A while back I posted about the skirmish game Song of Blades and Heroes that a number of folks are playing at the shop. Unfortunately at the time I only had a couple of shots, and not much of the warbands being used. Well, here is an attempt to rectify that with some more shots.

The game is a fast-paced, enjoyable affair – so much so that they have even been able to recruit players that have never played miniatures games before! The guys have been running on ongoing campaign, tracking the successes of their warband as they increase in power. So far everyone seems to be having a great time – except for the occasional leader who suffers a grievous loss to his warband. J Oh well, in every battle, a little lead must fall…

       

Until next time…

I hope them lead medics are always handy!

Dan

Just a couple of random shots from recent Flames of War games at the shop.  I have to give the guys credit, we challenged them a while back to get their campaign off the ground and they have done it.  They play every week now, and have been expanding their armies and units. They have even been recruiting new players!

I know that the Germans' incessant losing is killing John M., but a little humility never hurts anybody. J

  

Until next time…

Enjoy!

Dan

Robb S., one of the store’s resident expert painters, has been working on a new Skaven Army for the Warhammer Fantasy Lords Campaign being run at the shop.  He has been including all the bells and whistles (yes, that was a bad pun reference to the Skaven’s Screaming Bell) with the army and it is turning out really nice.

I have included a few shots of what he has done – if you would like to see it in person, I would highly recommend swinging by the shop on the Thursday campaign night to check it out.

     

   

   

Until next time…

Enjoy!

Dan

During one of the regular 40K night games I spied an army of the Dark Eldar cruising around the table.  As that is not an army we have seen a whole lot of around the shop, I thought I might snag a couple of pictures of it in action.

Unfortunately, all I had was my cell phone handy so the quality isn’t great – but you can definitely get a feel for the army and the blasted no-man’s-land it was fighting across.

Until next time…

Cheers!

Dan

     

 

The other day I finally got a chance to play a game at the shop.  It was a WWII micro armor (6mm) game with the Combat Cards.  Dave B. played the Americans, and I was the Germans in a mechanized meeting engagement – a nice way of saying a sort of free-for-all.

We had a great time, with lots of carnage on the table.  It also afforded us the opportunity to kick around a few ideas for the next Combat Cards campaign. All in all it was a very enjoyable afternoon, and probably much deserved given how little time I have had lately to do anything fun like that.

I snagged a few pictures with my phone camera, I hope you enjoy them!

Until next time…

Happy Hunting!

Dan

 

     

 

In February the shop will be attending one of the largest conventions in the region (Con of the North) where we will be hosting an entire hall full of events throughout the con.  One of the events that I personally will be running will be a fantasy dungeon crawl using the Melee Skirmish Cards on our 3-D dungeon terrain.  In preparation for the event, I recently ran some playtests of the scenario at the shop.

It went very well, although it seemed to be skewed slightly against the heroes. Everybody had fun though, so it’s all good.  I am going to make some revisions to the scenario and run it a couple of more times just to make sure everything is tight and ready to go.

Until next time…

Watch out for them demons!

Dan

Recently a bunch of folks kicked off a campaign for the great fantasy skirmish game Song of Blades & Heroes. The group really prepared well for this by having group terrain making sessions, practice games with the new folks and allowing for new units (via player voting).  On the first night of the campaign everybody went through their warbands and then the battles were on!

There is a storyline to the campaign, although I am not exactly sure what it is.  It does influence the battlefields (and thus terrain) involved and I believe will affect the units allowed.  In any events, everybody seemed to have a great time so I think they are off to a great start.  I don’t know if they are taking any new players, but I know they are always willing to teach new players, so if you are interested stop by and check it out on Tuesday nights.

(Unfortunately I didn't get the best shots of their games as my regular camera wasn't working, but this will at least give you an idea.)

 

Until next time…

Happy Gaming to you and yours!

Dan

There is a growing crowd becoming infected with the Flames of War WWII miniatures virus. In fits and starts, they have been working to get the game off the ground at the shop and recruit new players. Towards that effort, and as a prelude to the big campaign they are going to be kicking off next year, they recently held a massive multi-player game at the shop.

I believe it was on the Russian Front circa 1944, as the volume of Russian tanks was incredible. As the game went well past when I had to leave, I would presume everyone had a good time. If these guys are going to be putting on these games on a regular basis, I can’t wait to see the next one.

If something like this interests you, then you should definitely stop by and check it out. I know they are actively recruiting new players (and old vets who want to give it a try) and are very willing to run demo games or loan out a force or two to newcomers.

     

Until next time…

Here is to hoping you are on the right side of those Ruskies!

Dan

Recently I posted pictures of some 1/72 modern Americans I was working on. I am very intrigued by the 1/72 (i.e. 20mm) scale as there is a plethora of figures and vehicles available in just about every genre and period, the miniatures are very reasonably priced (e.g. often you can get 45-50 figures for around $10) and, because of the size,  the battlefields look quite impressive.

In prepping the army I had been forced to figure out a new way of basing the figures so they could be used in an ‘army’ type battle, rather than the more customary ‘skirmish’ type game.  I wasn’t sure if the method would turn out, so I promised some pictures when they were finished.

