Showing posts with label Commentary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Commentary. Show all posts

Friday, 14 November 2025

Little Wars TV - A great Historical Gaming Channel and Blog + Patreon

 A while back I came across Lttle Wars TV, After Action Report (AAR / Batrep) for their Vietnam Games and since I have thoroughly enjoyed watching their videos and also their Blog posts on Spotify. 
These have been been great to listen too while busy with other stuff. 

They have a Youtube channel and Spotify Blog and a Patreon. Their website has some free stuff like many of the scenarios for their games. 

Their club appears to have a very nice location and venue and one I am rather generous of. 
My club has over 150 members but mostly Sci-fi and Fantasy is played. A few Boltaction Games and the occasional Chain of Command or Black powder. So its great to see their interest in historical gaming and its benefits. 

So here are their links:
Website: https://www.littlewarstv.com/ 
Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u76MBP546mk
Spotify Blog: https://open.spotify.com/show/2IVvAM1vXeEzmgUDGxy2q2?si=7118ed3f6b2d42c5

If you like Historical Gaming.. well check their stuff out. I certainly can recommend it. 
The production level of their videos is very very good and they have obviously got some talented editors etc. 
I also love the what-if games and posing of historical questions. 

Its interesting to see how a lot of their stuff is run in smaller scales and though I do love my 28mm it is nice to see the likes of the 6mm tank battalions etc, which you can sadly never game in 28mm. 

While listening back through some of their early Blogs, one of the question posed to a couple of their interviewees, was how did they see the decline in historical gaming and this struck a cord. 
The club I help run has over 150 members. We are the largest club in Wales and probably if not, one of the largest clubs in the UK.
We run three gaming nights a week.. two mostly RPG focused evenings and one Boardgames and Wargames focused evening So on a our weekly Thursday Night Gaming for Boardgames and Wargames, we have an attendance ranging from 45 to 60 at peak times. So for a second I will exclude our lovely Boardgamers. The miniature wargamers we are left with, mojoratively play fantasy or science fiction games. Yes 40k is of course our greatest group. With the likes of Oldworld and AOS and Frostgrave and Fantasy battles etc making up the rest. 
We do have a few historical players. Mostly playing Boltaction WW2 at time of writing. Occasionally some chain of command WW2 gets played and some Black Powders or African Bush Wars but its very safe to say that historical gaming makes up a small proportion. Which is a I think a little sad. 
It would be nice to see more historical games played. 

In one of the blogs by Little Wars they discuss the use of Wargaming by a History teacher and later Dean of a private school and how well it was received by teenage students and the skills and the interests it helped develop in those youths over time. And how their historical gaming society was running schemes to encourage new players and younger players to historical gaming. 

Due to legal reasons our club has to ensure any minors (Under 18s in UK) are accompanied by a responsible adult for safeguarding reasons as the club uses multiple sperate rooms at our venue and so by law we have to ensure child safety. We do get some younger players but most are again into the Science fiction or Fantasy games usually their fathers are playing too in general. 

So I decided to look at the BHGS - British Historical Games Society : https://www.bhgs.org.uk/
Seeing if they were doing similar. Sadly it appears from their website, they are primarily focused on tournament events and competitive play, rather than historical and narrative play such enjoyed by the Little Wars TV members. 

This was also in line with the question in one of their blogs put to the Managing Director of Osprey books about the future of historical wargaming. And I must profess it got me thinking and initially I was quite struck by the decline and changes over the year in our club, but change of venue etc have all played a part. 

But looking at the whole of Historical Gaming Industry in the UK.. and how clubs etc are faring. I must say I feel we are seeing a decline. And may be things need to be done to tackle it. 
Not exactly sure on what and how. But certainly I think we need to do something as a hobby and industry.  Something I will be mulling over going forward. 

So if you have read this far on this post. Well done and please comment below on your thoughts. 




Saturday, 9 June 2018

2018 - Oldehammer and Going forward

Welcome Back!

Hi Folks.. yes, yes, I know.. it has been a little while.. oh well.
What can I say.. real life sadly gets into the way at times and finally I am back to some hobby-ing.

Its time to restart some older projects. In the short term it is, going to mostly be some good old Oldhammer.. yes.. Rogue Trader 40K and beyond..

I have a a few sets of old beakies in need to paint and a new life.. so its time to generate the Howling Reavers or Death Tempests and possible chapter names..

