Advance the Colors 2025 Purchases

 

    This was a landmark year for our chapter's flagship con -- the 30th year of Advance the Colors!

I went into Advance the Colors expecting to spend some money with the vendors we had coming. The fact that I am also the Vendor Coordinator at the convention meant I would also be purchasing items as a "thank you!" to them for attending and supporting our convention. Some of my favorites had booked their dealer tables, too -- at least when it comes to buildings and terrain. And when I received my quarterly profits from sales of our First Command Wargames sales the night before the convention (as well as being paid back by some of the Board members for their polo shirts), it was just like making money in a flea market. I would turn around and spend it in the dealer area...ha, ha!

    A gift from Graham of Graham's Wargame Vault who was visiting from England to attend ATC

My first stop was with one of my favorites, Miniature Building Authority. This was actually my fourth time seeing him at a convention this year. Kirk is such a nice guy and is always so positive about attending conventions that you can't help but want to spend money on his excellent products. I had noticed that his stock of MBA's trademark resin buildings had been going down, and the proportion of 3-D printed ones was going up. I asked him about it and he admitted that it is difficult nowadays to keep the resin ones in stock from his manufacturers overseas and domestic. Since I like both 3-D printed and resin terrain, that is not a problem for me. I would happily buy either!

    One of Miniature Building Authority's newer, 3-D printed buildings that I bought at ATC 2025 

In fact, I picked up three of his newer, 3-D printed buildings at the show. They are modern-style buildings that look like they could be used for just about any place in the world and at anytime in the last century or so. The first one I picked up is called Large Concrete Building. It comes in three pieces -- the ground level with its walls & floors. The second piece includes the ceiling or roof of the first level. It also has one much smaller room, along with the a large floor/balcony. You could put all kinds of things on this balcony from a rooftop garden to clothes lines for laundry, to a little cafe.The third piece is the roof of the 2nd story room. 

    These buildings are modern ones that can be used in a wide variety of locations and settings

The next building I picked up from MBA is called Long Metal Building. This is divided into three rooms, each of which has windows to the outside. There is one door and the building has a detachable roof. Although the vertical panels on the outside face of the building are probably meant to be painted as metal (considering the name), I don't see anything that would keep you from painting them as wood or some other material. It has a flat roof that would be ideal for various scatter, such as air conditioners, vent fans, billboards -- whatever. 

    This Small Metal Garage will be a great addition to my modern or post-apocalyptic games

The last building is the smallest and is called Small Metal Garage Building. It has the same vertical panels that the Long building has, and of course, a wide garage door in addition to a standard door entrance. The garage door is a removable flat piece, as is the roof of the building. Once again, this is a flat topped roof, so there are possibilities of putting scatter on it that will personalize and bring it to life. I really look forward to getting these painted up. I could see them being used in both "first world" and "third world" locations. There are lots of opportunities to modify or jazz up these buildings with paint, scatter, or other items.

    The four Pacific Huts on stilts that were a perfect find at ATC 2025 for my 28mm Vietnam project 

My next stop was at Diabolical Terrain. I am a regular customer of Ron Weaver's, having bought quite a few of his 3-D printed products over the years. So, his stuff is definitely another of my favorites. I had picked up the rest of his Tatooine buildings for my Star Wars games at Historicon, so I was kind of curious what he would bring to Advance the Colors to tempt me. One quick walk through his space and I knew what I was going to buy! Something I had never seen before at his stand at previous shows, were his Pacific Huts on stilts. These look a LOT like my own scratch-built Jungle Huts, though a bit smaller. I virtually let out a whoop when I saw them -- they would be perfect for my Vietnam games! They come disassembled with the stilts needing to be attached to the underside of the buildings. I guess that means you could make a base with the stilts on it, but not attach the building itself to it for flexibility of use. Then you could set the building down onto the stilts or onto your gaming mat for without stilts. I'll glue mine all together, though (except for the detachable roof). The sides of the building are modeled to look like they are woven from cloth or vegetation. All have airy windows and porches, so look perfect for a hot climate. The roof is designed to look like thatch. I picked up W2-PT Pacific Hut #3, W2-PT Pacifi Hut #4, W2-PT Pacific Hut #5, and W2-PT Pacific Hut #6. Essentially, I grabbed all the ones without the railings or screens on the porch. Being for my Vietnam project, these will probably be the first of my purchases that I paint up.

