Elves Take Battle the Bonefish Band in 1st Game

    Midpoint of the game & the battle of Elves vs. Orcs hangs in the balance, the Elves up 2-0

With the arrival in town of Mick (screen name "Aethelflaeda was Framed") from the Lead Adventure Forum, I offered to host him at a local store for a game. He agreed, and we met at Roundtable Games in Dublin, OH, on a sunny afternoon. I decided it would be a perfect opportunity to christen my Wood Elven army for Dragon Rampant! with its first battle. Keith and Jenny came along and squared off against each other, alongside us with Vikings vs. Fire Giants. I gave Mick the choice of using the Bonefish Band or my newly-painted Elves, and he chose the "orcses filth...". 

    Left wing of the Elves deployed for battle, with intermixed archer and spear units & cavalry

The battlefield was dotted with medium-sized patches of woods, but otherwise had plenty of open areas. Interestingly, the DR! troop types I use for the Bonefish Band (Bellicose Foot, Elite Infantry, and Greater & Lesser Warbeasts) are all more proficient at fighting in the woods than the ones I chose for my Elves! I was fielding four units of "Light Foot: Mixed Weapons," which gives them the ability to shoot out to 12", decent at defending in melee, but slower in woods. They also fought at a slight disadvantage if in woods, too. Instead of hitting on a 4+ on each d6, they hit only on 5+. However, their armor inside the cover of woods would go up from 2 to 3. Hmmm...do I need to rethink how I field these guys? 

    Large wolfpack infests the forest opposite the Elven right wing, howling & eager for battle

My plan was to advance most of my units in the open, with only one making their way through the central woods. Two of the foot units also had Level 1 spellcasters within their ranks, and one had the army general. The other units in my army were one of flying Lesser Warbeasts -- Birds of the Forest (which I gave Weak and Cowardly). It made since that normal sized birds of prey wouldn't hit as hard as wolves or bears or such creatures. The Cowardly ability let them Retreat a full move instead of half, which might keep them alive a little longer. The final unit was Elven cavalry fielded as standard Heavy Riders.

Elven left wing begins to cross open ground towards the woods where 2 units of goblin archers await

Surprisingly, Mick decided to not move after his deployment, and instead await the advance of my Elves. Both his units of goblin archers garrisoned a large woods near his center baseline. The Wolfpack guarded another woods on his left, while the orcs (armored Bellicose Foot) deployed in the gap between the trees. His trolls were initially deployed on his right, but they reversed direction and marched around behind the large woods to where the army general and his bodyguard of Elite infantry were stationed. My Elven host accepted the Bonefish Band's invitation to advance and began to surge forward with my four units of mixed weapon foot -- or tried to do so. My right flank unit refused to advance for three turns (failing to roll a 5+ on 2d6). The other three units struggled to move forward in a coordinated line, too. Not a good start!

    Armored Uruks, hooting and eager, also impatiently await the advance of the Elves in the center

Eventually, I would have to come within his goblin archers' greater 18" range to close within my own 12" one. Plus, I would receive archery fire in the open vs. his goblins in cover of the trees. As I advanced, I shifted to concentrated two units against his right hand goblin archers, ensuring the other unit was at long range while mine were within short of their target unit. Although the Elves took a few losses advancing and during the archery duel, their concentrated fire drove off their target unit of goblins when Mick rolled a very poor Courage test. One unit down! 

    Elven foot on the right are reluctant to advance, despite the support of the Birds of the Forest

Meanwhile, the wolfpack began to edge forward on his left, finally loping out of the woods after seeing my wizard-led foot unit on my right fail to advance multiple times. The central Elven foot unit eventually made its way to the edge of the woods. Measuring the range, I decided to advance some of the lead figures beyond the trees. Most would remain inside the woods, though, so we would be in cover. However, we would fight with the negative modifier in melee. I hoped that the armor increase would be enough to make up for it.

    When they reached the edge of the central woods, the Elves prompted the wild charge of the wolfpack

The wolves caught sight of the Elves, who were within their "wild charge" range, let loose a howl and raced into contact. Each unit inflicted two casualties on the other, which meant the wolves had to withdraw. They backed up only half a move, though, which left them within short range of my right hand foot unit (who had finally advanced). They let loose a volley which caused a casualty or two, and Mick promptly flubbed another Courage test. Two units of the enemy had fled the field -- the Elves were feeling triumphant! In case you think I was being a poor host to Mick with his dice rolls, his failing of morale tests was about done for the game. The momentum was poised to shift, unfortunately.

