Congo - Studio Tomahawk

What with Lucid Eye's expanding Savage Core range and Antidiluvian Miniatures starting up as well, things are looking good for Lost World gaming. I've already picked up a bunch of Lost World creatures and recently ordered Ironclad Miniatures' Emerging Tunneller and the Ex-PMC Submersible for some At The Earth's Core and The Land That Time Forgot goodness!

And for me Darkest Africa goes hand in hand with the Lost World. Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E Howard meet Conan Doyle, Rudyard Kipling and H Rider Haggard! So it is with great interest that I read about the upcoming game by Studio Tomahawk Congo.

This sounds right up my street! Between Congo and the upcoming The Men Who Would be Kings by Dan Mersey, it looks like Colonial gaming will be having a very good 2016!

An Airfix Birthday...

My son turned 9 today.

A cliche, I know, but how quickly time flies...it really does only seem like yesterday that he was a tiny little baby that would spend many an hour sleeping on my tummy. And now he's almost as tall as my wife!

Anyway, I thought I'd share some of his birthday haul...

...that's a lot of Airfix! This will be the first time he's actually done any modelling or painting. With a bit of luck he'll be doing all mine in a few years (sorry, Matt!). 

Lost World Adventurers - Antediluvian Miniatures

Antediluvian Miniatures have just given a sneak peak of their forthcoming Lost World Adventurers on their Facebook page...Shug McClure, Professor Peter Cushion and the ravishing Raquel Scotch sculpted by Matthew Bickley. 

These are going to fit in very nicely with my In Her Majesty's Name Lost World stuff!

Cobblestone Roads - Battlefield in a Box - Flames of War

I still haven't finished The Mysterious Wu Fang Battle Report so in the meantime I thought I'd show some pics of another recent terrain acquisition from the Battlefields in a Box range, their Cobblestone Roads for Flames of War.

Though made for 15mm Flames of War, I think they do pretty nicely as narrow roads for 28mm

games. Now I just need to get some Victorian houses....

All miniatures were painted by the inimitable Matt Slade!

Desert Hills - Battlefield in a Box

I'm a bit late to the party when it comes to the Battlefield in a Box range, having only come across them a couple of months ago when I picked up some of their Tribal Huts for my Darkest Africa/Lost World games. And that's a shame because most of the range is out-of-stock and it seems there are no plans to produce any more.

Nevertheless, I have managed to pick up some of their Large Desert Hills. There were several varieties of hill in the range but this is the only one I could find still being sold. If anyone knows where I can get hold of some of the other hills (here in the UK), please let me know!

Anyway, they look great and will come in handy for many an In Her Majesty's Name scenario. They'll also do nicely for crusader Lion Rampant, The Men Who Would Be Kings (by Dan Mersey to be released next year) and Dead Man's Hand (which I've just ordered).

All miniatures were painted by the inimitable Matt Slade!

The Kelly Gang - Dead Man's Hand

Great Escape Games has just released for pre-order the new Dead Man's Hand Down Under supplement with 3 accompanying sets of miniatures...including The Kelly Gang. Due out on April 25th, they'll do nicely as the core of an In Her Majesty's Name company.

That said, I'm also very tempted by Dead Man's Hand itself. It appears to be a narrative-style skirmish game and, as such, would be right up my street. Hmmm.

The Mysterious Wu Fang! Part One - Companies and Set-Up - IHMN AAR

I finally got to give The Purple Lotus Tong an outing last weekend against my son and The Prince of Wales Extraordinary Company. This post describes the Companies and the Set-Up.

