West Wind War & Empire figures and Tajima1 diorama tufts

I didn't really need more figures for my Attalid Pergamene force, but when the West Wind War & Empire figures were released for general purchase, I thought I would get a couple of packs to see what they look like since I still had space for two units in the tin I keep the Pergamenes in.

The unit bears the snake motif, which is associated with Asklepios, whose shrine at Pergamon was famous in the classical world.

The first unit is a unit of Successor Agema armoured cavalry. I based eight of them on an Impetus-size base in a wedge.

The motif on the flag came from a Pergamene coin. I am not sure what it represents but I painted it in plant colours.

The other unit is a unit of Successor Thorakitai, which I manged to squeeze 14 figures of onto an Impetus sized based in two ranks.

The details on the figures are in my opinion average, and their size is smaller than that of Xyston figures, which make up the rest of my force. As usual, if they are in a unit of their own, the difference is not that noticeable.

L: West Wind War & Empire, R: Xyston 

L: West Wind War & Empire, R: Xyston 

I also took the opportunity to use something I have purchased recently: diorama tufts from Tajima1 Miniature.

Tufts are by now commonplace, but Tajima1 goes one step further and offers mini diorama tufts which incorporate not only grass, but also small shrubbery and cork rocks.

The one I used for the cavalry unit above is from the "Floral Diorama" set:

(picture from Tajima1 Miniatures)

I also bought their "Desert Diorama" set, because I am working on some terrain for my desert mat and thought they might come in useful:

(picture from Tajima1 Miniatures)

They may not be cheap (8 pounds for 16 tufts per pack), but they do produce a very nice result quickly. Do get a pack and try them out if you work with large bases.

Boardgame Weekend

The school holidays allowed us to have four players for a session on Sunday, and we decided to play a few boardgames and have some durians too.

We started with a game of Space Cadets: Dice Duel - and of course the nature of that game prevented any photo-taking. The "real-time" nature of the game makes me think that it may be adapted to some sort of a team-based starship combat rules for a Star Trek type of RPG.

We then played Cthulhu Wars, which comes with massive figures in a massive box. Not being familiar with the Cthulhu Mythos, I am sure a lot of the references are lost on me - but the figures are really cool.

Finally, Adrian and I played a game of Warhammer Disk Wars. Despite the rather simplistic nature of the game, I was left with a feeling that perhaps it does produce a largely similar experience to what a miniatures game with the same number of units would have, minus all the dice-rolling. Adrian and I plan to try the Star Trek version of the game the coming Saturday. Stay tuned.

Strandhogg Game 11: She's a Witch!

It's been almost two years since we last played a game of Strandhogg, but when Martin asked to use some of the Gripping Beast Romano-British figures he has painted in a game, the rules were my choice.

We lack opponents for the Romano-British, so I decided my beastmen will play Fomorian invaders (led by the mighty Balor) in league with Picts. The scenario comes from Miniature Wargames magazine #383 and was written by Dan Mersey (thanks once again, Dan!).

The British have learnt that the pagans have set up a base in the woods and will be performing dark rituals by the light of the full moon. The Dux and his men pledge to thwart them and end the pagan menace once and for all...

The game starts with the forces at the ends of the table lengthwise. The Fomorians start in their sacred circle surrounding the sacred tree, with their priestess on a sacred mound in the middle of the table performing her ritual. The British start at the other end and the game begins with them shooting and wounding the priestess. They must then attempt to capture her and bring her back to the town to be burned, and also chop down the sacred tree. The Fomorians must prevent them from doing either.

The set-up.

Martin's Romano-British with a few Saxons mixed in, and my dwarf rangers pretending to be short humans.

Balor leads the Fomorians and Pictish allies.

The British have an early start and race up the steps of the sacred mound to capture the priestess.

One British warband races for the priestess as the other two form shieldwalls and block off the approaches on the flanks.

The British engage Balor while one fellow (on the right) drags the priestess towards their baseline. On the right a small band decides to go for the tree instead.

The Fomorians eventually managed to wrest the priestess back from the British (at one point nearly killing her with a stray arrow), while the British managed to damage the sacred tree before being cut down to the last man. Over all this rated a marginal victory for the Fomorians, although one earned at great losses.

The session like most was also a chance for us to pass stuff to each other. Just to give an idea of how dis-co-ordinated we can be: I passed Martin some 15mm Hellenistic figures and fg some spare bits from my Perry plastic WOTR; Martin passed me some 20mm Fallschirmjaegers and a Flak 38 plus some books on WW2, and returned me my Black Powder rules.

I was inspired by one of the WW2 books to order stuff for another modeling project, but the seller I approached is currently out of stock on the bits I need... Hopefully the re-order comes soon!

Immortal, Dark Age Fantasy

I don't often back Kickstarters or canvass for them, but I am making an exception for this kickstarter by Broken Spirit Wargames.

It sounds like the game that I had hoped Of Gods and Mortals would be, so I am keen to give it a try - however, it has still a bit to go before it is funded, so with six days left I thought I could try my bit to help. Do head over and have a look.

Thank you.

June Giveaway

This month's giveaway is copy of The Devil's Wind rules for the Indian Mutiny. These are an "old school" set of rules with lots of pretty pictures. Also in the giveaway is the S&T magazine on the same topic, but without the map or the counters.

Let me know if you are interested by leaving a comment, and I will draw a recipient on the 15th of the month. This is not a first-come, first-serve offer.

The offer is free; once I let you know you have been drawn, do let me have your email and mailing address and I will mail it off to you. You don't even have to pay for the postage. I am doing this not to get some money back, but to give these rules a good home. If you want to pay back somehow, I ask that you make a small donation to a local charity, or consider doing the same thing I am doing and give some rulebooks that you no longer use a chance for a new lease of gaming life.

Good Luck

Also, will Robert Hingley please contact me to claim your prize from the March giveaway please?