    Meanwhile, on the left, armored Uruks slam into the Elven general's unit inflicting many casualties

One of the Uruk units wild charged into my general's foot unit. Mick made up for crappy dice rolls and rolled 11 hits (3+) on 12 dice, which took the Elven bodyguard unit down to half strength (they had lost one earlier to goblin missile fire. This was dangerous, as all units in a warband that loses its general take an immediate Courage test. I backed the general into the woods so that the goblins couldn't "dink" them with archery. I probably should have pulled him back even further, as events will show. However, things were still looking up when the Elven cavalry galloped in and drove off the armored Uruks who'd savaged their general's unit. This was probably the high water mark of my army. We had destroyed two enemy units and lost none.

    Down to half strength, the general's unit falls back -- but not far enough, as we shall see...!

The Wolfpack was soon replaced by the Trolls, though, who had been steadily advancing towards the center. In this game, the Trolls did not do their usual "bird watching" trick of failing to advance, and instead continually moved forward and were soon within charge range of my Elves in the forest. I feel that the Trolls were Mick's key unit in this game. Greater Warbeasts fight well in terrain, and they promptly charged the Elven foot unit in the woods and drove them back. This took them within the wild charge range of my Birds of the Forest, who were waiting in the rear for such an opportunity. They would end up charging the Trolls twice, both times failing to do much damage (Trolls are Armor 4, so four hits need to be rolled to cause a single casualty).

    Elven cavalry charge in and drive off the Uruks as the general's band ducks into the woods

Meanwhile, the cavalry had counter-charged another unit of Uruks and driven them back, as well. Both his Uruks were down five figures (which means -5 to Courage tests, but Mick's troops were rallying quickly and avoiding the catastrophic Courage failures that plagued him earlier). Things got worse for me when Mick cleverly charged the Trolls into my general's depleted unit. Mick had yet another amazing roll and shattered the already depleted unit. It promptly failed its Courage test. The most effective unit I had in position on the board at that time -- the cavalry -- were the only ones to fail their Courage test. That meant they had to sit in position and rally, ending up being charged by the Trolls, who were definitely on a roll.

    Elven high water mark - no losses, but 2 enemy units destroyed & 3 down near half strength

My remaining units on the right and center combined on the trolls, driving them down to half strength.  Mick was having no more catastrophic morale rolls, though. Anytime he failed with a unit and it went to Battered status, it promptly rallied on the next turn. When the Orc warlord and his bodyguard advanced into the center and charged the Elven foot unit sheltering there, the game was up. The Bonefish Band is a deadly attacking force, with four units that hit on 3+ on each 1d6 when they charge. The remaining Elven foot were slowly being hammered and their ranks withered by charges of Trolls, Uruks, and the Bodyguard. 

    'You like birds, Trolls? How about these!' Forest birds of prey twice charge into the trolls but do little

The Elves were eventually overwhelmed. While the morale of the orcs, goblins, and trolls held firm, mine slowly faltered, and units peeled off and ran for the board edge. Mick never lost another unit after he was down 2-0. Although Elven archery and cavalry charges caused casualties,  the orc warlord kept an iron grip on his troops and they simply outlasted the Elves. Meanwhile, the Elves -- with their own general gone -- succumbed to morale failures and fled the field in defeat. Despite initial successes, we were unable to maintain the momentum, and our ranks were devastated by deadly charge after charge.

    Cleverly, the orc warlord sends the trolls to kill off the Elven general, causing Elven morale to falter

The failure of the Elves to be able to defend terrain as I have them fielded is a concern for future games. I thumbed through the Dragon Rampant rule book looking for perhaps better troop types to field them as, but found no immediate solution. I will have to ponder it more and see if I can come up with anything. It could simply be they are simply not a good match for the potent Bonefish Band. Keith has lent out an Elven army with mixed weapon light infantry and they are 2-0 under. We shall have to see. If any readers of my blog are Dragon Rampant players, I'd love any suggestions!

    Heroes of the game, the enemy Trolls then follow up and slam into the battered Elven cavalry

Otherwise, it was great getting in a game with Mick. We tentatively made plans to meet again when he comes up next summer. Dragon Rampant is always fun -- I have actually played two games relatively recently that I did not get a chance to write up here on Lead Legionaries. Prior to Historicon, Jenny, Allen, and I did a three warband on three warband game to introduce new players Alex and Eric to the rules. At Historicon itself, I taught my buddy Jason how to play, pitting the Bonefish Band against his Dark Elves in a slaughterfest. DR! is always fun, win or lose!

    Knowing victory is at hand, the warlord of the Bonefish Band wades into the seal the Elven defeat

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 210
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 152

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 14
• Terrain painted in 2026: 29

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 34
• Scatter painted in 2026: 62

So, I Lied -- NOT the Last Elves!

