RayR - AHPC XIII - Hobby Desk and Painting Plans

 

Looks like I'm a winner already? I can claim the "Most Messy Painting Desk in the Challenge"

I did plan a clean up, but couldn't be arsed in the end. I'll only make more mess anyway.

For those of you who don't know me, I'm Ray and this will be my 12th Challenge. I like you guys look forward to the Challenge each year and have been busy cleaning and undercoating figures for a while now.

I will of course be painting up figures for Donnybrook, which as you all well know I'm quite partial to.

There'll be figures for Vienna 1683 and a smattering of other stuff to. The Haitian Revolution will again make a appearance. Not that I really need anymore Donnybrook or Haitian Revolution figures???

But I shall be starting a new period and scale, shock horror???

It's all Reject Richard's fault, he's painted up some great figures for the French Wars of Religion in 2mm. So he made me buy some, I was going to get armies for one of the larger Nine Years Wars battles like Neerwinden or Steenkirque, but instead chose to go for a battle during the War of the Spanish Succession. Postie the Evil Warlord of Posties Rejects already has figures for the Battle of Blenheim, so I chose another theatre. Spain.

More specifically the Battle of Almansa 1707

For the Allies the British, Dutch and Portuguese there are 42 infantry regiments and 55 Cavalry squadrons. For the French and Spanish there are 52 Infantry regts and 76 squadron of cavalry. So I'm gonna be a busy boy!!!

The figures were calling to me in my sleep "Paint me, paint me", so I had a little practice as to how to paint them up, coached by Reject Richard. 

Here we have 2 regt of Dutch Infantry Torsay and Kepplefox, each regt has 240 figures!!!

And here we have 2 squadrons of the Portuguese Cavalry regt Naronja, each has 24 figures.

I've not yet decided how I'm going to decorate the bases, so I need to play around a little more.

These troops of course will not count as points in the Challenge, but I will post them up, with the other regts in their brigades.

Why 2mm you ask?

Well that's an easy question to answer.

Big Battles

I could never to Almansa in any other scale, if I did it would be scaled down so much, it would have nothing in common with the actual battle. Using 2mm, I could comfortably play the whole battle on a 8 foot board, 6 foot if you squash it up.

Cost (very important)

In 6mm a 240 man regt would cost you approx £20

In 15mm a 240 man regt would cost approx £135

in 25mm it would coast a staggering £443

In 2mm it costs 99p!

Yep 99p and that's with a few stands left over for the next regt as well!!!

Some gamers say, you might as well use counters? But that's what any figure you buy is, they'e all just counters.

Now I must admit, they are bloody small and are a bit of a bugger to see, so get yourself a pair of these badboys!

You too can look as cool as me?

Challenge XIII - {Insert Witty Title Here} - From StuartL

Hello all,

So, here we are at the cusp of another AHPC madhouse, and I for one am nowhere near as prepared as I should be. But, before we get into that, introductions are in order.

My name is Stuart and I have been gaming since the early 90's I guess. However, my first foray into wargames happened in the previous decade. When I used to visit my grandparents' house, I would often pass the time playing with my uncle's old airfix toys and 1/72 soldiers (nearly all were unpainted). He and I would line the men up and then take turns firing matchsticks at them from a spring loaded cannon. It wasn't the most well balanced ruleset, but it was fun. My first real exposure to wargaming came via everyone's favourite evil wargaming corporation, Games Workshop. I got Heroquest as a birthday present, followed by Space Crusade for Christmas. After that it was on to Space Hulk and Space Marine (the precursor to epic). At various times I think I played most of GW's games during secondary school and university. 

Originally I am from Stockton-on-Tees in the North East of England, but in 2004, for a variety of reasons, I packed my bags and shipped off for Japan. My initial plan was to work as an English teacher for between 6 months and 1 year and then head back home to find a new job. All of my hobby stuff was left with my parents for my eventual return. However, I found that teaching English was a lot of fun and my 1 year plan quickly extended. Needing something to do in my free time, I found a local store that had a tiny selection of GW minis and picked up a box of Orcs, some tools and some paint. This led me to find my local gaming group, where I became an active member and to me requesting that my family start shipping stuff out to me. 

