Morning all, I can't say I'm feeling all that great today, my whole body hurts and it's the start of the week:
Blargh!
Anyway, ever since I finished work on Chapel Hill my hobby experience has been a little lacking.
I know it's only been a few days, but it feels like a lot longer.
Instead I've been playing some games on my PS3 and we've been trying out something new with the Mini Moo and her sleeping, but more on that later in the week.
One thing i'd love to share with you all is the majesty of the game SSX.
For those who don't know, this is a snowboarding game which originally featured on the last gen of consoles, and they have very recently released a new one on the modern gens.
Yes, while everyone else in the world appears to be playing Mass Effect 3, I've been grinding up the powder all over the world!
Now this isn't the time or place for a review, but let me tell you, if you enjoyed the older versions, especially Tricky and SSX3 then this is a game you should get!
Next up: so apparently Wyrd are hiring! http://www.wyrd-games.net/content.php?156-jobs
The most intriguing thing I think about this is the position of RPG dev.
Now while I may not have much free time, one thing I always make time for are RPGs! Especially the P&P versions, I love those hardback sourcebooks that take a good few days of solid reading to get through.
It's this love of source books which is why my game shelf in my den is almost bending under the weight of the combined mass of Vampire: TM, Werewolf: TA, WoW, Babylon 5, Champions and Paranoia.
So with that in mind, I hope with the deepest of my hopes that Wyrd follow this through and release a source book with new fluff and beautiful artwork.
Oh and some bad news on the model front. My intention was to make my next purchase an Insidious Madness, it still is, but it was pointed out to me, due to spending too much at the start of the year, I'm unable to make a purchase until April. Rubbish I know.
And so we come to an end of my weekend. Not the most enthralling of posts I know, but hey, it's Monday, not even 9am and I'm already dressed and on my way to work
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
Monday, 12 March 2012
Friday, 9 March 2012
Chapel Hill: Complete
Good Friday all!
Well it's been a long time coming but Chapel Hill is finally complete!
In order to show case this I would like to cover from start to finish the entire project. Please remember this is the result of two weeks work that cost only a combined total of about £5 in materials.
Step 1: Cut out the flat plateaus from hardboard.
Step 2: From newspaper and masking tape create the general shape required.
Step 3: Create paths with cardboard
Step 4: Cover the whole thing in paper masche
Step 5: Paper masche onto a hardboard base which is cut to size along with ridges for paths
Step 6: Craft fences out of matchsticks with the strike cut off and attach tree skeletons to their desired location
Step 7: Glue basalt to the plateaus and paths, all the while gluing unused cat litter to the base
Step 8: Remove the trees and spray paint the whole thing a dark brown
Step 9: Holding the spray can at a distance spray the whole model with a lighter sandy colour
Step 10: using a sandy coloured emulsion paint, dry brush the entire unit, being sure to get all the lovely creases in the rock surfaces and each grain of basalt
Step 11: Glue trees to place, paint the fences by hand as you would painting 'wood effect' on a mini, attach lichen to trees to make leaves and floor for bushes and static grass/long miniature grass.
And your done!
And now for the guided tour of Chapel Hill:
Here we have Overkill and The Executioner on the 1st Tier while Lady J and Austringer overlook the town.
The path leading to the 2nd tier
The entire of tier 2 including fence close ups
The back of the hill including the path connecting Tier 2 with Tier 3
A shot showcasing a crevice in the side of the hill
And there we have it! I realise as I am sat on the train commuting to work that there are a few features I should have taken proper photos of, the sideways growing tree and the overgrowth at the front for example, but hey why not instead see if you can come to The Titans War Games Club located in Finchley North London and I'll see if I can bring it along!
For now, thanks for keeping up with this project, I hope you've enjoyed reading as much as I've enjoyed doing it, and now back to the drawing board for another project!
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
Well it's been a long time coming but Chapel Hill is finally complete!
In order to show case this I would like to cover from start to finish the entire project. Please remember this is the result of two weeks work that cost only a combined total of about £5 in materials.
Step 1: Cut out the flat plateaus from hardboard.
Step 2: From newspaper and masking tape create the general shape required.