Well, here they are:

     

     

Unfortunately it is hard to see the 'digitized' camo scheme on the figures in the photos - it is fairly subtle - but it shows up pretty good in person. Coming up with a way to paint the army's current camo pattern was probably the hardest part of painting the figures. I have also included pictures of one of the M1126 Strykers that I have based up for action as well, although I must admit they did come assembled and prepainted.  I did add some washes, highlighting and weathering though, which really helped them turn out great!

Overall I am fairly pleased with the results. The 1/72’s are really no more difficult to paint than 15mm miniatures, and now with a satisfactory way of basing them, I have visions of all sorts of forces to build and paint after I complete these modern ones.

Until next time…

Cheers!

Dan

While we were looking at some miniatures at the shop recently, one of the staff pointed a large prepainted miniature for D&D and proclaimed that this was the “…friendliest looking monster, ever…” and that nothing could be done for the miniature to make it otherwise, due to the “…strange, very ‘smiley’…” sculpt.

Well this sounded like a challenge to me, so I took it up. Here are some ‘before’ pictures of the miniature as it came out of the box:

   

Now after a little airbrushing, some simple washes and a little detailing here is the final result:

   

It still isn’t the most ferocious creature you ever did see, but it looks a lot better. One of my other goals for this was not to spend a lot of time on the model (as I have a lot of other projects going on right now). I am pleased to say that in this regard I was successful – it only took a little more than two hours total (not including drying times) to complete!

It is always satisfying when you can challenge yourself and rise to the occasion. J

Until next time…

Cheers!

Dan

Recently, our regular Saturday morning modern micro armor group – the ‘Treadheads’ – played a game at the shop which may represent a fundamental shift in the universe as we know it…

The played a World War II game!

I know it sounds incredible, but it’s true.  I saw it with my own eyes. The die-hard stalwarts of everything modern played a game which must have amounted to a game of ‘ancients’ for them - Tigers vs. Shermans. They were testing out the WWII variant for their favorite modern rules set – MBT.

All in all, they seemed to have a very good time (as always) and have already begun discussing the next scenario.  If you are interested in joining this group (which I strong advise you think long and hard about your own sanity before doing) they are always willing to teach – and often times they will even provide the first company to get you hooked.  Just keep an eye out to the Forums and the store Calendar for their next event.

(As visual evidence of this occurrence, I have included a photo of one of the avowed modern only guys – George H. – trying to figure out what his force is composed of…)

       

Until next time…

Cheers!

Dan

Around the shop lately, a lot of regular faces have been missing.  Folks who normally come up every week to play have suddenly vanished.  When we do see them again, they sheepishly explain that money is tight for them right now so they can’t afford any new armies, really can’t afford any packs of cards, etc., and so they haven’t been coming up. While we can certainly appreciate the toughness of the today’s economy (remember if the customers don’t have any money, neither do we…), that mind set is the opposite of what folks should have.

Just because you don’t have any disposable income to spend on your hobby, does not mean your shouldn’t still be involved with your favorite past time.  When things are tough, you should make even more of an effort to stop by your local shop to play games with what you have, talk strategy and tactics, or just work on projects (painting, deck building, etc.).  After all, we all love this hobby because of the joy it brings us – in tough times we need it even more.  I know this may sound shocking coming from a business that needs folks to spend money to survive, but there is a bigger picture to be viewed here. When money is tight, and you can’t afford to buy any new stuff, you should take the situation as an opportunity to enjoy the other important aspects of our hobby – preparation, anticipation and playing!

The lack of resources to go shopping only means you now have a chance to pursue those projects you have always talked about, but never really had the time for.  It gives you a chance to paint the armies you already have (who among us doesn’t have any unpainted lead/plastic?). It gives you an opportunity to research and learn new techniques for painting & basing your miniatures, or to get around to making that cool unique terrain you always wanted to build for your games (much of which can be built from recycled stuff around the house - a topic for another day).  How about sorting through your cards to build a new and unique deck? Or going through a board game that you never finished reading the advanced rules for? The list goes on and on...

The break from shopping also gives you an opportunity to think about how you play your favorite games, develop alternate strategies and think about what would make a good game.  Is there a better way to play your favorite deck?  Is there another strategy you could try for that board game you never seem to be able to win?  Is there another way to configure your army from what you already have?  Can you come up with a new way to deploy the army to better utilize your assets? 

Scenario setting is such an important part of any game, this would be a good time to develop your skills in this area as well.  Is there a historical period or battle you have always been fascinated with?  Can you create a scenario for your favorite game to allow you to explore it?  Is there a variation on a published scenario for your favorite board game that would add an interesting twist?  Are there restrictions on deck building (e.g. commons only, no creatures, no healing, etc.) that could make for an interesting little mini-tournament for you and your friends?

All of these things are of course a great prelude to the real point of our hobby – to play games!  Playing games with friends and live opponents is the final piece that makes everything else worthwhile.  And money or no, you can always do that with what you have already got (unless of course you have to pay people to play you, but that is another topic that really needs to be addressed by a different kind of professional… J).

