Games Workshop are SCUM of the worst kind

I'm a keen science fiction fan and this has really got me pissed:-

Miniatures Page Thread

Original Post

Elven Safety

There can be no doubt that Middle Earth is a dangerous place. There are hordes of rampaging orcs and goblins, trolls, giant spiders, ring-wraithes, etcetera that pose a great danger to life and limb. However after going to see the first part of "The Hobbit" last night, I realised that there is a much more insidious danger lurking in the land.

But to start on a positive, it was good to see that Rivendell has had a damn good sweep. I was greatly concerned that throughout the “Lord Of The Rings” trilogy, the amount of fallen leaves lying around last homely house, combined with the spray from numerous waterfalls, constituted a serious slip hazard. I can only put this down to the fact that in the relatively peaceful times before the War of the Ring there must have been more time available for domestic chores.

But the real reason for this post is to highlight the total lack of health and safety considerations in Middle Earth civil engineering projects. Why is it that none of the races of Elves, Men or Dwarves have considered it prudent to build parapets on their bridges? It seems that the Dwarves are the worst culprits in as much as their bridges in such places as Moria and Erebor are built with such large spans over such deep caverns. Surely the number of accidents from the citizenry accidentally falling over the edges must far outstrip casualties from orc raids? At least the orcs and goblins have rope bridges that provide a hand hold.

And don’t get me started on the number of steep stairways without handrails or banisters………………….

Lighting At Wargames Shows

The original post was heartfelt but scored 0/10 for tact (which will come as a great surprise to those who know me).

A Comprehensive Treatise On The Availability Of The Perfect Set Of Wargames Rules

They don't exist.

Starting again

I've just deleted two posts on play testing Augustus to Aurelian on the grounds that I'd made so many mistakes that it could have given the wrong impression of the rules. I'll try to start again over the weekend and put up a post that will give a better idea of the rules.

Augustus to Aurelian

Actually having a day off today so I've put the Romans and Palmyrans out to give these rules a go. After one false start, I'm starting to get the hang of them. I'm taking pictures of all the moves so the  next update should be a walk through of the rules.
So far I like the look of them and with it being a card driven system with extra cards to "seize the day" at any time , it is a lot more challenging to decide when to actually activate a command.
Basically the casualty system is the same as Hail Ceaesar, with "Stamina" being called "Outlook". The combat system is more complex than HC with 5 armour classes cross indexed to Shooting/Combat ability and then shifted down or up differing numbers of columns depending on circumstances. Passed tests reduce excess casualties to the "Outlook" level just like in HC.
What we have is a cross between the Lardies' command activation mechanism with bonus opportunities to activate and the Black Powder/Hail Caesar/Pike & Shotte casualty mechanism

And that reminds me, I've just finished my US Company HQ for IABSM:-

Hoplites look better with shields!

Transfers arrived from LBMS so I've had a go at finishing the Victrix test figure: