28mm a day

Reinforcements have arrived: Pt.3 Examining the other contents

2006-07-20T07:58:00.000-05:00

Now for the final installment of the Noble Armada Ships of the Line box set review. We're looking at the other contents of the box. Enjoy.

First up are the dice. You get four very purple d20s with black numerals. I'm not a huge fan of the d20. I suppose Noble Armada uses them. I was a fan of Chronopia and Warzone, both in their first editions and they used d20s. I haven't really used them since. These will go in the box with the other unused d20s. Although they do make handy kill counters in skirmish games. I may use them in StarMonger as a way to track how many combats are taking place and other record keeping. They are indeed very purple.

You wouldn't think that flight stands would be particularly cool, but these are. They're the standard 1" hex domed flight base we've seen across many different games. I prefer this style to the flat-topped hex bases other companies use. I would normally just paint the base and overcoat it, but with these, they'll stay as they are. You'll notice that the plastic has little bits of blue glitter mixed in. It gives a nice star effect that is pretty cool, in my opinion. I look forward to more of these. Yeah, they're bases, but they're cool bases.

The chits that are included are mighty cool. You get a fair number of them; 240, if I recall. Although only black and white, they have a fair amount of use for other games. I particularly like the chits for boarding parties in the third pic. Also, the chits for the different factions are individually numbered, so could serve a use for any number of things. For example, how about assigning numbers to units in a game and placing corresponding chits in a bag or cup and drawing them to determine initiative? I like thinking of uses for chits in my own games without having to print my own. I'm cheap, er, resourceful that way.

You've seen the hex maps in other pictures, so I'm not including one now. They're 1 1/2" hex maps, white hexes on black. No numbering, which is somewhat of a let down and no stars printed on them either. There is a Noble Armada log printed on them. I guess those are to keep people from taking them from the sets and using them in another game box for retail. Either that it's to remind people what game they're playing. The maps are lackluster, but they are functional and big at 17 x 22 hexes.

There's also a quick-play sheet for Noble Armada.

All in all, I find the quality of the individual components of this set to be quite high. Additionally, the fact that it is more than just a set of ships is nice. The additional bits, especially the chits makes this a set worth getting for any fan of space combat games. On a 10-point scale, I'd give this set an 8.75. High marks are given for sheer value the set gives. Nice miniatures (and plenty of them) plus nice stands and scads of neat chits are big bonuses for me. Points are deducted for the uninspired hex maps.

Reinforcements have arrived: Pt.2 Examining the ships

2006-07-19T08:41:00.000-05:00

Having opened the box, we'll take a look at each of the contents in detail. As mentioned before, there's a good deal of stuff in the box. I'll start with the key components; the ships.

There are 10 pieces on the sprue for the eight ships. two of the ships are 2-piece models. They look like they will snap together nicely, but a little plastic cement will do the trick as well. The ships are molded in the silvery plastic so many other game companies are using of late for their injection-molded components. I recall first seeing this plastic in a Battletech set that came with something like a dozen mechs. Based on design elements and painting clues form the box art, there appears to be three factions involved. Not being familiar with the Noble Armada background, I'll introduce the ships as number 1-8. If anybody knows the proper names for these craft, please let me know and I'll ammend this entry appropriately. A note one these photos: The hex map you see is one of the four that comes with the set. The hexes meausre 1 1/2" inches across the flats. I tried to align the ships within the hexes to provide scale. As you will see, each ship is between 3/4" and 1 1/4" long.

Ship 1 from the port side. This ship appears to be some type of destroyer. There is a small turret with a dual mount weapon of some type on the dorsal aspect of the ship, toward the bow. Other weapon systems are not readily evident. Perhaps there are some hidden or bay mounted weapons. I like the design style of this ship, actually. Somewhat clean. The panel lines are nicely done, if a bit exaggerated. Although I suspec this is due to the medium. Surely a metal version of this ship would have crisper lines and more pronounced detail. The wings are interesting in that there seems to be some sort of support arm on the leading edge. I'm usually not a fan of wings on space craft as they wouldn't need to worry about aerodynamics, the Bernoulli Effect and other science stuff. But hey, we're talking about spaceships here, so I shouldn't get too wrapped up in that.

Ship 2 from the bow. Ship 2 appears to be some type of bulk transport. As you can see, it is the first of our two-piece models in the set. It reminds me of something I'd see on Firefly or Red Dwarf. The scribing on the cargo section gives me the impression of a frame work into which individual cargo containers are loaded, much like modern-day cargo liners. The cashew-shaped crew and engineering compartment looks like it latches on to the cargo section and can jetison it if the need arrises. I suspect the captain would have some questions to answer were that to happen. A fun model, I look forward to painting these.

Ship 3 from port. It seems as if every ship line out there has at least one "raptor" model in it anymore. I guess we have Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Everybody saw Christopher Lloyd zooming around in a Klingon Bird of Prey and thought they had to get in on the action. Although I like the style, it's becoming somewhat of a cliche. That aside, the model is well sculpted. The little notches on the wings give it a slightly rakish look. It looks mean. Again, no discernable weapon mounts, but the panels and joints will allow for some neat effects come painting time. I'm thinking of using the dip technique on these ships to get them ready to go in as short a time as posssible, so thie model might suit nicely.

Ship 4 from the starboard side. A single mount turret is clearly visible. It shares the design philosophy of ship 1 with the winglets and pointed bow. I suspect, at larger scales, there is a canopy that is visible. However at the scales I'd like to work at, it's more of a oddly shaped panel on the bow. Perhaps a sensor array? This is the smallest ship in the box. I'm not sure if it's truly usable for my purposes as a marker for fleets due to its size, but it'll do in a pinch. Besides, good things come in small packages, right?

Ship 5 from port. This one looks meaner than the "not a Bird of Prey" we saw earlier. Two big cannons stem form the wings and there's a smaller single mount turret on the bow. Its design reminds me of a cross between Buck Rogers' starfighter and the Draconian fighters from the late '70s TV show. I immagine it's pretty fast to go with that weapons compliment. All engine and weapons with minimal crew. Love it. I need more of these. It needs to be red. This looks like the ship of choice for a pirate group or fast-attack squadron.

Ship 6 from port. The other two-piece model appears to be a cruiser or heavy destroyer. A small turret is evident on the lower section. Also evident are weapons or sensor arrays in the wing roots of the upper section. I'm not overly impressed iwth this model. It appears to share the design philosophy of ships 3 and 5 with its swept foward wings. I'll have to see it assembled before I can give it a fair judegment. It reminds me of some of the more pedestrian Romulan ships designed by FASA for the Star Trek Tactical Combat Simulator game.

Ship 7 from starboard. A port or hatch is visible on the bow of the ship. It has a naturally sleek look to it. It reminds me of what I envision the Heart of Gold from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I quite like this model and currently consider it my seocnd favorite. The ambivalent detailing makes this piece able to to cross scales quite easily. I see it working as a light cruiser in Full Thrust or a heavy shuttle in Silent Death. I'm particulalry fond of the winglets found aft. Neat design. It's perfect for my use as a fleet marker.

Ship 8 from starboard. This is my favorite ship in the box. Seven single mount turrets along with two very large cannons makes for a well-armed ship for blockade running or other close in work. Alternately, one could see the appendages on either side as cranes for moving cargo about or possibly grappling arms for boarding actions. I'm not fond of the grappling arms idea, but it is a possibility. The ship looks awfully cool. Perhaps it would serve as a support ship for a flotilla of ship 5.

I'll look at the dice, counters, stands and map sheets in the enxt installment.

Reinforcements have arrived: Pt.1 Opening the Box

2006-07-18T07:55:00.000-05:00

The first of the Noble Armada sets I'll be getting arrived yesterday. I'll post a detailed review with pictures this evening or tomorrow. For now, my initial impressions.

The box arrived via UPS on the fifth day after ordering. This was nice because I only paid for "standard mail." The ICE webstore states one should expect 1-2 days to package the order and another 2-3 for delivery at this rate. Seems a bit slow, but I don't know how many people they have that work shipping and I don't know how many orders they process in a day. All in all, not a bad length of tiem to wait for little plastic ships.

The box is the now-standard card stock box with slip cover for different contents. These went a step further by having a decal with the product info stuck to them. I suspect more of the same should I order some of the metal sets. No big deal, I've come to expect this type of packaging. I actually prefer it now, because I figure, reductions in packaging coasts mean reductions in end price, right?

Opening the box I first saw a bag with four sprues with eight different ships on them. Next was a baggie with four purple d20s with black numerals. Further on was a baggie with 32 plastic flight bases and posts. The four 17x22 hex maps were next. At the bottom of the box were two sheets of black and white counters for use with Noble Armada specifically, but could be used in any space game.

A good haul of stuff for the $25 and $5 in shipping. Detailed review next.

The Star Monger Project

2006-07-12T11:58:00.000-05:00

The Star Monger Project has officially begun. As mentioned in my last post, I'm converting Geoffrey Noles' excellent Flash game Star Monger to a tabletop boardgame format. I've completed the initial draft of the rules and will hopefully get some play testing in this weekend with the Bottom Street Irregulars. Here's my intro to the rules:

Star Monger started life as a Flash game on Geoffrey Noles’ website ae4rv.com. After playing it once or twice I thought, “Hey, this would make a neat tabletop game for an afternoon or a convention.” It is a game of exploration, colonization, conquest and eventual galactic domination. Some of the mechanics in play are quite subtle and although the basic strategies are learned quickly, there is an addictive quality to the game that I find appealing. I find myself playing it once or twice a day as a break from other pursuits.

A friend, James Earles, and I, had experimented with a similar concept a few years earlier called Terra Secunda at the Egyptian Campaign game convention in Carbondale, IL. TS was extremely complex, each faction actually requiring two people to play. One person ran the diplomatic and economic side of the game while another ran the military. Although most of the aspects of the game were extremely abstract and streamlined on an individual basis, together they made for a lot of work on both the players’ and game controllers’ end. The game lasted a whopping 12 hours, and was a substantial investment in time as well as money.

Star Monger will start life as the direct inverse of the TS experiment. Geoffrey describes the Flash version as “Risk in Space.” The simple, elegant play is good for an evening’s entertainment and that is where we shall begin with the board game version of Star Monger. Eventually, more rules and concepts will be layered on, adding more depth and hopefully fun (but unfortunately complexity). At its core, however, Star Monger shall remain a game about sending brave men and women out into the cold, inky blackness of space with orders to go forth, explore, colonize and conquer.

I will post the draft after its first playtest and open the floor to comments and suggestions. I have licensed the name and concept from Geoffrey for NON-COMMERCIAL purposes and provide the rules at no charge to you, the gaming public. The draft will be provided in PDF format. The concept and name are Geoffrey's, the words are mine. I ask that you credit accordingly when you redistribute any copies of the draft, beta, or finished rules.

In other news, my first batch of ships to use as fleet markers has been ordered. Leland Erickson of Metal Express suggested I use the Noble Armada Ships of the Line box set as a starter. Since the box comes with 32 ships, some dice, four 17x22 hex maps and scads of counters, it was too good a deal to pass up. I had flirted with the idea of using fighters from other sources, but I don't think they would look as good as smaller scale line ships to represent fleets. My other idea was to scratchbuild the ships from beads, buttons and assorted other odds and ends, but the end goal is to have 20 fleet markers for eight factions. That seems a bit tedious a process for 160 playing pieces. I can get the same out of five boxes of the Noble Armada sets. I think I would be able to get a whole box worth ready for play in an afternoon of minor clean up, priming, painting and basing.

Oh, also, it's my birthday. My wife got me the Wolfmother cd. It is rock and roll. Not merely "rock" nor "rock 'n' roll." It is rock and roll in the vein of Blue Oyster Cult, Led Zeppelin, Thin Lizzy and early Rush. Run, don't walk to get this cd. I'm particulalry fond of the first track "Dimension." Plus, the cover art was done by Frank Frazetta. If Frazetta ain't rock and roll, I don't know what is.

More to follow.

Stronghold Fighter Pics

2006-07-07T08:58:00.000-05:00

Mike at Stronghold Miniatures sent me this photo of the fighter craft he makes (click on it to see a larger version). The product codes are JEW1A through C. They are for the Aurigan Empire in the SDD line. I'm interested in the U-Sylon as they appear to be not Imperial Star Destroyers. Mike tells me the fighters range in length between 5 and 7mm. They're little blighters.

I need scads of small ships for a project I'm working on. I also need these ships on the cheap. The project you ask? I'm working on converting a Flash game called Star Monger to tabletop. The designer of the Flash game, Geoffrey Noles, describes the game thusly: "StarMonger is a space strategy and conquest game made with Flash. Take over all of the star systems to win. The computer player will try to do the same. It is kind of like Risk in Space!"

It's fun and strangely addicting. The full version is available for $9.95 to download. I will be providing the tabletop version for free. Stay tuned for updates.

Coral Sea Campaign Support

2006-05-18T09:38:00.000-05:00

Rich Wright and his Wentzville Irregulars are doing a Coral Sea Campaign using combined naval and air power. It's an awesome project to be sure. They're having some file hosting difficulties on the Yahoo group file section, so I'm hosting some files for them, specifically the weather maps they are using. Here they are (click on the pic for a full-size version) :

Weather Map #1

Weather Map #3

Weather Map #4
Weather Map #6

These pictures add up to about 562 words each

2006-05-10T12:54:00.000-05:00

So we had our game night. Here's some photogrpahic eveidence of our crimes against gaming humanity.

The first shot shows the set up of some unpainted fugures. Sad, I know. My Romans on the left, Daniel's Spartans on the right. I forget who is playing in this game. Note the use of a small strip of blue tape to indicate a water way. My 3' x 3' felt DBA mat was supplied by Rich Wright of Wentzville, MO. The blue table cloth is there beacause it is more attractive than the printed faux wood finish on my 2 1/2' x 7' folding table. They make a nice gaming table when placed together. Some better terrain is in order, for sure. Now that I think of it, Ray is using my Romans in this shot. I'd never place my artillery behind my line like that. Or would I? I think the artillery requirement for the Early Imperial Roman list is a bunch of garum anyway.

You'll notice Ray's wooly arm on the left and Daniel's girlish appendage on the right. I like the single stand of Hoplites running down the artillery in this shot. If I recall, this is Daniel's general facing down the arty. Meanwhile, it looks like the Roman cavalry is waiting to get a nice flank shot on said general if and when he makes contact. I don't think that happened. Would have been nice, though. On the near hill, some auxiliaries are harrasing the Spartan left flank while the center is up noticeably devoid of Romans. The Roman legianaires are in the background in this shot, on the Roman right, not doing much of anything but pushing Hoplites around. Ray had some really bad rolls that night. Daniel has developed a knack for element placement and picking the order of his engagements to maximize his tactical factors, but that's the nature of the game, innit?

Daniel, about to chide Ray on his poor fashion sense and lack of hygiene. You will note the spiffy pace stick I made out of some 1/4" dowel and a bit of spray paint. The hills and road, if interested are made of 1/16" funny foam. You can get a 8" x 11" sheet for less than a dollar and is handy for flat terrain features. I plan on making new hills out of 1" insulation foam. Probably just one level with gently sloping slides that will allow a 28mm element to be placed on it without tipping. They will also be used for 15mm and 6mm sci-fi games. Photos on that excitment to come. By the way, check out the new 15mm GZG stuff. I have seen it and it is the shiz-nite!

This picture was taken shortly after Ray pelted Daniel with a peltast for his unkind remarks. Ray works at the local grocery store. He and Daniel take a graphics class at the local JuCo. One of their asisgnements involoved screenprinting shirts. One of their designs was a cartoon pirate with the simple slogan of AARRGGH! I had one made on a white shirt with black ink. Ray's is black with white ink. Unbeknownst to either of us, we chose the same day to wear our shirts. I was not aware of this until I went to get some groceries. Due to this episode, I have decided that Ray is my evil twin from another dimension. Note the opposite colored shirt, the darker hair, the similar name and as my final piece of evidence, the goatee (that's the clincher).

For those interested, here's a picture of me. Not nearly as dreamy as one owuld have thought after reading my wickedly funny posts about all manner of things. Sadly, I'm about as attractive as the average MySpace user trolling for "hawt chix." One thing I have on those losers, I don't have hundreds of videos hot-linked to my blog page so you have to wait forever to read my dumbe comments. In the meantime, feel free to take a little quiz based on this terrible photograph.

Can you tell what I am doing? Am I reading:

A) The collected works of Catullus in Latin

B) A previously unpublished work written in Linear B

C) United States Tax Code translated into Sanskrit

D) DBA 2.2, presumably in English

If you picked D you are correct. I do like the game, I hate how it's written. The WADBAG guide I mentioned in a previous post is a good read.

That's it for photos for now. Check back soon for more exciting droning about my gaming habit.

