Miniatures: Dark Ages Norman and Viking

Viking up close.


Viking Warband.





Norman Infantry with Spear and Shield.


Normans up close.

Miniatures: Fear and Faith Haunted Mansion More Pictures

Ghosts and Poltergeists- Mostly from Dungeons and Dragons Miniatures


The Father finally gets to try out his Ban ability, and the Hunter has finally caught up to his friends.


Overview of the Mansion prior to the game.


A Ghost first appears and pursues the party.


The Professor encounters a Ghost and a Major Poltergeist.

Miniatures: Fear and Faith Haunted Mansion Game

The Professor stalked by a Ghost.


A Ghost and Poltergeist assault Griselda.


The Baron dispatches the Poltergeist and has a go at the Ghost with his Magic Swagger Stick.


Banning the Ghost with the power of Faith.


Trying to corner a Ghost.

I played a game of Fear and Faith with my friend Gary. We tried out the Haunted Mansion scenario from the book, which gave me a chance to break out some old, underused terrain. The Ghosts and Poltergeists had a very hard time doing much of anything at all, as did the good Father once he was able to use his Ban skill. Still it was a fun game that captured the flavor of the genre. The poor Hunter spent most of his time crawling in fear, trying to rejoin his compatriots, the Ghosts would conveniently pass through the walls at will, and the Major Poltergeist managed to fling enough debris to kill an Insane Minion!

Miniatures: Alien Squad Leader Game

I played the first game I have been able to squeeze in for the last few months. I finally got to try out Alien Squad Leader. We played Mechanoids vs. Human Imperial Strike Force, a raid scenario where the Humans were trying to destroy the buildings in the center and enough Mechanoids to break the army. The Mechanoids prevailed in the end, although the humans did destroy the Installation. These shots are random shots from the game. Billy D. and I played the Mechaniods, Bill B. played the Humans.


The buildings are destroyed, but the Mechanoids close on the surviving humans.





Close up of a Heavy Droid stand. The miniatures were bought painted, and I have not had the time to touch them up any.


Heavy Droids Vs. Powered Infantry and an APC. One of the epic struggles of the game.


The Battle Droid entered on turn 4 and sat back using it's long range and slavo of Scatter Missles.


Still an epic struggle.


An inconclusive close combat that should have been easily won by the Humans. An example of the poor dice rolls of the game.


Human Heavy Weapons Infantry in a build up area. The humans were played and painted by my friend Bill.


Close Combat between APC and Heavy Droid, poor APC.


The main Mechanoid defenders.


Early in the game, the Human APC approaches.


A stalemate in the woods. The Humans eventually killed one Mechanoid stand and used their Jump Packs to by-pass the other and reach their objective.


The initial deployment of the Mechanoids, with reinforcements arriving after turn 3.

Miniatures: Stargate Game

Game played using the Doctor Who Miniature Game rules. Figures, terrain and scenario by Bill Bennet.

Non-Fiction: The Gates of Africa: Death Discovery and the Search for Timbuktu

I am about half way through this excellent book that reads in parts like an adventure novel. Sattin sets the tone for the quest for knowledge about Africa in the late 1700's by examining a portrait of Sir Joseph Banks holding a detailed drawing of the surface of the moon. This is then contrasted with a map of what was known of Africa at the time, a map nearly blank in the entire middle of the contenent.

Besides the actual expeditions the author examines the beginnings of the African Association that set out to "fill-in" the blank spaces on the map of Africa. Sattin examines the scientific, political moral and economic motivations of this group and how they changed with circumstance and discovery. One of the interesting ironies pointed out is how most of the Associations members were against the slave trade, but time and time again their explorers relied upon slavers for information, guidance and protection. The Association set out for Geographical information but were forced to consider trade and economic ventures even though they usually meant increased slave trade or outright colonization. A very fun and interesting read!

Miniatures: Planet of the Dead: A Stargate SGZ Adventure