So yeah...
I'm kinda delirious with brain fry at the moment.
I had this fantastic plan...i mean it was fool proof. Models i would enjoy painting. A slow build plan and a scheme all worked out.
But i should know better shouldn't. I mean the blog name says it all.
What happened this time i hear you grumble.
Well it went like this 'fuzzy flashback fade out' effects.
I walked into Games Workshop full of intent and ideas. Sidled smoothly up to the Tau section, looked for that first model purchase and then my brain went. Nah.
Literally just straight up. Nah.
Ideas fled to the hills in terror, inspiration dived behind the sofa and trembled and enthusiasm dived into the River Ankh and was last seen clinging to a previous resident of the fine city (anyone get the reference?).
whooshy twanging and a snapping sensation as time reverts to normal.
So i then walked out of the store a little confused and downbeat.
Fortunately a quiet work day left much time for a pondering and thunking. I like a good thunk and sometimes i can really conce..coencent....constipate.
A bit of twittering, fbooking and random internet wanderings were the order of the day.
Now i don't really remember what it was that initially drew my eye..it could have been some distant memory swimming through the cosmos of my brain like the great a'tuin or it could even be DocBungles fault on twitter.
But something got me looking at guildball.
Now i have played bloodbowl and dreadball so i knew i liked sports games and i also knew the mrs liked them. So +1 there.
That little look turned into a data usage destroying search and a little itch (which for the record is not a wargaming STI and CANNOT be treated with creams, sprays or pills)
But the searching and digging opened up a game that outwardly looks very good. Nice characterful models much like my happy malifaux days.
A good chunk of youtubing has shown what appears to be a smooth playing game with a good amount of challenge but..and this is important...not a life sucking play length.
So it was starting to look promising. So a look towards a potential purchase began. Now this month the hobby budget is massively constrained (kids coming in the summer and now the death of the household boiler) have left me with a hobby budget the size of a nats left nut....if they even have nuts. But the budget would stretch to a whopping single starter box....but which one.
Pondering more pondering. A bike ride home that saw me arrive in a state that was less supreme athlete and more Whindle Poons after a very vigorous chase.
But back onto the interwebs...and then...well in simple terms. Inspiration struck.
But inspiration is not really the right word...as it's more of an idea....but this blog doesn't do things the easy way...you see there is a theory about ideas.
They all sit out in the darkness of space. Whizzing about and colliding with each other. Occasionally one gets knocked in the direction of this little ball of water and rock called 'The Earth'.
Most ideas never survive the entry through our atmosphere that has been likened to a really bad morning after a decisively violent Vindaloo.
But some do. Some slam into the mind of passing humans. Then in a flash of brilliance they forget.
But some....the really lucky ones....find a willing mind.
Davinci saw art and flying machine.
Einstein world changing theories.
Baach great orchestras of music.
Even in a caveman there was fire.
The one that was unfortunate enough saw.
Tartan.
It saw Brewers guild players in Tartan, possible even Tartan and tattoos.
It griped the empty vessel of my and squeezed for all it was worth. Then through no fault of it's own created an image or blue tattooed, fiery haired , Tartan wearing guild ball players. Think Braveheart with gingers...and be afraid.
Because i bloody well am.
I have no idea if i can even paint tartan, let alone paint it well. But i guess i will find out. There is a plan b, that involves a similar idea just without the tartan. But plan B is for the moment my brain joins my enthusiasm in the Ankh.
So yeah...umm someone once said...May you live in interesting times.
Most people thought it a blessing...little did they know.
Me...well i am gonna spell check the ramble, goggle up 'Salute of the jugger' and grin like Tim Curry playing a wizard who thinks he is about to take over the world.
Sunday, 28 June 2015
Tuesday, 23 June 2015
the plan for the future
So the blog has been pretty darn quiet.
My new job, trying to get fit, playing airsoft and now being dragged out of football retirement to step back into goal....well it has all taken it's toll on my hobby time.
Anyone who knows me, reads this blog or my twitter, knows i am a bit of a hobby butterfly.
But that doesn't mean i don't crave the beautiful army or nice completed project like everyone else.
But recently it's been worse than ever. Fleeting visits to a new bolt action army, various games and a return to try marines. But none of them have really bitten in much. Even worse at times i have even questioned my place in wargaming and thought long and hard about just walking away.