While all of the activities we talked about above can easily be done at home, there is an even better place to enjoy them and get the most out of your efforts; a place where there are lots of other folks who share your passion, creativity and love of the hobby – the game shop! 

Obviously your local game shop is a great place to play your favorite games, but it can also be a great meeting point for other projects as well.  You can set up terrain making nights for your game, so that you and the other regular players can help each other design and build cool stuff for future games.  How about scheduling a painting night?  A basing & flocking night?  A bits swap event for trading cool extra parts?  A card trading and deck building night?  A mini-tournament (not ‘sanctioned’, just for fun) for your favorite card game?  Or maybe organizing a campaign, and then having campaign planning and play nights? (That is happening right now in our shop…) Many board games include rules for mini-campaigns – how about scheduling a series of events to play that out? All of these are a great way to enjoy your favorite games as well as a cost effective way to get the most out what you already have purchased.

The bottom line is to take advantage of the current economic environment to pursue all of those little projects you have always wanted to do, but never really had the time to.  Sometimes a forced break from something is really a blessing in disguise.  Remember though, when the money does return (and you know it will, it always does) you want to make sure you give back by supporting the local store that supported you - make as many of your purchases through them as you possibly can.  This way they can continue to offer the same services to others who love our hobby but have hit tough times, as they offered to you.  Now when you make those purchases though, you will have confidence of knowing that what you are buying won’t just end up on a wish list of projects.  Eventually you will get the most out of it, simply because lately you have been doing exactly that for all of the stuff you had bought before!

Now, back to the fun…

Dan

LAYING DOWN ON THE JOB…

As regulars of the shop know, many of us like to make our own scenic mats for our miniatures games.  It involves using acrylic caulk spread over a piece of felt followed by flock and static grasses being pressed in.  The process, which can be very successful, can be physically very taxing. You only have a limited amount of time to get the caulk spread out thinly and the flock/grasses added before it starts to “skin over” and dry out.  To compound the difficulty in this, spreading the caulk evenly in a thin layer usually results in the felt being pulled up, flipped around, stretched out and more all of which causes delays and eats into your working time.

As I intend to make many different mats for the shop, I needed to find a way to speed the process and take the stress out of the working time.  So I built a special jig for making the battlemats.  The jig is designed to tightly clamp down the fabric allowing the caulk to be quickly and efficiently spread.  It even allows the mat to dry under tension, so it won’t pull or curl while it is drying.  The jig is designed to hold mats ranging in size from 3’ x 3’ and  4’ x 3’ to 6’ x 4’ and even 8’ x 4’.

I needed a 3’ x 3’ mat for my recent trip to Rochester, so the jig was quickly pressed into service. The results was fantastic (other than the colors – I was testing out some new flocks, and I wasn’t totally happy with the colors)! I made the mat in all of 20-25 minutes, and after it had dried for a day, I trimmed the edges and it was ready to go.

I will post some updates as I make more, especially since I have plans to make mats with stonework, roads and cobblestones pressed into them.

Until next time…

Cheers!

Dan

     

Lately I have started a bunch of projects that I would deem “long term” as they will eventually get done and be spectacular, but they will take quite a bit of time in between to complete all of the steps needed. Occasionally having too many of these types of projects going at once can be a little demoralizing – you are constantly working on things, but there are long stretches where nothing ever seems to be finished.

To combat this, I mix in some of what I call “Quick & Dirty” projects – projects that, with just a little effort, can be complete fairly quickly and yet will still produce great results. One of my recent ones was to take some pre-painted D&D minis that didn’t really look the greatest, and give them a quick make-over with a new base, some washes & quick highlights. I don’t want to spend too much time on these as I have plenty of other projects that need time and attention as well, but to be able to start and finish something quickly does a lot to keep my head in the game, and my excitement level high.

The mini I tackled recently was a large troll warrior from the newest D&D set. Out of the box, it really lacked detail and character – the skin was a pasty, pale green with little shadow or highlight, the weapons were bland, and of course the base was nothing more than a black disk. So I mounted the mini on a new base and added some textures. I then applied a variety of washes via my “magic dip” formula (green, brown/black, etc.) and applied a few highlights.

Based up & ready to go...

     

After the green washes...

 

After the shadow washes & the base started...

 

I now need to fish the base and add a few final details, but otherwise the figure is pretty much done and looks great (I think). I will post another update when everything on it is done!

Until then…

Here’s to the joy of washes!

Dan

I have started (or rather resumed from earlier this summer) a new project – 1/72 Modern US forces.  The plan is also to build an insurgent force to play against as well – something set in Iraq or Afghanistan. I know we can never really simulate a completely what is going on in those two lands, but some insight into the challenges the combatants face could prove enlightening.

I also really want to get the 1/72 scale stuff going at the shop.  The models are pretty darn good, they are very affordable, and they are available in a wide variety of periods. In addition to the modern stuff, I have a bunch of WWII stuff ready to base up and use as well.  Plus I also have my eye on some WWI forces, Vietnam and Korean War era battles, some…well, I digress.

