I was listening this morning to the latest Grognard Files podcast, and apropos of being asked by a listener about the games the presenters wished they'd played back in the door, they stated that they were limited by only having Games Workshop.   Well, that was a poor excuse, because with few exceptions, at the time they were claiming to be victims of this mono-store culture, Games Workshop stocked pretty much everything.   Here in Sheffield, we did admittedly have 5 sources of games, with Beatties being the best place for Grenadier box sets and Standard Games products, a few fun bits at HopkinksonsToys and for some early AD&D stuff that even GW could not get (because, if Iam being honest I think they had never known what the whole RPG thing was about) you went to Redgates, the emporium of childhood discernment which frankly pissed all over the branch of Hamleys which came, saw, destroyed and then vanished up it's own arse, taking it's London souveneirs...

 Well, the missing figures from my Afghanarmy arrived on Tuesday, and have now been added, making a considerable difference visualy to the massed horde:   Most noticeable, is the increase in the size of the regular army contingent...   Now, I am hoping the British opposition will be with me in 6-8 weeks (maybe sooner). The plan is to get these based over August as I'm taking my annual late summer 'month off' to get away from painting and recharge my batteries - hopefuly better than I did last summer. Work has frustratingly halted on the wargames room, for want of a window. It's soooo close, but until that window is manufactured, the rest of the cladding, fascias and sealing can't be done.     The carpet is on a holding pattern, the wooden shelving is in there, awaiting toys, and the tables are on order. It's all rather frustrating, but hey, it'll be worth the wait to be able to spend the winter in there, just pottering about, cooing at toys and scenery. And ...

 And so it came to pass that on Thursday morning, our new (and probably the most inept, ever) postman delivered a large box of 28mm Afghans from my painter. Yesterday afternoon, I actually got to sit down and unwrap several hundred models, basing them as I did so - well, sticking them to the bases - and boy but, did I manage it in 4 hours! The only snag was that I caame up short by 10 tribesmen, 30 regulars and 9 cavalry at the end of it. Now, I was not too worried, because I knew my trusted and efficient painter had painted those models - I'd seen the pics - but still, they had to be located. 12 hours later, they were discovered in a box having been stored safely, and so they will be sent to me on Monday - Hussah! Saturday was spent across in Doncaster, because I wanted to see the new Danum Gallery and Museum, which did not disappoint. It's not a 'large' gallery but it's surprisingly good, housing two Doncaster built steam locomotives, the Yorks & Lancs regimen...

 Sunday, I somewhat reluctantly retired to my studio to prep' work for the coming week, intending to be there for an hour. Six hours later, and dripping with sweat I descended to the house again, having got way too involved with cleaning up and sorting the big box  of Laserburn miniatures which I purchased from Alternative Armies, and which they delivered in great time. I had purchased the entire Imperial Assault Group listing from Forces Of The Imperium the army list supplement for Imperial Comander with a full complement of vehicles, and full strength attached platoons of Black Guard, power armour and dreadnought suits. For opposition I'd ordered the Late Dynastic era Redemptionist list from the main rulebook, a lethal mix of war trikes, power armour and troops. I just piled the Redemptionists up on my desk, but like the cat who sees a pink fluffy ball of wool and considers the play possibilities of same, I was curious to investigate how the Imperial force would look when la...

 A month ago, my new builder whoo; was giving me a quote for resurfacing and extending my yard and patio in Indian stone, told me that rather than wait 5 years and knock down my derelict old garage, I should consider having it demolished apart from the walls and the UPVC door that I'd had fitted 15 years ago, to at least make into a useful eyesore when we moved in. The neighbours next door complained that my garage was 'on their land, by 2 inches' and so I gave them a key and said that they should feel free to use it to store their crap in, whereby for the next 14 years it was actually used to store the contents of a builders tool shed. Two years ago, and after consulting both my deeds and locating the actual 1961 boundaries, I simply fenced off and bought my land, allowing next door 10cms of my own land width , magnanimously telling the wife (who was the protagonist) that this was the case, in the presence of a surveyor, and telling her that she should feel free to use it ...

