Games Workshop Announces "Space Marine Adventures: Labyrinth of the Necrons"

Games Workshop announced an introductory game called Space Marine Adventures: Labyrinth of the Necrons at the New York Toy Fair over the weekend.  Like the Battle for Vedros set, this game is targeted more toward new-comers to the hobby.

The Space Marines miniatures are from the Japanese Hero Figurine sets, and they include some of the more common Space Marine chapters - Ultramarines (blue), Space Wolves (grey), Salamanders (green), Blood Angels (red), and Imperial Fists (yellow).

The Necron figures are cardboard and the game looks to be fairly simple.  However, based on a close examination of the picture, one can make out "Do Not Open" on three packs of cards.  Might this indicate a more complicated campaign approach, or even a legacy-style game mechanic?

Space Marine Adventures allows 1-4 players to join forces and attempt to break into a Necron labyrinth. Choose your hero and use each character’s unique skills to battle various deadly hazards, not least of which are the Necron guardians themselves. The easy-build nature of the kits and intuitive game make it suitable for players aged 8 and over – good for anything from family games nights to a quick adventure for a regular gaming club. While this set is a great introduction to the 41st Millennium, each Space Marine in the set is also a unique and dynamic sculpt, making them great additions to an existing collection, too.

Disney Frozen Gaming - Attack of the Wolves

A few weekends ago my daughters and I tried out a custom tabletop game using a modified set rules based on the most recent version of Warhammer Quest.  The winter scenery I have makes for a great scene for Frozen, and so we played a scenario with Elsa, Anna, and Olaf facing off against the wolves that are known to inhabit the forest located outside of the capital village of Arendelle.

The Elsa and Anna miniatures are the Fire Elementalists from North Star Military Figures for Frostgrave.  I made the Olaf figure myself using greenstuff and wire.  My youngest daughter played Anna, my oldest Elsa, and I took Olaf.  The wolves were played by the game itself according to a script detailed on custom cards.

The story:

Elsa was startled by her sister entering the room unexpectedly. 

"What is it now?", she asked as she quizzically looked at her sister.

"It's Nona Greta - she's sick!".  Anna looked worried.  "...and the doctor says that in order to cure her he needs a special elixir that he left in her house on the edge of the forest!  I know that house - I can find it and be back in 10 minutes!"

Elsa glanced outside the castle window.  "It's getting dark Anna...."

"I know, we need to hurry!" Anna replied.

"Anna - you know the Kristoff and Castle Guard left on their training exercise two days ago - we'd be all alone without support or protection.  What about the wolves?"

"Its a danger that you and I are going to need to face, Elsa."

Just then, Olaf entered the room, and added, "I can help out too!"

With that, Elsa confidentially said, "Let's hurry!"

The game uses custom-made sheets based on the rules from the new version of Warhammer Quest.  Elsa is the best at combat, Anna has the ability to heal, while Olaf is able to provide support via his ability to stun his opponents.  The direwolves are fast and increase their number of attacks while other direwolves are near.

The objective was to have Anna enter the house, find and obtain the elixir (needing a roll of 6+), and then return to the castle walls before any hero character was defeated by the wolves.  The direwolves entered the table from the forest on the far side of the board.

Luckily, Anna was able to make it to the house and quickly find the elixir.  However, on the return trip to the castle, the wolves all attacked the party at once.  The first round of combat was dangerous, and Anna, Elsa, and Olaf each had only a few wounds left afterwards.  But with Elsa's magic, Anna's healing actions, and Olaf's stun ability, enough healing was performed and damage done to the wolves to reduce their numbers in subsequent turns and provide a respite from their future attacks.  After a few rounds, all the wolves had been defeated, (and they each respawned on the far side of the forest).

The three successfully made it inside the castle as the next pack of wolves approached.

As Anna and Olaf hurried off to deliver the elixir, Anna looked down at the wolves from the castle walls as they approached... they turned and fled into the night as darkness fell on Arendelle....