But those reflections like any in life bring more questions than answers.
The biggest one though was.
Why don't i enjoy my hobby anymore?.
It's a hell of a question isn't it.
I spent the last couple of weeks dwelling on it. Looking for various answers from various angles.
I don't get nearly enough gaming time and that plays a fair part. But that's down to choice of games. I broke away from GW a while back and unless your blessed with fair sized multi game venues, you have already taken a step into the wilderness. Another aspect of this has been my work preventing me attending the best of the clubs in the area and being able to play what had been my main game 'Bolt Action'.
The other answer lies deeper within the hobbyist in me.
I just haven't been enjoying my painting....not for a really long time. I have rode along on the eddies and flows of whats cool and in turn lost the love of painting by painting things that just don't appeal deep down.
For the foreseeable future i don't see the gaming situation changing. But it will because in finding and answering the questions i have drawn myself up a bit of a plan.
Gaming will come, it will come in the shape of 40k. Why? well it's the single most prevalent game locally, it still has a lot of appeal and lets face it, from the kid within to the adult without...its where a majority of us discovered wargaming.
I'm making an active decision to avoid most major forums and the inherent GW hatred they seem to spew into the web, in the past it has really eroded my hobby love and the future plan doesn't want ot need them 'negative vibes'.
So the hobbyist...how to address it. Well simple really.
I looked over my photobucket gallery, pondered over various pics, reflected on the models i enjoyed painting, the ones i liked the look of and what i didn't.
And in a rather shocking revelation to myself. I discovered that in about 3 years of painting (if not more) aside from my Bolt Action British paras, The only model i really recall enjoying painting.....AND being happy with at the end.
Was a Tau Empire XV104 Riptide.
I thought about the whys and what for on the project and realised i put more time and effort not only into the painting, but the pose, base and dynamic of the model, than any model in recent memory.
So i set to thunking on it some more.
Looked at the models, thought about the fluff and the options. Thought about a plan of taking a project forward and set myself a bit of a plan.
It's nothing exciting, it wont make GW a billion dollars and it won't break the bank. It's simple in it's elegance and purity.
Purchase 1 box a month. No mater how big or small. (no battleforce type boxes though).
The paint that box over the spare time i have that month. If it isn't finished, no purchase the next month.
It's simple because it eliminates one of my flaws. Looking at a massive army and getting daunted, then disgruntled and then bored by the large array of grey plastic.
So that's the plan folks. It's not earth shattering, it's not even something new to most hobbyists out there. But hopefully, given time. It will see me back in the fold and gaming once more.
My new job, trying to get fit, playing airsoft and now being dragged out of football retirement to step back into goal....well it has all taken it's toll on my hobby time.
Anyone who knows me, reads this blog or my twitter, knows i am a bit of a hobby butterfly.
But that doesn't mean i don't crave the beautiful army or nice completed project like everyone else.
But recently it's been worse than ever. Fleeting visits to a new bolt action army, various games and a return to try marines. But none of them have really bitten in much. Even worse at times i have even questioned my place in wargaming and thought long and hard about just walking away.
But those reflections like any in life bring more questions than answers.
The biggest one though was.
Why don't i enjoy my hobby anymore?.
It's a hell of a question isn't it.
I spent the last couple of weeks dwelling on it. Looking for various answers from various angles.
I don't get nearly enough gaming time and that plays a fair part. But that's down to choice of games. I broke away from GW a while back and unless your blessed with fair sized multi game venues, you have already taken a step into the wilderness. Another aspect of this has been my work preventing me attending the best of the clubs in the area and being able to play what had been my main game 'Bolt Action'.
The other answer lies deeper within the hobbyist in me.
I just haven't been enjoying my painting....not for a really long time. I have rode along on the eddies and flows of whats cool and in turn lost the love of painting by painting things that just don't appeal deep down.
For the foreseeable future i don't see the gaming situation changing. But it will because in finding and answering the questions i have drawn myself up a bit of a plan.
Gaming will come, it will come in the shape of 40k. Why? well it's the single most prevalent game locally, it still has a lot of appeal and lets face it, from the kid within to the adult without...its where a majority of us discovered wargaming.
I'm making an active decision to avoid most major forums and the inherent GW hatred they seem to spew into the web, in the past it has really eroded my hobby love and the future plan doesn't want ot need them 'negative vibes'.
