Sunday 28 April 2013

Vampifan's Views 37 - Monthly Musings 21

Vampirella and scary giant bat by John Bolton
The highlight of this past month was having fellow blogger Matevz aka Mathyoo stay with me for a week, prior to him going to London to attend the Salute 2013 convention. We met up with my good friend Joe aka Zabadak and we had a few great days out, including a memorable trip up the North Eastern coast to Blyth.
Mathyoo and I played a lot of zombie games but sadly, we did not get to play ATZ-FFO. We both agreed that it would take too long to set up and play. In a way, this was a shame as i am sure I could have persuaded him what a great game it is, but on the other hand, we did play a lot of Zombicide games, with both of us becoming addicted to the game. We managed to play eight of the scenarios in the rulebook. We also played a few games of Zombie Dice by Steve Jackson Games and Car Wars the Card Game, also by Steve Jackson Games, both of which could be played quickly in a matter of minutes.
I plan on doing a lot of posts about Zombicide next month, including a detailed review of the game as well as lots of photos and reviews of the figures that I've painted for the game. May will be Zombicide month.
By the end of his stay, Mathyoo had become an adopted Geordie (a resident of Newcastle) thanks to the teachings of Joe and me. He now knows what plodging is and what a stottie is!
On the painting front, I am currently painting the fourth and final batch of 25 zombies from my Victory Force 28mm scale zombie horde set 1. These have been waiting to get painted for far too long. Once they are done I'll be able to fill quite a few posts as I review all 100 figures from this horde.
I have started making my Stoelzel's 28mm scale Brummie's Burgers fast food restaurant and I suspect that will take me a couple of months to complete. Incidentally, Carl has just released the first set of his shopping mall project (see picture to the right). Sensibly, the mall will be modular with each section measuring 30" by 30". You can then add further sections to the sides or on top or both. This is something that I have been waiting for a long time. WWG made a fair attempt at making their Mayhem City Mega Mall but dropped the ball by not releasing any expansions to the starter set. Carl's version beats the WWG set in every aspect and it is his version that I'll be making. The only problem I see with making a shopping mall is the amount of time needed to build it. Making this will be a long term commitment. I can see storage being a problem for some gamers but fortunately, that is not a problem for me.
In other news, Ed from THW has announced that he is going to do an ATZ crowd funding project. Initially I was sceptical about this as he was offering zombie figures, survivor figures and buildings in 15mm scale, which immediately put me off. But I received this notification from him recently -
"Just an update, looks like a May 1st launch. Will include humans, their zombie counterparts, smart zombies, ragers, city deck, zombie deck, supplement for ATZ and rumors of vampires, werewolf, and mages plus rules for them."
Extra rules for ATZ, vampires and werewolves has me very interested, so I'll probably end up funding it.
In my Monthly Musings for 2013 I haven't mentioned any films I have seen at the cinema and I haven't said too much about what novels I've been reading. The reason for the lack of cinema news is that I haven't been to the cinema this year. I've missed a few films that I wanted to see due to being snowed in. Have I mentioned how much I hate snow? I am hoping to see the remake of The Evil Dead and possibly, Iron Man 3 next week. As for my reading, I have read a lot of crime thrillers recently, which were not worthy of mention in a blog dedicated to the undead. However, I have started reading A Perfect Blood by Kim Harrison. This is volume 10 of her Rachel Morgan series and I am a huge fan of the series. Rachel is a witch who lives with a female vampire and a family of pixies in Cincinnati. Supernatural creatures live openly alongside humanity in this world. I have little doubt that I shall enjoy reading Rachel's further adventures, as the series is going from strength to strength.
That's all for this month. Take care, folks.

28 comments:

  1. " Ed from THW has announced that he is going to do an ATZ crowd funding project. Initially I was sceptical about this as he was offering zombie figures, survivor figures and buildings in 15mm scale", this sounds really interesting! met Matevz at Salute but I forgot to mention you!

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    1. Any 15mm scale ATZ players should rejoice at Ed's news.
      I wouldn't worry too much about not mentioning me to Mathyoo, Fran. He certainly knows who I am! :)

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    2. It was more to let him know you knew of me:D

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  2. 15mm ATZ with figures and buildings, I'm interested. But I feel you may have corrupted poor Mathyoo, He talks so fast anyway let alone in your strange northern dialect which is hard enough for the rest of the country to understand as it is! You are a fiend Sir! A Fiend!

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    1. I'm not sure if the buildings are 3D models or just floor plans. We'll find out later when the project goes live.

      Hmm, Mathyoo said he lost his Geordie accent as soon as he reached Victoria Station. I guess it still remains as he's using it more and more in his e-mails to me! What can I say, Clint? Guilty as charged!

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  3. All good stuff, but a supplement for ATZ and not the "definitive" FFO seems strange, as I thought all the THW titles were being standardised.
    I'm quite shocked too that such an avid film-goer as you hasn't been to the cinema this year!
    Stoetzels Mall look quite mouthwatering,as does nearly all of his output.

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    1. I have no idea what's going to be in the new ATZ supplement, Joe, but I'm hoping for rules on huge hordes.

      The fact that I haven't been to the cinema this year is a huge surprise to me too. It is unprecedented for me to have this long an absence.

      The new mall is indeed awesome!

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  4. Look forward to seeing the VF Zed reviews, Mathyoo certainly seemed to have a great time over here. I wonder if he will be a Zombicide convert now.

