Showing posts with label Science Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Science Fiction. Show all posts

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Final Squad for Anadorans Finished - Whole Detachment Pics

    With the latest squad finished, the Anadoran Detachment for Xenos Rampant is complete!
The final squad of my "blue-skinned aliens" (who I have decided to call Anadorans just now) are finished. So, that's my fourth detachment for Xenos Rampant finished, which means I can start planning our first game. These are once again plastic Stargrave miniatures from one of the Mercenaries boxes. I think I am getting reasonably competent at gluing the various arms, heads, etc., together and making them not looking like mad vivisectionist's nightmare.

    The last 5 "blue-skinned alien" Anadorans prowl through a power facility off-world
With the previous squad, I had exhausted the box's supply of that particular alien head. I had to improvise with other head choices that I thought would look well. Those who look closely will notice these guys actually have relatively human schnozes while the first batch from the Mercenaries box had the much cooler and alien looking sunken noses. Otherwise, I attempted to paint everything identically to the last batch. 

    I admit I do like the variety of weapons that you can equip figures with in the Stargrave boxes
The uniforms were done in craft paint Khaki, with a lighter "Wild Rice" dry brush. I did the straps, ammo pouches, holsters and such in white. The armor panels are done in Iron Wind Metals Steel first, then a craft metallic brown over top. The skin on the faces is a Sky Blue base coat with a wash of watered down Vallejo acrylic medium blue. Any visors are done in Steel again.

    I like the color scheme on the Anadoran uniforms -- not flashy, but practical and utilitarian
The weapons I followed my usual Sci-Fi formula. I used a craft paint metallic gray for a basecoat and pick out other areas in the metallic brown and a bright silver. The uniforms and straps get a brown wash, while the metal and weapons get a dark black vehicle wash (which I need to order more of ASAP!).

    My entire Anadoran detachment assembled - two squads of elites, two of heavies, and one walker bot
After finishing up the flocking to match the rest of the figures in this Sci-Fi project, I decided to set out the whole Anadoran detachment of troops. This consisted of two squads of Elite troopers (using my post-apocalyptic survivor squad, The Nightstalkers). They are supported by two squads of Heavy Infantry using the Stargrave Mercenaries. I also gave the Anadorans one of the crab-like mechanical Droid walkers (the one painted in blue, of course!).

    A narrow view of the Anadorans gathered -- I think the two types of figures look nice together
I think the force looks pretty nice on the tabletop. It is a very similar force composition to the Bronze Legion. Maybe once I have a couple games under my belt I will tweak it some more. 

What's next? I have five Planet of the Apes gorillas on horseback that is almost halfway complete sitting on my painting desk right now. They are a mix of the Battle Valor miniatures and JS Wargamer Printings 3-D figures. Seeing how I am progressing, I would expect one more update this week with them before I take off for a week-long spring break. I have adjusted my Aquired vs. Painted numbers below to reflect the Anadoran squad being completed.

Miniature Painting & Purchasing Tally for 2024

  • Miniatures acquired in 2024: 64
  • Miniatures painted in 2024: 36

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Cincycon 2024 Purchases

    Some of the 3-D 'Scatter Terrain' I bought at Cincycon for my Sci-Fi games
Heading down to Cincycon 2024, I had a pretty good Miniatures Purchased to Miniatures Painted Ratio for this year. I had painted 31 figures so far, while purchasing only 15. I knew that once the convention season arrived my surplus would take a hit. Well, it did in a big way, as you'll see below.

    Not sure what they are supposed to be, but they'll look cool on a Sci-Fi tabletop!
Despite buying from only two stands at the convention, I still dropped about $100. I do feel an obligation to support the vendors at shows I attend. They take time out of their schedule to show up and give us somewhere to browse and shop. Often times it is a money-losing proposition for dealers. They go more as a form of advertising, to get their name out. They hope that, later on, people will remember them and make purchases from them online. Or at least that's my take on it!

    Mounted gorillas for my Planet of the Apes force - these are 3-D printed from JS Wargamer Printing
The first vendor I bought from is one that I've mentioned on here before. Cincinnati area gamer John Leahy started JS Wargamer Printing a year or so back. My Terminators that I painted up where from him. He carries mounted "Planet of the Monkeys" gorillas. I thought they'd be a great troop addition for my Xenos Rampant "Planet of the Apes" detachment. I have three mounted gorilla figures from Battle Valor Games, and I need some more to flesh out a squad of them. There's a troop type called Berserk Infantry (or something like that) in the game, and gorillas charging in to close combat would be perfect for these.

