Gazing back over 2017

Hello and welcome back to my blog. 

Looking back....my vision dims.....only memories remain. Oh and this blog. 

At this time of year it is traditional to look back over the posts of the last 12 months. Looking back the first thing that I noticed was I managed to post a lot more in 2017 than 2016. I put this down to the fact that the kittens we got in 2016 are now full blown cats. They sleep more and play slightly less. That still doesn't stop them "interfering" and "supervising" hobby time. That said there was a lot of background and fluff written over the last 12 months. 

Back in January I mused about bringing back the Brittanna faction. I really like the background and colour schemes of this faction.

Later this year I brought them back as the decendants of the evacuees from Brittanna Bunker City living in Utopia in a block operating as a Corporation. They later fled back into the wastelands and set up the City again. 

I started making some inroads to my 15mm post apocalyptic stuff but I later got distracted by 28mm again. I also started a 15mm crashed aircraft wreck. Sadly I never got to finish it. Maybe next year?

One bad thing that happened this year was Photobucket going mercenary and starting to charge unreasonable amounts to use links to your uploaded pictures. Over 10 years of hobby pictures vanished, threads ruined. Thanks Photobucket, you really screwed me and thousands of other hobbists over. I have now found other ways to share my pictures. Up yours Photobucket! 

This year saw me swing back to 28mm scale as I got into a 40K Oldhammer vibe. Not to mention adding more Trogz (Orks). 

Mid year I hit on the Idea of one location where all my 28mm factions could live and knock the living daylights out of each other. One area of Mattblackgod's world unused was the ruins of the planetary capitol Mattblackgod City. They were ignored due to massive contamination from the wars that raged across the planet.

I invented a way for the toxins to clear and to draw all the denizens to the ruins of the ruined mega city. The mutated Trog warlord the Matt Black Trog cleaned the toxins up using some salvaged Terraforming microbes.

As a introduction to the setting I wrote a few background reports of a group of Utopia Magistrates sent to investigate. There is still a couple of posts in draft for this series. In addition I have been chronicling various gangs and factions to be found in the ruins. The mapping will be updated soon with more details. It has been pretty fluid so far.

The Wasteocrates have found a new home in the ruined mega city. They found a block that had the upper floors severed off. Soon a new township of Wastetopia was created. This place is a trade hub and many bandit gangs come here to trade. 

In the northern part of the ruins lies Nu Ork ran by a Trog Warlord known as the Duke. 

Duke is inspired by the Duke Character in the film Escape from New York. 

Out in the hellzone wastes to the south of the ruins lies the base of the mutant Trog known as Immortan Ork. He uses humans as his warband and rules the wastes up to the ruins edge. 

This character is inspired by Immortan Joe from Mad Max Fury Road. 

Both Warlords are in despute with the Matt Black Trog over who rules the ruins. 

In addition to this there is a nomadic Trog agent for the Mattblacktrog known as the Mad Mek. This Mek is a oomie lover and tries to help human & mutant settlements out. 

Mad Mek is inspired by Mad Max. 

The Mad Mek, Immortan Ork, Duke and Mattblacktrog are all conversions from GW 40K Orks. 

Nu - Necromunda landed this year and I look forward to trying the game. The figures will be used in my Post Apoc setting. I have still to assemble them. 

This year I discovered the Mutant Epoch post apocalyptic RPG rules. I love the detail and background to this setting. Great to read for inspiration. That said the rules look good fun to play. I like how they leave everything to chance when creating a character. This includes even the basics like species, build, sex and even sexuality. 

One big thing for me was being approached by Curtis from Ramshackle Game to Co host a table at the 2018 Bring Your Own Lead show. I will be packing up as much terrain as I can fit in my car. The hotel is booked and we are all set for a weekend of wargames fun. 

It occurred to me that next year the Post Apocalyptic wargames forum will be ten years old. I commissioned Darklight Minatures to sculpt me a survivor I call Ten. I will be getting the figure cast and will be selling it at cost to Forum Members. 

Thanks for reading. Happy New Years. If you can't be good, be safe! 