    Last of the spear-armed 28mm metal Elves from Warhost -- one more batch & the army is done!

This batch of six Elven spear from the Warhost line was supposed to be the final figures in my Dragon Rampant army. However, when I saw a pack of "Elven Guardians" for sale at Badger Games booth at Historicon, I sighed and picked them up. So, this is the next-to-last group, instead! Despite the week or so layoff from painting for Historicon, they painted up fast enough. These are probably the most heavily-armored of the Warhost Elves that I've painted so far, many having armor covering their forearms in addition to a greaves, hauberk of some sort, helmet, and shoulder armor. Since the armor is a two-step (three really) process, that means these figures take a bit longer. Throw in the shields, too, and the spearmen are easily the most time-consuming infantry in the army.

    Closeup of two of my Elven spear -- these take more time because of the armor & shields

I did these identically to my other Elves -- priming then with Liquitex White Gesso, doing their flesh, then armor, then clothes. The armor gets a base coat of Gunmetal Gray craft paint, then a gold over it (but leaving edge lines of gunmetal). The third step is to take some metallic yellow and hit the highlights of the armor pieces to help produce a gleaming effect. Once the armor was done (or re-done, in the inevitable cases where I missed an armor part), I was on to the tunics and vests. I picked out six lighter greens for the tunics and six darker greens for the long vests. Each gets a dry brush highlight over their base color.

    I really like the variety of shades of green in my Elven army's color scheme -- very woodland!

Thankfully, there isn't as much equipment festooned on these figures -- just a knife blade in a sheath and a pouch. So, this part went relatively quickly compared to the archers who add in a quiver to the items strapped to their bodies. You may have noticed I did not use the 3-D printed, fancy spearpoints that Warhost includes in their packs. I finally decided that it was futile to do so. Too many will break off during games, and that will just saddle me with more repair work on the army which I'd rather not have to do. When spear point breaks on figs with the 3-D tip, I will simply scrape off the remnant of the point and repaint the brass wire as the spear. Yay -- something NOT to look forward to doing...ha, ha!

    I like the subtle varieties of armor style and poses, crouching, thrusting overhand, etc., 

I really like how this batch of shields came out, though. For most of these leaf designs, I added in a second accent color on the leaf's surface, this time. I also varied the colors of the veins in the leaves. The designs themselves were still done with my .005 black micron pen, though. Once the outline is done, I just "color it in" with paint. I also like the colors I picked out for the shield surfaces, too. All in all, this may be my favorite batch of shields for the army. And likely, now that I think of it, probably the last ones I will have to paint! The Elven Guardians carry two-handed halberd-like weapons, so no more shields there!

    Small band of Elven spear defend a bluff inside their woodland realm from invaders

The eyes came out fairly well on some and fairly borderline on a couple others. I honestly feel that the way I do my eyes on my 28mm figures looks nice when I execute it properly. When my depth perception is off a little, though, or the detail isn't as crisp, they are less inspiring. I try to avoid the overly-large "Googly Eyes" that unfortunately appears on many of my older figures. Hey! As I get older, that's one aspect of miniature painting that I think I have consistently improved on! I may not paint stripes, tartans, or checks as well as I used to do, but I think eyes and shields are getting better.

    Another look at the different leaf patterns I did on the shields of this batch (maybe my favorites?)

So, what else is on my painting desk? I have a HUGE batch of medieval stuff on there, combining miniatures, scatter, and another building. They are all coming along very nicely, though, and hopefully I will be following up this post with that one soon. The medieval figs are mostly Reaper Bones civilians, with a couple (I think) Old Glory metal ones, too. They're all "old" figures, so count for my alternating New and Old from the Leadpile. After that, I will doubtless paint the Guardians and REALLY be finished with my Elven DR! army. Stay tuned, more on the way!

    Final look at the one of the last batches to be painted up this army made mostly of Warhost figures

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 210
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 152

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 14
• Terrain painted in 2026: 29

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 34
• Scatter painted in 2026: 62

Historicon 2026 Purchases

    Painted version of the complimentary figure pack (& flag) for HMGS members attending Historicon

Well, my regular tallies of "Acquired vs. Painted" appears to be working! I just returned from Historicon, and I feel that being aware of my numbers made me more conservative on my purchases. This is particularly the case when it comes to miniatures. The only purchases I made were for active projects -- no "Oh, those look cool...!" purchases. Well, maybe one of those! Anyway, I'll do my usual and show some pics and provide some links of what I picked up last week while at Historicon. No picture of me currently suffering mildly from some "convention crud" (cough, sore throat, and overall tiredness and headache), though. Most of the pictures are from the websites of the companies I bought them from. All painted figures pictures are actually currently unpainted. Speaking of which, zero flea market purchases.

