Sunday 28 January 2018

CANCON 2018... The Good, the Odd and the Wanker

So I'm back from CANCON, having survived another annual pilgrimage to our nation's capital. As usual there's plenty to report and discuss, so here we go with the obligatory wrap-up post...

We managed a reduced Aussie Bloggers Meet-up this year with just the three of us fronting up. Barks from Wargaming with Barks was up to his neck in the Bloodbowl comp but still had time to have a yarn and get this pic, so thanks for that mate. Alan (Kaptain Kobold) from The Stronghold Rebuilt was also in attendance in a rather fetching frock, making my "official" treasured CANCON camo cargoes look a lot less impressive than might have otherwise been the case!

Kaptain Kobold, Millsy and Barks living the dream in 2018

In the evening we headed to the Duck's Nuts pub for the traditional dinner and cleansing bevvies. Much hilarity, opinionated and entertaining conversation later and we'd all enjoyed what has become the single best bit of the trip IMHO.

Second hand loot...
The second hand stall was a bit rubbish this year for the most part, despite being in a much better location and with a decent amount of space between tables. It seems I wasn't the only one to notice that a far bit of the stuff on show was still marked up with MOAB 2017 stickers where it clearly hadn't sold for various reasons.

Having said that, I did manage to luck out big time and pick up a couple of items to add to the ever growing Warhammer collection. First up a bag of plastic Empire wizards, a bargain at $20 for the lot.


The piece of resistance however, is THIS...

HELL. YES.

$110 for three box sets of Warhammer scenario packs from the mid 80s. Blood on the Streets and Terror of the Lichemaster are both in MINT condition with not an item missing, nor even creased, let alone cut out or otherwise used. Blood Bath at Orc's Drift is in close to the same condition with a few card buildings missing but otherwise intact and unsullied. My Oldhammer nerdometer is still riding high off the scale at 11. I'm pinching myself and will be for some time to come I suspect! Over time I'll photocopy the buildings and assemble them just for fun, adding some detail and 3D elements to personalise them along the way.

New loot...
Not much in this department to be honest, partly because the trade stands were pretty ordinary (more on that below). I did manage to score a 15mm Russian AT gun I've been after for Flames of War for ages but just never got round to. When I tried to buy one direct on special order they sent me an Italian AA gun instead. Random, but thankfully sorted at last.

Woohoo! At last! It's the little things after all

A mate also picked up the following for me at a local bookstore closing down sale and which I was able to collect when we caught up. Very much looking forward to giving this some time over the next few weeks...


Trade stalls...
Not sure what the traders were thinking this year?!? Many had big holes in their catalogue of core or popular stuff and the consequence is I came home with a fair bit of cash unspent. Their loss unfortunately! The board game guys in particular need to lift their game. Several of us got the sense they were treating CANCON as an opportunity to try and shift stuff they couldn't sell by any other means but not much else. Prices were close to and often higher than RRP. Weird.

And finally, the Wanker...
I sometimes wonder at how selfish and disconnected some people are. I was at the second hand stall and a chap next to me picked up someone else's item for sale (a fragile assembled plastic kit). Having checked it out he decided he had no interest in it and threw it back onto the table (from a considerable height) without a thought about damage or how he would feel if it was his stuff. I was so gobsmacked that he was gone before I had an opportunity to say anything. So if you're reading this by some amazing chance... YOU SIR ARE A WANKER. Go and have a long hard look at yourself in the mirror for your own sake if nobody else's. Anyway, rant over.

So that's it till next year. Time for a nap on the couch and then a bit of a play with the loot :-)

Cheers,
Millsy

Wednesday 10 January 2018

AHPC VIII - Ev's Challenge, Day 22

The story so far;

I've gone into this year's Challenge with a target of 500 points, and have proceeded at my usual sedate (some might say 'sedated') pace.

First up was this chap, a strapping Orc Chieftain from Scibor's Monstrous Miniatures. Certainly in keeping with the 'monstrous' theme of the Challenge!



It's a terrifically dynamic figure, and as usual, Scibor's bases are little masterpieces in their own right. I loved painting that fallen statue head!


Next up was a terrain entry. This is the first year for terrain entries outside of a bonus theme round, so I thought I'd paint up a couple of Pictish Standing Stones by Scotia Grendel. I'd had these in the to-do pile for a while, so they were overdue for an outing.



