Battle Report - Gondor vs Corsairs

Two weeks ago Tony and I played another game of LotR.  He brought his Corsair army, which includes the Shadow Lord.  His special rule is that all shooting at targets within six inches needs sixes to hit.  This pretty much makes my Harad army an overpriced light infantry force.  With that in mind I pulled out my Gondor, which I haven't played with in the new rules.  This game was a straight up brawl, first one to 25% loses.

Faramir's scouts had reported a raid, by Corsairs, moving up the Anduin.  When he finally made contact he found that they were accompanied by the Shadow Lord and his guard of Black Numenorians.  He was still sanguine about the results.  He had brought a strong force of his veterans from Osgiliath as well as a company of his rangers.

The Battlelines meet.

Fanticide by Alien Dungeon

There is yet another miniature skirmish game coming our way.  This seems to be the flavor de jeur, probably due to the recession, but who knows.  Games like Infinity and Malifaux show the popularity of skirmish games.  They don't require very many miniatures, though usually lots of terrain.  The minis are, generally, expensive but beautiful.

The cover doesn't do a lot for me, but look at those names on the front there.

Truthfully, the market is saturated.  So why am I even bothering to bring up another one?  This is why:

 The rules have been developed and written by Rick Priestly, Alessio Cavatore, Andy Chambers and Ernest Baker.

So, yeah.  Sign me up as interested.  Those are some high powered names right there.  I'll definitely be following the development of Fanticide with interest.

They also have a Facebook page and a blog.

Since I typed this up they have also added a Kickstarter campaign.  I'm not sure if I'll support this one or not.  It will be a great way to get the rules/cards for less than retail.  You can also get good deals on armies if you are interested.  If nothing else, they have most of the information on the game in one place, on this page, so it is a convenient place to find everything in one long scroll.

Terrain Manufacturer Links

This post covers Terrain manufacturers.  These are products that interest me.  Where I have used them, it will be noted.

15mm Sci/Fi Manufacturer Links

My links have gotten a little bit out of control.  In order to remedy that I'm creating link posts that will go under a page tab at the top of the blog.  Click on the page tab for links, click on the genre you are interested in and there they will be.  Boom!  Bob's your uncle.  Nice, clean and organized.

This week will be the 15mm Sci/Fi Manufacturers.  I've actually been keeping these on another page, but this will be a lot easier.

(edit)  Barks gave me a list of several others I hadn't heard of.  I was not able to find Armies Army but the rest are below.  I have Oddzial Osmy under fighting 15's.  There is also a US distributor and if I can find them again I'll add that link.  Thanks Barks.

(edit 2)  I added Black Cat Bases with their new releases (28 August 2012)

Bones Kickstarter

There is yet another Kickstarter campaign going on that I was unable to resist.  I should really block the URL so that I can't even get to it.  As the title suggests, this is the Bones Kickstarter from Reaper Miniatures.  The value of this campaign makes it, pretty much, a no brainer.

Federation Marine AIFVs

I recently placed an order with CMG for three of their mercenary Bastion AFV's.  The Traveller also ordered a platoon of Protolene scouts, his first miniatures purchase.  As soon as we can get those based we'll be in a position to throw down some Gruntz.

The three Bastions will support my Federation Marine Corps infantry, serving as one platoon of a Light Armored Recon company.  More details on that later.

Bastion Grav AIFV with canon and heavy machine gun.

Dux Brit Player's Notes

TooFatLardies have released some player's notes for Dux Brit.  They serve as a quick start explanation of the rules.  They are useful enough that I would recommend having them available as you read through the rules.  You can just glance over, "did I read that right?".  "Yup."

The cover art, because pictures make blogs better.

Hawk Wargames Newsletter

Hawk Wargames, makers of Dropzone Commander, put out a weekly (or so) newsletter.  There have been some complications with their initial production and this has caused some angst among eager customers.

This week's Newsletter lays out the reasons for the delays in product and the small number (two) of distributors.

