SAGA AoM club game 20 December 2019

Ottawa Miniatures Gamers Club annual Christmas Dinner  Meeting

This is my After Action Report (AAR) on the most recent SAGA age of magic (AoM) game I played on December 20th  which was at my local games club (OMG).  We started with the traditional festive feast from a local Indian Restaurant then began our games around 7:30pm, as I recall there were 5 or 6 games and 10 to 12 players.

I had prepared a  Christmas themed 8 point SAGA AoM warband for the occasion called Santa's Great Kingdom warband.   It consisted of the following:

Warlord - Santa and Sorceress - Santa's assistant

Santa and his Lovely Assistant

Updated: Some Undead Fantasy figures I hope to paint in 2019

Orignally published in early January 2019.

This set of  Classic Citadel Nightmare Legion Skeleton Regiment (Regiment of Renown)  are on my list of figures to get painted in 2019. Hopefully I can get these 24 Skeletons and the classic Skeleton chariot from the same period before Halloween!

Box Art

Dave Broadfoot's (aka Sgt. Renfrew's) Birthday - December 5th and Pulp Royal Mounted Police figures

Dave Broadfoot: aka Sergeant Renfrew, Bobby Clobber, MP from Kicking Horse Pass, member of the Royal Canadian Air Farce and much more.

December 5, 2019 would have been Canadian comedian Dave Broadfoot's 94th Birthday (1925-2016).

https://www.northernstars.ca/dave-broadfoot/

Of his many character's Sergeant (Sgt). Renfrew and his Incredible Dog Cuddles who worked out of their "lonely log cabin on the 14th Floor of RCMP Headquarters in Ottawa"was my favourites. Initially he was Corporal Renfrew, but he was promoted to Sgt. later on.

Last week I ran a SAGA Age of Magic (AoM) game involving some recently painted Pulp 28mm Royal Mounted Police figures and of course the lead Mountie  character was named after Sgt. Renfrew (a name Dave Broadfoot borrowed from a fictitious Mounted Police officer in a series of 1930s movies).

Dave Broadfoot as Corporal Renfrew

The not so Friendly Giants (updated with more giants added)

Giants for SAGA Age of Magic

I have been collecting some giants for my various SAGA Age of Magic factions.  I have always had a soft spot for Giants, maybe from all those years as a child watching the Friendly Giant or Land of the Giants:

The Friendly Giant

Classic TV drama involving Giants

SAGA AoM Pre-Christmas game 2019

SAGA Age of Magic AAR December 1,  2019:

Vikings versus Santa

I decided to test out the Christmas themed warband I am thinking of using at the Ottawa Miniatures Games club Christmas dinner and game towards the end of  December.  It was a rush job to get my SAGA Christmas themed warband ready for this Sunday as a result not all the miniature's are finished, some still have plain black bases. There will also likely be some changes once more figures are painted including 3 Polar Bears.  It is a very eclectic mixture of figures in Santa's warband but all have a winter theme.  For the warriors I used some GW Dark Elf spear armed warriors I bought at a good price on eBay, they were painted in a rather uncharacteristic red and green livery which I was planning to repaint but luckily I never got around to it and they fit in with the Christmas theme.  

Dark Elves in Christmas livery become 
Good Elf warriors in Santa's Warband.

Figures Painted for Halloween 2019

Halloween 2019

I am a bit late in posting this but I am within 30 days of Halloween 😼. Here are my 28mm  figures that were painted for this Halloween.

Ragged Jack Pumpkin headed horseman by Blue Moon
 and the Headless Horseman with Pumpkin by RAFM

SAGA Age of Magic Game Undead versus Vikings 24 November 2019

Round 2 Vikings versus Undead

This was my third game of SAGA AoM a re-match from the last game with a few modifications.  Once again it is the Undead Legions versus the Kingdom of the Vikings, held in my gaming room on November 24, 2019.  My Undead legion traded in it's catapult and some skeleton warriors to gain a giant skeleton (Titan monster) and the Mindless levy was represented by zombies rather than Scarecrows. Also the Lich was now mounted on a horse. Ted's Viking force was pretty much the same other than switching the Trolls for Ogres and Fire Giant for a giant Minotaur (same stats in both cases as they were biped creatures and behemoth monsters respectively).

