Painting - Hoplite Command for Mortal Gods

These are the final four models, for now, to allow Owyn and I to play Mortal gods.

Painting - Mortal Gods Hoplites - The red ones

This is the second unit of hoplites I painted up for Mortal Gods. This is the red unit; red tunics and red and white crests, which will be Owyn's Spartans until I can get his Victrix Spartans painted up.

Twelve hoplites, ready to fight for Sparta.

Painting - Mortal Gods Mercenary Hoplites - The white ones

This batch is 12 Warlord Games Hoplites (formerly Immortal miniatures I think), that I painted up for Owyn and I to play Mortal Gods from Footsore Miniatures. Owyn is currently studying ancient Greece and is fascinated by the Spartans and the mythology. We come from a family of historians, my parents are both published historians and history professors. The history bug has lain dormant in my boys up until this year. Rhys has become fascinated by WWII and now Owyn's new-found interest.

The astute among you may notice that there are 14 models below. The two command models were done separately and will be in another post.

Painting - Warrior and Wizard

This is a quick post with two models completed. They are not for any particular project but they were sitting around and looked like they would be quick to bang out. Both are Reaper Bones. I've painted another one of the sword guy before so now there are two.

Gaming - A Song of Ice and Fire

We've recently been playing quite a few games of Cool Mini or Not's A Song of Ice and Fire miniatures game. The rules are easy to understand and they make for a very fast game. There's not a ton of tactical depth, to my eyes, but Rhys gets the rules and likes the game, so that's what really matters.

The Traveller reading his cards.

Ragnar - Paladin of Rosmerta

This model is a Reaper Bones model that I bought in the store. He's a solid model with better detail than some of the others I have. The faces, in particular, often suffer in the bones material but this one is fine.

Ragnar, preparing to fight evil, or good, what ever, something.

Painting Progress - Bits and bobs and tokens

This latest batch of painted stuff is bits and pieces for a variety of purposes from a variety of manufacturers. They will mostly be used as treasure items in games like Rangers of Shadow Deep (RoSD) or for scatter and looks in D&D.

The Games that Define Us - Re-post

This is an old post of mine, from 2012, that I just re-read. It made me think, again, about the influences in my games as well as how Rhys has been influenced as he grows up with gaming.

The idea is to talk about ten games that define you as a gamer.  Some interesting things have come out of it.  More North American gamers seem to have gotten in through RPGs, whereas the UK gamers seem to have come into it through GW.

In my case, I definitely follow the trend, coming to GW late in my gaming life.  There are some on my list that I have not seen anywhere else.  Others seem to be on every list.

Painting Progress

This group of models is the last of 2019. They are the Abyssal Dwarf Slave Orcs from Mantic that I painted for my son's birthday. I still need to do the slave master and his ugly dog to finish the unit off, but his was eighteen orcs completed. The keen eyed among you will notice that there are not 18 orcs on the base. I saved off four to make the next unit that much faster.

14 Orcs, ready for the battlefield

Welcome to 2020

It's been awhile. I've spent the last two years finishing the basement. I've done a lot of the work myself and we paid as we went, so it took a long time. The drawback to this is that all of my miniatures have been in storage for the last two years. I've done a lot of gaming but it has all been board or RPGs. Not bad, but not the stuff for this blog.

The basement after framing and wiring are complete.

Memorial Day - 2019

8th Challenge - Entry 4 - BFG - Hundred Years War Bombard and crew (Zvezda and BTD)

This is a 20mm Bombard from Zvezda. I left off the small crew and added 28mm crew from some Hundred Years War artillery from Black Tree Design.

8th Challenge, Entry 3 - Dark Elf Dark Riders from GW

This entry is six Dark Elf dark riders from GW. These are the older metals, from just before the current plastics. I think I have another twelve of these, perhaps more.

8th Challenge, Entry 2 - Flight bonus round. Air Cavalry

This unit is six flying carpet riders. These are 28mm models from Black Tree Design. I have many historical armies, but I've always loved Fantasy as well. This year I'm adding fantasy elements to several of my historical armies. Ironically in this case, this is the first unit done for my arabs.

Top view to see the carpets.

2017 Year in Review

2017 is in the books. It was great for gaming, but not for miniature games. It was rubbish for painting, mainly because I played almost no miniature games. Work was rewarding but also completely overwhelming for the last half of the year. 

