It's been 4 months! What happened?

It's been 4 months since my last post. ooooops!

Well, got back from Crisis. Then of course there was the Autumn Internationals (ie rugby for those who don't do it) and then that there thing called Christmas. Post Christmas came dry January and we now have the 6 Nations. These are my feeble excuses for not posting much as I have been watching rugby, eating far too much food and generally having far too little time to set ink to paper.

I have been painting stuff but, unfortunately no games have been played, as the Monday night gamers have had a small break, what with my shed being apparently too cold! That is set to change as Spring has sprung.

I've had a small excursion off the 20mm track and briefly flirted with 28mm toys. But, I have seen the light and am back painting my 20mm stuff. I've also decided to stick with one set of WWII rules and try to generally rationalise and have a bit of a clear out. Will be hoping to get to Salute in April but, between now and then, more gaming and hopefully more regular posting on this here blog.

Some plastic soldier company churchills. Nice kit. Goes together very easily.
Just need to find some Russian commanders from my "bits" box.

I have also been experimenting with some suppression markers for Panzer Grenadier Deluxe. The jury is still out on them. I have not decided whether I like them or not. If anybody actually reads this post, I would be grateful for some constructive criticism.

In addition, I have been reading lots of other blogs; there are a lot of good ideas out there, some of which I have plundered - the suppression markers being one. Incidental terrain on the table, is another. This is basically terrain which looks nice and is pretty but has no direct affect on the game as such (ie patches of flowers, the odd bush, etc. etc.). As such, I have been painting sunflowers. Not finished yet, but will post up when they are complete. Not difficult, but fiddly. I have also rebased my WWII Germans and Russians. I can safely say that is the last time I will do that - not quite finished yet.

Well that's all for this post. I hope it is not four months until the next one.

Crisis 2014

This year, for some obscure reason, I got it into my head that Crisis in Antwerp, Belgium, seemed like a good idea. How right was I? The boss, seemed amenable to this as well and, one of my gaming mates, Adrian and his boss, were up for it too. So, off we jolly well went.

Mustering the troops for the off. A relatively painless train ride from southwest London all the way to Southend airport, a bit of faffing about at the airport, as expected, and then a quick hop over the Channel and in less than an hour, we were in Antwerp. A brief taxi ride to the hotel, dump the bags off and then out on the town. Word of warning here for any future travellers .. Belgium beer is quite pokey and, as the boss discovered, they are quite casual about measures of shorts.
It's starting to get a bit messy at this point.






The weather was absolutely fabulous, considering the time of year. Getting to Hangar 29 was a gentle stroll through town with a quick stop for coffee and croissants. There was one small hazard on the way, absolutely loads of cyclists. It was a bit disconcerting, in that everytime you turned round there was a cyclist! We discovered the best way to deal with them was to continue as if they weren't there and let them dodge you. It was the safest option!

Glorious sunshine, just outside the main venue.






Inside were two large halls, well lit. While it was obviously very busy, there was plenty of room to move and everybody was very polite and shift out the way if you wanted to get closer to the tables or take photographs. I will stick up a few general pictures of the hall and what was gong on to provide an impression of relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

The Brits were there in quite large numbers, with the Lardies' table looking excellent as usual, with loads of people around it. They were kept busy, running multiple games.

One of the things that I noticed on the home grown Belgium tables was beer which helped with the relaxed atmosphere. I have never seen this at a UK show; very civilised. Where I am not a great fan of 40k, I thought I would put this in to demonstrate.

World War II game - what's not to like. Nice table and well painted toys; I thought the Britannia Miniatures looked very good.

A snow table with lizards. Those lads are having fun.

In stark contrast, a desert scene with a lit up hareem which the boss was way too interested in

Another table, full of plastic soldiers I remember having myself, when I was about 11. A long time ago now.

The food met with approval. The catering was chaotic but good; a weird system of tokens was in place instead of taking cash, but it seemed to work. A sandwich, in Belgium, is slightly different from what I am used to and the boss was impressed too! She had walked her little socks off!

Tired but hungry.

Crisis 2014 was a very enjoyable show and Antwerp in general was lovely. The city has a lot to offer and is still looking good, despite various armies tramping through it. I would highly recommend, if you get the chance, to go and take the camp followers with you, because they will enjoy it too.  Loads of shops, places of interest, together with plenty of restaurants and bars, not forgetting the chocolate. We only saw a quarter of it and will be going back again next year to take in more.

A good weekend was had by all and it didn't break the bank.