Hero Quest

Hero Quest - the game that started me on my war-gaming journey.  When I was ten years old I received a copy of this game for Christmas, my folks were quite poor but they saved for this game (my sole present) after an inordinate amount of nagging and advertising.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY_YRatOInA

I don't know why games like this aren't produced anymore, (don't say computer games - that's not an argument as us tabletop/board gamers would all just play computer games and not tabletop games if that was the case!) they are the perfect gateway to tabletop war gaming for young children.  I thought it would have been in Games Workshops best interests to continue to support games such as these?  As I understand it Milton-Bradley (in conjunction with GW) who owned the rights to Hero Quest was bought out by Hasbro.  I wrote to Hasbro NZ about 4 months ago inquiring as to whether they would produce Hero Quest (HQ) in the future - I have not yet received a reply.  perhaps I'll write them a follow up soon...

Now 20 years later - after losing all my initial HQ due to moving about during my late teens/early 20's I have now put together a complete collection of the original box sets.  At the moment my girlfriend, flat-mate and me are working our way through the complete storyline every Sunday night.  Currently we are still on the initial quest book.

My complete collection...

About to start the "Castle of Mystery"

Castle of Mystery further in...the dwarf Markus meets a horrible end for being a greedy...well...dwarf.

 

 

 

The "Bastion of Chaos" one of my favourites from the original quest book...

If anyone else wants further HQ resources I thoroughly recommend the site

http://www.heroscribe.org/

This site also enables you to download a small programme so you can design your own quests/campaigns!

Coming up I'll be blogging about a day of warhammer that was held at my house, just a brief overview as my mate J.B will do some more extensive coverage on NZ Hammered.

That's it for now - long live Hero Quest!

Acetone paint stripping (not as scary as it sounds!)

Merry Xmas nerds.

Just a follow up to yesterdays blog on paint removal.  Simple Green seems to struggle a bit with enamel paints or enamel based mat black enamel under-coats.

After a little experimentation I've worked out a great solution to these stubborn paints. 5:1 ratio of acetone nail polish remover to water.  Mix together in a glass jar, leave the miniature in for 10 minutes, then remove mini (with kitchen gloves) then scrub off with soft bristled tooth brush (comes off like mozzarella cheese).

The nail polish remover I used is manufactured by Multichem NZ (New Zealand company so good to support) it's available in pretty much every pharmacy for about 5 bucks.

This says acetone free, but you definitely want the acetone (same bottle).

 Make sure you use in a well ventilated area and if you're unco use some safety goggles.

Couldn't believe the results!  So quick and fast with no damage to the miniature (plastic mini), haven't tried it on resin but some one should give it a go and let us know.

Currently limping around like an old man with a sore back....hopefully it gets better soon so I can hunch over a painting desk!

Happy Jesus' Birthday!

Simple Green - Simply magnificent

Hey folks I thought I'd share some information on a product called Simple Green.  Quite a few of my gaming buddies use the product to strip old paint off unloved miniatures.  It purports to be non-toxic and bio-degradable which is fantastic in case you accidentally spill any on your skin.

The great thing about Simple Green is that it does not melt or damage plastic mini's.  I have just recently stripped some old stands of Epic orks with no damage to the detail or integrity of the miniatures.

I usually soak the mini's I want to strip for 24 -72 hours (depending on the stubbornness of the paint) however as little as 1 hour may be long enough for some paint jobs.  I remove any residue with a soft bristled tooth brush.

Simple Green is available from Bunnings Warehouse and Mitre 10 Mega for around $6.70 for close to a litre.  The great thing about this product is that you can use it again and again (except that it turns into a paint sludge - gross).

I hope this helps anyone who hasn't heard of this product and if there are folks out there who use another product that they feel is superior please post below and let me know.

Rory

New gaming blog (and a bit of Epic).

Hi folks,
My name is Rory and I thought I'd jump on the blogging band wagon.  This blog is going to be a general wargaming/board games blog.

There will be plenty of commentary in the new year on forthcoming tournaments in New Zealand, laden with my tongue-in-check style...if you have a problem with that then a suggest you fuck off and don't read this blog.

However I thought I'd make Epic 40,000 the subject of this post.  Currently my friend J.B and me are in the process of putting together Epic armies.  We are going to try the NetEpic rules (that I happen to be a big fan of) as many of the few Epic gamers left in this country tend to play this rules format....

Below are some pics of my ork army in progress.....if you are an Epic gamer in the Auckland region please post below or link to any stuff you may have done.

Bad Moon Boyz

Recently stripped models using Simple Green

Da boyz ar dun!

Rory