The Waiting Game

At some point over the last week, I reverted to age 7.  Each day when arriving home from work, I whip open the porch door praying to find a cardboard box waiting for me.  Sure enough, each day, when opening that door, I'm greeted with nothing.  Trudging inside, I sulk over to the calendar and X off another box.  The wait continues.

It's a scene that the old man in me feels is played out all too rarely across modern day America.  These days, what with Amazon Prime and "Federal Express", one can acquire virtually anything from across the globe and with enough money, can enjoy it's appearance on their doorstep in less than 24 hours.  This, however, is not the case with the American Civil War miniatures in 15mm.  

The funny part is, I'm not totally sure that I mind this.  

At the beginning of this venture I knew that I would need miniatures, and lots of them.  Due to the fact that I don't personally know anybody who is as yet involved with this particular field of nerd-dom, I figured I would initially have to coax opponents to the table by providing everything needed to play and would thus have need of two armies.  Easy enough.  

A quick Google search reveals that there is no shortage of models available to represent all manner of Civil War participants.  Generals, foot officers, surgeons, supply wagons, wounded, signal towers and even souvenir hunters are all available by a wealth of different companies.  So, after running the numbers and doing a fair job of convincing my wife that her husband wasn't finally going off the deep end, I took the plunge and invested in Stone Mountain Miniatures.  They have a great selection of miniatures with some great sculpts for the size.  For the noob like myself, they also have a section of 'brigade bags' that are light on the wallet and make it easy to have a good-sized force from the start.

However, the great price comes with a downside.  In order to keep costs down, Stone Mountain keeps a very small inventory and most of the orders are cast on receipt which means there's usually a two week wait and for a large order like mine, three weeks.  Although these days, three weeks can seem like forever to wait, it wasn't all that long ago that you had to wait (brace yourselves, kids) FOUR to SIX weeks for just about everything that wasn't from the Sears catalog.  For some reason, this really seems to fit my impression of historical miniatures gaming.  A sort of 19th century, gentler pace, you know?

So, only a few more days to wait.  I figure since I've put this off for 30 years, what's a little bit longer?  

That's not to say I haven't been productive!  About a year ago, I purchased a box of 25mm Civil War infantry on a whim so in the name of testing paint schemes I painted a few of those up and even managed to win a couple of eBay auctions  Look for details of this excitement in the next few days!

Until then, I'll be taking a couple of days off from work because I've decided that it's interfering with time that could be spent waiting for the mailman.  

                     

Look Who's Back!

Well, according to the date of my last post, it's been about 2 1/2 years since I've put fingers to keyboard and talked miniature soldiers.  If you ask me, that's entirely too long so it's time to blow the dust off of this thing and get moving again.

I know what you're thinking...something along the lines of "well where the hell have you been?"  I've been here all along, still doing my thing but a few major life events derailed the whole process.  A wedding, two major ankle surgeries (thanks, soccer!) a new job and general laziness can count themselves among this number.  That said, I have still been doing the miniatures thing whenever time presents itself, although the focus has mainly been on fantasy miniatures for the multiple D&D games which I run and participate in.  I will post some pictures of these little guys and gals when I can but let me get to something else first, namely, why I decided to kick the tires on this old jalopy of a blog in the first place.

After 15 years of involvement on the Warhammer 40k front, I decided to branch out to a new (to me, at least) realm of miniature warfare.  *drumroll*

The American Civil War....in 15mm to be exact.

Why the change?  Well, it's pretty simple actually.  With the release of the 6th edition of Warhammer 40k and the emergence of flyers in particular, I just didn't have it in me to drop a couple hundred dollars on new miniatures and then continue to get my ass kicked by some pimply 16-year-old who doesn't have to spend his hard earned income on anything like a mortgage, food, bills, booze, etc.  No, I'm weary of agonizing over army lists, endeavoring coming up with ways to work around the overpowered cheese lists constantly employed by said pimply 16-year-olds, and generally seeing the game go in a direction that I can't fully get behind.  This is not to take anything away from the game though!  I played a few games of 6th edition and genuinely enjoyed them all, but it all just feels like it's becoming a little stale to me.  A change and a fresh start are clearly in order.

So, after considering my options, I concluded, "what could be fresher and less stale than historical miniatures wargaming??"  That just left the period of conflict, which after a recent trip to Antietam National Battlefield and then to Gettysburg to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the battle, became a no-brainer.

