Shelldrake's Wargaming Blog

'Nam project - VC markers

2012-01-24T16:03:00.000+11:00

I knocked up something fairly simple this time - VC markers that I can use as 'blinds' during a game.

Rather than place figures on the table I will place one of these flags and when they are within spotting range I will determine what they are. The marker could be a lone VC, an RPG team, a whole section, or nothing at all.

Each one will move as if it is an actual VC until such time as they are spotted.

I can also use them as VC objective markers if the need should arise.

I was able to avail upon the use of a colour printer to help with this little build, and I cut cocktail sticks in half and glued them to bases I had made out of card board.

A bit of sand, paint and flock later and they were ready.

I have some NVA markers to make as well, but they will come later.

'Nam project - a rice paddy

2012-01-22T18:03:00.001+11:00

This time I have a rice paddy to share. It has taken the best part of four and a half days to finish, mainly because there were many things involved that needed to dry before I could go on to the next step.

First of all I cut a piece of MDF in to the size I wanted and glued foam card along the centre and the edges to form the walls for the rice paddy:

Next I used polly filler to fill in the gaps on the foam card (on top and on the sides) as well as slope the insides of the field so that it wasn't square:

After leaving it to dry over night I gave it a quick paint and cut some sections of synthetic turf into strips to see if it would do the job that I wanted:

Having decided I was 'on to a winner' with the synthetic turf I went ahead an marked out 1 cm spacings for the turf and proceeded to painstakingly cut out the turf strips and then trim them to the required size. This took a bit of time - the good part of a whole day (of spare time) to finish:

Once the glue had dried I painted the edges of the turf strips to reduce the amount of black that would show and then squeezed wood glue around each strip. When the glue dried it has a bit of a sheen to it that would help give it a 'water' look.

I applied several layers of the glue, and it took a fair while to dry, thus the main reason this build took so long:

Once it was dry I applied sand to the 'dry ground' parts on top and on the sides to give it an earthy look:

And finally I added some grass flock over parts of the sane to give it a bit more of a country feel to it:

Here is the finished product with my LRRPs on it to give an indication of size. The really good thing about the synthetic turf is that I can place my figures on to of the 'rice' and it wont get damaged:

I am happy with the results, and it will make a useful addition to my 'Nam wargame. Now I just need a village to go around it!

My wargaming buddy suggested I should make scenery to sell, but a) I can't see anyone wanting to buy the things I make, and 2) the time this one took would make it expensive to sell.

But hopefully my photos will give an idea to others of how to make their own rice paddy.

One thing I did learn while researching what rice paddies look like is that they come in many shapes, sizes and level of growing. The field can be mostly water just before planting, small stalks after planting, long stalks towards harvest time, and dry empty fields before the next planting happens.

'Nam project - a bomb crater

2012-01-17T16:32:00.001+11:00

As I have mentioned in two previous posts I have been wanting to make a bomb crater for my LRRPs to visit as part of a BDA (Bomb Damage Assessment) Mission.

Last night I started to make the crater, and I finished it this afternoon.

And to give it some perspective as to its actual size I took a photo with the 28mm figures in and around the crater:

I tried to highlight and shade the crater to give it more dimension, but I am thinking of reducing the shading, at least a little.

I am toying with the idea of making a rice paddy next.

'Nam scenic traps - to build

2012-01-16T16:00:00.000+11:00

I am already planning my next trap build, only I have to wait for some parts before I can go ahead.

I have two mortar bomb traps planned - one is a dropping mortar round, and the other is a trip wire connected to a mortar round, as seen below:

Thanks to a reply to a question I asked on TMP I was able to locate some mortar rounds so I could make my traps.

GW makes a sprue of parts for their 40K game, and I was able to locate the sprue going cheat on ebay:

I ordered two sprues of them, and when they arrive I can start work on the traps.

In the mean time, I bought some cheap MDF sheets (two 60 x 60 cm and one 60 x 120 cm) that I can use for basing bigger pieces of scenery on, and or even make roads or rivers with.

'Nam traps part 2

2012-01-15T12:48:00.000+11:00

I was going to make a totally different Vietnam war 'scenic trap' to the one seen here, but as you can tell, my creativeness went is a different direction.

I have absolutely no idea how big I should make this trap as all the reference I had was a drawing and an explanation of how the trap worked. I didn't have dimensions to work with, so I guessed it all.

I decided to hide the bamboo poles in long grass, and I will surround this trap with other long grass so it wont look so obvious.

I actually made the grass myself using an idea I came up with, and I am very happy with how it worked.

I bought a cheap paintbrush for $1 and used it to brush the colour I wanted the grass to be through out the brush. I didn't wash it and let it dry.

Once it had dried I cut the bristles to the desired length and glued them to the base.

The type of brush is a wide one like you would use around the house to paint walls etc, and I bought one with light coloured bristles so the colour I wanted will stand out.

I am thinking of getting another brush and using dark brown on it to make grass covered roof huts.

Bolt Action WW2 Soviet Reinforcements

2012-01-14T17:08:00.000+11:00

Huzzar!

Warlord Games have released their WW2 Bolt Action Soviets as single figures again, meaning I can complete my WW2 Russian army!

Soviet Reinforcements

Huzzar!

I might have to wait a while now seeing as I have a few other projects on the go.

'Nam traps

2012-01-11T21:38:00.000+11:00

I wanted to make some scenery for my 'Nam game and thought some traps might make for some interesting pieces of scenery.

The first one I made was a punji pit trap. I actually raised the trap up above 'ground level' so that I could add the stakes into the pit.

I think it worked out rather nicely, and when you look at it from above the games table it looks ok.

Next I went on to bigger things.

While the punji trap probably took 10 or 15 mins to make, excluding drying time, the next one took a bit longer.

I used an old CD as a base, covered it with masking tape so it would take paint easier, and then made some trees and strung 'grenades in tin cans' trap between two of the trees.

Initially I only made the two trees, but Mrs Shelldrake said it didn't look very much like a jungle, so I added four extra trees. The grass, fern and rocks were added in the original build, and I positioned the new trees around them.

All in all, I am very happy with what I have built, and if readers think it worth while I might even post a tutorial on how I made the traps.

Clicking on the images should offer a bigger view for those wanting to take a closer look at what I have made.

Oh, as as you can see, I finished basing the LRRPs too.

I won something!

2012-01-08T07:26:00.000+11:00

I was visiting The Miniatures Page this morning and noticed that I have until Monday the 9th of Jan to send a PM to the editor to claim a prize for voting on a poll there.

I only vote in the polls that have some meaning for me, and only comment on them very occasionally.

But my luck was in, as I was able to claim a $10USD voucher from The Assault Group - what perfect timing, as I wanted to order some VC.

I might have to hold off the order until the voucher process is set up, but that is ok, as I just spent a small fortune on Doctors bills, x-rays and medication. It seems I have arthritis in my neck :-(

Besides, the little wait gives me time to work out exactly what minis I want to order.

Vietnam War Project - planning the enemy troops Part 3

2012-01-07T14:26:00.000+11:00

So what does all this mean?

Initially I want to build up a VC Local/Main force enemy up to the size of platoon. Any bigger than that and my LRRPs will need reinforcements, which isn't off the cards.

I would like a hamlet sized village guerrilla force, but as LRRPs don't go and search hamlets and villages, I would mostly use these VC as random encounters, or as part of a scenario where they might be needed.

I also want an NVA force up to platoon strength, but that can take second place as I want the NVA involvement to be part of a tactical build up in the campaign.

Campaign system and Rules

For the campaign I will be running my LRRP team and sending them on mission types determined by dice rolls.

The level and type of enemy activity will be random, with modifiers based on how active the LRRPs are and the tempo of the game.

No matter what rule system I use for the game I intend to use a card activation system for initiative which will allow me to include random events and other interesting encounters.

I am interested in THW's FNG rules, but need to wait for the second edition to be released; plus I would like some more info on the rules first.

Iron Ivan have a Vietnam war supplement, but I don't own the rules the supplement is intended for, but I do own other rule sets by Iron Ivan, so I could just tinker with the ones I have and see how it goes.

What Next?

I need to make up some scenery, my game cards, draw up my charts, and of course buy my enemy forces.

Vietnam War Project - planning the enemy troops Part 2

2012-01-07T14:06:00.000+11:00

The NVA

The North Vietnamese Army, or NVA, were the regular troops from North Vietnam that infiltrated into South Vietnam from 1965 on wards.

Lacking exact information of the ORBAT for NVA troops I will go with what could be a gross error and follow the guide lines as for the Main Force Troops mentioned in part 1.

The following are TAG NVA figures:

RPD LMG

AK 47 w/ folding stock

MAT 49 SMG

Dragunov sniper rifle

RPG-7s

AK 47s

.30 cal MG

60mm (?) Mortar

Baker Company also make some NVA that will be useful additions to these figures.

Vietnam War Project - planning the enemy troops Part 1

2012-01-07T13:44:00.000+11:00

Back in the mid 1990's I found a gem in a second hand book shop - an actual military pamphlet on the Enemy forces of the Vietnam War printed in 1970. This book lists the equipment, tactics and orbats for VC and NVA troops, although the majority of the NVA is to be found in part two, which I don't have.

Basically I can break my enemy troops down into three groups: the Village Guerrillas, VC Local Main Force Troops/Main Force Troops and NVA.

These troops are trained and equipped at levels according to the order they are listed: Village Guerrillas are the poorest equipped and trained, with the NVA having the best training and equipment.

The photos below are from links on the TAG web site. I do not own the photos and have not saved them on my PC - they come from the URL for the photos on the TAG web site.

Village Guerrilla

Basically farmers by day and VC by night, the Village Guerrilla forces will have older weapons and they could have an LMG or a single Mortar to play with.

Generally organised in village or hamlet forces, with a number of hamlets being able to form in to a Village Platoon if the need arises.

Hamlets seemed to have troop strengths between 10 to 15 in number, with up to four Hamlets forming the Village Platoon.

At the Hamlet level you could find VC armed with Rifles or Carbines, but once you gather the VC into a Village Platoon you might expect to find up to 3 SMGs, 2 LMGs and 1 Mortar.

old French MAT 49 SMGs

old French MAS-36 bolt action rifles

Chinese type 56 carbine

VC Local Force Troops/Main Force Troops

- full time VC troops organised into district platoons/companies, or provincial companies/battalions. Local Force troops are better equipped and trained than the Village Guerrillas, but have a lower standard to the VC Main force troops.
Local Force troops will operate within the confines of their own districts or province, where as the VC Main force troops are used through out the country.
VC Main Force Troops are also used for the principal task of mounting a counter offensive. VC Main force troops are usually trained and supplied in friendly populated areas, and can be expected to be found near neighbouring Communist countries whilst being formed and trained.

PPSh SMGs

Type 56 RPD LMGs.

RPG-2 grenade launchers.

Captured US weapons

AK 47 Assault Rifle

LMGs and RPGs

Mortar

30 cal MG

M16 Assault rifles

A typical ORBAT for a VC Local Force squad is one of 7 men equipped with 1 x LMG, 1 x SMG, 4 x older rifles/carbines and 1 x RPG-2.

A typical ORBAT for a VC Main Forces squad is one of 8 men equipped with 1 x LMG, 2 x AK 47, 1 x RPG 2 and 4 x older rifles/carbines.

Three such squads made a platoon within their own force type.

A Heavy Weapons platoon for both type of forces consisted of the following:

1 x 7.62 mm HMG, 2 x RPG-7, 2 x 60mm Mortar.

LRRPs

2012-01-06T10:30:00.001+11:00

I started out painting my 1:600 planes, and my gold fish like mind ended up doing something totally different, and something I have struggled with for a long time.

I started experimenting with cammo uniforms on a LRRP figure that I had no intention of actually using. I have eight LRRP figures, and only want six to make my LRRP team.

After trying a few different colours and persevering with the trial despite my initial thoughts I ended up with some thing that was acceptable.

I didn't paint their faces in cam, as this looked totally naff but I am very happy with the results, and I am encouraged as this should help when it comes to the modern African imagi-nation when it comes to painting British uniforms.

Left to right: Assistant team leader, JNR RTO, Team Leader, SNR RTO, SNR Scout, JNR Scout.

Rear shot of the team - not the different coloured smoke grenades on the SNR RTO

Some references show LRRPs in Tiger Stripe cams, but I intend to leave that uniform to SEALS should I ever built a SEAL Team.

I did want to add an antenna to the SNR RTO, but feared damaging the figure. That and I didn't have any suitable wire with which to make it.

Next is to base the figures.

I also found a few of the Eureka minis VC, but they are too small to use with the TAG minis. Even though the Vietnamese were small against the Western troops, the difference is like using 20mm figures with 28mm figures.

So, I will start to get some TAG VC and NVA, and use some other ranges that I understand are compatible.

Oh, and I have almost finished my jets too.

Vallejo paints...

2012-01-06T08:41:00.000+11:00

.. do you use them?

If so, do you have a good method for storing them so that they don't settle and thus making them a pain to mix up again for use?

I have tried storing the pots (?) on their side, or even upside down, but I still can't seem to get a good mix of the liquids inside when I shake them up with some of my paints.

I have heard of some people putting small ball bearings inside. Does this work?

Has anyone got any tips or advice on getting the full potential of these paints - i.e. to be able to mix them thoroughly?

1:600 reinforcements

2011-12-30T10:24:00.000+11:00

My latest Tumbling Dice planes have arrived from the UK:

I now have some MiG-29s, F/A-18s, F-16s and a E2 Hawkeye.

The E2 Hawkeye is for use in scenarios. Interestingly the C21 rules list the E2 as an AWACS in the notes, but I can't find any reference to what AWACS does in the game. I will see if there is any reference in the Yahoo group. If not, I will as the group what AWACS does.

Like previously I will paint the minis in a neutral way so that I can use them for various nations, plus I will use the F-16s as F-16s and as the Japanese F-2. The F-2 is based on the F-16, but is slightly larger with subtle differences. Until some one makes a 1:600 F-2 I will use the F-16s.

The F/A-18s will allow me to field USN and Australian forces in games.

I will post photos once I have painted the figures. But first I have to glue the magnets to the planes and hope they actually stay glued. I have a lot of problems having the magnets stay on no matter what type of glue I use.

Projects for 2012

2011-12-27T10:38:00.002+11:00

This post could be my undoing, but it will be good to look back a year from now and see if I talked the talk or walked the walk.

So, what do I want to accomplish in 2012 for the hobby?

1/600 Modern Jets
I have my modern 1/600 modern jet campaign. I have the C21 rules, and some planes hopefully in the mail. I need to write up my campaign back ground and then it will be systems go.

The great thing about a plane combat game is I don't really need scenery, so I am ahead of the game already.

18mm Napoleonics
I want to finish my 18mm Napoleonic army for Black Powder. I just need to purchase some additional figures and then get off my butt and paint them. As painting is what I am slowest at, this might not be as easy to do.

I just need to get back into a routine of painting, and it should be ok. I should clean up my painting 'desk' as this will help a lot.

28mm Vietnam war
I have my 28mm Vietnam war solo project. I have the LRRPs, but not at all skillful at painting cammo uniforms. I will have to do some research on to which colour to use as the base uniform and I will have a crack at it.

Somewhere in my collection is a handful of Eureka Miniatures VC, so I intend to paint these up as it will drive my motivation a bit.

28mm Modern Africa
This is a project my wargaming buddy requested at the end of this year. He would like to play a skirmish campaign fielding a platoon of infantry.
After doing a bit of research we decided on an Africa imagi-nation with British troops. As I had the background of such a nation already typed up, it was easy to decide on the setting.
We intend to use TAG Modern British and Africans, with extra figures from other companies thrown in.

