My First Gringo 40s Vietnam Figs & Some 'Pinned Markers'

    Looking down the barrel of my two Gringo 40s Vietnamese snipers -- 1 painted as NVA, the other VC

My friend Jim told me that U.K. manufacturer Gringo 40s has a 28mm Vietnam figure line that size up well with the Black Sun range from Crucible Crush, where most of my collections is from. I'd almost pulled the trigger a few times and ordered some to be shipped across the pond to me. However, I really don't want to mess with the tariffs and international shipping costs. When a friend of mine said they were going to the U.K. to visit family and friends, I asked him if he'd pick up some and he agreed.

    A look at the NVA sniper - one of the things I was missing from my initial batch Vietnam troops

The bulk of my order was North Vietnamese Army (NVA) figures, which technically none of my Crucible Crush are supposed to be. However, I would think that the ones in khaki uniforms and the iconic almost "pith helmets" included in the Black Sun range could easily work for NVA in a pinch. Still, these Gringo 40s figures are cast specifically as NVA. Ged from Gringo 40s is known for doing his historical research. He was also very accommodating in making sure the shipment arrived on time where my friend would pick it up. Great guy!

Anyway, one thing I was definitely lacking in my Vietnamese figures was something to use as a sniper. So, I ordered two -- one in uniform and helmet that could be an NVA sniper and another bareheaded that I could easily paint up as a Viet Cong guerrilla. Gringo 40s also had two figures in their range to represent downed air crew evading capture. I ordered two of them and was disappointed when one was out of stock. Meaning well, Ged substituted a flight line crewman with a clipboard and baseball cap. Not what I had in mind for a figure meant to be trying to evade capture in the jungle! So, that figure and the South Vietnamese army (ARVN) gift figure will be going north to Jim for all his help and he will hopefully be providing me eventually with a 3-D printed airman figure at some future date. 

    I painted the bare headed sniper up as Viet Cong in the traditional all black outfit

I painted all three up as a batch, albeit a small one! The snipers are prone and are posed resting their arms and upper body on some sort of embankment. I epoxied both the embankment and the miniature onto a pill-shaped base I had originally bought for 28mm mounted troops. I tried to copy the way Gringo 40s' photo depicted them resting on the embankment, but to me it looked a little awkward, like he was raising his midsection up off the ground. I decided that I would cover that gap later with flocking, since I would be depicting the snipers in the jungle rather than the embattled streets of Hue. After priming them with Liquitex White Gesso, I painted one a medium tan called Bambi Brown and the other, who would be the V.C. sniper, in black. After dry, I highlighted each color very light tan and medium gray, respectively.

Next, I pulled out the color I'd bought for Vietnamese flesh and did their faces, hands, and the parts of their legs and feet showing. The bare-headed guy seemed to be wearing sandals -- perfect, since he was meant to be V.C. The uniformed guy had on boots. After painting some belts and straps khaki (if not already done so in the case of the NVA sniper), it was on to the gun. I used a medium brown for the wooden stock and grip and Iron Wind Steel for the metal parts. I painted the scope black, figuring that they would want to make it hard for enemy to see when the sniper was zeroing in on a target. A couple more highlights, the eyes, and these two bad boys were done! In my Surviving 'Nam rules, the snipers are indeed bad boys. They are the second deadliest Foe (after a bunker and machine gun) that Event Cards can bring onto the table.

    My Gringo 40s downed airman trying to evade capture in the jungle -- nice, clean figure!

Way back when I painted my American troops up for Vietnam, I helpfully labeled each shade of green that I used with a circled number for where they went in the process. It had been a few months since I finished my last Americans, so I thought it would be a cinch to follow my recipe, so to speak. However, I forgot that step two was not a dry brush. It was supposed to be the straps and pouches. So, I unhelpfully failed to follow my own recipe when painting up my downed airman. I don't think that is a real problem. Helicopter pilot uniforms don't get the same wear and tear that an infantryman's does, I imagine. So, the shades are bound to be different -- even assuming they were identical when issued! 

It was shades of painting my elves on this downed airman, with a lot of various greens. I wasn't 100% sure how to recreate the plexiglass visor. So, I decided to use Iron Wind Steel again with Pewter highlights for where the sun was striking it.  Otherwise, he was another easy figure to paint up. I like the pose, with him slightly crouched and leaning forward as if running. He carries a pistol in one hand and something else clenched in his other fist. I assumed perhaps a compass?

    I did not exactly replicate the uniform 'recipe' I used for my previous American troops, which is okay

All in all, this batch of three figures went quickly, as you can imagine guys in one color of uniform would. Flocking the snipers was a bit more fun, and I added a lot more tufts than I usually would. I wanted to give the impression of his concealment. A medium sized tuft when on either side of his upper body to conceal how it arched off the ground. Hopefully, it looks like he's resting against a slight slope, sighting down the barrel. I put more leaves on the ground, too, to make up for the lack of plastic plants. Originally, I put trimmed off sections of plastic plants on my bases for my Vietnam figures. In game use, I have found that these tend to pop off way more than they should. Note to self: No more plastic plants on figure bases!

