Skirmish at Jumoville Glen - First of HMGS Monthly Games at Museum

    Canadian militia hurriedly form up as their sentries give warning of the Virginian advance

Back in July, one of the staff members of a local history museum, the Ohio History Center, reached out to me about having our club host monthly historical miniatures games there. Of course, I jumped at the chance. For a number of years, the Great Lakes chapter of the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society (HMGS) has been volunteering to assist with an annual event called March Through Time. A handful of our game masters put on walk demos for visitors and families who attend the event filled with reenactors and other historical societies. Our games are always popular with the kids and their parents, so what we do is fairly well-known by the staff at the Ohio History Center.

    We had a crowded, enthusiastic table of gamers in the middle of the local history museum's displays

We agreed to host our games on the first Sunday of every month beginning in September. I volunteered to kick things off, and reached out to other game masters in our chapter that had assisted with March Through Time to schedule later months. I decided to host the Skirmish at Jumoville Glen as my game, since I could scale it easily based on the number of players I had. In this encounter, a young Lt. Col. George Washington gets his first taste of war when he attacks a French encampment, essentially starting the French & Indian War. Historically, Washington's Virginia regiment surprised the French and the battle was over in about 15 minutes. The French commander was slain, and Washington was later forced to fall back from a larger French force, leading to the defeat at Ft. Necessity.

    A French cadet leads a force of Canadian militia forward to secure a rocky outcrop amidst the trees

It made sense to stage this game at the Ohio History Center because the two sides were struggling over the Ohio territory -- who would have the right to settle it. I would use my Song of Drums and Tomahawks rules, as they are easy-to-learn and play fast. I began to publicize it on Facebook and in our chapter newsletter, The Herald. Players who contacted me in advance would have their name listed at the front desk and receive free entry to the museum that day. Going into the day of the game, I had six players listed. Just in case more showed up, I brought enough figs and make player cards for up to eight players. The turnout was great! In addition to all six of my "pre-registered" folks showing up, I had four other people who had heard about it from the Ohio History Center's own promotion of it. So, that made 10 players!

    The French emerge from their tents or bedrolls and get ready for action as the Virginians advance

Luckily, two players quickly volunteered to share their command of four soldiers and one officer, so we squeezed everyone in. We actually could have had 12 players, as Jenny had come along and the Ohio History Center staffer who'd set these games up, Alex, would have played, as well. This was definitely the largest single game of Song of Drums and Tomahawks that I'd ever run! Typically, if I am running a big game using my rules at a convention, I would set it up as four episodes from a particular battle. Each section would be their own 3'x3' battlefield with two opposed players. So, an eight player game would essentially be four 1-on-1 battles. This would be different, though.

    A look from the French right towards their center, formed by the flickering LED campfires

So, I decided to play with the normal rules sequence a little. When it was the Virginian players side, for example, all five players would be rolling for their activations simultaneously -- not sequentially, one after another. They would activate figures until they had activated all of them or had a turn over (aka, "crapping out"). This occurs when a player attempts for two or three activations for a single figure and fails at least twice with that figure. They resolve any successful actions, then their turn is over. So, players have to make decisions. If they're conservative, and attempt only one action per figure, they are guaranteed to at least get an attempt for all five. However, if their opponent is activating his soldiers with two to three actions every turn, and you are only doing one, they're likely to outmaneuver and outfight you. So, it is a gamble, and "crap outs" occur with players activating only one, some, or none of their figures.

    The cadet leading the French right directs his men to fortify the rocky outcrop as a firing position

The game kicked off with the both Virginian flank commands crapping out more than their share, and moving up slowly. The two center commands made good progress, though, and soon gunfire was being exchanged on both sides. On the French right, their flank command occupied a large, rocky outcrop and hunkered down in heavy cover. Although a Virginian soldier got a lucky shot and killed the French cadet leading the group, the Canadian militia were slowly able to get the better of the Virginians with their cover. Another thing that helped was that Virginia Capt. Waggoner's men pressed their attack very quickly and impetuously. The captain himself led the way, charging the militia holding the rock. Although facing two or three militia simultaneously, and knocked down with minor wounds several times, he held them off while his men straggled up. It could not last forever, though, and when the captain was finally slain, his remaining men panicked and fled back a short distance.

