Kickstarter - I Just Don't Care

The following is a guest post/rant from my good friend Greg from the Fawcett Ave Conscripts.  One of the many things I really enjoy about Greg is listening to him when he gets a bone in his craw about something. While I may not always agree with his perspective, the resulting tirades are typically explosive and always entertaining. Known for snapping his crayons about Sony, C-3PO, WH40K and prone figures, Greg has recently expressed exasperation regarding the proliferation of "Kickstarter" projects in the hobby.  I largely agree with his positon on the topic and, for fun, I've asked (read: incited) Greg to share his opinions with us...

'Worst Case Scenario #4' - The Ritual - A Tale of Eldritch Horror set during the Great War

This past weekend while visiting friends and family in Winnipeg I put on a 'Strange Aeons' game for the guys from The Fawcett Avenue Conscripts. The scenario is actually the concluding 'chapter' of a series of interlinked games that I've put on for the group here in Regina. 

Ok, I'll Bite: Fran & Ray's 20 Questions

In an apparent bout of stupefying boredom at work, Fran and Ray came up with 20 questions to serve as a Geek Rorschach Test for the rest of us. Being a natural contrarian I've tried very hard not to succumb to this blatant Nerd-Bating but hey, its Saturday, the weather's crap, I don't want to do any chores, so I'll gladly attempt The 20 Questions...

Battle Report - Encounter On The Yehudia Road - Yom Kippur War

Not a great first outing for the IDF...

The following is a guest post from blog contributor Greg Burch of the Fawcett Avenue Conscripts in Winnipeg.

Greetings again to the followers of Curt's Analogue Hobbies Blog.  Curt just wrapped up a quick visit to Winnipeg.  We were thrilled to catch up, and of course to get several games out on to the tables.  Here is a battle report and a few photos for one of them - a 15mm scale Yom Kippur War game played using Ambush Alley's "Force on Force" rules.

Work in Progress: Austrian 1st Uhlan Regiment 'Schwarzenberg'

Here is a quick work-in-progress post. Something Napoleonic for the grognards out there. These twelve lads have been haunting my paint desk, half done, for nearly four years now. 

The Great War in Greyscale - German Sniper, 'Lover of the Dead' Inspired by the novel 'Three Day Road'

In Joseph Boyden's fine book 'Three Day Road', two young Cree indians from the forests of Northern Ontario volunteer alongside other Canadians to fight in France during the Great War. Once in Belgium the two men, having impressed their officers with their marksmanship and fieldcraft, are taken from the line and trained as snipers. Very deadly snipers.

Book Review - 'Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War' by Karl Marlantes

'Matterhorn' is a semi-autobiographical novel that tells the story of an American Marine company serving in the Vietnamese central highlands near the Laotian border. I'll say right now that I was really impressed with this book. While on many levels it seems to be just another hung-ho adventure novel I found that it quickly breaks the mold by poignantly describing the mind-numbing tedium, petty internal politics and the extreme sense of isolation which all seems part of being a combat infantryman. Set in 1969, the soldiers of Bravo Company live in the shadow of Tet, the assassination of Martin Luther King, the growing militancy of the Black Power movement, and the bitter realization that 'their war' has become nothing more than a corporate exercise in attrition, cronyism and a growing mountain of half-baked statistics.

The Great War in Greyscale - 'The Old Contemptibles' 1914 British Infantry

The popular perception of the British army during the Great War is that of the conscripted, citizen-soldier; the resigned amateur-warrior who doggedly did his duty for King and Country. While this is largely true of the British war experience from 1915 to 1918 it is definitely not the case during the first year of the war.