Just in ! Dystopian Legions. Kingdom of Britannia. 'Ready. Aim. Fire!'

As one of the 'Christmas arrivals' I have now acquired a Kingdom Of Britannia Starter Set from Spartan Games. It's from their new game based in the same the world as Dystopian Wars. At the moment I guess we're looking at skirmish level gaming here - but I'm assuming that in  time more products will appear to enable the game to be scaled up. These are already coming out. So, there are four Armies - Kingdom Of Britannia, Empire Of The Blazing Sun, Prussian Empire and the Federated States Of America. I believe some mercenaries will eventually find their way out too. Up and at 'em! I got a lot of my initial information from the chap at Tales Of A Tabletop Skirmisher - ( http://pressganger.blogspot.co.uk/ )...

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Posted in: Dystopian Legions

The new look 'White Dwarf' vs 'No Quarter' ... a penny for my thoughts?

  What I'd thought I would do with this post is to consider a face-off between these two titles. It's Games Workshop vs. Privateer Press. Games Workshop have recently revamped the design and content of their decades running monthly magazine - we are currently on November's issue (£5.50), the second of the new format. No Quarter is on Issue No. 44 and is bi-monthly ( about £4.50 depending) - representing seven years or so. I love magazines, I confess. And books. I'm not one for Kindles or tablets. I want to turn the pages by hand. A physical sensation. A4 size.If I want a close up, I move the page closer. Ah, I remember, back in the day, reading RPG backgrounds and 'Thrud The Barbarian' cartoons,  all in amongst the...

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Posted in: 40k,books,Warhammer Fantasy,Warmachine

Beer and Board Games. Funny as you like...

Found this while surfin'. Enjoyed it heartily. Lots of comedy gold to unearth here. Try it at... http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF3E6675A8F9B40EA Wondering if I can set up my own branch... Dublooms? Hirario...

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Posted in: board games,stuff

D and D ... as it should be. Aquisitions Incorporated.

PAX PRIME 2012: Main Theatre http://www.twitch.tv/pax/b/330756388 So here is this year's offering, and the next installment of, Aquisitions Incorporated. A hilarious playing of D and D - just for fun. IMHO there's a really genuine enjoyment that's at work here and this is why I think it all works so well. It may not have quite the laugh out loud qualities of previous chapters, but nevertheless, hugely entertaining. Well done chaps! You can follow the previous episodes on YouTube and the original podcast is on the Wizards of The Coast website I think. Have at it! ...

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Posted in: RPGs,stuff

Warmachine - Painting Cygnar Coleman Stryker - Last part!

I'm not going to post another update on Stryker after this one. He's just about done and there's only some 'tidying up' to do, as I'll explain later. Step 9. Beginning to add the cloak colour = P3 Menoth White Base mixed withe P3 Gun Corps Brown at first. Cloak trim and shoulder 'pad' was P3 Exile Blue (as s base) to P3 Cygnar Blue Base then to  P3 Cygnar Blue Highlight with P3 Arcane Blue mixed in for soft highlights.  Step 10 - added arm with colours as before. The 'glow' was done in the same way as the blue trim but adding GW Azurmen Blue wash before final P3 Arcane Blue and GW Skull White to highlight. There was also a watered down blue wash over the sword and heavier wash around the 'glow'. The blue on the holster...

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Posted in: Warmachine

Painting Cygnar Commander Coleman Stryker.

So here goes - a series of posts describing how I got to where I got to! It's a painting by numbers guide to see what occurred. Feel free to leave me any advice and tips! This particular Stryker is from the plastic Cygnar Battlegroup and I used a combination of Formula P3 paints and GW/Citadel. It was quite easy to put together but you need to clean all mold lines before you do as some are quite inaccessible after assembly. I left the sword arm off to paint and add later to allow a bit more 'space'. Step one was the spray black undercoat. Step two - I used P3 Battlefield Brown for the base colour for the gloves, trousers and gold armour. Step three - GW Chainmail on silver metal tubing, pipes, buckles and chain armour. P3...

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Posted in: Warmachine

Aha Fables! Volumes 1 -17 by Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham et al.

Volume 17 of Fables, called 'Inherit The Wind' collects together issues 108-113 of the Fables series. And what a series. Without doubt a classic and a 'must-read' as far as I'm concerned. I think I'll start with the covers, which in themselves are wonders to behold. Each is visually stunning and breathtakingly drawn. There is detail and beauty in just about any cover you could pick at random. Not only that, but there are a number of superb artists who have contributed 'gems' to this fabulous series. Just to take one - Adam Hughes in Volume 17 does a fantastic mini-story called 'Porky-pining'- in an Art Deco style. It's fantastic. And funny. Without spoiling too much -  the series tells the story of the lives and loves of characters...

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Posted in: graphic novels

Warmachine - A painted Magnus the Traitor!

At last a finished warcaster! bACK. FrONt AnD WITh tHe MANgLeR. As you can see the colouring is much as I have described in previous posts. I like the posing on Magnus but didn't quite get the hands connected right if you look closely. The sword and hands come as one piece (and the back pack as well). I did pin them, so it's secure, but the lower (real) hand is slightly out of place with the armour on the forearm. I think I may play around with the colouring of the sword a bit but generally it's now done. Phew....

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Posted in: Warmachine

Flames Of War - British Sherman V,StuG g - painting of.

