ZeroTwentythree
painting toy soldiers
fighting their battles
22 December 2011
Merry Christmas to Myself
Saw a used copy of the Malcolm McGregor Uniforms & Weapons of the American Revolution Posterbook at the local bookstore. Bought it for myself.
18 December 2011
OEGR
Again, not exactly wargaming, but a tangent... small toy sculpting & painting. I previously posted a pic of the sculpt in progress, but here's the finished critter, OEGR.
Again, he's about 3" to the top of his head. When I brought him home last week, right after this photo was taken, I dropped him outside my door while fumbling for my keys. My poor judgement, as he was balanced on a tall tower of wrapped Christmas presents I was sneaking in the house, and when it leaned a little too far to the right, he tumbled down onto the pavement. The worst of the damage was a broken neck. I'm trying to repair it (but haven't had time in the past week or so) but if I can't, he may end up with a painted on scar and stitches along the crack/joint.
I've got another one in the works, OEGB.
Again, he's about 3" to the top of his head. When I brought him home last week, right after this photo was taken, I dropped him outside my door while fumbling for my keys. My poor judgement, as he was balanced on a tall tower of wrapped Christmas presents I was sneaking in the house, and when it leaned a little too far to the right, he tumbled down onto the pavement. The worst of the damage was a broken neck. I'm trying to repair it (but haven't had time in the past week or so) but if I can't, he may end up with a painted on scar and stitches along the crack/joint.
I've got another one in the works, OEGB.
17 December 2011
2011 Resolutions Evaluated
With the holidays looming, very little free time on the horizon, and painting & gaming on my mind, I'm just going to evaluate my 2011 resolutions few weeks early. There's no possibility for any of these changing for the remainder of the year.
1. Get back into pointless gaming. This is a carry-over from last year. I'm going to throw the "Legendary Battle" into this one as well. I just want to play some interesting non-competitive games again. Although I've going to one in a little over a week, I'm really getting sick of tournaments and the tournament mindset.
Fail. I ran a couple of non-points based games, they weren't well received. Most people seem to only want to play competitive, points based games anymore.
2. Paint lots of Romans (and the friends & foes.) Again, a carry over from last year. This year I'd really like to be able to pit two Roman armies against each other for some dramatic civil war action in the late Republic.
Fail. I painted one unit of legion, one unit of Spanish cavalry, and got about 90% done with a unit of Spanish scutarii. I have committed to running a couple WAB games at Cold Wars, so I need to step things up ASAP, but I'm not sure how I will find the time!
3. Cleveland East-side gaming. I'd like to get some gaming in my general part of town. I know there are a few other people around here, so it's just a matter of organization. Ideally I'd like to do something a bit casual. Some friends and I used to get together every other weekend, drink some beers, have some laughs and play some 40k in the basement. Something like that.
Fail. Nothing happened with this. What little gaming I've done in 2011 has been far from home.
4. Make my hobby more profitable. That sounds a bit "unfun" but I assure you it isn't. I've said before that I believe that if one is going to devote 1/4 to 1/3 of their time to their work, it should be something they enjoy, and about which they are passionate. I've learned that lesson the hard way -- I'm now left with nothing to show other than a lot of stress & baggage from almost a decade of suffering at a job that made me miserable and made me feel shitty about myself. I don't want to go back to that. As long as I'm in this position, I want to try to do something positive with it. I'm trying to work on a few different possibilities. This is something I've really got to work hard for, and is probably the most important thing on the list. In terms of survival, that is. OK... everything else on the list is back to less serious business...
Mixed. While I was unemployed, I did do some commission painting that helped get me by. But it never became practical and the market has completely changed since I previously did this quite successfully about 10 years ago. So compared to the past it would be a "fail" but I feel like I did what I could within the current environment.
5. Paint more landsknechts. I've had some of them forever. I love the figures, and if nothing else I can work them into my Empire army. I'm not even sure I care if I use them. But they take time and I keep postponing working on them based on the idea that it's not efficient use of my time. I need to throw that idea out the window on occasion, and just enjoy painting them once in a while. (I did paint a few in 2010.)
