Oldhammer Weekend review. Part five.

Part one of the review.

Part two of the review.

Part three of the review.

Part four of the review.

And so to the conclusion. It's like the weekend is finally over, *sniff*. My photography is horrible and picks up all the glare from the glass and this is by no means a complete tour of the wonderful Foundry cabinets (because that has been done better elsewhere: Eldritch Epistles.) rather it's more of a personal view on the experience of being face to face with some classic childhood memories.

The first picture blows it straight away, this is neither a cabinet nor a childhood memory. It is, however, the Harry the Hammer artwork from the 1st edition front cover of our beloved Warhammer and so deserves a mention. It just hangs above the bar and is pretty damn cool.

You can't see a darn thing from here but the point of this picture is to emphasise the sheer wonder of getting close to one of the two Foundry cabinets. There is so much Oldhammer history collected in one place, it's overwhelming. Looking through the cabinets takes ages and once you're done you're left with the impression that the hobby really means something to so many people that it's hard not to feel a connection with their passion.

This one makes it into this post because I got that very feeling of connectivity, like when you read a line in a book and it's as if the author has read your mind. This is how I always pictured a Beastman unit should look. It's completely chaotic, with a small c as well as a large C. I'm not sure whether everyone remembers the Konrad books as fondly as I do, the bigger kids back then were rather disparaging of them in my local shop, but the representation of Beastmen in those pages stuck with me to this day. I am currently building a unit like this for the very first time.

Who hasn't got a memory of seeing a Genestealer Cult for the first time? I will wager for a lot of us it was this very one too. There are two exquisite limos, dozens of classic 'stealers and Brood Brothers and of course the sinister, cult hierarchy. The cult concept represents everything the 40K universe had to offer in those crazy days of the 80s and early 90s. There was corruption and seduction, the lust for power and glory, freedom of expression and inspiration, there was the marveling at the transformation of materials into models and most of all there was the joyful daydream of a stark raving mad vanity project of 70s prog-rock-esque proportions. That, is a 'stealer cult, that, is 40K.

Look at the picture for the count of three then come back to the text. Can you tell me what the models are? Probably not, because of that gorgeous, whacking great red banner! A well painted regiment is a joy to behold on the field of battle but a freehand banner of this quality is a thing of legend. Keep your Napoleonic colours and your medieval heraldry, give me a leering face or an incongruous, photo-real tiger any day!

This photo is all about the disgusting, glossy 'Thing-creature' crawling about at the back. It's conversions like this that elevate modelling into the same artistic sphere as painting or movie-making. It's pure, gruesome imagination pulsing insanely to life.

The Tzeentch warband. The Tzeentch warband. Dale Hurst's legendary warband is a touchstone for many a Chaos-worshipping Oldhammerer, and Gods I know I'm one. The attention to detail and the level of imagination involved is mind-boggling even to this day. Many an unwary soul first trod the dark path as a result of Dale's pernicious article in WD 135.

The second cabinet is all Foundry and though it's wonderful in it's own right and bridges the gap between the lost GW of our youth and modern times it would be better served if you viewed it in person the next time life sends you to Nottingham.

So that about wraps it up! No more Oldhammer Weekend for another year (*delerium tremens*). I hope you enjoyed the story as told through the eyes of an irrepressible gaming addict and nostalgia-addled lead-head.

Thanks for stopping by!

Oldhammer Weekend review. Part four.

Part one.

Part two

Part three.

Here is a bonus for you, the cabinet tour is still to come (I know, those of you who couldn't make it are getting fed up now, sorry). The bonus is the Golden Gobbo contest! Small, but perfectly formed.

A classic Slambo, looking very good indeed. I just love the intricate extra detail painted on the model and the lavish base too.

This beautiful Wardancer in subtle tones is from the skilled hand of Blue in VT. This entry was posted all the way from the U.S. which is something we will be looking to encourage in the future. Of course, you may be holding your own Oldhammer Weekend and inviting us to enter your competitions if Blue has his way! 

A stunning Chaos Champion conversion. This one was a cracking entry and it was a privilege to see up close, it's attributed to Fimm McCool I believe so thanks Fimm!

And the winner is! Nico's Gargant. Nico has a sumptuous style that won over the whole crowd, but more importantly it won over the Judge; artist Tony Hough.

Nico is on the left with the Mighty Dark-Winged Avenging Lord of Chaos himself and the no less reknowned Golgfag.

