TIE Fighters Strafing Streets of Mos Eisley - Chaos on Tatooine!

TIE fighter begins his strafing run over Mos Eisley as both inhabitants and the various factions scatter

We played our fourth game in our Star Wars skirmish campaign using Space Weirdos rules. After being fired on indiscriminately by the residents of Mos Eisley, the Empire planned to strike back at the treacherous locals. A TIE fighter squadron would strafe the streets, letting the locals know who to fear on this planet. Knowing their operational security was porous and possibly compromised, they waited till the last minute to inform local patrols to withdraw from the streets. Unfortunately, a corporate security patrol and a squad of stormtroopers led by Darth Pylor were unable to get off the streets in time after their transport vehicles were blown up by the rebels.

    7 players gathered around for our 4th Star Wars campaign scenario using 'Space Weirdos' rules

Seven factions were caught out in the open when TIE fighters began roaring overhead and blasting away indiscriminately at anything moving in the streets. I used my hexagon shaped board. Most factions had to escape to the location of their bunker off the opposite board edge from where they started. They received +2 Victory Points for each of their four figures they got off-board. In addition, they received a bonus +1 VP for killing knocking their enemies out of action. Two factions, though, had completely different objectives. The Criminal Syndicate and the mercenaries of the Bronze Legion were trying to conduct a prisoner ransom and swap in the center of the board when the TIE terror broke out. The Bronze Legion had two members of the syndicate they had captured in the last scenario. Their goal was to get them to the criminals who would pay +4 campaign victory points to get their leader and trusted associate back.

    Darth Pylor & a squad of Stormtroopers advance towards the central square in Mos Eisley

Each turn, though, a TIE fighter blast would strike randomly on the board. I worked out a system to randomize where the blast would hit and all figures within two movement sticks would suffer an attack. The closer to the blast location, the more deadly the attack, of course. The players did not know where or when they would come, only that one would arrive somewhere every turn. It gave them incentive to get the heck off the board. Being gamers, though, they couldn't resist the opportunity to fire at their foes, though. I had counted on that. It made for a chaotic and deadly scenario. Darth Pylor lost all three Stormtroopers in his squad, while their Corporate Security also had three of their force taken out of action. Admittedly, they were a bit outnumbered. Their normal allies the Bronze Legion were not technically hired for this mission. They were in full self-preservation and "get the ransom!" mode. Keith did little to help either Mike S (Empire) or Corporate Security (Joel), unlike normal games, when he is fairly bloodthirsty in his pursuit of the empire's goals.

    Allen moves is patched-together Criminal Syndicate force towards the meeting point with the Mercs

Surprisingly, neither the Criminal Syndicate nor the Bronze Legion double-crossed each other. TIE fighters struck close to the Bronze Legion on the very first turn. By the time Keith's troopers made it near the central square, it was a battleground and deadly crossfire. The Bronze Legion called out and motioned to the criminals to cross to their side of the square where they could make the exchange under less fire. Like an evil game master, I had arranged the various faction's missions so that nearly all of them would likely meet in the center. Allen, controlling the Syndicate, sent his battle droid across to the mercenaries to make the exchange. 

    Joel moves up Corporate Security, keeping a wary eye on his brother's Syndicate thugs

I told both players that once any of their figures made it into base contact with each other, they would each receive a bonus, out-of-turn order action. They would need to roll for initiative again, and could choose to go first or second. The two players in contact had four possible choices for their action: (1) Do nothing; (2) Exchange the item/prisoners; (3) Shoot the other figure; (4) Melee the other figure. Both chose to honorably fulfill the exchange -- Keith even handing over the remote which controlled the Taze-cuffs the prisoners were wearing AND the detonator to the bomb he'd planted on their bodies! Like I said, I was surprised by Keith -- who is known for saying, "Shoot the prisoners!" -- and his honorable conduct. 

