Sunday, December 9, 2012

My X-mas Book Push and Other Possible Projects

I spent Friday afternoon reorganizing my bookshelves.  I have a lot of books.  It's getting to the point I need to invest in an e-reader or a tablet.  I've run out of storage space for my books.  I moved my rule folders to the closet to make room for my general military history books.  I moved my colonial war histories to another bookshelf to make even more space for books.  The Ospreys got their own bookshelf that is almost completely filled.  Wednesday and Friday were the days I got my latest shipment of books from Barnes and Noble.  I organized the Ospreys by series and title.  The other books are organized alphabetically by author and then title.  I took the oversized books I had and shelved them back in by turning them on their side.  So all my military history books are shelved together.  I also have a small group of orchid related books on part of my bookshelves, too. 

But most of what I own is military history.  I also picked up two more books on the Vietnam War.  One was a unit history by a LRRP member of the 101st Airborne.  The second books is a general history of the US Marine Corps in Vietnam from 1965 to 1975.  Those are my two read list once I get done reading about Afghanistan.  The Ospreys were a CAM:  Dunbar 1650, CAM:  First Ypres 1914, and MAA:  The Belgian Army in World War I.  I also have two more Ospreys on order.  The first being ELITE 190:  US Marine Uniforms and Equipment 2000-12.  The second is MAA:  The Adowa Campaign 1896.  That should round out my Osprey buying for the year. 

There are other titles I'd like to buy.  I'd like to the MAA:  Armies of Fredrick the Great for my reference collection.  One thing I'm doing different is trying not to do everything.  And affording within my means.  However, there are some projects that interest me enough to consider doing for the next five to eight years:

28mm Western Front, 1914; 28mm Russo-Turkish War; 28mm Vietnam skirmish between US forces and Viet-Cong; 28mm Adowa Campaign 1896; 28mm Sudan 1881-1898; 28mm Masai warriors for Darkest Africa; 15mm SYW Prussians; 28mm 1864 Danes; 28mm 1859/1866 Austrians.

I spent yesterday working on 28mm FPW Chassuers Afrique.  I'll have pictures of them and my 28mm 1870 Prussian infantry as a work in progress later this weekend.  I'll also have pictures from a 28mm Darkest Africa game scheduled to be played today, too.  I'm running 28m Arab slavers vs. Congolese natives.  Should be a different kind of game from the usual WWI "Great War in Africa" games I've run...   

28mm Masai are on my list for figures to buy for next year.  So is 28mm US and Viet-Cong figures for Vietnam.  I'm thinking about using Ambush Valley.  I'll need to see about buying the rules and playtesting them.  I'm thinking about a 28mm platoon of VC at most with jungle terrain and a village.  I like the 28mm Eureka figures.  I also like the TAG's Up Country 28mm Vietnam range.  They are nice figures.  I'm shying away from 15mm.  It sounds great in theory until I start painting them.  I'd also like to have 15mm SYW Prussians for completeness. 

However, I'd be better off affording a painting service for the figures than attempting another 15mm SYW project.  My friends like Sapper Joe, Hostile Contact, and Combat Colours are sick and tired of me complaining about painting 15mm figures.  I don't think they'll put up with any more of my complaints.  I nearly drove them made this past year when I painted up an entire 18mm SYW Austrian army... 

1 comment:

  1. Hi Blake, Of course 25/28 is the One True Scale...
    I've played FoF/Ambush Valley but I like Disposable Heroes better. YMMV, of course, but if you're ever at a con give them a whirl. Their Vietnam supplement is called "The Long Road South." I've run games with up to 100 guys per side, all organized by squads.
    And don't get me started about books. I feel you, man! C'ya, Charles

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