tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-316643702011-12-14T20:46:35.512-06:00Musings of one man whose hobby happens to be miniature wargamesThe Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.comBlogger791100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-54110157107604624902007-04-11T21:36:00.000-05:002007-04-11T21:39:10.184-05:00

I am off to Little Wars. I have my games pre-registered; I have my shopping list; and, I am looking forward to having a grand time.I'd like to take some pictures as well as grab an interview or two for the podcast. We shall see what ultimately happens because a convention has a way of sending off in unforseen directions.

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-91315414517653684482007-04-01T14:17:00.000-05:002007-04-01T14:21:21.000-05:00

In All About Miniatures Episode 8, I said I would be posting the realism modifications that I came up with for Victory at Sea. You can find the changes here:VictoryAtSealRealismModifications.pdfEnjoy!

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-49516881468111220492007-03-26T17:44:00.000-05:002007-03-26T17:51:24.635-05:00

Well, leave it to All About Miniatures podcast co-host Dan to get me into another project. This time, however, we are sharing the pain so to speak. We have purchased Battle for Skull Pass and have split the miniatures. Dan took the goblins and I took the Dwarves. Our plan is to each paint half the box, play a few games, become inspired, and split a second box (switching contents) so we will

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-47270231283535845322007-03-03T20:14:00.000-06:002007-03-03T20:28:31.539-06:00

I managed to finish my Soul Warden. I must say that painting the Dark Age miniatures has been quite enjoyable. The slaves are coming along nicely and I should have 500 points finished in a couple of weeks. What comes after that? I don't know. I like the Dark Age Brood faction (so I have enough for both sides); but, I've also taken a liking to the Infinity Ariadna faction. I think the Brood

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-48992137275663402362007-02-24T20:17:00.000-06:002007-02-24T20:23:53.483-06:00

Now that the Tyranid project is out of the way, it is time to turn my attention to the Dark Age figures I had purchased some time ago. The core of my army is a Soul Warden and Ice Elemental. Being mostly a single color, I started with the Ice Elemental and it painted up quickly. I'm currently working on the Soul Warden; and when it is finished, I will take a break and paint up the slaves.On a

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-73245454253964007282007-02-18T15:35:00.000-06:002007-02-18T16:02:29.929-06:00

Today is the revelation of my secret project. Here is a picture of it in all its glory.For those who don't recognize the miniatures, they are Tyranids from Warhammer 40,000. The army is 400 points and is designed for Patrol Clash games. I used the army in a game Dan and I played for the podcast; and, as far as I can remember, the game was first time I have played 40K since "the Outrider

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-65132767949179474412007-02-10T16:17:00.000-06:002007-02-03T13:38:28.120-06:00

The winter period from after the holidays until Little Wars has always been a difficult time for me. Perhaps it is seasonal affective disorder; but, it has always been hard to get enthused about the hobby during this time. In previous years, I would need to prepare for Grand Tournament Chicago; but, now, there isn't anything with quite the same looming deadline.As far as the secret project goes

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-2600052001759101552007-02-03T13:21:00.000-06:002007-02-03T13:38:28.385-06:00

As I said previously, I wanted a new DBA army for the tournament at Little Wars. I have from now until mid April to finish the army. It doesn't sound hard; but, you'd have to know my track record with projects. I thought my first post on the project would be a little about why I selected a New Kingdom Egyptian army. In typical tournament style it has more to do with the tournament than

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-30189135754564557682007-01-29T09:27:00.000-06:002007-01-29T19:50:10.566-06:00

The thing about starting a little secret project, while waiting for my Dark Age figures to arrive, was that I ran the risk of having a partially finished secret project on the table when the Dark Age figures arrived. I finished unit three (picture forthcoming) of five for the secret project and also have a good start on unit four; however, my Dark Age figures have finally arrived and I feel the

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-43944262246717055042007-01-22T20:41:00.000-06:002007-01-22T20:45:21.445-06:00

All About Miniatures co-host Dan made the comment recently that the new Games Workshop game Aeronautica Imperialis was insanely expensive at $70. I countered that there are historical games in this price range: not the least of which is Fear God & Dread Nought the WWI naval wargame. To further the comparison, a fighter for the Games Workshop game will cost you $12 and a GHQ WWI ship will cost