Step 3: Create paths with cardboard
Step 4: Cover the whole thing in paper masche
Step 5: Paper masche onto a hardboard base which is cut to size along with ridges for paths
Step 6: Craft fences out of matchsticks with the strike cut off and attach tree skeletons to their desired location
Step 7: Glue basalt to the plateaus and paths, all the while gluing unused cat litter to the base
Step 8: Remove the trees and spray paint the whole thing a dark brown
Step 9: Holding the spray can at a distance spray the whole model with a lighter sandy colour
Step 10: using a sandy coloured emulsion paint, dry brush the entire unit, being sure to get all the lovely creases in the rock surfaces and each grain of basalt
Step 11: Glue trees to place, paint the fences by hand as you would painting 'wood effect' on a mini, attach lichen to trees to make leaves and floor for bushes and static grass/long miniature grass.
And your done!
And now for the guided tour of Chapel Hill:
Here we have Overkill and The Executioner on the 1st Tier while Lady J and Austringer overlook the town.
The path leading to the 2nd tier
The entire of tier 2 including fence close ups
The back of the hill including the path connecting Tier 2 with Tier 3
A shot showcasing a crevice in the side of the hill
And there we have it! I realise as I am sat on the train commuting to work that there are a few features I should have taken proper photos of, the sideways growing tree and the overgrowth at the front for example, but hey why not instead see if you can come to The Titans War Games Club located in Finchley North London and I'll see if I can bring it along!
For now, thanks for keeping up with this project, I hope you've enjoyed reading as much as I've enjoyed doing it, and now back to the drawing board for another project!
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
Thursday, 8 March 2012
The Adventures of Geek Dad: Part Five
Hard to believe it's been a week since my last Geek Dad, it really feels like a lot less.
Well last night was my usual Daddy & Daughter night, but it felt quite uneventful, so I'll probably try and cover the week instead.
Last I left things it was the end of the week. Recently Mummy Moo, Mini Moo and I have been trying 'drinking in' when it comes to our weekly coffee shop visit, but I seem to have jumped ahead; let me take you back 4+ months when my wife and I didn't have our child;
Every Saturday we'd have our trip into town, we'd walk in, grab ourselves a Starbucks and have a relaxing while enjoyable discussion on one of the many benches in our town.
Ever since the birth of our little one this has had to change - but I must be honest, it's not just because of her.
Due to the cold and having a baby daring to wake and be noisy , our trips have been as short as possible, often drinking while walking, but recently we've tried drinking in at the many coffee shops and so far it's working well.
It's been really enjoyable to sit down, have a hot drink and talk about life the universe and everything. Now don't get me wrong, it's not that we haven't been talking, but the past few weeks have felt different.
I'd like to take this opportunity to give some advice to any expectant dads out there: Please, when your baby comes, whatever you do, don't neglect your wife's and your relationship. This probably sounds really obvious to most, but let me tell you, when you've been up for the N'th time in the night, or tired and grouchy, you feel envious because even though they spend most of the day looking after the baby alone, they're still home and not at work, all you'll think about is the things that you used to do but now can't.
In my case this was the following: going out for a 4 weekly meal with the wife, spend whole days and nights on the computer playing games and stay in bed until whenever I wanted.
Yes I know those things are really unimportant, but that's how I felt.
And you know what? She's feeling the same too! She'll even have her own things she feels grumpy and jealous about; you see, it's not that your a bad husband or father, it's that your struggling to come to terms with the life changing event that is child birth!
Think of it this way, your partner has had 9 months of growing the child inside them, they've felt it move and develop and when it was born their body released hormones to force them to bond with it. For men this doesn't happen, and this can leave us feeling alienated from our wives and babies (especially if they're fed 100% on breast as all we get to do are the nappy changes).
This is why it's important to do things like coffee house trips. You get to spend time together, it's not so formal that it's a real problem if the baby starts crying and needs soothing and your also in a situation where conversation and communication is encouraged! I believe it's these trips and our weekly Saturday routine which have stopped my wife and I having any major arguments, and when the home is a happy and stress free environment, then your baby is more likely to be happy and stress free.
