Not now Death, I'm Busy

Never paint your last miniature, it could be fatal. Once upon a time, I had a huge lead mountain that was becoming a millstone around my neck and cluttering up the house. I made a conscious effort to reduce the pile and only buy what I intended to paint. But increased lockdown productivity and a lack of trade shows have reduced my lead pile to dangerous levels. It's time I bought more miniatures, on purely health grounds of course.

Judging from many conversations I have had over the years, I suspect that most of us have a lead mountain that is far from at risk of elimination. But just in case, keep some miniatures aside as life insurance. 

The Battle of Trebia - A Quick Strike AAR

A Quick Strike After Action Report of the Battle of Trebia using 6mm figures and Simon Millers To the Strongest ancient & medieval wargame rules. It is December 218BCE and Hannibal has invaded Northern Italy. He is outnumbered and needs a victory to steady the support of local tribes. But he has laid a trap for the Romans and is confident of victory.

This AAR has been in production for a long time, mainly because holidays and work commitments have eaten into my time a bit this summer. I have learned a whole new set of skills making the film, including finally getting to grips with some sound editing software to improve the audio. I'm still not 100% happy with the sound, but I had to draw a line under this project at some point or it would never have got finished! 

I shot a load of pictures while making the video and thought I would share a few here (it was a pity not to use them) as a teaser for the film. 

Strange Attraction - Picking a Wargame Period or Genre

What is it that attracted you to a particular period or genre of wargaming? Were you inspired by a new set of rules or a new figure range? Or was it a new book or film that got the creative juices flowing? I have been chatting to some of my friends about what motivated them and they suggested a few things I hadn't even thought of.

Maybe there are a few things in this video you hadn't thought of. As always I would love to hear what you think, either in the comments below or on my channel, Miniature Adventures. 

Unboxing better sound

Today's unboxing is less about gaming and more about improving the quality of the audio I record for voiceovers and the like. My games room is not an ideal studio and there are many reasons why it is not an optimal place to record video and audio for youtube. However, this recording screen and pop shield should improve my audio and even a small improvement will be welcome.

In addition to hardware, I am also learning how to use software to improve audio quality. I've been using Audacity for a while now but I was a little bit put off by the level of technical knowledge needed to use some of its more powerful features. Over the last couple of weeks, I have bit the bullet and made a concerted effort to teach this old dog some new tricks. It has been a bit of a learning curve, and I still have a lot to learn, but I'll keep chewing on this until I'm happy with the result. I'm stubborn like that! 

The Battle of Chatham 1779

It definitely wasn't Washington's finest hour on Saturday. The Rejects had some long-time friends over in the Shed-o-War for an American War of Independence game, welcoming them into the growing 'Honoury Rejects Alumni'. A good time was had by all but once again I found myself on the losing side. Having said that I felt we played a good game and overall our strategy was a good one. Sadly lady luck and the dice had other ideas! 

I didn't make extensive notes this time because I wanted to concentrate on the game and our guests so this won't be a fully detailed battle report as usual. However, I did get a few good pictures and thought these were worth sharing below. 

Keep an eye on Ray's blog for a more detailed report. It's not available at 'time of going to press' but I'm sure he will get something online pretty soon.

Work life balance

We often hear about the work/life balance but for many people, it is fundamentally wrong. I believe that is because the equation is incomplete and we need to add a third element to truly balance our lives in a way that suits us. 

It won't come as a surprise that I think hobbies should form the third element of the equation. The life half of the traditional equation is often full of its own type of work (the chores that need to be done every day) and understanding this - and making time for hobbies and other pastimes - is the first step towards a happier life. 

I'd love to hear what you think so please join the conversation below or in the comments over on my YouTube channel. Until next week, keep gaming and keep rolling high! 

6mm Chariots are Fiddly!

I have finally started work on some models that I bought back at the start of the year. My 6mm Celts arrived in May and I did an unboxing video at the time but other projects meant I couldn't get started on these until now. 

Now that I have started preparing them - cleaning them up and glueing them to sticks ready for painting - I have come to appreciate just how fiddly 6mm Chariots are! The irony is that I ought to know all this having assembled and painted a dozen ancient Indian chariots for the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge a few years ago. 

These Celtic chariots however are much smaller and my fingers are as big and clumsy as ever! 

As you can see I also have a considerable body of heavy and light Celtic cavalry to get on with and I'm hoping to get paint on metal in the next day or so. 

Wargamers Anonymous: Is Wargaming an Addiction?

Is Wargaming an addiction? Does your hobby interfere with your normal life? Do you skip meals or forget appointments and skip paying bills? Do you lack self-control or exhibit poor judgement? All of this has been prompted by a recent conversation with an acquaintance who described my hobby as addictive. It got me thinking though and today's video examines the evidence. This is far from scientific because it's based entirely on my own experience of the hobby.

 

If you enjoyed the video please like, subscribe and share. And of course, if you have any anecdotes or stories to tell please leave them in the comments below or over on my YouTube Channel. Until net week, keep safe and keep rolling high!

Disorganised Slacker plays Wargame

I'm currently berating myself for being disorganised and lazy because I haven't really got anything to show you today. I haven't even got a quick unboxing video or pointless monologue. What a slacker! 😆 To be fair to me (and I always am If I can) it's not for want of activity. I've had quite a bit of holiday during August and much of it has involved tramping up and down the Motorways of Britain visiting interesting museums and spending time with my family. As always I have shot a ton of pictures and will be trying to share some of the photos and discuss the museums I have visited over the next few weeks...once I get time to sort through them. 

While you wait for something interesting to happen here, and if you need a Wednesday fix of Miniature Adventures, why not pop on over to my YouTube Channel and watch a few videos. 😊

In truth, I haven't been entirely idle. I have been carefully planning and preparing a big solo game with my 6mm Punic War armies. This finally got underway yesterday and will probably take me a few days to get completed, especially as I am filming it for a video AAR. In the meantime here are a few teaser shots to whet your appetite. 

These pictures will have to suffice for the time being because it will probably take me weeks to edit the video I have already shot. The 'script' for the film is already the longest and most complex I have ever done and all this for a ten-minute AAR!