French & Indian War Scatter Terrain

    Everything all together -- the tents, fire rights, and little leather sacks to represent loot

When I decided to recreate the "Skirmish at Jumonville Glen" for the first Ohio History Center game day, I immediately began to think about how to make the game board look nice to museum visitors (and my players, of course!). I wouldn't be able to use any of my showpiece terrain -- the giant, Last of the Mohicans cliffs, the Acheson Creations longhouses, or blockhouses or forts. This was a battle in a rocky, wooded setting. It was essentially an attack on a French camp, so I would have to build that up.

Sure, I had a nice gaming mat, various cool trees, and my really nice (if I must say so) scratch-built rocky ground. I made them long ago using bark mulch pieces which look amazingly like layered sandstone. Still, I wanted more "Wow!" than that, so decided that I needed to make some tents. I did some research and F&I War tents seemed to be very simple triangular ones like you still see in use today. For blanket rolls and bedrolls, I had the three Mantic Games plastic pieces which I posted about awhile back. However, I would need to scratch-build these pieces, as everything else in the "Crystal Peaks Campsite" set is noticeably modern looking.

    The framework of mini dowels and craft sticks in place for each tent, and their paper towel blanket

I started by cutting the bases -- three rectangular pieces of MDF. The upright posts on each end of the tent were done with mini-dowels from the craft store. A hole for them was drilled into the MDF with a pin vice, so they would be strong and stable. For the long horizontal piece sitting atop the poles, I used craft sticks. I used two-part epoxy to attach everything together and keep it as sturdy as craft sticks and mini dowels can be! 

    A look at the blankets and bedrolls cut from paper towel & folded up on the inside of each tent

 Next, I cut a rectangle of paper towel for the blanket on the floor of the tent. I used glue and water to stiffen it, and then craft acrylic paint as a base coat and dry brush. Folded pieces of a paper napkin were used for three sets of blankets on the floor of each tent. I used white glue to attach them to the large blanket on the floor, first. Next, I painted and dry brushed them pale colors like I had the other blankets. Once the interior was done, it was time for the triangular shape of the linen or canvas tent itself. 

I went back and forth over what material to use. I felt cloth or paper towels would have too much texture. Their weave would be jarringly out of scale. Paper or cardboard would be too flat and not have enough texture. I finally decided to go with an ordinary paper napkin that I picked up from a restaurant. It seemed sturdy enough and had a little bit of texture and would look like cloth. I decided that attaching the material would be a 3-stage process. First, I cut the proper width for the tent, but a much longer piece than I would need. I used two-part epoxy to attach one edge to the base. I let it dry thoroughly first before proceeding to stage two. 

    You can see the napkin material held taunt by the dice, allowing the epoxy to affix to the material

Stage two meant dabbing a line of epoxy the to craft stick which was the main overhead support for the tent. I stretched the napkin material tight and set it on the pole, pressing down so the epoxy was absorbed a bit by the material. I stretched the remainder of the material out and weighed it down, so it would stay taunt. I let this dry thoroughly, too. The last step was simply to cut the material to the proper length, dab where it would join the base with a line of white glue, and press it down onto it. I used a paint brush to make sure the glue was properly worked into the paper towel, soaking in. 

The next step was to give the napkin material some strength. After it dried, I sprayed it with clear acrylic spray paint. Once it dried again, I carefully painted the napkin material with a 50/50 mix of white glue and water. Several times during this process, I would carefully use a round paint brush handle to straighten the material. I ran the stick gently on the inside of the tent, from the top peak down each side to where it joined the base. I let it glue dry thoroughly over night.

    Side view of the tents - I like how the paper napkin material I used has a visible, slight texture

All that was left to do at this stage was painting and flocking. I used a light tan ("Wild Rice" craft paint) and dry brushed it white when it was dry. Finally, I used the brown vehicle wash on the sides. Note that I did not need to paint the inside -- the thin napkin material is translucent enough that the color on the outside makes the inside look painted. The last step was to flock the tents and they were done! I felt they turned out okay -- nothing spectacular, but they would certainly add to the look of the table.

I also decided that I wanted to use my flickering LED Fire Markers that I purchased from Bad Goblin Games for campfires. So, I decided to make two campfire rings of stones and simply set the orange plastic flame atop them. I used an appropriately sized circular wooden base, and traced the outline of one of the plastic fires onto it. I then epoxied larger ballast stones in a ring around where the flame would be. I then dry brushed the part of the stones facing the fire black to show they'd be blackened a bit by soot. 

