BROADSIDE 2013 Setup

 Arriving at 4pm there was only 4 of us (more slowly trickled in and we got to about 10 all together). The first task was to unload two vans packed full of tables. Which is the first picture. I won't bore you with all the details, but some people helped more than others.... at the end of the second van it was just Alex (in the pink shirt) and myself.





The hall still had some sports equipment and we ad to wait for the "life guards" to put that away safely. Typically there was one young pretty girl who worked hard but could not lift a table on her own. This is not in anyway a criticism of her, she was more than happy to help. It is perhaps a criticism of the other staff in particular the young lads who just wanted to lounge by the pool side ogling the ladies swimming!

 But we got the tables laid out and had to shuffle them about a bit. The dozy twonk who drew the floor plan put no dimensions on it. So we could not work systematically, we had to get it laid out roughly and then continually tweak them. I know the drawing was to scale, but the scale was not on the drawing. When you get on site it is almost impossible when working as a team to get the tables in the right place as everyone has a different idea of how far apart they should be.... Mark please put dimensions on all drawings for the layout next time. We are wargamers and we can use tape measures! Honest!

By the time I left 3 traders had already turned up. Wargames Emporium, Warlord Games and David Lanchester Books. As I had a pre order with Wargames Emporium, they very kindly game me a 15% pre order discount. I paid cash and they got some beer money for tonight.

You all should know I will do the traditional loot blog post early next week. That's it for today. The show's tomorrow and I think I have everything ready..... there was a time when I wrote the rules at 4am the morning of the show for the game we were going to play. They worked we played that particular game 3 times on that day and got 3 different results so I still count that as a success!

Next blog no doubt Monday. But this should tide you over until then. All the best Clint

Finishing Touches

As you can see I have made a more traditional wind marker. In addition I have cut out 2 turning markers and a wind/Sail-speed marker. All these markers are painted on both sides and while for practice games we have used photocopies these have been hand cut from 3mm thick grey board (a type of cardboard). These are very useful in play so let's hope I don't forget them on Sunday.

I have taken today off of work just in case I needed to get a few things finished off. Truth to be told I am on target so I'm going to have a lazy day.

This morning I have varnished the ships bases and the wake markers. As they need 16-24 hours to dry they will be ready 1 whole day ahead of schedule. And for about 20 minutes this afternoon I will be applying a second coat of watered down resin W (PVA to normal un Sheldon Cooper type people) to the foliage on the two coast boards. Just to deter the shrubs and trees from escaping on the journey to the show in the back of Grahams car. So about 15-30 mins work to do and I am all done.

The boards look ok and they will function well enough both at the show and at the club should we choose to. Which is the point. I try to build games we can play at the club as opposed to one off game boards that are totally specific for a one shot game. Thus I feel they are more practical than some one shot games which may on the day look better, but have no longevity or further use once the shows are over. I must admit I would like to do a show game that looks totally fantastic but for now that's a pipe dream.

Tomorrow afternoon I am to travel down to Sittingbourne and help set up the tables, only 20 mins on the train each way. So I shall try to take a few pics of the pre show setup as well as the WIP of setting up a show. While Saturday morning I will be putting the fudge into teenie-tiny little bags so no one will overdose on the day and each will get a fair amount..... well that's the plan anyway.

I am so far ahead of the game that I have even placed some pre-orders with some traders for pick up on the day. One of which has given me a nice big and healthy 15% discount.

So with luck a post tomorrow evening. If not the next one will be Monday.

All the best Clint.

A Fistfull of Fudge.

 Yeehaw! Yesterday I managed to finish 4 more Foundry Apache Indians as part of my continuing Wild West Endeavours. I say "continuing" as it has been slowly growing for about 10 years but with some very long gaps in-between (up to 5 year gaps). Anyway a few extras to take from the unpainted pile and shuffle over to the very crowded Western Wargames Box.

Anyway these four are armed with a mix of traditional and contemporary weapons some, like the cavalry sabre, have obviously come from a different source than the normal gun dealers. Again the figures have a lack of knifes, only one has a sheathed knife visible. I would imagine a knife would be a very common but I could not be certain historically and anyway figures are representational and not literal.

While I have no immediate use for these figures I will continue to add to both them and the Wild West genre intermittently. I do enjoy this period for skirmish games and a few more Indian options is never a bad thing.

I have even pre-ordered some Western figures from some traders coming to Broadside.