So the hobbyist...how to address it. Well simple really.
I looked over my photobucket gallery, pondered over various pics, reflected on the models i enjoyed painting, the ones i liked the look of and what i didn't.
And in a rather shocking revelation to myself. I discovered that in about 3 years of painting (if not more) aside from my Bolt Action British paras, The only model i really recall enjoying painting.....AND being happy with at the end.
Was a Tau Empire XV104 Riptide.
I thought about the whys and what for on the project and realised i put more time and effort not only into the painting, but the pose, base and dynamic of the model, than any model in recent memory.
So i set to thunking on it some more.
Looked at the models, thought about the fluff and the options. Thought about a plan of taking a project forward and set myself a bit of a plan.
It's nothing exciting, it wont make GW a billion dollars and it won't break the bank. It's simple in it's elegance and purity.
Purchase 1 box a month. No mater how big or small. (no battleforce type boxes though).
The paint that box over the spare time i have that month. If it isn't finished, no purchase the next month.
It's simple because it eliminates one of my flaws. Looking at a massive army and getting daunted, then disgruntled and then bored by the large array of grey plastic.
So that's the plan folks. It's not earth shattering, it's not even something new to most hobbyists out there. But hopefully, given time. It will see me back in the fold and gaming once more.
Thursday, 12 February 2015
Small steps for Bolt Action and Malifaux
Welcome back long suffering maniacs.
Last few days has seen some slow but steady progress on my Bolt Action US Airborne force.
Some folks have pointed out the distinct lack of great coats on 'winter' Americans.
Before i set out on this project i decided the force would be part of the 506th PIR of the 101st Airborne. Any fans of Band of Brothers, either the book or tv series, or any one with some insight into the US Airborne in the Ardennes. Will know that the 101st were rushed to the front, many had very little winter clothing (in fact in 'BoB' it's only the officers with the Great Coats) and most had little to no ammo.
When researching and deciding on the models to use, i used this rational to explain the inclusion of models without greatcoats and the fact that some would be wearing items of the M1942 and M1943 uniform. Lets face it, old kit or not, when your skins forming ice crystals from the cold, it's not going to matter as long as it keeps you warm. Hence, the mix of Warlord games and Artizan models.
Now that's out of the way.
Here's the progress so far
Overall infantry shot
Closer shot of a couple of models to hopefully show the work that's gone into the basic uniform.
Mortar spotter, 2nd Lt and Medic team.
Hopefully over the next couple of days i can get the webbing painted and start to break up the plain green feel. Also apologies for the poor pics, they were taken late at night on a camera phone :(
Last but not least.
I made the decision to try and get back into Malifaux by Wyrd Miniatures.
I still need to get my hands on the wave 1 and 2 arsenal decks to be able to play.
But as of today, this will be my crew of choice to learn with.
Ressurectionists Kirai
So that's the general hobby all up to date. Hope your all doing well.
Last few days has seen some slow but steady progress on my Bolt Action US Airborne force.
Some folks have pointed out the distinct lack of great coats on 'winter' Americans.
Before i set out on this project i decided the force would be part of the 506th PIR of the 101st Airborne. Any fans of Band of Brothers, either the book or tv series, or any one with some insight into the US Airborne in the Ardennes. Will know that the 101st were rushed to the front, many had very little winter clothing (in fact in 'BoB' it's only the officers with the Great Coats) and most had little to no ammo.
When researching and deciding on the models to use, i used this rational to explain the inclusion of models without greatcoats and the fact that some would be wearing items of the M1942 and M1943 uniform. Lets face it, old kit or not, when your skins forming ice crystals from the cold, it's not going to matter as long as it keeps you warm. Hence, the mix of Warlord games and Artizan models.
Now that's out of the way.
Here's the progress so far
Overall infantry shot
Closer shot of a couple of models to hopefully show the work that's gone into the basic uniform.
Mortar spotter, 2nd Lt and Medic team.
Hopefully over the next couple of days i can get the webbing painted and start to break up the plain green feel. Also apologies for the poor pics, they were taken late at night on a camera phone :(
Last but not least.
I made the decision to try and get back into Malifaux by Wyrd Miniatures.
I still need to get my hands on the wave 1 and 2 arsenal decks to be able to play.
But as of today, this will be my crew of choice to learn with.
