Wasteland Wondering

Welcome back to another Wasteland Wondering....where I ramble through the wastelands of my twisted mind dreaming up more post apocalyptic wargaming & model making hobby ideas.

In this post I shall have a quick catch up, a moan about suppliers and explore some ideas for my 20mm post apoc setting....oh and look at some 20mm cars lurking in my collection.

I have not had much chance to get any hobby stuff done for over a month now. Once again a close relative has been in hospital.Thankfully he is home again. On top of that my Good Lady has gone into full on Christmas Fairy Mode (CFM). Like most husbands suffering from the fallout of CFM I have been obediently playing pack horse as I get dragged around various stores shopping for the silly season. This has very little time for hobby fun.

Of course the various shocking world events on the 13th November stopped me from blogging. I will not voice my opinions and thoughts about these events on this blog. This is a hobby blog. Like all the best things in life - Religion and Politics are kept out of it.

Back in early October I put an order with Taban miniatures for some 28mm post apoc figures. My order is still at processing. Despite dropping Taban a email I have not heard anything about the status of my order. I am gearing up for another email. I don't mind delays on orders. It happens and it isn't like Hobby stuff (usually) has a life and death time issue on them. What gets me is, it takes little effort to reply to a email just to confirm you haven't done a runner with my money? It is simple customer relations. I wouldn't normally mention it here but this is not the first time this year I have had this issue with a miniature supplier.

One thing I have been up to is dreaming up more post apoc ideas for my 20mm Blood& Fire setting which some of you may remember from this post back in August.

Normally I start a setting in various places across the world. Those who know me will know what happens when my mind starts creating.

I had created gang and faction ideas across North America, UK, Germany and Australia. This was largely inspired by the stuff I have already created, some of the ideas I have discussed in previous Wasteland Wondering posts, the Mad Max Movies, the Movie Hell (a good flick if you don't mind subtitles or can speak German), the Rage & Fallout computer games, the Darkwind online game and the Deathlands & Toxic World series of novels.

Then I realized that I was making the same mistakes that I made with Mattblackgod's world. There are factions spread all over the world and many can't interact simply because they are on opposite sides of the world. Whilst some travel is possible it is unlikely most factions would have the resources to travel that far across the post apoc world.

So I plan to start with the first faction Civilization and work around it. It doesn't matter where I created the factions for. The world will be vastly different and is mostly desert. The where and what will no longer apply. Maps would be no longer relevant and the old names forgotten. So I will fit them onto the map as I create the various factions.

I recon faction bases and settlements in my Post Apoc world should be scattered between 20 and 60 miles apart. Many will be at least a days march on foot. Many folks will not want to camp in the wastelands at night.

Rules:
I have been giving the rules I want to use some thought. I have (currently) settled on Warlands by Aberrant Games as this has infantry/pedestrian rules in addition to vehicle rules.

Terrain:
A recent discussion with a friend about going to 20mm from 28mm highlighted storage issues. As I have been collecting for 15mm for I now have quite a bit of scale neutral terrain. Besides a Mad Max style game usually isn't terrain rich. For this I will use my now abandoned Mars Terrain I made for VSF gaming. Now it will be the desert of the Blood & Fire world.

Cars:
Now where would a Mad Max type setting be without cars?? I have a couple of Dark Future (a late 80's car combat game by GW) sets from back in the day and I have some cars (the ones I couldn't sell) from the game that got me back into wargaming and model making about 12 years ago....Axles & Alloys. So I dug the cars out.


Here we can see a mix of Dark Future cars and converted hotwheels for Axles and Alloys. Some of the Dark Future Interceptors and Police Vehicles will be used for Civilization. They will get some sort of uniform livery. Maybe a Mad Max MFP one?


The DF Interceptors. I plan to have a renegade Interceptor and one captured by a Warlord based North of Civilization. I have figured out how the Civilization are building combat cars which will be included in the fluff (to follow soon...honest).


Here we see a motley collection of converted DF Renegades. This lot will serve as armored buggies for various wastelanders.


Three of my recent Blood & Fire builds hide at the back.


Some police and gang vehicles.

Some of these cars will be repainted, some reworked and a few will be stripped for parts. In addition to this lot I just got a Hot Wheels Ford Falcon XB which I will attempt to build a Mad Max Interceptor.

That is all for now....thanks for looking.

Wasteland Wondering.

Welcome back to another Wasteland Wondering. In this post I will be chatting about my last post apoc faction plans (The Bulletfarm) and a Post Apoc City Idea. Plus a peek at me latest mini acquisitions.

I hope you all had a happy & safe Halloween. We are big on Halloween in our household. I need to get a Halloween game set up one year. I have the minis and terrain for a spook fest type game. 

In my last Wasteland Wondering I explored a possible site for a Lead factory or Bullet Farm for UK post apocalyptic settings. A reader (Brummie) asked where this was, so in order to keep my readership happy...

It's called Speedwell Cavern in the Peak District. 

Speedwell Cavern Linkage

The thought of the workers using boats though the tunnels really fires up the imagination. 

We plan to visit the area in the next week or two. Unfortunately due to my Wife's mobility issues we will not be visiting the lead mine. Hopefully I can expand the idea's I have for this after driving around the area. 

I have not got any hobby work done this week. It has been all prep for Halloween. Like I said earlier it is a big deal in our household. 

A nice parcel landed on my door mat. Some of 28mm Wasteland Survivors from the recent Kickstarter by Westfalia. 

They seem to scale up well with my other 28mm figures. They are a must collection for any fans of a certain movie series. I look forward to getting them painted. 

My old noggin has been working overtime this week. I have been giving some thought to creating a Post Apocalyptic City along the lines of the New City in the Toxic World novels or the City in the Killing Moon novel by Rod Glenn. I like to work from the base up when creating such places starting at the end of the world onwards. 

As I work at a Aircraft Factory and Airport I used that as an base idea. There is a wealth of materials for a setting up faction. Decent security, Airliner Airfames as accommodation, the airfield runways and Taxi Pans as extra space, converted fire engines into war rigs, the fuel tanks, the fuel tankers (airports have lots of these), airport vehicles, hangars, workshops, massive car parks with plenty of vehicles to use, unusable vehicles used as a outer barricade, airport maintenance vehicles, nearby industrial estates & support businesses and of course the green areas for growing crops. These ideas are the ones just off the top of my head. With a few skilled and knowledgeable people the turbines from jet engines may even be reused in a power generation capacity if driven by compressed steam. The locals could even be armed with weapons made from turbine blades. 

If the faction is clever enough they may even manage to keep some light aircraft flying which they use in a scouting or ground attack capacity. Forget jet aircraft and most helicopters. They are too thirsty and maintenance intense to keep them flying for long after the end of the world. I give many of them around 18 months of flying with enough fuel and parts. 

Of course some airfields have soil contamination issues from the airport. This will not stop hemp growing for diesel production. 

Most modern cities evolved from settlements based around a natural resource such as water or food. I can't see it being any different in the post apoc world. Many airports are near the coast in the UK which is handy for such a set up. It is a shame that in my UK Post Apoc setting that they are flooded. Maybe the site I am interested in may have risen from the earthquakes that followed the asteroid storm? That is one of  the things I love about Post Apoc is the freedom to modify the world you have created to suit your needs. 

This is of course if I go 28mm. If I use my newer 20mm setting I could arrange for a natural spring to have broken out near the planned site. 

That is all for this Wasteland Wondering. Take care out there! 

Thanks for reading.