As political power changed from the nobles to the Samurai class, they created their own style of house called Shoin-zukuri .

This John Jenkins Samurai complex is a model I have had since I purchased the original Test of Honour starter kit from Warlord Games when it first came out. The model itself is a reasonable example of the Shoin-zukuri style, but it was really the interior of these houses with their corridors and symmetrical rooms which set it apart rather than the outside displayed but this example. The Jenkins set was expensive when I first purchased it, but is almost prohibitive now.

With most of my Test of Honour figures now completed I have turned myself to finishing off the few pieces of terrain I have left to do. Just like in Pete’s recent blog one of the incentives was a deadline of this Friday when Steve N and myself are going to have a game of Test of Honour to iron out our understanding of the rules for a game with the rest of the gang a week or so later. Deadlines are great for getting things done.

I am pleased with how it has turned out.

I will provide pics of the rest of the terrain and a battle report following Friday’s game. Most of the terrain has appeared in previous blogs but this will be the first time it has appeared in all of its glory.

PS: The samurai were an elite warrior and political class that dominated Japan for hundreds of years. Right before a battle, the daimyo, or warlord, would raise his signaling flag and shout “Ei! Ei!” to which the samurai would respond with “Oh!” Then all hell would be unleashed on the enemy. Sad but true! Tenno Heika Banzai or “long live the Emperor” became more common and is equivalent to “long live the Queen”. Banzai itself means “ten thousand years”. So fellow warriors:

Ei! Ei!

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Anzac Day and Remembrance Day are always important days for me. See Post Lest we Forget from Anzac Day earlier this year.

Borrowed from a line in a well-known poem written in the 19th century, the phrase ‘lest we forget’ means ‘it should not be forgotten’. We say or write ‘lest we forget’ in commemorations to remember always the service and sacrifice of people who have served in wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations.

The phrase ‘Lest we forget’ is from a line in an 1897 Rudyard Kipling poem, Recessional:

God of our fathers, known of old,
   Lord of our far-flung battle-line,
Beneath whose awful Hand we hold
   Dominion over palm and pine—
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!

‘Lest’ comes from the Old English ‘thӯ lǣs the’ , which translates to ‘whereby less that’. Kipling drew inspiration from a biblical phrase in Deuteronomy 6:12, where ‘lest’ took the meaning ‘for fear that’. See the DVA Anzac Portal

Today it forms part of the response to the Ode of Remberance

The Ode is the fourth stanza of the poem “For the Fallen” by Laurence Binyon (1869–1943).

“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.”

The audience then responds: “We will remember them. Lest we Forget”

LEST WE FORGET

The Tallarn Heavy Weapons Company is rarely deployed together. More often they are deployed as individual squads supporting an infantry platoon. They can use a variety of weapons depending on their mission from the anti-vehicle lascannons to the heavy anti-infantry fire power of auto cannons and heavy bolters. Mortars are also deployed to support the attack on enemy positions.

Note I have more heavy weapons coming and the heavy bolters were purchased on ebay a long time ago with the auto cannon loader, so I know they are the wrong ones.

Each squad is supplied with three heavy weapons.

Most regiments maintain a separate company that provides support to infantry platoons. These troops can be armed with a variety of weapons from the full range of support weapons, sniper teams and demolition teams. This team has a variety of support weapons to deal with a variety of enemy types.

Grenade Launcher

Plasma Gun

Melta Gun

More zombies and survivors, who would have guessed!

That postie of mine is a mind reader! I am not sure how she does it but she was right on the money again.

I know I said I was all zombied out but now that these have arrived and I have the urge to paint green, smelly shambling things again. This time with guns! It is a disease you know…………….the zombies not ME!

A couple of new Special Guest boxes. The one that I having been trying to find for a while was the John Kovalic set, cause, well he is just the all round nerd hero!

John Kovalic has been writing and drawing in the gaming industry professionally for 20 years, now. John is best known for the comic strip DORK TOWER, and games like APPLES TO APPLES and MUNCHKIN. The four special characters include:

The dorks, clockwise from the redhead: Kayleigh, Ken, Matt, Gilly, Igor, and Carson.

Carson

“I live my life by the Muskrat Way. And right now, those zombies are in the way.”

Carson the Muskrat is a mild-mannered soul. But he’s small, fast, and clever, making him hard to get a hold of. And somehow he got a hold of a vintage, fully-operational British Bren Carrier. Igor may have been involved, frankly. Don’t let Carson’s quiet demeanor and trepidatious outlook on life fool you: when his friends are threatened, he fights like a cornered animal: literally.

“You rolled CRITICAL FAIL, Meat-Pillow! I know ‘cuz I’m the DM!”

