Creating A New Hobby Space Part 1

 It has been a while again since posting but I have the perfect excuse. Without disclosing too much, my partner and I welcomed our first Child into the world on the 16th of October 2024. Baby Michael was born at 0940am and weighed 3.5kg and was perfect. We are truly blessed and I appreciate what I have everyday.

Leading up to baby Michael’s birth I had to do some huge changes to our house. I am quite the DIYer but I also used professionals when required. 

Goodbye Hobby Room

For nearly 10 years I have been using one of our spare bedrooms as a dedicated hobby and storage space. I had a built-in Wardrobe that was chocablock with terrain, hobby supplies and miniatures. It was a fantastic, albeit poorly designed space for storage needs. It was hard to access everything and a haven for attracting mold due to poor air flow.  The plan was to gut this room and remodel it for Michael but where would all my hobby go?

My Old Hobby Room

How I stored my painted figures. I also built that coffee table when I was 15

I patched the walls, repainted and put in new carpet for the baby

Putting in an attic

We have an old 1960s built home, single story with not a very high roof. This aside I was hoping I could squeeze an attic in and I got some experts in that surprisingly gave us nearly 14m squared of storage space! I transferred all my hobby into the attic successfully and was very pleased with the outcome. It is the perfect solution for both short term and long term storage, especially when it comes to hard to store items such as terrain.

I am most likely going to leave my 3d printer in the attic as I have power and a good space for it there. I have a monitoring camera for it and it will be out of the way. I will install a small smoke detector up there for peace of mind.

The outdoor Cabin

I did not want to take over another room in our house with my hobby and after months of searching I found the perfect solution, an outdoor studio. I got an absolute banger of a deal on an ex-display model. I got it professionally installed and did the majority of the internal fit out myself. Given the angled roof I decided against doing the dry wall myself and got some plasterers in. I then installed floor boards, window jambs, and added molding to the window jambs and door jamb. I added skirting boards and architraves around the doors and the windows and was rather pleased with the outcome.

The old space and crappy garden shed

The new outdoor cabin installed

Deck added, doors primed and flooring down

Setup very WIP

Creating the ultimate gaming setup.

The Cabin features a Desky standing desk that is motorised. I also have an ergonomic chair as I have had dramas with sitting at desks and using a computer. I almost stand exclusively now. I have a 5 x 5 IKEA Kallax shelf for storage, and IKEA side table and lamp and have a Temple and Webster 2 seater couch.

I scored some sweet Displates for Christmas. One being the cover art for Warhammer 40000 second edition box set. The other two are from Back to the Future (the greatest trilogy ever) and Spider-Man (my all time favorite superhero).

Warhammer 40k Second Edition Box Art Displate

I am a massive video gamer and huge fan of 7th and 8th generation games as modern gaming… well it's kind of shit. In the cabin I have one of three Xbox 360s (my limited edition blue Xbox 360e) a PlayStation 3, PlayStation 5 (limited edition Spider-man 2 console) PlayStation Vita, Xbox One (needs repairs),  and an older but still solid gaming PC (still rocking a 1070ti that plays many a game well in 4k at 60fps). I have a Xbox 360 and Xbox series X in my living room. Yeah I like video games. I also have many controllers at my disposal. I have an awesome video game collection particularly for Xbox 360. Best generation of games ever. 

A mere fraction of my collection of games

I have a 32 inch true 4k monitor with HDMI 2.1 support and have a HMDI splitter box.

I also have a gaming laptop that I mostly use for anything but gaming. 

Cable management... very WIP!

Hobby wise I have a number of dedicated spaces within the Kallax for miniatures and paints. I will store my painted miniatures in the attic but build and paint in the cabin. I will have all my books and magazines in the cabin. I have installed some cupboard doors on the Kallax to hide some stuff as well as having some baskets for bulky items I want out of site.

It's still very work in progress and once completed I will show the cabin off. The company that sold it to me has seen my work in progress and want to eventually send a professional photographer out to photograph it. See how we go.

Externally I have repaired a lot of the weatherboards as they were probably a good few years old and a little neglected as it was an old display model that was in storage for a few years. I have given an entire fresh coat of paint to the exterior and still need to landscape around it.

It truly is going to be an awesome set up once I am done with it.

Hobby Projects

As I'm a dad to an infant my hobby time is extremely limited. I'm going to try and focus on a couple of projects being, WW2 28mm Battle of the Bulge and the other painting up my various board game miniatures as I really enjoy these games. 

I have always had a keen interest in the Battle of the Bulge and I love hobbying a winter theme. With Bolt Action 3rd edition coming out with a starter set themed for this period, it's a great time to revive my long delayed project. I can wait to mix up a number of Warlord Sprues and create some awesome looking winter Germans and US forces.

I will still use Twitter for now despite how Elon has pretty much destroyed the platform however I am now on BlueSky. I will post regularly on BlueSky once I get some hobby done.

Thanks for reading.

Bring on 2025!

Scaling It Down - Part 4 - A Squad of AB Figures Brits

I have just finished painting a squad of 10 AB Figures 20mm British for Normandy and beyond.  I am most impressed with the detail AB Figures manages to get into such small miniatures.  These guys will be used for Battlegroup, Chain of Command and a relatively new ruleset I really really want to try called Ultracombat Normandy.  They are painted as Riflemen as part of the British 7th Armoured Division.

