valhallagames: Recent Episodes
Dan/Rex
Join us as we delve into tabletop miniatures wargaming and the fun games that we enjoy sharing with you. We cover each facet of the Hobby, from painting and assembling of miniatures and terrain, through to examining rulesets and the great games they produce on the tabletop. Also we explore the rich worlds and background of some of these games, and share information on historical battlefields and how it relates to the games we love.
We intersperse this with the occaisional look at various other related topics such as RPGs, CCGs ..but only if you can coax us into putting the paintbrush and dice down...!!!
Rex, Dan and special guest Aaron Russell unpack the 2023 MOAB Bolt Action open in Sydney, Australia, October 2023. Did Rex improve his competitive standing for this year in line with his hobby goals? Did Aaroni manage to pull off another tournament win? Was Dan envious that he didn't attend this year? How many hot dogs did we eat? Get it all there in this bumper 2 hour plus episode of Valhalla Games podcast. Check out our other content here: Blog: https://www.valhallagames.net/ YouTube: https://www.valhallagames.net/youtube
Join Rex and Dan as they give a summary on their hobby goal 2023 progress year-to-date at the three-quarter point.
Have we completed our hobby goals? Have we purchased enough plastic and lead to keep the furnaces of hobby production stoked? Find out her along with news and lots of chat.
We hope you enjoy listening to this and hope it helps you paint a few more figures toward YOUR hobby goals!
Welcome back!
In this episode Dan and Rex are joined by Darren Merritt, the TO of “Operation Shrike”, a Bolt Action event with an exciting format which will be held in Adelaide, Australia, in November 2023.
Join us as Darren- who describes himself as a ‘newbie’ to Bolt Action- talks about what has encouraged him to make the jump from new player to new event organiser, and what it is about the ‘Combat Patrol’ game format that has him and other players excited to play Bolt Action with smaller forces in dynamic games!
We really loved Darren’s enthusiasm and passion to help build his local WW2 wargaming community, and we are sure you will too, so join us and hear the full details and contact information for the event. Enjoy!
Dan & Rex.
Podcast EP27: The Black Death Kickstarter
Join Dan and Rex in this interesting episode as we interview Steffan from Flank March Miniatures about his currently running ‘The black death’ Kickstarter for 3D printable 28mm WW2 Soviet Naval Infantry STL Files.
Soviet Naval Infantry aren’t normally on top of everyone’s list when thinking about a new WWII wargame army, but we found the whole topic hugely interesting, and this podcast has trigged us to order several Osprey books and a whole lot of web research to go along with our little men.
We hope you enjoy our journey into Soviet Naval Infantry, check out the Kickstarter here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/flankmarch/black-death
As we progress with painting our sample STL’s Images will show here and will be updated as we continue with our projects: https://www.valhallagames.net/ep27
(..and sorry about Rex’s audio!, should be fixed next time)
EP26: 80th anniversary of the invasion of Sicily and Italy game day In this episode of the Valhalla Games podcast Dan and Rex talk about the 80th anniversary of the invasion of Sicily and Italy game day held in Sydney, 18 March 2023. Will the allies get a foothold in the soft underbelly or will Italy kick them off, back into the Mediterranean? Perhaps more importantly will the Primosole bridge book scenarios and terrain stack up against the expectation of the veteran Bolt Action players of Western front gamers in Sydney Australia? Game on…
Join Dan and Rex as they go on a rambling journey that somehow turns up a whole heap of nuggets talking about: - Italian Campaign 80th Ann. Campaign Day Sydney Australia - Hobby Goals for 2023 - Storage space for your hobby kits and a solution to maximize it - Display solutions for your collections ...and a heap more!
EP24: A chat with Jon Russell of Warlord Games fame
In this bumper episode, we are joined by Jon Russell of Warlord Games fame. In addition to his dedicated work for Warlord, Jon is a multifaceted wargamer and also veteran of many years service.
In this episode we spend time learning about Jon's wargaming pedigree, before learning more about his role at Warlord, the writing of 'Bolt Action: Korea', and Jon shares with us what he can about what Bolt Action V3 might look like, and the ‘Raiders Attack!’ Supplement that still has much life left in it.
