So much for reining in my convention attendance in 2004! The year was barely two weeks old and there I was at Siege of Augusta in Georgia, playing Ancients and buying miniatures. I wasn't the only Midwesterner fleeing the cold, though, as I saw GL member Scott Jeske and a bevy of his Ohio/Indiana boys in the massive DBM tourney. David and Rich from Dayton Painting Consortium wereon hand with their wares, as well.
Of course, I HAD been planning to fly to South Carolina, anyway, to visit my friend Jason. And we both thought it would be a good idea to pick the weekend he was going to Siege for my visit. It looks like Siege merely opened the gates to a string of conventions, though. What with Warband in February, Cold Wars in March, Little Wars in April and Drums in May, it doesn't look like I'll break the convention-a-month schedule for awhile, yet.
My reason for trying to tighten my grip on convention attendance is I've decided that 2004 will be the year I finally buy a house. All hope at saving money is not lost, though, as I think I've figured out a way for the hobby to "pay for itself" this year. I've begun creating Ancient camps for DBA (or DBM) to sell at the various shows I attend. Lots of people sell painted miniatures, and even painted DBA armies. However, you don't find camps for sale very often -- particularly little vignettes of camp life that have become my specialty. The strategy is to cover my expenses (hotels, meals) and any new purchases with sales that I make that weekend. That way I am not cutting into my savings to fund trips to gaming conventions.
So, any of you DBA (or DBM) players out there that want to contribute to your editor's Home Fund, look me up at Warband, Cold Wars, Little Wars or Drums. I'll have a box full of camps on hand, and hopefully you'll find a perfect match for one of your armies. Naturally, I "take requests," too -- having already completed Greek and Egyptian camps for my friends that needed them. Prices will range from $25 for the busier or more elaborate ones, to $20 for simpler ones. That may sound expensive, but wait till you see them! They really ARE cool looking! I've done a two-story, palisade Gatetower, mounted raiders leading captives back to their camp, wagon laagers, a heretic being burned at the stake, Eastern temples -- you name it!
And speaking of cool stuff, check out the news about Advance the Colors 2004's new convention site on page 8. We'd outgrown the Holiday Inn, so found more space that costs less (but that's not the neatest thing about it...!).
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