Wargaming on the Road: Travel Painting Kit

 

Look at that!  A brand new banner for the blog!  You know, I have a few of these banners now.  They cover a few topics: 

1. On the Painting Desk

These are posts that usually cover what I am painting now, techniques I am using, updates on newly finished projects, and other thoughts on painting.  It helps me keep track of what I am painting in a year.  The frequency varies based on how much painting I am doing.   

2. Wargame Design

When you see this header, the focus is on a discussion about various wargame design topics.  I try to post one of these a month, but I am not always consistent.  Some months have more, but more likely it is less.  

3. Wargaming on a Budget

These are sporadic posts.  However, they focus on how to indulge in the wargaming hobby on the cheap.  There was a long period of my wargaming career where money was absolutely a limiting factor in my wargaming life.  These are tips and tricks to make the hobby more affordable.  

4. Random

As the name implies, these cover a few different types of posts that do not fit any other category.  Random thoughts about wargaming adjacent topics, Goals and Objectives, round-ups, etc.  

Obviously, I have a lot of other content but they do not tend to have special headers. Reviews tend to have a picture of the game in question.  Battle Reports tend to have a picture of the game we are going to play.  No special headers for those.  

Now this header is going to focus on the challenges of being a wargamer in small spaces or travelling.  Since the moving to a more "mobile" environment this has become a "Hot Topic" for me.  How do I keep active in the wargaming space while living in a contained space on the road?  

Today, we are going to focus on my mobile painting station.  I have always had a relatively portable or condensed painting station.  Unlike many folks, I actually never really kept my projects out.  It was part of my painting routine to pull out my painting gear, set it all up, paint, and then store it all away when a painting session was complete.  This routine helped me get into the right mindset to paint.  Once I had everything out and set-up I was committed to paint!  This approach does NOT work for everyone but it worked well for me! 

Therefore, moving to a more mobile painting station was not a huge transition to me.  The biggest change was condensing my painting supplies into a single portable container rather than keeping them in scattered boxes of supplies in a single storage place.  Historically, I had a few boxes of paints, a container of brushes, a container of basing materials, a box of construction equipment, etc.  I kept them all in one place together but I had several, individual boxes based on the stuff that was in it.  However, I consolidated all of this material into one portable carrying case.  

Let's take a look at what's in the box!  For the case itself, I found an empty Plano tackle box that I had in my garage.  I have probably had it for at least a decade and had completely forgotten about it.  I thought it was full of miniatures!  I was wrong.  The tackle box is pretty standard with a large open middle center at the bottom, and then fold out trays, three on each side at the top.  

Pretty much looked like this one: 

Inside, I started by filling in the base with the biggest items I was going to need.  I put in 2 Grey Seer spray primer and 1 spray enamel.  I also put in my case for my magnifier glasses that I got for Christmas.  I have found the built-in lights very useful, even if my eyes are still good enough to see up close with.... for now.  On top of those I put my two green cutting mats that I use as the base for my painting projects.  Next, I made sure there was a space for my pop-and-lock palette.  With the spare space, I put in my basing materials such as some bases, washers, super-glue, and other detailing tools.  I also put in two wooden dice holders and a small case with my metal Heroforge D&D figures a friend got to represent my wife and I.  Finally, I put in a solar-powered battery pack in case I needed to charge my glasses up.    

Guess which one I am! 

From there, I had the folding trays to fill in.  In the larger trays, I started by putting in my big-box retailer brushes.  In the area next to it I put in my sculpting tools like exacto-knife, clay shapers, and dental tools.  Above those I used an area to put in my washes and another for my Metallic speedpaints.  The final rows had some individual Flesh colors and traditional armypainter paints I like to use such as Voidshield Blue and Daemonic Yellow.  

On the other side, I put in my Big-Box retailer acylics I used the most so White and Pewter Grey,  I also put in a few blacks from various manufacturers.  I then filled out the rest of the box with the rest of my speedpaints with 1 or 2 paints per slot.  Finally, I had some long slots on the top tray.  In those I put my better quality brushes.  I also put a few cutters in there.  

It all closed up tight as a drum and fit nicely under the queen-sized bed in my bus.                   

