Friday 31 March 2017

Meet the Inmates: James Turner

Hi, I'm Paul, and welcome to The Asylum.


Tonight I bring you another episode of Meet the Inmates, in which we at Asylum Wargaming surrender the spotlight to those most dear to our hearts: you. Herein you can expect to see insights into what our readers are painting, playing and sculpting, and tonight's edition is no different...



James Turner has been building and painting models since childhood. More commonly known as Pig of Sparta, the majority of his work can be seen on his blog, The Pig's Sty. Although he's currently playing Elder Sign, Star Wars Armada and the Horus Heresy, he always has a project on the go or some crazy notion to start playing or collecting something else. 

Over to you, James.


One of James' Dropfleet Commander UCM ships.
I’m James and I’ve been hobbying in various forms for more than twenty years. Like many kids, I mangled a fair amount of Airfix and Revell kits in my youth but my true descent into hobbying came whilst helping a school friend clear out his garage when we were about thirteen. He began emptying a large box of Citadel Miniatures into a rubbish bag and saying he didn’t want them anymore. I had no real idea what they were, but I told him that if he didn’t want them I’d give them a home. That was pretty much that; I was hooked.

As well as Games Workshop and Forge World I’ve dabbled in a lot of other game systems and universes over the years as well. I’m a bit of a hobby butterfly as my personal blog, The Pig’s Sty, shows. These days I’m more a miniature painter than a gamer I suppose but I do still play occasionally, with one of the games I play being Dropzone Commander.

I discovered Hawk Wargames' Dropzone Commander a couple of years ago. It’s a cracking game with some fantastic miniatures and a great storyline, so I was very excited to learn about Dropfleet Commander (although I’ll admit I’m a bit of a sucker for spaceships, as my X-Wing and Armada collections can attest!) I'd already settled on the UCM in Dropzone Commander as I loved the look of them and I’m a ‘good guy’ at heart. When it came to picking a faction for Dropfleet I stuck with the UCM. I loved the utilitarian design of their ships. The UCM might not have the flashiest toys, but they’ll get the job done!

Work in progress.
Being more of a painter than a gamer, I’ve assembled my fleet based on what I think looks cool rather than what might be most effective on the table top. Despite this I’ve stuck to the fleet building rules so I can use them for games too. Of course, being able to get boots on the ground is a vital part of the game, so I’ve tried to go for a good mix of offense and drop capability.

Being more than a little bit of a geek, I read through the Dropfleet rulebook before assembling my fleet. I noted the names of the various classes of vessels so that I could name mine appropriately. Each and everyone of my ships proudly displays its name on its base. I find that little details like this add to the narrative of games: when the Carpe Noctum fires a shattering volley it’s so much better than just ‘Generic Ship #78’.

Just as I did when painting my Dropzone Commander force, I’ve tried to create a simple yet good looking and coherent colour scheme that makes the fleet look good as a whole rather than focussing on picking out every single detail on each individual ship. I guess you’d say these are ‘table top’ quality rather than display; I reserve the later for one-off projects. Not only is this quicker, I think it’s a similar approach to one the UCM would take; they’re more interested in function than form after all. That’s not to say that you couldn’t go to town on the Dropfleet miniatures if you wanted to, Hawk have crammed a stunning amount of detail on them.

An example of the sumptuous detail packed into the average Dropfleet Commander starship.
Having sat down and painted some models and established the colour scheme now, it’s just a case of working through the rest of the fleet until they’re all ready for battle. Here you can see a Moscow Heavy Cruiser accompanying a pair of Toulon Frigates and a pair of New Orleans Strike Cruisers: Not that I’ll be quite finished when I’ve gotten these done as I believe there are Corvettes on the horizon now and then there’s the limited release Saratoga Class Light Cruiser too…

A Hawk Wargames Dropfleet Commander UCM fleet in full  flight. 


And there endeth the sermon. Please take a moment to thank James for his excellent insight into Dropfleet Commander. If you're all very well behaved, maybe he'll pop back  in a month or two and give us an update on his fleet. I for one look forward to it.
 
Until then, Inmates...

