Friday, July 30, 2010

ALIENS This Time IT's WAR 54mm Boardgame AAR


Deployment

Game on.


"We haven't lost anyone yet."


Contact with the xenomorphs.


Tight spot.


Vasquez gets it.



Home stretch.


Drake gets an acid spray blast as he took out one alien.

Played the game to a draw. Apone, Dietrich, Hicks, Frost, and Hudson made it out to the APC.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

ALIEN USCMC APC

This Action Figure Vehicle actually scales nicely with my THK collection of ALIENS figures. I like the look of it and will use it as a backdrop for the tabletop wargaming I will do with the Aliens figures.

The crew onboard the Sulaco prep the APC with weapons and provisions.
"Elbows and Assholes people...Move IT!!"


Opening hatches and access doors are Freakin' Cool!


"Load up! We aint' bein' paid by the hour people!"



Weapons test. (That always makes me smile and laugh just a little....)

ALIENS Boardgame Conversion 54mm

Here are some shots of the board game prepared for this Thursday.
The game is scaled up to 54mm and features all the terrain from the original board game plus the addition of the play-set pieces that will not effect play.

A complete walk around the table.



The terrain was made by gluing card stock printouts of GI Joe diorama backdrops from this web site:
http://www.joedios.com/dioramas/browseimages.php?c=8

They make great scenics and will add tremendously to the flavor of the game.

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1770/aliens

This link will show you the game I am recreating in 54mm. All the rules, cards, and scenarios are available on this site. The table above is set up to be the Reactor Room scene from the movie.


Everything is ready.

ALIENS Xenomorph

The THK Deluxe Playset ALIENS comes with some nice 3" tall plastic ALIEN figures. Pictured below are some that I rebased due to a wonky base that always had them falling over.

Alien egg pods.


A brood of rebased xenomorphs. Original bases can be seen in the foreground. Not all were misformed -some stand quite well on their own. Others were very much in need of re-basing.



Let's just pull out and nuke the site from orbit. "It's the only way to be sure."

Aliens


My latest war-gaming project includes painting and gaming with all of my Alien collection from Tree House Kids play-sets. About three years ago our local discount dollar stores had mini window box sets of Aliens and USCMC from the sci-fi icon Aliens. I bought up a ton of these minis always hoping to do the game as a 54mm project for sci -fi. I also acquired around this time 4 of the play-sets from THK or Tree House Kids toy company. The box above is one of the great sets and it comes with a three level diorama set up and a handful of useful Alien with egg casings and USCMC. A really cool set up and it occupied a spot on my computer desk for at least 2 years. Then it was packed away after collecting a number of other support items needed for a decent club event game.

A xenomorph in his environ on LV 426.

The full station assembled in all it's glory.

As projects come and go this one was itching to be drug out again and painted up and over the course of the next few blog entries I'd like to take you on a tour of what I have collected and how our games go.

Here I present my complete Strike Platoon in formation on deck of the Sulaco.
43 Officers and Men in formation. I include some of the crates from the diorama set and I have added three sentry guns kit-bashed from "bag-o-figs" generic action figure items. The printed backdrop was from a dio-joes site I will footnote later.



Another view of the strike platoon.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

ZULU War Pongola River Region




The Kraal of Djemdande of the Bantu people languors in the noon day sun. Hunting parties are out and life moves at it's own heat scorched pace.

No matter how far the hunting parties range. An eye is kept toward home.


The arrival of a courier group of Europeans - The Natal Frontier Mounted Police.


The dusty column meanders it's way toward the Kraal.
"Natal Mounted Police, may we have a word with Djemdande?"

"Yes tell him it's urgent...."


The scene is an audience with the Chieftain. It devolves into a skirmish.


Two of the party make for a small break in the fence enclosure.


Outside the kraal the scene is more strikingly violent.


The escape of Major Blackford.


More than a few of the Natal Police don't make it out.


On an uncontrolled mount trooper Juergens is pulled from his horse and dispatched.


The kraal is an angry hornet's nest.


Major Blackford and one half of his initial command make it back to friendly advancing column of the 12th infantry. Defenders of Greenwood station!

Next episode the battle at Djemdande kraal.

Friday, July 9, 2010

World War I Dawn Patrol Game 4th of July


The Allied planes at the start of the backyard game.


Allied base is well defended by barrage balloons.


The officer's mess breakfast was amazing. That's me in the foreground.


My tripe being shot to bits.


The German Circus in early action approaching the trench line garden hose sector of the front.


One of those really cool pics you sometimes get in a game.


Thanks for looking in on my blog and checking out my clubs 4th of July tradition.