Zona Alfa - Frostgrave with guns and Vodka?

I've just received my copy of the new Osprey rules Zona Alfa. Still to play but here are my first thoughts.

I pre-ordered these on a bit of a whim. Regular readers may have noticed I have a fairly cynical view of the gaming world, particularly the constant spawning of "Boutique" games. You know small tables, small forces, eye-watering price tags on the figures that you buy then by the time you paint them the new flavour of the month is here. I also don't particularly "rate" many Osprey rules - they do seem to throw them out there on the assumption that if you throw enough some will stick. And if I see another bloody re-skin of Lion Rampant I may scream. My glass is pretty much always half empty. Then again there have been some stand out successes - Gaslands and Frostgrave have been excellent, as is Black Ops, and for a fun multi player Colonial game The Men Who Would Be Kings ticks a lot of boxes, so maybe it is just me.

Zona Alfa is the latest in the series. It is the usual Osprey format - soft cover, 64 pages, lots of nice pics and illustrations. The setting is interesting - an exclusion zone somewhere in Eastern Europe, straight out of computer games like STALKER and Metro. Actually as far as I can see on first reading this is a bit too vague and not really well explained as to exactly what it is or what caused it - I suspect the author assumes we are already clued up on the games that inspired the setting and I am not sure that is really the case. The premise is simple - small groups scavenging this zone fighting each other and the dangerous denizens for loot and wealth which you can then use to improve your team and rinse and repeat - not new really. Where the author does go out of his way is to really fix the game in that pseudo Soviet setting, with some really nice touches and sections that are very good - possibly a bit too Hollywood, but really helps set the atmosphere. The game mechanics seem solid enough on first glance with nothing out too unusual. Forces consist of a leader and his crew -  usually between 3 and 9 others depending on quality. You also choose one of several factions to represent - Military, Scientists, Bandits etc etc.   There are a couple of nice touches - these rules are the first I have seen to give a bonus to troops in camouflage clothing for example. The setting is fleshed out well too. The campaign rules and progression also seem to be simple but viable - nothing that new but still perfectly playable - loot to gain cash and experience that you can use to upgrade your crew and skills. One thing that is new to this sort of game is a built in allies \ enemies system where groups from different factions can cooperate or not based on their faction allegiances, which is a nice touch.

Another big bonus is the total absence of associated figures - you can use whatever you have - in the same way as Frostgrave, although there are mentions of the excellent Copplestone and Lead Adventure miniatures that are pretty much spot on. I will be using my reasonably "modern" Russian and Chechen figures but anything really would work. 

One miss is a playsheet. This is something Osprey have "form" on. They really need to add a playsheet , either in the rules or as a pdf download - the logical place, the inside back cover, is taken up with adverts for more Osprey rules.

I would not go so far as recommending these rules yet until I have played them, but all the signs are these could be a good solid game. How many players will pick them up I cant say, but as they don't require much in the way of expenditure this could be a winner as a fun back up game.

So Frostgrave with guns and Vodka - Da! What is not to like?

Wasteland Wanderings

I've been a bit busy with work and "stuff" recently, and not doing a lot of gaming, however I have a soft spot, and it just got prodded.

Fallout

For those of you who don't know, Fallout is a series of computer games set in an alternate future, a rather bleak post nuclear apocalypse where small groups of survivors struggle to survive against each other, horribly mutated creatures and all that. The games have a rich and interesting background, and allow you on the whole to wander around to your hearts content til you get eaten by the aforementioned horribly mutilated creatures. One of the attractive parts of the background is the image of mankind desperately trying to rebuild but without the technology - nothing new is being built, everything (just about) is scavenged from the ruins of the old.

Modipius announced they were going to be bringing Fallout to the tabletop a year or so ago. The game is called Fallout Wasteland Warfare. I was lukewarm about it when the details came out - it was expensive and another game in another non standard figure size - 32mm, which would mean you couldn't easily use other miniatures.  I shrugged and got on with other projects.

One of my regular opponents Paul decided to buy the starter set, and we had a go last week. It was an interesting game - enough to make me pick up a box of figures and paint it. That seems to have been a good decision.

First impressions was this was a very fussy game, with a plethora of counters, cards, different dice, measuring sticks - just about every gadget under the sun. The rules at first glance were similarly complex and labyrinthine. However once we played a couple of turns it all seemed to click into place, and much of that fussiness and complexity now looks like an attempt to be complete and future proofing.

