The Great Exhibition

I've been to a lot of Wargames shows of varying sizes, but I was not really prepared for the scale of the UK Games Expo at the NEC in Birmingham.

Today was my first visit to the event and it was quite frankly, flipping huge.

As an indication of scale, the photo below captures about a third of the gaming hall, which was one of three, the other two being packed to the rafters with traders, demo games, exhibitors and more.

I went with Simon and Leon who I haven't seen for some time, so it was nice to catch up and explore and encourage each other to spend more than we should.

Leon also kindly passed on to me the miniatures from a Kickstarter his company, Kitbash Games, ran a while ago that I backed. I don't have the game cards for Pulp City or Super Mission Force yet, but I can crack on with painting them.

We also got the opportunity to try out a game called Power Vacuum, which was funded via Kickstarter. It was engaging and enjoyable and if you backed it, I'd suggest you made a good investment.

Obviously, there was shopping done, and I took the opportunity to pick up a few things from several companies and save myself some postage on intended future purchases.

My recent Fallout bingeing saw me making a beeline for the Modiphius stand and there were heavily promoting their new skirmish game Fallout Factions, which uses the same range of miniatures as Fallout: Wasteland Warfare, but is apparently more streamlined and plays faster, but without the narrative elements.

They were handily giving out free copies of the quick start rules, and so I might give it a try if I can convince someone to have a go.

I also picked up several card packs for Fallout Wasteland Warfare. There is an app available that provides the same information, but I'm old school (or just old) and prefer physical game pieces. I was also able to find out that the wave two Raiders card pack is being restocked soon, so I should be able to get all the cards I will need for the foreseeable future.

Finally, thanks to my purchases, I qualified for a free blister pack, and so I grabbed a couple of Robobrains to wander the Wasteland causing trouble.

At the TTCombat stand it was nice to see some of the newer miniatures they've added to the Dropzone Commander line in the flesh, including these towering behemoths.

However, given that I already have two full armies for the game, along with a Scourge fleet for Dropfleet Commander, my attention was grabbed more by this particular display of 32mm miniatures in the same setting.

Apparently this game will be coming to Kickstarter soon and I think it might be something that can garner interest within our gaming group.

The only problem is that I can't remember what word they've put between 'drop' and 'commander' this time.

Obviously, TTCombat also have Carnevale, which I haven't done anything for a while. I actually still have some miniatures to paint for this, so I didn't buy more right now, but I did pick up the Blood on the Water supplement, which I've been wanting for a while.

Other purchases of things I've wanted for a while included a very reasonably priced five-headed dragon from Archon Games, who may or may not end up being used as Tiamat in a D&D cartoon cast for 7TV, and a book of Sci-Fi backdrops (which I almost accidentally stole whilst trying to work out who to pay for it) from Handiwork Games, with the intention to jazz up my photography.

Given the name of this blog, I was also on the lookout for freebies, and simply signing up for a couple of mailing lists netted me an RPG map and a baby dragon miniature.

I'm sure I could have put more time into trawling for free stuff, and if I go again next year I'll see if I can increase my haul.

There were loads of pretty miniatures on display on different stands, such as these from Conquest Miniatures, but in no way was this a miniatures focused event, with the biggest crowds being found around the discount boardgames retailers.

One interesting effect of such a big venue was that it made displays that would usually seem extremely impressive feel a little small and underwhelming.

This is purely a contextual effect, but it was a reminder that these are 'miniature' wargames.

I'm aware that given the focus of my personal hobby, I've not really taken any photos outside of the wargaming part of the event.

As I was leaving I was regretting neglecting to take the opportunity to get some pictures of some of the excellent cosplay on display. However, I did get to very briefly meet and say hi to Dave from MiniWarGaming, so at least I could tick 'meet a niche celebrity' of my bucket list.

I forgot to ask for a photo with him too.

The event had a massively different feel to the other events I've been to, even Salute, and felt significantly more professional and mainstream.

It was also a reminder that wargaming is only part of a wider gaming community (included CCGs, RPGs and boardgames) and I think that some of the more traditional events could benefit from reaching out to these other facets of the community to bring more people through the doors.

One company which I was really pleased to see at such a large event was Crooked Dice. It's always nice to see Karl, but I felt that the eclectic range miniatures from a wide range of genres was in the right place to catch people with all sorts of different interests.

For the bustle around the Crooked Dice stand, I think I might be right.

All in all I had a great day. I didn't go too heavy on new miniatures, but I did pick up a number of things that I want and actually got a somewhat different view of the hobby.

I'll definitely go again, and next time I'll have a plan.

Acquired: -87
Painted: 267
Lead Mountain: 696

The Colour Out of Space

This post is nothing to do with H.P. Lovecraft.

Instead, the title is more of a reference to the fact that due to the recent weather, after finishing off the last of the Scourge models I own for Dropzone Commander, I was forced to take photos inside. 

Despite taking all of the following photos within a few minutes of each other, and taking them in exactly the same place, the lighting and colours have behaved really strangely, and so there is a complete lack of consistency.

I can assure you, that all of these models are the same dark red done with Fleshtearer's Red contrast paint.

