There comes a time in a man's life when he has to accept the inevitability of the human condition, and that Ottoman Turkish army becomes an ever increasing blip on the radar of existence. And so it came to pass that this week, I acquired a 28mm army of same, mostly comprising of Hinchcliffe castings, as is only right and proper in the eyes of the almighty. Now, I wanted to also use this for fantasy, so I decided to also do a downgrade of the shot, to bows and crossbows, so I had to head over to eBay to sort that out and did so admirably. Some minor daubing and a base job and they will do very nicely: A few more eBay purchases added Vlachs, Feudal Spahis and a really nice unit of Spahis of the Porte: And then, I turned my eyes towards making it do double duty as a fantasy 'Men Of The East' army, and I bagged a rather lovely looking unit of totally outrageous infantry, replete with all the cliches one would expect: My thanks to Dave Wood of the Dear Tony Blair blog for ident

 There was a time when The Army Painter, seemed to be a seriously good product line. Now, I never went with the whole dipping thing. I'd seen the whole coloured varnish thing in the mid 80s when Military Miniatures used it on their painted armies, and it look then as it does now, lazy and dirty. But AP had some really interesting inks in their tones and shaders ranges, which really enhanced models with ultra-fine details.  About 18 months ago, I noticed that the both of these product lines were starting to dry with a high sheen and a rubber-like consistency, I'd never seen before. I put this down to a bad batch, but it's continued. Now, it's like applying a sugar syrup with a hint of colour, and that colour is far less intense than it used to be.  Often, what used to be achieved with a single coat, requires two, taking away the benefit of using such a product, and the shiny, rubbery finish needs a matte varnish to give a surface suitable for additional coats of paint. 

 Well, th3e Memsahib has been busy again, and has now completed all of the 'Grim Northern' Grand Manner buildings... Stables and sty Bastle House So now, she just has about 30 feet of dry stone walling and about 30 more buildings to go... TTFN

 It's been a tough week, all things considered. On Sunday, my Western gunfight set-up arrived, but was tempered by news that one of my oldest clients is terminally ill. Beyond the fact that I had to arrange bringing new clients on board, the news hit me rather hard at a personal level as we've become friends over more than a decade. Added to this, Facebook reminded me that it's six years since we had a get together to mark the passing of the late, great Peter 'Greblord' Armstrong, who was a seminal figure in my evolution as a painter. It has me in something of a deep funk and Tuesday saw me finishing up work for the day and then asking my wife to hug me as I cried it out of my system. No shame in that. Anyway, I have just finished 'Game Wizards' which is a superb academic look at the rise and fall of TSR, but given my mood it was even more poignant as I lived through those times and vividly recall the gossip in the press and the sensationalism of the Dallas

  I want to give a shout out to terrain mats for games, who make the nicest commercially available 'teddy fur' mats on the market, and who 'deliver the goods' in every way.   So far I have the European and Steppe mats, and today I have ordered the Africa mat .   All mine, have been made at 15x5 feet and roll/fold away in seconds to next to nothing, especially  compared to terrain boards.       Peter is really helpful and you can order with confidence from him. I rarely endorse anything, but when I do, it's because of the quality of the goods and service.   https://www.facebook.com/terepszonyegek   "EUROPE" https://www.facebook.com/terepszony.../posts/131824272335503 "ASIA" https://www.facebook.com/terepszony.../posts/131829299001667 "AFRICA" https://www.facebook.com/terepszony.../posts/131824949002102 "SUMMER FIELD" https://www.facebook.com/terepszony.../posts/165651435619453 "KALAHARI" https://www.facebook.com/terep

 Well, so much for an Easter break, as I've been doing overtime for an old friend and client. But I'd only have crawled up to the studio anyway, so at least I am serving a nobler and higher purpose for my pains. About 18 or 19 years ago,  when I was in the late Spring of life, I began bleating on that I'd really like to build a small Western town (no, not Burnley, the Wild West... Han g on, that could indeed be Burnley)~ This morning saw me acquire a complete Wild West set-up. I was fortunate enough, to be able to purchase Dave Docherty's 'Serenity Flatts' set-up, which is a lovely 'all you need' collection in 28mm and I'm sure that it will offer hours of play and endless scenario ideas.   I'm really, really looking forward to running some multi-player games, including some 70s 'cop show' scenarios and Lovecraftian horror alongside 'proper' Western games. I dare say a Delorean may also make an appearance...   I'm also looki

 I've been cracking on with building ad-hoc fantasy units this week with a few nice purchases. All told, I can cobble together Two units of knights, led by the king and the prince of the small Western kingdom of Soddem, two units of the local Nobs and their Seargeants, and the famed Bishop of Buggerall with his flock of stout yeomen. The mix of armour matters not a jot, because they are destined for fantasy gaming. I also picked up some VERY nive knights which have the look of Gary Chalk's artwork about them: These will form two small mercenary units... Yesterday, my second Nick Bibby Asgard Dragon arrived, so I now have two to get built and painted - YAY! (I think). Sunday I am going to paint a few ECW command figures, and then Monday will be spent wiyth my nose in 'Game Wizards' which I have been dying to read, as I'm very interested in the origins of the hobby. Just announced is the biography of Geddy Lee.    Not sure whether I want to read this yet as it could b

Don't    I first attended the Sheffield 'Triples' show in I think 1982, and what a show it was. It could fill the Royal Victoria Hotel, a massive Victorian railway hotel, and was rammed to the rafters for two days with traders and attendees. It had a great painting competition (where, in 1984 I won the first of over 20 competitions, when such things were important to me personally) and a bring an buy which was always packed with good quality stuff for all tastes. There was a buzz that I only ever saw matched at Salute or Northern Militaire and a vibrant 'after show' culture of pub and curry crawls, quizzes and debauchery which, set many a teenage lad on the right track in life. Over the years the show went from strength to strength, finally having to move to a new venue at the EIS in the Don Valley after the loved and loathed Octagon Centre underwent renovations.  The EIS was not as popular as a venue, but what killed 'Triples' was when, following probably