Advance the Colors 2025 Purchases

 

    This was a landmark year for our chapter's flagship con -- the 30th year of Advance the Colors!

I went into Advance the Colors expecting to spend some money with the vendors we had coming. The fact that I am also the Vendor Coordinator at the convention meant I would also be purchasing items as a "thank you!" to them for attending and supporting our convention. Some of my favorites had booked their dealer tables, too -- at least when it comes to buildings and terrain. And when I received my quarterly profits from sales of our First Command Wargames sales the night before the convention (as well as being paid back by some of the Board members for their polo shirts), it was just like making money in a flea market. I would turn around and spend it in the dealer area...ha, ha!

    A gift from Graham of Graham's Wargame Vault who was visiting from England to attend ATC

My first stop was with one of my favorites, Miniature Building Authority. This was actually my fourth time seeing him at a convention this year. Kirk is such a nice guy and is always so positive about attending conventions that you can't help but want to spend money on his excellent products. I had noticed that his stock of MBA's trademark resin buildings had been going down, and the proportion of 3-D printed ones was going up. I asked him about it and he admitted that it is difficult nowadays to keep the resin ones in stock from his manufacturers overseas and domestic. Since I like both 3-D printed and resin terrain, that is not a problem for me. I would happily buy either!

    One of Miniature Building Authority's newer, 3-D printed buildings that I bought at ATC 2025 

In fact, I picked up three of his newer, 3-D printed buildings at the show. They are modern-style buildings that look like they could be used for just about any place in the world and at anytime in the last century or so. The first one I picked up is called Large Concrete Building. It comes in three pieces -- the ground level with its walls & floors. The second piece includes the ceiling or roof of the first level. It also has one much smaller room, along with the a large floor/balcony. You could put all kinds of things on this balcony from a rooftop garden to clothes lines for laundry, to a little cafe.The third piece is the roof of the 2nd story room. 

    These buildings are modern ones that can be used in a wide variety of locations and settings

The next building I picked up from MBA is called Long Metal Building. This is divided into three rooms, each of which has windows to the outside. There is one door and the building has a detachable roof. Although the vertical panels on the outside face of the building are probably meant to be painted as metal (considering the name), I don't see anything that would keep you from painting them as wood or some other material. It has a flat roof that would be ideal for various scatter, such as air conditioners, vent fans, billboards -- whatever. 

    This Small Metal Garage will be a great addition to my modern or post-apocalyptic games

The last building is the smallest and is called Small Metal Garage Building. It has the same vertical panels that the Long building has, and of course, a wide garage door in addition to a standard door entrance. The garage door is a removable flat piece, as is the roof of the building. Once again, this is a flat topped roof, so there are possibilities of putting scatter on it that will personalize and bring it to life. I really look forward to getting these painted up. I could see them being used in both "first world" and "third world" locations. There are lots of opportunities to modify or jazz up these buildings with paint, scatter, or other items.

    The four Pacific Huts on stilts that were a perfect find at ATC 2025 for my 28mm Vietnam project 

My next stop was at Diabolical Terrain. I am a regular customer of Ron Weaver's, having bought quite a few of his 3-D printed products over the years. So, his stuff is definitely another of my favorites. I had picked up the rest of his Tatooine buildings for my Star Wars games at Historicon, so I was kind of curious what he would bring to Advance the Colors to tempt me. One quick walk through his space and I knew what I was going to buy! Something I had never seen before at his stand at previous shows, were his Pacific Huts on stilts. These look a LOT like my own scratch-built Jungle Huts, though a bit smaller. I virtually let out a whoop when I saw them -- they would be perfect for my Vietnam games! They come disassembled with the stilts needing to be attached to the underside of the buildings. I guess that means you could make a base with the stilts on it, but not attach the building itself to it for flexibility of use. Then you could set the building down onto the stilts or onto your gaming mat for without stilts. I'll glue mine all together, though (except for the detachable roof). The sides of the building are modeled to look like they are woven from cloth or vegetation. All have airy windows and porches, so look perfect for a hot climate. The roof is designed to look like thatch. I picked up W2-PT Pacific Hut #3, W2-PT Pacifi Hut #4, W2-PT Pacific Hut #5, and W2-PT Pacific Hut #6. Essentially, I grabbed all the ones without the railings or screens on the porch. Being for my Vietnam project, these will probably be the first of my purchases that I paint up.

