[TwoGunBob]

I missed this year. Did they have the pirates again this year? Not to pick but last year the goddamn bell they kept ringing had me twitching. I think Mike and I were having a yelling contest when explaining our games to be heard over it!

[TwoGunBob]

I will certainly be giving these a tickle with my 54’s (when they are done) as I’m a big fan of the Rampant series. Read through the rules and I think a lot of people that have the complaint with ending a turn when you fail an activation will be happy. That’s the most common gripe I get at conventions when I put on Dragon Rampant. I’ve read through the rules a few times now and it certainly be bent, twisted, broke and unit profiles are open to lots of historical interpretation and reinterpretation but I think it’s going to give a fast and fun game that will shine as you track your commanding officers path to death or glory.

[TwoGunBob]

Finished the first element for Berdan’s Sharpshooters over the weekend. Working on finishing those BMC figures and getting leery of mixing them in with the Accurate and Marx figures. Figure there will be so many figures on the table, who will notice right?

 

 

[TwoGunBob]

More works in progress, although maybe I’ll remember to take pictures when I actually finish for a change.

 

 

 

 

 

Caissons, horse artillery carriage, sharpshooters… Just keep plodding along on the project and having fun with it. Once it dries out I can hit them with the matte spray and start the highlights up.

[TwoGunBob]

Okay, I switched over to start work on some of the BMC figures you find at Hobby Lobby. We’ll see if the finished results change my mind but these figures are very flat and a little more cartoonish in sculpting style.

More units to paint, artillery crew and Brendan’s sharpshooters around the corner to be started.

[TwoGunBob]

Okay, took the finished unit out for pics just cause. 1st Michigan Infantry for All the King’s Men. Stopped raining for the drive to work but supposed to start pouring by the time I get off so work is still cannons for the foreseeable future.

[TwoGunBob]

 

I use Minwax Polyshades stain and polyurethane, Antique Walnut. A friend suggested it for the 54’s although we call it the dip I use a 1″ flat brush to apply it and clean it with odorless thinner (Bob Ross). Dipping is a little too messy and is just the reverse as I dip the figure and then use the 1″ brush to take the excess back into the can.

After you hit the figures with a matte seal and highlight them one last time they’re good to go. The Minwax seals them up and prevents the flaking. Just wouldn’t suggesting bending the rifles 180 degrees. Seriously, it’s basecoat neatly, dip, matte spray, highlight and final clean up.

[TwoGunBob]

Alright, five days of steady rain has stalled sealing the current batch of 28 figures and prevented the priming of any more for the time being. Patiently awaiting the matte spray and highlighting but the ACW project is still moving ahead with a full head of steam.

 

I do like the Minwax on these figures for the protection it provides as vtsaogames mentioned. After a matte seal and highlighting the figures do come together nicely but of course I didn’t take any pictures of the unit I finished to completion. Just going to keep rolling working on caissons and cannons until the weather clears.

[TwoGunBob]

I’ll keep updating then, AoS.  The 54’s are different, I mean the painting is just different. Those barely base coated big men have met the brown gravy last night. The ‘dip’ is a new technique for me but I kind of like the toy solider look it gives the 54mm. Have to hit them with some matte spray and highlights but they are nearing completion.

 

 

Base them up, hit them with the matte spray, some highlights and then I add the flag to the ensign. Only like 50 more groups to go!

[TwoGunBob]

Probably funny is when I do a question about gaming say… A roleplaying game and I’m like I want to a game like encompassing The Sweeney or the Professionals and I know FATE is a darling for the RPG world currently but I don’t want to use FATE. The first answer is invariably:

I don’t know what this Sweeney or Professionals is but I’d use FATE!

sigh

Private messages are private but, as said, always keep in mind they are only a ctrl C & ctrl V away from being shared with anyone and everyone. Suggestions for alternatives has never been problematic that I’ve seen. You could say a purchase of a Kings of War set is a loss of set being purchased from GW’s Warhammer line but that’s the beauty of competition, right?

There’s a difference from a suggestion being, “I’d buy that line of miniatures… If I need a lead sinker for fishing!” and just suggesting that Killer B makes pulpy space stuff with GAFDOZ but so does Wargames Supply Dump with their Dick Garrison line, you know?