    I am a big fan of 'The Last of Us,' so if I'm purchasing zombies I'll definitely get some infected!
My other purchase from John was part of a new project that I will be working on after I get Xenos Rampant underway. I have finally decided to take the plunge and do a zombie branch-off for my post-apocalyptic games. My idea is it will be a mash-up of Gaslands Refueled and Wiley Games rules. Each of my players will have a vehicle -- pickup truck, SUV, van, whatever. They will have three characters in it and will be road-tripping across the United States. They're heading from the zombie-infected and densely-populated East to the wide open spaces of America's Great Plains and West. Less people means less zombies, so the thought is to make it to the relative safety of "flyover country."

    John from JS Wargamer Printing had three types of zombies -- this was the other type I ordered
The problem is that I own no zombies. Well, I didn't before Cincycon! I sent a message to John asking if he had any zombies he could print up. He did have some files. One is of standard zombie apocalypse folks and the other is the "infected" variety from the great streaming show, "The Last of Us." His prices are hard to beat, so I ordered two packs of 10 each. So, that's 40 zombies plus 4 mounted gorillas. John also gave me some freebies -- 3-D printed figures of Planet of the Apes Dr. Zaius, Cornelius, Zira, and the humans George Taylor (Charlton Heston) and Nova. 

    More of the 3-D printed scatter terrain I purchased at Cincycon - this from A Critical Hit
Since they were free, should I count those as purchased? Well, I guess I could technically call it "Acquired," just in case I trade for miniatures in the future! So, I added in 49 miniatures. That raises my total to 64 acquired for 2024. And no, I haven't finished any other batches, so I've sunk to 31 painted vs. 64 acquired. Oh well...it WAS a good ratio while it lasted!

    Two picnic tables, a phone booth, and Coca-cola machine from A Critical Hit
The other purchases were from a vendor that was new to me. They are called A Critical Hit (Instagram link), or email Blair Oyler at dungeonmaster@acriticalhit.ne. Critical Hit's shelves had quite a bit of 3-D printed scatter and buildings. Much of their printing was done in appropriately colored material so that they wouldn't technically require painting. I would at the minimum do a wash on these, but will likely paint most of them up. I showed my friend Keith their tables and he immediately snapped up even more than I did! Good stuff!!

    A few more from A Critical Hit -- I will likely paint the pipes but do a black wash on the container
Most of these purchases were Sci-Fi related. They'll likely end up on the tabletop for various Xenos Rampant games or Wiley Games skirmishes. It's been awhile since I've painted up a big batch of terrain, so I may likely pop in these pieces and others ones I purchased at Advance the Colors last October from Sailpower and Diabolical Terrain. You can never have too much atmospheric scatter on the tabletop. Now, storing all that terrain is a different thing entirely...!

    You can see the interesting colors that A Critical Hit print their terrain in with the second piece

What's next? I am almost done with the next batch of five "Blue-Skinned Aliens" squad. At some point, I really do need to come up with a name for that faction! With that squad complete, they will be ready for the tabletop. So, look for that update soon...!

Miniature Painting & Purchasing Tally for 2024

  • Miniatures acquired in 2024: 64
  • Miniatures painted in 2024: 31


Saturday, February 24, 2024

The Bronze Legion - Ready for Battle!

    The Bronze Legion assembled - five squads totaling 24 points for Xenos Rampant
 

With the last squad of heavy infantry for the Bronze Legion finished, I can officially say this "detachment" (as Xenos Rampant calls a player's force) is ready for the tabletop. These last five figures should have been a breeze to paint up, but when they were about 3/4's of the way done, I got sick a couple weeks back. It sapped all my energy, so they sat there, partially painted, in the basement waiting for my recovery.

    Progress on the final squad of heavy infantry for the legion was delayed by two weeks of sickness
The heavy infantry for the Bronze Legion comes from the "Troopers" box of the Stargrave Miniatures plastic kit. I'm ashamed to say that it wasn't until gluing together this batch that I noticed the left and right arms had matching numbers. That certainly made positioning the arms of the figures bracing their weapon with their left hand easier! I'm still a bit of a novice still at this "assembling miniatures" stage of painting figures. I prefer metal miniatures, but realize that so many people like the kit-bashing aspect of plastic figures that they are here to stay.
    I think the Wiley Games 3-D printed and Stargrave plastic figures go together well for this force

I painted them up identically to the last batch. They were spray primed with Krylon acrylic matte black, which I always follow up brushing on a 50/50 mix of water and acrylic black paint. Next, I do a medium gray dry brush over the figures to bring out some highlights on the black. I remembered this time to NOT do a black wash over these areas at the end. Last time I did that and it erased my gray highlighting! It was on to the armor next, which I painted using a metallic craft paint called "Ancient Bronze." After some bright red detail on the belts and back armor plate, all that was left was the figures' weapons. I like how my method for painting Sci-Fi weapons has been working out. I start with a metallic gray craft paint base color, add some details in metallic brown, and finally highlights in silver. Weapons, faces, and the armor then receive a dark black vehicle wash from Vallejo. At that point they are ready for clearcoating, with one final step of painting gloss on their visors and the red dot on their backpacks.

    Wiley Games B3AST provides some heavy support for the legion, counting as a "Fighting Vehicle"
I'm sticking with my urban style flocking on the bases, using Woodland Scenics fine Mixed Gray Ballast. Before applying it, though, I glue a couple bricks to represent rubble, and then over bricks and ballast I do a black wash. One or two tufts and mixed green flocking and the figure is ready for the tabletop. It was fun to assemble the whole detachment and take some pictures. I am giving the Bronze Legion a fighting vehicle (in Xenos Rampant terms) to round out the force. This is the B3AST tracked Bot from Wiley Games. Its color scheme somewhat matches the Bronze Legion, so I figured it would be a good fit.
    Seeing how few figures it takes to field a force in Xenos Rampant, I ditched the 2-figs = 1 SP scale

I have also pointed out my detachment for Xenos Rampant, too. I have officially backed off of the two figures equals one strength point. I am going all in with a one-to-one ratio. As you can see with the legion, it really doesn't take that many figures to do a 24-point force. Here is how I plan to field the legion:

  • 5 strength points Elite Infantry with Commander: (includes Back into the Fray, Firefight, Ranger), +2 points for Heavy Weapon = total 8 points.
  • 5 strength points Elite Infantry: (includes Back into the Fray, Firefight, Ranger) = total 6 points.
  • 5 strength points Heavy Infantry: (includes Go to Ground, Firefight), +1 point for Armor Piercing = total 3 points.
  • 5 strength points Heavy Infantry: (includes Go to Ground, Firefight), +1 point for Armor Piercing = total 3 points.
  • 5 strength points Fighting Vehicle: (includes All Terrain, Anti-tank, High-powered blades), -2 points for Light Armored Vehicle = total 4 points.

Total Detachment Points = 24

    I'm excited to play my first game of Xenos Rampaint, which could be very soon...!
What's up next? I have assembled another squad of five figures for Xenos Rampant. This will be another batch of Blue-skinned Troopers for Xenos Rampant. This will finish out that detachment, as well. When that squad is complete, I will have four detachments done.

Miniature Painting & Purchasing Tally for 2024

  • Miniatures purchased in 2024: 15
  • Miniatures painted in 2024: 31

Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Heavy Infantry for the Bronze Legion & Xenos Rampant

    Heavy Infantry for the Bronze Legion for my Xenos Rampant 'Detachment'
As I continue to flesh out my Xenos Rampant "Detachments" (as the rules call a force), I definitely want to get the Bronze Legion on the table in the first game. The legion began with two squads of Wiley Games Space Marines that I painted up back in November and December of last year (2023). I really liked how they came out, but wanted some more variety for other squads. I picked up a Stargrave Troopers plastic kit box from Jeff Gatlin at Shieldwall Gaming Club. These looked like they would mix well, and now that they're painted up, I feel they did.

    I used the Stargrave 'Troopers' box for this 3rd Bronze Legion squad & glued them together myself!
I like the ancient bronze metallic craft color and black combo. I feel the black clothing accentuates the bronze colored plates. Assembling the figures with model glue wasn't too horrible of an experience. I do like how the pack numbers the arms (discreetly -- missed it on the first batch I'd assembled awhile back). So, the right hand #10 goes with the left hand #10. That's important as many of the left hands are cupping or supporting the weapon they are holding in the right. And as much as I prefer one piece miniatures (particularly metal), I guess I can live with gluing on two arms and a head. I'm sure others out there do a MUCH better job gluing these together, but hey! I actually accomplished it, so am happy.

    Plastic details tend not to be as deep as deep as metals, so dry brushing only partially brings out folds
 

I like the rocket launcher weapons that come with the box. That'll let me give them heavy weapons or some other such upgrade when I finally get around to pointing out the detachment for Xenos Rampant. After assembling them, I spray painted the figures Krylon matte black and followed it up with my usual 50/50 mix of black acrylic paint and water. Next, I gave them a medium to dark gray drybrush to pick out some of the detail which might otherwise simply look all black. This also helped me be able to see the detail better to paint. I have my lighted magnifying lamp on my painting desk, but every little bit helps! Following that, I painted the bronze plates, followed by the flesh, which in this case was just the bottom half of the face. I painted the helmet visor Iron Wind Metals Steel, as well as the forearm band with communications gear.

    The Bronze Legion assembled - 2 Wiley Games elites, 1 Stargrave heavies, & 1 Robot Vehicle
I tricked up the comm gear with a metallic blue screen and green, yellow, and red glowing buttons. After clear coating, I would go back and apply clear gloss to the helmet visor. I felt it still needed something, so I painted red dots around each figure's waist belt, as well as on the center backpack. I'm sure something in the Troopers box is supposed to glue to that circle, but nothing jumped out at me as belonging there. So, I left the circle in the red accent and also went back and hit it with gloss, too (much like I did with the space marines figures). I was tempted to make the bronze legion's skin color an alien one, but decided they would be a human faction. I already plan on a few other different colored skinned aliens, so I didn't want to go overboard. I like how the final black wash I put on it brought out detail and depth in the face. I used watered down black vehicle wash for this batch rather than my pre-mixed black Vallejo wash. I like how it looks better on metallics. My premixed makes metallics look a little cloudy, in my opinion.

    The legion sends its heavy infantry to investigate a bombed out settlement on a battlefield planet
So, what's next for miniatures? I should probably point out the Bronze Legion and see what I actually need to get them up to 24 points. My best guess would be simply another batch of these figures. I am rethinking my 1 figure = 2 points idea for Xenos Rampant, though. For some reason, I thought that I would make ALL infantry squads "Increased Squad Size" (up to 10 strength points from 5). Now, I see that isn't necessary. And if I keep some squads -- or maybe most squads -- at 5 strength points, I may need one final batch of Planet of the Apes figures. I have a pack of 10 "Planet of the Monkeys" gorillas with sub-machine gun that I bought from JS Wargamer Printing at last year's CincyCon. So, I may prime and paint those up instead. However, I want to compare them to the Eureka and Battle Valor metal miniatures the rest of the force is to make sure they don't look odd next to them.

Stay tuned and see what's next!

Miniature Painting & Purchasing Tally for 2024

  • Miniatures purchased in 2024: 15
  • Miniatures painted in 2024: 26

Wednesday, January 17, 2024

Gibbon Monkeys for Xenos Rampant

    A squad of Gibbon Monkeys from Eureka Miniatures' "Boiler Suit Apes" line of figures
I had a lot of fun painting this latest batch of miniatures for my Planet of the Apes contingent for Xenos Rampant. Although Gibbon Monkeys are not part of the movies' established lore, they are an excellent batch of figures from Eureka Miniatures. They have lots of character and variety of poses. There's even one sitting cross-legged on a laptop, who was immediately dragooned into being fire controller for Sci-Fi artillery. I bought these years ago at a convention, and would love to pick up some more to put together a second squad of them.

    The squad commander and a trooper -- I love the Mac-10 machine pistols they carry!
Google Image searches revealed there are more than one different types of coloring, but I thought the light yellowish tan ones with the black and white faces would stand out the most on the tabletop. I painted them a base "Maple Sugar" craft paint base coat. Then, I did a white dry brush to bring out the details on the fur and soften their color. Next, I painted the face white and then the black on the snout, brows, and eyes. I did a medium gray dry brush to bring out the facial detail, but perhaps should have done more. 

    The coloring for the monkeys came out well, though maybe I needed more highlights on their races
I went back and forth on what color to paint their clothes. Initially, I was thinking an olive drab, but then changed my mind to a brighter "Leaf Green" craft paint. I did a bright very pale green dry brush on the folds of the clothes, which really picked out the detail on these figures, I think. Various shades of metallic paints worked for the weapons, darkened with a black vehicle wash. I was really happy with how the color scheme turned out.

    The monkey on the laptop was perfect for a Fire Controller for this Reviresco 'Robot Power Gun'
The fire controller is tapping on a laptop keyboard. Being a Mac person, I decided to make it a MacBook -- of course! I used a Pewter metallic paint for the base coat, black for the keys, and did a lighter black wash over it all. The apple symbol was done in a Pearl White to hopefully give it some glow. I think this is a really awesome figure and I'm glad Eureka included it in the pack. In Xenos Rampant, the monkey fire controller will be combined with a tracked artillery piece and a chimpanzee bodyguard into a Support Infantry unit of three figures.

