Chechen Project - Heavy Metal

Half way through the week and I have made some progress for this weekend's first outing of the Chechen Project, the mound of shiny metal from QRF has been cleaned up, glued together, filled and primed.... 

I did contemplate hanging on for more releases from Battlefront and Team Yankee but am not a great fan of 5 of everything and would rather mix up the AFV's.

Price wise there is little between the two, but metal castings feels like you get more for your money.

I have opted for a cross section of hardware for the Russians and will add a few extra's as the project expands. but with 2 BTR 70s and a BTR 80 this gives me enough for 3 sections of infantry, a BMP adds a further infantry section or command . A BRDM for scouting missions together with 2 T72's and an AA unit to add a little punch to the battle group. 

A few more lorries will be needed in time.

The BM21 and the Artillery piece are more likely to be used for scenario's than actual fighting units, in my mind will be used by the Chechen's rather then the Russian Forces.

The basing in the main is finished with oval bases from Warbases covered with PVA glue and play sand and baked in the oven for speed, first ensuring the wife is out :-)

This is followed up by a dry brushing and flock from TSS/QRF to blend in with the terrain blocks.

My intention is to secure the vehicles afterwards adding additional grass and the like similar in style to the infantry.

A busy few evenings to follow.

Good things come in small packages.

Well another year older.... but alais not another year wiser.
But the family have really come through this year with some fine choices, well actually the benefit of ordering your own presents......

A mountain of lead for Chechnya and the Chechen War Project, with the first game a weekaway, time to get out the super glue.

 

Talk about multi-tasking, Jump off points for the RJW or Water Margin project, more buildings for the Chechnya and Dragon Rampant for some light reading....
Just need some time on the brushes now.

The death of All Quiet on the Martian Front.

A real shame for those interested in fighting the Martian wars, but hardly a surprise given the well documented difficulties in obtaining promised items and general lack of customer service.

Definately a lesson for future creators within Kickstarter not to get carried away when you see so many people backing and funding your creations.

Let's hope someone can step in to keep some of these ranges in existance.

"We regret to announce that effective January 27th, 2016, Robot Peanut Studios, LLC, and its associated brands, Architects of War and Alien Dungeon have permanently closed their doors. Our sales plummeted precipitously in the 3rd and 4th quarter of 2015 and never recovered across our online retail operations as well as hobby shop and distributor sales. We could not maintain our business under these conditions and despite a continuing series of sales and marketing efforts, we have been forced to file for bankruptcy. The case has been filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania at case number 16-20247. Please contact an attorney if you have any questions. We set out six years ago to start a company providing exciting and entertaining intellectual property primarily in the analog gaming market. RPS began with miniature games with the intention of expanding to board and digital games. While the All Quiet Kickstarter project brought in significant sales for us, the cost of development, manufacturing, and shipping exceeded the sales numbers and we were relying on sales beyond the Kickstarter in the broader market to carry the costs and expand the game. These sales never materialized in sufficient quantities. It is just that simple - we sold stuff through the Kickstarter that essentially ended up just above cost and then paid for the shipping. All Quiet just didn’t generate enough money for its scale. In addition, our original cost estimates based on quotes and time frame from various vendors Pre-Kickstarter were exceeded, making the business model untenable without retail sales that never materialized. We are very sorry that it has come to this. Certainly not the outcome we dreamed of when we started the company. To our investors, the Kickstarter supporters and our loyal customers, we’d like to thank you for your support. It has been difficult not communicating during this legal process, but we have had to go through a process and that has been well outside any of our previous experiences. This will be our last communication. Customer service inquiries will not be answered and there will be no additional communication on Kickstarter. We do not know what the final disposition of All Quiet and or other product brands will be at this time. We have to forfeit our participation in such matters to the court. Barb and I must move on and find employment and start putting our lives back together. To our friends, investors, vendors, and loyal customers, thank you for helping us try to fulfill our dream and we wish you the best possible future." Yours Sincerely, Barb and Ernie

Japanese Cavalry - Russo Japanese War 1904 - 1905

If you read the news January is supposedly the most depressing month, Blue Monday, bills to pay, enforced diets, but in wargaming terms it's the month where new ideas and projects start.

The paint table is full of blister packs and bubble wrap of projects planned for the next 12 months and that's before show season starts in March with Hammerhead and WMMS where shinnyitus is bound to take hold.

I really need to hold my nerve and crack on with the stuff that's been outstanding from 2015.

Buried under the bubble wrap were these Empress Japanese Cavalry from their Russo-Japanese range based and under coated in November they have waited patiently while other toys jumped the queue.

These will bolster the Japanese forces and give me a more mobile option in future encounters and give me opponents for the Russian Cavalry.

The lighting was not the best, they are somewhat less shiny in the flesh, but they are great sculpts as you would expect from the hand of Mr Hicks.

I have been using Mud and Blood from the Too Fat Lardies, but may well give Sharp Practice 2 a try when it's launched in April given that the expanison of the period covered.

With these complete, an opportunity to switich to some of the new projects, but where to start, the first Chechen game in two weeks, I still need a few odds and ends for that scenario. Figures for the planned Hammerhead game in a month so far I have the Title "The Water Margin" but little else or some of the other distractions hidden amongst the bubble wrap and brown boxes..... Chinese Frostgrave anyone?

Frostgrave - The 1st Outing.

Sunday night is fight night.....

