22:57
Monkeyreado
Mice and Mystics by Plaid Hat Games. 60-90 minutes. 1-4 players. Ages 7+. Cheers!
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Posted in: board gamesFriday, 27 December 2013
Saturday, 30 November 2013
Review time! 'Saga of The Swamp Thing' Books One and Two.
There is always at least 'one thing' you've always been meaning to see/read/get. For me, 'Swamp Thing' by Alan Moore (Bisette, Totleben too) was at the very top of my very long list of 'one things I really must get'... and so here, at last, is a review from me about something that really should be on all self-respecting comic afficionado's shelves -
So, what did I think? So much has already been written - much of it more sophisticated than I can manage here. Consequently it'll be unecumbered by the weight of any specific expertise - and you might agree with none of it. But I hope, as a result, you'll go and read it yourself (if you haven't already done so).
First impressions? What struck me straight away, is that the narrative is more...
Posted in: graphic novels
Thursday, 31 October 2013
Malifaux: Lady Hammerstrike, the beginning!
So, last month, knowing that a new Malifaux was on it's way - and knowing that there's going to be a whole bunch of new plastics and a new rulebook - I took the 'Malifaux plunge'. That is to say, I already had the old 1.5 rulebook but no minis. However, I didn't want to miss the old Viktoria's set before it went out of print, so to speak.
To that end here is Lady Hammerstrike with the base colours painted. The arm is metal/silver with blue /brown wash. the hair is going to be a deep red. White/beige top and denim /black jeans. brass/copper/silver hammer.
We'll see how it goes.
I really like the figures in the pack. It'll probably mean I'll 'have to' purchase the 2e rulebook, but what the hey.
...
Wednesday, 28 August 2013
Painted : Valeria Alvaro, Ordic Pistoleer - Iron Kingdoms miniature.
So, taking a break form the Flames of War 'journey', just to keep things fresh, I found a long-forgotten model that I had bought a couple of years ago. Initially, I just liked the figure and hadn't really decided what I was going to do with it - other than paint it in the same style as the Privateer Press photos.
This mini is from quite a cool little range that Privateer Press do to support their Iron Kingdoms RPG and such. The pose is quite interesting. You can't quite tell where the front is, as she looks askance over her shoulder.
Going back to it recently then, I had painted a Cygnar warjack and Coleman Strykera while ago (see posts), so it seemed sensible to see if I could get her into this army by making her into a journeyman...
Posted in: Warmachine
Sunday, 18 August 2013
Flames Of War, painting infantry update - now with the rural bases!
This post is so that you can have a look-see at the way the Flames Of War Rural Bases Set looks. In no way do I claim to be a professional. I haven't got it all looking great by any means, but I did find that these bases enable you to get more varied looks to your infantry bases with minimal extra effort. The only thing is that you still have to patch up the figures' bases. This takes some doing with the minis from the Open Fire! set because the plastic infantry have thicker bases than metal ones. This means that a certain amount of trimming/fiddling is required to get the figures to fit neatly into the slots on the Rural bases.
But there are lots of good details so that when looking at the tabletop you don't get that sense of repetitious...
Posted in: Flames Of War
Flames Of War - Rural bases arrived!
Just a quick post to signpost the fact that there will be a few Flames Of War updates in the future containing these -
Click for larger image..
These are the Battlefront Games Rural Bases. In effect they are bases with ready-made details. Trees (damaged), logs (fallen), fences, (wonky), ruts, mud footprints, rocks, wagon wheels etc. All you need do is glue minis on and away you go. You still have a bit of 'patching up' to do as you have to add mud effects to the minis' bases and cover up all of the joins. Well, we'll see ... the detail is good and it might lead to quicker bases than having to build walls and such like for yourself (see previous post - PaK 40). More lat...
Posted in: Flames Of War
Monday, 12 August 2013
Flames of War - Open Fire! Painting update.
Just so you believe me - here's some stuff I done.