    'Space Chimp on Litter' was demoted to a humble bodyguard for the monkey fire controller
The chimp bodyguard comes from a line carried by Brigade Games called Atomic Cafe. It is part of a pack called Boondockers and Space Chimp on Litter. Having no need for two humans carrying the chimp in a spacesuit around, I propped the chimp up against a boulder and learned an assault rifle against it, as well. I figured he could be the fire controller's bodyguard. I decided to somewhat match the color scheme of my current chimpanzee force, and did a Iron Wind Metals base coat and a Howard Hues Middle East Flesh dry brush. The knee and arm pads I did in a metallic brown, but they don't show up in the pictures as very metallic looking. Maybe I will go back over them with a clear gloss -- we'll see. I decided against any other insignia or detail, so it is a rather plain looking figure. Still, I think the two make a good vignette when paired with the tracked artillery piece from Reviresco (Robot Power Gun - RRB Minis & More). 

    The three minis make a nice little vignette that will work well as Support Infantry in Xenos Rampant

So, what's next for me? My next update will be a specialty terrain piece that I've been working on for my next post-apocalyptic scenario. It is pretty much done, so look for that update in the next day or so. After that, I plan on doing some more urban ruins for terrain. Not 100% sure what is next for miniatures, though. Stay tuned and see!

    I'll field the squad of Gibbons as Light Infantry (and forward observers) in Xenos Rampant
Miniature Painting & Purchasing Tally for 2024
  • Miniatures purchased in 2024: 15
  • Miniatures painted in 2024: 21


Saturday, January 6, 2024

Filling Out the Ranks of Survivors for Xenos Rampant Squads

    F Troop gets reinforcements to bring them up to 2 squads for 'Xenos Rampant'
My first blog post of 2024 covers what I finished over winter break. Since it is my goal to host Sci-Fi skirmish games using Xenos Rampant rules this year, I have been fleshing out some of my post-apocalyptic survivor gangs. My goal is to bring them up so I have two complete squads of five figures for each gang (my planned base 10-point squad size for my games). I selected three survivor gangs and my Planet of the Apes figures for the first upgrades.

    The Nightstalkers were one of my survivor gangs that easily transition to Xenos Rampant Sci-Fi
First up were three more miniatures for the Nightstalkers. I had only two metal Battle Valor Games miniatures that I used for this unit left over, so I supplemented the third one with a Stargrave Trooper miniature painted in the same basic color scheme. It's always a bit problematic matching colors and washes when you add to an existing force later. After their final wash, these guys look a bit darker. So, I imagine my wash is a bit heavier black than it was when I first did this force. The plastic Stargrave trooper looks close enough, and can be considered an officer figure which explains the different armor and kit.

    The Bass Reeves get 3 more troopers to beef them up to 10 figures - love those Foundry figures!
Next up were three more miniatures for the Bass Reeves survivor gang. I think these will make good mercenaries or light infantry under the Xenos Rampant rules. These figs are Foundry Street Violence metal miniatures that I picked up from a flea market vendor. I really like how they paint up and wish I had bought more of them way back when. I still have some left over, but in my opinion, Foundry are always top quality. I matched the tan duster color as best I could, and of course, made them African-Americans like the rest of the Bass Reeves. I really like how the colored metallic paints look on sunglasses. I will likely continue doing "mirrored sunglasses" like that rather than use all black frames and lenses going forward.
    I really like 'Torch' - the Wiley Games resin figure with the flamethrower

I painted two more figures for F Troop since I originally did 8 (rather than 7) gang members when I did first painted up these guys. I had only one Sgt. Major Miniatures figure left over, so I supplemented a Wiley Games resin miniature I had purchased recently. This figure is called "Torch," and wears a 20th century army helmet, which helps him blend in with the rest of the gang. I do like the Wiley Games figures. They paint up well, and have a nice amount of detail without going overboard. They look better proportioned than the Reaper Bones figures, too, in my opinion.

    F Troop assembles into 2 squads of 5 figs to battle it out on a ruined planet using Xenos Rampant
Once again, I think I struggled a bit matching colors of the original survivor gang. I used a dark olive drab as a base coat, dry brushing it with a lighter tone. After seeing the results, I am thinking now that maybe I started with a lighter olive drab? Not sure. I don't think it is a huge deal, though. Uniforms worn by different members of a unit could undergo varying amounts of weathering or sun bleaching, depending on how long they'd been in the field. Plus, I really like how "Torch" came out. The mix of various metallic paints really sets off the figure, I think.

