Bloggers for Charity 1

Several months ago I signed up as a painter for the Bloggers for Charity game.  Loki assigned me some Rangers and they arrived in the mail a couple of weeks ago.  These miniatures were donated by the manufacturer, AW Miniatures.  (Phew!  That's a lot of links in a little bit of space).

The eight models I've been assigned for painting.

In Her Majesty's Name IX - Mr. Smith

I haven't been up to much painting lately, but I have gotten another model done for my U.S. Marines Company for In Her Majesty's Name.  This model is "Mr. Smith", the indomitable secret agent who has been sent along with the Marines to guide them.

Mr. Smith, preparing to unleash lightening at the foes of America.

Battle Report: 1000 pts of Rohan vs Isengard

Two weeks ago Huntsman came over and played a game of LotR.  The day of the game he suggested that we play a big game, since he wanted to bring out everything he had for his Isengard.  I thought that sounded just grand.  The only army I had that could hit the 1000 points he had was my Rohan, which I haven't played in years.

Eowyn leads seven riders against the Whargs.

Upgrading X-Wing

As my regular readers will know I'm a big fan of X-Wing.  The boys and I play every couple of weeks or so and I get in games with adults from time to time too.  One of the things I like about it is the pre-painted ships.  I'm not so fond of the playing on a table top that has been my lot, up to now.

A much better playing surface.

Happy Birthday USMC!

Today the United States Marine Corps is 238 years old.  We're looking mighty good for our age.  Happy Birthday Marines!

238 years of too much of this.

Assembling Celts

More work on the assembly front.  This weekend I finished off forty Celts from Warlord.  These will be going onto unit bases for Hail Caesar.  It will be the first time I've not individually based models as well as the  first time I will have painted models that weren't based.

40 of the little blighters.

More Roads

The roads are coming along.  A couple of coats of dry brush and some flock and such and they'll be finished.
In the last installment the roads were coated with textured paint and then painted with my standard basecoat of brown house paint.

The next step is very much similar to how I do bases for my models.

A road base, ready for sand.

Modified B-Wings

I love the X-Wing game.  I like the ships.  I like the game play.  I love that they boys like to play it.  This is a great game and I'm glad I tried it.  There are a lot of people out there modifying their ships.  To this point I've not done that but the B-Wing just begs for it.

Image from Wookiepedia.

More assembly

In my continued efforts to get as much primed as possible before winter hits I assembled another handful of models this weekend.  I had grand plans to get 40 Celts assembled as that will be a major goal for the winter.  Alas, I didn't even get the box opened, spending my time on the table and roads instead.

What I did get done was some LotR Rohan models that I had forgotten I had.  They had been on sale at the local shop and I picked them up for half price.  I then promptly forgot about them until this weekend when I was digging up models to assemble.

Five of the seven models.

Dirt roads

Wherever there are people, you'll find roads.  For all of human history many of those roads were dirt.  In order to get the maximum flexibility out of any roads I build they must, therefore, be dirt.  A couple of years ago, six, actually, I cut some wood out to be made into a river.  I never got any farther on the project and now I'm building the river into the tiles.  That left me with seven river sections which will work just fine for dirt roads.

Two road sections.

Gaming Table, Part V

The progress continues on the table, even if it sometimes feels like it's two steps back for every one forward.  After getting expert advice from Loki and Anne I, of course, ignored it all and did my own thing.  We are getting ready to lay some tile and I was digging through the garage to see what supplies I had on hand and what I still need to buy.  I found a mostly used bag of tile cement and had an epiphany.

The tiles with cement over the foam lines.

Battle damage. It's a dangerous world

I was sitting at my desk the other night, cruising through my blog roll.  I dropped my eyes below the monitor and saw what looked like a mech leg under there.  I dug around, moved several pictures and found the scene of a miniature massacre.

Dead Mech.  Good for salvage.

