I Never Set Out To Be A Funko Collector!

My most recent Pops!: Dunk and Egg

I have no recollection of when I first acquired a Funko Pop! or even which one it was, but now - like something out of the Twilight Zone they seem to be multiplying and filling every nook and cranny in the house!

Wikipedia says of the divisive little figures:

"In 2010, the Funko Pop! line was created. Funko Pop! vinyl line are figures modelled in a style similar to the Japanese chibi style. The figures have large squarish heads, disproportionately small bodies, and large, circular black eyes"

I know some people don't get the appeal, but I find them very cute (and affordable) manifestations of the various niches within my geeky hobbies.

My most recent acquisitions were Dunk and Egg from the excellent A Knight of The Seven Kingdoms and I was very excited to receive a random (one in six, I believe) chase variant of Dunk, dressed as a knight. Of course, this means, at some point I'll need to pick up the original Dunk in scruffy clothes figure.

Originally, I had a single shelf over the door into the gamesroom that was to be the home of my modest Pop! collection, but then more continued to arrive and the horde spread out. So now you can find on book shelves and on top of glass cabinets in several rooms.

Most have been removed from their boxes (one of Rachel's rules for my collecting habits), except for a handful they consider truly collectible (mainly Pops! related to the Mortal Engines movie, based on the book by Philip Reeve).

I'll get round to releasing Dunk and Egg soon, but, at the moment, they seem quite content boxed-up as they are.

A few aren't particularly well-balanced (and have a habit of jumping off shelves in the middle of the night) and so have to lean back on books, but mostly the figures are remarkably stable and remain where they're placed.

Frieren on the far left and He-Man on the right 

Clark Kent changing into Superman, and Krypto

Sue Storm and the Kerblam! Man, hiding behind Scooby-Doo action figures

Pops! have become so pervasive in our house that Rachel even got me a personalised one: me in Pop! form (see below):

That's me, that is

Superman and Lois Lane in flight

Keeping watch from on top of the new bookcase

My original shelf in the gamesroom - filled up very quickly!

And So We Bid Farewell to Dunk & Egg... For A Short While

It's All Connected: Now you know!

The first season of the wonderful A Knight of The Seven Kingdoms has come to an end, but we only have to wait a year for the next one (which, I believe, is being shot as we speak).

This is, obviously, a very good thing because I loved the show's freshman year and can't wait for more, but also - and this is key - if the gaps between seasons get dragged out then I worry that the amazing Dexter Sol Ansell will age out of the role of Egg. 

Below are a final couple of 'making of' features for this season, the first is specifically related to this week's finale, while the second is an overview of the latter half of the season. 

"Suppose we can go anywhere in the Seven Kingdoms”

It'll Soon Be Time For Dunk To Take A Well-Deserved Rest

I can't believe we've reached the final episode already. Watch the trailer for episode six above, confident in the knowledge that season two is currently being filmed (and is due for release next year) and George RR Martin has said he is working on more stories of Dunk and Egg (that can be adapted at some future date).

Then watch, below, a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the making of this week's episode:

I Blame Nominative Determinism

Showing off my new purchase... which means a new wargames project

Remember the other day when I said I would only be focusing on a single wargame project going forward?

Well, that pledge lasted about a week.

I shall be supplementing my investment in Dead Man's Hand with Hairfoot Jousting, a comical, fantasy jousting game that pitches halflings/hobbits/hairfoots against each other, while mounted upon pigs, sheep, giant turkeys, dogs, ferrets etc 

The rules seem simple and brief, so much so that the delightful book, published by Osprey, is actually split in two. The back half, which you flip the book to read, contains a variant of the game, Wartnose Jousting, allowing you to play despicable goblin jousters riding rats, roaches, frogs etc

Honestly, I couldn't help myself.

I've always been fascinated by knights (the clue's in the name) and, by extension, jousting.

The wallpaper of my childhood bedroom was resplendent with pictures of knights on horseback, and one of my early introductions to the concept of wargames was Andrew McNeil's 1975 tome, Knights At War (part of the Battlegame Book series).

One of the treasured books I have held onto since my childhood

As well as text pieces on the history of knights, arms and armour, heraldry etc, the oversized hardback contained four games. Each game's board was a double spread of pages, and the rules and counters you cut out from the card insert pages. It was a brilliantly simple idea that I can't believe hasn't been revived.

My favourite, and most played, game in the book was, unsurprisingly, Tournament, where you took control of teams of jousting combatants.

The other games were Arsouf, refighting the 12th Century clash between Saladin and Richard the Lionheart; Siege, which did exactly what it says on the tin; and Border Raiders, a snatch-and-grab scenario involving feuding 13th Century German lords.

To be honest, they were all great games, but it was Tournament I returned to most often.

In recent years, these passions have seen me visiting living history and re-enactment shows to get a more visceral taste of Medieval life.

For a while, there was even coverage of genuine, full contact jousting (rather than the scripted, wrestling-style jousting you see in the grounds of various castles and stately homes around the UK in the summer) on television.

I became quite a fan of world champion Charlie Andrews and his Knights of Mayhem. Sadly, those television shows - like the equally-enthralling Knight Fight about the Armoured Combat League - failed to attract the attention of audiences who'd rather watch yet more "documentaries" about Ancient Aliens and the Second World War.

Of course, now we have the magnificent A Knight of The Seven Kingdoms, the latest Game of Thrones spin-off, whose story unfolds amidst the grime and graphic violence of a jousting tournament. 

Anyway, I already ordered myself a set of miniatures for my new jousting wargame - a team of hairfoot jousters on their assorted mounts - from North Star, the game's manufacturer, using my monthly discount code from my Wargames Illustrated subscription. The figures arrived today.

Expect more updates on this new project in the future.

Hairfoot jousters from North Star Military Figures

The Reality of Hedge Life?

Dexter Sol Ansell is phenomenal as Egg

This week's episode of A Knight of The Seven Kingdoms was brilliant. While I always expect to be shocked by stories set in Westeros, I didn't expect to tear up... twice!

Check out the trailer above for a taste of the next episode - now things are kicking up a gear. 

Below you'll find a couple of official behind-the-scenes featurettes about episode three and as an added bonus this week, Jason Kingsley - head honcho of multimedia company Rebellion, publishers of 2000AD, and medieval reenactor supreme - examines the reality of "hedge knights":

What's Next For Dunk and Egg?

Above you will find a trailer for episode three (of six) of the fantastic A Knight of The Seven Kingdoms. Below is a short 'behind-the-scenes' featurette about this week's episode.

What's To Come This Season For Dunk and Egg

The trailer above gives a taste of the adventures to come this season for Dunk and Egg, the charming protagonists of A Knight of The Seven Kingdoms, the latest Game of Thrones spin-off (and my favourite of George RR Martin's Westerosi books).

Below are a couple of behind-the-scenes features about this exciting new series:

Meet Dunk and Egg - Your New Favourite Westerosi

A Knight of The Seven Kingdoms Rides Into View

I'm really looking forward to this as the very-grounded Dunk and Egg stories are my favourite part of George RR Martin's whole Song of Ice and Fire-related oeuvre.

As usual, while the show premiers on HBO Max on January 18, we'll see it in the UK on Sky Atlantic the day after (hopefully there'll be a 2am simulcast offered that I can record and watch first thing when I get up).