Table All Set Up for Surviving 'Nam Playtests at World at War

    A view of my table set up in the basement to prepare for running Surviving 'Nam this weekend

It has been a busy last two weeks getting things ready for two upcoming conventions -- World at War at Fort Meigs this weekend (Nov. 7-8) and Hold the Line at Camp Perry, OH, the following weekend (Nov. 14-15). I've mainly been working on three things -- more bamboo and rice paddies as mentioned in the last post, and a couple sampans and Japanese Fishing Village items from Miniature Building Authority. I would like to get more bamboo stands done, but I have enough of the rest of the stuff ready to go. I proved it to myself by setting up the game table this afternoon.

    View from the back corner of the table looking towards the market (Viet Cong's view...?)

It turned out that I don't need the two large rice paddies that are nearly completed. Oh well, the sooner they get done, the better...right? I am using all of the MBA market stuff and sampans, though. I'll include pictures of them in this post, along with views of my table. In fact, it was setting up the table that made me realize I really didn't need the larger rice paddies. The board was crowded enough with my various Vietnam buildings, river, and jungle. There definitely wasn't room for them! 

    Close up of Stone Buddha Market, with various market stands and types of food for sale

I'm trying to duplicate one of the scenarios my most prolific play testers, Bob and Pete, ran. Thus was born the ville of Piit Baub at a river and trail crossroads in the territory assigned to the Big Red One (U.S. 1st Infantry Division)! The center of the board is Stone Buddha Market, a weekly trading place for villages and hamlets in the area. The market is adjacent to a wooden bridge crossing the river. Two sampans are pulled up alongside the bridge and shore, selling their fish (and other illicit wares?). Fanning out from the marketplace are my two scratch-built jungle huts, my resin MBA farmer's house and barn, and two 3-D printed hamlets on stilts that I also picked up from MBA. Beyond them is the jungle. Abutting the river are the ville's rice paddies. 

    One of the two sampans I painted up, along with some of the fishing village items

I think the table looks really nice, and I'm happy with seeing all the various elements I've been working on come together. Hopefully, I will have enough stands of bamboo for a second patch of heavy vegetation done, but if not, it is no biggie. The plan is for the U.S. infantry to enter on the left board edge (as you're looking at the market from the bridge), search several hooches, the market place, and sampans, then exit on the right. I'm sure the Viet Cong will have something to say about that, though! Jenny and I got in a last-minute playtest of the scenario this evening, and it went well. No blow-by-blow of the game, as I plan to do that for my games at the two conventions.

    Close up of the Buddha altar and a few more of the fishing village items in front of it (and on table)

I think the game went well. When it looked like the U.S. infantry had things in hand, we called the game and headed for bed, as it was getting late. Out of 17 U.S. infantry that marched onto the table, all but three were able to walk off. Since this was a one-off play test, I didn't roll for their recovery in the rules. One of Jenny's two squads really took it on the chin, so to speak. However, my HQ element and 3rd Squad came away fairly unscathed. We did lose our M60 gunner, though, which would have been a bad thing in the long run. However, the M79 grenade launchers and the lieutenant's fire missions were making up for the loss of our heavy hitter.

    The U.S. infantry marched onto the table from the left hand board edge in the above photo

Will I change anything because of the play test? I think I will add a fifth squad member to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Squad (HQ already has five figures). I was trying to imagine an individual player controlling Jenny's 1st Squad when two (or was it three?) of their men went down. It might not be that fun having only 1-2 figures to control. It also helped me remember that I needed to print out enough copies of the Civilian Random Movement table so that everyone can help with moving the villagers. It also encouraged me to create a couple smoke templates in case any of the players decide to throw a smoke grenade to cover their movement or block a firing lane for the V.C. And finally, I'm going to reprint my event card deck. The one I had been using was my first draft with hand-written changes. Might as well have a fully armed and operational Death Star, er event card deck at the game's first public showing! 

    A look at 3rd Squad and HQ elements entering the outskirts of the village

Technically, I had not actually decided on what the scenario parameters were before the play test. I'm glad that it forced me to commit to a force of V.C. to arrive on table when the "Countdown to Contact" phase ends and the enemy springs their ambush. I thought the size of the enemy force worked out well. I will likely reduce the number of civilians on table, too. It took awhile at the end of each turn to move them all. I also reduced the number of search points the U.S. soldiers have to investigate to make the game fit in the three hour window. Similarly, I will give them a choice of three table edges to exfiltrate from. Everyone who signs up knows that it is a play test of the rules, but nevertheless I want to give them a satisfying game.   

