Still here (kind of)...

G'day All,

A number of people have reached out to check on me knowing we have awful bushfires here at the moment. The scale defies explanation and what the media reports is just the tip of the iceberg. I've been out fighting them with the RFS almost non-stop since mid-November now which accounts for the silence and my absence from the AHPC this year. Gutted as I am to be missing out it was better someone else take my spot as I have no time to paint whatsoever.

So to those who have reached out a MASSIVE thank you for checking in on me. I have been trying to reply where possible but if I have missed you I apologise and want you to know I really appreciate your thoughts. With everything we are dealing with, knowing people worry about us is really special. My world has shrunk to other firies and a few immediate family so any contact beyond that is absolutely wonderful.

Thankfully, despite everything going on with the fires we are still finding a little time for real life. Here's a pic of me after I returned from spending Christmas Day on the fireground. The pup is one of a pair of Husky x Staffies we rescued recently. Beautiful little guys with lovely temperaments and loads of energy.

All the best and I hope to be back properly some time in the future.

Cheers,

Millsy

Merry Christmas from C&G!

Well folks, it's that time of year again, time for carol singers, chestnuts roasting on an open fire, maddening heat, etc.

All the gang here at C&G would like to wish all our friends and followers a happy and safe Christmas and a Happy New Year (pay no attention to the Ogre of Corsica and his grumpy dismissals of the season. He's just ticked off because he didn't get Russia for Christmas)!

Stay safe, wherever you are; may your brushes remain sharp, and your jar of Goblin Green never run dry (because that stuff is impossible to get nowadays - by crikey, it's hard being an Oldhammer enthusiast)!

Ev and Millsy

Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge X

Tomorrow is December 1st and that means just one thing... the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge is just around the corner once again. OK actually two things, that AND fruit mince pies are also back on the menu! This is edition TEN if you can believe it and my eighth participation. Evan is also on board for I think his third or maybe fourth.

Looking back I can only thank Curt yet again for all the amazing friendships that have come from my involvement (of which his is right at the top of the pile!), never mind the huge pile of painted minis that have come about as a consequence.

Last year saw me sneak over the 10,000 point mark total in painted minis from the last 7 editions of the Challenge. To put that into perspective that equates to 2,000 x 28mm miniatures painted in a period of roughly 21 months, or around 95 per month. Not bad given that spans Christmas, New Year, my birthday and Australia Day all of which distract from the painting focus. I hope you enjoyed that little statistical diversion Miles, I know I did...

More lead (OK mistakes were made, a LOT more lead) is on the way and the prep has already begun on material at hand. Bring it on!

Cheers,
Millsy

Portable Wargame Fantasy rules

I mentioned in my last blog post that I've been formulating plans for a solo fantasy campaign using Bob Cordery's Portable Wargame rules to fight the tabletop battles. There is no current "official" fantasy version of the rules but a few people have drafted some tentative rules of their own.

I've also had a go, especially given I intend to use these as mentioned above. I've created a new Portable Wargame Fantasy blog page to capture my thinking on troop types, special abilities and spells.

Painting is going very well with the Orcs & Goblins and Empire of Man forces complete. More on that soon once I have had time to take some decent pics.

Cheers,
Millsy

Have You Tried Turning it Off and Back On Again?

And..... I'm back! I could give you all sorts of quite lengthy, detailed and for the most part genuine excuses for where I have been for the last few months but that just seems like a lot of effort.

Instead I'm going to pretend the blog was misbehaving technically somehow and we can all go back to doing whatever seems fun and pretend that never happened. Sound good? Excellent! In the words of Mel Bose the Terrain Tutor... Lets crack on!

So anyway, I actually have been doing quite a bit, it just hasn't made it as far as the computer and consequently not onto the blog. Of late I have become quite frustrated by the lack of face-to-face gaming time.

Consequently I've embarked on a pretty in-depth solo project using 15mm fantasy armies and Bob Cordery's excellent Portable Wargame rules which I have now read several times over, plus the accompanying volumes.

There is currently no PW fantasy variant documented by Bob, although a few fellow enthusiasts have done some bits and bobs (no pun intended). To fill the gap I've pinched bits from theirs and then had a stab for myself which I will share in due course.

Along with the rules I've also developed some troop type definitions by extending Bob's ancient period ones. I've also put together some army selectors along the lines of the old Warmaster Armies ones which fit the idea of the various armies I intend to paint and play with e.g. Warhammer Fantasy-esqe.

From a campaign perspective I've been really enjoying the ECW campaign material of Peter from Grid based wargaming - but not always and have shamelessy appropriated his campaign style including maps, terrain generation and much more. It's wonderfully compact, well thought out system and looks like a load of fun so I can't wait to start using it.

That's enough from me for now. Its good to be back in the saddle and there's more to come over the weekend including a bunch of painted 15mm orcs from the superb Ral Partha Demonworld stable.

Cheers,
Millsy