It's Satur... 'Salute' Day!

 Well, I'm just a bit fucked off at present - thank you for asking. 

Having shelled out nearly £2000 with a well known manufacturer in February, and having cancelled the order 3 weeks ago, I still have not been refunded. 

Emails are not being replied to, so I am now having to resolve the matter through more 'official' channels, and have, this very morning begun the process of getting my money back with added costs and interest being applied.

Perhaps there may be a scene at a show today... Let's see how I feel after a second coffee and a shower.

It's rare that I get truly pissed off, but I know when I am being deliberately slow-timed, and thus, my patience has worn thin.

I love my hobby. I suppose that goes without saying, but really, I do, because it's been part of my life on a daily basis, since 1981.

Everything else has sort of fitted around this need to engage with a fictional world existence. I genuinely can't think of a time when gaming has not been there.

From waking to sleeping, and often in my dreams, games and figures are there for me. I know some will think that boring, but only if you are not fully engaged with the hobby. There's so much out there, and so little time on this mudball.

I have decided as you know if you read my ramblings regularly, that 2025 is to be my anno magno opere, as I finally call a halt to mutation of my collection and fix my eyes on the horizion, and finally settle down to a few varied and interesting things. Some, have been part of my life for the last 45 years, whilst some have been nagging seeds of wallet destruction and are finally being allowed a metaphorical 'controlled burn'.

It's April, and as I type, I am looking at a list, most of which has been ticked as complete, and others which, I will be shopping for today and in the next month as I hit various shows.

The list looks something like this:

 

16th Century - Permanently off-limits 

25mm old school fantasy - All finished or paid for and waiting for the painter to deliver

25mm ECW - Done apart from the baggage train

1/300 sci-fi using Dirtside rules and GZG models - I'm painting these and still need to sort the order out.

Battletech: Alpha Strike  - I Bought a LOT just yesterday, to be painted by myself.

1/1200 ACW naval - Figures waiting my attention with the paint pots

1/1200 European ironclads - Figures to be ordered. I'll paint them

1/1200 Renaissance naval - Figures waiting my attention with the paint pots

28mm Prussian FPW -Figures ordered and painter retained

28mm French FPW - Figures to be ordered, but painter already retained

28mm FPW era British -Figures ordered and painter retained

Cold War - Scale to be decided, but rules will be the Combined Arms set by GDW, which I have played since 1990 at various intervals.

Beyond that, I am seriously thinking about any other periods being done using the excellent WoFun plexiglass miniatures, which look great (trust me) and are easy to store. I always liked the Steve Jackson Games and Standard Games cardboard 'flats', and having seen the WoFun stuff in person, I am equally taken with the ranges offered.

 

After all, with the best will in the world, there's simply not enough time left to get thiousands of models painted, and at the end of the day, it's all about the game, unless you judge your hobby by the amount of figures you own.

 

 Prime contenders are the 1066 campaign and Anglo-Scots Wars, at present, as well as Ancients. The WoFun ranges I believe, are perfect for those periods which you would like to play, but just don't feel the urge to have a load of metal piling up in the hobby waiting room. Better surely to have playable and attractive armies on hand, and of course, you can always decide that you want traditional models instead, if you find you're getting a lot of pleasure from the plexi-warriors.

Yesterday, whilst browsing the various pages and groups, I dropped on a load of 1/300 sci-fi terrain from the long lost and much missed Snapdragon Studios, all nicely painted, so although I was not really on the hunt for this kind of thing yet, I bought them:

They will do very nicely for Alpha Strike and Dirtside.

 

Well, I have a long day ahead of me, so I better go and get a shower and some plush duds on my carcass...

TTFN