Welcome aboard!

Welcome aboard to The Miniatures Man, about whom I wrote back on Dec. 7.

So make Joakim Ström welcome, everyone. I greatly appreciate his time and attention, just as I enjoy reading his most excellent blog. Hope you enjoy your time here, sir.

Welcoming Wednesday

This week we welcome aboard two new followers:

First is Blaxkleric, who himself is the author of more blogs than one can shake a stick at.

• The Brown Bag, "An English Comic Collector Blog," which does exactly what it says on the tin.
• Fantorical, "The Fantasy-Historical Miniature Painting Guide," the one from which I primarily know Blaxkleric.
• 10 Years and Counting Down, "The 10mm Miniature Painting Blog," appears to have lain fallow for about a year.
• The Analog Hobbies Painting Challenge, which logs this and past year's painting challenges. Well worth the visit.
• Mooretoons, "Comic Capers Within a Universe of Mystery, Horror, Alien Invasions and Super-Heroes." Ummm, nothing I can say will explain Blaxkleric's original webcomic. It's a "you-had-to-be-there" kind of experience. And I mean that in a good way. The format of toon plus an explanitory/expanding block of text works a treat here.

So everyone make Blaxkleric feel welcome.

Next is Gordon Richards, who has made quite a splash with his new blog,  I have wrought my simple plan...

He promises a predominance of content for IHMN, already gracing us with his Nautilus crew. I'm definitely a fan and look forward to his upcoming entries.

Let's welcome Gordon, me hearties!

OK, that's enough cheering. Back to the boards, everyone, and I'll see you across the table soon.

Welcome, Wednesday!

We have a new public follower aboard. Welcome Nimrod, whom I am sure is a mighty hunter before The Lord (my readers did know I studied for the ministry at one point, right?), and who writes the excellent blog

Слишком много ножей, which Google translate tells me means "Too Many Knives."  Give the blog a visit -- we stomp much of the same ground, so I dare say you'll enjoy it. 

Now back to the boards everyone, and I'll see you across the table soon. 

Welcome aboard!

Welcome to The Lord of Excess, author of the blog The Excessive Gamer, as a follower. He's currently doing the 40th anniversary D&D blog hop, as well as detailing the construction of a lizardman army for Warhammer Fantasy. Looking at his previous posts and his disclaimer, it appears he also covers Privateer Press, Fantasy Flight, Reaper products, Song of Blades and Heroes, and many others. Lots of ground you can cover in a blog that's been running since 2009!

Fred Jackson also joins us, who describes himself on G+ as a "gamer who has lost his way." Welcome, Fred. We don't know where we're going, but we're making great time!

And our third addition here goes by Brummielad1975, the force behind the Chronicles of Tantalus. His 28mm work includes come great recreations of film and TV characters, a special favorite of mine. His work really shows of Crooked Dice and Hasslefree's sculpts in a great light.

Welcome aboard all! Great to have you here.

Now back to the boards, everyone, and I'll see you across the table soon.

Belated welcome

Those who followed the comments on my last post may have seen that the vagaries of blogger made me miss welcoming another new follower.

And in this case, I did this grave disservice to Robert Arduin, author of one of my favorite blogs, Fiends in Waistcoats. I follow many blogs, but there are several that bring a big smile to my face when I see new posts from them. "Fiends in Waistcoats" is definitely one of those. Robert intersperses excellent game content for steampunk and VSF games with well-written, informative pieces about historical and literary features of London and the Victorian era.

So welcome aboard, Robert. It is truly an honor to have you here.

Welcome aboard!

Today we welcome Dawfydd aboard as a new follower and member of our jolly band of miscreants.

Blogger is playing silly buggers with a lot of data, but I see that Dawfydd follows many of the same other blogs that I do but doesn't maintain a blog of his own. Again, at least as far as I can tell. If I'm wrong and there's a blog of yours out there you'd like me to mention, Dawfydd, please contact me and I'll rectify the situation.

So welcome aboard!

Welcome aboard as I crunch the numbers

We welcome to our merry band of miscreants Ana Polanscak, author of the blogs Carrion & Hodgepodge and Gardens of Hecate. Carrion & Hodgepodge is an excellent Malifaux blog. Gardens of Hecate brings to life the monstrosities of medieval metaphysics through excellent conversion work. Just the exemplary artwork is worth the price of admission.

Ana is, as far as I now, also our first follower in Croatia. So again I say, welcome aboard!

I want you all to know the radio silence here has been because I have been hunched over books and staring at screens as I crunch numbers to bring to life the figures I have only brought you in prose so far. The stats are almost ready for the Army of the Abandoned and Miss Rossum and her Retinue. I will also shortly introduce you to the experimental engineers of Stronginthearm Industrial Machinery and Armaments, my company for the Victorian Scrunts that Bob Olley is releasing in February.

Welcome

Today we welcome Бородин Николай, 
which the Internet translates into Borodin Nicholas in English. Hope you enjoy everything you find here.

