Secret Satan is going soft

I've been a lucky guy over the last couple of years, with some good stuff coming in for Secret Satan, although last year's inclusion of Modern Art hurt pretty bad.

So this year I was worried that Satan might come to collect.

As this seemed to have passed the Saudi customs check, I deemed it safe to open in the presence of children, but still I proceeded carefully.

Satan message was a further indication that he had in fact no bad intentions at all, and so it was revealed...

Six games which indeed put the trash back into Ameritrash! Two of them were picked up by the kids to try as soon as we have the time, ie the game with the piglets (I need to find the rules, but it is a fairly common game, so that should not be a problem) and collision. Bumping cars is always good!

I remember it was fun to play Red November, so that's a great choice too! Mag Blast, the Island of Dr Necraux and Scarab Lords should also be entertaining if not great games.

So thanks Satan!

Review: Napoleon 1814: The Defence of France

Napoleon 1814: The Defence of France by Andrew Uffindell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars







View all my reviews

Review: Wisselend lot in een woelige tijd; van Hogendorp, Krayenhoff, Chasse en Kanssens, generaals in Bataafs-Franse dienst

Wisselend lot in een woelige tijd; van Hogendorp, Krayenhoff, Chasse en Kanssens, generaals in Bataafs-Franse dienst by Leo Turksma

My rating: 3 of 5 stars







View all my reviews

Are wargamers driving 3D printing innovation?

Interestingly, there was a Dutch report out recently suggesting that 54% of Dutch people having order 3D prints, had ordered toys of which it was remarked that there is a high share of figurines among them. That would suggest wargamers are a driving force behind the industry.

Two sample monsters at Shapeways stand for Dutch Design Week

Now while I know a few people who have ordered bit from Dutch 3D printing company Shapeways, I'm not quite convinced that this would be enough to drive an industry. Of course direct sales to consumers is still a small industry (some stuff I've seen suggests that industrial or artisanal prototyping is a major source of 3D prints) and the biggest category is art (75% of people have ordered art works). This means that the process is still so expensive that people will only use it for high added value products. Now some toys may be in that area, but wargaming miniatures probably not, especially as the quality of 3D printing is not up to the standard of metal and plastics yet.

There's an interesting post by Andrew Rae of Khorosho Productions about digital design of miniatures. Andrew also uses digital printing for replacement parts. He explains why digital printing is still an art.

Samples from two different printers, taken from Andrew's blog

So what's the future for 3D printing and wargames? My guess:

In the coming few years we will go from the stage where it is only used by a few designers to one where we will see the first commercial releases, with a wide variety of quality. Some new entries (3D print only) will provide low quality miniatures and some established companies will use it for promotional purposes, riding the hype.

My reasoning behind this is that for new entries there is no cost of switching technique and process from sculpting, molding and casting to direct digital, which is holding back the many small manufacturers that have invested heavily in acquiring those skills. Also, the new entries will be amateurs not worrying too much about profitability. And I mean that as even less than many part time manufacturers presently.

Another cool monster from Shapeways

In a following phase, starting within the next decade, some of the low quality producers will improve their technique and find viable business models. I won't be surprised if this leads to one or two of them cornering a large part of the market and becoming major players later. Some established companies will switch (in stages or in one big step) to 3D print.

It will take two decades, I think, for 3D printing to overtake the present forms of production. This will have to do as much with current designers and companies dying out and wear on molds as with companies switching. It will not disappear completely. But once you need to replace a mold, it might be cheaper at some point to just scan the master miniatures.

A wind driven contraption

Of course there will also grow a community of people making copies of models by other companies. These will be lower quality but cheaper. Piracy will be an interesting development, especially if it is hard to monitor. In that case it might actually drive down prices. That development will be very much driven by the moment where 3D scanning/copying will become mainstream.

But in the meantime, will there be designers making money by giving workshops on 3D design and printing? Will there really be a move to companies just providing designs to be printed at home? That would expand the market even more than the internet has done, because shipping costs will disappear. On the other hand, how do you prevent piracy by individuals or local shops? It also depends on the time it will take 3D printing to really compete on cost with mass plastics production.

On the other hand, with the expansion of DTP and lowering of print costs you had a similar situation for boardgames in the 1990s. This has made it much easier to self publish. That is probably the reason that the boardgame industry has so many small, marginal self publishers hoping that one day they make it big. That may also happen in miniatures, although digital designing requires a level of practice and experience comparable to sculpting.

Followers: 50 reasons to be a happy blogger #6

Lets start off with one of my most loyal followers:

From the days I could still do some graphic stuff

Michiel Schwartzenberg. The world's #1 expert on the Recovery of Allied Prisoners of War and Internees (RAPWI) and would have been follower #1 if he could be arsed to find out how to set up a google account. Travelling companion to Ieper, Colchester, London, Munster, Muiden, Brussels, Grevelingen, St Winnoxbergen etc etc.  Chum extraordinaire


#46 Sofie Vandersmissen of Sofie's Paint blog. Very skilled painter and modeler! Depressingly so for talentless me. Mostly fantasy.

#47 Mario Morrhaye of Miniaturen Maken Met Mario. Not surprisingly, as skilled at painting and modeling as Sofie. Mainly fantasy mini's, but Mario has taken on historical miniatures recently.

#48 Paul Hedges of Paul´s Bods. Because following me on networkedblogs is not enough!

#49 JKM . Because following me on networkedblogs is not enough! So see here

#50 and latest addition: Monty Luhmann aka Twin Cities Gamer. An uncharacteristically disciplined painter, with no lead mountain to speak of!

ps I try to do my best to provide correct background info on my followers, but I sometimes make mistakes. If I have made a mistake in your bio, please let me know (eg in the comments) and I´ll fix it.

