What If There was a 2nd Edgehill in the English Civil War?

    Battle is joined between Royalists & Parliamentarians in a hypothetical English Civil War fight

My friend Mike S and his son Jason are really getting into the English Civil War in 28mm, lately. They've been shuttling boxes and boxes of troops to the prolific Ted Bender to be painted, then Mike (being retired), bases and flocks them for his son. Last year, Jason ran ECW games at both Origins Game Fair 2025 and Advance the Colors 2025. Folks who played in them seemed to enjoy it very much. We had play tested his Battle of the Severn scenario last year, but Jason wanted to run an even bigger game for us on Sunday evening.

    I expanded the table to 12' width and threw down my 2 six-foot fleece mats for Battle of Edgehill II 

I expanded my gaming table to its full 12' width and Jason set up four commands per side. The battle was a hypothetical one, postulating the two sides actually meeting for battle rather than maneuvering and then one force dissolving. We would fight it near the well-known Battle of Edgehill (it is well known because I have actually heard of it, not being a ECW buff...ha, ha!). So, it was the 2nd Battle of Edgehill in Jason's alternative and more interesting take on history.

    My command of five units of 'Trotters' -- units of horse that primarily fire their pistol when fighting

I was given the far left cavalry wing of the Parliamentarian army (which historically dissolved without striking a blow against the reborn Royalists). I had five units of six figures -- all of a type of horse known as Trotters. Our way of fighting would be to shoot our pistols at the bigger, meaner, and nastier five units of Gallopers deployed across from us. Mike S commanded them, and his tactic would be to charge in and force the engagement at sword point, which his troops were significantly better at than mine. We were using "Pikemen's Lament" -- the English Civil War rules set in the "Rampant" system by Daniel Mersey. 

    Closeup of Jason's English Civil War figures -- one of my Trotters looking foolishly confident!

To say that we enjoy his series of rules would probably be an understatement -- as any regular reader of Lead Legionaries could tell. This is the fourth of his series we've played in in February and March alone. We've done Dragon Rampant fantasy several times this year, played an American War of Independence game with Rebels and Patriots, used the Sci-Fi Xenos Rampant rules for a Vietnam convoy ambush, and now sicked mean old Gallopers on poor hapless Trotters in Pikemen's Lament. I told the guys that if we were real gluttons for punishment, we should try to sneak in another game of Medieval Lion Rampant and Colonial The Men Who Would be Kings! Not because the rules aren't good, but because each is slightly different and it is sometimes a challenge remembering what the tweaks are for the rules set you're playing. In fact, one player apologized in an email the day after the game for "cheating" and misplaying a rule. Turned out he had actually done it right -- he as confusing the game with Xenos!

    Our enemy on the left wing -- Mike's 5 Galloper units (2 of which cheated by wearing more armor!)

To my right, my Parliamentarian partner, Allen, would be trying to hold off the assault of Jenny's "forlorn hope" and more on his gun emplacement. Allen's mission was simpler than mine -- shoot the attackers down and maintain control of his fortifications. Jenny advanced fairly boldly across the field and the two were quickly exchanging shots. Each traded deadly blows. Keith led our center, and was marching across the field to drive Tom's Royalist scum from the field. Both commanded traditional pike and shot formations that were the bulk of the infantry in this war. Jason has each pike block of 12 figures flanked on either side by two shot units, also of a dozen figures. On the far right, Mike W -- recently returned from snowbirding in Portugal -- commanded a mixed infantry and cavalry force against Joel's force or mean, nasty Gallopers.

    To my right, the gun emplacement my fellow Parliamentarian Allen had sworn to hold against Jenny

As the battle opened, I quickly began to realize my five units were undermatched against Mike's five cavalry squadrons. You may have realized that already, though, with my emphasis on how big and nasty they were and how poor and hapless we were...ha, ha! So, I began to do what any flank commander would do when he feels he's overmatched. I began to swing my forces backwards to refuse our left flank. I was hoping Mike would fail some activation rolls and that his solid line of horse would become broken up and attack me piecemeal. Lately, Mike and I have been razzing each other about whose die rolling has been worse. In our DR! games, he has been the clear winner. However, tonight was his night to make up for the last several months of below average dice rolling! Mike did not fail an activation and kept closing with my troops in a solid line. No chance of ganging up, or shooting up an overextended squadron.