I have heard good things about the Frostgrave rules and had been following fellow club member Paul's blog and his growing band of characters and wandering monsters with interest

You can follow his progress here.

So when it was suggested we give it a try at the next club, I jumped at the chance.

Being a newbie to Frostgrave and not owning the rules, I could have perhaps been a little more careful of my choice of spells but hey, you live and learn, it was more important to get some toys on the table.

A simple scenario run on the table grab the loot, drink from the fountain and away....

I picked an Enchanter and figured an apprentice would come in handy in the long run, given that we figured it would be best to play the campaign element.

Besides someone needs to make the tea :-)

Backed up by a knight a couple of missile chaps and 5 thugs we set off.

Whilst the game itself with a little bit of a long range magic shoot out, which was not helped by me failing several spells and taking chunks off my own health points it was an immensely fun game filled with those great club night moments. 

The grenade spell which if only I could repeat the roll of 20 4x times over would have won the game.

Watching the thief chase the treasure across the square as I drew it towards me using Telekinesis.

The game mechanics were easy to pickup and pretty straightforward but tactically the devil will be in the detail of picking the right spell combination, I only used 3 of my 8 spells.

I definately need to go back to spell school.

Whilst no one suffered any deaths, I limped off the table with both Wizard and Apprentice each on one Health point. But the sneaky move sucking the treasure towards me gave me the win... Hurrah..
Although it did feel like I had been soundly beaten.


It does take me back to the 80's and those nights around the kitchen table playing D&D.

So after the first outing the valiant band is made up of the following members housed in a Library.

With some good rolls on the Loot tables and Grimoire tables, the coffers are full in preparation for the next outing.

To keep a record of my advancements the full Wizard and his followers are recorded here.

Wizard: School: Enchanter.
M6 F+2 S+2 A10 W+4 H14
Level: 2 Experience: +50
Items (max 5): 1 Healing Potion.
Gold 640

Apprentice:
M6 F+0 S+0 A10 W+2 H10
Items (max 4): 1 Healing Potion.

Soldiers.
Knight, Archer, Archer,Thug, Thug, Thug, Thug, Thug.

With the following Spells available.

GRENADE
Enchanter / 10 / Line of Sight (-1)

STRENGTH
Enchanter / 10 / Line of Sight

TELEKINESIS
Enchanter / 8 / Line of Sight (-1)

ANIMATE CONSTRUCT
Enchanter / 8 / Out of Game
The larger the construct, the harder it is to animate, so the following modifiers are applied to his roll to cast the spell: Small -0, Medium -3, Large -6.

WALL
Elementalist / 10 / Line of Sight

TELEPORT
Illusionist / 10 / Self Only

POISON DART
Witch / 10 / Line of Sight

PUSH
Sigilist / 8 / Line of Sight

STRIKE DEAD
Necromancer / 18 / Line of Sight

With a few more of the club itching to get involved, I figured I can utilise some of the Water Margin Characters to give me a suitable Chinese feel to my Wizard and his crew, I was looking to find a use for them.

Man the barricades - Chechnya 1995.

With the first outing of the Chechen project planned for a few weeks time over the the Wyvern Wargamers, I need to put my foot down on the terrain and figure front.

I picked these barricades up at Warfare last year for a £1 each, they seemed perfect for Chechnya or the Eastern Front or any other urban settings.

Very useful for blocking roads and bolstering the defences of buildings and city blocks.

Cast in resin they have plenty of detail for a modern barricade.

On the figure front I finished up a number of support elements for the Chechen defenders.
A senior officer, 2 Snipers and a Heavy Machine Gun

Again castings from Eureka miniatures - modern range with a extra sniper from their WW2 partisan range.

With other members of the club supply the Russians, we should have enough to have a dry run in a couple of weeks, time to think about AFV's and support elements.

Good news for War of the Worlds Fans...

Spotted this while surfing the web.....
Finally what every WOTW Fan has been waiting for - Good news in deed.

Rejoice, H.G. Wells fans! A War of the Worlds television series is currently in the works.

According to a report over at Broadcast Now, Mammoth Screen (which is owned by the producers of the new Poldark series on ITV) is working on a TV adaptation of Wells’ classic sci-fi novel, and they've brought Peter Harness on board to pen the miniseries.

What’s even more awesome is that the new TV series will stick closely to the original text and time period of the book -- which was first released as a serial in 1897 -- with the Martian invasion taking place in the town of Dorking, Surrey, in Victorian England.

If you’re wondering right now who Peter Harness is, he's the dude who wrote the excellent Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell miniseries that aired earlier this year. He's also penned the Doctor Who episodes “Kill the Moon” and this season’s Zygon two-parter “The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion,” as well as a couple of Wallander episodes starring Kenneth Branagh. Basically, I think the new series is in good hands.

Production on the ITV adaptation will kick off in early 2017, after the copyright expires in December 2016. Paramount Pictures has held onto the rights of The War of the Worlds for nearly 90 years after first getting their hands on them back in 1926, and there have been two big-screen adaptations. The first movie came out in 1953 and starred Gene Barry and Ann Robinson, while the second film, starring Tom Cruise and directed by Steven Spielberg, hit movie theaters in 2005.

Mammoth Screen managing director Damien Timmer said: “The aftershock of The War of the Worlds can still be felt in popular culture today. The story of a Martian invasion as experienced in Victorian Surrey is a masterpiece. We want this new adaptation to reaffirm H G Wells’ position as one of this country’s most important writers.”