 Talking of BROADSIDE, I have made some home made chocolate fudge for the show. As you can see to the right. With the intention of gifting it to a few traders and some bloggers. There is a blend of 3 different chocolates in the mix. Not including the chocolate drops and chocolate covered raisins I have used for topping/decoration. Any bloggers who manage to get some should be aware that "Free Food has no calories" but that excess use of this fudge will shrink your clothes!

That's todays blog post, next one will be Friday. Due to the Show on Sunday when I would be due to blog again there will be a hiccup in my schedule over the weekend. I am sure It will get back to normal quickly after that. SO until Friday, have fun, take care and see you again on Friday.

Cheers Clint

The Good the Lead and the Ugly

At the club yesterday I managed to play two games of "Dead mans Hand" by Great Escape Games. Before I go into any details though I should say that I did find the rules for horses in the rulebook. So that's one hole filled.

The first game (I was referee as I had read the rules and Tim played "the Stranger" and Patrick and Peter played the town toughs.) all the figures and terrain was supplied by Tim so I can't take any credit for anything on the table, it's all thanks to Tim). If you have seen the film "A Fist full of Dollars" this scenario (in the rulebook) is where the name with no name enters the town and the three drunken toughs decide to have some "sport" with him. In the film Clint Eastwood did not have dice to contend with and kills the town toughs in about 2 seconds flat. Tim is not Clint Eastwood however and this is what happened in our introductory scenario.

Tim AKA "Snake-eyes" due to his uncanny ability to roll low, managed to wing one of the three but only very slightly. The bad guys had there turn and Pats 2 figures moved one to the left and one right. While Peter managed to play a card and grabbed a nearby hostage to hide behind. Tim took cover behind the cart and took a couple of pot shots at the Again it had some effect but was not exactly as impressive as Clint would have been. Peter and Pat kept firing at Tims figure and Patrick was out of ammo on the first shot. It's funny how often it happens in skirmish games on the first firing opportunity. Despite the skill level of Tim's character he was not able to make any killing shots and eventually the three toughs snuck a lucky shot past the cart (a natural 20) and The game ended.

The game took a while despite there only being 4 figures as we were all learning the rules. Quite a few cards were played by the baddies but overall it went as planned and we had four players who realised they understood the rules. One of the reasons for the length of time was that every card had to be read as it was a very new system and questions needed to be asked and rules explained. But overall it went well. SO I joined in the next game.

For the next game we played a straight points match (21 points between 2 players). "1 Points is what the rules suggest and usually makes about 7-9 figures a side. As it happened we both had 8 figures. Tim and Pat played the lawmen while Peter and myself played the outlaws. We started too far apart. All the outlaws were pistol armed so had a maximum range of 12". Patrick had a couple of guys with shotguns (very nasty) but with only an 8" range. So we had a few turns of manoeuvring and getting into position. This highlighted a flaw in the initiative system. In a deck of cards and including the Jokers there are only 14 different card values. (1-10, J, Q, K, and Joker) and with 8 figures quite often the two sides numbers equated. The system was just not as elegant as it read in the rules when played on the table top. It still worked it was just a case of dice rolling occasionally to get the turn sequence correct. My tactics were to close the ground as quickly as possible so I sent all my figures straight up the main street. Peter skirted to the right which resulted in my left flank being empty. Tim decide to take advantage of this open flank, which was my plan as it would mean him splitting his force and allowing me to bring all my guns to bear on a smaller number of lawmen.

The centre of the street got quite crowded quite quickly. As there is a closest target rule I deliberately had one of my weaker figures in front. We ignored the closest target rule as the game went on but it worked for a while as he did become a bullet magnet for the outlaws. Still he lasted a couple of turns up front, until Patrick started shotgun charge tactics. these tactics involved running up to within 4" and firing both barrels. At 0-4" a shot gun get +6 to hit if using both barrels and the rules say you can't aim a shotgun. Given that your first move action does not give you a to hit penalty and your second only a -1. Pat quickly realised that this tactic gave the best chance of putting someone out of the game. Ok It left them unloaded but as it only takes 1 of your 3 actions in a turn it really was not such a disaster.

Peter on the right was also faced with shotguns and seeing how deadly they could be decided to put his leader into HTH. Now just like "Snake-eyes" Peter can roll low when the occasion suits. As Peter charged into combat he received a +1 on d10 to determine the result. Both players rolled their dice Patrick rolled a 2 and Peter rolled the inevitable 1. It was a tie so no combat result. In the next turn they both rolled the same dice and again on the turn after that. On the final turn of the game Peter managed to roll 1 higher than Pat so inflicted a single underfire marker. If the dice rolls had been different the results really could have changed the game. But they just kept rolling the same number on a d10 as each other. Peter was using his other troops well though and between us we were keeping up with the casualty count the shotguns were inflicting.