Relic Knights - Radiant: Candy & Cola

I finished up Relic Knight Candy a few weeks ago, so now Radiant Candy and her fox-tailed friend Cola are both complete.

I tried to paint everything up fairly quickly and used the dipping method, but afterwards I had to repaint Candy's flesh as the dipping media had pooled and left some unsightly blotches.  For the bases, I decided on German Grey to help contrast against the pastels of Candy's Relic.  I also experimented with using glitter glue, to help give the base even more sparkle and shine.  The sparkles don't show well in photographs, but in real-life they give off a nice shimmer in the light.

Oxenfree

Over the last few weeks I've been focused on playing Oxenfree, a game by Night School Studio.  The game is part supernatural thriller, part teen relationship movie, with some of the elements from the Sierra Online adventure games I enjoyed playing as a child.  I can't go into the plot too much without spoiling it, other than it involves a few teens that take an evening trip to an island in the Pacific Northwest.

Some of the things that drew me to Oxenfree were the clean and effective graphics, along with the great soundtrack.  Its creepy atmosphere channels Stranger Things or one of the classic Stephen King movies.  There are few games that have evoked such emotion and nostalgia in a long time. The great character development and intriguing story heavily invested me in the outcome of the story.

I finished the game after five or six hours and greatly enjoyed the whole experience. I highly recommend it if you are looking for a rewarding gaming experience.

Star Wars: Legion - Leak of (Commander) Leia Organa and Rebel Fleet Troopers!

Over in Europe, it appears that an employee of a French games distributor for Fantasy Flight Games took and posted a photo of two unannounced expansions for Star Wars: Legion on Instagram.

We knew that Leia would be one of the upcoming Rebel releases, but the surprise is that this release of Leia is her wearing her Endor combat gear -- most bets had been on her sporting her Hoth outfit.

Additionally, while most were expecting that Rebel Hoth Troopers would be announced as an upcoming expansion, it now appears that the next Rebel expansion will be Rebel Fleet Troopers, (the Rebel Troopers as seen in A New Hope).

I'm very excited for this news, as the vanilla Rebel Troopers have always been my favorite!

Star Wars: Legion - Comparison of Legion's AT-ST to Imperial Assault's AT-ST

Fantasy Flight Games just released a photo showing the differences in size between the Star Wars: Legion's AT-ST and Imperial Assault's AT-ST - the results are quite telling.

Legion's Scout Walker is almost twice the size and one can easily pick more exact detailing in Legion's tabletop model when compared to Imperial Assault's boardgame miniature.

There were many wanting to use their Imperial Assault Scout Walker miniature as a proxy, but this picture puts a dagger into that idea for those who would like representative scaling in their wargaming sessions.

Relic Knights - Radiant: Cola

I tried to finish up Radiant Relic Knight Candy and her cypher Cola a few nights ago.  Cola is now completely done, but I needed to make a few fixes to Candy from the pooling effects of the dipping media.

Cola was painted in a few basic colors, highlighted, then dipped using Mixwax Polyshade.  I used some glitter glue on the base to give the model some sparkle and shine (being a Radiant model).  The glitter glue effect seems to work well on the tabletop, but doesn't translate well to photography.

Merry Christmas!

Best holiday wishes to you and yours....

Star Wars: Legion - Snowtroopers and General Veers

Fantasy Flight Games has announced two new Unit Expansions for the upcoming Star Wars: Legion miniature game:

• General Veers, and
• Snowtroopers.

These announcements bring additional cards and abilities to some of the units available in the Starter Set, but the biggest revelations is the price for the Veers Commander expansion, which helps give a view into upcoming costs of future Commander expansions, (like Leia - the likely next previewed Commander).

Imperials:

• Snowtroopers Unit Expansion $24.95
• General Veers Commander Expansion $12.95

I'm looking forward to additional Unit Expansion previews over the next few weeks as we approach the launch of the game in early 2018.

