A Fistful of Lead [10]

 

I got in really late this evening so didn't have much time to spend on the western town buildings, although I have painted, weathered and assembled the component parts for the Union Pacific Hotel. This will be glued together tomorrow, once I've added an internal floor so that figures can be placed inside on both the ground and first floor levels. I also need to work out how the roof is assembled but that shouldn't be too complicated.

 

To add some clutter to the town, I've also ordered a couple of privies from Warbases, which I didn't see on the stand at Colours, together with some extra detailing bits for my livery stable model including ladders for the hay loft and an outhouse extension. To add some other structures I've also ordered a wind post mill and some more fencing from Sarissa Precision, as neither of these were available at Colours despite some extensive searching around the traders.

A Fistful of Lead [9]

 

I got soaked on the way back from work tonight but, when I got in I managed to get the next mdf building spray undercoated, ready to be assembled later tis evening. I've now finished gluing it together and weathering it, so have a second smaller saloon in which my outlaws can start a good old fashioned punch up.

 

This one is a Battle Flag kit which comes ready built but flat packed, with all the window frames, doors and other features pre-assembled, so that you only have to glue the four walls to the base and slot in the roof panel. Very quick but not so great if you want to paint the architecture in different shades or colours.

 

They're lovely models though and I particularly like the bank, which has a very impressive frontage. However, the next building to be assembled will be a two storey Products for Wargamers hotel, as the town is looking a little vertically challenged at the moment and needs some thing for the outlaws to be shot off in true B movie style.

Another Fistful of Lead Reloaded Game

 

I umpired a second game of Fistful of Lead Reloaded at the club tonight, using one of the campaign scenarios - The 4.10 to Yucca - as a basis for a two player head to head set up. The game was a lot of fun and, despite some very unlucky dice rolls and terrible cards for the outlaw gang, both of the players involved enjoyed trying out the rules. There was also quite a bit of interest from other club gamers, so another game is on the cards for the end of the month.

 

In the end, the outlaws were roundly defeated, with two men dead and two heading for the hills, while the lawmen managed to avoid any serious injury and also escorted their prisoner to the waiting train. We got briefly stuck a couple of times, once on the outcome of a 'double pin' and once on firing two pistols instead of one in a move phase, but these were minor points and were both resolved by common sense and  bit of rules interpretation.

 

We also learned how deadly shotguns can be a close range, why taking cover in a building isn't always a good idea and why it's better to maximise your numbers rather than spending points on traits or multiple weapons. The scenario was a good one and I may well run a re-play at some point in the future to see if it works out differently, now that we have a clearer idea about the way to put together a decent gang!

Fortune and Glory

I found a complete box of a game called Fortune and Glory in the local charity shop yesterday for a fiver. It's an Indiana Jones style adventure role play style board game set in the 1930's and it has some very positive ratings on Board Game Geek, so I'm really looking forward to a rainy weekend to try it out with the kids. The components are superb and include a range of tokens, some hard plastic figures and lots of colourful cards, along with a very impressive map style game board. Brilliant!

A Fistful of Lead [8]

Or rather, a Fistful of MDF, as I managed to track down most of the buildings and bits that I had on my Colours shopping list at the weekend. However, most of these did not come from Sarissa Precision as originally intended, with only a two storey medium building, a single story small building and some corrall fencing acquired from the Warlord Games stand. No one else seemed to be stocking them, so the choice was fairly limited and I had to look for alternatives.

Instead, I grabbed a couple of things from Warbases including a very cheap if basic gambrel barn to use as a livery stable and a full stage coach set complete with team, driver, shotgun toting sidekick and luggage. I added a 4Ground pioneer wagon to use as clutter and a bit of cover during gunfights. It looks a bit complicated to glue together but I'm sure it will be a useful bit of kit. The barn will need some planking and roofing but I'm looking forward to adding some finishing touches.

The big surprise, however, was the discovery of the excellent Products for Wargamers range of mdf building kits which covers just about every type of western structure you could want and at a very competitive price. I bought three kits in the end, although I could have added many more, including a saloon, a sheriff's office with attached jail cells, plus a splendid two storey hotel. This came with a variety of laser cut signs, so I can add the spares to some of my other buildings.

The saloon has already been assembled and looks pretty good, especially as it only cost me £14, which is peanuts for such a large and detailed model. There were one or two issues with the fit of some components and some head scratching due to a lack of instructions, but otherwise it was a quick and easy build. The laser cut sign is especially good but doesn't quite fit the frontage, so I'll re-use it on another building. These really are excellent kits for the money and available on line too.