    Bullet Impact FX from Green Stuff World make great 'Pin Markers' for my Surviving 'Nam games

On to the Pin markers! I spotted these Green Stuff World "Bullet Impact FX" markers at Michigan Toy Soldier Company on my trip up north last month. They screamed "pin markers" to me the moment I saw them (which was a bit awkward in the shop, as everyone assumed it was me screaming). I decided to base them up the same way I created markers to show figures that had moved in our games of Space Weirdos. I used tiny 1/2" adhesive cork circles. I used the adhesive side to attach them onto small washers with the same diameter. Originally, I was going to do just one impact marker per base. The more I thought about it, two in a row might give that look of machine gun fire spraying across an area of ground. 

    I wanted to give the effect of the line of a machine gun bursts striking the ground in front of troops

I separated the 3-D printed impact markers from their sprues. One went flying when I snipped the much thicker sprue part and I still haven't found it! After that, I used an X-acto knife to separate the bottom of the marker from its stem and left the very thick sprues alone. I used superglue to attach the marker to the cork, after digging out a shallow hole for it to settle into with a pin vice and X-acto knife. They attached easily, and I quickly switched to doing two in a row per marker for the smaller ones and just one single one for the larger impact markers. 

I'd asked advice on the Lead Adventure Forum on how to paint them up, and used their ideas in what I ended up doing. I painted them a base medium gray with a very light gray dry brush. For the folks who recommended bits of earth flying up, I did a relatively heavy brown vehicle wash. This darkened it up a tad more than I wanted but did give the effect of dirt flying into the air in some spots. I went back with my lightest gray and brush highlighted various parts of the tiny arms of the "explosion." I knew flocking them would be a bit of a challenge, what with how tiny and difficult to grip they were and also trying to getting flocking on the marker itself. I painted the base and sides my earth brown first. Once dry, I painted ground around the explosion as best I could with white glue and sprinkled on Woodland Scenics Blended Turf. I tried to tap off as much of the excess I could. I figured any that remained on represented dirt clods being hurled into the air by the impact.

    One box of these 3-D printed effects created 24 Pin Markers -- WAY more than I'll ever need!

A couple coats of Krylon matte clear and they were done! What's more, they were ready in time for this weekend's trip to Cincycon where I will run my Surviving 'Nam game twice. What is it about conventions for game masters? There is always one more project we are trying to finish in time for a convention game! In this case, it was two -- snipers and pin markers. They're done, though, and hopefully they look good on the tabletop this weekend.

What else is on my painting desk? Two batches! I have my next batch of elves for Dragon Rampant -- eight spear-armed troops. I also have some very odd figures that I won in a raffle (I believe at Advance the Colors 2024). They're weird Sci-Fi alien or robotic figures. Hopefully, they'll be perfect as enemies for Majestic 13. Stay tuned to see how they turn out and you can let me know if you think they fit the part.

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 95
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 52

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 0
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 21

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 2
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 48

Random Fantasy Bits...or are They??

    A Forest Spirit from Beldolor Studios is cornered in the woods by a swarm of giant spiders

Sticking with my pledge this year to alternate current projects with batches of "clearing out the lead pile," So, I came up with this small group of figs to paint up. The spiders are from the Wargames Atlantic Giant Spiders plastic kit. The towering Forest Spirit deer thingie is a 3-D mini I picked up from Beldolor Studios last summer. I can see them getting used for various fantasy games. The Forest Spirit is bizarre enough I can maybe slip him in as an alien in my Majestic 13 games. Maybe...what do you think?

    Plastic giant spiders - a kit from Wargames Atlantic that is NOT easy to assemble...at least for me!

Anyway, assembling miniatures has never been my thing -- one of the reasons that I prefer metal. I pulled out the two sprues of the spiders that I picked up from Firelands Games last November (they sell sprues individually, as I've mentioned her before), and went...ummm, whaat? How the heck do I put these together?? I guess I am not the only one who has wondered that, though. There were a number of instructional videos on YouTube on how to glue them together. The one by the British-sounding guy even seemed a bit peeved at all the critics of the box and mentioned it one or two times during his tutorial. He felt that it was unwarratned that Wagames Atlantic got some heat because there were no instructions included!

    Assembling difficulties aside, they are really cool plastic models that hopefully are not too fragile

Personally, nothing about assembling the two larger spiders was intuitive to me, and I paused my way through the video and did my best to follow along. I screwed up a bit on the legs, but they look good enough, I imagine. I did modify it a bit, though, and decided to pin the two halves of the spider's body together. That was just too fragile of a small, flat connection point for me. Still, it was about an hour and half's work and the two Shelobs were glued together and to the plastic base. The four little ones require no assembly, a fact that the video narrator seemed awful proud of! For that matter, neither did the 3-D printed Forest Spirit. I shudder to think how many parts a plastic kit of that figure would require!

    Big ones look grotesque and menacing while these little guys look just plain creepy - heebie jeebies!

I spray painted all seven of the miniatures in Krylon Fusion Acrylic Black Matte, and followed up with a 50/50 of water and acrylic black paint. I then went online and Googled images of spiders, a process which can give you the heebie-jeebies if you look at too many pages! I was looking for inspiration for a color scheme, and honestly didn't find one that I liked from nature. So, I decided to dry brush the all black spiders with a medium gray. I liked how they looked, but knew they still needed some color. I examined the miniatures more closely. I ended going with the striped pattern simply based on the modeling of the figures. The colored bands are raised joints or surfaces on the legs. I decided to do those in various colors and hopefully they would look nice. The nasty looking talons on the end (and their fangs) I did in a bone color to stand out more.

