Thursday, September 26, 2013

Kickstarter Backer Update

  I received word this week that my reward for backing the Empire of the Dead: Requiem Kickstarter is on its way from Merry Olde England. Hooray! I will be getting about 50 new figures, including plenty of bobbies and an Infernium-powered hound. I am definitely going to convert one or two of the truncheon carrying fellows to All Electric Truncheons, for that extra bit of 'oomph' when they smack you. Below is a picture of some of the newest faction, the Clickers. Essentially, I gather that they are intelligent automatons of a sinister bent. Need to read the fluff about them to get it for sure, but maybe Victorian Cybermen - you will be upgraded! Sort of wish I had ordered some with my other Empire of the Dead stuff.

Two Clickers and Nemo
[Obviously on someone else's painting table!]

   I am very excited that the minis are on the way, but I have had zero time lately to get any painting done. Grad school is keeping me busy the past two weeks. Only thing I have done recently was to clean and prime a 28mm steam tank, destined to serve the German Empire. It's the A7V-looking one from Ironclad, which I purchased at Historicon. Dark green, with brass accenting and black and white Maltese Crosses. Probably mount a flag on it as well, eventually.

   I did get in a game of Dystopian Wars last weekend, and the Prussians were handily trounced by renegade Italians! All those darned torpedoes! I need more airships. I want to try the Speerwurf out. Anyone have hints on Tiny Flyers for the Prussians? Should I have just stuck with fighters?

Friday, September 13, 2013

Top Ten Game Stores in Texas



It's simple: these are my personal ten favorite game stores in Texas. There is no particular order, and if I have already done a store report on the particular store, you can click on it's name to go to the report. Otherwise, I haven't done a report yet, and probably ought to get to it.

1. Great Hall Games
    Austin: http://www.greathallgames.com

   Two rooms worth of gaming space. Traditional games, puzzles, boardgames, and lots of historical games in multiple scales. Friendly staff. Decent location, though has parking issues. Supports local conventions. For historical minis, this is probably now the best in Texas. (See Little Wars in the Honorable Mention section, below)

    The Woodlands http://www.fatogre.com

   I have done a store report on the Fat Ogre already. This would be my FLGS if it were a little more local. However, on the other side of Houston, it's about 55 miles from my house. In Texas distances, that's an hour or so, depending on traffic. It is a great store, though.

3. Montag's Games
      Pearland: http://www.montagsgames.com

   The only real problem with Montag's is size. It is pretty cramped in this location. They have a lot of GW, as usual, and Magic cards, but also carry some RPG stuff and other games (they cleared out FOW, but may still have some bits and bobs laying about). Gaming tables take up a hefty portion of the available acreage. The owner/manager/guy who is always in there is very friendly and helpful. You can see in and there is plenty of light. No stink. All of these are Good Things.

4. Gerard's Games

   Not a lot of product, and I wish the lighting were a little better, though I know why they keep it dim. They have a lot of GW product, like most games stores. Not a bad thing, because it sells and therefore helps keep the doors open. Very friendly staff, will order anything you like and usually get it within a week. LAN gaming and video games (Xbox, not arcade) as well. They do late nights (even overnight lockins!), have plenty of game tables, and are open to letting you run pretty much anything you want to bring to their store.

5. Dragon's Lair
    Austin: http://www.delair.net

   This store is located inside an old barnes and Noble or something, in their new location. It's amazing. Lots of space, even an area for littler lids to play with DUPLO and stuff. Lots of selection, and this icludes games, toys, t-shirts, all sorts of good geeky stuff. Looked to have a good deal of gaming area as well. The place is really a palace. Staff was friendly, but a little spread out, and didn't all seem to know what was going on really.

6. Texas Toy Soldier Company
      Dallas: http://texastoysoldier.com/

   I stopped in here one very hot day after being outside in the heat all day. I was borderline dehydrated. The owner gave me a bottle of ice cold water free of charge, because "you look like you need this." They have GW, and Spartan Games, and Privateer Press, but also had items for SAGA, which was pretty new at the time, last spring. A few game tables as well. Their online shop has outstanding discounts, by the way. (https://texastoysoldieronline.com/)

7. Dragon's Lair
      San Antonio: http://delair.net

   Not exactly a clone of the Austin store, but I like to stop in here whenever I am traveling through San Antone. Very friendly and helpful staff. Private rooms for games as well as open area. Comics, toys, good variety of games, including both minis and RPGs, some board games.

