Holiday Gaming Goodness.......

I took a holiday starting December 19, 2007 till January 3rd 2008.... and I have gamed more in the last 2 weeks than in the last 18 years.

My buddy Neil came over and we played 10 games of War Machine, 10 games of AT-43 and others. Santa brought World of Warcraft the board game for Christmas and we've played that 3 times already (trust me, it's a LONG game).

I've played Warmachine with my son's and when the SO saw how much fun Neal and I were having she's even indicated that she's interested in learning how to play. I think it was the artwork on the Khador set that Neil had.

I didn't get any Warmachine for Xmas because I got lots of stuff for it over the year, but I got my AT-43 goodies (except my Karmen.... damn you Rackham... December release my ass).

But this has to be one of the best holiday's I've had in a long time (Disney World doesn't count, you have fun there even if your the meanest, most unhappy person in the world).

On the Computer front.... we switched from Comcast (assholes) to DSL.... and the change has been life altering. Where we used to have a World of Warcraft disconnect every 30 minutes, we now can play for literally days with no lag or disconnects. Thanks Comcast for shafting your customers. Guess my $45 a month is going to Qwest now.

My SO also picked up 2 more copies of Guild Wars so my BIGS (Built in Gamers) and I can play together and quest our butts off.

Hopefully the good cheer and fun of gaming festivities doesn't wear off in the new year and we can keep it up.

Cheers!!

SWEET!

It's been a few weeks, but I got in my Colonel G. Stark Hero Box for AT-43 and OMG is it SWEET!!!! I couldn't believe it was that SWEET but GOOD LAWED it is awesome!

I thought I was going to get a serious woody over it.

Have the prepaints is a blessing too.

I'll have to get some PIC's of my Armies together.

Now I'm waiting for my Karmen to show up. I'm totally f-ing JAZZED about those dudes. Apes in Armour with GUNS!!

Cheers!

Despair......

I love despair.com. They now have a DIY...

I could not resist to play around with it and Mini's. For this round I did all AT-43 Mini's by Rackham.

I love the game and the prepainted Minis and it was fun to poke some fun...













Ahh... I'll have to do that again real soon!

Electric Car

If this ever hits the market for a decent price, I'm gonna get it.... I don't own a car since I don't want to contribute to global warming and current electric cars are a joke.




So I've got my fingers crossed that this car becomes a reality.

Cheers!

CCotD'

Themed Games

One of the players in my group mentioned having a themed game for October... ie. Halloween.

So I thought I'd see how some Jack 0'lantern gang members would look...

Kinda Cool eh?

-CCotD'

Warmachine Battle Report

I played another game of Warmachine this weekend with my youngest BIG (Built in Gamer) and it was a fun game. Yesterday he beat me pretty harsh, so I was glad to pay back the favor.

Essentially he had the advantage, splitting my forces and the pouncing.... but I won, grabbing his Warcaster with the Grundback Driller and drilling a huge hole in her head :) That was great...

Warmachine is a great game. Wish I had more time to play it.

Full battle report.

-CCotD'

Gothic Horror Wargaming

I have gotten a bug in me (really, I'm home sick) and that has given me time to shop around for games (duh!.... LOL). I found a few months back, Chaos in Carpathia by Scott H. Pyle. I have spent the last few weeks reading over the rules and playing some test battles to see if I like the game. I am now hooked on Gothic Horror Wargaming.

Chaos in Carpathia is a small unit skirmish game (no more than 5-10 models per side, you could have more, but the average is 5-10) that pits Human Monster Hunters against Werewolves against Vampires against Treasure Hunters.

The system is based on goals. Attacking players roll a certain number of dice attempting to hit a goal number, adding in traits. Defending players also roll to try to obtain their own goals to ward off the attacking players goals.

At the moment I do not have many (in fact I have no miniatures specifically for Gothic Horror Wargaming. But Blue Moon Manufacturing has some over the top miniatures exactly suited for this game. Oh wait... Blue Moon also makes Chaos in Carpathia.

Check out the poses on these Werewolves.... That's AWESOME.

And the cool thing is... Old Glory Miniatures has a membership where you pay $50 bucks up front, then get a 40% discount on what they sell..... if you spend $125, you break even, but with all the SUPER STUFF that they sell.... you'll be making bank on that deal!

