A fellow Blogger well worth following John @ War of the Woods

John was one of my anniversary winners, and I am in the process of painting up some of his French Regulars for M&T. I have been happily following his blog for ages and as he has now decided to expand what systems he plans for cover.

"" have decided that I am going to expand this blog into the other games I play and paint. Careful use of labels should keep it all fairly in order and aid navigation.

After thoughts (and brief effort) on starting a new general blog and keeping this running too, the ease of just having the one site makes so much more sense.

So the main things to expect in addition to the M&T are -

Saga - lots of it, for as you may know I have a very minor role within the Saga system and it is something I just love.

Wargods of Aegyptus - A system and figures I particularly enjoy. Mr Fitzpatrick really does some wonderful sculpts and the painting style of these in the age it is set is really cool to.

15mm - I am slowly working out some Gruntz pieces and Critical Mass games bits. My little jaunt into sci fi.

Roleplaying odds and ends - I love adding odd figures to my collection of stuff for use when we are doing D&D and Dark Heresy. A great excuse for those weird and wonderful one off figures you just can't resist on occasions.""

If you see some thing that would be up your street I suggest you nip over to War of the Woods and follow along with me.

Putting my House in order

What with all this Bloggers for Charity and Blog-Con a man can get lost in "good ideas". I was doing a little painting today and noticed that my room was closing in on me (no, not some weird trip), I have had loads of new stuff added to my lead/plastic pile this year and have just found a gap and put it down. So today I had a tidy up and cleared some shelf space, once I put it all away I was so impressed that I just had to take pictures (it may never look this tidy again). The pictures give you a good indication of what will be crossing my painting table for the next 12-18 months (this is just the plastic pile BTW).
 You should note that this pile includes Viking Studio stock which will be painted for sale.

 

Blog-Con 2013

I am very happy to be able to announce that Wargames Foundry have agreed to host Blog-Con 2013 at their Foundry in Nottingham over the weekend of November 9th/10th.
What I want is for all you bloggers to have a great time be able to catch up face to face and also try out some different games. I would like anyone who would like to bring a game along to contact me with what game it is how much space they will need and how long a game will last. When I have a list of what games are going to be put on I will produce a list, while I do not want to get all formal and do sign up lists I think we will need to give the people putting on some idea of how many gamers want to try their game. My hope is that with a good bit of publicity we may get a few non-bloggers showing up and trying out a few games. If we can encourage some new wargamers then all the better also it would be nice if we can encourage along any youngsters. I have set up a new blog that I want to run as a community blog, anyone who wants to post on it just needs to let me know their email address so I can set them up as authors, on this blog you can tell all about the game you are putting on or maybe the painting/terrain demo you want to put on or simply can offer a lift to the venue. I will be giving the blog address to Marcus and it will be linked to the Foundry Website.
Foundry Miniatures Ltd
24-34 St marks Street
Nottingham NG3 1DE
United Kingdom

View Larger Map

The image below can be used on any of your blogs to promote the event. Lets show the hobby world that Bloggers can be the heart and sole of our hobby, I would love it if we can use are enthusiasm and passion to encourage a new generation of wargamers


 

Bloggers Ryder Cup (Blog-Con)

I have had another of my "good ideas" while walking my dogs this morning. As I have hinted the Bloggers Convention is a definite this year I am just waiting for confirmation on the date, I have been thinking about some sort of competition and think I have the idea to end all ideas. I am going to umpire a series of Musket and Tomahawk games set in the AWI , the twist is I want international Bloggers to play the part of the Americans via Skype ( I will have my laptop)or facetime  I will produce maps of the playing area for them to follow the movements but do the movment for the Internation players myself but all dice rolling and decisions are made by them. The British and Irish players will alternate between attackers and defenders in each game.
It is an idea I will make work, what I need to know if it you international bloggers would be up for this type of wargame. The score will be kept through both days and we will see who wins are own Ryder Cup.