The Basss Reeves will make good mercenaries or light troops, adept at ambushing from terrain
The final batch were from my Planet of the Apes figures. I had three chimpanzees from Eureka Miniatures left over, and three gorillas from Sgt. Major Miniatures. Note that I specify Sgt. Major rather than the current producer, Battle Valor Games, because I believe these figures are literally holdovers from more than a decade ago. My Battle Valor Games order was a couple years back (I think...? Jason, do you remember when we ordered??). The casting seems to be similar quality as Sgt. Major, so I guess I don't need to differentiate. 

    Did you know underneath the helmets, the Nightstalkers are blue-skinned aliens?
Once again, I struggled a bit matching colors. I did my best, though. I think the chimpanzee uniform matches fairly well. Not sure about the hair and skin tones of the apes, though. I like the colors I used originally, so it was worth trying to replicate them. I DO have quite a few other Planet of the Apes style figures in my unpainted lead/resin pile. So, look for more of these soon. I am particularly excited about painting up the Eureka Gibbons pack. These are really cool figures. Since they're smaller than the chimps and gorillas, maybe I will field these as Light Infantry in Xenos Rampant? In fact, I would actually like to buy a second pack of these, but likely won't see Eureka at a show again until maybe Historicon 2024 in July. So....if anyone has a second unpainted pack laying around they are willing to part with, contact me please!

    Three new Sgt. Major Miniatures Gorillas fill in the ranks of the troop
I am posting photos both of the new additions, as well as them combined with the originals into 5-man squads for XR. The Planet of the Apes figures will eventually become its own force of 4-6 squads. The Nightstalkers are combining with the Stargrave figures for the "blue-skinned aliens" force. I think F Troop and the Bass Reeves are likely to be either mercenary forces or supplement squads for a different force, though. Either way, with each XR squad readied for the tabletop, I get closer to being able to host a game for our Sunday evening gaming group!

    Three more Eureka Miniatures chimps beef up my 'Planet of the Apes' troop count
This year, I have also decided to do what I've seen others doing on their blogs -- track my miniature painting progress and purchases. Starting in 2024, I will list at the bottom of each blog entry the number of figures purchased, followed by how many painted to that point for the year. Note -- this is starting at zero, of course! The previous years' lead (and plastic or resin) pile is still there. Hopefully, I'll get around to cataloging it this year, as I have been doing for my unpainted terrain.

Miniature Painting & Purchasing Tally for 2024
  • Miniatures purchased in 2024: 15
  • Miniatures painted in 2024: 14

    A mounted gorilla officer leads two squads of gorillas through the city, searching for humans


    Yes, that's a cigar-smoking chimpanzee officer leading two squads of Eureka Minatures chimps

Saturday, December 23, 2023

Year in Review: Three Threads for 2023

    One theme that remained constant in 2023 was work on my post-apocalyptic terrain

Three main projects dominated my painting and terrain building for this past year, 2023. One thread remained constant, though at times it faded almost completely into the background. The other two surged for awhile into the spotlight, in essence battling for my attention. The one that remained constant was my post-apocalyptic campaign. The other two that saw periods of intense focus were Ancient/DarkAge/Medieval Saga and Science-Fiction gaming.

Post-apocalyptic

The constant thread was my post-apocalyptic campaign. I entered the year with nearly all of my survivor gangs painted up, adding only one to the ranks in 2023. This occurred only as it became obvious that I might need to play occasionally to balance out the numbers in games. So, I reached into my Battle Valor Games purchases and created one more gang -- the Green Dragons. They first hit the table in February. They were an Asian-American gang, and saw action in the second scenario we played in the campaign, "I Smell a Rat." 

    

    I made some modifications to Monster Fight Club's chain fences (like the thin strand of barbed wire)
Most of my efforts on this project were in terrain building. From barbed wire compounds to burnt-out vehicles, I cranked out the tabletop scenery. Those were probably my two favorite additions to the scenery. The barbed wire compound was a store-bought purchase from Monster Fight Club scenery, using two of their "Chain Link Fences" boxes. Of course, being me, I couldn't just use them straight out of the box. I modified them fairly heavily and these are one of the best additions to my terrain collection this year, in my opinion. We have used it in two scenarios so far, "Searching an Abandoned Army Base" and the most recently, "Where the Dark Things Gather."

