March 2025 - Part Four - End of the month

22 March 2025

Grandson

Kato visited today. He flies out to the States Monday evening to begin his two year high school football scholarship. Very proud of him. Recognise that it will initially prove awkward settling in to a new surroundings. Not so worried about the academic side of things as he seems fine with his studies. It's more the gridiron side of things that concerns me most. He's got a lot of learning ahead of him. And it'll be a big shock to him. But that's the trade-off. It will be a big adventure and I am hoping that he fares well. Going to miss him.

Update: He arrived safely and went straight to the practice field. He's no longer a standout (size-wise) as his teammates are more or less the same height as him as this latest photo he sent over shows. He's loving it already. The school's football season doesn't start until August, and their first game is in Hawaii. He's going to love Hawaii. Not sure if he's playing O line or D but no doubt we will learn soon enough as they assess his playing abilities. He was keen to play D, possibly Edge but over here they played him Offensive Tackle. And he's got his mate from Oz to help and support him too so he should settle in real quick.

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

Saw the Mighty Jingles playthrough tonight on YT. Interesting in that I'm currently wading through medieval history but in a different region. I might invest time and money in the game, just for casual fun. 

Update: seen another Jingles YT episode regarding this game tonight (30 March). Almost tempted to purchase it simply because I am enjoying the narrative plus the visual graphics. Almost tempted...awful regional English and American accents aside (game developers are Czech). 

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29 March 2025

Balkans Late Medieval Period

Going to use the timeline from this text as my guiding reference for my first ever foray into Late Medieval in the Balkans. Scale to be determined but I want to amass large armies and not confine myself to small-scale skirmish actions. Just trying to figure out whether to go figures (6mm most likely) or paper (self-made as they're none available in the region I'm interested in). Even watched a few YT videos on cheap alternatives such as 2mm plastic mesh. Looking at paper mainly due to both manufacturing and creative options. Figurines are a last resort nowadays - cost plus storage and painting. Paper are already painted (printed): just cut and paste.

Main players will be the Byzantines, Bulgarians, Serbians, Greeks, Franks, Venetians, Genoese, Italians, Cumans (Kipchak, Tartars (Mongols), Turks (Seljuks and Ottomans). Currently doing some background research starting with the Byzantines. 

So far I've learned from wikipedia is that there were two dynastic periods - the Komnenos (12th century) and the Palaiologan (13th to mid-15th century). Focusing on the Palaiologan era first because the armies were smaller, no more than 5,000 at most. 

I do have the history text I'm still wading through. It goes into more specifics regarding the period than wikipedia which only provides a cursory overview. I also have numerous Osprey uniform books (digitals only) that can help me with period clothing. 

Ruleset? That's a big one. But given I'm doing this solo, I have plenty of options, plus there is no pressure to choose one immediately. There are basically three gaming options: skirmish, small- to mid-scale, and large-scale engagements.

For now, I will confine myself to Lion Rampant for the retinue/skirmish style games. For large (battle) type games, it looks the old standard will do for now - DBM. For mid-level games, I may explore further options that allow for quick solo games under 2 hours max. No real rush for now. 

Atomfall

The recent return of FRANKIEonPC after several years absence is always looked to with anticipation due to his extremely enjoyable entertainment value. First heard of him through Soviet Womble, and their ZF clan exploits. Which then led me to watch Frankie's Arma 3 videos, especially his Zombie adventures in this setting. His recent teaming up with Sada were always memorable for their humour, banter, and skill displayed. 

Anyway, Frankie's new recommendation (not really as such but if he's playing and raving about it, then it's work a look-see) is Atomfall, another post-apocalyptic zombie infestation set in Britain that was release a couple of days ago. So it's close to home, so to speak. Looked it up on Steam. Asking price for the base game is AUD80.

Bongo Cat

A fun little app that is based on keyboard taps. Happy accidental find the other day. After so many taps, you receive items that can be traded in the market place. You can doll up your cat with hats and so forth. Not a game but a pleasant companion when you blatting enemy ships.

Any rewarded items can be attached to your cat by simply opening the game and waiting thirty minutes then clicking the page icon next to the counter to open the inventory...

Then you can adorn your cat, as I've done, or sell your items or trade in the market.

The part I like is that Bongo Cat overlays on the screen (as it's doing now). Once the counter reaches a certain level (starting out it increments 1, 10, 100, 1000, 10000, 100000, 1000000), you will receive notification that you've been rewarded with a new item. Or it might be a duplicate of an existing item in your inventory. 

Starcraft II and Counter Strike

Recently I've been feasting on Serral's game play in SC2. Watching his play elicited fond memories of my time in Sydney's internet cafe scene back in '99. 

Tempted to download the game now and play it for old time sake. Wasn't that good at it but played it regularly with my Polish mate who loved it so much. He thumped me no matter what species he played - Terran, Protoss, Zerg. 

Only agreed to play against him if he would reciprocate and join me in multiplayer Counter Strike. Often we would hit servers that quickly filled up fast. I was often lucky against other players which generally pissed them off; getting booted off was a common risk. 