In addition, I had a small, foam lined, latched wooden case that I put all my Work-in-Progress models into.  For my initial efforts, I decided to pack my Heroquest: The Frozen Horror expansion models to paint.  The key thing is that this box lays relatively flat and actually slides right under the cupboard in my shuttle bus for easy storage.  

To test my painting kit out, I took it to a local painting social with the True Crit Gaming Guild just before I left to hit the road.  First, I made sure that all the models from The Frozen Horror expansion for Heroquest.

Then, I painted a couple of Yeti.  I painted this in a table for two, with another Guild member on the other side of the table.  My painting space was just a bit wider than my green cutting mat that I use as my base.  Then, next to it I had a small pile of brushes and my paint palette what I also used as my water dish.  I put my WIP book upright on one side of me against a wall, and the other side I put my Plano tackle box.  I tried to take out and put back any materials I was using as I went to keep my work space open and clear.  I managed to stay in a space equivalent to half-of-the-table in my bus.  Therefore, I think my efforts to condense and reduce my painting sprawl worked.  

For those interested, here are the Yeti that I painted.  

Pretty straight forward minis.  For the skin-tone I used a mix of Magic Blue, Holy White, and three drops of Medium thinner.  The horns, teeth, and claws were Pallid Bone.  The fur was watered down Sand Golem that was then dry-brushed back up with Holy White.  Then, I hit them with a Light Tone Wash, and dry-drushed them up with cheap, acylic White again.  I wanted one to be whiter than the other in case I needed to differentiate on the table top.  

Finally, their bases were a quick Runic Grey and a black rim.  The usual basing I use for Heroquest minis. 

The next things you see painted on this blog will have been painted while "on-the-road".  Until next time! 

Become a Patron and get access to all the cool stuff, a peak behind the curtain of Blood and Spectacles, and early-access to playtest games!  

Blood and Spectacles Patreon! 

You can follow Blood and Spectacles Facebook page or Instagram for more fun! 

Check out the latest publications and contact me at our Blood and Spectacles Website

Or purchase all out games at the Blood and Spectacles Publishing Wargames Vault Page!                               

 

 

Wargame Design: The Osprey Wargaming Series Strikes Again!

Hello faithful readers.  I have some MOAR news to share with you all.  I know, you are still reeling from last weeks reveal.... but wait..... there is more! Most of you probably follow me because I have published a few books in the Osprey Wargaming Series.  Those books were Men of Bronze, Wars of the Republic, and Castles in the Sky.  Of course, I have also released several wargames and RPGs independently as well.  That includes supplements to those Osprey Games and original works too.  

Drumroll please.......

.... Osprey Games has decided to contract me to write a set of game rules for Late Roman Warfare from 240 CE to 480 CE.  That is the Crisis of the Third Century through the Fall of the West.  These will be part of the Osprey Wargame Series so about 28,000 words. 

These rules will feature core rules based o refinements to the nWars of the Republic which is built on the Men of Bronze engine.  Unique, period specific lines-of-battle, new special rules, new campaign rules, period specific Historical scenarios, and new Advanced/Optional rules.  If I am really lucky I can add some Solo-rules to it as well?  With the added word count, I also look forward to adding some historical detail and a Quick Reference Guide in the book.  

I need these rules completed and sent to Osprey by May of 2028.  Therefore, we have plenty of time to Playtest and develop these rules.  My Patrons have a copy of the draft rules at their fingertips.  

Going into these rules, I have some simple Design Goals that are aligned with what I have done with my Historical works in the past: 

1. Scale and Model Agnostic
2. Large Battles with Small Model Counts
3. Keep Players Engaged Through Out the Game
4. Unit vs Unit Gameplay
5. Balance between the War and the Game
6. Historical-esque Outcomes

With some added page count, I am hoping to make the design goals and objectives more explicit at the beginning of the game.  Men of Bronze and Wars of the Republic both suffered a bit from mis-alignment between expectations and the experience the rules delivered.  Therefore, I want to be as clear as possible in the opening pages about the design goals and what they mean in this book.  

Of course, if I do not need to deliver the final draft until 2028 that means this book is still a long ways off.  I do not know the exact release date, but I would think late 2029 is realistic.  That is a long time away still.  

In the meantime, I need to track down 30 pictures of Late Roman miniatures in action.  If you have a favorite range, some figures you are very proud of and want to share, etc. please let me know in the comments.  I plan on getting at least two forces painted up myself in the meantime but I would love to feature YOUR work with full attributes or at least showcase the miniatures you want to see in the book.  I am tentatively planning on 28mm Victrix and Gripping Beast plastics for my own forces but am open to suggestions. 

