21 Questions

I have seen this doing the rounds. It's therefore a meme and we like memes. How else do we know where we are in the world. Thanks to MattBlackgod and Big Lee for putting me on to it and keeping me awake until an ungodly hour. :-)

1. Favourite Wargaming period and why?
   It's probably been World War 2 over the years. I guess I would have preferred it to be SF or zombies.

2. Next period, money no object?
   I am feeling 7TV at the moment.

3. Favourite 5 films?
   Star Wars
   Alien
   Aliens
   Dawn of the Dead
   The Maltese Falcon

4. Favourite 5 TV series?
   Red Dwarf
   Spaced
   The W alking Dead
   Supernatural
   The Shield
   With Band of Brothers, The Big Bang Theory, Firefly, Boomtown and Lost getting an honourable mention.
   
   

5. Favourite book and author?
   The Postman by David Brin. The book not the film. The books is a good read and is all about taking responsibility. I don't recommend stuff like books likely but this book had a massive effect on me when I read it. From a recommendation from White Dwarf back in the days when it did book reviews.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

6. Greatest General? Can’t count yourself!!
   Wellington. For doing the best with what he had.

7. Favourite Wargames rules?
   At the moment it's all Ambush Alley

8. Favourite Sport and team?
   Widnes Vikings. It's a Rugby League team. If you don't know what that is you should really find out. I was never really sure why they are call Vikings but Vikings are pretty cool. It's got something to do with Widnes being the town of my birth.
   
   
   
   

9. If you had a only use once time machine, when and where would you go?
   26^th October 2009. If I knew then what I know now.

10.  Last meal on Death Row?
    Dodo eggs on toast. Not being executed until I've had my eggs.

11. Fantasy relationship and why?
    Censored. Ow, ow ow, Stop hitting me. Errrr, I'm in my fantasy relationship

12. If your life were a movie, who would play you?
    Sam Worthington. The likeness is uncanny.

13. Favourite Comic Superhero?
    
    Batman. Who cannot like the Dark Knight? (I exclude Batman and Robin film of course, obviously)
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
     
14. Favourite Military quote?

Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake. 
Napoleon Bonaparte

15. Historical destination to visit?
    The Inca Trail

16. Biggest Wargaming regret?
    Not finding some people to game with who share my areas of interests.
    
    
17. Favourite Fantasy job?
    Nothing.  I could enjoy my life doing some hobby stuff and a bit of travelling
    

18. Favourite Song Top 5?

     Tomorrow is a Long Time – Bob Dylan

     She's Got You High – Mumm Ra

     Hard To Handle – Otis Redding

     Here Comes The Sun – The Beatles
    Another Girl Another Planet - The Only Ones
    There really are too many to mention but these will do for now.

   

19. Favourite Wargaming Moment?
    Coming third in the Command Decision world championships. It was a small competition.

20. The miserable Git question, what upsets you?
    You know who you are. There are so many things that this list would take three or four days to write.

Favourite Video game

The X-Com/Fallout series. I couldn't really decide.

 

Goo Pits

I have added another goo pit and done some more painting. A few tufts of sisal matting, a cut up barrel and some small stones have been used to make them a bit more interesting. I was planning to use a skeleton in one but have lost it with all the moving stuff that has been going on.

goo pits

I'd like to do a few more if I have the need. I fancy one with an island in the middle of it. Time and will power seem a little in short supply at the moment.

I figured that I would use these for post apocalypse. I have seen the Fallout stuff and thought they for the bill. I was thinking that they might make spawning points for a zombie games particularly those that favour Return of the Living Dead Part II.

I am beginning to think it's been a while since I picked up a 00 brush in anger. Maybe it's time to give up brushes from B+Q for those from Windsor and Newton.

Two Weeks

I just realised that it has been two weeks since I posted anything. That came as a bit of a shock as time seems to be passing by. Stuff seems to have gotten in the way a fair bit just of late. Mainly I guess it's because I haven't being too much that is hobby related. I have kind of let some of my other interests take over for a bit.

Firstly there were some hills. I have a lot of big hills. These were really designed to cover the options for random terrain for Flames of War. Still useful for other stuff but I thought I needed some smaller hills just to break up the terrain.

Simple polystyrene and sand hills

I see a lot of very open gaming boards which not only don't do much for me but I think lead to very unimaginative gaming. I believe in fairly accurate shooting ranges so you can get fairly big fields of fire. snipers could be several (table) feet away and artillery could be on the other side of the street. Many games, FOW in particular, compress ranges to make a game more interesting. It might make a competition game but that is not really my style. There is no need to do the daylight charge across no-man's land I thought it made some sense to clutter stuff up a bit.

In various places I have seen some bus shelters. I think some of the were for infinity and others were for a post apocalypse game. I tried this as a proof of concept. The idea was to put something together that looked close enough.

MDF bus shelter

This is simple some bits of mdf wargaming bases that I had on hand. This sent me down the road of using mdf to make up some other bits as well.

I have some more terrain bits an pieces on the way so pay attention over the next few days.

Another Fairly Busy Morning

I'm still working on some terrain. I think I am compensating for stuff I have wanted to do for years. I can't help but think I haven't painted any figures for ages though. Still I have been putting some stuff together.

