Still Alive!

 Hi!

Its been a bit busy here at Spacecow HQ over the last month or so with a combination of work, visiting relatives and a total lack of hobby time. Coupled with the fact that my gaming room, our spare room come library has a double bed in it at present, I've managed to get absolutely nothing done!

I've got two weeks holidays coming up from next week but I'm off to Wales so I won't be getting much done there either! 

I do plan on taking my sketchbook with me to get my Somewhere on the Border and Rusty Robots projects a bit of fleshing out with a load of new designs, background and general gubbins planned!

For Somewhere on the Border, I have the Boar Company nearly complete with only a few odds and ends to sculpt and paint to give me the complete force but I do need to sculpt lots of other denizens of Aeroth including some random encounters for my adventurers to do battle with.

My Rusty Robots have kind of stalled with the Blue Tribe I'd been working on as the concept just didn't match the final sculpts so I'll be taking the opportunity to tweak the concept when I'm on holiday. Similarly I need to work on the other tribes, specialists, big guys and leaders for each!

I've also got some vague plans to work on my Planet 28 project as I've got a real hankering to do more for it so I may end up writing up a campaign while I'm away.

No doubt I'll get only a fraction of what I'm hoping to get done actually done but we shall see what I can actually do with two weeks of work free relaxation. I shall post an update when I get home in mid September but until then, All the best!

Delving Into Warzone and The Mutant Chronicles

 Hi!

Over the last few days I've found myself re-reading my old Warzone 1st edition rules and the Mutant Chronicles RPG sourcebooks that I picked up many moons ago and it got me to thinking about using it as the setting for a campaign initially using Planet 28 and eventually 1st edition Warzone and then Warzone Eternal once it gets released.

But why you ask? The setting and artwork that accompanies it is utterly brilliant! Warzone and Mutant Chronicles combines loads of brilliant concepts from corporate dystopia to cosmic horror, 80's action films to dieselpunk and despite having been around for the best part of 30 years now, it still holds together remarkably well.

Venusian Marshall

Set in our own solar system in a future where nation states have been replaced by five Megacorporations who have terraformed much of the system and abandoned the Earth as an irradiated wasteland, Mutant Chronicles has so many great scenario ideas and unique gaming options. Does the action take place in the dusty deserts of Mars, the steaming jungles of Venus, the subterranean caverns of Mercury or on some blasted rock out in the asteroid belt?

Imperial vs Bauhaus

Over the years Warzone has appeared and vanished several times but my favourite is still 1st edition as it really was groundbreaking and was at heart a fantastic skirmish system that brought the setting to life with small groups of soldiers with the odd hero or evil doer leading them fighting desperate battles for their corporate overlords.

It's been compared to 40k quite a few times with the Brotherhood, the spiritual leaders of humanity being somewhat similar to the Inquisition of the Warhammer setting and the Dark Legion being seen as just a chaos rip off but having re-read the source material, I found the Warzone stuff to be very much its own unique setting which differs from 40k in several important ways. Primarily Warzone is a setting which contains hope. Hope that humanity can unite to defeat the evil of the Dark Legion, hope that no matter how grim things may get it can improve and hope that the heroes can actually save the day rather than 40k's view of everybody being essentially doomed.

Vince Diamond, Hero of Cybertronic

Coupled with the setting itself being our own solar system which makes things a bit more relatable than the galaxy spanning madness of 40k, it is believable to see characters traversing the system fighting the good (or indeed bad) fight and the technology is much more grounded too, more so the fact that the unleashing of the Dark Legion saw thinking machines run amok and high tech stopping being reliable and showcasing the sheer determination of humanity and their unique will to carry on makes for a setting that I'm keen to explore further!

Looking online, it's been really heartening to see the fact that Warzone has survived in some form or another over the last 25 plus years and Res Nova, the newest company to acquire the rights are dedicated to bringing back the game to its roots with the classic aesthetic, forces and skirmish style game I love. 

Mitch Hunter and Co

The Mutant Chronicles RPG has proved to be a really rich source of inspiration and I'm slowly putting together my ideas which will hopefully see a group of Freelancers taking on a seemingly simple contract from some shady corporate suit before getting flung into a campaign which will see them crossing the solar system and mixing it up with pretty much everyone from the Megacorps to other freelancers, the Tribes of Earth and the sinister Dark Legion.