    The Canadian militia catch sight of the red-coated Virginians advancing through the trees

As Waggoner's men fled, Capt. Stobo's men finally got themselves moving forward to aid in the attack. This piecemeal assault likely ended up sabotaging the Virginian attack. Stobo's men pressed forward and it took assistance from the French center to finally drive the determined Virginians back. When Stobo fell, once again several soldiers panicked and dashed back towards the rear. The French were holding firm on their right, after being sorely pressed for awhile.

   Virginian commanders on the left discuss their strategy as they try to deal with activation failures

On the other half of the battlefield, the Virginians and Canadians were firing away at each other furiously. Here and there, a Canadian militia man or Virginian soldier would fall. In particular, Lt. Col. George Washington's command was pressing Ensign Jumonville hard. Neither faltered, and bravely led their men forward. Washington was enjoying his first taste of battle. He accounted for three of Jumonville's men himself. The two commanders were able to look into each other's eyes as they led from the front, exhorting their men to drive the enemy back. The Virginians were having success in the center, but couldn't push through on either of the wings. They were also losing more men, and slowly it became apparent to Washington that his men had not won through this day.

    Those activation failures led to the Virginian attack being piecemeal rather than a coordinated

After two hours of fierce battle, the players agreed to call a halt to the firing. The Virginians had lost more than half of their men, while the French had lost far fewer. The Virginians had also lost half of their commanders, which would handicap them in activating their soldiers. We decided to call it a French victory, due to the discrepancy in losses and commanders slain. It was a near thing, though. Washington was very close to killing the enemy commander, and had that happened, the battle might have gone differently. He could have broken through on the center and outflanked the enemy positions on either side. As it was, both sides gave a good account of themselves. Virginian and Canadian men had proved themselves worthy. 

    Hero of the day for the Virginians was Lt. Col. Washington, who accounted for 3 enemy himself!

Washington would go on to write his family about his experiences that day: "I heard the bullets whistle, and, believe me, there is something charming in the sound..." All of the players said they felt similarly, and enjoyed the game. Everyone was positive and having a good time even when things weren't necessarily going their soldiers' way. The Ohio History Center staff was very excited about the success of our first game at the museum. In fact, our success may prove to be a challenge. It is not always easy to expand a scenario or game to include way more players than you had anticipated. I could easily have run TWO tables of my scenario with the 12 players! I will definitely warn my future GMs hosting monthly games here to be ready for a bumper crop of players and to have a plan.

   The Canadian militia on the right tenaciously held their positions, which helped secure victory

It was fun to run Song of Drums again. I believe my tweak to the player activation system worked like a charm. I did not see one time when having multiple players activating simultaneously on the same side caused a problem. The opponents did a good job of helping keep track of what was going on in neighboring commands. I was worried about a player having an unfortunate run of "crap outs," and feeling left out as he accomplished little. Although the crap outs did occur on the Virginian side early on, everyone seemed to take it in stride. And by the end of the game, their rolls had switched and they were scoring multiple successes and moving, shooting, or charging rapidly to make up for their earlier failures. 

    Canadian militia filtering through the trees, ready to meet the attack of Washington's Virginians

Still, in future games, I may import my activation system from my Mean Streets gang warfare rules. In that system, a player rolls 1d6 for all figures under his control and within his officer's command range. He then distributes one dice to each figure with scores of 1-3 being one action, 4-5 two actions, and a 6 three actions. Any figures outside the command range roll individually. Although it means fewer decisions a player has to make, it allows all figures to act at least once and eliminates "crap outs."

All in all, it was an amazing success. I had a great time meeting new players in the area, and our chapter likely recruited several new members. A number of visitors passing through the Early America gallery we were playing in asked about what was going on and seemed very interested. We handed out flyers for our upcoming Advance the Colors convention, Oct. 10-11. We also gave out sample Heralds, which will more than likely convince some more to join up. A successful day, by any definition!

