This Week in the Hobby: January 24th 2016

I've had a rather productive week, as the record shows. Two battalions of Napoleonic infantry and a few loose chaps for Sharp Practice amongst all the building I have been doing. Not bad at all. Here are some of the things on my table at the moment:

U.S. "Big Men" for I Ain't Been Shot Mum, these are being based, basecoated and then painted.

More Frenchmen done. Just basing them and they will be good to go.

More U.S. Infantry for I Ain't Been Shot Mum. The bases are now painted so I can begin work on their uniforms.

Near complete Ultramarine. I am just working on his shoulder pads now, but otherwise, done.

I'm rather busy this week with work. Amongst other things I need to deliver a paper on the latter days of Hannibal Barca, so I'll be working on that in the evenings. Sadly my hobby time is likely to suffer, however, I am confident that I will be able to complete at least some of the above. 

All Quiet on the Painting Front

This week has been an unmitigated failure in terms of painting. I only managed to get the basecoats onto my Deathwing Terminators, but little else. This has been due to two factors, firstly, I have started a new job which has occupied my thoughts and my time. Secondly, I have been meeting with friends in the evening, friends who I have not seen for some time. So naturally there has been very little done with paint and brush, but hopefully over the weekend I'll be able to get some layers and highlights down and push the Deathwing forward to completion.

Whilst I haven't accomplished much in terms of concrete production, I have been reading my way through the excellent Black Powder ruleset from Warlord games. The tone and spirit of these rules makes me an immediate fan, and, as soon as I am equipped with enough battalions to throw lead at each other I shall be putting these rules to the test.

As it stand I have a battalion of Old Guard Grenadiers, Légère, and Ligne all done, or almost done. Another job for the weekend. They will need a commander of sorts, some cavalry and artillery of course, so I imagine I shall have to order some of those fantastic plastics from the Perry's soon and a few artillery pieces. I'll also need to start thinking about painting my Victrix Austrians soon too.

Well, the rain is falling outside my window, and I hear the faint whisper of the painting desk calling me.

Update: Back in Britain & YouTube upload: Perry French Infantry

So, I have now been back in the United Kingdom for almost two weeks, and what a couple of weeks it has been. Order number one has been finding work, which I have set about with gusto. A few interviews have already been had, and more are scheduled for the next week. The hope is to find a job with long term prospects that I am likely to enjoy, so not too much to ask for. In the meantime, I have been doing some temporary work in retail logistics, my old haunt. However, besides the impediment of money and obviously the uncertainty of my future I have set up the old wargaming space again, ready to pick up where I left off.

A lot has happened since January when I made the move to Australia, and now that I am back and reunited with my legions of little toy soldiers I can actually act upon some of those changes. Foremost is the release of the new Dwarf army book for Warhammer Fantasy Battles. Those dwarfs that have been featured on the blog will now finally have the ability to take the field once I get my paws on the new book, and with a new book comes a reason to actually try and get more dwarfs done.

Since I got back I also dug out a box of Perry French Line Infantry and have made a YouTube video running through the box contents and sharing my thoughts on the quality and uses of the box. You can watch the video below.

Finally, my HPC 2014 has not been forgotten, I am almost done with my Chaplain Seraphicus figure. My hope is to get him done by the end of the bank holiday weekend, and started on my Deathwing Terminators, which will be my June commitment and round out my 1000 point Zone Mortalis force. The little patter of rain drops on my window reminds me that there is nought else to do today but paint, O miseri me!

The Easter Edition

Another week where I haven't really got that much done. I saw off the radiant Lady H off to Blighty on Monday night, and am now alone in Australia. She has gone early for a whole bunch of work related things, whilst I wrap things up on this end. Hopefully by the end of April I shall board a steamer for Plymouth, and be reunited with her and the dogs, who have been billeted with parents in our absence. I suppose it is a small mercy that we didn't drag them along to Southern climes only to have to repeat the trip again. 

A tired Klongtjie.

Evie looking dashing.

The wolf pack.

Painting progress has been rather slow due to my work schedule which has been immensely busy in the run up to Easter weekend. I must admit that one of the things I miss most about Britain is my usual routine for Holy Week where I am at the Oxford Oratory almost daily. Easter is by far my favourite religious holiday, and I don't even do the whole Easter eggs thing. I suppose it is little certainties like these that we miss when we set off far from home.

The altars are stripped, the statues are covered.

