Thank You

Greetings troops,

As we here in the States celebrate Memorial Day, I want to extend a heartfelt thanks to all those who served our country past and present ... without those who served or serving we would not have the freedoms we enjoy today.

To those I served with ... it was an honor ...

To those who served before me ... thank you

To those who gave it all for us ... words are not enough ... God bless you !

Be safe, enjoy your Memorial day ...

Joe ... aka "Mezz"

Comrades to Arms ! (7) - WIP First Company

Greetings troops,

This year has been a blur with my various schools going on for work.  I can say there is light at the end of the tunnel and the hobby time will be more soon.  I wanted to get some of the photos up of First Company nearing "field maneuvers" i.e. basing. 




 These photos are for you Pete ;)

The next pictures consist of another method suggested to me by friend and fellow WWPD'er Pete. It involves priming the figures in German Armor, then doing the same method for the rest of the painting I am doing.  Highlighting should bring the colors in line with the rest of the unit.

The final shots are of the figures that will be hitting the bases tomorrow.  Then this group will begin the "field maneuvers".

Steve, friend and the leader at WWPD has numerous T34 tanks in production as I type this post.  His tanks will be joining forces with my infantry on the table to get some East Front action going.

Enjoy the pictures, be safe .... Keep the Paint flowing and the Dice rolling !

Joe ... aka "Mezz"

Game Review: Wrath of Ashardalon

Greetings troops,

This evening I was able to meet with Steve and Dirty Jon of the WWPD cast; along with wives Lydia and Stephanie to get some game time in with D&D's Wrath of Ashardalon.

Wrath of Ashardalon is a board game produced by Wizards of the Coast.  It was released in February of 2011.  The game contains 42 plastic heroes and monsters, 13 dungeon tiles, 200 encounter and treasure cards, rulebook, scenario book and a 20 sided die.

The figures are molded in different colors.  The heroes are molded in a dark blue while monsters and bosses are either red or gray.  I will say that the molds are clean and look great.  They look good unpainted and will be excellent looking on the game board once painted.

The dungeon tiles are of heavy cardboard and well made to last during numerous game plays.  You have your various long hallways, t sections and corners.  The set also has 5 (correct number may be 4 or 6 as well) chamber tiles for the final boss or event for the adventures to find.

Encounter cards produce nasty little events for either one or all in the party depending on locations or other bonuses or effects.  It adds a sense of "What else can happen" during the adventure.  It ranges from traps, magic or unseen attacks that can take place.  Treasure cards are received by the adventure whom takes out a monster.  It can range from protective items, bonuses on attacks or armor class or movement bonuses.  Some are able to be used all game while other treasures must be discarded after use.

The rules are fairly simple and one can grasp the basics after a couple of rounds.  There is also a scenario book to allow for campaigns of your brave party or single run missions.

I was able to get two games in one sitting.  The first was 5 people playing and total game time was approximately 2 hours.  Steve and I played another game with 2 characters and ran a game in just short of 1 hour.

I am sure you will see some AARs out of this board game in the future.  The tiles allow for you to use D&D minis or other after market minis with no issues.  The replay value is high.  I give this game 4.5 treasure cards out of 5 !

Be safe .... Keep the Paint flowing and the Dice rolling ....

Mezz

AAR of the 1st ID vs Germans

Greetings troops,

The other evening I was able to meet up at Jon's house to challenge Sean in a Fighting Withdrawal mission. As our battle was brewing Jon was battling out with Steve's 3rd ID on his new table he is building; which looks fab ! James, a fellow WWPD listener from Illinois was able to hang out as well.  He is currently at Fort Lee attending an Officer School.

Needless to say my 1st ID was handed its butt by Sean's German forces.

• 1st platoon double timed on the right flank and got pinned by a combination of aircraft and rocket fire.  They took horrible losses, never unpinned and eventually left the field.
• 2nd platoon didn't do much better on the left flank.  They got ambushed by Panzer IVs and remained pinned after that. They too left the field.
• My M10's took heavy fire from Sean's aircraft attack runs and left the field as well.
• My Engineers were moving up the middle and got pinned in between some woods.  They took a beating and eventually left the field with their heads down.
• My Shermans played a cat and mouse game with Sean's Stugs and Panzer IVs.  They were getting bailed and remounting round after round.  At one time I had 3 bailed shermans sitting in a cornfield.  Eventually they were destroyed.
• The Company was below half and the CO rolled a "1" to allow the 1st ID to surrender the field.