The Purple Lotus Tong

	Pluck	FV	SV	Speed	Cost	Talents	Equipment
The Mysterious Wu Fang	2+	+2	0	+3	59	Leadership +2 Martial Artist Mystical Powers (30) -Dragon's Breath -Dragon's Wings	Unarmed Martial Artist (+1 FV)
Peking Li Li	3+	+3	0	+1	47	Leadership +1 Fanatic Mystical Powers (20) -Dragon's Talons -Zone of Shadows	Unarmed Martial Artist (+1 FV)
Big Wong	4+	+2	0	0	15	Fanatic	Hammer (as Quarterstaff) (+3 FV)
Yeti	3+	+5	0	0	45	Beserker Terrifying	Thick Fur (9) Talons (-1 Pluck, +1 FV)
Dragon Warrior	4+	+3	0	+2	23	Fanatic Martial Artist	Unarmed Martial Artist (+1 FV) Two-Handed Sword (-2 Pluck, +3 FV)
Tong Member	5+	+1	+1	0	16	Fanatic	Lined Coat (8) Fighting Knife (-1 Pluck, +1 FV) Pistol (+1 SV)
Boxer	6+	0	0	0	12		Fighting Knife (-1 Pluck, +1 FV) Muzzle-Loading Rifle (-1 Pluck, +3 SV)

I figured I had a good chance of finally beating my son with this Company (but then I always think that, don't I!). Although they don't have the firepower of The Prince of Wales Extraordinary Company, they are fast and pretty lethal in close combat, especially my two Yeti (I couldn't wait to get them into action!), and the main characters are pretty tough so shouldn't be easy to bring down. There are also some pretty handy Mystical Powers. Bring it on!

The Prince of Wales Extraordinary Company

	Pluck	FV	SV	Speed	Cost	Talents	Equipment
Captain Napier (Scots Guards)	3+	+4	+3	+1	65	Leadership +3 Fearless (ignores Terrifying)	SRC Breastplate (12) Pistol (+1 SV) Sabre (-1 Pluck, +2 FV)
Sergeant Borrage (Grenadier Guards)	4+	+3	+3	0	41	Leadership +1 Bayonet Drill Marksman (ignores cover) Tough (+1 Pluck Shoot/Fight)	Brigandine (9) Military Rifle (-1 Pluck, +3 SV, +3 FV) Bayonet
Dr Wilson (RAMC ret'd)	4+	+0	+2	+1	16	Medic	Lined Coat (8) Pistol (+1 SV)
Sapper Jones (RE)	5+	+2	+2	0	37	Strongman Iron Will (immune Mind)	Brigandine (9) Pistol (+1 SV) Congreve Rocket Gun (-1 Pluck, +3 SV) Rocket Grenade x2
Riflemen (x6) (various regiments)	5+	+2	+2	0	27	Bayonet Drill Marksman (ignores cover)	Brigandine (9) Military Rifle (-1 Pluck, +3 SV, +3 FV) Bayonet

My son has played these chaps before and really likes them! In fact, I think they are probably my favourite Company, too. No fancy tricks just a hail of bullets (and the odd grenade) followed up by some handy bayonet work! Funnily enough, he didn't look too worried by my Tong....I guess my track record hasn't been great. Well, this time I'd show him!

The Scenario

The Purple Lotus Tong have quickly established themselves as one of the most ruthless criminal networks in the East End of London. Apart from their criminal activities, they are dedicated to bringing terror and chaos to the country by targeting senior officials and ministers. And yet, despite concerted efforts by Scotland Yard, the upper echelons of the Tong remain elusive. Indeed, it is said that no-one has ever seen the leader, the mysterious Wu Fang, and lived to tell the tale!

Finally, Scotland Yard get a lead that the mysterious Wu Fang is to meet Peking Li Li in the Chinese gardens of Wychwood House, north of London. The Prince of Wales Extraordinary Company, billeted nearby, receive orders to proceed immediately to the house and capture or kill Wu Fang and his associates. 

The game is on!

We agreed that the overall objective would be for the Mysterious Wu Fang to avoid capture or death but, in addition, there would be 1 Victory Point for each enemy killed and 5 Victory Points for a leader. 

The Chinese Garden, Wychwood House.

The Chinese Garden, Wychwood House, from above.

A concealed entrance to an underground lair and series of  tunnels.

A second concealed entrance to the underground lair and tunnels.

The Purple Lotus Tong.

The Prince of Wales Extraordinary Company.

The Prince of Wales Extraordinary Company set up on the table edge.

The Purple Lotus Tong set up inside the gardens.

 The next post will cover the battle itself, so stay tuned for:

The Prince of Wales Extraordinary Company in...The Mysterious Wu Fang!