I have managed to get some paint onto my Librarian for the Dark Angels project. Admittedly, he is nowhere near done. I have found it really hard to get his face done, as the gap I have to work with is so slight, but hopefully over the weekend I will find the opportunity to get him done. Once he is complete I will move on to the Chaplain figure I got with the limited edition Dark Vengeance set. He promises to pose a whole new challenge with the predominance of black and the smoke issuing from his back pack. I find that sometimes sitting and staring at the figure helps the brain figure out what to do with it, and for now I am still in that phase with Interrogator-Chaplain Seraphicus. 

Besides that, I am reading away as always, and returning to the Franco-Prussian War wikipedia article more than I should. I have also been thinking about creating some pages, like the excellent Arlequin's World blog, which collect information on completed armies and such in a fashion that is less ephemeral than a simple blog post. The plan is to do this systematically over a longish period, but probably only adding the photographs later when I get back to England so that I can do some decent shoots in a lightbox. Busy hands are happy hands.

The last thing I would like to do is wish you all a happy and holy Easter. 

This Week in the Hobby 12/04/2014 - Donald Featherstone's Solo Wargaming

Titian's depiction of me at work this week.

Another week, and very little progress in terms of painting. I've spent the whole week down on the Gold Coast carrying rocks up flights of stairs. This has meant that I have been away from my tiny toy soldiers and unable to paint. However, time is never wasted, and in the meantime I managed to read Donald Featherstone's Solo Wargaming, which is an absolute must read for any wargamer. I think that even if you don't plan to play solo, most of the ideas in this book are so useful in a broader context that it is still worth reading. The chapters are broken down in such a manner that it acts as a sort of reference manual once you have read through the whole of it, allowing the reader to pillage whole parts of the book for ideas without wondering, "where did I read that?" Ideas such as chance cards, random activations, and randomised formations for reinforcements arriving are pure gold and add to the friction or randomness that make wargames less chess like and more subject to the vicissitudes of human behaviour. We can see Featherstone's legacy today in games like Sharpe Practice and Muskets & Tomahawks. 

I bought the Kindle edition from Amazon, have a look here.

The authors avuncular, conversational style means that I devoured this book without even realising the pace at which I was reading, admittedly it isn't a large book, but I was surprised by how quickly I got through it. This is a testament to the authors talent, rather than a criticism of length. Another great concept that he has is the idea of the campaign diary, which these days can be substituted by blogs or other online journals, but certainly one can take everything he writes on the matter and simply modernise it. This is the first of Featherstone's books that I have read, and I look forward to reading more. Sadly Donald Featherstone is no longer with us, but he has left behind a dearth of work which will, I am sure, provide me with ample hours of enjoyment over the years to come. I am now onto my next wargaming related read, which I will talk about once I have finished it. 

Beyond reading, I have also begun to flesh out my own "Imagi Nation". After reading back issues of Battlegames magazine and after having a look at some of the blogs about people's creations, I am smitten. The Emperor vs Elector blog is a sort of meta site that unites all the disparate Duchies and Margraviates, and is an excellent resource for an aspiring head of state. The modern period is also blessed with some excellent Imagi-Nations, such as  Bongolesia. VBCW (A Very British Civil War) which is supported by Solway, but has a life of its own, is another fertile seam to mine. Particularly if you would like to see your sleepy Hampshire village become a Free State. I found some rather excellent articles online that offer a great introductions to "imagineering" your own country, Arlequin's World's Imagineering an Imagi-Nation  and The Grand Duchy of Stollen's Bolster your imagi-nation.

I spent an evening dreaming up my little patch of land, with a history and some dramatis personae to fill it. I will probably start writing more about it when I return to the UK, but for now my mind is awash with ideas. Admittedly the element of wargaming that appeals to me most from a gaming perspective is the engagement of my imagination. One of the reasons I enjoy the 40k universe so much is the breadth allowed to players to create within it, but still being a part of something that other people are engaged in. After all, if I create a world that is just mine which cannot play nice with another gamer's, then I am only marooning myself. So I am filling my time away from my paints and brushes with bouts of writing, telling the histories and tales of the toy soldiers that bedeck my tabletop and populate my imagination. I was worried about the quality of this fiction at first, but I soon realised that I was actually just writing for myself. So, even if it is mediocre, or even terrible, that is okay, as long as I enjoy getting to know my own creations better. I hope to begin introducing you to them soon too.