Merry Christmas to All!

Merry Christmas to All! 

Have a good one folks! 

Ten - Update 22-12-17

Hi, just a quick update on the ten figure I am having sculpted for the post apocalyptic wargames forum. 

The sculptor Darklight Miniatures, got the figure sculpted at lightening speed. I now have the finished sculpt in my grubby mitt. 

I chose to have the weapon hand empty so that gamers can add weapons to suit their background. It will also help if I am left with a bucket of figures. 😂

I am pretty pleased with the figure, now to get it cast. I will chase the casters in the Xmas break. 

Thanks for looking. Stay safe out there.

Wasteland Wondering - more Necromunda

Hello and welcome back to my blog. 

Happy Yuletide wastelanders. This Wasteland Wondering post is going to be focusing on the recent GW release of (Nu) Necromunda. Much has been said about the game in various places online & social media. Some good and some bad. I will be concentrating on my experiences so far.

When my boxed set arrived and I was happy to see the rules, figures and terrain sprues. The tunnel boards look good and are inspiring me to create new tunnel sections for my existing tunnel terrain set with a more industrial vibe to them. I am sure some of the Necromunda terrain sprues may find their way into those builds (if they ever happen).

Sadly I never got around to assembling the figures I can't comment on the figure's height or quality. However I have heard good things about them. The sprues look nicely detailed. The arrival of the boxed set was timed with the arrival of the silly season (funny that). In our house hobby projects stop as we decorate and get into the whole seasonal groove.

That hasn't stopped me reading through the rule book. As predicted the rules are a little different to the original but they seem to mix in elements & mechanics that other (non GW) rule sets have been using for a couple decades now. You can still see the orginal rules in there, they have just been updated. So far I like the look of them. 

My only reservation is that the Eshers seem to have lower cool and will power scores than the Goliaths. To my mind Amazon warriors would be just as tough mentally as their male counterparts. 

Sadly in the typical GW milk the fans/customers for every penny fashion, the rest of the Necromunda houses and outlanders etc will be the feature of later figure & rule book releases. 

I did get the Gang War book which introduces the multilevel combat rules and campaign rules of the original Necromunda game. However there is only a few pages dedicated each to these. The rest of the book repeats rules from the core rule book, which made me feel a little cheated.

The background fluff in the rule books will allow games to be played in other Necromunda hives or hive world's should you have the inclination. There are brief descriptions of some of the other Necromunda hives on the world. I think it would be fun to create my own hive or hive world and in my usual fashion I have figured out a way to create one. That may be subject of a future post. 

I plan to use the gangs from the Necromunda box set in my post apocalyptic setting on Mattblackgod's World. 

For the Goliaths I hope to use them as body guards for the Bullet Farmer who is a ally of Immortan Ork. I will be looking at Mad Mad Fury Road for inspiration of how to paint them. My next problem will be to find a suitable figure for the Bullet Farmer. I am not sure if I should use a Ork or Human figure. 

Another idea for the Goliaths is to use them as bodyguards for the Warlord of Wastetopia. Rych of the Post Apocalyptic Wargames Forum gave me an idea of how such a mob should look. He favours blood red tartan which looks cool but I suspect would be a tricky to paint.

The Eshers will be getting a Fallout feel to them. I plan to take the house's background and mix it into a vault. They will be used as bandits who will from time to time visit Wastetopia to trade their ill gotten gains, drugs & generally causing mayhem. 

Thanks for reading, stay safe out here & Happy Yuletide.

Ten - update.

Hello and welcome back to my blog.

Just a quick catch up about the ten figure I am having sculpted. 

Wow, my sculptor is fast. His work so far....

He only started last night. I am envious of his skill. I can't wait to see the finished figure.

Thanks for looking.

"Ten" - post apoc figure.

Hello and welcome back to my blog,

Some of you out in blogger land probably know that I am creator of the Post Apocalyptic Wargames Forum (link in the side bar). It was a place I created because I felt that the post apocalyptic genre was largely overlooked by the wargames communities. It is a place that covers post apocalyptic small scale skirmish and rpg games too. 