Pick up a bargin at Foundry Miniatures

Any one of my age or older needs no introduction to Foundry but as odd as it sounds many younger gamers have never found foundry on their radar, which is a shame because Foundry's back catalogue has some iconic sculpts. Below is a history of Foundry from the current owner Marcus

""Foundry Miniatures came into existence in 1983

Clifford Ansell was looking for an interesting retirement job that would keep him busy. Cliff had spent much of his life working in the mining industry (apart from a few years away with the Royal Navy in the 1940s) he ended up a mining engineer and an expert on mine safety, ventilation and dust suppression. In the 60s Cliff moved on to a second career as a maths teacher: he taught maths at Bishop Dunn Comprehensive in Nottingham.
Cliff's son was, and is, my father: Bryan Ansell who had made toy soldiers with Skytrex, Tabletop, Asgard and Citadel/Games Workshop.
Bryan suggested that Cliff might like to have a go at manufacturing toy soldiers himself.
Cliff was already experienced in dealing with both stubborn Lancashire miners and wilful, disorganised children: so it was clear that the strange mindset of the confused denizens of the toy soldier industry would be absolutely no problem for Cliff to handle.
As it happened: this was the time when Citadel was starting to change from metal based models to their new "slotta bases", and also ceasing to make historical models. Bryan was able to set Foundry up with a number of discontinued ranges - Barons Wars and Wars of the Roses Medievals, Samurai and the Vikings, Normans and Saxons (these had all previously served as Human forces in Warhammer Fantasy Battle for some years). Also Woodland Indians, Huns and Elizabethans. We still make those models at Foundry today.
Michael and Alan Perry sculpted almost all these models and were keen to continue sculpting historical models for their own painting and wargaming purposes, so they continued to sculpt new Foundry ranges for Cliff for quite some years. Alistair Morrison and Dave Andrews both contributed ranges too.
So, Foundry was up and running very quickly indeed. Cliff first had premises in Sherwood, then moved to a larger unit in New Basford. The upstairs in New Basford was taken by Alistair and Trish Morrison: who sculpted the Marauder range up there.
For a long period, Foundry was making master moulds and production moulds for Games Workshop whenever they found themselves with more moulds than they could handle. Over the years many ex Games Workshop staff worked for Foundry; most notably John "Bones" Ellard, Anthony "Ep" Epworth, Andy Pattinson, Kevin Adams, Colin Dixon.
In 1991 my father left Games Workshop and went off to Guernsey for a decade or so. In Guernsey he had three children, restored four old houses (he does that wherever he goes: not the children, just the houses) started Guernsey Foundry and made Seven Years War, Old West, Pirates and Darkest Africa models. When he came back to England in 2000 he brought those ranges with him, started restoring a house near Newark and took over running Foundry from Cliff. He produced more Seven Years War, Darkest Africa and loads more Old West, then Street Violence, Gladiators, various Romans, 16th century Swashbucklers, huge ranges of Greeks and Macedonians, Fantasy and various odds and ends.
In 2005 my father left Foundry and went back to gardening and restoring houses.
We only re-entered the world of toy soldiers because my cousin Neil Littlewood went to work at Foundry for a while, and it became apparent that there were serious problems that needed sorting out. In the end we stepped in, and the Ansell family are running the factory.
And here we are: nine months in and almost in control!
Cheers
Marcus""

Having spoken to Marcus this week I can say that he has a passion to put Foundry back on top of the pile, he is hungry for feedback from customers and is addressing many of the issues people have had over the years with Foundry.
This brings me to the bargain you can pick up at the moment, when they change the website Foundry dropped the pack price to £10 and did away with the bulk buy offers, anyone who followed me through the Winter Challenge will know I have a love of Foundry bulk offers (I bought more SYW that I care to admit (to my wife anyway)). It would appear alot of other customer felt the same and the feedback Marcus was getting was we did not mind the old pack price but loved the bulk offers.
So for a short period a couple of the bulk offers have returned but with the pack prices staying at £10, the pack price will return to its previous price, the offers are shown below.

1. WHEN YOU BUY THREE IDENTICAL PACKS:
YOU WILL RECEIVE AN EXTRA IDENTICAL PACK FOR FREE.

2. WHEN YOU BUY ANY EIGHT PACKS FROM THE SAME RANGE:
YOU WILL RECEIVE TWO EXTRA PACKS OF YOUR CHOICE FROM THAT RANGE FOR FREE.

This is great new because you can buy 8 pack at £10 and get 10 packs (usually working out at £1 per figure) and £80 gets you free postage. I took advantage of this offer in the winter at the old pack price (all the NWF figure you will be seeing), but I have already made sure my Dad has taken advantage this time to buy some Vikings. If you cant stretch to £80 get together with some friend and put in a joint order.

 

And a last bit of news is that the reason I was talking to Marcus was he has agreed to host the Bloggers Convention at the Foundry, I am just waiting for confirmation of the dates and then I will be posting up details.