I need to crack on with some painting and rummage out what I can find of the remainder of my Warzone collection, which at this point looks to be very little but I figure I can use some proxies until I can get my hands on some new figures once Warzone Eternal launches. I'm hoping that I can get enough figures sorted out to build my team and begin the campaign at some point this autumn which gives me plenty of time to paint figures, build some scenery and really get to grips with the setting again but I highly recommend folks pick up a copy or at least a pdf of the 1st edition Warzone and Mutant Chronicles books as they're good reading materials and who knows, they may inspire you to have a bash!

In the meantime, I hope to keep putting together articles and as as we get closer to Res Nova launching the new edition I'm keen to share what news hits the net but until then, All the best!

Warzone Eternal Update

 Hi!

Well we've seen a sneak peek of the first digital sculpt from Res Nova's Warzone Eternal range in the form of an Imperial trooper and I must say I am liking how he's looking!

Now it has to be said that this is a bit of a work in progress so the Plasma Carbine needs to be downscaled somewhat as it's a bit OTT at the moment but its definitely got that classic Warzone vibe to him. 

Imperial Golden Lion with Plasma Carbine WIP

At present he's a little bare, still needing some detailing such as pistol holster, pouches and ammo clips but as the kits are going to be modular, he's coming together nicely. Looking at the image I do think he needs a smidge more detail on the likes of his boots as well as they're a little simple at the moment but that's an easy fix and there may also be limitations with the sort of plastic kit that Res Nova plan on using.

Yes the sculpt needs a bit of tweaking and finessing to get it to the final standard but I must admit that this level of detail on a wargaming figure is absolutely fine with me as he's very reminiscent of the old Warzone sculpts that I love so much with chunky, heroic detail and avoiding the temptation we see so often with modern CG sculpts to make the figure too realistic or fussy with details literally everywhere.

Yes it may not be super detailed or realistically proportioned ala modern GW or indeed the Warzone Resurrection stuff but thats not the point! Res Nova have been utterly clear from the very beginning that they were going back to the classic Paul Bonner aesthetic with heroic proportions, big shoulder pads and big guns, something Prodos who were behind Warzone Resurrection departed from creating a game that had elements of the original but a sleeker, more modern style that really didn't fit the comic book dieselpunk that I loved back in the 90's.

Invader Assault Rifle, Plasma Carbine and Aggressor SMG

This is what I'm loving about the new sculpt, even if it's not a final piece. It fits the style of classic Warzone. It looks like a model that is intended to be painted and gamed with without worrying about breathing on it and it breaking. It's got the chunky heroic proportions and it's also modular so will allow for all sorts of interesting conversions, customisation and general hobby hijinks!

Compare him to the first sculpt we saw, the test piece Blood Beret:

I think folks will warm up a bit once we see the final sculpts in the flesh so to speak as a digital shot doesn't compare to a nicely painted figure and I'm really looking forward to seeing more of the project as it develops.

Here's the original Mark Copplestone sculpted Blood Beret and the 2nd edition Kev Adams ones:

While in my heart of hearts, I must admit I'd love to see the Warzone Eternal range traditionally sculpted, it's just not going to happen and at least this way there will be a standardised style carried across the whole range, something that the old Warzone didn't have as so many different sculptors worked on it.

For reference, here's a pic of Imperial troops in action by the legendary Paul Bonner:

I love the style of Bonner's work, especially for classic Warzone and am really raring to go for some further previews of the figures as Res Nova develop the project towards its eventual launch and I really hope that folks will be willing to offer constructive criticism when needed and support when possible as it would be a crying shame to see such a fantastic setting with it's brilliant forces, monsters and characters disappear into obscurity for another decade because a first sculpt doesn't look mindblowingly amazing.

For example, here's a super rough resize to the gun:

Apologies for the crudeness of my butchering of the original pic but by simply toning down the gun a smidge, the figure really looks great!

I don't work for Res Nova and the only interest I have in this is that I absolutely love Warzone and want the opportunity to delve back into a future dominated by megacorporations battling it out with monsters on the assorted planets of the solar system and I really want to see a game that sticks to the aesthetics of the classic while modernising the rules and figures without losing that magical element that made the Mutant Chronicles and Warzone so very great!

Now enough of my ramblings! I hope to see more Warzone in the near future and really look forward to the game getting released so I can pick up some Warzone figures and re-explore the setting and blow away some undead legionnaires on Mars or Venus, fight running battles in the tunnels under Mercury's surface with sword toting Megacorporate Samurai against rival corporations. I look forward to the setting being developed further with more detail on the outer solar system such as Imperials holdings in the asteroid belt or the cursed tenth planet Nero!

But until then, All the best!

Dark Age Brutal Quest Project: Adventurers!

 Hi!