These forces are being based for use with the Combat Cards (yes, they work for modern as well!) which means they have to be based into some sort of unit structure. I chose “fire teams” for the US stuff as that is a fundamental part of the small unit deployment. A problem arose though, when I tried to mount the figures on my favorite round style bases. On a smaller, more manageable base the figures were too crowded together and looked a little silly. But when I mounted them on the next bigger size base, they looked too far apart and the base itself became rather cumbersome to handle.

     

So I had to find an alternative solution. Since the command units were going to be a single figure on a single round base, the thought occurred to me to mount the teams on “joined” single round bases – i.e. a chain of single bases that resemble a stream of bubbles (or so I think).  By flattening a small section of each round base, joining them with wood glue and then reinforcing it with a small section of craft stick over the top I was able to quickly and efficiently create the needed bases. I then mounted the figures on them (after a painstaking process of removing them from the circular bases), added some water putty/plaster to hide the underlying structure and then proceeded into my usual routine for painting them. So far it looks like they are going to work out very well.

   

I also have a pair of Stryker personnel carriers and an Apache helicopter to finish up to go with the troops. Then I will have to get the insurgent forces ready, but hopefully those should take quite as long as I now have the method down. I will update the blog as soon as I get more stuff done.

Until next time…

Happy hunting!

Dan

Recently we traveled to a nearby convention – the Gamer’s Reunion – in Rochester, Minnesota (where the Mayo Clinic is located) to join in the fun and show off some of our games. We had a blast!

The venue was terrific, being set in a barrel vaulted hall in a truly castle like building. In addition, the convention staff was wonderful and accommodating – they even made space for us to stay past our allotted time as we still had a lot of folks wanting to play in one of our demo games.  All in all we had a great time, and while this year we only went down for a day, next year we are planning on attending all three days of the convention!

There was a little of everything at the con, including a sizeable Heroscape tournament, Battletech miniatures, a chariot racing mini’s game, a slew of board and card games and more.  I only managed to grab a couple of pictures (when I had a free moment), which doesn’t do justice to the size and scope of the event.

We were their showcasing the Combat Cards with a pair of 15mm WW II games – one set in the Italian Anzio Beachhead, the other on the Eastern Front. In addition we were running playtest games of the new Modern Skirmish Combat Cards – a 25mm battle between US paratroopers and German Panzergrenadiers & their accompanying PZ IV tank. The battle took place on Hell’s Highway south of Nijmegen during operation Market Garden.  A big thanks has to go out to my two helpers in this effort as well. Without Nate & Mark it wouldn’t have been nearly as successful (or enjoyable) of a day!

Everybody played the Combat Cards and really liked them. What surprised us the most though, was how – even though they aren’t yet as polished – everyone really went nuts over the Skirmish Cards. I guess that is a good sign J. It must mean they are getting closer to being ready to publish than we had suspected.

In any event, we will be running more demos of both games (as well as the Archaic “Swords & Sorcery” Cards) at local conventions over the coming weeks. If you are interested, keep your eyes the Forums for announcements of where we will be next.  In the meantime enjoy the pictures…

Until next time…

Cheers!

Dan

     

   

   

The Battlefleet Gothic guys have been at it again – laying waste to starships in the dark future of the Imperium! They are now scheduling monthly games at the shops which include the infamous “Cruiser Clash” for training new recruits. With more players showing interest all of the time, this could turn out to be a great event every month (dare I even say weekly, if they get their campaign up and running?).

Anyways, enjoy the shots. Hopefully, as things take off, we will have even more awesome looking fleets to include as well. As always, if you are interested in joining keep and eye to the Forums and chime in – or stop by on their next game night!

Until next time…

Beware of the shooting star that changes direction!

Dan

       

 

Pretty much every Saturday a battletech group comes up to the shop to indulge themselves in their favorite hobby – trashing giant mechs! The thing about the Saturday ‘Techers (as we affectionately call them) is that they play Battletech in just about every facet you can.  They have a long running Battletech role-playing campaign; theY play the miniatures version with 3-D terrain; they play it on the original maps – you name it, they either play it, or have tried it.

They are a fun group of guys Jim, Paul and the others – and they are very entertaining to listen to! Comments range from ‘Rip his arm off!’ to ‘I am going to sneak attack into the cockpit…’. Occasionally they play a D&D game instead, which is equally entertaining to listen to, but most of the time it is their favorite - Battletech!

If you ever find yourself in the neighborhood on a Saturday, stop in and stare say ‘hi’. I am sure the guys would love the added pressure of an audience…J

Until next time…

Never underestimate what can be done to a mech in battle!

Dan

     

 

I found a couple more shots from the 40K ‘Ard Boyz Tournament that we held at the shop back in August. It gives you some idea of the number of players we had, and the armies fielded. With the Fantasy ‘Ard Boyz Tournament preliminary round coming up in just a week or so at the shop, it should definitely whet the appetite for all of you fantasy players out there. J

Until next time…

Good Luck!

Dan

 

Pretty quick here I will be heading out to a variety of local conventions to show off some of the games we carry at the shop – most notably the Combat Cards line – and to playtest some up and coming stuff. One of those playtests is the Modern Skirmish deck for the Combat Cards.