The game ended with my leader out of the fight and 3 of my other figures, Peter lost 1. Tim lost his leader as he came out of an alley and tried to bushwhack one of my guys but then found himself being shot at from 3 directions. So eventually he died. Along with 3 other lawmen. Both gangs were on 1/2 strength or less (we were less) so we both had to take nerve tests. We were at +1 due to our extra casualty, but the lawman had lost there two best figures. So the Outlaws were actually in a better position. "Tim "Snake-eyes" rolled the dice and the rest of the lawmen fled the battle. While Peter rolled well and our guys stayed to have fun in the town.

Findings and conclusion: The rules are very simple and work very well. There are loads of holes in the rules and I would imagine Great Escape Games is already planning a few supplements to flesh them out. new weapons and gang types so they can make more figures and sell more set. I am perhaps being unfair in speculating this. I will say having played the rules that they do work well for a one off "fun" game between 2 people. They will work well as participation games at shows or for quick games when no one has anything else planned. They will need work if you want a mass club game with more than a couple of people. They will also need work if you want to have the same gang in several games IF you want to show any variation in weapons or experience. All these things can be done of course but I believe they should have been done already and to save you both the time effort and game balancing.

But for one off games they work well and give an uncomplicated game with little fuss or paperwork. No complicated rules and after 2 or three gun fights you will know all the rules. It will then depend on you to decide if it needs any more than was included in these rules.

That's it for today. Thanks for reading and more on Wednesday. All the best Clint.

Happy accident?

Not everything goes to plan for any of us. I was hoping to share some figure with you this morning. Alas due to an accident on one of the BBIB Broadside boards I have had my spare time snatched away as I tried to deal with it. I must have had a careless moment and a dollop of yellow paint was discovered towards the centre of one of the boards. It was a small dollop but had dried overnight. This gave me two options, Scrape it and sand it off, or treat it as an opportunity. I took the lazy (erhm... I mean the more considered) way and treated it as a happy accident.

Two coats of varnish later I added white "breaker" waves around this tiny (paint) "island". It has now become a reef or a shoal or some other navigation hazard. It makes one section of the board ever so slightly tricky. It is not a large hazard but it is something to avoid moving into. Which is a polite way of saying everyone else will avoid it and yet somehow it will be strangely "magnetic" to my ships!

Two closer pictures of the blemish the lower image being bigger than life size. So it really is not a huge mote and now that I have come to terms with it I actually think of it as an advantage and adds something to the boards. As indicated in the title it is indeed a happy accident.

That's it for today.  Club tomorrow and a game of "Dead Man's Hand" . So until Monday have a good couple of days and with luck talk again on Monday.

Post Script: I can now get a local supply of Confectioners chocolate. So with luck I should be able to make something nice for the BROADSIDE Bloggers. Although I must admit I will be giving certain traders priority..... it all depends on how much I an make in time.


All the best Clint.

Dead Mans Hand

Dead Mans Hand by Great Escape Games is a set of wild west skirmish rules. I purchased these rules at Salute this year. Now having read them I thought I would offer my initial thoughts. As yet I have not played the game but I have a game planned for Sunday so on Monday I will probably give my second thoughts on the rules along with an after action report.

The Good.

Firstly let me start with the fact that I do generally like these rules. They are well written and very well presented with high production values. The initiative system to determine which figure goes first is quite simply the best I have come across in any skirmish game. It's both tactical and swift to implement and allows players some, but very limited, control of the order they will be able to carry out the battle in that turn. The rest of the mechanics are equally slick with combat being quick (and with good dice rolls) deadly. Any character can have instant death on a d20 roll of 19+. Which I feel is fair as a lucky shot can and will kill anyone. This does not appear to be the main way of dying though. Normally you will suffer a series of flesh wounds or combat fatigue which will wear away the figure until they just can't cope and are forced to leave the board. There are cut out counters (we'll all photo copy them rather than chop up the book) which not only cover these wounds but ammo and movement as well. Overall the game mechanics are well thought out simple to implement and seem, without playing to present a very good level of challenge.

One other factor of the game is that each player is dealt a hand of cards. These cards can be played as the player wants but only restocked at the rate of 1 card a turn and only in the turn a card is used. Which means that if you use 2 cards in one turn then you will only ever get one random card from the whole pack back. This adds a nice tactical element to the use of cards. each card from a standard deck of playing cards has a special rule. Some apply to the figure you are using, the others to your opponents figures. Each of the four suits (Hearts, clubs, diamonds and spades) applies to one of the 4 types of gangs/posses. But you will only be using the colour (red and black) that applies to your gang type, (sometimes just the suit that applies.) I won't go into any more detail about the fate deck just to say all the special results do fit into the Wild West Skirmish Genre.

