Major Ballsup's Hobby Shed

When I tried this blogging lark before, I wrote a piece about three principle factors that impact hobbies -  money, space and time .    Six years on and I think that this piece is more relevant than ever so I thought I'd do an update on how these factors have changed for me in the intervening years. Money is such a hot topic at the moment which everything seeming to get more expensive by the week.  I've been lucky (ie. worked hard and been careful) and have disposable income.  However, as I wrote back in April this year hobby costs have risen and this has modified my purchasing.  So the financial impact on the way I approach the hobby has increased. Space has always been an issue and as I've kept adding to my collection and become interested in yet morenew periods, there's been even more of a squeeze (literally) on the space I have available.  I've had to make a conscious effort to limit my book buying over the last year with bookshelves groaning unde...

 A news item on TMP prompted me to check the Empress Miniatures website and there I found that a pack of 4 figures now cost £8.00, meaning a single metal 28mm historical miniature has now broken the £2.00 mark.  I can remember when 28mm metals first went above £1.00 each and there was a lot of grumbling.  But now £2.00 - Ye Gads! Looking at the cost of the "best" 28mm metals (Perry's, Empress, Foundry as a sample) they currently average out at £1.69 for a metal figure.  Perry's are the cheapest at £1.33 each, Foundry next at £1.75 and as mentioned Empress at £2.00.  Whether a Paul Hicks sculpt is "better" and "worth more" than one of the Perry twins is a matter of personal taste.  I have some of all three and many more sculptors' work besides in my Old West collection and they are all lovely figures and have their own merits.   The cost of everything is going up so it was inevitable that miniatures did.  It would seem a lot of hobby companies...

Part 1 of this rambling story told of how I had first become interested in the French Indo-China and Algerian Wars.  We'd left it where I had moved onto other periods specifically late World War 2 Eastern Front.   We're now into the early 2000's.  I'd been very focused on building up a collection of 1/76th WW2 figures.  True to form I went off on a tangent after discovering the splendid 1/6th action figures from Dragon and started collecting these.  It wasn't long before I started kitbashing FIC and Algerian figures using WW2 items.  Now the Internet proved useful and I was procuring from all over. This had given me an outlet for my interest but I still was yet to wargame the period.  Then a couple of things happened around the same time at the end of 2005.  A local hobby shop opened and I found a Matchbox 1/76th M24 and then I discovered Liberation Miniatures.  Praise be!  Liberation did a specific Indo-China range.  Not...

I can pinpoint when my interest in the French/First Indo-China War and subsequently the Algerian War (of Independence) began.  It was in my pre/early teens and it was down to three books. I suspect like many boys of the late '70s and early '80s I'd been reading the Wotan series of pulp novels by Leo Kessler.  These told the story of a fictional SS unit and their involvement in every campaign of WW2, which bizarrely included the desert and Cassino.  The last few books followed Sergeant-Major Schulze the anti-hero of the series, as he survives WW2 to end up serving in the French Foreign Legion in Indo-China and then Algeria. At around the same time I was given Blandford Army Uniforms since 1945 as a Christmas present.  As well as showing uniforms from current (1980) armies the sections on the earlier conflicts were those that I found fascinating.  I think it's the mix of kit that appealed to me.  When I looked at the plates I thought the French paras and legi...

My retail therapy is continuing.  The first delivery this week was One Faith, One Law, One King - French Armies of the Wars of Religion 1562-1598 from Helion.   I'd expressed my interest with Helion in the title prior to publication and was very pleased when I received an email announcing it was now available and offering a £5 discount.  My order was placed straightaway on Friday and the book arrived Tuesday post free.  I'm happy with that.  I've had a glance through and this sort of information is gold dust in the English language.  The colour plates aren't great but the rest of the book is.   On the same day my order of 3x1mm neodymium magnets arrived.  I've been looking at how to base all my single SHQ WW2 20mm figures so that they're easier to use when gaming and wanted to try out something using magnets.  I won't say anymore as I'll be doing a separate post on that soon. On Wednesday my order from Butler's Printed Models came....

