Thunderchild 2 unveiled by Alien Dungeon

 Moving swiftly through the waters
Cannons blazing as she came
Brought a mighty metal War-Lord
Crashing down in sheets of flame
Sensing victory was nearing
Thinking fortune must have smiled
People started cheering
'Come on Thunder Child'

As the All Quiet on the Martian Front kickstarter belts toward $200k, Alien Dungeon have revealed the British Expeditionary Force's first heavy hitter, the Thunderchild 2. As you can see, even for a 15mm game, this is going to be a humongous kit. AD have also announced she (and presumably the American Dewey class land ironclad) will come with crew figures. She unlocks at $200k.

All Quiet on the Martian Front - UK & EU Shipping

Shiny. Well, rusty, but you know what I mean.

You may have noticed that there's quite a Martian theme to the Mumblings of late. Well, seeing as I'm so busy I haven't had a sniff of a brush in near a month, the All Quiet on the Martian Front kickstarter kickstarter is standing in for actual hobbying.

There's 10 days left in the kickstarter and the UK and EU shipping has finally been nicely sorted:

We are very pleased to announce that Renedra, the renowned manufacturer and retailer of plastic miniatures and accessories, has agreed to act as our European Union distributor for the All Quiet on the Martian Front Kickstarter only.  We could not be happier with this outcome since Architects of War, our sister company, is the Exclusive North American distributor for Renedra.
What does this mean for you if you live in the UK or EU?  There will be no increase in the flat rate shipping charge!  You will receive the shipment of your pledge, freebies and any add-on goodies by paying the previously stated flat rate shipping, no additional charges.
So, we have 3 different categories that you can fall into…
**US – Free shipping
**UK and EU – Flat rate shipping stated in the pledge levels or shipping policy for Add-ons.  No Vat or other import duties will be charged to you.
**Everybody Else – Flat rate shipping stated in the pledge levels or shipping policy for Add-ons.  You will be responsible for any duty or taxes charged at the time of delivery, if applicable.

So anyone from the EU or the UK on the fence, now is your chance to dive in.

More Martian News

Ack-ack!

I heard today Mantic have teamed up with Topps to produce a Mars Attacks wargame. A little out of leftfield, but being a fan of  Mars Attacks (I liked the movie, so there) I am cautiously intrigued by this development. From Mantic-

 “MARS ATTACKS is a cult classic series that fans have been falling in love with generation after generation,” says Ronnie Renton, Mantic CEO. “Its oddball blend of retro sci-fi visuals, dark humor and over-the-top violence will make for a unique tabletop experience… our team can’t wait to bring the Martians to life in ways no one has ever seen before!”

I bought a big pile of Mantic undead, and I was involved in the Kings of War kickstarter, but I missed the boat on Dreadball. By many accounts a great game, but it was a little too clean and shiny for my taste. I'm more rusty rivets than gleaming chrome. The retro sci-fi pulp look of the Martians is pretty appealing, so I'll have to see how it pans out. Mantic seem to have a lot of balls in the air, I hope they have enough hands to catch them all.

However, if Mantic are clever enough to make clear dome helmets to pop on the Martian soldiers after you paint their heads I would be hard pressed to resist picking some up.

Uuuuuuu-lllaaaaaa!

In other Martian news, the Alien Dungeon's All Quiet on the Martian Front kickstarter is heading toward the $150,000 stretch goal. It's been a little sluggish the last couple of days, but with the freebies being handed out at the next stretch it's getting to be a very nice proposition for all you Martian tripod fans.

With news of new factions and special characters such as the red Martian and war machines like the Thunderchild 2 land ironclad, it's evident Alien Dungeon are in for the long haul. Being a HUGE Jeff Wayne's musical fan (I detest musicals, but this one, this one has me) I am all over this like a rash. The fact the Rick Priestley and Alessio Cavatore are involved doesn't hurt none either. Check it out.

All Quiet on the Martian Front - Kickstarter Update

The All Quiet on the Martina Front kickstarter go off to a huge start last week with it achieving the base funding level in a few hours. Currently over at around $116,000, pledge levels have tailed off over the last couple of days, but since then, Alien Dungeon (one of the most responsive kickstarters I've been involved with) have totally re-jigged the stretch goals and some of the pledges, and the amount of free stuff has gone up several notches.

The miniatures (especially the Martian tripods, and let's face it, if they sucked, this would be over) look great, and as recent scale shots posted up have shown, are way, way bigger than I first thought for a 15mm game. The assault tripods are 6" tall, for example.

Anyone who has even a passing interest in War of the Worlds or general steampunkery should give this a look see, even more so now that the stretch goals have had an update.

Ray Harryhausen - RIP

Ray Harryhausen has so instrumental in forming my early childhood that I can scarcely imagine what it would have been like without him. I dare say I may not have discovered gaming at all were it not for the fascination I developed with hydras, animated statues, cyclops and most of all waves of skeleton warriors that populated his movies.

Ray Harryhausen died today, aged 92.

A heartfelt thanks Ray, for enriching my and many others childhood with your wondrous creations. Well played sir, a life well lived.

Oldhammer - The Bazaar is open!

With the continual upsurge in the Oldhammer community, I thought it time to sort out my trading a little better, as there are now plenty of folks now out there who might get excited about goblin fanatics from 1983, or a chaos warrior carrying a crossbow from 1988. With that in mind, I've put together a page for all such curiosities, a place to peruse some of what I have on offer, and what I'm hunting after.

Mind you, it's only trade I'm interested in, not selling. If it's something you fancy, take a gander at the bazaar.

Gaming Withdrawl - How bad do you get it?

Lately, real life has really taken a toll on my hobby. As I wandered the morning blog posts feeling rather sorry for myself, I thought this might make a slightly odd but possibly interesting post.

I've been so snowed under with work of late that I haven't gotten to lift a brush in a couple of weeks. I have been gaming, just, but for me hobby is my relaxation, it's like nerd yoga. If I don't get to paint for a few days, I start to twitch. After a couple of weeks, I'm ready to stab someone. I wonder, am I just particularly irritable, or does the gaming world in general suffer from gaming/hobby withdraw of one form or another if denied the use of dice or brush for protracted periods of time?

Tell.

Tell Dr. Saturday... It'll be just between you, me and the internets.