Bicentenary edition today and to be honest with you when I started this I didn’t even think that I would still be turning out content, albeit in limited volume, nearly four years later. The nice thing about it all though is the original reason for starting the blog was to help keep my motivation up. And whilst there have been ups and downs along the way to get to here overall I like to think I’m still in credit. Some things have changed in that time but other have stayed the same. Think the changes have been in the games I’m playing, or not as the case may be. When I started things for me were really centred around 40k but it’s something I don’t play at all now. I’m starting to get back into it with Kill Team and Necromunda but a massed battle is a thing of the past. No more 1500 points with a proper force organisation chart to follow.
So what has changed over the last 199 editions of the waffle? Well first and foremost I’d like to think that my painting has improved. Not necessarily in an linier fashion as I think the stuff I was painting as the start of this year was better than what I’m doing now, but overall I think I’ve got better. I certainly felt happy enough to enter a model for Crystal Brush when we were at Adepticon earlier this year. Not with any thought that it would win but at the same time I didn’t think I would be laughed out of town. And I got some really good constructive feedback from it.
Another game that I really enjoyed was Dystopian Wars and this ties in nicely with a tale of Kick Starter woes. It was Pete that got me into it and I really like how it plays, the exploding six mechanic means that he smallest ship on the board as a chance, however small, of destroying the largest. Granted you would need to roll a lot of sixes but it’s at least possible. So when the last Kick Starter came out was in there for a new fleet and lots of scenery. Everything seemed to be going well and Corrie had even received part of his pledge when what seemed to be out of nowhere they went bust. And that was it. Because of the nature of Kick Starter you are investing in the company not buying a product. Now under UK law that means every backer is in line to get something back from the administrator, but only if there is anything left after the big players such as HMRC and the Bank have got there cut. Which in effect means that we aren’t getting anything. Now in step War Cradle Studios who bought up the IP for Dystopian Wars but crucially not the company. This caused upset some people because it meant they could look to sell the game without having to fulfil any of the other obligations. For me I was annoyed that Spartan, the original company had gone bust, and also sorry for the people there who lost their jobs as a result. But accepted what War Cradle had done was a sensible business decision. It also mean there was so hope out there for the game to come back.
Now at the time of writing this Dystopian Wars hasn’t made a return but there are Beta rules out there for it and should be back in the not too distant future. Some people aren’t happy with the direction War Cradle are taking it as what they have done is to blend it into the Wild West Exodus universe but I’m not too concerned about that. Why not have one universe where you can play at the skirmish or fleet action level. I like that and as I like both games I’m satisfied. The only thing I said I wouldn’t accept from the change was if the exploding six wasn’t in the new rules and from what I have seen so far it’s still there. I’m not sure if it works the same way but things are looking good.
On the topic of games changing and people getting all upset and having a tantrum. Which I have done. I think something to keep in mind that if you are playing games with friends or at a local club, there is nothing that says you have to move onto a new set of rules. In my case if it turns out the exploding six disappears from Dystopian Wars I’m not going to burn my models. For one thing they are resin so it take some doing, but there is nothing that stops me and my friends from playing with the rules we like. If new models come out we want to use we just agree on a set of rule for them or count them as existing units. Job done. At the end of the day it’s just a game and should be about having fun.
Whilst Dystopian Wars has proved to be a tale of woe for Kick Starter I have had some successes with it. Most notably has been with Guild Ball. I fell in love with the models when I say them and went big with the Kick Starter getting five teams on the initial run. At this point I was a bit naïve about what can go wrong and I wanted to get a few teams painted up to try and get others interested in the game. That done I did do a few demo games and Al got on board with the Union. He even entered us into a tournament where I didn’t quite come last. In game terms it was a game I never really got to grips with but I did continue to collect the models to the point that I now have a KR case full of them. Since the move to plastic I’ve not been as impressed with the models. They are really nice but they just aren’t as nice the metal or resin versions. I understand why they have made the move as it means new players can pick up a starter box and start playing. No build or paint required. So it’s moved from a miniatures games to what I would describe as a gateway game in that you don’t need to do and work to play if you don’t want. That’s great for getting people into the game and keeping things healthy, it just means for me I’m not as interested as I was.
A few other notable mentions on the hobby front have been Infinity and Malifaux. Both make some fantastic characterful models which are impossibly fiddly to put together. Although now that Malifaux has moved to plastic I would have to say they are slightly easier. I’ve not played much of either game although I have really enjoyed the games I have played. This can be the problem when you have models for lots of systems because you just can’t decide or agree what you want to play for week to week. Then as a result you never get familiar enough with a system to make it easy to play. Spoilt for choice. It’s not going to stop me from buying and painting nice models though, just can’t help myself.
And a few randoms that i like.
So that’s been a bit of look back at what done to date but what have I been working on this week. Well I’ve called it a day on the build for the Grot Bomma and I’ve started work painting it. Just getting it all primed has been a challenge I don’t think I’d realised just how much surface area it has. Doesn’t bode well for a quick paint job. But once it had been based I’ve then set to give it an overall grungy metallic look and then the colour is going to go over this. It’s a technique I’ve been using on my orks for some time and it seems to give a nice effect for them.
I’ve also resurrected a Kromlech fighter pilot that needed some work and got it based up. Just so that he can look longingly at this new super bomber that he isn’t going to get a chance to fly because it’s only got a grot crew. But it is just such a nice model that this build has given me the chance to get round to finishing him, and it was a nice break form the bulk work on the bomber.
Which brings me to the end of the bicentennial edition. I hope you have enjoyed this little look back over the last few years and I’m hoping to keep things plodding along for a few more. Things have changed a bit but the basic idea behind the site has remained the same and that is to keep my mojo going and share what I’m doing with the wider gaming world. Immediate next steps are to get the bomber finished off in the not too distant future. I’d then like to have a go at playing around with a couple of the new ork buggies and I’ve also got an idea for a Mek Trukk mulling around in my head that could be a fun build but I’m not making any promises for when that may happen.