Ressurectionists Kirai
So that's the general hobby all up to date. Hope your all doing well.
Sunday, 1 February 2015
Adventuring back through the breach
So,
As i eluded to hahaha...ok spaffed and waxed lyrical about in my last post.
I have taken the plunge and decided to venture back through the breach and back into Malifaux.
You already know the crew i am taking from my previous post 'Kirai'.
So most of my current time is spent reading articles on her, trying to find paint scheme ideas and above all, trying to figure out how to do some really characterful bases.
But a break from the google bashing was needed.
So here i am.
With nothing new to show.
Miniature Monday on the horizon and a need to show off something.
So i thought i would dig up my previous malifaux works and show them off.
A kind of...here i am, here's what i hope to achieve on a painting level once again.
So without further delay...here they are.
The Ortega family
Perdita Ortega
Santiago Ortega
Nino Ortega
Francisco Ortega
Papa Loco
Abuela Ortega
Next up
The Red Chapel Crew...or Seamus and his ladies of negotiable hospitality
Seamus
Copycat Killer
Madam Sybelle
Rotten Belles
No close ups on my next crew sadly.
But the Viktorias along with Misaki
Finally, like any wargamer, i like to try and have something nice to play over. But my 40k/wfb boards just weren't going to cut it for the Victorian steampunk world of Malifaux.
So i spent a good few weeks and a stupid amount of money on card, foamcard,printer cartridges and prittstick.
To produce a board from WorldWorks Games.
But my god was it worth the time and effort.
It started off looking like this
With a good amount of swearing and time it became more like this
Before finally becoming this. Worth the effort i hope you will agree.
So that's where i am at and where i hope to head to once again.
As usual thoughts, comments, suggestions are always welcome, especially in relation to where i might source some interesting Oriental bases/decorations for base.
Any thoughts just hit me up on twitter @ghostwalker0299
As i eluded to hahaha...ok spaffed and waxed lyrical about in my last post.
I have taken the plunge and decided to venture back through the breach and back into Malifaux.
You already know the crew i am taking from my previous post 'Kirai'.
So most of my current time is spent reading articles on her, trying to find paint scheme ideas and above all, trying to figure out how to do some really characterful bases.
But a break from the google bashing was needed.
So here i am.
With nothing new to show.
Miniature Monday on the horizon and a need to show off something.
So i thought i would dig up my previous malifaux works and show them off.
A kind of...here i am, here's what i hope to achieve on a painting level once again.
So without further delay...here they are.
The Ortega family
Perdita Ortega
Santiago Ortega
Nino Ortega
Francisco Ortega
Papa Loco
Abuela Ortega
Next up
The Red Chapel Crew...or Seamus and his ladies of negotiable hospitality
Seamus
Copycat Killer
Madam Sybelle
Rotten Belles
No close ups on my next crew sadly.
But the Viktorias along with Misaki
Finally, like any wargamer, i like to try and have something nice to play over. But my 40k/wfb boards just weren't going to cut it for the Victorian steampunk world of Malifaux.
So i spent a good few weeks and a stupid amount of money on card, foamcard,printer cartridges and prittstick.
To produce a board from WorldWorks Games.
But my god was it worth the time and effort.
It started off looking like this
With a good amount of swearing and time it became more like this
Before finally becoming this. Worth the effort i hope you will agree.
So that's where i am at and where i hope to head to once again.
As usual thoughts, comments, suggestions are always welcome, especially in relation to where i might source some interesting Oriental bases/decorations for base.
Any thoughts just hit me up on twitter @ghostwalker0299
Friday, 30 January 2015
Once more into the breach brothers.
Been a little while since my last post.
Mostly down to work, depression and an insane dog.
Today was successful though. By that i mean, the 3 hour dog walk over icy paths, frozen fields and muddy tracks. Didn't end in broken bones or death...if that sounds like a weird statement...you have never owned a prey driven German Shepherd dog.
But anyways.
What about the Bolt Action stuff.
Well right now it's sat on the desk awaiting its base colour, having been primed black. A decision on that colour needs to be made and much pondering is going on in regards to this subject.
But whilst that happens...i well..slipped through a gap in space and time and found myself back in 2010.
*swirly cheap ass 70's flashback effects*
Back in early 2010 i saw a model on the net, initially i thought it looked absolutely amazing. But not really seeing the game it was linked to, i passed on by.
