Thoughts On - Alumwell 30.03.2025

 Hi Everyone, 

                       The eve of the Alumwell show was cold and miserable as I walked home from my shopping expedition. I was in two minds whether to go at all, but I packed my bag ready and I would decide in the morning. The morning arrived, bright and sunny. I felt much better and decided to attend the show. I soon found the Circle Battle Group under their alias of "The Knights of St. George". I said "Hi" to all of the gang there, dumped my coat and bag with them, and then looked at the stalls and banners lining the walls.

                      

This was our Pirate Game, organised by Alan G.

Alan G put on a great pirate game, complete with ships that were sinking and actually sunk, (that was me, LOL), Natives on the islands to be "irate captainbumped off", sharks and dolphins in the sea, Treasure chests to grab and Rum to drink. My Bosun did a last man standing against a mercant crew after his mates had been slain by the other attacking pirate ship. My brave captain was waiting in the longboat to rescue him if he survived the attack of the other pirate Captain trying to seize the vessel at the same time. Which was where we had to pack up.

 My photos are being uncooperative at the moment, so I cannot show you many battles taking place on the tables, but I will keep trying to display them here. 

More pictures to come.

I was very frugal in my spending this year, as I still have a lot of plastic to process at home. I bought three African circular huts that will see service as Celtic roundhouses for my Roman stuff, a laser cut slot together "Pig Pen" to go with it (but no animals) and an "Antenna setup" and some enemy figures to go with my scy-fy games. I did see some nice 3d fields and a wooden fort that would have done service as a Roman marching Fort, but I can make do with a printed version for the time being.

               I saw some regulars from previous years, the American reenactment jeep and the model display table, showing assorted dioramas, spaceships, The Eagle Moon Lander from Space 1999 and WWII scenes. One section had marvel figures displayed.

Thanks to all our club members who attended, April and Alan who gave Richard and I a lift home, and Nat who offerered too. Thanks too all of the  organisers, vendors and clubs that came and displayed great battles.We hope to see you back again next year.

Regards all,

Ivor Cogdell

Shops, Painted Minis and a bad experience (Updated)

 Hi Everyone,

                      Here we are at a new season of wargames and roleplaying. I have been attending my local club again, and that has been fun. I treated myself to the last season of Star Trek Discovery and have my sights on season two of Strange New Worlds and Picard Season three.

                        Warhammer Birmingham has moved from their old site by the Gym opposite the 94 terminus, in to a slightly larger shop atthe bottom end of Corporation Street. 

There is a new shop opposite Forbidden Planet in Bull Street, just inside the Minories Arcade, on the left. Number 4. It's called Element Games.  www.elementgames.co.uk

They have shedloads of paints and supplies from the usual manufacturers. Mainly GW models but some independent people too, such as Frostgrave, Stargrave, Heil Caesar, Oathmark and Shadowdeep.

Weylands Forge is still located in "The Custard Factory", Digbeth.

                      It is the eve of the WMSS Alumwell show, so I hope the weather is fine for everybody travelling to and from it. (NOTE: Take extra grub, the canteen ran out last year, so I am informed).  There are usually burger vans on site, too.

                    I usually take the Metro opposite Forbidden Planet in Birmingham to Wolverhampton bus depot, an approximately 45 minute journey. Then the number 6 bus, stand D. Please double check when you go.

station. 

I have been retouching some models for an upcoming battle report.

I am not sure if it shows up at this angle, but I splattered Ginger's tunic in blood.

The club had our belated Christmas meal at a village curry house, not to be named. The food was nice but the waiter service was slow. We were a party of 12 who had pre-booked by over two months. The place was less than a quarter full when we arrived, but the staff took their orders at least 40 minutes before us. We were so bored, we ordered drinks and crackers while we were waiting. Adding to the cooking time of at least half an hour, to say we were not happy bunnies was an understatement. I had ordered a mushroom wrap starter and grilled Chicken Jalfresi for my main meal. Something I had not tried before, as it was a special occasion. Nothing too complex, you would think. I was expecting it to come in a bowl, but it was served on a plate, in a wrap. I was slightly surprised. As I said before, the food, when it came, was very nice.   Between us; we spent about £350. We will not be going back. We do plan to go to another one that has a better reputation and has been tried by some of the members before.

Regards, 

Ivor Cogdell

Thoughts On - Alien RPG 11 (Updated)

 Hi Everybody,

                        We last left off with one of our brave heroes coming round in an autodoc, which was sadly all too familiar to him. Not so good, was the discovery that he is totally paralysed and deaf in the left ear. The right ear, however, picks up the screaming that is coming from outside very well, unfortunately...

He trembles in fear, that is, he would if he could, but the only thing he can do at the moment is keep his teeth from chattering together by biting his lip and try not to let the nasty something that is outside know that there is an easy victim inside.

Meanwhile...

Evie is trying to get the command visor back on. It is sending no commands to the robot dog, who at the moment is trying to shoot at Shepherd, taking cover behind a console.

Evie  takes off the visor and throws the visor carefully at Cowboy, who catches them and swiftly puts on the headset. He bashes it with his hand a couple of times and it hums back to life again. He finally gets control of Robotdog again - The "Mother" computer had been sending it orders to wipe out the group!

Bishop had been busy, it had merged with a data pad. "Ava 7" has short-circuited trying to process every thing at once. We put Doc in the auto doc once it was safe to get Rooster out of it for a while. Eva King freaked out now that all the shooting had stopped.

--------------------------------------------------------

Chaplin and two Marines come through the NEXUS portal from Fort Nebraska.

After a detailed search through Charles' belongings, an unauthorised Level 3 access card is found, giving him unlimited access to the "Mother Computer".

Cowboy wants to kill him on the spot. Rooster pleads clemency, "How many times has he saved our lives?"

Cowboy replies, "Get him off this base and make sure we never see him again".

Captain Silver turns to Rooster. "We do have another matter that needs attending to. At Fort Nebraska, five of our Marines have gone Absent without Leave. They took with them a certain vital package."

Rooster replies, "So what has that got to do with us?"

"Since you have proved to be rather resourceful in dealing with unusual matters, we thought you might like to take part in the recovery process. Especially since one of those men is your brother, Blue!"

"Blue! I have not heard from him in ages.   He is not the sort to go off base without good reason. But he should listen to me, if anyone."

"Good, good. You can go through the NEXUS at 08:00. Zulu.

Rooster just nods his head, stunned to hear about his brother. 

He turns to Cowboy, "What sort of pickle has he got me into this time?"

=========================================================================

The big reveal was that Charles had his own hidden agenda, malevolently guided by Richard, our GM.

We knew that Kitty was running EDAN, the robotic Phycho that had it in for us from the start, (with orders to do something nutty at least once a day, usually aimed at us), but not that Richard was running Charles to be a fruitcake as well!.

Our Alien game was paused for a while for personal reasons, this seems a good breaking-off point in the storyline to leave it. We are not sure when it will come back. Thanks a bunch to Kitty, John and especially Richard for all the fun and games they provided.

Thanks to you, dear reader, for wading through the episodes too.

"May all your Space Lanes be safe ones."

Ivor Cogdell

Thoughts On - The "Predator" prequel - "Prey" (No spoilers)

 Hi Everyone,

                      PREY - This was my Christmas Movie of 2024. I had missed it when it first came out in 2022, then planned to watch it at a mate's abode, but the chance arose to see it on my cable offering this festive season. The plot is that our Native American heroine wants to hunt with the rest of the warriors, which is a traditionally male job, as you can imagine. They are not too keen. Things get a bit messy when our unfriendly fanged tourist shows up and begins chopping its way through our local wildlife. It works its way up the food chain, and everything goes sideways from there.

                    Looking at the odds on paper, it does seem to be a rather one-sided contest; you would usually put your dosh on the big guy. But there lies the tension of the film. How many trophies will it get? Will it eat her dog? Will our heroine survive, in one or more pieces? You will have to hunt out PREY to find out. There is no fantastic acting in it, but it is a fairly young cast, so that can be forgiven. It is worth a watch if it is on catch-up or you are at a friend's night-in.

Rating - 4 out of 5.

THE TRAILER - https://www.google.com/search?q=prey+trailer&rlz=1C1GCEA_enGB1059GB1059&oq=Prey+trailer&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBwgAEAAYgAQyBwgAEAAYgAQyBwgBEAAYgAQyBwgCEAAYgAQyBwgDEAAYgAQyBwgEEAAYgAQyDQgFEAAYhgMYgAQYigUyDQgGEAAYhgMYgAQYigUyDQgHEAAYhgMYgAQYigUyDQgIEAAYhgMYgAQYigUyDQgJEAAYhgMYgAQYigXSAQg3OTMwajBqN6gCCLACAQ&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Ivor Cogdell

Thoughts On - The Guards Wargame Group - Bring and Buy Event 2024.11.30

 Hi Everybody,

                       Just a quick note to record that I was glad to meet the Circle Battle Group attendees and the Guards members at the 30 November 2024 Winter Guards Bring and Buy event in Birmingham. I met up with Richard J on the 11 bus route as arranged, getting off at the Swan Centre, only to find that all the bus stops had been moved around. to get the 60 bus, you now have to walk a few yards further towards the airport.