    I was really pleased with these die cast vehicles that had been set aflame turned out
I was also very happy with my addition of damaged and burnt out vehicles for the desolate urban areas in my post-apocalyptic world. I had done some research on how to get the effect of a burnt out vehicle and was shocked that the consensus was to actually set on fire die cast models. First, I used pliers and wire cutters to remove the wheels and much or all of the plastic. Then, on a warm April evening, I swabbed them down with rubbing alcohol and lit them on fire. Thankfully, no neighbors were outside to see what the amateur pyromaniac was doing. I was fairly happy with how they turned out. The ash-like char seemed to never be sealed in by numerous clear coats, though. So, I still have to handle them carefully. I would end up doing two more batches of damaged/burnt vehicles, but who knows? Maybe one day I'll make some more!

    My favorite Jarls Workshop building was the six-story corner ruin (with some of my own bits added)
I also constructed a number of new buildings for the an urban, post-apocalyptic battlefield. My favorites were the ones I bought from Jarls Workshop (Rusty Parker) at the previous year's Advance the Colors 2022. They turned out great, and I would end up buying more from him in October at the 2023 convention. My favorite was the six-story corner remnant that I jazzed up with wooden beams and bricks. I bought more of these this year, but have yet to assemble them and get them ready for the tabletop. They will probably be the first terrain that I create in 2024, though! Rusty's 3-D printed buildings paint up very quickly and I highly recommend them. 

    We got in four games over the course of 2023 of my post-apocalytpic campaign
Finally, we got in four post-apocalyptic games over the course of the year. That was way under what I was hoping, but it did remain constant throughout the year. I am happy with how the Wiley Games Core Rules are working out for these skirmishes. Each player selects four characters for that scenario from the 7-8 that I had created for their survivor gang. Sometimes, characters who are wounded have to miss the following scenario or die of their wounds (only one character so far...sigh, mine!). The players have gotten the hang of using Renown Points to purchase new Traits and upgrade their force. I am having fun with running the scenarios, and will probably step back from playing in them with the Green Dragons unless we have a very small turnout. Look for more games in the coming months -- especially during January and February when our usual Sunday evening host will be out of town.


Science-Fiction Gaming

As the year closes, Sci-Fi gaming is the one I am focused on, now. It was also how I began 2023. I'd picked up Space Station Zero from Snarling Badger Studios, intrigued by the possibility of co-op skirmish as crews explore a derelict space station on the edge of the galaxy. I went all in for a few months, creating a playing surface of metallic looking tiles. I also made various bits of Sci-Fi scatter terrain that would work great for either the interior of a space station or on a planet's surface. Some were store-bought from Mantic Games, Acheson Creations, while still others were scratch-built from wooden pieces at craft stores. Jazzed up with metallic paints and various metal scatter consoles from RRB Minis & More, they set the stage for a new period of gaming in a new year.

    Our one and only game of Space Station Zero (so far, to be fair) using my game mat tiles & terrain
Except it never really went very far. Jenny and I played one scenario of Space Station Zero. We had fun, but after playing, I felt that its scope and scale wouldn't fit in as well for our Sunday evening gaming sessions. Even switching from co-op to competitive play mode in the rules, I felt that we'd struggle with so many players to have a game session for what was originally designed as a solo miniatures gaming adventure. Jenny and I swore we'd play the next scenario some winter evening when we had nothing else to do, but never got around to it. I'd painted my crew -- Dave and the rest from the spaceship Jupiter in 2001: A Space Odyssey -- but it looked like the Jupiter was grounded back here on Earth.

    JS Wargamer Printing 'Machine Wars - Exterminators' very cool 3D printed Terminators

In August, Sci-Fi gaming showed another flicker of life. Keith ran a Star Wars scenario using Wiley Games Galactic Heroes rules. He had a lot of the Wizards of the Coast pre-painted Star Wars figures. I was intrigued. We knew the rules. Both Keith and Mike S had tons of figs, but school had just started up again and I was hitting my busy point in the year. Sci-Fi gaming seemed to be an empty void once again until just last month. I decided to paint up one of my purchases from CincyCon 2023, JS Wargamer Printing's 3-D printed Terminators. This, and the purchase of rules books from the "Rampant" series at Advance the Colors 2023, convinced me to give Xenos Rampant a try.

    I was really pleased at how these various robots and droids came out with their metallic paints
This is a bigger size game than either Space Station Zero or Galactic Heroes. Each player will likely control 4-6 squads of figures, making it just a bit under Saga sized force, in my planned scale. Since then, I have been busy cranking out sets of Sci-Fi miniatures. After the Terminators (for a Machines force, of course), came a couple batches of droids or robots. I continued on with some 3-D printed space marines bought from Wiley Games. I called them the Bronze Legion, and bought and painted up a second squad's worth of the figures. And, for those who follow my blog regularly, you know that has continued apace with some Blue-skinned aliens and a squad of Star Wars B1 Battle Droids.

