Project: Exclusive

Sometimes I ask myself, what the hell are we all running around for, anyway? To make money? But what the hell do we need money for if all we do is run around making it? 
   - Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, Roadside Picnic

sorry about the square crop. stupid instagram

Remember back in March when I painted those silly Ásatrú cowboys? Well, my lovely friend has since convinced several of us that this time he really will do it, and this time it's Zona Alfa, the Metro 2033/Stalker/S.T.A.L.K.E.R/Roadside Picnic Osprey blue book game about ex-Soviet adventurers in some kind of Horrible Place post-Event. A lot of people read Event as Chernobyl-style nuclear disaster, although Roadside Picnic is not at all like that.

For me, I've been Zona Alfa-curious for years, and I'd recently seen tylerisalrightatpainting's really lovely go at the Eureka sculpts, so I was already teetering on the edge. When my friend said he wanted to organise some gaming in 2026, I popped in an order to Eureka (and then another order when they arrived and I realised that I forgot the sniper I wanted). I'm still not convinced my friend will be organised enough for me to make the trip up to see him, but regular guest Mangs says that he can put together a gang, so we'll see. And flaky friend has managed to organise at least one game since I bought these, so maybe I'll eat crow.

Project: Imjin War

Those who seek death shall live. Those who seek life shall die.
   - Admiral Yi Sun-sin

Korean 'bushi' for Ronin

Little project, done over I think three evenings. Which is very funny, because I think I bought these like five years ago. Jimmy and I were talking one day about how cool it would be to play Ronin, an Osprey Games blue book for Samurai skirmishes. My interest in samurai-era wargaming is generally muted (although I did watch a bunch of Kurosawa movies last year...) but I've always been interested in the Imjin War - and Ronin includes Koreans!

Most Samurai rulesets don't, by the way, even including Warlord Games recent supplement for Pike & Shotte, Wars of the Samurai. Which is good, in a way, because it means I don't wind up buying an entire Perry Miniatures Korean army only to have nobody to fight.

Anyway, these guys have languished in a box since then, but we were talking about it recently, so I decided to dig them out. I had forgotten that I'd based them on hexes - must have been in an old-school mood.

A brief sunshiney day a few days ago let met get them undercoated, and so these were a nice little bit of 'finishing something off' juice for the brain.