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Happy Father's Day

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Happy Father's Day to all wargaming Dads and Dads of wargamers. Hope you are all being pampered and thoroughly appreciated today. I intend to fall asleep in from of the TV having had a big brunch!

Saul and I didn't get back from Donington until after 3am this morning so it is unlikely I will be going anywhere near a paint brush but we had a great day yesterday and the crowd was buzzed by a Spitfire before Iron Maiden came on...

Update: Here is some video of the Spitfire buzzing the crowd that is much better than my crap photo...


Mystery In The Jungle...

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A little box arrived the other day from 'opp north' containing some goodies that need painting for a long overdue PDF project. Can you guess what it is?


Tank Infantry Mark I A11

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When I looked at Zvezda's forthcoming Art of Tactic releases earlier in the year I was a tad disappointed that their Matilda I (A11) (aka Tank Infantry Mk I) was still only to be found in the big Art of Tactic box set. I know it isn't the best tank in the world and the Matilda II (A12) is much more use on the tabletop, but I like the quirky little beast.


Consequently I was surprised a few weeks back on an irregular visit to Antics to see that Zvezda had released it as a separate model (box code 6191). I picked up three for the Watch Am Escargot project. I opened up a box for a quick look and the kit is a really simple six piece one that should make a great little model. With the Cruiser IV coming out this year and the Matilda II (A12) already out, the BEF armour looks pretty much covered.


All I now need to do is find the bloody French that started me considering this project!!!

Mystery Project Clue One

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On Monday I posted a teaser for a long overdue PDF project. I assumed you'd all guess it straight away, but no. So I've decided to run a little competition featuring the unpainted contents of the box from "opp north". First person to correctly guess and post the answer today in the comments will receive a copy of the long overdue PDF project when it becomes done. If no one answers correctly today, there will be another clue tomorrow! Exciting eh?!!

Clue One:

Mystery Project Identified!

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Well Boggler was quick off the mark yesterday identifying the mystery project to the the long overdue PDF edition of Tusk II: Wrath of Kong. Jim will, when it is finished, get a copy of the PDF free.

So what does Tusk II: Wrath of Kong add to the basic game of Tusk?

For Stone Age gamers it adds shamans, stockades and dependants, pterodactyls, "tame" dinosaurs, beast v beast combat, human v human combat, domestic animals, raptors, giant wolves and triceratops.

It also expands the game through history beyond the short VSF section in the basic game including rules for primitive firearms, rifle grenades, flare pistols, gas bombs, light machine guns, artillery, swordsmen, halberdiers, pike blocks, cavalry, aeroplanes and trained beasts.

Finally there are four scenarios, the unpainted scenario pack contents of which I have photographed (sans the dinosaurs which were painted for the original game).

Bonny and Rex - Napoleon's dinosaurs attack the British at Waterloo...


Where Pterodactyls Dare - First World War action in Maple White Land...


Capture King Kong - Carl Denham uses beauty to capture the beast...


The fourth scenario is New World Nightmare (the photo from yesterday) with Conquistadors and their prisoners being attacked by the exotic local fauna.

Overall it adds a lot to the basic game and expands it in a multitude of directions. I need to paint all of the above but it would be good to get it out this autumn along with a couple of other projects.

Google Reader Is Dead! Long Live Google Reader!!!

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Readers of BLMA blog may recall Lee having a slight (understandable) meltdown over the demise of Google Reader. If not you can read it here.

As Lee states Google Reader makes life a LOT easier when trying to keep up to date with the various Blogs he follows (all 422 of them). Whilst this may sound a lot, Google Reader makes it easy to find and read the latest blog posts. In many respects it is invaluable.

Well I have found a possible solution - Flipboard.


I have used Flipboard for some time on my iPad and really like the way it displays items in a magazine style format which you then touch the one you want to view. It is elegant and very simple. It has uses beyond displaying Google Reader (RSS leads), I use it for newspapers, Facebook and Twitter.

I had assumed that with the demise of Google Reader on 1st July that this would disappear from Flipboard but no, the RSS leads would be maintained so if you are a Google Reader fan and have an iOS or Android device you can find out more here but note you need to take action before 1st July. There will be some limited functionality issues (such as being unable to add or delete feeds after 1st July) but for Lee he will still be able to read the 422 he has at a glance in a very friendly magazine style format...

America's Fighting Dinosaur: Armed To The Teeth!

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You may recall last year me posting about the Kickstarter for America's Fighting Dinosaur, a faux-documentary short film about Little Sammy, a T-Rex who fought with the Allies in WW2 (they didn't teach you that at school?!). Work on the film is progressing and a snippet (without sound) has been released. If you missed the Kickstarter and want to order some AFD merchandise before the film is released you can at the AFD Stockyard...

Are You My Mummy?

