Andy Chambers talks about Warlord Games' Strontium Dog & Judge Dredd Games

[The Bissler]

Hi all!

In this first of two very special episodes of the Life of Die Podcast I've been lucky enough to be joined by none other than Andy Chambers himself to discuss the Strontium Dog Miniatures Game and the Judge Dredd Miniatures Game!

This first podcast takes us through Andy’s journey as lead designer in creating the system which was the template for both games and, in my honest opinion, makes for a fascinating listen for anyone interested in either of those, or indeed anyone who wants to know more about the development process of a tabletop gaming system.

If you enjoy listening to this half as much as I did asking the questions, you're in for a treat!

P.S. There's a juicy piece of news in there too...

https://youtu.be/Ev_HO8U8B34

[TordelBack]

That reveal! I was braced to hear the words 'Rogue Trooper', but instead, fffffffffffff...! 

One of my 3 Most Wanted minis ranges, just ahead of Nemesis and Dante. Sign me up, you bastards.

[The Bissler]

That reveal! I was braced to hear the words 'Rogue Trooper', but instead, fffffffffffff...! 

One of my 3 Most Wanted minis ranges, just ahead of Nemesis and Dante. Sign me up, you bastards.

Yeah, I was geeking out about that at the time!

And I was so pleased when he mentioned that he was such a fan of Nemesis & the ABC Warriors - so hope springs eternal! Thanks for listening Tordelback, I'm delighted you enjoyed it!

[Trooper McFad]

Enjoyed that Bissler Good work👍🏻

[I, Cosh]

Nice podcast (even if I only listened to the first ten minutes and the last two.) I would undoubtedly spend a ridiculous amount of money buying up all the initial models for the new game and then leave them in their boxes for years as I'm afraid to ruin them with my shite painting skills.

[The Bissler]

Thanks chaps, I greatly appreciate your taking the time to give the podcast a listen and commenting with kind words! Obviously there's more to come from Andy Chambers in the second part (hopefully in a week or so), but it's my intention to try to step up with some more 2000AD-related gaming videos to add to the few already on my channel.

Out of interest, are there any things in particular you'd like to see more of? Gaming reports? Unboxing videos? Miniatures videos?

[The Bissler]

Nice podcast (even if I only listened to the first ten minutes and the last two.) I would undoubtedly spend a ridiculous amount of money buying up all the initial models for the new game and then leave them in their boxes for years as I'm afraid to ruin them with my shite painting skills.

Cosh, I similarly don't think I'm the greatest at painting miniatures, but I'd encourage you to give it a go. You may well already know this, but one thing I think really makes miniatures look at lot better is adding a wash like Nuln Oil as it pulls all the details out of the miniatures. It was something I didn't know for years and it came as a bit of a revelation to me when I found out about it!

[Barrington Boots]

Enjoyed this, thanks for posting! I'll give the video about the Alien RPG a listen in a bit too.

one thing I think really makes miniatures look at lot better is adding a wash like Nuln Oil as it pulls all the details out of the miniatures.

This. If you're feeling a bit more adventurous check out the contrast paints from Games Workshop. Like most things GW they're hugely expensive but they combine base coat, inkwash and limited highlight in one go. I use them for big chunks of figures or for boardgames etc and you can get a good looking model in very little time and with very little effort. Plus it'll boost your confidence on painting and your models will looks totally sweet!

[The Bissler]

Enjoyed this, thanks for posting! I'll give the video about the Alien RPG a listen in a bit too.

one thing I think really makes miniatures look at lot better is adding a wash like Nuln Oil as it pulls all the details out of the miniatures.

This. If you're feeling a bit more adventurous check out the contrast paints from Games Workshop. Like most things GW they're hugely expensive but they combine base coat, inkwash and limited highlight in one go. I use them for big chunks of figures or for boardgames etc and you can get a good looking model in very little time and with very little effort. Plus it'll boost your confidence on painting and your models will looks totally sweet!