Hightail it over to part five immediately!

Thanks for stopping by!

Oldhammer Weekend review. Part three.

Part one of the review.

Part two of the review.

Welcome to the table tour! Wargames Foundry welcomes people who want to drop in and have games so if you are able to visit Nottingham easily get in touch with them via their website which has a telephone number displayed on it. It's also a great place to hold a get-together. Those of you going to Blog-Con may be interested to see a few new tables the guys have put together since your recce mission.

Several blogging legends in this snap, I dare not unmask them just in case! This is a row of newly constructed tables built especially for the busy, upcoming period of scheduled events at Foundry. Right at the opposite end of the tables is a rack of Oldhammer minis cast up especially for the day! The table closest is the one we used for Orc's Drift (with Thantsants' excellent terrain), see part two for more details on that one.

This is Harry's amazing Blood Bowl stadium which saw plenty of action over the weekend.

This is the big table used for the 'Rumble in the Jungle' game organised by Padre. This game was huge (and impressive) and took up nearly the entire weekend!

There were several exotic units included in Padre's game, as well as the usual Lustrian suspects. I absolutely loved this armoured War-Gorilla unit!

All the exploring armies had to loot the many temples dotted about (note the siege equipment the Elves are carrying) in order to achieve their objectives.

Random encounters and refereed madness was the order of the day in this fine example of the almost lost art of GM'd Warhammer.

One of the stand alone tables available. Beware the temptation of playing wargames so close to racks of lovely minis! That's the board used for the Realm of Chaos games behind it, see part one for more detail on that.

There was a lot of LASER-cut MDF scenery available for use and you can see some of it here. I'm not sure who brought it to be honest but I know the Foundry has some terrain available. This battlefield is one of the big, connected row of tables depicted in the first photo.

This is one of the tables built for the British TV program 'Midsomer Murders'. Two of them stand on enclosed boxes and are tricky to lean over because you can't get your toes under them, but this one is worth the effort, it's quite lovely.

This is the second table on an enclosed box, the problems are exacerbated by the unusable nature of the first foot of board all the way around and it's not quite as attractive as the other one. It would be OK for a game of Saga in one of the corners though.

This one you can get your feet under and is also my favourite of the three. Hoping to get a game in on this one next time I'm down!

There was one more table in use, quite a large one too. There were reputedly 18000 points (3rd edition Warhammer) of troops in this game alone. Most people agreed that Nico, one of the participants, had the most drool-worthy army of the weekend. Golgfag's army was a stunning sight too though and full of classic lead.

I love this action shot of Golgfag's Orc General exhorting his rock lobber to fire faster while simultaneously goading the Trolls forward!

One more to go, the cabinet tour.

Thanks for stopping by!

Oldhammer Weekend: Bring Out Your Lead review. Part two.

Part one of the review.

The review continues in a safe and sound chronological manner. As I said previously the Realm of Chaos game completely dominated the Saturday but I did find time that evening to take part in the second scenario of Thantsants' 'Bloodbath at Orc's Drift' participation game (all in glorious 2nd edition) before we got stuck into curry and beer (that is to say even more beer, if I'm honest).

There's me! On the Wyvern! I'm swooping in to scoff some escaping Dwarfs and mules.

The initial three scenarios inform what Orc forces are available for the fourth and final battle and also what turn they arrive on. Although the first scenario involved the bloody massacre (the clue is in the name of this campaign) of some badly outnumbered Elves and their allies they performed well enough to score a lot of victory points thereby causing a problem for the Orc army in game four. In one of the three build-up scenarios the Orcish Monarch, King F'yar, is allowed to make a personal appearance. His presence makes a very big difference to the outcome in one game, but once that resource is spent that's it until game four. The GM randomised which game would have King F'yar available and it just so happened to be scenario two. I got control of King F'yar and his five loyal F'yar Guard while Gaj took control of the bulk of the Orc army.

King F'yar is swooping off on his Wyvern behind the trees living the easy life while his F'yar Guard contemplate how best to cross the fast-flowing river in full plate and the rest of the Orcs fight for control of the only bridge crossing.

