Free GHQ Rules - Sort Of

Buy $100 worth of GHQ and you get a free set of rules - not bad - also they have some sales on a few of their products - Here's the content of their email:

Spring Rules Blowout

We have decided to give you a crazy offer on rules for our miniatures rules- FREE.  This offer is for our full-blown comprehensive rules, not a watered down version.  Just order over $100.00 in merchandise, add in a set of MG-1, MG-4, or MG-9, and use one of the following discount codes:

Use this code for a FREE copy of our WWII Micro Armour rules:

FREEMG1
http://www.ghqmodels.com/store/mg1.html

Use this code for a FREE copy of our Modern Micro Armour rules:

FREEMG4
http://www.ghqmodels.com/store/mg4.html

Use this code for a FREE copy of our WWII Micronauts rules:

FREEMG9
http://www.ghqmodels.com/store/mg9.html

Those discount codes will give you a FREE copy of the rules of your choice if you place an order for over $100 worth of merchandise from now through May 21, 2012.  The cost of the rules will be subtracted from your total, and you will have some FREE rules!  You can mix and match the merchandise that you put into your cart- it does not have to be all the same, or match the type of FREE rules that you choose.

New Website Specials

We have just changed our website specials.  These specials are only available on orders that are placed through our secure website, and are only available for a limited time.  If you see something that you want, ACT QUICKLY, because these specials will only be here for a limited time.  The new Website Specials are:

P-1    TKS Tankette     Was $9.95, now only $7.80, save 22%!!
http://www.ghqmodels.com/store/p1.html

G-116    Marder II     Was $9.95, now only $7.80, save 22%!!
http://www.ghqmodels.com/store/g116.html

AC-1    P39 Airacobra     Was $9.95, now only $7.80, save 22%!!
http://www.ghqmodels.com/store/ac1.html

AC-15    MiG 23 Flogger B     Was $9.95, now only $7.80, save 22%!!
http://www.ghqmodels.com/store/ac15.html

AC-17    F15A Eagle     Was $9.95, now only $7.80, save 22%!!
http://www.ghqmodels.com/store/ac17.html

IJN-40    BBAV Hyuga     Was $13.50, now only $10.15, save 25%!!
http://www.ghqmodels.com/store/ijn40.html

GWB-5    CA Warrior     Was $9.95, now only $7.80, save 22%!!
http://www.ghqmodels.com/store/gwb5.html


GHQ on Facebook

GHQ has been on Facebook for awhile now, and has developed a very nice following.  Many of the things on our Facebook Fan Page can't be found anywhere else.  Some of the topics that have shown up lately have been: photos of pre-production models as they look when they come from our designers (many people have commented about how different they expected them to look), many postings from other GHQ customers who have shown off their work, first looks at newly painted items, special offers, customer polls (we really do use the information when planning models and release schedules), and much more!  So, check it out, see some neat things, have your opinions count, and support GHQ!  You can find our Facebook Fan Page here:

www.facebook.com/ghqminiatures

As always, please let us know if we can be of assistance to you with anything regarding GHQ products.

Thank you for your support,
GHQ
www.ghqonline.com

Terminator is Coming True

This guy's videos are always amusing and he shows some pretty crazy stuff. Video speaks for itself:

More 20mm Modern Miniatures - Somalians

Second Submission from timmy!  This post he's sharing his work on  the Somalian forces for his Somali Game at Recruits.  He's co-running a game for Ambush Alley's Force on Force supplement book titled,"Day of The Rangers," at the Recruits con, in Lee's Summit, MO, on March 31, 2012.

I'll let timmy! take it from here:

The first pic is of some of the lot that I got from Elhiem.  These figures are from Elhiem's Day of the Rangers 1/72 miniatures line.

I normally prime my figures brown but because I am in some what of a hurry I primed them black. This will help with any lines or areas that I might miss during the base coating. I prime my figures with a brush using Floquil Enamel paint.