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: 36
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 61

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

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

Orc Archers from Warhost Added to 'Horde'

 

8 Warhost Orc archers from Hicks & Hobday that I painted up for my eventual Dragon Rampant army

The 28mm Orcs are starting to gather. They're not a horde, yet -- but it has begun. These eight Orc archers from Warhost (Hobday & Hicks) join the Linebreakers painted last week. As I thought, with less armor and more cloth, this batch seemed to go faster. More clothing means I'm more methodical about what colors I paint my Orc tunics and such. I'm noting which color combinations seem to look right and which ones are too bright or fancy looking.

    A look from above of the various interesting poses in the two packs of Orc archers

Once again, very little flash on these Hicks & Hobday sculpts. The poses are interesting, as well. I like that you get two packs of four Orcs and no repeats in poses. I remember the days of painting Ancients when you were lucky to get two different poses in one pack. Of course, some folks like the uniform nature of armies, with all the same marching or shooting position. I don't think that would look good with orcs, though. Too rowdy! And too irregular and hard to control. I liked that three of the eight poses had metal helmets or even chainmail aventails suspended from their helmets. The rest were bald-headed or had hoods. Good variety! I hope my 28mm Gripping Beast metal orcs (that are the bulk of my purchase) will be similar in that respect.

    I'm not sure I'll use the dull purple color again for orcs, but I will definitely use the olive green

After priming them with Liquitex White Gesso, I went to work on the orc flesh. I'd liked how the Linebreakers came out, so I used the exact same recipe -- Walnut base coat, medium leather dry brush, and khaki highlight. One thing that makes this flesh tone look particularly orc-like is that the Walnut base coat is not 100% opaque. Somehow, combined with the other colors, it gives a nice, dark olive-toned flesh. Honestly, I lucked into this combination more than anything else. However, I will likely use it for the entire project. 

    The dark reddish orc is probably my favorite --I'm disappointed the back photo is out of focus

Next, I arranged the orcs, with their flesh tone completed, in a single line. There was some complaining as you'd expect from orcs -- "We ain't had nothing to eat for three stinkin' days!" was my favorite. In fact, I was muttering that Lord of the Rings movie quote regularly throughout the painting process. Once the orcs were lined up, I picked out a base coat color for each orc's main article of clothing. Earlier, I had made a list of my paints that I thought would look appropriate for orcs. I set the bottle behind each figure. Typically, when painting 28mm Dark Ages or other figures, I will glue them to a square of cardboard first. I would then scribble down on the cardboard what color I would use for the tunic, trousers, etc. With the orcs, I can't do that since I am basing them up first. I'm actually not sure why I decided to change my usual method and glue them first to their 1" plywood circles with magnetic bottoms. Maybe I figured there wouldn't be as much to write on that cardboard as, say, those Canadian militia I just finished a couple days ago??

    Is the salmon colored clothing too much? I like it -- looks like a faded version of some other color

From this point on, it was a matter of adding in a new base coat followed up by a dry brush for each color of clothing. Some had only one article of clothing, so only one color combo. Others had several. Either way, the variety of poses added not only interest and variety to the painting process, it made me focus and be more careful. One thing I need to be careful of, though, is what I am doing prior to handling the figures. I had painted some 28mm French & Indian War tents right before I did the flocking on the orcs. Somehow, I got the light tan all over my fingers during the process. And then, as I picked up the orcs to do their flocking, I splattered a way-too-bright light yellowish tan all over them. I had to go back and "repair" three figures after this step -- just when I thought I was done with them!

    I liked the poses with the archers wielding a sword -- nice variety! I think I will do more black clothes

Still, I am happy with how the "Orcses...filth!" (as Gollum would say) came out. I am looking forward to seeing how the Gripping Beast figs paint up, too, whether similarly or differently. Meanwhile, expect a flurry of posts soon, as I am working on tents for my Jumonville Glen skirmish game tomorrow morning at the museum and also other various bits. The next big batch, though, is actually two bases of 28mm Saga warlords that I am am painting up for the Advance the Colors tournaments on Friday and Saturday. My tradition is to paint up a 3-igure (or so) Warlord stand for each tournament as a prize. So, look for those soon, in addition a post about the Jumonville Glen skirmish game.