The Bad

Despite all the good stuff there is some bad things, or should I say things I don't like (maybe you will). I feel there has been a serious number of missed opportunities. Weapon choice is very limited, Pistol,  Rifle, Repeater and Shotgun. So if you wanted a derringer or a sawn off or anything more unusual you are out of luck. 4 types of gun and that's it (5 types if you fire both barrels of the shotgun!). Maybe in the future they will charge you for a supplement that will have more in, but I really think they should have been in the core rules. Likewise melee weapons are  non existent in the rules.  The whole melee rules fit on a single A4  page. Which means an unarmed figure is just as good in hand to hand as a guy with a cavalry sabre. Draw your own conclusion from that, personally I would give the bloke with a sword a better chance of being the one who can walk away!

The Ugly.

 There are no rules for Native Americans or First Nation if you want the PC terms or Injuns if you use the Hollywood 1960's vernacular. Again another missed opportunity which given the slimness of the rules could easily have been rectified. Given the lack of hand weapons and the fact they have tied each gang type to a suit in the card deck unless they are willing double up on suits or create a whole new one they have limited themselves. I do feel the rules are overpriced, YES I AM A CHEAPSKATE! The rule book is slim with a softback cover Easily bent and creased.... mine already has been coming home from Salute. I find the playing cards unimaginative both on the face and the reverse sides. They just lack character. They will function in the game well enough, but so will unpainted figures and cardboard boxes for buildings, I bet you would paint your figures though! The scenarios are good and tie into some very popular films but there is minimal guidance for creating your own scenarios or building any form of campaign. Just that a standard game should have 21 points each side. Points are only given for figures, not weapons or cards in the fate deck or starting positions or anything else. It's very much a case of you have the same points each now fight it out! There is also no character progression so once you have a posse/gang then that's it. Legends of the old west (basically Wild west Necromunda) does this so well that it is a shame that other companies can't at least acknowledge the fact that the continuing story of your gangs might have some appeal.

Conclusion.

The game mechanics are good and do replicate the feel of a "Spaghetti Western" very well. They give a flavour of few dollars more and not High Noon. SO for a one off game of shooting cowboy against shooting cowboy in a town setting the rules are very good. If you are looking for more detail or a campaign setting  or Cowboys and Indians or anything other than the scenarios in the book hard luck it's all a missed opportunity.

Sorry if all that sounds negative. It's just that with such good game mechanics and a tactical initiative system it is disappointing, to me that they have not carried it further. If they had included more and put it in a hard back I would happily have paid £30. for the rules. When I say included more I am not saying a painting guide or history of the west or any of that filler fluff. None of us need any more of that. But greater diversity of weapons gangs and a campaign system would have turned this into a fantastic set. As it stands If they do bring out a supplement I will be "Meh!" as I think it will be another £20 and still not cover all the issues it will need to.

The rules are good but I am not sure I would have bought them if I had read them first, just too much missing for me. But a fool and his money etc..


That's it for today. Tune in Saturday for some painted figures. All the best Clint

Edit Sunday Morning Pre game: Having re-read the rules before I head down to the club I have found the rules for horses. They are very brief and in the scenarios section as opposed to the main rules. So I must apologise for misleading you earlier in the week.

WIND ?

I promise this has nothing to do with what I have eaten or my digestive tract in any way. This is in fact what I am considering using for my wind marker at the BROADSIDE show. I originally bought it for "Uncharted Seas" by Spartan Games. but until the weekend it had just sat there unpainted and un loved. I even tried to sell it at a bring and buy but no one else wanted it either. So this weekend I gave it some paint love and got it finished. From the time the undercoat took to dry to finish (still to be varnished more of this later) took about 20 minutes and most of that time was me procrastinating. IF it is used as a wind direction marker I will add a VERY almost "Persil" white line from it's mouth to the base edge so players will know for sure which ay the wind is blowing EXACTLY!

The reason It has yet to be varnished is that I have yet to varnish the boards for the show and It makes sense to me to do the wind marker and the boards at the same time so they have the same very glossy appearance.

My dilemma is whether it would be right to use this and not a more traditional arrow to identify the way the wind is blowing. An arrow is perhaps clearer and much more expected and a lot less likely for passers by to think I have introduced sea monsters into a Napoleonic Navel Game. If I do use this I will have to be ready for kids (and stoopid adults......you know who you are,) to leave the show thinking there was a fantasy sea battle. So my question is will people at the show be very literal or will they accept it as a wind marker?


