January 27, 2026

 It has been a hell of a time, y'all. We had a huge winter storm here in Texas (and across the country, I know), which shut things down for a few days as we waited for the ice to thaw. Just today I got out and shoveled the remaining ice and slush from my driveway so that we can get my daughter to school. 

On top of that, my entire family succumbed to a bug that's been going around -- it was horrible and I don't recommend the experience whatsoever. I was laid up in bed for two solid days. I didn't eat and could barely drink but thankfully my partner nursed me through it. I'm still not 100% but I definitely am feeling a lot better (NyQuil helps). 

I've been thinking about what is the "best" one shot to introduce players to a game like Dungeons and Dragons and its ilk. With some many systems out there, I think it's hard to choose. Even D&D has six editions from which to choose, which to me just complicates things further. I like 5e, but I also think it's overly complex in areas where that's not needed. 

I also really like 1e and 2e, probably because those are what I grew up playing. And of course, there are modern options like OSE, Shadowdark (a personal favorite), DCC, and so forth. Each has its own complications and advantages, which doesn't really make things any easier, sadly. 

There has been zero progress with 40K second edition materials. I still need to get a printer cartridge. I meant to order one, but I forgot. I'm going to try and pick one up tomorrow when we stop by the big box store after school drop off. I want to make strategy cards. In addition, I need to print Ork psychic powers, and whatever powers Dave will need for his Crimson Fists. I'm not looking forward to that, I'll be honest, as space marines have access to some of the best powers in second edition, probably behind the Eldar. I also need to make a warp deck, and I've been thinking of how to do that with playing cards. If not, I'll just make some and sleeve them in penny sleeves, which should get me by. Lastly, I want to order some tokens and templates that I've seen on eBay and Etsy that look nice. I'd like to also make the other hand outs, but I'm trying to keep things focused on the essentials for the time being. 

No painting has been done since last week, as I've been either too sick or busy or motivated to sit down and get it done. However, I'm not going to let that sit idle for too long. There are things on my desk I want to finish up. In addition, I will need two minderz for my Weirdboy so I need to make something happen. I have a couple of monopose ork boyz left, and I'm thinking of lightly converting them and giving them back banners to make them special. 

-Daz

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January 20, 2026

Yesterday was a holiday, so neither writing or working out was done. Instead, I lazed about the house for the day. It was peaceful and relaxing. I made red beans and rice for dinner. Things were a little thin as a I added too much water. 

Last Sunday I played second edition 40K with David. For the third time, his Crimson Fists matched wits with my Blood Axe Orks. I was playing Hold the Line as my mission and David drew Dawn Raid. We previously agreed to 1250 points. Since marines are such a low model count in second edition, my strategy was to surge forward so that it would be difficult for his forces to reach the halfway mark for his mission objective. We didn't use Strategy Cards as my printer was out of ink so I never got to finish making them. Next time, hopefully.

My list included my warlord, Kolonel Krump, a Mekaniak, Painboy, Runtherd, two mobs of boyz, two large mobs of grots, a mob of nobz in 'eavy armor, a battlewagon, warbike, dreadnought and artillery (smasha gun and pulsa rokkit). In second edition, Orks had to take a Mek to field vehicles, a Painboy (and Mek) to field a dreadnought, and a Runtherd to field artillery. I also use Runtherds in grot mobs to boost their leadership since they are often outside the leadership bubble of the Warboss. 

For the first two turns my army surged forward, filling up no man's land with green bodies. My light armor was immediately a threat (as intended), and the vehicles did their job of peeling away some bodies while taking a lot of shooting in the first round. 

Dave was only fielding one Tactical Squad, five terminators, a dreadnought, a Rapier weapons platform with three characters making up his command -- a Chapter Master, Techmarine (required for vehicles in this edition), and an Apothecary. Since the dreadnought was with the terminators on my right flank, I spent my shooting for the first couple of turns focused on whittling down the Tactical Space Marines. Thanks to the mass of fire I kept sending his way, the ten marines were burned down, as well as the Apothecary. 

