Monthly Archives: June 2012

Sam Croes on Asgard Space Marines

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My good friend Sam Croes has painted up some of the newly re-released Asgard Science Fiction range which I sent him as a get well soon present earlier this month.  To be frank his skill with a paint brush makes me puke!  Might as well burn all my own at this point 🙂  For more on this classic range see my previous posting.

Asgard 25mm Space Marines (SM3, SM3A, SM9)

Asgard classic 25mm space marines - Rear

Go along to his blog and have a read as to how he painted them and perhaps you can match it with your own efforts.

As for me.  Well I will make do with drooling over the pictures you see here.

GBS

Flintloque Character Calculator v2 by Craig Andrews

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I like to fill out my Section Rosters for Flintloque by hand but then I did in large part create the 3rd edition of the game and have been playing since the early days of the mid nineteen nineties when pencil and paper were all that was to be had.  However these days many players of the game want to fill rosters digitally or virtually on the screen before printing them out or using them as PDF on a mobile device.  So how do you do that then….

Well wonder no more since web guru and general boss level handy man Craig Andrews (he of Orcs in the Webbe and Barking Irons Online fame) has created something awesome with that very purpose in mind.  A spreadsheet programme that allows rosters to be filled on the screen and then used in play.

The virtual roster covers all you will need in a game of Flintloque that must be filled out and shown from experience levels, weapons, modifiers, names down to notes and player name too.

Go along to the article on Barking Irons Online and download it.  I have given it a go and its spot on!

GBS

p.s. Yes, I know this happen a while back but I just got around to it!

Re-Releasing classic Space Marines

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Way back and I mean way back when a company called Asgard released some excellent miniatures in their science fiction range.  That was around about 1980 and for many years these miniatures have not been on general release but that is about to change!  I have been working towards this re-release onto Alternative Armies website for some time and now it has all come together for Friday 15th June 2012.

SM3 Space Marine in full battle armour

SM3a Space Marine flying

HA5 Adventurer with Laser Pistol

As you can see these 25mm scale white metal miniatures are classics and very striking.  Quite unlike anything made now they have a rather Robert Heinlein look to them according to artist Sam Croes.

Here is a listing of the miniatures which includes all of the Space Marines and also the Adventurers too.  While 25mm scale these match up well in height terms with todays 28mm designs especially the SM3, SM9 codes which are actually bloody big even for today.

25mm Classic Science Fiction.

ASGARD SPACE MARINES
SM1 Space Marine in full armour £1.50
SM2 Space Marine in light space armour £1.50
SM3 Space Marine in full battle armour £2.00
SM3a Space Marine in full battle armour flying £4.00
SM4 Psionic Marine with Psionic blaster £1.50
SM5 Space Trooper with Force Axe in Battle Armour £1.50
SM6 Space Trooper advancing with A.P.Rifle £1.50
SM7 Space Trooper kneeling Firing Energy Mortar £1.50
SM8 Space Trooper Captain £1.50
SM9 Large Battle Droid £2.50

SM11 Heavy Mortar + 2 Trooper Crew £4.00
SM12 Loader (included in SM11)
SM13 Officer (included in SM11)

HUMAN ADVENTURERS
HA2 Pirate with assault Rifle £1.50
HA3 Pirate with Laser Pistol £1.50
HA4 Pirate with Force Blade £1.50
HA5 Adventurer with Laser Pistol £1.50
HA6 Adventuress with Laser Pistol £1.50
HA7 Female Bounty Hunter £1.50
HA8 Male Bounty Hunter with Rifle £1.50
TSF6 Szithk Reptilian with laser pistol £1.50

I fancy writing some missions for MOTH with these in them.  Perhaps a rogue world with its own technology on the edge of Prydian Space.  I can see it now Retained Knights against Asgard Space Marines.  Bliss!

GBS

Mail Chimp for 15mm.co.uk

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Mail Chimp Logo

After some thought and consideration in the last few weeks I have decided that it is time to move 15mm.co.uk across to the use of an Email Marketing and Email List Manager service.  Due to the increase in legislation and also the sophistication of ‘spam’ as well a situation has arisen where we can no longer get out all of the email that our customers want.  With thousands of wargamers to contact about new releases, new games, special events and offers and so on I needed something more.   Why 15mm.co.uk and not Alternative Armies.  Well it is smaller and smaller is better with new ventures in my book!

The internet is a great place for reviews and Mail Chimp came up trumps over and over with extra features and great pricing but what sealed the deal was my best buddy Jim Brittain saying it was the service to choose.  He is an expert in ‘netjitzu’ and I greatly value his opinion on these matters.  While this upgrade will go pretty much unnoticed by most of the wargamers it reaches the change to Mail Chimp will mean more and higher quality HTML email being delivered along with new pages on the 15mm.co.uk website for opting in to the service.

Plus I really liked the company’s cute approach to the subject and the wealth of support material they offered.  Gives me more to read this weekend 🙂

GBS

Doctor Who Audio – The Sword of Orion – Review

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On occasion great bounties can be found in charity shops if one is lucky and I was indeed lucky a few months back.  While waiting to return to the pre-arranged meeting place where my good lady and her friend expected me I dallied in a branch of Oxfam and amid the ranks of objects I spotted some CD’s.  Most of the time it is the kind of turgid rubbish that I find it hard to believe appeals to anyone but was I wrong this time.  I saw a case with the Big Finish logo and it was a Doctor Who audio adventure from about ten years back called…The Sword of Orion.

I listened to the adventure over a week in the car and even stopped and sit to listen to more of it!  It was very good.  Paul McGann to me is a superb Doctor Who and does a great job driving the tale forward while I also adore India Fisher’s voice as the character of Charlie Pollard.  It had all the elements of my favourite kind of Who story; hard sci-fi, space, monsters, action.  The villains of the piece are the Cybermen who lurk and then strike aboard a mothballed battle cruiser in a space scrapyard.

The story gave me a lot of ideas for wargaming scenarios and I recommend it for wargamers and fans of Doctor Who as well.  There are nine other adventures in this series and this one is the second in the list.  I may well get myself more of these…but the chances of finding them in the charity shop….low indeed!

GBS

Rob Alderman looks at the Londinium Coach kit

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My good buddy Rob Alderman has gotten around to doing a video review of one of the most complex and wonderful sets of miniatures that Alternative Armies has ever created – The Londinium Coach.

His video goes over the contents and ideas of this box set and he is rightly bursting with appreciation for the talents of the designer and the quality of the white metal kit and the booklet that comes with it.  I do not own a Coach at this moment but it is on my wants list and once I have assembled enough Albion Orcs to give the Ferach Elves a right kicking I will be getting myself a set of these sweet wheels.

Oh, and to answer Rob’s question in the video, ‘who designed it’ well I came up with the concept and the structure while Edward Jackson did some rough outlines and then the talented Mark Ricketts sculpted all the parts.  You only needed to read the credits on the inside front of the booklet lad!  🙂

Have a watch.

GBS

Girvan Primary Sports Day 2012

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Primary One gets ready to race!

This week the rain stopped long enough for the Girvan Primary school to put on its Sports Days for all classes.  While I was unable to see the little Warrior or the big Thinker do their races I did make it to the Poet’s day on Tuesday afternoon.  Taking place in the area outdoor grounds of the school the first three years (Primary One, Two and Three) raced against their own in girls and boys events.  A flat race, a bunny hop race and a ‘tattie on a spoon’ race too.  Good times were had by all.

I had hoped to get a good action picture of the little lad charging for the red roped finishing line but unfortunately I did not manage it due to a lack of crowd control so the image above shows the ‘P1’s’ getting into line and ready to race instead.

We did not get any medals this time but it is all in the spirit of fun and boy do some parents take it WAY too seriously.  I took comfort instead in knowing that all three of my children are happy, secure and especially in the case of the Poet literally top of the class in reading, writing and mathematics.  Well done to him!

GBS

The Edinburgh Dead by Brian Ruckley – Review

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Given to me by Steve Young

At Salute 2012 my good friend Steve Young, talented miniature designer and musician, and all around great bloke gave me his copy of  The Edinburgh Dead by Brian Ruckley.  Jolly decent of him eh!

So it has taken me since late April to get to the point of reading it.  I really must take a picture of my ‘inbox’ of books which I swear to myself and all who buy them for me that I will read in the order of reciept.  It is a sight to be seen.  Well, this book broke the order.  Yes, I cheated and put it to the top of the list!  I had to otherwise you would not be hearing about it until Christmas at least.

