PAW 2013 Aftermath

Well my first Wargames show was great fun! PAW 2013 in Plymouth was a great day out, three of us went up on the train on a surprisingly bright and sunny day and got there about half an hour after the doors opened but the halls were pretty busy already.

Unfortunately in all the excitement this was the only photo I took, I was too preoccupied taking in the atmosphere! Reading comments from people who had been before I took a quick look around and then made a beeline for the bring and buy stand which already had piles of games and models for sale. I was really surprised by just how much 6mm miniatures had been put up for sale, bit of an Epic Armageddon fans wet dream... A few bargains were spotted and we picked up a few bits but to be honest we held back on the spending throughout the show, even though we thought we'd need to take more money it just got to the point where we picked bits up but thought "hey, this is interesting but do I really NEED it".

I grabbed a selection of 6mm models from Angel Barracks, been looking at these for a while and I'm also looking forward to the challenge of painting these up. Some plaster terrain from Smithee? Was going cheap and would fit in with 15mm, also found a copy of Test of Fire at Bull Run In the bring and buy, it's a simple quick to play game by Martin Wallace Based on the first major battle of the ACW. Plus it was fairly small and would fit in my backpack easily enough.

Games wise there was plenty of variety, bit disappointed I missed the Gruntz game (was on the Sunday) but it was good to take a look at Dreadball up close, surprised at just how small the players were! We didn't have the chance to stay and play all day but will definitely go back longer next year.
There were a few disappointments, a few of the traders were not there on the Saturday so very little 15mm scifi on offer, I was also a little surprised at just how few show "offers" we're available, although we were able to haggle over a few items.

Biggest pull of the day for my friends was Les's bit box, I kind of wrote this of before I got there but was surprised at just how much he had for sale, it was all GW kit but it was good to see all the Necromunda gangs again and even a few squads of Imperial Guard Pretorians at good prices. I held back but seeing these minis after all these years inspired me to pick up the Necromunda rule book again and have a good old nostalgic read through.

Overall it was a great day and we are definitely going back next year, it would be great to go to one of the big shows like Salute but because of our location it would cost us over £100 each just to get up there let alone how much we'd end up spending at the show! But then it's all in the journey and the experience. :)

15mm Characters and Forgefathers

Hey, I was able to get a few 15mm mini's painted and others this week, I still have a full shelf space of unpainted mini's but my attitude to painting them has changed, it feels good to be able just grab a few and paint them when i've got the time rather than trying to go full steam trying to paint full armies.

First up I grabbed this 15mm.co.uk Draccian, I picked it up as single the December before last but it had sat on the shelf for a while, I wanted to keep it old school green.

Next up I finished off a few more Mantic Forge Fathers, i've put together the entire boxed set but just can't see myself painting tens of tens of orx again....

Flipping back to 15mm I pulled a Senior Imperial officer off the shelf from 15mm.co.uk and the Laserburn range, there's a lot of character to these mini's that really hides the age they were sculpted and surpasses many later ranges. Good fun to paint, I tried some lighter tones but I feel I don't have the skill/patience yet to really make these colors pop, also I copped out on painting the eyes again, no biggy but when you get close they lose a little character.

I was going to set the tale up for a few games when I discovered I have very little terrain, either 15mm or 28mm, so I pulled out a sheet of foam card and cracked out a few ruins in an hour, still have three more sheets so I should be able to get a table full soon. Although I have been looking at the battlefield in a box pre painted range as I have no woods/trees and they look pretty good but then there's always the post new year fake xmas tree sell off....

The last 15mm mini I painted was this Laserburn Merchant/hero, it's tricky to see what character he is on the site but when got to painting him I realized just what a bloody amazing sculpt this is, considering the size this just felt like the perfect match between scale and detail.

PAW 2013

On February 2nd and 3rd the Plymouth Association of Wargamers host their annual wargames show, PAW and this year I am finally going! This also happens to be my first ever wargames show so I am very excited!

