The End of the Frugal Year(s)

As you may have noticed I haven't been posting on the blog too much recently.  This is, in part, to it's success; I've been playing too many games and getting too many models painted to actually blog about it!

As I don't have as much time to dedicate to the blog as I'd like, I'm going to close it.  What this means is that no new posts will be be added, but the content will still be up for all to view.  I'll also still be out on the streets; gaming, painting, modelling and generally geeking out.

The blog has proved to be very successful and I'm certain that it wouldn't been any good without the fantastic input from Von, Pete and Arabian Knight who all produced great articles and helped make the site very successful.


All the feedback and input I've received from you, the readers, over the years has been invaluable and has really made me part of a wide community.

Since starting the blog, my gaming has increased and my painting has improved in both speed and quality, I've also made some good friends along the way.  I've probably spent a bit more than I planned, but hey, nobody's perfect.

Happy Gaming!

Dave

V for Vondetta

Oi! This is the final week of the HoP Idol contest over at the ol' House of Paincakes: last week I managed to creep over the horizon by the skin of me wossnames and a similar performance this week will spell triumph, readership, modest acclaim and a cessation of interruptions to your regularly scheduled bloggery.

 

VOTE FOR VON

I know, I know, I've been neglecting you.  I've spent the last couple of months actually, y'know, being Frugal.  It's the not having any money that does it.  Most of the hobby I've done has been other people's, for money, although I did find the time for a quick Warmachine tournament and I do have a NEW PROJECT on the go too.  Incidentally, if you happen to have some models that you want painted and can't be bothered with doing yourself, drop me a line here or via GAME OVER and we'll have a chat.  I'm no Marike Reimer, admittedly (she's better looking), but I'm cheap, quick and tabletop quality.

Anyway.

I'm doing a thing, over at the House of Paincakes blog network, sort of a contest thing where the winner gets a weekly series in front of a larger readership than I have ever dreamed of amassing.  Have been for a while now.  Didn't want to talk about it on this blog because Posting About Blogging is something I try not to do.  Content uber alles, and all that.

On the other hand, failure to leverage available resources in a competitive endeavour is the mark of a nebbish who shouldn't have signed up in the first place.  And I do have a credible shot at winning, which was... unexpected.

AND, AND AND AND, if I win, I'll never write a post about 40K.  Everyone bar Loquacious on the ol' HoP does that, as do most of the blogs on the roll, and it's getting boring.  I won't cheat and do Warmahordes either.  Vote for me, and be guaranteed a shot of something different every week - might be WFB, a historical, a Specialist Game, an RPG, a board game, a book review, something that isn't 40K.  A vote for Von is a vote for diversity - and that's not something this straight white able-bodied British bloke ever thought he'd be able to say with a straight face.

So I suppose you should pop over to the International House of Paincakes and vote for me in this week's HoP Idol, so I can say more things like this, this,  this, and this.  No SPESS MAHREENS, ever.  Promise.

The Giant’s Lair

Rejoice, rejoice!   

Good news people, your prayers have been answered and the Gods have finally smiled on the South West of England.  This Saturday will see the grand opening in Plymouth of ‘The Giant’s Lair’ the South West’s Premier Gaming Venue.

From the venue's website: 

Opening 1st of October 2011

The open day allows players and potential players to check out the Lair and to see what all the fuss is about.
Throughout the day we will be running:

• Apocalypse sized 40k madness
• Warhammer monster mash up
• Space Hulk missions on giant 3D board
• Demonstration games of WWII tank battles
• Talisman board game bash
• Tables set up to come and play on
• Raffle where you can win some great prizes
• Membership sign up with the chance to win a massive replica sword!
• Spot prizes on the day
• Food and drink available in our bar and kitchen area 

Come and get involved in the mayhem or just pop by for a coffee.
Open from 0900 onwards.
We can't wait to see you at the Lair.

Having been for a sneaky look around last weekend, I can confirm that it is officially awesome with loads of purpose built gaming tables, a bar and even a working toilet.  If fact, I would give it my seal of approval, if I actually had one.

You can look at some of the photos of the Lair being prepared on the book of faces, and you can find directions here.

 

Anyway, make sure you get down there this Saturday for the grand opening, and make sure you tell them Frugal Dave sent you!

Happy Gaming

The Stylishly Frugal Blogger

Blogging is a terrible job.  All I do is put in a minimal amount of effort in every week or so and I get loads of positive feedback from complete strangers.  I spend an hour or two every week jotting down rubbish and I have people coming up to me and thanking me for writing the blog.  I hate it.

Things got even worse a couple of weeks ago, as I was informed that I'd been given a 'Stylish Blogger Award' not only once, but TWICE!  It's a nightmare.

There's not actually a trophy to go with it.  But if there was...

Apparently the rules of the award mean that I've got to answer a few set questions, link back to the poor deluded individuals who nominated me, and then link to a number of of other blogs that inspire me.  Yes, it's less an award and more a chain letter with flattery, but hey it's a chance to talk about me,  and some of you of course.

1. Thank and link back to the person giving you the award.
Mucho thanks go to Ruaridh at The Ooh Shiny Complex and Tristan at GW Pertinent.  Thank you!

