Weekly update 2

 So not a bad week per se but not enough completed items to show off.

Painting 

I continued to work on my Pulp buildings, with most of them at the finished stage for painting. Next will be work on the windows, 'glass', and signs. Also need to apply some texture to the roofs with Vallejo black lava asphalt.

Of course there are the various villain figures that I did [see painting blog] I have also started to 'refresh' some older paint jobs as I encounter them. This past week I had pulled out some Egyptian themed figures to check out what I was doing for desert bases. Well, the bases were fine, but the figures looked too rushed, and that is because they were. When we were playing the Tomb of the Serpent campaign, I often did the bare minimum paint job in order to get the figures on the table. Also I used a lot of muted colours. So now I am going back with more vibrant colours, and fixing up the paint jobs. It is not going to be my typical pull everything off the storage shelves, then slowly move through the figures as they occupy my painting table for months. Instead it will be a slow piecemeal approach, repairing them as I encounter them.

 

I have 9 Cylons on the painting table right now that should be done this week. 

Arrivals

Most of my Russian stuff has arrived, and the building of said items continues. Maybe 10 tanks to be built and primed and some more buildings. 

Bought a MARVEL Crisis Protocol scenery item, a three story building. It has nice detail, and lots of options, but not so many that it will trap me in analysis paralysis. Despite being made for 30-33mm superhero figures it does look to scale up well with existing building. It will need some modifications/additions if I want to be able to use every floor, and I will need to adjust the fire escapes as they are a little tight. I am not familiar with the game, but I would have thought fighting on fire escape might be a thing, but not so easily done on these fire escapes. 

RPG

Only one turn last week, and only one scheduled for this upcoming week. Last week was my fault for one turn getting cancelled, and mother nature,s fault for knocking out power for another turn. Our heroes on the Moon managed to sneak into the enemy city only to be discovered by enemy patrols, the party splitting up, and one member chased through the city by himself, finally hiding out in a sewer. 

WIP

So far only the first floor of the 4Ground police station has been comleted. I really need to get back into that project sooner than later. The longer it goes between building sessions, the greater the chance that parts will go missing!

So dental implant goes in my mouth on Tuesday, not certain what impact that will have on my hobby activities, time will tell...

Alternative for card driven games CHITS!

 Not an original idea, but 'borrowed' from fellow blogger  Saturday Mornings I took a little bit of time and cut and assembled some chits.

Weekly [?] updates

What, hopefully, will become a regular feature.

I hope to record what (if anything) I have been working on even if not completed. This will also include links to my other blogs where pictures (if any) can be found.

Tabletop Gaming

Pulp Alley

I have started to look at table top gaming again, as there is a small chance that it may once again start up. So I have been reviewing Pulp Alley, specifically the Vice Alley campaign book. I have some ideas to make it work better, and plan to make some changes to it so as to differentiate it from the campaign we have already played. Also look at th book of scenarios to see which ones can be incorporated into the campaign.

'O' Group

A back burner project as I slow accumulate more Russian stuff. I suspect the key will be to keep up with the new arrivals, building what arrives, not letting it pile up. So far so good.

Geezers "Shut it!"

Amusing game of 1970's cops and robbers set in England. Once you get past the language [it is in English, but British 1970's slang English!] it is a fun looking game. Might play as is or maybe convert to 1970's US cop show [I have been painting to the old Police Story show] Basically more guns and longer car chases. 

Painting

First up after working on two buildings by Old Glory I decided to take a look at the other OG buildings that I have. I was shocked tp see just how bad they looked. In this case I do not mean the casting quality (which is very rough) but the fact that some of these had appeared on a gaming table in what would barley be considered as painted. So this past week I have been working on these remaining 7 buildings in an attempt to finish them off, progress has not been bad.  

I also painted up some big bad pulp villains Only 5 big figures finished off, but many more figures waiting in the wings. Also, I decided to work on some of my Pulp Alley skimmers, another long time primed that should have been completed ages ago! Hopefully will show up in pictures next week. 

