Looking back and looking forward

Yet again not a lot of painting being done here at BLMA HQ but I have been busy getting a load of little jobs finished instead. I'm making some more smoke columns for my desert games but this is taking a long time while I wait for each stage of the process to dry before moving on. I have also been sorting through my paint collection which seems to have spread all around the house in various boxes. I have found pots of paint that are older than my kids including a load of ancient GW Citadel Colour paint that must be over 20 years old. Needless to say they were dried up and useless (about five minutes after buying them as I recall!) so they went in the bin with no regrets.


The other thing that has occupied my attention this week is the news that I will be putting on a demo game at Broadside next year. Yes folks, it’s time for my 6mm North Africa project to hit the big time and go public! The show is nine months away but that hasn't stopped me from getting all fired up and enthusiastic.

Most of the game I want to run is already prepared, using existing figures and terrain from my desert collection. I now have nine months to add the finishing touches with more terrain and special models. I've only run one other game for the rejects, and never one for a public audience, so this is a big deal for me. So much so in fact I immediately went back to school with the rules and started re-reading everything - which is why little else has been done this week. Regular readers will know that I use the Flames of War rules largely unadulterated for my 6mm desert games. I have found the ranges and distances work well at this scale and go a long way to alleviating the ‘tank car park’ feel of some 15mm games. The only thing I may change are the Artillery templates as these seem far too big for this scale, but other than that the rules are unaltered.


For the scenario I have in mind (top secret of course) I will need to make a few special rules and will try to streamline game play a little to take into account the fact that most of the Rejects are not familiar with this rule set. My plan is to run a load of mini play-test games to practise my knowledge of the rules and hone my umpiring skills. I'll need every skill and trick in the book to wrangle the Rejects into compliance... they can find the fault with even the simplest rule set!

One of the things I have started on now (in prep for next June!) is writing up a handout for the public, and some signs for the table. I also have some special player handouts in mind, to add a little flavour to the game. Nine months prep sounds like a lot of time, but it feels pretty short to me especially as I would like to get a couple of trail games in with the Rejects before the show. I must me mad!