    Elevated view where you can see the big ones' multiple eyes -- okay, heebie-jeebies here too!

I do have to admit that, occasionally glancing over to my left as I was painting, and seeing the ones I'd finished the stripes on, did give me that "Gaaahh!" moment. I took that as proof they were looking creepy enough. Doing the color outlining on the head and around the eyes was the trickiest part. Luckily, I had just bought a new detail brush and the tip held up nicely for this work. I did the eyes black, and for the larger spiders, added in little dots of red to prove to the world that they are indeed evil, repulsive creatures...ha, ha! I put a brown wash on the talons and fangs. That meant I was done except for the flocking. That step was more fiddly than normal because my brush had to swipe in underneath the bodies and between the too many legs of the spiders.

    In the end, I was happy with how this big guy came out, though early on, I wasn't 100% sure

For the Forest Spirit, I wasn't 100% sure what colors I wanted to use. I decided to make it deer-ish. Not exactly like a deer, because it is quite clearly not one. However, I wanted it to not simply be random colors like purple and yellow or anything. So, I went with the brown color palette, with tans, oranges, and such. I used the highlighting color to tie everything together so the various tones looked like they actually belonged together...unlike the clothes that some people I know wear! 

As I was finishing the Forest Spirit, I sat back and looked at it. I thought it was just "okay" -- not great. I began to wonder if I should get creative and give his fur a pattern or something? Like stripes or giraffe-style splotches? In the end, I decided not to go to that extent. Perhaps I should have, though. I'd be curious to hear what folks think about it. I bought it kind of on a whim as it was in Beldolor's "misprint" bin at Origins Game Fair, where I have seen them the last two years. After I did the final brown wash, I feel it tied the color scheme together even more and I am reasonably happy with it.

        Another look at the drama in the forest better showing off my new photographic backdrop

I am not sure when these figures will see the tabletop, but they started the year in my unpainted pile and now they're done! Woo-hoo!! Expect more one-off batches like this from me this year, if I follow through on my pledge to reduce the lead pile. Speaking of which, other than with Miniatures, I am doing fairly well on the Painted vs. Acquired in 2026. But don't get cocky, kid! I go to my first convention of the year this weekend. And you know what that means....purchases!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 95
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 49

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 0
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 21

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 2
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 24

Critter Control's Shocking Encounter at the Trailer Park

    Hunting aliens in a trailer park - Critter Control's 1st mission in a solo game of Majestic 13

Boone MacDonald gathered his team together as they crept within sight of the trailer park, eying the thick black smoke hanging over it. "Okay, this is what we've been training for, Critter Control...our first mission." He paused to look in each team member's eyes. "We're here to protect our community, our country, and our planet. You're no good to them if you're dead, though. Stay in cover. Pour fire onto this bastard till he's dead." The other four nodded, with Waylon giving an "Oo-rah!" and grinning. 

    (--Redacted--) Trailer Part in southern Ohio where a Yvenian Shocker alien is on the loose!

Mabel spoke up, "A Yvenian Shocker is the fastest damned gator you'll ever see. Don't underestimate its speed! Just when you got a shot lined up, it's gone." Boone marveled at the woman -- she knew much more than she was letting on about Earth's struggles against alien invaders. As the team crept closer, Boone pointed out positions for each to take. They could hear the sound of the alien's weapon firing and a high-pitched crackling of energy from the far side of the trailer park. Buck climbed the first trailer and took position atop its roof. Waylon dashed past to the corner of the next trailer raising his weapon and steadying it against the wall. Mabel ducked next to a set of smoking ruins -- some small structure that the alien had already destroyed. Boone took shelter at the corner of another trailer that gave a good view of the lane between the two rows of trailers. Silas took off running down the right side, stopping inside a small grove of trees.

    Waylon Jenkins takes cover and peers around the corner for signs of the alien's approach

There was another blast from the far side and suddenly the Yvenian Shocker appeared between the rows of trailers. A huge, long weapon with energy arcing along its barrel grasped in its claws. Mabel was right -- the damned thing did look like a gator, though one with red skin that glistened as the sunlight peeked through the clouds of black smoke hanging over the trailer park. It spotted Waylon, who was closest of the team, and raised its weapon, firing twice. As the electricity coursed over his body, Waylon grabbed his face. "I'm blinded, y'all!" Mabel shouted over to him to focus -- the creature's weapon was scrambling the electrical signals his eyes were sending. She told him to picture something in his mind he could remember clearly. "Like my moonshine still?" his voice cracked with his laugh, though.

    After blasting another dwelling, the gator-like alien appears and scents the air...humans??

Meanwhile, the team opened up. Buck sighted his light machine gun and squeezed off a burst of fire that stitched along the alien's gator-like scales. Mabel moved up to the next building and sited along the barrel of her sniper rifle. She squeezed off a shot, which hit, but she immediately growled at herself for such a piss-poor hit. Daddy would have swatted her for that! Hearing the firefight going on, but out of his line of sight, Boone sprinted up the row of trailers, leaped, and pulled himself up onto the roof. He cursed as he still couldn't see the damned thing. Mabel called out that it was moving and Boone caught sight of it zipping forward smashing down the door of the snack shack. He watched it move into the shadowy interior and the barrel of its weapon protrude across the counter. An arc of energy zapped towards Waylon again, who yelled in pain. "Damn it! Someone shoot that son of a bitch!"

