Herding Cats

I am sure most of you will be aware about crowd funding. I am pretty sure that many of you will have already backed a number of projects and perhaps even this one. I did think I should let you know that I have pledged to this one. Mantic Games are launching a science fiction skirmish game using the popular Kickstarter LINK I will refrain from saying too much more as you can get all the information from the horses mouth as it were by "clicking" the link.

What I will talk about is why I am getting involved. As 4 members of my wargames club have already pledged (I am the 5th) I will be starting at the same time as everybody else so there will be no playing catch up as there have been with so many projects in the past, which is always disappointing and the other guys have played a few games and learnt the rules long before I get a chance to even paint a single figure. Unlike a couple of others I am only taking the $40.00 starting force. It is tempting to go large on this, but better to get one force and paint it up and get it on the table rather than buy everything and get nothing done. Which would be typical of me. I have decided on "Enforcers" as my army of choice. Mostly because they are the most complete force at this pledging stage which hints that they are a sculptors or game designers favourite. Also being humans they might be usable in other games and in game terms should be quite versatile. Well that's my thinking so it's bound to be WRONG!

Anyway enough about things in the future back in the here and now. I have been herding cats again, which actually has been closer to juggling cats this time. The upshot is that the Planned game for BROADSIDE is now going ahead after a short period when insufficient club members were originally available. As of yesterday 2 more club members have told me they can make it so we are up to 4. Of these 4 2 have played the rules (Myself and Graham) and the other two will have to learn it on the day. I was hoping to run it next weekend at the club, but as I would be the only one to play it at the show there really is very little point in that. I might as well keep the ships and the terrain clean, safe and undamaged at least until the day of the show. All this uncertainty has meant that I am now behind on the build, one loses interest quickly when one feels a lack of response. Luckily Monday is a bank holiday so the chances are I will be able to pull it back.

That's it for today. Thanks for reading and I'll post again on Sunday. All the best Clint

Buildings BROADSIDE and Cake.!

This is a 15mm building from Tim at Frontline that I bought from him at the club on Sunday. It is part of his adobe range that he made for himself for his own Sudan game. Which currently retails at £4.95 unpainted. I did want to get some more buildings from him but at this time he is still building up his show stock and this was the only one he had spare at the time. With Broadside a mere 3 weeks away and knowing I can buy from him at any time I think it was wise not to let me have any more. I shall pick some more up later in the year. Quite a nice building and while it does have any number of uses I got this one to bulk out my AK 47 Republic terrain.

 AK Republic, by Peter Pig games has fallen out of fashion at the club of late and while 5 or 6 of us still retain armies we just have not played it for about 3 years. So also getting this building was an attempt to get myself back into the mood for playing it again.


Only time will tell if that plan will work, and if the worst comes to the worst I will have a piece of terrain for my slow cook Apache wargame idea so not all wasted no matter what happens. Overall a very quick paint job mostly done with washes and dirty paint water. I wanted it to look really dirty and uncared for and I think I have achieved that with very little effort at all. If I had the space I could paint up loads all at once, but they take a while to dry with all the water involved so I had best not! Just in case you are wondering about the foliage it was all free, a mixture of aquarium plants and "Butchers Parsley" that used to line the freezer/chiller cupboards in shops but is now out of fashion but great for trees should you come across any.

The Bad news for me today, is that another 2 club members have got their shift patterns and can't support the club at Broadside. This means as a club we would only have two members willing/able to come along. Obviously this is not ideal so I may have to cancel our clubs attendance. I can't say I am over the moon about it, but there really is not a lot I can do. I'll let you know as time goes on. But needless to say I don't feel like doing any more work on the Blood Bilge and Iron Balls  boards until I know for sure if we will be going. If we are not going I will recycle the boards into other projects, waste not want not!

And finally Peter (The Art Therapist in training) at work is leaving tomorrow for another placement so I have made a cake for him on his last day. It's Chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate, with fresh cream filling that has also been flavoured with chocolate,  so I am not expecting it to last too long, so best to show a photo today than leave it until later when it all "evaporates!" A number of the Nurses and even Psychologists and Psychiatrists tell me that free food has no calories and that it will not interfere with any diets! Yeah Right!!!

That's it for today, I was hoping to show my first WSS figures, but they went wrong yesterday and I am on the re-paint! So until Friday and my next blog post take care and have fun. All the best Clint.

Rule 17. Don't let Clint Drive.

  Club day and Kev was running a zombie game.

