The Madaxeman.com Podcast

Episode 81 - Put it through a blender, with a dash of water

In this week's swelteringly hot podcast the regular team of seven perspire their way through a zoom call in a brief interlude from actually playing games in the real world against real (fully vaccinated) people to bring you what may well be one of the most podcast-like podcasts we've ever actually done. 

Part of the reason for that burst of unexpected normality is due to an unplanned but intriguing discussion about when and how we all outed ourselves as wargamers to our colleagues at work.

Following that, normal service is quickly resumed as we start to consider if a YouTube channel devoted to road-testing kitchen blenders for their ability to chop up car-wash sponges is a viable commercial proposition, if painting just three 10mm figures in a fortnight is something anyone would be prepared to admit, how Watford Gap Services is muscling in on eBay as the premium marketplace for sale of second hand wargames figures and if pizza making is an integral part of the gaming pantheon.

There is also a whole new episode of I'm Sorry I think You're An Arse! this week in which the proposition that the Achaemenid Persians were just so crap they deserve to be wiped from the slate of wargaming history is carefully considered and eruditely discussed, followed by a spot of actual gaming-experienced-based assessment of ADLGv4 so far. 

Finally Andy's Quiz hoves into view yet again, and attempts to deploy three new questions which are vaguely topical when the pod comes out but which in 2 week's time will no doubt feel as relevant as a discussion around the Eurovision Song Contest results would do today.

• Tamsin's Blog
• Clive's Stuff on eBay
• Watford Gap Southbound

The Aroma Will Fade Over Time

After a fortnight in which we received some disturbingly positive comments from many of wargamings Twitterati, the usual gang of 7 return with a tentative foray into the actual real world as lockdown eases sufficiently to allow CLWC to reopen again and all of us to attempt social engagement in a proper face to face environment.

In a limited palette of painting this week Tamsin goes totally herbal in the hillsides, Dave chunters on about the Franks for the 600th week in a row, Simon finally cracks and joins the Perry Medieval Plastic Tribe, Peter discovers that Red is the new Gold, Adam thinks carefully about meeting strangers in a warehouse late one evening, Andy finds a hole to drive into and I end my decades-long addiction to Testors Dullcote in dramatic style.

The "What did you play this week?" section focuses on our first tentative steps with ADLG v4 in the real world against real opponents as we try out some of the theory from the previous episode and stress test it against harsh reality, and Andy's Quiz of course returns with a highly topical (if this had come out last Sunday) Eurovision-themed Italian Heavy Metal special. 

(Adam was having audio issues this week, so apologies in advance for the iffy sound quality from his microphone)

• Tamsin's Hills 
• The Dullcote Tweet  
• Love for the Podcast from @GodsOwnScale

Episode 79 - It's Here!

In this week's epic episode we zoom in from the inky depths of Galaxy A41 to share with an already deeply v4-satiated world our initial incoherent thoughts on the list of changes for ADLGv4, adding almost nothing in the process to the tidal wave of excitement and analytical discussion already sweeping through social media like a somewhat garlic-infused tsunami of love and gratitude for El Kreator's latest issue.  

There is also a little bit of chat about painting, a diversion into why buying 1/300th forests from Dunelm off the back of  spurious text-based recommendations on Twitter from complete strangers is sometimes a bad idea, why Germans tend to look less boring after they have had a wash (especially little ones), and a rather impressive foray into why making your own rocks is far better than just, erm, picking them up off of the floor. We also have time to squeeze in a spaced out version of Andy's Quiz notable mostly for the fact that Syphilis is a potential answer to every single question.

But, it's the V4 stuff you're probably here for - so press "play" and let's get on with the business... 

• v4 Changes on madaxeman.com
• Tamsins Blog 
• The Devonian Classic - Play ADLGv4 in Devon this coming November
• Ambient Space noises from Jovica and univ_lyon_3 used under Creative Commons licensing

ADLG List Building - The Taifa Kingdoms

The first ever v4 Army List Podcast hits the airwaves with a paella-infused deep dive into one of the brand new lists from V4 of the recently released rulebook, the Taifa ("Scouse") Kingdoms.

These Arab-led, Christian-featuring armies of pre-reconquista Spain bring a whole load of new options to the ADLG  tabletop, with both existing and brand new troop types to conjure with - and, of course, the classic Strategist El Cid. 

