Wednesday 27 November 2013

Vampifan's Views 43 - Monthly Musings 24

Vampirella by Dorian Cleavanger
Phew, what a busy month this has been! I have lots of good news to spread, so I'll start with my hobby news. In my last post I reviewed the four new survivors from the revamped Zombie Plague game. Earlier this month, I received nine 28mm scale zombies to use in the game. They're waiting to get assembled and painted.
However, these were eclipsed a week later when I finally received my huge Zombicide 2 parcel. It arrived a week before my birthday which was great timing. So what did I get? The Prison Outbreak and Toxic City Mall supplements took up the bulk of the order. In addition I got a set of 9 new gaming tiles, 2 packs of 20 zombie dogs, 2 packs of 6 hero dogs, 9 new survivors and 9 zombivors (heroic zombies), a pack of 31 assorted zombies, 2 packs of 6 dice and a pack of 10 markers. Christmas had come early. I've read the new rulebooks and they offer a lot of new options that will help keep the game fresh, interesting and entertaining. By the way, Prison Outbreak contains 6 survivors, 6 zombivors and 78 berserker zombies (immune to ranged fire). Toxic City Mall contains 4 survivors, 10 zombivors and 29 toxic zombies (they explode when killed, spraying everyone in the same zone as them with poisonous toxins). All told, I make that 234 new figures to paint. Gulp! Incidentally, this was not everything that I ordered. There are more figures to arrive next year. Double gulp!!
I received a very nice and unexpected surprise from Richard Brooks at Recreational Conflict. He sent me three packs of brand new 28mm scale figures. A while back I reviewed his combination civilian/survivor figures. These consisted of 8 unarmed civilians and the same 8 figures but armed to use as survivors. I praised them very highly at the time and I mentioned that it would be so cool if Richard brought out zombie and corpse versions of them. He listened and to my utter joy that was what was in two of the new figure packs. Richard, sir, you are a hero! As if that wasn't good enough, he also sent me the new Hazmat troopers he's been working on, which complement his first set. It's at times like this that I love being a blogger of all things undead.
For a long time now I have been eyeing the figures made by Crooked Dice Games. I finally bowed to pressure and made a couple of orders to them. My first order consisted of 3 Doctor Who minis (Matt Smith, Amy Pond and Captain Jack Harkness), 7 agents and sidekicks and Misty the zombie killer. They have all just come off my painting table. The second set, about to get painted, contained 5 more Doctor Who companions and 7 St. Searle's schoolgirls. I'll definitely be placing more orders with CDG.
I have finally got to grips with my new computer and, touch wood, it is working just as I want it to. I now have a 2TB hard drive, which should be more than enough memory for my needs. I also have a 1TB external hard drive, which I use as a back up for my work. Windows 8 took a bit of getting used to but I think I've mastered it now.
Finally, I leave you with some very sad news. I received news from Ed at Two Hours Wargames that his ATZ poster girl, Carolee Gee, had died of a terminal disease. It is always sad to hear of the death of anyone loved by the gaming community, but when that person was so young and so beautiful it just makes it harder to take. My deepest condolences go to Ed and to Carolee's family and friends. I have no doubt that God will have a place reserved for her in Heaven. She will be missed.

29 comments:

  1. While it is a shame about the 2hw girl. The rest of your news is fantastic. I am so pleased for you.

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    1. Thanks, Clint. I hate to being the bearer of bad news but I couldn't let Carolee's death go unmentioned.

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    2. Damn good news all round my friend. poor Carolee!

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    3. Yes, good news for me, Fran, but I am tremendously saddened to learn about Carolee's death.

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  2. Good morning/afternoon! Congrats on all of your good news, especially your relationship news! Good Lord - you deserve some ease in your life after the rough spell you had earlier this year!!!

    I played Zombicide for the first time a couple weeks ago. Fun game! Im trying to get my wife involved....so far, its a no go :) :)

    RIP Ms Gee.

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    1. Thanks very much, WarRaptor. Zombicide sure is a lot of fun.

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  3. 234+ figures? How on earth will you find the time (or continued interest) to paint up all of those :-) ? Even if you finish painting them, how many games will it take before each model has been used? Mind you, I'm a fine one to talk, what with my lead and plastic mountain :-( ...

    So, are you planning some Doctor Who gaming? Or will you just use the Crooked Dice figures in ATZ, either as civilians or perhaps as somewhat unusual encounters?

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    1. Hugh, I honestly don't know where I'm going to find the time to paint that amount of figures. Plus I have all of my Reaper Bones figures to paint and lots more. I must stop buying so many figures.

      I like Doctor Who. Initially I thought of using the figures as special encounters in ATZ but I wouldn't mind running some dedicated Doctor Who scenarios.

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  4. Great news, but at this rate you're going to need a bigger house !
    I wouldn't be surprised if you got in a Doctor Who game (or ywo) the ones Colgar has blogged about seemed to be an absolute hoot !

    It's always sad to hear of someone's death too.

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    1. Actually, Joe, one thing I do have is plenty of storage space at home... although that will change the longer that Ashley stays.