I had to join in. We used the "Flesh Wound" rules for the first time. The rules are incredibly simple yet still gave a challenging and fun game. So simple in fact that even I understood what was going on..... well most of the time!
   The situation was that the army had cleared out and we (the survivors) had emerged from our basements and met in the centre of the street to decide what to do next. the decision we came up with was to get some fuel from the petrol station fuel up a vehicle and get out of Dodge (ok town). Before I lie and tell you how heroic my character was and how naff everyone else was, I had better point out that Tim supplied most of the zombies, Dave the majority of the terrain, and the survivors came from different sources. Which is the good thing about clubs in that quite often the burden of supply is spread among several players.

   OK the Lies start from now. With no real plan we set of. Kev (playing an ex military serviceman,) moved first and jogged towards a building, Patrick (a conspiracy theorist) went a different direction and activated the first load of zeds. So the rest of us thought better of going that way and quickly followed Kev. Taking it in turns to play the zombies I had to roll a random event. And the dice told me that each player was seperatly attacked by a previously unnoticed zed. This was actually a good thing despite the fact that me and Patrick each got a wound. (We could take 5 so no biggy.) Anyway next turn we quickly dispatched the 3 zeds inside the building Dave with his starting equipment of a Banjo (Dave was playing a kid) me with a 2 handed Garden tool (I insisted it was a shovel). Ian with an Axe and Relfie unarmed but with some armour. Myself Relfie and Ian all played Scholars Ian insisted he was a female physical education school teacher in a mini skirt. Hey whatever floats your boat mate. Not wanting to be left on his own Patrick sprinted to the building while we all searched for useful items. Someone found ammo, another (Ian curse you) found a sniper rifle, Relfie a Shotgun, and I found a satchel...... that's my luck for you. As I was saying Patrick followed us inside the building with a train of 6 zombies following him. I heroically broke a window and climbed out the back. Relfie did the same at one side of the building and Dave (Hallo Dave) decided to block the doorway with his body and supply us all with a meat shield. A kid blocking a doorway from 6 zombies, yeah right good luck Dave I thought as I got out the back of the building. yet somehow he beat them all! No I don't believe it either, not in any zombie game I ever run that's for sure!

   I reach the petrol station first. Ian in his mini skirt gave me covering fire with his sniper rifle. Patrick was with us. While Kev and psycho Dave looped round the other side of the building killing anything that moved as he went and started looting the petrol as fast as they could. When three of us had petrol we headed back the way we came in order to get to the vehicles and get away. Relfie was having fun on his own and had not made it as far as the petrol station but was slowly picking his way to the car and lorries which were our target. Everything was going well I thought. Ian said something along the lines of "there's not many zombies" and then the night fell and they started to come out in force all of a sudden. Typical! Ian was intent on looting just that little bit too much. Remember mate "Need before Greed!" About now the general wear and tear of zombie brawling (and the fact he was fighting 3 and 4 at a time Kev lost his last wound and joined the ranks of the dead. Our first casualty.

   I made it to the car first. Fuelled it up and waited for the rest. Relfie Jumped in the car and Patrick and Dave both added their fuel and got inside. You can't really use a shovel that well when you are sitting in the driving seat of the car. Not that I have ever tried in real life but I can imagine how hard it would be. Ian was the last to arrive and Patrick handed me a pistol (he had two at this stage) and everyone tried to kill the zombies which were now attacking the car. The car would start on 4+ . Patrick said don't roll a 1. I rolled a 1. The car took some damage.
They guys kept shooting the zombies which in turn were attacking the car in more and more numbers.

   26 zombies attacked the car needing a 6 to inflict damage on the vehicle. But it was my turn so I rolled the dice again and rolled 2. The car did not start! The car was still intact but near destruction and I realised that I had another chance so rolled the dice, another 2. Therefore the rule 17, "Don't let Clint Drive!" The zombies tipped the car over and we were in a desperate situation. The following turn I squeezed out of the upturned vehicle and started to run for my life. The others had no other choice but to either follow or stay in the car and perish.
   Ian and Reflie made it of the board and were safe. dave copped it as did Patrick who twisted his ankle trying to leap onto a high place and falling. I also escaped but was the last to make it out alive.

Victory points were totted up, Ian got 26, Relfie 24 and as for myself.... also 24.

Overall a good fun game with half the players dying and 1/2 making it out alive, if not in a good way, but survive we did. And survival in any Zombie game is it's own reward.

Thanks for reading and I should post again on Wednesday. Cheers For now Clint.