How about some new miniatures games?

Like any responsible gamer, I'm always on the lookout for new games to get into.  Never mind that as of this writing I have 359 unplayed board games (only 6 more before I'll finally try that 'new game a day' challenge).  Never mind that I already own, buy, and play about 25 other miniatures games that I don't have time for (not much time for hobbies with a toddler).  Seriously, I'm a gamer- if I'm not buying new games, what's even the point?

Most recently arrived is Star Wars: Shatterpoint, from Atomic Mass Games.  A 40mm skirmish game from the company already producing its most obvious competition that seems to promise fast, action-filled battles and more Star Wars goodness.  I admit, I'm surprised that the game is as different from Marvel: Crisis Protocol as it is (given how easy that would have been, and how successful MCP has been), but I think they've made the right choice in giving this game its own distinct set of mechanics.  It seems interesting, seems like it will be popular, and has the appropriate logo on it to get my interest, so it was a pretty obvious purchase.  I'm sure I'll get a game of this in within a month or so.

Prior to Shatterpoint's arrival, something equally appealing arrived - the first (of the three I purchased) starters for Black Powder: Epic Battles Waterloo.  One of the first miniatures rulesets I discovered growing up was a set of Napoleonic rules in the back of a military history book.  I found it fascinating. I believe I had discovered Warhammer Fantasy by that point (or discovered it soon after, the two events were almost co-occurrent), but the idea of refighting battles with miniatures is something that I love even today (obviously).  Historical miniature games have a specific interest because the context helps add substance to a game.  Having my Dark Elves fight your High Elves over some random piece of land in a one-off battle is fun, but why are they fighting, other than their mutual hatred for one another?  

When armies fought in history, they were attempting to achieve some actual goal, in addition to (or in lieu of) destruction of the opponent's army.  This is why they would fight so hard to hold a farmhouse that gave them a commanding view of a crossroads, or why they would charge headlong into the opponent's guns, knowing that defeat could mean the end of their way of life.  Sure, battling with toys on the table doesn't really convey all of that (other than abstractly with scenario rules), but knowing the 'why' of two armies fighting really makes it all the more interesting, to me.

Napoleonic warfare is of course one of the best ways to experience historical games, with three general 'types' of unit (infantry, cavalry, and artillery), and numerous subtypes under there.  Plus the variety of nationalities and uniforms that take part in the battles, PLUS the wildly varying competence of the generals of the era (between the French marshals, and say, Karl Mack von Leiberich).  There's just so much potential for great games.

These miniatures from Warlord Games are listed as 15mm (despite, apparently, being about 13mm), which is a great scale for large battles, and I've read the rules- it seems like a great system for this period.  My dad bought in, as well, and embarrassingly, he's already way ahead of me in assembly and painting (side note, I'm the biggest miniature gamer in the family, and my dad and brother BOTH get more assembled and painted than I do- what the hell is wrong with me?).

The releases so far cover only the Battle of Waterloo, and the other battles of the Hundred Days, but I'm hoping they expand the range and books to give us other major campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars.

Anyway, instead of writing, why don't I get working on some minis?

I bought a Warlord Games Mystery Box, so you don't have to (although why wouldn't you?)

As the title says, I purchased one of the most recent batches of mystery boxes from Warlord Games.  For those who have not seen these before (and because the description is no longer on the Warlord Games store), these are boxes filled with random miniatures, books, items, and whatnot from Warlord Games.  You will roughly get about twice the value of the box (these were sold at 120$), but you get a random assortment of items, so it may or may not be useful to you.

For me, personally, I don't really own that much in the way of Warlord Games product.  I own a couple of Bolt Action armies, the start of a Konflikt '47 army... and that is about it.  However, I am pretty interested in quite a number of their games, including their various naval games.  Heck, maybe I'll get something for one of those games.  All part of the excitement!

I didn't have any particular expectations of the box.  I assumed I would end up with some Bolt Action stuff, a random hobby item, and a book of some sort, but the rest... well, the rest was a mystery.  So, let's see what came, shall we? In no particular order...

Oooh, a Marder III Ausf. M for Bolt Action!  Off to a great start, as it is not only a model for a game I play, but an army that I have miniatures for already.  Very exciting.

Six Humbrol Acrylic paint pots.  This is not a brand I have experience with, or know anything about.  It looks like the brand is well regarded, however, and these paints can be thinned and used in an airbrush (which I don't have).  They do not seem to list the colors on the pot itself though, which seemed atypical.