A little Help from us Friendly Bloggers

I have been following a fairly new blog Giric's SAGA

His introduction in April finished with this "I'm new to this whole painting of miniatures thing, so I've decided to experiment with some of the different techniques I've read about online. I've been so inspired and educated by the blogs of other hobbyists, that I've decided to document my stumblings publicly. Either that or I'm so intimidated by the quality of the work I've seen out there, I'll do anything to put off painting! "

I have already follow wiatrog through his first go with dip and now he is following Kevin Dillmore's book (a farther day present) I am sure he would love to see a few more follower drop by and leave him comments as he continues his education.

The man in question.

Books that Inspire me to Paint (part 4)

At Crydee, a frontier outpost in the tranquil Kingdom of the Isles, an orphan boy, Pug, is apprenticed to a master magician—and the destinies of two worlds are changed forever.

Suddenly the peace of the Kingdom is destroyed as mysterious alien invaders swarm the land. Pug is swept up into the conflict but for him and his warrior friend, Tomas, an odyssey into the unknown has only just begun.

Tomas will inherit a legacy of savage power from an ancient civilization. Pug’s destiny is to lead him through a rift in the fabric of space and time to the mastery of the unimaginable powers of a strange new magic.

This is my favourate book ever, I have read it several times and have the final ever book in this series Magicians End is sitting on my desk awaiting my summer holiday. My WFB Nippon army was based on this book.
(I had an odd error with this post it did not show all txt so I have rewritten it)

Friday's Painting Update

This week I have been continueing on several projects I even completed a couple. I am working on GW Orc and goblin Blood Bowl figures, Gripping Beast Vikings and Foundry Miniatures NWF Highlanders.

As for the completed few, well I am very happy with what was a quick job on my first base of Sudan Madhists figures are the excellent Perry plastics and the base is from warbase. The other unit I completed was a unit of Rangers for Dad's M&T forces, these are AW Miniatures and were great fun to paint.

Interested in a Blogger Convention?

Picture niked from Rays blog (thats why he is tagged as ME)

I have been so impressed with how well the bloggers for charity game has been supported by the blog community that I have been thinking of another idea. I do strongly believe that we are a strong community we have a great mix of characters and seem to care about each other’s hobby needs and beyond. I am thinking about looking into organising and planning a Bloggers Convention, my idea would be a get together where people commit to bringing along and running various games (mostly I would think skirmish level) this way we can share our love of whatever system we play and get the chance to see and play new systems. I would plan a painting area where the painters could swap tips and share skills maybe even have some painters doing demos.

As I say it is just the start of an idea but I have let on to a couple of fellow bloggers who did not shoot it down so I want to put it out in the blogosphere and get some feedback. I have a few questions I would need answers for.

1.      Would you attend a Bloggers Convention (will be UK based this time)

2.      One day or two

3.      Would you want any competitions

4.      Would you bring a game or just attend as a punter

5.      Would you be interested in speakers

6.      Would you be interested in workshops

7.      What time of year ( I am leaning toward early November)

 

If you could take the time to read this and give me some feedback, also share it with as many wargames bloggers as you can. If I get enough positive response I will continue with my enquiries and keep you in the loop.

 

Peace James

Getting to know the Exile (Ray and Frans 20 Questions from last year)

A 20 year old Exile in his Uni days

an older and I hope wiser Exile in his 40th Year 

1. Favourite Wargaming period and why?
Seven Years War, its just such a fun era the armies and units are still as much about looking good as ebing effective. It is also the first real wargaming I did (when I say real wargaming I mean moving my Dads troops around at the club)

2. Next period, money no object?
I would love to do AWI in 40mm, it would just be one of those battlefield that would stop the traffic.

3. Favourite 5 films?
Zulu Dawn
Return of the Jedi
Lord Of the Rings (all three)

4. Favourite 5 TV series?
NCIS
Grimm
Big Bang Theory
Touch
Mr Browns Boys


5. Favourite book and author?
David Gemmell, Waylander

6. Greatest General? Can’t count yourself!!
Singe Frost (I never beat him ever at any period)

7. Favourite Wargames rules?
WAB (back in the day)

8. Favourite Sport and team?
Rugby (both Union and league)
Sale Sharks (Union)
Castleford Tigers (league)

9. If you had a only use once time machine, when and where would you go?
Zulu War to meet John Carroll

10. Last meal on Death Row?
Roast Beef and all the trimmings

11. Fantasy relationship and why?
My Grampa, he died when I was only young but we would have got on like a house on fire as we like the  same things. Never take any of your relative for granted.