The Chapter Master only took one wound before he waded into one of the gretchen mobs by turn three. I was happy to keep him locked into combat to keep him tied up. On the other hand, dealing with the dreadnought and terminators was brutal. The Crimson Fist dreadnought traded shots with my own Ork dreadnought, each damaging the other, until mine caught fired and was rendered immobile. 

The other mob of grots did their duty and absorbed two volleys of storm bolter fire. And while they did break after the first round of fire, they rallied and regrouped back into the fray. The Blood Axe Boyz and Kolonel Krump avoided shooting until the end of the game; during turn four I moved Da Kolonel into range so that he could toss his squig stikkbomb (Da Kolonel's Gambit). While it hit the dreadnought, it failed to do any damage. In return, the terminators shot up the squad and routing the squad (humiliating, I know). 

By the end of Crimson Fist Turn Four, only the Chapter Master, Dreadnought and Terminators were left standing. The Tactical Squad, Apothecary, and Rapier weapons platform were destroyed. On the Ork side, a few mobs were whittled down, as well as a war bike and Snakebites Boss. Dave secured more victory points than me, but I was able to secure my mission objective while denying the Crimson Fists their own. This allowed me to pull ahead and secure a 9-7 victory for the Orks. 

Overall, I think Dave played very well. We've been playing Warhammer together for nearly 20 years, and he's a player that succeeds by playing to the mission. I think in this case I was able to corral the heavy units in his list, which made him rethink committing them deeper into the table. Had he spent just one more turn advancing the dreadnought and TDA, the game could've been his. And while the Orks took heavy losses (mostly grots, so it doesn't really count), I succeeded in my goal to deny him his Dawn Raid mission, which, in turn, also ensured the success of my Hold the Line mission. 

For our next game, we are going to move to 1500 points, as well as introducing pskyers! We've been building up slowly so that we could focus on relearning the rules and fundamentals, so this should be interesting. In addition, I should be able to complete strategy cards for us to use. as well as what we will need for the Psychic Phase (Warp Cards and the psychic powers decks). 

For my next 250 points, I plan to add a Weirdboy so that I have some psychic potential on my side. I'm not sure what to do with the rest. I'm thinking of what kind of firepower I can add since I will be struggling with dreadnoughts and terminators again!

-Daz

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January 17, 2026

I've been meaning to write daily, Monday through Friday, but I had to skip yesterday. Since I also write for my day job, The extra hour I've been spending on my blog has put extra stress on my hands and wrists. And yesterday I was in pain from the strain. So instead of risking further injury, I took the night off. Today I'm working on it to make up for that deficiency. 

It's felt good to be writing for myself again. After spending the last 20 years writing as a corporate mercenary, it's a liberating feeling to be writing without any specific purpose other than the joy of it. Which, honestly, is how things should be. And while there are specific things I want to accomplish with this blog, I am in no rush to manifest them. Instead, I plan to take things slowly and see how they develop organically. All too often it seems that people rush into their creative pursuits and burn themselves out. That has certainly happened to me over the years. 

Besides writing, I've also kept up with my workouts through the week. I was on a good cadence before, but we had a car wreck a couple of years ago and that put me off. I had physical therapy, and then life just started happening again and I never made the time. Ultimately, I'd like to shed the extra weight that crept back up and stay strong. One thing that I want to avoid is what happened to Dad. By the end of his life, he had lost a lot of weight and was very thin and frail. It was a huge juxtaposition from how I knew him growing up -- a giant strapping man, full of strength. I don't want my kids to have that same experience. I hope that their memories of me aren't about how I looked at the end of my life, but of what we did together and how they felt doing so. 

