Simply 6 and Baccus work begins

Well the Baccus figures and Simply 6 buildings arrived a few days ago. My first impression was that "oh no they are so small!" Anyway despite their size I havwe begun to paint them and actually they are not so difficult, indeed the buildings paint up super quick and look very effective.
I will post some pics tomorrow weather permitting-here in Cumbria its been as dull as Iceland...At the speed and price these things paint up I would be tempted into other periods in this scale....just wait for Baccus to release some WW1 figures or Russian civil war...

Simply 6 and Baccus

Thought I'd update the 6mm situation instead of ranting about overly detailed 28mm. I've just ordered a group of buildings from simply 6, a new company to me but the chap introduced himself on the 6mm yahoo group so I thought why not?
Baccus have not yet sent my order but thats not a problem as he has already explained that he is busy...must be a lot of folk ordering 6mm. Maybe 6mm will be wargamings new rock n roll what with time being in short supply (short...), as well as money.

Campaign for Copplestone Plastics

Hi Chaps,

well this is it, a declaration of a bill of wants. The wargaming world needs a plastic version of Copplestone castings in plastic. Well animated, simple figures moulded in plastic that portray an artistic vision of the subject rather than every buckle, shoe lace and badge. I want to paint wargames figures and not a pretentious 28mm work of art.

So...who will join me?

I wonder if we can gain enough momentum via the internet to persuade Mr Copplestone or the team at Renegade to produce their miniatures unchanged in hard plastic? Whats the point in having an affordable alternative to white metal if it takes twice the time to paint. Perry twins, Warlord games and Gripping Beast have got it all artistically wrong...at the risk of sounding like an old hippie "they've forgotten their roots man"...

More detail does not equate to more happiness. I have been horrified at the thought of painting 28mm for the first time in my lifetime simply because they would be such hard work. A clever sculptor would halve the work for both himself and his customer by conveying his subject with the impression of detail and not a profusion of it.

Its a cruel joke. For the first time in 20 years I can afford 28mm but now I dont want it because it has transformed itself into the new 15mm....too much detail thats just not worth the effort because no one ever sees it.

I am sorry if this upsets the brave plastic 28mm manufacturers, I applaud your venture into hard plastic but your attention to detail has turned my lifelong dream into a nightmare of tiny buttons and pointless lace, thanks for nothing.

Baccus 6mm ordered

Well I have taken the 6mm plunge and ordered a small amount from Baccus to see if I can paint in this scale. I really hope that I can identify the figures on the table as this is quickly becoming the only scale I can afford to game in. The credit crunch has'nt so much given me a squeeze but more of a kick in the spuds!
My dire lack of actual games this year has been due to time, money and space so maybe 6mm can solve two out of my three gaming problems. It will also be nice to get some buildings on the table, it would be nice to hear from any other gamers with more 6mm experience.

Are plastic 28mm too detailed?

I was wondering if anyone else had come across plastics which are too detailed? I recently completed a box of Perry medievals and was really worn out and tired of them by the end! For my painting tastes there was just too much fine detail! It was like trying to paint a large 1/72nd scale figure...too many buckles that couldnt be seen unless the figure was being examined on its own.

I know I shoud'nt complain but (theres always a but) instead of a quick and cheap way to build an army these things take an age and should come with a spec savers voucher. Ouch, now I'm being too harsh plus I dont want the Perries sending the lads round to break my painting fingers!

Never be a single parent!

Hi,
its been a few weeks but I've been busy sorting out the move to primary school for my boy and moving his big brother back to uni-all change at the Hendrickson house again. Also sorting out the usual single parent hassles...you'd think that with all the rubbish the daily papers print that I would be living it up...thats just not the case! Life just dumps on us all sometimes-I miss my wife and son every minute of every day.

Oh well on the wargaming front I have completed a 15mm modern AK47 army of middle eastern chaps along with a few civilian vehicles and I am considering which period to start my "Black powder" career in. I may even go for 15mm because of the speed at which one can paint in this scale....lifes good when your clutching an essex minis catalogue!

Whatever happened to Mike Siggins?