    The alien darts between buildings, lining up a shot on Waylon, who was closest to him

Meanwhile, Silas was completing the team's side mission. The Agricultural League had dropped two beacons in the trailer park to help coordinate a drone strike to help out its newest team of alien hunters. Silas followed his tracker in between two trailers and spotted one of the beacons. He raced forward and snatched it up. Meanwhile, the alien stayed inside the snack shop and fired at Waylon again, who went rigid and crumbled to the ground. Buck adjusted his aim at the alien through the window and fired. Pieces of the building went flying, but the veteran was fairly sure he'd missed. Mabel seeing where the fire was coming from climbed onto the roof of a nearby trailer, took a knee, and fired, also missing. Boone shook his head. It had too good of a firing position inside there! Screw it! He leapt down from the roof and ran up to the snack shack and blazed away at the creature from the other side of the counter, his assault rifle on full automatic. It swiveled to face Boone and fired. The lanky farmer ducked in time and the shots arced over his head, making his hair stand up but doing no damage. He heard the creature make an angry sound and its claws clattering on the floor as it exited the shop.

    Silas completes his 'end run' around the alien and locates the drone targeting beacon

"Critter 5 to Silo One, follow this transmitted location. Target in sight -- a red, scaly, gator-looking bastard. Can't miss him!" Silas chuckled as the drone operator on the other end of the transmission reprimanded him about radio protocol. Still, it was only seconds later that the whoosh of a rocket over the trailer park made everyone on the team duck. There was an explosion and more of the alien's angry noises. It had been hit, but not fatally. As if it knew who was responsible, the alien circled the trailer and peeked around the corner behind Silas, zapping off two shots. The first hit him and Silas also clutched his eyes, blinded by the electrical charge. Buck leapt down from his perch atop the trailer and sprinted towards the opposite corner of the trailer park, where the battle had moved. Mabel edged along the roof till she had line of sight and fired, but missed. Boone, who could saw it appear behind Silas, fired and hit it again. "Damn! That thing won't go down," he cursed. The Yvenian Shocker swiveled again and fired at Boone, who ducked behind the trailer quick enough that the electrical bolts missed him. 

    Agricultural League drone appears & launches a rocket attack, wounding but not killing the alien

Silas shook his head, blinked a few times, and as his vision cleared, darted into the woods for cover, firing his machine gun at the beast as he ran.  His shots missed, as well. The alien saw Silas on the run and fired at him twice, but the speedy hunter ducked behind the tree trunks. Everyone heard the sound of Buck's machine gun ring out, and those watching saw the impacts against its incredibly hard scales. The beast roared. Mabel ran along the edge of the roof and leapt across the gap between it and the trailer park's administrative building. She pumped her fist as she landed solidly on the roof. Whew -- she'd made it! Mabel knew she wasn't as young as she once was and wasn't really sure she could do that. She snapped her rifle up to her eye, sighted through the scope, and squeezed off a shot. Miss! Damn!!

    Constantly changing positions, the Yvenian Shocker frustrated the team's attempts to line up a shot

The team leader, Boone, knew his group was frustrated by the constant movements of the alien as it changed locations among the buildings to block line of sight from all but its target. "Two can play at that game, gator-breath!" he snarled and chased the alien until he had it in the open, again. He fired off another burst, striking it in the back. Angrily, it whirled and fired at Boone. With no cover, the farmer was hit and his vision went black. "Damn it -- blinded!" he shouted to his teammates. Silas broke from cover of the trees, spraying the area of the alien with his machine gun, but it was in movement again, and he missed. He followed it only to have it suddenly appear on his left between two buildings. Silas hit the dirt and most of the energy passed over him, and he received only a mild shock -- like touching a farmer's electric fence.

    Hungry for a snack? The alien ducks inside Swingle's Shawarma Shack for a shooting spot in cover

From behind the alien, Buck appeared in point blank range. He let off a long burst into the creature's back, amazed to see some rounds just ricochet off its scales. Some got through, though, and there was a new note of pain in its angry howls. Mabel moved into the open to his right, firing several times. She shouted, "It's in Extremis -- watch out, they get very dangerous in their last gasps!" Boone suddenly appeared, completing the box around the alien, aiming and firing bursts carefully to not hit his teammates. The gator-like creature howled in pain again, but ignored Boone to spin around and fire at Buck. The veteran ducked behind the corner of a building and watched the bolts of energy zap past him.

    Team leader Boone, frustrated with his team's misses, dashes up to point blank range, "Eat this!"

"Now!" Boone shouted, "all at once, let's finish it...what the Hell??" Suddenly, the alien was gone. Like a blur, it disappeared between Boone and Silas and behind a trailer. The team gave chase, but it must have kept running. Through the trees, they heard the sound of vegetation being slapped aside in its haste to escape from the humans. "Aw, Hell...we had it!" he muttered, then held his hand over the ear piece he was wearing. "We're being ordered out of here. Civilian fire and rescue are on the way -- we can't let them see us and be compromised. Let's go!" The team jogged back to where Waylon lay, each grabbed a limb, and ducked under the trees. When the sirens grew louder and the emergency vehicles arrived, the only signs of the battle were bullet holes and scorch marks on smoking buildings, shell casings, and lots of footprints. The police investigators would ponder what happened here and end up labeling it as criminal arson by heavily-armed hooligans.