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I managed to pick up a paint brush for the first time this month today - and found my mojo for painting Saxons had completely disappeared! :-( I sat there and looked at the 24 undercoated figures and didn't feel inspired one bit, so I cast around to find something else and an old Grenadier UKGiant Mummy, which has been sat around on the workbench for some time caught my eye. So I painted that...

The model is part of a long planned/unlikely to come to fruition WHFBAraby project with a Tomb Kings army, Desert themed Elves and Bretonnian Crusaders (with some Imperial Dwarves). I do have reasonable size collections of these figures sat in Lead Mountain and Plastic Hill so it may happen. Anyway I decided to paint the Mummy which should form part of the Tomb Kings army one day.

The model is quite chunky, an impressive 65mm tall and was an easy paint, largely drybrushed with some Devlan Mud washes. It is still available from Mirliton along with the rest of the old Grenadier UK undead which is a great range that whilst looking chunky paints up very well. I do have a small collection somewhere which I painted up for a game at Salute may years ago (in the Kensington days) which I will have to dig out and post on the blog sometime...



The Return of Thane Tostig?

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David Wood posted an excellent piece on his Dear Tony Blair blog the other day about the Barry Minot Thane Tostig miniatures and rules from the late seventies.

For those of you too young to remember the excitement the Minot adverts in Battle for Wargamers bought and the sadness of how far your pocket money would not stretch, The Quest of Thane Tostig was a set of fantasy wargames rules set in Dark Ages Britain. Minot's Miniature Armoury produced a range of miniatures including Tostig and his companions and the evil Sprites foes, as well as some skeletons and monks. A list and photos of the range can be found on the Lost Minis Wiki here.

Reading David's post and painting the Dux Bellorum Arthurians I have begun to ponder the possibilities of continuing Tostig's quests using modern day figures, after all the heroes are historical types, skeletons and monks are readily available, it is just the Sprites that would need a good proxy.

I think this has potential, I will re-read the rules (which I have) to see whether it will just be the background that makes the transition or whether the rules themselves are useable. It will certainly need some work as the rulebook only contained one adventure against the Sprites with the background including fights against Grendel, a two-headed giant and a dragon, but it could be a a fun small project making use of existing miniatures...

(Saxon Month) Beowulf of Barkynge

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Well "Saxon Month" has been an unmitigated disaster with just 24 miniatures undercoated. However, I was determined I would paint at least one bloody Saxon this month and here it is...


The miniature (IIRC) is a Musketeer Miniatures one given away free to attendees at Warfare a few years back. It is an excellent miniature, simple but effective posed charging forward.


It occurred to me that as well as serving with the Saxon army in Dux Bellorum this particular miniature could well do as a proxy for Beowulf of Barkynge in an updated Thane Tostig campaign if I decide to make Tostig's band out of historical rather than fantasy figures (and given they are Saxons it would make more sense to use historical Saxons rather than fantasy humans).

Reaper Preview Bones Models...

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Reaper have posted photos of some of the Bones models that are part of the Kickstarter. The RRP of these new miniatures reinforces what a bloody good deal the Kickstarter was. The basic Vampire level pledge box of goodies which was $100 on Kickstarter now retails for $400 and anticipation is building here at Blease Towers for my big box of Bones!

Nethyrmaul the Undying (RRP $39.99 KS $25.00 )
Ebonwrath, Dragon (RRP $19.99 KS $10.00)
Cthulhu (RRP $39.99 KS $10.00, yes $10!)

Ia! Ia! Cthulhu Fthagn!

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Earlier in the month I was pondering whether to get involved in the Cthulhu Wars Kickstarter. I love the Lovecraft Mythos and this game (and its wonderful miniatures) tick a lot of boxes for me, I was just wary of the shipping costs and potential VAT and import duties. I was not alone...


Kudos to Sandy Petersen and his team for looking at this and coming up with solutions. Apparently because pledges on Kickstarter are explicitly for the "funding of a project in a pre-retail environment" they can ship the products with a declared commercial value equal to the core manufacturing cost, rather than the full pledge amount. Additionally they are trying to finalise a deal for European distribution that should deal with the heavy shipping cost.


That said, if you are looking at getting most of what is on offer, over 140 mythos miniatures including all the Great Old Ones (free of your pledge is over $200, you are looking at a discount of around 40% on MSRP even if you add in the postage).


So, with so many wonderful mythos beasts to be had and in a scale that allows use in other games I think it is time to take the plunge and sell my soul to Great Cthulhu! Ia! Ia! Cthulhu Fthagn! Ph'nglui mglw'nfah Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn wibble...

City of Ghosts

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I've just got back to Blease Towers from a week working (and drinking) hard in Warsaw. This is the second time I've visited the Polish capital and whilst I have enjoyed both visits it is an incredibly poignant place, especially when its history confronts you...

