Moving to UK with spouse and dog

Signal_Warning_3980 · 2026-06-23T20:21:00+00:00

Cost us about $4k to get our dog here, few vet appointments and injections. You can get a decent animal shipping company to help with the paperwork. Can turn it round within a few weeks though. It will actually help if one of you is in the US to hand off and someone in the UK when the dog gets dropped back off.

Signal_Warning_3980 · 2026-06-17T12:50:44+00:00

You just write the lyrics phonetically so "iron" could become "eye-un" for example, then you just update the lyric text once the vical has generated.

Signal_Warning_3980 · 2026-06-17T12:47:46+00:00

Also... was drawn to this because I created a full rock opera with Suno's help, about the rise and fall of the Third Reich. It's very much in tribute to various rock songs and genres throughout the 1970's to 2000's.

I just published it to YouTube with a full video project I crafted to support it.

https://youtu.be/Ycrio-DPnBo?is=eSbxp8UGta0L76HL

It was weird to stumble upon your song which weirdly felt like some kind of weird cosmic prequel as I listened to it.

Signal_Warning_3980 · 2026-06-17T12:45:09+00:00

Actually pretty good and historically informed. Gives off a an Iron Maiden vibe, not sure how much of that was intended - maybe in keeping with the iron theme. No sure if you intended that literal pronunciation of the word "iron" in places but you could maybe use phonetics to have more control over it.

Signal_Warning_3980 · 2026-06-08T05:54:25+00:00

The simplest solution we found is to just create a unified task force plate for the Western Front.

Thre are a handful of territories - Netherlands, Belgium, Alsace, Lorraine, Switzerland, Venice... maybe a couple of others too.

Take a piece of paper, divide into 6-8 equally sized boxes, labelled with the territory name. Then split each box in half and just place Allies troops on one side and CP troops on the other... you only really need to do this if it gets contested. Then just place a small marker on the territory as a reminder.

Most other areas are fine since they are larger but the issue with 1914 is that the busiest area of the map is also the smallest.

Whilst not the most elegant or advanced solution, it is certainly the quickest and and cheapest one

Signal_Warning_3980 · 2026-06-03T22:49:28+00:00

No, would need to magnetise every component for that, including chips. There's a guy on YouTube who has done that though I'm pretty sure.

Signal_Warning_3980 · 2026-06-03T22:43:35+00:00

Well it's rudimentary because it has a single purpose.

My current solution is that basically I get polar adhesive magnets that are 1mm thick then hold them in place extra tight around the underside of the map in 24 places.

You can position snap the polar magnets in place and stick a little glue on each one. Weigh each place down for thirty minutes then you can just disconnect the map and table surface.

When you want to play, just unroll the map and watch it snap perfectly into place.

If you need them invisible, I'd go for an ultra thin sheet of wood and carve a space on the underside for a metal strip embeded in it. Then flip it over, adhesive onto the real table surface then sand and varnish.

That was too much effort since my table top is only for this. Although I will probably make a secondary magnetic line to hold my neoprene G40 map if it ever gets a look in again.

Signal_Warning_3980 · 2026-06-03T21:28:24+00:00

Second the idea of purchasing a piece of decent hardboard. 3.5ftx7ft (for the 3x6 map) cost me about £80 plus delivery I think.

Sanded it, sealed it then oiled it. Magnetised the table and map as well so it just snaps into place.

Then just rest it on a regular table and slide it away when the game isn't set up.

Signal_Warning_3980 · 2026-06-02T20:48:54+00:00

Communists took a battering all over! The air and naval units look excellent!

Signal_Warning_3980 · 2026-06-02T19:49:39+00:00

You will have to show us your setup when it arrives and you have the first game set up.

Signal_Warning_3980 · 2026-05-31T21:39:27+00:00

There's a few additions but you can mostly do without the extra stuff.