How things have changed since I started the PA wargames forum. Every online wargames forum has a post apocalyptic board. There are now lots of choice for games, figures, scales and backgrounds. There has been a explosion in the genre. Not just in the hobby either. The media has created lots of books, comics, films, tv series and computer games in the post apocalyptic genre in the last decade. 

Next year is our 10th year in the wastelands. To commemorate this event I am having a 28mm figure sculpted and cast. I am thinking of something like this dude:

Here is the spec I have sent the sculptor. 

"I want a 28mm scale figure sculpted. It is to be similar to the figure in the above picture I sent you (gas masked, hooded survivor figure). It is okay for the figure ho be holding a pistol, however don't make it too modern. Something like a colt magnum revolver or M1911 pistol will be suitable. The figure is to have a small shoulder pad with the number 10 engraved in it. Elbow and knee pads are peferred but not compulsory. The figure must have a backpack. Is this okay? "

I hope to make this exclusive figure available to all active members of the forum for cost value and maybe use one as the prize in the 2018 Warlord's challenge. I will keep this blog updated with the progress of the figure.

Thanks for looking. 

Wasteland Wondering...Necromunda

Hello and Welcome back to my blog.

In this Wasteland Wondering I will be talking about the new GW release Necromunda, or Necromunda 2 as many of us greybeards are calling it. The rumours and drip fed eye candy has been about for a few months now. In my usual style I am late to the party.

When I first heard about Necromunda returning I was excited about the news. However giving the past history of GW I was a little reserved as they have had a habit of ruining things in pursuit of profit.

So the new rules are going to be based on the new edition of 40k. Having not played the new version of 40K I cannot not comment. That said I have only played Necromunda 3 or 4 times and I liked the rules (although I prefer Neutronyork 3000 to Necromunda). Sure it had its failures but then rulesets are like people. Each one is different and none of them are perfect. With this in mind I will approach the new rules with a open mind. If I don't like them I still have the old rules and a host of other rulesets to fall back on.

Then there was the news that the bases will be 32mm in diameter and slightly thicker than the old 25mm slotta base. This caused much wailing on the internet. This is not really an issue for me as I would be rebasing them on 25mm or smaller anyway. It makes using them in confined spaces such as gantries a lot easier. So for me it is not a issue. I may end up using coins or washers as bases.

The new figures would be 32mm rather than 28mm heroic scale. Looking at the shared pictures online the new figures look a head higher than the older ones. This has caused some grumbling from the Oldhammer collectors who have old Necromunda gangs they want to get out.

Now I don't know if you have noticed but people come in a whole range of sizes. I have friends that range from 4 foot 8 to 6 foot 3. I also know a few people who are over 6 foot 6 inches. In 28mm terms that translates as roughly 26mm to 35mm from the top of the head to the foot. A seven footer would be 38mm. All within the human size range. Who knows what another 38,000 years will do to human evolution?

Over the years in my haphazard way I have collected figures from many lines from 25mm through to 32mm. I have never let the height or bulk bother me. As I mentioned earlier, folks come in all manner of sizes. One trick to cut down height is instead of using a slotta base is to use a coin or washer. That lowers the figures height and makes things look at bit more even on the table top. Another trick is to shave a mm or two off the soles of the shoes/boots off the figures.

When the news landed that the game was to take place using tiles it caused even more wailing and gnashing of teeth on the internet. After all Necromunda was always a 3d multilevel game. It was one of it's selling points.

To my mind the multistory looking levels whilst looking good rarely fitted the massive underside of a city. These areas are usually tunnels, rooms, ancient sewers and forgotten basements. Yes giving the Necromunda fluff lost domes and multilevels can still be part of the game but tunnel warfare makes much more sense to my twisted mind.

I am lucky to have my own tunnel system built. Tunnel Terrain Page.   Now old Necromunda fans may like the challenges of multi levels but tunnel fights are far different. One automatic weapon can control a whole corridor. But better pray you don't get a jam. Grenades become your new best friends, if they don't bring the roof down (I wonder if the new rules covers this?). Watching corners becomes important. When close combat breaks out it renders your fancy guns useless as it can block a tunnel and you can't get a clear shot or LOS.