Scenario one is about some good guys being in the wrong place at the wrong time and getting casually smooshed by a passing Orc Waagh. Scenario two is about some Dwarfs who are trying to get their freshly mined gold to safety before the pillaging Orcs roll over them. This is a risky choice for the little fellows but we all know Dwarfs really love gold. Sadly for the stunties King F'yar and his Wyvern made all the difference, the self-proclaimed royal Orc was able to head the sluggish Dwarf miners off at the pass and make 'short' work of all of them. The only casualty taken was a F'yar Guard that drowned while fording the river.

The last of the defenders make their stand as best they can. Inevitably, they end up as wyrm food.

The regular Orc troops blew the bridge crossing with their reckless full frontal assault tactics but King F'yar saved the day and also avenged the pyrrhic victory of the first game almost single-handed (almost single-handed; there was the whole Wyvern thing of course). BaOD is an outstanding campaign and one any Warhammer gamer should have a go at. I'm sure it could even be converted to any edition you like. I have an e-copy I can email you if necessary, just PM me on the BLOOD forum.

This brought Saturday's proceedings to a close!

The set-up for scenario three, Linden Way.

There were one or two sore heads on the Sunday morning and the Foundry felt a little like a Zombie movie gone very bad but fueled by sheer enthusiasm Thantsants and I played out Scenario three. This time the good guys are humans who have to shepherd off some refugees while delaying the Orc hordes. I played as the bedraggled Linden Way militia and although I got all the refugees off safe and sound I couldn't kill enough Orcs on my way to defeat to score enough victory points and the pendulum swung firmly in favour of the Orcs for the finale. It would be remiss of me not to give an honourable mention at this point to the senile old wizard Barrachus, who managed to muster just enough clarity of mind to shroud the Orc Shaman in mist long enough for the refugees to get out of Dodge!

With time running low and not enough players available four part four we chose to postpone the last game so that we can do it proper justice another time. We are planning to play it at the first YOBBOS (the Yorkshire Oldhammer group) meeting so watch out for the conclusion this November!

Still to come, the cabinet tour and the table tour.

Thanks for stopping by!

Oldhammer Weekend: Bring Out Your Lead review. Part one.

Well then. That was a good weekend! I've been deliberately putting off posting about the Oldhammer event, Bring Out Your Lead, until now because I have been very busy riding a wave of hobby enthusiasm! I've been organising new units, new paint schemes and the inevitable new eBay purchases! Finally I have calmed down enough to start expressing how the whole event panned out in words, I will begin at the beginning by talking about the Realm of Chaos multiplayer game that celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Slaves to Darkness book (well done to Orlygg because this was his brainchild).

The Realm of Chaos! Looks a lot like middle England, I know. I always suspected as much! 

The tower in the above picture is one of many historic gaming aids that are available to use at Wargames Foundry, this one was apparently made way back in 'the day' by none other than Nigel Stillman.

Lord Savage shepherds the Beastmen into battle while the swift Ogres go off on a flanking manouevre and the Dark Elven crossbows pepper the Khornate lackeys from afar.

I played Lord Savage as I envisaged him, he makes up for what he lacks in killing power by being cunning and biding his time. He continually used the tough, survivable Ogres (and his foolish allies of course) to hold up units while he encircled them. This plan helped the Slaaneshi faction knock out three enemy warbands in quick succession. It was fun to witness the typical Chaos God's intervention as one Khorne champion rolled up six summoned Chaos Warriors (*gasp!*) for a meagre one turn, (*sigh*). The battle eventually split into two smaller conflicts separated by about three feet of empty table and when the dust settled a large Slaanesh force was facing a small but elite Khorne force. There will be many tales told elsewhere of the legendary number of foes reaped by Jeff's Chaos Dwarf champion with the 'singing axe' but ultimately Lord Savage's patience won the day. Having stood off to allow all his Slaanesh rivals to die horribly while weakening the two remaining Khorne champions he was finally goaded into battle; only for his fear-causing Chaos Steed to tip the balance and bring about the ultimate defeat of the Khornate faction!

As I'm sure some of you recall this wasn't in the script! Lord Savage is only a level 10 hero and the idea was to evolve him into my Undead army's general in the form of a Liche. As it turned out he was the last remaining champion on the battle field at the end of play! The job of Liche will have to go to Mausolus. Savage was suitably rewarded with increased strength and the ability to teleport by a grateful Slaanesh, while 9 Giant Wolves joined his warband. The Beastmen were awarded with growth (x2) and mutated to twice their original size while the Dark Elf crossbow unit can now breathe fire! Lord Savage will be strutting over the tables of Yorkshire for the next 12 months having proclaimed himself 'Champion of Champions' and will return next year to face his challengers once more.

