Simpsons removals | genuine grumpy old tin

All my stuff from Blighty

Well my stuff has arrived from Blighty, courtesy of Simpsons Removals.
NEVER
EVER
EVER
USE
SIMPSONS
!
I paid for a dedicated packing service. What do they say about a fool and his money?
A cutlery drawer just upended into a box. My Wife witnessed this. And again bits from my workshop. Glass jars, hammers and screwdrivers. No attempt at packing or padding.
My Wife has a smashed food processor, and when you are a professional chef it is a nuisance.
I have smashed plastic cases from poor loading. There are nine boxes of toy soldiers and an electric guitar missing.
When I rang to complain I was told that they have been repacked. I requested the paperwork documenting this I was told that Simpsons don’t always tell the client everything that happens at the depot. That makes a nonsense of their advertised inventory system.
Simpsons Removals. Just say, “No!”

This is what a dedicated packing service really means

I have spent the last three months either preparing to move, moving or settling into temporary accommodation. Being a sucker for smooth talking salesmen I succumbed to the charms of an estate agent and a removals company. All I can say is, lying bastards. They promise so much and deliver so little. The couple who bought my house did it on the strength of the tour my two little boys, aged two and four, gave them. The removal company’s “Dedicated packing service” was nothing of the sort. I am so glad I spent time earlier to pack my hobby stuff away.

These three months has given me some pondering and reflecting time whilst spending time in this hobby void. I have four armies that I want to base with some consistency. The first pair, my Perry British Eighth Army and my British Peninsular War Napoleonic army, I wanted a sandy colour. The second pair, a War of the Roses Yorkist Army and my Warhammer Fantasy Battle Albion Army, I wanted a dark “English” looking soil.

A quick aside, if you do have an interest in Warhammer Fantasy Battle, check out Warhammer Battle Reporters. They have some interesting alternative army lists; reviving some old GW lists like Regiments of Renown, some new ones like Halflings and bringing them up to Eighth Edition compatibility.

Two further asides: one is that the Ninth Edition rules are rumoured to be released next summer with the game play becoming more aligned with 40K; and the other is that a small (but growing) group of gamers running “Oldhammer”. Gaming using Third Edition rules and old figures. Have a look at the forum http://forum.oldhammer.org.uk/ there are some lovely old figures on display.

Digression over, I’ll get back to basing. Doing this amount of basing is going to involve several pots of paint. Being the tight bastard that I am I was trying to figure out how to do this cheaply and consistently. The answer presented itself while I was browsing a local DIY store. I went past the paint section and there on a display panel were hundreds of swatches of paint in every shade imaginable. Further enquiries revealed you could get 125ml sample pots for just under a couple of quid. That’s the equivalent of ten GW pots! This sounded ideal for me, so I posted my idea on the Froth Forum and got positive replies from people who had already used this technique. One guy had taken the idea further and painted his entire army using sample pots.

So now I have to: find a house to live in, get my stuff shipped over from blighty and actually finish an army.

No pressure there then?