8th Challenge - Entry 1 - Dark Elf Reaper Bolt Thrower (GW)

This post is much later than my usual first entry. These models were supposed to be done day two of the Challenge. I hadn't used the Jade Green in awhile and squeezed a bit too hard to get it out, and got way too much. Since I hate to waste paint I then had to grab a couple more units of dark elves and use it on them. That means I have two more units nearing completion, but also that these took longer than planned.

A Reaper bolt thrower from GW.

VIII annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge

The Snow Lord, Curt Campbell, has risen in the North and declared the VIII (or Ate-th) annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge. I will again be participating, though at a lower level than in years past. This is due to both increased work commitments and to the prospect of working on finishing the basement during the same time period.

This year allows terrain for the first time. It is also themed around monsters and such. I believe I have what I need on hand, but some quick planning and ordering may be in order.

Memorial Day II - Oliver Wendell Holmes

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

"In Our Youth Our Hearts Were Touched With Fire" 

[An address delivered for Memorial Day, May 30, 1884, at Keene, NH, before John Sedgwick Post No. 4, Grand Army of the Republic.]

Not long ago I heard a young man ask why people still kept up Memorial Day, and it set me thinking of the answer. Not the answer that you and I should give to each other-not the expression of those feelings that, so long as you live, will make this day sacred to memories of love and grief and heroic youth--but an answer which should command the assent of those who do not share our memories, and in which we of the North and our brethren of the South could join in perfect accord.
So far as this last is concerned, to be sure, there is no trouble. The soldiers who were doing their best to kill one another felt less of personal hostility, I am very certain, than some who were not imperilled by their mutual endeavors. I have heard more than one of those who had been gallant and distinguished officers on the Confederate side say that they had had no such feeling. I know that I and those whom I knew best had not. We believed that it was most desirable that the North should win; we believed in the principle that the Union is indissoluable; we, or many of us at least, also believed that the conflict was inevitable, and that slavery had lasted long enough. But we equally believed that those who stood against us held just as sacred conviction that were the opposite of ours, and we respected them as every men with a heart must respect those who give all for their belief. The experience of battle soon taught its lesson even to those who came into the field more bitterly disposed. You could not stand up day after day in those indecisive contests where overwhelming victory was impossible because neither side would run as they ought when beaten, without getting at least something of the same brotherhood for the enemy that the north pole of a magnet has for the south--each working in an opposite sense to the other, but each unable to get along without the other. As it was then , it is now. The soldiers of the war need no explanations; they can join in commemorating a soldier's death with feelings not different in kind, whether he fell toward them or by their side.

Memorial Day

7th Challenge retrospective

Another Challenge is down in the books. For the first time I didn't make my goal. I just had too many other things vying for my attention this year. Still, it was a very productive Challenge and I'm happy with my progress.

The whole bunch, blurry but all there.

Final Post for the 7th Annual Analog Hobbies Painting Challenge

This is my last post for a week or so. The boys are on Spring Break and we are in sunny California, where it is not quite as nice as it is back in Colorado, oddly.

This post is all over the place as it's made up of stuff that I've been tinkering with since the challenge started.

More RPG models

This is a small entry. One full size figure and a cat.

28mm EIR Command stands

This entry is some long awaited command figures for my EIR army. There are two command stands, which will finally let me play with an all painted army. There are also four command models to slot into my cohorts. I mis-counted at some point and had too many legionaries and not enough commanders.

28mm Velites from Victrix

This entry makes me somewhat ashamed. I had them done two weeks ago but didn't get the basing grass done. I had them done last week but didn't get them photographed.  They are finally on the boards though.

6mm Sci/Fi Manufacturers

These are 6mm Sci/Fi manufacturers. Depending on what you are looking for you could also use 6mm historical models for some units, especially support stuff and artillery.

6mm Sci/Fi begins

These are the first models for the 6mm Sci-Fi project. I got some deals on eBay for some epic 40k models, but didn't care all that much for the rules. Rhys and I played a game the other day he liked it.

6mm Science Fiction

There was a post fairly recently on Delta Vector about his desire to develop rules to play Battletech in 6mm. That post has been percolating around in my brain for the last two months. I'm intrigued.

Old school metal mechs. Painted when I was 14.