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-56493523742393517272007-01-18T20:59:00.000-06:002007-01-18T21:05:01.779-06:00

I have decided to continue to paint secret project until my Dark Age order arrives. Based on the performance of Dark Age's mail order department to date, I should have no problems finishing my five units of secret project before the order arrives.I have decided to reduce the pixellation of each unit a little each time to increase the suspense. I have finished unit number two and have a good start

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-29819405704085897652007-01-10T20:09:00.000-06:002007-01-10T20:25:52.709-06:00

Have you ever had a choice of ordering from two different companies; and, after dealing with the company you chose, did you wish you chose the other? A member of our club started collecting Dark Age miniatures and I threw in deciding to paint 500 points of Dragyri. I had a choice of ordering from The Warstore and Dark Age miniatures directly.Ultimately, I chose to order from Dark Age miniatures

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1167963782387763482007-01-04T20:08:00.000-06:002007-01-04T20:23:02.406-06:00

About a decade ago, our club was heavy into Micro-Armor and 20mm WWII. In fact, I had both scales and was a champion of both. Then I saw some 15mm WWII and thought how it had so much more eye candy than Micro-Armor. At this time 10mm hadn't really become popular yet and so if you wanted something bigger than Micro-Armor, 15mm was the next scale up. Realizing that the club would beat be up,

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1167679820257139312007-01-01T13:18:00.000-06:002007-01-01T13:30:20.290-06:00

This weekend, I managed to complete my collection of late war army lists for Flames of War. I say “complete” because I just picked up D Minus 1: the Late War airborne supplement; and this book, combined with Festung Europa makes for a complete set of army lists. I’m not normally so negative on this blog; but, the treatment Battlefront customers are getting is nothing short of shameful.Festung

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1167584371255045842006-12-31T10:53:00.000-06:002006-12-31T10:59:31.270-06:00

Yesterday the family went into “the big city” for a day of shopping. One of our required stops was The Vitamin Shoppe and, while we normally go to the one in the West suburbs, this time we found ourselves on the South side. So we pull into the strip mall and what do I see in front of me? There was a big Games Workshop sign. It had been rumored that Milwaukee as getting a Games Workshop store

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1167261604870987332006-12-27T17:17:00.000-06:002006-12-27T17:20:04.886-06:00

In information technology speak, “meta” means one level of description up. One thing I’ve been meaning to do is start cataloging various game design metaconcepts. I’ve decided to start with turn sequences. Listed below are the turn sequences that I can think of. If you know of any more, please comment so they can be added to the list.The word “activation” is used throughout this explanation

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1166755072805262932006-12-21T20:36:00.000-06:002006-12-21T20:37:52.823-06:00

The fact that AT-43, as a game system, has two factions got me thinking about how many factions you need for an ultimately successful brand. The number must be larger than two because most new miniature lines have around four. Rezolution has the CSO, APAC, Dravani, and Ronin. Dark Age has the Forsaken, Dragyri, Skard, and the Brood. Mongoose’s Starship troopers has three factions and Urban

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1166494743143025332006-12-18T20:10:00.000-06:002006-12-18T20:19:03.183-06:00

As I’ve said before, I think prepainted miniatures have the potential of transforming the hobby. Wanting to fully embrace change, not to mention use it as an excuse to buy more stuff, my preordered copy of Rackham’s AT-43 arrived today. I must say, I am very impressed with the miniatures. For less than the cost of unpainted Games Workshop or Reaper miniatures, you get 19 miniatures with paint

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1166195950329487562006-12-15T09:15:00.000-06:002006-12-15T09:19:10.343-06:00

It is time to start thinking about New Year resolutions. I am very close to declaring 2007 a pre-painted year. By this, I mean that I will either buy pre-painted miniatures OR include painting service charges in my purchases and force myself to send the miniatures off to be painted.My first attempt on living this way was my purchase of a Magister Militium Warmaster Ancients army. The company

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1165953192228628132006-12-12T13:44:00.000-06:002006-12-12T13:55:26.050-06:00

I like the concept of warband style wargames; I really do. I’ve previously posted about what makes a warband game and why I like them. What I have seen recently, however, is a slew of seemingly soulless warband games that are churned out to sell a line of miniatures. I’ve started thinking about what makes a great warband game; and, what makes an inferior warband game.In the "inferior" category

