We're having a Covid Christmas

Even with a month of lockdown, we still have high numbers of Covid cases.  Thus we have had our lockdown continued until Jan 8.  This means no Christmas or New Year’s parties.  They did open up sales on Christmas items though.

We had already ordered most of our gifts and all but a couple have already arrived.  We’re not going to get together with family like we normally do.

This means that we will be cooking Christmas dinner for the first time since we’ve married.  It will be more of a low-key affair as will the gifts.  My wife has a tendency of picking up a lot of little items to bulk out the gifts.  With everything being locked down, she hasn’t been able to do that.

She usually takes off the Fridays in December and I take off the first Friday and we usually hit the mall and pick up the last of our Christmas shopping and check out the decorations.  That wasn’t even an option this year so we spent the day getting ready for the Christmas baking.  Even with that, because we aren’t going to be going out as much, she scaled back the types of deserts to a more reasonable amount.

It’s already going to be a bit odd as I won’t have the week between Christmas and New Year’s off.  For the last several years I have taken it as my holidays but, in order to ensure I got the time off to go to my daughter’s graduation this year, I had to book that first instead.  Even though her grad wasn’t quite what we were expecting, I’m glad I was able to be there for what we did have.  I did manage to get the week following New Year’s though.

Actually, because of how they restructured our holidays, I will end up with 9 weeks off in 2021 instead of the 6 weeks that I normally get.  I will also get another 4 weeks that I have to use by the end of 2022 in addition to my regular holidays for that year.

This also means that we will be cooking Christmas dinner for the first time since we’ve been married.  We won’t make the number of dishes that my mother usually makes but it should be a nice quiet dinner.  She usually has a big crowd show up on Boxing Day for chicken soup.  That will also be quite a change.

Figure Painting Total - November 2020

In November I picked up a few more figures. I assembled the figures I bought and moved a bit more paint around on the ones on my workbench. With the month coming to an end, I went for the simple win and painted a few with a very easy paint scheme.


Bought

BM – Bane Crew – 4

BM – Falcone Crime Family – 5

DCU – Aquaman – 1

DCU – Sinestro – 1

Flint & Feather – sample figure – 1

Pulp Figures – Sgt Prestown of the Yukon – 3

Pulp Figures – The Scarlet Patrol - 5



Painted

DCU – General Zod & Guild Warriors – 3 (Faora, General Zod, Nam-Ek)

Nov total – figures bought 20, figures painted 3

Running total 2020 – figures bought 182, figures painted 93

Covid - second lockdown

Things had been getting progressively worse here as cases kept spiking. They finally locked the province down again in mid November. It is set to be locked down for another month.  Just prior to the lockdown, Gee and I zipped out to pick up some gloss coat and a few Christmas presents.

 Some people, especially on social media, keep posting the memes that "If it worked the first time, why are we doing it again? If it didn't work the first time, why are we doing it again?"

 The simple answer is, it did work the first time. Shutting everything down helped to keep our case numbers low. When we opened up, people were very casual about getting together in groups.

 When schools started up again in September, and the inevitable cases started up, instead of shutting back down as we should have, we tried to ride it out to allow businesses to catch up. Left unchecked, the infections increased until we finally had to admit that we needed to shut back down. 

 It's frustrating. It's sounding more like we'll be working from home through the winter. Halloween was all but cancelled. We set up a few decoration and gave out candy but only five dedicated kids showed up in the chill rain. 

 Christmas will be rough. The local stores will have a hard time as people will either have to rush together to get their gifts in the final two weeks before the holiday, or will have already bought their gifts online. So far we are still doing well. 

 There are two or three good vaccines that are close to being released, probably early next year, but I wonder how many people will not bother taking them. Our neighbors to the south finished their election. With the final flurry of campaigning as well as their refusal to not gather together for their Thanksgiving, their numbers continue to rise. With the expected crowds for the Black Friday sales, I fear the following weeks will be rough for them.

Figure Painting Total - October 2020

In October I picked up a few more sets for the DC Universe Game, as well as a few more single figures.  I assembled and primed them all.  

I also bought a few more figures to use with Dracula's America.  The Red Hand Coven set I ordered from Italy in July ended up being shipped to the Netherlands and has been sitting in a shipping warehouse since then.  So we will see if it ever shows up.

Bought

BM – Talia Al’Ghul – 1

BM/DCU – Catwoman – 1

DCU – Justice League Dark – 7 (Black Orchid, Constantine, Deadman, Jason Blood & the Demon, Swamp Thing, Zatanna)

DCU – Lexcorp Army – 6 (Lex Luther power suit, Metallo, LexCorp Heavy Trooper, LexCorp Troopers – 3)

DCU – Suicide Squad – 6 (Bronze Tiger, Deadshot, Deathstroke, Katana, Killer Croc, Killer Frost)

DCU – Amazons of Themyscira – 4 (Queen Hipollita, and 3 Warriors)

DCU – General Zod & Guild Warriors – 3 (Faora, General Zod, Nam-Ek)