Tomorrow, I have my first game of Warhammer 40,000 second edition for 2026. It will be my third game of this edition since that version was the current edition! Dave and I played two games last year before Christmas, and we will continue our escalation with a 1250 points game. I've been debating on whether I should take light vehicles and a small mob or if I should put all of those points into a looted tank. I'm leaning toward the former for two reasons. First, it's more models on the board with which I can overwhelm the lower number of space marines. Second, it's a way to help close the gap as my Orks close the gap across no man's land to get into melee. In the two previous games, I struggled to get the ladz into a proper scrap and I owe them this much!

On my painting table currently, I have a bunch of Steel Hussars space marines that I'm working on finishing up. They found themselves there last year, and I want to clear up some of these half-finished projects before I try to tackle anything new. I really love these old miniatures, and I want to get this army up to a size that is both playable but also has options for tactical flexibility. 

-Daz

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Concerning the Steel Hussars

"You may begin your report, Legate," spoke the senior Inquisitor, sat casually at the large meeting plinth which dominated the cramped room. An engine hummed somewhere off in the distance, and the plasteel walls of the room vibrated with a delicate percussion quite unlike a heartbeat. 

Nodding respectfully, the Legate allowed their carefully measured words to spill forth, filling the empty spaces of the room -- of which there were few. A number of high-ranking officials, many bearing symbols of Inquisitorial office, and in particular the Ordo Hereticus, regarded the speaker with various degrees of interest. It had been a long investigation after all. In fact, it was always a long investigation. 

Steel Hussars Veterans in Terminator Armor

Conception

The Steel Hussars are one of the many homebrew space marine chapters I've noodled around with over the years, and they are certainly one of the most sentimental for me. Way back in the mid-nineties, I spent hours poring over the newly released Codex: Ultramarines -- here was the one of the first codices of the second edition Warhammer 40,000, and I was ready for something new after collecting Space Orks throughout Rogue Trader. 

I already had a good amount of space marine miniatures by this point. I had a bunch of beakies from the Imperial Space Marines set, as well as the twenty monopose space marines that came in the new boxed set. But what to do with them?

What stood out to me was the concept of space marine crusades. These were presented a bit differently from how we think about them nowadays. Instead of a single chapter tearing across the galaxy, crusades as described in Codex: Ultramarines consisted of a coalition -- space marines of various allied chapters would second one or more squads to help muster the crusading army. This really appealed to my schoolboy sensibilities as I could barely stand to consistently paint more than a few figures. In this way Space Orks were a good choice as my main army during Rogue Trader. 

The many different chapters represented in the pamphlet found within the second edition box set was inspiring! There was so much to choose from, and many hours were devoted to fantasizing about the finished army, and how glorious it would look striding across the battlefields of my living room. 

On the other hand, I actually needed to start painting, and especially back then it was easier said than done. And in the meantime, I needed to choose which chapters I wanted to include. While I am a big fan of the Big Four -- Ultramarines, Blood Angels, Space Wolves, and Dark Angels -- I knew I wanted to avoid including them as I wanted to try some of my own ideas. 

Steel Hussars Veteran

The Red Lancers

Before the Steel Hussars there was the Red Lancers. I grew up around old fashioned wargaming, which frequently made use of chits, and hex maps, and charts (the charts!), and as a result I was frequently inspired by the real-life battles and armies which were often the subject of these games. 

In addition, my father grew up as an adopted orphan, and a side effect of that was he often struggled with his identity. Ethnically Polish, he took a deep and keen interest in the history of the homeland of his birth parents. And as a result, I often endured many a lecture learning this or that piece of trivia.

Here was my inspiration -- the Polish hussars, Europe's premier heavy calvary for decades, until the advent of reliable firearms. Making a rare order from a Games Workshop catalog, I used my pocket money to purchase 20-winged banners from the Kisvelite range. These would become my prototype space marines, and the progenitors for the future Steel Hussars. 

