August 2025 hobby update

And that was August.  Mercifully it wasn't too hot which made getting on with things a bit easier.  I'm still whittling away at all the bits that have been sitting around for too long.  I’m pleased to say I'm getting my hobby mojo back which has been on the wane for a lot of the summer.  It’s good timing as Autumn and Winter are the time for hobbies aren't they.     

Completed 

Here's the bits I finished off during August:

  • First off I based the 20mm Battlezone Miniatures Second World War German gun crew that'd I'd painted and varnished last month.  I had thought of basing them as a team with a gun, but as I have another gun crew (in summer uniforms) and only one Pak 40 I based them individually for versatility.  It also saves buying another Pak!
 

These were the only miniatures I finished but I did do a bit more on the terrain front:

  • I made a corner piece for the game of Ravenfeast that I played.  This was a quick and dirty job made of cereal packet painted with old craft paints, as I just wanted something to represent a section of river for the game. I didn't spend much time on it as it's a temporary piece, unlike the farm house which I took a lot of care over.
  • Base for 15mm Mediterranean farm house.  I've been meaning to get my Mediterranean buildings table ready for years.  They've  been painted up and just sitting in a box since 2022.  Talk of the release of Battlegroup Italy has made me get my finger out and I started by making a base for the farm house.  I also added a lot of weathering to the buildings and walls to make the whole piece more cohesive.  All the pieces are still separate for ease of storage, but I built up ridges on the base with the sand so it all locks into place to fit together quickly for play.  I was aiming for the best of both worlds for storage and usability or at least a good compromise.  I really enjoyed doing this, partly just the process itself and also the feeling of finally finishing something that's been sitting about for too long.  

In progress

On the table as the month ends are:

  • 50 Heroics & Ros 6mm 1980's Soviet Motor Rifle infantry.  I'm using these to represent Iraqi infantry for my Iran-Iraq War project.  However, I can also use them as their maker intended as Soviets, if I choose to do any games set during the Soviet war in Afghanistan. 
  • 53 Heroics & Ros 6mm 1980's Soviet Motor Rifle infantry support.  These are all the MG, RPG and command teams.  Most of them are painted to have that dual use as Iraqis or Soviets, apart from 6 RPG men I finished as Iranians, but to be frank at this scale does it really matter?
  • 6 Heroics & Ros 6mm Taliban.  These were just a sample pack to see what they were like.  They're very nice little figures with multiple uses and H&R do a comprehensive range.  I can see a Afghan force developing in the future.   

All the above are painted and varnished and just awaiting a decision on rules and then I'll base them. 

  • I've also cleaned up and primed the last of the 6mm from the H&R order I picked up at Salute, which are 82 1980's Soviet Paratroopers.  They're the same sculpts as the Motor Rifles, just with berets rather than helmets.  I need to think on how to paint these, as they could be used for a number of conflicts. 

  • Right at the end of the month I had a good few hours free.  First off I sat and kit bashed a few figures for Verrotwood. Using pieces from the Victrix Ancient Germans and Frostgrave cultists and Barbarians, I made a couple of diseased warriors for a scenario I’m putting together.  And while I had the plastics box out I made up a Frostgrave Cultist as a reanimated also for Verrotwood. 
  • .
  • I then started on the base for my 15mm Mediterranean villa.  After the success with the farm base (see above), I’ve made some improvements on the process.   Early days but good to be getting on.  I’ll do a post on how I did these when it’s finished.  

Gaming

I'd not played at all in July, but did much better in August:
  • Post-apocalypse Space Weirdos.  Using my fictional neo-Soviet setting of Grozniansk I had a good game of Space Weirdos using a few of the bits I'd worked on in July.  The AAR is here.
  • Ravenfeast.  I can't quite believe it's getting on for two years since my first game.  Anyway I got the Victrix Rus and Vikings out for their first outing and they went at it.  You can read the AAR here.
  • I also played a tester game of The Men Who Would Be Kings.  I played the Skirmish Kings variant with half the number of figures (or bases in my case) per unit.  I  only had enough figures on the French side to have a 12 point game.  I liked it well enough to give it another go, and might even buy some more figures to make up a full 24 pt force for the French.  

Ramblings, Reading & Research  

I'm still looking at possibilities for Autumn/Winter projects.  I'd been waiting on Eureka Miniatures to release their 18mm Hawkmoon range, but that's been cancelled now, which was disappointing to put it mildly.  

However, as well as look at completely new projects, I've been going through my library and over previous project ideas, to see if any are now more viable.  One thing that is becoming clearer is that I doubt any completely new projects will use miniatures larger than 15mm. 

On to reading: 

  • The first book I finished this month was "The Children of Ash & Elm: A History of the Vikings" by Neil Price.  This has been on my reading list for some time and I wish I'd read it long ago.  I’ve read a fair bit about the subject over the years, but this is excellent, and if you read one book about the Norse read this.  It covers absolutely everything.  Similar to "Empires of the Summer Moon" that I read last month this is a no-holds barred book.  The author doesn't shy away from the Vikings sheer brutality and adherence to if not joy in extreme violence.  Their principal business was sex trafficking and slave trading which is all abhorrent.  The book illustrates how they  shaped a lot of European and subsequent world history.  None of this is particularly new to me. The main thing I took away was that to our eyes they were a very strange, almost alien people and far more complex and multi faceted than the popular conception.
  • I then went for a bit of historical fiction with David Downing's "Wedding Station".  This is a prequel to his Station series set in Second World War Berlin following the British journalist John Russell.  I'd read all of the original series and wasn't aware he'd written another.  This takes the timeline back to the fateful year of 1933 and is a corker of a book.  I whizzed through it and it made the commute far more bearable.  

Incoming and Outgoings

My hobby spending is still quite  restrained, but I did add a few new things this month.  The first three purchases were terrain oriented:

  • Red Vectors Afghan/African Buildings Set A.  I'd been after some buildings to use with my First Anglo-Sikh War figures for ages.  I'd tossed up whether to build my own, but after a failed attempt at a Norse building earlier in the month (where I frankly couldn't be bothered to put the effort in), I decided to let someone else do the donkey work.  I'd been aware of these for a while, and on the off chance I found a set on eBay that worked out at £2.75 a building.  Even for someone as tight as me, that couldn't be sniffed at and I bought them.  As a rule I don't like MDF buildings, but if you can get them cheap enough, then it's worth putting the effort in to tart them up.  If you have to pay full price, then the difference between them and a resin building is sometimes minimal and I'd buy resin every time as they don't need improving on.  
  • 20 cacti.  These were another eBay purchase on offer from the seller.  They're really nice detailed prints and will help to add a bit more interest to the table.
  • 5 A4 3mm MDF sheets.  Rather than making do, I decided to get some decent bits to use for making bases for more of my buildings.
  • The last buy was the B'Maso! PDF supplement for I Ain't Been Shot Mum.  This covers wars in Africa from the 1950s to 1980's, similar to the Force on Force Bush Wars supplement.  I'm still looking to restart my South African Border Wars project and thought this may give me the nudge I need.  Like all the TFL works, it's a very comprehensive supplement full of well researched material, useful for any rule set.

Talking of Too Fat Lardies, I received an offer to join their Patreon at a reduced rate for a month.  It's well worth it at the full price and I'll be continuing my subscription.  I've listened/watched a lot already and it's top quality content, that's as interesting as it is entertaining which is a rarity.

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