Victory (and some zombies)

I've been enjoying a four day weekend and even though I've been wasting a lot of time on my PSP I have been getting in some gaming and painting as well.

On friday we continued with day two of the Eastern Front Blitzkrieg Commander campaign. On turn one I didn't get to through the Germans fast enough to take the objective and so the tables got turned. This time I had to defend the objective. Some well placed anti tank ditches and lots of wire forced the Germans to rely on a flanking attack to take the objective within the time limits, but I was able to destroy enough enemy units to make sure he couldn't claim the objective. A minor victory for the glorious Russian army!
Next battle: the same scenario, again! With 1875 points vesrus 750 points Germans. This may seem like a walkover, but this is not unlike the last couple of games. A dug in defender, that is invisible at the start of the game, is a very tough nut to crack.


Last Tuesday I found my order of Wargames Factory zombies in the mailbox and I started putting one of the sprues together. And I started painting them immediately. The fact that these are all individuals seems to get me painting more quickly than when I have units to paint. The monotony, I guess. From left to right they go from finished (just varnish to apply) to just flesh. Meet bald skater dude, fat survivalist dude, soccer fan, doctor, biker punk and stressed out cubicle guy...

Not a bad weekend, and it still isn't over. And now you'll have to excuse me, my PSP is calling me...

All Things Zombie is go!

A while ago I ordered "All Things Zombie" from Two Hour Wargames with the "play more" idea in the back of my mind. Quick games with a limited number of figures... When it comes to humans, I have enough cops, gangers, armed civies stuffed away in my cupboards (yes, the plural is no typo) to cover that part of the game. Zombies, on the other hand...

With the new Wargames Factory 28mm zombies coming out at about the same moment that was not a real problem. One set of those should be more than enough so when the Red Barons show in Gent was nearing I preordered some from one of the traders that would be attending. The day came, but not the traders. Thier car broke down on the wrong side of the English Channel. So what, someone else is bound to have them? No zombies in Gent. Same thing in Rheindahlen, no zombies to be seen anywhere... Wtih all the zombie rules being published lately, I was surprised. Time do some online shopping.


So it was back to the guys at Wargames Emporium, the guys with the crappy car, to order two sets of zombies (only one for me, the other for my partner in crime) and a blister of GHQ Russian assault guns and one of CinC Russian artillery to augment my Blitzkrieg Commander forces. I ordered them last Friday and when I got home from work there was a Jiffy bag sticking out of my mailbox. I was hoping for a card from the mailman telling me to pick up a package at the PO, this was one better. Like a kid on boxing day!


After ripping open the envelope I wasn't too happy. The zombies aren't packed in a box but in a plastic bag, so I was a bit nervous about their state after being handled by the mail system. I would have liked some better packaging by Wargames factory. But the survived without problems. When I looked at them for the first time, they seemed rather small, but in the end it turned out to be a case of being used to GW steroid 28mm figures. Compared to a Perry miniatures ACW they look normal. Now all I need to find is a good skin tone for zombies in my Foundry paints.


So pretty soon they'll be facing of with these guys I picked up at the bring and buy in Gent, a painted blister of Foundry SWAT troopers that I got for 10 euros. The same price my friend paid at one of the traders after delving in the discount bin for exactly the same figures. Sometimes life smiles at you. Most of the time it just mocks you though ;-)

Action 2009 product review...

OK, so where did the money go to at the Rheindahlen show this year?


First, third, fifth and last stop at any show is the bring and buy stand. Here I picked up an Ogre tyrant and a Helldorado Saracen fighter. While I no longer fancy the idea of building an Ogre kingdom army, the tyrant will make a nice personality for an ogre Songs of Blades and Heroes warband. The Helldorado figures I own will end up that way too.
I also bought a box of Pegasus Miniatures "Large gothic building" from one of the traders. Excellent value for money, the box is packed solid with walls and assorted nicknacks to decorate them with.


One of the other traders had some Starship Troopers boxes stashed under his table and after some Mediterranean style bargaining I got a nice deal and walk away with some hopper bugs and a pair of MI suits.



Some more scenery in the form of Pegasus "Farm animals set" and the 1/72nd scale "Area 51 UFO". That last kit is intended for pulp SF gaming, looks pretty nice but (compared to the gothic building set) rather expensive for what you get. And I also bought Ceasar's "Modern US elite forces" for Ambush Alley. These figures wear the latest model of body armour and weapons and like all Ceasar figures look absolutely great!


Here you can see the UFO standing next to a pair of Hydra miniatures troopers. The kit is basically an upper and lower disc, four legs with hatches (not shown) and a green transparent dome and windows (also not shown in the picture)

Not pictured at all are some GHQ Russian WWII tanks and aircraft, these are being worked on (and played with) and some magazines.

All in all a pretty diverse batch of new stuff but everything was bought with a purpose, I managed to avoid the "ooh shiny" impulse buys...

Return of the Blogger...

After a rather eventful and at times uncertain period I got sidetracked and as a result I haven't spent a lot of time gaming or painting over the last few months, not to mention blogging of course. Pretty much all I did was visit the two springtime wargaming shows that I attend every year: the Red Barons show in Gent and Action in Rheindahlen.
I am glad to say that spending during these shows was well within reason and I kept away from getting into new periods/scales... More on this in a later post.

Last Friday saw the return to the gaming table as we kicked of the club's Blitzkrieg Commander campaign. My Russians failed to take the objective in a deliberate attack scenario after a sometimes frustrating game. Plenty of dug in German troops that remained quiet and as a result invisible, protected by a host of minefields. Next battle will be the same scenario, but this time I'll be defending. Those anti tank ditches seem rather inviting...

It's good to be back...