Steve told me it was a great read and that it would be super material for some scenarios for Flintloque.  Being set in Scotland in the early part of the nineteenth century and featuring detective work along with gruesome action and the Undead as well what was not to like.  So I chewed my way through it at the weekend and the verdict?

The Edinburgh Dead is by an author whose other books I have not read so there was no comparison there.  It is well written and moves at a fast pace, the main characters are well drawn and the plot builds to a tense resolution.  I do not want to give spoilers so I will leave it with this.  A good read and set in a period and place not often used.  It is well worth picking up if you like grim and gritty with a Scottish flavour.

Recommended 🙂

GBS

p.s. see, I can write short posts!

Cultists, Ashigaru and Arid World Warriors – Concept to Completion

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A while ago I discussed with Elton Waters some idea for expanding the HOF 15mm Science Fiction range at 15mm.co.uk.  We went over many ideas, keeping some, discarding others and also paying a lot of heed to the hundreds of requests that customers had made in responce to being asked ‘what next?’ in miniature designs and releases.  While I cannot discuss everything we worked out (that would spoil the surprises to come this year!) the time has come for the first three of the agreed sculpting sets to be set loose on the world!

Starting last week and over the next few weeks three new packs will be added to the 15mm.co.uk website.  I have included some of my thoughts on each of them under the pictures. They are:

HOF76 Corporate Ashigaru

This pack is one of my personal favourites of the year so far.  The Corporate Ashigaru went up on the 15mm.co.uk website Friday last.  Full of character these three came about from an ideas session about who would be perfect for troops in a ‘Cyberpunk’ setting.  While the HOF range already had cyborgs and so on one area not covered was Japan.  The Japanese feature heavily in vintage Cyberpunk writings and wargames so what better than some near future hired guns in armour that mimics that of the Tokagawa period of Japan’s history.  Great for skirmish gaming and as bodyguards to your leaders. So look out for HOF76!

HOF77 Cultist Command

It would be no mistake to tell you just how popular the current HOF Cultists are.  Infantry and Heavy Weapons packs go out all over the world to wargamers and many of those happy customers come back and ask for expansions to that part of the range.  Highest ranking among the requests were ones for a Command set featuring characters who would be fit to lead their fanatics on their missions.  So Elton and I agreed on a theme, that of robes and bare feet, then we thought about poses.  I knew we needed a ‘grand pooba’ a head honcho (far left) and a second in command (one in on left) to get the Cultists properly instructed.  But on top of that Elton came up with the idea of the ‘propagandatron’ (middle) upon which the cult can broadcast its views to the world while in battle.  Added to this someone to wave the flag and a general runner rounded out the concept and then the sculpts.  HOF77 is bound to please many.

HOF78 Arid World Warriors

I like to introduce new ideas and new sections into the ever growing HOF range and on that note we either pick an idea from the ‘suggestions’ pile (like we did with the HOF Rim Mercenaries) or I let the designer make a suggestion.  In the case of the Arid World Warriors it was the latter and Elton suggested some Human warriors from a very dry environment.  Lots of science fiction settings take place in deserts and other dry places so when you need an enigmatic tribe or some plain old raiders to take on your regular forces these are your fellows for the job.  HOF78 is a first in the range.

So get along to 15mm.co.uk and check them all out.

GBS

Olympic Torch passes through Girvan

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An event that has seemed so far very far away and often irrelevant to life in Girvan has just passed through our little town.  The Olympic Torch procession made it’s way through Girvan today  just after seven in the morning.  Myself and the rest of the family were up super early and out in the street to see it.

The Crowd Gathers in the Early Morning

Luckily the rain held off and the turn out was very good.  Many of the local children were there and most were waving self made torches and little flags.  The procession began with the normal clearing of the roads and then a number of corporate sponsored vehicles handing out their wares, playing music and generally trying to incite an atmosphere into a slightly damp and sleepy crowd.  It worked well though and by the time the local runner (a man from the village of Mossblown which is up past Ayr) went by everyone was cheering and waving madly.

Cheer the Mascot!

The Torch!

So while the Olympics are happening far away they were, if only for an hour, part of everyone here’s life.  I greatly enjoyed it and the chance to see the ‘torch’ in person and for the children it was the culmination to a week of school based preparation.

The Warrior having Fun!

Oh…and I got a little bottle of free Coca Cola.  Nice and Sporting.

Excellent  🙂

GBS