Quick Review: 15mm MDF Walled Farm from Commission Figurines

A few days ago I took delivery of the new 15mm Farmhouse complex from Commission Figurines. It comes in three plastic bags with the parts already punched out, as can be seen in the photo below. The parts are mounted on an 8" x 9" base and the finished model has internal floors in two of the buildings as well as removable roofs. There's lots of nice detail on the windows and doors as well as exposed brickwork in various places to give the farm a 'lived in' look.

There are instructions on how to assemble the model on their website but it's pretty straightforward as the parts only fit in one place. I would recommend that you use a sharp craft knife or file to slightly trim the various tabs and slots as some of them are a very tight fit.

You start by assembling the three roofs.

Then you move onto the external walls.

Once that's completed you can start adding the various buildings.

The Barn

The Barn and the Farmhouse

The Stables

Once those are in place it's time to fix them to the base.

Next up are the inserts for the barn and farmhouse which provide the base for the internal floor.

The internal floors added

Lastly it's time to add a couple of cosmetic touches in the form of an outside staircase to the barn and extra detail to the gateway.

And that's it, a very quick and simple model to assemble. Certainly a lot less complicated than the 4Ground kits I've built in the past but still a very nice finished model.

I'd like to say here's one I finished earlier but the one shown below is a painted model from their site. Sadly I don't think my painting will be up to this standard.

The finished article

So what do I think of it? Well the finished model will make a great centre piece for my Napoleonics but it's generic enough to work ok for any period from the 18th century to the modern day. It went together easily, the price is good at £22.50 and the removable roofs and internal floors are a good idea. I can't see any downside to the model so I give it 10/10.

If you want one and aren't in a hurry you could choose one of these for £20 by selecting it as your pledge option in Commission Figurines KickStarter. There are also a number of other good deals on offer as they look to expand their range into 20mm and 28mm. I've pledged for some of the 28mm stuff to use for Bolt Action.

I've added a link below to one of my reviews of their 15mm WW2 buildings for those of you who are interested.

Quick Review: MDF terrain from Commission Figurines

Are all Wargamers 'Not right in the head'?

First off I should say that this isn't a rant about the sort of people you sometimes encounter at tournaments or shows. Nor is it a self-deprecating dig at the vast number of idiotic tactical blunders I make on a regular basis. No this is something that has just occurred to me about behaviour that seems innate to all wargamers.

I'm talking about our inability to pick a period/ruleset/activity and stick to it for any length of time. Let me give you an example. For various reasons I haven't actually played any kind of wargame or painted any figures for about six months. Yet in that time I've bought three different rulebooks, two painted Napoleonic armies, various bases, dice and paint and a boardgame. That comes to a grand total of £397.46. While that's bad enough I haven't completely read through any of the rule books, played the boardgame (although it can be played solo) or finished re-basing the Napoleonics. YET just in this week alone I've found myself thinking about going back to play 'Hordes of the Things' which led me on to looking at DBA 3.0 and then onto Mantic's 'Kings of War' and, because someone at the club was having a clear out, various figures and rules for 'Empire of the Dead' & SotTR and it's only Wednesday!!!

This got me thinking and I realised I'm not alone. Go to any club and you'll see a number of systems/periods being played but a month later there'll be a bunch of different games taking place as people have 'moved on'. You can also see this in various gaming blogs with people talking about trying out new rules or having theme months and then doing something completely different. It's the same at shows, even if you go with a list you often end up buying a load of stuff you hadn't planned on getting. Either it was 'too good a deal to miss' or you just wanted it so badly that you rationalised it some way. Often by covincing friends to buy into it as well so it's not just you.

So are we as wargamers just wired to be always wanting something new and shiny or are we weak willed wretches being prayed upon by evil companies dispensing their metal/plastic/paper drugs knowing we just can't say 'No!'

Re-using Malifaux figures for Pulp Alley

I'm planning to re-use some of my many Malifaux figures for Pulp Alley so I thought I'd post a few photos with my plans for using them. The first 4 photos are of the von Schill Freikorps set.

Ferdinand von Schill will be the leader of my first league with Elsa the Librarian as his sidekick. Rounding out this group is Ziggy the Specialist with his flamethrower. All the figures wear armour and gas masks so I'm planning on taking that into account with Danger Sense, Untouchable & Lucky Devil for von Schill. He will be used aggressively providing the main punch with Elsa, his sometime lover, being the brains. She'll use her extensive knowledge to grant an extra Fortune card each turn and her knowledge of medicine to give her Indomitable. Ziggy will look to hold off foes with blasts of flame.

Rounding out the group will be Hans the Hunter with his sniper rifle and two as yet unnamed Freikorpsmen.

Rear View

Rear View

These friendly fellows are 'Silurids'. I'm thinking about using them as creatures from the black lagoon type monsters. Maybe with a Witch Queen of New Orleans as the boss. Not sure how to fill out the league yet.

The first two here are 'Stitched together' the other three 'Witchling Stalkers'. I'm thinking about using these as part of some sort of Cthulu type cult. Again it would need rounding out.

This is Collodi and his four puppets. These should make a really creepy crew with Collodi as the boss with his puppet minions. I have a few creepy little stuffed doll type figures that could go with these, but as with the others my thinking is still in the early stages.

Once I finalise my thoughts I'll post up the leagues and their abilities.

MDF Buildings Kickstarter

Last year I made some posts about the great MDF buildings from Commission Figurines (links at the bottom of this post). Well now they're looking to expand their range with a Kickstarter project. They're not looking for tens of thousands of pounds like some Kickstarters just £6,500 and the various pledge levels are good value for money. So if you're in the market for some MDF terrain check it out. I'm going to go for some of the 28mm stuff for Bolt Action and Pulp Alley. To whet you appetite here's some eye candy.

The new walled farm

The terrain in action at Derby 2012

Their first design - Berlin Strasse

More pictures can be found on the Kickstarter page and their site. If you have a blog I'm sure Walt would appreciate it if you could give his KickStarter project a quick mention.

Links:
Quick Review: MDF terrain from Commission Figurines
FoW: MDF Terrain

The Curse of 'Ohh! Shiny' and the ADD Wargamer

Having laid out going on for £300 on 15mm Napoleonic figures/rules/bases lately do I stick with that and rebase/paint/play or do I buy a new set of rules for a completely different period/scale? The answer is obvious, of course I do! In my defence it wasn't really my fault. You see it happened like this.......

It was a dark and stormy night. I was trying to wrap myself round a bottle of bourbon while browsing TMP when this dame walks into my computer. She called herself 'Pulp Girl' and said she had a story to tell me, lots of stories in fact. Tales of adventure and betrayal and I was hooked. Her mid-western drawl had me mesmerised as she weaved her tales of adventurers and villains, like Singapore Smith, Dr Phlebo and Captain Wolf, following them as they criss-crossed the world from the darkest jungles to the back alleys of Marrakesh always searching for that big score. Her tales were so vivid it was like I was there watching the action as it happened, her narration providing a counterpoint to the dance of death unfolding before my eyes.

When she was done I wanted in. 'Easy' she said, 'Just give me $9.99 and you can enter a world of extrordinary action and adventure.' I had my wallet open and before I knew it she was gone with my money. A mysterious package on my desk and the heady scent of her perfume following her out into the darkness. What had I gotten myself into? Only time would tell.

Pulp Alley and Pulp Girl's Tales.