Roll up roll up. Ladies and Gentlemen!!!!

There are a couple of new links on the site today. If you you're a fan of Steampunk, be it an old hand or a greenhorn then you need to check out the Airship Ambassador. Its like an encyclopaedia of all things Steampunk and is a must read for people seeking any kind of reference material, ideas or just cool stuff.

I shall bid you all adieu for now.

TTFN

Mike (Elblondino)

Firstly I'd like to say a big Merry Christmas to everyone out there. Hope Santa brought you some funky stuff.
Had a busy last couple of weeks so never got round to showing you all my new additions. First up is the old school Ogre I won from the Wargaming Trader 
The photo doesn't do it proper justice, the paint job is gorgeous.

Also received just before Christmas is this little dude. The Britanan St Nik from Tor Gaming. This was another of my Christmas Twitter winnings. Lady luck certainly shone this month.
A fantastically detailed model with loads of character which I 'can't wait to get stuck into. I will definitely be investing in his fellow puppets as soon as I can!!

As I have the rest of December off work for a change I will make a concerted effort to get some work done on this and my Dystopian Wars miniatures. Once I've done some more work on my comics that is.
Enjoy your Christmas folks.

TTFN

Mike (Elblondino)

Hi Folks. 
A bit random I know but I found this little Steampunk game online while searching for some Dystopian Wars ideas. You shoot down airships!!!! what more could you want. :-)

TTFN

Mike (Elblondino)

Hi Folks.

Well here they are my first Dystopian Wars models have arrived!! They actually came the other day but I've only just got round to looking at them. As these are my first Spartan Games models I wasn't totally sure what to expect. I've seen pictures before but not the actual models, and I have to say I am heartily impressed!! The level of detail is fantastic, the airships in particular I could sit and stare at for ages. 

The models are made of resin, which is to a very high finish. With only a very small amount of trimming needed that I can see, and no air bubbles. 
One other point that struck me is the flying bases. Now in the past flying bases have been a bane of mine, as they seem to break at the slightest little thing or just look tacky. These however are a totally different kettle of fish. The base and rod are both clear acrylic and are pretty robust. They are thick enough to be fit for purpose but not so thick as to look odd. The diagonal lines etched into the base are a nice touch as well and will save the use of another template.

So to sum up, Spartan Games have excelled themselves with the Quality, Style, and Detail of these models and I cant wait to get stuck into the nitty gritty of painting them.   


I'll blog the full process as I paint these beauties up ready for combat.

TTFN

Mike (Elblondino)

As promised. I am starting a series of blogs based upon my new forays into wargaming. As stated I have been GW man for years, but have now decided to cast my gaze upon other manufacturers. The first of these is Dystopian Wars!!!
I've been eyeing this game up for some time now. The concept of teeny tiny troops in one shape or another is highly appealing to me. Particularly naval battles as I was always making huge fleets in Command & Conquer. So combine all this with a healthy dollop of steampunk and you've got me hooked. 
As I mentioned the other day I've bought my first models and they are winging their way to me now. I decided to go for Prussians in the end as I feel the Prussian Navy looks the most realistic and business like. 
Below are a couple of my first units. Which I have chosen merely because I think they look cool. If you click on the pics It will take you to the relevant page on the Spartan Games website.

I simply had to have some airships and there will be more appearing in my army. 
Now the next step besides the boring waiting part is to sort out a colour scheme and how I'm going to make wave effect bases.
Watch this space for the continuing saga!!!!!

TTFN

Mike (Elblondino)

Its a late one tonight but I have commenced part 1 of my new gaming plan!!! Dystopian Wars... I've just ordered my first lot of Dystopian wars miniatures, and I'm starting with the Prussian fleet. Basically I picked a few models that I thought were cool no other reasons. Can't wait for them to get here now so I can crack on with painting them. Watch this space guys.

TTFN

Elblondino (Mike)

Evening All

This blog has been brewing up for a while now, so thought id best let it out. Ive been into 28mm miniatures since, well for ever, and when i say 28mm I mean Games Workshop. It was introduced to me by a friend when I was a kid and it stuck. 
Now until relatively recently, say the last year or two. I wasnt really aware of the plethora of different miniature manufactures and games that are out there. This has all changed now!!!
Without sounding like an old fart, I remember when it was 45p a pot of citadel paint and £1.85 for a blister. not the 3 trillion quid they charge nowadays for a pot of fart. It costs less to buy a pot of Vallejo paint which contains more and is exactly the same level of quality, need I say more. 
As you can tell money is a big part of my modelling decisions at the moment and this was one of my key reasons for exploring other avenues. However Once I started looking into the various other manufacturers out there I realised that not only are a lot of them far cheaper than GW a big proportion are pretty damn fantastic too. One of my prime examples being Tor Gaming and their Relics figures, which I blogged about the other day. The detail and composition of the figures is just as high quality as any GW designed piece.
Basically my mindset regarding miniatures has changed dramatically. Now don't get me wrong I still think GW make some fantastic models and their games are great fun to play. Personally though I feel they have lost touch with their roots and that's not what it's about to me. 
So in a nutshell over the next few weeks I will be writing a series of blogs, telling you all about the models and games I want to start collecting. Hopefully if i get some Christmas money I'll actually be able to buy some too.

TTFN folks

Mike (Elblondino)

Ho Ho Ho Ladies and Gentlemen.

The fine folks over at Tor Gaming are running a little Christmas competition at the moment.  The successful entrant will win a fantastic St Nikolaus model!! Which is to say a little puppet Santa Claus, which would make the brothers Grimm smile if they saw it.
To enter you need to complete the below statement!
Dear Santa, for Christmas I would like a ….

If you fancy a go check out the blog on their website for all the relevant details. However as I really like the little St Nikolaus here is my entry.

Dear Santa
For Christmas I would like a big pot of Maaj!! So I can build a little legion of puppet helpers. I'd capture the life essence of some of mankinds greatest people into them. Rod Hull, Bob Caralgees, Roger De Coursey etc. A little ironic perhaps but they know the life of a puppet inside out so to speak, and would be very good at it.Failing that can I have a St Nikolaus model from Tor Gaming please cos it's dead cool.

Thanks Santa
All the Best
Michael 29 going on 6 :-)

Well there you go fingers crossed I'm on Santa's good list.

TTFN
Elblondino