The Madaxeman.com Podcast

The Painbrush Special, a bonus Podcast from Madaxeman.com

In this special one-off bonus episode released in time for VE Day weekend the regular 6-person crew take a deep and typically discursive dive into the complex world of paintbrush procurement and maintainance, and surprisingly discover that at least some of them* even have valid, educated and informed opinions that are actually worth sharing.

More importantly they all attempt to come to some sort of conclusion to the two key questions of "how much should I spend on a brush, and how many should I own?"

Brush brands discussed and reviewed include : 

• Kolinksy Raphael 
• Windsor & Newton (Series 7)
• Army Painter 
• Cass Art 
• Royal & Langnickel
• The Masters (Brush Soap)
• Broken Toad (Brush Soap)
• Da Vinci Cosmotop 
• Great Art

 

(* That'll be Tamsin then.)

The Lockdown Specials - Part 7

It's another week, and another round of painting-heavy chatter from the podcast team.

This week the topics covered range from a discussion as to whether canned air smells of anything, whether Swiss cheese-hurling Gnomes would have Norman-style nasal guards on their gnome-hats (for combat purposes only), if a cat with a Katana is a credible substitute for a Japanese monk on a tortoise, how airbrushes actually work, horse colours across the known world in the ancient and medieval period, whether Croeseus could have kept the Persian Empire at bay if only he'd known how to cobble together a decent ADLG list, and we try and answer the vexed question of why do Napoleonic Austrian armies take so dammed long to finish given that they should really be 95% done after the first spraying of a white undercoat.

Various bits of this podcast link to things you can see online, including the haul from the Eclectic Painting Weekend, the Lydian ADLG lists, Tamsin's Airbrush Horse Painting on her blog. Andy's Vikings also now appear on the L'Art de la Guerre Facebook Group, but you need to join the group to see them.

If you follow this Podcast also watch out for a special bonus episode later this week in which the usual gang devote a full half-hour to the vexed subject of paintbrushes! 

 

The Lockdown Specials - Part 6

This week the regular crew mark a double-triple podcast milestone (or, more prosaically, this is the 6th Lockdown Podcast) in their ongoing rambling discussion. 

Subjects covered this week in the paint-chat include Chinese Chariotry Umbrellas, whether a reasonably close encounter with a tin of white spray paint counts as "fully painted" when it comes to Austrian Napoleonic infantry, Gnomepoleon's leadership qualities, would Steve McQueen have cleared that fence on a Harley rather than a Triumph, how long the 7 Years War ran for, if double-depth basing has led to the end of monopose units, digital photography techniques for toy soldiers, opportunities for Buddhist monks on tortoises in contemporary tabletop warfare and the vexed question of how many simultaneous painting projects is too many?

There is also a special feature on the Later T'ang Army (ADLG list 169) in which all 6 contributors throw a list on the table for critique and discussion, and the return yet again of Andy's Quiz. 

The T'ang lists we discuss are all published on the ADLG Wiki on the Madaxeman.com website.

The Lockdown Specials - Part 5

With another week of enforced isolation behind them the intrepid band of wargamers astonishingly still appear to have something new to talk about (although Andy is still painting Vikings...). The usual melange of painting, basing and figure selection chatter is augmented this week by ruminations on the efficacy of the postal service, whether soap is a good idea for things other than combating virus transmission, whether German WW2 Paratroopers actively chose not to use multi-barelled rocket launchers because of the challenges of pronunciation, and just how far can a Chinese army be morphed before it becomes socially unacceptable to do so.

This week also sees the one-off appearance of "What's not in the Bag?" in which we all discuss what we did not buy at Salute! at the weekend due to it being postponed to 2021. This one you can play along with at home - the full trader list for Salute! 2020 is avaiable online on the Warlords website

The end result is an episode that stretches dangerously towards the 90 minute mark, but fortunately for fans of niche French urban slo-tempo techno that does mean Andy's Quiz also returns yet again. 

 

The Lockdown Specials - Part 4

The Lockdown Specials - Part 4

Another week, another load of old rubbish as the regulars chat on about their glacial rate of painting, wheel out another obscure quiz and this time attempt also to demostrate just how hard unscripted radio comedy can be in a tribute to non-wargaming legend and all round Goodie Tim Brooke-Taylor.

The usual 6-strong banter machine gets into gear to discuss this weeks painting haul, and then digresses gently towards topics as unusual as those bloody vikings (again), assembling various scales of ancient britons, how 20mm soft plastic manufacturers stack up (in boxes probably..?), the frightening prominence of male nipples under the steely-eyed glare of a cold ink wash, an update on how the Renaissance iteration of L'Art de la Guerre is coming along, if it's ever possible for anyone to be happy with how their Samurai army turned out, whether 6% is an acceptable ABV for a session beer, and - yet again - Andy Finkelkelkelkel's Quiz of the Week which moves this week around the human body from leg-based questions towards the often sticky subject of Great Navel Injuries of History. Or possibly Naval injuries - the sound quality isn't good enough to be entirely sure. 

And, we would dare to bet this will also be the only time you will ever hear a military-themed version of the popular radio quiz game Mornington Crescent. Mainly because we probably won't try to repeat the exercise ...

"I must have laughed maybe twice"

(Leading DBMM player)

 

 

The Lockdown Specials - Part 3

In that "3rd difficult week"  for many podcasts, when good intentions come smashing up against the hard reality of running out of things to actually say, the Madaxeman.com Lockdown Special crew amazingly dodge that particular subject-matter bullet by yet again chuntering on about literally nothing in particular, and also by throwing in a new guest paticipant in the shape of fellow CLWC club-member Tamsin from the  http://wargaminggirl.blogspot.com/ Wargaming Girl blog. 