Also working on four small south of the border buildings  and a large church.[Sarissa] Most of the way done with the four small buildings, just starting to paint the church after adding a plastic tile roof, and some plaster splotches.

I also primed up what Russian vehicles that I have built, so a light tank, 3 self propelled guns and 12 trucks.

Upgrade to work area 

I also latched upon an idea to better store my WIP figures. It is from Ikea and I had been using it to store sundry paper, bu it is better employed to keep my figures safe while working on them (and it keeps my desk clean)

 RPG sessions

Managed to get two sessions in this week, 2 hours each. Another adventure in the world of the City State of the Invincible Overlord, and completed chapter IV of our Pulp Fantastic Menace of the Moon People.  

The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming!

So, inspired by "O" Group, I have purchased some Russian, early war stuff. Now I had never thought much about using the Russians, but with the release of "O" Group, and my amassing of a fair amount of early war German, I have decided to take the plunge.  The rules do not require a large force, so I am hoping that I can get away with a relatively small amount of troops, vehicles and guns. Hell most artillery is off board, so little needed to buy there, in fact the biggest amount of stuff bought were the 12 GAZ trucks to tow what ever needs to be towed. 

I have decided to go with quick build plastic kits for tanks, vehicles and guns. A mix of PSC and Pegasus should do the trick. For the infantry I am relying on Zvezda (for specialist units), PSC, Pegasus and Italeri. I am planning on basing the infantry two to a stand, with 3 to a stand to represent green troops.

 

 So far 3 trucks and 4 guns built today (just got them last night) and my rattle can of green sits ready to be used!

 

Smile!

So my Monday night ended not so well, as, ironically, while brushing my teeth I managed to push my front tooth out of my gums! Now, this tooth was injured some 40+ years ago during a touch football game, when a friends shoulder got real friendly with my mouth. While the emergency dentist was able to shove the tooth back into it's proper place, it was with the advisement that it may die sooner than later.

Well some 40 years later it has finally bitten the dust...

While the root cause of Tuesdays incident was the injury, apparently, the injury also ultimately led to tooth resorption a situation that I have been living with for quite some time. Resorption added to the weakness of the tooth but all the dentist could offer was another a wait and see diagnosis.

While 11:30 at night was not the best time to have my tooth dislodged from it's normal spot, and dangling by a thread (so to speak) I am thankful that it did not happen on a Friday night, when my dentist would not have been available. The tooth did not completely detach from my mouth that night, no, instead it hung on dangling away threatening to be swallowed at any moment.

So after 1 1/2 hours at the dentist, mostly talking, but a few minutes of freezing and tugging it looks like I will be without the tooth until near the end of July. I guess I will be finding out if my retirement health insurance plan is any good. 

There is no pain in all this, and we are still wearing masks around here, so not too many need to deal with the visual, but the lack of tooth will have an impact on my RPG sessions. I guess the villains will all be talking with a lisp!

Warning photos of me, and my non existent tooth follow (only for the strong stomached)

You have been warned....

John Carter Warlord of Mars board game

 

So, I started to rework the old SPI boardgame about John Carter. Always a favorite game, in theory, but it has a lot of issues with it and needs to be brought into the modern style of games. I am looking at crossing the original with rules ideas from Flying Frog Games (makers of Fortune & Glory, and A Touch of Evil) Their games are typically fast play, action oriented, and theme heavy. I feel there are a lot worse games to emulate.

First up was a redrawing of the original map of Barsoom. I have added a lot more colour, and textures than the original had, and I have tried to add additional information not shown on the original (for instance Red or Green Martian cities etc.

It is a start. Next I really have to look at the rules and see what I want to keep, and what rules will need to be updated.

Why do I do the things I do...

