Hi guys, My name is Tom Im a 38 husband & dad of 2 young boys.
I am  a collector of First edition AD&D TSR modules & hardcovers ( so far...gulp) I have about 50 Mods / 20 Hardcovers. Multiple versions are creeping in which is scaring both me and my wife
I also have a small collection of Grenadier / Ral Partha & citadel pre slotta minis ( about 80) and would seriousely love to get my hands on some of those Otherworld beauties

Recent unforeseen health issues are forcing me to curb my collecting currently, but once things are back on track & money gets sorted again - which I am determined it will do!! _ ill be back on the horse BIG TIME... I havent had so much fun in years _ i love finding the missing pieces of the puzzle, rebuilding the gaming set we used to have.

Not really interested in 2e onward - or the later box sets but the old school Oe stuff always makes me wish i could afford it.

Im not a SW or Rares collector - simply cant afford that stuff.  F,VF-NM  is the bulk of my collection.
I started to collect about 14 months ago - when my old gaming gear reappeared after about 24 years in a box in my sisters roof.  A light went on!!!

 I live in Regional Victoria in australia. I've managed to get a gaming group together of like minded 30-40 YO dads here  who played back in the early eighties - like I did. we play every 3 weeks in my shed while D&D widows drink wine and eat the good cheese in the warmth & comfort of the house..lol

having the time of my life DMing again. Just wanted to say congratulations to everyone on such a passionate and vibrant forum. I look forward to getting to know you guys , hopefully helping some of you and learning about the finer points of the hobby.
cheers
Tom

Welcome Tom.
Agree with what KoP said.
Most of us used to say that stuff too.

Good luck with keeping to your plan.

[quote="bizb"]
... I havent had so much fun in years _ i love finding the missing pieces of the puzzle, rebuilding the gaming set we used to have.

Welcome Tom. Don't be surprised if the "puzzle" gets larger, as most of us have discovered it can when we discover pieces missing that we didn't know were there in the first place! Or knew were there, but always wanted.
<gulp>

Tom also wrote:
Not really interested in 2e onward - or the later box sets but the old school Oe stuff always makes me wish i could afford it.

"Not really interested" yet. Some of those interesting, missing pieces have a disturbing tendency to also show up in other editions ... !
<wink>
Your passion for collecting and DMing puts you in good company here.
Welcome again, Tom.

Gary

thanks for those warm welcomes & wary warnings. Im sure it wont be long before you are saying "Told ya' so!"
& Yes Shane, my boys are 2 and a half Yrs & 6 months respectively, Jude my eldest asked to play last friday and has smuggled a few minis into his room, so I dont think Im going to have much trouble getting him hooked when the time comes - His imagination could power a small city ;0

cheers again
Tom

formcritic wrote:Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home

ashmire13 wrote:
Now that's something I'm still looking to pick up and keep missing on ebay, so you can wait your turn on that one...    

Fill your boots on that one now Phi, I just picked a copy up for 99p!    

Welcome/welcome back, Eric.

Hi everyone, I wanted to introduce myself.  I'm George and I live in California.  I'm a 41-year old man that still wants to feverishly capture my youth!

I got introduced to RPG's in the late '70's with the 1977 boxed set, followed by AD&D 1e, followed by "other RPGS," such as Arduin and Gamma World.

I really enjoy collecting things, although my wife's impassioned disinterest in my collection keeps it somewhat in check.  

Over the past couple years, I developed a pretty decent collection of Micronauts, remember the interchangeable robotic toys from the '70's and '80's?  They were my favorite toy as a child.  Baron Karza and Force Commander bring back fond memories!

I would now love to embark upon a D&D collection.  I have such fond memories of my playing days, and it just makes my heart feel good (no other way to put it) to hold a vintage Monster Manual in my hands..

My other hobby that I've devoted extensive time to the past couple years is collecting and painting minis (exclusively Lord of the Rings).

Only other interesting "factoid" is that my middle name is Aragorn.  So, yes, my parents were Tolkien fanatics.  (Although I recognize that the creators of D&D say they weren't particularly influenced by Tolkien).

Now I have two questions:
1) Why does it seem like every EBAY posting either (a) goes for about twice the price that is listed in the Acaeum site, OR (b) is very beaten up?

2) The only way I could register for this site is through my work email - which isn't ideal.  But my only other sites are gmail, hotmail, and yahoo mail.  And Acaeum wouldn't let me register with these web-based mail.  The instructions say to use a "personal" email.  Does anyone have an example of what is meant by a "personal" email?

Thanks!
George

Thanks for the info - and nice to virtually meet you!

As for your questions (and someone let me know if I'm straying from the topic at hand):
1) Advice for rookie painter: use the web, you can get a lot of excellent tips & techniques!  Also, use good paints and water them down a bit so they will run into the cracks/creases better.  Make sure you use a good primer.  I personally use black primer because I can let the primer act as borderlines and shading in certain cases.

2) I personally like to use Vallejo paints.  I like the dropper bottles and the color choices.  (I find GW paints to be a bit "garish")

3) To prep raw metals, clip off any extra bits, then file down any rough edges, then wash them in mild, sudsy, warm water, and then prime them.

4) To get into TINY places, either use a TINY brush    or use slightly watered down paint and let it "flow" into the nooks.  This takes practice.

5)  To make the paint stay, I use a Matte spray primer.  Just make sure you spray completely out of the wind, otherwise the wind will clump up your spray and get clumpy bits on your mini.  I use GW matte spray, but I'm sure any brand would work fine.

I don't want to engender ill will by getting too far off topic, so let me know if I should be messaging you instead - since this isn't a collectorish topic.

Geo

Hi, I saw your post in the classifieds, but I was wondering whether you're looking for the manuals as actual first prints, or 1st editions.

From time to time we post items we see on Ebay in the "Interesting Items Currently on Ebay" thread. For instance, there is a 1st print of the Monster Manual that we've seen on Ebay currently, but there's a general consensus it's overpriced right now, especially in its condition.

Where are you located in California btw? There's a couple of gaming stores I could point you to in southern California (Los Angeles and Ventura) and another one towards San Jose.