Friends, Bloggers, Wargamers...

Its amazing sometimes when you realise how this hobby has changed over the years and in particularly how we communicate. Social media is a great way for wargamers to talk to one another from all points of the globe. You can buy, sell, seek information or just shoot the breeze. You can gain opinions on every subject you can think of and some that you can't.

Blogging has grown immeasurably since I started this in 2008. Everyone has a blog, some active daily others lying dormant for weeks or months. Most are vanity projects to show off what we have been up to. Some can get a tad boring, others political or controversial. I spend far too much time viewing them when I could be doing something more fruitful, like painting my late WW1 Germans.

On the whole, I do feel the hobby benefits a great deal from this wealth of information avaialble on line. I no longer wait all month for the latest Wargames Illustrated to be released to find out what is new and exciting in the hobby. A quick perusal of TMP or Tabletop Gaming News gives us an almost hourly update.

I said a few days ago that I had considered deleting this blog as I had grown disillusioned with it, but I am very glad I didn't. Afterall, it doesn't matter to meif any one reads it. For me this is almost an online diary of my thoughts and feelings on the hobby as well as recording what I was working on or playing at the time. There are a couple of photos of my old mate Martyn Smith who died a few years ago. A lot of the posts are pre fatherhood. It is apparent that fatherhood affected my hobby and blogging over the last few years. But looking back over some old posts, a smile comes to my face and it makes me realise just how much the hobby and the friendships I have made mean to me.

I have now finished painting the Saxons for Longships along with all the various markers and buildings. Close to 200 figures painted, based and varnished in a matter of a few days.I am ready for a game as soon as opportunity allows. I hope to get some pictures up later, but a day with Ava beckons as Lisa is out at work until this evening.

Anyway, I'm off to have a look at TMP. More soon...

Painting Again

So I have been painting quite a bit over the last week or so. I have actually painted quite a bit over the last few months but that has been Warmachine, Deadzone and Dreadball stuff that I may post another time. The stuff in the photos is actually Peter Pig Vikings for the game 'Longships'. I have really enjoyed dropping back down to 15mm from the 28mm fantasy stuff.

 I have stuck to my tried and tested formula of basecoat and dip.

 Sorry about the pictures. They seem to have come out very small. The picture above is of the new chickens Peter Pig released a while ago. They are used as plunder for the Vikings to raid. Funny how you can get enjoyment out of painting something so obscure!

The above picture is the product of one afternoons painting. Mainly casualties but also pigs, barrels, sheep and a unit of Saxons. They are all at the stage of having been dipped and are awaiting the bases to be finished and then sprayed with a matt varnish. I have been painting up more Saxons this afternoon and I am fairly close to being able to put on a game.

I was interested to hear that the BBC are adapting the Saxon Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell. Hopefully it will have a suitable budget to do the series justice link here to the news story .I am actually two books behind in the series, the last one I read being The Burning Land. It looks like there is another book out this year titled The Empty Throne . I think I will pick up the two I am missing to get me in the mood.

I'm off to brush up on PBI3 ready for the weekend. More soon...