Anyone remember Mike Siggins who used to write for Wargames Illustrated? I used to enjoy his scribblings and his website but he seems to have disapeared...maybe concentrating on board games? Oh well at least there are plenty of blogs to read about whats happening in the world of miniatures.
Keep on blogging chaps-I like to look at what others are creating, I think the internet has dragged miniature gaming out of the dark ages. Where as before a gamer only had magazines for inspiration now we have access to some of the worlds greatest gamers and painters at a very personal level which means most of us have upped their standards.
I will post some pics later today of my latest painting-how I love 15mm, I ignored it for years (20!) only to find I like painting this scale...and units can be made in days not weeks.

Old Glory Super Fast Super Quality

Well done Old Glory did well-the figures arrived this morning which is darned quick by anyones standards! Also the figures, middle eastern militia pack and command pack are of a decent quality. I'm not touching the Brits yet.
Sprayed the figures that I need up and also a couple of toy vehicles from the 1970s that I found on a car boot sale. Family type cars are too big but the models of the matchbox tankers, road diggers and trucks fit in very well, I just hope that I dont get lynched by some hard line model car collectors.
Pics tomorrow.

Old Glory UK

Hi,
I recently sold a load of old figures on the web so I have purchased some Gripping Beast Vikings from Flag and Drum? Excellent service. Also purchased were three bags of modern infantry from Old Glory UK (8th Sept), it will be interesting to see when and what arrives. I will post pictures of the 15mm men in the metal...in the mean time does anyone know how to paint Brit desert cammo onto a 15mm figure using GW products?

Medievals almost complete

Hi,

thought I'd share my Lancastrian force with all and sundry. Its just a box of Perry Wars of the Roses range with the Lancastrian mounted command. If I were too gripe about anything it would be that there is almost too much detail and its very fine-almost like painting 20mm. As for value these figures are just superb, probably half an army for £25 in 28mm is very cheap indeed. I am going to try and sell these on fleabay to make shelf space for my Gripping beast vikings.

Its now approaching winter and I can feel a campaign coming on...probably in 6mm...

Random photos

Hi put some old figures on fleabay so I thought I'd put them on here...must learn how to take a better photo!

Chris Peers fan club

Hi All,
I was browsing through some old rulesets last night (life in the fast lane!) and realised the ones I like the best were all written by Chris Peers. This man has introduced some great periods to the wargaming world-or at least made them playable. Darkest Africa, Back of beyond...and he has helped 28mm minis gain dominance once more. So why has he no blog or web site? No yahoo group? Come on Mr Peers-dump the type writer and purchase a computer!

I love plastics!!!

Hi,
felt I just had to praise the new plastic figures-at last I can afford to build decent 28mm armies without going bankrupt in the process. It seems the Perries are releasing Prussian Napoleonics so by my way of thinking it cant be long before a company releases some Franco Prussian war minis...or colonial...its an endless list!
I will post some pics of my first Wars of the Roses unit later. It maybe time to invest in Kevin Dalimores book and see how the painting gods produce the very clean-almost cartoonish effect that one sees on the adverts.

First two bases of archers complete

Well my first archer bases have been completed over my last few painting sessions. I have gone for the scruffed up medieval look...soap was probably not a priority on a medieval campaign. The rest of the pack has been assembled and undercoated so as they are based I will put a pic on here.

I am forever doomed if the Perries release anything in plastic for the colonial period or seven years war! On the whole I think that the Perries deserve a knighthood for releasing these figures in plastic.

Perry Twins Rock!

A package arrived at 9am from the Perry twins containing a box of plastic medievals and the Lancastrian command set....brilliant service-couldnt have been faster-all hail the Perry brothers!
The contents are also far better quality than I expected, so far I've put together about 20 figures and each one is different. Detail is superb on the plastics, far superior to a couple of other plastic boxes I tried from a different company. For a shade over £25 I now have the makings of a small retinue complete with printed flags....God loves skint wargamers.

More old minis

A few more

No Response from the Perries...

Day two, still no response from the sacred two...maybe my message did'nt make it through? Anyway to kill some time whilst pining for the minis to arrive I photographed some bits from a box. Hat industries are cool-anyone know what their 28mm stuff is like? Anyway enjoy these figures some of which were painted a long time ago.