Booked the train tickets ready to get up there with a couple of friends and I have been going over the traders and games lists to see what might interest me, traders wise it's an interesting mix but there are a few I would quite like to take a look at in person, also a fair few games to take a look at:

MJ Figures: The original creator of the infamous 15mm "space marines", they still have the 15mm spice range that might be worth a look and their 20mm Sand Wars range looks pretty good, might even be able to pick up one of the sand worms for some 15mm scenarios!

Black Scorpion Miniatures: Great looking range of 28mm resin pirates, fantasy football teams and western mini's. Nicely priced too. They also have a rulebook called Cutlass that's co penned by Gav Thorpe, be nice to take a look.

Angel Barracks: I have been following the development of the sci fi 6mm range from here for quite a while and when I saw they are going to be at PAW I just had to go.  I quite fancy creating a few quick forces to play out using the Fubar 6mm variant and with figures, vehicles and scenery now in the range  it would be rude not to pick some up!

There is also the Ministry of Boardgames to see what's in stock and a hopefully huge bring and buy, still going to check out all the other traders as there may well be some surprises :)

Games wise I am hoping to check out the following tables:

Infinity
Kings of war
8mm sci fi
Battle Cars
Dystopian Wars
Victorian sci fi
GruntZ

and maybe a few others! Plenty there to keep us all occupied for the day.

Taking my camera with me so I should have plenty of pics in a few weeks time.

A Year in Boardgames

Inspired by Martins post over on FireBroadside I thought I would go through my boardgaming over the past year, this includes all the card games and miniature based games I found via boardgamegeek.

When i'm not head down in wargames rulebooks or paint I am usually spending the odd evening relaxing with a boardgame, over the years i've picked up a modest collection and every few months I just need to scratch that itch and pick up a few new releases. So here is my overview of my board gaming last year, keep in mind that due to difficulties in finding a gaming group the majority of these games I play solo.

X-Wing:

OK, while not strictly a boardgame per say, this was one of the biggest releases of last year and I was really excited to get my hands on it (even got a black felt table cover to play over). Unfortunately due to some supply issues I ended up getting my hands on it a couple of months after release which diminished its impact for a me a bit, that and the delay of the second wave releases till late February this year kind of reduced the momentum a little. Saying all that though, it is a great game to play and there is definitely room for strategy and tactics in the mix of cards and gameplay, looking forward to the second wave and getting some bigger games in.

Lord of the rings the card game:

Big glossy FFG box for this card game that can be played solo and it plays really well. You are essentially challenged by the enemy and scenario deck across the middle of the table and need to use your hand and heroes resources to overcome them. It plays a little like MTG (tapping your heroes etc) but every game I played was tense running up to the last few cards. Deck building comes into this as you can mix and match the different focus areas for the heroes and other cards and to be honest there was enough of a game in the starter box to keep me going, i've not needed to pick up any of the expansions yet.


Mage Knight:

The big solo boardgame, considered by many on boardgamegeek to be the ultimate boardgame for solo adventuring I just had to pick this up, it was a reward for finishing my course last year but it's yet to hit the table! Noted for being complex I have to say it does not look too bad, more procedural, if you do this then do that but if you have this do this instead type of play, the rulebooks are big but they look to cover everything and provide enough meat to get into the game, as initially opening the box there does not appear to be a lot of content considering the price. Going to have to devote a week of evenings to this soon and get stuck in but first I really want to try my hand at repainting all the pieces that come with it.


Arkham Horror Expansion:

The original Arkham Horror is hand down my favorite game of all time and i've yet to play it with anyone! I love this game out and spend the evening running a few characters around Arkham, it ticks all the boxes for me and the combination of theme along with all the possible avenues and things you can do in Arkham make it for me, very interactive. I have been a huge fan of Lovecrafts work since an early teenager (I once very foolishly contacted our local library services requesting they track down a copy of the Necronomicon for me!) and this game really does it for me, although after over twenty plays it started to go a little stale so I got my first expansion that tops the enjoyment up for me. I just wish I could ever get the chance to play Mansions of Madness but I can't justify getting hold of a copy to never see it hit the table :(


Dungeon!:

A christmas present from my wife and a complete nostalgia trip for me, I used to own the original Dungeon and Legend of heroes so this was a trip back in time, plus it's one of those games that's so easy to play that i'm hoping I might be able to get my daughter to get a few games in with! (although at 3 I might be pushing it)...





