New month - a little rambling and gaming done.

So been out to the moor for a little walk - rather nice it was too. 

The river up from Two-bridges, walking up to Beardown farm. 

The woods at Beardown. 

Walking up to Longaford Tor. 

All finished out with a cream tea - done properly cream on first at the Two-bridges hotel. 

I have also managed a couple of gaming sessions recently - first up was a trip to Boy Next Door (BND) for a go at Valhalla - which I felt did not go down as well as usual … everyone said they enjoyed it, but the vibe I felt was people though it was ok - probably because I won. 

Then as the good lady was out I had Steedo, BND and Boy Up the Road (BUR) over to play They Come Unseen - Steedo Snake-eyes and myself played this a few years ago and it has not been played since. Any way BND has a copy and is indeed a submariner, so I thought it would be good to revisit it. So I’m not going to run through how it plays again - we split into teams Steedo and BUR were NATO in the subs and BND and myself were the Soviets with the destroyers and logistics. The game started well for the Soviets, damaging Steedo’s sub - only one hit left … but then we couldn’t find it to finish him off.  Then we lost a couple of bases - with the supply ship and a container ship in them - this seriously hampered our efforts, due to a lack of fuel! We managed to damage BUR’s sub, but it was in vain - the dastardly capitalists destroyed the remaining bases (including my destroyer as I was refuelling at the time). 

I have to say this was a really good and intense game for the teams - the sub team loved watching us “nearly” catching their subs in the sonar sweeps … so close comrade. A definite play again, sooner than later - but defo with 4 players in teams. 

We finished off the evening with a go at Raiders of the North Sea (always a good game) - the BUR won in his first game - beating Steedo by a point. 

Cracking evening. 

Morts

Combat Patrol - Issue 1

So issue 1 of the new GW part work is out and I picked up a copy. 

Nice little pack - i picked it up for the Terminator Captain for my Space Marines - just need to assemble and put on the rams skull moulding. However rather that just moving the Tyranid Prime on I think I will use as an Arachnid Overseer Bug. The extra dice are always useful. 

Also included were a double sided game mat - which to be fair is better quality (light card) than paper one I picked up with a previous part work. 

Happy with the purchase - should be fun to put together. 

Morts

Kill Team - A 4 player game

The good lady said I could have the nerds, sorry the collective over for a game on Friday night, as she was going out. As it turned out she got her dates wrong, so I might get a game in next week as well.  The volunteers for the evening were Steedo, DK, Sylon and Snake-eyes, so what to play? I did think about Valhalla, with expansions as it plays 5 and then I thought I paint all of this plastic and metal, we will play one of those games.  After some deliberation I decided on 4 player Kill Team, with me as the umpire. 

The table before arrival - 7 teams available. Not picked were the Space Marine Phobos, Ad Mech and Chaos Space Marines (with cultists).

A dice roll of for teams lead to:

Steedo - Necrons (Deathmarks and Warriors)

Sylon - the Blooded (Traitor guard)

Snake-eyes - Space Marines (Intercession squad)

DK - Craftworld (Dire Average and Rangers) 

The objective was to pick up victory points on the markers - with 2 points on the marker on the centre.

Sylon deployed first and had initiative for the first turn - and moved out towards the Necrons and the Eldar - taking the opportunity to shoot at the Necrons (not very effectively) only to suffer with some heavy return fire - which was much more effective. Steedo silver robot men then took out the Marines leader - left out in the open (those Deathmarks are a bit tasty). There was some revenge firing, but not enough to kill a Necron and in frustration the Marines lobbed a grenade into a crowd of Eldar causing much annoyance and retaliation from DK! However Snake-eyes did score a victory point at the cost of a marine becoming a bullet magnet. The turn ended with Snake-eyes in the lead with 1 point. 

The second turn saw another grenade lobbed at the Eldar and the sacrifice of 2 more marines for 2 more victory points. Sylon’s Blooded picked up 2 points, but were taking causalities from Steedo’s Necrons. DK’s Eldar got a point as well and DK got increasingly frustrated by my rulings on Line of Sight. I have checked the rules an on the whole I was right and in fact Snake-eyes should be aggrieved as his sniper should have counted as obscured, as the secondary lines from the Eldar attackers would have crossed heavy cover which the marine was within an inch of - will have to check the LoS rules for the next game. At the end of turn 2 the scores were Snake-eyes 3, Sylon 2, DK 1 and Steedo 0. 

Turn 3 saw the marines down to 2 operatives but still taking a point, the Nercons slowly marching forward and collecting 2 points, the Blooded taking hits from both the Eldar and Nercons, but getting a point. The Eldar had lost 4 operatives and most of the rest were wounded - Nil points. More importantly it was the jockeying for position for the final turn. 

Turn 3 the scores were Snake-eyes 4, Sylon 3, Steedo 2 and  DK 1. 

The final turn saw Snake-eyes pick up a point and DK kill the Nercon leader so he wouldn’t be able to get to the centre objective marker (worth 2 points at the end of turn) or collect a point at another marker - this would be key. Steedo picked up another 2 points for the Necrons. The Eldar leader was shot - again stopping a rush for the centre objective, but DK was again frustrated by not being allowed to shot the Blooded Enforcer, as he was in engagement range of a Eldar ranger, only for Sylon’s Blooded leader to be able to shoot into the same engagement, due to a faction ability - “Callous Disregard” - this allowed the Sylon’s leader to move on to the centre objective and then the Enforcer to move onto the other objective and pick it up. The turn 4 the scores were Sylon 6, Snake-eyes 5, Steedo 4 and  DK 2. 

The end of game scoring gave the following final standings Sylon 8, Steedo 6, Snake-eyes 5 and  DK 3. The taking out of the Necron leader cost Steedo at least 2 points and also Sylon a clear run on the centre objective. A good win for Sylon, (who like Snake-eyes finished the game with only 2 operatives left on the table) which I hadn’t seen coming, as the Blooded are a little bit fragile with low wounds (7) and a high save (5+).  

The evening was good fun, with plenty of banter but possibly not the best game to play with effectively novice players. Perhaps we should have played 2 separate games with me umpiring both? There was a lot of downtime between players turns - again time was lost with me having explain rules (especially Line of Sight and putting order tokens down), however Sylon and Steedo did get on with a number of combats by themselves. With 4 players the initiative was very important as, too early meant that your operative could be exposed with no way to retaliate or too late and operatives being taken out without getting to take their actions (the marine leader). 

Anyway it was good to get the toys out and get them used 

Morts 

Dubrovnik holiday

The better half and I have just returned from Croatia and the city of Dubrovnik for our summer holidays. Well it was lovely… and hot.

First up views on the first night from the hotel in the Babin Kuk area of Dubrovnik we were staying in. This area was a little way out - needing a 20 minute bus ride to the old city  

Over the next three days we popped into the old city 3 times to have a look around, so we didn’t melt in the heat, avoided some of the crowds and could have time at the pool - we picked up a 3 day Dubrovnik pass, which gave us free transport, access to most of the key attractions and discounts to some of others. 

TL - the Pile gate, TR - Fort Lovrijenac (from the Walls), BL -  some of the Wall, BR - looking into the city from the Walls. The walk around the walls is worth it, but costs €35 on its own, but was included in the pass - stunning views of the old city, which unsurprisingly looks a bit like King’s Landing and a few other locations from game of thrones. We also visited a couple of museums and the rector’s palace.

Lokrum island - was the next day. A discounted ferry trip to the nature reserve - again beautiful a setting. TL - the path up to Fort Royal, TR - a view along Lokrum’s coast, BL - Fort Royal, a Napoleonic fort built by the French, BR - a view of the old city from the island. Really liked the island - some nice swimming in clear water around it and plenty to do - we should have spent more time around the Monastery complex than we did, but worth the visit. 

The third trip to the old town was visit to some of the other places around the city. TL - the city from Fort Lovrijenac, some good views (but visit using the pass as it would be expensive without it.), TR - the steps of Shame (GoT reference), BL - Saint Ignatius Church at the top of the steps, BR - a picture from inside the Friars Minor Franciscan Monastery Museum.