Anyway, this week I was finishing off the penultimate book on my Accounting course, this was what I did on Monday and Tuesday. But that's not all! I also managed to squeeze in some more work on Chapel Hill:
First off I under coated it dark brown with spray paint from the local B&Q.
Then on Tuesday I gave it a distance spray of yellow-orange to act as slight highlighting.
Then yesterday I dry brushed the whole thing:
This was done with the film Jarhead on in the background. Possibly my favourite war film currently in circulation.
It was just after this was done that the Mini Moo woke up with a vengeance. Up until now she had been asleep, but now she was awake and needed a feed.
So on goes the universal pause button on my modelling and out comes the bottle.
Next up I took the hill upstairs to my den, rearranged the terrain on my 3x3 board and placed things in a semi usable formation:
There were a few reasons for wanting to do this. Firstly I wanted to see how it looked with the rest of my terrain, and secondly because I didn't actually know how much space it took up on the board.
As you can see, it's sizeable but does not make everything else useless.
Then with modelling glue I attached the tree skeletons and have left them to dry.
So plans for the week/weekend:
Firstly I need to add fine details like the foliage to the trees, I also need to add burnt grass to suitable places.
At some point there is also the task of painting the fences. This is probably what I'll try and do tonight.
And so there we are, I hope you've enjoyed this week's Geek Dad, and I'll see you again next week: same geek time, same geek channel!
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
Well last night was my usual Daddy & Daughter night, but it felt quite uneventful, so I'll probably try and cover the week instead.
Last I left things it was the end of the week. Recently Mummy Moo, Mini Moo and I have been trying 'drinking in' when it comes to our weekly coffee shop visit, but I seem to have jumped ahead; let me take you back 4+ months when my wife and I didn't have our child;
Every Saturday we'd have our trip into town, we'd walk in, grab ourselves a Starbucks and have a relaxing while enjoyable discussion on one of the many benches in our town.
Ever since the birth of our little one this has had to change - but I must be honest, it's not just because of her.
Due to the cold and having a baby daring to wake and be noisy , our trips have been as short as possible, often drinking while walking, but recently we've tried drinking in at the many coffee shops and so far it's working well.
It's been really enjoyable to sit down, have a hot drink and talk about life the universe and everything. Now don't get me wrong, it's not that we haven't been talking, but the past few weeks have felt different.
I'd like to take this opportunity to give some advice to any expectant dads out there: Please, when your baby comes, whatever you do, don't neglect your wife's and your relationship. This probably sounds really obvious to most, but let me tell you, when you've been up for the N'th time in the night, or tired and grouchy, you feel envious because even though they spend most of the day looking after the baby alone, they're still home and not at work, all you'll think about is the things that you used to do but now can't.
In my case this was the following: going out for a 4 weekly meal with the wife, spend whole days and nights on the computer playing games and stay in bed until whenever I wanted.
Yes I know those things are really unimportant, but that's how I felt.
And you know what? She's feeling the same too! She'll even have her own things she feels grumpy and jealous about; you see, it's not that your a bad husband or father, it's that your struggling to come to terms with the life changing event that is child birth!
Think of it this way, your partner has had 9 months of growing the child inside them, they've felt it move and develop and when it was born their body released hormones to force them to bond with it. For men this doesn't happen, and this can leave us feeling alienated from our wives and babies (especially if they're fed 100% on breast as all we get to do are the nappy changes).
This is why it's important to do things like coffee house trips. You get to spend time together, it's not so formal that it's a real problem if the baby starts crying and needs soothing and your also in a situation where conversation and communication is encouraged! I believe it's these trips and our weekly Saturday routine which have stopped my wife and I having any major arguments, and when the home is a happy and stress free environment, then your baby is more likely to be happy and stress free.
Anyway, this week I was finishing off the penultimate book on my Accounting course, this was what I did on Monday and Tuesday. But that's not all! I also managed to squeeze in some more work on Chapel Hill:
First off I under coated it dark brown with spray paint from the local B&Q.
Then on Tuesday I gave it a distance spray of yellow-orange to act as slight highlighting.
Then yesterday I dry brushed the whole thing:
This was done with the film Jarhead on in the background. Possibly my favourite war film currently in circulation.
It was just after this was done that the Mini Moo woke up with a vengeance. Up until now she had been asleep, but now she was awake and needed a feed.
