Liebster Awards to the Deathworlds

So apparently I have been nominated for not one but two Liebster Awards. Of course I am very honoured by this, but at the same time it has really taken some consideration for me about how to deal with this thing.

Right now I am in a period of my life which is not really the easiest for me and as such last month was the first one where I did not follow the rules of my blog: To post at least once every month.

This blog really should be about all my adventures with miniatures and I have been trying to keep it that way so far. Occationally I have been complaining a bit about my computer, my life or whatever, but I think I have managed to keep things mostly on track.

But since the first part of this Liebster Award thing is about telling 11 truths about yourself I guess I will open up and let you guys in on a bit more than just my miniatures. But I will still try to keep things somehow related.

Firstly I want to mention who nominated me though:

Stone Cold Lead - A blog I have been following for some time, it contains some really awesome painted miniatures!

Phreedh's Miniature Stuff - Another awesome miniatures blog I have been following and I have been trading old lead with this guy on several occations too.

11 Truths:

1. My worst enemy is myself. I am scizophenic and as such I have periods of chaos in my life. I normally cope with everything quite well, but at times it might keep me from focusing and can be one of the things holding me back from completing projects for my blog and similar.
2. Recently I got really tired of Microsoft and most other commercial software companies. So when I got a new (used) computer I chose to go the Linux way and only use free and non commercial software. I have to re-learn a lot of stuff, but I like it so far.
3. I live in a very small town, away from everything. I live in a rented house with my wife, our two cats and two guinea pigs. It is quiet and nice, but can make it hard to socialise with other likeminded miniature gamers.
4. Besides miniatures my main interest is music. I have been playing death/black metal since the early 90's and besides my bands I also run a small record label dedicated to releasing cassette tapes of the most obscure underground music.
5. I am a collector at heart and I have been collecting all sorts of things as long as I can remember. A lot of my life is dedicated around collecting, sorting and optimizing my things. Among those things I collect there is miniatures (of course), music on vinyl, tapes and CDs, action figures, books, movies, Cthulhu statues, comic books and probably a lot more. But I use the stuff I collect, so my comics are being read, my vinyls are being played and my miniatures are being painted and gamed with.
6. My record collection is catagorized alphabetical by band name/artist name and chronological by release date. I try to have great order in most of my collections, but have a hard time finding room for it all.
7. Things in my past keeps haunting me. I have a tendency to analyse my past life a lot and waste a lot of time wondering what could have been done different or how my life could have been different if things had been done in other ways. This helps me in no way and at times really hinder me from doing any progress in life. I am aware of it and still can't seem to change my way of thinking.
8. I drink coffee, water and beer.
9. I don't trust the government or the media and I believe in many conspiracy theories. I think it is a shame that the term conspiracy theory is mainly ridiculed by the public and I consider it a problem that people in general don't acknowledge that the world is becoming a global police state, taking away the freedom of us all.
10. On the brighter side I do have trust in most people and believe in helping my fellow humans (and animals) as long as it is being appreciated and I don't feel like I am taken advantage of.
11. I like to travel and experience concerts, miniature conventions and such, but I really hate the planning process.

So this got a bit personal after all, but I think it is nothing people around me wouldn't know already.

And then I can get onto the second part of the Liebster Award process. Answering the questions given by the nominator.


11 Questions from Stone Cold Lead:

1. Do you have a model or group of models that hold a particular sentimental value to you, and if so why is that? I think I have a lot really. Some that spring to my mind right now is my Epic Space Marines, this game was the first one I really played and enjoyed. Besides that I have stuff like really old Grenadier models which my friends and I bought for random Roleplaying Games as kids and some of the things I have fond memories of gaming with during the years.
    
2. If you could have your likeness sculpted in miniature what type of model would you choose? 
   Maybe a Fantasy Dwarf. I have been having a beard in one way or the other for most of my adult life and even though I much prefer Sci-Fi gaming I just think I would fit better as a Fantasy character type. I don't know why.
    
3. What video game would you most like to see a range of miniatures based upon? 
   I don't play many video games at all, so it is kind of a hard question. Maybe Fallout, since I have been enjoying those games in the past and I have also been playing a lot of Post Apocalypse miniature games over the years.
    
4. Would you like to see Games Workshop go under and disappear from the industry completely? 
   Not at all. I don't support them in any way anymore, but I think it would be a loss for the general miniature community. I would like if they changed some of their buisness methods though.
    
5. Do you have a guilty pleasure when it comes to miniatures? A particular model or range that kind of sucks but you love it anyway. 
   I think I feel that way with a lot of old and OOP models. I can't really mention anything in perticular, since most of the stuff I like is also liked by at least some other people in the community. Most of the time old-school charm is much more important to me than anatomical correct sculpting and such.
    
6. Slotta bases, love 'em or hate 'em? 
   I wouldn't go as far as to say that I love slotta bases, but I do prefer them for most miniatures. I like bases, but I use all sorts of different bases for different projects.
   
   My Sci-Fi is mostly based on round slotta bases, my Fantasy stuff is based on hex slotta bases for skirmish and my Dwarf army is based on square slotta bases for Warhammer Fantasy gaming (at some point).
   