The pots have an identifying number on the top, however, and these correspond to a chart (here).  The chart also contains color matching information with other brands (starting on page 8), and provides information on the top of finish, which I really like.  Heck, I am impressed with this brand, even before I've opened one of these pots up.  Pretty fantastic for something I had not heard of prior to opening the mystery box.

A Nachtalben Squad box for Konflikt '47.  More details for this can be found here.  Again, these are miniatures I do not own for a game and army I play, so this was an exciting find.  Having a unit of Tough, Elite, and Fast troops available to add to my force is fantastic.

Another Bolt Action selection, this time a Belgian Chasseurs Ardennais FRC 76mm Infantry Gun (more info here).  I don't play Belgians (yet!), but this is still a fun inclusion, because artillery pieces seem like they would be quite enjoyable to paint and base.

A pack of eight metal Hittite Levy Spearmen (more info here).  Now we are looking at some product for games I do not play.  Hail Caesar is a game I have purchased the rules for, but the rules did not have any army information included (these were included in a separate supplement), so I just didn't end up getting into it.  I believe they just had a second edition come out, however.  This is a game I would certainly try, as I love ancients, and I enjoy that rank and file look in my miniature game, but armies look to be upwards of a hundred miniatures, and without a committed opponent, I just can't muster the enthusiasm to get into it on my own.  Maybe I just need more historical gaming friends.  Anyway, I am not sure I have a current game where I could make use of these guys, but I am sure one of the Osprey wargames probably would give me a place to put them, as they make a number of skirmish-sized games.  They will just have to wait in the 'someday projects' box for now.

A pack of three Law Enforcement models for Strontium Dog.  I have read that Warlord has ended this line, and I cannot seem to find anything but the rules for it on their website, but I did find an older article with these models painted up here.  Sci-fi cops won't be too hard to find a use for, since I could probably use them in Rogue Stars or Stargrave or something.  I cannot quite tell if the scale of these figures matches anything else (although the game is referenced as 28mm heroic scale), but assuming they match some other lines, I am sure they will hit the table at some point.

A box of Samurai Horsemen for Pike & Shotte (more details, and pictures of the minis here).  I have heard good things about Pike & Shotte, but don't own the rules, or really know too much about it.  I certainly didn't know they covered feudal Japan.  I am not sure where I can use these miniatures yet, but I am certain I have somewhere they can go, although maybe I will get into Pike & Shotte at some point.  One never knows.  Regardless, this was a fun inclusion, so I am pretty happy about it.

A Promo Aztec figure for the Mythic Americas game. I think this is just a version of the Warlords of Erehwon game (listed on the blister as well), but I cannot actually find a picture of this miniature anywhere.  The range looks pretty cool and colorful, and a random Aztec figure almost certainly has some random games where it can be used.  In addition, it is a metal miniature!

Next up is a box of Macedonian Pezhetairoi for SPQR (28mm plastic models).  There will be quite a number of places I could use these miniatures, but I have also heard quite a lot of good reviews for SPQR.  I think I would have to buy another unit and a hero in order to play?  And the rules, probably.  Anyway, until then, I may just assemble these because I like the way they look.

Next up is a sandbag wall.  I can always make use of more terrain.

This is actually the February purchase promo, which was not part of the mystery box, per se, but since he arrived due to the order of the mystery box, I will include him here.  This is Eisensturmtruppe Kühn, a replacement NCO for a Wehrmacht Heavy Infantry Squad for Konflikt '47.  More info here.  I own Germans for Konflikt '47, and the miniature looks nice, so this was a nice bonus.

I vaguely remember a mention in the description that each mystery box would contain something that was about to come out, or newly released.  For me, that would be these guys, an Italian Bersaglieri Sniper Team for Bolt Action (more info here).  Very nicely detailed, although I wish they would have included at least some hint in the box what these were- it took me a bit to track them down!  The much-maligned Italians are not an army I play in Bolt Action, but they have a lot of fun looking vehicles, so these may see the table in the way they were intended someday.

And finally, a book- Wildcat Aces of World War 2, all about the history and pilots of the F4F Wildcat.  Lots of color plates in the book for whenever I have a need to work on some Wildcat models, and the book has a lot of period photos.  This is going to be a nice read- I love military history books, and I am not overly picky about my topics.

