[unofficial weekender] Old folks home

[limburger 21668xp 0]

I think the young ones (ha!) are using the book of faeces, TikTok and that instagram thing instead.

Although more likely they simply are glued to their phones and can’t think of anything to do with their hands or use their brain?

I see plenty of young folk at the two boardgame events I often go to, so maybe those kids grow up hating whatever mum & dad dragged them into ?

It makes me wonder if Halo could be the one thing that brings them back in, but at the same time I suspect the enthusiasm for that videogame series has ended.

The thing is that this hobby of ours lacks the instant gratification that video games have.
Even in a best case scenario you need to spend time unboxing the thing and setting up before you can play.

[grantinvanman 2151xp 0]

Agreed – instant gratification is a problem. The patience to spend the time on a whole army is quite consuming and challenging for almost anyone!

 

I think I’ve read that Facebook isn’t used by the kids today, more likely their grandparents, while their parents are on IG, and possibly TT. While the kids themselves use TT and anything else requiring a 10-15 second audience. Anything longer is too involved.

• This reply was modified 1 month ago by  grantinvanman.

[limburger 21668xp 1]

Social media feed on so much negativity it’s not fun any more. 🙁

Never mind the attention span of a gnat on speed …

I do wonder what it would take to get todays’ youth into our hobby.
Pokemon appears to be one that could work, but as it relies on a never ending drive to ‘catch ’em all’ there is no game mechanics other than collectible card games that would work in our favour. The totally not-Pokemon videogame ‘Pal world’ worked, because it put that into video game format.

I know I keep mentioning Halo, but I honestly do believe that Mantic have struck gold with that one.
All they really need is a videogame release to sync up to and it could become the next big thing since Xwing to breach that magical divide between tabletop gamers and fans. Of course we only have Mantic’s infectious enthusiasm for the product at the moment and we don’t know how realistic it is to have a second pre-order phase sold out as well, because well … we don’t know what their ‘standard’ volume is and how fast the average release tends to sell. If they are getting pre-orders equal to or better than any of their main line game releases … let’s just hope they can keep that momentum going past the initial release.

Anyways … one wall of my living room is done. I think. Somehow I keep finding flaws, but I’m going to call it done or else nothing will get finished. It’s on to the other wall, which should be ‘faster’ as there’s less wall to do. OTOH … I may be cutting it very close with paint as I only have the one big big bucket and am half way through. It’s a risk I’m willing to take as I doubt I would need more than a single 5 liter bucket extra and it’s a simple white colour.

One thing I will say is this : next time I will get a professional to do it 😀
It may cost more, but it will be done faster and better.

[grantinvanman 2151xp 0]

I don’t mind painting houses – I’ve used airless sprayers when finishing basements and garages, and that’s a blast. All the trim painted in a hour? Yep! Fab machines, although a bit dangerous (the sprayer will inject paint and create deadly bubbles under your skin if it is shot at you – many painters end up with it in the butt as they climb ladders with the nozzles hooked in the belt 🤣).

My place needs to be painted; we rented it out for 2 years before coming back, and the tenant wasn’t good to it. Needs work. And then we’re going to sell it to move to a nicer property. Maybe 2 years from now…

 

[sundancer 42900xp 1]

Anal airbrushing

Didn’t thing that would be on my “to read” list for 2024 XD

[limburger 21668xp 0]

I’m sure @lludan has experience with that part @sundancer 😀

@grantinvanman the sprayer I tried was too heavy for me to work with. Net result was that it didn’t give me the advantage I needed compared to a roller and a long stick. I can see advantages so I may try again in the future. Getting it set up was tricky as well, because there is no spray-ready paint like we have for our hobby airbrush while the manual was not helpful at all.

I will have to try again in the future when I have a bit more time and patience to get the thing up and running.

//

I got my Hobgoblin kickstarter delivered. The ‘Doom dials’ are definitely useful in Kings of War or Bolt-Action or any other game that requires me to mark things like ‘Doom’ or ‘nerve’ or pins on a unit. The book also features solo rules, which is always a good option.

