Slowly Slowly Catchy Monkey

That's been a month since Claymore and I feel as if I am getting somewhere albeit slowly. Having finally got my cancer monkey off my back I can start to look ahead and get things moving again. I still get the odd day when I just have to have 40 winks and sometimes 40 winks more. My GP said it can sometimes take 6 months or even a year to get over radical surgery. If that is the case then I'm well past half way.

Last weekend I was at Border Reiver in Gateshead. A nice and not-so-little show a reasonable distance from Edinburgh. I made a few purchases, details below.

Some essential paint and brushes.

Some Napoleonics from Eagle Miniatures.

Some wildlife for a future project.

Some tents for another future project.

Some matt spray varnish which I am getting good results with.

And another future project.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch (hut) I have been making some army camps for my Teutonic Order forces.

A few bits of MDF, some matchsticks, some blue foam, some gravel and a lick of paint provides a camp occupied by some secondhand tents suitably embellished and occupied by a few Brothers.

Not a difficult build but quite a few matchsticks though.

The tents can be whisked away and the camp occupied by fighting troops should the need arise.

Playingwise we've had a few games of What A Tanker by the Two Fat Lardies.

Nice game although suffers a wee bit from a lack of scenarios.

We will persevere a bit longer.

Claymore 2018 - The Aftermath

Well, that's another Claymore out of the way. At least I made it this year as last year I was housebound recovering from a TIA. I subsequently went on to develop a bladder infection/obstruction and ultimately emergency surgery when a cancer ridden kidney was removed.

More of that later.

Many thanks for all the wellwishers.

So Claymore 2018 was the first time I had seen many of my friends and acquaintances and I spent a long long time updating them all sequentially or in small groups. Seeing the show turned into a secondary pursuit but I did manage to catch a few games and sample the atmosphere of my home show. I can't believe I used to be one of the major Claymore organisers, it was such a long time ago.

This is the atrium quite early on which was more crowded than this picture shows for most of the day. Apart from the sports hall and the bring & buy there are a few more traders tucked away near the entrance.

The sports hall was pretty busy too, ringed with more traders and gamers in the centre.

The bring & buy was absolutely heaving and I'm led to believe did a storming trade. I couldn't get near the sharp edge which was just as well as I had pre-ordered all my necessary goodies beforehand.

This is Barry Hilton and his crews offering. Would you believe that I never got a chance to ask him what it was. (note to self, must try harder next time).

More about Barrys stuff here:

https://leagueofaugsburg.blogspot.com/2018/08/white-out-at-aspern-essling-reflections.html#!/2018/08/white-out-at-aspern-essling-reflections.html

This the Leuchars Veterans Carrying On Up The Khyber.

Durham Wargames Group going large (42mm) in the snow.

Some of my former clubmates now formed as the Gothenburgh Gamers dabbled in a great big canal assisted (I believe) by a Suez veteran, well done that man.

More details from a chums blog.

http://blenheimtoberlin.blogspot.com/2018/08/claymore-2018-edinburgh-4th-august.html

King in the North, Dale Smith and his retinue went touring through a 1945 Berlin Square. I never got a chance to check back later to see how the advancing Russian hordes got on and did any of the beleaguered Germans survive.

Every WW2 game with Germans in it just have to have a Tiger and so they did.

Meanwhile, back at home.

Here's some 7YW Crusader Prussians I am doing for a chum.

The battalion includes a Grenadier company who will be siphoned off to join other companies in a Converged Grenadier unit.

Those in the know will be able to say this is a 1st Battalion.

Now, all they need is some tufts and static grass.

Finally, a health update.

Had a phone call this morning from Oncology. They have cancelled my appointment due on Tuesday of next week.

They have reviewed my last CT scan and the suspected cancer spot on my right lung has gone, the suspected cancer spot on my left lung has gone, the shadow on my hip looks benign.

I have been transferred back to Urology expecting an appointment and some more precautionary CT scans. I would take all that as an improvement.

Whoopee!

What a Template

I feel I am a wee bit behind the times in that I have missed the opening flurry of games and comments about 'What A Tanker' from the Too Fat Lardies. That's what having a 4 day family wedding as well as health issues does to you.

In an effort to catch up I asked my good friend Martin at Warbases if he could make me a tank template to use in the game and a couple duly arrived in this mornings post.

The dice, which are a standard 12mm are my own but the red and green acrylic markers come with the template as well as a couple of name plates which if you used both sides gives you four varieties of tank types which should be enough to keep budding panzer aces going for a wee while.