The miniatures in the starter set are slightly bendy pvc plastic - not too bad, however the resin models in the expansions are very nice indeed.

We're still learning how the game works, but I have to say I am quite impressed and have rushed out to buy some more. 

Gaslands - Quick Gates

We are tooling up for "Gaslands" - the new Osprey Post Apocalypse racing \ Mad Max game. It is a perfect fun game, can handle a lot of players, a bit brutal, and cheap as chips to buy into  - whats not to like?

The cars themselves are simply your bog standard "Hotwheels" from the toy shop or a child's un-watched toy box, suitably tricked up with the odd machine gun from the spares box.

The movement templates and stickers to make the special dice are available as free downloads from the website here http://gaslands.com/downloads/

So after that you just need a track. Actually you just need some way of marking the track, and here I got a spark of inspiration.

So without further ado - here are my cheap "gates"

Yup grab a bit of sprue from your last unwise or impulse purchase - you know, the one you will get around to painting "soon" (in my case from used Shadespire stuff I rescued from the bin) - it helps if they're the same size. Strip them down, cut the bottom off and stick them to a suitable base (again old FoW ones in this case from the spares box) , and, jobs a good one - instant gates. I left the round "stubs" on at the top to look a bit like lights. It took about ten minutes to make three, and a further five minutes to spray them and splosh ink to weather them a bit - post apocalypse and all that. . These are the Mark 1 versions, but I'm planning some more with suitable signs to make them look a bit more glitzy and allow the sale of suitable advertising for the race organisers :-)

Troops of Special Designation

OK I appreciate I was supposed to be painting Perry Afrika Korps but on a trip through to Asgard Games  I got talking to some of the regulars who happened to mention Osprey's "Black Ops" rules, which they are intending to give a go in the near future.

I've been a bit wary about the series of rules being published by Osprey - they seem to churn them out with some regularity and all I have seen so far are skirmish \ fantasy \ sci fi type settings. My initial reaction was they were all a bit ephemeral. Anyway I took the plunge and bought a set of rules, and having had a look at the rules for Black Ops I may have to make a reassessment as they seem rather good (caveat - will know better after actually playing!)

Anyway they seem to fill an interesting gap in the rules front at the moment, and also push a couple of good buttons as far as I am concerned, low figure count (a cell of four Special Forces is about right for the starting games, although the defender will need more but less well trained), and happy coincidence that I already have some suitable lead. They are subtitles "Tactical Espionage Wargaming" and it is clear their inspiration is the many computer games and films set around elite troops creeping into or storming buildings, hideouts and the like. This was a bonus as I already had some 28mm Russian Spetznaz from The Assault Group lying around unfinished. So the DAK went on hold and after a couple of sessions of brushwork - the first "proper" painting of 2016 has produced enough serious Russians to play Black Ops but also to act as sinister guys in 7TV or any Zombie hunting game that happens along.

I'm really pleased with them, although the "urban" cammo is a bit of a pain to paint I think they look good. I have a couple more to finish to allow me to expand into two full cells plus command \ support, but with a bit of luck they should be done soon.

Then I can get back to DAK......

     

London Transport Bright Red Painted 97 Horsepower Personnel Carrier

When Hawk showed their Battlebus set for the Resistance Faction I was a little bit disappointed because it was a bit too, well American. True the School Bus and Greyhound look great, but I wanted something a bit more at home

I came across an N Scale British Red Double Decker on ebay. After a bit of work and some bits from the spares box - a gattling gun from a spare Wolverine fitted to the gunshield from a 15mm Sdkfz 251, plus a couple of .50cal gunners from Pendrakens new 10 mm Falklands War range, and heres the final result

They're supposed to come in pairs , so I bought this to be the second half, but with hindsight I suspect it may be too small to carry 20 armed men :-)

Darkening Skies - Air Support is starting to make its presence felt in DZC

I was at a small Dropzone Commander competition yesterday at Waugh Games in Middlesbrough. It was a friendly and relaxed event at a nice venue, but something was different this time. The air over the battlefields was starting to get busy.

Don't get me wrong, the airspace over most DZC games is usually quite busy with medium dropships ferrying their tanks and APCs to hotspots, and light dropships darting around with assault squads seizing objectives.

