Unfortunately, things have been rather quiet here at the hobby table. Very little paint has been spread over primer, although I feel that is soon to be ending. I have encountered a few stumbling blocks with regards to current projects, and they have led me to do some considerations as far as my projects go.
1st point - Old projects need to be cleared out, mostly for the need of funding for the remainders! I have a lot of stuff, mostly the typical 'oh shiny' purchases and projects that were abandoned along the way. These range from sci-fi to fantasy to historical themes and include books, rules, and miniatures, and some of this stuff dates back 30-odd years. I intend to post them here first, prior to listing them at various gaming websites. Stay tuned!
2nd point - The two big projects, namely Tékumel and Mesoamerican, are here to stay even though little or no progress is being made currently. What is needed for each of these projects is a comprehensive shopping list; this has been done with Tékumel - see my Thámerü posts - and is being worked up for the Mesoamerican forces. Then, I need to stay with that list. Rules are included with this point, and I am edging towards the more simple variety.
3rd point - The unfortunate downside (what?!) of all of this downtime is the wandering that my mind has done to conjure up another project. Hey, my lovely wife says I can have three projects and I am taking full advantage of that statement! Currently, it is in the research/book-buying stage, and I am angling this project to be compatible with one of the big projects listed above, although that might create yet another headache of sorts. More on this later.
4th point - It was something that I had meant to do for a long time, and back on the Ides of March I finally took a membership to the Society of Ancients, with my first copy of The Slingshot being Number 299. So far, the articles are good and the discount on orders will be useful in the upcoming months. I do need to remember and get set up for the forum.
Now, to find the camera and prep another post on the Mesoamerican project...
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29 May 2015
15 April 2015
The Mesoamerican situation
The wheels are slowly turning on this project. Painting time has been hard to come by of late, but the outlook is improving! I have been trying to organize the project in other ways, however, so the downtime is not without some benefit, if slight.
First off, I think that I have solved a basing problem involving single-based miniatures and my current preferred rules - Irregular Wars v2.0. This ruleset uses element basing, but I want some flexibility so I am mounting my miniatures singly, and using movement trays from Warbases. This will help with two points - firstly the basing is of course more versatile; and second is the issue of unit casualties in Irregular Wars, which uses 'Resolve' to track the ability of a given unit to fight. I dislike using markers, but I can track the Resolve of most units by simply removing figures from the tray (or adding them back) as the Resolve number changes. For example, a typical unit of foot has a Resolve of 4, which translates into 4 miniatures on a movement tray. Simple, and should work although I am thinking that some sort of plug for the missing figures will look better on the tray as the unit loses Resolve.
I am also digging around for more resources for the project - web sites, books, magazine articles, etc. My lovely wife has turned me to using Pinterest as a way to collate pictures from around the Web in support of the project, especially bird/feather colors.
More later!
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First off, I think that I have solved a basing problem involving single-based miniatures and my current preferred rules - Irregular Wars v2.0. This ruleset uses element basing, but I want some flexibility so I am mounting my miniatures singly, and using movement trays from Warbases. This will help with two points - firstly the basing is of course more versatile; and second is the issue of unit casualties in Irregular Wars, which uses 'Resolve' to track the ability of a given unit to fight. I dislike using markers, but I can track the Resolve of most units by simply removing figures from the tray (or adding them back) as the Resolve number changes. For example, a typical unit of foot has a Resolve of 4, which translates into 4 miniatures on a movement tray. Simple, and should work although I am thinking that some sort of plug for the missing figures will look better on the tray as the unit loses Resolve.
I am also digging around for more resources for the project - web sites, books, magazine articles, etc. My lovely wife has turned me to using Pinterest as a way to collate pictures from around the Web in support of the project, especially bird/feather colors.
More later!
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10 March 2015
On the interesting pages that can be encountered on blogs
I have a large number - but by no means exhaustive - of blogs that I follow on Feedly. I look at all of the posts, but I seldom linger for long, and it is a rare event that I leave a comment. But, today, I saw a blog entry that deserved more notice.
Over at Tin Soldiering On, there is a post about the blog's author winning a mug in another blog's give-away. Now, while it is a very nice mug, there is something that I found much more interesting in the foreground. This object is a ruler, from the old wargaming magazine Savage & Soldier, edited and published by Lynn Bodin.