Firstly I have had some Grendel turrets for a long time. I did paint them when I got them only not very well. I have been tarting them up to fit in with the rest of the terrain.  This is the result. I know that they are really for 25/28mm but as there is nothing that gives them real scale I thought that no one would really care.

I have been playing around with the idea of rad pits for a while.  Well they are on the to do list. The time is right I guess so this is what materialised.

These look more like the the pools of green goo from the original two Fallout games than the more recent ones that I guess people are more familiar with. The goo is scorpion green paint in one case mixed with "Real water" and in the other case just poured on top of it. I wanted to see how both techniques turned out. Let me know which looks better. Still a bit more work to be done on them yet.

I am planning on using the technique to make some pools of water, sludge and maybe even a formal pond if I get round to doing some gardens.

More Bits of Terrain, Mainly Post-Apocalypse

I have been working on a lot of bits over the last few days so haven't got anything too chunky to post about. I wanted some bits and pieces of rubble, well quite a few pieces anyway so I thought I'd have a play about and see what I could come up with. I have also been finding old stuff that I had laying around I thought could possibly use it again.

Nothing much really. Think I have posted a few bits as work in progress and found some stuff I had for the Spanish Civil War that could be used again. This is the sort of stuff I want to have available to make the tables look a bit more interesting.

These are more stuff of the terrain to do list. I wanted some simple bins. This one is made from a plastic counter. It's a little too wide I think but hey it isn't costing anything. The other thing will be a planter when painted and some soil and plants are put in it.

Another thing on the list was some rad pits. I did a tester and think that some icky green paint and some Woodland Scenic "Realistic Water" (could I tone the irony up a bit) should give me the effect I want. They look a bit poor at the moment but they will look okay when I have finished with them. If these work out I'll make some more. Then I may even get round to making some ponds and a small lake.

I have also been working on a sheriff's office or small police station but I'll put that up another day.

More X-Com and Zombie Terrain

I managed to get the second story of the barn to get the second story of the barn done today. Sadly the plastic sheet had panels going horizontally rather than vertically. I don't think that there is anyone else out there that would notice. I couldn't source any of the sheet I wanted to use for the roof. Maybe next time I go to the shop.

Another building on the farm was the stables. This is a little hard to make it happen. It doesn't look quite as good but it just need a bit of kicking into shape and it should be fine.

An Actual Hobby Post - New Workbench

I keep tinkering with the workbench. It's important to me which is probably why it has ended up as the background on my blog page. Since changing rooms I have had an opportunity to play about with the workbench. I keep running out of space so I thought I would try and get a step ahead.

Work bench that was

With the move down stairs, everything basically got dumped on the table and I did the best with what was there. It got very frustrating very quickly. I had also set the table too high so it was awkward to work at.

Work bench that will be

So like all good DIY project it starts with a quick trip to buy some wood. A few more pieces just like the others. I also put an additional wooden panel under the table. I had the bit and piece there and I thought It would give me a little bit more storage space.

The new work bench reloaded

This is it. For now at least. I can see a few more bits and pieces being purchased just to round things off.

Remembering Kuwait

It's the anniversary of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait today I am told.  This scared the poop out of me at the time because of the rhetoric that was floating around. Talk in the pub was about conscription and I had just finished my degree.

I was busy think about myself when one
of my mates was about to go out there
and lose a leg.Not to mention all the guys
on both sides that lost their lives. I met
a few Iraqi veterans over the years and
they were just happy to be alive. They
were more scared of Saddam than they
were of Uncles Sam. A poor choice in
hindsight.

I had been playing an old board game called Gulf Strike which kind of pre-empted this and getting drubbed badly as the allies. I am guessing that the game designed thought that it would actually be a challenge
for the allies.

I was sat watching A Company of Wolves when the air attack started. It ended the film. I spent much of the next few days in front of the TV watching what was going on and growing increasingly alarmed.

I regret that we didn't go in and get him back then but I think I regret that more because we ended up with an excuse to go in and get him twenty years later.

I guess that it is funny that, as a gamer, I have never since felt like gaming this particular conflict.

Big Smegging Rocks, Water Tanks, Some Odd Stuff I Haven't Quite Decided What it is Yet and Mecha Again

Last month seemed a little slow as postings went so hopefully I should get a bit more done this month. Lot  of bits and pieces for this update today some of which have been seen before some not. All for SF zombie, post apocalypse and some might even work for western desert WW2.

The rocks are pretty much complete. I might get round to adding some flock eventually but for now these are fine. I have some more rocks to do but I have run out of filler.  Another twenty year project put to bed. Nice.

Next up is the GZG mecha. I think I have finished tinkering with this for the time being. The camo pattern is kind of central European. It's a nice contrast with the terrain and fits in with the background of the campaign.

 

This is a water tank from TheScene. Got this a year ago, I have seen them a few times since and they always look good. I added a bit of glue and sand to give it the look of the rest of the terrain.

Lastly these are just a few odds and sods that I had left lying around. The idea was to make them into something that I could use for SF or proper post apocalypse. Again suited to the other terrain.