    The first blast from a TIE fighter lands dangerously near the mercenaries -- who sprint for cover

With 20,000 untraceable credits in hand, the Bronze Legion quickly and orderly exfiltrated the tabletop. Another TIE Fighter strike hit the streets near them, but they were unharmed. Keith was the first to leave the table. Mission accomplished, plus several Mos Eisley citizens who fired on him were gunned down, as well. Allen had a much longer path to return to his original board edge and escape. Time after time, TIE fighter blasts knocked down or staggered his criminal enforcers. The battle droid tucked each of the ransomed prisoners, who'd obviously been drugged, under an arm and sped across the table. His metallic boots rang across the central square as he crossed to the opposite side and disappeared down one of the side streets. Three of the four criminal syndicate's enforcers were able to escape off the board edge, with only Sluggr left lying unconscious in the main square. 

Firing line of Mos Eisley citizens, Syndicate thugs, & Rebel Alliance troopers pour fire into the Empire

Both the Rebel Alliance and the local rebels were stoic in the face of the TIE fighter strafing runs. Neither appeared to be in a hurry to get across the table. Instead, the found good firing positions and fired at the imperial forces. When we decided to call the game, we reasoned that barring an unlucky TIE fighter blast, they should be able to escape. On the other hand, the outlook was not so rosy for Darth Pylor's Stormtroopers or the Corporate Security agents. Both had only one figure escape off-board. The rest lay, unconscious where they'd been shot by either of the rebel factions or perhaps the enraged Mos Eisley citizenry. 

    Explosions and chaos rocked the streets as seven different factions ran for cover & shot at each other

The Mos Eisley residents were a late addition to the game, as Andy was able to make it. I started his four armed and angry citizens inside one of the buildings bordering the main square. He needed to escape to a bunker complex, as well, off the same table edge as the Bronze Legion. As the TIE Fighter blasts rocked the homes around the central square, Andy's fighters quickly emerged and began a running firefight with the Imperials and the Bronze Legion. They sought cover behind the barricades around the radar array in the square or behind the walls of some of the buildings. Seeing they had similar goals, the rebels and citizens joined forces to pour fire into Mike S and Joel's forces. Andy continued firing and moving, though, effectively skirting the edges of the square and taking cover behind the buildings surrounding the square. Once behind them, his forces sprinted towards the board edge and did a good job getting off.

    As the blaster fire on the Stormtroopers builds, they begin falling -- some revived, only to fall again!

All in all, the players appeared to have a lot of fun. There was some grousing by the imperial forces, perhaps justifiably. However, with seven factions each with their own goals, there were a lot of "moving parts" in this scenario. A more aggressive Bronze Legion could easily have negated their disadvantage. Additionally, a less bloodthirsty Rebel or citizenry faction would also have lessened the hail of fire that rained down on them from both above and below. The game played fairly quickly with seven players, as well. When things were winding down, and figures began to escape off-table, I looked at the time. We had only played for two hours at that point. We called it a bit after three hours, though if we had decided to play out the last turn or so, it wouldn't have taken long. Most factions were in "run for cover" mode by that point and not as many shots were being fired. 

TIE fighter streaks just above the rooftops of Mos Eisley -- yes, I had them hanging from the ceiling!

The winners of the scenario? The Rebel Alliance (cue Star Wars music...!) with 17 points. Interestingly, the normal player (Mike W) was out of town so Jenny stood in and played his faction. I've been teasing Mike W that his rebels are way too concerned for their own safety and tentative in the games. Jenny was more bloodthirsty, as I imagined she would be -- downing three enemy troops. Here's the chart showing the scores for this scenario.

    Jenny's cool efficiency gunning down enemies & getting her rebels off-table scored her the victory!

    Another shot of the players gathered around my 4' across hexagon mat that I made for free-for-alls

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 306
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 269

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 62
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 72

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 144
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 212 

    It's very close at the top of the total campaign VPs with 3 factions separated by 3 points! 