One of the key pieces from the article is heat. This is one of the key factors of the old Battletech game. I used to love that game. I dove into the detail in the way that only a teenage boy can. I routinely fought company on company battles solo. That's record keeping for 24 mechs. I once played a game with two battalions fighting. That was 72 separate mechs worth of paperwork.

The very thought of that makes my brain blue screen now. It sounds like a night mare.  Still, I loved the game and I have the source books. On top of that, I need a game I can play with Rhys with mechs. There's no way I'm going back to the real rules, and even Alpha Strike is more record keeping than I want.

What to do? I could wait for Delta Vector to come up with his rules. I'm sure they'll be good since he's well versed in game design. On the other hand they won't be what I'm looking for, exactly.

I wrote my own. Two pages. Simple. No record keeping. They incorporate heat. I'll need to playtest with Rhys to see if he can understand them. They include rules for mechs, vehicles, infantry and flyers.

They use d20 to hit, a 20 is a crit and kills your target (head shot). Different classes use different size dice in an opposed roll against armor. Lights use d6 while Assaults use d12.

I think they will be pretty fast play and allow for the flavor of Battletech without the record keeping. There is a high level of abstraction since it's 6mm. I also have the old Battletech board game so we could easily use that for a campaign system.

As for 6mm, it has its attractions; not least of which is that it is cheap. I've picked up a bunch of Epic 40k Space Marine stuff on eBay for very little. There are some good manufacturers out there. The low cost also has the advantage of not meaning an arm and a leg in new terrain since that is just as cheap.

I'll get in a game with Rhys soon and see how the rules work. I'm sure some changes will be necessary.

Entry 9 - 7th Challenge - ECW Pike and Shotte regiment

This entry is another pike and shotte regiment for my small and really, really slowly growing ECW army. I've gotten one foot regiment done each year for the last three challenges, which means the next one will probably wait until next year. This is probably down to the fact that there's not much chance I'll be playing with this army any time soon.

This is the red regiment. They were going to be yellow, but I felt like painting red.

Entry 8 - 7th Challenge - A mix of models and some go backs.

This entry is an eclectic mix of models that have been getting bits of paint here and there and were close to finished. I like to keep spare models on the painting desk to soak up the bits of paint that are left after working on a unit. At a certain point they reach critical mass and I just finish them off.

The first entry does not count for today. It's the Celt unit from a week (2 weeks?) ago. I went back and finished the backs of the shields, since if I don't do it now it'll never happen.

Entry 7 - 7th Challenge - Eowyn, Maid of Rohan

This first entry is going to be solo because I don't think this princess deserves to be lumped in with the riff-raff that will be following.

Entry 6 - 7th Challenge - 11 28mm Uruk-Hai

My next entry is eleven Uruk-Hai from Games Workshop. I thought I had finished these off last year but then remembered that I hadn't painted the horizontal pikes because I hate them. On the other hand, we may be playing a Helm's Deep game and will need all of the nasty buggers we can field. I also picked a couple of captains up off of ebay, and they definitely needed paint.

EIR Command stand for Hail Ceasar - 28mm Warlord Games

This entry was completed right before the Challenge, though I'm just now remembering to get it posted up. This is a command stand for my Early Imperial Romans. The models are from Warlord Games.

The emperor and his praetorian guards.

Entry 5 - 7th Challenge - 32 28mm Celts

This entry was two weeks in the making. I started off strong but then had to go back to work and hobby time slowed to a crawl. These lads are another unit for my Celt army for Hail Caesar. As an aside, after the debacle of my last post I bought a tripod and a trigger for my camera. I can now take close in shots that are in focus. I still need to work on the lighting however.

First up is another warband for my army. This makes the third, so only another ten or twenty to go.

2016 Year in Review and plans for 2017

2016 is over and good riddance. On the hobby front, however, it was a good year all around.

Entry 4 - 7th Challenge - Eight RPG Characters

This next entry is eight RPG characters. These are mostly Bones but there's a couple of other manufacturers and one custom sculpt in here. I apologize for the smallness of some of these pictures. Either something odd is going on with my lenses or, more likely, I've forgotten how to take pictures. Most of the closeups did not come out.

Terry Jones

Entry 3 - 7th Challenge - Eight ECW Pikemen

This next entry is finishing up two regiments from the last two Challenges. This is eight ECW pikemen, four for my green regiment and four for the blue regiment. 