Remember once going up against a local Asian CS clan with real cool names like Emperor, Empress, Joker, and so on. I managed to piss them off because I somehow managed to stay alive long enough to foil their plans within the game. So much so that they targetted me specifically. I hung in there and managed to get quite a few kills off them before they eventually threw a hissy fit and left the game server. Ah, the good old trolling days.  

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30 March 2025

World of Warships

Playing the Nelson all week and really liking its hitting power. Smack-a-dos every so often. As stated previously, I got this ship in the recent Christmas Santa crate but it was the first item in a sequential bundle so I bought it again and got instant access to the specific mission for it. It's the last week for the 200% bonuses every time you take her out of port. 

The Soviet submarine event is worth playing if you're not prepared to fork out doubloons. Acquired one of the subs (S-1) with the tokens earned. The Soviet era crates don't reward much but what's there is gladly accepted (can't have enough signals).

Not even touching the Monmouth and Gonzaga ship events. Not at the prices WG are asking. Saw the Gonzaga in one game last week but oddly nothing since. 

Waiting on the Blucher Dockyard event which is coming in the next Update in April. 

The April Fools Day sequential bundle is a blatant rip off which most players are avoiding. It is really fit only for those willing to throw money at WG. I've spent some doubloons already from my pile but not outlayed real money. 

I did fork out AUD15 to unlock level 2 access to the Battle Pass Soviet navy event. Did so only for the coal which I spend on the Battle of Jutland containers in the hope of getting the K. Albert, a rare premium. Unfortunately, odds are one in two hundred and fifty. No mind as it's just coal anyway and I have a fair amount accumulated. And what you get are small piddly items but still useful if asset-poor, as I seem to be.

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31 March 2025

NWS Newsletter

Received the April newsletter from NWS (UK). Lots of interesting ideas and articles. Keen to read another member's report on Topside Minis, paper print outs of ships that you cut out and paste onto something more substantial such as wood or hard plastic. A cheap option if you can't afford the 3D versions. Got my Battle of Jutland set. The article writer has three sets - Battle of Jutland, the Russo-Japanese War, and WW2. He mentions a Cold War naval set - Soviet and US - that's due for release soon. 

There is also a batrep regarding Operation Pedestal, the British relief convoy to Malta in 1942, and the Axis attempts to sink and scuttle their efforts. Previous missions had seen Axis success, and the island of Malta was undergoing severe rationing as a result. A gaming club in the UK ran the operation. So far, it's looking good. Oddly, the HMS Nelson was sunk through persistent and successful aerial bombing. Also sunk was the British destroyer HMS Derwent. The other capital ship, the HMS Rodney, sister ship to the Nelson, exacted revenge however by sinking the Italian heavy cruisers Gorizia and Bolzano.

A recommendation come through to try out an Age of Sail boardgame Rule the Waves Britannia!. Interested me because it can be played solo as well as multiplayer. The article writer pointed out you can start at any rank be it Captain of a 3rd rater or Admiral of a 100-gun ship of the line. 

But what got me interested more was the solo wargaming notion of playing such a game as a solo campaign but starting at the bottom of the promotion ladder and working your way up to the top tier as a natural progression. Numerous book series have followed this path, and it's a common writing device - such glorious characters as Horatio Hornblower, Luke Skywalker, Richard Sharpe, etc., owe their existence (and popularity) because they made their way up from the bottom. Can it work as a solo gaming concept?

World of Warships

One more day of playing until I can upgrade to the OREGON for free in the Experimental Ships (a WOWS) event. Four more days of playing the Nelson special mission and helping to upskill my seasoned commander, one of the Dunkirk brothers. He's got a few XP points to go before he's a 21-pt captain so "head down and arse up!" as we would say.

March 2025 - Part Three

14 March 2025

Late Medieval Balkans read

Finished Chapters Four and Five in one late night sitting. Found another interesting battle to game tabletop-wise. 

The Battle of Klokotnitsa was fought in 1230 and involved the forces from the 2nd Bulgarian Empire under Ivan Asen II and the Thessaloniki Empire under one of the several 'Byzantine' Emperors, Theodore Comemnus Ducas. The Bulgarians won a major victory and expanded their territory to include much of Macedonia, parts of Albania and of course Thessaly. And they now were a major player in the region, and a threat to both the Latins who held Constantinople and the rival Nicean Empirate in Anatolia. 

As I don't have the models, I'm looking at paper 2D models. Currently looking at options because I would like to get back into Lion Rampant some time this year. 

16 March 2025

World of Warships

Currently grinding the new Dutch light cruiser line using Michiel de Ruyter, the only Dutch special commander in the game (as far as I know). Finished the Jaarsveld yesterday, upgraded, and began grinding the M. van Coehoorn. Last ship in this line will be the Utrecht. 

Not sure about the release of the new Soviet subs. As one well known YT streamer pointed out, what's the obsession with submarines. Part of me doesn't understand either, but another part has a theory and it's not complimentary to the creators. 