    One of the civilians was secretly a V.C. -- jumping down off the bridge into the cover & opening fire

Otherwise, I need to go back up to Office Max and print off some stuff and then pack everything up so we are ready to leave for Fort Meigs Friday morning. I hope my players have fun. I promise a more extensive battle report for those two games. I expect that I will have four players for each, but it is no biggie if not. Being a cooperative game and with the enemy force tailored to the size of the friendly forces, it would be easy to modify. Expect to hear back from me on either Sunday or Monday!

    A final look at the center of Piit Baub before the action commences

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 290
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 258

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 53
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 67

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 136
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 212

Vietnam Terrain: Rice Paddies & Bamboo Stands

    Vietnamese villagers tend to their rice paddies during a moment of peace during the Vietnam War

Although I already had created plenty of jungle pieces for my 28mm Vietnam games, I did not have two of the more iconic types of terrain in that country: rice paddies and bamboo stands. I had an idea of how I would do the rice paddies, and luckily it worked out fairly well. The bamboo was going to be more of a challenge. I saw one video on YouTube where someone scratch builds amazing stands of bamboo. However, the amount of time each stand of trees would take, and the fact that I don't have an airbrush, meant I needed to come up with my own idea on this.

    28mm Viet Cong guerrillas patrol through my scratch-built stands of bamboo 

First, the rice paddies. My own travel photos from southeast Asia show various sized and shaped paddies surrounded by earthen dikes. The color of the water in some of my photos was a brilliant green, which is what gave me my inspiration. Hobby Lobby has scrapbook paper that is a mottled bright green, and also has a bit of texture to it. They also sell thin clear plastic sheets. My idea was to attach the green paper to the underside of the clear plastic so that light would reflect off the surface -- just like with water. The various colors of green on the paper would give the impression of depth. Then, I would attach some form of flocking or tufts to the top of the plastic to represent the bamboo shoots in their rows.

    Scrap-booking paper that I bought at Hobby Lobby which I felt would be perfect for rice paddy water

The berms or dikes that enclose the fields I decided to build up with wood -- either bass wood, balsa, or pine pieces I had laying around. I shaved each side of the dike with a utility knife to give sloped edges and a relatively flat top for people to walk along. I used up most of my various lengths and shapes of wood that I had accumulated making the dikes for the first three paddies. So, I had to go out and buy more more wood. So how did I assemble this list of materials into a rice paddy? I started with cutting very thin styrene plastic sheet for the base. Next, I glued the green scrapbooking paper atop it. After trimming and shaving the berms to size, I put two-part epoxy on their underside and placed them atop the clear plastic. I had to build up the corners so they would be evenly sloped all around. I did that with white glue and coarse ballast or sand.

    Yes, they look like picture frames! My wooden berms glued to the clear plastic with 1st coat of flock

The next step was to flock the berms. I started with a 50/50 mixture of brown craft paint and white glue. I brushed this onto the berm surfaces and then poured Woodland Scenics Fine Brown Ballast over the glue. This gives it a bit of a rougher, earthier surface. Once dry, I brushed on a 50/50 mixture of white glue and water over the ballast. I sprinkled that heavily with Woodland Scenics Blended Earth Turf. I tapped off the excess and set them aside to dry. Astute readers may have noticed that this is very similar to my flocking method for miniatures, and it is! I've found I like the look of ground produced this way, so why change it?

    You can see the 2nd (turf) layer of flock on the short sides with one of the 1st layers coated with glue

Normally, if flocking a miniature's base, this is the step where I do my first clear spray coat. However, I was worried about my clear matte spray paint "fogging" the plastic. I wanted to shine as if light were reflecting off of it. So, I applied blue painters masking tape to the exposed surface of the plastic. Then I sprayed each set of dikes. Once dry, I apply white glue from the bottle along the edges of the berms, smoothing it out with a wet brush. Then I sprinkle Woodland Scenics Blended Grass atop it. The very final flocking step is to add tiny pieces of green clump foliage to represent scrub and other weeds growing on both the inner and outer dike slopes. The dikes then received a heavy final clear matte spray coat.

    My first three rice paddies with the strip foliage (not cheap!) applied in uneven rows

Since the dikes are done, I can take off the blue painters tape at this stage. The most expensive step is the final step -- the rice plants themselves! I found something from Woodland Scenics called "Edging Strips" at the local train store. They are narrow strips of tall grass in various shades of green. I simply cut the strips into various lengths and affixed them in rows to be the growing rice plants. I decided to not make them continuous, solid rows, though. Instead, I left empty spaces between the strips, showing that some rice seedlings have poked above the surface and grown faster than others. For example, some rows may be in three pieces while others two. This not only looks more irregular, it uses fewer pieces of the edging strips. Those boxes are not cheap! Each strip has an adhesive backing, which is how I attached to the plastic pretty. It seems on there pretty good. 

    I like how the clear plastic surface reflects light, but you can see the green paddy depths beneath

I am happy with how the rice paddies look. Yes, I have seen other miniature gamers build much more beautiful ones, but these look serviceable and I believe will give the right effect on the tabletop. I have started two more rice paddies that will be bigger than the three smaller ones that were my first batch. I think that will help make the rice paddies look more realistic if they are of different sizes. I like how the pictures turned out, too, but I'm really looking forward to seeing how they will appear on the tabletop of the first game I run using them!

    My next two paddies will be bigger than these three - I like how the figures look on the berms

Now, on to the troublesome bamboo. I went to the various craft stores hoping to find some plastic plant that looked like bamboo with little modification. No such luck! So, I followed the YouTube video's basic method, shortening the process drastically. My prototype piece looked awful. I chucked it into the garbage can and did some serious brainstorming. I looked at Google Image Searches of bamboo and stared at the pictures, hoping for inspiration. I pulled out my plastic tubs with my various scratch-building craft items and picked through everything. Only one idea came to mind. Why not use bamboo to represent bamboo groves? Specifically, bamboo skewers! I decided to use still use the plastic plants I'd first bought from the craft store, but only as the vegetation at the top of each bamboo stalk, so to speak. The sides I would leave smooth. The first step would be to trim off a section of the plastic plant for the top and then poke or drill a hole in its bottom center. Then, I apply Tacky Glue to the pointy tip of a bamboo skewer and impale the plant into the plastic. I used a brush to spread out the Tacky Glue over the bottom part of the plant and an inch or so down the skewer. I then set the bamboo piece upright to dry.

    First step is to trim off a section of the plastic plant and poke a thumbtack through the bottom

Once dry, I marked a spot along the skewer that would likely be the bottom of the stalk. I painted both the plastic plant top and the skewer stalk a medium green. I set it upright to dry, then later dry brushed them a lighter green to give some depth. Once dry again, I painted a series of horizontal lines about an inch to 3/4" inch apart in a very bright green. This is to represent the segmenting of bamboo, which is a lighter color. After the first experimental batch, I improved upon my method to stand the stalks upright. I used a scrap of foam board to poke the bamboo into to stay upright while drying. I also decided to paint the individual bamboo trees BEFORE gluing them down onto the base. The final step for each bamboo tree was to give both the tuft of vegetation on the top and the long trunk of each bamboo piece a brown wash. 

    Next you put some Tacky Glue onto the end of a bamboo skewer...because bamboo, you know!

These shafts would be set into pre-drilled holes in a 1.5" circular piece of birch wood. I purchased a whole bag from the craft store for $2.99. The holes were made with a pin vice. I did one hole in the center, five evenly spaced in a ring around the center, and then a further ring of nine around the five. In all, I used 15 bamboo skewers for each 1.5" piece. Once the bamboo had been all painted, I used wire cutters to make the final sizing trim, and then an X-acto knife to sharpen the bottom so it would go into the hole easily. I applied a blob of Tacky Glue to the bottom of each skewer and then forced it into its hole in the wooden circle. I started in the center and then progressed outward. Usually, I would have to trim off a few of the plant "leaves" so that I could crowd the trunks even closer together. That was an idea I kept from the YouTube video. Otherwise, the branches or leaves of the plastic plant stick out in all directions and push neighboring plants away. I would snip off the branches from the side facing those already in place to make sure they fit together properly.  I also tended to make the center bamboo shafts taller than the outer ones, which also helped with everything fitting together.

    Forest of skewers with their plant bits atop (I have since switched to sticking them in foam board

I noticed at this point that the circular base was very top-heavy. So, I went to the hardware store and found heavy steel washers that would fit under the wooden bases, and epoxied them into place. All that was left was to flock the surface of each base. It was easy to take a brush and paint between the bamboo stalks with my 50/50 mixture of brown paint and white glue. I then followed with my usual method and poured Fine Brown Ballast across it first. Like above, I followed that up with 50/50 white glue and water and sprinkling the Blended Earth Turf. After a spray clear coat, I dabbed in full strength white glue mostly around the other edges, and sprinkled Blended Grass. The last step was to glue in various leaf scatter, and the bases were done.

    Paint each skewer with its base coat, dry brush, and section lines BEFORE putting them in the base

Yes, it seems like a LOT of work for just a single 1.5" base, especially since each base contains 15 individually painted bamboo trees. However, if you would have seen how much time following the YouTube video would have taken, I think that would have been much, much more! I figure I'll need about three bases placed atop a piece of styrene to represent each thick bamboo groves. The plan is to do nine of these circular bases of bamboo, so I can have three medium-sized bamboo patches on the table. We'll see if I actually make that many -- it is somewhat time consuming a process! I have gone out and purchased another one of the plants I cut up for the tops ($2.99 each), so I'll be working on them for at least the next week or so, I imagine. I am also working on the two larger rice paddies. The plan is for them to get as much possible done in time for this coming weekend's game at World at War convention at Fort Meigs, in Perrysburg, OH. 