DCU – Black Adam

DCU – Doomsday

DCU – Mera – missing arm

DCU – Superman (Elseworlds) – missing arm and shields

WizKids – Timber Wolves – 4

WizKids – Winter Wolf – 2

 

Painted

BM - Batman (Afflek) - 1

BM - Suicide Squad - 2 (Deadshot, Slipknot)

Wizkids - Dullahan (headless horseman) - 1

WizKids - Shadows - 2

WizKids - Timber Wolves - 5

Oct total – figures bought 38, figures painted 11

Running total 2020 – figures bought 162, figures painted 90

 

 

 

More paper Disney

 After a break of three months, the Disney Go Blog finally released another four in their paper Disney series.  I have only managed to finish the first three so far.  The two blocks of Main Street were easy to assemble.  The parade floats were a bit more fiddly.  The castle was more difficult to put together as some of the steps weren't very clear.  I still have to finish the Carousel.

In the new sets, they have added some extra Halloween themed crafts as well as more parts to the Paper Disney Park.

In Happy Haunts set 1 you get the Entry Gates with some extra pumpkin decorations as well as some decorations and shadow puppets.

There are no paper park pieces in Happy Haunts set 2.  Instead they give you a placemat, cup sleeves, napkin rings, place card holders, decorations, and a doom buggy snack box.

In Happy Haunts set 3 you get a Haunted Mansion facade on too big a map (9 sheets!) with a stretching portrait chamber.

Happy Haunts set 4 includes more parts around the Haunted Mansion including more rooms.

Figure Painting Total - September 2020

I lost a bit of momentum but was able to paint a few more before the end of the month.

Bought

DCU – Justice League International – 6 (Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Dr Fate, Martian Manhunter, Mister Miracle, Shazam)

DCU – Lex Luthor (Classic Costume) – 1

Savage Worlds – Stone – 2

Reaper – Wereboar – 1

WizKids – Dullahan (headless horseman) – 1

WizKids – Grizzly – 1

WizKids – Shadows – 2

 

Painted

Dracula’s America – The Forsaken – 9

Reaper – Wereboar – 1

WizKids – Grizzly – 1

WizKids – Timber Wolves – 1

 

 

Sept total – figures bought 14, figures painted 12

Running total 2020 – figures bought 124, figures painted 79

 

 

Covid – Back to School

Our province started getting some cases in August due to people travelling.  Despite this, most of the schools opted for back to classes in September, with predictable results. 

Having graduated, my daughter is now attending online classes for university.  It’s not quite the same experience but she is making due with it.  Her classes are all online.  It was a bit tricky getting her school books due to the conditions.  She seems to be settling in but is certainly missing out on a lot of the university experience.

My wife and I have both have been told to not expect to go back fully before November.  She is going in one week a month already. 

We have now watched all the Netflix Marvel shows.  With a lot of our regular shows not scheduled to come back until January, we are getting around to some of the other shows that we had missed – like Titans, Doom Patrol, and Umbrella Academy.  Shan has watched Mad Men, Dynasty, and Frankie and Grace.

We were able to make it out to the Stardust Drive-In to see The New Mutants.  It was odd seeing a movie away from home and good to make it to the drive-in.  The staff seemed friendly, and the menu was wide and good.  If it was closer than 90 minutes away, we would probably go more often.

 

I didn't get anything painted in August.  I was mostly focused on papercraft.  I did pick up a few figures though.  

I had been looking at the Fallout: Wasteland Warfare at my local game shop for a while now.  My son is into Fallout and the game can be played solo if he is not interested.  It's been marked down 25% for a few months now and I keep picking it up and looking at it.  No-one has bought it as it has a huge gash in the bottom - like it had been dropped on the edge of a counter.

I had ordered Fallout Shelter and they brought in the Fallout: Wasteland Warfare: Survivors - Vault Personnel in error.  They saw that it was an error and offered it to me for $30 instead of the $40 it was.  I picked it up.  

The next week when I went back, I picked up the Wasteland Warfare starter and they gave me a further deal down to $55. 

Bought
Unmatched Cobble and Fog – 4
Dracula’s America – The Forsaken – 9
Fallout: Wasteland Warfare – 13
Fallout: Wasteland Warfare: Survivors: Vault Personnel – 4
Chronoscope – Horace ‘Action’ Jackson – 1
Chronoscope – Pulp Era Professor – 1
Reaper – Willow Greenivy – 1
WizKids – Timber Wolves – 2

Painted


Aug total – figures bought 35, figures painted 0
Running total 2020 – figures bought 110, figures painted 67

Books Read - May to August 2020

May

The Fantasy Trip Companion by Steve Jackson Games

Gaslands Refuelled by Mike Hutchinson

DC Universe Miniature Game by Mark Latham

 

June

Stitch ‘n Bitch: The Knitter’s Handbook by Debbie Stoller

Cooking Price-Wise: A Culinary Legacy – by Vincent Price

Cheapass Games in Black and White by James Earnest

French Musketeer 1622 – 1775 by Rene Chartrand

This Will Only Hurt A Little by Busy Phillips

 

July

Blood Bowl 2019 Almanac! By Games Workshop Limited

The Enemy by Lee Child

Night School by Lee Child

Rick Mercer Report: The Book by Rick Mercer

 

Aug

The Wealthy Barber by David Chilton

The Manual of Aeronautics by Scott Westerfeld

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld

Fletch by Gregory Mcdonald

Confess, Fletch by Gregory Mcdonald

 

 

New printer and papercraft

When our printer needed more ink back in July, we looked at the cost of replacing ink, and the cost of buying a new printer with ink.  We finally took the plunge, spent a bit more, and upgraded to an ink tank printer. 