I will also be reviewing some older projects..

Tuesday, 20 December 2016

Ok fans, a bit of an apology. This year has not really seen any posts on my blog.
Unfortunately life has been a bit manic and I haven't managed much in the way of gaming or modelling this year. I have been spending more time playing RPGs due to a move and work.

However I have managed to pick up a few good sets of old Rogue Trader 40k era figures for Orks, Marines and Eldar and I have some great games in mind for the new year.

I have had a few figures painted by Jonathan Tarry of Felix Figure Painting





These are a mix of Macrocosm figures and original GW plastic hybrids which I had painted by Jon prior to the release of the new Genestealer Cult Book and Figures by GW. I love the look he has given them. The lighting on the picture is a little bright sadly on the macrocosm figures. But if you have a look through his immense gallery of pictures of things he has painted you will see some lovely work. And at good prices.

So my gaming projects for 2017 are simple.
1. To get the painting table setup, as hasn't happened since the move.
2. To get some more Rogue Trader 40k games and maybe some 2nd Ed played. Getting the Oldhammer Feel.
3. To try and rationalise some of my gaming collections and get more actual games played and reduce the lead mountain a little. As frankly it is more a mountain range and mountain right now.

So a year comes to a close I can only wish you Merry Festivities and may 2017 bring you more games and more fun!


Sunday, 19 June 2016

I am back.. ok.. so it has been a long time since I last posted on there. Life has been rather busy to say the least and my miniature wargaming had to take a back seat as it were. This year, well what is left of it, I am slowly getting back into gaming.

I am working on a few Rogue Trader 40K era projects. I have a marine force, a chaos marine traitor force, a few Eldar, a few Squats and a lot, of Orks to get stripped, built up and painted.

I will try and track the projects here again and for those who have subscribed, will see some interesting bits a long the way.
So please stay tuned..

Monday, 28 July 2014

The Goose is back! Back to the future!

OK, ok.. calm down.. I have only been absent for, errr a while.. shall we say.

So.. firstly! Big apologies for the lack of posts and in fact the general lack of anything what so ever. To say life has been hectic, would be an understatement. New job equals new life and new amounts of other things taking up ones time.

So now I am back. Well I hope so.

So order of the day.. err.. not sure.
Simply put. I have a plan to get a small 40k Rogue Trader gaming setup going again. Why Rogue Trader Warhammer 40,000 and not the latest version..?


Simply because, it was fun and genuine. It wasn't a rule set solely based to make you keep buying more and more miniatures. Rogue Trader did many things, but the big one, was to encourage you too play fun and creative games, not solely 1 on 1 tournament style objective based pairings with equal forces.


It actively encouraged you to creative. To use narratives and have fun.


So I am going back to my roots as it were. A trip down nostalgia lane.

A few beekies and a few orks and a mix of other things for some small scale skirmish games with plots and story and dare I say the odd mutant.. !


Tuesday, 25 February 2014

Where has the time gone??

Fe****ing Hell!

Where has the time gone??

Seriously.. it is now February 2014. A few years ago I bought some zombies, I started my Starship Toopers Miniatures Game project and my 28mm Vietnam project and errrr "some years" later.


And none of completed. It is scary how time has flown. In fact it is alarmingly scary!

So I will be trying to catch up! Watch this space!!!

South Cheshire Militaire Show - Sunday 23 February 2014

First show of the year for me.
Though its primarily a modelling show with some fantastic models on show, with some stunning levels of detail and skill, there is usually a small war gaming element to it.

It is also a nice day out.

Alas I have no photographs. I was a little battle weary on Sunday and didn't take any photos.

The show was pretty much the same size as the previous year. There was only one empty stand, in the main hall.

The up stairs was the usual mix of wargaming, RC cars/planes and trucks! With an indoor flying area for some of the smaller electric models.

The bring and buy was a little empty.. a shame, but that is the way things go now and then.

The main hall was its usual busy self though it was noticeable that there were a few re-enactment displays filling in and less actual "modelling supplies" traders, which was a shame. As I was on the hunt for a few tools and bits and bobs.

The range of models on display were once again, massive and varied. All sorts of things, from plains, trains, trucks and sci-fi "what if" creations.. with various local and not so local clubs and groups displaying.