    The mall looks amazing the storage part is what is a pain for me.

    Shame the atz ks is going to be 15mm I've devoted and invested far to much in 28mm to go the 15mm route now. Though the ranges from Khurasan and Rebel miniatures certainly tempt me.

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    1. If you mean will Mathyoo be buying Zombicide, I don't think so. He's missed out on all the Season 1 and 2 goodies. Next time he visits I'll have all of the Season 2 stuff so I can see us playing lots more games.

      I don't own any 15mm scale figures so I won't be switching either.

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  5. So, just what is "plodging" then?

    That Stoelzel's mall looks excellent, but my ability to build his stuff is already about 10 releases behind where I'd like to be!

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    1. Plodging is actually walking in the sea. Just enough to get your feet wet. Mathyoo went plodging in the North Sea when we went to the beach at Blyth. Joe and I did not because we're sensible chaps and we knew how cold it would be!

      I'm possibly Carl's number one fan but the rate we churns out new stuff has me floundering to keep up. This release will push me even further behind.

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  6. I'm glad y'all had so much fun!

    I took Zombicide with me to JordanCon last weekend. I barely left the gaming room, and got to introduce it to a LOT of people. I've already had messages saying people have either ordered or received it.

    Friday night I was playing here in NC and a friend on Long Island was texting me that he and his friends were playing it, at the same time. Was a bit surreal!

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    1. All hail the might of Zombicide! I think you're going to find this next month on my blog very interesting, Jon.

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  7. Sounds like a fun week, I would also put a recommendation in for Munchkin Zombies, a good change in pace, but doesn't really get addictive until you get a group of three or more. On the plus side, the munchkin games are one of the few I've convinced my wife to play.

    I'd love to see what Ed has planned. Wouldn't mind throwing my support his way if needed.

    As for the mall, I hope I managed to get this release into a fairly digestible level to keep the construction fear factor down for everyone. Focusing on that, there were a number of elements removed, so I have plenty of ideas left for expansions, the food court, Carousel, A simple 90 bent hall I removed for simplicity, perhaps the attached parking garage, put the movie theater in here. I could see a lot of options here, and of course you know where to find me in case I don't think of it.



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    1. It certainly was a fun week, Carl. I don't have any of the Munchkins games but I'll certainly bear it in mind as a potential purchase.

      All of your future plans for the mall make a lot of sense, Carl. Now that you've done the hardest part, in releasing the initial set, I have no doubt you will get plenty of suggestions for what to add next.

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  8. Zombies in 15mm .... now this is extremly tempting, with ragers and rumors of werewolves and Vampires......man I have been thinking of redoing this in 15mm and selling off my 28mm zombies stuff, a real pain to set up and store not to mention the cost *rolls eyes* might be my first crowd funder.

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    1. I have invested far too much time and money collecting 28mm scale figures to ever consider changing but for those like yourself, 15mm could be the way forward. Plus, it is becoming more and more popular. So this could be a good time to start your collection, TE.

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  9. I'm like TE - thinking about selling my 28mm zed-stuff and getting 15mm instead ...

    It's more the terrain that is a pain for me; 28mm is just too big, and as I mainly use print'n'build terrain 15mm conversions are not an issue. I couldn't store a 30x30 mall, but 15x15 I could ... it is very tempting ...

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    1. I fully understand, Colin. For those with limited storage space, 15mm is the way to go.

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  10. Vampifan - really like the concept of May being Zombicide month. It is a brilliant game and I'll be looking forward to seeing how you paint the excellent minis. I've got two survivors and a tray of zombies left to paint, so I might just make it before the next shipment arrives :-).
    All the best,
    Kasper

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    1. Kasper, you're going to find my blog for May right up your street. I still have a tray of zombies to paint but we found we very rarely needed them, unless someone got up to Orange Level.

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  11. Interesting Musings as always. Very cool that you and Mathyoo got to hangout and get some zombie gaming in. I look forward to a month of Zombicide, as it is definitely a cool looking game.

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    1. Adam, I can honestly say that Mathyoo and I had a lot of fun playing Zombicide. It is an incredibly cool game!

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  12. This Mathyoo sounds like a heck of a company! I wish I had a friend like him!

    Thanks yet again for everything Bryan! As for my geordie...it is easier online, as I can think before I write anything, why aye! (See? :P)

    As for the Zombicide, it is a nice game and I have really enjoyed it. I haven't played board games in a while, so I was really looking forward to it. I must say it has started repeating itself after a while, but then again, it wasn't made to be played THAT much!

    And as for 15mm gaming, I am tempted by that scale again as well. But I hold firmly to my beliefs that skirmish/survivors scale should be 28. Even with my young eyes, everything looks the same in 15mm :D

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    1. You're most welcome, Mathyoo, and I certainly look forward to seeing you again.

      We did rather overdose on Zombicide, didn't we? Come September, I'll have two new expansion sets, lots more zombies and best of all, lots more survivors to chose from.

      I totally agree with you about 15mm gaming. It's just not for me.

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  13. The Mall is epic, i wish i had the storage space to build it, the build looks quite easy, its just very big, i think the big box would take longer to build, 3 months im working on it

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    1. I bought the mall yesterday and you're right, it is epic! I look forward to seeing the Big Box store when you finally complete it, Shinto. Good luck with it!

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