Fail. Painted one unit of pike, never even found appropriate command figures for them.
6. Sculpt/Convert more. I've got some ideas. I know I can do it, I just need some more practice. It's a matter of motivation to get over that first obstacle -- starting.
Mixed. But not with wargaming miniatures. A bit of terrain, and a bunch of toys and whimsical artsy things. While this has been a "success" in terms of me being happy with doing stuff, it has little to do with gaming. So I'll be generous and call it "mixed."
7. Paint Macedonians/Successors. I've got a pile of pikemen. I want to paint them. I always seem to have other things that seem more pressing. Like adding to existing projects rather than starting new ones.
Fail. I've got one unit of pike primed, and one poorly painted test figure.
8. Paint Carthaginians. This has got to be one of the easiest to do. I've got a small batch of Carthaginian spearmen. If I paint them, I can mix in a bunch of mercenaries... some Spanish, Numidians, Gauls, etc. Most of those I've already got painted. Tah-dah: Instant Carthaginian army. Added bonus: they're cleaned, assembled, primed and based. They just need paint.
Success! Painted the Carthaginian spearmen, a couple of mounted command figures, and a Numidian elephant. Add the above mentioned Spanish to the mix and I've got a small but solid Carthaginian army. The one last thing I'd like to add is a unit of cavalry.
9. Gaming Table - refurbish or replace. I'd like to either repair and refurbish my existing gaming table (table tops that go on the dining room table) or replace them with an entirely new one.
Fail. I made some drawings for some ideas.
Six "failed" resolutions, two "mixed" resolutions, and one "success" for a painitng project that I've put to use in a single game. Even the silver linings seem to have some pretty big clouds.
There are a couple things not on the list above, both positive and negative. Non-resolution hobby events, I suppose:
0. This year I played in an RPG campaign, the first in 15-20 years. Although I am sad it ended, it was a lot of fun while it lasted. Success!
0. 2011 was the last WFB tournament for me. For many years they were more fun than competitive. But the balance has slowly crossed the threshold to a point where I am no longer interested in participating. Fail.
0. Speaking of WFB, I gave 8th edition more than year of "trial" before finally losing interest. It's not just that I don't care for 8th edition. I could probably deal with it and keep going in the hope that the gameplay improves. But the dead horse I've probably beat on too much is that the tournament/competitive aspect of the game has crept into almost any WFB gaming opportunity. So barring any changes there, I probably won't be playing any longer. Fail.
0. Lastly there's the recent WWI project I've started. It may seem like it came from nowhere (and certainly wasn't on my list above) but its something I've wanted to do for many years. The fire was finally ignited in 2011! Success!
So in the "unforeseeable" categories, I think I had a 50/50 split of success & failure. Even better if you just lump the two WFB things together into a catch-all "WFB is dead to me" item. ;)
I'm starting to think about resolutions for 2012, but there are a couple of hurdles I'm going to have to clear. In spite of the big turnaround and bright things that have been happening in most other aspects of my life, the wargaming & painting hobby thing seems to have one foot in the grave as the new year approaches. More on that in a few weeks, along with the new resolutions.
1. Get back into pointless gaming. This is a carry-over from last year. I'm going to throw the "Legendary Battle" into this one as well. I just want to play some interesting non-competitive games again. Although I've going to one in a little over a week, I'm really getting sick of tournaments and the tournament mindset.
Fail. I ran a couple of non-points based games, they weren't well received. Most people seem to only want to play competitive, points based games anymore.
2. Paint lots of Romans (and the friends & foes.) Again, a carry over from last year. This year I'd really like to be able to pit two Roman armies against each other for some dramatic civil war action in the late Republic.
Fail. I painted one unit of legion, one unit of Spanish cavalry, and got about 90% done with a unit of Spanish scutarii. I have committed to running a couple WAB games at Cold Wars, so I need to step things up ASAP, but I'm not sure how I will find the time!