    Honestly, the Hicks & Hobday orcs are some excellent poses with lots of great variety!

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: 36
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 61

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

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

Canadian Militia for French & Indian War

    My newest F&I War figures -- 6 Canadian militia posing near one of my Acheson longhouses

I am running the "Skirmish at Jumonville Glen" (where Lt. Col. George Washington essentially starts the French & Indian War) this coming Sunday at a local history museum. To make sure I had enough troops for the French, I decided to paint up another batch of six Canadian Militia. I will be using my own rules, Song of Drums and Tomahawks, and plan on giving each player five figures (a leader and four soldiers). Chances are that I will have six players for the game, which is a rather large game for what I normally run at conventions with these rules. However, I think five each will do fine. With these six figures added in, I'll have plenty of French -- even if I end up with four players per side!

    Closeup of two of the poses of what I believe are 28mm Foundry figures (please correct me if not!)

I believe these 28mm figures are from Foundry Miniatures, but I could be wrong. I couldn't find them on their website, and the other manufacturers I checked also turned up negative. There were three poses in the unmarked ziploc bag I had put them in, two of each. Initially, I thought these were meant to be the French irregular -- coureurs de bois. The more I looked at images online for inspiration, though, the more convinced I became they were actually Canadian Militia. A lot of reenactor pictures were dead ringers for these guys! So, militia they were -- which was perfect, since the French force in this battle was composed mostly of militia.

I used a mix of light tans & light grays for the "white" that seemed to be the typical militia shirt

The Canadian Militia (who were actually very effective troops during this conflict) seem to wear loose white shirts, floppy blue or red caps, and bright red or blue gaiters over their trousers. Not wanting to look like they stepped off a parade ground, I used a variety of white-ish colors, three in the gray range, and three in the tan range. Most of the pictures I saw online had red caps, but some had blue. So, I gave four of the red and the other two blue. For the gaiters, I noticed those were also the most popular colors, so divided them between the two. I did a range of shades, though, from a very pale to a medium blue, and a dark, reddish brown to a faded salmon. I think this kind of variety in tones make for very effective looking irregulars.

    I used a variety of reds, blues, & "whites"to make them look like they'd been in the field for awhile

These being 28mm miniatures, that range of tones for base colors meant that I had an almost equally wide variety of dry brush highlighting, too. In the pictures I saw online, I did not notice an overwhelmingly standard color of packs or belts. So, I used my own tastes to choose those. And speaking of bags and equipment, it had been a long time since I painted any French & Indian War figures. I had forgotten just how many details are on some of these figures. They seemed to be loaded down with as much equipment as a modern infantry man. Besides the musket, these figures had strapped on them or carried the following items: knapsack, cartridge bag, powder horn, knife, native-style loin cloth, tomahawk, hair ribbon, leg gaiters, gaiter ties, floppy hat, leather band on wrist, belt, and buckles. Whew! And not all figures had the identical equipment (which is a good thing, really), so these took a little time, as you can imagine!

    Looking into the eyes of Lt. Col. Washington's foes for the upcoming 'Skirmish at Jumonville Glen'

I really do like how they turned out, though. The colors work well together, yet look like they belong in the woodlands of frontier America. Of course, I would have preferred six different poses, but these three are nice and seem to fit for a woodsman. Though they were established units, the Canadian Militia did not fight like European line infantry, preferring a more "Indian-style" warfare. The mustaches and beards look French, too, and I'm thinking there will be few quibbles from my players about any historical license that I took. 

    A look from above at the 6 figures, along with my scratch-built fish smoker and scalp poles

So, what else is on my painting desk right now? The next batch of Hicks & Hobday Warhost Orcs are ready for flocking. They went faster than the Linebreaker Orcs (and considerably faster than the Canadian Militia!). So, expect to see them in a day or two. Also on my desk are three large tents for the Canadian militia's camp for this Sunday. With all the really cool terrain that I have for the French & Indian War, Washington's attack on the French camp was basically in a wooded, rocky area. So, I wanted to have something besides trees and rocks on the table. My local HMGS chapter (Great Lakes) will be hosting monthly historical miniatures games at the Ohio History Center museum. It is a great way to let the public see our hobby and possibly recruit interested folks to miniatures. Of course, I'll do a blog post on the game!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 288
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 186

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

Star Wars Mission #3: Save the Captives!