This Week in the Hobby 06/04/2014 - The Great Retreat

"If you have worked well - you will have good rest.

Well gentle reader, another week is past, and I have actually taken a little break from painting. One of my major fears, being that I am quite far ahead on my Hobby Progress Challenge, was that I would suffer from "burn out" and simply lose impetus. To combat this I decided to take a week off painting, and focus on reading instead. Mainly about the Seven Years War in North America, which of course leads me to desperately want to paint Canadiens and Provincials.

I also took the opportunity to take the dog for extended walks and go to the gym for longer, trying to make the most of the cooling weather here in Queensland. Which reminds me that I must announce that I am due to return to the UK in the next month or so, after a hunting trip to New South Wales. Basically, when I came to Australia I had a job lined up, that job has subsequently ratcheted down very casual hours, and then to almost nothing. I have tried to save the situation by applying for other work, but sadly that Australian market doesn't seem interested in someone with my qualifications and experience. Furthermore, my visa makes it more difficult to employ me. So, the result is that H and I will be moving back to the little island soon. Of course we are very disappointed that things in Australia didn't work out, but the experience has been second to none.

I feel like Crawford during the retreat from Corunna. Just imagine Queensland in the background.

Anyway, on the upside I will be reunited with my brothers in the Dark Pact, and might be able to get in some game time with those esteemed gentlemen. In the meantime though, I propose to make my May HPC commitment, and carry on painting.

I chose to do two independent characters now as I feel that I have been somewhat lacking on that front, what with three troops choices complete. With any luck I'll smash out a squad of Deathwing Terminators for June to bring the Zone Mortalis force up to 1000 points. Until next week...

This Week in the Hobby 30/03/2014

Les dernières cartouches , 1873

This is a painting by Alphonse-Marie-Adolphe de Neuville which I stumbled upon the other day, I can't really remember how. I love this painting, which depicts a scene from the Franco-Prussian War. de Neuville did loads of war paintings, this is the famous Rorke's Drift painting.

The Defence of Rorke's Drift , 1880

Of course this got me rabbit holing into the history of the Franco-Prussian War and all the surrounding wars, such as the earlier Austro-Prussian War. I naturally started searching through the ranges on offer, what can I say, standard operating procedure for a wargamer. By the way, Pendraken do some great figures in 10mm. 

Inspiration is a dangerous thing, it can strike from the strangest places. Paintings like those above, novels (Flashman is particularly good), and of course films. Part of the problem though is parsing this inspiration into reality. How feasible is the Franco-Prussian War as a project for me really? I don't know anyone who plays it or intends to. That means I will have to paint up both sides, find someone who wants to play and then make that happen. So, the Franco-Prussian War inspired by a painting comes crashing down, consumed by the flames of reality. 

My update is a little late this week, but I have been working away, but not at the rate I would have liked. Good weather means I like to go outside and enjoy myself. So therefore, little hobby gets done. I am almost done with April's commitment for the HPC, as of twenty minutes ago this is the state of Squad Gabriel:

As you can see, only three marines to go. I also managed to finish a 30k Ultramarine amongst all the green. I will be doing a little Dark Pact update about him soon. Time to finish off Squad Gabriel and pray that this rain stops so that I can take some nice pictures in natural light.

This Week in the Hobby 22/03/2014

Another quiet week, which started at a blistering pace, before I had to go off to the Gold Coast again for work. Hopefully I will relocate to the Gold Coast soon so that my hobby can live there too.

I decided to get started on my next challenge commitment for the 2014 Hobby Progress Challenge. After floating my options on the forum, we (the collective voices of reason on the IC Forum) decided that since I was getting things done at a fair rate another Tactical Squad was in order.

The next question was what sort of Tactical Squad to assemble. The options are quite versatile, and here are my basic thoughts:

(i) Classic Tactical Squad: Flamer and Missile Launcher combo. This tries to be the all rounder, the versatility of the missile launcher as either vehicle hunter or infantry killer theoretically works well with the flamer. The problem is that you have to keep moving to get the flamer in range, and the missile launcher can't shoot if you move, so I suppose while it is useful as an all comer unit, I question the wisdom in picking a unit that doesn't do at least one thing well.

(ii) Tank Hunter/Bunker Buster: Multi-Melta and Flamer/Melta Combo. Quintessential aggressive Tactical Squad. These guys assault a position and should clear anything they encounter. I can imagine them hitting an artillery emplacement or a dug in tank, or breaking open a fortified bunker.