The RoC game was repeated on the Sunday but because the Saturday game took a whopping seven hours to play many of the original champions were busy elsewhere trying to absorb everything else BOYL had to offer (thus rendering it a lesser affair than Lord Savage's triumph of course). ;)

*UPDATE* Special mention must go to Martin's Slaaneshi warband which fought the two most powerful Khorne warbands to a standstill before finally succumbing. I hope to see the return of Kashawa the Bringer of Unknown Pleasures next time!

Thanks for stopping by!

The Battle of Broken Barrow (Intro)

Thantsants and I played out The Battle of Broken Barrow today using Warhammer 3rd edition. We didn't have a GM unfortunately so we just role-played it out as best we could. Thantsants took a load of pictures and will likely have them up soon so I won't drop any spoilers. I will say that we had an amazing and fun game though! I will post a full battle report when T emails the snaps to me. In the meantime, here are a couple of phone shots from turn one and the intro fluff I wrote.

Lord Savage's warband is closest occupying the right flank of the Undead horde. His escape route lies through the forest at the far end of the table.

The Orcs are pouring into the valley in search of a buried relic of great power. Give yourself a bonus point if you identified the 54mm Fighting Fantasy Ogre being used as a Giant!

The Battle of Broken Barrow.

The infamous Druchii renegade Lord Savage has made landfall on the Albion mainland after months at sea. He immediately attracted some of the local creatures of Chaos to his cause to replace those of his crew he had murdered to stave of the ennui of a long voyage. These were Beastmen, seven in number, and Ogres, two in number. Shortly after beginning the final march towards the proving grounds chosen by the Dark Pantheon he was set upon by a monstrous, red-skinned giant, one that had the cursed sign of hated Khorne scarred into his flesh, and his cretinous lapdogs. Though Savage’s devotion to his God and his patron Daemon was beyond question none could stand against such raw power and he was forced to withdraw and find another route. One of the Beastmen did not recover from the wounds he received and his brethren rejoiced because instead of seven they now numbered six, the holy sign of the Lord of Pleasure. This was taken to be an omen of their God’s favour.

The longer road led Savage to a fog-filled valley with sides of damp moss and broken rock, like the gaping maw of a marsh-dwelling Troll. There was a path of strewn cobbles that led to an ancient, seemingly abandoned graveyard. Though there were graves aplenty there seemed no adjoining house of Morr, nor any town of the living nearby; just the tumbled grave markers and the stench of death.

As Savage rode slowly through the valley he felt the sentinel presence of the Undead looming in the swirling shadows of the fog. Calling out his challenge to the mists he was answered with a discordant, sibilant growl…

“Thou hast come to Broken Barrow on this path of thine but a crossroads lies before thee now. No living creature has been suffered in this valley for centuries six in number but alas! Suddenly such peace as we are permitted has been shattered by the filthy doings of the Orc, yonder. Stand beside us in this coming hour and passage for thee is our boon. Help us rid our domain of the green cancer.”

The last was spoken as a command rather than a request. Lord Savage had always understood there was to be trials along the way, only the most worthy of the Dark Champions would arrive at the appointed place at the appointed hour, and he made his choice swiftly.

“The pact is made! We will kill that which knows no pleasure beyond the brutish lust for the taking of a foe’s life and you will stand aside at the end.”

As if in response a mighty drumming reverberated through the fog. The clamorous rhythm almost seemed to come from all directions at once. Perhaps it did…

Victory Conditions.

The Shaman of the Orc tribe has been plagued for weeks with visions of a mighty relic weapon that lies within one of the tombs of Broken Barrow. No doubt one of the Dark Gods is responsible; playing some incomprehensible game of their own device. The Orc army must get a unit into the central graveyard and spend a turn successfully digging for the relic in order to win the game. For every turn spent digging roll a dice; on a 4 or more the dig was successful!

The central graveyard contains the entrance to the lair of a powerful Liche and this will be defended at all costs, though it is not a victory condition. To achieve victory over the despoiling Orcs the General must die along with all Shamans.

The path to the Proving Grounds lies directly through the warring factions of the Undead and the Orcs. For Lord Savage to win he must either be alive when the Undead victory conditions are met or escape from the opposite short board edge from the one on which he is deployed. The Slaanesh warband must be deployed within 18” of a short table edge.

