Yet Another Wargame Blog

20mm moderns for sale

noreply@blogger.com (Yet Another Wargaming Blogger) — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 00:50:00 +0000

They are taking up space and I'd like them gone. I had an idea that they'd have been perfect for but I realize I'll never have the time to give them the love they deserve.
Make me an offer for the lot. I'll also trade for any Aeronef.

Platoon 20's:
From the following packs of African troops:
P-AF1
P-AF2
P-AF3 Total of 18x troops including RPG & LMG
P-DW1
P-DW2 Total of 6x troops including Bazooka and LMG

Stan Johansen's:
11x South American Palace Guards (Long OOP)
6x Rhodesian SAS (includes one guy with a Crossbow!!!)
5x British SAS in Black Balaclavas
5x British SBS (Special Boat Service)
5x SWAT team in Blue garb
18x Civilian Rioters/Terrorists/Hitmen, etc.
6x Mounted Rhodesians (12pcs w horse and rider) plus some extra small arms.

Super easy to use them for a "Wild Geese" scenario. Or add some civilians for an awesome zombie scenario.

20 Questions

noreply@blogger.com (Yet Another Wargaming Blogger) — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 00:28:00 +0000

So, here's some stuff about me. I've been seeing it on other blogs and I really like how much I've learned about other bloggers.

1. Favorite wargaming period and why: Ancients, pretty much any ancients. I'm currently working on 15mm armies for DBA. I've got ancient Britons and Romans. That's my pairing to introduce people to DBA. I'm a history dork and love reliving the past. I've also got a pretty decent sized Soviet WW2 army in 15mm. Also, I really like fantasy but can't quite decide if I prefer skirmish or mass battles.

2. Next period, money (and time) no object: Dear lord, I've got a list a mile long. No time or money spared then I'd have to say the Alamo in 15mm on a 1-1 scale. I'd concentrate on using children minis for the big part of Santa Ana's army since people forget that he was doing forcible conscription as he marched. He was desperate for soldiers and I think history forgets that.

3. Five favorite films:

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
The Big Lebowski
Wild Geese
Zulu
Repo Man

4. Five favorite TV series: Ok, I don't own a tv. Technically I do, it's a flat screen that someone gave me a couple Christmas's ago. I plugged it in once and it turns out we don't get any reception here so I unplugged it and stuck it in my closet. So, any TV shows I watch are from HULU or PirateBay

The Booth at the End
Endgame
Dr. Who
Portlandia
Wilfred

5. Favorite book and author: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
6. Greatest general: Ghengis Kahn though my favorite is Sam Houston
7. Favorite wargame rules: For historical battles, it's DBA and HOTT. For sci-fi skirmish, it's Warmachine
8. Favorite sport and team: I love rugby and played rugby but ended up in the hospital and missed many weeks of work due to playing. South Sydney Rabbitoh's are a favorite since I'm a rugby fan and a rabbit owner. Millwall FC for football only because they are the people that everyone hates but I hate soccer as much as most all American sports.
9. If you had a"use only once" Time Machine, when and where would you go: The future. I'm always interested in finding out what comes next. I could find out a whole lot of nexts if I went into the future.
10. Last meal on Death Row: A plate of prassadam. If I was going to the Godhead, I'd make sure my last meal was straight with God.
11. Fantasy relationship and why: Ayn Rand. Ok, so not a sexual relationship but I'd love to be able to talk and argue with her.
12. If your life were a movie, who would play you: Jack Black.
13. Favorite comic superhero: Guardian from Alpha Flight hands down.
14. Favorite military quote: “The Zulus, we'll make quick order of them.” “The Texicans, we'll anhilate them later. Right now, we siesta.”
15. Historical destination to visit: I'd love to actually visit Isthlandwala and Rourke's Drift. One of my favorite weekend outings is the San Jacinto battleground which is really close to me.
16. Biggest wargaming regret: Taking a job with Games Workshop, does that count? That's one giant steaming pile of regret. It really destroyed my spirit and my desire to game for a long time. Otherwise, it's getting stuck in 28m and “heroic scale” as long as I was. I wasted so much time doing that.
17. Favorite fantasy job: Painting minis for a living.
18. Top five songs:

My Sweet Lord by George Harrison
Hail Hail The Gang's All Here by Dropkick Murphys
Behind Blue Eyes by The Who
Actually, the above songs I requested played at my funeral though I want My Sweet Lord played at the opening and closing.
No Rain by Blind Melon
Let's Have A War by Fear

19. Favorite wargaming moment: Holding off a nationally ranked tournament player in Warhammer Fantasy for six turns and managing not get completely blown off the table.
20. What upsets you: Poorly and vagely written rules that require you to find and download/print FAQ's and watch videos just to figure out how the hell to play them.

