Week from hell at an end?

Some weeks are just harder than others.  Three weeks ago I saw the coincidence of two incredibly demanding activities--JagWire was going to be on deadline the same week as student conferences.  It was not a good nexus.  After the Museum of Flight get together last Saturday, I foresaw only doom. 

Deadline started last Thursday, so I was at school until 9:00.  Then this week there has been no time at school earlier than 8:30.  Combined with my usual bouts of sleeplessness, it's been a hard week.  The good news is that I picked up the paper yesterday for distribution this morning, so that's good, right?

Unfortunately I went out to get ready to come to school this morning.  My car wouldn't start.  So much for a restful evening of painting Wayne's Legion figures

Taking Stock

It is the last day of October, and addition to answering the doorbells for trick or treaters, I thought it might be worthwhile to review the month just completed as well as the year in terms of projects and purchases.

 Frankly, I find this to have been a productive year for a number of reasons.  I'd just like to focus on expense for a minute.  Three or four years ago I spent money on figures like a drunken sailor.  They might have been figures I might eventually have an interest in painting, but I basically just stockpiled figs.  Mostly they were OG figures I ordered through my membership in the OG Army.  I stockpiled huge numbers of Hundred Years War figures, American Revoltion Figures, War of 1812 figures.

 Two years ago that all changed.  I stopped using credit, and began paying cash for everything.  I'm in the credit card users protection program.  This year I've bought few figures, often using Christmas and birthday cash to buy the figures I needed.  No purchases on spec, all purchases directed at a particular project.

 At the same time I've been able to reduce some of my figure stocks.  I painted all of my 15mm Jacobite project in August, with the exception of some of the very cool baggage that go with them.  I finished all of the American Revolution figures I picked up for my Hobkirk's Hill game.  Though I still have figures to paint for AWI, and will also buy minis for future battles, they can wait until I'm ready.

I've also taken on two projects this year.  The first was my Sluys battle.  I still think of this as Sluys round one.  I learned a little bit about the period-though not as much as I'd like-and put together two fairly representative fleets.  David Manley's medieval naval rules also provide for some single ship battles and I'd like to build another round of ships to make use of them effectively.  It's a low cost, high labor activity, but I think I'm up to the challenge.

Finally, there are my Mississippi projects.  This is really a labor of love that can cover the Spanish-American tensions as well as Fallen Timbers.  I've purchased a fair number of figures for this project.  The Perry hussars I'm currently working on, the cuera foot, horse and Spanish artillery from the Dayton Painting Consortium are waiting to be painted.  That's about 45 figures.  I also have American dragoons and mounted militia to paint, plus regular infantry, militia foot, and artillery to paint for about 120 figures.  I also have about 80 unpainted Indians I would love to finish, but I have 100 or so painted figures, so they aren't exactly necessary to the project.

So that means I need to paint 165ish figures with some 80 figures optional.  Plus terrain pieces, plus deciding on a set of usable rules.  I'm thinking Brother Against Brother with some modifications for cavalry.

I envision running at least one scenario using the Mississippi figures at Enfilade.  That means figures need to be pretty much wrapped up by early April in order to playtest games before the convention.

Logging Off TMP

I've been a member on The Miniatures Page since 2002, supporting and not supporting, but I've decided to part company with that forum.  Don't get me wrong, I believe it's a useful resource for our niche hobby, but times change, and so did TMP

The past few years have kept me busy and I've spent less time there with more commitments required to school.  However, there were more boards and more non-miniature related shenanigans going on which I found annoying.  Some of them I enjoyed-any talk about music or movies usually gets me blathering.  But there also seemed to be more of an edge to the posting, more needless nastiness that seemed unwarranted.  Sort of like American politics without the destruct button.

 The last straw for me, however was the harassment of a member through polls and in posts that I felt was completely unwarranted.  When the actions continued and reached their inevitable and ugly climax, I expressed my views in the forums and contacted the editor directly.  It was clear that this behavior of baiting and harassment was okay, and that was all I needed to be persuaded my time at TMP was over.

TMP wasn't always this way.  I've watched the editor ban others who were a pain.  I've seen him ban those who harassed him.  I've always believed him to be a fair and considerate person, but this latest issue leaves me with a different view. I've been a school teacher too long to condone such behavior with my support.  We're done here.

Note:  I've decided to backtrack on my decision to boycott TMP just a bit.  I have determined to post on blogs of war when I have something of significance to share, but I'm staying out of the forums.

Twas the First Day of Summer . . .

Yippee, it's the first day of summer break.  I'm writing this at 7:00 a.m. after having been up for two hours.  It's supposed to be 77 degrees in what can only be described as a spring from hell--cool, cloudy, very rainy, even the local farmers are complaining about the latest berry harvest ever.

But it's nice today.  I have big plans.  A morning walk, mow the lawn until my rechargeable electric dies.  I need to pull some weeds, do some house cleaning, then settle down to paint some figures.  I'm splitting time between Foundry's British Napoleonic light dragoons, which will become the 19th, stationed in America during the War of 1812.  The other unit I'm working on is Lord Argyll's regiment in 1689.  I finised Lord Leven's regiment, and will get some pics up later this week.

I made contact with the Dayton Painting Consortium's Richard Masse.  I asked about the availability of the old London War Room Range of Spanish Cuera figures for my project in the 1790's Mississippi territory, and he sent me a price list of available figures.  DPC had both the mounted and dismounted figures, which worked for me because I need a few of the foot guys to fill out my two nine figure units.  The availability of the mounted figures means I can hold out a bit longer on the Mexican Hussars.

Oh, one more thing to add.  I turn 56 on my next birthday, and my doctor is not very happy with my weight so this is the summer I finally do something about it.  Today is day one of my weight loss plan.  So far, so good.  I just got back from a delightful morning walk.  Managed to avoid being struck by any South Hill commuters.  Off to mow the lawns-'til the mower runs out of juice.  At noon I'm off on my first bike ride of the summer.  I wonder if exercise will improve my failing eyesight? 

With Enfilade a Week Out . . .

It's that time of year again.  Social Studies classroom based assessments, the last issue of the paper in process, and of course Enfilade. 

Fort those who don't follow, Enfilade is our annual historical miniature gaming convention, held each Memorial Day weekend in Olympia, WA.  I'm the director this year.  I was director from 1999-2004. It's a busy job, and I don't feel like I've quite been able to do it justice.  I've actually announce that I am resigning from the Enfilade committee after this year.  I'm just too busy with school and currently stressed out by life in general to do it justice.  I've also been on the committee for a long time so I think it's time to take a break. 

I'm looking forward to having some time to prepare for games at the convention-hosting and playing-being one of the guys in the back of the room.  Next year I expect to do just that-avoid the registration desk, and everything except run and play games.  I can see offering to help in other ways in 2013-judging the painting competition, working the desk, other small things.  But I just need to enjoy myself a little more than I do. 

My games are nearly ready.  Because I have to run down after school this year, I'll be packing early, starting this weekend.  I want to see if I can fit all my AWI stuff for the Hobkirk's Hill game in one big box.  I still have a gun and crew to finish up for that game.  I'll also try to assemble the ships for Closing Wilmington.  I need to decide on the battery composition and work through the infantry rules again.  Finally, I need to make piles of trees for  Sluys.  I've made four little villages to represent the towns in the estuaries, just for show, but the terrain is heavily forested as well.  It will add to the geographic flavor.

In many respects I'm very excited about my game offerings.  Sluys can be more than a one-off game. But it's the satisfaction of having made everything that goes with it that pleases me. Hobkirk's Hill is the first in a series of games I'll offer on the Revolution.  Next Year I'd like to do Hobkirk's and Eutaw Springs, which has fairly challenging terrain, but not a lot of new units to paint.  Closing Wilmington is the game I'm most conerned about because Ironclads can be so fiddly for new gamers, but I confess it's the only game system I like for the period.

Stuck Fast

I don't have much new to report.  It's sad I know.  I've been painting, but verrrryyyy sssllloowwllyy. I'm working on figures for the Hobkirk's Hill game, all Perry figures.  I finished the King's Provincial Regiment, and I don't have much left to do to wrap up--just some guns and gunners, a couple of limbers an ammunition wagon and a couple of British officers.  I did manage to finish one limber and horses as well as the British gunners. I've started on the American gunners, but the guns aren't done and, well, I know you can count.  Lots of stuff has gotten in the way--the trip to Anaheim, I'm stressed out about our deadline week in which seniors don't seem to want to work, and, I hate to say it, yardwork all day Saturday.  Thankfully I still have about four weeks to finish the figures and playtest the game. 

Pictures of some finished stuff soon.

The field is fallow

I've had a heckuva time getting anything done lately.  I've got about three different projects I've been piddling at on my desk and getting frightfully little done on any of them.  I've entered one of those zones I face a few times a year when I don't get much done and just kind of hang out and read.  I'm not sure I have a good reason.  I did have a nasty fall at home a few weeks ago.  I really banged up my left leg just below the knee and it has a huge knot.  If I sit for very long it gets very stiff.  It's finally starting to get better and maybe that will help.  Today was a good painting day.

All the hard stuff is done.  Eight small cogs for Sluys.  They need masts and bowsprits, then it's prime 'em and paint 'em

I spent the weekend  painting a bit, but finished nothing.  First, I have eight small cogs I'm working on.  I need small cogs for the Flemish forces at Sluys, and will have a few left over for the French.  I'm getting more motivated to jump on the rest of the ships for Enfilade so I can get on with playtesting the scenario.

16 miserable figures that aren't even hard to paint.  Why can't I get the done??!! Argh!

 I worked a little bit on these silly Perry figures for the King's Provincial Regiment.  It's the last unit I need to paint for Hobkirk's Hill.  Again, I need to playtest the scenario so I gotta get on them.  Right now, every hour I spend on them seems like weeks.  Gah!!

Absolutely one of my favorite minis of all time.  Alys and Her Pussycat by Hasslefree Miniatures.

 This is Alys and her Pussycat based on the Alice and the Cheshire Cat from Hasslefree figures.  Its my last HF figure, and is one of my favorites.  It really captures the subject well.  Not quite finished, just gotta do something with the base.

