Touching History, 1, 2 3, and 4

I recently purchased the pdf's for the four issues of Touching History by Paul Darnell. These are amazing and I recommend them to anyone that has ever built wargame terrain or is thinking of trying. The pdf's are only $7.59 each and as far as I am concerned, the value is far more than that.
The first issue covers Napoleonic Peninsular; buildings and terrain. I really like the windmill and plan to give that a try.
The second issue covers the English Civil War. Oddly enough I am playing in an ECW game tomorrow. I haven' built any of the terrain.
Issue 3 contains two periods, the Sudan and WW II. In addition to the model and terrain building, there is also an AAR for both historical periods. The Sudan portion contains great pictures of the gunboat Paul built.
The last issue of Touching History covers North America; the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and the French and Indian War.
Each issue contains ideas, advice, commentary and much more.

They are available at http://www.karwansaraypublishers.com/shop/

I haven't done anything but read them and I can already encourage you to buy them.

Book Recommendation: The British at the Gates

The British at the Gates by Robin Reilly is a history of the campaign that ended in the Battle of New Orleans, during the War of 1812. It's very well written. It is detailed, yet very readable. It explains the causes of the war in what I consider a balanced way. The author then gives a narration of the important events of the war leading to New Orleans, the final battle.
My friend, Jim, and I are starting a War of 1812 project and this volume by itself will keep me going for a while. I was fortunate to have this on the shelf at home when I needed to start my research.
Highly recommended.

Maus in the House

On are recent trip to Hobby Town USA, I found a Forces of Valor 1/72 scale Maus on the clearance rack. Not something you need for very many scenarios, but the same can be said for the T-35 and I have one of those.
A nice pre-assembled and painted vehicle, it has the test turret so I need to add a gun and crew to it.
Zossen, anyone?

Book Recommendation: White Terror: Cossack Warlords in the Trans-Siberian

White Terror: Cossack Warlords in the Trans-Siberian by Jamie Bisher is highly recommended. It is a comprehensive, detailed book that tells the story of the Russian Civil War in Siberia. When I read it, I made notes that I will someday turn into wargame scenarios.
It is compelling and horrific at the same time. By the time I finished it, I was emotionally exhausted. The cruelty of this conflict is well known, the intensity of that cruelty in the Russian Far East was astounding.
If you are interested in the Russian Civil War, Cossacks, or history in general, this book is for you. There are now soft cover and ebook versions, making it accessible to all.

My Unusual Dice

It seems that all the hip gamers are posting pictures of dice on their blogs. I learned this important fact from the Angry Lurker. Here are some of my unusual dice.

First, the special Origins dice from 1999, 2006, and 2008. My younger son has been banned from using the '06 and '08 dice; they always roll exactly what he needs! It's very unusual.

Next are the pewter dice that my Mother gave me as a gift. Bless her heart, these heavy things have never been rolled on a table containing any of my miniatures.

Lastly, a completely blank die. No matter how many times you roll, it always gives the same result.

Who else has dice pictures to share?

GenCon Visit

I was at GenCon today. I was actually in Indianapolis to attend a seminar covering virtualization and backup software. Lo and behold, the seminar was at the Marriott, right across the street from the convention center where GenCon is being held. As a matter of fact, the Marriott is connected to the convention center by a walkway and down the hall from my seminar was a room full of RPGer's. After the seminar, I walked over to have a look around. I have been to Origins many times, but this was my first time at GenCon. GenCon is much bigger, as expected. The registration line was at least 70 yards long, but moving along well. It seemed that there was a larger percentage of participants in costume at GenCon than at Origins. I wasn't registered so I couldn't get into any of the gaming rooms, but walking down the hallways and seeing the sights was fun.
I don't know if we will run up there on Saturday or not, but if not this year, then hopefully 2012.

More Bones

Following the advice of my fellow TMPer's, I went to Dollar Tree and picked up some of the dinosaur skeletons. I cut them into pieces and the results are below.



I have enough to finish some loose pieces to throw around.
I also used air dry clay to create the obligatory walk through rib cage.

The terrain for this game is really coming together. I still need to build a cave and some type of alter, and a bunch of trees.