    My purchases from Brigade Games -- a modest 6 figs, including my one 'impulse' buy (Hillbillies)

My first stop was to visit my friend Lon at Brigade Games. He carries my First Command Wargames rules, and is interested in carrying Surviving 'Nam, as well (once I get printed copies in stock). I picked up only a handful of things from him, including my one impulse purchase. So, let's start with them! I saw this pack of four Sharpshootin Hillbillies from Copplestone and couldn't resist them. Ostensibly, they will be for a convention game I will run one of these days featuring a shootout at a trailer park. I guess they could be replacements, though, for my Critter Control crew in my Majestic 13 solo games! I also snagged a few monsters from the Dracula's America line for my Devilry Afoot games set in Franklinton. I will be restarting those games up by Fall, at least, only having run one for the Sunday Night Gaming crew, so far. The first was a Sasquatch miniature, and the second monster was a Manitou. Both will likely show up eventually as enemies for my players. The final purchase was my annual restock of their North Star wire spears.

 

    This slender, 3-D printed, octagonal tower at Diabolical Terrain's booth really caught my eye!

My next stop was at the booth of my friend Ron Weaver from Diabolical Terrain. Besides trading international travel stories with him, I also told him how happy I was with the Pacific Huts I bought from him at Advance the Colors. I've painted one of them up and the other three are in the queue for more Vietnam games. Although so much stuff looks good in his booth, I was trying to be conservative in my purchases. So, I picked up this Arab Mosque Minaret, which I intend to convert to a slim, medieval tower by lopping off the crescent. Shades of the First Crusade, eh? It is a very cool, 3-D printed piece that will look great painted up, I think. I also grabbed his 3-D printed Town Water Well. I am short on scatter for my medieval town, and it will be a perfect thing to add personality to the table. I was tempted by many other things at his booth, but know that I will see him this Oct. 9-10 in Springfield at ATC 2026. If you want to pick up some of his stuff, see him there!

    My purchases from Badger Games were also conservative -- coyotes & these Elven Guardians

A few steps away is a booth that I can get lost in for a long time -- Badger Games. Like Brigade Games, they have a HUGE catalog of figure lines they carry. They can't bring everything to conventions, but I always find something there I could use. The first and easy pick up was another pack of Elven Foot. This Elven Guardians pack was not available when I bought my army earlier. They echo the polearm wielding elves from the Lord or the Rings flashback scene, so I decided to have them. I will have to do something with their very weird face masks, which remind me of the Late Roman cavalry faceplates they sometimes wore. The only other purchase (See? I was restrained!) was a pack of coyotes for my Devilry Afoot horror games -- or whatever else could use some coyotes in!

    More cool LED scatter from Bad Goblin Games! I picked up a Bonfire, campfire & 4 lit mushrooms

Hidden in the back row of the Historicon's vendor area were my friends from Bad Goblin Games. Brian, Liz, and Michael were all there -- Michael Love's Fire & Bronze game was the first one I played in on Thursday. I love their inexpensive, easy-to-paint 3-D printed scatter. The fact that many of them light up with provided LED lights and batteries makes them all the better. There's something about a flickering fire, or pulsating glow on a miniatures tabletop that provides that extra touch to a game! Speaking of which, I picked up their large Bonfire, smaller campfire, and four different types of lighted mushrooms bases. Why? Well, eventually I want to get back to playing solo adventures with Sellswords & Spellslingers and continue the story of the Splintered Band. The mushrooms will make a perfect Enchanted Forest for my anthropomorphic adventurers to explore! Incidentally, Brian & Liz will be driving up from Florida to be a vendor at Advance the Colors 2026. So, plan on picking up some of their cool stuff there and playing in their awesome Trailer Park Apocalypse game!

    What is a convention without a stop at Miniature Building Authority & visiting my friend Kirk?

I stopped in and visited with my friend Kirk at Miniature Building Authority several times throughout the convention. Over the course of the days, I picked up a number of scatter items from him. This time, I did not buy any buildings -- chiefly because I haven't painted up any of the last three or four I bought at ATC! Once again, me trying to rein in my purchases and be relatively conservative with my money this time. One item that caught my eye was his Street Butcher Shop from his Shanty Town terrain line. This resin piece is relatively timeless and I will be able to use with anything from my medieval to modern games. I also picked up Celtic Cross A to toss in with an upcoming scatter batch that I will be painting. The rest of the items I grabbed were in his 3-D "Misprints" box he has started bringing to shows. Most of them, I had to ask him where the flaw was -- I couldn't see any mistakes. So, I picked up another of his Water Buffaloes, a fountain, a crossroads shrine, and several bundles of straw. The buffalo is for Vietnam, of course. The others will all be great for more needed scatter for my medieval town. Kirk is another of the vendors coming to Advance the Colors -- so make your plans to attend today by signing up on our ATC TabletopEvents page.

