Hobby - Wargames Bingo - Another square

The only up-side to me painting the Rebel Speeder when I did is that I get to check off another box in the Hobby Bingo. In this case, I got the model and got it painted in 48 hours. That's probably a record for me, and this was a lot more model than I needed to check the box, but there you go.

Blogging - Hobby Bingo

I've seen Hobby Bingo on a couple of blogs as a way to drive certain hobby activities during the year. I'm not sure how interested I am in some of the categories on this card, that I found, but that's part of the challenge. If I follow through with this then next year I'll have to put some thought into making my own card.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

6th Annual Analogue Painting Challenge - In Review

The Challenge is over. Whew! What a ride! Here's the last three months of painting.

The first entry was six Uruk-Hai.

Entry 1.

Visit to Hobbiton

We are currently on a two week holiday in New Zealand.

Today was the day. The Day. The day that Owyn and Rhys have been waiting for. Today we went to Hobbiton. I was not at all sure what to expect, and was a little worried that they would be disappointed.

Owyn after the tour. Better than Legoland. High praise indeed.

2015 in Review and Plans for 2016

2015 was a good year for my hobby. My goals and predictions for the year were not far off of reality. I accomplished a lot but did not play as much as I had hoped. I think things are well positioned for a good 2016 though, even better than the year past.

I'm terribly, terribly excited about this.

First off, a retrospective on what I planned for the year.

A free book

I am getting Osprey's Fighting Sail for Christmas. My wonderful wife thought I would enjoy it so much that she ordered me two copies of it. Amazon does not want it back.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Time Travel

I looked up today and realized that it is the last day of October. I'm flabbergasted at how quickly this year is passing. I have not been hobbying a lot this summer. The extent of it has been reading blogs, playing a few games with Rhys and assembling and priming models for the winter, in hopes of Curt running another Analogue Painting Challenge.

I need to get back in the habit of posting here, clearly. That means I need to get in the habit of playing games and painting, which seems like a pleasant obligation.

Conway Castle

So as a place holder, here's a picture of Conway Castle, looking out over the river, taken from the highest point of the town walls.

A blog prize and some insight

I recently won a blog giveaway from Jon at the Palouse Wargaming Journal.  Jon is one of those very generous gamers that you always hear about.  He has personally broadened my hobby horizons, beyond the first class content of his blog.

The prize I selected was Henry Hyde's The Wargaming Compendium; a book I've heard a lot about, but never seen.

Visiting Blighty

Off to the airport for a visit to England and Wales.  At least for the next week and a half I'll have an excuse for not posting much.  If I get to a computer then I'll put up some pictures of whatever we're visiting, though castles in Wales are a given.

Cheers!

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.

An amazing gift

I recently received a box from Japan.  I have ordered a couple of models from over there before but this was something very different. Aaron from Here's not great matter saw my interest in some of the Japanese models for 15mm Sci/Fi and picked up a bunch of stuff from his local model store.

Plastic goodness from across the Pacific.