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Miniature & Modeling Hobby Tools – More Essentials

Hobby Tradecraft, News and Info, Tabletop Gaming Comments Off

May 092014

The last couple of posts here have been about not spending absurd amounts of money on your basic tools for assembling and finishing miniatures and model kits. If you read “How To Save $100 On Hobby Tools” then you’ll recall that I mentioned I’d recommend some other tools beyond the basics that you’ll probably want to add to your hobbying tool box with some of the money you’ve saved. Today we’ll take a look at a few items that I think are good choices for expanding your hobby tool set.

The following items are things that I use on a regular basis and are the tools I’ve come to rely on after a couple of decades of building miniatures and models. While there are a couple of essentials, you probably don’t need to run out and buy all of this stuff at once. I’ll offer up some suggestions and provide links to where you can purchase those items, usually on Amazon for convenience sake and because lots of items there ship free or free with an Amazon Prime membership.

Self Healing Cutting Mat

This particular item is pretty much your first additional must have. It’ll keep your work area from getting damaged by your tools, paint and glue. This is especially important if your work area happens to be your wifes (or moms) dining room table. Get a self healing cutting mat and get the largest one you can reasonably use (and afford) for the space you’re usually working in. Measure! I use an 18” X 24” mat which generally gives me a lot of room. I also have a small one that’s about 6” X “10” or so that I can throw in a bag if I’m putting together a little travel tool kit for a demo or a group build at my local FLGS.

Set yourself up with a cutting mat – particularly if your work area is the dining room table!

Let There Be Light

The next item you’re going to want is a good light over your work space. These days Ott Lights seem to be all the rage but I personally don’t care for them other than the fact that they’re compact and somewhat portable. I use a pair of swing arm desk lamps with daylight bulbs that I got from Ikea a few years ago, unfortunately those are no longer available so I can’t recommend the exact ones I have. If you have an Ikea nearby, it’s worth braving the crowds there to check out their selection of desk and office lighting as they have a large variety of stuff. (It’s also a great place to find a workbench/desk and shelving or display cases for your hobby/game room.) Another lamp that is very popular with miniature painters is the LSF 150 but these also seem to be somewhat scarce. A friend of mine uses this Daylight Triple Bright Lamp and has been very satisfied with it. It’s available at Amazon but it’s a bit pricey. It does however, ship for free.

The Daylight Triple Bright Swing Arm Lamp

Another alternative is a lamp with a built-in magnifier. These are pretty easy to find and Harbor Freight Tools even carries one. These come in both fluorescent and LED styles. If you buy fluorescent, you’ll want to replace the supplied bulb with a daylight bulb. Unfortunately I can’t speak much on whether or not the LED lamps are a good fit for this kind of work as I don’t own one and haven’t worked with one either. Whatever you decide, I recommend getting a lamp with a long swing arm that clamps to the edge of your desk if possible. This will give you a lot of freedom to position the lamp head where you need it and can save valuable real estate on your workspace, particularly if it’s a small area to begin with.

One last tip, check your local Staples/Office Depot type office supply store, they typically have a good assortment of lamps that you can check out before you order one online. You may also get lucky and find a sale/markdown item that’s just right!

Typical swing arm Fluorescent Lamp with desk clamp – Make sure you get a daylight bulb for this.

A Clear View

This next item is optional and also somewhat dependent on you and your lighting choice and work situation. If you’re an older gamer/hobbyist you’ve probably noticed that those tiny details are probably getting a bit harder to see. I find myself getting a lot more squinty these days so I’ve had to look for some solutions. I was using a set of cheapo drugstore magnifiers/reading glasses and then stumbled across the Donegan OptiVISOR. This is a magnifying visor with an adjustable headband that you can wear over your prescription glasses if need be. The lenses are replaceable and you can buy several different sizes of magnification. These take a little getting used to but once you have them fitted correctly you hardly notice they are there and the visor part moves independently of the headband so they can be flipped up out of the way if necessary.

Donegan OptiiVISOR with replaceable lenses

There’s also an accessory for the OptiVISOR that I really like. It’s an LED light kit that attaches to the lens plate and has 6 bright white LEDs that really throw some spot illumination on your subject for those times you need to see some up close detail. This accessory comes with everything you need to mount it and it only takes about 5 minutes to install. It’s powered by double A batteries which are easily replaceable. Once you’ve installed this you don’t notice that it’s even there, until you need it. This gives you portable light when and where you need it and can easily be throw into a travel tool kit if you need to.