Privateer Press War Room and the future of tabletop gaming

noreply@blogger.com (Yet Another Wargaming Blogger) — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 23:03:00 +0000

I've got a strong feeling people will talk about that whole part of the industry like they do D&D when it comes to RPG's. It's a disruptive technology and should make for some real changes in the industry. Of course, some other companies will claim they were first to market but I bet War Room is going to become a name for the entire sector like Trampoline or Xerox did for theirs. And this is coming from a died in the wool Grognard.

This is me

People have long wondered when digital "stuff" would hit the tabletop and how it would hit. Well, this is the first way. People have of late been touting "interactive" tabletops but cost, weight, utility, etc I think are going to totally prevent that widespread adoption. War Room style apps tied with Google Glasses will probably be a really disruptive technology in the tabletop world. Probably more immersive than disruptive (unlike say 3D printing) but it may make a big difference.

There have been other "apps" that are totally tied to a single platform but this is the first widespread release of a truly helpful application. The great thing about the app in particular is the army list builder. Given that Army Builder recently got screwed over by GW because of "copyright infringement", a more platform specific app may be the answer. In the case of War Room, you have not only the ability to build a list with your army, you get the chance to check the list of the person you are playing. You also have the ability to buy/download other army lists. This is big. It is true that unlike GW, PP has not been dickish about making people purchase multiple army list books just to be able to play the basic game. However, the way that War Room handles it is a real see change.

This is not what the future looks like thank God

Is the War Room app perfect? No, it has some room to grow. However, I can see this style app being ungodly useful to players of games like DBA where you have a gazillion lists to manage. Heck, any platform really. I imagine that some smart developer will come up with a generic app platform (or maybe even PP would do it to earn some money off of their "competition") and be able to tailor it to multiple systems.

The future is here, and frankly, it looks kinda nice.

Everything right and wrong in wargmes in one video

noreply@blogger.com (Yet Another Wargaming Blogger) — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 23:44:00 +0000

This is easily the single best and most informative video I've ever seen about list building in Warhammer 40k. I also think that the video represents everything that is completely wrong with 40k.

I love Shawn Gately & Blue Table Painting and I seriously think that most people don't realize what an incredible contribution that he is making to the wargames industry as a whole and the hobby in general. Seriously, he gets kanban and I really respect the heck out of that as well as what he does for his community, both local and internet.

However the video does get to the point of what all games of 40k devolve into. I use the word devolve deliberately. 40k quickly quits (for me and frankly a large number of my customers when I worked for GW) being about the fun of playing the game for the games sake and quickly turns into a numbers driven churn of minmaxing to come out with a "perfect" list. I honestly rarely saw or see two people who just tossed out a generic model list and played for the fun of it. There is always someone crunching the numbers of their list to give them an edge.

This is totally natural with any game but there is something about 40k and GW games in general that really encourages this. I do know people that do this with Flames of War to a certain extent as well as WMH but those games don't suffer from the obsession over numbers. Is it just me that feels this way? I know some people view me as a GW critic but I've said that there are a lot of GW things I truly love but their writing of rules to encourage the numbers crunching seems ridiculous.

Let me know what you think. Also, watch the video if you play 40k, it's very informative and will help you remain competitive.

Army Painter missteps while GW bends the FLGS over again

noreply@blogger.com (Yet Another Wargaming Blogger) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 04:22:00 +0000

As anyone who has seen my blog knows I'm a fan of The Army Painter. I've been looking forward to their new line coming out. The delay in introducing their new lines, I think, is a real missed opportunity for TAP. With GW introducing the new ridiculously sized paint range means that retailers that have previously carried Citadel paints are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Those racks the paints are stored on are provided by Citadel in exchange for a minimum order size when they start carrying them. Yes, you usually get them at the standard 40% discount from MSRP but you have to buy a good bit. If you sell lots of paint, that isn't bad. But, with the new line, you are going 6 times 145 boxes of paint (Paint from Citadel is shipped in boxes of 6 BTW) times $2.22 USD wholesale. So a basic full rack will run $1934 wholesale. That's before primer, tools, etc. Holy crap, that is a LOT of money for an FLGS to invest in something that will take the sale of a TON o' paint to make their cost back. That is assuming that they aren't discounting their paints.

As you can tell from looking at one of those old racks, there isn't any extra space. (If you ever wondered what it's like to start a game store, the link should give you an idea) There are also some pretty strong embargoes against using the racks for anything other than Citadel paints. So, with the new line coming out, retailers are going to have to really lay out a huge amount of cash to get the new line and the new paint rack. Meanwhile, they still have a big supply of their old Citadel paints they either take the loss and sell them at a steep discount or stick with them until they run out and hope people will buy them still. FYI, the racks themselves are traditionally provided free by the manufacturer since they inhance their sales. It's the carrot to their minimum order stick.

