Turnerquade II

Oz Gamers will know that Australia's largest gaming convention, CanCon, is held in Canberra every Australia Day holiday long weekend (that's 26 Jan for our foreign friends). In the last couple of years Oberst Owen and Comrade James have come to visit and enjoy CanCon, but until this year we hadn't achieved everyone being here together. This year we did -Huzzah !!! So after a full day at CanCon, we held Turnerquade II in the Man Cave.

Just like Turnerquade last year, the object was to play as many different games in a single day (although we did play a couple of games of AT-43). Here are some highlights:

AT-43, at which Reilly the Apprentice and Oberst Owen did very well....
and Comrade James and I suffered numerous misfortunes...

Memoir 44, which we used the new Middle East British Expansion to insert Aussies into a Pacific Scenario. We played the scenario to conclusion, then switched sides.

Comrade James is a little dissappointed with the performance of his Imperial Japanese force here!

Zombies!!! I'd had this some some time, but hadn't even broken the shrink wrapping. What a great game with 4 players!

Game Start. No, thats not the Lad's beer...

A game with 2 distinct halves; after a very cooperative initial half, after the Helipad was the very last tile placed then the knives came out...

Amusingly, the big boys were so busy stabbing one another in the back, the cunning apprentice slipped came through to claim Victory; Well done boy!

We also played Down In Flames WW1, which Comrade James had picked up at CanCon the day before. He took a pair of Albatross DVs with Owen taking a trio of Halb CIIs, with Reilly taking a pair of Sopwith Cames ("Just liek Biggles" he told me) while I took a pair of my favourite SE5s. The villanous Huns were dispatched without Allied loss.

Here Biggles shows Comrade James that the WW1 version also includes a "Fuel Tank Hit - aircraft destroyed" result!

And finally, after Reilly went to bed, we had another game of AT-43, this time a UNA/RedBlk Human team vs Therios in the Landing Scenario. We didnt balance the forces well but it was a very good learning game (BTW Halo and Aliens soundtracks make excellent AT-43 background music!)

Planning continues for Turnerquade III in June/July, with a special trophy in development too!

Space Hulk to return?

Rumoured to happen before the end of the year - that would be awesome! http://www.tabletopgamingnews.com/2009/02/12/23271
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/40102
This would be my first GW purchase for some years...

Not enough Blokeyness around here

Lets face it, Man caves need pictures of girls (and ones we family guys can get away with too).
This man cave is sadly devoid of such pics...

There, that should do it!

Light-up Golgoth

This guy has installed LEDs into his Golgoth for a very effective result- well done that man! http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v321/robosmurf/Therians/

Zombies!!! Alternate Rules

Some interesting minor tweaks to the fun game by Twilight Creations:

http://www.headlesshollow.com/downloads/games/Zombies_v1.1.pdf

A fun game of two distinct halves. Find out who your friends really are once the Helipad is placed on the board...eh fellahs?

Zeds!

Just for you Oberst Owen!

Studio Miniatures have their wave 2 Zombies coming out shortly and they look great

I particularly like the Zombie in a chicken suit !

http://www.studiominiatures.com/page4.html

you can see more at the painter's blog here:

http://nomadpainter.blogspot.com/2008/12/dead-by-dawn.html

kewl!

Rackham comes through!

A parcel arrived from France today - it contained a full box of UNA Shock Troopers as compensation for the single deformed fig I got recently. I am very impressed by this level of customer service from Rackham, all in less than two weeks. Well done Chaps!

Hint Hint

Comrade James sent me this as some sort of cryptic hint to sort my life out... click for a bigger version

A look at the Red Blok

Infantry

Krasnye Soldaty (type 1 infantry) (Krasnye Soldaty pic/reference card)

Fighting in units of 8 to 12, these fighters form the soul of Red Blok armies. Looking at their stats, however, you won’t be impressed. Their assault rifles (2, 1/1, - , 4/1) leave much to be desired. But, they make up for these deficiencies by giving players lots of dice to roll and good Morale. Throw in grenade launchers and you’ve got a unit capable of inflicting quite a bit of damage against enemy infantry units--provided you get close enough. Thankfully, Red Blok Kolossus and combat strider units are suited to the task of helping the Soldaty to the objective. Those not killed by the grenade launchers will be grounded.

