Klotzen Panzer Battles: World War 2 Strategy That re-writes The History Books

Independent developer Maxim Games today announced their debut title, Klotzen! Panzer Battles, a World War 2 turn based operational strategy game utilizing a hex based map system, is available now on PC via Steam with a 10% launch discount available until May 4th. 

Offering up countless outcomes to real life historical military campaigns through different scenarios, strategy game fans will have the opportunity to completely rewrite the history books. Players and budding strategists will be able to affect historical timelines and outcomes, from initiating the allied invasion of Normandy a year earlier in 1943, or even executing successful assaults on London or the USA. Klotzen! Panzer Battles offers up 26 historical, and close to 40 counterfactual scenarios, along with the random campaign-changing events. Players can also customize their own historical scenarios with the games built in editor.

Fans of games like Panzer Corps 2 or Hearts of Iron IV will be very at home with the offering here. Maxim Games has been working on Klotzen Panzer Battles for the last 4 years and has paid close attention to what is already offered by competitor WW2 strategy games.

Where Klotzen looks to shake things up is in three key areas

1. Improved AI, which makes the game more challenging/fun.
   
2. Improved air power set of mechanics/rules, that brings the whole gameplay a lot closer to reality, drastically increases importance of air power and gives the player numerous interesting strategies unique to Klotzen.
3. Branching campaign, with lots of what-if(alt-history) scenarios and events that increases replayability a lot.

With so much content and variation to how missions and campaigns can be played this should keep armchair generals pretty busy, the fact that this also contains counter-factual missions like invading the USA or bringing forward the Normandy invasion of France to 1943 are fun 'what if' scenarios to play out.

The game features some nicely detailed units too which presents the game with a decently presented look and feel. With air, land and sea power available for players to diversify their tactics, and more than enough campaigns and resources to utilize, this looks like it could be a very viable alternative to other WW2 hex based strategy games that have launched in recent years including the likes of Unity of Command.

Klotzen Panzer Battles is currently available on Steam for PC (no linux version to speak of and not current Steam Deck tested) but you can find out more about the game here.

 

Star Wars Collectibles: Tie Fighter Pilot (ANH) by RWA Creations

At 52 I've hit that age where material objects, collected trinkets if you will  are gradually meaning less and less to me to possess, for some people these trinkets can take any form, it might be a framed sports jersey or a signed baseball, for others it might be a full size replica Terminator endoskeleton skull or vintage toys or first edition comics. I've no idea if this is because I'm at an age where I find myself cruising the suburbs of mortality, a countdown clock that I can clearly hear ticking louder than it did 10 years ago, or if its just my lack of interest generally in things that used to give me 'a buzz'.

I sold a prized gaming collectible in the form of a full size Blitz the League American football helmet to fund the purchase of a replica Star Wars Tie Fighter pilot helmet. I could have invested the money into my pension (yawn) or bought some shares or done something else uniquely boring with it, so after careful consideration I decided to say screw all that, I'm making one last stupidly daft purchase in my adult life and it shall be something without any kind of function whatsoever, other than to make me blissfully happy for a short time until the feel good buzz wears off. Something I've not been for a good many years.

Did some hunting online and found a Welsh based kit builder by the name of Ross who runs RWA Creations. I've been a big of his work and he knows his stuff when it comes to building Stormtrooper armour and Tie Fighter helms. Additionally, I wanted a UK based builder with plenty of experience which would also keep shipping affordable.

I decided to keep it 'plain Jane', just a standard black one, its not a Backstabber design ( the one with the grey tears) or Jolly Roger squadron and its not an Inferno squadron one either, although I was tempted.

Backstabber Tie - note the grey tear lines running down the cheeks

I opted for a helmet fully built in acrylic capped for the extra shine and one with bubble lenses. I've always loved the imperial helmet designs, having acquired the Black Series Vader helmet and a Stormtrooper helmet from New Image Props a few years ago, the Tie Fighter Pilot finishes my trilogy nicely. Wait time for the helmet from RWA Creations was about 5 weeks and the cost was £210 / $275 delivered. Ross, the guy who runs RWA is super friendly, very approachable and I contacted him through email with what I was looking for.