Yea, I know, quit advertising for someone else... LOL. Not advertising, just letting fellow gamers know where the great things are in life. ;)

For terrain that matches the whole Gothic Scene is the Shellendrak Manor by World Works Games. Matt Lyons (the designer, developer) did a fantastic job, and it fits perfectly in with the whole Gothic Horror Wargaming scene. So much in fact that he included his own little freebie game in it. I hope there's more coming down the pipe to fit that line as well. A graveyard / mausoleum would be nice.... And for having the battles take place in a town, Village Works will fit just fine for those rustic, gothic, East European look. I watched Van Helsing the other day and the town sure looked close to what Village Works has to offer, only darker...

But I highly recommend the Chaos in Carpathia rules. And once my Blue Moon Miniatures arrive, I'll let you know how those turned out as well.

Chow!

CCotD'


P.S. I am a Wargamer!

I'm Jealous

There are few things in this world that I can actually say I'm jealous of... I've Paul Allens Yacht and yawned.... I've seen Bill Gate's Mansion.... yawn... but this.... now that I am jealous of.

CCotD'

Puget Sound Gaming Meet Up

I held another Meet Up on Saturday. I did not get any pictures, but we had 5 people through out the day which was really nice. Need to make sure I take pictures next month.

Blah!

Another stagnant period for posting.....

I am redoing my condo (new floors, painting, repairs) for the ENTIRE condo (townhouse) and with working full time while that is going on, there is not much time for hobby stuff :(

Do not despair though, I am attempting to rectify that situation with having at least 2 nights a week that I can dedicate to hobby stuff.

Got some cool pics that I found on line that most will find funny. I'll attempt to load them into Picasa to see if I can then link to the Blog.

Stay tuned.

Personality Test?

Most personality Tests I have taken, I take with a grain of salt, but this one pretty much hit the nail on the head.

Your Personality Is

Rational (NT) You are both logical and creative. You are full of ideas. You are so rational that you analyze everything. This drives people a little crazy! Intelligence is important to you. You always like to be around smart people. In fact, you're often a little short with people who don't impress you mentally. You seem distant to some - but it's usually because you're deep in thought. Those who understand you best are fellow Rationals. In love, you tend to approach things with logic. You seek a compatible mate - who is also very intelligent. At work, you tend to gravitate toward idea building careers - like programming, medicine, or academia. With others, you are very honest and direct. People often can't take your criticism well. As far as your looks go, you're coasting on what you were born with. You think fashion is silly. On weekends, you spend most of your time thinking, experimenting with new ideas, or learning new things.

The Three Question Personality Test

Yea, that pretty much summed it up. This explains why I think Mini's and Wargaming with those Mini's is so fucking cool.

I really need to put a stupid picture here.......

Excuses, Excuses. I guess I need to put a stupid picture here to try and make up for my absence from updating my blog.

My wife (after visiting with the relatives when her Aunt died) decided that hardwood floors and repainting the townhouse with accent walls etc would be a good idea. I don't know why it wasn't for the last 5 years, but I guess I'm an idiot.

So a destroying we go. After tearing up my eldest's room and then attempting to do the flooring (his room is "angle hell") the rest of the house should be easy. I even had the whole last week off to do this freakin' project figuring that I would be done with at least the upstairs. Oh no. That freakin' room from "angle hell" took all freakin' week. We just got the molding done and will be starting in the hall, proceeding to the room over the garage and then on to the master bedroom and bath.

What does all this have to do with Miniatures and Miniature wargaming? Not one damn thing, except for the time it's eaten into. But I have to admit, seeing the flooring and walls come along gives me a sense of accomplishment so hopefully when this is all done, I can tie the wife up, put her in a closet and actually start working seriously on my minis. I have a huge pot of spakle so I can start doing some proper basing.

I have been buying bugs of various sorts for quiet a few months now so I can have a bug war using the 5150 rules from Two Hour games. I have the fliers on clear stands and the crawlers on round 25, 40, and 50mm bases covered in spackle which will be painted and flocked...