The OptiVISOR LED Light Attachment

Razor Saw

Another tool I like to have around is a Precision Razor Saw. Some of the tasks you’ll use this for will be cutting parts off of thick resin sprues, cutting molded bases off of miniatures or customizing and kitbashing models. These aren’t too expensive and if you purchased a knife set with a large handle you can just buy these X-Acto blades separately. If you’re going to be sawing wood or plastic for terrain construction or kitbashing, consider adding a mini miter box to go with your saw.

X-Acto Razor Saw Set

Motoring Along

You may be considering adding a Dremel type tool to your kit and I think that can be a handy tool. Keep in mind that those things run at high speeds and can quickly damage what you’re working on or get away from you. For that reason I really like the Dremel MiniMite. The MiniMite is a cordless version of the Dremel that fits well in your hand and runs at a slower speed, making it easier to control. It’s also portable and rechargeable. It accepts all of the usual Dremel rotary tool accessories as far as I’m aware. The best part? It’s only about twenty five bucks on Amazon and ships for free.

Dremel 7300- N8 MiniMite Cordless Rotary Tool

If you think you’d like a larger, more powerful, yet still portable tool, check out the Dremel 7700 Cordless Moto Tool. The Dremel 7700 does cost about twice as much as the MiniMite though. You’ll want to accessorize your Dremel with some attachments so check out a couple of the accessory kits, I have this 160 Piece Dremel Accessory Set which covers pretty much any eventuality.

This Dremel 160 piece accessory set probably covers every task you’re going to want to do with a moto tool

Hold On!

Sometimes you wish you had a third – or fourth – hand. There are a couple of tools you can get that are almost like having some extra hands around to help you out. The first one is some small spring clamps. I have some similar to these Wolfcraft Hobby Clamps that I picked up a long time ago. My only complaint with the set I have that they are a bit stronger than I’d like and they’re all exactly the same size and shape. This Wolfcraft set actually includes some different styles of clamp and looks a little more suited to what we’re doing. I’ve ordered a set and will post my thoughts on them after I’ve had a chance to work with them some.

The Wolfcraft Hobby Clamp Set comes with a variety of different style clamps that will come in handy

The next item is also a clamp but it’s a larger, different style of clamp that you may need if you’re making terrain or assembling some of the larger model kits like tanks, flyers, or laser cut buildings. This is a sliding bar clamp that comes in a mini size with a maximum four inch jaw opening. It’s just the right size for a lot of larger hobby projects without being ungainly and taking up your whole desk. These are available at Amazon in a two pack but hold the phone – Harbor Freight carries these for a mere two bucks apiece and you can buy them indiviually. I’ve looked around the ‘net and I haven’t found anywhere cheaper than these. Worth a stop by your local Harbor Freight if you have one nearby.

Micro Bar Clamps – these are great for holding larger models or terrain projects together while gluing and assembling

The last “third hand” type item I’m going to recommend is a little hobby vise with a set of wide jaws. This is the PanaVise Model 201 Junior and it has a nice solid base, fine controls for adjusting the vise jaws and it tilts and pans every which-way. You can also get a couple of different attachable bases for this vise. There’s a wider base that has little parts trays around the circumference and there’s also a vacuum base version of the PanaVise Junior that’ll keep the vise from sliding around on your desk/work surface.

The PanaVise Junior Miniature Vise

The Brush Off

Last but definitely not least, you should probably pick up a couple of small brushes for clean up. These are handy for cleaning up your needle files if they get jammed up with the shavings from cleaning and smoothing model parts. I have a three piece mini wire brush set like this one. It includes a nylon, brass and steel brush. I’ll be honest with you, the steel brush is usually overkill for most hobby projects so I don’t use it much but the brass and nylon brushes have really become essential tools for cleaning other tools and miniatures.

This Mini Brush Set is great for those little cleanup jobs

There are probably a few other items that I could mention but these items are among the most frequently used in my experience. I think the two key items in this list are the cutting mat and good lighting. You’ll probably want to start with those and then add the other items as you need them. As always, if you’d like to add a helpful tip or observation, feel free to do so down below in the comment section or find me on Twitter @HolyCrapItsLate. Next time we’ll take a look at the stuff that holds things all together, glue!