    I was hoping to find some Huey helicopter door gunners, and look what I found at Age of Glory!

Speaking of my Vietnam games, guess what I found at Historicon? I bought two packs of Empress Miniatures Door gunners for my 3-D printed Huey helicopters from Steve at Age of Glory Wargames. The pack includes four door gunners, so two packages will cover all four helicopters I bought from my friend Ted Bender (only one is painted, so far). I really like the variety of poses in the pack, so will likely begin working on them immediately after the Elven army is finished. Incidentally, Steve said he is interested in carrying my Surviving 'Nam rules, as well. I will be reaching out to him as soon as I have a stock of printed copies on hand. 

    This is a picture of only about half of the Cigar Box mat I purchased for games in a medieval town

My final purchase was a 6'x4' fleece mat that I can use for larger city games or even Dragon Rampant matches. Battlefield Terrain Concepts had a large selection of mats and I picked out one that could be used for either games amidst a ruined city, or an active city, or whatever. I was actually in need of one for the times I host multiple DR! matches side by side. Most likely, though, it will be used for larger games in a medieval town or city.   

All in all, I was happy with keeping my purchases down compared to previous years. I have altered the tallies for each category of Acquired vs. Painted below. I'm still in the green on two of the categories (Terrain and Scatter). I just set myself back further on miniatures, but drawing even is almost a surety assuming I don't make a huge purchased before the end of the year. So, I guess that means I need to get painting on that batch of Elven spear! 

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 210
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 146

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 14
• Terrain painted in 2026: 29

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 34
• Scatter painted in 2026: 62

Some 'Pulpy' Lead Adventure Forum Characters

    5 Pulp Adventurers - miniatures were sculpted to commemorate Lead Adventure Forum members

As readers of this blog know, I am a regular reader and frequent poster on the Lead Adventure Forum. Based in Europe, the forum covers all things miniature with a great number of boards dedicated to different periods or types of gaming. I joined back in 2011, and here is how I introduced myself:

...I've been a miniature gamer for more than 30 years. A big chunk of that was playing 15mm Ancients in the various iterations from WRG. Up until the last couple years, I considered myself an enthusiast of DBA Ancients. I've burn out on it for the most part, and play it only about a half dozen times a year, now. My latest enthusiasm is in 25mm skirmish gaming, particularly using the Ganesha Games engine which began with Song of Blades and Heroes. I like the fact that each player's force is composed of less than a dozen figures, usually. It makes it much easier economically and time-wise to paint up forces and start playing. In that vein, I do Dark Ages, post-Apocalyptic and am now painting forces for 17th/18th century Native American clashes. Next up is Pulp gaming, which I recently purchased a boatload (for me) of miniatures for... 

    Lead Adventure's 28mm version of 'Elder God' Professor Witchheimer

Anyway, the forum is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Members have been encouraged to build or paint something up in honor -- no strict rules, no contest, just a commemoration. Many years ago, I somehow won a pack of five 28mm Pulp personalities which were actually sculpted to resemble many of the early stalwarts of the forum. The now defunct Lead Adventure Miniatures can only be found on resellers like Noble Knight Games. So, it was difficult to figure out more information about the five figures and who they were meant to resemble. In fact, I could find information about only four of them. Doubtless, once I post these pictures in the 20th Anniversary thread on the Forum someone will enlighten me on who the odd figure with the dog and baby front-pack resembles.

    Miniature version of forum stalwart Matakishi - the cat was painted to resemble my friend's "Jack"

I did find painted examples of four of the miniatures, but decided not to copy them detail by detail. I did use them for hair color, though it would not surprise me if that might more accurately be depicted in the present day as gray...ha, ha! Who knows? Maybe not! Still, I wanted to give them some personality since, as you can see, they are very characterful figures. The giant cat being held on a leash by one of the figures I decided to paint similar to my friend Mike's cat named Jack. "Giant Jack" has his basic fur coloring, though I made some changes to give the miniature more visual interest and shades of gray. I didn't realize until after I'd painted Jack's handler that he actually resembles Mike in a way, and I should have painted him up to resemble him! Oh well, missed opportunities! Of course, then my regular gaming friends may have demanded I paint up a miniature of each of them. That might be difficult, finding minis to resembled a group of gamers mostly in their late 60's or thereabouts!

