Ramblings from the 'Sire

2009-04-29T20:42:00.002+01:00

Right - well, I must kick off by telling you all (or anyone who actually reads this) is how excited I am about the new 'War of the Ring' from Games Workshop.

I've not had a lot to do with the LOTR range, mainly because I tend towards playing Warhammer Fantasy when I want to bash a few Greenskins, and also I'm not much of a skirmish wargames player - I like the big battle arena myself, but for some reason, whilst putting an order in the other day I decided to get a copy of 'War of the Ring' - and I have not been disappointed.

Giving the rules a quick glance, first thing I noted was how the turn sequence is, in my mind, a lot better than Warhammer - with both sides taking turns in each 'phase' before moving onto the remainder of the turn - so both move, then both shoot, both charge etc.

One player always goes first in each phase, but this can change from turn to turn as the players roll a D6 for initiative.

Looking at the army lists next (so I went from the front of the book to the back) at first glance I did not think that the various units looked that different to make things interesting - so thought that might be a bit of a down side but having still not tackled the main rules, I decided to reserve judgement at this stage.

And lucky I did.

Because once you read the rules you find that 'War of the Ring' is far more subtle in many ways than Warhammer, but with just as much opportunity for good unit selection and tactics.

And there's more.....

'War of the Ring' has a great system of 'Heroic Actions' which are things that Heroes can do that can change or influence the game. Nothing is too over the top (mostly) but it means that there are lots of things that you can try to turn things your way or exploit possible victories - and this I really like.

One of the things I don't like about most wargames, including Warhammer, is that once the troops are deployed and going at it, there is little you can do to change things - but with these 'Heroic Actions' you can really feel that good command and decision making, as well as a bit of daring do, can win the day.

So overall - to stop myself going on and on - I really rate this game highly - the proof of the pudding shall be in the eating of course, and I have not actually played a game, but it's certainly impressed me enough to get me started on collecting some LOTR figures (I'm going for Harad so that I can get some Mumaks !)

Leaving LOTR there - this past week I've also cracked open a box of the new Warlord ECW chaps and painted up a pike block. Must say, as usual I have been very impressed with the Warlord figures, and Ill post some pictures on the web site once I get the camera off my daughter - who is in charge of family photography !

I've also completed some Perry Miniatures French Infantry - without a doubt the best 28mm hard plastic figures out there in my opinion, but Victrix and Warlord are very close to them.

Next big game on the horizon for myself and Martin is our Dark Elves V a gang of Lizarmen - going to be a 6000 points a side bash. Ill try to get shots of that battle when it takes place, and in the mean time I really do have to stop getting distracted by other figures and paint up some more Dark Elf units - can't mention what ones in case the enemy are reading this !

All the best

Steve

2009-04-19T13:08:00.002+01:00

Here we go -nothing for weeks and then two posts come along at the same time !

One thing that has cropped up recently which I wanted to comment on is the new ordering policy by Games Workshop.

Previously you could order new stock whenever you wanted, provided you ordered the minimum value etc, which was very handy as with such a large range it is impossible to keep everything in stock, so when a customer wanted something you could get it and send it out within a few days.

Now the system is that you are only allowed to place one order a week.

Most of the time this is not an issue, but it is annoying when I order, say, on a Monday and then get orders in on Tuesday that I need to order items for - it means there is a whole weeks delay before I can even ask GW for the stuff !

To be honest, I don't understand why GW have brought this new system in. They said something about it makes it easier for their warehouse system - well, if that's the case why not just shut up shop and take no orders at all - that would be even better for their warehouse system !!!!!

In the current economic climate I am just amazed that a company can be turning away orders.

I appreciate that there are lots of small traders like myself sending them requests, so this may put a strain on things their, but come on, surely snowed under by orders is good news for a business - I wouldn't mind it !

And, if this is the case, why not just raise the minimum order value or something, or maybe do so on a sliding scale.

As it stands at the moment, I could order 5 BaneBlades on Monday, and then ring up on Tuesday to order 500 more and get told - "sorry, you have already ordered once this week" !!!

Of course - the reason GW can get away with this policey is that they have a monopoly on the product in question (which is fair enough, they make it after all), so in the above example I have to swallow the reply, as where else can I get 500 BaneBlades anyway - but I'm not convinced this is a good idea still.

In my case, I find myself putting more money into other Wargames figures, so GW are loosing sales, though on a small basis Ill grant you.

As said, I just can't see the sense in it.

I think I shall email GW on this issue and see what they say - Ill keep you all posted ref any reply.

Hmm - onwards, onwards, ever onwards.

