Daylight Savings

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Comment:  This is totally brilliant, and very apt, as here in the UK the clocks change tonight.
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Picture Of the Week - No 42 - King Tiger Traffic Jam

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Comment: Spotted this pic on Facebook.  Not something you see everyday when your driving along...
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15mm Sci-Fi Game - AAR

Umpired a 15mm Sci-Fi game at the Harrogate Wargames Club on Thursday night.  Gavin, Mark and Simon attacking against John, Mick and Chris in defence.  Rules used - FUBAR Expanded 15mm Sci-Fi.

The attackers had a Hvy Grav tank and 5 Walkers + 2 Armoured Inf Squads and 1 x Power Armour squad against the defenders 2 x Heavy Grav Tanks, a Armoured Grav Flyer, couple of scout vehicles and several squads of Inf with ATGW teams scattered amongst them.
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(Walkers all by made by Critical Mass Games as are a couple of the tanks.  I Grav tank by GZG, as are most of the Infantry and wheeled vehicles. Flying Grav Jet tank by Blade Miniatures)
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An engaging game with an early exchange of Railgun rounds seeing one of Gavs Walkers knocked out and one of Marks damaged (seen below with Railgun KO'd) .
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A further exchange saw both Simon and Chris losing their Grav tanks with my new Walker 'Vera' in action for the first time.
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'Vera' piloted by Jayne

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Mark brought his Power Armour Infantry up through the wood (seen below) and along with the damaged walker chewed out the opposing Infantry and then jump-packed into the town.
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Micks wheeled scout vehicles getting destroyed in the process as Marks armoured Infantry advanced as well.
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Gavin chewed up some Infantry and then moved his other Walker up.
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Johns reserve squad kept its head down amongst the rocks supporting the flying grav jet.
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Gavin then jumped 'Vera' into close proximity to Johns surviving Grav tank, but this brave effort to breach the enemy line was in vain as John made his Initiative role and then destroyed her. 
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At that point we called an end to proceedings.  With regard a result, I judged a slight edge to be have been with Gav, Simon and Mark at the end.   A good game overall :)

Post game notes/thoughts:
1.  A slight tweak to the rules explaining Line of Sight (LoS) with regards to looking in and out of woods is required.
2.  The Infantry ATGW groups should have a +1 sight bonus to hit.

Microfighters Lego Star Wars

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Comment:  This is great fun :)
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Star Wars Battlefront - E3 2014 Teaser Trailer - Eurogamer

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Comment: This looks good !
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All About That Bass - Postmodern Jukebox European Tour Version

I don't normally post music on this wargaming Blog, but this is a terrific version of the well known song 'All About The Bass' and definitely worth a listen :)
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15mm Sci-Fi Walker Photo Shoot

Felt inspired at the weekend to break out some terrain and take a few staged shots of my 15mm Sc-Fi Walker collection.
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15mm Walker Distraction - 'Vera' Makes An Appearance

I'm meant to be focussing what modelling time I have available onto painting my 28mm Bruswick unit I posted about yesterday, but as is the way with wargamers, we get distracted...  In this instance I was looking at some 15mm Sci-Fi on the web and all of sudden felt inspired to build a Critical Mass Miniatures Walker I had picked up some two years ago at the Vapnartak convention.  Different from the four I already have, this one is an ARC Fleet Valkyrie variant which has jump jets on the back and a different arm arrangement.  Fortunately I had a bunch of rare earth magnets in my modelling box, so I've been able to articulate the movement of the torso, arms and chin weapon.
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My son came up with the suggestion for the name, somehow it seemed appropriate :)
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And when dissembled.
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Picture Of The Week - No 41 - Zoid Cannon Tortoise

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Comment:  This weeks picture is of a very old model I picked up off a Bring-Buy stall at a convention, probably over 20 years ago.  Fits great with 15mm Sci-fi figures.  The model in question is a Zoid Cannon Tortoise.  Currently thinking about using it in a game I'm planning as a 500mm Siege Mortar, that can fire a variety of shell types.
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28mm Napoleonic - Brunswick Brigade

With it coming up to the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo there is a lot enthusiasm at the club for doing a re-fight of this classic battle.  We've opted to use the Black Powder rules and use 28mm figures, mainly because a couple of our group already had some.  After steadfastly resisting getting into this period as I've so many other wargaming interests, I succumbed and agree to become involved.  A few weeks backs now I picked up at the Vapnartak show a small Brunswick Brigade. The figures are Perry Miniatures (metal) and are quite nice.  (Here's a selection)
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My friend John Savage is doing most of the organising for this game, and has produced a comprehensive listing of the units involved in the battle that we need to field.  From the units outstanding I selected the Brunswicks for three reasons:

1)  The unit isn't too big, being only 2 Regts of Infantry, a small Calalry Regt. a Gun and a HQ.  Hopefully this means its an achievable aim in terms if getting it painted and ready for mid-year.