What made this day a bit different was that above that, and for the first time in an event that I have been at, there was an additional layer of fighter and ground attacking Fast Movers (FMs). More than half the armies present brought FMs, and in some numbers, with Pairs of Athena's and in one case four Archangel Interceptors zipping around. Critically, everyone has started to take note. The results of battles are now being effected by FMs. I watched as a PHR army found itself incapable of extracting objectives because Triton light dropships which in the past had been carefully husbanded and kept in safety until they were needed were systematically hunted down and eliminated by interceptors. It lost, even though it had a fairly reasonable AA contingent and was holding its own on the ground because the Tritons had to leave the protection of the AA bubbles to do their job, and the Archangels then pounced. On another table an Athena delivered a game winning blow when it used one of  its cruise missiles to complete the collapse of a critical building full of enemy troops.

The only real protection against FMs is another FM, and I think that will be reflected next time we get together, which cannot be a bad thing. Combined with the arrival of Forward Air Controllers in the new Resistance book, I suspect the air above our DZC tables is going to get even more crowded in future.

So where is the pics of all this air delivered carnage? Sorry, I was a bit busy doing other stuff, but I did see what I thought was a true clash of Titans when THREE PHR Hades were shooting it out at close range

The Resistance Begins.........

The general level of expectation in the Dropzone Commander community has been rising recently as the release date for the new Resistance faction gets closer. Due for phased release from 30th August, this represents 2 new factions for the DZC universe - Allied & Feral Resistance.

I was lucky enough to get hold of a starter army early through being part of their Talon demo team. The models are exactly what DZC players have come to expect - highly detailed and very nice. Photos of the new models have been released via Hawk Wargames for the last month or so. What these have not shown is just how big some of the new models are in comparison to the other races.

So without further ado, here are some comparison shots of the Resistance compared to the current UCM equivalent units. I should add the models are straight from the box with no cleanup and no glue - any parts are just push fitted.

Firstly, the Resistance Jackson APC a UCM Bear

Initially I didn't like the Jackson, but now I have them "in hand" they're growing on me. They're smaller than the massive Bear, but have a smaller load capacity

Next, The Hannibal MBT, shown here alongside a Sabre.

One of the things that up to now has not really penetrated into my thoughts, even though it is mentioned several times in the background, is just how Spartan and mission specific the UCM vehicles are. They are designed to be compact, efficient and air portable. The Hannibal clearly isnt! In many ways it is a Heavy Tank, so here it is with the UCM Gladius

The final direct comparison is a Lifthawk Dropship and the UCM Condor

As with the Sabre, the Condor is lean, sparse and efficient, the Lifthawk is big and brash, and incidentally costs twice as many points as a Condor in game.

That leaves us with the Resistance use of civilian or re-tasked vehicles.

This is the Kraken hovercraft. It is a sort of updated Lebed or LCAC, and is used to carry the civilian vehicles such as Wagons and Technicals. I'm using the Condor as a comparison again, because there is nothing in the UCM stables that comes even close to the Kraken for function. I left the ramp off the Kraken for the pic.

Lastly, one of the Gun Wagons - basically a civilian truck with a remote control flak gun on the back, here compared to the Rapier AA tank.

So guess what is going to be my painting project for the next couple of weeks :-)

and God help us when this arrives - its 140mm long, slightly wider, and carries up to 24 Technicals or 12 Wagons!

Building your Apocalypse (3) Blotz

Blotz

Blotz have taken a different route than the other manufacturers. Cut from 2mm mdf, they consist of a main structure with raised detailing provided by add on parts like balconies. The level of etching is less than both S4 and ETD, but where it is, it is crisp and clear. Blotz kits are provided as small sheets, and instructions are available to download from their site - a good idea. The components took a bit more separating than the S4 ones, and more care was needed to ensure you didn’t snap anything.

I’m not sure if this was a problem with the settings or the mdf was slightly thicker, but it did mean you had to be a bit more careful when separating the components. There was also a lot of waste bits between window frames etc. that needed punching or cutting out, and this added a good 10 minutes to the build time. 

Blotz also take a different approach to the actual construction, with buildings being constructed on a storey by storey basis with a ground floor module on to which can be stacked more storeys, followed by the top storey and roof section.  This did involve a fair amount of faffing and care is needed to ensure each storey is square so it sits correctly with the next.

Once the basic structure is complete you can add details such as facades and balconies which really help make the building look more interesting.

On the down side this makes for much more assembly time and effort. On the plus side however this allows for a great deal of versatility and customisation options. As on the S4 model you can see all the way through. The actual assemble was straight forward, if a bit long winded. The overall result is rather nice.

and the obligatory comparison with the Hawk card building.

