Game it Forward, Again

   I was given a large number of Napoleonic miniatures, both ESCI and Airfix, a few years ago by a friend who had no use for them any longer - an abandoned project. My idea at the time was to paint them quickly (i.e., spray can uniforms, craft store flesh hands and faces, black boots and guns, silver swords, DONE) and use them to establish a wargaming club at the junior high school at which I taught.

   The principal nixed the plan. Like any plan to do anything except what we had always done - unless it involved an on/off switch. Then he was all for it! But something that might interest the kids in history or art? Waste of time, parents won't like it, you can't use our library after school for it, blah blah blah. You can imagine why I quit, right?

   ANYWAY... you stand to gain from it. I have packed up two boxes of these minis, one French and one British (with a little Prussian help). Some of the boxes are sealed, most have been opened. I don't even know if they all contain what they are labeled as, honestly, but they are free. If you want them, you got them. Email me at aethergraph@gmail.com, first come, first served. I'll even cover the shipping in the US. You just pay for shipping if it's going across a national border.

FRENCH

(Red Boxes are Polish Lancers)

BRITISH and PRUSSIAN

Game it Forward - Napoleonic Ships

If you're interested in Age of Sail ships, I have some Portsmouth Miniatures ships that will never see a gaming table. Some painted, some still bare, no sails mounted.

Let me know if you want 'em.

Toys from Historicon, Part 1

Hoo boy, this is a long list. I thought I would present it so that folks who have never been to a Historicon could see what all is available for sale there. Naturally, there is more stuff, too, like hot wire foam cutters, tons of terrain options, books, videos, t-shirts... you name it. But this is what I bought for myself:

Tokens/Markers (all from Litko):

• Charge token (red) x10
• Routed token (red) x10
• Mini wound marker x10
• Micro fire marker x10
• Chicken tokens x5 (freebie)
• WTF token (freebie)
• Epic Fail token (freebie)

Bases (trying some things out, plus stocking up a bit):

• 1 pint box of misc. 3mm thick MDF bases from GF9 ($10 for about 120)
• 1 pkg 20mm square metal bases from Wargames Accessories
• 25 Small FOW plywood bases (3mm) by Litko
• 1 pkg FOW compatible bases with beveled lip for labeling (BA109) Battlefield Accessories

6mm Sci-fi (for Battletech and just, well, because...)

• 5x Utility APCs (Scotia)
• 5x Large Grav APCs (Scotia)
• 48x Battle armor troopers (Scotia)
• 5x Tracked Ammunition Carriers (Future Wars by CMD)
• 5x Police Van (CMD)
• 2x AV72 Attack VTOL (CMD)
• 3x GEV, Pan-Euro Lights, I think (Ogre)

6mm Colonial/VSF (for bigger scale battles, all by Heroics and Ros)

• FPW Prussian Artillery, 1 battery's worth
• FPW Prussian Gun Teams (limbers), 2 battery worth
• FPW Jaegers advancing, 2 battalions worth
• FPW Prussian Uhlans, 1-2 regiments
• FPW Prussian Line Marching, 2 battalions
• Colonial Mahdist Spearmen (to be Martians), 2 Battalions
• Colonial Mahdist Ansar Infantry (Martians), 2 Battalions
• Colonial Mahdist Artillery (Martians), at least 1 battery, maybe 2
• 4x WWI Fokker E.III "Eindecker" airplane
• 2 each: MkIV tank, Renault FT-17, St. Charmond WWI tanks

25mm VSF:

• Eureka Minis' Stukasaurus x3
• Eureka Minis' Feldgendarme w/ raptors
• Empress Minis Zulu War British, infantry x8
• Empress Minis Zulu Brits, ensigns x4
• Empress minis Zulu British 7 pdr gun (aiming crew) x1
• Parroom Station: Skyrunners Scudder with racing team (on order) x1
• Parroom Station: Masked Minions with Diabolical Weapon x5
• Parroom Station: City Dweller Martian Artillery Crew
• Games Workshop: 8 Saurus with spears (old, metal, one is Temple Guard)
• Reaper Dark Heaven line Mushroom Men (2 in the pack, need 4 more packs)

15mm VSF:

• Blue Moon Manufacturing's Twanax Horde x6 (1 pkg, need at least one more - painting them as plant men/swamp monsters for Venus's mad genius Doctor Vardu)
• Blue Moon's Fereen on Goranax x2 (1 pkg)
• Chariot Miniatures lizardman on pterosaur (LIZ4) x1 - may want more of these...
• 3x Battletech 'clickies' for war walkers: Uller, Firestarter and Mining Mech Mk II MOD

2mm VSF (Sky Galleons of Mars/Aeronef):

• 1x Zeppelin (LZ41)
• 2x "Skylord" kites
• 2x "Whisperdeath" kites
• 2x "Hullcutter" screw galley
• 2x "Skyrunner" screw galley
• 3x "Endtime" screw galley
• 2x an unknown model screw galley, very small.
• 1x "Smallbird"
• 1x IJN Mikasa armed transport
• 1x Large Merchant kite
• 1x USS Ranger
• 10x Litko 1" hex flying bases with pegs of varying heights. (need more, and bigger ones)

Terrain:

• 16 pieces resin stockade by Acheson Creations
• 3x GW forcewall pylons (from Assault on Black Rock - I want more if you have any...)
• 2x Cthulhu statuettes (maybe 25mm?)
• 1 steam engine (25mm, or HUGE 15mm)
• 6mm Hedges
• 6mm walls (TimeCast)
• 6mm railroad track (Les batiments, bought at I-94 Enterprises)
• 15mm ACW tents (x6) by JR Miniatures

Misc:

• 3x 1/144(?) WW2 puzzle planes (2 Pfeils and a Japanese pusher prop)
• 25mm "Not" TARDIS by MBA
• A few random bits for the bit box.
• The free swag I mentioned before

I also have a list of stuff I bought for other people who couldn't go. I'll mention that in another post. Some of this stuff is going to be 'surplus to the needs of the service' as they say, and will be Game it Forward-ed in the near-ish future.

I hope my wife doesn't read this...

Game it Forward!

My good buddy Eli, who runs the excellent gaming blog I See Lead People, brought up an idea a while back he called "Game it Forward."

The basic idea is like the movie Pay it Forward, where instead of giving something in return to someone who helps you out, you give something in return to someone else in need. Paying forward, rather than back. Now apply the principle to gaming.

I think we have most all of us gotten some kind of little gift from our fellow gamers over the years to help us out. I know I have, and recently, too. So I thought I would try to organize myself a little bit to pay things forward. I am adding a section to the bottom of my blogs where I am going to list items I no longer need, extra bits and pieces, that sort of thing. If I put any price next to them, it's because the shipping will cost me something. Small items I can just drop in the mail, or if you live near enough to come and get the bigger things, no charge at all.

First come, first served. Come and get it.