I mentioned in my previous post that I've been working on some figures for a new game called Sludge. It's been a nice little creative outlet between cleaning, packing, work, etc. during this time.
But what is Sludge about?
In short, it's an ahistorical game set in a doom age of black powder. It's all about "gore, horror, brutality, and faith" as the official website states. It's all very grimdark. There's a heavy emphasis on kitbashing to create unique armies using historical and/or fantasy miniatures. It really doesn't matter what figures you use for Sludge. For me, it's been a nice way to use up bits from my pile(s) of shame and bit boxes. I've been wanting to make up my own nations for wargaming for a while anyway, so this certainly scratches that itch!
The Kingdom of Marconia is made up of Victrix Napoleonic French Old Guard bodies and Perry Foot Knight heads (except for my lookalike leading the center infantry unit...I found that one in the bits box at Island Games years ago). The rules call for infantry units to be based in groups of three of a 40mm base, and Jägers and Shock Troopers to be placed on a 25mm base. To distinguish the various roles, I took a cue from the historic Grand Armée and gave them different colored epaulettes: orange for line infantry, green for Jägers, and red for Shock Troops. I feel that these guys look pretty cool with their purple coats and verdigris-covered bronze helmets.
The Duchy of Lürren is made of Perry Napoleonic Austrian bodies and more Foot Knight heads. I was initially unsure of their colors, but I tried the yellow and green look on a whim and was pretty pleasantly surprised by how it turned out. Their steel helmets are slightly rusted, in contrast to the verdigris of the Marconians. My wife says that these guys have a look reminiscent of the Rebel Alliance in A New Hope and Rogue One and I have to agree.
All told, I had a lot of fun working on these guys! They were also really simple to paint up too: just an undercoat of GW Dryad Bark over a black primer, the respective basic colors, a generous drybrush of GW Zandri Dust, and then a bath of GW Agrax Earthshade all over. After a few additional details, that was it!
It always amazes me what a simple drybrush and wash can do!
The rules for Sludge are found in Blaster Volume 3, which is made to order and takes a little bit to ship. Considering that we're leaving for New Mexico late next week, it just makes sense to wait (yes, I could get a PDF version....but I like having something physical to look through).
And so, I've finished my last-ever figures in the DC area. I'll pick up this project again once we're settled in the Land of Enchantment, and also start working on terrain as well. But for now it's time to finally pack away the paints, brushes, bits, and whatnot for the next few weeks. I just hope none of these guys break in transit (the wargamer's ultimate fear!).
Here's hoping that everyone (and everything) arrives to the new place intact!
UPDATE
Shortly after publishing this post, Guerilla Miniature Games posted a YouTube video on the basic gameplay and mechanics of Sludge. You can check it out below!
Yeah, I'm pretty excited about giving this game a try!
We’re less than 2 weeks away from our packing date, and work continues on clearing out. By this point I’ve filled several bags of trash, put two full boxes of things on the curb for my neighbors, broken down countless boxes, and started going through stuff in two corners of the basement. Progress is slow going…but I think it’s happening slowly but surely.
I feel like most of the time, though, I’m just moving stuff from one area to another. It’s a little disheartening to see my pile of sprues growing taller and taller. 😬
But I'm still doing a little bit here and there. I also think I’ve found a way to work on getting that pile smaller though. I’ll post about it more in a little bit, but I’ve found a new project that will help me use up some of those spare parts and bits that I’ve been accumulating over the years. It’s also quick, easy, and has been a welcome creative outlet in these anxiety-wracked times.
More on that next time though. You can head over to my Instagram and see what I’ve been working on for the game though. They’re proving to be my most popular posts in that platform ever for some reason!
My next big task, though, is to clear off my workbench....
Since May 2020, I've been part of a D&D-style Star Wars RPG group playing a game called Star Wars: Edge of the Empire. This particular campaign has been running for 3 years over 50 sessions, and follows the crew of a ship called the Infinium. Last night was our final session.
This was the first time I've ever participated in an RPG campaign, and it's been some of the best fun I've ever had! A lot of care went into the crafting of our "episodes," which even got an opening crawl a day or so before we met up. The stories and plots crafted by our DM were amazing and felt very much like an extension of the Star Wars universe. Mad props, Josh!
In-game, I was constantly amazed at the twists, turns, and predicaments the crew got themselves in to....and out of as well. The banter was great fun too. I'm really going to miss these sessions, but I'm very glad to have been a part of this group and make such good friends.
The crew of the Infinium.