In short I am looking forward to seeing the new game but I still remain reserved. At least I will have a couple of new gangs for my wastelands.

Just my thoughts. Thanks for reading.

Take care out there! 

Matt Black Report #16 - Mad Mek

Mad Mek.

The Mad Mek is held in awe by the rest of the Trogs as he clearly belongs to two castes. Not only is he a Mek Boy but he is a Mad Boy too. The boys think he is strange because of his need to look out for others (in a violent way of course) and his interest in Humans. The Mad Mek also belonged to the cult of speed for a short while. He got kicked out because he didn't think "Red Unz go Fasta" and painted his buggy matt black. Surely another sign he is mad?

The Mad Mek is under the protection of the Matt Black Trog who feels this odd Trog is important to the new world order.

The Mad Mek wanders the ruins and wastelands looking for parts to build his Intorkceptor, righting wrongs, fixing stuff and being nice to Humans as he goes along.

The Mad Mek is made up from bits. Boyz legs, Ork Biker body and arm. The Shotgun is a Ork resin item by Kromlech. The arms had putty sleeves added and Mad Max style shoulder armor added. Next up for this guy is for me to make a Squig, build a Intorkceptor and possible a Grot side kick. 

Matt Black Report #15 - Da Duke of Nu Ork!

Da Duke of Nu Ork!

On the northern edge of the Matt Black City ruins lies a few blocks held by a bunch of Trogs who do have not sworn allegiance to the Matt Black Trog. This territory is known as Nu Ork and is ruled over by a Trog simply known as Da Duke.

Da Duke dreams of the day when his forces can rival the Matt Black Trog in strength and numbers. When he can lead his Trogs to Matt Black City and smash Trog City. Until then he will make do waging war on the Humans and Trog gangs roaming the ruins. 

Da Duke is made from the 40K Ork Nobz kit and is inspired by the classic "Duke in the Escape From New York" movie. I added the gold braid epauletes from greenstuff which mark his rank. 

Matt Black Data Report #14 Utopia Magistrates Heavy Assault team.

Utopia Magistrates Heavy Assault team.

In Utopia city a special team of power armored Magistrates are being assembled. Their task is to head to the Matt Black City Ruins and support the team of Magistrates based there.

The figures are old 40K RT era metal Space Marines, just as they started adding older power armor to the range. The color scheme is based on the Utopia Magistrate uniform. 

Matt Black Data Report #13 - Headshot Armaments Heavy Hitter

Headshot Armaments Heavy Hitter

Over the years the boys at Headshot Armaments have come across several bits of old military technology. With a bit of work this old Dreadnought suit was repaired and brought back to life. This walking tank is fitted with two power fists and four bolt guns. Headshot realized that this piece of tech would be bad news in the wrong hands. So they keep it to defend the stock at the factory or Wastetopia when called upon.

The model is a old 40K Rogue Trader era Imperial Dreadnought. 

Wasteland Wondering Seasonal Blues.

Hello and welcome back to another Wasteland Wondering. 

Happy Belated Halloween. I hope you had a spooky time.

I have been neglecting this blog a little over the last few weeks. Real life likes to intrude on hobby time. 

My old bike's wiring has been causing many headaches. 27 year old loom and the great outdoors don't mix well. This has caused me to miss riding in September and October which are two of my favourite riding months. I think I may have to start looking for some new wheels. 

Then there was the build up to Halloween and Halloween itself (we are big on Halloween here). Decorating the house, binging on spooky movies and scaring the trick or treaters.

We also had a trip to the cat cafe in Manchester. We both enjoyed our visit and my wife didn't want to leave. If you like felines I recommend it. According to rumour they are opening one in Liverpool. I guess my good lady will be moving in.

One thing about the approaching colder season if the cats think that they are entitled to use you as a cat bed. As you can see in the picture below, Toffee has grown somewhat. 