I've been mulling over whether to go to Salute or not and have decided not to.  There's a few reasons but principally there's nothing that I want to buy that I can only get  from there.  The Covid situation appears to be ramping up a bit again so I'm not that comfortable going.  However, I'll be using the money I put aside with an extra £30 that the admission and travel would have cost to get some hobby supplies in for Autumn and Winter. In fact I've already started.  I've just returned from a week away.  Whenever I go away I always look to see if there's a real bricks and mortar hobby shop to visit.  And this time I was lucky enough to go to Salisbury, which in itself is a great place, but in town there's the Salisbury Model Centre.  This really is a proper hobby shop not a model railway shop with some extras, albeit there is a decent range for the railway modeller.  There's a great selection of model kits of all scales and interests an...

Last week has seen some comings and goings. I finally decided to sell the 100 or so Venexia 15mm Italian Wars figures that I bought on a whim in January.  I listed them on eBay Tuesday afternoon and when I got up Wednesday morning they'd already sold.  That left me with no figures, yes 0 figures to paint, a position I haven't been in for 23 years or so.  I must admit although I like to operate on a very manageable ie. one or two months worth of figures to paint, this had gone too far and I was left feeling slightly out of sorts weird as that may sound. Thankfully this uneasy situation didn't last long as on Friday my order from Newline Designs arrived. 24 regular Sikh infantry, 24 Sepoys and four British infantry to be used as skirmishers.   That'll keep me going nicely until I go on holiday in a couple of weeks and for a bit when I get back.   Why did I sell the Italian Wars figures?  I don't have a lead mountain so I’d had plenty of opportunitie...

I always listened to music when painting but during the extended time at home I've turned more and more to podcasts and YouTube.  Perhaps since my social contact has been so reduced it's a need that is being fulfilled.  I'm amazed at how much wargames stuff is out there.   I'm playing catch up but I'm especially fond of The Yarkshire Gamer aka. Ken Reilly's output.  All of his updates are interesting and the marathon Reet Big Wargames Podcasts where he interviews people from the hobby are particularly worth catching.   Ken sounds like the sort of chap that you could have a great chat and a nice cup of tea with (it'd have to be Yarkshire mind) or probably something a bit stronger.  Although his main thing is great big battles with 28mm figures and a number of players (which through various reasons is almost the polar opposite of  where I'm at), his collection is inspirational and his enthusiasm and warmth shine through.   ...

A recurring subject for discussion among wargamers is "The Lead Mountain". You know that never diminishing pile of unpainted figures that grows ever larger with each new project.  For some it's a source of pride for others a source of anguish.   I used to have a lead mountain. Actually it was a large box full of Flames of War and Warmachine and other things I can't now remember that sat in the loft. It bothered me. I don't really know why as they didn't need feeding or caring for and weren't doing any harm. I think it may have been some strange conscience thing going on where I felt I couldn't buy any more without finishing what I had.  And  there's always something shinier and more interesting out there isn't there?   There was also an element of almost fear in wondering where I was going to get the time to paint all that stuff. That was a long time ago. I sorted out the stuff that I really wanted to do from the stuff that would have been nice...

As we're now halfway through the year it's a good opportunity to take stock of what I've achieved and put some thought in what I'd like to work on in the second half of 2021. The Covid pandemic still impacts all aspects of life including the hobby. However, here it's a positive impact as I'm not spending a minimum of 4 hours a day commuting. The time saved and the fact I'm not tired all the time has been a gift. Of course I wish for an end to what's been a terrible time for many. But I hope the "new normal" isn't a return to how things were because frankly some of it wasn't that great. Now onto hobby matters.  Achievements Completed 129 figures - 68 10mm, 51 28mm and 10 15mm. That's not bad for me.   Rebased all of my 15mm Franco-Prussian War war collection. Rebased 7 28mm WW2 figures to sell (and recycled the bases they were on). Made a statue terrain piece for Zona Alfa/Zombie games Based 30 large trees Completed 1/72 Boulton-Paul...