A hill is born

Summer Time, Terrain Time

     Summer finally hit, and its moving along, so I started doing things in the garage.  Spraying primer and building terrain becomes an option for modelling time.  I've been thinking of hills and terrain features besides the 1" stepped hills, usually one or two levels high.  If you watch the spaghetti westerns there is always some elevated position where a shooter, sometimes with a really long brass scope, takes a shot; but those are almost never in wargames.  Obviously space is an issue and as I think about it most rules don't have anything to cover really high terrain (some do, usually skirmish games).  The topic of more realistic terrain came up on a Meeples & Miniatures podcast and I agree that more "realistic" terrain is needed.  I can contribute to the cause!  The other driving force for my building this year is that my carefully horded pile of styrofoam is really in the way in the garage and either needs to be used or tossed.  Now, since I didn't pay anything for the foam other than the item it protected I'm loathe to throw it out.  The time came to either build with it or toss it, so building it is!  I also cut up my last 4x8 piece of mdf into big blobs with which to base my terra forming projects.  

     The first piece I worked on is a sloping, wide hill that looks like a plateau that has 3/4 of it eroded away.  I have to be careful to make game terrain "gamey" instead of "modelly", it needs some flat spaces for figures and mysterious steps to give the small creatures a way to get to other parts of the hill.  I've made a few buildings that have too much rubble now that I look at them so I want to find a nice middle ground.  These uber-rubble buildings look ok but not really flat enough for groups of minis.  I want to avoid terrain where it looks like some cleaning crew came by and got rid of all that pesky rubble.  So what did I create?  Here's the final product.

The left side

View from the front, facing the enemy

The "working side"

     And here's how I got there. I started with one of the mdf blobs that I prepped by applying stain to both sides.  Once it has dried I figured the piece would be heavier than most pieces I have and I didn't want it to flex in the middle and split the piece like a 6.5 earthquake.  I grabbed some scrap 1x2 and glued two pieces along the length.  I used Gorilla Glue adhesive that comes in the caulk-like tube.

Support glued on

     I built up the hill with styrofoam.  Since this is going to get plaster over it, the regular loose foam is ok, I didn't use any pink insulation foam on this project.The pieces were glued down with Modge Podge.  The foam that would cover my strengthening strips had a channel cut so the foam would be flat.

The base of styrofoam

The glue of choice

     Here are some in-progress shots.  These shots were taken before the painting began but after construction.  First I trimmed it and took off sharp corners with hot wire cutters.  The basic shape stayed the same but I tried to eliminate obvious 90 degree areas. Once that was done I did covered the foam with Woodland Scenics (used for almost all of the construction, WS from now on) plaster sheet.  Once that dried I started gluing on rocks that I cast up from lightweight hydrocal and filled any gaps with WS casting plaster.  A coating of WS Shaper Plaster was applied to the bare plaster sheet to cover the grid pattern of the sheets and in between rock sections to soooth gaps.  The gray in the pictures is "anti-skid" paint (paint with sand in it).  It gives a nice scale sand look and is my go to product for texturing buildings.  It was applied to flat spaces so I would end up with a rock formation with dirt for the horizontal surfaces.  It saves me from having to use sand or grit for the whole project, it was only needed to touch up areas or build spots up.

    After painting, using house paint from Menard's (hardware store), I put some vegetation around and a bit of flocking for grass growth.   The Modge Podge bottle gives a bit of scale to the hill. 

Quite a height to fall from 

The business end.  The dino is an Acheson 28mm spinosaurus, a Reaper ogre, and some Foundry African figures

A native scans for invaders.

     The piece is about the size of a small kitchen table, not too heavy, and taller than most terrain I've seen or made.  Three of these pieces would fill a 9x5 table pretty well.  It hasn't been bloodied in battle, yet though so it may be a dominating piece of ground. I play and plan for skirmish games usually so having figures separated from each other isn't a big deal.  In a game with movement trays it would have limited places to put troops though.  Because figures could be much higher (a real 12"+) than those on the ground, range could be an issue if ranges are short.  If guns shoot 12" you may not even be able to target someone below!   A couple of rules I like won't have this problem since they have some significant ranges for shooting (A Corner of Hell, Spectre Ops, and others).  It'll make a nice spot for snipers though and take their targets out of the short range band.  

     So overall I'm happy with it.  I'm sure it cost me a good amount of money but to have a unique piece that changes the battlefield is worth it.  Building it also gave me the chance to work with materials I haven't used or had a lot of experience with.  I look at each piece of terrain as a learning process.  Mistakes can be learned from and better ways of doing things found.  I think I'll end up buying some bulk hydrocal from a building supply house and I may have found a good source of big blocks of styrofoam (stay tuned for that).  

To space!!