12. If your life were a movie, who would play you?
Nick Frost

13. Favourite Comic Superhero?
not in to comic Superheros

14. Favourite Military quote?
""no battle plan survives contact with the enemy""

15. Historical destination to visit?
Eshowe (Zululand)

16. Biggest Wargaming regret?
Selling off my Ancient Indian army

17. Favourite Fantasy job?
Full time figure painter

18. Favourite Song Top 5?
You've got a friend- James Taylor
Nothing Ever Happens- Del Amitri
American Pie- Don Mclean
Song for Whoever- Beautiful South
Brown eyed Girl-Van Morrison

19. Favourite Wargaming Moment?
Giving my Dad 2 complete 28mm SYW armies for his retirment.

20. The miserable Git question, what upsets you?
Rude children, who are not dealt with by their own parents

 

Viking Progress

Finished the next 4 Vikings for Saga, I completed these last week but only just got around to taking some pictures today. I continued to do a bit of free hand on these and have progressed beyond lines to swirls. I am having great fun adding these extra bits.

Busy Painting table

With all this Bloggers for charity and Community Currency I must remember that this blog is about my painting. So that being said I have a bit to share today, I have been busy working a couple of commissions but found time to work on a few bits of my own. I have started on the AW Miniatures Rangers and the next unit of my Dad's Viking and just for a bit of color the next few NWF Highlanders. Pictures are below.

I also took a pictures of my side table to show you that while I like to have several things on the go at once even I can go to far some times.

this is the side table I have two shelves full of bits too, and these I the bits I want to paint I still have the unwanted lead pile.
Peace James

Blog Ring (Community Currency)

After a reply to my previous post suggested a Blog ring to flit between all bloggers who wanted to offer Community Currency pages. I had a look on-line and found it was not too hard to set up so I did. If you want to join the ring all I need is the email address your blog is based on and I can set you up you then get an email with the HTML code to copy and paste onto your blog, its as simple as that.

Just to clarify this Community Currency is a idea to use your lead pile and your hobby skills as currency with another blogger, it was all brought about by me wanting to make myself a wargames table and being time poor due to painting all the time and Loki wanting to start a new Saga faction but also being time poor as he is busy making terrain. It only took one dropped comment in a talk about the Bloggers Charity for the idea to form why could I not paint up a faction for Loki and he pays me in terrain, tis a win-win. All trasaction/deals will be different and sorted out between the two bloggers. I see this as just another way for the Blog Community to help each other.

 

Phalanx 2013

This Saturday I nipped up the road to St Helen's and the Phalanx show this was the first show I made it too after I returned to the UK so it holds good memory's for me. This year I was more going there to network rather than buy stuff, but it would be just wrong to not come away with anything. I think there were lots more traders that on previous years and less demo games, for me it was getting a little claustrophobic.
I picked up two box's of GB plastic's which I can use for Saga and Dux Britannia, they should give me enough troops to do all the core units I need and I will take my time looking around for leader models. I picked up another 2 pts for SAGA Irish to add to the starter force I already have these I am painting up as part of a trade with Loki.
I had arranged to meet up with Loki so we could catch up with all things Bloggers for Charity and generally put the gaming world to rites. We both wondered over to catch up with Andy from AW Miniatures who had brought along the latest greens which were incredible I have added a few pictures for you below.

I also remembered to pick up some new paint brushes.

Books That Inspire me to paint (part 3)

This book cost me money, after reading it I wanted to create the patrol in 28mm and went to company B and ordered a couple of armoured cars.
Death and Glory: The last Commando

Libya, 1942 - Rommel's Africa Korps is sweeping across the desert. Ragged Allied forces are being torn apart in brutal fire-fights on the scorched sands. A desperate message to the Prime Minister is entrusted to First Officer Madeleine Rose, WRNS. Her codename: Runefish.

When GHQ hears that Runefish's plane is lost behind enemy lines, they send for battle-hardened Sergeant Tom Caine. Caine is a first class soldier who nearly always does what he's told. He will lead a squad of specialist commandos into the heart of enemy territory and either rescue or execute Runefish. If he refuses to take this near-suicide mission he faces court martial. Now the outcome of the war depends on his following orders.