    With phenomenal speed, the alien would circle around behind team members for unobstructed shots

And so ended my first game of Majestic 13, a solo alien hunting game from Snarling Badger Studios. Critter Control began its career with a big "L" -- a defeat (the goal being to kill the alien by the end of the 5th round). We had the Yvenian Shocker down from its starting hit point total of 130 to 29 remaining. We would have likely needed at least a sixth turn to take it out, but missions stop at the end of turn five. The alien hunter teams need to exfiltrate to not be seen by the public so they can continue with their secret mission. See? There IS a conspiracy to hide evidence of aliens from the public -- or at least the game's storyline says so.

    Boone finally figured out the proper tactics - chase it around and appear where IT had no cover!

Trying to figure out what the enemy will do each turn in a solo game is usually quite the challenge. Snarling Badger includes an "A.I." for each of the three types of aliens that players might encounter. It did a decent job of giving basic suggestions, "If this, then this...", but it was hard to translate that into the specifics of the tabletop. Perhaps I played the alien in too wily of a manner? When the A.I. said the alien would move up to its full movement into cover and fire at the closest target in range, I translated that to also mean it would actively attempt to ensure the other members of the team wouldn't have line of sight on it. The alien's move was phenomenal -- 23" on a 3'x3' board. So, I had it circle around into new firing positions so that most of the hunters' view of it was blocked by the buildings. This meant we sometimes didn't have a shot. Boone caught on quickest and began to simply chase it, taking up a firing position where he had cover and it did not.

    Buck lights up the alien with his machine gun from behind! Startled, the angry alien turns to face

My rolls were also fairly bad for damage, seemingly just under average each time. They were even worse for my checks to avoid being blinded. Silas had to roll only a 4+ on d20 to avoid being blinded and failed twice. In fact, I think everyone who was hit ended up being blinded. They would get a chance to clear it at the start of their next turn, but it shows my rolls were likely subpar. I also deployed too far away and toward the edges of the battlefield. The Yvenian Shocker has no melee attacks. So, I should have started closer to the center instead of the edges.

    Everyone pours in fire, but it is still not enough to take down the alien with its armored scales

Still, it was my first game and Critter Control's first mission. So, it could have ended worse. When rolling for injury, Waylon survived but had "Questionable Wounds." I interpreted this as his vision still hasn't 100% recovered, so he will be held back next mission. We will be going in to the next fight one man short! All but Waylon received 3 experience points, with Waylon getting only two. This allows them to increase a stat by one. Certain levels give you an extra bonus, such as +1 on Damage or -1 to enemy damage on you. I decided to increase Buck, Silas, and Mabel's Combat stats (so they hit one better), and Boone's Acuity by one, which means he activates sooner in the turn. We requisitioned two pieces of equipment, another Med-Kit and a Stimulant Shot. Both requests were lost in the bureaucracy of the Agricultural League, apparently, as we received neither. We also requested improved medical facilities for Critter Control's base. Apparently, the Agricultural League has little faith in this newbie team's worth, as that was disapproved, as well.

Stay tuned for further (and hopefully more successful) missions of Critter Control and Majestic 13! 

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 95
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 42

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 0
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 21

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 2
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 24

First Batch of Warhost 28mm Elves Completed!

    My next army for Dragon Rampant -- Wood Elves, using Warhost's 28mm metal figures

I am now officially on my way to painting up my second army for Dragon Rampant, 2nd Edition. I purchased these Warhost Elves from Badger Games awhile back and really like how they look. Definitely very Tolkien style elves -- or at least Peter Jackson's version of them! No punk rocker elves with mohawks here...ha, ha! I'm painting them in batches of eight because, well, they come in blister packs of four figures. Sure, I guess I could mix packs together to be able to do my more comfortable six at a time, but since the bulk of the army is foot figures, groups of eight shouldn't be too bad. I hope!

    I really like these sculpts -- very much in the line of how I envision 'Tolkien elves' -- not GW ones!

After cleaning the figures of the very little flash on them, I epoxied them down onto their bases. It was nice to be able to skip the "messing with weapons" step here. Of course, they're archers, so you have to expect they're going to come with their bow and arrows cast on! I proceeded straight to the priming stage with my usual Liquitex White Gesso -- thank you, Jason, for introducing this to me awhile back! It does a nice job of providing a good surface for paint and even hard-to-cover-with colors work well with a first coat most of the time.

    It looks like green is going to be the operative color for my Wood Elves -- I have a dozen-plus shades!

And speaking of colors, I decided that green was going to be my operative color for my wood elves. I pulled out every green I owned and lined them up on my desk. Then I went into my closet for my overflow or restock paint collection. I pulled out new ones that looked like a slightly different shade and weren't represented on my paint racks. Once the lineup was done, I closely examined the miniatures. I noticed they appear to have an inner long-sleeved tunic and a long, flowing outer vest. I decided that with this batch, I would use lighter shades for the inner tunics and darker shades of green for the outer ones. Yes, it was going to be green on green "blend into the woods" plan! I decided that any accents or equipment colors would be painted in various shades of brown and tan. At least that is how I am envisioning them at this stage!

