Mancave move around

So this weekend it was time to try and make the Mancave a little more usable.  Recently, and especially since my month off, it has been more of a dumping ground for geekery and little to no room for actually gaming etc.  So Lucy and I set about making some space in there and re-organising.

The IKEA Kallax Storage Unit – the gaming geeks best friend.

The Ikea Detolf Display Cabinets.

Need more Display Cabinets for these guys!

The Collective and Resistance is Futile Prizes.

The Dominion War OP prizes (left), Indy retail ships, Cloaked Ships from Gencon, Episodic Event OP Prizes (right).

Klingon, Federation retail ships (top) and Romulan, Dominion retail ships (bottom).

The Collective OP Prizes (top) and Dominion War OP Prizes (Bottom).

Resistance is Futile OP Prizes (top) and Indy retail ships, Cloaked Ships from GenCon, Episodic event OP prizes (bottom).

Borg, Vulcans, Mirror Universe, Ferengi, Kazon, Species 8472 and Bajoran retail ships (top) and some sneaky Star Wars X-Wing stuff plus two sets of GenCon Cloaked Ships (bottom).

We mainly use Ikea furniture to display and organise the geekery in the Mancave.  Kallax storage units make great shelving and are robust and sturdy so can handly a lot of usage.  The Detolf Display Cabinets are cheap (only £40), easy to build and look quite swish however there is a lot of dead space within them.  With only 3 shelves you could easily fit another 4 shelves in each doubling the storage capacity.  Recently I’ve been struggling to get all my Star Trek Attack Wing ships into the two Detolf Display Cabinets so now they have moved I think Im going to have to look into modding these units to carry more ships.

After some searching around I found a forum which had a nice “how-to” for modding the shelves:-

Modding Ikea Detolf Shelves

Armed with this information I trawled EBay to find some 3/16″ Wire Rope Clips.  Happy with my purchase (I needed 32 but got three packs of 12) I now need to find a local glazier to cut me some sheets of glass for shelves.  I’ve measured up and reckon 8 off (15 1/2″ x 11 1/4″ x 1/8″) with a pencil grind edge should do the trick.  Just need to find a decent and cheap source for them.

We removed a lot of the books, cookery and baking that had been occupying space on my shelves and stored them in the loft.  This freed up a lot of space to put more games onto the shelves, so the two copies of Star Wars Armada and the copy of Star Wars Imperial Assault found new homes along with some older games that hadn;t been unpacked from the move until this point; War on Terror, Apples to Apples, Skyline 3000, The LOGO Game, Key to the Kingdom and an old copy of Necromunda I had kicking around.

Other related projects include finishing off my folding 4’x4′ gaming table.  I got one half made before bad weather set in last summer so I had better get on with that as soon as I have a free weekend.  You can see part of it lurking on the left of the picture of the Kallax Storage Unit above.

I’m also going to try and get a semi permanent painting station set-up for me so painting becomes less of a chore and I’ll be able to jump in and out of painting a lot easier.

The Star Trek CCG cards need sorting too.  They’ve not really been unpacked since we moved from the ‘Nam to Coventry.   I’d like to be able to get back into the CCG scene and complete my collection.  Im only missing The Motion Pictures (TMP) and All Good Things (AGT) sets.  They’re still astronomically expensive and very difficult to find for retail anywhere near me.  Sadly I think I’m going to have to abandon my idea for a huge picture displaying a full set as the frame cost is prohibitive and I’m a little short on wall space.  It would have been an ace picture to put up displaying 363 black bordered rare cards but at over 2m long by over 1m tall its not a small undertaking.  Even tweaking the numbers I still cant get it much smaller than over 1.8m by just under 1.4m.  Such a shame!

The Devils Run: Route 666 Kickstarter by Word Forge Games

As part of the Hairy Gamers on Facebook I get to see a lot of Kickstarters for various games made my friends and companies and if Im honest I very rarely ever commit to these unless they truly interest me.  Recent investments include the Battlesystems Sci-Fi Terrain and PRODOS AvP:The Hunt Begins, one of which has been delivered and the other is in the final stages of delivery following approval by Fox.  Im happy with both.  I like Kickstarter as a mechanism for funding projects and its good that backers can receive exclusive content and artwork etc that your average joe-gamer buying via retail wont receive as a thank you for backing the project.  Kickstarter works.

