GZG and PP Comparison

Someone on TMP asked me how well GZG and Peter Pig minis fit with each other, so here are some comparison pics. As you can see, the GZG are a bit bigger, but I find they look fine on the tabletop.

Latest Playtest...

I finally got around to testing out the newest version of my modern/sci fi rules. This version had some pretty big changes, so I was a bit nervous about how it would work. My trepidation proved needless however, as the new mechanics worked very nicely. There's a few things that need to be tweaked, but I think I have finally made the game I have been trying to make these past few years. I am quite excited to play again.

The scenario: A humanitarian aid mission in the form of an ambulance with medical supplies had been attacked by Zekistani insurgents in a local village. As retribution, a platoon of mercenaries was then assigned to sweep through the rocky passes and clear the village of hostiles.

A few random rolls later and the insurgents were deployed, with some in the village, some in the cliffs and some in the rocky terrain in-between. The early stages of the game went very well for the Mercs. They pushed the insurgents back to the outskirts of the village without suffering any casualties. As they moved toward the village itself things began to turn against them. Casualties began to mount up fast. After some tense fighting, a few lucky rally cards allowed the Mercs to re-new the attack and destroy the remaining insurgents. Of the 20 insurgents, only 2 escaped. However the Mercs had lost 10 men as casualties and another 7 routed, of a force of 24. A very costly victory indeed.

Below are a bunch of pictures from said game. The GZG Hammers Slammers Mercs were painted by myself, while the Peter Pig Insurgents were painted by my dad. Scenery is a mix of commercial and scratchbuilt.

My Table

Just a couple quick shots to show my current 15mm sci-fi layout. The table is 5' x 3.' I have a number of scenic projects on the go that I hope to complete over the holidays which should give me quite a nice selection of scenery.

Can you ID these minis?

Can anyone identify these colonial minis? I bought them some years ago at a local toy show. The standing highlander measures about 27mm from foot to eye, while the Gatling gun crew is about 32mm from foot to eye. I'd guess due to the tall slender nature of the Gatling crew they could be Stadden miniatures? I'm quite unsure about the highlanders though. Minifigs? Connoisseur? Something else?

First Hordes Mini

It's been ages since the last update I know, but the rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated. Had a busy summer, spending most of August in England and Ireland.

My interest in Hordes and Warmachine was re-kindled over the summer, so I raked out the old minis, and even bought a Circle of Everblight starter for a second Hordes force. I just finished painting up my first Hordes mini (had them for years, but never painted them), a Trollblood Axer. It was strange painting 28mm again, as I've grown so used to 10mm and 15mm. 28mm seems massive now! Anyway, here he is. As usual, comments, criticisms, and insults are welcome.

Product Tip: Simple Green

For awhile I've been searching for a good paint stripping method. I had heard Pinesol worked so I tried it. While it does get the paint off...somewhat, it wasn't ideal. The paint turned into a gooey, sticky mess which was hard to actually get off the minis. This meant it took several soaks in pinesol with brushing/cleaning in-between. Quite time consuming and labour intensive. Plus, the pinesol smell stays on the minis for weeks!

I then came across a number of people recommending Simple Green on TMP. I figured it was worth a shot so I picked up a jug. And boy does it work! Just let the minis soak for awhile (I'd say at least 4 hours, if not more) then the paint is easily removed with an old toothbrush. For the small recesses you may need a toothpick or even a pin. Simple Green gets the paint off easily and fairly quickly. Far easier than pinesol, that's for sure!

Curiously, we tried it on some old GW plastic minis we got for free from our FLGS (the minis were old Necromunda plastics, no idea how many years they have had paint on them, nor what type of paint was used) and we found the paint didn't really come off them. Not sure why. Maybe the type of paint that was used bonded with the plastic? Anyone else have this issue with plastic minis and Simple Green? Though on the bright side there was sign of the Simple Green melting the plastics or damaging them in anyway, so it is safe for plastics.

So if you have any minis you want stripping it's worth it to head to your local hardware store and pick-up a jug of Simple Green. 3.7-liter jugs can be had at Canadian Tire for $14.99.

A Slight Delay

I'd thought I'd have new pics up on the blog by now, but have been distracted by a few things. Finished school for the summer last week. Then on Monday I began experiencing abdominal pain. It lasted through the night and into Tuesday when it became localized on the lower right side of my abdomen. Went to emergency, and after much waiting found out I likely had appendicitis and had to stay in for immediate surgery. Had the op on Tuesday night and was in hospital for most of Wednesday. Now home, but can't move or walk very well (at least not without a considerable amount of pain). On top of it all I had to miss going to Vancouver with a bunch of friends to see Rush today, which was more of a kick in the ass than the surgery! So it will probably be another week or so before I get around to more painting and taking pictures for the blog.

Hope you all are well and haven't had to lose any organs lately!