Today was Father's Day. I've had a nice meal (eaten very quickly in the playground area of a beer garden because that's what you do) and I got a few nice presents. Phoenix Point (it's a shinier version of X-Com) is a game I have been after for a while and Count Dooku for Star Wars Legion.
Role-playing us about the only gaming I am doing at the moment. Setting aside throwing rocks at Airfix figures and MB Games Tank Battle, the first real gaming I did was Tunnels & Trolls. I liked the way the game sounded way more than D&D. Something that I still feel today. The wargaming thing came along shortly after. It was a long time before board games became a thing and they were usually played alongside the people I used to RPG and wargame with.
It has to be said that I am missing wargaming more than a little. Board gaming is perhaps the easiest ask. There are plenty of opportunities as board game cafes seem to be everywhere now. I have a gaming group for RPGs but would like to run my own games again which looks like it will happen soon. Wargaming, because it's generally one on one is just harder to find opponents for. There are a few possibilities but I guess we will see.
We all know that this kind of hobby is a bit niche. A lot of players are somewhere on the spectrum, even me apparently, and it depends what you are comfortable with. I struggle with rules lawyers and I struggle even more with the "I'm right and I will shout longer and louder than you until you accept I am right, no matter what the rules say". I see this a lot with games geared towards competitive play, the ones with big armies that need big pockets to play. Past experience if these puts me off. Months of painting and a big financial outlay ruined by shouty angry people. This is perhaps why I prefer skirmish games. At least then it's weeks and a small financial outlay.
So I guess what I aim for now is the more solitary experience. My plan to breed some gamers is still work in progress but will take a little time. In the mean time I will just keep it going.
I would say its a shame that I haven't had much time to paint of late but I have to say that is mostly not true. Things have been pretty good of late. Aside from work at least. There is some fun stuff and I have done more gaming in the last couple of months than I have done in the last couple of year and I am having a lot of fun being a parent.
All if that said, this is work in progress, but that's progress right?
Still I found some time today. Whilst I am feeling the urge to move towards Stargrave or Sludge, I still have a load of the little fold on the work bench. Many of my recent painting goals have revolved around humanoid races. For the Viking game I have done enough black elves leaving me with the white elves left to do. I also have some gaps in what I wanted for the character figures for the dwarves, specifically some more obscure character classes and female dwarves. Then the race I have been putting of, the halflings, mainly as they don't feel they fit with the Viking game, I just wanted to do them.
So a few of the white elves have made it though. I am not altogether happy with them. I am not sure I can really make them any better without stripping them, As I don't see that happening I guess this is where they will stop.
The halflings look a little better. There are a few conversions in here that seem to have been worth it. I wanted some more classes than the original figures allowed and of course there are never enough female characters.
Lastly are the dwarves. I have a batch of the old grenadier dwarves I did a few years ago. Again, as most figures are geared towards building armies, there are relatively few female figures, So I have a few more here. The figure with the bird is supposed to be a magic user. As I have a few of those, this would either do as a senior mage in the Viking game or a druid.
When Covid started, I began almost a month off work. Time to get some hobby stuff done whilst I was stuck in. I spent a lot of money on gear and minis with big plans. Whilst I didn't finish anything I learned a lot.
Having pontificated about some terrain boards/tiles for a while, that was definitely the time. so I dove into a hexagonal terrain project. One of my mates was after some new terrain and I had the tools, skills and time.
So now I am looking at the project again. Partly with the idea of doing myself a set and partly considering if I could do this commercially. When I recently was able to get ready access to my shed again I decided this was the time. Currently hating my job so anything I can do to get out of it right?
Having raided the shed I found enough bits to more than fill a 35l Really Useful Box. So quite a few. The plan is to give me a base set but also to have a play about with the idea and see what I can actually achieve. Various sets have been planned but I am starting with fantasy in mind and maybe even a bit of Sludge.
My personal plan is to stick to tables around 3' by 3' or 1m by 1m. Not that bothered which. Most of what I like is skirmish games so this size is perfect. Plus I don't have any more space. When I originally looked at the idea, I didn't have the right tools so looked to buy them premade. Getting hold of hexagons at 100mm was a lot easier than 4" and in the round, the stuff that was out there was already 100mm. One thing I new was that I was going to need a lot of them. At least hundreds.
My original thoughts were just to use the bare mdf but having thought that something a bit more three dimensional so quickly developed the idea that adding some blue foam to the top surface. I am now thinking that it might be better to use a cnc milling machine rather than a laser. It would be easier to get repetition with fewer steps in the construction process.
Here we are though and I am reasonably happy.
One the things I spent money on yesterday was Star Wars Legion. This is a game I wasn't going to play because of the scale creep. It's not 28mm so I didn't want to know. There is enough crap out there and is enough out there taking up my time.
Then I started playing in a Star Wars RPG. They two guys who run the game use the WOTC figures. The old collectable figures are amongst my pet hates. Setting aside the collectable issue, some of the miniatures look like they were designed by a blind, one handed concussed chimpanzee.