So on goes the universal pause button on my modelling and out comes the bottle.
Next up I took the hill upstairs to my den, rearranged the terrain on my 3x3 board and placed things in a semi usable formation:
There were a few reasons for wanting to do this. Firstly I wanted to see how it looked with the rest of my terrain, and secondly because I didn't actually know how much space it took up on the board.
As you can see, it's sizeable but does not make everything else useless.
Then with modelling glue I attached the tree skeletons and have left them to dry.
So plans for the week/weekend:
Firstly I need to add fine details like the foliage to the trees, I also need to add burnt grass to suitable places.
At some point there is also the task of painting the fences. This is probably what I'll try and do tonight.
And so there we are, I hope you've enjoyed this week's Geek Dad, and I'll see you again next week: same geek time, same geek channel!
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
Super Gaming Bros 2
Morning all,
So yesterday I tackled the idea of video gaming vs war gaming.
It was left saying that it was obvious that one hobby was deemed more socially acceptable than the other, and so I decided to research this a little further through friends and twitter.
The response was pretty much universal, everyone agreed that in modern culture war gaming is seen as a taboo, something that should be hidden from prying eyes and something we need to "come out" with, where as video gaming is just assumed for any male between the ages 12 and 30.
The more I gathered this data the more apparent the issue became, people were embarrassed and in some cases ashamed of their hobby, and I wanted to know why.
You see my first thought that if we knew why it was considered taboo, then we could look into eliminating it, the more I thought about it, the more I realised there was one resource which was currently untapped:
My own experiences and beliefs.
So here we are, raw data and case studies thrown to the wind and in it's place my own story:
I'll put my hand up and admit it, I am embarrassed by my own hobby. I will so rarely talk about it in the open world forum, and before a few weeks ago the many friends I have on Facebook had no idea that this was something I do.
I was leading a double life, explaining to the people I work with about what I do, all the whole remaining as vague and cryptic as possible so I would never have to use the words, war and/or miniatures.
But why is this? It didn't used to be like that, years back when I would openly display my work and my hobby with pride, but somewhere along the lines this changed.
The first aspect I believe is my relationship with Games Workshop.
Now this company is the figure head of war gaming in the UK, and when I was a kid I was proud of that community, but that there is the crucible of the problem: I was a kid, now I'm 28 years old and I've outgrown my hobbies of childhood, except for war gaming.
I go into a GW shop and I see a group of 12 year olds buying models and I'm left thinking "i must look like some pedo trying to groom kids", another thought is "I hate kids"...
I hate to admit it, especially being a father myself, but I hate other people's kids, teenagers especially. I know that I was the same, and I know it's all part of growing up, but that's just me.
I believe that this is the crux of where my debilitating fear has come from. I know that war gaming and miniature modelling and painting is not for children. It is a wonderful hobby to get them using their imagination and talent, but the quality of work I output now (and there is still massive room for improvement) is infinitely better than what I did as a teenager.
However despite what I know, I also know that the world doesn't see it like that. It sees the 12 year olds playing with space marines, then it sees a grown man doing the same and it assumes he is autistic.
With gaming however I felt much more confident, I wasn't playing with dolls, I was doing a war time simulation, acting out the role of a USCM fighting off Cameron's Aliens! That couldn't be for kids, the game (and the films these games were based off) were adult rated!
So where do I go from here? I suppose it's a lot like my WoW hobby. At one time I thought people would laugh at me when I told them about it, it turns out when I have come out as being a geek they've either asked questions because they don't really understand how an MMOS works, or they admit to being one too.
Maybe the same could be said about war gaming, and I guess that's part of why I wrote this blog. Sure it passes the time during my commute to work, but I was tired of living a double life, I wanted people to see my work I spent hours and days over and what better format than a day by day account of my works, thoughts and feelings?
I hope this has been either helpful or insightful, and I hope some of you will join me for an afternoon drink on Saturday 21st April at Salute 2012, we may be the pariahs of society, but hey, better to be a pariah and proud, than accepted and ashamed.
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
So yesterday I tackled the idea of video gaming vs war gaming.
