Happy New Year 2021!
Enjoy todays New Year's Eve and have a Happy New Year 2021!
Get out your paints and brushes, have a good meal and proper drink along with it, get out your games, consoles or lego bricks and have a good time.
Merry Christmas 2020!
I want to wish you a Merry Christmas! Frohe Weihnachen and Feliz Navidad!
The Tabletop Parking Lot Situation
I have talked about evaluating projects in the past, just recently as part of the ongoing decluttering of the physical brick & mortar chaosbunker.
Where I have valuated the projects by doing a kind of SWOT analysis, I think that space and purpose are two strong factors, that weigh in a bit more. As for space, that is probably in our hobby a much more limiting factor than financial assets (beside available time maybe), as you can get the same miniatures very likely second hand or get a deal on them on a show or so, but going for a different scale changes the overall experience (and doesn't give you the same miniatures). So I came up with a parking lot theory to sort my projects.
Is this one of the car allegories? You betcha!
(throwback from my 2010 set-up, really let that bright wallpaper soak into you ... an my current setup)
12 years of “professional” wargaming
Due to the lack of conventions and events this year, I had a look through my archives to see if there would be content that would be interesting for a throwback. While looking through the documents and pictures, I noticed that I have my 12th anniversary of "professional" wargaming this year.
(Left: 1999 Warhammer Store Opening in Party in Darmstadt, Germany,
Middle: Mike McVey at Salute 2012 London, UK
Right: RPC 2012 Kick-Off in Cologne, Germany)
What do I mean by that? I am wargaming since 1996, but in 2008 I got a trade licence to run a blog. A trade licence for a blog? Seems a bit oversized, don't you think? Well, it depends on what you're going to do.
Splitting and updating social media
On the right column on the blog you see this button, to follow me on instagram.
I dediced to split the wargaming content from my private account, dennismit2n, to cover wargaming in a more focused and pure way. Along with not drowning my family and friends with plastic toys. I already did take care of that on facebook a long time ago by using lists, so I only share those contents with people that have some connection with our wargaming hobby.
Oldhammer – Spotting and identifying Recasts
While you're looking for old miniatures on eBay and trading groups the risk of a recast is rather minimal, at least while looking for regular rank & file units in the one-digit value area. Some miniatures tend to be rare and very sought-after, creating prices for a single 28mm miniature of 30 EUR, 50 EUR or in some cases even beyond that on the second hand market. This demand and willingness to pay such prices, creates the interest of mischievous parties to cash in on this situation.
As I am doing the occassional coverage on Oldhammer projects, mostly 40k second edition so far, with a bit of Realm of Chaos, my personal risk is minimal. I bought a lot of the miniatures that are now valued either NIB or second hand from trusted sources. But when I added the Legion of the Damned to my Space Marine lot, of course I thought about Veteran Sergeant Centurius. The model was only available for a brief moment in / around 1996, for the opening of the 100th store in the UK. I am not sure about re-release in the US or Europe for similar events. But the miniature is rare and a real one, ideally NIB, easily sells for 50 to 70 EUR the right time. So I waited and watched the market space and eBay from time to time. I was a bit surprised that the prices dropped below 50 GBP.
One Thick coat? Two thin coats? Most important some primer!
As there seems to be shortage in Citadel Chaos Black primer and people are asking the same question again and again. Who can I buy a can? Well, before you pay some stupid mark-up price or go dire. Get this - there are other manufacturers who provide primer in a can.
Lollis, Titans and the White Dwarf
Let us start with a serious topic. Health is such a valuable good and many of us take it for granted. DKMS has developed a lolly, that makes it pretty easy to get yourself registered as a donor for blood / bone marrow cancer. You can order the lolly for free, follow the instructions, send in the swap to get registered. Easy as that.
Event Schedule for 2020
A brief overview of the events that are on my radar for this year.
Update: September 2020 due to COVID-19
Kick-Off 2020
As promissed, instead of closing the year with a summary, I want to look ahead into 2020 with a proper Kick-Off.
I could begin with the usual new years resolution, setting unrealistic goals like not buying any new miniatures before the others are painted and such. But I want to focus on activities that are fun, that are pro-active. And as such, I want to have a good time in 2020. The goal is not necessarily to have a better time, but to keep on having a good time with(in) my hobby. As pictures speak more than words, more of this: