Blood on the Streets in 'Troubled Council' Game at Drums at the Rapids

    Town Council ruffians battle monks & citizens loyal to the church in the medieval town of Vespugia 

Would the outspoken Father Leowulf be "priest"-napped by the forces of the Town Council? Or would the controversial priest remain free to criticize the aristocrats of the town for their treatment of the rencnt refugees in Medieval Vesupugia? Each faction in the fight had its own particular way to earn victory points, in addition to capturing Leowulf or helping him remain free. Most would be using the unrest in town to settle old scores or improve their position. Over the course of two games at Drums at the Rapids 2026, the vocal Father remained free in one game and was dragged off to face trial in the other. 

    A band of ruffians with ill intent are led by House Catrine through the muddy streets of Vespugia 

I have been tweaking the rules I used for the game, which are based off of my Mean Streets: War in Gang-infested Cities. I was inspired to do so by one of my internet friends, Cat, who uses them to run an incredibly scenic and popular series of games based off of the same inspiration for my rules -- the 1979 cult movie classic, The Warriors. We are both members of the Lead Adventure Forum, and she responded to my post asking for suggestions for a fast-playing miniatures skirmish game for up to six players. Cat cited Mean Streets as the perfect set, with quick and easy command and control, a simple combat system, and a tiered array of fighters from the toughest to the wimpiest.

    Friday afternoon's players with the Town Council on the left & the church defenders on the right

Inspired by her suggestion, and by the desire to run a cooperative Fantasy skirmish game for my Sunday Evening group, I began tinkering with Mean Streets. After several days down the Fantasy "rabbit hole," I emailed Cat and a couple other friends my ideas. They responded with suggestions and I've been steadily tweaking them after each game. One of the first ideas I discarded was a separate Combat Ratings for figures vs. melee and ranged attacks. Keeping it at one CR made it more streamlined and reduced the "one-shot kills" that were happening in our first play test. From player input, I changed the rules for disengaging from melee and how to calculate range modifiers. I have to say that after three games (which include the two at Drums), I'm fairly happy with the results.

    House Stronghelm's men make a stealthy advance through cover of the market towards the cathedral

It is a bloody game, with characters usually being taken out  after several turns of combat. Occasional "one swing" or "one shot" kills still occur, but that is not the norm. Of the three tiers of characters, the toughest (Heroes) take four wounds, Companions take three, and Followers two. However, if a character's score is doubled or tripled, they take more than one wound (two and three, respectively). I also have steadily increased the number of figures each player controls up to eight per faction in my Drums games. Of course, this game was a two-sided battle rather than a free-for-all, with up to three players per side. On Friday night, I had a full table of six players, while on Saturday morning there were only four of us. It plays very quickly, which I like for a convention game. As I get older, the idea of a six hour game at a con is too much for me. I much prefer games being over in three hours, which includes the rules and scenario explanation. It was even faster on Sunday with only four players. We were easily done in two hours.

    Attackers intent upon "priest-napping" dart past a stable towards the center of town & the church

Friday's game probably took about two and a half hours. An intense scrum broke out at the church wall, with four of the factions involved in it. This was precipitated by the aggressive and immediate charge of the Town Council forces towards the cathedral, attempting to get over its stone walls and onto the church grounds. The Franciscans, loyal to Father Leowulf, and House Duncan, a staunch supporter of the church, tenaciously defended the walls. The Duncans did not even break off when their nearby home was torched and set afire by their bitter rivals, House Catrine. In the end, the defenders held the church walls, though that holy ground was stained by the blood of numerous combatants. 

    Friday's massive scrum as the attackers tried to fight past defenders & get over the church walls

Much as it happened in our Sunday Evening playtest, the Dominicans proved to be the wiliest of the church's forces. They convinced their brother Franciscans to turn over Father Leowulf into their "safekeeping." The black-robed monks immediately dragged the vociferously protesting priest to their corner and off the table. It appears Father Leowulf will now be delivering his sermons from a Dominican church instead of a Franciscan one! Though the Town Council's forces wrong-footed Leowulf's defenders with their quick assault, their dice deserted them early on and remained AWOL nearly all game long. Time after time, their players rolled ones and twos on their 1d8 combat rolls. 

    I was happy with how the table looked with the medieval buildings I've been painting up recently

Eventually, after repeated losses, two of the Town Council's forces had dropped below half strength and had to take morale checks. Since this occurred on the same turn that the Dominicans absconded with Father Leowulf, the demoralized forces of the nobles decided to call off their attack. They realized they had no chance of success at one of their objectives with the priest off the table. Jenny, as the Dominicans, was the highest scoring player on the winning side. I felt bad for the attackers as their rolls just never seemed to improve. But hey! That's miniature wargaming for you!

    House Stronghelm dashes up to the walls intent on grabbing Father Leowulf, seen here at the doors

In the morning, the game took a decidedly different turn. Ted and I, as the Town Council forces, made a steady but stealthy advance. The Dominicans marched forward quickly, singing hymns and swinging their clubs, crosses, and cudgels. The Franciscans were a bit more slow, though. So slow, in fact, that my forces -- when presented with a turn of great command & control activation rolls -- darted forward, leapt the walls or opened the church gate. House Stronghelm's ruffians grabbed Father Leowulf, and dragged him around the opposite side of the church from where the Franciscans were advancing. Meanwhile, a companion and Follower from my force formed a wall and blocked the rescue force from chasing after the "priest-napper", holding double their number for several rounds of combat. 

    Once the priest was grabbed, 2 ruffians blocked the Franciscans from quickly chasing after him

Rather than wade into combat, my Hero stayed near the middle of my forces, controlling the action. In Malevolent Streets -- as I'm calling this variant -- you combine the command dice you roll for each figure that is within 6" of the leader. That way, you can select the higher rolling dice and assign them to those who need more actions, while giving the lower ones to figures for less important actions. This allowed me to assign the maximum 3 action "6's" to the Companion who had Father Leowulf in his grasp and he steadily moved further and further away from the Franciscans. Meanwhile, the rest of my forces were blocking them from mounting a rescue attempt. 

    Meanwhile, House Faroli exacts revenge upon the turncoat soldier leading the Dominican forces

Meanwhile, Ted, as House Faroli, was exacting a bitter revenge on the captain of the Dominican force. This veteran soldier was formerly an employee of House Faroli. However, the noble house claims the soldier absconded with some of their funds and defected. Their secret objective was to cut down the turncoat. Ted's opponent, Steve, was the unfortunate "balancing" effect for the Town Council's poor dice rolls the previous evening. His ones and twos were making up for all those rolled by the opposite side in the previous game -- or at least that's the way it seemed! Soon, the Dominican force was in disarray, their leader cut down, and the monks and soldiers hired by them were fleeing from the table. The forces of the Town Council scored their first victory in three games! Ted, with both his secret and open victory conditions satisfied (the captain cut down and Father Leowulf in our hands), AND lots of kills (+1 Victory Point per enemy figure killed), was the clear winner of our game. 

    Father Leowulf howls mightily as he is 'priest-napped', urging the Franciscans to come rescue him

Even though they lost, both Heidi (Franciscans) and Steve (Dominicans) praised the game. They liked the simple rules and felt the game flowed very quickly. I received lots of praise from my players on both days about how my medieval town looked, as well as from passers by. So, I chalked up my first two medieval town skirmishes up as a double success -- the players had fun and the Mean Streets tweaks provided for an enjoyable and fast-moving game. I'm not sure when I will run the rules next, though. The next convention I am scheduled to run games at is Origins Game Fair, June 17-21. I'll be running my Surviving 'Nam game there six times at the Columbus Convention Center. In the meantime, I will keep working on the fantasy aspects of the rules in anticipation of using them again soon!

        Poor Father Leowulf - have the nobles found someone to 'rid' them of 'this meddlesome priest'?

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 179
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 99

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 12
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 26

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 21
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 59 

My purchases at Drums at the Rapids 2026

    Two of the five buildings that I received from RRB Minis -- one a very nice gift from him to me!

