Red Barons convention Gent

Today, the yearly trip to the small, but extremely cozy convention in Gent of the Red Barons took place. With about 10 traders and 20 games, this show is for me a blast to the past, when shows and conventions used to be smaller regional affairs with the odd foreign trader or club.

This year once again, I had the opportunity to spend a heap of money (clocking out around 200 euros in the end, not bad for a small affair), get some whacky ideas going, and meet up with some familiar faces, as well as adding fresh ones.

The trade halls:





Our own club was present with a 28mm Vietnam game, focussing on the liberation of Erio di Lupo




There where a lot of nice games present, eye candy galore for the budding plans forming in my mind.

My personal favorite was this colonial game, a fictional scenario in which Leopold II and mistresses where visiting a settlement at the wrong time.





This was also the only game in which one of the (french languaged, but making a great effort to speak dutch) players interrupted his game just to tell about what they where exactly playing, how the terrain had been made et all. Bit pity as this is more the exception then the norm these days on shows all around though...

Another great piece of eye candy was the Stipsicz Hussars table, the camel corp in particular was really cool looking.




Paper terrain seems to be a new trend catching up, though i admit it looks cool, it just doesn`t `do it` for me though. Especcially not compared to `normal` terrain.




Mainstay traders of most shows in the Belgium, top to bottom, Dax magic with his, well, everything you want to build your models, Dave Thomas`s transportable wargames supermarket, Worean from Germany and Millenium Books for all your Osprey needs.






And some traders from France / Wallonia provided a range of well, like everything, whilst The Gamestore was there with some discount boxes.






But a personal winner for me every year is the Bring and Buy, really great deals at ridiculous cheap prices are to be had there, every year again. My `top find` this year was a bag of almost 100 metal Foudnry Saxons / Franks infantry (who will join my ranks of the Hibernians for WAB) for... 50 euros!



And then for the remaining gaming tables (I forgot one of 15mm nappies, but they weren`t set up yet when I was on my `personal walkabout`)

Murphy`s Heroes ran a naval game of barges and the likes in scale 1/600, a table heavily played by attendees all day.




De Witte Ridder brought along a 6mm world war 2 Flames of War game



A literally massive ancients game, with 54mm armies battling it out




Two of my favorite periods where also present, the ACW and the ECW, needless to say I drooled over the battles to much to remember to take much pictures...





And then the remaining games, in no particular order, but a lot of pretty tables around here again (the afghan game, the napoleon armies...). The show may not have had the most spectacular tables scenery wise or concept wise, but heck a LOT of good looking models on the tables (and EVERYTHING was painted).
















A highly enjoyable day, the only downside being me and my cheese for brain forgetting my jacketon the venue, maybe I`ll see it again, otherwise I only have myself to blame for that.

So to close the day of, the `loot picture` of a day at the Red Barons



Ciao ciao and see you at Salute

A Tour through the Scrapyard

I did it, I finally did it. My to paint list dropped under 3000 models last night, the LPL is doing her work!

In order to celebrate, I ordered over 200 pounds of models from Maelstrom Games (well, I `planned` only to order two bottles of Vallejo Goblin Green and a FWC rulebook for a clubmember... adios good intention of 2011)...

Last week, one of my clubmates asked me in what kind of scrapyard I would be living in, since my `obsessions` like dvd`s, anime models, wargames etc etc etc... and they are absolutely right, it`s Cluttertown here. I wouldn`t even be amazed to one day find out I actually HAD a girfriend but she got lost somewhere in there.

So here we go, just for fun, a Tour through the Scrapyard...

First stop, the paintdesk, where many upcomming LPL 5 projects are lying around, but the painted ones cleverly disguised as a diamond lamp



Next to that, the paint car, mostly Coat D`Arms paints. Botsbox and scenery materials are in the trays beneath the paints



The old Wood Elf army, slowly restaurated in the Project Asrai errrm project.



Even the floor is used as a place of storage for WiP`s



Everywhere you look, boxed sets can be found



Or spaces to display armies to be are invaded by blisterpacks



And more boxes, though the cardboard KR cases are my salvation to be, slowly all will get painted and put away in many of those things.