I have some corrugated card to make a shanty town with, and I have ideas for a petroleum pipeline for scenery.

28mm Wild West
During 2010 I painted up a number of wild west figures and scratch build a handful of buildings. Using "The rules with no name" we played a short campaign that was a lot of fun.
I need to finish off a number of buildings I started to make, build some new ones and paint a few more figures.
This might be a slow but ongoing project, and I might even make it a solo campaign if the African imagi-nation takes the limelight.

7TV
I purchased the 7TV rules for Christmas, and I have a few Kiss Kiss Bang Bang figures already, so I want to get something up and running for this. I will test drive the rules and then decide on what I want to do for this game.

EDIT - 28mm WW2
I forgot to add that I want to finish my 28mm WW2 armies - one British and one Soviet so I can get a game of "Victory Decision" in. But this depends on if Warlord Games release their Soviets in individual packs. I would use BTD, but I have been burnt by them in the past and am loath to risk them again.

Other bits and pieces

Of course there is my zombie project - this was probably the highlight of the hobby for me in 2011, but more of that on my zombie wargame blog.

I also have the new Mongoose Publishing Star Trek rules on the way in the mail. If they are any good I would like to play a bit of this. More on this after I get the rules.

I should get some games of Strange Aeons in as well, as I have painted up a lot of figures for this game, and I do like the whole Cthulhu horror thing.

I have always wanted to do a Super Hero game. I might try 7TV to see if it works for the genre. I like the Four Colour figures, but the postage from Old Glory sucks big time, so I most likely will go with Reaper figures for some super heroes. I know nothing about the Clix figures (?) but might look at some of them too.

Summery
Of the above list at least one of the projects will get legs. This will be the 1/600 campaing, as it is the easiest.

As the African imagi-nation is the focus for the year, I will work on this quite a bit.

Of course there will be other games played and worked on as the 'ooh shiny!' factor kicks in, or my simple mind wanders around like a gold fish.

It will be interesting to see what does and does not happen with the hobby in 2012.

What will you be planning for 2012?

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T18:29:00.000+11:00

Merry Christmas to all the readers and followers of my blog.

I hope you and your families have a great one.

Copplestone Miniatures Santa and his helper

Hopefully in the new year I will get some projects up and running and post a lot more on my blog... but no promises as life has a habit of getting in the way.

Vietnam crater - part 2

2011-12-22T22:40:00.000+11:00

As I mentioned in a previous post I wanted to make a crater to represent a B52 strike.

Thanks to a fellow blogger, I think I have a very simple answer to how best to make it:

making craters

Now I just need a decent piece of board to make the crater on.

TAG figures arrive!

2011-11-08T12:10:00.000+11:00

My TAG Vietnam Special forces arrived today, and they included a bit of a surprise/present with the order.

The nice Gentlemen at TAG included a war correspondent in the pack, which will be very useful for some scenarios.

The figures I ordered were the Special Forces with M16s and M117 (colt commando). A couple of the figures don't have back packs, which isn't so good for LRRP missions, but I have enough with packs that this isn't an issue, and I can use the other figures for other purposes, so it isn't an issue for me.

As I can't paint cam uniforms to save my life I am tempted to look for a painter for the figures and pay to have them done.

The good thing about gaming with a LRRP team is that I have all the Allied figures I need to play the Allied side, and anything else I buy for the Allied is for scenario purposes.

I have a hand full of Eureka VC figures, so I should be able to stage a small firefight while building up my Communist forces.

'Nam

2011-11-02T07:44:00.001+11:00

Previously I made a post in regards to Ebob Miniatures coming out with a set of Vietnam War rules.

Well, they are taking their sweet time to come out, so I looked at other options.

I purchased two packs of the TAG miniatures of "US Special Forces" that I can use as LRRPs, and I will get some more packs containing heavy and support weapons at a later date so that I can make a "Heavy Team" of LRRPs.

I also noticed that Eureka Miniatures have a pack of NVA figures now. I hadn't noticed those before, but I suspect they were released the same time as their SASR figures.

Even though Eureka Miniatures are smaller in size to most other figures out there I will use some of these figure - after all, the Vietnamese were so much smaller than the Allied troops.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As part of my planned LRRP game I have a list of missions for them to go out on. One of these is Bomb Damage Assessment. Quite often the LRRPs were sent out to assess the effectiveness of the "Arc Light" bombings.

What I want to make is a bomb crater, so I am doing some research into what I am letting myself into:

Aussie in a B52 bomb crater. Image linked from the "Steel Thunder" web site

Aussies looking at a crater.

The good news for me is that the craters are not as big as I was thinking they would be. Now I just need to come up with something that is easy to make and looks the part.

dungeon bash

2011-10-17T16:27:00.000+11:00

For a number of years I have collected to odd fantasy figure with the intention of playing a fantasy game.

Recently I have been taking a hard look at the Hirst Arts bits and pieces with the intention of creating a set of tiles for dungeon exploration games.

As such, I figured I needed to design a dungeon so I would know how many pieces of pre-made Hirst Arts pieces I would need. The good thing about the Hirst Arts web site is they provide many great instructions and ideas for making the type of dungeon that I want to make: Hirst Arts Dungeon

Being a little bit lazy I thought I would see what I could find on line to help me with my dungeon designs.

Fortunately for me it appears that role players are just as lazy and there were a few free online dungeon generators on line for me to choose from. Out of all the online dungeon generators I looked at, these three fit the bill best for my wants / needs:

The first one I looked at seemed to be the best. If allows you to construct different sized dungeons, add stairs, secret doors and you can remove any dead ends it may generate which prevents silly and pointless parts to a dungeon.
The generator even numbers and fills the rooms with beasties for you, but I assume that is for a particular set of rules and I will just ignore the text part of the dungeon. The program allows you to save the dungeon as a PDF, and save an image for a player map with out the secret bits: Random dungeon generator 1

Player's Map for random dungeon

The next one is fairly good and is useful for generating a lot of rooms. Unlike the first one the layout is not always logical: dungeon generator 2

This one is very much like the first one, although I can't see a function that lets you print it out. Having said that, it does give you a link so you can create it again if need be: Dungeon generator 3
One function I like is that you can determine the biggest room size, which I thought was a great function. It doesn't add stairs though.

Having created a dungeon, I will print it out and start planning the game tiles I need for my game.

For rules I might use the "Song of Blade and Heroes" or even keep it very simple and use the old "Fighting Fantasy" choose your own adventure system, or a little RPG game I have called "Dragon Warriors" that has since been reprinted by Mongoose Publishing and this year to be brought out by a company called "Serpent King Games". I have the original rules books, so I will use those.

There is a great possibility that I will run games of this as a "Play By Blog" for followers of my blog very much like the zombie game being played on my zombie blog.

AirWar: C21 - review after game played

2011-10-16T13:08:00.000+11:00

I just finished playing a test game of AirWar: C21, and it was very enjoyable.

I randomly rolled for all pilot skill levels that gave me three average pilots and one green pilot.

I pitted my F-15s against the Su-27s, with the only green pilot being in an Su-27.

As I was playing the game solo, I used the manoeuvre cards I created as hidden movement - a card was chosen at random and placed next to the enemy plane, with only certain manoeuvres beings allowed if fired upon. This was done to reflect a pilot taking an evasive move when targeted.

Each turn I wrote down the orders for my F-15 pilots before placing enemy movement cards.

I then rolled for initiative for all the planes and played out the phase in order.

Initially the game was slowed by having to re-read rule sections and to make sure I was doing the correct things, but after a few game turns I was using the QRS more than the book, with the exception of expanding on information that was on the QFS.

My pilot reference sheets proved to be essential as this had all the data I needed at hand, which means the game flowed a lot faster.