19 March 2025

World of Warships

Decided to continue playing the experimental ships partly for rewards. Coal plus rewards for other events (Soviet subs reward tokens that can be exchanged for crates). Not going to fast track to the Oregon however. So it's the slow grind to accumulate the requisite Action reports. Each day it resets and the maximum obtainable is 45. But each ship has around eight modules costing 150 Action reports per module plus so many credits. The only way is to spend 10,000 doubloons (nearly AUD60). Will therefore take the slow grind approach. Already completed two mods. Six more to go.  

Managed to upgrade from the M. van Coehoorn to the Tier X Utrecht, plonked orange camo on it and ran it for a couple of games. Another tech tree line done.

Priority this year will be to upskill as many special commanders (Legendary and Seasoned) to 21 points. 

Foregoing going for the Gonzaga and the Monmouth. They simply cost too much dollars (in the hundreds now). There are other "new" ships being promoted but will most likely skip them if they're being made available like the aforementioned two ships.

Phone Games

I only have the one phone game - Triple Tile 3D. Found it on my wife's phone some time last year and was instantly hooked. I love it because it's a rapid hand eye coordination reaction game. Got up to level 1820 before I decided to install it on my phone after vigorous complaints over the hogging of her phone. Anyway, I noticed a few things about this addictive (for me at least) game:

• Upon completing the level in the time alloted, the remaining time left is converted to points. However, it's misleading to believe the time remainder converts fairly. The points converter works faster than the time remaining converting. For example, you might complete a particular level with 2 minutes and 07 seconds remaining. Your points earned is, say, 175. If you watch the conversion process, you'll notice the points clicks over much slower than the time remaining reduces. Which is not that important if you have an abundant amount of boosters accumulated. 
• Every ten levels completed within the time alloted rewards you with a new set of tiles which normally follow a theme like toys, plants, tools, fruits, etc. You get a new set every hundred. But this works all the way up to just past level 2200. About here, the reward tile set randomizes in that you'll get repeats. Currently at 2370. In that time, only two new tile sets - one Chinese and one African; the rest have been repeats. 
• The shortest alloted time limit is 4 minutes which isn't too bad while the longest can be near 8 minutes (enough time to make a coffee and still finish in time). Playing it though means total concentration and not allowing yourself to be distracted. That's where the boosters come in. 
• Of the boosters, there are four lots: two in the pre-game startup, and two in-game. The magnet one is meh in my opinion but handy for clearing a first few. Used with the time bonus booster which adds 1 minute to your time allocation, you can get a good starting run. Which can be useful especially if you're up against the dreaded 4 minute timer. Once you begin play, there are two more at the bottom of your screen. The left one randomly removes a 3-tile set (useful if you're having trouble finding or focusing and you delay longer than ten seconds). The right one is the freeze time, and is pretty handy and often used once I'm down to thirty seconds and still got loads to clear. Once these in-game boosters run out, you can pay using the gold you've earned to purchase more. Unfortunately, you can only purchase just three at a time, and you cannot buy repeatedly while you still have boosters. A pity. 
• The game periodically provides opportunities to earn more boosters and gold. There are twenty such opportunities. This is where you can start building a decent amount of gold and boosters. Temptation is to use boosters initially because you haven't got your "eye in", so to speak. Don't worry. It soon improves. 
• Of the object sets in the random tile pile, some are easy and some not so easy. The not so easy moments occur when colours are fairly similar between objects, such as when come up against tiles that are similar in shape and colour, like red flowers that are of two different types but look similar to the sweeping eye. Also have a similar issue with children's toys of the small variety.
• With practice you can easily finish the 4 minute timer in under 2 minutes if you focus. And learn to use all your fingers (like typing). 
• Try to avoid clusters that are on the edge or close to the edge of your phone screen. The remedy is simply slide a finger down to release it. And tiles directly on top of one another can be tough to dislodge, especially if it's the last tile set. But you'll find a way. It does claim to be randomly dropped but I've found that there are usually three standard patterns: (1) grouped close together, (2) horizontally and/or vertically aligned along the entire length/breadth of the pile, and (3) one will be opposite to the other two. Once you get used to playing it, you will know it instinctively.
• After you've completed a level, there is the screen that shows two sliding bars operating back and forth. This is the claim window. Click the bottom one any time to advance your progress by five. It's an automatic increment. Thus five times twenty equals one hundred which represents one advancement level at the end of which you receive a new set (of eight tiles - I think). In other words, you succeed twenty times in order to receive the new set of tiles. The top bar provides an opportunity to multiply your earning by whatever number you click on. Usually this is five. But you have to wait a short time (usually thirty seconds) for an ad (or three) to play through before you can claim your multiplied earnings. Three hundred multiplied by five is a better reward by far.
• There are 48 sets of triplet tiles to clear in each level.
• Somewhere between levels 2650 and 2700, the countdown stops altogether in that no new tile sets are released. You keep getting the message "New pack is coming soon...?" instead each time you finish a cleared set. But when that's likely to happen is anyone's guess. Not far off level 3000 now and it doesn't look likely any time soon. So, it's possible to believe the app game is done. 