    Pre-drill all the holes in the wooden bases first, then attach their metal washer weight

    Stick them in the holes from the center outward (early version before deciding to pre-drill all holes)

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 290
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 258

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 53
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 66

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 136
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 201

    I used 15 bamboo skewers per 1.5" round wooden base -- labor intensive? Yes, but I like them

    Final look at some V.C. patrolling through a bamboo thicket (heavy vegetation in my rules)

More Scatter - Modern & Sci-Fi

    These pallets from A Critical Hit & RRB Minis & More are incredibly useful for modern or Pulp

While I was putting away my recent purchases from RRB Minis & More in the closet that holds my unpainted terrain and scatter, I was surprised to find some of the 3-D printed scatter that I bought at Origins this summer. I honestly felt that I had painted it already...ha, ha! Knowing that none of it would take much time to get ready for the tabletop, I put them on my desk to work in when I had time. And, true to my guess, several days later they're all finished!

    For $1 a piece, and requiring only a highlight & wash to look good, I couldn't resist picking up some

First up, are some 3-D printed pallets from both A Critical Hit and RRB Minis & More. I gave them the same treatment that I did for the wooden tables and chairs I'd purchased. I started with a very light tan highlight, strangely enough. This lets the medium brown color material that they are printed in be in the grooves and grain of the wood. For the pallets, I had to do one side, let them dry, then flip them over and repeat the same step with the other side. The next step is to apply the dark brown vehicle wash to them. This settles into the grooves and gives it more depth. Once both sides were complete and dry, I sprayed them with clear matte to seal them and take off the last of the plastic's shine. 

    I liked how these crystals looked so much the first time I bought them, I bought some more!

Even easier than the highlight and wash, was the amount of work I had to do on the 3-D printed crystals using color shift filament (from A Critical Hit). All I had to do was paint the base area around the crystals with white glue and then dip the piece into black fine ballast. In hindsight, next time I would likely also paint that part black, too. A couple teeny tiny patches of the color were showing through after I was done. Once the glue had dried, I painted that area with 50/50 white glue and water to seal in the ballast. Poof!! Done, and joining my collection of previously purchased color shifting crystals!

    I added the black flocking ('coal' from Woodland Scenics) to give the crystals more contrast

Equally easy, and actually done alongside the pallets, were the two park benches from A Critical Hit. I gave the wooden parts identical treatment that the pallets received. Once the wood part was done, I went over the black iron parts with a black vehicle wash. A clear matte acrylic spray over them and they're also ready for the tabletop.

    Some of my 28mm gang members fight over who gets to lay down on the 'A Critical Hit' benches

I know some may likely use these 3-D printed pieces "as is" -- buy them and plop them down on the table. However, to my mind, they still have that plastic sheen (except for the crystals, which I want to keep their glow). I want to give the wood a more matte look, as well as more depth with highlights and recesses. As you can see above, it really takes almost no time to pretty them up a little. So, why not? That's one of the benefits about being retired -- TIME is one thing I have plenty of on my hands! I will likely dip into my 3-D printed scatter some more in the upcoming weeks. I still have a bunch of the things Rich Brown of RRB Minis & More gave me with that 3-D printed modern building that I won in the first contest. They won't need much, but better to have them in my drawers of scatter ready to use than in my closet!

    Just a little highlighting& brown wash makes these 3-D printed pieces look much better on the table

So, what else is on my painting desk? At the moment, I am very close to finishing both of the two warlord stands for the Advance the Colors Saga tournaments. I'm also just about done with my first batch of eight 28mm Gripping Beast goblin archers. What's next, minis-wise? Most likely it will be another batch of Gripping Beast orcs or goblins. However, I m-a-y decided to paint up some characters for Devilry Afoot as a change of pace, or in case I want to run a game of that for Halloween next month! Stay tuned to see...

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 288
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 194

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 40
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 61

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 115
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 200

French & Indian War Scatter Terrain

    Everything all together -- the tents, fire rights, and little leather sacks to represent loot

When I decided to recreate the "Skirmish at Jumonville Glen" for the first Ohio History Center game day, I immediately began to think about how to make the game board look nice to museum visitors (and my players, of course!). I wouldn't be able to use any of my showpiece terrain -- the giant, Last of the Mohicans cliffs, the Acheson Creations longhouses, or blockhouses or forts. This was a battle in a rocky, wooded setting. It was essentially an attack on a French camp, so I would have to build that up.

