So much has been going on since my last update that an update on my personal life is in order. I have moved (finally!). It went pretty well all things considered. The worst part was having to wait almost a week to get the natural gas turned on which meant no warm/hot showers during that time which was challenging. I’ve technically been off work since Friday of last week but there has been nothing restful about the past week. After moving, I had family in town to help install closet organizers in the bedroom. They took way longer and were more frustrating than expected but they do look extremely nice and are really functional so that’s good. My fiancée’s family has also been in town and we had the wedding tasting and made quite a few decisions around the ceremony and reception. We’re a month away from the wedding just about and I need a new suit and to get a wedding ring so things are going to be insufferably busy in the near future. Isn’t adulthood great?
Needless to say, hobbying time has been at a premium and I didn’t make as much progress as I would like in two weeks of “work”. I also am behind on everyone else’s content so bear with me as I hope to get caught up soon. All I managed to paint one measly synth. This one has a weapon that was interesting to paint. I just made up the lighting on the stun baton because I thought it would look cool. Hopefully, it actually does! Truthfully, I couldn’t remember exactly how I painted the previous one so I just guessed and while some things I couldn’t match up perfectly, I think overall, it looks pretty similar. I did try to increase the contrast of the new synth a bit more which you can see in the picture below. The one on the right is the latest one. I think the extra contrast adds just a bit more realism to it. If I remember correctly, this is my fifth Institute mini done and I have three left in the box so I should be able to have enough to play The Institute in Fallout soon enough!
Changing gears slightly, I somehow managed to read The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle to try and get inspiration for my future lost world Pulp Alley setting. If that name rings a bell, the author also wrote a certain Sherlock Holmes series you may be familiar.
I was a Literature and Creative Writing major in college and grad school so I have read my fair share of books and this one feels pretty Victorian in its sensibilities. Truthfully, most Victorian literature, including lauded ones like Dracula don’t hold up well at all too modern sensibilities and that was the case with The Lost World. It is very colonialist and racist but there are moments that really bring the setting to life. From dinosaur attacks to cannibal natives in South America, there were moments where I enjoyed the book and took inspiration. This is a spoiler and if you ever want to read this, please do skip this. One of the more unintentionally funny moments was where the scientists decide to help evolution/Survival of the Fittest along by supporting the native tribes against these ape-like creatures. They think in this matter of fact way that they’re just speeding along the inevitable and like it is their duty as scientists to ensure that evolution happens in this untouched and prehistoric part of South America. Its comical to think of such a thing happening now. We would obviously want to preserve life as best we can but not in Victorian times apparently! Perhaps the biggest takeaway from this book is that I feel like I can take some of the good ideas from The Lost World and improve upon them and make a more interesting setting which I am excited to do.
Finally, I’ve made a surprise move and dove headfirst into Arkham Horror: The Card Game. I spent plenty of money and time playing CCG’s in my youth. Mostly Magic: The Gathering but I also got into Pokemon cards pretty hard, some of the Star Wars games and Lord of the Rings. While I don’t play any CCG’s any longer, I really do enjoy those types of games and I’ve played another of Fantasy Flight’s Living Card Games, the Lord of the Rings LCG. I enjoyed aspects of LOTR LCG but also became really frustrated with others. Despite the fact that you don’t buy randomized packs of cards to try and get a collection that contains the strongest cards, there weren’t a lot of thematic decks you could build to win the various scenarios in the game. That was probably my biggest hope for the game so it ended up being the downfall for me with that particular game. Still, it was awesome to be able to play a card game solo and for some reason, I realized that I’d like to give another LCG a go and Arkham is a great choice for me as I love that setting as well.
I’ve only played the first scenario which I essentially lost in a very Cthulhu-like manner. I got beat up by some indescribable monsters and right when I got close to finding the truth, I had to run away because it was all too much for my investigators’ feeble sanity! The game is just so thematic for a card/board game that it really brings the Lovecraft world to life. That was enough to hook me on the game and I’ve spent well over $100 getting the next cycle (Dunwich Legacy) so that I play more of it in the coming months. I don’t think this will impact my wargaming hobby much, if at all. If anything, it will give me something I can do gaming wise over the next month or two because truthfully, I won’t have time to play Fallout even if I get the last bits of terrain ready for that. I don’t think I’ll talk too much about Arkham in the future on the site but it has been something that has helped me get through all of the craziness of the last two weeks so I figured it was worth sharing.