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1165804990337009612006-12-10T20:38:00.000-06:002006-12-10T20:43:10.350-06:00

I finished the Japanese destroyers for Tassafarango. I painted up all the ships from the packs I bought so I have more destroyers than I need for the battle itself. You can see a picture of them below.I guess I am pleased that they are done but 1/6000 scale ships just don't captivate me like the 1/2400 scale ships. Take the Graf Spee shown below. For some reason, small scale models just can't

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1165508016349871782006-12-07T10:09:00.000-06:002006-12-07T10:13:36.366-06:00

After buying the models for the Battle of Tassfarango, I began researching what color the ships should be painted. I started with the Japanese ships since they were all destroyers and would paint up faster. One thing I realized after painting some 1/6000 WWI ships is that camouflage on destroyers at this scale is largely irrelevant; the models are simply too small. In addition, the deck color

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1165337819725693262006-12-05T10:48:00.000-06:002006-12-05T10:56:59.743-06:00

Regular listeners of All About Miniatures will remember that Dan mentioned the Battle of Tassafarango in his Battles of the Month segment. Wanting to do some naval wargaming in the WWII period, I picked this battle as one for which I would collect ships. When deciding to start a new period like this, a certain amount of reasearch is involved. For anyone interested, here is the process I went

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1165177934286109692006-12-03T14:24:00.000-06:002006-12-03T14:32:14.303-06:00

I have finished painting my Cardinal’s Guard from Eureka’s 40mm musketeer range. You can see the picture below.The completion of these miniatures means that my Gloire project is in “maintenance phase.” I think the vast majority of projects undertaken by wargamers spend their time in the “build phase.” In fact, it is often the thrill of the build that keeps people going more than the playing.

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1164915676732797892006-11-30T13:40:00.000-06:002006-11-30T13:41:16.750-06:00

I’ve noticed that when the topic of prepainted miniatures comes up, some wargamers make disparaging remarks about prepainted miniatures and how they aren’t “real miniatures” and using them in a game wouldn’t be “real wargaming.”I do not understand where this attitude is coming from and the hobby appears to be dividing into board gamers, perpainted gamers and (according to some) real wargamers. I

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1164647859204829512006-11-27T07:11:00.000-06:002006-11-27T11:17:39.220-06:00

As long as Dan and I were getting together to record All About Miniatures Episode 4, we decided to give our 600 point Flames of War armies a try. We played a Breakthrough scenario on a 4’ x 4’ table. Luckily for Dan, he was defender and his six stands had to hold off my Russian horde.We both had some reservations regarding the 600 point games; could they be fun given the low number of tactical

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1164249073041550442006-11-22T20:19:00.000-06:002006-11-22T20:31:13.053-06:00

There is nothing like a self imposed deadline to increase painting production. In this case it was the Thanksgiving Holiday and the spectre of time away from the painting table with relatives to get me to finish the Eureka 40mm Three Musketeers that I had started. You can see the picture below.I also snapped a picture of the 15mm Russian buildings that I picked up from Miniature Building

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1163793488083370042006-11-17T13:54:00.000-06:002006-11-17T13:58:08.100-06:00

One of the downsides of going on vacation is the amount or work and errands that need to be done when you get home. I think I finally have my head above water again and I have finally started to paint.I wish I could say that I was painting all the new armies I brought back from Fall-In; but, the fact is that I am actually painting figures I already own! I dusted off my package of Eureka 40mm

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1163293716663908402006-11-11T18:55:00.000-06:002006-11-11T19:08:36.680-06:00

Today was my day to get in some games. I really enjoyed playing in a Battle of the Boyne game in which I was one of the Irish players who managed to old off the English until the end of the game. In typical convention style, I attacked every chance I got and charged whenever possible. I'm not sure if the rules really worked for a convention game in that there were entirely too many +/-

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1163214761277157542006-11-10T20:52:00.000-06:002006-11-10T21:12:41.290-06:00

The topic title came to me this afternoon when I noticed that "General Pickett's Buffet" was next to Kentucy Fried Chicken. Which means it was a busy afternoon for The General to have time to shop in the dealer area and in the touristy areas of Gettysburg around Steinwehr Avenue and Maryland Street. Two food finds are the crab cake sandwich at the hotel restaurant: the price is reasonable and

