'Loot' from Drums at the Rapids 2025 (mostly from RRB Minis & More)

    One of the prizes I won from RRB Minis & More - a very cool 3-D printed multistory urban building

I ran my Viking Raid game at Drums at the Rapids, but I was the one coming home with the loot! Normally, there were only a couple vendors at Drums, so I didn't really expect to come how with a lot of new stuff. However, I did take items to sell in the flea market at Fort Meigs. I did very well and sold most of what I took up -- more than enough to pay for my hotel, meals, and purchases. But even more significantly, most of what I was bringing home were prizes from RRB Minis & More. Owner Rich Brown had run a contest for scenarios for any of the rules sets he carries. Mine was the winner (my campaign rules for Zombie RV, which are a free download on his site). When he first told me that I won, I was surprised...even more so when I saw home much he gave me!

    The rear of the building -- I love the door upstairs to the rooftop...great sniper position for games!

As I said, Rich was very generous. He gifted me a huge amount of 3-D printed stuff from a new line he is carrying. It is all from the Kickstarter 20th Century Urban Environment. Check out the link -- this is some great stuff! If you like anything you see, feel free to contact him so he can print it out for you. Some of it was exactly what I was looking for. A few things I already have, but still, this was a very generous prize. The centerpiece was a multistory building with attached garage (I think it is meant to be attached, but it could also be a separate building). The doors open, roofs come off, and it is all very modular. I know I probably have enough urban buildings for now, but I'm going to be hard pressed to resist getting this one painted up and ready for the tabletop. I think my favorite part is the second story door leading to the flat rooftop with parapet. I can see this being a favorite "sniper position" in games using the building. It also game with some ladders which I will likely attach on the outside as a fire escape or another way up onto the roof. 

    The one story garage which I believe is made to be attached to the multistory building

The garage looks very much like a building you would see in an urban area. Maybe it is a "hole in the wall" automobile repair shop? I might paint it up that way. The garage could just as easily stand alone as its own building. It is modeled partially damaged on its sides, which gives it more versatility. If you sandwich it between two other intact buildings, though, you will never see the damage. Standing alone, it is a damaged building - perfect for post-apocalyptic or a city in ruins. One building, two uses. Although I will paint it up separately from the multistory building, it will be in a similar style so that it can be attached, if I choose. 

    The rear of the garage -- if you look through the left window, you can see the damaged side

The things I was really excited about when Rich showed me this kickstarter last year were the rooftop scatter items. The water tank, air conditioning ducts, skylights, and even doorway to the rooftop are all very generic and very useful. I had actually been looking for these types of items, so when Rich shared the Kickstarter website with me, they were the first thing I asked about. Likely, they will be the first things painted up, too. They should fit on any flat roofed building, which most of my Sarissa Precision city buildings are, thankfully. They should also paint up fairly quickly, too. I look forward to getting them finished and onto the tabletop in my next game of Mean Streets gang warfare or Zombie RV.

    3-D printed air conditioning ducts, skylights, water tank, etc., available from RRB Minis & More

If you have seen my games, you may have noticed that I don't have any stoplights in my urban setup. Initially, I had been going back and forth about how to scratch-build them. However, since then, I have picked up a couple varieties. Rich's prizes add in a third variety. I will have to set all three out and decided which ones I like better. One selling point for Rich's will be that I should be able to order as many as I want from him. I like the street lights, too -- a somewhat ornate, elongated globe. Very fancy! Of course, I would need a LOT more than two to replace my dozen or so scratch-built ones that I made a few years ago. The Stop, Yield, etc. signs are nice and will be useful, as well, as is the phone box. I already have a lot of plaster traffic cones already painted up, so I will likely not spend time on these soon. I'm not sure what the black cylindrical items are...they look familiar, but their purpose on a street is eluding me right now.

    Street scatter that Rich included in my gift box -- traffic lights & signs, streetlights, & even cones!

Rich also included some other trash -- literally! I love the collection of three garbage bags. I also like the dumpster with the separate working lids. The sawhorses are nice, as well, as are the barrels, trash cans, and even barrel fire. I already have some of these items painted up (same with the fire hydrants), but the manole covers or sewer access points are new to me and a great idea to paint up and throw onto a street on the tabletop for that little bit "extra." That's the awesome thing about scatter terrain like this. It makes your tabletop come alive. It is those little extras that draw people in and make them want to play a game on your tabletop. I highly recommend picking up some of this inexpensive scatter to take your display to the next level. 