How To Save $100 On Hobby Tools

Hobby Tradecraft, News and Info, Tabletop Gaming 1 Response »

May 022014

Last week we took a look at Pin Vises and I talked about how to get a complete miniature pinning kit for around $25 instead of throwing money away on an overpriced Games Workshop Drill Set. I mentioned in that post that there were some other approaches to getting yourself a complete set of hobby tools that don’t require you to shell out $150 for Games Workshop/Citadel branded stuff.

Now don’t get me wrong here, I’m not a “GW Hater”. To the contrary, I’ve been playing GW games for 20+ years and I really enjoy the worlds they’ve created, warts and all. My issue is that hobby gaming is already a fairly expensive pastime that has a way of sneakily “nickel and diming” you into spending more than you think you will when you start out. It seems crazy to me to blow the insane amount of cash on tools that GW tries to convince new miniature hobbyists that they should spend. GW gets away with this because people coming into the hobby sometimes don’t know any better.

The Games Workshop tool set that you don’t need to blow $150 on

A Word About Methods and Tools

This article is based on my experiences building miniatures and models over a couple of decades. I’m not claiming that my way is the only way, just showing you how I do things. One of the best things about this hobby is the community and how folks are willing to share their techniques and tricks of the trade and I sincerely hope you find something useful here. I welcome your input and observations so feel free to add anything you think is helpful down below in the comment section.

Before we get started, a quick word about tools. I’m not a tool snob, nor am I a frugal gamer (can anyone in this hobby really be considered frugal?). Since this article is about getting the most bang for your gaming buck I will be recommending some fairly inexpensive items. A few of them will be from Harbor Freight Tools. Some folks think anything from Harbor Freight is junk and to be fair, if I was a contractor or a mechanic I probably wouldn’t rely on some of the stuff they sell. However for the purposes of what we’re doing Harbor Freight Tools is a great place to shop for hobby tools. For convenience, I’ll also link to similar items that are available on Amazon.

The Basic Tools Every Beginner Needs

To get started you’re going to need a few basic items like a knife set, some files, and a sprue cutter. These items are your core tools and what you will rely on most of the time.

This is an X-Acto X2000 Comfort Grip Knife with a #11 Blade and it’s less than $6

For knives it’s pretty straightforward, you’ll need a basic X-Acto style handle and some number 11 blades. Games Workshop sells one of these that also includes 5 replacement blades for $25 and to be quite blunt, that’s outrageous. If you’re shopping for a hobby knife you can either buy just a knife and some blades for around $10 or you could go with one of these Xacto Basic Knife Sets that’s got not one but three different handles and a variety of extra blades. The Amazon price for this is $16.29. Harbor Freight carries a 33 Piece Deluxe Hobby Knife Set that’s usually priced at $15.99 but is currently on sale for 13.99. The Harbor Freight set also includes some useful additional items like tweezers, a scratch awl, calipers and some tiny screwdrivers. You can also find the Harbor Freight set on Amazon here.

The Gordon 33 Piece Deluxe Hobby Knife Set with Carrying Case and a slew of extras. Available at Harbor Freight Tools and Amazon

One last knife set I want to mention is this Mastergrip Craft & Hobby Knife Set. I mentioned this via my Twitter account last week and Costco has had these for quite awhile. It now looks like they’re no longer available at Costco.com and are on clearance at the warehouses. This set was $20 and at my local warehouse it is now on clearance for $13. Twitter friend @D3FFDR3AD found the same set at his local Costco for 10 bucks! These probably won’t be available at Costco for much longer but it’s worth a look at your local store if you happen to be a member.

Next up, you’ll need a set of cutters to clip all of those parts away from their sprues. Once again, Games Workshop has a set on offer for the astronomical price of $30. But they’re “precision made from stainless steel and have bypass micro-shear blades”…right. They’re angle cutters and you can get some for under $10. In fact unless you’re set on a name brand tool you can get a set of these for way under $10. Check these Hakko CHP-170 Micro Clean Cutters available on Amazon for $4.37! These will do the job and have the right angle to get at those tiny parts cleanly. Over at Harbor Freight you can get these Micro Flush Cutters for three bucks, I’ve seen these on sale there for $2 bucks on occasion and I don’t think you can beat that price anywhere.