These two lovely resin sculpts were not quite enough to get the entry across the line quantity-wise, so I rustled up a quick Celtic Oratory Chapel, scratch-built from a block of polystyrene coated in filler and carved to resemble rough stone. The door was made from some bamboo skewers with a loop of fuse wire for the handle.


Returning to the Challenge theme, I went with a monster for my next entry; the Reaper Bones Giant Worm, painted up as that old D&D favourite, the Purple Worm.



Very pleased with the final result on this one, suitably repulsive!

Last but far from least is the Goblin Doom Diver, 'Da Rite Stuf', my entry for the Themed Bonus Round, 'Flight'. I really like the goofiness of this model, and I hope I've done it justice.


So, 22 days in and I'm just under 25% of the way to my target; let's see if we can't get a few more points on the board before too long!

What's next? Stay tuned...


Ev

Tuesday 9 January 2018

AHPC VIII Bonus Round One Voting Open!

Voting is open for the first Bonus Round in this year's AHPC with a theme of 'Flight'.

Both Evan and I have entries and there is a veritable motherlode of other wonderful entries to delight your senses too. Pop on over and check things out and don't forget to vote for your favourites!

Here's my entry, a Captain mounted on a Pegasus for my Warhammer Fantasy Empire army...


And Evan's Warhammer Fantasy Goblin Doom Diver...


Cheers,
Millsy

Sunday 7 January 2018

Boxer Rebellion Japanese Infantry

The next instalment of troops for my 55 Days at Peking project are more Imperials, this time the Japanese legation forces.


The miniatures are from Oshiro Model Terrain and quite honestly some of the best miniatures I have ever bought. Not only are the incredibly cleanly cast, they are also packed with detail and thoughtfully designed. They come with separate heads and unlike the majority of my experience in this regard, these fit very well and are even able to be turned to the side if desired.



The miniatures also come with separate backpacks (I've left them off to use as supply tokens) which have a locating "lug" that fits neatly into the straps on the back of the miniature, meaning they sit perfectly aligned and don't slide while the glue dries. I'd go so far as to say these miniatures are not so much sculpted as crafted.



Next up is a bunch more Boxers (36), which will thankfully take me very close to completing the "natives" with only some Tigermen and a rickshaw packed with explosives(!) to go.

Cheers,
Millsy

The Return of the Empire Strips Back


Having spent a good 5 hours yesterday slaving over a hot ultrasonic cleaner I've now got a lovely pile of paint-free Empire lead.


In the end I decided to just strip everything I have in the pile that required it, so I've got additional stuff to be going on with once the Foot Reiksguard and Halberdiers are finished. This is by no means the full breadth of that awaiting paint, just that which was still coated in EIGHT LAYERS OF BRIGHT YELLOW CONCRETE AND SNOT WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING??? Excuse me, some of the paint required a little more effort to remove than I would have liked, leaving me a little fatigued in the manners department.

Thankfully I can now pick up a brush again!

Cheers,
Millsy

Friday 5 January 2018

The Empire Strips Back


With three submissions posted for AHPCVIII and awaiting Curt's tender ministrations I've taken stock and looked at what might be tackled next.

I've almost worked my way through all the lead I prepped prior to the Challenge starting. That being the case it's about time I spent a little time on some more prep work, especially given I'm back to work [SOB!] on Monday morning. I just know when I get home I'm not going to want to prep so having a pile of paint-ready minis sitting on the desk will be a big incentive to give the TV a miss and pick up a brush.

Enter two units of Warhammer Fantasy Empire miniatures, plus a few items not pictured that will be bonus round entries...


Not sure which will see the brush first, it'll be a simple matter of whim I suspect. :-)

Cheers,
Millsy

CANCON 2018 Aussie Wargame Bloggers Meet-up


That's right, its ON again! Currently Barks, Kaptain Kobold and myself will be in attendance I believe. Care to join us?

Here's the plan for Saturday 27th January 2018:

  • 12:30pm - Initial meet-up in the Board Games section in the Northern Hall at CANCON to say g'day, check out respective loot bags and plan for any shared afternoon shenanigans.
  • 6:00pm(ish) - Pub dinner and extended tall story session.

If you're an Aussie or Kiwi blogger feel free to pinch any and all of this post to spread the word.

Hope to see you there!

Cheers,
Millsy
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