So, I went to Fandom II the other day, For those not in the know, Fandom II is gaming store in Ottawa that has been around since the 70's and has been my go to store for my entire role playing life. However, as I entered into my retired life, and I started to assess my gaming needs, I had to take steps to reduce my gaming purchases. That has never been an easy thing to do. However thanks to covid I have been able to leverage the various lockdowns to restrict my shopping at any store and thereby reduce my impulse buying habit. It has been a year since I bought something right off the shelf. Any purchases that I have made were, for the most part, old games not currently in print. (one Kickstarter exception) 

Now I have read of a 21/90 day rule to change habits. Well a year is well more than 21/90 days. So why then did I then walk out of Fandom with a new RPG that I have never looked at, and that, technically, I had serious doubts about. In fact I felt a little embarrassed when I went to the counter with the game, that is how little I thought about the value of this game! Why do I do this!!! My bookshelves are chock a block full of un-played RPG's, I did not need to add to that. 

Arriving home with my various purchases for the day, I scornfully dropped the RPG on the couch, and picked up the magazine that I had also bought. Wargames 401 was not a bad issue, some good bit the pertained to my gaming interests, so a plus on that I figured, but does not make up for my waste of money on the RPG! Next up was another purchase, Adeptus Titanicus rule book. Sadly it was pretty much what I expected it to be, a typical GW gaming rulebook with not enough information in it for all the various titans that one could field. So far removed from the good old days of the original Adeptus Titanicus game that provided rules for building just about anything you want to. The rule book is ok, and gives me something to work with, but it is not spectacular.

So 2 out of three items dealt with, time to look at the real waster of money, Talisman Adventures RPG. Now Talisman the board game is one of those games that I have fond memories of, that is until I play it. Then all the problems with the game come to the surface, the long tedious play time, the complete randomness of the game play, the time wasted as players roll the movement die then have to count squares to determine which direction they will move, the frustrating endgame as the crown is used, (or worse depending on what add on version you play) and the imbalance that can quickly appear leaving certain characters as bottom feeders while others swoop around the board gaining more and more power.

It is not a good game.

So why the hell did I plunk out good cash, and I had to use cash due to an error with my bank card, on this game? I do not know. Some deep seated need to replace something that is missing in my life with a purchase of anything? A brilliant insight telling me that this was the game that I needed to buy to fulfill my life? Nope. There was no good reason for this purchase. It did not offer up some cathartic release of endorphins, rather to the contrary I felt miserable about the waste of money. This was the reason that I had tried to keep away from temptation, why I had avoided Fandom, apparently I just cannot help myself.

Meanwhile, I have had a pending order with Sarissa for bases to be used with some figures that are gathering dust on my gaming table. This order is a carefully considered order of what I require for my miniature gaming. Why is it then, that I cannot pull the trigger on that order but think nothing of dropping $55.00 on an unknown, unneeded game?

So in the end I picked up two items that I had planned to get, one good one not so good. I also picked up something I did not plan to on a whim. madness, madness, as I seem unable to change this habit. I did finally pick up the RPG and started to read it. Initially I was resistant to it, underwhelmed by the game. Then I hit the followers section, and realized there might be something here that I can use in a game that I am playing now. Then I looked deeper into the book and found some more interesting rules. Finally I lay down on the couch and just read the book from the start.

                                    Dammit it is actually a good system.

                                                    Dammit, my impulse buy was not so bad after all.

                                                                    Dammit so much for changing any habits 

See my RPG blog for a more proper review

                                                                                    Dammit

Newly arrived items to be built

 

Received my Kickstarter package a week or so ago, thought it was time for a post. The Lurkers from the Deep for 7TV by Crooked Dice is based on the type of New England villages as described by H P  Lovecraft. Along with the building they released a number of new figures to complement these models. They also included a funky VHS tape container, that holds the scenario rules, markers and additional cards to be used in a game of 7TV. I opted for the buildings only, as I already have plenty of Deep ones, and Hybrids. The lighthouse was the item that attracted me the most, but the overall look of all the buildings also had some appeal.

 I have had a scenario in mind for quite a few years involving a raid on Innsmouth, and these buildings will certainly help bring that project to life. They are a mix of dilapidated and intact buildings,  much like the people that hover between soundness and decadence. 

The buildings are by Sarissa, and promise to be relatively straightforward to assemble. The details on the 2 that I have opened looks good, and they should be fun to build and to use. The lighthouse is segmented, so each section can be separated from the other, thus giving full access during play, and will make it easier to store. 

