Brother Deino...Gah!

It took me more than a year to get back to painting my Space Hulk minis, but after painting Brother Noctis and a Genestealer, now I'm onto Brother Deino. The picture isn't so great, but things came out pretty well, I think, until...

Battle Report from the past...40k

Here's another battle report from the past, this one the first that I know of that is for Warhammer 40k.  There were a few other battle reports, mainly Warhammer, and at least one for Adeptus Mechanicus, but this one is 40k, pitting Andy Chambers' Blood Angels against Jervis Johnson's Alaitoc Eldar.  This battle report appeared in White Dwarf 141, from September 1991.  Just looking at the miniatures and how the game was played, I think it's very interesting to see what has changed and what has not. (Clicking on the pictures will make them large enough to read)

Battle Report from the Past...

While doing some digging around I came across this: the first Battle Report that I know of in White Dwarf magazine. At least, the first one in my collection, which goes back to issue #98. This one, titled "24 Hours at Carik Mound", which appeared in issue #107, recounts a 24 hour Warhammer 3rd Edition battle fought by a gaming club that included some GW staff members. Battle Reports become one of the most popular features in White Dwarf. (by issue 140 or so, they become a regular feature) 

I've scanned the article in its entirety below. (Seeing as the article is some 23 years old, I'm hoping GW won't mind all that much).  As you can see, Battle Reports have come a long way in the intervening decades.  At the very least it's an interesting read to see how much things have changed since then.

Commandos and Mercenaries

I figured it was about time to do a shout out to a friend of mine: Jack Badelaire.

Jack and I have been gaming together for some 13 years now, when we met at Boston University. For a while we played tabletop RPGs in our gaming group, but I had been a 40k gamer long before I met him. It took some cajolery to convince him to give 40k a try, but the imagery of the Necrons got him hooked. Now he has a good-sized Necron army, a large Waaagh! of Orks, and has recently started a Space Wolves army. Over the years his forces have featured in many if not most of my battle reports.

Jack's blog, the Post-Modern Pulps Blog, deals with action/adventure novels, movies and television series--all things that have in part inspired the over-the-top action-packed adventure that is found in the Warhammer 40k universe.

Jack has made for himself a network of contacts in the blogosphere with other fans of the genre, and even several authors. With the help of several like-minded collaborators, he has published the first issue in a what promises to be an interesting eJournal called Hatchet Force Journal.

Among other things it consists of several movie and book reviews, an interview with action/adventure novelist Mack Maloney (author of the Wingman and The Pirate Hunters series), and the essay The Children of Vietnam by Jack himself.

The eJournal is $0.99--pocket change, really. So if you're into the action/adventure genre I encourage you to check it out.



The Journal isn't the only thing he's been working on. Jack's first novel, Commando: Operation Arrowhead, will be released as an eBook for the Kindle in the coming months:

This ebook is the first in a planned series about British Commando operations during World War II. This first installment introduces us to Tommy Lynch, a veteran of the evacuation at Dunkirk, and his first mission as a Commando in Nazi-occupied France.

Jack's also hard at work on another novel, Killer Instincts, which is a revenge thriller set in 2001. It is currently in the editing phase and stands a good chance of being released by the end of the year.

Killer Instincts is about young William, a preppy college student whose family is wiped out by mafiosi. He is introduced by his Vietnam vet uncle to the shadowy Richard, an eccentric mercenary who brings William's killer instincts to the fore, preparing him to exact a very personal revenge.

Where the heck have I been?

I've been out of the blogging loop for several months, but not without good reason. Earlier in the year my family had some health problems, and while we've gotten past them, it took up a lot of my time.

Second, and this is good news, I got to welcome my son into the world on July 5.

Both Mom and baby are doing great.

Since I now have two children...

...finding time to paint miniatures is even harder to come by.

Coupled with that, most of my free time over the past several months has been spent writing. Last year I discovered that Black Library accepts open submissions for novels and short stories, but only during a window from May 1 to July 31. See their FAQ. Anyway, I've had a bunch of ideas about 40k stories (who hasn't?), and decided to give it a try. So I've submitted proposals for two novels and one short story. If one of them is accepted, I'll hear in the next two months. If not, I won't hear anything at all. I have few illusions that one of my submissions will be accepted, but the fastest way to get rejected is not to submit anything at all. So here's hoping that the powers that be at Black Library like what I wrote...

Perhaps during the waiting period I can get back into painting. Sitting idle while waiting would be a mistake... As for actually gaming and fighting any battles...that's even harder.

My usual gaming opponent and good friend of mine, Jack Badelaire, has also been busy this year writing as well. Although he's a fan of Black Library's novels, he's going independent. Jack is very much into post-modern pulp fiction--that is, men's action/adventure novels, running the gamut from WWII commando stories to 70s and 80s pulp thrillers (check out his blog for more details). He's recently published the first issue of an e-journal called Hatchet Force Journal, which includes many articles on the subject including an interview with a prominent author in the field. It's a mere $0.99, so check it out.

Jack's also working on a pair of novels--one is a modern revenge thriller, the second is the first in a series of WWII novels based on British Commando raids in Europe. Both of these should be released on Amazon.com in the next few months.

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Despite all these things taking up my time, I have a bunch of miniatures queued up on a shelf. Every time I walk past them I feel guilty. Sooner or later I'll find a few hours of free time, and I'll start painting. Someday I might even be able to get back into gaming...