Afropia, Imagi-nations and what gaming dreams are...

...made of, I guess, or some sh%t like that...basically just trying to keep an idea going that started out as inspiration and getting minis on the table that now encompasses trying to get my historical themed gaming/painting mojo back in action...

 

Howdy folks, I hope all is well on your side, I suspect that the tides of fortune and highs vs. lows certainly is keeping many of us/you on our collective toes. I have to admit, since the first reports of the balloon going up, sh%t getting real, and Ukraine-Russia going hot I have had read a few blog posts on how this is challenging the historical and modern gaming hobby. And I gotta say, I feel some of that challenge...now, before anyone gets heavy or torqued in any reaction, I gotta say, I think I've been here before.

There was a time when I had zero interest in gaming current, modern, or even 'relatively' recent conflicts in any theatre and geographical location. Be it Africa, Middle East, or Europe, my flavour of historical gaming was fairly restrictive to the [not so] Great War and WW2. Given some of my experiences in the green..or blue suit, I guess...I wasn't too keen on modern and Africa was waaaaayyyyy out of the question. Having experienced 2nd hand some of the impacts/effects of the 90's conflicts, I couldn't see how I could approach these various battlespaces with less than solemn reverence. It took the effort of dealing with some of my inner demons, recognize my PTSD symptoms, and just try gaming with good folks...also having folks to game with that had gone through similar avoidance was beneficial. I have to recognize and acknowledge that it was Peter Pig and their AK-47 ruleset that helped me break that wall...and if you read my last Afropia post, I didn't even get to game it, but I did read the ruleset and that helped to reframe my reality with the gaming environment and still respect the non-fictional context around the various conflicts and regions.

 

And to be honest, I'm still not overly cool with current events, it really does depend on the ruleset, context, and treatment around the conflict

So I guess what I'm saying with the current conflict/war...I've been here before, and I can move forward again...it just takes some time and some good folks to game with. I have had Afropia on my mind quite a bit this past week and I do enjoy creating scenarios. So I will have to revisit some of my original thoughts from January and try to get moving on settings and scenario creation. We'll see how the progress goes.

If you're in a position to help out those affected by this war, good on you and good luck; if you're affected by this war, all the best to you and yours.

Cheers.

Rules for Imagi-Nations - Afropia?

 Hello folks,

One of my random thoughts on my end year 2021 post was the idea of moving forward with an 'imagi-nation' type setting to bring together some ideas I had on scenario creation, maximizing playibility, fielding more figures, and really just getting more games in. I know that with Duncan and Mike we have some ideas on SW Legion and the Nam...but I also wanted something that I could have where I could take as little as a dozen or so figures or as many as a couple of companies and have some enjoyable games.

As this is a longer term project and idea, I thought I would invest in some scoping activities and rulesets that could be feasible within these arcs of dice throwing. Now, I have to say I have always been entertained by some great blogs over the years and some have provided some great inspiration for getting to this point. As well, seeing some battle reports of various games and rulesets has also helped guide the research side of this as well. 

 

Most recently I re-opened my copy of "7 Days to the Rhine" and this looks promising to have some cold-war era kit with a more limited size of force. I think it holds the same promise as Force on Force Cold War and am really curious to try it out. In the scope that I'm looking at, I see it fitting in a scenario with standing armies going toe-to-toe who have the joy of being Superpower benefactors...or some variance there of...more to follow.

 

I have always been a big fan of Force on Force, and if you look through some of my posts from years back you will see some very enjoyable battle reports. This ruleset would allow me the minimalist approach to force size and there are some excellent companion books that can help scale everything from standing army modern fights to counter insurgency to peacemaking/keeping/building operations. So again, a very good ruleset to have as a reference point.

 

In similar vein to Force on Force (and Skirmish Sangin below), Contact Front is a modern ruleset focused on the Afghanistan experience and professional army vs. insurgent warfare. It does look pretty interesting, it is a little more manageable as the book is on the lighter side of pages, and looks like it is fairly open to scenario and force improvisation.

 

Skirmish Sangin from Dish Dash is one that I am not overly familiar with. I did have a chance about 3 years ago to get a game in and was pretty happy with the mechanics and gameplay. This set is focused primarily on Afghanistan and ISAF, however much to my delight they have also developed Skirmish AFRIKA with a reimagining of the African continent with enough similarity to be familiar, and enough reimagining for this to accommodate a variety of nation state models and histories. It does look fairly promising so I will be curious to see how I can adapt this.

In the African vein, Peter Pig are certainly no stranger to gaming. I recently picked up both old and 'new' version of their AK47 ruleset. I have to be honest, this is the ruleset that allowed me the headspace and comfort to start modern gaming and definitely the idea of gaming in Africa. Having served there back in the day, I had some misgivings about modern gaming. Now, while I had bought this set years ago, and enjoyed reading it immensely, I unfortunately never got around to gaming it. So looking at it again was critical to approaching my Imagi-Nation. In terms of scale, this does represent a bit of a miniatures 'investment' as it allows warlord and state actor armies, it has a base level of 5 units...so some investment in terms of grunts, etc. Although, I may have to see how I can adapt as I have read so many great battle reports that it is really enticing.

At this point, I'm pretty confident that my battlespace and geographical reference will be rather Afropia (Africa-Europe-Asia) focused...this lets me use the full range of terrain and figures that I have but I will have to scope and define this further.

I guess that's all I'm going to say about that...for now. 

Take care.