2. Share seven things about yourself. 
Do they all have to be true?  Okay, one of them is made up.

1. I'm a Dad of two lovely children, who I'm currently training to be gamers (I have a number of other children, but they're horrible and not interested in gaming),
2. I'm one of the best wargamers that I know, hardly ever losing games,
3. I have earned the right to wear the Green Beret of Commando forces,
4. I love cycling and often compete in Triathlons (but not as often as I'd like),
5. I live in Plymouth, but I'm originally from Yorkshire (USA readers:  A part of northern England, very similar to ancient Sparta).
6. I've almost completed a degree in Engineering... in my spare time,
7. I'm a proud member of the Cross Swords gaming club.

3. Select 10-15 blogs who you think deserve this award.
10-15?  That's a lot, so I'll just go with the creme de la creme (US readers: That's how people from France say 'Shit hot'):

I must first point to the excellent work undertaken by the contributors to this blog, on their own sites; Game Over by Von, pagan-gerbil.net by Pete and last (but by no means least) the wonderous Wee Blokes by Arabian Knight (US Readers: AK lives in Scotland, and 'Wee Blokes' is Scottish for 'Little Dudes').  Before you check out any of the other geeks I've listed below, make sure you visit these geeks first.

As to the others, a blog I really like is Doctor Merkury's Lab.  I've mentioned this blog before when I built a ruined wall, and I often check back to see what the good doctor has been up to.

If you're a fan of 40k, Epic, Space Marines, Sharks or really rather good cartoons, you should pop over and visit NinjaBread, run by Curis.  Just don't tell him I sent you as it'll go to his head.

Studio Cyberlab has to be seen to be believed, it's just insane.  It features some of the best conversions I've ever seen.

There's some interesting work going on with toys over at Nathan 'Ironworker' Miller's site, gaming related profanity at Dick Move*, and some fortifications being built at The Sharp End of the Brush which are shaping up to be very impressive.

Fortifications being built at The Sharp End of The Brush

And finally, one of the best blogs out there and not in any way gaming related; the New York based cycling blog: Bike Snob.  Fantastically funny.

That's all for now, please visit these other blogs and say hello from me, just make sure you come back.  Okay?

Happy Gaming.


*I've just noticed that 'Dick Move' has been nominated a number of times, his response to the whole idea is much better than mine.  Check it here.

Silent Running

Hello all, as some of you may have heard (via Twitter) I'm moving home this week.  As a result; my internet connection, and therefore blog posts will be intermittent at best.  Hopefully I should be posting again before too long and my brave co-workers (Von, Pete and Arabian Knight) will step up and keep you entertained in my absence.  Until then, stay frugal and...

Happy Gaming!

Ch...ch...ch...changes...

Hello all, as you may have noticed, I've made a little change to the blog.  Instead of being 'yearoffrugalgaming.blogspot.com', we're now at 'ayearoffrugalgaming.com'.  Yeah, that's right, after a couple of years slumming it on blogspot, we're now a proper grown-up website.  Woo hoo!

If you have this page bookmarked, you'll find that you get automatically redirected, and most of the pages should automatically transfer across.  I'm in the process of checking through the site to make sure that there are no broken links or problems, so please bear with us and if you notice any major website malfunctions, drop me a line and let me know.

Dark Eldar Progress

Hello blog fans, a bit of a short post this time as I'm taking Mrs Frugal up to sunny Scotland for the weekend.  For any American readers out there; Scotland is a small island to to the North of Britain, where all the food is filled with deadly bacteria which can only be killed by deep frying any meals.  Scotland (also known as 'Wales' or 'Ireland'), has lots of castles where the population live, only venturing forth to go looking for 'Freedom' which can only be achieved by beating the British team at a game of Soccer.  In 5000 years of Scotlandish history, this has never happened. 

While I'm away I'll leave you all to wonder at the fantistically mediocre paint jobs that I've applied to my old school Dark Eldar.  Remember that these are still works in progress and will look much worse when finished.

Happy Gaming!

Party Time!

Comic taken without even asking from http://nedroid.com/

 Okay, this has got a little bit out of hand.  I'm a gamer yelling at the other gamers to spend less money on gaming and I seem to have accrued a few followers.  As I write this, the blog has 179 followers and there's a distinct possibility that in the next few weeks it could pass 200.  If (I'm too much of a pessimist to say 'when') I do pass the 200 followers mark, I propose that we have some sort of celebration, probably involving me giving some prizes away or whatever, maybe a competition, maybe lots of little prizes? 

My question to you is, what the hell shall we do?  Any ideas?

(Sort of) New and (Slightly) Improved

I have only one ambition in life, and that is to make this the greatest Frugal Gaming, cycling and cat related blog... IN TEH WORLDS!

This week I have put the pedal to the metal on the highway of improvement, revved up the engine of... erm.. making the blog a bit better and started burning rubber, or something.  What this basically means is that I have updated the 'Pages' tabs at the top of the blog to aid navigation around the site.  I've added a 'Categories' tab, with links to all posts on that subject, an 'FAQ' tab which lists lots of questions that in all honesty I've never been asked, and a 'Contact' tab so you can write beautiful electronic mail to me.  Of course, there's also the good old fashioned search box on the right hand side of the page. 

The idea behind this is to help you look around all the content on this site (there's a lot of it) and perhaps find something that interests you hidden away in the archives.

Have a look around, let me know how you get on, and if you have any comments, questions or suggestions, drop me a line!

Happy Gaming

Rubbish Twitpic app...

Hello all, this isn't a proper post.  I'm afraid that the Twitpic app on my phone is playing up so I'm having to post photos here so that I can link to them.  Grr!

Anyway enjoy these mock ups of the snotling pump wagons I'm building...