French & Indian War Scatter Terrain

    Everything all together -- the tents, fire rights, and little leather sacks to represent loot

When I decided to recreate the "Skirmish at Jumonville Glen" for the first Ohio History Center game day, I immediately began to think about how to make the game board look nice to museum visitors (and my players, of course!). I wouldn't be able to use any of my showpiece terrain -- the giant, Last of the Mohicans cliffs, the Acheson Creations longhouses, or blockhouses or forts. This was a battle in a rocky, wooded setting. It was essentially an attack on a French camp, so I would have to build that up.

Sure, I had a nice gaming mat, various cool trees, and my really nice (if I must say so) scratch-built rocky ground. I made them long ago using bark mulch pieces which look amazingly like layered sandstone. Still, I wanted more "Wow!" than that, so decided that I needed to make some tents. I did some research and F&I War tents seemed to be very simple triangular ones like you still see in use today. For blanket rolls and bedrolls, I had the three Mantic Games plastic pieces which I posted about awhile back. However, I would need to scratch-build these pieces, as everything else in the "Crystal Peaks Campsite" set is noticeably modern looking.

    The framework of mini dowels and craft sticks in place for each tent, and their paper towel blanket

I started by cutting the bases -- three rectangular pieces of MDF. The upright posts on each end of the tent were done with mini-dowels from the craft store. A hole for them was drilled into the MDF with a pin vice, so they would be strong and stable. For the long horizontal piece sitting atop the poles, I used craft sticks. I used two-part epoxy to attach everything together and keep it as sturdy as craft sticks and mini dowels can be! 

    A look at the blankets and bedrolls cut from paper towel & folded up on the inside of each tent

 Next, I cut a rectangle of paper towel for the blanket on the floor of the tent. I used glue and water to stiffen it, and then craft acrylic paint as a base coat and dry brush. Folded pieces of a paper napkin were used for three sets of blankets on the floor of each tent. I used white glue to attach them to the large blanket on the floor, first. Next, I painted and dry brushed them pale colors like I had the other blankets. Once the interior was done, it was time for the triangular shape of the linen or canvas tent itself. 

I went back and forth over what material to use. I felt cloth or paper towels would have too much texture. Their weave would be jarringly out of scale. Paper or cardboard would be too flat and not have enough texture. I finally decided to go with an ordinary paper napkin that I picked up from a restaurant. It seemed sturdy enough and had a little bit of texture and would look like cloth. I decided that attaching the material would be a 3-stage process. First, I cut the proper width for the tent, but a much longer piece than I would need. I used two-part epoxy to attach one edge to the base. I let it dry thoroughly first before proceeding to stage two. 

    You can see the napkin material held taunt by the dice, allowing the epoxy to affix to the material

Stage two meant dabbing a line of epoxy the to craft stick which was the main overhead support for the tent. I stretched the napkin material tight and set it on the pole, pressing down so the epoxy was absorbed a bit by the material. I stretched the remainder of the material out and weighed it down, so it would stay taunt. I let this dry thoroughly, too. The last step was simply to cut the material to the proper length, dab where it would join the base with a line of white glue, and press it down onto it. I used a paint brush to make sure the glue was properly worked into the paper towel, soaking in. 

The next step was to give the napkin material some strength. After it dried, I sprayed it with clear acrylic spray paint. Once it dried again, I carefully painted the napkin material with a 50/50 mix of white glue and water. Several times during this process, I would carefully use a round paint brush handle to straighten the material. I ran the stick gently on the inside of the tent, from the top peak down each side to where it joined the base. I let it glue dry thoroughly over night.

    Side view of the tents - I like how the paper napkin material I used has a visible, slight texture

All that was left to do at this stage was painting and flocking. I used a light tan ("Wild Rice" craft paint) and dry brushed it white when it was dry. Finally, I used the brown vehicle wash on the sides. Note that I did not need to paint the inside -- the thin napkin material is translucent enough that the color on the outside makes the inside look painted. The last step was to flock the tents and they were done! I felt they turned out okay -- nothing spectacular, but they would certainly add to the look of the table.

I also decided that I wanted to use my flickering LED Fire Markers that I purchased from Bad Goblin Games for campfires. So, I decided to make two campfire rings of stones and simply set the orange plastic flame atop them. I used an appropriately sized circular wooden base, and traced the outline of one of the plastic fires onto it. I then epoxied larger ballast stones in a ring around where the flame would be. I then dry brushed the part of the stones facing the fire black to show they'd be blackened a bit by soot. 

    The ring of stones with the black ballast glued into the center to look like ashes

Inside the stones, I glued in some fine black ballast (maybe used as "coal" by model railroaders?). It gave the center some texture -- I hope it would look like ash underneath the fire. After that, I simply flocked the area outside the stones with Woodland Scenics Earth Ballast and patches of Blended Green for grass. These were super-simple to create, but once the flickering LED is set atop them, they add that extra bit to the diorama quality of the tabletop. I've really begun trying to use more flickering LEDs in my games where appropriate. Why not? They make your table stand out even more!