Hakko CHP-170 Micro Clean Cutters

Update 5/7/14: It’s been suggested to me by more than one reader that I mention these Xuron 170-II Micro-Shear Flush Cutters as these are widely available in lots of hobby and game shops and are a popular choice among hobbyists. At the gamer friendly price of only $7.68 they are also another great deal in comparison to the Citadel Cutters.

Xuron Micro Shear 170-II Flush Cutters

Lastly as far as basic tools go, you’ll need some files for mold line removal and prepping parts where they join together. Games Workshop is happy to empty out the rest of your wallet to the tune of $18 for a pair of needle files, but these files were probably blessed by the Emperor or something so you know, premium pricing. OR…you could get a set of these non-consecrated needle files that come in a pouch and have handles, and did I mention this is a ten piece set? It’s $7 on Amazon. That’s 10 files in various shapes with plasti-dipped soft grip handles. Harbor Freight also has some needle file sets (probably imported from the Eye of Chaos, but whatever) that are dirt cheap. There’s a set without handles that’s $3.49 and a set with plastic handles for $4. Both of these also come in a handy vinyl pouch.

The SE 10 Piece Needle File Set

The Extra Bits

For completeness, there are a few other tools that you should eventually get but they aren’t strictly necessary for beginners. First up is the Mouldline Scraper – once again GW has one of these, and it’s $17. This tool is strictly optional and to be honest, you don’t need it. It does the same thing your file set does and if you bought one of those knife sets I mentioned above that come with multiple handles and blades you can designate one of those as your mouldline scraper. Personally I use the back of a knife for most of these tasks. If you absolutely have to have a tool like this then I recommend this Squadron Products Seam Scraper. It’s 10 bucks which still feels a little pricey to me, your mileage may vary.

Squadron Products Seam Scraper

The next thing you’re going eventually need is a pin vise/drill. I wrote a post on that subject that goes into great detail bout how you can put together a complete kit for pinning models together for less than the cost of the stupidly priced Citadel Drill so I won’t repeat all of that here. For our purposes, this is the pin vise I use and it’s $8 from Amazon. It doesn’t come with drill bits but see my other post for some recommendations. Surprisingly, this is one of the few things for the hobbyist that Harbor Freight does not offer.

This is the pin vise I use, it costs $8 at Amazon

Our final comparison item is the Sculpting Tool Set. This is really optional and you probably wont need this as a person just starting out in the hobby. I do like to use the spreader for basing materials sometimes so it does have uses other than sculpting. Harbor Freight has one listed for $6 and it includes 6 different tools. It’s the 6 Piece Stainless Steel Carving Set and it has a nice variety of shapes and sizes. It’s really a much better value than the Games Workshop Sculpting Tool Set which has two tools and will set you back a ridiculous $25. You can also find this 12 piece sculpting set on Amazon for around $9 – check the various options here, some are free ship and some are free for Prime members but they’re all right around $9.

SE 12 Piece Sculpting Tool Set

And The Winner Is…YOU!

So we’re at the part where we sum up how much our tool set costs us and compare it to what Games Workshop has on offer. Since I offered up some different options I’ve sort of averaged the cost here a bit, rounding up to give a little room for price fluctuations (keep in mind that prices on Amazon change daily, sometimes even more frequently). Lets take a look:

Knife Set – $16
Sprue Cutters – $5
File Set – $5
Mouldline/Seam Scraper $0 or around $10 (Completely optional and you can get by without one of these)
Pin Vise – $8 (You’ll need to add some drill bits but see my other article first)
Sculpting Tool Set $8

Total = Around $40 – lets say $50 if you throw in a micro drill bit set instead of building the complete pinning kit.

I just saved $100 on hobby tools in 15 minutes!

That means you’ve just saved a whopping $100 for your tool set compared to what Games Workshop has on offer. Sure, you didn’t get that nifty cloth roll up to carry your tools around in but I’m betting you have something around the house that will work or you can hit your local sporting goods store and find something there for about five bucks. You might even consider checking out etsy to see if someone there can make you the custom roll-up tool pouch of your dreams.

Saving that $100 means you have more money for actual miniatures and models, or you could expand your tool set with some other useful tools. In my next post I’ll show you some other items that I think are good to have in your hobby tool box. As always, feel free to ask questions and/or leave constructive feedback below in the comments section.

