Area 51

I finally made it to Area 51, and managed to infiltrate the facility.  I accomplished this task with the help of my brother.  Of course you may be thinking that I'm talking about the secret military base in Nevada.  Nope.  Area 51 is a gaming store in Grapevine, Texas.  It's full name is Area 51 Gaming & Collectibles.

Here is their website.  Overall, it's a nice, clean, and ORGANIZED store.

Area 51 is primarily a gaming store, but they also carry a nice selection of comics. I didn't notice any back issues, and I don't think they carry them.  Since it was two days after Christmas the store was a bit picked over, but honestly I wouldn't have known if the owner ( I guess it was the owner ), didn't mention that fact.  They carry mainly Warmachine, Flames of War, and Warhammer 40K.  They also had some DUST.  There were a couple of other miniature games, but nothing I am interested in, so I don't remember what they were.  One was Dystopian something or other...  The role-playing games section was kind of small, and all I saw was the beginner box for Pathfinder, ( of course there may have been other stuff ), and some of the new minis, which look awesome.  I will be buying some of those.  But to tell you the truth I was there mainly to check out the miniature gaming selections.  They had some HeroClix as well, and I was coveting the Watchmen set.

Of course, if they don't have what you want in stock, they will order for you.

The best thing about Area 51 is their gaming area.  I didn't measure it, but as a guess, I would say 50% or maybe more of the square footage is devoted to gaming tables.  They have tables for CCGs, and bigger, sturdier tables for war-gaming.  It's awesome.  It boasts of having the largest gaming area available in the DFW area, and there is no charge to use.  I think this is probably true, but I'm sure the other gaming stores might look at me funny if I go in and start measuring their gaming areas.

They also have lots and lots of tournaments and events.  Check out their website for more info on that.  All in all, if you're a gamer, and you're in the area ( heh ), check out Area 51 Gaming & Collectibles.  I'll will be visiting the store again.  On a scale of one to four stars, I would give it 3 and a half stars.

If you visit the store, tell them Zanazaz of Have Dice ~ Will Travel, sent you...

The Mage Knight Project, or My Plastic Obsession...

I spent most of yesterday on the Mage Knight Project, i.e. doing an inventory of every single miniature.  I started with the first release, Mage Knight Rebellion, and spent many hours sorting through plastic bags.  I created a spreadsheet to track numbers and value, which is much better than writing it all out on paper.  I'm not sure if I got them all counted but, I know I'm close.  There may be a few scattered in the other bags, which I'm sure I'll find once I start on the next set.

So far the total number of Rebellion miniatures is 613.  That doesn't count the 50 or, so I sold on eBay last month, or the 54 I just listed there.  The annoying thing is that's not even a complete set!  Aaarrggg...  There are lots and lots of duplicates.  I could field quite an army on the table.  Of course NOW I'm getting obsessed with completing a set.  ( Actually the goal is three sets, one for me, one for my brother, and one to sell or trade. ) Which shouldn't be too difficult, except for the unique figures, which after a bit of research, can be quite pricey!

Next up is Lancers.  I already have the list entered into the spreadsheet, and sorting and counting this set should be easier.  Not so many to sort through.  Of course if I had more space, and a better way to store them it would be so much easier.

I know many gamers don't like Mage Knight, but I do.  I've been reading the rules because it's been a while since I played, and they're nice and simple for the most part.  It's a shame that they don't produce the game anymore.  I look forward to playing again.

Many of the miniatures are available and cheap, and of course can be used in RPGs and other war games.  I'm thinking of using some of them to create a Hordes of the Things army, or for fubar.  Many people rebase, repaint, and even customize them.

I need to network with some other collectors so I can do some trading, and if I keep this up I think a Mage Knight blog may be necessary...

The Surviving Five

This adventuring party is opened minded about who they let join...

These miniatures are ANCIENT.  I bought them oh... about 30 years ago.  They are the "surviving five" out of the first minis I ever purchased.  I was either a freshman or sophomore in high school.  I never did finish painting them, or even start painting some of them.  The black on the rogue's cloak is enamel!  The balrog is actually painted with acrylics, which was an attempt at painting it a few years later.

I think they are from two different Grenadier boxed sets.   The female at the front is supposed to be a Medusa ( I think... ).  I like the wraith?  ( The floating robes... )Now I wish I had included something to show scale.  The humans are about an inch tall.  Needless to say, I'm keeping these.  I'm going to clean them up, and give painting them another shot.  Oh and these definitely need bases.  The balrog is a bit top heavy, and falls over.

I'm not sure what happened to the other miniatures in the sets.  The monster set had a zombie, wight, skeleton, and a blob?  I think there was a mummy.  I don't remember what was in the other set, which was adventurers.  Well, I do remember there was a dwarf, but that's all I can remember.

These are the Ogre Miniatures ( Steve Jackson Games ) that I'm putting on eBay.  ( I'm trying to fund other gaming purchases. )  I have no interest in this game anymore, and I never had the rules anyway.  I used store credit for these thinking I was going to play the game, but I never did.

Musing About Mini's On Monday

Since I've been contemplating getting into skirmish miniatures and war gaming again, I've been trying to decide what scale I wanted to get into.  15mm or 25mm?  Then I thought about it, and realized I just wasn't that familiar with all the different scales.  Some research was needed, and I found The Miniatures Page , it's chocked full of useful resources.