    Criminal Syndicate thugs escaping off-table with their rescued members, Foxhurst & Quiddo

 

Desert Buildings - Five Done Already!

    Stormtroopers inspect one of my latest 3-D printed buildings to ensure it is up to imperial code

So, remember the great deal I got at Hold the Line on those 3-D printed buildings? Well, they turned out to be very easy to paint up for the tabletop, too! Originally, I was going to paint up the three smallest that I bought from Jeff G in time for this coming Sunday's game. After my friend Mike S handed me two more that fit the theme perfectly, I said what the heck? We'll get five of them ready. 

    'I saw the rebels go this way!' These buildings will see use as desert Tatooine buildings very soon

Fortunately, the weather in Columbus cooperated at the start of this week, being sunny and good spray priming weather. I primed all five in a Camouflage Tan acrylic spray paint that I bought at Menards. Unlike the Tatooine buildings I bought from Diabolical Terrain, these have a lot more nooks and crannies that may have been missed by the first coat. So, I decided to brush paint them a similar "Bambi Brown" craft paint. This ensured everything got a good solid base coat. 

    All of the roofs come off, some are in 2 parts like this one, others of the ones I bought are 3 piece

Next, I dry brushed them a craft paint called "Wild Rice," which is a very light tan. I know that I did a white highlight on the Tatooine buildings, but since the Bambi brown is a little darker than the Camouflage tan spray paint, I went with a slightly darker highlight than white. I was doing all five buildings at the same time, moving from my painting desk out on the big 8'x5' gaming table. I set out a bunch of cardboard boxes and other things to set them on to dry after I painted them, too, so I needed the space.

    This 2-story building comes in 3 parts -- bottom, upper level, and roof for upper level

Now, it was time for the detail work. Frankly, there wasn't a lot of ornamentation or other things to paint up besides the walls on these desert buildings. The rooftop access doors, wooden adobe parts, and the one that had a wooden floor I base coated a medium brown called Autumn Brown. It received a khaki tan highlight. There was one building that had what looked like a tile floor in a square grid pattern. I decided to do a checkerboard of pale blue and yellow. I dry brushed those colors over the tan very lightly and not completely, leaving some tan showing. I am incredibly happy with how the tile turned out!

    Obviously, these buildings will also be usable as historical Middle Eastern ones & for the desert SW

The exposed mud brick areas I painted a lighter brown called Raw Sienna. This was probably the most time-consuming step in the entire process! There were a lot of exposed brick areas on these five models, and I kept finding new ones as I spun the building around to paint it. Or I should say, spun each level of the building around, as all of them had at least two levels and some three. All except the domed building fit together nicely on the provided tiny conical projections and holes they aligned into. It looks like the projections on the domed building (one of the ones Mike S gave me) had a bit of a printing problem and didn't fully print.

    Mon Calamari search the interior of the bottom level - note the notches at the corners so it fits tight

Speaking of which, I think you can see a quality difference in the ones I bought from Jeff G and the two I was given. The purchased ones have markedly less visible print lines and are crisp and a better overall quality. There are some issues with the printing of the smaller two buildings I was given, but nothing too drastic. They painted up nicely, and in the case of the tiled building, have a great design and layout.

    On to the upper floor -- I really like the staircases and courtyards on these buildings

The final step was to do a watered down brown vehicle wash on the surface of all of the five buildings. This was a messy step and I'm glad I seem to have gotten through it with neither any major spillage nor places where I handled wet surfaces and marred the wash. I really like the way the wash softens the dry brushing and gives a smoother tone and texture to the buildings. I think the buildings are a richer shade when seen in person than in the bright light of my photographs. 

    The Empire sent battle droids to check out another of my newest buildings - they like the view!