Welcome aboard!

We've got some new crewmates this week.

Up first is Michael Awdry, author of the very fine blog 28mm Victorian Warfare. Given that subject matter, you know I'm a big fan.

Next is Mr. Marx of Bloggity-blog-blog. Mr. Marx covers a variety of scales and subject matter, but there's a preponderance of VSF among his archives that make it worth a comb-through if you've never visited.

Kasper has been piped aboard. I know Kasper mostly from his Zombicide! blog, but that is far from his only port of call in the blogosphere. He also maintains the following: Skavenblight, World of Tanks and Planes and  Warmaster, as well as two non-wargaming hobby blogs, The Fishtank, and GeocachingDanes.

Grigork has also come aboard. Grigork writes the blog The Megalomaniac (Mwahaha). You've got to love a blog that comes with its own sound effect in the title. It's an especially great blog for those of us who aren't in the UK and want to see what's going on at all the great wargaming shows.

Thanks again, everyone. I've got a lot more slated for this week, as soon as I can clear some other things off my plate.

Welcome aboard! and the Age of Personal Miracles

I am so excited to announce these two new followers. At first I wasn't going to wait until my usual "Welcoming Wednesday" post, but I decided to stay disciplined about it, then I ended up a little under the weather and missed Wednesday itself by a few hours. Damn.

First we have Obsidian3D, author of the blog "Thinking Outside the Box" and master of the Obsidian Fists space marine chapter. This blog as been rolling on and going from strength to strength since 2006. Quality content keeps the readers coming back, and that's the secret to longevity over at "Thinking Outside the Box." This blog covers topics outside gaming, too, including computer topics so rarefied I have no idea what's going on, although I always learn something. Welcome aboard, Obsidian3D!

And now, drumroll please ... we welcome none other than Francis Lee, the Angry Lurker himself! Francis is a member of Posties Rejects and frequently posts about the activities of (and personalities in) that wargaming club. The Angry Lurker blog is another with great longevity, and I am always informed and entertained by the writing there. I try not to get too starstruck in this field, but as gaming bloggers go, the Angry Lurker is tops in my book and I'm truly honored to have him visit my little corner of the interwebz.

Speaking of being starstruck, may I truly say we live in an age of miracles. This technology and the advent of social media have made things happen for me I never would've believed possible. To be in such close contact with the creators of the games I enjoy, the writers of blogs I follow religiously, the sculptors behind the minis I crave and can't get enough of, the authors of novels that have shaped my own writing, and the artists who have executed such awe-inspiring paint jobs that my jaw just drops ... it is part the boon of the technology, but it is also great testimony to the generosity of spirit and warm-heartedness of those who make this hobby great.

Here are some of the things that still leave me gobsmacked:

• I count among my closest friends Hendybadger and The Galley Wench of "Tales of a Tabletop Skirmisher." In fact, although I'm an ocean away, I am Coleen's Official Stalker™.
• When I asked to piggyback on someone's Crocodile Games kickstarter buy so I could get one figure, it was Liliana Troy who offered to help. I've admired the elegant and color-rich work of this legendary painter and Slayer-weapon winner for a long time.
• I couldn't remember a reference work that was mentioned in an interview I read with Tim Powers, James Blaylock and K.W. Jeter, the godfathers of steampunk. Hell, Jeter coined the term. I sent him an email asking if he might know what I was referring to, not really expecting to hear back since authors of his stature are busy people, they have legions of fans and he doesn't know me from Adam's housecat. I got a response from the author of "Infernal Devices" and "Morlock Night" in under two hours.
• Craig Cartmell, co-author of "In Her Majesty's Name," has been highly complimentary about the fiction I've posted here. 
• I am currently engaged in a Facebook poke war with wappellious, winner of Crystal Brush and Golden Demon awards aplenty. James truly goes the extra mile in the how-to articles on his informative and educational (and beautiful) blog.
• And most of all, the outpouring of love and support we've received from you, my readers and colleagues, as I've shared things about my own struggle with hoarding and depression and my wife's continuing battle with her spinal condition and chronic pain. You have buoyed our spirits, dried our tears, fueled our fires and inspired us both to continue fighting the good fight. All you people are amazing, and I am more grateful than I will ever find adequate words to say.

There are more and others, but these are the ones I can find in my head and my heart most easily tonight.

Damn but you people are fantastic.

Welcoming Wednesday

Today we welcome Sean, who maintains his own blog at Sean's Wargames Corner. I love the blog's subtitle: "Rum, bloggery and the lash!"

We also welcome Iron Mammoth to our ranks. David Drage runs Iron Mammoth Studio and has recently launched a(nother) blog that is relevant to my interests. Steampunk Miniatures Review will undoubtedly, as it grows, contain more and more invaluable information shared by this figure designer and sculptor. Welcome, sir. It's an honor.

Welcoming Wednesday (on Friday!)