2)  The figures don't need assembling.  I know plastics are cheaper, but gluing them together is a ball-acher.

3)  Their uniform is really plain being mainly black, and so is easy to paint !  LOL

Anyway, here's the first Regt I'm on with.  Still some work to do, but definitely making some progress here.
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Picture Of The Week - No 40 - 15mm Sci-Fi Heavy Power Armour

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Comment: This weeks picture is one of some of my favourite 15mm Sci-Fi figures from the old Laserburn range.  They are now obtainable from 15mm.co.uk.  In heavy Power Armour (Dreadnought), each figure has been modified to carry all manner of heavy weapons (as per the Forces of the Imperium - Imperial Commander supplement).
Working from left to right, Double Barrelled Heavy Bolter with Power Axe, Gatling Bolter, Double Barrelled Heavy Laser, Double Barrelled Heavy Bolter, Double Barrelled Heavy Bolter and finally Double Barrelled Missile Launcher.
The vehicle is a 15mm.co.uk Hover Scout Car.
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Picture Of The Week - No 39 - Heathens

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12 Years Old

Our fabulous Black Labrador 'Jed' was 12 this week  :)   He takes things at a slower pace these days, but is doing well for his age.
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SAGA Game At The Harrogate Wargames Club

Had my first taste of the SAGA game at the club on Thursday.  SAGA for those who haven't heard about it is a skirmish figure game set in the Darkages - produced by Gripping Beast.
Up to recent I'd viewed the odd game from afar and hadn't really been inspired to try it.  However a game at the club a few weeks back looked such good fun I felt motivated to ask John Savage to run a game another game so that I could join in.  I dug out some very old 25mm Byzantines (mostly Irregular Miniatures) that I bought over 25 years ago, that hadn't seen the light of day for a decade I reckon (last used in a WAB game) to make up a 4 point army.  After an enjoyable I must confess to being quite impressed.  The rules seem pretty straightforward and even in my first game I was able get a hang of most of the basics.

I can see this is a system we'll be using for some time to come.  I like the way the armies aren't that big (its a skirmish game after all), so you don't have to make a massive investment, and can actually afford to have a selection if you want to. Found a company called 'The Dice Bag Lady' that do a 6 point plastic Viking army for only £23 !

I'm definitely going to buy the rule book this weekend, and am thinking about another army to get to use as well as my old Byzantine one.
Here's a listing of the various different factions I found on the web, on the Gosford Gamers web site  (Link).  
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As normal here's a few pics (of one end of the table) of what was a slightly chaotic 6 sided every man for himself game :)  


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Classic Top Gear - Robin Reliant Space Shuttle Challenge

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Such a classic bit from Top Gear, I couldn't resist posting it   :)
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CCKW truck in for a service

My CCKW due to its age is considered a historic vehicle by the DVLA and as such is exempt from requiring an annual MOT.  Owners self-authorise the road-worthiness of their vehicles.  From my point of view whilst it's a relief not to have to face the trauma of a MOT on such old vehicle I do want to be safe on the road.  To that end 2 years ago I put the truck in for a safety inspection (Link) and it's now time for another.  I'm using a specialist company called MV Depot who are based here in Yorkshire.  Adam Wright the owner is very experienced with CCKWs and having taken all the wheels off and inspected it all over, I'm following his recommendation and having the all the brake cylinders and hub seals renewed.  Here's a couple of pics from yesterday and today.

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Truck up on axle stands, all wheels off.
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Rear drum brakes exposed.
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Close up of the brake mechanism.  You can see where there has been a slight weep of brake fluid from the cylinder.
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Rear brake cylinders all removed and cleaned, waiting on new seals.
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Homeworld Remastered

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Comment:  I have the original, a classic space game in every way.  This re-mastered version is a  recommended purchase for those who haven't tried it.
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FUBAR - 28mm Sci-Fi - 40K

Last night at the club we had a another FUBAR 40K game.  Further tweaks to the rules were experimented with, namely:
a)  Adding an activation system as per the Bolt Action rules, and
b)  Adding proper penetration charts for armoured vehicles, like with the FUBAR 15mm expanded rules our club uses.
c)   Use of a slave Psyker.
The penetration charts worked fine but the Bolt Action system of pulling dice out, to then prompt an activation role was deemed a failure by all involved.  In future where multiple players per side are involved (as they were in this instance) we will use a system where at the start of each turn both sides roll to see who goes first, highest on a D6 winning.  Every player on that side then gets an opportunity to try and activate a unit.  It then switches to the other team, who then get to try and activate a unit each etc etc.  The Pysker rules were fine as well, and detailed at the end of this posting.