I didn't settle on the metallic armor initially. Being the '90s, and red being THE paint to use, I initially painted my first squad with full Blood Red armor. The job was a good 'un and I moved on to work on other chapters for my burgeoning crusade -- the Void Masters, Kadath Swords and more that I've forgotten in the decades since. 

When the Steel Hussars Arrived

After spending many happy years gaming with my space marines and other Warhammer armies, the 2000s began. And I hence discovered that girls are actually pretty cool. By this time, I had turned 18, and being the young shitheel that I was, struck out to start my life and try to figure things out for myself. As a result, Warhammer and other hobbies were hung up for a while as I stumbled through young adulthood. 

By 2008, at the encouragement of my wife, I got back into Warhammer after being away for close to a decade (and most of fourth edition). I picked up the fourth edition starter, and a few months later the newly available fifth edition of Warhammer:40,000. With the start to a small army, I started up my renegade space marine chapter, the Forgotten Sons. But after some eBay purchases, I was ready to start a loyalist army too. 

My thoughts drifted as I tried to decide which direction I wanted to head -- should I resurrect one of my earlier ideas? At this time, I was also reconciling with my father after being estranged throughout my late teens and early 20s. I thought it would be fun to do something to honor our recommitment to being father and son. This made me think back to the Red Lancers; while I liked the concept, I wanted something that might be easier to paint. And this is when the Steel Hussars arrived. 

When it comes to space marines, my main influence is the classic novel "Space Marine" by Ian Watson. It and "Deathwing" were very influential to how I have interpreted the culture of the Adeptus Astartes ever since. It made me start to think hard about what I wanted my space marines to be like. 

I knew I didn't want to slap people in the face with obvious influences (and don't get me started on the Big Four these days!), so I started giving thought to what an updated color scheme would look like. Preserving red was important as a nod to their "parent" chapter, but I settled on steel as an easy color to paint (made even easier with today's tools). A chapter badge would eventually come, especially once Forge World released their initial Raven Guard transfer sheet. 

The color scheme has updated over time. A lot of that is dictated by my personal tastes and what I find fun to paint. The core red and steel has remained, but since then I've added gold trim and accents, as well as checkers -- which I just find incredibly fun to paint! 

Steel Hussars Battle Brother, 4th Company

Lore of the Steel Hussars

Lore, on the other hand, has been slow to develop. For me, it's something that reveals itself to me as I work on a project like this. One thing I like about Warhammer lore is that it evolves, and you can never quite trust what you read or see or hear, as it's all propaganda or told from a particular point of view. Some things just start to fall into place and then the logic of the situation just seems to "click" and you form your own interpretation of events. And that's how it's been with the Steel Hussars. 

I'm unsure of the founding. They are probably pretty old, since I collect a lot of various marks of armor. But they aren't as old as the Second Founding, and neither the Third. The Steel Hussars were probably founded after the Fifth Founding, or even later. Records are inconclusive. 

I do know that personal heraldry is very important to the chapter, as it is a living record of the individual deeds of its brothers. When veterans are promoted to the First Company, they take on the name of their predecessor, with most dating back to the original founding of the chapter. At this point, veterans can and do proudly display their heraldry, the meaning of which is lost among outside observers. 

In addition, veterans cannot wear the traditional Codex Approved white helmet of a veteran until they are assigned to their first mission in Tactical Dreadnought Armor. When the honor does come, the Veteran Battle Brother recuses himself to the Reclusiasm, where under the guidance of the chapter's Chaplains they ritually paint their helmet white, while reciting the many deeds performed by their predecessors with whom they share their name. Amongst the Steel Hussars, this practice is known as "Taking the White," and is the highest honor most Veteran Space Marines will hope to achieve during their service.

Which legion do the Steel Hussars initially hail from? That is unknown. Many speculate that they are descendants of the Horde of Jaghatai, though I am unsure. I personally believe they are related to the Imperial Fists, especially as the "Space Marine" novel really inspired me as to how I think about their traditions. In their battle practice, the Steel Hussars don't favor any form of warfare over another, instead choosing a method which will end the conflict most quickly while completing their assigned objectives. 