Not being so concerned about saving precious ink, I printed some things from a few papercraft sites.

 

I started with the sample saloon from Hotz ArtWorks.  It looked too small against the Reaper and Knight Model figures so I didn’t assemble it.  I have since gotten some Dracula’s America figures that seem closer in scale so I probably will put it together.

 

Disney Parks Blog had just come out with Paper Disney Parks.  They have four so far in the series.  The first two were both for Main Street and the Magic Happens parade, the third was for Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, and the fourth was for King Arthur’s Carrousel. 

I printed off all of them at 25% to save space once done and have finished the first set.

 

They haven’t printed any more in the series yet, so looking for a Haunted Mansion led me back to Haunted Dimensions.  They have papercraft for three versions of the Haunted Mansions from the different parks. 

They also have the houses from Amityville Horror, Psycho, and Adams Family as well as facades from the movie theatre from The Blob and some others.  I have printed off the three houses and the movie façade and am mostly finished the Amityville house.

 

For more hyper detailed versions of papercraft about the Disneyland signs, train station, and castles there is also The Disney Experience.  I haven’t started on any of these yet as I am not sure if they will be too large once finished as well as too complex if shrunk. 

 

Some of the buildings will be used to fill up a table for wargaming, and some will be used for our Halloween display table in our new spare bedroom.

Figure Painting Total - July 2020

I chose not to get the Indomitus box.  I'll probably wait to get the new starter.  They have also announced a new edition of Blood Bowl for the end of the year.

I'm really tempted to get some more DC Universe sets while they are sale from Knight Models.  But instead I ordered some figures for Dracula's America.  This will let me see if the Reaper figures are in a similar scale, and will let me know what scale I need to use for buildings.

Bought

a few Heroclix figures that I might repaint for Marvel Universe.

Painted

Unmatched – Jurassic Park – InGen vs Raptors – 4 (Muldoon, 3 raptors)

BM – The Dynamic Duo – 1 (Batman)

BM Suicide Squad Starter – 1 (Katana) 

BM/MU – Suicide Squad – 1 (Katana)

MU – The Thing – 1 

Chronoscope – Rex, Dark Future Hero – 1

Reaper – Jade Tiger, Monk – 1

Reaper – Xiao Liu, Female Monk - 2

WizKids – Raptors – 2

July total – figures bought 0, figures painted 14 

Running total 2020 – figures bought 75, figures painted 67

foam figure trays

With the figures finally being painted, I made some trays for the cases I had bought. I found these cases at the local surplus store, Princess Auto, and bought them on sale. The foam is from Canadian Tire, and the foam core is from the dollar store.

I cut the foam core to fit inside the cases. The foam is thick enough for three layers. I pinned the pieces together while they dried. I started with 5 trays.



The pluck foam allows me to adjust to the size of the figures. I used contact cement to fix the foam in the foam core trays and I glued ribbons from the dollar store to the trays to make it easier to lift out.



I started with one tray for each for regular figures for the Marvel Universe game, one for DC Universe/Batman Miniature game, and one for other figures. I need to pluck the foam for the other two trays for the larger figures, and make another two trays for regular sized figures. Then I need to make some trays for Blood Bowl figures.

Covid update - July / Grad

When my son graduated, a few years ago, he wasn’t really interested in the ceremonies. He went to the breakfast and the dinner, and the convocation but did not go to the after parties. My daughter, with her graduation this Covid year, had all of her services cancelled.

They did do a simple ceremony, where they scheduled the grads in one at a time. They could bring 4 family members into the gym, they read their quote and could walk across the stage and pick up their diploma. No big procession, no speeches, no official dinner. We did end up going to PF Chang’s for lunch afterwards. Because of her grad, we got a free plate of the lettuce wraps.

They did get to pick up the caps and gowns the week before and were able to take some pictures out and about before they had to return them. They had a few barbeques, and a couple of dinners, and my daughter organized a pancake breakfast in the driveway.

They haven’t been the best at social distancing. Even afterwards, they still get together to go to the beach, and for barbeques, and even the sleepovers are starting up again.


The wife and I are still wearing masks for the few times when we go out into the world. We really only are going out for groceries, and the occasional tank of gas. Plus the comic book store is now open again, and I go to the game store for paint occasionally. We do get take out sometimes but will often rather get delivery. We did go to my brother’s for Canada day for a barbeque but that has been the only social interaction for the wife and I since March.