(iii) Fire Support: Plasma Cannon/Heavy Bolter and Plasma Gun. This unit a medium range fire support unit, Devastators would fulfil the long range role in my mind. The idea is to take up a position, preferably in good cover and unload a hail of fire. Nothing should realistically survive a fusillade from this unit at short range.

Some Infantry Tactics

Now, please bear in mind that all my thinking has absolutely nothing to do with the way 40k actually plays. I haven't played since third edition. What it is however based on is my understanding of infantry tactics, as an infanteer in the British Army. The notion is that you always operate in twos, preferably threes, whether at platoon, section or firing pair level, with each unit filling a role when trying to dominate ground. 

Assault Unit: One unit, whether section or platoon, they are just different magnifications of the tactical situation, will be the assaulting unit. Their role is to make the actual attack on the enemy position, close with the enemy and either drive them off or destroy them at close range. Grenades are usually involved.

Fire Support Unit: A unit that focusses on suppressing the enemy with overwhelming fire. The objective is to pin the enemy to their position and at the same time reduce their ability to return fire. This should have two objectives, firstly the enemy unit is firing sub-optimally as they take cover, secondly, they are distracted away from the moving assaulting unit as they focus on the more imminent threat.

Reserve Unit: A tactical reserve which is usually situated behind the fire support to be deployed where they are needed most. This unit will normally follow up the assaulting units position after they have taken it and become the new, fresh, leading edge for the continued attack. 

The way that I understand 40k, and the Space Marine Codex in particular, there are separate units for each role. Assaults should be carried out by Assault Squads, Fire Support by Devastators, and the Reserve should really be a tactical squad as it can theoretically do both. The issue arises though that 40k to my mind lacks enough detail, tactically, to allow for a tactical reserve to be of any value, they merely become idle assets. Furthermore, the ability to equip the tactical squad with vehicles or drop pods mean that they could actually be an assault or fire support asset. I suppose therefore that Assault Squads and Devastators become your lock in options, and Tactical Squads a necessary all-rounder. 

What this means for me going forward is that as I am trying to build a Fifth Company Dark Angels Army, I need to be mindful of the fact that I will have Company Assault and Devastator Squads, but that realistically in 1000 point battle, the ability to field these squads is diminished as they quickly become very expensive. As a result, my aim it to try and build, eventually, six Tactical Squads that have a function that parallels those of the Assault or Devastator Squads, simply in lesser measure.

Whether this actually works on the table top is largely irrelevant to me. Now this might sound strange, but I like things to look right on paper and on the table even if it doesn't equate to victory. To my mind the Fifth Company has limited assets, and must choose carefully how to deploy said assets, and this is how I will build my army going forward. The benefit of the Tactical Squad load outs that I listed above is that even though they try and fulfil a particular role, they can, in a pinch, adapt to complete the objective even if it is a poor fit. The fact remains that Assault Squads won't win fire fights, and Devastator Squads lose their value by moving, so ultimately I need to retain an element of flexibility. Having listened to many discussions surrounding the perceived uselessness of the Tactical Squad in the last edition of 40k, I am going to try my hand at approaching them differently. 

Back to the HPC

So, after discussing the issue with the collective wisdom of the IC forum I am going to be building Tactical Squad Gabriel, equipped with a Heavy Bolter and Plasma Gun, who will dispense torrents of the Emperor's Mercy. I have surprised by the pace of my progress and hope to have some pictures of completed figures to share very soon.

This Week in the Hobby 14/03/2014

It has been a pretty busy week for me hobby wise as work has been nonexistant. Obviously this means no money, but I thought I'd use the opportunity to get my March HPC commitment done. The feedback and encouragement from the Independent Characters Forum has been integral in keeping me focused, and moving forward.

So without further ado, here is the completed Scout Squad Nehemiel, attached to the 5th Company. I decided I wanted a close combat orientated scout squad for my Zone Mortalis portion, as it seemed coll and fitting. Infiltrate and Move Through Cover should be useful from a gaming perspective, and the more interesting armour with its webbing and such makes a pleasant break from painting power armour.

My advice to anyone painting Space Marine armies is to always vary what you paint. Tactical Squads might be the core of your force, but there are ways of making the process of building and painting an army more interesting for yourself. So for now my force consists of the following:

Tactical Squad Raphael: 10 Marines, led by Veteran Sergeant Raphael who wields a plasma pistol and chainsword, the squad also features a Plasma Cannon and Plasma Gun.

