Murder in the Midlands (Across the Dead Earth Tournament)

Well this Sunday see's the first Across the Dead Earth tournament. Being held in Stourbridge in the West Midlands. Its going to be a day full of post apocalyptic fun. At the moment we have 12 players signed up for the day and possibly a few more turning up on the day its going to be a hoot!

My Gang for the day has been finished off this week.

Alpha Squad

Hidden in the foothills of Rowley Regis deep is an old abandoned quarry hidden inside a top secret long forgotten pre-war military facility suddenly shows signs of life as its electrical systems wurr and thrum as aged generators comes online. Long dusty corridors that had been sat in pitch blackness for decades are now illuminated once more in cold stark clinical light. 

In the heart of the facility the command room consoles all flicker as systems come online. This only lasts a brief short time as suddenly the all begin displaying warning messages and errors. The consoles begin to go dark one by one shut down by the master system in order to conserve the remaining power. A warning klaxon suddenly blares and the bright light becomes a dull red as the power switches over to emergency power.

Deep in the facility behind a large steel door opens on well oiled pistons a mechanical thrumming sound begins from within. Inside the room are six glass covered capsules with a deep coating of frost. LED's burst into life on the HUD of each capsule condensation quickly forming as warm air begins to enter the frosty chamber. 

A nearby console blinks on. Telemetry and other burst across the screen to fast to follow until finally stopping on a single line of glowing text. 

EMERGENCY THAW PROTOCOL ALPHA INITIATED.

Twelve hours later and the thick frost covering the capsules has all but melted away. The cold silence of the room replaced with a steady drip drip drip of water as it falls away from the capsules and drains away into channels in the floor. One by one with a hiss of escaping air the six capsules open revealing the once slumbering occupants. Each occupant is male and completely naked apart from a pair of dog tag worn around the each of there necks. 

The man in capsules one his eyes flickering open as his as his senses begin to awaken. Sitting slowly up with a smile he looks about the room taking in his surroundings as if waking up in such a strange place is an everyday occurrence. The others also begin to wake up each rising and looking about themselves yawning and stretching. 

The first man now up and about concern and puzzlement shown on his face at the lack of technician's or medics you would normal expect to see buzzing about after coming out of cryo-stasis. The man moves over to the loan console and logs in typing in his access credentials as if it was yesterday and not the 75 years it actually was. The data begins to flow thick and fast and the man's face becomes grimmer and grimmer as his worst fears become reality.

 'Yo' the man says to his now awoken fellow's 'Up and at em soldiers looks like we have woken up to the end of times' the five answering 'Ooorah' all he needed to hear as confirmation and reassurance.

'Time to saddle up boys this place is going offline in 2hrs we need to get in touch with the Pit for orders and we will see what the outside world is now like'

'Ooorah' the 5 men responded. 

All six men moved out into the corridor and into the living quarters directly opposite. Inside the room were six beds and six lockers each with the man's codename above.  

Sgt Slaughter.

Gung Ho.

Spirit.

Stalker.

Shockwave.

Beachhead.

The men all rapidly got dressed into there familiar uniforms and made there way to the armoury. Equipping themselves with their personal weapons and as many MRE's and ammunition as each man could carry.

The six men headed for the facility exit.

'Lets go explore the new world gentlemen'

'Yo Joe' the six men said in chorus.

I'll upload more pics next week when I get chance to take some more individual pics. I was very fortunate to acquire some castings from a personal commision they are fabulous miniatures.

For more gang stories of those that are attending check out.
http://lostlandsgames.co.uk/blog/4589059971

I'm Alive! Catch up and Tournament news.

Greetings everyone its certainly been a very busy time in the Brummie household working on a project with a long commute for a good while has basically led to very little free time apart from the doing important stuff. That all finished two weeks ago and I've had a week off so its been good to get back to normal.

Well what have I been up to Hobby wise recently? Mostly its been focused on the Batman Miniatures game. Myself Pulpcitizen of Eclectic Gentleman and Kieron of Cheaphammer!!! all attended another tournament at Titan games on the 2nd July. Originally I'd planned to take a Green Arrow crew but I've only had one game with the emerald archer and the new list I had prepped hadn't been tried and didn't feel confident enough with them. I only barely made my mind up on the morning of the event!

I had been working on some additions for my bad guy lists just to freshen things up by changing characters here and there.

First up a Free Agent Ravager (Daughter of Deathstroke) very fast and armed with two double dealing swords she is an excellent Henchmen killer and has some neat traits like Power Dampening (prevents heroes with invulnerable from soaking damage) and Self Discipline (Can't be Hypnotised).
I needed to include a Free agent in my list as Bane has a new piece of equipment called Venom Factory (Can only be taken on a Free agent as he currently has not Sidekick models) which allows the combat drugs available to his faction to be gotten a bit cheaper and allows characters to use Titan doses more than once per game. I could of used Deadshot but I wanted Ravagers swords to help finish off people who Bane KO's

Next up are a couple of prisoners. The first one is Prisoner 4 or more commonly known as Bodyguard prisoner his bodyguard ability allows him to soak damage on Bane or other Sidekicks if within 5cm. Venom Soldier also fulfils this roll but I had plans for his 2 Titan Doses and planned on giving him a grapple gun to be a more mobile threat.

