Diehard GameFAN

Author: Chuck Platt

  • Life During War Games 11-18-2011

    My personal miniatures collection is a bit like a katamari from Katamari Damacy. There are the big, overarching themes, like my love of fantasy dwarfs and Games Workshop’s Sisters of Battle. There are also smaller leitmotifs, like my love of jetpacks. I thought this would be a good time to show off some of the…

  • Miniatures Review: Scarab Fast Attack Vehicle

    Scarab Fast Attack Vehicle Manufacturer: Combat Wombat Miniatures Scale: 15mm Material: Resin Price: $6 each or 3 for $15 When I first saw visited the Combat Wombat Miniatures website, I knew exactly which model I would buy first. The Scarab Fast Attack Vehicle spoke to me. I have long had a propensity for buying dune…

  • Tabletop Review: No Quarter #36

    No Quarter Magazine #36 Publisher: Privateer Press Release Date: 10/10/2011 Page Count: 96 Price: $7.50 Print, $5.99 PDF Get It Here: DriveThru Games Privateer Press has been like the Smiths, for me. I discovered the Cure first, at a young and impressionable age, and they monopolized my music budget for years and years. As a…

  • Life During War Games 11-11-2011

    I have questionable taste in movies. While I have an appreciation for the classics, it is the cult classics that inspire me. I thought this week would be a good time to share the movies that inspire me to paint, convert, and play with miniatures. Some are good, some are great, and at least one…

  • Life During War Games 11-04-2011

    While I have already covered paint, there a couple other tools and supplies a nascent hobbyist should have in their toolkit. I am going to focus on a couple of items I use pretty heavily but this is by no means a definitive list. As usual, this is based on my own personal experience and…

  • Life During War Games October 28th, 2011

    The first edition of Life During War Games was two weeks ago, but there are a few loose ends I want to tie up. I have received some feedback that needs to be addressed and there was one particular type of paint I failed to mention because it needs more space than I had. So,…

  • Tabletop Interview: Matthew Alleman of Astro Miniatures

    I recently had a chance to have a conversation with Matthew Alleman of Astro Miniatures. Charles Platt: I like to start with a bit of background. How did you end up in the wargaming hobby? Matthew Alleman: It may have started when my mom bought me Star Fleet Battles through the Sears Wish Book. My…

  • Tabletop Interview: Joshua Qualtieri of Zombiesmith

    I recently had a chance to chat with Joshua Qualtieri of Zombiesmith. Chuck Platt: I like to start with a bit of background. How did you end up in the wargaming hobby? Joshua Qualtieri: My father was a hex and counter wargamer before I was born. When I was old enough to understand the concept…

  • Tabletop Interview: Steve Stodden of Mad Robot Miniatures

    I recently had a conversation with Steve Stodden of Mad Robot Miniatures. They are a pretty new company, but they already have one of my favorite 15mm sci-fi units, the Tachyon Mercenary Corps, and more cool stuff to come. Chuck Platt: I like to start with a bit of background. How did you end up…

  • Life During War Games October 21, 2011

    Utility is as important as price when it comes to saving money. If something is cheap, but has limited use, then it is not saving you money. Changing scales, from 28mm to 15mm, gives me the chance to start my miniatures collection from scratch. There are a few things I am hoping to accomplish. First…

  • Life During War Games: October 14, 2011

    There are a few things about me that I tend to keep close to the vest. One is that I am an enthusiastic, if not particularly accomplished, war gamer. I enjoy the whole of the war gaming hobby: modeling, painting, gaming, and reading history books. The other is that I am a skinflint. I don’t…

  • Tabletop Review: Tomorrow’s War

    Tomorrow’s War Publisher: Ambush Alley Games Page Count: 260 Release Date: 10/18/2011 Cost: $34.95 hardcover Get it Here: Amazon It should have been a massacre. Thirty Formicidae were more than enough to take out ten filthy humans, that was the prevailing wisdom. The Formicidae were giant, six-limbed aliens with advanced technology. How could they lose…

  • Tabletop Review: Force on Force

    Force on Force Publisher: Ambush Alley Games Page Count: 224 Release Date: 04/09/2011 Cover Price: $35.00 hardcover, $25.00 PDF Get it here: Ambush Alley Games When I attended the Fall 2011 Recruits convention, there was one table amongst the dozens that I paid special attention to. There was a few Afghani buildings on one edge…

  • Interview with Shawn Carpenter of Ambush Alley Games

    Shawn Carpenter, the lead designer of Ambush Alley Games, was kind enough to sit down with me for an interview at the Recruits convention. I would like to thank Shawn for his time. Chuck Platt: How did you initially get into the hobby? Shawn Carpenter: I got into gaming in 1977 with the original White…

  • Interview: Brad Warriner of BobCon

    Brad Warriner, one of the organizers of BobCon, was kind enough to answer some of my questions about their convention, which will be held September 30 through October 2.

  • Tabletop Review: Abney Park’s Airship Pirates

    Abney Park’s Airship Pirates Publisher: Cubicle 7 Authors: Peter Cakebread and Ken Walton Release Date: 09/22/2011 Cover Price: $49.99 ($24.99 on DrivethruRPG.com) Get it here: Cubicle 7 (Includes the PDF) With a crew of drunken pilots, We’re the only airship pirates, We’re full of hot air and we’re starting to rise, We’re the terror of…

  • Tabletop Reviews: Trade Routes

    Trade Routes: Expanded Caravan Rules Sourcebook Publisher: LPJ Design Author: Chris Field with Louis Porter Jr. Release Date: 08/22/2011 Page Count: 15 pages Cover Price: $2.99 Get It Here: RPGNow Travelling in D&D has always been a haphazard affair. Even after the Wilderness Survival Guide, I was never really able to get my head around…

  • Tabletop Review: Mindjammer

    Mindjammer Publisher: Cubicle 7 Author: Sarah Newton Page Count: 200 Pages Release Date: 01/29/2010 Cover Price: $19.99 Get It Here: DriveThruRPG When I wrote my review of Starblazer Adventures, the classic 80’s science fiction opus The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension was playing in the background. Coming from the same time period…

  • Tabletop Review: Starblazer Adventures

    Starblazer Adventures: the Rock and Roll Space Opera Adventure Game Publisher: Cubicle 7 Author: Chris Birch & Stuart Newman Release Date: 12/04/2008 Page Count: 632 Cover Price: $24.95 Get It Here: DriveThruRPG At 632 pages, Starblazer Adventures is an intimidating book, even in PDF format. Based on the classic British sci-fi comic book Starblazer- Space…

  • Tabletop Review: Lamentations of the Flame Princess Grindhouse Edition

    Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Fantasy Roleplaying Grindhouse Edition Publisher: Lamentations of the Flame Princess Author: James Raggi Release Date: Out Now Cover Price: $44.95 Get It Here: Noble Knight Games When I was FIVE, my family went to the TG&Y to do some shopping. I remember the trip vibrantly because of a record…