During the game I realised I needed missile counters, so I borrowed an idea I found on the web and cut sections of pipe cleaners and up them on flight stands. This worked very well indeed, and I used the idea for missiles and chaff/flares.

Due to the small playing area I had, I used centimetres instead of inches, and this worked perfectly.

In the first game turn my #2 F-15 failed his manoeuvre, but it was lucky for him that he was out of range of any enemy fire. All other planes moved without hassle.

In the second turn F-15 #1 increased its speed in order to get into missile range, and his intended target failed its manoeuvre - presenting a nice target for the AIM-7s. One of the fired missiles missed, but the second one did enough damage that the Su-27 blew apart.

In the third turn the remaining Su-27 fired two missiles at the victorious F-15, and in turn both F-15s fired missiles at the Su-27.

Bad dice rolls saved the targeted F-15, but I am putting the misses down to the chaff used.

The Targeted Su-27 evaded two of the four missiles. The third missile struck the plane causing a lot of damage, but not destroying it. That job was left to the fourth missile, which destroyed the Su-27 in a massive fire ball.

The game didn't take long to play at all - with only four planes in total the game moved very fast. I except with more planes the game would slow down, but once the rules are understood and I know what is what, that time would be cut down.

I enjoyed the game, and will definitely be playing more games in the future.

When I next go shopping I will buy some different pipe cleaners and make some better missile and chaff counters with them.

Having played the game I am happy that I can play it solo, and with this in mind I will be purchasing more aircraft for each side with the intention of playing a campaign.

RECON28 - Vietnam War

2011-10-15T08:40:00.002+11:00

Having played the Vietnam war in 20mm (I still have the figures but don't use them) and tried a 15mm game, I have decided I really want to do 28mm.

The type of game I want to play is small unit (a platoon max) skirmish game. I have some Australians and VC from Eureka miniatures, but haven't painted them up... mainly because I am not able to find a green colour that works for the Australian uniforms.

As the project was put on the back burner I didn't do much more about setting up a Vietnam war game.

Ambush Alley Games did release a Vietnam set of rules... I provided information to the author and didn't even get a thanks in the credits (I was told I would), plus the rules don't really do what I want for a skirmish game... they are more a unit game as opposed to an individual soldier game. I will use the rules for the charts and campaign system though.

Since then Eureka has released some SAS figures, but no NVA or additional VC figures, which is what I would need more of for a game.

What I really want though is a LRRP (Long Range Recon Patrol) or SOG (Originally Special Operations Group, but they thought this would give the game away, so changed the name to ..... Studies and Observations Group. Go figure).

An SAS, SEAL or Marine Recon game would fit the bill as well, although the SAS were not really used in the way I want to play my games.

Basically a small elite unit that can use regular troops as back up when needed.

SOG video

Last year I noticed the Ebob Miniatures was releasing a set of minis and rules for a Vietnam Wargame. After contacting Ebob for more information I was told it should be released soon.

Ebob LRRP figure

Ebob has posted photos on their Vietnam site, but still nothing is for sale! But they do continue to post the occasional update - they now have greens for SAS figures on the web site.

Ebob SAS figure

I am very keen to get the rules and some figures to kick start a Vietnam wargame, but I might have to paint up my Eureka figures and go with them if they take much longer. Not that I have a problem with the Eureka miniatures... I just wish they did more figures for the range.

TAG miniatures have a Vietnam war range, I might use the VC/NVA figures.

RECON28

Eureka Miniatures Vietnam war figures

TAG Miniatures

If Ebob takes much longer to release the rules I might convert a new set of rules I purchased that have a lot of potential: Victory Decision

EDIT - if anyone can suggest a Vallejo colour I can use to paint up faded olive uniforms for my Australians please let me know.

A 2nd Russo-Japanese War?

2011-10-10T18:39:00.000+11:00

As part of my preparation for an AirWar: C21 campaign I am researching some background on some potential modern day conflicts.

I wanted to do something different to the norm with this campaign (as I usually tend to do). Originally I wanted to set up a new Sino-Japanese war, as there is plenty of tension between to two nations.

But due to the fact that I can't buy modern Chinese jet miniatures I scrapped this idea.

Instead I came up with a potential Russo-Japanese war over the disputed Norther Territories (or Kuril Islands as Russia calls them).

Here is some back ground information on the tension between the two nations:

Note the Chishima video is 26 mins long

AirWar: C21 a first impressions review

2011-10-07T16:33:00.000+11:00

My AirWar: C21 rules arrived this week after a bit of a delay from the U.K. end.

I ordered 2 x F-15s and 2 x Su-27s and magnets with the rules so that I could use them in a game ASAP.

And have your anginine handy - I have already painted the minis!

The planes are Tumbling dice 1/600 scale miniatures and they are great. I didn't paint up any fancy or complicated paint schemes for them as I want to use them for many different nations as my scenarios require. Thus I won't be painting any markings on the planes.

F-15s and Su-27s - not very imaginative paint jobs I know.

Anyway, a quick review of the rules, bearing in mind that I have yet to play a game and that I have only read them a few times.

I ordered the book, but you can easily pay for and download a PDF and print them out yourself.

The rules are 44 pages long, including contents and quick reference sheets.

Most of the book is taken up with plane and weapon data, with the actual rules taking up 14 pages, with an extra 10 pages dedicated to air to ground rules.

At first glance the rules can be a bit daunting as there are a few stats to take in, but once you read the rules and check what the rules discuss against the plane and missile data it all makes sense and isn't really that complicated at all.

Playing a game requires d6 and d10 dice and your playing surface. A hex sheet is not needed in any way at all, but if you can't cope without one you could easily adapt the rules to allow for hex movement.

Also there is no altitude system with the game so you don't have to record what altitude your planes are flying at which helps speed things up a bit.

Each turn is broken down into two phases which are almost identical in what you do in them.

Players select their speed, their manoeuvres, roll for initiative and spotting. Based on the initiative the planes are then moved, combat is conducted and then final speed calculated based on damage or manoeuvres made.

Pros and Cons

Pros

you can play a game from anytime 1960 on wards, which gives a lot of scope for different historical wars as well as some non-historical ones.
While designed for two or more players I honestly think it would be easy to play solo by the use of manoeuvre cards.

Cons

the game doesn't come with manoeuvre cards, roster sheets or any markers the game requires you to have to play the game. Fortunately I was able to find some roster sheets and manoeuvre cards in a yahoo group.

The rules mention campaign games, but doesn't have any campaign rules. As I love campaigns this was a bit of a bummer for me, but I will probably adapt an old board game I have called "Hornet Leader" for use with the game, or even make my own system.

The rules have Pilot skill ratings from Green to Ace (5 skill levels in all) but doesn't tell you how to generate pilots for your games. Again I will come up with something for this.

~ ~ ~

Overall the rules seem quite good, but I will reserve my full judgement until I have played a game. I will post my thoughts on how the game played once I have done so.

Trafalgar - learning the rules and first game

2011-10-07T11:35:00.000+11:00

I have had the rules "Trafalgar" since they came out - I ordered them with a fleet deal that gave me enough ships to get a game up and running, but other projects got in the way, so they sat there collecting dust.

As I mentioned in other posts I have dusted off the ships and the rules, including even painting some of the ships, and last night we gave them a go.

Despite reading other peoples' comments on TMP I chose to play the rules exactly as they are and then see what was what and make any changes if needed.

The good thing about forums is that every person will have their own opinion which, gasp, sometimes isn't that accurate due to bias for or against a company or a set of rules. I am like this about several rules myself.

So last night I laid down my 'sea sheet' on the gaming table and we took one ship each to put them through their paces as we learnt the rules, going through each step slowly, practicing what we just learnt and then moving on to the next phase.

After a bit of manoeuvring around 'the ocean' (which gave us plenty of time to practice the turn segments and actual movement and turning the ships) we managed to get in a broadside or two before time ran out for the night.