Scout Squad Nehemiel: 6 Scouts, led by Veteran Sergeant Nehemiel. Everyone wields close combat weapons and bolt pistols, except for one brother who carries a combat shotgun.

Things are starting to take shape. One point to note is that I don't necessarily care much for points or for building optimal lists, I prefer the look of the units. I always think that Dark Angels should feature many plasma weapons, so I tend to include them, even if they are often expensive. This puts me in an interesting position as regards my Command Squad and any Veterans I might build, as my instinct is to tool them up because it looks good, but with the strictures of the HPC I should keep points costs in mind, decisions decisions. However, those decisions can wait a little longer as I am focussed more on my April commitment. My choices are:

(i) Another 10 man Tactical Squad

(ii) Deathwing Terminators

(iii) An independent Character

(iv) Ravenwing Bikers

I'll take a few days to consider my options I think, but with two troops choices locked in, I have the freedom to choose whatever I fancy. In other hobby news, I bought my first Malifaux models the other day, three Ronin. I think two of these figures are amazing, one is okay. I'll be posting a Youtube video of my thoughts soon, and then get down to painting them.

Furthermore, I also picked up the bronzes I wanted to use on my Protectorate of Menoth 'Jacks, so I can also begin working on those in earnest. Lots to look forward to over the weekend, here's to hoping we all meet our hobby goals.

This Week in the Hobby 08/03/2014

Total hobby time this week: 80 minutes.

I've been down on the Gold Coast again all week, and this is all the time I got to put paint to model. These little sessions, two of them, were squeezed in the morning at five o'clock in glorious Gold Coast sunshine. With my fancy hobby box now a reality, I can travel with my things and set up a hobby space in no time, so getting little sessions in is a possibility. 

At the moment I am working on my Hobby Progress Challenge March commitment, five Space Marine Scouts. I also got myself a sergeant figure off eBay and he will be added as and when. I have finished one scout so far, and hopefully by the end of the weekend I can have the other four done, if I am really lucky I might even get the sergeant done as well. 

I am also going to try and get some transfers onto my three tactical marines that I added to last month's commitment. I did toy with the idea of freehanding the shoulder pads, but that would be unnecessarily time consuming I think. Once those three chaps are complete, I want to take some pictures of the whole of Squad Raphael together. 

Not overly happy with the amount of time I am getting for my hobby at the moment, but I will have to learn to work around it.

This Week in the Hobby 28/02/2014

Sometimes, I fee like this guy.

This has been a particularly busy week. Again I was down on the Gold Coast and away from my little toy soldiers, doing some contract work. The good news is I've earned some money, got a tan, and earned some extra dollars by selling off a load of Aluminium from the tear down we've been doing. However, as you can imagine, I didn't get much painting done, being separated from your miniatures for four days straight will do that. I did get to finish these chaps today for the HPC 2014. They are an addendum for my February commitment. The squad of seven wouldn't have been legal, so I needed to bump it up to ten. I am happy with the job on these, the figures are okay, nothing fancy, but they did the trick. All they need now is some transfers, which I will do when I am at home, and the middle fellow needs his base finishing, i.e. grass and edging.

With these, Squad Raphael is now complete.

Despite not getting much painting done, I did manage to arrange a mobile storage solution for my things. Thursday afternoon I headed back North to pick up some more clothes etc, and I while I was in Springwood I popped into Officeworks and picked up a $15 organiser box which I filled with all my hobby things so that I could paint on the road.

Everything in its place.

While I was at home I also popped up the road to Games Workshop Mt. Gravatt to collect my order that I had placed ages ago. It was also an opportunity to see what was going on there. My miniatures curious cousin Anri also tagged along to see what was happening. The place is massive, I might have mentioned that before, but they have a huge retail space, and then an annex with ten or more table in it. Additionally, everyone there seems really friendly. Unlike those one man stores where it is all about the sale. I have had the staff members in the UK chat affably before disappearing the minute someone walks through the door to do the whole sales pitch. Fair enough, one gots to get paid, but then don't try and be the hobby guy who chats only to bugger off mid-sentence. GW Mt. Gravatt, is nothing like that. I hope to visit it more frequently as my movements allow.

