March Madness

How about those Spartans?!?!

Once again, Tom Izzo, Mr. March, has them playing their best ball of the season and they are on the way to the Sweet 16 again. That seemed a long way off in January or early February, but it just shows again that Izzo has forgotten more about basketball than I will ever know.

And this team has really caught on with the fans. Even the 28mm variety. Even the 95th Rifles had to pause to watch yesterday's game! Appropriate that they are dressed in green, no?

Actually, this was a Black Powder game put on by Jon at Rider's in Flint. For the second year in a row, it conflicted with a Spartan game. Than goodness for smart phones and NCAA March Madness apps. The outcome this year was a little better, too, with the huge win over Virginia.

I'm sure they would have set up large screen monitors in the Spanish villages to watch, just like they do for soccer, had they been able to. Right?

More on the actual game later, but I just liked this photo and had to get it posted. Go green!!!

More Confederates

Still just going through some photos of my ACW troops. A couple more Confederate regiments for today. First one appears to be Dixon, second mostly some old Wargames Foundry. Usual mix of Testors and Vallejo.

Other than that, not much exciting, other than the usual mix of all kinds of crazy things on the bench. More soon!

Some Yankees

Just two of the Union regiments I now have. A bit on the small size, perhaps, but maybe they've been around a while?

I Wish I Was in the Land of Cotton...

I had originally planned on posting some photos of some Union troops today. But it being cold enough to freeze the balls of a brass monkey this morning (-23F), I really wish I was in Dixie. Anywhere warmer, actually.

So instead, here are a couple regiments from what I can only assume would be a warmer place. Tennessee? Georgia? Alabama? Yes, please.

I've also been trying to inventory the ACW collection. I'm realizing I need to put some effort into a project like this that already has a lot done. Still, I'm not 100% settled on a ruleset. I may go back and look at adapting The British Are Coming again.

Dixon figures, painted some time ago with the usual mix of Vallejo and Testors.

Happy Mardi Gras from Wheat's Tigers

Seems like as good a day as any to post these. I won't go into the unit histories, but suffice to say no ACW collection is really complete without these guys - the 1st and 2nd Louisiana, better known to history as the Tigers.

I finished these guys up last fall, but just got around to taking some pics. The pants were a bit of a pain, and it's why I kept procrastinating! In the end, though, I think they turned out pretty well. Dixon 25mm figs, the usual Vallejo and Testors paints.

This is probably about as close as I may ever get to New Orleans, so happy mardi gras!

President Grant On Presidents' Day

Yeah, Presidents' Day isn't one of those "cool" holidays. More of an annoyance, really, with banks, schools and government offices closed while the rest of us working stiffs march on.

Actually one of the best descriptions I heard is it is the day the President goes outside and if he sees his shadow it means one more year of bullshit. Sounds about right!

Anyway, when looking at my ACW stuff yesterday, I realized I had a president in the mix. OK, so not the greatest president. OK, OK. One of the worst. But still. Here is U.S. Grant still in his guise of Union general. I have a George Washington mini somewhere that may have been a better choice, but this photo was immediately accessible, so here he is. Old Dixon, 25mm, the usual assortment of Vallejo and Testors paints.


More on the ACW coming soon.

Flintcon 2015: The Wrapup

Now that I've showcased the games I played in at Flintcon, a few thoughts on the con overall.

This was the inaugural event, and one I hope continues for years to come. Overall, it seemed to be a big success for all concerned. There was a good turnout with plenty of great looking games. The event was held at a church in Flint, about an hour away from me. It was easy to get to, and there was plenty of room for all the activities. And it also had a concession stand that ran all day with reasonably priced goodies, from donuts to pizza! Perfect fuel for gamers.

The con was set up on an intriguing model. An organizer explained to us that as a member of the church, he was able to obtain use of the gym at no cost, with the agreement that the church could keep all admission fees and concession profits. The result seemed to make everyone happy. He got to put on a fun event, and the church made some money relatively easily. Win-win.

One other item I thought helped make it a success was the welcoming of all different types of games. Now I am pretty much strictly a historical person, but have no issue with what others may enjoy. In particular, I thought the Star Wars and Star Trek games looked fantastic!

I really only have two minor quibbles with the whole thing, neither of which should detract in any way from the overall achievement. One is that it took place on the same day as the annual model show I like to attend. Oh, well. You can't be everywhere and do everything - and you can't arrange things based on what others are doing. Second, there were no vendors other than a flea market table. This wasn't all bad, as it curbed my spending! However, hopefully vendors pick up on this opportunity in the future. I do need to give a shout out to Rider's Hobby Shop of Flint for handing out coupons and sample copies of Wargames Illustrated.

In the end, a hearty well done to all involved!

With that, some photos. Unfortunately some were blurry and unusable, but this gives a good sampling:

Russo-Finish with Chain of Command. Tempting to play in. And I couldn't help but wonder if those are Baker Company minis from the Kickstarter from which I have received NOTHING yet.

Hearty Finns.

Star Wars. Cool. :)

Napoleonic age of sail.

Bolt Action - Eastern Front.

Slovak cavalry. Slovaks!? I thought I was the only one crazy enough to paint up Slovaks!

Star Trek.

X-Wing.

Meanwhile, back in Flinland...

Those dastardly Russians.

WW2 naval - with computers. Looks pretty intense.

Slovak armor!?

Another shot of the Slovak cavalry. I need to get going on mine.

Stargate, I think? Way cool terrain.

Another view.

And another.

Star Wars again - the rebels.

And the empire.

Star Wars in action.

Star Trek again.

Battle of Fort Erie in 15mm, I believe.

Some WWI action.

Lake Peipus - this is tempting.

Another view of Lake Peipus.

Another Bolt Action game, this one in Normandy, I think.

Another view of the WWI trenches.