The_Beast's [LONG] and Rambling return to the list...

Frits Kuijlman let the cat out of the bag by saying:
***
Yup, thanks, I already got this address from Douglas Evans.
***

Course, that was back on the twelth. At that point I was barely able to
sit
up long enough to read the incoming mail, not to speak of replying. I
couldn't let an opportunity pass to tout the inestimable Mr. Granvold's
work, though.

While I'm certain many may have been delighted, I was in agony not being
able to make a comment or two along the way.

Now, back at work, slightly uncomfortable in the saddle, I'd like to
catch
up slightly.

Starting from the last to the first,

***
Can you guys point me to some more manufacturers of 15mm Sci Fi
infantry?
***

I'll have to go with Allan on the fact you get a pretty darn good
selection
with the already mentioned, but, in the US, Stan Johansen also does 15mm
space stuff. I won't comment on the sculpting, but I've dealt with Stan,
and he's certainly a stand up guy.

http://www.polomania.com/stan/

I also see Laserburn figs as posted as OOP, but didn't someone here
claim
rumors of their demise were exaggerated? ;->=

***
Great.	Does anybody want to start the 'Ground Zero Games -- Great
Plains Convention'?  (8-)
***

Well, I made it to NukeCon, but didn't schedule a game as I was
planning;
only game I did host was my Aliens-in-a-box. I'm still thinking Magecon
works well as a location; I doubt that trying to make a special con will
work for the mid-USA. Otherwise, yes, GenCon is an obvious way to go,
but
I'll be finding Indianapolis as a bit of a stretch.

Dean, aren't the Magecons about equidistant 'tween us? ;->=

***
Has anyone looked at the Official Battlefleet Gothic Magazine? While I'm
much more impressed with the 'scratchbuilt' Tyranid ships (it's why I
bought up old Epic40K big T's), I did think the new Hive ship bore a
striking resemblance to the transport bug from Star Ship Troopers, the
TV
series.

The rest leave me to yawn.

***What's next...
I'm the airless-head that's been saying it needs to be BDS, for sure. As
far as what's after that, let me float one idea: FTIII that includes
fleet
lists.

***
'When the Lord made this system, he used two scales...'
***

Maybe three, if you look at estimates that the Oort extends maybe a
third
of the way to the closest neighbor star.

***
And to a native German speaker, 'New Swabian League' sounds plain wrong,
as
the Swabians are a rather small part of Germany, and I see no way a
union
of Germans, Austrians, etc. could be named after them. Rather like
calling
the NAC the 'New Yorkshire Confederacy'.
***

This actually seems less 'weird' than you might think. While I'm not all
that familiar with the original League, I gather that it was a quite
vigorous confederation of independent city/states. I can imagine, in a
distant future, when the EU is in great turmoil (yes, I know it's hard
to
imagine greater sometimes ;->= ), that a 'return to a golden age' may be
attempted in forming a new nation.

While there may be a few in Germany with a longing for Imperial times,
and
more than a few in both our countries longing for the dark answers of
the
mid-thirties thru forties, (I suffer great shame in admitting Gary
'Gerhard' Lauck was a fellow Lincoln, NE, resident) can't you see a
nascient expansionist group holding the Swabian League up as a powerful
ideal? That, perhaps after a long and careful PR/educational campaign,
in a
moment of crisis, such an ideal might take hold and grow?

No weirder than the US being run by the UK, rather than the Japanese or
Indians. ;->=

Now, if you will forgive me a couple of personal asides: KR and Beth, I
ran
into a couple of snags, but will be contacting you each shortly.

The_Beast

-Douglas J. Evans, curmudgeon

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