One of the scenarios I will be running for the conventions involves US paratroopers in WWII trying to track down & take out a German tank (with infantry) which has broken through the lines. All of the figures for the scenario are 25mm with the majority being from Old Glory/Westwind and some from Artizan designs. A few of the figures have been showcased in the blog before, but I finally finished up the rest of them.

These are some shots from a recent playtest at the shop which, by the way, the Americans won this time. Hopefully as we take the show on the road, I will have even more shots to show off and maybe even a few new pieces finished – if I can find the time. J

Until next time…

Beware of the tube protruding from the moving bush!

Dan

   

         

Just a couple of shots of some WWII 15mm stuff I have working on. I have really become a big fan of airbrushing tanks and such – especially since I got myself a nice, but affordable, working airbrush! In addition to the T34’s I was airbrushing that day there are some Russian infantry and LMG teams.

If you keep an eye to future Combat Card Campaign shots you’ll get to see them in action in all of their completed glory!

Until next time…

Cheers!

Dan

     

The Modern Treadheads – the Micro Armor group that plays regularly at the shop on Saturdays – have once again been playing and recruiting for their cause. This game was an infantry action to secure a middle-eastern village in a ‘what-if’ scenario, and was also showing off some of the new 6mm terrain that they might start producing commercially for the rest of us (whohoo!).

Anyway, the Treadheads once again snagged themselves a new player and embroiled him in the intricacies of modern combat.  I would tell you if you are interested stop by the shop and check out their games, but I don’t know that I need to given how they seem to have some supernatural power to compel people to join their evil cabal… J

Until next time…

You had best brush up on your M16 stats!

Dan

   

 

Back in August the shop hosted one of the Games Workshop Ard Boyz Region Semi-Final Rounds. It was a great time with 22 players showing up to battle for three rounds. We had folks coming from all over the region including Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa.

Everybody seemed to have a great time, and despite the lack of a painting requirement, there were some really nice armies on the tables. I was so busy, I only managed to grab a couple of pictures so I didn’t capture all of the coolness, but at least you can get a taste.

Until next time…

Cheers!

Dan

         

       

The shop’s summer Combat Cards campaign is still going strong. Every week has been a blast, with close games, friendly smack-talk and partisan cheering! After this last week though, the Russians are in a tough spot so they will really have to pick it up a notch over the last two-weeks of the campaign.

In addition, things are starting to ramp up for the fall campaign – a facet of Operation Market Garden. South of Nijmegen and north of Eindhoven, the US 101^st Airborne, along with armored units from the British XXX Corps, fought to keep ‘Hell’s Highway’ – the one road link to the British 1^st Airborne at Arhnem – open against vicious German counterattacks. It should prove to be a lot of fun as the Allied players will get to select from both American and British units, and the German players get to chose from all of the usual ‘toys’ (even Flak 88’s and Tiger II’s!). The force selection lists should be posted on the Combat Cards website soon (www.CombatCards.info). If think you might be interested in playing in the fall campaign, stop by and let the shop know – space will be limited.

Anyhow, enjoy some of the pictures from recent campaign games – the armies and battlefields look great!

Until next time…

Keep your head down!

Dan

       

 

One of our regular 40K layers (John M.) has a pretty nice looking Tau army he did himself. Not only did he come up with the paint schemes himself, he also did a lot of customer conversions & vignette dioramas for it as well - although I don’t think there is a whole lot of shots of the conversions in the pictures unfortunately.

In any event, I thought a few inspirational shots of the ‘Nice & Friendly’ army (his description, not ours…) would be cool. He brings it up fairly regularly, so if you ever are in on a 40K night check with John to see if he is playing that night. While he may share some of his modeling tips, he most certainly will regale you with the unit’s combat tales. J

Until next time…

Beware of Tau bearing gifts!

Dan

   

For the last few months we have really been trying to get the WWII game Flames of War (from Battlefront) going in the shop. One of the shop’s staff (John M.) has taken up the cause and is trying to recruit players as aggressively as possible. Unfortunately, it has not exactly met with a lot of success.

It is unfortunate, as the shop carries a huge selection of the product (blisters & box sets) as well as all of the books, tokens, etc., so anyone wanting to get started – or round out an army – should be able to find what they are looking for on the shelf. In addition, all of the peripheral stuff is available too – terrain (prepainted & kits), historical reference books, etc.

Personally I love any historical miniatures games, so it would certainly warm my heart to walk into the shop and see a game room filled with WWII miniatures games going on. We have had pretty good luck recruiting for the Combat Cards campaigns, so I think there are historical players out there to be had – WWII ones in particular.

John is going to be making a big push to recruit and teach new players over the coming couple of weeks, so if Flames looks like it may interest you I would highly recommend checking out the Forums for when John has schedule his next demo. The shop always prides itself on responding the trends of the shop’s players, but that cuts both ways. If no one is interested, or playing a game, resources have to be allocated elsewhere - not a threat, just an unfortunate reality.

So if you are interested, get out and have your voice heard! J

Until next time…

Watch out for them Tigers!