Having played the rules I can't see the big problem people have with these rules. I not a big fan of the Warhammer rules myself, but the Trafalgar rules don't have the same stats and combat charts like the other Warhammer rules.

I would probably use the house rules David Manley wrote for Wargames Illustrated issue 260 (of which my friend had a copy), and we agreed that if we were to write orders for each turn it would stop foresight by other players that give them the edge over their opponent.

Next time we play we will use more ships and try out writing down our orders for the turn.

I also hope to include some photos the next time I post about playing a game of Trafalgar

Painting Napoleonic ships - take two

2011-10-06T12:13:00.000+11:00

After my self flagellation over the bad painting efforts on my Napoleonic ships I went and did something else before becoming inspired and giving it a second go.

I think the main problem I had was that I was trying to paint 1:2400 scale based on the eye candy I had seen in rule books and on other people's blogs.

That and the fact I didn't really have the right colours needed (and I still don't) and that the detail is so fine my hand - eye coordination is more used to painting 28mm figures and not something so small as these ships.

So, my moment of inspiration was to reverse what I was trying to paint.

In my first attempt I was painting the ships according to the 'how to' in the Trafalgar rule book. This didn't work for me.

What I did instead was to paint the entire hull black and then paint the gun ports in the yellowish colour the British ships had, and to my delight it appeared that I had painted the hull the yellowish colour and that it was the gun ports that were black.

With the small scale of the ships it actually came out ok. I painted up a second ship to see if it was a fluke, and this ship came out even better.

Encouraged by my attempts I then painted up a French/Spanish ship and that too looks ok.

There are twenty two ships in total for me to paint, and I will have to do them in dribs and drabs as it actually hurts my eyes to paint them. I might have to invest in a magnifying glass.

This is the first ship I painted after a repaint

The second ship I painted once I figured out what I was doing

My first attempt at a French/Spanish ship

The camera shows up some flaws, but I am happy with the way they came out, and you can't see the flaws so easily when you are playing a game.

Ship painting epic fail

2011-09-30T16:15:00.000+10:00

I tried painting one of my Napoleonic ships today and to accurately describe what it looks like will no doubt offend a lot of readers.

It was so bad that I would proudly game with unpainted figures rather than show a single person what the mess I made of the ship looks like.

I didn't quite have the right hull colour that is recommended for painting these ships, so I might be tempted to give it another go if I can find said suggested paint, but until then these figures will remain unpainted.

If I thought I could ship the figures safely to a figure painter I would do so, but the 1:2400 scale is a bit fragile for popping in the post.

I will still play games of Trafalgar with the minis, but it might be a long time before they are painted :-(

Trafalgar

2011-09-29T12:22:00.002+10:00

Avast ye land lubbers! If all goes well I will be playing my first game of "Trafalgar" tonight. I also have the "Kiss Me Hardy" rules, but thought I would try the Warhammer Historical rules first.

I have enough ships for 11 per side, but as my mate and I will be learning the rules we will start off with one ship each as we go through the rules and then add more ships once we know enough to play an actual game.

Having not played the game (which I bought as a pre-order when it was due for release) I have read a bit about what other's think of the game on a few forums, but I will play the game as is initially and see what I think of the rules as is.

I have read a few complains that the rules are a typical warhammer deal, I go you go, min max and so on, but having played a number of "Victory at Sea" games I can't see much difference in the play sequence.

I will post my thoughts on the game and how the game played tomorrow, assuming I will be playing.

Edit: no game tonight - as usually happens when I do a lot of prep work the game night gets cancelled, so hopefully I will get to play next week. I might even attempt to paint one (or more) of the tiny ships before then.

Witchfinder General

2011-09-26T22:29:00.000+10:00

I have always wanted to play a witchfinder game - I have a couple of figures stashed away somewhere in case I ever managed to get this project up and running.

I learnt today that a set of rules for playing witchfinder games is being released on 31 Oct this year:

Witchfinder General

I was looking for a book to read on the Book Depository site and found you can pre-order it for 25% cheaper than the price shown on the Dashing Dice site, and they have free P&P as well.

Anyone else interested can place their order here: book depository

Conan!

2011-09-26T19:13:00.000+10:00

Well, I guess Matakishi's Crom rules tempted me more than I thought, as two figures arrived in the mail today after I searched the internet for suitable figures to represent Conan and Red Sonja.

Apparently both figures are no longer sold in shops - you have to buy them direct from Reaper Miniatures as they are OOP.

I was lucky enough to find an ebay store that was selling both of these figures so I jumped on the chance to get them.

The sword on my Conan figure is bent in the package, and both figures have a bit of flash to clean up, but these things are not really a problem.

Hopefully the next time I show these figures they will be painted (fingers crossed).

Now I need to rustle up some opponents for Conan. I am still trying to decide which country within Hyboria. Hard to make my mind up, but I am having fun reading my old Conan books to help me decide.

Pirates arrrrgh!

2011-09-25T07:46:00.001+10:00

In my pile of lead are a number of pirate figures. Some are the original wargames foundry miniatures and the majority are Eureka Miniatures when they initially came out. I painted a couple of figures, but the majority are unpainted (as usual).

I am seriously thinking of starting up with pirates again, as I think Matakishi's "Crom" rules will be perfect for pirate games.

I have enough figures to get a game going provided I play pirate crew vs pirate zombies and or skeletons.

What I want to do is have enough variety to play any kind of game:

Pirates
vs Soldiers/Sailors (French/English/Spanish) using War of Spanish Succession figures

vs undead (Zombies and Skeletons)

vs other pirates

vs Natives (cannibals or many other types)

vs Sea Monsters

Q: What else have I not thought about for opponents for my pirates?

Figures:

Pirates: Eureka Miniatures, Foundry, Brigade Games, Black Cat Bases, Black Scorpion, Reaper, Artizan, Crusader(?)

Soldiers: Front Rank Miniatures, Black Cat Bases, Wargames Factory (soon to be released plastic)

Undead: Eureka, Foundry (I think?)

Natives: Eureka, Reaper, Copplestone

Sea Monsters: Black Cat Bases

Q: What other figures have I missed?

Ooooh - I just found this site that has a guide to Pirate figures :-D Pirate Guide

Modern "What if" Conflicts?

2011-09-07T12:25:00.000+10:00

In anticipation of my Airwar: C21 rules and some planes arriving I am thinking about modern conflicts and how to justify coming up with situations where modern jets would be used against each other.

There are plenty of countries that could go to war, but the main problem I seem to face is the use of nuclear weapons.

So how to justify a conflict where nukes wont be used?

"Nuke - just don't do it" - maybe the threat of a world wide nuclear war is enough deterrent to prevent a nuclear war. Maybe a bit over simplified but it could work.

Russia - if the state of their navy is anything to go by maybe Russian nukes/deployment systems are so poorly maintained that whilst the threat is there, they can't be used.

North Korea - just write a bit of back ground with a) they didn't actually develop nuclear weapons and it was all a sham, or b) due to lack of funds and resources (inc. a starving population) they weren't able to produce nuclear weapons.

China - apparently they have a 'do not use first policy'. This can be very useful as it means they 'pwomise' they will not use nukes unless they are used on them first.

The West - well, being the 'good guys' the West will never use them on others first.

African Nations - well, considering most of these nations don't really have much of an airforce compared to bigger nations would it really be fun to have an airwar that could end in the first game of a campaign?

With these points in mind, I am tempted to work on some following conflict ideas:

Indonesia vs Australia (and allies). The allies would be needed due to the small size of Australia's air force.

Russia:
conflict against former Soviet states escalates bringing the west into conflict with Russia.

vs Japan (over the northern Island chains). Can escalate including Western Forces.
Also as per the background of the novel "Fortunes of War"

War against the West due to invasions in Europe (Red Storm Rising novel)

North Korea:
stock standard 2nd Korea War (Red Phoenix novel)

vs Japan over years of tension, including kidnapping of Japanese citizens

China:
vs Vietnam - escalates bringing the west in (Red Dragon Rising novels)

vs Japan/Allies - over resources and control of southern Island, as per events last year.