I plan on keeping most of the Development content on my Patreon for this one.  Therefore, if you want to follow along with the Development, try it out early, give playtest feedback, etc.  that is the place to be.  Here, I expect to keep going with my normal painting, reviews, bat reps for games and other unrelated content for these Late Roman rules going forward.  

Therefore, I will be returning to my normally scheduled content.  

Until next time! 

Become a Patron and get access to all the cool stuff, a peak behind the curtain of Blood and Spectacles, and early-access to playtest games!  

Blood and Spectacles Patreon! 

You can follow Blood and Spectacles Facebook page or Instagram for more fun! 

Check out the latest publications and contact me at our Blood and Spectacles Website

Or purchase all out games at the Blood and Spectacles Publishing Wargames Vault Page!   

Posted by Blood and Spectacles Publishing at 1:20 AM No comme       

       

Random: Forward into the Future of 2026

 

Look at this!  I have been doing this for 9 years now.  That is a long time.  I have 43 publications out in the wild on my various platforms.  I doubt I will make it to 50 publications before the 10-year mark but my goal is to make it to 50.  Now, not all of those publications drive revenue, as some of them are free content.  However, 50 is 50!  I am sure you all recall that a friend in the publishing business said, "Great you got a book published.  Don't expect to make any money until you have 50 publications."  Therefore, my goal is 50!  I still do not expect to make any money though.  

However, the point is not to make money.  That is a side benefit.  The point is to make things that I want to make.  It is nice if it subsidizes my hobby, but it is still a hobby.  I don't expect to put food on the table or pay my mortgage with my 50 publications.  

The truth is, I can not stop making games.  It is what I do and who I am.  I think about it when I am not thinking about other things.  I see media and think about how I can make it into a game.  I literally dream about making games when I sleep.  It is part of me.  I have to do it.  That is the best part about making games.  I do not do it for anyone else.  I do it for myself because I have to.  

I expect 2026 will be no different. However, I may start making more "less finished" content.  "Dump it out of my head and move on"-style work.    

Castles in the Sky - Osprey Games

Anyway, that means it is time to think about my goals for 2026.  As usual, I keep these goals as guidelines more than anything else.  They help keep me focused and avoid chasing the new shiny and actually finishing stuff.  As usual, I break this down into a few basic categories: 

• Purchases
• Painting and Modelling
• Gaming
• Rules Writing
• Other Stuff

So, let's get into it.  

Purchases

 None of this section would be possible without the generous financial support of readers like you! 

Every time you purchase one of my books from Osprey, my Wargame Vault page, my Drive-Thru RPG page, and/or follow my Patreon you are helping to fund the continued existence of Blood and Spectacles Publishing.  The money I earn from these areas I put back into content on the blog, content on Social Media, and new products for you!  Any money I earn goes back into the business of wargaming and role-playing.  Thank you!  I could not continue to do it at the level I am doing it at without you!

Odin's Ravens: Viking Age Bad Boys

With that said, it is always hard to decide how I intend to use these investments as purchases for the year.  Going into this year, I had a few goals lined out for what I should purchase to help generate content.  Some of this is carry over from 2025.    

• Stay caught up on the Osprey Wargaming Series
• Three Fantasy Ice Hockey teams for PHUCK! 
• Wizards of Morcar for Heroquest
• Cowboy Miniatures, Terrain, and rules 
• Some "Cold War Gone Hot" 15mm forces for US/NATO v. Soviets
• One or more new Wargaming rule sets
• Some new RPG system
• Start a Carthaginian, Late Roman, Aztec, Conquistador, or Theban force
• Desert battle mat

It was aggressive last year, and it is aggressive again this year.  No idea how much of it I can get done. However, I have faith that with your help I can make some progress.  