So, I picked up my Dark Angel accessory sprues, shoulder pads and some bases and added it to the pile of stuff I have waiting for me at home which I had bought off Wargamerau. So, at present I have a Tactical Squad, a Command Squad and enough bits for about ten more marines. This will allow my force to grow nice and organically over the course of the HPC. The only thing I still really want is a Dreadnought, but I suspect that can wait a little longer. I am going to try and get another scout for my March commitment done this weekend, but it is so hot and humid here on the Gold Coast I suspect I might fail. Also, I have to work Saturday which of course cuts down on my hobby time.

Finally, I have almost finished Mechanicum, which coincides nicely with the release of the Imperial Knights from Games Workshop. I must admit that I am a little bit tempted. I am sure I could squeeze one into my Dark Angels army...

This Week in the Hobby 15/02/2014

Another week has rolled by and I haven't got as much done as I'd have liked. I've spent the week working down on the Gold Coast and staying there, so my models were far from me. In any event, I got back Thursday night and finished my Veteran Sergeant. All he needed doing was his Plasma Coil painting, as did all my Plasma weapons. So Friday morning, which also happened to be Valentine's day, I headed up to Mt Gravatt, to check out the Games Workshop store there, pick up some flowers for H, and then stopped in at Irresistible Force to pick up the paints I needed and some static grass. 

Games Workshop Mt. Gravatt is massive. The floorspace is huge and spacious and they have a whole room dedicated to tables, which is totally unlike all the Games Workshop stores I have visited in the UK, excepting Warhammer World of course. The chap at the till, Alastair is a friendly fellow and I had a nice chat with him about an order I had asked to be delivered to the store. I have ordered some Dark Angels shoulder pads and a Dark Angel upgrade sprue for the Hobby Progress Challenge. I spent a while there before heading back down to Tana Merah and getting the paints I needed with the nifty discount Gavin offers at his store, sorry GW, not this time!

The good news is that with the colours I needed and some static grass in hand I was able to finish my HPC commitment for February, Squad Raphael. Here are the pictures...

Not happy with the pictures I took today, I had to make do with taking them outside in the glorious Queensland sunshine. Focus isn't right, and I didn't have a good surface to take them on. Oh well. 

I've been keeping the HPC thread bouncing on the IC forums, and getting some really useful help from the guys there. Especially as regards how to buy things on the cheap here in Australia. eBay has been a lucky hit as I managed to pick up six metal scouts for $14 which I was chuffed with, they should arrive today or Monday. I must admit, gaming on a budget is something I haven't done in a long while. 

My goals for the week ahead are to get three more tactical marines painted to make my February commitment "street legal", and the bring the squad up to ten. I've ordered the three marine box from Gavin at Irresistible Force, and he'll drop me a text message when they arrive. Now that is customer service! Additionally, I am going to try and get some more of my Warmachine stuff done, I am going to finish my Menoth Caster and my 'Jacks so that I can play small games and start learning. However, with this lovely sunshine, it will be a challenge staying indoor. Well, that is all gentle readers, until next week.

Remember,

+ The Emperor Protects +

This Week in the Hobby 07/02/14

Another week has passed, and some hobby has occurred. I am still working on my Hobby Progress Challenge for 2014 and as of this evening I have completed four Tactical Marines. Now I only have three more Dark Vengeance bods to go, a chap with a plasma gun, one with a plasma cannon and a veteran sergeant. I hope to have these finished by the end of the weekend. Here are some pictures:

I am quite happy with how they have turned out, just some static grass and base edges to go now. For the HPC I need to get the squad up to ten, but I have already painted three marines who won't count towards the challenge, so I will have to find three more marines. Once I have some more disposable income I will get these along with the static grass I need. If I can these extra three done by the end of February, great, but certainly my March commitment will be Deathwing terminators. 

In other news, I am still working my way through the Warmachine rulebook, and painting my Menoth caster, who I hope to finish by the end of the weekend as well. I also began assembling my Khador warjacks. One observation is that the restic that they are cast out of is pretty naff to work with, not a massive fan. Mantic used the same type of plastic for some of their Kickstarter stuff, and it just isn't good enough.

On the reading front I am now well into Mechanicum and am enjoying exploring the Martian priesthood more thoroughly. I think that where Battle for the Abyss really expanded the naval element of the 30k/40k universe, and introduced the Saturnine fleet, which was really cool, Mechanicum does the same for its namesake, and already I see my Warmachine warjacks as Mechanicum knights.

Well, gentle readers, that is all for now. Carry on.