We’re pretty much caught up on our PVR – we only have about 30 hours taped and now have 300 hours available. We hope to get to the Netflix Marvel shows shortly – we have only seen the first season of Daredevil. We finally picked up Disney Plus, so we will get to the Mandelorian this fall.

The Library finally reopened enough to allow us to return books. At least they automatically renewed them while they were locked out.

Figure Painting Total - June 2020

With the new, new edition of Warhammer 40,000 being announced, I figured that I should probably get the rules from the eighth edition. 

 I ordered a Dark Imperium starter but it was out of stock. By the time they got back to me to let me know it was out of stock, I was unable to get it locally. I did the next best thing to get the rules and models, I bought the rules separately and a Know No Fear starter. 

Bought 

 Batman Miniatures – The Dark Knight starter – 13 (Batman, Bane, Catwoman, Talia, 3 Police, 3 Mercenaries, Alfred, Tumbler, Batpod) 

Unmatched – Jurassic Park – InGen vs Raptors – 4 (Muldoon,3 raptors) 

Warhammer 40K – Know No Fear starter – 31 (1 Primaris Captain, 5 Primaris Intercessors, 3 Primaris Interceptors, 5 Primaris Hellblasters, 1 Death Guard Lord of Contagion, 5 Death Guard Plague Marines, 1 Death Guard Foetid Bloat Drone, 10 Death Guard Poxwalkers) 

DCU - Uncle Dudley 

 Painted 

BM - Suicide Squad - 3 (Captain Boomerang, Diablo, Killer Croc) 

BM - Arkham Knight BM - Talia (painted as Mystique)

DCU - Crime Syndicate - 5 (Johnny Quick, Owlman, Power Ring, Superwoman, and Ultraman)

MU - Black Panther 

MU - Colossus 

MU - Rocket Raccoon 

MU - Sentry 

MU - Starlord 

MU - Starlord (alternate Heroclix model)

June total – figures bought 50, figures painted 15 Running total 2020 – figures bought 75, figures painted 53

40K Army Preferences

I looked at the current list of codices available and sorted them according to the armies that I would probably play, the armies I would like to play, the armies I have some interest in playing, and the armies I have no interest in playing. In these groups, I sorted them again in order of favorites.

In my Top list of groups, I have Space Marines, Genestealer Cults, Space Wolves, Tyranids, Orks, Sisters of Battle, and Imperial Agents (Inquisition). I have my original Space Marine army, as well as my Tyranid army. I have a lot of figures for more Space Marines, Tyranids, Orks, Space Wolves, and Genestealer Cults.

In the next list of armies, that I would like to play, I have Necrons, Astra Militarum (Imperial Guard), Craftworlds (Eldar), Grey Knights, Harlequins, Deathwatch, T’au Empire, Chaos Demons, Adeptus Mechanicus/Skitari. I have a lot of Imperial Guard but not a lot of tanks, a lot of Eldar but not a lot of Aspect Warriors, a lot of old metal Harlequins, a bit of T’au and Necrons, and the Deathwatch figures from the boxed game.

I do have interest in playing these ones: Chaos Space Marines, Dark Angels, Death Guard, Drukhari (Dark Eldar), Ultramarines, Imperium 1 (Legion of the Damned), Adeptus Custodes, Xenos 1 (Ynnari), and Imperium 2 (Talons of the Empire). I have Chaos Marines, Death Guard, and Dark Eldar from the various edition rules boxes.

I really have no interest in playing Imperial Knights, Thousand Suns, Chaos Knights, Blood Angels, Raven Guard, White Scars, and Iron Hands.

What are your favorites?

Figure Painting Total - May 2020

Not much bought this month. I decided to finally get the DC Universe rules, and picked up the Crime Syndicate and the Talia to use as an alternate for Mystique. The next day, the Batman Miniature game second edition starter went on sale so I ordered that as well. The other two were picked at the comic store when it finally reopened.

Bought
BM – Talia – 1
DCU – Crime Syndicate – 5
WizKids – Barbarians – 2
WizKids – Raptors – 2

Painted
Unmatched – Battle of Legends – 4
BM/DCU - Batgirl
BM/DCU – Harley Quinn
BM/Suicide Squad – 6 (Joker, Grin twins, Pandaman, Goat Priest, Eyeball man)
DCU - Hawkgirl
MU – Ares
MU – Groot
MU – Lady Mastermind
MU – Scarlet Witch (alternative)
Chronoscope – Black Mist – 1
Chronoscope – Sister Marie – 1
Sam (from Trick R Treat) - 1 – 3D printed
Minsc & Boo – 1 – from paint set

May total – figures bought 10, figures painted 21
Running total 2020 – figures bought 25, figures painted 38

New New 40K

They have announced the new 9th edition of Warhammer 40,000. I don’t have much of the army books for the current edition, just the 5 basic index books and the Space Marine, Chaos Marine, and Grey Knights codices.

They do say that the new edition will use the current codices, so we will see. I still need to pick up the hardcover rules. I had gotten the mini rules with the First Strike starter but am looking at snapping a copy of the Dark Imperium starter before they disappear as it includes a copy of the hardcover rules.