TAP had a real chance to sneak into the marketplace with some size by giving people an option of selling a line of really really good paints, washes, etc as well as encouraging people to venture into using their sprays. Retailers costs are so much lower for them unlike Citadel to get their entire line. Well, with the delay, that really means that retailers, at least in the US, have the option of Vallejo & P3. TAP really did have a big chance. I for one hope they are able to do as well and become as popular as I know they should be.
I really do wish TAP well and look forward to seeing their paint racks up close.

Dear reader, a postscript. The fine people over at The War Store provided an AMAZING paint conversion guide between new and old lines of Citadel paints as well as Vallejo paint lines. Kudos gents, kudos. Here is the link for the PDF conversion chart.

Magnification While Painting and the whole "Tabletop Standards" Thing

noreply@blogger.com (Yet Another Wargaming Blogger) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 05:35:00 +0000

Seriously, I value your input. Do you paint with any magnification? Do you believe in "tabletop standard" as the standard? Do you think people put perfection in the way of good? Let me know.

Do you use something like this when you paint?

I never have, even when I was painting up my 2mm Macedonians. I actually own one and use it while I'm looking at my stamp collection. If you have never experienced an Ott-Lite, you are missing something. Basically, it's a genuinely pure white light without any yellowing or harshness. Perfect for reading, painting, etc. Now anyone who's seen my painting stand knows I have two Ott-Lite lamps on my desk. Or to be more accurate, two cheap Home Depot desk lamps with Ott-Lite bulbs in them. I can't get over what a please they are to paint with. There is no "oh crap, I didn't realize the colors were that off" moments.

IDEA

What brings this up is I went over to a friends house, Mr Gadget Freak, and he had a really cool setup. He was using a USB connected microscope, actually an endoscope. His wasn't a cheap one, it was actually a medical grade one, but he had it connected to his laptop. That way, he had an exploded view, and pretty decent resolution at that, of his work while iHeartRadio was playing.

Funny but I had the real feeling that I was watching a painting tutorial by Romain from Beasts of War. Kind of expensive for a really good one but that does make me wonder. Hmmmm. Cheap ones might not be as clear but even blurry-ish images blown up to my 15" screen could be useful. It would really help you get in nice and close to view your models as you paint them and give you more brush control.

Problem

Paralax. The first problem I have with it is unlike traditional jewelers headsets, you aren't looking directly at what it is you are painting. It is easily doable with practice, I did it all the time when I was teaching and used an Elmo Document Camera. Still, it is not ideal.

Cost. The inexpensive USB magnifiers are pretty crappy as they use software for zooming. Bascially, they are live feeds from really bad quality digital cameras with macro lenses. Also, even the cheapest digital ones are still more pricey than the traditional jewelers visor that I sometimes wear.

Focus. No, not focus as in clear images. I mean focus in the metapysical sense. I've painted everything from 2mm all the way to 57mm. Being on the internet and also being wildly guilty of it myself, I notice sometimes that people forget what their goal is. By my guess, 99.5% of people know that they are never going to win a Golden Daemon for painting and frankly don't aspire to. One of my great criticisms of certain corporate tabletop wargame chains is that they keep stressing Golden Daemon level paiting for the sake of selling more stuff at the expense of discouraging hobbyists.

I'm a strong believer in tabletop quality for tabletop models. If you are putting a model on display, then go for it I say. However, most of us actually intend to use our toy soldiers for the purpose in which they were created: playing a tabletop wargame. "Tabletop" has become an almost snear from people. I heard it used usually as a knock from one painter to another when I managed a game store. "Oh, it's tabletop for sure but not bad." Frankly, we need to remember that we are viewing the models usually from about six feet away. So, QUIT FOCUSING ON YOUR MODELS FROM 6 INCHES AWAY darn it.

There is absolutely no need for someone painting a stand of 2mm Macedonians to worry about painting each man in the Phalanx individually. Unless you use a magnifying glass, you'll never ever see the details.

Digital Cameras. I think one of the other HUGE elemnts of people moaning about Tabletop Standard is the use of digital cameras. Frankly, even cell phones much less the cheapest Chinese digital camera on the market can take some pretty darn good macro shots. Again, people are taking, myself included, some really good up close and personal shots of their work. Problem is, we are forgetting nobody should be looking at the models that close normally.

Looking at the models on the Flames of War website, you would think that they look like crap. Up close, yes, they do. However you aren't supposed to look at either of these pictures up close. The whole point of the FoW painting style as well as the whole school of Pointalism is that YOU AREN"T SUPPOSED TO LOOK AT THEM UP CLOSE. The distance is what causes the light to play tricks and make something oh so much more beautiful as you step away from it.

Seriously, do you notice the difference? Same things, just viewed at the distances that they were intended to be viewed at.

Ok, so I have ranted along for almost 900 words now... my point is, don't let perfection be the enemy of good.