    Huge time-saver over my laborious dowel post and wire weaving method of making a wattle fence!

My final purchase from Diabolical Terrain were some wattle fence sections. Although labeled as Wooden Fence and Wooden Fence (Gate) on the website, these are proper woven wattle fences common in Dark Ages and Medieval Europe. In fact, I scratch built one of these for a small field awhile back. Once I saw these fence sections, I picked one up and walked it over to Ron. I asked him if he knew how much time he saved me by selling these. He chuckled. I plan to paint these up soon, too, as there's nothing keeping me from using these in my Vietnam (or Dark Age, Medieval, or Fantasy) games. Each section is about six inches long and you can use them in a number of configurations -- small pens, large ones, fences abutting a home, etc. 

    I really like the dilapidated and tumbled-down look of this ruined corner of a fortress or walls

Keeping things on the building theme, another of my up and coming favorites to buy 3-D printed buildings or terrain from is Scott Gray of Sword & Scabbard Games. This is the fourth time I have seen his booth at a convention this year. Hailing from nearby Indiana, Scott stocks various 3-D printed items and can always be depended upon to be selling painted armies, as well. I bought a number of things at his booth at ATC because I don't think I did at Historicon. He always carries interesting looking ruins, and I made it a point to get two that caught my eye. The first appears to be the corner of a ruined fortress made of stone or brick. I really like how the pile looks like it is in the process of tumbling down. This will likely see use in my 28mm Fantasy or Dark Age/Medieval battles or skirmishes. 

    The arches give this corner ruin from Sword & Scabbard Games the look of a religious building look

The other ruin looks a little more pristine, as if it has been weathered or possibly even pilfered for stones by residents. The arches give it either a classical era look, or perhaps from a religious building in the Middle Ages. Either way, it is generic enough that it can be used in a variety of settings. Hmm...seems to be a theme of my purchases this year! I like how it is a multi-level piece that figures can climb and use in a skirmish. I realized awhile back that I have a definite lack of these type of pieces, so have been trying to pick up more that have multiple levels that can be climbed by figures in a game.

    2 Medieval looking town buildings that could be used in either fantasy or historical skirmishes

I was intrigued by these next two buildings I picked up from Sword & Scabbard. They look to be a great fit for either a Fantasy, Medieval or Renaissance era town. They have that slightly ramshackle fantasy look, but also the stone and timber of the Middle Ages. Their tiled roofs and steep gables have the proper Middle Ages vibe, and I love the screened windows! I especially like how the one on the left has part of the building set up on pillars overhanging the entrance way. These can join the Duncan House I got from RRB Minis & More for a great start to a medieval or fantasy town setting for skirmishes. The roofs all come off, which is something I insist upon in my purchases anymore. I don't really see the need to buy solid buildings, considering how much of my miniature gaming nowadays is skirmish.  

Dry stone wall sections (& animal pen?) that I couldn't resist picking up from Sword & Scabbard

The final things I got from Sword & Scabbard were some dry stone wall sections that Scott says were meant for Dark Ages or Medieval Scotland. They do have that Celtic look about them, but I think they could be used for 28mm Fantasy, as well. I bought one angled section, as well as one that includes a rounded pen (for sheep?). If I use it as ruins, I don't need to find a gate for the pen. Otherwise, I'll need to find or build something to keep all the sheep from getting out! These will paint up ridiculously quickly, I think, and are generic enough they will doubtless find their way onto many an upcoming battlefield.

    Griffon's Lair carries 6' long 'Scenery Stripes' in a variety of patterns, including these cobblestones

Speaking of stone and towns, I had been eye-balling this purchase the last two conventions! It is a roll of neoprene material printed with a cobblestone street pattern, which I picked up from Griffon's Lair. I finally pulled the trigger at ATC and bought it from them. It is from Deep Cut Studios and includes six feet of cobblestone street pattern, 3.5" wide (9cm) and 2mm thick. It also includes two rounded, half circle sections. Griffon's Lair carries a variety of these "Scenery Stripes," including dirt or tarmac roads, and rivers. The only thing that worries me about them is cutting them to size to use in a game will be permanent. Sure, I can shove the cut sections back together again, but I want to be careful about how I chop up this six foot roll of material!

