Scatter Terrain Rules

Shamelessly stolen from Alex's blog, Epitude Rusk

ONE WEEK PEOPLE, IT'S ONLY ONE WEEK AWAY! ARE WE READY?!? WHERE'S ALEX, HE HAS ALL THE SCENERY!! CAN I PANIC? NO, DON'T PANIC!! MAYBE A HEALTHY LEVEL OF PANIC IS GOOD?? LIKE WHEN THE GOONIES SEE THE FRATELLIS ON ONE EYED WILLIE'S PIRATE SHIP!! NO, THATS TOO MUCH PANIC!! UH, UH, OKAY, MORE LIKE WHEN SOMEONE ALMOST DISCOVERS THAT HANNAH MONTANA IS HANNAH MONTANA IN THE ORIGINAL DISNEY SERIES, OKAY, COOL, THAT MUCH PANIC!!

It's almost time for us to stop banging on, and on, and on about Critical Engagement; however, that said, it is not quite time, so before I get to the meat of this post, I just have to say...

If you have no plans on Saturday 8th July, come down to London and play some Dropzone Commander with us at Critical Engagement! If you do have plans, cancel them, and make new ones with us!

Details can be found on this post and on Facebook!

Developing the Warzone: Industrial Beginnings

So with Critical Engagement in a few months we've all decided that we want some more variance in the terrain on offer in the tournament just trying to break up the monotony of the urban environment. I'd like to make two boards, one industrial and the other a little more rural. So the easiest one to start with, in my mind at least, is the industrial one.

Developing The Warzone: Resistance Barricades part 1

One criticism of Dropzone I've heard is that although the game is tremendously cinematic with it's towering 10mm cityscapes, it loses some of the theme when you start to focus on the terrain and debris in the battlefield, or rather lack thereof. Although it's possible that the Scourge operate a 'tidy desk' policy on a world-wide scale, using a few of their years in charge to focus on breeding bin-men and ladies to clean our dirty streets (ideas are sparking for a Scourge road sweeper vehicle; the Sweepressor), it is unlikely that even in this scenario all the debris would have been cleared, due to sanitation strikes and the like.

It's with this in mind that I am approaching the beginning of our preparation for Critical Engagement, our yearly summer tournament. The tournament may be in July, which is so far away the Daily Mail haven't even started scare mongering about this being the 'hottest summer on record' yet, but I would like to see the streets of Orbitalbombardmentonville strewn with the debris of war and years left behind. So, we had better get started on making some scenery then, hadn't we!

Winter Invasion 2017 Round-up

Laughing, whining, celebrating, commiserating, agreeing, arguing, queries, answers, smells, worse smells, air-con, less smells, sounds, silence, dice, luck, swearing, eating, drinking, conversing, hugging, more hugging, more hugging, restraining ordering, contemplating, calculating, spending, boasting, sulking; the list of activities which took place over the weekend of the 28th & 29th January could go on and on, although I have run out of suitably descriptive words, so maybe it actually can't.

Winter Invasion, that's of course what I'm referring too! As is always the case, the OB boys landed (no walk on grunts in this force, we strictly travel by dropship; it's built into our cost) in the war zone of Croydon bearing our war grimaces, primed and ready for the ensuing two days of battle. Well, most of us were, I was instead deployed in a 'war reporter' type role, as I wasn't in the mood for a tournament but did want to re-engage with the community and Hawk Wargames.

Critical Engagement: The Videos

The most glorious of all the generals from Critical Engagement

I go away for one week, one single week, and I come back to dust on the mantle, cobwebs in the pantry, and worst of all no new posts for all you lovely people! They mumbled something about work and honeymoons, but if you ask me their just a bunch of stinky slackers.

As my holiday is well and truly over, it's time to get the feather dusters out and give the bunker a good ol' polish with ample amounts of elbow grease (y'know, that weird sweaty stuff that your elbow bend produces), and bring you all some video footage from Critty E! Tech Boy put together some two scrap books for our visual pleasure; the Day Of Spray, a grand day of scenery constructing, and content from from tournament itself. Enjoy!

New Build, Red Horrizons

I love my yellow Shaltari. They were the first 10mm models I ever painted, as well as the first Dropzone models my brush had laid it's sweet bristles upon. These striking Hogs romped wildly about the DzC tourney scene for a while, blinding all in their way, and even made it into a copy of Tabletop Insider!

That yellow though. Oh boy, the yellow. I can't- I just can't. Even thinking about painting it again gives me the shakes! You see, I painted these a long time before I had my airbrush, and any of you out there who have painted yellow by hand can surely feel my pain. Starting with a red coat I built up to the yellow, which required a few coats because of the stupid, weak yellow pigment.

Expo & Summer Invasion

Sad Joe on Sunday morning. Last day at Expo.

It's Thursday when I'm writing this, back from the Expo for 4 days, back at work for 2 days and I'm still buzzing from all the sights, sounds and smells of the Expo. I had such a good time and I seriously can't wait to go back next year.
There is not much better in life than hanging with your mates chatting shit and playing games for 4 days. Still, it is nice to come home to your own bed.
I think I'm just in a happy mood altogether. Forgive me, I must try and be more whiney, otherwise Dan will shut me down..........

Quick reminder about Critical Engagement 2016 on 9th July - still some spaces left. Get in quick guys and gals. Facebook link here and tournament pack here

This post will run through my Expo and Summer Invasion and also there's a load of pictures too.

DarkOps scenery review

Something a little different for you today.

Whilst at Invasion I got chatting with Steve Perry of DarkOps - check them out here. I've met Steve previously at the Expo and had seen his amazing board via Facebook, but didn't really get to talk much.
At Invasion he was showing off some really stunning sci-fi scenery pieces. He asked if we at OB would do a review of his product, to which I said yes.... obviously!

Picture from Epitude Rusks blog

This will be an honest review. We have not taken payment or sponsorship in any form.
Although Steve did give me The Blade as the review piece.

The Spoils of War

'Hey Terry, how long did it take you to finish cleaning your windows?'

Every now and then when I pass a building site of one kind or another, or offer to help with / am forced into manual labour or decorating I think to myself “I could have done this for a job, rather than sitting inside and orchestrating an office. Being in the great outdoors, and constructing the very things that make a house or home.”

Well if 4ground buildings are anything to go by I would have lost patience for the art of labour a long time ago, and could be working in a McDonalds by now.