6mm-Minis

6mm-Minis is Maksim-Smelchak's blog to discuss gaming, miniatures, books, movies, food, Israel, Judaism, life in general and other funny crud. My favorite scale of miniatures is 6mm, which is also called 1/285 or 1/300 scale. I enjoy many different kinds of games including ancients, Napoleonics, WWI, WWII, the Arab-Israeli conflict, Car Wars AKA Autoduel (a sort of crash'n'derby automobile combat game), 6mm Godzilla AKA Kaiju games, and science fiction games. I'm open to everything though!

Monday, November 05, 2007

MINI WARGAMING: "Wonders of 28mm Paper Pulp!" (5 November 2007)

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TOP: It has that awesome B&W feel, only it's in 28mm Pulp Nils-O-Vision!
Hi All,

It was just a month or so ago that I attended ConQuest San Francisco 2007 and this year was a breakthrough for me in finally seeing the incredible value one can get with paper scenery. My buddy Nils ran an awesome set of three linked 28mm pulp games and the paper scenery he used was nothing short of amazing. I had helped him playtest some of the games early on... before he assembled his paper scenery. My last major experience with paper scenery was the paper castle that came in a Dragon Magazine back in the 1980s... and what a change has come over paper scenery since then. Nils has all sorts of awesome paper scenery goodies: a loading dock, a mad scientist's headquarters complete with a giant ray gun and much more!

My other semi-recent experience with paper scenery came from a buddy who has since moved back East and has played with making paper models. I'm including one of Chuck's links below so you can check out the awesome Eldar grav tank he designed.

Link to my buddy Chuck's site with a cool paper model of an Eldar grav tank:
http://www.brothersdigital.com/portfolio/GrabBag.html

TOP: 28mm pulp G-men with wooden Walmart trucks!

Nils is a master of cheap materials... his wooden trucks came from Walmart and he often posts at TMP under his stage name of Black Cavalier. A coat or so of paint and the Walmart trucks went from OK to looking pretty snazzy. Nils does wonders with his minis.

And his experimentation with paper scenery prompted me to see what's out here. I'm including a link below to a great round-up article on 28mm paper scenery manufacturers.

Link here:
http://www.tabletop-terrain.com/archives/2006/03/08/522/

TOP: Awesome paper scenery with accessories!
Crates from Wartorn Worlds!
TOP: Awesome 28mm paper scenery.

When I eventually work up some 28mm modern zombies, I think I'm going to go with paper scenery despite having witnessed the awesome 3D splendor of the Zombie Town games. It's a heck of a lot less expensive to go with paper scenery and even when you consider assembly time, it's easier to print, cut, and glue paper models than having to do the same with non-paper miniatures scenery made of resin, plastic, or other materials which require cleaning, preparation, assembly, and painting. Being able to skip the painting step really saves on time. At any rate, I was very impressed with the 28mm pulp paper scenery I saw at ConQuest San Francisco 2007!

Link to Zombie Town games:
http://www.recon-in-force.com/Skank/index.html

Link to Wartorn Worlds, maker of fine scenery made of innovative materials:
http://www.wartornworlds.com/

Link here to World Works Games, makers of fine 28mm paper scenery:
http://www.worldworksgames.com/store/

Update (5 November 2007 at roughly 9:30am):
Nils wrote in to make sure that the manufacturer of the terrain he used gets proper credit. Nils used paper terrain from the The Mean Sets made by The Virtual Armchair General. Thanks, Nils!

Link here:
http://fauxtoys.com/tvag/620-Mean-Sets.htm

Update (5 November 2007 at roughly 1:00pm):
Nils updated his blog with a snazzy battle report and better photos of the game.

Link here to Nil's Intro:
http://blackcavalierswargaming.blogspot.com/2007/11/northern-california-pulp-project-intro.html

Link here to Nil's "Building the Board" article:
http://blackcavalierswargaming.blogspot.com/2007/11/virtual-generals-warehouse-unmodified.html

Have a great Monday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

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Tuesday, September 04, 2007

GAMING NEWS: Back From Conquest-SF-2007!

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Hi All,

I'm finally back from ConQuest San Francisco 2007 and it was both exhausting and fun. I took a bunch of snapshots and will share those later. In a few words, the con was very good, but I think this year will be a watershed for the convention in that I'm seeing some big changes in how the gaming community is relating to the convention.

ConQuest San Francisco
AKA Pacificon AKA the Labor Day weekend gaming convention in the Bay Area has always been known as the premier miniatures gaming event in the Bay Area. Dundracon is known for its RPGs and Kublacon for board games and ConQuest San Francisco for miniatures, but the times are changing. This year, attendance seemed to be down again and yet while I noticed what seemed like less events this year, the events I did see were very well attended as opposed to having many events with some of them not picking up any players. I saw games that in past years had no player interest packed this year. And I thought about that...

I think what we're seeing is a change in the ConQuest brand name...

The "Big Kahuna" on the ConQuest conventions is a very affable gamer named Gabriel "Mondo" Vega, a big bear of a man bursting with lots of enthusiasm and even more to say. And "Mondo" is very much a RPG and board gamer, but not a minis gamer. That has shown in the guests of honor that have been brought into the con... all RPG and/or board game legends (...but no miniatures guys). And there have been some incredible guests of honor such as... James "Cheapass Games" Ernest, Ken Hite (writer of numerous RPG products over the years), Dave Arneson (D&D & Blackmoore RPG games among many others), and this year Richard Borg (creator of the board games Memoir '44, Battle Cry, C&C Ancients, Battle Lore and many others).

So, what I'm getting around to saying is I see ConQuest turning into a board game and RPG convention and competing with Kublacon and Dundracon for those names in the community while mini games may be relegated to the periphery of the convention. However, I could easily be wrong... there were lots of historical miniatures games at ConQuest San Francisco 2007, but very few new gamemasters... with a few exceptions, almost all of the gamemasters were old grognards. Only time will tell...

And in the interests of full disclosure, I've been volunteering as the sci-fi / fantasy miniatures coordinator for many years running now and my position has been eliminated from next year's convention. I have no regrets about that though... I gave what I could and am glad of the opportunity. I've always enjoyed being a part of the gaming community and wanted to give back and ensure that we'd have a gaming convention next year. I also need to send many thanks to Dave P. who was the senior miniatures coordinator this year and a fine man. Thanks, Dave!

Now having gotten over the part where I blather the most, I had a very good time at ConQuest San Francisco 2007 and took in several great games:

Friday: Six-person 6mm SJG OGRE game hosted by Jim K., the "Gypsy Comet."
Saturday: 15mm "Screaming GI's" - WWII D-Day Allied paratroopers in the bocage scenario.
Sunday: 15mm "Screaming GI's" - WWII German "break out" scenario.
Sunday: 28mm Warhammer Fantasy battles, 1,500 point Lustria campaign game: My undead vs. John R.'s lizardmen.
Monday: Memoir '44 Overlord (board game) six-person scenario hosted by Richard Borg.

I also got to watch a 15mm "I ain't been shot yet, Mum!" game on Monday... very cool game and a great gamemaster. Thanks, Tim!

I should also thank Kevin E., the senior board games coordinator, who managed to get Richard Borg to travel all the way from Florida to join us at ConQuest. Richard Borg, is, to use a Yiddish term, one heck of a mensch... the kind of guy who speaks using the terms "gamer" and "friend" interchangeably, who can put back a couple of mugs of beer, who enjoys hosting games, who has no problem taking criticism about his games and much, much more. I really liked him... one heck of a mensch! In one conversation, I mentioned that I really liked C&C Ancients, but didn't care for Battle Lore. Without even a pause, he told me to play Battle Lore and allow battle backs and eliminate the shooting/mana problem (...the tendency of players to snipe at each other from a distance and accrue mana to come in in a massive spell-supported charge rather than fight along Medieval lines with heavy knights charging en masse) in the game to make players combat more... and those were exactly the aspects of Battle Lore that I didn't care for! At any rate, I really liked Richard Borg and have Kevin E. to thank for this "Golden Geek Bragging Rights" experience. Thanks, Kevin!

And now a few helpful links:

ConQuest San Francisco convention site:

Dundracon convention site:

Kublacon convention site:

Gabriel "Mondo" Vega's blog (ConQuest's "Big Kahuna"):

I hope to write more about my ConQuest experience later this week, but I need to sign off for today!

Have a great Tuesday!

