Contest: Begin the Countdown!

Well that was fast.  Just 2 days ago I announced the contest would start the countdown when it got to 100, but seems the toll is now 103.  I want to give followers a chance to notice the contest and join in if they feel like it... I figure not everyone lives & breathes minis on a daily basis: I start each day with my 'mini news' & checking on the blog list, but others may have a less frequent schedule for such things.

So the contest will close at 12:01 AM Pacific Time Thursday the 27th. So a bit less than a week.
Feel free to enter, should be fun... some interesting answers to Question 3 so far!

Who could win?

You could win! 

Any can enter and it doesn't take a lot of talent or skill.

So hurry before your time is up!

Speaking of unusual contestants... one of my favorite bands & musician and their unusual inception.

Enjoy!


Then head over to The Contest to enter, if you haven't already.

I'll just be watching until it's arrival. 

Come See the Violence Inherent in the System!

For as long as I can remember, people have complained and given warnings about violence in games.

I think the debate is silly.
It's the same as the moral majority complaining about 'devil music', or D&D back in the 80's, or pornography, etc.  Unstable people will do unstable things: games and media don't create them this way.

But that's just my experience. I'm not a violent person.  I've only physically hurt people a few times, and those times were in self defense.  I am not cruel to animals, unless you count eating a hamburger cruelty.
I do not hunt animals and would derive no pleasure from doing so, but I can accept people who do if they need to eat: that is part of our evolution as a species after all.  In general I am against war, a borderline pacifist, and the current state of violence and oppression in the world makes me depressed.

I was raised with these ideals.  My grandmother who raised me made sure I had no military toys, no toy guns, etc. My favorite toys were plastic animals and Legos.

Yet here I am, having spent half my life playing with toy soldiers and it being my highest hobby love.  That makes me suspect that there is something instinctive in the human psyche that is geared toward tactical violence.  We enjoy it because it is an instinct that was needed for survival.  We 'play' at this, much the same way kittens bat at string and chase laser pointers: it is play, but behind it are the deadly instincts that are hardwired into the DNA for survival.  So I'm convinced that wargames are good wholesome fun.  No one would look at a dog chasing a frisbee and say "what an aggressive unstable animal" just because he plays, using his hunting instincts.

I was thinking about all this from watching this video.
Ironically, one of my favorite 'approved' non-violent toys of childhood.
I don't think my grandmother would approve, but I think I understand more where this comes from and what it means- and doesn't mean.

Enjoy!

Orc Coach for the TFF 2011 Legacy Team

Here is the Orc Coach for the Talk Fantasy Football forum's Legacy Team for 2011.

Team colors that were selected by poll are purple & white. Nice color choice for orcs I think.

Now I want an orc team in these colors!  

I suppose I might win the legacy team.. about a 1 in 30something chance... yeah, probably not.  But that's ok- I love things like this. The average person on the street might have about no awareness of miniatures gaming, yet there it is, a thriving world-spanning group of people with a common interest.  Makes me wonder what other subcultures lay just beneath the surface of my cultural awareness... is there a shadowy cabal of guinea pig aficionados with secret handshakes or conventions dedicated to people who create their own new milkshake flavors?  I'm sure there are more hobby and shared interest groups than I could imagine. 

I hope they find theirs as rewarding as we do ours.

On to more pictures of the coach!

This guy is going to be hard to mail away! 

Each new update pushes it further down, but Don't Forget the Contest!

Contest Countdown to 100

I said I'd run a contest of sorts, saying I'd announce it when the followers reached 95 and let it run till 100.
Looks like it's already that time, so here goes.

Your quest is an easy one.

Answer me, these questions three:

1. What is your name? (blog follower handle is fine, shows up when you respond, see how easy this is?)

2.  What is your favorite blog post here?

3. What is the first game invented by the species Homo sapiens sapiens?

Only one may win.

What is the prize?  

It is a surprise, and may vary depending on the one who wins. 

Who decides the winner? 

I do! 

Or perhaps it is natural selection. 

Someone will be chosen, what you ascribe it to is up to you to decide.  Stop asking foolish questions.

To give you time, I'll close the contest 4 days after the 100th follower joins the blog...

In the meantime, I'll watch and wait.

Legacy Orc Coach w.i.p.