If you want to concentrate on an anti-armor role, use the Marushka rocket launchers. These are not locked shot weapons, nor are they limited to use only against AFVs. Accuracy 1, yes, but you get to roll 2 dice per rocket launcher, inflicting 2 points of damage per successful penetration.

The Krasnye Soldaty special weapons can be rocket launchers or grenade launchers. Their specialists include medics and/or mechanics (0 to 2).

RPG Soldaty (type 1 infantry) ((RPG Soldaty pic/reference card)

Also fighting in units of 8 to 12, the RPG Soldaty deal out more damage than their Krasnye comrades. Armed with the smgauss, with special weapons including the mgauss or rocket launcher, they appear ideally suited for battle against opponents with higher Protection stats. You’ll pay the same AP cost for a unit of RPG Soldaty as you would Krasnye. Something tells me that the Krasnye might not see the tabletops as often as these guys, although, as evil merlin points out, there's something to be said about being able to ground a unit using grenade launchers. Background on the RPG Soldaty suggests their role on the battlefield is primarily as anti-armor. Indeed, these guys are used to destroy mutinous units, or to destroy Red Blok combat striders before they fall into enemy hands.

Specialists in RPG Soldaty units include medics and/or combat engineers (0 to 2).

Spetsnatz Kommandos (type 2 infantry) (Spetsnatz Kommando pic/reference card)
Fighting in units of 6 to 9, the Spetsnatz Kommandos form a complementary unit to the Krasnye Soldaty. They hit harder and can hold out longer, or scrape an enemy unit off of an objective using their gauss rifles and flamers. Again, if you prefer some balance and want some anti-armor capability, use the rocket launchers, which aren’t limited to combat striders. Feel free to target TacArms, Bane Goliaths and Assault Goliaths.

Their specialists include combat engineers and/or medics (0 to 2).

Dragonov Kommandos (type 2 infantry) (Dragonov Kommando pic/reference card)

Fighting in units of 6 to 9, the Dragonov Kommandos are excellent for disruption of enemy command and control thanks to their snipers and electronic warfare specialists. The sniper ability is the same as that of other AT-43 snipers in UNA and Therian armies. The electronic warfare specialist has the Disruption ability (see Sgt Tymofiyeva above for an explanation of this ability).

Dragonovs are, currently, the only Red Blok infantry with the Detection ability thanks to their infrared goggles. These work just like UNA triple lens helmets. The +1 increase to Accuracy is already accounted for on the reference card. Dragonovs are always equipped with infrared goggles; they’re not optional.

Their specialists include medics and/or electronic warfare specialists (0 to 2). A maximum unit of 9 can include 3 sniper guns or 3 atgauss guns.

Kolossus Units: Spetsnatz, RPG, and Strielitz (type 3 battlesuit infantry) (Spetsnatz Kolossus pic/reference card) (RPG Kolossus pic/reference card) (Strielitz Kolossus pic/reference card)

Take a look at the Kolossus profiles. Impressive, hunh? Don’t worry about the 10 cm movement, though. All Kolossus units have Assisted Propulsion, which gives them the Blitz ability: their movement is increased by 10 cm for their first round on the battlefield, and they may act normally when they arrive in reinforcement via a drop point. Being battlesuits, the Kolossi fight in units of 3.

Which Kolossus unit you choose to field is up to you. Take a look at your objectives and which army you’ll face. Each of the three Kolossus units is differently armed: Spetsnatz have two flamers; RPG have two rocket launchers; and the Strielitz have 1 flamer and 1 grenade launcher each. Kolossus units do not have gyroscopic stabilizers like TacArms, so your unit(s) can be grounded by indirect fire weapons.

Armored Fighting Vehicles

Red Blok AFVs are divided into three basic frames. Recon striders are light and mainly used for anti-infantry combat. Assault strider frames are suitable for combat against other AFVs. Support striders are technological monsters designed to destroy anything in their way.

Recon Striders

Nakovalny (type 1 combat strider)

(Nakovalny pic/reference card) Fighting in units of 1 to 3, the Nakovalny is armed with two light mgauss weapons. Its purpose is primarily that of anti-infantry, supporting their Red Blok infantry comrades most admirably. It’s suited not for lightning attack, but anti-personnel fire and protection against heavy salvoes.

Sierp (type 1 combat strider) (Sierp pic/reference card)

Fighting in units of 1 to 3, the Sierp is armed with two light mortars, and has communication disruptors. The light mortars are indirect fire weapons, which don’t require line of sight! Fire away at enemy infantry: those not killed by the blast will be grounded. The communication disruptors give the Sierps the Disruption ability, removing up to 3 LPs from your enemy’s Leadership Pool during the tactical phase!

Molot (type 1 combat strider) (No pic/reference card available at this time)

Fighting in units of 1 to 3, the Molot is armed with two light flamers, meaning you’re going to have to get close to fire. They also have loudspeakers, which give them the Countermeasure ability: the enemy’s Disruption and Interference abilities have no effect on a company containing Molots.

Zviezda (type 1 combat strider) (No pic/reference card available at this time)

Fighting in units of 1 to 3, the Zviezda is armed with a light mgauss and a light mortar. It’s effective against infantry, but you’ll have some trouble against AFVs. It also has motion sensors, which give it the Detection ability just like triple lens helmets or infrared goggles. Its +1 to Accuracy is already accounted for on its reference card.

Assault Striders

Kossak (type 2 combat strider) (Kossak pic/reference card)

Fighting in a unit of 1, the Kossak is armed with two medium missile launchers. Thanks to its Protection of 15, it can advance confidently, destroying infantry and AFVs easily. You’re rolling six dice when both medium missile launchers are operational. With a Penetration of 12/2, not too many AFVs--or infantry--will survive unscathed.

Hetman (type 2 combat strider) (No pic/reference card available at this time)

Fighting in a unit of 1, the Hetman is armed with a medium antitank cannon and a medium rocket launcher. The Hetman is designed as a hunter, moving from cover to cover to destroy enemy AFVs thanks to its two high powered weapons (Penetration 18/2 and 12/2, respectively). Your opponent will think very carefully before placing his AFV units in LOS of the Hetman’s weapons. Note: the medium rocket launcher is not a locked shot weapon.

Hussar (type 2 combat strider) (No pic/reference card available at this time)

Fighting in a unit of 1, the Hussar is armed with a medium missile launcher (locked shot weapon) and a medium rocket launcher. Advance against enemy AFVs using the medium missile launcher (rolling two dice per shot), then switch to the medium rocket launcher for close-in work against armor and personnel alike.

Support Strider

Dotch Yaga (type 3 combat strider) (No pic/reference card available at this time) At 775 AP, the Dotch Yaga is a monster combat strider, armed with a heavy gauss cannon (4, 5/0, -, 15/2) and a heavy mortar (4, 1/0, 10, 6/1). With Protection 17, this combat strider is designed to survive, advancing against any type of fire to deliver total destruction of enemy forces.

Taken from the forum post here: http://en-forum.at-43.com/viewtopic.php?t=1886

Real Life OGREs?

Havent these guys of Skynet? Davros? We all know these projects have a tendancy to go horribly wrong...
------------------
DARPA seeks self-aware AI robot mega-tanks

We care not who welcomes us, meatsacks - all shall die

By Lewis Page

Pentagon boffinry chiefs have announced that they would like some self-aware computer systems capable of "meta-reasoning" and "introspection". The plan is to place these machine intelligences in command of heavily armed, well-nigh invulnerable robotic tanks.

This latest plan for humanity's subjugation comes, of course, from DARPA - the agency believed to harbour the largest known group of lifelike people-simulant robots piloted from within by tiny, malevolent space lizard infiltrators in the entire US federal government.

The plan is called Self-Explanation Learning Framework (SELF). It is being handled by Dr Mike Cox of DARPA's renowned Information Processing Technology Office.

According to...Dr Cox:

Without a model of self, cognitive systems remain brittle ...

Goal: Provide machines with an ability to reason about their own reasoning... SELF will enable any learning system to explain and repair itself

Task Benefits:

Improved goal satisfaction through self-explanation and meta-control module.

Self-explaining systems lead to better calibrated trust for human users.

It seems that DARPA already has a fearful array of "Intelligent Agent" software at its disposal, so Dr Cox would like his future collaborators to "focus fully on the meta-level" as basic Agent-Smith-a-like killer AIs will be provided as "GFE": government furnished equipment.

Assuming the self-aware, self-repairing, self-programming software can be built, one might ask what Dr Cox plans to do with it.

Rather than attempting like any sane person to unplug the whole system at the wall before it eradicates humanity, Cox believes it would be suitable in the "near term" for "armored combat" and "tactical air" missions. Just to make it quite clear what this means, the good doctor - or anyway the lifelike lizard-piloted simulant which long ago replaced the real Cox - helpfully includes pictures of a main battle tank and a jet fighter, two of the most potent engines of destruction available to the modern military.

It is clear that he intends to place his self-aware 'ware in charge of such kit as the frightful 70-ton turbine-powered Abrams, armoured like a mobile Fort Knox and capable of shooting a hole through small mountains.

Bolo, anyone?

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/02/18/darpa_self_aware_tanks/

Carcassonne

My kids just ganged up and whipped my butt in this game!

Good for them I say. Its a proud day for a wargaming dad and the next evolutionary step in my 'train a worthy opponent at home' campaign.

If you havent played it, Carcassonne is a great cooperative startegy game which is quickly picked up by kids aged 8 and up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcassonne_(board_game)

UNA Army Description

Like the Therion details I posted here a week or two ago, this article (found at "The Damocles File" here: http://daneofwar.blogspot.com/2008/04/at-43-the-united-nations-of-ava-una.html) is a great resource for the UNA player. Organization of the U.N.A.
Each platoon in AT-43 is guided by one of three different companies or philosophies. In game play terms, the path or company you choose gives your troops different advantages and disadvantages via stats.

The U.N.A. companies are as follows:
Central Command or CentCom is in command of most of the U.N. troops. To many citizens CentCom is the army of the U.N.A. In theory the famous White Stars are under the direct command of General Staff in order to be deployed all over the galaxy. However, the size of CentCom and its countless branches make it impossible to have absolute control over it; consequently, the command of some sectors and armed units are left to the M.Ind. and Union. "Victory: The right move at the right time." -Motto of CentCom. "Better is better!" -U.N. philosophy

Military-Industrial Complex or M.Ind. was created to support the war effort. It is a conglomerate of industrial entrepreneurs, scientists and military personnel. It supplies the White Stars with equipment and technological innovations. That being said the M.Ind is an unofficial organization that includes industrial cartels, armament research laboratories and the Support Corps. President Archer is distrustful of this organization, but she cannot afford to lose its expertise and know how, so CentCom is forced to overlook M.Ind's malpractices and the legality of their political and industrial alliance. "In steel we trust." -Motto of the M.Ind

Union (nicknamed Syndicate by its enemies) This organism encompasses the whole civilian administration of the U.N.A. This official organization's function is to maintain popular enthusiasm for war effort and to inform the population about the military situation of the federation. It must also guarantee the respect of citizen's rights and liberties, which include law and public order. The various civil and military services constituting Union includes in its ranks: trade unions, citizens associations for the defense of such-and-such individual liberty, the judicial and prison system, the ministry of information and propaganda, the press, and many many more. "United we stand!" -Motto of Union.

White Star Forces
Star Trooper
The Star Trooper is the basic White Star troop and provide a good defensive unit. A one star infantry unit, they come equipped with an assault rifle and a combat knife. Special weapon attachments include a flamer, volcano mg, and a missile launcher. Grenades are available as an optional weapon.

Steel Trooper
The Steel Troopers make up the core of the White Stars army. A two star unit that provides a powerful selection of attack options, they start with a laser rifle and a combat knife. Special weapon options for the Steel Troopers allow them to carry a laser gun, volcano mg, or missile launcher. As with the Star Troopers, grenades are an optional weapon for this soldier.

Shock Trooper
They are a 2 star unit which carries an SMG as their standard ranged weapon, and a powerpike for melee. The SMG may be traded in for a flamer, and grenades are an option br>
Wing Trooper
Highly mobile, the Wing Troopers are a quick moving, 2 star infantry unit. Basic equipment includes a multilaser and combat knife, while allowing for the use of a laser gun, missile launcher, or sniping rifle. It should be noted that this is the only U.N.A. unit that can use the sniping ability. Grenades, as always, are an option.

Steel TacArms
The Steel TacArms are a three star infantry unit. Safely encased inside power-armor, the Steel TacArms trooper carries two laser guns. Thick armor and good penetration from their weapons makes them a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.

Shock TacArms
Not much is known about the Shock TacArms units other than that they are a three star infantry unit and carry a flamer and a powerlance.

Jam TacArms
Jam TacArms troops are the ultimate in anti-tank infantry for the White Stars. A three star unit, they come equipped with a jammer and a missile launcher. With the jammer’s incredible penetration ability, and the missile launcher’s ability to lock, enemy vehicles are in serious trouble when the Jam TacArms are in town.

Death Dealer TacArms
The Death Dealer TacArms are very rare combatants, used only for one-off missions. They are dedicated to anti-personnel combat, with each trooper carrying the equivalent firepower of an entire unit. A three star infantry figure, the Death Dealer comes equipped with two volcano mg’s, and a gyroscope. They can optionally be equipped with a laser targeter, allowing indirect fire and lock-on weapons to hit a target out of their line of sight.

Armored Fighting Vehicles
The M.Ind has developed three combat strider frames, each one dedicated to a different role: A C1 frame (recon strider) designed for reconnaissance missions; a C2 (assault strider) for assault missions and a C3 (support strider) for long range fire support.

C1
LATCS Fire Toad recon strider
LATCS (Light Anti Tank Combat Strider) are the backbone of U.N. armored fighting vehicle platoons. It is often used as an assault unit alongside the infantry or as a support force to suppress enemy fire concentrations It is an excellent raiding vehicle, striking the enemy at long range before falling back behind cover. The LATCS Fire Toad is equipped with two LLC40 "Lightlance" light laser cannons for this specific purpose.

LMPCS Fire Toad “Light Prince” recon strider
LMPCS (Light Multi Purpose Combat Strider) recon strider platoons are almost as common as the LATCS. Just as swift and maneuverable, they were designed to fight against both infantry and armored fighting vehicles. For this dual purpose use they are equipped with one light laser canon and one light machine gun.

LACS Fire Toad “Lancelot” recon strider
CentCom specifically required a medium range anti-infantry defense system,, Fire Industries developed the Lancelot to respond to this need. Lancelots are ideal anti-personnel artillery units designed to provide close supporrt for infantry by getting rid of an enemy holding a defensive position. They are equipped with two light grenade launchers and no opponent can hide from their devastating fire.

LAICS Fire Toad “Iron Rain” recon strider
The Iron Rain is the last version of the Fire Toad model. It was created as an answer to difficulties experienced by infantry squads who were faced with hordes of morphos and Red Blok soldiers. The Iron Rain variant comes equipped with two light machine guns.

C2
MATCS Defender M4 "Defender Snake" assault strider
The Defender Snake is a two star, medium combat strider. It’s basically a Fire Toad with two medium missile launchers strapped to the top. Incredibly deadly in vehicle combat, it lacks any anti-infantry defenses.

MMPCS Defender M7 “Cobra” assault strider
The Cobra variation of the DS addresses the anti-infantry problems by trading a missile launcher for a medium mortar. Possessing an excellent area of devastation, the mortar will quickly lay waste to clustered enemy units.

MMPCS Defender M8 “Cobra M8” assault strider
This is the latest version of the Defender Snake, designed to improve on the versatility of this assault strider. The Cobra M8 combines a locked shot medium missile launcher and a multi purpose precision medium laser canon, which proves remarkably useful on the battlefield.
C3
HATCS "Fire Crawler" support strider
This Heavy Anti Tank Combat Strider stands on the battlefield and weaves a deadly web of scorching energy and deafening explosions. The Fire Crawler is a multi-purpose unit capable of fulfilling any mission. This three star strider is armed with two heavy grasers sixty centimeters of high performance armor and three parallel safety backups for each of its systems.

Just Interesting

Some random AT-43 pics I found on the web, which I liked the terrain.

Red Blok AFV repaints

This guy has had some of his RB professionally rebased and repainted.

Love the basing, and think it shows just how good the orignal RB schemes are

http://picasaweb.google.it/DavideCaps/RedBlokBasetteRepaint#

Rackham Factory pics

Interesting massed-production style pics: Now thats a heck of a lot of Therion walkers!

http://www.rackham.fr/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=199&Itemid=1

Pimp my Kossak

Did you know that like the Fire Toad, the Kossak has a detailed cockpit inside it too?
http://en-forum.at-43.com/viewtopic.php?t=1855&highlight=kossak+cockpit

AT-43 and Zuzzy Mats

This guy has made himself a really interesting AT-43 setup using one of those paint-it-youself "Zuzzy mats".
I like his battle-damaged barricade terrain too.

http://corpcommander.blogspot.com/2008_04_01_archive.html

Sale at FFG

Good news for North American residents, a bugger for the rest of us!

http://app.fantasyflightgames.com/rackham-sale.html

Thanks for letting me know Daniel

Inspiring urban terrain tiles

Built in this case for AT-43 but otherwise generic modular urban terrain.

This guy has done an awesome job, giving me ideas for further expansion of my own tiles in due course.

You'll find more here:

http://en-forum.at-43.com/viewtopic.php?t=4357

Rackham Rocks!

You may recall that I recently bought a box of UNA Shock Troopers, and one figure (aka 'Lefty') was defective:
http://tasmancave.blogspot.com/2009/01/reinforcements-arrive.html

Naturally, I emailed Rackham to inform them of this problem and request a replacement figure. Today I got this reply:

Hi, I ask this morning to our warehouse to send at your adress a complete new box of Shock Troopers.

Thanks for all your support to our games and miniatures.
Let me know when you receive it.

Have a good day,
Jean Bey

RACKHAM ENTERTAINMENT
Awesome! Thats exactly the kind of customer service that makes me want to keep supporting a company.

Thanks Rackham!

AT-43: 800pt Starter Army lists

I found this very useful article at the "AT-43 Addict blog" (link above).
I've copied it here for ease of reference, but its all from that site - thanks!

So you’re thinking of getting into at-43 but don’t want to shell out for a full 2000+ point army? Here are some good places to start if you’re looking at getting into the game. Each of these armies will give you an AFV, a type 1 unit and a battle suit to give you a flavour of each of the unit types. Best of all none of the units will go un used as they are all staples of each army.

UNA
1 Fire toad
1 steel trooper unit box
1 steel trooper attachment
1 unit of Steel TacArms

Karmans
1 Kaptar unit box
1 Wendigo unit box / k-shooter unit box
1 easy trike

Red Blok
Krasnye unit box + attachment Box / RPG Soldaty unit box + attachment box
Dragomirov Kolossus box
Sierp

Therians
Storm Golem unit box
Bane Goliath unit box
Hekat

As you can see each of these lists will come out to around 825 points give or take. you will get a feel for how the army will play and will find that all these units will be useful. Each of these armies are from their basic troop pattern so there are no extra rules to complicate matters. From here it is easy to branch out after you get a feel for how the army will play.