The scenario last night saw the Emperors forces fighting on the fortress-world Jago against the dark forces of Chaos.  It had become know that a lost relic associated with Saint Sabbat had been found in a small village.  A mixed mech platoon of the 53rd Cadogus Regt (Imperial Guard) was despatched with a small Pysker unit from the Sanction Division to secure the artefact before it was desecrated by the unbelievers.  The enemy forces also despatched forces to the village, in the shape of an Ork Platoon and two Chaos Space Marine squads.  

Battle was joined when the 53rd were disturbed searching the village.  One section of Guard held up the Orks north of the bridge, but were ultimately wiped out to a man.  The Chaos Space Marine advance from the West was disrupted when a Pysker took control of a squad member with a missile launcher.  This and a Lee-Man Russ tank saw that squad being eliminated, but the mental effort was too much for the Pysker who suffered a melt-down.  A 2nd Chaos squad made it into the village but was unable to stop the Guard locating the artefact and escaping off-board before they too were wiped out.  An entertaining little game overall  
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Here's some pics.


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Slave Psyker Rules for FUBAR 40K (Expanded)
Slave Pysker is chained in a cage and has to be attended by at least 2 member of the Sanction Division who will be armed with Laser Pistols and Flak body Armour.
1.  Must be activated in the normal way.  Initiative roll 4+.
2.  Range of use: 36:
3.  Can attempt mind control of any individual (not another Pysker).  Is successful on a roll of 2+ on a D6.
3.  The following turn(s), provided the Pysker activates the individual under control can be given any normal action, including a new one of Suicide.
4.  Once under mind control, if the Pysker does not successfully activate, the individual does nothing.
5.  Each turn the Psyker uses his mind control there is a chance he will go mad.  On a roll of 6+ each turn this happens.
6.  If the Pysker 'goes mad' the following happens:
a)  The individual under his control reverts immediately to the original players control.
b)  His attendants are automatically killed by a Psychic blast.
c)  Any other troops within 12" must make a D6 roll, and on a 5+ go mad and go over the enemy's control where they must try and fire on their old team mates.  If no targets can be seen, they commit suicide.

How Bad A Guy Was Richard III ?

The funeral for Shakespeare's greatest villain is fast approaching.  But did he really kill the princes in the Tower ?  Late Tudor England was a lethal environment for the politically unwary, with errors of judgement frequently resulting in a one-way trip to Tyburn gallows.
There is an interesting article here on the Telegraph web site that is worth a read: Link
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Picture Of The Week - No 38 - M1A1

A friend of mine Andy Baxter sent me this excellent picture of an M1 that he came across.  It makes for a good desktop background :)

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Comment:  A U.S. Army Abrams M1A1 tank takes a defensive position at a staging area during Ready Crucible in Germany, on Feb. 11, 2005.  Over 50 tanks from the 1st Armour Division, Humvees, and support vehicles drove through more than 60 kilometres of German roadway and farmlands making Ready Crucible the largest movement of American armour in Germany since the 1980's.  DoD photo by Richard Bumgardner, U.S. Army.  (Released)
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The Most Epic Flight Safety Video Ever Made !

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Comment:  This is excellent !  :)
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Battlefield Game Designs - Rules Sets

Came across this web site called Battlefield Game Designs.  Link.  They are doing the following three rules sets that all look quite interesting:

Red Coats and War Hawks -
- Skirmish Rules for Gaming The War of 1812

Green Jackets and Voltigeurs
– Skirmish Rules for Gaming the Peninsular War –

Buckskins and Rangers
– Skirmish Rules for Gaming the French Indian Wars –

'Yaah!' Magazine

Just seen an advertisement for a new gaming magazine.  This is how it describes itself:

"Yaah! magazine is a new kind of periodical. An independent digest that covers all types of war and strategy games, regardless of their publisher."   Link
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Friday Humour - Early

1. Two blondes walk into a building..........you'd think at least one of them would have seen it.

2. Phone answering machine message - '...If you want to buy marijuana, press the hash key..'

3. A guy walks into the psychiatrist wearing only Clingfilm for shorts. The shrink says, 'Well, I can clearly see you're nuts.' 

4. I went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day but I couldn't find any. 

5. I went to the butchers the other day and I bet him 50 quid that he couldn't reach the meat off the top shelf. He said, 'No, the steaks are too high.' 

6. My friend drowned in a bowl of muesli. A strong currant pulled him in. 

7. A man came round in hospital after a serious accident. He shouted, 'Doctor, doctor, I can't feel my legs!'
The doctor replied, 'I know you can't, I've cut your arms off'. 

