Funny I look back and it’s been a couple months now I think! I’ve been trying to make as much progress as possible in a couple of fronts, so I that’s prevented me from writing all that much. Big news is:
818’s motor is in!
It’s still got a ways to go and there are some hurdles. The main one is access to the AC compressor. I want AC in this car when complete, but the compressor wouldn’t fit when lowering the motor into place, so I had to remove it. Also still need to fit the intercooler, fuel lines, water lines, etc. That said it’s a nice fit and it’s a really nice milestone to hit. It also means I won’t need that cherry picker in my garage for a while, so that’ll clear some space.
I also fixed a brake line leak, and bled the brakes, so that’s more progress on that front!
In the mean time and when I just don’t feel like working on it, I’ve come to realize I have WAY too many miniature wargames. I’m up to my ears in tiny soldiers, so it was time to sell some finished unfinished projects off.
First on the selling block was Kings of War. It’s an interesting game of mass combat, but as the units are all on individual blocks it doesn’t feel… massive? I mean I know this block of troops is 20 guys, but…it’s still one big block. They don’t feel like a crowd because they don’t flow around things. Still a fun game…there’s just other games I want to play more.
The one thing that’s a bit melancholy with selling off all this old stuff is the process of listing it. You have to take some nice photos which usually means setting up a spot for it, lighting it. Putting down a mat or a backdrop…and then you realize that man these tiny soldiers look really good! If I had just finished up the base this Trident Realm (with Wrath of Kings figures) would be done!… but I’ve got to cut back on projects! Or at least be a bit more focused.
Next up is Warhammer 40k. I was pretty pleased with how the few pieces I finished of the Tau Tron army turned out. Now there’s a mass combat game that feels like there’s a lot of people on the board… probably because there’s a LOT of people on the board. It’s taking a lot longer to get through selling, though that may be a volume issue:
Oh man, I am so glad I bought a bunch of stuff used. Calculating what all these guys cost originally would probably hurt. 40k is… fine… I guess as a game… I think the problem is it’s just not very good. I don’t think I ever played a game of it where I left satisfied. I think at least in part it stems from the dice rolls not quite being up to par, and also too many of them. I’m quickly becoming converted that a D6 does not have enough granularity.
Ah well, I’ll keep busy with Infinity! The game, I’m really really unlikely to sell… and the game that eventually I may own every unit…because it is an excellent game. It’s not perfect. There are days when I just do not have the attention span for special unit rules, but the ‘orders’ system is just a triumph of interesting game design. It really opens the doors to some fascinating tactical creativity. The simple change: you don’t have to activate every unit once during a turn, some of those units are in good covering fire positions or in sniper nests. Spend your activations and your orders on individual units…even rambo up units and have your big armored guy sprint up the field and just shred (or if your not careful get shredded by) the opponent. It’s just a lot of tactical flexibilty and it makes every decision and every unit you choose to move count.
Now if only XCom had the infinity orders system… oh it’d be so good.
It Rhymes with Hockey 