 

 

 

Just a rambling

 So, time for some clarification on the name of this blog. The unfocused bit comes from the fact that I can never stay on one topic for long, usually shifting all over the place on all sorts of different projects. This is a true statement. But I find that every now and then I can become rather fixated on a project, focusing my energies and attention on whatever is the matter at hand. Now fixated usually occurs within the genre, but not the topic. So my painting table can (and does) have Romans, Pulp, Fantasy, and VSF figures on it. I will switch back and forth between these items, usually unable to bring any one project to completion. If I am playing at RPGs I get started in, say fantasy, then suddenly shift my attention to Sci-fi or superhero etc.   

Currently my fixation is manifesting itself in RPGs. I have been running 2-3 gaming sessions a week for many months now, to the point of consuming most of my free time. Now, within this current phase of gaming I do flip about on genre and game rules. My RPG sessions started out in Pulp 1920-1930s but now I have started up a classic D&D 3.5 Conan game, and I keep looking at some form of Superhero game flitting from system to system. The fact that I have played so many game sessions is astounding, as I have never played any game so consistently. It is the feedback of the players, the fun that we are having, and the implied commitment that keeps me going. But it does take up a lot of my free time, as I am constantly working through plot ideas, and trying to figure out how I will get myself out of the corners that my improv style of GMing has gotten me into!

A large part of that is due to the pandemic. Not getting together with people has been great! Instead of the old process of trying to make time to game in person, travel time, set up time etc, I have leveraged Roll20 to run my games. A great little system that has allowed me to expand my gaming horizon, to upload images and content to enhance the game. It does mean that I spend an excessive time searching the net for interesting images that will convey the feeling of the game, and to act as short cuts when describing things to players. 

Now to that, I have added Inkarnate, a map making online tool. This has proven quite addictive. Initially I thought I would use it for world maps, but now I have found many other uses for it. I has redrawn the map for The City State of the Invincible Overlord, built my own city, and worked on a number of battle maps, and spaceships. My addictive nature shines through as I constantly look at what I have created to see how I can refine the image. Many nights staying up to 2am is testament to my addiction. 

However, I backed the recent Crooked Dice Kickstarter, and I have received notice that my package is on the way, and should be here by June 1st. That is 12 buildings, and some other stuff, that I suspect may well drag me back into the miniature side of gaming. Then again the existing pile of MDF has not been worked on for nearly a year...

So it seems this is the year for buying rules...

 

I guess I needed some new reading material.

Maybe I am just a sucker for advertising (YouTube videos) or maybe I just like some of the ideas coming out of the Two Fat Lardies area of the world.  O Group reminds me a bit of Command decision, as both games focus on somewhat higher levels of command than the WWII games I typically play. It does look interesting even if it looks like you roll a mitt full of dice, something that Warhammer made me dislike.

Picket's Charge is similar to Fire and Fury in it's scope of action, but has a number of interesting mechanics that promises a different game experience.

So far I have the PDF versions, with the hard copy in the mail. More later...

My journey to the Back of Beyond has started...

 

Some new arrivals mark my decent into yet another genre/theater of war. It all started a few years back when I picked up a bag of figures at a bring and buy. It was a mix of Copplestone Bolshevik figures,  Russian sailors a machine gun or two and one artillery piece. These figures have been based and primed, but otherwise ignored on one of my miniature shelves. They sit beside some Pulp Figures Chinese troops that I picked up in anticipation of this madness gripping me.

Finally, a few weeks ago I ordered some more figures, this time from Caliver Press in the UK. While waiting for them to arrive I checked out a Canadian store, The Sentry Box, to see what they might have.  Well, they had a few items of interest, and at a phenomenal price. This week both orders arrived within a day of each other, 16 packages from western Canada, and 10 from the UK.

 I guess I am really in it now!

From zero cavalry to 60 in one day and me without bases to mount them. SO that order goes out tomorrow, then the mounting and the painting can hopefully begin. Naturally I am already looking at what to order next, I am thinking some more artillery and maybe some more 'interesting' infantry units.