It was left saying that it was obvious that one hobby was deemed more socially acceptable than the other, and so I decided to research this a little further through friends and twitter.
The response was pretty much universal, everyone agreed that in modern culture war gaming is seen as a taboo, something that should be hidden from prying eyes and something we need to "come out" with, where as video gaming is just assumed for any male between the ages 12 and 30.
The more I gathered this data the more apparent the issue became, people were embarrassed and in some cases ashamed of their hobby, and I wanted to know why.
You see my first thought that if we knew why it was considered taboo, then we could look into eliminating it, the more I thought about it, the more I realised there was one resource which was currently untapped:
My own experiences and beliefs.
So here we are, raw data and case studies thrown to the wind and in it's place my own story:
I'll put my hand up and admit it, I am embarrassed by my own hobby. I will so rarely talk about it in the open world forum, and before a few weeks ago the many friends I have on Facebook had no idea that this was something I do.
I was leading a double life, explaining to the people I work with about what I do, all the whole remaining as vague and cryptic as possible so I would never have to use the words, war and/or miniatures.
But why is this? It didn't used to be like that, years back when I would openly display my work and my hobby with pride, but somewhere along the lines this changed.
The first aspect I believe is my relationship with Games Workshop.
Now this company is the figure head of war gaming in the UK, and when I was a kid I was proud of that community, but that there is the crucible of the problem: I was a kid, now I'm 28 years old and I've outgrown my hobbies of childhood, except for war gaming.
I go into a GW shop and I see a group of 12 year olds buying models and I'm left thinking "i must look like some pedo trying to groom kids", another thought is "I hate kids"...
I hate to admit it, especially being a father myself, but I hate other people's kids, teenagers especially. I know that I was the same, and I know it's all part of growing up, but that's just me.
I believe that this is the crux of where my debilitating fear has come from. I know that war gaming and miniature modelling and painting is not for children. It is a wonderful hobby to get them using their imagination and talent, but the quality of work I output now (and there is still massive room for improvement) is infinitely better than what I did as a teenager.
However despite what I know, I also know that the world doesn't see it like that. It sees the 12 year olds playing with space marines, then it sees a grown man doing the same and it assumes he is autistic.
With gaming however I felt much more confident, I wasn't playing with dolls, I was doing a war time simulation, acting out the role of a USCM fighting off Cameron's Aliens! That couldn't be for kids, the game (and the films these games were based off) were adult rated!
So where do I go from here? I suppose it's a lot like my WoW hobby. At one time I thought people would laugh at me when I told them about it, it turns out when I have come out as being a geek they've either asked questions because they don't really understand how an MMOS works, or they admit to being one too.
Maybe the same could be said about war gaming, and I guess that's part of why I wrote this blog. Sure it passes the time during my commute to work, but I was tired of living a double life, I wanted people to see my work I spent hours and days over and what better format than a day by day account of my works, thoughts and feelings?
I hope this has been either helpful or insightful, and I hope some of you will join me for an afternoon drink on Saturday 21st April at Salute 2012, we may be the pariahs of society, but hey, better to be a pariah and proud, than accepted and ashamed.
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
Tuesday, 6 March 2012
Super Gaming Bros
Good Tuesday all!
It's been a while since I've made a real post and I'd like to try and get the ball rolling again.
Today is the topic of what I would call: Super Gaming Bros.
As many of you know I'm a bit of a closet (less so now) war gamer. What you may not know is that I'm also an avid video gamer.
Back in 2000 I ran my own Aliens vs Predator clan on PC, used to meet up with friends on a semi regular basis and take part in Quake 3 LAN parties, have owned plenty of consoles, and currently trying to squeeze in as many opportunities to either replay Dead Space 2, replay Deus Ex: Human Revolution or complete Skyrim.
As time has gone by I've noticed many similarities between War Gaming and Video Gaming and I've come to see Video Gaming as sort of like the younger brother, sort of like Luigi to Mario, Raziel to Kain or Tim to Newt.
There have even been many situations where the two have merged, especially with Games Workshop; Shadow of the Horned Rat, Chaos Gate, Dawn of War and of course the recent Space Marine.
But for some reason, War Gaming continues to have the appearance of the 'uncool' brother.