Sure, I had a nice gaming mat, various cool trees, and my really nice (if I must say so) scratch-built rocky ground. I made them long ago using bark mulch pieces which look amazingly like layered sandstone. Still, I wanted more "Wow!" than that, so decided that I needed to make some tents. I did some research and F&I War tents seemed to be very simple triangular ones like you still see in use today. For blanket rolls and bedrolls, I had the three Mantic Games plastic pieces which I posted about awhile back. However, I would need to scratch-build these pieces, as everything else in the "Crystal Peaks Campsite" set is noticeably modern looking.

    The framework of mini dowels and craft sticks in place for each tent, and their paper towel blanket

I started by cutting the bases -- three rectangular pieces of MDF. The upright posts on each end of the tent were done with mini-dowels from the craft store. A hole for them was drilled into the MDF with a pin vice, so they would be strong and stable. For the long horizontal piece sitting atop the poles, I used craft sticks. I used two-part epoxy to attach everything together and keep it as sturdy as craft sticks and mini dowels can be! 

    A look at the blankets and bedrolls cut from paper towel & folded up on the inside of each tent

 Next, I cut a rectangle of paper towel for the blanket on the floor of the tent. I used glue and water to stiffen it, and then craft acrylic paint as a base coat and dry brush. Folded pieces of a paper napkin were used for three sets of blankets on the floor of each tent. I used white glue to attach them to the large blanket on the floor, first. Next, I painted and dry brushed them pale colors like I had the other blankets. Once the interior was done, it was time for the triangular shape of the linen or canvas tent itself. 

I went back and forth over what material to use. I felt cloth or paper towels would have too much texture. Their weave would be jarringly out of scale. Paper or cardboard would be too flat and not have enough texture. I finally decided to go with an ordinary paper napkin that I picked up from a restaurant. It seemed sturdy enough and had a little bit of texture and would look like cloth. I decided that attaching the material would be a 3-stage process. First, I cut the proper width for the tent, but a much longer piece than I would need. I used two-part epoxy to attach one edge to the base. I let it dry thoroughly first before proceeding to stage two. 

    You can see the napkin material held taunt by the dice, allowing the epoxy to affix to the material

Stage two meant dabbing a line of epoxy the to craft stick which was the main overhead support for the tent. I stretched the napkin material tight and set it on the pole, pressing down so the epoxy was absorbed a bit by the material. I stretched the remainder of the material out and weighed it down, so it would stay taunt. I let this dry thoroughly, too. The last step was simply to cut the material to the proper length, dab where it would join the base with a line of white glue, and press it down onto it. I used a paint brush to make sure the glue was properly worked into the paper towel, soaking in. 

The next step was to give the napkin material some strength. After it dried, I sprayed it with clear acrylic spray paint. Once it dried again, I carefully painted the napkin material with a 50/50 mix of white glue and water. Several times during this process, I would carefully use a round paint brush handle to straighten the material. I ran the stick gently on the inside of the tent, from the top peak down each side to where it joined the base. I let it glue dry thoroughly over night.

    Side view of the tents - I like how the paper napkin material I used has a visible, slight texture

All that was left to do at this stage was painting and flocking. I used a light tan ("Wild Rice" craft paint) and dry brushed it white when it was dry. Finally, I used the brown vehicle wash on the sides. Note that I did not need to paint the inside -- the thin napkin material is translucent enough that the color on the outside makes the inside look painted. The last step was to flock the tents and they were done! I felt they turned out okay -- nothing spectacular, but they would certainly add to the look of the table.

I also decided that I wanted to use my flickering LED Fire Markers that I purchased from Bad Goblin Games for campfires. So, I decided to make two campfire rings of stones and simply set the orange plastic flame atop them. I used an appropriately sized circular wooden base, and traced the outline of one of the plastic fires onto it. I then epoxied larger ballast stones in a ring around where the flame would be. I then dry brushed the part of the stones facing the fire black to show they'd be blackened a bit by soot. 

    The ring of stones with the black ballast glued into the center to look like ashes

Inside the stones, I glued in some fine black ballast (maybe used as "coal" by model railroaders?). It gave the center some texture -- I hope it would look like ash underneath the fire. After that, I simply flocked the area outside the stones with Woodland Scenics Earth Ballast and patches of Blended Green for grass. These were super-simple to create, but once the flickering LED is set atop them, they add that extra bit to the diorama quality of the tabletop. I've really begun trying to use more flickering LEDs in my games where appropriate. Why not? They make your table stand out even more!