Prior to heading up to Drums at the Rapids this past weekend, I cleaned off several shelves of my closet where I stage my unpainted terrain and scatter. I knew that I'd be picking up some more medieval buildings from RRB Minis & More, and I needed the room! Plus, there is a free flea market at the show, and I usually take things and set them on the table next to my game that I'm running. I also unloaded a good sized plastic tub of all the rule sets that I had taken but never sold to previous shows. I marked everything down with a sticker, ranging from $1 to $5. This stuff had to go...this time!

    House on the left is from the Ferisia line, and the one on the right is the Stormhill City Farmhouse

Thankfully, nearly all of it did. So, I had room for the five, 3-D printed medieval buildings that I bought from Rich at RRB. Two of them are simple, one-story homes. I have so many large buildings that I've purchased recently, I needed to get some ordinary houses for the streets of my town. These are from a couple different lines that Rich produces. I like the way they look and I will probably do them next. It should be a contrast from the epics I've been painting, and I'll probably be shocked to see how quickly they go! One of them is from the Ferisia line -- "Small Farmhouse." The other was actually a gift from Rich to me for all the nice mentions he gets on Lead Legionaries. It is called Stormhill City Farmer House.

    The sprawling Dwarven Bath House, which I bought because it was such a cool looking builidng

 

    Interior of the Bath House -- which looks very much like a bathing spot or spa, unlike the outside

The largest of the ones I bought is from the Ferisia line, once again. It is called Dwarven Bath House. The pictures I'd seen were only of the exterior, and I liked its unusual look. The almost domed roof, octagonal shape and the two and one story sections looked appealing. I was quite surprised at how big it turned out to be (horizontal space for this one, not vertical). And the interior is definitely a bath complex. I may paint it up with the bathhouse style components not attached, so I can use it as an ordinary building in games, too.

    I like the little balconies in the Ferisia line -- like the one on the Brunbir Blazeforge House

Another from the Ferisia line that Rich printed at my request was Brunbir Blazeforge House. This building is much more compact than the Duncan or Catrine House, with the third story being entirely the rooftop. My favorite part is the little, angled stone balcony over the doorway. It is mostly stone, like many of the other Ferisia buildings I bought from Rich. I like how many of them have overhangs, this one included. This one is stone, though, and has a definite angled look that fits with many of the others in this line.  

    The Ferisia Bakery is a nice corner style building like you often see in Europe

The last of the five buildings is the Ferisia Bakery Store. It has the same look as many corner buildings that are part of row houses. This one is stand alone, but would be a nice one to put in a medieval intersection. It also came with a bunch of benches or tables and an outdoor oven. At two stories tall, it is nice in between sized building that will help with the look of my burgeoning medieval town.

    I need a 28mm Huey for one of my Surviving 'Nam scenarios, so my friend Ted printed 4 for me!

As I am finishing up my work on my upcoming rules publication, Surviving 'Nam: an Infantryman's Year In-Country, I wrote my final few scenarios. I plan on including a dozen with the rules (one for each month of a soldier's tour of Vietnam). One of the last ones I wrote is a helicopter deployment in a "hot LZ" -- and I wanted to be able to run it at conventions with actual model Huey helicopters. My friend Ted had a STL for one and kindly printed off four 28mm scale Hueys for me. Why four? Well, I typically have four players in my convention games and I wanted one for each player. Honestly, I could have used just one model as each fire team arrives on a different turn, but the spectacle of four 28mm Huey will likely be a draw in a convention hall. Eye candy is important in miniature games!

    Ted came through in providing me some pilots in need of rescuing for my 'Downed Airmen' scenario

Speaking of figures for my Vietnam games, Ted also printed up three American pilots for me. I had ordered two metal ones from Gringo 40s, but they sent me only one of them. My "Downed Aircrew" scenario requires two pilot figures. Once again, Ted stepped up and provided 3-D prints for me to use. They look like quality prints and I hope to get to them sometime soon. I still have nearly my entire Gringo 40s purchase order to paint up, yet. I'll start working on them after my 28mm Elves for Dragon Rampant are complete.  