    Fearing tyranny of Royalists & the deadly 'maths' in their favor, my horse swing to refuse our flank

Jason insisted that the Caracole was my Trotter's advantage. Under this rule, we can move half of our distance and shoot at the enemy. Then, for the same activation, he said, we can charge in after the shot -- essentially striking twice (but in melee we'd roll only half our normal dice). I pointed out to him that his cavalry hit on a 4+ on each of their 12d6 they would roll in melee, while we hit on only 5+. Plus, two of his units were armored and would require 4 hits on to produce a casualty, while mine needed only 3 to lose a figure. Jason countered, "But you're rolling 18 dice to his 12." I kind of felt like I was in Spinal Tap and being told, "This one goes to 11...", but I decided to gamely spring our Caracole advantage on Mike.

    We deploy our advantage, the Caracole formation, the Royalist wall of horse seems unimpressed

One other disadvantage our Trotters had, we were slower than the Gallopers. So, to get within shooting range, we had to come within their charge range. I decided to give it a go and two units trotted forward, daintily deployed their pistols as they rode around in a fancy formation giving each man a chance to shoot. One unit scored a single hit while the other scored none. Hey, I was rolling Mike's normal dice! Jason tried to talk me into charging in, but I saw another special ability he had added to the rules for my Trotters. We could roll a 7+ when charged and shoot at an enemy charging us. No thank you, we simpered daintily, and formed back into ranks ready to receive our inevitable counterthrust. 

    Royalist Tom also seems unconcerned by the massive line of pike and shot Keith is hurling at him

Mike did not disappoint and both units within range passed its activation test and crashed into my Trotters. Jason's "Stand to Receive" tweak to the rules meant we got to roll 18 dice, well...kind of. Once again, we fired with a roll of 12 (or was it 6?), and then fought in melee with 6 (or was it 12?). Either way, we did NOT cause more casualties than the mean, nasty Gallopers, despite rolling 50% more dice. Things were shaping up like I thought they might, not helped by the fact Mike was rolling very well and I was rolling very bad. Several times over the first few turns, I rolled 12 dice and scored only a single "5" or "6", causing zero casualties. The Gallopers began to steadily wear down the Trotters.

    Ack! More Royalist Gallopers! These are Joel's command on the opposite side of the battle

Meanwhile, after an initial deadly blast of fire, Jenny was beginning to win the shooting exchange, despite the bonus Allen received from his emplacement. She was able to get her forlorn hope into charge range and swarmed across the gabions, destroying one of Allen's units. His left-most gun was flanked and charged by another of her units, and things were looking grim for Allen's ability to hold his fortifications. Further down the line, Keith was advancing steadily towards Tom, but sent a unit or two to attack Jenny's troops, as well. Tom cleverly did not fire on Keith until he came within 12", not wasting his +1 initial fire on a long-range shot. This shattered Keith's line and sent him reeling back. On the far right, though, Mike W seemed to be holding his own against Joel. He had some enclosed fields to use as cover and obstacles and his shooting seemed to be wearing down Joel's Gallopers.

    My Trotter's numbers are dwindling, but we gamely Caracole on, but it still isn't working...!

There was a point, late in the game, when I looked at my left wing and didn't feel so bad. Mike and I had three units left, two having fled the field. Was I really giving as well as I was receiving? It was smoke and mirrors, as all three of my units were half strength or under, while Mike had one full-strength armored unit of Gallopers. I felt I had one chance, though. I could Caracole his weakest unit with two of my smaller ones. If he failed his morale test, his command would fall below half and all units would have to take morale checks. It was not to be, though. I failed two of three activation rolls, and could do nothing but sit there and take it on his next turn. After Mike's counterstrike, my entire command was dead or fled the field. 

    The center pike & shot blocks controlled by Keith and Tom begin to close to perhaps decide the fray

Shortly after we finished, the other opponents began to add up how things were going. As it turned out, the Parliamentarians lost three of four sectors of the battlefield. Only Mike W had stymied Joel's attack and driven him back with greater losses. We had lost decisively. Long live the King, I guess...ha, ha! After the game, I pointed out to Jason how the odds were truly stacked against the Parliamentarian Trotters. He agreed, and has a tweak in mind for next time he runs it. As with all Mersey rules, it was a fun, quick game. We all picked up the Pikemen's Lament version of the rules quickly. Jason had designed a clever, asymmetrical scenario. It should be interesting to see how it plays out again.

    The end phase of the battle on the left wing with more Royalist cavalry (left) than Parliamentarians

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 159
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 52

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 3
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 21

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 16
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 48

Cincycon 2016 Purchases

    One of my Cincycon purchases, the Catrine House, from RRB Minis & More

Cincycon is usually my first convention of the year. Fortunately for me, it falls near my birthday, so I can rationalize some "birthday presents" to myself when I visit the various vendors at the show. I showed up with a number of things on my shopping list, which I duly typed into the Notes section of my iPhone. And then promptly forgot to check it...!

