Now, we all know that I am seriously old scholl in every way, but I have, I confess dabbled with 3D printed models. The Memsahib has invested quite heavily in commercial 3D resin prints, and of corse, several of my clients have sent printed stuff to be painted. But, I fear that they are throwing money away in the medium to long term. I've noticed, as I've prowled around the various parts of the manse which is Fackham Hall and the Dark Tower, that securely stored 3D printed models are drooping and just plain snapping at normal room temperatures. And this is why I think that we will see a hobby kickback in the future as people invest time and money, only to see their models break and collapse. Now, I've seen this happen with various different models from different suppliers, and I'm convinced that it's a big enough risk for me to state clearly for the record that unless materials greatly improve, I'll not use 3D prints in my armies. Even the best resin I have see...

 Christmas is fast approaching and I have just 12 working days left until I put away my brushes for a month. And, it cannot come too soon a I am somewhat burned out this year, with what has been one of my most technically demanding year in the almost decade and a half I've painted full time. That said, I've done some seriously nice work for some awfully nice clients, so it's been worth it. My Christmas shopping is all done, and I've got several bookings in place with restaurants across Yorkshire & Derbyshire, as well of course, as tickets for Kate Rusby and Geddy Lee.  I'm starting to set up for the first of the Christmas games, of which there will be not the usual one, but three this year.  Roll on the festivities! Speaking of Geddy Lee, I've finished the book in both printed and audio format. It's an amazing read and very candid. The pictures in the book are a real joy and at the end of the audio edition there are two songs which were left off Mr Lee...

 The latest Satanic Panic Old School fantasy project has gone live... https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/satanicpanic/satanic-panic-miniatures-28mm-old-school-bugbears-and-more Check it out, especially the 'Freebie' Goblin Executioner, if we knock it out of the park.

 Having grown up in the shadow of the bomb, I have always had a taste for Cold War era (we called it 'Moderns', but apparently it's 'history' now) wargaming. I played a fair number of 1/300 games but in recent years I fancied using a larger scale. Instinct said 20mm was the way, but then of course there are the lovely Team Yankee 15mm ranges from Battlefront which have visual impact with a slightly smaller footprint than 20mm. The compressed groundscale in the rules is a bit of a shock to be sure, but I guess that if you were new to 'Modern' gaming, you'd just accept the fact that was the 'norm', so I guess I can refuse to let my inner grognard loose in a fit of rage. It is what it is and I shall put up with it. Now, I will admit that I had resisted an urge to buy a couple of forces for a while, but, when the announcement was made that the Nordic countries were to be released, I saw the S-Tanks and all bets were off... Now, I fully intend to pain...

       https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/satanicpanic/satanic-panic-miniatures-28mm-old-school-bugbears-and-more    

 Another week of painting and basing is behind me and, I'm looking forward to an easy weekend. I've had a few nights of seriously interrupted sleep patterns, so I'm not at my sparkling best, but I'm hoping to do a little reading and planning for the year ahead. As I mentioned previously, I'm looking at the WoFun plexiglass figures, to reduce the time between buying and playing. It's a brilliant way of approaching periods which I am more interested in gaming rather than owning miniatures for, if that makes sense? It's also great for those periods with lots of possible opponents, such as Ancients. When my wife was pregnant and couldn't sleep, we played some massive games pitching Ancient British versus Macedonians to WRG 6th edition. Now we are discussing doing it all again, but I really can't be bothered with 'real' figures, and so the WoFun option seems sensible. I also noticed the range of Maratha stuff, which is one of those subjects I alwa...

 I have hit a brick wall of sorts and it rather surprised me, in the way that a sparrow must experience when it collides with a pane of glass. I have found that certain periods that I have always loved, are now actually making me feel a little uncomfortable. I've been reading a lot of first hand accounts of the Vietnam War recently, for obvious reasons and it suddenly hit me that it really was a grubby affair with some terrible inhumanity running through it like the name of a seaside town through a stick of rock. The result is that I've become rather 'turned off'  of the idea of gaming it again. I don't in all honesty think it's something I want to indulge in anymore.  Ho hum... On a brighter note, I have just ticked off my last 'bucket list' gig, by getting tickets to see Jethro Tull next year on their 7 Decades tour. I confess, I'd missed this originally, but a call here, a promise there, and tickets have been secured. The set list looks pretty goo...

    I will be the first in line to claim that I somewhat mercurial in my gaming tastes. Nevertheless down the years there have been several periods which have really stuck in my head, and indeed several board or roleplaying games which likewise, have remained constants for me over almost four and a half decades. In some cases, it's been the subject itself, but more often than not it's been the games I played with people I really cared about or enjoyed spending time with. As I have said previously, my lifelong love of Renaissance wargaming has dried up because of the fact that someone (and there are few) I respected and thought of as being as close as a brother has decided for his own reasons that we are no longer compatible. That was what made me realise that the driving factor can be the people, not always the system or subject  which makes me love a certain type of game. I'm an introspective type by nature, and I have recently been delving once again into the things whi...

 My weekend has been somewhat painful as I seem to have screwed up my rotator cuff in the painting arm which is pretty bad news and a lot more painful as I need to keep using the arm to earn my crust. Last night saw me dosed up on three types of painkiller and capsaicin ointment, to no avail. I am a little more comfortable today but I need to keep on top of it until next Friday night as it's my hardest week in the working month, working on some seriously high end brushwork which will see the completion of a two year fantasy project for a highly respected member of the gaming fraternity over in the U.S. I've been taking it easier this afternoon having put in some serious hours yesterday and this morning on the extra-curricular stuff I mentioned in my previous post. The date of the Christmas game was announced yesterday and the response has been brilliant. Getting around a table with some of my oldest friends is something I always enjoy and I'm sure the banter will be pretty ...

 Hi all, Well, my work is giving me a little less time for other things as I gear up for my month long, Christmas break in December. That said, I've managed to find all but three of the required 15 helicopters for my Vietnam project and have taken delivery of the firebase, despite Parcel Force leaving it undelivered on their van for 3 days, resulting in a few stern and indeed harsh words being had. I also ordered 15 assorted M113s from Britannia Miniatures this week. I had originally ordered some 3D printed versions, but the chap had a fair number of negative comments regarding shipping damage and print quality, so I reverted to type and went for the traditional metal and resin combination, which cost a little less, to boot. After the stunning Autum Bistro Evening at The Bothy out at Wentwork, we booked once again for the Christmas Bistro Evening, which has a really nice range of dishes on offer:   My personal choices will be either the crab or beef cheek (so hard to decide, a...