    This colorful miniature with cricket bat & soccer ball honors Plynkes, another longtime member

Only two of the figures have firearms -- Giant Jack's handler and one depicting Professor Witchheimer (screen name, of course). The rest of have more simple tools that I imagine could be used as a weapon in a pinch. A cricket back could be used to whack a zombie in the noggin, as could an oar, or a cane. I currently don't have a project in mind for these, but they are certainly very Pulp-y figures! That's probably where I will store the painted figures -- with my other Pulp minis. I have identified them in the captions for each photo. All but one of the four I could identify are still active on the Forum, which tells you something about its appeal. As I may have mentioned on here before, they are the friendliest and most welcome group of miniature gamers you could meet. Every post by a newbie is encouraged and heartily welcomed. Comments on games or painted miniatures are uniformly positive. Flame wars are non-existent in this place, unlike another well-known forum...which I won't name, but is know by three initials!

    Gladiator armed with an oar & net? No - it is Grimm, one of the forum's many master painters

Of course, that is all my opinion, and hardly the appropriate words to say in the middle of a post celebrating a friendly place! Shame on me!! I didn't give a blow by blow in these figures, but instead just wanted to talk more about the forum and the origin of the castings themselves. I believe I won some sort of a contest to receive this pack of miniatures. So, it was high time I honored the gift by painting them up! Hope you enjoy them, and I hope to one day get them in a game.

    Sad to say, I couldn't discover who this oddball LAF member was with the baby carrier, cane & dog

What else is on my painting desk? Well, at the front is my final six 28mm Elves for my Dragon Rampant army. They will likely be done towards the end of next week, as I will be away at Historicon from Wednesday of this week till Sunday. I have pulled out some various bits of scatter to paint up, inspired by how quickly the Bad Goblin bits got completed. And I have also begun working on a two-story medieval building from the ones I obtained from Rich RRB Minis & More. So, I apologize in advance for the gap in posts after this one. As the Terminator would say, "I'll be baaack...!"

    Moderators, master painters, keepers of the Lead Adventure Forum one and all...!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 179
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 146

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 12
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 29

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 21
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 62

 

    Final look at the five Pulp adventurers that I painted up from Lead Adventure miniatures

Ten Warbands, Ten Players, Lions & Dragons Rampant, oh my!

  Pictish spearmen prepare to form Wall of Spears as the Vikings advance ever closer in Lion Rampant

We had a friend who visits only about once a year coming into town and he wanted to join our Sunday Night Gaming crew. I messaged him to see what he'd be interested in doing and Anthony said he would like to try Lion Rampant. With everyone coming, it looked like we'd have nearly a dozen people, so we decided to stage two multiplayer games. Anthony would join Tom, Joel, Mike S, our host Mike W, and myself in a giant game of Lion Rampant on a 10' wide table. Meanwhile, the 6' wide table would hold a 4-player game of Dragon Rampant. I was in charge of bringing all the battle mats and terrain, in addition to three 24-point commands of Picts, so it was quite the load to set up.

Three warbands of Picts & Vikings each clash on a 10' wide table for a huge game of Lion Rampant

To fill the forces for three Lion Rampant commands of Picts, it took up a big chunk of my 28mm Dark Ages miniatures. Our side would field 20 units and more than 200 miniatures. My friend (and as it turned out, cross-table opponent) Mike S would be bringing 17 units of Vikings, I believe he said. It would be an epic clash as the Vikings launched an invasion of Pictland, hoping to secure northern Britain as their base for raiding. We played a straight up battle rather than a scenario, since it was some players' first game of Lion Rampant. In addition, we used our usual "no crap out" variant of the activation rules. A failure by one unit did not end a command's turn. We use that across the board for all of Daniel Mersey's "Rampant" series and believes it provides a much more enjoyable and entertaining game.

    My 2 units of Pictish light cavalry swing wide right and prepare to pepper the Vikings with javelins

I gave all 20 unit cards to Tom and declared him the overall Pictish commander. I asked him to divide them into three commands, left, center, and right. He took the center and I was given the right with six units under my command. I had two units of Pictish spearmen (light infantry), one of Warrior Infantry (wild chargers), one of archers, and two of Pictish light cavalry. Facing me were six frothing at the mouth units of Vikings -- or at least that is how it looked to my Picts! I sent the two cavalry units to the far right, supported by the archers. In the center, the Pictish spear intended to advance to tempt the Vikings to advance, and both units formed their schiltrons (Wall of Spears) to resist the Viking charge. Meanwhile, the Warrior Infantry would try to race into the woods on our left and chase off their archers.

