Unpacking the Bones Part One: Thirty New Bones

I started unpacking the big box of Reaper Bones at lunchtime today, it took me nearly two hours just to sort out the basic Vampire pledge box! I've decided to photograph the lot in their "as received" state which you can then compare to the finished painted models as and when they are painted. The models are cast in white plastic which makes it hard to see the detail but it looks good in real life!

Initial reaction is quite favourable, though some of the more slender models suffer from bent weapons and in one case the miniature was bent over prone at the ankle. I believe the old hot water/bend/cold water set trick will work. Some of the plastic seems bendier than others but this may be down to individual models. Whilst there is an element of "never mind the quality, feel the width" with the Bones line, they are decent quality models at a damn good price.

These are the first thirty new Bones that the Kickstarter was set up to get into production...

The thirty are a really mixed batch of characters and monsters...

I love the big orcs, the barbarian and the floating eye thing, that's going to be fun to paint!

There is some notable size variation between some of the human types, the Gandalf style wizard above is somewhat overlarge.

Death In The Snow!

The Look and Learn Winter War cover

When you are eight your knowledge of military history is somewhat limited. In my case the primary sources were Victor for Boys comic, war films on the BBC and whatever was in the Airfix catalogue. Consequently you can imagine my confusion when I came across a picture in Look and Learn (bought by my father for my education, I hated it and only read The Trigan Empire most issues!) of some soldiers in white camo suits in a snowy wood destroying an enemy tank by throwing a log into the tracks! What was this nonsense and who where the Finns? (well Airfix didn't make any so how was I to know?).

Obviously, over the years, my knowledge of WW2 history has expanded (though I still find odd new nuggets) and Finland's Winter War against the invading Soviets is one that has piqued my interest on a number of occasions. That interest may now manifest itself in miniature...

I have been considering building some winter terrain for a different project and would like to get some value for money out of it by using it for other games. I had noticed Baker Company were running a Winter War Kickstarter to produce a range of 28mm miniatures and whilst they looked nice I was in no hurry to dive into this particular project - until I read what the deal was...

Finnish Riflemen Greens advancing

With most Kickstarters you pledge a certain amount for a basic reward and as the total money pledged comes in and levels hit (stretch goals), you get some freebies and new products become available which you can buy (usually at a reduced price) by increasing your total pledge. Baker Company aren't doing that, as the money comes in they are adding substantial stretch goals for free! (yes, I had to read it twice, well actually more than that!).

Finnish Riflemen Greens firing

Let's take the basic Finnish Rifle Platoon Pledge. £60 gets you 37 miniatures posted free (anywhere in the world). £1.62 a miniature is a little bit high but not extremely so, Warlord are around the £1.40 to £1.50 mark in metal. However the free stretch goals add a ten man Jaeger ski section, four snipers, four tank hunters (some with logs), two medics with two casualties, mortar and four crew, HMG firing, HMG moving, anti-tank gun and crew, six cavalry, ten jaegers on bicycles and artillery (limbered or firing with crew) and reindeer pulled baggage. The Early War Soviets have similar interesting freebies, including AFV's, and there are more to come for both sides if the money keeps being pledged. I'm not sure exactly what this brings the cost per miniature down to but it is around half the initial price.

Early War Soviet Infantry Greens charging

It almost seems too good to be true but Baker Company do seem to be adopting the principles of Kickstarter in using the process to raise money to get things into production with pledgers getting the benefit of product at near production cost prices not just as discounted pre-production orders such as with Mantic. With this in mind and bearing in mind it is such an interesting theatre of war, it would seem rather stupid not to get on board with a view to using Bolt Action or some such set...

The Boy Becomes A Man...

Momentous day today, Saul the boy turns 18 and becomes a man! Not sure much has changed other than he can now buy me a pint down the pub (yeah right!).

With him off playing paintball all day (the closest to military service his mother will let him!) I was hoping to get some painting done but I've been acting as SWMBO's taxi as she has hurt her wrist. Tomorrow though is mine, well a couple of hours in the afternoon, and I will seize the opportunity with relish and a paint brush...

Cracking Job Gromit!

As I said earlier in the week, the Gromit Unleashed trail has come to the end and as it is the end of the week I thought I'd post the final three - yes, you have seen all eighty! :-)

Bristol Bulldog

Secret Garden 

aMazing

(Moderns Month) Echoes of a Distant Wargame (and Eldoradog)

Over the last year or so I have almost completely switched to the dark side when it comes to reading. Whether books or magazines I pretty much have gone down the iPad route and having to work in London the last couple of days I was thankful I had over one hundred wargames magazines, another hundred odd wargames rules sets to peruse and literally a library of books of various genres, fact and fiction to save me from the boredom of train journeys and hotel rooms. The only downside is some old OOP favourites never made it to the digital age, especially some old wargames rules so I have started scanning and compiling some of these into PDF's for my own use.