As well as the usual chunter, dross and fluff this week there is even more coverage of buying and painting Vikings, whether it's acceptable to cheat with WW2 German cammo patterns, just how much effort is too much when it comes to 15mm Samurai, rescue techniques for those all-too-common gold spray paint accidents, the challenges of insuring wargaming figures, whether the film Highlander would work if it was remade to cover the life of an immortal ACW General living in modern day Hoxton, Venexia's rebirth in North West England, if buying a whole 28mm army is justified if in the process you can then avoid wasting a £3 sheet of waterslide decals, and - of course - Andy Finkelkelkelkel's Quiz of the Week, which this time around dares to venture into thematic territory so obscure it would surely frighten even the most battle-hardened Osprey Publishing commissioning editor. 

And we drink some beer. Which is nice.

 

(and... all the stuff we talk about we've bought ourselves - there's no product placement, freebies or paid endorsements in here. But if anyone did want to send anything, please get in touch!)

  

The Lockdown Specials - Part 2

This week the intrepid band of non-adventurers chunter on about topics as diverse as Ancient Britons, the merits and inherent risks of ordering Strippers online, how historic family bereavements can get in the way of wargaming, beer festivals in your bedroom, the psychology of Dremel-denial, whether Challenger 2000 or Shock of Impact was the most complex historical ruleset ever produced, choosing armies for non-competitions, Norman shields, what might be the crappest thing on eBay right now and in a brand new feature, Andy Finkel-kel-kel-kel's brand new Weekly Quiz (with it's own theme tune)!

Sit back, dip your paint brush in your and enjoy.  

"Makes me wish I'd been hit in both ears, not just one eye at the battle of Corsica in 1758" : Lord Horatio Nelson

The Lockdown Specials - Part 1

"It's basically a Poundshop Top Gear, but with more dice and less casual racism"  (The Daily Mail)

With much of the gaming world in lockdown it's become impossible to go to the pub and talk rubbish about wargaming - so why not listen to 5 random blokes talking rubbish about wargaming for an hour or so while you're doing painting?     

"Convinced me my wife was right and I did actually need to go and re-grout the shower"  (Angus Deayton)

In this first of many (probably) Lockdown Special Podcasts the team wrestle with audio quality across a variety of supposedly professional-grade audio conferencing apps, and chat tosh about a number of barely related topics including Forged in Battle's Kickstarters, the pseudo-wargame Rommel, the state of the Flames of War market, Essex, Xyston and Museum miniatures latest releases, Herve Caille's Bataille Empire rules, their experiences of the last overseas conventions before we were all confined to barracks and even whether World of Tanks might be worth us all re-installing?

"If I'm forced to listen to another one of these I might start agreeing with Trump that it's best to re-open the country at Easter"  (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 

A Weekend in Provence - ADLG in Avignon 2019

No ADLG events since the 1/72nd scale whupping for my Vikings at The BIG Abona Festival back in June... by November I was starting to go stir-crazy (and not in a painting sort of way!).

Browsing the UK calendar had failed to cough up any events which coincided with a free weekend, but on the French part of the ADLG forum I spotted one event on a very specific weekend in November, and a last-minute plan suddenly fell into place... Avignon!

Air Miles subsidized the international logistics, Avis loyalty points chipped in with a gallic roller-skate-sized hire car and a list I'd already used saw a very small but relatively freshly painted Assyrian army packed into the world's smallest tin for a hand-luggage-only travel plan involving the smallest rucksack in my collection.

5 games later and there French meta has been well and truly tested to wine, beer, cheese and obscure local spirits type destruction in 5 games of mixed success for the Lions of Assyria.

Listen and be amazed at the local atmosphere, or read the full report on the Madaxeman.com website.

 

Original music courtesy of Howard Gray, additional sound effects from the BBC sound archive

Yuan Chinese - The Worlds best 2-list ADLG list?

Three of the last four World Championships have now been won by Yuan Chinese armies, admittedly in the hands of three different players, and using different list designs each time as well. But, even so that's a stunning record - so what does this list have to make it so great?   The Madaxeman.com Podcast fearlessly takes on this knotty issue with the help of special guests Peter & "Aussie" Simon to chew over the strengths and tactics needed to make this list really fly. 

The latest winning list is from the 2019 Worlds, and is featured here. You can see all of the winning lists on the Madaxeman.com ADLG Wiki 

Massimiliano's Worlds 2019 Winning lists
Competent
3 Ch. Halb. & Sw. Medium swordsmen impact
1 Elephant Elephant
2 Light Inf. Light infantry javelin
1 Auxiliares Javelinmen
1 Ch. Mixed ½ Medium spearmen ½ Crossbowmen
==
Competent Unreliable
2 Khan G. Heavy cavalry impact bow Elite
4 mongol horsemen Light cavalry bow ------
2 Light Inf. Light infantry bow ------
==
Brilliant Unreliable
2 Khan G. Heavy cavalry impact bow Elite
2 mongol horsemen Light cavalry bow ------
2 Mixed Units ½ Medium spearmen ½ Crossbowmen ------
1 Chines Arch. & Xbow Crossbowmen ----
2 Inf. Fire Tube Light infantry firearm ----

V2
Brilliant
4 Kans G. Heavy cavalry impact bow Elite
3 Mongol Horsemen Light cavalry bow ------
1 Chinese Xbuw Crossbowmen ------
==
Competent Unreliable
1 Elephant Elephant
2 C. Halb. & Swordsmen Medium swordsmen impact
2 Light T. Light infantry javelin
2 Mixed Units ½ Medium spearmen ½ Crossbowmen
==
Competent Included Ally
2 Elephant Elephant
3 Warriors Medium swordsmen impetuous
1 Light Troups Light infantry javelin
1 Archers Light infantry bow
1 Light Cav. Light cavalry javelin