages to get past Gallipoli.
• Hero of the Empire, by Candice Millard - about Winston Churchill during the Boer War. A fine adventurous story with potential for TSATF games.

I've ordered some terrain by Games Workshop. With the reproduction of the "Old World" Warhammer Fantasy, their plastic hills, walls and fences are available again. The obstacles are 28mm, but the hills can be used with my 18mms as well. I hope to paint the obstacles up with speedpaint markers as those become available - the local shop has told me they will be getting a display in a couple weeks. They may not work for the hills as those are much larger and there's not much paint in the markers, but touchups and edges? Maybe.

Finally, a tempting project that Paperboys are planning:

A massive commemorative display game for the anniversary next year of 1066. I haven't done any papercrafting at all recently, but I could use the relaxation - provided I can source the required paper, card and ship the lot back to Peter Dennis afterwards - it is a community project to make a one-to-one-scale pair of armies. Would be cool to do, but a fairly massive project as it involves making one huge base with up to 300 figures on it!

Should I?

Looking Forward to Vacation

Planning a trip to Maryland to visit an old family friend in the last week of August. Might see a couple museums or something, but likelier to just relax and shoot the breeze - I want to get away from work. At least this month I won't have to do storytime as the auditorium we normally do it in will have its air conditioner replaced. (As a hint to how chaotic a mere storytime and craft can be, we literally do not have room anywhere else in the branch for the 30-50 people we typically get for programs!)

I'll still have chess and occasional other boardgames to run, as they have few enough attendees that they can fit elsewhere. I've also been building my Warhammer Alliance minis in preparation for a painting program August 9. Like papercrafting, I find assembling the little guys to be enormously relaxing - I have 18 of 48 done so far. Though I may stop at the half that are fantasy, given the DnD theme of the event. I also have leftover elves, dwarves, goblins and Skaven from old Warhammer starter sets that will look more like DnD character miniatures than the Space Marines and Necrons also in the box. After building, I'll undercoat them with the one spray can I have, white. I prefer light brown for figures that may end up any color, but white will also allow kids to experiment with Contrast paints if they like. I am a bit torn as I don't know the numbers we'll get; most will be playing DnD and we have five seven-player tables planned, plus a couple other "background" activities. It might be best to just use the Warhammer Alliance stuff to keep things structured. There's a good chance we'll have an older crowd too, more amenable to instruction to thin their paints and clean their brushes. (I'll finally have a partner this time to help refill the water!)

I missed my goal of finishing the BEF minis. I have 16 built and ten armless/headless bodies based, plus the prone figures who I haven't decided yet whether (or how) to put on round bases. 

An officer conversion has a cuppa while his LDV comrades
look on. My brother shouldn't have any problem painting these;
He doesn't know much about WWII but he has watched Dad's Army.

I also built six more of the Zvezda trees, but am struggling with the bigger ones. May have to try to get some completed Merit ones after all.

Readingwise, I am working my way through Henry Hyde's Wargaming Compendium for the second time; again, I find his style of wargaming writing (shared by the writers of Charge!, The War Game, and 1990s-2000s White Dwarf to be relaxing. And I need that. Also working on David Drake and Eric Flint's Belisarius series, about four novels in.

Oh, and I just dropped off two old military posters to be framed. Now I just need a second bedroom to turn into a gaming den...

*cough*cough*hack* Mk II (or is it III?)

Haven't had a great couple weeks. I took my entire course of antibiotics this time and still find myself sick now. On the other hand, my injured finger has recovered - while there's still a bit of pain I'm assured I can and should use it to strengthen.

• Finally obtained my second CS Grant scenario book, Scenarios for All Ages, after (like the other volume) it took three trips across the Atlantic. Shared with the late Stuart Asquith, there are a similar number of scenarios, mostly small and basic (only half a dozen units a side, most of them). To my delight, there is a version of Sittangbad from Charge!
• I've been a little more cautious with ebay stuff lately. I was looking for the OOP simple plastic trees from Merit that feature in The War Game, and while they're a bit expensive I found Zvezda trees which look similar. I received two boxes a couple days ago. They're a little fiddly to put together, but the smaller ones don't require glue and I've built about a dozen without pricking my fingers on the pointy edges too much. The larger ones seem looser. The very tops of the trees are easy to lose. Overall, they look like they'll go well with my Wofun 18mms. I found it easier to build them from the bottom up - largest layers first.

  

  Assembly.

  

  The tops of the trees would be just fine for very-small-scale games.

Completed. They seem hefty enough to stay in place without
basing, especially sitting on a cloth mat. We'll see.

• As of today, I've only got twelve of my 30 Wargames Atlantic BEF built; still hoping to finish them by August and then send them off to my brother to paint for me.
• Waiting on Victoria Miniatures' Space Aussies 2 pledge manager; I hope it and the 3dprint files might come in time to make a few on a YouMedia printer before August 9 (when I'll be visiting for game day).
• Speaking of which, still have my painting program to prep - will need to construct and undercoat the Warhammer Alliance minis before then. Another deadline.
• Reread the rules for Fistful of Lead, with the intent to try a couple solo skirmishes. I'm increasingly sure it'll work for Picacho Peak, if I ever get around to running it...

So that's it - another short post but with some hopeful progress. 'Til next time.

Vacation and a Bit of Inspiration

Visited family in Tucson for a few days, the first real vacation I've taken in years. Need to do a couple more soonish. The flowers were blooming:

I visited the Miniature Museum, which has a pretty fantastic collection, if weak on military subjects. I did find a few:

A Victorian parlor with a few South African souvenirs
on the back wall.

An ECW-era tower.

19th century toy buildings with printed paper for details -
very much the sort Wells might have used.

The glass screwed it over, but this is a 
tavern ripe for VBCW.

Details from a living room.

Napoleonic house with party going on, some officers in attendance.

The entire house.

Part of a WWII home front street scene.

A Scottish band, around 54mm.

A modeler's table.

A T34 diorama.

Part of an antique shop - there were a LOT
of miniature antique shops!

A village street corner - would love to borrow
this and play a cityfight game on it!

A few details.

A room in a "great house."

Another shot of the village.

A "green army man" installation made by 3d-printing local residents.

A magnificent and naturalistic Japanese house.

An enormous Christmas village that reminded me of 
Oriskany Jim's Christmas Carnage.

An 18th-century Jacobite house with weapons hidden under the floor.

I also got to visit my brother, who is really good at painting 40K. (Sorry, I really should've taken some pics.) He offered to paint some of my historicals for me, so I think I will build up the 30 BEF figures and send them with appropriate images and links for him to work from.

The first two Wargames Atlantic Scottish militia.