Finally!

It took about 5 months longer than I planned on, but the first set of 6 2'x2' terrain boards for my Faux Fulda  project are finally done.  In hind sight it was probably rather foolish (or stupid) to take on something of this scope for my first attempt at terrain boards.  Oh well, live and learn; That which does not kill us makes us stronger; etc. etc.  But the first 6 are finally done!

I'm hesitant to post the photos, they really do look better in the flesh.  And the fact that the two folding tables that are my gaming table aren't exactly level makes the areas where the tiles join look a lot worse. Actually, the section of the house that the gaming room is in is 274 years old, so nothing is level.  That's my excuse and I'm sticking with it.  I will go back and reflock the edges of the boards, which will hopefully make them less obvious.

Next up, I need to build the boards going South down to Bad Hersfeld.

But, enough with the words, below are the photos.

North is at the top, Bebra is the larg built up area at the lower left. The scale is 1 inch = 100 meters.  The cement looking areas are the footprint of the towns, the buildings are just to indicate it's a built up area.  Roads were made using AK Terrains Asphalt paste.  Rail Road embankments were built up with Grout and 24 gauge wire glued down, somewhat, in parallel. 

View from a spy satellite 

A Battalion of T-80 tanks advances west towards Solz.

On a side note, I tried to order some more spaceships for Project Z, only to discover that Shapeways apparently has gone out of business.  That's probably old news to most of you but it caught me by surprise.

Enjoy the Holiday Season.  To everyone in the U.S., have a great Thanksgiving and eat lots of Turkey.

So much lead, so little time.

Trees, lots of trees

For my Faux Fulda project I need a lot of micro armor scale (6mm) trees.  Having the woods adequately represented is even more important at this scale, (I'm using 1" = 100 meters), as a lot of the ground detail gets lost and the heavy woods help convey the importance of attacking through the Fulda Gap.

You can buy trees that are supposedly made for this scale, and I have som but I'm not overly happy with how they look and they aren't exactly cheap either. Given the number of trees I'm going to need I decided to tax my limited modeling skills and make my own.  I made some pine trees using the quick tutorial over on Little Wars TV, and while they look ok, it wasn't really the look I was going for.  

So, throwing common sense to the wind, I took stroll on the front deck of the house after a breezy day and started collecting supplies.  Below is how I went about making these, I probably still need between 50 to 100 more.

I hate trying to paint tree trunks, so I opted for the easy route, and started picking up twigs from my yard.  Finding the right look and diameter took a while.

Ok, so that takes care of the tree trunks.

For the leaves I used Reindeer Moss.  I thought about using tree moss from the property, (we always have some laying around after heavy rain/wind) but wasn't sure how it would age.  So I spent $10 on a couple of bags of moss.

Just waiting to be combined into a proper tree.

The first 40 or so trees that I made were done using Elmer's Glue/white glue on the 'trunk' to attach the leaves.  

That was more of a hassle than I wanted to deal with so I went to a hot glue gun.  I've never been a big fan of hot glue guns, probably because I always used the cheap ones you can buy for under $5.  It worked, but it was messy.  I eventually upgraded and spent $12 on a variable temperature hot glue gun with a rather fine nozzle that allows some precision when applying the glue.

Apply a ring of glue to the top of the 'tree trunk', apply the 'leaves' and you end up with this.

All it needs now is a base.

Again, on the basing I took the cheap approach.  I originally thought about ordering some round bases from Litko, but then I started figuring out what that would cost and decided I could come up with something that would work.  

My solution was good old fashioned air drying modeling clay.  I used the cap from a dried out magic marker, applied a little pressure to flatten the base a little (there is still an issue with the bases curling as they dry) and used a paint brush handle to make an indentation for the tree trunk/hot glue.

Once dry, I painted them with a sort of earthy looking light brown craft paint and fired up the hot glue gun again.  

Which resulted in this.

To give you an idea of the scale, here's a picture of a tank under the tree.

And to finish the tree, paint on a little water downed glue to the base and flock.

And there you go, simple, cheap trees.  

Now I just need to repeat another 150 or so times.