                     There were slightly fewer tables than the previous times we attended. I purchased the Osprey Rules for the post-apocalypse vehicle skirmish game "Gaslands", some 72 mm African warriors (painted), other lead minis, plus "The Wargamers Guide to Dark Age Britain" by Martin Hackett (Amberley Publishing - ISBN. 978-1-4456-03803) a battlefield guide https://www.tabletopgaming.co.uk/reviews/as-told-in-the-great-hall-the-wargamers-guide-to-dark-age-britain/, including the dice for the rules in the back, very kindly signed by the author. A sci-fi laser cut shelter (at home, a box landed on it and it is now in its component parts again, so I shall have the fun of assembly as well as painting it).

                    The Guards had set up a wargaming table for members of the public to take part in, as usual. Richard had some figures for sale, (The items are logged and priced, then you check for the sale at the end of the show), but I don't think he had any takers. He did get some dragon teeth scenery, a munchkin card game and some 10 mm humans for Oathmark.

                     I was not feeling too well and had to cut my day short, but the busses were very bad in the afternoon and we did not get home until after 6pm.  Regrets - I should have treated myself to a 72 mm Roman Infantry "Tortoise" formation, a temple and a bit more terrain. Richard did buy some items as well.

                     I was very pleased to see some youngsters attending again, they all received a warm welcome. Thanks to Paul and the Guards members for their time and efforts to present another chance to expand the wargaming hobby community.

NOTE: I hope that the Penkridge Wargaming Sale is still happening on Sunday, 5th January 2025, 11:00 start, I am not sure of the venue.

  Please confirm the details, as I could not find any information on the British Historical Games Society Calendar. https://www.bhgs.org.uk/calendar.html.

There is a mention of one in May, but no actual date.

Regards all,

Ivor Cogdell

Happy Hogmanay 2025

 Happy Hogmanay 2025

               Here comes another year again. Just as I was getting used to the old one. For those in northern UK, stay safe with the nasty weather that is expected. I hope it does not disrupt your plans too much. In Birmingham, the late night crowd did not seem to be too bothered, as the fireworks started about 23:30 and went onto 0:30. I hope they were wrapped up warmly.

              Hobby-wise, I treated myself to the ring binder expansion pack for Ironsworn, The Sundered Isles. I have only flicked through parts of the books, but the quality is great. Many of the Oracle Tables in the second book can be used in other settings with a bit of imagination.

Regards,

Ivor Cogdell

Thoughts On - Life and Trump (Updated)

 Hey Y'all,                                                                                                                    1st November 2024

                 Another quick update for you. I have been doing my 72 mm Vikings, the base painting is pretty well complete on them, as you cannot see much detail on that scale. I will mount them onto lolly sticks for the time being. I will be able to test the Oathmark rules with them, to see if they are to my taste before I buy the books and models. My pal Richard J, has bought the rules and the makings of an army for me to attack. (The figures he bought were 10 mm scale, my 72 mm Viking warriors were too big and did not fit. Such is life.)

 How Richard managed to paint that small is beyond me, I had a hard time painting my Vikings, compared to my usual 28 mm figures.

15th November -  We did a test game and then tried a scenario from the rules (No 4.) Which I will do a quick description of later.

I have been helping a mate who has just had her flat broken in for the second time. It is very disheartening what people will do to other people.

Regards,

Ivor Cogdell

P.S. Good luck with the Election, America. You need it, as it is going to be close. I'm rooting for Kamala Harris, but I can't vote, I am not a US citizen.

P.P.S. - I was surprised to see that Buzz Aldrin is supporting Trump. I thought better of you. Everybody makes mistakes. Maybe Elon talked him into it.

18 November 2024.

P.P.P.S. After one week of being President-Elect, the Cabinet Trump has chosen is being hailed as the most incompetent ever. The Climate Change Electee is a Climate denier and is an Oil and Gas company man.

 Only now are Trump voters realising what Trump had been promising was directly opposite to their values and needs. The stock market is crashing. (One poll quoted a 75% chance of a recession coming). The care packages that many of them rely on are going to be ripped up. They just did not do research into what he was actually proposing, just listened to the slogans, guessing what they meant, following biased news channel broadcasts.