All this plus Warlord event support, balance in tournaments and other definitely non-controversial(!), highly entertaining and informative topics. Sit back and enjoy a chat with Jon, and us, we hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
Dan & Rex go to the MOAB 2022 gaming event (short for Mother Of All Battles) in Sydney, Australia and fight it out in 5 games of Bolt Action. A great opportunity to catch up with old friends and make new ones post COVID-19 restrictions in Australia and New Zealand over the past 2 years. Yes we are back, its been a while since you last heard from us due to the launching of our campaign book. We have lots of plans for the future both podcast and YouTube, you can see all out content here: https://www.valhallagames.net/ https://www.valhallagames.net/youtube https://www.valhallagames.net/patreon https://www.valhallagames.net/store
Rex & Dan
EP22: Campaign book Kickstarter - INCOMING!!
Dan & Rex have been working on their campaign book The Battle for Primosole Bridge for three years and its due to release on Kickstarter in the next few days. Head over to the Kickstarter page and sign up to be notified, don't miss out on the limited early bird backer freebie giveaways:
https://valhallagames.net/kickstarter
Check out https://valhallagames.net/ for the launch video available now, and other details.
Enjoy this deep dive podcast into our pride and joy The Battle for Primosole Bridge.
Welcome to the first valhallagames "wandering monsters" episode. Wikipedia defines Wandering monsters as follows (don't worry I put them right on a couple of points by way of a re-edit):
Wandering monsters - sometimes called Random encounters - were a feature of Dungeons & Dragons from its beginnings in the 1970s, and persist in that game and its offshoots to this day. Random encounters are usually determined by the gamemaster by rolling dice against a random encounter table. These rules can often result in VERY random seemingly in appropriate and quite humorous encounters. A wandering monster is perhaps something that you don't want, definitely something that you didn't expect, but ALWAYS interesting. Source: Wikipedia... with edits :-)
We hope you enjoy this Dungeons & Dragons digression from our normal miniature wargaming adventures, (typically in WWII). We will be back to our scheduled program as soon as we have spooned over these Kobolds.
(Kobold; Small humanoid (kobold), Lawful Evil. Armor Class 12, Hit Points 5 (2d6-2), Speed 30 ft.)
Dan & Rex
EP21: Scenario design ideas
Dan's back! Catch up on his news plus, all the wargame painting, modelling reading & and collecting chat you can handle plus... added tales of adventures in 3d printing.
In our main segment we discuss scenario design ideas, concepts and tips on where to find inspiration for all new and exciting challenges for your little men (and women).
Podcast notes will be at https://www.valhallagames.net/ep21
EP17: Setting the scene - author interview with Pat
This episode is an interview with Pat Smith the author of the "Setting the scene" series of books and https://wargamingwithsilverwhistle.blogspot.com/ Pat does some of the most amazing wargames tables that I have ever seen, especially winter war.
We discuss his previous 2 books and the latest one base in Norway 1940 - The Road to Dombas
Check out https://www.valhallagames.net for all our other content and https://www.valhallagames.net/ep17 for the show notes for this issue.
Dan & Rex
This episode is an interview with Paul from WOW Buildings. Paul is a prolific 3D model designer and his legendary Kickstarters are full to the brim with great looking models and include almost all genres, but especially for valhallagames many of the kickstarters are WWII specific. Paul and I have a great chat about terrain, scales, the creative process and inspiration.
WOW Buildings 3d printable files web site is located here: https://wowbuildings.net/ The current massive American civil war Kickstarter is funded 10x already with 7 days to run is here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wowbuildings/wow-does-american-civil-war-the-alamo-terrain-scenery
I also get the scoop on what's coming next for all of us WWII wargamers, no negative waves there baby!
Enjoy. VHG_Rex https://www.valhallagames.net
Welcome to the final episode of valhallagames podcast for 2020, Join Dan and Rex as we review the products that caught our eye for 2020 also hobby update and grand plans/schemes for the new year. Lastly, it's not really Christmas until...
Don't forget to check out the blog at https://valhallagames.net/
...and don't forget if you would like to support us https://valhallagames.net/patron
00-8:03 Intro & Little Wars TV Caesar Awards nominations Nominations open til close of 31 Dec 2020 here; https://www.caesarawards.com/nominations.html
8:03 Valhalla Games 2020 awards 8:30 Our most memorable games we played this year 11:00 Our favourite WW2 miniatures of the year
Captain K -Giants in Miniature( Dan) https://www.wargamesillustrated.net/shop/captain-k/
Last Levy- Warlord Games ( Rex) https://store.warlordgames.com/products/last-levy-the-defence-of-berlin?variant=31469075759184
16:35 Our favourite Box Set of miniatures for 2020
Stalingrad battle set – Warlord Games ( Rex) https://store.warlordgames.com/products/stalingrad-battle-set
28mm Partisans box set – Wargames Atlantic ( Dan) https://wargamesatlantic.com/collections/all/products/partisans-1-french-resistance?variant=32020383596642
25:53 valhalla games stats
37:18 Best Rulebook/Supplement release 2020
Mariana & Palau Islands -Warlord Games ( Rex) https://store.warlordgames.com/products/campaign-marianas-palau-islands?_pos=1&_sid=21a2e61ac&_ss=r
Stalingrad- Warlord Games ( Dan) https://store.warlordgames.com/products/stalingrad-campaign-book?_pos=1&_sid=1250153b2&_ss=r
41:34 Best non-WW2 minis of the year
KOW N /Alliance ice creatures- Mantic Games ( Rex) https://www.manticgames.com/games/kings-of-war/northern-alliance-kings-of-war/northern-alliance-ice-elemental-regiment/
Star Wars Legions Clan Wren- Fantasy Flight Games ( Dan) https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/products/star-wars-legion/products/clan-wren-unit-expansion/
Lord Flash – Giants in Miniature ( Dan) https://www.northstarfigures.com/prod.php?prod=13528
48:08 Best mass-produced commercial terrain
Vehicle wreckage scatter terrain , various scales- Diohistory ( Dan) https://markeeigenbau.net/_shop/Miniatures-Terrain/Car-Wrecks-by-DioHistory---48_71.html
U Boat waterline model- OTP Terrain ( Rex) https://www.otpterrain.com/products/uboot-type-vii-waterline-model
55:33 Any product that made us want to play/collect another game or period this year?
KOW Vanguard – Mantic Games ( Rex) https://www.manticgames.com/games/vanguard/
War of the Roses Inspiration; “7th Son” on Youtube (Dan) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgF5_KhcgdvNiRcrI0ZSJCg
Outro
1:17:55 SNOOPYS CHRISTMAS!!
EP15: Boots on the Ground 2020 (aka the naked man)
Join Rex and Dan as they discuss Rex's turn at going to a Bolt Action event, Boots on the Ground - Band of Brothers 2020 near Newcastle, Austrlaia.
Catch up on all our hobby news as well. A little shorter podcast this time round as we prepare for the end of year review.
Don't forget to check out the blog at https://valhallagames.net/ ...and the YouTube channel https://valhallagames.net/youtube ...and don't forget if you would like to support us https://valhallagames.net/patron
In this bumper episode of Valhallagames podcast, Dan chats about his recent Bolt Action tournament/event in Christchurch New Zealand with all the heroics, suspense and drama that little plastic 28mm men can muster, Rex listens on enviously while being inspired to plan for some more casual, local games to end the COVID-19 gaming drought.
We also chat about all things hobby, what we've been up to, what we're buying, what we're lusting after and what's new an improved in the war games industry (well… in 28mm WWII at least!)
Thanks for listening to us we hope you enjoy the show and as always we welcome you feedback at https://valhallagames.net/ don't forget to check out our YouTube page (link via the website) and as always if you would like to sponsor us the link for our Patreon page is https://www.patreon.com/valhallagames
Join Rex and Dan in this episode of the Valhallagames podcast where we talk miniature photography (a LOT of miniature photography!). Note the show times below if you want to skip over parts that aren’t relevant to you or your camera type.
In our usual segments we also talk hobby, plastic and metal lust and what we are reading and looking forward to playing.
If you're getting value out of the podcast feel free to support us at https://www.patreon.com/valhallagames. If you have had a life-long dream of supporting a podcast, you can make your dreams come true starting at $3 per month.
