Pulp Zepplin (1)

Additional Stretch goals

I had a sleepless night last night. (Not though choice I hasten to add!) As such I did some thinking. (Yes it  did hurt and I am sick of listening to the worlds smallest violin before you ask!) Anyway Long story short. I had an email from Karl at Crooked Dice to let me know that my Kickstarter should be ready to ship in a week or 2. As all the stretch goals are now finished and delivered to his home.

Starting Point

Anyway as I wanted to build a "PULP" board any way I decided to start. And what is more Pulp than an Airship!?  What a Zeppelin? Who in their right mind build a Zeppelin? The answer is NO ONE! But I thought it was worth a try anyway! I decided it would not be all that large, So swigging down the Pepsi I figured 2 2 litre bottles would make a good enough "hull" (I am sure that HULL is the wrong word but until I think of it HULL will do!)


 Needed a nose of some description. So I simply cut a pimg pong ball in half! I am sure there is a better option but I just went with what I had! As with the hull I am sure there is a MUCH better option but I could not wait for that. I NEEDED to crack on!








So using some UHU general addehisive I stuck 2 Pepsi bottles together.  At this stage I have no idea if it will work but am hopeful! It is now about 3 foot long. Judging that to be sufficient I stopped there. At this stage it is all pretty rough but with scissors glue a scalpel and a saw I am not overwhelmed! (That comes tomorrow!).

This afternoon allowing PLENTY of time to dry I shall give it a skin. I ran to the local store (A tescos as it happens) and bought some cheap Kitchen towel. So I will detail my endevours later on maybe Sunday.

Now while I wait for this afternoon to arrive and me to get a little more spare time I have some questions about Zeppelins. I promise not hard ones.

Firstly the engines and bomb rack will be external to the gondola! But what else would you like to see in the gondola.  I shall put a cockpit and Matt has suggested some machineguns. But what else is needed bearing in mind it shall be quite small? Please add serious ideas to the comments and I will see what I can manage!

COLD WAR WARGAMING.
As mentioned last time I plan some cold war wargaming. With a bit of tidying up I have a modular desert board. So it makes sense to me to work in a middle east setting. I shall say no more until I get the basics done. But remember you heard it here first! Or forget all about it if you choose.

Full Circle!

Well you know what they say. "What  comes around, goes around"! And so it appears with me. I have slipped back into wanting to do "wild west" wargames.  As such there are 3 routes to explore.  Firstly cowboy skirmish games. I already have enough figures (who am I trying to kid... there are never enough) figures for that. I just need a set of rules I really like.  Maybe a few more apaches.. would be nice, but who knows.

The second thread is 15mm mass battles. I  know we tend to think of small skirmishes with up to 1/2 a dozen figures on each side. But Bigger battles did take place. Think "Battle of Little Big Horn!" for example. Peter Pig *(http://www.peterpig.co.uk/) Have just re-released a set of rules for that and to be fair. I am interested. It should be better that the "Hey you in the Jail" set I have from them. So that is something I shall definitely be looking at.

The third option, is to go non-historical. Yes we have Dracula in America,( Best place for him I should imagine). But we also have Westworld. Before anyone asks NO I have not seen the TV series! And this is an old conversion (way back about 6 years ago!) but I could be very tempted to do more.

So if I do Westworld I shall use the 7TV 2e rules. And shall buy some more "Fembots" just for the heads better to make conversions.

So in the future expect me to re-make my wild west terrain in bother 15mm and 28mm.

That's iit for now back to the paint table and the miniatures mine!

FSE Mortar crews (and Update).

These are the first figures painted since SELWG show. (Last Sunday).

Two Mortars and crew for my Federal States Europa force. Each consist of 2 crew and an automatic Mortar. Needless to say being sci fi the crews do not need to be on the same base as the mortar moreso they can fire it indirectly and even from inside a vehicle which may be parked over the horizon.  Maybe with the right set up even from Orbit perhaps of another planet.

