Ctrl-Alt-Del: the Day after Crisis

What better time to restart this blog than what is to me the watershed moment of the gaming year: the Crisis show by the Tin Soldiers of Antwerp. Right now I'm struggling with getting a new layout done to revamp the old tired blog style and I want to deal with that before adding new content.

What I did add is a banner featuring this year's loot... at first glance there's not a lot of unpainted lead to be seen, but rest assured that numbers wise I'm dreading the coming year with over 600 6mm Napoleonic Russians bought for the new club project (bottom of picture). And I have discovered I have too many grenadiers so I'll have to order even more fusiliers.

Happy painting and gaming and see you soon!

Eleventh of Fifteen: MonkeyCon Blitz Visit

On my way home from a holiday abroad I was able to do a quick whirlwind stop at MonkeyCon, the first games show hosted by our friends The Wargaming Monkeys from Leuven (Louvain) in Belgium.

One of the first things to check at a wargames show: the bring and buy... While looking at a crate that had a couple of bags of resin houses at 20€ per bag the seller, without any prompting from my part, offered everything in the crate, and the crate itself for 30€. The advantage of showing up at a show after 15,00 I guess. And as if I didn't have enough tanks yet... I got a FoW box of KV-1S for the ludicrous sum of 15€. Resin at Zvezda prices, what's not to like?

So I ended up with a FoW artillery template (didn't really have one) a pair of bunkers and 11!!! resin houses. Seven of those are two story buildings, 5 small squarish ones and two longer ones, the other 4 are larger three story buildings. Very easy to put together and full of gorgeous detail. Definitely a great buy.

And the rules/40K fluff collector/ hoarder in me scored too... with 8th edition two weeks out, everybody seems to want to get rid of their 7th ed codex books at silly prices. Golden days for me, though the wallet might disagree. Silly price time many books... you do the math :-)

And in an effort to throw the traders a bone and see a second edition of the show I picked up the second edition of the Bolt Action German army book and a couple of dice sets so I won't have to depend on my adversary having two sets himself. Some hard plastic scenery sets, there is no such thing as too much scenery...
And from my FLGS's bargain bin: the "buy a dropzone rulebook get a starter army free" deal upped to buy one get one free... I gor a UCM and Scourge starter set, trading the Scourge with a fellow club member who is going to give me the UCM from his two player starter box in return. Giving him a chance to play that game after years of gathering dust.

Well, after that whirlwind tour, the money I didn't spend during my vacation was well and truly gone.

As always, happy painting and gaming!!!

Second and Third of Fifteen: Easy Does It

A couple of slow days, hobby related at least... Summer came early this year, coinciding with my time off work so that means time gets spent on the garden, both working and just enjoying the fine weather. Some of that enjoying did include the Armageddon rulebook I picked up two days ago and brushing up on the Dark Eldar fluff...

One of my many DBx forces: a later Carthaginian force

On day two I did catch the start of Beasts of War's Hobby Night Live and while the guys were discussing how to build their Kattegat table, I was busy painting the bases of my Carthaginian DBx force. I guess it's been a year or two ago that I organized my massive 1/72 plastic collection and glued them onto beer mats to at least have playable forces, even if they were unpainted. But that was about it. Plans were formulated to do some solo games, but so far that hasn't come to pass. I did pick up one of those "grass mats" that pop up every year in Aldi and Lidl and cut one to a 3 by 3 foot playing field and have stocked up on other items to make the needed scenery items.

It looks just that little bit better on the tabletop.

But now things are about to happen. One of my fellow club members said he wants to give DBA a try after my vacation. So I will be painting the bases of a couple of armies, it does make a huge visual difference, even if the figures haven't any paint on them. In the coming weeks I'll have to check the rules again to prepare the scenery pieces we'll need.

But that will have to wait just a bit longer as right now I'm getting ready for Fourth of Fifteen (and beyond). Stay tuned to find out more...

As always, happy painting and gaming!

First of Fifteen. Some Light Reading

Thanks to some rare celestial conjunction my regular workschedule and a pair of national holidays leading to three and four day weekends, I was able to take just five days off and be away from work for a whopping fifteen... woohoo!!!
I have a cunning plan for a big part of this vacation, wargames related at that, but you'll have to stay tuned for that.

