Alien Squad Leader 2.0 Review on Dropship

For an excellent review of Alien Squad Leader 2.0, check out Mark's post over at Dropship Horizon.

Not only is the review excellent, but this man on the other side of the pond is the world's foremost blogger on 15mm sci-fi figures and rules systems.

Papercraft Terrain

Since I won't be doing any gaming at the Sand Table for two weeks, I've decided to concentrate on making some papercraft installations and perhaps some built-up areas for Alien Squad Leader. I may get around to painting up something for Golden Hat X, but I'm not feeling very inspired.

I'll see about posting up some pics of my builds later this week.

This little monster wasted my time all day long...

It's best to be flexible...

An epiphany struck me at work today... I need to cool my jets and be more flexible...

My current gaming group contains only one serious player, apart from myself; the rest enjoy gaming but regard the weekly preparation, painting, planning, etc... as a chore, and will usually find an excuse not to do it in a timely manner. Others object to my choice of rulesets. In months past this has caused me large amountsC of frustration and anger.

It is not necessary to be angry; we all gather at the Sand Table of our own free will to have some fun and relax. I like to have finished pieces on the tabletop, and put forth the effort to make it so... others don't really feel the need, and I certainly can't force them to see it my way, that sort of thinking just makes game night unpleasant. Instead, since I am responsible only for my own actions, I must be flexible and treat game night as casual game night, more beer and pretzels than anything else. Win or lose, painted or unpainted, Crossfire or Necromunda, at least I can have some fun.

If I want things done in a serious fashion, using rules to my liking, I've got to do it solo, and it's there that I can find utmost satisfaction. You don't often find yourself arguing with yourself, after all.

Afrika Korps Battalion is complete

Heia Safari!

Progress on my Afrika Korps Battalion

I've made good progress on my Crossfire Afrika Korps Battalion. All company, squad, and battalion stands are finished and covered in sand, with the exception of my Battalion HQ, Company Commanders, Platoon Commanders, and Pak 88s.

I still need to purchase one pack of Panzer IIIs, one pack of Sdfz 251s, and one pack of Tigers. I'll also need one additional truck or 251; as of right now I don't have the trucks to transport all of my platoons. Sadly, GHQ does not sell individual vehicles, and I don't really feel like making another Irregular Miniatures order. I'll rummage around in my Canadian Motor Company's box and see if they have any spare trucks.

15mm Slammers and Aliens

As promised, pictures of my recent endeavors:


Hammer's Slammers










Troll Mercenaries







A small APC and a Command GEV








My unpainted "Enforcer" Robot for the Coalition

Looking for Rules for Post-Apocalyptic Skirmish

Well, I've got about an hour 'til my next class due to a cancellation, so I've got some time to kill.

Last night while working on several papers that I had due and watching Waterworld, I thought of my multiversal post-apocalyptic setting that I've been acquiring 15mm figures for. The Coalition TO & E was a part of that. I've already received two packs of 15mm SAMs and two packs of jetbikes, and I've painted up a few Cyberknights using Laserburn "Lawmen" or Judge Dredd figures. The question is, what rules will I use?

I've pretty much decided that I want the option for multi-basing so that I can use my figures for FWC, so I will likely purchase wooden individual bases with magnetic backing for all of my figures as well as metal sheeting for multi-bases. So I've got platoon-level action covered by FWC. What else can I consider for skirmish gaming?

-Necromunda: Ash Wastes is really its own setting, but I can find figures to cover most of the gangs.

-Nuclear Renaissance has a lot of what I want, but there are no rules for PAs, advanced robots, or hover vehicles.

-Combat Zone is a fairly flexible ruleset, with only two stats, but I may have difficulties with the high-end PAs and robots

-Just bought Star Mogul, and at least its salvage rules are interesting.

-Chain Reaction 3.0 is free, I might at least use its reaction system for solo gaming

-Shockforce doesn't have good rules for truly large vehicles and robots.

-I was developing my own skirmish system, but it may be too fast and furious for my big nasties.

So what do I really want in a skirmish system?

-fast-play mechanics
-few stats to memorize
-wackiness, but not too many tables
-rules for vehicles,PAs, robots, magic, psionics, mutants, aliens, demons, etc...
-campaign mode with less bookkeeping than Mordheim

Something Completely Different: Where do your little metal figures come from?

It has come to my attention that vast quantities of tin are mined in the Eastern Congo and sold to Western manufacturers to support continued militia operations in the area. Considering tin prices lately, it may be the most lucrative mineral mined in the area. Where do our miniatures come from then?

Food for thought...

Minor Update - 15mm Slammers and Aliens

Just completed my first 15mm project yesterday, GZG's lovely Hammer's Slammers with closed visors and Fifth Element-inspired Alien Mercenaries. Later in the day I'll be posting pics and detail the painting scheme.

Edit: No pics today... sun went down before I had a chance to photograph, and the flash just isn't as good as daylight.