24 Hours...no plastics....

OK I can live with this-its been 24 hours since I ordered from the Perry twins website. My postman is starting to think I am staring at him for some reason that is not connected too 28mm figures........
How many more hours?
Feel my pain fellow gamers feel my lack of figures, my lack of a project too look forward too...come on Perries excell and send me my figures.................I can hardly keep a lid on this......

Wars of the Roses Perry twin style!

Well I bit the financial bullet and ordered a box of WotR plastic figures and a set of Lancastrian mounted command-a big outlay for me and the pocket money blown for another few weeks! So 17/8/10 is my order date I will update when they arrive and the progress on these little men.
Off to the library...ok a float around the internet to gather some inspiration.

Frontline....another view

Frontline vehicles

Frontline vehicles are excellent! Fairly cheap they paint up well and their range is huge. Now to be the perfect company they just have to release it all again in 28mm...

First zombie game

A great game, many laughs and shocks but in the end we did not save our stranded survivor as Conrads unit did'nt really adhere to the fire and move tactics it was supposed to...he is 7 and actually did very well. We retreated hastily after shooting half a dozen undead with two of our number badly mauled...have a look at these pics.

Some 28mm women....sad...

Some metal babes!

Figures painted years ago

Right this time?

20MM VBCW

Hi,

I bought some Irregular VBCW in 20mm and immediatley regretted my thriftiness-I should have gone 28mm, but you live and learn. Anyway in case anyone was thinking of going Irregular this is what their 20mm look like.

I've also included some random figures painted years ago.

Zombie mayhem..

Finally found time to scratch build a few bits for a game with my son! The pics are not great quality I'm afraid so that is another part of my hobby that I will have to work on. The zombies are the plastic kind which paint up moderatley better than the first release which where colonial Brits which are very hard to get a result from. I have another set of zombies which I will take more time in applying the paint-this batch were painted just to get a game...

Buildings...figures no time!

Well its been a rather productive couple of weeks...about time as well. Built three houses and painted a zombie hoard so that my son and I can play a simple game with figures he can relate to. I think if more money was available a lot more figures would have been painted! I am currently searching the net for some signs to place on my little buildings...

Nerding out 1938 style

"All that alternative history is rubbish" , I do regret saying that as I have been drawn into the 1938 type of game, its just too cool to resist! Obviously I cant afford the 28mm route but Irregular miniatures to the rescue with their 20mm range...a review to follow. My hometown is a sleepy little village that hasnt really changed since err 1938 and neither have the attitudes-royalist-right wing conservative....its all here I dont even have to put much effort into a map as its drawn for me.
I will post some pics tomorrow of some old figures that have surfaced...meanwhile I'm off to draw a plan of the town hall.

Busy...

Its been a while (for a lot of things actually!) but I have ordered some 6mm little men and they should be on their way soon. The longer days mean I have been busy outside...seems that painting maybe a seasonal hobby. I will be back-next tome with pictures!

Black Powder Arrives.

Started reading "Black Powder" and cant put it down, figure porn on every page along with a ruleset that could have been made for a solo gamer. Also nearly completed my first Napoleonic Brit battalion which has 16 figures instead of my planned 12-16 just looks a lot better. I will post some pics later, awaiting delivery of the French and considering putting my ancient Brit 28mm on fleabay to create more room (and raise funds for more Napoleonics!).

Black Powder rules.

Well I took the plunge and ordered the Black Powder book and four boxes of Perry Napoleonic French-immediatley realising that I should have bought the figures in 10mm! As I game solo this is a large project, maybe too large. Already I have a plastic mountain of Republican Romans but this is a nice position to be in-as a single parent I am usually so financially embarrassed that I have had to paint 20mm soft plastic.

Any suggestions and tips on Black Powder would be appreciated, any pitfalls to avoid?

As you can see above is my "shed of dreams" where all my spaying is done and in the summer months a lot of painting, reading and sleeping! It does'nt look like much but in summer its rather pleasant-currently awaiting chippings and a greenhouse...the figure is an Old Glory German chap with a trench broom.

Another random selection of odd figures that I have had resting on my shelves for years! A lack of space means that I regularily have to sell armies on fleabay to make room for more toys.