All miniatures were painted by the inimitable Matt Slade! The scenery is mostly aquarium stuff but the walls are Pegasus Hobbies and the cobblestone roads are Flames of War Battlefield in a Box.

  

Dinosaur Crazy...and up-and-coming Lucid Eye releases!

So, in anticipation of more Lost World games, I've gone a bit mad on dinosaurs. Specifically T-Rexes.

So what do you call a 'herd' of dinosaurs?

Schleich

Papo

Papo

Schleich

Schleich

And with Lucid Eye's growing Savage Core range, there is definitely a Lost World vibe in the air! They have recently added a bunch of pics on Facebook of more figures due out this month...

More stunning Amazons!

More Atlanteans

More Simians

And Ua'Vathor Lord of the Sunken City Beneath The Sunless Sea!

Really loving this range! Here's where you can pick them up:

I should hopefully be getting a bunch of Darkest Africa/Lost World minis back from Matt in the next month or so....can't wait to get them into action!

In Her Majesty's Name Company - The Purple Lotus Tong

The Purple Lotus Tong is a secret arm of the Chinese Boxer movement based in London. Dedicated to bringing chaos and terror to Her Majesty's government by targeting senior officials, government ministers and even the Royal Family, it has rapidly developed a vast criminal network in the East End of the capital by ruthlessly eliminating its rivals.

The Purple Lotus Tong is led by the mysterious Wu Fang. Few, apart from the Tong's top leaders, have ever seen him and lived to tell the tale, but it is rumoured that this cunning leader is a master of ancient Chinese magics.

The beautiful but deadly Peking Li Li runs the day-to-day business of the Tong. She, too, under the tutelage of Wu Fang, has become adept in ancient magics and is also a skilled martial artist. Peking Li Li is ably assisted by the ruthless Big Wong, a brutal warrior with a huge two-handed hammer.

The Purple Lotus Tong can field three types of 'soldier'. The toughest are the Dragon Warriors, martial artists who fight unarmoured, wielding their two-handed swords and halberds with fanatical fervour. The Tong Members are also fanatical but not as well trained, tending to be lightly armoured and relying on pistols and fighting knives. The Boxers are little more than peasants with archaic muskets and knives, but there are a lot of them and they live in terrror of the mysterious Wu Fang and Peking Li Li and so are likely to fight to the death.

And then there are the Yeti. Incredibly rare these formidable beasts are very tough in combat, especially as any injury is likely to send them into a frenzied rage!

	Pluck	FV	SV	Speed	Cost	Talents	Equipment
The Mysterious Wu Fang	2+	+2	0	+3	59	Leadership +2 Martial Artist Mystical Powers (30) -Dragon's Breath -Dragon's Wings	Unarmed Martial Artist (+1 FV)
Peking Li Li	3+	+3	0	+1	47	Leadership +1 Fanatic Mystical Powers (20) -Dragon's Talons -Zone of Shadows	Unarmed Martial Artist (+1 FV)
Big Wong	4+	+2	0	0	15	Fanatic	Hammer (as Quarterstaff) (+3 FV)
Yeti	3+	+5	0	0	45	Beserker Terrifying	Thick Fur (9) Talons (-1 Pluck, +1 FV)
Dragon Warrior	4+	+3	0	+2	23	Fanatic Martial Artist	Unarmed Martial Artist (+1 FV) Two-Handed Sword (-2 Pluck, +3 FV)
Tong Member	5+	+1	+1	0	16	Fanatic	Lined Coat (8) Fighting Knife (-1 Pluck, +1 FV) Pistol (+1 SV)
Boxer	6+	0	0	0	12		Fighting Knife (-1 Pluck, +1 FV) Muzzle-Loading Rifle (-1 Pluck, +3 SV)

Here's a Dropbox link to a PDF version of the Company, for anyone who'd like to download it for their games. 

This company borrows heavily from The Black Dragon Tong in the book but I've adapted it so I can add the Inscrutable Tong and Tong Warriors from West Wind Productions. Here are a few more pics!

Figures are North Star Black Dragon Tong, Westwind Tong and Inscrutable Tong and Copplestone Castings Yeti painted for me by the inimitable Matt Slade!