The Isolation continues! I took the last few weeks off as my motivation and brain took a crash and really couldn’t focus on anything hobby related. Instead, I’ve been working and playing video games. But, I have decided to come back and try a new thing.
Streaming
Yep. Streaming. Having picked up a webcam and kit for working from home, I’ve decided it might be a nice idea to set some time set aside for hobby. And what better way to do it than sharing with others!
The plan is to start at around 20:00 UK time and will be around 2 hours or so as I slowly paint the Baba Yaga model from Spectre and be around to chat/share in my awful taste in music. You can find me online at https://www.twitch.tv/chargedog2150 and I can’t wait to see how this experiment goes! I’ll also post something here when I start going, with it embedded so you can watch it here.
NEWS
Not much news but something cool from Spectre – Zombie rules! Perfect for playing solo or using your operators for something different than military operations. From my quick read through, I think these rules are a great addition – Spectre has shown it’s use as a toolbox for a selection of scenarios so, in addition to action heroes and aliens, zombies are a nice touch.
Additionally, Spectre are offering up gift vouchers on their store. With the whole COVID-19 causing havoc throughout the supply chain (and Spectre’s stock situation already not great), letting people pick up cash to spend once things are sorted out is great. On the other hand, they have also decided to shut down their store for now – with their caster not working due to isolation there is no more metal arriving for them to sell. Because of this, the site is looking pretty bare, with only the gift cards and book available. I’m going to admit, it’s not a great look, but fingers crossed it all works out.
They also had a little deal on over the Salute weekend (which has now expired) which was bringing back all the exclusive models from previous years. As someone who owned all these models, my wallet very much enjoyed not being taken for a ride (in fact it was mostly safe over that weekend). This was also a pre-order, with deliveries happening later in the year.
Also, the Miniature Building Authority is in process on a new Kickstarter, the second stage of their Shantytown. As well as some really impressive buildings, they are also working on some exclusive mats from Cigar Box. The wide winding river is some perfect setup, and I’ll admit I am getting some pretty severe terrain envy from that layout.
Empress has also revealed some crew for it’s upcoming PBR kit. These crew may seem familiar if you’ve spent 3 hours slowly watching someone on screen mirror your own descent into madness. I really like the look of them, seeing as I have a weak spot for troops dressed in non-regulation ways. Releases coming once we escape the lockdown.
UPDATES
So my paint storage solution is… messy. It’s a drawer full of paints, that I delve into whenever I go hunting for paint. Basically it’s crap. So I picked up a rack from Sarissa Precision. My plan is to use it as a “ready rack”, keeping paints I’m currently working on nicely stacked up, as well as stopping figures sprawling out over the tabletop. I really like the MDF kit, but left off the brush holders on the side as I use my wet pallette for that.
I also got Sarissa’s book with that order as well. This is written by March Attack, whose work on the Sarissa kits I’ve followed for a long time. Additionally, I also have a pile of kits, so getting some infomation and updates would be handy. I haven’t read it too deeply but there are already tactics and techniques I’m planning to use on my pile of MDF kits.
I also got the new fangled spray stick out and gave it a go. Overall, I’m pretty happy with it! Sure, it’s perhaps a little over-engineered, but if you want a stable stick to spray things on without the mess of blue-tack and wood, this is the way to go. It is definitely designed for the GW style of bases, meaning the rubber bands on smaller, penny style bases need to sit over the top rather than around. But, definitely worth using!
One of my projects I’ve been really looking forward to getting done is my late war Brits for Chain of Command. Well, with the final support element I was needing finally released (the Vickers teams), its time to actually focus on it. So I broke out the models I have already, the Platoon list for the British Infantry and got to working.
With my current collection, I have a full infantry platoon. Additionally, there is a second PIAT team, an additional Bren team, an additional senior leader, four sten gun troopers, a sniper and a piper (or adjutant). With an additional infantry team from the Warlord Games Winter British Infantry box as well, this definitely gives me a few options. All I’m really missing is some HMGs (because Brens can’t outshoot MG42s) and a 6 pounder AT gun. Seeing as Empress haven’t released the crew for that gun yet, picking up a pair of Vickers (as well as more riflemen to act as crew) was the next step.
And then they arrived! Along with a few other things. Thanks to the Outpost, I managed to get some additional Nuln Oil and Agrax Earthshade. I did realise my painting style pretty much depends on them, so starting a new project with no resupply seemed like a poor idea. I also managed to get a physical copy of Contact Front, thanks to Elhiem Figures, ready for it’s addition to my master post of modern wargaming rules. The box is really nicely done, and I was already interested in the rules since reading the original PDF I purchased. More details soon.
The other thing to arrive this week (after a rather long trip) is my Black Powder Red Earth hypernotes. This is sort of a lore book for the next group of BPRE comics, taking place in a North African state. It’s a nicely presented book, although I am a little disappointed with the reference section being of equal length to the narrative. But I guess that is the glorious art you come for. I’m going to write up a little something on it later I think, as well as maybe showing it off in the stream on Wednesday.
Finally trees. As I previously played at a wargames club, switching to having a home setup means I need to invest in a lot of things that previously just lived in a magical box. Trees and shrubs have been one thing. After grabbing some trees off ebay, this layout is already looking better. I’m going to add a few tweaks to them, mostly to stop them looking uniform and a bit more “desert highland” which is where they are being used for.
That’s it for this update, expect more updates next week!