Take care.

So much lead, so little time.

Odds and Ends

 Continuing with catching up on what was going on during my hiatus from posting, below are some figures to add a little flavor to the 25mm games.  

If I recall, all of these figures are from Reaper Miniatures.  While they are D&D focused, I think if I ever get back to the Outlandishan Chronicles, they'll fit in well.

First up, a young Austrian Barbarian most people of my generation may recognize.  I actually think they did a good job with this sculpt.

Next up, the brave hero will need to have some women to rescue, or seduce.

And this wholesome young milk maid and randy tavern girl may just fill the bill.

And speaking of Taverns, you need someone to tap the keg, serve the beer,  and wash the mugs, (or at least wipe them out with a dirty rag)

And finally a couple of brainy types vs. the normal brawny types.  They look rather like a scribe (or accountant) and scholar or something along those lines.

I also completed the bulk of the 27th Motorized Rifle Division, just another 40 or so infantry bases to complete. Fortunately I procrastinated so long I was able to catch the GHQ 15% off sale (which ends tomorrow, so get your orders in now).  I hate 6mm infantry.

Next up, now that the first 6 of the 'Faux Fulda' terrain boards are done, I need to put all 6 of them together and hope they aren't too embarrassingly amateurish.  But first I still need to make more trees.

So much lead, so little time.

Feeling Spacey

In keeping with the flight theme, next up Space... the final... well you know.

As the 2 or 3 of you who follow these eratic ramblings may recall I've mentioned 'Project Z' a couple of times, which is my ongoing effort at a space campaign.  I've posted some attempts at finding ships with the right feel for what I want, but haven't really found anything that felt right.  Although now, maybe I just go old school and repurpose the ship designs most of my generation of wargammers recognize.

A couple of months go while digging through some boxes I stumbled on my StafFleet Battles stuff from the mid thru late 1980's.  Sadly, none of the Federation Heavy Cruisers had survived their time in mothballs (The pylons for the Nacelles were super thin, super soft lead and had needed repaired several times before they went into mothballs, and they had all broken again over time and multiple moves.  The Klingons, on the other hand, while all the warp engines had snapped off, a few were recoverable, but the ones I could recover were all for the same side of the ship, so no joy there.

In addition to the sad state of the mothballed fleet mentioned above, I also discovered a couple of unopened blister packs from the 80's.  So, off to the the Amarillo Design. Bureau store on shap ways and soon most of the below arrived.  (fun fact, in the late 80's and early 90's, for a while I was traveling to Amarillo fairly regularly on business.  The hobby shop whose name I don't recall, was located in a mostly abandoned shopping mall but I was able to get to meet most of the ADB folks).

All figures are Amarillo Design Bureau (Shaeways store), except for 1 Heavy Cruiser and the stations.

We start with a couple of Frigates

And a slightly different view

Followed by Destroyers

And a slightly different view of the Destroyers

The local star must. have sent out a flare at the time this image was captured resulting in the poor quality.

And some New Light Cruisers

And finally, the fan favorite Heavy Cruisers.  The one in the center is the one made from lead instead of all this 3D printed stuff  as I recall.  (I'm sure 3D printing is just a phase [like cassette tapes vs. 8-track tapes] and soon everything will be back to lead, right?  ... right?) 

The local system's star seems to have entered an active phase and washed out these images as well.  The Science Officer should have caught that before allowing the images to be published. 

Support ships, in this case a New Light Cruiser Scout and and Destroyer Scout.

Support bases, I hear the one on the left has implemented a no-tribble policy.  These are lead that I've had for at least a decade and a half, maybe 3 decades.

And the ships out on a major fleet maneuver

My hope is this diversion in painting a couple of months ago will rekindle the energy on Project Z.  A while back Joe and I had a good discussion about how truly massive the Universe is and how easy it would be to have multiple genres in the same universe, maybe I could build on that thought as well. Or maybe I'll end up going a completely different direction.

Hopefully I can get back to painting proper lead/pewter figures soon.

So much lead (and now plastic) and so little time.