Review of Plastic Soldier Company 15mm Soviet Troops

noreply@blogger.com (Yet Another Wargaming Blogger) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 04:32:00 +0000

I am trying out Plastic Soldier miniatures for the first time. Overall, my impression of their Soviet Infantry box is that it provides great plotnost. On opening the box, I was immediately impressed. I'm used to metal models being crammed into blisters, not that there is anything particularly wrong with that, it's just that it's a change. The sprue does lead to significantly less bending of weapons etc on the models though the debate of metal bendage vs. plastic breakage once assembled goes on. Two things immediately stood out to me as being very impressive. One is the painting guide, the other is the packaging.

PAINTING GUIDE

DEAD LORD, WHY DON'T MORE COMPANIES DO THIS? I know that everyone and their dog has their own Space Marine paint scheme but for historical miniatures, there is a pretty set way of painting Even with Napoleonics you have a relatively limited color scheme for the models included in a box. The one included with the box recommended Vallejo paints but the guide and color swatches are an absolute time saver as are the examples of two painted models.

Yes, I'm using my own colors and paint scheme but it's still pretty useful, especially for the beginning gamer. Kudos Plastic Soldier company, kudos.

PACKAGING

The front artwork is pretty darn good as well as giving you an idea of what color scheme to use. It's not the overdone CGI infused artwork that GW provides or the overly Gothic fantasy that Privateer Press provides on their boxes. It's a pretty decent battle scene that could have very easily come from some historical painting. I feel like I'm doing a review of Christina Hendricks: while the front of the package is really nice looking, it's the back end that really floats my boat.

The back end is where the aforementioned painting guide is. The thing that is a “killer app” for me is the clear window. Why more companies don't do this more often really surprises me. I imagine it's not a design issue but a fiscal issue. Being able to see exactly what the sprues look like is a real amazing thing. I hate buying a GW box and only having the CGI enhanced artwork on front to let me really know what's inside. With Plastic Soldier Company, you get to see exactly what you are buying. Yes, you get to see what you're buying if you get a Battlefront or Battle Honours blister but they are usually pretty jumbled in there. Lastly, I like being able to see that these models are indeed multi-part models that are going to need to be assembled. This is a change from most of the metal 15mm models I've done recently.

As a retailer, I would LOVE this as it really gives me a big up on trying to sell these to a customer. Being able to actually show product to buyers is a real plus. If I'm not doing the sale, the customer picking up the box and seeing the actual contents for themselves is a huge selling point. It really does give you a great impression of the quality of the models and the quality of the sculpts.

SCULPTS

Here is my one minor criticism of the packaging. The front illustration does show quite clearly a Maxim crew. For Flames of War, the Maxims are heavy machine guns and would not come with an infantry box. The back of the box very clearly states that there are 6 NCOs, 45 riflemen/submachinegunners, and 6 LMGs with loaders. The LMG sculpts are a departure from the way Battlefront and Battle Honours have their sculpts laid out. For game purposes, it doesn't matter. Personally, I live the variation. It does break up the monotony of having the same sculpts over and over.

The first thing that stands out to me is the fact that they include women soldiers. /soapbox It really chaps my hide that people really downplay the incredibly important role that women play in war, especially in the Great Patriotic War. sidenote: Dr. Ruth was a trained Israeli sniper. She can cure your sexual disfunction and shoot you at 800 yards. While women were used primarily as support personel and snipers, they still did play an important role and I like that they include them.

The models, and this may be just me, are a bit thinner than others. I believe this is due to the fact that PSC is using plastic injection molding and not metal spin casting. That does allow for some finer casts IMHO. The officers are decent. I will most assuredly be painting them with blue pants. Not historically accurate per se but I really love the look. The DP-28 gunners have a great amount of detail on their stomachs but it hurts that nobody will ever see them. Riflemen are in, by my count, 5 seperate poses. That is a nice bit of variation. Now one real gem is the soldiers throwing grenades are equipped with PPSHs. I'm debating seperating them and just mountin them as PPSH squads but probably won't given I don't need them.

PLASTIC

I will admit, when I first pulled them from the box I was a little bit worried. The edges of the sculpts seemed “soft” compared to most. However, once I primed them I realize it's largely an optical illusion because the plastic is a really light, almost translucent white/grey color. The plastic itself is pretty lightweight but then that impression may stem from me being used to working with heavier 28mm sprues. The plastic is a bit softer than GW plastic so it is a good bit easier to work with. Oddly enough, I'm used to having to remove mold lines on my models. The PSC models I have don't seem to have that problem. I couldn't imagine doing 130 models with GW plastic and not spending a good while cleaning up mold lines. Again, this may be explicable that they are from new molds but there also seems to be a real lack of flash. Now that I think about it, my Battlefront miniatures didn't have the level of flash that I'm used to working with. Odd.