We were lucky enough to be granted a pre-release view of this list, allowing us to record this podcast before we had our stickly little hands on the V4 rulebook so myself and my usual Army List guests Dave and Richard were able to bring you our thoughts only moments after the V4 book hits our doorsteps - with the caveat that we were slightly guessing at how some of the new troop types would actually work in practice!

The usual mix of list, history and figure choice all form a part of this, our first V4 Army List Podcast, and as usual the lists are available on the ADLG Wiki on Madaxeman.com 

 

Episode 77 - Waiting for the wee donkey

After deciding that 2 hours of Jo Davidson-eque repetition of "no comment" wouldn't really work as a podcast, the usual gang of seven get down to some serious business this week with a range of topics, scales and periods all covered.

Things kick off with a Victrix Hanomag House of Horror, segwaying neatly into Stug Life to keep the tiny WW2 theme alive. The exciting side of Swiss colours get discussed (erm.. red and white?) just before we venture into the murky undergrowth of "is that your Perry-provided flag or are you just not pleased to see me?".

There is a vivid demonstration of Army Painter Varnish Mid-life Murk (and Are We Over It Now?), we get down and dirty with the German trousers, wonder if there is any difference between Artizan and Crusader, and all do a little summertime almost morris-men-like dance with the Hopping Pararoopers.

We then dive right into the interview with Herve published on No Dice No Glory and try and pick apart the new rules and troop types he mentions for ADLG v4 as we all wait furiously for it to clear customs. The new lists also get a superficial scan over, and we are all extremely excited about the prospects for the Viagra Kingdom and the new Scouse Kingdoms army lists. 

With so much ADLG v4 chat there is no ISITYAA this week, but there is Andy's Quiz, and it's music - and the tumbleweed sound effect also gets another outing as well. 

• Tamsin's Polish Paras
• Tamsins US Paras
• Tims Thracians

Episode 76 - Other Facial Hairstyles Are Available

In this weeks veritable post-lockdown-lite smorgasbord of conversation we are delighted to offer you a range of topics as diverse as a first look at undercoated Victrix 12mm German infantry, 28mm medieval transfers as a rival to Bitcoin, The Tale of the Heinkel Knights and that Whole Snow Nazi Thing, Khurasan stock levels, ADLG v4, 50cal Roman bolt shooters, decal choice for bazookas in cold and warm climates, the use of gold spray paint to don General Custer fancy dress, the best Vallejo paint to recreate yellow snow (including the taste), more Museum musings, the increasing importance of 2D printing in modern wargaming, North West London Ramblings, and the very, very end of the Battle of the Boing.

There is also a timely episode of I'm Sorry I Think You're an Arse in which the team debate the question as to whether the entire American Civil War was just a load of old nonsense, and if the entire conflict should instead now be expunged from the wargaming canon, and of course we wrap up with another regular visit to the seemingly decreasingly onanistically-themed world of Andy's Quiz 

• US Paras on Tamsins Blog
• Success of US Civil War Commanders correlated with Facial Hair
• Wallpapered Sparabara

Episode 75 - Runners Funk

In this epic pre-bank-holiday episode the gang is reduced to just 6 as the triple-headed wargamer-unfriendly spectres of gainful employment, exercise and fresh air consumes one of our regular team members at least temporarily. 

Even so we manage to ramble on close to the 2 hour mark with an episode that features yet more analysis of 6mm ACW hat bandings, octagonal basing for paratroopers, hoplite madness, ship construction, glue debates, and in which we again all ask ourselves "Museum's Z-range - are they just too detailed for mere mortals to paint?" 

This week an enormous amount of time is also consumed by ISITYAA, our "increasingly challenging to remain tongue in cheek" regular feature which this week features Adam in the chair telling us why he thinks Wargaming Shows should be consigned to the dustbin of history (and explaining why it's technically accurate but still not entirely fair to call him a moth##-###ker in the process).

Andy's Quiz returns with a gallic duopoly of topcs, and we also have a quick shufti at the "announced by Tuesday evening" changes for ADLG v4 (which takes place at about 1:28:30 into the pod in case that's all you are interested in!)

