I grew up in the UK so Nintendo wasn’t really a big thing for us other than the Game Boy, the first Nintendo I personally owned was a Nintendo 64 for Goldeneye!
So my first exposure to Zelda was The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, which I did enjoy, but I didn’t have the same attachment to it as people who grew up with the series.
But the series has grown on me with subsequent releases, though I still have Breath of the Wild on my to play list.
So this song doesn’t quite hit all the nostalgia bits for me, but its still fun to listen to!
This duo is best known for Pac-Man Fever, both the song and album, which were possible the first video game songs to really go mainstream back before I was even born!
This song was written and recorded for the amazing Disney film Wreak It Ralph which was such a joy to watch with all of its amazing video game references.
The overall soundtrack from the film is utterly amazing, Henry Jackman really captures the Chiptune lighting in a bottle.
If you have never seen Wreak It Ralph, I urge you to go do so now, drop everything you won’t regret it!
We lost our beloved Smokie, he was only with us three months, but that little spicy bean made quite the impression on us.
After Fireworks Night, the stress of all the noises triggered herpes, which 80% of all cats have, it normally lies dormant unless they get very ill or feel a lot of stress.
Unfortunately what we learned was that he suffered from a nasty auto immune disorder which meant that to deal with the herpes, his white blood cells were attacking his entire body.
It quickly destroyed his eyes, leaving him blind and then decimated his red blood cell count. The vets tried their hardest to save him, we cannot fault him.
We had intended to visit my mum the weekend he died, but we decided to stay with him, and I glad we did, he had a nice last day, lots of cuddles, he ate tuna from my stottie, pretty much half of it, and then after a nice meal and some milk, he sat down and, well he let us know it was time.
We drove him round and they agreed that despite all the medication and treatment, there was noting else they could do and the best decision was to let him go.
It was very peaceful, but as you can guess, it was also very painful, the little dude was such a beautiful and wilful boy and he was really starting to come round to us.
We are going to miss him very much and I won’t lie, its left us all feeling pretty crap.
Other Stuff
A few other things happened over the weeks, but I am gonna expand on them later on, I mangled to get a racing wheel for my PC/Xbox which was cool but for the most part its been pretty quiet, we have all just been very sad
I did get my BoardGameGeek Secret Santa delivered, which was the wonderful San Juan, a secondhand copy but that’s cool, Wingspan European Expansion and Ticket to Ride France/Old West.
The Battleground show in Middlesbrough last weekend was great, they hosted us playing a big game of Horus Heresy with many many points aside, the Loyalists had four of my Knights and my Warhound Titan, the Traitors had a fair few Super Heavy tanks and a few knights too
I started off with a pair of Domicile Shells from Stormbringer, these are going to be sorted out in the next few weeks with my current AoS terrain to give me two boxes of terrain, one for the Friday Night Wargames club, and one for my house
After that I painted this pair of Carnodons armed with all Volkite for my Solar Auxilia army, getting close to having everything for Heresy Camp done, vehicle wise.
I also had to do a repair job on this Iron Warriors breacher, in the studio refurb he managed to lose his Bolter and Backpack, so I printed off replacements for him, think I need to do more with this army at some point
Played with my Imperial Fists with some allied Solar Auxiilia against his Word Bearers and it was a close game, came down to the last turn in which if I had killed just three more tactical marines I would have won by 2VP, but alas I lost by 1VP.
I also played a game against Graham at Durham Raiders, and well hell froze over and I beat him 11-8, to be fair my list was a bit tasty and the destruction of his Kytan took out a whole unit of Ursurax, which helped me no end!
And due to the issues with Smokey, and the need to pay his vet bills, I am no longer going to upgrade my PC to AM5, and instead have returned the B650 board and will be ordering a 5700X3D once the refund comes through, but in the meantime, I have bought some Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut in preparation.
No need for any more issues until Issue 20 when I plan to get hopefully a couple of the Chaplain on a Bike, one for the Dark Angels and one for the Blood Angels.