The Blots range is already quite wide, with some very nice Art Décor DZC style buildings in many different shapes and sizes (17 at the moment). In addition they offer a “bits” range that includes extra storeys and ruined sections that can be added to your normal buildings to add variation. Further they offer a selection of Cityscape buildings in a more modernist style including a multi storey car park and monorail stations designed to be compatible with the DZC monorail set. I weakened and bought the monorail station, and I'll probably show that off in another post.

Blotz buildings range in price from £5 to £25, with the 3x2 shop block I received being £8.00, so you could expect to populate a table with 16 buildings for about £160.00. That's very reasonable considering the end results.

Building your Apocalypse (2) Eleven Tree Designs

Eleven Tree Designs

ETD kindly provided 2 models for the review. These were a 5 storey 3x3 and a 3 storey 3x5. From the start it is clear they had a totally different approach than S4. ETD models are dual layered (again 2mm mdf) with some etched details on the lower layer and cut and etching on the top layer. The etching is not as fine as on the S4 model, but there is still a reasonable amount. When put together this gives a very nice impression of depth. 

Unlike the S4 (and Blotz) models the ETD ones were already cut from the sheet so there was zero prep time. The downside was that the more fragile components are vulnerable to damage in the post, and one of the components has a short piece snapped due to mishandling by the mail.

Maybe the sticker needs to be bigger? 

Luckily it was very easy and quick to fix and the damage can’t be seen on the finished model.

The buildings came with an instruction sheet, a nice touch, even if there is not a lot to go wrong (famous last words). I concentrated on the 3x3 to start with.

Assembly was fast and easy. Basically these consist of an inner box structure and an external layer of detail.

I also realised when building the first model that if I sprayed the lower layer black before assembly this would would make picking the windows out unnecessary. What I failed to realise with the first model was that if I did this to both layers it would make painting and finishing really quick and easy (Doh!).

One point about this layered box method which is worth noting is that all the tell tale "jigsaw" joints are hidden under the facade - a nice touch.

I did this prepainting with the second model and was rather pleased with the result and the speed. It will need a bit more work but already with just the basic 2 colours looks ok - pics at the end

The ETD buildings went together fast and easily. As an added bonus they are designed with a lift off roof which could be used to put troops inside or store markers.  

I did notice one of the models has a slight error in the cutting on one window, but this would be almost invisible on the table. I spoke to them about this and they have corrected the file so it shouldn't happen again. Here is the finished article.

And here is the other building in the set, which I had the foresight to spray the outside layer grey before assembly :-)

Lastly, a comparison with the Hawk 3x3 in card

ETDs range is quite narrow, with 2 sets each of 2 buildings, with footprints equivalent to 3x3, 3x4 & 3x5 plus two further sets of the same buildings in a ruined state – a nice addition. The sets retail at £15.99 each, ie a very reasonable £8 per building.

I liked the ETD buildings too. They're solid, easy to build, and look good. If you pre paint the two layers they will paint up quickly and nicely, which is a bonus, and finally, they're reasonably priced. All on all not bad.  If you are happy with the limited selection you could get a standard 16 building set up for £130 or there about. I’ve spoken to Lee at ETD and they are planning a couple more building sets “soon” so may be worth watching out for.

Next - Blotz

Building your Apocalypse (1) mdf buildings for Dropzone Commander

MDF Buildings for DZC - or anything 10-12mm really.

Dropzone Commander isnt restricted to an urban setting - the rules work perfectly well in other terrain, but the way the game is packaged and has developed has meant it's natural environment is the city. This is not a problem as the starter set has a number of very nice card buildings, and there is also the two City Scape & Ruin Scape sets available, again card buildings with a nice set of card street layout tiles to match.

What do you do when your card buildings are, like mine, starting to look a little dog eared and scuffed from overuse? You have a couple of options:

1. Replace them with the Hawk resin ones.  However to do that you need a second mortgage, and a degree in engineering (really - the smallest 3x2 Hawk resin building is £27 and contains 91 parts) and then you have to paint them. They look damned good, but they are well above my pain threshold for paying for terrain, particularly as you need about 16 to play. 

2. Get another another Cityscape or Ruinscape pack. These are good value at £30 a set of 20 card buildings, and they are already printed so no need to paint, but sooner or later they will go the same way as your last set. Still, even at £30 even once a year its not too bad. 