    Stormtroopers & Corporate Security escort three captured rebel hackers through Mos Eisley

The third mission in our continuing Star Wars campaign using Space Weirdos rules was played last Sunday evening. We had a seventh player show up -- Andy, who joins us from time to time when he doesn't have to be at work really early on Monday. I decided he would play the part of the armed and dangerous citizens of Mos Eisley, who are upset about the Empire's takeover of their city. So far, the rebels had won both scenarios, so this one would see if the Empire could "Strike Back," so to speak. 

So, listen to the Star Wars musical score and imagine the following paragraphs in a pyramid shape, receding into the distance...

    The players gather around the tabletop depicting the main square and alley ways of Mos Eisley

Stung by the raid on the TIE fighter base, the Empire has ramped up efforts to find the rebels responsible for hacking their defense systems. Darth Pylor and his imperial agents have tracked the transmissions down to a house on a narrow street in Mos Eisley. Mobilizing a force including Stormtroopers, Corporate Security, and the redoubtable Bronze Legion mercenaries, they have raided the house and captured three rebel technicians. Taking a few moments to download data from the rebels' systems and to secure the technicians with Taze Cuffs, the force exits the Rebel hideout. Stormtroopers toss incendiary grenades behind them into the house, and Darth Pylor's force begins its march back to the main square.

The time taken and the large imperial presence in town has alerted both the Rebel Alliance and their local Tatooine allies. Desperately, the rebels have mobilized a force to try to rescue the captives. If nothing else, they will make the Empire fight its way out of Mos Eisley. Back in the main square, the Bronze Legion calls in to report they have spotted members of Foxhurst’s Criminal Syndicate operating in town. Are they going to help the Rebels in the rescue attempt? Or do they have some other nefarious plans afoot...?

 

    Column of Stormtroopers & Corporate Security outside the rebel hideout begin to move out

The imperial side deployed first, their forces augmented with two large Imperial City Walkers (to counter-balance the Mos Eisley force, and incidentally, the walkers were the Criminal Syndicate's objective). The Bronze Legion stayed in the square to guard the people mover vehicles, which they planned to depart on. The City Walkers also stayed behind in the main square, as both they and the vehicles were too large for the narrow alleys. Figures from the other four factions would move onto the board with their first action. They were not permitted to deploy within 2 stick lengths of an Empire or Corporate Security figure, though. Space Weirdos uses 5" movement sticks, so the rebels and their allies would enter at least 10" away from imperial figures.

 

    A citizen's eye view of the people mover vehicles parked in the square before the shooting breaks out

When Keith, playing the Bronze Legion, saw the setup and heard the deployment rules, he knew his forces would be going through the wringer early on. On their first action, the Mos Eisley figures could deploy in any of the buildings surrounding the main square, which meant they'd likely be targeting Bronze Legion troopers. Tom's Local Rebels showed up in a far corner of the board, in what I assumed would be an attempt to cut off the Stormtroopers escorting the captives. Initially, they were too far from the captives and captors to see them, so they also immediately started shooting at Bronze Legion troopers. The situation got worse for the Legion when the Criminal Syndicate arrived in the main square, half of its force driving on in a truck and the others coming in on foot. Before long, blasters were zipping back and forth across the plaza, sending citizens scattering for cover.

 

    Two rebels move past some droids wandering the streets & close in on the Stormtroopers

Mike W's Rebel Alliance arrived behind the captors and began sniping at the trailing Stormtroopers immediately. However, the rebels hung back a bit, staying in cover, and did not press too closely. Their plan was to shoot down the Stormtroopers and corporate security agents from a distance, and then dash in to rescue the captives. As Corporate Security, Joel heard the blaster fire from Tom's forces ahead. So, he detached two men from their column to block off the Local Rebels. They blasted away at them, forcing Tom's figures to take cover and engage in a firefight. This allowed the captors to continue moving slowly with their three captives towards the main square. Darth Pylor tried to keep the force moving briskly, although he was also targeted by blaster fire from angry citizens, as well.