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1163175738001380112006-11-10T10:14:00.000-06:002006-11-10T10:22:41.210-06:00

After getting my pre-registration materials Thursday night, I was ready to begin Fall-In in earnest on Friday; unforunately, my morning game was cancelled! This gave me some time to walk about the various rooms and take a few pictures. I have started a special album for Fall In using some of the space from the All About Miniatures show album.As is typical at other conventions I have attended,

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1162863160804570972006-11-08T07:21:00.000-06:002006-11-08T07:38:00.543-06:00

This will be my last blog post for a while. The family is leaving for Fall-In tomorrow and until I get reconnected with the Internet I will be out of touch. I hope the Eisenhower Hotel has high speed Internet. This amenity wasn't high on my list since the Eisenhower is the location for Fall In so it wasn't like I was going to stay somewhere else.I will try and make blog posts about the

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1162738748959408222006-11-05T08:57:00.000-06:002006-11-05T08:59:08.970-06:00

One thing about spending 3 weeks or so in the UK and Ireland is that the lingo sticks with you. It took several months to stop looking for the "lifts"; and the next time someone wants a napkin and asks for a "nappy" I will likely chuckle. A good British English phrase to describe my painting of late is "fits and starts." If you’ve been reading the blog since the beginning, you will notice that

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1162411789462481842006-11-01T14:05:00.001-06:002006-11-01T14:09:49.506-06:00

One of the Mail Call questions from Epsisode 3 of All About Miniatures was why miniature gamers do not embrace scenarios in the same way board gamers do. In that show, I said I would think about it and make a blog post. So here we go.The most obvious reason is that for a scenario to be effective you need to have all the troops outlined in the scenario. For a board game this is never a problem

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1161980522349551052006-10-27T15:19:00.000-05:002006-10-27T15:22:02.363-05:00

I’ve been watching the arrival of another pre-painted miniatures game: Rackham’s AT-43. The starter box for this game will contain 19 plastic prepainted miniatures. The factions (so far) appear to be human and an undead-machine looking race. As regular readers of the blog may know, I am a firm believer and prepainted miniatures have the potential to transform the hobby,The key to any

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1161652142251268512006-10-23T19:51:00.000-05:002006-10-23T20:27:56.246-05:00

I finished painting one of my Seven Years war Russian units composed of 6mm Baccus figures. I've decided to base them for 25mm Age of Reason so the figures are on 40mm frontage bases. Given that the Russian battalions of the period fought in four rank lines, I decided to base the figures in a three deep line. Overall I think the massed look is quite striking.An interesting thing about 6mm

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1161566750090202862006-10-22T20:05:00.000-05:002006-10-22T20:25:50.103-05:00

I finished two buildings to use during games with my Russian army. These buildings are from Musket Miniatures and are some of the best for 15mm games.I like the fact that the building roofs are removable and troops can be placed on the inside.Most of their buildings come in an intact and demolished version and there are different architectures for Eastern and Western Europe. I bought a

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1161265609025492192006-10-18T20:41:00.000-05:002006-10-19T08:46:49.060-05:00

As of today, it is three weeks until Fall-In. I’m excited for any number of reasons: it’s a vacation and time away from work, it’s a wargaming convention which is awesome, it’s a chance to see Gettysburg again, and it’s been around 10 years since I last attended an HMGS East convention.I’ve already pre-registered and I am signed up for a Seven Years War game and a Battle of the Boyne game. I

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1160943239892760362006-10-15T14:29:00.000-05:002006-10-15T15:14:59.503-05:00

Well, it took me a couple of weeks, but my 600 pts of Germans is finally finished. As I said in my last post I was considering some revisions to the list. This was my problem. As I had originally designed my force I had nothing in it to deal with the SU-152's I knew John was working on. Not even the PZ-III's could hurt them, even when firing on the flank. This would make for a pretty dull game as

The Lieutenanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07506816223529513934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1160787732419331652006-10-13T19:56:00.000-05:002006-10-15T08:34:52.563-05:00

