Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Some Nice Things that Have Caught My Eye

Here are two things that have recently caught my eye:

Dux Bellorum: Arthurian Wargaming Rules AD 367-793
I have a long interest in this era of history and this region of the world, so when I discovered that Osprey was publishing a new set of Arthurian rules written by Dan Mersey it captured my interest greatly. There was an article and interview with Mersey about these rules in the most recent Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy magazine. When asked "what makes your game different from other rule sets?", Mersey replied:

"I suppose the big one is that I have focused on recreating battles from a very short, defined period of history. Using a set of rules designed exclusively for use in Arthurian Britain means that I've worked out what I think is important and what to ignore, unlike those ancient rules that try to cover 4,000 years."

He raises an interesting question regarding generic(ish) rule sets that span large amounts of the historical timeline versus rules that aim to recreate a very specific period of history. Which do you prefer? While I didn't have any immediate plans to jump into painting and gaming this period, I'll be picking up this rule book to add to my bookcase for future fun. (and yes, I also know about Dux Britanniarum).

Crann Tara Miniatures
These new Scottish highlander miniatures by Crann Tara Miniatures are simply fantastic and quite honestly, I can't wait to paint some of them. These figures are in true 1/56th scale (about 33mm) and are intended for the Jacobite Rising of 1745. Again, this isn't a project I had on my radar, but I know some of these models will find there way on to my painting table!


5 comments:

  1. The only problem with rules for a specific era is that the rules writer is going to have a much smaller sales base. In theory they should capture the flavor of that era better and be more satisfying to someone who wants to game it.

    I have Dux Brit, by the way. I'm just saying.

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    1. I would say you and I have some historical gaming to do Aaron. :)

      *glances at his shelved Carthaginians*

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  2. I think you can get away with longer time lines the further back in history you go. The jumps in tech mean this is unfeasable in the more modern times. AHunt also makes a very valid point regards sales.

    Those figures do look good but why 33mm, this stretching is just going to far.

    Ian

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    1. Great point about about the technology advancements and rules Ian.

      The thing I like about the Cran Tarra figures is that they are to scale (so they claim), rather than just an arbitrary height (6mm, 15mm, 28mm). Which means, in theory anyway, there won't be any gigantic hands, weird sized weapons, etc.

      Having said that, I won't be playing any games with these models because of the size. I just like the sculpts and will probably paint three or four of them for display. :)

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  3. The Crann Tara minis are on my radar too. I have yet to put in an order, more from lack of games to play with them than the scale, although the scale may be an issue. I would maybe buy siome just to see how they comapre to other minis in my collection.

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