Rules of Survival

My iOS gaming these days is limited to playing pretty much one game - Rules of Survival, a great PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) clone for the iPad.  Despite disliking most competitive online shooters, the awkwardness in the controls is a benefit to me, since my lack of skill compared to other players isn't as much as a handicap, comparatively speaking.

Another reason I enjoy the game is that it is as much about hiding and sneaking as it is about shooting.  My typical strategy is:

1. Jump off the airplane as soon as allowed,
2. Glide as far as fast as possible, getting to ground quickly,
3. Gather as many supplies as possible from the nearest buildings,
4. Start heading toward the center of the safe zone,
1. Using a vehicle, if possible,
2. Otherwise, running (when concealed) or crawling (in open),
5. Take opportunity shots against other player only if I'm almost guaranteed a kill,
6. Hang out in the middle of the safe zone until end game, letting the other players and the constricting safe zone winnow out the competition.

I've been in the final 2 one time, and in the top 3 more than a few times.  I haven't yet come out on top yet, but hope to sometime.  But even without coming out on top, the game is a blast to play.

Star Wars: Legion - Next Two Commanders Announced!

We all know that Luke and Vader will be the initial commanders released in the Core Set, but the December issue of Tabletop Gaming (Issue 13) has spoiled who the two new commanders will be in the game. 

It will be no other than Leia Organa and General Veers joining Luke and Vader as options in the next few months.  No further details have been released yet, but I'm expecting more information in the near future.

Tabletop Gaming Magazine is only available for purchase in the UK, but you can buy a digital version of the issue here:
https://www.tabletopgaming.co.uk/board-games/store/back-issues/tabletop-gaming/tabletop-gaming-issue-13

In our first monthly issue (December) of Tabletop Gaming we have an exciting first look at massive miniatures game Star Wars: Legion, as its designers tell us about recreating the battles of the original trilogy on the tabletop and following up X-Wing.

Star Wars: Legion - Core Set Miniatures

The core set of Star Wars: Legion was announced a few moths ago, but a number of recent images help provide a view into the quality and variety of the miniatures:

The Rebel contents contains two unique miniatures - Luke and the AT-RT.  The rest of the models contain duplicates, leading to seven miniatures that are included twice.

The Imperial side is much the same, with two unique Speeder Bikes, and one Vader miniature.  The remaining models contain duplicates, meaning there are six miniatures that are included twice.

It is too early to tell how much customization these miniatures will allow for, but once we see the sprues it will be easier to determine how easy it will be to slightly modify the non-unique miniatures.  It would be really nice to have a separate bits sprue to allow some customization between similar miniatures, but I'm guessing an official accessories sprue is not likely to be released anytime soon.

"Painting" 40K Space Marines with Sharpie Pens - Completed Land Speeder

A few weeks ago I started to assemble and paint a Build+Paint Land Speeder for the small Sharpie-painted Ultramarines force.

Over the weekend I completed the Land Speeder, and I think it turned out well for the time and effort spent.  The last few steps were to dip the model, apply the decals, glue in the drive and gunner, re-apply dipping media over the decals.  I finally applied a matte spray to tone down the reflection of the dipping media to complete the model.

There are a few touch-ups needed to be made with a fine Sharpie pen, (in areas where I still see some blue where it shouldn't be). As a proof of concept, it was a success.  The metallic Sharpie pens worked great and saved a ton of time painting those colors.

I probably won't paint any miniatures solely with Sharpie pens alone going forward, but for models with some metallic colors, I'll be sure to pull out the Sharpies - at least for easy to mark areas.

Star Wars: Legion - A Matter of (T-47) Scale

The recent news about the Star Wars: Legion expansions has generated much discussion and questions around what scale the T-47 is in, (and the absurdity of having a fast-flying air-support vehicle as a on-table unit in a skirmish game).