Aliens from the Strargrave Mercenaries box and actually painted to match one of my survivor gangs.
I'm anticipating my first game of Xenos Rampant in January. If not, at least by February. It's kind of cool that I started and began 2023 with Sci-Fi. I'm a big fan of the various Star Wars streaming series, so it is almost unusual that it hadn't found its way to the tabletop for me.

    It seems I never choose a simple army to paint, and that was definitely the case for 2023's Thracians!
 

Saga Ancients/Dark Ages/Medieval Skirmish

The third thread of my year of gaming was playing Saga, the skirmish miniatures game from Studio Tomahawk. In fact, it took over the majority of my painting and gaming from about late summer through Advance the Colors 2023. Two main reasons for this was that I had undertaken painting a new army, the Thracians. Also, I was painting up prizes and prepping for my two tournaments I was going to run at ATC 2023. I had queried local and regional Saga groups and they gave a thumbs up to adding a Friday Age of Ancients tournament to my 3rd annual Saturday Age of Melee one. Ancients includes the six armies each from Age of Hannibal and Age of Alexander. 

    At least the Thracians had only one unit of mounted -- unlike an entire army with the Mongols!
In fact, the Thracians I was painting up were from the Alexander book, and had caught my eye for their interesting "Loot" mechanic. They were also an army almost no one was talking about, and I enjoy painting the fringe armies. Greeks and Macedonians were sure to be popular choices from that book, but I wanted to do something a bit different. Naturally, if they're an army that I am picking they MUST have complex patterns or something to make them a challenge to paint, right? Of course! Greek pottery gives us a wealth of primary source material on the geometric (and assumed) colorful cloaks that the Thracian warriors wore. I borrowed my friend Mike's Osprey book on the army and sketched out about a dozen simplified versions of the patterns to use on my own miniature Thracians. With 28mm minis, we want to give the effect of something -- not necessarily a 1:1 recreation of it. Too much often ends up being, not surprisingly, too much.

    One of my three victories with the Picts at CincyCon 2023 - this one against a Norman foe
As December comes to its end, I am not strictly done with the Thracians. I have about one batch of javelin-armed warriors to paint up. I also have yet to do the custom fatigue markers I will create for this army. I borrowed some spare heads from friends who have plastic kits (where they provide options for players to use). I will mount these heads on the markers because the Thracians were known as a head-hunting tribe. Luckily, I already had suitable markers created for the loot tokens from a past gaming project.

View of the action at ATC 2023 weekend, which saw more than 30 participants from near & far
Our monthly Saga Sundays at the Guardtower East continued, but attendance seemed to die down a bit, this year. We were down from 12-16 attendees to the 6-10 range, most months. Unfortunately, the trips to Beavercreek and the Dragons Guildhall also decreased, on my part. I probably made it only about 4-5 times this year instead of being a regular. Honestly, the reason for this was likely the increase in the number of tournaments we had in the area. The year started off with a Saga tournament run in Ft. Wayne, IN, in February. The tournies continued in March with Cincycon 2023 -- where my Picts were victorious overall. I did not make it to Adrian John's next tournament at DayCon, but did actually participate in a small one at Historicon in July. In September, I also drove north to Port Clinton, OH, for Rusty and Jim's Hold the Line convention. That was followed by the success at Advance the Colors, with 14 players in my Ancients Saga tournament and 24 on Saturday. So, lots of tournaments probably meant fewer people at our monthly game days, I imagine.

    One of the six warlord stands I painted up and gave away as Saga prizes in 2023
One thing that my friend Mike has cautioned about is getting to the "burn out" stage with these rules, like we eventually did with DBA (De Bellis Antiquitatis). This is my fifth year of playing Saga. We played DBA for a couple decades, so it is nowhere near the same longevity. However, I do see a similar vibe with a tournament at every convention beginning to happen with me and Saga. I have also noticed my enthusiasm for hosting new episodes of my Saga Ohio Podcast waned over the course of the year, too. Mostly, this is because school is always so busy -- "180 days of triage", I call the school year. Possible burn out IS something to keep an eye out for when scheduling my gaming and painting, though.

Obviously, this isn't every bit of gaming that I did in 2023. It is a good sampling to reflect upon, though, and I hope readers enjoyed it. As we head towards 2024, my production seems to be picking up speed. What will 2024 bring? Hopefully, more faithful readers of my Lead Legionaries blog like yourselves! Happy New Year!! 😃