However if that is the case reloading does become an issue! But as GZG (Link to GZG) sell the mortars with the crew we (at least for now) shall consider the crew close in general terms.

So 1 pack is 2 Mortars and 4 crew. As all my force is mobile I chucked the Engineers out of the fitters truck and re-purposed it to carry these!

here fore 2-4 Mortars and crews can fit in a single vehicle. Although at present I only have 2 mortars.


Following the show I did a small order as you can see in the pic. They arrived very swiftly and shall be assembled this weekend.  The new "Fitters Truck" does need some clutter added to it in the form of Tarps and boxes and the like so it MAY take some time before you see it, but rest assured it is now on the way. So more of this another time. All of which means for now just 3 more posts and I shall have it all done for Gruntz. (Yeah I believe that too... NOT!) There is bound to be more, infract I am already planning terrain wise and figure wise!

I have received another Crimbo Pressie for me and have that squirreled away for now. But at least I know I shall be getting something I want.

I have also opened the 7TV and now know everything is there. This was not really a concern as I could feel from the weight it was not empty, but this does stop me being disappointed!

That's it for today and I plan and hope to get back to normal soon. At least in regard to posting on tis blog.

Thanks for looking and I had better get on with Zombtobet painting as soon as possible.

All the best Clint

Zombtober 18-03 (And SELWG loot)

I was awake at 3:30 am this morning In order to get this single Zed  done! I had a busy morning BEFORE I went to SELWG. But more of the show LATER!

So I fulfilled my quota and did manage to get a zombie  painted before I went. Here he is, based when I got back and Photographed in the  dark! I say this in a feeble excuse to distract shoddy painting and basing and very shoddy basing. Oh well can't be helped now and looks pretty good in real life if not due to my photography. Right self pity over now!

A Mantic "Walker" from the all out war set. Another "walker" for the horde. And he should fit right in. A mature gentleman and dressed only in jeans. he's missing shoes and a shirt but I guess in a zombie apocalypse being well dressed is no longer a priority.  28mm hard plastic part of the starter set.
 
 LATER:
As you know I went to SELWG. Firstly let me say I had a brilliant time.

And this is what I bought.
4 items missing as they shall be part of my Christmas gift  as no one KNOW what to get me and when I write a list NO ONE still knows what is on the listr as NO ONE in my family speaks wargame-ese.

So this  is what I can show you at this stage! Top to Bottom and Left to right)

• 7TV2e box set (Starter casts are for Crimbo) nothing is opened just yet so It is possible (Although very unlikely) that it is just an empty box.
• 8 Jet bikes from Brigade Games these are for my "scout" unit in 15mm sci fi.
• 1 pot of Dark angels green paint! From Col Bill.
• 2 Paint brushes £1.50 each and I hope they shall be just brilliant) a nessercary evil am told as part of the wargaming hobby.
• 1 Pack of Peter Pig heads. Other parts of the order are to stop blushes and yet others are reserved for Christmas.
• 1 pack of Victorian Policemen with pistols. Best  if you do not ask any questions about them for now!
• 1 Pack of GZG FSE  Mortars again for 15mm sci fi. I meant to buy more but alas the ones I wanted are old stock and need to be mail ordered or picked up at a show.

I forgot to but some vehicle to carry the Mortars Mostly because I was flustered AND I did not want to make a snap decision. However as Tony from Brigade is Local and has an invite to the club I am sur if I want them I can get Brigade models quite easily! If I decide on GZG for the mortar teams I will need to send of to get the other figures so again that is no hardship!

Thanks for looking and more of the SELWG show in a day or two.
all the best Clint.

A new lease of life!

Project B

OK I  struggled yesterday with all hobby related items. I do have a game report to put on HOPEFULLY tomorrow!

On the other hand, totally unglamorous and also totally important. It also take up a fair amount of time. But it does mean I can attempt to crack on today!