Fast forward to today, where I am still living in Japan, working as a teacher and am still in the same hobby group. I have been less active over the past few years as the group tends to play 9th edition 40K, whereas I'd much rather be playing anything else. I have a huge collection of minis for Bolt Action, Saga, Black Powder and more besides. I do like 40K, but the current rules feel bland and pointless to me. The newly released Horus Heresy rules are much more to my liking.

My initial plan for this challenge was to stay totally focussed on getting 2 or 3 armies completely finished. That lasted for about 20 seconds. I will still try to do the bulk of work on those armies, but I'm expecting to embrace my inner Squirrel and see what I have in my eclectic collection. I started building and assembling models for the challenge in early October, but due to real life issues taking up a good chunk of November, a lot of things got pushed back to December. 'Not to worry', I thought, 'December is always quiet at work'. Not this year. My boss decided that instead I should be as busy as possible in the run up to Christmas. Luckily, all is not lost. I still have a ton of minis built and primed from Challenges XI and XII in my stash. Speaking of.....

Unlike some of the challengers who live in vast sprawling mansions with enough room for a gigantic hobby space, I'm limited to a 6' by 9' room where all of my stuff must stay. Should anything stray from the room, my better half will immediately throw it into the trash.

My work area is pretty small. I don't have room for a monitor or a PC, just a small music player. Over the course of the last challenge, this tiny work bench hosted nearly 300 minis, so it seems to get the job done. On the back wall you can see a memo reminding me to do the chores and other tasks before I get too lost in painting. 

The main part of my stash is kept on a set of metal shelving racks. While I do try to sort stuff out every now and again, I am rapidly running out of flat surfaces on which to stack things. Included in that lot are numerous army cases, bits boxes and a full 6' by 4' WW2 Normandy beach board that I have only used twice in the eight years since I built it.

And this is my gaming table. It is made from the same metal racking as the shelves and is currently home to about 20 KR multicases and numerous boxes of plastic, metal and MDF. In the background you can see yet more shelves containing rulebooks, terrain supplies and yet more plastic. As you can see from the foreground, I am in the process of priming stuff, building things and it is all a colossal mess. That said, it is usually much, much worse. 

Having seen some of the neat, organised hobby spaces from other challengers, I am reminded of a quote. "If you can't be a good example, you'll just have to be a horrible warning." Guess which category I am in. 

Oh yeah, I'll be minioning for the first time this challenge, if you are unlucky enough to be in my care, I apologise in advance.

See you all at the starting post!

Challenge XIII (Winter 2022-23) - RobH Intro

Good day all.  My name is Rob and  I've been a miniature gamer for slightly over 5 decades. Some may thing I have a problem. Some have asked why I don't suffer from the effects of lead poisoning. My main problem is the unpainted mound of figures. In my case neatly categorized and stored away in tin boxes. 

The wall of shame to the right of my work table

I have no plans. I will be attracted to whatever bright and shiny object should catch my eye.  I am certain there are unpainted minis in any box I choose to open. With temperatures in Montreal now regularly below zero, I will not be doing anymore prep until the spring thaw. Fortunately we are still a snow free zone.

Currently on the table, unfinished Victrix War Elephants,
Bofers AA Gun and crew by Bad Squiddo Games and,
some Roman High Command by Black Tree Design

Other distractions located to the left of my work table.

Behind me, the office and on the other side of the half wall, my bedroom. For me January is the start of my busy season with tax prep and then the Canadian income tax season. It is when I have the least time to commit to any gaming activity including the painting challenge and I will spend more time in front of the office computer than anything else for almost the next five months.

