Landsknecht Ogres

        Frankly I can't recall which brand of "Classic Fantasy" it is that brings us Lansknecht Ogres but that really matter very little at all. What we do have here is another set of interesting and well-thought-out minis from the fertile minds at Wargames Atlantic.  The figures were sculpted with dual use in mind. The High Fantasy club will be thrilled to find all the typical weapons of the Landsknecht; halbreds, arquebuses, two-handed swords and pikes. Weird War Two and Sci-Fi fans will applaud the inclusion of Near-Future/Scf-Fi guns. 

        As far as the models are concerned they are cast in a firm medium gray plastic that displays detail very well. The models exhibit no trace of flash and hardly any mold-lines. There is a wide selection of weapons and the usual superabundance of heads. These are big models, fully assembled they will easily top 40mm tall (but they ARE Ogres). The detail is crisp and accurate to the "Landsknecht" style (I can only dream that WA will get around to some 28mm historical Landsknechts).

 

front of the box

Sci-Fi Bugs of the worst sort, Harvesters from Wargames Atlantic

 

       I'm not afraid to admit it; bugs have always creeped me out. Starship Troopers, Aliens, yep, if it has an exoskeleton I don't care for it. Then along comes these minis, they look like something you would find under a microscope infecting an animals skin. At about 30mm tall (depending upon how you choose to position them) they are big for most sci-fi/fantasy minis; huge if you are using 15mm and absolutely gigantic next to 1/300 scale stuff (micro-armor vs giant bugs, anyone?) But enough about my issues, on to the minis!

       The models are molded in a firm gray plastic the takes detail well. There is no trace of lash and very few mold-lines. The break-down of the minis into components allows a great deal of freedom as far as positioning during assembly for the four large bugs on each sprue, the two smaller creatures are one-piece castings (larval forms of the bigger bugs?). There is an option for "ranged bio-weapons" in the form of foreshortened limbs that look suspiciously like cannon with an underslung bayonet. If these are ray weapons, projectile throwers or slime-flingers are up to you and your rules of preference.

 

the front of the box

Look out Catachans, here come the boys from SPACENAM

 

       I won't pretend for a moment to know what "SPACENAM" is, I have several guesses but they are of little importance now. What it has given us (on the other hand) is this set of very interesting minis from the workshops of Wargames Atlantic.  Cast in the same spirit as GWs Catachans (a sort of Rambo writ large in the sci-fi vein, or Arnold in Predator) these minis are both more attractive and half the price. Flawlessly cast in a firm grey plastic, with no trace of flash and very few mold-lines, this set provides more weapons choices and better sculpting. As usual there is a lavish supply of different heads and the breakdown of the models into parts allows a wide range of positions. These boys have definitely been spending time in the gym (or getting some sort of gene enhancement) they are very buff without the cartoonish look of the GW product.

 

front of the box 

The M.P.s caught up with me and I'm AWOL no longer

        I won't make excuses; I have been neglecting the blog terribly the last six weeks or so. I haven't given up the hobby or any other such nonsense, I simply didn't have the motivation to write. I DID take a road-trip south and photographed another fort for my Fortified Places page, this time it was Fort Boonesborough in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. 

      I also have gotten the chance to review four new figure sets; Imperial Navy Breachers for Kill Team from Games Workshop; The Harvesters, Space 'Nam, and Landsknecht Ogres, all from the busy workshops of Wargames Atlantic. These will appear in the blog as I do the write-ups and on my 28mm Plastic Figure Review page as well. 

      Additionally, as time allows, I will present the AAR on the All Quiet on the Martian Front mega game that was hosted at Tom from Texas' place a little while back. It involved both his and The Housemartin's extensive collections of minis.

       This weekend is Battlefields, so a photo essay will be in the pipe for that as well.

 not kidding at all, it was a big game

Getting ready for Battlefields, I have three spaces in my truck if anyone wants a lift

      One of the big advantages of running a skirmish game (02 Hundred Hours) at Battlefields is that I don't have to haul 24sq ft of terrain and hundreds of figures. This leaves me with spare room in my ride if anyone wants to save a little gas and ride along. Be warned I plan on staying through the second session so this will be an almost all-day affair.

       Text or call if you want to join in the fun.

Battlefields 2023 March 18th

 

some of the action for Battlefields 2022

        Presented by the good folks at Pro or Con Battlefields represents the end of the "gaming season" here in Metro Detroit. This is always a good convention with a diverse selection of games and a good Flea Market. Hosted in the spacious Elks Hall in Livonia this promises to be a fun time for all.  The schedule of events is available on Tabletop Events (as is the Gamemaster sign-up form) so get on over to that and see about running a game. You can check out the Pro or Con group on their Facebook page. Cost is $10.00 at the door which gets you in and all games are free from that point. 

          I will be running another 02 Hundred Hours scenario, so if you are interested in those rules you can give them a go.

Flintcon 2023, photo report

        Several of my friends braved the single-digit (Fahrenheit, no less) and I took the journey up to Flint Michigan for Flintcon 2023 and what a show it was! As usual the Flea Market was expansive and varied, I stood firm by my commitment and bought no minis (for the first time in a decade!) leaving with just two books. there was a great selection of games and the presentation was very attractive. 

        As is often the case I missed snapping photos of the second half of the Con because I was running a game myself, so you have to figure that the convention was twice as cool as you will see below! A big round of applause for Rod Cain, the one-man dynamo that is the driving force behind this neat little convention, Huzzah!

 28MM SHARP PRACTICE  by Mike Ovsenik, this game featured some lovely terrain and best of all had a steamboat! (a stern-wheeler no less)

Heading to FlintCon 4FEB23, two open seats in my ride

        I will be leaving around 7:30am to head to FlintCon. I have two open seats if anyone wants to save a bit of gas they can report in at my place prior to 07:30 (but NOT prior to 07:15!!!) and I will be happy to give them a lift.

Flintcon 2023, February 4th

 

a Wild West shootout game from Flintcon '22

        Hot on the heels of Spartacon'23 we have the rapidly approaching Flintcon '23. Another great "small convention" hosted by the endlessly energetic Rod Cain at the St. Paul Lutheran Church & School at 402 S. Ballenger Highway, Flint, Michigan 48532. The Facebook page is here. They have a Google site as well

      I have always enjoyed trips to this convention and will be running games of 02 Hundred Hours. A great feature of this con is that it seems to always have the best Flea Market. Food is available on premises and there will be Pathfinder and Starfinder games in addition to historical miniature games. A partial list of games can be found below.

Ooh-Rah! 28mm Near-Future Space Marines from Wargames Atlantic

 

the front of the box

 

        OK, if you are a reader of my minis reviews you are well aware of the high esteem that I hold for Wargames Atlantic's recent work, and it is a regard that has been earned and deserved. But I have to say that this latest offering "Ooh-Rah!" doesn't fit that mold. It simply towers above all of the previous product from Wargames Atlantic; these are quite possibly the best 28mm figures that I have had the pleasure of seeing in the fifty years that I have been collecting and painting wargames minis. And I don't say that lightly because there are some damned fine minis out there. The proportion, positioning and detail is all top-notch, the reasonably-sized and realistic-looking weapons and vast selection of heads all add up to a tour-de-force of what is possible with digital design and CNC machining. Wargames Atlantic (and the rest of the other manufacturers out there) are going to have to work very hard to exceed this level of quality.

       But off to the real information rather than my hyperventilating! The box contains four identical sprues each holding six figures with associated arms, heads and weapons. These are flawlessly molded in a firm gray plastic that displays the sumptuous level of detail very clearly. The detail is crisply cast and clearly defined without being oversized or clumsy. These figures have the look of the Space Marines from "Aliens" in that they are wearing functional uniforms and carrying weapons that a man could reasonably pick up, no outlandish gigantic guns or absurdly huge swords, just a bunch of mean S.O.B.s here to get a job done. These are what GW's Catachans wanted to be but failed at (to risk the ire of 40K fan-boys). 

Gaming Update: My Place, Saturday 21JAN23 1900hrs

 I guess the title says it all

Not sure yet what we are playing

Spartacon 2023, A partial photo survey

        First off let me apologize to some of the fine Game Masters whose efforts didn't get recorded; I did get distracted chatting with old friends and new during the first session and in the second I ran my 02 Hundred Hours scenario twice which kept me pretty well occupied throughout the allotted time (in fact I was too busy to even take pictures of my games). Importantly turn-out was up considerably since last year; the weather was very kind and folks seem to have just decided to get over Covid and on with their lives. This bodes well for continued survival of this great little convention. 

 

Jeff Przybylo presented this very attractive naval game 

featuring "Form on Admiral's Wake" rules and some superbly finished 1/1200 scale ships 

The trouble with friends.......

         Having good friends is crucial in life. I have been blessed with a surfeit of kind, close and generous friends that have made my life richer and far more pleasant. But there is a darker side of friends, they know you so well they can get you involved in things that the little voice in the back of you head says "NO!!" to. The Housemartin long ago discovered that if he left cool minis at my place I am quite likely to paint them for him. OldSarge, on the other hand, simply likes 3-d printing really cool stuff and then leaving it with me, knowing full well that I REALLY don't need to get involved in more projects. He grins and tells me that he, "just thought you might like to take a look at these". His latest bit of mischief was giving me some Scottish Cattle (which I actually could use, my Viking raiders need something to steal) and a sampler of Native Americans from the Plains Wars era, which is a subject matter that I have been trying to avoid. See below for his latest offerings.

 

Scottish Cattle, darned fuzzy but quite contented looking

these are in 28mm but the file is scaleable 

 

some rather less than contented-looking Native Americans

 

 

these are also in 28mm and come in a wide variety of poses

 

as do the horses,

 I love horses, I just hate painting them

        This lot have been bumped up to next in the painting line-up, right behind the Partisans. OldSarge has the rights to print and sell all of these minis, contact him at his blog.