I will still have to clear coat these buildings, but it is rainy and humid in Columbus, now. Hopefully, I get better "spraying weather" before the weekend when the five will be part of the tabletop for my next Star Wars skirmish using Space Weirdos rules. In previous tabletop, I've been pulling out all but the kitchen sink to fill a nice cityscape. These five buildings should go a long way towards providing a more unified look to my take on Mos Eisley. So, expect to see more photos of these buildings in the background next week!

   'Cool building...' says one droid to another -- the photos make the surface look brighter than it is

So, what was on my painting desk while I was out in the other room working on these buildings? I have a group of eight 28mm armored orcs from Gripping Beast that are more than halfway done, I think. I am also working on two 3-d Printed Asian water buffalo from Miniature Building Authority. And (of course!) I have another stand of bamboo on my tabletop. Now that these five desert buildings are done, I can resume my normal pace working on the other stuff. So, stay tuned for more output soon!

    This is probably the smallest of the ones I bought from Jeff G -- but I think they all turned out great

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 306
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 269

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 62
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 72

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 144
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 212

    Look who's back! It's my group from Five Parsecs from Home admiring the lovely tile floors

    Gunny approves of the views from the rooftops, staircase and tiled 2nd story patio

    The smallest of the five, it was also probably the least well-printed with 'strings' here & there

    I think the dome on this building will help it fit in with the Tatooine vibe of mine from Diabolical

    Poor Sci-Fi Gatorfolk -- they have yet to make it into a game since I painted them...!

    No floor on the interior room -- I considered adding one of styrene plastic myself, but decided not to

Doggerland Hunt: Pooping & Peeing in the Paleolithic

    Our neighbors to the west, Joel's tribe, which would go on to corner the auroch hunting market

So when my friend Keith said he wanted to run a Stone Age miniatures game using a rules set called Doggerland Hunt, it actually took me awhile to figure out which rules he meant. In the space of two years, three games came out with "Doggerland" in the title. One is a board game simply called Doggerland. Another is a weird World War I game, A War Transformed: WW I on the Doggerland Front. Finally, there is the one he was referring to, Doggerland Hunt: Rules for Stone Age Miniature Gaming. What's the fuss about with Doggerland? Apparently it is was a landmass between Britain and Europe before the glaciers melted and the seas flooded it, creating the North Sea. Or something like that!

    Keith, center, set up another Prehistoric game for us using 'Doggerland Hunt' rules

Anyway, Keith's Prehistoric games are fun, so it sounded good to me. We had six of us present that Sunday evening. Instead of each of us having our own human (or proto-human?) tribe, he said the rules recommended two people play the predators. In this case, it was a trio of wolves that Keith controlled and saber-tooths that Mike S commanded. Allen, Joel, Mike W, and myself controlled our own little band of six cavemen, except we lived in little huts. Not caves. No Stone Age women were on the table, so maybe they were back at the camp doing cave woman (or hut woman) things. 

    My tribe of stone age hunters discover fishing is much more productive than picking fruits or nuts

Keith explained that the game had a very board game feel. It was played on a hex grid, and the winner among the humans would be the tribe that secured the most units of food. We could gather (picking fruit or nuts), fish in the ponds, or hunt any of the animals wandering the table. They ranged in size from Aurochs, that were the smallest (!), through rhinos, and mammoths. There were also some omnivores like bears and angry giant boars, who might charge us if we got too close. We could make our hunting more efficient by creating weapons (flint napping) back at our encampment. All four of us chose to do that with a varying number of our six figures on turn one. 

    Meanwhile, the Predators (Mike S & Keith, standing) are busy pooping & peeing to claim areas

I left two guys back in camp to create weapons, then sent the other four off to pick fruit from the orchard not far from us. As guys returned with food, they'd take a turn flint napping, while those creating weapons rotated out. We did this until eventually we had five of our six guys with sharp pointy weapons. What were the predators doing while we were gathering? Well, in probably one of the most interesting (?) or different (?) game mechanics I've seen in my decades of gaming, they were busy pooping and peeing! Yep!! The game had rules for the predators controlling territory by marking it with their poop or pee. They could pee every turn (I'm not making this up), but could poop only after eating a fresh kill. Peeing controlled only one hex for the predators (thankfully, humans did not have to poop or pee to earn victory points). However, pooping controlled an area up to two hexes away in a circle from that apparently very smelly scat. I think Phoebe from the old Friends TV show should write a song about that, "Smelly scat..."

