Hey, Some Summer Gaming After All

Well I guess I lied after my last post because I have managed to get in a number of miniature games.

First up was a couple of 40k games on with my son. Breaking out my 40k Orks after I had packed all my GW stuff away in the basement thinking I would not be playing them for awhile if at all. Our first game was 500pts Astra Militarium vs. Orks and then a 750pt battle adding in some extra units. The first battle was a loss for my Orks in a Crusade scenario using Hammer and Anvil deployment. I just couldn't get close enough to start doing any amount of damage to use units. 

The second was a Maelstrom of War scenario, Tactical Escalation. In this scenario I was able to come to grips with his main army and was able to wipe out most of his force till he conceded on the last turn. 

I really like the new edition of 40k and I find it plays a lot smoother than some of the previous editions and not having the mighty rule tome on the table is a bonus also! I don't play competively so I am not sure how it holds up in that environment.

The next game I played was Malifaux 2nd edition, I think this is only the second game of this edition I have played. I played against Shawn, my old nemisis. I decided to go back to basics with Perdita and Shawn fielded Ramos. Shawn beat me handily as I could not go after my objectives well with Ramos on the table. We did do a few things wrong but it was a good game to get reacquainted with the crews. The game mechanics haven't changed much other than tidying up some of the rules but the individual miniature abilities have changed a fair bit so it's a bit like learning the crews over again. We will probably try to get a few more games in and I will try to host my annual Malifaux weekend tourney again in the late fall providing I finally finish my kitchen renos, which are starting to take shape by the way. I can't seem to find the pictures I took of this game so next time I'll make sure I get some.

The last game was a 1850pt 40k battle against my friend Chet. He also fields Astra Militarium. We tried a new deployment method he borrowed from another mini game which had us taking turns placing markers on the board. Once the markers were within a certain distance of an opposing marker they were locked in place and their placement determined the deployment zones. This was a good game with lots of Orky mayhem going on. And though the final score was quite lopsided for Chet the game was actually fairly tight till the end.

Since the last blog we also got in another game of Call of Cthulhu rpg inwhich my PC died, well he was pretty much insane anyways and the rest of the party ran away. They did come back in daylight and did some damage control so a partial success I guess.

I also ran the last installement of Dragon Age RPG for the summer and have formed the greater plot in my head for when we continue this fall. The PC's were successful in the intro scenario but had to leave the area before the good will of the town enivitably turned against them.

And with all this 40k stuff going on I starting building and painting some Orks again, sucked back in again!

This was our setup for the 500pt battle. We set up the terrain thinking to deploy at the top and bottom edges of the picture but the deployment we rolled had us setting up in this direction giving the Astra Militarium the advantage of the built up terrain which Tristan wisely defended and I just couldn't 

get to grips with him.

This is the setup for the 750pt battle with the terrain a little more even. We had a diagonal setup.

The Orks closing in. Tristan's artillery officer called in fire on his own tank allowing me to finish him off!

The tank is gone with the explosion taking out some Guard leaving the remaining Orks to close in on the last of the Guard.

The table for the 1850pt battle.

The final deployment after using Chet's borrowed deployment method.

1850pts of Orks.

Deployment at the other end of the table.

My Blitza Bomba enters the board...and rolls double 1's crashing nowhere and forgetting to release it's bombs. Not the best debut but I'll remember it anyways!

Things have not gone well, my Shock Attack gun, after doing little damage to the enemy decided to fire on it's own units finally doing damage...to my Nobs. Chet's Vendetta gunship finished them off. Every Nob jumped infront of the bullets to save the Warlord and then failed all their armour saves destroying the whole unit.

So knowing painted units fight better I started getting some quick paint jobs in!

The First Edge of the Empire Session and More 15mm Preparation.

Well it wasn't hard to find a group interested in trying the Star Wars Edge of the Empire RPG by Fantasy Flight Games. In fact the group that played the Call of Cthulhu campaign transferred straight over to the Star Wars game with me taking over the GM position with Shawn becoming a player(previously the GM) and a new player(a big SW fan) joining in for a total of 5 player characters taking part. We started off playing the adventure out of the beginners box with a few additions to make the adventure a little more open. The players picked up the game mechanics pretty quick and the first adventure is pretty action orientated. The next session will finish off the starter adventure and we will continue with the free online adventure that extends the story. The players seemed to enjoy the game and liked the narrative aspect of the dice mechanics.

