I sat in a field with the wife the other week to watch the eclipse. Saw bugger all as it happens, but something tiny in the grass (no not the wife) bit me in the nads. Nasty.
The swelling was awful, but it did get me some very admiring looks from the grannies in the boulangerie the following day, so it wasn’t all bad. “Yeah bitches” I muttered sotto voce as I stood at the counter, “check out them apples.”
Returning home with the croissants I heard the wife talking to her mother on the phone, cackling with delight about biting low hanging fruit or some such. Now I know we’ve not long brought in the last batch of plums from the orchard, but why she’d find feasting on them so amusing is anyone’s guess? Women. Pah!
Not having been able to sit down properly has been a welcome excuse not to go into the games room mind you. I’ve been trying to paint some 15mm ECW for a week or so but I’ve developed a bit of a tremor in the left hand that’s made it nigh on impossible to obtain a decent result. Sad to report that I made such a dogs breakfast out of my last attempt that three of the little sods ended up in the bin following a bit of a hissy fit.
Talking of chucking things away, my Brompton terrain boards all went the way of the Swan Vesta yesterday too. They were getting a bit “frilly” for my taste. Verging on the railway modeller aesthetic or thereabouts. The way things were going there’d have been no room for the troops again. Been there done that. Besides I’ve got form for destroying things I’ve created. Just ask my therapist about my robot buddy Colin, my previous blog and my self published novel “Wormwood.” Sometimes you have to burn the village to save the village, n’est ce pas!.
Being a natural « coughs » brightsider though I’m pleased to report that while 15mm appears to be a no no for now, I’m still able to knock out the 28mm stuff to my usual crappy standard, witness these lads below:
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| Stretcher bearer! These boys will be aiding the forces of repression in forthcoming Brompton games. British army uniforms of this period don’t present a great colour pallet to work with do they? |
Without Brompton’s Sarissa terrain boards I’m moving back to hexon for the foreseeable; sort of stripped back and almost cartoonish. Better looking? No. Easier to create landscapes? Yup. I know most of you really don’t like hexes, but I reckon if you squint really hard at my blog photos from here on in, you probably won’t notice them at all.
Probably.
Fortunately I’ve created another set of rules for my most recent AVBCW pash, which just so happen to be hex based and 28mm.
What a happy coincidence.
Other than that I was surprised to find a figure on the Artizan website that’s named after me, and that doesn’t happen everyday now does it? Could it be a sign from the cosmos to indulge in some more Victorian sci fi?
Mmmm. Hold my beer for a mo would you? I’m off to have another decko at Pendraken’s Selenite’s.
Blimey you have a filthier mind than me.
Selenites are moon men.
Invasion of the moon men could be a thing at some point I reckon…well after I’ve finished the jolly jack tar contingent for Brompton that is.
Toodleooh for now mes amis.
A dreadful event JBM! Although they do say that eclipses are omens of a disaster. Perhaps you should have made an offering to the local gods, downing a few libations in their honour... maybe try this now, it may bring relief 😁
ReplyDeleteThe new VBCW guys look great and I hope the new terrain works out for you.
Quite right, Ben, and a good recommendation. Mark, no one tells a story of pain and suffering like you. The sculptor of Pvt Wheatley would have done well to copy your avatar. Fighting on the moon? Sounds interesting.
DeleteCheers Ben. I did indeed take your advice and broke open a new bottle of crème de menthe. Result was mixed. Part of the ceiling came down in the main kitchen due to a leaky shower in the floor above, but I also won a battle with the tax office on the same day (they’d been after 5K because of an error they’d made) and have ended up refunding me some dosh instead. lol.
DeleteThanks Jon, might do the moon stuff come to think of it but my initial intention was to use the Brompton scenery which is deffo Victorian in style.
DeletePvt. Wheatley looks an astute character, he would make a good addition to the collection, knowing his plums from his low hanging fruit!
ReplyDeleteGood to see more rules from your pen. Hexes seem a bit more second nature to me because of my boardgaming distractions. Hope your hand thing is temporary and that you can get back to your 15mm lads.
