Thanksgiving Eclectic Game Time! Panzerblitz! 40k! The Allowance Game!

With a four-day Thanksgiving holiday, I got to spend some time gaming with my three kids.  Here's our highlight reel:

We started off with a few rounds of the old Citadel Combat Cards - Space Marine edition.  Basically, it's Top Trumps but with some sweet old school miniatures as pictures.  Nice way to kill some time with all the kids without using much brain power.  I may pick up some other variants off eBay, the pictures alone are worth it.

Next up, Panzerblitz!  This was my first wargame back in the early '80s.  And, like all first loves, it remains the measuring stick for everything that came after.

My Oldest Lead (and, more observations about pants)

I have two older minis sitting around gathering dust, so I figured I'd waste my (and your) time by throwing them into the ad hoc photo studio for historic archival preservation.  And to record them for insurance purposes as well, as I'm sure their value is in the low to mid one figures.  Each.

First up, a funky little Ral Partha from 1979:

This mini is really quite small, but has a decent amount of detail for the time.  He came into my possession in 1988, when he was only nine years old - but even then, he seemed ancient.  Perhaps if I gave him an article of clothing, I'd set him free.

Apocalypse (more or less) Battle Report

Over the last week, my 12 year old and I played out an Ultramarines vs. Grey Knights battle, featuring fortress walls and a half-completed scratch-built Warhound Titan, using the 6th edition 40 ruleset.  Here's the comic-style battle report, followed by some additional notes about the game.

Making a Space Marine Halloween Costume

So, yesterday was Halloween.  My understanding from non-Americans is that Halloween as not as big a deal overseas as it is here in the states.  Here - it's a big deal, and not only for kids.  So, when my oldest son said he wanted to be a space marine, I knew I needed to step up and make his dream come true.  Urh, with a limited budget . . . and little time . . . and no talent.  

I looked all over the inter webs, and found lots of templates and examples of prop-shop lackies who spent thousands on building fiberglass helmets and vacu-formed armour.  I found nothing that would help me throw something together in a few days with the materials at hand.  So, I basically went cheap, quick and easy.  If I can you do it, so can you!

Nerf gun generously sprayed with flat black primer and trimmed with silver craft paint.  Counts-as Bolt Gun.  Or, something approximating a Bolt Gun.  This actually didn't make it far on Halloween, as apparently it interfered with collecting candy.