Miniatures: Two companies for In Her Majesty's Name

The Victorious Order of Saint George, Protectors of the Realm  (The Saint Georges)- British Rifle Company, 300 points.

The Victorious Order of Saint George, Protectors of the Realm  (The Saint Georges) is a British Rifle Company that responds to the more esoteric threats to England manifest by foes using mystical energies or advanced technology.  The Saint Georges are led by Captain Hodges, a veteran of South Africa, and supported by the indefatigable Doctor Collins, who is never seen without his cigar.  Sargent Tremaine has hand picked 4 stout privates  to form the bulk of the riflemen for the company, and drills them with the bayonet daily.  Corporal Miller, a sturdy country lad, carries the company Machine gun all by himself.  It's said that his marksmanship with a rifle was not up to the best standards, so the extra fire power is a fitting compensation.  Finally, Sapper Doyle carries a Congreve Rocket gun for foes too stubborn to fall under volley fire.

The Servants of Ra-  Akhenaton Reborn, herald of New Egypt, 300 points.

The Servants of Ra dream of bringing back the might and power of ancient Egypt.  To do so, they are active around the globe seeking long lost artifacts to enhance their mystical prowess.  They are led by Akhenaton, the Pharaoh reborn, who wields the Staff of Osiris and other artifacts and powers that protect him from harm.  Ahkenaton has resurrected a Mummified Priest to serve his bidding, a powerful terrifying creature sure to bring nightmares to mere mortals.  Professor Abir, a leading Egyptologist, is a fanatic follower of Ahkenaton and is quickly learning mystical powers of his own as he guides the Servants of Ra to the artifacts they seek.  His daughter, Sairah, is also a fanatical believer, and serves the cause with her own powers, as well as a poisoned blade.  Also accompanying Ahkenaton are several Nubian Riflemen to provide a little modern protection in support of the mystical powers.  Where ever they travel, the Servants of Ra can count on men seduced by the promise of power and riches.  These cultists give their aid, and their lives, when called upon.

Miniatures: Operation Squad WWII

We recently played our first game of Operation Squad, a WWII skirmish game.  Scott played U.S. Airborne, while I played German Panzergrenadiers.  Operation Squad has a unique activation system that allows each player a series of reactions and counter reactions, so that one activation may see each side activating up to 3 figures each.  Above, Scott is pointing to where his first man will run to once activated.  Each figure activating states their intent, and once all actions are declared, models roll off for priority to see who acts first.  This system kept us both actively involved throughout the game, and offered an interesting unknown quality reflecting the chaos of the fire fight.

The bulk of my Panzergrenadiers huddle around some makeshift cover.  We found out pretty fast that we did not have enough terrain set up, and therefore, the U.S. .30 cal machine gun had a devastating field of fire.  Several of the Germans above were eliminated within the first few turns of the game before they could reach adequate cover.

The deadly Paratrooper support weapon in question.

The U.S. Airborne troops deployed in much the same grouping on their side of the board, but did not have to contend with advancing through machine gun fire.  None the less, a few of them were wounded on their way to their objective, the ruined building center table.

The Germans approach the building, seeking relative cover from the U.S. .30 cal.  In the distance an Mg 42 sets up in the woods to slow the U.S. advance on the far flank.  Machine guns have both long range and a high rate of fire, making them especially deadly in the game.  This Mg 42 has 7 shots per turn.

One Panzergrenadier takes up a firing position to attack the approaching Paratroopers.  He managed to pin down a few with rifle fire and a lucky grenade toss, but inflicted no real damage.  He was later killed by the U.S. Corporal who shot him with a grease gun.

Not enough of the German soldiers made it through the .30 cal fire to hold off the advancing Americans.  Here one wounded Paratrooper props himself up on the wall and fires on the German position.  Far left we see a pinned soldier hunkered down to avoid German fire.  The system for resolving fire involves rolling 3d6 and adding the figures tactical value (VT) and adding extra dice for the weapon at that particular range.  Dice are subtracted for factors such as moving and firing, a running target, and of course cover.  A shooter needs to score an 11 or above to gain any effect.  A target can be pinned, wounded or killed outright depending on the amount of success.

We called the game after playing 5 out of 8 turns, which gave us a good feel for the game, and some ideas for our next game.  The U.S. had a decisive victory, killing off most of the Germans and only loosing 3 men themselves.  Operation Squad has rules for support weapons such as mortars, snipers and vehicles as well.  A newer version was published earlier this year, Operation Squad Evolution, which cleans the rules up quite nicely, provides more detail, and compiles several earlier books into one.  I found the game well worth trying again, so I am busy preparing more WWII forces so as to try out different aspects of the game.

Miniatures: One Hour Wargames- First Game Playtest

Miniatures: Of Gods and Mortals

 Work in progress for an Egyptian force for the Ganesha/Osprey game Of Gods and Mortals.  In the center is the god Thoth, with a giant Croc and samples of figs I intend to create the various units.  The two Reaper Warlord figs in the front will become elite troop units, as will the Anubis warriors on the left.