Recently a game appeared that made me sit back and take notice, and I’ll tell you all why.  As a younger gamer I played Games Workshops Gorkamorka and Necromunda.  I also played a Steve Jackson game called Car Wars.  It used cardboard vehicles and had a rather complicated rules system.  Some small part of me wished I could combine all three into one awesome game using customisable miniatures involving gangs attacking eachother on the road in a post apocalyptic world…..a bit like Mad Max.  Nothing ever really filled that void for me as a gamer….until recently.

GW’s Gorkamorka.

Gorkamorka contents.

GW’s Necromunda.

Necromunda contents.

Steve Jackson Games Car Wars.

Steve Jackson Games Car Wars contents.

Via the rather excellent friend of the Hairy Gamers, Mark Rapson, I became aware of a new game about to hit Kickstarter.  It was perfectly timed given the reboot to the Mad Max franchise and the success of Sons of Anarchy.  It had everything I had been waiting for…..cars, guns, gangs, combat, crazy post-apocalyptic characters all in one neat package and even better the miniatures would be produced by PRODOS a company well known for its resin miniatures and excellent customer service.  Seemed like everything was in place was a successful Kickstarter.  The product?  Well its The Devil’s Run: Route 666 by Word Forge Games.

           

The Devil’s Run: Route 666 is a 2, or more, player family game of post-apocalyptical mechanical carnage set in the near future; a dark and barbaric place, where World War 3 has seen the demise of the USA and Russia. Twenty years after the war, those that have survived must fight for everything. Post-apocalyptic North America is a feudal land run by numerous gangs, the most powerful of which control the interstates and rush to win control of the aid-drops (ADs) delivered by the new superpowers; the SRI (Super-Republic of India), the UCE (United Countries of Europe) and Brazilia (formerly South America). Each player controls a gang of ramshackle vehicles and their characterful drivers as they race across the remains of America to lay claim to the aid drops and the riches they contain. Each gang will do whatever it takes to get to the drops first…murder, death, kill, race, win!

  

Its a 20mm (1:72 scale) vehicular combat game based on the major interstates of a post-apocalyptic former USA.  You build a gang and fight for control of the roads running your rivals off the road and destroying their bikes, trikes, pick-ups and buggies as you strive to become the most dominant gang.  The game utilises resin miniatures and dice to create a customisable combat game.

There is a Facebook group dedicated to this game, if you’re interested I suggest that a good starting point!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Devils-Run-Route-666/370271359846875?fref=ts

You can also find a growing community dedicated to custom models and updates and spit-ballin’ ideas for The Devils Run on Facebook too:-

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1620950651452093/

There’s also a YouTube video giving some background behind the game, the look and feel of the product and showing some of the awesome characterful artwork for this game:-

https://youtu.be/SvfrsDEN6RY

Go take a look!  Get involved and make a pledge!  I have!

#borntobewild #highwaytohell

Welcome to 2015

Uuurrrggghhhh…….so alarm clocks are ringing all over the country to signal a return to work for the masses.  Christmas and New Year are over and I sit here trying to formulate the first talesfromthemancave update of 2015.

Firstly I hope the Christmas holidays brought you all happiness and cheer and that Father Geekmas and his Elves (no not the High, Dark or Wood varieties) delivered you all sacks bulging with geeky goodness.  It certainly brought me more work to get cracking with over the next few weeks.

Starting with Necromunda…..well after a good rummage in the loft some 18+ year old scenery was discovered loitering in a stack and store box so I resolved to clean it up and take stock.  I now have 82 original Plastic Bulkheads and the scenery from two Necromunda boxes and an Outlanders box.  This should be enough to get a decent sized game going.  I do need to flatten out some of the cardboard components as some have warped slightly over the 18 years.  Not a huge problem though!

This also meant that other goodies were found.  A whole heap of older miniatures which will need a good clean up but can be used or will fetch a few pennies via Evil-Bay.  A 11 player Naggaroth Nightmares Dark Elf Blood Bowl Team, a full 5 man squad of Adeptus Arbites for Necromunda, three Catachan Imperial Guard troops which will sub in as Orlocks and join the Orlock Heavy with Heavy Bolter.  I also found some very badly painted Skaven Blood Bowl players, an original Commissar Yarrick model, two Eldar Warpspiders and some Dark Angel models (a Captain and a Deathwing Terminator).

Some old school boardgames were found in various stages of completion and to be honest the only salvageable ones were MB’s Battle Masters and Waddingtons Key to The Kingdom.  I’m going to try and get the kids to play these at some point.

