First Try of the New Blood Bowl Rules

I've played Blood Bowl, Games Workshop's fantasy football game, a lot from the third edition with my brother in the mid-nineties to around 2015 with Living Rulebook 6. However, I stopped playing it when the revised version was published in 2016, but have watched some games and been tempted by the new miniatures (even though I own orc, human, Skaven, High Elves and goblin teams already).

Liam and Jack had got into the latest version publish in 2020, and Ara revealed he had bought the box set too. We decided to have a night to get everyone familiar with the rules (Mike hadn't played, and Nic hadn't run his Elvis team for a few decades!) in preparation for a mini league later in the year.

I ran my goblins with Jack, while Nic, Mike and Ara coached the humans. Liam came later and helped with the rules.

We only played a half, stepping everyone through the rules. I like the changes (the main one being the skill stat for throwing and general agility being split). While I ran the goblins with a chainsaw and ball & chain, I think drafting a troll is better than eight re-rolls (!). I have two fantasy trolls that are not fully painted that I will rebase on round bases. Games (depending on lockdowns, etc) will be played over a couple of nights in August / September.

Christmas Goblins Conversions

Some simple conversions of Games Workshop's Night Goblins with some greenstuff to make them Christmas Goblins. (I needed to make an extra body to create a 10-man unit anyway). Legend has it they hunt peasants in Europe to replenish the "elves" they die of exhaustion each year making toys or mining for coal.

Things are heating up in the North Pole.

Things I Love - 40K Mech and Pilot

A lovely conversion of an Ork Killa Kan by Ana Polanšćak done for a group 40K project, 'Gelida: the Frozen Expanse' (see more at https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/thefrozenexpanse), set on a frozen planet where people have to resort to utilising mechs and exosuits to traverse the world for resources.

Her contribution is this mech converted from a Killa Kan and its pilot, based on a Steel Legion guardsman. It's also (in case you couldn't tell) heavily inspired by Jakub Rozalski's art (see https://www.artstation.com/jakubrozalski),

More converting and painting goodness on the Gardens of Hecate blog:
http://gardensofhecate.blogspot.com/2018/12/200-gelida-frozen-expanse.html

Car Wars Conversions 3

I finally finished the sixth toy car conversion today (while I've been home with a chest infection). This time a Hot Wheels 1968 Oldsmobile 442 that I bought back in September and converted at the time.

It got the same treatment as the others:
https://donnerundblitzenwargaming.blogspot.com/2017/05/car-wars-65-pontiac-gto-and-63-chevy-ii.html
https://donnerundblitzenwargaming.blogspot.com/2017/05/car-wars-conversions-2.html

And I painted it blue to match the set (which can be all part of the same faction or with the Volkswagen and Land Rover in a sub-faction (paired off against the earth coloured "wolves").




Some of the decals are 20+ years old, so there was a bit of swearing when I applied them, but by adding some weathering to them too (and not just the body work), I think it's come out okay. Although as I type this I see in these photos that the blues are a little off. I doubt I'll go back and fix it, as on the table it will be hardly noticeable.

The car has the giant circular saw to deal with wire lines across the road - I think I'll finish this project off with a pair of 20mm WWII bikes to act as dispatch/outriders. Currenly AB Figures WWII will be the easiest to source.

Things I Love - Chaos Noise Marine

New Games Workshop Chaos Noise Marine:

Battle of Tanga 1914 Refight

Mark put on another one of his sumptuous games, this time a WWI Ost Afrika game using Games Workshop's 'Warhammer Historical Great War' (basically Warhammer 40k without all the silly stuff).

This was the battle that more than anything was the foundation of the von Lettow-Vorbeck legend. You can read more on the battle here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tanga

The game would see the Anglo-Indian force attempting to take the town of Tanga, while the German Schutztruppe and Askari force would do their best to defend it. The British was something of a mixed bag in terms of troop quality but had numerical advantage, along with their opposition not being quite the grizzled veterans they would later become. The game had the blinds for the Germans, with a dummy counter for each company or command unit (see the yellow counters below). There were also secret bonus points for  the British if they were able to capture the Hotel Deutscher Kaiser in the centre of town (bottom right in the photo below), while the Germans would be rewarded if they captured the supplies at the docks (top middle in the same photo).