6 months later i met my fiancee....odd fact but bear with me.
We went gaming mad...amongst other things..oooo errrr missus.
Then in early 2011 i remembered the model as we were discussing trying some new games. Wargames you pervs.
I couldn't recall the name or the company so a few minutes googlefoo went off as i searched for a 'mad hatter' model. Those in the know, know where this is going and can now see the link in with the title.
Evidently though (for those not in the know) the model was Seamus, one of the 3 masters for the Ressurectionist faction of a relatively new game called Malifaux.
Back then it was relatively new to this part of the world and i went digging.
Discovered the card mechanic and had my interest springs plucked.
We downloaded the rules, grabbed some playing cards and proxied the game with some marines and nids....not very Victorian horror steampunk i know...but it worked.
We loved the game...and went a bit mad.
Crews, books, fate decks were purchased games were had and i took the leap to become the first henchman in the Norfolk area (demo gamer for the wyrd miniatures company).
Madness took on a new meaning from then, masses of games, trying to hook people in.
Then we booked into the first wargames show in Norwich in many years. Weeks of frantic printing,gluing, swearing and cutting followed as i went gaga for Faux and made a 'World Works Games' board out of card stock.
The show went amazingly well with lots of games taking place...at one point THREE demo games on the same board as i was ably assisted by my better half and another Henchman named Clousseau (wonder what happened to him) who travelled in from another area to help.
Months of games followed but work,life and a touch of burnout struck.
As it the way with gamers, interest wavered and new shiny stuff caught my eye.
Malifaux moved towards Avatars and M2E and i drifted away.
Cue swirly 70's effects again.
Back into 2015...
A week or 2 ago a few of the twitter #warmongers community were waxing lyrical about Malifaux and recent tournaments.
My interest piqued a little, an itch formed in the recesses of my mind.
That itch spent a few days gnawing on my mind and i looked, noticed more posts.
Memories of fantastic games surfaced and the Itch became a rash (doctor says it will go away given time and adequate medication).
This all came to a head yesterday.
Morning time came and saw me order the Guild Arsenal decks for wave 1 and 2 to allow me to field my trusty Ortega family.
Then i saw a post from another player selling his Kirai crew.
Ah bugger....pm comes, some messages are exchanged and i contemplate how to get the money.
Sometimes wonder if fate or twists of fate (malifaux pun) kicked in.
Cheeky spam email from a 'gambling site' gives me a £5 free bet if i return (old footy bet habit). I figure ah what the heck, check a could of tipsters i know and put the free bet on a couple of 3 legged horses with blind jockeys.
Result. No expense paid, returns £59.
Kirai paid for!!!
Deal in place a plea for help went out. Now at this point i would like to salute the general #warmonger community and the Malifaux community.
A plea for someone localish to me, to meet the seller at the weekends tourney and pick the models up was submitted.
A member of the community at this point offered to help and even went as far as to offer to pay for the minis when collected and then collect the money from me when he dropped them off.
A trusting gesture that i doubt many would make.
So whats the point of the overly long and rambly blog post.
Well aside from my Bolt Action fix, it looks like i shall be heading back through the breach and into the wilds of malifaux once again, armed with noobish moves, too many questions and a thirst for souls....no doubt ably assisted by my better half Carol and her filthy gang of murderers and undead hookers.
Mostly down to work, depression and an insane dog.
Today was successful though. By that i mean, the 3 hour dog walk over icy paths, frozen fields and muddy tracks. Didn't end in broken bones or death...if that sounds like a weird statement...you have never owned a prey driven German Shepherd dog.
But anyways.
What about the Bolt Action stuff.
Well right now it's sat on the desk awaiting its base colour, having been primed black. A decision on that colour needs to be made and much pondering is going on in regards to this subject.
But whilst that happens...i well..slipped through a gap in space and time and found myself back in 2010.
*swirly cheap ass 70's flashback effects*
Back in early 2010 i saw a model on the net, initially i thought it looked absolutely amazing. But not really seeing the game it was linked to, i passed on by.
6 months later i met my fiancee....odd fact but bear with me.
We went gaming mad...amongst other things..oooo errrr missus.
Then in early 2011 i remembered the model as we were discussing trying some new games. Wargames you pervs.
I couldn't recall the name or the company so a few minutes googlefoo went off as i searched for a 'mad hatter' model. Those in the know, know where this is going and can now see the link in with the title.
Evidently though (for those not in the know) the model was Seamus, one of the 3 masters for the Ressurectionist faction of a relatively new game called Malifaux.
Back then it was relatively new to this part of the world and i went digging.
Discovered the card mechanic and had my interest springs plucked.
We downloaded the rules, grabbed some playing cards and proxied the game with some marines and nids....not very Victorian horror steampunk i know...but it worked.
We loved the game...and went a bit mad.
Crews, books, fate decks were purchased games were had and i took the leap to become the first henchman in the Norfolk area (demo gamer for the wyrd miniatures company).
Madness took on a new meaning from then, masses of games, trying to hook people in.
Then we booked into the first wargames show in Norwich in many years. Weeks of frantic printing,gluing, swearing and cutting followed as i went gaga for Faux and made a 'World Works Games' board out of card stock.
The show went amazingly well with lots of games taking place...at one point THREE demo games on the same board as i was ably assisted by my better half and another Henchman named Clousseau (wonder what happened to him) who travelled in from another area to help.
Months of games followed but work,life and a touch of burnout struck.
As it the way with gamers, interest wavered and new shiny stuff caught my eye.
Malifaux moved towards Avatars and M2E and i drifted away.
Cue swirly 70's effects again.
Back into 2015...
A week or 2 ago a few of the twitter #warmongers community were waxing lyrical about Malifaux and recent tournaments.
My interest piqued a little, an itch formed in the recesses of my mind.
That itch spent a few days gnawing on my mind and i looked, noticed more posts.
Memories of fantastic games surfaced and the Itch became a rash (doctor says it will go away given time and adequate medication).
This all came to a head yesterday.
Morning time came and saw me order the Guild Arsenal decks for wave 1 and 2 to allow me to field my trusty Ortega family.
Then i saw a post from another player selling his Kirai crew.
Ah bugger....pm comes, some messages are exchanged and i contemplate how to get the money.
Sometimes wonder if fate or twists of fate (malifaux pun) kicked in.
Cheeky spam email from a 'gambling site' gives me a £5 free bet if i return (old footy bet habit). I figure ah what the heck, check a could of tipsters i know and put the free bet on a couple of 3 legged horses with blind jockeys.
Result. No expense paid, returns £59.
Kirai paid for!!!
Deal in place a plea for help went out. Now at this point i would like to salute the general #warmonger community and the Malifaux community.
A plea for someone localish to me, to meet the seller at the weekends tourney and pick the models up was submitted.
A member of the community at this point offered to help and even went as far as to offer to pay for the minis when collected and then collect the money from me when he dropped them off.
A trusting gesture that i doubt many would make.
So whats the point of the overly long and rambly blog post.
Well aside from my Bolt Action fix, it looks like i shall be heading back through the breach and into the wilds of malifaux once again, armed with noobish moves, too many questions and a thirst for souls....no doubt ably assisted by my better half Carol and her filthy gang of murderers and undead hookers.
Friday, 16 January 2015
The poor bstards of bastogne
So a few days older and no wiser.
My stuff arrived from Artizan and has been added to the warlord stuff.
Much filing, gluing, swearing (if you have ever assembled a mortar you will understand) followed.
Then there was pondering, humming and harring as i looked over the various models, poses, weapons etc.
Finally the eureka moment was reached.
Models were arranged, squads set out. Models shuffled and swapped about.
And finally.
Working left to right.
Left side.
2 Paratrooper squads. Both with 4 rifles, 2 sub machine guns and a NCO with sub machine gun.
Front left my medic team with a wounded Para.
front right 2 man bazooka team.
Middle
M18 Hellcat tank destroyer. Upgraded with recce ability and pintle mounted heavy machine gun.
Airborne Jeep for transport purposes, so unarmed.
Command team. Richard winters historicon model along with an extra man who is looking down at a map.
Right side
8 man Paratrooper section with 5 rifles, 2 sub machine guns and NCO with sub machine gun.
Middle - medium mortar team with spotter
front left 2 man sniper team
front right 3 man medium machine gun team.
994pts of men and machines from the 506th parachute infantry and 705th Tank destroyer battalion.
Now just 5 months and 3 days to get it all painted.