Covid - 5

Things are starting to open up again. More stores are re-opening, including our local comic book store. We are both still working from home and have no word on when that might change.

People are encouraged to wear masks when out and about. Shan has bought a few online, and my mom made a set for us. You have to wash them every time that you use them. A lot of people are still not wearing masks – probably less than half.

With the movie theatres still being closed, we have kept our regular movie night, but are instead watching movies On Demand. With the commute being non-existent, and having no social obligations, we have managed to keep up with our PVR. Normally, at this time when the shows are ending their seasons, we are right on the buffer of our PVR. With the extra time, we currently have 100 hours available.
With not much scheduled to come back in the fall, we should be able to keep on top of it. We may even have time to watch all the Netflix Marvel shows that we missed. So far, we have only seen the first season of Daredevil.

With the extra money I have saved, and being inspired by actually getting some figures painted, I placed an order for the DC Universe miniature game, and The Crime Syndicate boxed set. I have the PDF of the first edition rules but have been putting off getting the hardcover until I had a few figures painted so we could actually play. The Crime Syndicate is a complete team of five figures that mirrors the Justice League.
As it would happen, the very next day after placing that order, Miniature Market had their daily deal for the Batman Miniature Game second edition Dark Knight starter for about half price. With more buildings, a Batman and police team, as well as a Bane and mercenary team, plus a Tumbler and Batpod, I snapped it up. Even with the move to third edition, this was too good a deal to pass up. It had been on my list but I could never justify the cost – even with the bundle pricing compared to getting the parts separately.

Figure Painting Total - April 2020

I had a week off before I started working from home. I finally finished the bases on some figures I had been working on. I finished them with a gloss coat, and then a matte coat on most of them.

Bought
Unmatched - Battle of Legends - 4

Painted
Unmatched - Robin Hood
Unmatched - Bigfoot
Unmatched - Bruce Lee
BM/DC Universe - Black Orchid
Marvel Universe - Emma Frost
Marvel Universe - Doctor Doom
Marvel Universe - Magneto
BM/DC Universe - Manta
BM/DC Universe - Huntress
BM/DC Universe - Deadshot
Spider-Man/Marvel Universe - Daredevil
Marvel Universe - Black Widow
Spider-Man/Marvel Universe - Punisher
Marvel Universe - Cyclops
Marvel Universe - Nova
Marvel Universe - Hulk (replacement)
Red Hulk (replacement as alternate for Marvel Universe)

April total - figures bought 4, figures painted 17
Running total 2020 – figures bought 15, figures painted 17

Books read - January to April 2020

Jan
The Book of Foam Armor by Svetlana Quindt
Gothic – A Dark Companion for In Her Majesty’s Name by Charles Murton & Craig Cartmell
Warhammer 40,000: Index: Xenos 1 (8th edition) by Games Workshop in Nottingham
Warhammer 40,000: Index: Imperium 1 by Games Workshop in Nottingham
Then That Happened by Jon Cryer
Warhammer 40,000: Death From Above (7th edition) by Games Workshop in Nottingham
Warhammer 40,000: Index: Imperium 2 (8th edition) by Games Workshop in Nottingham
Warhammer 40,000: Codex Traitor Legions (7th edition) by Games Workshop in Nottingham

Feb
Warhammer 40,000: Clan Raukaan Supplement (6th edition) by Games Workshop Design Studio
The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher
Warhammer 40,000: Codex Adeptus Astartes – Space Marines (8th edition) by Games Workshop in Nottingham
Warhammer 40,000: Codex Heretic Astartes – Chaos Space Marines (8th edition) by Games Workshop in Nottingham

Mar
Warhammer 40,000: Codex Adeptus Astartes – Grey Knights (8th edition) by Games Workshop in Nottingham
Every Tool’s a Hammer by Adam Savage
Warhammer 40,000: Chapter Approved 2017 by Games Workshop in Nottingham
Last Days: Zombie Apocalypse: Seasons by Ash Barker
Marvelocity – The Marvel Comic Art of Alec Ross by Chip Kidd + Geoff Spear
Dragon Teeth by Michael Crichton
Blood Bowl 2018 Almanac! By Games Workshop Limited

Apr
Blood Bowl 2003 Annual
Rediscover The Saints by Matthew Kelly

Covid 19 - 4

I had a week off, mostly trying to stay out of the way of my wife, who was still working at home. I was able to get a bit more painting done.

The previous two weeks I have been working from home as well. The commute is much better, and it is nice being able to get a hot lunch. But I would rather be at work doing the regular work instead.

They are talking about starting to open services again. It seems a bit soon but we'll see how it goes. It will be unfortunate if they open up everything up, the virus spreads again, and then they have to close everything down again.

Covid - 3

They have now posted that in-class school has been cancelled indefinitely. If things radically change, they might bring them back, but otherwise they are not expected to go back before the end of the school year. This could mean that there is no graduation ceremony at the end of June as well.
I originally had to book that week as a holiday back in February in order to be able to get to go to her grad. If they end up moving the ceremony, I now may not be able to go.