Other Nations?

I haven't read the book, but apparently Larry Bond wrote a novel with France fighting against the U.S. which would be interesting to read.

To make a game interesting I think major powers are needed, or at least countries that have a decent sized air force.

I will do some research to see if African and South American Nations could come into contention. After seeing how some middle eastern nations didn't really put up much of a fight with their air force over the years, I don't think a middle eastern setting would be very rewarding.

Crom play test - Samurai style

2011-09-04T14:48:00.001+10:00

I play tested a game of "Crom" using some unpainted minis (so what :-P ), a few pieces of scenery and an imaginary river (I need to make some scenery!)

I used a 60 cm X 60 cm playing area on a purpose built table for one of my scenery tiles and this area played o.k. for a seven minis per side game. I think I could easily push it to ten or maybe twelve figures per game in this playing area, but I feel it might get crowded after that.

The game plays very quickly - and while it might seem simplistic at first I found I needed to put a bit more thought in to what I do as going all out in attack leaves that attacker defenceless to other attacks that most likely will follow.

The initiative system works well, but then as it is card based activation (unless dice are used to help win the initiative) I am probably biased in this regard. I enjoy card based activation systems the most of all.

The rules state that characters figures can move through friendly figures. Some how I had it in my head that this applied to all friendly figures, but if only characters can do this then it is much better.

As you will see from the photos allowing minions to move through friendly figures reduces the tactical advantage of controlling a bottle neck.

Combat is quick and nasty - a minion can die with one hit, and the survivor more likely than not will be left open for a defenceless attack as mentioned above.

The game certainly needs a good scenario with objectives. A straight out battle is one thing, but being able to or being forced to use characters to meet objectives will turn it in to a whole different game.

Overall I enjoyed this game and the rules very much. Simple with enough thought needed to tactics.

I think this set of rules would lend itself to projects that have been in the back of my mind that I want to play very much: Viking, Greek Mythology, Pirates and a Pulp game to name a few.

I wonder if they would work for zombie games....

The set up: each side has 1 character, a 2IC and 5 minions.

The first combat on the bridge

The enemy minion suffered badly at the hands of the tougher good guy...

... but was left defenceless against the enemy character who cleaved him in half.

Clash of characters - the blue ronin winning out.

The monks start to mop up the last resistance

Victory went to the monks and the blue ronin.

My Nihon project

2011-09-04T11:20:00.001+10:00

Rather than post what I would like to do, I thought it might be a nice change to post what I am actually doing :-P

I started this a few years ago but depression and a painting block sort of saw it being stored in a draw for future times.

The project was rekindled after reading Matakishi's set of rules called "Crom". The rules are designed for Conan wargames, but lacking a set of figures for this setting (hmm - a lurking project maybe?) I decided to try the rules out using my small collection of Samurai, Ninja and Sohei. I also have some Ikko-Ikki (which I intend to use as bandits) and civilian types.

The main figures I have come from Kingsford Miniatures and Perry Miniatures. Museum Miniatures do figures, but I can't load their web site at the moment to provide a link, or check to see what figures they have. I seem to remember they have some useful figures for what I want to do with my project.

(Edit: I can now access the Museum Miniatures site - maybe they were down for maintenance)

If more companies made Mythological Japanese creatures I would include these into the game as well.

Dixon Miniatures has a reasonable range, but many don't have photos on their website, and I like to see what I am ordering.

I did order an Oni from a relatively new company called Riceball Miniatures, so I will use this figure when it arrives.

Scenery wise I have a Torii gate, a bridge and some nice trees that were custom made just for this project. These are made by Fenryll but I actually ordered the Torii and Bridge through Spirit Games in the UK and saved a lot on the price.

I would really love to get some of the Oshiro range of resin buildings, but the bigger buildings are a bit pricey thanks to the exchange rate at the moment.

I will be playing a test game of Matakishi's rules this afternoon and maybe post some thoughts on the rules and how the game played.

PIWLTD #2: 18th Century Smugglers

2011-09-02T08:18:00.000+10:00

Wargames foundry make some excellent figures that lend themselves to some potential wargames that would interest me very much.

By mixing a few different figure ranges I have often though how a smuggler game set in coastal England would be fun to play and allow for some very interesting scenery such as beaches with cliff faces and caves with secret tunnels in them.

The smugglers would go up against military figures from the Seven Years War range, and the following seem to be the best to use for such a game:

Wargames foundry did have a smuggler pack (code CIV07), but it is listed as currently unavailable on their web site. I found a image on a Japanese web page of all places:

And you can vary the games you play by adding in Highwaymen (another project I started ages ago but never went anywhere with it):

Front Rank Miniatures make SYW British and 18th Century civilians that I could also use:

There is also plenty of information in books and on the web to assist in putting this game together.

Some resources on the web are:

Smugglers
Smugglers and Wreckers

The main reason this is only a PIWLTD is due to the cost of the foundry miniatures - a single pack cost anything from $18 - $24AUD without postage.

I could use the Front Rank figures as the main troops and add a couple of Foundry packs in, which would save a lot of money, but at this stage this will remain a PIWLTD.

Projects I would Like To Do #1: Grav Bike Racing

2011-09-01T17:54:00.001+10:00

This is the first post on Project I would Like To Do (or PIWLTD for short) but will probably never get around to doing due to many reasons. I might not get around to doing them, but I figured I would post them on the off chance that someone else finds it interesting enough to being a similar project of their own.

PIWLTD #1 - this one keeps popping up in the back of my mind a lot: Grav Bike Racing.

Critical Mass Games released some grav bikes a few months ago and this one would be fantastic for painting up as a racer:

And GZG have grav bikes too, so I can vary which figures I could use:

A great book to read as inspiration is "Hover Car Racer" by Matthew Reilly. The book is a great read and has many diagrams that would assist the making of scenery and rules.

Very tempting, but I will resist for the moment...

Edit:

As seen on TMP this morning Khurasan are about to release some jet bikes of their own:

My figure case

2011-09-01T08:36:00.000+10:00

Back in May I came across a site in Australia that makes foam inserts for tool cases.

As I really needed something to carry my figures around in I jumped on this double time.

The tool case I purchased from a large hardware warehouse franchise here in Australia. I gutted the insides so that the foam would go inside.

The foam inserts come in two main types: infantry and cavalry size. I ordered the infantry size ones, and four of them promptly arrived. The case itself holds four layers with a foam cover layer for the top.

Airwar: C21

2011-08-31T08:47:00.000+10:00

I weakened over the weekend and put an order in for a new set of rules - Airwar: C21 from Wessex Games.

I am a big fan of 'plane games' having both WW1 and WW2 sets of rules and I have always wanted to game modern planes too.

I placed my order for a hard copy of the rules from Dom's Decals in the U.K. and ordered some Su-27s and F-15s to go with the rules so that I could play a game asap.

I really wanted the F-22 Raptor, but it seems no one makes them in 1:600 scale, but the Su-27 and F-15 will allow me to play games over a longer historical period and to represent many different countries for scenarios/game settings.

Having read a few Larry Bond novels, I am tempted to use some of these as the back ground for a modern war.

Stephen Coonts also has a number of novels that could be used for game settings.

When the rules and figures arrive I will do a review.

Farewell to hex mats

2011-08-22T19:02:00.000+10:00

There are many games out there that require players to use hex mats in order to play the game.

As I play a few games that require hexes, I duly purchased a hex mat. It wasn't perfect - the hexes were bigger than I wanted and this wasted a lot of valuable gaming space.

So I came up with an idea to play hex based games without the need for a hex mat.

