Snow day!

Foe several reasons I was only at the club for a very short time yesterday. Feeling poorly but making a swift recovery, Mothers Day and needing to cook a meal for a large family gathering, and the rugby was on all conspired to me being mostly absent for the day. Which in many ways was a shame but you can't always do everything so perhaps you just have to do your best. Anyway here are a couple of very quick snaps of a game Tim and Graham were playing. As you can see it's ACW and in 20mm. The game started as a cavalry encounter but as I was leaving infantry had started to arrive.

Luckily before I went to the club yesterday morning I did a little work up the shed on the seascape boards. I say luckily as it is snowing today and I don't fancy working in a building with NO heating. Which means there may be little to show particularly if it does not come out how I want it to.

The other problem with it snowing is that I cannot use any spray primers to undercoat anything to paint later in the week. So until the snow stops I am in limbo wargames wise. Oh dear what a shame. but I suspect things will come to pass.

That's it for today. All the best Clint

Painting the Sea.

As you can see I have started to paint the seascape boards. Rather than paint the sea a single blue I will and have been using 2 different blues. To this end I have used a wet on wet technique firstly by adding patches of one colour and then before the paint is dry applying a different shade, again in patches. I continued to patch paint each board and blend the blues together where they abut.

Two coats were applied in this manner. Although I suspect a third and possibly a fourth coat might be required. The board to the right has two coats, but at some places the board can still be seen beneath. This method of painting, I hope, will give the boards a more dynamic and vibrant feel to the sea. Whereas painting the boards in a single tone might give a very "flat" finish more suitable for an interior wall than a seascape. While not deliberately trying to leave brush makes nor am I trying to banish them, which is why I am using a brush in preference to a roller.. At this stage they will give the boars a very slight texture and as such I have endeavoured to keep all the movements in one direction on the main boards.

The same method of painting has also been carried out on the two coastline boards with sufficient gap for a "beach" to be added later. I have tried to keep the lightest shade of blues closest to the shoreline and with an additional coat will reinforce the light colour. Care was taken to make sure all the boards had the same shade of blue at all the edges so that all the boards will fit together without it looking "odd"! On these two boards I have for the most part tried to follow the coastline with my brush strokes except at the very edges where I have used straight brush stokes so they will fit with the main boards.

The last photo shows a single board slightly closer and at a higher angle. You can see where I have sourced the blue paint as well as the other materials. Two large tubes of blue paint, clearly seen in the photograph are from "The Works" and should be sufficient for the whole project with plenty to spare for use on other later projects Also in evidence is my palette (an old soup bowl) and the paint brush which was part of a set from the 99p store. So you can see everything is accomplished on a limited budget. As time progresses I hope to turn this board into a small fishing village with a protected harbour not sufficiently large for a frigate let alone a ship of the line. Only time will tell if this comes to pass.

That's it for today. Thanks for reading and I will blog again on Monday. All the best Clint.

What on Earth's going on with me?

That is of course a Rhetorical question! As according to the Psychologists I am currently working with I'm "quite Normal"! Yes it was a surprise to me as well.

What I am really saying is that I have changed my plans for the Broadside game for a third time. Let me explain. The first game was going to be WW1 East Africa, but I lost interest! The second game was going to be A Very British Civil War. I am still interested in doing this but at 20mm scale I can't see any way of making this a stand out game. We all go to shows and there is ALWAYS a 20mm WW2 game, some of them very good indeed. The problem would come from my point of view in making the terrain to the right standard in the time and with both my resources and budget and still have the game look sufficiently good to look like a show game, and not just a normal club game. So last week I informed my club that I just would not have it ready in time. I hated admitting defeat, but I was not going to stress myself out over my hobby, which I should be doing for fun and enjoyment. So we will still do some VBCW but as club games.

Given that time was running out and recognising what I could and could not achieve on my own with a limited budget and resources I have had a drastic re-think. Working from the terrain up I thought about what would be simple to make, Snow, Desert, Sea and Sky sprung to mind. I plumped for sea, as it would be the most versatile and it would not depend on "flying stands".

