Hello everybody. Welcome back to the Chronicle In
Podcast. This is Josh, your host, and
today it's a bit of a special one.
It's only a little mini mini SODE mini episode that will fill
the gap between now and the next podcast coming out, which there
are quite a few actually. There's been a bit of a sort of
research and activity of me contacting people.
People weren't coming on to the podcast having a chat, so I hope
you've enjoyed those in more, more of a higher frequency than
before. I just found that, you know,
doing podcast chatting with people is really enjoyable.
It's a really nice social break from everything else happening
here. And of course it's less time
consuming than making videos now.
Video production is very time consuming.
I talked to my patrons about that every now and again in the
Weekend Ramble or Weekend Natta, about the pros and cons of doing
videos. Yes, it's a really great
creative adventure and pursuit of mind that, you know, making
videos is really enjoyable, but wow, you know, it sinks so much
time. And I think the last couple of
videos I did on the YouTube channel, you know, they can take
up to 10 hours in post production.
So that's not including the time that we have.
We're filming it when playing the games.
So that has taken a bit of a, you know, a bit of a set back
for me. But that's OK, We'll have.
I've got some other things planned that I want to do.
And this month is Man of War, month of March, so this month I
want to bring some Man of War content to the channel and a few
other things that I had planned as well.
So I hope you enjoy those. And in the meantime I want to
promote good old Cameron. Cameron is a patron of mine and
a good friend and he's from the US and he's really passionate
about man at war. So he had toyed with the idea of
setting up his own YouTube channel and making videos and
which he has done. Now his YouTube channel is
called Krakens Wake and there will be a link in the podcast
show notes that you can go down there.
Please check that because it's got a lot of other affiliated
links as well, either link to the Chronic Command or the
guests that we have on each show.
So you can always check out their other content on different
platforms, this one being solely on YouTube.
So Kraken's Wake, it's a it's a new channel, only has 48
subscribers and two videos. But and he's got his video how
to start collecting Mana War. And because it's only a video
visual kind of medium, I said to Ken please send me the audio and
I'll stick it in for you on the on the Chronic Command podcast
so it can reach a far wider, greater audience all around the
world. And that way I can direct you
back to the YouTube channel. So I would offer that to him as
a as a thank you for making that video.
I think it was really entertaining.
I learned a lot from it as well because of things about Man of
War that I didn't even know in terms of resources for people
who want to start playing this really fun game set in the in
the Wamer world around about I think 4th edition around that
that era. I think it's 1992 when that came
out from memory, 1990, two 1993. That's still a fun game today.
It hasn't really aged over time and still regarded as one of the
classics of the specialist games that some people got to play and
some people didn't and they missed out on it.
So it's kind of one of those specialist games that I think
has a lot of interest from people and they're curious about
it. So this is one way where you can
get to hear Cameron talking about it and how he got into Man
of War and how you can do it today.
So please look forward to listening to that in just a
moment. But before we get there, I just
want to announce something as well or a couple of things
actually. One is that now I am a an
affiliate with Rosemary, Rosemary and Co artist brushes
and they're a company out of youth the UK in West Yorkshire
and I've been using the brushes for a long time.
I really liked them. I think they're probably my go
to brush, and they have been for a couple of years now, at least
since discovering. They have a website where you
can order directly from them, because usually I'd go to the
art art shop and try to buy whatever was there on the rack
and that kind of thing. So I've been ordering those
directly through them. They're actually handmade in the
UK and they're made with. I usually get the series 99
brushes, they're a sable brush, but they've got like a range of
Kolinsky brushes. They've got like sable synthetic
brushes, which I've tried and they're quite good too and yeah,
that there. And I think also the artist Opus
Brush Brush, they're actually made by Rosemary and COVID.
So you know, they're very, very high quality, very expensive.
I really like their brushes a lot, but their price range is
just a little bit too, too, too out out of range for me because
of the volume of miniatures that I paint, you know, on a daily
day-to-day basis. I'm looking for a the brush
that's going to weather the storm of you know, me painting
for eight hours or more each day.
