We are living in curious times, but I guess, because I've work from home as a figure painter for around a decade, essentially in isolation, I've been less affected than many by the idea of a lockdown. This got me thinking about how those of you who are unable to work but find yourself with time on your hands will be able to crack on and get those lead piles reduced. So, without my normal satire or sarcasm, I'd like to share a few observations with you which may help, if you are planning marathon painting stints in the weeks to come. 1. Order your work area. regardless of the bravado I see and hear about 'if your desk isn't untidy you are not an artist.' That is pure bollocks. You will find that as your desk fills, your posture becomes cramped, your productivity falls and you will sooner or later spill paint, catch yourself on a knife or just give up the ghost. 2. Lay out your work area for the best movement. Have your water a little further than you can...

I've been mulling for a couple of years now, why the 80s were so good and indeed still resonate with gamers. You can always say that every decade is the best in the eyes of those who lived through it, but from a gaming point of view, I do genuinely believe that there was a 'sweet spot', a 'golden age, call it what you will which lasted until around 1989 or 90. Now, it must be said that the Satanic Panic of the early to mid-80s was a small blip in that period, but to be honest, it was never going to win over the majority. In fact if anything it added to the piquancy of it all, adding a frisson of the forbidden to what was at the time a pretty underground pastime, despite the popularity. After all, if you were not actually involved with gaming, you had no idea of what the oddly shaped plastic things, the hex paper or indeed the games themselves were about. Conventions had a far more 'buzz'. They were packed to the rafters regardless of the size of the show...

Well, as the world seems to be falling apart at the seams, I've spent my third weekend, painting up my 1982/83 Chaos army, and I've added 8 more, for a total of 21 figures so far. It's nice to be able to pick up a brush, 'forget' all I have learned about painting in 40 years and just paint with a sense of innocenceand without the need to impress anyone or prove anything. That's what I do Monday to Friday, and I enjoy it, but to get that authentic 1980s vibe, you have to have the same mindset you had when you were 13. Earlier today I also added to my pre-slotta/early slotta Undead, with an amazing eBay win of 30 early zombies for £31.00. Needless to say, although I had bid up to £100, I am very happy indeed with my purchase, which will have the paintwork touched up where needed, a goo varnish and then static grass basing. I think this takes me to somewhere around 130 pre-slotta zombies. My target is 160 figures in 10 units for these fellahs. ...

Satanic Panic have announced the pre-orders for their first limited edition release, a pair of 28mm Drunken Gnolls / Goblins, paying homage to a classic miniature set. There are 250 of these worldwide. They will not be made available again, once the 250 have sold and over 10% sold within a short time of being made available on Thursday night. http://satanicpanic.co.uk/…/limited-edition-'drunk…/11439034 PRE ORDER NOW LIVE - THIS IS NOT GOING TO KICKSTARTER!

The latest Kickstarter from Satanic Panic Miniatures is currently 102% funded, with the first stretch goals being unlocked, giving backers free models. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/satanicpanic/satanic-panic-miniatures-28mm-old-school-lesser-goblins?ref=user_menu The first stretch goal unlocked, is the chieftan and shaman:

It's a really interesting time for me and quite exciting, because I have realised that I have less years ahead than behind me. Now that may sound morbid and far from exciting, but allow me to explain... I have always been extremely enthusiastic about my hobby, to the extent that I collected and played just about every type of model, period and scale. In fact I would say that over the years it got quite out of hand, because I amassed more than I actually got on the table. I am still fanatical about my hobby, but recently I've had to deal with that system shock which is turning fifty and realising you are in the traditional sense, 'old'. Couple this with the fact that two of my oldest and firmest gaming buddies and friends are returning to the place where we all cut our teeth on toy soldiers, with the promise of some good quality gaming,  yarning and general good times, and you'll appreciate that I have been thinking of ways to maximise table time versus time ...

Popping back to my post on painting the other day, I was asked which brushes from the Rosemary & Co ranges I used. Well, I have been using them for around 10 years or more now and my weapons of choice are brushes from the 92, 401 and 768 series. The 92s are ultra fine, the 401s are my workhorse on 28mm stuff and the 768s are flat brushes which get some real abuse over a working year. I was also asked how I thought I could comment on paints in the way I did... Well let me see: My work has been used on Spartan & Mantic products, I have appeared on Discovery Channel and on the covers of War-games Illustrated and War-games Journal as well as bagging almost two dozen placings in competitions across the U.K until I withdrew from competition painting in the mid-90s after I was bringing home the trophies in a rucksack from Salute. So, I have used a LOT of paint over the last 4 decades and have also been lucky enough to have access to some of the finest brushes of the golden a...

Last night I bagged a few more classics for my two fantasy projects for 2020...

Now, I want to talk to you about paints... Back in the dark ages, a new hobby appeared in the shape of wargaming and roleplaying. Along with it came miniatures, little lead dollies if you will, and we were encouraged to decorate them using paints to make them more appealing. And this we did... We used tins of enamel for the most part and if we were flush with cash some new fangled water based paints with a strong ammonia smell from the U.S called 'Poly S' which were handily given names like 'Worm Purple', 'Cave Fisher Magenta' and the like for those of our parish who were playing D&D. In the early 80s, Humbrol paints in the UK released a limited range of paints aimed at a younger market in natty little glass jars aimed at young model makers, being acrylic and washable, but with a very limited colour range called 'Bobcat' paints each sporting a picture of said feline on the lid. However, these colours were exactly the basic colours you needed ...

Hi all, Well, it's been a turbulent week as two of the five dogs here at Fackham Hall, had a 48 hour virus, which meant that at one stage we had the washer going for ten hours straight. And let me tell you, that until you have seen sadness in the face of a Scottish Terrier, you have not seen sadness... So, it's been a very busy and very tiring week as I rounded out the working month against what was already a shorter month than the average. However, I did manage to pick up a few things this week to expand the collection ahead of the return of friends and the commencement of the gaming in a big way (fingers crossed). Firstly, as you may know, I am not a slave to scale historically. True, I did fall into the 28mm only trap in the mid years of my hobby as it collided with the 'Chequebook Wargaming' crowd I grew up in awe of, but in the last year or so, I've had conversations with Roger, my brother Andy and a few others of a certain vintage and we all agreed...