In addition to the Mech, above, there were two 15mm infantry that had been broken off at the ankles.  Clearly Rhys had been playing with things he was not supposed to.  The infantry were un-salvageable and went in the trash.  The mech can be made whole.  I'll have to find a base for it as the leg will need another point of contact to be strong enough to stand up to gaming.  The left arm weapon will get pinned for the same reason.

Rhys and I had a talk.  While I reinforced the idea that this is why he doesn't get to have models yet, my real concern was that he tried to hide what he had done, rather than coming clean and telling me he'd messed up.  I have the same problem with a couple of my grown up employees, so it's hard to hold it against an eight year old.  At least it's just stuff.

The Major General Commandant's Clerks and Writers - IHMN VIII

I have completed the eight Marines for my Company for In Her Majesty's Name.  The list can be found here.  The models are all Paroom Station, bought through Brigade Games.  There are two more models for the list.  The mysterious Mr. Smith and a surprise model, who will be revealed after the first game.

The final four Marines of the Clerks and Writers.

Gaming Table Part IV

Another step done on the table.  I have picked up many paint samples in the discount section, one of which was a nice, dark, brown.  In the last installment, I said that I planned on gluing down some kitchen rags to use as grass.  In the intervening weeks I changed my mind.  I've decided to make this first batch of tiles much more generic, to get the maximum flexibility out of them.  To that end they will be double sided, green terrain on one side and desert on the other.

Sample size of paint.

A giveaway, with a twist

Anne, over at O'Leary Miniatures is having a give away.  This is some of the same and some of the twist that Anne gives to everything she does.

Twist #1 is that this is co-sponsored by a Sci/Fi author.  That's just pretty darn cool.  Also some smart marketing.  So, the required information for his part in this:

"This give away is being sponsored in part by author Patrick Hatt. You can find Mr. Hatt's Amazon Writers Page at http://www.amazon.com/Pat-Hatt/e/B00AGFMYVC."

I have never read any of Mr. Hatt's work but this looks interesting, so here's hoping I win, otherwise I might actually have to buy his book.

The next bit of awesome twist is that Anne is going to tailor each prize to the winner.  Now this is really cool, and sort of insane.  I think it will also be very interesting for the winner to see themselves through Anne's eyes, based on what she chooses to add to their prize.

I'm not normally one for advertising the give aways.  This one strikes me as something different and fun and worth taking a look at.  Please don't enter though.

The next project

The year is rapidly drawing to an end.  Much to my surprise, autumn is here.  This is somewhat disconcerting as it means temperatures are dropping rapidly.  It is much too cold to prime in the winter here so I need to get things prepped in the fall so that I have stuff to paint over the winter.

This realization has thrown me into a frenzy of assembly.  In the last two weeks I've assembled 24 Auxiliary infantry for my EIR army.  I've also just completed 49 Romano Brits for Dux Brit or HC.  These were a late addition as I adjusted my plan back in July.

Romano British heroes for Dux Brit.  Arthur is in front, pointing with his sword.

Sci/Fi containers

People tend to fight for things that matter.  Very often that includes cities, towns, ports and airfields.  In the far future that will be just as true as it is today.  One thing that all of these places have in common is containers.  Again, this will probably hold true in the future as well.  It is always necessary to move stuff from where your stuff is to where you want your stuff to be.

15mm containers.

In Her Majesty's Name VII - Painted miniatures

I've finally gotten some painting done.  It's been months.  When I'm away from the brushes for too long I build up an immense amount of inertia.  The amount of work it takes to reach over and pick up the brush to slap some paint on something seems equivalent to a twenty mile hump (hike).

The first four Marines.

Natural Disasters

This last week in Colorado has seen the worst flooding in our history.  Thousands have been rescued by the National Guard and local first responders, rescue teams and their neighbors.  Almost 200 people are still missing.  It just doesn't rain like this here.  The last time we had flash flooding of this sort was in 1976.  That was in one valley.  This storm is affecting the entire front range.