So to start off these two weeks I headed into town to pick up this month's copy of Miniature Wargames and to drop by in the FLGS to get the latest White Dwarf... Yes, White Dwarf... I picked up a copy last month to see what had become of this venerable publication since its latest editorial change and was pleasantly surprised. OK, it's still the Evil Empire's version of Signal, but hey, I paid for it and didn't feel ripped off afterwards.
And with EE's shifting attitudes and more open communication on the interwebs I find myself getting interested in their games again. So I was kinda planning to get a copy of Necromunda, I mean Shadow War: Armageddon. Other than the book I wouldn't need to buy anything else, plenty of figures in my collection to make warbands for about half the lists in the book.

But then there is 8th edition 40K on the horizon, a good three weeks away now. Meaning that the store owner seems hell bent on getting rid of his remaining 7th edition books. And even though I never played 7th I somehow still managed to leave with a good selection of books.
At 70% off... I just can't resist discounts like that. And over half of them actually cover forces I have in my collection, so I stayed pretty focused.

Did I mention that 7th edition 40K will be gone soon? And that people seem to dump their books at crazy prices? And that I can't pass on a bargain?
So later today I picked up a parcel with some more 40K codex books, bought through a for sale group on facebook (why oh why did I ever join it?)



I sure am not going to run out of things to read during this vacation... But light reading it ain't... Turns out that whole stack weighs a whopping 7,8 kilos...

Happy Reading (not going to get around to painting or gaming now)!!!

Till next time

It Never Ends: Tank Madness Continues

Last time I was kinda happy that my "not going to Salute sale" order from QRF Miniatures hadn't arrived yet to add even more vehicles to the build pile... Well, they have now arrived. Not that those six are a major addition: three early British Cruiser version and two Russian light tanks to give me more options for early war Chain of Command or Bolt Action armies and a single post war Unimog (that AK47 itch needs some more scratching).

Unpainted Lead! Bring out your Unpainted Lead!

However (there always is an however, isn't there?) this month they join my wargamer's version of the Easter egg hunt as I was looking for the rest of my unbuilt tank collection. I dug up 39!!!! more tanks and other vehicles, a mixture of mainly Zvezda, the early war Germans from a previous QRF sale and a few Battlefronts, Plastic Soldier Company and some Peter Pig.
There is no way in Hell I will come close to finishing all these by the end of the month... the first nice days of the year means time lost to the garden and my trip to Normandy in a good week will cut into construction too.

Does not include my DAK vehicles and some more Soviet armour.

And that is before I even mention this months purchases. You weren't seriously thinking that was going to be it for May? Living on older orders and the backlog? Silly, silly people :-)
No, I found out that the guy who sold me a bunch of Zvezda on Ebay a few weeks ago, offered the exact same ones... So what else is there to do in that case? You write him, asking for a list of what more he has stored and then buy the whole bunch... Luckily I was able to pass on the overdose of early StuGs and a KV2 to some fellow club members, leaving me with just 24 of the 29 vehicles I bought...
And as a slight distraction from all those 15mm tanks? 28mm tanks, what else? Yes, I went for the Warlord Games Heels of Steel deal, 3 tanks for £40... you gotta spend money to save money, right?

What was I thinking?

Getting ready for 1 to 1 scale Blitzkrieg?

Anyway, happy painting, gaming (and building model kits)!

See you soon! *

* Does in no way, shape or form guarantee that you will actually get to see another blog post soon(ish)... two in two weeks is just a fluke, not a well thought out plan :-)

 

Midweekender 4: Proof of Life and April Tank Madness

Ah, right on time to set a once every 7 months schedule... Man, I suck at this blogging thing...

Buying new stuff, that's where you'll see me shine. And last month was no different.
The release of 4th edition Flames of War saw me order a copy of the El Alamein starter set from The Boardgame General, mainly for the rulebook, but I could always use those tanks for some Bolt Action/Chain of Command forces and at those prices, right? That's 5 tanks...

Along came Impact 2017, a small con just across the border in Eindhoven (Netherlands) so over Joe's Bridge and along Hell's Highway I went. With my El Alamein starter still in transit I broke down and bought a second one along with the new Afrika Corps book (now at 10 tanks). Then my friend bought a few Tanks blister... turns out Henri had that game without ever telling at the club. No prizes for guessing what happened a few minutes later (now at 13 tanks)

With Salute looming QRF miniatures were giving a "not going to Salute" discount and I still had some missing army list options for my early war Chain of Command forces but as I was busy with that order I thought "doesn't Zvezda make a Matilda I too? Let's check."
So, as the saying goes, no wallet survives contact with ebay... I ended up with buying up some guy's collection of Zvezda vehicles (yes, including a Matilda I) at less than 3€ each after shipping. At those prices, right? (now at 24 tanks)

While that order was processing, the FLGS decided to run a 50% off clearance sale on Tanks blisters, just the week I planned going into town to pick up my copy of Miniature Wargames at the new's agent... For the love of Khorne...