I have some hobby updates to post (when I find my camera and kickstart the laptop) a few figures to post up, a drafted post for the forthcoming Necromunda 2 game and even some drafted posts for the Utopia city Magistrates who are stranded in ruins of Matt Black City. 

My Bunker (star) Bastards and Vaulties projects have stalled. The Bunker Bastards are still in hack and convert phase. The Vaulties are mostly painted. They just need the detailing to finish. Sadly I expect that will remain so until after new year, as Xmas looms in the distance. If you think we go nuts for Halloween, you should see us at Yule! 

To add to my collection of Wastelanders I have backed the Mini Gangs Kickstarter. I have been a fan of Curtis' work (Ramshackle Games) for a long time. There are many of his figures in my collection. I look forward to seeing these figures as well as trying to figure out how they will fit into my setting. Plus the rules look fun to play.

I have also been collecting the Mutant Epoch rpg rule book. Another planned post is to do a review of the game, background and mechanics. I love the detailing and fluff of this rpg setting.

For now, have a happy Guy Fawkes night! 

Thanks for reading and stay safe out there. 

Matt Black City Report 17 - Radio Static

Journal of Senior Mag Stevo.
Date 16070117

Day 26- Radio Static

It has been ten days since my last update to this journal.

To keep the home sickness and cabin fever at bay we have kept ourselves busy. That said it doesnt stop the feelings or thoughts on night watch.

We have busied ourselves with clearing out the block apartment by apartment. So far our efforts have reached down 20 floors. We have quite a pile of trade goods. We also found quite a few piles of human remains. These bones are piled near the resych suite until we can dispose of them correctly.

Alas we found the block armoury was stripped. Only a few close combat weapons and bullets remain. They are no use to us so they went into the trade pile.

Many of the old security cameras have been put back online or moved to cover key points in the block the four of us can't cover. At least it improves our security situation.

Communications with Utopia have been virtually non exisitant. There is a lot of interference and static in our radio comms. We know they are there and they know we are here but no meaningful communication has been achieved. Magistrate Warren pointed out that this is a common phenomenon since the orbital bombarment and is nothing sinister.

The static has also limited our use of the drones. We nearly lost another due to loss of comms. We got lucky recalling it. The good news about this is that the static has blocked the awful Kraptoidiots corporation's radio transmissions. I think the static is preferable.

Our supplies are starting to get low and we have begun rationing as we have had no resupply information from Utopia. Maybe the environmental radio interference is stopping a resupply?

I have continued the mapping of the settlements and anomalies across the ruins. It seems that some bands are making their way to larger settlements. There is logic in the safety in numbers argument. We also think we have may have discovered the location of the settlement Wastetopia we have heard in the radio chatter before the static. Wastetopia is suspected to be near the North Eastern edge of the ruins. Hopefully we can get a drone sweep once the static dies.

The anomalies fields continue to change and puzzle us. We need more people and equipment to collect more data. They only thing we do know is that they are still deadly.

Matt Black Data Report #12- Scavengers

Whilst many townships do not allow scavengers Wastetopia gets a a fair bit of trade from them. The Warlord's guards keep a close eye on them as they tend to determine drunk, cause trouble, cheat and steal anything not bolted down.

The figure is a Copplestone Casting Scavenger. 

Beyond the towns deep in the ruins and wastelands beyond Scavengers loot easy places leaving the more dangerous places to the Stalkers and recovery teams. The Scavenger's also attack any easy targets such as wounded stalkers or merchants. Not all encounters with Scavengers are bad. There are stories of them trading or coming to help people in distress. Despite this they are considered to be a hazard by many. 

Matt Black Data Report #11 - Dead Eye

Meet Dead Eye, he watches from the tower on the Headshot Armaments compound. Anyone making off with the merchandise cops a bullet to the head. 

Dead Eye is a figure from the Nuclear Renaissance range by Ramshackle Games. The rifle barrel snapped off in a kitten incident so he has a carbine.

Matt Black Data Report #10 - Bunker Bustards

A guy in a suit of old power armour walks into Wastetopia looking for a drink. The armour has come from several sets and has many custom painted parts. 