It was Humble Choice week, and this month it bagged me
Since I moved to Hartlepool, my options to buy paints have changed a lot.
In Chester-le-Street I was able to get to a ton of shops that carried the entire Citadel paint range, so it made sense to just continue using that range because if I ran out, I could nip into town, hit Boyes, the North East Model Centre or Warhammer to grab whatever colour I needed.
But in Hartlepool, well these are not really an option, I love my FLGS, Games-At-Hart, but they haven’t got the space to stock the full Citadel paint range, and the Middlesbrough store also doesn’t store the full range either.
So regardless of anything, I have to order some paints in, so I figured, why not try some other ranges, and since I renovated the studio and changed the paint storage, I have less room for Citadel pots.
The two main ranges I have been trying are The Army Painter Fanatic and Two Thin Coats.
It’s been a few months and I think my feelings have solidified on the new paints, and I have a real preference for The Army Painter Fanatic range.
It’s highly pigmented, smooth and just flows so nicely off the palette, it’s simply some of the best paints I have ever used. The older War Paints range, was to be frank some of the worst paints on the market, watery, poorly pigmented and just not enjoyable to paint with.
The Fanatic range is a total 360, the have done from making the paints I dislike using the most, to the paints that I prefer over all others.
I also tried a Speedpaint, and I am not entirely as happy with these, the 2.0 range has resolved the serious reactivation issues, but the way it flows is just not my favourite, and I actually prefer my washes and Speedpaints/Contrasts in a pot, I find them easier to manage that way.
I want to try the metallic Speedpaints, so I plan to order one at some point in the next couple of months to try it out.
Two Thin Coats are nice, I have mostly used them for metallics, but these whilst actually they are significantly more expensive for smaller pots.
But the range has a bunch of colours that simply aren’t covered by The Army Painter, so I can see Spartan Bronze being a permanent part of my supplies.
The one area where I have found The Army Painter lacking is their reds, I will be honest, they are lacking significant colours that other ranges have, and they lack vibrancy, so I am probably sticking with Citadel for these for now.
The Effects Paints I have tried have been fantastic, the two blood paints are just top tier, Dry Blood has particles in it, to replicate the effect of congealed blood, and the two rust paints are great together, but I have found that when combining with Ryza Rust and Typhus Corrosion, you can cover all kinds of rusty effects.
I have also got a couple of samples of TT Combat paints, but the colours I have, Supernova Chrome and Tech Ceramic, I haven’t had much opportunity to try out.
So yeah, a lot of the paints I use frequently are moving over to Fanatic, with some Two Thin Coats, but Citadel is strill going to be a large part of the collection as there are colour they do, that I simply prefer, especially the Shades and Contrasts.
Music Library
I am have started the process of getting mine, Lindsay’s and Megan’s music collection moved over to the media server in a more organised and ordered way, starting with some of the better albums we have, kind of the top 150 is being transferred right now.
I am taking the opportunity to get the files properly ordered and named properly and where needed, sorting out better quality files, because the digital collection we have, is very very old dating back to 1998 in some cases, and never really changed since the days it was ripped.
Its going to take a while to transfer it over, and I think I might need to replace the music drive, which is currently 1TB, so keeping an eye out for a decently priced larger one.
The most recent ten albums transfers were:-
Artic Monkeys – AM
Rihanna – Anti
The Cure – Disintegration
D’Angelo – Voodoo
2Pac – All Eyez On Me
Erykah Badu – Baduizm
The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground & Nico
Sade – Love Deluxe
The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Are You Experienced
The Strokes – Is This It
Currently I am transferring over the Oasis discography because it was all in one random folder and easy to fix due to all being ripped at once.
What I Am Modelling
Started off with a Dankhold Troggoth for the Gloomspite Gitz, a nice lovely big model that acted as a nice pallet cleanser after all those Ultramarines
This week I have been rather unwell with a nasty tummy bug that has really triggered my IBS and I have struggled to read, so not picked up the Kindle.
