Playing Zombie RV at Wargames Among the Warplanes

    My survivor Hank is mugged by three zombies in a back alley in a game of 'Zombie RV'

One of my friends on the Lead Adventure Forum, Bill from Dice, Doubloons & Random Musings, regularly attends an upstate New York show called Wargames Among the Warplanes. It is put on by a local group of miniature gamers at the National Warplane Museum in Geneseo, NY. I told him that I really wanted to make it up there for one of the shows. I enthusiastically support efforts to get our miniature wargaming hobby in front of the public at historical sites. I mentioned it to Jenny, and we decided to combine the show with a long weekend of hiking in the Finger Lakes region.

    Bill assists Jenny as he runs back-to-back sessions of Zombie RV on his amazing tabletop

We arrived early and met the show's main organizer, Boe, who'd requested that I bring him a copy of Surviving 'Nam (and autograph it for him...ha, ha). We looked around for about 45 minutes and then wandered over to where Bill was setting up his game of Zombie RV. I remarked that I hadn't played it in a l-o-n-g time (ever since I stopped running it for the Sunday Night Gaming group because...well, if you know, you know...ha, ha!). Jenny and I had signed up for it when we arrived, along with one other attendee. Bill gave us each two survivors (exactly how I would run it at conventions), and had us each start in our own corner of the 2'x2' board. It was supposed to be cooperative -- no survivors shooting each other -- but other than that, it was every survivor group for itself!

    Bill makes cards for his survivor characters, too, with a large picture of the figure on the back

I decided to have my two survivors, Big George and Hank, stick together and make sure they didn't get separated and overwhelmed individually by zombies. We sprinted over to the Pawn Shop, first. Big George opened the door and immediately found some useful supplies. Hank covered the rear to ensure no zombies were sneaking up on them. They moved to the shop's back door, forced it open, and were in a small back alley which had three buildings (with back doors) adjacent. Big George moved quickly (for his bulk) to the next shop, and was able to force open the back door. Once again, he found the supplies rather quickly and was ready to move on to the next location. Unfortunately, he heard Hank calling that they had company and to hurry up!

    Street level view of Bill's awesome setup: quiet now, but the zombies will show up soon!

Bill uses a similar zombie spawning method that I do. Each turn, there is a chance they will spawn on a random board edge instead of the central dumpster fire (a very cool Bad Goblin Games scatter terrain piece!). Wouldn't you know it, but three zombies showed up right in our back alley courtyard! Another was following Big George from the shop, and another group was closing in from a different alley way. My survivors decided to attack the two zombies blocking their way back to the Pawn Shop's back door. The plan was to hurry through that back to their card and skedaddle. Now, in Zombie RV, the odds are heavily weighted in favor of the survivors. On a 5-6 on 1d6, Hank and his friend would splatter the zombie they were in melee with. On a 4, they'd push it back 2d3 inches. In return, they could be hit by the zombies only on their activation and by a 6 on 1d6.

    Big George opens the Pawn Shop door, while Hank keeps an eye out for zombies in the 1st game

Bill had joked earlier, asking if he'd see the famed Mike D bad luck in rolling dice during the game. So far, things had gone smoothly, as Big George made his rolls to force open doors on his first try and found the supplies right away. Plus, we had the percentages on our side: two, big beefy survivors against a couple scrawny zombies. What could go wrong? Of course, I rolled two misses on my attacks! And then Bill rolled for the zombies. Big George was hit with a natural 6! G'ah!! I rolled my "grit" roll (to ignore the damage) and actually rolled the necessary 6! Hey, maybe Bill wouldn't see my famously bad dice rolling! Bill rolled for the other zombie to attack Hank, but it missed. Whew!

Exiting through the Pawn Shop's back door, Hank & George move on to the next building in the alley

On my next turn, I had a decision to make. Attack the zombies with my first action and then run away with my second or just bolt and run. I figured that if we stuck around, the other zombies coming would swarm us on their turn. Fight or run? They would get an attack as we turned our back, but remember -- they hit only on 6's. Big George and Hank decided to run. Bill rolled his attack on Big George: another 6! I tried to repeat my successful Grit roll and failed. Bill rolled for damage. On a 1-3 the survivor suffered a wound but no other adverse effect. On a 5-6, they were wounded knocked down, and on a 6 they were dead. Guess what?? Bill rolled yet another six! Big George became a Happy Meal for a tiny girl zombie in pink bunny slippers! Bill then rolled for the zombie getting his free strike at Hank as he turned to run. Another 6 -- Bill's third in a row (not counting the one last turn). Of course, I failed Hank's grit roll (which was his special ability, succeeding on a 5-6 instead of just 6). Bill then rolled for damage. Does anyone even doubt what Bill rolled next? Yup, his fourth 6 in a row! Just in case you're counting, that is a 1 in more than a thousand chance!!