EP 13 "freeze-frame" 00:00:00 Intro 00:01:57 Break 00:03:40 Hobby catch up (including Rex's rail yard project, Dan's battle for Berlin force and British Airborne paint & learn) 00:18:18 Break 00:19:40 Main topic "freeze-frame" - Part 0 Miniature photography introduction and background 00:21:33 Why do we take photos Making sure you satisfy your end purpose 00:27:17 Photo composition, setting the scene What makes a great photo, arrangement, just the miniature or in its environment. Improving the miniature environmental scene, lighting, backgrounds 00:58:21 Photo tech for ALL camera types, basic camera, DSLR & mirrorless) "Exposing" your photos correctly (dark/light), "depth of field" how much is in focus 1:12:30 Big boys/girls cameras Utilizing cameras where all the aspects of the shot are customisable (DSLR\Mirrorless) 1:30:16 Bonus content: Editing/developing, shooting [in the] RAW 1:35:52 Bonus content: Photography backups 1:38:02 Photography sum up 1:39:38 Break 1:41:04 "What are you reading" segment Rex: https://amzn.to/2QDtPaz Dan: https://amzn.to/2QSeGlT & https://amzn.to/31IhYhB 1:54:10 Things that we are lusting after and things that we have bought lately https://store.warlordgames.com/products/stalingrad-battle-set https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaHpBBEumFA& (https://www.otpterrain.com/) https://store.warlordgames.com/collections/new-releases/products/bolt-action-battlefield-debris https://store.warlordgames.com/products/carro-armato-semovente
Stay classy!
In this twelfth episode of the valhallagames podcast Dan & Rex talk about all things hobby, new projects, what's new in wargaming, what historical events we "want to game" and finally getting out of lockdown (for Australia and new Zealand at least).
Part two is an in depth discussion around the challenges (imagined or otherwise) in putting the most hated soldiers of any WWII army on the table, and just who are those soldiers? Does it depend on your perspective and what country you happen to come from? Should we be sensitive to political issues in wargaming or always just play "the good guys" so that we don’t offend or in the end is it just a game?
We would love to hear your thoughts at https://valhallagames.net/index.php/contact
Game on Australia and New Zealand (but stay safe!)
EP11: Planes, trains and antivirus (and some wargaming)
Come on a gaming (and driving) adventure with Dan and Rex as we talk about and prepare for Dan's week long gaming visit to Australia.
Listen in on a behind the scenes casual chat as we make the trip from the airport to home, our plans and aspirations for the perfect week of gaming, podcasting and YouTube…ing. Learn why if you're not playing campaigns you're doing it wrong and our challenge for you. Hear all our hobby news and discussions about Stalingrad.
Full disclosure: No viruses were caught or transmitted as a result of this podcast.
EP10: 20/20 vision This time in the Valhallagames podcasts we look back on 2019 from a wargaming perspective and we hand out awards in various categories for wargaming excellence. Bring your black tie and tuxedo or ball dress, find out who gets the imaginary valhallagames golden trophies.
Dan gives us the run down on his recent Bolt Action tournament "no surrender" along with all the cinematic drama.
Lastly, we look forward to all the new ideas that valhallagames has for 2020 to do even better with the YouTube channel, podcast, and audience participation.
More details at: https://valhallagames.net/
Show-notes here: https://www.valhallagames.net/index.php/home/2-uncategorised/10-podcast-e10-shownotes
In this episode Dan & Rex talk about "the trouble with 28mm". What even is 28mm… it's not a scale? Rex gets angry, will Dan soothe things out and will we come to grips with our scale woe's?
Will we have a prime directive to give to all manufacturers to ensure that when we open the box will we have "joy".
As well as that Rex talks about the performance of the new soviets at MOAB gaming convention in Sydney.
EP8: A new hope It is a period of total war; Allied armies, landing in hidden locations in Normandy on D Day attempt to win their first Western European battles against the evil Nazi empire...
A short time later, Soviet forces strike through Romania and into Hungary, and advance onto Fortress Budapest...
If this was scrolling up the screen and had a princess escaping stormtroopers and Vader this couldn’t get any more exciting!!