Space hulk - Death Angel the card game:

The original Space Hulk was the first GW game I ever owned, on the first day of a local FLGS opening I went in with my father and was told to pick any game I wanted off the shelf, after a long talk with the shop owner he described this as a good gateway GW game so off I went. Then never won a game, ever. I just found the whole experience so frustrating and my Terminators would die again and again and again, over the years I tried the various computer games but still the same experience, never got past level 1..so I read all the reviews about Death Angel and picked up a copy and it's...ok. I've completed a few missions with it and pull it out now and then for a game but it never really inspires me to keep playing, it's a good game for such a small box and I won't let it go just in case my past experiences are clouding my judgement on this.

King of Tokyo:

Giant monsters battling each other in a game by Richard Garfield? I'm in! Managed to get this one on the table with a few friends and it played out alright, the power up cards never came into any of our games so i'm not sure we were playing it quite right as it seemed to reduce down to a game of attrition but it would be good to get this one back on the table for a few laughs.





Dungeons and Dragons - the boardgame:

A really basic D&D boardgame with a load of minis, I picked this up really cheap on ebay back in the beginning of last year and popped the box a couple of times for some solo plays to get a feel for it. It's generic, simple and just does the job but again it would be good to get this on the table with some friends for some turn your brain off fun.



ASL:

The beast! My own personal Moby Dick. I got hold of the third Starter Kit this year and began playing through the vehicle rules but I can't keep up the kind of commitment ASL demands, I did reread the main ASL books infantry rules and setup a couple of scenarios but then life got in the way and it's hard to dive straight back in. I'm never going to get rid of the ASL kit I have managed to collect over the years, not just because it's so hard to get hold of! but when I can find the time to really get stuck in to the scenarios it really is the most intense, brain burning and rewarding wargame/game I have ever played. Hopefully this year I can invest a few weeks to pick up on the rules again and really get going, be great to at least play through all of the Beyond Valor scenarios!


Gears of war:

Coming in a big Fantasy Flight Games box with a pile of (really nicely detailed) mini's it's a boardgame interpretation of the Gears of War videogame, incidentally GOW was one of the last video games I ever played through before kids arrived! Someone once described Gears of War not as a third person shooter but more of a platform game played in the horizontal third person and the board game pulls that together perfectly. With mechanics such as the cards in your hand also being your life and the stop/start motion of the videogame being recreated it works really well, along with the way that the AI can be changed for each scenario by changing the deck. Plus the minis are begging to be painted! In fact writing about the game makes me want to get it out and go for a spin.


Elder sign:

Being a big fan of the original Arkham Horror I was really excited when Elder Sign was announced and was put forward as an Arkham Horror Lite. Playing the game on the other hand is not quite the same experience, part of Arkham's experience for me is the story that unfolds as you move between locations yet when playing Elder Sign a lot of that is lost on the small card texts and rolling dice. The original manual was a bit vague in some areas but Fantasy Flight have put up a much needed revised one on their website. One thing I keep holding out for though is that this might start seeing some expansions to add more to it.

Phew! Well, there about sums up my year in board gaming and hopefully this year will bring some new gems and surprises! :)

Gunning for the new year

Hey everyone, hope you had a good new years and are geared up to conquer your lead mountains this year!

Really very happy that the last four months of last year are over, had to get a new qualification for work and the study and course/exam time took up all of my spare time, very stressful but so far...this year looks clear! A whole year of wargaming woohooo!!

So... where to start? I managed to finish off my Khador starter box ready to hit the table, kept it simple, base/wash/highlight - just a few more models and I should have a 35 point army ready for some play:

For Christmas I got a copy of Warlord games Black Powder rules, great book and a great set of rules, the ethos and humor in the book makes for a great read and it really inspired me to get moving and put some models down.

 I've started with my first pack of Pendrakens new range of 10mm ACW Union soldiers and got them based ready to play, it was pretty tricky painting these as I was not ready for just how bloody small they were! but after a bit of squinting I got good setup going and managed to knock through these, so much so that i've ordered a few more packs to be getting on with.