I guess the good news is I at least got them all built... 

Yep, 32! I bought AND built 32 vehicles over the last month... Good thing that QRF still have to ship my order or it would have ended up at 38.

So, that means it's time to dig up all the other 15mm vehicles that I still have stashed throughout several geological layers of my unpainted pile, get them built as well and learn how to work with my airbrush...

As always, happy gaming and painting...
See you in 7 months?

Midweekender 3: Proof of Life and Impending Crisis!

Yes, I'm still alive... mostly lurking in the shadows of the miniature gaming sites, but keeping quiet and out of sight. It's been a long period of scattered periods of some painting and gaming in between long periods of not getting around to doing anything games related. And getting reacquainted with the local library hasn't helped on that front. I'll just put that down as historical research and getting ideas for fantasy settings.

Ah well, I shouldn't be too hard on myself about the long periods of inactivity. Since my last post I did manage to finish all the figures on the picture above, bringing the total of painted miniatures since Crisis to 191!!! Never before have I managed to paint that many in a year... let alone that nearly all of them are intended for only one project: Early WW2 in 15mm. With only a few packs of militia for AK47 (my only real Shiny Syndrome moment of the year) and a single 28mm finished (and no more started and abandoned).

Scooby, my only 28mm for the year

But lately I have been gaming a bit more, mainly X-Wing (that has kept my unpainted mini purchases down to an all time low) but through the magic of facebook I noticed that some members of a local club (The Golden Goblins) were looking at Chain of Command for some WW2 gaming. Sadly enough, after a continuous effort to get armies in 15mm for that game finished, they are of course looking to do that in 28mm... Just my luck. 

But then again, my miniatures collection is a bit of an elephant's graveyard where projects, my best mate's projects that is, come to die... Every time he does a clear out of his cave, things end up at my place. As did a box of Warlord Games German infantry and a pair of Tamiya 1/48 kits. One of the Goblins has another box of infantry that he isn't doing anything with, so I might just have to pick up a few blisters with support weapons and I'm in business (never, ever throw anything out).

So with Crisis in exactly a month from today, I have at least a few things to put on my shopping list. Earlier attempts were thwarted by traders deciding not to come this year (damn you Peter Pig and TSS) but it remains a short list.

• Kings of War Historical rules
• Republican Romans for a DBA army and a Classical Indian general on elephant to finish that DBA list
• A few 28mm German support weapon teams

And that is basically it for want/need... I expect picking up some "based on TV" figures left and right and adding to my scenery collection, but I'm planning on mostly digging through the geological layers of my hoard to get my gaming fix (DBX, Saga, Sharpe Practice)...

And for those of you who made it all the way down here, a quick video I made unboxing a game I picked up last night at the FLGS. Putting the gaming tables next ot the clearance section... I walked right into that trap :-)

Until the next unscheduled appearance!

Happy painting and gaming!!!

Midweekender 2: An End to Tumbleweed Season?

So the holidays were over and it was back to work... And I couldn't find a better way to depict my hobby activities for the month of January.

You can almost hear the wind

Even though I didn't paint anything, that didn't stop me from getting new toys. My first "testing the waters" orders from QRF arrived, giving me more support options for my French infantry platoon. A bigger AT gun, a bigger tank and a couple of MMG teams. It did take a while before they arrived, but being an after regular workhours outfit and ordering during the new year's sale period, I didn't really mind. Back to the days of "please allow up to 28 days for delivery"... you're just not used to that anymore in these days of overnight delivery internet orders.
Anyway, that order was whet drew me back to the paint table. My French force being the only 100% painted force at that time, I was determined to keep it like that. No stockpiling any French figures (in 15mm at least). And I'm pretty much there again, the Char B1 only needs a camouflage pattern and the MMGs need to be added to the bases...

And as I got back up to speed, I jumped into my pile of PSC early war Germans and earlier today I got to the point that I now have platoon worth of troops ready for the invasion of pre-emptive attack on France. As per the Battlegroup Blitzkrieg rules anyway... I'll have to add another squad and a 5cm mortar to get up to Chain of Command army lists. And after that I'll have to add some more riflemen for the larger squads of the Polish campaign.
The when the picture was taken earlier today still WIP anti tank gun crews have now joined the rest in the varnishing line.

And what better way to celebrate getting a new force ready for battle? Start a new army, what else?
This month's QRF order (that's going to become a habit I fear :-) ) saw the start of my Polish army... three TK series tankettes.
While leafing through my Battlegroup Blitzkrieg book, my eye fell on one of the historical scenarios "Orlik's cockroach" pitting these three tankettes (only one of which with a 20mm gun) against a PzIV and two Pz35(t). A nice and small introduction to the Battlegroup rules.