Company markings are often simplified and stylized versions of the commanding Captain's personal heraldry. As a result, company markings across every company -- especially Battle Companies -- can change over time. These markings are often worn on the left kneepad. 

Field camouflage is frequently employed, especially among chapter "recon squads." For unknown reasons, the Steel Hussars recruit fewer scouts when compared to most space marine chapters. Due to this, Tactical Squads within Battle Companies, as well as the Reserve Companies of the sixth and seventh, as sometimes deployed in reconnaissance duties. Depending on the circumstances, these recon squads will utilize field camo suited to the fighting theater in which they find themselves, choosing from the many Chapter Approved options found within the Codex Astartes. 

-Daz

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January 14, 2026

 It was a busy day with work. A coworker who I earlier pegged as a snake continued to expose themselves (as a snake) in a channel that they must've forgot WE ALL HAVE ACCESS TO. As they have a habit of deleting their comments, I collected screenshots for future reference. But seriously fuck this guy. Working is hard enough, so there is no need to go around bashing other workers when the real enemy is management and owners. 

I recently finished reading "Paleomythic," a self-style "stone and sorcery" role playing game. Honestly? I think it rules. They use a trait system for building characters by describing their aptitudes. As someone who heavily larped "Vampire: the Masquerade" throughout the '90s I fell hard for that feature. Besides traits, the rest of character creation is pretty good, where you can customize your character by either gaining more traits at the expense of abilities (i.e. powers), or have more abilities and fewer traits. In addition, you can take up to two flaws to gain more traits. One thing that I like about flaws is that they correspond to a positive trait, so you can't take both.

The world building is pretty nice as well. There are plenty of details to stir the imagination, keeping the game firmly rooted in a world of pre-history. It is a game I'm dying to play, but I don't think I'll ever have the chance to get around to it. Thankfully, this was a library borrow from my local book depository, where the librarian in charge has curated a terrific little selection of RPG and wargaming books. 

Lastly, there are some hacks included in the book. My favorite is for advancing the technology of the game so that you can set games during the Hyborian Age. This really made me perk up as I think that's one of the most evocative types of settings for classic roleplay. But then again, I grew up on a steady diet of Howard and his contemporaries. 

I also finished "Barbarians of Lemuria." When I saw it in the library, I was stoked to grab it and add it to my armful of books. But once I cracked it open, I was more than a little disappointed. Everything that should have felt visceral and evocative felt tired and trite. The game systems felt underwhelming, as did the art and character options. Would it do a good job of evoking a swords and sorcery atmosphere? Sure. But I don't think I'd have a good time running the system let alone playing in the world. 

I also read through "Before the Tavern." It contains 100-character concepts for a bunch of genres, and it's flexible enough (allegedly) to bend then to adjacent spaces. Overall, this book was very disappointing. Maybe it's just because I'm old now, but the character concepts really felt like the gee whiz kind "lol random" character ideas you see in memes on social media. These are RPG shitposts. I was hoping to find mineable concepts to use as a game master, but there wasn't much in there I found useful. Honorable mention to Iguana Girl as a concept I would enjoy playing. She pretty much mirrors a camel expert NPC I used in when running "Pharoah" for my main gaming group. 

Dave texted me last night about playing second edition 40K. We've set up a game for this Sunday. After some thought, we settled on 1250 points. I'm debating on what to add to my army as we escalate our forces. I could take all of my Snakebites (a boss, some boyz and a trukk), or I can try to field my looted Leman Russ, "Gork's Fury." I feel that I might be lacking a bit of firepower, but we will see. The orks riding in a trukk would let me reach close combat faster. As it stands, Dave's been playing his Crimson Fists as more of a gunline, so it's been difficult for my infantry to reach hand-to-hand. And if the boyz can tie up a squad for a turn or two, that's a turn or two where rapid firing bolters aren't tearing up gretchen or space orks. I really want to write up a battle report, so I'll try to actually get some good pics of the game this time around, but no promises. 