Some areas have been destroyed while others are completely untouched.  Happily, my town has had nothing worse than some roads closed.  My family are all safe.  Most of my friends are unaffected, but some have had their basements flooded.  The last week has seen the most people rescued by helicopter since Hurricane Katrina.

Here's a photo album of scenes from the Front Range.

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/flash-floods-in-colorado-slideshow/

Happily,  the rain is supposed to stop today and turn to sun.

Gaming Table Part III

After several weeks of not touching it, I've gotten some more done on the table.  I have enough tiles to fill it, with some left over.  I've got four corner hills, one ridge, one alien landscape and one river.  I'll need more rivers but I want to make sure the first one works out before I use the time and materials for the rest.

The table with the textured paint on the tiles.

X-Wing with the boys

There has not been much hobby action this summer, as stated before.  The boys still love their two main game pastimes though.  The first is D&D, which they have only just discovered and which is good for a quick hack and slash session before bed.

Their long term passion is X-Wing though.  We hadn't played in a few weeks and Owyn has been badgering me to play ever since we got back from camping last weekend.  I promised him we would play this weekend and that he could fly the "Million Falcon".

The big boys passing in the night.

Gaming with the Wee ones

It's been a long hard month since I last posted.  Summer is always rough but this one was especially so.  I'm looking forward to a nice slow fall and winter with no drama.

I've been doing a lot of assembly, mostly more commission work putting together 90+ Cryx models.  That work will fund my Dux Brit army, so worth the pain.  I've also plussed up my 15mm Sci/Fi with my CMG Kickstarter, more models for my Sahadeen army and some Khursan vics to mechanize them.  I'll be covering the Khursan models in a post all their own but let me just lead up to that with "WOW!"  These things set the bar for awesome.

I've also been dabbling with painting my company for In Her Majesty's Name.  I have four of nine models painted, though not based.  I'll get a picture of them up soon as well.

The big news though, and what this post is really about, is the latest gaming with the boys...

Treasures from the past VI

More treasures from my childhood.  In a Battletech box, along with the mechs, there were a bunch of miniatures.  These were used for roleplaying.  They are a little bit worse for wear, but nothing that can't be fixed.

The lot of them.  Divided up, more or less, by faction.

Treasures from the past V

Dragons of Glory.  Wow.  I have no idea if this was a great game.  I just know I loved it.  I'd read the books.  This was simply amazing.  Fighting the entire war out on the planet of Kern.  It was fantastic.

Treasures from the past IV

Yet another bit of my juvenile past, pulled from the dusty doom of a storage unit.  I played a fair bit of D&D as a kid.  My first exposure was when I got the Red box from a distant relative at the beginning of a long summer on a mountain in Wyoming.  It was hit or miss over the next few years, but it was a steady part of my childhood.

Re-discovered modules.

Treasures from the past III - Mechs

In all of the bits I found a couple of months ago, some of my favorites are the Battletech stuff.  I played this obsessively, as only a teenager can obsess about something.  I played full, two battalion games, solo.  That's 36 Mechs on a side, with all the record keeping that goes with it in a game like Battletech.

Notice the sharp black paint scheme.

The Company List - MGCC&W - In Her Majesty's Name VI

Yesterday I posted up an introduction for the main players in my Company.  Today I'm posting the company list with stats and characters.  I only have eight models so far, one officer, one Sgt and six Marines.  I have a model for Mr. Smith on the way, but it's coming from the UK so it will probably take another two weeks to get here.  I still need to source models for the sailors.  Some of the more exotic options will wait until I've played a few games and to see if official models are released for the USMC.

Marines in Cuba.

The Company is formed - In Her Majesty's Name V

Maj Waller stood in the ward room of the Rattlesnake as the steamer plowed it's way across the Atlantic.  With him in the room were the leadership of the reinforced platoon he had formed.  Before him stood some of the greatest Marines of his time, men who were already legends in the Corps, if not in the wider world.