So Rosemarie and Co have been sort of my go to for that and I
do like their Sable blends because they're like a cheaper
option and they're all very affordable, they're all really
priced really competitively. So now I'm affiliated with
Rosemarie and Co artist brushes. I want to extend this
opportunity that if you next time place your order please use
the unique affiliate code which is crown that's CROWN 2024 two
024 and every time you purchase something through Rosemary Co on
their website if you use that affiliate code, it gives just
gives me a little slight you know a few cents in my little
bucket of change that will accumulate over time and then I
can use that to purchase my own brushes.
So use in a way you're helping the show and and helping me out
in a little bit of a slight kickback.
So I'm excited about that because I, you know, you know,
I'm obviously vouching for their product because I know it's
really good. I've been using it for years now
and I don't see myself ever changing.
I do buy the occasional other brush like Tamiya.
I bought a few of those as well and I bought Windsor and Newtons
in the past and I've never been satisfied with them.
Rosemary Co have just been the the sort of a staple name and
brand that I trust and I like using and I, you know, I use
them on my painting videos as you've seen and I've talked
about it. So that's that's one bit of
snippet of news. So if you want to help out the
show, next time you order brushes, try out Rosemary and Co
They've got an extensive range of acrylic brushes there, which
like synthetics and sable brushes and Kolinsky Sable
brushes that will be really good and really priced affordably.
And please use that Crown 2024 affiliate code.
So that sort of kicks back to me in the long run.
I really appreciate that. Second thing I'm going to bring
to advertising, I think on the YouTube channel, and I'll
mention here every now and again as well, is that my sister told
me yesterday that she started her own little business with her
boyfriend, my sister's graphic designer, and a really good one
by trade. And she's a fabulous
illustrator, an artist and you know either pencil and paper or
a digital creations. And she has created her own
company called Meek Co. It's based in Australia and the
products they sell are all made in Brisbane, Australia.
So these are really funky looking design T-shirts and yoga
mats. So she's just started.
So three weeks ago she launched this thing she only told me
yesterday. I didn't even know about it and
I said, well how about I, you know, use your company name and
the products you sell. I wear them on the channel.
You know, I can we can use her as a sponsor and it's, this is a
nice gift for my sister because she's just starting out and I
know how hard that would be. She hasn't sold anything yet on
her Etsy store and she wants to get her own website where she
can sell it herself. And you know, get out of sort of
these third party middleman type things like Etsy and go on her
own and start developing her brand, which is really cool.
And honestly, I think the designs are fantastic,
absolutely amazing. So I have to feature those on
the channel and I'll leave a link again in the show notes so
you can check that out and check out her designs.
Even if you're just curious to see what it looks like, what
they look like. They're all very unique.
She made them all herself. She drew those out herself and
and really cool, vivid, you know, hip looking designs and
colours and stuff like that. So yeah, I'm excited about it
and I'm looking forward to wearing my sister's very own
specifically designed T-shirts from Nick Coe.
So yeah, go and check them out and have a look and maybe it's a
nice gift for somebody out there, Maybe it's a nice gift
for your partner or for yourself, you know.
So they're the two sort of stimulus of news for the Crown
of Command and we have some exciting guests lined up.
I'm having one with AX Gangs Workshop studio White Dwarf
editor in fact this week. So look forward to that.
I'm really looking forward to speaking to him about his time
at Gangs Workshop and how that led him to where he is now and I
hope you guys will enjoy it too. So and finally if you weren't
aware as my last guest wasn't he was, he was aware of my YouTube
channel that wasn't aware of my podcast, which is interesting I
thought, I sort of assumed that everyone knows about the the
two. But in in this case my last
guest wasn't aware that I actually had a podcast.
So he he gets the chance of going back and looking and you
know, re listening to a lot of those classic interviews I had
with previous GW guys or you know, guys in our community and
that kind of thing. So if you are not aware, yes,
there is a YouTube channel called Chronic Man Games and on
there you'll find battle reports of various different game
systems like Lamma 5th edition, 4th edition, Wamma's 40K, Second
edition, Man of War of course, and countless other things.
I think. I think there's some
confrontation content on there as well.
Blood Bowl featured on their advanced hear request, one of my
favorite games playing solo run throughs of that.
So if you weren't aware of it again, just go to YouTube, just
punch in there on the on the search engine kind of command
games. It'll pop up straight away.
We'll check the links here in description of this podcast to
find those as well as anything else that we mentioned here or
affiliated with podcast at all. So.
