Happy Issue 131! Since our last issue, I've been able to do some exciting things. First I started a new job back on first shift. This change in time (I used to work third shift) allows me to get back in touch with the land of the living again. No longer a vampire, I decided it was prime time to follow my advice from MWAN Issue #130 and make time to enjoy our hobby instead of just wishing I was enjoying it! The story goes something like this... I like to paint minis. My friends keep encouraging me, "Not bad. Keep working at it. Practice will bring improvement." But they are too kind. Inside, and sometimes outside, they are wincing. Yet another perfectly good piece of pewter down the tube. Perhaps it is the paint? Perhaps it is the brush? Well, news flash, perhaps it is the painter! My cats do a better job of painting than I can. One time my boy cat, Khayman the Destroyer, was sitting oh so quietly on the table watching me agonize over some small detail. Unbeknownst to me he had gotten his tail stuck in an open jar of paint. When I noticed I turned as white as a newly primed figure (assuming you use white primer, but that's another discussion). While I did not get any further painting done, Khayman did. The race to catch the cat was on. He painted the kitchen table, the kitchen floor, one of the walls, the hardwood floor in the dining room ... cats can be slippery things ... but I got a grip on him before he could paint a nifty racing stripe across my new couch. And so my miniatures enjoyed a stay of execution; the painting sitting undisturbed for some time. Earlier this month I arrived at home hell bent to paint another figure. Do I have my Games Workshop painting guide? Check. Brushes ready? Check. Paint? Check. Figures? No go. I had nothing primed. Scanning my large collection of raw figures, I reached for my next victims. At Cold Wars I had bought a pack of Foundry Daughters of the Empire. A groan of dismay floated over my shoulder from somewhere to my left. Don could take it no longer. Not the Foundry figures! In an elaborate diversion he managed to save the women and deflect me to go see a movie instead. How does this relate to spending time on enjoying our hobby? Well, later that week Don surprised me by sending me to painting lessons from a professional miniature painter. I learned all sorts of things that day about primer, how to hold (or rather not hold) a figure when painting, the virtues of different brands of paints, and on and on. But most importantly the figs I painted actually looked pretty darned good. No more painful wincing and politeness needed. With lots more practice I can finally be proud to play with figures I painted myself. The other exciting thing I did this month was to participate in a rousing game of Desperado most graciously hosted and run by Bob Bowling of RLBPS. I had a great time helping the Mexicans (Don and Michael) defend the frontier outpost of MWAN Magazine with my women of the West. I think everyone there was in agreement that BobCon (well, it was in Bob & Ann's basement!) set a record for wargaming attendance from women as both Anne Bowling and Anne Hermann (of HMGS-MW Little Wars fame) played also. While the master for the next issue of MWAN fell into the dastardly hands of our opponents, everyone won by enjoying an afternoon pushing lead around and spending time with friends. Till next issue may your adventures in gaming be fruitful and many! Back to MWAN # 131 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2004 Hal Thinglum This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com