    I picked these rules up from Firelands Games just in case they catch on locally

My final purchase was the Pillage: Ransack the Middle Ages skirmish rules set produced by Victrix. I had almost picked it up twice before from Firelands Games, but each time I went back to get it at a convention, they had just sold it. I snatched it up immediately when I saw it, so lightning wouldn't strike thrice. I don't know if I will actually play it anytime soon, but I always like to support the vendors. James and Rusty from Firelands Games are such nice guys, and support all of the local conventions loyally. Apparently, one of the local stores in Columbus carries the rules and has sold dozens of copies of it. Maybe, once I try it out, I can run it at the store and see if I can recruit some more local, historical gamers for our HMGS chapter. We'll see..!

    Forgot to mention more gifts from Rich: 28mm Outhouse and 4 stick-like 8" measuring sticks

Otherwise, what's on my tabletop? I have the six Elven spearmen at least halfway completed. There are five horror/monster figures for my Devilry Afoot games that I picked up last year. They are primed and have their first base coat done on them. Terrain-wise, I decided I wanted to finally paint up the two bags of Viking rune stones that I bought from Sword & Scabbard a couple years ago. They should go very quickly -- another reason I chose to start one them! 

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 179
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 99

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 12
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 26

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 21
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 59 

Troubled Council: Urban Unrest in Medieval Vespugia Play Test

    Medieval Vespugia's streets are quiet but soon blood will be shed in a clash between church & town

Town leaders nearly came to blows last night at Vespugia's council meeting. Although violence did not break out, many left muttering that "mayhap on the morn' blood would be shed" on the town's streets. By one vote, the council voted to arrest Father Leowulf, whose sermons against the rich and powerful families had angered them. The priest has been railing against the "un-Christian like" treatment of the refugees who had been arriving in town, recently. Will Father Leowulf be arrested tomorrow? Will the priest's supporters take up arms and defend him? It's medieval "gang warfere" on the streets of Vespugia!

    House Faroli's men, firm backers of the Town Council, flood through the streets towards the center

This is the event description for the my upcoming convention game at Drums at the Rapids, which is held on Armed Forces Day weekend every year at Fort Meigs, a reconstructed War of 1812 fort in Perrysburg, OH. As readers of my blog know, I have been collecting and painting 3-D printed medieval buildings for about a year, now. I wanted to do a small scale skirmish in an urban setting, but had been scratching my head about what rules to use. Eventually, I decided to use a set of my own: Mean Streets: War in Gang-infested Cities modified to be used in the Middle Ages. Since my game was set in the romanticized look at urban street gangs, portrayed in the 1979 cult movie classic The Warriors, I felt that it wouldn't take much to adapt it to this setting.

    Town Council players, on right, make their opening moves to threaten Father Leowulf in the church

I wrote up a draft of rules modifications for a medieval and fantasy "Malevolent Streets" and sent it to a few friends, who gave me great feedback. Once I was happy with how it was looking, I designed the Father Leowulf scenario -- absolutely NOT based on current events -- and play tested it on my friends in our latest Sunday Evening gaming session. I had seven players, four of which would take on the role of the Town Council trying to arrest Father Leowulf, and three defending him. I gave most of the player groups different objectives. Two noble families on opposite sides also wanted to burn down their rival's homes on the town square, while all factions wanted to take possession of the "meddlesome priest." Many wanted to be the one who had their hands on him spiriting him off their entry point on the board. All factions wanted to kill their rivals, and received points for knocking enemy figures out of action.

    Archers from the Town Council take an advantageous sniper perch on the balcony of House Catrine

The sides were roughly even, with the attackers having a slight advantage in numbers. This was offset by each of their four individual commands being slightly smaller than those of the defender's. I let each player deploy one of their figures forward on their side of the main street that ran diagonally across the board. Although it appeared the Town Council forces made the most tactically clever deployment, placing two archers on the third story balcony of House Catrine. However, appearances can be deceiving. The Dominican monks marching up the street to rescue Father Leowulf cleverly placed one of their figures inside the cathedral with the preacher. Their goal was to spirit him away to their deployment edge on the far side of the board. 

    Attackers cross the street & close in on House Duncan -- staunch defenders of the Father Leowulf

In Mean Streets rules -- sorry, "Malevolent Streets" -- you roll a die for each figure in your command. Any figures in command range of the leader roll them together and the player can choose which figure receives which die. Figures off on their own outside of command range are rolled for individually. A roll of 1-3 gives one action to the figure assigned that die, 4-5 provides two actions, and a 6 three actions. So, there is an advantage in keeping figures within command range, balanced out by trying to achieve more strategic objectives. In Malevolent Streets, the "Gang Boss" is called a Hero, a Warchief is a Companion, and Punks are Followers. The die that is rolled for combat and morale is a d8 instead of a d6, though. I wanted more swing and more granularity to accommodate larger monsters in a fantasy version of the game.

    A couple well-armed townsmen defend the gate & doors of the cathedral as attackers cross the walls

The game opened with the sniper archers in the Catrine House balcony loosing their arrows at the cathedral defenders. The rest of the Town Council forces began a fast advance, closing in on the both the cathedral and House Duncan -- one of the wealthy families that supported Father Leowulf. The defenders moved up more cautiously. Leowulf's defending forces -- a band of Franciscan monks and a few well-armed veteran citizens did not deploy anyone in the cathedral with the recalcitrant father. This proved to be a big mistake, as the Dominican Companion immediately moved Leowulf to the back of the church and towards the rear doors. Throughout the game, he would drag the sometimes reluctant priest out of the church, over the walls, and towards the Dominican corner of the board.

    Simultaneously, House Duncan comes under assault by the Town Council - blood is being shed!

 Meanwhile, the players focused on each other's forces as primary targets. After all, each enemy killed was +1 Victory Point -- why not take out the other players' troops? It took us a couple turns to begin to easily calculate the archer's range modifiers (-1 for each complete 6" away the target is), but otherwise, folks picked up the rules fairly quickly. After the game, we discussed what needed changed. To my surprise, there were fairly few tweaks needed, according to my players. I know that Mean Streets "works" as a game, so shouldn't need major retooling. However, I thought with the change in period and the move to a d8 die my players would have more concerns. As it was, the players said they were happy with how the game worked.

    While the attacking players are distracted by the fighting, Keith at left has a wily plan...!

Then I sprung my entire evil plan on them. I wanted to use Malevolent Streets for a cooperative fantasy skirmish game, with each player controlling a Hero, Companion, and Follower. I would control the foes. Thus, why it needed to be fast and simple. They sat back for a moment and said yeah, it would work. They liked it -- and said they preferred it over Four Delvers, which we had tried recently. They also gave me a few suggested tweaks for the scenario. 

    A well-armed retainer hired by the Dominican monks hustles Leowulf out the back & over the wall

So, how did the action unfold? The archer snipers in the House Catrine balcony kept the defending forces' heads down, and made them move up cautiously. In fact, they distracted Father Leowulf's Franciscan monk defenders so much, they didn't notice when their Dominican allies hustled the priest out the back doors of the cathedral and towards their own lines. House Duncan, faithful to Leowulf, was also distracted by the aggressive advance of the forces of the Town Council. Lord Duncan and his Companion waded into the less-skilled ruffians hired by the Town Council and began cutting them down. Meanwhile, some of Duncan's own retainers were being killed by House Faroli's men, who vaulted the walls of the cathedral -- further distracting Leowulf's Defenders.

    Attackers are over the cathedral walls -- unaware that Dominican monks are spiriting Leowulf away

Meanwhile, Duncan's mortal enemies on the Council, House Catrine, also launched an all-out assault on his fortified home. Two of Catrine's thugs even broke into the house and set fire to the first floor. Lord Duncan, seeing the smoke, barged in after them and cut down the two unskilled ruffians. However, Duncan's forces were slowly being whittled down, and it was all he could do to save his own house. Father Leowulf was in the hands of the Franciscans and Dominicans, as far as he was concerned. He and his men were holding off two to three of the enemy bands. 

    Leowulf's defenders rush to oppose the incursion & men begin to die upon holy ground!