Check out Thantsants' blog for more on the Battle of Broken Barrow, or check out my own (strictly unbiased of course!) take on events here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Lord Savage and the Seahawks (all of them).

As promised and only a week late; the whole of Lord Savage's Slaaneshi warband. Ready for the Oldhammer weekend no less!

The Seahawks, roaming the wastes searching for some fine booty.

The 'Enthralled', a Beastman Slaanesh-worship cult.

The big man (elf) himself, Lord Dibdin Savage.

The 'Corsairs', Savage's original crew and his first followers.

The 'Bloodlusters', an Ogre unit consisting of Vigareux and Grollo.

Overall, I'm pleased with the results. I can speed paint or I can paint to a respectable standard, not both. I have tried to make as much time as possible for these guys and I actually like the current look very much. My freehand needs a lot more work, it's a very new skill so that's to be expected I suppose. I have never been able to draw and have never painted detail on a flat surface, ever. These shields and banners are the first attempts and are as good as it gets for this year but I like having something to aim for so I will keep banging away until I get the hang of it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Lord Savage and the Seahawks.

I have taken a few snaps of some members of my Slaaneshi warband that I'm taking to the Oldhammer Weekend, mostly ones you haven't seen before.

Lord Savage himself.

On the charge.

Third pose, he is Slaaneshi and therefore more than a little narcissistic.

The surviviors of the original crew of Savage's ship.

Vigaraux the Ogre pirate. Feared from Marienburg to Magritta.

I have a finished warband now but now I know I have some time I am going to add some more detail to the Beastmen (including a freehand banner hopefully) and paint up a replacement for Grollo (whose colour scheme wasn't very exciting because I still wanted him to fit into Golgfag's Troopers) so they will appear in a day or two, along with a team photo of course.

The Elves are in need of quite a bit more highlighting, particularly extreme highlights, and the bases need a quick lick of brown in one or two patches but I am pleased with the amount of progress I have made with time to spare.

Thanks for stopping by!

General update of warband and gaming progress.

Here is the first of my Slaaneshi warband's four Dark Elves, done to tabletop standard. As a test model I am quite pleased with the colour scheme, which matches my painted Ogre. I want to get the other three finished (almost there, I always further one test model before I get too committed to a scheme though) and then start adding in a few highlights to make the metal and cloak pop.

Ruberon Blackbrow. Vile Druchii corsair and Slaanesh worshipper.

I already have an advanced Lord Savage (my champion) model but having acquired this beauty for around a fiver (thank you eBay, you have not gone completely downhill) I have decided to remove the previous incarnation from the awesome base and replace it with this instead. I will hold on to the other one in case I have to model on a chicken head or something, no way I am chopping this up.

The new Lord Savage model.

We played Talisman at my club last night, the game was a cruel and capricious one and was only made more difficult thanks to an 'enthusiastic' new player who used his magic wielding Elf to hamper progress at every turn. After a coalition of disgruntled adventurers banded together to turn him into a toad and bludgeon him to death while he was thus discomfited things improved but time ran out after the Troll also got toaded and all three remaining key players were teleported back to the outer region. We now have a little board games club within a club on the go, while we are playing Zombicide and possibly Axis and Allies next I hope to get more Talisman in soon, definitely with one of the expansions. By the end of the year I hope to get a game or two of Diplomacy in too, which is basically about as old as Chess, awesome. A chum at the club has Rogue Trooper which is on the cards too, I will get a photo of that one when it takes place.

Next time, it will be mine!

Finally, an apology. I was part of an online conversation recently about the disgusting habits of Fimir, as part human, part daemon creatures they have unsavoury reproductive rituals. The good lady in question quite rightly registered her distaste at their antics and described it as fluff that need never have been. It made me think of my own attitudes to the Warhammer universe, I quite like the dark and mature content of Slaves to Darkness and used the tone of that whole period to design the background for my warband (which upon reflection is a bit icky) but I failed to put up any warning and didn't take others into consideration when I posted. I remember there being quite a fuss from parents when StD was originally published and I am sure the combination of little mens and adult content still has the power to shock today. I won't remove the potentially offensive content, but I will add a preface which warns of what to expect. Sorry if you were upset by the fluff I wrote.

Thanks for stopping by!