As far as I'm concerned this is a class act.  They are upfront about the issues and what they are doing to fix them.  This company has been one man and his girlfriend.  That he has accomplished all that he has is amazing.  I'm looking forward to picking up a copy of the rule book this year, and models next year.

We wargamers tend to think of games company's as giant GW size corporations, or at least as medium sized businesses with a couple of dozen employees.  The truth is that most companies, especially in the smaller scales, are just one or two people.  Folks can rant and rave but it is what it is.  If you want a company to get bigger, push their game, buy their products and get them the money to expand.

Additionally, there is a new review of the game, in some detail, located here.  If you've been thinking about it, read the review.

Sci-Fi Monday - Caliphate drop ship

The Caliphate of Martel, much like the Federation, uses mostly imperial designs.  Their standard small drop ship, carrying a squad, is the Sabre design, called the Scimitar in Caliphate service.  The Scimitar is the most common assault dropship model for Caliphate light infantry formations.

The Scimitar.  This is about the size of a current Blackhawk.

First Mini Ever - Part 2

In this post here I narrated the story of Rhys' first mini.  He has finally finished painting it.  I dull coated it today so it is as ready as it is going to get.

"The Master" in all his glory.

Sand Vipers

I have completed the two Sand Vipers for my Caliphate Infiltration Battalion (Rebel minis Sahadeen and Vipers).  As stated before, these are great little models that go together quickly, paint easily and look great.

Sand Viper of the Caliphate of Martel

Sci/Fi Monday - Terrain

My foray into 15mm is very recent, this year in fact.  As such I had no terrain for this scale.  Everything was scaled for 28mm.  When it comes to hills and trees, this is not a huge problem.  Man made structures, on the other hand, have to be the right scale.

I have been, slowly, adding to my 15mm terrain.  On the fourth of July GameCraft Miniatures had a 20% off sale and I jumped on the chance to add some 15mm buildings to my table.

On August 1st my order arrived and the fun began.

The possibilities are endless.

Dux Brit arrives

Dux Britanniarum from TooFatLardies was released this last week.  I'm still waiting for my hard copy and cards (and free miniature) but I was able to download the PDF and have a read through.  Here's my initial thoughts.

Battle Report - Harad and Isengard vs Wood Elves

Last night was the Thursday night club night.  As so often recently, we only had three players.  Since we had two good and one evil we decided to have Tony and I split our armies in half, each fielding 300 pts vs Jake's 600.  We rolled up a meeting engagement.  This scenario is a kill 'em all battle.  It was bloody and unpredictable with some awesomely funny moments.

This is near the end of the game.  The Elves have done surprisingly little in combat up to now.

Product Reveiw - GF9 Blood Crystals

I've bought a fair amount of GaleForce nine Battlefield in a Box terrain.  There were the two hills earlier in the year and now a box of Blood Crystals.  In all three cases I've been very happy with the product.  The hills are works of art.  I had to move them out of my office because I'd just sit there and stare at them.  My wife even liked them.

The blood crystals box.

Sci/Fi Monday - Federation Marine Corps

The Federation Marine Corps is one of the elite forces of the Federation of Neu Normandie.  Formed out of elements of the Imperial Marine Corps, immediately following the declaration of the Federation, there are two main missions for the FMC.

The first mission is that of ships guards.  There are Marine detachments on all vessels of cruiser size and above.  These ships guards serve in two roles.  They guard against mutiny by the sailors; rare now but not uncommon in the days immediately following the withdrawal of the imperial forces.  In this role the Marines are billeted between the crew and officers with two Marines in power armor always manning the one hatch that separates officer's country from the crew.

The second role of the ship's guards is to serve in boarding actions.  The Marine detachment will both defend against enemy boarding attempts and, much more to their tastes, board enemy ships, capturing them for the Federation.

The second major mission area for the FMC is to secure a planet head on an enemy planet.  The transition from space to terra firma is, by far, the most difficult of all military missions.  The FMC specializes in dropping to a planet and securing a planet hold which can support the landing of larger Army forces.