    Each turn more zombies spawns in a randomly rolled location at Wargames Among the Warplanes

Bill felt so bad about it, he ruled as GM that the zombie had actually missed (nudge, nudge, wink, wink), and Hank was able to move his two actions away. Facing superhuman, 6-rolling zombies, Hank had no choice but to abandon poor Big George to be a big gorge for the victorious zombies. Well, that went south in a hurry! Of the three players, I was the only one to have a survivor die. And guess who was carrying on my supplies? Big George, of course! So, I could rename myself Big Loser after that game! 

    Slowly, inexorably, the zombies begin to surround & close in on three groups of survivors

As always, Zombie RV plays quickly. Bill suggested we play another round. Jenny and I were game. We took a quick break to watch one of the warbirds take off on the museum's C-47 Skytrain cargo planes in D-Day colors take off on the runway. Then, we were back at it for another game on Bill's amazing looking tabletop. I kept Hank, but drew Bobby -- a muscle shirt wearing character with a pistol and a Molotov cocktail in his pocket! I switched spots to enter on Jenny's corner, as she'd move to another one as well, for a change of scenery. 

    Hank & Big George decided to attack the zombies blocking their escape back through the Pawn Shop

Seeing how sticking together didn't work last time, Hank told his new partner to investigate the Donut Shop while he checked out the building they had parked near. Hank forced open the back door and dashed around, pulling a tarp off a suspicious looking lump at the end of the one of the aisles. He was shocked to find another survivor in a nurse's scrubs aiming a pistol at him. "Whoa, whoa!" he said, throwing up his hands. "I'm one of the good guys." She lowered her pistol, and said her name was Sandra, and she'd been hiding in the store for several hours waiting for the zombies outside to wander off. Hand helped her up and asked her to follow him, they'd meet up with his friend Bobby. 

Horde of zombies give chase to a survivor who tries to use the terrain to elude them

Bobby was just exiting the Donut Shop with a sack stuffed with what looked like "Long Johns" or "Bismarcks" -- cream-filled donuts. "Bobby, meet Sandra," Hand smiled. Through a mouthful of donut, Bobby said his hello. The three chuckled, and then froze in place. The unmistakable moaning of zombies preceded four of the undead -- one a huge, nasty-looking one -- rounding the corner and catching sight of them from very short distance. 

    In Game 2, Hank pulls up in his upgraded ride with a new partner, Bobby

Bobby tied the sack of donuts to his belt and pulled out his Zippo lighter. Producing a bottle with a cloth fuse, he lit it and tossed the Molotov Cocktail straight at the nasty zombie. There was an immediate WHOOSH! of flame and the monstrous zombie was engulfed. The puddle of liquid spread to where the two neighboring zombies were shuffling, but they continued to move forward. "You ain't gettin' my donuts, you bastards!" Bobby called, and then shifted position to where the zombies would have to come through the flames to get him. That seemed to work, as two more fell, their clothes and bodies catching fire rapidly. Bobby laughed. "Did you see that, Hank? First time I actually pitch one of those things and I get three strikes!" He looked back where the zombies were writhing on the asphalt, no longer moving forward.

    Hank checks out the Game Store, looking for supplies or something useful to scavenge

"Four," Hank smiled, pointing at the fourth zombie, who also entered the pool of fire and went down, burning. "Now, check out that last building and Sandra and I will guard your rear." Bobby pulled out his pistol and ran towards the final building in the back alley they'd planned to check out. Meanwhile, Sandra and Hank pointed out to each other clusters of zombies approaching from two sides -- drawn by the explosion of the Molotov cocktail. They took up positions and began firing with their pistols. After the success of the Molotov, the pistols seemed to have no effect on the zombies. I rolled miss after miss, counting at least six rolls in a row that were no higher than a "3." I was reminded of what I tell my friends in our Sunday Night Gaming club: "I don't have bad luck, I just have very streaky Good Luck and Bad Luck."

    Meanwhile, Bobby hits the jackpot finding two boxes of cream-filled 'Long John' donuts

Slowly, the zombies closed in on them. Panicked, Sandra darting away, one of the zombies following her. The other three zombies encircled Hank, who was slashing away with his machete and somehow holding them off. Sandra felt guilty, and ran back and tried to smash one of the zombies attacking him in the back of the head with her pistol. It distracted it enough that Hank's machete sliced its head off entirely. For good measure, he embedded it in the forehead of another zombie, that dropped to the ground. They heard gunfire as Bobby ran towards them. "I got the supplies -- let's go!" 

    'Bobby, meet Sandra' Hank introduces the terrified nurse he'd found hiding in the Game Store

Well, here I was again. Two survivors with a zombie in contact with each of them. Run, or fight? More zombies were steaming towards Hank's group, though. They would likely get overwhelmed if they stayed to fight. Surely, Bill couldn't roll two 6's again on Hank and Sandra if they sprinted for their vehicle? What are the odds? Yeah, yeah, I know the odds! I decided to move Sandra first. Bill rolled and missed -- she got away! Now, Hank. Bill rolled -- not a six!! Ha, ha -- my luck is truly streaky! The trio were able to outrace the zombies to their vehicle, turn the ignition, and peel out. That was close...!

    After dispatching zombies with his Molotov cocktail, Bobby moves on to investigate the 3rd store

I thanked Bill for running the game and giving me an opportunity to play Zombie RV, again. At times, the game seems "Easy" -- ordinary zombies hit survivors only on a 6. However, the rules lean heavily into the knowledge that sometimes players are going to roll badly. Jenny lost one of her survivors in the second game. So, neither mission was a cake, er, Donut walk. Each time, somebody didn't make it back to base. I had a lot of fun, especially in the second game. If you haven't played Zombie RV, feel free to click on this link which brings up all of my posts for ZRV. Scroll back and read some battle reports. For a free set of rules from David Bezio of Grey Area Games, it is a lot of fun! If it looks interesting, maybe also download the Campaign expansion I created with the author's input. They're also available free on RRB Minis & More's website. 

    Meanwhile, zombies are closing in on Sandra & Hank from several directions

It was great to meet Bill, finally. We have been reading and commenting on each other's wargaming blogs for more than a year. He's a great guy with lots of creative ideas. One that I am going to steal from him is to paint up zombie dogs as "Fast Zombies" for Zombie RV. I love the way he decorates the interiors of his buildings, too. Hopefully, you were able to get a taste of that from my photos. Expect more updates in the next few days, as I am home from our Finger Lakes & Wargames Among the Warplanes trip!

    After initially fleeing, Sandra feels guilty & returns to help out Hank, who is surrounded

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 210
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 185

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 14
• Terrain painted in 2026: 36

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 34
• Scatter painted in 2026: 75

    His drought of rolling 1, 2, or 3 over, Hank dispatches two zombies with his machete!

 

    Thanks to one of my posts, Lead Adventure Forum members are now keeping tabs on meetups!

Warmachines Lead Rescue of Downed Martian Command Ship

 

    Martian walkers and infantry race towards the crash site of their downed command ship

** Guest blogger on this post, the GM for this game and my long-time friend, Tom G. **

The ground was shattered and smoke still rose from the burning and charred ruins of the wheat field a few miles west of York, England. Above the bleating of terrified sheep, the heavy, rhythmic thumping of approaching Martian war machines could be heard by the men of the Queen’s Own Rifles battalion, as they marched double time toward the ridge of broken ground ahead of them. It was July 4 th 1861. The sphere ships of the Martian invaders were still landing around the globe. Here in the York countryside, one of their command vessels had suffered a malfunction and crash landed.

    Tom presides over the battlefield, with the Martian command vessel at the end of a long impact crater

Three giant Martian war machines and supporting infantry approached to rescue the command staff and critical war plans from the fallen vessel. The British threw three battalions of the finest infantry of the empire, as much artillery as could be found, and a handful of steam tanks to destroy the brains of the Martian attack on England. The long legged war machines approached rapidly and gained the precarious heights plowed up by the fallen vessel.

    Martian deployment -- each advancing force had a walker, Cephalopod infantry, & Martian infantry

On the British left flank, the troops waver and seemed shocked at the speed and size of the machines. At the first brush of the Martian heat ray, half the battalion lost heart and fled. On the British right flank, the war machine took aim at the artillery as the crews were unlimbering and with devastating accuracy destroyed the entire brigade. 

    War machine in the Martian center pounded forward aggressively & led the attack on the British

In the center ,the British C-in-C, General Resistance, pushed forward with a battalion of the Queen’s Own infantry brigade. He gained the heights of the crater wall and fired on the command vessel, but was driven back by the heat rays of two different war machines. Cephalopod infantry swarmed forward under the devastating fire of the war machines and began evacuating personel and equipment. Driven back at times by the British, the beings from Titan eventually cleared the vessel of all intelligence and crew and command staff and quickly retreated with their prizes. 

    British commanders hurriedly move up to (hopefully) get enough shots on the vehicle to destroy it

I had recently simplified my For Queen and Planet rules and this was a test case for the altered rules.
We learned I might have made things more bloody then intended, so I will be backing down Fire Factors and Combat Ratings a bit. I will also weaken the war machines, as they were way too powerful! 

    Martian battle line has reached the lip of the hill plowed up by the crashing command vehicle

Thanks, Tom, for writing this report! It is fun to get more voices on this blog. The last time I did that was when we were playing Frostgrave: Ghost Archipelago. High time! I enjoyed Tom's game very much and felt the rules making it more bloody were fun. Need I say that I was part of the victorious Martian side? Ha, ha! 