Battlefield Window Dressing - Odds n Sods

Howdy folks,

For me, some of the best parts of this hobby centre around the research that goes into deciding what kind of force to select for a given era.  In the case of sci-fi, the 'research' phase gives way to, what back story can I create that helps make the character of the force.  For historical based forces, what era am I interested in...which belligerent...do I want to focus on a particular vehicle or equipment type.  I do try to put a lot of deliberate thought and effort in the decision process.

When it comes to the battlefield, a lot of what helps prop up the character of the force or scenario or overall appearance of the table comes from the window dressing items that can be brought to the table.  With this in mind, I thought I'd showcase some of the items I've recently worked on.  I've got a few pics for various era's.

Thanks as always for the views...take care.

In the future...there will be war...for Tomorrow's War and a force centered around disgruntled miners turned insurgents.  They will still need transport...some Battlefront vehicles, press ganged and painted up as the Novo-Tajik Mining Consortium...

 

Never travel anywhere without your FLIR sensor mast...addition of a sensor scope to the top of a Stalinets tractor...

Stalinets tractor with two Khurasan light crawlers...all adorned in the company colours and logos on the passenger doors...Tomorrows War supply convoy with Technical escort

 

When you need random cargo to fight for...look no further than a hodgepodge of bits from QRF, Battlefront, and God knows where...

 

 A mix of Peter Pig markers from the AK-47 line, good for many recent and past conflicts as arms or supply cache...worth fighting for or sweeping for... 

 

A more current look at technical riding about in a battlezone...Peter Pig Toyota trucks with a ZPU-1

Howdy folks,

Needless to say, but life definitely gets in the way of ones hobbies, etc...the Christmas break was outstanding and I was able to get a lot of figs finished up. As well, with the new year upon us I was busy getting some new minis prepped...I know, if you're like me, the last thing you actually need is more lead...but hey, they were from under the tree.

I started prepping a small IDF force (circa '67-'73) as well as the start of a Syrian tank force to play in our groups upcoming 'Fate of Nations'. Of course, not without sidetracks, I also received some more M113s in the mail and have started prepping them as well. I don't expect to get paint on them for some time, however I have them earmarked for some 4CMBG Canadian troops (circa mid-late '80s).

Anyhow, here are some finished shots of more miniatures. I recently completed some Battlefront DD Shermans for D-day as well as somemore Wild West Artizan figs.  Based for Force on Force (very awesome ruleset), I have completed 2 testers for early90s Canucks in Africa (suitable for Canadian Airborne Regiment...perhaps); for these I used Battlefront Vietnam Aussies because of the bush cap looking very similar to what we used up until mid-lat 90s.  And lastly, a couple of random vehicles.

Enjoy.

Battlefront DD Shermans 

28mm Artizan Wild West figs.

Tester minis for Canucks (BF Aussies)

 

Random - 15mm Peter Pig Toyota and BF Kubelwagon

Work work work

It's been a couple of days since my last post...never underestimate the ability for your day job to get in the way of what's really important.  However, I've been able to steal some moments to work on some of the pile and to get the initial framework for this year's plan.

The Plan

1. finish the basing backlog to complete various minis...I know this part doesn't take me that long but still is difficult for me to bite into (mind over matter sort of thing);
2. finish the pile of lead in the WIP pile.  Given the right motivation/timing it shouldn't take to long, it is a combination of bunkers (4), infantry, and some vehicles;
3. begin work on a small IDF force (mainly armour) and Syrian tank force for "Fate of Nations"; and
4. consolidate collections/holdings of incomplete and some still in box sets.  Do they still fit the overall plan/picture.

To tide folks over until the production line is brought up to speed I'll offer a few more pics that I've been able to take.  Enjoy and take care.

later gators.

WW2 commandos/airborne troops that I finished in the fall of last year, not sure the manufacture.  First time painting denison smock...I liked the results.

 

Vietnam is a definite period of interest for me...about 18 months ago I started to collect various makes of M113s to see the difference and do a physical comparison for quality, paintibility, and cost.  The two infanteers and Viet Cong spider pits are from Flashpoint miniatures  done as a sample to test basing colors...the ACAV M113 on the left is also from Flashpoint and is a little larger than BFs and noticably larger than Old Glorys'.  The ACAV on the right is from Peter Pig, it matches very well with BF and OG...the turret is brilliant - nice fit and does not fall off!

Two QRF M113 ITVs done up as Cold War US Army in Europe...my future plans for those will be as combat AT attachment to 4CMBG...but that is another project, lol.

If I recall correctly this figure is from TAG...I think guerrillas or rebels blister...I liked the mix of Kiwi inspired camo smock along with Soviet/Russian camo pants.

 

Taking stock...pt2

Slowly making my way through pictures and miniatures and thought I'd take the time to post some more of what I've done over the past year or so.  I still consider myself a rank novice in the hobby and have found that over the past two years I've moved away from my 'traditional' WW2 only type painting.

Like any novice I'm still learning everyday and challenging myself with painting schemes and miniature choices.

Feel free to take a look and enjoy.

Cheers.

My first foray into modern heavy metal, a Peter Pig 15mm T-55 painted up as Rhodesian armour.  I was inspired after I saw a diorama and then some actual pics from the field.

I saw these 15mm reporters under a sci-fi/near future post from Oddzial Osmy...a little smaller than your standard BF or PP fig, but very nice sculpts.

Some Renegade WW1 painted up as 10th Battalion Canadian Expeditionary Force.

 

One of my all time favorite show's growing up and greatly enjoyed the re-imagining.  The Beast from Bergstrom Studios...nice looking figs and great customer service.  Did this one up about 3-4 years ago...maybe longer, but thought I'd post it all the same.

 

Picked these folks up during a road trip...I like the looks of them.  They were one of the first Artizan packs I picked up and I like the look of the Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.