Forum Replies Created

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 74 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • in reply to: 6mm sci-fi aliens – preview #59408
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    Looks good.

    in reply to: What if Orcs… #59406
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    I would discard the express ‘Orc’ idea.  Too GW-y.  I think Planet of the Apes is a better concept, or something along the genetic tinkering found in Clone Republic.  The Navy combat clones are some seriously vicious bastards.

    The super-trooper modified ‘thing’ in space is a great concept, but I’d cut it loose from Middle Earth, or any of it’s imitators.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Clone_Republic

     

    in reply to: Has your reason for gaming changed? #54582
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    My reasons for gaming have not changed at all over the many years.  They are very simple and low brow.  I want a few brief hours where I am some other place, some other when, in some dire adventure or other – where I’m reasonably confident of not getting badly hurt.

    It was the same reason I sat on the floor playing with army men, cavalry and Indians, and spacemen.  Wargames – and for a while video games – fulfill the role of space and time machine.  Cheap Tardis simulators to spice too much sameness and uneventfulness.

    At times in my life where other, actual adventure lay just outside the door, my wargaming tapered off to virtually nothing.  Maybe the purchase of a few minis or rules.  I don’t see that in the cards soon, video games/MMORPGs have palled, and gaming is looming larger in my life again.  It is my second bite at the apple too, so my interests are more focused and more satisfying, although purchasing is therefore at a slower rate.

    If I could start over again with a whole fresh measure of time, I would simply dive into 20mm Great War Western Front on a grand scale.  I don’t have the time.

    Discreet, measured, targeted periods henceforth – all aimed to take me on adventures.

    in reply to: Your first time… #54427
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    Do you remember your first ‘proper’ wargame?

     

    Vividly.  I was hanging out with my best friend at the time, and saw a shelf full of Roco minitanks which just blew me away.  He had some Roco sponsored rules as I recall, but had never played them because he couldn’t find an opponent.  Within ten minutes we were on the floor, with bunkers made out of playing cards, as my mish mash of Shermans and Centurions brewed up while assaulting his army of Tigers, Jagdtigers and Jagdpanthers.  It was not a pretty sight, but it was a lot of fun.

    It was an odd coincidence in time that I discovered this.  I had no idea there was such a thing as wargames, and I was trying to contrive some weird synthesis of map games and chess with Cold War ‘pieces’, a project quickly abandoned.  I’d also made a model T34 in paper mache because I didn’t think anything like Roco or Airfix existed, and I wanted some gaming pieces.

    in reply to: Favourite sculptors? #54426
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    Sandra Garrity, in no small part because she is a lovely lady.  Tom Meier, who sculpted the best orcs and gobbos ever back in the ’70s.  Tre Manor.  Whoever sculpts for The Russian Alternative and for MOM Miniaturas.

    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    …I personally am inclined to assume that by now, three months after the fact, it’s too late for me to make such a request. Agree/disagree? I’m prepared to take the hit in this case, but it would be interesting to know how high of a standard other people hold vendors to, which is why I bring this up as a topic of discussion.

     

    My solution on deals like this is to ask for the mini, but sweeten it with a supplemental order.  The sooner these things are dealt with, the better.  Three months on a missing 15mm figure is sort of stale.  I put myself in this trick-bag all the time as I often don’t open my orders for weeks.  Too much chaos going on.

    in reply to: Sexism in Rules? #54423
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    Dude. I’m so gender-neutral that I don’t *care* what pronouns an author uses in a set of wargame rules. I will say that I left TMP and joined here to get away from threads like this. And here I go, posting again, con mucho snarko. Y’know, we should start running polls, I’ll bet that would drive up the traffic on this site. I’ve got a topic: Which of the Laugh-In Sock It To Me girls would you rather have socked it to? Judy Carne, Goldie Hawn, or Ruth Buzzi?

     

    Agreed.  And Goldie Hawn.  Although my true love from that era is Carly Simon.

    in reply to: Ral Partha Europe Orcses… #51596
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    Thanks.  I tried again, and just went directly to paypal instead of through their shopping cart, and it worked just fine.  Trying to go through their shopping cart it just would not take a US zip code for the postal code, neither five nor nine digit presentation.

    Anyway, I am now quite happy with some orc enroute.  I will be able to round out those skulk archer speedbump units.

    in reply to: Boreas give away! #49848
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    I see it as one of a number of siege assault guns.  The fins in the back shelter an organic complement of armored combat engineers.  I see specialized units of these operating under the aegis of top tier houses and a central government with tenuous control.  They operate in a universe which is about two parts Dune, and one part Hammer’s Slammers.

    in reply to: Disaster! #49235
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    You have my sincere sympathy, Paul. I’ve lot through one means or another 95% or more of all my wargames stuff. Storms, leaks and theft mostly.

