December Downturn

Regular readers may have noticed a distinct decrease in posts during the later half of this year. I must admit I had run out of steam updating this blog and had been sorely tempted, more than once, to let it die a natural death (or preserved forever in the ether like an adolescent's electronic diary, a petrified testament to playing with toy soldiers). Anyone who has a blog, and regularly updates it, will know  just how much time and effort it takes trying to maintain decent volume of material. I imagine it's the same for any hobby not just gaming, painting, modelling etc.

Whilst winter months normally mean an increase in painting and modelling for most people I've experienced the reverse. Ironically this may be because from gaming very occasionally I'm now playing at least once a week. Overlooking board games this has been increasingly involving games of Lion Rampant (LR) and its variants The Pikeman's Lament (TPL) and The Men Who Would Be Kings (TMHWBK) from the pen of Dan Mersey via Osprey Publishing. Taking into account the usual busy period at work this has led to a decrease in time available to blog.

I'm not going to do a review of the year because readers can simply scroll through the posts. Neither I'm not going to predict what projects I'll attempt next year as I'll inevitably change my mind half way through.

Wargamer Programme & Forthcoming Events

Wargamer 2015

On Sunday 6th December my brother and myself attended the Wargamer Show in Halesowen. This show was previously held in Great Barr but the new'ish (this is the second year at the current location) venue is a big improvement. One of the issues with the old venue was parking and access. We thought the new venue had very limited parking until we found a large carpark on the other side of the leisure centre.

After suffering 'the morning after the night before' from an interesting event at a local game store we did eventually arrive at Halesowen just before two where things seemed to be winding down.

The Battle of Little Big Horn
(The Guards, Sheldon, Birmingham)

Battle of Canny c.1476

(Wyrley Retinue)

Battle of Canny c.1476

(Wyrley Retinue)

Battle of Canny c.1476

(Wyrley Retinue)

Battle of Canny c.1476(Wyrley Retinue)

Battle of Canny c.1476(Wyrley Retinue)

Sikh Wars

Sikh Wars

Sikh Wars

Sikh Wars

Sikh Wars

Sikh Wars

Sikh Wars

Sikh Wars

Napoleonic Farmyard  

Napoleonic Battlefield

Napoleonic Battle

A better review of the show can be found here [Tales From GHQ] and here [Geez spot]. I've detailed a particularly fun game [here].

A enjoyable show with plenty of potential for the future. Hopefully there was enough trade for the show to be a regular feature on the calendar. Speaking of which I've included a image from the show's programme. It's worth checking because it lists a good number of forthcoming events and shows, some of which I was unaware of. 

Between my brother and myself we bought only a small amount of loot. Mainly terrain and a few character figures which I will detail in other posts, hopefully a couple of which I will be able to do before the end of the year.