    The goodies keep on coming -- love the collection of garbage bags, dumpster, and sawhorses!

Can you believe I'm still not done with what Rich included in the gift box? I was excited to see the three wooden pallets. I almost bought some at Cincycon this past March from A Critical Hit. However, my tub was already pretty full, so I decided to be frugal. Yes, I could make pallets with bass wood. Why, though? For a wargamer, time is money, too. These will take next to no time to get onto the table. Plus, they will be far less fiddly than cutting pieces of bass wood, arranging them, and gluing them together. I'll happily spend a small amount for 3-D printed ones. Along with the traffic lights, they will likely be my first order of additional stuff from the samples he sent me. The park bench is nice, as is the dead tree (it will join my growing dead forest). I have to admit that I have no idea what the four tiny red things are...hopefully Rich Brown will see my post and comment on what they are supposed to be. The brick rubble is good -- post-apocalyptic gamers can always use more rubble!

    Pallets! I regretted not buying these from A Critical Hit at Cincycon...now I have a source for them

I actually did buy some things from RRB Minis & More, too. He didn't bring his store, but did bring along some stuff to add in the flea market. GMs attending Drums at the Rapids are encouraged to bring flea market items to set on one of the tables or shelves along the outer wall of the main gaming area. I've been doing it for years, so I was glad to see Rich brought some things I could purchase to pay him back some. I bought printed copies of three of the rules sets he carries. I already had the PDF of Mice-at-Arms, but always like having a printed copy when I play a game. I had been meaning to download Frogs of the Fen (supplement to go along with the rules), but hadn't gotten around to it. Rich has been running his Sci-Fi rules, Fictioneers: Legacy Fantastic Sci-Fi Warriors rules for a few years at various conventions. My friends who have played them all have enjoyed the games, so I figured I would pick them up.

Rich told me he wasn't aware he could have brought his store and been a vendor. Doug of the Colby Street Irregulars usually recruits a couple for each show. So, there was a communication breakdown there, as I'm sure others would liked to have picked up some stuff from RRB Minis & More. The one vendor who was there were my friends James & Rusty from Fireland Games. They brought their collection of Saga, Bolt Action, and more figures, as well as various other items. One thing that they do that is a great service for gamers is they open up the plastic boxes and sell individual sprues. Sometimes, you don't need 30 of a figure type and five or six fit your needs perfectly. James says it has been a successful marketing strategy for them.

    Picture from the Gripping Beast website of one of the two trolls I bought from Fireland Games

Readers of my blog know I actually prefer metal miniatures, but am willing to paint plastic or 3-D printed figures, too. When I saw these 28mm metal trolls from Gripping Beast online, I knew I wanted to have a couple. I asked James at DayCon if they could get them and he said yes, and ordered the two for me. So, my purchase form Fireland Games was already "set" when I arrived. I am looking forward to the second edition of Dragon Rampant to be released in October. Fireland Games will be ordering me a copy (contact them if you want one, too). Our Sunday night gaming group enjoys the Rampant series of games. They are quick, easy-to-learn, and provide a great multiplayer game that can be finished in a couple hours. Just to give you an idea how quickly the system moves, my friend John L (owner of JS Wargamer Printing) recently ran a six player Xenos Rampant game (the Sci-Fi version). Each player controlled 40-50 points ("normal" size is 25) and it finished in a little more than two hours. If you haven't played any of the Rampant games, I highly recommend them!

    Meet my second 28mm Gripping Beast troll I got from Fireland Games -- his name is Gorka

I am telling everyone that 28mm Fantasy will be next year's project. My 28mm Vietnam is this year's, and I am adamant about not making a major purchase to start a new one before next year. Two trolls are not a major purchase. And um...neither is the box of Gripping Beast metal Orcs I'll buy when Fireland Games puts in their next Gripping Beast order. Nope, nope -- no new project! "Move along, folks, nothing to see here...!" The final picture is of three cups worth of Hirst Arts plaster pieces that Rusty brought along to get out of his basement (his wife's instructions). He wanted to give me everything he brought, which would have been about 50 of these cup's worth -- not just the three I filled up. I did not need that much, though, but there were some pieces I could use. Rusty refused to accept money for them, which just goes to show how good of guys they are (or how much he wanted to get rid of it all...ha, ha!).

