Last of the Vikings

Finally finished my Vikings today. Here is the last 16 of them. These are all Crusader miniatures.

So what am I going to start off 2012 with? Hmm, I've agreed to paint up a 15mm DBA army to be sold at MayDay so I'll probably get on to that next.

Boxing Day

The arrival of Boxing Day heralds the punishing of my bank account. This year was no exception. Between the sale at my local Wizards and at Mission Games, my wallet is a fair bit lighter.

So I picked up Tannhauser, the Dunwich Horror expansion for Arkham Horror, Elder Signs, Dominant Species and a couple books for the Deathwatch RPG. I also picked up 3 game expansions (not shown) for a friend of mine.

I'm still trying to get my remaining 16 Vikings done before the end of the year. I should be able to get them done.

More Vikings

I finished a handful of Vikings a few days ago and just got around to posting it today. These minis are all Crusader. First batch is a command unit.

Next up is a unit of Berserkers.

I've got 16 more Vikings to finish and they're already under way. I want to try and get these done before the end of the year, but I'm doubting I'm going to have time, we'll see.

I also finished up 11 base of trees for my 15mm sci-fi gaming. Unfortunately I don't have pics of them. I took a lot from Kevin's tutorial:

http://mageknightkevin.blogspot.com/2011/06/tutorial-making-forest.html so thanks to Kevin for that.

Agricola

Went over to a friend's place last night and got in a few games. We played one game of Castle Ravenloft (geez is that game not easy to win) and we also finally got in a couple games of Agricola.

The object of this game is basically to make the best farm in the time alotted. The options of what to do and build are huge and the game has endless replayability. The downside to it, is the rules are not written very good at all. Initially we had a tough time figuring out how to even start. Once you get going it's a breeze, it's just the initial start is a problem. Once we got the hang of it, we knocked off our second game in an hour. I'm expecting this game to get played a lot.

Vikings

Been a bit of a slow month or so, but I finally got some Vikings done for SAGA. Here is a unit of archers. These figs are Crusader.

Next up is a unit of armoured warriors and the general. These figs are all Crusader with the exception of the general who is from Gripping Beast and is the fig they gave you when you bought the rules.

On my table is a couple small groups of Vikings. It was my original intention to get my Vikings all done in December but it's not looking too good so far. We'll see.

Also last night I had a couple friends over for a some boardgaming action. First up was Civilization with the new Fame and Fortune expansion. We have yet to play with more than 3 players so I'm looking forward to that.

We also played a game of Ad Astra. I picked this up in Fantasy Flight's Black Friday sale. It's a simple resource gathering game and is pretty simple. I look forward to playing it again.

FAD 4 - Battle 1

Bit of a slow month for painting, as RL has been keeping me quite busy. Last night I finally got in my first game of FAD 4. The battle pitted my US forces against my Chinese forces. Here's the initial setup.

Chinese forces (me) are on the left and the US (Chris) is dug in on the right. My mission was to occupy the green token that's sitting right behind a crater on the right. Chris' mission was simply to prevent me from accomplishing mine. You can see the problem with my setup immediately. Let's just say I need more terrain! Chris' first action was to call in off board artillery and drop a round right into the middle of my middle squad. And it pretty much went downhill from there. Cover is hugely important.

I'm going to have to do some tweaking on the Chinese vehicles and infantry squads as they have a rather noticeable problem when dealing with infantry. This game was a 750 pt game and took us about 4 hours to play, although this was the first time we had played. The Chinese had 30 infantry and 2 vehicles and the US had 30 infantry and 3 vehicles.

On my table right now are my trees that I need to build and for painting I have 2 units of Vikings.

Vikings

Been a while since I posted, I've been playing Civilization on Facebook and it's pretty much like crack. Regardless tonight I finished the first batch of minis for my SAGA Viking army. These are Crusader miniatures and I have to say I love Crusader. Their minis are really clean, simple and to the point. Great sculpts. Transfers are from Little Big Men Studios.

Up next is a couple more batches of Vikings and also a bunch of terrain for my 15mm sci-fi. I'm aiming to have my Viking SAGA force done by the end of the year, I think it's a doable goal.

A Few Full Thrust Units

On Sunday I finished a few units for Full Thrust. All of these are from Ground Zero Games. First up is a group of 5 ships for my as-yet-unnamed alien faction. These are a pair of destroyers and a trio of corvettes.

Next is a space station that I combined with a couple pieces of lava rock. It's works okay.

Next up is some terrain for my 15mm sci-fi stuff and I'm going to start on my Vikings for SAGA.

Also this week I received my parcel from Warhammer Historical and their huge sale. I picked up Age of Arthur, El Cid and the new Gladiator game. I'd really like to try out this game as it's just asking to have a campaign run. Hopefully come this Christmas, some of the manufacturers that make Gladiator figs will have some sales. Would be nice if Foundry came down in price as they have the largest selection but I might as well hope for the moon to be made of cheese.

Ships and Troops

Tonight I finished yet another batch of infantry for my 15mm sci-fi US force. These are Ground Zero Games minis.

I also finished a couple of transports for Full Thrust. Also from GZG.

Pics are crap as per usual. I think my problem is I'm zooming in to much. That and I know I have a lighting issue.

Next up is a few more units for Full Thrust, some terrain and then probably on to some Vikings for SAGA.

Last of the US Armour

Today I finished up the last of my US sci-fi armour. These are a group of 4 medium tanks and are from Ground Zero Games.

I also finished 4 heavy weapon bases. Also from Ground Zero Games.

That finishes it for the vehicles for my US faction. I have 2 batches of infantry remaining. Next up will be one of the groups a couple starships and maybe some terrain.

Mansions of Madness

Tonight I had a couple of friends over and we played a couple games of Fantasy Flight Games' Mansions of Madness.

This game was a lot of fun, we knocked a couple games off in about 3 hours. It's a typical Fantasy Flight game: lots of high quality bits. The manual is reasonably long, but this is misleading as the game is really quite simple. If you've played Descent, then you'll find this game very similar. The only downside is the number of scenarios. There is only 5 and each scenario has a set of cards that go with it. If someone was to have a scenario repository (like FFG has with Descent and Tide of Iron) they would have to create cards to go with each scenario. FFG has actually done this with it's two expansions for this game as they're both Print-on-Demand. It would be interesting to see how it's set up. Regardless, I think I might pick this up.

15mm Sci-fi - Assorted US Units

Last night I finished a handful of units for my US faction. These are all from Ground Zero Games. First up is a pair of light tanks.

Next is a 6-wheeled buggy with a rear gunner.

And finally is a group of infantry. I decided to start doing putting the heavy weapon teams on one base instead of one base per figure.

Next up is the last of the US vehicles and a few heavy weapon teams. Also tomorrow night I'm having a couple friends over for a few games of Mansions of Madness. I'm really looking forward to this game.

15mm Sci-fi - US Armour

Tonight I finished a group of 15mm vehicles for my US faction. These are all Ground Zero Games minis. First is a group of 5 hover vehicles: 3 are APC's with gun turrets, 1 is an APC with missile turret and the fifth is a command vehicle.

Lastly is group of 3 hover drones

Next up is some terrain, some more infantry and a couple move hover vehicles.

Edmonton International AFV Model Show

Today I went to the Edmonton International AFV Model Show at HMCS Nonsuch (www.aafvms.ca). My camera crapped out early so I only got a few pics before switching to my iPhone. Probably a good thing as my camera pics were crap. There was some amazing paint jobs there. Below is some of my better pics.

I believe this was some sort of Italian towed gun.

This was an amazing train setup hauling some sort of enormous mortar/cannon.
A Canadian LAV III
This was one of the neatest. Right below the model you can see a bit of a pic. The picture is of a exploded Panzer IV. The model was an excellent recreation of the pic. Really original.
This diorama was of Berlin in 1945.
A German scout car.
This was one of only 2 sci-fi entries.

Castle Ravenloft

Last night I played a game of Castle Ravenloft from Wizards of the Coast. This game is in the same genre as FFG's Descent. In the game you go on various quests to complete certain goals, it's not just a standard dungeon crawl. It's got good production values comparable to Descent. It's also a simpler and shorter game compared to Descent. But unlike Descent, Castle Ravenloft is entirely a cooperative game. Overall, I prefer Descent mainly because the amount of options and flexibility is superior to Castle Ravenloft. The game does have at least out expansion coming out for it so far (might already be out).

Prussia's Defiant Stand or Prussian Beating

Last night Chris and I played a couple games of Prussia's Defiant Stand by Worthington Games. The first game ended shortly before the mandatory end and was a decisive Prussian loss. The sheer numbers of troops they were facing was simply too much and couple this with the fact that they lost Berlin. The second game had Prussia surrendering at the end of the 1st year. Their main southern army was annihilated due to my "awesome" luck and then wintering wiped out most of my centre units. The view at the end of the first game:

The game is a decent block game but the Prussian player has a pretty hard time vs. the Allied player. With no luck and a good Allied player it's extremely hard, I'd say almost impossible for Prussia to win. As the game uses 6-sided dice, I'm pretty much screwed. It's like Warhammer all over again. With 6 dice how hard is it to roll above 3? Apparently it's pretty damn hard. We're going to take another stab at the game next weekend.

The game is a nice looking game with good quality components. The rules are reasonably simple although they could use some cleaning up with regards to supply and wintering clarifications. Supply is extremely important and will quickly see an army vanish. We've downloaded the latest rules version and the FAQ from Boardgamegeek.

15mm Sci-fi

Last night I finished another batch of 15mm sci-fi for my US faction. These are all Ground Zero Games minis. First up is a civilian hover truck.