Sorry about the quiet spell here on the blog but with work, an exploding oven and other odds and ends I've not had much time to get on with the important business of hobbying but I have finally finished my first three adventurers for my Dark Age themed Brutal Quest project!

Osgard Thane of Farpoint (centre) leading Beorngar (right) his trusty drinking companion and strong right hand and Ceolwyn the Fyrd (left).

Osgard is the Thane of Farpoint, a small fortified settlement on the border of the great forest known as The Wode Wood, a wild and untamed place inhabited by fierce beasts, bandits and at least one court of the Fae. As such, Osgard is often forced to venture forth into the ancient wood to deal with the many threats to his land.

While Farpoint is a small settlement, it lies on the ancient Roman Road that still acts as a trading route that connects the many scattered settlements that make up the Kingdom of Lost Albion and Osgard is determined to keep his holdings free from the ever present threat of both the wilds and the Northmen who have been raiding ever further inland in the last few years.

Beorngar the Black is one of Osgard's most trusted henchmen or dugud and has served as both staunch shieldbearer and drinking companion over the years and his family call Farpoint home. While a taciturn fellow, Berongar is a well respected warrior who has fought at his lords side for over a decade.

 

Ceolwyn is a Freeman who holds a farmstead just outside the settlement of Faerleah and has answered his. Thain's call to duty and while he is relatively poorly armoured, he has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the area surrounding the settlement, partially due to his skill at poaching. 

Shield designs

The figures are all Victrix Anglo Saxon's and were lovely figures to work on with crisp detail and painted up surprisingly quickly. I had intended to get some of the rather lovely shield transfers that Victrix do but ended up going for some vaguely historically accurate hand painted designs. I have tried to settle on using mostly muted colours for the project with brighter elements being reserved for shields and the odd bit of gold here and there and am quite pleased with how it's turned out thus far.

I hope to expand on the setting a bit in the coming week to give a rough outline of the area and the assorted denizens of the frontier and have a few figures that I'm working on at present which I hope to finish off tomorrow which will add a few more interesting elements to a mini campaign I'm thinking of putting together in the coming weeks.

While my setting is going to be loosely based on Anglo-Saxon Britain circa 800AD, it is going to be its own distinct place which resembles the country but is also quite different as there will be lost legions of Romans, the Fae and other, exotic characters making an appearance as well as a bunch of NPC's and a few monsters too! 

Somewhere on my old laptop I have a load of gubbins about an alternative Britain that I wrote up about a decade ago where the Fae returned to reclaim the land and I plan on incorporating elements of it into this so there will be plenty of excuses to introduce all manner of interesting bits and pieces as I go...

Osgard's party clash with Churlish bandits on the outskirts of the Wode Wood

It may take quite a while to flesh it out but I now have enough figures painted to get a start with the campaign so expect to see a battle report this weekend with Osgard and co setting forth to deal with some bandits who have been plaguing outlying homesteads and travellers along the old road.

In the meantime, All the best!

Super Tiny Giant Battles Kickstarter

 Hi!

Nick Evans, creator of Brutal Quest and Planet 28 has a new kickstarter going for his rather fun little micro game called Super Tiny Giant Battles and I thought I'd share the kickstarter link here as I've been enjoying Nicks other games so much over the last months.

The Kickstarter can be found HERE and it's well worth a peek as the digital version of the rules is a mere £3.00 which is less than a cup of coffee while the physical rules which comes with paper armies, battle mat and even some dice is £10.

Nick has promised to post up a breakdown on how the game works in the coming days and I've decided to back it for the digital version as I'm looking for a simple set of rules that will allow me to expand my Dark Age skirmishes using Brutal Quest into something a bit more epic and I am a big fan of Nicks rules which are simple but elegant and can easily be modified to allow one to do pretty much whatever they want. 

Coupled with the rather wonderful artwork that evokes old school Warhammer and reminds me a bit of Gary Chalk, Fighting Fantasy and those little illustrations one used to see in 5th edition Fantasy Battle you can't really go wrong!

I suspect I'll substitute the paper armies for some Irregular Miniatures 6mm but I'm really looking forward to seeing how the game works and look forward to getting the chance to give them a spin in the coming months.

In other news, I'm still working on my Brutal Quest painting and have begun work on the last of my Saxon retainers for my adventuring party and even managed to play a quick test game the other evening with two adventurers taking on five lowly bandits. Despite the heroes winning the game, they didn't make it through the encounter undamaged as the bandits managed to wound both before being driven off leaving two of their party dead.

