German Force update

Been busy all week building my Wargames Factory German's sent to me by my mate Drew. Reading into it and joining a Bolt Action Facebook group I found that around 500points  is the size to aim for to start with as pick up games at clubs are either at that level or slightly smaller (400).

Theres a handy online tool that you can create an account for and you can build your army that way. I've gone for a Generic force at the moment as I'm not sure on a particular theatre I want to go with yet. But that doesn't mean you can choose one of the forces and play against others.

Its quite a useful tool with good options for saving your platoons. You can calculate points before adding to it.

http://boltaction.easyarmy.com

So far the 500 point force is as follows

First Lieutenant with additional Soldier

9 man Heer Grenadier Infantry Squad  (Regular)

2 Assault Rifle's (STG 44) and 1 LMG (MG42)

9 man Heer Grenadier Infantry Squad (Regular)

2 Assault Rifle's (STG 44) and 1 LMG (MG42)

9 man Heer Grenadier Infantry Squad (Regular)

2 Assault Rifle's (STG 44) and 1 LMG (MG42)

Sniper Team (Regular)

Here is the whole force so far I tried to make the NCO's stand as if they where signalling to advance or shouting. Each squad is either defending, advancing or attacking but could be mixed just as easily. 

 First Lieutenant and his Additional man. (May replace this with a radio OP but need to look into it)

 Grenadier Squad 

  Grenadier Squad 

  Grenadier Squad 

Sniper Team

I've pretty much built the force just out of the 30 man box set. The only thing I'm missing is the assault rifles. I had one STG44 in my bits box and I've converted one but I'm not totally happy with it if I'm honest and I think I will rip it off and just buy some metal figures already armed with them.

Next I need to clean all the mouldlines off and fill a few bits here and there. Then I need pick up some uniform paints handily Warlord do bundles on there website and a local model shop carries the Vallejo paint line. So all being well I should be able to go in there with a list next week and pick up what I'm missing on pa day a pop into my LGS Waylands Forge and see if I can get me some Artizan troops with STG44's

Achtung! Incoming!

Been a bit distracted this week works been busy and kids have been home all day as its been Easter so time has been lacking lol. Hobby wise not a great deal has been going on. Varnished the  Scavengers I finished last week and under coated the Hasslefree figures on my painting table.

In other news I've been bitten by the historical bug that is Bolt Action. Having resisted the historical side of the hobby for a long time its finally crumbled. Some late night chats on facebook with some buddies I nearly ended up selling my Empire of the Dead stuff and taking up Bolt Action instead. The main thinking behind it is I want to start going to clubs to game and Bolt Action seems quite popular and easy match up against people and play. There are some blogger friends who've tried the game and a few clubs I've looked at and through some facebook groups already met some people who I could game against to.

Before I could get any further with organising the sale of my EotD stuff a SURPRISE parcel arrived on Thursday evening from my good friend Drew (Doctor Warlock) not only did the packaging amuse me greatly. It contained two sets of Wargames Factory World War 2 figures! and a couple of dog miniatures There are a few figures in each box started to be built but none painted. What a generous gift! I'm told they've been sitting around for a while and weren't being used but I am seriously chuffed. With a few infantry support weapons I can do Late war American and German 500 pt forces.

I don't have the rules yet but the Warlord Games has an army builder that allows you to build up 500pt armies the website also has sample armies that you can buy at certain points values so they are good guides.

I made a start Friday night and put a few together they are nicely detailed plastic figures and size wise I think will fit in quite well with most of the common manufacturers the cool thing about Bolt Action they seem to be relaxed on what figures you use and from where. I had planned to do either Fallschrimjager or Italian paratroopers as I purely like the uniform style. I'll do these two forces first and get to grips with the game.

You get 30figures in a set a good selection of gear in the boxes. kar98k's, Scoped and rifle grenade variants, gewehr 43's, MP40's, panzerfausts, mg42 light machine guns. pouches, pistols. You get loose and with hands attached crouched poses. The American GI sprues are pretty much the same BAR's, M1 Carbines, M1 Garands, Thompsons and Grease guns etc.. Only thing missing really is STG44 assault rifles but you can pick up sprues of these else where and convert them your self.

Size comparison pics with some Artizan Partisan fighters I had kicking around.

The HQ front and back these are all standard off the sprue though they have had the mp40 ammo pouches added and the middle guy I removed his hand and rotated it round slightly.

The start of the first rifleman squad. They follow most WGF sprues you need to match up the numbers next to the rifles to match up the arms easier. The gear on the back can only go into certain bodies they have shaped connection pegs that only match up with the correct body. Not sure about the scope on the G43 (middle guy) yet i've left it on for now want to do some research into how many would actually come with a scope as standard.