Update (5 September 2007 @ 9:10pm PST):

Gabriel "Mondo" Vega was kind enough to write in and correct some oversights I made... The ConQuest series gaming conventions apparently have had miniatures guests that I overlooked and "Mondo" is apprently a DBA fan. Thanks for the correction, "Mondo!"

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

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Thursday, August 30, 2007

HUMOUR: Cannibal Stew... For Two!

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TOP: Into the cannibal pot with 'em!
Ummm... maybe not THAT one.
Hi All,

A short post thanks to a joke from my buddy Leopold:
A cannibal was walking through the jungle and came upon a restaurant operated by a fellow cannibal. Feeling somewhat hungry, he sat down and looked over the menu...

+ Tourist: $5
+ Broiled Missionary: $10.00
+ Fried Explorer: $15.00
+ Baked Democrat or Grilled Republican: $100.00

The cannibal called the waiter over and asked, 'Why such a price difference for the Politician?'

The cook replied, 'Have you ever tried to clean one? They're so full of crud, it takes all morning.'

As another short note, I will probably be meagerly posting on the Blog this weekend as I'll be at the ConQuest San Francisco 2007 gaming convention in the Bay Area...

TOP: Be careful what you eat because...
You are, after all, what you eat!

To learn more about ConQuest San Francisco 2007, please follow this link:
http://avalonconventions.com/conquestsf/

Have a great Thursday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

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Saturday, January 13, 2007

GAMING NEWS: Return of Serenity!

.Hi Everyone,

I'm very excited that Captain Bob will be in town tonight... "What?" you say... "Who's Captain Bob?" Well, I'll tell you. Captain Bob is an extremely well known gaming host who throws some of the most well-regarded games in the Greater Northern California area from Kublacon to Dundracon to ConQuest SF and beyond...

I played in his Serenity game at ConQuest SF 2006 and LOVED it! It was a great time and he puts so much effort and time into his games. He has a giant three-level model of the Serenity (the spaceship from the old Firefly TV series) that was removeable with a sand table underneath, Chinese coins, character miniatures, Xeroxed story background and a varity of other fun props and background devices that really brought the game to life. Tonight, he's visiting the Sacramento area and will be hosting a special encore of his Serenity game and I was invited. We'll be dining on Chinese food and it should be a good time to all. Captain Bob will be using the Serenity roleplaying game (RPG) rules published by Margaret Weis if I'm not mistaken. Many thanks to Steph Frelling for hosting Captain Bob while he's in town!

I'll be meeting the local guys for boardgaming this morning... rumor's out that today is Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) Day today, a classic WWII board game. Sunday, I hope to go hiking out along the River and on Monday I'm hoping to see the new film "Pan's Labyrinth"... should be good!

I hope that everyone else has a good weekend too, so...

Happy Saturday and Gut Shabbos to all!

Shabbat Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.


P.S.
If you haven't purchased the Serenity or Firefly TV Series DVDs yet, I highly recommend them!

P.S.S.
I have more good news in that I start a new job on Tuesday thanks to a recently earned promotion. Yeah!

Notes regarding photos / pictures: These are not all my images. I am using various images from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

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Monday, September 04, 2006

GAMING NEWS: Return of Super Mario Bros, Life & ConQuest SF Snippets (4 September 2006)...

Hi Everyone,

Well... it's been a bit since I last posted, BUT I have great news to share...

I finally got the full-time, fully benefitted job that I've been struggling to get for a little over a year since I left my career as a public educator. I started a job with the State of California as a policy analyst this past week (28 August 2006). The contracts are signed, I've been performing my job well and I feel secure enough to publicly announce it.

The new job will involve a few changes for me and one of the most saddening for me on a personal level is that I'm going to have to give up my Wednesday night gaming group at A-1 Comics. Last Wednesday was my last evening with the guys and I took them all out to dinner as a parting gift. I still hope to see Dave, Dick and Kimbo around, but circumstances will keep me from enjoying their company on Wednesdays for awhile.

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Life's been pretty hectic for me recently too... between aggressively looking for better work, working up to three jobs at a time, trying to support an ailing now-ex-girlfriend, moving to a new apartment, seeing my friend Jon & my baby sister get married, and otherwise having the carpet jerked out from under my feet more times than I can remember.... things have been crazy!