So seascapes it would be. The top picture shows my quick roughing out of the shoreline. There will be 2 shore line boards with landfall in only one corner. They are arranged such that they might marry up together should they need or remain separate as the situation dictates. The two double length boards (2'x4') will be left blank of any land masses but may have either an indication of shoals and shallows and maybe a free standing island but that is yet to be determined. Using a very old eclectic carving knife, don't use a new one you will get it blunt and will get an ear bashing. Car boot sales (garage sales or Flea markets) will start in this region very soon, about the end of the month and for a very modest fee I shall get a belter (sharper) one. Personally I find them great for shaping polystyrene and as long as you are sensible and always cut away from yourself there is little chance of danger. But just be careful and make sure there is no small things (2 or 4 legged) which are likely to distract you.

I find it easiest to cut the outline out first. Once this was done for both quarters it is a simple matter of angling the electric carving knife at successively lower angles to create the contours. With luck you should be able to discern that in the picture to the right. This is a very quick process but you must be careful where you hold the polystyrene as you don't want your fingers near a power tool specifically designed for cutting meat! Do not expect the cuts to be perfect or to exactly match your plan drawn on the boards. I will admit that I was over eager and had to re cut one quarter but this step does only take a few moments so if you have sufficient materials is no major setback. Once you are happy with the size and shape they were attached in place on the 2 small (2'x2') boards by PVA white wood glue. Regular readers will no doubt remember my fondness for PVA as it is technically a resin (ResinW should anyone really want to get pernicaty). This is where I have left them over night drying. I have placed a firm weight on their tops to hold them in place and to "force" the two surfaces together.

Ok that's the stage I am at with the terrain, but that is of course only part of the game. The rules we shall be using will be Blood Bilge and Iron Balls (BBIB) as I really do like these rules they have an eighties vibe to them and detail each ships capabilities as individuals. A second reason for using these rules is that I have contacted the published and have been informed that they would be willing top "Sponsor" the game. The sponsorship is to take the form of some free rule sets for the club as opposed to any financial incentives. As wargamers free sets of rules are never to be sniffed at so I am happy with that. I shall discuss figures at a later date as I am waiting for some ships to arrive.

 I hasten to reinforce the fact that VBCW is not dead in the water (no pun intended, but I'll take it). It will be an active club game, just not a show game.

That's it for today. Thanks for reading and if the weather and temperature holds I should get this finished in reasonable time. I must say I am quite excited by this change in direction and am looking forward to the next few stages. I hope you are having as good a day as myself. Talk to you later, all the best Clint!

And so it begins

Despite having a heavy cold, (NO sympathy please), I have been working up the shed. Only a couple of hours but some progress has been made. As you can see in the photo I have supplemented the 2 foot square boards with 2 double sized (2'x4') boards. (I have 2 more small boards not shown and set aside for later use on different projects).

 There is a reason for this which will become evident as work continues. This gives us a 4 foot by 6 foot playing surface. Alan (the main Broadside organiser) has agreed that we can have as large an area as we need so I might well ask for an additional 2 foot length, not for terrain, but for dice rolling, model placement and for any literature we may produce as a club, for the game. By literature I do not mean great works of storytelling prowess that would be stretching it far to far, but club leaflets and meeting dates a little about the rules and the game and the background if you have been to a few shows you'll know what I mean.

The next stage is to plan out what terrain is needed and where on the boards it will go. I have decided to keep it as simple as I can as that will give me a chance to get it finished. Additionally I will want the boards to be as versatile as possible. There was a club game at Broadside last year some 8 feet by 12 feet only capable of one configuration. I am not knocking this approach, but as a small club with very limited resources I think it's better that we at least attempt to get as much use of any built terrain as we possibly can.

Looking carefully in the background you can see the moon boards and top left corner the past table which I have started to convert into Circus Minimus! I have only mentioned those terrain projects to let you know they have not at all been forgotten about. The moon boards were twisting and warping so a few months of lying flat will probably help them straighten out.

On an unrelated note I have been invited to attend a game with "Posties Rejects" in about 10 days time (16th March). I am actually looking forward to it and have offered to bring something edible. (Yes it's a bribe! ). As yet I have not decided if Sweet or Savoury is the way to go.
 Ray has informed me I will be on his side against Mr Angry (aka Fran) and  Big Lee as a consequence I have informed Ray that we shall keep anything edible our side of the table. I just don't have enough time to make some very rough "Poitin" but I don't want anyone getting too rowdy so I won't this time!

That's it for today with luck more again on Thursday!
All the best Clint.