    Viking battle line, led by a fearless and battle-hardened shield maiden in the center

It was a good plan, and early on it seemed to be working. The one unit of Vikings (Warrior Infantry) that entered the large field of crops opposite my archers began to waver under the archer's arrows and the cavalry's javelins. They began to fall back, battered, which encouraged my two mounted units to circle around the field. The lead unit of cavalry charged the Vikings while their morale were still battered and inflicted enough casualties for them to fail their courage test and rout from the field. The cavalry looked ready to encircle the Vikings and attack them from the rear!

    The battle lines of Picts & Vikings begin to edge towards each other as arrows fly overhead

On the left, my warrior infantry charged one of their opposite numbers from the Viking's center command. Joel's Viking warriors had surprisingly been driven back by Tom's Pictish archers. My warriors struck the disheartened Vikings and slaughtered enough of them to drive them from the field. Elated, they rushed towards the woods where the Viking archers were firing upon my spearmen and inflicting casualties. The warriors were cut off, though, and charged by a unit of Viking axemen (heavy infantry with bloodthirsty). Luckily, my warriors rolled high enough to counter-charge. We inflicted more casualties, and more importantly, Mike had a second drastic morale failure. The axemen ran from the field. 

    My warrior infantry, having chased off one unit, ready to face down more Vikings with impunity!

Emboldened by their success, the Pictish warriors charged their third foe -- the Viking archers. Their numbers were thinned by two combats already, but they inflicted enough casualties to rout the archers, as well. Good rolls on Courage tests were a scarce commodity on this flank! My Pictish spearmen were also failing their tests vs. the one or two casualties Mike's archers had been inflicting. Unfortunately, that third charge was it for my good rolling for the night! From this point on, I failed nearly every courage test and rolled poorly in every combat. The warriors decided they'd done enough for the day, so they also decamped from the field. Good on them, though -- three enemy units driven from the field!

    My Pictish spearmen are thinking, 'That sure looks like a lot of Vikings...! Are we sure about this??'

That was indeed the Pictish "high water mark" on the right flank. Mike's remaining three heavy infantry units began to advance on my wavering Pictish spearmen. Just in time, I rallied one unit and was even able to form Wall of Spears before the Vikings charged home. On average rolls, this should have been a victory for the Picts. However, over the next several turns, three times Mike's Vikings charged my cowardly and intimidated spearmen. Three times they were driven back by the Vikings. When my commander's spear schiltron eventually failed morale and broke and ran from the field, it unleashed a string of 2d6 rolls that never came close to average or succeeding. One of the cavalry units became battered upon hearing the warlord was dead, and proceeded to fail their next two tests, as well. The other spear unit steadily failed and retreated backwards four more times over the next four turns, until they backed off the field.  

    No two units failed more morale checks than these two units of spear -- it was maddening!

The cavalry unit and archers, although passing their courage test when the warlord fled, proceeded to fail their activation rolls time after time. When the archers did shoot, I rolled way under average and did not cause any casualties to a Viking unit that was at half strength and ready to crumble. It was a miserable ending after a spectacular beginning. Thankfully, Tom in the center had routed Joel's entire command, and began to send help my way. One of Mike's Viking heavy infantry broke under Tom's pressure, leaving him with just his general's heavy infantry and the half strength unit. That unit refused to charge my archers, who themselves failed to inflict enough casualties to get the Vikings finally running. Time after time, Mike's Viking heavy foot unit with his commander passed morale checks while mine failed them. In the end, I still outnumbered him in units, but my troops just wouldn't fight!

    Beers, snacks, and lots of orcs & goblins raging about on the Dragon Rampant battle table!

Fortunately, Anthony had finally won on the left flank, outlasting Mike W's Viking wing and driving it from the board. Tom crushed Joel in the center, losing no units, while Joel's entire command fled the field. Seeing this, we called it a Pictish victory. My wing was wavering at best, but Mike's was hanging on by a thread, too. My Picts could console themselves by saying they'd driven off more enemy units than we lost, but honestly, their "second half" performance was shameful! It was certainly the most frustrating run of failed courage tests I've ever had in any of the Rampant style games we've played. 

    The arid plains of the DR! battlefield were soon drenched with blood (fortunately no spilled beer!)

