First Gaming for 2017

Friday night games are back on for the year.

First session was actually the week prior, but being unable to make that one, this Friday was my first time back gaming.

Game of choice was to be Saga and I'd be playing Andrew.

We rolled up a mission ending up with the river ford crossing fight.

It would be 6pts of Vikings (me) vs. 6pts of Anglo-Saxons (Andrew).

I took...

Warlord
4 Berserkers
4 Hearthguard
4 Hearthguard
8 Warriors
8 Warriors
8 Warriors

Andrew had....

Warlord
12 Warriors
12 Warriors
12 Warriors
4 Warriors
12 Levy (bow)

Game on!

 My tactics with Vikings are to get straight into combat as quick as possible. It's the only tactic right? :-)

This was the first time using berserkers, so I was looking forward to an early charge with them. Except the Saxons stole my idea!! Using some of their movement abilities, a large unit of Saxon warriors was across the ford and straight into my berserkers!

Combat was bloody, all 4 berserkers heading to Valhalla, but not before taking 10 Saxon warriors to the afterlife with them.

Suffice to say, the nearby Viking units took revenge and then headed across the ford....

On the opposite flank, the Vikings were also advancing...

Only to get charged by more Saxon warriors...

The result was rather terrible for the Vikings (shocking rolling on my part).... so the Hearthguard would have to do the job with just as poor a result. At least they didn't all die!

Some nervous Saxons on the left.... carnage on the right...

I simply can't hit, but at the least the few hits I am getting are whittling the Saxon units down to stop their abilities (require large units to work effectively).

On the right, my Vikings are wiped out to a man leaving 3 Saxon warriors on my side of the river. Loki soon dealt to them though :-)

On the left, things are just going from bad to worse. I do the only thing a good Viking chief could do in this situation - charge! Death or glory! Guess it was to be death....

There ended the game at the end of turn 6 - the Vikings destroyed to a man. The halls of Valhalla will be full tonight!

Great game, even if the decisive loss wasn't the best way to start the year!

Based on my rolling, I am hoping I've used up my quota of 1's for the year!! Andrew has definitely used up a years worth of 6's! :-)

Tactics wise, Andrew actually played it well with the extra large Warrior units - 12 Warriors was giving a lot of dice, particularly with good battle board use giving a extra attack dice that I just couldn't counter.

In hindsight, I should have combined the Hearthguard units together to give a harder hitting unit. I also think I missed an opportunity to get stuck into the Saxon warlord earlier.

No matter. Next time!

Most of the other guys were playing a fantastic looking game of Frostgrave. Forces looked very nice, particularly Ian's combination of squigs & nurglings. Apparently Imp's are the new black ;-)

I think I've found a new use for my Legion of Everblight models (once painted!) and where's my old Skaven Mordheim gang...... :-)

Thanks for reading.

A painting post

I know right!

They're few and far between, but it seems to becoming a bit of a habit for a post to appear in early Jan with some finished mini's :-)

Bolt Action again.

This time, I have finally finished off my panzerfaust armed models, alternate / higher command models, observers, medic and panzerschreck team.

I don't think it's my best work. Too stop / start on getting these guys done over far too long a period.... i.e. the course of the last year or so.

Not painting for a very long time shows. Still, they're done and they're okay for the tabletop.

Oh... and I really need to throw away my home made light box and get a proper one!

Here they are....

I was trying to find the original post where I posted a picture of all the models assembled and undercoated along with some boast on when they would be finished.

Well, it seems to be so old that I can't find it!

2000 odd points of Germans does look pretty good all painted though...

A few more mini's to go, but ones rarely used... flamethrowers (yes, I have two :-) ), a couple more observer options and..... 30 more infantry as I couldn't resist that very sexy box of plastic grenadiers released by Warlord a while ago.

I would also like to do a little more tidy up on the infantry such as painting the collars / epaulets etc, but realistically, I'm not sure the time to do it will be there.

Oh and I have a very special turret option on the way for my Panzer IV. My gaming mates are going to hate me for getting it :-)

They can wait though (apart from the turret - that's getting painted as soon as it arrives!). It's time for a break from painting Germans I think. Next up Saga and everything is now primed ready to go. Lets see how long this one takes....

Thanks for reading.

Happy New Year!

Okay, so it's a little late. Three days with no internet connection will do that for you though.....

Still, fixed now (I hope!).

It's been quite the year and one that's hard to sum up.

Firstly, I finally bit the bullet and bought my own place. Having my own house has certainly meant free time has somewhat become non-existent!! Didn't think I'd ever take to an interest in gardening.... but gotta keep them looking good :-) It is pretty good having my own little placeeven with all the cooking and cleaning requirements.

Training has gone well now that my previous wrist injury is all a-okay. Strength wise, personal bests are regularly being broken and the movements are feeling good. Especially now that we have an ex-NZ weightlifting coach running an olympic lifting class once per week. Has made so much difference for one so tall and lanky like myself. Fitness, well that's another story. Too many colds due to a number of reasons.... a year of funny weather being one of them.

Work, well that's a bit of a different story. It's good and again, plenty of opportunity has come my way this year, but with a price.

The installation, validation and commissioning of a line in a standalone site was quite a bit of work!! Particularly when you're in one of the most critical positions for the site..... it's manager! We're not the biggest company, but big enough for support functions to help out. Even with that though, it has been a full on year. Christmas being my first chance for a break of more than a couple of days. So... being switched on at almost all times, some long hours / weeks and a number of challenges have kept stress levels high. As it is, I'm back to work tomorrow with another busy year ahead.

It's pretty rare to be involved in commissioning a new line / operation in NZ. I've now been involved in two and, as much as it is a good challenge, I don't think it is a long term thing!

Oh, and a restructure halfway through the year also added a little unneeded stress. That was alleviated a little with a direct appointment to one of the new roles though.

So basically a new house and being pretty shattered from work, has meant no painting has happened. The last time I finished something was posted here... I have managed to pick up a paint brush over the Christmas break to finish of a few more Bolt Action figures which I have enjoyed. Pictures to come soon.

Gaming wise, things took a bit of a dive with a few life changes across the group. But, it picked up a little after finally passing the initiation to join the Friday night crew :-) Unfortunately training does make Friday's difficult for me timewise, but I've managed to get a few games in. Fingers crossed the new local club that is trying to get started finds a suitable venue early this year.....

Photography, well looking back at my posts, that seems to be the one hobby that has resulted in a fairly steady stream of posts. And with a bit more variety that just birds and planes!! :-) These two in particular being more memorable ones.... here and here. 2017 will see a heap of awesome aircraft photos though, so get ready! I'm looking forward to these events immensely -

I'm sure there will be plenty more photo outings and gaming posts in 2017. I'm keen to try to get back into the habit of regular painting. In particular, I really want to get my Saga forces (Vikings & Anglo-Danes) painted since that is a common Friday night game. So, if there is going to be any NY resolution, then that would be it. I may even play in a comp again this year with one of the big national tournaments being played at a school just down the road later in the year.

Oh, there will be more Crossfit posts. No doubt about that :-)

I hope everyone had a great New Years. Overall a busy year, but still plenty of time for good beer & great mates.

Happy New Year all and have a great 2017.

Thanks for reading.