Because of the quick deadline I chose not to paint any of these figures in camouflage. I choose two to four different colors to use and mix and match them for shirts and pants.  After the base coat is done I wash the entire fig in Raw Umber.  One of the most popular pots of paint from Games Workshop is called Devlin Mud.  Raw Umber IS Devlin Mud!!

After drying highlights are layered onto the figure using a "wet" style.

All of this is done with God's own paint brush, Winsor and Newton Series 7.

Q. What do you mean by "wet" style?

My palette is made very similar to the foam that comes in blister packs.  Most of the paint that I use is Vallejo which has a built in dropper.

 

When I'm painting highlights and shadows, I drop one or two drops of color onto the foam and or sponge. I then drop two to three drops of Vallejo Glaze Medium*, then two to three drops of water.  I mix this with another brush. This gives you a very thin layer of paint, almost translucent which can be applied in layers.  So that's why I call it "wet" style.

Now for base coating I really do not thin the paint at all, just drop it on the pallete and paint away. Sometimes I might add water depending on how thik the paint is.  The water is put into a bottle that Reaper sells that is very similar to the Vallejo bottles, the drop or hole size is the same.

It works wonderfully!!!! 

Of course though God's paintbrushes are a must!!  Believe me on this one.

btw - the pipe in the last pic is a custom made LOTR pipe made by Tom Johnson, of Luna Pipes, based in Washington state.

Another btw, from me, Itinerant: I told my wife recently that I would like to get a pipe, not to smoke, but just to have - you know, just because they look cool. She said to go for it. But I'm not going to smoke it, so it would be somewhat silly.

 *Here's a great tutorial and discussion of Glazes and how to use them.

Third btw, I'm going to have to learn some HTML, I don't like the way that blogger is formatting things.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Thanks timmy! for the contribution. Any of readers have questions? I'll make sure timmy! gets them so he can answer you directly or here on the blog.

Modern 20mm Gamer Interview with timmy!

Want Bigger? Click it.

As I've recently posted, I've virtually met a local gamer (within 2 miles) that plays mainly in 20mm, but also dabbles in 6mm and others. He's know as timmy! on various forums around the webs and  He's considered starting his own blog.  Until he's ready to do that, I've invited him to contribute stories here.  We're still working through how this might work. 

As before: Click It.

In the meantime I've asked him some questions about his work on 20mm modern miniatures for Force on Force!, by Ambush Alley Games. He's worked pretty closely with Sean, the creator of Force on Force. In fact, these first two pics are in preparation for an upcoming Force on Force supplement on Fallujah. 

Here's the forum where timmy! goes into a few more details.

Here you go, the first official interview for The Itinerant Hobbyist:

From Ambush Alley Forum

Q. What scale are these models? 

A. 20mm

Q.  Force on Force, correct?

A.  These pictures were taken for the set of rules called Force on Force by Ambush Alley. It is a supplement book strictly on Fallujah Iraq. Title unknown to me at this time. This is the third book where my models will be pictured. The first supplement book is titled Day of the Rangers:Somalia 1993.   The second book is called Bush Wars:Africa 1967-2010. 

Ambush Alley Forum - WIP

Q.  Did you create any of the terrain yourself or did you buy it all? - if you made it yourself, which parts?  

A.  The buildings and roads are done by Gamecraft miniatures. (Side note from TIH: Gamecraft posts some interesting videos. Being from the marketing world, this technique is great. Show the customer how to assemble and paint your product - tremendous. Especially in video form. Don't wait for your customers to do it.) The figures are done by Elhiem Miniatures. Various terrain pieces were scratch built.

Q.  What materials were used?  

A.  Color and black and white print outs shrunk down for signs and newspapers/trash. These were glued on clear plastic sheats that I cut. I sculpted trash bags and built the fruit stand.  The trash bags will be available for sale along with refrigerators and dumpsters on Combatwombatminiatures.com.  All scratch built by myself.

