The newer Underhive

  One of the many projects that I have going right now is some fantastic terrain that I got in a Kickstarter.  This terrain closely resembles both the style and look of the original terrain for Necromunda back in the 90's.  Now I've finally got that stuff built and it looks fantastic!

  I've now played a couple of games of Necromunda and there's something that's not quite right to me.  The rules aren't bad, even if a bit different from the original game with those extra dice and the new alternating activation sequence.  But the rules aren't what feels quite right...  It's the setting.  While the storyline is the same, now the game has us fighting in these tunnels.  Gangs used to fight across soaring gantries and crumbling ladders.  The new version of Necromunda is a board game now and it's just not the same...

 I found some terrain that absolutely fits the bill and takes advantage of the expansion rules for 3D terrain (which aren't many).  I have enough to paint and don't want to paint terrain.  If you're looking for something like this and the many, many advantages, check them out here. 

  It took me a while to get all mind built, but I finally did.  My wife even helped out with the second set that we ordered.  It was hilarious that it took me two weeks to build the first bundle, but then it took the wife and me only a day to build the second.  Have I even mentioned that my wife is a bit crafty?  

  We still haven't had a chance to use it yet, but we at least wanted to set some of it up and show it off.  It looks great!  No painting, no gluing plastic or metal, and no set layout- all modular!  Check this stuff out below:

The Skirmish bundle without the Cover set

The brilliant ladder-clip

   And there it is!  Tell me what you think and definitely let me know if you get some.  This terrain has me completely geeked to play Necromunda.  I hope that this is what's missing from that game because the quality of this terrain isn't go to be the issue. 

  Even better, this stuff has me excited to build some home-made industrial stuff like storage tanks and generator complexes.  I can't compare with GW terrain, but I can make stuff that easily compliments this stuff.  Plus, who wants walkways with nothing to walk around?  That's certainly not what battling in the Underhive is about...

 

Terrain as a distraction...

  So I'm painting models and trying to take care of business and this week hit.  Where normally people would complain about a particularly bad week, I get to note that this week was pretty good!  I launched a grand professional plan and feel good with the direction that's already going.  The weather has been wet and we got our flower bloom down here, and now it's hot and sunny- perfect for hobbying and just downright comfortable for a guy like me!

  Most importantly of all is that this turned out to be a week of models.  My buddy tossed us some of his older models with the express goal of disrupting our current state of things.  I got more Eldar and some Primaris characters, my wife got more Nighthaunt stuff (boooo!), and my son received a ton of Ravenwing units.  Oh boy...

  Today I received another game that I 'kickstarted', but that's another blog post for a later time.  Even if I wanted to, I can't really say much as I'm still trying to inspect and learn the massive thing.  But this wasn't the only product of a Kickstarter I received recently...  Again, pretty good week!

  Now I had mentioned this over a year ago, and it finally happened!  My love of Necromunda, which had long sat in the back of the fridge despite purchasing everything, can finally be expressed.  While I need to start building the models and review the rules again (maybe even play that board game-version), the most important part is now mine- the terrain!

From Flickriver

  Now we all remember the old Necromunda terrain and the charm of those multi-layered, cardboard buildings and bridges.  Held together with a set of detailed plastic 'bulkheads' that could only be connected vertically, the terrain gave models plenty of room and dimensions to move around while also giving line-of-sight all the impact it needed.  Being able to peek through doorways and hide behind barricades made already average shooters more frustrated all the time.  The cardboard constructs were strong enough to hold a few models and came with color graphics to reinforce the 'setting' in the game.

   Luckily, I still have all this terrain and can use it if I really wanted to.  But have you seen those new models?  It's key that I use good terrain with those awesome models, I feel.  And honestly, even the board game looks cool.  But c'mon, it's Necromunda!  What about the Shadow War: Armageddon terrain?  That stuff is awesome, but it's really more important for 40k and even renamed to 'Mechanicum terrain'.  And while awesome, it only has one level above ground which is not what Necromunda is about.  Funny enough, I brought that terrain out to work on before being distracted by a box at my door last week.

  This company made some fantastic cardboard terrain, preprinted graphics and 3D layering included!  Called TinkerTurf, you can check it out and even purchase it here.  It's not expensive at all and can be used for more than just Necromunda and I can't suggest it enough.  This is what the Kickstarter page promised:

  How can you resist that?  Hopefully the product looks like that when it I get it all assembled.  Admittedly, it was much more work that I assumed.  The quality of the stuff is through the roof.  It's 2mm foamcore rather than just thick cardboard.  The sheets were deeply-cut so the pieces were easily punched out.  And the graphics were always lined up and crisp.  It was a lot of pieces and I spent a great deal of time just popping the many pieces out.  It was high-quality so far...