That's it for today. next one is Thursday. So until then thanks for reading and let's get painting.
All the best Clint.

Welch Regiment of Fusiliers (15mm WSS unit)

Finally I have managed to finish my first unit for the War of Spanish Succession (WSS). Based for "Beneath the Lily Banners rules. with 6 figures to a base 3 bases to a unit. Each base is 40mm frontage and 30mm depth. I have deliberately set the troops towards the back of the base and put no tufts or foliage on the base. This was because I want the figures and not the base to be the main focus. Due to a painting mishap they have been repainted so they are not quite as sharp as I would hope. But they have reached a standard with which I can accept so nothing to worry about and I'll not be re doing them. I have taken the colours from The War Room. I have also taken reference from the Lily Banner rule book and Front Rank. (checking both the individual figures and their gallery). I am in no way an expert so if I have anything wrong kindly let me know and I'll try to get it right next time (but no promises!)

The Welch* Regiment of Fusiliers was part of Rowe's Brigade at the Battle of Blenhiem. The Battle of Blenheim (referred to in some countries as the Second Battle of Höchstädt), fought on 13 August 1704, was a major battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. Louis XIV of France sought to knock Emperor Leopold out of the war by seizing Vienna, the Habsburg capital, and gain a favourable peace settlement.

The Royal Welch Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. It was founded in 1689 to oppose James II and the imminent war with France. The regiment was numbered as the 23rd Regiment of Foot, though it was one of the first regiments to be granted the honour of a fusilier title and so was known as The Welsh Regiment of Fusiliers from 1702. The "Royal" accolade was earned fighting in the War of the Spanish Succession in 1713. SO at the Battle of Blenheim and for most of the WSS they did not have the "Royal" prefix.

It was commanded at Blenheim by Lieutenant General Richard Ingoldsby and numbering approximately 520 men. And as mentioned above was part of Rowe's Brigade, " the war room," (linked above,) has no colour details for it so I have simply left them out. As I am not sure they carried them or what they would look like, although I could of course hazard a guess.

*Welch is the old spelling of "Welsh" . In the Boer war and the First World War the regiment was called "The Royal Welsh Fusiliers" but in 1920 the name was changed back to the Royal Welch Fusiliers in 1920 under the Army Order no:56 although during this time the soldiers in the Regiment did tend to use the more archaic "Welch".

 Anyone interested in flags on model soldiers could do worse that to follow Ray's blog (LINK) as the regiment also was part of the Williamite force in the battle of the Boyne which Ray has been painting for recently (and I feel confident he will have done much more research than me!)

Every time I try to paint something I have never painted before it always seems to take much longer. Not that I have done one however I am confident I can get the next unit done in about 1/2 the time, and probably to a better standard.  Thanks for bearing with me as I have struggled to get them finished I feel confident I can crack on with the next unit now so I would expect to see more of the same every few weeks (you have been warned).

Have a good Bank Holiday week end folks and next blog post from me will most likely be Wednesday.... and as I have nothing started I had better get a wriggle on.

All the best Clint

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.

Laser Burn?

  For those with long memories you will remember the "Laserburn" rules. For those not quite that old. Laserburn was a set of science fiction rules before warhammer 40k. Anyway cutting to the chase these two vehicles are 15mm in scale and I think they were by "Table top Games". A very quick repaint later and they will become civilian scenery for my 15mm GZG star grunt force. It's so long ago I will not even attempt to try to identify them any further. But obviously one is a flying vehicles capable of carrying 2 people, one assumes pilot and a passenger. The other is a civilian van or pickup, probably envisaged as some form of grav vehicle as it has no wheels, although for my purposes, being just scenery any more details are redundant.
  They were lurking in a box with my old "Traveller" figures tucked away in the attic and had, until recently not been out of the box for over 10 years. So folks there is hope for us all that we will get round to some of the older lead we all have tucked away in at least some form, even if not for our original intention.

AS I am sure you are all aware Tamsin AKA Wargames Girl has been doing a very generous give away on her blog. Today is day 3 (of 6?) all the terms and conditions are on her blog and I think you can still enter the previous 2 days should you choose. If you do enter I wish you all the very best of luck.

A zombie game at the club tomorrow I am told using the "Flesh Wounds" rules for the first time so expect an AAR on Monday. Until then have fun and scoot over to Wargames Girls Blog and check out the very generous offer she has for you.

Cheers Clint