In the upper left there are 4 red tool boxes. In total I have 20,
each containing a fully painted army

And of course, none could take place without the constant supervision of her Imperial Majesty Josephine, Empress of Her World.

 

BruceR: Hobby space and Challenge XIII excitement

Here in the Great White North, slightly south of the Snow Lord is this humble hobby space.  This is my 3rd challenge and I've enjoyed every minute/miniature through the event.  My first was during COVID and I'm hooked.  I am still Blog challenged, I know I should, but I've not taken the time as I usually just sit at the paint table rather than record the events to the hobby.  I talk about retirement as I can and maybe the Blog will blossom when I finally pull the plug.

I'm ready for the Challenge as we had 18" of snow in mid-November and we expect another 12-18 this coming week. Going to be a long winter. 

The War Department (Rox) and I are empty nesters with Loki the wonder dog and three grand dogs who visit on occasion with our ranch managing son.  Our daughter lives in our city and we spend time with her when she allows.  

I've gamed since high school with the rural nature of ND, USA being a slight impediment to my expanding horizons.  SPI or Avalon Hill started this, with Chain Mail sending me into miniatures with plastic 15mm knights ordered from the back of a comic book.  A deep dive into D&D and AD&D during college continued the momentum.  A tour in the military exposed me to many more miniature gamers and the concept of club in Colorado Springs, while stationed at Ft. Carson, CO, with the 4ID.  I've never looked back.  

I'm lucky as our home is large, when purchased had an unfinished utility room space.  The furnace and water heater take up 3x6' in a 15 x 24' space.  Unfinished so the War Department simply doesn't care I've taken over as the hobby dungeon (other than my struggle to keep storage from entering the space).  I talk about finishing the room but moving all my hobby stuff makes me always pause.  I do have 5-6 friends and we game in the dungeon regularly.   

As many of you, I'm a gadfly wondering from project to project and system to system.  I tend to have a very cluttered workspace and my office at work is also covered in papers, so it is who I am.  Here is my tour of the space.  

  
Paint station:

Tech Station to the left for viewing:

Airbrush station to the right:

One Hobby Wall:

Game table:

Loki the CSM of the game room begging for chase the bumper down the hill time.  (Quick trips during the cold season)

My planned projects:

    1) 28mm pirates for a Adepticon participation game to include a 28mm sloop.

    2) 15mm Napoleonic

    3) 2 1/1200 ships left to complete my fleet

    4) 28mm Italian winter WW2 troops

    5) 28mm AWI

    6) The Silver Bayonet Austrian, Prussian, Russian

    5) 15mm Zulu wars

    6) Space Hulk terminators and bugs

    7) Other odds and sods.  Ha

I enjoy the painting, the viewing, the commenting and the fellowship the challenge provides.  The War Department (who has a MS in social work) tells me it is a support group and I guess it is.  We support each other's hobbies in a very positive way, and all should be grateful for the opportunity.  So, even before we start a be thanks to the Snow Lord and Lady Sarah, along with the minions for your efforts.  

CHALLENGE ON!

Cheers, Bruce 

 

From RobP (Codsticker): Preliminary Bombardment

As is the custom this year, I am 'showing off' (for lack of a more appropriate phrase) my work area. Not much to speak of; it is the old front entrance of the house (we don't use it anymore) which I share with the kitty litter box (a pretty good indicator of where my hobby and I stand in the household). Currently sitting on it are some 15mm Sassanid command models which will be based for Field of Glory. On the left is an old dresser which houses hobby supplies: two drawers of paints; 1 of flock, static grass and foam turf; 1 of small terrain odds and sodds (fences, barrels, crates, etc). 

The photo below shows what I have prepared for the Challenge so far.  The RUB currently holds about half of my target this year: some 28mm Dark Ages, 28mm mounted ECW, LoTR Khand, 15mm Sassanid archers. Just behind it is a number of LoTR Khandish items still boxed that I hope to get to during this edition of the AHPC.