We went camping last weekend near where my friend Chet lives so he came out for the evening and I passed on some Flames of War materials I had picked up for him from Gametronics in New Minas. We also all played a fast, fun game of  Forbidden Island which we lost.

My son Tristan and I have been dusting off (literally in my case) our Warhammer 40k miniatures and trying a few games of 6th edition. 1250pts of Orks vs. Imperial and the games are pretty fun though there is some frustration playing the Orks!

I have been working slowly on trying to get my Flames of War Germans finished off and they are coming along pretty well with the hopes of doing a beach landing game soon.

Works in progress:

10.5cm German battery.

The battery all together. Finishing details and shading still required.

Spotters, HQ and staff.

US spotter plane.

StuGs from the Open Fire starter set.

Tiger 1's from Plastic Soldier Company.

7.5Pak40's from the starter set as well.

First 40k battle:

The setup, scenario is Big Guns Never Tire with Dawn of War deployment.

The bulk of the Orks.

My Deffcopters advance on the flank.

and are quickly taken out, a general advance as the Imperial Guard stays put.

Closing on the other flank.

My center has been destroyed.

Nearing the end, my Deff Dread tore apart the Punisher but the IG got a 7-4 win.

 The Second Game.

The second game. Scenario: The Relic, deployment: Hammer and Anvil.

The IG line.

The Orks pile in, moving on either flank. While the IG squad in the center drop the relic and run after the Killa Kans charge them.

The IG Chimera is destroyed while the Leman Russ blows up taking some IG with it.

The carnage at the end. The Orks won this one 2-0.

The Ork pile of dead.

Games While Camping, Hinging My Land Raider Doors

The family went camping last week, we packed up the car and the tent trailer and headed to one of the national parks, Kejimkujik. While packing up I found room for a couple of board games.

So between the hikes, biking, canoeing and trying to relax (impossible with a 3 year old in the family) we managed to play a few games. We played a couple of games of Carcasonne by Rio Grande Games, a game we usually bring with us when camping. Even the youngest, Galen, likes to play this trying to get all his meeples out first.

We also played a game of Tribune by Fantasy Flight Games  after Galen had gone to sleep. We played this in the dark by the camp fire under the light of our lantern. We called it after a certain point as it was getting late. Tristan was declared the winner with the most victory conditions though in one more turn I would have been able to pull out the win anyways.

I also brought a rpg to play, The One Ring by Cubicle 7 but we didn't get a chance to play. I always think it would be great to role play while camping but I never actually get to. I brought along Death Angel  by Fantasy Flight Games as well but didn't get that out either.

And that's been it for the gaming. I've been keeping busy with other things and have not managed to fit in any miniature games but I have been doing some modelling.

In an effort to field a slightly larger British Napoleonic army for Lasalle, besides the basic defensive force, I have started painting up a couple of extra infantry units to allow me to go on the offensive and a attached cavalry force. Lasalle has army lists consisting of a basic force which is modified when you are the attacker. You can then pick additional attachments, each player picking the same number. After that I will pick away at units as I have quite a few minis still in the bags. They are all 15mm Battle Honors.

I have started to repaint some 15mm German vehicles for Flames Of War. I had originally done the camo pattern with a brush but wasn't happy with the look so I decided to redo them with the air brush. I always imagine the air brush is more work than it actually is.

I continued working on my scratch built Trebuchet and my Land Raider Crusader.

Adding Green Stuff details like steel rings around the weight basket...

and metal pivot points.

The first unit of Brits under way. I am painting these up with the intent to dip them.

So I used white primer to brighten up the colours before the get toned down with the dip.

The camo pattern applied by airbrush. Much more satisfactory than the one I applied by brush which you can see in a previous post.

The whole group I did.

How I hinged the Land Raider Doors.

First I cut out the center section of the two exterior hinges.

Here they are cut with a hobby saw.

I then finished the job with a hobby knife and then filed the cut smooth.

I then cut off to small sections of plastic tube.

And then made sure they fit into the cut out sections.

Next I cut off two pieces of paper clip the length of the total hinge section.

I then drilled straight through the hinges.

The paper clip pieces were then pushed into the hinges as indicated by the tool.

The hinges were then glued in place applying a small drop of glue to each section of white tube where it will contact the hull.

After the glue has dried. The door opens...

and closes!

Well that's it for now, hopefully I will have a game report next time.