 

[TwoGunBob]

I guess I was tragically gothicke in my love of undead but they’re not really a race, right? In AD&D I had a soft spot for half-orcs as I also preferred the angst of trying to live outside the shadow of the father and be a lawful being. Still feeling the single orb of Gruumsh always at their back but trying to carry on in a world that forever despises them. Cue the lone swordsman theme and misunderstood wanderer.

Funny for all the fantasy roleplaying games I played over the years I just now dipped my toe into fantasy officially last year.

[TwoGunBob]

Can’t express enough how much I love the blog and the projects. I don’t know how to put it, the diligence to the project inspired me a lot and kind of kicked the creeping crud out of my painting. Got me to sit back and dig in to building and painting the next project. Hard to explain, but these are awesome and I appreciate you sharing.

[TwoGunBob]

I’ve gotten weirder about posting. I want to be encouraging but just putting ‘great job!’ doesn’t feel like much input. It’s better than silence when you post a painted mini as you start think ‘OMG, is this garbage and people are being politely silent?’ I still prefer to try to add some kind of meaningful comment but sometimes I’m just without words.

My general thoughts on life, the universe, and everything I’ve been training myself to be quiet about in general for about the past thirty years. Saying the wrong thing, derailing a conversation, not ever getting to the point are pretty common social hang ups that kind of lean towards me being quieter. Here? You are welcome, we encourage you, we have no misgivings or expectations. Join in the conversation, the more active this place is, the better it will be.

[TwoGunBob]

I am trying so hard to engage with the show because the setting is so evocative and the rough and gritty environment is so compelling as mentioned. I’m glad others are engaging it and appreciate you piping up as well. I think that’s my main worry, all this exposition and very little meat by the season finale.

Wargame-wise I think the show certainly flavors well for gothic horror. If you’re looking for making terrain and find yourself with nothing but grays and browns in your paint pots, Taboo will show you how to make it work.

[TwoGunBob]

Well, I wasn’t but I am now. I expect my free air guitar shipped over to me ASAP from the staff at TWW.

[TwoGunBob]

Priced to move or still at retail? Asking for a friend, totally not putting the feelers out to finish out some stuff cheaply. 

[TwoGunBob]

Yeah, being that goblinoids are generally more diminutive I’d lean towards 15mm  as well.

[TwoGunBob]

Coming together into an awesome centerpiece. So many sticks, though. Cutting, gluing, and placing so much love put into it.

[TwoGunBob]

One of our locals has picked it up and chopped through it solo. His report was more encouraging than other reviews I’ve read which seemed to mention ‘Warhammery mechanics’

 

Ah heck, shameless linking to his blog

http://stevesfieldworks.blogspot.com

 

I usually throw down 54mm All the King’s Men with him and Dragon Rampant when I have time.

 

[TwoGunBob]

That’s funny! I’m going to hazard that the sculptor decided the head armor fitting was more important than anything as stupid as being anatomically correct. I’m curious if Zvezda 1:72 cavalry has a similar problem or if it was exclusively an oversight on their (decidedly small) 28mm range.

 

Edit to add- Carthaginians and Persians appear to have ears. Guess that was the downfall of the range.

[TwoGunBob]

Okay, threw my knapsack down after work and then tossed the cavalry miniatures on top of it. Really need to quit just using the phone camera for snaps but with my computer’s BIOS zapped I’ve become far too phone reliant and not in a hurry to buy a new computer.

 

 

Edit to add: And the weirdest thing about these miniatures is that the horses have NO EARS!!!! They are not nearly as fiddly as the infantry which was a relief. I still have a ton of the Empire figures to make, though.

[TwoGunBob]

This is a wickedly cool project to watch come to fruition. Cheers for taking time to chronicle all of it.

[TwoGunBob]

That’s my exact thoughts as well, Rhoderic. I saw them at the model train shop I used to pick up my Tamiya primer from and found them so mind boggling in their existence. They were also priced at quite a premium initially as I remember thinking that Games Workshop was cheap by comparison. There was the quarter scale car models, the planes, and these 28mm models stacked on the floor as if the owner got them and honestly had no idea what in the world to do with them.

They almost seem reverse engineered by someone that heard of wargaming and saw a few pictures on the internet but had no idea how everyone else made their models.

[TwoGunBob]

I think I’m getting more jealous than inspired. You know, when it passes that level of ‘I can do that’  with ‘dammit, why don’t my projects ever turn out looking anything like that?’

Which is my way of saying they look pretty darned cool in my book. Going to be going over your blog cause the scratch building phase is almost upon me again.

[TwoGunBob]

I need to get ‘stuck in’ here proper. I kind of faded into the google+ environment and that place is great if you get chuffed by +1’s with no actual input or thoughtful discourse but I should at least try to connect with my fellow wargamers. After all, I should have something in common with at least one or two of y’all (Texas!), right?

[TwoGunBob]

Honestly haven’t been active for nothing. Working overtime seven days a week for the past four months has killed me. It finally wrapped up last week and I sat down and got some work done on my Flintloque flying wraith cavalry. Since I have days off I plan to get back on the ball. Course this weekend I’m playing the Avalon Hill 1967 classic game Jutland for the first time. Had the game for a number of years but just never pulled it out as I’m not that big on naval wargames.

[TwoGunBob]

I’m just chiming in to say that’s some excellent brushwork and very inspiring. Alright, I’m speaking into being as I’m taking that inspiration to sit at the paint table and finish at least one more GAFDOZ figure of the Lost Legion. Also finally getting those Flintloque and Golgo Island pics uploaded and posted. I appreciate you taking the time out to share, Robey. Great stuff all around.

[TwoGunBob]

Man, excellent job on those Walkers. I’m still on the fence as to the change to make it look less like an airplane on legs, though.

 

Mind you, mine doesn’t hold a candle to those but felt compelled to dredge up a couple old battle report pics from 2013.

 

 

 

I just haven’t been able to get on board with getting these new Warzone minis, though. The new style is sweet but I’m still drowning in nostalgia I guess. Probably not helped by having way too many 1st and 2nd edition Warzone minis and the aesthetics between the old range and rebirth don’t seem to mesh to me.

[TwoGunBob]

People think it’s weird and probably a bit immature that I do play with toy soldiers. I honestly don’t care, though. My peer group is mostly gamers these days and the people that don’t get it are co-workers that I don’t have anything in common with anyways. Gaming-wise I haven’t seen backlash since the 80’s when Pat Pulling was getting airtime on the 700 Club with the Bothered About Dungeons and Dragons thing. I’m thankful my parents saw through all the hype and found that roleplaying games and wargames were niche but harmless hobbies.

[TwoGunBob]

I’d say I might have apathy towards the game. It just never grabbed me enough to divert hobby dollars into it. All said I think it’s an excellent job on the miniature. One of my complaints is that the only Infinity minis I see on forums is usually the studio paint job. I like to see passionate fans sharing their paint jobs.

[TwoGunBob]

I don’t get anything for Christmas. Honestly I get most of what I want throughout the year. Wargaming-wise my two sons are getting the limited edition Bella Manicottie Todoroni for Flintloque and the Brewswick Black Horde dwarves. The best present I could get is both the time and the drive to finish off my Killer B Lost Legion troops that have been sitting with base coats for far too long.

[TwoGunBob]

I got a lot more play time out of Fallout 3 and New Vegas as well as Skyrim than TLOU. But the story was just phenomenal in TLOU. I played through it twice so certainly got my money’s worth. I prefer open world games to scripted stories as well but don’t let that dissuade you from TLOU. Only thing you may think is that in the end it felt rather short. I didn’t notice this during the time I was playing, though. I think it’s more remorse that the game is over and there’s no more to it.

[TwoGunBob]

Back in that time they called the 90’s that don’t seem so long ago although they are… There was a roleplaying game called Kult. I loved this game, the world view , the horror, the cosmology of the Archons and their evils. I loved this game but was right rubbish at running it. I brought out the spirit of humor when trying to scare my gamer friends. It was just goofy and no one would try to run Kult either after the nightmare of hilarity that took place. I run a good game of Dungeon and Dragons but could never pull off horror. My Vampire the Masquerade games were more like John Woo action flicks only with a few fangs and werewolves thrown in.

