Corsairs: a new club for me.

I finally managed to get to the Corsairs club yesterday, for the last meeting of 2008. Nice big venue, good focus on fun and enjoyment. Lots of closet Flames players which I hadn’t really expected. I now have a specific focus for the next two months as I attempt to get my Mid war Fallschirmjäger and Soviets ready.

The good thing about the club is that there’s enough interest in playing non-tourny type scenarios and indeed some of the variant rules I prefer, so it’s time for me to dust off the old Grant books and print off my Table top teasers. In the meantime I shall also have to look at scratchbuilding some cheap scenery to flesh out the tabletop. Cue the placemats, postscrubbers and foam core is my bestest friend techniques.

So where have you been?

The long night is over. I’m once again gainfully employed, and have very good job security courtesy of a promotion and raise after only 5 weeks at a fiscally conservative a risk-averse multi-national bank that used to only operate out of Hong Kong and Shanghai. It’s already made a nice wee difference

The € vis à vis the AU$

There’s no earthly chance that I’ll be buying anything sourced in the UK for at least a year and even then it’ll require a sizable shift from the 39-40p mark towards the 50p-55p position to make ordering viable. Whereas once I would have sourced 90% of my miniatures needs from the UK in terms of manufacturers, authors and general modelling supplies, these days I tend to be far more eclectic and perhaps discerning.  Much of my distaste for buying British these days stems from the derisory padding of prices through inclusion of VAT and especially the exorbitant postage and handling charges some of the entrepreneurs assail the consumer with.  But also I’m just a bit tired of little or no customer service in what is a very small, customer-centric industry.

But rather than focus on the negatives, I’m going to consider this an opportunity to wander along the hypotheticals and the optimists’ lanes.

All that said if the economic situation warranted it, I’d still be buying a fair bit of gear.  Peter Pig and Kerr & King would be my chief beneficiaries but Spirit Games would get some business, mainly on the publication front.

An order from Peter Pig would almost certainly include the various rules sets based on the Ak-47 engine, along with enough figures and certain vehicles to flesh out my 1940 Sovs and UK Home Army, along with the Brit paras I’ve had sitting around for the last 15 years.

Other UK purchases would in the main be from Kerr and King, with their 15mm range of battelfield terrain and detritus being a particular favourite of mine.  In truth, the K&K items are that nice and that inexpensive I’ll probably spring for a couple of boxed sets anyway.

The only other purchases would perhaps be some Foundry paints (despite my aversion to their prices) which I will find useful for my 19th century armies, particularly given the amount of horseflesh I have to deal with.

But until things improve, such will languish on the back burner.

More soon,

Pete