Gaming Projects

Infinity has been on my radar for quite a while, but I only started with it in 2017, when it suddenly experienced a surge in popularity here in Rotterdam, and I had the chance to take over the PanOceania part of Operation: Icestorm for an attractive price. I play PanOceania and might start USAriadna, Steel Phalanx, or Tunguska as second army in the future. I’ve also built a gaming table, mostly using 3D printing.

xwing

When X-Wing first came out, I was hesitant, mostly due to the price tag, but I’m a convert now. X-Wing is a great game, with nice miniatures, good rules, and interesting squad building possibilities. I don’t play as much as I used to, but it’s still a great game and I’m holding on to my Rebel and Empire ships.

FFG’s new Star Wars game immediately caught my attention on release – so much in fact that I started selling miniature games and 3D printing terrain commercially. I own everything currently released for Rebels and Empire and I’m working towards terrain for four tables: Mos Eisley, Scarif, Endor, and an urban setting.

 


I’m in the planning stage of another attempt at a Vietnam project. Once again Hué in 1968, now in 28mm scale. The miniatures available in this scale are much nicer than the 20mm offerings. Now that I own a 3D printer, and with some of the laser-cut options out there, building a Hué table has also become a lot easier.

swm01_logo-black

I play Empire. Unfortunately, Armada isn’t as popular as X-Wing. It never really took off here in Rotterdam, resulting in few opponents.

My current, if somewhat dormant, historical project is the Cold War, approx. 1986, in 20mm. I do have some Americans, but the focus is on the Bundeswehr. The project is suffering from a lack of players. Most Cold War players currently focus on Team Yankee and 15mm, whereas Battlegroup NORTHAG will encourage 10mm.

 

btech

I’ve been playing Battletech since 1997. Through the years I’ve built a collection of almost 100 mechs which I started repainting some time ago. I prefer the 3025/3039 era. My long-term goal is to complete and paint my collection of 3025 mechs. I haven’t played it much recently and hoped that Alpha Strike would breathe new life into my interest for Battletech, which so far hasn’t happened – which means that this project is rather dormant right now.

Small projects

I do have a number of small projects, with the investment often limited to €25 for a basic unit. These are at this moment:

  • Dead Man’s Hand (or other Old West rules) in 28mm, I’ve got a US Cavalry unit.
  • 15mm Sc-Fi: I have a platoon of Khurasan infantry, once destined for use with Tomorrow’s War. The initial hype died down quickly, so I’m now considering Stargrunt II as set of rules.
  • Some 20mm Vietnam miniatures and vehicles.

In the future?

I’ve got enough to do, but these things seem interesting, too:

  • Jagged Alliance 2 is still my favourite computer game. I’ve long planned doing this in 28mm with a suitable rule set (Osprey Black Ops, Spectre Operations, Skirmish Sanguin, or a modified version of Infinity) and started with some terrain.
  • Cold War at sea in 1/3000, with Shipwreck or Missiles at Sea?
  • Vietnam in 6mm scale.
  • Something with airplanes? WW II or Cold War, with rules geared towards larger missions, not a dogfighting simulation.
  • Other 28mm skirmish games. There’s so much nice scenery out there. I like the idea of Roman patrols fighting in Germany, for example. Mogadishu 1993 also remains an interest of mine.

In the end, I prefer focusing on a smaller number of games with nice scenery than doing a bit of everything that lies dormant in a closet most of the time.