 

    One Stormtrooper goes down (green sticker on bottom) & the column reacts to fire from their rear

Beset on all sides, the Bronze Legion held off their adversaries as best as they could. However, once the Criminal Syndicate's truck pulled into the main square, the mercenaries when on the attack. The mercenaries had been frustrated by Foxhurst's enforcers the last several games, and wanted payback. Keith switched to targeting the criminals with most of his force. The first imperial casualties began to fall, though -- the heavily armored City Walkers. One went down to the persistent and repeated blaster fire from Tom's troopers firing from across the square. A cheer went up when the first, towering warbot fell with a crash. 

 

    A Mon Calamari rebel snipes at the captors' column, hanging back in case "it's a trap!"

As the other walker advanced on the rebels, Foxhurst suddenly darted forward. The syndicate leader sprinted up to the walker and slapped a briefcase-sized metallic device onto its leg. It stuck with a magnetic clank. Immediately, electrical sparks flew from the device, running along every limb, shutting it down in midstride. Foxhurst waved frantically to the truck, signalling it to back up next to the disabled walker. The criminals planned to steal one of the imperial walkers!

 

    Criminal leader Foxhurst takes advantage of the chaos in the square to rush up & disable a walker

However, it was not to be. Bronze legion troopers poured fire into the truck, first knocking out Quiddo who was riding in the truck bed. Next, another mercenary charged the truck, ripped open the passenger door, and dove across the cab and began pummeling the driver, Sluggr. Initially, the slug-like Hutt slumped over the wheel, the truck coasting to a stop. He recovered quickly, though, and shoved the trooper away with his massive tail. He looked out the window to Foxhurst, only to see his leader dodging intense fire from the mercenaries, and sprinting towards him and leaping into the back of the truck. Blaster fire followed Foxhurst, though, and he too was soon slumped in the truck bed next to Quiddo. Seeing this, Sluggr threw the truck into reverse and began heading towards the square's exit. Things were not going as planned for the criminals, again! The Hutt decided it would be best to get his comrades off the table.

 

    One of the Bronze Legion mercenaries exchanges fire with an angry (& armed) Mos Eisley citizen

Sluggr's plans were dashed when the Bronze Legion trooper still inside the truck's cab fired several times. Howling in pain, the Hutt opened the door and rolled out, slithering away into a nearby open garage. The armed Mos Eisley citizen in the garage watched him go past, then darted out the back of the building, not wanting to mix it up with the infamous syndicate. Chuckling, trooper slid over, took the controls of the truck, and sped off with the two unconscious criminals in the back of the cab. The remaining criminal, Trumonkar, continued to fire away at the Bronze Legion troopers, but was unable to change his syndicate's fortune.

 

    With Corporate Security providing flank protection, the imperial column gets closer to the square

Between the Corporate Security officers holding off the local rebels, and the Stormtroopers fighting a rearguard action against the Alliance, the captors steadily progressed towards the main square. Both people movers waited on them there, engines idling. Soon, the captors had bundled all three captives into the closest vehicle and climbed aboard themselves. Both the Local Rebels and the Alliance were simply too far away and their fire was too ineffective to stop the progress of the captors. Once the captives were secure inside the mover, the vehicle began accelerating. It weaved between the combatants still struggling in the square. Then, reaching an open street, the vehicle went to full power and disappeared from the square.

 

    The unfortunate rebel hackers & their guards are whizzed off-board in an imperial people mover

The departure of the captives did not lessen the intensity of the fighting, though. One of the Bronze Legion troopers was down, victim of fire from angry citizens. Another was engaged in a furious gunfight with Mira, the owner of the shawarma shop on the square. Angry at the departure of the captives, the Local Rebels blazed away at any imperial targets they could get in their sights. The disabled walker had been rebooted back to life when Darth Pylor used the Force to yank the disabling device off of its leg. Rebel fire poured into it, though, and soon it crashed to the ground next to the other smoking city walker. 