Skeleton Giant (Ral Partha) + Mounted Lich (Grenadier). 
Large bat creatures (GW) in the background

SAGA Age of Magic Halloween battle report November 10, 2019

Vikings versus Undead- Halloween game

This was my second battle using SAGA Age of Magic (AoM) this time with a couple of friends who were not at the club for the first game.  It was held in my games room on November 10, 2019. It also served as my annual Halloween game, so of course I pulled out my Pumpkin patch scenery.

Pumpkin Patch

This was an 8 point battle between the Legion of the Undead and the Viking Kingdom.

SAGA Age of Magic AAR November 3, 2019

SAGA Age of Magic AAR.

I am way behind on my postings, this is the first of 3 games of SAGA Age of Magic (AoM) games I have played this month.  This one was at my local games club the Ottawa Miniatures Gamers Club (OMG) on November 3, 2019.  This was my first game of this SAGA variant.  It is a great game, much like the original SAGA (historical) and lets you use a variety of miniatures painted for other fantasy game systems (WFB, AoS, KoW etc) as the basing and army lists are very flexible.  My Undead warband, (made up of a mix of Citadel, Reaper and Grenadier figures) faced off against a Chaos warband.   My warband included my recently painted Undead catapult by Grenadier (re-released by Mirliton).

Grenadier Skeleton Catapult in action

 Plus a band of Scarecrows lead by Jumping Jack Flash!

Jumping Jack Flash leads the Mindless Levy

Unknown 28mm Skeleton cavalry and Mammoths

Finding the identity of this Shelton Rider lead to much more.

I was trying to identify this Unknown 28mm meal skeleton cavalry horn blower rider with spear, the  mount is an old plastic Citadel skeletal horse

Unknown Rider, in the process of being painted

Doctor Who: Day of the Daleks: Cangames 2016

Day of the Daleks: Cangames 2016 DWMG

This game was based on the TV episode Day of the Daleks, using the DWMG rules and a scenario based on one designed by Martin Porter on his Prydonian Chapter Blog, http://theprydonianchapter.blogspot.com/2011/12/day-of-daleks.html. 

I ran it at Cangames 2016 in May of that year and expanded Matt's scenario to make it a six player game.

Introduction

There have been strange goings on at Auderly House. Ghostly intruders appear and then vanish. Several U.N.I.T. soldiers guarding the building have disappeared, however crusty old diplomat Sir Reginald Styles refuses to consider holding the upcoming peace talks anywhere else.  The Brigadier decides it’s time he called in his Scientific Advisor.

The Board

Auderly House is an old house set in parkland with a long curved driveway.  The estate is surrounded by a high wall that requires one move and an AGI test to climb over. Inside the grounds are trees, bushes, out houses, a tumbledown folly  - meaning lots and lots of cover.  Outside is parked a U.N.I.T. Land Rover with an HMG in the back and Styles’s diplomatic car. The playing area was approximately  4' x 4'.

Overview with Audelry House in the Centre

Family of Blood Halloween 2008

Family of Blood Game - Halloween 2008

This was one of my earl Doctor Who games from October 2008 using DWMG and before the Gripping Beast figures made to represent the Family of Blood characters were available, so most of the figures are Micro Universe (MU) plastic figures, converted Wiz Kids (WK) figures, West Wind (WW) miniatures.  The Scarecrows are RAFM metal miniatures and Wiz Kids (WK) plastic figures.  The students are assumed to be in their Cadet Army uniforms and I used Foundry First World War Figures to represent them including a Vickers MG.

It is interesting to compare this to the later 2011 Family of Blood game where the buildings and figures are more purpose designed to resemble the TV episode.

The game board.

Family of Blood - Doctor Who - Cangames 2011

Family of Blood Cangames 2011 Scenario

This 28mm scale game was a follow on game from the scenario entitled Family Values that can be found in the Doctor Who the Miniatures Game (DWMG) PDF rules supplement entitled "Last of the Time Lords" that was modeled after the TV episode The Family of Blood set in England in 1913.  I adapted this scenario to make it a 5 to 6 player game set after the events at the Village Hall in the Family Values scenario.  The students and school staff have retreated form the Village Hall back to the safety of the School in preparation for an attack by the Family of Blood and their Scarecrows.  I ran this game at Cangames 2011 on May 22nd of that year in Ottawa.  

NB. It is challenging to reconstruct the events from May 2011 in August 2019 as I was both the GM and photographer at the time which meant I did not have time to take as many pictures as I would have liked, and they are my main tool to reconstruct the events.  Plus my camera was much less advanced at the time, as were my photography skills.  I have added in some current day staged pictures to show the rosters, and a few from the test game I ran prior to the convention.

Overview of  the test game prior to convention, 
May 15th

Combat near the School, test game

Petradon or Pterodactyl with Silurian rider

Conversion project for Doctor Who and the Dinosaurs / Petradon

I was looking at the "Somewhere The Tea is Getting Cold" (STTIGC) blog
https://teasgettingcold.blogspot.com/2010/01/skys-limit.html?showComment=1565825053069#c5791748624388354281

The author is / was working on a conversion to take a Ral Partha flying reptile (Petradon or Pterodactyl) and place a Silurian rider on it.  This would be useful for any number of scenarios with the Silurians using DWMG or other rules.

Painted Pterosaur with Silurian Rider STTIGC

UNIT Mobile Communications Van

 A new vehicle for my UNIT troops.

This is my UNIT Mobile Communications Command van that can be used by the Brigadier as a mobile HQ or to call in air strikes.  It is a conversion from a Dinky Toy BBC mobile Television studio vehicle. Various Black Tree / Harlequin Troops are posed in the foreground.

UNIT Mobile Communications Command Van

Here is the original Dinky van before repair and conversion including repainting.

DINKY SUPERTOYS TV MOBILE CONTROL ROOM

Terror at Devil's Bay August 2019

I ran the Terror at Devils Bay scenario again with two players (Ted and myself) on August 5, 2019.

Introduction

 The Master is attempting to find his TARDIS component hidden on the base HMS Sea Spite, and has persuaded the Sea Devils to attack the base to divert the defenders.  The Master has disguised himself ad a Naval Captain so gets to use the DWMG infiltrator rules (he can't be attacked unless he makes a hostile action or is identified by Jo, the Doctor or Benton who must be within 6" to do this.  The Doctor is on the scene to help the base defenders but he and Jo are not aware the Master is on the base.

The Base is defended by Captain Hart's HQ squad, Lt. Bakers Duty Watch, Sgt. Benton's UNIT squad, plus the Doctor, Liz Shaw, Jo Grant, and the base scientist.  The Sea Devils have 3 squads of Armoured Sea Devils, two of which include Myrkas

40mm Bofors gun

Pulp Alley II Kick Starter

My Pulp Alley Kick Starter package finally arrived.  It contained the new Pulp Alley II (PA II) rules, a scenario books and some additional cards.  I look forward to trying the new edition of the rules.

The new PA II rules, scenario and cards.

PA II Kick Starter set guarded by 
my highly trained Watch Cat!

Black Tree Order - All Good

I just received my latest Black Tree 28mm W.W.II and Doctor Who order from their Memorial day Sale. It made very good time, well packaged, was complete and even included three bonus figures, plus John added in the discount I neglected to apply.  This is typical of the good service I get from John Olson at Black Tree / EOE Orbis.  I know he gets a lot of flack for problems with some orders, but in view of the health and family issues he has had I think he is doing an excellent job and it is a shame buyers only want to post about bad news rather than good. Black Tree is one of the companies I order from on a regular basis.

Black Tree 28mm W.W.II Soviets and Sea Devils

Gaming theory: Doctor Who Terror at Devil's Bay Location

Creating game landscape for 

the Sea Devils: Terror at Devils Bay

HMS Seaspite as set up for Cangames 2019 in May.

One of the challenges I faced creating my Doctor Who game based on the Sea Devils episode: Terror at Devils Bay was how to create the key feature the Naval base HMS Seaspite (as it is called in the TV episode the Sea Devils) which was filmed at HMS St George, Fraser Gunnery Range.  Unlike a historical scenario a Sci-Fi scenario offers more options.  Why does it matter?  I think for two reasons firstly it help to create the most accurate or atmospheric recreation of what the game is based on, and secondly it can impact play balance.  Plus it is an opportunity to compare images of the game set up versus what the actual base that was used for the film shoot looked like then and now.

Roofing material

Walthers Roofing material

I tried out some of the Walthers Cornerstone Roof Texture material on two of the flat topped buildings I used for my Doctor Who Terror at Devils Bay game and was very pleased with the results.

Post game picture showing Walthers roofing ballast

Unidentified 28mm Computer type machinery?

I got the resin item in the picture below about 5 years ago in an eBay lot of computer related items (main frames, consoles etc.)  that were made by Scotia Grendel and Armorcast.  However I can't find this one in the Scotia Grendel, Armorcast or Ainsty catalogue.  It is about 1 inch long and Kkind of looks like it could be a  hard drive or a memory bank, any ideas what it is or who made it?

?

Doctor Who: Terror at Devils Bay, Cangames 2019

Terror at Devils Bay: 2019

This year's game at Cangames 2019  (originally scheduled for 2018)  was entitled Terror at Devils Bay using the Doctor Who the Miniatures Game II (DWMG II) rules and based on the Doctor Who TV episode "The Sea Devils."

The  Scenario:

It is 1980 shortly after the Doctor has foiled another of the Master’s nefarious schemes and returned him to his prison cell at Scarock Castle.  To ensure the Master does not escape Earth the Doctor has taken a vital component from his TARDIS and decided to deposit it for safekeeping at a nearby military base.  Accordingly the doctor along with Jo Grant, and a UNIT squad under Captain Yates visit HMS SEASPITE at Kearvaig Bay, a research facility and former gunnery grange to hide the component.  While visiting the base the Doctor learns from Helene Salinger, the chief scientific advisor, that her latest deep sea probe was lost at sea, and that ships have been mysteriously disappearing. The Doctor decides to assist her with the new probe investigate the rash of ship disappearances in the area.  Meanwhile the Master has escaped, contacted the Sea Devils and persuaded them to attack the base. This will provide him with an opportunity to enter the base disguised as a Naval Captain to look for his hidden TARDIS component.

 Turn 1, Sea Devils advance towards the beach

Doctor Who- Terror at Devils Bay Test Game for Cangames 2018 (Updated)



Test Game: Terror at Devils Bay:  May 6, 2018 (Updated)

This was a test game for the Cangames Convention late May 2018, using the DWMG rules.  We wanted to see if the forces were balanced.

Some of the buildings still need painting but I wanted to test out the scenario to see what further work needed to be done, or not. I had 4 players for the game, the scenario is designed for up to 8 players. I will not provide a detailed AAR, but just let the pictures tell the story.

View from the Sea Devils Side, many buildings
still need more painting



Things I purchased at Cangames 2019

This year at Cangames 2019, I bought some 28mm scale diecast vehicles at reasonable prices:

Centurion tank by Dinky

Set of three 1939 British Army transport vehicles by Ledo.

Terror at Devils Bay Prep Cangames 2019

Preparation work for Cangames 2019: Doctor Who: Terror at Devils Bay.