Some time ago I wrote about my problems with 6mm figures. I’ve always liked the look of the units when finished but I feel so soiled after looking at the poor paint jobs that usually end up on the figures. Well Dan, being the evil man he is, planted the idea of doing Seven Years War in 6mm. So I figured, what the heck and I bought a Baccus 6mm Russian Army Pack.I’ve gotten a pretty good start

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1160579643299061882006-10-10T22:10:00.000-05:002006-10-11T10:14:03.313-05:00

Mongoose just released pictures of some prepainted figures for their upcoming ultra-modern/near future skirmish game. In addition, em-4 is planning on releasing prepainted ACW figures. I firmly believe that within three years we will have prepainted figures for all the major periods: Modern, WWII, ACW, Medieval, and Ancients (well, Early Imperial Romans any way).Wargamers have been dabbling in

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1160272841209907422006-10-07T20:44:00.000-05:002006-10-07T21:00:42.893-05:00

The friendly mail man delivered my replacement track for the SU-152 today. The replacement took 3 weeks to arrive which isn’t too bad considering it came from New Zealand. The track almost didn’t make it, however, as the rigid track and paper envelope did not survive the automated postal equipment. The remains of the package came in a “body bag” of sorts. The track arrived just fine being the

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1160081935970096312006-10-05T15:45:00.000-05:002006-10-05T15:58:55.986-05:00

Ok, it's been a while since I have updated the site on my progress on my 600 pt German force. I have been working on them slowly, one item at a time (paint all the jackets, then all the pants etc.). I am not a slow painter when it comes to the act itself, but I AM an infrequent painter. Nevertheless, I am almost done with the 600 pts I am starting with. I plan to finish them off over the

The Lieutenanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07506816223529513934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1159890239878923202006-10-03T16:39:00.000-05:002006-10-03T15:50:15.276-05:00

With my 1500 point army list and credit card in hand I went off to my friendly local gaming store (FLGS). This store carries a big selection of Flames of War and is usually well stocked. They also carry a nice selection of supporting items: JR and Musket Miniatures buildings, Miniature Building Authority, Vallejo paint, etc. So I start looking through the racks for my Heavy Mortar Company and…

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1159744079956263482006-10-01T17:57:00.000-05:002006-10-01T18:07:59.970-05:00

Well, I’ve spent a lot of time with my Ostfront book and have decided how I’m going to take my 600 point army to 1500 points. In working through this process, I had two parameters that I needed to work with: one was keeping in mind what was already painted; and, the other, was to keep in mind that I already owned two Strelkovy company boxes and a T-34 unit box. I didn’t relish the thought of

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1159407851515485992006-09-29T16:40:00.000-05:002006-09-29T15:43:15.246-05:00

The final addition to my Russian army is three Sturmoviks which, technically, aren't part of the 600 points but I wanted them for future armies and the planes are no longer in production.These planes are part of the Model Power Postage Stamp series of diecast aircraft. Most of the fighters in the series are approximately 1/100 scale making them the same scale as 15mm miniatures. Battlefront has

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1159406975473263522006-09-27T20:10:00.000-05:002006-09-27T20:29:35.566-05:00

Did you ever have a situation while working on a project that stops it dead in its tracks? Well, my 600 point Russian force met with one of these project killers. As I mentioned in All About Miniatures, one of my SU-152's had a miscast track. The two SU's were the last models I needed to finish to put the cherry on top of my 600 points. The net result is that without the track my Russian project

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1159395368898335852006-09-27T16:22:00.000-05:002006-09-27T17:16:09.016-05:00

On Sunday someone (okay it was my mom) wanted to hear episode 1 of AllAboutMiniatures, so I played it for her on my laptop. This gave me a chance to hear it again and something John and I mentioned in passing raised a question in my head. On the previous day we had reviewed Battlegames magazine. In the opening editorial Henry Hyde, Battlegames editor, expresses concern for the state of the hobby

The Lieutenanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07506816223529513934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1159195079869027972006-09-24T21:32:00.000-05:002006-09-25T09:37:59.910-05:00

Some miniature games might be silly but that shouldn’t detract from their value in the hobby. Ebob Miniatures made a recent product announcement on The Miniatures Page for miniatures and rules that simulate a game of paintball. Some found the game not to their liking but I thought the concept so refreshing I bought two teams. I’m not sure I like their rules but that just gives me the

