Lowering the Bar

You can never find a mild mannered janitor when you want one....

It was a busy day in deepest Rayleigh yesterday as I took advantage of the monsoon like weather to tidy up the man cave. I should point out that it was not really in a state as such but it was a little on the disorganised side - and this meant that I was getting into a multi project frenzy with the result that not a lot was actually being done! To be fair much of this was of my own doing so I cannot really moan too much.

I must have consigned a sack load of papers (downloaded rules or various versions of MoBaS being the main offenders) to the recycling bin and also to put a lot of things back where they should be rather than on any convenient space. I am not by nature an untidy person but these things have a way of creeping up on us if left unattended. The biggest change though was to move a couple of units around. This has given me a lot more space to use which is handy and also it means that I now have a work surface I can use when gaming for rules and such like rather than relying on the tabletop.

I also had to assimilate the latest Hexon purchase (another box of blue tiles) into its designated storage facility. All in all the man cave looks a lot better for the reorganisation and so will give me a more efficient area in which to game, models and think. The only thing left to do - and this is really optional in an event - is to think about having the naval section of my library separated out. Currently any such books are in the appropriate historical section but I am thinking perhaps having them separate may be an idea. One to think about anyway.

The title of this post refers to the fact that as a part of this tidy up I have reordered my project list which was (once again!) in danger of becoming rather unwieldy. From a number of ongoing projects (which was rapidly getting out of control!) I have pared the list back somewhat to be hopefully both more manageable and more achievable. I have a number of housekeeping tasks to attend to with the ancients collection - mainly organising the terrain tiles and rules folders - and will see about the idea of movement trays allowing the blocks to be stood up and moved en masse in order to fit in with more 'conventional' wargames rules. This idea will also benefit the Napoleonic version as well.

Aside from the above housekeeping I also have the small matter of some 1/1200th galleys to paint which will also fit in nicely so overall this is a complete period. Initially I was merely looking to add the Salamis period period fleets (trireme based Greeks and Persians) but I also have sufficient models to cover the Punic Wars which may prove to be a temptation too many.

The WW2 1/4800th ships will fill a considerable gap in my collection and I have been very fortunate in that one of my regular blog readers, Michael Ney, has very kindly donated a selection of these models that were lying around for which many grateful thanks are extended. The selection includes a couple of Japanese ships and initially I was not planning on tackling any Pacific actions but I am now pondering the possibility of the Japanese sweep into the Indian Ocean. This will involve the Royal Navy for a change although they are quite badly outclassed in terms of quality of material.

However, before this happens I have the small matter of finishing the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean set up. I have made a start on bases etc and the thorny issue of the rules. For ease of use and convenience I have opted to base my games around Axis and Allies: War at Sea although not as they are currently written. I have managed to find an operational level set available on boardgamegeek which will form the core of the set. The rules are fast, easy to play and the version I shall be using is also hex based.

I also now have all the models I need for the 1940 Battle of Britain set up. I also have the paints and the decals so have no excuse for not cracking on with these as well!

I really feel that my tidy up has helped me to refocus on what I should be doing rather than could be doing so it has been a worthwhile undertaking. Perhaps lowering the bar was a little harsh - more like resetting it!