A mighty warband has assembled to celebrate a centenary of Tabletop Miniature Hobby Podcast episodes.
Unfortunately, this warband is not tournament-legal because it’s exclusively made up of heroes.
Those heroes are Jervis Johnson, Andy Chambers, Trish Carden, Gav Thorpe, Joe McCullough, Tuomas Pirinen, Mike Hutchinson, Alessio Cavatore, and Rick Priestley.
Can you think of a better way to spend the next 30 minutes than listening to these folks? No, me either.
The clips from Andy Chambers, Gav Thorpe, Tuomas Pirinen, and Alessio Cavatore were taken from episodes they appeared on in 2023, whilst the clips from Jervis, Trish, Joe, Mike, and Rick are brand new material. These tackle the subject of our September question of the month: Which person (dead or alive) would you love to play a miniatures game with, and why? Also, what game would you play?
A massive thank you to this group of brilliant people for giving up their time to get involved in this humble podcast. To the best of my knowledge, here’s where you can check out what they’ve been making, recently:
I’ve been building and painting this undead sci-fi warband on and off for the past three years. It was initially intended for Stargrave, but it’ll fit in well with any other ruleset, too, from Planet 28 to my very own Star Squabble.
I liked the idea of a “crew” that didn’t need to be kept safe, fed, watered, and essentially transported around the galaxy. The leadership would simply arrive at the location of their next objective and re-animate the corpses of whatever last happened to die there.
These little undead aliens by CP Models can be used under the ‘Guard Dog’ category.
Midlam‘s great Crow Shaman miniature will make an ideal “medic” for the crew. Not a medic in the conventional sense perhaps, just someone with a bit of necromantic magic know-how who can patch up skeletons when they get blasted to bits.
The Captain and Vice-Captain of the crew are Chaos Villain Skully and Kane the Tech Mancer, both courtesy of Diehard.
An ex-Blood Angel, perhaps? He can be deployed in Stargrave in the ‘Armoured Trooper’ category.
I played a couple of games in August, playtesting a skirmish rule system I’ve been tweaking, adapting, and embellishing. There are two variations of it, The Mace of Spades being the fantasy version, and Star Squabble the sci-fi variation.
For the Star Squabble testing, I threw almost all of the terrain I owned onto the tabletop to really fill it up and limit line of sight (there are no range limits in the game). This meant mixing castles and cottages with futuristic sci-fi elements, and I really liked the contrast. See the full photo album over on Flickr.
Some “Scerrain” (scenario-based terrain) – a portal in the middle of the table. The player rolls a D6 upon entering it. 2-5 sees them respawn on a table corner; rolling a six lets them respawn anywhere they like – but a roll of one hands that privilege to their opponent!
Players can also attempt to take control of this machine gun turret high above the battlefield. You can do a bit of damage with that!
In other news, I finished painting a few miniatures, including this fantastic troll from Foundry, a Pict who’s feeling the heat (also from Foundry), and Jeff, the Wandering Wizard.
On top of that, a big unit of goblin spearmen is (finally!) finished. Find out more in my 15mm armies post.
This post was initially published in August 2023. At that point, every single miniature was in its shiny metal form. Now that a decent amount of them have been painted, I thought it was time for an update.
I’m never going to own a 6’4 table. But I still look at those old Warhammer Fantasy Battles pictures in White Dwarf and want to recreate the experience in my own way. 6mm is unarguably a brilliant way to fight out massive battles, but when I learned more about 15mm last year, it felt just right. Not too big, not too small, just right.
To be clear, I’m not abandoning 28mm. It’ll always be the main scale for me. But doing mass battles at that scale is unrealistic for me. I just don’t have the space, or, the budget.
I did have some hobby money available after selling a few 28mm regiments I knew I’d never use. So I re-invested it in two full 15mm armies, which I was able to assemble for around £120 in total.
One is an Orc & Goblin horde (with some Chaos Warrior allies), whilst the other is an Empire/human force. I put them together from three different companies, Ral Partha, Alternative Armies, and Pendraken.
I recently bought a box of Alien Warriors from the official Aliens game. I thought 12 miniatures for £20 was a great price, and I’d been in the market for something like this for a while.
I’m looking to create a DIY version of Space Hulk. I also wanted additional options for my Titan scenarios, particularly non-ranged creatures that can be used as NPC swarms in solo and co-op games.
The miniatures were difficult to build. I’m not used to multi-part plastic and naively clipped them all from their sprues before realising that some parts had very specific companion pieces. Nevertheless, I got some help and managed to eventually get them all put together.
Four of the miniatures had their class inscribed on their bases. Because I’m not using them for their intended rules system, I covered these up with some plastic putty and painted them green. The effect is a sort of xenomorphic acid.
I gave them a zenithal undercoat then covered them with the Terradon Turquoise Citadel contrast paint. I then dry-brushed them with Bleached Bone, and with Tentacle Pink on their heads and faces. Finally, I coated them with Vallejo Gloss Varnish to give them a slimy, wet, shiny effect.
I’m really chuffed with how they turned out, especially given how easy they were to paint (though, as I say, they were also a nightmare to build!).
I’m looking forward to handing them their debut in a playtest of the narrative Titan-based scenario I’m working on. I’ll also be looking to pack them into the cramped tunnels of a derelict spaceship for a bit of Space Hulk-style action soon, too.
Want to walk around town sporting an obscure 90s tabletop miniature hobby reference that no one will ever understand? Then you need some Goblin Green Bases-themed merch.
On there, you’ll find t-shirts, hoodies, caps, mugs, stickers, magnets and more. In the infinitely rare chance you bump into someone as stuck in the past as you are, it’ll probably be the finest moment you’ve had this side of the millennium.
Goblin Green bases were a hallmark of Games Workshop miniatures, particularly in the early to mid-90s. This distinct basing style involved painting the bases of miniatures with a bright, saturated green colour known as Goblin Green. The technique was popularized through Games Workshop’s own painting team, known as ‘Eavy Metal, and was prominently featured in White Dwarf magazine, their flagship publication. Here’s a deeper look into the significance and appeal of Goblin Green bases:
Historical Context and Technique
Standardization: In the early 90s, the hobby of miniature painting was still developing standardized techniques and styles. Goblin Green bases provided a uniform look that helped tie together various armies and models in photos and in play.
Materials and Methods: Typically, the base was first painted with Goblin Green paint. To add texture, a mix of PVA glue and sand was often applied before painting. This created a simple but effective grass-like appearance.
Photographic Consistency: For White Dwarf magazine, consistency in miniature presentation was crucial. Goblin Green bases ensured that regardless of the model or its primary colour scheme, the bases would create a cohesive visual theme across various articles and battle reports.
Appeal and Aesthetic
Vivid and Bold: The 90s were characterized by bright, bold, and saturated colours in many aspects of culture, from fashion to graphic design. Goblin Green bases matched this trend, making the miniatures visually striking and easily noticeable.
Contrast and Highlight: The bright green bases provided a stark contrast to the often dark and gritty miniatures of the Warhammer universes. This contrast helped the models stand out, making their intricate details more noticeable.
Nostalgia and Community Identity: Many hobbyists who grew up with White Dwarf magazine and early Warhammer models have a deep nostalgia for the Goblin Green base. It became a symbol of the early days of the hobby, creating a sense of community identity among long-time fans.
Complementary Colors: During the 90s, Warhammer models were often painted in saturated, high-contrast colours. The bright greens, reds, blues, and yellows of the miniatures were complemented by the equally vibrant Goblin Green bases. This created a cohesive and appealing aesthetic that resonated well with the visual tastes of the time.
Evolution and Legacy
As the hobby evolved, so did basing techniques. The introduction of more sophisticated basing materials and techniques, such as resin bases, tufts, and advanced texturing methods, gradually led to a decline in the use of Goblin Green. Modern miniatures often feature more realistic and varied basing styles, reflecting diverse environments and adding to the overall narrative of the models.
However, Goblin Green bases still hold a place of fondness for many veteran hobbyists. Some continue to use the style for its nostalgic value, while others incorporate elements of it into more modern basing techniques as a nod to the past. The bright green base remains an iconic and instantly recognizable part of Warhammer’s rich history, symbolizing a formative era in miniature painting and gaming.