   My Colonial and Victorian Sci-Fi stuff has for now been based on washers, but I am switching to lasercut MDF bases at the moment.
   
   Other stuff like my Warmachine and Hordes armies and my Ion Age miniatures are based on the lipped bases.
    
7. What was the most disappointing miniature or game you've ever purchased? 
   I don't know. I guess I bought many strange things over the years. Some of the most disappointing things has been less important because of bargain prices and such. But maybe the most disappointing was the time I bought Genestealer supplement for Space Hulk and only got home and found out I also needed the Deathwing supplement, which I didn't have at that time.
    
8. Have you ever seriously considered selling off all your models and games and just packing the whole hobby in? 
   No, but at times in my life I have left it all behind. leaving my gaming stuff packed away at my parents house while doing other things in life. But each time I eventually get back to doing something with miniatures.
    
9. Will zombies ever lose their appeal amongst painters and gamers? 
   I hope so. I don't perticulary like them at all. I think it is fine for a Dungeon Crawl or for a dedicated Modern Zombie game, but sometimes it seems that all miniature lines are doing zombie versions of their models, what a waste of resource.
    
10. What's the best bargain you've got off Ebay (miniatures/gaming related)? 
    I got a lot of bargains over the years, especialy since I bought many old miniatures early on before Ebay really got expensive. Some stuff I got was my first 10 Hunter-Slayers at just above £1 for the lot or the Rogue Trader Dark Elf Trooper at a few £.
     
11. Gem or opaque dice? 
    I like both.

11 Questions from Phreedh's Miniature Stuff:

1. Which currently unfinished piece (model or terrain) in your collection have remained a work in progress the longest? 
   Probably the very first miniature I painted. It is a Metal Magic Fighter and I never finished him, but considering that I now keep him as he is for sentimental reasons I guess he is no longer a work in progress. So of active projects which are work in progress... I have no idea, I have tons of such miniatures from years back and eventually some gets cancelled and stripped, sold off or similar, while others will be finished at some point.
    
2. What’s your biggest, most guilty of musical pleasures? 
   I really have a very broad taste of music. But considering that I mostly listen to Metal and Rock i would probably say t.A.T.u., I really like their brand of depressive pop music and especialy the Russian languaged versions of their albums.
    
3. What do you cook for a friend or date in an effort to really wow them? 
   No idea, I guess it depends on who they are and whatever else is planned for the occation. I can cook, but when I am with other people it is rarely the main thing for the event.
    
4. Presented with the choice of three large cookies or five small cookies, what would be your choice and why? The total mass of cookie is identical, as are the cookies. 
   I would take 5 small. Then I would be able to share it more easily or have a cookie more times.
    
5. If you were allowed to use only one web-forum for the rest of your life, which forum would that be and why? 
   Hard choice, but I would have to say Lead Adventure Forum. I like the diversity of projects allowed and I think that there would be room for all of my future miniature related projects. The people are also very friendly there.
    
6. Do you really expect to be able to paint all that stuff in your lifetime? 
   No, not at all, but the more miniatures I have the bigger chance there is that I will have something usefull for whatever project I suddenly feel like doing. Also a great leadpile will help me keep busy for years if I won't be able to buy new stuff in the future.
    
7. What’s your favourite go-to board game for a spot of recreational gaming fun with non-gamer friends? 
   I really like many board games. Most board games I play are stuff I remember from I was a kid. I think my favourite to play with non-gamer friends is a game called Myretuen. Apparently it is originally called Formica. It is a game using square plastic pieces with ants on them and each piece have a magnet inside, so you go around the board trying to catch the other ants with your magnets. When ants are caught you can drag them home to your ant nest and build a Queen from jigsaw pieces on the back of the ants. The winner is the one who first makes a Queen. It is easy and fun and can be enjoyed by kids and grown ups alike.
    
8. Do you have an irreplaceable pot of paint that you dread the day it runs out? 
   Yes, my ancient pot of Citadel Shining Gold. No alternatives is the same. The Coat D'Arms version is completely different and all newer Citadel or GW versions are different. But I have my eyes on some Foundry paints I need to try out and see if they match.
    
9. Pets? 
   Yes, my wife and I have two cats and two guinea pigs. I love animals and they give me many hours of joy in my life.
    
10. In 10 years time, what do you expect or hope being up to hobby-wise? 
    Same as I am doing now I guess. If I should change anything I would probably want to be a little more active in gaming and have more order in my gaming room, that is all.
     
11. Which currently available miniatures range is your favourite? 
    Can I only chose one? I don't really know, I love them all. Maybe Alternative Armies Ion Age range. It has so many awesome models and the only thing I don't like about it is how they don't size up with most of my other Rogue Trader/Sci-Fi stuff.

So to round this off I have chosen to go about it all a bit lame maybe, but I won't be nominating any other blogs and as such it ends here for me. That said, it is not because I don't like the idea of spreading the award and making people aware of awesome blogs, I just don't feel like getting more into this now.

If you want to see some of the blogs I follow I have a list on my right side panel and I plan to add more blogs to the list in the near future.

To anyone who follows my blog, and have been interested enough to read through this wall of text, I promise to have some pictures of miniatures very soon again.

Thanks.