    After liking how the Dirty Down Rust worked, I look forward to trying out this Moss effect

I was so excited to see Griffon's Lair still had one of their cobblestone rolls left that I forgot to look around at the rest of their booth. While owner Steven Holowienko was ringing me up, I noticed that he also carries the "Dirty Down" line of specialty paint effects. I have a bottle of the rust effect and like it. I noticed that he carried the Moss effect, and since that is something I really don't have a handle on how to paint on my buildings or scenery, I thought I'd pick it up. Maybe I will try it out on some of those dry stone walls that I picked up from Sword & Scabbard? I am sure there are many YouTube videos out about it that give suggestions on how to use it, so I'll likely watch some of them for ideas first. 

    Various metal scatter I picked up from RRB Minis & More (and ONE miniature...)

Last but not least was my visit to my friend Rich Brown and his RRB Minis & More booth. Unfortunately, Rich had been unable to 3-D print the main item I was going to buy from him at ATC. It is another medieval building in the "Duncan House" line that he gave me at Battles at the Brewery. I liked how his photos of it looked and asked him to print it up for me. However, problems with his 3-D printer kep him from getting it done in time. Hopefully, he will have it fixed and readied for me before I see him at Hold the Line convention at Camp Perry, OH, Nov. 14-15. In the meantime, though, I sorted through his scatter metal pieces from the venerable Reviresco line. I have picked up numerous computer monitors and other things for Sci-Fi buildings from him before. This time, I grabbed some things to glue onto various buildings, including vent vans, metal doors, and tube ventilators (pictured above). I did break my vow to buy no more miniatures until after the end of the year when I saw the HWV-24 Power Loader, aka Walking Forklift. This would be perfect for an Aliens scenario, right? Hopefully, the miniature inside looks sufficiently like Sigourney Weaver...ha, ha!

    2 crag pieces that I picked up from RRB Minis & More at the last minute as Rich was ringing me up

As Rich was beginning to ring me up, I looked over and saw some 3-D printed crags on his shelves. I snagged a couple of them to add to my Canyon Rocks and Stacks that I painted earlier this year. Rich hadn't brought most of his 3-D printed stuff because he rented only two tables. He admitted to me later in the show he should have gotten a third table! 

    Tufts I use on my bases -- Dad's Armies carried my favorites, so ATC was a perfect place to restock!

Okay, so I lied. My purchases at RRB Minis & More were not the last! One of the things I did this year as Vendor Coordinator for ATC 2025 was wheel around a rolling cart filled with cold water and snacks every 2-3 hours to the dealers. All of the vendors said they really appreciated the service. It also let me check in with them regularly throughout the weekend. Even if I did not buy something from one of the vendors (we had 12), they knew I appreciated them by my regular visits to their booth. While stopping by Dad's Armies booth, though, I noticed that John carried my favorite type of tufts for miniature bases. I picked up one each of the ones I use the most. 

I'm sure that preparing for Advance the Colors put my painting and terrain making schedule behind. Hopefully, now that it is past, I will get back into the swing of things quickly. I'll do another post with photos from the various games at ATC, but after that, expect to see some more Devilry Afoot figures! Oh, and I have updated my Acquired vs. Painted lists below. I'm sure that the fact that I was significantly ahead in Terrain and Scatter had nothing to do with the fact that most of my purchases at ATC were in those categories! Nothing at all...move along, nothing to see here...!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 289
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 231

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 53
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 61

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 136
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 201

Purchases from 'Battles at the Brewery'

    3-story testament to RRB Minis & More's generosity -- the 28mm Duncan House awarded as a prize!

I didn't attend Battles at the Brewery, put on by the Chillicothe Area War Gaming group, expecting to buy anything. However, my friend Rich Brown of RRB Minis & More was there. He'd made the more than three hour drive from his home in northeast Ohio to Chillicothe to set up his vendor table and run some demo games for a one-day event. My own game that I was planning to run was game mastered by Jason Stelzer instead of me. A funeral ended up being scheduled on the same day, so I came at the beginning to set it up and after the funeral to tear it down. While there, I decided to shop at Rich's table. 

    RRB Minis & More's 'Duncan House' is a Medieval tower house - each level & roof comes apart

First things first, Rich had generously awarded me a prize for entering a scenario contest on his website. It was the Duncan House -- a 3-D printed medieval tower home. This three story building is actually also the setting for the scenario I submitted. A medieval noble has kidnapped a noble lady and spirited her away to the upper floor of the Duncan House. Her father offers a hefty reward for her return. The other players try to batter their way into the house and up to the top floor to rescue her.