I do have most of the unfinished basement all to my self although most of it is taken up with work benches and my hand and power tools. I have about 25% of the space chock-a-block with painted and unpainted minis as well as finished terrain and terrain supplies. The 4' by 4' MDF and 3' by 3' plywood are finished skirmish tables and I have set up a temporary photography area

Yes, most of rough necks on the left are filled with unpainted minis/terrain but a couple do have finished terrain items in them. The half wall at the back of the photo has a mix of painted items as well as untouched games. So... I will have no problem finding something to paint for this challenge.

From KyleC: Hobby Area and some projects

So another year passes and we all meet up here once again.. And like all the regulars I am always in excitement of this time to get some serious hobby time in. Or at least that is the plan.. which has not gone down well over the past few years. Between moving, illness, and work.. things like life keep getting in the way. 

Though this year I do hope it is much different as I have begun to do much more painting in prep for the event, and also aligning my space to flow better for it. 

Behold.. my claustrophobic sized office space that encompasses everything one needs for a work/hobby division. 

Hobby zone and work space combo
No space left unused!

In the past I did have space upstairs that was more dedicated for painting and hobby. However I seemed to rarely use it as work made it nearly impossible to get away from the computer. And with the inclusion of my partners family from Ukraine now residing with us, I spent a bit of this year redesigning my office to hold more items than it probably should be. But it has seen an increase of painting as I tend to not leave the office now, and can paint in-between calls or before/after work without feeling guilty that I am not available for work. 

With my main work computer set up in front of me, and drawers filled with paints, materials, and models.. I have everything within arms reach ( including a drink fridge, and Mince Pies ) to keep me going. 

War of the Roses models. Some finished, many not.
Let's change that!

Plan this year is to get through a few of my armies that I have built over the past years and not got around to painting. More just moving from box or display case as we update or move house. 

Some of the bigger ones would be my War of the Roses army, Roman forces, and Dacians. Those being some of the more pressing ones I wouldn't mind getting completed this year. 

Historical armies. Romans and Dacians.

Couple other ongoing projects would be my Deathguard Horus Heresy forces. Although much is done with it over the summer, I have a lot of support vehicles and units to finish off with it. Including a few more units that are being finished up with printing that should prove to be quite a bit of fun. Quick shot to show where I got up to in August before working on a few other projects. 

Deathguard Horus Heresy Army

Also have the Cursed City boxset to finish that I will be following Marco's youtube tutorials for to get them done quickly ( airbrush and oils to be used heavily there ). The skeles got finishes, as did the heroes, but the rest of the mobs still need doing. So I do look forward to getting them done, and then more games being had with them all on the table. 

Skeletons for Cursed City

Some Orks need doing for a mate of mine that I have set aside for this as they are a bit easier and a good palette cleanser. 

I expect also a lot of random pieces at times. Star War Legions. Adeptus Titanicus. Age of Sigmar. Blood Bowl. Weird War 2 models. And likely whatever gets through the printer or makes me go Ooo that looks interesting. 

One of the biggest things for 2023 for me though is to get in more gaming. I have not had much time with it over the past years due to work and such, but looking to rectify that more this year. So a wide range of models, and armies will help me be ready for whatever game type one might want to play, and have it done in a bit of style. 

Looking through all the other setups, and hobby plans, this years is looking to be a right blast overall. Should be fun, and looking forward to it! 

From TamsinP: The Senior Flight Attendant's Office

 

Good evening Ladies, Gentlemen...and Ray! My name is Tamsin and (according to a tradition I self-established a few Challenges ago) I will be your Senior Flight Attendant for this year's exploration of, oh, what's that? It's a Studio Tour this year? No flights? Well, I never! Hmmm, quick rethink needed...

Good evening Ladies, Gentlemen...and Ray! My name is Tamsin and  I will be your Senior Studio Tour Guide for this year's Challenge. For those who don't know me, here's a brief bio.