Since I was a child, I've always had a keen interest for the American Civil War and after watching through Ken Burns' aptly named series on the conflict while laid up on the couch recovering from surgery (twice, no less!) I decided this would be the war for me.  What could be more exciting than leading long, orderly lines of men across the field of battle while cannons pound away at the ranks and calvary charge their flanks?  The air is thick with smoke and the screams of the wounded as orders are shouted into the chaos and a desperate fight ensues at close range.  The objective is taken, lost and then re-taken again in a glorious final charge!  It might sound a little over dramatic but I mean, ultimately we're all grown men playing with toy soldiers.  You gotta add something in to spice it up...

How could any self-respecting wargamer say no to this??

So, in the next few weeks, you'll be seeing me stumble blindly into this storied and well-established hobby on my way to becoming a general of either glorious renown or ill-repute.  Whichever it ends up being, I'm sure it'll be a good time.

When You Can't Be Nerding... (A Top 5 List)

As you can probably tell, I've been fairly busy so far this year and haven't been able to put in as much time as I would like on the little plastic men and everything that goes with them.  Balancing a job, a relationship, a band and the other foibles of life can be time consuming to say the least.  We've all been there before.  For instance, last Sunday, the woman I love had made plans to go see Black Swan with her friend, thus leaving the house empty for a solid three hours.  "Perfect!" I thought, "This will give me time to finish up that Catachan squad for the battle next week and be done in time for the football game!"

Or so I thought.

Lesson for new home buyers: if you're planning on buying a hundred-year old house make sure the pipes are insulated.  Otherwise you can learn the hard way like myself, waking up on a chilly Sunday morning to find out you have no cold water on the second floor.  I guess I can appreciate the irony of having nothing but hot water in winter.  Regardless, I called the plumber and was promptly told I was at the end of a very long list of frozen pipe complaints.  They'd get to me between the hours of 4-7PM (eight hours away.)

Long story short, I had this irrational fear (probably stemming back to high school) of being caught playing with toy soldiers by a burly plumber so I kept the paints in the box and waited.

And waited.

Lo and behold, the plumber calls early telling me he's on the way!  I hang up the phone and WOOOSH the cold water starts running upstairs.  The pipes had unfrozen themselves and kickoff was in half an hour.  *sigh*

So, what's a nerd to do in these times to sate the nigh-unquenchable thirst for pint-sized tactical mayhem?


1.) Read the Rules -- I know, it's not necessarily the most entertaining option, but you'd actually be surprised what you can pick up when you revisit the rules for your preferred game.  If it's still fairly new to you, playing a few games and then going back has a way of clarifying certain rules that seemed confusing before you encountered them in a "real life" situation.  For the cheese-heads and lawyers in the crowd, it's also a great way to discover new loopholes.


Bonus: If you're bored at work and not adverse to breaking the law, download one of the many illicit .PDF's available online.  Displayed on your monitor, they can look a lot like official documents.  (NOTE: I AM NOT CONDONING STEALING ANYTHING OR SLACKING AT WORK, I'M JUST SAYING IT'S POSSIBLE)


2.) Start a Blog -- It's what I did and look at me now!


3.) Watch a Movie -- On the surface, this sounds fairly mundane but for the sci-fi inclined, there are a wealth of great (and awful) movies out there that you can use to cull ideas from.  I've been particularly into the Aliens series lately.  In fact, while waiting for said plumber to show up last weekend, I watched Aliens for, believe it or not, the first time in my life.  While not exactly a cinematic masterpiece, I thought the sets were very well done and it gave me some ideas for future terrain pieces.  What can I say?  I'm a sucker for a good corridor..

Space Hulk, anyone?

4.) Get Organized -- Nothing is worse than knowing you have to be at the store in half an hour for game time and you can't find that heavy weapon, rule book, dice bag, etc.  There's a well-worn phrase in the music scene that goes, "Pro Gear, Pro Attitude."  Most tournaments these days require all players to bring their own dice, copies of their own rules and, most importantly supply their own INTACT miniatures.  What's more, it can be really annoying to veterans (who know the rules inside and out) to have to stand around and watch while you, the n00b, flips through pages of rules to find the right stats.  I'm not saying this isn't jerky on their part, but it's how it is sometimes.