    The ring of stones with the black ballast glued into the center to look like ashes

Inside the stones, I glued in some fine black ballast (maybe used as "coal" by model railroaders?). It gave the center some texture -- I hope it would look like ash underneath the fire. After that, I simply flocked the area outside the stones with Woodland Scenics Earth Ballast and patches of Blended Green for grass. These were super-simple to create, but once the flickering LED is set atop them, they add that extra bit to the diorama quality of the tabletop. I've really begun trying to use more flickering LEDs in my games where appropriate. Why not? They make your table stand out even more!

    Here you can see the dry brushing that gave the fire rings a soot-blackened look (hopefully)

The tents and campfires were used in my Jumonville Glen game, and all of my players (and some of the museum staff) commented on how nice the setup looked. I created them specifically for this game, but now would have on hand for many other miniatures scenarios. The next public game of Song of Drums and Tomahawks I'd be running was less than a week later, at Battles at the Brewery. I had committed to run a F&I War scenario for this game day for the Chillicothe Area Wargaming Group. However, I ended up having to attend a funeral on that same day. Luckily, Jason Stelzer could sub in for me. Jenny and I would drive down to Fifty West Brewing in Chillicothe, set up the game, and Jason would show up and run it.

    The campfire rings of stones with their soot-blackened edges & Bad Goblin Games LED flames

I decided to use my "Interrupted Raid" scenario, which I had run numerous times at conventions through the years. It features a group of Rogers Rangers who linger too long in their looting of a Huron village that they raided. The men of the village return from their hunting expedition, trapping the rangers inside the palisade. Loaded down with loot, the rangers need to fight their way out! In the scenario, each ranger is considered "Slow" (can move only once per turn) as long as they carry their loot. They can drop it at any time, though, and move normally. I needed some sort of marker to show whether a ranger was loaded down or not. 

In the past, I have simply used black pom poms from craft stores (or "poof balls," as I call them!). However, this is in a public place -- poof balls aren't good enough for that! I remembered that my friend Tim Peaslee had long ago given me a bunch of plaster leather sacks cast out of dental plaster as part of the Hirst Arts line. I dug them out and they were indeed small enough to fit on the base of each 28mm figure. Why not? The game was in a few days! Plenty of time, right??

    Close up of the plaster sacks that I painted up and got ready for my 'Interrupted Raid' scenario

I glued the sacks to a piece of cardboard with white glue, and then spray primed them with Krylon Fusion matte black. I went over that once it was dry with a 50/50 mix of black paint and water, to make sure the color had seeped into every crevice. Next, I did a wet brush of Camo Brown followed by a highlight of Leather. The straps tying each sack closed were painted in the Wild Rice light tan. Once dry, they received a final brown vehicle wash.

The last step was to pop all of the sacks off their cardboard, exposing their white plaster bottom. I used some gray tack to turn each upside down, exposing their white plaster bottoms, and hold them in place. I painted the bottom of each sack black, finishing them off. I think the sacks look great, and I will also be able to use them as scatter in many games to come, too. They were finished off on Friday -- the day before the game! My only regret is that I did not get a chance to see them on the figures while the game was in progress.

So, there we go! Some more F&I Was scatter to likely be used in other periods, as well! 

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 288
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 194

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 40
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 61

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 115
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 184

Purchases from 'Battles at the Brewery'

    3-story testament to RRB Minis & More's generosity -- the 28mm Duncan House awarded as a prize!

I didn't attend Battles at the Brewery, put on by the Chillicothe Area War Gaming group, expecting to buy anything. However, my friend Rich Brown of RRB Minis & More was there. He'd made the more than three hour drive from his home in northeast Ohio to Chillicothe to set up his vendor table and run some demo games for a one-day event. My own game that I was planning to run was game mastered by Jason Stelzer instead of me. A funeral ended up being scheduled on the same day, so I came at the beginning to set it up and after the funeral to tear it down. While there, I decided to shop at Rich's table. 

