The countdown begins!

Hello everyone. It's been about 5 months or so since I've talked with all of you, thought I'd fill you in and see how you're all doing (hope it's going well!).
Music has really been center stage for the past year or so, and I find myself investing more and more time in it, writing more and more songs as I go along.
It's led me to my booked "gig" if you will with my friend Will, a bass player. So far, we've got enough songs for a 12-song album and maybe an EP or a few B-sides, though that's jumping the gun a bit.
Our gig is on a local radio station called 89.9/99.9 WERU, and it will be on February 23rd starting at 4:30 or so.
It should be streaming on the station's website. Having played guitar for about 7 years or so now, I can't say there was ever a point when I expected to do something like this. I don't exactly know where this will go, or what I'll do with this, but it is probably going to be really really weird.
I'm incredibly proud of my friend, Will, who's been working his you-know-what off for the past 5 months. He's surprised me with his ability to learn things this fast, and he's really made excellent progress over time.
Also, my friend James, who has acted as our kind of manager, and who found us this radio spot in the first place. He's been a loyal friend since 4th grade or so, and I really owe him quite a bit for this.
We've also got a lead guitarist coming in with us soon, but until then it's "Squilly" (Will's nickname) and I.
So in about 11 days, it's crunch time. Thank you anyone who read this, I hope you're all doing well. Sometimes I go through the ol' blog to see what everyone is doing and it looks like you're all doing great.
Again, thank you anyone who read this.

Status Report (August 12, 2012)

I've been looking around for some miniatures and doing a bit of research on what the average soldier fight for the Serbs, Croats or Bosnians would have looked like (as far as uniforms and kits go) and used in battle.
So far, for the infantry, almost all regular riflemen used a Zastava M70, which is the Yugoslavian version of the AK-47. They used a bunch of Yugoslavian variants of Russian weapons, like the Dragunov and PKM and so on.
Almost all sides used M81 Woodland camouflage or something that looked like it, if not that, then a mixture of civilian and military-looking clothes. The Serbians used the old Yugoslavian Army uniform commonly which was a kind of field khaki-gray. From the footage and photographs I've seen, Chicom rigs and rucksacks are used quite a bit.
The Serbs wore old Yugoslavian helmets (if at all), and the Bosnians and Croats wore a mixture of M1's and M56's (the M56 being my favorite helmet). I've seen berets and winter wool hats being worn by some soldiers in a few pictures I've seen, but some wear nothing on their head at all. A really useful site to look at if you're into military helmets is Brendon's Helmets. There's quite the collection there.
Here are some other examples of some soldiers:

I believe this soldier is Yugoslavian or Serbian, judging by the helmet and camo. The helmet is actually called the "M59".

A good example of a post-Yugoslavian uniform in use with the Serbs.

Here's an example of an M56 in use amongst Croatian forces. The soldier second on the left is wearing what I think is Olive Drab. These might be Bosnians, because from the footage I've seen, they tend to be sporting the M56 a lot more than the Croats.

Bosnians wearing the same helmet.

Croats using the M1 Helmet. One of the soldiers in this picture (the 3rd one on the left holding his rifle over his shoulder) is actually carrying what looks like an FN-FAL.

And some more Yugoslavians or Serbs with man's best friend (although I tend to like cats a bit more, but I think a cat's battlefield effectiveness is questionable). 

 For the soldiers with helmets, I've been looking on Elhiem Figures and RH Models for both helmeted and civilian militia models.
I'll keep you posted when I pick the first miniatures up.
However, just before I leave, I thought I'd show you the pictures I've been taking while I enjoy the last few weeks of summer before I have to go to school again. This is just the countryside around where I live. Enjoy!

This is my favorite one.

Turkeys always move in a troop-like fashion.

A lot of people come up to Maine for the summertime, and sadly a lot of them get to miss the best part about it, the countryside. However, they don't get to miss the nearly constant dreary weather, but hey, if they don't like it, they can go to Florida!
Stay tuned!

Status Report (August 8, 2012)

I've [finally] made up my mind on what era I want to cover in Force on Force: The Yugoslav Wars. I did some research about it, and I must say, it is a fascinating and very, almost touchy subject to cover.
The Yugoslav Wars took place from 1991 to about 1999, and was probably Europe's biggest conflict since World War II. It was basically a series of brutal ethnic conflicts and land grabs between Serbs, Croats and Bosnians, and it took place in what was then known as Yugoslavia.
The reason this is a touchy subject is because of what took place in them. What set this war apart from many others was the brutal atrocities that took place on all sides. I'm trying not to get too political here, but the Yugoslav Wars really grabbed my attention.
I did a bit of research on the armies that fought in it, and there was pretty much an army for every ethnicity in Yugoslavia at the time. If you want to read a bit more about it, there's a very fascinating article about them on Wikipedia that sums it up rather well.
In the meantime, I had my friend James over last night, and since fireworks are now legal in the state of Maine, we decided to mess around with some bottle rockets.