RS Props Tie build

There are a few builders out there that do some very nice Tie helms, RS Prop Masters based in Stockport was also UK based but a bit rich for my blood at £359. Armory Shop does an awesome build of the Inferno helmet for $234 without shipping but comes from Russia and I really didn't want issues with customs etc, given the events in Ukraine. 

Galactic Armory Tie Pilot kit

Galactic Armory based in the USA does a very nice 3D print kit for $120 not including shipping but that's probably more suited for a true self made custom build so plenty of sanding and finishing required and I simply don't have the workbench to sort that.

Chris the Prop Guy Tie Helmet (Backstabber variant with cheek tears)

ChrisThePropGuy also does an awesome Tie helm and the fit and finish on his Etsy store does look one of the better ones you can get, his Backstabber variant looks superb, he's based in Australia though. Finally the Andrew Ainsworth Tie comes in at a whopping £579 but states that it comes from original 1976 molds, therefore has screen lineage, that's fine if you want the essence of true screen lineage as collectors talking point, and while I'm a massive Star Wars fan I couldn't quite reach that budget.

Andrew Ainsworth Imperial Tie - (screen lineage from 1976 molds)

RWA Creations based in the UK produces a beautiful Acrylic Capped standard Tie Fighter helmet with bubble lenses, Here are some pics below of my newly acquired helm. Hoses will come later and I'm debating to add silver to the nose vents.

RWA Creations Tie fighter helmet in Acrylic Capped Vinyl

 Someone Paid $1.9 Million for Tom Cruises Porsche 928 From Risky Business

Sliding into 80's pop culture (and movie history) in nothing more than a pair of RayBansand underwear to the tune of Bob Segers 'Old Time Rock and Roll', Tom Cruise took us all on a wild weekend with the 1983 movie Risky Business. While both his parents were away Joel (Tom Cruise) upsets a pimp, rents his house out as a brothel and almost totals his dads Porsche. A key scene in the movie is Joel (Tom Cruise) taking his dads car out for a joyride to show off the cars capabilities and to impress girls - if you ever wondered where the tagline "Porsche, there is no substitute" came from, it was this movie. Joel's joyride comes to a watery halt when the car plummets through a wooden pier into lake Michigan after the cars handbrake is accidentally released with Joel trying to save the car in a blind panic as it rolls towards the pier.

The car in question was a 1979 Porsche 928, which was originally green but repainted gold for the movie (The primary driver car was a pre-1981 model, it didn't come with factory Platinum Metallic skin, and thus had to be repainted to match the other cars also used in the movie), 5 Porsche 928's appeared in the movie with a stripped out version 'stunt car' used for the pier lake dunking scene when it crashes through the pier into the lake. The car became a cultural icon from the movie, to such an extent that a fan by the name of Lewis Johnsen made a short film about his quest to locate the car in the 1990's titled The Quest For RB928.Since there were different variations of the car, he was keen to track down the primary car which had been supplied by Lee Klinger Porsche in Chicago which was the dealership that also appeared in the film.

The actual Porsche that Tom Cruise learned to drive with a manual gearbox was fully restored and recently went on sale at the famous Barrett Jackson auction house in Houston, Texas in Sept 2021 for $1.98 Million, setting a world record for that particular make and model. The car has a distinctive look, with large 'phone dial' alloys and bulbous back end, and then there's those distinctive pop up headlights.

There's some great detail about all the 928's used in the film over at the 928 Owners Club website here which also details more history about the actual car, how the long shooting days took its toll on the engine and the various owners that drove it.

Risky Business was one of Tom Cruises earlier films and was made for a budget of around $6.2 Million, it went on to box office success taking an impressive $63.5 Million domestically, the film also holds a distinctive "Certified Fresh" 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Not only that, its rumoured that the film also boosted the sales of RayBan Wayfarer sunglasses by 2000 %.