Anyone After a Flames of War related bargain?

Not something I like to post on the blog very often, but I'm offloading the last of my Flames of War figures on eBay.  Almost all US Airborne figures, but a couple other bits and pieces, have a look here. Drop me an email if anyone's interested in any of these outside eBay...

It isn't the case that I dislike FoW in particular or gaming WW2 in general; I just collected quite a lot of scenery and figures as I planned to have a permanent table set up in our new house.  Now that didn't work out (I'm back home living with my old man,)  I've no desire to look at these any more as they remind me too much of the unpleasant time I've had this year.

My gaming mojo is still in full swing however.  I've roped a friend into collecting 10mm Carthaginians (gave him my Pendraken figs to paint,) so really in the mood for painting the opposing Romans.  I've picked up yet another miniature game - I know I was moaning about being skint earlier this month, but my Grandparents wanted to get me something as a wee present, so more figures it was!  Actually, I can't get enough gaming in lately; a different game at the club each week, but still need more Android: Netrunner and Dreadball regularly.  Bloody real life getting in the way!

Cricket, WAB and eBay

A couple of non-gaming posts coming up, mainly because gaming and painting time is getting pretty squeezed by all the packing for moving home.

One of the year's big time thiefs arrived a few days ago, namely the Indian Premier League.  Now I know that I've instantly turned off a load of people reading by mentioning cricket, but the IPL is one of the highlights on my sport (watching) calender.

In my humble opinion, the IPL is almost the perfect TV sport.  Lots of action (and its not all batting, despite what many people say) and tension, exactly what you want.  The coverage also makes a refreshing change from other sports, in particular the commentators remotely interview players and umpires whilst they are still playing, and the video replay/analysis is usually excellent.

I've just finished watching my adoptive team, Kings Eleven Punjab, put a terrible Pune Warriors side to the sword, but its only another hour until the next match.  The Kings XI are a bit of a Dads Army team (the captain Adam Gilchrist is 41) and it always makes me feel better seeing people older than me still playing professional sport (dreading the day I see the first footballer younger than me retire!)

Being a cricket fan in Scotland, cricket is presented to me in a very England-centric way (not a complaint mind you,) but the IPL gives a glimpse of the wider world of cricket; aussies, kiwis, saffers and, er, windiers(?) are all present.  In fact, the only cricket nations you won't see much of are England (who haven't adjusted to the IPL yet) and Pakistan (politics.)  There are another five weeks of games, at least one per day for the next four weeks.  If you've a free afternoon or evening, you could do a lot worse than sit through a match.

Not played WAB in a couple years, don't remember the Romans being this crap!

Not that gaming has completely ground to halt.  I sat in on a game of WAB at the club last week, Syracuse against Republican Rome.  Despite an impressive number of legionnaires on the table, in proper manipular formation too, they didn't make much of an impact once they eventually got into melee with the Phalanx.  Great fun and a real blast from the past, although, I'd forgotten most of the rules; I was chided early on in the game for pre-measuring!  Thanks to Sholto and Carlos for providing the armies and Adam for whining a lot.

Carlos' Syracusian army (left) was built using two boxes of Immortal Hoplites
and one box of Wargames Factory Numidians - Bargain.

Lastly, the last of my eBay auctions go live tonight and tomorrow.  Mainly Warhammer 40K stuff (seriously, why do I still have this, haven't played in years,) but some rulebooks and some bits and pieces too.

Anyone interested in picking up a bargain?

I'm not a big fan of selling stuff though the blog, but I'll make an exception here.  Simply put, as we're moving soon, it seems a good idea to go through the man corner and sell off what I'm not really using.

You can find my ebay items here and a sample of what's on offer appears below.  I'm not really looking for huge lumps of cash for these, just something to help with moving costs.  I'd also like some of the stuff to go to people who will make good use of it.  So if there's something you're interested in, leave a comment or send an email (address on the right) and we'll see what we can arrange.  Some more going up over the next couple days too.

Getting rid of wargaming stuff is always a bit of a downer, but moving has given me a chance to have a look through my various projects and see what I'll put into storage and what will come with me.  It turns out I have a ridiculous amount of Infinity figures to get through!

Painting Excused #3 Hangover

I had a long and productive day of painting scheduled today. Unfortunately, my body proved unequal to the simple task of coping with the smallest of nights out lastnight, instead consigning me to inactivity, dehydration and general groaning: simply sqeaking I was hungover!

Not entierly a wasted day though as I watched the start of the twenty twenty cricket and through some episodes of Star Trek: TNG, but not what I had planned.  It's a holiday this weekend so hopefully I'll get some painting in then (although there is a lot of sport on again...)

Oddly, this book arrived today, Anzio by Lloyd Clark.  It's obviously second hand, but I have no idea where or who it came from and I certainly didn't buy it!  I presume it's from someone on eBay who shipped it to me instead of someone else.  Not something I'd probably have bought myself, but I'm not going to say no to a free read!  I hoped there was a mysterious card tucked in there saying "Loiren Hotel, Paris, 29th September, bring the stuff" but sadly, not.

