SPACE MARINE - TRAILER FOR NEW GAME

This trailer for a new 40k Space Marine game from those smart chaps at Relic has just been released. V nice.
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Das Boot - Trailer

Not much happening on the gaming front since I last posted due to exams and being away visiting the outlaws. Thought I'd post a trailer for what is IMHO the best submarine movie ever made.
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The Hunt For Gollum - Fan Film

An unofficial and free 39 minute Lord of the Rings fan film, made for less than $5,000 by Independent Online Cinema. Based on parts of The Lord of the Rings, it tells of when Aragorn tracked down Gollum between The Hobbit & The Fellowship of the Ring. Definately worth watching ! :)
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The Two Ronnies - Fork Handles

Took the first of my two CIPS exams today. Some of the damn questions were so ambiguous I couldn't work out what the hell they wanted ! (deep sigh). No time to post anything about gaming tonight, but here is a classic sketch from The Two Ronnies to make you smile.
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Gladiator

This is a brilliant trailer for one of my favouriste films. There is lots of trivia about the film on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB), which is just a fabulous resource for film buffs everywhere. Seeing this film always gives me the urge to dig out my 25mm Romans and give them an outing using the Warhammer Ancient Battle (WAB) rules.
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Two of the best quotes:
'My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.'
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'What we do in life, echoes in eternity...'
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Firing up a Rolls Royce Merlin V12 (or is it a Meteor ?

My brother sent me a link to this engine firing up. Turn the volume up to fully appreciate it ! :)
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Republic Gunship & Study

Study revision for my exams next week is well underway at the moment. Currently reading all about techniques for controlling inventory (yawn), I'm absolutely bored out of my mind. Thought I'd post a photo of the repainted Star Wars Republic Gunship I have in my collection (figures are by GZG). My son is trying to encouraging me to jazz it up with some nose-art. I have some intersting ideas which I might try out in a couple of weeks.
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Warhammer Dawn Of War Trailer

Quite simple one of the best trailers ever done for a game IMHO. Certainly worth posting :)
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British Covenantor - Least Successful British WW2 Tank ?

This without doubt must rate as one of the least successful tanks of WW2. Check out this link about the British Covenantor tank which makes entertaining reading:
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Here's a quote: "Deliveries to units began straight away, the first vehicles sent direct to the army were received at Bovington in late 1940, unfortunately without instructions as to starting, etc. Trials here revealed some annoying defects. Rushed design showed - ammunition bins were fouled by various projections, it took four hours to change batteries and one hour to top them up, fitting the radio was difficult, odd items were inaccessible - mostly fairly minor but unlikely to make the vehicle popular, and they would have been easily corrected had production only started after troop trials"
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Space Hulk - By 'Teardown'

Found out from a posting on the Space Hulk Yahoo group that a team of Space Hulk enthusiasts called 'Teardown' have been developing a PC version. Check out their web site for more info. In the meantime here is a small movie of the game. This looks excellent, and could be brilliant as a PBMEM game. Fingers crossed they find they can release it when they eventually finish the programing.
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Interesting Site About The Sdfz251 Half-Track

This rather an interesting site about the WW2 German half-track, the Sdfz251. http://www.sdkfz251.com/index.html.
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Here's a short clip of one running.
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Exam Revision Starting

Wargaming is sadly going to have to take a back-seat here at the 'Vulture's Roost' for the next 12 days as I focus on revising for two exams I have coming up. Due to career uncertainties I decided it might be an idea to get some more qualifications, therefore I'm currently doing a certificate in Purchasing & Supply. I intend to keep the blog going during this period with a few good clips from U-Tube. Here's a good tribute to the classic film Top Gun.
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Mike's new car

A fantastic short movie from Pixar with two of the characters from Monsters Inc.
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Blackadder, Private Plane, Flying Instruction

Classic stuff.... :)
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15mm Terrain

I've been working on some terrain these last couple of days, in between family stuff and playing Company Of Heroes with my son (a totally brilliant computer game). Here's a couple of sci-fi /modern 15mm buildings that I made by using some surplus plastic boxes (that came with 1/72nd scale dragon armour vehicles I recently bought), spraying them gray, and then sticking some paper terrain pictures on the sides and top. I sourced the pictures from the Beamstrike Forum (thanks Neil).
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Driving a Tiger Tank

Stumbled across this on U-Tube.
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A rare chance to see what it's like inside a running Tiger 1. The clip shows a short test run of Tiger 131 at the Tank Museum in Bovington, England.
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8 Wheeled Stuff from GZG

GZG recently released three 8 wheeled vehicles, V15-50A, V15-51A and V15-52A. Its taken me a while but at last I've finished them.
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They form a large part of a mercenary unit I'm building up called 'Coopers Crushers'. I wanted them to look quite distinctively different from the rest of my 15mm sci-fi collection, so I've opted for this arctic 'aggressor' camo scheme. Here's a photo of all the painted vehicles in the unit at present.
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Donald Featherstone on Wargaming

Donald Featherstone, one of the fathers of modern wargaming, talking about how he joined the army, what he really thinks about Americans and of course wargaming. The credits include his practical experience of World War II.
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Beamstrike 15mm Photo Competition

Neil at the Beamstrike Yahoo forum is hosting a photo competition. More details can found here, but in a nutshell he is inviting players to submit up to two photographs of 15mm figures and or vehicles in battle, with a short exciting description couched in appropriate Beamstrike speak :) This has spured me on to try and get a few more figures and vehicles painted and photographed this next week, before I start some revision for a couple of exams that I have mid May.
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Here's a photo I took some time ago of some GZG figures and an Old Crow APC.
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(Link to Page where the Beamstrike rules are:  Link)

Jason Plato "What A Save" BTCC 2009 Round 1 Race 3 at Brands Hatch

Nothing to do with wargaming, but just a great piece of driving in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) I wanted to share with you.
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Jason Plato is hit fom behind behind by Jonathan Adam as they enter Paddock Hill Bend at nearly 100 MPH. Jonathan was subsequently given a four second penalty which handed Jason the win. Commentators are Ben Edwards and former BTCC and 2008 Porsche Carrera Cup Champion Tim Harvey.
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Aliens

I was looking through some of my vehicles that I use for my 15mm sci-fi gaming, and my eye was drawn to the Aliens APC I have. Quite a plain vehicle, but very distinctive all the same. Here's a photo I took a while ago.
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This seems an appropriate time to include the Aliens trailer. What a totally brilliant film. Now over 20 years old it is still the benchmark against which all other sci-fi combat movies / series are judged.
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This is an intersting web site dedicated to the film, called Aliens Papercraft. Worth checking out.
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These Are the Droids We're Looking For

Just stumbled across this vid which made me smile :)
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See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

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Society Of Fantasy & Science Fiction Wargamers

For any gamer interested in Fantasy and Sci-Fi it is well worth considering joining The Society Of Fantasy & Science Fiction Wargamers (SFSFW) which is an international body dedicated to promoting the fantasy and science fiction genre within wargaming and the hobby in general.
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They have their own web site: http://www.sfsfw.org/
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The Hunt For Gollum - Film

Check out this fabulous trailer for the forthcoming 'Hunt for Gollum' internet film.
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Hunt For Gollum - Trailer One
Uploaded by HuntForGollum

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The web site for the film is here: http://www.thehuntforgollum.com/
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Wargaming

With the time I have had available I've been painting up some more 15mm sci-fi vehicles. When they are a bit more 'polished' in a couple of days time, I'll post some photos.
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I've been lucky enough to get a couple of WW2 games in at the Harrogate and Huntington clubs using the Rules of Engagement rule-set. Certainly it's the best set of WW2 rules for platoon sized actions that I have played for a long time. Here's two photos from one of the games.
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Hanomag Sdkfz 251 - Recent Purchase

Last weekend I picked up a few bits and pieces in 'Modelzone' in Harrogate, including this very tasteful 1:72 scale Sd.kfz.251/7 Ausd.D (made by Dragon Armor) which was in a sale for only £ 6.99.
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Apocalypse Now..Ride Of The Valkyries

Another clip from a classic film :)
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Battletech

In the 1990s I used to play loads of Battletech with some of my pals. Here is picture of one of my favourite mechs, a steiner variant Zeus.
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Here also is a great video from the Mechwarrior 2 computer game, which is fantastically atmospheric...
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Land Rover v Challenger 2 Tank

Okay, so its not wargaming, but this is a great clip from Top Gear, and it does involve a tank :) Enjoy...
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Darth Vader calls Palpatine

This is such a great clip from the Robot Chicken Star Wars series :)

Kra'Vak Heavy Grav Tank On Patrol

Busy painting some of my sons 40k figures at the moment, although not fit to show at the moment; so I thought I'd post a staged photo of the GZG V15-31A Kra'Vak Heavy Grav Tank that I've recently painted.
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First Game Of FAD 4

Had my first game of FAD last night at the Huntingdon club. Although my opponent (Steve) and I had read the rules through it was our first opportunity to try them in anger. We just used the basic rules, each side have a reduced platoon of comprised of a HQ of 4 men and two squads of 8 with a light scout Grav vehicle providing fire support part way through. The objective for the night was to get the HQ squad to secure an abandoned light Grave tank, and exit the board with it.
I won't go into a blow by blow account of the battle, but suffice to say Steve secured the objective although lost most of his men in doing so.
Considering it was our first time with the rules, the game went remarkably smoothly. There are a lot of nice touches, and the squad combat certainly had the right feel about it, so yes I would happily use FAD again.
Here's a few photos from the game:
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On a separate note, if you've every wondered what it would be like to be on the receiving end of artillery fire, check this video link out.
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Footage of sunken U-boat