3. Cleveland East-side gaming. I'd like to get some gaming in my general part of town. I know there are a few other people around here, so it's just a matter of organization. Ideally I'd like to do something a bit casual. Some friends and I used to get together every other weekend, drink some beers, have some laughs and play some 40k in the basement. Something like that.
Fail. Nothing happened with this. What little gaming I've done in 2011 has been far from home.
4. Make my hobby more profitable. That sounds a bit "unfun" but I assure you it isn't. I've said before that I believe that if one is going to devote 1/4 to 1/3 of their time to their work, it should be something they enjoy, and about which they are passionate. I've learned that lesson the hard way -- I'm now left with nothing to show other than a lot of stress & baggage from almost a decade of suffering at a job that made me miserable and made me feel shitty about myself. I don't want to go back to that. As long as I'm in this position, I want to try to do something positive with it. I'm trying to work on a few different possibilities. This is something I've really got to work hard for, and is probably the most important thing on the list. In terms of survival, that is. OK... everything else on the list is back to less serious business...
Mixed. While I was unemployed, I did do some commission painting that helped get me by. But it never became practical and the market has completely changed since I previously did this quite successfully about 10 years ago. So compared to the past it would be a "fail" but I feel like I did what I could within the current environment.
5. Paint more landsknechts. I've had some of them forever. I love the figures, and if nothing else I can work them into my Empire army. I'm not even sure I care if I use them. But they take time and I keep postponing working on them based on the idea that it's not efficient use of my time. I need to throw that idea out the window on occasion, and just enjoy painting them once in a while. (I did paint a few in 2010.)
Fail. Painted one unit of pike, never even found appropriate command figures for them.
6. Sculpt/Convert more. I've got some ideas. I know I can do it, I just need some more practice. It's a matter of motivation to get over that first obstacle -- starting.
Mixed. But not with wargaming miniatures. A bit of terrain, and a bunch of toys and whimsical artsy things. While this has been a "success" in terms of me being happy with doing stuff, it has little to do with gaming. So I'll be generous and call it "mixed."
7. Paint Macedonians/Successors. I've got a pile of pikemen. I want to paint them. I always seem to have other things that seem more pressing. Like adding to existing projects rather than starting new ones.
Fail. I've got one unit of pike primed, and one poorly painted test figure.
8. Paint Carthaginians. This has got to be one of the easiest to do. I've got a small batch of Carthaginian spearmen. If I paint them, I can mix in a bunch of mercenaries... some Spanish, Numidians, Gauls, etc. Most of those I've already got painted. Tah-dah: Instant Carthaginian army. Added bonus: they're cleaned, assembled, primed and based. They just need paint.
Success! Painted the Carthaginian spearmen, a couple of mounted command figures, and a Numidian elephant. Add the above mentioned Spanish to the mix and I've got a small but solid Carthaginian army. The one last thing I'd like to add is a unit of cavalry.
9. Gaming Table - refurbish or replace. I'd like to either repair and refurbish my existing gaming table (table tops that go on the dining room table) or replace them with an entirely new one.
Fail. I made some drawings for some ideas.
Six "failed" resolutions, two "mixed" resolutions, and one "success" for a painitng project that I've put to use in a single game. Even the silver linings seem to have some pretty big clouds.
There are a couple things not on the list above, both positive and negative. Non-resolution hobby events, I suppose:
0. This year I played in an RPG campaign, the first in 15-20 years. Although I am sad it ended, it was a lot of fun while it lasted. Success!
0. 2011 was the last WFB tournament for me. For many years they were more fun than competitive. But the balance has slowly crossed the threshold to a point where I am no longer interested in participating. Fail.
0. Speaking of WFB, I gave 8th edition more than year of "trial" before finally losing interest. It's not just that I don't care for 8th edition. I could probably deal with it and keep going in the hope that the gameplay improves. But the dead horse I've probably beat on too much is that the tournament/competitive aspect of the game has crept into almost any WFB gaming opportunity. So barring any changes there, I probably won't be playing any longer. Fail.