Where things were in late May 2018

A lot of work needs to be done on the buildings, boat, land rover and a few figures.

Recent finds: King Kong

A couple of items I found on a recent trip to the Merrickville Street Sale: King Kong and a suitable evil temple for 28mm scale.

 The ape was a plastic toy, the temple a Terrarium decoration.

The temple & Kong, houses in background are 15mm

Giant Frogs - Updated

I found this giant painted plastic frog in my favorite Dollar store.

Side view of frog versus 28mm hunter by Antediluvian Miniatures

Casablanca Lockheed Electra

LOCKHEED 10 ELECTRA

One of the latest miniatures / models added to my collection is the aircraft from the 1943 film Casablanca - the  Lockheed 10 Electra.  This is an old 1:53 scale Williams Brothers kit that works perfectly for heroic 28mm scale and will feature in one of my upcoming Pulp Alley games.

My new Lockheed 10 Electra kit, picture by John Clearwater

Read on to see are some more images of the aircraft including some with the characters from Casablanca and the story of the building of the kit.

Leprechaun

I have been working on this Reaper Leprechaun figure on and off for some time.

March 2018 Reaper Leprechaun

Lemuria Characters

Some of the figures I have prepared for the Lemuria Pulp Alley Campaign.

 

Test game: Battlegroup rules by PSC

Test Battle: Battlegroup (Kursk supplement)

Ted and I gave the Battlegroup rules a test today (Sunday 27 January, 2019).  These W.W.II rules are designed for 15mm to 28m scale and to represent combat anywhere from the Squad  to the Company level on a scale of 1 to 1.  A good review and more details about the rules can be found here:
 https://www.beastsofwar.com/featured/part-one-introduction-overview/

Our game was a meeting engagement set on the Eastern front in late 1942 near Stalingrad. We played on a 5' x 6' table, and each side had 500 points worth of equipment and troops.  Ted played the Soviets.

overview

Retrospective: Resurrection of Evil - the Daleks Cangames 2008

Battle Report

I am gradually posting battle reports / AAR on all my past Doctor Who Miniature games.  This was one of my very early games and the first time I had used the: 5th Doctor, the TARDIS, tanks and the Dalek troopers and the Daleks. 

 Some unusual creatures posing with the 5th Doctor and Tegan

Resurrection of Evil - the Daleks (Cangames May 2008)

Preamble:

This was the first convention game I ran using the Doctor Who Miniature Rules, and only about the fourth game I had played using the rules. Being very ambitious (or foolish) I decided to try different aliens (Daleks) for the convention as opposed to the Cyberman and Autons I had used in my earlier games.  The pressure of a deadline would of course result in my getting everything painted!   Unfortunately there was just not enough time to get all of the figures fully painted (Dalek troopers, some UNIT figures) but the "Show must go on".

Game prep, painting the TARDIS and Daleks

A Look Back: Doctor Who - Resurrection of the Daleks, July 2008

This was a game I ran in July 2008 with my friend Lee who was visiting from Ireland.  Lee was the one who got me started playing Doctor Who miniature games when he brought me a set of rules in July 2006 (see my blog on the history of my Doctor Who games).  This Scenario was entitled "The Resurrection of the Daleks" and was an updated version of "The Resurrection of Evil - the Daleks" that I ran at Cangames in May 2008..  The rules we were using were: Doctor Who the Miniatures Game (DWMG).

Lee overlooking the game board.

Attack on Santa's Workshop: 2018 Doctor Who Christmas Game

Attack on Santa's Workshop game using DWMG 2 rules.

Conflicting schedules meant we did not get to play this 2018 Doctor Who Christmas game until January 13, 2019.  But I think it was worth the wait.

