Monday 23 June 2014

443 - Other Gaming Systems [State of the Union - Part 3]

Hullo, All.

My temporary second job is now over, so after almost a month away from any active modelling, I'm back.

And I'm wearing a hat.*

In this third and final 'State of the Union' post, I'm going to briefly explore my burgeoning interests in systems other than 40K or Flame of War. With luck, I'll be able to keep it brief for once...

BOLT ACTION (15mm)

This is the most obvious 'new' direction as I've already taken a few tentative steps down the road:
I really loved putting together this core 'reinforced platoon' in 15mm over Christmas [link] but I've not done anything with it since. Annoyingly, just after I'd given my old Battlefront 'Italy' rifle platoon a generic Early War feel (with a view to playing them - slightly unconvincingly - as BEF), Battlefront went and rejuvenated their Italian campaign with some great new releases, so I might have put the models to Flames of War use after all. Sod's Law.
My plan as it stands is to slowly continue building up this 'reinforced platoon' and to get a few games in at some point. I also built and started to paint up a Zvezda Matilda II...mostly because it's a simply beautiful tank to support a BEF force, so that's something in the pipline too.

Because it's the theatre I'm most interested in, and because I have all the support weapons I could hope to need already, I will at some point put together a reinforced platoon for the Overlord/Market Garden operations. One of the great aspects of the Bolt Action system is that you only ever need one of anything more complicated than an infantryman.

I've yet to explore the free pdf giving rules for gaming with armoured platoons in Bolt Action...but then again, I've yet to actually play Bolt Action full stop. Taking of which...

BOLT ACTION (28mm)

Yeah, this might happen, but then again probably not. The ranges work, of course, but the requirements of accurately painting historical uniforms and equpment etc. at this scale terrifies me! Plus the cost would be prohibitive. No, surely it'd be far better to explore...

SAGA

Yup. THIS is the most likely next direction.
image from BBC
Vikings, Normans, no fixed uniforms to paint, small-ish and finite armies, fun miniatures, straightforward scenery...what's not to like?

Watch this space, eh? There's no money in the coffers but no rush, either.

Thanks for swinging by! If you've any thoughts about any of these (all of which are played in Plymouth, so within reach), do please let me know: especially SAGA, as I know very little about it, really.

- Drax.

*I'm not wearing a hat - certainly not indoors at any rate - but points for getting the reference.
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8 comments:

  1. Da Masta Cheef24 June 2014 at 02:03

    I've painted up Zombiesmith.com's Quar to use in Bolt action turning it into Weird War III (now if my gaming crew would only get off their butts and build their armies we could play). But I have no worries of painting to historical accuracy.

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    1. Admiral Drax24 June 2014 at 21:07

      I just looked up the Quar. Wow! Cool models, and I see why they'd be great for Weird War IIIm but they're a bit far out for my tastes, I reckon...

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  2. Paul W24 June 2014 at 05:20

    SAGA is well worth getting into. A box of Gripping Beast plastics gives you 45 figures, which is enough for a six point army (41 figures required if you go with two points of Hearthguard and four points of Warriors). The Viking battle board comes with the core rule book, so no extra outlay there, and you can get by just fine without the fancy dice with the symbols on them. The rulebook actually comes with cutout measuring sticks and markers, but they're easy enough to make your self for very little. You can then use the figures to play Jomsvikings or NorseGaels too. If Vikings aren't your thing, the core rulebook also has info for Normans (Conquest plastics are a great way to build a Norman force for little cash, which could also masquerade as Bretons), Anglo-Danes and Welsh, both of which could be easily built up with Gripping Beast's fairly generic plastic Dark Age warriors. In terms of cash/time outlay vs hours of enjoyment in the game, I'd rate SAGA very highly. Cheers, Paul :-)

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    1. Admiral Drax24 June 2014 at 21:15

      Cooooo...that's super, super useful, and some good insider tips too.

      I love Normans more than I love almost anything else in the world, so they're an obvious attraction...but I'm rather scared of painting horses.

      Tried it once. It looked like a horror movie carousel.

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  3. Zzzzzz24 June 2014 at 08:17

    Hummmm. Some interesting ideas there. But I will stick with Epic28 for the time being: I've just put so much into it....

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  4. Admiral Drax24 June 2014 at 21:16

    "Epic28"?

    Brilliant! I lolled at work, when I really oughtn't to have been checking my blog emails! Epic28 defines exactly your approach to the hobby!

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  5. Dai24 June 2014 at 23:23

    My FOW group is trying to snag us into Saga too.... The Vikings call to me, but damnit Drax, I can't add yet another pile of lead and plastic to my paint queue! >_<

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  6. Col. Ackland1 July 2014 at 12:32

    First off SAGA, wow that's cool. I have never even heard of it; I had to Google it. Bolt Action 28 has so much appeal but I understand the hesitation.

    As for Epic28..... I laughed and laughed and laughed... and then said "wait, that would be awesome!"

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