Sitting just in front of Waller was his second in command, Capt David Dixon Porter, known as Dave.  Porter had been with him on Samar.  He came from a long line of naval officers, the black sheep of his family.  Porter already held the Medal of Honor, as did several of the other men in this room.

Capt David Dixon Porter, XO of the Clerks and Writers.

Gaming table, Part II.

I've been working on the tiles for the new table.  They need quite a bit of work, and I needed to pick up some more materials.  The table holds twelve 2ft x 2ft tiles.  There will be a few tiles that are just plan, flat terrain, suitable for placing other terrain on.  Others will have terrain built into them.

1/4 hill.  The profile on the edge matches the other three.

The best laid plans of mice and men...

The year is now half way over.  Give it a minute.  If you're like me, that's pretty mind blowing stuff.  I can't actually account for about half of that time.  I had some big plans at the beginning of the year.  I think it's time to stop and take stock and see if I'm on track to make my goals.

A new blog to follow

My friend Jonathan and I have been blogging for awhile now.  I, obviously, have a few battle reports on my page.  Many of those have been against Tony and his Corsairs, playing LotR.  Tony has finally succumbed to the dark side of the hobby, and started his own blog.  Please take a moment and drop over and gander at his first couple of posts.  Huntsman's Hobbies is, currently, chronicling the rise of a new faction for In Her Majesty's Name.

The Mercenary Company of Captain Charles Grey look like they will be a flavorful and interesting opponent for my Clerks and Writers.

And now for something completely different...

I have not accomplished much on the hobby front in the last few weeks, but this weekend has been very productive.  For four years I've been planning the game table I wanted to build in the basement.  Something has always come up that stopped me from working on it.

The table, nearly complete.

I won a Prize!

I entered a prize draw on the Trouble at T'Mill blog, which is well worth your time to check out.  I'm not sure how I beat out those gits Ray and Fran, who win approximately 80% of all blog draws on the internet.

My prizes are visible on this post.  I'm quite excited as I don't have a commissar for my IG army and can always use some more gribbly aliens.

Thank you very much Mike.  It's very generous and much appreciated.

P.S.  I have never actually met Ray or Fran and cannot confirm or deny their gitness status, though they seem like lovely fellows, from all accounts.

1000 Foot General's leadership tweaks

The 1000 Foot General has a post on leadership tweaks for your generals in Hail Caesar games.  This is a great idea and one I'd love to check out.  If you play HC, or if you just want to change things around in your games, head on over and take a look at what he's got.

Alexander the Great

The Major General Commandant's Clerks and Writers - In Her Majesty's Name IV

Major Waller sat quietly in the chair.  Outwardly he was the picture of calm professionalism.  Inside, well that was another story all together.  Inside he was a typhoon of emotion.  He'd fought the Boxers in China.  He'd battled the Moro's in the Philippines.  He'd led men on one of the hardest and most desperate marches in Marine Corps history.  He should not feel this way sitting in a waiting room.

Col. Waller, just before retirement.

Memorial Day

Treasures from the past II - Books

In one of the boxes, pulled out of storage, there were a bunch of books.  In my teens I was very much in to Battletech, and it all started with this book.

A chance purchase after school turned into an obsession.  Look at the price on that thing too.

Bloggers for Charity

There are a couple of bloggers in the UK who have decided that it is time to give something back.  They are harnessing the power of individuals to effect change.  The same power that makes Kickstarter work.  The same power that makes our societies function.  It's the power of many individuals doing a little bit to make something great happen.

Bloggers for Charity

Victorian Science Fiction Manufacturers

This page is for Victorian Science Fiction and Steamp Punk manufacturers.  As always, if I have missed someone, please drop me a line in the comments and I'll add them in.

In Her Majesty's Name III

The book has finally arrived.  I've been anxiously awaiting this since I put in the order last month.  It's a quick read.  Very good first impression of the rules, though the proof will be in the playing.

Treasures from the Past I - 6mm?