Just a quick progress shot of the Orc Coach for the 2011 TFF Legacy Team.
-man I want to paint an orc team now.

W.I.P & Review of JTFM Panzer II for Totenkinder Force

I don't know why exactly, but it seems just about everyone loves tanks.  I'm no exception.  Modern tanks don't capture my imagination much, but WWII & earlier do... and sci-fi. So as some in our group begin to expand their Weird WWII armies and Frau Totenkinder's Ahnenerbe force has just 1 vehicle, I knew which direction I needed to expand in. I like to have a balance, so I knew I'd want a couple light tanks: something fast to distract, draw fire, maybe get a lucky shot in.

Brigade Games have a large variety of WWII tanks.  I settled upon the Panzer II, Luchs (Lynx) as my choice.  Why? Because it's the cutest.  I just really like the look of it.  And it's small, so I might use it as a Panzer I in some games to save some points.. put the actual Panzer I? Not nearly as nice looking as the Luchs, so that's settled.  When I think about it, for pure fun of game play based on mechanics, there are many board games that are just flat out better and more fun than miniatures games.  What puts miniatures above them as my greatest gaming joy however is aesthetics.  When the game *looks* good then I find it more fun.
I'm an aesthetics junky.  So the Panzer II was it.

On arrival, the tank is very well packed.  Great care was taken to insure it's safety in transit which I appreciated. The main gun even had a section of plastic drinking straw cut to size to go around the gun to protect it.  Good thing, because the barrel is resin.  This is my biggest disappointment.  Many resin vehicles will have a few metal parts, but not this one. The whole thing is resin and the gun barrel is very, very thin. I started thinking about ways I would protect it in traveling between games, but in early stages of assembly, despite being very careful, the turret slipped from my fingers, landed on the nose of the gun and snapped off.

Well, better now than later.

Just as well.  Drill, brass rod, bit of plastic tube and a new gun was rigged up. I then cut the barrel off the 2nd one and did this again. The drill went a bit askew, so I had to make the barrel base as well.  But I'm happy with the results.

Overall, the detail is very crisp with a minimum of bubbles.  One tank had a hole in a fender, which I filled with green stuff- you can see it on the right.  The turrets have separate hatches and commanders- I'll leave them unglued so i can pop a guy in sometimes.

Here it is to scale with some of the models:

One of those fellows doesn't look too healthy... we may find out more later...
The turret fits to the chassis very well.. easy to turn. I had some problems with my Hotchkiss 39 from Army Group North, it needed a lot of carving, but no such problems here.

There is also a lot of stowage bits:

This is for 2 vehicles.  The thing is, I think I like the look of the tank without the extras. For me, my goal is less about historical details than just an overall liking how the miniature looks.  Yes, yes, fluffy gamer.
The only one I am considering using is the smoke launchers, but unfortunately I was sent 3 left & 1 right (or reversed.. just depends if you look at or with the gun) I haven't decided if I'll contact Brigade Games and request a replacement part yet or not.  If I decide not to use them there isn't much point, but it's still a bit annoying.  Have to love all the extras though.
-The offending thin resin gun barrels are shown center. For a display piece it'd probably be fine, but for gaming? I can only assume they assume people will make their own. So I'd say the kit is not for beginners.

So for the Panzer II from JTFM:

Rating: 

Casting: 9/10
Cleverness of Design: 6/10
Aesthetics: 10/10

Recommendation: Highly recommended, provided you have & know how to use a pin vice and some brass rod & plastic tubing. 

Totenkinder's Ahnenerbe Grenadiers

More Ahnenerbe troops for Frau Totenkinder:

Platoon Command.  These come without gas masks, and I liked the commander not having one, and the medic/possible 2nd officer, but the others I wanted gas masks like the other troops below. Easy enough, a little green stuff a slice of plastic rod and gas masks complete!

Squad of 10 with a few panzerfausts for good measure: people are using a lot of tanks, so they should prove useful.

All for now, but more to come.  We haven't played in a couple weeks, but probably have a game to test out some of the weapon systems we haven't yet tried, like mortars, then a week off and November might see the league ready to get going.  November also starts a Legend of the High Seas league, Blood Bowl is delayed until January.. just as well, gives me time to build a team, I have something fun in mind.