The nature of the mission demands that the FMC be equipped with grav vehicles.  While grav technology is mindbogglingly expensive, it is the only way to reliably accomplish the mission of seizing a planet head.  The FMC uses dropships for follow on forces, primarily logistics and mechs, but the main force will be dropped from low orbit in grav vehicles.

The FMC is task organized into mixed air/space/ground task forces of battalion strength.  There are Marine Divisions but they are administrative rather than operational organizations.  The divisions are force providers for the fleet and the strike elements.

The basic building block of the combat force is the Marine Planetary Assault Unit (MPAU).  The MPAU, (pronounced M-POW), is built around a rifle battalion.  To this is attached a command element, an aerospace element and a logistics element.  The MPAU is capable of capturing a heavily defended spaceport and holding it long enough for the Army's forces to arrive by drop ship.

The MPAUs serve aboard ship, located close to the action.  As such they are often the first force available when a crisis erupts.  This fact has resulted in an additional, unofficial, mission being added to the mission set of the FMC's MPAUs.  They are often called upon to land on a planet under attack and add some firepower and elite skill to the local defense forces.  While this is not an official mission the pragmatic nature of the Corps means that all MPAUs are trained to conduct training of indigenous forces.

The FMC is the go-to force in the most trying of circumstances.  When the Federation needs forces on a planet immediately they turn to the FMC and it's aggressive infantry to accomplish the mission, whatever it is.

Painted Federation Marine Corps Vipers

I've completed two more Vipers for my Federation Marine Corps.  These are the fire support variant.  They use the same color scheme as the first two.  This gives me a full platoon of four mechs.  Two are the infantry support version and two are the fire support version.

FMC fire support Viper (Rebel Minis)

Dropzone Commander

I've been looking at this game for awhile now.  I mentioned it in this post, in fact, as one of the games I'm hoping to check out in the next four months.  As launch gets closer I'm getting more and more excited about both the models and the rules.

The cover looks like it really captures the flavor of the game.

Dux Britanniarum Pre-orders up

The latest game from TooFatLardies is finally up for pre-order.  Dux Brit is a game covering the period following Rome's retreat from Britain and the invasion of the Saxons.  It fits nicely in the period between Hail Caesar and Saga, for me.  It also comes with a really slick sounding campaign system, which I'm hoping can be modified for other game systems.

Sci-Fi Monday - Star Drives

The Kang-Smith Jump Drive.

Extra solar system human space travel became feasible when the Kang-Smith jump drive was developed at the University of Colorado at Boulder, USA in 2237.  The KS drive allowed ships to disappear in one location and reappear up to three light years distant, instantaneously.  Later improvements to the KS drive allowed jumps of up to seven light years.

The jump drive, as it is called, is powered by a battery system, the Twitch Battery, which discharges all of its energy in one giant release.  The battery is then recharged via the ship's fusion engines.  Initial battery/engine combinations took up to three days to recharge, limiting the speed of a ship to approximately six light years a week.  Later developments allowed two battery sets to be carried, and recharged in only two days, enabling  a jump per day, or two in rapid succession.  When combined with the longer jump distances, of seven light years, this improved the speed of a jump ship from six light years per week to 49 light years per week.

Update

I haven't been posting much lately because I haven't finished a thing.  My normal posts seem to be either painted minis or battle reports.  That doesn't mean that I haven't been doing anything, just that none of it has fit into either of those categories.  So here's what has been going on.

A 15mm dropship, in the making.

Sci-Fi Monday - The Fury Reach

This is the first of Sci/Fi Monday articles.

This post is going to be a long one.  No pictures, just a wall of text.  If you don't want to read it, no worries.  It's the history of the Fury Reach, the background for my sci/fi campaign area.  Once I have this out of the way I can start working on the fun stuff.  Fun for you that is, I like this sort of thing.

The Fury Reach was colonized during the Fifth Wave of human expansion.

More after the jump.

Sci/FI Monday

Now that I'm back at work I've been having a much harder time finding both time and desire for hobby.  Working two jobs just kicks my butt.  By the time I've gotten the boys to bed it's all I can do to read everyone else's blogs.

