May 2024 hobby update

Bloody hell where is this year going?  It's a sign of getting old isn't it, the months whizzing by?  I started the month feeling like death (there's an irony here when you look at one of my rule purchases) and it turned out I'd got a dose of Covid.  Strangely although I had no energy for things like exercise, after the initial couple of days I found I could paint and I used the extra time not doing other things to press on and get stuff done.  It's been a milestone month in that I have now finished over 50% of the 28mm figures I started the year with which is great for morale.  I'm also back in the swing of posting more regularly with five posts added to the blog this month.  

Completed

I completed all the 28mm minis that were in progress as we ended April:
  • Two more late-Roman spearmen and staff slinger and archer leaders (more here).  Finishing these enabled me to get this collection onto the table for it's inaugural battle (see below).  

  • It's been a good month for my Verrotwood project.  I built another cult of four figures and a couple of creatures all from bits I had lying about.  I also painted up a 3D printed figure I'd started on a while ago.  You can see more of the new cult here and the creatures here.

I've also done a bit of terrain work:

  • I finally completed the treasure chest scatter scenery piece that I started sometime last year.  This is just a 3d printed chest from a selection I got off eBay, which I stuck on an offcut of plastic card.  I embedded it in tiling grout, added stones and sand and once painted added some greenery.  I'm very pleased with how it's come out.

  • I also painted the other part of the Lidl fake grass mat I'd bought 2 or 3 years ago.  This took so little time to do I'm bemused as to why I hadn't done it sooner.  I just used the grass and dark earth emulsions I had colour matched years ago.  Simple and a fraction of the cost of a printed one. It's also far more robust.  If my local Lidl gets them in again I'll be getting another. 

The newly painted mat in use

In progress

  • The only other things on the table from April were the 15mm Ancient Germans from Cromarty Forge/PSC.  I've really enjoyed painting something other than 28mm.  I'm not sure how I'll base them yet but apart from the shields they're all painted and varnished. 
  • I cleaned up and prepped the next lot of figures for the late-Romans/Germanics project.  These are a sprue of Victrix Armoured Late-Romans I'm doing as a unit of noble German warriors and the last figures for phase one of this project.
  • I also cleaned up and prepped some 15mm early Imperial Roman auxiliaries.  Absolutely lovely figures from Cromarty Forge. 

Gaming

May was also a milestone in that I finally got round to playing my first game of the year.  The planets aligned and I got the late-Romans and Germanics that I've been working on out.  You can read the AAR here.

And even better I got another game in.  As I had a couple of hours I played a fun game of Space Weirdos, AAR here.

Ramblings, Reading & Research  

This month I read "Ivan's War" by Catherine Merridale.  This was an attempt by the author to get beyond the myths of the Great Patriotic War and write the common soldier's story.  She largely achieves this, but moreover it's a fascinating insight into  the mindset and cynicism of the Soviet state under Stalin.  The more I read about the Second World War the more thankful I am for living when and where I do.  Like any no holds barred book about the Eastern Front it's grim and bleak but highly  recommended. 

My fictional read has been Adrian Goldsworthy's "The Fort".  This is the first in a new series about the centurion Flavius Ferox, who was the main character in the Vindolanda series.  This one is set in Dacia and is an enjoyable read and as good as the first series if not better.  

I also read Osprey Combat "Panzer grenadier vs United States Armoured Infantryman ETO 1944-45".  This was a really good book.  I was pleasantly surprised as Osprey's output is so varied in quality, but I enjoyed this.  There's good background, organisational and doctrinal info and three examples of actions.  All in all a good read.

Incoming

It's been a book heavy month on the purchases front:

  • First to arrive was the much anticipated Chain of Command Far East Handbook.  The PDF was sent out a couple of days before my hard copy arrived.  I have to say in this day and age it looks somewhat basic, but it's a case of substance over style.  It's a good  resource whether you play CoC or not.  I have a lot of suitable figures (albeit Flames of War based) and I have scenery from my French Indo-China collection, so this'll go into the pipeline of games to play but as to when this will happen who knows?
  • Still with the Second World War I've had a Battlegroup bonanza this month.  First of all I picked up the hardback version of the Barbarossa book for a tenner off eBay which was nice.  Then I took advantage of a PSC sale to add the Tobruk theatre book.  I really like the Battlegroup books, they're beautifully produced and full of good historical information as well as the game specifics. Of all the Second World War game books I own the Battlegroup series are the nicest.  I've got some Battlegroup games planned for the next few months. 
  • Next to arrive was Too Fat Lardies What a Cowboy rules, which I've monitored since release.  On the off-chance I found a complete bundle on eBay for less than the cost of the rulebook.  The deal was done and it was with me in 2 days.  This is a lovely looking book and I can't help compare it to The Far East Handbook.  I have worked in documentation and online design to exacting standards for many years so the layout etc of a product is important to me.  Content is king but surely we can have good design and good content can't we? 
  • Last of the rulebook was Deth Wizards.  I follow Tabletop Minions and within moments of watching Adam's launch video I had bought a copy.  I jumped in with the print on demand and PDF bundle and then spent the week wondering why I'd paid £8 extra (including the P&P) for what's a set of black & white rules that I could have printed myself.  However, when the printed copy arrived only a week later (which included a bank holiday weekend) and on nice thick paper I have to say I'm glad I went with the option I did.  I've been reading the PDF a lot and really like them.  What's even better is that I have enough suitable figures to play straightaway. 
  • Moving away from books I finally made a decision and ordered a king size bed fleece throw to use as a gaming mat.  Amusingly most of the green shades were out of stock (wonder why?), but I got a sage green which I'll paint/dye anyway.  £12.99 for 200cm X 240cm which will completely cover my bed (the largest gaming surface I have) and much cheaper than a game mat.  

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