Dan

   

 

The Saturday morning Treadheads were at it again recently, running a very interesting scenario in micro armor. The premise was a Russian ‘prisoner rescue’ under the time constraint of insurgent irregulars bearing down on the prison camp in their gypsy caravan.

Apparently, the Russian ended up running into considerable difficulties with their airborne rescue operation (gee, go figure a complex and delicate plan running into difficulties…) and were not able to complete the mission as hoped for.

In the end, everybody really seemed to have a good time, and I think the game may have even caught the interest of some potential new players.

Until next time…

 Keep rolling them crits!

 Dan

     

 

Recently a bunch of the regulars put on a Battlefleet Gothic game. For those who are not familiar, that is the space combat sister game for Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40K. The fleets were all painted and looking good, and there was even terrain (check out those mighty asteroids!).

The group really seemed to have a good time – with a few games being played that night – so plans were made for several more games in the future. If you are interested, check out the Forums as I believe there is a guy (Jay J.) who has been scheduling demo games of Gothic for anyone who wants to learn. And, of course, the shop can hook you up with any of the materials or fleets you may want to collect!

Until next time…

Cheers!

Dan

     

 

A while back I promised Ben R. that I would feature his Tyranid army (made for 40K) in the blog as it was one of the best looking ones we have seen at the shop in a long time. We set everything up and took the shots, but somehow I don’t think they ever made it to the actual blog – so here they are.

Ben really did a nice job on these guys and their swamp theme. The figures have a multitude of color layers on them, as well as various terrain materials and other bits and pieces to round out the effect. In addition, I believe a few of the pieces actually have their limbs attached with rare earth magnets to allow some flexibility in weaponry and storage (always important!).

If you stop by the shop on a 40K night, and you beg ask Ben real nice, he would probably be willing to go into greater detail on how he made this great looking army.

Until next time…

It is never a good idea to go into the swamp!

Dan

 

 

Around the shop, a bunch of the guys have really been getting into WWII ‘Weird War’ stuff in 25/28 mm. They have even been converting pieces from other games to fit into their armies (see if you can pick out the converted pieces, and guess where they might have come from…).

The guys do a great job on the stuff which, combined with some spiffy looking terrain, really makes for a nice looking game. I am not sure exactly what rules they are using, but I believe it involves a lot of home-brewed stuff. In any event, they always seem to have a great time with it.

I am kind of curious as to what they will be adding to their games in the future, as there has been talk of zombies, aliens and other bizarre stuff.

Until next time…

Cheers!

Dan

     

 

Recently one of our regulars (Doug M.) at the shop hosted a very special micro (6MM) armor game. He invited his players, telling them only that they were going to be playing out one of the ‘special’ side battles at the battle of Kursk in WWII. He was providing all of the terrain and minis, so all they had to do was show up.

When the players arrived they found that for the most part he had been true to his word, there was a table set up for a WWII micro armor battle. However, it turned out that there was a third party involved with the battle. Apparently during the night before the big battle, an alien race had landed in an attempt to crush both armies in one fell swoop and start their conquest of the earth.

Naturally the scenario was a surprise to the players, although it didn’t seem to faze them much (maybe they suspected something was up?).  In any event everyone seemed to have a great time, as all we could hear at the front of the shop were lots of shouts and laughter during the entire game – I think someone even mentioned that a T34/76 had been melted by a death ray…

The rules they used were the most excellent Future War Commander, with the minis being from a variety of manufacturers including GHQ, C-in-C, and Games Workshop among others. I hope you enjoy the pictures even half as much as they appeared to enjoy the game!

Until next time…

Remember, not all bright lights in the sky are shooting stars!

Dan

 

   

 

Around the shop lately we have been playtesting another variant of the Combat Cards – the Ancient/Medieval/Fantasy Skirmish cards (the ’Archaic Skirmish’ Combat Cards). These play along the same lines as the other versions – with players having the make choices about allocating card resources, only you are commanding individual warriors equipped with more archaic weapons this time.

These cards also incorporate magic into the game – though it is an optional feature of each card. If you would rather do some historical skirmishing (say a Roman raid on a barbarian village) then simply ignore the magic portion of the cards.

Another cool aspect about the Skirmish cards (both the modern and archaic skirmish ones) is the ability to incorporate any unit, or any miniature, you want. There is a simply one page reference chart that allows you to assign characteristics to each unit on a comparative basis. This means that literally you can use the cards for whatever period/genre you want – that flexibility is, to me, what makes any game high on my play list. If, as a player, I can dream up new scenarios or try new genres/periods without having to learn new rules, I am much more inclined to stick with a game and not get bored and drop it.

Anyways, the scenario we were running involved two groups of wizards - one good, one bad - and their entourages’ encountering each other in a dungeon. The objective was simply to try and wipe the other group out. In the two games that were played the ‘good’ wizards did end up winning, but how they got there were completely different paths.

In the first game – a boyfriend/girlfriend duel – the ‘good’ wizards (played by the female component of the duo) pretty much had their way from the word go. They could not be harmed and their magic was vicious. In the second game, the ‘good’ side took a serious beating before they finally made a comeback and knocked out all of the ‘bad’ wizards.