    Pictures of the interiors of each level (with door choices taped in) -- 1st Floor = Ground Floor

The Duncan House is a really cool design, with a wider section on the second floor and narrower sections on the ground and top floor. The design is late medieval, it appears, but honestly considering the number of medieval buildings still surviving in Europe, it could be used for a number of periods in the historical sections of towns. I'm looking forward to painting this one up and possibly using it for skirmish games (maybe some Sellswords & Spellslingers set in a town?).

    Since the Duncan House was a prize, I bought this 3-D printed, 4-story Medieval Watchtower

Perhaps because I won that building at no cost, it tipped the scale for me to purchase the 3-D printed Medieval Watchtower he'd brought along. Like the Duncan House, it disassembles by floor and is also three stories tall. The only modification I want to do is figure out some way to have my figures magnetic bases stick to the stairs leading up to the front door. I don't know whether to imbed magnets in the 3-D printed material, glue tiny pieces of metal, or coat it with ferrous paint. Honestly, I don't think I have anymore of that paint left, and it would seem a bit much to buy a jar of it for just for that!

    Interiors of the Medieval Watchtower with some of my 28mm Orcs storming the building

What else did I buy? I picked up one of his 3-D printed Pod Habitats that I use for my Sci-Fi skirmishes. It is his "Extra Large" version, but for me, it is a small home compared to my other Sci-Fi buildings. Still, I keep slowly building up my collection of them so that I can cover more and more of the table with suitably Sci-Fi buildings! 

    Very cool 3-D printed Sci-Fi piece that I will use as a landing pad in my skirmish games

Another Sci-Fi terrain items I picked up was the landing pad (at least that's what I'm calling it). It has stairs leading up to the top surface and would be a perfect place to put a small shuttle or spaceship on for a scenario. The top surface comes off, but I can't see any reason to have anything underneath it. So, I will probably glue it in place and paint it solid state. 

    The surface of the landing pad pops off and there is a printed interior 'control room', as well

The final thing I picked up from Rich was a printed copy of David Bezio's "Saddle Bum" rules. I am thinking of using these for a hillbilly trailer park battle, even though they were designed for a Western game. I figure the three firearms in the rules -- pistol, shotgun, and rifle -- fit perfectly for the trailer park vibe. Of course, I don't have hillbilly figures for such a scenario, but when has that ever stopped us from buying an interesting rule book? Rich loves these rules and all of David Bezio's adaptions for them, including black powder (Frizzen Bum) and Medieval (Chivalrous Bum). In fact, my winning scenario (actually tied for 1st place -- Rich gave both of us the prize!) uses the Chivalrous Bum rules. Jenny and I played them at Drums at the Rapids this past May. It was using those rules that I proved I can roll a statistically astounding series of "6's" on 1d6 after the game was well out of hand and I was going to lose...! 

    A picture of the 'Extra Large' 3-D printed Habitat dome that I picked up from RRB Minis, as well

Anyway, the organizer of Battles at the Brewery, Art Nickles, said it was a success and was pleased with the turnout. All of the games had players and were able to get under way, and folks were still gaming when I returned around 5:15pm. I helped Jason pack up my Song of Drums and Tomahawks game, had dinner and a beer at Fifty West, and then did my shopping from Rich's table. So, even though I didn't get to GM or play, I still got to experience a bit of the game day!

    I was scheduled to run a 'Song of Drums & Tomahawks' game, but Jason Stelzer stepped in for me

So, what is on my painting desk right now? The two warlord stands for the Advance the Colors Saga tournaments are almost done. That's six fancy figures who will be positioned, three-each, on a circular 60mm stand. Well underway, also, on the table are my first 28mm Gripping Beast metal goblins. The skin and base coat of the clothes is complete on them. So, they should be finished in the coming week, too. I also have another update on a couple quick pieces of scatter terrain that I completed for the two games of Song of Drums and Tomahawks that were run at the museum and Battles at the Brewery. You know me -- there's always one more tweak I want to add to the tabletop to ramp up its look. So, look for a post next week on those, as well!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 288
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 194

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 40
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 61

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 115
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 159

Historicon 2025 Purchases

Well, I didn't make it. Oh, I arrived at Historicon 2025 with no problem. I am referring to my goal of having my flea market sales cover my new purchases. My sales in the Friday flea market were more lackluster than I was hoping for. About half of the items I brought came home with me, unfortunately. I did make around $200, but some of my big ticket items, such as the MDF ruins from Four Ground and Father and Son Gaming, were not purchased by anyone. My advance purchases with Miniature Building Authority, Diabolical Terrain, and Michigan Toy Soldier & Figure Company set the bar too steep, though. Oh well...they did put a dent in my expenses, though. So, I guess I should be happy! 