Klingons off the port bow!

     I'll admit I really like Star Fleet Battles.  That may get me committed in some states but I bought it about a year after it came out and my role-playing buddies joined me in littering space with hulks of starships, it didn't hurt that we were huge Star Trek fans (and I still am).  The original series had enough ship battles to fill my young wargaming mind with plans to command cruisers along the neutral zone.  At that time we just played with the counters and paper mat, I don't think we even knew where we could get little ships but that would have been the ultimate in toy-game-friend time.  We had a couple of expansions but never went beyond that or got into tournament gaming.  Over the years we moved to other games and SFB started it's growth of rules, exceptions, and errata.  I did purchase the Captain's edition and had a 3-ring binder of rules, which wasn't played (no surprise).  Fast forward to 2016 and during one of our RPG sessions we discussed Federation Commander.  It certainly looked nice and now I had the means and ability to buy ships!  So I got it and a couple of the boxes of ships, Klingon and Federation, from ADB.  As I read through the FC rules they sounded a lot like SFB, only  prettier, so I broke out my old SFB, it's one game that I won't get rid of and has gone to Japan and back, and I started reading.  There are some differences between the two but not so much that if you played SFB you'd be confused by FC.  

     It's 2018 now and other projects had pushed my Starfleet plans to the back burner but I finally got down and started painting.  I have to paint up some minis before I play just because I have them.  I could play with the counters and have a perfectly fine game but to me the minis are the chum that brings in the sharks.  It's easier to picture the ships moving in to attack while the tense Star Trek music plays.  So what was I painting?  

The battle force forms up

The left wing

Lead ship

I like these flight stands

      So now for the gritty details. 

         -flight stands are from Corsec engineering.  They use more powerful magnets and have a variety of styles, base sizes, and add-ons (on the left is a 2 dice dock, middle has a numnber dial).  I use these stands for any game that needs something to fly: WW2, space, modern jets, UFOs.

         -  The colored things are those loom rubber bands that were the craze about 8 years ago.  They are just looped until they don't fall down, usually 2 loops, and they allow me to quickly change colors as needed for identification.  Yes they can be seen as colored things flying along but I feel it's a nice trade off for playability and they're not that distracting.

         - The star mat is from Hotz.  There are mixed feelings regarding shipping and communications but I got this anyway and it's nice.  The hexes are 2".  

         - I put magnets in all my planes and these ships are no exception.  I get mine from KJ Magnetics who make a wide variety of sizes and shapes.  Perfect if you have to magnetize some small thin planes.  I've used them on my mi-24's in 1/300 scale.  What tools I use are pretty basic.  I bought a variable speed cordless drill ($20), a pack of bits, along with a pin vise and bits.  I drill in slowly, like milling, and check my depth frequently.  Some would cringe seeing that bit cutting its way in but I want my magnets secure, I've had glued-on magnets pop off before.  I've got some pretty sizable planes and drilling helps to keep them tight on the stand, I use epoxy to glue them.

        -Decals.  Yes I put decals on a lot of stuff, including 1/300 armor and 1/2400 ships.   I was a modeler before a gamer and things look better with decals, whether or not they are readable from 12" away.  So I searched and found some at JupiterIVdecals.  He prints to order so they are always in stock.  He also answers emails so if you have a question just ask.  I picked up Federation and Klingon sheets.  They went on without trouble and I hit them with a little Solvaset.  To me they really make them ships instead of just play pieces.  I don't speak or read Klingon but each ship has a different name.

Where's the beef, I mean targets?

    A lot of space game scenarios can be gleaned from actual or planned earth history.  One such idea is the convoy.  You can make the cargo as important as you want so you can justify any ship being in the escort group.  Likewise you can use  any  ship in the attacker role.  Want a "submarine" sneak attack or a full bore assault by capital ships?  Along with the SFB ships I purchased I got some freighters.  I don't recall many from the original series so colors and markings were my choice.  Most of the warships are going to be pretty bland (I'm focusing on Kilingon, Federation, and Kzinti) so I decided to use some of those often neglected colors in my paint racks.  

A small group on Corsec stands again

Topside

     For these I painted their base color and then did the structure with a mix of gunmetal and steel.  Being bright and pretty unexciting I spiced them up with decals.  BAM!  These particular ones came from the spares box, mostly an old helicopter kit but also some armor markings as well.  I didn't do anything too wacky so they can be race generic but I can easily see some marked with current company logos.  Maybe a giant load of Starbucks for some weary crystal miners?  Games should be fun and sometimes those silly details add a nice vibe to the game.  

Kirk's a no-show?