...Stay crazy.
Dropfleet Commander is available at our webstore. Just sayin'

Wednesday 29 March 2017

The Complete and Unabridged Guide to ChillCon '17



Hi, I'm Paul, and welcome The Asylum.

As you may have heard, we at Asylum Wargaming are hosting our very own wargames show on May 27th, 2017. It's called ChillCon '17, and it's going to be mega. Want to know more? Then you're in luck, because I've prepared this Complete and Unabridged Guide to ChillCon '17! Why have I prepared it? Because we at Asylum Wargaming love you...

...And once you've read this, you'll love us too.

The Traders

 
Manufacturers of the wargaming miniatures and resin scenics.


Producers of high quality painting and miniature hobby products.


Official show stockists of 4Ground, Crann Tara Miniatures, Heroes of the Dark Age, the Depot Battalion range and used figures, books and rule books.


Specialising in wargames miniatures and rules for the golden age of cult TV.


Creators of lovingly made custom embroidered dice bags.


Creating delicious handmade cakes and other confectionaries.


Producers of quality wargaming terrain and accessories.


Co-sponsor of ChillCon, and the official home of S.L.A Industries: CS1.


Specialist in quality military books and wargame related titles.



Miniatures for collectors, by collectors.


Purveyors of Greenskins and the forces who oppose them.


Specialist commission painter.

PLEASE NOTE: Saddle-Goose Design's handstitched custom dice-bags will be exhibited at ChillCon by Glennbrook Games. Those of you who wish to pre-order a custom bag for collection at ChillCon, however, should contact Saddle-Goose Design beforehand.


Bringing you the highest quality and the best value in custom cut trays and cases.


Producers of lasercut scenery, accessories, movement trays and bases.


Creators of 6mm scale resin cast models and scenics.



The home of affordable wargames miniatures and fantastic tabletop games.


Home of the Nightfolk range of 28mm white metal Goblins, Dwarves and other things that go bump in the night...


Creators of fantasy and sci-fi miniatures and the skirmish game, Burrows and Badgers.


 Purveyors of the hobby's most popular wargames models and accessories.


Creators of high quality 28mm figures & vehicles.


Publisher of hobby rules and games.


Producers of high quality cast resin and metal miniatures.


Home of the world's largest range of 28mm wargaming miniatures.


Your first stop for Rubicon's range of wargaming products.


28mm historical and sci-fi wargames miniatures.


The home of the unique fantastic skirmish game, Arcworlde.


Producers of highly detailed resin miniatures for both 15mm gaming and the starfighter dogfighting wargame, Shattered Void .


Co-sponsor of ChillCon, and masterminds behind such games as  Devil's Run and Cheekz.


The Tournaments

It that's not enough for you, we have more awesome up our sleeves, including Kings of War AND Bolt Action tournaments. Should you wish to compete, tickets for these two mighty clashes can be purchased on our website.

The Participation Games

As well as the tournaments we have these participation games available for those wishing to play in a less competitive arena:

Aliens vs. Predator
Batman Miniatures Game
Gav Thorpe's Big Stompy Robots
Command and Colours
Doctor Who
Guild Ball
Halo Ground Command
Horizon Wars
Konflikt '47
The Walking Dead: All Out War
Scud Alley
Shattered Void
S.L.A. Industries: CS1
Time Bandits 


The Bring 'n' Buy

We're also hosting a Bring 'n' Buy. Should you be interested in bringing and/or buying, then please see our website for more details.

The Venue

ChillCon '17 will be hosted at Ecclesfield School, Chapeltown Road, Sheffield, S35 9WD on Saturday 27th May, 2017. Click here for a useful guide on how to find us.


The Tickets and Goodie Bags

Tickets are available here, and the first 100 entrants on the big day are guaranteed a goody bag stuffed with ... well ... goodies. You can also save £1.00 by buying your tickets in advance.


The Charities


We will donate £1.00 from every ticket sold to our preferred charities:




The three of us involved in the organisation of ChillCon—Steve, Spud and myself—have picked these charities as they all mean something to us on a personal level. Please take a moment to visit their sites and consider making a donation. Thank you.