    These excellent 3-D printed buildings from RRB Minis & More are STLs from Dadi Dungeon

The biggest purchases in both size and money spent were the 3-D printed buildings I was picking up from Rich of RRB Minis & More. I ended up coming home with three new medieval town buildings -- two roughly 3-4 story ones and another that was 1-story. Rich's prints are always nice and his prices simply can't be beat. The first building was the Catrine House, which is the sister of the Duncan House that I painted up earlier this year. If anything, it is even more cool and elaborately designed. I also picked up a building titled simply "Merchant's House" by Dadi Dungeon & Dintorni. Like the Duncan House, it is from the Ferisia City line. If you check out that line and see something that you like, Rich has the STLs and can sell you any of the buildings from the line. Merchant's House is also a 3-4-story one with window galleries and other cool features.

    Rich talked me into buying this 'Merchant House' from the Ferisia line - a gorgeous model!

The final building of the three was called Merchant Store B. It is a simpler, one-story building but with a unique feature. It has an attached outdoor, roofed section with long counters for the family to sell their wares from the exterior of the home. I don't want every building in my medieval town to be 4-story medieval skyscrapers. This one still fits in well with the others, but is simpler. I actually ordered two more buildings from him, but through no fault of his own, he did not receive the STLs from the Kickstarter until the day he was leaving for Cincycon. I'll likely pick them up in April from him at either DayCon or Little Wars. I look forward to painting up all three of these buildings.

    Winged Insectoid alien & heavy weapons pack I'll use for Sci-Fi terrain from JS Wargamer Printing

The next "big thing" I was looking to pick up at Cincycon were big alien monsters for use with the Majestic 13 solo/coop rules from Snarling Badger Studios. One of these I found at JS Wargamer Printing that was in his line of movie monsters. It is a very large, insectoid creature (Megagirus) that will fit perfectly as an opponent for my Critter Control team. I also picked up a pack of some miscellaneous Sci-Fi heavy weapons which I will make turrets or other scenery with for my Star Wars games. The pack is meant as an add-on pack for his 3-D printed mechs or futuristic tanks, but the guns and such will work perfectly as installation defenses in my skirmish games. 

    3-D printed Jawas from Big Mr Tong that John at JS Wargamer Printing had waiting for me...

I had also pre-ordered a pack of Star Wars Jawas from him. They are STLs from Big Mr Tong and will be fun to paint up. They will also likely find their way into a scenario for our skirmishes using Space Weirdos rules. Jawas are one of those iconic Star Wars races that are part comic, part atmospheric. Not as cartoonish as the Teddy Bear-like Ewoks, but still instantly recognizable with their hooded faces and somewhat sinister appearance. If there are any Big Mr Tong or other Star Wars figures you need, John at JS Wargamer Printing can print them off for you very affordably.

    From one of the Star Wars games, these pre-printed plastic figures will work fine as big, nasty aliens!

In my search for big alien monsters, I found about a half dozen more, some in flea markets, others in the bargain bins of vendors. Two that I picked up from the flea market are actually pre-painted plastic models from one of the various Star Wars lines issued through the years. One is called a "Reek" and the other an "Acklay" -- whatever those are. I am not as steeped in the "Lore" as the folks at Wookiepedia or anything! Bing already painted fairly well, all that I will have to do is perhaps a wash and then flock the base. They'll be ready to take on Boone MacDonald and his buddies defending Earth from alien invasion.

    3 aliens that I will have to paint up to be monsters for Critter Control to fight in 'Majestic 13' games

Some others I picked up will require painting and even conversion work, but I'm happy that I now have them. I think that counting the stuff I already have, I can more than cover any other missions I game out this year with Majestic 13. One of the vendors I picked them up from also carried Iron Wind Metals paints. I am almost completely out of their Steel color, and I was able to snag two bottles of it! That should cover me for at least the rest of the year, and hopefully more!

    I wanted more wagons as scatter for my medieval town from A Critical Hit & picked up these three

Inevitably, I made some purchases of 3-D printed scatter from A Critical Hit. Talking to the owner, I was happy to hear that the family's possible move to Seattle did not happen and they will stay in the Midwest area (they're from Indianapolis). So, I can look forward to seeing them at least a couple times a year at various conventions. On my list of purchases were more of the two wheeled carts that I painted awhile back. She had only two in stock, but I also picked up a four wheel wagon to go along with it. I was actually VERY restrained at her booth this time around. I think that the only other things I purchased were 8 tiny rats (real scale -- not giant ones), and a wheelbarrow to have laying around in my cityscape near a market, perhaps. Somehow, though, a tiny bin full of carpenter's tools also found its way into my purchases, though I have no memory of putting it in there!