3. Look at other options?

Laser cut MDF is edging into all corners of wargaming. In fact the smell of singed MDF seems to pervade most conventions. I’ve never been a great fan as in the larger scales they do seem to be rather boxy and “samey”, with the exception of a few designers such as cnc workshop and sarissa , but for DZC this does seem to be one area where that is not such an issue, and indeed I changed my mind a bit over the course of the review.

There are a number of companies offering Laser cut MDF buildings in the UK in 10mm, all with an eye on the Dropzone market I assume,  so I thought I would try and do a comparison of the options available. I contacted the three that I am aware of in the UK, Sally 4^th, Blotz, and Eleven Tree Designs, and asked them to donate a 3x2 (hawk size) building to review.  All three very kindly agreed, so, with thanks to them, please read on.

Before I go into the individual models, I need to explain something I have learned about the process and which I found quite surprising. In a nutshell lasers can cut or engrave, however they are not particularly fast – when I made enquiries I was quoted times between 20-40 minutes per building, depending on the amount of engraving. That made me pause for thought, as clearly being able to cut only 3 “kits” an hour helps explain the price to the customer.

The other surprise was how the three different manufacturers approached the problem of producing a model building in 10mm.

Where dimensions are given they are in “Hawk” tile equivalents.

The only tools used were a sharp craft knife and an emery board for sanding, plus some elastic bands and a few clothes pegs that were used to clamp bits together. I used standard pva glue to stick everything together. 

So without further ado 

First up,  Sally 4th

Sally 4^th s building was fairly simple and consists of two identical wall sheets and a roof, all in 2mm mdf. There were no instructions but that was not a problem even for a cack handed numpty like me.

It is 3x2 and 3 storeys tall, the equivalent of the smallest DZC card building. S4 sells the building as painted, which in this case are a single colour block grey roof and a brown \ honey coloured walls. There are 5 different colours available, slate, granite, limestone, sandstone, and white, so I assume this one is sandstone.

From the outset the approach taken by S4 was obvious - they have spent a great deal of time etching fine details on the walls, and to a lesser extent the roof.  Details are excellent and cover the whole building. 

Windows and doors are cut straight through so you can see all the way through the building, which may or may not be an issue – but if it was it could be easily fixed with a piece of blanking card.  

The component parts separated from the sheets very easily and with no issues, and assembly was also very simple. The construction is in effect a simple open box consisting of 4 walls and a roof. In addition to the etched details there is also a couple of ledges that run around the building and helps give the impression of some depth. Interestingly, S4 are the only company that provide details for the inside of the roof cornice, which is a nice touch. 

The whole thing went together in a short time and the overall effect is rather nice. In fact it went together so easily I didn’t bother with a pic of it in construction. 

I winced at the price – the 3x2 is priced at £17.00, with the larger buildings £25, which is rather steep. I understand S4 are thinking of making them available unpainted which will bring the price down by about 10%.

The S4 range is fairly broad, with 7 models of various types and sizes available. They also have a deal which will provide 16 buildings for £267 rather than the list price of £315.

Last pic is a comparison between the S4 on the left and the Hawk card building on the right.

I liked the Sally 4th building. It was very nicely detailed and very easy to assemble, but the cost may be an issue. I'm unsure of the value of "prepainted" as I think it would need some more work to bring up to a reasonable standard, but that's just me. I understand S4 are looking to add some more designs with less etching to try and bring the price down, which may help.

Next - Eleven Tree Designs

Absence makes the heart grow stronger

No pics or anything this time, just a quick update.

I've been busy on a couple of non gaming \ real world issues, and some gaming stuff that have prevented me from spending time updating the Blog - apologies.

On the gaming front firstly we did fight the penultimate mission in the CoC Normandy Campaign, and a write up will follow "shortly". I'm so chuffed at the way this has worked we are already planning moving East to play another - probably based on the defence of Klessin near Kustrin in 1945.

One of the other reasons for lack of posts was the rediscovery of Fallout 3. I saw this in the Steam Summer Sale, and thought for a measly three quid or so it was worth it rather than always having to keep the discs and stuff. I forgot just how addictive it is, and to make matters worse I keep running into new situations I had missed the first time around.

Lastly I have been painting up some 15mm Mujahideen for Terry - the nice bloke who bought some British infantry off me through ebay, and he wanted some opposition. I'll get some pics and thoughts posted up on them soon.

and then there is X Wing...........