Having ordered 11kg of Essex Miniatures Undead the other day, you will recall that I was also mulling the pros and cons of which Lizardmen to buy; Essex unpainted or Dwarven Forge ready painted models. Well, in the end, I went with the Dwaren Forge painted Lizardmen... £400 for 150 figures made them £2.66 each, whih is about the cost of a normal price Essex Lizardman (currently £1.95 in their sale). The bonus if one was needed, having paid 71p per model for painting is that the sets include command figures, so that when you get multiple sets, you can make units with ease. What I will do is add a set per month for the next ten months which will give me 300 models and over 6000 points of rank and file troops. I'll add 50 or so 15mm Lizardmen by Khurasan Miniatures, to use as Lesser Lizardmen and then 6 cavalry from Asgard (6 max under 1st ed Warhamer). I am still not certain on what to do for Troglodytes... Pics show DF paint jobs... Well worth the 7...

Well, I did something which I have considered since the 80s. In the 80s I built a massive and I mean MASSIVE undead army, which was all old school Citadel, apart from 4 cavalry which were Essex Miniatures Bob Olley sculpts, bought when I had exhausted the entire stock of the local GW and other game stores (we had 3 in Sheffield) and needed the 4 models to complete the 50 strong cavalry wing on the right flank of the army. They were nice, but LARGE, but to be fair I was not a martinet then or indeed now, with regards to figures being mixed. The army went to the winds after I broke up with the woman I lived with before I met my now-wife of 29 years and was sold to Games Of Liverpool (if you have this army let me know) for a an absolute pittance. Anyway, I have recently being reviewing my whole hobby as I approach 49 and friends like the great Pete Armstrong are passing on, and the sense of the reaper at my heels begins to really worry me. So, I...

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon, rebasing some rather nice Battle Honours 15mm Peninsular British, that I purchased last weekend and which I have written briefly about, earlier this week. The force represents Hill’s 2nd Division with the exception of the 5 companies of rifles and was painted I believe by ‘The Iron Duke’ If anybody has any of the old 15mm BH British, Spanish or Portuguese which are surplus to requirements, please get in touch. TTFN

Okay, I have a vested interest here in that Darren is a friend of 35 years and wrote a stunning intro to my book, which did me more honour than I deserve. So, I'll let Daz, do the talking: In a weary World, full of woe, I suppose my case hardly merits much attention but as the old saying goes, if one does not even try... In my case diabetes, and sadly brought on by a disolute youth, combined with other bad luck have brought Dr. Robo to the brink and with other anvenues explored, I finally put shame away. A series of treatments for infections, cysts and abscesses have restored my health - combined with an improved lifestyle. The figure being sought is to pay the cost of said treatments.  Whilst not urgent, in as much as the treatments have been successful, the Devil must have his due, with both past and ongoing care for ther next year reducing me to penuary. As I say, not a case of great merit, as such. However, if you recall an old teacher with some fondness a...

Just taking a minute to plug my 2012 book; a whopping 380 or so pages about gaming and other geekery in Sheffield, starting well before Games Workshop opened it's doors on The Moor: It's a no holds barred gallimaufry of gaming in geekery, in a tim when death by nuclear apocalypse or I.E.D was a reality for a generation of teenagers, and when the music had more soul, more hair and more variety. You can find it in Amazon or order it at your local bricks and mortar book store. ISBN-10:  1471643875 ISBN-13:  978-1471643873 Product Dimensions:  15.2 x 2.4 x 22.9 cm

Sitting here in a good hot bath, cup of coffee at my side and the sound of 80s radio in my ears, my mind is wandering towards the most erotic pleasure of all, namely old miniatures and the alternatives to Citadel, which whilst great, are of course not the be all and end all of 'pre slotta' and this  is of course what separates the Grognard from the Marie Louise in the matters of old school gaming. I was going to go with Denizen for my undead, however they are all armoured with  little bone showing .. And let's face it, who doesn't like a good bit of bone? Likewise, I was going to go with Ral Partha for my lizardmen, but after the offer of 10% on a £700+ order because they apparently don't make much of a mark up (bollocks to that), I have taken the decision to send lots of money to Essex Miniatures to build genuine old school undead and lizardmen, the mere thought of which makes me cool the bath water a little with the sheer pleasure of the thought. T...

