Sunday 24 May 2020

A to Z of UK RPG in the 80s - T is for Tunnels and Trolls


T is for Tunnels and Trolls and Flying Buffalo

My first exposure to Roleplaying was actually Tunnels & Trolls. My Dad came back from one of his working trips with a photocopy of the Weirdworld solo module and I voraciously lapped it up. This was back in the day when Flying Buffalo (the company formed in 1970 by Rick Loomis) released their T&T solo modules as spiral bound A4 booklets making game piracy a fairly simple task.  Perhaps that was the point, what's good enough for Microsoft is good enough for Flying Buffalo.

The pages were full of great images like the entrance to the dungeon itself and new and strange words words like myriad.  As you can imagine it made quite an impression on my tiny growning brain.

The entrance to Maximillian the Magnificen't Madhouse (Weirdworld)
The entrance to the Madhouse which was solo adventure #6 Weirdworld

I had no rules and I had no idea how to play it, I just treated it as choose your own adventure book before I even knew what one of those was.  Later on I would experience my first group session of the game at a games club in my home town of Bradford.  The DM using the a very early boxed set version of the rules with the little yellow booklet.

Our relocation down to London in the mid 80s coincided with the release of the Corgi edition paperbacks and I picked one up in a local Virgin Games store (remember them).

Core
Rulebook
The Amulet of the Salkti
Arena of Khazan
Catif D'Yvoire
Beyond the Silvered Pane
The City of Terrors
Gamesmen of Kasar
Misty Wood
Naked Doom
Deathtrap Equalizer
Sword for Hire
Blue Frog Tavern



The Corgi editions are really memorable.  They had amazing cover art by Josh Kirby and were published in a standard paperback formfactor at pocket money prices.  The main competition at the time were the Puffin Fighting Fantasy books written by the Ian Livingston and Steve Jackson of Games Workshop.  I preferred T&T because there was a bit more meat on the bones and I remembered the fun I had playing in that group game back in Bradford.

They are very collectible and hold their prices but they are very available when you search for Tunnels Trolls on eBay.

Flying Buffalo have of course continued to publish games and still exist today.  Their products were always on the fringe of the hobby never taking themselves too seriously but they were always popular.


My Collection Includes:

Corgi Edition
Core Rules
5th Edition
Core Rules
Grimtooths
Traps Too
The Hole Delver's
Catalogue
Maps
Cities Book 1
Sword for Hire
Blue Frog Tavern
The Amulet of the Salkti
Catalogue



Availability of Flying Buffalo is good and they tend to be on the cheaper side of RPG collectables. I aim to reacquire all the Corgi adventure books in the very near future. Search for Flying Buffalo Products on eBay.



The AtoZ of UK RPG in the 80s
  1. is for Adventurer Magazine
  2. is for Beast Enterprises
  3. is for Citadel
  4. is for Dungeon Floors
  5. is for Elric of Melnibone
  6. is for Fighting Fantasy
  7. is for Games Designers Workshop
  8. is for Heavy Metal
  9. is for Indiana Jones
  10. is for Judge Dredd
  11. is for Knightmare
  12. is for Large Box Games
  13. is for Mayfair Games
  14. is for Northern Militaire
  15. is for O
  16. is for Pondsmith (where's my flying car Mike?)
  17. is for Qadim
  18. is for Robots
  19. is for Steve Jackson
  20. is for Tunnels & Trolls
  21. is for UK Series of AD&D Modules
  22. is for V
  23. is for White Dwarf
  24. is for X
  25. is for Y
  26. is for Z


Saturday 23 May 2020

Miniatures Monday Goes Old School Saturday

I normally leave my mini posts until Mondays to show off the latest update on my Reaper Bones Painting Marathon progress. 

Well, I thought I'd spice it up and share a few of my other projects which have recently been completed (thanks to a spot of spring cleaning during lockdown).  Normal service will resume next week.

