You will recall that the other day I took delivery of 660 1st generation Minifigs ECW, and was on the hunt for more? Well this very morning as I head towards the end of my Summer break at midnight, I have secured another 736 mint condition castings and closed an amicable deal with their owner. I am really looking forward to fielding two large forces using these models. They are true 15mm, very 'of their time' in terms of the historical research on uniforms, - remember 'Cromwell' and 'By The Sword Divided?' - and are frankly lovely. The notion of painting in a toy solder style with gloss varnish, is almost orgasm inducing. And when I say 'mint' I mean just that. See: However I still need dragons, generals and artillery, as well as a full list of the models which were originally produced. Can anyone help? TTFN

Friday was a bit of a shocker in terms of industry headlines... Spartan Games who have been something of a staple for a decade announced that they were unable to service their obligations and went to the wall. Now, forgive me my moment of bitterness, here, but as you know I freelanced for them as a painter and did the painting for several of the early box covers, before being cast adrift because their studio management was piss poor at the time and apparently they found themselves working on several projects at once with little organisation. I was owed a considerable sum which I was only able to recoup by accepting product which was not worth the RRP, and which almost cost me my home. So, whilst I am not leaping around in glee, I am not mourning, you understand. The statement on their website ran thus: Spartan Games Written by Spartan Games |  The following statement is issued today, Friday 25th August 2017. Following a prolonged period of challenging trading a...

As the toll to the Grim Reaper mounts in the last 8 months and heads towards an astounding half dozen gamers of my acquaintance who've 'faded into the West' - including 4 from my immediate circle - I am moved to note that none of them were old and that the sheer numbers are a little troubling. We are all pretty young by modern standards, but we seem to be suffering a heavier loss than other groups I know, for instance the hundred or so folk who made up my school year group. What is it that we did wrong to have fate use us for target practice? Answers on a postcard please, because I am really staring to get more than a little scared for my own life.

Given as I am to mulling things over, I was in that state betwixt sleep and wakefulness as the memsahib drove us home from one of our excursions - I doze more, now that I am old - and I reflected on the friends I have lost and then went down a rabbit hole of reveries on how my hobby has changed in the 38 years I've been a part of it. What struck me was how the hobby appears from my ivory tower to have dumbed down to the lowest common denominators; money and the modern trend for instant gratification. Now I know there are exceptions to every rule, but I am going to have a rant along the lines of that sense of dumbing down. When I got into the hobby there seemed to be a profusion of Eloi, whereas today the Morlocks seem to be in the ascendancy, a point I find very troubling. Let me explain... Back in the day, we had what we termed 'Gentleman Wargamers'. These were well educated, knowledgeable chaps, who took their hobby seriously. Peter Gilder, Terry Wise, Don Feather...

Well, I have 3 days of my holiday left and I am knackered... We went over to 'The Other Partizan' last weekend and whilst I had a good time, there was not much to really draw me. Baccus took £150 of my cash for some lovely 6mm stuff and I picked up a few scenic materials, but that was about it. Now, I'd planned to pick up some Perry Miniatures Cape Wars stuff, but the range is far from complete enough to put together two complete forces, so I shelved the idea for the present. I also broke the 6mm only, vow when I was offered 660 1st generation  Minfigs 15mm ECW from the 'strip' era. They are painted in a pleasing toy soldier style and whilst they will need a re-base and a bit of cosmetic work here and there, they are wonderfully vintage sculpts which make me sigh with pleasure in the same way that Samantha Fox and her comely udders did in the 'Daily Star' when I was but a youth, or which the food pages of the 'Yorkshire Post' do, today. They ...

2017 has been an unpleasant year for the loss of gaming acquaintances, both close and not so close. I am sad to report the passing of  Dez Green of Sheffield, this week. Dez was a little older than most of us and the cousin of one of the 'Pauls' who featured quite prominently in my book of gaming memoirs. I would be a liar to say I was close to Dez, I wasn't but we knew each other and he was always quiet, pleasant, intelligent and had a dry sense of humour. Several times when I was 'frothing' a little too much he'd look at me in a kind of inscrutable way which had the effect of making me go silent - quite an accomplishment. Others will of course have more meaningful memories, but I have undertaken to remember and and report the passing of fellow gamers, and this I do with a solemn heart. My thoughts go out to Paul and the Green family at this time. Rest in peace Dez.

Over to Britcon today and I spoke to my trusted and regular supplier about some 28mm Cape Wars figures which I hope to collect next Sunday at Partizan.  It’s an interesting setting. The armies are not large, with 3000 men being a top end for the Xhosa and 1500 or so for the British, with the added fun of Boers, who were starting to get a bit uppity at the time.  It means you can play some rather pretty games with around 300 models as well as smaller scale raids and the like. The lack of later weaponry such as the Gardner means that it can be rather bloody at close quarters. I have had to go with 28mm against my better judgement as it’s not produced in any other scales, so don't judge me eh? The two volumes sold by Perry Miniatures are an excellent read, even if you are just interested in learning more. As always they are superbly produced. My mate and I picked up 8 Irregular Miniatures army packs, ready painted to an OK standard for 50% of bare metal cost,...

Hi ho, my dear followers... Well, after 8 weeks, the Dark Tower is now fully renovated albeit at a price tag £18,000.00 higher than planned. It's really been hell and has affected my wife's health quite severely (possibly unrecoverable in fact)  so whilst the transformation is magnificent, the cost is, on reflection, not one I would knowingly pay again. Anyway, As of 6PM today I have closed my studio for 17 days to take my first holiday since December. I did however finish on a busy note by completing a large number of 15mm Cossack and Italian Wars models for two of my regular account clients in Canada: In the morning the Sheffield mob will be heading over the Pennines to Britcon in Manchester, to spend a day in good (albeit Lancastrian ) company, do a little shopping and partake in a rather fine lunch in Chinatown. We all really love the show as it is relaxed, airy and has a rather decent little bring and buy. It's also free to get in. We seem ...

One of my personal projects is to put together a large 1/300 sci fi game. The original plan had been ground combat, but I found a range of 'garage' kits in 1/350 depicting the assorted and ubiquitous starships from the Traveller game. Anyway I ordered over a dozen as a 'test' and they arrived yesterday. A couple need cleaning up, but being resin that's straight forwards enough. Now the plan is to also depict the low orbital conflict which on the day will dictate the provision of reinforcements for the attackers. The pics show the various designs at the side of a strip of Brigade Models 'Pac Fed' troops in 1/300th scale. TTFN