Piquet FAQ

I haven't mentioned it here, but the Piquet FAQ from Santa Clarita Wargamer deserves to be noticed by those with interest in the rules. He has also posted a lot of Field of Battle WW2 content lately, which I've found fairly interested. Along related lines, Brent Oman is currently developing a squad level FoB WW2 set. I'm very interested in that, as I feel more free to improvise scenarios. At this scale, just about anything could have happened. With FoB WW2 at company scale, I feel more contrained to try and follow history.  I mean , not that I actually run that many scenarios as it is...but I do have a Carentan map made up, and most of the figures ready for it.  I should really make the time to run it...

Loyal Rebels

I just received in the mail my copy of Loyal Rebels: Andreas Hofer and the Tyrolean Uprising of 1809. It's a book I've been interested in getting for a while, as English sources on the subject are scarce. I finally saw one come across AbeBooks and snatched it up-- for $8, including the shipping!! Quite a bargain. Not just that, it appears to be signed by the author.

Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto

Number One Son is, like most ten year olds, pretty bad with his money (in my stodgy, fatherly opinion). My exhortations to save his money tend to fall on deaf ears. But he is a Lego fan, so at some point I told him that if he would save up half the $260 price tag for the Lego Mindstorms base set, I would pay for the other half. I was a little skeptical when he took me up on it, but he saved his money all summer and, with, I suspect, more than a little help from some grandparents, made the goal last week. He was pretty enthusiastic about it-- he started building the "humanoid" robot Alpha Rex without any instructions, just eyeballing the box! I slowed him down a bit, got the electronic instructions installed on the computer, and encouraged him to start the intro kit. His Shooterbot shot all the gaming group that came over last night for some Race for the Galaxy. I woke up this morning to find him already up, the Shooterbot disassembled, and most of Alpha Rex built. I think to him, it's not a robot if it's not humanoid. He keeps talking about how he has a toy robot, and I keep trying to convince him that, no, this is a real robot. I think it's starting to sink in.

Mah boy gets Gutshot!

IMG_1648, a photo by The Gonk on Flickr.

Three Rivers Con is an occasional local convention which is mostly devoted to role playing. I've been meaning to make it to one, but something always seems to come up! This year, a small window opened up between soccer games and family obligations for me to take Number One Son to the show. It wasn't just the show, but Mik was running Gutshot with Flounder's assistance. Flounder has run this several times for us, yet I had never been able to make one of the games, so I was actually pretty excited about playing in it! Mik borrowed my Whitewash City buildings, but used Lego cowboys. This was a hoot, especially since Number One Son is also a Lego fan. We were given two Gutshot character sheets at random, and then took turns assembling our characters! It was more fun than I expected.

Field of Battle 2

I got Piquet's Field of Battle 2 last week! I've really been sold of FoB for a while. FoB2 doesn't really bring any big surprises. Blunder on the Danube has all the changes to the system. However, the coolest thing about it is, in my opinion, the scenario generator. It's a way to build a campaign-style framework around a one-off battle. Both sides have some options based around the quality of the Commander in Chief's command rating. You choose your focus between Deployment, Reconnaissance, Strength and Tactical Adjustment (once your opponent's disposition has been noticed). If you have a great C-in-C and he focuses his strength on Recon, you're likely to get more areas of the table to set up troops in, especially if your opponent has not chosen to emphasize Recon. However, there is still Fate. Each side gets three Fate rolls, which may or may not apply to each area. It's a simple system-- a d4 to choose the area, and a 50/50 roll to determine a positive or negative adjustment. However, these positive and negatives are rolled via a d12, so there are six adjectives for both the positives and negatives. You might get bonus to Recon due to Cavalry Screen, or Maneuver. You might get a negative modifier due to Bad Maps or Poor Staff Planning. It's enough of a description to give this Fate bonus a little meat to help explain why the scenario set up is what it is. Scenario creation is honestly not one of my favorite things, so anything that helps me come up with a more interesting scenario is a big bonus in my book. Combine this system with a simple "best 2 out of 3" campaign, and it looks to me that you can have some simple, but real, campaign fun.

Skullcracker Bird

Skullcracker Bird, a photo by The Gonk on Flickr.

I just finished up my ShadowSea Skullcracker Bird. Technically a fantasy model, he'll probably serve as a pseudo-historical albeit anachronistic Terror Bird in some prehistoric games with Number One Son. It's a nice resin model, and to stabilize it I mounted it on some plasticard (a For Sale sign from the local hardware store). It's surprisingly light, although thick enough everywhere that it seems durable. The paint scheme is loosely based on the snake eating Roadrunner, but I turned his flaring crown feathers into a display. Speaking of resin models, I spent the weekend in Memphis with my wife for our sixteenth wedding anniversary. My mom watched the kids in the evenings so that my wife and I could celebrate, but during the day I took Number One Son to the Games Workshop Battle Bunker.

Ave Tristan, paintituri te salutant!