All the best

Steve

2009-04-19T13:00:00.002+01:00

Blimey - I didn't realise it had been so long since I last posted !

Ok, not much going on to ramble about. Had a great game the other day of 4500 points Empire V 4500 points of Chaos - Empire won and I had a chance to give my Steam Tanks and Outriders a run out.

Outriders were pretty good - two units of 10 meaning they were putting out 60 shots a turn !

Not too sure about the Steam Tank. I was using an old model of one that I grabbed off ebay, so the model was pretty poor but current standards, but as I might not use it that much anyway I don't know if I will bother picking up a new one or not.

We shall see.

I'm very excited by the new English Civil War guys from Warlord - and intend to paint up a few boxes for myself - which means my ACW will have to go on the back burner for a moment.

Plus I'm still itching to get started on the Warlord ancient stuff and the Perry/Victrix Napoleonics.

I remember when I was younger I would think nothing of painting all day and all night, turning out battalions of Airfix infantry by the shed load - what happend to those days !

Family and work I think.

Oh well, onwards and upwards !

All the best

Steve

2009-02-01T21:17:00.002Z

Well, Im quite excited (!!!!) as I have a delivery due in the next few days that should be full of loads of interesting goodies.

I've sent off for a spattering of wargames stuff, including some WWII vehicles and various new plastic troops from the likes of Perry miniatures and Victrix.

I've been so taken with the Warlord stuff that it's kicked off (well rekindled) my historical wargames interest - and Im quite taken with trying a bit of the old Warhammer Ancient Battles.

The only trouble I have with WAB is everytime I think I know what army I'm going to put together (Romans were the leader at the first stages) I read one of the historical supplements and find myself going off in another direction.

I suppose I'll just have to build everthing !

I'm also looking forward to trying some Amercian Civil War, fielding Perry Miniature plastics for the bulk of the troops.

I've never been taken with ACW in the past, though they have always looked good in games magazines, esp shots from the Wargames Holiday Centre (the one run by the late, great Peter Gilder) but find myself keen to have a go with the period.

I nearly cracked open a pack of Warlord Romans today to start painting up - but resisted the urge. I'm running low and need to wait until the next delivery arrives !

One of the hardest things about running Sire Games is being surrounded by games stuff and resisting the temptation to open it all.

Oh - I've posted a quick pic of a Warlord Roman next to a GW Empire spearman on the site (in the articles section) just for size comparision - though it will look better when I have a painted figure to show, and a unit or two as well.

Ok, onwards and upwards.

All the best

Steve

2009-01-15T19:41:00.002Z

Well, a happy new year to everyone !

Ok, whats been going on at Sire Games.

Quite a few things actually. I'm planning on making a foray into other wargames periods, primarily due to the excellent new ranges of plastic 28mm figures that are being produced.

At the moment we are looking at Ancients, ACW and Napoleonics - not a bad start !

Whilst not wishing to 'bite the hand that feeds me' WH Fantasy players may find the Ancients of great interest, as there are some really good figures out there that can, at the very least, crop up in an Empire army.

I've also seen some nice WWII stuff - metal so not as cheap as plastic - that would be great for an Imperial Guard army !

so watch the site to see what new stuff turns up !

I might also be adding a few board games and the such as well, though not so sure on this area as the market seems to change so much !

All the best

Steve

2008-12-10T18:32:00.005Z

Hi all again,

First off, its getting time for me to think about packing up for xmas!

Such is the nature of a postal business that you cant really trade right up until the last minute, so rather than disappoint customers trying to get hold of xmas presents, Ill probably put a note up on the site warning everyone that anything ordered now may not arrive in time for the big day!

I think its better to do that than mess someones xmas up.

But I'm still here of course for everyone else to get great warhammer bargains.

Ok - so what have I been up to you ask....

Got a big game planned for the 2nd of Jan so I've been busy getting troops ready for that. I'm going to field a Daemons army (fantasy), but only have one model ready for it at the moment - although that's a Blood Thirster at around 400 plus points !

I've just brought myself a mass of Blood Letters, so they all have to be assembled and painted, plus some others bits and bobs.

To aid me in this project - as time is short and I am lazy - I've also gone and got one of them Citadel spray gun thingies. I have not used it yes, so Ill post in the near future how it performs. I used to use spray guns to paint cars for a living, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it handles.

My plan is too spray the deamons blood red and then go over them again with a red wash from the citadel wash set. I'm going to be using the GW blood red paint, so Ill have to experiment with mixing it to a good level to come out of the gun ok.