Blood Red Skies - Luftwaffe

 Hot on the tails of the RAF, next up we have German contingent for the Battle of Britain.

At some point I'll go more into the campaign system and the record keeping.

First up, a Squadron of FW-190's.

The first Squadron of Bf-109's

The second Squadron of Bf-109's

A Squadron of BF-110's.  Hopefully they do better on the table top than in real life

A flight of HE-111 bombers

And here they are all formed up and ready to cross the channel and cause some mayhem.

Knowing that I'll be playing this campaign this winter is a bright side to the fast approaching snow fall.  I hope everyone has had a great summer so far and continues to have a good one.

So much lead, (and now plastic) and so little time.

Blood Red Skies - RAF

Wow, it has been a while.  But just because I've been silent doesn't mean I haven't been busy - or at least had some accomplishments.  After all it is finally summer up here in Vacation Land, so not a lot time of hobby activities, that's what the 8 months of winter are for - LOL.

The first set of the terrain boards for the Faux Fulda Project (debacle? train wreck?) are done.  More that in a later post, there were some positives, some disappointments but it was probably a little overly ambitious for the first attempt a terrain boards.  The painting of vehicles and troops is coming along nicely, but I really hate painting micro armor  infantry.  

On to something more upbeat.  

In the last post all of those months ago I mentioned Blood Red Skies.  The Wing Commander book includes Solo play guidelines as well as a nice Battle of Britain campaign (a little heavy on record keeping but that may get tweaked a bit).  So, with an eye towards a winter solo campaign, figures were ordered and received and pigment applied.  

First up, the RAF forces.  I still need to order more propellers from Litko one of these days.

A squadron of Hawker Hurricane's

The first squadron of Spitfires

Second squadron of Spitfires

A squadron of Lend-Lease P-40's

A squadron of Mosquito's.  While technically they entered service too late for the Battle Britain, I'm showing them here since they're painted.

And finally, all of the RAF forces that will be available for this winters Battle of Britain campaign.

That's it for now.  Enjoy what's left of the summer, snow starts to fall in about a 2 months.

So much lead (and apparently plastic too) and so little time.

I Ain’t Dead… Yet

Wow, it has been a long time since the last post.  No excuses, I just haven’t been in the mood.  I know, I suck.

 

That doesn’t mean there hasn’t been some (slow) progress on a couple of fronts.  Much is currently in progress, and some of it may actually see completion.  Most notably The 27^th Guards Motorized Rifle Division Circa 1985 is nearly complete – except for all that pesky 6mm infantry.  I hate painting micro armor infantry.  Terrain is currently being worked on, slowly.  3 Squadron’s of the 11^th Armored Cavalry Regiment are completed, and a whole bunch more U.S. M-60A3 Armored Battalions are in the works.

 

Joe and the Friday afternoon guys introduced me to Blood Red Skies, so there may be a solo battle of Britain in the future.

 

I picked up several more old school space ships, (printed, not casted lead so maybe the fiddly bits wont’ warp, bend, break like the 1980’s lead ones did) so the sci-fi project may pick up steam if the motivation hits me.

 

And since I think there is a rule that all blog post must have a photo, here’s a teaser of a small part of the terrain project, definitely a work in progress at this point. It probably would have been smarter to start with something a little smaller for the first real terrain project. 

Assuming I ever finish and it doesn’t look like $#it, I’ll do a post on the build process.

 

Summer is almost here!

Take care and stay safe

 

So much lead, so little time

WPBC Reports: Soviet's Escalate Tensions

 

The Earl Pigs Out

 Return with us now to those golden days of yesteryear in the world of Outlandisha, for our next installment in the Outlandishian Chronicles.

 

I know it’s been a long time since we visited this land, so a quick summary follows.  Our two main protagonists are Count William and the Earl D’Greer.  They hated each other for decades and fought minor border scrimmages, recently the Count launched an all out assault that ended up with him controlling about ½ of the Earl’s lands.  The Earl, despite his bluster has not managed a single battlefield victory, and realizing that he probably won’t, and having a hankering for a hunk of ham, has decided to launch a raid on one of the Count’s forward supply locations.  