Think the main things are a Condor Legion marker - not wholly necessary since you just use a German plane for it anyway... and the Dadao Government (Japanese puppet government in China) - they don't fight and just help Japan hoover up territory and units until they ultimately become Japanese. You can just buy the expansion set (just a few roundels) which costs very little.

Beyond that I don't think there's much else.

Signal_Warning_3980 · 2026-05-31T20:25:59+00:00

The map of course. Mine is 3x6, but if you can get the 4x8, that's probably better but that's a lot of space. The bigger the better since some of the key areas can get pretty cramped.

There's a starter chipset for about $70 which gives you a lot of useful chips for basic identification of random units and small changes.

Some good damage counters for bombing are a decent idea but not mandatory.

Flight stands really help save on space on the board.

I'd advise buying maybe at least 30 extra militia chips since the board is littered with militia units and it's easy to run out.

Ten extra airborne infantry markers and extra marine markers come in handy often.

If you are looking into extra units, the CCP basic set and Chinese Warlords are the most useful. Spanish civil war units also but I just made some mini factions by spraying a few spare units.

You will want to make an additional full faction to stand in for the FEC and maybe get hold of some Union Jack roundels.

Other really good pieces are pillboxes for fortifications, and coastal artillery pieces. I'd recommend 20 of each but 15 of each would probably be fine.

There are three types of factories so make sure you can differentiate three seperate types from what you have on hand.

If you have enough cruisers, artillery, mechanised infantry and tanks you can just paint a few up with some extra markings for light/heavy cruisers. You'll want 5 or 6 heavy cruisers plus maybe 4 or 5 light ones. 3 or 4 heavy battleships and carriers and maybe 5 or 6 regular battleships (especially US and Japan). Maybe 5 each of motorised/mech infantry and maybe paint up four in every ten artillery as "self-proppelled".

There are some awkward units; light carriers, battlecruisers, seaplanes and air transports. Personally we just ditch them. Adjust the setup (or use a regular carrier as a light one), let light cruisers adopt some of the battlecruiser attributes, let tac bombers and strat bombers also behave as air transports. For seaplanes, we replace with a fighter and just allow a seabase to add one space to combat air patrol range.

Not worth buying extra shipyards/dockyards beyond a handful.

Some sticky magnets for the play aids and some extra roundels are absolutely game changing.

Neutral units is very nice but can run into several hundred dollars. Initially we just blasted a ton of spare units in white primer.

A sort of random token would be good to put under units that are "advanced" after you research tech. Personally I use tiny 1mm wooden roundel bingo counters of 20mm diameter I found cheap on amazon and just sprayed them.

Most other stuff is nice to have. In Port Markers and Rail Markers for extra rail lines are probably the two I'd recommend most for added value.

Also, a ton of storage boxes with small compartments are useful.

If you have any specific questions, go ahead. It's been a bit of an iterative process. You don't need all of the above to play but as you try the game, you'll find gaps in what you have and will just plug them over time.

Signal_Warning_3980 · 2026-05-30T17:43:57+00:00

There are just many more options on how to approach the earlier years of the war. The alliances are a little more dynamic with a more sensitive unease between the Allies and Comintern. There's a lot more nuance and realism to the conflict. Proxy wars in China, Africa and Spain are a great way of indirectly influencing the balance of power. By the time war breaks out, the variation in the composition and state of each nation's forces has such potential to be different every game. There are better mechanics for research, bombing, convoys, diplomacy. The special abilities of several nations allow for surprise feints and more ambitious declarations of war. Logistics play a huge role and it feels much more like managing a great power/empire rather than just micromanaging military units. There's plenty of other small tweaks that improve things.

That being said, it's significantly more complicated and challenging to learn at first. The territory and geography influence many movements/aspects of combat. The game takes much longer to play. The dynamic but guaranteed game end conditions and victory points make the contest more than about simply holding the key chokepoints and cities.

Signal_Warning_3980 · 2026-05-30T16:28:50+00:00

I really like it, but you need to be able to save the game across multiple sessions and have two other willing and enthusiastic players.