Project B
 I have made the bases for 4 boards to be my "Pulp Alley" LOST valley. Firstly let me say it has noting to do with the TV series Lost, which I have never seen. I assure you any similarities are purely coincidental and probably just revolve about the name.

All totally embryonic at this stage and very likely to change. BUT given we only need a 3' square and that I have until February I am good and on target with this. I have gone thought a LOT of different options and as they could well change I am better just doing it than telling you what I have planned. But think Victorian Science Fiction show game using Pulp alley rules. Although it could as easily be 7TV. (Or many other sets of rules)









Project A
Yes return of the moon boards.  2 more boards each 2' square. As I am now in contact with Jon whom I went to university with I shall get my 15mm sci fi going again. I know it has been a few years and I find it easy to start projects and hard to finish them. But Jon has made me feel as if I am NOT banging my head against the wall continually with this.

Following a chat with him I shall be rebasing my SCI FI French! (That's Federal States Europa for all the GZG purists.) All I have to really do is put them all together and repaint the bases so that wil be done quite sharply.

The Two new boards will have a sci fi farm......on one board. Buts as demountable terrain. The other board I have yet to decide on I keep going from small settlement to building site to hilly and back again. So your guess is as good as mine at this stage BUT I have the boards carcassed out now and when I go shopping (Maybe tomorrow) I can start on one or both of them. I shall probably keep the second board fairly open as well and add the terrain as separate pieces.

I know long on promises and short on action.  A Game AAR tomorrow and then get back to what ever normal is. (As long as I am not watching movies at 3am again as I can't sleep!)

Right get some breakfast and up te shed workshop  again fast.

Have a great Day Clint

An easy paint

More talking than anything else today. I admit it I got side-tracked into real life. Maybe for a good thing maybe for a bad one! Who knows at this stage!

Here  are probably the easiest things I have ever painted. 2 Elephant tusks, or Mammoth tusks or if you choose really large alien teeth!

They are by Wargames Terrain Workshop WTW (Link) Thanks Dave. I really do like them simple and effective and can be used for almost all 28mm wargames. Maybe they were just loot or maybe they are objective markers of in my Back of Beyond just really large Mammoth tusks. Who knows at this stage.

I am continuing to paint 6mm sci fi vehicles but the seem to be going very slow at the moment, perhaps due to lack of sleep in the heat. But at least they are coming along and I shall have some to show next week. Until then a sneak peek into my mind...... AHHHHHH! Yeah I thought that would be both scary and unpleasant.

Subject changed:

Next year, I know it sneaks up fast! Anyway next year at some local shows I plan to run some "PULP ALLEY" games. At this stage I have 2 plans and here they are!

Option 1;
A Victorian Science fiction game set in a Victorian steam-punk dockyard.  Above is a Picture of Chatham Dockyard so you get an idea of what kind of feel I would be looking for,

here are my initial thumbnail sketches.

 At this stage all is likely to change IF I go down this route. So only take the layout as a rough guide and do not try to find the exact option.

All buildings would and should be enterable and as such all should have fully functioning interiors Which means in warehouses piles of crates,sacks and the like for loads of cover.

You will no doubt note,  as one of my players did the airship and the submarine. These ideas were seized upon and to those members of tHe club became for a very short while the most important parts. Where as I looked upon them as being added extras, there to be finished last so if they were not finished they would not matter.

I already have the figures and am happy to get a few more. So figure choice would not be an big issue.

Option 2:


The idea of a secret valley. Harder I found to sketch! I am deliberately not saying if \I would choose to make an Ice age  Crevice, an African rift or a South American canyon. If this is selected I hope to make that decision with the aid of club members. I do like the idea of an airship somehow being involved for 19th and 20th Century Pulp adventures, as well as a possible Tarzan type character.