What came in the box and it weighted quite a bit...

All the sets in the Skirmish Bundle- six total!

  

All the sheets from one of the Elevations Sets and not all the same.

  With a bit of PVA glue and time, plus the instructions and helpful tips on their 'tip-site', and the weight of the unopened sets and bundles to press all the pieces together as I glue them, I finished on Skirmish bundle.  The best part of this assembly process is the markings that the company puts on pieces.  Rather than having to just 'hope' you put glue and the pieces together properly, the markings clearly define where to put the glue and where to marry the pieces together.

  Layered atop and pressed together while the glue dried created exactly that 3-dimensional effect that really matches the Underworld setting.  Additional parts like railings and pegs gave the pieces even more bulk and convincing image.  By the time I was done, taking many days of building, pressing, and drying, I was very happy with the results.

The Mechanicus terrain at the top...  And still had to finish some of the parts...

  Gorgeous terrain and well worth the cost!  Unfortunately, the most disappointing part is that this... what I have built...  well, this is only most of one Bundle and I still have all this build:

  Oh boy...

  I haven't gotten any units painted since the big, red T-Rex and I can blame it on this.  I have Chaos Space Marines on my palette right now and they are just not getting any attention as these boxes keep showing up at my door.  Now that I've gotten this terrain, I've got to start working on the Necromunda stuff.  But I'm supposed to be painting those 40k armies.  And those Shadespire models.  And this other game I just got in the mail...

  Let me know what distractions you've had pop up in your hobby recently and I hope you have a good week like this too!

Oops, we did it again...

  No, I'm not trying to bring Brittney Spears back or anything.  It's just that I caved to the pressure today.  I'm usually quite good under the pressure, that is until it's a game.  Because I like games.

  If you've kept up with my blogs, you've seen me mention that I've gotten into a couple of Kickstarters.  The crowdfunding platform gives me very little rest between charging up my credit cards because there's so many good projects.  And if it has miniatures, dice, and a somewhat-interesting concept, I'm in.  We started with Mythic Battles: Pantheon, then got some terrain for DnD from Mantic, settled on some Time of Legends: Joan of Arc, and picked up some fantastic card terrain for Necromunda.  I swore we were done getting into Kickstarters until we paid off some of the others first.

  But then the same company that did Pantheon (and a great company they are) decided to touch another nerve of mine- comic books.  If it's not Star Trek or 40k or Dungeons & Dragons, then it's comic books that build the foundation of my nerdiness.  It doesn't take much to get me excited about the page-flipping awesomeness that is good artwork and better storyline.  And if someone combines my love of miniatures gaming and comic books, well...

  In this game, called Batman: Gothic City Chronicles, players take control of Batman and/or other superheroes and fight against super villains and their thugs controlled by their less well-meaning friends. The system is similar to the Conan game produced by the same company, which uses a finite number of 'activation cubes' to perform actions or buff others.  The game is not simply a bash 'em game- there's actually scenarios and missions that require stuff like stopping bombs before they explode or finding secret stashes.  This is important because, well, bash 'em games do get boring after some time. 

  As with most Kickstarter campaigns, there are 'stretch goals' that entice more investors, and this game was no different.  They included four expansions and tons of new models (including many alternate poses for some of our favorite heroes and villains).  What got me really pumped was the expansion including the Batmobile.  I mean, who doesn't want a Batmobile!?!?  The next best treat for me was the T-Rex from the Batcave.  I have a thing for dragons and dinosaurs (even having to quickly walk through the dinosaur isle at my local Hobby Lobby because...), and a giant T-Rex?  How can I pass this up!?!?   

  Now, I do have to note that I can't just make these decisions on my own.  I'm not the breadwinner in my house and I'm also not a dumb husband, so I have to pass everything by my wife.  She controls the pocketbook and makes the bigger decisions (most of the time), so I  have to convince her as well.  That being said, she was the one that got me started on Kickstarters...