    My three cups worth of Hirst Arts plaster blocks -- the doors were nice, and I can always use stone

So, how do I count all of this to add to my tallies, below? The two buildings are easy -- they're "Terrain." The scatter...wow. Do I really count each individual traffic cone? That seems excessive. And I certainlyi can't count each Hirst Arts block! Maybe the traffic cones should count those as one, to quote Gimli the Dwarf? Either way, I'm about to go seriously in the "red" on my Scatter counts of Painted vs. Acquired. And I was doing sooo well!! Luckily, I am catching up on miniatures as my Vietnam figures are going quickly. Still, it is only May. I have more than seven months to make up these totals! And who can look an amazing gift horse in the mouth, like what Rich gave me? Still, I think I need to start working some of these scatter pieces in fairly quickly...!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 145
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 85 

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 21
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 23

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 93
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 60

More U.S. Soldier in Vietnam & Some Misc. Scatter

    A fire team of soldiers of 'The Big Red One' take a breather next to an abandoned Buddhist stupa

With this batch completed, I'm up to 20 U.S. soldiers finished. I'm having fun painting these guys. Each figure in each pack of five is different. Plus, there are enough packs in the Black Sun range that I have minimal duplication. These five soldiers are the same as one of the previous batches, so I decided to mix up their skin colors a bit. The soldiers I painted as white are now black or Hispanic, and vice versa. The Crucible Crush sculpts are detailed enough you can see that some poses are meant to be a particular ethnicity. However, I figure that on the tabletop, players will see the pose first, then skin color. So, I doubt someone will be picking up a miniature in my games and saying, "Heyyy...!"

    This is my 4th batch of U.S. infantry from the "Black Sun" range - I love the poses & details!

Anyway, no point in going over how I painted these guys. I've done that in the first post and previous one sharing my U.S. soldiers.  Once again, these are painted for the First Infantry Division, aka "The Big Red One." I'm reading a publication by The Nafziger Collection right now to give me ideas for scenarios for my games. I plan to base as many of them as possible off of actual engagements by this unit's soldiers. There will be some others, of course, that I took inspiration from the actions of other units, but if possible, I'd love to reproduce the unit's tour through Vietnam in my games. I think that would be neat.

    Details like the pack of cigarettes in the helmet band & my added tattoos help bring them to life

I'm also reading Mark Bowden's Hue 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam. Bowden is an amazing storyteller and puts you right in the head of the people who lived through History.  Perhaps you've read his Black Hawk Down novel that the Hollywood movie was made from? Anyway, it is a thrilling account of the intense urban warfare that took place in Vietnam's second largest city during the Tet Offensive. I'm about halfway through it and have a hard time putting it down when it is time to go to bed at night!

   Hispanic (or my attempt at that skintone) trooper stalks through the jungle keeping an eye out for VC

I have also been working more on the rules that I will use for my games. I will definitely be making modifications to the core Sellswords & Spellslingers system. For example, I am thinking each figure will be permitted to roll for two actions per turn instead of three. I will also have a separate system for the player's movements before contact, too. I don't want to worry about soldiers in line having to leapfrog a buddy ahead of him because that one failed its actions. Once the shooting begins, though, it will be more chaotic and some players may freeze while others do their duty more efficiently.

    From the streets to the jungle of Vietnam -- an African-American trooper sweats it out in the bush

You may have noticed that I am showing each trooper individually in my photos with this post, instead of in pairs. I really liked the single photo from the Viet Cong batch, so decided to keep that up. With only five figures per group, it is not like it makes the posts that much longer, right? Plus, I like seeing both the front and back of the miniatures. There are all kinds of subtle details on these excellently-cast miniatures, and this format does a better way of showing that off.

    With 25 Vietnam figures done, I estimate that I am just under halfway through the project

Also included in this post are some scatter pieces that I finished up more than a week ago. I kept waiting to get a few more things done so that I could do a more substantial post. However, once I began working on pieces of jungle scatter for Vietnam, it meant the other scatter was sidelined for the moment. Two of the pieces are 3-D ones from A Critical Hit that I actually purchased last year, at Cincycon 2024. It is pretty crazy to have something that takes only a handful of minutes to spruce up for the tabletop to sit unused in your closet for more than a year. Both of these fit into that category. The other is a toy semi-tractor trailer I picked up from Menards.

