A Busy Day But Nothing Finished

I've done lots of stuff done today, but finishing anything proved to be impossible. I have done a little bit of figure painting but I've spent more time painting bases. I spent a lot of time digging out some old kobolds which I think are going to be my next project.

As part of finishing of the dwarves, I painted their bases. Then I foolishly got some sand out to do a base. Then it didn't stop. Anything on the tabletop that needed sand n the base got a dusting, The few that have dried even got some paint. It started with the Kobolds, then moved onto a few Vikings some sci fi stuff and finally some zombies. When I get the urge to do some basing, I tend to go for it in a big way as I hate doing it. I might get something finished tomorrow but as I have parents evening, I doubt I will get much time to do anything.

Paint Table Monday?

Again, I have managed to pick up a brush and paint. My drive has taken me to a few different places today. I started off with the dwarves  I was painting yesterday. I wanted to do some work on the bases before starting on dry brushing but the glue on the bases is still wet and wet enough that I don't want to move them. Then I moved on to doing some Mirliton female magic users. Got bored and moved on to doing some more of the Army of the Dead miniatures. I've a nearly finished them. They just need dry brushing and a bit of tarting up the bases and I'm done with them. I was painting some (about fifty) kobolds a while back.

I have a few other choices for what to do next. I really need to focus on the Viking game but I keep wanting to do something else. I have some ideas for RPGs that I want to work on but need something to focus on. This might be down to low blood sugar because I am on a diet. I've lost just over half a stone already so something is going well.

My blog is going well. there seems to have been an upsurge of traffic of late, some new members and new follows.  I've gone over the fifty thousand mark, I've nearly got to three hundred posts and my blog is nearly two years old.

I seen a lot of people doing Paint Table Saturday so I thought I'd have a look. I'm not sure I can commit to enough to make it worth while me doing it but I am still thinking about it. Watch this space but until then, I think you should have a look at it. It might help you get some painting mojo going, go knows I need some at the moment.

I Found A Brush In My Hand

For the first time in a while, I have found some space and time to do some painting.

Whilst I have been doing that, I have been watching a load of post-apocalyptic dramas on cable. There was a TV show in the 60s called The War Game. I have heard a lot abut it over th years but as far as I know it hasn't been on TV. It's not quite as shocking as Threads which makes The Day After seem like a very cozy catastrophe. Threads is on the list so I expect that will be on the list to watch. I don't want to watch it with the kid in the house and I am not sure that I want to watch it before going to bed.

These are pretty close to being finished. I haven't done all this work today, I think I had about half finished them and then put a few more colours on them. The ink is still drying so I can't really do much more at the moment. Hopefully, I'll find a bit of time tomorrow and I'll do some dry brushing and maybe finish off some basing. I apologise for the quality of the pics. I've had to electronically retouch them and they still are not up to scratch. When I have finished them, I will use a better camera.  

Then I have some Mirliton stuff to do. More clerics and mages mainly although there are a few barbarian types I could do, they are not close enough to what I am looking for to make them a priority.

Still, it feels good to be doing a painting post rather than babble. I'll have to do some more.

Not The Only Voice In The Wilderness

I posted about recipes and serving suggestions for the Walking Dead cast. It seems that I am not the only one thinking that way. This is probably funnier than my ideas.

The Walking Dead Is Over...For Now At Least

This may be another finger on the pulse moment.

Another season over. Another Sseven or eight months to wait. This season has had a few detractors but to me, this is what the comics and I guess my view of the world, post zombocalypse, would probably be like.

There isn't much of the original cast left, four of the above and Carl with a few hangers on. I wonder how many are going to make it through the first few episodes. I doubt they will get rid of Eugene despite him looking like he was built for the cooking pot. His storyline is to entertaining for him to be served up with a salad. In the comics, Abraham also has an interesting storyline and I kind of like to see the actor come back as a regular. Most of the regulars still have a fair bit of plot left so they are probably safe. so I guess it's going to be one of the other minor characters.

I liked the bit in the prison in the first half of the season. You could see the peril coming. Who would end up killing more people, the Governor or the flu. Would there even be anyone left for the governor to kill and stick their head in a jar?
There was a nice bit at the end about where the pigs came from making the flu outbreak all their fault.
With the death of Hershel (which was a great loss for the story and pretty inevitable) the groups moral compass died. Hershel had the best attitude to what is going on although maybe not as practical as Carol. That said adjusting to the realities of the world you find yourself might just keep you Alive long enough. We still have Mr Everyman in the form of Rick who seems to go from shell shock to kick arse quite rapidly. I suspect that's what most people would be like.


Where the got really good for me was when they went on the road. Carol shooting Lizzie was perhaps the most powerful single moment in the series. Come to think of it, I am struggling to remember another moment on TV that had me on the edge of my seat like that. The episode Still, that featured Daryl and Beth was pretty good. Daryl is starting to go down a great story arc.

Still, someone has to go. The Walking Dead wouldn't be the show it is without a few dramatic deaths of main characters. As you can see from the picture from the end of season one below, lif expectancy is not good.

What about the next season? Well "after dinner", will the Governor be coming back? I certainly hope so. You can't beat a good bad guy, in this series at least.
  
Anyone with specific recipes or serving suggestions for any of the characters, please feel free to make a comment at the bottom.

Terra Mystica And Matters Arising

I have played Terra Mystica tonight. It's a vaguely fantasy, resource management game. It's not the first time I have played the game but really didn't seem to be able to concentrate on it properly. This is a shame because this is a good game. Some how I seem to have been lost in my own thoughts tonight. This was the first time I have made it out to the boadr gaming group in Warrington since before Christmas. Lots of things seem to have gotten in the way. This made my lack of concentration even worse.

The camera lets the game down a bit. For those of you who judge games by the number and type of cubes, this one is a winner. It's quite a complex game to wrap your head around when you first play but it does get easier. There are plenty of rules that seem open to interpretation but there is usually an arbiter there to explain the real way it should be played. I play against people who have played the game a lot. The trick, like a few modern games, is to know how to work the races, which being Frank (ahem), I am not.

It's worth a play if you like resources management games.

2300: A New Character

Last night was character generation. I will be playing Senior Scout Andy Smith. It took all evening for the ref to work this through with four players. I think that is more down to the players than the referee. The game will be done in 15mm.

Well the world (of the future, present or past) seldom changes. Random character generation makes for much more entertaining characters. Traveller is perhaps the most chaotic generation system it seems to be possible to create with a series of specific rules. Chaos theory will be proven right every time.


We are playing the crew of an E.S.A. ship so there will be a lot of national boundaries. In the chaos of character generation, my character ended up as a bigot with no social skills. He is however, a kick arse scout, with an obscene level of medical skill who can do just about anything on a planet (except drive or ride) \and can fly a star ship or system ship reasonably well. Did I also mention that he is a little on the stocky side? No he is 5'6" and 104kg. Just for giggles I looked up his BMI and it was 37. That is just a little past the end of the line on the obese axis (literally of the scale). His daily calorie requirement would be sufficiently met by a couple of standard British Army ration packs or any medium sized mammal.

I imagine it will be fun trying to find him a vac suit. Funnier still for the French and German characters, who the character does not like and out ranks. It has already been suggested that my character needs to go on an equality and diversity course and a diet. Still, he is tough, smart, well educated and just lucky enough to make it through. I think.