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21 March 2025

ECW: Baggage train and others

Resumed work on the baggage train along with some of the command elements.

A couple of the carts and in the background the donkey train.

Still to add the top part of the water barrel. Wheels painted up don't look so bad if you don't look too closely. Still too big but it's not going to matter anyway, so it'll do.

King Charles (on the grey), three aides (red cloaked) and one of the Royalist generals, Lord Astley, who commands the infantry overall. His son, Sir Bernard Astley who commands one of the tercios, was painted earlier.

Medieval Balkans

Finished Chapter 4 - The Latter Half of the Thirteenth Century. The author jumps from region to region which can prove disruptive especially when trying to absorb the wealth of information. Not complaining however because the historian/author tries to provide solid facts and/or reasoning behind the information provided. If he doesn't know or there is scant information, he says so. Which I like. Any speculation is grounded upon analysis of the most available reference material, the veracity and authenticity of which is reliant on the quality of the reference source cited.

It also pays to have a map of the area whilst reading to identify various locales mentioned. The book provides two maps: the first lists all the main towns and cities, while the second lists the political regions, geographical features including main and tributary rivers. This appendice is handy but suffers from the issue of being two pages in size meaning the spine gets in the way. One could easily photocopy the two halves, or else obtain another reference source map of the area such as an old German language area map from the late 19th or early 20th century. 

Chapter 4 mainly focused on the machinations of Bulgaria and the various Dalmatian coastal regions such as Hum and Dubrovnik. Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia, and their endless upheavals and power plays raging back and forth between the major players of these regions as well as the continued interests by the Venetians, Byzantines (and the Genovese allies) as well as the ongoing incursions and raids by the local Mongols. 

As per usual, rulers and regions come, and go fairly quick. Local families rise to prominence, endure for several generations, and then as quickly as they rise they fade into obscurity. Towns change names and allegiance so often depending on whoever rules them. 

Starting a new century (the fourteenth) with Chapter Five. And settling on a suitable timeline to game.

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March 2025 - Part Two

4 March 2025

English Civil War

Started detailing the Oxford units. 

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Pulp Fiction

Earlier tonight revised the two gaming sheets for my new scenario - The Vine Street Bank Heist. Happier with the new revised Profiles for the participants after paring down the Special Abilities (had too many for a first game). 

As I go along, I am also developing the scenario. So far I've got the following "facts" down. 

(1) "Boss" Lambert's gang are about to rob the 2nd National Bank on the corner of Main and Vine Street in Biggstown, a large city in the central mid-west. His gang are out-of-towners and have quietly infiltrated the city with many staying at the Cherry Street Hotel, a couple of blocks from the bank. The gang is well known in several districts so laying low is essential.

(2) The downtown district comes largely under the metropolitan jurisdiction of the 27th Precint led by the competent Lieutenant Ed "Bullrush" Zelski. Because of the way I've set this up, both parties has a Grade 3 (the head honcho), two Grade 2s (lieutenants or deputies), and two teams of Grade 1s. For the 27th Precint, patrolling Main Street and the off-streets branching from Main (up to Hopper Street in the south-west) and the Industrial Estate (north-east corner) keeps them busy. 

(3) The Second National Bank handles the financial affairs of the city and is located on the junction ofAt this time of the year, it prepares to remit a large shipment of cash to its corporate headquarters over at Centerville by rail and road. This is the payout Lambert is planning to hijack. 

(4) Conducting the recce of the bank and its environs is Whitey Zoots' crew consisting of himself, Petey the Gat Gowlinsky and Leo "Cracker" McGerkin. Attached and especially brought in for the job is the driver "Wheels" Kross. Meanwhile Boss Lambert's other crew, led by Moray "The Snake" Feisty, is gathering info on the bank personnel. Assisting him are "Bugsy" Sickle and "Sloppy" Wynstein.

(5) New enlisted Patrolman Meyer is familiarising himself with his patrol route. He is accompanied by the veteran Eli "Knocker" Pound. 

More to follow...

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English Civil War

Rupert's "Blew" regiment figures glued to bases. Some detailing done on the headquarter element. Basecoated bases for later flocking and "decorating".

Both units (Oxford army) done and ready to enlist into the Reserve. 

Work on Talbot's and Duke of York's tomorrow - cyclone willing. Cheers.

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6 March 2025

English Civil War

On a slow roll of sorts.

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13 March 2025

Ex Tropical Cyclone Alfred

Power was finally restored after going dead Sunday. Dumb authorities kept telling those affected to go to their effen website. Problem is no one had power nor comms nor internet so couldn't access the effen stupid website. And I hear we're getting billed more with our power. Third-world country.

In the interim, the power outage allowed me to finish off the ECW foot, all seven units. And a couple of commanders. A few minor detailings to go and base flocking. Hand made the 60mm bases for the commanders from MDF. Quality of the material is shite but what do you expect from Bunnings?

Today I began the baggage train. Found one item (water cart) has no wheels so am hand crafting them. Because I had no reference (no internet) when I made my start I soon realised I had made the wheels too large interfering with the water barrel. No problem as no one is really going to pay attention to a high sitting water cart. 

