The Interlude

By way of an interlude between more updates on the game boards, here are those pictures of the European Mercenaries I put together a couple of weeks ago. I now have 40 pikemen (arranged in two units of 20), 20 handgunners (in two units of 10) and 12 crossbowmen. I have a few bodies left over, so they'll likely become more crossbowmen depending on what parts I have left to use.

These most certainly won't be painted for a while, at least not until 2013. I still have to do sufficient research into colour schemes/uniforms to reassure me that I won't get them "wrong" once I start painting...

In other news, the PDF rulebook for DreadBall: Season 1 was made available to the Kickstarter backers yesterday. I've yet to read through it all properly, but I'm planning on making a "rules summary" post at some point to share a little about how the game plays. Until next time...

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men....

I said in my last post that I had Plans™ for this week. Did they come to fruition?

Well, sort of. I had envisaged making great swathes of progress, getting loads done and emerging into this weekend with a glowing feeling of satisfaction at a job well done. That was obviously overly optimistic and unrealistic but, while I have made good progress, I somehow feel like I should have done more!

But this is all very negative. There are lots of positives, so let's backtrack and start over!

As I said in my last post, the primary "objective" for the past week was to begin work on a Mines of Moria-themed game board for LotR games (specifically those between Dwarves and Moria Goblins, being as those are the two forces me and my brother most often play with, when he's not slaughtering my Uruk-Hai with his Fellowship...)

I'm happy to report that work has indeed begun on such a game board; in fact, it's more than just begun, it's a fair way through! We settled on making a 4'x4' modular game board (made up of 4 x 2'x2' square boards)

This was our plan for roughly how we wanted the boards to look (if you click the picture, you can get a larger version where you can actually read the labels for everything...). One advantage of making the board modular is that we can rearrange the boards for several different combinations of terrain, although there are obviously a couple of features that are limited in where they can be placed.

We began construction work with two sheets of 6mm MDF measuring 4'x2'...

...and cut them in half to create four 2'x2' "quarters":

It was at this point that I discovered that the big sheet of 5cm polystyrene I'd bought to use as the basis of the game boards wasn't quite 2' wide (it was about an inch short). Annoying.

And so my solution was to construct a frame from thinner pieces of polystyrene around the edges of the MDF boards:

The main polystyrene 'board' was then cut to fit each of the framed boards:

The polystyrene "tile" fitted into the frame and glued down on each of the boards, before any gaps were smoothed over with filler. The edges of each board were taped round with two or three layers of masking tape, which was then covered with a couple of coats of PVA to stiffen the tape and provide a reasonably solid edge to prevent any particularly bad damage to the edges of the polystyrene boards.

I forgot to photograph this stage, so here's a picture of a Goblin instead

Once the filler and glue had thoroughly dried, the fun parts could begin. First, each board had the rough plan drawn on to get an idea of where the various terrain features would be built on. Then we began cutting out the various hill levels we needed:

Slave labour at it's best...

The various hill levels (each hill ended up with at least three bits of polystyrene cut for it) were glued together separately before being glued and pinned with cocktail sticks to the boards themselves:

Two of the boards together, showing the "coming together" of the overall plan!

And then, before I went back to work today, I set about gouging out the chasm that will run across the corner of one of the boards:

I have to admit, making this much mess was a lot of fun...

And this is currently where we stand!

The next stage is to finish off the terrain features - the edges of the chasm and the hills all need "texturing" (i.e. carving great chunks out of them to make them look like rock...) and various bits of rubble and debris need adding.

After that, I'm planning on texturing each of the boards with fine sand (much like the bases of my LotR Dwarves and Goblins) and then painting can begin!

~ ~ ~

In addition to all of that, in the gaps where we waited for filler and glue to dry, I got on with painting figures (predictably, Dwarves and Goblins...) while my brother set about making various bits of removable terrain to add to the boards. I'll come back with pictures of those, along with more progress on the boards, next time!

Back from the Dead!

Phew!

Just a quick post to reassure everyone that I am still alive, and this blog is still kicking. I moved house a couple of weeks ago and it's naturally taken a fair few days to settle down, and also to get an internet connection established (not helped by BT's tardiness in actually sending us the kit...)

Anyway, I'm (mostly) settled down now and I'm pleased to report that I now have a dedicated hobby room all to myself! And here, there's no danger of me being turfed out whenever we have guests over because a) we have other spare rooms to put guests in and b) we're never having guests anyway (because I'm a miserable old git). What's even better is that I now have more than enough room for my hobby desk, plenty of storage and a 6'x4' gaming table!

