Thursday, November 15

Catching up....

Been a few days since the last post so I thought it time to bring the blog up to date...

Much time has been taken in the interim with a fairly important transaction in Steve the Wargamers life...  some of you who have been round here for long enough will know that in those few hours when I'm not thinking about little metal men I also like to sail....

Back in April 2009 [clicky] I bought "Papillon" and since then have had huge amounts of enjoyment sailing here here and there, repairing her (), blogging the results [clicky] and generally acting Jack Sparrow....

"Papillon" back in February 2009 when I first bought her...
After four years though, and with huge reluctance, I decided it really was time to move on - so I prepped her for sale and shoved her on eBay, where she sold just over 5 days later......   the money's in the bank, I'll start looking for a new, slightly bigger, one next February with the aim of having a boat ready for the start of next season...  in the meanwhile Pap will stay in the sailing club I'm a member of until next March when her new owner will probably then take her to her new home....   not a dry eye in the house that day.. you do get attached to them...! Either way, that's all taken some time - physical and emotional!

So what else is on the go.....

The second two Zvezda kits are set for completion this evening - the online trader I was buying from didn't have the Opel Blitz trucks I ordered so rather than wait I went for a swap and got a Pz 38T [clicky] and a Pz II [clicky] instead. They were washed in a light detergent last night, the current Mrs Steve the Wargamer is at work this evening, so it seems an opportune time for a little modelling....! I'll post separately when that's done....
Pz 38 (T) & crew in France (June 1940) - superb picture - you can just feel the tiredness of that crew..... courtesy Wikipedia and the Bundesarchiv

Then after that it's time to think about shopping lists as this weekend is Warfare at Reading [clicky] once again though, I don't think I really need that much as my lead piles are largely intact due to a slow painting schedule this year (summer = sailing, so hopefully my output will pick up now winter is here, and the boat sold)....  I'm still enthused by the news from Newline Designs [clicky] of further expansions to their 20mm Sudan range, but I have to say that I'm not overly smitten by the new Dervish casts..  I'll hold fire on making a decision on whether to change the entire Sudan project from 15mm to 20mm until I see a few more in the range... and I'd like to see these in the flesh...

Newline Designs - new Hadendowah from their Sudan Colonial Range
They do have a 25% off  (!) sale though so I may be tempted by some stray bags of American Civil war stuff...!

Other than that, it's basically an opportunity for a damn good mooch., and also time to catch up with DG...  not sure we're going to get a game this time as he's busy..  fingers crossed for Saturday night, where if he can make it it will be finally time to finish the St Michel campaign [clicky] it's only taken us 3 years... 

22 comments:

  1. Like a wargames collection a boat needs to grow in size!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Steve

    Parting with a loved one is always difficult. I sold my 24 footer about 15 years ago when we moved from the Atlantic coast to the Prairies. Truth be told, we needed to sell her years before as the juggle of boat, family and 120 year old house was too much on me and our budget.

    But the good news is that you can go boat shopping!

    Cheers
    PD

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Peter - you're right of course - there's always an upside.... just need to get used to the idea.. :o)

      Delete
  3. Sad to see the Papillon go, I've enjoyed taking the occasional peek into her adventures but glad to hear that its not the end of your sailing days.

    20mm Colonial sounds tempting or at least I'm being tempted. Must be the influence of the ACW.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ross - the size is "draw" but I've invested so much tome in the 15mm's it's going to have to be a little more than that to pull me away... I'm looking for figures suitable to use as Sikh's in the Sudan this weekend at Warfare - it would be a long time before they became available in 20mm!

      Delete
  4. Steve,

    Your blog has become so difficult to read over the last few posts. The font size is so small that I have to "zoom" in . . . and then scroll from side to side to read each line.

    You can set a "text font size" in Blogger . . . and I would ask that you please do so.

    Go to the Dashboard; click on your blog; click on Template; click on orange "Customize" box; click on "Advanced"; highlight "Page Text" and choose the font size . . . and then the orange "Apply to Blog" box (upper right).

    You can also choose to make many more changes to the appearance of your blog there if you choose.

    Remember that many gamers (such as myself) are getting into our senior years and our eyes are not what they once were.


    -- Jeff

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jeff- sorry to hear that but I've made no changes to the font sizes since the day I signed up... :o)

      What set up do you have ie. operating system/web browser?? Seem to remember your a Linux user?? I can only test to Windows, but I always check a Internet Explorer and a Firefox view of the post to make sure it displays correctly..

      Do you see the same problem with any other blogs??

      Delete
    2. I am using Firefox 16.0.2 and no, I don't seem to have the problem with other blogs . . . it used to be no problem with your site . . . but Blogger has made a number of changes and now your page is very wide and does not text wrap when I zoom (some sites do and some don't).

      It has become very difficult to read your blog, which saddens me since I particularly like your "histories" of the units you paint and your battle reports.


      -- Jeff

      Delete
    3. What screen resolution do you use Jeff ie. screen size?

      Delete
  5. I've always wanted a boat, to just sail wherever you want must be fantastic, trouble is I'd need to buy 10 years worth of sick bags. Afraid I've no sea legs at all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've not got the strongest stomach but I find it's always worse on bigger boats...!

      Delete
  6. I heard a saying once; 'there are 2 happy days in a boat owners life, the day he first buys a boat, and the day he sells it!' - I am not a 'boatie' but I guess this is alluding to the costs and hassles of maintenance boats require!?

    Must admit I wouldn't mind a go a bit of 'Jack Sparrow-ing' myself sometime... soon as I think of it, that theme music hits my mind :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maintenance is an ongoing issue so yes almost certainly that's what it's about... I feel a little like I did after finishing the intense revision at the end of my degree... like I should be doing "something" and then remembering I don't have to!

      Delete
  7. Scott

    I definition I like is that a boat is a hole into the water into which money is poured. But I come back happy from sailing even in the crappiest weather, while I come back grumpy from even a good day of golf.

    Peter

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ...and the other one is standing in a cold shower while tearing up £20 notes... :o)

      Delete
  8. Love the Sea but lost my appetite for sailing after spending a week in a trawler deep in the arctic ocean. Never has so much breakfast been given to the waves! Understand the sentiments over selling though - different to a car which is seen as a utility rather than a past time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ...and no surprise! Wow.. that must have been an experience.... the best I can offer is a Force 10 in the Channel where the ferry couldn't dock for 4 hours because the previous ferry had damaged the lock gates.... NEVER again I hope!

      Delete
  9. Steve - infrequent commenter here, but I do enjoy the blog and had to say it's true, the two happiest days in a boat owners life are the day he buys it and the day he sells it! I had a small motor boat for a few years, but then got married (she didn't like it) and had kids, and reluctantly finally sold it. I'm from a long line of sailors, but my next watercraft will likely be a canoe!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Scott - I know where you're coming from.. the current Mrs Steve the Wargamer has never even set foot on Pap in the four years I owned her.. !

      Delete
  10. We've had to sell the family boat to help pay school fees but at least you can get a new one (it's a good time to buy). I enjoy your nautical adventures in lovely Chichester Harbour!

    I don't know why you are faffing around with 20mm Sudan. Just go and buy a box of Perry plastic Ansar they're the same price per figure!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Legatus - plastic figures are the spawn of the devil... :o)

      Delete