Also one of the horses was so flimsy that it broke as soon as I pushed it to straighten its hind leg. Viewed from the front, the legs of the creature are not properly formed. Poor creature has more in common with those 2D flats than viable 3D. Oh well, it is what it is; too late crying spilt milk. 

There are several ways to dress this farcical attempt up. Lots of dark paint and foliage is one way. Hide it at the back of the baggage train. Or never have it come on; just claim it's refilling at the nearest lake or pond. And so on. Lol.

Reading List

With little to do in the blackout, I took to reading the Medieval Balkans history book. Chapter 2 concerned the Fourth Crusade and its influence on the region in that Byzantine lost Constantinople to the crusaders. The establishment of a Latin Emperor in Constantinople also saw expansion into Greece so much so that little fiefdoms and principalities were established by the crusaders (Franks mostly) throughout. Thessaloniki, Morea, Epirus are some of the more familiar states established by the crusaders and their descendants. 

The amount of treachery by the rulers during this period of upheaval from Latin, Byzantine, Greek, Serbian, Bulgarian, Hungarians - is phenomenal. Here I was thinking the modern Middle East and Near East is the byword for turmoil. Yet it was so common in the 12th and 13th centuries so much so that the only way to know who held what is by historical accounts and records. And even they can be misleading or vacant on information. 

I am so looking forward to the Ottomans finally capturing and establishing their empire. But that's several chapters on. Chapter 3 - The First Half of the Thirteenth Century - was a whirlwind of political intrigue, usurpation, fragile or broken alliances. And forever back-stabbing. Had to pause to absorb much of what was happening in the various regions.

I am now wading through Chapter 4 - The Second Half of the Thirteenth Century. I am chuckling though at how devious some of these players are. For example, the importance of having documentation securely stored away can never be overstated. Which comes handy in disputes such as one town's claim over religious authority were nullified when the claimant failed to produce the authentic documents supporting their case. Of course, during their disputes these were missing, destroyed by the rival side when they captured the town before it was recaptured by the claimants.

Towns would change hands many times over. Much like a merry-go-round. A veritable carousel of "sea changes".  

There are ten chapters in all. So far, six to go after tonight's reading. Of course, I now have a wealth of new wargaming inspiration. Maybe look at familiar rulesets covering the period. Certainly enough new source material to resume Lion Rampant. Or even bigger if I can source suitable minis. 

NOTE: A lot of little wars going on, some documented, others not, is rampant throughout the thirteenth centuries. And quite a few are never even known about except as hearsay or through fireside tales. The amount of interference from Hungary is quite common given it bordered the Danube. And the Venetians are also right in the mix for meddling in the affairs of the region. A real hotbed of intrigue and greed. But then that's much the spice that is history.  

Games

Recent power outage (storm related) has affirmed the need to get games happening on spare tablets and laptops. So am ready for next time because there will be a next time with some sort of natural disaster emergency. Still don't have full comms (mobile phone coverage). 

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March 2025 - Part One

1 March 2025

English Civil War

I much prefer the journey rather than the destination these days. Getting there is so much more fun than seeing the final end result which is cool in itself but doesn't provide the memories whenever viewed as much as the struggles, modifications, adaptations, and so on.

Found some basing material yesterday and thus spent tonight cutting them for my units. Still need to basecoat several units like Hopton's and Bard's. Started detailing Duke of York's and Talbot's. As stated, King's Lifeguards and Prince Rupert's Blew regiments are very much done with only the basing, flocking and some minor final detailing to complete them out. 

Tweaking the numbers, I was able to accommodate adding Talbot's Foote without forsaking the original listings which is a good thing. All that's missing from the above list therefore is Shrewsbury Foote. This would give the Royalist seven complete infantry units (regimental level). Excluded but next on the painting program are the Forlorn Hope, the firelocks, and dismounted dragoons. Cheers.

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2nd March 2025

Some .45 Adventure gaming

Tidying up the studio of late and happened across some old terrain/buildings from my 28mm gangster era. Decided to have a quick game of .45 Adventure to pass the time as the power went out throughout the area for over an hour. Wasn't a real game as such but more a reacquaintance. Didn't go into the details of the ruleset but skimmed over the basics of the game.

Scenario was rivalry between two local gangs - one American-style gangster with the flashy suits and violin cases coming up against an Asian-Triad style criminals - that had finally reached boiling over point with both sides declaring a spontaneous turf war in the industrial area outside of Biggstown. 

Outcome was less important than simply enjoying a simple hour of gaming, as it should. 

Going to continue reviving this fun game into the week. Next scene will be a Main street scenario with cops and hoodlums. Will print out some game sheets as well. And hopefully provide a more detailed batrep rather than the result. Should be interesting. 

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3 March 2025

Studio tidy up

Resumed tidying up the studio. Realised that I have loads of stuff to finish and complete. Will try and take the same approach as I did with the Battle of Borodino project. Which is focus on one element of the project and bring that part to completion.

The list of projects as part of 2025 builds are manifold however.

