Blogging time could be hobby time.

It seems that I am doomed to face the particular human problem of having too little time. The few snatched moments I get to spend staring at tiny metal men I spend doing just that. As this blog is intended as a long term diary of my progress, it is predominantly about allowing me to easily check on what I've done in the past. That some people read it is brilliant, even if, like me, it's just another insomniac in the early hours trying to bore themselves to sleep.

So since D-Day I've been quite productive I just haven't documented anything. This will be a not so brief list and I'll try and get pics up in the next week.

Warlord plastics for Normandy Pacific Firefight:

I've put together seven USMC chaps, each in three poses (Standing/Crouching/Prone or crawling) and they just need some final kit additions and detail sculpting (sleeves, trouser detail etc) to get the three poses as close to identical as my sanity will allow. This is an interesting point: I'll admit I can be meticulous (My words) or obsessive (My FOE's words (paraphrasing and editing for language)) and I still don't know how far I'm going to push myself in the attempt to get each pose looking like the same character. The camo is complex and life too short. We'll have to see. When it stops raining I'm going to spray them up in PSC's Olive drab and try and do one chap (three poses) a night. Check out a painting guide on Bolt Action.net . As an alternative I'm also going to start sticking the Japanese together and I've earmarked spare bits from both for a side project. Which is.....

Wargames Factory Zombie survivors - Men:

Originally I'd intended to buy both the men and the women box set and make up a couple of converted sets to paint and sell on eBay. This is generally the only way I can afford to have my hobby (on the scale I like it:). 

I want to say that "I Hate" these models. They have angered me. My hobby should be relaxing. It should be noted that I've previously fallen out with their Vikings too: So it could be me.

They are hard to mix the parts as they are not really universal and any unique poses will take cutting and re-positioning and sometimes sculpting. For me, if I'd bought a box of 30 chaps for a zombie game I would be looking for characters not clones. I know design isn't that easy and It's not that bad: they are cheap and will allow you to quickly form a character pool for something like ATZ:FFO. I would just like them to be a bit easier to use (and I intend to use 15mm and sculpt my own characters if needed).. 

One interesting point is the weapon choices. I realise that we are no longer the only real country but the weapon choices are, in my mind, firstly America-centric (Which is fine as zombies there is better than zombies here) ands the ratios are bizarre. There are few shotguns but tons of assault rifles, which is great for America/Middle Eastern/Ex-USSR stuff but not great for us Brits. Yes there are SA80's (or whatever the current version is) but who needs ten of each. Chainsaws: As a aboriculturist I love the machines of spinning doom. They'd be unwieldy, are hard to use (I've seen bulked up gym lovers find using a saw all day or even a few hours, too much), they are noisy: you don't want more zombies, but they are as iconic and plain ridiculous as ninja's in black, vikings with horned helms and chanbara (which I love). But they are cool. I'd liked to have seen MP5's, shotgun variations but I have the bits from other stuff and I'm going to get creative. 

These are low on my priority list. I do however want to get them out of my hobby mine as they are taking up valuable space; so that may motivate me.

15mm WW2 Germans for BA and CoC:

I've painted the pandashrek for the basic platoon (finishing it for CoC) and replaced the leader. The original chap will still be useful he just isn't what I was looking for.

I've done a few more supports for CoC; including a MMG, Medics, Compound charge, a goliath and team and some other bits and bobs with a few left to do.

My 251 Ambulance made from a PSC 251 and procreate.

PSC are having a painting competition and I'm considering entering. It's not my best painting but I hope the scratchbuilding will help.

I have no specific use for it but it's another weird german non-combative vehicle to add to my motorpool.

I've painted my Wirbelwind and my 251 Ambulance and have the majority of the rest basecoated. I'm still not really sure I'm doing it right but at least they getting done. I've also modified my basing scheme and I'm really happy with it; I'll cover this in the finished platoon pictures I'll take as soon a it's sunny again.

Currently my 15mm mojo is flowing, I just need to maintain it through my hundreds of FJ's.

Other 15mm stuff:

Cafe Gondree by 4ground. Which is nice.

15mm 4ground fences and walls: I finally gave in and assembled these packs. I'd been unsure whether to leave them and use them in fixed positions on landscaped bases for my church etc. I gave in and figured if I needed more I would have to buy them. I sanded a bevel onto the bases (outside, wearing a mask with a dust extracting sander - MDF is no fun) and whilst taking a day out at my mums (makes alaska seem densely populated) I added sand and basecoated them in light grey. I've now just got to find colour schemes I like.

If a bridge could be sexy....

  In other 4ground news they sent my replacement chimneys for my farmhouse and were kind enough to give me one of their memorial sets. Stunning customer service like GW in the eighties/early nineties. Buy their things. They are awesome and whilst I enjoy modelling and intend to scratchbuild some buildings the time saved and quality achieved in 4grounds new builds are hard to ignore. Next up I'll save for the beneouville bridge and hotel complex. Whilst contacting customer services about my chimneys I took the opppurtunity to slip in some ninja-esque questions and can (maybe even) exclusively reveal that higher walls, a manor house and detailed stick on roof sheets to hide the roof tabs are on their way to 15mm. All good stuff.

My farm has just made me want more. So glad I'm not playing in 28mm.

Peter Pig cowboys for gunslinger: I'm still undecided between this scale as its cheap and compact and can be charming enough, or 28mm because of these. In the mean time I've done up a few chaps to use as prettier markers for the excellent Gunslinger by avalon hill. I've played it a couple of times recently and thought it may interest some people who have never heard of a diceless skirmish game. I'll attack this when it's too damp to spraypaint.

Warhammer 40K:

The first and the best. I am loving the new codex art. You get a real sense of ownership of the piece instead of feeling like a it's copied from other people.

I had lost interest in 40k due to cost and more interesting things (Chain of Command) and I may now be heading slowly back. I love my army but having not finished it due to the ridiculous nature of the conversions I was simply overwhelmed at the cost to complete it. And Chain of Command was more fun. The unbound army list options that will allow me to merge Space Marine and IG to get a better representation of the squats is quite attractive and it would allow me to use my dreads. I'm still not as excited as FOE (his eldar and space sharks are mustering) but this is more due to lack of funds and fascination with WW2 in 15mm than anything else. It would certainly be nice to have an army to use at events/clubs actually done.

I realise that's a lot with very little of interest but that's hopefully to come (I haven't even covered everything I've done but I just started boring myself). Thank you for taking the time,

BALM