Regarding the basing, this seems like a mind field depending on who you ask as everyone has a different viewpoint, so I went for ..... with 6 infantry to a base, it looks ok but might make it more dense with 8/10 to a base. It's not a huge issue for me as i'll be painting up and basing both armies so they should match each other well.

The ACW mini's I have ordered have been the first i've bought in months as I am still on a self imposed  quarantine to try and reduce the backlog of figures I have knocking around but the good news is I have  a good number of blog posts already started for some of the other games I have been playing and working on. So hopefully see you soon!

Catching up

Woah, almost been three months since I updated! Huge amount going on here but my hobby time just keeps getting squeezed and squeezed, although i've had a reprieve over the past few weeks so hopefully get some more updates in.

First up I managed to get a nicely printed copy of the Gruntz rules, my older printout was falling apart and I wanted a copy I could grab and go with. Also, using the great Gruntomatic tool I managed to create cards for almost all my squads and vehicles! Blitzed the lot in one go, printed them and sleeved them up ready to just grab and play:

Been getting some games of Gruntz in lately and looking forward to version 1.1 coming out soon, I might be able to get a review of the current rules out before then.

Painting wise I finally caught up and painted all the GZG Crusties I had sat in boxes:

Also I had a go at speed painting some Khurasan War Robots, all in all the two squads took 2 hours including basing. I just base painted, washed and then a quick highlight on the lot, the pics make them look quite garish but they look fine on the table. I had to do something as with so little time I really just wanted to get these on to the table easily and without too much fuss.

I've been worrying about whether to keep this blog just 15mm but to be honest I enjoy so much in the hobby I thought i'd open it up a bit, hopefully someone will find something interesting in it.
I have been a fan of Mantic Games output for some time so when the TrollTrader started selling the Fate of the Forgestar boxed sets for £25 a pop I grabbed a box and started putting them together:

The box is great value for money, large number of minis and the vehicles are nicely done, although the forgefathers are based off the kings of war dwarf sprues so include the crossbow dwarf as a base for half the models, I really hated the sculpt of that one piece before and even with scifi detailing I was not endeared to it. Anyway, while painting these up the dreadBall kickstarter came up and looked great, so I was all in on the first day, great idea, great look and I was really looking forward to it but in an odd twist of fate I heard some great news, the TrollTrader were opening a store near to where I live!!! I mean a true independent games store within driving distance, woohoo! So as soon as I could I got over there ad it's a nice big store with racks of Flames of war/dystopian wars/dropship horizon/warmachine/hordes and a rack of Mantic items. Nice place but while there I asked around about the Mantic items and no one was interested, really not interested, hardly anyone had heard of DreadBall and the store owner was explaining they were having trouble trying to even give the Mantic goods away. It did leave a sour taste, I didn't want to spend over £100 on a game that might never see play, so I spent the money of Warmachine instead as everyone there had the tables setup with regular players and games, it seemed like a good "scene" to join:

Anyway, after getting myself setup, learning the rules etc I packed my army up went across to the games nights.....to find ALL the players sat at tables playing Magic the Gathering, the new shiny. I really should have known better, with an independent store changing games etc depending on popularity the dynamics of players can change pretty quickly. But, lesson learnt i'm going to leave it a few weeks for the MTG frenzy to die down and hopefully get a few games in and besides, I have been eyeing up some historical periods again .... :)

Rebel Mini's Tom CATs

Had these Rebel Mini Tom CATs sat on my desk for a fair few months and then between some 28mm painting last week to break things up I grabbed them and whipped up them up for the table pretty fast. I think all six and bases took just under three hours to get finished, started with Base paints, wash then highlight up a couple of quick layers. I wanted to try out a paint scheme for a larger project I have coming up and the orange looks ok but I think I prefer the captain with his dirty white contrast.

Got six of the Wild CATs to paint up as well but they can wait till a rainy day, in the meantime I'm awaiting delivery of Mantic's Warpath mini's - The new 2.0 ruleset is pretty robust with alternate activation etc and it looks like it might scale to 15mm pretty well.