Why am I so easily distracted?

First off, Welcome
A warm welcome to Wiatrog who has recently joined up. If you have a blog, please let me know so I can post a link to it. Thanks for joining up.

Distractions
Well I made up my list on what to buy through Amazon. I was surprised at how many miniature related items you can get on Amazon. I made my list and checked it twice. What I ended up with was not too bad.

1) Christopher Shores' book "A History of the Mediterranean Air War 1940 - 1945 Vol 1" I used his earlier book as a source for my two North Africa Campaigns.

2) The Flames of War "Rural Fences and Fields" boxed set.

3) A pack of Corvus Belli Sheep.

4) The Flames of War "Log Emplacements" set.

5) The Flames of War "Large Desert Building" box.

6) The Flames of War "Battlefield in a Box Desert Buildings" set.

7) The Corvus Belli Early Imperial Roman Command II pack.

8) The Corvus Belli Early Imperial Roman Auxilliary III pack.

9) The Corvus Belli Early Imperial Roman Cavalry II pack.

10) The Corvus Belli Early Imperial Roman Auxiliary IV pack.

Well, that had me going through the games cabinet looking at my Desert items. I have enough painted Italians for a Chain of Command platoon of Colonial Troops and for Regulars. I have all of the miniatures that I need for British regulars but nothing is painted. I have more Desert armor than I thought and it is painted but I think it is painted for Europe rather than the desert. Given the current focus on the desert actions at the TooFatLardies, I may be detouring from my plans.

I did manage to pick up enought Early Imperial Roman troops to get that project moving at least. The question will be what will I paint first.

Another Welcome, Decisions and Directions

Welcome
Welcome to DAVE DOCHERTY. Dave is the talent behind the blog "A Town Named Serenity" which has some excellent Old West figures. He also runs a second blog, One Man and His Brushes that showcases his other painting and hobby interests. I am following both. Great stuff.

Decisions and Directions
Well now that 2013 is coming to a close, I started to reflect on what did I manage to do. Well the big item was publishing In the Name of Roma. I was very happy to complete that. It got great reviews which really pleased me. I did get in a few games this year but not as many as I wanted. I finished painting my Dux Britaniarrum figures for both Saxons and Romano-British. I still need some extras for both sides. Especially some Cavalry for the Romano-British. Seems strange that I only have Saxon Cavalry.

I started several project and actually completed some. The ITNOR forced me to finish my Italians and Soviets for the Eastern Front. Both were long languishing projects. I started painting up some Cowboys but only painted a few. I began both a Zulu Wars project and a Early Imperial Roman project but that is just getting off the ground. I got to participate in the Chain of Command playtest. All of which was a pretty good year.

What to do in 2014? Well, I really want to finish up the Zulu War project in the first quarter of the year. I have my eyes on a number of scenarios to write for this and I am rapidly gathering some miniatures together to pull this off. I decided that 10mm was the way to go for this project. Some parts of me wonder if I could go even smaller scale to some degree but 10mm it is.

I want to get the Roman project going by Mid year. I think that will be a fun project to work on. I have just placed an order for some ready built palisade fencing and ditch works from The Baggage Train as I am far to lazy to attempt the ambitious project that Giric's Saga is doing. I was going to attempt to follow in his path until I realized that I am a terrible scratch builder. I would love to do some projects but I just lack the talent.

In reflection, 2013 has been a good year hobby wise. Here's hoping 2014 is even better.

Christmas Greetings

Well the wrapping paper is all thrown away. The excitement has settled down and everyone is sighing with contentment. Another Christmas is all wrapped up. I hope each and everyone of you had an excellent Christmas and a blessed day.

Now my question for you, dear reader, is what do with my gift cards. The family settled on stocking up on Amazon gift cards for me. I definitely want the Christopher Shores book "A History of the Mediteranean Air War 1940-45 vol 1". But do you have any suggestions for me? I am interested in anything I can get through amazon that would go with my existing 15mm scale preference. What should I look at getting? Give me some ideas.

Welcome

Just noticed the follower tool has hit 124. Thank you Barry for signing up for my ramblings. Please let me know if you have a blog so I can link you in.

Another Contest!

Yep more free stuff. There are some interesting offerings here. Take a look at The Figure Fanatic. I have my eyes on the 15mm PSC stuff. It is a great site with some really nice painting featured. Check it out.

Comparisons of Roman Auxilia Command

Well having reached home I have placed my Museum and AB minis up against the Corvus Belli and Rebel Miniatures figures. Museum, Corvus Belli and Rebel can mix rather well in my opinion. While AB are just too big.

In the first picture has in the front row my new Museum miniatures models. The second row is some partially completed Rebel Minis. The third row is the AB giants. the second picture is just a closer picture at a different angle of the one before. Not completely happy with the wolf skins on the two painted figures. Will have to figure out how to do that better after I see what it looks like once dipped.

Christmas Time and Time For a Sale

Its Christmas time. What a better time that now to offer up a sale. Besides, I still need to buy some presents myself. So here is the deal:

You can buy any of my books (In the Name of Roma, The Coming Thunder or The Falcon and the Gladiator) for just $8. If that is not enough, you can get all three of the above plus the original North African Air Campaign for $25.

To get the deal, do not use the BUY NOW buttons from the blog. Instead Paypal me the money directly and include Christmas'13 in the message some where. That will solve problems later. If you had already purchased one of the books from me this month, don't fret, you can still do the $25 deal. Just subtract what you have already bought this month from the total and send me the rest.