Mr. Bodin was a fixture in the Seattle-area historical miniatures gaming scene in the earlier days. My association with him was limited, as at that time I started miniatures gaming (1980's) I was in Spokane, at the other side of Washington state. I would occasionally make the trip to the wet side for gaming conventions, and that I where I met Mr. Bodin. I remember chatting with him about miniatures while he was setting up his game - Colonials of course! - and I was setting up one of my own using the Seekrieg naval rules. He left on me an impression of amicability and knowledge, and patience with a teen-aged gamer.
Not long after this, Mr. Bodin passed away, in 1989 if I remember correctly, far too early for such a gentleman. He is not forgotten.
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Over at Tin Soldiering On, there is a post about the blog's author winning a mug in another blog's give-away. Now, while it is a very nice mug, there is something that I found much more interesting in the foreground. This object is a ruler, from the old wargaming magazine Savage & Soldier, edited and published by Lynn Bodin.
Mr. Bodin was a fixture in the Seattle-area historical miniatures gaming scene in the earlier days. My association with him was limited, as at that time I started miniatures gaming (1980's) I was in Spokane, at the other side of Washington state. I would occasionally make the trip to the wet side for gaming conventions, and that I where I met Mr. Bodin. I remember chatting with him about miniatures while he was setting up his game - Colonials of course! - and I was setting up one of my own using the Seekrieg naval rules. He left on me an impression of amicability and knowledge, and patience with a teen-aged gamer.
Not long after this, Mr. Bodin passed away, in 1989 if I remember correctly, far too early for such a gentleman. He is not forgotten.
.
22 February 2015
TROLLLLLL!!!
Sometimes, one finds the unexpected during completely mundane actions...
My lovely wife and I were doing the usual shopping chores yesterday. After finding a few necessaries at the downtown Seattle Bartell's (drugstore chain), we stumbled upon a most unique, and very inexpensive (only $3) find:
The Fremont Troll (Wiki article here) is a fixture of Seattle tourism, and a pretty nifty place to visit. I had no idea that there was a Chia version! Now, I am not interested in the Chia part, but the troll itself...
The seeds will be put away just in case of some future need. The troll will make an excellent and unusual terrain piece. It would be great for any scenarios based in Seattle - Shadowrun would be an obvious choice, as any modern or post-apocalyptic game set in Seattle.
I will be using my Troll for my fantasy games, including Tékumel. Could it be the likeness of a deity, even, perhaps, She Who Must Not Be Named? The VW in its left hand is a bit small for a tubecar, but it could be an air car of the Ancients with a bit of embellishment.
One last pic:
First pic of the Troll out of the box. It is approximately 7" wide, 5" deep, and 4" tall, which scales very well with 25/28mm figures, and would be a major terrain feature for 15mm. The clay structure might pose a problem for painting - I bet it is quite porous - and that hole in the top of the head will need to be plugged.
More pics later!
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My lovely wife and I were doing the usual shopping chores yesterday. After finding a few necessaries at the downtown Seattle Bartell's (drugstore chain), we stumbled upon a most unique, and very inexpensive (only $3) find:
The Fremont Troll (Wiki article here) is a fixture of Seattle tourism, and a pretty nifty place to visit. I had no idea that there was a Chia version! Now, I am not interested in the Chia part, but the troll itself...
The seeds will be put away just in case of some future need. The troll will make an excellent and unusual terrain piece. It would be great for any scenarios based in Seattle - Shadowrun would be an obvious choice, as any modern or post-apocalyptic game set in Seattle.
I will be using my Troll for my fantasy games, including Tékumel. Could it be the likeness of a deity, even, perhaps, She Who Must Not Be Named? The VW in its left hand is a bit small for a tubecar, but it could be an air car of the Ancients with a bit of embellishment.
One last pic:
First pic of the Troll out of the box. It is approximately 7" wide, 5" deep, and 4" tall, which scales very well with 25/28mm figures, and would be a major terrain feature for 15mm. The clay structure might pose a problem for painting - I bet it is quite porous - and that hole in the top of the head will need to be plugged.
More pics later!
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17 February 2015
Tékumel novel available again!
As per this note from The Tékumel Foundation, M.A.R. Barker's first novel, The Man of Gold, has been re-released in electronic formats:
- Kindle,
- Nook,
- Kobo.
Base retail price is US$5.99. Although I do not usually buy e-books, this will be a very definite exception! (I use the free Kindle reader for PC)
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- Kindle,
- Nook,
- Kobo.
Base retail price is US$5.99. Although I do not usually buy e-books, this will be a very definite exception! (I use the free Kindle reader for PC)
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