Another eBay bargain - Dark Heresy Flavoured

Another eBay bargain arrived today: The Radicals Handbook from the Dark Heresy RPG range.  I've been gradually building up my Dark Heresy and Rogue Trader collection, mainly because I'm a completionist and a big 40K background geek.

Although we're spending most of our RPG time on Black Crusade, I love the depth to the DH range.  The Radical's Handbook looks like a great mix for gamers, lots of ideas for GMs and plenty of new options for players, although I'd have liked to have a campaign included too.

I should also  mention the great quality of artwork on show, most of it I haven't seen elsewhere before.

The 40K roleplay range of books aren't cheap though, hence why I pick most of them off eBay.  You'd be surprised how cheap you can get them for in the right circumstances, usually in excellent condition.  I still pick up the new releases for full price though. . .

January, WIP

Just over halfway through the month, so how am I getting on with my resolutions.  Well, not bad to be honest.  Frustratingly, I've not been able to finish off any individual projects so far, but plenty of progress has been made.

In order of "almost completedness:" 

• Dystopian Wars Empire of the Blazing Sun Dreadnought and Destroyers (yes, before anyone asks, this is the same ship from October 29th last year)
• Vexillia 15mm Landsknecht Arquebusiers and Crossbowmen
• Battlefront 15mm German Pioneers
• Bolt Action 28mm SS

The biggest problem I'm having is deciding when a miniature is finished.  For instance, those Landsknechts are covered in little details (powder cases, drinking horns, sidearms) and I can't seem to say "That's enough detail, he looks fine, get on and base them!"  Add in the fact their uniforms are painted in a variety of colours, they are taking much longer than planned.

Away from the painting table, a pleasant surprise arrived in the post this morning - a Covenant of Antarctica fleet box set from Spartan Games!!! I won this prize from Tabletop Fix, so a big thanks to both them and Spartan Games.

We've had another Black Crusade session (our third,) this time with some new characters (Chaos Space Marines) and a heavy combat mission.  Still loving the rules, I'll try and get a write up of this session up in the next few days.  The first supplement is due for release shortly, hopefully once it's out, FFG will get on and product some player and GM books for this great game.

Lastly, for this update, my Infinity eBay purchases look like they've gone missing.  There shouldn't be any problem getting the cash back, but it's still a hassle.  Particularly considering I paid a lot less than the RRP, it'll cost more to get the same collection of figures.

Rationalizing. . . Or selling off some unwanted loot.

Part of this past weekend saw me spending some time rationalizing (terrible word!) my wargaming activities and priorities.  This meant making some decisions about what games to keep around and what to move on.  In the end, three things have been given the heave:

First to go was Malifaux.  I've played a couple dozen games of Malifaux, but can honestly say I haven't really enjoyed any of them.  The first few games, we were still learning the rules.  Then, I played a few games with my first starter set; moving on to trying a couple other crews.  In the end, I'm perfectly comfortable with the rules and have worked out several different tactics, but I'm still waiting for the fun to start!  I still think it's a very commendable game, with a great card mechanic and some wonderful background fiction and artwork, but I've decided it's just not for me.

Secondly, some WWII stuff has gone.  Some rules, Disposable Heroes & A Coffin for Seven Brothers and Rapid Fire, and some miniatures, 28mm Bolt Action Brits.   Why these choices? Well, I don't see any point in collecting the same army in two different scales (I have a 15mm Brit Infantry army for Flames of War,)  and I've never really liked some of the mechanics in either of the two rule sets.

Lastly, the last of my Warhammer stuff has been packed up and is ready to ship out.  Actually, I only have a couple of  army books and some unpainted Vampire Counts miniature left.  I've never been able to enjoy 8th Edition Warhammer.  When it was first released, I felt that GW had accentuated all of the things I disliked about WH Fantasy; random movement, random magic, super-hero characters, uber-monsters.  After a year or so, these trends seem to be firmly entrenched in GW's business plan, so it's time to say cheerio to Warhammer World (at least for the moment.)  So, for the first time in about 20 years, I'm not able to have a game of either WH or 40K with my own books and minis!  I'll still keep up with GW news and products and, of course, I'm loving Fantasy Flight's 40K RPG series of books, but for the moment it's time for a break.  Maybe with 6th Ed 40K next year I might change my mind. . .


So with a bit of space on the shelves, and some cash in the PayPal account, I kind of feel like starting something new.  No idea what yet, historical or sci-fi or fantasy?  Completely new game or existing rules?  6mm of 28mm? So many choices.  Any suggestions anyone?


I'm not a big fan of blogs advertising things for sale, so I'll just point you in the direction of my eBay page, just in case you may be interested in my castaways!

SS up on eBay

Just a quick post to say I've decided to put the SS Panzergrenadiers up on eBay.

So if anyone wants some Fearless Veteran, ideologically indoctrinated machine gun troops for Flames of War, have a look!