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1158807584439220182006-09-20T21:42:00.000-05:002006-09-20T21:59:44.476-05:00

I have finished my Russian Infantry command teams. This includes both the Strelkovy Company command as well as Battalion HQ. Below are two pictures with the first being Battalion HQ. The two vignettes are in the front: one being the Comissar actively "motivating" the troops and the other is Battalion Command cogitating over a makeshift field HQ. The parts came from the Strelkovy Company box

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1158628465636781252006-09-18T20:07:00.000-05:002006-09-18T20:38:32.633-05:00

The method of operation for German blitzkrieg operations can be described as Kiel und Kessel (wedge and cauldron). Typically, the opening stages of a blitzkrieg operation would be a surprise attack, possibly against fortified enemy lines, and this attack would include Panzer and Luftwaffe forces combining their firepower on the schwerpunkt (focal point) in a classic example of conservation of

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1158616922235265552006-09-18T16:23:00.000-05:002006-09-18T17:02:02.286-05:00

Greetings everyone! My name is Dan (aka The Lieutenant), and the General has invited me to be a guest Blogger here for a while as we work on a Flames of War project together. Those of you who have listened to our podcast AllAboutMiniatures have already heard me and will learn more about both of us in the next episode.As the General has previously described we were both inspired by an article in

The Lieutenanthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07506816223529513934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1158464199155401832006-09-16T22:30:00.000-05:002006-09-16T22:36:39.166-05:00

I thought the best way to see my Lenin objective marker for Flames of War would be before I painted it so I could better identify the parts. As you can see from the picture,the park is built on a large Flames of War base. The Lenin statue I mentioned previously was from Historifigs and he is sitting on top of a ¾” block from the craft store. The casualty was one of the casualty/pin markers from

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1158258445682240992006-09-14T06:24:00.000-05:002006-09-14T13:27:25.700-05:00

Wargame campaigns come in many varieties: from the map and resource based “grand campaign” to those with a handful of linked scenarios. As war gamers, we like to start campaigns but have a horrible track record of finishing them. There are many reasons why campaigns fail and many of these failures are because of the same, oft repeated, reasons. Many campaigns simply die, unfinished and

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1158165691601148322006-09-13T06:40:00.000-05:002006-09-13T11:41:31.633-05:00

While finishing the painting on my 600 points of Russians, I’ve been thinking about the composition of the full 1,500 point army. My short list of options is to continue building the Strelkovy Battalion by adding the second infantry company or switch to a Tankovy Battalion using my one painted company as the tank riders for the tank battalion. I’ve had a chance to see a tank battalion on the

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1158013218654990102006-09-11T17:17:00.000-05:002006-09-11T17:26:01.300-05:00

Well, here are the pictures of my painted Russian infantry. I am quite pleased with how they turned out and my camera: Canon Powershot A520 takes a pretty decent pictures. I am continuing to paint the command elements today and waiting for my Su-152 mail order to arrive. I’ll take pictures of the command teams when they are finished. In the mean time, enjoy these pictures.

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1157940076430728332006-09-10T20:58:00.000-05:002006-09-10T21:01:16.450-05:00

A few years ago Games Workshop ran a series of articles entitled “A Tale of Four Gamers” in which several GW employees were given an allowance of money spread over several months to build a Warhammer Army. I really enjoyed those articles and found them to be quite inspiring. I thought as long as I had this blog I would do the same thing with my Flames of War Soviet Army. There won’t be an

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1157739960725988892006-09-07T20:21:00.000-05:002006-09-08T13:26:00.783-05:00

The friendly UPS man dropped off my copy of Rezolution Shadow War the other day. There was a small mix up on the order and my rulebook (part of the deluxe starter set) was not shipped. It is being shipped now but for the time being I have to use the little mini rulebook that comes in the starter.The best way for me to describe Rezolution is: Shadowrun meets Cyberpunk. You have the high tech/

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1157574480972447892006-09-06T16:25:00.000-05:002006-09-06T15:28:01.013-05:00

Last time I said that Flames of War 600 point armies inspired me to start painting my Soviets. I have two Strelkovy company boxes and was planning on sending them to Fernando Enterprises in Sri Lanka. Two things were holding me back from sending the figures: one was that I had already painted 4 teams from one of the boxes and I wanted the rest of the figures to match. The second problem was

