The biggest problem when running a wargaming blog is deciding the pace and tempo of blog posts you want to do.
Okay, that’s a lie – the biggest problem when running a wargaming blog is knowing when not to add new projects to the pile. But that’s impossible to fix so I’m going to focus on the tempo thing.
For some people, their rhythm of posting is hammering out lots of small posts, often with one picture and a load of text – I love Jim’s Wargames Workbench for this very fact as you get to see how projects develop at every stage, see the thoughts, track the start of ideas that blossom into new things. On the other hand, you have people like Tactical Painter where you wait for the blog post of the latest battle report and get to enjoy the finely crafted end result, a battle report that makes you feel like you’re there.
My own output has varied back and forth, between single post months to several posts a week. During my time away, I started thinking about my own tempo, how I wanted to portray the hobby I take part in. I’ve done weekly posts, I’ve done lots of small posts and I’ve done monthly updates covering hobby and everything else. Going forward, I’ve decided to focus on at least one monthly update (inspired perhaps by the good old “Letter from the Editor” that is a feature of many magazines) without being chained to it – sometimes you get to post WIP things excitedly.
With the tradition of rambling out of the way, let’s start off with this first Letter from the Hobby Desk.
First things first, I’m writing this after having just finished painting the last room in my new house (yep shutting up soon about it). It’s a good stage to reach, no longer having to keep moving things around or see the big chunks of exposed wall where the wallpaper had been pulled off during the refit.
Of course, the more important thing about hitting this milestone is I have more time to get things set up for the hobby! With Patreons and Kickstarters bringing more and more STLs to print, and with a need to actually get my FDM printer properly dialled in, I’ve quickly got the forges back up and working. The next thing is going to be working out where to put a load of my terrain, which will end up in the garage once I finish tidying out all the detritus removing pre-existing built-in wardrobes generates. Luckily this has left me plenty of material to make some handy shelves and maybe even a workbench for stuff I don’t want to work on in the house.
But hopefully, this will be the first and last time one of these posts has to mention the house!
My big project at the moment is the Desert Rats (or Operation Drop Bear). I had originally intended to try and do this sneakily and then deploy it as a surprise at our first game. But I am terrible at keeping secrets, especially when it’s something I’m excited about and want to show off/write about. The blog post covering them has plenty of details about the kit and my plans so give it a read.
Speaking of plans, let’s take a quick look at the list of stuff I’m actively working on for the near future apart from a platoon of WW2 Aussies:
- BPRE Phaseline – I still need to paint up the figures and the doors, then I’ll get some games in of the new mode and be able to come back and talk about it.
- Necromunda – I’ve gathered all the bits I need for my Eschers and should get my starting gang together. I also have enough parts from Hive Scum boxes and a Genestealer Cults box (thanks to the former housemate for the present) that I can either make some Badzone Enforcers (tempting as I already have some Enforcers) or make an Outcast gang for shenanigans.
- InCountry – Starter box is on the way, I’m looking forward to getting some games in so I can take a look at both the ruleset and the figures being released for it. It might be a little bit of a delay before I have it in hand, but I’m hearing good things about
- WW2 Brits – while getting ready for my first Chain of Command game back, I realised I have a few pieces left over that I need to get painted up. Two Vickers MGs, my jumping-off points and even two familiar-looking chaps all ready for the brush to get them onto the tabletop. This is less about getting them ready for use soon and more about finishing off a collection sooner rather than later. Although Empress’s current Kickstarter will add some similar coloured figures…
There are also the blog projects I have on the go. I’m getting started with the BPRE Interview, cutting up the answers into something usable. There is also the Spectre post I keep talking about and I will actually get around to it. The problem is every time I get a chunk of it worked on, Spectre does something that means I need to pause and see how it’s going to shake out. However so far, the key points I wanted to make haven’t been covered so there is still a point I want to make. Now I just need to hurry up and finish it.
If you’d asked me a few months ago about my interest in Star Wars and Westerns, I’d have probably given you a frown. Due to my day job, I’m not rushing to get involved with wargaming involving the Wild West (I have this odd twitch you see, picked it up a few years ago) and with Star Wars, for a long time it wasn’t something I liked; as I’ve said in the past, leave the hokey religion at the door and hand me the blaster. Okay not that bad, but Jedi and force users are always better when there is just one or two on each side – the first film or Mando season 2 early on show it best in my opinion.
So why on earth am I so excited about both Too Far Lardies’s latest ruleset What a Cowboy and SkullForge’s Patreon releases?
Well, I’d put a lot of blame onto shows like Mandolorian and Andor for bringing me back into the fold of Star Wars by being actually good. Both shows definitely lean more towards the original influences rather than the Jedi/Force-focused films of the last few years – Andor is a WW2 spy/commando story while Mandolorian is all about lone wanderers through the wastes. There is also something about the post-Imperial phase that is so evocative for a skirmish game; Imperial Remnant avoiding the New Republic, criminals attacking exposed settlements, all while mercenaries and Mandolorians fill in the gaps. Another bonus for Star Wars is that lots of people like it – so when you talk excitedly about wanting to play something with Clones and Droids, it’s easy to find other interested parties.
As for What a Cowboy, I’ve been in the mood for a game that is more cinematic than realistic, even to the point of scribbling some ideas. However, the coverage for What a Cowboy has piqued my interest, with its Action Dice mechanic providing the potential for some of the utter madness you get in Star Wars blaster fights. I’ve been very excited about the possibilities and can’t wait to get my hands on the book.
Luckily, Multiverse and SkullForge have just what I need for any such shenanigans. In addition to the Mando figure my Creative Regular Opponent got for me, SkullForge has added all the Rebels, Imperials and Mandolorians you can shake a stick at. Multiverse is even partway through a new Kickstarter, giving you plenty of crashed spaceship parts to place in the desert sands. However, you can also get the Ord Ferrum kits as add-ons. This is the frontier town featured in Andor, which is perfect for the style of gunslinging I want to do (and a good alternative to going back to Mos Eisley AGAIN for the 1000th time, another Star Wars pet peeve). They seem well designed for arranging in various ways and making a dense urban environment with lots of rooftops to fall off and low walls to hide behind. Combining the town and the crashed ship parts would be ideal for some kind of Outer Rim scrap world – the ideal melting pot for all the factions.
So, look forward to some “What a Nerf Herder” on the blog. I’ll be putting it together over the next few months, especially once the Kickstarter I mention above finishes and I get my rewards.
The final news for this month is I’m going to Salute on April 22nd! I missed off a few over the last few years (as we all did for several of them) and it’s been just long enough without being to a show that I’d like to go see stuff physically. I am going to be trying to save money this year and do it all in one day – not looking forward to the 6am jumping-off time from home but it’s still plenty doable.
So if you spot someone looking tired while collecting a “What a Cowboy” set from Too Fat Lardies, it’s probably me! Looking forward to seeing people there though – the last few years have been pretty hard, so it would be nice to catch up.
Well, I’ve spent an evening typing away rather than hitting the hobby desk for the proper purposes so I should return to it. I’ll post up something new when exciting things happen, but for now, I hope you enjoy whats coming next.