Thursday, October 20, 2011

Mine's Bigger Than Brent's

Dethtron and Brent's little "war" got me motivated to do something I really haven't done here- show pics of my place. So, in the spirit of a good, healthy competition, let's do this!

Quoting Dethtron here: 

Well clap if you believe in Project Mayhem, because I’m throwing down the gauntlet. Brent thinks he’s got the disease, well it’s time to prove he’s still standing on the tip of the iceberg; still one straw short of a camel fracture. So, beloved space monkeys- if you’ve got a ridiculous collection/game room of your own let the world know. Post your own blog entry under the title “Mine’s Bigger than Brent’s” for all the world to see. Then, re-post this challenge to every blog and forum you’re on.

Here it is, folks- a challenge meant for the "big boys", and I am ready to kill 'em. Here's a look at all my stuff. 
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The outside, before we got a sign or any fancy stuff.


We did have fancy door graphics, though. Custom made acrylic transfers, baby.


There's places to play- lots of tables. These are set up for 40K.



This photo is of the early days in this location, before we got WAY more merchandise and so forth.


Here are some samples of our stuff. I swear, this was the day after we opened in this shop, because we have SO MUCH more crap now.


We found out that this shelf-on-a-shelf idea was not a good one. We moved it, don't worry!



 All right, this is from the WAAAAAY back machine, as we had AT-43 in stock still.


Other assorted sundries and such-again, probably from the second or third day at this location.


Wow, we were so proud of this clean, shiny case....


 The view from behind the counter- BEFORE it got messy. It's a wreck now.


The whiteboard is totally awesome. We use it for SO many fun things. It came as a donation from a customer.



So next, some pics of actual GAMERS and GAMING.


The giant windows are a pretty big hindrance in the summer months.


The following pics are from my *verysmall* house. The two larger shelves are *literally* packed from top to bottom full of gaming material. There's about a foot of my scrapbooks, but all the rest is games, books, minis,  notes, etc.

This is another shelf, tucked in the corner. It's actually got a shelf ON the shelf just to hold all the stuff we have.


Menoth, Part the One.


More Menoth.

Tons of paint. The top case on the left is the Vallejo line and the stuff on the right is paints picked up from hobby supply stores. Plus, tools! I love tools. Brushes, washers, clippers, many other goodies. The boxes are full of bits.


 Oops... That tray of models is full of Harlies I am supposed to be painting.


 More foam, waiting to be used.


A random game hiding between the couch and a shelf.



 While I don't have drums tucked away in my gaming closet, I do have to rep some music here.





Back to the store, where there's even MORE stuff. Here's a much more recent picture of the outside. I think I took this in August.


Lots of 40K and way more WarMachine than we need.


GW's greedy- it takes two full shelves, the tops, AND two spinner racks to fully display their stuff.


Our used shelf! Bargains, dudes!



 This is the "Big Red Monster", and it's the home of many board games. That we want to sell to you.


Middle shelf=roleplaying, mostly.


Grey Shelf=more board games.


 Of course, paint and all the stuff that goes with it.


The dragon, the case and the Confrontation models are all on "loan". One of our regulars displays them at our place because... well, it involves a wife- I'll be nice.



This is the second "Big red monster", also lovingly known as "The Gamer Nutrition Center" (inside joke). The setup varies, but it is usually sleeves, card boxes and other "Magic crack" related materials. 


This is my personal hell. It is also one of my proudest and best achievements as a store owner. Inside each box, divided by uncommon or common, are playsets of MtG cards. Each box holds several hundred playsets- and there are more than 50 boxes.

I was instrumental in taking huge piles of 5 slot boxes of random crap and turning them into a well organized system for our customers to find what they want instead of rooting through the dreaded "penny bin". Yes, we charge more- but we have made a killing out of these boxes. Well worth the HUNDREDS of hours put into it.

Also on this shelf is our "50 cent box", which is chock full of rares that don't trade at crazy insane costs. It's sometimes known as the "jank box", but there are a lot of cards in it that are great EDH material, fun to trade, or just interesting. The 50 cent box generates some serious cash, so we keep it stocked.




We recently filled that "gap" with boxes of cards, and added enough boxes to go all the way to the bottom shelf.

Here's our display case now. We pride ourselves on having the best pack choices around- and man, we find (and sell!) some oldies but goodies. Ravnica block, Onslaught, Invasion, Visions, Ice Age, Chronicles (we did an afterdraft with it!)- all kinds of things are in our case.





The blue binder above and the binders below are part of our singles. We divide by price- and stick cards in any order as long as it's starting low and going high. Our customers really seem to like it, and even ask for the "make your wallet cry" binder by name. (That's the red one seen below.)


A rare shot of TheBoy, from behind. He was hard at work, helping his buddy with something or other.


We have a fridge with sodas and snacks, too.


Chips & giant Pixy stix! Also visible is our "demo shelf" with copies of popular games to try before you buy.



Don't think this is a lot of stuff? We rented an entire PODS unit for overflow, random crap, and the assloads of terrain we have. Really, we have a shit ton of terrain. 