    Most of the figs have helmets and half of them have scale or banded armor which I painted gold

First, though, was the flesh. I painted their skin with a much paler flesh tone. I still used the ruddy wash I normally put over Caucasian skin, but I made sure it was a light application. I liked how it looked after it dried. It was still paler than my standard humans, but the wash gave definition to the folds and shadows on the face and hands. I had thought about not doing the wash at all, but didn't want my elves to look like they were corpses! Plus, my all-time favorite Tolkien artist, the Brothers Hildebrand, doesn't portray elves as ghoulishly white-skinned. In their paintings, elves always have a healthy flesh tone. Hopefully, these figures end up replicating a Brothers Hildebrand look! The next step was to paint their helms and armor. One pack of four was wearing scale or banded armor underneath their vests. I base coated it with a craft paint called Gunmetal Gray that is very similar to the Iron Wind Steel that I normally use. It is slightly lighter, though. Over that, I painted a craft paint gold highlighted with an even brighter shade of gold. Skin and armor were done!

    I don't think I went overboard on decorating the long, outer vests the archers are wearing

Next, it was on to their clothes and lots and lots of greens! I painted the under tunics first, setting out the first eight shades of green that I would use and placing a figure next to each paint bottle. Once done and dried overnight, I dry brushed them either in very pale greens or white. Then it was on to the long vests. I picked out a nice contrasting shade of green for each and placed it behind each miniature. Same plan here -- base coat and then dry brush the next day. I was quite happy with how my green on green looked after both colors were applied and dry brushed. I figured that I may as well do the hair next, since these Warhost elves have long, flowing "rock star" hair (but NOT punk rock star hair!). I used four different shades of yellow for their blonde hair, ranging from a very pale yellow to a strawberry (almost red) blond. Each was highlighted in a lighter yellow shade.

    Another look at all 8 figures in front of a backdrop of forest & mountain that I had printed

Next, it was on to the pants and shoes/boots. I switched to a brown palette here, using various shades of beige or tan for the pants or leggings. The shoes were done in either gray or a medium or darker brown. The next day, dry brush highlighting finished off those parts of the miniature. Now, it was back to those green tunics. Early on, I decided that I was going to put decoration on the vests. For most, I simply added a border in various colors (not all greens!) and then added contrasting dots. These were done with paint rather than my micron pens. After doing their belts, it was time to do and decorate the quivers, sword sheaths, and pouches. For about half of these I used micron pens, the rest were done with a fine point brush.

At this point, I think I realized that a batch of elves was probably going to take longer than a batch of orcs or goblins. I felt like I had been working on these figures steadily for a week, and I still wasn't done. I was close. The last things to finish off were the bow, arrows, and feather fletchings. I went back and forth on whether to do a wash on these. Elves always seem to be dressed immaculately -- not dirty and dusty. Maybe elf magic repels dirt...ha, ha! So, I decided to hedge my bets. I did a brown wash on the skin, hair, and lighter colored clothes or equipment. That means the green clothes are straight base coat and dry brush -- no dark wash. After I put the first layer of flocking on, I was happy with my decision. I think they look fine a bit brighter than my usual darker look for my miniatures.  

    Final zoom in on all of their inner tunics and outer vests -- how many shades of green can you see?

Speaking of flocking, I often go with a standard look for a force when it comes to flocking. I tend to stick with the same basic blended turf with patches of green grass, and then let the tufts or other base decoration define the army's ground cover. For the elves, I decided to go with one green grass tuft and one flower tuft. And lots of leaves! I had bought two new types of leaf base scatter at Michigan Toy Soldier, as well as getting two others for Christmas. They'll be on full display on the bases of my wood elves.

All in all, I am very happy with my first eight elves. Only about 50+ more to go...ha, ha! So, what else is on my painting desk right now? I am painting some Wargames Atlantic plastic spiders that I picked up from Firelands Wargames last year. I am also doing 24 Pin markers for my Vietnam games (though I doubt I will ever need that many!). Also on the table are three 28mm Vietnam miniatures that my friend Will brought back for me from Gringo 40s. They are two Vietnamese snipers and one U.S. air crewman  on foot evading capture. I really want to get the pin markers and snipers done in time for next weekend's Cincycon, when I will be running Surviving 'Nam twice. So, stay tuned and see if I accomplish that!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 95
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 42

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 0
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 21

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 2
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 24

Surviving 'Nam Scenario Playtest: Tanks for the Help!

    Firefight between Big Red One soldiers & the Viet Cong rages in my latest Surviving 'Nam game

At this stage, I feel my Surviving 'Nam: An Infantryman's Year In Country rules are done, for the most part. All that is left is to play test the remaining scenarios that will go in the book. I did a solo test of "Tanks for the Help!" last night. In this scenario, the squad is part of a group tasked with protecting a tank broken down on a dirt road in Viet Cong country. It is taken from an actual Big Red One in Vietnam incident, as well as from my favorite Vietnam fiction novel, Fields of Fire by James Webb. The squad has to form a perimeter to keep any V.C. -- especially those armed with RPGs -- from getting close enough to fire upon the tank and its crew, who are busy repairing it. The game ends when the squad has inflicted a certain number of casualties (that's when the tank is assumed to be fixed and drives off), and they may then exfiltrate the table.