    Resin bunkers and sniper positions that I picked up from Miniature Building Authority at Historicon

First, I stopped at the dealers where I had made arrangements ahead of time (or purchases on their website) to pick up at the convention. For Miniature Building Authority, this included more resin terrain for my 28mm Vietnam project. I picked up two Sniper Positions from their Pacific and Vietnam line. I also picked up one of the Coconut Log Bunkers. The final piece was the NVA Jungle Bunker. All four of these are items he has picked up from Acheson Creations and is selling in his catalog. That makes me very happy that at least some of the Acheson stuff I love so well will continue to be available to gamers. Kirk charged me $85, which was a nice (and very appreciated) discount. I do my best to promote his great products, showcasing them here on my blog when I get them painted up and ready for the tabletop. Thanks, Kirk! It was good to see and talk to you at Historicon. I look forward to seeing you at Advance the Colors, Oct. 10-11, in Springfield, OH!

    The remaining three buildings from Diabolical's "Tatooie" line of 3-D printed Sci-Fi buildings

Next up, was a stop with Ron Weaver from Diabolical Terrain. I think my largest advance purchase was through him, and he had my items all boxed up and ready to go. As I put the box under my arm, Ron asked, "What? You're not going to check them?" I told him no, I trusted him. He also realizes that I showcase his items on my blog regularly, too. Money-wise, my order was about the same size as at MBA, but included quite a few more items -- mostly for my Star Wars skirmish games. First up, I purchased the remaining three of the six "Tatooie" Desert Buildings. I had purchased the first three of these from him at Advance the Colors last year. They were so easy to paint up and I liked them so much that I wanted to get the remaining three models from that line. Also for these games, I picked up all nine pieces from the Canyon Rocks and Stacks line of 3-D printed terrain. I had picked up the Desert Rock Formations also at ATC, and I liked them so much that I wanted to complete my collection for Star Wars games out in the wilds of Tatooine. His 3-D printed products are always high quality, so I like to buy things from his booth every time I see Ron at a convention. 

    I liked the Desert Rocks I picked up last year so much, I bought the 'Canyon Rocks & Stacks'

My last advance purchase was with Michigan Toy Soldier & Figure Company. As it turns out, their website does not immediately deduct purchases from their inventory. So, my order of half a dozen items was missing three which were out of stock. They were very accommodating, though, and offered to do store credit for the missing items at the convention or ship them when they came in. I perused the booth, but decided to simply wait for them to come in stock. I did pick up the three things they had on hand, though. Two were figure packs from Crucible Crush. One was the Fearsome Flying Head from Native American mythology, while the other was a pack of 28mm English Puritans. The final item was the brown vehicle wash from Vallejo that I use for my miniatures -- especially on skin and colors in the white to tan range. I can almost hear the head or beard scratching from readers through my computer. Puritans? Native American mythological monsters?? Wait. All will be revealed shortly! Well, looking at the picture below, I think I kind of gave it away...ha, ha!

    The Fearsome Floating Head from Native American mythology & some English Puritans

I did not do an advance purchase for my next things I picked up, but it was actually my first stop in the vendor hall. I had contacted Steve from Age of Glory about their Empress 28mm Vietnam line to ensure they were bringing it to the show. He said he would be, and confirmed he had the items I wanted in stock. So, right after lunch on Thursday, I zipped inside the dealer hall and made a beeline for his booth. I had brought along one of my painted 28mm Viet Cong from the Black Sun line to compare sizes. It was as my friend Jim W had cautioned, though. The Empress line is MUCH smaller than the Black Sun figs. So, I cut back on what I was going to buy, and simply picked up the pack of four light machine gunners I needed from their NVA line. I am not planning on mixing the LMGs in with groups of small arms in the rules I am writing, so the size shouldn't be a problem. I also picked up three packs of civilians from their Viet Cong (Armed Civilians) line. I figured that the civilians could be shorter as they are significantly less well fed than the soldiers. I had read in one of the books that the villagers often marveled at how big the Kit Carson Scouts serving with the U.S. were, which they attributed to eating so much American food. I picked up civilian packs DS4, DS5, and DS6. The civilian poses are very nice and have a lot of character, as you can see from the pictures I've added to this post.