     Ok, so you've noticed by now there aren't any Federation ships on this page.  Yep, they aren't done.  They are being worked on though.  I had to do a bit of filling but the frigates and early light cruisers are primed.  They also got the magnet treatment.  Once the Federation gets done it'll be time to put on games, of both SFB and FC.  It's sometimes hard to get people to play SFB if they've only ever seen or heard of the later versions, but playing the original box game version isn't bad and it's under 40 pages.  The math required isn't tough, adding and subtracting, so I'm not sure where people think they are going to be doing accounting or stats.  So future updates will have some space clashes to report.

Little Wars 2018 pt1 (in progress)

Update on Little Wars 2018

     

     Here's an update on Little Wars 2018, from the early  morning hours of day 3. Registration was a breeze, we pre-registered, and got a nice goody bag!

A 15mm Tiger, a con die, 3 28mm figures, a 1/300 biplane, and a bottle of the new Badger primer!

 Thursday night we, my daughter and I, played in a game of Test of Honor with another couple.  The game is made by Warlord Games and is interesting.  You have hero types and troopies, which are based in groups of 3.   You get a round sabot base so you can remove the figures individually.  The really nice thing about the game was that it's got an intuitive dice mechanic and you only need the 1 reference sheet (1 sided) and your roster, which is just single line entries so that too should be less than a sheet.  The dice are like X-Wing dice in how they work.  They are 6-sided and have either an "X" (that's bad), 1 or 2 swords (that's good), or blank.  To succeed you need 3 swords in any combination with 5 swords being a critical result.  If you get more X than swords it's a fumble, which you can fumble on various portions (hit, damage, dodge, etc).  We understood the rules after a couple of turns and were able to play without much GM handholding.  A big thanks to GM Plosch (can't remember names, especially first ones) for putting on the game and showing us how to play.  I was foolishly mulling the idea of getting Samurai before I came down since I already have some other rulesets, but now I'm definitely  getting some here.

    Day 2 was our first full play day.  I ran my "Aliens in Siberia" game, which I don't have pics of!  I was worried about having enough players, set up, and keeping the game running smoothly to do it but I did see others taking photos so hopefully some of those surface on the interwebs.  Clare played in 2 sessions of Axis & Allies.  The GM had a custom vinyl map that was at least 6 feet in length.  It's an ongoing game through the Con so I took over from a previous player and had to do some changes to my forces.  Having a GM helped the game run smoothly (counting money, figuring out combats, etc).  I played in the second session.  The last game of the night was an X-Wing trench run game which Clare played in.  It was played on a 3d printed Deathstar surface with the trench handled by being lower and the upper sides supported by stands.  The rebels were able to get some Y-wings down in the trench and successfully launch torpedoes.  One side note: Lord Vader got whacked by his own turrets!  Some punishment cell time will be in order.  

     Last but not least I had to hit the vendor hall (2 rooms this year) and make a first strike on my buy list, all from Armorcast (one of my favorite terrain companies)

Decals!  No sloppy shield painting for me.

A Scotia ATAC apc that I've been looking at for years.  You'll be able to get Scotia stateside through Armorcast soon.

Some "can-topper" terrain for the sci-fi board.  You supply the soda can and Armorcast supplies the base and a topper to make it less "can like".

     We've been dining at Harry Caray's Steakhouse here at the Westin and as usual it was excellent!  We had burgers Thursday night, you get to build your own or have Harry's burger (which is what I had).  On the second night it was a burger for Clare and I had Cavatappi with Italian Sausage, very good.  They aren't the cheapest place to eat, there's a McDs nearby but for ease of getting to and the menu options we like to dine there when we're down here.  The waitstaff was great, attentive and cheerful.  

    One last set of pics.  Someone put on a HUGE Lord of the Rings game and we got some pics before it started.  I'm sure it too will be on the web in photos.

Little Wars 2018

Little Wars 2018

     Little Wars 2018 is here and I'm running a game again this year.  This year's game is kaiju fighting again but with alien interference.  The sides will be the humans and the "good" kaiju against the aliens and their offworldly alien pals.  To do this I had to build a mothership to lead the invaders along with some objectives.  Here's the final mothership in all it's glory.  The stand is a dowel in a small trophy stand from Michael's, weighted down with large washers.  It's removable for transport.  I thought about lights for it but it would have added time that I really didn't have.

Here's the creation of the sauser.  It was created from a bundt cake container and a noodle container, topped with a spray can top.  

 I gathered a bunch of stuff from the bits box and started testing what might fit and what did I have enough of.

 To keep the ship from being too flexible I filled it with chunks of styrofoam that were hot glued together.

 On the bottom of the saucer I glued some wooden cones I got from Michael's.   In the center I had a spare nozzle from a rocket kit and I drilled a hole through it to mount it. 

     For the aliens I made a "mystery orb" that radiates some strange energy, which also happens to allow trees to grow very large....  