    RRB Minis & More's 'Duncan House' is a Medieval tower house - each level & roof comes apart

First things first, Rich had generously awarded me a prize for entering a scenario contest on his website. It was the Duncan House -- a 3-D printed medieval tower home. This three story building is actually also the setting for the scenario I submitted. A medieval noble has kidnapped a noble lady and spirited her away to the upper floor of the Duncan House. Her father offers a hefty reward for her return. The other players try to batter their way into the house and up to the top floor to rescue her.

    Pictures of the interiors of each level (with door choices taped in) -- 1st Floor = Ground Floor

The Duncan House is a really cool design, with a wider section on the second floor and narrower sections on the ground and top floor. The design is late medieval, it appears, but honestly considering the number of medieval buildings still surviving in Europe, it could be used for a number of periods in the historical sections of towns. I'm looking forward to painting this one up and possibly using it for skirmish games (maybe some Sellswords & Spellslingers set in a town?).

    Since the Duncan House was a prize, I bought this 3-D printed, 4-story Medieval Watchtower

Perhaps because I won that building at no cost, it tipped the scale for me to purchase the 3-D printed Medieval Watchtower he'd brought along. Like the Duncan House, it disassembles by floor and is also three stories tall. The only modification I want to do is figure out some way to have my figures magnetic bases stick to the stairs leading up to the front door. I don't know whether to imbed magnets in the 3-D printed material, glue tiny pieces of metal, or coat it with ferrous paint. Honestly, I don't think I have anymore of that paint left, and it would seem a bit much to buy a jar of it for just for that!

    Interiors of the Medieval Watchtower with some of my 28mm Orcs storming the building

What else did I buy? I picked up one of his 3-D printed Pod Habitats that I use for my Sci-Fi skirmishes. It is his "Extra Large" version, but for me, it is a small home compared to my other Sci-Fi buildings. Still, I keep slowly building up my collection of them so that I can cover more and more of the table with suitably Sci-Fi buildings! 

    Very cool 3-D printed Sci-Fi piece that I will use as a landing pad in my skirmish games

Another Sci-Fi terrain items I picked up was the landing pad (at least that's what I'm calling it). It has stairs leading up to the top surface and would be a perfect place to put a small shuttle or spaceship on for a scenario. The top surface comes off, but I can't see any reason to have anything underneath it. So, I will probably glue it in place and paint it solid state. 

    The surface of the landing pad pops off and there is a printed interior 'control room', as well

The final thing I picked up from Rich was a printed copy of David Bezio's "Saddle Bum" rules. I am thinking of using these for a hillbilly trailer park battle, even though they were designed for a Western game. I figure the three firearms in the rules -- pistol, shotgun, and rifle -- fit perfectly for the trailer park vibe. Of course, I don't have hillbilly figures for such a scenario, but when has that ever stopped us from buying an interesting rule book? Rich loves these rules and all of David Bezio's adaptions for them, including black powder (Frizzen Bum) and Medieval (Chivalrous Bum). In fact, my winning scenario (actually tied for 1st place -- Rich gave both of us the prize!) uses the Chivalrous Bum rules. Jenny and I played them at Drums at the Rapids this past May. It was using those rules that I proved I can roll a statistically astounding series of "6's" on 1d6 after the game was well out of hand and I was going to lose...! 

    A picture of the 'Extra Large' 3-D printed Habitat dome that I picked up from RRB Minis, as well

Anyway, the organizer of Battles at the Brewery, Art Nickles, said it was a success and was pleased with the turnout. All of the games had players and were able to get under way, and folks were still gaming when I returned around 5:15pm. I helped Jason pack up my Song of Drums and Tomahawks game, had dinner and a beer at Fifty West, and then did my shopping from Rich's table. So, even though I didn't get to GM or play, I still got to experience a bit of the game day!

    I was scheduled to run a 'Song of Drums & Tomahawks' game, but Jason Stelzer stepped in for me

So, what is on my painting desk right now? The two warlord stands for the Advance the Colors Saga tournaments are almost done. That's six fancy figures who will be positioned, three-each, on a circular 60mm stand. Well underway, also, on the table are my first 28mm Gripping Beast metal goblins. The skin and base coat of the clothes is complete on them. So, they should be finished in the coming week, too. I also have another update on a couple quick pieces of scatter terrain that I completed for the two games of Song of Drums and Tomahawks that were run at the museum and Battles at the Brewery. You know me -- there's always one more tweak I want to add to the tabletop to ramp up its look. So, look for a post next week on those, as well!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 288
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 194

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 40
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 61

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

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

Rookie Superheros Put to the Test in the Danger Room

 

   Tom, right, looks over the terrain assembled at his request for the 4 different Danger Rooms

My friend Tom began running a superhero campaign set in 2025's misinformed, hate-filled world. Each player created a younger rookie and an older, experienced superhero (who really wants to retire -- partially because the Fake News being spread about the evil doings of superheros). We've played a couple times before with the old dudes. This past Sunday was our first with the rookies. Led by a couple of experienced heroes, we would be put to the test in our HQ's (we still haven't agreed on a name for our group...ha, ha!) Danger Room.