    Huge time-saver over my laborious dowel post and wire weaving method of making a wattle fence!

My final purchase from Diabolical Terrain were some wattle fence sections. Although labeled as Wooden Fence and Wooden Fence (Gate) on the website, these are proper woven wattle fences common in Dark Ages and Medieval Europe. In fact, I scratch built one of these for a small field awhile back. Once I saw these fence sections, I picked one up and walked it over to Ron. I asked him if he knew how much time he saved me by selling these. He chuckled. I plan to paint these up soon, too, as there's nothing keeping me from using these in my Vietnam (or Dark Age, Medieval, or Fantasy) games. Each section is about six inches long and you can use them in a number of configurations -- small pens, large ones, fences abutting a home, etc. 

    I really like the dilapidated and tumbled-down look of this ruined corner of a fortress or walls

Keeping things on the building theme, another of my up and coming favorites to buy 3-D printed buildings or terrain from is Scott Gray of Sword & Scabbard Games. This is the fourth time I have seen his booth at a convention this year. Hailing from nearby Indiana, Scott stocks various 3-D printed items and can always be depended upon to be selling painted armies, as well. I bought a number of things at his booth at ATC because I don't think I did at Historicon. He always carries interesting looking ruins, and I made it a point to get two that caught my eye. The first appears to be the corner of a ruined fortress made of stone or brick. I really like how the pile looks like it is in the process of tumbling down. This will likely see use in my 28mm Fantasy or Dark Age/Medieval battles or skirmishes. 

    The arches give this corner ruin from Sword & Scabbard Games the look of a religious building look

The other ruin looks a little more pristine, as if it has been weathered or possibly even pilfered for stones by residents. The arches give it either a classical era look, or perhaps from a religious building in the Middle Ages. Either way, it is generic enough that it can be used in a variety of settings. Hmm...seems to be a theme of my purchases this year! I like how it is a multi-level piece that figures can climb and use in a skirmish. I realized awhile back that I have a definite lack of these type of pieces, so have been trying to pick up more that have multiple levels that can be climbed by figures in a game.

    2 Medieval looking town buildings that could be used in either fantasy or historical skirmishes

I was intrigued by these next two buildings I picked up from Sword & Scabbard. They look to be a great fit for either a Fantasy, Medieval or Renaissance era town. They have that slightly ramshackle fantasy look, but also the stone and timber of the Middle Ages. Their tiled roofs and steep gables have the proper Middle Ages vibe, and I love the screened windows! I especially like how the one on the left has part of the building set up on pillars overhanging the entrance way. These can join the Duncan House I got from RRB Minis & More for a great start to a medieval or fantasy town setting for skirmishes. The roofs all come off, which is something I insist upon in my purchases anymore. I don't really see the need to buy solid buildings, considering how much of my miniature gaming nowadays is skirmish.  

Dry stone wall sections (& animal pen?) that I couldn't resist picking up from Sword & Scabbard

The final things I got from Sword & Scabbard were some dry stone wall sections that Scott says were meant for Dark Ages or Medieval Scotland. They do have that Celtic look about them, but I think they could be used for 28mm Fantasy, as well. I bought one angled section, as well as one that includes a rounded pen (for sheep?). If I use it as ruins, I don't need to find a gate for the pen. Otherwise, I'll need to find or build something to keep all the sheep from getting out! These will paint up ridiculously quickly, I think, and are generic enough they will doubtless find their way onto many an upcoming battlefield.