Anglo-Saxons - Fury of the Northman

Painting and Modelling

Going into this year, I have a backlog of Heroquest models from all the expansions.  I got the Heroes all painted, but I still have monsters and furniture.  Therefore, any new stuff I buy will by default need to be painted as well.  So, here is what I am going with: 

• Heroquest elves- Mage in the Mirror and Dread Moon
• Heroquest furniture- Dread Moon, Jungles, and Frozen Horror
• All the other Heroquest things - Prophecy, Spirit Queen, Frozen Horror, Jungles
• Those three Fantasy Hockey Teams

That means that I will be painting stuff as I get it and try to keep my backlog clean this year.  Therefore, how I do with my Purchasing goal will impact this goal as the year goes on and vice versa.  If I am slow to paint, I will probably be slow to purchase as well.  I do not like having a large back log of miniatures.   

Gaming

I try to get at least one game in each month.  That seems like a reasonable approach again for this year. 

 However, I am not sure if I will manage it.  My Skumgrod is gone.  However, I still have a few solo-campaigns for Heroquest and Under the Martian Yoke ongoing so I can hopefully complete those.  However, my time is being eaten up by other "real life" things that are taking up my time.  I am also unsure how often I will be able to go to the True Crit Gaming Guild due to my schedule.  This year, a big public game is not on the cards, and I am not planning on attending any big cons!      

I expect my normal weekly RPG campaign will continue.  A board game night or two seems like a thing that will happen as well.  

Men of Bronze - Osprey Games

Rules Writing

I have several games in the hopper, but as usual it is slow going on them.  A lot of these games are still being worked on from the last few years: 

1. Rise and Fall - Wars of the Republic supplement for Carthage 
2. PHUCK!- The game of Fantastical Hockey
3. Barbarians at the Gates - Late Roman ruleset
4. Gold, Glory and Guns - Wargaming the New World
5. Mobile Fortress: Verdun - Land Ironclads in the Castles in the Sky world
6. Super, Sexy Swingin' Spies - 1960's Spy-fi RPG

I think the only adds would be: 

• Cold Depths - Cold War Submarine wargaming
• Blood Reign - Modern Vampire warband skirmish
• In the Garden of the Red Weeds - Post-Martian Invasion of 1938, survival RPG
• Rise Against - A solo wargame similar to Under the Martian Yoke, but against (space) fascists. 

However, I also have a few RPG Modules that are banging around in my head.  Sometimes, I have to clear that stuff out before I can make good progress elsewhere.  Those involve modules for Legend of the 5 Rings, Star Wars WEG, and Pendragon.  Of course, we will see what happens.   

The rough drafts of many of these rules are available on the Patreon but not all of them are that far along.  

One of the biggest roadblocks to these games getting completed is a lack of miniatures in my collection, or even on the market in some cases.  That is limiting what I will be able to produce to completion.  For example, there is a dearth of great Land Ironclad or Cold War Submarines on the market.  Therefore, it can be hard to make progress on those designs.  

Despite that, I am well on my way to 50 publications and hope to get there in the next two years! 

 

Turf War

Other Stuff

Of course, I will keep tracking what I paint and play.  That helps keep me motivated.  

Beyond that..... I have no idea.  I am not even sure if I will have enough content to keep me posting on the blog once a week?  Instead, I want to focus as much of my free time as possible on writing rules, painting, or playing games.  

The rest is a bit of a distraction.  

Conclusion

In some ways, this is a very ambitious year but in other ways it is a repetition of things not completed in 2025.  Not much else to say or add at this point.  2026 will be my ninth year.  By this point, I have a process.  I have a plan for my work.  Now all I need to do is work those plans.  Bing-bam-boom.  

This year, "Real Life" maybe a challenge to this year's goals.  Nothing new there, I mean this is my side hustle.  Therefore, sometimes it has to go to the side while I manage the rest of my life.  It happens.  The end of 2025 fell into this trap too.  It has limited my time, space, and mental bandwidth.  Hopefully, I will be able to put some of this behind me and get back up-to-speed.  I still have not hit my goal of 50, and I am nothing if not goal oriented. 

Well, keep your eyes on this space as the year goes on.  Let's see how I manage in 2026.  I think it will be a surprise to all of us! 

Until next time! 

Become a Patron and get access to all the cool stuff, a peak behind the curtain of Blood and Spectacles, and early-access to playtest games!  

Blood and Spectacles Patreon! 

You can follow Blood and Spectacles Facebook page or Instagram for more fun! 

Check out the latest publications and contact me at our Blood and Spectacles website

Or purchase all out games at the Blood and Spectacles Publishing Wargames Vault Page!    