Help is on the way!

2006-05-02T07:28:00.000-05:00

The Washington Area DBA Gamers (WADBAG) have put together a rather nice Unofficial Guide to DBA. Rumor on TMP indicates one can have it printed and spiral-bound at Kinkos for about $13. Luckily, I have access to a color laser printer that does double-sided printing at work, so my cost will be closer to $0.00. Heh.

Another fine ancients blog has been put up by Bjorn, the Normans of Stockholm. Normans are one of those armies I'd love to do. I'd probably do an army of Robert Guiscard for his conquest of Sicily and southern Italy. Nothing like Vikings that moved to France and got a taste for wine and short haircuts.

I'm hoping to get pictures of this past weekend's DBA action up. Hold yer breath.

A good evening

2006-05-01T08:27:00.000-05:00

The evening went well. We each got in two games. Daniel was the big winner, beating Ray and me both with his Early Hoplite Spartans. 12 elements of 4Sp is a tough nut to crack. Ray was the big loser. He fell to Daniel and me.

His game against Daniel was an almost complete rout. Ray used my Romans. Daniel lost maybe two stands, Ray of course losing four. I faced Ray with my Romans while he used Daniel's Spartans. I traded the 3Cv Gen for a 4Bd Gen to give the center of my line a bit more oomph. Over the course of the game, I worked my 3Cv around his flank and positioned them directly behind his general stand. A well-timed series of recoils on his line pushed his general into my Cav, killing him instantly, winning the game. Having that +6 element in the center is useful. The game was rather close run, however. I had lost three elements by the time I got the drop on his general.

I'm becoming convinced that the mandatory artillery for the Romans is almost worthless, unless I simply hold my line in place and angle the damn thing so I can get some shots on his line as they come into range. It does not support mobile warfare at all. The relatively short range can be overcome in short order as well. Bows can be handy, though, if used properly. I'd hate to see what an army of massed bows could do.

At long last, a game night

2006-04-28T07:48:00.000-05:00

Ray and Daniel will descend on the back room tonight. I'll fire up the shop vac to remove the dust from my Romans and we'll throw down, DBA style. I'll have the digi cam handy to take pictures of the unpainted (shame) carnage. One good thing to come of this, Daniel usually brings a pizza. I'll be sure to have some type of snack on hand and soda.

Sadly, these misanthropes have a taste for Mountain Dew. Possibly the most vile beverage on the planet. Homer had it right when he chose Crab Juice over it. My wife, though I love her, also enjoys this putrid crap. What ever happened to liking a nice, decent beverage such as Dr Pepper, Coca-Cola or Slivovica?

At least there's pizza.

Add one to the hopper

2006-04-27T15:34:00.000-05:00

Hyunster's blog weetoysoldiers.com is a thing of beauty. He has almost convinced me to get more Tau for use in Stargrunt ...

Blog, blog, blog

2006-04-27T07:58:00.000-05:00

More gaming blogs from our friends at TMP.

Canadians have "teh interweb?" Whoda thunk it? This guy evidently. George D'Amato give us Wargamer on Deck. I note a surpising lack of references to hockey, donuts and back bacon. I'm not sure he's really Canadian.

Tiny Tin Men is really what it's about, innit? Robartes had a kid. Excellent. More future wargamers.

Legatus Hedilus is a Brit who doesn't think one should only have one blog. Instead he has one for his Spartans, one for his Byzantines and one for everything else. Pesky Brits.

Matakishi is a rather good painter. One day, after I hack around on enough figures I might be as good as he is. In the mean time, check out his Tea House and bask in the splendor of old mice used as grav cars.

Dread Pirate Garness claims it's "A Pirates [sic] Life for Me." We'll see, I guess. Nice paint jobs though, especially on the 54mm signifier.

UpperCanada (what is with these Canucks?) takes the road less traveled with WAR of 1812 Wargaming. All the cuff colors and lace of Napoleonic gaming without actually having to use French figures. What's not to like?

Derek Hodge brings us the blog of the South East Scotland Wargames Club at SESWC News. Good to see a club blogging about.

In my searching, I also found Maksim Smelchak's 6mm-Minis blog. Some good stuff, if you like 6mm. And I do.

Read and ye shall be rewarded. Or something.

Gaming blog explosion

2006-04-26T15:10:00.000-05:00

A veritible explosion of blogs related to gaming has occured in the "blogosphere." Not nearly as circuitous and pedantic as the political blogs from both sides of the aisle, the gaming blogs are a mix of hard-core info on games, miniatures, dice and terrain with the odd bit of eye candy and plans for the invasion of the Breton coast. On to the show. I found these while trawling TMP.

Polynikes gives us The Revenge of Carlos Plynkes to read. Funny stuff. Mildly related to gaming. One must read for oneself. Probably not banned in Arkansas.

Chonk34 gives us The Raz File, commentary on the state of gaming. At least in his house. The fact that he had to dissuade his wife from buying figures for him discourages me, however. Maybe he's insane. I usually have to pull guard duty or KP for a month before the missus lets me buy any lead chappies. Unless I sell blood.

Mike Lewis has been nice enough to update Planet Wargaming for the past three years or so. Updates are sporadic. It fits the theme I'm trying to establish for myself. Nice photos, too.

KSmyth thinks we shouldhave some history of Agincourt in our reading. He's probably right. The Northwest Historical Miniature Gamer, although titled in a pedestrian fashion, is chock full of good info.

More to follow when I post next.

Media Links

2006-04-26T09:02:00.000-05:00

Couple of new media links. I've changed them from "of the week" to "of the moment." I'll update them when I get something new worth updating.

