Hobby Blog
2023: The Year in Miniatures
This blog is going to be used to document the miniatures painted in 2023. Total 28mm Miniatures Painted: 164 & 2 Chariots Updated 26th July 2023 July 2023 28mm Cthulhu Investigators x 4, 3D printed from designs by Enigmatic World and painted using Army Painter...
Pulpam Angiportum: Sepulcrum Serpentis – Eventus I
It all started with a comment from my son Lewis, about The Ancient Pyramids in Egypt being as ancient to Cleopatra as Cleopatra is to us. As a long term Pulp Alley fan having a huge interest in all things Roman (real and fictional) It occurred to me that it could be a...
Rebasing / Movement Trays for Warhammer The Old World
Warhammer Fantasy Battle is returning with a 9th edition called 'The Old World' One of the changes that has happened is that the bases sizes that had pretty much stayed the same from 1st to 8th edition have been altered for the new release. Heavy, shock cavalry have...
Dungeon Saga Origins
Back in March I backed Mantic Games, Dungeon Saga Origin campaign. I had backed there original Dungeon Saga and had really enjoyed it. It's my favourite dungeon crawl board game! At the weekend the new version arrived in the post. I was very, very impressed with the...
Storing a huge number of figures in an IKEA Kallax Unit
This is a Kallax unit from IKEA. It’s a great product, It’s good value, light and strong and comes in lots of different sizes. Lots of gamers have them already for storing hobby stuff. They are great for books, board games and terrain. At Sally 4th, we’ve been making...
Early Imperial Romans vs Germans with WooD
Yesterday my good friend Mike came around to put the new Sally 4th Early Imperial Romans through there paces. The Legionaries are part of a large range of models in the pipeline covering Rome's wars and her enemies. The models are 28mm metal miniatures, designed by...
Quick, Easy & Great Looking Random Battlefields
Sally 4th has been offering a series of great looking game mats / cloths for some while and over the last six months or so we have been working on a system of terrain overlays for woods, marshes, settlements, rivers tracks and roads. Some times we have a scenario in...
Pulp Alley: Rome vs Cthulhu
Over the last year I have been working on a number of Rome themed gaming projects. We are at the moment running a Kickstarter campaign, For the Glory of Rome that includes some fantastic Early Imperial Legionaries and civilians sculpted by Iain Lovecraft. They are the...
Rigging the 28mm Xebec from Iain Lovecraft
A xebec was a Mediterranean sailing ship that was used mostly for trading. Xebecs had a long overhanging bowsprit and aft-set mizzen mast. Xebecs were ships similar to galleys primarily used by Barbary pirates, which have both lateen sails and oars for propulsion....
Pulp Alley Wars of Ozz ‘A quartet of witches in the fog’
Dave Phipps, Pulp Alley author and altogether good guy has been busy working on a Magic Supplement for Pulp Alley. I was very excited to hear about this, I can see loads of potential for skirmish / semi rpg based games with D&D characters, Frostgrave style...
Speed-painting Rob Roy Highlanders
I thought it would be useful to put a quick article together to show how I paint my Highlanders' quickly to table-top gaming standard. I am definitely more of a gamer than a painter, so when I paint I am interested in the effect from three to four foot away, as this...
Speed-painting Souk Props
Over the years Ann and I have enjoyed several trips to Morocco and have always been captivated by the sights, sounds and smells of the Souk's or markets, often located in the beautiful old Medinas. For me two of the most distinguishing signs of a North African...
Rob Roy 28mm Miniatures
Ever since I saw the Rob Roy movie back in 1995, I have always thought that the plot has a lot of skirmish gaming potential. The very talented Iain Lovecraft has designed a set of miniatures and terrain and David Phipps from Pulp Alley is developing some scenarios to...
Paint my Wagon: 28mm Old West Wagons
I've been a big fan of the Dead Man's Hand plastic gunfighters ever since they were first released because of the versatility you have to put together some miniatures armed and equipped exactly how you want them. I was therefore very excited to hear that they were...
Perilous Planets: Starfleet needs a new crew
Yesterday I was sitting at my desk, thinking that I would very much like to start a new Star Trek inspired Pulp Alley campaign. We have played many Star Trek themed games in the past, it is one of my favourite genres, so it made sense to me to have a new crew for a...
Paint 4 Table: Breton Style Fantasy Archer Regiment
Twenty or so years ago, when I ran a games store I had at least a small, playable army for each army list in Games Workshops Warhammer Fantasy Battle and WH40K game, how ever my 'personal' army, and very much my favourite was always the Bretonnians. I guess I was a...
