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| 5 'Spider Holes' for my games of Surviving 'Nam - they are 3-D printed from Discount Hobbies |
As I mentioned in my post about my
purchases at Advance the Colors 2026, I picked up five spider holes (individual, tunnel-like fighting positions) with Viet Cong soldiers emerging or shooting from them. They were 3-D printed by a new vendor to our con,
Discount Hobbies 3-D Printing. Harold, the owner, also carries my
Surviving 'Nam rules, and has been enthusiastically printing up stuff to sell for the game. I know I had kind of sworn off buying 3-D printed figs because of their fragility, but I couldn't pass these up. It would save me a lot of time scratch-building my own spider holes and finding soldiers to cut in half to put inside them. MUCH more convenient!
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| Close up of a Viet Cong rifleman emerging from a spider hole fighting position - I liked the bamboo! |
I decided to base them on 1.5" birch wood circles from the local craft store. The circles are thick, so the positions will be raised up off the surface of the table a bit. However, I figured that would be an advantage to seeing them hidden amidst the terrain! Many of us remember a game in which we found a hidden soldier while picking up at the end. Their "commander" had forgotten about the well-camouflaged soldier and lost him in the terrain! Anyway, epoxying the spider holes atop their base and adding magnetic material underneath was step 1 (or 1 & 1A). Next, I primed them with Liquitex White Gesso. I decided I would wait to build up the vegetation around the fighting position until after I painted the soldier.
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| I picked out a variety of poses emerging from the spider holes & think they turned out well |
The flesh on the figure was done first, then the uniform color. I used a mix of colors like I have done with the rest of my Viet Cong soldiers -- black, khaki, gray, and faded olive drab. The next step was to do the straps and ammo pouches. Most were done in tan or light olive drab. I did the same colors on the soldier's helmets. Each helmet also had a band around it, so those were done in the appropriate, matching colors, as well. While I was painting, I kept wondering what the big hoodie-looking thing creeping down their back was supposed to be. I finally decided it must be a really big scarf. Many of my other V.C. from
Crucible Crush or
Gringo40s had scarfs around their necks. Even U.S. soldiers in Vietnam began to wear them around their neck to prevent chafing. In keeping with my previously painted V.C., I did their scarfs in red.
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| In my game, they're all armed with small arms, but I liked how some had binoculars like this one |
As I did each step, I would dry brush it in a lighter shade after it had dried. Once the clothes were all done, it was time to paint their weapons. There seemed to be at least a couple different types of small arms they were carrying, though I don't particularly worry about that. The Viet Cong did not always have the best equipment, so a mish-mash of weaponry was actually a bonus. I painted the guns in Iron Wind Steel first, then the wood parts in a medium brown, and finally Pewter highlights on the metal bits. A couple appear to have rifle slings, which I missed until the end -- oops!
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| I also like how the resin plants I'm adding to the bases turned out - nice mix of vegetation |
The eyes were next, and they turned out fairly well. A clay colored line was all I did for their mouth. I also added black for their hair peeking out from underneath the helmet. The skin and clothes were given a brown wash, while the weapons received a black one. Each fighting position is designed with a cover to conceal it, some in the hands of the soldier and others tilted up against it. I painted these earth red, which I typically do for the bases themselves. Now it was time to camouflage the position! First, I painted the cover and ground with white glue and then sprinkled on Woodland Scenics Blended Earth Turf. Once dry, they got their first spray of clearcoat. Next, I added Blended Green Grass on top of most of the turf, leaving the dirt showing in a couple places.
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| In addition to pose variety, I mixed things up with uniform colors - black, khaki, & gray |
Now it was time to add in resin plants I've begun using for bases of my Vietnam figures. Most are from Green Stuff World, and show various types of leaves. These are were epoxied onto the ballast, and once dry, painted a dark green and then dry brushed a lighter one. Next, I glued tufts from various sources onto each tunnel cover and around the bases. Once this stage was done, they received a final clear spray coat. In the end, I felt that these went fairly quickly. Now, I have actual, cool-looking spider holes to place on the table when an Event Card calls for it in my game! If you don't feel like scratch building your own spider holes, I highly recommend these from
Discount Hobbies 3-D Printing! Thanks, Harold, for making my crafting a bit easier!
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| Inspired by other painters, I decided to add these 3 waterfowl to my 28mm Vietnam collection |
While I was painting these five bases, I was also working on three waterfowl that I had purchased from
Miniature Building Authority at ATC, as well. They are sold as a
goose, swan, and a
Pelican. For the heck of it, I Googled for images of waterfowl common to the Mekong delta. Thus, the goose and swan became a Bronze Wing Jacana and the pelican a Greater Egret. Why paint up waterfowl for a Vietnam skirmish game? I have to confess that the amazing terrain of one of my play testers -- David Frederick (on Lead Adventure Forum as "Digits"), is responsible. Blame him! I am trying to copy some of his amazing modeling details, and his random waterfowl in rice paddies or rivers just look so good to me!
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| Two Bronze Wing Jacanas floating in the mangrove swamp in Vietnam |
I trimmed the legs off of the goose and made sure it and the swan had a relatively flat surface on the bottom. I wanted to put them on clear bases so it looked like they were floating on the water's surface. The one flapping its wings would hopefully look like it is getting ready to take off and the other would simply be paddling along. I painted the Pelican/Egret's post he was standing on like it was a tree stump sticking up out of the water. I'll stick these birds here and there on the board in my next game and see if they player's notice...ha, ha!
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| Greater Egret posing on a stump in front of my recently-created mangrove trees |
Otherwise, what else is on my painting desk? Nearly completed are four LED-lit Giant Mushrooms from
Bad Goblin Games that I will use in this Sunday's game of
Devilry Afoot. There is a type of terrain called "Hungry Grass" in the game. Instead of grass, mine will be a fairy forest of glowing giant mushrooms! I am also working on five Dark Age mounted troops that have been sitting for quite some time in my unpainted collection. Hopefully, they will be done in time to use Nov. 6-7 at my game at
World at War game day(s) at Fort Meigs, Perrysbury, OH. So, stay tuned for more stuff soon!
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| One final look at the five spider holes ready to surprise my players in games of 'Surviving 'Nam' |
MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026- Miniatures acquired in 2026: 234
- Miniatures painted in 2026: 232
TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026
- Terrain acquired in 2026: 22
- Terrain painted in 2026: 44
SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026
- Scatter acquired in 2026: 50
- Scatter painted in 2026: 75
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