I've also built up the other Sarissa Precision small building this evening, which is much more straightforward and quick to construct. The paint work was made even quicker by the use of Halfords spray primer, which covers well and provides a good key for any dry brushing or weathering. I have a game at the club tomorrow, so won't be doing any more kit bashing for a day or two but I will be tackling the two storey Union Pacific Hotel as soon as I get a free evening this week.

Galleys and Galleons Over the Horizon

 

This has slipped over the workbench horizon at the moment, what with all the Fistful of Lead shenanigans, but I have plans for more games of Galleys and Galleons in the coming weeks. I really enjoyed the games that I umpired at the club before the holidays and I know that there's keen interest in having another pirate ship game or two at the club, so plans are well underway for just such a venture at some point early in November.

 

Unfortunately, there won't be a participation game at Warfare this year, as the club is taking a beak in 2015, but we will be back in 2016 and I'd really like to make it a Galleys and Galleons themed game, complete with 15mm scale ships and Peter Pig pirate crews. I think this would look stunning and would be ideal as a multiplayer experience, with simple but exciting rules mechanisms and plenty of scope for some silly hats and even more ridiculous West Country accents.

If you don't know much about the rules and want to know more, check out the Ganesha Games webshop thingy and the author, Nic Wright's blog, which are both well worth a visit:

http://www.ganeshagames.net/product_info.php?cPath=1_25&products_id=276
http://irregularwars.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/galleys-galleons-cards-giveaway-free.html

You can also see what I've been up to via this link to my Galleys and Galleons blog posts:

http://jimswargamesworkbench.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Pirates

Aaargh!

Colours 2015 Photos

 

 

 

The boy in the middle and I went up the A34 to Newbury this afternoon and had a really good couple of hours pootling around Colours. It was far less hot and sweaty than in previous years, which was a pleasant change, although there seemed to be fewer traders and not as many games on display. I may be wrong about this but it definitely seemed to be less packed than before, which is a good thing as the venue can be quite restrictive and I could get around the stands and games with greater ease. It also meant that I could take some half decent photos.

 

I was impressed by many of the games and particularly liked the 40mm AWI game, the 54mm ECW set up by the Skirmish Wargamers, the 28mm WW1 Stretcher Bearer game and the stunning 6mm FPW game with architect standard winter terrain, which was very impressive and just like something from a museum. I also bought a shedload of mdf laser cut stuff and a small selection of lead, actually finding almost everything that I had on the shopping list, with nothing unexpected being bought on impulse. Blimey!

Fistful of Lead Reloaded Report {Part 3}

Turn 5

This should have been the decisive turn of the game. A King of Spades gave the law the 'drop' with the wounded deputy moving and shooting, only to miss by a whisker. The outlaws then used an Ace of Diamonds as a Queen, with two shots back at the wounded lawman resulting in a miss and an automatic hit with a natural 10. The deputy was now very much dead and things were looking very sticky for the sheriff.

The lawmen then attempted to unpin two of the deputies in a row but failed both times, leaving the outlaws free to finish off the turn. This was wasted as the rifleman failed to hit anything despite his eagle eyes and long range firepower, whilst the remaining gunman ended up out of ammo, having rolled a measly 1 on the hit dice. As the tumbleweed bounced across the dusty street, both sides realised it was time to get in close and try the hand to hand combat rules!

Turn 6

 

The law moved first with an Ace of Spades used as a Queen of Spades, giving priority and an extra move. This enabled the pinned counter to be removed from the rifle armed deputy, who then used the two remaining actions to shoot another outlaw, rolling a natural 10 to hit and a second 10 to kill him stone dead! The remaining outlaws weren't too chuffed about this, so both reloaded in their phase using Tens, ready to hit back next turn.

 

This left the two remaining lawmen with the advantage. The first attempted a double pistol shot but ran out of ammo (again!) with a roll of 1 on the D10. The second moved in for the kill, choosing the close combat option against the outlaw with the rifle. This was a big mistake, however, as the outlaw rolled an 8 and the deputy a 1, causing eight potential rolls on the wound table and resulting in a inevitable kill (I'm not sure we got this bit right so I need to go back and re-read the rules).

Turn 7

 

This was clearly going to be a Last Man Standing scenario as we moved into the seventh turn. The outlaws had two dead men but the lawmen were also two down and one man was out of ammo. The turn descended into a fusillade of gunfire, with some terrible shooting and a couple of unpins but no decisive result. It was time to have another attempt at hand to hand fighting, although both sides were fully aware that this could easily go either way as it really is 'particularly nasty'!

Turn 8

An Ace of Hearts gave the outlaws the 'drop' and they sent their rifle armed bandit into a fist fight with the rifle armed lawman. The first round of combat ended in a draw, so we moved onto the second round, with both sides hoping to inflict some damage. The outlaw rolled a 5 and the lawman a 3, resulting in two hits on the deputy which were converted into one wound and a pin. This pin stayed on, despite an attempt to get rid of it, putting the lawman in a very dodgy situation for the next turn.

 

Meanwhile, the law played an Ace and reloaded the deputy with the pistol, who moved in and tried to shoot the outlaw rifleman across the street, only to miss on a 5. The outlaws then played their last card, a Jack of Diamonds, using it to close with the lawman and try to knock him out in close combat. This was a bad idea. The law rolled an 8 and the outlaw a 5, giving a difference of three and resulting in a kill on the third roll of the wound die.

Turn 9

As the sun was setting on the dusty border town, the last remaining outlaw faced odds of two to one, so decided to go out in a blaze of gunfire. He played a Queen of Hearts, taking two shots at the deputy with the pistol. The shots hit their mark, the first causing a pin and the second another wound. The lawman attempted to unpin but rolled a natural 1, which meant he ran for the hills. The rifle armed lawman also failed to unpin and, rolling a 1 on the D10, decided to live to fight another day. skedaddling after the first deputy rather than sticking around to fight it out.

The End

In the end we decided to find out what would have happened to our outlaws and lawmen, if we were playing an actual campaign. A table for this is included in the rulebook, which makes it easy to link a series of games together and to reward the gangs with Renown points, which can be traded in for extra traits and reinforcements. The outlaws rolled up only minor flesh wounds for the three figures that had been killed in the game and so survived to fight another day. The lawmen also saved two of their figures but had to add one to their roll for losing the game and one for being 'dead', so ended up with one killed and three in need of the 'sawbones', effectively knocking them out of the next game.

So, what do I think of A Fistful of Lead Reloaded?

This really is a great set of western gunfight rules. On the surface it looks pretty basic but dig a bit deeper and the tactical game play and lack of clutter in the rules system makes for a very enjoyable, skirmish level game. I particularly like the way the use of playing cards, which might be seen as a bit of  gimmick, actually makes the whole system work very well, especially with the Special Cards which add a whole new aspect to the sequence of play. When you also add the campaign rules to the equation, including numerous scenarios and the opportunity to develop your gang from one to the next, you have the potential for some cracking multiplayer club games.

A definite thumbs up!

A Fistful of Lead [7]

I've been looking for some signage for my old west buildings and have found several print and cut out signs on the net which I may use. However, I've also located a nice set of lasercut mdf sign boards on Ebay from the trader that I bought my Sudan blockhouse from. The set consists of eight different signs with the following dimensions:

ATTORNEY AT LAW 90x35mm

GUN STORE 85x30mm

TELEGRAPH OFFICE 63x25mm

DAILY HERALD 90x37mm

LAND CLAIMS 70x30mm

HARDWARE STORE 78x30mm

MARSHALL 75x26mm

LIQUOR STORE 80x30mm

They're obviously more expensive than the paper versions and will need to be painted up or stained to match the paint work on the buildings but I think they will look much better than the printed signs that I was planning to use. The only signs that are missing are a saloon and livery stables, but I'm sure I can make something to fill in that gap.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/28mm-Old-West-planked-Signboards-/321841191703?hash=item4aef3adb17

A Fistful of Lead [6]

I had a bit of a disaster with the outlaw figures that I was finishing off over the weekend. I completely mucked up the horses and tried to save them, only to make things worse. On top of that, I washed the figures in Army Painter Strong Tone and, with a couple of exceptions, they ended up looking terrible. I've salvaged the riders and one of the foot figures but the rest will get stripped down and consigned to a box, with the horses being replaced by spare ones.

 

 

On the plus side, I have painted and assembled a Sarissa Precision mdf small western building for my cow town, although it still needs some suitable signage to fully look the part. I spray painted the various components then weathered them and glued the building together. This seemed to work well, so I'll follow the same approach with the Battle Flag kits when they arrive in the post. I was thinking of adding some risers underneath, some strip wood battens on the roof and even a textured base, but I think it looks fine as it is, at least for the moment.