Two limbers, two gun crews, three mounted officers and one ammunition wagon await my attention.  Perhaps I should just cover it all with Scenic Cement and give up.

This stack of Perry boxes are all the guns, gunners, wagons and officer figures I need to do for Hobkirks.  For the most part they're just for show and don't comprise a whole lot of minis.  Even so, it's a big pile of boxes.  Sheesh.

Deadline Weeks are Hard!

We're on deadline this week. I know I use that phrase sometimes, but what does it mean? As a newspaper adviser it means that one week per month we're working hard to get the paper designed and laid out and get it to the publisher. That's chiefly done by my five student editorial board. How does that affect me? I'm the last editor, so I'm busy reading stories. I'm not a designer, though I'd like to learn to use the software so I can help students as they encounter problems.

It does mean some late nights. Last night I left school at 9:00, tonight it will be 10:00, and tomorrow it will be later. It means I have less time to paint, read, sleep, correct papers-you name it. Other restrictions go with the territory too. For the second year in a row, I'll be unable to attend Trumpeter Salute because the state journalism convention is on the same weekend. The latter is something my students really enjoy because of the classes and write off competitions. I love Salute because I get to see my friends, play some games with Doug and spend the weekend in Burnaby.

So, I'll try to squeeze a few minutes of painting here and there. I'm nearly done with the figures for my three small battalions of Washington D.C. militia. I hoped to have them done last weekend, but no such luck. After that I have six HYW figs I want to paint, eight Space 1889 guys, before focusing on Lewis and Clark. I'm also in the middle of drafting some rules for an L and C skirmish game. I'll post pics when I get done.

New Years Blahs

I can't say 2009 is off to a roaring start. I've pretty much stuck to some personal goals of painting for at least and hour a day. I've gotten some War of 1812 figures done, and am presently making progress on a militia unit for Space 1889. I haven't ordered any new figures, or spent any money on anything I don't need.

However, I haven't done any gaming either. I missed out on Drumbeat last weekend because I helped Casey move. I am going to ConQuest on the 17th, but I confess a lack of enthusiasm. The most lively game activity I'm presently involved with is the Space 1889 campaign, but even that is covered by the Shastapsh blog. Go figure.

I have read two great books that are related to two of my projects. The first is Alexander deConde's This Affair of Louisiana. De Conde wrote the book some thirty years ago during that "blame America" episode, explaining that America throughout its history has been an imperialist nation. One can do whatever one wants with that, but the importance of the book is that it laid out the seriousness of the diplomatic and potential military conflict between the United States and Spain over Louisiana, New Orleans, and its disputed border. It firmly establishes a basis for a series of hypothetical scenarios from 1794 to 1807 or so.

The second book I'm actually not finished with, With Zeal and Bayonets Only: The British Army on Campaign in North America, by Matthew Springs. I'm about a third of the way through its 300 pages. It is a scholarly analysis of the British army and its performance in the American Revolution. Springs discusses war aims, strategies and tactics, and I'm hoping he'll make clear the kinds of formations the British used. Particularly I'm hoping he'll clarify my question whether the British widely used the kinds of open formations Tarleton employed at Cowpens throughout the Southern campaign.

The things I do

I had to break down and order brushes today. Yes, I know, bid deal, you can't paint without brushes.

I don't skimp on brushes, I buy the best I can find. I paint a lot, maybe 600 figures a year or more, and I can usually get a year out of a brush. I buy Kolinsky sable brushes. My favorite brand is Dick Blick from the art supply chain of the same name, mostly located in the East. When I started buying brushes from Blick about ten years ago, the 0 brushes I use most were less than five dollars each. Today I ordered, and on their current 30% off sale they were about $8.50. I get good mileage out of a brush-they often last for a year or more. They keep consistently sharp points, don't bend or have the hairs fall out. Maybe one brush in four is a loser. I ordered three single 0's and one 00. I wouldn't have ordered any brushes right at this moment except both 0 and 00 seem to have died on the same night. Makes painting rough. If the brushes seem costly, the shipping is a killer-ten bucks for four wee small brushes.

I know, there are some of you who are thinking-but what about Windsor and Newton series 7? They're Kolinsky sable, and you can even get them locally. I have some of the W and N brushes, and I just don't like them as much. They aren't quite as fine and the brush handles are thicker, I don't get as good a feel for what I'm doing. Picky, I know, but this is a picky hobby.

Stuck!!!

I'm stuck. I am definitely trying to move on to my next project-finishing my Space 1889 figures, but I can't seem to make the time to wrap up my remaining handful of HYW figures, get them all based and finish a handful flags so I can move on.

School is taking a lot of my time, I have a return of school year insomnia, and I'm about to be embroiled in a first amendment fight with my employer that may be difficult and time consuming. Who has time for a painting extravaganza? In any case, I'm down to the last eight figures and then I can get on with fore-mentioned flag-painting, basing and final photos.

My next game is scheduled for Sept. 20th. I'll be running a game with my singly mounted HYW figures. I'm writing my own set of rules called "Kevin Does the Hundred Years War." They should be easy, fun and bloody. We'll see. Look for some pictures here.