  The campaign ended today at 2pm my time (U.S. Central).  With less than ten minutes left and me still thinking about it, I logged in and found the last stretch goal- the alternate Harley Quinn.  I immediately called my wife over with the plan to show her that and convince her (she's a fan of empowered women, especially when they're holding giant swords or mallets).  As soon as my wife saw that, she fled to the office and snatched the credit card out.  It wasn't even a fight.  She looked at me and said, rather expectantly and in a resigned tone, "Go for it".  I was happy.  So was Harley Quinn!

  Now anyone that knows me personally can also tell you that I'm not a huge fan of Batman.  I am tired of the fanboys and society's habit of liking the brooding anti-hero rather than the true good guys.  I also don't think that Batman is a terribly good hero as he never, and I mean never, solves any problems.  He is much like our American congress- delaying everything over and over.  But I'm not a Batman-hater, either.  He had the best run during DC's New 52 arc (I especially loved the Court of Owls storyline early on) and his movies are undoubtedly the best (especially with Joker).  But this game came with so many goodies and such that I couldn't resist.  Plus, when this company decides to do a Justice League game in the future... (if I say it enough times, it'll come true!) 

  And regardless of whether I'm a super-fan or not of the cowled-crusader, I have to admit that he's just super-cool!  So with that all in mind, and just in the nick of time, we did it again.  We invested in yet another (highly successful) Kickstarter.  I swear, we're done until June!  I swear it!  As long as nobody else comes out and trips another nerve of mine...

The Underhive

  In case you missed it (and many actually did), Games Workshop finally got around to releasing that game I love so much.  It's the game that commissioned me as a lifelong GW fanboy and segued me into the grimdark universe that eventually took over all things gaming.  It's the game that I recruited many an unwary friend and developed their need for 'the versus' as well. 

  And no, this isn't about some Trolls in the Pantry .  Oh no, this is much more serious.  You see, the grimdark is all about the galactic struggle of mankind in an uncaring galaxy beset on all sides by foes unimaginable and incessant.  But what about the local struggles of that same mankind against foes that are wholly predictable and downright exhausting?  That's where this game comes in.  That's where the setting takes on a much more personal feel, especially if those persons are the forgotten masses of wannabe punks at the literal bottom of society.  If you haven't figured it by now, I'm talking about Necromunda. 

Is my personal 'rabbit hole'

  When I was much younger, I begged my Dad for the greatest game I'd ever seen.  Despite his obvious disdain for all things gaming (I had long before worn him thin with my nerdy addictions to comics, D&D, and Star Trek), he relented and gifted me with the core game for Christmas.  Of all the things he's ever done for me, this was probably the most influential (it directly led to a career, for Emprah's sake!), and I rode that horse until it fell dead right under me. 

  Obviously, the game died and I moved on to such pursuits as 40k.  I had collected many of the gangs, painted more than my fair share of Orlocks and Van Saars, and even hoarded and built multiple terrain sets from the game and its expansion.  That terrain (and more gifted to me by an awesome buddy) still sits in a box in my garage.  I even occasionally opened it up to investigate the usability and condition.  But I never went back to it.  I graduated high school, dropped out of college a couple of times, and started my time in the Emprah's service across the U.S., and just never got back to it.  Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the plastic bulkheads that make up that terrain was actually worth quite a bit to some people.  I never sold it, but I still didn't use it.  

(pic stolen from Google Images, not mine); hi-tech 90's terrain!!!

   I really loved Necromunda.  I could spend a ridiculous amount of time waxing on about the gangs and the setting's storyline, and I could shoot a ton of wind describing all the ridiculous scenarios I saw (like using an autocannon to smite a gang leader from across the board and through about a dozen buildings, or my buddy wiping out gang after gang as he stood at the upper levels and littered the ground with live grenades, much the chagrin of his opponents).  But that's not what I'm interested in right now.  The thing that really has me geeked is the terrain, and you'll understand why in a bit. 

  But let me back up just a bit.  See, GW actually released a new version of Necromunda a couple of years ago.  The game was called Shadow War: Armageddon (or SW:A for short) and used the same rules as Necromunda, but focused on 40k Kill Teams instead of the dystopian punk gangs that we were used to.  Obviously, everyone like me but far more vocal of their disappointment railed on and on against this as they expected the old game totally resurrected.  But there was a part of it that we all really liked- the terrain.  It was beautiful and made the price of that box worth it all day.  Moreover, it was a very limited release, and even more limited for the terrain itself.  The internet exploded with aftermarket negotiating. 