 Yes, yes... I do go on about the 80s (sometimes the late 70s), but it's more than just a looking back through rose tinted glasses. Believe me when I say that some of the very worst moments of my life happened in that same time frame, so the rose tinted glass certainly has a few cracks in it. It's been a lifestyle choice and also an experiment for me. It goes back to a 'thing' I had in the 90s for trying to enhance my gaming experience through cultural immersion. I tend to work on armies as projects. When I have squeezed all I can fronm the project, it goes to a new home, with a few exceptions which have long term 'feels' for me. For instance, when I was researching the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, I was reading a lot of diarised accounts, which included such things as food, times of day and music. So I tried to get into the vibe, a breakfast of naan, tomatoes, onions and tea for instance, whilst watching the sun rise, can be quite inspiring. Now if you happ...

 It is by now a well known fact, which causes the more sensitive type of gamer to shake their head in disbelief, that not only do I not insist on my own figures being meticulously painted and shaded , but that I generally don't paint my own collection, because the last thing I wish to do at weekends is what I do all week. So, you may - and here I ask the more sensitive fellows to sit down - be shocked to hear that inbetween coats of paint on the day's work yesterday, I messed around with a Laserburn figure I have sitting on my desk.  I had decided that as part of my determined drive to remain all 80s and pure of heart, I would endeavour to paint the Laserburn project myself. I really want to get a proper old school feel, adn the one thing which you saw a lot of in the early days, was the use of metallic paints. Enamels were pretty good in this respect and you could get some vibrant finishes. Of course, post-Star Wars armour started being portrayed as white on sci-fi figures, b...

 I bang on a lot about the 1980s and just how great they were. Well, that's because they were. Look, to be frank, few kids I knew, were affected by Thatcherite politics for the worse, which I think is because most gamers came from reasonably secure family backgrounds. A bit of a sweeping generalisation perhaps, but not one of my friends was walking around with the arse hanging out of their trousers, looking malnourished - not one. I was scared shitless by the fact that Sheffield was number 47 for the Russian nuclear launches against the UK. By that I mean nuke 47 was the first of a few for the city, and there were more. Barry Hines' 'Threads' did not help, I can assure you. But, look, music was truly varied, there were so many youth sub-cultures that you could fit into a group but at the same time, each of them had a great variety of sartorial leeway. And then there were the games. OK, admittedly many were not slickly produced but they did have a real sense of being lov...

    I was just having a damn good mull/sulk to myself after my conscience (which is named Roger) talked me out of buying the Judge Dredd miniatures game. He was right of course, because let's face it, the only way to play Judge dredd is the boardgame or the RPG and to also use genuine Citadel figures, not the Johnny-Come-Lately Warlord stuff. So, I was trying to nail down where I want to go with my gaming, beause for the last 2 years its been all contemporary historical stuff which has found it's way into the Dark Tower, and I really, really, need to touch base with the 80s. Well that got me thinking about lists of things, but as I was also listening to some jolly good Human League tracks, I began to map my 80s as series of lists incorporating all sorts of things which got me from age 12 to here and now, making me the well balanced (yeah, yeah, back off Roger) individual I am. So here we go (and bear in mind that most of this is Sheffield-centric) Music: Human League - Empire ...

   It ocurred to me yesterday as I travelled to Doncaster with the memsahib (Roger claiming that to go there we must have been really bored, being the East Coast aesthete that he has somehow become) that wargaming has led to the learning of much sage wisdom, some of which I will now share. 1. If you are building an army for a competition, then do it in company.  I went through a spate of competition gaming with my old club, in my youth and I have to say that pouring over WRG Renaissance lists, trying to squeeze out every point was much better when you were slumped with a cuppa on a greay day, in your mate's bedroom, with Jethro Tull playing - even when that mate was critical of you - a rocker - liking Big Country. Conversation was not abundant, but when I needed an opinion, or just some assistance in working out whether those Polish hussars needed the kitchen sink at +1 point per figure, there it was. my E.C.A compadre, always ready with a response. 2. Don't hit people. ...