    Dark Crusader leads the way as their team of three explores the Jungle Room, looking for a way out

Tom is using a rules set called One Dice Supers, which I am honestly not too crazy about. For a supposedly simplistic rules set (one dice and all...), it clocks in at more than 130 pages! Most of that is all about character creation and weaknesses, and (honestly) role-playing stuff. I'm convinced Tom is secretly trying to tug us back into role-playing, which is something we quit as a group a long time ago (but Tom still does with other friend groups). Though if you really think about it, what is the difference between a role-playing game and a small skirmish? We had this discussion on Lead Adventure Forum, but back in my teens when my friends and I (Tom, Joel, and Allen were all in that group, too) played D&D, we were really playing a skirmish game. We weren't acting things out or problem solving -- we were just kicking in doors and slaying monsters!

    In the Lava Room, the unnamed Robot moves precariously across a bridge as Iron Duke flies by

So, in addition to putting our rookie superheros to the test, Tom put Keith and I to the test with his last-minute terrain requirements. We'd known for weeks he wanted a Lava Room, Ice Cave, Jungle Room, and Urban Area. Keith and I split it up and I said that I would bring the Jungle (easy with all my Vietnam stuff) and the Lava (which I had from our Reign in Hell games). However, the morning of the game, Tom sent out a supplemental list of things that belonged inside said rooms. And it was a LOT! By the time I got home from the Ohio History Center game and pizza with Jenny, Keith was fuming as he tore apart his basement looking for everything on Tom's list. It all worked out in the end, but we admonished Tom that he needs to let us know earlier. And that we'd probably host future games of Supers at Keith's rather than the usual Wallace's "Brewpub!" 

    Our trio of heroes (or mentor & 2 rookies) KO's a dinosaur that sprang out at us from the jungle

I got to Wallace's a little early and had my half of the table set up before the others arrived. Tom was impressed, and remarked that we have convention quality games every Sunday night. I thanked him, but said it is more of a matter of collecting stuff, and always looking to upgrade or tweak your presentation. We helped Keith bring his stuff in when he arrived, and soon the Danger Room was ready for our test. Actually, the reason that two old timers were "mentoring" us was because both Keith and Allen had lost their sheets with their rookies and couldn't find them...ha, ha! And since character creation takes so long,  Tom jumped at Joel's "mentor" suggestion!

    Badger & the monk fight off the next ambush, as 2 raptors spring upon us this time

Wallace's Shaolin monk (unnamed), my rookie Dark Crusader, and Keith's bully-boy Badger were off to the Jungle Room while Tom sent Allen's senior hero Rabbi (yes, that is his name) with Joel's Robot (ditto) and Stelzer's Iron Duke (thankfully...a real hero name!). As you can probably tell from the above, I'm not 100% sure Tom is satisfied with the "buy in" from some of the players! The goal for Dark Crusader, Badger, and the Unnamed Monk was too simply find the way out of the Jungle. We started in the center atop a flat-roofed temple, and there appeared to be a door in each corner of the room, which was overgrown with jungle foliage and crumbling Southeast Asian temple ruins. I thought my 2'x2' jungle part of the table looked really nice. It was fun to get the aquarium decorations I had flocked up on the table again. 

    Another look at the four different Danger Rooms -- Lava, Jungle, Ice Cavern & Urban area

We quickly found out that most of the doors were the wrong ones and led only back into the room. We also discovered carnivorous dinosaurs who ambushed us from the cover of the jungle. Dark Crusader was sorely disappointed that the dinosaurs were immune to his camouflage cloak and shadow invisibility. Still, we dispatched all of the dinos fairly easily, although the monk was down to just one health point left when we found the exit. As we left the jungle and entered the control room, all wounds disappeared -- it was actually all a clever virtual reality or simulation, our rookies discovered. 

    The bridge crossings get more precarious for Robot, while his teammates simply fly past them

We exchanged stories with the other rookies, Robot and Iron Duke. Apparently, their Lava Room had precarious ladders leading from rocky outcrop to outcrop. Their goal was to cross to the opposite corner, avoiding lava bombs and to keep from slipping and falling into the lava. Except, both Rabbi and Iron Duke had the flight ability! They could have simply flown to the other corner, dodging the intermittent lava bombs along the way. However, poor Robot -- in addition to not having a name -- was too heavy to carry (Tom said) and had to pick his way carefully along the precarious, burning ladders. In a solid show of teamwork, the others flew ladders into position for him and he eventually made it to the goal.

    The final door -- HAD to be the correct one -- was guarded by a trio of dinosaurs, which we took out

Tom put us all together in the urban area for our final mission. Terrorists had taken hostages and were threatening to kill them. They began the game hidden in the buildings, and one particularly sneaky one was disguised as an innocent civilian in the park. The team quickly sprinted into action. As we arrived, some of the terrorists opened up on us with gunfire. This was more up Dark Crusader's alley, as he sprinted across the street and dove through the first story window. The others asked me why I didn't go through the door. I said that it could have been locked or barred, plus this allowed me to surprise any bad guys waiting behind the door! My bad guy turned out to be on the next floor up, though, and Dark Crusader dashed up the stairs, used his powers to hide in the stairwell while locating the enemy. Then he heroically sprinted forward to take out the terrorist. It took two attacks to put him down, though, since he was wearing body armor.

    Back on solid ground, the luckless Robot moves towards a terrorist firing at him from a building

Meanwhile, my companions were making short work of the terrorists they encountered -- except for poor, heavy, nameless Robot. He was riddled with automatic weapon fire and fell to the pavement, sparking, fluids leaking, and looking like his new name should be "D-CEASED!" Rabbi tried to help him out, but was distracted when a terrorist emerged from a building with a gun to the head of a civilian woman. As Dark Crusader climbed down the walls of the building (another ability of his), he shouted for the others who had ranged attacks to take him out quickly. 

    A blur of motion, Dark Crusader rushes a terrorist in the 2nd story window, taking him down

Rabbi threw some of Yahweh's wrath at the terrorist, Iron Duke missed, and the terrorist was still standing. POW! Down went the civilian. Click! On went the lights of the Danger Room. We'd lost that mission. We were 2-1 for the evening. After that failure, would the veterans approve our entry into the superhero group to help replace the retiring members? My guess is Yes -- otherwise, we'd have to generate new characters from that 135-page rule book! Ha, ha!!

I think we are s-l-o-w-l-y starting to get the hang of the rules. The big schtick of the rules is that each hero (or villain) has a store of "Stunt Points" for the game. You can use them to do a number of very beneficial things, including nullify damage done to your character. That's what we typically have used them for, so far. However, we began to branch out a bit tonight and used 2 points for a second attack, for example. It would have been a really good idea if someone with a ranged attack had thought of using stunt points against the terrorist with the gun to the woman's head. Dark Crusader is just saying...

    Should a 'Quick and easy' game run to more than 130 pages? I wonder...

Otherwise, characters have stats in a number of abilities, which are them multiplied or manipulated to give your other stats. Your equipment can add to stats, too. For example, when Dark Crusader attacks, he uses his base Strength (3), adds in his Melee skill of 1 (representing a Daredevil-like billy club), then adds the roll of 1d6. You knew that die roll was coming in somewhere, being "One Dice" Supers and all! You need to exceed the Defense of the character you are attacking. For example, Dark Crusader's Defense is a "9". Badger's is a 12 (which prompted Tom to take Keith's sheet and check his math). Obviously, some weapons add to the damage you inflict, allowing you to get through guys with really thick heads...like Badger!

Anyway, Tom has been easing us in to this campaign, giving us relatively easy missions to start us off. So far, other than the incident with the woman hostage, we've overcome our opposition fairly easily. Who knows what Tom has in store for us next time, though? Hopefully, he gives us a little warning about his terrain requirements this time...! 

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 288
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 194

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 36
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 61

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 288
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 194

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 36
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 61

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

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

Orc Archers from Warhost Added to 'Horde'

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 288
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 194

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 36
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 61

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

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