A squad of AB Figures British

Scaling It Down - Part 3 - A look at 20mm Panzer Lehr Miniatures

It has been nearly 2 and a half years since I did anything with my 20mm, 1/72 WW2 Project.  Please click here for Part 1 and here for Part 2 of this project.  It has certainly been a long time between drinks.  During this time I have painted hundreds of miniatures and I continue to lose the battle of effective storage solutions.  I am not leaving 28mm WW2 I am just going to cut back on terrain options for 28mm and focus more on the benefits of 20mm.  I will continue to paint 28mm WW2!  Some of you may recall I have basically all but ended my relationship with MDF and am mostly looking at 3D printing as a means of producing terrain.

I have written an article for Paint All the Minis addressing why 3D Printed Terrain is so great.  Comparing my Knights of Dice 28mm Normandy Terrace to a 3D Printed Normandy Terrace in 20mm is significant.  The 3D Prints in 20mm are almost a quarter of the size as a Knights of Dice Normandy Terrace.  Storing multiple Knights of Dice Terraces was going to be problematic to me. 20mm 3d Printed Terraces... no problem!  Moving on, this article will be discussing the options for the German Panzer Lehr Division in 20mm.

There are three main options for doing Panzer Lehr in 20mm being:

• Adler Miniatures
• Wartime Miniatures - Bought out by Simon's Soldiers
• Elhiem Figures 

I have previously written articles for Adler and Wartime.  I will write my thoughts on the ranges here.

Wartime Miniatures - now Simon's Soldiers

These Australian manufactured miniatures have a broad range of options covering the Panzer Lehr.  They have enough options to create a platoon with plenty of variety and support weapons, specifically a medium mortar, panzerschreck, LMG and MMG options.  Wartime Miniatures gives you a terrific option for a HQ with some Officers Reading Maps, a radio operator and some NCOs.  

My main criticism with Wartime's sculpts is they are slightly on the smaller size when compared to AB Figures, Adler Miniatures and Elhiem Figures.  At this scale it doesn't matter too much and doesn't bother me however it may be a contributing factor for other hobbyists. Saying this given the variety of the range you can almost exclusively use the figures for whatever ruleset you wish to play.  Cost wise, they are by far the cheapest however postage will vary depending where in the world you are.   

In terms of variety Wartime sticks out from the rest as there is some really characterful sculpts.

Wartime Miniatures offer a nice variety of poses

Officer Options for Wartime Miniatures

NCOs and a Radio Operator 

Medium Mortar

Panzerschreck Team

Adler Miniatures

Adler Miniatures produce a very nice 20mm WW2 range.  Their German Infantry range is not specifically for the Panzer Lehr and it focuses on the Panzer Wrap aka Panzerjacke. This is what the Panzer Lehr was kitted out with so essentially these figures are perfect for the Panzer Lehr.

The thing I love about the Adler Range is the sculpting.  The proportions are more realistic and on par with AB Figures and Elhiem Figures.  Although there is not as much variety as Wartime, I tend to prefer Adler.  They are more expensive than Wartime and the website is dated however saying this they are very responsive for when you order.  Don't let the website put you off the miniatures as the quality of the sculpts certainly makes up for it.

Adler also produce decals for collar tabs.  I initially used these however they are so small and fiddly I prefer just painting the collar tabs on.  Adler is expanding into the 20mm WW2 market and I am excited to see what they produce - spoiler - their Panzer Lehr isn't the only range of theirs I have in 20mm.

Adler Miniatures have some terrific well proportioned sculpts

My most recently Painted Adler Panzer Lehr - MG42 Teams

I love the advancing poses of the Adler MG42 teams

Elhiem Figures

Elhiem specialises in 20mm Miniatures.  They have a fantastic range covering many periods throughout the 20th century and beyond.  Their Panzer Lehr was some of their first sculpts and has been discontinued and is due for replacement.  This is great news as the early sculpts are no reflection on what they are currently producing now.  Do a google image search for their Panzer Lehr and you will see what I am talking about.  

The range did start to get replaced from what I can gather however was stalled.  Elhiem offered a type of crowd funding for some of their projects and I have essentially funded the Panzer Lehr range to be priorities.  It only cost me 25 GBP but I think it was 25 pounds well spent to support a great product.  Elhiem tell me the range is due soon.  I am hoping they are released in 2020 but once they release I am certain to grab them although I currently have enough painted Panzer Lehr to fulfill a basic force for multiple rulesets.  

Cost wise Elhiem are terrific value for money and postage from the UK to Australia is very reasonable and almost cheaper than buying locally.  

Elhiem currently has about 7 sculpts available for the Panzer Lehr.  I am hoping Elhiem will produce a full range that will rival Wartime's range.  The 7 sculpts I have are really nice and are very well proportioned.  I am confident that Elhiem will produce the "go to" range for 20mm Panzer Lehr and will be the best sculpts out there.

A preview of what is to come from Elhiem Figures.

Miniature Comparison

As stated, Adler and Elhiem go really well together whilst Wartime is slightly smaller.  Again I will stress at this scale it doesn't matter too much.  If this is an issue I would recommend people go with Wartime until we see what Elhiem releases and I am confident the release will be worth the wait. 

Comparison of 20mm Panzer Lehr Miniatures Left to Right - Wartime aka Simon's Soldiers, Adler, Elhiem

Elhiem are the largest but are a really nice match with Adler and gives you lots of variety

Conclusion

Unlike 28mm, we are rather spoiled for choice in 20mm for the Panzer Lehr and it is only going to get better with Elhiem replacing their range.  Let's hope that Adler expands on theirs.  Each manufacturer has their merits and I can highly recommend them all.  You can have a very unique and aesthetically pleasing Panzer Lehr force in 20mm by simply mixing the ranges.