The view from the German right flank:

Matrosen Kompagnie infantry defending the Hotel Deutscher Kaiser:

British tourists disembarking their cruise shipping, thinking that this was a package holiday in Dar es Salaam:

Leutnant zur See Hammerstein with a bottle of Hefeweißbier Dunkel getting ready for the fight:

More British rats crawling through the jungle:

The sailors (who were my wurst quality troops) charging (okay they shuffled forward, then shuffled back before shuffling forward again) ahead to meet the British threat:

My army's elite Schutztruppe showing the sailors how it's really done:

Before they were wiped away by the Bengal tigers:

The Löwe von Afrika himself, Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck, holding it all together (well it's me holding him):

The game was tense (the Germans were outnumbered 3 to 2 and my firearms were old and therefore had shorter range), with the balance shifting a few times as fortunes charged, I was able to grab victory when my Askaris held off the British assaults on my right flank:

All in all a great game, that looked good and was a huge amount of fun.

Conversions - Mantic's The Walking Dead Liam, Sandra and Patrick

Here are some quick conversions of Mantic's The Walking Dead Liam, Sandra and Patrick from the base game.

Liam has a Games Workshop Warhammer 40k Kroot bag and Green Stuff strap, as I wanted him to have a weapon. Sandra has an added Warhammer 40k Cadian weapons belt (to house her knife and make her look more like a runner), and Patrick's bat has been extended with Green Stuff are it looked way too short.

Conversions - Lead Legion Space Marines

The Lead Adventure Forum decided that it would be fun to create our own chapter. Further information can be found here:
http://www.lead-adventure.de/index.php?topic=102072.0

I decided to join in, as the 8th edition Warhammer 40K had actually got me to pull out the unpainted 40K miniatures and maybe even paint something. Or, crazy, buy something new.

The previous post was a colour test, and I think I'll stick to it (but first I'll test out how Vallejo Khaki and Buff look side by side). I was originally thinking of just painting this guy (apologies, black doesn't photograph well):

He was originally just left over from my Space Marine army, so I made a Space Wolves ronin-type character (as a proxy Cypher). He's been unpainted for... never 20 years 😲

Then on Friday I walked into the Melbourne store at lunch time, as I heard that Games Workshop was giving away the new Primaris Marine as samples (to see how they paint up, etc). The dude (he was pretty chill) said he'd unfortunately run out of them, but broke open a set of the Space Marines + Paint Set to give me the three Marines in them. I have been out of the game somewhere between 3rd and 4th edition, a lot has changed (I've seen the bad models over the years).

These guys were quick to put together, and I couldn't help converting them with some Chaos and Kroot bits to make them less Ultramarines and more Space Wolves/White Scars. Hopefully some paint in the next few weeks.

Lead Adventure Forum Space Marine

Car Wars Conversions 2

Following on from last weekend's quick Car Wars conversions, I finished off another three this weekend. This is all I have planned for this project.

The first one I converted was a Hot Wheels 1984 Oldsmobile Hurst/Old:

The collection of cars I'm putting together are fairly eclectic (though I'm going to paint them to be cohesive), but they'll have a mid to late 80s vibe. I was happy to get this one, as it's quintessentially a mid-eighties American car for me. It'll also add a "modern" vibe to the classic models I converted last weekend.

The Olds will be my rammer, so I added plenty of armour ready for it to cause some real damage.

The next one is a Hot Wheels Volkswagen SP2. This one was a happy discovery, being both German and Brazilian and would suit my need for a quick little blitzer:

The SP2 would be a light car to speed around the flanks and snipe from a distance.

 The final purchase I got was a Matchbox Land Rover Defender 90:

Not totally happy with this one, the scale seems a little off (though it's apparently 1/62), but I wanted something bigger than the sedans to support them. I'm hoping painting and a flag will help to blend it in (my feeling is it's too wide, but not sure exactly what's putting me off about its scale).

The bits are again mainly Games Workshop 40K weapons, along with plasticard (sheets and I-beams). I added mesh on these and the two other cars. I've also based all of them on 1.5" x 3" MDF bases as per the Axles and Alloys rules. Painting-wise I'm going to go with blacks and greys for a wolf pack theme, but the SP2 will have a white rabbit theme and the Land Rover will have a red bear one. They were more expensive, at $11 for the three, but that's only $15 for all five cars, so it's still a pretty cheap wargaming project.