Meet Captain Bustard who leads the Bunker Bastards, a team of pre war bunker hunters. They find the bunkers and break in, looting what they can. They then move to the nearest town to spend their loot. Most of the team have suits of power armour. 

This figure is a slightly customised old plastic 40K RT era space marine. 

Matt Black Data Report #9 Mr Hanky

Out in the Greasy Poon settlement a mutant has arrived.....

Meet Mr Hanky. A living pile of muck. Rumor has it that it escaped from a outhouse someplace. Don't get too close besides getting muck all over he may be radioactive too. 

Mr Hanky comes from Ramshackle games mutants line.

Matt Black Data Report #8 - more Wasteocrates

A few more recruits for the Warlord's Wasteocrates gangs in the township of Wastetopia.

A tough wasteland lady and a short range sharp shooter who covers the Warlord's back when out waving at the hordes of Wastetopia. 

The chick is from Foundry Miniatures and the sharp shooter comes from Ramshackle games. Sadly the barrel had snapped off the rifle

Meet Squeek and Snitch. Squeek is the Warlord's advisor about the Vermen of the Brood that the big man is trying to form an alliance with. Snitch is the Warlord's spy out in the township. Ratlings are naturally stealthy and it lends to Snitch's job of snooping about. 

Squeek is a old plastic Skaven with a shotgun  modification. Sneak is a old Warhammer Halfling. I converted him back in the late 80's to fit into my Rogue Trader games by adding a laser pistol.

Matt Black Data Report #7 - Brittannia tech specialist

Brittannia city have founded a colony in the ruins called "Mirandatown". The detachment also feature power armored troops. 

This is a specialist technologist who goes out with the power armoured troops and helps identify the arcane items to be removed from the ruins.

This figure is a old 40K RT era space marine specialist. 

Wasteland wondering - chatter.

Hello, welcome back to my blog and to another Wasteland Wondering.

It has been a busy few weeks hobby wise with one thing and another. I have expanded the background of the Matt Black City using the journal entries of the Utopia Magistrates. This has allowed me to mix some themes I like into the setting from the Stalker video games.

The posts also gave me a mechanic to bring Brittanna bunker city back into Mattblackgod's world. In case you missed it the refugees of the city formed a corporation in Utopia. They used technology stolen from Utopia to build a new city in secret. Then under the cover of the psi riots they moved to their new home.

I like Brittianna not only because I can use it to mimic some of British history and certain favourite television shows but it is a great vehicle for lampooning, satiring and spoofing certain events in the news.

Thinking of the returning bunker city gave me ideas to expand it's defence companies. Some time in the future the Queens Guard will get four new guys (1 squad) in power armour. Thanks to the oldhammer FB group & forum for inspiring me to dig out my old RT figures and relife them with fresh paint.

The convential Brittannia ground troops will be expanded from 4 man squads to 6 man squads with a new squad being formed (scored some early metal IG Cadians on Evil bay).

Each company is commanded by a Lord. Whilst some companies stick to the standard uniform others deviate such as Lord Blackdaggar. This will allow me some fun creating companies for other Lords. I have some old RT era Imperial Guard figures which I have plans for. They are currently in a pot of dettol cleaning fluid ready for stripping.

Meanwhile I have started looking at the home of the Wasteocrates faction in the MBC ruins. They are setting up in a old half demolished block. These mega city buildings
have enough room for a post apocalyptic town. Wastetopia is planned to be a rough, nearly lawless place. The lack of interference attracts stalker teams, bandits and more who come their to trade. Of course this puts the township at odds with other factions in the ruins. There will be more on Wastetopia when I have fleshed it out a bit more.

The plans for the township has caused more rethinking of my plans. So a re-edit of the maps will be needed.

The Utopia mags posts will continue. They have to at least get some reinforcements and vehicles before I think about stopping. The ruins are too vast to go everywhere on foot. The posts can take a while to write and edit so I have started the Matt Back City Data reports to speed up the posting of new figures and growing factions.

