Dawn of the Lead

I’m currently vacationing in Indonesia after spending a few weeks in Malaysia. I’m missing my toys, but the surroundings do help! I haven’t forgotten about my pirates even out here, so here’s a blog post on how the project is travelling with me despite no miniatures. I’m cleverly writing this on my smartphone after equally cleverly leaving my laptop at Bangkok airport. 

Inspiration is readily available here and in many forms. Not only is the area known for its piracy, the East India company and colonisation have left their stamp on many things. The tropical sights serve to spark the imagination, with palm trees, white sands and turquoise waters.

The local architecture in George Town, Malaysia, has a strong Georgian (well, duhh) feel to it. Many of the houses are from early 19th to early 20th century, and at times it felt like walking around in an actual pirate town milieu. A couple of photos to illustrate below.

Also, many of the buildings show the ravages of time and the weather, which gave me plenty of ideas.

We also visited a lovely old graveyard from the 19th century, and now I want to build one. 

George Town also featured an actual, late 18th century fort named Fort Cornwallis. While the fort never saw combat, it was really inspiring to visit. I even bought a mug – a sure sign of a good sight!

I brought along some appropriate reading, namely two books by Marcus Rediker (the second one co-written with Peter Linebaugh): The Slave Ship and The Many-Headed Hydra. As tends to happen, the project has sparked a wider interest in the period. I’m currently reading the latter book, and it’s super interesting.
I picked up some really cheap (less than 0.50€ each) nylon brushes at the local bookstore. Even if the quality doesn’t turn out to be special, these will undoubtedly find use, and at that price they were a steal.

As for Indonesia and pirate inspiration, well, let’s just say we’re on an island that looks like something out of a film.

And last but definitely not least, we got engaged yesterday. Apparently my pirate fixation is adorable…or at least tolerable.

Until next time, dear readers!

It’s been ages since my last post despite me being on my summer holiday, prompting one of these “come on, stay with me man!” posts. I primarily blame the following two things for my extended blog rest:

FIFA World Cup – I love football, and the World Cup is one of the few sports events that glue me to the screen. Despite my favourite team, Italy, being knocked out early on, the cup has been awesome so far. Still, on average the games have taken approximately 3-5 hours of most of my days.

Steam – I work with computer games (in the “parents, this is what you need to know about games” department) but rarely have time to play as much as I’d like to. With the holidays on, I’ve finally had time to play some of the games I’ve gathered in various Steam sales – including the latest summer sale. Games like The Wolf Among Us, Infested Planet and Dota 2 have been keeping me busy and I’m looking to tackle Shadowrun Returns next.

I haven’t been doing any hobby stuff for a while know, my hobby life being in the ebb phase currently. I did go see Edge of Tomorrow which was mighty inspiring, though, and made me want to do some 28mm for a change as well.

Anyway, things are coming to the blog, starting with a long overdue review of some more Predastore Predators. Stay posted!

The first official Dawn of the Lead prize draw has now concluded. There were eight participants, numbered in the order of comments received. I then utilised a hi-tech manual random number generator:

As it happens, entrant number seven was none other, than one Colonel Shofer. The good colonel has been notified and will receive his prize in due time.

Thanks to all participants!

I have now officially reached the considerable age of 28, meaning that I still have two years left before my beard starts creeping neckwards. I will celebrate by heading to our summer cottage with my gaming group for three days of beer and boardgaming. This is the first time I actually get to play with an almost full Aliens Space Hulk conversion. Some of the other games that will hit the table are Small World (which is definitely worth buying, amazing fun!), Arkham Horror and World of Warcraft. Maybe Blood Bowl, Settlers of Catan, Civilization, Gloom and Zombies!!! as well.

Thanks to all you readers out there, you really make blogging worthwhile!

Awesome!

As a birthday present a friend shared this. Cheerful, uplifting and hilarious!

Having all but finished my auto loader, I was given a great tip by fellow blogger sho3box to add in small detail such as unit insignia, warning signs etc. The main problem is that my freehand skills really aren’t up to par, so I figured that a few waterslide transfers might do the trick.

Being the cheap(ish) hobbyist that I am, the thought of picking up a sheet of transfers for a few EUR seems a bit silly, knowing that I need maybe three or four of the designs – a few letters and such – and I probably won’t find what I need on a single sheet. I could buy some decal paper for custom transfers, but then I’d need a new cartridge for my inkjet printer only for that task, and that’d set me back 25 EUR or so.

So, without further ado this is a call to the readers of Dawn of the Lead! If you have extra transfers knocking around, I’ll be glad to take them off your hands. Maybe you’ve used the three or four designs you need, and that massive credit card sized sheet of paper is taking up valuable space. Maybe you were given them as a gift, and they don’t really go with your decor. Maybe you just hate transfers.

Anything and everything is welcome, I’m sure I can find a nice combination. Imperial Guard, Space Marines, WW2 aircraft, Battletech clan markings…it’s all good!

I’ll be happy to pay postage, and all donors will be handsomely (ho-hum) rewarded in the future. Replies in the comments section, or through email.