Join both Dan and Rex as we look back on the D Day 75th and Fortress Budapest Events respectively. We also do a hobby round up and our usual segments.
We hope you enjoy this and remind you to check out both our blog and Youtube channel.
Thanks for listening
In this episode we talk about our time critical projects as we lead up to the commemoration of the D Day 75th anniversary and the warlord games global campaign.
And, as the episode title suggests, tune in for the main content regarding sealing your models as we compare some products and brands in order to give you the information you need to finish off your miniatures with confidence.
In particular to this episode, we value your feedback and it can help others in regards to your trusted brands and methods of varnish too so please share them with others on our blog, youtube and email us!
Dan and Rex
Shownotes will be appearing soon at https://www.valhallagames.net
EP6: Painting work-flow
In this episode Rex and Dan discuss painting work-flow we each describe how we go about the process and share any tips. Beginning wargame painters will get loads out of this episode and if you’re a veteran painter you might even find a gem or two. We also chat about the results of last month's "Reasonable hobby challenge".
Show notes located here https://www.valhallagames.net/index.php/home/2-uncategorised/6-podcast-e6-shownotes While you are there we hope you will give us some feedback and perhaps send us photos of your best paint job.
EP5: All-you-can-eat wargaming fiesta & the basis of terrain
In this episode Rex and Dan discuss the recent Christmas break and the resulting all-you-can-eat wargaming fiesta. We also present the first part of our multi-part series on terrain where we begin a deep dive into the topic and look at the "basis" of wargaming tables, playing surfaces and play mats.
Show notes will be appearing at https://www.valhallagames.net dated 9 Feb 2019 and while you are there we hope you will give us some feedback and perhaps send us photos of your best wargaming terrain build.
Come along with us as we go off to battle in the premier Sydney miniature wargaming event of 2018. Spending the weekend at MOAB "Mother Of All Battles" (not to be confused with a mother who constantly asks about your homework or Mother-In-Law)
Will Dan's tropical Fallschirmjäger flown in from Sicily and Rex's Fallschirmjäger hurried redeployed from off the line from defending against operation overlord save the day. Will the fuhrers fire brigade prove up to the task or will they be pushed back licking their wounds.
Pull up a sandbag, pass around the bully beef (or sauerkraut)... and listen in as we talk about the MOAB 2018 Bolt Action event and bring you (almost!!) up to date on what we have been doing wargaming wise... almost-ish!!
We return- in this, the second instalment of a two part history-to wargame special- to Sicily 1943 and the Battle for Primosole Bridge.
This second part continues the story of the bloody fight for the control of the bridge between the British and German paratroopers.
We also discuss some wargaming ideas around this historical action and how you, like us!, can get some ideas to play this as a scenario in your WW2 wargames.
In this episode, the first of a two part history-to-wargame special, we discuss the build up for a key WW2 operation in Sicily, 1943.
Operation Fustian was the British airborne operation to seize and Hold Primosole Bridge, a strategically important gateway to the Catania Plain and vital for the advance of the Allies and the success of the Sicilian campaign. Facing the British paratroopers were their deadly adversaries; the veteran German airborne troops of the 1st Fallshirmjager Division.....
Episode 2: Conquering ‘Tournament Fear’
Welcome back! In This episode we present some info for the first -time attendee of any wargame event/tournament, so you can be well prepared to be able to feel relaxed, roll some dice, and have plenty of fun!
This is set against a backdrop of us taking our first steps to preparing for The Bolt Action 2 Day event at MOAB 2018 in Sydney, Australia in September.
We hope you enjoy it and find it most useful!!
Rex and Dan.
In this episode we introduce ourselves to you, o faithful listener! In addition we talk about wargaming in WW2 with Bolt Action , our transition into the game system , and what weve found to be our challenges and what we've enjoyed most within the game and the hobby in Bolt Action also.
We hope this provides the extra ' nudge' forward into this great game for anyone considering it.
At the end we talk about our plans for future episodes.
Music in this episode is in short interludes: 'Rotte seinnne die Sonne ' The German Paratroops ( Fallshirmjager) March. Artist unknown
'Ride of the Valkyries' The Regimental March of the Parachute Regiment , The British Army. Performed by the Band Of the Parachute Regiment.