    While you can, scan the pages of the damaged books. The original is damaged beyond repair of course, but the data can be retrieved. Baking the books are low heat while periodically shuffling the pages to separate them is another way to go.

    If it happens to photographs, freezing is actually the best way to separate them.

    I’ve reluctantly come to the conclusion that every document we have that is unique or valuable should be scanned and stored in the cloud. Not that I have taken one step to do so…

    in reply to: Wars of the Roses #49219
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    Thank you all for your answers. The reason I asked the questions is because of the duration and periodic intensity of the fighting. Towton appears to have been an absolute shambles and national tragedy. I’m glad to see animosities faded with time. It is very hard for us to relate to such passionate adherence to this or that house, I think. Mob families, essentially, as noted above.

    That said, what an inspiration for wargames, and alternative history campaigns!

    On my wargames rebuild I have decided to be fussy. I have to love the history or fantasy world, the rules, the scale, and the appearance of the minis and terrain to consider it. No compromises. WotR hits all of those for me. I’d love to see an essentially RPG approach to campaign games with battles put on the tabletop.

    in reply to: Game of Thrones, 15mm Impetus #49040
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    From my recollection, if your daughter is asking for Daenarys’ army, something more like a Seljuk or Abbasid army. I haven’t read the books in years, but as I recall she started building her force from Hunnic, Turkmen type steppe horse archers, then picked up a job lot of sociopathic slave soldier types. For models I’m thinking Huns, Turks or Mongol, and then maybe some Indians or Biblical era types for the slave soldiers. Simple kit and shaved heads as I recall. Not a devotee and its been years, so I could easily be wrong.

    in reply to: Why do you buy from them? #49038
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    “So your £10.00 sale with me has made me have to place a £350.00 order with BOB.

    Now clearly it is not always that cut and dry, but there are often reasons to go via resellers…”

    It might. But I’m not going to know that as a rule. And if traders have set up reciprocal or agency arrangements to their mutual satisfaction, that is cool too. Still, I’m going to assume that the vendor will do better on balance with direct purchase, and I will less often be disappointed with an ‘out of stock’ delay.

    That said, I won’t bat an eye to purchase from a vendor if the price, time and postage factors indicate that is the best way to go. I just bought some Game Zone figures from Coolminiornot on that basis. They had the items in stock, language is no barrier, and the figures seemed much more affordable from that source. Brookhurst Hobbies has long been a source of UK minis and books for me for the same reasons. But if it’s six of one, half a dozen of the other, I will still purchase from the source manufacturer first, as a rule.

    in reply to: Why do you buy from them? #48767
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    I have sort of a default decision tree.

    1.)  Buy direct from the manufacturer if practical because I want them to get the full profit.  If I like their minis I want them to stay in business.

    2.)  If I have to shop around I look first for price point, postage, availability and efficiency.  Price and good customer relations are largely fungible.  If the source can chat with me about gaming, rules, trends or micro-breweries and MMORPGs and they charge slightly more, they will get my trade over a dark, dour source that shaves a few percentage points off of cost.

    In the past couple of years I have had to buy more from domestic US sources than direct, because postage is brutal.  I used to buy tons of minis from Donnington, old and new, present owners and previous owners, and Donnington is at its best right now for quality and service, but the postage makes me cry.  Postage has caused me to pass on many direct purchases from the UK and Europe.  The Russian Alternative doesn’t even charge postage; I wish vendors in other nations were able to do this too, and if they could I am sure they would.

    Rarely, some secondary source will be able to provide minis for fraction the cost of the manufacturer.  Game Zone and Coolminiornot come to mind.  At that point, in present circumstances, I will go for the cheaper source.

    Deceit, substitutions, irregular or inadequate service can become deal killers.  That has not happened in a long time.

     

     

    in reply to: History and wargames #42293
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    I used to be a history only snob. Fortunately I outgrew that and now have more orcs than Soviets now. Fantasy and Sci-Fi can be much more liberating than historicals, and no one can say you used the wrong shade of green on the pom-poms.

    in reply to: Pervy Figures #42292
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    Depends on the theme and where you are gaming I suppose. I’ve thought about a she-barbarian army based on Maidenhead Miniatures. It is on my to-do list, but not near the top. Something Casanova-esque on some Lace Wars table wouldn’t bother me, provided it was done with some subtlety and wit. Naked slaves in Egypt or Minoa – no big deal. Even the Bayeux Tapestry has some ‘naughty bits’, embroidered by English ladies so it is said.

    Neither a big passion nor upset for me, if we are talking about display of skin. There are some BDSM figure lines that look like they were designed by a sex offender on his twenty third year in solitary. That is something else entirely, and needs to rise to the level of art or GTFO for my tastes.

    in reply to: the 7×24 internet cycle #42290
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    Indeed, this. This site remains a wargames site. Let’s keep it that way.

    That is all.

    in reply to: Finally, I get to start my Peninsular project #42288
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    A very solid start to an ambitious project. All success to you!

    in reply to: A Review and Summary of General de Brigade #42287
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    Good review. I’m going to get into the Peninsular War this year, and so I am shopping rules sets. Leaning towards Lasalle, but General de Brigade meets most of the things I am looking for. Counting figures for calcs in 6mm doesn’t sound fun though – I’d rather work off of bases.

    How would General de Brigade work with guerrillas? Just as some variant skirmish line?

    in reply to: Painting shiny plastics? #36479
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    A hard primer will help – Krylon or Rustoleum is my preferred one. If even the primer is not taking on a surface because it’s too smooth, try giving it a light going over with fine-grit sandpaper first – it’ll take it from a smooth down to a kind of “frosted” consistency but will make the paint grip much better.

    Absolutely.  And for finer detailed pieces, a toothbrush or nail brush with baking soda and water will put a bit of abrasion on pieces.

    in reply to: Scotia Grendel questions #36477
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    Not quite, but pretty close. 6mm, of course.

    I must try harder then.

    It’s over, I think.  There is just so much more that can be done with sci-fi.  It’s like that last turn of the game, when the unit holding the objective is decimated and shaken, and about to be charged by that fresh reserve unit.  It is mathematically possible to hold, but…

    in reply to: Scotia Grendel questions #36476
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    Mr. Average, that is very helpful.  For some reason I had in mind that Scotia models were sub par, and perhaps it is due to casting issues, or just some internet bellyaching back in the day.  The models I’ve seen in the photos recently however are just fine, and have a retro look to them that clinches the deal, now that I know they are not towering monsters.

    in reply to: Scotia Grendel questions #36475
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    ‘Big bulky EVA suits’…….have you seen these? http://www.brigademodels.co.uk/6mmSF/Infantry/SF300-5003.html More choices…….just what you didn’t ask for!

     

    Heh, yes.  Thanks for that… (Those do look good!)

    in reply to: Scotia Grendel questions #36474
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    Angel Barracks and Sayiner definitely have a lot to answer for. They played a hand in my transition.

    Yeah, I’m trying to claim that the fight is still on, but in my heart of hearts I know the M56 Scorpions, IS IIIs, and even the saucy AMX-13s are not enough to tilt this in their favor.  Too much mix and match goodness in the Sci-Fi.

    in reply to: Scotia Grendel questions #36473
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    Rules Junkie Jim, thank you very much!  That helps a lot, and they look good to me.  Much obliged.

    in reply to: Scotia Grendel questions #36472
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    Who the hell knows. These are the same regurgitated tropes that have been stinking up the joint since (at least) the early 70s Japanese mecha operas. Pick whatever models you like and assign whatever values you think will work/be fun.

    Thanks, I will give that a lot of thought, of course.

    in reply to: 6mm Skirmish Basing #36090
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    I’m preferring the chunkier MDF basing at the moment, but I’m fickle.

     

    Is it because they are easier to pick up or some other reason?

    in reply to: Dragon Rampant #36089
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    Diorama style bases are the only way to go in any period or system. The only way.

    I used to be a hard sell on this, wedded to the idea of casualty removal and misguided notions of what was more flexible.  (Retail and repetitive movement of single figures in a big game is not flexible, it is being locked into administrative tedium.)

    Looking at what is developing with Kings of War…  Yeah.  Hell yeah.  Except for skirmish games, unit diorama bases are the absolute best for both gaming and modeling.

    in reply to: Trader Introductions #36029
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    TWW already has a great searchable directory of gaming companies here  that you can use to locate what gaming goodies you need.

     

    Outstanding thread topic, but link needs repair.

     

    in reply to: I Corps is finished!! #35996
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    Very impressive!  I’m getting twitchy to order some 6mm.

    in reply to: Sayıner Micro Toys #35995
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    Nice looking.  They look very competitor outfit to Hammer’s Slammers.  They look fun and easy to paint as well.

    in reply to: Terrain Problems #35994
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    I’m going to try to do the WWI minis and terrain in a toy soldier, or even graphic novel sort of style.  Bold and exaggerated, and see how that works.  Terrain will be absolutely vital.  I want the contrast of ‘the green fields of France’ with the cratered sterility of No Man’s Land.  We shall see.

     

    in reply to: Terrain Problems #35991
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    Oh and I have yet to use it in a game…

    Just out of curiosity, AB, working so cleanly at that scale must take more care.  Does it take more time as well?  From the outside looking in, it looks terribly fiddly.  I just want to know what I’m walking into.

    The idea of 6mm Mordor just went through my head…

    in reply to: Terrain Problems #35989
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    Thinking about it i created the Boxer Rebellion – 55 days in Peking , think i gamed it a couple of times and it just gathers dust now, not really happy with the building of it to be honest, could of done it better and i think thats why i don’t bother with it anymore.

    You might consider selling it.  You may be disappointed with it because you could do much better, but there are many who can’t do the work that well and would be delighted to have it.  Then you can do the better one to replace it and it’s win-win!

    in reply to: 4 FoGR Reports from Warfare 15 on madaxeman.com #35976
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    Madaxeman, your AARs and observations are always much appreciated.

    in reply to: Terrain Problems #35971
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    I put far too much work into the minis and models and not nearly enough into terrain features.  This is foolish, because sorry terrain undercuts the appearance of the whole game, including the glorious army advancing over a motheaten army blanket.

    I’m intending to rectify that with the 6mm WWI project and KoW stuff that is planned.  We shall see.

    @ Allen Rockwell, I am surprised that setup hasn’t been used quite a bit.  Post-apocalypse, WWII, Syria, Ukraine, Libya ISIS, even 40K could all settle into that very nicely.

    in reply to: Falklands Action #35572
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    Nice report!  A friend and I were discussing just last night how more infantry based actions would work out.

    in reply to: Christmas Treats? #35553
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    Nothing for Christmas except to work up some of what I’ve got.  The treat will be in the new year.  It will be 6mm stuff – either Baccus Peninsular War or Great War, or various people’s Cold War.  The latter will be much easier to get ready for a game.  Maybe 15mm US Army for the Korean War.

    in reply to: Cost of Rules #35552
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    I’m all over the place on rules.

    I expect to pay $20-$30 for rules, and am pretty happy in that range.

    I’m resigned at $40-$50.  Anything past that, and there had better be something exemplary about them.  There often is.

    I am admittedly old school and cheap.  There is no apparent correlation between price and quality.

    in reply to: Cold War Gaming? #35338
    Avatar photoWilliam Jones
    Participant

    Not a lot going on, a nice peaceful day, so catching up reading old threads and trying to get caught up on where things are now.  Lots of good stuff in the back pages!

    Anyway, to the question:

    Korean War, 15mm: Definitely doing a large, 15mm Korean War historical project, perhaps modestly branch out into an alternative history with the UN, MacArthur or both pushing past the Yalu and newer and better equipment coming in.  Stalin IIs and IIIs versus M-47 Pattons and so on.  Maybe.  Big commitment, planning to use BKC or CWC rules.  Sabre Squadron for some smaller actions.  Task Force Smith for example.

    Korean War, 20mm:  Probably 20mm Korean War with Crossfire rules or something more skirmish and ambush oriented, and a white wargame set in the snow.  Will violate history by using the tiger paint jobs on US tanks from Operation Ripper in the Spring of 1951.  Mostly the point will be to play very small unit operations.

    Vietnam 20mm or 15mm:  Rules will either be Giac My or The Men of Company B.  Which rules set will dictate scale.  One or the other, not both.

    Tankety-tank!  Clankety-clank! 6mm:  Rules will be Sabre Squadron.  Very torn on what historical conflict(s) if any.  Six Day War and Yom Kippur War are appealing (would have to do YKW in 15mm because Khurasan Egyptians) but feels a bit like a narrow and constricting approach.  More inclined to do some hypothetical conflicts such as PRC invasion of Taiwan ca. 1960s, PRC v. India, Pakistan v. India, Turkey v. Syria or Israel, or just ‘green and tan’.  Saw a great line about Khakistan on another thread; that would be fun.  1950s – 1970s.  Modest scale.  Looking more for intensity than sprawl.

     

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 74 total)