You see, when I was younger and the Mega Drive was king, I remember video gaming was very 'in'. When Sonic 2 was released, everybody who was anybody HAD to own it.
As time went on, the machine and the in crowd parted ways, video gaming became the realm of basement dwellers who never washed and their only girlfriend was their right hand, with the release of Everquest this became even more public opinion, especially as news spread like wild fire (thanks of course to The Daily Mail and other similar newspapers) about families being torn apart by the evils of a fantasy world.
Does that last sentence sound familiar? It should, as not too long before, similar words were used to describe wargames, role play and AD&D (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons).
Let's not forget about that crazy teenager in the US who killed his family "because Mind Flayers told him to".
Is this a new phenomenon? Of course not! While doing some quick research into this topic I very quickly stumbled onto the infamous Columbine massacre which was blamed on both music and the game DooM!
And so here we stand, two brothers in gaming, both of who have been the fall guy for countless acts of cruelty and depravity, and yet some how Video Gaming has done what War Gaming could not:
It has bridged the gap between 'cool' and 'uncool'. Through sport, racing and nearly every Wii game, Video Gaming has become socially exceptable, just look at Call of Duty!
But why is this? As much as I hate to say it, I do think a massive problem lies in the nature of the wargaming hobby.
Socially LAN games are still seen as the lepper of the gaming world, but sitting on the sofa and playing some xbox after a day at work is seen as acceptable.
Likewise, what is the most common method for wargamers to play? Local Games Clubs.
I'll be the first to admit, there is nothing cool about 10+ dorks meeting up once a week to play with tin soldiers, I say this keeping it in mind that I'm one of these dorks as well.
And so I am afraid that I seem to have run out of steam, do I feel like I've resolved this issue? No.
Instead it is my belief that Wargamers will always be ostracised and maybe that's the way we like it? I know when I play my computer games the last thing I want is a drooling joypad console fanboy getting in my face about how they can pwn me with their iron sights and aim assist, so like wise why would we want to take our table top out and away from our close knitted community?
I'll leave this with one last thing: ask me again after Salute 2012.
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor
PS: I'll just leave this here:
It's been a while since I've made a real post and I'd like to try and get the ball rolling again.
Today is the topic of what I would call: Super Gaming Bros.
As many of you know I'm a bit of a closet (less so now) war gamer. What you may not know is that I'm also an avid video gamer.
Back in 2000 I ran my own Aliens vs Predator clan on PC, used to meet up with friends on a semi regular basis and take part in Quake 3 LAN parties, have owned plenty of consoles, and currently trying to squeeze in as many opportunities to either replay Dead Space 2, replay Deus Ex: Human Revolution or complete Skyrim.
As time has gone by I've noticed many similarities between War Gaming and Video Gaming and I've come to see Video Gaming as sort of like the younger brother, sort of like Luigi to Mario, Raziel to Kain or Tim to Newt.
There have even been many situations where the two have merged, especially with Games Workshop; Shadow of the Horned Rat, Chaos Gate, Dawn of War and of course the recent Space Marine.
But for some reason, War Gaming continues to have the appearance of the 'uncool' brother.
You see, when I was younger and the Mega Drive was king, I remember video gaming was very 'in'. When Sonic 2 was released, everybody who was anybody HAD to own it.
As time went on, the machine and the in crowd parted ways, video gaming became the realm of basement dwellers who never washed and their only girlfriend was their right hand, with the release of Everquest this became even more public opinion, especially as news spread like wild fire (thanks of course to The Daily Mail and other similar newspapers) about families being torn apart by the evils of a fantasy world.
Does that last sentence sound familiar? It should, as not too long before, similar words were used to describe wargames, role play and AD&D (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons).
Let's not forget about that crazy teenager in the US who killed his family "because Mind Flayers told him to".
Is this a new phenomenon? Of course not! While doing some quick research into this topic I very quickly stumbled onto the infamous Columbine massacre which was blamed on both music and the game DooM!
And so here we stand, two brothers in gaming, both of who have been the fall guy for countless acts of cruelty and depravity, and yet some how Video Gaming has done what War Gaming could not:
It has bridged the gap between 'cool' and 'uncool'. Through sport, racing and nearly every Wii game, Video Gaming has become socially exceptable, just look at Call of Duty!