I noticed that it actually looks like the tank is firing (James lit it intending that it would blow the tank up and send it sky high, instead it shot off towards my dad's garden and scared the goat).
I will probably be buying some miniatures in the near future for the era, which the miniatures should not be hard to find: Guerrillas with AK-47's, paint on a good coat of M81 Woodland and voila! You've got a soldier during the Yugoslav Wars.
This will probably be a quick project, enough to make a small force to play with, and then I'll probably tuck them away for further use for when the time comes.
Stay tuned!

Status Report (August 5, 2012)

I've been getting the hang of Force on Force over the past few days. So far I've learned the basics of infantry combat, but since I don't really have too many armored vehicles, it might be a while before I can do some mechanized combat and see what that's all about.
Brody came over last night and we did a 15-minute or so skirmish between some 9 or so Cold War U.S. Infantry and I used 9 random figures I grabbed out of the bin just for the game.
He and I both enjoy the game quite a bit.
Now here comes the part where I always seem to fail: making up my mind.
Iran-Iraq War: Bloody, long, trench warfare, hundreds of casualties or the India-Pakistan Wars: Swift, short, lots of mechanized warfare, blitzkrieg-like tactics and medium to high casualties.Then there's the Yugoslav Wars: Long, mobile, bloody, fought in a series, a little more recent.
I'll make up my mind soon, maybe with a little help from Brody.
Stay tuned!

Status Report (July 5, 2012)

Had a great 4th of July celebration in Boston with my family. Did some great exploring and enjoyed the awesome fireworks in the rain, which actually made it more fun.

A view of the South End. Come to find out, my grandfather actually designed one of the hotels down around there (a majority of my family is from the Boston area, including me). 

Me at the Reflection Pool at the Christian Church of Science, probably doing some... you know... reflecting...

Anyway, I should be ordering a copy of Force on Force rather soon. I'll just have to read it and maybe even review it!
Stay tuned!

Satus Report (June 21, 2012)

The Soviet Strelkovy company is almost done! Although, I've been doing some "soul-searching". I tend to have a really (and I mean really) hard time making up my mind with things.
I'm caught between doing Flames of War, or sticking with 20mm and doing a fictitious conflict, maybe the 2nd American Civil War. 
Very confused at the moment. So the ultimatum, stick with 20mm or do Flames of War?

Soviet progress thus far

I've managed to paint a few Soviets over the past few days, and I thought I'd show you how I'm doing. They're not the best, and let me just say I think they're very far from good.
Anyway, here they are!

If you ask me, they all look absolutely terrible from the basing to the paint job its self (not to mention the incredibly heavy wash, which is awful as well). But then again, that's my overall cynicism kicking in.
Anyway, tell me what you think. I'll probably paint more up and I'll go lighter on the wash.
Stay tuned!

Status Report (April 10, 2012)

Looks like we're returning to the Cold War. Well, WWI, it was fun, but I think that I should focus more on the Cold War.
However, with my return to the Cold War, there will be a slight change. This time, it's in 15mm! Yes, a scale change is necessary. I can get miniatures cheaper in 15mm. 
Peter Pig and QRF miniatures will be the mail supplier, I think. I've also been editing the rules to Standoff: Cold War.
I am actually a little iffy about the whole 15mm thing, so I might have to just get my feet wet at first and give it a try. 
There will probably be more changes soon, so stay tuned!

World Aflame Great War now on Google Docs! Give a try?

The mostly done set of rules for World Aflame Great War is now available on Google Documents.
The set of rules is easy to pick up and play, and the rules aren't too hard.
I might also be switching back to the Cold War in a short period of time, that or WWII. Any thoughts?
Anyway, the link is right here. Enjoy!

Status Report (March 21, 2012)

78.1 Degrees here in Belfast, and it's only March (for my foreign readers that's about 25 degrees Celsius)! Truly peculiar weather for springtime.
My rules for World Aflame: Great War are about half way done, also the miniatures I ordered from Peter Pig should be here in about a fortnight and a half, so stay tuned!
Also, if anybody would like the set of rules for Standoff: Cold War I'd be happy to share.
Stay tuned!