    Our neighbors to the east (Allen's tribe) suggested we hunt mammoths instead for even more food

My clan or tribe -- whatever us six guys called ourselves (one too many for a bowling team) -- switched to fishing after realizing we got twice as many food dice from that. When a guy returned to camp carrying up to two units of nuts (Yep, my guys were walking around with two nuts), we rolled one die per unit. However, when we returned with two units of fish, we rolled two dice per unit. Heck with fruits and nuts! We're not the Vegan tribe or anything! Then, my neighboring tribe (Allen) suggested we go hunt mammoths together. By this time, we were bristling with our flint armory and felt full of manly, Stone Age confidence. 

    We join forces with Allen's Skinny Tribe and pounce on one of the mammoths together

So, we checked the rules carefully, noting that if we got within two hexes of the mammoths, they'd simply run away. So, we stayed three back, then pounced, charging in our allowed movement distance of two hexes and attacking them in the adjacent hex. Keith assured us that was legal. A typical Stone Age dude rolls 1d6, needing a "6" to cause a wound. However, if he has sharp flinty weapons, he rolls 2d6. If he declares he is in "Fight mode," that goes up to 3d6 per guy.  Allen and I were planning on ganging up on the same mammoth when we pounced. Our little Stone Age jaws dropped wide open when the other one turned around, moved back, and charged alongside his brethren. We panicked and each of us attacked a different beastie. I inflicted two hits, but the first only makes it flee, so I did only one of the 9 or 10 wounds the mammoth could each take. Allen had only one hit ,so just made his flee. They had also attacked us and for each hit they inflicted, one of our brave hunters would soil his furry little shorts and flee, as well. So, I guess we were doing a little pooping, too!

    Much to our dismay, the 2nd mammoth comes back and charges in to aid his buddy - Holy Poop!

Allen and I, being the more intelligent type of cavemen, reformed our clans, and added in reinforcements telling the other members of our tribe to give up fishing and nutting and line up for our would-be barbecue. Our larger mass of odoriferous, hairy men sneaked up on the same pair of mammoths. They naturally didn't smell us coming because, by now, the board was full of steaming piles of tiger and wolf scat. Once again, we pounced! I have never been a fan of games where you hit only on sixes on d6. I rolled 17 dice and scored maybe one or two hits. Allen rolled 18 dice and scored none! The mammoths ran away again, but not before making more of our group poop their furry shorts and flee. Again.

    We inflict only a fraction of the hits needed to kill a mammoth & can only watch as dinner runs away

After that, I decided to give up this new-fangled hunting thing and go back to fishing. Nothing fights back in the pond, or at least nothing we discovered. Meanwhile, we heard about the hunting "hack" discovered by the Very Skinny Tribe (Mike W). Compared to my hulking brutes, Allen was the Skinny Tribe, but even he was beefier than Mike's boys. They discovered that Rhinos are the perfect beast to hunt. Why? They bounce back after they run away. What?? Like bears and boars, they're angry types that will charge you if you're too close. Even if you make them flee with your first hit, they come right back for more the next turn. So, the Very Skinny Clan killed the first big game animal (not counting the aurochs Joel was killing). They butchered it, took it back to their camp, and became the Not As Skinny As Before tribe.

