Asterix and Obelix books

When my sister used to go to Brownies, which was held at a local library, we would hang around and peruse the stacks. This is where I was first introduced to some of the foreign graphic novels. This is where I first encountered Asterix & Obelix. They also had Tin Tin, and even Lucky Luke but you always had to be careful as some of the books were in French. 

Even back then, there were already a multitude of books in these series. The faux Roman and Gaul names really caught my fancy as did the antics of these two characters. 

 When I started working, one of the things I started buying was Asterix books. I did not get many though, due to availability and the quality of printing. The books from this era suffered from the same issue that the early Games Workshop books did – in that the glue that held the covers was noticeably lacking and would often separate. 

 Recently, while going through the books and magazine section in Walmart, I noticed three Asterix Omnibus collections. It seems Papercutz is reprinting the series in three-book collections. So I have been picking them up again. I have the first four already, and the fifth is coming out at the end of December. With volume 39 just being released in the regular series, I am about a third of the way there. 

 So far, my only complaint is that they name the Druid Panoramix as in the French versions, not Getafix as I am used to from earlier translations.

Figure Painting total - November 2021

I didn’t buy or finish painting any figures in October. I did assemble some Blood Bowl teams – Dark Elves, Goblins, and Lizardmen. I even had a nice enough day to prime everything up to here in advance, so I can paint through the winter. 

 Bought 

 Unmatched – Little Red Riding Hood vs Beowulf – 2 

 Dracula’s America – The Church of Dagon – 8 

 Dracula’s America – The Salem Sisterhood – 8 

 Dracula’s America – Spirit Creatures – 3 

 

Painted 

 Nov total – figures bought 21, figures painted 0 

 Running total 2021 – figures bought 288, figures painted 97

Shan 7 - Trees 1

 When we first moved to our current house I was very impressed that we had nine trees of various types and sizes on it.  My wife, it seems, is not as big a fan of trees as I am.

Shortly after moving in, I almost pulled down a tree in the back yard on top of her.  We hadn’t realized that it was dead.  Since then, the rest of the trees have been numbered.

The one at the very back of the yard was brought down as it gave too much shade to the pool.  The pine in front died out due to the trees on either side choking it out.  We had the one on the side taken down as it was growing way over our neighbor’s house and power line. 

I brought the last one in the back down myself and was very happy that I was able to drop it without hitting the house, fence, or deck. When one of the crab apples in the front broke in the heavy snow a few years back, I also safely dropped that one as well.  The last one on the side of the house was a different story though.

She has been wanting it down for the last few years as it gives too much shade between the houses, scratches on the roof, and drops a lot of seeds every year in May through the whole back yard, especially into the pool.  I’ve been meaning to trim back some of the branches for the last two years but could never get the kids to hold the ladder for me in spring or fall.

When we finally decided to cut it down, my folks and son were going to help.  On the day, they showed up later in the afternoon.  The tree had one branch extending backwards that we cut off.  It had another paid of branches that extended out over the roof.  I had originally planned to trim them back as well but, due to the time, decided we could probably leave them with the tree.

We notched the trunk, and were worked at opening up the notch when the tree tipped slightly and pinned the chainsaw blade.  It had leaned over onto the house.  I said I could go up on the roof and trim back some of the branches but my folks wanted to go to the store and get another blade for the chainsaw.

While they left, I went up on the roof and cut back a lot of the branches using a hand tree saw.  I cut back enough that I was able to move the tree off of the roof. 

Now, this would have been a great time to wait for my folks to come back and help guild the tree to the ground.  But I thought that if I pushed it off of the roof, with my son pushing from below, it should have enough of an angle to carry it down to the driveway. 

I was wrong. 

The tree cleared the roof, but caught the overhang over the front door on the way down, and pulled it off the front of the house.  So, my son, folks and I spent the rest of the week that I had off taking apart the old overhang, and rebuilding it back on to the front of the house.  We were able to get it reshingled, tarred and caulked, and even had time to touch up the paint before we got snow.

