Sunday 4 November 2012

Heart of Saturday Night

The 1914 French are nearly at the stage where I can unleash them on the world. The bases have been Basetexed and now need drybrushing and static grass applying. Looking forward to getting these into a game. I currently have the Dragoons half done but I can certainly play a game without cavalry support for now. I have also just finished a unit of Queens Rangers for the AWI.

 As a little experiment I used Army Painter Strong tone ink instead of the dip. Results were a little disappointing in that the ink tended to stain the colours rather than flow into the creases as the dip does. Hence for the first time in I dont know when I had to go back and add highlighting to brighten the colours back up. The new inks do have their uses, but they are not a replacement in my eyes for the dip.

With the year fast drawing to an end I look back on a pretty dismal year for my hobby. It started really well and is finishing with a flourish but they bookend a barren six months where virtually nothing was done apart from trawling the usual websites. One thing I can take away from the period is that I am less inclined to contribute to the various forums. Apart from The Gentlemans Wargame Parlour and WD3, none seem to have content that appeals. To be honest I am an inveterate lurker anyway so now take or leave the forums nowadays anyway.

Warfare at Reading is only a couple of weeks away. I'll be there hopefully mid afternoon on the Saturday and all day Sunday. I may treat myself to some more Peter Pig goodness. I am thinking along the lines of either Spanish Civil War or Pieces of Eight. These are the two ranges they do that I cant put a game on for. I have been promising for years to do either or both of these. Not sure which way I am leaning at the moment but I'll keep you updated.

Other purchases that are on the radar are some of the new AWI marching figures, Ikko Ikki for my Samurai collection or the Sudan Gunboat. Away from Peter Pig I love the idea of copying Mr Farrow (link to the right) and doing Indian Mutiney using a DBA variant and Irregular Miniatures figures. And....I still haven't got my ancients done. Now that should be a priority to be honest as I have ready made opponents in Keith and Ade at the club but I just seem to always find something else to do when the inspiration stikes.

In the lead pile remain my Old West Peter Pig figures for a project where I hope to write my own rules. My late war WW1 stuff is no where near finished but the Germans are at least underway. So despite the doldrums of the mid part of the year you can see that there is plenty to go at and inspiration is not lacking!

Now for a musical interlude! Tom Waits singing '(Looking for the) Heart of Saturday Night'. 1975 vintage. Enjoy!



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