    Here you can see the dry brushing that gave the fire rings a soot-blackened look (hopefully)

The tents and campfires were used in my Jumonville Glen game, and all of my players (and some of the museum staff) commented on how nice the setup looked. I created them specifically for this game, but now would have on hand for many other miniatures scenarios. The next public game of Song of Drums and Tomahawks I'd be running was less than a week later, at Battles at the Brewery. I had committed to run a F&I War scenario for this game day for the Chillicothe Area Wargaming Group. However, I ended up having to attend a funeral on that same day. Luckily, Jason Stelzer could sub in for me. Jenny and I would drive down to Fifty West Brewing in Chillicothe, set up the game, and Jason would show up and run it.

    The campfire rings of stones with their soot-blackened edges & Bad Goblin Games LED flames

I decided to use my "Interrupted Raid" scenario, which I had run numerous times at conventions through the years. It features a group of Rogers Rangers who linger too long in their looting of a Huron village that they raided. The men of the village return from their hunting expedition, trapping the rangers inside the palisade. Loaded down with loot, the rangers need to fight their way out! In the scenario, each ranger is considered "Slow" (can move only once per turn) as long as they carry their loot. They can drop it at any time, though, and move normally. I needed some sort of marker to show whether a ranger was loaded down or not. 

In the past, I have simply used black pom poms from craft stores (or "poof balls," as I call them!). However, this is in a public place -- poof balls aren't good enough for that! I remembered that my friend Tim Peaslee had long ago given me a bunch of plaster leather sacks cast out of dental plaster as part of the Hirst Arts line. I dug them out and they were indeed small enough to fit on the base of each 28mm figure. Why not? The game was in a few days! Plenty of time, right??

    Close up of the plaster sacks that I painted up and got ready for my 'Interrupted Raid' scenario

I glued the sacks to a piece of cardboard with white glue, and then spray primed them with Krylon Fusion matte black. I went over that once it was dry with a 50/50 mix of black paint and water, to make sure the color had seeped into every crevice. Next, I did a wet brush of Camo Brown followed by a highlight of Leather. The straps tying each sack closed were painted in the Wild Rice light tan. Once dry, they received a final brown vehicle wash.

The last step was to pop all of the sacks off their cardboard, exposing their white plaster bottom. I used some gray tack to turn each upside down, exposing their white plaster bottoms, and hold them in place. I painted the bottom of each sack black, finishing them off. I think the sacks look great, and I will also be able to use them as scatter in many games to come, too. They were finished off on Friday -- the day before the game! My only regret is that I did not get a chance to see them on the figures while the game was in progress.

So, there we go! Some more F&I Was scatter to likely be used in other periods, as well! 

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 288
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 194

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 40
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 61

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 115
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 184

More Large Jungle Scatter Pieces & Miscellaneous

    Some of my 28mm Pulp miniatures posed in front of a jungle made from my new scatter pieces

Here are several things I've been working on that I combined into one update. First, I created another six large pieces of jungle scatter. These are pretty much identical to my first batch, but seemed to go a lot faster. I imagine it is because I had a plan and knew what I was doing...ha, ha! This brings me to a dozen of these larger pieces. One more batch of smaller ones and I will call myself done with jungle scatter -- for now, at least!

    With these six complete, I now have a dozen 3" diameter jungle scatter pieces for my tabletops

I started with 3" circles of birch wood that I picked up at Michaels craft store awhile back. In the center of each, I placed a plastic palm tree. I have an entire box of plastic palm trees, and could easily spare these. I think I picked up long, long ago from Pastimes on the Square at a Historicon or Cold Wars convention. They are a great place to pick up little pieces of vegetation, foam hills, or other scenic bits made from plastic plants or other cheap sources. Once the palm tree was epoxied into place, I a khaki colored dry brush on the trunk. I followed this up with a dark brown vehicle wash and the trunk was suitably "spiffed up." Next, I did a light olive dry brush here and there over the palm fronds themselves.

    Two explorers on a jungle path: "Boy, it sure is hot in this jungle..." "Shut up, kid, and keep up..."

With the central palm done, it was time to flock the base -- yes, before putting on the other plastic plants! Flocking afterwards would be a nightmare, and get all kinds of pieces attached to the plants themselves. I used my usual three-step brown ballast and blended earth and grass turf that I use for my bases. Since cooler weather had returned, I could spray these with clear acrylic matte after this step. 

    A close up of some of the discs with no miniatures tramping by them...

Next, I pulled out all of my plastic plants I'd picked up from either Hobby Lobby or Michaels when I was doing the earlier batches (and even longer ago). I trimmed to size a variety of styles and likely more than I'd need. Next, I used a larger diameter pin vice to drill holes for the stems of the plants and covered it with a blob of two-part epoxy. Then, I inserted the stems through the holes. I would set the disc on a pair of old dice or something so that they were high enough up that the stem wouldn't hit my desk. I would do one plant per disc, let them dry a few minutes, and then drill the next hold in each disc. This assembly line method worked much better than the hodge podge way I did it before. 