One off game idea

      I mentioned a one off game idea to Karl (Crooked Dice) and he was kind enough to give me a free figure of a "fembot" as it has a robot mask head. So here is my first attempt to replicate the classic film "West World" onto the table top.  I have tried to recreate the Yul Bryner gunfighter. Unfortunately I could not get an exact copy of the figure so instead went for one I had already. It is a foundry figure from their "wild west Cowboy" range. I did not have a figure that was wearing a shirt without a waist coat. Yes I know that this one is wearing a "firemans" shirt which is different from the film. So we have to accept the figure is representational and not a definitive copy. (I did look for one at Cavalier but came up short). The thing to bear in mind is that it is the idea which makes the game and not the detail of the figure.  Despite the fact that the picture was taken in natural light it has come out very dark. I accept that the figure is painted in dark greys and dark browns but even so it has still the best of the bunch and still far to dark. Oh well!!

West World was of course written by Michael Crichton who then adapted and re-wrote the story which later became "Jurassic Park". While there are similarities there are also differences but they are both about "Theme Parks" which go horribly wrong and try to kill the people there on vacation.  I would recommend the film if you have not seen it. Yes it is dated and it shows, but it is still worth looking at.

So where does that put us with a game? In the film Yul Brynor is the only real nasty trying to kill the star. But that need not be the case in a game. The first time the star and co-star (who dies) encounter robots that have gone wrong is when a rattlesnake bites one of them. Obviously this should not happen, "Health and Safety " would freak! In a game setting however it would be better to have several robots trying to kill the players. At this stage it is only the germ of an idea but I think it has legs as a one of club game as we already have all the terrain and figures we would need, Unless of course I can scrounge more robot heads.

That's it for this week. It all starts again on Tuesday. Thanks for reading and I hope you like the idea. All the best Clint.

                                                                                       

1 New 3 Re-paints

 Well as you can see I have managed to repaint three more figures from the white spray can fiasco. In addition I finished another Hasslefree zombie hunter. So four figures finished this week, which considering I have been on Annual leave is really not a lot. I shall try to do better next week. Not really a lot more to say today so I shall keep it short.

I'll post again on Sunday (I hope) so until then take care of yourself and those who are close to you. All the best Clint

SWAG (Cavalier)

As mentioned on Monday here is a quick shot of the Cavalier loot. I did not stick entirely to my planned spend but I will say there is nothing I am unhappy with. So what did I walk out the door with?

• 7ombie Tv Supplement "For Ghouls and Colleges" Not only the rules but also the cards. Being honest I can't see myself using the majority of this rule supplement as most of it is not to my taste. I am glad to have gotten it, but it will probably never be used. I know a couple of other club members will want a look though and perhaps they will take something from it that I have missed.
• Osprey fortress series: D-Day Fortifications in Normandy. On my list I had thought to get an Osprey book of some kind. Given my Architectural background and my interest in wargaming Osprey Fortress series always have something of interest for me. It was not until Monday night that it occurred to me that I might find something useful for my Caen Campaign. Given that this book concentrates on beach defences there is little I can use in reality for the campaign though, unless I do a flash back mission. It will be read and digested and the information used at a later date no doubt.
• 1 Pot of Dark elf Green "Coat d' Arms" paint. (I can always use dark green paint!
• A complete 15mm War of Spanish Succession British army. (all the packs centre left). I had asked Black Hat to bring one for me to look at as I would rather see what the figures look like in real life than via the interwebb thingie! I glanced at two packs and immediately decided that I liked the figures so much more than the Bacus 6mm ones.  I passed Mike Lewis my hard earned and went round with a smile on my face all day. I will say I really do like these figures in 15mm, I can't stress that enough. I also bumped into one of the Kirke's Lambs Re-enactors (the group now disbanded), whom I had actually been to school with. This may have influenced me... Nah!
• 2 Packs of Bases from Peter Pig. (30mmx40mm) Having spoken to Ray Rousell about his 15mm Beneath the Lilly banners base sizes these are just fractionally bigger. This should be enough to get started. These bases are the same size an my Apache bases so we can both guess where any spare will end up. 
• 2 Resin Miscasts. Both these resin pieces are 20mm in scale and fit the criteria of farm out buildings given the very least amount of work. This work estimate will of course change the moment I want to use them of course.
• 2 Packs of SHQ 20mm French resistance. One with a pistol one with a shot gun and the last with a bren gun. Perfect for VBCW.
• 1 Pack of Artisan Cowboys from Second City. Yeah these were more an impulse buy then anything, but I was looking for a single cowboy figure but could not find the single figure I wanted. But all three are very nice sculpts and with a name like Clint Cowboys are always an option! Perhaps it's a weakness. If I had been Christened "Kirk" no doubt Star Trek would float my boat (it doesn't).
• Last but not least a gift from Crooked Dice another Fembot. Was offered it free by Karl because he really likes a game idea I suggested and because I gave him some of the fudge I made for Ray and Fran. (I am not suggesting good quality food is a way to a wargamers heart.... you can make your own assessment!)

