It's been a bad year so far. A very very bad year.
The worlds gone nuts and everybody's lives have been turned upside down.
For me this means continuous over time at work to cover people they let go during the previous year. My mental health is not in a good place and has not been so for a while now.
It's an understatement that something was needed hobby wise to try to take my mind off the situation and give a further reason to stay at home when not doing family chores or working.
The evening news is all doom and gloom and everywhere else has taken up that same feeling.
Many years ago as a teenager we used to play Dungeons and Dragons. I loved that game and the escapism it offered. Many times I existed for a while in numerous other worlds and during this time my characters were not human. My daily troubles melted away and were almost forgotten to the world of Fantasy.
Miniatures, or rather the collecting of miniatures formed a big part of this hobby. They were not necessary to play the game but they sure helped with the imagination. Some of us built up fairly large collections of these pieces of lead. A few years later Warhammer appeared and these miniatures got stuck to flat pieces of cardboard and became our first troops. I suppose looking back the rest of it is now history and miniature war games and other sci fi and fantasy games flourished.
Last year I got stuck in one of those ruts where I did not know what to do with myself. An idea popped into my head of perhaps starting a collection of miniatures like I had as a teenager. Sure I remembered how fond I was on some of the miniatures I had and how much I enjoyed the games we had with them. But it was the escapism I felt I needed, and still need from a tough and what now feels like a meaningless daily drudge and routine forced on us by the dreaded and deadly Covid Bug.
Several weeks passed and gradually talking to people I realized many had odds and ends either left over from their time in the hobby or their children's time. Most people had left and moved onto pastures new.
Most of these people had very little interest left in either gaming or collecting the miniatures. Some even gave me a handful of pieces. This was the start to obtaining items which might later be useful in the hobby of collecting and gaming at a later date. Over a period of several months many more lots of paints were added to the growing hoard. Much of it donated or purchased for very little. It felt more like something out of the Lord of the Rings. "Come to me my precious" and sure they did come. Paint by the handful, and paint by the boxful. Very quickly I amassed a large selection of secondhand paint. Surprisingly most of it quite recent pots, most hardly used. I guess people find it easier to buy into a hobby then what it is to actually do it.
Miniatures likewise came the same way. Most I must admit to having no interest in at all. But I find it hard to say no if given pieces or purchase a hoard of bits for very little. So I now have in less then three months back into the hobby acquired quite a pile of shame. Most of it badly painted and nearly all of it broken pieces. Eventually I will sort it all out and only keep the few pieces I like the look of. Most will be sold on the finance the hobby and to purchase what I really want.
When it comes to miniatures I tend to only like a few pieces from the many manufacturers out there. Not everything appeals to me.
Before the third lockdown came into force I visited our local toy and model shop. The main models they sold were the usual suspects from Games Workshop. Lots of
40K.Too much for my tastes. Guess I just struggle with their miniatures. There is something I just found to be a turn off.
Age of Sigmar I felt totally indifferent about. It was OK. Some nice miniatures but none of it seemed to hit that little button in my heart and mind and scream out "Take me home".
But the stars on the shelf were the miniatures tied to Middle Earth. I love the Lord of the Rings films and the books by Tolkien were a big part of my child hood. But being a local toy shop the prices were probably over inflated. Here I decided to check out online prices before committing to buy.
I left with the money in my pocket that day.
Online searching opened my eyes very quickly and showed that there was more to collecting and playing with miniatures then just Games Workshop Products. Two game lines quickly emerged as something special.
The first was Malifaux. The miniatures are really great looking pieces. And one day I would like to take a closer look at the game and its miniatures. I fell in love with the Gremlins very quickly, with their zany and
quirky characters.
The miniatures that really tugged on the heart strings however was the Burrows and Badgers range. The miniatures are beautifully sculpted pieces so full of character. If anybody has read any of the Redwall series of books by Brian Jacques and has seen the wonderfully painted covers that the books are in then this is what we are looking at. When I first saw these miniatures my mouth just dropped open in awe. I think this is one of the places I really want to be. Many of the miniatures are also cast in metal with the really large characters in finely cast resin. Being honest I have never been so excited about being able to purchase a mini since I was a kid. I did not take me long to dig a little into my bank account and purchase a few characters to add to the collection.
Painting miniatures is something I have struggled with since coming back into the hobby. As a teenager we used enamel paints. There was nothing else in the early 80's.All of the paints I have now are acrylics. Some of the techniques I use stays the same but it came as a bit of a surprise just how quickly they could dry. There is also some big differences not only across brands but the same range of paints.
Bad light and poor eyesight has also plagued me since coming back into the hobby. Bad light was solved by fitting the room where I paint with a good full spectrum bulb, and further light was added with a full spectrum desk lamp. But I still have to get a pair of new glasses.
Today has been a busy day. The first job was to sort out some sort of work station so I could happily leave what I am doing a go back at a later time without keep putting things away and wasting time by setting up again when I need to paint.
Its not much but it is a big boost in moral.
The two dwarfs were found in a box of odd paints. At the moment they are more cannon fodder for the shaky paint brush. A little something to practice on.
More to come soon.