Next is an unmanned VTOL gunship. I had heard that this was a pain to make. I didn't have any problems at all. The biggest pain for me was mounting the thing on a base.

And finally is another batch of infantry, some command and some heavy weapons.

Next on my paint table is some hover vehicles for my US faction and maybe some terrain pieces. Also, tonight I'm going to have a game or two of Prussia's Defiant Stand from Worthington Games. Looking forward to that.

Napoleon's Triumph

Last weekend I popped down to the Sentry Box with a couple friends. Besides a book, some paint and some terrain, I picked up a couple games: Napoleon's Triumph by Simmons Games and Prussia's Defiant Stand by Worthington Games. Last night we played Napoleon's Triumph. This game is about the Battle of Austerlitz set on Dec. 2, 1805 between the French and the Austrians and Russians. There are 2 scenarios: one is a hypothetical scenario which starts the battle on Dec. 1 and the other is the historical scenario which starts the battle on Dec. 2. We played the historical scenario. Here's the game at setup with the French on the left and the Allies on the right.

Bagration's corps about to lay a beating on Bessieres' corps:

Here's the end result:

The French left flank had been smashed with the bulk of their remaining forces being in the middle. Unfortunately for the Allies, their centre was in the process of overrun when the game ended. The game ended in a French decisive victory due to the sheer number of casualties inflicted. Unlike the real battle, the French had sustained heavy casualties and were not too far from losing themselves.

The historical scenario took us about 4 hours to play. The rules themselves are not very long being about 9-10 pages long. That being said the rules are reasonably complex with regards to actual combat. Our post game discussion came to the conclusion that battles are going to be bloody and are not going to be cake-walks. The map is pretty big and the board itself is a really nice looking board. Oh and there's no dice or cards! I look forward to playing this one again.

More 15mm Minis

Last night I finished off another group of 15mm minis. These are all from Ground Zero Games. First up is a group of 16 infantrymen. There is a number of command figs in this group.Next is group of 8 technicians. Four different poses, with an equal number of male & female pieces. And lastly is a ground based missile battery. On my table is a flyer and some more infantry. After that should be some vehicles mixed with infantry.

Full Thrust Ship

Today I finished a ship for my Full Thrust universe. It's going to be from my as-of-yet-unnamed alien faction. This mini is from Ground Zero Games and is a Kra'Vak Lo'Vok class Battledreadnought. So it's supposed to be a large vessel.

The mini was rather a pain in the ass to put together as unfortunately GZG does not have an actual pic of this one on their site and it's not really obvious how it all goes together. I had to go looking elsewhere to find a pic of it. Also the arms don't really sit very good. The paint scheme was super easy and really quick to pull off. I think it turned out pretty good.

Next up is a large batch of 15mm stuff: some more infantry, some civilians, a missile battery and a flyer.

More Infantry

Finished some more infantry last night. These are all Ground Zero Games infantry.

On my table is a Full Thrust ship and I've started assembling some more infantry and a lone flying vehicle.

15mm Terrain

Tonight I finished some terrain pieces for my 15mm sci-fi project. First up is a couple of pieces that could be supply objectives or possible barricades. These pieces are from Ground Zero Games except for the sandbags which are just 'green stuff'.

Next up is a set of military type buildings. These metal pieces are also from Ground Zero Games and is the full Base Module set.

Next up is a batch of 15mm infantry which I should finish tomorrow. After that is a lone ship for Full Thrust and then probably some more infantry and maybe some vehicles.

Civilization

Had a couple friends over last night and we played a game of Civilization by Fantasy Flight Games. I ended up squeaking out the win with a Cultural victory. I really like this game, there's lots of things to do, four different ways to win, lots of options and every game is different. For a game that was released last year I'm kind of surprised that FFG hasn't released or even announced an expansion for it. The game is just asking for more nations, map tiles, tech cards etc.

On my paint table is a batch of 15mm infantry, a couple supply terrain pieces, some buildings and a ship for Full Thrust. Hopefully I can get some of these done this weekend (pipe dream, I know).

Hammer of the Scots

Tonight I went over to Mark Wall's place for some games of Hammer of the Scots by Columbia Games. We ended up playing 3 games, 2 of them went rather briskly but the third we played to a draw as it was getting late. I think the "The Bruce" scenario is overall a more balanced scenario than the "Braveheart" one. I like this game, it's simple and has some really nice mechanics. I like the rotating-your-block mechanic to reflect damage. It keeps board clutter to a minimum and avoids things like casuality chits or markers. I look forward to getting in more games.

Battlestar Galactica

Last night I had some friends over and we had a couple games of Battlestar Galactica by Fantasy Flight Games. The first, well, let's say it ended in a draw but it was starting to go downhill for humanity. The other game was a clear Cylon win mainly due to one Cylon player going undiscovered for the entire game all the while being named as the Admiral and the President. It's a really good game and as the game progressed the cries of "You're a damn toaster!" were heard many times.