For my wife, they are talking about bring one of them in each week to work in the office. Logistically, this would be messy, as she would have to take her laptop back in to work, and may have to bus home depending on my shift and where I am working.

I was still working at an alternate site. They are getting things ready to send us home, and have tried a few people to see how it will work. I had Thursday off and had to take my computer home when I left on Wednesday. I am off next week but then I log in from home.

We have further locked down the province. All non-essential services have now been closed as of April 1.

Figure Painting Total - March 2020

Before everything got locked down I was able to get a copy of Speed Freeks. It's expensive but I was able find a copy at the store even though it's no longer in print.
I had pinned and assembled all my Knight Models figures over the winter. I was abled to get outside and prime all of them as well earlier this month. I even started painting some of them before all of this shutdown started.

Speed Freeks - 8

Mar total - figures bought 8, figures painted 0
Running total 2020 – figures bought 11, figures painted 0

Canada Covid - week two

My daughter is off from school for the next three weeks. Two weeks are bracketing their regular spring break. So far, cabin fever hasn’t settled into her yet. Her grad is still up in the air. Her workplace at a children’s play center has been closed.

Shan is settling in to working from home.

I am working at an alternate site. We had too many people in the one building so they have moved some of us to allow us to spread out and to prevent the entire center from going down if infection should happen. They keep surveying us to see what our conditions are at home. It hasn’t happened yet, but they are looking deeper into what would be needed to send us home as required.

Grocery stores and gas stations are still open. With gas being the lowest it has been in decades, it’s actually not too bad. Churches have been closed through Easter. A lot of ‘non-essential’ services have been recommended to close.

Since we are both still considered ‘essential services’, my wife and are I still working, and still getting paid. Since we can’t go to movies, or out for restaurants, with traffic being light and gas being cheap, we are actually doing okay financially.

We realized how very lucky we are in this. I hope that it is not hitting too many of you too hardly.

Covid - commences in Canada

Unlike HINI, which never did seem to get the traction to become a big thing, this Covid 19 seems to be reaching the next level.
They figure it started in Wuhan in China. It’s not the most deadly virus but it does seem to have a high transmission rate. With things being what they are right now, slow government responses have allowed it to bloom in various areas.

Italy seems to be devastated as well. So far, cases are trickling in to Canada. A lot of the sporting events for NBA, and NHL, as well as concerts have all been postponed. Schools are being closed. People are being encouraged to work from home if they can and practice “social distancing” where you try to remain 6 feet apart from someone else. They recommend frequent hand washing and not touching your face.

My daughter had a few school trips planned that have been cancelled. Her trip to Brandon for the Jazz concert was cancelled by Brandon. Her trip to Japan at the end of March was cancelled as well. Further, her school is taking the next two weeks off leading into spring break. Her Chicago trip at the end of May is looking unlikely.

My wife is now working from home. She has brought her laptop home and has set up in the living room.

I am still going in to work so far.

Figure Painting Total - February 2020

I haven't picked up much recently. The figures in the Unmatched sets look too good not to paint though. I have been working away at the Batman Miniatures/Marvel/DC Universe games though. I've been assembling, basing, and priming them. Could painting finally ensue?

Unmatched – Robin Hood VS Bigfoot – 2
Unmatched – Bruce Lee – 1

Feb total - figures bought 3, figures painted 0
Running total 2020 – figures bought 3, figures painted 0

Painting – Lead it Be

I popped in to one of my local stores last weekend to pick up a pin vise. I’ve been assembling the Marvel/DC Universe figures over the last while and some of the limbs are so thin that they need to be pinned. The weather had warmed up enough that I was also able to prime a bunch of the ones I’ve already assembled.

While there, the owner showed me some figures that he had painted. He knew I used to paint (a lot more than my recent figure painting totals would reflect). These were the first figures that he had painted, having mostly been a card gamer. He had painted some of the Rebel Legion figures in a light green color. He was going for an ‘army men’ look.

I congratulated him a bit for painting but then mentioned that if he hit them with a wash, the details would really pop. We discussed drybrushing a bit as well.


Later, upon reflection, I realized that I had done him a disservice in this. While I would apply a wash and then highlights, as well as basing, he may not want to take these extra steps. In fact, in doing these extra details, it might even take away from his design aesthetic.

I messaged him later and pointed out my error. I circled back and welcomed him into the painting fold, advising him that he had taken his first steps into a larger world. I stressed that he did not need to make any other changes to what he had done, unless he wanted to. I blamed my years of Games Workshop 3-color-standard.

Just a reminder to us to think back to when we first started out painting. We need to celebrate what has been accomplished, and point out the good. If asked, we can give advice to nudge the new painters along the path but they don’t ever have to get to the same destination that we are at or heading to.

I remember seeing a 40K battle at a convention in Regina back in the late 90s. One player had painted his Tyranid army in pastel colors – blue, pink, yellow. A lot of the people walking by did not like it, but I found his sherbet-colored forces quite striking on the table.