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1157289461620452352006-09-03T08:09:00.000-05:002006-09-03T08:20:29.203-05:00

I was reading my new copy of the Flames of War 2.0 Hardcover Rulebook and I noticed a section talking about 600 point (or lunchtime) games. Now, personally, I could never play during lunch but still I seem pathologically attracted to tiny games. I’ve pretty much sworn off Warhammer 40K except for Kill-Team (160 points) and Patrol Clash (aka 40K in 40 minutes) which are 400 point games.I used to

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1156966030651430232006-08-30T17:22:00.000-05:002006-08-30T14:27:10.670-05:00

One of the things that I have often thought was that the wargaming industry was ripe for some company to create a line of prepainted miniatures. Prepainted plastics have so far been the realm of clicky games and the quality is, at times, questionable. Yet, I think games like Wizards of the Coast's Star Wars got many people (myself included) to buy clicky miniatures to be used with other

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1156802959647301312006-08-28T17:01:00.000-05:002006-08-28T19:26:53.600-05:00

Believe it or not, The General used to be a very big Magic: the Gathering player. The card sets that I collected in my day were Beta, Unlimited, and Antiquty just to name a few. At some point, probably when Wizards of the Coast started making sets tournament ILLEGAL, I came to the realization that the game was changing merely to separate me from my money. So I sold all of my cards and bought new

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1156730842637196832006-08-27T21:05:00.000-05:002006-08-27T21:07:22.653-05:00

The General's new monthly miniatures wargaming podcast has just gone live. Please check out the first fruits of labor at allaboutminiatures.libsyn.com/Feel free to send comments about the show to allaboutminiatures@wi.rr.com

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1156448803467455362006-08-24T17:45:00.000-05:002006-08-24T15:45:23.780-05:00

The General has been having so much fun blogging that I’m going to try podcasting. I’ve got the equipment and will be recording the podcast as part of this weekend’s gaming session. The podcast will be about miniatures wargaming and, hopefully, I will maintain enough dedication for a monthly show. After recording I’ll need to do post-production so the podcast should be ready sometime next week

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1156448696514704412006-08-24T17:39:00.000-05:002006-08-24T15:44:36.490-05:00

This week The General got serious about painting. After not doing anything for two months I’ve managed to finish a pack of Reaper Miniatures Skeleton Breakers for their Warlord Skirmish game. I also started painting my first Starship Troopers Exo-suit squad and hope to finish that within a week.As you may recall, I previously wrote that I purchased a Rippler Bug Mega Swam. I spent a good part

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1156367535117975932006-08-23T17:09:00.000-05:002006-08-23T16:12:15.130-05:00

Comments on my previous post got me to thinking about the “Lack of progress syndrome” phrase that I coined for some games. As kids, remember the game Sorry? Were your pawns always being moved back to the starting square? For me it always seemed like the other kids were ganging up on me. Strangely, there are games we play as adults that lead to the same feelings.Two games that I mentioned as

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1156191787052543362006-08-21T17:20:00.000-05:002006-08-21T15:23:07.063-05:00

I’ve had a long held belief that the perfect convention wargame lasts four hours and has six participants. You would not believe the number of times I’ve seen 12 hour games with 15+ participants in an events listing only to walk by later and see half of the players sitting around chatting or looking bored. I fully appreciate that the “mega-game” looks great and is a testament to the judge’s

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1156041296052377382006-08-19T21:25:00.000-05:002006-08-19T21:37:47.400-05:00

Today was my monthly trip to the local gaming store and subsequent day of gaming with the club. I had a short list of things I wanted to buy: Rezolution, if they had it, or Puerto Rico from Rio Grande Games. I noticed that Puerto Rico was rated #1 on BoardGameGeek and thought it would be a nice Euro game my wife and I could enjoy. In the end I wasn’t able to make either purchase but I did find

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1155830783338508772006-08-16T21:59:00.000-05:002006-08-17T11:12:12.730-05:00

For some reason I have always had a hard time keeping up painting production during the summer months. I think this is because there are too many outdoor chores that need to be done and the weather is nice enough for a family outing almost every weekend. Since conventions usually recharge my "painting batteries" (so to speak), Gen Con falls at the perfect time of the year. When the convention

