Return from the wilderness...and interesting developments!

Greetings readers! I must start this post by apologising for my extended absence, I can assure you that this was through no fault of my own! Alas I was deployed on a military exercise for a three week block and so my access both to technology and any hobby related materials has been decidedly restricted!

However I have since returned to civilisation and a host of hobby related goodness! 

First up I am pleased to say that my latest Wargames article features in this month's Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy Magazine (issue 85). 

The theme of this issue is 'Horror and Monster' related gaming and in keeping with this subject my piece focuses on bringing key sci-fi horror franchises of the 70s/80s (e.g. Alien, Terminator, Predator et al) to the tabletop.

As well as the general narrative I have also created two bespoke scenarios for making this gaming dream a reality, both of which I hope readers will enjoy or at least be able to use as the basis for their own adventures.

As ever the article is accompanied by pictures of my own (and other contributors) miniatures in action. 

In addition to this I am proud to say that I have been approached by the legendary Joseph McCullough, author of Frostgrave, to paint some miniatures for a project that he is working on. This is a source of great pride for me as I absolutely love this game and am happy to be involved with it on any level. Also after years of painting miniatures it is a real honour to have my skills acknowledged, perhaps all that time spent slaving at the paint station hasn't been entirely wasted!

Finally I can also say that I am currently in the process of writing my own set of wargames rules which have been picked up for development by a leading publishing house, again this is is a source of immense satisfaction for me though I can't say too much at this stage!

Needless to say you should definitely 'watch this space' for any updates as they arise!

Inquisitor Athena and the Loganite Rebellion: Episode Four – Hammer of the Emperor

Sadly life has recently got in the way of hobby time and so the Rogue Trader Campaign that I have been running for my girlfriend has stalled slightly for the past couple of months. Really this hiatus has been inevitable with numerous job changes and family circumstances coming to the fore.

However this weekend we were finally able to put some time aside to continue the narrative of the campaign. In her last mission (Aquila Down Bat Rep) the noble Athena was rescued from the wreckage of her downed shuttle by a large force of Sisters of Battle and rapidly evacuated back to their preceptory. Now fully recovered and with a large force of Imperial soldiery at her command she has decided to take the fight back to this insidious xenos foe.

Athena was given a number of options to progress the story arc, but in the end she decided to take around half her force (leaving the remainder to garrison her new HQ) to assault a nearby PDF facility that has been overtaken by the cultists. If she can succeed in driving out the aliens from this location then her forces will have access to the landing pad and advanced communications equipment housed within the facility.

Inquisitor Athena musters her force on the outskirts of the City. With a formidable mix of characters, Battle Sisters and Storm Troopers to command she should be able to handle anything that the cult throws at her...hopefully!

Norman Crusader Knights

Time for something a little different dear reader! As most of you know I usually only dabble in the worlds of science fiction and post apocalyptica when it comes to my hobby projects, however unbeknownst to most I also have a love of all things to do with the crusades.

For a variety of reasons I have decided to engage in a brief tryst with this period by combining my passion for the past with my love of toy soldiers, and so I will be making up a small force of knights (and their company) from the first crusade. The joy of this period is that the equipment involved was similar to that used by the Norman invaders of 1066...which means that there are lots of models available for the hobbyist.

After much searching of my local hobby store I settled on some rather fetching plastics of Norman Infantry from Conquest Games. These are great models and for £20 you get 44 troops... For someone used to paying GWs prices this was quite a refreshing experience!! I also bought a box of cavalry for a later project.

Anyway with the bank holiday weekend available I decided to paint a few of these guys up, as I will be using them for skirmish/warband level games I decided to lavish a bit of extra attention on each of them.

Terminator Resistance Fighters / Fallout Talon Company Mercs

First off let me apologise for the lighting in the following photos... unfortunately I didn't realise how bright the light was at the time and how it would apparently drain the details from the models in the subsequent images. But heh-ho, such is life!

Anyway these latest completed miniatures are a set of the plastic resistance fighters from the Terminator Miniatures Game that my lovely girlfriend ordered me as a surprise last year (and that I have also reviewed in the latest issue of WSS Magazine).

These guys will also double up as 'Talon Company Mercenaries' in my Fallout-Themed Games (I think the black armour ties them to this faction nicely, in fact they are almost perfect matches).

Post-Apocalyptic Article: Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy 84

Well it seems that I have been remiss again, having disappeared for a while from the blogging scene! I must apologise for this dereliction of duty...work has been hectic and so my hobby time has been sadly curtailed of late.

However on the plus side it seems that my second career as a Wargames Journalist has begun to take off, which is very encouraging.

After having a couple of articles published in Issues 79 and 82 of Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy I am pleased to say that I now have a full four page spread in the latest issue of that veritable publication (Issue 84).

In fact this article is also accompanied by numerous photographs of my models in action - if you look closely at the bottom right of the front cover above you can see my Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel Knights (as featured in last year's BOYL15 Game: Fallout vs Rogue Trader).

The actual article itself focuses on facilitating games set during the post-apocalypse utilising a variety of rule sets and available models.

Throughout the piece there are some decent photographs of my models including my Enclave Troops, NCR Rangers and Necromunda gangers.

The rules I've looked at in depth are, Tomorrow's War, This is Not a Test and Black Ops.

I have also custom written two post-apocalyptic scenarios that can either be played as stand alone missions or as the basis of a larger campaign if it tickles your fancy.

It is my sincere desire that this article will bring general PA gaming more into the main stream and hopefully draw in a few more adherents to this particularly cool niche of our hobby!

Also later in the magazine I have written a one page review on Terminator: Genisys, The Miniatures Game, which will hopefully prove informative for those of you considering giving this particularly game a whirl.

If you're interested in reading either articles then you can order the magazine at:

http://www.karwansaraypublishers.com/pw/wss/previous-issues/ws-s-84/