A destruction of Hulks?

The Hulk figure for the Marvel Universe game was huge, heavy, and expensive. It was supposed to fit on the large 60mm base. I was able to pick up an alternative but, if you missed out, you also have options.

There are a couple of Heroclix figures that are larger than normal, but would still be smaller than the right size. While they would be lighter, they are still a bit moderately priced. They are already painted, unless you buy the Red Hulk version, which would need to be repainted.

The new Hulk figure from Marvel Crisis Protocol is close to the same size, and light, but also pretty expensive. It will also need to be assembled and painted.


I had picked up this one. It was moderately priced, is light, is painted, and is the right size. The base needs a small amount of work to make it 60mm though. You can glue it directly to a 60mm base, or cut the figure from his base and then glue him to a proper one. I would cut a 60mm disk from styrene or cardboard, hot glue him to it, and then blend the edges with extra rubble made from styrene and paint to match.

Dollarama/Dollar Tree had some large scale superhero figures. These were light, the right size, painted, and cheap. They are closer to 1/35 scale but that is about the right size for the Hulk figure. This one already comes on a base that is almost 60mm. I had picked this one up a few years ago and haven’t seen any recently.

I did find some WWE wrestlers at Dollar Tree that were also close to 1/35 scale. They are light, a good size, and cheap. John Cena and Brock Lesnar have okay figures that could be used for A-Bomb and Red Hulk. They are both wearing boots so that would have to modified and the pant edges torn if you want to make a normal Green or Grey Hulk. They don’t have full bases, so that would need to be cut away and both pinned to a 60mm base. Both would need a simple paint job as well.

Why so many? I could not find the cheap Hulk, or anything equivalent when I was looking so I picked up the other one at a convention. Then I picked up the wrestlers while looking for ones that others would be able to find easier. Finally, while sifting boxes to storage recently, I came across the original one I had bought.

Top 10 Games of 2019

My top 10 games of 2019

I have put together my top 10 games for 2019. Note that these are games that I have played for the first time in 2019, not necessarily games that were released in 2019. With all the games that I already have, I got another 25 games plus expansions last year. Some were gifts, some were purchased at the thrift stores, and some were new.

The new games were: Big Trouble In Little China, Button Men: Beat People Up, Combat Arena, Disney Villainous, Disney Villainous: Evil Plans Ahead, Disney Villainous: Wicked to the Core, Dracula’s America: Shadow of the West: Forbidden Powers, Dune, Jurassic Park Danger, Justice League Strategy Game, Outremer: Faith and Blood, Saurai Jack: Back to the Past.

The ones I picked up not new were: Anomia, Conspiracy, Crash Tackle, Euchre, Gangs of Commorragh, Lexigo Rush, Loopin’ Chewie, Ninja Burger, Shogun (Lakeside), Snake Oil, The Collectors, Trespass.

A lot of these did not hit the table this year. Some games from previous years were finally played.

Games that I played for the first time that did not make my list were:
Get the MacGuffin, Han Solo Card Game, Jaipur, Yahtzee Texas Hold ‘em.

12 – Sagrada – Looks very pretty. You have to choose from the dice rolled and place one into your scoring grid. But, like Catan, if not explained fully, you can be messed up right from the start. The play is okay.

11 – Snake Oil – another game where one player has to choose from among other player’s submissions. In this one, the first player draws a consumer, and the other players have to use two of the cards in their hands to come up with a product that person would like. Unlike most of this category, your submissions are not secret, you actually get to pitch them to the judge.

10 – Splendor – Another classic resource building game. You collect gems in order to buy cards with gems on them. This allows to buy more cards so that you can buy more expensive cards with points on them in order to get enough points to win.

9 – Anomia – One of the Mensa select games. You flip over cards and if you match symbols with someone, you have to give an example from the topic on their card before they give an example of the topic on yours.

8 – Perpetual Commotion – Plays like G’Nertz or Dutch Blitz except the Aces and Kings are replaced by Starts and Stops, both of which are wild. It comes with cards for up to 6 players, but you can get extra decks for up to 10 – which would be insane. There are slight scoring variations but it tends to last a bit long if played to 150.

7 – Take the Train – a quick card game for up to 6 players. You try to play all your cards first by building on routes. The simple rules could be a bit more clear about some of the odd situations, but the game plays quick enough to try any questions both ways until you can agree on any questions. A lot of the game depends on your original deal but it still fun and simple enough for mixed groups.

6 – Unspeakable Words – A word game where playing too many larger point words may end up losing you the game. Letters are scored by the number of angles on them. You have to roll your score or higher on a d20 or you lose one of your adorable Cthulhu statues. If you lose all of them you are out of the game but, while you are down to your last one, you are considered insane and can spell gibberish words. Seems a bit short but keeps everyone feeling like they have a chance.

5 – Trespass – an old Lakeside game. One player has to move one of their 9 red pieces to the top of a column. The other player can move their 4 black pieces to block while their sole yellow piece can actually remove the red pieces. It’s quick, simple to learn, and feels like it needs just the right amount of strategy for such an easy game.