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1155656016368850522006-08-14T21:56:00.000-05:002006-08-15T10:33:36.786-05:00

A while ago I mentioned that warband style games are perfect for people who like to paint. At that time I said I was going to look at warband games a little closer and now seems like the perfect time. Warband games have the following properties:Your table top army consists of a small number of individual models (rarely over 25)The models in your army are usually free to act as individuals (true

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1155440783564789462006-08-12T22:34:00.000-05:002006-08-12T22:46:23.576-05:00

The second game of the day, which lies at the opposite end of the complexity spectrum from Flames of War was Saganami Island Tactical Simulator by Ad Astra Games. The fact that this “game” uses the word simulation in the title says a lot. This space combat game uses Newtonian physics, vector movement and all 3 dimensions. It sounds daunting but the designers have done a great job putting the most

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1155436876624201882006-08-12T21:36:00.000-05:002006-08-12T21:50:19.993-05:00

Unlike last week, this Saturday was a full day of gaming. I got two games in today which is quite an accomplishment. I’ve decided to write about each game separately in case anyone wants to comment on a particular game. The first game was Flames of War which I have been anxious to play since the release of second edition.Rather than play a standard even points tournament mission, I decided to

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1155137239356220692006-08-09T17:22:00.000-05:002006-08-09T15:50:47.733-05:00

When GenCon was held in Milwaukee, I went every year; and, being that I lived only 50 miles away and needed no hotel, why not? Well, 2002 was the last GenCon in Milwaukee and, after four years, I really miss the old girl. Yet, I never seem to be able to commit to going since traveling to GenCon would now be an actual trip. Going to GenCon these days involves hotels, meals and packing up the

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1154958620484564512006-08-07T17:37:00.000-05:002006-08-07T16:00:53.303-05:00

Maksim-Smelchak was kind enough to give me a link to his 6mm blog and this got me thinking about 6mm miniatures in general. As you know, I am a self described painter. This means I tend to go for larger 25mm or even 40mm figures. I’ve tried painting 6mm figures but I was never happy with the results. I think this is because I end up looking at the individual figures rather than the massed effect.

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1154819940984033202006-08-05T18:16:00.000-05:002006-08-05T18:19:00.993-05:00

Saturday is usually gaming day; but, not this Saturday. I guess, if I can’t game at least I can be productive and update ACWarmaster. So, short of gaming, what could be better than sitting on the deck with your laptop, wireless connection, and Microsoft Word? Wargaming on your laptop, I suppose. The board gaming community has adopted technology and there are a fair number of web sites that

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1154633180848988002006-08-02T18:16:00.000-05:002006-08-03T14:26:51.840-05:00

I’ve always described myself as more of a painter (or modeler) than a player. This means that, while I enjoy playing, in many ways the game merely gives me something to do with my painted models. Many “massed combat” games like those in the ancient or Napoleonic era can require 150 or more figures per army! Even if you like modeling and painting, several hundred figures all in similar poses and

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1154365657518804672006-07-31T18:03:00.000-05:002006-07-31T18:04:00.066-05:00

Back in 2002 I created an American Civil War variant for Games Workshop’s Warmaster rules. I called the game ACWarmaster and I figured trying to go commercial with such a product faced several hurdles. First, there is the obvious legal entanglements with Games Workshop being that the rules were for Warmaster. This problem, however, is not insurmountable since a Warmaster WWII variant in the form

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1154032294056679012006-07-27T17:23:00.000-05:002006-07-31T16:00:23.430-05:00

When I was in college (a time frame now measured in decades ago) I remember running and playing in some very good D&D campaigns. I created worlds with a long background history, politics, weather, and stories that players could really get into. But you know what? It takes a lot of work to set up a good campaign! Now that work and family and a life outside the basement has pretty much killed off

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31664370.post-1154031545177510902006-07-26T20:00:00.000-05:002006-07-31T16:00:46.376-05:00

Being that this is the inaugural post to my blog I suppose I should do something special. What that could be escapes me; so, I will settle for providing some vision and editorial direction for the future.I plan on using this space to comment on various aspects of my hobby. This will include game reports, project updates, convention reports, home rules, reviews of new products I've tried and so on

The Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373742597618298107noreply@blogger.com0