First Day of Spring

...and passing 6k hits! Thanks Chaps :-)

OK, it really is finished now

I sanded off the bottom, put some felt in the dice tray and the Lad even found a cool resin fridge magnet at the $2 shop to stick on the Front: its now officially done! Of course another one with a nice timber finish and brass rivets would look great too...

Resistance is Futile!

With the release of the Wave 1 for the Cogs, its very tempting...

But luckily for me Comrade James will be collecting these guys while I get the ONI!

Uncharted Seas Ship

As mine are far from ready, here is a Dragon Lord Frigate by Jon (aka Mssr V) of the Malta Man Cave! I love his use of a replica chart as a backdrop.

A journey to the Uncharted Seas!

No, I have no commitment or focus and I buy far too much stuff. I figure I am a typical wargamer! Anyhow, this was a bargain and I've been looking at this for ages: its Uncharted Seas, a fantasy naval combat game by Spartan Games.

Anyhow, I picked up the 1st Edition rulebook and the four starter fleets (Human, Dwarf, Orc and Dragon Lord) for a bargain price. The Lad has dibs on the Dwarves and Dragon Lords as the kewlest looking ships (darn...)

Comrade James has been press-ganged too and has Elvish and Human fleets en route.

Time to get painting and build me some naval terrain!

www.spartangames.co.uk/uncharted.htm

ONI Army Box Revealed

Unveiled at GENCON (hence the blurry camera phone picture). Looks like its gonna be another expensive Spring - look at the cool vehicles!

3rd Edition Space Hulk revealed!

Aus$165 is a lot of coin, but it looks awesome! Preorder only at this stage. Looks like slightly updated 2nd Ed tiles with new minis From the depths of space an ancient vessel drifts slowly towards the Imperium of Mankind - a space hulk. Within its confines, untold thousands of Genestealers slowly emerge from hibernation. The Space Marines must enter the cramped corridors and tomb-like chambers of the ancient ship to defeat this alien menace. Space Hulk is a board game for two players, recreating the battles fought between the Space Marines and Genestealers. One player commands the Space Marines as they carry out deadly missions in the ancient Space Hulk, and the other commands the horde of Genestealers opposing them. Space Hulk's fast-paced rules simulate the tense atmosphere of a mission deep inside the cramped confines of a derelict space hulk, where split-second decisions are needed for victory. This boxed game contains: a 23-page Rulebook, a 47-page Mission book and 35 finely-detailed, plastic Citadel miniatures, including: 11 Space Marine Terminators, one Space Marine Terminator Librarian, 22 Genestealers, and one Broodlord. Also included are: 105 gaming counters, 24 corridors, 10 rooms, eight crossroads, eight T-junctions, six corner sections, four dead ends, four end pieces, 20 doors with plastic stands, one mission status display, and three plastic mission objectives, including: a dead Space Marine on throne, a Blood Angels artefact and a Cyber-Altered Task Unit. Plus a sand timer and five bone-coloured dice unique to this game. http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?catId=cat180016a&prodId=prod210009a http://www.rogue-market.com/forums/f119/space-hulk-revealed-4588.html

Dice Tower (Almost) Completed

I found time over the weekend to finish painting my dice tower. As you can see, it ended up more as an urban splinter cam style rather than a naval pattern. Nevertheless, it makes a good rolly sound as the dice tumble through!

Just the felt on the dice tray to go now!

Tighten what?

Not quite sure how vessel naming conventions cover this!

Slug Eat Your Face???

I love finding weird and wonderful miniatures and then coming up with a use for them - how about this one, its called 'Slug Eat your Face off' and is almost 5 inches high. It would make a great "Slugzilla" style Sea Monster I reckon!

https://www.thunderboltmountain.com/product_info.php?products_id=163&osCsid=f3086f92a7890257ec64992a91538947

Score on "The Score"

You may know that I'm a fan of the d6g podcast (link on the right side side) which keeps me company at lunchtimes as I walk around the Lake. Great stuff, though its cost me a pretty penny when I have to get the great sounding games they review!

They have a semi-regular section called "The Score" in which Ken details thematic music to game to. This week's episode (37) was by request a Medieval theme - yes, I am the "Paul from Australia" that asked for it.

In reply, Ken came up with the following great suggestions:

Non Nobis Domine" by Patrick Doyle, from "Henry V"
"The Battle" by Harry Gregson-Williams, from "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe"
"Hanging" and "Escape" by Craig Armstrong, from "Plunkett & Macleane"
"The Bridge of Khazad Dum" from "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring"
"Evenstar" from Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
"The End of All Things" from Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, all three by Howard Shore
"Battle of the Heroes" and "Anakin's Dark Deeds" by John Williams, from Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Thanks indeed Ken, they will make great music to game to. I'm really enjoying your segment, thanks for all the effort you out into it.

Dice Tower...in action!

I was excited to break out the Dice Tower for its first operational use tonight. A little sadly it was for Yahtzee rather than wargaming but it passed the test well!

New Threat Indicators

"The British are feeling the pinch in relation to recent terrorist threats and have raised their security level from "Miffed" to "Peeved."

Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to "Irritated" or even "A Bit Cross." Brits have not been "A Bit Cross" since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies all but ran out. Terrorists have been re-categorized from "Tiresome" to a "Bloody Nuisance." The last time the British issued a "Bloody Nuisance" warning level was during the great fire of 1666.

The French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from "Run" to "Hide". The only two higher levels in France are "Collaborate" and "Surrender." The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France's white flag factory, effectively paralyzing the country's military capability.

It's not only the French who are on a heightened level of alert. Italy has increased the alert level from "Shout loudly and excitedly" to "Elaborate Military Posturing." Two more levels remain: "Ineffective Combat Operations" and "Change Sides."

The Germans also increased their alert state from "Disdainful Arrogance" to "Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs." They also have two higher levels: "Invade a Neighbour" and "Lose".

Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual, and the only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels.

The Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy.

Americans meanwhile are carrying out pre-emptive strikes, on all of their allies, just in case.

And at a local level...

New Zealand has also raised its security levels - from "baaa" to "BAAAA!". Due to continuing defence cutbacks (the airforce being a squadron of spotty teenagers flying paper aeroplanes and the navy some toy boats in the Prime Minister's bath), New Zealand only has one more level of escalation, which is "Shut, I hope Australia will come end riscue us". In the event of invasion, New Zealanders will be asked to gather together in a strategic defensive position called "Bondi".

Australia, meanwhile, has raised its security level from "No worries" to "She'll be right, mate". Three more escalation levels remain, "Crikey!","I think we'll need to cancel the barbie this weekend" and "The barbie is cancelled". There has not been a situation yet that has warranted the used of the final escalation level..."

Biggles flies again!

Taking a leaf from David (of Raleigh factorium infamy), I scoured what he would describe as a car boot sale this weekend while on an outing with our house guests. No significant gaming materials were identified but I did find this treasure for $2!

The Lad has his own Biggles books - this one is mine! I had this exact version as a boy. When I started modelling I even built a German MG bunker based on this pic. Sadly this and many other books were lost in a house fire years ago. Now to find a replacement for my "Biggles of 266".

My enjoyment of WW1 flying games can be firmly traced back to these two books; and Biggles' adventures in his Camel with Algy and the Professor, and of course the Huns!

Bugs Mr Rico!

An infestation of house-guests has stymied the anticipated progress on my various projects. I'll be getting back into the Man Cave again once the out-laws depart...