      I agree with you about Colgar's Doctor Who games. They have certainly whetted my appetite and I do have a lot of Doctor Who figures, especially Daleks.

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  5. Sad news and I just made a 2 hour wargames order just the other day. You really might want to cut down on the miniature orders now that you have a companion you'll be spending less time at the desk I'll wager.

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    1. I will definitely be cutting down on my figure purchases and being far more selective about what I buy in future. You're not wrong about having less time on my hands, Robert.

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  6. Glad things are going well with Ashley and Christmas has indeed come early for you!

    Sad new about poor Carolee. Especially at this time of year as well.

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    1. There is never a good time to die, Simon. It was about this time two years ago that my father died and it made my Christmas a very miserable time.

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    2. I find this time of year is always worse as its often a time of remembering lost ones as well as happy times of course.

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  7. Hell of a haul buddy. Now don't be overdoing yourself, t oo much excitement etc!!!!! :-)

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    1. I hear what you're saying, Bob. I don't want to overstress the old ticker.

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  8. Just got my Zombicide haul a few weeks ago too! I haven't played yet, but I'm already painting some prisoner zombies...then some toxic ones! My kids are looking forward to a game soon, being a holiday week in the states, probably very soon.
    congrats on the haul, improving health, and a lovely Miss to brighten your days!

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    1. I haven't played any of the new scenarios yet, David, but I'm certainly looking forward to playing them.

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  9. The glee is spilling off the page. So glad to hear things are working out for you Bryan. Just stocked Season 2 and had to tear open a copy myself, fantastic set of minis in there. Very sad news about Carolee

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    1. I'm very glad to hear that you're selling the new Zombicide supplements. I really can't blame you for wanting to look inside them. The new figures are indeed, fantastic.

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  10. Glad to hear about crooked dice, I've got a lot'a love for dem boys. The school girls were a fun addition to their lineup.

    .And of course the growing news of Ashley is very heart warming. Most importantly, does she game?

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    1. Hi, Carl. I've become a big fan of Crooked Dice. I've been looking at their stuff for ages but only this month have I got round to ordering from them. Yes, I too, love their school girls range.

      Sadly, Ashley is not a gamer. I'm hoping to persuade her what a fun hobby it is.

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    2. My wife isn't a gamer either, but that doesn't stop her from playing THE RIGHT game when they come along. For her, Munchkin, Talisman, and super dungeon explore. She is far from addicted to any of them, but if the game is cute enough and not offensively violent she will entertain me. Perhaps she'll help you discover a new genre.

      As for CD, beyond the minis and rules, they are just a great bunch of guys.

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    3. It must be great to have a wife, partner or girlfriend who is interested in gaming. You're a lucky man, Carl.

      I've just remembered that you designed a wooden cottage for CDG for one of their supplements. I've got it downloaded. I'm not surprised that you think they're a great bunch of guys. It's been my experience that most of the small hobby companies, like yourself and CDG are staffed by incredibly friendly and enthusiastic people. It makes any dealings with them such a pleasurable experience and guarantees repeat sales.

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  11. Very sorry to hear about Carolee. I am happy that your relationship is progressing. About the minis I was unaware the RC had put out new figs, I love their stuff! I love Crooked Dice, too and have some of the figs. But Zombicide is the real news for me. My god I got last years original set and just about everything else. Sadly I dont have trime to really dig into it. Really cool stuff. May paint some dogs soon.
    Maybe try out some light hearted games for your GF. Zombies are a bit rough for most ladies but I know of alot of games girls like. There is a game on KS called Cathulhu, its Cthulhu gamin g with cats and I think its a bit light and humorous.
    Good luck with all the minis. I had about 6 of my KS hit me all at once. I got two huge and heavy boxes of dungeon tiles, 3 zombicide boxes plus extras, Dar, Darker Darkest and Stonehaven Gnomes!

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    1. Thanks for your long reply, Roger. It's always great to hear from you. Yes, Zombicide is just so cool. I love the fact that it caters for solo gamers, so people like you and me can still enjoy the game. Ashley isn't into zombies at all.

      I have never heard of Cathulhu before but I love cats and i quite like the whole Cthulhu mythos. It looks like a game worth checking out, although I don't know if I can afford to back another Kickstarter project.

      Wow! That's an awesome haul you received. I wish you the best of luck painting all of your new minis. It looks like we're both in the same boat regarding unpainted figures. Will they ever get painted?

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    2. Brother, I can't even begin to sort them out. I am probably going to have to stabilize my business and rake in some money before I tackle any of this. Although the zombicide figs are easy because I have a lot of small boxes I can start on. The dwarven forge tiles need some room to spread out which I don't have right now.

      You can get the whole catthulhu box set for $35 I think. I almost bought it, but I am severly broke and have too many games as it is.
      http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mrjoel/call-of-catthulhu-deluxe

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    3. Thanks for the link to the Cathulhu game, Roger. It looks very cute but I think I'm going to have to pass on it. Like you, I simply can't afford any more minis at the moment. I have already spent a fortune on them this month with my pledges for the Reaper Bones 2 and Mars Attacks Kickstarter projects.

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