Mostly Foundry but one Warlord.

Dwarf Warrior Throng

This is another Ebay find. In addition to wanting one of each elite Dwarf regiment I wanted to fill out the ranks of the regulars. For this I needed more warriors and this regiment was another steal; $15 dollars for twenty, assembled and mostly primed.

A fully painted rank and file Dwarf Regiment. We're getting places now.

Dwarf Thunderers - Ebay repaints

I recently spent some time on Ebay filling in some blanks in my Warhammer Dwarf army. While I was mainly looking for the elite infantry regiments I found a few deals on other models that I couldn't pass up.

This first regiment is ten of the metal Thunderers. I love these models and just had to have them when I saw them for a reasonable price.

The business end of Dwarfen fury.

Kings and Things

I was digging through more boxes from my parent's house and found this old gem in one of them. My sister, cousins and I played endless hours of this game as children. I bought it 1983 - I think.

Entry 2 - 7th Challenge - 1 Dwarf Lord

This entry is a single Dwarf Lord from GW. He was painted to accompany the two units and two artillery pieces that I finished right before the Challenge. The units were Ebay re-paints so wouldn't count and the artillery were sitting there mocking me and needed to be done.

I had not planned on painting this guy but I pulled him out to use in role playing and he is such a handsome model that I just had to throw him in.

Dwarf Artillery

Before the challenge started I finished up two dwarf artillery pieces. I'm not sure why I didn't wait for the Challenge and I also am not sure why I didn't paint the crews for them at the same time.

Dwarf Flame Canon

Entry 1 - 7th Challenge - 12 Human Blood bowl players

My first entry for the year is one that I'm not even sure why I'm painting. This is my human blood bowl team from 3rd edition (? - I don't know Blood Bowl). They've been sitting in their box for five years. I found the box for a steal buried in a games store in Jacksonville NC. I have never played.

With the new edition out there is a lot of enthusiasm amongst the local gamers so that may change. Additionally, my friend Tony is moving back to Denver from New Zealand in May and has expressed an interest in playing. It's fun, from what I hear so I'll look forward to it.

The entire team. 

The 7th Annual Analogue Painting Challenge has begun!

http://thepaintingchallenge.blogspot.com/

The Challenge began last night at 2300 MST. I stayed up a bit late and got the first couple of colors put on my first entry, but you'll have to wait to see what it is. It's now been submitted and is awaiting posting. I believe this is the first year that I've managed to get an entry in on the first day, so wonders never cease.

VIIth annual Analogue Painting Challenge Prep

It's that time of the year again. Curt just announced the 7th Challenge and I have managed to get my name in the hat. I'm going for a lower point total this year since I'll be spending time building and running D&D two days a week. I've ante'd up 1000 points.

F.A.T. Mat

It's the time of the year where I buy myself all of my Christmas presents so my wife can give them to me. This year, while waiting for all of the usual sales I came across one from Frontline Gaming. They are located in San Digeo CA and are moving. They are unloading a bunch of product to make the move easier and they are having a nice sale on their gaming mats.

Edge Campaign - Quest for the Torkral Sphere - Session 6

Session 6

DM - Josh

Arbach - Half Elf Ranger - Aaron

Tak Ahnsiik - Tiefling Cleric - Brett

Peter - Tiefling Rogue - Jared

Kizmet - Dark Elf Warlock - Devin

Kizmet began to search the bodies while Peter slowly worked his way up the ramp. Arbach covered Peter, paying particular attention to the trap door that was now visible in the center of the flat ceiling. Kizmet’s search found some gold and silver as well as a pouch with a small book in it. Her ability to read any language now came in useful as she was able to ascertain that this was a book of rituals for the Cult of the Howling Wind, worshiping an elemental god of air, Arako. Peter noticed that there was writing on the walls of the tower.

Edge Campaign - Quest for the Torkral Sphere - Session 5

Session 5

DM - Josh

Arbach - Half Elf Ranger - Aaron

Farrow - Human Paladin - Nate

Tak Ahnsiik - Tiefling Cleric - Brett

Peter - Tiefling Rogue - Jared

Brand - Half Elf Monk - Matt

Kizmet - Dark Elf Warlock - Devin

Arbach had left to try and find mounts. Peter and Farrow were on deck keeping watch. Peter was positioned on the high side of the deck, about thirty feet above the desert floor. Farrow was on the lower section of deck, at ground level. As Peter looked out into the storm he saw shapes approaching through the dust. 