So that's it, Inmates. ChillCon '17 is coming, and it's going to be awesome. #Fact.



ChillCon '17 is sponsored by Daruma Productions' S.L.A. Industries: CS1...



...And Word Forge Games.

Monday 27 March 2017

EXCLUSIVE! Daruma Productions Shares Images of New S.L.A. Industries: CS1 Miniature with The Asylum



Hi, I'm Paul, and welcome to The Asylum.

Our friends at Daruma Productions—publishers of the horror sci-fi skirmish game S.L.A.Industries: CS1—have generously shared these images of one of their forthcoming miniature with us. Feast thine eyes on this beauty:

These renders depict a female 1st Division Shiver Elite Sergeant. Fans of S.L.A Industries have been clamouring for female Shivers since Daruma Productions debuted their CS1 miniatures, and will no doubt be psyched to learn their wish is finally coming true.

Sculpted by Ben Wolseley Charles, the 1st Division Shiver Elite Sergeant is due for release at the end of May. She will be released as part of a full squad of Shiver Elites.

Keep up to date with the latest news from Daruma Productions and S.L.A. Industries: CS1 both here at The Asylum, and on Daruma Productions' website.
 
 
Get your S.L.A.Industries: CS1 fix at our webstore.  
 

Friday 17 March 2017

Some Touch of Madness: An interview with Mike Thorp, Creator of Anyaral: The World of Twilight



Hi, I'm Paul, and welcome to The Asylum.

Today I bring you the latest instalment in our continuing feature, Some Touch of Madness. Focusing on the creative geniuses behind our favourite games and miniatures, Some Touch of Madness gives us a rare and exciting insight into the minds that create all this cool stuff we're obsessed with.

Today's evil genius is Mike Thorp, creator of Anyaral: The World of Twilight.


Hello and thank you for taking the time to talk to us today. Perhaps you’d like to begin by introducing both yourself and Anyaral?

Hi, I’m Mike Thorp. I’m a dad, a space underwriter, and the creator of Anyaral, the World of Twilight.

Anyaral is an alternative fantasy world that doesn’t have any elves, dwarves or humans, but is instead populated by unusual races such as the Fubarnii and the Devanu.


Click to enlarge

The first thing that struck me when I discovered Anyaral was its originality; I’ve never seen anything quite like it, and it certainly boasts a variety of unique miniatures. Could you tell us something about the origin of these concepts, such as any influences and evolutions?

It’s scary to think I’ve been working on Twilight for almost eighteen years now. Back in the 90s wargames were far less numerous than they are now, and nearly all of them were firmly rooted in Tolkien’s mythology and revolved around humans, elves, dwarves and orcs. I wanted to create something unique, so I started sketching out funny,

Click to enlarge
heavily-armoured little characters with long snouts and big hooves. Those creatures rapidly evolved into the main protagonists of Twilight, the Fubarnii. Their arch-enemies, the Devanu, took a little longer to evolve. As alpha predators I knew they should feel and act like the Velociraptors in Jurassic Park, but it took a few years to finally get them looking right!



At the time I wanted to create something truly original, but in retrospect it is easy to see I was influenced by the likes of The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth and Dinotopia, as well as books like [Dougal Dixon's] After Man.


At what point did you decide you wished to transfer these ideas and influences into miniature form?



Click to enlarge
I’ve played tabletop and boardgames for as long as I can remember and from the outset I wanted to turn these characters into miniatures.

I wove those characters together into the world of Anyaral and the first thing I wanted to do was play games with them. I have sketchpads from those early years filled with ideas for the world, sketches of characters and creatures and notes on game mechanics.



What challenges did this process present?


The first challenge was the miniatures themselves.

Games workshop had just started selling Green Stuff, which I was very excited about! I’d previously used paperclips and Milliput so Green Stuff was a huge change. I had a proper go at sculpting. I was entirely self-taught, and the sculpts were very crude, but I managed to make them recognisable. I then discovered that it was possible to cast figures at home. I’m not sure my mum’s hob was ever the same, but soon enough I had my own little armies of metal Fubarnii and Devanu. Now I could bully my friends into
Click to enlarge
playing games of Twilight with me!

