Gamer Q&A

I still don't have much in the way of internet access at the moment, so beautifully illustrated battle reports will have to wait until at least the weekend. Instead I will have a go at these questions, from Phil at http://philbancients.blogspot.com/

Have you ever...

* Sliced the end of your finger while prepping figures?

Not the whole end, but I did once press down on the top of a blade (silly thing to do anyway) only to discover I was holding it upside-down ...

* Shaking a bottle of paint you used earlier but did not put the lid back on properly?

More often than I'd like to admit. 

In the days of Humbrol tins with poorly fitting lids, I used to wear an old sweatshirt when painting, and pull my hand inside the sleeve when shaking the pot. That way, only the inside of the sleeve got coated.

* Knocked over a pot of paint while painting?

Yes.

* Dropped a part while gluing it to never find it again?

Yes. Mind you, when cleaning up the rental property we moved out of on Monday I found some of the bits I thought I'd lost.

* Dropped a figure / model while painting it - and breaking it?

Yes.

* Dropped a figure when painting and lost it?

Yes. I've also had a cat eat some 6mm figures on the painting table whilst my back was turned.

* Spilled paint on the floor and blamed the kids / dog / ghost / Santa?

No. And my wife is too canny to fall for that anyway.

* Claimed a 'cocky dice' when it shows a '1' and happens to be touching a model or piece of scenery?

Not that I recall, although I'm sure my opponents will tell me otherwise.

* Claimed your opponents dice to be cocky when it shows a '6' - as it touched a crease of the cloth, rolled onto a piece of paper etc?

Again, not as I recall.

* Bought a dice tower - then gave up using it?

Never bought one. Or made one. They have a certain novelty value, but I'd get bored with them quite quickly, I'm sure.

I do use a dice-cup sometimes when playing HOTT.

* Made your own dice tower?

No.

* Gone to move some figures and found some Macedonian Pike / British Napoleonics etc. stuck in the sleeve of your jumper?

Yes. Blocks of 6mm figures are good at this.

I used to have a friend with the most amazing adhesive elbows - just about anything game-related would stick to them ...

* Put some polystyrene cement on insulation foam - just to see what it does?

Certainly. At quite a young age. I have subsequently use my knowledge of the experience to make terrain pieces.

* Glued your fingers together with Superglue?

Yes, but not to the extent of having to have them slice apart or use solvent.

I have a dictum that superglue will fix any two surfaces together, aside from the ones you're actually trying to fix.

* Left a paint lid open overnight?

Probably.

* Filed or cut a bit of 'flash' off a figure only to find that it was supposed to be there?

Yes.

* Painted Gauls or other 'colourful' troops in football / sporting colours?

No. My lack of interest in sport would account for that. It was, however, pointed out to me that the Sororitas Puella Armatura Mobilis were painted in the colours of Flickr.

* Used noxious chemicals to strip paint off figures - without adhering to ANY of the safety guidelines?

Yes. Not to strip paint, but I'm pretty bad for using chemicals without following safety procedures.

* Dreamed of converting your lounge / dining room / garage / bedroom into a games room?

Yes. In a way I've done it as well; in the last couple of houses we've lived in the spaces we've put aside for our office have doubled up very nicely as a games room too.

* Converted your lounge / dining room / garage / bedroom into a games room?

See above.

* Bought paint at a show - and found you already had a full pot of the same paint when you got home?

I don't think I've ever bought paint at a show. I have, however, bought paint elsewhere which I then discover I still have pots of at home.

* Bought a tool especially for modeling - and never used it?

No. Although my collection of tools is fairly limited. The core of it is the dissection kit I used for my Biology degree 25 years ago. I still use the tweezers and scissors from it, and I think the scalpel's around somewhere too, although I have a much nicer modelling knife now.

Meanwhile ...

We have now moved house, but are still at the piles of boxes and furniture stage. I have got an area for painting figures set aside, but haven't unpacked any figures. Or paints.

Work is still continuing on my ACW adaptation of the Portable Wargame. I think I almost have a finalised version of the rules, so once they're properly written up, and I have an internet connection, I will make them available. In terms of a name I am hovering between 'Bluebellies and Greybacks' or 'Mighty Mean-Fowt Fights'. Die-hard gamers will be thrilled to know that, the night before we moved house, I found time to design, set up, and play a scenario covering the 1863 Battle of Salem Church. I left it out when I went to bed, and, with impeccable timing, was just tidying the figures away as the removal men arrived the next morning. The various trips I have made whilst moving boxes, books, games and chickens between the two houses have given me plenty of thinking time for rules and scenarios as well.

Oh, and I used the rules to refight Prairie Grove on the actual 150th anniversary.

Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.

Update - a picture of the first game fought at my new place - part of the 1864 action at Pickett's Mill in Georgia: