Just a quick post on this weeks progress.
We had another game of Dystopian Wars at the club (which has been packed the last couple weeks) with my Empire of the Blazing Sun and Gaz's Kingdom of Britannia fleets. No photos I'm afraid, but it was a solid victory for the Blazing Sun. It was also a timely reminder that painted models always do better than unpainted ones - my newly finished Dreadnought and Destroyers both performed admirably. However, the only undercoated Skyfortress, on it's debut, was unceremoniously blown out of the sky!
It was our second game using the updated rules from Spartan Games. I still hate the new Britannia generator rules (I have to read these again as they seem waaaay too powerful now,) but the new EotBS movement rules are suprisingly useful. If anyone out there is using the new rules, I'd heartily recommend reading this post of the Spartan forum to clear up a lot of grey areas!
I also had a try of making my own storage tray this week - it's surprisingly effective, although I don't think BattleFoam need to worry too much!
In other news, my order from Museum Miniatures has arrived (some 15mm Landsknechts,) and they look good enough to probably put in another order while their 25% sale is still on. I've finished up the first batch of figures for my Italian Wars project and am just waiting for some bases to arrive so I can get them completed. We're planning another Black Crusade session, but I think we might end up waiting for the first supplement (just released) before going any further.
Fortunately for my nerd time, the sporting schedule is due to relax a bit next week, leaving more painting time! I'm sure I could have got a lot more done this week if it weren't for the football (far too much nonsense to talk about,) the snooker (always bet on the thinner guy,) the tennis (Andy Murray's Scottish again,) the womens tennis (is this even a sport?) and the cricket (best team in the world my arse!)
Have a good weekend everyone!
I was having a look through some different ranges of figures earlier (because, obviously, I just don't have enough unpainted minis lying around!)
I noticed that Museum Miniatures are having a pretty impressive sale, at 25%, on their entire range. MM cover biblical through to WWII in 15mm with an comprehensive choice of figures. Packs are either 8 infantry (usually single pose, with at least two poses available) or 4 cavalry, with artillery and accessories also available. At the reduced price of £1.88 per pack, that represents a fair bargain.
Quality wise, I'd put the MM as between Essex/Minifigs and Xyston in quality i.e. right in the middle of the range, good quality, but not the best. Delivery in the UK is pretty reasonable, but have no idea about their international charges.
So if you're an after some 15mm historicals, you could do a lot worse than have a look at Museum Miniatures.
Just over halfway through the month, so how am I getting on with my resolutions. Well, not bad to be honest. Frustratingly, I've not been able to finish off any individual projects so far, but plenty of progress has been made.
In order of "almost completedness:"
- Dystopian Wars Empire of the Blazing Sun Dreadnought and Destroyers (yes, before anyone asks, this is the same ship from October 29th last year)
- Vexillia 15mm Landsknecht Arquebusiers and Crossbowmen
- Battlefront 15mm German Pioneers
- Bolt Action 28mm SS
The biggest problem I'm having is deciding when a miniature is finished. For instance, those Landsknechts are covered in little details (powder cases, drinking horns, sidearms) and I can't seem to say "That's enough detail, he looks fine, get on and base them!" Add in the fact their uniforms are painted in a variety of colours, they are taking much longer than planned.
Away from the painting table, a pleasant surprise arrived in the post this morning - a Covenant of Antarctica fleet box set from Spartan Games!!! I won this prize from Tabletop Fix, so a big thanks to both them and Spartan Games.
We've had another Black Crusade session (our third,) this time with some new characters (Chaos Space Marines) and a heavy combat mission. Still loving the rules, I'll try and get a write up of this session up in the next few days. The first supplement is due for release shortly, hopefully once it's out, FFG will get on and product some player and GM books for this great game.
Lastly, for this update, my Infinity eBay purchases look like they've gone missing. There shouldn't be any problem getting the cash back, but it's still a hassle. Particularly considering I paid a lot less than the RRP, it'll cost more to get the same collection of figures.
Tuesday saw the first wargame of 2012! Dystopian Wars at the club, with my regular opponent and his Brits against my (ahem) almost painted Prussians. This was all the more impressive considering it took me four months to get a game played in 2011.
We tried out all the latest rules updates as posted on the Spartan Games site here and here. We also took it as an opportunity to go over the rules and correct some rules we had been misinterpreting (bravery and commander mainly.)
Tiny Fliers are now a whole lot easier to manage, movement hasn't changed much, but the attack and defence rules have been well streamlined and are much more straightforward.
The Field Orders generator and game set up are great additions. Before you pretty much had to decide your mission and terrain yourself, now there is at least some guidance.
The left flank was the scene of absolute carnage - 8 destroyed and 3 captured!
Nation rules. Hmmm, not too keen on the new KoB generator rules, but that's probably because a) I couldn't even chip the paint against the Battleship last night, and b) felt my Prussians didn't get much love with their new rules (oooh!!! 1 extra dice after damage!!!)