    The tank we need to protect is on the road out of view while jungle & elephant grass cover the table

My squad of the Big Red One finally welcomed back one of its injured fire team leaders, Cpl. Kern. He and his men, with Lt. Fickell and his radioman attached, would cover the left. Sgt. Frey and his team, along with the M60 machine gun team and medic Spec. 5 Frank, would guard the right. Looking at the terrain, I decided we would advance about half of the force into the two pieces of jungle (Medium Vegetation) in the second tier of terrain our from our baseline. The remainder would guard each flank and form a reserve in the center. Each of the jungle pieces would be occupied by our heaviest hitting weapons -- Cpl. Warfield's M60 machine gun on the right, and Lt. Fickell, his radioman, and (hopefully) their fire missions on the left. Each would have a teammate or two deployed just ahead of them with an M-16 so they weren't the first ones shot at by the enemy! 

    Sgt. Frey, top left, leads his fire team with M60 team & medic attached to establish a perimeter

I set the Countdown to Contact modifier at "-2", which meant that I would get at least two turns to move into position. As it was, with my rolls going fairly well, I was able to fully deploy after four turns of Countdown to Contact movement before the V.C. arrived. One large V.C. squad showed up in the elephant grass on the opposite baseline, while the other showed up on the far right table edge behind another patch of jungle. Two other V.C. riflemen showed up on our far left, very close to our flank guards. Almost immediately, I drew the first "Fire Mission" card, which is needed to establish contact with the battalion artillery (further cards bring in actual fire missions if the C.O. has any V.C. in his line of sight). Things seemed to be going well. Though I was failing on about half of my activation rolls, the resulting cards I pulled from the deck did not activate any V.C. Instead, they were less disadvantageous ones like "Wait a Minute" vines preventing a soldier from moving, or a snake that startles a squad member into a random movement.

    Cpl. Kern, center, resumes control of his team as they move off the road into the junble

Along with already being in firing position, the fortunate card draws meant the squad was able to blaze away immediately at the V.C. when they appeared. Cpl. Warfield, temporarily promoted to M-60 Gunner while his friend Boston recuperated from his wounds suffered during the last mission, pinned about half of the V.C. squad in the elephant grass, taking one out of action. Even Lt. Fickell and his radioman got in on the act, firing their M16s and taking down insurgents while impatiently waiting on battalion artillery to respond on the radio. The only real scary point was the two V.C. on the left flank who quickly pinned Pfc. Pace and were advancing towards him while he groveled in the dirt. Cpl. Kern yelled at Tatum to pour fire into those two.  Kern also jogged over to help, firing off several controlled bursts. Between the two of them, they gunned down the insurgents. Pace popped his head up and fired off a blast, as well. Kern laughed and told him it was safe now, and to keep his eyes peeled for more V.C. on that flank.

    Kern's team enters the patch of jungle where they will set up their half of the forward perimeter

On the far right, the squad of V.C. behind the jungle advanced beneath the trees. That brought them into line of sight of Sgt. Frey's fire team who had been deployed to guard against threats from that flank. Pfc. Johnson sighted his M-79 and lofted a shrapnel round into the midst of their formation. It exploded on target and several V.C. tumbled to the ground. Frey's point man, Cpl. Carter, also fired a burst, taking down another enemy. Soon, all six V.C. lay motionless, and the right flank was quiet. In the center, it was a shooting gallery as half a dozen soldiers fired on the V.C. as they attempted to sprint from the elephant grass to the jungle patch just ahead of them. Soon, they were all down, too. It grew quiet for a few moments across the squad's front.

    Center reserve along the road line with Sgt. Frey, medic Spec. 5 Frank & M79 grenadier Cassidy

Pop! A single round cracked from deeper within the elephant grass. Lt. Fickell heard the snap of it passed above his head. He ducked, cursing. "Sniper!" he called. Pfc. Otis yelled out he had seen the muzzle flash. He flipped the switch to full auto and sprayed the area with an entire magazine, just to make sure. All along the line, the squad listened. No more V.C. firing, no sounds, and no movement. Sgt. Frey shouted for everyone to stay frosty. That was probably just the first wave. Spec. 4 Byars' radio crackled to life as the battalion artillery said they were ready for the fire mission. "Should we hammer that patch of elephant grass, just to be sure?" Fickell asked his veteran radioman. Byars shook his head, saying it was too close. Better to be safe and not risk any short rounds.

    Pfc. Otis spots the approach of a large squad of Viet Cong advancing through the elephant grass

A moment later, there was a whistle of incoming mortar fire. It impacted in between the squad's forward group and their reserve. "Not ours!" Fickell shouted. Sgt. Frey chuckled, thinking to himself, "Not your fault, eh, L.T.?" He believed him, though. He honestly felt the platoon was very lucky to have Fickell -- he was one squared away officer. Not every unit could say that about their C.O.! A silence reined over the jungle as the soldiers peered into the jungle looking for more signs of the enemy. There appeared to be none. Was that it? Really?? As it turned out, the Event Cards continued to be very fortunate for my squad. NOW -- with all the enemy on table dead -- I was pulling the event cards that would activate V.C. Meanwhile, I flipped over no cards that would bring new enemy onto the table. The Fire Mission card kep showing up again and again, forcing poor Spec. 5 Byars to invent excuses to hold off the eager artillery.

    In this scenario, each V.C. squad includes an RPG because they're hunting a tank!