 

 

Buy Snow Tires

 We live in a region that has snow for four to six months of the year.  Growing up, we used to have ‘all-season’ tires on our vehicles and thought that was fine.  Since then, they had come up with specially formatted ‘winter’ tires but we never really thought much of them, until we tried them.

Up here, the temperature can drop to as low as -40 degrees Celsius (234 Kelvin), and regular tires, even all-season tires, get solid and lose a lot of their grip.  Fishtails and sliding on ice are sort of a rite of passage for young drivers.  It’s like drifting, but with actual snow drifts.

When we inherited the van from Shan’s dad, it also came with snow tires.  When we had them installed, we noticed a major difference in the stopping ability.  Instead of that slow sliding which normally accompanied stopping with all-season tires in deep winter, braking occurred at a much shorter distance.  It is a total game changer, and one that I highly recommend for those people who experience actual winter.

It is a major expense, both for the tires themselves, and for the extra rims and possibly sensors needed.  Plus add the cost of having them changed, or having to change them yourselves twice a year.  But it is easily worth it, both in the better traction and safety as well as not having to deal with cracked bumpers, or the hassle of getting stuck.  Plus, your tires will last longer as they are only being driven on half as much.  You can’t use snow tires all year as they as softer than regular tires and wear out much quicker on the summer roads.

The only thing to watch out for is that people behind you may not be able to stop as short as you are if they are still trying to get by on all-seasons.

 

The Show must go on

 We used to go to the movies quite regularly in the before times. We tried to get out at least a couple of times a month.  Since the shut downs, we have been keeping our movie night, but watching them at home. 

 

The last movie that we saw in a theatre was back in March 2020 when we saw Onward. I wasn’t as impressed with it as some were but it was still enjoyable.  We had seen some movies in the drive in since then.  We saw New Mutants last fall, and the new Suicide Squad this summer.

 

We were getting ready to go back in September but then they had changed the rules and open up the theatres to the entire population, vaccinated or not.  So we decided to pass for a while.  They soon restricted access back to vaccinated only as the number again increased. 

Our first movie back was the new James Bond film No Time to Die.  It was a bit of an odd experience.  The theatres used to include buffer space between guests but have dropped that so we had people who had bought the seats right next to us.  Because there was the space, we shuffled over a seat to allow room. 

 

I found this movie okay as well.  Daniel Craig isn’t in my top three Bonds, and I was never a fan of the reboot when they brought him in.  This had a lot of nice nods to older fans but, with this being Craig’s last film in the franchise, I am not sure how they will continue the series without another reboot.  Which would be a shame as they have built up a really good supporting cast. 

 

I suppose that we will have to see where they go from here.

Figure Painting Total - September 2021

 When I found a Blood Bowl Treeman figure, I had to pick it up. The squirrel that comes with it was given Star Player rules in White Dwarf and the figure has been very hard to find.

I was also finally able to find an original Batwoman figure. I'm not a fan of the newer figure on the huge gargoyle.


Bought
Blood Bowl - Crud Creek Nosepickers - 22
Blood Bowl - Treeman - 1
BM - Batwoman - 1

Painted
DA Red Hand Coven - 7

DA Crossroad Cult (Abyssal Harbinger) - 1
DA Chupacabra - 1
DA Jackalope - 1
DA Skinwalker in Bear form - 1

MU - Beast - 2 (heroclix)

Sept total - figures bought 24, figures painted 13
Running total 2021 - figures bought 267, figures painted 97

Books read - May to August 2021

May

Design for Death by Barbara Jones

Albatros Aces of World War 1 by Norman Franks

 

June

Albatros Aces of World War 1 Part 2 by Greg VanWyngarden

Frostgrave: Fantasy Wargames in the Frozen City by Joseph A. McCullough

Nieuport Aces of World War 1 by Norman Franks

Pusher Aces of World War 1 by Jon Guttman

SPAD VII Aces of World War 1 by Jon Guttman

 