I think that casting in plastics (and that does include resins) is a delicate art that encompases a fine balance between speed of casting, cost of production, sharpness of lines, brittleness, and risk of casting erors (which includes mold lines, flash, and bubbling). The Plastic Soldier Company models really very near if on indeed in the center of that Venn diagram.

They do come off the sprue pretty cleanly thanks to the softer plastic. That really is a huge advantage if you are painting on the sprue like I am. Just make sure that your clippers are sharp and lacking pock marks from having clipped pins during pinning projects.

SUMMARY

Overall, I can't stress how much I really love these Plastic Soldier Company models. I am blown away by the overall value that provide. The plastic on the models seems to be a real sweet spot on the soft/brittle scale. The sprues lack the flash and mold lines I'm used to dealing with when doing GW models. The sculpts themselves are perfectly sharp and detailed for 15mm and fit in quite nicely with my Battlefront and Battle Honours miniatures. Overall, it's a win/win for me. I look forward to getting my hand on some of their Soviet armor and giving them a spin.

Side Note

I'm in the process of painting them right now. I'm going to do a week long once a day post showing my progress showing how to use assembly line painting techniques in order to get a large volume of painting done while maintaining your quality of work. The first of the articles should post in a couple days. I'm giving myself a bit of a head start just in case I don't actually finish painting and basing all 130 models in a week. When it comes to painting, I am indeed a machine, much like the glorious Soviet state

A big shot across GW and the industries bow by Privateer Press

noreply@blogger.com (Yet Another Wargaming Blogger) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:33:00 +0000

GW's biggest competitor in the skirmish game market has been Privateer Press. Yes, Mantic has done amazing things and made inroads with their fantasy and new science fiction lines, but Privateer Press along with their Warmachine and Hordes products are the games that keep GW up at night. Privateer has always constructed their game by one of their mottos: Play like you got a pair. The rulesets encourage aggresive play. The rulesets also encourage using small armies (when compared to GW), thereby saving gamers money.

Personally, I have a Trollbloods army and love them. The cost of getting my army up to speed was probably the cost of a batallion box and a command blister. For GW, that is barely enough to have the bare minimum units. Forget about playing a decent sized game, that's barely enough to do starter battles. No, for the same cost, I'm able to get a really playable army. What is this about? VALUE

The Value Issue: Gross cost is something that frankly doesn't bother most people. What bothers most people, and what GW seems to forget, is that consumers tend not to be price sensitive but are value sensitive. What is value? Bang for the buck. Frankly, $200 won't get you much at a GW store, especially if you are just starting out. You can get a battalion box, a codex, and maybe a bister. For the same amount, I got a starter set of Trollbloods, a full deck so I can proxy, and three or four boxes of additional units. Feeling. I have faith that most people are like myself and will sit and look at the $200 they've spent and think that they got a much greater value from the Privateer purchase than the GW purchase.

So What Is The Hubub About First, and I think significant but not indiciative of GW's screwed up culture, is the release of Khondor Colossal. This news was broken by the awesome fellows and lady over the The D6 Generation. (If you've never listened to their free podcast, you are missing out.) This screams "we're here and we are entering into the Super Heavy marketplace." So, fans of ridiculously oversized models, you don't have to rely on Games Workshop Titans. Plus, Privateer is making them usable in regular games and not forcing you to buy and learn yet another ruleset ala' Apoc. Jeff Wilhelm did the sculpts and I must say that they are beautiful.

The thing I'm most excited about and frankly I think says so much about our industry is the second sweet morsel of news. That is the pending release of <cue musical fanfare> The War Room. Take a brief look below and then see my comments as to why this little bit of code is really important.

Game Changer? This is a piece of software that I feel will make the game easier, much more user friendly, less logistics tracking driven, and frankly faster. That is what I think most people want in a game. Of course, you would never ever see GW doing something like releasing the software like this for free. Chances are, you'd have to buy a copy of White Dwarf, pay a monthly license fee, and agree to name your next born child Tom Kirby. I know that Army Builder serves a similar function. However, it's far from free, very far from being liked by GW since they are convinced it allows you to build armies without having purchased a codex, and not nearly as functional ala' wound tracking and list checking. Seriously. This is a beautiful piece of software. I think it may be a game changer in the tabletop industry. I know people have been murmuring in the industry about using technology to enhance gameplay at the tabletop level. I think that this is something that may really signal the future.

Of course, GW will come late to the party, they'll make it more expensive and much more laborious and DRM locked, and they will call it groundbreaking and an industry first.

Still, I am very glad to see this bit of innovation in the tabletop gaming industry. It may not be perfect but by golly, War Room is the future of the industry. Am I blowing smoke? Let me know what you think.

Pinning of the year award goes to...

noreply@blogger.com (Yet Another Wargaming Blogger) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:44:00 +0000

This little gem came from Yahoo News.

Dentist accused of paper clip use in root canals

Sorry, but this is indeed how the world sees most dentists

Ok. I love metal models, that is well known. I am also pretty darn good when it comes to the pin vise. However, this guy wins the award for most amazing pinning. You know, this is probably GW's fault. NOWHERE on their package of their pin vise does it say "This is not for medical/dental use".

I have seen a LOT of freaky things done thanks to pinning but he does win the award hands down for top pinning. I wonder, did he use accelerator?

Grey Knights Humor

noreply@blogger.com (Yet Another Wargaming Blogger) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 22:36:00 +0000

This was stolen from Chief Lackey Rich over at TMP.
The Six Chants of Denial for the Grey Knights:

The Chant of Denying That Finecast Was A Very Bad Idea

The Chant of Denying That Our Games Have Any Balance Issues

The Chant of Denying That Accountants Dictate Our Actions

The Chant of Denying That There Are Better Minis Out There

The Chant of Denying That That There Are Much Cheaper Minis Too

The Chant of Denying That Squats Could Be A Profitable Range

Quite Funny. If you've never been to The Miniatures Page, you owe it to yourself to take a look. They don't focus on any one scale or period and the site can be a bit tricky to navigate at first but they are a good group of people.

Amazing Color Theory Primer

noreply@blogger.com (Yet Another Wargaming Blogger) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 02:20:00 +0000

When I worked for GW, I used to sell the heck out of their painting guide since it had a wonderful primer on color theory and how to select complimentary colors. It was one of the few things that made the book quite valuable since the books pretty agressively encourage people to paint their minis one way or the other thanks to the "official" paint schemes. Once again, Beasts of War and Romain specifically have done an AMAZING job teaching us or refreshing and even I'd say extending our knowledge of color theory. You owe it to your painting skills to check the videos below out.

As always, Romain manages to play to stereotype of the trained French artist and manages to give his pompous sneers to the camera. However, I think it adds to his charm. Part of me says that he would be an interesting guy to have a beer and bbq with assuming you can avoid hitting him repeatedly or making some garlic munching comments.

I hope that you enjoy them as much as I did. I look forward to trying some of the ideas out.

Oh, try and tell me that this image doesn't SCREAM for some photoshoping.

Cheers and Happy New Year!

An Interesting Observation of the Hobby & Life: Metal vs. Plastic

noreply@blogger.com (Yet Another Wargaming Blogger) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 18:41:00 +0000

My wife made an interesting observation the other night. I ran to the store whilst working in the command bunker (ok, the unused dining room I converted to my studio) and my wife came up to me looking sheepish. She said “You better tell me that I love you A LOT.” She was insistent so I became quite worried.
As I was unsure of which miniature purchase she found out about, a myriad of excuses and lies swirled about my head. Before I could blurt out an excuse, she said that she had fished out of the kitchen drain “one of your really valuable ones”. While I was relieved that I was not in trouble (at least not that I was aware) my mind quickly turned to all of my valuable minis that could have met an ugly fate.

A Sign of Everything Wrong With Society Today?

Turns out, it was actually a not at all particularly valuable Warhammer model got knocked into the sink. She said “I know it’s one of the valuable ones since it was really heavy.” Hmmmmmmmmmm, that got me thinking. Is there some primordial association with weight equating with value? Is it that metal is “real” and has value over a disposable plastic society we live in today?

We live in an incredibly disposable society. Mind you, every generation complains about how the current generation is wasteful, but now it is especially true. The whole idea of planned obscolecence has really gone to the extreme. When you buy something now, it seems that more and more is being made out of cheap plastic since the makers assume you aren't going to repair it if it breaks, just toss it and get a new one. Think about the humble box of Cracker Jacks.

Not All That Is Wrong In This World

When was the last time you got a good toy? Or I should say when was the last time that they actually put toys in Cracker Jack boxes. Now, you just get a bad joke and a weak water transfer tattoo. Used to be you would get toys. Metal toys. Ok, so you did have a plastic flats period before they totally got rid of them but still, they have more weight both physically and metaphysically than paper.

When it comes to permanent things and the value of plastic over metal, I give you this:

And You Thought Toy Soldiers Were Expensive

Ok, when was the last time you managed to do something that lasted so long (i.e. marriage, or at least it seems that it is lasting a long time) and sealed the deal with plastic. I would honestly love to see the person that thinks a plastic wring, no matter how high tech it is, really does compare to a precious metal ring with a diamond. Mind you, I wear a stainless steel ring myself but it is at least metal.

So what is the difference? Would you get to the point already!

Permanence.

Plastic, though it takes a bazillion years to decompose, doesn't hold the permanence of being that metal does. Sure, you can do a lot of things with plastic that can't easily be done with metal. Most of that is strictly cost related, but plastic does have some good properties. However, think about all the ancient pieces of wood & paper compared to the ancient pieces of metal and stone around.