Ambush Alley Forum

Q.  Do you have a particular scenario/game you're preparing for or is this general terrain building?  

A.  Again this is for Fallujah. It is in no way finished. It will be highly detailed with several blocks for house to house fighting.

Q.  How long have you played Force on force? 

A.  I would say almost two years.

Q.  Why modern? As opposed to any other era? Why Fallujah?  

 

 A.  Fallujah has always been an area of interest of mine. I was planning on building a section anyway so it worked out well. I do a lot of modern gaming, especially in Iraq. I in 04 and 05 I was a contractor providing PSD/ executive protection for several companies. So I try to take my experience and put it in a game.

Ambush Alley Forums

Q.  What's your history with miniature wargaming? 

A.  At the age of four I started watching my father paint Airfix plastic figures.I stood there for hours!  The bug has always been there. I really got into official gaming when I was 15. A store called Epic Gallery moved close to my house. There is where I spent most of my teen years. Though I always did some sort of gaming with home rules with buddies of mine. Ive been playing with toy soldiers since I can remember.

Q.  What era and scale did you start with? 

A.  At the age of 15 I really didn't have a lot of money for things. I was very very fortunate to have a friend who would buy me armies for GW Fantasy.  I also played WW2, Napoleonics and Civil war.  Heck I play anything but my time is now devoted to painting and playing with 20mm and scratch building.

Ambush Alley Forums

Q.  Your GMing at Recruits, correct? 

A.  The founder of Ambush Alley (Sean) and myself will be running a Somalia scenario for the debut of their new supplement book Day of the Rangers.

Recruits Game Convention looks like an awesome Midwest convention in Kansas City/ Lee's Summit, Missouri. Just $5 to get in and it looks like a great time with lots of vendors and games being played. I was planning to go this year, but most travel plans had to be cancelled. We'll shoot for next year.

Readers, let me know if you like this format and what other questions I should be asking gamers, etc. What do you want to know about? 

Pics of Fallujah and Priorities

These are from a gamer I've recently met, via email and phone, "Timmy!" (as he's known on the Ambush Alley forums)

Another local gamer, Dave, introduced 'cause we live a couple miles apart and could possibly find some time to game or model. His terrain skills outshine mine by far, so I'm afraid it will be a one way street on that front.

But the conversation (via email) between Dave, Timmy! and I have included topics like paint/model nights, British gaming groups and how to replicate, sharing blog posts, etc. One of the topics was the importance of focus in gaming. To that end I answered this way to the guys, which was echoing some of their sentiments and then a list of to-dos:

Focus on a scale or two

An era or two

A game or two.

Also, I was going to put up a quick post on getting focused for 2012:

1.  Finishing my WWII US 6mm - which for me means - finishing first the units to complete my armored infantry battalion and a full tank battalion and support.

2. Finishing units that are needed for some of the scenarios I already own.

3. Flesh out the terrain I have and what else I can do to make a quick, yet great looking table. Frankly, I'm using Jerry's tables as the inspiration for this - which I've mentioned before.

3. Flesh out a small scenario(s) so I can put on some games at the two local cons.

5.  Finish the naval I started.

5a. Play a couple games to see if I want to Gm a scenario at a con.

5b if yes - then buy the appropriate ships to play the given scenarios I have.

6. Work on the 20mm I have (WWII)

6a try a couple sets of rules. I already have free Rate of Fire. And ?

7. Expand the blog to include guest posts? (I'm hoping to get Timmy! and Dave to send me some info to include in future posts. They've both been doing this longer than me and can offer the newer gamer some great tips.)

 

What's interesting is that I'm beginning to wonder what's most important to me - is it the actual gaming, the modeling, the reporting, the history, GMing? I'm working through this. 

To follow on that last point. We were discussing the real reason we're doing all of this. For the others, spending time blogging or other side pursuits potentially could be a distraction from their main focus which is gaming, or terrain, or GMing, or, or, or... Again, more to come.