    Mike W's Very Skinny Tribe figures out rhinos are better to hunt because they come back & fight you

Why didn't Joel's aurochs count? Well, when butchered, they provided only ONE unit of meat (which still gives 3d6 worth of food, though). The rhinos and mammoths give a lot more -- I may be wrong, but I think it was 10 units of food. Doing primitive caveman math, were a tribe to kill one of those hairy elephants, they would end up with 30d6 rolls. Winner, winner chicken dinner! Er, mammoth dinner!! So, when we called it an evening, Mike W's Not As Skinny As Before tribe won (their bellies full of succulent rhino meat) and Joel's "We Cornered the Auroch Market Tribe" came in second. Allen and I went home with rumbling bellies, having to be content with a basket of blue gills.

    After two fruitless attempts to kill a mammoth, my tribe says 'So long!' to hunting & return to fishing

Late in the game, we also discovered that if you want to go in Fight mode you can move only one hex. I pointed out that made it impossible to even catch a mammoth. He (or she) will always keep moving away from you two hexes. Keith said he thought we were supposed to hem them in or corner them. I'm not sure with a two hex move if that is really feasible. And do we want individual hunters running around in a screen with two packs of hungry predators out there? I mean, the only way they can win the Great Predator Poop Race is to...well, poop! And the only way to have enough poop inside is to eat things, and we're not talking nuts and fruits!

    Our tribe has a post-hunt debriefing where we discuss plans & get out our manly frustrations

The game felt very much like it had not been play tested thoroughly to me. At times, the text of the rules contradicted the Quick Reference Chart. There was also the inability to catch prey, or at least catch them and be in Fight mode. The suggestion that players take on the role of the predators and spend the game moving around the table pooping and peeing seemed odd, too. Did the author's players really find that fun? Mike S (Team Saber-tooth) was being efficient in his trying to win, but it sure didn't look like he was having a lot of fun. He automatically killed Aurochs (no dice rolling necessary), and wasn't allowed to attack the bigger prey. Keith wasn't as focused on efficient spreading of his manure, but was getting his jollies out of trying to push the angry omnivores towards us. He fell far behind in his mission of stinking up Doggerland, though, and lost the Great Predator Poop Race.

We have done a number of stone age hunting games through the years, and usually have fun with them. As Keith mentioned early on, this one was more like a boardgame. Too much like a boardgame, I felt. We may as well have had meeples on the table rather than Keith's stone age hunters. And the predators could have little brown and yellow tokens to control the board. Keith is going to re-read the rules and see what we got wrong, though. So, maybe there will be a sequel to this game. Doggerland Hunt II: the Really Big Dump??

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 306
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 269

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 62
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 67

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 144
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 212

Hold the Line 2025 Purchases & Pics of Games

    One of the 7 buildings I bought from Jeff at the Hold the Line flea market after its spray primer coat

I didn't go to Hold the Line 2025 expecting to buy a lot of things. The only two vendors I knew that were going to be there ahead of time were Firelands Games themselves (who host the con) and RRB Minis & More. At the last minute, I discovered there would be additional tables for a flea market, too, and attendees were welcome to grab one and set up their items. I typically don't buy much from the flea markets myself, but I do enjoy selling things in them. So, I dragged along my four Snap-tite tubs that I took to World at War the previous weekend.

    These buildings could work for Middle Eastern or desert Southwest, or even fantasy, I thought

In addition to bringing along the same stuff to sell, I lowered the prices on most things a bit. I sold ONE item at World at War, so it's not like I had big hopes of selling everything on my table. Much to my surprise, I did very well in the flea market. I had posted some photos of what I was bringing and even received an interested response from an attendee the day before leaving. Sure enough, once I got there, I started selling things right away. And thanks to my friend Tim P, I finally sold all of the packs of unpainted 15mm Fantasy minis that I'd been hauling around for awhile. Before long, I had a nice wad of cash in my wallet. Time to shop for myself!