My next RPG is going has a very, very tough act to follow. Joshua, Alex, Josh, Kyle, and Jacob....thanks for all the fun memories, guys!
This past weekend, I tackled the mess in the basement. It's something that I've been dreading for a long time but I couldn't really put it off any longer. Each day I had a simple goal: Saturday's was to clear off the folding table, and Sunday's was to clear up the floor in the center of the room. Baby steps.
One of my hobby friends came over once and said, "I love it! I wish my space could look like this!"
Regardless, I think I might be a little too creative? 😬
I've been coming to the realization that I need to do a better job of keeping things organized...and I'll do a better job of that in the new space. But for now, it's time to clean up and go through what I have now.
And yes, as several people have pointed out, my wife is an absolute saint.
Saturday dawned, and I admittedly wasn't thrilled one bit at the prospect of starting to clean out the basement. But my goal was simple: clean off the folding table.
But this was the result after about 3.5 hours. I used the 20/10 method on this, which is to say 20 minutes of cleaning followed by a 10 minute break. I was amazed at how quickly things went! Rachel Hoffman promotes the 20/10 method in her awesome (and irreverent) book, Unf*ck Your Habitat. I created a playlist (called "Get Crap Done!") and went to work.
Most things were sorted and put into bins, while others were simply thrown away. I'll never know why I decided to keep so many shipping boxes or opened blister packs, but that's another matter entirely.
Sunday's goal was to clean up the remaining clutter in the center of the room. This one took a bit longer to do, as I got distracted with ideas for the new space (you can see my Pinterest board here if you're so inclined). But it was worth it once I finished for the day!
There's still a long way to go, but I'd say it's a pretty good start. I think the key will be to keep chipping away at it until the movers come. My big goal is to sort everything out by type (sprues, bits, bases, etc.) and put them in a respective bin for later organization once we get to New Mexico. I've got a few ideas in mind for what I want to do.
We're about three weeks away from our big move to New Mexico. I figured it might be fun (and self-motivational) to document hobby-related things during this whole process. In short, packing and sorting through all my miniature stuff. I started that process today.
Since this is a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) move, the movers will come by and pack just about everything for us. Some things they can't take on the truck, though, are things like liquids, aerosol cans, and cleaning chemicals. So...pretty much all of my paint, primer, and Simple Green.
I spent some of this afternoon packing up my model paints. I've been working on some WWII Soviet test figures over the last few days, and now that they're done I reckoned it was time. I'd previously brought all my paints to Vancouver in four small totes as this was easier to fit into my 2012 Volkswagen Jetta.
The trunk of my Jetta in February as I went out to Vancouver, WA.
A few weeks ago I traded it in for a 2017 Volkswagen Tiguan. I hated to do it, but I really need something with AWD for New Mexico (especially since I'll be driving into the mountains daily). But I do have a bit more cargo space now. As such, all of my paints went into a single box.
Umm...woah. 😲
For whatever reason, it didn't seem like I had this much paint when I was in Vancouver. I certainly didn't think I had this much when we last moved 4 years ago. I think I'll be good on paint for a while!
I also spent some time gathering specific forces and getting my new Chessex figure cases ready. While the bulk of my unpainted collection will be going with the movers, I'll be taking my finished and primed figures with me for safekeeping. I've always been somewhat lacking on carrying cases but I think this move will finally fix that for me! Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately), though, I have significantly fewer painted figures than unpainted.
My Bolt Action pile for Stalingrad.
Over the weekend, I'll be tackling the mess warzone that is the basement. It's going to be quite the job: the bulk of my miniature collection is scattered throughout in multiple piles on nearly every available surface....including the floor. The words "tripping" and "hazard" come to mind here. 😬
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.
I know I've been pretty quiet on here for the last few months, and I apologize for that. The temporary assignment in Vancouver, Washington was a lot busier than I expected. I've been home since mid-June but this is really the first chance I've had to sit down...and as it turns out, I'm getting ready to head back out.
After 8.5 years in the Washington, DC area (15.5 years for my wife), we're moving to Santa Fe, New Mexico!
Between packing, cleaning, purging, tying up loose ends at my current job, and finding a house, this will likely be my last blog post for a while. We move in mid-September...which is coming up quickly. I'll be back once everything has settled down.
The only drawback to all this? I realize that I've been really spoiled these last few years to have three separate stores about 15 minutes away. The closest game shops appear to be about an hour away in Albuquerque. And speaking of Albuquerque, it'll be wild to live so (relatively) close to a place immortalized by the great "Weird Al" Yankovic.