In my early teens I discovered wargaming by chance. I was browsing history books in the town library when I came across a book which had been misplaced on the shelves - it was by Donald Featherstone and I decided to add it to my small pile of books to check out. I had seen painted figures before in David Chandler's "The Art of Warfare on Land" (I believe they were from Peter Gilder's collection), but hadn't been aware of wargaming. For a few years I played wargames using Feathertone rules and Airfix figures with a few boys from school, mostly WW2 and ACW. I also played RPGs and it was mostly those figures I painted using enamels and cheap, crappy brushes. However, as I got older other things (exams - bah!, other activities, etc) began to take priority and I pretty much forgot all about it.

Then I got struck down by a chronic illness in 2010 and was off work for several months. Around May 2011 I saw or read something sci-fi related and decided to check some facts on the internet. On one of the pages I looked at the chap had various pages listed in the sidebar and one was "wargaming". I decided to take a look and saw spaceship models and 25mm sci-fi figures. I vaguely recognised some of the ships - they were the ones in an advert I'd seen in an RPG magazine in the late 80s. I followed the link to Ground Zero Games, discovered the Full Thrust rules, eyed up the spaceships and realised that the bug had bitten me once again.

Reader, I bought some...

...and made my first foray of about 25 years into painting. Now, back when I was a teenager acrylics were new and weren't particularly good but I'd read that they were now the way to go. My first attempts weren't awful, but I really wanted to improve. That was when I discovered blogs and various websites explaining how to paint well. Then YouTube, but there weren't many channels doing painting tutorials back then; now there seem to be hundreds of them.

But it wasn't just the sci-fi gaming bug that bit. I remembered those lovely figures from that book and how as a teenager I'd wanted to have my own armies for ancients, medievals, English Civil War and the like and began looking at what was out there. I also wanted to find people to game with. Checking the interweb, I found a club (Central London Wargames Club) that met after work in a pub (bonus points!) that would be easy enough to get to from work - by that time I had recovered enough to return to work part-time - or from home. I went along one evening, introduced myself and watched a game to find out what the main figure scale and rules were. I bought the rules and a couple of army list books and looked through to decide which army I'd like to begin my journey with. As I'd always loved horses, I decided to go with a cavalry army - the Sarmatians. I initially ordered what turned out to be the last stock from Strategia e Tactica - the figures were nice, but tiny and the metal was a bit flimsy. So I ordered everything I needed from Donnington.

And so it began...

On 01 January 2012 I decided to record my wargaming and painting adventures in a blog of my own. I haven't looked back since. I started following other blogs, they started following me and so it went on and I'm still here at the end of 2022.

I discovered this wonderful event during its second running and decided I wanted to take part the following year. AHPC III saw my entry into these hallowed halls and I have become something of a fixture; even in the couple of years when I wasn't a participant I was still a minion.

But that's enough about me, what about my workspace?

The workbench

I'm in the fortunate position of being a single person living in a two bedroom flat, which means that I have been able to convert my spare bedroom into my hobby space. It's large enough for my painting desk, materials and some storage but the last has inevitably spilled over into my own bedroom and the lounge (which now also houses my 3D printer set-up).

Most of my paints

How the workbench would be set up for painting

I don't actually have anything being painted right now; the two glass jars are for my "dirty" and "clean" rinse water.  Switching between brush painting and airbrushing is quick and easy - move a couple of things out of the way, pull the spray booth forward and open it up, plug it in and away I go! For photography it just takes a few minutes to clear things away and get out my camera set-up.

I don't have room in my set-up for a computer or TV, but I do have space for a radio/CD player if I want music to paint to. As it can accept USB drives, I could listen to podcasts as well if I thought about it.

What will I be painting this year? I have one big project and a few smaller, related projects all from the 3D printing I've been doing over the past few months. There may be some non-related stuff as well.

My one big project? Well, it's a single 28mm vehicle. 

"A single 28mm vehicle is her big project? You've got to be kidding!"

No, not kidding at all. Let me explain. Whilst it may be a single 28mm vehicle, it is a rather large one - about 26" long, 17" wide and 9" tall, weighing in at about 2.5kg. And there's a normal-sized 28mm vehicle to go in it.

Fully playable (if somewhat cramped) interior

Some of you may recognise it as the 100 Ton Type S Scout Courier from the Traveller RPG. I missed the original crowdfunding campaign for it a couple of years ago, mostly because I didn't have a 3D printer at the time. Late last year the same company had a Kickstarter campaign for 1:270 and "tactical" scale versions of Traveller ships. I decided to back that campaign (despite the lack of a 3D printer) and went for the pledge level that included the 28mm ships (they'd also done the Type J Seeker variant and someone had done the 30 Ton Gig). 

Their Kickstarter campaign for the 200 Ton Type A Free Trader ship has just ended, but it is (for a little while longer) open for late pledges on My Mini Factory. I've backed that campaign as well but won't be printing the ship until next year.

"You mentioned 1:270 scale Traveller ships..."

I did indeed, and I have printed them. They may appear if I make good progress on the Type S.

Well, that's all from me folks.

Toodle-pip!

From Paul and Reilly: Showdown at the OG Corral

As ever, the onrush of the Christmas season is proceeded by the exhilarating bow-wave of another AHPC! Our Dad and Lad challenge continues this year for my 9th season and Reilly's 4th.

Preparations are in full swing at the OG Man Cave, but focused on construct and undercoat vice clean and tidy. Since Ms Man Cave moved out of the nest last year, we have requisitioned converted her old bedroom into our hobby lair which allows to paint and chat together (when I am in the country at anyway). Organisation is more a state of mind anyway, but we do shuffle things around randomly to reduce the risk of spontaneous combustion and drive eachother mad. And after having to keep things rather ship shape at work, a bit of creative chaos is welcome :-)

Our ferocious war puppies Odin (left) and Loki (right) will keep us company throughout

We are currently engaged in energised discussion regarding our AHPC Project list.  The somewhat dynamic to-do list currently includes is a pair of new Dungeon Bowl teams, some Horus Heresy figures, new units for my Wars of the Roses army, Necromunda goodies, and the curiously addictive madness that is Turnip28...

Having initially mocked me without mercy, Alan has now also succumbed to the root and proceeded down the Turnip path - so T28 challenge of sludgy misery will be a bit of fun!

As ever, its great to be back and I'm looking forward to the fun, inspiration and banter :-)

Challenge 13 Intro from Kerry T (Valleyboy)

 Morning, afternoon & evening all

This will be my second challenge, I must say taking part in my first challenge last year was I think the highlight of my wargaming year and I am so pleased to be a participant again this year.

I'm a proud Welshman (currently the butt of many rugby jokes) who moved to NZ in 1999, transporting what was probably then close to 7,000 15 mm Napoleonics I think at the same time. It goes without saying that 15mm Napoleonics are my first love and the collection has grown since then. There was a time when I would hide them all away as I was reticent to share with friends the secret of my nerdy hobby. I've come a long way in recent years though and am more open with friends an colleagues and am surprised how well my hobby habit has been received.

Last week we hosted the work Christmas party at our house. No hiding this time though, the games room was open to all and one of the spot prizes was given to  the staff member who closest in guessing  the number of figures on the table! 

In reality there is no doubt I'm a painter as opposed to wargamer, historian or collector. Thankfully I'm generally quite productive as I probably only watch about 3 hrs of TV per week spending my evenings  painting whilst listening to wargames podcasts in the evening after work

I'm a lucky man and now as I approach retirement have the luxury of a wargames room with a purpose built table. Most of my gaming these days is solo and though in the past 2 years I have taken an interest in skirmish games I am a BIG GAME enthusiast at heart and love nothing more than leaving a game up and playing it out over weeks. Some of this can be seen on my blog https://valleyboyinnz.wordpress.com/

I've been fortunate in the past to take part in several big games and was one of the original participants at Ayton (frequently written about by Henry Hyde) many years ago. I've been fortunate to take part in large multiplayer refights of Waterloo, Borodino & Leipzig organised here in NZ by fellow gamers - details on the blog.

