Spartacon 2014 Part I

For the second year in a row the weekend of Spartacon was not the winter storm of the year. This sort of thing makes me worry. Anyways I attended with some of my buddies and we had a blast. The venue was the same as last year, Lansing center in the "small room", well lit, comfortable and warm. The games were up to the usual high standard, visually sumptuous and well-run.

I ran my Wild West Shootout game and had a jolly good time playing in a delightful ironclads game. This little gem was presented by Doug Johnson and involved rules of such staggering complexity that they all fit on one half of a standard sheet of paper (see photos) and vast fleets of scratch-built models.

My brave squadron heads off to battle,

the small gray vessels are monitors, the larger ones are battleships

 

Notice to all of my Wargamming Buddies

I need all my books back, yep all the books you have borrowed, plus all the gaming mags, rule books , firearms etc. I am going to do my annual inventory and I need to have them back by 1FEB14.

Failure to do so will result in the suspension of your borrowing privileges for at least a year (and in the case of borrowed firearms will probably end up with me kicking in your door and taking them back!).

Remember; I have lists.

Don't make me angry, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry.

Building the Perry Brothers American Revolutionary War British Infantry in 28mm

 

 

           A little while ago a friend of mine asked that I assemble some of his plastic minis for him. He didn't mind painting them but found assembling the plastic minis a bother, I on the other hand have come to wargaming from a plastic modeling background and enjoy assembling models rather more than painting them, I readily agreed. I have seen articles in the British glossies complaining about the bother of building plastics, this always seemed odd to me as even the very best metal figures need cleaning up before priming so it seemed a trade-off in my mind. I have built many plastic figures before, even customized the poses and figures,  but never paid any mind to the time and work involved, it was just me spending a bit of hobby time. To see of there is a significant trade-off in time I decided to keep track of the amount of time I spent assembling the figures so that I could compare that to the period of time that would be spent filing off mold lines, straightening rifles and smoothing bases on metal figures.

 

      The models in question were the British Center Company from the Perry Brothers series. These are superlative models with the classic attention to proportion and pose that is the hallmark of a Perry product. The figures were cleanly cast in a medium hardness glossy gray plastic that cuts cleanly and easily and takes plastic model cement happily (I used Testors tube and liquid for this experiment). I have heard of people using Super Glue to build plastics, this I have never understood as the plastic cement dissolves the surface of the plastic and, when it evaporates. creates a "weld" so that the joint is now a solid chuck of plastic, it will also not bond skin like Super Glue. These are all factors that favor plastic cement in my mind.

 

the box with contents

MDG Wintercon Gamefest 7DEC13

     Dave Durocher et al are once again hosting the Metro Detroit Gamer's Wintercon on 7DEC13 at Oakland University's Oakland Center in Rochester Michigan. The events list is here and the link for other info is here. They usually have a pretty good show and this year they are collecting items for Toys for Tots, so drop by and support them if you can!

I'm Baaaacckkk!!!!!!

I will be running a big (as in over a hundred models) Fall of Berlin game at Pro or Con on 26OCT13 in the am session. That is if they put it on the schedule.

Don't forget to attend , they usually put on a pretty good show and the dealers are often offering some good discounts as well as a huge flea market.

Another loss to the Old Crew

     As if we wanted more bad news. We have suffered another loss, the ebullient Mrs P., mother of the redoubtable wargaming twins Mike and Steve has passed. While not a wargamer herself Mrs P. was always a smiling happy presence, willing to cook and clean as well as provide space for monster games in her massive basement.

     Services will be held at St Vincent Ferrer in Madison Hts, MI located at 1087 Gardenia. Gardenia runs east off of John R between Eleven and Twelve Mile roads, it curves a bit but stay on Gardenia and you will find it. Visitation begins at 10:30hrs with mass at 11:00hrs, lunch to follow.

     We will all miss you Mrs P.  

Tom in town

     Tom from Texas will in town on the 14th and 15th of September so this looks like a perfect time to have the Steve B. Memorial get together. I will have some Mead and Port (Steve's favorites) as well as some beer and hard cider on hand to enliven the proceedings.

      We will probably be starting at around 10:00hrs on Saturday with a break near dinner time and then a return to the game room for an Ancients game (also Steve's favorite) sometime between 1800 and 1900hrs. I hope that everybody from the Old Crew will be able to make it so that we can say Good Bye to Steve in proper style.