So, what you have here is a team of US Parachute Rifle, with prone machine gunner and some mud/grass stuck on the base for scenic effect. Basically, it's a bit slow going, however I am making progress. Next up will be a US rifle/MG team and a German rifle/MG team. Look out!
Down in the dirt!
Stug G and commander...
Review: Jimmy Corrigan - The Smartest Kid on Earth, by Chris Ware.
Not strictly a comic strip, or maybe it is. Not strictly a graphic novel, or perhaps it is. Not clearly sure how I would characterise this 'book' at all.
My brother suggested this to me and although I had read excerpts before I'd never been sufficiently interested enough to actually get it. So he bought it for me to save time... with the added note, 'Enjoy! It may take some time to get through!'
This is the story of three generations of Corrigans told in two main time narratives - that of Jimmy, an office 'dogsbody' ('our hero') and that of his grandfather (Jimmy), growing up in the late eighteen hundreds. But both are sad stories. Both Jimmys are bullied, brow-beaten and have truly tragic (or pathetic) lives. There is a real...
Posted in: graphic novels
Monday, 29 July 2013
Flames Of War - German Grenadier PaK 40, painted and based.
Today's post will focus on progress I've made on the Open Fire starter set - and in particular the German PaK40 anti-tank gun.
Step one = paint the German gun crew just like the figures in the previous post, with a selection of GW (metal) P3 (wood and leather) and Vallejo (uniforms).
Troops on a stick.
Step two = paint the gun, just like the StugG.
Two step.
Step three = dry fit on base. Then add a little GW mud effect textured paint over base.
trois
Step four = build up a small dry-wall out of bits of slate. I used superglue then repainted the rocks to cover the glue marks.
four - glued wall
Step five = cover base and any gaps/holes with thin layer of Stirland...
Posted in: Flames Of War
Thursday, 25 July 2013
'Boneshaker' a steampunk novel by Cherie Priest. Read, reviewed.
Having read the Mortal Engines series, I was was just about ready to give another steampunk novel a crack. Summarised as a steampunk novel in 19th Century Seattle, with zombies (Huzzah!), I was intrigued by the premise of Cherie Priest's 'Boneshaker'.
There's a lot of story, but I'll try not to spoiler too much. Essentially Seattle has been subject to a disaster apparently caused by the heroine's (Briar) husband, Leviticus Blue. The upshot is that a gas is released causing people to become 'rotters' (read zombies) and the city becomes a no-go area and walled off. Years later, Briar's son wants the truth about his father and breaks into the city where drug runners and other very random characters have made a (sort of) life for themselves....
Friday, 28 June 2013
Mortal Engines : A steampunk novel series.
Well, this was all a bit of an accident.
I stumbled on the book title while researching steampunk novels. You see, since finishing Martin's 'A Game of Thrones' and Robin Hobbs' first Farseer series, I'd been in a bit of a book lull. Casting around the interweb, I'd thought I'd read some of this new/oldfangled thing called steampunk. I was curious. I liked the Philip Pullman 'His Dark Materials' series - a bit steampunky. I like the Dystopian Legions figures (and got some). I like Warmachine. So ... what else was out there?
And when I say stumble upon I literally stumbled upon the first in the series of Phillip Reeve's 'Mortal Engines', just lying about. I think one of my boys must have read it at some point. Having seen it mentioned, I...
Flames of War - painted US Parachute Rifle HQ and Grenadierkompanie team.
In this post you can have a gander at the first troops I've painted up from the Flames Of war - 'Open Fire' starter set.
The first ones up are the US Parachute HQ and a Grenadierkompanie team with a Panzerfaust. I've used a combination of GW, P3 paints and Vallejo paints. Basically I've followed the painting-by-numbers guides in the 'Open Fire' set and mixed and matched where I've needed to. There are also a variety of guides and tips on Battlefront Games' website.
The uniforms, helmets and equipment have Vallejo paints, wood and leather was P3 browns and, of course, there was a brown GW wash thrown in there somewhere. Metals were GW too. Faces GW with the fleshwash.
