March 2007 in review

Big changes this month really had an impact on the rate of progress of my projects. Fortunately, I have found one of the mounts for a lamp for the table! It is not my usual lamp, but it works and will be used.

There is also another big change in the works... When GW finally came out with their new 'newest' Wood Elves army book, Feawin (my wife) took a liking to it, since she is all about elves and stuff. She also has been looking to collect an Elven force for Reaper's Warlord game, and has a few minis for that. Well, yesterday, I purchased a copy of the Wood Elves book for her. Now, whether an army for Warhammer Fantasy comes out of that, I do not know, but it does have strategic implications. First, I have definitely decided to mount my Renaissance minis singly to 'Warhammer' standards so they could spar off against her force and the armies my sons are collecting. Second, I'll need to coax her into collecting proper minis for the Wood Elves - she prefers the elves produced by Tom Meier and Thunderbolt Mountain to the GW minis. They are nicer and less expensive. We will need to hunt around for the more specialized minis for the army.

GW has opened two new stores in my area, making a total of five. One of these is in the neighborhood that my sons live in, and they are regulars down there now. My youngest (code name Vahll) has taken up collecting a Dark Angels force for 40K and a Vampire Counts army for WFB. Taeklonn (previously known as 'No. 2 son') is still hard at work on: Black Templars, Orks, Thousand Sons, and now Eldar for 40K, and Dwarves for WFB. I'm glad I'm not footing the bill for those armies!!! (other than the occasional gift)

Now, I'm going to finish with some boring stats. I'm hoping that by keeping a record of important stats I will be more motivated to continue making progress.


Minis purchased: 0
Minis painted: 0
Minis sold: 0


(the 'Minis Sold' part is only important in the fact that much of my budget is going to be funded by the transfer of other parts of my collection into the hands of those desiring to purchase them (mercenaries if you will!))

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Change!

My apologies for being absent. We have moved!

It is a nicer apartment, but smaller. My big, old, but shabby and sagging bookcase was not invited, so I have a storage issue for my books, and especially my printed gaming material.

The painting table is rather bare looking:





But, I did get some nice pieces of foam for terrain projects in the future...

All of the minis are still in their boxes, along with my other assorted tools and accessories. And (this is a huge problem) I can not find the mounts for the painting table lamps!


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Wargamer's Market

A new website for the buying/selling of gaming items has appeared:

Wargamer's Market

I have yet to try to buy or sell anything here, but it seems secure and the quirks are nice (compared to eBay): longer auctions, and less fees. There are not too many auctions running currently, but it is nice to see a competitor to the monolithic eBay.


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January 2007 in review

Glacial would be the best word to describe the speed of my progress this month, but some items on the list received attention... The last miniature for my Tau army has been assembled and primed. This is actually quite a landmark for me, for rarely have I come this close to closure on a project. Most of my other projects have been open-ended, with minis being constantly added to the mix, leaving me with a pile of unpainted minis.

The Renaissance project is starting to actually take shape. Now, I just need to inject some funding into the works. Much of that will come from the sell-off of my unwanted gaming materials, on eBay or through other contacts. I'm waiting to re-start the sell-off until we are finished with the move (the move is getting closer also, once again just waiting on funding [sigh] ).

I have also decided to try and keep track of the books I've read during the year. I am currently reading Taylor's The Art of War in Italy 1494-1529. Earlier this month I picked up an interesting book by Eric Flint, 1632 link It is not bad if you are a fan of alternate history; a good page-turner even if the outcome is predictable. It is piquing my curiosity about the 30 Year's War, with a stirring description of the battle of Breitenfeld. Is it an accurate description? I don't know but I'll check on it.


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The Renaissance Project, part 1

I've been talking and thinking about my Renaissance project for quite a while. I have yet to make much progress, but here is what I have.

First off, I actually do have a plan! I need to work on four different aspects:

1. Research

2. Rules

3. Miniatures

4. Gaming

I have made some progress through the Research bit. I have a small but growing collection of books on the subject. These include Ospreys (doesn't every gamer have at least a dozen?) and some more scholarly works. Here is the list so far:

Osprey MAA # 58: The Landsknechts link
Osprey MAA # 94: The Swiss at War link
Osprey Campaign # 43: Fornovo 1495 link
Osprey Campaign # 44: Pavia 1525 link

These Ospreys have been in my collection for five years or so, and have been looked through extensively. They are an excellent way to whet one's appetite for more substantial reading material, and the color plates are helpful for painting.


The Art of War in Italy, 1494-1529 (Taylor) link
The Renaissance at War (Arnold) link
Artists and Warfare in the Renaissance (Hale) link

These volumes are more recent additions, with Taylor's book being a Christmas gift from my wife (yay!). Arnold's book is a very concise overview of the 16th century, being a part of the Cassell History of War series. I have yet to read Hale's book, but it is filled with illustrations and woodcuts by period artists.

Of course, I want to purchase more books. These will be added slowly, worked in with the schedule for miniatures purchases.


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