Hi all, I was reflecting yesterday, how the purchase of a £2.95 set or rules in 1984 for the Vietnam War, led to where I am now, with a burgeoning collection built up in just 10 days of serious application. I suffered a minor setback when 4 plastic Hueys I purchased got beaten up by those Royal Mail V.C sympathisers. So, that led to me deciding to go with diecast helos where possible and a frantic search worldwide for the UH-1B released with a magazine in 'Slick' and 'Hog' editions, sporting the insignia of the 1st Cavalry Division. I did pretty well with 12 of the former and 2 of the latter. With the addition of 3 OH-6 Cayuse, that will give me 2 Pink Teams, the HQ Loach and 3 slightly under strength lift platoons which will give me enough lift capacity for an entire Company of infantry in one go. I'm now mulling over just how many M113s I'll need... Ho hum!

 We awoke this morning, and decided against a foray to Fiasco. Instead I spent the morning sorting out sveral hundred figures and adding one hell of a centrepiece to the burgeoning 20mm Vietnam collection in the form of Firebase Houlihan: This monster measures just shy of 90x60cm and is sure to be a regular attraction to Charlie. It was a hefty purchase which I would not have made, but for the fact it's a one-off and rather stunning altyernative to just burning down the local 'ville'. TTFN

 Well, in the end we're off to Fiasco this Sunday, so I've made a shopping list of goodies I think I need.  It's a larger list than I thought I'd need and some of the highlights are: Starships - lots of them. 20mm Vietnam stuff - more helicopters, a load of M113s and trucks and a few huts. Fantasy - Whatever catches my eye. I know that Fiasco is maybe not the place I'd expect to find some of those BUT, I have been blind-sided before at this show and whilst it is a dark and gloomy venue, it may yet yield some surprise goodies. I also have to unpack 3 bloody large boxes of Vietnam stuff which arrived on Wednesday morning, with a herniated postman. The hunchbacked, swearing and sweating postie, is alway the sign of great things to come and this will be no exception. I opened a couple of items and it's all looking good, but let me tell you, it was heavier than even I expected. As I said, the weekend is going to be full. We have an Autumn tasting menu to partake of a

 Continuing with the concept of going right back to my gaming roots to rediscover my hobby, and being aware that the cut off date of 31st October is nigh (see my last post), I made the decision to go 'up country' again, but to do so in an organised way which, true to my mantra, avoids years of painting. As many of you will know, I was gaming the Vietnam War way back before it was ever 'a thing', trekking all over the place to get my collection together, which back then, could fit in a medium fishing tackle box. For my Platoon 20 fix, I was going up to Games Of Liverpool at the tender age of 15, when Liverpool was a bloody dangerous city to navigate. It was Sheffield - Manchester - Liverpool by National Express coach, which was a great way to see some stunning scenery as you climbed over the Pennines, watching the architecture of the industrial North of England change as you passed through the smoky towns and cities along the route.         Sheffield Bus & Coach Stat

 Well, 'Winter Quarters' is 11 days away. As of 31st of October every year, I pretty much stop spending on figures and gaming, and stay in Winter Quarters until Vapnartak at York. This gives me time to look at what I've acquired over the year, integrate it all into the 'Grand Plan' and to look at what I want to do with the next season's gaming. I've done this for around 20 years now and it works well. Over the Winter I like to spend time in galleries, museums and restaurants rather than at shows, with the exception of Recon, which has a lovely festive feel and a general sense of wellbeing, in the style of the shows I loved as a kid. I've been mulling the other things I loved playing back in the day, before gaming became a big fashion parade. I played a lot of starship combat as a kid and built a rather large collection of models, painted in an array of colours, a collection I regret moving on at Triples 84. So, I've made a pocket money purchase of a