I've also been working on the Bug holes by taking AOL CD's that I have been collecting over the last 10 years and using spackle to build up the holes. Guess I should write a tutorial and post that to the blog or my normal site Cerebral Cortex of the Damned (dot com).

I'm hoping too that next month the $$ won't be flowing out to Home Depot and Lowes and will be going to my hobbies again. I want to get Alpha Forges new Mephallians (Ok I already own some, but I WANT MORE!!! LOL) and the new rule set is out in print which covers the Mephs. Man oh man, blind aliens that are like blind cave fish.... I'm horny already... :D

I also have to finish my APE gang that I have been converting. I really want those done. Arabin and I missed this months (July) due to my construction in the townhouse. I also got hit by a car while on my bicycle on July 7th. The lady was not watching where she was going and t-boned me. Thankfully I saw her at the last minute and was able to raise my left leg and step on her hood before she broke my leg. She unfortunately stepped on the accelerator instead of the break and sent me flying into traffic. I am OK, but my bike was totalled. It was only 2 months old and BOOM... I had just picked it up from the bike shop for a tune up. Boy was I pissed. But she and her family were really nice and they purchased me a new bike to make up for destroying mine. Since I am uninjured I let it go with just that. I'm sure they thought I would sue, but I'm not like that. Cover my expenses, etc. and were done.

Too bad I couldn't use the accident as an excuse to not work on the townhouse and do my hobbies, but I want the townhouse finished. It is all torn up and we have to put everything from one room into another in order to paint and floor that room. So stuff is piled high, really high.

The one cool thing about it is, 1) getting ride of old stuff, and 2) finding toys I purchased 10-15 years ago to use as gaming pieces... so more fun stuff to convert, etc.

Guess I better put up and go to bed...

CCotD'

And a converting we will go....

I have been working on some conversions. I have not had time to paint them yet, I am hoping to get to that this weekend.

I am also working on a waterfront scene using World Works Games Terrain. I am using the Skull Cove and Mayhem Industrial. I want to use old world docks with the Warehouse from Mayhem Industrial so I can use it in either type of setting, fantasy or modern. Hell, even SCI-FI might work.

I have the docks printed and put together, I am trying to strengthen them with Foam Core. Hopefully that will work.

I will attempt pictures this weekend.

And Life Keeps Happening......

Again another long delay between posts.

My Wife's Aunt died on the 10th of June. This woman practically raised my wife. So I encouraged my wife to pay her respects. The whole family would have gone but the kids have finals so it was not a good time for everyone to take off. I worked a week from home to get the kids off to school and take care of them in the late afternoon. Helping the kids with their finals took its toll on the creative juices as well.

I'm just now recovering and getting to rediscover my wife. It's like we are dating again. I don't know what that's all about, but I like it. Makes be know that the last 18 years were worth it.

I'll start posting more items soon. I just wanted everyone to know that I'm alive and that more cool stuff is coming down the pipe.

Regards,

CCotD'

Genuine LOL

Wow. I really love it when companies do crazy stuff like this. Sock puppet Miniatures. Can't wait to see their write for games like 5150.... now that's gonna be some funky gaming.

LOL.

18 years in the making....

My wife and I celebrated our 18th Anniversery this past weekend.

It was odd that we didn't do what normal couples do and get all mushy and cuddly, etc. She wanted to help get the pool ready for this summer (we live in a condo and there is a community pool). So we spent the day brow beating our kids into submission to help us get the pool furniture ready for the summer. We put the broken furniture back together and washed and cleaned 15 pieces. Hmmm... not a very romantic day... but that night she was very thankful for my helping out and getting one of her items off of her todo list. So she agreed to play one of the table top wargames that I play. A game called Gangs of Megacity 1. I was floored... she's never played any of those types of games in 18 years of marriage. *faint*. But play we did.

I of course won, and we discussed the pro's and con's of these types of games and why she didn't like them. It all boiled down to one thing... The randomness of the dice during combat. She didn't like the fact that she got her gang into a really good position, only roll misses and failed WtF rolls.

