Axles & Alloys 2 at KublaCon

I am running a demo game of the Axles & Alloys 2 game at KublaCon.

Sunday, May 29
@ KublaCon, Burlingame, CA
10:00 AM and last 6 hours
For up to 6 people

Some come and try it out.

Come focus your pent up road rage in our radioactive desert landscape. Axles & Alloys 2 is fast paced and easy to learn car combat miniatures game. Rules are free online at axlesalloys2.blogspot.com, and are a homebrew adaptation of Full Thrust cars rather than Spacecraft. Quick to learn (fit on 1 page) and they don’t take themselves too seriously, and are designed for jumping in and playing.

Custom modified hotwheels/matchbox car miniatures will be provided to play with. Players need only bring D6 dice, and a measuring tape!



This will be both my first con to attend and first game to demo. Drop a note below if you have any ideas on scenarios or tips for running the game.

Aces and Eights.

The Underhive is never a peaceful, relaxing place. Last year it was Genestealers, this year its Zombies. I know the Zombie genre is played, but like Heavy Metal, it will never truly die. Fitting. The game I'm going to run at KublaCon this year will be different from last year's. Instead of whole gangs working together to fight an unknown menace, it will be one or two fighters from each gang, choosing to work together to survive a zombie horde.

I'm proud to announce that this years game will be sponsored by CADAVRIL. Cadavril is the finest lich-paste on the market, it is a delicious spread for toasted sandwiches, it gives a full, rich flavor when added to soups, and can be made into an invigorating beverage for those cold nights manning the wall. Ask for Cadavril, piping hot!

*The New Shiny* - Dystopian Wars

Imagine a world similar to our own, but subtly different....
Dystopian Wars is the newest game to be picked up by the gaming club and the wargaming community as a whole. It embraces steampunk, naval combat and beautiful miniatures. Created by Spartan Games and sharing similar rules system to their Firestorm Armada & Uncharted Seas. Models are large, highly detailed and made of resin, with some pewter accessories with some models.

Here are the 4 starting army factions that can be picked up now.
- Prussian Empire
- Kingdom of Britannia
- Federated States of America
- Empire of the Blazing Sun

With more factions referred to in the map on Spartan's website:
- Covenant of Antarctica
- Ottoman Empire
- Russian Coalition
- League of Italian States





And now land troops are marching their way in.





With more previews coming everyday! ROBOTS!!

Water basing!

So I thought I'd make my own little guide to making water base for your miniatures!
Here's what you'll need:Hobby mat
sharp hobby knife
Water Effects (you can get this at hobby town or even better at Micheal's)
Your base (this only works with the lipped bases)
Plastic card
sheers
cork board
paint for the bottom of the base.

Step 1: This is by far the hardest step. Use your hobby knife to cut the middle out of your base leaving nothing but the raised ring. When you are done it should look like this (you also might need to use a file on the inside to make it smooth.)



Step 2: Trace around the ring on to your plastic card and carefully sheer it out. You can try using a knife but the best success I've had is with great big metal sheers!



Step 3: Now that you've got your ring and the plastic card cut, you are going to attach the two with hobby glue. Make sure that you inspect your work after for any gaps and fill them or later on there will be trouble. When you are done this is what you should be looking at.

Step 4: Now you need to cut some cork board to fill it in the middle of your base for your model to stand on.

Step 5: Paint your base! like like to use Catachan gree and camo green.

Step 6: after this is dried add your water effects with a little Thraka green wash to liven the water up. let it dry over night and then add some more depending on how much it shrank.

Step 7: Add any flocking you might want, then bingo bango bongo you have a base for your amphibious miniature!

Hobby Force: Warmachine Menoth Templar

I had a spare Menoth Crusader warjack around and thought I would mod one up to make the Templar. I wanted it to visually look like the Templar but be different enough to be my own.


Here is a WIP photo. Shield and blazing star are made from plastic card. Chain is a unique square jewelry chain that I found that was strong looking. I took the Crusader's head and chopped the head from the "jaw", then reversed the jaw so it pointed down instead of up. Gave it a similar but different look. Had to chop it's left leg so it could stand upon the rock on the base (cork). The blazing star is positioned just above the jack's right shoulder. I have a small pin that I mounted into the shoulder that sticks straight out about half inch, which the blazing star is glued to. The angle of the star's points help obcure it from view.


Paint scheme matches my dark theme that I am running with my force. Used plenty of washes to darken and grunge up the look. I wanted it to look warn and used. I tried some black smoke pigment on the smoke stacks to give it a burnt look.

For The Glory Of The Emperor

This week I watched Ultramarines: The Movie. The low down is that it is a 70 min animated movie set in the Warhammer 40k universe, and more specifically, tailored for existing 40k fans. While my knowledge of the 40k universe/history is very limited it did feel that it was well adapted from the IP. And having an understanding of the universe will help alot since there is virtually no explanation on who or what these guys are doing, besides "For the glory of the Emperor". I'm sure hardcore fans will be able to find flaws and inconsistencies and will ruthlessly point them out. Animation quality is on par with video game cut scenes, don't expect an Avatar level here. Sound and music help set the atmosphere nicely. I read some comments others thought the animation didn't portray the weight and size of the marines armor well. I noticed that in a few scenes when jumping or running was involved. I'm sure if budget's increase or more films are made that will be addressed.


The story line covers a mission taken on by a small 10 man squad of Ultramarines investigating a distress signal they receive from a distant Imperial Fist outpost guarding an important Imperial shrine. The squad is comprised of novice marines led by their veteran counterparts. As the squad shuttles planet side, you get a glimpse as the enormous scale of their ship. I don't want to leak the plot, but needless to say, they run into some resistance once they get exploring. Plenty of bolt guns fired, gory chainsword action and even the powerful Thunder Hammer.


Story arch is fairly simple and straight forward, no real surprises. Overall, I enjoyed the movie and would recommend it to sci-fi fans and of course 40k players. I look forward to future features by GW.

Reading material!

So I recently started listening to a few audio books that Russ from the D6G recommended in preparation for me starting my Dystopian Wars Prussian army! The first is called Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld. The basic premise is that WW1 has started, with the same alliances, but different technologies. The Germans and their allies employ giant mechanical walkers with giant guns and rockets. These guys are called the Clankers. On the other side you have the Anglo-Russian alliance who have developed a way to alter genetic code of animals to create giant living weapons. One example is the Leviathan, a giant wale genetically altered to have a giant Hydrogen air bladder which it produces in its intestinal track, and its fitted with air guns, engines, and a variety of biological weapons(like flichet bats!)

What are you all reading lately? Anything good?! Is anyone interested in listening to Leviathan??

A^2