The new job promises for a little more stability and chance to see things right again. Amen!

I went this past weekend to ConQuest SF, which was a shadow of its former self... the Bay Bridge received some much needed emergency earthquake refitting and I think that drove away a lot of potential convention attendees. I still had a good time, but there was a lot of work as well... I hope to write about it sometime in the next week or two... but I have a more important task ahead of me... I need to finish writing a few game reviews and make good to a very patient magazine editor.

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At the convention, I met a number of cool folks:

- Dave Arneson, the father of D&D along with Gary Gyax.

http://www.jovianclouds.com/blackmoor/

- Ken Hite, author of numerous RPG & gaming books / article sover the years including Chaosium Cthulhu products, GURPs and more.

http://princeofcairo.livejournal.com/

- James Ernest, the genius behind Cheapass Games and other cool stuff...

http://www.cheapass.com/

More information about those folks can be found here:

http://shorl.com/fynodegyprigry

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I also met many others including:

- Matthew "Judas" Sicarii, the famed gamer behind the design of Striker III.

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/ct-striker/

- Aron Clark, well-known Bay Area gamer known for ASQL (Alien Squad Leader), who threw a great Dirtside II game tourney at the con.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aliensquadleader/

- Ron Plunk, maestro of the cult gaming classic "B-17: Queen of the Skies" from Avalon Hill, who has been transforming a relatively simple number-generating game into a social experience that has been a local favorite for twenty-one plus years!

- Charles Gomez, local gamer extaordinaor, who ran an outstanding Monster Island game... had a blast playing it!

http://www.firefly-games.com/index.php

- Mark Steinberg & Mike McGraw, who ran some of the coolest spaghetti Western gunfight games in recent history...

http://arnicarealestate.com/

- Lawrence Golinowski, who ran the classic convention favorite: Aerodrome.

http://www.aerodrome-ww1aircombat.com/

- The Flagship Games guys, Rod & Thomas who made their well expected and respected magic...

http://www.flagshipgames.com/

- Terry Matheny and his friend Harry, who brought Screaming G.I.s III to the convention...

http://theminiaturespage.com/rules/ww2/sgi.html

- Chad & Alex, who brought Company Commander to the con, which is soon to be published by GMT Games...

http://www.gmtgames.com/

- Peter Bauer, who brought the magic of Starguard to the convention...

http://www.tin-soldier.com/sg/sg1.html

- Simon from Aberrant Games...

http://AberrantGames.com

- Eric from Conquest Miniatures...

http://www.conquestminiatures.com/

- Don from Wartorn Worlds...

http://www.wartornworlds.com/shopping/catalog/

- And so many others!

I'll have to write up a big post later.


But... in the mean time, a little treat for my readers...

Check out this link for Hard Rock Super Mario Brothers!

http://shorl.com/gyfudrulutygi
If you remember, it wasn't so long ago that I wrote about Socialist Super Mario Brothers, so it seemed only fair to share Hard Rock Super Mario Brothers! Enjoy!

http://briefurl.com/the_peoples_mario

I wish everyone the best!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

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Friday, August 04, 2006

GAMING NEWS: ConQuest SF Just Around The Corner...

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Hi Everyone,

ConQuest SF (San Francisco) is just around the corner and this news was recently released to the public:

Father of RolePlaying Games Runs Game at ConQuest SF for Charity this Labor Day Weekend.

Legendary Guest of Honor Dave Arneson, co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons, will be running a session of his fabled Blackmoor Campaign on Saturday September 2 at ConQuest SF (San Francisco). We are offering a Once-In-A-Lifetime opportunity to play in the 'First Fantasy Campaign', Blackmoor, with Dave as the the GM. Dave invites all to come and visit the 'New Temple of the Frog!'

ConQuest will hold a charity silent auction during the show to determine the eight higest bidders who will get to play in this game. 20 more ringside observer seats will also be available to be bid on. Starting bids for the eight player seats is $20, and $5 for each of the observer seats. 100% of all proceeds from this auction will go to Paralyzed Veterans of America, our charity for this year's ConQuest SF.