    The four packs of Empress 28mm Vietnam that I picked up -- LMGs and a dozen civilians

I drove to the Historicon contemplating more purchases than above. One in particular I really hadn't make up my mind on. I was thinking about starting a new period (gasp!) for next year. I had been reading battle reports on blogs or watching them on YouTube channels for 28mm Horror. I already owned Silver Bayonet, so that was one set of rules I was thinking of using for it. Recently, I downloaded from Wargame Vault the Devilry Afoot rules. Silver Bayonet is set during the Napoleonic Wars while Devilry Afoot is set during the 1600s or 1700s. If I pulled the trigger, I would base them in frontier America during the one of the series of wars fought in the New World. I already have a very large collection of 28mm native Americans and frontiersmen, as well as British and French. I have even purchased a number of Native American mythological creatures as I was contemplating doing a supplement for Song of Drums and Tomahawks were the boundary between our world and the spirit world was broken. However, my friend Mike Stelzer declared he was also considering doing that, so I backed off and let him run with it! Still, I had most of the figures I would need except for specialist characters and some more traditional monsters.

    Pictures from the Badger Games site of the packs that I bought at Historicon for 28mm Horror

I had taken hours going through the website of both Badger Games and Brigade Games. I jotted down (actually typed into my phone) likely packs of character or monster figures. Badger carries the Bad Squiddo Games which has an amazing array of characters from many periods, including the one I would be setting my games in. However, the prices tend to be on the higher end. Brigade Games carries the Silver Bayonet and Dracula's America lines, which tend to be more reasonable. Actually, Badger carries those lines, too, but confirmed by email they wouldn't be bringing them because other folks carry those lines at the show. I slowly went through the figure packs at both vendor booths, and finally decided I would pull the trigger on this new period. I told myself I wouldn't try to get it going until 2026, as I wanted to focus my Sunday Night Gaming efforts on the Star Wars skirmishes. However, I would use this opportunity to pick up the necessary miniatures. After all, I am only down on the Acquired vs Painted for Miniatures 237 to 144. That's less than 100...ha, ha!

    Some of the Silvery Bayonet & Dracula's America figures that I bought for my 2026 Horror project

It might have been helpful to have chosen which rules set I was going to use before buying, but honestly, I wanted to try them out myself first. So, I picked out the characters using types that both games had in common. The monsters are very similar, though I would introduce more mythological creatures from Native American stories than a standard campaign in either game might. Between the three lines (Bad Squiddo, Silvery Bayonet, and Dracula's America), there were often the same monster. For example, each of the three produces a "Wendigo" figure from Algonquian folklore. Sometimes I went by the figure I liked best. Other times, I went with the most reasonably priced -- for example, the werewolves from Dracula's America were the cheapest and looked great. For witches, I couldn't resist the Bad Squiddo figures. Yes, the "Angry Witches" pack looks a little whimsical and Wizard of Oz-ish, but I can mix up the colors a bit and don't have to paint them with green skin. It will be hard to resist cackling, "I'll get you my pretties...!" in the first game, though...ha, ha! 

    Some of the 17th-18th century personality figures I picked up from Brigade Games

I was still missing some key character types, so hit up Brigade Games, again. Both games can have lords, churchmen, and scholars as part of the player monster hunters. So, I went through Lon's collection and then asked his advice when I still couldn't find some things. In particular, I was having trouble with scholars or scientists until he pointed out a pack from the Napoleonic range. They're meant to represent the group of academics that Napoleon took along with him to Egypt. At the edge of my period, but nothing wrong with the odd top hat or two...! 