The forces of Silverfernia capture some much needed supplies at Ayton in 2011

Borodino 2020, my Polish are in the foreground

At the moment I'm trying to finish off some AB French Cuirassiers in 15mm and having moved now mainly to painting 28mm figures forgot what a challenge it was but I think I might try and get some Young Guard painted up once the challenge gets going.

I have a short attention span when it comes to painting and like to flit from one period to another to keep myself productive. This coupled with my "oh look shiny"affliction means that I have a wide collection of unpainted figures. In fact somebody once described my hobby as being "all over the place", which I took as a compliment rather than the criticism intended!

Last year my entries were themed around P for project but this year I'm going to let myself loose with no boundaries and rummage around in the cupboard below.

I'm still waiting on some shield transfers to arrive and will still need to prep some Perry Miniatures coming for Christmas and some Oathmark Orcs. Thankfully I think I am well enough stocked in tufts and bases

My painting focus has always been on painting large numbers of figures I suppose and my subject matter in the coming challenge will likely involve  Napoleonics and Samurai in 15mm, while in 28 I hope to churn out some Dwarves, Orcs, Normans, Saxons, ECW and VBCW and maybe even some terrain. My main aim and hope I suppose is to try and make a big dent in my slow burn Italian wars project by finishing some Italians, Swiss, a few Landsknecht, Gendarmes, stradiots and finally Spanish. Hence my suggestion of a "My codpiece is bigger than yours" challenge. I also hope to drop a few Squirrel bombs again this year

The painting desk and reference library!

So I've myself a decent challenge  and in order to do this will need to find ways of overcoming my work commitments, ignore the rapidly growing grass and other needs in the garden and try and stay off the golf course 

Even on the golf course there'll be a reminder that I really should be painting!

Thank you all for your encouragement last year, it was such a positive influence, I cannot emphasise its effect enough. I'm looking forward to enjoying your company again for the next few months and being enthused by what you will showcase again. Best wishes

From MilesR: Challenge XIII Prep

 Frantic preparations are underway here at the Ubergeek Lair - well maybe not frantic but hurried.  First off is a clean up of my painting desk:

My collection of various paints is starting to surround the workspace - hopefully I don't get completely enveloped!

About 25 feet away from my painting desk is my "terrain workshop" were I do the bulk of the messy terrain work as the floor isn't finished.  It's still a mess with remnants of long forgotten projects littered about:

All of the required supplies have been ordered and mostly received - Mr Litko should be very happy me!

I am thinking about trying the new Vallejo version of contrasty - speedier paints but am not sure when they will be available here in the colonies.

As for projects this year - they are somewhat varied.   The will be a large 3mm ww2 project to play out the Peleliu Campaign at a company level complete with a full topographical map of the Island which will be featured in a future LWTV episode.

Following on Last year's dalliance with 10mm fantasy you'll be subjected to legions of poorly painted 10mm Dwarves and various opponents.  I'll likely also flesh out my 10mm Byzantines and maybe even some 15mm WW2 stuff.  I doubt there will be any 28mm this year but who knows when the skirmish fairy will strike and I'll succumb to year another tactical gaming craze.

People seem to be putting pictures of themselves in the photos.  Out of abundance of caution I shall refrain.  I will, however, provide a picture of Gus, my hobby partner.  To be honest, Gus isn't all that helpful with figure painting but he's aces with terrain.

Gus, "The Wonder Dog".  

Hey Vallejo - you may want to hire him as a "spokes-canine". Just saying.

Gus reacting with sheer excitement at the prospect of going down into the basement for a hobby session....