There is a feeling of realness that metal provides that other stuff can't. There is something very primal about us equating weight with value. Going back to the days of the caveman, more food that was dense is better than less. If you have the choice between a handful of mung bean sprouts and a handful of nuts, the nuts are going to give you more bang for the buck. Ok, so that is an incredibly simplistic comparison but it gets my point out there.

So, this is why I prefer metal toy soldiers over plastic or resin. I love the feel, the heft I think is what I am looking for, that is provided by a metal object. Also, I like my models to be able to survive an afternoon in the sun or in my car. Some resins (and the one everyone is thinking of isn't the only guilty one) just can't make it if it warm. In Houston, there are a LOT of warm days.

One Can Surive In My Car, One Will Melt

Last, there is a real anachronistic feel to metal toy soldiers. Since so much is cheap lightweight impermanent plastics, there is something very old school feeling about working with metal. I'm proud to have almost all all-metal armies. I just can't see myself going back if I have a choice.

Am I wrong? What do you think?

Warhammer 40k For Sale

noreply@blogger.com (Yet Another Wargaming Blogger) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 07:32:00 +0000

Thanks for taking a look at the things I have to sale. So why am I selling it all? Well, frankly, I need more space so I can fully dedicate myself to a couple really nice projects I’m dedicating myself to here soon. Yes, the blog will be updated frequently.
Prices: The prices are as listed. I think that the prices are fair. If you have any questions just shoot me an email.
Shipping: I will ship via parcel post. It’s the cheapest flat rate there is and you can get 15+ models in a small box. The more you buy the less expensive overall it is to cover.
Notes: All the models are metal except where noted. Actually all of the metal is out of production (OOP). This is the first time I’ve tried to sell anything online so please be gentle. 8)

Sold: All the Ogre Kingdoms metal and plastic, Plastic Bloodletters

Dark Angels and other 40k

Space Wolf Heavy Weapons? Devestator? squad. One has plastic body.
$20

OOP Space Wolf Rune Priest
$10

OOP Eldar Howling Banshees
$20

Imperial Guard Vostroyan Heavy Bolter Team

$10

AOBR Orc Warboss, no base
$5

Citadel Deathwatch Conversion Kit. See pics for what is included.
$10

Two OOP metal terminator bodies
$5

Current 40k rulebook – small one from AOBR
$15

Various codecies, old and new.
$5 each

All of the above sets are priced at $5 per model. Unless specified, all are metal.

Space Wolf Rune Priest in Terminator armor

This lot of metal bodies is also $5 for the lot!

All models of Termies are priced at $5 each.
Thanks for looking. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me at croom.scott @ gmail.com or through TMP: username Scott Kursk

Thanks

Items For Sale

noreply@blogger.com (Yet Another Wargaming Blogger) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 06:51:00 +0000

Thanks for taking a look at the things I have to sale. So why am I selling it all? Well, frankly, I need more space so I can fully dedicate myself to a couple really nice projects I’m dedicating myself to here soon. Yes, the blog will be updated frequently.
Prices: The prices are as listed. I think that the prices are fair. If you have any questions just shoot me an email.
Shipping: I will ship via USPS parcel post. It’s the cheapest flat rate there is and you can get 15+ models in a small box. The more you buy the less expensive overall it is to cover. If you want it to go faster, let me know.
Notes: All the models are metal except where noted. Actually all of the metal is out of production (OOP). This is the first time I’ve tried to sell anything online so please be gentle. 8)

Daemons of Chaos/Chaos Daemons

Sold: All the Ogre Kingdoms metal and plastic, Plastic Bloodletters

OOP Metal Vampire Count Dire Wolves
$25
l
Nicely painted OOP Flesh Hounds of Khorne
$25

Current style Flesh Hounds of Khorne
$20

Current style Flesh Hounds of Khorne with extra “fins”
$20

OOP Metal Vampire Count Dire Wolves
$25

Five not complete bodies OOP Khorne Bloodletters
Do you remember the good old days when Bloodletters actually looked like beefy monsters that could really let some blood flow?
$10

.
13 OOP Bloodletters of Khrone. Some round base, some square, primed or paint that is nothing to write home about….
$50

16 OOP metal Bloodletters of Khorne with square bases. Most of the paint is really nice (IMHO) and they are very tabletop ready.
$60

So, here we have it for the Daemons. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you are interested.

Thanks

Some examples of my work…

noreply@blogger.com (Yet Another Wargaming Blogger) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 02:02:00 +0000

Well, here are some examples of minis from my collection. I’ve always been way more interested in painting and terrain that playing when it came to 28mm. I love smaller scale, especially historical.

So, I am uploading some pictures of the minis as I sit on my patio, enjoying the cooler weather, enjoying a fine Romeo y Julieta cigar. I hope your evening as as well as mine.