One method I've found that helps out is to take your army book to a copy machine and run-off the really important stuff like psychic powers, character profiles, etc.  I keep this info in a binder full of plastic pages that can be removed and kept close at hand come game time.  This can cut out the army book altogether.  In terms of miniatures, I've seen too many beautiful models emerge from storage (a shoebox) missing limbs and weapons.  Come on people!  We all spend way too much time and money on this hobby to not take care of the most important part.  Try going to Home Depot and buying a $6 roll of bubble wrap to line and layer those shoeboxes with.  Something is better than nothing!

Bonus: Games Workshop has made all the pertinent stats for each army available for download/printing here.


5.) Take a Break -- This is probably the last resort for most of us but it can also be the most beneficial.  With games like Warhammer, the sheer wealth of information and background available makes it very easy to get lost in and forget to do things like eat, shower, and communicate with someone NOT on a message board.  There's a big world out there!  If it's nice out, maybe go take a walk for a couple hours.  Call a friend and go get a beer.  Tell your SO you love them.  Anything that doesn't involve little plastic men.  Don't worry, they'll still be there when you get back!

Project: Imperial Guard (where men are men)

Well there's been a slight layoff in painting production in December but with the arrival of some new toys, that is all about to change!  I decided that my Ultramarine army is in decent shape and the plan is to take it to the table for a few games in order to figure out how it performs under the "new" (to me, at least) rules before making any further additions.  With that, my gaze can finally turn to those most lovable of meat shields, the Imperial Guard. 

Ever since the dark days of Second Edition, I've always been a fan of the Guard.  There's something about them that just really appeals to me.  I think it probably has to do with the fact that in a universe of untold horrors, grotesque aliens and huge war machines with weapons that level cities, G.I. Joe Schmoe is still out there in the trenches with nothing more than a rifle and his wits.  Not that I would ever find myself on the business end of a snarling Ork assault or a Tyranid invasion, but I feel like on some level I can relate to these guys.  They might have huge tanks and big guns of their own, but when it comes down to it, they're really nothing special.

As a young pup, the Ultramarines were always my first love, and I really only started collecting the Guard as an afterthought; basically as an Allied force to mix things up a little bit.  What drew me to them first were the awesome Leman Russ tanks and I knew I had to get these in my army somehow.  In Second Edition, there were no real rules regarding Allied attachments beyond what armies you could pick from, and what percentage of the total army list could be allocated to allies.  So, the first things I ran out to buy were TWO Leman Russ's (a standard model and a Demolisher) an Inquisitor in Terminator armor and a squad of Catachan jungle fighters.

Over the next few years of my 40k career, I slowly added to this with models I picked up here and there that seemed cool to me, most of them notably NOT of Games Workshop lineage...which brings me to another point. 

There are a TON of companies out there that make standard 25mm human sci-fi figures...many of which are perfect for use in an Imperial Guard army.  My favorite source for these was the now defunct (but still dear to my heart) line of Warzone miniatures by Heartbreaker Hobbies.  More recently, The Wargames Factory has released a line of plastic Greatcoat Shock Troopers that look very sinister and at a price of $20 for a box of 18, they're nice and easy on the wallet.  These are just two examples of extra sources for alternatives to the standard GW fare...and there are many more out there!

Note: Big Brother says you can't use them in official tourney play, but most local stores seem okay with it as long as they aren't too hard to identify in terms of WYSIWYG, or "what you see is what you get."

After a couple years of this, I had a mish-mash of models loosely banded together to form something that resembled a coherent army.  Hardened jungle veterans lined up next to gas-masked trenchers who were dug in next to pint-sized snipers who in turn supported a squad of heavy armored (note, this had no game effect, it was just cool looking) infantry with assault rifles.  Looking back now, viewing this 'army' deployed on the field must have been like seeing a Jackson Pollack piece for the first time.  But, it was mine and in my fifteen-year-old brain, it was awesome. Fast forward a decade and here I am, cracking open the 5th Edition Codex: Imperial Guard for the very first time.

Cue: rude awakening. 

