by Peter Atkinson
G’day Motherfuckers! If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, and you’re wondering what my voice actually sounds like – well here’s your chance, I guess. It’s probably not what you’re expecting.
I guested on the latest episode of Bush Radio, now into its 4th season and with a new format since NC Dave stepped back. With Tristan in the hot seat, the aim is to keep the episodes shorter and we had a blast recording this one.
If you don’t know Bush Radio, it’s not for everyone (it’s not trying to be) and it’s definitely not safe for work. On a scale of 1 to Releasing a Live Alligator in the Office, it would sit somewhere around Getting Shit-faced at the Christmas Party and Goosing the Head of HR. But I’ve been listening since the start, and plenty of episodes have had me howling with laughter, even though I’ve copped a lot of abuse on there over the years (believe me – a lot).
Anyway, we had a blast recording this. Expect unprovoked insults, a discussion of shit Australian towns and a surprising amount of AOS in this one.
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/bush-radio-measured-gaming/id1440971707
Apocalypse When?
When Aussie Wargamer speaks, I listen. I reckon this guy could sell me shares in Blockbuster Video, so when he told us in the Discord how much fun he’s having with Thunder Road, that got my attention. I’m not trying to push their Kickstarter here (it’s actually closed already), but I did get onboard the KS myself after Tim described the Mad Max vibes, and I’m on a massive buzz for Post-Apocalyptic settings right now.
Mad Max-style Post-Apoc covers a lot of ground, and it’s about the Badlands setting (plus the weirdos you find there) as much as it is about tear-arsing around in custom battle cars. For example, you might think that Judge Dredd is Cyberpunk / tech noir, but that’s only because they spend most of their time in Mega City One. Every time they step out into the Cursed Earth, it becomes a Mad Max kind of thing.
Similarly Borderlands. This is a good example of how the genre isn’t always about getting around in cars, strapping guns to cars, fighting in cars and spending a surprising amount of time perfecting elaborate hairstyles. This game and setting has a Mad Max vibe to the core, even though motor vehicles aren’t really centred:
The Mad Max aesthetic also inspired the greatest tag team in pro-wrestling history:
But Mad Max’s crowning achievement? Yeah, I’m gonna say that’s how accurately it predicted Australian hairstyles in the 21st century:
Craicheads
We’re rapt to welcome our new Patrons since the last update:
- Nic Wright
- Jack Heyes
- Carl Stumpf
- Rocky
- Bloodbath&Beyond
- Tim Brumpton
- Aussie Wargamer
- Sarah Stich
- Maximus
Thank you so much to everyone for getting involved.
We committed to giving our members good value by publishing 2+ AOS articles every week on the main site, in addition to the Patron-only posts on that platform too. Since the relaunch in May 2023 we’ve been averaging closer to 3 articles per week here on Plastic Craic (that’s 135 articles and counting), plus a further 60 for members only published on Patreon.
Patreon articles we’ve released since the last update include:
- The case for the Skitterstrand Arachnarok
- Batreps featuring Ironjawz and Spiderfang (with a list written together in our Discord)
- Cancon predictions and follow-ups
- A tip for catching cheats
- Game-wide impacts to look out for from the last Battlescroll
- Specific sneaky tech with Moonclan Stabbas that I haven’t seen anyone else talking about – which won me a game at Vic GT
From the Discord
We’ve honestly got a great community in the Discord with a No Dickheads policy – we’ve kept it to Patrons and writers only, and it’s working well for everyone so far. We wrote a Bonesplitterz list together in the Destro chat which I took to a recent GT (with some success), and we also just ran a Patrons-only Kitbash contest which was a lot of fun.
We’ll cap it at some point to preserve the vibe, but we’re not there yet. So if you want to join us and support our work, we’d love to have you on board.
Good Weekend Quiz
We get The Age newspaper delivered every Saturday – I reckon I’m the youngest bloke in Australia who reads the papers, and I’m definitely not young. A famous feature is the Good Weekend Quiz (also printed in the Sydney Morning Herald on the same day): it’s a 25-question quiz, with the iconic Question 25 published every week being sent in by a reader. One of my non-hobby goals for the year was to get a Question 25 published.
Well the good news is, I’ve got the nod, and my question will be published next weekend (Saturday 30th March). I’ve sent in a few and I don’t know which one they’re going to publish, so just for fun, here are the questions I’ve sent in so far:
- How many hearts does an octopus have?
- In geography, what are the doldrums?
- The Calcutta Cup is awarded annually to the winner of the rugby union match between which two nations?
- Who was the first person to be awarded two Nobel Prizes?
- What is Australia’s largest land-based carnivore?
See how ya go – answers are at the end of this article.
The Shoutout
I’ll wrap it up with a shoutout and welcome to Joel McGrath, who has formally joined the permanent writing team. If you like Joel’s work, remember that he’s got a YouTube channel too:
https://www.youtube.com/@MeasuredGaming
Measured are known for their fun and competitive batreps: short format, no messing around and kinda NSFW. I love ’em.
Something I know Joel has in the pipeline is Talkback Radio-style live batreps. A live audience giving the guys shit, and copping a bit back – it’s gonna be a blast. Can’t wait.
Quiz Answers
- Three
- A band of the earth near the equator that often features low winds
- Scotland and England
- Marie Curie
- The dingo
If you’d like to help us continue our work, we’d love to have your support. All Patreon Tiers include Discord access, exclusive articles and regular contests. Our Tiers are priced to be within everyone’s reach, so please click here to join us today!
Plastic Craic 