Above: Ogre Kingdom Bull with headdress.

Below: Ogre Tyant and Ogre Kingdom Butcher

Ogre Kingdom Pirate Maneater

I really hate that they transitioned all of these over to “Finecast” resin. Sorry, but the metal isn’t as hard to work with as people make out. Plus, if it is cast properly, pinning in not a must have.

Below is a Khorne Daemon. I need to take a good picture of the skull cloak. It came out quite nicely.

Below are some of my 40k Dark Angel Deathwing. I really enjoyed painting the Deathwing. The officer was painted by someone else but I really like it.

An assassin, I don’t remember who he belongs to.

Two of my all time favorite minis. Uruk-Hai standard bearers/command blister that has gone OOP.

Thanks for making it this far. I do appreciate criticism and comments. Please feel free to do so.

Cheers.

Poingnant YouTube Video

noreply@blogger.com (Yet Another Wargaming Blogger) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 00:39:00 +0000

Viv used to run a game store in Oz called the Battle Bunker. It closed a few months ago. His videos before hand were always well made and quite instructive. I shared a lot of the feelings and frustrations he had since I was running a game store.

Still, you can tell he is happier now and is finally getting his head around his new life away from the insanity of running a game store. His video today is about something he found cleaning his garage. He found an issue of White Dwarf from the mid 80’s. White Dwarf was a real gaming magazine back then and not the overpriced glossy ad that it is now. Viv’s comments are dead spot on. It’s well worth a look.

Overheard at a local 40k Tournament

noreply@blogger.com (Yet Another Wargaming Blogger) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 06:48:00 +0000

“Wow, to see this many virgins at once, you usually have to fly a plane into the World Trade Center.”

Ouch. True but ouch.

Previous Projects

noreply@blogger.com (Yet Another Wargaming Blogger) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 19:17:00 +0000

I decided to post some previous examples of work I’ve done. Most of it is 28mm, more more accurately “heroic scale” since GW suffers mightily from scale creep.

Below: A red Necron army I did in red and dipped. You can see the can of Minwax Walnut Stain in the background.

Above: I’ve got a pretty decent sized Ogre Kingdom army which I am in the process of selling but here is one of my favorites from back when they made models out of metal and don’t shatter into dusty pieces when dropped. It was painted in the standard GW paint/wash/drybrush/hightlight fashion.

Below: Treebeard from the Lord of the Rings GW. One of my favorite models. I used moss blended with some milk as a basing material in addition to full moss. It basically caused moss to grow on the model so it became a “living” model. It was primed and then given zero paint but lots of layers of wash to give it a more organic feel.

Above: Some Dark Angels models. There was a TON of line highlighting on these. Probably my largest 40k army. I probably have 7000 points of Deathwing, all metal, all small base.

Below: Epedimius. Seriously one of my favorite Daemon characters. Way underrated. I used him in doubles tourneys. I would always pair him with a teamate that ran Nurgle Marines. That Tally Master function made then nigh invincible.

Above: Nurgle Dameon Prince and Papa Nurgle.

Below: Some of the nicest models I’ve done. White Hand Uruk-Hai Orc. The only Orcs I’ve ever doe but I love that army.

Above: My workspace. This is a photo from when I moved in. I love this setup. It’s much more organized now though not as much as I’d prefer.

So, here is some of the stuff I’ve don in 28mm. I’ll be posting more 3mm and some terrain tips this week.

Kudos to Pico Armor

noreply@blogger.com (Yet Another Wargaming Blogger) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 23:37:00 +0000

Pico Amor is a great source for 3mm ACW (American Civil War) and Modern miniatures. I recently ordered a large batch of moderns along with the Hind Commander ruleset. I wanted to order four of the sets that they didn’t list but Assault Publishing did. I emailed John with what I wanted and he got back to me lightning fast with a price that was a good bit less than ordering from Assault directly.

Woot.

They took a little while to get here (in tabletop, nobody knows what a calendar is) but John was very on top of keeping me in the loop via email. I was impressed. The quality of the sculpts is incredible! Most of the 3mm minis that I’ve worked with are on the “blobby” side of the coin but these are sharp. Wow.

I have a good number of pictures that I’ll post and will do updates to my blog as work progresses on the minis.

Hello World

noreply@blogger.com (Yet Another Wargaming Blogger) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 01:40:00 +0000

Hello there. This blog is going to be another self aggrandizing incredibly limited appeal blog that will in all likelihood get ignored by everyone, including me.
What will I blog about?
3mm wargaming. Especially Hind Commander.
6mm wargaming.
Games Workshop and why they are no more evil than gonorrhea.
Uncharted Seas and other naval warfare games.
28mm skirmish games that are less expensive than prevailing companies. Especially focusing on Mercs and Infiniti as well as Warmachine/Hordes.
Painting.
Military history.
Terrain.
Pretty much everything else.