A quick post to cover the painting of the first two models from the Actung! Flames Of War Starter Set. A) British Sherman V. Vallejo Russian Uniform - armour. Citadel Boltgun Metal - tracks/metal. P3 Gun Corps Brown - straps/wood/boxes/handles. Citadel Desert Yellow/Catachan Green - fabric stowage. Citadel Gryphone Sepia/ Devaln Mud wash over most of model. Devlan only on tracks. Citadel Kommando Khaki - uniform. I'm fairly happy with the outcome though the wash makes the model slightly shiny. Matt varnish and decals needed... StuG G Middlestone  (a very Shiny paint) from Vallejo for the armour colour. As above for everything else. Vallejo Reflective Green and Flat Brown for the stippled camouflage. Not...

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Posted in: Flames Of War

Incursion board game, Game Of Thrones Living Card Game and starting Flames Of War. Who's a busy boy then?

Ere are sum vids wot I dun. ...

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Posted in: board games,Flames Of War,LCG

B.P.R.D. Volumes 1 - 14.

Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense Left to right: Johann Krauss, Liz Sherman, Abe Sapien, Roger, Kate Corrigan. In this series Mike Mignola takes the members of the BPRD and gives them life beyond the associations with Hellboy. Much in the same way as the 'Hellboy' series, Mignola creates a central storyline (a 'war' with subterranean 'frogs' that threaten to overwhelm and destroy the planet) with a number of short stories and character exploring 'asides'.  Again, in the same way as the 'Hellboy' series, other contributors come to Mignola's aid - most notably Guy Davis and John Arcudi. Mignola admits that he wasn't quite sure where the series was going to go at first. Arcudi, he says, helped...

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Posted in: graphic novels

Hunger Games Trilogy review - Suzanne Collins

I'd seen lots of teenagers reading this and, a bit like the Potter/Northern Lights  bandwagon, I thought I'd hop on. First of all my overall impressions, so if you don't want to read all the hot air below, you can read this and move on! A good read, but don't be surprised if you don't find the descriptions all that detailed. It's very narratively driven, quite cinematic in construction even and I think it was a bit of a stretch for three novels. However, as teen fiction (which is not to be condescending), it really works. It's easy to read, the characters are strong and the action is constant and consistently engaging. There are also some interesting 'versions' or distorted images of our modern world in here...

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Posted in: books

40k minis and scenery - picture testing.

Just a few mobile pics to show models in situ as it were. Some Ultramarines, Space Wolves and Inquisitor Lorr stuck in there for good measure. Oh and the Rhino with the Forge World doors too. These are from my mobile phone, as I took them when I was storing all the scenery I have. Some of the GW buildings look quite good - so next time they are out and about I think I'll redo these so you can see them all more clearly! Sarge. Mighty-Whitey-Face. "Quick, everyone look in different directions..." Stand and deliver! Nice parking... Annual Dramatic Pointing Contest (Gold, Silver and Bronze)...

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Posted in: 40k,Space Wolves,tanks,Ultramarines,Witch Hunters

40K 6th Ed. I got mine. Have you got yours? First impressions.

Well, because I'm sort of in the business, I got mine a whole day early. Ooooh, get her! Yes, I know nothing to boast about. So what can I say? Well seeing as how everyone else is saying something...here goes. First impressions - First of all I have to confess my gaming 'status'. That's to say I'm basically a hobbyist. If you've seen my posts, they're not about the game, or the strategies, or the army selection. The models. So far that is... I thought that with this edition I'd try to get a better handle on the game than the rudimentary basics I'd picked up from owning previous editions. Editions which I had read for fluff and painting source material only basically. So here I am with 6th Edition and it's time to plunge...

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Posted in: 40k,books

More Mercenaries. Magnus The Traitor - step one.

Here is step one ! A reasonable sculpt quite dramatic and part of the Mercenaries Battlegroup set offered by Privateer Press. Here be Magnus the Traitor.  So what have we we got here then? Back of cloak and shoulders - Traitor Green (P3 paint) with Devlan Mud wash (GW). Inner cloak - Battle Dress green (P3 paint) with Devlan Mud wash (GW). Trousers - Hammerfall Kaki (P3) with Gryphonne Sepia (GW wash). Boots  - Bootstrap Leather (P3) with Devlan Mud wash (GW). Metal - Chainmail with Badab Black wash (both GW). Gold - will be Shining Gold with Gryphonne Sepia/Devlan Mud wash (GW). Next will be building up some lighrter highlights and getting the gold to match the Mangler (see previous posts). But when...

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Posted in: Warmachine

The Farseer Trilogy or 'There and not back again.'

I picked this trilogy up on browsing through Amazon's review lists. I'm trying a few 'epic'(?) fantasy series, not generally my normal fare but Game of Thrones brought me in. Normally I like the posh stuff, classics n' that but general recommendations were positive and Robin Hobb was on a number of readers' 'best' lists. This trilogy was up there or there about on many lists too.They're books I thought and I like books. I'll give them a go.  Nice metallicy covers.  Inititally, it took me couple of efforts to get past the first five pages. Not sure why. Perhaps having just finished reading George RR Martin's 'progress' in The Game of Thrones series, I guess I wanted something with the visceral immediacy of Westeros and...

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Posted in: books