This is quite intersting, all about a WW1 U-Boat U40 that has been just been discovered.
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Unusual Vehicle

A photo of one of the more unusual vehicles in my 15mm sci-fi collection.
Picked the vehicle up on a Bring and Buy stand at a convention many many years ago I think. From what I can gather it is part of the now defunct Zoids range.
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15mm Sci-Fi

Two things today. Firstly if you haven't checked out Marks 'Dropship Horizon' blog recently you need to do so. There is lots of great stuff to look at on there for anyone even slightly interested in 15mm sci-fi.
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Here's a photo of one of my favourite 15mm models. A GZG Heavy Gunsled.
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Dark Age II - Play By E-Mail Game

Today my Darkage II play by E-Mail (PBEM) game finished today. This is a simply but yet brilliant game set in Darkage Britain after the Romans had left and turned the lights out.
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"Dark Age is a game of power and conflict in Dark Age Britain. The game system is simple and straightforward, with plenty of scope for skill and skullduggery, combining the finesse of Diplomacy and the fluidity of Risk. To win the game you must expand your population to become the dominant kingdom of Britain. Only warfare will provide the room for your population to grow, but only peace will allow you to secure your gains. Wars must be decisive, and your diplomatic efforts may be the key to victory. Life in Dark Age Britain is often short and brutal. Even a king had better find some friends and allies quickly, or he's likely to find that first contact is the pointy end of a sharp stick (we really mean this - you can be chopped up and out of the game in the twinkling of an eye - this is a fast moving game and you need strong nerves). At the start of a game the map is split between sixteen kingdoms belonging to the nations of the Scots, Welsh, Irish, Picts, Angles, Saxons, British and Vikings. At the end there will be only one, and it doesn't't have to be the English. History doesn't't always repeat itself. This is the age of Beowulf, of Arthur, of Alfred the Great, Eric Bloodaxe and Ethelred the Unready. This is an age of bitter war, of ever-shifting alliances and great population movements, as the kings and people of Britain pursue their destinies with sword and plough."
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I took over a drop out position (Vikings, Yellow on the map) on Turn 11 and fought my way to an runaway victory on Turn 49. I can't recommend this game highly enough.
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Here's a short movie showing my expansion across the map :)
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Darkage-V1.wmv
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The great thing about Software Simulations International the people who run Darkage is that you can have your first game for free. All the details can be found on their Darkage II web site.
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'When All Is Quiet' - STOP MOTION MOVIE

Felt inspired for another stop-motion movie just after I finished off painting another GZG vehicle, in this instance a V15-31A Kra'Vak Heavy Grav Tank. I've gone for an arctic camo scheme after seeing an F16 'Aggressor' aircraft painted in these colours.
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Star Wars 'Battlegrounds' - Small Movie

My brother-in-law Mike was visiting at the weekend. He brought his lap-top along and joined with my son and I racing around in the Star Wars 'Battlegrounds' universe shooting the bad guys up. Great fun :)
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PRESS RELEASE - GZG V15-55A - Heavy Grav Tank - Entering Service - STOP MOTION VIDEO

Bloggers Interplanetary Buzzer Service reports that another new vehicle fresh out of the GZG production facilities, the V15-55A Advanced Heavy Grav Tank with High Energy Particle Cannon (HEPC)has been seen undergoing shake-down trials with the 667th (Heavy) Assault Brigade.
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Beamstrike Rules Stat Information:

Description: Anti-Grav Heavy Tank.
Vehicle Category: Heavy Tank
Armour - Front: VH-VA
Armour - Side: M-VA
Armour - Rear: VL-VA
Propulsion: Grav
Crew: 3
Weapons - Turret: Beam Cannon.
Auto-Defence: Yes
Sensor 1: MAD
Smoke Dispensers: Yes
Shielding: ES & PS
Points Total: 246
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Battlelore - Fantasy Boardgame

At the Club on Thursday night I had my first game of 'Battlelore'. This is a Fantasy Board game made by the same people who do Memoir 44. My opponent Joe had assured me it was an easy game to pick up, and I found he was correct in this. I don't intend to do a review of the game here, but suffice to say it is a well set up game for playing on a club night, one I would quite happily play again. As for the actual game I had, Joe was rolling very badly, fortunately for me this more then compensated for my tactical ineptitude and I managed to emerge victorious, although how I'm not quite sure :-)
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Wings Of War Miniature Arrives

In the post today came the first of four Wings Of War miniatures that I ordered from Amazon at the weekend. I was somewhat surprised how small the aircraft was, although on reflection I shouldn't have been because the photos on the web show them to be not much larger than the cards in the box. Here's a small movie of the Sopwith Camel with a 15mm sci-fi figure shown for size comparison. -

FAD 4 Released Today

The free rules written by Ivan Sorensen called 'Fast And Dirty' (FAD) have been refreshed. Version 4 is now available to download. F.A.D. is a skirmish rules set for science fiction and 20th century. I would recommend anyone interested in sci-fi gaming to check them out.

