Cosmic Forces Beyond All Comprehension - Buck Rogers in the 41st Millennium

In the year 1987, at the John F. Kennedy Space Center, NASA launched the last of America's deep space probes. The payload, perched on the nose cone of the massive rocket, was a one-man exploration vessel - Ranger 3. Aboard this compact starship, a lone astronaut - Captain William "Buck" Rogers - was to experience cosmic forces beyond all comprehension. An awesome brush with death: in the blink of an eye, his life support systems were frozen by temperatures beyond imagination. Ranger 3 was blown out of its planned trajectory into an orbit a thousand times more vast, an orbit which was to return the ship full circle to his point of origin - its mother Earth - not in five months, but in 38,000 years. 

I was born in the late 1970s, around about the time that the world got gripped by science fiction. Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica and Buck Rogers became fixtures of Christmas and Saturday afternoon programming and indelibly etched into my brain.

I don't know what sparked the idea to bring Buck Rogers into the 41st Millenium. I know I chatted about it with cheetor and Curis as part of the 'Choose Your Own Adventurers' project last year. I know I spent several weeks searching on eBay for a Corgi diecast starfighter to adapt. I know I earmarked the pilot from the Rogue Trader adventurers range for the project!

BOYL 2018 (Part 3) - DAiS & Bounty Hunting

Dracula's America in Space

Saturday at Bring Out Your Lead 2018 (BOYL) continued after lunch with a rather chaotic game of Dracula's America (in Space). Dracula's America is Osprey's excellent fantasy Western game. But you can add in spacemen and laser guns if you wish!

I pulled out a whole load of my scenery to create the settlement of Black Dust Gulch.

BOYL 2018 (Part 2) - What an (Orky) Tanker!

Following on from Part 1 of my Bring Out Your Lead 2018 (BOYL) report, the Saturday saw me taking part in an all-comers tank battle organised by Whisky Priest. Rather than muddle our way through any of the various vehicle rules published by GW, Whisky Priest was championing 'What a Tanker!' by Too Fat Lardies.

Battle is engaged!

 In order to participate, we just needed to bring a suitable tank. You may have already seen Asslessman's Metal Slug or airbornegrove26's insane Pizza Tank. As of a 10 days ago, I wasn't planning to participate in the game, so hadn't prepped anything of my own. In fact, I didn't feel I had anything suitable to use. Then I asked WP if I could join in, and started delving into my hobby supplies to see what I could put together.

Sadly I lacked any kind of suitable hull. I did have the domed top piece from the GW Shadow War Armageddon terrain, and was wondering if I should procure a second to make a rolling tank. And then I wondered if I could scratch build something...

BOYL 2018 (Part 1) - Heat Builds in the Underhive

What's the best excuse for playing miniature wargames? Meeting up with friends and having fun of course! Over the course of the weekend just gone, I attended Bring Out Your Lead 2018 (BOYL).

Bring Out Your Lead started as a low-key meet up of a handful of enthusiasts of Games Workshop's older games and miniatures at Wargames Foundry's Nottingham shop in 2013. The event has grown into a three-day annual event at Foundry's current location in Newark, with over 100 attendees, special guests and a wonderful array of eye-catching games.

Pre-BOYL Necromunda

Like last year, myself and some good buddies took the opportunity to have a full day of gaming at Warhammer World. This year, with Necromunda was flavour of the month, so I booked the tables, and completely ripped off the event pack that GW put together for the Necromunda tournament I attended in April.

Curis is aghast at the way Whiskey Priest wields his tape measure!

Twisting Catacombs Villager's Prison (Also Suitable for non-Fantasy Gaming!)

Back at the end of 2017, the excellent Zealot Miniatures ran their Twisting Catacombs: Minotaur Horde Kickstarter. Along with the huge and beautifully sculpted minotaurs, the Kickstarter also included the Villager's Prison - a small scenic piece (I assume used to keep the minotaur's food fresh).

I figured that the prison was pretty genre non-specific, and would be suitable for post-apocalyptic and sci-fi gaming, so I picked one up to use as a scenic item and objective piece. 

I'm really pleased that I did, having got round to painting it up. The prison is supplied with four resin walls and a roof, detailed on the external facings (and the roof underside). The pieces are really nice and close fitting and excellently cast.

Choose Your Own Adventurers (Bonus Post): Isabelle Vienne, Space Amazon

It's been 6 months or so since my last visit to the Choose Your Own Adventurers project. In theory, I think it might be cheetor's turn, but seeing as he's enthusing about tiny little sailing ships, it might be a while yet before we restart things. Consider this a bonus post linked to the project!

That said, I wanted to include a female figure in with the rest of my Bratts. The space amazon from the RT adventurers range was a good candidate - what with her tremendous hair, love of bows and rather exotic outfit. Curis has of course, already painted his wonderful version of the space amazon for the project, so I figured I could include her as part of the Sutter Dukes with no real issues.

Bratts go hunting for spook amongst weird dome fungus growths.

Isabelle Vienne AKA The Duchess is an integral part of the Sutter Dukes' hierarchy, occupying a place in the inner circle along with the Magpie Dandy and Beau Rouge. Where many Bratts tend towards impulsiveness and impetuosity, Vienne is cool and calculating. Most of the more complex hunts and traps carried out by the Sutter Dukes are by her design. Her luxurious furs mark her out amongst many other Bratts who prefer silks, lace and expensive fabrics - they owe much to the exotic fashions of House Escher, even if the fighters of Escher wouldn't recognise the upper-Spire translations of their characteristic trappings. 

Frills, Bows, Power Swords and Combi-Pistols - Bratt Leader

Every Confrontation gang needs an unmistakable leader - that flamboyant model with the over-sized gun or waving their powerful combat weapon. The Sutter Dukes have previously been led by the Magpie Dandy, but with an updated gang, I wanted to use the excuse and paint up my unreleased Bratt leader.

The sculpt dates from the early 1990s, along with the other unreleased Bratts, and is the pinnacle of over-ostentation. He wears a quilted split tunic over a shirt with puffed and slashed sleves. He has lace cuffs and ribbons and bows galore. He wears heeled and buckled boots, and an astonishing hairdo. In essence, he is the ultimate Bratt. The brattiest Bratt!

Beau Rouge is making a name for himself in the Sutter Dukes. Starry-eyed young fops admire his razor-sharp spire fashions and somewhat ultra-violent nature. Some even whisper into their scented cuffs that Beau has designs on usurping the Magpie Dandy! For now, Beau is content to undermine his father, the famous insterstellar merchant, Rouge Trader through his self-indulgent and reckless activities. After all, being noticed is everything.