Welcome!

Here is my workstation.  I imagine it is not too different from many of your own.

I have been playing roleplaying games for over thirty years now, starting with the D&D basic set (the one with the purple cover with the Erol Otus artwork.)  I have played every edition of Dungeons & Dragons, in nearly every campaign world produced, and with every alternate ruleset ever offered.

In my time I have played Star Wars (D6 & D20,) Call of Cthulhu, both full campaigns and one shots (more on those another post,)1st and 2nd edition Shadowrun, Vampire the Masquerade (alongside its ill fitting bandmates Werewolf and Mage,) Ghostbusters, Paranoia, Mechwarrior, Deadlands, D20 Modern, & freaking Star Frontiers, along with tabletop wargames like Warhammer, 40K, Mordheim, Star Warriors, Crimson Skies and every version of Battletech conceived of by man.

I've got shelves full of books, cabinets of character sheets, Binders full of campaigns notes, a house full of house rules, more maps than the National Geographic's archives, and enough polyhedral dice to use as grapeshot in a civil war cannon and still be able to reload.

I've played my share of games, is what I am saying.

And nearly all of them have involved miniatures in some degree or other.  I have always loved using minis in my games, and although I know many 'hardcore' roleplayers eschew them, and feel they "take away from the feel or the imagination or blah blah whatever," I like them.  They help add a dash of excitement and investiture for the players who imprint themselves upon their mini (who hasn't uttered an "eep!" when they see their PC's mini surrounded by enemies?) they help resolve issues of placement, and most importantly, they are fun as hell to collect, convert and paint.

And that's what this blog is all about.  I've been working with minis for decades, and usually on a very low budget.  So I can provide a little insight about how to get the most for your dollar when using minis (Min-Maxing, in other words.)

However, there are tons and tons of other forums and blogs out there to help the miniature enthusiast.  The thing I could not find when I went looking is a site that focuses on real world based minis and scenery specifically for RPG's.  There are plenty of sites that will show you how to set up a frontier town in a Fallout setting, but if you are someone who is looking for a 1" grid, you are largely out of luck.

Every day it seems, another company providing fantasy miniatures pops up, making it child's play to locate great minis to represent Zagnithor, the barbarian of the Northern tribes, but nearly impossible to find an appropriate mini for Andrew, the accountant from Cincinnati.  So I want to provide a place where people can share their experiences and help give advice and inspiration to their fellow gamers.

So I will be posting photos of my various projects, and telling you how I did each, and how you could do it yourself (for as cheap as possible.)  Your comments are wildly encouraged and appreciated.

So welcome to my blog.

(This blog is in no way affiliated with the X-Acto brand, other than the fact that I use their fine products and love them, so I hope they will not sue me.)