Well that's the haul that made it home with me. But the best thing I walked away with was the smile and feeling of well being the show engendered in me.

That's todays post folks. next post Friday. Until then take care and paint if you can and plan to paint if you can't. All the best Clint!

Cavalier 2013

Yesterday I went to Cavalier, the Tonbridge Well Wargames Society (TWWS) show. For me this is the first show of the year and represents getting back into the swing of things after the Winter season. Weather is quite often an issue for this time of year but this year it was behaving itself, (last year we came across several flooded roads on the way home, a few years before that it was cancelled due to the snow etc....) This year I didn't even wear a coat even in the queue outside.  Ahead in the row of big hairy (and some baldy) large girthed chaps I could see some familure faces Bloggers Fran, Ray and Big Lee among them. (All three lesser girthed chaps than many in the queue!)

Inside it was very busy as always with shows dropping off in the afternoon. (I'll do a loot hall post later in the week, but overall very happy with my swag.) For me though the best part of the show was the meeting of fellow wargamers. At the start it really was a case of walking 5 paces and stopping and offering a greeting to a chap I knew (mostly vaguely but still) with others it was a 5 minute or longer chat. After the pleasantries it is usually a case of finding out what they are after or have already bought, some discussion of club politics and less commonly of Game ideas. I had mentioned one game idea with Larry (Hernebay and Whitstable club) about 15 months ago and he wanted to talk through the idea some more. With that gestation period the idea definitely has legs, so I will propose it for our club show game next year.

Anyway enough waffle and if I'm not going to talk about purchases or this idea I'd best start with the pictures. I have to say unlit the last hour of my visit I had forgotten to take the camera out of my bag, but was reminded by Big Lee as he rushed passed saying that he'd not taken many pictures (thanks Lee) or I might have forgotten. It's very possible that I have the labels wrong on these pictures so feel free to correct me if you know better.



Friday Night Firefight Club with Patton '46 gamed caption

My Favourite game of the show.
Crawley Wargames Club, "Brave Little Belgium 1940" Game

Belgium again, but out of the town square! A very busy looking game with much to see.

North London Wargames Group, "Drop the Bridge" (I think)

Old France new England a French Indian war game.
The guys were in costume as well !



Society of Ancients, "Battle of Crimius 340BC"



The Gamers Hub, a group of mostly young gamers
in the Medway towns with masses of enthusiasm.
"Imperial Siege 40000"



Southend Wargames Club (I suspect, but not sure and would like confirmation)
I spoke to one of the chaps here (sorry I can't remember his name)
 who was very happy to discuss the rules they were using "Maurice"
 and why they had swapped from "Lilly Banners Rules"
They also claim to have seen my blog so they get double bonus points.
as it looks like the kind of game I would have enjoyed to play.

Maidstone Wargames Club with "Operation Deadstick"


 

Tony take 2

Here is the repainted Tony. Yatter Yatter Yatter white primer spray varnish You know the story but here is tony finished. As you can see I still have not worked out how to manipulate images on windows 8 so it's a bit of a long shot. Anything closer or with a telephoto lenses was too blurry to show anything. I'll figure it out sooner or later, bear with me.

Anyway a weeks (half term child minding) is over, at least until Easter. Warhammer 40k has been put away again and need not rear it's head for at least 5 weeks. Actually I will admit I did enjoy the last game we played as I made my nephew work out all the rules in order to stop him saying 4+ for every single dice roll! By Jove I think he knows the rules now. Or at the very least he realises that ballistic skill + dice roll has to be 7+ in order to achieve a hit. This is a big step forward.