I can agree to some degree on that logic, but that's what it's all about. You get your troops into the right position, then the shooting starts.. who misses, who hits, who dies, and who pees their pants and runs away. Just like real combat. You may think your troops are all gung ho as you would be, but they are not. She thinks of each figure as a representation of herself, not just the leader, but all of them. During the game, one of her gang members got shot and went down, the rest of her gang, but her Top Dog (i.e. the leader) ran away. She was determined and took on my gang with just her leader. She's got some serious balls to do that.

She got some serious hits in on my gang and the game ended when my second in command blew off the arm of her leader. She was non too pleased.

But it was still fun and hopefully, with the prodding of my eldest, she will be involved during the games.

18 years. Wow. Wonder how long it will be for the next game.

One of the Coolest Mini's EVER

Rod Tyson (one of my two favorite Sculptors) created a sculpt that is simply incredible.



The Mephalians are a race for the Star Mogul game. I think they are awesome. I really appreciate it when companies come out with cool stuff like this. The write up for them is great and the sculpts are awesome. The one dude holding his arm out pointing while it looks like he's yelling an order... simply awesome.. so simple a pose can make the difference with a race such as this.

Thanks Rod.

Terrain......

When you talk to war gamers, there are two things they are passionate about. 1) their games, 2) terrain. Mini's come and go, sculpts change... but mention terrain and you get the blood of a war gamer flowing.

Most gamers will argue about types of terrain, resin vs cardstock vs hand created. I personally prefer all three.

As a model railroader, hand crafted terrain is the ultimate in realism on a small scale. But would you really want your gaming buddies running ramshod over that beautiful peice of scenery that took you endless hours to create?

Resin terrain is great. I didn't have to create it and all I had to do was paint it. Hmm Hmm good. Oh wait, hey be careful with tha...... smash, crash.... sounds of your resign terrain smashed into little bits because some oaf has butter fingers (or like me, Essential Tremors). You also have to purchase multiple items if you want to have many of the same items on the board. At this time Armorcast has the best selection, but there are literly hundreds of Resin Terrain Makers out there. This is where Google will prove its worth to society.

Cardstock, at this period in my life is the best value for the money. If a piece gets broken, or damaged beyond repair, you print another sheet (or sheets) and cut, score, fold, glue, burnish. Easy as pie. Of course you don't get the detail that most war gamers want in their terrain, but how often does the detail actual effect game play? It effects egos but not game play.

There are several Cardstock artists out there and World Works Games has numerous artists working for it and their stuff is good. I mean really good. Check them out. I own numerous of their sets and Matt Lyons and Paul Senior are my favorite artists at World Works Games. Mel Ebbles has great vehicles and Mech stuff that he creates. It's really cool stuff. I have everything he has created and they are tough to build... really tough, but I don't mind a challenge.

There are some carstock manufacturers that make purchasable cardstock. I personally do not like those because if I screw up the item or it gets damaged, then, like resin terrain, I have to purchase a new one. Paper Creek Models has these types of buildings and they are primarily used with model railroads. But their stuff is extremely detailed and I have used them on my model railroads... but then huge warmachines don't come speeding across my railroad. LOL.

Later on, I will post all the terrain places I know of, Cardstock, both downloadable and purchasable as well as Resin. So stay tuned Gentle Reader, there's more to come.

Favorite Sculptors....

I've been collecting Miniatures for over 30 years. I have seen sculptors come and go.

My two favorite sculptors at this time (and one of them has been a favorite for about 10 years) are Jason Wiebe and Rod Tyson.

Jason does a lot for Reaper Miniatures, and he also did the Simian Empire for the 100 Kingdoms Miniature combat game by Black Orc Games. Unfortunately some people misspell his last name (even the company he produces product for).

Rod Tyson is the lead designer/sculptor at Alpha Forge Games. The Star Mogul line of Minis is awesome and Rod really does a great job with his customers and fans.

Check them both out. You won't be disappointed.

Been a few

It's been a while since I posted :( . I got sick with a sinus infection and Pneumonia at the beginning of April. It drug out for 6 freakin' weeks...... 6 FREAKIN' WEEKS!!

I still have some respiratory issues, but I feel lots, tons, etc better than I did when this all first started.

I meet with a chap who goes by the handle Arabin on the World Works Games forums. We played a game called Gangs of Megacity One by Mongoose Publishing. It is based on the comic book 2000AD with a character named Judge Dredd. Fun game to play. You can read about Game1 and Game2 if you want.