Overall - pleased with the results. Love the poses and look forward...
Posted in: Flames Of War
Thursday, 30 May 2013
Dystopian legions ; Steampunk crazy Britannia.
At the moment I'm juggling a lot of things on the painting table. One day I got carried away and jumped, in a bit of a rush, into painting one of the Dystopian Legions Britannia infantry troops. Then it all ground to a halt for a while and Flames Of War took over , then I did a little more. Then I paused again... Not a great deal to do though, so here is a progress update on it.
For the record most paints are GW :
Macragge Blue - Blue wash then Ultramarine blue for the trousers.
Mechrite Red - Blood red, brown wash then Blood Red for the tunic.
The helmet = Bleached Bone and brown wash with Bleached Bone/white highlights.
Pouches/webbing white, sepia wash, then white again.
Early on.
Then a bit later on.
As...
Friday, 26 April 2013
Flames of War - some more tanks. Sherman V StuG G
AS you will see from the images below, there has been some minor progress on the painting front. These tanks are quite easy to knock out, so they are a satisfactory 'stop-gap' to keep me topped up until my next holiday break allows me to indulge a bit more. Having said that - a few Vallejo paints arrived the other day so I might sneak in a few bits of infantry painting when no one is looking... those fantastic little plastics are so inviting.
Sherman V from the side.
From above.
German StuG G stuF F
Group photo everyone, no shoving at the back.
All painted using Battlefront paint schemes and Vallejo paints. The hard part is stippling carefully to achieve a careful a camouflage effect when carefully putting on...
Saturday, 30 March 2013
Websites what I browse...
What I thought I'd do for this post is to reveal the secrets of my favourites list from my web-explorer. It's not a complete replication of all of the bitz and pieces that reside therein, but you might get a kick out of having a surf from here to one of these sites - who knows what you may find -
Starting with the 'BIg BOys' gaming companies -
http://dark-age.com/
http://www.games-workshop.com/
http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/
http://www.grindhousegames.com/pages/incursion-home
http://company.wizards.com/
http://www.infinitythegame.com/
http://www.malifaux.com/index.php
http://www.smartmaxstore.com/
http://www.flamesofwar.com/
http://privateerpress.com/
http://www.mercsminis.com/
http://www.westwindproductions.co.uk/
http://www.spartangames.co.uk/
Next the websites/blogs...
Friday, 22 February 2013
Open Fire! A Flames Of War starting point.
Here we go then - a few pictures of the infantry sprues from Battlefront's Flames of War starter set - Open Fire! There are already videos posted on my YouTube channel (http://youtu.be/vn8ec0d5O34) showing off the Sherman (and Stug tanks on other videos). Now, although these are from the previous starter set - Achtung! - they are just about the same, though in green plastic for the Sherman/Firefly models.
The Open Fire! set is fantastic. The infantry (German troops and US Airborne) are superbly detailed and in fantastic poses. There are helpful bases with slots to put the troops in. There are guides to modelling, painting, basing the units correctly and expanding your units. There are counters and flat scenery.You get...
Posted in: Flames Of War
Sunday, 27 January 2013
Slaine: Books of Invasions Vols 1-3. A quick review of a blast from the past.
2000AD was a staple of my teenage years. I know I'm not alone when I say that. For me it went right alongside the wargaming, the novels and the hobbying. I also know I'm not alone when I say that. After a while my comic reading and collecting grew to a wider experience. DC's The Question, The Dark Knight Returns...and further ... Stray Toasters (remember that anyone?), 'Nam ,Elektra,and so on - until we get to the trade paperbacks you can read about elsewhere on this blog.
But somewhere along the way 2000AD got left behind. I still have hundreds of the beggars in a box in a cupboard. And that's a real shame because one of my favourite characters is Slaine the King / warrior / berserker and his suffering (insufferable) companion...
Posted in: graphic novels
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