CD of the Moment: Robert Earl Keen, "What I Really Mean"
This CD is his best studio album since "Walking Distance" One of the best tracks, "Mr. Wolf and Mama Bear" is a crime story fable. Think of Aesop collaborating with Elmore Leonard. Other tracks of interest are "For Love," another tale set in the Old West like his previous songs "Sonora's Death Row" and "Jesse With the Long Hair," and "The Great Hank," a surreal dream of REK waking up in a bar to find "the late great Hank Williams and he was all dressed up in drag." "A Border Tragedy" finds the protagonist and his Mexican friends Jaime and Umberto laughing at a college kid during spring break. It doesn't rhyme. It doesn't have to.

Non-Fiction Book of the Moment: John Keegan, "The Face of Battle."
See the previous entry. It's so good, I kept it for this iteration.

Fiction Book of the Moment: Ian Falconer, "Olivia"
Olivia is a pig. Olivia gets in trouble. Olivia is a very funny book to read to your kids. We bought this book for our friends' daughter Sonny when her brother Johnny was born. The illustrations are quite delightful. I sort of discounted children's literature for many years until we had Caroline. The trick is finding a book, such as "Olivia," that is just as entertaining to the parent as it is the child. Thanks to her, I rediscovered Shel Silverstein. Beth has a copy of "Where the Sidewalk Ends" and I've read some of the poems to Caroline. When we were visiting Joe and Sarah, they have a copy of "Light in the Attic" and I read some to Caroline then too, for about 30 minutes. Very funny. Yep, find something you can both enjoy, preferably without purple dinosaurs.

Good night, mush.

After the briefest of breaks ...

2006-04-24T15:44:00.000-05:00

And I'm back. My wife gave birth to our Daughter, Caroline, since I posted last. Little kids rule. Especially ours. She's 12 weeks old today. Someday, we'll get the week-to-month conversion chart at my house.

Still slowly painting my DBA Romans. No longer involved in the tourney. Will be playing this weekend with Daniel and Ray. They took advantage (as did I) of the Old Glory sale. I got some cavalry and auxiliaries. Ray picked up some crusaders to do an Army of St. John 1st or 2nd Crusade force. Daniel got himself some Greek Hoplites to do a Later Hoplite force with the Spartan options. I provided Litko bases for them. Battle reports to come.

It's good to be back.

Too long in the wasteland

2005-10-14T09:27:00.000-05:00

I went far too long without updating.

Sadly, I did not win the Age of Glory Katrina Relief Raffle. Drat. But, Age of Glory did raise more than $500. Good show. Plus I got a torsion unit for a Foundry Scorpio that I needed. Never got one in the original package.

I am woefully behind on my painting for the DBA Army Building Tourney. I am officially a week behind in painting and battling as of today. I have my first six elements half primed (need to flip and prime other side.

I'm basing the figures on 13mm x 18mm (roughly) steel bases. The plan is to base them for DBA on magetic 60mm x 20mm or 30mm bases for DBx and be able to rebase them on 20mm x 20mm bases for WAB or other individually based games. Neat.

Photos to some. I promise.

Gaming community rallies to help Hurricane Katrina victims

2005-09-03T11:53:00.000-05:00

The task is staggering. The flood waters have crested. Homes and businesses lie under feet of water. The city of New Orleans lies in ruin.

Our modern Pompeii is being evacuated while aide and relief moves into the city in significant amounts. In response, the gaming community is rallying to support the non-governmental organizations in their attempt to assist in bringing relief to the chaos.

Age Of Glory, a wargame accessories and miniatures retailer is currently holding a raffle for hurricane relief. From their website:

"Age of Glory will be raffling off a free Foundry horde in support of hurricane relief. To enter, send us a receipt by email for a donation of $10.00 or more to the Red Cross or another relief organization dated between September 1, 2005 and September 12th, 2005."

I had decided to donate to the Salvation Army yesterday. The raffle offer was just an added bonus.

Skulduggery Trading Co., publisher of the sci-fi skirmish game "Space Bastards From Outer Space," is donating the proceeds from the sale of their games to relief efforts:

"I visited New Orleans in November 2000. It was the coolest place I've ever visited. Today it is a disaster area. Tons of people have lost their homes in this tragedy and we here at the Skullduggery Trading Co. want to help in what little way we can. Any proceeds from buying the game we will donate to the disaster relief fund. So buy now and buy often. We all need to do our part."

Do your part. Donate to the charitable organization of your choice. I support the Salvation Army in their efforts.

More to come.

DBA: First Game Impressions

2005-09-01T10:45:00.000-05:00

It was warm Friday afternoon. I recruited Daniel and Ray to come over and play a miniatures wargame. They had never played a mini game before. Rich came up form Wentzville to tutor us on how to play DBA.

I cranked on the AC in the back room and made ice and soda available. Daniel and Ray brought pizza which we enjoyed while watching the first part of "Gladiator." Rich was stuck in traffic, something about a horrible wreck in Louisiana, MO. He arrived about 15 minutes later than he had planned. Introductions went around, we made sure everyone had had at least two slices and we went to work.

Earlier in the week, I based up the equivalent of two Early Imperial Roman armies using my Foundry Romans. I had no true auxiliaries, so used my legionaries as auxiliaries (Ax4) and praetorians as legionaries (Bd4). I still need to put in an order with Litko, but made do with bases I cut out of 3/16th" foam core. The armies (such as they were consisted of:
1x Gen Cv3
1x Cv3
4x Bd4
4x Ax4
1x Bw4
1x Ps2
1x Art1

Rich brought some game mats for us to use, terrain and a nicely painted Viking army. We set in. I gave Daniel and Ray the option of going first. They opted to watch Rich and I hash things out and go later. I do not have anything like a detailed battle report available, as I saw it as a learning experience first and foremost.