So I went out and got some of the Legion figures. They are after all very nice figures. Sadly there are a little over priced so I wasn't going to get into buying the stuff in numbers.
Three people at the show yesterday told me the price was going up by forty percent. This would put them at around £5 for a soldier and up to £20 for a character figure.
This is partly down to the changeover of ownership but it's got more to do with inflation and probably most importantly the cost of shipping. Still not sure it represents the need to put up prices by forty percent. It feels right to put the price up (well, ish) but this feels like price gouging. It feels like a GW kind of stunt. That said, this puts the price up beyond most GW levels. Whilst I hope this isn't going to be the future, it kind of looks like it is. Not just for Legion and Warhammer, but across the board
Christmas is coming. Who knew? Yes I know it's still October but work is already a little crazy. Christmas crazy. So time, which is already at a premium is about to be in even shorter supply. Already doing my job and half of two other people's. Fun, fun, fun.
So I received some bits of scenery for my birthday. It seemed the right thing to do to prime them. And everything else that was hanging around. Most of this was Stargrave stuff. The original stuff and the metal figures I also got hold of. So the grey legion continues to grow.
For some reason I am not finishing stuff off. I found a load of figures that I hadn't quite finished. These are now on the table and there is almost no space to move. Would like to finish them off when I get a chance.
On the plus side Sunday was my first wargames show in two years. Literally two years. Where did that time go? Caught up with a few people. Spent some money. Can't think of many figures I wanted but looked for some terrain. Found some items. Not the easiest show to buy stuff at as it's a little on the small side. A good day none the less.
want to buy so I suspect it's going to be terrain.
Speaking of terrain, I am feeling the urge to finish off another terrain project. I started making hexes as a wargaming board. One if my friends has boxes if geohex. This seemed like an amazing bit of kit at the time. Not quite what I want but an excellent inspiratiin
After having a binge doing 15mm miniatures I am now reasonably happy with my 28mm miniature painting skills. The way I have been painting for the last couple of years, where I generally stick with one project but have a range figures on the go at any one time.
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| The Paint Table |
Another advantage to this is that I am getting through some multi-decade old miniatures. At least two of these were purchased from a Virgin Megastore almost thirty years ago (my paint queue really is moving at a glacial pace). A good chunk date to around the time I started blogging.
The techniques I am using and the effects I am using are slightly different every time. Rather than grinding stuff out, there is variety of minis to keep me interested. I suppose the final thing is that, lazy as I am, I tend to use the same colour palette when I am painting so this is swapped around a half dozen genres rather than one unit.
Right now I am feeling the urge to buy some more figures. Stargrave was going to be the big thing for me but Sludge has made into my list from nowhere. Also feeling the urge for Fallout again. I am trying to resist.
I like the idea if Stargrave and more importantly I like the figures. Conversion projects seem endless with this. When Frostgrave came out I really brought into it but never got to play it much. If I have the figures I might turn my attention to something else like Five Parsecs.
Going through looking for a mix of figures for the next batch has reminded me how many primed lead and plastic minis there already is in the queue and that does not take into account the unprimed stuff and what I assume is going to be about sixty or Sludge figures. Conversion projects, on a limited scale, appeal to me right now.
My ideal would be to get through five hundred figures each year with a more realistic target of 250. That's ten or five figures per week. Right now with the kids and work I would settle for five a month. If this continues then I already have enough stuff to keep me going for about five years.
Like most of you I plot and scheme when it comes to buying figures. I now have more than enough dark age fantasy humans but I still keep looking. I have plenty of apocalyptic humans and more modern zombies than I could ever possibly need. So I am looking elsewhere.
It would be nice to do a super hero project. I started this a few years ago. Still trying to source some figures though. Not really wanting to spend money right now as I have other plans for it. Mainly to do with a twenty month old project.
Also looking at a weird wild west project. Another sort of failed project but one I feel a lot for. One of the people I game with a lot has a real interest in Deadlands.
At the time I started the Vikings project it was a toss up between that and doing a Samurai version of Journey to the West. As this is a start from scratch project I am guessing it's not happening.
For some reason pirates has added itself to the list. Wouldn't just be pirates as it would morph into something more like Solomon Kane.
Not to mention Star Wars, which is getting be the seasonal event special this year for the third year running. Still not feeling the urge for too much socialisation so maybe think about this another time.
Which leads me back to the one with the most pull. Weird War II. I have a lot do here not least if which is the bad guys. It's a time travel thing I have in mind. Lots of alternate history layered onto our time line. This looks like it might be a possible project. There is enough painted and in the queue that I could actually start this fairly quickly.
The thing is, each idea becomes a project then a hard slog. Vikings was supposed to be a short project and eight years later I am still filling in gaps, at least four hundred figures later. Not to mention the generic fantasy figures involved.
Each of the new projects it one to two hundred figures. So at the current rate maybe five years down the line before I finish. Three projects and I will be retired. Well maybe four. Or five.
After all that, I might have another plan.