    This towering scaffolding metal construct is actually 2 pieces 3-D printed from A Critical Hit

This giant, Sci-Fi scaffolding thingie is actually two pieces that I bought from A Critical Hit. The more I looked at them, the more they looked like they should be stacked on top of each other. They even had little pegs on top (?), although there was no corresponding hole on the bottoms. That was solved easily with a pin vice and some superglue to attach the two structures together. Once I looked at the piece even more closely, I noticed all the bolt and hexagonal nut heads along the structure. I decided to paint those Iron Wind Metals Steel. I also did two black vehicle washes on it to give it more definition in the recessed areas and a dirtier look than the bright bronze color it was printed in. I like the way it looks, though I'm still really not sure what it is supposed to be...!

    This 3-D printed iron brazier with flame needed just a black wash and the flames painted to be done

Another Critical Hit piece that had sat in my unpainted terrain/scatter closet for a year was this iron brazier with flames. Like most critical hit pieces, it was printed in a silver for the brazier and a deep red for the flames. I decided to do a black vehicle wash on the brazier to give it more definition and darken it a bit more. While I was at it, I pulled out the flame piece and painted it, as well. Even though my red, orange, and yellow may not be expertly done, I think it will stick out more on the tabletop than the deep red. You can still see that red in the open flame shaped spaces near the bottom of the brazier. Of course, this little thing may not see the tabletop that often because I have all my Bad Goblin Games LED flame scatter! As nice as this looks, they look better...

Menards toy semi-tractor trailer made of plastic and 'dirtied up' with rust coloring and black washes

I have been looking for a semi-tractor trailer in die cast for awhile, now, but had been unsuccessful. However, one day while in Menards, I found a bunch of toy trucks for only $4.99. One of them was a tractor-trailer, so I snapped it up. It is plastic rather than die cast, and a step down in quality from most die cast vehicles you see in various stores. However, beggars can't be choosers, so I bought it and also a dump truck.

    Did I put too much black wash on the tractor trailer? Perhaps - it certainly looks dirty & abandoned!

One thing I am still not confident or sure how to do is weather and "dirty up" the many die cast vehicles I have bought over the years. I have about a dozen sitting in my terrain/scatter closet waiting for me to figure out a way to do it. When I purchased the Menards trucks, I wanted to get it ready for the tabletop as soon as possible. I think that -- if nothing else -- it would look good sitting in a trailer part or post-apocalyptic cityscape. My first idea is to simply do a black wash on their exterior. However, the truck would likely need more than that. The chrome is simply to bright and toy-like. So, I painted the chrome pieces with Iron Wind Metals Steel. Some parts even required a second coat. 

    One of my post-apocalyptic survivors checks out the area before investigating the tractor trailer

I did have to put glue underneath onto to the wheels rods to keep them from moving. I should probably have done a gray dry brush on the rubber wheels. And maybe some more dark wash into the wheel wells and hubs. Honestly, this was my first real weathering attempt and I wasn't sure what was "too much" and what was just right. I still have the dump truck to do, so maybe I'll do better on it! So, what else is on my painting desk? Two batches of Viet Cong and one of U.S. infantry, of course. And for scatter, I have 12 circular wooden disks that I flocked and am putting various plastic plants on for jungle scatter. The plants are glued down, but I probably want to dull them up a bit to take off that plastic sheen. Of course, forecast says rain here for the next three days in the monsoon season of Columbus, Ohio! We'll see when I get chance to spray them with a matte clear coat...!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 143
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 85 

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 19
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 23

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 54
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 60

Star Wars with Space Weirdos: Imperial Boarding Action

    Allen's Star Wars rebel soldiers prepare to defend themselves as they hear the Stormtroopers advance

My friend Keith had a taste for some Sci-Fi skirmish, and wanted to get his Starship Vengeance 3-D printed cardboard terrain onto the table. The "box terrain" set from Gale Force 9 is pre-printed and cleverly goes back together like a Russian matryoska doll, with each slightly smaller box fitting inside a larger one. We decided to use Space Weirdos rules again, since we had just used them and they would be fresher in our head. I suggested a very Star Wars-like scenario with stormtroopers boarding a rebel cruiser looking for a high value target (in this case, "the Princess"). Keith brought along his Wizards of the Coast prepainted Star Wars figs, and we set up a simple, shoot-'em up scenario.