    Freebie pack of Charlton Heston from Planet of the Apes, a chimp astronaut, & other figure

Other than the odd bottle of paint, that was the extent of my purchases at Historicon. I've been keeping a running tab on my calculator, but it likely doesn't reflect any discounts vendors may have given. I was attempting to pay as much as possible with cash instead of credit card. Still, as mentioned, I fell short of having my flea market sales pay for the things I bought in the dealer room. I'm a little bummed about that, but I realize that I wasn't selling painted miniatures this time, for the most part. Those are what I've earned the most from at previous flea markets. Terrain and odds and ends can add up only so much. I'll have to remember that, and maybe next time begin to dig into my unpainted (and unplanned to paint anytime soon) pile of minis more rather than preparing terrain to sell.  Still, it was a fun time. Although I feel like I kept my purchases under control, my phone's calculator is telling me otherwise! I've adjusted the numbers below of Acquired vs. Painted, so you can see my task ahead to stay in the green!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 288
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 145

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 36
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 47

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 115
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 114

Origins Game Fair 2025 Purchases

 

    These naturally colored pottery pieces from A Critical Hit are ready to use & authentic looking

I was very restrained in my purchases in the sprawling dealer area of Origins Game Fair. Granted, there were a lot of booths I wasn't interested in -- jewelry, role-playing games, fancy dice, etc. However, I was trying to stick to my silly mantra of having my purchases not exceed my sales at a convention. With no flea market, this meant the Origins Consignment Shop. I put in three items, which would have totaled $155 if all three sold. Sadly, only the 3-D printed Alien Grays sold. That meant I was limited to $58.50 in purchases (my profit after the 10% consignment fee), if I followed my rule.

    Unlike the pottery, I will paint these pallets up to make them look more like fresh wood

I wandered through the dealer area on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I thought I'd scout things out and make my purchases the last day. However, I couldn't hold back and bought about $20 worth of stuff from A Critical Hit -- one of my favorite places for 3-D printed scatter. I also stopped by to look at Beldolor Studios, who makes very interesting 3-D printed anthropomorphic animals and other oddities. Their miniatures are a gray resin that seems a bit more sturdy than typical 3-D printed minis. Last year, I'd picked up five of their Gatorfolk. This year, I was looking at the various types of Fishfolk. The roughly 28mm size ones were $8 each (cheaper than the $10 listed on their website), and the bigger ones were at least $15. I decided to wait till Sunday when I would find out how many of my store items had sold before making any purchases.

    Pike (armed with a pike!) from Beldolor Studios -- the images of their figs are from their website

There are also lots of board game dealers at Origins, which makes sense as board games seem to outnumber miniatures there in the gaming hall. However, I make my board game purchases very carefully -- or at least I try to! Nevertheless, I have made some unwise purchases over the years. In fact, one of those was in the consignment shop -- GMT's Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East. We had played it three times before decided it was simply too long of a game with too convoluted of systems (despite its 7.2 out of 10 rating on Boardgamegeek). Plus, it is a simply brutal game with players hammering each other with event cards, some of which quite literally take a player out of the running for winning the game. Since there wasn't a game I'd researched prior to the convention and was looking for, I wouldn't be buying any board games.

    Beldolor Studios also had a pike armed with a trident in their line of 'Fishfolk'

There were a lot more dealer booths that had accessories for miniatures this year. Besides A Critical Hit, there were ones that carried paints, flocking, and other interesting items. Warlord Games, was there -- a legitimate historical miniatures vendor. Jon Russell from Warlord interfaces with the Origins staff to promote miniatures at the convention, and especially historicals. However, I don't currently play any of the games he had brought miniatures for. Plus, I think I have set myself a hard enough task if I hope to have my "Painted" exceed my "Acquired" by the end of the year! Lately, I have bought a lot of miniatures with the Vietnam and Fantasy projects. The last thing I needed was a random box of plastic figures for a game I don't play. I really appreciate Warlord Games being there, though. I just didn't need anything from him this year (last year I bought some terrain at his booth, though). 

    I also picked up this Bass Fishfolk -- I love the details and originality of their resin 3-D prints

Sunday rolled around and I was disappointed to be bringing back home with me two of my three items that did not sell. I did stop by Beldolor Studios and picked up three of their Fishmen and two other miniatures from their "Misprints" box that looked fine to me. With those minimal acquisitions, I kept my dealer room expenses under my meager profit from the consignment store. Historicon is coming up in a month, so I will get a chance to shop in a dealer room that fits my tastes much better soon! They also have a real flea market, which hopefully I will do well in again, funding more purchases!

    3-D printed, two wheeled cart for only $4 from A Critical Hit - I probably should have bought more!