But why is this? As much as I hate to say it, I do think a massive problem lies in the nature of the wargaming hobby.
Socially LAN games are still seen as the lepper of the gaming world, but sitting on the sofa and playing some xbox after a day at work is seen as acceptable.
Likewise, what is the most common method for wargamers to play? Local Games Clubs.
I'll be the first to admit, there is nothing cool about 10+ dorks meeting up once a week to play with tin soldiers, I say this keeping it in mind that I'm one of these dorks as well.
And so I am afraid that I seem to have run out of steam, do I feel like I've resolved this issue? No.
Instead it is my belief that Wargamers will always be ostracised and maybe that's the way we like it? I know when I play my computer games the last thing I want is a drooling joypad console fanboy getting in my face about how they can pwn me with their iron sights and aim assist, so like wise why would we want to take our table top out and away from our close knitted community?
I'll leave this with one last thing: ask me again after Salute 2012.
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor
PS: I'll just leave this here:
Monday, 5 March 2012
WIP Chapel Hill
Morning all,
Apologies for the lack of postings recently, my mind has been on other things.
One of those things is my ongoing project: Chapel Hill.
Last we left I was at the following step:
I had finished the paper masche, added a base and added some ridging to the path ways.
Since then I added some more details:
First thing I added were trees. As you can see I have yet to add foliage to these trees, and they are currently attached by just pushing them into the paper. Once I have finished the painting stage, then I'll attach them properly.
Next up was to make some fencing and walkway(s).
These can be seen along the left hand pathway.
The walkway was made in order to widen a part of the path which wasn't wide enough to hold a 30-40mm base. This consisted of matchsticks cut to size and laid out across each other, sort of like a wooden pallet.
The fencing was just as simple, matchsticks on cocktail sticks.
They may look a little basic, but I think it encourages a rustic feel - that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!
Last but not least, on Saturday I added pathways and base effect:
The pathways were done with basalt bought from a hobby store. It's a little expensive, but it is great for making slopes grippable by bases, and as it is uniform in appearance it is perfect for pathways.
The basing is my favourite medium! Kitty Litter! It's so cheap and makes a great rocky formation.
In the past I have had problems with kitty litter staying attached to the base, so I read a technique of watering down PVA glue, thoroughly mixing the two and then liberally applying this over the litter once it's stuck to the base. I've tried this, and this morning it appears that it's finally dried, and so far indeed the litter seems to bd firmly stuck to the base!
Well, tonight and tomorrow night I have to study for my Accountancy course, same with tomorrow, so stay tuned for an update with Wednesday's Adventures of Geek Dad! Where among the usual baby alone time, I'll be popping outside to spray paint the whole thing a dark brown.
Stay tuned!
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
Apologies for the lack of postings recently, my mind has been on other things.
One of those things is my ongoing project: Chapel Hill.
Last we left I was at the following step:
I had finished the paper masche, added a base and added some ridging to the path ways.
Since then I added some more details:
First thing I added were trees. As you can see I have yet to add foliage to these trees, and they are currently attached by just pushing them into the paper. Once I have finished the painting stage, then I'll attach them properly.
Next up was to make some fencing and walkway(s).
These can be seen along the left hand pathway.
The walkway was made in order to widen a part of the path which wasn't wide enough to hold a 30-40mm base. This consisted of matchsticks cut to size and laid out across each other, sort of like a wooden pallet.
The fencing was just as simple, matchsticks on cocktail sticks.
They may look a little basic, but I think it encourages a rustic feel - that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!
Last but not least, on Saturday I added pathways and base effect:
The pathways were done with basalt bought from a hobby store. It's a little expensive, but it is great for making slopes grippable by bases, and as it is uniform in appearance it is perfect for pathways.
The basing is my favourite medium! Kitty Litter! It's so cheap and makes a great rocky formation.
In the past I have had problems with kitty litter staying attached to the base, so I read a technique of watering down PVA glue, thoroughly mixing the two and then liberally applying this over the litter once it's stuck to the base. I've tried this, and this morning it appears that it's finally dried, and so far indeed the litter seems to bd firmly stuck to the base!