Hi Norm, yeah I’m still motoring on in my usual erratic (nearly typed erotic) fashion. Proper rules writing is a lot harder than it looks isn’t it?! I’ve enjoyed dabbling with it mind you. Hand wobbling is a bit disturbing but tests are ongoing. We’re all reaching an age where bits are falling off us or packing up it seems. The hobby needs some younger blood - even if it’s only so we can attach jump leads to them and drain their youthful vitality. lol.
DeleteYour posts are always superbly entertaining Mark, but that one had me rolling around on the floor!
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit shocked at the dumping of your Brompton terrain. I can understand what you mean about it being too cute and restricting flexibility of arrangement and movement, but they looked so damned luverly. You kept some of he extras, I hope?!
Still, it's like Chris Gregg ("Not just old school wargaming") who makes the most amazing sculpted terrain using bits of old boxes and other cardboard as the base from which he builds a masterpiece, only to do 'out with the old' when it's time for a new game.
Nothing crappy about the standard of your painting my man. Those two look great, complete with a red cross on the bag, sheesh!
Best wishes, James
Thank you James, my terrain overreaction was triggered when I realised that the Sarissa boards couldn’t be used for much other than flat urban landscapes and what I really wanted was something that would do double duty - oh and not being to warp and bend a bit at the edges like the mdf began to do. I also get carried away embellishing stuff with creeping elegance as a joint acquaintance would have it, and have suffered the consequences of many hours fabricating scenes you can’t put the ruddy soldiers into. I kept all the buildings and street furniture and they are currently being reapplied to hexes. Overall a transition that was less dramatic then a my post made it sound, but I do like me a bit of the old hyperbole.
DeleteA nice update there Mark and I do hope your plums are OK now;)!? Over the years i've got used to the hexon terrain tiles, but I wish they wouldn't use such a bright green flock, as seen en masse, it can be a bit overwhelming to these old eyes. Those figures look great to me and well done on more progress with the rules, something that has never interested me at all.
ReplyDeletePlums gravely recovered thanks Steve. Wifey insisted I go to the pharmacy to get checked out for a snakebite (lot of the buggers over here) but I manfully resisted and walked it off. I agree about the hexon lurid grass colour, it’s a bit of an odd shade isn’t it?
DeleteA cracking read JBM, fair gave me a good chuckle. Must admit I quite like Hexon terrain, always seems to work in my eyes. Victorian sci-fi has always held a great interest for me and it is one project I have never done! Be very interested to see if you dive into it once more.
ReplyDeleteHey Donnie, I’ve been stalking a couple of web sites that sell Victorian sci fi models and since my birthdays coming up, I might convince the missus to buy me a steam tank or some such. I’ve a bit of 15mm in this genre but it might be time to retire it in favour of 28mm given my current painting issues.
DeleteNice post shame about the ging gangs. Hope all is on the mend or it will be a dramatic episode of a French equivalent of Dr Finlay’s Case Book, if such ever existed or exists . I look forward to seeing where you will take the board and the rules. I enjoy grid games very much , not to mention VBCW so will be very interested to follow this story. I oscillate between attempts at realistic terrain and an ultra stylished aesthetic. Can’t ever make up my mind.. currently favouring an old, toy soldier sort of vibe.
ReplyDeleteAlan Tradgardland
Hey Allen, I’ve been switching back and forth between terrain types for years too, but a recent discovery in the barn of a hidden cache of hexon I’d forgotten I had, finally tipped the scales in that direction. Disappointingly the recent heat wave here had also begun to warp some of the stored Sarissa mdf boards slightly and that was another nail in their coffin. I can confirm that all is now okay with the ging gang goolies, and thanks for reminding me of the song, which is now buzzing around in my noggin none stop.
DeleteA superbly entertaing read. Perhaps you should publish a book of your thoughts and ramblings about life and wargaming. I'd buy it!
ReplyDeleteRichard that’s very kind of you to say and you may be onto something because every time I hold forth on a topic of interest my wife never fails to roll her eyes to the heavens in excitement. I think it’s excitement? Yeah. Must be.