  Little did we know, GW would release the terrain later on and we would be able to buy it all in pieces and with some new accessories to add to it, labeled as 'Sector Mechanicus' .  At the time, I was very happy that I'd gotten my hands on the game and its terrain while everyone else gnashed their teeth.  I even considered buying more from eBay, but I was too poor to make that a reality. 

(again, stolen from Google Images, not mine) I've gotten just a bit further than this...

  Okay, now we're caught up to last year.  Sooooo, last year GW released the actual Necromunda.  In a crazy twist of irony, it has different rules but uses the old gangs from before.  In fact, this new version is a board game!!!  Again, the interwebs vomited all the complaints from those with more cause to shout than me because it wasn't the former game we all loved.  The models were fantastic (and I'm serious, they are really good and deserve a post if I ever get around to building them) and the box contained enough to enjoy the game without being the Necromunda savant that some of us claim to be.  But it didn't have everything.  It didn't have rules for all the old gangs, the campaign rules that kept us wrapped in it for years and years, or even the simple concept of playing on that 3D terrain that made the whole thing 'revolutionary' back in the 90's.  Luckily, that was all solved with two things- a sourcebook that expanded the game to include those campaign rules and playing in that old not-a-flat-boardgame style that we missed, and the terrain to take advantage of that sourcebook.  

Oh the glorious glory that is the Mechanicus terrain!

   Of course, I bought it all.  I bought the new game, the expansions, more models, more objective markers, and obviously more of the terrain.  All told, I now have two full sets including all the accessories and another set waiting at my local comic shop (owned by someone else but there for public use should the opportunity arise, and it will...).  What was very rare and sought after due to limited release and compliments of an unpopular game is now available widely and should be the centerpiece of many a 40k battlefield. 

  Notice I didn't mention using it for Necromunda?  That's right, I purposely did that because THIS ISN'T NECROMUNDA TERRAIN!  The cardboard panels and plastic bulkheads from the 90's represented the twisting, dark realm of the Underhive where the gangs fought for dominance of the bottom of Necromunda's Hive Primus (yeah, that's alot of fluff squeezed into a single, almost run-on sentence, I know).  The Mechanicus terrain is amazing, but it does NOT represent the setting of Necromunda at all.  There's one level above the ground, no bulkheads or building walls to hide behind, and a definite focus on factory stuff when there should be more elements of ruined... well, just ruins.  The terrain is awesome!!!  But it's not what I envision when I play Necromunda.

  Luckily, an answer to my complaint has apparently arrived in the form of a Kickstarter campaign (yes, I've become one of those people, slowly ruining gaming companies everywhere by shifting my spending to investing rather than sustaining).  There's been a ton of companies that do wonderful MDF terrain that fits together and creates a similar set as the old Necromunda stuff, but I'm not a fan of that stuff.  I want my terrain to look good before I paint it, not like wood.  So I've patiently waited until something struck my Underhive-driven fancy. 

  That answer is called TinkerTurf, and you can find their campaign here.  The reason that I'm actually doing a blog post about this (other than describing why it excites me after all these years) is because I would like to drum up some more support for their product.  There's still two weeks left from this post for you to pledge and help bring the project to life, so check it out and consider that.  It's not that expensive, and I plan on getting two sets for that too!

 

Looks like an old Necromunda setup to me!

  So what is it?  Well, it's preprinted (so already colored) cardboard terrain that is put together to form textured and 3D terrain, including walkways, platforms, and even the blocking terrain of ruined walls and shipping containers.  A little white glue and a couple of minutes will see some very high-quality modular terrain for your games of Necromunda (or 40k, or Infinity, or any other sci-fi game you can think of, but I like my Underhive to look like this).  It's easy to break down and build up, so that makes it easy to store or build very attractive battlefields.  In other words, it's exactly what I was looking for and with an even greater level of convenience than the old stuff. 

  I have far too many other projects to spend much time on building and painting terrain anymore.  Between Bobby G taking forever (I'm just lazy, but I refuse to take the blame...) and the need to paint up entire armies, even the Mechanicus terrain had to disappear into a project box and under the worktable.  But this...  TinkerTurf is my new Underhive!  That is, of course, assuming that the project is fully funded.  Check it out and help me help that happen!

My wife made me do it!

  It was a sunny day about a year ago and I was minding my own business in the meanest way when the wife came to bug me about something she thought I would like.  She harassed me with details of her love of mythology as a child and was always crawling the crowdfunding pages just for 'ideas'.  I reluctantly followed her to the office and saw what she was excited about and became instantly intrigued.