I had spent Saturday as you know, working on the addition of flags to the current batch of fantasy stuff which had been completed, as well as adding a dozen or so to units I already had, but which needed their own identities. On Saturday morning the postie delivered what I think of as a key part of my Forces Of Evil, in the form of the Sorcerer On Litter. On Sunday morning at 10AM, I sat at my desk, and at 4PM I stood up and went downstairs with the model fully painted and based to a pleasing old school standard: Six hours, start to finish is pretty impressive, if I say so myself, as this is not an easy piece to work on.  I used undercoats in both black and white to get the requisite contrasts.  The Sorcerer himself ( Vendar Crookback ) was white undercoated to allow me to get a frail, sickly look to his skin. I decided to not make him elderly but rather as is if he was a young man who has dabbled in too much of the wrong kind of deviant magic. For the litter I worked on black and used

 I've been busy today, cutting out and fixing flags to poles and thence to the units they belong to. It's all fantasy stuff of course, and the real fun has just been buying not only fantasy themed banners, but mixing up different eras of history get a cracking looking human force which is not for any given 'period' thereby cocking a snook to reality at every opprortunity. It's been great... I took all of the completed stuff out to the games room today and decided that what I am really in need of, is some more storage space. The 200+ cubic feet under the tables, you say? Nope, it's packed solid with terrain, so the box industry is going to make a massive profit this year ;) The Good vs Evil project has hit the halfway mark with about 75% of the Good and 25% of the Evil forces completed totalling about 2000 pieces so far. I'm hoping that in the next few weeks, the 'Good' part will be 100 % comple. Here are a few pics, snapped quickly this lunchtime:

 Newark was great fun. We only stayed for 4 hours, but we met up with a lot of 'known offenders' of long standing acquaintance who we had some fun chats with, which was great fun. Games were planned, ideas swapped and I think a good time had by all involved. The memsahib went on a spree but I was more circumspect in my shopping which came out at 1 set of rules, 1 pot of paint and 8 banners for my Dwarven brigades. I did notice a small twinge of attraction to a couple of historical periods, but a punch to the groin cured me on the spot. I was even able to give out a haughty 'PFFFT!' at two sets of Vietnam War figures and stare impassively at a display game.  I confess however, that I did fawn and mewl somewhat at the superb Operation Resolute, Cold War 20mm game which in my humble opinion should have taken the best display game trophy, hands down. The display games were good overall, but some were looking a bit 'samey', but who goes to shows to just look at games

 Well, this morning we are off to Partizan at Newark for some R&R. After all, what could be better after a week at the coal face of wargaming than to get a wargaming fix to help me relax as the televangelist types say. I was pressing my ensemble just now (a cheeky mix of fabrics and textures in autumnal shades) and I said to the memsahib 'Did anything prepare you for 35 years of attending wargames shows?' knowing the answer, but loving the fact that the woman I love has been my constant companion for 35 years of my show attendances. In fact she is the only reason I would ever give up wargaming. Kayte is probably one of the longest serving ladies in the hobby and I can only think of maybe two others who have been actively involved in the hobby for so long. I am a lucky man. Last night things got a little sticky here at the Dark Tower when after watching one rollicking episode of Tour Of Duty, the memsahib had to stage an intervention to prevent me shopping for 'Nam figur

 Well, I am well over the half way point now with Operation Weird Shit, AKA 'The Big Fantasy Project' and I am really pleased with how things are going. This week, my painter has delivered the Centaur herds, Dwarves Of The Twin Peaks and the Halflings of the Shire Brigade. I've got my Hinchcliffe Gargoyles finished this morning and now everything is drying off after the two standard varnish layers, and thence downstairs to the Memsahib's basing department. Here are a few quick pics: The Dwarves comprise 7 regiments, of foot including 2 units of archers, 2 of plate armoured warriors and three units of warriors with light armour and spears. These will be reinforced with 6 units of cavalry. The Shire Brigade comprises one unit of mounted Shire Marshals, 3 units of 'regular' archers, one of regular polearms and a unit of irregulars composed of the youths of the Shire who feel they have something to prove - not as well turned out as the other elements, but their numb