So where is this going? Well, Silent Hill was Kult: The Video Game for me. It was the phantasm horror I was trying to evoke through roleplaying only with slightly crude (by today’s standards) graphics making up for imagination. The story didn’t always make sense and certainly only got muddier as it went on with installments but it was weird and horrifying. The first one really resonated as did the second. The third was slightly off. You know, I enjoyed the Wii released Shattered Memories and that game was exceptional in that it had no combat in it and also did incredibly crude but interesting psychoanalysis of the player.

It really boils down that Silent Hill was what I wanted from my attempts at horror roleplaying but was unable to achieve.

The Last of Us doesn’t have the weird horror but drew me in more. The characters were a cut above the usual cardboard I’d come to expect.  Let’s face it, character growth in a video game is usually measured in levels or perks after all.

[TwoGunBob]

Indeed it is an exceptionally well thought out game and executed very well. It’s just at the end where you… Kidding! I won’t get into story development or high points versus low points as I’d hate to ruin the game for someone.

I’m looking at The Evil Within but my immediate reaction is that it will not stand a chance to measure up to The Last of Us. There’s a lot to The Last of Us that just doesn’t usually ride into other games. Course it’s a railroad game unlike say Mass Effect where there’s some illusions of choice (hint: Mass Effect is an illusion as no choice you make really matters in the end). But it’s an exceptionally compelling story that dethroned my favorite series, Silent Hill.

[TwoGunBob]

Far too many hours spent trying to rescue the Orb of Zot in Linley’s Crawl. And, yes, I save scummed like a fool to manage to beat the game. Tried to get ADOM working for me but never managed to have a very productive game after a certain point. I played a lot of variants over the years but ADOM and Crawl were the two I stuck with. Well, lots of Nethack as well but never managed to get the Amulet of Yendor out on that one. Very much like the genre of games but in some ways the randomness (in the case of ADOM) stymies a game as you are dependent on praying for chance items to appear or really going out of your way to be sure you can get them.

[TwoGunBob]

It mostly about a few people accepting use of the term and beginning to use it and either it catches on with the twitter wargames or fizzles and dies. One person using a certain hashtag doesn’t have much ripple effect, twenty or so and the pond ripples a bit more and people catch it and aso use it and it casts a wider net for those interested. So to speak anyways.

[TwoGunBob]

It’s really a matter of getting everyone on the same page with it so that it becomes a common term to tie the twitter thing together. Twitter does seem a little scatterbrained and thoughts are too quickly lost for me to find engaging discourse. Many social media sites are taking the places of forums as well. Google+ and facebook dividing and conquering as it were. I still prefer forums to ‘likes’ and +1’s however.

[TwoGunBob]

I think everyone summed it up nicely. I’ve had the joy of dealing with most operations running much as Angel Barracks does and I do love them for it. Dinosaurs such as say… warweb.com that operates like it’s 1980 will get none of my business as they are slow and completely ignore any communication altogether. I’ll pay more than deal with them as their customer service is deplorable on all fronts. Fortunately 99% of the companies I deal with do follow most of the above and leave me a happy consumer.

[TwoGunBob]

Those would have been what my parents would have gotten me as a kid. Get out to the playground to play soldiers with my friends and they’re all looking at me weird as their tanks rolls through the sandbox and my line of soldiers are doing a sun salutation. I think they’re neat as heck but just bad timing as my hobby dollars are tied up tight with the holidays coming and the kids getting older and whatnot.

[TwoGunBob]

The site is about wargaming primarily with the cross pollination that happens as we as gamers tend to dip our toes in many gaming pools. I wouldn’t necessarily come here as my first choice for dual weapon pairing suggestions in Dark Souls 2 but I’d come here for certain if I was hunting up opines on a particular brand of primer or info on a mini out of production nigh twenty years or so. I do agree that ‘I’ and ‘we’ have an exclusionary air to them. I want TWW to be at the forefront of the charge to grow the hobby and make any and all from every corner of the world, age group, yadda, yadda, etc. etc feel welcome and that they have support here if they’re starting in the hobby.

Guess I’m trying to mellow as I’m surely not as quick with a dissenting opinion on a sets of rules that give me hives. I figure if you’re enjoying yourself, painting miniatures, and slinging dice at the table you’re doing it right.

[Author]

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