I have a Plan

As earlier reported I'm in the midst of a very busy period at work. Nothing much has changed since that post and next week will be just as busy because I'm away on a business trip for three days. I'm hoping things will settle down a little after that and I can get on top of my workload. Over the last few weeks months I haven't so much as picked up a brush or rolled a dice in anger and getting started again is proving very hard. Everyone has periods like this and I guess I'm no exception and I'd rather be busy than unemployed. 

What I need now is a clear game plan for my hobby time once I get through this busy period, because without it I risk 'drifting'. Before I know it September will be over and I still won't have put paint on metal or played a game. Unfortunately I did just this way back in July and I still ended up getting little done on the painting front, mainly due to a packed summer schedule of living history events, holidays and air shows. The blog benefited from the pictures I took, but what little painting time I had was soon frittered away. The last of the big living history events has now been and gone and my last major air show is this weekend (Duxford of course) so time for painting and gaming should return soon...if I can get to grips with my job workload of course. So what plans do I have for September and beyond?

First off I must crack on with my Panzergrenadier Company. I have one last platoon to paint and it has sat on my desk at the under coated stage since July! The plan is to get started on this by the end of next week, even if I only sit down for a few minutes each night. The travel painting kit will have to be brought out so I can get some painting done at work (when I get a chance to reclaim my lunch breaks that is!). I know that once I get started I'll zip along with these and finish them quickly, but getting started is always the hard part! 

The other major project I need to focus on is building some more Bocage terrain. I know what materials I need to do this and I have almost all the components except the wood I used as the base of these raised banks of earth, rock and hedge. I have about 2.5m already made but that is nowhere near enough for a decent sized table. I need to make considerably more and I need to make a variety of sections, some with gates and breaks in the banks.

If I can get these two projects done I'll feel a little happier that I have achieved most of the objectives I set myself back in May. Beyond this I have no firm plans for more painting (yet) but I do want to try and fit in as many games as I can before the year ends. With the Air Show season over my good friend and Brother-in-law Ray will have more time on his hands and I intend on keeping him busy by setting up some games. Nothing on the scale of the Rejects of course but we all have to work with the space we have, and we don't have much.

So there you have it, my long and rambling plan for the next few months. 

The Guards are coming!!

Following on (sort of) from this mornings post about Guards being a popular line for Toy Soldier manufacturers  I've faced Guards units twice in the wargaming table and both times I was on the loosing side. This picture was from a game Posties Rejects played earlier in the year; The Battle of Mackenzie Ridge. 

These units kept steamrollering on and hardly halted in their advance, even when charged in the flank by cavalry (ok, Cossaks, but even so!). Not only are they tough SOB's they also look damn fine in their red tunics and Bearskin hats.

Toy Soldiers - Colour Party of the Scots Guards

Continuing the occasional series of pictures of Toy Soldiers.

When most lay people think about Toy Soldiers I expect they imagine painted lead figures of Guardsmen. Obviously the range of figures available is limited only by the conflicts and uniforms from history but these figures fit the bill of "lead figures of Guardsmen". These are Scots Guards by William Britons Ltd and date from the inter-war period (c1933). These are on display at the National Army Museum and are in very fine condition. 

Colour Party of the Scots Guards by William Britons Ltd c1933

The Guards are one of those subjects that William Britons have returned to time and again over the years. In fact I was looking at some of the latest versions - featuring the modern SA80 Rifle - in Modelzone at the weekend. 

The DDD's play Tigris & Euphrates

By Gygax beard, The Delvers have actually had a game! We have had a very flaky schedule this summer with lots of cancellations due to holidays, work commitments and just plain old bad luck. Our ongoing D&D 4e campaign has died a death and nobody is sure if we will resurrect it. On the other hand we have played a wide range of alternative games - having a  blast in the process - and last night was no exception.

So three of the DDD's got together after yet another long break between meetings and yet again lacking the Evil GM and his campaign. So we pulled out a variety of card and boardgames ahead of our gathering and chose Tigris & Euphrates, a game we have not played before, as our game of choice for the evening.

With three players the board soon gets 'busy' as each Kingdom grows

The game has up to four players each trying to build and control their own kingdoms by the placing of tiles. The aim of the game is to have the most balanced Kingdom and uses a variety of card tiles and wooden counters to control the game. The tiles represent farming, trading, religion, and government and players collect victory points in these same categories. The winner is determined at the end of the game by counting  the number of points in your weakest category, which encourages players not to get overly specialized. 

The tiles and counters are very good quality with good artwork on them. 

We all enjoyed this game which lasted about two hours. I think now that we have had a chance to try out the rules we would certainly give it another go. Of course next time I would endeavour not to make the same mistakes again and end up last last last. Did I mention I came last? Hmmm... But a game is a game and this was far better than cancelling yet another meeting of the DDD's.