So, there you have it.  My mystery box has arrived, I have opened it, and I have showed you the contents.  Is it worth it?  Price-wise, absolutely, they advertise that as part of the draw.  Past that, it is going to depend more on what you're expecting.  There is a lot of different genres and eras covered in this box, and that certainly isn't going to appeal to everyone.  On the other hand, I enjoy the variety, and even though I don't have an immediate use for every item in the box, not a single inclusion is worthless to me, as I can see at least *some* case where I would make use of it.  So it's definitely a win as far as I'm concerned.  

Sadly, no boats in this box.  Maybe you'll have better luck!

Orgoth Sea Raiders MKIV Core Army Starter Unboxing

It has arrived!  MKIV is here!

Ooooooh

Nice looking box, with a colorful picture of what is included.  It seems a bit peculiar to me to have the battlegroup painted in the picture, but have the rest of the models included pictured unpainted.  I think painted models make the box more attractive, and therefore more likely to grab the random gamer's eye.  Heck, GW uses painted minis on their boxes, and one has to think they do it for a reason.  If not, then why paint the battlegroup?  An odd choice.  Anyway, box construction is okay.  Not too flimsy, and doesn't take too much space.  The magnets on the side were included in the purchase, and are important for assembling the warjacks.

Let's look inside the box:

Inside the large box are four smaller boxes that make a nice little piece of art. It also comes with a sheet giving you a bunch of additional information, suggestions on next purchases, and basic instructions on working with the materials.  No complaints here.

The boxes are numbered one through four (probably for helping them pack them), so let's take a quick look at the contents of each box:

Box 1:

Box 2:

Box 3:

Finally, box 4:

We've seen this packaging style with the preview battle boxes.  It works, although it is not very exciting.  It did cause a bit of breakage then.  As we shall see, there was some damage this time, as well.

The empty box four did make me chuckle- I'm glad they included the note that it was intentional, however.

Let's have a look at the minis, starting with the warcaster, Kishtaar, the Howling Silence:

It's a one-piece model!  That is really quite impressive, and I feel like this would have been pretty tough to manage prior to the 3D printing.  Looks great!

Now, the warjacks:

Jackal

Tyrant

A few things I notice - first, it looks like they have changed the resin mixture some since the preview battlegroups.  These minis are a different color (a bit darker), and seem to be slightly more flexible than the preview ones.  Still great detail, and it seems like there are slightly fewer layer lines (which I didn't find too bad to begin with).  

Another change- the torso and legs (and shoulder pads) are attached!  There is literally no pre-assembly for these models, other than attaching the magnets.  That's... really something.  Even that flail for the Tyrant comes assembled.  The assembly was very easy, but removing another step is fantastic.  Great job, PP!

On the less positive side, there is the first of my breakages for the Jackals' hand.  I could have taken a better picture, but the open hand for the Jackal has a finger broken off.  This happened a little with the preview boxes- fortunately the pieces glue back together nicely, but it is still a little disappointing.

Next up are the Strike Reavers.  Three parts, with good detail, and what looks to be extremely easy assembly. No issues here, but these look and feel closer to the preview battle box resin.  Maybe this will mean they are a bit more brittle.

The Reaver Commander is four pieces, which is a bit surprising.  I am not sure what the (F) signifies on the label.  Lots of detail on these minis, if you have not seen them in person yet.

The Assault Reaver unit look fantastic, but here you can see I had quite a number of broken pieces on the spears.  I am sure I can repair them, but historically Privateer Press has been very good about replacements, and I have heard people getting replacements for broken pieces.  If I have to go that route, I will, but I'll see if I can handle this on my own, first.  I admit to being a little disappointed here.

Here are the Reaver Standard Bearers (one for each unit).  I wish these would have had slightly different sculpts (maybe a different banner- I am showing you the front and back of the banner in this picture).  Seems like something that would not have been too difficult.  As is, they do look good, so no real complaints.

Warwitch Coven.  I have no real comments, these look good, and aren't broken.

Finally, the Ulkor Barragers, who look great, but I do wonder why the head isn't a single piece with the torso like the Reavers.  The two armed weapons don't fill me with joy, because I have had some bad assembly experience with such models in the past, but assembly for these miniatures have been remarkably easy, so I'll reserve judgment for now.

Overall, these models look great, the game looks great, and I'm eager to get them on the table (happening in February!).  There is some breakage in this set, which I suspect I can get replaced from PP, but I'm not expecting the fixes to be too difficult, so will likely do them myself.  I can't wait to get these models on the table, and hopefully writing some battle reports!