What A Cultist – Horror effects in What A Cowboy
Last Friday (21st July), John and I got together for another game of 'What A Cowboy', the Old West skirmish game from Too Fat Lardies. John, Doug and I have been playing a lot of the game recently, first learning the rules and then starting a campaign. The game works...
What A Cowboy… What A Cultist!
Over the last couple of months, Doug, John and I have been really enjoying learning Too Fat Lardies, What A Cowboy Western Skirmish rules. We have played some great games set in the Old West. The mechanisms work well and are a lot of fun. I've started thinking about...
Some new soldier conversions for Frostgrave
On Sunday I painted up six of the fantastic new Magi figures from Iain Lovecraft's Frost:2 Kickstarter, (click here for a read of the hobby blog I wrote about painting them). On Monday I got to thinking how much I'd like to use them for a league in Frostgrave, how...
Frost 2: Painting the Magi
Sunday morning, I had three hours to spare while Ann was working and as on Saturday the postie had delivered some 3D prints of these lovely six Magi from Iain Lovecraft's Frost 2 Kickstarter campaign, I decided that I would have a go at painting them up, quickly, to...
Frost 2: Painting Oldkeep Barracks
Over the last few weeks, I have had the privilege to be able to test print and paint some of the beautiful models from my good friend, Iain Lovecraft's new terrain and miniatures Kickstarter, Frost 2. This lovely plaster and timber building with a wood tiled roof...
Wars of Ozz / Pulp Alley Skirmish
On Friday Doug, John and I got together to play a Wars of Ozz skirmish game using Pulp Alley. The game was set in a semi submerged area of post apocalyptic ruins, where rumour had it that there was an ancient treasure hidden, waiting to be claimed by who ever could...
Tears of a Clown – Painting 28mm WaterSpire Clown with Speedpaints
With a few days left to run on the WaterSpire Kickstarter which completes on Friday 19th, I am trying to put together a quick and easy painting guide to get 'gaming quality' miniatures on the table in double quick time. This morning I have painted 'The Clown'. After...
Painting WaterSpire Cthulhu Deep Ones
The Deep Ones are one of the most iconic HP Lovecraft adversaries so I was delighted that Iain Lovecraft agreed to sculpt a set of them for the WaterSpire Kickstarter. The WaterSpire campaign contains buildings, canals, gondolas, statues, bridges, and scatter terrain...
Venice 1943 – 02 Hundred Hours
I am a huge fan of 02 Hundred Hours, the game of night time raids in WW2. The games innovative mechanisms do a great job at representing the difficult choices and risks associated with creeping around at night in close proximity to the enemy. It was a lucky...
Bond in Venice
Recovering the plans had been complicated. Special Agent Hinks had not expected the British Agent, Bond to at the Cathedral rendezvous. They had been compromised. That is when the fun really started. A fast Carlson was in position, keys in the ignition to take them to...
Painting Venetian Brick & Stone
For the last five or six months a significant amount of my hobby time has been spent painting model buildings inspired by the architecture of Venice, the floating city. It all started around a year ago. I was talking with my good friend, Iain Lovecraft about how I...
Dr Who and the Venetian Sea Devils
This morning Mike and I have been enjoying an excellent game of 7TV on the Venetian inspired WaterSpire 3D Printed terrain. Our game is inspired by Dr Who and uses 30 point casts. My cast is based around The Dr (Unearthly Traveller), his plucky assistant (Plucky...
Yes…. but how do the compare with Sally 4th’s Viking Saga range?
Sally4th Viking Saga Shieldmaiden (right) crosses sword with a Gripping Beast Saxon Warrior (left). We have had quiet a few gamers write to us to ask how the new range of Sally 4th Viking Legends match up size wise with other ranges, so I have put this page together...
WaterSpire – The Year of the Rat
A long time ago, in a far off and whimsical land, the evil Pi-Rat Baron Cluny the Invincible heard of a beautiful and prosperous coastal city, WaterSpire. A city of deep murky canals and elegant souring spires and the home of the industrious town mice and repository...
Pulp Alley – The Four Faces of Dr Fang
Last week Mike and I got together to play the Pulp Alley Scenario - The Four Faces of Dr Fang from the Pulp Alley Scenario's Book. This is one of my favourite scenarios, I've played it multiple times, set in different genres and it is always a lot of fun. I...
Harlot’s Den
Harlot's Den is the latest Sally 4th Kickstarter. The miniatures are sculpted by the hugely talented Iain Lovecraft and are available to either 3D print at home, or as top quality physical miniatures, cast in plastic. The set contains eight ladies and six gents...