I just saw the new Privateer Press' Mercenary faction based on Pirates. OMG!! The Warjacks are awesome. I can't wait to get them.... but I'm also trying to save up for Alpha Forge's new Mini's too. Oh damn the delima!! AT-43 has some new stuff coming out too and finally the army books in English. I just wish They'd release the Karmans.... apes with guns f'ing RULE!

I'll be posting my Gangs stuff so everyone can check it out. Just need to come up with an automated way of posting their stats, etc.

Organization.... yea right.

Ah.... Miniatures... Wargaming.... some great music to listen too at the same time....

But when I'm not bashing the head in (virtually on the table top of course), I have to keep my wonderful collection of Mini's organized. At the moment all I have displayed are the ones that are pre-painted at the moment, and some that are finished being painted (which is very few).

My Significant Other doesn't like it when I have to "organize" the Mini's.

I wonder why?








LOL

Travelling Hobby Man

Since I have so precious little time to work with my hobbies at home, I try to optimize my time when out and about and at work.

So I try to find inventive ways to carry items back and forth.

Here we have the JIFF PEANUT BUTTER JAR OF THE DAMNED that has been washed out and put to better use than Peanut Butter. Remember Kids, Peanut Butter kills... don't use it unless you want to assassinate someone who's allergic to Peanuts (like me).



Lots of things fit into the jar, including knives, paint brushes, etc. Although I would have a cap for the paint brushes so they don't get damaged or the brissles messed up.

Here you can look down into it.



The next item is the TRAVEL HOLDER FOR THE CARDSTOCK OF THE DAMNED



This folder is usally used to hold paper or other such odds and ends. It has a fine mesh pencil holder that can hold tubes of glue, pens for edging, paint brushes, knives (with cap), etc. Very, very nice.

Here is the inside of the TRAVEL HOLDER FOR THE CARDSTOCK OF THE DAMNED



There is one side for storing uncut cardstock and the other side for the pieces cut out. Oh look, there are containers from Mayhem Industrial from World Works Games

Thanks for looking.

Mobile Workstation Redux

People have asked to see how I have the drawers to my mobile workstation laid out. So I have taken the brief amount of time to do so.

I would like to apologize to those who have patiently waited. I have had pneumonia for the past 4 weeks and it sucks. Big time.

But without further ado....

Top Drawer:



I try to keep my tools, glues, etc. here and some of the card stock terrain that I am working on (in the back sections of the drawer). I need to re-org the drawers (all of them) since I have found some Mini's that I thought had been lost in some moves when I was haze grey and underway.. (for those who don't know what that is, it is my time at sea with the U.S. Navy).

2nd Drawer Down:



I have a small collection of spaceship mini's that I am working on here, but the majority of space is taken up by cardstock terrain that I have not had a chance to cut yet. Just a matter of time. I also have evidence bags from when I was a COP. Yes, yes, I was a cop for a very brief time. Don't get me started on COPs. Maybe I'll start a blog where I discuss personal opinions on stuff, but this is not my intention of this forum. So back to the hobbies. I use evidence bags to store bits and pieces of miniatures. You can actually purchase them at any craft place. I thought that was funny for some reason. I guess the irony of it.

3rd Drawer Down:



Ok, actual mini's start to show up in force. You can see the evidence bags in use (actually I found that some mini manufacturers use them too to ship mini's in!).

4th Drawer Down:



This drawer we see more mini's and some bits that I did not put in bags... like I said Pneumonia sucks. But when I re-org the drawers, the bits will be moved and more minis will be in the back. I have a set of drawers that are on my wall in the garage that have minis in them... you know the kind from 20 years ago.

Anyone notice Orca's ass? He's from Citadel Miniatures, 197? something. I found him along with a whole bunch of Grenadier Miniatures in that group of minis I thought had been lost.

5th Drawer Down:



More miniatures.... 20+ year old Space Marines from the very first plastic boxed set. Plus others. Need to put more minis down here during my re-org.

6th Drawer Down:



More minis, instructions on putting the cart together and pens for edging my cardstock terrain.