    If I can get them painted in time, these will see service at Mos Eisley on Tatooine next Sunday

The first thing I noticed was my friend Jeff G's table he was calling "Shieldwall's Last Gasp." Formerly running a business called Shieldwall Gaming Club, Jeff was trying to sell off the last of his stock. Included in there were seven large 3-D printed buildings. My eyes must have bugged out when I noticed a huge Mesoamerican looking temple priced at only $20. In fact, all of the buildings had the same price. It looked so cool. I can't imagine it going for less than $100 anywhere else. There was also another, slightly smaller temple. The seven other buildings would work for as Middle Eastern, desert Southwest, or even Tatooine. They had flat roofs, adobe type walls, and were all very nice looking. Jeff saw me looking and said, "I'll sell you all seven for $100." Once again, my eyes likely bugged out. Even Jenny seemed startled by how low of a price he was charging for so many buildings. She admonished me that I would regret not buying them and that I'd never find similar ones for the same price.  

        The Mesoamerican temple that first drew my eye to 'Shieldwall's last gasp flea market table

My friend Mike S stopped by and I pointed them out to him, too. His comment sealed my purchase: "Are they going home with you or me?" In other words, if I didn't buy them, he would! I counted out $100 of my flea market sale money and handed it over. Jeff reached under his table, pulled out a large plastic tub, and began packing them into there carefully. He said the tub was included in the price. When I asked him if he was sure, he reminded me he now has LOTS of plastic tubs he doesn't need, having shut down his retail business. I didn't argue. What's more, I didn't have any "buyer's guilt" after forking over the cash. The price was unbeatable, I can easily use the desert buildings for my Star Wars games (in addition to other historical scenarios), and it was "paid for" by the sale of things I wasn't using any more. This is exactly how I like to "roll" on buying new stuff, anymore!

    Slightly smaller Mesoamerican temple Jeff was selling -- could easily also be used for Fantasy

 

Since I've begun painting up 28mm Fantasy, I imagine the temples will actually come in handy someday. To me, they look Mesoamerican -- either Mayan or Aztec. However, as Mike and I were discussing, they don't have the obvious ornamentation that mark them as definitively from this area. They did a good job of sculpting it so you could use it for a Mayan building or equally as a generic fantasy temple. In all honesty, it is much more likely I will use it that way before I eventually get around to that "one day" Mayan project I want to do! At worst, these two purchases are like the Acheson Creations Mesoamerican scatter terrain that I've been collecting for years (and haven't painted any of, yet). At best, I'll get a chance to use them for some games of Sellswords & Spellslingers.

    Another of the 7 'other' buildings that will likely see use in a number of different historical periods

Jeff had printed them in a black filament material, which is honestly the way to go, I think. It means that when you are priming it, anything you miss is in a crevice or shadow, which is likely going to be black anyway. The various levels of the buildings fit together very well, with all the roofs and floors coming off. They are sculpted with prongs that fit nicely into the holes of the on the opposite level. I'm really looking forward to getting some of these on the tabletop quickly. In fact, as you can see from the photos, I've already primed three of them!

    These larger two-story buildings I held off priming -- I will get to them eventually, I'm sure!

Apparently, my purchasing these buildings from Jeff reminded Mike that he had a couple similar desert style 3-D printed buildings that he had decided he wasn't going to paint up. He brought them over on our next Sunday evening gaming session and handed them to me. They were indeed very similar in style to the five desert style ones I had just bought. They were about the size of the three smaller ones, so I went ahead and spray primed them with khaki the next day. I would be really, really happy if I got the three smaller buildings from Jeff and two from Mike painted up and ready for the scenario I am running this coming Sunday. How's that for deadline pressure?

    The dome helps this look more like a Tatooine building -- given to me by my generous friend Mike S

What else did I buy at Hold the Line? I had actually looked through Firelands Games website the night before the convention and typed in my iPhone notes some things to check out. I had about half a dozen items listed, but as it was, I bought only two of them. Since I will be doing Dragon Rampant fantasy battles soon, I picked up a sprue of the North Star Frostgrave Wizards, which has bodies for four spellcasters and tons of arms, heads, equipment, and ways to customize them. I haven't decided if I'm going to have an evil wizard as the general of my orc and goblin army, ala Saruman, or a big mean orc. Either way, having wizards figures will be useful for Dragon Rampant games.