Matt McLimore was a web cartoonist and Game Master for his local group in quiet little Mud Bay, Wisconsin. DM’ing made him a natural leader, gaming taught him strategy, while trying to make a living cartooning trained him to survive on little. General frustration, and plenty of free time spent playing “Warhamster: ZombieSide,” meant that when the zombies did come, Matt was ready and waiting. The hordes have disrupted his weekly gaming sessions, and they’re gonna pay – and he doesn’t mean in Gold Pieces or Experience Points. And unlike his game-table experience, he’s not giving any of them a saving roll!

Gilly

“Head-shot between the eyes! SQUEEEE!”

Gilly Woods was Mud Bay’s Perky Goth fangirl and cosplayer, so she’s always been an outsider, making her strong, fiercely independent and self-reliant. She’s had to put up with idiot fanboys labeling her a “fake geek girl” long enough. A veteran of many long Comic-Cons, she’s used to dealing with the mindless, shambling, unwashed masses. Since most of the haters were zombie-like to begin with, she doesn’t see a whole heck of a lot of difference between putting down a basement-dwelling fanboy with a well-timed quip, or plugging a zombie right between the eyes with a trusted Glock.

Igor

“There’s another one coming out of the sewer! HUZZAH! It must be mine!”

Igor Olman believes anything worth doing is worth doing to excess: comics, gaming, movies, and fandom in general. So it’s no surprise that when the horrors of the hordes appeared on his doorstep, he launched into them with all the gusto of a Warhamster Fantasy Roleplay 25th-level Dwarven Hellwarrior armed with Zordaz’s +25 Axe of Lordly Slicing and Dicing, with the “Mighty Big Cleave” bonus. Nobody’s quite sure where Igor got his full arsenal of bazookas and rocket launchers from. Nobody’s quite sure where he was storing them. Frankly, his friends are afraid to ask. Igor calls his bazooka “THACO.”

Descriptions taken from the box art.

Infantry squads make up the bulk of the Tallarn Desert Raiders force. They are versatile and can be equipped to deal with any task.

Each squad is led by a Sergeant that can have upgraded weapons like this Plasma Pistol.

Each squad can have a heavy weapon, in this case a Missile Launcher.

The squad can also arm one guardsman with a support weapon like this Plasma Gun.

I have had these figures for a while and although I am not sure how or when they may be used I thought I would get them done. The figures are from Eureka and are quite good sculpts. Who knows they may even make an appearance in some Post Apocalyptic Café, like “Rick’s Café Américain” with Rick and the boys.

Rick and the boys

Louis Strong-arm and the boys with Ella on vocals

Fred and the chorus line

“Play it once Sam, for old times sake”

Having lived close to the Coonawarra wine district with its ancient Terra Rosa soil, I am a very regular imbiber of the regions strong bodied Cabernet Sauvigon’s, but I am also partial to a good Merlot.

Now, no “real” wargamer worth his salt would pass up on participating in International Merlot day tomorrow 7th of November. Merlot originated in the reputed Bordeaux region of France around the 15th century, so THIS IS a form of Ancient Gaming – AM I RIGHT?

One of my favourite Coonawarra wineries is Katnook Estate, and at around AU$30.00 a drop this one is mighty fine value.

When it comes to Australian Merlot, Katnook is among the very best. It has a lovely plum dark berry and cedary characteristic. Aged for 22 months in French oak, the swathes of blackcurrant are a delight to the senses.

Anyway I better get back to painting, brush in one had bottle in the other, …………SWIG………burp! Ahhhh!

The Lieutenant is second in command to Captain Al’rahem and has a command squad designed for long range combat.

I have had these figures from about 5th edition but have always had something more pressing to paint. These have been gradually painted over the last six months and they are finally about to be touched up and based with a rush. My objective was to have one of every metal figure in the range and I am still waiting on a few heavy weapons to arrive and some guardsmen to make up the third squad that I want to be able to run both a Captain and a Lieutenant. These will be completed when they arrive other projects permitting.

Tallarn Desert Raiders come from the Desert World of Tallarn whose soldiers are highly skilled at desert and mobile armoured warfare. The Desert Raiders are mobile guerrilla fighters, evasive and opportunistic. They are especially known for their lightning-quick Sentinel and hard-hitting tank squadrons and are masters of hit-and-run mobile warfare. They love to strike a killing blow at the heart of an enemy formation before returning to their own lines, prepared to pounce once more.

Captain Al’rahem of Tallarn is a company commander of the 3rd Tallarn Regiment, the “Desert Tigers.” This esteemed regiment has a long and honoured history amongst the annals of the Tallarn Desert Raiders regiments.

Al’rahem excels at tactical command, possessing a coolness under the pressures of combat that is the envy of many general officers. His tactics are based on cunning and patience, using careful reconnaissance to probe his enemy for weaknesses, and then striking at them suddenly before disappearing. His natural leadership, gifts as a linguist, when combined with his charm and quick intellect, earned him the respect of not only the men under his command, but those of any Guard regiment allied with the Desert Tigers, including the famously xenophobic Catachans.

Those who disobey orders are dealt rough and swift justice.