Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Art vs Artist 2021

I've been seeing the hashtags #artvsartist and #artvsartist2021 making the rounds on Instagram lately, and I'm always willing to jump on a good bandwagon! These are just a few of the figures I've done over the last year between my time in Virginia, Washington, and New Mexico.

Given all the chaos of this year, I confess to finding it hard sometimes to sit down and work on stuff. Sometimes months went by without me picking up a paintbrush. I'm striving to be better at this in the New Year, as I really do enjoy the sense of accomplishment in finishing a figure (let alone an entire project). Let's see where the hobby takes me in 2022!

O (Miniature) Christmas Tree, O (Miniature) Christmas Tree!

As we get closer to the holidays, I finally did something I've been wanting to do for a long time: set up a miniature Christmas tree for my hobby space. I actually ordered it last year, but it was backordered and didn't arrive until mid-January 2021. 

But this year, after finding some miniature glass ornaments and tinsel from Target (the lights are built into the tree), I finally got a chance to set it up! Shortly afterwards, I found a set of four Dept56 pewter toy soldier ornaments from their Tiny Trimmings line. I immediately snatched them up. As you can see in the photo below, they're not very tall....maybe 1.5" at most. 

I also found some artificial poinsettias at Michaels for 40% off...

The set consists of four toy soldiers, of which three are distinctly British: a Grenadier Guard, a Life Guard, and a Yeoman Warder (popularly known as a Beefeater). The last figure appears to be George Washington holding a musket. It's an interesting choice, but I'm not complaining.  

They came in plastic boxes that say "Made in Taiwan." I don't know exactly how old they are, but I estimate them to have been made in the 1970s-1980s based on that fact alone.

The paint jobs are a little sloppy in places, but I still appreciate the fact that these are nonetheless hand-painted. They're unique because of that. I'm still in search of appropriately-themed miniature ornaments for the War Room but I feel that this is the start of a nice little collection.

The Great Wargaming Survey 2021

 

The time is once again upon us, ladies and gentlemen! The Great Wargaming Survey 2021 is open and the folks over at Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy want to hear YOUR thoughts on the current state of the hobby. As always, you get a gift voucher and a raffle entry for taking part.

But why else should you do it?

You should do it to help make sure that YOU are reflected in the hobby. Not everyone meets the "textbook definition of a...wargamer," as Annie from Bad Squiddo Games said recently, and this survey will help capture that diversity. 

You can take the survey here!

* NOTE: I am not affiliated with the Great Wargaming Survey or WSS in any way, shape or form.

Happy New Year!

Here's wishing everyone a safe and healthy 2021! 

2021 Hobby Resolutions

 Happy New Year's Eve everyone! Take heart....2020 is almost behind us! 

You might recall that last New Year's Day I made a post with a lengthy list of hobby resolutions for 2020. It was ambitious to be sure, but I figured it was doable at the time.

Yeah...nothing on that list got finished. D'oh. 😑

So instead of potentially having a repeat of that for 2021, I think I'll just resolve to enjoy the hobby, paint more frequently, and just have fun working on the projects that strike my fancy. 

Oh, and to clean up the basement War Room too. I've been putting that off for a good while now, but my friend Mannie's toy soldier studio has been a real inspiration! I think it will go a long way in helping me to actually get started on the tidying up and organizing. I also have some ideas that I think will really add some nice character to my workspace.