I'm not sure why there is so much variation in the colours and lighting. I didn't even move while taking them.

Maybe it's because they are aliens.

Anyway, at least it gave me something to talk about here, because these were a quick and dirty job to get something else off the Lead Mountain and it gives me a workable Scourge force to use as I've now painted the whole starter army box.

Will I add to them? I'm not so sure. I prefer my Resistance army, which has more variety and character in the models, and I still have a few things to paint for that too.

Anyway. They're done. Here are the numbers:

Acquired: 26*

Painted:82

Lead Mountain:525*

*Yes, I've spent some money. More on that soon.

So, how was your year?

I'm doing a review of the year, and, yes, there's an elephant in the room.

However, this is a wargaming blog, therefore I'm going to do my best to ignore the big grey viral bastard.

January

Ironically, 2020 began in a post-apocalyptic vein. With me travelling to Board in Brum for a 7TV day where I won best opponent despite taking a filthy broken cast of zombies.

I also painted my Fallout: Wasteland Warfare miniatures.

February

I prematurely believed I'd finished off my Soviets. This of course will never be true.

March

Looking back, the beginning of 2020 seems so structured and organised. I played a couple of games of Dropzone against Pete, I also apparently finished off my Fallschirmjager.

I've since found another sprue of miniatures...which sort of sums up how 2020 developed.

April

I curiously found myself with extra time on my hands and so painted my entire backlog of Masters of the Universe miniatures.

I also watched both the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies, listened to Andy Serkis read the Hobbit for charity and paint a crapload of MESBG miniatures.

May

I continued to plough through my Lord of the Rings miniatures, completing both forces for the first scenario in the War in Rohan book...that I still haven't played.

June

Real life started to demand that I do stuff, and so my output dropped. However I worked through my Kitbash Kickstarter for Pulp City.

July

Things started to open up, and I actually managed to get some games in against Matt and his new Japanese army for Bolt Action. I found machine guns to very useful for ensuring social distancing.

August

With the release of the Indomitus box filling the internet, I was tempted towards 40k for the first time in a decade. Fortunately, my valiant Blood Angels came out of retirement to protect me from buying tons of things I didn't really want.

September

As well as continuing to repaint my Blood Angels, I actually managed to get a game against Pete where I failed miserably to defend the approaches to Stalingrad.

October

My painting turned back to Saturday morning cartoons, as I painted up the Thundercats and their Mutant enemies.

November

It turns out that my lockdown goto project is He-Man. I'd recieved more, so I painted more.

December

In a bid to get my painting numbers up I painted a battle group of Scourge for Dropzone Commander before returning to the Blood Angel's.

So with the year coming to a close, let's take a look at my painting tally.

Acquired: 206

Painted: 303

My hobby resolution last year was to make inroads into my lead mountain, and so I'm calling that a win, despite Leon's best efforts to derail me by 'kindly' sending me free stuff.

My broad goal was also to finish off projects, and I've definitely done that to an extent, with Fallout, the Soviets, the Fallschirmjager, Masters of the Universe and Lord of the Rings all reaching a point where I can add things at my leisure.

However, despite this success, this year I'm going to go back to more specific resolutions as I've missed them.

1. Paint more than I acquire

Yes, that's Lead Mountain in Colorado again.

This has gone well with me 

reducing my pile by 100 miniatures. I've also cancelled my subscription to Wargames Illustrated and so the influx of unwanted plastic should slow down. On top of that I've rationalised my future projects to prevent things getting out of hand and I've got more plans to further reduce my unwanted pile as storage space is really becoming an issue.

2. Play the games I've been planning

This one sort of depends on wider world issues, but I want to get my War in Rohan campaign started (and begin the Quest of the Ringbearer that I got for Christmas), Pete and I have Dropzone and Stalingrad campaigns to return to, and I want to take some of the casts I painted last year to 7TV events so that I have an excuse to buy more 7TV casts when Karl of Crooked Dice sends out his tempting tendrils.

3. Experiment more with solo gaming

This is probably one for the first half of the year. This is the something I did struggle to do this year, despite actually writing a set of solo rules for 7TV that are available for free download on the Crooked Dice website. I only managed to finish off my Breakout campaign for Super Mission Force. However, I do have lots of games (Walking Dead, Rangers of Shadow Deep, Descent, Fallout) that lend themselves to solo play that should keep me occupied until...well...

On a personal note, 2020 has been an odd year with some extremely low points that actually had very little to do with Covid 19. I've actually been extremely fortunate to not be in an industry too adversely affected, beyond trying to apply the government's crystal clear, totally consistent and realistic plans...

On the up side, I've reconnected with my old roleplaying buddies via technology and we've now got two campaigns on the go, and this hobby is one that has a strong online presence, which has provided my with plenty of opportunities to escape when I needed them.

I know this may sound like the sort of platitude that gets said every year, but this time I really mean it.

I genuinely hope you and your loved ones have a safe, prosperous and happier 2021.

