Lockdown 2.0 Day 56: Supplemental Scenery Progress

 Hi!

Well I've got the basic shape for my rebuild sci-fi structure done and when all the glues dried I'll remove the last pins and fasten the upper storey on.

Once the basics are finished, I'll be getting onto the most fun part, namely detailing the whole thing! I am going to alter things a wee bit from the original as I plan on adding a raised walkway and more refined doorways and windows. I also plan on adding a railing around the structure as it's a bit odd having accessible rooftops without a means to stop folks from plunging off of them, or maybe the far future doesn't have a health and safety team...

Its shaping up to be a rather large structure which will make a good settlement op-centre once it's finished and alongside the other odds and ends of scenery I've got done over the last few weeks, I'm going to have a really nice, dense sci-fi board.

In other news, I've got the Red Building finished for Mordheim, its another basic structure but will do for gaming and I'll need to make some ladders to allow access to the upper levels. I'm also planning on making some boxes and stuff to add interest to the interiors and am contemplating adding on some graffiti and wanted posters.

The two buildings side by side are looking alright but I must admit that the first one I made is a better construction as the windows on the new one are a bit big and the thicker cardboard I used for wooden planking and whatnot is a bit more believable so I may go back to the Red House to add some more detailing.

Finally, I picked up a 60cmx40cm pinboard from Home Bargains for the princely sum of £1.99 today and used a sheet of patterned vinyl that I'd picked up from Poundland when I was at uni but never used to give it an interesting finish. I plan on using this for a small scale skirmish board and the other side will have a green Javis grass sheet for 6mm fantasy.

Rummaging my materials, I've realised that I have a grey vinyl sheet lying around which will get used on a second board at some point in the future for an urban board!

Hopefully tomorrow will see some more miniatures finished as I've been working on my 15mm scale Humies today and am really enjoying working on them too and I've got enough to allow me to try out several small games and will post updates as I go.

In the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown 2.0 Day 56: Reimagined Terrain

Hi!

I stumbled across some old photos of my gaming setup from about 15 years ago and thought I'd share them here.

Looking back, I'm struck by a huge hit of nostalgia and am really feeling the need to rebuild these specific buildings and ruins. Back in the day, they featured fierce battles between salvage companies using Star Mogul, forces of the Brotherhood hunted Dark Legion heretics and VASA Black Legionaries conducted raids on Koralon infestations.

 

The buildings themselves were made from Bump Out Boxes, a type of box that was used in Borders Books to display books close to the front of the shelves and incidentally were really great for making buildings with. Coupled with some strip styrene and some of the old Hexon terrain gubbins, they made a really nice and sturdy gaming building.

The ruins in the foreground are just foamcore with some pebbles and plastic junk glued on while the road is a piece of cheap lino.

What struck me when looking at these pictures was the variety of figures I used back then and I'm heartened to see that hasn't changed much in the intervening years, even if this whole collection is long gone now.

One regret is that I didn't keep my Warzone and Chronopia collections as I had so much fun with them. Similarly my Star Mogul collection went too and replacing either is I believe not feasible but I do want to relive this sort of gaming today and one thing I can do is to remake the scenery as best as I can.

With that in mind, I will be using today as a mini challenge to rebuild these two buildings and see if I can't improve on them slightly with a few new materials. 

I'll post an update this evening with my progress so in the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown 2.0 Project Log Day 55 Supplemental: Rover on Mars

 Hi!

Well that was exciting as NASA lands a new mission on Mars!

Now we just need a horde of Undead Legionnaires ala Warzone to turn up. 

I'm looking forward to seeing more images over the coming days and weeks but its heartening to see space exploration getting some much needed interest once again!

Lockdown 2.0 Project Log Day 55: Shop Small

 Hi!

I've got a batch of assorted gubbins almost finished but I wanted to take a moment to share some companies that I've been getting miniatures and assorted wargaming bits and bobs from over the years who deserve a bit of recognition!

First up, there's Ral Partha Europe. I've been buying from them off and on for over 25 years now and have constantly been impressed with their service and selection of miniatures. Sadly I've not ordered much over the last few years but do think I need to do something to remedy this a bit as the Ral Partha range is excellent!

Next up, there's Spirit Games, a wargame store that stand head and shoulders above any other I've visited due to their outstanding selection of miniatures from more companies than I can name. Sadly they've had to close up their brick and mortar store due to a combination of Covid and landlords but are still online. I've ordered from them quite a bit over the years and am saddened to see that they are only online as I have fond memories of perusing the endless selection of goodies.

Finally there's Warbases. I've only ordered a few times now but they've been fantastic and well worth taking a peek for basing materials and an increasing range of MDF scenics. I've ordered lasercut stuff from Ebay from other folks before and found square bases that were anything but square and not a single one to be the right size but Warbases have always been perfect.

Feel free to click the images to be taken to each companies website but I felt it was only fair to share some recommendations during the lockdown shenanigans!

Hopefully tomorrow will see my next batch of 15mm stuff finished and I've got another Mordheim ruin almost done so until then, All the best!

Lockdown 2.0 Day 54: Fantasy Battles

 Hi!