On the Dragon Rampant board, Andy and Allen's orcs and goblins had a bloody battle with Bob's and Keith's armies. The orcs fled the field in the end, with Bob and Keith holding on for the win. I didn't get over there much to watch the battle, but it sounded brutal. They were fighting on a smaller width battlefield (6' wide for four armies, two per side). I had brought over a folding table to add 2' to their width, but the table heights were too mismatched. There would have been a weird drop off three quarter's of the way across the table! So, the orcs and their foes fought in close quarters that evening. Still, it was impressive to have 10 players and 10 warbands clashing all at once. It was fun, but a LOT of work to set up and pull off. Thanks to Mike S for bringing three warbands of Vikings and Mike W for hosting such a throng of gamers! Lots of dice were flung and good times were had!! 

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 179
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 141

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 12
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 29

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 21
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 62

'Pacific Hut' from Diabolical Terrain for my Vietnam Games

    From Diabolical Terrain's 3-D printed line of 'Pacific Huts,' here is another Vietnamese hooch

Last October at Advance the Colors, I picked up four 3-D printed Pacific Huts from my friend Ron at Diabolical Terrain. By the time I bought them, I already had enough Vietnam hooches or buildings painted up for the tiny villages or hamlets my players will encounter in games of Surviving 'Nam. So, the huts sat there staring at me accusingly from the shelf for more than six months. With my rules finally released, I decided to paint them. I figured I would do one first as a test rather than all four at once.

    Zooming in on the front porch & ladder, with 2 of my 28mm Empress Vietnamese civilians

This is Pacific Hut 5, which completely by coincidence, seems to be the simplest design of the seven Diabolical Terrain has for sale. Had I taken a moment to check out the four varieties I bought, I would likely have chosen this one, anyway! The posts that the hut rests upon come in four corner pieces, which you glue to the bottom of the hut. That was easy. I did mine with my normal "go-to," two-part, 5-minute epoxy. Next, I noticed that the roof didn't have any tabs to keep it into place or a way to slot in on top of the building. That was a bit disappointing, but easily solved. I measured and glued four wooden craft sticks into each corner, protruding up just enough to catch the roof and keep it from sliding off, but not enough to prevent it from sitting flush on top of the hut itself. After that, I spray painted it black on one of those rare, non-humid summer days in Ohio. I followed that up with a 50/50 mix of water and acrylic black paint.

    Side view of this Diabolical Terrain hut - though meant for WW II Pacific - works well for Vietnam

Looking the hut over, I decided that there were essentially only two materials represented on this model, not counting the thatch roof. There was the wooden components, including the support posts raising it off the ground, the deck, door,  and the smaller wooden poles that frame the building. Then there was the wicker portion, which were the most of the walls of these huts. So, really, I was looking at only three color schemes. I decided to do the wooden parts first, wet brushing them with a craft "Burnt Umber" color -- a very dark brown. The next day, I dry brushed those areas Howard Hues Camo Brown, and finally highlighted them in Khaki. 

    Interior of model showing my four craft sticks in the corners which nicely keep the roof in place

The following day, I painted the wicker portions a medium brown craft paint called Autumn Brown. I let that dry overnight, and followed it up with a Iron Wind Metals Dun yellow dry brush. I should mention I was giving the thatch roof a very similar treatment. However, I added a final very light gray dry brush on the thatch, that I did not do on the wicker. Once the paint on the roof and building had dried, I went over both with a black wash. The last step was to take a piece of scrap booking paper that had an interesting dirty wooden pattern and cut a rectangle of it for the floor. Once it was trimmed to fit the floor of the interior as best as possible, I affixed in place with white glue. 

    Rear view of the hut -- model will look great on land or on a riverside with it being elevated on posts 

Not only was a I pleased with how the Pacific (read: Vietnam) hut turned out, I was really stoked about how easy it was to paint up and get ready for the tabletop. There's something inspiring about cranking out nice-looking tabletop scenery that quickly. It is listed for $22 on the Diabolical website for 28mm scale (also sold in 15mm and 32mm), which I think is a fair price for something so practical and good looking on the table. If you are doing Vietnam or even World War II Pacific theater, I would highly recommend these huts. Check out the different varieties, some with porch screens or other differences. I will likely paint the other three up soon, now that I know how quickly they paint up!

    Last look at this 28mm model -- I have three more that I purchased from Diabolical still to paint up

What else is on my tabletop? I have my batch of five figures for the Lead Adventure Forum's 20th Anniversary in the flocking stage. I've also begun the final batch of figures for my Elven army for Dragon Rampant. I leave for Historicon on Tuesday, though, so there will likely be a holdup on my progress. Stay turned, though, and hopefully I will have more soon -- especially having played a game of Dragon Rampant on Saturday and Lion Rampant on Sunday!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 179
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 141

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 12
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 29

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 21
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 62