Here is the start of a Norse force for the game.  I am creating a unit tray from a cd for the berserkers on the left.  On the right are 3 god figures, Heimdahl, Thor and Odin.  These are 54mm scale barbarian miniatures made somewhere in Russia and were purchased on ebay.

Here are more of the Norse army next to the Berserkers for scale.  The Fire Giant Surtr is a Reaper Bones miniature.  Also depicted are 2 Valkyrie and Fenrir the wolf.

Miniatures: Ronin

I am working on painting up forces for the game Ronin, from Osprey.  Here is an Assault Group monk on the left and peasants and an archer from Black Hat miniatures.

Miniatures- Hordes Battle, Minions VS Circle Orboros

This was a 35 point battle with my Minions VS. Brian's Circle Orboros.

Circle deployed and ready to get up close and personal.

An array of Circle Warbeasts.

Minion Gatormen, hungry and ready to fight. But where did those pesky Bog Trogs go?

Barnabas and his Warbeasts.

Kaya herds her Warbeasts towards one objective while the Skinwalkers move out to contest the other.

Barnabas moves his Warbeasts to hold one objective and the Gatorman Posse towards the other.

The Skinwalkers deftly move in to contest Minion control of the flag.

The Pureblood Warpwolf uses his spray attack to thin down the Gatorman Posse.

 Eager for revenge, the Posse gangs up on the Warpwolf Stalker, and with a little acidic help from the Ironback Spitter, takes the Warbeast out.

Meanwhile, the Blackhide Wrastler wades into the Skinwalkers, killing two of them.

After the initial contact, both sides are fighting for control of their flag, but struggle to push the enemy back. Barnabas is injured when the Pureblood Warpwolf uses his spray attack down the line of Minions.  He recovers some health by finishing off a Skinwalker with his magic and consuming it's life essence. 

Oh, here are the Bog Trogs, they answered the summons to battle after all.

Gorax revs up for a charge into the remaining Gatorman Posse members.  He would have succeeded in taking them out had the Gatorman Shaman not cast a spell to make them tough.   The Bog Trogs run up to surround Kaya with the hopes of assassination.

Barnabas unleashes his feat, bringing in a tidal wave that knocks over all of the Circle forces.  The last of the Gatorman Posse wound Kaya and Gorax in a last desperate attack, while a frustrated Blackhide Wrastler still contends to a very wounded Skinwalker Alpha.

Kaya uses her feat to devastate the Bog Trogs, killing all but two.  It is the Gatorman Shaman, however, that ends the battle when one of his spells blows up a Bog Trog, taking Kaya out of action in the process.

Miniatures- Bandito 101

Miniatures: Warmachine and Hordes- Minions first games.

I played my first games of Warmachine/Hordes using my recently painted Minion force.  Here are some images from the battles.

15 point game versus the Trollbloods....

 Trollblood deployment.

 As they advance they magically create a protective wall for cover.

The Trollblood Warlock, Madrak Ironhide takes cover behind the wall.

 The Minions are lead by Bloody Barnabus.  He assembles his warbeasts and prepares to advance.

The two sides move towards confrontation.

 The Bull Snapper gets hungry and charges the Trollbloods.

 The light warbeasts go at it.

 Each tries to eat the other.
 

 Meanwhile, Bog Trog Ambushers rush in from the flank.

But Madrak wades through them as if they were guppies.

The Ironback Spitter joins the fray, along with a heavy troll.  While this battle ensues the Croak Hunter flanks the Trollbloods and kills a few support units in the rear rank.  The Trollbloods destroy both of the Minion Warbeasts, and though we did not finish the fight, it was heavily in the Trollblood's favor and looked bad for the Minions.

25 point game versus Cygnar

 Cygnar deploy their forces  in tight formation.

 They advance confidently down the field of battle towards the objectives.

 The Minions spread out with seeming fewer forces to cover the objectives.

 The Gatorman Posse advances hard and fast through the trees.

 As the forces near each other Cygnar's Warjacks fire into the Gatorman advance.

 The fearless warriors take their losses and continue advancing toward their foe.

 Cygnar tries to block both objectives while claiming their own.  The Minions look hard pressed to gain any advantage.

 But then the Bog Trog Ambushers enter from Cygnar's flank.  They rush towards the Cygnar objective and the Warcaster.

 Bloody Barnabus summons a tidal wave that knocks most of the Cygnar force off their feet.  He rushes towards his objective and engages Trollbloods that are working for Cygnar.  Both Cygnar Warjacks unload on Barnabus, trying to assassinate the Warlock, but he passes the damage off to his heavy Warbeast and hangs onto life by a thread.

Meanwhile, the Bog Trogs push past Cygnar's defenses and take down Nemo, their Warcaster, giving Minions the win by assassination.