      

 

    

  

Random: Cyberpunk Year-Twenty-Twenty-Five Wrap-Up

As a teen, when I started on my foray into RPGs and Wargaming, the year 2025 was some supposedly distant and future dystopia.  It was the far future.  Now look, that distant chrome future is now heading into the rearview mirror.  I will let you decide if it was better or worse than what 2025 was portrayed as in the popular culture back then.  All I know is that it will soon be over.  

That means, it is time to take a look at my aggressive goals for 2025 and see how I did?  As usually, I have broken it down into the usual categories to help keep me organized.  Shall we begin?  

Purchases

None of this section would be possible without the generous financial support of readers like you! 
Every time you purchase one of my books from Osprey, my Wargame Vault page, my Drive-Thru RPG page, and follow my Patreon you are helping to fund the continued existence of Blood and Spectacles Publishing.  The money I earn from these areas I put back into content on the blog, content on Social Media, and new products for you!  Any money I earn goes back into the business of wargaming and role-playing.  Thank you!  I could not do it without you!

With that said, it is always hard to decide how I intend to use these investments into purchases for the year.  Going into this year, I had a few goals lined out for what I should purchase to help generate content.  Let's see how I did! 

• Stay Caught up on the Osprey Wargaming Series - Success!  I bought and reviewed all the offerings from this year.  Pacific Command and Voidfighter
• Purchase Victory at Sea- Success!  
• Purchase Three Fantasy Ice Hockey Teams -  Failure     
• Start one or more of the following..... let me stop you right there.... - Failure  
• Cowboy Miniatures, Terrain, and rules - Failure
• New set of RPG rules - Success! I actually picked up the Pendragon Gamemaster's Handbook and Adventures in Rokugan which I have reviewed.  For next year, I have Fate Core, Wrath and Glory, and Inspirisles for you to get reviews on. 
• New Heroquest Expansions - Success! I have them all except Perilous Dark and the new Wizards of Morcar. Reviews have slowly been filtering out with Mage in the Mirror and Spirit Queen's Torment on the blog now. 
• A fourth Reaper Nativity Scene- Success! 
• I also purchased a new Ocean Mat and an Austro-Hungarian Fleet for Castles in the Sky

That was a pretty aggressive set of goals for 2025.  As long as it was a book I was able to purchase it.  If it was a miniature, I was not as lucky.  I try not to buy miniatures unless I have cleared out my backlog, and I never quite got there this year.  That doesn't mean that I did not get a lot of painting done..... well, we will talk about that next.  What it means is that thanks to all my Heroquest I always had something sitting there waiting for me all year.  That means, I did not buy a lot of new miniatures to paint.  

Painting and Modelling

I had a pretty strong start to the year, but summer sapped that energy.  Once winter came, I was still having a hard time getting back into the painting grove.  I was busy doing a lot of stuff that was not Blood and Spectacles Publishing this fall and winter.  However, I expect that to change in 2026 as the winter months are usually some of my most productive for writing and painting. 

This year I painted:

• Anglo-Saxon army - 92 Victrix miniatures.
• Heroquest stuff - 47 miniatures and furniture from a few expansions, and all the Heroes
• Aeronefs - 15 Brigade flying warships
• Misc 28mm - 12 including a Nativity and a few odds and ends. 

That puts me at 166 miniatures painted for the year.  That is still a decent amount of miniatures for the year and in line with what I have done in the past.  

Anglo-Saxon Army

Heroquest- First Light

Heroquest- Mage in the Mirror

Austro-Hungarian Fleet- Brigade

Heroquest - Heroes

Gaming

My gaming was focused on getting out stuff that I have painted recently.  

• Heroquest - 12  
• Kill Team - 1
• Blood Bowl - 1
• Fury of the Northman - 1
• In Strife and Conflict - 2
• Castles in the Sky - 3
• Restless Sun - 1
• Odin's Ravens - 1

Fury of the Northman

In Strife and Conflict- Battle of Kadesh

Inquisitor Heroquest- Battle for Ammoriss

Restless Sun - Battle for Ammoriss

Odin's Ravens: Viking Age Bad Boys

Castles in the Sky - Osprey Games

Heroquest

Castles in the Sky - Osprey Games

I think there was one note-worthy success this year.  I was able to take my Battle of Kadesh Demo game out and played it in public.  That was something on this list for a couple years, and now I can mark it off the list.  Another success was getting to play some Castles in the Sky at the Guild.  