The venue is a little crowded first things, but it does quieten shortly after lunch most years and this year was no exception. Seems to the general trend for shows these days. I guess its time pressures on gamers and modellers alike.. spending all day is difficult to do.


Sadly the out door displays of vehicles / bb shooting range / paintballing  etc that in some previous years have been seen were not present. A shame, as me and my friends were discussing over lunch in weather spoons before returning to the show. It does seem to be a changing of the guard, as it were, for the ages.

The average age of modellers must be approaching 60-70s now, and fewer and fewer younger people entering like me. Now I don't do much modelling if at all any these days, due to wargaming being my primary interest, but I do love to and see the efforts of those far more skilled than my self. But it is alarming, that so few younger people seem interested at all.


And frankly, the poor understanding and ability to identify historic aircrafts or boats is alarming in its self amongst the younger generation.

I am now officially, by virtue of writing this post, old!
But it is scary.


Shows like the South Cheshire Militaire are facing a battle against changing times. Even our wargames shows have seen many a decline and I am not sure quite what the solution is.

It was good to see the show organisers asking people leaving, if they minded suppling their home postal area code (just the first two letters) in an endeavour to understand where their customers come from and where to focus their advertising. Though my postal code area, covers a massive area and crosses borders of England and Wales, so that one might not be as "telling" as others.


So over all I spent £6.00 and came away with a book and some dice! I would have bought some paints, apart from the offer for £1.80 or 5 for £9 or 10 for £17! A crafty bit of advertising.. as the first two are identicle value.. 5 paints for £9 is £1.80.  So I held off till WMMS in March, as that is not far away and there are usually a trader or two doing Vallejo paints.

So will we be back in 2015? I see no reason why not, timings, life etc allowing.

Wednesday, 19 February 2014

Paint Stripping Part 3 - After some testing.

A while ago I did a few posts on paint stripping.. (See Parts 1 and 2 in the blog history).

At the time, someone said they had heard Coca Cola was worth a try and acetone free nail polish remover.


So here are the results.




Coca Cola - 100% original full fat(Sugar) coke!.. well.. it made some of the paint sticky, it had no effect on the miniatures material, be it metal, plastic or resin. Paints from Vallejo, GW and Army painter, showed no real weakness to it.. on some older models the stuff did soften the paint a little but, compared to Detol (pinesol solutions) it was no where near as good.






Acetone Free Nail Polish Remover - This stuff is odorous.. if you like the smell, great, but don't sniff too much, or you will put your health at risk!!! It might be acetone free, but that means it has had one chemical replaced with another! (or more likely many). Also don't spill it on your nice polished table tops, or you will be heading for the yellow pages to get it repaired!


However.. it eats paint! Yes. It works pretty good. I mean, on metals and most plastics and resins.
The "Most" bit however is key. I tried it on some GW plastics.. without issue.
I tried it on some resin scenery pieces I picked up off a bring and buy a couple of years back, and it worked fine. I also threw in a resin GW cr*pc*st, sorry fine-cast figure! DONT! I don't know what resin they use, but it didn't seem to like it. Metal figures however, not an issue.
Now, it did pretty well with most paints too, but there is a cost consideration. If you can get Detol cheap, then you tend to get more for your pennies, than nail polish remover though prices to vary.

However, I have found detol may discolour and go cloudy, but it still strips paint. I found the acetone free nail polish remover evaporated far faster and after a couple of dippings of 48hrs etc, it started to loose its effectiveness faster than Detol.



So now I am back to using Detol and only use the acetone free nail polish remover for metal figures where I need to get the figure turned around quickly.

So.. over all I still rate Detol! For price, re-usability, effectiveness and lower chances of killing me or making me seriously ill.

The biggest tip for detol.. soak the figure in it, then rince the figure off in detol, yes, detol, not in water. Use a tooth brush, but don't touch water on it, till the paint is off the figure. As, as soon as you add water, it nullifies the pine-sol content and causes any part dissolved paint to go rubbery and very stringy! So have one pot of clean, detol, to put the "soaked" figure in and use to wash off the paint in following a soak, before then rinsing in hot water.




Sunday, 5 January 2014

2014 off to a good start! Sort of. Penkridge Table Sale - 5th of Jan 2014

So the new year has begun. 2014! And so the first show or event of the year. Penkridge Table Sale.
A group of us, made the early hours rise, to get on the road south. The M6 was clear and we made good time on a crisp icy morning.