DeleteYou going through the wars. It's what comes of living in exotic parts I guess. I recommend a regular dose of G&T in case the little culprits were malarial.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I love the cover design for your rules. Nice juxtaposition of Art Nouveau elegance and a broken Britannia.
Hi Chris, yeah it’s been a tough year on the old bod, but 8 wanted to get all the building work done before Due goes into hospital. Ten years ago I’d have accomplished everything in half the time and without that much physical impact. Problem is that was ten years ago and I don’t have the stamina anymore. Doc thinks my tremor is nerve damage from extensive use of a kango hammer while breaking up concrete, for instance. Glad you like the cover design for the rules, the black and white version shown works better than the colour version of it I think.
DeleteLike others, I had a good laugh reading your witticisms!
ReplyDeleteWe (you and I) seem to have come full circle JBM - my first comments on your blog involved following a small skirmish level game of Victorian or Edwardian South Wales Borderers (I think) fighting off HG Wells type War of the Worlds invasion - and now, you are looking at Victorian sci fi again!
I am somewhat distressed by the idea you burned all that lovely mdf AVBCW terrain you had - but if that's what felt right - fair enough! (just read above I misconstrued what you did and its only the boards that suffered from your pyromania - phew!)
Hi Keith, yeah it’s definitely a case of what goes around comes around isn’t it. Lol. Despite the amazing variety of hobby genres available to us these days I’m still obviously drawn to the same old themes. On the terrain boards front I’d made a mini allotment scene filled with different veg, but it became so filled with “detail” it was ruddy useless. I put it away in the cupboard but when I revisited it a couple of weeks into the heatwave it had bent so that each edge was up by about 5mm. Not chuffed to discover that a few other tiles had gone the same way. Sarissa claim they could be re bent back into shape - but I honestly couldn’t be arsed fiddling around with it. All the buildings and street furniture have been saved so it was a lesson learned regarding the capabilities of mdf I guess.
DeleteGoodness mate your poor gonads. Of course mind, am sure you don't mind the rest of us guffawing at your expense - you illustrated your plight in such a comedic fashion! (I think you missed a calling there. A late-life career telling jokes on stage might be worth pursuing?)
ReplyDeleteShame to read about the destruction of Brompton. It looked amazing in the pics you shared but I get when "gaming" setups suddenly become overly decorative and impractical in all their prettiness. Reading previous comments tho, I'm glad to hear you kept some of the elements. I mean, those 4Ground kits ain't cheap!
Sorry to read about the hands shaking too. I'm frustrated with the state of my eyesight and that's bad enough, couldn't imagine my aim going to shit too. BUT(!!) those Tommies look very nice and you are very correct - very drab colours! Still, they wouldn't blend in well with their surroundings all that well if they were still wearing regimental reds!
New book cover is again, another spiffy creation. Must have taken a bit trying to convince AI to get it right? Looking forward to reading a post where you tell us how they all work like you did with your Indian setting rules.
Hello Dai, how’s things over in sunny Kaliff orn ay eh? Good I hope. There’s no chance of me being a stand up comedian I’m afraid. I pride myself on never having done a proper days work in my life, and I’m not about to start now. Managing on the wobbly mitts front, by sticking the item to be painted down on the desk with blue tack. Sort of a solution I suppose. The new rules are being play tested at the moment, so I might do a blog post covering that soon I reckon. No sign of poor eyesight in your latest painting by the way. Still loving those tractors of yours.
DeleteGood looking troops,dont know what youre talking about, I agree its a difficult line to walk between realism/impact and playability but you seem to have come up with a solution, glad you are recovered from your exposure to nature and Im with you in not being able to do what was easily ten years ago unfortunately!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Hey Iain, yeah I’ve found a blue tack solution to the wobbly mitts issue, for now. Not easy, but workable. Really aware of my general lack of stamina these days. Hopefully I’ll be able to slow down a bit now that the majority of the heavy work is done here. 63 and I feel like 93 some days.
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