Both Sgt. Frey and Cpl. Kern began directing some of their forward elements to fall back to the reserve line. "That tank has to be fixed soon," Frey called over to Kern. The soldiers moved into their new positions and waited. Suddenly, the silence was shattered by the sound of a RPD -- a Vietnamese light machine gun. Tracers and rounds sliced through the trees where Warfield's M60 was set up. Several soldiers hit the dirt, pinned. Frey called on Warfield to relocate so the M60 gunner would have line of sight on the enemy LMG team. As he moved, the RPD opened up again from the other patch of elephant grass. Warfield's assistant, Pvt. Hartline yelped and went down. "MEDIC!" Frey shouted. Spec. 5 Frank sprinted from the woods to Frey's left across the patch of open ground and quickly appeared at Hartline's side. 

    Another squad of V.C. enter the board behind a patch of jungle, trying to take out the tank

Cpl. Kern called over to Frey, "Since when do we have a track star for a medic?" Frey laughed and said, "He's great, but don't get too close to him! He likes to step on booby traps." While the two team leaders watched, Frank patched up the new guy, Hartline, and pulled him to his feet. They began walking together towards where Warfield was firing into the elephant grass, suppressing the enemy machine gun team. Suddenly, Frank and Hartline both dove for the ground. There was a "Pop!" "You gotta be kidding me!" Frey laughed. "Frank did it again -- he stepped on another booby trap!" Kern looked a lot more concerned than the sergeant did. "Oh, don't worry," Frey called over. "He's always okay. It's the people around him that have to watch out. Warfield? Frank? Hartline? You guys okay?" It seemed only Hartline was hurt,. Frey looked over at Kern, caught his eyes, and smiled.

    The V.C. move into the patch of jungle, unaware that puts them in line of sight of Sgt. Frey's team

Eventually, the LMG team was dispatched. Frey told Hartline to limp to the rear and see if the tank was ready to move out, yet. As Frank walked by him, Frey just shook his head. "How many times do I have to tell you, Speedy Gonzalez? WATCH where you put your feet..." he chuckled. Just as Frank was about to reply, the jungle to their right and front erupted in AK-47 fire. "Shit," Frey cursed, "that's out of Warfield's line of sight!" He called out instructions to his team, then fired off a burst. He saw one V.C. fall. He heard his buddy, Carter, open up on the new enemy, too. Warfield, after relocating yet again, laid down a long staccato burst of machine gun fire. He stood up carefully, peering forward. 

    Cpl. Kern's forward position opens up on the V.C., mowing down a few in the elephant grass

"They be down, Sarge, but Elliott and Johnson are hit!" Frey cursed again, and shouted instructions for which guys to come and help carry them to the rear. Frank was already off, racing towards the wounded men -- doubtless not looking where he was going! Behind him, he heard the sound of a tank engine gunning to life. In front, Lt. Fickell was ordering everyone to pull back -- the tank was fixed and ready to move out. Kern walked up to him, his gaze directed towards where Frank was checking over Pfc. Elliott. "Couldn't they have fixed that about five minutes earlier? Your guys okay?" he asked Frey. The sergeant replied he hoped so, they'd know if a few minutes. Meanwhile, the team leaders directed their men to exfiltrate to the rear. He hoped Elliott and Johnson were okay. They were both relatively new, but shaping up well.

    2 V.C. on the left  are too close to Pfc. Pace for Kern's liking, so he tells Cpl. Tatum to light them up!

In all fairness, I have to say that my squad had excellent luck when it came to the Event Card deck this game. Plus, our rolls to avoid enemy fire were fantastic. Up until the final batch of V.C. activated, only one guy had been wounded, and he was soon on his feet as Walking Wounded. My rolls to avoid enemy fire crashed on the final two, though. Still, I was happy that I had good luck rolling on the Down chart for them. I came up with a Walking Wounded result and a Lightly Wounded one. 

    Pfc. Johnson lobs a perfect M79 grenade shot into the midst of the V.C. closing in on the right

Unfortunately, the trend downward continued when I rolled on their recovery time. All three would miss at least one month. Pfc. Elliott would get to enjoy the rear for a month while he recuperated. The FNG Hartline would be off to Da Nang for two months, as his wounds were slightly worse. Poor Pfc. Johnson, in only his second month in country, was badly wounded enough to be sent to Japan for three months. Yikes! Three guys "Down," and three guys gone for next mission! At least Cpl. Boston would be back, though (the normal M-60 gunner). Also coming back was long-lost Cpl. Hawk, returning from three month's recuperation from wounds suffered when he dropped his own grenade (after being hit, to be fair!). Doubtless, he would get some grief from the squad for that!

    Squad's first casualty of the game, and wouldn't you know it was an FNG, Pvt. Hartline?

Still, June's mission is now complete and the squad is halfway through its year in Vietnam. Kern will likely be promoted to sergeant, so we will have two good, Veteran team leaders and it appears a lieutenant who can be trusted. Are things looking up for my squad of the Big Red One? Stay tuned to see...!

    V.C. light machine gun pops up and opens fire on Frey's team from the elephant grass on their side

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 95
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 34

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 0
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 21

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 2
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 24

 

    Mortar fire from the V.C. crashed through the squad's position throughout the game, hitting no one

    Final trio of V.C. riflemen to pop up and open fire, unfortunately downing 2 members of the squad

 

    Bad luck! Pfc. Elliott and Pfc. Johnson go down to the unexpected fire of a small squad of V.C.