4 – Domination – An older control game (also known as Focus). You move your pieces and the top piece on a stack controls it. The setup is a bit precise but it plays pretty well. Definitely looking forward to trying a few more times.

3 – Zooloretto – A set collection game where you are populating a zoo. It’s pretty simple to explain and quick to play.

2 – Disney Villainous – A lovely looking game where you play as the villains trying to achieve your goal first. Each villain has their own decks so the theme stays very true. It starts with 6 villains and already has two expansions of three each so the combinations are quite high.

1 – Cathedral – A two player area control game. It has a very GO-like feel to it that I like. It’s fast but makes you want to play again and again.

Figure Painting Total - December

I ended up popping into GameKnight and picking up another basket of figures. While I did not get any more painted in December, I did assemble the Suicide Squad set, as well as started to assemble a bunch of the Marvel Universe figures. I started painting the dumpsters, but did not get them finished before the end of the month. It won’t take much to finish them – which would double my painting output from this year.
I am also working on getting my storage together for the finished figures so impediments are being overcome.

Blood Bowl – Champions of Death – 14
Blackstone Fortress – 44
Chronoscope – Deadeye Slim – 1
Chronoscope – Patent Scientist – 1
Chronoscope – Pulp Era Professor – 1
Chronoscope – Femme Fatale – 1
Chronoscope – Occult Detective – 1
Chronoscope – Hellstromme – 1
Reaper – Dumpster – 1
Reaper – Jade Tiger, Monk – 1
Reaper – Xiao Liu, Female Monk - 2
Reaper – Townsfolk Strumpet – 1
Reaper – Zombies! – 5
Savage Worlds – Stone – 1
Savage Worlds – Texas Ranger Female – 1
Savage Worlds – Texas Ranger Male – 1
Savage Worlds – Dita, Steampunk Witch – 1
Wild West Wizard of Oz – Scarecrow – 1
Wild West Wizard of Oz – Winged Monkeys – 3


Dec total - figures bought 82, figures painted 0
Running total 2019 – figures bought 231, figures painted 1

Books Read - September to December 2019

Sept
The Tetris Effect: The Game that Hypnotized the World by Dan Ackerman
Milestones of Space: Eleven Iconic Objects from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum by Michael J. Neufeld
400 Great R/C Modeling Tips by Jim Newman
Everydaycook by Alton Brown
Robin’s Laws of Good Game Mastery by Robin D. Laws
Star Trek Costumes: Five Decades of Fashion from the Final Frontier by Paula M. Block and Terry J. Erdmann
Warhammer 40,000: Index: Xenos 2 (8th Edition) by Games Workshop Nottingham
Basic Anatomy for the Manga Artist by Christopher Hart

Oct
Music Boxes by Gilbert Bahl
Stage Costumes Step by Step by Mary T. Kidd
Leatherwork – A Manual of Techniques by Geoffrey West
The Lego Neighborhood Book: Build Your Own Town! by Brian Lyles and Jason Lyles
The Lego Neighborhood Book: Build Your Own City! by Brian Lyles and Jason Lyles

Nov
Memories of the Moonlight Special and Grand Beach Train Era by Barbara Lange
Build Your Own City – The Big Unofficial Lego Builder’s Book by Joachim Klang / Oliver Albrecht
The Art of Star Trek by Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens
Fashion Sketchbook (second edition) by Bina Abling

Dec
Warhammer 40K – Shield of Baal: Deathstorm by The Games Workshop Design Studios
Warhammer 40K – Sentinels of Terra supplement (6th edition) by The Games Workshop Design Studios
Firefly: Echoes of War: Thrilling Heroics by Margaret Weis, Andrew Peregrine, Monica Valentinelli, and Nicole Wakelin
Warhammer 40K – Militarium Tempestus supplement (6th edition) by The Games Workshop Design Studio
Warhammer 40K – Black Legion supplement (6th edition) by Games Workshop Nottingham
Warhammer 40K – Codex Dark Angels (6th edition) by Games Workshop in Nottingham
Butch Patrick’s Munster Memories – a mini coffin table book be Richard Maurizio and Derek Shimoda
Warhammer 40K – Index: Chaos (8th edition) by Games Workshop in Nottingham

Car Wars - sixth time the charm?

I'm really torn. I've played Car Wars from the pocket edition in the eighties, through the 5th edition. Playing both with friends and at conventions. Playing the highways, arenas, and races, Convoy, and The Car Wars Card Game.

I like the saving of investing almost $200 (Canadian) instead of $500 to get most of it. But the game seems so radically different from the versions I remember. I'm not sure if anyone I used to play with would play this version. I'm not sure if I need to be the one to buy everything from this version in order to play.

Based on the videos, I don't like the car design compared to what I remember. I don't like the control panel compared to the old record sheets. I don't like the forced upsizing and do not like the look of the cars (too much Battlecars compared to the old artwork). The game play in the videos with the special dice compared to the old modifiers seems a bit cold to me.

Still, it is a really good price.