I'm really enjoying the game so far but need to tweak a few things here and there to make it more suited to what I'm trying to do, be it add a few new weapons or downgrade the armour a bit as the heavier armour is nigh on impervious to normal attacks and even with the boost of brutality points, it can be a real struggle to defeat heavily armoured knights. 

Fortunately the Dark Ages featured mainly leather and chainmail so its a limited issue until I get the members of the Byzantine Delegation I've got planned finished...

Still that's ramblings for another day, in the meantime, please do check out the Kickstarter as I've really enjoyed the last two Nick has done and All the best!

Dark Age Brutal Quest Project Part 5: Fyrd and Lost Legion

 Hi!

I've managed to get some photos of the assorted gubbins that I've been working on over the last couple of weeks and have finally got round to posting them here!

First up, there's my Lost Legion:

Representing a cohort of Caesar's XIII legion, also known as the Gemina who were dispatched to Britannia in 55BC in search of a valuable artefact for Caesar and vanished into the mists only to reemerge over 800 years later, these were test pieces initially but I liked how they turned out and have found myself adding a small faction of them to my setting!

I have re-worked them a bit to give them less pallid skin and redone bases to add a more grim and grimy feel to them and am really pleased with their new finish and am now looking to pick up a sprue of Gladius wielding ones as well as a command sprue to give me some leaders...

Next up, there's some lowly Saxon Fyrd:

 

I must admit that I really enjoyed painting them with a limited palette of greens and browns and game wise, they will probably represent lowly levy troops or even bandits and as such I went with a bit of a random mixture of weapons and equipment. I think I need another sprue of them to give me some more options for some low level opponents for my adventurers to slay and am also after a couple of archers to give them some more effective ranged firepower.

One of the best things about playing super small skirmish games is that forces are generally pretty cheap and quick to put together with the Fyrd costing me about £3 and the Lost Legion being free with Wargames Illustrated! 

I'm currently working on getting my Anglo Saxon adventuring party built and painted before moving onto some Vikings and beasts but I'm really enjoying the project and looking forward to getting enough painted to play some games in the not too distant future (once I've got some decent scenery built!)

A Lost Legion patrol clashes with some Saxon Fyrd

Hopefully I'll get the three adventurers finished this week and will post further progress when I do and will start fleshing out the setting to boot. I've also got loads of reading to be getting on with so we shall see how I get on but in the meantime, All the best!

Dark Age Brutal Quest Project Part 4: Down the Rabbit Hole

 Hi!

Well it's been a couple of weeks and I've got a week of holidays under my belt but have found myself having to self isolate as I may or may not have Covid. Huzzah!

On the plus side, I seem to be obsessing over Dark Age reading materials and have been working my way through my assorted bits and bobs and happened across these two whilst at work (pre Covid lurgy!):

I must admit that I'd picked up Kin on a whim as the cover was cool but once I started reading it I found myself drawn into the amazing world of the Dark Ages where history, myth and magic are all rolled into a really great murder mystery with a fantastic cast of characters and it's well worth a peruse as the writing is top notch!

Smile of the Wolf is a blood soaked retelling of a feud in 10th century Iceland and it's also fantastic stuff and give a more personal account of the period rather than the sweeping battles of Bernard Cornwell's Last Kingdom series.

I've also been steadily painting my way through my Brutal Quest stuff but with a cough that seems to await the very moment that I put paintbrush to miniature to manifest itself so I've had to settle for assembling the Victrix stuff I picked up recently. They're absolutely beautiful sculpts and when compared to the Gripping Beast Saxons and Caesarian Legionaries that I have been working on they're very much like comparing GW plastics from the late 90's and early 00's (Gripping Beast) and modern GW (Victrix) as the level of detail is fantastic and the sculpts themselves are dynamic enough to be interesting without being over the top.

Thus far I have the four test piece Romans completed who will be making an appearance as a lost legion who has spent the last 800 plus years lost in the Fae realms before reappearing in my fantastical version of Britain in approximately 800AD. They've also had a bit of reworking from the photo above and I'm far happier with how they turned out.

I also have the bulk of my Warlord Games Saxon Fyrd done and quite like how they are turning out, especially with their limited palette but I've not managed to get any photo's yet but will attempt to get some tomorrow but I'm also finding myself rather bereft of any suitable Grim Darkage terrain so will need to get some odds and ends put together which will allow me to play a game or two once I have the figures finished!

Once I've got all these elements sorted, I will need to fish out some fantastical elements to add to the mix and have a few bits put aside for the project and will update my blog as I get them done but until then, I'm off to lie down and All the best!