-Daz 
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January 13, 2026

I've been excited to write again since reviving this blog yesterday. I suppose writing for myself again, and not as a corporate mercenary (as I have for the last ~20 years) makes a difference there. It's nice to work on finding my voice and not worrying about honing a message for a target audience, or SEO, or whatever shareholders might want to increase value. 

I put away that McFarlane doll yesterday due to frustration. Instead, I switched over to some Rogue Trader-inspired beakies, sculpted by Big Mr. Tong. They're fairly faithful interpretations of the classic Imperial Space Marines, and they've been a delight to paint. And I only paid about 30 bucks for 10 or 12, instead of the same amount for an original mini from the era. 

Hobby scalpers just make me sick. Over the years, I've been feeling priced out of the hobby. First, from rising prices from Games Workshop and its competitors, and now by sellers. Thank goodness for those creators and printers who are offering their wares for a reasonable price. 

This whole month I've been feeling in a funk. I think it's the state of the world, and my father's death day is approaching. I try not to think about it too much, but I can't help it. It saddens me knowing that I'll never hear him laugh again, or chat with him about Warhammer, or D&D, or a cool show he watched. He had the best laugh, deep and boisterous, and it would just bring it out of everyone around him. 

On the other hand, the last time I was with him couldn't have been more perfect. I spent the day with him and my stepmother, and the evening at their house. We had such a good, deep conversation until he fell asleep in his favorite chair while the second Black Panter movie finished playing in the background. His favorite cat, Merlin, was curled up in his lap. 

Thinking of the Black Panthers, I've been seeing more and more videos cropping up of the Panthers out there, supporting their communities. It reminded me that my wife and I have been discussing our own gun purchases. Unfortunately, in this day and age I think you need to be armed in America for the extra safety it brings you. While you can open carry with no issue in Texas, we're planning to take the extra step by securing our concealed carry licenses. You have to do a class, a test, and a skills assessment. Before we begin, I think we'll start with some refresher training. I haven't fired a gun in years - not since I was a boy and we used to shoot regularly with Dad. 

I've been really into listening to every album by the Church of the Crystal Skull. I've been hyper fixated on their progressive pop sound. The organ is top notch, as well as the layers of lyricism in their songs. There is a sinister undercurrent to their sound. When you listen to Bill Fisher's solo material (the main creative force behind the band), it becomes even more apparent. I like the spaces he explores with his music; he's such a talent. Currently, I think my favorite album of theirs is "Everybody's Going to Die," as well as the single from that same record. I suppose with the way I've been feeling it's been a comfort to me. There's such a yearning power in the layered vocals of that song. 

I meant to paint this evening, but I couldn't find the time. After work was preparing dinner and then playing Halo 3 with my son. Even though I've owned an Xbox 360 since 2008, I never played any game beyond the first. While the game is fine, I do enjoy the chance to bond with my son. He's at that age where he's finding his own identity, so I'll have to take what I can get these days. 

Dave reached out today and wants to schedule a game of second edition 40k. I'm going to try and accommodate him. We've been playing a loose campaign between his Crimson Fists and my Blood Axe Space Orks, and it's been terrific fun. Each game has been slowly escalating in points value and extra rules. I look forward to introducing psykers. I got penny card sleeves so that I could print the strategy cards, but I still need to do that; I'll try to by Sunday. The games we've had so far have been some of the most fun, and we've been playing Warhammer of various flavors since 2008, so I guess that's saying something!

Since we've put away the Christmas tree, we've set up our treadmill again. Both me and April have been trying to get our steps in. I'm also looking at subscribing to a fitness app to help me out. I used a program offered by my old job, called Wondr, and it worked really well. I lost 40 pounds over the course of the program. And while I'm not too bad off, I definitely put on about 15 or 20 pounds back on that I would like to take care of. 