Well, tonight and tomorrow night I have to study for my Accountancy course, same with tomorrow, so stay tuned for an update with Wednesday's Adventures of Geek Dad! Where among the usual baby alone time, I'll be popping outside to spray paint the whole thing a dark brown.
Stay tuned!
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
Thursday, 1 March 2012
The Adventures of Geek Dad: Part Four
"This place is a tomb" possibly one of the most iconic lines from the film Event Horizon, (after "Liberate tutame ex inferis" of course) which coincidently is also possibly one of the best films by Paul Anderson.
This was the background setting for last night's film which played while I looked after my young one.
The night's plans were pretty straight forward, put film on, change her, feed her, put her down for a nap while I finish off my paper masche from last weekend.
Sadly things were not quite that straight forward:
Film on? Check!
Baby Changed? Check!
Baby Fed? Not quite...
You see just prior to my wife going for her bath and Mini Moo's night of geekdom began, we had dinner, fish fingers, potato rosties, potatoe waffles, a fried egg and tinned spaghetti. Not the most imaginative of meals, but my god does it taste amazing.
Just before dinner I gave the MiniMoo a feed to try and satiate her while I ate too, however after only 2 fluid ounces (she's currently on 5-6) I put her down early as my dinner was ready, this was with the full intent to carry on her feed once I had eaten myself.
Yeah... That didn't go as smooth as I would have liked, when it came to resume her feed she was having none of it, she was complaining about being hungry, but whenever I tried to feed her she would pull away.
Now let me tell you, as someone who regularly feels detached from other people and struggles to fully understand what many people feel this is quite distressing. You don't want her to be upset, you know the noises she is making relates to her being hungry, but she won't let you feed her.
So after what felt like a 30 min long battle of wills, and me reheating her bottle 2-3 times to keep it a pleasant temperature for her, finally Geek Dad won, and MiniMoo fed and was happy to be put on her squiggle mat and given a rest.
This allowed me to bring down my paper masche and get started with attaching it to its base and finishing off the paper masche.
Currently the project is looking like this:
With hope this will be dry tonight and I can get started with gluing the kittie litter to the case and basalt to the paths.
But thankfully the rest of the evening went well, she seemed to enjoy the rest of the film, and Geek Dad managed to finish this stage of his project.
That's what I call a win/win!
- Next week's film of choice? Jarhead!
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
This was the background setting for last night's film which played while I looked after my young one.
The night's plans were pretty straight forward, put film on, change her, feed her, put her down for a nap while I finish off my paper masche from last weekend.
Sadly things were not quite that straight forward:
Film on? Check!
Baby Changed? Check!
Baby Fed? Not quite...
You see just prior to my wife going for her bath and Mini Moo's night of geekdom began, we had dinner, fish fingers, potato rosties, potatoe waffles, a fried egg and tinned spaghetti. Not the most imaginative of meals, but my god does it taste amazing.
Just before dinner I gave the MiniMoo a feed to try and satiate her while I ate too, however after only 2 fluid ounces (she's currently on 5-6) I put her down early as my dinner was ready, this was with the full intent to carry on her feed once I had eaten myself.
Yeah... That didn't go as smooth as I would have liked, when it came to resume her feed she was having none of it, she was complaining about being hungry, but whenever I tried to feed her she would pull away.
Now let me tell you, as someone who regularly feels detached from other people and struggles to fully understand what many people feel this is quite distressing. You don't want her to be upset, you know the noises she is making relates to her being hungry, but she won't let you feed her.
So after what felt like a 30 min long battle of wills, and me reheating her bottle 2-3 times to keep it a pleasant temperature for her, finally Geek Dad won, and MiniMoo fed and was happy to be put on her squiggle mat and given a rest.
This allowed me to bring down my paper masche and get started with attaching it to its base and finishing off the paper masche.
Currently the project is looking like this:
With hope this will be dry tonight and I can get started with gluing the kittie litter to the case and basalt to the paths.
But thankfully the rest of the evening went well, she seemed to enjoy the rest of the film, and Geek Dad managed to finish this stage of his project.
That's what I call a win/win!
- Next week's film of choice? Jarhead!
- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)