Working class hero

I probably would never have known about this book had Jerry not asked me to buy it for him so he could save on the postage.

Johnny Peters was a working class lad growing up in a tough neighbourhood of Liverpool when the war broke out. Volunteering for the Border regiment in 1941, he became part of the Airlanding Brigade. This led him almost to Sicily as his glider crashed in North Africa. He eventually reached Italy by ship. The trips to Arnhem and Norway were almost as eventful but at least he made it there. This account makes it clear that there were a lot of crashes, aborted flights and scares in the airborne forces. Useful to realise also that Peters only had two short stints of combat (two weeks in mainland Italy and 9 days at Arnhem) in four years of service.

What struck me is that Peters' life was pretty grim in many respects, which makes the hardships of war stand out less. That tough attitude was carried into the army and Peters doesn't polish away his fights with Italians and Canadians and running in with the military hierarchy. It is interesting to see how soldiers managed to scrape a bit of extra income from selling surplus stores and by collecting watches and camera's from POWs.

Similarly, Peters had an eye for the world around him. From his encounters with North African shoe shiners to the shaving of Norwegian women who had fraternised with German soldiers.

One anecdote that stands out for me is how Johnny's father (a veteran of WWI) always refused to wear a poppy because the Veteran's Legion had refused to grant him the money to buy shoes for his son.  So although this book may not teach you much about combat operations, it's an occasionally captivating read, showing that our grandparents lives were much more exceptional than we sometimes realise.

The question is why they mostly hid it from us.

Taken Prisoner By Cossacks

The adventures of Albrecht Nicolaas van Aerssen in Russia provide a nice insight into the less glorious part of Napoleonic warfare that is often glanced over. Albrecht is an ambitious Dutch officer in the army of the French emperor that marches into Russia in the summer of 1812. As winter comes the Russian army counterattacks and Albrecht is wounded in battle and later captured by Cossacks.

From that moment he enters a continuous struggle for survival. He needs to relocate frequently in search of better places to let his wound heal. After a few weeks he receives a regular subsistence fee from the Russian government, which does make things easier. In small groups he moves on, but it´s tough going where everybody has to think of himself in the end, just like the monks and civilians where he finds shelter.

The book is especially interesting because between the lines it portrays a society in which nobles and bourgeois from different countries (even enemies) have more in common with each other than with their poorer compatriots. There is an occasional sense of embarrassment as Albrecht spews his views on the ugly Russian serfs and the practices of Jewish traders where he is quartered. On the other hand he is treated with full honours by the Russian gentry and officers. Of course the rank and file of the French army are not treated as well, but that doesn´t seem to bother him.

This insight has been preserved for us through the notes that Van Aerssen made in captivity. Their sudden ending and the questions that leaves us is part of the charm. Some of those questions are answered by the author, his greatgrandson, who provides a broad introduction. That is helpful, because Albrecht wrote his notes for his family, who of course knew the background already.

All in all a nice and appealing book that gives a human face to a conflict involving more than a million Europeans.

All Along the Watchtower

Late Roman guests from Germania Superior
before the watchtower

On Sunday, a local reenactment group had a walk in to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the reconstruction of a Roman watchtower of the ancient fortress of Fectio.

The priest making an offering to the gods to attract
their benevolence on the watchtower

This fortress was part of the Roman limes that ran along the Oude Rijn (which ends up in the North Sea at Katwijk and leaves the Netherlands to the east of Nijmegen).

Various types of armour in the smithy

One thing I had never seen before (not being an expert on ancient warfare) was a late Roman throwing dart, called plumbata, with a similar function as the pilum but a bit more practical.

A demonstration of the plumbata.  
The kids had a great time bombarding these guys

I brought my girlfriend and the kids, and the reenactors were very kind and forthcoming. They were happy to explain and show how things worked and let the kids hold the stuff. A great way to get people involved.

Some formations were shown

The watchtower stands next to the 19th century fortress Vechten, and shows the continuity of military geography.

Plug A Friend Day

A slight digression as my friend Donald had his first thriller published last Friday.  I read a manuscript of an earlier attempt a few years ago which was actually pretty good. Supported by one of the most famous and prolific Dutch thriller writers, Tomas Ross, I have high hopes for him.

The title Versleuteld means encrypted, and handles about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Just a subject to get me excited!

A Posh Neighbourhood

Apart from the stone commemorating the crash of Régis Deleuze the area around Houten is thick with castles that trace back to medieval times. The marshy area north of the Kromme Rijn was drained and turned into polder in the 12th and 13th centuries, soon followed by keeps of local lords.

The medieval keep of castle Sterkenburg
with 19th century additions

Like many of the remaining castles, Sterkenburg (ca 1200) now has been converted to a hotel/B&B. Apparently it was up for sale earlier this year for slightly less than 10 million euros (a bargain I'm sure). They do tours in the weekends. Tempting!

Castle Weerdensteyn with the moat and entry gate

But the real prize was the discovery of Castle Weerdensteyn, built around 1300 and hidden within a wood so it cannot be seen from any road. By chance we hit the path that passes it. The top of the keep is reasonably intact, but the base has been reworked in the late 19th century. Apparently it has been refurbished again recently and is still inhabited. Just shows that it pays not to stick to the beaten path.

Castle Lunenburg

Another reasonably well preserved keep, castle Lunenburg. Bombed in WWII because German vehicles had been spotted near it.

There are dozens more in the area so I'll be keeping my eyes open. With the fortifications of the Oude Hollandsche Waterlinie also in the neighbourhood and the remnants of the Roman limes, which lay at the Kromme Rijn, this is an interesting place.