0. Lastly there's the recent WWI project I've started. It may seem like it came from nowhere (and certainly wasn't on my list above) but its something I've wanted to do for many years. The fire was finally ignited in 2011! Success!
So in the "unforeseeable" categories, I think I had a 50/50 split of success & failure. Even better if you just lump the two WFB things together into a catch-all "WFB is dead to me" item. ;)
I'm starting to think about resolutions for 2012, but there are a couple of hurdles I'm going to have to clear. In spite of the big turnaround and bright things that have been happening in most other aspects of my life, the wargaming & painting hobby thing seems to have one foot in the grave as the new year approaches. More on that in a few weeks, along with the new resolutions.
09 December 2011
Aerial Progress & Cold Wars Ancients
WWI Aerial
Per previous request, here's a shot of everything I've got done so far. Since the last entry, I assembled the Revell S.E.5a, which looks great and went together very quickly and painlessly - a big difference from the Sopwith Tripe.
Note, the DR.1 on the "ground" is the Eduard model I'm working on for a friend, not mine. Earlier this week I picked up some "music wire" from the local hobby store. It's a little finer than the wire I used on the Pup. I'm going to try it out on the minimal rigging on the DR.1.
I'm going to get a list of all the planes awaiting assembly soon.
Cold Wars
Apparently the GM registration for the Cold Wars PEL snuck up on everyone. It seems a bit early to me (and apparently to others.) I hadn't planned on making any final decisions until after the holidays, but I wanted to get in the PEL, so I made a last minute decision last night. I'll be running a pair of WAB games on Friday morning/afternoon, called "Hispania Ulterior" featuring Lucius Hirtuleius vs. Marcus Domitius Calvinus in some Rome on Rome action with plenty of special guests.
Guess I'll find out if WAB has any life left in it. ;)
So if I can tear myself away from the planes for a bit, they may take a bit of a back seat to finishing up some more Romans & Spanish by March.
Per previous request, here's a shot of everything I've got done so far. Since the last entry, I assembled the Revell S.E.5a, which looks great and went together very quickly and painlessly - a big difference from the Sopwith Tripe.
Note, the DR.1 on the "ground" is the Eduard model I'm working on for a friend, not mine. Earlier this week I picked up some "music wire" from the local hobby store. It's a little finer than the wire I used on the Pup. I'm going to try it out on the minimal rigging on the DR.1.
I'm going to get a list of all the planes awaiting assembly soon.
Cold Wars
Apparently the GM registration for the Cold Wars PEL snuck up on everyone. It seems a bit early to me (and apparently to others.) I hadn't planned on making any final decisions until after the holidays, but I wanted to get in the PEL, so I made a last minute decision last night. I'll be running a pair of WAB games on Friday morning/afternoon, called "Hispania Ulterior" featuring Lucius Hirtuleius vs. Marcus Domitius Calvinus in some Rome on Rome action with plenty of special guests.
Guess I'll find out if WAB has any life left in it. ;)
So if I can tear myself away from the planes for a bit, they may take a bit of a back seat to finishing up some more Romans & Spanish by March.
08 December 2011
A Day To Live In...
Today I turned 40 years old.
I usually do a Pearl Harbor themed graphic for my birthday. But since I've been recently obsessed with WWI aviation, and I love this photo, I went with it. It's a Handley Page O/400. I found it at Breguet's Crash Files.
I'm actually expecting one in 1/72 kit form sometime this week, along with what should be the end of my WWI plane purchases -- at least for the moment. I still need to buy the remaining flight stands and a mat.
I finished the Sopwith Triplane... barely. I almost gave it up for a bit of terrain as a wrecked plane. It was that much of a pain in the ass to assemble, and really does look pretty bad. Photos forthcoming.
I was wondering if this was standard Revell quality, since the two Airfix planes were of pretty different quality. So I opened a S.E.5a and was pleased to see that it looks much better.
