Serendipity is a strange thing, and rears it's head quite a lot in my hobby. For instance, I am always looking for interesting bargains and they have a back of being those 'perfect' items for my tastes or something I have always dreamed of getting my hands on. However, the most interesting cases are when it also involves friends in a kind of blind synchronicity. This was the case this weekend, when I was mulling over something a little different, having completed my 28mm NMA on Saturday and the idea of something Medieval or Ancient popped into my head. I recalled that I'd seen a truly enormous 15mm Medieval Moslem army which was capable of representing about half a dozen different lists as well as just being a bloody enormous mob in it's own right. It ticked the boxes for me when making an unplanned purchase: 1. 1058 pieces 2. Very neatly painted in a traditional toy soldier style 3. Attractively priced But of course, the rub was that I'd need an opponent. Now y...

  Well, after a mammoth 9 hour push on basing the last third of the 'combatant' elements of my 28mm New Model army, it's ready for the table pretty much finished. I still have to add some spiky tufts to most of the bases, and I have the baggage train, a robinet and 6 or so staff groups to get finished before it's fully completed. The artillery needs tha gabions dropping into place, too, but I am really happy with it. Models are all metal with the exception of 24 horses, and are from Warlord, Essex, Perry and a a handful of Foundry.      

 

 Hi all, well, the blog has broken the 200,000 views stage, which is pretty amazing. Yesterday I continued my casual purchasing of 80s RPG stuff, with another Holmes blue book Basic D&D manual: Yes, yes... I know I bought one last week, but this is where the 'proper' gaming began for me, as until then I'd been playing the 'D&D Lite' rules which came in the 4 Heritage mini games. Bagging my first copy from Hopkinsons in Sheffield for £3.99 - a princely sum in 1982, I can tell you set me on a course of wasting the rest of my life, but having a little fun along the way.   Then, having purchaed Gamma World 2nd ed on Sunday evening whilst watching 'Porkys II' (don't judge me, it's funny, un-PC and besides I don't really give a damn what you think of my taste in 80s films), yesterday I managed to get hold of a set of unused Gamma World character sheets. I loved that cover for the characterful portraits and as I refused as a 16 year old to shell...

As I walked my 5 Scotties this morning, I got to remembering a mid 80s Sheffield Triples, and sniggering over Lloyd Powell getting doused with a realistic looking battery powered water pistol complete with sound effects, by Pete 'Greblord' Armstrong, who worked in the Sheffield GW, and who had seen the potential in the short run sale of said water pistols in the store (this was pre corporate days). He got Lloyd mid-announcement over the P.A and it was broadcast across the main hall. 'Eyup Stretch..' 'What you doing' 'No!' *RATTATTATTATTATTATTATTA* 'UGH!' Much mirth, and a sorely missed role model for my generation. And he hated being called 'Stretch'

 I have to be somewhat brief as I have 3 weeks until I close for Christmas and there's lots to be done. This week I bagged a few bargains including Holmes Basic D&D, Keep On The Borderlands, 2 uncut sets of Dungeon Floorpans and then last night a 1983 set of Gamma World on a whim. I spent yesterday getting the texture and base coats on the bases of the final third of my 28mm New Model Army after sticking it all down on Saturday (a change from packing kick-starters and pulling up carpets, I can tell you). I'll hopefully get the static grass, dry brush and foliage sorted this coming weekend, and at a push, the pike and flags. I am particularly pleased with the unit of horse, scattering a flock of sheep, which came from the painter misplacing a rider and me being too tight to pay the shipping for a single rider figure, but having a few sheep on hand... Friday was trying when I was sent images of the Montrose Army I commissioned (different painter to the NMA) only to find that ...

I've had a hellish weekend, with Saturday spent booking postage for Kickstarters for 9 hours at a computer, followed by the first half of today removing carpet grip rods ahead of new carpets here, on Monday. So, not having the will to begin basing 200+ ECW, I had 3 and a half hours finishing the test pice for my 15mm sci-fi armour and painting the first 20 Citadel 15mm Traveller figures - 20 down, 420 to go.   TTFN

 I was reading a rather hefty tome today and under discussion was post-modernism, with a mention of the mass production of original artwork by the likes of Warhol. This got me thinking that roleplaying is arguably the most post-modernist expression of creativity possible, but moreover it got me thinking of how we approach our chosen gaming system from the point of view of authenticity. OK, let me try and explain... Over the last 40 years, I've seen many games played and some terrible confrontation between players who argue that unless you play it to the letter, in the way the creator intended it, you are not actually playing that game. However, I cannot think of a game whereby the creators have insisted that you don't adapt their rules as you need them, quite the contrary in fact and so arguably none of us are in fact playing in the same world, thereby each of us creates a unique 'original work', defying the concept of absolutism in a rule set. We each imagine the world...

Well, the big news (pun intended) is that my latest Kickstarter launched on Monday. This time the theme is Giants in the style of the old C Series, but with even more variety due to the fact that many of them have split torsos as well as separate heads and weapons, so that you could theoretically build over 1000 variations of giant. I have really limited the number os available sets on this particular campaign, so the backers need to be on the ball this time. Anyway, here's the link: http://kck.st/3mLxbq0 Yesterday I took delivery of another 6KG of 15mm sic-fi vehicles, and today I expect the first 230 ex-Citadel 'Traveller' figures to be delivered from RAFM. I've also been quietly making purchases here and there and I've managed to bag the Games Workshop 'Dungeon Planner' set 'Nightmare In Blackmarsh' as well as the TSR 'Dungeon Geomorphs' book which I am unlikely to use but which will add some old school 'pizazz' to my BECMI D&D...