The Warlord Fish's Hobby Aquarium

 Nothing terribly crazy. I managed to get done a block house, some pill boxes, and a few spider holes. They've been sitting around at 80% for months and months, but today was the day to knock them out.   Sometimes you need to dig in and fight, I just hope they don't bring up a flame thrower!

 Known as The Angry Dragon to the locals and the common soldiery, and the Armored Cruiser to most military commanders in the province, this train is a coveted and feared weapon, often fought over by all sides. At one point or another the train has steamed alongside all the major powers in the province, from the Japanese, to the Warlords, the Nationalists and even the White Russians. Shifting sides when captured or overran, no commander is willing to scuttle her, they rather squabble than take her out of play. She may be ours this week, theirs the next, the Bolsheviks the following, but by next month, she'll be ours again! 6 weeks at most..   Under Japanese Command, patrolling somewhere deep in the countryside. Being an armored rail cruiser, and not a traditional armored train, the Angry Dragon doesn't require a dedicated engine and tender. Instead two fiat diesel engines power the front and rear trucks, or was it rear and front trucks? Either way, the train is entirely se...

 2022 was a year.  It was not a great year, but it was a year. And now, like my hobby interests, it's history.  Hurrah to the new year! 2023 will shine, I just know it.  I have big plans for the blog this year, I have a lot in the works, a lot I've finished, and a lot I've planned.  I will have plenty of content, and lots to post in 2023.  My Back of Beyond China project is really coming into it's own, reorganized and ordered a vast myriad of different factions, primarily designed around skirmish gaming, are well in the works. 13 in total, at last count. My table is nearly complete as well. But more on all that later.  And while my dear sweet fish, Dio, the first warlord has passed away in early November, a new contender has arisen and taken control, long live Dio the founding warlord. My beloved little fishy. Long live his successor, Mischief, my little grumpy fish!   I'll miss you  Dio, you were a wonderful little fish. I love you budd...

 The first major hobby project I've ever finished. Started on August 7th, and completed today, August 28th. I proudly present Major Tanaka and his Manchurian Stormtroopers, a detachment of the Kwangtung Army tasked with preforming anti-bandit security along the South Manchuria Railway, some time in the late 1920s.  The Major, depicted with sword in hand, is a glory seeking martinet. Behind him is Ka Squad, his most experienced soldiers. Well drilled and highly motivated, they've been in China for at the very least one full tour. However their combat experience has mostly consisted of shooting at bandits and the occasional craven warlord solder.  Major Tanaka's second in command is quite his opposite. Lt Sulu, seen here on horseback with sword, is a cavalier playboy from a well connected family. His squadron reflects their leaders attitude, ill-disciplined but daring riders none the less.  Sulu's family connections have even netted his Major quite the boon. Japan...

 So I got a light box, and I'm still dialing in how to use it most efficiently.    I've painted up a Chinese Militia and a few heroes or officers. The militia is for Fistful of Lead and is organized around one leader, and four groups of grunts - consisting of 3 grunts per group. The idea is that this could be a poorly trained and armed swarm or hoard. Fistful of Lead focuses around squad based skirmish combat, and your typical squad has 5 models. The leader, specialist, and three regulars and you can swap out one regular for a group of grunts. However there are several squad variants allowing things like a exchanging all five of your guys for four specialists, or in this case, for four groups of grunts and one leader. It's a great system, if you've never played it check it out. (7$ pdf!)  Here are the three heroes or leaders, my apologies as they're a bit washed out. Two Chinese on either end and a European Mercenary in the center. He's not terribly thrilled wit...

 Hobby Project 2.0 I've been reflecting upon my hobby progress -or lack there of- for some time now, and I've come to a few conclusions.  What's most important to me right now? What's the biggest focus of my hobby efforts? My Back of Beyond project. China. The 1920s.  I've neglected this project. I've picked at it here and there, with little goal or solid idea in mind, no real drive or direction and have little to show for it.  I want to change that. I want to change how empty and neglected my blog is as well. So now, I declare it time for my Hobby Project 2.0. It doesn't matter if I have any war games or not, I want these models done for my own pleasure, because I enjoy painting them, because I enjoy dreaming up a story surrounding them, because I love them and I love this wonderful hobby.  I've got some terrain under construction, a decent Manchuria/Inner Mongolia table slowly in the works. A small village, some wheat fields (rice is southern china, wh...

 Fun times. I have a huge pile of half completed projects and nothing finished to check off my list. So I got distracted and put together 1000 points of 40k 3rd edition Lost and Damned, with this tank being the lists heavy support. It was a lot of fun to paint! Photos taken in the fridge! I tried a whole bunch of new things with this tank. What worked was a new (to me) method of putting down the base coat, with more distress, color variation and shading. I also tried something new with the tracks, trying to go for a specific look, that look being rusty, with parts worn clean, and dust settled down in the grooves. I tried some freehand and worked with etched brass for the first time. On top of all that just some general refinement of my weathering and chipping.  Over all, I'm pretty pleased. Turn around time once I stopped f**king up wasn't too bad. I wonder what I could do if I put more time into it.. strip it and start over? Nah, I have a fat pile of tanks to get to work on. ...