July

Fokker Dr 1 Aces of World War 1 by Norman Franks and Greg VanWyngarden

Frostgrave: Perilous Dark by Joseph A. McCullough

Dolphin and Snipe Aces of World War 1 by Norman Franks

SPAD XII/XIII Aces of World War 1 by Jon Guttman

Sopwith Camel Aces of World War 1 by Norman Franks

 

Aug

Fokker D VII Aces of World War 1 Part 1 by Norman Franks and Greg VanWyngarden

Scale Aircraft Drawings Volume 1 – World War 1 by Air Age Publishing

Fokker D VII Aces of World War 1 Part 2 by Norman Franks and Greg VanWyngarden

Sopwith Triplane Aces of World War 1 by Norman Franks

Figure Painting Total - August 2021

I worked on a few more Dracula's America's figures but did not complete any this month.  I also started a bunch of Heroclix figures for Marvel Universe and western based games.  I did assemble my Dark Elf Blood Bowl team, and primed more of the new set of Batman Miniatures figures.  

So, while my purchases were low, I did not  manage to finish any painting.

Bought

BM – Wonderland Gang – 4

BM/DCU – King Shark – 1

DCU – Atrocitus – 1

 

 

Painted

 

 

Aug total – figures bought 6, figures painted 0

Running total 2021 – figures bought 243, figures painted 84

 

Figure Painting Total - July 2021

One of the issues with buying figures online is you can’t see the packages before you buy them.  My last order had mislabled figures so I bought another pack of the right figures.  Plus, when I finally got around to basing my objective markers from earlier, I found that Set 1 had the contents from Set 2 in it, so I bought another Set 1 to replace it. 

 

With the two Skinwalker tribes, I now have all the posses from Dracula’s America: Shadows of the West and Hunting Grounds.  There are two more posses from Forbidden Power, and the extra posse the Kin from the Osprey website plus a few more figures.  Then just some more Artizan or Pulp Figures, to finish Dracula’s America, Rules With No Name, In Her Majesty’s Name, and Mad Dogs.  There is a nice overlap for these games, both in figures and scenery.

 

 

Bought

Artizan – Hired Guns – 3

BM – Maroni Crime Family – 4

BM – Mobsters Set 1 – 2

BM – Objective Game Markers Set 2 – 5

BM – Ventriloquist & Mobsters – 4

Dracula’s America – Plains Tribe Posse – 9

Dracula’s America – Skinwalker Posse – 8

Dracula’s America – Buffalo Man – 1

Dracula’s America – Skinwalker in Bear form – 1

 

 

 

Painted

Dracula’s America – Crossroads Cult – 6

Dracula’s America – Buffalo Man – 1

Reaper – Bat Demon – 1

 

July total – figures bought 37, figures painted 8

Running total 2021 – figures bought 237, figures painted 84

Building Whitewash City

 I had been working on getting The Rules With No Name ready to play at conventions many years ago. I had found some 1/35 sized figures, and had made bases and painted many of them but had not decided on a color for the bases. I had looking into some papercraft buildings that would need to be upsized, and even picked up a couple of larger plastic fronts at Dollarama.

There was a set of buildings from a western town made by Eric Hotz, who is also on BGG. This was the Whitewash City. They are purportedly at 1/60 scale or 30mm but, things were built small back then and, with most figures being on bases, this makes the buildings look a bit on the wee side.

I had started some tests on upsizing the files. The size of the buildings to store was always a detriment, though, and I did not get around to finishing.

Several years later, I have come across Dracula’s America and am revisiting the scale. With the time now allotted from being quarantined, I have been busy painting up some 25mm figures. Now that I have a few posses done, I have revisited the terrain.

He had a sample building – The Imperial Saloon. This is nice to try to see if the scale will work with your figures. Plus it gives you an idea of how hard the assembly will be, and how durable the buildings are.

I had also bought the 10 pack about a decade ago. I was able to get it from him directly on CD, which I finally reprinted and built. This does fill a table nicely with a good amount of buildings, especially for a skirmish game.

