Sowing Division

 Between a few busy weeks and the associated accumulated exhaustion, the motivation for Space Hulk dried up again a bit. So instead of forcing it, I put it aside again.

At the same time, a friend was talking about the Division (more specifically The Division 2) again, and the Kickstarter for the TTRPG started around the same time. So I got into that again...  

And being the weirdo I am, I process basically any IP through the medium of wargaming and miniatures...

Add to that my long-dormant project of building a set of city terrain that, by swapping out signage and scatter and the occasional building, can function for modern day (zombies, etc.), cyberpunk and post-apocalyptic (the Division, zombies, Hellgate London, Fallout). And you can guess where this is going.

Way back when I just started this blog, I had started on some sidewalk tiles with magnet paint to hold things like streetlights and traffic signs in place. It was a simple case of spraying the sidewalks a mottled grey, then masking and spraying the building plots a mottled brown-grey. And finally, painting in the seams on the sidewalk paving. (The roads will be shown by placing these on a dark grey/black cloth/gaming mat.)

While I was working on this, the 3d printer was running to add buildings to my (tiny) collection:

I also found stls of "not" Division Agents, so those got printed and now I'm slowly working through them and looking for minis that are suitable as their Opfor. Painting is low at the moment, due to initially the current level of exhaustion, and now the (likely extended) heat wave we are experiencing.

Painting these models did drive home for me how much lack of practice, coupled with the effects of Long Covid on my eyes and fine motor skills.

I've also been printing some scatter terrain and loot/objective markers and looking at rules to play with (Current favorite is Zona Alfa, with some modifications and maybe the Kontraband solo/co-op add-on). Now to just find a way to comfortably paint and airbrush in the current heat, so I can finish the minis and buildings!

See you next time!

This is London calling. And a shout out to a wonderful man with a wonderful project.

Thursday last week, Devil May Cry 5 released (no, I will not be wargaming DMC...) and a few of my favorite streamers started playing it. The game is about fighting Devils in a ruined, London-esque metropolis. Which triggered memories of an old favorite... Hellgate London!
Not the best of games, but an excellent setting to explore.

Friday a week ago, me and some friends had a hobby evening. Inspired by the DMC 5 footage I decided to build some extra Hellgate London demons to add to the few I had already converted a few years ago.

The rough and ready basics were done on that friday night:

Together with their older siblings:

During that weekend, the greenstuff phases followed:

This Saturday, the airbrush was employed for primer and basecoat (and as I was at it, a second project also got some paint sprayed on).

 Which, today, resulted in painted miniatures:

Here's how they match up with their elders:

And as I waited for paint to dry on the demons, I used the downtime to progress on the vendomats:

Dirty and grimy and worn, perfect for cyberpunk, post-apocalypse or any current era metropolis....

Ofcourse I couldn't help set up a little scene:
Templars fighting to reclaim a base lost to the demonic incursion:

Maybe next weekend, I can try to get some paint on the Hunter faction (soldiers and engineers) miniatures I have lying around. Then I just need mini's to represent Cabalists, and  I can start finding a suitable ruleset to modify and playtest. (Currently thinking about IHMN and its derivatives, but perhaps this summer Reality's Edge may prove to be a good match?)


As an added bonus, yesterday my sister came over (she builds 1/12th scale dollhouse style rooms, I guess it runs in the family!) to help me get over my nervousness about soldering LED circuits.
Baby steps, but so much options for terrain:

Now, I also mentioned a shout out to a deserving man with a wonderful project. The man in question is Mel Bose  a deeply likeable man with a very informative Youtube Channel about building wargaming terrain. What makes him especially interesting is that he regularly collaborates with artists from other disciplines to exchange techniques and knowledge.  Why mention him now?
Well, he has a Kickstarter to publish a book collecting all his accumulated know-how in physical format. While I have seen most of his videos (and I advise you to watch them too, if you have an interest in terrainbuilding!) I am somewhat fond of terrain-building books, and I know his is guaranteed to be a good one!
Check it out here:
Terrain Essentials Kickstarter


See you next time!

I'm going to London!

A little over a decade ago, a PC game was released. While the concept/setting and visual design of the game was well handled, it's release and business model... less so. As a result the company that made it died, as did the game. At least officially. Rereleased (initially for Korea only) by a company that had raided the IP and gamecode from the bankruptcy of the studio that produced it. They, also, didn't handle the game well, diluting the original concept and design, not really fixing the existing flaws and bugs in the game (they couldn't, as while they did have the game code and server software, they did not get the source assets and development tools).  The game languished and staggered on, zombielike.  All this while a small core of dedicated fans kept the single player part of the game alive and attempted to mod an improve it where possible. I kept occasionally playing the game. Recently I discovered these fans have achieved the seemingly impossible and revived the multiplayer part of the game as well*.

Ofcourse I'm talking about Hellgate London:

*: For those that also have fond memories of the game and playing it online with friends/strangers, the project can be found on London2038.com.

Why do I tell you all this?
Well, aside from being happy to play the game with others again, this discovery also resparked an old wargaming project, and I painted some mini's for a skirmish version of Hellgate London:

First off, a quartet of Darkspawn Imps:

Armed with a mix of (cursed?) swords and guns (likely cursed as well!), they should be a challenge for any hero, braving the post-apocalyptic streets of London

Second, my third Templar: 

 Armed with a Shockwave (a "gun" with an area of effect centred on the user) and a Toxic Axe and clad in heavy Templar armour she seems determined to plow her way through any opposition.
She's converted from Hasslefree miniatures Powered Armour Libby.

Here's my current roster of Templars:

Of course, the Templars aren't the only survivor faction in the Hellgate London universe. There are also Hunters (ex-military and law enforcement, relying on tech, drones and guns) for which I have a couple of miniatures in stock. And the Cabalists (who use the magic and demonic fetishes, that entered the world when the Hellgates, opened against the demons, turning their own weapons against the invaders), for these I haven't found suitable miniatures (yet). Naturally there are also incidental civilian survivors, for which I can use my zombie survivor miniatures.

And my current roster of demons and demonic beasts:

These can be augmented by my collection of zombies to give a fair bit of opposition. Plus I'd like to build a pair more Fellbores (the creature in the centre with the digging claws) and a third Ravager (the lizard-dog-thing).

One day, I may even find a ruleset suitable for actually gaming with them too... :)

See you next time!