I did however finish Hand of Abaddon by Nick Kyme, which thankfully actually moved on the plot a bit more than recent books in the series have done, and the Kharadron were really cool in their Black Library debut.
I then listened to The Last by Gary Hopkins, and to be honest, it was a bit of a mess and I am not sure what the plan was here, it was dark, bleak and depressing, but it didn’t hold my attention.
There was a good concept in it, but that was basically ignored in favour of a more metaphysical storyline.
What Video Games I Am Playing
On Monday, myself, Chris and Graham played some Hell Let Loose which Chris streamed.
This week myself and Lindsay were due to visit Suffolk via Nottingham to see my family, cause there is stuff going on down there.
Alas Lindsay came home from Oxford the previous weekend with a horrendous chest infection and sadly as a result, we couldn’t risk the journey, cause there is a vulnerable person there that we couldn’t risk passing it on to.
She ended up ill for 9 days and has only just gone back to work today, anyway, it is what it is, and we plan to go down in a fortnight.
What I Am Modeling
I was going to initially paint some Space Wolves Intercessors, but my Russ Grey was dry as the Arabian dessert!
So I started on some Ultramarines beginning with a Squad of Aggressors, this time with Boltstorm Gauntlets
Followed by a 3D printed Liutenant Titus, cause annoyingly I cannot get the plastic one from Games Workshop, everytime its restocked in the store, I can’t get to them in time. So yeah ended up printing this one!
Since the pandemic I have noticed that in the middle of the year, I seem to keep have a slump, just all my plans, motivation and drive drops off come the heat of the summer.
I dunno what it is, this year was no different, other than a nice bump for WorldCon, I have lost all my vroom, and I don’t know why.
In the day it feels like time just gets away from me and I don’t have the capacity to fit things in, perhaps it not having a proper schedule or just never quite recovering from Covid, I just don’t have a clue.
I know Lindsay’s moving anger workspace into the studio and then out again did really throw me and screw up my flow, but given that this has been happening for the past four years, I can’t blame that.
I know that there are things I wanna do with life, I am just bad at figuring them out and sorting out what I am doing with my time and life.
Maybe now that the house is settled into its shape for what I hope is a bit more long term I can kinda sort that out.
My plan is to sit down and hopefully convince Megan and Lindsay to help me sort out some sort of reasonable schedule to help get me back on track.
What I Am Modelling
Started out with a couple of Leman Russ Vanquishers for the Solar Auxilia, these are going to be getting a lot of use at Heresy Camp in May, but I do need a 3rd one
So yeah 3D printing is starting to really reap some rewards with me being able to print some fantastic models that I am really happy with.
But I am very wary because at the same time, I don’t want to be the guy that prints everything, I like the models that companies make.
But damn the process of pouring the resin in the vat, sending the file from your PC to the printer, and seeing these amazing models come out, it’s kind of addictive!
I have been saving for a platform upgrade for my PC and in the Prime sale, bought myself this nice little B650 board to allow me to go to an AM5 processor
It was my birthday on Saturday, my 42nd, we had originally planned something grand because my 40th was a disaster, but sadly due to various personal things happening we had to make it much more well, not a lot at all.
We had a lovely breakfast of stottie filled with Lincolnshire sausages and mushrooms, and I opened my cards and a present from Megan and Lindsay, which was a Dieselpunk RPG called Age of Steel!
After this we headed to Middlesbrough, where we had a Wendy’s for lunch, followed by a visit to the Renault dealership, where we checked out the Megane, which is currently the favourite to be out next car come March.
Then we headed home, where I had a little nap!
Cassius
At 5pm we went and picked up a cat, Cassius
We hadn’t planned on adopting a new cat, but we had a bunch of spare rescue food we had bought for Jenny, and when we dropped it off at the rescue, well, Cassius convinced us he should come home with us.
So after a short couple of weeks whilst he had his vaccines, we were able to pick him up, and bring him home. He is a one eyed boy, having lost it in a fight when he was on the streets.
After a few weeks in which I really haven’t been doing terribly well, a mixture of illness, the black dog and fatigue, I am really trying to get back into the swing of life, and actually do some stuff.