The German's will do some double duty in 7TV as well as I quite like the idea of doing Eagles Nest scenario with my Avengers characters I made :)

Doomsday Movie

I don't review many movies I'll explain why I'm mentioning this one in particular. It was really odd was having a chat with my mate Johnny (Lord Siwoc) about post apocalyptic movies  and he showed me a trailer for this movie. I was quite surprised that  I hadn't heard of it this sooner considering it came out in 2008! So asap I picked it up as from the trailer I'd seenI thought it would make good fodder for Across the Dead Earth.

In 2008, an unknown killer virus, dubbed "The Reaper Virus", has infected Scotland, turning people into savage animals and killing the host. The UK government cannot quarantine the virus because they have neither cure nor vaccine, and they decide to build a 60-foot containment wall over the border with Scotland, isolating it from the rest of Britain, and also the docks, airports and bridges, preventing it from spreading. Meanwhile, with teams of soldiers evacuating the last of the healthy survivors, a Scottish woman begs a soldier to rescue her daughter, wounded after a riot and missing her right eye. A soldier sacrifices his place in the helicopter to save the girl, and she is transported out of the quarantine zone as the soldier and her mother stay behind.

The quarantine is deemed a success, with the rest of the Scottish population dying off from the virus, in ensuring the safety of the rest of the UK population across the decades. However the genocidal quarantine operation formed by the government destroys diplomatic relations between the UK and the rest of the world including the United States and the Commonwealth of Nations, causing massive unemployment, civil unrest and extreme economic turmoil in the UK as the people oppose the containment and genocide concluded by the government.

27 years after the Scotland quarantine, in 2035 London, during a police raid, the police officers find several people infected with a similar Reaper Virus. Fearing that the virus has returned to the rest of Britain, Prime Minister Hatcher and his right-hand man, Canaris, share with domestic security chief Captain Nelson news of survivors in Scotland during a CCTV filming of the area, and they believe a cure may exist there. They order him to send a team into Scotland to find medical researcher Dr. Kane, who was working on a cure when Scotland was quarantined. Nelson chooses Major Eden Sinclair, the little girl saved in the initial evacuation, now grown up and an DDS (Department of Domestic Security) soldier, to lead the team, who has a new medical mechanical eye to replace her missing one.

That pretty much sets the scene nicely without going into spoiling what happens to much. There is plenty of action throughout great special effects and it has a great atmosphere about  it. There are some interesting factions and I found some of the cast quite comical but loved them all the more for it especially Sol and Viper there also seems to be a love of 80's music as it features quite a lot (a good thing IMO as its done really well). There's bits from many film that are similar but it doesn't feel out of place and in away it pays homage to them and compliments them in a nice way. It has quite a star studded cast from Bob Hoskins, Malcom McDowell, Adrian Lester, MyAnna Buring, David O'Hara and Sean Pertwee and many more your sure to recognise as you watch it.

Only the car chase at the end seemed a bit off to me and not so much that there was one in it.more how they came across the car and how it was used. Its definitely worth a watch and I've watched it twice in the past few weeks which means its a good one (well to me anyway)

If I was to rate it I'd have to give it a 4 out of 5 stars not perfect but certainly watch able again and again :)

Copplestone Scavengers Part 2

All the Scavengers done to date so far. Unsure about the remaining two. Part of me wants to finish them for completion sake but I don't really need 3 rocket launcher weapons....

The Full set of Scout's Finished

This is another one of my favourites from the set I really like the style of the rifles I think.

Tried to make the helmet appear worn and old. Just did various washes over the basecoat and I think it looks ok.

Tried to go for a denim jacket with this one not so sure it worked tbh. 

My Favourite tank buster I tried to make the bottle part of the molotov look as it was partially full of liquid 

 More group shots for the sake of it :)

No idea what I'm going to start on next. I'm torn with playing with the ruins I received or painting one of my Hasslefree figures. I shall see where the week takes me!

Mid Week Update

Spent a couple of evenings this week finishing off the scavengers they are nearly done just need to touch up a few bits I've missed. 

Planning on having another game of Across the Dead Earth next week at some time. Continuing on the campaign from last time need to plan the next scenario. Looking at the figures I got a bit fed up of the inconsistent bases of the Stour Raiders so on Monday I stripped off Dixon and Red Rum from there original 30mm lipped bases and but them on 25mm rounds they have now been re-puttied and repainted so they match in with the rest. I think I will stick with the 25mm rounds for all my PA/Zombies figures and 2p for those that don't have slotta's.

All Matching now.

Paint Table Saturday 22

Managed to get two sessions in this week and got 5 more scavengers to the point where another one or two sessions shall them finished. Planning on treating myself and doing one of the Hasslefree figs when they are done. 

Been admiring some of the new WIP sculpts over at Project Zeke Miniatures they are  coming along very nicely. If you've not seen them yet please do go and check them out.

http://projectzekeminiatures.blogspot.co.uk/

Wreck-Age by Hyacinth Games Rulebook review

My renewed interest in the Post Apocalyptic genre has had me browsing various forums and facebook groups for inspiration. Chatting with one of the games producers Matthew Sears I was very kindly sent a copy of the rules for me to read and review. I've been a fan of the miniatures since they came out via kickstarter over a year ago but was gutted that I missed out on it.

