(OT) Trick or Treat Report --

Well it was rather disappointing tonight ala "trick or treaters". Last year we had 108 T&Ters over a 2 1/2 hours. This year we only had 63 over a 3 3/4 hour window. That is 45 fewer than last year


I try to take photos of most of the costumes so that my wife (who is a semi-invalid) can get to see them later. Most kids came in groups like the one above (click on photos for a hopefully better view . . . depending upon how Blogger is dealing with photos this week).


The little fellow above was one of the first; and the girl below (who looks out through the hat) probably had the best costume. Overall it seems to me that we had far fewer "little kids" without a corresponding decrease in teenagers.


Now what are we to do with all of the left-over candy? Both my wife and I have Type II diabetes . . . so we can't eat it . . . ah, well, we'll think of something like having it out for gamers.

-- Jeff

My Paint Rack --

I primarily use "craft paints" . . . you know, the inexpensive ones that come in 2 fl oz (59 ml) plastic bottles. They are usually found in "craft stores" or "dollar-type stores".

Anyway some years ago I purchased a "Provo Craft Spinner Rack". It holds 160 bottles of these 2 oz craft paints. I have found it quite useful for easy view and use of these paints.

Still I had never come close to filling it until this week when my dear wife gave me her collection of craft paints (her "numb hands" prevent her from controlling her brushes) . . . which also explains some of the colors that don't seem very martial.


As you can see from the above photo of the "warm side" of the rack, each side holds 80 paints. (Hopefully if you click on it, you'll get to see a larger image; but Blogger keeps changing the way it acts when you do so . . . so who knows.)

The image below will show you the "cool side" which also contains the varnishes and metallics on the right hand side.


I got my on eBay . . . but you if you want to get one that way you need to take your time. Some folks want outrageous prices for them and others are quite reasonable. I think that I got mine some years back for around $30 plus shipping . . . but check out the cost of shipping before you bid on one . . . again sometimes that cost is unacceptable.

I would suggest that you check with any local craft shops first to see if they carry them . . . or how much they'd charge if you ordered one.

Below is an image of the side of the rack . . . so you can see the central post that the whole thing turns on. By the way, when full of paints like this it is quite heavy.


Finally you will have noticed that I've painted each lid the color of the paint inside. This is because paints can dry either lighter or darker than their "wet" appearance . . . and it makes it very easy to find the shade of color that I want.

By the way, while most come with white lids, some craft paints come with a "gold top" (such as the fourth ones down in the photo above). These I first paint white before painting their proper color on them.

-- Jeff

Some Thoughts on My Rules --

Over the past few months I have been particularly enjoying Ross Macfarlane's discussion of rules on his "Battle Game of the Month" blog. He, along with Bob Cordery's "Wargaming Miscellany" blog, have had me thinking about my "Tricorne Wars" rules.

When I first wrote them one of my goals was to replicate the steadfastness of line infantry and the slow wearing down of their resolve . . . and I feel that in a way I succeeded in doing so.

The problem is that that also tended to slow up games. Units took hits and then rallied in place too often. Ross and Bob have me re-thinking that approach. I need to keep in mind the fact that I'm writing "game rules" not "copying history".

While I'm not quite sure just how I want to deal with this, I do know that I want to. Mind you there are lots of parts of my rules that I really like . . . but they do need some work in light of my recent convictions.

Finally, if you have not yet read Ross Macfarlane's most recent reworking of his "Hearts of Tin" rules, I certainly suggest that you give them a read. They were primarily written for the 19th century but will flex a bit on either end of that.

-- Jeff