My impressions are thus:

The DBA rules, although somewhat dense in their writing (dare I say Ciceronian?), they are based on simple precepts. The adage of it being easier to be taught DBA than learn for yourself is very, very true.
Although the rules are simple, the game is not simple. There are a number of tactical and organizational decisions that must be made on an ongoing basis. Maneuver and placement of troops matters much more in this game than in other games I've played.
The outcome of individual combats is never certain. My cavalry had a hard time dispatching Rich's psiloi on more than one occasion.
The low figure count makes it dead simple to create an army. I had originally received my Romans (as a gift, thanks, Mom!) with the intent of using them in Warhammer Ancient Battles. I think the troops I had would have come to about 750 points in that game. I have almost everything for two DBA armies already.
After watching Daniel and Ray play, it is obvious that this game is suited (when taught and explained properly) to both beginners and old hands alike. The rule are simple enough for noobs to pick up quickly yet there is enough depth to keep old hands entertained.
It may not be an accurate simulation of ancient warfare, but it's a damn fun game.

I'm sure I'll have more opinions as I play more. For now, I have figures to paint. I have until October 7th to paint up my first six stands. Right now, I've got about 54 scuta ready to be primed and painted, assembly line style.

A better deal

2005-09-01T10:42:00.000-05:00

Old Glory Miniatures is having a 40% off sale through the end of October. There's never been a better time to muster your troops. I plan on stocking up to get my DBA/DBM army up to snuff for the Army Building Tourney.

Fun!

DBizzle in the hizzle

2005-08-23T13:08:00.000-05:00

I'm to play DBA for the first time since I was in High School. The first time I ever played was at a convention in KC circa 1991.

Some guys are coming over to the newly cleaned up back room to have a night of pizza, soda and gaming. Should be fun. I have not had time to paint up any figures, but they will be based. My temporary bases are made of 3/16th" foamcore. I love my X-Acto matte and foam board cutter. It really whips the llama's ass, to borrow from Winamp. But I digress.

Looks like we'll have three, maybe four for the evening. It will be a learning experience as we get in some tune-up games before the DBA Army Building Tourney begins.

A Good Deal

2005-08-17T13:13:00.000-05:00

Totallycheapminatures.com have announced a special on Foundry figures. Of particualr interest to me is the special on Foundry Ancients Hordes. If I can scratch the dough together, I may partake of this offer. Only downside being you have no idea what 70 figures you get. I'm not completely convinced that I need 70 signifers. Not that I expet that to happen, but the possibility makes me gun shy. Any one have experience with the Foundry Hordes? Please tell us your impressions on the Comments page.

The Gripping Beast stuff is stil looking nice, though.

Once I get some other things behind me, such as I-Con, I'll start work on the DBA Tourney army. I promise to have updates with photos.

Wootus!

2005-08-16T13:30:00.000-05:00

HBO has a new show starting August 28th called Rome. I saw a "Making of" special on HBO this weekend. I must say the show looks it will be pretty good.

I'll follow OFM's Law of Media: "Wargamers should not review movies." I'll watch any show that has an off-duty centurion stabbing a guy in the throat with a pugio.

Hopefully, I'll have a TV in the back room soon with a satellite receiver so I can watch while painting for the DBA tourney.

Media of the Week

2005-08-12T13:45:00.000-05:00

I didn't make any anouncement last week about my Media of the Week selections. The new selections are up.

Record of the Week: Jesse Dayton "Country Soul Brother" It's kinda rockabilly with more of a country edge. Think along the lines of a mix between Reverend Horton Heat and BR-549. Good stuff, especially "Tall Walkin' Texas Trash."

Non-Fiction Book of the Week: John Keegan "The Face of Battle" Every wargamer should read this book. Keegan examines the physical and psychological forces at play when men fight. The examination of the Battle of Agincourt is the highlight, in my mind.

Fiction Book of the Week: Ben Rehder "Buck Fever" A fun whodunnit set in Blanco County, Texas. There's a corrupt politician, Columbian narco-terrorists, a good lookin' nurse and a game warden trying to figure out why his buddy's pet buck is going bonkers. Like I said, fun.

New DBA Project Links

2005-08-10T15:59:00.000-05:00

I've added a list of links having to do with the DBA Army Building Tourney I've mentioned before. The links either have to do with manufacturers I'll be dealing with or sites that provide information for DBA players in particular or ancients gamers in general.

Gripping Beast: Gripping Beast is a company that makes outstanding 28mm figures. Most of their stuff is ancients. I've posted to them before. I'll be filling out the ranks of my Early Imperial Roman forces with their mounted auxiliary. I may also get some gladiators because, hey they're cool.

Litko Aerosystems: Ken Litko is joy to deal with and he provides a great product. His laser-cut aviation plywood bases, flex steel and flex magnet basing supplies are second to none. He's also started a line of 28mm laser-cut buildings that look quite nice as well.

Veni Vidi Vici: I'll be using VVV's shield decals for multiple reasons:
1) They're very well done
2) The name of the company is also history's shortest After Action Review
3) I got some for free after winning a contest on TMP
Not only do I have an appreciation for excellent products, but I'm cheap as well!

fanaticus.org: This site is where it's at for DBA players. Since I haven't played yet, it has provided me with plenty of much needed knowledge about the game as well as a rundown of my army of choice. The galleries are worth an hour's surfing.

Return to the back room

2005-08-10T15:27:00.000-05:00

I'm heading back to work on my back room. We're inviting over Beth's family this weekend; parents, uncle, cousins, grandmother. To prepare, the back room will be completely squared away tonight.