Work on various groups of figures has started, helped immensely by the fact the the two kittens I got last year are now cats. In true cat style they like to sleep a lot.

Whilst all this has been going on I picked up the Mutant Epoch RPG books. They are a good read and are inspiring the background of Wastetopia a little.

The big news from me in the last couple of weeks is that I was asked by Curtis of Ramshackle to help him set up a table for next year's BYOL show. My collection of Post Apoc terrain will be featuring on a large table along side Curtis' as we put together another Helsreach table. I am super excited and honoured to be asked. It is about time some of my collection got some game time in.

Thanks for reading. Stay safe out there.

Matt Black Data #6 - mutant Verman.

Spotted out in the ruins...a large Verman mutant. The fact it has metal bands and shackles indicates that it may have been a pit beast (gladiatorial combat is a popular sport in a lot of settlements). The question is, did it get loose or was it freed? 

Is this beast an indication of other Vermen living in the tunnels under the ruins? 

The miniature is a old GW Skaven Rat Ogre, I found this figure cheap on ebay many years ago. The paint is as I bought it. As it was based on a square base with the traditional GW park green basing, I rebased it. The purpose of this figure is to act as a bullet magnet for my Verman gangs.

Matt Black Data #5 The bounty hunter.

Meanwhile a mutie bounty hunter walks into Wastetopia town looking for work. 

I wonder if he will find work?

The figure is a rebased Clix Johnny Alpha (2000AD Strontium Dogs). As usual with clix figures a wash and some touching up was needed.

Gangs of Mega City One review.

Hello and welcome back to my blog. 

A few weeks back I spotted a copy of Mongoose's Gangs of Mega City One on evilbay. The game is a small gang srkimish

As many hardened readers of this blog will know I am a huge fan of 2000AD's Mega City One background and Judge Dredd. It is a major inspiration for the Utopia city faction. I was tempted to buy the game, sealed as new but for £15.00 it seemed too good to be true. Especially as every out of production and classic game fetching sily prices. I have been burnt by dodgy eBay sellers in the past.

I have wanted this game since it came out in 2004 but sadly funds would not allow me to purchase it even if I had enough figures from my Combat Zone and Babylon's Burning collections to start playing right away. Throwing caution to the wind I hit the Buy button.

A couple of days later the parcel arrived. With a mixture of excitement and dredd (did you see what I did there?) I opened the parcel to find a complete game, still sealed.

With some delight I ripped the cellophane away and dug through my treasure.
So what is there?

A rules and background booklet.

Some dice & 12 unassembled plastic gang figures.

Some templates & a bunch of card terrain (buildings, cars and street furniture).

A paper play mat.

Not bad for the asking price and it is rare to get a bargain on evilbay these days.

The rules seem pretty straight forward and have a campaign section so you can grow you gang and raise their reputation. One nice rule is the Call the Judges rule which allows you to set the law on your opponent.

What is missing from the rules are rules for vehicles, cursed earth gangs, robots, Cocalids and ape gangs.

Reading previous reviews from back in the day many herald the GMC1 rules as Mongoose's attempt at a Necromunda style skirmish game. That is true in some respects but the background is much, much richer. It is generally unknown but 2000AD's Mega City One was a large inspiration for Confrontation (Necromunda' s forefunner) and early 40K.

In the last 40 years Mega City One has seen much wackiness and gaming the mean streets would give a lot of fun. There is the undercity (sorry Nercomunda Fans, MC1 had one before 40K was born), the cursed earth, crazy gangs, ape gangs, crazies (called futsies), death judges from another dimension, wars with other mega cities, block wars and features many cross overs. The Aliens and Predator vs Judge Dread are examples of such cross overs. MC1 was also used to parody many current events and celebrity stories if the time. Then there is the Burger Wars andDinosaurs out in the cursed earth.

Shame the game and the later edtiton (The Judge Dredd game) fell by the wayside. With the background offering so much scope to feed the imagination these games could keep a club gaming for years.

Now for me I have to find the expansion book "Death on the streets" next. Anyone have a reasonably priced one for sale?

Thanks for reading. Take care out there!