The show started at 10am officially but we were in and consuming bacon butties in seconds upon arrival.

The four of us had a great day. We routed out various bargains and I came away with some sci-fi terrain, some more figures for my zombies project and some other bits along the way.

Here are some photos from the day. Not taken by me and borrowed with permission from the originator.

It was a good day. Some folks didn't turn up to trade and sell sadly. But only a couple. The rest of the hall was packed.

A really good turn out in the morning and quietened down into the afternoon.

Penkridge Table Sale 5th Jan 2014

Someone looking Happy

The sales were going so fast it was a blur! - Penkridge Table Sale.
Many thanks to the folks who organised it, the traders who attended and the private sellers. I know we are definitely looking forward to the next one.

Sunday, 24 November 2013

Prodos Aliens Vs Predator the Miniatures Game - Kickstarter - Comments by Prodos on the KS

Prodos Comments (in no particular order)
About colonial extra weapon pack: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/513277403/alien-vs-predator-the-miniatures-game/comments…
Why pledge this KS: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/513277403/alien-vs-predator-the-miniatures-game/comments…
We'll see much more after this KS end: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/513277403/alien-vs-predator-the-miniatures-game/comments…
How addons will work:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/513277403/alien-vs-predator-the-miniatures-game/comments…
This isn't a KS of quantity, but quality:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/513277403/alien-vs-predator-the-miniatures-game/comments…
Why they can't show us everything right now:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/513277403/alien-vs-predator-the-miniatures-game/comments…
The Queen will come:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/513277403/alien-vs-predator-the-miniatures-game/comments…
They are confident to ship in time:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/513277403/alien-vs-predator-the-miniatures-game/comments…
Mixed things about the boardgame:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/513277403/alien-vs-predator-the-miniatures-game/comments…
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/513277403/alien-vs-predator-the-miniatures-game/comments…
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/513277403/alien-vs-predator-the-miniatures-game/comments…
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/513277403/alien-vs-predator-the-miniatures-game/comments…
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/513277403/alien-vs-predator-the-miniatures-game/comments…
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/513277403/alien-vs-predator-the-miniatures-game/comments…
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/513277403/alien-vs-predator-the-miniatures-game/comments…
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/513277403/alien-vs-predator-the-miniatures-game/comments…

Prodos Aliens Vs Predator the Miniatures Game - Kickstarter - A few more photos from the Demo Day

 
 
 
A few more photos:















Photos from Demo Day by Prodos. Not taken by me.

Prodos Aliens Vs Predator the Miniatures Game - Kickstarter - Wargame Video

A video of a game played at the Demo day on Saturday.



Not shot by me.

Prodos Aliens Vs Predator the Miniatures Game - Kickstarter - Accounts of the Demo Day.

Here are some links to other peoples accounts of the demo day and the rule and boardgame play.

http://bogend.simplesite.com/301331545

and

Some more photos from the demo day!

Just a few more shots from the day taken by others.

 
 
 

Prodos Aliens Vs Predator the Miniatures Game - Kickstarter - Predalians?

Predaliens...???

https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/projects/616921/posts/672240/image-339682-full.jpg


Nice comparison shot though..

Prodos Aliens Vs Predator the Miniatures Game - Kickstarter - Game Play Video 2



Shot on Saturday. Part 2 of 2. Not shot by me.

These apparently were level 1 predators in the games. They go up to level 5 from the screen shots of the rule book and stat cards shown on the kickstarter.

Which is here: Prodos Alien Vs Predator The Miniatures Game - Kickstarter

Prodos Aliens Vs Predator the Miniatures Game - Kickstarter - Game Play Video 1



Shot on Saturday. Part 1 of Part 2. Not shot be me.

Saturday, 23 November 2013

Prodos Aliens Vs Predator the Miniatures Game - Kickstarter - Photos.

Here are some photos from the demo day held today taken by Jason Barlow.
His blog is here: http://jasonbarlowartist.wordpress.com/


















These are looking stunning.
Very pleased I am backing this Kickstarter now.

Edit - ohh my lord.. I thought that was the warrior compared to infant aliens.. NOPE.. that is an infant compared to the stalkers.. that means the warrior is much bigger. ohhhh. Defnitely glad I backed this now. One to get for sure!