    Griffon's Lair carries 6' long 'Scenery Stripes' in a variety of patterns, including these cobblestones

Speaking of stone and towns, I had been eye-balling this purchase the last two conventions! It is a roll of neoprene material printed with a cobblestone street pattern, which I picked up from Griffon's Lair. I finally pulled the trigger at ATC and bought it from them. It is from Deep Cut Studios and includes six feet of cobblestone street pattern, 3.5" wide (9cm) and 2mm thick. It also includes two rounded, half circle sections. Griffon's Lair carries a variety of these "Scenery Stripes," including dirt or tarmac roads, and rivers. The only thing that worries me about them is cutting them to size to use in a game will be permanent. Sure, I can shove the cut sections back together again, but I want to be careful about how I chop up this six foot roll of material!

    After liking how the Dirty Down Rust worked, I look forward to trying out this Moss effect

I was so excited to see Griffon's Lair still had one of their cobblestone rolls left that I forgot to look around at the rest of their booth. While owner Steven Holowienko was ringing me up, I noticed that he also carries the "Dirty Down" line of specialty paint effects. I have a bottle of the rust effect and like it. I noticed that he carried the Moss effect, and since that is something I really don't have a handle on how to paint on my buildings or scenery, I thought I'd pick it up. Maybe I will try it out on some of those dry stone walls that I picked up from Sword & Scabbard? I am sure there are many YouTube videos out about it that give suggestions on how to use it, so I'll likely watch some of them for ideas first. 

    Various metal scatter I picked up from RRB Minis & More (and ONE miniature...)

Last but not least was my visit to my friend Rich Brown and his RRB Minis & More booth. Unfortunately, Rich had been unable to 3-D print the main item I was going to buy from him at ATC. It is another medieval building in the "Duncan House" line that he gave me at Battles at the Brewery. I liked how his photos of it looked and asked him to print it up for me. However, problems with his 3-D printer kep him from getting it done in time. Hopefully, he will have it fixed and readied for me before I see him at Hold the Line convention at Camp Perry, OH, Nov. 14-15. In the meantime, though, I sorted through his scatter metal pieces from the venerable Reviresco line. I have picked up numerous computer monitors and other things for Sci-Fi buildings from him before. This time, I grabbed some things to glue onto various buildings, including vent vans, metal doors, and tube ventilators (pictured above). I did break my vow to buy no more miniatures until after the end of the year when I saw the HWV-24 Power Loader, aka Walking Forklift. This would be perfect for an Aliens scenario, right? Hopefully, the miniature inside looks sufficiently like Sigourney Weaver...ha, ha!

    2 crag pieces that I picked up from RRB Minis & More at the last minute as Rich was ringing me up

As Rich was beginning to ring me up, I looked over and saw some 3-D printed crags on his shelves. I snagged a couple of them to add to my Canyon Rocks and Stacks that I painted earlier this year. Rich hadn't brought most of his 3-D printed stuff because he rented only two tables. He admitted to me later in the show he should have gotten a third table! 

    Tufts I use on my bases -- Dad's Armies carried my favorites, so ATC was a perfect place to restock!

Okay, so I lied. My purchases at RRB Minis & More were not the last! One of the things I did this year as Vendor Coordinator for ATC 2025 was wheel around a rolling cart filled with cold water and snacks every 2-3 hours to the dealers. All of the vendors said they really appreciated the service. It also let me check in with them regularly throughout the weekend. Even if I did not buy something from one of the vendors (we had 12), they knew I appreciated them by my regular visits to their booth. While stopping by Dad's Armies booth, though, I noticed that John carried my favorite type of tufts for miniature bases. I picked up one each of the ones I use the most. 

I'm sure that preparing for Advance the Colors put my painting and terrain making schedule behind. Hopefully, now that it is past, I will get back into the swing of things quickly. I'll do another post with photos from the various games at ATC, but after that, expect to see some more Devilry Afoot figures! Oh, and I have updated my Acquired vs. Painted lists below. I'm sure that the fact that I was significantly ahead in Terrain and Scatter had nothing to do with the fact that most of my purchases at ATC were in those categories! Nothing at all...move along, nothing to see here...!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 289
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 231

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 53
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 61

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 136
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 201