Wargame Bloggers Quarterly

I saw this over on Michael Awdry's blog and downloaded Issue No1. It's an absolutely splendid effort and well worth a look, as not only is it beautifully presented but it also contains some very interesting articles. No mere eye candy in other words.

I've been thinking about how I could contribute, being an average and very slow painter at best. I reckon some of my scratch built and converted things might be of interest, including my Back of Beyond and AK 47 stuff, so I've shot off a quick email to the editor to see if this would fit. It would be good to support this splendid initiative at the very least.

Viking Raiders

 

I was really pleased to win a virtually new copy of the Standard Games Viking Raiders board game, which was originally published way back in 1987 as a spin off from Cry Havoc.  Although I played Cry Havoc, Siege and Samurai Blades to death when I was at school, I never managed to get my hands on a copy of Viking Raiders or Outremer, so its great to have a second chance.

 

The excellent Cry Havoc fan site has all of these games and their components available as free downloads but I'd rather save on the printer ink and get an original copy of the map boards, rules and counters. I'm sure the boys will enjoy playing this classic beer and pretzels game as well, having really enjoyed the other Cry Havoc games in my dog-eared collection.

 

http://www.cryhavocfan.org/eng/suite/vikingrd/vkgame.htm

 

First Blood

I've just started reading First Blood: The Battle of Kasserine by Charles Whiting, having read several of his books before. It's a very well-written account of Operation Torch and the subsequent defeat of the US forces in North Africa by the Afrika Korps. It's good stuff and there's plenty of wargaming potential, especially for Chain of Command or Bolt Action!

Laserburn Offer

The chaps at 15mm.co.uk. have a special offer on the Laserburn range, which has now been re-mastered. The deal lasts until the 11th and gives you a bonus pack of Laserburn figures with every order you make. The more you order, the more freebies you get, which makes up for the hefty postage:

http://www.15mm.co.uk/collections/laserburn-15mm-science-fiction

I thought I'd add a new resin law officer air raft to my Imperial Commander Redemptionist force, as I have one of the original metal versions which is a really cool model, if slightly on the heavy side. I also ordered some extra trikes and crew, so that I can use the gunner figures to man the weapons on the air raft. It's all a bit old school but that's why I like it!

Ragnarok 60...including my bit!

It's been a while but Ragnarok 60, the journal of SFSFW the is now available from Wargames Vault, including an article I wrote for an Aeronef Scramble for Africa campaign. The whole journal looks very professional and has been presented in a clear and colourful  format, with plenty of colour photos for inspiration. Well done Steve! Anyway, it's free to download for a limited time and there are all sorts of good things to read inside, so grab a copy while it's hot off the press. I'll have to write something for Ragnarok 61 now.

Why not join the SFSFW while you're about it? http://www.sfsfw.org/rag60.php

Jurassic Wars

I found a box set of this simple but very well designed card game in a local charity shop a few weeks ago and thought it would be a good thing to take it on holiday for a rainy day. The rainy day has arrived and so I've played several games with my kids, who have been very enthusiastic. 

The game involves some card play with an opposed dice roll and modifiers but that's it, so very easy to pick up and play. It's definitely worth the £1.50 I paid for it and it has some potential in terms of the mechanics, which could be modified for other things. A neat little game and lots of educational fun for the otherwise indolent sprogs.

Age of Aces

The current edition of Vae Victis includes a really neat WW1 air warfare game aptly titled Le Temp des As or The Age of Aces. The magazine includes a full set of counters featuring a cross section of late war types, together with a very well presented map board and a set of straightforward rules in French. 

The rules are also available in English as a free download from the Vae Victis website. I have only found a magazine without the game as yet but will track down the full version in the next couple of days, give the game a try out and post a review. It certainly looks good and the rules read well too, so I'm looking forward to a playtest.

Pirate Ship Ahoy?

On the ferry over, I had a few hours in which to have a think about the On the Seven Seas pirate project and what I'm going to do. I already have the figures I need to put together a second pirate crew but, as yet, they will have no ship to set sail in. This is something I will need to sort out and, not having the funds to buy one of the new resin ships from Northstar, I'm going to have to scratch build one.

I have done this before and the resulting sloop has seen some action in several games, so I'm pretty sure I can do something similar but on a more ambitious scale. The plan is to use balsa, card and thick paper to build a brigantine, armed with Crusader Miniatures cannons rather than the smaller Peter Pig deck guns that I used for the sloop. The masts will be made from paint brush handles and dowel, designed to dismantle for easy transport.

The only problem I have is a lack of balsa wood, otherwise I'd get on with the construction while I'm here on holiday. If I can find some I will have a go but it's fairly unlikely, so it will probably have to wait until I get back home. I have more than enough balsa stashed away in the workshop, so it will be possible to build a decent enough pirate brig once I get my hands on the raw materials.

Off to Brittany

We're off to sunny Brittany this afternoon, so there will be a temporary hiatus in posting until we get to the other side. Bye for now!

Tank Commander

I've been reading this over the last couple of days and it's proving to be a quite extraordinary account. I've read several excellent books on the subject of tank warfare in the Western Desert and NW Europe but this one stands out as being a little different, to say the least. A very well-written and interesting autobiography by a very lucky tank commander indeed!