We'll be smoking a pork butt and some ribs Sunday. My rig was once an 80-gallon water heater. My father-in-law and I took it to the Pittsfield Pig Days Prince Pig Cook Off and won 1st in ribs and 1st in pork butt. I'm looking forward to it. I plan on serving at about 5 P.M., so I'd like to have the butt going by 8 A.M. and the ribs by about 11. Nine hours should get the butt lip smackin'. My wife on side dish duty is a thing of beauty. I'm particularly looking forward to her apple crisp for desert. Man, if only I could get some Blue Bell ice cream to go with it. It may be worth a trip to Hannibal so I can get some Shiner Bock for while I'm cooking.

Maybe the weekend after I'll host a game and christen it properly.

New Link

2005-08-10T13:31:00.000-05:00

I've added Miniature Wargaming, another gaming blog. It's really well done and much more comprehensive than my humble blog. Check out the Gaming Sites Directory. It's worth the price of admission.

Upcoming events

2005-08-09T11:06:00.000-05:00

There's some upcoming events around my neck of the woods I'd like to mention.

Guns of August 8-13-05: Run by the Big Muddy Historical Gaming Alliance, Guns of August is a single-day gaming event held in the St. Louis area. Word has it they have about 20 events for the day. The moto is anything miniatures or historical.

Fall Recruits 8-26 & 27-05: Recruits is run by the Lee's Summit High School Organization of Strategic Gamers. LSHS is my alma mater and I could have only dreamed of such an event when I was a student there. I went to Spring Recruits this past year and had a great time. The objective is to increase the visibility of the hobby ot the younger audience. They draw youthful attendees from across the KC Metro area. It's a good thing. Kudos to Duane and Laura Fleck for making it happen. Double kudos to them for also being high school teachers. We need more teachers like them. Admission is $3 and is nice at twice the price.

I-Con 9-9, 10 & 11-05: A new venue for I-Con in Springfield, IL means more space and better on-site concessions. I'm looking forward to attending this year. I'll be running a couple of sessions of Fragapalooza, a first-person shooter miniatures game. Also, Paul Hassebrock, I-Con organizer and all-around cool guy also owns Mecca Anime, a repository of all things cool and Japanese. You will buy the Pocky.

"Take off and nuke it from orbit, it's the only way to be sure."

2005-08-09T09:43:00.000-05:00

I formatted my machine at home last night. I had been infected with parite-b and Panda Active Scan wasn't doing any good. I backed everything I had to have (old gaming files, papers from college, e-mails) to Zip disk and pulled a Truman on the two hard drives living in the box.

I got WinXP on the box and got my internet connection working. At that point, I decided to quit for the night. I still need to add anti-virus, a competent web browser and e-mail client, then all will be well. At least I'll be at about 33%. I still have a lot of work to do on the computer, but I'm taking steps to increase my protection against mal-ware.

After that, gaming project updates!

A busy weekend

2005-08-07T20:37:00.000-05:00

Saturday I responded to four calls from my volunteer fire department. Two were EMS calls, the third was a motor vehicle accident that we were turned back while en route and the fourth was a brush fire. Pretty much made sure I couldn’t enjoy my Saturday. I can’t talk about the EMS calls, what with HIPPA and everything.

The brush fire was pretty tame. Got to use my new helmet and boots. The helmet is a little heavier than are old helmets, but they fit better. The boots pinched at first, but tramping around woodlands putting out small fires started the break-in process nicely.

We received a FEMA grant so we could get new turnout gear. The boots came in first and the helmets arrived this past week. We’re still waiting on our new jackets and pants. They should be in by the end of the month. I’ll see if I can get a picture to post.

Today I mowed the lawn before going to church. After church, we came home, had a little lunch and then tackled cleaning out our back room. It had been junked up since we moved in a little over a year ago and we never got a around to actually getting it squared away.

I have laid claim to half the room so it may be used for gaming-related activities. I have a desk for painting and model building. A couple of 2 ½’ x 7’ folding tables serve as a game table that can be put away if we’re entertaining. There’s also a couple of bookshelves that are jammed with history and rule books. Some of my wife’s books have infiltrated, but they’ll get moved aside over time. Eventually, we’ll have a TV with a DVD player in the room. That will make watching a game-related movie that much easier. I’ll post pictures once everything is done.

DBA tourney update

2005-08-06T00:19:00.000-05:00

Here's the rules Rich Wright has devised for the DBA tourney in which I'll be participating:

Objective: Build a 200 pt DBM army by Historicon 2006 (July)

Here is the format that I have come up with so far...any builds?

First battle: (Oct 7, Friday)

6 stands of any from the final DBM army list, played with DBA (2.2) on a 3 foot square board using normal terrain feature sizes.

This will be a round robin pairing with each player playing the other for a total of 5 games

2nd battle: (Nov 19, Sat @ Command Con)

9 stands from the DBA book list, played with DBA on a 3 foot square board using normal terrain feature sizes.

This will be a round robin pairing with each player playing the other for a total of 5 games

3rd battle: (Dec 30, Friday)

12 stands from the DBA book list, played with DBA on a 3 foot square board using normal terrain feature sizes.

This will be a round robin pairing with each player playing the other for a total of 5 games

4th battle: (Feb 10, Friday)

100 points of troops from the final DBM list, played with DBM 3.1 on a 4 foot by 6 foot board (normal playing area and terrain feature sizes as per the 200 point Irish mod army composition rules hereafter).

Each player will play 2 games, 2 different opponents...one as the attacker and the other as a defender.

5th battle: (March 31 or to coincide with Barracks Battles)

150 points of troops from the final DBM list, played with DBM 3.1 on a 4 foot by 6 foot board (normal playing area and terrain feature sizes as per the 200 point Irish mod army composition rules hereafter).

Each player will play 2 games, 2 different opponents...one as the attacker and the other as a defender.

