From the ashes of the boxpocalypse

The dust settles around the house of Mouse. 

Micke desk set-up

After 1500 miles, unpacking 200 hundred boxes, and putting together rooms after room of furniture; I am finally getting back to the hobby desk. This is a new set-up for me that I am going to try. I have a split set-up for painting, since we now reside across the street from Disney World and I am expecting to see many guests over the course of the year. My main set-up is in the guest room and my airbrush station is set-up in the garage.

I started with a Micke corner desk ($139) from IKEA. This is a bit smaller than I really wanted, but it has a set of shelves and enough space for the new lenovo all-in-one computer. I added a set of Dioder lights ($19.99). I started with the 4 pack, which is a set of LED strips that can be connected in any number of ways and all connect to a single hub. The desk has a set of panels that go into the back, but I left one out though so that I can watch the nightly fireworks from the Magic Kingdom.

Dioder light strip above monitor

The LED light strips are set across the main section and then on a couple of the shelves. I set-up the lights so that I have some light to paint, but also a set of lighted shelves for the in progress pieces. Currently in the line up are the This Is Not A Test Peacekeepers which will be part of the NOVA Open charity silent auction in September.

Following that set are a set of the same for me and the range of Brigade Games wasteland survivors from the very successful Kickstarter campaign. These will be used to create a number of new warbands to be used for upcoming demos around the Orlando area. Hoping to play the first game this weekend.

Well, there is still an entire guest room to build and have to finish out the garage to get the airbrush up and running.

Look for some new materials for This Is Not A Test soon. Once the Kickstarter materials are finalized, back to work on the rules for mounts, new specialists, and a new Florida themed supplement. Lots to keep my busy, so hopefully I'll be painting again regularly very soon.

Lost in the Apocalypse!

Wandering the Wasteland

I can't believe that I have let so much time go by without a post. I promise that I have been busy, but almost everything I have it packed up waiting for us to sell our house and make the move to sunny Florida. But enough about that, let's talk about some exciting things that are currently happening...

This Is Not A Test Kickstarter is LIVE!!!!!

As any of my readers know, there has been a steady campaign of This Is Not A Test occurring over the last many months. Now there is some other big news for This Is Not A Test...a hard cover rule book. Just launched last night, the campaign is blown through the $2,000 goal in 10 minutes and in the first two hours was at $7,000.

I was excited for this for a number of reasons. First it is a fantastic and fun game and one that I look forward to playing for a long time. Second, Joey gave me some ability to help out with the game. Now I have done it mainly for support, to gain some experience, and fun up to this point. I edited one release already, but with the Kickstarter; I have a full set of scenarios titled, "Eat, Prey, Live" which was unlocked at the $2,500 pledge level.

If you haven't been part of the group following my Guardia along on as they protect this small piece of the wastelands, please check it out.

Building and Sculpting

As part of the lead up to our move, my wife has been travelling back and forth to Florida as she fills her new position. This with the need to keep the house show ready has caused a decrease in the amount that I can accomplish for my hobby.  This post will be the fist of a series where I explore some terrain building. I picked up the Bachmann Trains Cape Cod House 2-Box ($19.29) and the Bachmann Trains Two Story House ($21.40) from Plasticville and will go through my process for assembly with some lessons learned.

One day we were stuck in a blizzard (won't miss that in Florida) and got to spend the day doing some hobby stuff with the kids, so there is a post coming on how to build some shanty shacks. With two kids, I had prepared ahead of time to make sure that we had some hobby materials on hand to have some fun and break up the day. I'll share the step-by-step on this as well.

On a completely new front, I decided that in support of the "Eat, Prey, Live" release, I decided to take up sculpting. The first things I took on though were objective markers for some scenarios with everyone's favorite wasteland critter, the landsnapper. I created a set of markers of landsnapper scat, a prized possession of the wasteland and useful for fuel of many types. I also created a set of landsnapper nests with eggs that will be used for something. Not sure what yet, but something...maybe something tasty. The newest project though is a Turclucken.  Want to know more about that, you'll have to wait until the Kickstarter is done and the scenarios are released.

Gaming with Kids

Growing from the blizzard, was a desire to play some new and more complex games with the kids. The first of those that we tried was Cool Mini or Not's Zombicide ($58.69). We managed to make this a family affair and I'll provide my recap of the game and reviews by me and the kids.

Coming soon

Well it is coming to be that time of year again, AdeptiCon! Once again, I am making the trip with the good folks of Geek Nation Tours. Looking forward to spending some time helping run some Couterblast demos, playing some This Is Not A Test, and helping Secret Weapon Miniatures and maybe Ironheart Artisans will sales. I also have a few pints to drink and am really looking forward to a game of Imperial Assault. If you find yourself at AdeptiCon, please take a look for me. I'll be all over, but would love to spend some time chatting and making new connections.

So that's all for tonight, back to watching the excitement!