Yesterday I set the scene for today's post.  One of the treasures I found was a bunch of 6mm armor.  Back in the day, twenty five years ago now, my father and I played Twilight 2000.  This was the only game we played together, and it was very special to me because of that.

USMC LAV-25 with 6mm flame job.

Treasures from the past

Last weekend, or two weekends ago, or some time in the recent past; I was helping my folks empty out their storage unit.  There were two boxes of my stuff, treasures from my child hood.  These were things that I had wondered, vaguely, where they were over the last couple of years.  All of these finds helped me through many friendless hours as a teenager.

It looked nothing at all like this.  At all.

Over the next few days I'll be trotting out these treasures, one group at a time.  It's a strange feeling to be digging through my gaming toys from twenty five years ago.

Introduction
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV

APC's

I backed the CMG Kickstarter for the expansion of their ZAS Mercs line.  The only problem was that I was already using the Bastion APC's for my Federation Marine Corps.  The ZAS are going to be Royal Rangers from the Principate, the third faction for my Gruntz armies.  This being the case, I needed some armored boxes to move troops around.  Happily, Brigade came out with some new models, and a sale, right around the same time.

Four Wombat APC's for my Royal Rangers.

April Accomplishments

As some of you will remember, March was an abject failure on the hobby front.  Happily, in April I turned that around.  I painted a ton of models, played a few games and, in general, just got back in to my hobby groove.

Praetorians!

Gruntz Battle Report - FMC vs Khanate strike force

We played half of another game of Gruntz last weekend.  The action was broken up by other considerations, brewing beer and making dinner, so we didn't get to finish the game.  This was my second game and The Traveller's first.

The table.

On line army builders

In my ongoing series on hobby resources this post will cover on-line army builders.  I'll start off by saying that I'm sure there's a bunch that I'm missing, so any and all comments to point me in the right direction would be much appreciated.

A Milestone

This month, for the first time ever, I've hit a milestone that I never thought I'd hit.  As of April I have painted more models than I have bought or assembled, for the year.

It says a lot about our hobby that some people will find this remarkable, because it took so long.  Others will find it remarkable because it actually happened.  The variety of personalities and priorities that fit within the "wargaming hobby" is one of the things that I love about it.

I like to game, first and foremost.  I'm a gamer.  All other things are secondary to that.  I also like to assemble models, minus the cleaning part.  I've assembled many armies for my friends over the years as well as the commission work I do for the local painting service from time to time.

The painting has always been my least favorite part.  I've thrown some paint at my Warhammer empire from time to time.  I have a few units painted.  I've got two painted armies for Lord of the Rings.  That's where I really started to paint.

Over the last couple of years I've come to appreciate my responsibility for the look of the game.  I've always liked painted models, but was ok with the game if they weren't.  Partly, this blog has changed my viewpoint.  When I post pictures of unpainted models I can see just how poorly they show.  It hurts my pride and makes me want to do better.

The same goes for terrain.  I have a lot of terrain, most of it unpainted.  It's another thing that has bothered me more the last year or two and that I'm working to change.

The point of all of this is that I'm not just thinking about changing my style, I'm actually doing it.  Gaming is still my priority but the painting is catching up.  I'm pretty happy about that.

Numidian Light Cavalry

Today I completed another unit for the Early Imperial Romans.  This is six Numidian light horse from Warlord Games.  Light cavalry has always been one of my favorite units.  The speed.  The hard hitting strikes on the flanks.  The fragility if you use them wrong.

All six of them.

Setting the Scene

Working through my blog roll tonight I found a treasure of a post by Sidney Roundwood.  I'm going to point you in his direction for two reasons.  Firstly, this post has some great ideas and even if you only use one or two, I think they'll improve your games.

Secondly, I want to be able to find it again, and now I have a permanent link.

With no further ado Being There, by Sidney Roundwood.