My stuff arrived from Artizan and has been added to the warlord stuff.
Much filing, gluing, swearing (if you have ever assembled a mortar you will understand) followed.
Then there was pondering, humming and harring as i looked over the various models, poses, weapons etc.
Finally the eureka moment was reached.
Models were arranged, squads set out. Models shuffled and swapped about.
And finally.
Working left to right.
Left side.
2 Paratrooper squads. Both with 4 rifles, 2 sub machine guns and a NCO with sub machine gun.
Front left my medic team with a wounded Para.
front right 2 man bazooka team.
Middle
M18 Hellcat tank destroyer. Upgraded with recce ability and pintle mounted heavy machine gun.
Airborne Jeep for transport purposes, so unarmed.
Command team. Richard winters historicon model along with an extra man who is looking down at a map.
Right side
8 man Paratrooper section with 5 rifles, 2 sub machine guns and NCO with sub machine gun.
Middle - medium mortar team with spotter
front left 2 man sniper team
front right 3 man medium machine gun team.
994pts of men and machines from the 506th parachute infantry and 705th Tank destroyer battalion.
Now just 5 months and 3 days to get it all painted.
Sunday, 11 January 2015
Curahee
Welcome back, the emergency exits have been sealed to prevent your escape.
So following on from my previous post about the decisions to be made...and the astute amongst you having seen the title. You can guess how the process went.
Or possibly not.
You see, simple as it sounds...life is anything but.
Shortly after posting, my long suffering fiancee offered a deal. Now anyone in my situation would know deals involve IF's or BUT's. Anyone with a gamerchick for a fiancee also knows there is no pulling the wool over their eyes regarding purchases.
But i digress and must go back to the point.
Carol pipes up and says 'I will make you a deal. I will buy your entire US Airborne army as a very early birthday present (5 months early)'.
This was then followed by the dreaded 'BUT'.
Now i don't know whether Panic had kicked in here, or self preservation or some primordial instinct. But like a fly in the spiders web i waited with baited breath for the clause.
Then it came.
'you can't buy anymore models or games until after the tournament' (6 months away).
Now anyone who follows this blog knows that i have incurable ADOSS (Attention Deficit Oh Shiny Syndrome).
Sweat beaded on my brow, the nervous twitch of the eternally slow painter battled with the magpie gamer in a war of time. Turn the offer down and face less time to paint the models, but have more shinnies or take the offer and start longingly as the new toys i will not have.
Well the painter won. Concessions were made to things like paint, scenery/materials for the army display board.
So what followed was a frantic working of a list, some fluff chasing and then a trawl of several games companies for the right miniatures.
In the end the £120 cost of the army was split between Northstar Games (Artizan) and Warlord Games.
Order placed i waited with glee....well actually it was more like the death throes of a 100 a day smoker as a virus has the better of me. But again i digress.
Now at this point i am going to wax lyrical about the games company Warlord Games. I have done it in the past and I'm going to do it again. Not because i have any endorsement or affiliation with them. It's purely because i believe good customer service deserves a mention in this day and age.
So why you may ask.
Well the army was ordered at 11pm Thursday night. At the same time i was chatting on facebook about the lack of a Airborne 81mm mortar, a fact that meant i had ordered a standard US army one and intended on mocking up a crew.
Well about 2pm friday an email notification pops up with 'order despatched'. Now anyone can agree that's pretty darn quick, what makes it faster is that the order had a warning 'some models are cast to order and this may cause a short delay'. So to see such a quick dispatch was a surprise.
Not content with this small achievement though. A certain David Mathews who works at Warlord, (i should mention has great community interaction) pops up in my facebook chat. We had spoke about the 81mm mortar situation on the boltaction page on fb and he had pointed out the US Army one to me.
David then proceeds to inform me that 'he has picked out a scratch crew of US airborne models from other airborne weapons to make up an 81mm mortar crew and put it in with my order for free'.
I can't really say how much gestures like this make me feel appreciated by a games company.
It's above and beyond the call of customer service in my book.
Of course many thanks were warmly extended to David, i would have offered him my Mrs for the night, but i could sense the impending slap lol.
So Saturday comes.
The door rings and look whats in the posties hand
(barring the Historicon 'Day of Days' Dick Winters model) which was already owned. See i do have a 'Dick'.
