August Painting Break

Kind of like summer vacation back when we were kids – I’m halfway through a miniatures painting break in August.

As I posted here I finished up those Scots Covenanters I started after Memorial Day. I do have some items in the “que” I want to paint but I’ve no deadline. Also, we’ve been getting some record breaking temps in Portland the past few weeks (upper 90s and into the 100s) though some respite this week (only in the 80s). I’ve got some DVD movies to catch up on and a staycation to have the week prior to Labor Day.

The “Saga Club” has taken off and the first play-day was a success at 7 people showing up. We had 3 simultaneous games going and most of the players got 2 games in. The next one is August 26th and it’s looking like another 3 tables with 7 people coming to play. Again, PDX-Metro Saga is for people that have an army and want to play Saga. I cannot offer demos for PDX-Metro Saga days; this monthly day is for playing.

Frankly, I’ve been running demos for 3 years straight now and I’m not really the best person to be doing that. Time for other people to take up the mantle, people that are much better suited than I – my rules knowledge is basic at best and my temperament is “getting old and grumbly”.

 Put 22 ozs of cider in me though, and if I’m in a good mood, I will happily play 2-3 games!

Other things I am doing this month, not wargaming related:

As I have mentioned I have not bush-crafted, let alone even went car camping, in almost 2 years. It’s getting harder to do those things and what used to be simple trips thought out in the last minute are now treks I need to plan for. I used to be able to want to go camping Saturday morning, pack up the truck with my pack and a cooler, and take off no more than 2 hours out of Portland. This became more difficult a few years ago as the population has dramatically rose and all my “spots” are now filled with people. Even car camping takes reservations months, if not a year, out in advance.

I’m not quite sure about what to do about it. During my staycation I do plan to explore some of the local Portland trails though, like in Forest Park. I’ve put together my old haversack kit and I’ll set off end of the month on a weekday to see what is up and get myself back into some woods-bum action. At the least I’d like to brew up a cup of coffee in the woods and have a smoke.

On this tip I made an order for some outdoorsy gear from Varusteleka out of Finland. Fast becoming my favorite online seller of MilSurp gear. My first order from them was a Jaakaripuukko (hunter’s knife) in the 140mm stainless steel blade configuration. If not out of stock I would’ve gotten the 110 carbon blade. I also got a sheath for the knife. Altogether it was $80. I also got 2 Polish bread bags (due to my obsession with common items a soldier would carry), a repro Finnish field cap from WW2, and some reflective decals. Delivery, from Finland, was in 8 days for $9.99. 

I’ve lusted after the knife for a while and also really wanted to be a Varusteleka customer since last year. I finally pulled the trigger due to some videos that came out this summer about the knife and comparing it to other knives like the Mora Garberg – full tang knives in the sub $100 range that are heavy duty woods users. Garbergs are $99 and I’ve been wanting one all year but my lack of woods-time prevented me. I also like the Jaakaripuukko aesthetic better as well as the cool leather dangler sheath. That said I will get a Garberg later I hope and I will compare the two knives.

My Dungeons and Dragons game is going strong. My paladin, Sir Evanagrio de la Guerre, just hit 5th level! In D&D5e every 5 levels is an “echelon” in power and prestige I guess? So hitting level 5 is a milestone. I’ve a mini all painted and ready to be used for “higher level” Evanagrio but he’s not quite there yet so I’m sticking with the current Evanagrio mini.

Coincidently I just took one of those dumb online “which character are you” tests via Facebook. Obviously a way to mine your data. I take few of those and I normally get an answer I don’t like – always some 2nd-rate character and usually the funny fat guy – but this one was for Game of Thrones and I got Oberyn Martell. I thought “Cool, he was sexy and almost killed The Mountain, though he ended up getting killed by The Mountain.” So I looked him up to see if there was anything I was missing about his character (there wasn’t) but realized this was exactly what my D&D character was! Cool, I love it when a character I’m playing has a literature or show based parallel I can steal from!!

 Sir Evanagrio is a Paladin from a noble family. He is seen as a hero by the common folk as he likes to defend them. He is a duelist – loves single combat. He is from southern land thus has darker skin. Evanagrio has a known lust for carnal action too. He’s also developed an insatiable urge for vengeance against demons. 

Other than using poison to gain unfair advantage, that is Oberyn Martell.

The Viking recreation stuff is moving along. Hoping to start a wool fabric hood (using the Skoldham find as my inspiration) this weekend. I might also make a leather pouch for “mundane items” I need to carry with me while dressed up – something to carry wallet, phone, and Swiss Army knife.

Got back into some shows after ending up getting bored with TV earlier this year. Namely Game of Thrones after being out for 2 seasons of it. I might have even blogged about it here?? Firstly one of the lawyers at my firm started a GoT Fantasy League. Buy in was $5. Out of 16 teams I am solidly right in the middle with my team of Grey Worm, Milisandre, Jaqen, and Yohn Royce. So far, a pretty mediocre team with Grey Worm being my only star player, and Jaqen probably being my poorest choice in that he might not even show up in this season. I was hoping for more with Melisandre but looks like she’s out too. At least mine are all alive!

Second, the show got better. Every episode has had a major reveal or a plot device realized. Also we have not seen one sexual assault. Past seasons those were layered on top of each other each episode to the point of tedium. “Really? You’re going to emotionally manipulate me with rape scenes again?”

I’ve also realized (while watching Guardians of the Galaxy 2) that long and very dynamic CGI scenes cancel out in my brain after about 10 minutes and I just fall asleep. Awww … 46 years old and finally out of the demographic!

Anyways, thanks for reading and sorry for this filler post! I plan to write about my Cro-Mags patch and my history with them next. Stay tuned – so much excite!!