One of these is an old TTG scenario supplement for their Ultra-Modern rules Challenger called Battlezones. Whilst the rules were a tad on the complicated side I loved this supplement when I was a teenage wargamer. One particular scenario, The Old Customs Post, I have played and umpired may times converting it to other periods, more often than not fantasy or SF. The scenario is quite simple and always changes. One army is retreating and its commander attempts to rally, rolling a dice for each retreating unit, and form a defensive line, the attacker tries to break through before the defenders have the opportunity to do so.

I re-read this scenario today on the train home with a little more interest as the original scenario is a 1973 Arab-Israeli War one, with the retreating Israelis trying to form a defensive line against the rampaging Syrians. It will be fun to actually play the scenario with the forces it was actually written for, something I have never done. Battlezones contains four AIW scenarios, but many of the others could be converted with a little work.

I must dig out Pony Wars next and scan that...

Gromit of the Day:

Eldoradog

Space Battleship Yamato (and Harmony)

I remember the first time I saw pictures of Space Cruiser Yamato in an article in an issue of Starburst magazine about the dubbed and heavily edited Star Blazers cartoon series . I had not seen the programme and had no idea what it was all about but the design of the Yamato spaceship was so cool to a teenage SF fan.

Over thirty years later I still think it is cool and have over the last decade picked up various Bandai kits from the original Japanaese anime series Space Battleship Yamato with a view to one day playing some Full Thrust games with them.

Clearly when I read about a live action movie in 2010 I was pretty excited but despite being showing in the US, I don't think it received cinema release here. The subsequent DVD releases covered every region except ours and I resigned myself to never seeing it until a chance conversation with a friend about the series led me to have one last check on Amazon, and there is was... Region 2 DVD, just released. A couple of clicks later it was ordered...

Despite being a big hit in Japan and having generally favourable reviews I wasn't expecting any kind of SF classic and that was just as well. Although much of the CGI is very good, there are some weak moments (no doubt the low budget is to blame), the story clearly owes much to Japanese culture and sensibilities and despite its best efforts to copy the feel of the Battlestar Galactica reboot, it on occasion drifts into Starship Troopers territory (without appreciating its intentional irony) and at its worse wanders into Galaxy Quest (without intending to be funny).  That said it was enjoyable and the Yamato looks great. I'm happy and now want to make up the kits!

Gromit of the Day:

Harmony

Cool Cthulhu Threads! (and Grant's Gromit)

So what is the discerning gamer wearing when they play Cthulhu Wars or Acthung! Cthulhu? Well obviously this fashionable Miskatonic University t-shirt from Cultzilla!

Don't panic, the blog isn't going to start giving Gamer Chic fashion advice, but I love this t-shirt and David at Cultzilla was kind enough to send me one. I think it looks pretty cool and shall wear it always (well, always when playing with tentacled eldricht gods...)

Tomorrow we shall look at the latest styles in practical gamer underwear (no, not really!).

Gromit of the Day:

Grant's Gromit

Big Box Arrives! (and Grrrrromit)

My box of Bones arrived today - blimey it is BIG!

It includes this...

And this...

And this...

A box chock full of stuff...

And loads of these...

I may be gone some time! :-)

Gromit of the Day:

Grrrrromit

Sadly the Gromit Unleashed trail ended yesterday and the Gromits have been removed (indeed we have just seen Grrrrromit on a trailer going to a new temporary home), but don't despair we still have a few to go and yes, I did manage to photograph all eighty!

Into the Namib? (and Gizmo)

It may be early days to be thinking about expanding the 6mm AIW project but the discovery of nineteen Scotia Rooikat AFV's and six G6 howitzers has had me pondering what i can do with them. Investigation of the Angolan War led to the discovery that the Rooikat entered service too late to see combat which makes me wonder why I bought the things in the first place!

However Larry Bond has come to the rescue, his techno-thriller Vortext postulates an Afrikaans right wing apartheid government invading the recently independent Namibia and becoming embroiled in a war with Cuba which soon escalates across the southern half of the continent. What struck me is that the Cubans use a lot of the same Soviet equipment the Egyptians do and the desert battles in Namibia would be similar in concept and terrain to those in the Sinai.

Whilst I need to focus on the 1973 project first, this does seem a good background to make use of the South African models without having to raise new opponents...

Gromit of the Day:

Gizmo

Down The Dungeon? (and Roger)

Today has been a day of Dad duties, running Saul to music lessons and then to the local Apple store to have a a detailed look at Logic Pro X (I'm not sure what it does but it reminded me of the computer displays in Star Trek: TNG!). Whilst he spoke his own form of technobabble to the Apple blueshirt I continued my ponderings on what to do with the in transit Bones.

As you can see from the picture, there is rather a lot of miniatures and I must own up to adding quite a few options, mainly dragons and other big beasties for no other reason other than they were cheap (and SWMBO likes dragons).

The vast majority of the miniatures are fantasy ones, not really enough of anything to make an army with, but an interesting mix of warriors, adventurers, bad guys, goblins, orcs, dungeon creatures, monsters, undead etc, It strikes me that this is just what you need for some simple fantasy adventuring, whether down a dungeon, in a forest or whatever...

Now I don't fancy using them for role-playing, getting enough people interested and organised is too much effort, I am wondering whether I could devise some kind of solo campaign with a group of adventurers going on quests and randomly encountering the good, bad and ugly, and chopping them up!

The idea of random encounters and table controlled responses has always appealed to me since I read TTG's old Pony Wars rules in which all the players played on the US Cavalry side and the Indians were table generated. The playing card campaign system in Scudbusters would allow for extended quests in varied terrain, meeting a variety of fantasy types from goblin raiding parties, to singular trolls, to huge dragons guarding their treasure.

I'm thinking that a simple skirmish system like Songs of Blades and Heroes may be a good basis to start with and then bolt on reaction and campaign elements.

Certainly food for thought and the stirrings of an idea...

Gromit of the Day:

Roger

Bones Are Rolling... (and Ship Shape and Bristol Fashion)

I'm not sure how long it was that I paid my money for the Reaper Bones Kickstarter but today I got a letter from Parcelforce asking me to pay the VAT (and their ridiculous handling fee - half the VAT!) on the big box from Texas which I did, so roll on Monday when this and loads of friends will arrive...

And no, I have no plan or idea what I am going to do with them!

Gromit of the Day:

Ship Shape and Bristol Fashion

(Moderns Month) Sinai Buildings (and Fiesta)

A little bit more progress on the 1973 project with these Middle Eastern buildings which should be suitable for both the Sinai and Golan fronts.

The models are old 6mm Irregular Miniatures metal ones I bought a long time ago for either my planned 6mm Soviets in Afghanistan project or a tentative C18th Wars in India idea I toyed with.

Whatever, they are nice models and painted up quickly. I left them on the cardboard bases I glued them to back whenever, adding sand and painting it to tie in with the infantry and AFV's.

Gromit of the Day:

Fiesta

Donald Featherstone RIP (and Sheepdog)

No doubt many of you are aware of the sad passing of Donald Featherstone.

Like many of us, his books in my local library were my first introduction to the wargames rules and I think I had his Wargaming Airborne Operations and Skirmish Wargames on a nearly permanent basis.

I don't know how many times I read Wargaming Airborne Operations but it was my favourite wargames book in my teens with its pictures of the same Airfix soldiers that I had in my collection. In many respects I think that is part of the reason I loved it so.

I think I'll dig it out tonight and re-read the chapters on Crete and Market Garden for old times sake...

Gromit of the Day:

Sheepdog

(Moderns Month) Egyptian Battalion HQ Elements (and Poetry in Motion)

Not much of a post today, just the Battalion Command SMG team and 2inC Command SMG team bases for the Egyptian Mechanised Infantry Battalion. Once again, Heroics & Ros, using some of the Soviet Paratroops for variation (this pack contains a walking radio operator).

This completes the infantry bases for the unit, I just need to pop off an order for some BTR50's...

Gromit of the Day:

Poetry in Motion

(Moderns Month) Egyptian Infantry Platoon (and Sir Gromit of Bristol)

To kick off Moderns Month I finished off another platoon of 1973 Egyptian Infantry. As with the previous unit, these are Heroics & Ros, this time a mix of Modern Soviet Infantry and Soviet Paratroops.

This unit is slightly different that the first platoon as it drops the Company Command SMG team for another Rifle MG Team. They just need some transport now! :-)

I also started Project Reclaim The Games Room today, it is going to be a long job, but it was great rummaging about in a couple of crates as I found a load more old GHQ including some Israeli M113's and a lot of WW2 Eastern Front stuff both in 6mm and in 20mm bought in the Eighties...

Gromit of the Day:

Sir Gromit of Bristol

September is... Moderns Month! (and Newshound)

After a bit of prevarication I have decided that when you are enjoying doing something, then you should keep going as you are more likely to get things done! At the moment I am enjoying painting the Arab-Israeli stuff I have decided to keep on with this in September, possibly expanding into a couple more modern period projects as well...

My big box of 28mm goodness from Empress is a challenge, especially trying to work out how to paint the new modern camo patterns, I have some 20mm Cold War I bought from Elheim a while back and also a lot of Central Front 6mm Soviet armour that could do with some TLC. However, we will stay in the Sinai for the time being.

Gromit of the Day:

Newshound