    Keith's very clever 3-D printed cardboard spaceship interior was our battlefield for the evening

We had three Empire players and three Rebels. Each controlled a sergeant leader and three troopers. The profiles were identical for both sides except that the rebels had laser pistols and the Stormtroopers had laser rifles. Of course, in the heat of the moment we promptly forgot to apply the weapon bonuses and restrictions until the very end of the game. We also forgot about our grenade's +1 on the damage chart, and our armor's +1 to Defense rolls. I have an idea on how to redesign the character sheets to make it less easy to forget all those fun things. It didn't imbalance the game as both sides completely forgot those modifiers until the very end of the game!

    My entry point was the bottom of the picture - but as we advance, Keith's rebels move to flank us

Keith laid out the very cool looking cardboard terrain to form the sprawling interior of a rebel cruiser. First, I had the Empire players discuss and then choose three breach points, one for each player, where they would board the ship. Next, the Rebel players returned to the room and deployed their figures. Jenny and I had chose to breach into rooms that led to corridors that essentially bisected the ship. Tom chose to breach into a perpendicular corridor that led left and right, so to speak. We figured we would come in the middle of the interior, so to speak, and then march right or left once we saw where the Rebels (and more importantly, the Princess) were. All three Empire players had a silent chuckle when they saw Joel deploy his four Rebels soldiers in the hallway Tom would breach into. To one side of the central axis, Keith had deployed his guys and the Princess in Engineering. To the opposite side, Allen had deployed his in the Control room. 

    Tom's Stormtroopers burst in through their breach point and quickly gunfire & blasts erupt

Crucially for me, there was another corridor that led from my access point to the back of Engineering. So, I feinted forward to look like I was going to reinforce Tom in the central hallway battle. Keith sent one of his soldiers to reinforce Joel, but the other three began moving towards the corridor, possibly to outflank me. This decided matters for me, as I would throw all four of my stormtroopers at his position. Before we engaged though, the battle was raging in the central hallway. We later nicknamed it the Hallway of Death for the Out of Action soldiers sprawled about the corridor. 

   Early look at the 'Hallway of Death', with two of Jenny's Stormtroopers at the bottom ready to join in

Tom raced through the breach point and immediately engaged the rebels in melee. I'd given each figure a grenade, in addition to their blaster, and the players were not shy about using them at all. Soon, shock grenades were going off all over the ship. Stormtroopers fell, Rebels went down -- anywhere that figures were bunched up within the half stick blast radius, a grenade would be tossed. Even with forgetting the +1 on the damage chart, grenades rolled 2d10 on attack vs. the laser pistol or rifle's 2d8. We debated whether it was possible to use one of your two Command Points each turn to "power up" the grenade to 2d12. It is possible to spend one point to power up your attack one dice level. We decided that it was possible, which made throwing grenades even more attractive. The sounds of booms soon rang through the hallways as men screamed and fell to the floor.

    Fortune was on the Empire's side as my Stormtroopers clear the corridor leading to Engineering

Tom pushed his attacks aggressively, drawing all of the attention of Joel and Allen. Jenny advanced to support him, keeping most of her troopers in the corridor leading to the Hallway of Death, though. While the battle raged there, it was mainly a distraction. It kept 2/3's of the rebels away from protecting the princess. All I would need to do would be to defeat Keith's three troopers with my four, grab the princess, and get out, and we would win.

    Unfortunately for the Princess, Allen's troopers remained pinned down inside the control room

Keith won the Initiative though and started turn 2 off with a bang. He threw a grenade which would catch three of my troopers in the blast. I used one of my two command points to have one Stormtrooper dodge out of the blast area. Only one of the other two was hit, and he was still up. I decided to use the movie tactics of the Stormtroopers and advanced to the attack, moving into his hallway and shooting with all of my Stormtroopers. We also tossed our share of grenades, too. It was a bloody battle, but my Stormtroopers were slowly getting the upper hand.