Painting By Numbers

A conversation with Pete and an opportunity to pop into my FLGS, Wargames Emporium, to finally pick up some Grey Seer spray reminded me that way back in March I'd started on another formation for my Dropzone Commander Scourge army.

And so I decided to get them finished.

If you feel like you're experiencing some deja vu, then it's probably because you've seen a very similar unit before.

Last January I spent a gift voucher on the new, larger, Scourge starter set. This gives me a large, if samey, force to build. However, it also means that I won't need to spend much more on my Scourge army.  I'm also hoping that playing with my Scourge feels different to my Resistance, where every unit is unique. More 'swarmy'.

The core of the unit are two squads of 15 Scourge Warriors. These have been done in my usual slapdash style for everything below 15mm.

I've actually done them in slightly different colours than the previous unit. This is to allow me to differentiate if they are in buildings together, and also gives me the opportunity to use one of the units as Aged Ones: older, fanatic, more elite infantry.

The Warriors are transported in Invader APCs. These have no weapons as they are designed simply to get the Warriors in close as fast as possible.

The Invaders are transported in turn by the Marauder dropship (it's out of focus because it's moving so fast). It's viscous plasma hose gives it the opportunity to rain death on enemy forces once it's dropped off its cargo.

Another 33 miniatures painted gives me a solid buffer against any potential influx of minatures over the Christmas period. Before anybody complains about such small models counting as 'one', I counted the infantry individually when I acquired them. So there!

Acquired: 189

Painted: 292

Dropzone: First Contact

Our 'Battle For Earth' campaign continues...

After a failed attempt to seize the orbital defence network as a precursor for invasion, Pete's UCM land a small insertion force in what was once Nairobi with the aim of accessing key Intel about the Scourge defences.

The force dispatched was led by a Wolf command vehicle and was supported by 3 Katana assault tanks. Three units of Legionnaires were dispatched in Raven light dropships to seize the objectives quickly, and a sizeable contingent of air cover was provided in the form of 3 Rapiers and 4 Wolverines. 2 Condors provided fast transport for the slow moving tanks.

As soon as the incursion was detected, the Scourge diverted a rapid reaction force led by an experienced Despot command walker, carried by an Intruder light dropships. Three Marauders carried the standard compliment of 3 Hunter assault skimmers, 3 Reaper AA skimmers and 2 Invader transports each carrying a squad of Scourge Warriors.

Early maneuvers saw both forces deploying their infantry to grab objectives quickly. The UCM grabbed the two closest to them, whilst the Scourge infantry, limited to a single dropship, secured two objectives on the right flank, whilst deploying their skimmers to defend the unclaimed objectives on the left with the aim of switching across later before the UCM could strike that far.

First blood went to the Scourge when deepstriking Hunters displayed incredibly precise and powerful plasma to incinerate the entire Kantana squad. This was followed up when a squad of Warriors obliterated the UCM commander with focused plasma rifle fire.

The UCM infantry moved quickly and secured a third objective, however a wall of Scourge stood between them and their final target. The Marauders and Intruder poured plasma fire into the building in an attempt to repel them to no avail.

The Hunter squad continued to rampage forwards, pushing back the Reapers away from the Scourge transports. The Despot scuttled out to ambush the Wolverines, but failed to harm them in spectacular fashion.

This ineptitude didn't last, though, and the Wolverines and the Reapers were all destroyed shortly afterwards. Squads of Legionnaires tried to retaliate from nearby buildings with limited success, taking out a single Hunter.

Meanwhile, a single squad of Warriors had vacated a building, which had almost been brought down by Reaper fire, boarded their Invader and embarked on a Marauder. Their mission: to get across to the remaining objective before the UCM could get to the target.

With the Reapers pushed back, the only things that could stop them were a single Falcon gunship and the possibility of Pete rolling a 6 for initiative on the following turn (by this time I had a massive Command advantage).

Needless to say, a 6 wasn't rolled, and the slim chance of the Falcon's AA reaction fire failed to bring down the Marauder, and so the Warriors seized the final objective.

To add injury to insult, the final objective turned out to be a critical location.

With the Scourge handily already grouped around the area, the UCM not having a real chance of damaging Scourge vehicles and any attempt to strike at the objective likely to result in light dropships succumbing to AA fire, Pete decided to withdraw, leaving the final score at 4-3 to me.

A successful first outing for my Scourge was characterised by a little bit of tactical thinking backed up with a healthy dose of good fortune:

• Pete losing his two hardest hitting units to frankly offensively good dice at the start of the game put him on the back foot straight away. To be fair, neither of us knew that Scourge units hit that hard.
• My strategy of defending an objective to be collected later offset the disadvantage my infantry had in mobility, but was massively aided by the fact that the final objective turned out to be the only critical location (we rolled each time an objective was taken).
• I had a CV4 commander due to not painting enough models, and this gave me a tactical advantage in the end game when rolling for initiative became crucial.

After two surprising victories, I now take a 4-0 lead into the next game, which will be a Dropfleet battle with both fleets arriving piecemeal.

Apparently we will need to bombard ground targets, and I don't have any ships that do that. Fortunately I have a single sprue of Frigates left unassembled that are making their way to the shipyard as I type.