Aaaah, so cute!

 Anyway, once the German platoon is brought up to full strength, I'll be changing from infantry to vehicles. Not only do I have those Pz35(t) to paint, I got a bit crazy when I came across an ebay seller flogging his Zvezda kits for next to nothing... And I'm already thinking of what more I need to order (as long as I'm saving money, right? )

Welcome to the motor pool

And now that I'm back at the paint table I also have something to talk about, so it's back to blogging too.

Happy painting and gaming!!!

The Midweekender 1: Celebrations Time!

Midweekender???

No, that's not a typo... Being posted on a Wednesday you might be expecting this to be called the Midweeker, but not in my case. A few years ago I decided to make use of our 4/5 employment possibility, taking Wednesdays as my day off. Not long after that I started referring to my day off as my "Midweekend", much to the annoyance of some of my co-workers :-)
And with more than a nudge and a wink to the Beasts of War crew and their Weekender shows... you get the idea.

And no, celebrationS time isn't a typo either.

Celebration 1:

Yes, it's here at last, my 100th post!!! It only took me slightly more than seven years to get to this point, with many long silences... Right now I seem to be in a more productive period with nearly ten procent of all posts getting published in the last month alone. OK, that includes the rather pointless "Happy New Year" post I used to get the 100th post to coincide with...

Celebration 2:

Finishing a project at what is, for me in any case, warp speeds... And a planned project at that, not some impulse buy at a wargames show or something like that.

I'v always had the idea to do something with Early WW2 and with having bought the "France and the Allies" book for Bolt Action (impulse buy at the news agent) the plan to start a French force came to take form. So with Crisis 2015 approaching I made use of Peter Pig's preorder discount to get a platoon pack with an AT gun and crew and a few vehicles as support. And now, just under two months after getting my hands on them, here they are:

French Regular Platoon (Bolt Action)

• 2nd Lt with NCO (1 accompanying man): 60 pts
• Regular squad with 6 additional soldiers, 1 additional soldier with pistol, light machine gun and VB launcher: 157 pts
• 2nd squad as above: 157 pts
• 3rd squad as above: 157 pts
• Light AT gun: 25mm gun with 2 crew: 50 pts
• Tank Somua S35: 135 pts
• Armoured Car AMD Panhard 178: 115 pts

In total, 40 infantry, one gun and two vehicles for 831 points with 9 spare infantry all done, ready for action. Quite the achievement for me (for virtual pats on the back, go to the comments section :-) )

Celebration 3:

Taking the blog to the next level and embracing this multimedia fad with (drumroll please)...

Yes, I dusted off that years old, seldom used mini camcorder and tried it out to see if I could make video that would look good enough on Youtube. And I was pleasantly surprised considering its age and low specs. No fancy (or even basic) video editing at this time, that's the next hurdle to jump.

My high tech recording studio... one more tech level back and I would have to handcrank the camera!

Thanks for reading (and watching)
Happy painting and gaming!

Untill post 101

Saturday Paint Table 14: Out with the old, in with the new

A new year, a new blog post! And a completely new load of figures on my desk! I finished the French platoon, all varnished and now waiting to get flocked. The perfect job for tomorrow...

While ending my French project I had already started on the first couple of German troops and now I have cleaned up the rest of them (the few that I still had cents for to base them on). So I'll get them done together with the tracks of that Zvezda Pz38t to get a flying start for a BA German platoon later on. The guns are a bunch of Soviet infantry guns by PSC that had been abandoned after a basecoat many months ago. They are now waiting for the final coat of varnish, just a quick thing that I got out of the way.

For a slight change of pace I'll be moving away from 15mm WW2 after that and get Scooby and the gang done. They have been standing around in a basecoat since right after I bought them at Crisis (2014 I think, and hope). The other small project I want to cross of my list are the Terminator Genisys endoskeletons. I bought a box of plastic ones at Crisis last year and together with the two blisters of special weapons/"characters", so that would be 13 figures (and 4 crawlers) in total. Another limited and manageable force.
Just imagine, completing two forces only months after buying them at Crisis??? Surely the End Times must be upon us :-)

Happy painting and gaming!!!
See you next week...

All the Best for 2016!!!

Have a great new year in gaming!
Buy lots of new shiny toys!
But make sure you paint more than you buy :-)
Have lots of games and may your dice be with you!

Enjoy your hobby in 2016!