In an effort to kick things up a notch I'm going to devote Mondays to science fiction.  Every Monday I'll have a post about Sci/Fi.  I was going to start this last week but I had food poisoning and just wasn't up to it.  I was so sick that I was throwing up things I haven't even eaten yet.

The first few posts will lay out the background for my Sci/Fi setting.  I don't know about the rest of you but I need to have a context to put my games in.  Even if I'm not playing an actual campaign I can still place the battles into a campaign like context.

I've written the first post, and it's a doozy.  I won't blame you if you can't wade through the whole thing.  I'll be posting it up on Monday morning, if I can remember before I head off to work.  That will get it up in prime time for my UK followers and it will be waiting for the lunch crowd here in the States.

Battle Report - Harad/Dwarfs vs Easterlings/Gray Company

This game doesn't lend itself to my usual narrative battle report style; so it's a good thing I've already decided to just do it as a pictorial report.

This game was a four person, team game.  Nick and I had just finished our game of Force on Force and were going to start a game of LotR when Jonathan and his brother arrived.  This was perfect as it let us play four on four.  We played the same scenario as the last two reports.

Since the brothers wanted to be on the same team we ended up with odd match ups, good/evil on each side.

I'm on the left with the Easterlings, and some rangers, opposite me.  I parked in the ruins for most of the game.

Battle Report - Harad vs Gondor

I played a couple of games of LotR last week.  It's too much effort to write them both up, so I'll tell the story through pictures.

The first battle was against the Traveller.  We were brewing up a batch of beer, and smoking some meat, so we were running in and out all day.  He chose Gondor and I had my Haradrim.  We played the same scenario as in the shop the week before.  There were three objectives (yellow dice, I really need to make some).  Warband deployment but within six inches of the table edge.  Extra points for wounding and killing the enemy general.

Rangers in one set of ruins.  Most of my army is bottom right.  One warband top right, opposite Faramir.

Battle Report - Force on Force

I finally got in my first game of Force on Force.  Verdict?  I loved it.  The game was fast and furious, very tactical and had plenty of room for cinematics.  It seemed to capture a realistic, but fun, simulation of combat, not getting bogged down in details.  It has a quick mechanism for including variables that makes attachments and weapons count, but doesn't slow the game down.  I ordered Tomorrow's War last night based on how this game played.

The setup.  Two infantry patrols meet in a destroyed village.

Battle Report - Harad and Corsairs vs Wood Elves

Last League night we had four players for the club night.  We were prepared for a three person game, with each of us bringing a 300 pt list and a 600 pt list.  Happily that was not necessary as Jake joined Jonathan, Tony and I for the game; and a real corker it was too.

This pretty much sums up this game for me.

Battle Report - Harad vs Elves

Sunday was Father's Day, here in the states.  For me it meant a new grill, with a smoker, gaming, family time and no responsibilities.  It was a great day.  The Traveller and I smoked some ribs and brisket and got a game of LotR in during the intermissions.  Sadly, my shade monkey was not out helping me.

The, self described, shade monkey.  It wasn't even Father's Day yet. 

On the workbench

I haven't had a lot of hobby time lately.  I had almost two months of leave when I got back from Afghanistan, which meant that I got a lot of time to work on my minis.  Now I'm back to my real job, which is not leaving me much time, while I get locked back in.  Stuff has been piling up, but I have this weekend to start nailing some of it down.

I'm actually working on all of that right now.  It totally makes sense in my mind.

Four month plan +

There's a lot I want to do this year, since I'm trying everything that catches my fancy for twelve months.  I've called it the year of rules but I'm also dabbling in scales, mediums and genres.  The only real rule I have is that all of my gaming activities have to be games.

This year I'm deliberately being a gaming magpie.

Offering of Toy Soldiers for no cost.

A quick note for two give aways going on right now.  One is guaranteed and the other is a prize draw.  The first one is from The Assault Group.  If you go to their Facebook page and like them, they will give you a free mini of your choice from the Freebies section of their website.  Just like them, put a comment on their page and they will contact you and arrange to send you your free mini.  Great stuff.