8. I went to a seafood disco last week and pulled a muscle. 

9. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly.. They lit a fire in the craft, it sank, proving once and for all that you can't have your kayak and heat it. 

10. Our ice cream man was found lying on the floor of his van covered with hundreds and thousands. Police say that he topped himself. 

11. Man goes to the doctor, with a strawberry growing out of his head.
Doc says 'I'll give you some cream to put on it.' 

12. 'Doc I can't stop singing 'The Green, Green Grass of Home'
'That sounds like Tom Jones syndrome. '
'Is it common?'
'It's not unusual.' 

13. A man takes his Rottweiler to the vet. 'My dog is cross-eyed, is there anything you can do for him?'
'Well,' said the vet, 'let's have a look at him'
So he picks the dog up and examines his eyes, then he checks his teeth. Finally, he says, 'I'm going to have to put him down.' 

'What? Because he's cross-eyed?'
'No, because he's really heavy'

14. Guy goes into the doctor's. 'Doc, I've got a cricket ball stuck up my bottom.'
'How's that?'
'Don't you start.' 

15. Two elephants walk off a cliff...boom, boom! 

16. What do you call a fish with no eyes? A fsh. 

17... So I was getting into my car, and this bloke says to me 'Can you give me a lift?'
I said 'Sure, you look great, the world's your oyster, go for it...' 

18. Apparently, 1 in 5 people in the world are Chinese. There are 5 people in my family, so it must be one of them. It's either my mum or my Dad, or my older brother Colin, or my younger brother Ho-Cha-Chu. But I think it's Colin. 

19. Two fat blokes in a pub, one says to the other 'Your round.' The other one says 'So are you, you fat bastard!' 

20. Police arrested two kids yesterday, one was drinking battery acid, and the other was eating fireworks. They charged one and let the other one off. 

21. 'You know, somebody actually complimented me on my driving today. They left a little note on the windscreen. It said, 'Parking Fine.' So that was nice.' 

22. A man walked into the doctors, he said, 'I've hurt my arm in several places'
The doctor said, 'Well don't go there anymore' 

23..  Ireland 's worst air disaster occurred early this morning when a small two-seater Cessna plane crashed into a cemetery. Irish search and rescue workers have recovered 2826 bodies so far and expect that number to climb as digging continues into the night. 

Tiger II at 2015 Retromobile Paris

Just came across this great piece of footage of the Tiger II arriving at the 2015 Retromobile Paris Show.
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Vapnartak 2015

On Sunday (1st Feb) I went along to Vapnartak.  This is the annual wargames convention staged here in York by the York Wargames Club at the York racecourse. I've been along the last two years and found it to be a great show.  This year was somewhat different however as I had volunteered to put on an Aliens Participation game.  Managed to get on-site and get the 6x4ft table set up for about 09:30. This gave me an hour to look round the show before I was planning to run my first game.  
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CCKW 352 - Truck Adventures - Update

A bit of a update on truck adventures in the last few weeks.  Always a bit reluctant to to start after being stood for a while, with the assistance of a few squirts of Damp Start (ether based) she will normally fire up.  After a failed attempt I cleaned the plugs and check the gaps, but didn't help, so it was clear that something was amiss.  As there was fuel in the filter the problem was probably electrical, although I did a have a spark at the points.  Having inspected the inside of the Distributor Cap I could see it was quite pitted so I thought I would replace that along with the Condenser and Rotor Arm as well for good measure.  A call through to Rex Ward sourced some replacements which turned up the next day :)
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Fitting the new parts in turn, the old Condenser was the culprit, but just for good measure I still went ahead and replaced the Cap and Arm.
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It's two years now since I had the truck independently looked over, so I had arranged to take up to MV Depot at Helperby this week.  I want him to have all the wheels off, check all the brakes over and amongst other things change the fuel filter.  In preparation for the 20 mile drive I stuck some fuel in at the local Tescos supermarket and was happily driving it home when the engine spluttered to stop and I found myself broken down at the side of the road :(   Checking under the bonnet, the problem was obvious, fuel contamination...  See pic below.
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Fortunately I subscribe to a recovery service through my insurers, so eventually I got recovered.
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The following morning the truck was winch off at MV Depot, and he managed to get it going.
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On the one hand I feel unlucky because it broke down just before the main fuel filter was going to be changed.  Sludge and water in the system would have become apparent then.  On the other hand I feel lucky that it broke down on a straight stretch where it didn't inconvenience anyone.  Given that I'd just driven right through the centre of York, if I'd broken 2 miles earlier in the middle of one of the major junctions it could have caused truly massive disruption...
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Kampgruppe Von Abt Web Site

This web site has some outstanding dioramas on it built by a very talented modeller and painter called Peter Shaw.  Well worth a look.  Link
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