As such I have all the figures OR am willing to buy a few more.  Again no reason why in a pulp setting German or Royal Navy could not be involved. Just think of "Doug Mc Clure" films and I am sure you will get the idea. Although at this stage I shall not be going full "Valley of Gwangi!" Unless players really want me to.  I am sure we all remember the T-Rex in Tomb rader though! Still brings a smile to my face

ANYWAY:
if  you have a strong preference let me know. I shall of course pay a lot more attention to my club members as they will have to play it.  Maybe try a few other clubs as well before a show. All depends on how soon I pull my finger out and get on with it!

If neither of those ideas appeal I am happy to listen (BUT it shall be "PULP ALLEY" ) to alternatives. I have learnt in the past though that the more options given the less decisions are made and the more debate is had usually by the people willing to do the least work and try to claim the most credit! So please stick to the above ideas unless you  have a really smashing, bursting to get out never been seen at a show before idea!

Monkey Business

The Blog title seems to be appropriate. Over the weekend I went to a boot fair and purchased 3 Planet of the Apes DVDs No not the Charlton Heston version, but the newer ones. Ones which I have not at the time of writing seen. The princely sum was £1.50, having not seen them I have no idea if this is money well spent , but if they are as good as the originals (I doubt it) I shall not be disappointed.


In addition I have been painting some Lucid Eye Simians! Just the 4 but I have both a Tarzan (and Jane) figures to go with them If I choose as well as some rather large apes. So If I choose I can have a "Pulp Alley" crew/gang/mob up and running in no time at all. They can of course be used in many other games, 7TV or Judge Dredd or well anything you want to think of.

They are 28mm but are quite small and despite the sixe of human comparison would struggle to fin into many other games, although one could see a giant ape in New York city if one really tried to think about it.

I must say a joy to paint and with no flash or mold lines or other casting defects. I could and would recommend them to anyone who waned some model apes as they are really easy to paint.

I am in 2 minds about what kind of base to give them so I settled on just desert. In addition as they carry weapons I was thinking they should also have a primitive marking maybe a red hand. At present I have decided against as this way they are slightly more versatile.

That's it for today thanks for popping by and I hope you liked  them but that is it for now.

All the best and enjoy the sun and weather if you can but no skin cancer. Next post in 2 days time. Until then, take care have fun and enjoy yourself.

Sci Fi trees?

Ok lets us start by saying NO ONE KNOWS what trees will be like on another planet. I really do not, not got the foggiest idea. NOT A CLUE. I don't even know if we will recognise them as being plant life> I have no idea.

However wargamers being human will always tend towards what they know and as we know what a tree is like on this planet, and as all wargames rules want some soft cover/concealment, these will do for now!

Now many of you might remember Joe (AKA Zabadak (Link to blog) purchased a plastic "flower" ball from the 99p store. I followed suit. I will turn it into Jungle in short order.

Now as you can see in the top picture there are a few purple "Fronds". I had initially no use for the purple "fronds" but waste no want not. I have turned them into sci fi trees.

Taking it apart (there were only 3 purple, the rest are green). So using a glue gun, I stuck them to 2mm MDF bases.

An easy job, and done quite quickly. You could stick them to plastic counters as well, but you would need to "Key" the surface or the glue will have almost nothing to cling on to.  I would choose not to use the glue gun on coins as they really do need to key to the surface. But you are welcome to try it if you like, BUT I would not recommend it.

The Glue guns are quite safe as long as you don't try anything silly, like squirting hot glue in you eyes or onto your tongue. And if you get any on you quicker to wipe it of than run to the sink and pour cold water on it. Look it is common sense.

Also cover everything with news paper as it makes tiding up easier and you will get nagged less.

Once dry. Trust me it is quick. I waited 30 mins (go and make a cuppa for the better half). It was simply a matter of painting with dark brown on the base and sprinkling sand in place. No need to be precious, every thing is already covered and no one really cares about the bushes. So be quite liberal in the sprinkling.

Once sprinkled I repainted again with dark brown and then hi-lighted in a desert sand/yellow.  That way job's a good un and only the tidy up to be done. leave over night to dry and in the morning put them away, or don't put them away and get nagged at, the choic e is yours>

Quick and easy sci fi terrain. I just wish I had a few more to bulk out the terrain.