The models were fun, but not really good enough to sell! Twilight then spent a few years on the backburners while I took the time to teach myself to sculpt properly. I received some great sculpting advice and support from Andy at Heresy Miniatures, and did a bunch of random Fantasy Football sculpts until a few years later I finally decided to revisit the world of Anyaral.




Click to enlarge

So we’ve touched upon the challenges that come with creating a line of miniatures, but what about those inherent with the creation of a ruleset?

I’ve always been fascinated by games and rulesets, so I really enjoyed the challenge of creating Anyaral. I invented a little combat system which involved special combat stones (two sided ‘dice’ with symbols scribed into them). That raised the logistical challenge of producing stones.

Click to enlarge
I sculpted the first stones in clay, but that wasn’t very practical. Neither was suggesting that people use different coloured smarties... I eventually managed to have them produced in metal and resin, both of which add something to the overall feel of the game so I’m glad I persisted.

I’m pleased with how the rules have turned out: it’s a fun game rather than one of deeply competitive strategy, and that meshes well with the quirkiness of the setting.


Like many creators and companies in today’s industry, you chose to advance Anyaral through Kickstarter. What challenges did this present, and conversely, what benefits did it bring?

I originally released Twilight with the help of Hasslefree miniatures. They produced the miniatures and I focused on sculpting and getting the rules into print. As Twilight grew, I set up on my own and built up a good community of players and collectors. When I was working on the third book in the series I figured I would give Kickstarter a try, with the modest aim of getting the book published with a few new figures. The response was amazing and I got somewhat carried away with Pledges and Add-Ons during the month-long campaign…

Regardless, the Kickstarter was a fantastic way to gain more exposure and it gave me

Click to enlarge
the encouragement to really grow the game. Having been so ambitious with pledges and what-not, delivery was definitely a challenge, but I got there in the end!

A couple of years later I ventured into the world of Kickstarter again to get a new culture, the Casanii, into production. That was another great success, although I was a little more careful not to overstretch that time!


Click to enlarge
 
How has Anyaral been received now it’s on general release?

Twilight ticks along nicely, with regular players adding to their collections and new players bringing a new perspective, which is always inspiring. With so many fantastic games around it’s a challenge to convince people to stick to one game, so it’s best to try and have events that catch customers’ imaginations. Kickstarter is a great way to do that, as is going to shows like Salute. Both help to build a community, which a game like Twilight truly needs. There are plenty of Twilight miniatures—and even cultures—that would never have been sculpted were I not inspired by that community!

Sculpting new miniatures by hand is always a slow and steady process, but it’s also one that gives me time to give every character and unit real depth and history. Occasionally I do get help with the sculpting; Mark Craggs has sculpted a lot of the models in the range, like the Nobleguard and the Herders. Most recently he has sculpted the Yartain, a big hairy yeti-like creatures that accompany the Dhogu! This have just been released and I'm working on their rules as we speak...



The mighty Yartain!

And finally, what can we look forward to in the world of Twilight?

I always wonder where things will go next! The great thing with a world like Anyaral is that I can choose where I want to explore, sometimes on a whim and sometimes as part of a larger plan. With the release of the Casanii last year I have finally fleshed out all the main cultures that I originally sketched out! I do feel that the bat-like Kedashi swarms have been a little under-served so far so they’ll be getting some more attention, with their ancient Kedashi queens, terrifying beasts of the forests, and more of the Trebarnii followers.



Click to Enlarge
After that I really want to start moving the story of the Delgon invasion along… I’ve sculpted two of their gods, the Enarii so far, but there are several more of them that I would love to sculpt. But it all depends... In spite of my careful plans in the last couple of weeks I got distracted and I've been having fun sculpting a few random little beasties and some new cavalry for the Nobleguard! After that I really want to start moving the story of the Delgon invasion along.


And here endeth the sermon, Inmates! Please take a moment to thank Mike for not only his time, but for the bold and singular vision that is Anyaral.  I for one wish him—and Anyaral—all the best for the future.

 

Anyaral: The World of Twilight is available on our webstore. Fill thy boots