Death or glory beckon . . .

don't click I nicked the picture off Amazon :)

Michael Asher is the author, he is also a historian, deep ecologist, and notable desert explorer who has covered more than 30,000 miles on foot and camel. He spent three years living with a traditional nomadic tribe in Sudan. He was in the Para's and while studying at Leeds served in 23rd SAS Regiment.

While  my plans for WW2 gaming has gone on to the back burner I have read the book a few times since, I must have a look at some of his others one day.

Plans for the rest of 2013

Having read Loki's post yesterday I thought it was time I kicked myself into shape and put down a few plans for the latter part of 2013. As you read this I will be winging my way to Phalanx where I plan to meet up with Loki and go over the Bloggers for Charity plans, we will meet up with Andrew of AW Miniatures and see how he is doing with the figures. And lastly I MUST buy some more paint brushes and paint (These were all I needed from Triples but spent so long chatting I only remembered them as I returned overthe Pennines).
So plans, I have a couple already on the go namely Dad's Saga forces and a few Saga forces for myself. Dad and I are going to play the Anglo-Zulu war with Black Powder in 28mm to which end I bought most of the British forces from Empress at Salute, and will be getting as many Zulus as possible in the next 6 months. I plan to prep these and push aside as my winter project. I have agreed with Mike to start a Dux Britanniarum campaign in the winter, I will be the Saxon raiders so have to start building that army, we also plan to have a bash at the Sudan using Black Powder. I will still be painting units up for Viking Studio and will continue to try and get stall's at some wargames shows (its a slow burn project), for the mean time I am sending all completed unit off to Colonel Bill to be sold. I guess I do not need to plan too much then as I have plenty on the go anyway.
Plans for 06/13- 12/13

1. Dads Viking Saga 4pts
2. Dads Anglo-Dane Saga 4pts
3. Irish Saga 6pts
4. Welsh Saga 4pts
5. Scots Saga 4pts
6. Saxons (Dux Britanniarum minimum starter force)
7. Prep Zulus and British
8. 40 Mahdist Fuzzy Wuzzy's
9. Highlanders and Guides for NWF
10. 40 Hill Tribesmen NWF

So that is the list of my own painting, I do have commissons on the go and some in the pipeline so you will see planty on the blog

Wargames Community Currency

After a talk I had with Loki about our wargames blog network I got to thinking, we are all old enough (even if you will not admit it) to remember TV’s Swap shop. We all have huge lead piles of project we like the idea of but never got round to doing while we were enthused, or feel we lack the skills to complete something hobby wise.

Part of my Lead Pile

Part of my Lead pile

 

Well here is a far out idea why do we not help each other, for example I am looking to get into Dux Britannia with a Saxon force but having gone a little mad buying figures during Curts Challenge (dam you Curt for making me paint too quick) I am on a self imposed buying ban, but I have several redundant wargames projects and also have my skills with the brush. If there was some one out in the blog world with a dust covered Saxon force maybe we could get together. Another idea would be maybe you have a great skill at researching periods and creating flags but find you are time poor when it comes to painting so you offer to create loads of flags for a fellow blogger who paints for you. It could even get more involved say you have a Saxon force but need nothing painting you do though need flags creating for all you newly painted Nap regiments so you approach the flag making blogger who cerate’s flags for you, you send you Saxon force to the painter who paints the flag bloggers figures.Or you may love painting but hate doing the base's by you mate loves the art of basing but find little time to paint (you get the idea), I know it would never be that simple but it gives you the idea. In the current financial climate some of us have to tighten our belts but still want to game and start new projects.

I guess it all come down to what you want and what you can offer, if is an idea that has legs with my fellow bloggers I would make a simple suggestion that people create a new page on their blog called Community Currency and list on that page what they can offer (painting, terrain making, figures from the lead pile) and a list of what they want (figures, terrain made, stuff painted) we could even add pictures then other blogger can view your page and if they see something they want they look to see if they can offer you what you want.

 

This may just be a silly idea that my end of the week addled brain has spat out but I for one think it could be a great scheme.

Peace James

Giveaway Prize Winners

So I used the on-line random.org and below is the list of winners

So if Carl, Jay Arnold and John Fry could drop me an email to exilespainting@hotmail.com with their prefered prize and delivery address (Jay let me know your top 2 and John top 3). Thank you all for taking time to stop by and for some great laughs.
Once the top three are sorted I want Ray, Sean, Lee and Fran to contact me and I will let you know what is left that you guys can fight over (need to clear space in the lead pile).
Finally I am giving a prize for the reply that gave me the biggest laugh, more on that when I have completed it.