Along with this brand spanking new hobby room has come a renewed enthusiasm for hobby things. Those of you who've read my previous posts will notice that there's not actually been any sort of modelling posted since late August and there's a reason for that - namely, that I haven't done much of anything. That will (hopefully) soon be remedied, because I reckon I've done more modelling since the beginning of this week than I have in the entire two months prior to now. Some of you might remember way back in May last year, I started assembling the first box of Perry Miniatures' European Mercenaries (which you can read about here). Well, this week I've finally got the second box out (as well as the unassembled remnants of the first box) and started assembling the rest of them. I've now got just over 40 pikemen assembled (including two Command groups, so I can field two units of 20) and I've got a bunch more handgunners and some crossbowmen on the go. I'll get some pictures taken and put up soon.

In other news, my younger brother is planning on coming to stop for a few days next week (it's half term, so he doesn't have school and, like all school kids, he wants to spend as many days as possible avoiding homework) so I'm busy planning all sorts of hobby activities and games we can get up to. This is mostly revolving around Lord of the Rings games, and I've got plans for us to build (or at least, start building) a Moria-themed gameboard for our Dwarfs and Goblins to fight over. We'll see if any of my plans come to fruition next week.

Until then, ciao!

All For A Good Cause

And now a break from our regular programming to bring you something real-world related:

In just about 5 weeks time, on Sunday 18th November, I'm taking part in Tough Mudder - an event to raise money for Help for Heroes, a UK charity who provide help for those wounded Service personnel, veterans and their families. As the name suggests, the event is a tough one. The Tough Mudder website provides the following summary:

"Tough Mudder events are hardcore 10-12 mile obstacle courses designed by British Special Forces to test your all around strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie."

That's putting it nicely. The reality is far more daunting - take a look at the Course Map showing all the obstacles involved. Mud Mile, Fire Walker, Electroshock Therapy and Berlin Walls are just some of the exotic punishments dreamt up by the organisers to really challenge every participant. This is a course designed by the Special Forces, so it's going to be living hell for mere mortals like me. 

So what does this have to do with you guys? Well, as you probably expected as soon as the word "charity" came up, it involves giving money. Help make this ordeal slightly more bearable by donating however much you can afford, and helping those people who have *really* suffered. It's not much to ask - it might mean taking sandwiches to work one day instead of getting a canteen meal, it might be one less figure you buy this year, heck it might just mean the walking into town instead of getting the bus one time. Whatever you give is going to be gratefully received, and I'd encourage anyone reading this to spread the word and perhaps raise a few extra quid from friends who could probably do with cutting back their additions to the lead mountain. 

Anyone wishing to donate, please head over to my Tough Mudder donation page here

Alternatively, you can donate via my JustGiving page here

Thanks to everyone who takes the time to read this, and extra thanks to those of you who donate.

All the best,

Nick/Beithir

Dreadball Redux! Two (and a bit) weeks later!

Well, September 30th has been and gone, and with it the Dreadball Kickstarter I talked about in my last post. If you didn't jump on the bandwagon (why not?!) then you missed out!


In the end, the Dreadball Kickstarter raised a whopping $728,985 (that's £453,456 in real money...). When you consider that the original funding target was just $20,000, that's a massive 3645% of the target.

What did that $728,985 funding do, exactly?

Well, it has not only funded the release of the initial Dreadball game (comprising of two teams, Corporation and Marauders, the game board, dice, rulebook and everything else you need to play) but it has also funded all of this:

~ A grand total of 12! Dreadball teams, each with the full compliment of 16 players and with Prone Markers for each team
~ A huge 22! MVPs/Special Characters, including three Limited Editions only available via the Kickstarter
~ Season 2 Dreadball Expansion, adding rules for league play, extra teams and more MVPs
~ Season 3! Dreadball Ultimate, adding yet more teams, more MVPs, multi-player games and multi-hex mega-players
~ Cheerleaders, Coaches and Keeper figures for each team.
~ Exclusive Kickstarter Dreadball T-Shirts, Dreadball Dice, and Dreadball Bags (courtesy of Battlefoam)

OK, when you list it like that it doesn't look like a lot, but you just have to take a look at the Kickstarter page (here) to see how much it all adds up to. The Kickstarter alone has effectively funded the next two/three years for this game, although I doubt funding will stop there! The amount of models being produced for the game on the basis of the Kickstarter alone is almost enough to equal the entirety of GW's Blood Bowl range, and I doubt that this will be all that Mantic produces for Dreadball.