Boxes of despair, also known as Treasure Trove alley. I actually have no exact idea what is all inside that heap of models, clipbags and blisterpacks.



More scenery and models invading `reserved` places



A `few` blisterpacks as well as a `few` boxes of Gundams. *EDIT* The large cardboard box of `to repaint prepaints` stands on top of that shelf, but I see now that she didn`t make the picture.



The Library, source of inspiration. As with the DVD`s later on, this is `double layered`, so behind each row of for example Star Trek novels... is another row. Same will be seen with the scifi DVD`s.



Which can be seen in the following pictures, and also here, models are making their way slowly inside that cabinet...
These are only the pure scifi though, most other `more mainstream` DVD`s are in another room.







And then the anime statuettes, especcially those on the second pic are bloody expensive, the book supports (left and right with the Athena head each) knocked me back a slight tat over 400 euros. Oh well, fanboyz, they never have it cheap...




And finally Librerica Rulebookia, yes, with Strike Freedom work in progress. Future War Commanders at TSA be warned, the Gundam army is nearing completion...



What have we learned today? That I either urgently need to break a leg or so in order to be able to paint a lot more, or that I should really pay some sexy cleaning lading a LOT of money to even DARE enter into that place....

Ciao ciao

Let This Be Our Battlefield

Well, about one third of the houses our gaming group bought about two months ago has been painted in the meantime by my minions, and this is the result:





For now we scattered them just over the table, as we need to empty the monstrosity (again read: I) for the ACW battle weekend, but after that we`re going to build it with city blocks, pure industrial terrain and a suburb style setup.
One thing did show though yesterday: you bloody well needed to think damn hard now...

Lead Painters League

And so it comes that season 5 is upon us, kicking off half of march...
The concept of the whole League is to reduce the amount of lead (white metal, resin, plastic...) in a painting competition of good fun, and when I joined the LAF last year, I enrolled into the 4th season, taking two clubmates of mine, Andy and Sven (of the Creepy Corridor and Mechaniak blogs respectively) along for the ride.

My goals? Considering my average painting skills and below amateurish photography skills, to not enter last, and enter all three of the bonus rounds with adequate entries. Also, as resident scifi buff at TSA, I was obliged in my own mind to enter at least one space ship related entry...

So for the sake of archiving and closing off the Season 4, the 10 entries I competed with last year, resulting in a decent 21st place out of 46 contestants (above half of the field even wieieej) with 3 wins and a draw (and a heavily negative voting points factor, yet still ended above a lot of others due to the bonus points scored).

This year, I`m aiming again for not ending last, but the more ambitious plan is to grab each and every bonus point around (aka, 10 new entries not shown before, and the extra points for the season 5 bonus rounds 1, 5 and 10).

The movie scene bonus round was a headbreaker but after hours of brainstorming I think I have it covered... what it will be? Time will tell hehehe. Round 5 will be 15mm Colonial Sudan I have lying around here, those models can then later be integrated in another sideproject I haven`t quit given up upon, VSF, while round 1 will have a heap of Celtic Irish models finally painted.

The warriors of Season 4...

Round 1: Celtic Irish



Round 2: Starfleet



Round 3: The 5th Doctor`s Company



Round 4: Jaffa!



Round 5: The South has Risen Again!



Round 6: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen



Round 7: Ragruppamento Artiglieri



Round 8: Requiem for a Hunter`s Moon



Round 9: Archers of Heru



Round 10: Avanti Savoia!



So that where the models that did my bidding last year. I`m not commenting on individual rounds, degustibus en colorbus and the likes...

For Season 5, I will stand once more by my personal principles:

1. I will not vote for myself, always for my opponent!
2. Please do not vote for me just because you know me, but if you do, because you find it the better entry!
3. I will enroll at least one small scale entry (6mm or 10mm)!
4. I will enroll at least one spaceship entry!
5. I will do my uttermost best to enter 10 new entries!

Ciao Ciao