Now I just need to paint them!

Car Wars '65 Pontiac GTO and '63 Chevy II

A few weeks ago on Lead Adventure Forum the post on the 2017 Granite State Challenge (using Steve Jackson Games' Car Wars) was shared:
http://imgur.com/a/YwdUK

I've always wanted to convert Matchbox / Hot Wheels cars for something like this, but it's never been a front burner project for me. Well, that post above changed all that and I thought it'd be a nice little weekend project. I bought two Hot Wheels cars (at AU$2 each!) on Friday from the Reject Shop. The first was a '65 Pontiac GTO:

And the second was a '63 Chevy II:

After an hour or two the Pontiac turned into a mean looking interceptor:

While the Chevy was a nice little flamer:

The bits are mainly Games Workshop 40K weapons, along with plasticard (sheets and I beams). I think I might still add some mesh to the unarmoured windows once I find that in my modelmaking stash. I'll also need to use Greenstuff to fill in a few minor gaps.

Rules-wise I'm not sure yet, I've downloaded the free set of Axles & Alloys II here (off to the right hand side):
http://axlesalloys2.blogspot.com.au/

But Car Wars might be the other option. I'm probably going to buy another 2-3 cars to make a little squadron, most likely American muscle cars or pre-1985 cars. Haven't decided on a colour scheme yet, either blacks and reds for a speed demon crew or blacks and greys for a wolf pack.

Lost Battle of Barad Duin Between Elves and Orcs

[Note - this post was published in May 2021 after I came across the photos from May 2015 in my phone. I had no background in my emails, etc of what the scenario was, but after talking to Bruce he found his notes.]

Bruce and I got out our Lord of the Rings miniatures to play a large scenario of Games Workshop's War of the Ring rules. He fielded his trusty elves, I the orcs and trolls of Mordor (with some of Bruce's orcs).

As this game was played when the League of Ancient meetings were still held at the German Club Tivoli on Dandenong Road I decided to name the battle in honour of that time. Dandenong is likely to mean "high" or "lofty" in the language of the indigenous Boon wurrung and Woiwurrung people of the Kulin nation, and translating "Lofty River" into Tolkien's Sindarin language I came with the appropriately sounding 'Lost Battle of Barad Duin' for this encounter. The ruined tower could also fit that name as being a "water keep".

We played using a modified Hold the Line scenario (from the third edition of the Flames of War WWII rules).

The details of the scenario were:

1. Game length is eight turns.
2. There are three objectives. Winner is the side that controls 2+ at the end (objectives are a ruined tower, wooded hill and bridge).
3. Elves deploy first, occupying two of the objectives (ruined tower and wooded hill), which are defensible terrain.
4. Third objective (bridge) is just outside of the orc force deployment zone.
5. Half of the elf force is in reserve. From turn one, the elf player must throw 4+ on a D6 to receive reserves (1 formation per successful throw). Elf players adds 1D6 each turn for the reserves roll.
6. Apart from any formations that may deploy in ambush as part of their description, the elf player may have half of their formations deployed in ambush. 
7. Elf ambushers must be outside of 24 inches if in open, outside of eight if in cover. 
8. Orcs deploy entire force.
9. Throw as usual for initiative.

Terrain was as per the War of the Ring rulebook, except for the stream and road. The stream did not slow formations crossing but prevented the ability to double move when crossing, and formations had to be adjacent to it at start of their turn to be able to cross it. The road allowed formations to double move, even if they did not have a captain/hero, but they must have been on the road for their entire move and be in column.

This game represented a small skirmish to defend the borders of Lothlorien from an orc incursion. Those elf formations were not as flimsy as they look. One was led by Galadriel. Also, there were a lot of them (the first photo doesn't have all the formations in reserve and in ambush).

From what I can remember I charged forward, Bruce tried to stem the tide, but five trolls are hard to stop. Eventually he did though and the elves were able to win the day, in particular when an ent strolled in and killed the last troll holding the tower.

Talking to Bruce six years later he also isn't sure how I lost but is it a quirk of the rules that Monsters can't hold objectives (but they can obviously clear them).

Bruce - I will happily go for a rematch any day. With less trolls too.