I also got to go to 1 board game night, have my weekly RPG, and have a few online games going as a player.  I have been RPGing a lot more than Wargaming this year.     

On the downside, my Skumgrod moved away so my games will probably drop next year.  It also explains the drop off towards the end of this year.  I was too busy with "Real Life" over a lot of this year to indulge in wargaming and hobby time.  

At least, that is what I am trying to tell myself.  

Rules Writing

This one ebbed and flowed over the course of the year.  I was much better with RPGs than I was on Wargames.  They do not have the same overhead in the post-production process.  However, if I had the miniatures painted it was a lot easier to finish some stuff off and explains any success in the Wargame arena.  The lack of miniatures has derailed many a project this year and in general.  

However, going into the year these are things that I planned to finish and did: 

• Glittering Void- Space Mecha Theatre RPG
• Badlands- Wild West Role-Playing

Other stuff was.....

• The Corinthian War - Men of Bronze Supplement
• Odin's Ravens: Viking Age Bad Boys - Viking model vs model game   
• Song of the Siren - Flashlight: Tales of Terror Module
• Sleepers in the City - Flashlight: Tales of Terror Module

My Patreon also has a lot of mini-games, modules in draft, and even some basic game rules for various periods and styles of games.  If you are a paid Patron, you get to have access to what I have finished and all those draft games too.  Thanks for being a Patron! 

Other Stuff

I was happy to do the "other stuff" I wanted to do this year.  I left that pretty limited.  

• Kept up on my painted mini tracker
• Kept up on my games played tracker
• Started a Bluesky
• Reduced my Social Media output to weekly
• Got a blog post up every week
• Added blog previews, Patron content and rule drafts to my Patreon

Yeah, that's what I can think of for the "other stuff".  Nothing that impressive.  

In addition, I spent time organizing my wargames space.  Now seemed like a good time and I am contemplating moving my wargaming room into a year-round space.  

Conclusion

Dang.  I started this year really strong and then slowed down considerably after summer hit.  A lot of stuff happened in my real life, and I expect the same will be true for next year.  Sometimes, the side hustle has to take a back seat to "real life".  The exotic and futuristic year of 2025 was a bit less exotic and chrome than I hoped, but maybe I am still too close to it to really appreciate it?  

Anyway, so long to all that.  Time to start thinking about what I am going to do to make 2026 a great year for Blood and Spectacles Publishing and wargaming/RPG gaming?  

Until next time.

Become a Patron and get access to all the cool stuff, a peak behind the curtain of Blood and Spectacles, and early-access to playtest games!  

Blood and Spectacles Patreon! 

You can follow Blood and Spectacles Facebook page or Instagram for more fun! 

Check out the latest publications and contact me at our Blood and Spectacles website

Or purchase all out games at the Blood and Spectacles Publishing Wargames Vault Page!       

  

Random: Mid-Year Round-up, Pardner!

 

Did you hear about the doctor that fell into a well?  He should have tended to the sick and left the well alone!  Well, well, well...... look at the time.  It sure does fly-by when you are having fun!  Before you know it, it will be the end of the year and what will I have to show for it?  

It is the end of July and now seems like a good time to re-cap the first half of the year and check how I am doing on my goals for the distant future of 2025.  You can see my original goal list here.  A post like this one is a bit of a tradition here at Blood and Spectacles and helps make sure I stay on track and do not get to distracted as the year progresses.  

In addition to the hobby stuff you see here I have been doing a lot of things in my personal and professional life as well.  I won't bore you with the details, except to say that my time and money are valuable commodities that are in big demand at the moment.  Hopefully, it won't have too many repercussions on what we are trying to do here!  

As usual, I have broken my goals up into five key categories: 

• Purchases
• Painting and Modelling
• Playing Games
• Rules Writing
• Miscellaneous   

Purchases

This section always starts with a huge Thank You!  My purchases are driven by you.  Every time you purchase a game from Osprey, Wargames Vault, Drive Thru RPG, follow me on Patreon or support me in other ways you are funding this goal.  You see, my Purchasing goals are driven directly by the financial support of readers like you.  It is your support that allows me to buy the paints, supplies, miniatures, and rules that grace this humble blog.  Your purchases are what keeps Blood and Spectacles Publishing going.  The money I earn here goes back into the business of wargaming!  Thank you for making all of the publications and projects possible! 

