Monday, January 25, 2021

Dispatches from the front XVI

A bit of a mixed bag this week as we enter into the third week of Lockdown 3.0 in the UK.

First up a post I should put up a few weeks ago around ammo markers and 3rd prints, Paul over 'at move along nothing to see here'  very kindly shared some 3D printed arrows after a conversation around markers for Infamy Infamy. I had some spare sabots and circular bases, so thought I would use  them up to create some nice counters for the Ancient games.



Despite first appearances they are quite resilient and once based should look quite the part.

Missing that face to face gaming and off game banter that club nights bring, I thought I would dabble with a couple of virtual games whilst not physical gaming it gives me an excuse to set up weekly gaming calls and sneak in some solo gaming with field commanders pulling the strings as it were.

The first one is a short RPG type affair based around the Water Margin and Ancient China, as it was pure fantasy, I "borrowed" the Warhammer map for Cathay which has just about the right level of detail. At the moment players take command of regions garrisons or unknown rebels looking to over throw the corrupt government. I imagine if you will TV shows of the 70's and 80's Water Margin/Robin Hood with players taking hostages, stealing jewels or blocking roads to ambush convoys.

I will be briefing players on Zoom each week, which is an excuse for a beer and a chat about all things gaming, successful missions will see the ranks of the rebels swell, failures and rebels flee the cause..



So far the rebels have picked their camps and hide outs to base their operations and the government forces increased security... more to follow.

If anyone want's to join in plenty of room for extra's and sub-plots....

Meanwhile an excuse to dig out a classic Tactics II perhaps the perfect game for Lockdown Britain the grand father of  tactical board games and with a handy grid mechanism perfect to for a daily exchange of orders, you never know I might be able to covert to table top games for the Red Phoenix Project in the weeks ahead.


Red vs Blue with the objective of securing the opponents cities. Fortunately I have two copies of the map so my virtual opponent can spend his winter evenings pouring over the map planning each month of movement. Before a call to move the regiments and corps.


The initial deployments.... equal forces on both sides... Stay tuned for the first moves.


Meanwhile another year older, without meals out or trips to the pub, I was gifted a number that I actually wanted.... blimey that was a win. OK so I did not push it asking for 'swarf' as my father used to refer to my early miniatures but lots of reading material, some fillers for Bolt Action Far East, The British in Haiti and a great read for the forthcoming Pony Wars Project.


This was an interesting surprise.... Aliens - Another Glorious Day in the Corp, A Solo or Co-Op adventure based on the movie... On face value slightly more complicated that Zombicide but minis are lovely.... more on this in the weeks ahead.


An finally a note to self don't tell a fellow gamer that my mission is to paint everything I own.... On this occasion I might just have settled on socks or beer. What on earth am I going to do with these.... 7 mini's in plastic made up of what looks like 10 parts each..... why???? - Give me Perry Plastics any day.


Despite over 35 years of gaming I have never played 40K, I suspect this is a devious trick to get me to make and paint his stuff, but will give them a go, maybe in the autumn looking at the pile of lead still on the to do pile.

Until next time....

12 comments:

  1. Looks like an impressive amount of birthday swag there Stu...congratulations!

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    1. Thanks Keith, just need to sneak off for a read now :-)
      Cheers
      Stu

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  2. Happy Birthday Stu! A nice mix of present and reading material, which is nice:)

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    1. Thanks Steve.... another project looks large.
      Cheers
      Stu

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  3. Happy Birthday Stuart. I had 40K Space Marines and Space Orks back in the early 1990s- very addictive, and it lead to doing War Hammer- Dwarfs, Orcs etc and Epic (6mm)...I've sold everything over the decades though without regret. Enjoy your presents there- and stay safe too. Regards. KEV.

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    1. Thanks Kev, I think I might just be to long in the tooth to start 40K now...
      Cheers
      Stuart

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  4. Great stuff, happy birthday and keeping going. Fully agree virtual gaming , catch ups with zoom painting and Ning and gaming are all good to keep us going. 40k though that’s a side ball if ever there was !

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    1. Cheers Matt, Opening the box on the 40K stuff, 14 stages to a figure and a 10 page instruction manual.... more than Airfix :-)
      I know I have gamed some odd stuff, but they might just be a step to far..
      Cheers
      Stu

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  5. Very cool, Stu! I stared at the first image for a while - prior to reading your description of them as arrows. I was thinking, "Are those microscale space ships?" :) Very cool 3D work. Nice collection of games and reading material too!

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    1. Now that could be yet another project Dean :-)

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  6. I also never played 40K as well. Once Necromunda, but it doesn't count. Stay strong and refuse temptation!
    Now, seriously. A lot of new stuff! Something to play, something to read! What can be better?

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    1. "What can be better?"
      Another human would be nice :-)
      I would be interesting to poll the gaming community to see how many are untouched by GW?
      Cheers
      Stu

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