Kuribo's Painting 
Great to hear the move went well Jeff, and you are in your new place, brilliant that both families came to help as well, and aren’t flat packs fun ! LOL Do hope all the last minute planning for the wedding goes well and the day itself is what you both want.
Like the new synth, the difference between the two is minimal enough for them to tie together, but enough that gives them an individual feel as well.
Sounds like your enjoying the CCG and it is giving you a gaming outlet while you have a lot of real life things to get sorted
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I may never move again, Dave. I certainly will try not to have to get married again too but I think most people have that intention regardless of how things end up! When I started the synth, I really thought this one was going to look way different but I agree that they actually compliment each other nicely which honestly is the best outcome in this case.
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A while since I’ve used the acronym, but WDSS (what Dave Stone said) is appropriate here for me! 🙂 Saves me having to write too much! Glad you got moved and have sorted out a survival strategy with Arkham Horror! The wedding will be here and over before you know it!
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Dave is generally on the money I find too! Survival strategy is a good way to put it 🙂 The wedding will be here before I know it for sure. I think that might be the scary part of it in fact 😉 I’ll do my best to hang on for dear life in the meantime!
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I really like the synth, as Dave says they’re close enough in looks to be part of the same unit, and a little variation never hurts. One of the reasons I haven’t painted an actual army since getting back into the hobby is my memories of painting 200 Ultramarines the same colour.
Congrats on the move! Having moved into our new house eight months ago, I know you’re now into the fun phase of unpacking and putting stuff away. Just remember, it will end LOL! Good luck on the wedding and hope you have a great day!
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Thanks, Matt! 🙂 I am starting to come around and embrace variation in my painting. I used to think uniformity is the goal but I think that was a bad approach to take. I am incredibly thankful not to be playing any games that require 200 models too. That is really a tall and boring task!
I’m relieved to be in the new place and am slowly adjusting to new surroundings. If only I had time to unpack, prepare for the wedding, AND get the furniture we really need to feel at home. You can’t have it all, I suppose!
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I didn’t *need* 200 Marines… I just ended up buying 200 of them lol. A lot of boxes of the old RTB01 plastic Beakies and plenty of metal ones. Every damn time I went to the hobby store in Gloucester I’d end up buying more, even the variant armour models.
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Haha, Games Workshop thanks you for your patronage! That is impressive in its own way. I was such a hobby butterfly in both Warhammers. I couldn’t get anything done because I’d buy a box of marines and then I got some chaos marines, and then some Eldar, and so on. We live and we learn!
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I like the change of colour in the synths, close enough you can see they were built the same way, different enough to represent the variety of elements they were exposed to.
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Thank you for the kind words! I’m glad to hear my experimentation worked out as well.
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Congratulations on the move and the completion of the Closet Organizers quest as well! The synths look great and you’ve really captured the unnatural shiny look to their limb casings – very nice! I used to read a lto of books (novels/non-fiction) but that’s dropped dramatically since I started reading stuff online. Still, I manage to do a lot of reading of some sort or another – as well as more writing than ever before – like this comment! Never read any SACD, though – so my knowledge of him is quite …limited, but then you do need to expect authors to be “of their time” – which too many people with a very narrow (and often inflexible) modern worldview seem to miss.
Haven’t playe AH. We looked at it but instead ended up going with Marvel Champions (and a dip into the LotR card game) as both themes appeal more than the Arkham one. I’m a CoC fan/lapsed player, but more interested in the other two settings. Always preferred Cthulhu Now to the classic version anyway as a roleplayer. Haven’t played the LotR game yet, but had a few games of MC and just had a re-learn-the-rules game of it last night as our first game of anything on the table in well over a month. I may still dip in one day, so I’ll keep an eye on any spoiler-free writings you have on the game in the future. 🙂
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I like to read physical books when I’m commuting to work on the train but I’m okay with digital ones, especially comics since they are expensive to own physically. I completely agree about you have to try to get into the mindsight and period of time when the writer was active to try and enjoy their work. I try to take it all in stride and laugh at the often strange things the authors included in their books during those eras.