On the far side of the board, House Stronghelm, declaring for the Town Council, was probably the least aggressive of the attackers. They crept up one side of the table towards the Dominicans, killing one or two, and burning a home that others had holed up inside, driving them off.  Too late, Stronghelm and his men saw Father Duncan being hustled across the board by their foes. They tried to intervene, but the wily monks had consolidated their forces and formed an armed wall between Stronghelm's men and the priest. The captain of the Town Council's ruffians sprinted the length of the table, once he saw the danger of the Dominican plan. However, he was unable to break through the men protecting Leowulf's reluctant escape from his own cathedral.

    More attackers press forward on the right, setting fire to a home that the monks had holed up inside

In the end, although it appeared the Dominicans won handily, they actually only tied House Duncan in victory points. The noble defender and his men killed enough enemies, plus received bonus points that the father was out of the Council's clutches. Mike S proved that sometimes fighting and killing your enemies effectively is enough to win a game! I look forward to getting one or two more of my newly-purchased medieval buildings painted up before the game on May 15-16. That should allow me to make the table a bit denser, and possibly also swap out a few of my more rural Acheson Creations Dark Age resin buildings on the table. It was a fun game, though, and I'm glad the players enjoyed the system.

    After his home is set afire, Duncan himself bursts in & slays two ruffians hired by House Catrine

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 176
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 91

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 7
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 25

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 17
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 59 

    A Franciscan monk defending Leowulf assaults House Catrine to get at the balcony archers

 

    Attackers realize the peril too late! Leowulf has been taken off-board by the Dominican player

Hurrying to Get Things Done for my Medieval Town Game

    Fountain for my fantasy or medieval games (from the Ferisia line called 'Dwarven Stone Fountain')

I'm scheduled to run my first medieval town skirmish in two weeks or so at Drums at the Rapids, May 15-16, at Fort Meigs. Since Rich Brown and I are still working on tweaking Four Delvers, I decided to not use it and instead run the game with a system that I am satisfied with already. So, I'll be using my Mean Streets gang warfare game, with modifications made for a Fantasy/Medieval setting. Even though there will be some tweaks to that, too, I know the basic command & control and combat systems work well enough already. So, with a deadline looming, I am hurrying to get some buildings, scatter, and miniatures done in time for the game.

    Stone Cutters Yard -- which could also be used as a stable, also from the Ferisial 3-D printed line

These items represent the bare minimum that I wanted to get done for the game. The two smaller buildings (Stone Cutters Yard and Dwarven Fountain) are also from the Ferisia line carried by Rich at RRB Minis & More. The pair of two-wheeled carts and the four-wheel wagon are from A Critical Hit that I picked up at Cincycon 2026. I'm also working on eight miniatures from Gripping Beast and (I think) Old Glory to add to my Dark Ages Saga figures that I already have painted up. I hope that I will also get one more of the larger Ferisia buildings done, but we will have to see. Those take time with all the different levels and having to do both the interiors and exteriors. Still, I wasn't expecting to run a medieval town skirmish till later in the year. So, getting one on the table in spring is way ahead of schedule!

    A look at the wood tile roof for the fountain -- dwarven runes carved into stones on the corners

Both the Stone Cutter's Yard and Fountain are very simple buildings to do, requiring fewer colors and details than the Duncan or Catrine House. I started out with the usual black spray prime and then 50/50 water and acrylic paint to make sure all the crevices were fully covered. For the Fountain, I did a dark gray wet brush over the entire bottom half of the structure. For the roof, I used a medium leather color for the wooden tiles, much like I did with the Merchant Store B I finished a week or so, ago. The Stone Cutter Yard roof also got the same initial coating of medium leather. Its floor appears to be stone tile covered in dirt and mud. So, the floor received a dark gray wet brush, too. However, the two walls are obviously wood, so I wet brushed them dark brown. 

    Jets of water emerging from the mouth of the carved faces are fiber optic wire glued into place

Since the Fountain was going to be all gray, except for its roof, I did a medium gray dry brush, too, to give it more depth. Once that had dried, I highlighted it with a light gray. The bottoms and sides of each basin were given a light blue color on the walls so that people would think "water" when they saw it. Yes, I know that if a gray stone basin has water poured into it, the sides don't suddenly turn light blue! However, the key is for people seeing a piece of terrain to make the right connection. Light blue often means water in our brains. And who's to say that it isn't reflecting the blue sky above? Ha, ha! All doubt would be removed with the "water" I crafted from fiber optic wire pouring out of the dwarves' mouths. It turned out much better than I thought it would, and encouraged me to paint some white splashes and wavelets in each basin.