Wreck Age is game that has two sides to it. On one side its a 28mm scale skirmish game the other a role playing game.

Personally I only have the time at the moment for the skirmish game side of it however the role playing side to it is very good and if a time come where myself and a circle of friends can get into doing I perhaps might have a go.

The setting is of course Post Apocalyptic. Its also quite unique how it actually occurred rather than something unexpected like a nuclear war or a virus that kills off most the population. Its all down to how they've used the Earth resources ravaging the land, nuclear waste pollution is destroying everything. 

There is a big rush by the powers that be to build a flotilla of scientific colony ships to seed other planets and the plan was to evacuate Earth in several waves until everyone has left. Only they betray everybody and the rich and powerful escape and don't return leaving the remainder to deal with the collapse of the government. Anarchy ensues the world is ravaged by natural disasters, chemical rain scours the land bringing mankind pretty much almost to extinction. 

The game is then set two centuries after the Exodus eventually things begin to calm down plants and some animals begin to appear here and there and mankind begins to eke out an some sort of existence but only barely.

I only have a PDF at the moment but when the opportunity arises to get hold of one in print I will. The book has very high productions values. It is Beautifully laid out it has awesome artwork through out and there is plenty of background for you to get fully immersed into the world itself.

The game is set in America or Merika as it is now called. There are a large number of different factions all with there own agenda's and way of living.

Stakers
 This is your working together for the greater good of the community type faction. They work hard on there land ensuring they are self sufficient and defend it fiercely from raiders and the like.

Drifters
Sort of nomadic barbarians they attack caravan's and communities and have an attitude of survival of the fittest like attitude. Typical raider types really.

Stitchers
These are a creepy faction basically an Exodus ship full of medical staff crash landed during take off and these are the surviving members. A Couple of hundred years on from the event they are now a bit deranged and obsessed with only increasing there own lifespans through bio engineering and harvesting fresh organs from anyone they can capture in order to prolong there own lives. There appearance is sort of a bit like a Frankenstein monster all stitched up with various bits replaced from various sources. There way of fighting tends to be all about incapacitating targets in order to harvest organs rather than damaging potential donor's!

Reclaimers
These are my favourite faction I love there background and there motives. They are basically engineers and scientists who hunt down remnants of technology from before the collapse. There are some excellent short stories on the website as well they are in the store but are free to download.

These factions don't currently have miniature out as of yet. They all have there own agendas and way of living there is a lot of factions that there is bound to be one that is to your liking. Some such as the Drifters and Stakers all give you the opportunity to get creative with them.

The AHRK (Autonomous Region of Hong Kong)
The Church of Fun

Unicephalon

The Vale

The Caravaneers

The Fringers

The RPG side comes into play more so when choosing your faction its characters there careers and equipment. There are generic archetypes from soldiers, medics, scouts and traders to specific faction ones that add more flavour to your party typical of that faction.   Gear wise the weapons they can be equipped with is quite diverse from simple zip guns and blunderbuss type weapons to EMP rifles, plasma rifles and Tranq guns. Its really diverse and  there is a lot of choice. There are various types armour, gadgets and other equipment. Foodstuffs and clothing is mentioned. transportation, as well as faction themed gear as well It seems to go into quite some depth more so than I originally though when I first received the pdf.

There are a bunch of scenarios listed from objective hunts, night-time raids and the standard factions squaring it off and duking it out with each other. Advancement tables and campaign rules round out the ruleset seeming to cover most things you would want from an RPG/Skirmish game.

All in all I its an excellent book, nicely laid out . Looks great and easy to navigate. The background is unique and interesting and you can get immersed fully in it. The factions offer a lot of choice from typical wasteland type raiders, drug fuelled cultists, corporate agents and secret societies working behind the scenes to shape the future of the world.

Rules wise Initiative is rolled for every turn the winning side then activates or defers there go. One character moves performs there actions and then switches to the other side until all characters have activated that turn. Each character has a number of action points determined by there stats. Certain actions cost a certain number of points in order to perform so movement, shooting all have a points cost Sprinting for examples uses more action points than walking and so on. Its quite an interesting element and of course certain actions that are more complex require a test to be passed to perform. Its a good system from what I can tell. I shall have to right up some basic factions and proxy some figures and try it out.

I really hope they get a UK stockist soon as I would like to get my hands on some of the miniatures as they are really nicely sculpted especially the Stitchers and Reclaimers. New greens have been spotted on facebook as well which all look just as good as the factions already available.

For more info check out the website.
http://wreck-age.net/

Theres also some great fiction in the store which is well priced or in some cases free!
Books and Stories