Covid round up and a year of quiet painting

 Ok, with so much that happened around Covid...lets just say I got really busy and pretty much forgot to blog... anything.... almost as if 2020 did not exist at all.....

Anyway, I did a heck of a lot of painting.....  most of which wound up posted on FB.... but I never sat down to do any blogging. I am going to attempt to put some articles together.

For the most part... I did not go to any shows at all.... none in 2020 at all....  In fact, 2020 was to be my last show as HMGS Fall-In! convention Director. I figured 10 years was enough. Besides, politics and infighting had started to take a toll on some close friendships.... I did not like the direction the organization was headed. Ans, sitting here right now.... I can see my instincts were correct.

2019 Seems so long ago too.... I never did an AAR for my last Fall IN! at it's new location... The Valley Forge Convention Center... I will publish something on that just so it is on record... that was the beginning of the end for me though.... Not burned out, but I decided that after the 2019 show, 2020 would be my last.... the politics and infighting that had occurred at the show were too much.... butter to step down and save a friendship or two than go down a bad road I could not return from. Enough of that though....

One good thing that happened is that I was nominated and "inducted" into the Legion of Honor for all of my years of service to HMGS and gaming at large. They are a great group of people and it was truly an honor! Now, I used "" to say inducted as I was never officially inducted ceremony wise into the group as Covid shut all of that down. I am a member though.... and very proud of that accomplishment!

Back to the blog point.... I did a bunch of mail ordering and direct buys from some shops and my local brick and mortar store Griffon's Lair.

My painting consisted of a lot of Lord of the Rings miniatures, go figure....  Minat Tirith, Moria Goblins, Dead of Dunharrow, Harradrim, some Mordheim showcasing, SAGA Normans and yes, my spiral back into WH40K.... 

So, lot sof things to write about and play catch up on.... life just got very busy in 2020 for me.... I am a new grandparent... my daughter and son-in-law moved back home, kids sports, Covid Task force... so much more.... but I promise...the next article will be about painting miniatures and gaming... back on track....

Speaking of gaming.. I did manage to get a bunch of games in also.... more on all of this later... old news to some, but new to this blog.... 

Moving on to some Minas Tirith

So, with Hcon 19 behind me and Fall In! 19 ahead.. I'll be busy, but I'll still be painting when I can. With the Wargs of Isengard put away finished, I decided to move on to Minas Tirith. I recently made a nice ForgeWorld order to pick up all of the new Heroes of Gondor to go with the new LOTR SBG supplement.

First up for Minas Tirith will be repainting Beregond and the Citidel Guard I have.. now with the addition of Irolas! I currently have 60 warriors of Minas Tirith in various stages of completion... this includes 6 Osgilliath vetrans, but not any of the heroes, knights, etc....  I also have an additional 24 Warriors.... not sure what I'll be doing with them yet.

 Here is the stuff I pulled out to work on!.... I figured I would start with redoing my Citadel guard.... I am basing them all with ruins bases as they can then be used for Osgilliath or a besieged White City.... win-win....

The picture order is a little off because of how I started taking the pictures.... above are the last of my Citadel Guard.... 5 spearmen. I am not sure how I wound up with 5 of each, especially when they come in blisters of 3 each.... oh well. These are more of the figures I picked up from a friend. Originally he had them on green bases with no flock.... You will see later on the archers how I handled that.

The first thing I did was add some flocking and paint the bases Eshin grey.... it looks great when highlighted with a lighter space wolves grey or just light grey.

 

Also getting the rework will be Cirion and Madril. Cirion will get the ruins base while Madril will get the Ranger of Gondor base which will be grassy and green.... all of the rangers will get a woodland base with static grass and grass tufts.

Here are the remaining 5 Citadel Guard with Iorlas, Cirion and Madril....  bases started. I have high expectations for for this lot considering how nicely the earlier lot of Beregond and the 5 archers turned out!

Above is the finished lot of Beregond and the 5 archers. The things I changed from the above pictures... originally the armor was done in GW shining silver... I toned it down with IWM steel... it muted the shine a bit. I also went over all of the lines and straightened out a lot of the edges. There were some bits of flashing that had to get removed too. I color matched everything else. GW black, dark brown and leather for highlights. For the flesh I used a darker dwarf flesh and then highlighted with an IWM flesh.... only to go back over and ink everything with GW Nuln OIl.... For the bases, it was the Eshin grey with a lighter GW grey... I added Army painter grass tufts... I liked these darker ones... it gave the feel of dead and dying grasses with some color... it makes the models pop better than just the dead grass tufts or plains grass tufts... that little bit of brown on the bottom gives that little bit of earthy feel and a little bit of life.

I really like how they turned out. I have high hopes the others will turn out as nice! There will be another post on the painting of Iorlas and the Citadel Guard spearmen. I'll do a full group pic then also.

HMGS Historicon AAR....

Historicon 2019 was going to be quite different than most of my other adventures... this time around, I brought my family. Mostly they did stuff away from gaming, but my kids got involved when they wanted... otherwise, they were sight seeing and going to Hershey Park. The hotel I was in was a few blocks away.. but it was a very nice walk and I need the exercise.... downtown Lancaster was very nice.  I will get through the pleasantries and move onto the show quickly.... My family came and the wife and kids did have a great time.. yes, even at the show.

 

 The walk was pleasant enough and the hotel clean....

Swag bags! We scored 3... my wife was an attending spouse, but my 2 kids were gamers!

This is the one restaurant I want to mention.... it was awesome, well priced, close to my hotel and delicious! It was our breakfast.. crepes! I highly recommend the place as their portion size was nice!