Turf War

Going into the year, I had a big list of things I was thinking about purchasing.  I am always torn between funding new projects, supporting existing games, or trying to expand the scope and reach of the hobby into new areas via reviews and the like.  These guidelines help keep me from chasing the new shiny all the time and focused for the year.  So, how have I done?  Well, half as well as I would of hoped, and not half as well as you deserve! 

• Stay caught-up with the Osprey Wargaming Series- Achieved, mostly because they have not really released anything?  I expected Voidfighter to be out by now, but it seems have been delayed.  Mike Hutchinson's Pacific Command seems to have been moved up instead, and I have it.  Review posted!  
• Purchase Victory at Sea or Nimitz- The Tariffs and other uncertainty has kept me away from going all in on this front.  However, I did find that Miniature Market had the Victory at Sea rulebook at pre-Tariff levels.  I picked it up and you can expect a review later this year.  I have not bought any minis, but figure I can use paper templates or even order GHQ models from the US if I need them.    
• Purchase Three Fantasy Ice Hockey Teams- That's a negative.  This one is more due to not being able to clean off my Painting Desk in a reasonable time frame this year. 
• Start one more of the following: Carthaginian, Aztec, Theban, or Late Roman - Big Net Zero.  Tariffs, painting, and space limitations have kept me from fully committing to a new "big" project for 2025.  
• Start Cowboys- Another disappointing outcome.  
• New set of RPG rules - Well, not NEW but I did pick up the Pendragon Gamemaster's Handbook.  I really want to give this game a shot but doubt my RPG group will go for it.  I still contemplate writing something for it.  However, I would rather write something I can monetize.  I also still need to review My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic RPG book my wife owns. 
• A New Heroquest Expansion- Another win!  I purchased and painted up and reviewed First Light and Mage in the Mirror.  I also got the Wandering Monks and reviewed and painted those up too.  
• A 4th Reaper Nativity Scene - Nope   

I did add on something that was not on the list at the start of the year.  Before Tariff prices kicked in, I did pick-up an Austro-Hungarian fleet from Brigade thanks to Scale Creep Miniatures for use with Castles in the Sky. 

Austro-Hungarian fleet from Brigade

Well, my initial plans for 2025 were very aggressive, so it makes sense that I have not been able to follow-up on them 100%.  Plus, some of you may have noticed some chaos happening in the global economy that has impacted my spending and sales for the year so far.  Ho hum, such is life.  

Painting and Modelling

I went into the year with 1 big project to complete, and that was an Anglo-Saxon force from Victrix Miniatures for use in my Fury of the Northman rules, and other games.  Otherwise, my painting desk was pretty clean.  

Well, I think I did okay in this category as I managed to paint up 130+ miniatures so far this year.  Not a bad bit of painting.  I did complete those Anglo-Saxons, painted up my Heroquest expansions as well.  Beyond that, I have not gotten too much accomplished at this point.  Maybe a couple one-off palette cleansers here and there?  

Anglo-saxon army

      

Mage in the Mirror

First Light and other Heroes for Heroquest

We will see what comes next, as my back log is in an okay place.  I just have the Austro-Hungarian fleet to get painted up.  Then, my desk is open and ready for the next project..... whatever that might be?  

Gaming

Similar to last year, I jumped out of the gate early with a decent amount of gaming.  However, I expect that to slow down as we move through the rest of summer and fall.  When the weather is nice, there is a lot of things to get done in my region.  Gaming tends to take a bit of a back-seat.  However, 15 games is not a slouch, even if they are a mix of solo-play, games with my Skumgrod, and games with the True Crit Gaming Guild.  

I think there are three big stories for the year.  First, I finally took my Battle of Kadesh game out into the world.  I had been talking about running that participation game out in public, and I finally did it.  That took a few years to get off the ground.  The second big story was getting Castles in the Sky back onto the table after a long hiatus at the club.  The final one is that I have been getting Heroquest out and on my table for a solo-campaign using the App. 

Battle of Kadesh

My RPG night has been rolling along, but we have been mostly in a D&D 5E campaign all year.  I have not had a chance to DM much of anything yet.  In addition, I got to one board game night and played a Clue-a-like game.  The name is escaping me at the moment.  So, my non-wargaming stuff is going okay as well.   

Castles in the Sky

I am still looking at getting my Under the Martian Yoke solo-campaign finished off this year.  That is a good winter task.  I am also hoping to bring something new to the table for the Gaming Guild as well, but I am not 100% sure what yet. 

Rules Writing

Going into this year, I did not have a clear idea of what was going to get done, and what was not going to get done.  Some of the stuff I was the closest to finishing the writing on, I was far away on regarding post-production.  I did not have the miniatures, art, or photos for some of my projects that were furthest along.  I found in 2025, that the games that get done first are the ones that I have the post-production components for!  That means, I can get them done much faster if they are based off my existing games and I all ready have miniatures for it.  If not...... well...... those take a lot longer.  

Surprisingly, I have 4 games/books that I added to my catalog all ready for the year!  I was not sure I would get any finished by this time, much less four! 

This is a campaign supplement for Men of Bronze.  Therefore, to get the most out of it, you really need Men of Bronze or Wars of the Republic.  When I was playtesting the original rules for Men of Bronze, I often set those games during the Corinthian War so I do not know what took me so long to make a supplement for it?  I mean, the historical campaign had big Hoplite battles, raids, naval battles, sieges, and everything to make a great campaign!    

I have been into writing and playing RPGs lately.  This one actually came about when I was working on the mecha dogfight game; Hostile Space.  The wargame had some detailed dogfighting mechanics, but that seemed to be missing one of the key components of the Space Mecha Genre.  The videos always seemed to be about the characters and their relationships.  Therefore, it only made sense to expand and write the game as an RPG.  

Typically, my RPGs are relatively rules-lite, narrative driven affairs for quick play.  Not this one.  This is the crunchiest RPG I have ever written.  This thing was a beast to write, and I did it all in a relatively short period of time.  The post-Production however took me another 5 years or so.  It has everything you need to play including QRS, Character Sheets, Index, and a starting Op to get you going.   

Going into the year, this game also was not really on my radar.  However, I had the miniatures for it and I based it on the same general template of Homer's Heroes: Bronze Age Bad Boys.  Therefore, I had the bones and the post-prod pieces I needed to make this game come together quickly.  Amazing how that works!  That said, this is a great little Skirmish game that is model-vs-model and very cinematic.  It is great for recreating the more fantastical Viking Sagas.  

The final game I got onto my Publications page was a Role-Playing Game more akin to my style.  This is a rule-lite, narrative focused RPG for Wild West or Weird Wild West adventures.  I noticed that Poker and Cards were common in Wild West games, so decided to build the resolution mechanics completely around playing cards and Poker hands instead of the normal dice mechanics I use.  This was a stretch of my design skills.  This one has the rules, character sheets, and a starting adventure to get you going. 

My Patrons have been getting previews of some of the work I have been doing on other games like: 

• Rise and Fall- Carthaginian Supplement for Wars of the Republic
• PHUCK- Fantasy Hockey
• Barbarians at the Gate- Late Roman
• Gods, Glory and Guns- New World wargaming
• Super Sexy Swingin' Spies- 60's Super-Spies RPG
• Mobile Fortress: Verdun- Land Ironclads compatible with Castles in the Sky

Other Stuff

I had a pretty light load on this front this year. I only wanted to keep my Painting and Games tracker up-to-date on the blog.  So far so good!  That often forms the basis for these updates.  

The only other big news is that I have been slowly downscaling my Social Media in the form of Facebook and Instagram.  Instead, I have now opened a Blue Sky account to start pivoting towards.... maybe.  I am still getting the hang of it there, since it is a bit different from my other Social Media accounts. 

Restless Sun

Conclusion

I guess 2025 has proven to be more productive than I expected it to be.  Like I said, there has been a lot happening on the personal and professional front.  However, I have been using a different technique in my writing process that has helped me be more productive.  Maybe I will stay productive over late summer and fall into winter?  I hope so, but who knows.  

What keeps me motivated is hearing from YOU!  I love it when people send me photos, share their war stories, and post about their own adventures online.  That is a big motivator.  Feel free to drop me a line anytime on any of my Socials, the MessageBoard, or directly at Eric@Bloodandspectacles.com.           

Until next time! 

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