  It's a POM bottle cut down and glued to an mdf base.  I got my craft skills going and added tissue paper, red and blue glitter, and some craft store rocks.  What isn't visible is that the bottom of the orb is hollow and that allows me to put in 4 battery operated tea lights which add a nice glow.  So I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the effect works and inspires others to try their hand at creating items for their games.   

Another painting challenge

A Spring Painting Challenge:

     We had another painting challenge, this time from March 15 to April 15.  I managed to squeak out some items but I also had to put time to a Little Wars convention game that I am running.  It required painting, modelling, and getting the regular game admin stuff done.  Let's see what I was able to complete.  First up are some 1/300 planes, mostly for "Check Your 6!".  I finished a Betty, 2 Vals, and 6 Hamps.  The green foam is something I'm playing with to make a decent plane transportation method.

The Russian Village Kickstarter came in so I had to start moving on some of the terrain pieces I have sitting around.  First up i sone of the Russian houses.  The roof was done using the towel method.  Underneath is the kit supplied roof.  

 This is the Russian blacksmith building.  I haven't painted the accessories that go with this but they'll definitely add character to the base.

 A Hudson & Allen dark age house.  This is a one-piece, lightweight resin casting (like the Blue Moon buildings).  It has nice detail and paints up quickly.

 Here's another Russian village building.  The same roofing was done.  The buildings have nice detail and they go together well.  I went with blue accents to help ID the building, "I'm shooting at the blue building."

 This is a Gamecraft minis compound in 28mm.  The changes I made were to make the roof sections removable by placing corner reinforcements underneath, trimming off the glue tabs, and filling the slots in the walls.  If the kit is built as plannned it will be a really solid piece but you wont be able to access the interiors.  I also made doors, which aren't included, but it wasn't a big deal.  The walls were textured with non-skid paint and then drybrushed.  I feel it gives a nice texture but not a heavy stucco look.

Spectre Runthrough

A test game of Spectre Ops

     I'm a big fan of modern/near future games and Spectre miniatures has a set of rules, Spectre Ops, that we gave a test play of.  The Spectre minis are comparable to Eureka and Empress.  The poses and various factions are great and would be a great addition to anyone's modern forces.  Very fine casting (yep, separate NVG to glue!) and well thought out equipment loads.  The Spectre Ops rules feel like a mix of Skirmish Sangin and Black Ops, enough detail for rivet counters but not so much that large force battles bog down to a stop.  Weapons are grouped by class and the thing I like most, ranges are long and damage is lethal.  Being hit is a bad thing, no hit points to absorb point-blank shotgun hits.  The game we played had two SF teams infiltrating a militia camp in Lbotu (my African imag-nation).  Their goals were to kill/capture the militia leader, rescue a doctor and nurse, rescue the chief's daughter from the guerrillas, and kill the guerrilla leader.  This was not meant to be a balanced game for points and it was unlikely the SF groups would get all the objectives, it was just  to see how the rules work, what we didn't understand, and get an overall feel for it.  Terrain is important in the game since ranges are long and when hit the effects are harsh.

  The board at the start.  The SF teams will come from the left and bottom.  The fur area is dense jungle and the Any area of scattered foliage is concealing terrain.

    One group of bad guys, guerrillas in the barracks.  They are unalert.

    Rebel army troops on stand-by near the supply dump.

   HVT in the form of a rebel leader, and bodyguarrds.

 The doc and his nurse, and militia overseer.  One SF team came in from the far left of the pic.

 HVT militia leader and local chief's daughter are in this 2-story house.  A gathering of militia troops are also present.

 Another view of the camp.

 A collection of tango casualties.  Sorry no in-game pics, too busy making sure we weren't doing something really wacky with the rules.  It is less than half of the total enemy force on the table.

     Some game notes:  high quality troops are better than low quality, and you'll notice it.  We played a narrative style game where I played the bad guys and Chuck & Bill played the SF teams.  I like this style play instead of point games as it allows for unknown tango reactions and hidden forces.  The tangos play as I've got it scripted in my head and "what would they really do", and I don't care if the SF team wins or not, just that we have fun.  With that said, I don't fudge dice or just walk into mg fire either, but if they are equipped with AK47's that's what they're getting, not restricted to a total point value.  Explosives can kill outright if you're in direct contact with them ("are hit") and also do damage to those in a radius.  The hit results are harsh compared to some games, lots of chances to be down and bleeding out.  Terrain therefore is vital to the game because of the range increments. and the hit results. That's not a problem for me since I like to make, and have a lot of terrain bits.  We didn't use snipers or have any fixed mg positions, we also didn't use IEDs or vehicles (those were just obstacles).  Overall I really like this game and the players had fun.  It plays quick but not in a way that it feels like just a roll off of dice.