Now on to the show... not in any particular order mind you... this was the first show in MANY years I got to go as a patron and didn't have to work my ass off! I saw and did so much, I didn't get to take a lot of pics, so... the venue was actually really nice, spread out more than expected, but still really nice. The show was well attended and there was plenty to do... hats off to Joby and crew!



The Triumph folks never fail to impress! They ran another beautiful LOTR game.. The Battle of 5 Armies!



 

Registration was VERY efficient.. I walked up, got my badges etc....  

Awards desk.... always pretty to see.

 

Events desk.... and MAPS!!! It was great to see maps throughout the facility to show you where you were and where things were. With a new venue, it is always a challenge to get around. Joby Made sure folks would not have a problem doing this.

The man, the myth.. the legend! It is always great to see Walt at any shows... we have been friends for a long time now and he is a great guy to know and learn from! Not to mention he got guidebook back on the books!

The dealer hall was set up nicely... I was able to get in and get what I wanted and also browse... of course, I spent pretty much all of my flea market money I made there.... who doesn't? I was a little lighter in the pocketbook this time as I had my family in tow... I wasn't hiding purchase form the wife, but with the family came added expenses... and I wasn't about to let them go penniless and have a bad time!

 

A great time was had at Dave's booth! The Wargamer was running demo games in the dealer hall and they were always well attended.

 

 I had to take pictures of this game.... John Spiess and his crew are awesome painters... John especially. I was floored by this terrain!

 

I made a stop at Badger games as they were the only ones carrying Crusader miniatures at the show that I could find. I had to pick up some Normans in chain and padded armor for my SAGA army.

More pretty tournament games being played... there was so much to see and do at the show that at times I actually felt overwhelmed like a little kid!

 

A couple more shots of John's game... out of order, but I had to go back and take some pics for ideas for my Mordheim scenery!

 

The BoD meeting... the seating of the new BoD members and new business... it was a very informative meeting and I always walk away wondering why more folks don't come to these!

Helm's Deep form the LOTR SBG tournament area... I spent a LOT of time there... I brought my army but didn't get to play! Mostly because I accidentally left it in the van and it went to Hershey Park with the family!

The REAL reason I do this! I followed my son everywhere! He was amazed at what a convention is... he is only 6 and this was his first show. He is our future!

Another LOTR FBG tournament battle taking place!

 

And, of course.. the Friday night Mordheim campaign run by Frank Weaver.... it was great, it was quick and we had a few new players. It wasn't as bloody for me as I made an alliance with one of the new players and we did well.... we both came out ahead....

In the beginning! I have retired my rats and have been running my Reiklanders.... as coincidence had it.. so did my ally.. so it only made sense...

Some of the opposition.... 

 

 My son and I during the game.... at 6, he is already playing easier games (without full rules) like Armada, X-Wing, LOTR SBG, Mordheim, and Frostgrave to name a few!

 

 More pics from the game.... a great time was had by all!

 

 Back in the dealer hall and at another game... my son liked their store and liked their games! I always check to see if they have new dice or coins as my kids love them!

There were more than the regular fair share of dealers selling fantasy stuff.... I almost had to pick up the new D&D ship!

 

Hobby University was very well represented. I am not sure how all of their space worked out, but it seemed fine to me.... my kids and I painted up some goblins! They loved it..... I have always said.. this is great for our hobby! My son loves WW2 tanks because of it.

 

I had to up my game for DBM! Turns out I have only been playing with 200 points.. I now need to get 200 more hopefully done by Fall In!.... I love this game.... I also love DBN! A great way to work folks into Napoleonics!

 

More stuff... lol!

MBA is insane...... this is awesome and someday I would like to have this! The buildings are great for on the water or off.... they have really outdone themselves on this set!

Pictures would NOT be complete without a shot of my local BnM shop.. The Griffon's Lair.... come form Erie PA to Lancaster... they had a really good show.. I hope all vendors did! They are also looking forward to Fall In! 2019 at Valley Forge Convention Center.... funny, so am I....

 

 More dealer images....

Someone's idea of a joke or great Lancaster hospitality.... if I was a gambling sort.. I would have been taking shots! If you cannot see.. there is Makers Mark whiskey at the watering station in the dealers hall.... (yes, I was obligated to report it....)

 

 I know there isn't many actual game shots in this report.... I was so busy playing I didn't take a lot of pictures of them! I did, however get a lot of pics form the dealer and tourney area.

 

 On the way home I had to stop in Dubois to get some Penn State Ice Cream!..... I ran into an old friend... we look a lot alike I am told!

 

Not as glorious or detailed as my usual reporting but I think some of the key take away notes include: the new venue was really nice, the food, climate, culture, walk, etc.. I can go on and on... was really nice.


The LCC food was really good and who could say no to the taco bar on the second floor by the event board! Also, the bar food was very good and they ran beer specials.... it was very nice.


Downtown had a lot to offer and it didn't look like we suffered on attendance, vendor participation, event submissions or tournaments.... in general, I was told a good time was had by everyone. We shall see what the future holds for this location.... it is a LOT different form the Host.... but, if you have a chance... go by the Host..... it has come a looooong way since CW.. and, well.. lets just say... you will see it for CW 2020.....


Lets see... games, venue, food... dealers..... ahhh.. flea market and load in and out..... not being a dealer, I heard the load in and out was ok, especially since Joby provided staff to help and also watch as GM's moves their stuff around and had to park cars, etc....


Wally's Basement was in the lowest area of the CC but had escalators and doors and very easy load in and out.... I did very well selling, but had to funnel some money to the wife and kids for their fun.... I did spend some money in the flea.. I picked up some LOTR figures form Brian.... he is getting out of the game.. great deals and made a great friend. The rest, as usual.. went to the dealer hall....


All in all.... the show was great and I had fun..... Most importantly.. my son and daughter had fun and cannot wait for the next one that they can go to!