    Stone Cutters Yard without the roof -- nice & simple 3-D building to paint up!

The wood tiles on the roofs got a Khaki highlight, like with Merchant Store B. The other wooden portions of the two buildings were done exactly as I typically do wood. After the dark brown wet brush, I do a dry brush of Camo Brown, and then khaki. For the sections of the floor covered in mud/dirt, I painted in my usual Earth Brown that I use on my bases. Next, I flocked it as I typically do miniatures, with Woodland Scenics Blended Turf. I decided to do a black wash on the wood tiles on the roofs for these buildings. In hindsight, after I had finished the Merchant Store B, I thought perhaps it was a little too bright. This gave it a more weathered, darker look.

    One 3-D printed wagon & a pair of 2-wheel carts from A Critical Hit

Moving to the carts and wagon, they were also quick and easy to finish up, too. I was surprised that I had to improvise something for the wagon's axle, though. Of all the many pieces of scatter that I've painted up from A Critical Hit, it was the only thing that needed anything additional. The carts wheels attach directly to the body of it with no axle. Luckily, the print was done very cleanly and all I had to do was find a piece of piano wire that was closest to the diameter of the holes in the wagon wheels and the shaft underneath the wagon.  The brass wire I used for spears was too small, and all of the dowels I have were too big. Luckily, I had some thicker piano wire leftover from a previous project, and it worked fine. Afterwards, I thought that perhaps a toothpick might have worked, too? Otherwise, everything fit together easily with superglue.

    I had to use piano wire to thread through the wheels and bottom of the cart for an axle

Rather than spray prime them, I brush primed them with black paint. The color of filament that A Critical Hit prints them in is too light or brown for my liking. I prefer the grains in my wood to be darker. After it dried, I simply did a dark brown wet brush, Camo Brown dry brush, and Khaki highlight. The metal parts of the wagon were done in Iron Wind Metals Steel. Quick and simple! And they will look good as random scatter on the streets of my medieval town. I would have bought more of them at Cincycon, but I cleaned them out of their wagons there. Next time I see Blair, hopefully she will have printed some more.

    Two-wheeled carts from A Critical Hit -- bargain price at just a couple bucks each!

As you will see in the next day or so, both buildings and the carts/wagon saw use in a game this weekend. So, what else is on my painting desk? Well, those 8 townsfolk miniatures are about halfway completed. I also spray primed the medieval building I bought from Phalanx Games & Sundry at Little Wars. It is the smallest of the three medieval buildings I have left, so I am hoping I will have it read for the tabletop when I run my medieval town game at Drums at the Rapids in less than two weeks. Wish me luck!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 176
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 91

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 7
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 25

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 17
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 59 

Merchant's Store for My Medieval City

    3-D printed medieval building from the Ferisia line from RRB Minis & More - Merchant Store B

After building another of the large buildings last month from the Ferisia line carried by RRB Minis & More, I decided to build a smaller one next. As opposed to the towering ones composed of 4-5 levels/roofs, Merchant Store B had only two pieces. The lower one was the house itself while the upper one was just the interesting looking roof. What I liked most about it was the covered patio attached to the house, where the merchant would ostensibly sell his goods. It was a unique design and matched the overall look of the buildings I've been painting up, so far. The STLs for the Ferisia line are from Dadi Dungeon & Dintorni. They've created a number of other, very interesting lines, and I highly recommend folks to check them out. 

    Side and rear of the merchant house, with a good look at the wooden tile roof

As much as I like the 3-4 story Duncan and Catrin Houses, I assume that most medieval cities would have a limited number of buildings that tall. The bulk of the homes would more likely be one or two stories tall. Because of that, I'd picked this building up from Rich Brown of RRB at Cincycon, and fast-tracked it to be the first one that I painted up. Of course, I bought another tall one at the same time, simply called the "Merchant's House," that is four stories tall (interestingly, the roof being part of the 4th story). Considering that I just came back from Little Wars 2026 yesterday, where I bought three more buildings from him, I have a feeling this is going to be a routine for this year. See Rich, buy buildings! Ha, ha!!