So you've got some things to do this weekend guys.
So I hope you enjoy that and I'll I'm going to shut up now so
you can listen to Cameron talking all about Man of War and
how to how to get into Man of War the game.
So guys, thanks again for your support.
I really appreciate it. Thanks again for listening and
bearing with me and enjoy Man of War and how to get into it.
Here we go. Man O War is a tabletop strategy
game featuring naval warfare at the 1 to 1200 scale in the
Warhammer Fantasy Seven. It was released by Games
Workshop in 1993, discontinued a few years later, and the rules
and models have remained out of print since.
The purpose of this video is to show how it's still possible to
collect and play this game 30 years after its discontinuation.
The Core Box set naturally contained everything needed to
get started playing the game. It contained a black and white
rules, manual dice, 12 plastic war galleys, a magic deck, a
mana war card deck, and a staggering amount of cardstock
components, cardstock terrain templates, charts, range,
rulers, counters, and markers. The rule book had six fleet
lists, Gratonians, Empire, Hi Elves, Dark Elves, Orcs, and
Dwarfs. The core box set was followed by
the Plague Fleet supplement, which had fleet lists for all
four of the Ruinous Powers, as well as Chaos, Dwarfs and
Scathing. The box included Chaos Terrain
and Scenarios and more than 500 individual cardstock components.
Following Plague Fleet was the Sea of Blood expansion, which
introduced rules for sea monsters, flying units, the use
of allied fleets, an updated fleet list that included N
ships, the Dwarf Dreadnought and several specialist Imperial
vessels, the Hell Hammer and the Iron Fist.
The amount of materials needed to play Man of War may seem
intimidating if you're not willing to drop a paycheck on
eBay. Fortunately, all of these
components have been scanned and are available online for free.
Your single greatest resource is the Warhammer Man of War
Facebook group. Join the group and navigate to
the file section. There's a huge list here that
includes fan made rules, sale patterns, and other inches.
The first file you want is titled Manawar Community Rule
Book, produced by Jonathan Haar. This is all three rule books
compiled in a single PDF. You may be tempted to print this
file and assemble it with sheet protectors in a single rule
book. I can advise against this as I
learned that it will leave you with a three ring binder several
inches thick and so heavy that it requires its own table to
use. A more practical option is to
load the file on the thumb drive, take it to an office
supply store and have it printed in three spiral bound books.
I had these rule books printed and bound for $20 American each
at a local office supply store that for another $7.00 could
mail it to me so that I need never leave the comfort of my
basement. If anyone knows of a less
expensive option, please let us know in the comments.
The next file that would be very nice to have but certainly not
necessary to play would be the A4 Mana War Community Annual.
This is a compilation of White Dwarf articles about Mana War,
including a painting guide, tactical advice, battle reports,
and instructions on building 3D terrain.
The file also includes question and answer interviews with Andy
Jones and all the Citadel Journal articles about Mana War,
including special Magic rules for many of the fleets and rules
for an Undead Sleep models for which were never produced.
Full color productions of the special magic cards can also be
found in the Facebook Group Files section.
Once you've downloaded the files, you can just print them
out on 110 LB Cardstock. After you've gotten the rules
printed, another step will be printing off the card components
needed. Go into the File section and
find them. All of the components needed are
here, but you can get started by just printing what you need like
the turning templates and the range rulers and maybe ship
templates and counters. If you plan on using the full
size templates there are many different ways of making the
card components. If you have a color printer that
can handle heavy card stock you can use that.
Or maybe you can print them on paper and laminate them.
I printed mine out on a decent quality photo paper then used
spray adhesive to affix the paper to cardboard from cereal
boxes. I cut everything out once it
dry. You can reduce the volume of
templates you need to print and the amount of tablespace you
need by going to the Esoteric Order of Gamers website and
finding the plain card sized ship templates.
Print them off and place them in card protectors.
This way you can use a dry erase marker or a grease pencil to
track damage and crew instead of using counters.
These cards also feature some additional information on them
like fields of fire and special damage charts which are not
included on the original template.
While you're on the order of Gamer's website, download, print
and laminate the rules summary as a quick reference guide.
It's invaluable when you're ready to start assembling your
fleets. You'll have to decide if you
will insist on original models or if you'll use proxies and 3D
prints. Original models are still
available, but of course they come at a premium. eBay is the
easiest and most expensive option.
