April 2023 Hobby update

April's been a bit of an odd month hobby wise.  I started off very focused and finished off the last few 10mm Warmaster Revolution units early in the month.  I then lost all motivation for about a week with nothing in my hobby stash interesting me enough to work on.  Reading The Centurions started getting me back on track.  Then after prevaricating until 1030 on the day, I made up my mind and went to Salute 50 and had a cracking time which has filled me with enthusiasm as well as filling my hobby stash.

Completed

This month all of my figure painting has been finishing off the last elements for my 10mm Warmaster Revolution armies.  I've completed the following:  

And then for the Ogre Kingdoms:

In progress

The following are in progress:
  • 1/72nd H-21 and H-34 helicopters for the Algerian War project.  These are Piasecki diecast and plastic pre-built models from the Helicopter magazine series that I got off eBay last year.  I've been repainting these as Armée de l'air helos.

Gaming

I didn't get a chance to get any games in during April.

Research & Reading:

  • With my interest in Algeria and French Indo-China well and truly rekindled by last month's game, it was only natural that I read The Centurions.  What a fantastic book it is. 
  • I followed up The Centurions by reading Death Zones by Simon Pasternak.  This is an historical crime thriller set in Belarus in 1943.  It's so grim at times that it's almost like a horror nove,l which I imagine is how it must have been  for the poor civilians caught up in it.  It is very compelling though and I finished it really quickly.  
 
  • Although I've got plenty to get on with, I've still been thinking about future projects.  For the next new project I really must break my usual m.o. of platoon level infantry centric games and do something different, with more armour and aircraft involved.  This would be 6mm or 10mm, which would work well with my diminishing storage and small playing space. 

Incoming!

I'd pretty much decided the week before not go to Salute and use the  admission and travel money to order the rest of the Elhiem figures I wanted for the Algerian War and Zona Alfa projects.  They had a 10% sale and the difference between my minimum Salute spend and the total of my order was 2p so I sent an order in.  Then as mentioned above I changed my mind and the rest is history as they say.  

Non-Salute purchases were:
  • A Legion Para in Algeria.  I meant to buy this when it came out.  Thankfully the other week Helion were doing 25% off with free P & P which was nice.  
  • As mentioned above I ordered more French Foreign Legion paratroopers for the Algerian War project.  These are support and specialist teams.  I also got a few more modern Russian figures to use for the Zona Alfa project.  Usual high quality products and service from Elhiem, only taking a week from order to delivery.  
  • The Salute haul:
    • A box of Wargames Atlantic 28mm German Sentries.  I went in with a lad to get the three box deal from Sarissa which saved us a few quid each.  
    • A bag of Green Stuff, 3 packs of grass/flower tufts and some super glue from TT Combat.
    • A load of brushes from ABC Brushes.  
    • A pair of 10mm M24 Chaffees from Pendraken.  I've been looking at the smaller scales for the next new project.  I had a lovely long chat with a guy at the Pendraken stand and if I'd been more prepared I may have bought a load from them.  As it was I bought the M24s (which were used in many conflicts from WW2 to the 1970's) as a taster.
    • Three bags of 2mm static grass also from Pendraken.  
    • A pack of 20mm USMC Raiders to be used for FLN in Algeria and a pack of 20mm German Winter Panzer Grenadiers from Battlezone/Early War Miniatures.  
    • A few more Burrows & Badgers miniatures to add to the collection from lovely Jo Lovejoy at Oathsworn.  
    • And finally a couple of freebie 28mm Warlord Games German plastic sprues from a nice lady at the Wargames Illustrated stand.  

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