O.G.R.E. Warzone

Hi!

I'm not going to be talking about mythological humanoids or cybertanks from the far future this morning but my new project, O.G.R.E or Old Game Retried Experiments (a handy acronym if I do say so!).

I've settled on Warzone 1st edition as my first experiment as I have the physical rulebooks purchased back in the mid 90's from both Mac's Models and Ral Partha. It was also the first game I moved onto after leaving the GW hobby so I have a real soft spot for the game and its setting.

Having settled on what ruleset I wanted to have a try at, I had a bit of a rummage through my leadpile to see what I had lying around that could be drafted into use.

Handily I had picked up a couple of packs of Ground Zero Games Neu Swabian League Jaegers during a recent sale and I thought they would make decent Bauhaus troops with some suitable conversion.

GZG NSL Jaegers

Half an hour of puttying later, saw some armour added on as nothing says Warzone like mighty shoulder pads! I then spent the next couple of days painting them up in suitably Bauhaus colours:

 Hussars on maneuver 

I think they look rather good and make ideal proxies for Bauhaus Hussars for Warzone! I must admit that I really hate batch painting but wanted to get the full squad finished and am rather pleased with getting them all done.

I still need to paint up a second squad and a character and I'll have a playable force for Warzone 1st edition. My next step will be to build a Dark Legion force to fight against!

1st Squad complete!

I suspect it's going to be an entertaining few weeks as I rummage out some suitable miniatures to flesh out the two forces and I'm also making some more jungle themed terrain to represent the steaming jungles of Venus (or Farpoint for further gaming!). Hopefully I will get some more updates in the next week or two but will also add the odd figure or two that I've been painting to keep myself from getting bored!

In the meantime, All the best!

Where Games Go To Die

Hi!

I've been perusing my old rulebook collection and have been pondering why so many great games that have come out over the years have little or no interest on the interwebs.

Yes, they are out of production and often the miniatures are difficult to get hold of but many are available to download for free or at least available on the likes of ebay for less than the cost of a magazine.

A Few of the Many

Over the years I've collected literally dozens of rulesets, usually they promptly go out of production but I have built up quite a decent reference library and they still make for fascinating reading, if for no other reason than the creators of the game poured considerable amounts of creativity into them. Many of them have great settings, unusual forces and ingenious rules but have been discarded purely as they are out of production.

Void 1.1 Viridians versus Junkers

With my re-engagement with 15mm sci-fi I thought I could redress the balance a bit and use the opportunity to both channel some of the creativity I have been experiencing with painting with trying out some of the games themselves.

These days my interests lie mostly in smaller skirmishes with a few squads supported by a character or two and the odd vehicle. To put together a force of this size and paint it in 28mm is quite a project but in 15mm, it's far more doable.

Warzone Capitol light infantry conversions

With this in mind, I am thinking of trying out some of the rulesets that I loved back in the day and putting together some small forces for each I try. In some cases this will mean using existing ranges and proxying stuff and in others, sculpting my own stuff but I must admit I am relishing the opportunity.

Once I have enough for two small forces put together, I plan on posting a review of the rulest I plan on using and playing a few small battle reports featuring the forces. If nothing else, this will give me the excuse to paint some unusual warbands to add to Farpoint's diverse setting and will also give me the chance to actually play a game or two.

If it inspires folks to try out one or more of these old but great games, all the better!

Looking through my collection, I actually have enough stuff to get started on converting a small force and will post some updates as I get them so watch this space!

Hopefully I will be able to post an article or two a week on progress, be it thoughts on the setting and rules or conversion and painting work as the project goes forward and it will give me a little bit of direction when it comes to my hobby too. I also figure that the need to only paint 10-20 figures for the most part will make things a bit more interesting and not result in me getting bogged down.

I also plan on writing up more background to Farpoint as it develops and new forces, factions, movers and shakers appear.

All the best!

Blazing Saddles

Hi!

I've finally managed to paint a couple of cowboys from Peter Pig. I've had these chaps for about 15 years and it was high time I get the little guys painted.

 Posse

Although historical figures, I plan on using them for armed colonists and Grox ranchers on Farpoint. I have about 15 or 20 of these guys lying around so I should have enough to represent a decent force of frontier types to whip into a frenzy of anti Xenos outrage while hopped up on moonshine.

I do like the fact that 15mm miniatures are rather flexible and all manner of historical goodies can be ported into sci-fi gaming. The chap on the right is a Laserburn figure and they scale well together.

Next up, there's a giant Sumatran Rat!

 Squeek!

This chap is an old GW plastic rat that is about the only remaining part of my Warhammer Quest collection and although it's a mid 90's mono pose, it paints up really nicely. I think I have a few more of these chaps kicking around somewhere and am rather looking forward to painting them up into some verminous menaces for my inhabitants of Farpoint.

Rat Hunting

I seem to be going through a rather productive spell at present with lots of stuff being painted and bits and bobs of scenics shenanigans in the works too.

Hopefully I'll have some more gubbins to show soon, including some new GZG stuff that I picked up during their recent sale so watch this space!

All the best!

Law Enforcement

Hi!

Just a quick update this morning with some assorted gubbins that's been sat primed in my bits box for quite some time!

Police Skimmer K17 encounters some perps 

The skimmer is originally a 15mm.co.uk figure with a lipped 30mm base to bulk it up a bit. I must admit that the sculpt itself is pretty crude but with a lick of paint, it does the job and will make a fine and quirky addition to law enforcement on Farpoint.

Skimmer K17

As you can see from the pic, the figure is a bit on the course side but it reminds me of the villains skimmers from The Incredibles!

Next up, there's Gort, the first member of my Demihuman force:

Gort

Gort is from the Star Vikings range which I sculpted when I was at uni. I have converted him a bit, reworking his power fist, shoulder spike and face and this former gladiator will make for a decent shock trooper with his flame throwing fist and flail!

I've got a half dozen more assorted Demihumans in the paint table and hope to have a decent squad or two to add some hired muscle to either my Imperial or rebel forces soonish!

Hopefully I will have some more stuff to add to the blog in the next few days but in the meantime, All the best!