This Week in the Hobby 01/02/2014

So another week is over. What did I achieve? Well, my initial list of goals is below:

- Get painting supplies, Dark Angels palette mainly.

- Sort out a decent lamp with white light.

- Arrange a painting spot, probably on the floor initially, using the TV table. 

- Make contact with local gaming personalities. 

- Start reading the 40k Rulebook.

- Get a Dark Angels Codex.

As you can see, mostly successful. The codex was a breeze, I simply got it on the iBook store due to wanting to travel light. The 40k rulebook will be done in the same manner, although I haven't purchased it yet, although upon closer inspection it appears to be the mini rulebook, which is a little disappointing. Anywho, with the Dark Angels Codex I was able to pointify my Dark Vengeance holdings for Hobby Progress Challenge, and I also got the paints I need to get them done. So far I am almost two down. Here they are: 

The one on the right is done except for his basing and metal highlights.

I haven't made too much progress making contact with other players, but there have been tentative rumblings over on the Independent Characters Forum. I also asked at Irresistible Force and it seems to be a hotbed for Warmachine, which I don't play. Still, it is early days and I don't have anything to play with, so I am not in too much of a hurry. The good news is that Brisbane has a vibrant gaming scene, so I shouldn't have too much trouble once I have better idea of what I want to play. 

The final thing is painting space... I haven't got a lamp, but sunlight is abundant here, so I it isn't 100% necessary. A dedicated hobby space is problematic though, and to that end I am looking for a tray/box type solution so that I can pack and unpack swiftly when hobby time kicks in. That said I still got some work done. Not bad. 

This Week in the Hobby

Each Truancy - Joy to the Enemy; Hero Labour - Attack on the Bourgeois. 

Those of you who follow my good friend Jim over at Whispers of Chaos will know that he recently started doing a weekly blog post series entitled The Week in Hobby <insert date here>. You can have a look here. One reason for this sort of scheduled posting is to generate content which is the lifeblood of any blog, but more importantly, to develop the blogger as a writer through repetition and practice. I am guilty of lapsing into "occasional blog syndrome" so I salute my colleague Jim and wish him all the best. In the shadow of his efforts I am going to try the same thing here at Zen and the Art of Miniature Painting. This Week in the Hobby (notice the slight paraphrase) will be an attempt to document my progress and generally develop some musings on the hobby as they happen.

I have now been here in Queensland, Australia for almost a week. I have some work lined up working at a local tavern, and have managed to get most of the admin side of life sorted, bank account, tax number, mobile phone. So far the major impediment to everything has been the intense heat, which as the gentle reader could well imagine, came as a bit of a shock upon leaving a rainy and cold Britain. Nevertheless H and I are adapting well to sitting in the shade by the pool side drinking industrial quantities of water.

I have had a cursory look around the local area for a gaming store, and it seems that I have been lucky enough to be just down the Pacific Highway from Irresistible Force in Tana Merah (irresistibleforce.com.au). I am hoping to pop down, pick up some brushes and paints and make myself known during this week. From their website it seems that this establishment features a dedicated gaming lounge, and that just seems so awesome, very Firestorm-esque. As my previous post explained, I haven't brought much over with me, but those Dark Vengeance Dark Angels are amazing, and I can't wait to start painting them. In fact, I am rather tempted to join the Independent Characters Hobby Progress Challenge which sets the aim of painting 1000 points in six months, followed by another 1000 points. Until I get hold of a Codex: Dark Angels though, I am not committing. One of my major concerns is the heat, especially how it might affect things like resin and paint dry times. I don't like it when paints dry too quickly. On the upside, H and I have a spacious room featuring air conditioning, so being able to control the temperature will certainly help. I will however need to pick up a decent lamp for painting by. 

So, the mission for this week is:

- Get painting supplies, Dark Angels palette mainly.

- Sort out a decent lamp with white light.

- Arrange a painting spot, probably on the floor initially, using the TV table. 

- Make contact with local gaming personalities. 

- Start reading the 40k Rulebook.

- Get a Dark Angels Codex.

Quite a long list, but all small jobs really. I am going to get the Rulebook and Codex in digital format on my iPad as I don't have the means to store books really. Another secondary task I have set myself is to do book reviews of Horus Heresy novels. I really want to write reviews for Fulgrim and Descent of Angels as I feel I have something to say.

Let's hope that I can establish some sort of routine amidst the sun and games.

+ Carry on citizens +