295 Female Hardened Veteran

Hullo, All,

Allow me to introduce the only female trooper in 2/24th Cadian Light Infantry: one of my hardened vets, and a gift, courtesy of Brian at The Inner Geek:
I changed her lasgun into a kind of shotgun, and equipped her in line with my other vets, but otherwise she's as she arrived. Sorry for the shoddy pics.

Thanks, Brian!

- Drax.

294 Playing Favourites - Chain Post?

This is an idea I got from Big Lee's Miniature Adventures - I'd be delighted if others took-up the torch to shed the light on what we do and share a bit more...

Wargames Period: 40k primarily, but of late I've been getting into Flames of War, and I'm slowly building up a small British Late War force; probably 11th Armoured Bde.

Scale: See above. It's interesting to start painting 15mm...it's made me realise just how tatty some of my brushes are.

Rules: I used to love playing D&D v3.5 - not only were the rules great fun, they were also beautifully presented. As a general rule I firmly believe that 40k rules are an absolute crock, and I get annoyed at how boring IG have come to be if they're not played for fun. I still try to play for fun! As for FoW? Man, I just fell in love with those rules!

Boardgame: Probably Settlers of Catan. If you haven't played it, do so. Some great friends of mine introduced me to it a while back. I re-wrote it for a 2-player version too.

Figure Manufacturer: Games Workshop/Forge World. I've been tempted by the likes of Malifaux and Infiniti, but I've had no hands-on experience of either, so I couldn't say for sure. As for Warmahordes stuff? - well, I hear the rules are great, but I simply can't stand the aesthetic.

Metal/Hard Plastic: Well, this sets me apart from most gamers of my generation: I can't stand metal minis.

Club: The singularly superb Cross-Swords gaming club in Plymouth, UK. They meet now in the even more awesome Giant's Lair - 'The South West's Premier Wargaming Centre' and the array of friendliness, sportsmanship and scenery on offer there never ceases to amaze me. And the burgers are ace. And they have Vimto on tap. Win.

Opponent: I suppose - if anyone - then it's my old pal Mike the Merciless. He's a great guy and unbelievably lucky with dice. Wish I got to play him more often...

Film: Zulu. Any questions?

Book: I don't read fantasy (never could stand badly made-up words and over-exposition) so probably Band of Brothers, by Stephen E Ambrose. The epilogue made me cry.

Art: Meh - fantasy art is usually a turn-off for me. I did enjoy the work Mark Gibson used to have in the 2nd Edition 40k rulebooks.

The Interweb: Anyone reading this far probably knows what I follow. No forums and nice folks only. I've met some lovely, lovely people through this blog, and if I've given one thing back, then I guess it's the Excel Painting Chart.

Anyone fancy doing this yourself? I'd love to read it...

- Chris.

293 The Shed: End of Days?

Hullo,

The Painting Shed is on its last legs. Over the last month we've had strong winds in the UK and the larchlap slats on the back of our cheap-ol' shed have finally rotted away from their mountings. The wind finished the job nicely.
I've patched these bad-boys up time and again, but now, alas, I'm reduced to pinning recycling bags over the back of my painting cave.

Know what the worst of it is, though? Our lovely apple tree (which somehow died in the frosts last winter) also came down last month. Bugger. [It's a nice view over the village though...]

Still, on the plus side, my landlord said he'll sort us out with a new shed. Huzzah - new painting cave!

- D.