[Mike Headden]

Lovely looking stuff, Mike.

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

I use Copydex (aka cow gum) to glue things to sticks for painting. Good adhesion but easy to peel off.

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

Re 3:- Play games where double 1’s are a success and double 6’s a fail?

BKC and Warmaster spring to mind.

Stop playing GW’s abominations and get some sensible rules 🙂

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

Ikea will sell you 680g of somewhat larger pebbles for £2.

For convenience I might not baulk at buying the Warlord pot. Though I’d check EBay, Etsy and even Amazon for cheaper alternatives first.

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

Depends on the scale and the figures but normally paint then base.

2mm/3mm/6mm more likely to base then paint. Larger scales skirmisher types are often base then paint. Individual figures are almost always base then paint.

Artillery, base then paint the crew then paint the gun unbased and glue the gun in place. Like the other Mike I make sure the wheels and trail of the gun are attached to something solid, not just flock.

Mike

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

What a wonderful way to spend an early Sunday morning.

Large mug of coffee (It is by coffee alone I set my mind in motion! 🙂 ) one or two too many orange and chocolate cookies and a vicarious visit to The Other Partizan!

Joy!

You can never have too many pictures of a wargames show.

Thanks for sharing these.

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

My Epic scale Imperial Guard vehicles are in dark green and black cammo, apart from the artillery which, being an Ice World unit are in white and dark grey.

My Epic Imperial Fists space marines (aka The Banana Marines) vehicles are all yellow with black and red accents.

The Sons of Thunder, my Epic Titan Legion are Blue, edged in yellow.

So … it depends!

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

Love it!

Now, if only you could apply yourself to something topical with such amusing perspicacity. /s

 

 

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

Mike wrote:

Ah, so I meant £5.00 for all the fences and £5.00 for all the jars. £10.00 plus postage for the lot. That ok?

Sounds great! Let me know postage and I’ll get that to you asap.

 

 

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

Mike

I’ll take a pack of straight and a pack of curved wattle fences and a pack of the jars if they’re available still.

You OK with payment by Paypal?

Mike

🙂 Looks like I’m talking to myself. Well, you can never have too many Mikes!

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

A mate of mine “flocked” his hills with fine iron filings. Our magnetically based figures no longer tended to slide downhill.

Something to consider for the ultimate portable game?

 

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

Ian Marsh wrote:

O8’s range has grown so much – and it was large when I stopped – that it would be quite a financial burden for someone new to take it on.

So the O8 stuff is simultaneously large and tiny …. Schrödinger’s Miniatures Range? 🙂

I can see that something so niche yet so extensive might be difficult to manage. Especially in these days, with expectations of next day delivery.

I fear bank balance, life expectancy and glacial painting speed are a bigger threats than unavailability to my desire to stage Borodino in 3mm scale!

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

wardog wrote:

doe you have a link for his website that we can buy models from

No, but either someone will take over distribution as MM did from Fighting 15’s or Marcin does direct ordering or O8 lose, at a rough guesstimate 50% or more of their sales.

I’m certainly not going to order stuff from picoarmor given postage/ tax/ import costs.

But as I say I have a stack of 3mm O8 stuff that will keep me painting for years ever at the rate I paint!

I imagine someone will want to take over distribution in Europe. Selfishly I hope it will be a UK distributor.

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

wardog wrote:

apart from picoarmor in the u.s. where do we now get our Oddzial Osmy models on this side of the pond?

Poland?

Though, to be fair, with the order just put in I have enough 3mm Oddzial Osmy stuff to keep me painting for several lifetimes!

 

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

Top up order for Oddzial Osmy 3mm Samurai & Ashigaru made just in case supply is disrupted or worse still ended.

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

Justin Swanton wrote:

One man’s meat….though bear in mind you haven’t yet played Optio.

Oh absolutely! My post wasn’t intended as “that’s not the proper way to play toy soldiers, old chap” but rather “each to their own … but not for me.”

I’m afraid I’ll stick with “Strength and Honour” for the moment but I hope those who do choose to play “Optio” have lots of fun with it.

Justin Swanton wrote:

PS, if you want to pass on Taylor’s soulless rules I’ll happily take them

My sentimental attachment to the three volumes leads me to politely decline the offer 🙂

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

I have a copy of “Rules for Wargaming“ by Arthur Taylor which I got as part of a bundle of books bought with the book token I received for winning the school poetry prize.

“Rules for Wargaming”, “Mastering Magic” and “The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam” – hats off to the English teacher who had a brief verbal tussle with the Headmaster over whether these were suitable items!

While fond of the physical object for the reasons given above, I was never fond of the rules. They seemed to me mechanistic and soulless.

What I’ve seen of Optio leaves me feeling the same.