With shipping you can expect about $30 American per squadron
or Manor warship. On Facebook Marketplace,
particularly the Manor War Group, they can often be found
for 20 to 30% cheaper. I'd recommend those setting
aside a small pile of cash so that you can leap on large lot
vibes no matter where you're shopping.
Another option for collecting is taking advantage of all the
excellent 3D prints that are now available.
If you don't have access to a 3D printer, you can search for
ships on Etsy. There are multiple Etsy stores
that have copies of these models by Forest Dragon, which are some
of the best proxies that I've seen for Bretonians and high
Elves. This store called Minis and
Board Games has a lot of ships, including Orcs, Dwarfs, Nergal,
Bretonians, but if you want to order an entire fleet from here,
be sure to check that he's got all of the ships.
He doesn't have the Orc Hulk or the Patonian Galleon right now,
for instance. He'll also want to have a close
look at the sales because he has ships and sales from multiple
different STL designers and they don't all match yet.
Another source for some models is Malbox, which is run by a guy
who's online name is Dreadax. He's French, but he's a really
nice guy and super helpful. He's the top contributor over on
the Sea of Claws group and has tons of pictures of Man of War
tournaments that he hosts over in France.
His shop is notable for having this Lizardman fleet that was
sculpted by Louis Guggenberger and there's also a fan made rule
set for them available in the Facebook group file section.
You'll notice that there's not a lot of stuff in the shop right
now, but if you look over here there is 78 items behind the
wall. You need to contact this guy
directly. Just ask around for him in the
Facebook group or the Crown of Command Discord and he'll pop up
and see if there's anything he can help you with.
If you do have access to a 3D printer, lucky dog, just go to
Thingiverse or Colts 3D, have a look around and start printing.
If you need help finding anything, just ask at the
Warhammer Man of War Facebook page or the Crown to Command
Discord community and we'll give you a hand.
The last bit to talk about is playing that.
Good news is that there are multiple options out there.
Bad news is that the best option is also the most expensive one.
Of course, you don't need a mat at all to get a game of Man of
War in it can be played on the bedroom floor just as readily as
any other war game, but something as simple as a piece
of blue cloth certainly helps with immersion.
Many folks have pointed out that a piece of crushed blue velvet
makes for a lovely seascape, which is true.
The problem with cloth is that it can shift and bunch up when
you attempt to move the miniatures on it, knocking over
models, slowing the game down, and potentially even changing
the distance between the miniatures.
The other thing is that most people don't have a four by four
piece of blue velvet laying around, and if you have to go
out and buy a piece of fabric you may as well just put that
money to a better solution. I've also purchased a 4 by 4
vinyl mat and discovered that while it looks good and models
move easily across it, the vinyl has a tendency to hold its
shape, leaving you with dangerous swells on 2 edges of
the mat. This can be fixed by laying the
mat out in the sun for a few minutes to soften up and lay
flat, but that might not be an option depending on where and
when you're playing. Vinyl also picks up glares from
light pretty easily, which is problematic if you're hosting
the remote game or trying to take photographs.
Most folks I've talked to say neoprene mats like this one from
Frontline Gaming on the best product.
They lay flat as soon as they're unrolled, Light doesn't glare
against them, and models slide across the material easily.
They also provide some cushion to help protect your models if
you drop them or knock them over during the game.
I bought the 6 by 4 mat here from Noble Knight Games used for
$55, so shop around and maybe you'll be able to find it for a
bit less than retail when it comes time to start printing
stuff out. If you don't have a Facebook
account and don't want to get one because of a moral
opposition to the data collection, I get it.
I've mentioned it a few times already, but the next best
source I think will be on discord at the Crown of Command
community. This discord was set up by a guy
named Joshua Van Zandt who is a ex GW staffer turned Commission
painter, and he also runs a podcast and a YouTube channel
that has a bunch of Man of War battle reports in it.
Both the podcast and the Discord focus on GW games from the 90s,
and there's a huge Man of War thread.
Just join the Discord, I'll include a server invite in the
show notes, introduce yourself, tell them what you need and
they'll get you sorted. Also, feel free to ask me any
questions or make suggestions or corrections in the comments of
this video. Thanks for watching.