With 10 rep left to spend I needed a cheap filler in my new list and Prisoner 1 or Pipe prisoner as he is more commonly known fits the bill. Pipe isn't that great at anything but is useful for holding onto loot or sitting on objectives.

The Tournament itself was great  it had only had a small turnout this time around sadly there was another event up North which some of the regulars went to instead. All in all there was 6 players in total.

Crew wise there was myself with a Bane crew, Court of Owls (Pulp Citizen), Birds of Prey team (Kieron) Poison Ivy/Swamp thing crew, a Cyborg/Starfire batman crew and finally another Batman crew with Batman/AK Redhood.

My Crew was as follows

Origin Bane

Ravager + Venom Factory

Venom Soldier + Grapple gun and Venom Dose

Dallas + NVG's and Ammo

Smash

McGregor

Prisoner 4 + Venom Dose

Prisoner 1

Typically of a freshly painted model Ravager died horribly in the first game against a Poison Ivy crew being bashed about by Swamp thing then being finished of by Poison Ivy's Toxic claws.

Jane's Poison Ivy led crew. This was a close fought game resulting in a 23-22vp Draw to me (1-5pts difference). Borj was a nuisance hypnotizing Dallas and Mcgregor then shooting McGregor in the back after walking them both off of objectives. I managed to take Poison Ivy down and Swamp thing was a beast soaking lots of damage with his heal ability.



The Second game was my favourite of the day. I got to play against Kieron's Birds of Prey Team. This is a new way of playing batman crews you can take teams of heroes from a particular list. They can have some extra rules and unique strategies. They are also one of my favourite comics teams and I am planning on painting up my own version soon.



It was Patrol which is a proper slog to my objectives for my slow moving Bane list. I was hampered in my Deployment zone with a large building forcing me to move up around it. It was close fought and they were hard to get to grips with Katana was awesome one shotting Ravager and slaying both my Prisoners. Bane and Venom soldier played kiss chase with Catwoman eventually KO'ing her. Dallas managed to take out the BoP's Leader Black Canary a she tried to Canary Cry him and Smash but he managed to pass his Will Power roll and then ripped her apart with his assault rifle. I lost in the end 25-14.

The final game was a massive defeat against Kris Burton's Cyborg/Starfire combo. I probably shouldn't of ended up playing the top player but with how the games had drawn and the low number of players meant I ended up playing the lead player rather than facing Jane again having already fought her earlier in the day.

 I lost this game terribly 45 to 8 or something similar. Kris was using the Bat Signal objective alongside ammo and titan. The Bat signal had been FAQ'd recently allowing it to placed on top of terrain rather than ground base like all the other objectives. It has quite a unique scoring mechanism basically when the controlling side turn it on they score 4 vps a turn and don't have to remain in contact. For every turn it remains switch off your opponent scores 1vp.



Kris was a great opponent (won the tournament) and used his crew really well. The Bat signal was deployed next to Dallas in my deployment zone on top of two cargo containers. Starfire swooped down in round 2 pushed Dallas off and then switching it on. I struggled to get my slow moving crew across the board to my own objectives whilst Cyborg, Starfire and Swat Bravo shot the crap out of my crew. Bane was took out by Starfire as he tried to climb to get to the bat signal objective. My Venom soldier was tied up defending my opponents Titan objective and couldn't get over to the bat signal in time to do much else. Kris managed to keep on the signal for 5 roundss and Cyborg sat on there teams Ammo for 3 rounds netting 20vps and 9 vps something I just couldn't claw back.

Kris agrees the bat signal is too overpowered being able to be installed on top of terrain and being immune to strategies that can affect objective manipulation. A lot of crews like mine just don't have the characters available to them to get up and take on tough mobile characters like Cyborg and Starfire. A lot of heated discussion is going on at the moment as to whether this should be reverted back to its original rules of being on the ground. A tournament held a few weeks earlier was also dominated by Batman crews at the top with the signal.

I finished last in the end but it was another cracking day of gaming against great friendly people.

I am going to try out a Birds of Prey crew next but will also be experimenting with speedsters and my Green Arrow crew.

Batman Miniature Game. The Animated Series Green Arrow

Well my order arrived last Saturday containing the new Expansion for the Batman Miniature Game called 'The Flash and The Arrow' the book expands the original with new rules for speedsters like the flash, New Teams like Suicide Squad and Birds of Prey and includes new expanded equipment lists for the existing crews. I have begun reading it and at a glance it is another gorgeous book filled chock to the seams with art and background.

Also as part of my order was a couple of characters Arkham Knight Azrael, The Black Flash and The Animated Series Green Arrow.  Sadly Azrael had a piece of his cloak missing so he has had to wait a bit while the missing bit gets sent over from Spain from Knight models. I have to mention they were very quick to respond to me email so top notch so far.

The Black Flash was free with the book and is a limited edition piece. Its a bit of a controversial miniature as you can't choose this one to join a crew like other limited edition figures have been (Alfred and RedHood Joker) he only arrives on the table if a speedster fails a paradox roll and a certain event happens on the failure chart. It seems odd to have a ltd edition piece that you technically will need in order to use speedsters.......