 

 

ADLG List Building : The Meso-American Special

In this week's L'Art de la Guerre Army Building podcast I'm again joined by regulars Dave & Richard as we venture into the little-visited back of the book to take a gander at the Meso-American armies in an effort to see if we can pick some nuggets of golden Aztec goodness out of these rarely-seen army lists. 

As usual we conjure up a variety of quite different lists, all of which manage to extract very different and intriguing play styles and approaches from what initially seemed the slim pickings of these later lists.

We also skip through the history of the region, consider whether these armies might be viable in open play, and debate if the addition of the Conquistador command to the Texcallans imbalances a pure Meso-American competion army pool.

In a brand new (and I suspect unique) tie-in, some of this week's list are also not only available to view on the Madaxeman Wiki, they are also available to buy in the form of ready-made, discounted army packs from UK-based manufacturer Fighting 15's. 

Yes, hear the discussion then - if you like what you hear - there's now a simple one-click way for you to pick up 4 of the lists we cover all for under £40 a pop for 128 figures (thats just 31p each for those of you who don't like taking off your socks this early in the year!)

The list we cover this week are:  

• Aztec x2
• Texcallan x2
• Zapotec/Mixtec
• Chinantec
• Mayan x2

You can see the Fighting 15's ADLG Army Packs featuring lists from this Podcast right here on their website , or just browse Fighting 15's Aztecs & Enemies ranges 

Episode 73 - Humbrol Beginnings

The 10th in the 2021 "UK Lockdown III" mini-series rolls into town with a rather lite painting week in which we are all rather distracted by the announcement of ADLG v4 coming out in the next few weeks.

Meanwhile the hussar-wing-glue debacle rolls on, an accidental company-level purchase of WW2 Artizan Designs paratroops somehow seems to happen without conscious human intervention, the Perry Twins make another £20 from us all with those black-undercoated medieval horsemen, Pitshanger Lane gets a double visitation, Dave's Magic Drawer of Left-Over Xyston Wonderment makes an initial bid for it's own theme tune and dedicated in-pod feature, Museum's Z-range get close enough to lose a little bit of detail and a flurry of Macedonians hit their bases at various points alongside the M40 elevated section.

In between this excitement we somehow manage also to fit in a quick session of "What are you hoping to find in ADLG v4 Santa's sack this Easter?", an episode of ISITYAA in which the venerable Humbrol Paint tin is proposed as the one and only true solution to the modern wargaming worlds slow subsumation into the iron grip of grasping corporate interest, and Andy's Quiz seeks to pull itself away from it's recent teenage obsessions with a whole new set of questions (and answers) for your delight and delectation.   

 

Episode 72 - 50 Shades of White (or Ivory)

In this weeks cavalcade of conversation the team assemble and then kick off with an immediate foray into the best tools to use to bend the legs on cavalry riders together.  A surprisingly lengthy chat about whether Ivory is a better colour for painting things white than actual white then diverts into the age-old question about deck white being better or worse than deck tan, rounding off with whether black-grey is a better black than, erm, black?

Atlatl pronunciation debates occupy us all briefly, as does the entire engineering and strategic developmental back story of the Japanese Navy in a single book. That then inexorably takes us through to finding out why the book "D-Day through German Eyes" is actually a complete scam from start to finish before we look at Museum Z-scuplt cavalry, and whether their Noddy hats all need to be painted red.

A 10mm Barons War-full of figures offered via kickstarter gets its' first-view, Wallenstein is broght back from the grave to cast his unevenly beady eyed at us all, there is a timely Podcast Team Vaccine Update, and in the smaller scales the best Vallejo options for ACW limbers are compared to the original soot and ochre.

Adam then yet again helms an occasionally almost-proper-discussion (but still mostly "offensive rant") ISITYAA this week, looking at the tricky topic of competition wargames, and more specifically explaining his theory that curing a few bad eggs (OK, getting a few bad eggs to follow his forthright and robust advice) would rehabilitate the image of the genre, or whether this idea, much like the idea of a cured egg, is just inherently whiffy.

There is a little more O-Group chat, some more ADLG:R feedback, an another obliquely onanistic theme tugs at the heartstrings in the return of Andy's Quiz. 

• Vallejo's Black & White Paint Set on Amazon
• Kaigun - The Japanese Navy book
• Wallenstein - weirdly animated 
• Museum Z-range Pseudo-Thracians