In the end, everyone seemed to have a great time.  In fact, in the second game both players agreed they should call the game in 10 minutes so they could clean-up their stuff to go home. Forty minutes later they finally realized how much time had passed – after they had actually played the game out to its end. I guess you could say they were into it, eh?

If you are interested in trying these out, we are going to be running demos of both games (the Modern and Archaic skirmish) around the shop for the next several weeks, so watch the calendar and stop by to join in. You can either play with the figures provided, or bring your own and see how easy it is to stat out a unit.

Well, until next time…

Watch out for wizards with good lines-of-sight J!

Dan

     

Recently the Modern Treadheads were at it again at the shop with their semi-regular modern micro-armor game.  This time they had brought their own very excellent terrain boards to play on. Check out the forests and gently sloping topography of these bad boys!

This time I believe they were playing a ‘learning’ game as they had just recently picked up another new player (welcome Eric!). I think the next scenario will be another learning experience as they fold in more elements of modern combat, including infantry fighting tactics and possibly air-mobile operations.

Of course, with all of this renewed interest in micro armor (there are folks getting into the WWII side of it as well) we are getting requests for additional items on the next order. Ah, pleasing the masses is never done… J

Until next time…

Here’s to Explosive Reactive Armor!

Dan

   

    

Recently one of our regulars (Mike Z.) hit upon an awesome idea for making flight stands (i.e. for aircraft, spaceships, etc.). He married up high-powered rare earth magnets with brass tubes and steel ball bearings to create a universal joint mount that allows movement in almost any direction.  As you can see from the pictures, it is pure genius.

 

The mountings are very easy to make, and because of the ball bearing/magnet attachment, the flight stands are interchangeable to a degree – each model gets its own ball bearing assembly which can be placed on any of the magnetic stands. The other thing that is pretty amazing is, due to the incredible strength of the magnets, these bases can be used for almost any scale.

 

The only ‘glitch’ he has encountered so far is that for larger/heavier models there is a point of rotation where the weight of the model and gravity will conspire to rotate the model downward against the user’s wishes. Given that the ball bearings are essentially frictionless, there really isn’t much to stop this movement. Mike is experimenting with coating the top of the magnet with a thin layer of a rubbery substance (e.g. acrylic caulk, etc.) to see if that can provide a bit of resistance without disrupting the magnetic pull. Maybe with enough public pressure, we can get Mike to do a pretty write-up of how to make these for the Downloads section of the webpage - let him know if you are interested in the Forums section!

 

Now, having seen the light, I have placed an order for a bunch of the tubular magnets and ball bearings myself to start re-mounting all of my flying models in this fashion.

 

Well, until next time…

 

Here is to hoping your rudder is true!

 

Dan

     

 

     

Just a quick entry today – Dave A. has sent me some pictures of a Korean War scenario he is getting ready for the Combat Cards.  He will be taking the game on the road to promote the Gamer’s Reunion Convention in Rochester, Minnesota in September (yours truly may even be able to attend and run a few games of the Cards there – here’s to keeping the fingers crossed!).

Dave says he is doing the battle in 1/72 scale which should make for a very big, and very cool looking, battlefield when finished. I believe the scenario is based on Task Force Smith’s battles on the road to Osan in July of 1950. Hopefully GuruDave will keep us updated on how the scenario development goes, and will even provide us with some shots of the events when he runs them.

Until next time…

Dan 

 

We had another week of the combat cards campaign at the shop recently. It was a new scenario, derived from the fact Russian forces won the majority of battles in the previous round, which had the Germans on the offensive again.   

Everybody showed up eager to play – especially the German players, who wanted to avenge their rather lackluster performance the time before. All of the games proved to be very intense and full of on the edge moments.  On a couple of the battlefields the games went right up to the final time limit before they resolved themselves. An exciting week indeed! 

In the end, this round proved to be a rough one for the Russians, as the Germans took three out of the four games.  Fortunately, most of the German wins were only by a narrow margin which still keeps things close. Each scenario though, is taking on more and more significance with the close number of victories for both sides. 

Well, until next time enjoy the pictures… 

Dan

 

   

   

   

 

Recently the shop hosted a preliminary round of the Games Workshop ‘Ard Boyz 40K Tournament. It is a pretty hardcore tournament, with players fielding large armies and playing extended duration games.  Unfortunately, the ‘Ard Boyz does not require the armies used to be painted, so an opportunity is lost for some impressive looking tables. None-the-less the tournament is a good one, with the players having a great (but exhausting) time. 

The next round for the winners is the regional semi-finals, one of which is being held at the shop on August 8. We have already had participants signing up from Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. For the winners of the regionals the next stop will be the nationals in Chicago.

Anyways, we are planning on putting on a top-notch program for the regionals in August so it should be a great time. If you are in the area that day and interested in some cool 40K I would highly recommend stopping by and checking out the action. In the meantime, here are some pictures of the battles raging that at the preliminaries. 

Until next time… 

Watch Out For ‘Dem Orks! 