I had planned on rummaging out my copy of Crucible to have a bit of a delve into the background and search for inspiration but I seem to have lost my copy so I've ordered a replacement from Ral Partha Europe.

I've also discovered Warhammer Renaissance which claims to combine the streamlining of the later edition of Fantasy Battle with the entertaining characters, magic and equipment of 4th/5th edition so I'm going to do a bit of a rummage through if it is something that may be of interest to my own project for some 15mm scale fantasy shenanigans.

I must admit that the excitement of the sneak peek of a new edition of Chronopia has totally distracted me though as I'm now on tender-hooks to find out more, especially coupled with the news of Warzone getting a release later in the year too!

The only downside of these sneaky peeks is that there's no real details on either game yet so theres only so much one can froth about without getting any more information! It's a bit frustrating but I'll persevere and will find out more for Chronopia within the next month and hopefully we shall get another Res Nova update for Warzone soonish as well!

In the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown 2.0 Project Log Day 53 Supplemental: Chronopia and Warzone

 Hi!

I found myself drawn back to post again today because 2021 may well be shaping up as a great year gaming wise with two of my favourite games getting re-released after twenty plus years of inactivity or in the case of Warzone, an edition I just didn't find appealing.

Both Chronopia and Warzone were absolutely iconic games for me for the brief period they were available from 1995-2000ish. The artwork, the setting, the rules and the figures were all groundbreaking back in the 90's when the only other company in town was GW (for the most part!) and hold a special place in my wargaming memories and still have an impact now.

I'm really excited for the opportunity to relive the glory days of the 90's and do like what I've seen thus far, even if it's only been some hints and a handful of pictures. While the sculpts are digital, they are stylised and match the original concept art rather than super realistic which is really heartening.

I've been floating around looking for a game to invest in and lo and behold the two games that have had the biggest impact on me are both getting a reboot. I'll be interested to see how the rules themselves come out and whether they can keep the spirit of the original whilst developing new and fascinating concepts but at the very least, I hope to be able to use the miniatures from these new games to play the old rulesets that I have such fond memories of.

What really is exciting, especially from a hobbyists perspective is that each game has such a brilliant background that they really inspire me to delve into making scenery and each faction for the games are unique enough for me to want to collect them all and better yet, each game only requires small forces so it should be easily doable on a modest budget.

I'll have to see how things go and I'm looking forward to finding out more information on each and while the teasers have been really great to see, I really want to get more, be it pictures of miniatures, concept art or whatever!

If things go well and the games come out later this year, I will start delving into the worlds of Warzone and Chronopia!

Lockdown 2.0 Project Log Day 53: Chaos War Priest and Mordheim Terrain (and Chronopia too!)

Hi!

I've been working on some Mordheim themed stuff today and have finished a few odds and ends in the form of a Chaos War Priest and some terrain!

First up, there's Dieter, a scabrous sort of a fellow and self styled Bishop of the Wizened Hand.

Armed with a stick with a blacked and mummified hand on the end, Dieter is a crotchety old geezer who uses the Wizened Hand to thrash non-believers with. Unsurprisingly he's not a popular sort in the settlements around the ruined city but has recruited a small band of equally unhinged followers of the less salubrious sort and has entered Mordheim in search of his destiny.

Originally a Bishop of Chaos from the Ral Partha Chaos Imperium range, I replaced his original staff with some plastic gubbins as I didn't really like his war crook thingy. I also attempted to go for a really limited palette for him and quite like how he turned out. I do need to do a bit more to his base, possibly adding some slimy gribble to give that really run down look but he'll do for the moment. I think I have a couple more figures from the pack lying around somewhere and will need to get them painted too.

Next up, there's some more terrain in the form of a ubiquitous ruin for Mordheim or any other skirmishy type of game I find appealing:

It was a quick and messy build, more intended to give me some terrain quickly but I quite like how it's turned out. I've got another two primed and ready to paint and will post some pics of them when I've got them finished.

Made from Foamcore and cardboard, it was a bit of a learning experience for me as it's the first time I've used Foamcore and after a bit of fuming about how long PVA was taking to dry I used hot glue which speeded up things considerably. I followed the guidelines from Nigel Stillman's Mordheim architecture article from an old White Dwarf but used mounting board for the base as it's a bit sturdier and less likely to bend when I put a bit of glue on it.

I'm hoping to make a few more odds and ends in the coming days to build up the terrain collection as I go!

In other news, I've rebased my 15mm scale Dwarves and prefer the finish of the browns to the lurid green I had originally. This is something I still don't really like about the original Old/Middlehammer style as I just cannot seem to get it to look right.

Finally, there seems to be some rumblings on Chronopia getting a re-release!

This rather enigmatic post got put up on facebook today and there looks like there's a new logo and some digital sculpts too. Alas there's no information other than there's going to be an announcement in March. 

Now if 2021 is seeing both Warzone and Chronopia making a comeback I'm super excited as both settings and games are fantastic but we shall have to wait and see what further news makes an appearance but I'm finding myself really hoping to be able to get some of my favourite games back into print in some form or the other!

We shall have to see how things develop but in the meantime, All the best!