I've always had a 'thing' about the fluorescent starships of the 70s and early 80s, and of course I'm a big fan of the artwork of Chris Foss. For the last month or so, I've been spending a few hours each weekend, working through 30 old Citadel starships, with the aim of having some retro fun, with nobody to please biut myself. I wanted to capture 'feel' and 'memory' rather than just produce sharply detailed, sterile models, and I'm pleased to say that I think I've done that and moreover I've enjoyed the proces. Well, this morning I've finished the last 8 modelsof the 30. I'm now waiting for a load of old Q.T Models large vessels to provide the heavy hitters for the fleet. Hopefully the postman will oblige this week.

 Well, I  am having a right old time in dealing with Tiny Wargames after ordering a bespoke mat and shelling out £87 a month and a half ago. I'd ordered a mat printed on lino, because, you know me, I like stuff that is durable and heavy duty. What dropped through my door a month later was an A4 mailing bag with a rather flimsy cloth in it, which was not what I ordered or indeed paid for, including £15 postage! Well the offered to get it printed or issue a refund, and I selected a refund. Eventually, they have refunded £72 and decided not to refund the £15 for the shipping, despite sending the wrong item and charging me significantly more for doing so. It's been a hassle all the way, and I've crossed the Rubicon of patience now, since they decided to block my email address. To cap it off they sent some 'after the fact' email notifications stating that I had changed my mind, and that they had produced the correct mat and I had refused it. Unfortunately, I keep emails ...

  It occurs to me that Warlord Games have lost the plot when it comes to pricing on plastics.   They are asking £22.50 for 20 plastics, which is frankly ridiculous and is exactly what GW (no surprises then, given the people behind it) did after they convinced us that plastic was the future.   But that price gives you no encouragement to buy them. The saving is nominal against metal, there's a lot of building before you can get started on painting, and in many cases the re-issued Wargames Factory figures just suck when compared to other companies.   What's more, from where I stand, you are creating a lot more waste with plastic sets, as the amount of crap you have left over is amazing.   I am also at a loss to work out where all the second hand armies are these days...   You've always been able to pretty much find anything you wanted on the second hand market, and there have always been armies out there, ripe for the picking.   The few shows which still...

      I know I am not the first person to make this observation, but these days, ‘armies’ have become factions in historical gaming parlance, and it rather gets my goat up. And the word army, means the few painted figures you can pretend have some real life connection to one another, deployed on a table that can be mistaken for a place mat. A gang is a faction, a clan or political creed can be factions, but please, armies represent nation sized conglomerations of troops. WW2 German Factions? Swiss Factions, Napoleonic French factions? GET OUT! It’s almost as bad as calling 30 figures and a tank an ‘army’ no, no no… By all means call it a platoon, a battlegroup or detachment if you like, but it’s not an army. And to be honest if you are playing this kind of sized game you are not getting the full sense of the period you are depicting. The rise of the faction type of game is a vile thing indeed. You are being encouraged to buy 30 figures at a premium, and probably a ‘specia...

 Well, I am still astounded at how gaming things pan out and evolve from a point of synchronicity. You see, 3 years ago, I saw a 54mm Arnhem themed collection for sale, but, as we didn't have the gaming room at the time, I didn't purchase it, much to chagrin and incredulity of Roger, who like me, is one for 'grand gesture' wargaming or as those in the cheap seats say 'going large brav'. I confess, I was a little miffed myself, but I moved on and then last week, I began listening to the Yarkshire Gamer's podcast, wherein that very collection, which began as a display game by John Landers and then moved to the custodianship of Dr Chris Brown (both of whom appeared in separate episodes)  was discussed in depth. Roger had recently reminded me about the collection too, which I'd forgotten... *cue spooky music* And then, yesterday, as if out of nowhere, I got a notification on social media, and had to do a double take - the collection was available again. Well...

Pete ‘Greblord’ Armstrong was a founder member of Sheffield Wargames Society and the Sheffield Runelords. More notably he was a GW figure painter before they officially had any, and wrote the painting guide which appeared in the Citadel catalogue and which still to this day appears in some RAFM boxed sets. He was at the cutting edge in the very early 80s, using materials and mediums that were supposed to be unusable for mini painting and in some ways which even around 2014 I was saying ‘No f*****g way!’ to. Many of my peer group pestered Pete for tips, and suffered terribly from his caustic wit as a result, but I think we all wear those scars with pride, almost 40 years later. Pete passed away far to early, and the last few years have been a little less 'fun' as a result. So, I thought you might like to see some of his works. There are a couple of more modern pieces, but I include them because you get an idea of what a maverick he could be....      

 It is often said 'Go Big Or Go Home'... The look of a 28m army en masse, is something to behold. There's no question about it, but all too often you see games with massive units crammed into a space where there are claims of a groundscale, totally out of sync with the frontage of these units. Play is sluggish and manoeuvres almost impossible, and the feel of a period can be lost. Now, I love 28mm, and I now have a table which is much larger than that used for the average 'club' game, but I've recently been having a bit of a back and forth (all in good will you understand) with Roger, about what scale to play Renaissance battles in. Gut reaction for both of us was of course, 28mm, and I was looking at Connoisseur castings as they are for me the epitome of the period models available when I first found out about the fun to be had with pike and shot. But then again, we both had - have - a fondness for the Mike's Models 15mm ranges, bordering on religious fervo...

 My health is not what it was a mere 10 months ago. My neck, shoulder wrists and abdomen are in constant pain of a type I put on par with the worst toothache, 24/7 and no pain killer seems to help. My G.P monitors myblood pressure and has done great work with severe swelling in my left leg, but the rest is still out there. I am not in a happy place, a lot of the time. But, I go to work and do my job all the same, and despite feeling a lot older than my 53 years, I continue to plan and build armies, which take my mind from my woes. I was having a chat with another 'face' in the industry this last weekend, and we both agreed and remarked on the misconception that because your work and your hobby are pretty much the same thing, you should not get tired of doing it, and that the misconception was exactly that. We also laughed at the idea that the stuff we do for ourselves should be the same high standard as that work we undertake for clients. Nay, nay... After 50 hours screwing up ...

 Well, it was a beautiful morning as we made our way to Newark for our first show in over 18 months yesterday, and the crowds were out in force. The footfall was as impressive as ever, the mood bouyant and from what I saw, trade brisk. As usual, the standard of display games was quite high, with a definite trend towards WW2 and later 19th Century topics. I kept my wallet on a chain, for the most part, spending a total of £80 including entrance and drinks, coming away with some nice stuff: The Memsahib, spent £95 (after her 'charm discount'): All in all a great day, with a good chat with Shaun McCloughlin and David H, a brief chat with Tim Gow, marred only by curmudgeonly grumbling and 'mucky looks' by someone I have always respected. But hey, into every sunny convention hall a little grey cloud of misery must pass and my sparkling company was given over to others, so no harm was done. All in all it was a great return to shows and so refreshing to chat with friends, face...