I printed out 'hex rulers' (for want of a better term) that are laid down in front of the plane being moved so that you can move the plane according to the rules that indicate movement by the number of hexes the figure is moved along/through.

I have used this successfully for both "CY6!" and "Algenon Pulls if off". For the demonstration in this post I will be using "CY6!" as an example:

The plane is in place ready to be moved

I chose the manoeuvre I want to perform... in this case a 'L43'

I place the 'hex ruler' in front of the plane

Move the plane to the required position

And remove the 'hex ruler' from the playing area

Simple and fast to use. It also mean you don't have to count hexes to move, which speeds up play a bit more.

Rather than print out every manoeuvre needed for each plane I printed out a number of straight sections and some side sections that are placed next to each other in the correct position as needed. The example above is actually two sections.

You also need a firing arc template that you place in weapon arc required for the firing plane/arc, and this too helps speed up play, as you can tell exactly what the range and if the target falls within the arc of fire.

I have played a number of games using this method and those I have played with have enjoyed the ease and speed with which it is used.

Trees for my Mate

2011-08-21T10:04:00.000+10:00

Last week on my Zombie wargame blog I made a post showing the trees I was preparing for added scenery.

In this post I mentioned that a mate of mine had given me some trees he didn't know what to do with and that I was also preparing these to give back to him as a surprise.

Well, I have finished the trees and will give them to him once he gets back from his holiday.

In the mean time I will use them for my own games...

My 28mm WW2 figures

2011-08-19T08:51:00.000+10:00

One of my concurrent projects (well, not that concurrent) is putting together forces for late war WW2.

At this stage I have a platoon of British Infantry less command and support, a Section plus of British Paratroopers, and the makings of a Soviet Platoon with a scout section.
I have two tanks - a German Panther that I had painted for me, and a Soviet T-34 that I might have to get painted for me.
The Germans haven't been forgotten - apart from a couple of Artizan Designs late war Germans I also have the plastic set from Warlord Games.

Black Tree Design British

Bolt Action British Paras with a few Artizan Designs thrown in

Black Tree Design Soviets (one scout is a Bolt Action mini)

I need get a lot more troops for all sides to finish off my armies - I want some more BTD British and Soviets, but a) BTD are very unreliable [it took me 8 months to get the Soviets] and they don't accept paypal... having lost over $10,000 to credit card fraud last year I refuse to use my CC online anymore. [the bank paid me back, but I had a really really really crap Christmas last year due to having no money.]

The British Platoon will be painted up without any unit identification as I intend to get two uses from them. The majority of their use will be in the guise of Polish troops in exile, and when I don't want to use them as Polish I can use them as British troops.
I need another section, command and support for them. I will make the Polish troops Dragoons, so I will need some vehicles to make them mounted troops.
Even though the British figures are BTD I was able to get them when someone sold them cheap on a forum. I will look around at various ranges for figures to add to the collection.

The Paras - I need a couple more sections and support for them. Being Paras I won't need a lot of vehicles, but the army lists allow for some to be included, so I will see how I feel when the time times to expand the collection.

For the Soviets I will start adding Warlord Games/Bolt Action figures to the collection. At the moment the BA figures are only available in unit deals, so I am holding off until I can pick and choose the figures I want when they are released as individual figures.
I am also thinking of add Crusader Miniatures WW2 Soviets to the pool as well.

My German collection needs to be built - I think I have made one or two of the plastic figures to see if I liked them or not, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that I did like them.

As mentioned in a previous post I like to tinker with Alternative History. To this end most of my games will pit Allies (and to a limited degree the Germans) against the Soviets.

The rules I will be using will be "Rules of Engagement" from Great Escape Games.

Black Powder Napoleonics

2011-08-17T12:08:00.000+10:00

Today I am showing the 15/18mm British army I am making for Black Powder games.

Due to lack of space and money I have done something close to heresy for some wargamers - one base represents the whole unit, not a number of bases representing the unit.

An infantry corp with support. Four infantry bases represent a brigade.

One base of infantry (three figures) represents a whole Battalion, a base of cavalry (two figures) represents a whole regiment and one gun and crew is a battery.

At the moment the majority of my figures are Eureka Miniatures, with some AB and CGM thrown in to fill the gaps in the Eureka range. I am also trying to get some Battle Honors British generals so that I can complete my command bases.

By painting some extra units I can swap out a few units to totally reconfigure my army to represent an different Corp.

For my Brigade command bases I am using Colonel figures with a standard. I know Brigades didn't have standards, but I wanted to add them as a bit of pomp and pageantry.

I had to make some changes to the rules to accommodate my thinking - counters are placed next to a unit to indicate formations, and I need to use a record sheet to record morale and casualties, but this works ok.

I still need to finish off my command, artillery and cavalry units, but I am able to field an army a lot cheaper than I could if I used the basing conventions in the Black Powder rule book, especially if I made my army in 28mm!

My Friend and I have played a number of Black Powder games, including this minimalistic approach and it works great. Being able to field a force larger than a brigade allows for tactics, defense in depth and even a reserve force is a vast improvement on Brigade level games, and we can field the armies in a smaller area.

For the cost involved it is also feasible to build a number of armies cheaply. I am contemplating making a Bavarian and a Russian army, and I think I will put together a French army so that I always have the forces at hand to play a game.

Strange Aeons - review

2011-08-17T08:31:00.000+10:00

I was asked to do a review on Strange Aeons, so here goes:

Strange Aeons is a wargame that pits 1920's agents against eldritch horrors. Whilst not actually set in the Call of Cthulhu universe, it does draw heavily on that background, with some of the same monsters included, and some included with different names.

The Agents are known as "Threshold" with the horrors known as "Lurkers". The background for the rules has a strong US flavor to the game but it can be set anywhere. For my games I have used the UK as my background.

The playing area for the game is small, 2 feet x 3 feet is suggested, and scenery is only limited to your imagination.

Each player takes control of 1 - 10 figures each and 25/28mm is the scale of choice for the game, but I have seen 15mm and even 10mm games on LAF. I prefer 25/28mm due to the sheer number of figures on the market: Pulp Miniatures, RAFM, Artizan Designs, EM4 and Uncle Mike's Worldwide to name but a few.

Dice for the game are d6, with the occassional need for a d3; but that is just a d6 halved.

All measurements in the game are done in inches, but if you are one of those that can't or wont use inches, then converting is easy.

Each agent/horror has a set of stats that reflect movement, the ability to attack and how sane they are. There are six stats in all.

Skills are included in the rules - agents/humans (cultists) get to choose which skills they have, with most monsters having skills listed already, and in some cases monsters can be given extra skills.

Once the Threshold Player has created his team (up to a maximum of 15 points... this number can go higher, but only through winning games) a scenario is chosen and the Lurker player puts together his force.
Each game for the Threshold player uses the same agents, where as the Lurker can change his forces each game. This is because the Agents are the main focus of the game.

With the scenario chosen figures picked and scenery placed the game can now begin.

The initiative for the game is determined by the scenrio, and players take it in turn to choose a figure and give it up to two orders. Command figures can activate two other figures from the same side at the same time if within command range. This sequence continues until all figures have been moved.

Combat:
melee - both sides roll a number of dice indicated by the stats of the combatants. Dice cancel out each other, and the one with the most hits not cancelled out wins.
Shooting - attacker rolls dice vs target's dex stat.

Most cultists will be taken out with one hit (which is why there are a lot more of them in the game) whereas agents and monsters take a few more hits before they are removed from play.

At first read the system for building your team of figures and combat can seem a little confusing, but going through it a few time and reading posts of LAF soon clarify any confusion.

For example - when building your team (either Threshold or Lurker) you have Build Points and Base Points - both are abbreviated to 'BP'. This seems to throw most players at least once.

There is a Quick Reference sheet at the back of the rules, but it doesn't contain every thing you might like to know, so making one helps a lot. But there again, many rules suffer from this.