 

I had checked back and planned to get the Motherload set with all the buildings. But when I finally was ready in March to order, the website was down. In speaking with Eric, it seems his old computer had stopped working and his new one doesn’t come with a CD drive.

I can still get the files from Drivethrugames. But it will now be a bit more expensive. If you need Western Scenery, I would recommend trying the sample first, and if that will work for you, think hard on going right up to the Motherload if you think you will ever need more than just the starter.

Figure Painting Total - June 2021

I picked up the last two posses from the books of Dracula's America.  I also picked up a second Iron Patriot from the Marvel Universe Miniatures game in order to repaint as a Warmachine but now cannot find the stat card.

Bought
BM/DCU – Raven – 1
Artizan Hired Guns – 3
DA Plains Tribe Posse – 9
DA Skinwalker Posse – 8
DA Buffalo Man – 1
DA Skinwalker in Bear form – 1
MU – Iron Patriot – 1
Reaper – Bat Demon – 1
Reaper – Occult Detective – 1

Painted
DA – Congregation – 10

DA – Swamp Baka – 1

June total – figures bought 26, figures painted 11
Running total 2021 – figures bought 200, figures painted 76

Canada Day double double

 What did you do on Canada Day?  We went in and got our second doses of the Pfizer vaccine.  Still had no major reactions but the arm was a bit more sore this time around. 

Our kids had gotten Pfizer for the first round but they were not scheduling any on the second rounds so they went and got Moderna.  This made them a bit tired, but no major reactions. 

With our 14 days coming up on the 15^th, we can now apply for our vaccine cards.  They seem to have underestimated the demand for these and there may be a bit of a delay.  This should be fine as we’re not going anywhere anytime soon.

There is currently some talk from Europe about the mixing of vaccines though, so we will have to see how that affects the kids.  Plus Pfizer is now talking about the possibility of needing a booster to counter the variants.  This is not much different than the seasonal flu cocktail though.

 

 

Yearbook rant

 I’ve been pushing my daughter to pick up her yearbook from last year before the schools close again for another summer.  I suppose yearbooks are not quite the thing that they were when we were younger.

Even back in the Eighties, yearbooks were a pretty tough sell to the kids.  I remember we had various ads that we had played over the announcements in order to get the students to buy one in time.  One involved us singing an ad to the tune of ‘We Are the World’, and another reminded them that if they did not buy one in time . . . and ending in a flushing sound.

This was back when you used to get your yearbook on one of the last days of school.  This allowed you to get well wishes, and signatures from all your friends before they went their separate ways for the summer.  This was your final chance to get that special someone to acknowledge you and write something nice for you to remember them by,

It was always a bit of a scramble, trying to finish the books in time and get photos from the grad celebration added in time, so the publishing company has managed to move the delivery dates to the following school year.  This does mean that you don’t have a bunch of people there to sign it when you go to pick it up. 

This cuts out on all the clever variations of ‘Have a great summer!’ and ‘See you in the fall’ but makes it less of a keepsake.  Plus, kids these days have their photos on their phones, and are able to keep in touch with their classmates a lot more than we did.

Figure Painting Total - May 2021

I picked up a few more posses for Dracula's America. 

 Bought 

 Dracula’s America – Crossroads Cult – 13 

 Dracula’s America – Red Hand Coven – 6 

 WizKids – Deep Cuts – Silver Surfer – 1 

 WizKids – Wild Boar – 2 

 Painted 

 Dracula’s America – Hired Guns – 2 (Carpathian Guard, Carpathian Guard)

Dracula’s America – Manitou – 1 Dracula’s America – Sasquatch – 1 Dracula’s America – Wendigo -1

DCU – Lex Luthor (Classic Costume) – 1 WizKids – Deep Cuts – Silver Surfer – 1

May total – figures bought 22, figures painted 7 

Running total 2021 – figures bought 174, figures painted 65

Figure Painting Total - April 2021

I picked up a couple of Blood Bowl teams as well as some more figures for Dracula's America.