1. Kelly's Heroes table. Large project. Easily the largest since the Battle of the Borodino in scope and size. Begun long ago (back in the 2010s). Made a passionate start. Interrupted thereafter with half-pie efforts over the decade. At around 30% complete with a fair number of structures mostly completed. Lot of final work needed to bring it to full completion and use. Still on the lookout for a tiger tank (a main character from the movie). Should take the whole year.
2. Generic terrain and structures items. Many started but never finished as something new popped up to distract me (as you do). Low priority but still needing completion.
3. Pulp Fiction. Main Street, USA, from the Prohibition and through to the Great Depression era. More interested in this period from the small scale gaming and narrative one can weave.
4. American Civil War. Final last fling. Red River campaign and rulesets to be finalised. Flitting with several but nothing has firmed. Terrain and buildings are few and will probably require some constructions. Priority is low though so it may never eventuate (the buildings and terrain elements that is).
5. Shelving. Need more shelves for storage. Finding the right shelving is important so I understand.
6. WW2 modular terrain (see further down). An unfinished project. Ran out of steam while putting it together. 

Shown above are a couple of pieces (right) with the train line emerging from the mountain tunnel. Also in storage is the Lizardmen temple display board that I hope to get some usage using the old ruleset. And then there is a French Foreign Legion fort that is something I've always wanted to build but I have no figures. Maybe use it for an updated WW2 desert scenario for Rapid Fire perhaps? Wait and see. At least now I can place stored items once again in this closet space.

Various modular pieces belonging to the Kelly's Heroes table. Eight pieces counted thus far. The table therefore will be large. Already attached polystyrene as basis for landscaping and the overhead railway that is meant to pass through the town. Was able to mark out the locations of the various buildings after designing the layout. 

Part of the town centre. Loads of buildings. Built card buildings. Lots and lots of detailing still remains (inset doorways, balcony, window framing, walls, etc.) to bring it up to scratch for the game so I reckon. A good two months work here (given my snail pace progress). 

There are a number of terrain boards (hills, surrounding landscape) in this project that still need constructing, not just finishing. Various notable structures, such as the ruined castle (above right) on the outskirts of the town, are basically done. Or started. The Sanitorium is not shown but is also almost done.  

Never going to win awards for my construction skills. Or even design work. Doesn't really matter: as I stated so many times before, I enjoy getting to where I'm going. I don't mind reinventing the wheel. Or relearning skills or techniques already learned or known. It's the enjoyment of filling up time doing something I like doing. 

Six modular boards. Originally designed for WW2 Rapid Fire. Setting: Europe. Possibly Normandy bocage region. Includes a small lake/pond, destroyed village, hedgerows, undulating ground, docking area, hamlets, and so on. 

Shown this before. Unopened boxes of minis. Wife really wants me to sell them off. Contemplating it although not this year. Most are 1/72 Napoleonic, a period I'm done with for now. Medieval as well (for Lion Rampant). Forming part of my various piles of shame located throughout the studio.

More Piles of Shame. Many are opened and work begun on them but not finished. Mostly 15mm, 20mm and 28mm. Not shown are two house moving cartons filled with 40K and Warhammer Fantasy (before the renaming due to copyright claims). There are odds and sods from other interested periods, mostly naval and airwargaming. So it's not just land warfare materiel.

Any drawer space is crammed with minis. These are part of my WW2 collection. For Rapid Fire. 

Sometimes I run out of drawer space for my minis. 

Ran out of small storage cells and tubs for my Borodino project. What I could fit, I did. The rest found space on the shelving in the bathroom (see below).

These buildings are from the La Haye Saint set for the Battle of Waterloo. Made a start. Time to finish them off.

Minis stored away that haven't been used in a while. Sitting atop a cabinet with mostly accessories - dice, small terrain items, mats for naval.

About halfway through cleaning up the studio. But already it's yielded much. So much that I really have no excuse not to be doing something hobby-wise. Should be an interesting year therefore. But I've said that before as well. Wish me luck. Cheers.

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Moved lots of modular boards out of the cluttered closet space (previous photo) and restored them in a spot more accessible as this is another major project for this year: (2) WW2 European battle board. Six boards I believe. Without measuring, I'd speculate the boards make for a 6' by 4' table. 

February 2025 - Part Five - End of the month

27 February 2025

The Late Medieval Balkans

Finished Chapter One. Long-winded in terms of complexity. Covering the region during the late 12th century reveals a rich source for wargaming. Already found enough to get me started for the Eastern European phase of Season 7 of Lion Rampant solo campaign. When that kicks off depends on time availability and enthusiasm. 

Learning about old names for modern regions such as what is now mostly Montenegro was once known as Zeta. And the medieval realm of Hum covered areas of Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia. Rich stuff if a historical buff. 

The chapter relies on many sources of which the main ones are listed at the end. 

But the really exciting find was starting Chapter Two which mainly concerns the Fourth Crusade. Keen to research more about the Norman ransacking of Thessaloniki in 1185 as it's given me ideas for a battle scenario or possible extended campaign. Solo of course. 