    British fire momentarily drives off the crew of the command ship, while their allies hurry to help

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 210
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 185

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 14
• Terrain painted in 2026: 36

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 34
• Scatter painted in 2026: 75 

    With the Brit artillery destroyed early, they had no counter to the war machines, who turned the tide

 

    Crash site is secured by multiple units of Martians, who have driven off the British attempt to seize it

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 210
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 185

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 14
• Terrain painted in 2026: 36

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 34
• Scatter painted in 2026: 75

Devilry Afoot Creatures, Horrors, & Medicine Women

 

    A batch of 28mm horror figures for my frontier America 'Devilry Afoot' campaign

To quote from Gimli in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings: "It's all right! It's all right! Nobody panic! That was deliberate..." Unlike Gimli, I panicked recently and goofed up! I'd started working on my second batch of Retro Raygun Sci-Fi figs, when suddenly I thought I'd forgotten to alternate between painting old and new batches of miniatures. Since both the Viet Cong women soldiers I'd just finished and the Hydra Miniatures Pulpy Sci-Fi figures were current projects, I got it in my head they were both figures I'd bought this year. So, I hurriedly looked through my list of unpainted miniatures I keep on my Iphone (yep, I do that...!). I grabbed a batch of things for my Devilry Afoot campaign set in frontier America. I cleaned them up, primed them, and started on them the very next morning, setting the Sci-Fi ladies to the side. 

After a couple of days working on the Devilry Afoot miniatures, I realized that I had actually bought my Hydra Miniatures back in 2024 and 2025! The project was current, but the minis qualified as "Old." That deserves a Homer Simpson-style forehead smack, "D'oh!" Oh well. I did want to bring the Devilry Afoot project back to life. What better way than painting up some figures I could possibly use in an upcoming scenario? This batch included two monsters -- a Reaper Miniatures Yeti Warrior to paint as a Sasquatch and a Silver Bayonet Wendigo. It also included a pair of Bad Squiddo Games Banshees that I would paint up as generic undead specters or spirits. The final two figures in the batch were Bad Squiddo's The Seer and a Silver Bayonet Forest Witch. I would do these up as native American "medicine women", aka witches, in my frontier adaption of Devilry Afoot.

    This Reaper Bones mini is labeled 'Yeti Warrior,' but I thought he'd work fine as a Sasquatch, too

The two monsters were very quick and easy to paint, especially the Sasquatch. He received only a Dark Brown base coat and lighter Camo Brown dry brush highlight. After that, I had to pick out only a few details. The mouth was done in Blood Red with some Salmon colored highlighting on the tongue. The teeth and claws were done in a pale yellow. I painted his eyes and snout, and he was done! Now, that was fast!!

    A very creepy, multi-eyed version of a Wendigo, another native American legendary creature

The hardest part about painting the Wendigo was gluing the darned thing together! It is a very plastic like resin, I believe. More and more, figure manufacturers are substituting random resin figures in mostly metal lines (see the Banshees below). It is kind of annoying, as there is no reason this casting could not have been done in metal. Make up your mind on a line! Will it be in metal or resin? Anyway, the antlers and arms had to be trimmed with a hobby knife before they'd fit in the obvious spots for them. The internet recommended super glue to do that (yay, my favorite...not!). After a number of frustrating tries, I finally got them to hold with superglue. Once the superglue seemed to have cured, I put a line of two-part epoxy across the seams in hopes that would help.

When it came to painting, I used a very pale tan with white dry brushing for its skin. For its patches of fur, I used a medium brown color, dry brushed with tan. The mouth, claws, and teeth were done just like the Sasquatch, but I gave him yellow eyes with red irises. Creepily, he has two eyes on each side of his head. The antlers were painted in a parchment color. To match the previous, much larger, Wendigo I had done for my Reign in Hell cabal, I gave him native American tattoos all over his body. The last step was to do a brown vehicle wash over him. It came about a bit darker than I wanted, but oh well. He still looks suitably scary. 

    More resin minis (not my favorite) - 2 eerie, dead-looking Banshees floating up off the ground

Next up, were the two Bad Squiddo Banshees. I'm guessing that they are also 3-D printed resin. I'm really worried about their fragility, though. Each female spirit is rising up off the ground as its dress ripples out beneath it acting as its base support. It seems very thin, though. I'll cross my fingers that they don't end up snapping off during handling in a game. I painted their skin a pale yellow with white highlights. The hair was done in black with medium gray dry brushing. One banshee received a pale blue dress and the other a Sea Foam Green outfit. Both dresses received a white highlight to make them appear faded. Only one of the pair has a visible face, so I made it as scary looking as I could. I applied a black vehicle wash to give the dresses and skin a dirty, grimy look like they've been lying in a grave for months or years.

    Finally - metal miniature! I painted this Bad Squiddo 'Seer' up as a tribal medicine woman 

I like The Seer figure best of the two medicine women. She is obviously meant to be blind, with a cloth across her eyes. She holds up an eyeball in her hand, doubtless what she sees with. She wears a wolf-skin cloak that I painted as a gray wolf, similar to how I do my wolves. Otherwise, I gave her a light brown dress, topped off by a pale yellow hood. Since native Americans were known for jazzing up their garments with beadwork and other colorful decorations, I made sure to do that on this figure. I gave her a lighter colored wooden staff, so she was keeping in the general earth tones range. There wasn't really enough skin to put tattoos on -- plus, I didn't want to ruin it! I really liked how it was turning out. The finishing touch was the eyeball in her palm. I painted the eye in light gray, white, blue iris, black dot for the pupil, and finally tiny red veins for the sides of the eye. I can see how she would definitely be an ominous looking figure for my players to encounter in the woods at night...!

    Another medicine woman -- the almost cartoonish Silver Bayonet 'Forest Witch'

Silver Bayonet's Forest Witch is a neat looking figure, too. She has a very cartoonish bulbous face with beetling eyebrows. She is heavyset, holds a nice tree limb staff, and has various totems and fetishes strapped to her body. I struggled over identifying what everything is on the sculpt, though. The cloak, tunic, and undergarments didn't seem to line up, especially on her left hand which is outstretched. Finally, I went online and zoomed in on photos that I could find of the miniature. It turns out she has a snake wrapped around that outstretched hand! I actually had to go back and repaint that part of the figure, as I had been doing it as part of her garments. Once I realized that, I kind of liked the figure a bit more...ha, ha! I chose a green snake as it would contrast nicely with the earth tones of her garments.

    The pair of medicine women lead the creatures of horror & legend forward to attack Franklinton

So, as Gimli says, this "deliberate" painting of this batch of six horror figures turned out all right. It also keeps my mind focused on scheduling a Devilry Afoot game soon. However, that means my next batch should be something new. The Sci-Fi ladies will doubtless be getting impatient when more Viet Cong ditch in front of them...ha, ha! So stay tuned...you'll see my blue-skinned beauties eventually!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 210
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 185

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 14
• Terrain painted in 2026: 36

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 34
• Scatter painted in 2026: 75

Minaret (or Observatory?) and Butcher's Stall

    My medieval/fantasy town just got a new building -- a minaret...or observatory??

At Historicon, I picked up this 3-D printed Arab Mosque Minaret from my friend Ron at Diabolical Terrain. I thought it would look great in my medieval city -- maybe as an observatory instead of a minaret? It would definitely be a change of pace in styles of buildings, but it's stone texture would make it fit in, as well. I also picked up this Street Bucher Shop from the Shantytown line that my buddy Kirk at Miniature Building Authority makes. Although it is a fraction of the size of the minaret, it has so many details that it would end up taking twice as long to paint up!

    This mosque minaret from Diabolical Terrain is TALL -- 15.5" from bottom to crescent!

Let's start with the minaret, though. It comes in several pieces -- a hexagonal base section, a round upper section, and the rooftop. Although I glued the roof to the upper section, I decided not to permanently attach the two tower sections together. It is really tall (15.5"), and I felt it would be both difficult to store and to transport that way. So, I drilled two holes in the bottom of the door pillars of the upper section and inserted thicker brass wire (cutoffs from my spears). I super glued those into the holes I'd drilled, then marked where those wires would touch when I set it on the platform atop the base section. I drilled matching holes in the platform so that the wire would fit into the top of the hexagonal base section and keep it stable while sitting on the tabletop. I didn't want some to bump it and the whole tower crash down on miniatures or other scenery!

    Birds-eye view looking down from the top of the tower to the streets far below

Once this was done, I primed the entire structure with Krylon Fusion Matte Black, and followed that up with my usual 50/50 mix of acrylic black paint and water. I had decided to go with a gray stone look so that it would match the rest of my growing medieval town. I did a dark gray wetbrush over the black, and then followed that up with a medium gray dry brush on the stones. I did a final highlighting with a very light gray in a few spots where the sun might strike the structure most noticeably. 

 

    My medieval/fantasy town just got a new building -- a minaret...or perhaps an observatory?

Now it was time to decorate it! Mosques and minarets in Islamic architecture are usually always fancy. Blue seems to be an almost required color, so I went with bright coral blue and very light green. I did these in an alternating pattern on the stone archways all around the building, so the pillars of stone went blue-green-blue, etc. This was definitely the most time consuming part of this model. It was worth the effort, though. As I finished more and more of the archways, I began to be happier and happier with how it was turning out. Once all the blue and green decoration was complete and dry, I did a very light gray dry brushing of those colors to make it look a little weathered. I didn't want it to look chipped and falling apart or abandoned -- just a little more sun-bleached. 

    I took advantage of some 'blurry detail' on the sides to cover it with moss growing up the tower

I'd noticed while dry brushing that the detail on two faces of the lower hexagon was more blurred. Almost like it was hot and had melted. However, my friend Mike S pointed out that perhaps the lower, hexagonal section of the model was originally intended to be a corner tower. And the smoother sides were where they joined the walls? Perhaps -- I had not considered that! I'll ask Ron when I see him in October (he will be coming, as usual, to Advance the Colors 2026 in Springfield, OH. Anyway, I decided to disguise this intentional or unintentional blurring by going over this area with Dirty Down Moss Effect. Once dry, I painted white glue onto about half of the mossy area and added in Woodland Scenics Blended Grass. So, the "blurred areas" would actually be where vegetation was growing up the tower sides. I felt that was a good solution.