So that's one very happy gamer, with the next 6 months of my life sorted out (albeit without the madness of new model purchases...but that may be a good thing).
So whats the plan you ask.
Well with the Dick Winters model.
It can only be the men of Easy Company 506th Parachute Infantry, supported by a Hellcat from the 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion.
The force is solidly based and themed around the Battle of Bastogne/Ardennes. So much research of winter basing and scenery techniques will be needed (especially for the board).
I have even gone as far as including a Medic in the force to represent Eugene Roe who has probably his finest moments in the show during the battle for Bastogne.
So that's the plan. Now for some frantic filing, cutting, filling and eventually...painting. But that's another blog post for another day.
So following on from my previous post about the decisions to be made...and the astute amongst you having seen the title. You can guess how the process went.
Or possibly not.
You see, simple as it sounds...life is anything but.
Shortly after posting, my long suffering fiancee offered a deal. Now anyone in my situation would know deals involve IF's or BUT's. Anyone with a gamerchick for a fiancee also knows there is no pulling the wool over their eyes regarding purchases.
But i digress and must go back to the point.
Carol pipes up and says 'I will make you a deal. I will buy your entire US Airborne army as a very early birthday present (5 months early)'.
This was then followed by the dreaded 'BUT'.
Now i don't know whether Panic had kicked in here, or self preservation or some primordial instinct. But like a fly in the spiders web i waited with baited breath for the clause.
Then it came.
'you can't buy anymore models or games until after the tournament' (6 months away).
Now anyone who follows this blog knows that i have incurable ADOSS (Attention Deficit Oh Shiny Syndrome).
Sweat beaded on my brow, the nervous twitch of the eternally slow painter battled with the magpie gamer in a war of time. Turn the offer down and face less time to paint the models, but have more shinnies or take the offer and start longingly as the new toys i will not have.
Well the painter won. Concessions were made to things like paint, scenery/materials for the army display board.
So what followed was a frantic working of a list, some fluff chasing and then a trawl of several games companies for the right miniatures.
In the end the £120 cost of the army was split between Northstar Games (Artizan) and Warlord Games.
Order placed i waited with glee....well actually it was more like the death throes of a 100 a day smoker as a virus has the better of me. But again i digress.
Now at this point i am going to wax lyrical about the games company Warlord Games. I have done it in the past and I'm going to do it again. Not because i have any endorsement or affiliation with them. It's purely because i believe good customer service deserves a mention in this day and age.
So why you may ask.
Well the army was ordered at 11pm Thursday night. At the same time i was chatting on facebook about the lack of a Airborne 81mm mortar, a fact that meant i had ordered a standard US army one and intended on mocking up a crew.
Well about 2pm friday an email notification pops up with 'order despatched'. Now anyone can agree that's pretty darn quick, what makes it faster is that the order had a warning 'some models are cast to order and this may cause a short delay'. So to see such a quick dispatch was a surprise.
Not content with this small achievement though. A certain David Mathews who works at Warlord, (i should mention has great community interaction) pops up in my facebook chat. We had spoke about the 81mm mortar situation on the boltaction page on fb and he had pointed out the US Army one to me.
David then proceeds to inform me that 'he has picked out a scratch crew of US airborne models from other airborne weapons to make up an 81mm mortar crew and put it in with my order for free'.
I can't really say how much gestures like this make me feel appreciated by a games company.
It's above and beyond the call of customer service in my book.
Of course many thanks were warmly extended to David, i would have offered him my Mrs for the night, but i could sense the impending slap lol.
So Saturday comes.
The door rings and look whats in the posties hand
(barring the Historicon 'Day of Days' Dick Winters model) which was already owned. See i do have a 'Dick'.
So that's one very happy gamer, with the next 6 months of my life sorted out (albeit without the madness of new model purchases...but that may be a good thing).
So whats the plan you ask.
Well with the Dick Winters model.
It can only be the men of Easy Company 506th Parachute Infantry, supported by a Hellcat from the 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion.
The force is solidly based and themed around the Battle of Bastogne/Ardennes. So much research of winter basing and scenery techniques will be needed (especially for the board).
I have even gone as far as including a Medic in the force to represent Eugene Roe who has probably his finest moments in the show during the battle for Bastogne.
So that's the plan. Now for some frantic filing, cutting, filling and eventually...painting. But that's another blog post for another day.
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