Anyway as indicated in the post title I have assembled and painted the Animated Series version of the Green Arrow.  Who was relatively quick to paint as they seem to have a little bit less detail than the normal batman miniatures. TAS Green Arrow comes in four pieces his quiver his body and his arms. I found him quite simple to put together a little bit of filing on the ball joints for his arms was required to get a good fit but nothing to major. I really like the boxing glove stun arrow he is loading onto his bow I am going to love shooting some Owls with it in my next game of BMG.

TAS Green Arrow give me a much cheaper leader for my Green Arrow crew allowing me to take him, Arsenal as a sidekick, Black Canary and Huntress as free agents then still fit in 3 cops. I am hoping to pick up the TAS Black Canary when it released as they will make a nice pair together.

Just an Update

Just a bit of an update really. Commuting a lot at the moment working on a project which is not leaving me much time on the hobby front or too tired! I have only picked up the brushes once in two weeks now and only for a quick 30-45 minute session!! 

I am hoping to have a crack at some stuff this weekend and perhaps try and get a figure pushed out. I have a couple more batman figures started Lady Shiva pictured below and Copperhead.



There is going to be an Across the Dead Earth event in July and I need to find some time to get some bits finished. Mainly more ruined terrain to take to the event but I also want to finish off a new gang so have made the selection and got some figures primed ready for painting.

In other news another Batman tournament at Titan Games in Lichfield is planned in July as well thankfully it doesn't clash with the Across the Dead Earth one. I need to have a look and decide what crew I want to take to it. The new expansion for the game has come out and is due to land any day now. So I will have a dig through and starting building some lists with the new items and equipment.

So just a check in I've had some downtime this morning so have had a catch up on everyone's blogs. Hope everyone is well! Catch you all soon hopefully with something finished!

Batman Miniature Game Black Canary.

Another quick post before the weekend is over. Finished off this weekend is Black Canary another Free agent who can be used for both Green Arrow and Batman crews. Black Canary has hidden deployment and has a Sonic Scream attack which uses a template and those affected are rendered senseless as well as taking damage.

I really like the model the only couple of annoying things is again the tactical rock which i've disguised by adding more rubble. The second is the way the arms join the body. Basically they were removed for mould making in an odd way and there was no obvious way of connecting them easily. In the end I glued them on as best I could after some filing. But I then had to pin and fill the gaps after they broke off once first being assembled.

Black Canary is also a member of the Birds of Prey. In the expansion there are some new rules for 'teams' of heroes which won't follow the normal rules for building a crew. I don't know as yet how it works but the images that Knight models have teased so far includes one of picture of the Birds of Prey fighting the Suicide Squad. So Black Canary can join the already done Huntress and Katana. I want to pick up Bat Girl at some point another member of the BoP and also someone who can be in LAW and Batman Crews.

 

New York Bop Kickstarter by Ghetto miniatures

Its back! Ghetto miniatures are re-launching there 70's gang warfare game again! New York Bop.

 Its almost funded in the first week as well! I'm backing and looking forward to getting me some awesome looking figures to use in New York Bop. I also think I shall be taking using them in 7TV and in my post apoc games and they will make brilliant zombie apocalypse survivors to.

As you can see there are far more sculpts ready this time around. Each gang consists of 8 individual sculpts. I love them all but i am really looking forward to Satan's Skinz and the Black Cobra's! I am particularly excited about some of the gangs that could come if the kickstarter is successful enough  Really iconic of the 70's the Black Panthers!

Some pledges also include a pdf copy of the rules. At the moment the kickstarter is to get the mini's made and out for sale and then a second kickstarter for the rulebook at a later date.
 

 

Some size comparison pictures with various other manufacturers.


Can you dig it?
New York Bop Kickstarter page.

Batman Miniature game Katana

Busy work schedule has meant not much going on in Brummie towers. I managed to get one figure finished this week as well as a little bit more work on some post apoc ruins.

First up the BMG (Batman miniature game) Figure I finished this week is Katana. Katana is a Free agent and shows up in various comics with Birds of Prey and her own story arc. I really love this character she is armed with a soul taker Katana which carries the soul of her dead husband within it. I have recently read her comics and they are pretty dam awesome.

In the BMG Katana is Free Agent available to both Green Arrow and Batman crews and offers some close combat support doing blood damage with her sword which is nice as a lot of these crews tend to do a lot of stun which you can heal. Katana also packs some shuriken for a little bit or ranged punch and has some nice little buffs and debuffs she can do with Precise Blow and Feint traits. 

Terrain wise I returned to some my Mantic ruins and added some more texture to the bases ready for painting. It needs sealing again with black paint/pva.

I also picked up some cheap trees from China and have begun to have a little play with them. I need to mock up some standard tree bases rather than the post apoc themed one below.  I think they look quite decent.

The 10cm tree

 The 8cm tree

Also picked up a cheap Topiary ball from Home Bargains for £2 the leaves are quite small on these. I plan to snip it off and to some of the ruins and onto the car above.