I've got a lot of thoughts running through my head about wargaming at 40. I'm going to let them roll around in there a little longer before writing anything (if I write anything at all.)
04 December 2011
Another Fokker DR.1, Sopwith Triplane, OEGR
I've finished assembling the Eduard Fokker DR.1 for a friend. From a distance it doesn't look so different from the Airfix DR.1. But the quality of the kit is far better, both in terms of detail and assembly. The only snag was that one of the struts was broken on the sprue. I believe I managed to repair it, though.
I have also started assembling a Revell Sopwith Triplane for myself. It's wretched.Worse than the Airfix models (so far) to a similar degree that the Eduard model is better. I have a couple more Revell waiting to be built -- I hope they're not all like this.
I'm also working on a little something different again. I call him OEGR, he's just over 3" to the top of the head. That's a single eyeball, by the way. Not a nose. Primed tonight, painting soon.
I have also started assembling a Revell Sopwith Triplane for myself. It's wretched.Worse than the Airfix models (so far) to a similar degree that the Eduard model is better. I have a couple more Revell waiting to be built -- I hope they're not all like this.
I'm also working on a little something different again. I call him OEGR, he's just over 3" to the top of the head. That's a single eyeball, by the way. Not a nose. Primed tonight, painting soon.
30 November 2011
No More Crusader US
Just read at TMP...
http://theminiaturespage.com/news/1487642375/
...Crusader USA (Old Glory producing Crusader figures in the US, under license) will be gone at the end of the year. I'm a big fan of Mark's figures, and buying domestically was so much more affordable than ordering overseas from the UK. Especially when working in Old Glory Army discounts.
Many (most, with the exception of the plastic Romans) of my ancients are Crusader, and I had planned on expanding on my previous purchases from several ranges (especially Spanish) as well as getting a few new (to me) figures (like Thracians.) I may rethink my plans, now. Because of the holidays I won't be buying before the end of the year. I hadn't ordered from A&A, for example, because it was less expensive to order domestically.
Not to sound even remotely nationalistic, but I really do wish there was more domestic choice. I'd like to see more options in the US miniatures market. The cost savings, being able to buy at shows, etc. would be great.
At any rate, the point is, I'm sad to see the agreement between Old Glory and Crusader at an end. It's been my favorite source of ancients.
http://theminiaturespage.com/news/1487642375/
...Crusader USA (Old Glory producing Crusader figures in the US, under license) will be gone at the end of the year. I'm a big fan of Mark's figures, and buying domestically was so much more affordable than ordering overseas from the UK. Especially when working in Old Glory Army discounts.
Many (most, with the exception of the plastic Romans) of my ancients are Crusader, and I had planned on expanding on my previous purchases from several ranges (especially Spanish) as well as getting a few new (to me) figures (like Thracians.) I may rethink my plans, now. Because of the holidays I won't be buying before the end of the year. I hadn't ordered from A&A, for example, because it was less expensive to order domestically.
Not to sound even remotely nationalistic, but I really do wish there was more domestic choice. I'd like to see more options in the US miniatures market. The cost savings, being able to buy at shows, etc. would be great.
At any rate, the point is, I'm sad to see the agreement between Old Glory and Crusader at an end. It's been my favorite source of ancients.
The Might of Rome
Neither of these photos are mine, I found them both while looking for something completely different. But I thought I'd share them, as my mind is spinning with modeling & gaming ideas... :)
29 November 2011
New Reading Material
Well, more like reference material, though I have started reading through it from the start.
My book (per Captain Brown's recommendation on Warseer) arrived today. Condition on Amazon was advertised as "Very Good" but the book that arrived was in virtually new condition. The spine hasn't even been bent. Bonus!
I looked up the illustrator (Bob Pearson) because the name sounded familiar. Found his web page with a CD of color illustrations for sale. Might look into purchasing that at some point.
http://www.cbrnp.com/RNP/CDv2/index.htm
I have also been following the blog (and referencing the web page) of W. I. Boucher.
http://wwiaviation.blogspot.com/
http://www.wwiaviation.com/
My book (per Captain Brown's recommendation on Warseer) arrived today. Condition on Amazon was advertised as "Very Good" but the book that arrived was in virtually new condition. The spine hasn't even been bent. Bonus!
I looked up the illustrator (Bob Pearson) because the name sounded familiar. Found his web page with a CD of color illustrations for sale. Might look into purchasing that at some point.
http://www.cbrnp.com/RNP/CDv2/index.htm
I have also been following the blog (and referencing the web page) of W. I. Boucher.
http://wwiaviation.blogspot.com/
http://www.wwiaviation.com/
27 November 2011
The Riddle of Steel
...which translates to painting as well.
I stumbled across a painting blog tonight. Not miniatures, but watercolors, which is another interest/hobby/pursuit of mine. And on this blog there were questions from people, several of whom claimed to be novices, asking very specific questions about which brushes, brands of paint, etc.
And I don't think that's necessarily a good idea. And that goes for miniatures painting as well. Reading that made me think of painting miniatures, as I thought those sorts of questions were unique to this hobby. I always see a lot of beginners asking about "recipes" for painting certain colors, etc. But in a Riddle of Steel sort of way, I think that the hand, eyes and mind pushing the brush and paint around are infinitely more valuable. The technical specifics? That's something that should be left for later. Fine tuning, I think.
I guess the two things on my mind are... One, that while I could probably fine tune my technique and improve by spending a fortune on the best brushes, paints, etc., I can get by pretty well with something cheap. And, Two, that knowledge, and the skills built up to support the previous statement, come from just trying different things out for myself.
If I tried reading some of the painting forums, CMoN, etc. as a totally new painter, I would be under the impression that I would need to invest hundreds of dollars just to get started in painting if I wanted to "do it right." But I would argue that this is far from the truth. While quality materials are important, I think you can learn a huge bulk of your early lessons (and skill development) on a far smaller budget. I also think that you will learn far more along the way and that the best way to achieve a solid footing in any skill (painting or anything else) is to have a broad understanding of it from the ground up.
Mind you, I'm not the best painter around. But that's my point. I see a lot of painting instruction that's more suited for the top fraction of painters. But new painters shouldn't necessarily start out there. They should build decent foundation down here, with those of us in the common dregs of the painting pool. ;)
I stumbled across a painting blog tonight. Not miniatures, but watercolors, which is another interest/hobby/pursuit of mine. And on this blog there were questions from people, several of whom claimed to be novices, asking very specific questions about which brushes, brands of paint, etc.
And I don't think that's necessarily a good idea. And that goes for miniatures painting as well. Reading that made me think of painting miniatures, as I thought those sorts of questions were unique to this hobby. I always see a lot of beginners asking about "recipes" for painting certain colors, etc. But in a Riddle of Steel sort of way, I think that the hand, eyes and mind pushing the brush and paint around are infinitely more valuable. The technical specifics? That's something that should be left for later. Fine tuning, I think.
I guess the two things on my mind are... One, that while I could probably fine tune my technique and improve by spending a fortune on the best brushes, paints, etc., I can get by pretty well with something cheap. And, Two, that knowledge, and the skills built up to support the previous statement, come from just trying different things out for myself.
If I tried reading some of the painting forums, CMoN, etc. as a totally new painter, I would be under the impression that I would need to invest hundreds of dollars just to get started in painting if I wanted to "do it right." But I would argue that this is far from the truth. While quality materials are important, I think you can learn a huge bulk of your early lessons (and skill development) on a far smaller budget. I also think that you will learn far more along the way and that the best way to achieve a solid footing in any skill (painting or anything else) is to have a broad understanding of it from the ground up.
Mind you, I'm not the best painter around. But that's my point. I see a lot of painting instruction that's more suited for the top fraction of painters. But new painters shouldn't necessarily start out there. They should build decent foundation down here, with those of us in the common dregs of the painting pool. ;)
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