 

    Bronze Legion mercenary reverses the truck off-board with 2 unconscious criminals in the bed

Darth Pylor shouted to the remaining Stormtroopers, corporate security agents, and Bronze Legion troopers to get aboard the remaining people mover. Fire in the main square was slackening, as first the Rebel Alliance, and then next the Mos Eisley citizens, took cover and withdrew from the fight. This allowed the remaining imperial forces to leap aboard the mover and soon they were speeding out of the square, as well. The citizens still around jeered at them as they left, but the rebels were in no mood for celebrating. Their hackers had been taken prisoner and spirited off the board in imperial custody. Many of their secrets might be uncovered. It was time to head back to their hideouts and try to minimize the damage done to their cause this day. 

 

    Enraged by the capture of its technicians, rebels pour fire into the square, downing the last walker

So, the Empire's "strike back" ended in triumph, just as in the original movies. The three imperial factions scored a total of 20 victory points, doubling the other four factions. The Mos Eisley citizens acquitted themselves well, tying for second with 7 VP. However, the two rebel factions managed only 3 VP combined, while the Criminal Syndicate scored 0 VP. If their fortunes continue to fail, how long will it be before a new criminal syndicate emerges to replace them? With Foxhurst and Quiddo captured by the Bronze Legion, what will the other members of the syndicate have to pay the mercenaries to get their leaders back? Plenty of fodder for new scenarios was harvested in this game!

 

    Victory point totals for Mission #03 - Save the Captives! - a comfortable imperial victory

In the campaign standings, the Local Rebels played by Tom are still in the lead -- barely! Behind them (by one point) are the Bronze Legion mercenaries. The Empire (played by Mike S) are also close behind at two off the lead. Only the Criminal Syndicate is having a truly lackluster campaign. Otherwise, the Empire vs. Rebels total victory points are fairly close, by my count.

 

    Campaign standings by victory points after 3 turns -- Local Rebels (Tom) are winning!

I think the campaign itself is going well, and the Space Weirdos rules are definitely a success. They're easy to learn, and create wild and woolly action on the tabletop with sometimes unexpected results. I haven't noticed our games being as lethal as some other Space Weirdos players online say their matches are, but I don't mind. As long as the players are having fun, it doesn't matter if the body count is lower than anticipated. I hope you enjoyed the reading the battle report, though. If you're interested in checking out Space Weirdos, they're available for download inexpensively on Wargame Vault!

 

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

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

Warhost 28mm Orcs - 'Gut You Like a Bonefish!'

    Beginning of an orc horde -- 8 Warhost 'Linebreakers' (28mm metal figs from Hobday & Hicks)

Somewhere, Theoden is looking down at me, sighing, "And so it begins..." With this first batch of 28mm Orcs, I have begun my "2026 Project" of painting an Orc army for Dragon Rampant. These are metal miniatures from the Warhost line produced this year by Hobday & Hicks. I purchased them when my friend Jeff Gatlin was running one of his 50% off sales, downsizing (and eventually shutting down) his gaming business. I bought two packs of four "Linebreakers" and two packs of orc archers. Frequent readers of Lead Legionaries may remember I bought way more than that a couple months later of 28mm metal Gripping Beast Orcs (from their Ragnarok line).

    These sculpts have lots of personality and very vile looking, ferocious Orc faces

I began with the Warhost ones because it gave me a chance to experiment some. I am a bit of Tolkien traditionalist when it comes to my fantasy. No green orcs or no D&D pig-noses for me! I take the description from the text of the Lord of the Rings and interpret it as I think it is meant. Described as "sallow" skinned, and dark (even "black" in one passage), I am interpreting that as very dark-skinned creatures with an olive or yellowish hint to their flesh. My particularity about orc skin color necessitated a test batch, and what more perfect group than the one from a different line than the rest?