So what did I get out of all this free advertising?

Well, in the end, I caved to temptation and upped my pledge. I won't put the exact value on the slim chance that my other half is reading () but suffice to say that my swag bag is bulging, and my "hobby budget" is emptied. Winging their way to a house in the Midlands will be:

~ Dreadball Season 1 Rulebook (and additional PDF copy), Season 2 PDF Rulebook, Season 3 PDF Rulebook
~ Pitch - Mounted Card Gameboard, Game Cards, Dice, Counters and Limited Edition Kickstarter Counters, Roster Pad
~ Free Ticket to Dreadball event at Mantic HQ
~ 'Creating Dreadball' Digital Book
~ RefBot and 2 Balls
~Trontek 29ers/Corporation team (14 players) and Prone Marker
~ Greenmoon Smackers/Marauders team (14 players) and Prone Marker
~ Midgard Delvers/Forge Fathers team (14 players) and Prone Marker
~ Skittersneak Stealers/Veer-myn team (14 players) and Prone Marker
~ 20 MVPs/Special Character figures (including 3 Limited Edition)
~ Signed Cover Art Print
~ 48 Hex Bases
~ Judwan team (10 players) and Prone Marker
~ Nameless team (10 players)
~ Teratons team (10 players)
~ Asterian team (10 players)
~ 2 Female Corporation figures and Prone Marker, 2 Robot figures and Prone Marker, 2 Z'zor figures and Prone Marker, 2 Zees figures
~ "Nameless Spawn" Multi-hex figure
~ Limited Edition Coach Renton figure

...and I think that's everything! A grand total of 135 figures, plus everything else. The only "downside" is that delivery will be spread over the next 9 months as they produce all the figures, but all the Season 1 stuff (everything I need to play the game, plus the first four full teams) will be here by Christmas!

At least with the deliveries spread out, it gives me a slight chance to paint things before the next batch arrives. In theory anyway!

Right, now I'm off to appease She Who Must Not Be Named and butter her up before the first shipment arrives and the inevitable questions begin...

"MORE FIGURES! HOW MUCH DID THEY COST THIS TIME?!?!?"


*Gulp*

Wish me luck....

DreadBall - The Futuristic Sports Game

Kickstarters seem to be the latest trend to take the internet by storm - there seem to be half a dozen springing up every day. For those who are unfamiliar with the concept, Kickstarter is billed simply as:

"a funding platform for creative projects"

The general idea is that individuals, a bunch of friends and even full-blown companies can start a Kickstarter to "kickstart" funding for a certain project. They pitch the idea to the masses, promise rewards in return for cold hard cash and, if they meet their funding target, they go into production. Kickstarter isn't just for wargaming-related projects, but even so there seem to be tonnes of wargaming projects running Kickstarters in an attempt to raise funds for new miniatures and games. It mostly seems to be the province of indie companies who would otherwise be unable to afford all the production costs, but every so often a big established company jumps on the bandwagon to launch a product of their own. 

I'm pretty sure most people in the wargames hobby will have heard of Mantic Games by now. You might also have heard about this new game they're launching, called DreadBall.

Now, until about a week ago, I'd not really paid much attention to either Kickstarter or Mantic Games. I'd heard plenty about both; I'd seen all the people pushing various Kickstarter projects and I'd seen people using Mantic figures for Warhammer armies and the like, but I'd not really looked into either of them for myself because I didn't see anything that immediately appealed to me.

That was until I saw DreadBall. I saw something that looked like Blood Bowl for sci-fi fans and so, being a big Blood Bowl fan, I thought "that looks cool" and went over to Kickstarter to check it out. What followed was a 48-hour long torment, as I wrestled with my conscience about whether to pledge or not. Alas, being weak-willed as I am, I gave in an signed up at the 'Keeper' ($80) level. That gets me the complete DreadBall game (two full teams, the rulebook, the pitch and all the cards, counters and dice needed) plus the RefBot figure and a signed lithoprint of the cover art. I thought it over and decided this was really the minimum level I could go in at, because I'd need the complete game (i.e. the rules, a pitch and two complete teams) in order to convince anyone to play it with me.

Since then though, I've seen the funding shoot up, I've seen the new Stretch Goals come and seen them achieved, and I've seen all the new goodies that keep getting added to the 'Striker' ($150) level. Four complete teams, ten MVP figures, freebie figures from each of the "Season 2" teams (yes, funding has reached such heights that they can already afford to produce the first DreadBall expansion...), extra accessories for the game including Hex Bases for the figures, extra counters and the like, plus a free ticket to any DreadBall event at Mantic HQ, plus a Buy One Get One Free offer for all of the Season 2 teams at 'Striker' level and above.

