My Favorite Minis
All miniatures are pretty great, but some are greater than others. I really can’t start talking about my favorite minis without starting where it all began… Britains The classic toy soldiers are absolutely where my love for these little people started. A local specialty toy retailer stocked Britains and my brother and I spent lifetimes drooling over the catalogs and peering through the display cabinet glass. Debating about which figure to get. Cowboys? Soldiers? Knights? Space aliens???? Sadly, Britains have been gone for a while. But I still have most if not all of them. I’m pretty sure some mounted knights were lost to the ravages of childhood play. As much as that pains me a bit, that’s what they were designed to do. To be loved and potentially lost. These were the days that I pined for “Indian in the Cupboard” to be a true story. Playmobil The next…
Warhammer 40,000
A few weeks ago I wrote about something strange happening (being interested in perhaps playing Warhammer Fantasy Battle). It happened again. One of my offspring has developed a real and growing interest in acquiring and playing a 40k army. I have not discouraged this. It’s made me reconsider all the 40k minis I’ve had since my own childhood. So I fired up a list at https://www.newrecruit.eu Turns out I have a roughly 1,000 point Space Marine army. Painted. 😳 Including unpainted minis, it’s approximately 1,800+ points counting everything that forms up into a proper unit. That’s just the ‘Marines. I was really surprised. Shocked even that I’m sitting on a whole army. Though I have ABSOLUTELY no idea how these forces would turn out in a game. I’ve never read the Quick Start Guide, much less the full rules, despite being an original paperback Rogue Trader co-owner. I was always…
Sci-fi or Fantasy – Follow-up
GW continues to blur the lines between far-future and fantastical-past. I recently wrote about how Games Workshop mixes technology and mysticism liberally in both their fantasy and science-fiction settings. They’re at it again with their AdeptiCon announcements. Question: What GW setting features footsoldiers with machine guns and flamethrowers? If you said Warhammer 40k, you’re right! If you said Age of Sigmar, you’re also right! For more machine guns, also see the Cogfort. This ridiculous monstrosity is actually kind of awesome. I expect this to become one of those legendary sets that people will still talk about for years to come. But, it’s bristelling with machine guns (and flamethrowers) too. Which is cool I suppose, but kinda blows up the fantasy illusion in my head. Am I being a curmudgeon here, or is this genre-bending fusion just what these games need? Why is it that I find the anacronistic Wizard with…
Sci-Fi or Fantasy?
They’re both fantastical non-reality settings where magic may or may not be real (but probably is). For a long time I was a bigger sci-fi fan than fantasy, though I never viewed them as mutually exclusive. And I’m sure there was a time that I didn’t really think of them being separate things. I’m pretty sure my perception of these things was a fiction/non-fiction viewpoint. With modern Games Workshop games, the line has really blurred. A picture of a GW game table could really go either way. It takes closer examination to make a sci-fi/fantasy determination. <– Here’s a typical scene There’s power armor, blasters, monsters, mysticism, and an otherworldly landscape. To the uninitiated, this sure could look like sci-fi. But no! It’s fantasy! …with blasters and power armor… So, I’d say that what Games Workshop is doing now very much blends sci-fi with fantasy. That’s probably smart considering how…
What is time? And why there isn’t enough of it
I’m not entirely sure I think about time the same as the typical person. There never seems to be enough time. Not enough time to get projects tone, Things take longer than expected. Rushing from one thing to another. Suddenly finding time on your hands, but not being able to do the thing you’ve been meaning to do. Or, have some time, but not enough to dig into a bigger project. Transitions from one activity to the next. That can really chew up time too. Why does it go by too fast when you’re having fun, but is painful torture when you’re in agony? Should we all be miserable to make our perceived lives longer? I’m asking these questions as someone who wants to play more games, paint more minis and have more fun, but is just kinda busy. Sure, yes, I’ve been waylaid with a pretty nasty cold the…
Are miniatures toys?
Legally speaking; no. It says so right on the box: “Not Children’s Products“. Then why are they so fun? Back when I started this blog in earnest (March 2024) I wrote down a bunch of topics I wanted to hit. They are all saved as draft posts. This is one of those original conversation topics. You need tools, time, acumen, patience, light, space, and a whole mess of other things to make those models happen at the most basic level. It is very timely because just the other day I ran across a reddit thread about how a Warhammer player’s parent gave their “toys” to a toddler to “play” with. “Trigger-bait” or not, LOTS of people were triggered with similar experiences and trauma from long, long ago. Whole armies thrown in the trash, broken models, painted, or re-painted models, and all manner of destruction. It was awful. And it’s such…
Gifts Given, Gifts Received
“Christmastime Is Here” – Charlie Brown ‘Tis the season of gift giving. You don’t have to celebrate Christmas to give presents in December. There were a few game-centric things happening in my orbit this past week. I’m over the moon to receive Warhammer Quest: Darkwater as a present. I’ve read the book and assembled the first four heroes and the Mire Kelpies. Ready to kick things off! Other game type things that were given/received were Heroquest First Light, a Gnome Blitz Bowl team with Treeman, and a complete (beginner) paint setup. Oh, did I forget to mention… NURGLINGS!!!! Pretty fun stuff. I just splurged a small amount on a ghoul judge. Surprisingly affordable compared to lots of single model sets. Maybe this faction doesn’t sell all that great and GW tries to pump them up into Warhammer Quest (Both Cursed City and now Darkwater) . This is in anticipation of…
Reading & Watching vs. Painting & Playing
It’s an easy trap to fall into. It’s a lot easier to put on YouTube than it is to sit down at the painting desk. Starting a game is even more involved, especially if you don’t have dedicated space for your hobby. Something I do is make a goal, a note really. I write it down. I don’t share it with anyone, I just keep it as a reminder of something that I want to do. Tha goes for writing too. I’ve been a little lax getting posts up this December. Too many commitments and responsibilities happening. I don’t mind though. We’re a Christmas household and this time of year is fun. Though, it’s definitely easier to burn a few minutes on YouTube than it is to write up a blog post. Sadly, I need to get better about my personal goal to be more productive and less consumptive. It’s…
Give Us a Generous Game
The Ghosts of Games Past come to visit us on this cold December day. I’m writing this in the liminal time between when Darkwater has been announced, but not yet available. To me, Pre-orders are in the future. Youtubers don’t even have reviews out yet. Which seems… a bit odd. I’ve been thinking about this for a while. I want Games Workshop to give us a generous game. A game that is more than just one thing. A system. A lush setting full of mystery, intrigue, and adventure. I want a GM-less RPG that satisfies! So here’s a look at generous games of the past. Space Marine (Epic) Three armies. Terrain. Markers. Counters. Rules. Reference Sheets. So Good. Man O’ War Fleets! Counters! Great art! Cards! Mordheim I’ve never played, but there’s a city in this box! It’s still a super popular system. Necromunda Another one I haven’t played, it’s…
Cursed City could use a Healer
I’m kind of surprised I haven’t heard someone else say this. There’s no player with a straight-up healing ability. Sure, every hero can try to heal on their own, but vitality rolls aren’t a sure thing unless you’re a stalwart. I think our record for most-missed-vitality-rolls-in-a-row is 14. Yup, we’ve had blue or bone dice miss healing rolls 14 times, IN A ROW! Sure, there are healing potions, yes Cleona can remove an affliction. But no one can truly heal your character. I find, due to our atrocious dice rolling, that we rarely can spare the activation nor destiny dice to try to heal. Same goes with searching mysterious objects. We’re normally on the run, on the ropes, and hoping that we can get a solid hit on a monster. We rarely have time to loot and pillage. It would be really great to have a character, like the wizard…