The second give away is a prize draw.  This one is from Frontline Gamer and involves the usual, become a public follower of his site, make a comment, get entered for a new model.  Good stuff.  In the interest of full disclosure, I now get to entries in the bag.  Details can be found here.  This prize is for reaching 700 followers.  He has two more in the works, at 750 and 800, so, really, this is just a win-win since his blog is worth reading on its own merits.

Edit - I changed the title of this post as it was obviously attracting scum sucking spammers.

Battle Report - Harad vs Gray Company

Thursday night is club night, though there were only two of us there, as is usual these days.  Jonathan brought his new Gray Company list, which I have never played against before.  This was a real nail biter of a game, and one of the closest I've ever played.  We played a straight up fight.  Kill to 25%.  First one there loses.

Initial set up.

Product Review - Sabre Dropship from Rebel

I took advantage of Rebel Minis sale, last month, and picked up a couple more Sahadeen weapons teams as well as four more Vipers and a Sabre drop ship.  It was quite a bit of swag for not much money.

Image from Rebel Minis

The Games that Define Us

An interesting tide is sweeping our small section of the blogosphere.  I refuse to use the M word (meme, there I did it, but only this once).  It started with the Frontline Gamer, whose blog I've pimped out before.  Several others have done it as well.  The topic has been bubbling around in my mind for a couple of weeks now, and it's finally germinated into something.

The idea is to talk about ten games that define you as a gamer.  Some interesting things have come out of it.  More North American gamers seem to have gotten in through RPGs, whereas the UK gamers seem to have come into it through GW.

In my case, I definitely follow the trend, coming to GW late in my gaming life.  There are some on my list that I have not seen anywhere else.  Others seem to be on every list.

First Mini Ever

Rhys is in love with the Lord of the Rings.  It's no Star Wars, mind, but it's a very close second.  When I play on Thursday nights I usually have him with me at the store.  He used to call it Daddy's store.  Then he started calling it Rhys and Daddy's store, which we still do.

 Collectormania is a very friendly store, where they have known Rhys his whole life.  It is under the second set of management, in the time we have been going, but it has kept the same vibe.  They have a box of star wars minis, the soft rubber pre-painted ones, that they keep around for kids to play with.

I take Rhys in and he plops down at a table, out of the way, and plays with the star wars guys on some un-used terrain.  He will also take breaks and watch me play LotR.  He loves the Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game.  He desperately wants to play.  I've worked with him on the basics, moving guys, counting pips on dice, that sort of thing.  He needs practice, but he's getting there.

SWMBO brought this haul home last night.  I'm so excited.  For the boys, of course.  Not me.  That would be silly.

He also loves the minis.  Sadly, he likes to play with them like he does with his Legos, which is bad for the minis, to say the least.   Two years ago the manager of the shop gave me some Celtos minis which weren't leaving the shelves.  They were, explicitly, for Rhys to paint.

He's a fairly splendid sculpt.  I hope he appreciates the sacrifice he is about to make.

This year he has finally decided that he is interested in painting.  He has been badgering me to let him help me when I am painting.  Nothing presentable would come of that, but there are other answers.  I remembered the Celtos models and pulled them out for him.  He was very excited by that, but saw the flaw, in that they weren't based.  All models have bases of course.

The "Master".  I went with a lighter primer so he could see the detail more easily.

Rhys first had to pick a model to be the "Master", (he loves him some Star Wars).  Once he had that task completed it was just a matter of prepping the model.  I glued it to the base, then I helped him get the mold lines off.  He missed a couple, but I left them so he could see exactly why "flash sucks".  I primed it for him yesterday.  This weekend we are going to set up a small painting station for him, next to mine.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what he does with this, and to spending the time with him.

Monthly Retrospective 4

Another month is done.  I'm still having a hard time keeping up with how quickly this year is going.  It's time for my obsessive compulsive side to kick in and take stock of May.  Considering I was on vacation for two weeks, with no internet or hobby access, I'm pleased with how it went.