To me warfare is mud, blood, chaos and mayhem. Chance is everything. “No plan survives contact with the enemy” and so on.

In a world where you can lose a battle because your enemies troops worship the sun anything is possible 🙂

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

OotKust wrote:

Yeah never mind the stomach, I appreciate my taste buds and use them frequently. So no jalapeno or anything close. Spice is nice; heat isn’t required.

Oh, I like a bit of fire in my diet from time to time but preferably in the comfort of my own home with facilities close at hand, just in case.

Thanks to my various ailments I’m off meat entirely, minimal amounts of cheese ( at least by my standards!), no pulses, mushrooms, etc but lots of fruit and veg. Sometimes it’s nice to have a bit of oomph to a meal. Moderation in all things though, right enough, one doesn’t want to taste nothing else of the meal because one’s tongue and nose are seared.

I have to say I associate jalapenos with pizza rather than anything else.

As to show food, come Claymore in a few weeks I intend to raid the large store adjacent to the venue for lunch. With luck the weather might be good enough to let me sit outside and eat it.

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

Personally, I think mint yoghurt is the work of the devil and something as spicy as a jalapeno is dicing with digestive distress a little too closely for comfort at a public event. A halloumi, avocado and salad pitta with Hellman’s Vegan Mayo though ….

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

As a vegetarian with medical problems that mean I should eat things like mushrooms (and therefore Quorn), asparagus, beans, cauliflower, lentils and spinach only in moderation I find it easier (and cheaper) to bring things with me. All I need is table space and a chair!

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

Jim Webster wrote:

All it takes is a leadership class which considers people expendable. I suspect it will continue to reappear 🙁

“One death is a tragedy, a million deaths a statistic.” – Uncle Joe (attrib)

 

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

Growing old is mandatory, growing up is entirely optional! 🙂

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

An interesting and thought provoking read, as ever, Jim.

A nice simple system to show the importance of logistics.

“Amateurs talk about tactics, but professionals study logistics.” – Gen. Robert H. Barrow, USMC (Commandant of the Marine Corps)

“I am tempted to make a slightly exaggerated statement: that logistics is all of war-making, except shooting the guns, releasing the bombs, and firing the torpedoes.” – ADM Lynde D. McCormick, USN

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

This help any? Claims to be Eureka 1799 Russians.

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

The problem with 3D printing looking from the outside at the few people I know who have them is that they seem to fall into two camps.

The first group is those who wanted a few specific things, printed them and now the 3D printer has joined the Peleton bike, the bread and soup makers and the rowing machine in cluttering up the spare room or garage. They seem to be a minority.

The second is those who have printed enormous numbers of things they will never paint or play with and which they would never, ever have bought. I am reminded of the times I went to the GW store sales in years gone by, where I spent money I didn’t have on things I didn’t need and tried to persuade my wife to look at what I’d “saved” not what I’d spent. 🙂 At least in those days I could sell them at the next show Bring & Buy for a significant profit.

When a 3D printer is as simple to use and as cheap as a microwave count me in 🙂

Roll on the molecular forge or the replicator!!

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

All being well, I’ll see you in the Rutland,Peter

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

Despite the flaws I like the rules. However, I opted for 1/600th scale to get a bit more space on a 6’x4′ table. 1/300th on a 3’x3′ would be uncomfortably tight I’d have thought.

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

I really like Nimitz too and for the same reason, NCS.

It is what I tend to think of as a “right result for all the wrong reasons” set of rules. Counter-intuitive rules that give a good game and a believable result.

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

What constitutes “necessary” when indulging in a spot of wargaming is entirely between you and your opponent unless you are taking part in a tournament or store setting where the location owners also get a say.

As I have mentioned many times before, I played a perfectly good intro game of Chain of Command using Space Marines, Elder and a Kellog’s mini-pack with a straw pushed in the front and PzIV/70 scrawled in sharpie on the top.  The Wargaming Thought Police did not kick in the front door and drag us off, never to be seen again.

Oi! Who said,”What a shame!” 🙂

If, as I have to do increasingly often these days, you play solo and at home then you have almost unlimited options. As I have also mentioned  more than once, if you are playing solo, and your opponent disagrees with you, you have bigger problems than with wargaming! 🙂

There is no wrong way to”play toy soldiers.” It is at base a pleasant way to spend a little of the time between our arrival and our inevitable shuffling off of this mortal coil. Do what you do your way and leave others to do it theirs.

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

You never cease to amaze me with your modelling skills, attention to detail and research.

Hugely impressive for all those reasons!

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

Grimheart wrote:

Yeah…..but but but what do I buy next! 🤔

Well … Duh! 3mm 😀

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

Books with the wrong centre pages are not as uncommon as they should be but that half and half is a one and only in my experience. I’ve always presumed it was a stray that somehow escaped pulping.