Get A Complete Pinning Kit For Less Than The $26 Citadel Drill

Hobby Tradecraft, News and Info, Tabletop Gaming 1 Response »

Apr 242014

There’s been a lot of discussion recently about the newly released Citadel Tool set, particularly the cost of this set. While I’ve seen some reasoned attempts to justify what Games Workshop is charging for their hobby tools I think that the price for this set as well as the individual tools is, quite frankly, absurd. I’m not going to address every item here (I may do that separately in an upcoming article) but I was looking at what I personally use for “hobbying” and thought it would be helpful to share some of the things I use with you. Today we’ll take a look at the the Citadel Drill/Pin Vise and I’ll show you how to beat Games Workshop at their own game and come out way ahead in the process.

Is That Thing Made of Gold?

The Citadel Drill set may contain actual gold…

The Citdadel Drill costs $26 and includes the pin vise and 6 drill bits. It’s a nice looking pin vise and it comes in a nice box I guess, but damn, $26? For that same $26 you can put together a complete pinning kit that includes a Pin Vise, Drill Bits, an abundance of Brass Rod in two useful sizes and a set of full size wire cutters for trimming the brass rod so you don’t screw up your sprue cutters.

Assembling Your Pinning Kit

A pin vise will cost you about $7 – $8 depending on where you source it. I have a couple different ones but this is the one I use most. I like the round wooden handle because it feels more comfortable in my hand. I’ve seen these with both the ball type handle and a more mushroom shaped handle, both are about the same price.

This is the pin vise I use, it costs $8 at Amazon

This particular Pin Vise is currently available on Amazon for $7.95 with free Shipping.

Drill Bits and Brass Rod

You can go a couple of different ways here. What I mean by that is that you can get a set like this one that has an assortment of micro sized drill bits that will potentially give you a lot of flexibility – but in my experience you’re going to end up using the same two or three drill bits for about 95% of your hobbying. The other route is to just build a pinning kit with two sizes of drill bit for two different sizes of brass rod. This is what I’ve done and here is what I’m recommending based on my own experiences.

I use two different sizes of brass rod for pinning, both of which I source from K&S Precision Metals. K&S makes metal rod and tubing for modelers and the model train hobby and they have a wide variety of sizes and types of metals. You can usually find this stuff in big hobby shops or model train specialty shops. According to the K&S website you can find them at Hobby Lobby, Dick Blick, Utrecht and more. Your Friendly Local Game Store may also be able to get it for you via their distributor depending on who they use.

The first size I use is .81mm (.032”) Product Code KS1602 – this is a five pack of 12 inch long pieces & you can get this for around $2, slightly less online but you’ll have to pay shipping. For this size brass rod I use #66 drill bits which are .033” – a bit larger than the brass rod so you’re not jamming it into the hole you’ve drilled (and gouging your thumb in the process). You can pick these up from your hobby shop or online and they’re a couple bucks each in a two pack. You can also get a package of 6 or 12 drill bits for under $10 on ebay or Amazon. I mention this because eventually they will wear out or break and it’s worth having spares on hand because it sucks when you have to stop in the middle of a project because you’re short that one critical tool or item.

Brass Rod .81mm K&S #1602

The other size brass rod I use is .51mm (.020”) Product Code KS1596 – again a 5 pack of 12 inch long pieces for around $2. These are paired with #75 .53mm drill bits, another couple bucks each for a pair or you can currently get a 10 pack on Amazon for $3.80 w/free shipping from the same vendor as the wood handled pin vise mentioned previously.

Brass Rod .51mm K&S #1596

Last but not least I recommend a full size set of offset cutters (wire cutters) so you’re not tempted to use your sprue cutters and ruin the edge on those. You can get one of these at Harbor Freight Tool supply for $5, it’s item #66277. If you don’t have a Harbor Freight locally, you can order one – they ship everything FedEx Ground for $6.95 and there are some other items you can get from them that you’ll find very useful and inexpensive. I’ll have another post up in a few days with a list of useful items from Harbor Freight Tools.

8″ Diagonal Offset Cutter – Harbor Freight Item #66277

To sum up, your cost for this complete pinning kit is:

Pin Vise 7.95
#75 Drill Bits $3.89
#66 Drill Bits about $4
Brass Rod .51mm & .81mm about $4 (5 feet of each size, that’s going to last you awhile)
Full Size Wire Cutters $5

Total: $25 – that’s just a bit cheaper than the Citadel Drill and you end up with a complete pinning set up instead of just a drill and 6 drill bits.

