DH South Dakota Grudge Match!

It was SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY! At the Basement of Heaped Miniatures and Disposable Heroes was the Game.The two thousand points of Shining Path commanded by Chuckaroo and John Boy were on the move against Our heroes fourteen hundred points of the Ultra Elite operatives of GROM commanded by me. This time the Grom operatives were in control of the former Pather mine head stronghold and were prepared to make the Pather's pay.

The GROM Colonel in his command post in the center of the complex.

The grom squad with an RPG waiting for the Pather Armor.

The Mine head with the Grom MRAPs deployed in rear security.

One group of Path arrive with their BTR-60 transport. They also had a 90mm recoiless rifle and a 35mm antiaircraft gun.

Another group from the other flak. A couple squads and another recoiless rifle and heavy machine gun.

The Pather fire and hit one of the GROM snipers four times then roll this. Three 10's and a ( so no wounds. This would set a tempo for the coming game.

Return fire from the GROM destroys a Pather recoiless rifle.

Two Pather BTR-60s roll onto the field. The lead BTR is destroyed by a MRAP .50 cal.

The destroyed BTR and the the only two passengers to survive.

The MRAP with a .50 cal and MK19 move to light up some Pathers.

A now fully loaded BTR-60 move along the board edge and fires its KPV hmg at the rear of the 6 wheel MRAP and fails to damage it.

The other surviving PTR-60 moves up behind the rocks and drops off its passengers.

The loaded BTR-60 moves up into the woods behind the mine head and deploys it two full ten man squads. They include rifle grenadiers who both shoot at the 6 wheel MRAP and fail to hurt it.

The 4 wheeled MRAP (earlier hit in the turret killing the crew) has backed up against the tower base, while the Right flank BTR moves up and uses it machine guns to try and suppress some of the GROM operatives in reinforced cover.

After concentrated fire from the MRAPs and a squad of GROM M203s the survivors in the woods mount up into BTR-60 To make an end run. As the BTR-60 leaves the woods the last GROM Operative fires his M203 and hits. The grenade penetrates the turret and kills the crewman, but the BTR keeps rolling.

As the right flank BTR backs up to load up more troops and carry them back to the Mine head for the final assault, the 6 wheel MRAP lights it up with its .50 cal and destroys it. Chuckaroo expresses his displeasure and the 6 wheel MRAP continues to rule the battlefield.

End Game. The last BTR-60 pulls up behind cover and prepares to drop it troops for the Forlorn Hope against the Mine Head. The 4 wheel MRAP moves up to the woods as the last activation of the turn and then after winning initiative then it fires the MK19 and .50 cal. Hitting the BTR-60 several times and killing the surviving crew and all the passengers.

By this time I only had a handful of GROM operatives still firing and the surviving Pathers would have to walk to the mine head. The 4 wheel Mrap was damaged but was still in the fight and the 6 wheel was still good to go. The Pathers had one rifle grenadier left that could damage the MRAPs but after failing to destroy either of them after a dozen tries during the game, we decided to call it. GROM holds the Mine head.

One highlight of the game was John Boy taking the hot dice I was using and replacing them with the cold dice he was using. All the dice were ChuckarooBob's and he sticks to the statement that they have a mind of their own. The cold dice warmed up eventually and it was back to rolling hot.

One advantage I had in the game was being able to knock out several of the Pather weapon teams and giving me a bonus to the Initiative rolls. At the end of the game I was almost guaranteed wining initiative unless they rolled a ten and I rolled a 1. I concentrated on the recoiless rifles and 35mm AA guns with my snipers early in the game to give the MRAPs a chance. Chuckaroo had taken the precaution of loading most of his squads with anti-tank rifle grenades but a combination of misses and low damage rolls left the MRAPS still rolling. On the other hand the 6 wheel MRAP hitting one BTR in the wheel and destroying it and the other one in the mantel and destroying it made my game.

I had a good time and the game was anybodies until the end. The Grudge Match proved that a lesser point force hoed up in reinforced cover and take a bunch of punishment and still hold the objective.

Until the next game

ColKG

Better Late,

Than Never. I recieved the rest of my Khorne reinforcements today. Once I get it rebuilt and painted I will be able to contribute two Bloodthirsters to Angron's Bodyguards for the First War for Armageddon apocalypse game in Novenber.

He is a little worse for wear but all the pieces are there and I will get him in shape shortly. I am also hoping to borrow Big Roy's Blodthirster to add to the carnage. I built it for him years ago and once I get it, I will just have to paint it before the game.

ColKG

Historicon Report Part 2

Hi Kids, Here's the last handful of photos from Historicon 2011! Better late then never! Here we have a "Check Your 6: Jet Age" game using 1/200 planes, Israeli F-4's versus Syrian/Egyptian MiG-21's. I bought this ruleset and hope to decide what scale aircraft to use sometime this decade. Right now I'm leaning towards 1/100 or 1/144. That way they can do duty in 15mm Modern ground combat games as well.

MiG-21 launches a missile, I guess an AA-2?

The War of Northern Aggression (as some of the lads refer to it) in 25mm.

ANd you thought H-con was all about historicals!!! Here we have a Cattlecar Gizmacktoya (TM) game just getting started. If you want figs like these, you need connections! Or to show up at a major con, either one.

55 Days at Peking, the Boxers are gathering outside the international legations in China, 1900.

All sorts of Victorian Sci-Fi going on. Nifty terrain!

For those of you who look down on other scales, why not try the true "Bigs?" Looks like WW2 in 1/32 scale. You could even buy the figs and vehicles at Wally!

I big honkin' game of 15mm WW2, early in the desert. The British are awaiting the Italian onslaught from the valley to the left.

The view from the trenches, WW1 in 15mm.

Gotta love those ancients! 25mm action during one of the many tournaments. I gotta paint up some elephants, they're just too cool.

One of the temples arranged around the battlefield of the "Wargaods of Eagyptus" smackdown.

Titans approaching! the view from the temple in the previous picture. I think the big guy is about 5 inches tall. Might be why they are called "Titans."

25mm Wierd World War 2 taking place! Some kind of alien technology; walkers, jet planes, aliens, all sorts of mayhem hitting the beach defended by what looked like "normal" people. I especially liked the two flyers.

The view facing the river. The flyers are just on the other side of the buildings. Here we see a few walker combat machines pushing inland.

A close up of the flyers.

Nothing happening? It must be a game of "Carnage and Glory." Fortunately they have a room to themselves, low noise level is absolutely KEY to getting this game rolling.

25mm French Foreign Legion takes on all bad guys! Take the oasis or die trying!

Absolutely LUV this terrain! This was used in the Star Wars Jetbike races, among other things.

Another shot of the 25mm Modern game, using the 20x6 ft table. Here we have a Little Bird covering another shot down chopper.

Victorian Sci-Fi or Pulp? You make the call. I'm leaning Pulp, but there are airborne dinosaurs on the other end of the table closing in. Come to think of it, is there really a whole lot of difference? 25 years?

The Other Guys: Eureka's 25mm Stukasaurs head out to attack the airborne carrier in the previous shot. They're backing up by this jet powered blimp.

Well, kids, that's about it for this final installment of the Joys of Historicon 2011. Right now the next year's con is up in the air, as far as I know no known location, date, or director. Will H-con go the way of the dino's? Are all the slackers who never made it there just outta luck for the rest of their lives? Will some maniac step forward to organize this plethora of gaming goodness next year? It's a thankless job, No One (And I mean NO ONE) whines more than gamers, and it'll take a REAL MAN to ride herd on this con. My advice is to get off your buttocks and make it to Fall In 2011. It's not anywhere near as big, but it's a damn good con nonetheless. You can get a taste of the good life before it's too late.

Firestorm Armada

Hi Kids, Now this is all top secret hush-hush type stuff, taking place at an undisclosed location way on back in the never-never. Had to navigate using the stars while blindfolded to get there. It's so far out past the black stump that they don't even have pizza delivery out there. The mosquitos have four engines! I had to use my cell phone to take these pictures, as the normal digital camera was banned due to the double top secret classification of the event. This was the first "local" game of Firestorm Armada we've played. Had two fleets, the Anal Probes vs. the Tadpoles. This shot is of the most daring-do event of the game, when my Tadpole Frigate the "Treefrog" cut across the path of the Anal Probe Battleship "Large Colon," guns blazing away to all get-out!!! On three dice I managed to do 9 hits!!! Due to a "6" causing two hits and getting a re-roll at the same time. Needless to say, I would have rather won the lottery with odds of this sort, but you gotta take what you can get. The only fly in the oinment was the "Large Colon"'s defense rating reducing my splendid attack to one stinkin' damage point. Oh well, you can't have everything.

Here's the set-up the turn prior to the "Treefrog"s epic attack. On the left are the sadistic forces of The Anal Probes; looks like two cruisers, a battleship, and a few frigates; facing on the right the Tadpole Navy; a carrier, two cruisers, a handful of frigates, and a battleship way off in the background.

Your humble correspondent, wearing suitable birth control device. (No woman would come near a guy wearing a hat like that. Effectiveness at 100%) An added bonus: it also conceals my double sexy new haircut.