Vintage Citadel "Fiend Factory" Balrog - FF5 C31

An iconic miniature from the Fiend Factory range, this imposing winged demon has been one of those bucket list minis that I've been holding onto for some time.  Finally he has a paintjob worthy of the sculpt and this just makes me want to find more of these vintage "pre slotta" base Citadel minis to paint.


Citadel Fiend Factory Balrof FF5 C31
Citadel Fiend Factory Balrog (FF5 C31) - Buy your own
Thrud The Barbarian (LE12)

Readers of vintage White Dwarf will recognise this pin headed barbarian.  Created by illustrator Carl Critchlow he was White Dwarf's long running comic strip from issue #45 to issue #105.

An obvious pastiche of Conan the Barbarian, Thrud was entirely played for laughs and Carl has continued to draw him outside of the pages of White Dwarf in his own Thrud The Barbarian comic.

This is my Thrud's 3rd paintjob only possible due to the chunkiness of the detail (I never bothered to strip him of his previous paintjobs).  I am half tempted to track down the other 4 Special Edition Thrud miniatures Citadel have made over the years.

Citadel Thrud The Barbarian (LE12)
Citadel Thrud The Barbarian (LE12) - Buy your own

Friday 22 May 2020

More 15mm Madness for Judge Dredd

Whilst I was tracking down the origins of my Mega City One Citizens, I came across some quite stunning minis from a range of manufacturers which are frankly fuelling my obsession with small scale skirmishes.

HOF Media Team - What good is a Block War without good media coverage?  This 10 pack is perfect for that front-line news media team.  Lets hope they don't stand too close to that fuel truck.  Whoops too late...

HOF122 Media Team from Alternative Armies

HOF69 Draccian Lord and Warriors - Tell me that these aren't Kleggs!

HOF69 Draccian Lord and Warriors
If you are going to have Kleggs then you need to have Klegg Hounds

Splintered Light Komodo Dragons

Splintered Light Komodo Dragons
Passable Klegg Hounds

Khurasan Miniatures - A veritable smorgasbord of different and very useable sci-fi miniatures I have fallen in love with their Marauders who make for a perfect Mega City One juve gang.
Khurasan Miniatures 15mm Sci-Fi Marauders (END100)
Khurasan Miniatures 15mm Sci-Fi Marauders (END100)

Khurasan Miniatures 15mm Sci-Fi Marauders (END101)
Khurasan Miniatures 15mm Sci-Fi Marauders (END101)
Khurasan Miniatures Planet 15 (Cinematic Range)

Cursed Earth Muties or residents of Jed Clampett Block (Redneck1)
Cursed Earth Muties or residents of Jed Clampett Block (Redneck1)
I aint fraid of no Ghosts! - (Spirit Punters)
I aint fraid of no Ghosts! - (Spirit Punters)

Anyway that's more than enough to be getting on with for now.

Thursday 21 May 2020

The Empire Strikes Back is 40 Today

My Star Wars relationship began with The Empire Strikes Back.



Whilst I am assured that I was taken to see Starwars at the tender age of 4, I don't really have any recollection of the actual trip to the movie.  However, I spent days watching and rewatching a VHS copy of the movie which had been taped from a Yorkshire Television broadcast one christmas, complete with The Two Ronnies advertising the Atari 2600.

The summer holiday highlight that year was going to the cinema in Filey to see the movie.  I had already been primed as a few days earlier I had begged for a copy of the comicbook novel.  I won't go into detail about what a mind blowing experience that was.  Later that year I got a couple of action figures (the only ones I ever owned).

Empire Strikes Back Marvel Comic Novel
Comic Paperback
Empire Strikes Back Han Solo Hoth
Han Solo Hoth

Empire Strikes Back IG-88
IG-88

2000AD Fan Films - Judge Minty, Strontium Dog and Rogue Trooper

Looks like we are going to have to wait a while for the new Mega City TV Show and the Duncan Jones Rogue Trooper movie.

In the meantime we can sit back, relax and watch the following fan made films:

Judge Minty



Search & Destroy - A Strontium Dog Story



Rogue Trooper: The Quartz Massacre