The last day in Dubrovnik saw us take a boat trip to 3 of the Elaphiti Islands of Lopud, Šipan, and Koločep. TL - some steps in Sipan, TR and BL some buildings around the harbour on Koločep. BR - the monastery near the harbour of Lopud. Now I’m not say I didn’t have a good day out on the boat, because I did, but it didn’t really hit my expectations either. The reviews online are averaging at 4.5/5 - which I think are a bit generous - on the first 2 islands you get about an hour to wander about - which wasn’t really enough time to go anywhere to see much. Then on the third and largest island we had about 3 hours - and were sold on the largest sandy beach in the area - requiring a 20min (actually about 40min walk over the island) or a “taxi” in a golf buggy (€3 each way each), we we took. Unfortunately we arrived any in tide was coming in, so the beach was getting smaller and was already crowded - we did catch some rays and have swim, but not what we thought we were getting. The boat trip back was good - I just liked looking out at the coast and the islands. 

So overall and really great break - loved Croatia and Dubrovnik (although it is expensive - tourist honeypot) and would certainly recommend it! There was so much we didn’t do and see … perhaps another visit in the future?

Morts

Big Orcs or Trolls - Tehnolog

So after the fun I had had with the Tehnolog Skellies, I thought I would have a play with their Orc miniatures - I will be using them as giant trolls. These have been painted using speed paints and my normal washes and layering. 

Champion with sword and shield and a dude with a big old club. 

Big two-handed chopping weapons. These boys mean business. 

I did the armour rusty again, as 1 - I liked the technique and 2 - I didn’t think Trolls would worry too much about weapon care. I mucked around with verdigris again, but I am not happy with the recipe yet. 

I thought I should put a picture with a 28mm miniature (a Gandalf) to give am idea of size of these chaps. They are big - pretty happy with these (I think I prefer the skellies if am am honest). They are going to get a decent drying time before varnishing as I with be away for a week soon, so felt I needed to clear the desk a bit. 

Morts 

Tomb Guards -Tehnolog - Big Skeletons

So a little while ago I picked up the Tehnolog Dark 54mm Attack box - mainly for the 4 Orcs in the box to be repurposed as Trolls for the Hobgoblin army (sort of replacing the Dark Alliance Lord of the Rings style trolls I had picked up). In the set are Orcs, Skeletons (Tomb Guards), Elves and Dwarfs (the latter two need to find their way back onto eBay). I had seen the Orcs before, but thought I give the skellies a try - they did need replacement weapons and some head and arm adjustments. 

The original poses for the 6 big boned lads and the converted and painted boys altogether. 

The hand weapon and shield unit - if playing Kings of War.

The two hand weapons chaps. Another unit in KoW or if they are combined a horde. They will be used a proxies for undead trolls. If using Dragon Rampant, they can be stated out as I see fit. 

I took the opportunity to experiment with painting rust - which I think went rather well. Lots of dapping with a sponge. Verdigris - this wasn’t quite as successful, but not too bad. I also had a little play with the speed paints again for the bandages and  cloth areas, which are ok - on the shield boys I used the pallid bone shade, which is a bit to close to bone - d’oh. On the two hand weapon chaps I used yellow which looks better. The bones and wood work were done using a wash and highlight method. One thing I did forget to do was wash in warm soapy water - hopefully the varnish will hold the paint on - lack of actually playing games will help too!

I am happy with these chaps - now a bit excited for the Orc/Trolls and the Dark Alliance Cyclops (use as ogres for a Greek themed army or as Cyclops in smaller games) - however I have to finish the bases for the 15mm Bavarians and Saxons. 

Morts

Edinburgh Festival

The wife is part of a choir and was given the opportunity to sing at the Edinburgh Fringe - so I dutifully tagged along to visit the International Fringe Festival. We arrived on Saturday morning and had wander around the city.

Some classic landmarks - castle entrance. The heaving castle street looking down the royal mile. The statue of the Black watch … and looking over the National monument - but not the monument itself.