For those of you interested in getting a micro drill bit set as an optional add on, those are also fairly inexpensive and while this one isn’t the exact one I have it’s very similar – 20 drill bits for eight bucks and it ships free if you’re an Amazon Prime member.

As you can see, there’s no reason to shell out twenty six bucks for a pin vise. If you only need a pin vise you can get one for a lot less. If you’re just starting out and you don’t have any of this stuff then your $26 will get you a complete set up that will meet all of your model pinning needs for a long time.

Have something to add or a helpful bit of advice? Feel free to drop some knowledge down below in the comment section!

Me and Wil Wheaton Want You to Play Board Games

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Mar 152013

Mention playing a board game and someone in the group usually says they’d rather walk over hot coals than endure what they remember as an exercise in aggravating, mind numbing futility. This is almost always because the only board game experiences that you probably remember are those tortuous marathons of frustration that were provided to you in your youth by games like Candy Land and Sorry.

Let us not forget the game that ruined tabletop gaming for more people than any other – Monopoly. Has anyone ever actually finished a game of Monopoly? Sure, you’ve quit to avoid descending into the depths of some sort of horrific Lovecraftian insanity but that’s not the really the same thing as playing to completion now, is it?

Today’s board games are not your fathers board games

I have good news friends. Board games are back and they are awesome! To be quite honest, it’s never been as good as it is now. We’ve entered a sort of “golden age of gaming” over the last few years. Your geek friends have known about this and been quietly enjoying it. Now, as Geek Culture teeters on the precipice of mainstream it’s literally becoming “a thing”.

The Wheaton, champion of tabletop gaming

Enter Wil Wheaton the de facto Lord of the Geeks and champion of tabletop gaming. Last year Wheaton teamed up with the creator of Geek & Sundry, Felicia Day, to launch a YouTube show appropriately titled Tabletop. Each show is about 30 minutes long and usually features a different game that is played by Wheaton and three friends – who just happen to be internet or television celebs with at least a small geek streak. The shows start with Wheaton explaining the basics of the featured game, then focus on the game play and interaction. At the end of the show, the winners are awarded a temporary trophy with their names on a piece of masking tape. It’s an entertaining look at what tabletop gaming can be and I highly recommend you check it out.

Wil Wheaton, Felicia Day, and friends getting their board game on

This show has been wildly popular and interestingly lead to a partnership between Geek & Sundry and Target. Games featured on the show were also featured in Target stores and highlighted with G & S stickers on the packaging to help consumers remember which games had been featured. The best part of this was that games that were formerly very low visibility outside of geek culture suddenly got a big boost and lots of exposure, bringing even more people into the scene.

Unlike those games you’ve had for years that are probably collecting dust in the back of some dark closet, boardgames today have a lot more to offer than the games you remember. They tend to be heavily themed, much more creative and have high quality art and components. The fact is that now more than ever there is a huge variety of boardgames for players of all interests and skill levels. Want some light gaming as a warm up to other events or games that are accessible to players of any skill level? How about Get Bit! (Amazon Link)? Want something new gamer friendly but with a little deeper strategy? Try The Settlers of Catan (Amazon Link)
Something than you can play with your kids that won’t make them feel rotten because they’re not as competitive? Try a cooperative game like Forbidden Island (Amazon Link).

Let’s not forget that games are also good for you. Games provide a lot more than just an hour or two of entertainment. Games help you learn, they exercise your cognitive and problem solving skills. For young kids they can help with counting, shape and color recognition. They can teach how to behave when you’re in a losing position. They teach you how to work with others to achieve a common goal. If you’re playing games with your spouse against other people they can help you learn teamwork skills.

Workout your gamer muscle!

Games are fundamentally social and teach you how to interact with other people in face to face situations. Playing games will inevitably lead to learning things you didn’t know about the people you are gaming with. Playing games with your kids is a great way to spend time together and teach them some valuable skills at the same time without it being an overt “let me tell you something” moment.

