It's been a while....

It's been over nine years since my last post on this blog.  Now that I am blogging again I thought I resurrect this long, lost blog.

The world of miniatures for gaming has changed has changed immensely.  Now that 3d printers have become affordable for many people; it opens many opportunities.  Designing and printing  your own miniatures and terrain is possible.  If you can't design your own, then there are companies that sell STL files of miniatures and terrain.  There are also companies that "print on demand" if you send them the STL files.  A popular one is Shapeways. They have over 90 different materials that can be used for printing.

I found a Swedish company, 2nd Dynasty that sells STL files of Traveller ships in 28mm scale.!  The first one is a Scout ship and it looks amazing.  They also have other ships available.  I used to love playing Traveller and it was the second RPG I ever bought.  In fact I had to mail order the boxed set because there was no world wide web, and not many games stores.

I plan on giving the old school method of sculpting a gaming miniature a try and making a mold to reproduce it.. I plan on starting with something fairly simple like a stone elemental.  I have to pose it in a way that is easy to make a mold for.

Anyway I will close for now.  Keep those dice rolling, and stay healthy.

   

Google+ Communities - Miniature Wargaming

Google+ has recently implemented what they call "communities", which is something between a forum, and a Yahoo group?  Not sure how to describe it, but I decided to create one, called Miniature Wargaming.  If you happen to stumble upon this blog, and participate in Google+ please feel free to join the community.

The Miniatures Page™

If you like miniature wargaming, then you probably already know about The Miniatures Page™.  I've been referring to TMP™ quite a bit as I conduct research for the "mega-project".  It has an index of every miniature manufacturer on the web.  According to TMP™, there are 1256 websites of miniature manufacturers!  Whew...

Since I am trying to compile a list of every single miniature wargaming ruleset, and many miniature manufacturers write rules for their own lines of miniatures, that could end up being a lot of rulesets.  In fact, I kind of fried my brain, and took a break for a couple of days.

Anyway, if your looking to expand your miniature collection, or terrain, then check out The Miniatures Page™.  If you can't find what you want at one of the many miniature companies, then you're just going to have to sculpt it yourself.

Free Miniature Rules

I like free.  Especially when it comes to my hobbies.  So when I found some free rulesets doing research for the "megaproject" I downloaded them.

The first was Away Team, a "Star Trekish" miniature skirmish game.  The rules and miniatures (which of course aren't free), but are inexpensive, can be found on the Astrominiature's blog.  Below is the brief description of the game in the PDF.

Away Team is a simple miniatures-based combat game based in the Astro-miniatures universe.

The PDf is 8 pages long, one of which is a chart of the "character" types.  I've skimmed the rules, and on a complexity scale of 1 thru 10, I think it's probably a 3 or 4.  It's simple, easy, without a lot of complex rules.  It might be a good starter game for someone new to the hobby, and you can't beat the price!  There is a link on the blog to download the PDF.

The next game is Paper Tigers, a World War Two skirmish game.  Here's the introduction from the PDF:

Paper Tigers is designed as an introduction to miniatures war gaming for the beginner. It is intended to be played with paper miniatures printed in 1/72 or 1/76 scale. To that end, the rules are kept deliberately easy to learn. This does not mean the rules are unsophisticated. Players will find that good tactics are generally rewarded.

Even though the rules are intended to be used with paper miniatures, I'm sure other miniatures can be used easily enough.

Even though I haven't played the game, I'm intrigued by the playing card method of generating the turn sequence.  The PDF is only 6 pages long, but it's a little more complex than Away Team.  I give it a 5 on the complexity scale, but that may change once I play it.

Paper Tigers can be downloaded for free off of Wargame downloads.com.

The next game is Wildfire, a fast paced skirmish game for modern or science fiction settings.  Here's the introduction from the PDF.

Wildfire is a fast-paced miniatures skirmish combat game designed to cover the modern and science-fiction genres.  The game is based around the actions of Fire Teams, small two or three man groups that act as a team, covering each other and effectively fighting as a single unit.  Wildfire is designed to cover small-scale actioins with approximately ten Fire Teams on each side.  Vehicles are covered in the rules, as appropriate for small scale skirmish games.  Wildfire is designed for two players, but can be played with more if wished.

This PDF comes in at 105 pages.  Skimming the rules I would rate it at a complexity of 7 or 8, maybe higher.  Again, I haven't played, so that rating may change.  I read a review that mentioned the rules were a bit confusing.  Wildfire can also be downloaded for free at Wargame downloads.com.

The spreadsheet of miniature rules is growing, and it's up to 167.  I'm sure later tonight that it will probably be close, if not over, 200.

Megaproject Update

I've been busy compiling a spreadsheet of miniature wargaming rulesets, and I'm already up to 153.  That does not include many of the historical games, so I'm sure the number will go way up.  Some of these are supplements to a main ruleset, and others are variations of a ruleset for a different genre.

I'm not sure all I have listed so far will make the cut, like MLB SportsClix.  I've included some of the games I wasn't sure about for completeness, and may delete them later after I do some more research.  I haven't listed different subsets of the collectible miniature games, like HeroClix, but I will eventually in some form or another.

This is going to be a major project, and I may break it up into different volumes.  I haven't decided yet, it mainly depends on how much information I will include about each game.  Some games will get more coverage than others due to popularity, size of the product line, etc.

I never knew there were so many different miniature wargaming rulesets.

I've posted the updated list on the Miniature Gaming Rules Page.

My New Megaproject

It's been a while since I've posted on this blog.  Life just got in the way.  This isn't my only blog, and I feel a little sad I've neglected it.  Anyway...

Aside from MageKnight, I've been trying to decide which other rule set to use for miniature wargaming?  There are so many that it's difficult to decide.  I read blogs, and forums, and check out companies websites.  I compare prices, range of models, and the look of the miniatures.  I've been doing this for about a year now, and I still haven't decided which one to play... UGH.  I really want to make sure I pick one I enjoy, because it's not a cheap hobby.

Within the past week, I've decided to start a project, and since I am already researching rules, I plan on compiling everything into a book.  An "Introduction to Miniature Wargaming" which will cover all the rule sets, companies, well everything to give someone a good idea on how to get started.  I plan on covering both in print, and out of print rules.  I want to cover as much of the hobby as I can.  I may have a price guide section as well, but that may end up being a different book.  In other words, I want this to be as comprehensive as I can make possibly make it.

Of course all my notes are disorganized, and I need to get a list together of all the different rule sets, miniature companies, etc.  This won't be easy, because like I said there are so many out there it's almost surreal.

Anyway, while doing research I discovered this forum... Bartertown.  It appears to be a fairly active forum.  If you want to buy, sell, or trade miniatures or other items this might be a good forum to check out.

For the foreseeable future I plan on posting at least once a week here on the Mayhem of Miniatures.

Witchfate Tor, Tower of Sorcery

This will be my first big project for 2012.  My brother and I visited the Games Workshop store in this area, and he bought it, and then tasked me with assembly and painting.  I've been researching the model, and hopefully I won't have the same kind of trouble that some people had, i.e difficulty in assembling the pieces together.  I plan on doing a "dry fit assembly" of the floors.

The model at the store looked great, and can be used in a variety of other miniature games, and not just Warhammer Fantasy.  That's what I like most about it.  Also, all the floors are separate, and you can place miniatures inside.  The price seems a bit steep, at $66 plus tax, but if it goes together well, then it's worth it.  Now I need some good glue, and paint...