Dinner was shoyu chicken and rice, and I made spam hand rolls for my son. I used the chicken to make hand rolls for my daughter. I don't mind doing so, I'm just glad they want to eat something green and nutritious. My daughter had me write down the recipe last week so that she could take it to school. They are making a cookbook, and she wanted to add that specific recipe, so that felt special to me. 

Let's keep this going as long as we can. Thanks for reading. 

-Daz
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January 12, 2026

It's been thirteen years since I last published a post to this blog. I was just picking up momentum, but I severely underestimated the amount of time raising a child requires - no less two chidlren and an ornery hound dog. But there is no time like the present, right? 

 I'm very pissed with the McFarlane space marine dolls. I made the lovely mistake of taking mine apart in the hopes it would make painting easier (it did). The downside is you got a full on humpty dumpty situation on your hands once it's dismantled. I stuffed the pieces back into its storage box. As for now, future Daz can deal with it - sorry buddy. 

 

Over a dozen other projects are scattered on my painting desk. It's a rats nest of meandering aspirations and half-baked ideas and good intentions. For the New Year, I want to see what I can do to resolve some of these pending projects. I have many more that I want to get to in 2026. I have one of the Gundam miniatures game teams I agreed to paint for a friend, as well as a whole bin of miniatures I stripped at the end of December. I've stuck to my guns over the last five years and have finished more projects in my backlog than I've bought new. I don't want to end up like Dad; he died with thousands of dollars of miniatures littering his workshop. When I went to bury him, I spent a whole day cataloging the collection. Even though it was left to me, I only brought home a handful of goblins. The rest I worked with my stepmother to sell so that she could use the money to help with her expenses. It took some time before she was able to receive her survivor benefits, so I'm glad it went to making an impact. 

We all know the world's on fire. I've been listening to one of my favorite albums, "The New America." It might be a Bush-era relic, but the lyrics are as true now as they were 26 years ago when I first purchased the record. I was surprised to learn from my friend Kevin that many fans dislike it for being too polished. That I don't mind, and I think it's poser-think to insist that punk music needs grit. "You've Got A Chance," "It's A Long Way To The Promised Land," and "The Hopeless Housewife" are my top picks. But listen to the whole record from start to finish if you have the patience; I think it's important to appreciating music and going on a journey with the artist. In these days of instant gratification and streaming whatever you want, it seems like less of us are just sitting down to finish an album from start to finish. And listen in whatever way suits you - I'm not here to lecture you on the ethics of music consumption. I'll leave that to the blowhard music influencers to wring their hands over. 

 

And speaking of influencers, can I tell you how much I despise hobby influencers? If one single thing has made enjoying little toy soldiers worse, it has to be influencers. Enthusiasts turned corporate shills, chasing relevance while begging you to use their discount code for 20% off of Golden Maple brushes. Fuck them, the capitalist tools that they are. Block them on sight in your social media. Strangle their power and that of their corporate puppet masters. I've been active on social media since Myspace, and the saddest thing is watching your friends fall victim to the siren call of fame and fortune as they chase the dragon of stardom and relvance. Influencers do nothing to elevate the community of our hobby, and in fact actively detract from it by their existence. Suckling pigs doing what they must to receive the next drop from the big dogs like GW, while up and coming companies tell you how important they are to building community, which is just a lead generating strategy to line up their next customers. 

Don't be afraid to turn to third party options. There are many great indie sculptors out there who can use your support. They can pay their bills when you buy their stuff. Don't be afraid to bootleg out of print sculpts, especially from brands who might charge you a crazy markup when and if they become "made to order." 

 

That might be all I have to say for now. And now that my kids are becoming teens and preteens, maybe I'll have more time to devote to writing again. Thanks for reading if you made it this far. 

-Daz
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