ConQuest SF, formally known as ConQuest and before that Pacificon, is one of the oldest, and now one of the fastest growing game conventions on the West Coast. This years convention features our Non-Legendary Guest of Honor, James Ernest, as well as Special Guests Keith Baker, Ken Hite, and Pete Dorman. Dave Arneson appears in part, courtesy of RPG Sponsor Black Diamond Games. End Game of Oakland is our major show sponsor.

For information about ConQuest SF, and our other conventions in Sacramento, Seattle, and Los Angeles, or CruiseCon, please visit http://www.con-quest.com

Thanks,
Gabriel "Mondo" Vega
Avalon Game Conventions

And for those of you who don't know, I'll be working at Conquest SF and other gaming events hosted by Avalon Game Conventions. I ran the fantasy / sci-fi miniatures area at ConQuest Sac and I'll be returning in the same role to Conquest SF. I had a blast at Conquest Sac and took plenty of photos which you can peruse here:

http://briefurl.com/Photos_CQ_Sac_2006

And there should be plenty of good fun at ConQuest SF 2006. Whether you enjoy board gaming, miniatures games, celebrity talks, a wide variety of vendors or more, it will be there at ConQuest SF 2006!

Have a great Friday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

P.S.
The above zombie photo comes from Marcus's amazing "Zombietown" games, which he hosts, along with some friends, every year during Halloween at Great Escape Games in Sacramento. Marcus has since built himself a web site... I highly recommend checking it out here:

http://www.skankgame.com/

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Sunday, June 18, 2006

PERSONAL NEWS: Happy Fathers Day (18 June 2006)!

Hi Everyone and especially the fathers among us!

First of all, Happy Father's Day to all!

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Secondly, things have been very busy on the home front...

I'm still gaming and have the materials for several more gaming session reports, but I've been kept busy with the job search... earlier this year, I got on with the State part-time, but there was no chance for uch more than part-time so I moved on and ended up working for CBT / McGraw Hill, an educational company, and not the best job in the world, but a decent filler job until something better comes along...

The last few months, I've been obsessive with the job search... applying all over the place and very often at that... on the 27th of this month, I'll FINALLY get another chance at a State job... they finally opened examinations again after having what's been at least six months of a hiring freeze and very likely longer.

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I also have two weddings coming up in July... the first for my friend Jon Compton and the second for my baby sister... alot is going on.

http://joncompton.com/

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I'm still gaming and looking forward to ConQuest SF coming up in about a month or two and, in the meantime, am still gaming at A-1 Comics on Sunrise just about every Wednesday evening and occasionally elsewhere.

http://avalonconventions.com/conquestsf/

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The gaming group has been busy too...

Kurt and Mark are addicted to on-line computer gaming crack...

Kimbo is getting over a move and a phobia that the dice have it in for him...

Dave is in a weird sort of malaise although well...

Dick bought a new Toyoya Prius and is trying to salvage the MWSS gaming club...

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/M_W_S/

Mike O'Brien is looking for a better job and taking care of his lovely girlfriend, Donna, or maybe the other war around...

Tony recently hurt his leg and is getting over that...

Mike Warde has been very busy lately... his son Conor is getting ready to head off to Bible camp...

Chris has been around quite a bit lately... I'm really getting to know and like him.

Nils is vaccilating between building a 10mm and a 6mm WWII miniatures set...

Joe Riddle has been doing some amazing things with his 15mm HOTT armies...

George has hosted several games lately and is out of his cocoon...

Vynnie is well and kicking...

http://www.recon-in-force.com/

Marcus has put up a web site for his wonderful beer & pretzels skirmish game, Skank:

http://www.skankgame.com/

And the rest of the gang has plenty going on as well!

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And concurrently , I've been on a quest to drop some pounds at the gym and actually HAVE! It must be close to six months now and I've lost at least ten to fifteen pounds and gained a ton of muscle mass... The hardest hurdle for me has always been making working out a habitual part of my life and I've been at it with success for a long time now... just need to keep it up.

http://www.24hourfitness.com/html/

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I'll be trying to update the blog sometime in the next week or two... I have drafts for a number of posts ready and just need to get them finished. I also added a link to my Photo Bucket gallery on the right side link lists of my blog and most of my photos are posted there for public perusal... even though they haven't found a post to belong to yet.

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f23/Maksim-Smelchak/

I'm wishing everyone well and would be happy to hear from anyone wanting to drop me a line!

Happy Father's Day again!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

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