Weak as I am...

Hello again.

No, I am not starting a new blog aimed at celebrating Skunk Anansie lyrics, but my weakness for the unusual and for simply supporting my many and varied interests within the hobby has seen me succumb to a minor spend.

Last Sunday, 6th January, saw my visit to the Penkridge Tabletop Sale at the Memorial Hall in that aforementioned, Staffordshire village of Penkridge. I saw a lot of stuff - some excellent ready to use and ready to paint scenery items, masses of secondhand figures, painted or otherwise, and often at very decent-looking prices, a plethora of books and rules on all manner of subjects, Nephew Nick with his Sleeping Dragon Hobby Shop offering various paint and scenic materials, among other things, and I encountered a new trader in the form of "Board in Brum", who, I believe, operate out of a unit off Bloxwich Lane near Walsall. WS2 8TL is their post code if you fancy a visit. I even managed to catch up with a few old acquaintances.

But what did I buy???

Well, back on the 7th January 2012, I posted on this very blog a set of pictures covering my fledgling sci-fi collection, with which I want to concentrate on the sort of gritty, small scale, down and dirty sort of conflict. That post featured some Colonial Marine types and some dog-like humanoids called K'Hiff, made at one time by Denizen Miniatures. Are they still going? Well, it matters not, as, on the very first stall I looked at, I saw a little plastic box, priced at a princely £4, holding no fewer than 20 of the canine-types. I have long wanted to boost my numbers so I can build a couple of squads for the aforementioned dirty/ gritty/ small scale affairs, so they are now mine! 20p each for metal figures that can be considered rare is what I deem a BARGAIN!!!

I have enough figures for two squads of 8-10 figures plus a command squad plus a couple or three specialists, so more than enough for the sort of games I expected to be playing 7 years ago when I first stuck the K'Hiff on the blog!

The top row shows two figures with a sort of BAR-type light (semi-)automatic rifle and a single figure with a las-rifle for chewing up soft vehicle targets or similar. The second row has basic squaddies with rifle, the third basic squaddies with carbine. The final row has a set of specialists covering two with grenade launchers, two snipers and a figure with a RPG. No leader figure, but that just means the leader I have painted becomes a force commander rather than simply a squad commander.



I mentioned "Board in Brum" above and they tempted me with a box of Junkers 88's and another of Bristol Blenheims, but the main draw was the boxed game below. I first encountered "Carnevale" on offer at the "Wargamer" show a few years back, but did not dip in then as I had so much else to do. Now, nothing has changed on that front, but I simply could not resist this offering. However, I had to resist, because they were not taking cards and I had only a modest amount of cash on me!!! Not to be deterred however, I am now the proud owner of "Carnevale" as you can see form the photos below.

Apart from a bit of box damage, don't you think this artwork is a massive lure? Skullduggery and derring-do behind the mask of Venice at carnival time! Think Casanova meets Jack the Ripper and throw in some almost-Cthulhu elements.

And the game is chockfull of bits and pieces - figures for two factions, terrain boards, card buildings, rules, scenarios, game tools, dice and even a gondola!!! I cannot wait to get a more thorough look at this over the next couple of days, but it only came to me this morning, so I just took a couple of photos and here you are!

The premise is that a rift has appeared near late 18th Century Venice and some strange creatures are starting to appear within the canals and allies of the Maritime Republic, contesting the night with various gangs of robbers, thieves, smugglers and the like, whilst the authorities try to play down the strange sightings and the city tries to stay afloat and go about its business. I hope to give the game an outing soon.

So, I am already up and running and the boxed game quantity has already grown by one since the new year. Incorrigible? Hopeless? Yeah, I reckon I am both!!!

G