Yes, eight months!
That’s how long it has been since my last post. Since I started my new job, in fact.
So, what’s been happening since I last put fingers to keyboard? Well, not a fat lot to be honest, at least in terms of hobby stuff. I think I managed to finish a few miniatures, though I have put together and prepped a lot of others, especially Marvel: Crisis Protocol figures, and I have played the odd game, though those have been few and far between.
On a personal note, we changed our car, Yasmin did really well in her A-level mocks and all being well should be on her way to Liverpool Uni come September (She did get through to the interview stages for Oxford but never received an offer), and Bertie the dog is still going strong, though he’s an old boy now in Beagle terms, also, as you may have guessed, work has consumed all my time over all those months.
But things are looking up…
We’ve been working with at least one man down since I started, which put me working permanent lates, usually late morning/early afternoon until early/late evening, and that didn’t leave me much of a day to do anything worthwhile. I have also been working a lot of weekends. This month alone I will be booking over 70hrs overtime and I’ve taken this week off for Easter!
Anyway, we’ve got someone new starting next week, which will relieve the pressure, and after he gets to know the job we should be able to get a shift system working. Then, every other week, I should be on earlies – 7a.m. until 3p.m. – and that will mean I’ll have time to post more stuff, providing, that is, I can actually get something painted or more games played in order to blab on about them.
I have kind of lost touch with what everyone else has been posting – I hope everyone out there is doing well, feeling fine, and getting in a lot more hobby time than me. I’m sure I’ll catch up eventually.
Looking forward to the next few months. I should start to get some minis on to the painting table and hopefully get a game or two played over Easter. In May, there’s the UKGE to look forward to – Yasmin’s already started to save her pennies and has been prepping the games I’m going to put into the Bring an Buy. I’m not thinking any further ahead than that at the moment, but fingers crossed, things should start to return to somewhere around normal.
So, I’ll leave you with some pictures of the miniatures I have managed to finish and with a bit of luck you should hear from me again very soon…
First up, all the Mansions of Madness characters I completed. These were done mostly using Vallejo Xpress paints, which I’ve found great for miniatures like this that don’t have the greatest of detail and you want to get done quickly.
Finally, it’s Wong. Pretty much all done by basecoating and glazing. Yet another superhero/villain that likes to wear green!
The photos were taken in a hurry and they aren’t the sharpest of images!
The Solo Meeple 
The Solo Meeple… Now that is a name that I have not heard in a long time. I think that is what Ben Kenobi said anyway 😉
I’m glad to hear that things are going well, all things considered and I hope that you are able to get more freetime soon too.
The Mansions minis look good and so does Wong. A little time away hasn’t dulled your painting skills which has to be encouraging too 🙂
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Good to hear from you Jeff, as indeed, it has been a long time.
Should be a month or so before we get shifts going properly and then I should get into a regular posting regime again 🤞
Unfortunately, all the minis were painted last year and so it remains to see how quickly I get back up to speed and how ‘dulled’ down my skills have become!
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The feeling is mutual, Justin! 🙂 I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you both on having more free time and that you haven’t lost your touch. I suspect you’ll hit the ground running in no time!
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welcome back- here’s to more hobby in the near future
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Thanks Dave.
Hoping to play a few games of Marvel tomorrow so I might get to put out a quick post about the new Acid House Terrain I’ve just received.
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Good to hear there may be a light at the end of the tunnel (just check it’s not a runaway train ! LOL) with work, and hopefully will mean more time for other pursuits.
Great work on all the models, and experimenting with new paints. Hope you have a good time at UKGE, and well done to Yasmin on her Uni placement
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Thanks Dave.
More likely to be the boss bringing along more work than a runaway train, lol!
Looking forward to UKGE, still 2-months away yet but Yasmin is planning her day already.
I’ll pass on your well done to her, if she hasn’t read it already, I’m sure she’s most appreciative, thank you.
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Good to catch up on some of your news and find you all well! :-) I like the minis, but Daniela Reyes especially!
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Hello John, looking forward to catching up with what everyone else has been doing too, though it’ll be a few weeks yet before I get a real chance to explore.
Glad you like Reyes. I’ve always had issues when painting dark skintone and I feel I finally manage to break into a winning formula here, just needs a bit of tweaking for use on a better mini, though.
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Welcome back, nice to see you painting again! I like the different techniques you’ve used and Wong really turned out nice.
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Thanks mate, it’s been really good to get a post out again and the welcome back everyone has extended even better.
Yeah, I’ve been trying to broaden my horizons with new techniques, especially those that speed up the process and I’ve really grown to like Vallejo’s Xpress range, which are quite different to GWs contrast.
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Oh really? I’d be interested to hear the differences between the two speed paints. I think I’ve resigned myself to layering, but it doesn’t hurt to experiment from time to time.
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One of the main differences I’ve found is control. I’ve always found Contrast a little difficult to apply just where I want it as it tends to run freely, whereas Xpress behaves much more like a conventional paint.
Once I get to painting again – everything here was finished before last October I think – I’ll post a more detailed comparison.
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That was my big problem with Contrast too. Looking forward to your review! 😃
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Great to see you back Justin! I forgot how good you miniature painting was!
have you played much Mansions of madness?. I have the second Ed unplayed . Played a few 1st edition & enjoyed it 🙂
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Thanks, Mark, you really are too kind!
MoM, yes, played it a lot – Over 20 plays logged on BGG!
Once you’ve completed all the missions available on the official app, there’s an app called Valkyrie you can download, where fan based missions can be played, most quite good.
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that’s great to know, thanks Justin 🙂
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