    Left-hand fig is one of my favorites, every time I picked him up to paint I would recite Orc lines

After priming them with White Gesso (I was tempted to buy a bottle of Black Gesso and use that), I painted the skin areas with a craft paint from Delta Ceramcoat called "Walnut." It has a more watery mixture than some, and settles into low areas acting almost like a wash if you don't put it on thickly enough. After the base coat had dried overnight, I dry brushed it with two different colors. The first was a Folk Art craft paint called "Raw Sienna" -- a medium leathery tone. The next day I did a final highlighting with Delta Ceramcoat "Khaki." I was very happy with how the skin tone came out. Much to my surprise, there was even an olive tint, especially if next to green clothing. Not a bright, Games Workshop green skin, but a true olive complexion, as is sometimes used as a description for Mediterranean flesh tone. I was worried that the eventual black wash would ruin that, but I was happy that it did not. It just made them more dark skinned, which is something Tolkien refers to more than once in Lord of the Rings.

    I like how the dark red clothing looks on the Orcs, and their patched-together, repaired armor

Next up was the metal and armored parts of the figures. The Linebreakers are heavily armored -- most in chainmail and a couple in scale mail. There is a lot of great detail on the armor, too. Some have metallic discs or bands attached in random places, as if to patch up holes made in them (and also, likely, the previous wearer of the mail shirt!). I painted all the metal, including the metallic part of their weapons, in Iron Wind Steel. There was one scale armored orc that I painted the individual scales bronze, next (leaving the sides, tops, and bottom steel), as well as a couple Orcs that got bronze discs attached to their chainmail. For the rest, the steel received a light drybrush of Silver. Here and there, I went back and added steel to rivets and such and then painted the center part copper. For the most part, though, you see a sea of dark metal with only a hint of a silvery glint here and there when you look at this batch of Orcs. That was definitely how I wanted it.

    Half of the Linebreakers were armed with heavy, two-handed weapons & the rest with crude swords

The next step was to paint the clothing colors. I surveyed my paint racks and wrote down a list of colors that I think would look good for orcs. Most were darker versions of a color (like red), or pale versions (blue or green). I had no real plan at this stage, just working my way, in general, from the "inside out" on the clothes they were wearing. Cloaks, hoods, and such would be last. There were a couple colors, such as the pale yellow, that I probably won't repeat. Otherwise, once dry brushed to give a worn look, I think most of the colors work well. I will probably do more tans next time, and I definitely liked the olive and pale greens next to the dark orc flesh.

    Filing out of the ruins was vile batch of dark, sallow-skinned Orcs, edging stealthily forward

Another interesting and unusual detail on these metal sculpts was the "Orc take out" many seemed to have hanging from their belt or around their neck. These appeared to be hands or other random body parts carved off of a dead enemy. I assume the orc must be carrying them around in case he got peckish and wanted a snack! In one case, a severed head is tied by its hair to the Orcs belt. I painted all of the carved off body parts with a very pale flesh, and liberally added Iron Wind Blood Red to them. Straps and belts were painted leather, various hilts of knives or swords often got some bronze on the them, and this batch was getting very close to being finished. I used a pale yellow for both the eyes and the Orc teeth, where they could be seen. The eyes received a dark brown dot for their iris/pupil. 

    I decided to do my normal base flocking on the Orcs, rationalizing they're invading fertile lands

I really like how these "Orcses filth" (as Gollum would say) came out. These are really cool sculpts, with lots of fierce-looking character. The only thing I didn't like were the "knuckle dusters" or metallic domes the characters carrying swords one-handed had molded on their off-hand. I Googled what they might be, and one result said they were intended to be metallic reinforcements for their fists to either smash enemy faces or perhaps deflect blows? I also felt there was a chance they were supposed to be metal bosses for a shield that was sculpted with a hole in the middle (for the boss to poke through?). There were no shields in my Linebreaker packs, though. So, I painted them up as dubious, un-Tolkien like, knuckle dusters or brass knuckles. 

    The trio of craft paints that I used for my Orc flesh -- base coat Walnut, and two dry brush highlights

The next batch, the Warhost archers, is just underway on my painting desk. There is another batch of figures and some terrain and scatter in front of them, though. So, stay tuned here for more updates on the coming orc horde....!

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: 150