Skip to main content

Practical Wargamer. . . Anyone? Anyone?

The cover of an early issue of said magazine.

Another long week concludes in which real life has admirably got in the way of hobby pursuits yet again.  That seems to be the way lately, but this weekend is relatively free, and come hell, or high water, I am going to sit myself down to the painting table and do SOMETHING during the next couple of days.  What in blazes has happened in the last 40-odd years?  Life was not this nutty for our parents!
-------------

Still, a guy can dream.  And read.  Even when dog-tired and after collapsing into bed mid-evenings.  Which brings me to a related point.  

Might anyone out there have, and be willing to part with, the first dozen issues -- numbers 1-12 in 'good,' or 'very good' though not necessarily 'mint' condition -- of Practical Wargamer?  So long as your pricing and the cost of shipping don't stray into "Are you kidding me?" territory, I can transfer payment to you forthwith via PayPal.

Just drop me a line (stokes.schwartz@gmail.com), and let's work out the details.  Thank you in advance.  I now charge weakly and quietly toward bed this Friday evening to drown my hobby sorrows with a cold glass of chocolate milk (made with Hershey's syrup) and some Ritz crackers with JIF peanut butter spread on top.  Comfort food in its purest form.

-- Stokes

------------


Later Monday Morning. . .

A dark, soon to be rainy, and  very Autumn-like Monday.  Well, the weekend was no a total bust.  I managed to sit down to the painting table for a couple of hours, separated by a long break, Saturday afternoon when I worked on finished those several pairs of Minden Austrian and Prussian standard bearers due to replace single MiniFig standard bearers.  Just some buttons and either red or black stocks left to paint in along with the inevitable touch-ups, then I can add the flags, slop on a coat or two of clear varnish, and Bob's your uncle.

The way I have handled flags the last decade or so is to print them out on plain old white printer paper, carefully attach them to the flagpoles with a thin layer of plain, old white PVA glue like Elmer's, furl them a bit, and set everything to one side for 24-36 hours to dry hard.  I come back later and paint over the printer inks with the usual hobby acrylics, sometimes changing colors in the process to personalize things.  

This time, however, I plan to stick as close as possible to historic flags carried by actual units simply because these were/are already so fancy and outlandishly beautiful, that they are, frankly, better than anything I might dream up.  This approach to flags worked nicely with that composite unit of Saxon Ernestine infantry that I finished during the late winter of 2016.  Interested parties can have another look at those here.

Ok, time to stop wasting time and avoiding the inevitable.  It is after 9am Monday morning after all.

-- Stokes

Comments

Unknown said…
Email sent today. Arthur
Bezzo said…
I have a bound set I would be happy to unload if you do not get fixed up.

Geoff
Phil Dutré said…
I received a donation of a large batch of PW some time ago (for the Wargaming Magazine Indexing project) and indeed, it is good reading.
Yes please, Bezzo. What price do you ask per issue (#1-#12? Are you located in the U.K.? Please let me know. Drop me a line at: stokes.schwartz@gmail.com

Best Regards,

Stokes
Bezzo said…
I will dig them out today and message you. It may be cheaper to post them in batches as over 2kg the postage rates go crazy. I am UK based.
Bezzo said…
Will dig them out and message you.
I admire (and share) your taste Stokes... wish someone would re-issue the whole print run on CD/DVD...
Bezzo said…
Sorry - a minor diversion to plans. Will do it tomorrow - apologies!
Bezzo said…
2.4kg so DEFINITELY cheaper as too parcels!

Popular posts from this blog

The 18th century? What's the Fascination?

Hessian musketeers by All the King's Men Toy Soldiers of Snellville, Georgia, U.S.A. Just a quick post post today, but I thought the above question might be interesting food for thought. Obviously, there is an array of possible periods, theaters, and conflicts that might catch our eyes. But what is it about the era 1700-1799 -- either real, or imagined? Is it the commanders and politics? The fairly straightforward tactics? The myriad of uniforms and flags? The variety and scope of the conflicts? The patchwork of various and sundry petty states, (at least in Central Europe)? I'm very interested to learn your thoughts. Don't be a lurker! Please leave a comment -- or even two or three. Have a nice day everyone!

An Early July Hussar Update. . .

  Marginally neater in appearance with green bases, girths, and ivory horse markings added, but I need to neaten up some hooves now before moving onto the rest of the tack. W here in the world did June go? While I still ponder the answer to that question, how about a quick painting update on the first batch of 14 Minden Austrian hussars and Nadasdy? Good.  I'm glad we are of a like mind. Still on the sloppy side, but I've managed to move things along, painting the green bases, white (ivory) horse markings, and beginning the miles and miles of tack adorning the various horses.  I always like to begin with the girths spanning the horses' ribs which helped hold the saddles in place.  Even with the figures mounted individually on temporary painting bases, these can be kind of tricky to access, but there we are. I've also used various Army Painter washes (Mid-Brown and Strong Tone) as well as their Speed Paint (Grim Black) to make the manes and tails of the horses a bit m...

And a few more photos. . .

Ok, here are a few of the 2nd Musketeer regiment in process during late-July and August. Enjoy!