As you will know by now, as a result of the scruffy proles at Vapnartak, I've been hard at work collecting together a new wardrobe for my social outings, including the convention circuit, paying great attention to traditional etiquette of dress and manners. I purchased some very fine hats in the shape of a Piccadilly made fedora and a Yorkshire made 8 panel Donegal flat cap when I made my first foray into Ted Williams (bespoke tailors). I have also picked up a few pairs of handmade shoes, ties and of course, I fell in love with bespoke suiting and shirting and spent a 3 figure sum on getting my first suit made, in a classic cut - not for me these modern tight fitting numbers - with particular attention paid to the fine details such as fob buttonholes and the like.  The gentlemen at Ted Williams were most accommodating in attending to my somewhat discerning standards and in fact suggested even more detail once they realised that I was very serious indeed about th...

I've been thinking a lot about my life, my hobby, the matter of mortality and such, and so forth. I've lost 3 friends in 3 months to Mortis and alienated myself from a lot more in the last 3 years by seeking to do the right thing. My interest in gaming has waned and waxed, but I still find myself looking at the 'Golden Age' of the 1980s and coming to the conclusion that we drew so much more from it back then. So, that led me to consider why that might seem to be the case? From the outset, I'll state that it's more than the glow of youth compared to the more subtle shades of middle age, nor simply the rose tinted recollection times past. No, the 80s were frankly, pretty bloody grim. We were in the dying years of the Cold War and under very real threat from the I.R.A's various campaigns on the British mainland. We had the Falklands, we had Chernobyl, we had the terrifying film 'Threads' depicting the prelude to and aftermath of a direc...

It's been a very very busy week. I'm not complaining, because busy, means money. But it means that I've not got much done for myself. I did manage to get to my tailor on Wednesday for the first fitting and to pay them £1595.00 for a rather nice 3-piece suit. My tailors are Sheffield's best and I believe longest established tailors and outfitters, Ted Williams. Their customer service and attention to detail is brilliant. I can hardly wait until it's finished in around 3 months. On Friday my latest model railway arrived. It is as you may know in 009 scale and will evolve int the private branch line to Fackham Hall, country seat of the Fackham-Sorelys. I actually spent some time getting the test fittings done on my other railway, again in 009 narrow gauge and depicting the inner yards of Clegg's Patent Pickles. Lots to do, but not a bad half day's work. Finally, yesterday I picked up a Peninsular British army (after a haggle or ...

ITS THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN... YORK MRS 2017 Easter Saturday, Sunday and Monday 15th, 16th & 17th April 2017 At the Knavesmire Stand York Racecourse YO23 1EX Open 10am until 5pm Saturday and Sunday 10am until 4.30pm on Monday Admission: All 2016 prices held for 2017 Discount will be available on tickets bought in advance Just click the ADVANCE ticket button for details (Advance Ticket Box Office now open for 2017 tickets) The other buttons link to details of the layouts, traders and other stands attending. In total over 120 stands expected at the 2017 Show

It's been an odd week... Several people have approached and shaken my hand, and that is not the norm for me (I am as you know, considered to be a cad, bounder and blackguard of the first water in some circles), but several of those who have approached me have caused me such surprise that I am genuinely in a something of a state of confusion. I have also been pretty much told that the comments which caused much of the view that I am a traitorous blaggard were, in point of fact (as I made clear at the outset 3 or more years ago now) correct. Lines have been drawn under unfortunate and untoward events, I am led to believe, which is in my opinion not ideal, but if good things are to come from doing so, then I am supportive of and enthusiastic about it. Still, given the conversations (carried out both in front of impartial witnesses and in one case when I was not there to hear in person) it would be nice for a person with gravitas in a given collective, to simply say 'We apo...

I am today having one of those soul searching days that wargamers sometimes have to face up to. The question of scale. Now, I am able to buy my armies in any scale I wish, and if it was simply a case of taking he 'Chequebook Wargamer' approach, I would just say 'Yeah, everything in 28mm', but I find myself looking at the assorted scales, their utility and the the joy a given scale gave me at a particular stage of my life. I remember the weekend that Irregular released their 6mm stuff, and a load of us ( Darren , were you part of that locust-like frenzy?) where the junior members of SWS cleared the stand of all 6mm armies at Triples. I was unconvinced until the last hour of the show, whereupon I found that there was nothing left, but a a friend'  in the shape of Roger took pity on my plight and sold me his 'spare' Frankish army - Bloody Frankish - where's the excitement in that? For several years I used 6mm to play test an...