The scale question arose after the following photo was posted from Essen, showing the T-47 Airspeeder to appear on the smallish-side -- even when considering the implications of perspective and distance:

Now that the Spanish Fantasy Flight Games website has posted the unpainted models, it is easier to see that the T-47 isn't as off-scale as it first appeared.  The other point is that, based on the "official" specifications, the Airspeeder is much smaller than most people realize.

Gaming Scenery - Miniature Flocked Trees from Michaels

Over last weekend I visited Michaels in nearby Issaquah and noticed that they have released their holiday inventory.  This is great news for hobby enthusiasts, as Michaels has one of the best deals you can get on flocked trees.  These trees are for use with their Christmas Villages, but work great with snow-covered terrain tables for scales anywhere from 15mm to 35mm.

The key to savings is to use a ubiquitous Michaels 40% off coupon, available from their website.  This brings the cost of a large bunch of trees down dramatically.  Last weekend, they even offered one of their legendary 50% off coupons, which I used for some hobby brushes.

Star Wars: Legion - Unit Expansions Announced!

Today Fantasy Flight Games announced the new Unit Expansions for the upcoming Star Wars: Legion miniature game.  This announcement brings additional cards and abilities to some of the units available in the Starter Set, but also includes two brand new units to the game - the trusty Rebel Snowspeeder and the iconic Imperial AT-ST.

One of the biggest revelations is the prices for these new expansions, helping give a view into upcoming costs of future expansions:

Rebels:

• AT-RT Unit Expansion $24.95
• Rebel Troopers Unit Expansion $24.95
• T-47 Airspeeder Unit Expansion $29.95

Imperials:

• Stormtroopers Unit Expansion $24.95
• 74-Z Speeder Bikes Unit Expansion $24.95
• AT-ST Unit Expansion $49.95

Game Components:

• Dice Pack $14.95
• Movement Tools and Range Ruler $14.95

"Painting" 40K Space Marines with Sharpie Pens - Build+Paint Land Speeder

After I painted a small contingent of Space Marines with Sharpies, I decided to pickup a Build+Paint Land Speeder to attempt the same quick, basic paint job.

Below is the work in progress, showing the model primed and then after less than an hour of work with the Sharpies.  I decided to give the Land Speeder some battle damage to match the scars on the Dreadnought.  This was achieved by outlining silver splotches with black ink.

I'm hoping to paint the flesh color on the Space Marine's face this weekend, then dip the model soon afterwards.  As usual before dipping, it looks like garbage at this stage.  However, dipping should tone down the stark contrast that the pens achieve, give the colors some depth, and create a better overall effect.  I'm still curious to see how the finished model will look without a terrain base like the rest of the Space Marines.

Star Wars: Imperial Assault - Ahsoka Tano Ally Pack

Fantasy Flight Games has just released the Ahsoka Tano Ally Pack for Imperial Assault, bringing the plucky force user to the tabletop for the first time!  

Her miniature has her wielding her twin lightsabers, and the pack also a number of cards and two new skirmish missions for your Imperial Assault games.

A favorite of my daughter's for a long time, I'm excited to possibly use this Ahsoka miniature in upcoming Star Wars: Legion games, (with proxy rules).  Due to Legion's larger scale compared to Imperial Assault, I'm hoping that her miniature will scale appropriately.

USS Missouri (BB-63) - Axis and Allies Game Piece

A few years ago I painted up a small model of the USS Missouri - the model itself is an old game piece from an Axis and Allies boardgame.  It is based on a Games Workshop cavalry base.   I quickly painted it one evening to test out water techniques for Dreadfleet. Being an Axis and Allies game piece means that most details are missing (especially the height of the turrets), but it was still fun to paint.

The USS Missouri (BB-63) is an Iowa-class battleship and was the last battleship to be commissioned by the US.  It hosted the surrender of the Empire of Japan which ended World War II.

The "Mighty Mo" is now a museum ship at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  A few years back, I got to tour the ship with my dad, father-in-law, and daughter, which was one of the inspirations.  If you visit Oahu, I highly recommend taking a day to visit Pearl Harbor and take the tour.