Sean played an awesome game.  His combination of rockets and aircraft runs literally put my troops into a scared stiff position.  I may have to consider getting an aircraft option myself or start including an antiaircraft unit that can swat back or suppress infantry.

I took pictures via my camera phone.  Most are early in the battle ... the combat photographer was hiding in a hasty fighting position in the later stages of battle. Unfortunately I can't get them to you on the site yet due to phone error.  When I can I will post them.

Keep the Paint flowing and the Dice rolling ...

Joe ... aka Mezz

Roll a D6!

Greetings troops,

Found this gem on YouTube ... I thought it was something we all could relate to ... enjoy.

Joe ... aka Mezz

Battletech: Lyran Alliance

Battletech has always been close to my gaming heart.  It is one of the first gaming systems I participated in during my childhood days.  The novels were also lining my shelves as a teenager as well.  So it is only a natural progression to find its way back into my gaming world now.

The background story of the Battletech universe is well established and well developed.  You can find numerous sources on the web at these sites:

• Battletech Wiki
• Classic Battletech

Recently I pulled out my Citytech set and main rulebook and began refreshing myself to the universe.  Ebay then was the source of a recent purchase of the Lyran Commonwealth source book.   I just got it in the mail and can't wait to dive into it.

Stay tuned for updates and force building of BATTLETECH !

Be safe, Keep the paint flowing and the dice rolling ...

Joe ... aka Mezz

Stylish Blogger Award ... I have no speech ready !?!?!

Greetings troops,

I am very humble to say that I have been nominated by my good friend and WWPD show host Steve !  The Stylish Blogger Award is an award that is given to you by your peers and fellow bloggers in cyberspace.  The award has some simple rules to follow by:


1. Thank and link back to the person giving you the award

• Thank you for the kind words and support Steve.  I am happy to know that you feel my painting skills are good.  Please visit his awesome blog: What Would Patton Do ?

2. Share seven things about yourself

1.  I am married and have 1 daughter.  Being a Dad is very rewarding and I love sharing new things with my daughter.
2. I am a career firefighter and have been in the fire service since 1994.
3. I was in the US Army Reserves as a combat medic for 8 years.
4. I LOVE Star Wars, Episodes IV - VI were what I grew up on and feel are the excellent ones.  The new prequels were ok ... but did nothing for me like the originals
5. Battlestar Galactica is AWESOME ... I can't wait for the new series to come out.
6. I love to read.  History, sci fi and fantasy are all on my book shelf.
7. I have a soft side for dogs.  Sorry ... cats are not on the radar.

3. Select 10-15 blogs who you think deserve this award

1.  AJ's Wargaming Blog - Great blog with frequent updates.
2. AV's Corner  - Hein's awesome blog with files for your FOW forces ...
3. BigLee's Miniature Adventures - Big Lee is a fellow blog friend from England.  His blog has a great following and awesome posts.  His blog is one of the originals that I first started to follow.
4. Captain Richard's Miniature Civil War - Captain Richard has some of the best 15mm Civil war photos I have seen on the web.  You will not be disappointed.
5. Crac des Chevaliers - Beautiful work with every post ...
6. Fields of Armor - Always fun to see the new post !
7. Fire for Effect! - Blog author Max has some great articles and postings for your FOW fix
8. Kevin's Miniature and Hobby Table - I love seeing his painting examples and tutorials.  Never disappointed !
9. Paint Pig - Whats not to love ... Pork, painting and miniatures!
10. Savage Timmy's Playhouse - Always a treat, Tim's site pointed me towards Savage Worlds !
11. Scary Biscuits Studios - Awesome site and the Scary Biscuit is the one who pushed me over the Russian FOW fence!!!
12. Super Galactic Dreadnought - Desert Scribe's awesome Space battle world !
13. The Wildcat's Lair - My friend Bill and his zany cast of pets and creatures ... awesome site

There are plenty more and many have already received the award, so there are many I couldn't add because someone beat me to it !!!

4. Contact these bloggers and let them know about the award

•  Many are readers and will see the reward !

So please visit the blogs mentioned above.  They all are great blogs and add to this great gaming community.

Be safe, Keep the Paint flowing and the Dice rolling ...

Joe ... aka Mezz