    I used a variety of plastic plant types and trimmed them to create a jungle array

I let the epoxy dry for an hour or so before flipping the discs over and trimming off the stems that projected through the base. One final step remained. I grabbed a premixed bottle of brown wash made from Vallejo clear matte and brown that I don't use anymore (I mostly use the vehicle washes nowadays). I slathered this liberally over all of the greenery on each disc, the palm fronds included. This takes the plastic shine off of the plants and gives it a more realistic look, I feel. In any jungle or woods, there are always dying plants. The brown wash gives that effect.

    The neoprene mat I created with fabric spray paint for those six-player, free for all skirmishes

You may have noticed the dark, greenish-brown mat that the jungle scatter and miniatures are sitting on. The cooler temperatures and lower humidity finally gave me a chance to paint a hex-shaped neoprene mat I had created from material bought at JoAnn Fabrics going out of business sale months ago. I had decided to try fabric spray paint to color it (comes light gray off the roll). I mentioned that to my friend Mike S, and he generously gave me two large cans of it, a dark brown and a forest green. I laid a tarp down in the grass outside and gave two coats of dark brown to it first. The next day, I sprayed it less thoroughly with the forest green. I wanted both the brown and green to be showing through, which I think it does. However, it is way darker than I would have liked. I'd be curious to see what others think, though...

    Two bedrolls and a large blanket that looked vaguely "old" to use for my French encampment

The final items are three pieces of plastic scatter from a huge box of Terrain Crate scatter that I bought from my friend Bryan Borgman a few years back. They are from the Crystal Peaks Camp and included two sleeping bedrolls and a large blanket. I will be using these as part of a French camp in my refight of the skirmish at Jumonville Glen at the Ohio History Center, Sept. 7. Our HMGS Great Lakes chapter will be hosting monthly historical miniatures games at the museum to showcase our hobby to passers by. Players and GMs get in free to the museum, and we will have literature on hand to pass out about the hobby.

    "Wait...I hear zee reinforcements are on zair way, mes amis!" My Frenchies awaiting new recruits

I'm happy with the scatter and the blankets and bedrolls -- still undecided on the hexagon mat. Oh, well -- that's how it goes sometimes! Not every idea comes to fruition perfectly!! So, what else is on my painting desk? Right now, two batches of miniatures -- Orc archers for my Dragon Rampant army and six Canadian Militia to reinforce the French side in that upcoming skirmish. Terrain-wise, I am scratch-building my own French & Indian War tents for the scenery in that game, as well. Stay tuned for more!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 288
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 180

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 36
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 61

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 115
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 159

Resin Bunkers from MBA for Vietnam Project

    28mm NVA Jungle Bunker available from Miniature Building Authority - you can see fig inside

I picked up these four resin bunkers and sniper positions at Historicon 2025 from Miniature Building Authority. Not that every game is going to include a bunker, but the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong did use them, and they were usually well-camouflaged, making it hard to see them. My plan was to have them "appear" on the tabletop when a light machine gun Event Card is drawn in my Surviving 'Nam rules. Same with the sniper positions, though I may need to purchase a prone figure or two to have them and their base actually fit inside the position with the roof on! Oh, no -- just when you thought it was safe -- more purchases! 

    Coconut Log MG Bunker from MBA (originally made by Acheson Creations) with some VC figs

These 28mm pieces were originally produced by Acheson Creations, and Kirk at MBA has picked up them up and carries them on his website. All of the pieces came with detachable roofs. I purchased the Coconut Log Bunker, NVA Jungle Bunker, and two of the Sniper Positions. I'm a big fan of Acheson pieces, but have learned by now that you MUST do something to get of the mold release agent. Otherwise, your paint will bead up like rain on a newly-waxed car -- or pull away and bubble. My method is to put them in the dishwasher with soap on a low heat, light wash cycle. Next, I prime them with Krylon Fusion Acrylic black matte spray paint. The final step before painting is to go over the surface with a 50/50 mixture of black craft paint and water, to ensure all crevices are fully filled.

    U.S. soldiers investigate MBA's 'Sniper Position' - it blends in well with my Jungle Scatter pieces!

Typically, Acheson pieces are a snap to paint up. Sometimes, it is only 3-4 colors on something and you're done, except for flocking. These were a bit more complex, though. I decided to do the wooden log construction of the bunkers first. I did a wet brush of dark brown, letting them dry overnight. Then, I did two highlights -- the first in Howard Hues Camo Brown and the second in Khaki. I'm always happy with the wood look this color combo gives, and these were no exception.