Bought

Blood Bowl – Gwaka’Moli Crater Gators – 12

Blood Bowl – Naggaroth Nightmares – 12

Dracula’s America – Congregation - 10

Dracula’s America – Sasquatch – 1

Dracula’s America – Swamp Baka – 1

Dracula’s America – Unwelcome Guests – 3 (Chupicabra, Jackalope, Manitou) 

Dracula’s America – Wendigo – 1

 

 

Painted                                                         

Dracula’s America – Twilight Order – 8

Dracula’s America – Hired Guns – 2 (Stitch Doctor, Carpathian Guard)

 

 

figures bought 40, figures painted 10

 

Running total 2021 – figures bought 152, figures painted 58

 

 

Books Read January to April 2021

Jan

Bad Luck and Trouble by Lee Child

Blood Bowl: The Game of Fantasy Football – the official rules (season two) by Games Workshop

Doctor Who Character Encyclopedia by Jason Loborik, Annabel Gibson, Moray Laing, and Emma Grange

 

Feb

Cold Days by Jim Butcher

The Affair by Lee Child

Skin Game by Jim Butcher

 

Mar

Peace Talks by Jim Butcher

Battle Ground by Jim Butcher

Walt Disney World by Walt Disney Productions

Warhammer 40,000 Core Book (9th edition) by The Warhammer Studio

                         

Apr

Zorro, The Novel by Isabel Allende

 

 

 

Covid update - vaccine booked

 We have opened up a bit and the cases started going up again.  They have locked down visits to the home but are allowing people to go to restaurants.  

We have booked in our appointments for our first doses of the vaccine on Mother's Day.  We were good for whatever was on tap.  It sounds like we are scheduled for the pfizer version.  It means we'll have to go back for a second dose.

We usually get together for the Academy Awards with the group that we used to go see movies with back in the before times.  This year we did the Oscars at our own houses and used Zoom to get together.  As usual, I did not win our Oscar pool.

While most people have been pretty good about following the guidelines and restrictions, there have been some people who feel that their freedom is being too harshly restricted.  There was a large protest of 'anti-maskers' at the Forks.  

Personally, I feel that any slight inconvenience I have to put up with by wearing a mask more than makes up for the chance to prevent spreading covid to someone else.  But I find wearing a mask like wearing tie - if you get one that fits, and wear it properly, it's not uncomfortable.

Figure Painting Total - March 2021

 When I had ordered the Dracula’s America Hired Gun pack, it came with the Stitch Doctor, and 2 Carpathian Guards instead of a Stitch Doctor, a Carpathian Guard, and a Native Arcanist.  I mentioned it to the company and instead of just sending me the missing figure, they sent me another entire pack. 

The Mera and Elseworlds Superman I had bought last year had been missing pieces and Knight Models had sent me replacements.  They took so long to get here that when I asked about their status, they sent me another pair.  The second Superman is fine but the Mera was broken at the wrists – which may be too fine to fix.

With Harley finally being painted from my Suicide Squad starter, I can now technically play the Batman Miniatures Game as I have completed both sides of that starter.

Bought         

BM – Why So Serious? – 5 (Joker, 4 Henchmen)

BM – Objective Game Markers Set 1 – 5

BM – Objective Game Markers Set 2 – 5

Dracula’s America – Hired Guns – 3

DCU – Supergirl – 1

DCU – Superman (Elseworlds) – 1

 

Painted

BM/DCU – Enchantress – 1

BM/DCU – Harley Quinn (from Suicide Squad Starter) – 1

BM/DCU – Rick Flag – 1

Dracula’s America – Dark Confederate Posse – 10

Dracula’s America – Hired Guns – 1 Stitch Doctor

Reaper – Hell Hound – 1

Reaper – War Dog – 1

 

March total – figures bought 20 figures painted 16

Running total 2021 – figures bought 112, figures painted 48