Everything

Realising the remit in my blog intro/description, here's some stuff in general:

5-a-side - we've had a lot of trouble of late; regulars have been dropping out, numbers dwindled...it took an impassioned plea to get everything back on track and all seems to be well again. I'm hoping we're good for another block booking as we've been playing for about 8yrs in different guises.

Rugby - RWC 2015 looms large. Wales are in the same group as England, Australia and Fiji, a stinking arrangement caused by the WRU's greed in insisting on the annual 4th and unsanctioned Autumn International game allied to some poor results, albeit against top teams, in the period prior to the RWC 2015 draw, despite a 4th place world cup finish and 2012 championship win if i remember correctly (lots of commas there - not too many I hope). Anyway, the first warm up game at home versus Ireland went badly for the pack, but we had a developmental team out against them (they did too but were far more canny in the pack selection). We play them again next weekend in Dublin and this time we need to look tidy with a decent team expected to be running out.

Beer - to be fair, as a near 2-month vegan, real ale is off-limits to a degree. I need to check which i can drink as they are often made with finings made from fish. Other drink like wine (sparkling or otherwise) is often clarified with animal products. It's a steep learning curve but scotch is a-ok!

Cooking - I'm loving this vegan lark. Been making ratatouille, falafel, Thai broths, aubergine curries, mexican jazz, all sorts. I miss cheese though. And proper gravy 😐.

Minis - i have been somewhat active of late in the trade business. By which I mean i have traded x3 pieces. But i also got a freebie from a comrade in the north of Wales. In total, for the loss of x1 chaos warrior, x1 Marauder greatsword type fellow and an orc with a spear and a goblin skin hat, I have received the classic Space Wolf captain with the wolf helmet, a skeleton champion with 2 swords and a spike helmet, an Yyrkoon model (Eternal Champion), as well as that freebie I just mentioned: Moonglum, another Eternal Champion piece. I'm one piece up! Can't fault it. Still looking for Elric, Dorian, Erekose and some other bits, as well as moon face Tzeentch feller and Nurgle fly head dude. Feel free to contact me for trade 👍.

Religion/atheism - weirdly, a Polish couple and their kid knocked the door earlier asking if there were any other Polish families locally. They were JW's looking to spread the insidious word. It struck me that the kid had no chance of a normal life and would no doubt have to carry the mental baggage of his parents' belief system all his days, whether happily within the narrow confines of that organisation or else perhaps awkwardly if he is ever able to break out from the belief system his parents have forced upon him. Other than the fact the doorstep evangelisers thought us unworthy of the good news they had for their Polish compatriots, that got me a bit riled this morning. Religion is a choice, so don't force it on your kids. I can only hope the poor feller has a chance to break away later in life, but judging by the rallies we have in Cardiff every year, it's unlikely: there are teenagers and young adults by the thousands lapping this stuff up. As a willing victim of Christianity in my young adult life (I successfully pulled away when I employed logic and free thought, but it was one hell of a wrench - more of that another time) I know the pitfalls and the difficulty of stepping away from a very loving, caring group. It's not easy, and that's an understatement. Good luck to them all.

Piffle - see above.

Nos da...

Combat Card Joy

Picked up another bit of eBay joy this week in the shape of 8 sets of Combat Cards. I was already flush with Goblinoids, Spacewar and Chaos, but to pick up the rest (including some duplicates of what I already have) plus the newer Space Marines and  double set of Epic Battles (not my bag but gift horses, etc) for £6 is a massive win. There are up to 2-3 cards missing in some cases but I'm no perfectionist. I treat these cards as eye-candy, and for me they are the best way of appreciating the painting of the golden era. My set is the bottom row in this shot. Quite a bargain for the rest:

My Top Ten Miniatures Ever

The above image has been floating around lately, as people have been listing their top ten miniatures of all time. My top ten is below. I found it hard separating out the figures from favourite paintjobs and got tangled up in all sorts of shapes. In the end I ignored the dispute in my brain and just chose stuff I like. I've thought about this over several days, farming images and all that. I could have chosen a top 50, so ten was rock. Here they are:

Sir Monne de la Monte. Great name. Paladin niceness.  Got him.

Moon Face. What?! A classic. Want him.

Wizards with chainsaws - unstoppable. Want him.

Always tickled me this one. The best of the Thruds. A bitch to paint though apparently. Want him. 

Bit of a cheat here: all the Heroquest figures. Seminal. Great memories. Got them.

A bonafide legend. Had him. Sold him. Stoopid.

Another bonafide legend: Slambo.  Got him.

Reprazenting all Ork Nobz. Got this one. Would like several more please.

Goblin wolf riders for the win. Want them, never free and easy enough to pay for them.

Humour, silliness, Snotlings. Want them.

Here's a list showing what went through my head. Throw in a liberal browse through the Combat Cards, 'Eavy Metal and saved favourites in coolminiornot, it's been exhausting:

Marauder Dark Elf
Sir Monne
Ogre Hryythog
Ork Nob
Dwarf smoking pipe
Marauder Warrior Colombari
Snotling Barrel
Kev Adams Gobbo
Snakey Chaos
Double-end Weapon Minotaur Slannesh
Amazonian
Astropath
Slambo
Thrud scratching head
Heroquest - all of
Gandalf - ME version
Banquo
Jesus Fish thing
Chaos with scythe and devil sign hand
Pointy-beard Inquisitor Terminator
Orc Champion, front of Combat Cards
Redemptionists
Dwarf stilts
Dwarf on toilet
See side of AHQ box for figures
Beakie tech marine, RT-era
Nurgle fly head
Original Leman Russ
Talisman Elf, both variations
Ork Goff Rockers

I think it's time for a rest. Doing this on a mobile phone has ruined me. 

eBay Citadel Silliness Pt.2

Performing a u-turn, I decided to carry on with my eBay adventures via the Best Offer route, and I've actually achieved something near a satisfactory settlement for x2 pieces. The key to reaching a heightened state of eBay bliss in this instance was to make both purchases through the same seller, so as to receive a decent postage reduction. It takes comms and haggling, but the seller I was dealing with played his hand perfectly. It was the opposite of the Monty Python beard purchase scene in Life Of Brian. Very smooth. I think the Best Offer set-up is a seller's means of achieving a sensible price without the risk of a decent piece selling for 99p by accident, but without the blind stupidity of a high BIN price. A decent seller will listen to bids and haggle, but if someone feels the need to pay a bit more to secure the win then I suppose everyone is happy. Except for one bellend who had Best Offer set up on his auction but with a reserve as well as a BIN price. What a massive twat.  People like that need a good, physical drubbing, etc. 

There are so many Citadel miniatures up for grabs at any one time on eBay that I know in my very bones it should be a buyer's market, but we're not seeing the benefit. I'm definitely going to have to progress with the approach I used this time, and hopefully the experience will be as positive. The seller is a magicusermodels, which I'm more than happy to share after my positive experience.  The figs:

And have you seen the price of Skaven these days? You couldn't give them away before. Robbing bastards.