I've adjusted my Acquired vs. Painted totals below with what I bought at Origins. I am also adding in  scatter and terrain that I painted up, but probably won't do a post on. However, I am not putting in the 10 Vietnam figures I have finished, as I will definitely do a post on them. So, the MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted should actually be better. Soon...

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 237
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 117 

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 21
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 41

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 115
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 106

    I liked these park benches, too, though I will likely touch up the wood on them and maybe the metal

    I loved how these crystals from A Critical Hit looked when I flocked them last time, so I bought more

    Image is poor, but these 3-D printed toilets will doubtless show up in the yard of one of my trailers!

 

    From their "miscast" bin, I picked up one of these very large Eldritch Deer from Beldolor Studios

    From their "Extinct" line, this Thylacine is also known as a Tasmanian Tiger - another $2 'miscast'

Sci-Fi Scatter & a HUGE Purchase

    I picked up this 3-D printed Sci-Fi scatter from Garrison 3D - look like they belong on a flight line

Well, there goes the Acquired vs. Painted in the Miniatures category...for at least a few more months! I know I have been telling people that 28mm Fantasy is next year's project, what with the scheduled October release of the second edition of Dragon Rampant rules. I had made a couple small 28mm Fantasy purchases, but was holding off on a big one until next year. You know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men, though...!

    Not my paint jobs -- these images are from the Gripping Beast website to show you what I purchased

Jeff from Shieldwall Miniatures decided he not only was going out of business, but also wanted to sell a lot of the stuff he bought for himself. He reached out to me because of my purchase of the 16 Orcs during his final 50% off sale, and because we've kept in contact for a good four-plus years now. He was selling a boatload of Gripping Beast metal 28mm Orcs. He kindly sent me the breakdowns and some pictures. I reached out to my friends and got a lot of, "Sorry, not interested" replies. However, one friend stepped forward and was interested in going in with me. He was very flexible, and said he'll take as much or as little as I wanted from what Jeff was selling.

    A big chunk of my purchase were armored Orcs & Goblins, but it is hard to tell them apart

In the end, we decided to split the Orcs down the middle, pack by pack. When Jeff mentioned he also had metal 28mm Dwarves, my friend jumped all over that, too. I was good with just the Orcs and Goblins, though. In the end, here's what I ended up adding 87 Gripping Beast Uruk Orc, Snaga goblins, and Troll miniatures to my collection of "Miniatures Acquired" category. 

    Another look at the scatter pieces alongside my 3-D printed Imperial Stormtroopers

Even though this is next year's project ("Keep telling yourself that, Mike..."), there's a good chance that I'll be painting some of these up between now and the end of the year. Painting my Vietnam project went much faster than I anticipated. I have some other odds and ends that I want to do in the meantime, but I will likely start working on these guys this Fall. One of the things I want to mix in are some 28mm Sci-Fi civilians. Lead Adventure Forum member Simon (Nozza) does an amazing job sourcing various Star Wars civvies and I have a serious case of "Monkey see, Monkey do" when it comes to his Star Wars project. I will likely just use some of the Stargrave plastic figures for them, though. We'll see...that's after I finish off my Viet Cong and U.S. soldiers for Vietnam.

    These creepy looking dudes with little modesty are labeled "Uruk Trackers"

Speaking of Sci-Fi and Star Wars, I did finally finish these six pieces of scatter this week. I picked them up early this year at Siege of Augusta from Bryan at Garrison 3D. I painted the first one up nearly a month ago, and really liked how it turned out. However, all those metallic blue bands and turquoise glowing bits take a lot of time. I think each one takes a good hour to do, and that's after they've received their base coat of Gunmetal Gray craft paint! I plan on using these in my next Star Wars scenario using Space Weirdos rules. I think they 'll make good "flight line" arrays.

    28mm Uruk archers from GB -- these Orcs are the way I picture them instead of GW's cartoony style

So, what else is on my painting table, now? The last batch of Viet Cong is nearing completion, and the last and next-to-last U.S. infantry is also underway. I did the 50/50 black paint and water final step of priming for three Buddha statues of plinths, more than a dozen oil barrels, and the MDF ruined building that I will be taking to the Historicon flea market. So, hopefully you'll be seeing those soon! In the meantime, I have to finally record that big 28mm Fantasy purchase below in my calculations. So...much...lead...to...paint!

    GB has a lot of cool descriptor names for their goblins, like "Night," "Forest," and "Mountain"...

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 232
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 117 

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 21
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 39

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 93
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 78