Marvel Champions looks fun and I think maybe it is better for people looking for a CCG-like experience as there are lots of deck options and villains to play against. Arkham has more RPG elements and really emphasizes a story or experience which I like. With that said, I could see myself trying Marvel Champions in the future as I love Marvel and the LCG model is great except for maybe the cost to play them. I hope you like LotR better than I did. I found elements of it to be pretty frustrating and my sense is that Arkham (and I would guess Marvel Champions) have improved upon a lot of LOTR LCG’s weaknesses. I’d be interested in a revamped version of LOTR LCG if FFG was inclined to do that. I may talk a bit more about Arkham Horror LCG in the future but it is hard to do so without spoilers so certainly a challenge that will require some creativity 🙂
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Well done on the figure, quite how you managed to paint anything with what you have going on is amazing I’d say. Glad the move went well and I’m sure it will do much to improve your life style. Hope the wedding goes well too, exciting times! 🙂
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I don’t know why I have tried to paint during this busy time either. It certainly is challenging and requires extra patience. I would say painting has helped me keep my sanity a bit 🙂 In a month or so (after the wedding), I guess I may have to adopt the SWMBO nomenclature which is something I’m not sure I’m ready for! 😀
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Fine work on the Synth there mate! I… must… resist…Fallout!
Good to hear things are going well in your personal life.
When you talk about Victorian sensibilities being different from today, I can not help but think how my sensibilities have changed in just the past 30 to 40 years. How different the world looks to me now compared to how it looked as a young man who once foolishly thought he truly understood the world thanks to what he considered a decent education and military service.
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The Institute commands you to get Fallout! 🙂 Age certainly can affect your taste and world view. A literary example is that many young men love Jack Kerouac because his books speaks to their experiences and phase of life. However, I’ve heard people who were older that revisit it, find his work less inspiring than it was in their youth. So in other words, I completely agree, mate!
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This looks great, make me want to play fallout again!
I played AH recently after a mate got into it and I really enjoyed.
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I know I did a good job on this synth then! That’s great to hear about AH too. I hope you’re able to get some more games in, in the future then!
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Sweet work on the synth. They make a pretty creepy pair; I certainly wouldn’t want to see them coming toward me in a dark alley. I’m really tempted by the Fallout game but alas I already have more games than I can keep up with.
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Thanks, mate! The Synths are definitely creepy with their robotic voices in the game too. I’ve heard a number of people say that about Fallout and I can certainly understand it with how many options are out there. The only thing I can say is that it is a pretty darn good game and you don’t need many models to play so it isn’t too hard to pick up if you ever change your mind! 🙂
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For now I’m loving the game vicariously through your excellent blog.
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Nice addition to your Fallout forces, how you found time to paint him with moving, etc is amazing.
My Pulp Fiction scenario that keeps tempting me is Edgar Rice Burroughs The Land That Time Forgot, a WWI submarine stranded in a land with dinosaurs and primitives. German naval crew, english adventures, possibilities keep in intriguing me.
Always a danger reading books from “yesteryear”, I’m currently reading some lesser known Jules Verne books taking place in Africa, definitely a different view from current thinking.
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I think I just have my priorities all wrong and instead of doing enough packing, I squeezed in a bit of hobbying instead. That’s probably why I still have things in my apartment that I need to retrieve! 🙂
Its funny you mention Burroughs as I was going to start with The Land That Time Forgot first but I decided to go with the earliest book I could find that seemed decent. The Land That Time Forgot will be next on my list then! I’m intrigued by the possibility of using Germans, okay, probably Nazis in the Lost World setting along with dinos, prehistoric man, and all kinds of other things. There are so many options that it should be a blast!
I hope you enjoy the Jules Verne books as well. I know he wrote some things that might have led to the “lost world genre” (if it is big enough to really be a genre) that I should check out one of these days too.
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Nice job on the miniature and even getting anything done right now is pretty cool. You sound busy…. Lol.
But let me get this straight; when your family was in town you put them to work with labor and when her family was in town y’all tasted cakes. Sounds fair. 😀
Good luck playing your new purchase; I haven’t really gotten into solo card games.