Company Of Heroes

Yesterday I picked up a copy of the PC game 'Company Of Heroes'. This is a Real Time Strategy (RTS) game set in WW2 on the Normandy front. I can see why this game has been the success it has. The controls are easy, the game play is entertaining, and graphically it is beautiful. Below is a small movie I made of one of my Skirmish games using the screen capture movie software Camstudio.
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Company-Of-Heroes-Stug-V1.wmv
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My First Wings Of War Game + Vid Of A Restored Panther

At the Huntingdon club I played my first 'Wings Of War' game. Suffice to say it is a well thought out nice little game, which is great for a club night. After roaming round the skies shooting away, my Sopwith Camel managed to down my opponents (Joe) Abbatros D.VA. Neither of us had played before but within 15 minutes we had the basic game mastered, so 10 out of 10 to the designers from that point of view. The miniatures you can buy to go with game look very attractive, although they are not cheap at £8 to £9 each.
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On a completely different tack, I found this nice Video of a restored Panther on U-Tube that I'd like to share with you.
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An Impromptu Inspection - STOP MOTION VIDEO

Realised that I hadn't gotten round to posting a stop-motion video I did in Feb before I restarted this blog. There's a lot of swearing in it, so it's not suitable for children and those easily offended. In terms of sequence, this should be watched before the one I posted on 2nd Mar where the 3rd Mech Company depart for the front.
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The 3rd Mech Company Depart For The Front - STOP MOTION MOVIE

After a bit of hassle with Windows Movie Maker, which delayed things, my latest Stop-Motion movie is ready :)
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Colonial Warfare & Running King Tiger

Not much activity today other than assembling a couple more new GZG vehicles. They are part way through getting an initial coat of gray spray. I'll start on with painting them tomorrow. On a different note altogether, anyone with a passing interest in Colonial Warfare should check out a web site of an old friend of mine (Ray), who attended the Huntingdon club for a number of years.

Changing tack again, here's some footage of the only running King Tiger in the world.
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Battlefield 1942

Out at a friends house (Stuart) last night for a computer 'frag' session. After a very frustrating time trying to get his Vista machine to talk to my XP machine, we eventually got a few games of Battlefield 1942 and Star Wars 'Battlefront' in. Bat1942 although its been out for several years now, is just a brilliant game. Managed to shoot down a Jap fighter of his with a bazooka ! Fabulous ! The Wake island map is just great fun.
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Press Release - GZG V15-57A Reports For Duty - STOP MOTION MOVIE

Bloggers Interplanetary Buzzer Service reports that one of the latest vehicles out of the GZG production facilities, the V15-57A (Nickname: 'Ridgeback') has entered service with the 667th (Heavy) Assault Brigade. Shipped to the Vulture's Roost in its (4) component parts, final assembly was conducted in the 667th vehicle workshops. After a short shake-down trial which included a full test of the weapon systems, the vehicle was formally handed over to the 1st Battalion 3rd Mech company. "This vehicle armed as it is with the Long Range 'Nutcracker' Missile will be used in role of Heavy Weight Sniper, neutralising enemy armour beyond normal projectile engagement ranges", explained a delighted Major Wadkins. "The lads can't wait to try it out !"
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Beamstrike Rules Stat Information:

Description: Anti-Grav Heavy ATGW.
Vehicle Category: Heavy Tank
Armour - Front: VH-VA
Armour - Side: M-VA
Armour - Rear: VL-VA
Propulsion: Grav
Crew: 2
Weapons - Hull: ATGW.
Auto-Defence: Yes
Sensor 1: MAD
Smoke Dispensors: Yes
Shielding: ES & PS
Points Total: 236
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Wings Of War

A friend of mine (Mike) who goes to my local club, told me what a great game 'Wings Of War' is, and showed me some miniatures he had bought to go with it. After chewing on the idea for a week or so, I finally made the plunge, and ordered the starter set off Amazon. I'm now looking foward to getting my hands on it :) On the modelling front I've almost finished one of the new GZG 15mm vehicle releases. But more of that in another posting...
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