So lets try to get stuff done and not simply be depressed and sleep my life away!
Heresy Camp
Some cool lads led by Scottish Graham are running a Heresy Camp next May, and this is the list I am think of taking, bringing the Ultramarines out of Storage, and using some Legiones Auxilia.
XIII: Ultramarines
+ Rite of War: +
Rite of War: The Logos Lectora (UM)
+ HQ: +
Centurion . Master of Signals: Artificer Armour . . Bolt Pistol . . Chainsword: Chainsword . Master of Signals
Originally I was gonna play it on the Steam Deck, but it only had a Silver rating on there from ProtonDB, and apparently the PS5 version has Spider-Man and the Steam version doesn’t, so yeah, no brainer
I picked up the disc for £5 when the live service side shit down a while back
What I Am Creating
The second Combat Patrol Magazine Battle Report got published, and it included the debut of my new intro video!
What I Am Spending
I got issue 3 of Combat Patrol to add a squad of Infernus Marines to the Dark Angels
I did try to give him some tuna one Sunday as a treat, but alas, he savaged my finder and he must have thought he was being picked up, which he is not yet comfortable with, and gave me a nasty bite on my finger, which got very badly infected, resulting in two hospital visits, two courses of antibiotics and lots of pain. He is lucky he is cute!
It took us by surprise as until very recently she had been in perfect health with zero issues, and we are all very much devastated by this.
Jenny was a special girl and we are all going to deeply miss her.
3D Printing
The 3D Printer developed a fault just before WorldCon, the touchscreen died and could not be fixed via software.
But credit to Elegoo, they were super awesome and when provided with video and photos of the error shipped a replacement screen right away, and with the video they provided, was a quick 10 minute fix.
I now have it running fine, and figured out where to find the timelapse videos from, which is cool, kinda tempted to print something really big just to see the video!
Yeah I can see myself getting addicted to this particular hobby!
What I Am Modelling
So my 3D printer is now up and running and Turing into a little bit of a minis factory!
So I started off with this Overseer for my Imperial Fists, a new Consul without a model yet, and now he is gonna be part of the options I have for the Fists.
I finally finished reading The Heart of Iuchiban by Evan Dicken, which was good, but I am not sure why it took me so long to read, a review will follow in time!
Siege of Vraks by Steve Lyons was good, I wanted a bit, I dunno, more from such an iconic war when put to prose, but it was fine.
And myself, Graham & Chris started playing some Space Marine 2 together!
What I Am Creating
The next episode of Edge of Empire was published
Doing some battle report videos for the Combat Patrol Magazine and published the Issue 01 video
What I am Spending
Got a few bits for some 3D printing!
First off some new resin to play with, following everyone’s recommendations I grabbed this bottle of Sunlu ABS-Like Resin, cause literally everyone was telling me this is the best sort to use!
And I also got the last two issues to build Swampboss Skumdrekk, with the one from my subscription to be used to build a Snatchaboss on Sludgeraker Beast!
This was supposed to have been posted ages ago, but alas the day we got home from WorldCon we all came down with Covid and still suffering!
Well the day started with a trip to the Glasgow Dental Hospital for an emergency appointment, and I have walked away with an anti-biotics, which can’t be filled in England, so a trip to a pharmacist before we cross the border.
Me and Lindsay then got into the SEC where we had a snack and chilled out for a bit, and I headed off to the panel on Baldurs Gate 3.
That was a naming panel with its senior writer and games director, and a few of the voice actors in the audience too.
Great panel and a lot of fun
After that, it was next door to a panel on Safety Tools for Tabletop Roleplaying Games which was a very helpful panel and a lot of useful tips were obtained.
And that’s me done for a WorldCon for the next 5 years, as a disabled man pretty much completely dependent on benefits a WorldCon not in the British isles is just out of reach.
Myself, Lindsay and Megan are all however planning on attending EasterCon next year, I have just spent a bit of time on AirBnB pricing somewhere up, sadly the Hilton is way out of our budget!