Side Drawer 1:



Glue for cardstock, GW bases and if I were to move the bases, a tool would appear that allows me to hold my mini's and paint them without getting paint on my hands, the table, etc.

Side Drawer 2nd down:



More glues (super type) and plastic sprues from Citadels first box of plastic minis that had Skaven, Elves, Dwarves, etc in them. NOW THATS AN OLD SET.

Side Drawer 3rd Down:




Bits from toys that will soon be converted to terrain pieces and now more of those 20 year old minis. My favorite is the Asmodeus from the first edition Monster Manual. Unfortunately he's broken due to being shoved in a box by "she who thinks she must obeyed". But I'm glad I found them..... Demonic and Diabolic battles await!!

I hope everyone enjoyed the show. I'll update when my re-org is done.

TTFN

Animal...er I mean Miniature Magnatism

As an ECO freak, I do not own a car or other fossil fuel burning crap bag. Hell I don't own a vehicle PERIOD. I have a bicycle, my two feet, Metro and Sound Transit. Now this can create some serious transportation issues with transporting miniatures.

What's an ECO freak to do?!?

When I LAN Partied, I used to rent a car to transport the computer gear. Then I found some items that would help me carry my computer stuff. That got me thinking about transporting miniatures. I have an old carrying case from the 1980's, but it is extremely heavy, being made from solid oak, and I don't like the foam. I have had more than a few mini's break when using the foam. Mostly plastic ones, but I have a lot of plastic ones.

Oh the conundrum....

Then I found some articles about using magnets. I went out and purchased industrial made magnets, ie made out of ceramic. They were OK, but not the greatest. So I purchased some rare earth magnets. Those magnets are extremely powerful. Then I discovered that the old AOL CD cases that are plastic, are great for making mini display stands. Here are some examples...

I'm sure your going... "WTF?!? Their just sitting THERE!!"

WHOA!

REALLY WHOAH!!!!

But it's not magic

The magnets do not have to be very large.

I'll be putting some flock, etc on the base, or maybe some just card stock. But this will just be something that sits on a shelf.

I'm trying to locate a steel toolbox with a steel tool shelf so I can cut/mod it to carry minis.

Mmmmm, Mmmmmm GOOD!

White Souled Charlies

Since I posted the PICS of my Work Station, I'm sure that your asking "Which minis are you working on?"



The minis currently on my Work Station are my Gangs of MegaCity 1 from Mongoose Publishing. I called the White Souled Charlies due to their White Shoes. Not matter what other clothing they wear, they have White Shoes on.... hence the name, The White Souled Charlies.



Pretty nifty, eh?

I am also working on my stuff from Alpha Forge Games. I have the Mephs and enough figs for a crew with vehicle. I will post more on those as they progress. Rod is one of my top 5 sculpters. I HIGHLY recommend that you check his stuff out. And the rules for his game are good too. I will post reviews of most of the games that I play as time goes on. But I take away from the topic at hand.

Workspace

I've often been asked, "How do you have your workplace set up?".

Over the years it has varied. When I was a kid was the best time. I didn't have to share my workspace and I could use my dad's cool power tools to mod my mini's till they were unrecognizable from the originals..... oh those were the days.

But I digress into nostalgia.

I am married, and married to a woman who thinks that having a large house with a room for hobbies is a sin and that the extra few thousand for the cost of the house would result in an extra 100 hours of cleaning a month.

So without further ado.... I present to you:

THE Cerebral Cortex of the Damned'

and his....

MOBILE WORKPLACE

As you can tell, I use a nice little rolling cart with drawers. I found this at COSTCO and I really like it. Since I don't have a dedicated space, I just pull out the table and put in a movie for some back ground noise (usually something to get me in the mood for MINI painting, like Star Trek, The Original Series).



I usually pull out a lot of mini's even though I won't be painting them all. It helps to quicken the pace.

Starting out

I normally keep my own hobby site, but with being crunched for time and all, I'm hoping that this will make it much easier to put my hobby stuff on line without having to create each page from scratch.

I've tried using other forms of software like wordpress so that I have more control over stuff, but it has become a major chore. I just want to share my stuff and have more time painting, playing, etc that creating web content.

So with further a-do, I present to you, The Cerebral Cortex of the Damned's hobby blog!