8. Nan's Too Books and Comics

   A Houston institution, located near Rice University. No gaming space. Lots of comics. Weird smells. Tons of games. Employees who have been there for decades. Odds and ends you can't find anywhere else. It's funky, but I like it.

9. The Book Stan'
    Beaumont, 6055 Phelan Blvd. No website.

   A comic store with a lot of old RPG stuff. Big warehouse-y space. A/C needs work in the retail area - it was pretty warm last time I went by in July. When I lived in Beaumont, they were in a strip mall. Better retail space, but no space for gaming. New location has a room with several tables for gaming, and the a/c in that area is much better. Lots of old bits and pieces, tons of GW, boardgames, a nice place to go hunting for lost treasures. Owned by a couple of ladies, a mom and daughter, I think. They are always there, and very nice folks. They recognize me though they don't remember my name because I only make it through there once a year or so now. I used to hang out on my lunch hour in their old location when they had a different manager (Mark was his name), back in the mid-1990s.

     Grapevine: http://www.area51gac.com/home/

   If I still lived in Dallas, this would be a real close run for FLGS with Texas Toy Soldier. I think this store might lose out because they have a little bit less retail space. I haven't done any special orders with them, but they have offered to make one for me. I have been here twice. Check out the store report if you want more info on the place.

11. The Game Closet

   Okay, so this "Top Ten" goes to ELEVEN! It's one louder, after all. I spent a lot of time in Waco as a a kid, but not so much lately. However, my son is considering Baylor for his college, and we made a college visit to Waco earlier this summer. While there, we dropped by this little gem of a store, which has apparently had a few problems recently. I hope they get them worked out. Anyway, the owner was there, and we had a nice long chat about games and the business and all of that. Very friendly and knowledgeable. A good selection of games, and, of course, plenty of tables for playing. This really is very important for me in a good game store. If you are in the area, I recommend them. They are also sponsoring a convention, WaCon, at the end of September. http://www.wacogamecon.com/

Honorable Mentions:

   These are stores that are now closed, no longer carrying games, or a mere shadow of their former glory.

Starships and Dragons (College Station)

   This was my games store in my college years. I spent many an hour in here when my wife (then girlfriend) wasn't in town. She wouldn't go in, because one of the owners had a serious case of gamer funk. But they were very friendly, had a decent space in back to game, and would let you work for store credit sometimes.

Lone Star Comics (Dallas)

   When I was a kid, this was my go to store. I rode the bus to get within a mile of the Forest Lane location (across from Medical City hospital) and then walked. In Texas summer heat, that's dedication. No gaming space, but a friendly manager, a Subway right next door, and they didn't mind if you spent an hour 'just looking.' That location is closed, as are most of their others, but I believe that some locations are still open. Not much in the way of games, though.

The Game Chest (Valley View Mall, Dallas)

   This is a recent closure. I used to go by every time I was in Dallas (three, four times a year) and buy at least a pack of cards or something. No game space - no space, period! - but a lot of games and a very friendly staff who knew something about the games, puzzles, and whatnot. Last time I went by, the store was closed. A little tear rolled down my face.

The Game Store In Prestonwood Mall Whose Name I Don't Recall Right Now (Dallas) 

  Not only is this store closed, the mall itself was torn down about ten years ago. This was a high school favorite, mostly because I knew the manager (played Rolemaster and Spacemaster with him and some other guys for a couple of years - Hi Brian!) and one of my good friends worked there. That, and I worked in the mall, so I could go down and hang out for a few minutes during my break.

Little Wars (Houston)

   As far as I know, this store is still open for business, but it is a mere shadow of itself. Little Wars used to be one of the best historical games stores in the country. Massive mail order business, and they even held little one day gaming events. They had darn near anything you wanted, and if they didn't have it, they would get it. In fact, the one thing you used to not be able to get there was Games Workshop. A few owner changes later and a move to a new location, and it changed into a GW and FOW shop, with a lot of boxes of "old crap that no one wants" (QRF, Freikorps, more) in the back that the staff couldn't even be bothered to look through or bring out for you to dig through. The new owners would, however, allow you to mail order from them online, take and hold your money, and never return calls or emails. A threat to file charges against them for mail fraud got my money returned, without any explanation or apology. So, even if they are still open, they are dead to me.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Yet more... Armoured Bear!

   This one is from Ramshackle Games. Not new, but I just remembered it was around. So, I thought i would share. The picture is from their online catalogue, which can be found right here.


   Big armoured bear. We like it. And a guy in a cowboy hat with a big frikking gun riding on him. The rider is an option. They also have 'plain' bears.

"Battle in a Box": An Idea Whose Time Has Come?

Go here, to Take the High Ground, and read about this really cool project.

  Essentially, the fellow in charge of that blog is trying to make a complete game that you can carry about in a reasonably small box. His original goal was a cigar box, but that proved a bit too small. Now he is scaling it for one of those plastic art supply boxes.

   I am thinking I might be able to manage something a little larger for 6mm (he is using 2mm scale). The rules are really simple, as well. Which we like.

Sunday, September 8, 2013

More painting finished...

  I know that you have all been awaiting this post with bated breath (not baited, right? That would smell fishy, I think... anyway, sorry about the ADD kicking in there). More painted stuff! Yay!

  I finished up some more Nordlander spearmen, so I took a picture of the unit so far. I just need to paint up three more spearmen and the champion, and they are all currently on the table.



   I also finished two more Combine Ogres, a Mk. I and a Mk. II. The Mk. I was manufactured in the Houston autofac. The Mk. II is out of the autofac near Mexico City, in Toluca. It's designation BTOL led to the nickname "Beetle."

HOU-65-I-22

BTUL-69-II-2, aka "Beetle 2"

"Beetle 2", a Mk. II Ogre.

   SOme more assistance for my fledgling Cygnar Warmachine army. This is a Squire, a very special and really helpful little warjack, although useless in a fight.



   Last of all, a couple of figures for the Lord Curr's Incorrigibles Company for the VSF skirmish game In Her Majesty's Name. These will go along with Mohan Singh, whom I introduced a few days ago.

"Mad Mick" McFarlane

Sam Warburton, 'ard 'un.


Friday, September 6, 2013

Recently finished: Empire, Warmachine, IHMN

Pictures of some of the work I have finished recently:

Mohan Singh, of Lord Curr's Incorrigibles

Musician and Spearman, Nordland

Warmachine Mercenary Gobber. Notice the shorts.
Purple shorts, green skin??? Who is that?

Nordland Artillery

Nordland artillerist

Nordland gunner

Church at Dzibilchaltun, Mayan ruins in the Yucatan.
How did that get in here?

   I'm also working on my Mk. I and Mk. II Ogres, nearing completion, along with more spearmen!

Henri Pirenne's Thoughts on Medieval Europe

  Specifically, on the start of the medieval period. When was it? Sure, it was after the Ancient or Classical Period, and before the Renaissance. But when did it begin? When does the age of classical civilization in Europe end? And what caused that to happen?

  Traditionalists will immediately tell you that the Roman Empire fell in 476 AD, when Rome was sacked by Germanic barbarians. If you press them, they may edit that to include only the Western Roman Empire. But Henri Pirenne, an early 20th century Belgian historian argues for a much later date. I think his argument is pretty convincing, honestly. He claims that the Germans of the various tribes (with the exception of the Angles and Saxons who invaded Britannia) became Romanized rather than the conquered Romans becoming Germanized. Which seems to be true. Roman laws, language (Latin), political structure (autocracy/monarchy), religion (Catholic), economics, coinage (gold), agriculture, literature... all still the same. Only the guy(s) in charge changed.

   Pirenne argues instead that the real change from a Mediterranean mindset in the majority of civilized Europe came after the Arab/Muslim invasions of the 7th and 8th centuries. This is what ended trade, changed population patterns, and re-centered western European civilization to the Carolingian Franks.

  Its an interesting book. I'll discuss another book, on colonial American history, tomorrow or sometime soon, at any rate.