Still, as a trial game, it was quite succcessful. Although we played two hours, only two turns were completed, but I think we ironed out a lot of issues we were having. I still have a couple areas I'd like cleared up:
Is defensive Ack Ack combined or linked against tint fliers?
Against tiny fliers, does everyone in range get Ack Ack?
Clear up the exact order for dogfighting.
A rematch is due next week, but I think I'll go back to my Empire of the Blazing Sun fleet (they might just have some reinforcements available!)
Despite the fact I'm in my thirties, and financially independent, I still get some Christmas cards with cash in them! I think it's a kind of tradition on one side of my family! This year, the Xmas dough bought nice meal out, a couple bottles of wine and a few nerd supplies!
In keeping with my resolutions, I've picked up the Combined Army Starter Set and Skiavoros lieutenant for Infinity. My Yu Cing miniatures still haven't arrived from eBay yet, so I'll be able to get started on these guys.
Ambush Valley is the Vietnam supplement for Force on Force. There is lots of eye candy on show, hopefully the content is equally impressive!
Lastly, Peter Wilson's Europe's Tragedy is a (popular) history of the Thirty Yeas War. It's had some great reviews and I'm really looking forward to reading this.
Incidentally, Maelstrom Games have a 17% discount event going on. I think it ends in a couple days, so grab a bargain while you can.
Well there are plenty of 2012 resolutions posts going up all over the blogoshpere, so I'd be remiss if I didn't go along with the flow. Last year, I set some modest goals and was fairly successful, so this year I've gone for some slightly grander and much more specific goals. Hopefully these will help me keep focused on what I'm doing and avoid those random periods of time when I simply stop painting.
In order of importance, we have:
The Great Italian Wars
First up is getting started on my latest project, the Great Italian Wars. The miniatures and bases I ordered finally arrived, and (ahem) the first touches of paint have been applied! Yes, well. . . anyway. So the goal this year is two 800 point armies, based for Field of Glory: Renaissance. I've also set a goal of building some terrain pieces, at least six, including some larger pieces - I'm thinking either an olive grove or vineyard, that kind of thing. Lastly, I'd like to run at least one game with said armies and terrain. I'm absolutely loving the history of the period, so I need to get some miniatures painted to keep that motivation going.
Painting
Yup, improve the standard of my painting. This one sounds a bit vague, but I'd like to improve to the standard where I "get" techniques like wet-blending, glazing and similar. I can't think of any specific measurable for this one, other than the fact I think I'll know it when I see it. The ability to take better pictures of miniatures would help a lot here, so I'll try working on that. Tied into this goal is:
Infinity, Hordes and Warmachine
As I've mentioned before, I have a two factions for Hordes, but they've spent far more time on the gaming table than the painting desk. The Mrs bought the Warmachine box game (with small Khador and Menoth forces) as my Christmas present and, finally, I've ordered some Yu Jing miniatures from eBay (although they've yet to arrive, grrr.) Each of these games are small, skirmish affairs so don't require a huge amount of miniatures per side. Both games are also characterised by having some amazing paint jobs for their studio armies (see this guy for an idea of the standard.)
So, I've set myself the task of painting small forces for all three games (Two 200 point forces for Infinity and four 25 point forces for Hordes and Warmachine,) painted to the highest standard I can manage. Simple.
Dystopian Wars
Straightforward enough here - finish up all the various fleets I've started, Prussians and Empire of the Blazing Sun, as well as any reinforcements that might (ahem) appear. I've also won a Covenant of Antarctica fleet through Tabletop Fix, although I'm not sure if I'll paint it myself or give it to one of my regular opponents. I'll decide when it arrives from Spartan Games. The minis I've started are painted to a pretty average standard, so, individually, they don't take too long to paint, the trick is keeping them neat and the scheme consistent over the whole fleet.
Flames of War
After selling my Fallschirmjager army last year, I planned to replace it with another fallschirmjager force painted (and based) to a higher standard. However, I've only managed one base to test a new paint scheme (it didn't turn out as planned.) I really haven't had much desire to get back into Flames of War, mainly due to painting too much of it for other people. Hopefully the new edition will kick start this drive, so I'll set a modest target of painting a new 600 point force (this should only be about 70 15mm figures, not too daunting.)
So that's what I'm planning for 2012. I do have a few other ideas, but they're less than concrete at the moment:
I'd like to get a few games in of Force On Force, but can't pick a time period to go for. I don't fancy either of the modern theatres they've done (Iraq or Afghanistan,) so at the moment that leaves either 80s Cold War or Vietnam, with an African conflict supplement later this year.
Saga is still catching my eye, but for some intangible reason, I've not bit the bullet and actually ordered the rules. I may get round to this once the expansion is released, but then again.
Depending on how the Warlord/Osprey WWII rules turn out, I might get some more Bolt Action Germans painted up, as well as some opponents (I'm leaning towards Soviets.) I really haven't found a decent platoon level WW2 set of rules, so hopefully these will hit the spot.
Lastly, I'd like to get some more RPG-ing in sometime. Hopefully Black Crusade will see some decent supplements this year and I'll definitely pick up the new Iron Kingdoms book from Privateer Press.