 

_________________

 

I don’t have a go-to set of skirmish rules, so I’m going with D&D fifth edition, modified of course.  They should work well for this era, I hope.

 

The cast of characters

 

The Earl’s raiders, mostly scum and bandits are commanded by Captain A. Noid, a loyal lacky of the Earl, who was tasked with this mission as punishment for his less than stellar performance on the battlefield.

As always click to enlarge on all the photos

From left to right, Captain A. Noid, Titus (bandit captain), Grogg, Easie, Melvon, Alvon

 

The Count’s defenders are command by Captain TBD supported a mix of town guards, and soldiers who committed some infraction to warrant such a lowly assignment, sheep herders and laborers, a much more fragile group.

 

From left to right, Captain TBD, Private Hardy, Private Arnolt, Sgt. Doh-Nuts, Constable BoogerHook, Constable Laurel, Cooper the laborer, Farmer John, Farmer Stu.

While it might not look like it, it's actually night time with significantly reduced visibility.  And with that, let the foolishness begin.

_________

Slowly the raiders advanced, they knew the general location of the supply cache, and the stench from the pigs and sheep helped guide them through the dark.  As the smell grew stronger each member of the party began to see shapes of guards, sheep, and wagons appear out of the gloom.  Meanwhile, the guards were apparently even more inept than expected as not a one of them noticed the raiders approach.

Vultures eye view

"Surely it can't be this easy", mused Captain A. Noid

The Raiders advanced in a rush on their unsuspecting victims.

Titus moved to the Wagon intending to attack the laborer but as he advanced Arnolt came into view and he opted to fire an arrow at him, to no effect, the darkness throwing off his range estimate.  Melvon advanced on Boogerhook, swinging her blade and doing no damage. Grogg charged forward and took cover behind one of the sheep.  Easie advanced on Cooper, swinging her Great Ax and doing considerable damage.  Alvon advanced on Boogerhook and also missed.  And Finally Captain A. Noid (he rolled the lowest initiatve roll of all the raiders) moved into contact with Cooper and finished him off with his Great Sword.  First Blood to the Raiders, but not nearly as bloody as it should have been.  Now that the element of surprised is lost, the defenders will be able to fight back in the next round.

This one probably needs enlarged, rather busy

For the second round all parties can act.

Captain TBD of the defenders advances cautiously.  Laurel of the defenders, hearing the screams of his friend Boogerhook adanvaces toward his location, taking cover behind the pack mule.  Titus of the raiders fires and arrow and hits Arnolt.  Hardy (defender) advances on Captain A. Noid striking with his spear and hitting (rolled a natural 20 – critical hit).  Arnolt  (defender) fires an arrow at Titus, missing.  Melvon (raider) swings at Boogerhook and misses, again.  Grogg (raider) advances towards Laurel and hits.  Easie (raider) moves around Titus to attack Hardy, and misses.  Sargent Doh-Nuts (defender)  advances towards Easie, swings his hammer and hits.  Farmer Stu (defender) advances to defend the honor of his sheep.  Alvon (raider) takes a swing at Boogerhook and misses (that’s the 4^th time someone has missed boogerhook).  Captain A. Noid (raider) swings at Hardy and hits, Hardy isn’t looking to hardy at the moment.  Farmer John (defender) rushes to the pig stye.  And lastly Boogerhook (defender) takes a swipe at Alvon and hits.

Still only one casualty so far, but a couple of defenders are looking rough.

The Earl's raiders get closer to the live stock and sheep are getting really nervous, they've heard stories about the Earl.

Captain TBD (defender) moves into contact with Easie and hits with his great sword.  Laurel (defender) hits Grogg.  Titus (raider) drops his bow and charges into contact with Arnolt, hitting him with his sword.  Hardy (defender) stabs at Easie with his spear, finishing her off.  Arnolt (defender) draws his sword and engages Titus, hitting him.  Melvon (raider) swings at Boogerhook and misses.  Grogg (raider) swings at Laurel and hits.  Sargeant Doh-Nuts (defender) moves into contact with Captain A. Noid and hits with his hammer.  Farmer Stu (defender) moves into contact with Titus and stabs him with his pitchfork.  Alvon (raider) swings at Boogerhook and actually hits! (Boogerhook had 5 attacks miss him before taking his first hit, which due to poor die rolling was little more than a scratch).  Captain A. Noid (raider) swings at Hardy and misses.  Farmer John (defender) moves into contact with Grogg and misses.  Boogerhook (defender) attacks Alvon and hits.