The dials are of the 'twist' variety and should cover all the values required by the rules.

I understand that these were on sale at Carronade earlier this month so some of you may well be ahead of me on this one. I'm not sure what price they come at.

Now all I need to do is to cobble up some armour and scrabble up some mates for a game.

Ehm, maybe reading the rules will help!

Oh, and make some space on my table...

Hopefully someone will be offering a participation option of this game at Claymore. I hope to be there.

New Order

Having finished a commission for a friend I thought I would be a bit selfish and paint some figures for my self.

I already have several units of Teutonic Order knights.

All very clean and clinical in their white uniforms.

The infantry are fairly similar.

Even their missile troops are in white.

They need some colour and some allies.

Serbian cavalry, above and below.

Some Hungarian knights want to play too.

I just need to flock their bases, hopefully a bit more tidily than the Order.

Some Turcopoles came along too.

Here they are all together.

Now for some opponents.

BEF 1940

A friend asked me to do some bits and pieces for a BEF game in France 1940.

Here's how they turned out.

Two pounder anti-tank guns by ZVEZDA, nominally 1/100.

Nice enough little kit but the seated gunner was a real pain to place in his seat after everything was painted.

A trio of universal carriers (Mark 1 they tell me) which come three to a box by Plastic Soldier Company, 1/72 in scale.

A bit fiddly to build. I would do them a bit differently now that I've done three.

Sourced from the Ukraine these are British Mark VI light tanks. Again they are 1/72.

Worst model kit I have ever built and that's been for well over 50 years. The body panels mostly fit together but the bogies are an absolute nightmare. I hope never to build one of these again. There was no clear manufacturers name on their box but their web address implied Ace Models.

Beast from the East

Where I live we never get snow.

Well, not quite never but I did buy a snow shovel that last time it snowed here in 2010 and I never used it until today.

First thing after breakfast I shovelled a path to the wargames hut. Essential work.

By lunchtime I had also cleared the front garden path to make it easier to reach my car.

I cleared the car too but then it started snowing again.

After lunch I cleared the path to the wargames hut again, then the front garden path and then the car again.

Clearing the car again was deemed to be essential as I was due to meet my Consultant Urologist for a wee chat that afternoon but being weather wise we decided not to travel taking advice from TV, Radio and On-Line sources as well as family and neighbours who had been out on the roads already.

As it happened the Consultant phoned me at home and we discussed where we are.

It seems I am clear of cancer. I am still due to have some scans and some blood tests, just to be sure otherwise I am free to get on with the rest of my life. So, once this snow gets out the way I can get on with my hobby work in the wargames hut.

Meanwhile it is still snowing. I checked the car again.

Yup, I'll have to clear the car again but that can wait until tomorrow.

Apologies to my continental readers who are accustomed to dealing with metres of snow and not the piddly inch and a bit we have here. Like I said it never snows here.

February Stock Take

Remember those pesky Indians, no, not them riding round the wagons, these ones.

That's them all rebased and just needing some finishing touches.

They are now on 40x20mm MDF bases by Warbases. Three bases makes a unit for To The Strongest as I plan to use a 150mm grid. Must get the rest of the army based and then some opponents.

I have some universal carriers as a commission for a chum.

Just some detailing left to do, highlights and decals.

I've made up some bases from plasticard, plaster, gravel and sand. Paint will follow.

They were an incredibly fiddly build, far too many small parts so probably not designed for the wargames table.

I've started another commission for a friend.

There are quite a few of them.

Can you tell what they are yet?

They seem to take paint rather well.


How am I? That's a good question.


What do I have?

Only two doses of painkillers a day now and none of that opiate stuff.

A functioning bladder and bowel.

Residual pain around the surgery sites and a very tender left testicle.

A full nights sleep most nights without any fever issues.

Short (dabbling) sessions in the wargames hut but not very productive ones.


What do I not have?

Stamina. A 10 minute walk to get the morning paper leaves me exhausted till teatime.

Stamina. A half hour walk with my 18 month old grandson leaves me exhausted till later on the following day.

Appetite. I struggle to eat a full meal. I have gained 2 pounds in the last week so I'm only 1 stone 12 pounds underweight now. Eating a KitKat is a challenge. My legs are like sticks and I can see my ribs.

Permission to drive. Another couple of weeks yet. Even then I may not be strong enough to do an emergency stop.


What's ahead?

Another good question.

All the planning and scheduling I had in mind has gone. Everything I hoped that would take weeks will now take months.

Keep watching this space but no need to hurry back.