Saturn’s biggest moon, Titan, is one of the most fascinating places in our solar system. With its thick, nitrogen-rich atmosphere and surface lakes of liquid methane and ethane, Titan presents an eerie yet captivating world that starkly contrasts with our own. The Cassini-Huygens mission unveiled its complex weather system and revealed landscapes eerily similar to Earth’s, with vast dunes, river channels, and possible cryovolcanoes. NASA’s Dragonfly mission is set to return to Titan in 2034. But until then, much of this world remains shrouded in mystery.
This mixture of fact and mystery makes Titan a brilliantly flavourful sandbox for a futuristic sci-fi setting. Imagine if human colonisation led to a booming hydrocarbon industry that (quite literally) fuelled man’s exploration beyond the boundaries of the Kuiper Belt. And then, as these space capitalism narratives generally do, it all gets torn apart by corporate entities and warring factions. What remains is… a brilliant place to get your miniatures on the tabletop and roll some dice.
The Factions
Based on my own miniature collection, here are the initial factions who’ll be shooting it out under rust-coloured skies.
The Ethane Frontier Corporation: One of the major players in the Titan Hydrocarbon Industry and the only company to survive the war. They fight to clear out or eliminate all other factions from the region. Typically, they use a mixture of androids and mercenary companies to do their fighting.
The People’s Government of Red Mars: Communist Mars has the biggest human population in the solar system, and the government will do anything in its power to secure Titan’s hydrocarbon infrastructure and resources.
Titan’s Remaining Human Survivors: Millions of people still live on Titan, ranging from former industry workers and their families to criminal gangs and maddened cultists.
Creatures of Space: From the walking dead to the creatures of the warp, it isn’t just humans fighting it out on Titan. All other monsters and horrors are welcome here.
It was the thought of a grid-based system like a chessboard that stirred some ideas in my mind.
Now, I know, crucially, you can’t put a chessboard in a tin, (not unless it is a very big tin), but this was enough to get me started with a basic framework.
To back up a little, my daughter is the proud owner of a Farm in a Tin. Each time we’re out at dinner, the table becomes an agricultural utopia with little wooden sheep and cows grazing happily on the set’s felt mat. As I’m sitting there (usually on my 3rd or 4th pint), I start to think to myself, “Wouldn’t it be cool if there was a wargame in a tin?”
The finished “Wargame in a Tin” set
But I’m no game designer. I had no idea where to start. What I did have, though, were some core criteria:
Minimal components
Minimal dice rolling
No bookkeeping
A healthy balance of luck and skill
Infinite setup and scenario possibilities
That’s a lot to ask from one small tin. But, the thought of using a chessboard for a game other than chess had me reaching for the ubiquitous “Chess & Drafts” set in the cupboard. I had just recently painted up a set of single-figure trays from Warbases, and numbered each of them, so the game suddenly took shape in my head.
Early playtesting with a chessboard
Each player has six miniatures, numbered 1-6.
On your turn, you roll two D6. One is the “Activation dice”, the other is the “Action dice”.
The Activation dice tells you which of your miniatures to activate.
The Action dice tells you how many action points they have, either to move or shoot.
For example, if you roll a four, you can move two, shoot two, or move one, shoot three. Or, just move four.
Shooting results in an immediate kill – there are no saving rolls.
For each miniature you lose, you get a +1 to your Activation dicein your next turn.
That last addition was brought in to keep the game competitive to the end. Thematically, this could be depleted forces getting more and more desperate, powerful, or dangerous. Tactically, it means you want to avoid having any of your own guys too close together – the enemy’s last man standing can do a tonne of damage if they roll a six with a +5 modifier!
Some blocking terrain (the wee one’s wooden blocks) made it more interesting, and meant that no two games ever had to be the same. Then (and still thinking, “I’ll never fit this chessboard in a tin!”), I bought some plastic graph template sheets and cut them up into handy “dungeon tiles”.
The final iteration
I got some 10mm figures from Pendraken to form the two rival warbands. They are mounted on 15mm x 15mm bases.
Finally, I cut up and glued some felt to the inside of a tobacco tin. This will be especially handy for silent dice rolling in public places and generally not annoying anyone. I’ll just need some bubble wrap in there to stop the pieces ratting about during transportation. I’m also looking into magnetising the bottom of the bases.
A game of Space Saverz
So there you have it, my very own “wargame in a tin” – Space Saverz. Sci-fi, space and all that, combined with… well, saving space. You get the idea.
This website collects cookies in order to feed the ogres. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