All goodies that, at 'Keeper', I'll be missing out on....

So now, I'm going through another wrestling match with my conscience. I probably shouldn't have pledged to just $80 (which is only about £50.....). I'll really be in trouble if I up my pledge to $150 (about £90...).

But I really, really want to!


P.S http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1744629938/dreadball-the-futuristic-sports-game

Go over and pledge some money. It looks like a very cool game, you can get loads of cool stuff for your money, and the more people who pledge, the more figures everyone gets, including me!!

The world has changed. The Storm of Chaos came and altered the face of the Empire forever. Five years later, the Fall of Middenheim and the Corruption of Carroburg left the north of the country further devastated, and at risk of seceding from the Empire as the Elves of the Laurelorn descended from the forest to wreak havoc amongst human and beast alike.  The once-peaceful city of Marienburg was transformed into a new militaristic and independent country, ready to take advantage of the Empire’s weakness in the wake of almost a decade of war.

Now, war has come to the Old World once again. Karl Franz leads his armies against the great demonic portal in the ruins of Carroburg, while his staunch ally King Louen Leoncoeur of Bretonnia leads a campaign against the newly-founded and aggressive armies of the Free State of Marienburg.

But while King Louen’s back is turned, dark forces rise in his own kingdom. Continued unrest amongst the commoners has driven them to rebellion, and with the majority of the army away, righteous fervour is sweeping the countryside like wildfire drawing more and more of the country folk in. Guided by a shadowy individual known only as the Black Knight, the rebellion is gathering strength with each passing day. 

To make matters worse, the peasant rebellion is not the only force that assails the land. Bands of savages, beasts, orcs and the like, are emerging from the forests and mountains under the loose leadership of the giant Arlukus the Mawsplitter. Accounts from the east report of mercenaries flooding through the mountain passes in great numbers, for what purpose no-one knows. Peasant tales tell of covens of sorcerers, with stories of great magical storms and terrible sounds emanating across the night sky. 

Perhaps most ominous of all, however, are the stories of the Fey. They tell of the Fey once again leaving the forest, and the peasants talk of the Wild Hunt roaming the land once again, and warn each other to bolt their doors and hold their children close against what might emerge from the woods.

Against all this there stands a Knight and his men, charged with the defence of the realm. With the King engaged in the struggle against the Free State of Marienburg, the kingdom of Bretonnia is vulnerable and defended by only those garrisons left behind, scattered across the southern dukedoms. In the forces arrayed against them, the men of Bretonnia face the greatest threat to their country yet.

Asrai.org are proud to present their sequel campaign -

Sentinels of Shadows: Unruly Alliance

~ Battles rage and rebellion is ripe across the southern dukedoms of Bretonnia as dark forces assail the country. With the King away, will you take up your arms in defence of kin and country and join the Defenders of the Realm? Will you ride with the Wild Hunt as the Fey Legion emerge from the Forest of Loren to wreak havoc amongst the lands of men? Will you ally yourself the mysterious Council of Erevos as they enact their plan for the land of Bretonnia? Will you seek your fortune as a mercenary alongside the Brazen Talons? Or will you join the hordes of Arlukus the Mawsplitter in his rampage across the country? Whichever way you decide, you control the fate of Bretonnia as you choose to either support or oppose the Peasant Rebellion that threatens the very fabric of the land.

    ~ A brand new and unique map and movement system means there is more strategy and tactical movement than ever before!

    ~ With both faction and personal resources, players can act independently or as part of a unified team. Spend your spoils to aid your faction, bribe your enemies or achieve personal glory as you choose! 

    ~ Create a unique campaign army through the new Army Doctrine upgrades system! 

    ~ The introduction of Hobby Reports, as well as the ever-popular Fluff Reports, means you don't even have to play games to participate! 

    Faction Registration begins Monday 24th September!

~ ~ ~

It's that time of year again - another nine months of work has almost reached its culmination, and the campaign team at Asrai.org are once again running an online campaign. Building on the events of our first campaign, Crossing Paths, back in October last year we've been hard at work improving every aspect of the campaign. For those people who joined in last time, many thanks and we hope to see you again this time around. For those people that didn't join in last time (why not?!), it would be great to have you! As you can see in the advert, we have even more ways for players to get involved and participate in the campaign without having to play games so there should be no reason for you not to head over to Sentinels-Campaigns.net and join in.