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I procrastinate on the things I should be doing. Don’t tell my fiancée that though! That is a good question haha. My Dad is way handier than my fiancée’s dad and I’m not very handy so it was either “hire” my Dad by paying for his meals or hire a stranger. My fiancée’s parents are paying for the wedding so they had an easier time for sure. I can see where a solo card game isn’t for everyone. I don’t know if I really have the time for it but its too late now! 😀
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You still need to get a ring? Better get on with that, I know I’m the most disorganised groom on earth but I’ve heard that’s important! 😉 Glad to hear the move went well, at least that’s out of the way now. Lovely looking work on that Synth, it has a nicely disconcerting artificial vibe about it that works really well.
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I’m not sure which is worse, the ring or the suit to be honest! I’m not disorganized, just slow moving when it comes to thinks I don’t enjoy doing 😀 Thanks for the kind words on the synth as well. I figure the more I can get together, the scarier they’ll look in games 🙂
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For someone who’s just moved and is fast heading into the realms of married bliss, one ‘measly Synth’ and all that AH seems like plenty to me!
The extra contrast has worked really well – he looks great – and the lighting on the baton does look cool 😎
I love SACD and I think I’ve read pretty much all his work. It’s years though, since I last read The Lost World and I can’t remember much about it to be honest, but I think I’ll dig it out now and refresh my memory.
Anyway, all the best for the Wedding and congrats on a successful move.
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To be fair, I mostly bought AH more than played it haha! I’ve only managed two games thus far and this weekend is looking really busy for me too unfortunately so who knows when I’ll finish my Night of the Zealot campaign. Regardless, thank you for the kind words on the synth! Its great to get another one finished.
I’ve read Sherlock Holmes and I don’t actually care for it all that much. I think it is a genre thing because murder mysteries just don’t do it for me and I know some people love them. The Lost World is good but definitely not great or excellent. I’m almost positive that’s why you’ve forgotten a good bit about it 🙂
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Each to their own, as they say.
I was brought up watching ye old black and white Sherlock’s on TV and then onto the books almost as soon as I could read.
I have to say that the Victorian period is one of my favourites and so I’m probably a bit biased.
You’ll enjoy AH even more when you move on from Night of the Zealot, as that’s very much a learning campaign. You’ll find certain scenarios will really stay with you for the memories they create, the stories are that good!
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Sherlock is a popular chap in the States overall and I think I’m in the minority of those who don’t like him. Victorian literature is an acquired taste but I respect anyone who can get through books of that era, let alone, enjoy them 🙂 The final scenario is really tough I’ve heard and LOTR LCG’s Core Set was the same way so I expect to lose handily next time I play. I can’t wait to try investigators besides Wendy and Roland as well as branch out and use the Dunwich player cards too 🙂
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Yeah, it’s great when you get to choose from new Investigators. I find it a difficult game when it comes to deck building, I’ve yet to master it’s nuances. You have to give a lot of thought to how you want it to play and how it will play alongside the other investigator. It’s easy to become too specialised and end up with a glaring gap that the game will be sure to take advantage of. You also have to consider how you will upgrade your deck when first building it, as gaining experience to spend can be quite limited – at least in my poor experience!
It all makes the game quite involving and you do get attached to your characters as they develop and live the story – I love it, but It just doesn’t hit the table as often as I’d like, which makes it difficult to remember what was going on!
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That makes sense to me and I look forward to the challenge! 🙂 I do wonder how sustaining momentum through eight scenarios is going to go. Only time will tell on that one! I did manage to finish up the last scenario for Night of the Zealot and got absolutely crushed. I had seemingly the worst luck and couldn’t draw any good cards to get going (even after a mulligan) and right when I thought I might be able to advance a bit, I got buried by a horde of enemies and cards that added doom so Wendy and Roland did even worse than expected! I’m sure with some of my Dunwich cards that I still need to open up and use in my decks I can come back and do better in the future so I’m not at all discouraged. It was a lot of fun regardless of the dark and grim ending 😀
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Lol, that happened to me the first time I played too!
Things definitely get better as you increase your selection of cards to deck build from, but at the end of the day this is based on Lovecraft’s Mythos so one should expect lots of death and insanity… 🤪
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I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of people had that kind of result! That is a tough scenario for sure. I don’t mind a dark result every so often either. I think it would make Lovecraft happy haha
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Pretty cool pint job. Feels authentic!
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Thanks, Mark!
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well, paint job! A pint is nice too though…
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Typos have gotten the best of me too from time to time but in this case, either is welcome 🙂
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