    I like that so many of these buildings I just obtained have upper stories & roofs figures can fire from

I also picked up two sprues of the Wargames Atlantic Giant Spiders and Victims. I really like how James and Rusty have decided to sell individual sprues to their customers. I may not want a whole box of wizards or spiders, for example, but can certainly use some. Speaking of which, these will more likely see use as monsters in games of Sellswords & Spellslingers than in Dragon Rampant. Although now that I think of it, they could be a unit of Lesser Warbeasts, according to the unit categories in the rules. I went back and forth about a couple other items on Firelands tables at the convention, but ended up buying just those three sprues.

    One of the 2 sprues of Wargames Atlantic giant spiders that I bought from Firelands Games

I dug through the load of items my friend Rich Brown from RRB Minis & More had brought with him. I was tempted by some of the 25mm robots from his Sci-Fi lines, but I wanted to be careful about screwing up my Acquired vs. Painted totals for the year by buying too much! Right now, I am 21 miniatures in the hole, so to speak. With the four wizards, eight giant spiders, and four web-wrapped victims I purchased, that puts me up to 37 figures to paint up before the end of the year. I think I will get that amount done easily, but there is no reason to tempt fate. In fact, that was the reason I did not buy a big bag of Splintered Light Miniatures animals from my friend Dave E at World at War the previous weekend. Just to be sure, he brought them along to tempt me again this weekend...haha! Maybe I will tell him to bring them to Cincycon in 2026 and I'll buy them from him, then. There were a lot of miniatures in there that I could use to flesh out my anthropomorphic animals.

    'A wizards should know better...!' Treebeard says, but who knows whether these will be good or evil?

In the end, I made only a very minor purchase from Rich. I found a bag of eight 28mm tombstones that I could use for Devilry Afoot or other games. I felt bad that I did not buy more from him, but I had already dropped $100 on buildings, so figured I had added my contribution to the convention economy, so to speak. When Rich gets his 3-D printer fixed, I  have at least one building I want him to paint up. So, I'll see him again soon, I'm sure, and be buying more then.

    Some very cool 28mm tombstones that I bought from Rich at RRB Minis & More

Since I am posting about my Hold the Line purchases, I also thought I'd toss in some pictures I took of the games that were being run there. The 28mm Western "Dead Man's Hand" game was one of the most amazing I have ever seen. The work done on the buildings and civilian characters was very atmospheric and worth sharing. So, what else is on my painting desk? I do have a unit of 8 armored orcs that are at least halfway done. And of course, I have a bunch of buildings that I want to get done by Sunday! In addition, I have started work on two 28mm Asian water buffalo from Miniature Building Authority, a 3-D printed hand cart from A Critical Hit, and one more batch of bamboo for my Vietnam games. I have a feeling I'll be saying that a lot for awhile in my posts. Most of the other stuff may be sidelined by those five buildings that I have spray primed, though. Will I finish them in time? Stay tuned to see...!

    One of the beautiful buildings Ivor Evans had on his tabletop for his 'Dead Man's Hand' game

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 306
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 269

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 62
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 67

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 144
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 212

    Two more buildings from the same 28mm Western game replete with amazing signs

    My friend Abel D ran a Song of Drums & Shakos Big Battle game featuring these 12-13mm figs

    There was a HUGE Bolt Action doubles tournament - a Jungle Board from the tourney

    Close up of miniatures on the jungle board (designed by my friend Tim P, I believe...)

    Some of the Bolt Action players, including Tim P at left

    Okay - one more pic from the amazing 28mm Western board and some of his civilians populating it