Painting Assault on Black Reach... again!

Good news! We got new shop opening in couple weeks in Brighton, Onslaught Games. That's good right? But they need some models painted quickly. And I'm not talking 40k only. There needs to be WFB, Warmachine, Flames of War and more...

I got the 'pleasure' of painting Assault on Black Reach. It's going to be like my sixth I think. And I do not mind, don't get me wrong. The owner of the shop is a mate of mine and I really want to help out. I know how to paint it quickly and that's want he wants. It's just that these models could be a bit more fun. But after that many times I think it's normal that even the most exciting things will get a bite boring.

Anyhoo, I will be preparing a tutorial on how to quickly and efficiently paint up the whole starter set. First on the workbench: orks; later: marines. So keep an eye on this blog or recommend to those who you know are starting their hobby adventure. There will be plenty of stuff for them to watch and learn.

Till later gang!

Flames of War boccage and 40k Orky ruins

So, the stage where I build up the base of the boccage is over.



I Sprayed them as sort of rocks and applied some Woodland Scenics bushes to the top of one of the corners. That's how it looks like:



While I had the floor covered in kitty litter (can't avoid any spillages) I decided to get rid of of one of the boxes I had lying around and turned it quickly into some kind of orky barricades/ruins/whatever. Looks kinda cool and is perfect for 40k or any sci-fi 28mm game system.



Comments? Suggestions? Always welcomed!

Till later gang...

Flames of War boccage, eggs and bacon

Right, so being on a roll with terrain building I went on to build myself some boccage. I found lots of pictures online and looked at some tutorials on forums. I decided to use whatever I have got in my stock. And that is lots of cardboard, board and other recycled paper.

So at first I cut out strips of old perforated board 6" long, 1" wide; another strips 6" long and 0.5" wide. I attached them at 90 degrees angle with PVA. But two things happened. Not only I couldn't keep the bits stay up, also when I did, the board warped and look fugly.

The I decided to use board after a board game box. I cut the same size strips and this time I used plastic glue gun to attach them. Two things went right: it was really easy to attach them and keep the parts straight and there was no warping.

These are the results:



Oh yes, I also made couple corners, 1" wide.

After all this I started layering kitty litter with some PVA. The photo below shows the bits after two layers:



What are your thoughts?

Also, there is something amazing for you to enjoy after you read and ponder over this post :D

Flames of War rivers are now finished and drying

Right, I have spent another hour or so on my river sections. They are now drying, PVA to be exact. I like what I see. Do you?



Next up I will be working on some roads I already cut out. I need a bit more crossroads but I will show that in couple days.

Till later!

Flames of War rivers

I decided to finalise all those bits of terrain for flames I always wanted to put on the table. And as I hate using unpainted stuff, I got cracking with the rivers.
I had those boxes of Monopoly lying around and I decided to take them  apart to cut out the segments. I think they turned out pretty well. I know it's pretty straight but maybe later I will add some curves. For now I ran out of Army Painter's Medium Sand. I will try painting them later on. For now there are just painted black.





Comments?

FUBAR game testing

I have been on the look out for some cool new systems I could try out and play using the miniatures I have in my collection. Thanks to my mate from Poland, who pointed me in the right direction I found this awesome game system. FUBAR is a one page system. Yes, all the rules you need to play are on one page A4. There are obviously some other bits and bobs and you have to download and print a bit more A4 pages than one, but still, the guys managed fit everything into a very compact print. So, yesterday my mate Mike and I tried to play our first game. He used his colonial marines lead by Snake, yes the Snake from Escape from LA, not the Metal Gear Solid one. I used a mixture of Warzone's Bauhaus models and Hasslefree Miniatures.

Before you you start playing the game you need to make sure both of you know what kind of expertise your guys are and what kind of weapons they use. The FUBAR system categorises troops into four different training levels: Green, Seasoned, Veteran and Elite. Depending on the level it is easier to activate and do stuff with them. Also, the more experienced the troop, the more suppressed models they can have, but more on that in a while.

The game itself plays in a way very much different from what you are used to in 40k or even games like Malifaux. It is an alternative activation idea, but with a twist. Basically both players roll to see who goes first, then the player that won chooses a unit to attempt to activate and makes his roll. If successful he activates his unit and then he has got a choice of continuing to activate another unit or let his opponent have a go. This mechanic is really cool and it allows a lucky roller to move all his units at once. Also, it's not without drawbacks; after he moves all of his units his opponent is free to do whatever he wants almost unopposed. What if a player fails to activate his unit? Well, they thought about it too: the unit that failed his activation roll is On Guard, on overwatch if you wish. They can shoot at anything moving in their line of sight.


The gun combat in FUBAR is a bit tiring as almost any unit hits on 6's if you use any covers. We used our troops as Veterans and in the densely covered by buildings board almost all the times our models were in a +2 cover save. This +2 is added to your skill when shooting, to make it harder. Let's say your guys are Veterans, they successfully shoot people on 4+, you add +2 and you only hit them on 6+. It can take a while to kill someone, especially that there is Suppresion that saves your guys from dying most of times. 

All in all it looks like a properly developed system. It is a fourth edition after all. They have got plenty of other systems covered, you can use this system to play even with 15mm miniatures and in eras like WWII and Vietnam, I am big fan of both. I would strongly suggest you go and download the rules and at least have a look at them. I am big fan of skirmish rule systems and I really enjoyed playing this one. Oh, did I mention it's free?

Till later gang!