    My grenade tossed into the doorway leading to the Engineering knocked out a rebel & the princess

Keith's rebels began to fall back from the corridor. One of my men tossed a grenade in the open doorway leading to engineering. In the blast radius were three of his rebels AND (unfortunately, maybe) the Princess. The princess and two of the rebel soldiers were knocked out of action. He counterattacked knocking out one of my guys. Still, the doorway remained open at the start of the next turn. I had one of my Stormtroopers run in, pick up the princess, and dart back out into the corridor. I made sure I hung onto one of my command points, though, waiting for his rebels to pursue into the corridor and shoot my Stormtrooper carrying the princess. When he did, I played it, Dodging out of the corridor back towards my entry point.

    Bodies continue to pile up in the Hallway of Death, and amazingly Tom's Stormtroopers fight on!

Meanwhile, bodies continued to fall in the Hallway of Death. Allen's rebels, who'd been relatively content to hold the command center, finally came out to take on Tom and Jenny's stormtroopers. More grenades went off, more figures were either Knocked Down, Staggered, or put Out of Action. The Hallway's floor grew slick with the blood from wounded lying on the metallic floor. 

    Three of my Stormtroopers exfiltrating back towards our breach point with the princess' body

When we decided to call the game, my troopers were within one move of their exfiltration point and Keith did not have enough rebel soldiers left to stop them. He kept insisting the princess was dead, though I pointed out the rules say only "Out of Action," which doesn't mean dead. It was an imperial victory, especially considering the Sci-Fi medical advancements which could revive or heal the princess, we argued. Everyone had a great time, laughing as we made Star Wars movie references or comical dice failures beset us all. I think everyone is enjoying Space Weirdos. It is easy to pick up the concepts. There are a few questions that have arisen in our games, but we tend to be able to agree on the intent of the rules. If you're looking for a fast Sci-Fi skirmish game (they also have Sword Weirdos for Fantasy), with easy to learn rules, you may consider downloading the rules from Wargame Vault and trying them out. At only $5, how wrong can you go?

    For only $5, how wrong can you go picking up & checking out a copy of Space Weirdos?

Meanwhile, my painting of 28mm Vietnam figures continues to roll along, as does my work on jungle vegetation scatter terrain pieces. Look for pics of those soon!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 143
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 80 

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 19
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 22

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 54
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 57

Some Pictures from Drums at the Rapids 2025

    Lagertha, Ragnar, & another Viking raider break into the Anglo-Saxon church in search of loot

I enjoy going to smaller local conventions as much as I do the bigger wargaming shows. In fact, the atmosphere at these shows tends to be more friendly and intimate, with a greater feeling of camaraderie. One annual convention that I have made it to every year since its first is Drums at the Rapids, hosted by the Colby Street Irregulars. It is held in the Visitors Center of Fort Meigs, a reconstructed War of 1812 fort in Perrysburg, OH (Toledo area). My local Historical Miniature Gaming Society chapter (Great Lakes), has helped sponsor it since the beginning.

    Tod Kershner's 'Assault at Ft. Meigs' recreates the 1813 battle that was fought at the actual fort site

    Tod's lovely 54mm figures and easy-to-learn rules reenact the U.S. assault on the British lines

In an effort to save money, I have begun driving up Friday morning and staying only Friday night in an area hotel. Saturday, we attend the con, game until we are tired and ready to go home, and then drive back. It's a good way to cut costs but still enjoy both Friday and Saturday of a show. We've begun doing the same thing at Cincycon, which is held every year in March. In addition, Drums has a free flea market on the shelves or tables along the wall -- just set your stuff and folks interested in buying something come to you. No booth to man or table to sit behind. Just do your gaming and pocket the cash your fellow attendees bring to you!

    My friend Abel Delacruz made the trip up to Toledo to run his Samurai game using Test of Honor

    Players enjoy Abel's cinematic terrain and the quick--playing rules simulating samurai warfare

As always, there are fun games being run at the show. I set up my Viking Town Raid and ran it Friday evening and Saturday morning. My good fortune continued and it filled up both times. I had good groups of players both games, and even had one repeat player on Saturday determined to get more loot than he did on Friday night. That was helpful because he could assist other players in figuring out what the defenders would do when the card came up for all of the enemies on the table to activate and attack. 