I missed Welcome Wednesday this week because of a combination of illness and a power outage. A tree fell by our apartment during a bad storm and ripped down the power lines, which are being restored today.

So my apologies for this belated entry. But a warm "Dispatches" welcome nonetheless to two new followers of the blog:

• The first is Counterfett, scribe of more blogs than I've had hot dinners. They include the blog I know him from, All Things Fett, the adorable and festive 364 Days of Santa, and a bevy of duplicate Halo blogs: The Halo Guide, Halo Inc., Cortana's Corner, Halo Toys, The Master Chief Blog, Halo Releases, ONI Alpha Site, Halo 4 Toys, Halo News, The Halo Zone, Halo Toy Previews, The Halo Toy Blog and Halo Info Zone.
• Jonathan Clements is the newest reader to join the site. Blogger won't show me if Jonathan maintains a blog himself, but the list of blogs he's joined overlaps with my own a great deal. Jonathan, if you see this and I've missed out a blog of yours, leave me a comment and I'll be happy to correct the post.

So welcome aboard, you two, and thank you for your time and attention. I hope all is well with all my readers. Happy gaming!

Welcoming Wednesday!

Welcome aboard, JP! He maintains blogs at Herefordshire 1938 and  A Very British Civil War Miniatures Guide. According to his blogger profile, JP, or jp1885 as he is also known, is an "occasional wargamer, figure painter and amateur writer."

Thanks for joining in, JP. We look forward to many fine adventures in the future (and in the past, and in the alternate past)!

Welcoming Wednesday

New followers to welcome! So exciting, a little bit like Christmas. Although I don't get followers at Christmas. I guess Jesus does. Whatever.

Joining us are the following:

Joe Kushner of Appendix N
Ian "Hendybadger" Henderson of Tales of a Tabletop Skirmisher
PMMDJ of Metal Skirmish

I also have it on good authority that mathyoo of 28 Millimeters Later is a reader, based on our delightful conversations on Facebook, but he's having browser trouble that hasn't allowed him to sign up as a follower, for some reason. So welcome mathyoo as well!

EDIT: OK, I see mathyoo listed now. He got bumped to another page, and maybe I needed to have him as a G+ friend for him to show up. Not the smoothest of integrations across all apps, Google.

I'm going to welcome new followers each Wednesday, because I think the alliteration of "Welcoming Wednesday" will help me to remember to do it, plus, like a toddler, I need structure.

Thanks to ALL my readers, whether you sign on as a follower or not! (Although I wish you would ...) Happy Wednesday!

A heartfelt and personal thank you to all my followers

I've never done a proper welcoming post to thank those of you who've honored my by joining my blog. Thank you and a belated "Welcome aboard!" to all of you. I never thought this blog would have 24 such distinguished followers, much less 5,000+ page views in its first six months of existence. Since you've done me a solid, I'd like to return the favor. In the list below of my blog's followers, I've listed YOUR blogs, that is, if I can discover them from your blogger profile or through my weak web fu.

• adam of Miniatures, Painting and Hobbies
• Bringer of Death
• Brummie of Brummie's Wargaming Blog
• Chronowraith of Chronowraith's Corner
• clint of Anything but a One and 28 Dice Later
• commisarmoody of Moody's Adventures
• dannydiddle of diddle's world and (the currently empty) The Monkey Lives
• Doctor Warlock of Keelhauling for Fun and Profit, The Illustrated London News, Pulp City Planet, The Realm of Dungeons & Dragons and (the currently empty) Not Another Wargames Blog. 
• elquintodestino of el quinto destino blogzine. I guess this is actually blogger member homerleonidas, but I'm not sure. I also don't speak Spanish, sadly.
• laughingferret of Laughing Ferret Lab
• Mecha Ace of G3 and The Hangar Bay
• Minitrol of Strange news from under there
• Mr. Lee of Mr. Lee's Painting Emporium (I think)
• myincubliss of Dead Lead Project
• pench
• Shelldrake of Shelldrake's Wargaming Blog, Shelldrake's Soapbox and Shelldrake's Zombie Wargame Blog
• shintokamikaze of Shinto Kamikaze's Zed Men Walking
• spankyhojek of The Haunting of Portsmouth and Geek in the basement
• styx of Strange Aeons Adventures, Dice of Legends, Suncoast Skirmishers and Army of the Week
• The Secret DM of The Secret DM
• Vampifan of Vampifan's World of the Undead
• watchtower78 of The Armchair General and Aliens vs Hillbillies
• Weird WWII of Weird WWII
• Xander of Xander's Wargaming Musings
• Zabadak of Zabadak's ZombieWorld
• and my loving wife, Tracey Sheets

If I've missed your blog out, I apologize. Please comment below or drop me an email and I'll get you added in. Likewise if I've credited you with work not yours, please also let me know and I'll correct the listing.

From here on out, it'll be acknowledgement as people join. Again, thanks for your support in this venture and best wishes for 2013.