    My favorite part of this building is the roofed patio and its counter where the merchant sells products

Anyway, back to the Merchant Store B! I painted this one up using the same system as the others, with a black spray prime followed by a 50/50 mix of water and acrylic black paint. Once dry, I completed the stone sections first. I gave them a dark gray wet brush over the black, then a light gray dry brush. Next, I painted the wooden sections dark brown, followed by two highlights -- a medium Camo Brown from Howard Hues and a Khaki dry brush. Next, I painted up the metal components on the two doors and pillars holding up the open air, covered patio. I base coated them in Iron Wind Metals Steel first, followed by Bronze. I wet brushed the window panes and frames in Iron Wind Dun yellow.

    A look at the interior of Merchant Store B and its patterned wooden floor & fireplace

The results on the building looked good, but I thought it needed more. I decided to do a checkered pattern on the stone tile covered patio. I used a very light dry brush, alternating the colors of the square sections in Dun yellow and a light Wedgewood blue. I liked how that looked, so added those colors to the raised arc of stones surrounding the front door to the house and the side door from the patio to the home. Finally, I echoed those colors again on the rooftop's conical decorations. I had gone back and forth on whether to portray those finals as metallic or simply painted wood. In the end I went with painted wood in pastel blue and yellow.

    Front doorway with its 2 torches,  blue & yellow stone archway, & decorated wooden door

There are also two torches flanking the front entrance. Originally, I was worried they might be fragile, considering they are 3-D printed. However, I never brushed them accidentally during painting, so I think they'll be fine. The torches were completed with a wooden handle, metal rim, and very bright yellow and orange. I admit I am a bit worried about the conical decorations on the roof's spine. I snapped a couple off in transporting the building home from Cincycon, but luckily Rich had the foresight to include extras. This is a similar to a problem with the finials on the railings of the Catrine House. You really have to be careful where you put your hands on the model to pick it up. No "claw" grips! Watch where you clasp your fingers around it to pick it up! Otherwise, these 3-D printed buildings are sturdy and solid state. I have no worries about breaking off any other sections. As you can tell from how many I have bought, I really like this line of buildings and Rich does a great job on printing them.

    I wasn't sure how to paint the wooden tile (or 'Shake') roof -- decided to go with a new wood tone

The roof of Merchant Store B obviously looked to me like it had wooden tiles -- not terra cotta ones. I was tempted to paint it with the same red brown base coat and orange flesh dry brush anyway, but decided not to, instead.  I did a handful of Google searches on wooden or "shake" tile roofs. Based on those, I decided to do a different tone of brown. I wet brushed the tiles with a medium leather craft color called Raw Sienna. Next, I did a dry brush of craft paint of a darker Khaki color. I liked the different tone it gave from the wooden beams and patio pillars. In fact, I liked it so much that I chose not to do a black wash over it for fear it would "gray out" the colors too much. Same with the gray stone sections of the store. I did the black wash only on the wooden beam/pillars, the metal, and the Dun yellow windows. I really like how it came out!

    I did a blue and yellow patterned tile flooring to the patio, which comes off of the side of the house

So, what's next on my painting desk? I'm hurrying to get things together for my scenario that I will be running at Drums at the Rapids, May 15-16. I'll be using my medieval town terrain for it, and I want to get as many structures completed as possible. So, in that light, I'm painting up two of the smaller ones that I bought this past weekend from him at Little Wars (see them in an upcoming post on the convention). To go with that, I'm also working on a batch of eight figures that can pass for medieval townsfolk. You know how it goes -- if I am not rushing to get something completed it time for a game I'm running at a convention, things just aren't right! So, considering the upcoming deadline, hopefully you will see more updates soon!

    A final look at the newest addition to my medieval town, which will be used this weekend in a game!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 159
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 91

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 3
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 23

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 16
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 56