Everyone is finally engaged at this point.  Let the slug fest continue.

Captain TBD (defender) moved into contact with Captain A. Noid and whiffed, nearly dropping his sword as he missed by a mile.  Laurel (defender) thrust his spear at Grogg, dropping him to his knees.  Titus (raider) swings at Farmer Stu and his pesky pitchfork and connects, as Farmer Stu looks a little wobbly.  Hardy (defender) strikes at Captain A. Noid and misses. Arnolt (defender) swings at Titus and connects.  Melvon (Raider) swings at Boogerhook and misses (again).  Sargeant Doh-Nuts (defender) swings his hammer at Captain A. Noid which harmlessly passes through open air.  Farmer Stu’s (defender) pitchf ork clatters harmlessly against Titus’ armor.  Buggerhook (defender) misses Alvon by a country mile.

Captain TBD (defender) again swings at Captain A. Noid, finally getting a fairly solid hit.  Laurel (defender) moves into contact with Alvon to try to take the pressure off Boogerhook, missing badly.   Titus (raider) hits Arnolt, finally finishing him off.  Hardy (defender) swings and misses Captain A. Noid.  Melvon (raider) hits Boogerhook whose knees start to buckle but then seem to find the strength to remain upright.  Sergeant Doh-Nuts takes another swing at Captain A. Noid, and misses again.  Farmer Stu (defender) and his trust pitch fork land a hit on Titus.  Alvon (raider) again fails to hit Boogerhook.  Captain TBD (raider) attempts to finish off Hardy and misses.  Farmer John (defender) moves into contact with Malvon and hits.  Boogerhook (defender) swings at Malvon and hits, finishing her off.

Captain TBD (defender) hits Captain A. Noid.  Laurel (defender) finishes off Alvon.  Titus (raider) finally finishes off pesky farmer Stu and realizing the he and Captain A. Noid are the only surviving raiders he stealthily moves to hid amongst the crates of supplies.  Hardy (defender) gets a solid spear strike and Captain A. Noid.  Sergeant Doh-Nuts misses, again.  Captain A. Noid (raider) finishes off Hardy, breaking the encirclement and giving him an escape route to ‘run away’- as he moved out of combat both Sergeant Doh-Nuts and Captain TBD had opportunity attacks, which they both failed.  Farmer John and Boogerhook were busy going through the pockets of the deceased Alvon and Malvon.

If you enlarge this you can see Captain A. Noid running between the crates and the tree, while Titus hides among the crates.

Captain A. Noid continued to run off as fast as his plate armor would allow him to.  The surviving defenders all gave pursuit.  Titus managed to remain undetected as the defenders ran past him (he rolled a natural 20).

 

Once Titus was reasonably sure it was safe, he crept out of his hiding spot and began loading up the wagon with livestock and secured the pack mule.  Surely the Earl will reward him well for actually having success?

 

Titus with his spoils set out before the defenders return 

Well, the Earl’s forces pulled it off.  I actually didn’t expect it to be that close.  While the defenders had more troops, most of them only had 6 -9 Hit points, so either Captain A. Noid, or Titus should have been able to dispatch them with just one hit… but not when they rolled 1’s and 2’s for damage. The raiders had the advantage in hit points, with Titus alone having 50 and Captain A. Noid having 47.   I think the inability of either Melvon or Alvon to hit Boogerhook in the first 2 rounds also played a big part in slowing down the raiders and making this much closer than I expected. Anyway, it was a nice diversion, and gave me an excuse to actually use the pigsty. 

Maybe the Earl has found a new tactic?  He is at heart, a thief anyway.

So much lead, so little time.