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February 2025 - Part Four

18 February 2025

English Civil War

Finished the Oxford foot units apart from the final basing and flocking. Started two more foot units - Bard's and Hopton's Foote. Bard's unit replaces Page's Foote and grey coats and Hopton's Foote wear blue uniforms. The tercio is still under the command of Bernard Astley, son of Lord Jacob Astley so I have since learned.

20 February 2025

World of Warships

My Steam WOWS account is playing up. Keep being disconnected. By sheer coincidence, I receive notification of the glorious opportunity to sign in directly with WeeGee. It means my old Steam account with my 600+ ships cannot be transferred over. It would mean therefore starting all over again. Shame...

21 February 2025

World of Warships

Follow on from last night. Logged in after reinstalling and everything seemed fine. Today, logged back in and no problem whatsoever until... 

First sign something was up was being disconnected from the server. Sure enough, WeeGee was trying again to woo me to sign up directly. But this time luckily being disconnected only happened once. The notification is still there when I logged out (I had done my daily grind anyway). 

Read the latest news regarding developments. New events and bundles being offered. Fortunately for me they are ships I already have so happily won't be bothering too much. Even the next Battle Pass which is a Russian one features two ships I've had for ages - Tallinn, a tech tree ship and one other whose name eludes me at the moment. May be the Markarov which is a premium.

Watched an interesting YT video a couple of night back by a veteran of WOWS. In it he mentions that WG are running out of ideas for new ships whereby the assets they received when it and Lesta split (Ukraine war) have all been used up. And every new ship since is simply a clone of an existing ship.  Lesta, on the other hand, are going gang busters with new maps and ships. Seems the art and design departments went with Lesta.

One good piece of news from WG however. They are no longer incorporating Secret Documents into Random battle mode for the next two Updates while they figure out how to do without being overly blatant and upsetting the playing community. So while it may seem they've listened to the many complaints, they haven't entirely removed it altogether. As someone pointed out, it's not happening...for now!

22 February 2025

English Civil War

Hobby day...sorta. Taking a break from yard work (clearing the slopes of all those noxious weeks can be draining physically not to mention also dangerous with the steep sloping ground and poor footing traction). Anyway, I finished cleaning and priming Talbot's and Bard's regiments yesterday. Continued with the remaining foot units - "Shrewsbury" Foote with their mostly green uniforms and Duke of York's Foote with white/grey uniforms. 

This now gives me a total of six complete foot units. Will commence the cavalry next week but first gather the forlorn hope and the firedrakes. And dismounted dragoons.

23 February 2025

Grandson's Football Scholarship

Yesterday learned my grandson's football (American football) scholarship in Santa Monica, California is now official. Starts schooling in April. Expect he will be gone (if he succeeds) for the next two years which should give him time to adjust and learn the game proper. Happy he's about to forge his own unique path. 

Meantime he's getting plenty of rep football happening both in American football here and rugby league in the meanwhile. Proud of his achievement and grateful for the opportunity being presented. Here's hoping he's smart enough to make it work. 

English Civil War

Easy relaxing Sunday so it's time to work on minis. Painting finally started on Talbot's units and Duke of York's regiment. Yellow is always a tough colour to get right when displaying, so I've found. Below is Talbot's yellow-coated regiment. Started with Yellow Ochre over the priming coat. Then added Something Yellow. Will highlight with Lemon Yellow before applying first wash. 

The coat colours of the Duke of York are speculative at best, according to the various sources consulted. Going with the generally accepted promotion that white was the most likely colour for units from the Yorkshire region. But it's the flag though that has attracted this unit for me. And the gryfonny flag make a nice contrast to the white uniforms.  

Postscript: Did some further online research and have pretty much verified the uniforms for the listed units. Swapping Hopton's unit with Duke of York because I want a contrast in uniforms. So, all I have to do is just copy and not stuff things up (as sometimes happens). Cheers.

25 February 2025

Madness

Too exhausted from long-neglected yard work and general maintenance around the home to bother with minis. My fault really for ignoring the obvious fact that the homestead needs constant maintaining. Now I'm paying for it. But it's good in a way; gets my lazy self moving again. Hoping the body can handle it. Pacing myself but it still feels like running an RFL every day! Sweating profusely while working but that's also the Frusemide kicking in (trying to lose weight to a livable and manageable 145 kgs). And the constant joint aches, declining physical health, it's becoming a real challenge. 

All day while I was trimming the bush tree that had overgrown at the letter box I kept hearing Madness' Our House". Been playing on and off all day in my head. Tonight I happened across another tune from their latest album Theatre of the Absurd C'est La Vie. Heard other tunes from the album (Round We Go, C'est La Vie, No Reason, and Theatre of the Absurd Parts 1, 2, 3)  the other night but this one is a "new" one and starts off on a familiar opening riff. After a few frustrating moments, I realised it was very similar to the keyboard opening from the Michael MacDonald and James Ingram collaboration, Ya Mo Be There. Link. 

Hour of Need

Odd thing is that I really like the tunes I've heard so far on this album. Hoping to buy it later and listen to this six-piece while painting. Still very much the same line as the original 70s start up. This album, so far from what I've heard, is not a rehash but a sign of their maturity as musicians. Suggs is still in fine voice. And that sax solo is choice, eh bro! 

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February 2025: Part Three

10 February 2025

PC problems

Unrelated to wargaming but important given I use my PC to generate material for my wargaming hobby - batreps and design work especially. The current Windows 11 update, version 24H2, has been fraught with problems so I've been informed, and am now experiencing. 

Noticing problems whenever I switch it on every day to begin my session. Logins are slow. Thumbnails sometimes do not display on video platforms like You Tube. Errors logging in to my email accounts that take a while to resolve (either restart PC or wait several minutes). And those errors extend to the overall performance of the PC itself which can be frustrating and stressing.

Gaming issues are also affected although I suspect that one specific game that's causing me angst is itself contributing to the constant in-game dropouts. Tried another game and no issues whatsoever with performance in-game.  

But back to version 24H2, rolling back to 23H2 is one option but I am loathe to go that far. Do I wait for 25H2 to appear and hopefully it will remedy the situation? Don't know. I have learned that some criticize 24H2 because Microsoft has added spyware into the update. What's new though? Gmail engage in it as well. All major corporations do it so I believe. 

Recently has an IT specialist visited to sort out connectivity issues (wifi). He informed me of a US wifi extender would boost the wifi signal. It seems the connectivity issue concerned recent additions to our wifi network (added aerials to both the studio and garage workshop and this was causing the frequent connection issues as the PC was trying to connecting to the aerials instead of the router). Unsurprisingly, adding the USB wifi boosters has resolved the connectivity issue (along with some tinkering done by the technician). 

One good thing from this present situation though is that I can walk away from the PC and straight back into my hobby.

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11 February 2025

English Civil War

Slow progress but progress nonetheless. King's Foot almost done. 

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14 February 2025

Astartes II

The big question after the release of the teaser trailer is are Games Workshop going to stuff this up? The quick and cynical answer is yes. 

A quick look at those who have a vested interest over 3% (according to Games Workshop PLC) is interesting with all being investment entities. Link. Close 40% of the business is owned by investors. 

The current CEO of Games Workshop is a CMA or Chartered Management Accountant. So, a top-dog bean counter.

I have a sinking feeling that somehow Games Workshop will totally stuff this up; the degree by which is unknown but not promising. Look at how Disney screwed up the classic Snow White big time.

Same with Amazon and The Rings of Power. The list of recent stuff ups by commercial entities proves (to me at least) that many who oversee such creative projects often lack either talent or that degree of creativity to fully entertain the hungry audience. Or vision. Or their personal agendas come to the fore that often runs contrary to the needs or wishes of the vast majority. Reminds me of the dog chasing its own tail and going round and round but never quite achieving its goal. 

Happy (and dying to be proven so) to be wrong if Astartes II indeed meets and exceeds expectations. But given the recent kerfuffle among the community regarding female Custodes, and now the uproar over denying the mystical aspect that bone singing has in the Eldar culture, I somehow suspect the powers-that-be over in Nottingham really don't care for its own 40K history. Or its customers. Hence why I have serious doubts that Astartes II will be anything but a more diluted and Hollywood-ised version of Episode 5, The Secret Level. 

Maybe we'll see Titus head up the squad after surviving Episode Five? Or, better still, Leandros becomes head of the Kill Teams and sets out to "discipline" the Kill Teams to his world view and sends them on death missions much to the benefit of his secret sponsor, one of the acolytes of one of the Dark Apostles of the Word Bearers?

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16 February 2025

World of Warships

Haven't really bothered to take note of the recent developments through their blogsite apart from heeding the reactions by several YT streamers. 

The return of Classified Documents in Random Battle mode has not been well received by many veterans of the game. In fact, there is talk of migrating to Lesta, and a few YT streamers have actually gone over and returned with praise for Lesta's setup, citing new maps, clearer defined visuals, and so on. 

Complaints regarding the upcoming changes have been ignored - unsurprisingly - and WG continues to foist ridiculous designs (with experimental ships) upon the playerbase and expect many to embrace it happily. The more astute players complain that these new developments are designed to make it easier for newcomers to play with OP ships; skill no longer exists, and the playerbase continues to devolve into dumber than ever. Pay, pay, pay!

So far, I am unaffected as I stick with Co-Op, do my daily grind routine, and avoid paying for every new offer thrown my way. The current Battle Pass event celebrating the Lunar New Year has nothing of any real value. One new 10-pt commander (WTF?!) as the final reward and the T6/7(?) Huanghe Pan-Asian cruiser (which I already have) at the halfway mark makes it very easy to skip buying the second level altogether.

Nothing in the Armoury is worth it any more. I just grab what's for free and simply ignore the paywall events (Wishing Wharf, Early Access Dutch light cruisers, Ming's Adventure, and so on). I will await these ships eventual release into the Armoury either as a coal or doubloon premium. Or even wait until Christmas 2025. 

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