    Rich Brown teaches new GL member Andrew how to play 'Chivalrous Bum' quick-play rules

    Two attendees at Drums 2025 play the Horse & Musket adaption of the rules called 'Frizzen Bum'

Saturday saw one of the rare times that the Viking raiders made it into the church and looted its treasures. In fact, Lagertha ended up winning based on her last-turn looting of church silver, stealing the victory from the player controlling her husband Ragnar, who had a big lead most of the game. Everyone said they had a good time and I think that Ganesha Games will likely sell a good handful of copies of Sellswords & Spellslingers based on the number of folks who took pictures of the rules cover or copied down the game's title.

    Tanks assault Martian walkers in Dave Elmore's 'All Quiet on the Martian Front' game

    'Here they come...!' Martian tripods bear down on the enemy in one of Dave's2 runnings of his game

I finally got a chance myself to play in demos being run by Rich Brown of RRB Minis & More. He brought along his friend Kyle, and the two were hopping all day Friday explaining the four games they brought along and set up. Both are based on a set of rules by David Bezio (Zombie RV fame) and are meant for Westerns, called Saddle Bum. Rich and Kyle enjoy the system so much that Rich has adapted it for Medieval (Chivalrous Bum) and Horse & Musket (Fizzen Bum). Jenny and I sat down to a game of Chivalrous Bum and well, she kicked my bum and good in the game! David had sent me a copy of Saddle Bum for feedback, but I had never played the rules before. They are very simple and easy to learn. 

    Mad Max style post-apocalyptic warfare in Justin Lynch's Gaslands game, which ran both days

    Players at Drums enjoyed Justin's atmospheric board and the fun, quick 'Gaslands rules'

I saw some attendees cycling through both of his games trying them out and (I believe) purchasing the rules. The two variants are available for download on RRB Minis & More's website. I also purchased his printed copies of Bezio's Mice-at-Arms and Sci-Fi game, Fictioneers. I have been wanting to give the anthropomorphic animal themed mice battle rules a try, but haven't gotten around to it yet. And every time Rich is running Fictioneers at a convention, it seems I'm busy running my own game at the same time!

    Convention Director Doug Johnson also found time in his busy days to run the Battle of Omdurman

    Even though it wasn't on the schedule, players requested an encore of Doug's 'Toledo War' game

Drums has always been a great convention for socializing. It is good to see old friends and connect with folks I see only at conventions. This year was no different. In the old days -- 10 years ago or so -- it was quite the party, with more than a dozen gathering at the local chicken wings place over beers. Nowadays, it is much more sedate. Jenny and I had fun hanging out with Rich and Kyle at Frickers and chatting about our respective game groups. I had told myself that once I retire I would make it to more conventions. I've found that has not been the case, this year. I'm attending pretty much the same ones I attended when I was teaching. 

    My own Viking raid game had a full table on both Friday night & Saturday morning

    So many mounted Saxon hearthguard defenders appeared they formed a 'horde' under to the rules!

However, I have been floating another idea. I would like to make the rounds of the local game clubs in various parts of the region and show up on their meeting days. Rich and Kyle have a game club in the far northeast of Ohio -- Hubbard Ohio Gamers Guild. So do Rusty and James, whose Fireland Games were the one vendor in attendance. There are several in the Cincinnati area, as well as Chilicothe, and other places. So, if you would like to have Jenny and I stop by some weekend when you're gaming, let me know!

    Trench lines & tanks defend Earth against Martian attack in 'All Quiet on the Martian Front'

 

    Two medieval knights meet in chivalrous combat on a bridge in one of Rich Brown's games

Anyway, Drums was a good time, as usual. I hope you enjoy the photos of the game. I'm continuing to make good progress on my 28mm Vietnam project. I have another batch of U.S. troops in the flocking stage, and two more sets of five in the pipeline. As far as terrain, I've started on some more jungle terrain scatter pieces. They're about halfway through the process, so look for photos of them soon. Until then, hope you're getting in some good gaming yourselves...!

    Saturday morning, and my Viking Raid game is set up and awaiting a new group of Viking players

    Saxon hearth guard from a shieldwall to protect the church from Viking raiders at Drums

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 143
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 80 

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 19
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 22

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 54
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 57