Feudal Patrol Vikings – Vapnartak The Assault on the Gate
Last weekend Lewis & I were play testing one of the four participation games that we are going to be running on Sunday 5th February at Vapnartak Wargames Show at York Racecourse. Our games feature the Viking Town / Seaport (click here for earlier blog with details...
Getting ready for Vapnartak 2023 – Jorvik Assault
Over the last couple of weeks, hobby time has been focussed on finishing off terrain and figures and play testing scenarios for our participation game at the Vapnartak Wargames Show, hosted by York Wargames Club at York Racecourse on Sunday 5th February. We will be...
Wars of Orcs and Dwarves First 10mm Travel Game
Last weekend Lewis and I went for a weekend away at Centre Parcs. This is an annual family get together, with 30+ of us meeting up. It is always a lot of fun, and I normally take a couple of board games to play some time over the weekend. I have over the last few...
0200 Hours – Hunted
Last week Lewis and I got together to have a first game of 0200 Hundred Hours, Night Raids in World War Two. 0200 Hours is published by Grey for Now Games and focuses on night time raids with 5 - 20 models per side. The starter set comes includes the rulebook, cards,...
Yes… but how do they compare with Swashbuckling Adventurers range?
Sally 4th Swashbuckling Adventure's range compared to Blood & Plunder miniatures One of the questions that I see coming up continually in our emails and on Facebook and other forums is 'how do your figures compare with 'x' and do you have any comparison...
Carnevale – Adventures in Venice
Hobby blog covering getting started, collecting, painting miniatures, making terrain and playing Carnevale, the miniatures game set in a fantasy renaissance Venice
Pulp Alley: Going Underground!
A few weeks ago Doug, John and Keith came over for a four player game of Pulp Alley. We were trying out something a little different, a Pulp Alley Dungeon Crawl with hidden terrain. At the start of the game all areas apart from the four starting areas were covered up...
Battle of Prestonpans, 1745 using Wars of Orcs & Dwarves!!!
The Battle of Prestonpans was the first battle of the last Jacobite Rising. It took place on 20-21 September 1745. The Jacobite army led by Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) achieved a stunning and unexpectedly one-sided victory over the Government forces...
Infamy, Infamy
Infamy, Infamy is a 'super skirmish' set of Ancients rules, published by Too Fat Lardies, that cover the wars between Rome and her barbarian enemies between 60BC to AD100. Figures are mounted individually but fight as part of units that are deployed on movement trays...
Tabletop Gaming, Getting Started Part 3
Little & Large - Same figures - different scales. Welcome to week six of my getting started with tabletop gaming on a budget blog. If you’ve not read the first weeks blog, it’s worth catching up on as it explains the parameters or rationale, and the thoughts...
Gangs of the Undercity – Zombie Dawn
Mike and I got together for a great game of Gangs of the Undercity. Gangs of the Undercity is our own 'fan variant' of Gangs of Rome, that allows you to play a Gang themed skirmish in any medieval / fantasy themed city. We have produced a set of Gangs of the Undercity...
28mm Pulp Alley Discworld Zombie Action
The setting: An underground dungeon hidden beneath some zombie infested ruins! Last week I got together with my son Lewis, over Zoom to play some Pulp Alley, one of our long time favourite games. We have a second webcam mounted on the ceiling above the games table to...
Tabletop Gaming – Getting Started Part 2
Copplestone Castings - TM2 Half Orc Spearmen Welcome to week two of my getting started with tabletop gaming on a budget blog. If you've not read the first weeks blog, it's worth catching up on as it explains the parameters or rationale, and the thoughts behind the...
Rome was not built in a day, but lets see how we do in 6 months!
My hobby blog about gaming, painting and model making for Gangs of Rome. Gangs of Rome, is a skirmish miniatures game set in Ancient Rome where rival houses use gangs of thugs to gain advantage and influence.
Tabletop Miniature Gaming – Getting Started
An article about getting starting tabletop miniature gaming on a budget with restricted space and solo gaming potential.
Feudal Patrol Robin Hood
The November issue of Miniature Wargames (Issue 475) contains a fantastic set of 3 scenarios for Robin Hood themed miniature gaming using the Feudal Patrol skirmish set of rules, (although the scenarios could be played with any good set of skirmish rules). The article...
Star Trek Ferengi Pirate Conversions
So... how many Ferengi can you fit in the turbo-lift? Recently we have been playing the Star Trek Role Playing module "The Prize", set on Epsilon Alpha III. The crew of USS Cousteau answered a coded message from the research station alerting them of the discovery of...
Nobody does it better
The Spy Who Loved Me has always been one of my favourite vintage James Bond Movies. I have strong recollections of going to see it at the cinema with my Nan when it was released. As a gamer, the submarine breakout scene has always felt like it would translate...