Still not sure if you think the books are worth the money, don't take my word for it. Look at the reviews.:

From Grant Dyck: http://soldatetain.wordpress.com/2013/12/14/in-the-name-of-roma-italians-on-the-russian-front/
From Robert Avery: http://vislardica.com/vl_new_and_updated10.htm You may have to scroll down the page to find the review.
From the Itinerrant Hobbyist: http://itineranthobbyist.blogspot.com/2013/10/fan-made-scenario-book-in-name-of-roma.html
From Benito: http://mylardiesgames.blogspot.com/2013/09/italians-in-russia-forgotten-army.html
From Gary Amos: http://wargamesleadslifenstuff.blogspot.com/2013/10/chris-stoesen-scenario-books.html
And Ray Rousell: http://onelover-ray.blogspot.com/2013/09/in-name-of-roma-wwii-scenarios-for.html
Also I received a very nice review in a recent Miniature Wargames & Battlegames magazine (issue 368) from Neil Shuck on page 68.

From the For Sale page on my blog, you can also get more information including sample scenarios.

More Roman Reinforcements Arrive

I placed an order with Eureka at the beginning of December and it arrived. I took advantage of the free shipping coupon that they were offering to get a sample of the AB and Museum miniatures offerings that they have. The miniatures look great. The AB are fantastic. My only gripe is that the AB Optio comes with the shield already attached. To get him to fit in with my Auxiliaries, I will need to file the thing into an oval. Not really what I want to do. Might just save him for a supporting role for some future legionries that may come along later. The AB are a good head taller than their Museum miniatures compatriots. They too come with the shield attached. The Museum boys look a tad under fed compared to the AB fellows as well.

In the picture above, the miniatures are from left to right: Museum miniatures Auxilia Infantry, signifer, cornicen, Auxilia centurian, Auxilia infantry 2, AB Optio, AB Centurian, AB Pilus Primus. I also wish I had received the second variant of the AB Centurion, the one without pony tails. Still, they are nice miniatures all around. I have to wait till I get home to see how they match with the Corvus Belli and Rebel Miniatures that I already have. Then I will decide what I will use to fill out the ranks of the 3 centuria that I want to model.

Welcome

Just noticed that the followers counter just ticked up again. Welcome to dehewes. Please let me know if you have a blog and I will post a link to it here.

Twas Just a Bit Before Christmas....

...and I was running late from work.
I arrived at home picked up the post with a jerk.
And what to my wondering eyes did appear,
but a small package from England with "Toys" written there.
I hurried inside and opened it with a snick
and my Santa Clause prize tumbled out quick.

There in my hands lay a gem of a prize
a destroyed little tank with its crew - OH MY!

A Hand painted treat that shone on the couch
gave cheer of the Season. For Christmas did start!

OK. Very sorry for the crummy rhyme attempt. I received my Santa Clause gift today. Amazing service from the Post office on both sides of the pond. Send on the 2nd and arrived on the 9th. That was great. The miniature is a T-55. This will be a welcome addition to my Syrian troops for my Lebanon '82 forces.

The miniature is great. I think it is a Peter Pig casting. The package arrived unsigned. I think I know whose work it is but I don't want to assume.

Thank you Secret Santa for a GREAT Present!

Buying more Toys - The Roman Legions Grow

Eureka Minatures has offered a special for free shipping from Austrailia for the month of December if you are a subscriber to their newsletter. This seemed like a great time to try out some figures.

Image taken from here: http://www.viajesconmitia.com/category/nuestra-tia-recomienda/musica-ratonera/

I had been eyeing some of the AB Romans for a while. I love their Napoleonics. The Romans looked as good in the pictures so I ordered a couple of sample figures, namely their Pilus Primus, Centurion and Optio figures. For some reason the line does not have any Auxiliary figures. But these looked like dandy big men. We will see how well they mix with Rebel and Corvus Belli Romans.

While cruising through their catalog, I saw that they sold Museum Miniatures from their website as well. I could not find any images of these figures anywhere. What interested me was that they had a variety of Auxiliary miniatures that included Auxiliary Musician, Standard, Centurian, Infantry. On the Eureka site, they sell these as individual figures. From Museum, they are sold as packs of 8. There are two different codes for Auxiliary Infantry so I am assuming that there are only two poses of these fellows. I will soon find out.

So I will have a force of Romans that is very command heavy at the moment. I have lots of command figures and now 2 infantrymen on order. My next order will be for a pack of the Rebel Auxiliary Infantry. Those look like they only have 2 poses as well. I will probably get a few packs of Corvus Belli as well. Ultimately I will need to get some packs of shields from Corvus Belli to make sure that shields matches between the units. Also I will only have to buy one type of shield transfer. According to the Red Rampant site, I probably want a shield that features an eagle with lightning bolts as the unit I want to model had Roman Citizens: Cohors II Raetorum civium Romanorum equitata.

I will start with the infantry and add some cavalry later.

Well that is odd or Blogger did something goofy this morning.

In going through my blog roll this morning I found a number of posts from a blog that I do not follow: arwil danwil at Mobil Sedan Corolla. I have nothing against the Toyota Corolla but I definitely am not following them. I looked through my blog roll and can't find them in the list. Is Blogger just lost its mind temporarily or is this something I should be concerned about? Any ideas?