Monday, December 29, 2008

Holiday period

A very merry festive season to you! This year I got several wargames related items for Christmas. I got a warhammer wood set, which should add for some spooky ambiance, box of Eldar Banshees, and Eldar Swooping hawks, which means that I have plenty of Eldar to get started painting (Maybe in 2011).
My wife got me a portable photography studio, which has a nice folding photography setup with light diffusers and a proper cloth background, and she also got me two 250 watt halogen lights to blast the target with photons. Expect some pictures using this setup, and the wife’s new camera soon.
My grandfather traditionally sends money to my parents to buy a gift “from him”. Since I did not have any items on my list that seemed to fit this category I got cash instead. I decided in a most uncharacteristic fashion, to spend the money on miniatures directly, rather than on tools or something easier to explain. Leading contenders include a Copplestone 10mm Horse Warrior army (Rohan), and the new Battletech starter, also interested in a regiment of Perry HYW French to use as Bretonnians.
In other gaming news, we are shopping for a house to take advantage of the steep decline in costs here, and the wife indicates that a room suitable for crafts and gaming is certainly a criteria. Some sort of “bonus room” with room for a 8x6 table would be great…

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Vexatious Festive Sales

With the decline of the pound sterling vs. the US dollar (now at ~$1.48 per £ as of this writing), and the advent of the festive season, it becomes difficult for those of us not buying miniatures to hold out. Why? Christmas sales. Brigade Miniatures (not Games) is having a 15% off sale, which coupled with their VAT reduction for US buyers means over 30% off. Hasslefree is having a buy three get one free sale on most of their lines, plus throws in a goodie bag with each order. GZG is having a sale, already takes off VAT, and throws in a goodie bag as well. I am sure there are others seeking to extract my cash. What you may want undoubtedly varies, but a couple of companies of 6mm tanks, a platoon of sci-fi dwarfs, and more space ships all sound pretty great to me.
Very vexatious. Maybe next year I can take advantage.