Where can you find these games? First, ask your friends. The obvious choice here would be that geeky person you work with or know through some other association but the fact is that games aren’t just for geeks anymore and it’s probably flying just under your radar so ask around. Next up, find out if there’s a “Friendly Local Game Store” in the area. There probably is and this will likely be the place where you can browse a selection of games that you won’t typically find in a department store. You’ll also be able to ask the staff and other players for advice and opinions. The people that frequent game stores tend to be pretty friendly and enthusiastic about games and will likely be happy to talk to you or possibly even let you sit in on a game. Another benefit to the FLGS is that some of them will have an extensive game library and play space where you can try games out before you buy them.

If neither of those are working for you, try Meetup.com. Meetup is a website where people organize to, you guessed it…meet up to do all sorts of activities. It’s likely that you’ll find either a gaming group or some other social group that has an occasional game night. In my area there are a couple of groups that meet for Role Playing Games, a weekly board games Meetup and a social club Meetup with hundreds of members that holds a monthly board game night at different venues.

International Tabletop Day!

Lastly, remember Geek & Sundry and Wil Wheaton? They’ve got big plans for board gaming and they’re kicking it all off this month with “International Tabletop Day” on Saturday March 30th. This event is all about meeting people, making new friends and playing games. It is taking place worldwide and there are tons of places holding events. At last count there were over 2000 registered events in multiple countries. Chances are there is something at a public venue reasonably close to you or a smaller event being held by friends. You can get all of the details here and it includes maps and event details. This would be a great way for you to break in to board games. Take the time to check it out and see if there are events in your area!

It really is the golden age of gaming and I can’t think of a better time for you to get involved, learn about some new games and have some great experiences. In the coming weeks I’ll be bringing you more information about games via news and reviews so check back and see what’s going on. In the meantime, play more games!

Images: One Two Three Four Five

Welcome to Holy Crap It’s Late!

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Mar 072013

Come on in!

Welcome to Holy Crap It’s Late!

First a little about me: I’m a “seasoned” geek who’s been playing computer games since I walked into the computer lab at school and saw Star Trek on a Commodore Pet computer. (Yeah, that was a long time ago!) Prior to that I’d started playing tabletop games after I stumbled across a slightly beat up and mysterious looking boxed set of Dungeons & Dragons. I should note that when I say tabletop, I’m sweeping a large variety of games into that category. This includes board games, bookcase war games like the old SPI and Avalon Hill games, miniature war games (Warhammer 40K, Battletech, historical and otherwise), collectible card & miniature games and RPGs of all sorts.

I have never lost my love of games and I am (sometimes overly) enthusiastic and evangelistic about games and gaming. I love the entertainment and distraction that games give us from our everyday routines and I really enjoy the social aspect of gaming. I have on occasion, driven Mrs. HolyCrapIt’sLate and my kids a little crazy with requests to try out a new game or play test an idea before I spring it on friends at the next game night (and I consider myself very fortunate to have a family who are patient, as well as bemused when it comes to my geekyness).

I’m currently playing the MMORPG Star Wars The Old Republic. I am also a Staff Writer/Columnist for the SWTOR fan site TORWars.com and occasionally contribute to other websites. As a rule I’m generally a fairly casual MMO’er and in addition to SWTOR, I’m dabbling in The Secret World and occasionally drop in to Guild Wars 2 to see what’s going on. I may start playing some Sim City in the next few days, time permitting. In addition to gaming I’m a beer and home brewing enthusiast and I like to cook (and eat). I find that both of these activities are also highly social and enjoyable in a “the more the merrier” way. I usually brew with friends and I definitely love to cook with (and for) people that I enjoy spending time with.

My goal is to bring you 2 to 4 posts a week, about gaming, beer and food (with an emphasis on game night snacks). You’ll see a sprinkling of other things that I like thrown in from time to time as well. Look for reviews, user guides, commentary and the occasional rant. You may also see the occasional guest post (and if you’re interested in contributing an article to HCIL please DO let me know). I hope you enjoy it and find something of value here.

Oh, and why Holy Crap It’s Late? It’s a reference to those game nights where you’re having such a great experience that that you lose track of time and when you finally come up for a breather it’s waaaaay later than you thought it was.

I’d love to hear from you or learn about things that you like as well. Comments and discussion are always welcome, all I ask that you keep things civil.

Contact Me:

I can be reached via my Twitter account @HolyCrapItsLate
or
You can email me at: holycrapitslate -AT- gmail.com

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