The Greatest Hobby Ever!

Well, 2011 took a turn for the worse for me in November. But, I'm recovering and home for the holidays which I'm very thankful for. During this ordeal my family and I have had lots of generous and thoughtful people to help us out. For me, one group in particular really supported me...my gaming friends in the miniature gaming community. Whether it was visits, cards, care packages or Forum posts (thanks Adeptus Windy City Forums) from LotR SBG friends and others I've met in my gaming years. I'm truly thankful to have gotten to know these people and to be able to call them friends. I can't think of any other hobby where I could call people friends having only met them yearly at a convention or only talk to them on online forums. I'm truly a lucky man to have the opportunity to play games and talk hobby talk with some of the greatest people around.

This all leads to my first post of 2012 which actually recaps an almost perfect end to my 2011. About 6 months ago I was invited to start gaming with some local guys who play Flames of War and Ancients. I only had time to attend a few games but these guys welcomed me in from day one and made me feel part of the group. When I got sick, these guys called, emailed and generally kept checking on me. Having known them for so short a time I was truly amazed at this. Well, I told them I couldn't wait to recover and return to some games with them, not knowing how long that might take. But on New Year's Eve I got that chance by playing some FOW with three of the four members of this group. The location was 5 minutes away and my wife agreed to drive me (I'm taking advantage of that while it lasts!). For me, this was a fantastic moment as it marked my first game since falling ill and I hope it symbolizes where my gaming energies will focus during 2012 (Don't worry LotR SBG fans I still love that game too!).

Enjoy some pictures of our game and thanks again to all of my gaming friends. You truly are the best! Here's to many more games in 2012 and beyond!

I'm back!

Well, it's been some time since my last post and a few things have happened. I had some health issues recently which saw me sidelined for awhile but I'm now home, continuing therapy and improving each day.

Which brings me to my second point: I finally felt like trying my painting skills again. I was not sure if my illness would affect my fine motor skills but everything seems fine. So, after painting one model to compare with my earlier Haradrim I was inspired to finish some more. No where near what I need to do to have any army but it's a good start I think.

So stay tuned and hopefully they'll be more LotR, Flames of War and British Line Infantry in the future.

Happy Holidays!

Haradrim: Day 1

So here is where it begins. Although I failed to complete anything close to my required models for month 1 of the Tale of Four Gamers, I did do SOME work. The two painted models above were my test models for my Haradrim army from before the start of the project. So, technically, I have two models done! Below is the actual initial models I slated to finish in month 1. I still have a few bow strings to add and need to base my captain but this will be my initial group of models when I finally get some time to paint them. The bow strings are thin jewelry wire from a craft store. I cut and wrap these around the bow and then use super glue to hold them in place while I attach the other end to the opposite side of the bow. For the bows pulled to the ready, I cut two pieces, wrap each around the bow and then glue to loose piece to the hand. Once primed and painted it all looks pretty good.

So, although I have a lot on the hobby plate at the moment, I still hold out hope that I can finish my army by AdeptiCon 2012. If not, I'll certainly have a head start on my force for Bilbo's Birthday Bash 2012.

The Guns of April

I've always been intrigued by the Napoleonic era and particularly the uniforms of the period but have never really know much about the conflict. I've toyed with painting a few figs for fun but the thought of painting the required numbers of models in 28mm scale always put me off from any real endeavour into the period. Well, my friend Dave Pauwels knows me to well so when he started tossing around ideas for a historical big game to run at Adepticon 2012 he of course brought up the idea of a Napoleonic battle. Not only that, but he suggested teaming up with the likes of Joe Krone, Dave Taylor and Brien Dulaney to do this project. Well, he had me at "You have to paint the British".

The result of this crazy idea has now taken virtual form in our new project blog "The Guns of April" (http://gunsofapril.blogspot.com/). Put together by the capable hands of Dave Taylor, the blog will detail our efforts to assemble and paint models to represent the 1812 Battle of Salamanca which we will re-play at Adepticon 2012. You can find more details at that blog along with updates from all sides. For my part, I will be working alongside Mr. Taylor to add to his already significant British force. As I do my part, I will make sure to post updates here on my blog along with posts to the Guns of April blog as well.

So stay tuned for some British Line Infantry soon!

Tale of 3 Gamers?

Well, October has rolled around and I managed to get my figures together with the exception of a few bow strings. But, I failed to even prime my models! Epic fail on my part, which thus explains the title for this post. As if September wasn't a bad painting month for me, the next few don't look promising either. Add to this the fact that I have some other projects that are calling which may further put my Harad on the back burner. So, keep checking back as I will post pics of the Harad stuff I do complete but I'm pretty sure I know where I'll finish in this race. :)

The Great Eye Calls!

Here we are, September 1st and it's time to get going on the Tale of Four Gamers project. For me, that means assembling my first 150 points(148 to be exact) which will be made up of the following models.

11 Haradrim Warriors w/ bow = 66pts
2 Haradrim Warriors w/ spear = 12pts
1 Haradrim Warrior w/ horn = 25pts
1 Haradrim Chieftain = 45pts

Stay tuned for shots of the assembled models and the final product for this month. The men of Harad will not fail their master Sauron.

Tale of Four AWC LotR Gamers Begins!

What have I got myself into now? A week or so ago I got an email from my friend Brent Sinclair asking if I'd be willing to participate in an Adeptus Windy City Lord of the Rings Club version of the Tale of Four Gamers. Tim Kulinski and his crew out in Arizona had done the same thing earlier this year and it looked like a lot of fun. Well, I'm not one to rush my painting projects (which sadly explains my lack of armies!), but after some soul searching I decided I couldn't pass up the chance to participate in this project. Not only would it help me get a new army finished, but I'd be competing along with some great LotR hobbyists: Chris Balke, Brent Sinclair and Jeremy Williams.

The plan is to complete 600 points in 5 months. At the start of each month we will plan out 150 points in models and then complete these by the end of that month. The 5th month will be set aside for finishing touches like bases and display boards. Each of us will be responsible for posting our plan and completed work each month on our respective blogs.

Chris Balke: http://galadriels-mirror-cbalke.blogspot.com/

Brent Sinclair: http://thereandblogagain.wordpress.com/

Jeremy Williams: http://chefofwar.blogspot.com/

To keep score we plan to use the following point system:

Models painted on time: +5pts
Models painted late: +3pts
Models not painted: +0pts

And to encourage some gaming we'll score our wins and losses as follows:

Major Win: 5pts
Minor Win: 4pts
Draw: 3pts
Minor Loss: 2pts
Major Loss: 1pts

Games can start anytime after the second month when we have reached a 300 point level for our armies.

So there you have it. Should be a fun project and if I finish with any points by the end I'll be happy. Good luck to Chris, Brent and Jeremy. Can't wait to see the finished work from these guys.