Ah, I'd forgotten about the new contrast paints, I've never gotten around to ordering any but I've heard nothing but good things about them!

[Trooper McFad]

Nice podcast (even if I only listened to the first ten minutes and the last two.) I would undoubtedly spend a ridiculous amount of money buying up all the initial models for the new game and then leave them in their boxes for years as I'm afraid to ruin them with my shite painting skills.

Cosh, I similarly don't think I'm the greatest at painting miniatures, but I'd encourage you to give it a go. You may well already know this, but one thing I think really makes miniatures look at lot better is adding a wash like Nuln Oil as it pulls all the details out of the miniatures. It was something I didn't know for years and it came as a bit of a revelation to me when I found out about it!

Not having a steady hand I opted  to make my Stront figures black, white & grey (just like most of the strips I read all those years ago). A wash with black and Little dry brush with white and the details start to pop out. This way I don’t have to be too careful with the 2/3 colours I use as base coats. 👍🏻
I only add colour to one item i.e. a hat, hair or badge just to make it a wee bit interesting. I found the amount I had bought daunting to start with but I found the above quite a quick way to get through the minis and ready to play. 😁

[Leigh S]

Fantastic listen!  Good to hear both of your 2000AD histories there - like yourself, I got into RPG/Gaming via GW's 2000AD line.  I'd be interested in Andy Chambers thoughts on Necromunda being originally designed as a Dredd Gang based game - didnt realise he was behind it (had wandered away from GW when they dropped all their franchises)

Interesting to see Andy pick up on the scale problem - hadnt considered it might be due to digital sculpting, but kinda makes sense - doesnt make sene of how it is still happening on the Dredd range though!

As for the new game, that should be a huge success - the various factions are perfect for translation into a war game setting

[The Bissler]

Fantastic listen!  Good to hear both of your 2000AD histories there - like yourself, I got into RPG/Gaming via GW's 2000AD line.  I'd be interested in Andy Chambers thoughts on Necromunda being originally designed as a Dredd Gang based game - didnt realise he was behind it (had wandered away from GW when they dropped all their franchises)

Interesting to see Andy pick up on the scale problem - hadnt considered it might be due to digital sculpting, but kinda makes sense - doesnt make sene of how it is still happening on the Dredd range though!

As for the new game, that should be a huge success - the various factions are perfect for translation into a war game setting

Thanks so much for listening and giving your feedback! I love that we have similar gaming origins! I've had a lot of fun running the old GW game again of late, and it was really weird that Andy's first experience Judge Dredd was for a story I've factored in to a JD adventure I've just written! Presumably at the time you picked up the Companion and the Judgement Day and Slaughter Margin supplements as well?

Yes, Andy was great to talk to and agree that he was very open and honest - and I also agree that the new game does have that potential for an exciting translation to the tabletop. It's been news has largely gone unnoticed, probably because I think people aren't listening all the way through and missing out on it. I appreciate that the fans like yourself who are listening have been careful not to reveal the secret because I think what Andy is talking about should be the real focus, exciting as it is!

I'm looking forward to the next chat, this time with us focussing on the Judge Dredd Miniatures Game.

[The Bissler]

In the second part of my exclusive interview with Mr Andy Chambers, the focus moves on to Warlord Games' Judge Dredd Miniatures Game...and beyond! Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/tegqQb9nXMw

[Trooper McFad]

Another good listen Bissler 👍🏻

I’ll be looking forward to more Dredd characters in the future and I hope they don’t take too long in bringing out further ranges other than the one mentioned in your blog.

[The Bissler]

Another good listen Bissler 👍🏻

I’ll be looking forward to more Dredd characters in the future and I hope they don’t take too long in bringing out further ranges other than the one mentioned in your blog.

Thanks for listening TM! There hasn't been a release date given yet for Slàine yet, so if there are other 2000AD games in the pipeline, I wouldn't expect them any time soon. From memory the SD & JD games were released at least a year apart, so even if Slàine was to be released this year, that's still a bit of a wait until the next one.