Santa (courtesy of my girls) brought me some Star Wars X-Wing Minitaures to add to the Mancaves collection.  I was lucky and received a Starter/Core Box, an A-Wing and an E-Wing for the Rebels but knowing me very well the bulk of my goodies were Imperials.  I got a TIE Bomber, a TIE Defender, a TIE Phantom, a TIE Interceptor and the Imperial Aces Expansions.  So I was a very happy geek.  I also received some pennies to go and get a good deal on some other ships so I managed to add a Decimator (£23), a Lambda Shuttle (£18) and a further TIE Fighter (£9.50) expansion.

It seems that every geek who didn’t already own a copy got a copy of the game of 2014 left in their stocking too….Cards Against Humanity.  My stocking was no exception as it contained a copy of the core game and the first expansion.  Lessons have been learnt.  Played a couple of games and my only advice would be never play it with your parents and definitely never play it with a recently remarried parent.  I am going to need therapy.  Cheers Dad!

I didn’t manage to get a great deal done with regards to advancing the many projects I currently have but I certainly managed to expand existing collections and start new ones.  Courtesy of an Amazon Wishlist and relatives who cant decide what to get you I managed to end up with some X-mas pennies and some Amazon Vouchers.  Knowing that 2015 will bring me some PRODOS Crusading to be getting on with I invested some of these pennies in a Warzone Resurrection Starter Force Boxset (Cybertronic) and a rulebook which over the coming months I shall be adding to and bringing you reviews and more information on via this blog.  My aim is to add a unit every month until I have a well rounded force to use in demo games and against more experienced players who will be teaching me to play along the way.  More about this in a later entry.

I received a 3ft x 3ft gaming mat from Gale Force 9 from my better half and kids too.  So I will now be able to take some better pictures of the items I receive and update my Star Wars and Star Trek collections with so look out for that!

In terms of games played well we visited friends and had family visit so we managed to get a few games in.  The game of the moment Cards Against Humanity was played lots and provided me with a therapy inducing insight in my fathers private life.  We also managed to teach my Dad and his new wife Smash-Up.  We had Bear Cavalry Spies vs Magical Monstrous Creatures vs Vampiric Ghosts vs Zombie Ants.  After 4 hours of playing the Vampiric Ghosts came out on top closely followed by the Zombie Ants and leaving the Bear Cavalry Spies trailing in third with the Magical Monstrous Creatures in last place.

I attempted to teach my daughter (and Step-Mother) Family Fluxx and Munchkin.  Whether the gin made this prohibitively difficult or she genuinely didnt get the premise I dont know but Munchkin was a disaster.  Family Fluxx was easily taught and small enough to carry other places and take on holiday etc.  So that was successful.

Overall a happy restful and enjoyable Xmas break at Hairy Gamer HQ.  I feel refreshed and ready for the assault on my various gaming projects.

Bring on 2015, bring on AvP, bring on Warzone Resurrection, bring on the Necromunda and bring on Star Wars & Star Trek.  Happy gaming guys and gals!

Mancave Update 12-12-2014

Its been a few days since the last update and not a great deal has happened.  With the rush of going to Germany this weekend and Christmas approaching I’ve not had much chance to do a great deal.

I submitted my article for the gaming magazine and am waiting to hear when it will be published.

I received all my Wave 9 (2 x Changs Bird-of-Prey, 2 x Scimitar and 2 x ISS Defiant) and Wave 10 (2 x Hideki Fighters, 2 x Regents Warship and 2 x Vidiian Warship) ships for STAW and will be deboxing them over the next few nights.

I popped into my FLGS Escape Games to pick up some card sleeves and spoke to the guys there Tim B and Scott Y.  The place is looking great and they have huge plans for the future.  Lots of things on the horizon there including demo-ing Warzone Resurrection and AvP for PRODOS and running their Star Trek Attack Wing Tournaments in the new year.  Very exciting times ahead and plenty of stock so get down there and support Escape Games if you’re local.

I ordered some Chaos Cultists to build into a Necromunda gang so that needs to be added to my huge, overflowing list of geekery tasks that need to be completed.

So much to do and so little time to do it.

The futures bright…..the futures AvP!

Necromunda Scenery Update

I ordered some second hand Necromunda scenery from a guy down south and it arrived yesterday.  I thought I’d see just how badly it was damaged and whether any of it was salvagable.  I set about putting it together to see what I could make of it and on the whole Im not too unhappy about it.  I’ve got enough to run a game and its fairly sturdy.