Line of the Warsaw Ghetto where 250,000 Jews died and 100,000 shipped to extermination camps 
Memorial to 1943 Jewish Uprising 
Memorial to 1,000,000 Poles exiled to the Soviet Union in 1939
Memorial of 1944 Warsaw Uprising
Statue of Józef Piłsudski

Armed Forces Day 2013

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Today is UK Armed Forces Day 2013, when we celebrate Britain's armed forces past and present. Fortunately my son-in-law is once again safely at home this year (hopefully decorating after being promoted to Lieutenant Commander and receiving an upgrade of house!).

Last year I looked at some of my relatives who served (and sadly in the case of one died) in the First World War. I did at the time mention a Corporal Albert Blease who may have been a relative who served in the 13th Battalion The King's (Liverpool) Regiment and died in Burma in 1944. A bit of investigation shows him to be a relation, albeit more distant than Charles and George. 


The Support Platoon en route to Burma
Ironically it has proven easier to find out about Albert's service in WW2 than it was about his birth and parents, mainly due to the excellent Operation Longclothsite by Steve Fogden. Albert served as a machine-gunner in the Support Platoon of the Chindit 5th column. He was part of the 1st Chindit Expedition fought in the Battle of Hintha but was captured in April 1943 during the retreat suffering badly from malaria and dysentery despite having made it across the Irrawaddy in a water-logged boat. Unfortunately he died in Block 6 Rangoon Jail of Beri-Beri in January 1944.


Corporal Albert Blease's grave, Taukkyan War Cemetery, Rangoon
There is something that causes you to pause and think, just that little bit more, when you see your surname on the grave of a brave man who died in the service of his country. It is fitting to remember, today, the likes of Albert and others who served and continue to serve their country in distant lands.

Fantasy Adventures on Lead Mountain

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Yesterday I finished off a couple of fantasy miniatures that have been sat on the workbench for far too long, an old Citadel (CO1?) fighter with plastic shield (yuk) and an Ogre (that maybe Ral Partha sculpted by Bob Olley).


I have a number of generic fantasy fighters purchased in the mid to late eighties hiding in Lead Mountain which I have decided I will paint up as a human mercenary unit, the only linking theme being a black and red shield colours. The unit comprises of two fighters now(!) but I did find a carrier bag full of fantasy odds and sods yesterday that included some more fighters from the time, as well as lots of other old stuff. I need to make my mind up about a lot of this stuff, whether to find a use and paint it or sell it, it serves no purposes living in a carrier bag for nearly thirty years.


I can't recall who produced the Ogre (Ral Partha? Grenadier?) but it is nice enough and was a bit of fun to paint. He is fairly generic and will be useful for a range of games.


Back to the Saxons...

July is... Catch Up Month!

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After some thought I have decided to dedicate my painting efforts in July to finishing a logjam of projects including AirWar: 1918, the Belgian Land Ironclads supplement, the Dux Bellorum Saxons and Tusk II, rather than start on anything new. That should keep me busy...

Evil Never Ends...

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I know, I know. Remember the episode one poster was just as cool...


World War FTW!

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You may recall last November my excitement for World War Z being somewhat tempered by the trailer. So, with expectations set firmly at zero, Saul dragged me along to see it at the weekend - what a blast!

Ok, it is not Citizen Kane and it won't win any Oscars, but it is a decent enough film, the opening act is great, the sprinting zombies genuinely scary. The Jerusalem sequence (shown in the trailer) makes more sense in context and the waves of zombies, whilst obviously CGI, is not as off putting as the trailer makes it and the final act ratchets up the tension.

It could be better, it owes little to the book, but as summer blockbusters go it is a very good one and worth seeing on the big screen (in 2D). After seeing the trailer last November that is something I never thought I'd write!

Gromit Unleashed!

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I've had a pretty crap day at work so I thought I'd put my happy hat on and share this photos I've taken of some of the Gromits that have invaded Bristol since the weekend as part of Gromit Unleashed...

Gromit
Blazing Saddles
Isambark Kingdog Brunel
Astro Dog
Jack
Steam Dog
Fish Tales
Salty Sea Dog

Devil Dogs And Dragons (and Bunty)

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Kickstarter's are definitely all the rage these days but it is not often that they are used for just miniatures lines. Empress Miniatures, purveyors of fine Zulu War and SAS miniatures, have one on the go at the moment that has caught my eye but I am doing my best to resist.

Devil Dogs and Dragons is a new 28mm modern miniatures line being financed through Kickstarter with contemporary ranges of US Marines, Chinese PLA and now Australian army figures all for a hypothetical armed clash in the Pacific.

The miniatures shown so far are absolutely exquisite but I would be hard pushed to justify them as an "existing project additions" and the USMC and PLA camo patterns look quite challenging!

There's six days to go and I am really trying to be good (especially as I have been so naughty with Cthulhu Wars!!!)

Gromit of the Day:


Bunty


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