Deals and Specials

There are a lot of sales and deals going on in the brave new age of wargaming that we are living in.  The 15mm Sci/Fi manufacturers often have nice sales.  "Tuition is due for my daughter, 20% off on everything."  It's nice doing business with a small company.

This is what twenty random sprues look like.  Awesome.

Then you have the big players.  Not GW big, but second tier big.  Folks like Mantic.  They recently had one of their wacky sales; for twenty five pounds you got twenty random sprues and a messenger bag.  That is a heck of a deal in my book.

Prize Draws

There is something interesting that goes on from time to time in the gaming blogosphere.  Bloggers give out prizes for reaching certain goals on their blogs.  This is similar to the custom, here in the states and in the Shire, of giving gifts on your birthday.  I have two little boys and every birthday party we put on we put together gift bags for all of the invitees.  It's a nice way of saying, "Thanks for helping me celebrate my birthday".

These prize draws are the same sort of thing.  They usually go at, either, a certain number of followers or a certain number of hits.  I think it is quite nice of these people, "Thanks for coming by and reading my stuff".  They get the kick of knowing people value what they do so they give us the kick of, perhaps, winning something new and shiny.

I quite like this custom.

Right now the king of prize draws, at least on the blogs I follow, is the Frontline gamer.  I have mentioned his blog in the past, as I quite like it.  Jody writes well reasoned and thought out articles which are well written.  He does a lot of product reviews, which are quite nice.  He also has connections with some of the coolest manufacturers out there right now.

His latest draw is this:

For reaching 575 followers:  Freebooters Fate rule book.

He has several more in the offing, each awesome and all dependent on reaching a certain number of followers.  He has the full list of his goals on the above post, so go check it out and become a member.

Memorial Day

Here in the States, today is Memorial day.  For most people it is a Monday off work.  There will be lots of grilling, parties with families and friends and the opening of swimming pools across the country.

Captain John W. Maloney

The real purpose of the day is to remember the sacrifices of our service men and women in all of our wars.  As I do every Memorial day, I'm going to put up information about my good friend John Maloney.  We were Sgt's together, almost twenty years ago now.  He was a great man, and the best of us.  John is what we, in the Marine Corps, call a Mustang.  That means he was enlisted before he got commissioned as an officer.  He was a mortar man in the 5th Marines, arguably the Marine regiment with the finest fighting record, which is saying something.  When he got his commission he went back to the grunts (infantry), rising to command of his own rifle company, perhaps the most coveted position in the Marine Corps.

John left behind his wife, Michelle, and his two small children, a son and a daughter.  Please take the time to read the articles and learn more about what this day is about for those of us who have served.

http://www.militarytimes.com/valor/soldier/926995/

The Constitution, Cassin Young and Breed's Hill

We visited Boston on our way to Ireland and spent the morning at the Charleston Navy Yard.  This is the home of the U.S.S. Constitution and the U.S.S. Cason Young.

The Constitution is the oldest commissioned naval vessel afloat anywhere in the world.  As such it has an active duty naval crew.  One of their duties is to serve as tour guides aboard ship.  We got to see the main deck, gun deck and berthing deck.  You can peer through locked doors at officer country.  The galley is forward of a “do not cross” line (rope) so you can look at it from a distance. 

The Constitution from the rear.  She has her name painted on her and everything.

Rebel Vipers - Product Review

Product Description:  Rebel Minis recently released their small class of Mech in resin.  The VIPER comes in three different variants with two versions of each, one standing still and one advancing.  Each kit comes with the legs, the body and a sprue of the appropriate weapons options.  They stand approximately twice the height of a 15mm figure.  These are definitely light mechs.

Vipers, ready for action.

15mm Sahadeen

The Sahadeen have arrived.  They will form part of the second faction for my 15mm sci/fi universe, which is slowly taking form.

"Don't go anywhere".

A brief Adieu

No, I'm not shutting down the blog.  I'm going on vacation.  The family and I are going to Ireland for two weeks.  It should be quite the change from sunny Colorado (300 days of sun a year).  I have a couple posts queued up, if I find internet access.  I may also have some time to tap out some of my ravings musings while I'm gone.  I'm certainly planning on taking lots of pictures for terrain inspiration.