    I was VERY restrained at A Critical Hit's booth and picked up a fraction of what I usually do!

In addition, I found a couple bigger pieces in A Critical Hit's bins that I felt could be used for aliens for Majestic 13. One is of a spider like creature with crystals growing from its abdomen. This was printed in colored material so won't need to be painted at all. Its legs are multiple pieces and are secured and strung by a string or something so are flexible. It has bright eyes and is meant to look "cute," I think. However, that is genetically impossible for any spider-like creature! Ha, ha!! The final piece is printed in a dark green material and is honestly hard to figure out. I probably will need to paint some of it black so that the green parts "pop" a bit more. Either way, two more aliens for Critter Control to hopefully defeat!

    More aliens for Majestic 13 -- the spider-thi8ng on the left is pretty much ready for the tabletop

The last thing I purchased at Cincycon was from my friend Dave E. He had a box that I eyeballed half a dozen times at World at War 2025, but decided not to pull the trigger, so to speak. It contained three packs of unpainted Splintered Light Miniatures anthropomorphic animals. They were three, bigger "hero" packs, I believe, and would fit in well with the Splintered Light figs that I already have painted up. Actually, some I actually likely already have! As part of the package deal, he threw in a 3-D printed 28mm orc village (I believe), consisting of one more elaborate chieftain's hut and four others. Finally, he included the Ganesha Games Song of the Splintered Land stand-alone supplement to Song of Blades and Heroes. I don't have that one in my collection, and since the package deal was a bargain even without the rules, decided to finally pick them all up from him this time...haha! The sheer number of essentially 15mm-sized figs skews my Acquired vs. Painted totals to Hell and back, but I really do enjoy their anthropomorphic animals.

    Pics from the Splintered Light website of some of the figs I bought from Dave -- unpainted, though!

I've updated my statistics below, with the unpainted miniatures taking the biggest hit, as I mentioned. I had begun to climb back closer to even after my Gringo 40s and Warhost Elves purchases, but that goal is receding even further from sight! I have no doubt that I will eventually draw even by the end of the year. However, convention season is always the worse time for my totals. I like to support the vendors who show up to support our hobby. I figure as long as my totals balance out by the end of the year, I can splurge a little once in awhile. Besides, in the famous words of Gollum, "It's my birthday present...!"

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 159
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 52

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 3
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 21

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 16
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 48

Running Surviving 'Nam at Cincycon

    A rural village in Vietnam is about to have its peace shattered as U.S. soldiers arrive at left 

I signed up to run my 28mm Vietnam miniatures game, Surviving 'Nam, twice at Cincycon -- a yearly all-genre game convention in Cincinnati. Both games filled up, so I had a full table on Friday night and Saturday morning. All of my players said they enjoyed themselves and felt the rules worked well. I was also really happy with how the terrain looked and I got lots of nice comments from passers by about it.

My setup at Cincycon 2026 with stat cards for each soldier & table set up for 'Check out the Hooches'

I had adjusted the setup for the scenario slightly to incorporate some of my new terrain. Still, the mission for the three U.S. fire teams and command element remained the same: proceed from their board edge to a pair of huts about three quarters of the way across the table. They would "Search the Hooches" (scenario name) elevated huts on stilts for signs of Viet Cong contraband. Then they would continue and exit off the closest board edge. There is always a chance the "Colonel on the Horn" event card could be drawn and alter the mission. If it comes up, players roll 1d6 to determine which of the six possible orders comes down. These can either help or hinder their mission. On Friday night, the battalion colonel told the lieutenant in charge that another squad being hit was priority and and he'd just have to suck it up without artillery fire missions for awhile. On Saturday, the colonel told them to abort the mission and withdraw off their entry edge with all of their wounded. 

    Another look at the village & jungle huts that would have to be searched by the U.S. soldiers

Both times the card had an effect on play, in one case hindering the players, and on Saturday helping them as they were getting quite bogged down with no progress towards the huts. One of the things I like about the use of event cards and 20-sided dice to activate the player's forces is the randomness it provides to missions. Many of the event cards call for an immediate reshuffle of the deck, which means some cards may never appear in the game and others may come up more often. For example, on Friday the "Bunker!" card never was drawn as a result of player's failures to activate. So, that group never had to face the most deadly and hardest-to-kill V.C. weapon in the game. On Saturday, it came up early and took a considerable effort on the part of the Americans to finally reduce the bunker and kill the machine gun team inside.