The last part of the structure to paint was the globe and crescent atop the minaret. When I bought it from Ron, I was thinking of sawing that off and putting something more generic atop the roof so it could be something besides a minaret. However, a crescent works very well for an observatory, too, doesn't it? I painted both Iron Wind Metals Ancient Bronze first. I gave them a gold highlight, and then added an even brighter metallic yellow light shining metal effect on the uppermost parts. Once dry, I gave them a black vehicle wash to "blend" the highlighting together and give it a less pristine look. All in all, the minaret ended up taking very little time to paint, as it turned out. So, my medieval/fantasy town continues to grow with the addition of a "observatory" (or minaret).

    This Miniature Building Authority Street Butcher Shop packs in lots of detail & features

The MBA Butcher's stall came in four pieces -- the three walled, open air structure of the stall, roof, metal wire with hunks of meat hanging from it, and a stump with meat and a cleaver atop it. I decided to be clever and paint the stall first, before hanging the wire, putting on the roof, or gluing down the stump. That way, my brush wouldn't have to get around or under things blocking my brush's access to the areas behind. The walls and roof of the stall appear to be corrugated metal applied in various patches. I like the effect of different colors of metal sheets on a run-down structure, so painted each separately, let them dry, and dry brushed them. Once the interior and exterior metal walls were done, I did the table, boxes, meat hanging from the walls, etc. I used Iron Wind Blood Red for the meat, and added in highlights of brighter red, too. The table, boxes, and such were painted brown as wood, with a few other colors here and there. 

    Perfect opportunity to break out my butcher figure to photograph alongside this cool piece of terrain!

Once the stall itself was completed, which took more than a week doing bits here and there, I attached the wire with its hunks of hanging meat. It set nicely on rests for it on either side wall. I painted it and then glued down the stump (which I had worked on while doing the stall). Finally, I did the bottom of the roof and glued it into place. The roof's top was also cast to look like it had several pieces of corrugated metal, so I had to do those individually and dry brush them, as well. There was one final step, though. I used my Dirty Down rust effect liberally over the interior and exterior walls on the corrugated metal. I've found if you brush some of the liquid solution on thinner and other areas dab it more thickly, it gives a nice variety of rust colors. Now, finally, the roof could be glued down (and rusted), as well. 

    I think the 'Rust Effect' from Dirty Down does great weathering & making things look run down

The entire piece got a black vehicle wash to give it more of a grimy, "street butcher" appearance, too. I used my Blended Gray Ballast for a gravel effect on the base, giving it a black wash also to darken it. That is the basing effect I go with more often in modern street terrain and scatter. DONE...finally! As I said, it was definitely a labor intensive piece of scatter terrain. Unfortunately, the corrugated metal means it can't really be used for my medieval town, but it will work just fine with any of the modern or even post-apocalyptic terrain that I have. It is definitely a nice looking piece -- and not expensive, either!

    This plastic toy well ended up painting okay - not as nice as items from MBA, of course!

The last scatter item on this post is a very, very old plastic toy well that has been sitting in one of my boxes for decades. When I was getting the Diabolical Terrain Town Well painted up, I was reminded of it. I decided to get it out, mount it on a round MDF  base, and prepare it alongside the others. It was painted with a mix of my base coat and dry brush method for gray stone and brown wood. I gave it some Steel for the metal mechanical parts and some flocking and leaf scatter on its base. Not the prettiest and most detailed piece of scatter, but it will be yet another water well for my growing medieval town. 

    Even though you can see the flaws close up, this well will look fine on a crowded medieval tabletop

This update finishes off the massive batch of scatter and terrain that has been crowding my desk over the last several weeks. Currently, there is no terrain or scatter waiting to be painted. So, I will have to remedy that situation first thing, tomorrow morning! Stay tuned for another update on the miniature painting kerfuffle (as my friend Allen likes to say) that I had this week. No painting disasters, but a moment of panic did ensue!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 210
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 179

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 14
• Terrain painted in 2026: 36

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 34
• Scatter painted in 2026: 75 

Homeric Skirmishing with Ilium Rules

 

    Trojans, lead by Aeneas, charge into a group of Achaeans containing Odysseus & his companions

After watching the movie Odysseus in the theaters, and reading battle reports from Irregular Wars using their rules set, Ilium: Game of Heroes, we decided to give it a try. Players control one of the Achaean or Trojan heroes from the Trojan War, and along with a force up 5-6 companions called Promachoi, skirmish in an effort to earn glory. Ilium is a different game than most, as your goal is not to wipe out the opponent's troops, but instead to earn the most honor, or Kleos. So, you could kill more of the enemy but still lose the game. Instead, it is about making a name for yourself that lasts down through the ages. This is very satisfyingly "Homeric" in theme.