Final battle series: (May 12, Friday)

200 points of troops from the final DBM list, played with DBM 3.1 on a 4 foot by 6 foot board (normal playing area and terrain feature sizes as per the 200 point Irish mod army composition rules hereafter).

This will be a round robin pairing with each player playing the other for a total of 5 games.

Game time limits: The DBA games will be no longer than an hour,

the 100 point games => 1 hour

the 150 point games => 1.5 hours

the 200 point games => 2 hours

An epic undertaking

2005-08-05T12:57:00.000-05:00

David Kujit shows us how to assemble a 28mm scale Mayan Pyramid out of a new material called Sintra.

UPDATE!
The Assault Group announces the release of a 28mm Tlaxcalan range to complement their Flower Wars line of Meso-American figures in 28mm. Just in time to fight over David Kujit's monstrous Mayan Pyramid!

New gaming links

2005-08-05T10:52:00.000-05:00

Check out the gaming links:
The Miniatures Page - It's the best. Good info, very active message boards. An excellent springboard for the greatest hobby.

Free Wargames Rules - Title says it all. There's some good and some bad. It's all there for you to find out which you like. A valuable resource for getting into new genres/eras.

Wargames Directory - A little more serious in my mind than TMP in its forum posts. Good reviews of games and other products, though. Another good place to start.

More to come.

Finally, a gaming post

2005-08-05T09:33:00.000-05:00

This is a gaming blog, supposedly, so a gaming post is in order.

I'm going to participate in a 25/28mm DBA Army Building Tournament. Exciting stuff. Especially since I've never played De Bellis Antiquatis before.

The idea is you build a DBA/DBM army over the course of a year or so. Each progressive step is taken over the course of about two months. I'll post the rules of the tourney shortly. Tonight or tomorrow perhaps.

I'm doing Early Imperial Romans. The classic ancients army. Who doesn't like the idea of commanding a legion in battle and seeing the rectangular scuta move across the battlefield, the tranverse crests of the centurions' helmets showing where the thickest fighting is taking place, the sky darkened with pila in flight? Good stuff.

I'm using figures I received as a gift nearly five years ago. They're The Foundry's excellent EIR range. I'll not waste time griping about Foundry's recent policies regarding packaging, pricing and customer service. There's plenty of that over on The Miniatures Page already. I just need to get started painting.

I'll post updates of my progress.

More to come.

Music from south of the Red River

2005-08-05T09:18:00.000-05:00

Don M said he didn't know what Texas music was. As an avid Texas music fan, I figure I'll take a moment to discuss this important branch of American music.

Texas music is an amalgam of various styles united by a single feature; the artists either live in Texas or were born there. A primary facet of Texas music is the fact that many artists operate fully outside the main stream of the music business located in Nashville, New York or Los Angeles.

They write their songs in Texas, record their albums in Texas, marekt them mostly in Texas and tour almost entirely in Texas. Forays outside of Texas are not unheard of, in fact they are quite common. The largest crowds for a Texas music artist are almost always in Texas, however.

The concept of Texas music transcends style and genre. Country, bluegrass, rock, conjunto, tejano, western swing and punk are all claimed by Texas artists. This reflects the varied ethnic backgrounds of Texans. It also makes for a very strong musical tradition.

This is of course, a definition in a very small nutshell. Some of my favorite Texas musicians:
Robert Earl Keen
Walt Wilkins
Adam Carroll
Alejandro Escovedo
Joe Ely
Roger Creager
James McMurtry
The Derailers

Some places to see Texas music live:
Greune Hall
Floore's Country Store

More to come

New Links

2005-08-04T15:47:00.000-05:00

And this thing keeps growing ...

I've added some links to the right. The comic links are all worth a look. In no particular order, except alphabetically, I present:

Bob the Angry Flower - Stephen Notley's a Canadian ex-pat now in the US working for PopCap Games. They make those little games on Yahoo and your cell phone that take up too much damn time. Blast you Literati! Bob is super-funny in that odd, "why is this funny?" way. "Bob's Quick Guide to the Apostrophe, You Idiots" is worth its weight in Canadian funny money.

Cox and Forkum - Political cartoonists from the right side of the aisle. A bit much of their personal philosophy seems to be wrapped up in the winner-takes-all absolutist school of Ayn Rand, whom they also appear to worship. Most of their cartoons are pretty funny, though.

Schlock Mercenary - Take some mildly violent bipeds, add an amorph with a plasma pistol (ominous hummmm) and a war fleet with self-awareness. Shake. Hilarity ensues. Howard Tayler, we thank you. Read it from the begining. It's worth the weekend.

Turnsignals on a Land Raider - This strip is only funny if you're a miniatures gamer. It's funnier if you have ever played Warhammer 40,000. It's funnier still if you've played Warhammer 40,000, thought better of it and moved onto something better. Something better like, oh I don't know, Stargrunt perhaps? Read from the begining. It'll take an afternoon. It's worth it.

28mm a day (but sometimes only 15)

2005-08-04T13:21:00.000-05:00

So, here we go.

Here at 28mm a day, a crack staff of one married miniatures gamer will yak endlessly about his hobbies and life. the main topics of discussion will be:

Miniature gaming

Texas music

Barbecue

Beer

Volunteer firefighting and emergency medical services

Other topics that rock my ego-centric jolies.

Thanks go to Joey at http://mrstryfe.blogspot.com for getting me started on this.

More to come.

One down, tons to go

2005-08-04T13:15:00.000-05:00

I'll try this blog thing out for a while. I'd like to thank my friend, Joey (http://mrstryfe.blogspot.com), for saying "hey, start a blog." At the very least, I may be able to write a little each day or so, which will be to my advantage.

I used to write quite a bit in college, but not so much anymore. Maybe this will change.

More to come.