Being Sci Fi they can of course be any scale and being purple they have an otherworldly look to them.

Big Trouble in the Tiny Dojo.

Yes I know I have not posted much recently. I have been busy. The painting has not stopped or even slowed down very much but I have been struggling with the blog posts as I hurry to get things done for the Analogue Painting Challenge.  These figures appeared on it Tuesday so it is safe to share them here now.

I want to play more zombie games this year and these are for that. 3 Dixon Yakuza martial artists that I picked up from Colonel Bill in the autumn. Anyway long story short. I am planning a zombie game at the club where everyone plays a martial artist survivor holed up in a dojo and the zombies attacking it. The zombies will not know any kung fu or if they do will not use it while in Zombie brain mode! WE can't have them doing flying kicks left right and centre, inly the survivors.

The idea is pure  "B" movie so the plot will of course be very naff. Yeah OKAY there may be a distinct lack of plot.... it is a zombie movie after all. Rules wise I did look at "Fist full of Kung Fu"  by Osprey but I think 7ombie TV will actually work better with each character stated as a co-star with some special martial arts skills. There will of course be no Gun, so no "Gun-fu" distance killing all very close and personal. (Giving the zeds more chance to bite!

Thanks for checking on the blog every so often I will try to post more frequently. And when the game takes place there will be an AAR>

All the best Clint

Moon scape part (2)

Just going to get this one in today and then no more until Monday. Yep next blog post will be on Monday.

So starting with the top 3 photos we have the moon boards now sealed with PVA white wood glue (Resin W) mixed in with black and brown paint. This helps to cover up the sand colours before painting. I use a ratio of 3 parts paint to 1 part glue and 1-2 parts water. I am sorry I can't be precise on the water as I go by viscosity and that will vary with the make of paint and make of glue.

The most important thing is to make sure everything is coated and the boards are sealed as we go not want all the sand coming away or rubbing off. (Some does eventually I know but it can be minimised with sealing and gentle handling.  As you can see in the second photo the repair is no longer noticeable (bottom left corner of the large crater. You will also note a slight uneven ridge on the left where an old crater has been removed.  Now to my thinking this looks good and not at all bodged giving the boards a more natural feel. If anyone makes an issue of this I will simply say maybe a crater hit there eons ago. But no one will, well no one who has not read this and wants to be a smart arse!

The third Photo again shows some slight depression or ridge where a crater has been removed. And before much paint goes on I think it looks like a credible moon scape.

Painting is really quick. I really mean that. Both boards were painted in about 30 minutes total. I am not precious when it comes to colouring these boards as I just want to get it done to an acceptable level without the need to sweat and swear at the boards.So That's the plan for me. I use a mixture of Black and white Acrylic from the works (two tubes for £5) and that does the whole lot with about as much left to spare.

 Painting is all done with a 42 decorators brush from the 99p stores. There really is no need to use anything smaller or more expensive. The bigger brush covers everything very quickly and you don't mess about trying to get it to look perfect. You just get on with it, no fuss, no stress and no hassle.

I start dry brushing from a very dark grey and just keep adding white to the mix when ever I run out of paint. And needless to say the lighter tomes tend to be on the most prominent features. It may not be like that in real life, I don't know I have not been to the moon. But for me it looks right and I am happy with it and that's what counts as far as I am concerned. technically it may very well be different, but if it is I will never know. So without degrees in "astrophysics" or similar I am Okay with how it looks.

All in all this remodelling took about 5 hours from start to finish (Not including paint/glue drying time) so something most could do over a long weekend. It does take longer if you are starting from scratch but I was not.

I hope you like the look of the new boards and I hope/plan to get a game on them in the next 6 months if not sooner as my UFO project comes to life.

Thanks for looking today, have a good weekend and treat yourself as I am sure you deserve it. I shall have a beer tonight with my evening meal before you ask.

All the best Clint out!