Dragged into Turbolasers episode 81: Zone Secundus with K0rdhal!

Enter Zone Secundus!

In this episode we are joined by the talented K0rdhal to talk about his community event/setting Zone Secundus. It takes place in the radioactive waste of Hive Secundus, after the nuclear bombardment to rid the city of Cult of the Second Son Genestealer Cult. Taking influence from books like Roadside Picnic and Metro 2033, as well as post apocalyptic video games like Stalker and Fallout, it is a claustrophobic, desolate setting, defined by radiation sickness and failing equipment. We talk about his vision for the setting, and what models he and others have created so far. We also discuss what we plan to make for the setting and how others can get involved in Zone Secundus too!

F28 War Always Changes: Impressions

F28 War Always Changes, core rulebook and Player’s Guide.

We at Between the Bolter and Me do not often get the opportunity to play miniature wargames, and tend to focus our energies on creating unique miniatures and defining our own niche of the Warhammer 40,000 setting. When we do get to play, however, our focus is not on careful rules analysis and list-building. Afterall, since we sometimes go years between games, the particulars of a rules system fade away. Instead, we focus on conveying narratives and creating interesting gameplay choices. When we participated in Iron Sleet’s Pilgrym event, no one was particularly concerned with the ruleset being used, with all of us using an amalgamation of different editions of Warhammer 40k and Necromunda, falling back on the foundation that a 4+ roll on a die is a good starting place for anything. Because of this, we are always excited to find new, intuitive rule systems that facilitate this style of gameplay, and ones that do not get in the way of narrative immersion. After reading a great article about incorporating a Games Master into Inq28 games in volume 3 of the digital magazine 28, we learned about a rule system developed by Karl Bergstrӧm that facilitates this sort of gameplay called F28. To our surprise, he contacted us asking if we would be interested in reading over the ruleset and sharing our thoughts. We jumped at this opportunity, and having had the chance to go over the rules a few times, wanted to give our thoughts.

Tutorial: Autopistol

A standard Sister of Battle bolt pistol (top) and a converted autopistol (bottom).

Last year I started a series of tutorials for creating smaller firearms for Warhammer 40k models, including a Sister of Battle Boltgun, a Space Marine plasma rifle, and a laspistol. This month, I wanted to create another human-scaled firearm to complement the laspistol, this time the ubiquitous autopistol! This tutorial is a little more advanced than some of the previous weapon conversion tutorials posted on this blog. Unlike previous tutorials, this one uses very few of the original weapon designs and contours to guide the initial cuts and to inform the final design.

Conversion Corner: Ork Nob

Nikkit and Gorzag Gitstompa

It has been many years since I converted an Ork model; 2014 was the last time, with a Burna Boy conversion, and before that a Grey Knightz purifier. And while I did paint an old Tin Boy a few years back, it has been a while since I really did much with the orks. Recently, Games Workshop released a reimagining of a classic Games Day promotional ork nob originally sculpted by Brian Nelson. The new version, still based on some old GorkaMorka artwork, is called Gorzag Gitstompa (and a grot Nikkit). Luckily, we were able to get a copy of the model, and decided it would be a great opportunity to convert him a little, ending this long streak of not working on a Space Ork!

A look back: Notable Hobbyists of 2020

Earlier this month, we looked back at all we accomplished in 2020. This is always a fun exercise, letting us consider how we evolved as hobbyists over the year. Even better, however, is to reflect on the hobbyists that inspired us during the strange and turbulent 2020. Like years past, we are always amazed by the quality of work being produced by the community, and wanted to showcase some that stood out to us. The sheer volume of impressive hobbyists makes it impossible for us to acknowledge everyone, but we wanted to focus on a few that really helped us through 2020. We intentionally did not choose hobbyists that we have featured in previous years, so we would encourage you to look back on our selections from years past, as many of them are still actively producing incredible work!

Building a RX-78-2 Gundam [Beyond Global]

The RX-78-2 [Beyond Global] HG 1/144

Last year I was reintroduced to the Gunpla hobby, partially due to discovering the Cutting Mat podcast. As a result, I ended up building a few Bandai plastic kits, including a Gouf and a Zaku II from the Gundam Universal Century, and Eva Unit 01 from Neon Genesis Evangelion. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Gunpla, Bandai created a redesign of the original RX-78-2 Gundam, deemed the [Beyond Global], in their HG 1/144 scale. The model was intended to show how far Bandai has come since 1980 with their injection molding technology. For less than $25, it seemed like a great kit to build and see what Bandai could achieve for such a low price point!

Between the Bolter and Me: 2020, a year in review

A selection of models painted in 2020.

Although 2020 was a chaotic and traumatic year, it marked the 8th year of Between the Bolter and Me as a blog. Like with many others, the pandemic changed how we all interact with the hobby. It allowed us to focus more on our podcast Dragged into Turbolasers and develop a consistent, albeit small, streaming schedule! With this post, we wanted to recap the year as a whole, starting by examining the 3 most popular posts on each of our various platforms (blogger, podcast, instagram, etc.).