Delivery Guaranteed!

Colour Gradient Background Files

This article decsribes how to get this cool effect below, using a simple backdrop:

http://www.weetoysoldiers.com/wp/?page_id=216

More very useful articles on mini photography here:

http://www.weetoysoldiers.com/wp/?p=439

http://www.weetoysoldiers.com/wp/?p=435

http://www.ifelix.co.uk/phomin.html

http://tabstudio.wordpress.com/2007/07/31/taking-miniature-photos-on-a-black-background/

http://www.nirya.be/snv/ttm/archives/000035.html

Bases for AT-43

These are Lt Nevsky's (of the AT-43 forums) repaints of his UNA force. You can see more here: http://en-forum.at-43.com/viewtopic.php?t=5753&sid=be14371503ecf8a9b2518e60e54eb25c In particular, he has rebased his figs and I like the effect. He says:

http://dragonforge.com/

It's a small site that specializes in several different ranges of resin bases. The quality has to be seen to be believed! Jeff is very flexible about requests too. I asked him to make custom 30 mm bases for the wasteland set that I use on my UNA infantry, and we are negotiating some 80 mm bases for my type 2 striders! Otherwise, his 40 mm bases are perfect for Type 3 Inf (or ALL the Karman inf ) and his 60 mm are a nice fit for type 1 striders. DO NOT order the 25 mm bases for type 1-2 infantry. Ask for 30 mm bases for the wasteland or brick series. He does not have them posted on his website, but he has molds done to make them.

I'm investigating this with great interest. It appears he used the "Wasteland I" set here:http://dragonforge.com/Painting%20service/for%20sale/base_sets/sci-fi/broken_wasteland.htm

...and in the meantime found some great terrain inspiration at the same website here: http://dragonforge.com/Painting%20service/terrain.htm.

Vietnam wargame footage

Authentic Man Cave footage taken during a Vietnam game Comrade James and I played during the game fest that came to known as "Turnerquade I".

"Airstrike"

"Helos Inbound"

Space Hulk at Turnerquade I

I standby my comment that Space Hulk remains GW's best ever game. The Boy and I havebeen playing it a bit over the last year. As a 'Stealer player, he routinely beats me, which shows excellent balance and game design. And of course, he doesnt let me foget his victories in a hurry... A target rich environment

Rearguard Action

Sergeants up Front...follow me!

Melee stand-off: Check out those die rolls!

Objectives acheived: both targets cleansed with the purity of flame!

I just love this photo!

The Valiant Fallen...

Turnerquade I

"Turnerquade" was a gaming weekend held in the Man Cave's nearby Annex, colloquially referred to as "the House", in July 2008 (the Man Cave Annex is situated in the Canberra suburb of Tuner, hence the name). Lucky attended from interstate and for two days the women folk allowed the three lads to play as much as possible. Accordingly, the objective was to play as many games, using as many different game systems as possible, in the allocated time. Needless to say, it was AWESOME.

So awesome in fact, that it was followed recently by Turnerquade II, with Turnerquade III now in planning. Here are some highlights of last July's games:
Space Marine Commanders consider the tactical options for a Difficult mission in Space Hulk (arguably GW's best ever game)

Success!

Lucky laments the appearance of the 'Fuel tank hit - target destroyed!" card, while Reilly's lone surviving fighter goes in for the kill on a Jap fighter (GMT's Down in Flames - Zero!) "Arrrggghhhh...Ahoy me me hearties!" Two scallywag Captains in a game of "Pirate's Cove" "Take that Vile Hun!" says Biggles, in a WW1 aerial game (using "Algy pulls it off" by Too Fat Lardies)
The Man Cave in action - an eager subordinate begs his Commander to engage the enemy, in a late war FoW US vs Germans game
Appropriate winter headwear was the key to Russian Victory over the Finns in the Memoir 44 game.

Germans triumph over the US in this North African encounter (Memoir 44) - a protest regarding the possible luck granted by my coffee mug's slogan is still pending resolution.