Blackest Friday

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I quietly have a thing about zombies. Yes there are multiple zombie plans. I also like Christmas. I mean more than is normal for most blokes. Then there is playing video games. Now imagine something that combined all three.

Dead Rising 4 came along at a very difficult time for me. My dad had recently died and my mum was dying. I badly needed a distraction. Dead Rising 4 was the perfect fit. I think I have played it all.the way through every Christmas season ever since. Despite what some will tell you it's an amazing game. If it has a fault it's that it's not long enough. The zompocolypse starts on Black Friday. A time of year that was until recently hell on Earth for me. The hard mode in the game is called Blackest Friday. 

According to the kill counter I have ended a third of a million zombies already. It's only taken nine years. 

The plan for the week was to paint some Carnevale minis. I may even have multiple opponents and opportunities to play. This week seems to have drowned me. The first time I picked up a brush this week was Black Friday and that was to paint my little banner. So I guess I am another week behind. My target for the 1000 minis in a year is looking a little unlikely now.

This was supposed to be an easy week. I've put rather too much effort into the bases. I need to plan my time better. They also took more time to put together than I was expecting. I couldn't find the right sized drill bit. This cost me a day. More than at any time I can think of, it has felt like filling in time until I can see my daughter again.

End Of The Week (Well Fortnight) (26)

I have managed to cram seven days of work and cram it into fourteen days. This does not make me proud. Part of me accepts this. A bigger part of me is screaming that this is the first year I have painted more plastic minis than metal ones and have done so to a lower standard and I still habit my target. I've spent some quality time with my daughter so it's all good.

Coftyran Quar has been the biggest part of my week. There are a lot of uniform details which takes up time.

Some Progress

I still haven't found my mojo this week. Today I have found some time to paint. Not as much time as I probably would have liked. But, you it, distractions. That said, I am getting close to finishing the first coat. Things may go my way and with a bit of luck I will get last week's work done by the end of the week.

Gaming And International Men's Day

Today has been a good day for me. Some daddy daughter time always helps my mood. It was really good today for some reason. Then I got some time with mates playing Ths Is Not A Test. This is probably my favourite skirmish wargame of all time.

I am really behind on my painting plan. I am probably not going to get to my target for a thousand figures for the year now. I'm not overjoyed with this but it is what it is. I am not going to beat myself up over it.

Yesterday I found it watfws international Men's Day today. I only found this out because I know someone who is going through some stuff. Us blokes are not good at talking about stuff. We forget about our health or the stuff that is importaEnt to us. It's not just about health. There are so many things that we are falling behind on. 

Never be afraid to look out for yourself and check in if you even think you might have a health problem. If you can help someone else don't be afraid to help another.

End Of The Week - Missed Possibilities

This was supposed to be an easy week. Everything was prepped and primed with very little in the calendar. Things didn't really go my way. It's getting close to the end of the year and I can feel my plans starting to crumble.

I did get some gaming done. No wargames this week. Nothing I have heard of before but think Wingspan for mushrooms. An enjoyable evening with friends and a headache 😊. The role playing was also fun mainly because the GM has led us down a rabbit hole full of red herrings.

Anyway, the painting. Made some progress but no where near finished.

End Of The Week - A Day Of Remembrance (24)

I guess it might seem odd to be posting pictures of Germans on Remembrance Sunday. In my defence they are more of an alternate history thing. British fascist forces. 

Something got me thinking. Our fate may be tied to the Germans more than we think. Not to mention the Poles and the French. Or the rest of Europe for that matter. 

These minis are done for a post-apocalypse game. An apocalypse that has been stuck in my head since my youth. There were a lot of sleepless nights in the eighties. A childhood trauma that was firmly in the past. Until Russia entered Ukraine. It now seems like a possibility again.

Right here and now we depend on our military to keep us safe. We are definitely stronger with our allies in Europe. But today I think as much about our men and women who are serving today as those that have fallen or been injured in the past.

Getting &£#@ Done

Despite another late start, things are looking good. Not quite everything has a base coat. I am feeling positive. Batch painting troops in uniform is relatively fast. Even if I opted for a cammo pattern on some of them.

Before anyone tells me that they don't look like Germans it's because they are not meant to be Germans. More like 1970s/80s British fascist forces for a post apocalyptic game set in London.