I usually undercoat my figures black to start off, but as Im going with blood red all over at first, I may skip the black undercoat - could make the red too dark anyway.

But just in case, I'll spray up a couple of test figures just in case, one with black undercoat and see how they compare.

Finish of with a little dry brushing and some detail work, and Bob should be me uncle, as they say.

I shall of course, be posting pictures of the big new years battle on me site.

TTFN - Steve

www.siregames.co.uk

2008-12-03T11:11:00.004Z

Well, the video is up on YouTube as promised!

Yes, I know its not the best thing in the world, and the sound gets out of pace with the motion, but I wasn't looking to win an Oscar or anything !

Just wanted all you lovely people to see who I am.

:-)

Steve

www.siregames.co.uk

2008-12-02T13:49:00.001Z

Has anybody had a look at this new GW Realms of Battle yet?

I can't make up my mind about it myself. When I heard it was coming out, I was very excited, but not sure how I feel about it now.

The idea of interconnecting tiles to make up a nice wargames terrain has always been a good one, but the ROB takes so much work to get it too a useable state !

Given that the set costs £150 its a bit hard to then buy all the flock etc and labour for hours getting it ready.

But the end results could be good I'd guess - so maybe worth it.

I've certainly got some of the GW hills and the forest, and they have to be painted and flocked etc, but once done, they are great bits of kit.

The trouble is - now I've got all these hills and what have you, I tend to just use them on the GW grass matt thing, and it all looks pretty great. I'm not sure I have a need for the Realms of Battle.

But, if they expand the range, to inlcude other tiles you can buy to add to it - rivers etc etc, then it might be worth a go.

Any one else got an opinion on this?

By the way - you can get the ROB through me, just shout if you want it, as usual price will be well under what GW charge.

VIDEO

I'm planning on doing a quick YouTube vid later and linking to it from my home page - nothing spectacular, just a chance for visitors to see who I am etc, so they know I'm a real person and not just a 'cyber dude'.

Lets see how I get on.

All the best and mind how you go.

www.siregames.co.uk

2008-12-01T20:36:00.001Z

Well, as you can see, I've done a lot with me blog since May !!!!

But I feel the need to get going with me rambles, so Ill try to update things a bit more often.

Lets talk gaming shop - or rather the idea of a gaming shop. I've had in my mind for some time that I would like to own a 'bricks and mortor' gaming shop, and by coincidence I was watching a show on BBC 2 called 'All over the shop' and low and behold - it featured a gaming store.

The shop in question was 'Southsea Models and Games' in (you've guessed it) Southsea. It was run by a gamer called Marshall who'd been there for the past 22 years or so.

Never one to miss a coincidence, I thought this might be a sign from the heavens or something (poss the Gods of Chaos maybe), and I wasted no time in giving Marshall a ring to see if he would let me picks his brains on the whole subject.

And to Marshall's credit, he was more than willing to answer whatever questions I had. So off I goes to Southsea to visit him - I figure if the guy is willing to give me his time then the least I can do is meet him face to face and shake his hand.

To cut a long story short, it was time very well spent, with the result that I probably wont be looking to open a games store any time soon - but for those of you lucky enough to live near (or in) Southsea, Marshall's shop is brilliant, and I would urge you to give it a visit.

Whilst I was there I picked up a copy of 'The Inquisitors Handbook' for Dark Heresy. I'm looking to take part in a game in the near future, and cant wait!

I've also started reading the Eisenhorn omnibus for inspiration.

Ok - time to start coming to a close for this session.

Business wise, yes, I know I've still got to list lots of stuff on the site - especially the fantasy and LOTR ranges - sorry, I will get round to it (someday!)

And I need to post lots more pictures of stuff, but I don't worry about that too much, as most of my customers know what they are after anyway.

And Ill try to blog more - honest.

All the best and mnd how you go

Steve

www.siregames.co.uk

2008-05-22T21:54:00.001+01:00

Hmm,

Well, its 9.55 pm on Thursday (22nd May) and I've just created a blog!

Why have I done it - well, that's a tricky one. I suppose it seems that now a days every man (and woman) and his (or her) dog has a blog, so here's mine.

I intend to ramble about various things, but one of my man topics will no doubt be table top gaming - not the stuff played in front of tellies, but real, models and rulebooks sort of stuff - the love of my life!

But, being a blog, and me never being shy of voicing an opinion or two, Ill also ramble away about whatever takes me fancy - so Ill try to stick appropriate headings in where I can so those reading will know what I'm spouting about - and can skip sections accordingly - thoughtful am I not?

Right - just going to'publish' this bit and see how it looks before going any further!

www.siregames.co.uk