 I may even take some of the family.

Again, pending internet access I'll be viewing all of your brilliant blogs while I'm gone.

Have a great two weeks.  I will.

Year of Rules - Gruntz 15mm Sci/Fi

This is the Year of Rules, one new set checked out every month.  The Rules set for May is... Duh!  Duh!  Duh!  Gruntz!

The cover of the PDF rules v1.0.

One read through and a couple of solo practice games down and this is what I think...

Defiance Games UAMC

Look what came in the mail.  I've been waiting for this package since February.  Defiance Games has finally sorted out their production issues and gotten their production line in order.  My order of USMC, now re-named UAMC due to copyright issues, is finally here.  (Yes, you read that correctly, the United States Marine Corps has copyrighted USMC).

Look what just came in the mail.

The box, looking remarkably like what it looked like on the Defiance web site. 

This box holds twelve sprues.

Romans Completed

I have finally completed my Romans.  The last bit to be done was the shields.  The transfers gave me fits, but are worth it, in the end I think.  I also added some flowers, while I was avoiding dealing with the shields.

Command.  Additional, flowery, tufts for added awesomeness.

Battle Report - Harad vs Corsairs of Umbar

Nuradan knew something was wrong when he saw the Corsair ships approaching.  The Haradrim had fled south, crossing the river above the falls and force marching through Ithilien.  He was planning his return to Kharna when the two ships were spotted tacking up river.  The feeling of foreboding became a certainty of battle when a bolt, fired from one of the ships, killed his messenger.

As Nuradan arrayed his forces for battle, the Wraith was focused on the ships.  Nuradan would have said apprehensively, only Wraiths didn't get apprehensive.  Two boat loads of Reavers and Corsairs left the two ships.  He also saw the black hearted Numenorians of Umbar, and even horses, being ferried ashore.  Then he saw what had held the attention of the Wraith.  The Corsairs had brought another one of the Nine with them.  This day was looking darker and darker.

The battlefield.

Battlefield Academy

I have been a video gamer since the first computers appeared in homes.  I started with pong, attached to our 13" black and white TV.  Oddly, I'm playing almost nothing right now.  There is one exception to this, Battlefield Academy on the iPad.

Screen shot from the game.

Transfers

Shield Transfers.  They are a must for Romans, unless your freehand skills are much better than mine.  The Warlord Legionaries come with a sheet, and very nice looking they are too.  All you need is the decals, some water and your normal hobby tools.  What could be simpler?

 I hate them with a passion I normally reserve for living things.

Collecting to an Order of Battle

When I am thinking about collecting historical miniatures I like to pick a battle, research the order of battle present, then collect towards that.  It gives me structure and form.  Of course I'm willing to deviate from that when a unit is just too cool to leave out.

Monthly Retrospective 3

Month four of 2012 is over.  This year is going blindingly fast, to me at least.  This was a productive month in some respects and not so much in others.

I started 15mm for Sci/Fi this month.  That's a big step.  I prefer 28mm models, and I'll still game in that scale.  The reasons I finally succumbed to the dark side of gaming are probably pretty familiar to all those that have already made the leap.  There is a huge, and ever expanding range of models.  They are dirt cheap.  They paint up quickly.  The terrain is much cheaper than 28mm.  There is freedom to build whatever force you want. (Technically this exists with 40k as well, but GW would have you believe that is not the case).  There are a ton of different rule sets out there.  I bought some test models, ARC fleet from CMG.  I liked them, even the infantry.  So I ordered a bunch of Sahadeen and two Vipers from Rebel Minis.  Those arrived yesterday and look very nice as well.  I'll be doing a review on them as I assemble them.  I'll need to put in another order to CMG to flesh out the first order, but that will give me two armies to game with.

Painted CMG ARC Fleet

Painted Romans

I have painted my first box of Romans.  I still need to put the decals on the shields and attach them, but I'm counting these as painted for April.

Command