A big thanks to Tristan of GWpertinent for sending me a sprue of Warlord Games Celts and Praetorians by way of Mik. He must have twigged to the fact that Number One Son and I have been painting ancients, and these will be put to some good use by us. That is just supremely cool. Thanks, Tristan!! ...even if you ARE a Chelsea fan. Did you see that ludicrous display last night? The thing about Chelsea is, they always try to walk it in.



...apologies for the bastardized Latin...I actually spent like 30 minutes trying to figure out what the equivalent word for "those about to paint" would be, based on "Ave Imperator, morituri te salutant" before deciding I was just waaaaay over my head and wasting time...

Fireball Forward Brecourt Manor

Brecourt Manor, a photo by The Gonk on Flickr.

You may or may not have heard, but the upcoming ruleset Fireball Forward! has released a limited set of playtest rules and initial scenario. It appears the initial book will have a few scenarios following Easy Company, which is just up my alley with my FoW Airborne. So, I've set up the game and we're playing it this Friday. I played FF! at Fall-In! last year and Historicon this year, and I like it. There's really no reason not to play it given I already have the figures. One thing I like about FF! is the relatively small figure requirement-- here you see I only have nine and twelve stands per side. That ought to let you get into a period you have only minor interest in without too much effort and money invested. The "official" basing doesn't quite match FoW but isn't strict-- I'm using FoW command stands for individual leaders, medium bases for teams, and medium bases with larger sabots for full squads.

Amerikanische Burger Essen

Stuttgarter Hofbräu!

It's been a while since I had a food post on here, but I had a very nice little dinner the other day. It centered around this nice little gift brought back to me by my wife from Germany, a bottle of her local Stuttgarter Hofbräu. I grilled a couple of pounds of hamburgers, which is always fun. I tried a new dish for me, which was grilled broccoli. I mostly followed this recipe, leaving out the Parmesan, instead of our usual steamed. It was fine, not great. I fried some Onion Rings for Son Number Two, who really loves them. But the real pièce de résistance was my Brussels Sprouts. Yes, the Brussels Sprouts. I can't hardly get the vile things down when they are steamed, but during a recent trip to New York, I left a $50 steak on the plate and ordered a second helping of their fried Brussels Sprouts. Delicious, and this recipe is basically what I had. It's easy, and awesome.

The Decompression Chamber

DSCN0142, a photo by The Gonk on Flickr.

That's the new name for my "man cave." After five weeks of inactivity when the wife and kids were gone, they have been back now for a week. And in that week, I've finished an entire Flames of War M2A1 105mm artillery battery with staff team and spotter, as well as three Old Glory US paratrooper command teams I was lacking and most of a staff team! I love my family, but after a full day at work and then another five hours with the wife and three kids, I am definitely ready for a break. For whatever reason, I find retreating to the painting table very relaxing. That and my general lack of direction reminds me of "tinkerers" who work in the garage with no real purpose, just tinkering for the sake of relaxation. I tinker with miniatures.

Historicon 2011

Corner Kick!, a photo by The Gonk on Flickr.

Historicon 2011 was a lot of fun. The drive was very long, ten hours, but the facilities were nicer than the usual Lancaster Host (usual for me-- I missed last year, so this is my first HMGS East con away from the Host in ten years). I played in several great Piquet games, which have been spotlighted on Blunders on the Danube, as well as a game of Fireball Forward, which I'm looking forward to seeing published. I also finally made time to sit down for Bob Wiltrout's soccer game Corner Kick!. Ed: AND former local Brian met me for a midnight Blood Bowl 1-1 mauling of my Skaven by his Ogres, leaving 3 of my 4 Gutter Runners missing the next game-- one of which had to be retired-- and killing one of my players! All the games were really fun, and here you see my Number One Son (wearing his Germany jersey) back at home stomping my Argentinians in a game of Corner Kick! with his Subbuteo figures. I had two definite vendor purchases in mind-- D-Day bunkers from Armaments in Miniature and more Primaeval Designs prehistorics from Acheson Creations. Neither was there!! Naturally, I didn't let that stop me from blowing the budget in the vendor hall...

Five Weeks

Cybermonkey, a photo by The Gonk on Flickr.

Five effin' weeks my family is out of town. You know what all I got done in that time? This. Ammon Miniatures' Cybermonkey. Between being sick, being lazy and going to Historicon, that single miniature is the only thing I completed. Disgusting! This is the first resin gaming piece I've painted, and I have to say I think it's not really an acceptable material. Sorry, Citadel Finecast. Resin has been used for years in thicker and larger scale casting, but at this scale, it's just too flexible and fragile. Painting this guy, I snapped the radar dish off its stand. I shouldn't say snap, that implies something more like a plastic break-- this felt like chocolate cake coming apart. The reglue is probably a stronger joint. Resin can-- CAN-- deliver superior quality casts, and I figure most of these boutique resin castings are more for painting and displaying, rather than gaming. However, this figure was just too cool not to add to my growing super apes collection...