    U.S. soldiers approach the village while staying in cover of the surrounding jungle

Both groups of Americans suffered losses, but not devastating ones. They both completed their missions, albeit Saturday's mission was altered by the colonel to be significantly easier! The players picked up the rules quickly on both days and were able to calculate the rolls they needed to hit V.C. or avoid their return fire. The spiraling activation system, with each player activating one figure in turn until all five of their soldiers had gone, kept things moving along and engaged all the players. In Surviving 'Nam, the V.C. don't technically have a "turn." An event card is flipped for each failed activation roll by the players. That is when V.C. on table will activate or new ones will arrive. The random shuffling of the deck and the player's streaky success (or lack of) gives each scenario a unique flow. Sometimes, all Hell seems to be breaking loose and their are multiple enemies popping up and firing at them all across the board. At other times, the guerrillas' attacks are less coordinated, and they appear and fire in a more piecemeal (and easier to deal with) fashion.

    My Friday night players move onto the board in the 'Countdown to Contact' phase before VC arrival

I'm encouraged that many of my players inquire about when the rules will be available for purchase, with one on Saturday even offering to pay in advance! I do have occasional players comment that their particular game or mission felt "easy" and they were able to deal with the threats. Typically, I point point out the losses their squad suffered are very similar to patrols that made contact with the enemy. The V.C. losses are somewhat abstracted, though. Even though I may say during a game that a V.C. figure is "dead," the Out of Action result can represent several things. Perhaps that V.C. was wounded, and is then carried off board by a comrade? For game effects, those two are "out of action" and won't return to the fight. Perhaps a V.C. lost his nerve and fled the fight? Along with actual killed enemy, these are all things being represented by the Out of Action result. You can even think of the number of "dead" V.C. laying around on the tabletop may also represent the inflated body counts that U.S. soldiers sometimes claimed!

    One fire team moves up past the pig pen while another stays under the trees to provide cover fire 

The difficulty level of the game can also be easily scaled up, as well. When I first began my play tests of the rules, the Americans were taking grievous losses. The things I tweaked (Danger Level of the enemy, inserting less lethal cards in the event deck) brought the bloodiness down to what I felt was a more historical level. Also, the game is meant to be played as a continuing campaign. Players are attempting to usher their fire team or squad through their 12 months in Vietnam. This is represented by playing one scenario to represent each month. If squads are losing one fourth to one third of their figures each time, "ain't nobody getting home!" Still, I will include suggestions for players who want a more bloody, one off game rather than a campaign. Players who are envisioning a more Ia Drang (We Were Soldiers Once, and Young) Vietnam experience can reverse the changes I made to make it more of a bloodbath like that battle.

    Platoon medic moves up through a rice paddy while keeping a wary on a water buffalo

I am also continuing to play test more scenarios so that I can include a dozen in the rules for players to game out their own campaign. I'll be running it next at Buckeye Game Fest in Columbus, March 12-15. I haven't decided if I will run it at DayCon, April 17-18, or Little Wars in Chicago the following weekend, yet. I will very likely run it at Drums at the Rapids, May 15-16, at Fort Meigs. And I'm also scheduled to run it a half dozen times at Origins Game Fair in Columbus, June 17-21. So, if you are interested in trying out the game, there will be plenty of opportunities in the coming months!

    U.S. soldier peeks in the hut window before entering to do a search for V.C. contraband

This week, though, the real work begins -- laying out the rules and getting them ready to be published! It's more fun running games for people having a great time at conventions, like at Cincycon. Still, I was glad all of my players had fun this past weekend, and I look forward to running more games and more missions to see what happens in those games!

    VC squad that arrived in ambush is targeted by an accurate M79 'bloop gun' round in the jungle

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

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

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

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

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

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

    Most of the Americans are caught out in the rice paddies when the VC spring their ambush

    V.C. reinforcements coming onto the table through the elephant grass are targeted by M79 round

    Saturday's players move their forces onto the table during the 'Countdown to Contact' phase

    U.S. soldiers emerge from the trees, startling many of the villagers who try to flee the table

 

    One fire team moves up through the brush across the creek while others slog towards the paddies

    U.S. soldiers hit back heavily against a large V.C. squad that fired upon them from ambush

    Machine gun team in a reinforced bunker opens up on the soldiers, pinning many with its fire

    U.S. soldiers begin to fall from machine gun fire and VC mortar fire that rains down on them

    Finally, the battalion artillery answers & the lieutenant can call down a fire mission on the bunker

    Word spreads that the squad is pulling back -- the colonel needs them to rescue another in ambush

   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

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

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

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

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

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