This game is a lot of fun and doesn't break the bank when you start buying figures.

The game doesn't have solo rules, but I created my own solo system that has even drawn positive comments from the game's designer.

Strange Aeons quickly became one of my favorite games and I have had a lot of fun coming up with the background story for my campaign as well as making some scenery.

Apart from the initial confusion with the rules (and a lot of people seem to suffer this one) the only other bad point I have is that where is no system for creating your own monsters and giving them a BP rating. I have created my own lurker monsters, but have no idea of the BP I should give them.

Strange Aeons is quickly gathering a bit of a cult following in the wargaming world especially amongst Call of Cthulhu fans.

Strange Aeons

2011-08-16T19:29:00.000+10:00

This is the first post where I will show case the various projects I have on the go.

The first one is for the 1920's Horror game "Strange Aeons" produced by "Uncle Mike's Worldwide" in Canada. The game has a strong Cthulhu feel too it and is designed to be played in a small area with only a handful of miniatures.

The game pits the good guys, called Threshold Agents, against the bad guys, called Lurkers.

The game can be played as one off missions, or better still, as part of a campaign against the forces of evil using a detailed system in the rule book.

The rule book with the two supplements. The figures on the left are the Threshold Agents, and those on the right are the Lurkers. There are a lot more lurkers in the game than Agents, but the game has a sense of balance.

To the top are my solo play cards for a system I created, as well as some elder sign objective markers for scenarios.

A closer look at my Threshold Agents

My fledgling Lurker Collection.

I have some scratch build scenery I made for the game as well as commercially produced items.

For a closer look at my cultists I produced a small video that I posted on youtube:

For those interested in the game, you can visit Uncle Mike's Worldwide or the dedicated forum section that can be found at the Lead Adventure Forum.

My Current wargaming projects

2011-08-16T08:41:00.000+10:00

Ok, when I am not playing zombie wargames I actually play a variety of other games.

Some I play more than others, and the rest are projects in the making as I slowly build up figures and scenery to a level where I can play a game.

I used to suffer from complete randomness and 'ooh shiny', but I try very hard to keep some level of focus these days.

So, what am I playing?

Playable games (i.e. figures and scenery ready to go):

Strange Aeons - a 1920s horror wargame. I have developed a solo system for this game, as I have yet to convince any of my mates to play.

WW2 Dog Fights (Europe and Pacific): Using very tiny planes and "Check Your Six" rules I have a Battle of Britain setting to complete (I have enough for small games) and I want to do some Pacific War games, although I don't have any planes for this yet. I want to develop solo game play rules for this game too.

Wild West (28mm) - this was my main game played last year. After over a decade of having the figures but no scenery or even painted figures I kicked my mojo in to overdrive last year and got this project up and running. Using "The Rules with no Name" we had a lot of fun with this game, and I want to revisit it very soon - maybe as a solo campaign.

Projects to complete:

WW2 Pacific (20mm) - I have a decent collection of 20mm Australians and Japanese. I need to finish painting my Japanese figures and make a lot of scenery. I kind of put this project on hold due to the fact my Mrs. is Japanese. I am using "Arc of Fire" rules for this game.

WW2 Late War Europe (28mm - Alternative history) - I love alternative history, and in this setting I am pitting the Allies against the Soviets like Churchill and Patton wanted to do. I have the good makings of my figures for this game, but I am waiting for the Bolt Action figures from Warlord Games to release single "reinforcements" to fill out the holes I have in my platoons. I have "Rules of Engagement" as my rule set for this game.

WW2 Naval (Europe): I actually have enough ships for small games at the moment, but I want to develop this further. I am using "Victory at Sea" for these games.

15mm Napoleonic: I am building a British army for Black Powder. I played a good number of games last year and decided to ditch my 28mm figures in favor for 15mm. I have altered the rules slightly (one base equals a battalion - yes, I know, shock horror!) and I have an infantry corp painted up - I just need to finish my cavalry, artillery and command units.

15mm SYW - again for Black Powder. I have a large Prussian army ready to paint, and I want to put together a Russian army as well. I will alter my basing to match that of my Napoleonic games.

15mm ACW - A project I started a while ago, I hope to finish this some day and use the figures to play... you guessed it... Black Powder.

Pulp (28mm) - Using "Where Heroes Dare" or a variant of "The Rules with No Name" I am putting together a setting where the heroes look for a lost continent in the Pacific Ocean. A long way to go to get this project up and running.

Three Musketeers (40mm) - using Eureka Miniatures excellent 40mm figures and the rules that were released with them I need to repaint some figures, finish off a couple I didn't finish and make some scenery. I am thinking of using a modified "The Rules with No Name" for this as well.

Other Projects?

Yep, I have other projects around the place - I created a setting years ago for a Revolution in 1920s Britain (as post on TMP show, I came up with this idea before "A Very British Civil War" was released, and I have the information on a web site I was putting together.

I also have the making of a Samurai skirmish game set in the Edo period. I need to finish painting a number of figures before this is ready, plus I want a lot more scenery.

Gladiators is another setting - I have a handful of figures, put yet again... I need to paint them!

I will take photos of my various projects to let readers have a better idea of what I am playing.

It has been a while

2011-07-17T11:05:00.000+10:00

After starting up my zombie game I noticed that it has been just as long a time since I have done anything with this blog.

2007 is a long time between posts, and in that time I have painted more figures, played different games and done a lot more with the hobby.

At the moment I am focusing on my zombie wargame campaign (see here) but I should start posting more to this blog as well.

A mine field

2007-03-10T10:55:00.000+11:00

After reading an excellent article on using flywire to make barbed wire for WW2 i applied the same techinque to make a section of a mine field.

This model is about 11 cm long x 9 cm wide.

As soon as i can get a colour print out i intend to place an mine warning sign on one side of the field.

I intend to make more sections that can be added next to each other for longer emplacements - although i may not use the grass flock on the base and instead just keep it as over turned soil.

"...And All For One" : the Three Musketeers

2007-03-10T09:56:00.000+11:00

There are a few different companies making Three Musketeer figures, but for me the best by far are the 40mm range from Eureka Miniatures (and no, i don't own shares in the company and i am not recieving kick backs for all the postitive feed back i give about Eureka).

The large scale figures have amazing detail and even look like the actors than played the roles in the 1970's film "The Three Musketeers" and the sequal "The Four Musketeers".

Not only are these figures fantastic, but there is plenty of scenery you can buy such as tables, barrels and even geese.

If this wasnt enough to tempt those wanting to wargame the Three Musketeers, then Eurkea Miniatures also has a free set of rules you can download from their site. These are a fantastic set of rules - very easy to learn and play.

For an overview of the rules, the actual rules and some photos of the minitures go to this link:

And All For One

There is also a forum moderated by the writer of the rules: Anubis Studios It is unfortunate that the forum isnt that often visited, but with more people playing the game i am sure that would change.

Any way, here are some photos of two figures i have painted: D'Artagnan and a Cardinal Guard

The wargames i play

2007-03-07T16:16:00.000+11:00

Apart from the Zombie campaign i play (see links), i also game the Crimean war, the American Civil war, WW1 and WW2 land battles, Pulp, Vietnam, Modern Conflicts, WW2 Naval, WW1 and WW2 Aerial Dogfights. This covers some of the games i like to play.
I also play Flashpoint Vietnam which are a great set of rules made in New Zealand.

Most games i play are skirmish games, but my Crimean war and ACW are played on a larger scale using 15mm figures.

I am sure if i had the time and money then i would have far more figures and games that i would play.

I also tinker around with what i call Alternative History - creating what if situtations within a historical setting.

This doesnt mean i have alien lizards invading the world during WW2 as can be found in a series of novels.

What it means is that i keep the historical setting and play out what may have been if things had taken a different turn of events, such as what would have happened if Winston Churchill and General Patton entered into a conflict with Russia in 1945, something that had actually been planned for.