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

Forty years or so ago, when I was a librarian and had not yet morphed from a nerd into a geek working in IT, I came across a book in the library I was currently working in which was rather strange.

It was by a best selling author of very popular, if formulaic, adventure books.

This copy was issued regularly and from the patterns of wear it was obvious that most, if not all, readers read all the way through.

Several times I was manning a counter when it was returned and the readers enthused about the author.

So, I borrowed the book and read it.

The reason it was rather strange was that half way through the hero altered out of all recognition. Different height, different hair colour, from a different arm of service, different accent and background.

Most other characters vanished without explanation and new characters appeared for no obvious reason.

This was not some authorial comment of the nature of reality but the first half of one novel and the second half of another!

I checked with the other staff and all of us remembered people returning the book and enthusing about the author. Not one of us remembered a comment about the bizarre change half way through.

In such a world are proof readers really necessary? 🙂

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

Shahbahraz wrote:

I’d like to see the app that can cut 40,000 words from a manuscript, drop particular characters, remove excessive adjectives and suggest changes to plot and storyline timing and exposition.

ChatGPT suggests that may not be far off …. though whether it would improve the manuscript might be another matter!

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

Sane Max wrote:

Your Philosophy Tutor was pulling your leg with the ‘fellow Student’ bit. That story is older than anyone here’s Grampa .

Story told in 1972 by a man in his late sixties, which makes him older than one of my grandads 🙂

But even if it’s apocryphal I still like it.

Some apocryphal stories are so good they ought to be true 🙂

Unlike stories that once policemen were older, prices were lower, politicians were honest … and publishing so much better!

 

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

I’m reminded of a story my Philosophy tutor liked to tell of a fellow student when he was studying Philosophy at university.

This fellow was brilliant, miles ahead of the rest of the class but in the final exam gave such detailed answers that he almost ran out of time. Just in time he realised there was an unnumbered item in the list of questions which read

is this a question

No punctuation or capitals but indented like the other questions.

The answer that clinched his 1st class degree?

if that is a question then this is an answer

Language is a very versatile and malleable thing which is constantly evolving. Provided the target audience understands what you are saying much of the detail is functionally irrelevant.

I think the plusses of modern publishing outweighs any downsides.

 

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

For me, most books are read once and dispose of, so paperback with it’s lower cost suits me fine.

Having just been involved in proofreading a document where four of us read the thing several times each and still missed a couple of typos I have even more sympathy for proofreaders.

As for series, volumes are available when they’re available. Writing time and finance dictate much of it. It’s not like there’s a shortage of other things to read.

As for spam, I can’t say I see much of it, nor is what little gets through difficult to ignore or automatically bin.

Clearly we have very different expectations and experiences of modern publishing.

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

I have even less military experience than Paint it Pink, unless you count being the token Dad on primary school trips with my kids’ classes. An activity somewhere on the Venn Diagram of life’s experiences between military operations and cat herding.

So give as much weight as you feel appropriate to the fact that I don’t find written orders, even if funnelled through a competent umpire, a useful mechanism for tabletop wargames. Too slow, too unwieldy and not appropriate to most of the games I play in any case.

I am happy to allow the dice to represent the vagaries of real life combat. If I order a unit to take and hold a hill and it fails to move I don’t need to know if my pre-battle planning was not clear or if the unit commander is not clear which hill he is to attack and is taking a moment to orient himself or indeed if, lacking my thousand-feet-up godlike view, he can’t actually see the hill in question and is sending a few guys forward to find it.

Random chance can decide the flukes and foul-ups that dog real life combat, or so my reading tells me, so I can get on with the game.

I still don’t see drones as intrinsically different from meatbag units.

In my sci-fi background troops are Sents, Synths or AI. Sents – sentient beings like you or I albeit possibly descended from canids or felids or the like rather than hominids – are capable of great heroism or abject cowardice, Synths – vat grown versions of Sents, often with non-organic components – are less prone to panic but also less likely to act heroically. AI are bots, combat drones, cybertanks and the like. They have limited self-preservation protocols so don’t panic but also don’t do heroics. So differences are primarily in morale rather than troop type.

AI’s have also been known to eliminate not only enemy troops but allied, friendly or neutral personnel where they, usually correctly, consider this to increase the chance of mission success. This may be a short term gain but does not endear them to friends or indigenous populations!

As ever, each to their own. It’s only toy soldiers after all.

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Mike Headden]

Paint it Pink wrote:

I will post something when it is ready. It could be some time…

I’m in no position to comment, glaciers look at my work rate on rules writing and painting and wonder why I’m so slow!!

There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

[Author]

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