    We enjoyed our first skirmish using Ilium: Game of Heroes - set during the Trojan War

A good example of how to lose in our 20th century minds but win in Homer's is -- of course -- Achilles. Yes, he dies in the end to Paris' arrow (sorry for the spoiler!). However, as I would tell my 7th grade students every year, here we are more than 3,000 years later still talking about him. Here's a clip from the movie Troy which my students would watch (and then tell me what they would do in his place). To this day, I feel it is one of the most true, Homeric scenes in the movie. 

    Clever Odysseus & his Promachoi deploy last, occupying a mud brick home on the Trojan flank

None of us were controlling Achilles in this game, though. My friends Mike S and Keith brought their troops over and set up four contingents to battle on the dusty plains of Troy. Keith and Jenny would fight for Troy and controlled Trojan Aeneas and Asteropaios, leader of the Paionians. Mike S gave me Odysseus and he took Machaon, leader of the Trikkaians. We set up the tabletop for the first scenario, Battle on the Plain, but with only two continents instead of three. We figured this was a learning game, and best for each of us to control only one force.

    Aeneas & his Trojan companions, left, respond to the Achaean ransacking & charge forward

After terrain is set up, you roll randomly to see where on your side's board edge your contingent will deploy. Jenny's Paionians ended up in the Trojan corner while Mike S deployed the Trikkaians in the opposite corner, beyond two fields of crops. Keith deployed Aeneas and his companions not far from Jenny's Paionians. Each hero has a special ability or two, and Odysseus is that he deploys last and places his force anywhere on the board, but not within 6" of an enemy figure. I set up next to the sun-baked, mud brick home, with my two archer companions in good firing positions on the roof. The Trojans muttered something about "cunning Odysseus" and reacted with rage to our ransacking of a Trojan farmer's home. Aeneas' Trojans began racing towards the house in an effort to stop our looting. Meanwhile, I moved Odysseus, with his three Promachoi in a wedge shape in front of him, between the home and the advancing Trojans. Our pair of archer's let fly but missed with both of their shots.

    Meanwhile, Machaon & his Trikkaians race towards the farmer's fields to reinforce Odysseus

There is a definite balance to this game. For every contingent on a side, that many chips of their color are placed in a bag, plus one. They are drawn one at a time, so it may alternate back and forth or it may not, as luck may have it. Once all each contingent on a side has activated on their chip, the final one of their color is a bonus or "Wild Card" activation for them. One Hero or band of companions on that side is chosen get a single action, as opposed to the two they got on their first activation. There are also two "God" chips for each side in the bag. If they are drawn consecutively, one of the Olympian gods appears to help that side (as often happened in The Iliad). The balance in Ilium also extends to the actions that figures can take. Heroes can potentially shoot or melee twice, but Promachoi only once. However, a figure can take an action to "Concentrate" before a shot or strike in melee, giving it a +2 to its 1d10 roll. So, Heroes in contact with enemy have to decide to make one big hit with Concentrate or two slightly weaker ones. Promachoi, only able to attack once, will usually Concentrate before their only attack and have a better chance than otherwise against Heroes.

    The Trojans charge in, with two companions on each side fighting boldly but with neither injured

As the skirmish opened, Aeneas urged his companions to attack the invading Achaeans, and they surged forward, one companion making it into contact. Soon, another Trojan warrior was battling a companion of Odysseus, while Aeneas' two archers were letting fly with their own arrows. Despite having a more difficult shot at the archers above them firing from the roof parapet, the Trojan archers scored the first kill. Undeterred, the surviving Achaean archer slew a Trojan warrior racing forward below him. The battle swung back in favor of the Trojans, as one of Odysseus' Promachoi was slain. Odysseus begins the game with five companions, while Aeneas has six, so the Achaeans were in danger of being outnumbered.

    Both Achaean 'God chips' are drawn consecutively & Poseidon appears to help the Greeks!

Knowing he had to do something, the clever hero sidestepped the Trojan warrior in front of him and hurled his spear at Aeneas, inflicting three wounds on him. Most heroes take between four and eight wounds, Aeneas can take seven (but the gods watch out for him, as you will see!). Aeneas hurled his spear back at Odysseus, but the clever hero spun at the right moment, taking only a graze of a single wound. As Odysseus' blood dripped to the ground, the earth began to shake. All the Heroes and Promachoi cried out in alarm. A massive figure strode forward, taking its place at Odysseus' side. The Earth-shaker, Poseidon, had arrived on the Greek side! Fresh hope and vigor spread through the Achaean ranks. We had drawn our two God chips back to back, and Poseidon replaced one of Odysseus' Promachoi.

    After tossing their deadly short spears, Aeneas & Odysseus close to contact, each inflicting wounds

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battle, Machaon was advancing at the head of his Trikkains. His three archers began moving into the crops, though a Paionian arrow whistled through the air and a Trikkaian archer tumbled to the ground and lay still. Undeterred, the Trikkaian leader raced into contact with one of the Paionian archers and cut him down. However, this left the victorious hero face-to-face with Asteropaios and three of his shield bearers with their huge tower shields. The warriors advanced, hemming Machaon in from three sides. Asteropaios urged his men on, hefting his two spears and waiting for the right moment to hurl them at the sore beset Machaon. One shield bearer charged forward, but the Trikkaian leader struck him down. Two spears flew as the warrior tumbled to the ground, and Machaon was struck wounded by Asteropaios' deadly aim. The other two shield bearers immediately charged from each side, and the leader of the Trikkaians was sore beset!