    A V.C. machine gunner inside the Coconut Log Bunker with the roof off of it

Next up, I went to work on the very thick vegetation molded onto both the roofs and the bottom parts of the positions. I decided to go with a three-color approach. First, I painted it all in a very dark green craft color that I have. After drying overnight, I did a medium green dry brush. These pieces are excellently sculpted, and have nice deep grooves in the palm fronds that are perfect for dry brushing. The next morning I put on the final very light green dry brush -- applied lightly. I really liked how the vegetation looked at this stage, and think it will blend in nicely with the model trees I use on the tabletop, which was a concern I had originally.

    The bottom part of the NVA Jungle Bunker comes in two pieces, with the roof as a 3rd piece

The final detail on the pieces were the boulders or large rocks modeled into the vegetation at various points. In carefully looking over these pieces, I found that I had painted a number of the rocks green thinking they were vegetation instead of rock. Even after I thought I was done, I found more of them! I did a three-color approach to these, as well. I used a Charcoal craft paint as a base coat, then a medium and finally light gray dry brush highlight. At this stage, everything was painted. I liked how they looked, but definitely wanted to do a wash on them before flocking. 

    MBA's 'Sniper Position' with palm frond roof off of it - the inside portion is too small for my figs!

In the end, I did two washes. For the vegetation, I used a dark brown vehicle wash from Vallejo. In creating my jungle scatter pieces, I had toned down the green plastic of those with a brown wash. I felt that doing a brown wash on top of the vegetation on the bunkers would give them a similar look to the scatter pieces. I was glad that I made that decision. I think the brown-washed vegetation looks great! Next, I did a black wash on the rocks and wood. The last step would be flocking, and like everything else with these bunkers, it would be multi-step and more complex than usual.

    Side view of 'NVA Jungle Bunker' - you can see the separate back wall better in this photo

First, I had to paint all of the earth that was showing. I used my usual craft brown paint. This was fiddly in some places, as I had to pick out the brown between individual palm fronds or rocks. Some modelers might have painted the earth first, in the time-honored paint "inside out" approach. However, I was afraid I would have too much splash over with the wet and dry brushing of the vegetation and boulders. Of course, I could have done the earth first and then gone back and just touched up the mistakes. If I were to more of these pieces, that's probably the method I would try next. 

    'I'm not going in there...YOU go in there!' -- a close up look at the front of the Sniper Position

Once the earth color had dried, the time for flocking had come. I have an old Elmer's glue bottle that I keep filled with half white glue, half brown craft paint (the same color I use for the earth). Once again, I carefully brushed this onto the brown earth spots, and then poured over Woodland Scenics Blended Turf. I tapped off the excess, and then used a makeup brush and a soft paint brush to whisk off the excess flocking from the leaves and boulders. I seized the chance of a borderline low humidity that day to spray the flocked pieces with Krylon clear matte.

    This look at the roof of the NVA Jungle Bunker gives a good picture of the intricate detail

The final step in the flocking process was to add patches of Woodland Scenics Blended Green Grass in irregular patches to the turf. It is a similar process I use for many of my bases, and I like the effect it gives. Like with my miniature bases, I also glued on a few tufts here and there. And leaves! I am really liking the touch that miniature leaves give to figure bases and terrain flocking. Now, I just need to find another source of them before I run out. One final spray coat and these bunkers are done! Well...they were supposed to be done. I wasn't 100% happy with how the roofs sat on the bunkers. I swore they fit nice and snug before I primed and painted everything! However, they seemed a little wobbly after it was all done. So, I decided to add a layer of black felt to the bottom of the roofs. Not only would it essentially be invisible when the roof was sitting on the bunker, the felt material should both snag and cushion the posts a little, and help them sit a little more secure. That is the hope, at least!

    Front of the Coconut Log Bunker -- you can barely see the flesh of the prone machine gunner inside

I'm very happy with how these bunkers and sniper positions came out. I'm so glad that Kirk from MBA has kept some of the incredible Acheson terrain line in production. If you need a few bunkers for either Pacific theater of World War II or Vietnam, I highly recommend these!

    Top down look at a Sniper Position which shows the dry brushing on the palms fairly well

So, what else is on my painting desk? Since terrain is often a "do a little bit and let dry overnight" kind of pace, I have been working off and on the last five Fantasy Fishmen I had primed and ready to go. They're off to a great start and are pretty far along. After that, I have some decisions to make as far as miniatures go. I can begin painting my horde of 28mm metal Orcs and Goblins, or I can do up a few batches of miscellaneous stuff I've been wanting to get done eventually. My guess is it'll be Orcs and Goblins, but we shall see!

    Last look at the NVA Jungle Bunker with 2 of my 28mm 'Black Sun' range NVA troops

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 288
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 167

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 36
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 61

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 115
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 150