The Wikipedia page on miniatures had some information on scale, but I think I'm just as confused as I was when I started.  There doesn't seem to be an industry standard, and some companies measure the miniature from the bottom of the foot to level with the eyes, and others from the bottom of the foot to the top of the head.  I think all my research has lead me to the conclusion that I need to do more research, or maybe just deal with some discrepancy in scale in miniatures from different companies.

Check out Frozen Chaos , the miniatures are awesome.  This website has tons of visual inspiration for those interested in creating dungeon dressing. I really like the WYSIWYG concept.

I've actually found some of my old miniatures.  There's some old Epic Space Marine vehicles, some blister packs of WH40K Orks, and a couple with just weapons, and a bunch of RAFM Ogre miniatures for the Steve Jackson Game, even a blister pack of some Micro Armor tanks, and other assorted painted and unpainted miniatures.  I also found some resin terrain pieces, some small bricks and barrels and skulls. Oh my!  The camera seems to be misplaced otherwise I would have a few pics.  Oh well...

I haven't decided what I'm going to do with them, but I may put the Ogre minis and maybe the orks on eBay to help fund other purchases.

Oh, and how could I forget the Mage Knight mini's?  My brother was really into that, much more so than me, and he must have had hundreds.   If not close to over a thousand.  He dropped most of them off when he moved.  A mini for every occasion.  I should ask him if I can re-base some of the commons.  I could stage quite an epic battle...

Painting Gaming Miniatures

It's been a while since I've painted any miniatures, but it was something I enjoyed doing; even though I didn't know what the heck I was doing.  I bought my first set of miniatures when I first started playing AD&D so many, many years ago.  It was a set put out by Grenadier, and it was of different adventurers.  I also got a monster assortment a bit later.  I thought they were awesome, and knew they needed to be painted.  Unfortunately, like I mentioned before; I knew NOTHING about painting miniatures.

Now when I say nothing; I really mean nothing.  I didn't know they needed to be primed.  I was using a set of enamel paints for models.  I still cringe when I think about that.  Of course at the time,  there wasn't the resources that were available today or even ten years ago.  At least that I knew of!  There certainly wasn't the World Wide Web/Internet/whatever you want to call it; with all it's websites and blogs.  I didn't know about any magazine that covered such knowledge; much less any books.  Now there are quite resources websites, blogs, books, and magazines which contain information and tutorials that help teach the craft of miniature painting.

One of the better blogs discussing painting miniatures is wargaming tradecraft from N++ .  If you know nothing about painting minis, and want to learn his blog is the perfect place to start.  He covers it all, or will eventually I imagine, and does so with a nice, clear writing style.  I've learned a few things reading his posts.  I really need to go back, and start taking "notes"; i.e. cutting and pasting text into a word processor.  Hey, it's how I do things, and works great if you make back ups of your files.  Plus, Dave seems to be a nice guy, he gave me some advice about my computer problem.

Carmen's Fun Painty Time! is another good miniature painting blog.  He's a talented painter and terrain builder.  It seems he covers quite a few different genres.  The conversions he made for Gamma World are awesome. I couldn't find any miniature painting tutorials, but you can probably learn quite a bit from just reading his blog, he's got quite a few photos.  He's also talented at converting minis and sculpting new creations.  His photos document his processes well, and he does have some really nice terrain tutorials.  Check out his caveman series of terrain tutorials.  Some very good stuff there, with techniques that can very well carry over into other genres.  There's also quite a few links to the miniature companies he buys from; as well as the companies he buys his supplies from.  If his blog does anything, it should inspire you to be a better painter, sculpter, or terrain builder.

Here's another fun blog, Double 0 Sven .  He's got some great tips on photographing miniatures and some on terrain.  Plus, I really love his concept.  He doesn't just post the photos of the miniatures, he writes stories about what's going on. A web comic of sorts.

The World of Double 0 Sven


Double 0 Sven is a cold, Icelandic secret agent working on behalf of the Scandinavian Government. His mission: to track down the feared SMORGES Board-a band of Smugglers, Muggers, Ornithologists, Racketeers and Genius Evil Scientists.

Every time I read this I laugh.  Sheer brilliance.  That's what I love about this hobby so many creative people involved in just about every aspect of the gaming hobby.

Another fun blog is Doctor Merkury , he's always got some kind of fun, miniature thing going on...

Earlier in the post I mentioned the Grenadier Miniatures I bought when I was just a teenager. They were official AD&D miniatures.  I don't remember what the sets were called, but I believe I still have a few, well, maybe a couple somewhere, and I plan on stripping the old paint off, which I now know how to accomplish thanks to the wonders of the Internet, and I eventually will repaint them.  Where are you Balrog!

I know that you can get prepainted miniatures, but there's nothing like taking a unpainted miniature and giving it your own unique look.  Also, with some practice you can convert or create your own fantastic creations.

Well, I guess that's enough for now.  Trust me, you can find many other blogs and websites about painting minis just by checking out blog rolls, or doing an Internet search.  ( I've got a few on my own blog roll. )  Even if it's a genre or gaming system you aren't interested in; the techniques will be the same, and you can learn much from the different ways people do things.  Good luck, and start painting!