This game is set near the North Pole at Santa’s Workshop which is being attacked by the forces of evil who want to wipe out Santa and Christmas.  Santa's workshop is being defended by the Heroic side that includes Santa, the Doctor, Ice Warriors and U.S. Marines with Steve Austin.  The villains (Monster side)  include the Great Intelligence, Yeti, Cybermen  plus Jack Frost and his allies.

Santa's workshop with Santa, Dougie the Christmas tree and Jack Frost.

Classic Story Book Witches 2016 updated in 2019

Bought these 4 classic 28mm Storybook Witches from West Wind's Vampire Wars range in October 2016.

Picture below is not my paint job, but it is sort of what I am aiming for.

Classic  Story Book Witches 
painted by Chal

These witches above were painted by Chal and are part of his collection.  You can see more about them on his blog Miniatures of Wrath

https://miniwrath.blogspot.com/search?q=witches
 
Thanks for the inspiration Chal, and the idea of using Payne's Grey (being a very dark bluish grey) as the base coat.  Read on to see how my witches turned out.

Planned 6mm D-Day game 6mm

For many years I have been planning to run a 6mm, 1/285 scale D-Day game featuring the Juno Beach landing.  Perhaps it was the D-Day diorama at the old Canadian War Museum (CWM) on Sussex Drive in Ottawa that first inspired me to do this as well as some Spearhead players in the UK and the U.S.   I have accumulated all the materials I require and just need to paint some additional resin defensive fortification by Leva Production and D-Day specific miniatures like DD tanks. 

D-Day beach, work in progress

Hopefully this will be the year I get it done, as 2019 is the 75th anniversary.   I have played D-day games in 15mm but I think 6mm gives me the ability to represent much more of the battle.

A List of Great War Spearhead First World War games I have played.

Great War Spearhead (GWSH) games by Shawn Taylor including an April 2017 Battle of Vimy Ridge 1/300 scale reproduction of the battlefield, by the author at the Canadian War Museum (CWM) and earlier games I ran.

GWSH in 6mm: Battle of Vimy Ridge
by Shawn Taylor at the CWM 2017

A list of some of the Second World War Micro Armor Games I have played since 2004.

  Second World War in 1/285 or 6mm scale (Micro Armor) was my primary game / genre from 1978 to 2007 originally using WRG rules and now using mainly Spearhead (SH) or Micro Armor the Game (MATG).  It was the genre for my annual Cangames game from the 1980s up to 2007.  It has now taken a back seat to some other games but is still in the mix of my top 10 games. Games below set in either North Africa, the Russian front or the Western Europe. 

Canadian advance under fire in 1944 in Normandy,  using SH 2012

Second World War in 15mm a Recap of previus games since 2007

  Second World War in 15mm which supplanted 6mm and 20mm in my geographic area as the most popular scale for this time period.  I have used  various rules including: Micro Armor the Game (MATG), Flames of War (FoW I, II or III), Battlefront (2017) or Battlegroup in 20mm (November 2018). I am planning to play in a 15mm Stalingrad campaign in early 2019.

Eastern Front game mid-war  Soviets  FoW 2007

The History of the Doctor Who Games I Have Run.

This  is a list  with pictures of most of the 28mm Doctor Who Games I have run using Doctor Who the Miniatures Game (DWMG) by Graeme Dawson, the first edition of which was published in 2006 and the second edition came out in late 2008. But first some background.

The first Doctor game I ever ran was in December of 2006 and with a different set of rules.  This  was the result of my old high school friend Lee visiting from Ireland in July of 2007 and kindly bringing me a copy of a set of rules entitled "Doctor Who Skirmish Wargames" he picked up in a shop in Ireland. He had no idea of the seed he had just planted!  The rule book had no author, date or publisher listed, a bit of a mystery.

My first set of  Doctor Who rules

These rules weren't very good and only really covered the 1970s but they inspired me to try a Doctor Who based miniature game as Doctor Who was one of my favourite TV Science Fiction shows that I had first started watching on TV Ontario (Public Television) in the 1970s beginning with the Third Doctor - Jon Pertwee.