Back to 1:1 scale terrain painting for me today. I’d say it is the ‘final day’, but technically I got to paint a few doors as well.
However I’ve kind of decided that those things can wait until after I’ve had all my stuff set up. I’m also thinking of simply replacing the doors with new ones that look better if things get too tricky for me. Time vs Money is always a thing to consider in all of this and me choosing time was not a bad choice, but not a perfect one either. I’ve learned new skills and had fun.

I probably should have reserved more holiday time for all of this, but what’s done is done.

[grantinvanman 2151xp 0]

The right sprayer is ready to use a pail of paint. Not sure about brands over there, but Graco is the one here. Tips can be changed for different fan patterns, widths. And there is no weight – the sprayer is a unit on the ground, with a feed into your paint; a long hose and the spray gun are all you would deal with. 100% takes a bit of getting used to – even spraying, arm adjustment, but worth it.

You would still have to roll a final coat anyway, though, to ensure the best finish. It just takes a lot of the time out of the first primer and base coats.

 

[limburger 21668xp 0]

If that still needed a final roll then I wouldn’t have saved myself any work.

This was pretty much a single coat, so coverage was great.

The spray gun I have is the intermediate sized one that looks like a really big airbrush with a big bottle underneath.
In hindsight the bigger brother would have been better … but hey, mistakes get made. I’ll find a good use for it yet.

Might even try it on the doors that I still have to paint, but based on my experience with a roller and my wargame table a roller will do nicely for that too.

Anyways … the big bucket of paint is almost empty. I got both walls done. There’s the bits above the windows on either side of the room to do, so technically I need one small bucket to finish the job.

I did manage to ruin the plinths (sp?) a bit as one of them has bend itself out of shape. I think it soaked a lot of water.
Not sure how to fix that yet. Maybe get new ones ? I managed to get a bit of paint on bits of them despite me masking it off.

It’s something to think about, but overall I’m happy to call it ‘done’ for now. Tomorrow I clean up the rest.
I also may need to look into replacing the front plates for the power outlets. The previous owners of the house had child proofed them. I removed that bit, but I also noticed one of the power outlets was cracked.

Time to measure the windows and look at curtains.

[grantinvanman 2151xp 0]

Ah yeah, that’s not at all like the “real ones”:

Most contractors will have one or two for paint, one for varnishes, and one for special use.

One room isn’t going to be what these are intended for.

Glad you’re almost done your project!

[sundancer 42900xp 1]

That baby can prime a whole store worth of minis in minutes! XD

[pagan8thParticipant 10744xp 1]

Assuming they don’t get blasted apart by the pressure 🙂

[limburger 21668xp 1]

That’s why metal minis are once again the superior product : they would survive this 😀

 

[pagan8thParticipant 10744xp 0]

Not going argue the pros and cons of metal vs plastic. Opinions differ. That’s the nature of the universe.

[grantinvanman 2151xp 0]

Metal is better.  Clearly. There is no debate. None. It’s just not even possible. Not at all. Not now, not ever, not in ten years.

Metal! Metal! Metal!

[limburger 21668xp 1]

I still prefer polystyrene plastic … mostly because super glue always wants to glue my fingers instead of the mini.
There’s not substitute for metal in terms of weight though. That does have its advantages at times (especially when throwing things at enemies ;))

Anyways …

Slightly off-topic, but why the heck do the sales people at stores feel like they can ignore customers ?
I get that there’s not going to be much gained by talking to customers in a regular store, but when you’re selling furniture related bits shouldn’t you be more active ?

I understand that I don’t look like someone who’s got a ton of money to spend, but at the same time it’s not like I’m buying a pot of paint either.  It’s almost as if I’m invisible to them.

Or do I have to wander in with my girl friend to get any attention as a lone male surely is just hiding from the weather  and totally isn’t going to want to spend any money despite looking at stuff.

/rant

Anyways … besides an attempt at shopping for curtains I’ve managed to install a smart doorbell.
Getting tiny things like that done feels like a much needed victory after the depressing shopping experience.
Plans for tomorrow are set (yet another attempt at shopping in a real store). And saturday I’m planning on going to the scale model challenge in Veldhoven. I might spot a famous youtuber (like Marco) or maybe I won’t.
I’m not gonna hunt for autographs because that feels silly.

[Author]

Posts