There were some delamination issues on some of the gantries and walkways and the tower from the two storey structure in picture #2 is damaged and doesn’t fit within the two storey structure any more.  The top floor of the two storey structure in picture # 2 is ripped where the bulkheads slide (its weakest point) so its only the bulkheads holding this floor together.  I doubt it would support a model.

I’m going to make some new plasticard scenery using these as templates and some new shapes.  I just need to get my hands on more Bulkheads.  Hopefully the random box of stuff at my dads is just that…..more Necromunda scenery.

Just need to get the boys together to run a campaign now.

Necromunda Scenery #1

Necromunda Scenery #2. The Tower in the background is damaged as is the two storey structure in the centre of this picture. the Tower should fit into the middle of the two storeyed structure but cannot due to damage.

Necromunda Scenery #3

Mancave Update w/c 01-12-2014

So Mancavers, what have I been upto?  Well being the first weekend after payday and the first weekend in the run up to Christmas not much except sorting stuff out for the kids and Christmas.

I managed to find some awesome Star Wars:X-Wing deal at Chaos Cards so I bought a TIE Bomber, a TIE Interceptor and an A-Wing for £7 each.  Great deal!

I got a steal of a deal on the RiF OP2 Prize Ship – Koroks Assimilated Bird-Of-Prey on EvilBay so picked up another one of them.  Happy Jase!

I also managed to find a great deal on Necromunda and Outlanders.  Got a box set of each arriving today including all the original scenery which will hopefully be used in the Necromunda Midlands Campaign with Mark & Sam and Co.  Im watching some minis on EBay to use for my Redemptionists.  Keeping my fingers crossed.

I managed to grab some time to make up some more Battlesystems sci-fi scenery whilst we watched Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.  Getting there slowly but surely and with any luck steady progress like this should keep me busy until the PRODOS AvP Kickstarter arrives.

I submitted the first article for a new Wargaming Magazine today so with any luck you may be seeing The Hairy Gamers in print on a news stand near you!

So, thats it until the next update.  I’ll try to make sure I do some pictures on the next one for you all.  I’ll make up the Necromunda scenery and take pics of that.  Deal?

Updates

So this is just a little update for you all.  Things at the Mancave have been hectic recently but in true “biting off more than I can chew” fashion I have a plethora of projects all on the go at the same time.  So here goes, in no particular order:-

Blood Bowl v2 pitch construction and painting

Complete building and paint my Blood Bowl teams (v3 Skaven, Human. High Elves, v2 Elves and Dwarves)

Reading my AvP:The Hunt Begins beta rules in preparation for the KS Drop

Reading my Necromunda LRB rules ready for any campaign with the guys

Building Necromunda gangs

Building some more of my Battlesystems Sci-Fi terrain

Make some jungle terrain for a Predator themed gaming table…think aztec temple surrounded by jungle

Building and Painting my Colonial Marines APC ready for the AvP minis

Finish building my folding gaming table for STAW

More battle reports from the recent STAW series of taster games at NAGA

I must find more time to do things.  Bad geek no biscuit!

Necromunda???

A couple of posts recently by friends on Facebook has had my keen levels rising for Necromunda again.  I’d love to find any of the stuff I used to have especially given the costs of things on EvilBay now.  I’m sure I had a Full Redemptionist, Full Ratskin, Full Orlock and Full Spyrer gang plus a stack and store box full of scenery.  I’ll be gutted if that’s all gone missing……could be at my Dads or my ex’s.

So I’m considering getting a gang and getting back into it…probably Redemptionists.  I’m also after a cheap second hand copy of the original game if anyone reading this has one.

For anyone interested the below link lists alternate places to procure Necromunda minis and some cool images to get the creative juices flowing:-

http://gaming.yaktribe.org/community/threads/alternative-miniature-sources-image-heavy.15/

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=necromunda&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=iG5gVIXxFZHwaLbdAQ&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1920&bih=895#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=DjyeANxoMnl_LM%253A%3B6CzWMrv2FUyRpM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252F3.bp.blogspot.com%252F-qtZ2_YsyY7w%252FUZ9BIKRZeBI%252FAAAAAAAAA0I%252FcUddWiBYNo0%252Fs1600%252FD_0001_Layer%252B7.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fpigironblog.blogspot.com%252F2013%252F05%252Fnecromunda-delaque-conversions.html%3B567%3B425

Possible alternate solutions would be Malifaux or Confrontation or Inquisitor.  Im looking for a 28mm sci-fi/dark future gang based game that wont cost the earth in minitaure purchases to buy or play.