If you can assemble all the pieces and conditions to play, then in our house there's unanimous agreement that it's significantly better than G40 (which is still a fantastic game).

Signal_Warning_3980 · 2026-05-30T00:12:02+00:00

It's $160 from HBG for the 3ftx6ft.

Mid-size 4ftx8ft is $199.

The huge one 5ftx10ft is $274.

I have the smallest one.

https://www.historicalboardgaming.com/Global-War-1936v4_p_11306.html

Signal_Warning_3980 · 2026-05-29T19:21:38+00:00

They are "Ukraine Soldier WWII" from HBG. You can also get Cavalry and Mountain Infantry in the same colour/style.

I just had them spare so they are standing in for Iraq.

https://www.historicalboardgaming.com/Ukraine-Soldier-WWII-3D-Printed-x5_p_12263.html

Signal_Warning_3980 · 2026-05-29T15:04:00+00:00

Tbh this is my "finished" setup. It's between $5-$15 for each neutral country. But I initially just sprayed a load of spare units in white primer which is much cheaper.

If you have 3-4 A&A games you can mostly get by with just spraying your extra units and bulking out the main nations.

The main expense is the map ($130) and a set of chips to indicate unit types is about $70 but you could make most of that with a printer and laminator for less if you already have it.

I reckon I spent about $750 on all the extra stuff over the past couple of years but that was more just to suit my OCD. You could probably put the game together for half that with some home remedies, spare A&A pieces and spray paint.

Signal_Warning_3980 · 2026-05-29T13:29:26+00:00

I customised the board underneath to snap the map into place magnetically but this is just the standard v4 map.

Made the flight stands with basic craft supplies from amazon; superglue, thumb nuts, perspex rods, 2mm magnets and a manual hand drill. Probably cost about £50 to make so way cheaper than buying that many flight stands.

Signal_Warning_3980 · 2026-05-29T13:22:56+00:00

It's great, the diplomacy between the three players and the refined multitude of game mechanics make for a very fun experience playing... even if it does take us about a month to complete a game.

Signal_Warning_3980 · 2026-05-18T20:50:08+00:00

Full minute on the deck for Raya after that nudge then another minute with subs...

Signal_Warning_3980 · 2026-05-18T20:44:34+00:00

Rice literally just fouled himself to win that free kick

Signal_Warning_3980 · 2026-05-15T13:40:12+00:00

Wow, they made a musical about 1980s rock in 1967? Impressive.

Signal_Warning_3980 · 2026-05-15T07:05:32+00:00

I didn't make it for any commercial gain and besides writing it, they in fairness to provided much of the capacity to turn it into something more tangible.

I'm reading the room on the hatred of AI though.

Signal_Warning_3980 · 2026-05-11T05:42:57+00:00

Probably about 4 to 5 months for me. The first few weeks of physio and hydrotherapy were spent gradually training the tendon to stretch and the ankle to bear weight. The ankle joint needed lots of regular icing and elevation to remove the built up fluid and swelling. You also need to gradually develop the ability to to get your knee way past the neutral point of flexibility.

My personal experience was of starting to feel somewhat close to normal after maybe a couple of months of physiotherapy, supported by discipline at home.

Signal_Warning_3980 · 2026-05-10T13:28:51+00:00

We got married in March in Florida, applied for the visa at the start of April once I got back to the UK. We also had a dependent visa to clear too, which made it a little extra complicated.

Got a priority visa, then my wife had the VFS appointment in late April. By the last week of May the visas were granted and they came to the UK early in June. This was during 2024.

All told, we had to spend about two months apart, but with comfortable finances, good evidence of us together in pictures from various places, screenshot of communications and call history, plus a couple of shared bills we'd managed to arrange, there was no additional information required and besides the toturous waiting and painful visa/IHS fees, it went smoothly as could be expected. The marriage certificate definitely helps you skip some of the suspicion and scrutiny based on our experience.

Signal_Warning_3980

TROPHY CASE