Big Lee hit 2 million hits and is giving things away!

Big Lee of Big Lee's Miniature Adventures just hit 2  million page views and is giving away some incredibly generous prizes. Since he's giving an extra five entries to anyone who posts on their blogs, I'm posting on my blog. I'm a mercenary bugger, what can I say.

His blog is worth a look even without the give away.

Check him out at http://www.blmablog.com/2016/08/the-big-2-million-hits-prize-draw.html

The gaming effect.

I'm sitting here after a long day at work. I'm an introvert who doesn't get enough time to recover between days. I've fed the boys, cold cereal tonight; sometimes it's all I can manage. Rhys is at his desk next to me. He's got his head phones on as he watches a minecraft play video. That means he can't really hear himself as he plays.

His desk is covered with Lord of the Rings models and Star Wars models and 15mm Sci Fi. He has a drawer full of d6. He's playing a mixture of miniatures and role playing with rules of his own design. I'm not at all clear on how it works but he's describing each model's actions, "He uses his shield" "He swings his sword". The dice rolls have some hidden significance that escapes me.

 An hour of this is worth ten hours of introverted recovery.

Edge Campaign - Quest for the Torkral Sphere - Session 4

This session was played on February 29th 2016.

DM - Josh

Arbach - Half Elf Ranger - Aaron

Farrow - Human Paladin - Nate

Peter - Tiefling Rogue - Jared

Farrow woke up confused and dazed. He was laying down and was lightly restrained. He flexed and easily broke loose. Looking around he realized he was laying on a litter with all of his gear. He sat up and saw peter laying on another litter next to him. He rolled over and slapped Peter awake.

Peter’s mouth was full of sand. He saw a worm crawl out of the sand and into his mouth. He could feel it burrowing into his brain; driving him mad. He felt a slap on the face. He opened his eyes and saw Farrow standing over him.

Edge Campaign - Quest for the Torkral Sphere - Session 3

Session 3 

Arbach awoke half buried in sand. He looked around, trying to figure out where he was. He could see the remains of the crashed gasbag. There were bodies everywhere. As he watched he saw movement in the wreckage. Kizmet came staggering out of the piled wood and canvas that had once been a flying machine.

Art by Brent Nienberg at  https://girlsandbots.com/

Edge Campaign - Quest for the Torkral Sphere - Session 2

Session 2

Following the first session we all decided that we wanted to continue playing, and a couple of others wanted to join as well. Josh runs an open table. If someone can't make it we play anyway and their character is hand waved out of it. If new people want to play then they are integrated back into the story.

Edge Campaign - Quest for the Torkral Sphere - Session 1

Back in January of 2016 I got a call from a friend. It was his birthday and he wanted to get some of the guys from the old unit together and play D&D for the night. We gathered at my house, ordered some pizza and got down to figuring out this 5th edition stuff.

The rest of them had played together before but I had not. One player was a high school friend of Josh, the birthday boy and DM. The rest of us had been in the Marines together. We got my character rolled up and started playing.

Josh has built an incredibly fleshed out world. It's interesting and compelling and makes you want to explore. The group gelled immediately and we realized that we wanted to keep playing and not just make this a one night deal.

Here's the writeup from our first session.

Role Playing

I haven't posted much lately because I haven't been doing much gaming or painting. What I have been doing is playing a some D&D 5E and doing some world building. I'm playing as a player with some of the guys I was in the Marines with. I'm also running an adventure for my sons and a guy I work with and his daughter.

A little bit of map making to add to the fun.

I do have some painting I need to get done for people, for the games. I also have my lead pile to work through, so there should be painting coming up again soon. It's just so hard with the beautiful summer weather.

Memorial Day

It is Memorial Day in the United States.  It's a three day weekend and Americans traditionally go camping and have BBQs on this day.  It's also the day we honor those who have fought and died for us.  As always today I'll be presenting you with my friend John Maloney.

WW I Airplanes

While we were in New Zealand we visited the airplane museum in Blenheim. This is partially owned by Peter Jackson and has an extensive collection of flyable WWI airplanes as well as some amazing exhibits and collections.

Holy cow.