    After striking down the Trojan opposite him, Poseidon Earth-shaker charges Aeneas, too!

Meanwhile, the Earth-Shaker cut down the Trojan Promachoi in front of him, and raced to Odysseus' side. Together, the two wounded the Trojan prince until he was just one wound away from falling. Just as Odysseus' bronze sword darted in for the fatal blow, clouds swirled around Aeneas. The Achaean hero's strike was deflected by some force. Winds blew dust into Odysseus and Poseidon's eyes as Aphrodite closed her arms around her mortal son and flew him a short distance away, setting him down next to one of his archer companions. Frustrated, Poseidon shouted strong, coarse words to his former lover and fellow Olympian, who smiled and waved her finger tauntingly at him. Poseidon roared in laughter, picking up Odysseus and raced with him towards Aeneas, where they surrounded the Trojan leader, again.

    With the Achaeans winning the fight against the Trojans, the battle shifted to the other flank

Clever hero and towering god struck again, and once again -- just as the blows were about to land -- mists closed in about Aeneas. Aphrodite's musical voice rang out like a clear trumpet, "Fickle Earth-shaker, you will not get my beloved mortal son so easily!" When the mists cleared, Aeneas was nowhere to be seen. The victorious duo heard the clang of bronze on bronze, though, and turned to see their ally, Machaon surrounded. Even though the Trikkaian archers had charged into the rear of the Paionian warriors, their leader was bleeding from many wounds. Odysseus outpaced the Earth-shaker and was the first to land a blow on the Paionian leader. However, Asteropaios Trojan ally struck one final blow on his Trikkaian opponent, but it was deflected by Machaon's shield. As shouting enveloped the duel on all sides, the Paionian leader withdrew from battle. Suddenly the small contingent was surrounded by mighty hosts of Achaens and Trojans. War cries engulfed them from every side. The main forces had arrived, and the Heroes and the Companions withdrew behind their lines, satisfied they'd inspired their respective armies with their displays of prowess.

    Machaon, hero of the Trikkaians, strikes down a Paionian archer who killed one of his men

With the end of Turn Six, the game ended. We scored the match a 3-0 Kleos victory for the Achaeans. However, in consulting online afterward with the rules author, Nick Wright, we discovered that we had done Aeneas' disappearing act incorrectly. He should never retreat off-table when the gods and goddesses rescue him. He is simply picked up and removed to another spot on the baseline 6" away. Oops! I guess our game should have been a 0-0 tie, instead! Although it may sound like he is invulnerable, Keith needed to roll a 7+ on 1d10 for the Olympians to intervene. He was just 2-for-2 in doing so when Aeneas would have suffered a mortal wound! With the other three Heroes surviving (barely, in the case of Asteropaios and Machaon, who each had only one wound remaining), there were no other opportunities for earning Kleos. Had we had one more turn, though, someone would likely have scored!

    Asteropaios & two of his shield bearers close in on the sore beset leader of the Trikkaians

I enjoyed Ilium for a number of reasons. One, I have always been fascinated by Bronze Age warfare. There are not a lot of games set in that period, and even fewer skirmish rules for it. Two, building a force is super easy! The most companions any hero has is six, so you have to paint only seven figures for your contingent. Three, the chip draw makes the game unpredictable. One one glorious turn, the Achaeans drew both their chips and their Wild Card before the Trojans acted. Plus, the potential arrival of the Gods can always throw a monkey wrench in player's plans. And finally, there is decision making to do. When attacked in melee, Companions and Heroes must choose to "block" the enemy strike, which increases the number the enemy must roll to hit, or use their lower Defense number and preserve the ability to do an Opportunity Strike in return. Plus, Heroes can spend one of their two actions to "Gibe" (ridicule, belittle) an opponent, which will give bonus Kleos if they follow up with a strike that kills the enemy. Heroes can also choose to do two normal attacks or one with Concentrate, which gives a +2 to your roll. Lots of clever game play and tactics for the Odysseus inside you! 

    Meanwhile, Poseidon & Odysseus have chased down Aeneas & prepare to strike him down again

We will definitely play Ilium again. So, I foresee at least another 7 miniatures in my "Acquired" tally below, sooner or later! I encourage folks who enjoyed this battle report to pick up the rules either from Nick at Irregular Wars Wargaming or from Wargame Vault. If you liked the sound of this type a game, give it a try -- you might enjoy it, as we did! Thanks to my friends Keith and Mike S for supplying the figures and driving over for a weekday afternoon game.

    Both Machaon & Asteropaios opposite are each down to a single remaining wound, but neither falls!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 210
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 179

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 14
• Terrain painted in 2026: 36

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 34
• Scatter painted in 2026: 75