Dan 

 

   

     

 

Just a couple of shots from the Saturday morning modern micro armor group. They have renamed themselves the ‘MSP Treadheads Modern Micro Armor Group’ (‘MSPTMMAG’ for short?). Anyway, they are really trying to get the word out and recruit new players. They have been running a variety of interesting and topical scenarios to show the possible insights that folks can garner through modern gaming.

The group has also been trying out a variety of different rule sets so there are choices when it comes to playing out a specific scenario, depending on what the emphasis of the scenario is. If you might be interested, I would recommend checking out the group’s posts on our forums for the next time they are going to be at the shop. They really are a fun group, and incredibly detail oriented!

The scenario pictured below I believe was a US infantry company dueling with insurgents in Iraq, but I am not certain on that.

Until next time, enjoy the pictures…

Dan

 

Recently we kicked off the Village Games’ Summer ’09 Combat Card Campaign. It is set in WWII during the battle of Kursk on the Eastern Front. Specifically, it is dealing with the battle for Ponyri Station.

Folks had been building their armies for this for quite a few weeks. People did this partly because the campaign had the prerequisite of painted armies and terrain, and partly because everybody who wanted to participate wanted the campaign to be a very cool event. On the first night the hard work really showed off with some outstanding armies. So good in fact, that uniforms and camouflage patterns were even correct for the theater and time period – and many of the armies even had aircraft painted in the correct camo schemes!

   

All of the forces had to be built off a proscribed order of battle (copies are posted on the Combat Cards’ website: http://www.CombatCards.info). The lists are historically based and balanced, with players selecting off of a menu system. In addition, players had to bring their own terrain (up to two square feet’s worth) and, of course, their own copy of the Cards.

   

As part of the campaign, folks will be play testing a supplemental deck for the Combat Cards – the ‘Campaign Cards’. It is a really innovative way to incorporate player’s battle records into the campaign and rewarding them for success, without condemning their opponents to certain defeat if they don’t have as successful a record.  From the feedback I have heard so far, everybody is very excited about it.

   

The campaign is going to have a great rhythm to it – the scenario for the next session is posted online about a week ahead of time (again at the Combat Cards site) and includes tactical tips for both sides. Then, before the actual night’s battles begin, all of the players gather together to discuss the scenario and go over the intricacies of it. Then we have a little ‘tactics talk’ – a general discussion of modern strategies and tactics and how they relate to the Cards. Then it is off to the battlefield to test our skills! Afterwards we gathered back up to debrief and discuss how the battles went, what tactics would have worked better, etc.

   

For the first week of the campaign the Russians got the better of the battles – three out of four wins were Russian! This will greatly affect the next scenario – as well as grant the victors access to the Campaign Cards for the next session. So far, I would have to say, the campaign is off to a great start!

Until next time…

Hail to the victorious Motherland!

Dan

Around the shop people have really started to get into using airbrushes for painting. To start with it was mostly for priming and base coating, but lately it has starting moving to a whole new level. One of our regulars (Ben R.) is a perfect example of this.

He recently started a new army for Warhammer 40K – Eldar – but wanted to do something different with it, so he broke out his fancy new airbrush and got to work. His idea was for a series of troop carrying tanks that are painted to match the squads they carry – in particular a squad of ‘air’ troops, a squad of ‘fire’ troops, etc. Now, while I don’t have any pictures of the troops I do have some pictures of the tanks in progress.

Ben decided to use a family of colors to paint them and, in the case of the vehicles, to softly blend those colors into each other. The results are pretty amazing. The unfortunate thing is that he is raising the bar for everyone else. How can you field a plain old one color army when armies like this are showing up?

Fortunately for everybody, there is a really good flow of information going on. On our paint nights (and just about any other night of the week) you can hear the quiet hum of airbrushes and compressors running throughout the shop.  Almost everybody is willing to share their secrets when they stumble on a good technique, and people aren’t afraid to ask questions or for help when they want to improve their skills. It is definitely a good time to be a modeler in the Village.

     

Well, until next time…

Please try not to raise the bar too high!

Dan

Alright, time to get back on the horse with this blogging thing. We have had a lot going on with the shop the last couple of months which has just eaten up my time. We have added new lines, brought on three new part-time staff, ramped up leagues and campaign for different games, and been spreading the word about all of the cool things happening in the industry. With all of that, there just hasn’t been time to blog. Now that things are starting to settle down though, I hope to get back into it full speed.

 

For this entry I have a few pictures from a local miniatures convention we attended recently. The shop sponsored a couple of games of the Tactical Assault: Combat Cards – one 15mm WWII Russian Front, the other a 1982 Cold War ‘what if’ scenario in Germany with 6mm micro armor.  

 

Both games were teaching games, so the scenarios were kept pretty basic. Everyone who played seemed to have a great time, and even the crowd of spectators we had from time-to-time seemed to really be getting into the games. A big thank you has to go out to Mark and Nate, two regulars from the shop, whose help in running the tables and teaching the Cards was much appreciated! In the end, it was a lot of fun for everybody so we are already looking forward to what we will bring to the next Recon in the fall.

 

Well, until next time…

Keep your brushes wet & your paints thinned! 

Dan