A while back I posted about my subscription to White Dwarf. To recap, I ordered the subscription through Paypal, the order got processed, but Games Workshop never did whatever they're supposed to do to finalize the payment. So I was getting the subscription for free. When I wrote about it last I had e-mailed them but hadn't heard anything back. They finally got back to me and we worked it out so I could pay them and clear my conscience.

On Saturday I hadn't quite finished my paper when the scheduled time to go to our friends' home arrived, so I dug out the dusty old laptop that I had in Iraq to see if it would run. It was noisy and a little bit slow, but it ran. So for the first hour or two E.A. and I did our homework, then we pulled out our miniatures and had a bit of a hobbying marathon. I assembled nearly all the remaining infantry for my Space Marine force. For the most part it went well. The Assault Marine Sergeant borrowed a Lightning Claw from the Space Marine Commander kit and it didn't go on exactly right. Most of the problem had to do with getting the arm to look right and still be able to mount the shoulder pad. I was able to get it on there, but there is a gap. Once the jetpack is on the gap should be fairly well hidden, though. I am also having some trouble getting the Space Marine Scout with Heavy Bolter to actually hold his weapon, as the Scout torsos have these pouches on their chests that block the left arm from grabbing the handle on the front of the gun. I'll have to work with it a little more. The Scout Sergeant with a Power Fist from the Commander box looks pretty good, if I do say so myself. I'm pretty excited about him. And the Commander himself looks to be one bad mother with his Storm Bolter and Power Sword. I'm still considering what sort of pattern to paint on the Sniper Rifle Scouts' cloaks. I'm leaning in the direction of something urban with a lot of greys, dull blues, and black. I'm also trying to decide what to do with the inside of the cloaks, whether they should be done up as a flat color or as dual-purpose cloaks with another type of camo on the opposite face. I also clipped out the parts I'll need for my Predator CFV and separated them into major assemblies for painting. E.A. cleaned up some figures and spent most of the time working out his paint scheme on a Fire Warrior. He wound up with a nice desert red color for the armor and a tan color for the cloth bits. I think his army will be quite nice-looking on the tabletop.

My wife starts work again in a few hours after a couple months off for the birth of the slug-baby. We are still trying to figure out how our scheduling is going to work as there already didn't seem to be enough time in the day or sleep in the night. The kid has really started interacting with us in the last couple of weeks. It's been pretty neat. He will laugh in response to us talking to him or touching his face. He spends most of his awake time watching things around him and making baby talk. He has also been developing a smidgen more independence, meaning that we can occasionally set him down or put him in his baby swing for a bit of a break from holding him. He will occasionally even sleep on his own without being in contact with someone.

I can't think of much else to write about. I heard a rumor that the Imperial Guard are in for a new codex and some new figures in the March time frame. That may be exciting, but as far as I know it's still just a rumor.