A Week Of Many Interesting And Positive Happenings

 Over the last week, I have found myself walking out to the games room to simply stand and look at the Hinchcliffe ECW collection which I purchased from Robbie Rodiss at the weekend.

Today, I think I'm going to go out and formally deploy the two armies for no other reason than I want to  see them arrayed for battle.

I also got the final piece for my Citadel Giant - YAY! 

I'm really settled - at last - with where the last phase of my life in gaming is going, and like the proverbial dog to vomit, I'm comfortably ensconing myself in the fantasy and pike and shot arenas, in essence going back to where I began, only in a bigger way than I ever could as a kid.

It feels like I've come home, and finally, I've decided to stay here. It's comfortable.

The ECW, just needs some baggage wagons and a few little cosmetic flourishes such as camp followers, tents and the like.

I'm just rounding out the composition and acquisition for a Great Italian Wars set up. I'm planning on using the TAG range, based around Papal, Florentine, Condottas and a good slew of Swiss and Landsknechts. It's a good starting point, but, in line with the rules I set for myself, this is the last 'Big Numbers' purchase. Beyond this, it will be a case of a unit here, or a unit there as the mood takes me.

I'd started out reverting to my teenage ways and working from 'army lists', but then as Roger offered his pithy (but accurate) commentary and criticism, I decided to buy a good chunk of thematic units - after all I'm not planning to refight a specific battle, but rather just play games 'with a period flavour' - and then tag on other units which increase the metaphorical umami of the period.

I'm in a really positive place about where my hobby is right now.

This week, I divested myself of Satanic Panic Miniatures. I washed my face on it and it's been fun adding some lovely models to the world of wargaming, but as I work in the industry Monday to Friday - and work damned hard, let me tell you - having a miniature company as a hobby, just doesn't align with having weekends with my wife and at shows. I love to go to restaurants, and relax away from my desk. 

Kayte and I have been spending weekends packing and mailing figures following about 8 successful Kickstarters for two long. We ploughed everything back in and so, when we stopped and looked around, we decided that either we would have to start taking back from the business or walk away and live a normal middle aged life for a couple of years. - yeah, right.

It was not easy to decide and Kayte put it through her loss and gain system. It still balanced out. So I looked at it another way and decided that effectively working 7 days per week wasn't where I am right now.

The ranges sold in one lot, in a matter of hours of being advertised and are going to a good home.

We've decided that we'll focus on our domestic aims for 2-3 years and then, we plan to return to Satanic Panic Miniatures start from the ground up as we edge towards retirement. The plan will be to self-fun a range every 6 weeks using what we have learned during the last few years and hopefully returning to the team who have made the mad ideas I have come up with into physical miniatures.

I'm still waking up at 4AM wondering if I did the right thing, but that's that and my system will settle out in a couple of weeks. It was the right thing to do, but it's left me with that feeling you get when you go to bed and wonder if one of the four dogs is actually under the bed, or still outside in the garden. 

I'm listening as I type, to the Yarkshire Gamer Podcast with TAG's Pete Brown as a guest and it's taking me back 40 years and change, with tales of Tabletop Games and Games of Liverpool... Ahhhhh, it's like a relaxing massage after a long bath, following a good hard fuck.

My own travels all over the country in my youth are flooding back to me, so I think I may have to recount some of those trips in coming posts.


Watch this space.


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