Tomorrow is Cavalier, a local wargames show. I have made some homemade chocolate pecan and pistachio fudge for the Posties Rejects. Foolish of me perhaps but I am putting it all in a single container I'll let them work out how to split it up among themselves. I also hope they will offer it to any other bloggers who turn up as they know far more bloggers then I do. I actually trust all of them to share but I do think there will be quite a lot of banter among themselves. Let's hope there's no fallout to innocent bystanders! The road to hell is, as they say, paved with good intentions!!!

I do have a shopping list of goodies planned in my head for the traders tomorrow. Certain traders will not be attending which is a shame as a couple of them would stock the things I need. Anyway here is a few things I will be looking for:

• WSS figures.
• 28mm Cowboy (1 single figure for a game idea)
• 20mm Partisans for VBCW
• 20mm Cold war turns hot/ZONE vehicle (BMP or BTR80 )
• 28mm Witches
• 28mm dogs
• 15mm chariot (a sample for chariot race game), Essex Donnington, Magista Militum etc
• possibly a 10mm chariot for the same If I can find one.
• Osprey Book of some kind
• anything else that takes my fancy at the time

Those are just as few quick thoughts, but when I get there I will no doubt get sidetraked and come away with something completely different!

That's it for today. Hope to do a show report on Monday. All the best Clint

BUF Cavalry.

Here today having finally gotten onto the computer we have a squad of British Union of Fascists (BUF). They are 20mm (1/72 scale) from IT Miniatures. At this stage they are 90% finished, with just the touching up to do and some tufts to put on the base, so let's call them done.  There is one officer (far right) and 9 other ranks which all have the same pose. All the horses are the same though, just painted in different colours. You can only just make out the red arm band on the figures left arms. You'll have to take my word for it but they also have lightning bolt flashes to the arm band (ok some did not come out that well but they all look OK if not perfect!).

 They all have black shirts and army green trousers typical of the BUF. The horses have a variety of blanket colours and different coloured tack. Overall I am pleased with how they have come out and think they will be a great addition to the proposed VBCW game.

Thanks for reading today and I will try to write again on Saturday. Only one more day of babysitting to go and am so looking forward to being able to do my own thing at least part of the day. Tomorrow I have to be Space marines and fight yet another 40k battle. I expect to lose the game big time, as my heart is really not in it. Anyway that's it for today. Speak to you soon.
Cheers Clint  

Here we go again!!!

Following my white spray primer fiasco. I set aside the figures for a while as I just could not face them straight away. Well time has passed and I have re-painted the first one. Tony is the next in line, but for now and because of the limited time I have this week, being half term etc etc. I just managed to get one back to how it should be.  Not dwelling on the subject too much, but re-painting is a pretty joyless task for me and with luck it will not be a mistake I will make again in the near future.

As I am now being asked by a 12 year old to if he can get on the computer I'll cut it short and try to post again on Thursday! All the best Clint.

Last 2 for now!

These will be the last two VBCW vehicles for now, although there will be more in a little while. Two commercial vehicles no doubt pressed into service by some faction or another. The cream and red one was a right pig to paint and came very close to being thrown round the room and wit with a hammer. If I can build up the courage I might re-paint it in a few weeks time. Where as the light green "Williams and Grey" delivery van was the exact opposite, a joy to paint. I will admit it did start as a lilac colour but once I changed that to the light green everything flowed. again both these are available from Tim at FRONTLINE cast in resin with separate wheels. These two are actually two miss casts and do have very minor imperfections but nothing I will worry about too much.  Knowing Tim it is always a bonus the get some miscasts for club use as he can't sell them.

My first real unit of troops is coming along. I will pick up a few packs of French Resistance from SHQ and maybe Grubby Tanks at Cavalier next weekend. These will be to flesh out the IT miniatures figures to create variety as opposed to starting a whole new unit. I will have to do a show shopping list this week (look for it in a post later in the week) to try to deter me impulse buying.

Also as it is half term I will be looking after my nephew for a few days which means painting time will be cut dramatically. He also wants me to play 40k so he can learn the rules (shudder). Which I must say I am not looking forward to. But hey ho he's only young once!

That's it for today. Nephew permitting next post is on Tuesday. Take care and have a relaxing Sunday. All the best Clint.