Four huge rubbermaid type totes, another Glass case, several random boxes, felt mats, and a ton of stuff I don't even know what it is. Here's some pics: 

 Well, this is an entire terrain table that was donated by one of our customers.



Some terrain.  (And models)



 More terrain.




Plus, more terrain!


And more terrain.

 More terrain.


 Even more terrain.



 Yeah, more terrain.


And, more terrain.



The POD and all the random stuff inside it. 




Don't think we have enough terrain? We have more.


And some of the nicest chairs you'll ever see in a game store. Really.


 Card boxes. Lots of them.


I don't know what this is. Maybe some more terrain?


 Older fixtures, files, light bulbs, other stuff.



This is terrain building material. Once upon a time, we made our own. I think we have plenty, now.


Well, the gauntlet is down- let's see YOURS.  

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

[40K] This Game is Fucking Terrible

Real Quote from The Boy.

He has played before, but usually in Apocolypse games. He enjoyed it then, and laughed and had a great time. No complaints.


He recently played in our local tournament. I asked if he wanted to play, and he said yes in a pretty positive and happy manner. There was no coercion going on - it was totally his choice.

I paid for him to play and loaned him my models. I offered him the choice of Black Templar, Space Wolves or "Vanilla" Marines to field since those were the factions I had a Codex for. He picked Templar and made a list.

I ran errands and did other things at home while he played. A few hours into the day, I got a text stating that he hated 40K, and that the game was awful. He was not having any fun.


What amuses me about this is that he owns an army and used to play. He was a big Tau fanatic (owns the FireWarrior video game) and had a blast and a half with the drones.

After some question and answer, I discovered that he just hates Marines- especially the ones that assault. Poor kid got turn 1 assaulted, and lost 2 entire units within a moment of play beginning. He also had the unfortunate luck of having Abhor The Witch against Grey Knights... NOT good news.


So is he right? Is 40K terrible if you don't like Marines? Are you totally hosed if you are a Xenos loving, tentacle having, Dis-integrator gun wielding fiend?  Please chime in, oh cult of not-Marines, and tell me like it is.

Friday, October 14, 2011

[RPG] Breaking Past Yourself

There's a guy I know at my local store who's pretty quiet. In fact, a much better way to describe him is "mousy"- he's very introverted, super passive and generally unlikely to stand up for himself in any way.

The character he plays is a whole lot like that, too. For the most part, this does't effect the game he's in, but now and then this isn't so great for him or the people he plays with. Recently, something pretty unpleasant happened to his character, and his response was - mild.  He just couldn't bring himself to do something "different" from his normal self, something crazy, foolish or even outraged.


It was very rough for me to witness as a bystander. I was furious and wanted him to "do something". However, that really isn't in his personal character, and he couldn't reach enough past his own makeup to act in line with another personna. 

At first I was very critical of this, and then realized that I am guilty of it too. I was specifically challenged to run a particular type of character recently, and I balked- HARD. I just wasn't comfortable with the things I would need to do in that kind of role, and felt it wasn't a good fit for me. I did move away from the kind of character I traditionally run, but I certainly did not do any real "break away" stuff in designing my new dude. 

If roleplaying is all about being someone else and exploring parts of yourself, these boundaries make it difficult to achieve something greater- and it's doubly hard when you don't know you're limited. I sure didn't- at least not until I looked closely at the situation. 

How do you break out of your own self and into someone else; move beyond your own personal tendencies and into new territory?

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

[40K] Show Me How

I am starting a new project soon, but before I get to it, I want some advice. You know me, I am always willing to give it out, so now I am going to ask for some.

I want a "clean, shiny" look for my next project; but I generally paint in a overwashed, muddy, dirty sort of way.
I personally love the look. I enjoy the over or undersaturated aesthetic a lot, as seen here:


This Maurader is one I personally painted, and is pretty representative of my ability and "groove".

There is also this guy (Mihalis and Back40K, This is for you...)


I really don't like yellow, but this guy is stellar. I love his washed out, grungy look.

So, if your paint style is a little messy,  how do you get results like this?


I'd love to have clean, crisp, sharp lines and colors. I would love to have the colors be "just right", rather than "too much" or "not enough". I have no idea how to do it.

Can any of you show me demos, videos, tutorials or other resources for a CLEAN paint job?

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

[40K] In Your Faces

Come on and tell me what you need
Tell me what is making you bleed
We got two more minutes and
We gonna cut to what you need
So one of six so tell me
One do you want to live
And one of seven tell me
Is it time for your muthafuckin' ass to give
Tell me is it time to get down on your muthafuckin' knees -Lo Fidelity Allstars, Battleflag
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I have a couple friends that have made some noises about playing, but are unsure what army might fit them best. They enjoy some tactics, and "in your face".

They've eliminated a lot of choices, so now it's time to find an army to kick ass (and smash face).


Space Wolves?


Blood Angels?



Grey Knights?



Ultramarines?



Or something else entirely...

weigh in with the awesome!