The gamer to be named later: He's got two games under his belt this year, watch out! He's on a rampage!!

Not only does this gamer command the Anal Probe fleet, he doesn't like Bruce Springsteen. Does anyone have any surplus personality we can loan this guy? Maybe we can set up a toll free number for him.

Over all I liked the game a lot; it's not just fleets trading alpha strikes in a high speed pass, these ships can take a lot of damage until somebody really gets lucky and then things can happen really fast. The big Correllian ships dominate the game, but that's how it should be when the Dreadnoughts and Battleships come out to play! I'm going to have to decide which fleet to pick up myself. Guess I'll be heading to the Spartan Games website after finishing this report.

So how did the game turn out? I'd call it a draw, with just maybe a Tadpole leaning. Each fleet still had a heavily damaged Battleship at the end, and the Tadpoles had a heavily damaged Carrier and some fighters still on the board; but it was after 10:00pm, it looked like rain, the bunyips in the river were calling out their sorrow to the uncaring moon, and we still had to navigate our way home.

World of Tanks Whine

Hi Kids, Now I'm sure everybody knows by now that I am an accomplished whiner. Nobody can cry, bitch, moan and gripe like me! Well, except for a few of my friends who have been taking lessons on the sly. I'd just like to take this opportunity to point out the team match up for a recent "World of Tanks" game on the web. That's me in yellow, down at the lower left. And God Only Knows what the M6 driver on the other side was thinking, probably something about finding a rock big enough to hide his M6 under. And all you dudes driving Pz 4's and Shermans, thinking the T29 is 'All That,' this is what you have to put up with once you climb to these lofty heights. So brace yourselves, screw your courage to the sticking point, gird your loins for combat, and remember; no matter how tough you think you are, there's always some maniac playing the game 23 hours a day driving a B-52 ready to blow your nifty heavy tank so far into the weeds you'll need a compass to find your way back out.

Historicon 2011 Report Part 1

Hi Kids, Seems it's all the rage to be posting about the show, and who am I to neglect the fans? Here are some pictures, because I am a river to my people! Let's start the show with a tiny little 45 foot long table stuffed with Old West terrain. The dude in charge said he left another couple tables' worth at home, he didn't have room in the car for it.

The by now world famous and massively posted Gallipoli terrain, imported from the UK for H-con. What can you say except, "Holy Snikies!!" They ran 25mm "Price of Glory" the Iron Ivan WW1 ruleset on games every morning and afternoon.

Close up of the beach at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli.

Close up of the trenches and tunnels the Anzacs used to get close to the Turkish trenches.

One end of a 20 foot long board showing the fighting on the ships, prior to storming the castle. 25mm of course, the One True Scale!

Black Hawk Down-ish game run in the big room, about 6x20 ft. There's a down chpper under that smoke in the center of the shot. Gotta love any gamer who shows up with a 1/48 AC-130 Gunship! Yeah, baby! That's what I'm talking about!

Don't know what's going on, but it sure looks cool.

One half of the armies about tto slug it out in the Dark Ages.

Same again.

Massive terrain including Confuscism, Buddha, Taoism, and quite possibly David Lo Pan somewhere in the Far East.

Another angle of the same. Is that Kurt Russel down there? "You are not put upon this world to 'get it', Mr. Burton!"

Just a neat looking way to convert hex-based wargames to miniatures. It looks way cooler that just any old map!

Most of a map for Force of Force game, Friday night. I got to play a Marine squad, complete with two light mg's. Got spanked the first turn (are you sure there's only one "1" on these freakin' dice??????) but made a big comeback in later turns and taught the terrorists how we do things downtown!

You wanna play a big game o' Battletech? We gotta big game o' Battletech!!!

IIRC this was a 25mm game of ACW in one of the back rooms of the Radisson. Looks like the Blues are pushing ahead.

25mm Eygptian tomb game.

OK, it's not 25mm but it's still pretty good. A 25ft Fighting Sail game. Makes you wonder are they refighting Trafalgar combined with the Battle of the Nile; or are they just using every ship they own?

A close up of one of the SOL's.
I didn't take any pix of the dealer room just cause I'm sure everyone has seen it before. I also couldn't find the shots of the 1981 Angola game I played. My camera is smarter than I am, so it's not that surprising. So why don't more gamers go to these shows? Distance? Lack of cash? Lack of time? Lack of a pain-in-the-butt guy like me hassling you all the time?

Of course, H-con ain't for everyone. But I strongly urge those of you so inclined to make the pilgrimage to the show once in your lives. Even if the only thing you do is hang out and pester people, it'd be worth it.
Stand by for additional pix at a later date, assuming I can convince my camera to see reason.