Flash Bang Zap the Dayglo Mage

I'm afraid that pretty much describes all my working days 🫢

These continue to be absolutely lovely 😀!

Thanks - will do. And yes I absolutely agree with you that buildings of any sort look better when based.

I'm here with a ruler at the moment calculating how much I'll need.

Thanks - that sounds like a really good tip. Like you I essentially have a double castle due to a very generous 60th birthday present two years ago (😐)! I've been feeling guilty since! So I have a lot of cutting to do. Did you order the foamex online? Any recommendations for suppliers?

Here are some better photos from a few years ago. We discovered we'd brought the wrong sized mat to the club - hence the wall closing off a third in the larger photo 😂

Superb! I have a 3D printed castle to paint at the end of the month and your photos have convinced me that I definitely need to base the walls/towers.

Thank you. They are a mixture of lovely resin models from @oshiromodels.bsky.social and equally nice 3D printed ones by 3DAlienWorlds.

Too busy with the action to take more photos, but we had an enjoyable game of Test of Honour at the Wycombe Warband club last night. A bit of a teaching game for Jon who has only played once or twice before. Clever use of Jon's missile troops resulted in a bloody draw at the end of turn 5.

Pleased to know you're back on this quest 😀

Normans. Inspired by my holiday in Sicily earlier in the year. I'm a bit of a fan of Crusader Miniatures in general, but their Norman range is outstandingly good!

Great looking game!

Blimus! Well done!

Thanks. It's OK but I think I can do better. Now got six (actually twelve) colours to choose from!

Austrian divisional general for Soldiers of Napoleon. Not my best paint job unfortunately. I'm trying out a new flesh triad from Army Painter after using Foundry for many years and I don't think I've got it quite right yet.

Early! I blame global warming.

Belatedly - congratulations! Although we've never met I think I've known your name for over twenty years. What's great is that you seem to post because you simply enjoy communicating with people who share the hobby, rather than for any gain or recognition. Which makes this all the more deserved!

Fantastic looking table and sounds like an exciting game. It certainly looks wet enough for Wales!

My Japanese colleagues (who had not used the Shinkansen) were disappointed that I was using it to travel to see friends as I 'wouldn't be able to see the Japanese countryside.' I think they thought I'd be travelling at warp speed!

I was horrified after my return the first time I had to sit on an unheated toilet seat. So yes, I think you may miss the Japanese railway system!

That's a really positive outcome!

Thank you that's a good review. And I think I agree with your summary. I'm enjoying the book less this time around, but I'll finish it before I come to a conclusion. Interesting to hear about your experience with the politically questionable soldier shop/club!

Beautifully painted - looks terrific!

I imagine there must be a new crop of colourful characters in every wargaming generation!

Absolutely. I'm just two years younger than the author, so it's a perfect fit for me. But my original point still stands - my wargaming has changed a lot in the intervening 18 years and I think the hobby has too.

That was, to be fair, a second hand anecdote from his friend Arthur, who seems to have held a grudge against everyone in the wargaming community.

Of course a lot of the text is the author's friends' historical reminiscences, but even they seemed closer 18 years ago. I'm struggling to identify all the characters - who is the naked fat man chasing his wife around the sofa with a feather duster?

I'm reading this for the first time since 2007. Pearson's account seemed quite recognisable to me then, but I'm now struck by how dated it seems. Whether this is to do with the way my own hobby has changed or whether it's bigger changes in wargaming, it now seems to be describing a lost era.

Gosh I played those scenarios so many times back in the day! Great fun! Would be great to revisit.

Thanks for being realistic. I'm certainly interested for a future project, but will make other plans for HoL.