More Mangroves for the Mekong

    One of my new batch of trees for my game set in a mangrove swamp in the Mekong Delta

I am running a scenario at a convention this weekend that represents a battle fought in a flooded area of the Mekong Delta. I was happy with how my first batch of five mangrove trees came out, so decided to do another four for the game table. I had my friend print off eight more (to give me more flexibility in the future). I did these exactly like the previous batch, which you can see in my tutorial here. Well, I did add one new thing this time: birds! These are small resin 3-D printed birds I picked up at Roundtable Games in Dublin, OH. The plan was to perch a few here and there in the branches for just a bit more eye candy.

    Another of the new mangrove trees -- and what's that in the branches??

I also added in a gnarled plastic plant that had sitting in my closet with my plastic plants for years. Its shape and sprawling limbs reminded me of dead trees that I see growing out of swampy areas. I based it up on an oval base, attaching it with two part epoxy. I wouldn't be adding plastic plants to it like the mangroves. Instead, once it was painted, I would attach some clump foliage here and there with white glue. On the base, I also added some of the little resin plants I've been adding to the flocking for my bases of my Vietnam figures. These would represent vegetation poking up out of the water level.

    Why it's a Yellow Breasted Magpie -- putting birds in my scenery is inspired by a gamer friend

Once again, just like last week, I was under deadline pressure to get these done for a weekend game. Why is that I always seem to do that? I think of one more little thing I can add to the look of my game a week or two before it is scheduled. Last week, it was the movement trays for my Lion Rampant game. This week, it is more mangroves! It must be the masochist in me who wants to punish myself with deadline pressure...ha, ha!

    Along with the 4 new mangroves, I painted up this 'mostly dead' tree sticking up out of the swamp

    And a closeup of its Collared Laughing Thrush perched on the gnarled limb

For the birds, I simply picked out three that looked about the right size and shape, and were also perched or standing, rather than sculpted as if in flight. Next, I did a Google Image search for three colorful bird species common to the Mekong Delta. I found three that were extremely colorful -- a Greater Flameback, a Yellow Breasted Magpie, and a Collared Laughing Thrush. Seriously? Does the bird's call sound like it is laughing? I will have to look THAT up, too! 

    Another of the new mangroves -- this one a smaller, simpler 3-D print

Anyway, I think the whole group turned out fairly nice. Drilling the holes with a pin vice, trimming the stems of the plastic plants to fit in the holes, and super gluing them in place is fairly tedious work. And that doesn't even count painting the plastic plants and dry brushing them! Still, everyone who has seen the mangroves in person (or commented on my previous post about them), says they look good. So, I guess that makes doing them worth it, right?

    I have to show you a closeup of the final bird, too -- a Greater Flameback hidden amidst the foliage

So, what else is on my painting desk? As I alluded to in my last post, I have pulled out a large batch of foot knights to paint up for Greathelm. Honestly, I probably already have enough individually based Dark Ages figures to run a game, but why not take advantage of my enthusiasm to clear out a bit more of the lead pile, eh? My plan is to create six groups of knights by nationality -- I'll likely use my already-painted figures for Vikings, Saxons, Scots, Moors, etc. I'll make up a group for each of my players at the Sunday Night gaming, and let them try it out. These new knight figures will help me create a new nationality or two. These are assembled, based and primed, ready to be started on when I get the mangroves completed.

    A look at my tabletop for the 'A Muddy Slog' scenario of Surviving 'Nam I'm running this weekend

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 239
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 242

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 30
• Terrain painted in 2026: 53

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 50
• Scatter painted in 2026: 75