  You see, I'm a Games Workshop disciple through-and-through.  I even served in the Emprah's armies for a long time and learned many things.  My teeth were cut on Dungeons & Dragons and I still know more about that game (and have more books) than many of the subjects I have degrees in.  If you even deign to mention Star Trek in  my presence, I have to mindfully keep quiet as I can drone on and on about the technical specifications of the Sabre-class frigate to those that didn't even remember that the first Enterprise's captain was named Pike.  My nerd and gamer knowledge runs deep and wide.  So I may not be as open to the kinds of things that my wife likes (she certainly isn't a fan of much of mine, and who could blame her?), yet she got me.  All my skull-faced Chaplain wielding a Holy Avenger on the bridge of the Excelsior expectations were met in one simple Kickstarter.

  While she gleefully gabbed on and on about how much she thought this was awesome, I was absorbed in soaking up all the details from their page.  I needed to know where this game came from and what it was about and what it included and how it was played and who was making it and all of that fun 'due diligence'.  Because when my attention is grabbed, I begin to nerd out...

  It isn't new.  This game is based on a card game that was released years back.  Collection of it and both expansions are available on eBay and Amazon and one my competitive buddies was really into it (and Spartacus) for a while.  But I'm not totally geeked about card games, despite my extensive collection and a rather unbeatable Fire deck in Pokemon.  So this new version had to be different from that for me to get really excited.  And it was.  This Kickstarter included so many beautiful models that I started drooling.  My wife continued to eagerly point out each of the models she really liked and all I could do was drool...

  I fell into it.  We could afford it (which is rare, especially in the GW world) and the models were the right scale to use in D&D (a huge requirement for me).  Before long, she's whipping out the credit card and ordering me to order it.  I didn't put up a fight.  I didn't even really know what was going on as I was still in complete shock that there was this game for which I was easily drawn.  My overly critical and sometimes irrationally stubborn gamer nerd self was almost instantly seduced because of great models and a bubbling-over wife.  We pledged.  It arrived. 

  We haven't yet received everything as we're still missing the so-called 'stretch goals' (that's additional items promoted to entice more people to pledge money to the project) and RPG for it (that's right, this company even produced a role-playing game for it!), but we got the core game and all of the expansions.  Below are the pictures and I can say that it was worth the wait.  The wife's selling pitch was spot on and the year's wait wasn't too long.  In fact, this game seems to be so amazing that supporters who haven't received theirs yet are throwing fits online!  And it's worth that too.  I don't know if the game will ever be available for retail, but I'm happy to have it for sure.  I'm very proud of the wife. 

  We received all that goodness on Wednesday and we've already played six games of it.  The rules are very simple (despite the way some of the backers get confused about some rules) and there are scenarios by the loads to be able to battle.  The boards are of fantastic quality and even the cardboard terrain adds that 'environment' to the game that keeps me in the miniatures world.  I should note that I do also have the plastic tree and column terrain set, but we're focused on the core set right now and the cardboard stuff doesn't suck (I actually think the cardboard trees will work better for my D&D games that the normal models!).

  My wife isn't usually willing to play my games because they're "too complicated".  She'll dabble with role-playing, but she's more crafty than gamer.  But she learned the rules for this game easily and enjoys playing it so much that we've conquered that beginner scenario and already started drafting.  Let's talk about that...

  So my nerd runs so deep that my Lone Star love of football even sees me competing in Fantasy Football every year.  That's right, I can even make the most 'jock' thing an obsession if it's turned into a game, and anything stolen from that is aces to me.  So to have a game where you 'draft' your forces of miniatures to battle just possessed me.  I mean, WOW!  So if I want to play with a different force or prevent my opponent from getting that powerful one, I use my turn to make that selection.  With the risk, of course, of not getting my favorite pieces because my opponent did the same to me!  With all the other coolness of simple rules and beautiful, tangible elements, now the game includes one of my favorite aspects of another obsession?  Oh yes. 

  To get all this (and the rest that's still coming), we spent much monies.  There was definitely some budgetary considerations that were made.  Especially considering that GW was releasing 40k 8th this year and some of my other hobbies were definitely demanding attention as well.  Normally , I'm the one that's spending way too much on these nerdy games, but this time it wasn't me.  It wasn't one of my games that soaked up those dollars this time.  For once I can say that it was the wife.  She was the cause of this expenditure.  She did it!  And I'm so proud...