Sad News and a Great Loss to his Friends UPDATE!!! 2nd UPDATE!!!!

UPDATE   UPDATE    UPDATE    UPDATE   UPDATE

I have just been informed that the service for Steve has been scheduled for 1SEP13 at 1600 hrs at the  American Legion Hall (there is a tank out front) 5551 Boardman Road Southwest, South Boardman MI 49680, near Kalkaska off Hwy 131 south of Kalkaska. 

Thus the meeting at my place is cancelled and you are all directed to that location, sorry for the short notice but this info came to me at 21:55hrs 28AUG13

My grand daughter was playing with my phone and it goes straight to voicemail, she also erased all of the phone numbers in it, anybody that knows Garrie H's number please advise him of the sad news. Also check over the other names in the email addresses and try to contact anybody that I have left out.

Thanks All

This is how I will always remember him; 

The Philosopher-King of Anastasia Beach

     It is with a heavy heart that I break my Summer silence to report the loss of my dear and great friend; Steve B. has died. Steve hasn't been a regular feature of our games for a few years now (the commute from Jacksonville was a bit taxing) but he is one of the founding members of our gaming group. His ready wit and humor made gaming with him a real joy. He was always ready to try new periods or rules and could reason his way through even the most convoluted Barkeresque rulespeak.

     Away from the games table Steve was the guy who could make a friend even before the first handshake. He was one of those Great Souls that seemed to fit perfectly into every group or place that he encountered. A man possessed of a brilliant mind and active body Steve had Degrees in History and Philosophy, he spoke Latin and Greek, he also was a formidable competitor in many forms of mixed martial arts and a fencing instructor and competitor, as well as a crew leader for Habitat for Humanity.

      He certainly was a welcome sight every time he crossed my threshold.

                   It pains me beyond words to think that he will never do so again.

                   The world seems smaller and darker now that he is gone.

      On Sunday, 1SEP13 at 1600hrs I will be hosting a small gathering of Steve's friends at my place, I will provide a bottle or two of mead, all you need bring is your fondest memories of our great friend Steve.

     The circle grows smaller, please remember our friends Steve P. and Little John that have preceded Steve into the Wargamer's Valhalla.

     Mark your friends well, and mind their keeping.

Two Beauties from Zvezda 1/100 scale KV-II and Infantry Tank Matilda MK I photo reviews of kits

     These have been sitting around the workshop for a bit so I apologize for this "late breaking" news. Zvezda has once again produced a pair of excellent models, both have the fine detail that has come to be the standard associated with this company. Both models capture the look of the originals very well, one massive the other tiny.

A Look at R.U.P.'s Dystopian Wars Kingdom of Britannia minis

   These appeared briefly in an earlier post and I promised to get a better look at them so here we go; Rich Uncle Pat tends to go "all-in" on anything that catches his fancy so when he decided to get into the Dystopian Wars game from Spartan Games he picked up a very large collection of minis and had them professionally painted by Cornish Mikey's Painting Service. He also purchased the specially made case for the minis to put them in. All in all a very well put together arrangement. The painting work is excellent (see the photos) and R.U.P. reports that the turnaround time was very good (particularly as it was going from Cornwall to Michigan). Enough of all that, on to the eye-candy!

the Avenger class fleet carrier, a vast and powerful ship

Star Wars X-Wing minis game

    

  Justice&Rule came by a while back with a ton of these beautifully painted models of the Classic Star Wars ships (not those horrid things associated with the Part I/II/III tragedy, the REAL Star Wars stuff) and a set of rules. I have always had mixed feeling about playing 3D games on a flat table but have been able to work past it if the rules were fast and fun (Wings of War/Wings of Glory, Battlefleet Gothic and the Check Your 6 series). The tiny size of the rulebook meant that the rules would likely be easy enough to understand, even for a wargaming dinosaur like me.

A Fight in Lebanon, Part III the Denouement; Killdozer Rules All!

WARNING, THERE ARE OVER FORTY PHOTOS IN THIS SECTION, 

IT MAY TAKE A WHILE TO LOAD

     You will remember the situation thus far; The IDF is making a major road-clearing incursion into a PLO held area, the PLO has been tasked with delaying the intruders long enough for reinforcements to arrive and counterattack. Both sides are sure that they don't have enough combat capability for the job, this means the GM had designed a near-perfect scenario.

from the PLO end of the street the damaged Merkava was a heart-warming sight