Gruntz Battle Report - Federation vs Caliphate

Sitrep:  Contact reported.  Infiltration Bn elements at location 49R27438574.  1st Plt, B Co, 2nd LAR with Mech attachements.  Movement to contact.  Destroy the enemy.  Hold the town.  The APC's will advance towards the last known location of the enemy.  Mechs are scouting ahead, will rendezvous at the objective.  No Air support available.  2nd and 3rd platoons at 60 minutes for relief.  Comms plan B7.

Light Armored Recon pushing the Infiltration Bn out of the village.

Hail Caesar Battle Report - Rome vs Carthage

Saturday was the monthly Hail Caesar game.  The local shop was running a tournament so I hosted Jonathan at my place.  Our armies have both grown to the size where we can get some interesting tactical situations going.  It was both fun, and frustrating, and resulted in a staggering loss for Rome.

By the way, I recognize the anachronism of a Roman army with an emperor fighting against Carthage.  It is what it is, those are the armies we have.

Lots of maneuver, not many Romans left.

I didn't go to Salute (or Adepticon, or Reaper Con)

Anne, of Anne's Attic has started a new meme, or at least she's started one if it takes off.  She did not get to go to Salute, or any of the other big shows going on right now.  Her suggestion is that all of us in that situation tell everyone what we did do.

I've taken the liberty to expand it from just Salute to also cover Adepticon and Reaper Con, since they are both going on this weekend as well.

Roman army - Group shot

Jonathan and I played another game of Hail Caesar yesterday, though that's a story for another day.  Knowing that the game was coming up, I've been trying, frantically, to get everything painted.  Jonathan has done a much better job than me of only bringing painted units to the table.  March's cock up put me behind but I came very close.  Both of our armies are coming along nicely, though HC will play better with a lot more models than we have.  Still, here's an army shot, showing everything that is done so far.

All that are painted.

In Her Majesty's Name II

Yesterday I posted on In Her Majesty's Name.  I was lamenting the fact that the US Marine adventuring company appeared to have been removed.  My plan was to source minis on my own and use the build your own rules to build the company I wanted.  Happily, one of the authors commented and, very gently, let me know that I was wrong in my assumptions and that the Marines are still in.

Naturally this made me even more excited for the release.

Society of Thule from North Star Military Figures.

In Her Majesty's Name

This is yet another set of skirmish rules, though these are Victorian Science Fiction.  There is a fair amount of buzz about this set.  Jonathan, of The Inevitable Spark, has been, oh so gently, pushing this game.  From what I've seen I'm interested and it's a low bar to entry.

The cover looks awesome.  Steam, zombies and carnage.

Eastern Auxiliary Archers

Today I completed another unit for the Romans.  We had a snow storm roll in and everything was shut down, so I had most of the day to paint.  This is a unit of eight archers for my Roman army.  They did strong work in their last fight, which was their first outing, so I have high hopes for them now that they are painted.

Auxiliary archers.  

Praetorians!

Making up for March's failure, I finished this regiment of 21 Praetorians in the last week.  One will go on the base with the Emperor.  Sixteen will be in the Cohort and four are extra.  I'm really pleased with how this unit came out.  They are my favorite so far in this army.

He's so bad ass he can't even be bothered to draw his sword.

Terrain in the Grand Manner

To me, terrain is one of the most critical aspects of a table top game.  Good rules, beautifully painted minis, they all fall flat if the table doesn't look good.  Here's a couple of examples of what I'm talking about.  This gentleman does it right, in my book.  This is his Breed's Hill set up.  There's not too much on the table, but this does not look like a table.  It looks like a battlefield.  Even better is this War of the Roses table.  It may be the best looking battlefield I've ever seen.  

Image from Grand Manner Web Site

March and April

March was a complete failure for my hobby.  I didn't play a game.  I didn't pick up a brush.  I didn't assemble so much as a single 15mm figure.  Nothing.  While I have valid reasons (vacation, new job) I am still feeling down about it.

My plan for April is ambitious, probably too much so, but I have to pump it up to get my mojo back.

March.  This says it all.