March of the Idiots: Paul Goes to War

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

Today I bring you a further episode of our March of the Idiots series, in which I detail Asylum Wargaming's misadventures in various tournaments across the country. As part of our commitment to organised and community play, we’re proud to both promote and to engage in these tournaments.

I am, therefore, thrilled to announce my friend—and the man even Warlord Games calls Mr. Bolt Action—Jamie Tranter has invited me to be his partner at a forthcoming event. Entitled Peak Offensive, this doubles tournament sees teams of two players—each fielding 500 points of Bolt Action goodness—competing for prizes and the adulation of their peer group. Lacking a partner (and being desperate) Jamie asked me to be his Wing Man. Once he told me the really cool theme for our entry, I just couldn’t say no…

Jamie’s pitch? An actual WWII action called Operation Varsity. Launched by the Allies against Nazi Germany in March, 1945, Operation Varsity saw Allied airborne forces from the U.S., Canada and Great Britain dropped on the village of Hamminkeln and the town of Wesel (both on the banks of the Rhine River). Their intention was to capture key territories and disrupt German defences in the face of the oncoming Allied ground forces.

Due to a mistake by a pilot, however, U.S. Paratroopers from the 513^th Parachute Infantry Regiment missed their designated drop zone and instead landed in one held by the British 6^th Airlanding Brigade. Not to be deterred, both divisions worked shoulder-to-shoulder to secure the town of Hamminkeln.

So, after a brief discussion (i.e, Jamie told me to), we decided we’d create two 500 point forces which reflected this joint operation. Jamie chose to field the British Airborne of the 6^th, and I the U.S. Airborne of the 513^th. Being Mr. Bolt Action, Jamie already knew the best way to start his force: the venerable Bolt Action British Airborne WWII Allied Paratroopers boxed set.

I, meanwhile, needed some Airborne, and fast. But, as a Bolt Action newb (I’ve played one game against our man Spud Tate!) neither did I own any Bolt Action miniatures, or have any idea where to start. Fortunately, Warlord’s excellent Bolt Action US Airborne set proved to be an ideal place to start. Why so…?

…Here so:

With five sprues each with six Airborne, this set had more than enough grunts for my 500 point force. Assembling the paratroopers was a scream, and I haven’t had as much fun gluing plastic together since the very first plastic Space Marines boxed set. Yeah, that long ago. And this time I didn’t even glue anything to my face.

So, you're bang up to date. As of today, Jamie and I have an idea, fists full of plastic, and a deadline. Said deadline is a month away and neither of us are known for being quick painters. Can we complete our miniatures in time and do justice to the brave men of Operation Varsity…?

…Watch this space.


Peak Offensive will be held at the Whitworth Centre, Darley Dale, Matlock, on Sunday 23^rd July. Jamie and I will hold a victory parade in Nottingham on Monday 25^th.* No, really.**


*This may not be true.

** It’s really not true.

Bolt Action, Konflikt '47 and all manner of other Warlord Games goodies are available at our webstore

Meet the Inmates: Ben Moorhouse, the War Terrier

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

You may have noticed we're mad about the fantasy skirmish game Anyaral: The World of Twilight. That's because there's a lot to be mad about. Not only does the game boast a neat and original system, but the miniatures are gorgeous! Don't believe me? Then prepare to be converted by Ben Moorhouse AKA War Terrier. Ben has been a fan of Anyaral since the beginning, and he's joined us today to tell you why...

...Over to you, Ben.

Hi, I'm Ben and I've been a wargamer for more than twenty years, and my Anyaral: The World of Twilight figures have to be amongst my favourite miniatures to date.

I first spotted these quaint dinosaur-like creatures during their initial Kickstarter campaign, and I bought a starter set to see what the game was like. I liked the miniatures immediately due to their creativeness and how easy they were to paint. I tend to do more painting than playing and these figures have been an ideal way to improve my techniques; I've been really pleased with the results!

Gil Masharl, travelling biologist

It's probably worth starting off with a quick introduction to the setting for the game, although if I'm honest my WoT figures sneak into my other games all the time; they make a really unique Frostgrave Warband! The World of Twilight is an alternate fantasy skirmish game set in the land of Anyaral. The world centres around the fortunes of the Fubarnii Empire, once slaves of the powerful Devanu, now masters to themselves since their craftsmanship enabled them construct weapons and to overthrow their oppressors. The Devanu, a race of vicious predators, are now isolated in an area known as the Argoran Wastelands and frequently raid Fubarnii territory.

The creator of Twilight: The World of Anyaral, Mike Thorp, has been working hard to increase his range of models including the introduction of the most recent faction, the Casanii, via a second Kickstarter campaign (soon to be available on The Asylum, I'm sure!) Some of these models feature in the pictures below.

Loranti Pargal, trader

Jenta Spear

Jenta Hunter

On to the figures themselves... Aside from the great sculpting and character of the models my favourite aspect of this range is the absolute freedom it gives you to paint whatever scheme and colours you want. If you're anything like me and get incredibly bored endlessly painting olive drab onto a WWII force, WoT presents you with the opportunity to let your imagination run wild and allows you to go crazy with your paint palette. These aren't humans so you're not limited to particular skin tones or camouflage patterns and, more importantly, they're not your regular high-fantasy line of miniatures which bring with them certain stereotypes of colour scheme.

Nurasem Plutom

Nurakira Acolyte

The first things that springs to mind when seeing these miniatures are dinosaurs, and I used this inspiration when it came to painting. After some quick internet research I had a load of starting points for schemes which allowed me to really go to town. I'm not really a painter that uses washes and glazes very much and I generally stick to the layers approach and this works really well on these miniatures. As well as using lighter tones to bring out the shape of the model, there's also an incredible amount of opportunity here to paint texture into the design in the form of mottled skin or rough hide. On most of the models I've used thin lines of highlight to give the skin a rougher appearance, and I think it's worked really well.

I wanted to give a more tribal appearance to the Casanii miniatures, and the obvious answer was an aboriginal war paint design. So, after yet more internet research, I had a small force set out in some nice striking white marking over a darker skin tone for my fledgling force (these are my favourite so far).

Casanii Feral Mutts

Young Gil and Critters

Casanii

Casanii Erillai Rider

Grishak Beasts

In conclusion, I'd thoroughly recommend picking up one of the starter forces, even if only for how much fun they are to paint! I hope you've enjoyed the images here. If you'd like to see more of my World of Twilight collection feel free to check out my site, War Terrier, which is less of a blog, and more a collection of pictures.

Thanks again to Ben. If you like what you've seen here, then check out Asylum Wargamings' range of Anyaral: The World of Twilight miniatures, starter sets and accessories. Tell him I sent you.

Join us next time, when we'll be meet another special guest from the wonderful world of wargamery weirdness. Until then, Inmates...

...Stay crazy.

Want more Anyaral in your life? Then knock yourself out at our webstore.

 

Anyaral: The World of Twilight; Spud Tate Unboxes The Dhogo Raiders!

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


As you may have noticed, we at Asylum Wargaming are just mad about Anyaral: The World of Twilight. We like it so much our very own Wargaming Viking, Spud Tate, has recorded the first in a series of Anyaral unboxing videos. So sit back and relax as Spud unveils the hidden treaures of Anyaral's Dhogo Raiders Starter Set.

That's all for now, Inmates. But fear not, for we'll be unboxing more wargaming goodness in the very near future, including more Anyaral: The World of Twilight.

Until then...

...Stay crazy.



What are you waiting for? Anyaral: The World of Twilight is available from our webstore.

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'

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.