Here we have the Scottish Parliament, Holyrood Palace, Duke of Wellington statue and Salisbury crags (with a bit of the parliament building in the foreground). From our wandering, we like Edinburgh (or at least the touristy bits) - some lovely architecture, which hadn’t been ruined by bombing and poor replacements being built. The city was friendly, but almost every other shop seemed to be selling tartan and shortbread! - we were in the tourist sector to be fair. 

We then popped into a show - in a Brewdog pub. Where we saw the following:

The show was compared by Jurgen the German - who was a bit hit and miss, who introduced the 3 other artists. Cal Halbert was the best and we went to see him the following day - where he deserved to be seen by more than 10 people. We would have liked to have seen his evening show, but we had already booked stuff for the evenings. 

Saturday evening was taken up with the Military Tattoo up at the Castle. 

The theme of the show was Journeys - with a Naval focus - Royal Marines bands and US Navy colour party throwing around rifles with fixed bayonets, like majorettes throw batons. Lots fantastic choreography and music. 

Because we were at the last show of the evening - the lights were brilliant as well. A really good evening. 

I would recommend this as part of the Edinburgh Festival visit. 

On Sunday we went to see Cal Halbert in the morning, the good lady and I went for another wander and a trip to the National Museum of Scotland. 

This amble took in Greyfriars and other places - we also found the Mosque Kitchen, which was a great place to eat - very cafeteria in style, food slapped on the plate, but plenty of it and good value for money!

Sunday evening was a music evening - watching three shows by Night Owl Shows. 

These were Tribute acts, but really well done - we felt that in that Blondie was the best - energy, voice and story telling was really good - bloody great actually, then Kate Bush - great emotional songs, but to match Kate is a tall order for any singer and Amy Winehouse (the same girl who did Blondie), belted out some tunes to a packed out audience - so a great atmosphere - but I am not as familiar with the music. I would recommend watching these to anyone! Wanted to watch the Police and Sting show they had, but the timing just didn’t work. 

Monday was the big performance day for the other half - but we thought we would start it with something different - we went to see an all women (4 to be exact) performance of Macbeth. 

A good performance - easier to follow than the Michael Fasbender film I tried to watch a couple of months ago - you could actually hear what was being said. It took a little while to identify the character changes, as the actors were playing multiple roles. Worth the watch.

Then we headed down to Brewhemia - nice pub with lots of Czech beers on draft! One thing I noticed was larger was very popular in Edinburgh - not that many real ales about (although Keeno did send me a list of real ale pubs). 

The 30 minute gig in the pub went well - then we had some time to kill before the main event - the better half had a look around the surgeons museum, I had a look at a couple of games shops. 

A couple of pictures of the main event - the girls blasting out their tunes very well - I heard non-hangers on, saying it was a really good show, lots of fun. But now the show was over, the pressure was off … but we were knackered (a lot of walking) so went back to the hotel. The hotel was a Premier Inn Hub - and it was really good - they looked after our bags, on arrival and before leaving for a good few hours.  The all you could eat continental breakfast kept us going for most of the day - the room (although small) was ideal as we didn’t spend much time in it - another recommendation. 

Tuesday (our last day) saw us head up to Arthur’s Seat - for some amazing views. 

It was busy up there - probably because of the One Day film/Netflix series. Certain worth the climb. We then had a cup of tea at the Palace Cafe, another wander (I found another game/model shop … I’m not sure why I keep dong this, as I rarely buy anything - because there isn’t much I need to buy, and they are usually a fairly way off our track). Then we when to see Arthur Smith and Phil Nice in OOF! This was a nice show, remembering their early career at the Fringe (40 years ago), but also poignant as it addressed their split up as a double act and Arthur’s struggles with addiction. 

Then we trekked across the city to see 5 Mistakes that Changed History - this was really interesting show which discussed mistakes by or about Alexander the Great, Tomatoes, Annie Oakley, Winston Churchill (and something else) in an informative and amusing way. Another recommendation. Then we hot footed it back to the hotel - grabbing a meal with J&J and Evo & Al (with whom we had travelled up with and seen an number of shows with - and had be splendid company), before head to the airport and home. 

A very busy weekend, but I would recommend Edinburgh and the Fringe (but it is busy). 

Morts