Apparently, things have changed a bit since the glory days of the Vortex Grenade.  My army, as it is, can no longer even be fielded as such.  It appears that in both points values and force organization, Games Workshop (read: money grubbing bastards) has put a premium on number of models.  This basically means in order to put an Imperial Guard army on the table, I would have to roughly double the size of my existing force.  *sigh*

After a couple days of frustrated ranting, my protests slowly gave way to the reality of the situation.  I had spent THIS much time and effort on these models so far, and I'd be damned if I couldn't use them.  So, like the pathetic addict I am, I logged on to the GW website and started filling my shopping cart. 

I know what you're thinking, "But Rob, you just said there are a ton of other sites to get miniatures from!!" I know, I know...but with my sights set on competitive play, I decided I will have to:

A. Drink the GW Kool-Aid and play by their rules by using their stuff. 

B. Be able to field a somewhat cohesive looking army instead of the rag-tag misfits that currently fill the roster sheet.

So, I looked everything over and based on the usable models I have in my army, I purchased the following to bolster my force and give me what I feel should be a decent list that suits my playing style, ie: slow moving with big guns.  I decided to stick with the Catachans as the fluff-base because I generally think they're badass, plus, I already have a squad and a couple of additional Catachan models painted.  In larger games, I fully intend to use this force in concert with my smaller Sisters of Battle detachment (now under the Codex: Witch Hunters umbrella) to give them a little more bite.

Behold!!! One mortgage payment's worth of little men.

- Catachan Jungle Fighters Battle Squad Box (30 models)

- Catachan Command Squad (5 models)

- Regimental Advisors blister (3 models)

- Heavy Flamer blister (2 models)

- Catachan Assault Weapons (1 w/ Grenade Launcher, 1 w/ Melta-gun)

- Catachan Heavy Weapons Box (3 Heavy Weapons teams -- 6 models)

- Catachan Heavy Weapons Team (1 team -- 2 models)

So, there you have it...50 models altogether.  Let's do this.

This is our blog, which is totally about Texas Hold 'Em.

As the other contributor to this blog, I'll introduce myself as well. I'm in a pretty similar situation to our fearless leader here. 28 years old, gainfully employed, living with my (surprisingly supportive) lady friend, and after a long hiatus, getting back into the swing of serious gaming.

I came to find miniatures gaming when I was about 12. I can't remember how exactly I found it; it may have been through the first Battletech video game, or maybe randomly because I was a kid who was really into the idea of giant robots. I got my parents to buy me the old Battletech boxed game, back in the day when FASA was still owner of the rights, and the Japanese hadn't sued them to make all my favorite 'Mechs look dumb as heck. I took to it quickly, and soon had amassed an enormous stack of sourcebooks, which eventually came to include an awful lot of RPG stuff as well (mostly Shadowrun, the Star Wars RPG, and Rifts). It was way easier to find Star Wars nerds to play RPGs with, but I really loved Battletech, and despite not getting to play all that often, I kept buying books all the way through high school.

Cue the same old story: went to college, boxed up all my stuff, didn't even bother to look for it again until a few years ago, and then somehow it all got lost during a couple of years of vagary. Then I ran into that other dude who writes for this thing, found out he was a former M:tG/Warhammer 40k nerd, and then it all started over again. I learned how to play 40k from him, and then while talking about gaming plans one day, I asked, "Ever played Battletech? That shit is awesome." So now we play both.

The real miniatures aspect of gaming is pretty new to me, as when I was a kid I didn't have the patience to paint shit. Now, however, I find it to be a relaxing hobby, and I'm working on learning all the techniques. I'll be sharing my trials and tribulations here, and hopefully the end results won't look too bad. My attempts on the crappy plastic minis from the boxed game haven't turned out all that bad so far, but I'm still learning, and my minis look nowhere near as good as the ones Rob paints.

Currently, I'm working on getting my crap together for GASPcon, where Rob and I will be participating in a few games, the highlight of which (for me) is bound to be the Battletech Poker Run. I'm painting up a few minis in preparation, with one extra because I didn't read the rules very closely before I decided to blow money on a new mini expressly for the con. In the next week or so, I'll be posting pics of a Bushwacker, a Mongoose, a Solitaire, and probably a Wolfhound and a Highlander as well.

So that's where I stand on this thing. The game has changed a lot in ten years, and it's been sold off a few times, leading to some weirdness (Battletech using the Clix system? Get the fuck out of here with that shit) but I'm pretty excited about a lot of the new material I'm seeing, and I'm really looking forward to gaming a lot more and posting it up. I figure I'll probably think differently after I get owned at that con, though...