    Here you can see the dry brushing that gave the fire rings a soot-blackened look (hopefully)

The tents and campfires were used in my Jumonville Glen game, and all of my players (and some of the museum staff) commented on how nice the setup looked. I created them specifically for this game, but now would have on hand for many other miniatures scenarios. The next public game of Song of Drums and Tomahawks I'd be running was less than a week later, at Battles at the Brewery. I had committed to run a F&I War scenario for this game day for the Chillicothe Area Wargaming Group. However, I ended up having to attend a funeral on that same day. Luckily, Jason Stelzer could sub in for me. Jenny and I would drive down to Fifty West Brewing in Chillicothe, set up the game, and Jason would show up and run it.

    The campfire rings of stones with their soot-blackened edges & Bad Goblin Games LED flames

I decided to use my "Interrupted Raid" scenario, which I had run numerous times at conventions through the years. It features a group of Rogers Rangers who linger too long in their looting of a Huron village that they raided. The men of the village return from their hunting expedition, trapping the rangers inside the palisade. Loaded down with loot, the rangers need to fight their way out! In the scenario, each ranger is considered "Slow" (can move only once per turn) as long as they carry their loot. They can drop it at any time, though, and move normally. I needed some sort of marker to show whether a ranger was loaded down or not. 

In the past, I have simply used black pom poms from craft stores (or "poof balls," as I call them!). However, this is in a public place -- poof balls aren't good enough for that! I remembered that my friend Tim Peaslee had long ago given me a bunch of plaster leather sacks cast out of dental plaster as part of the Hirst Arts line. I dug them out and they were indeed small enough to fit on the base of each 28mm figure. Why not? The game was in a few days! Plenty of time, right??

    Close up of the plaster sacks that I painted up and got ready for my 'Interrupted Raid' scenario

I glued the sacks to a piece of cardboard with white glue, and then spray primed them with Krylon Fusion matte black. I went over that once it was dry with a 50/50 mix of black paint and water, to make sure the color had seeped into every crevice. Next, I did a wet brush of Camo Brown followed by a highlight of Leather. The straps tying each sack closed were painted in the Wild Rice light tan. Once dry, they received a final brown vehicle wash.

The last step was to pop all of the sacks off their cardboard, exposing their white plaster bottom. I used some gray tack to turn each upside down, exposing their white plaster bottoms, and hold them in place. I painted the bottom of each sack black, finishing them off. I think the sacks look great, and I will also be able to use them as scatter in many games to come, too. They were finished off on Friday -- the day before the game! My only regret is that I did not get a chance to see them on the figures while the game was in progress.

So, there we go! Some more F&I Was scatter to likely be used in other periods, as well! 

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 288
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 194

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 40
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 61

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 115
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 184

Mesas or Rocky Outcrops from Diabolical Terrain

    A collection of 3-D printed rocky outcrops or mesas that I purchased from Diabolical Terrain

Last year, knowing that Star Wars skirmishes I am running using Space Weirdos rules were in the future for our gaming, I picked up a set of mesas or rocky outcrops from Diabolical Terrain. These are 3-D printed and in a nice variety of sizes from their Desert Rock Formations collection. In fact, I would say that these would work easily for just about any scale. I have them posed with my 28mm 3-D printed Stormtroopers from JS Wargamer Printing, but I could easily see these prints being equally perfect for 15mm. It just depends on how big you want your rocky outcrops or mesa terrain to be!

    28mm Star Wars Stormtroopers search through the canyonland of Tatooine for 'rebel scum'

The first step to preparing these for the tabletop was to spray paint them with a can of khaki "camouflage"  paint that I picked up at Menards. It's the same base coat I used for my Diabolical Terrain Tatooine houses that I painted up back in December. Like with those buildings, I will likely pick up more of these mesas when I see Ron Weaver at his booth at Historicon. I purchased these rocky outcrops from him at last Historicon. They seemed like plenty of pieces for a nice desert tabletop. However, once I got them finished and set out on my desert terrain neoprene mat, they didn't cover up as much of it as I thought they would! 

    'Any signs of the rebels, Echo Six?' 'No, sir.' 'Keep looking -- Lord Vader says they're here...' 

Once the spray painting was done, I was able to skip my usual next step of applying watered down acrylic paint to make sure it gets in all the cracks and crevices. This spray did a thorough job of it, and after inspecting the pieces closely, I decided to go straight to dry brushing. I applied a dry brush of a craft paint called "Wild Rice" -- a very light colored tan that I typically use for highlighting khaki. This brought out the carved rock faces well.

    The 3-D printed pieces were easy to paint up and prepare for the tabletop in four steps

As much as I liked it, I feel a wash always does a great job "softening" and blending in the brush strokes of the highlighting step. There was a lot of surface area, though. Did I want to use my standard brown vehicle wash, which is fairly dark, as well? Hmmm. Then I remembered what project I bought the spray paint I'd used on them for -- my giant, 3-D printed bridge. I had mixed up a special batch of wash just for that bridge, knowing it would take a lot of liquid to cover its surface. I still had what was left over sitting, pre-mixed, on my tabletop. I would look at it from time to time, and shake it to ensure it hadn't dried up. Would it be enough, though? I figured that I would try it first on one of the smaller pieces.

    I really like how the different shades of brown I used on the various steps amplify the shadows

I really liked the effect it gave. Sometimes, if the wash is too dark, it almost erases the previous highlighting. This was a nice in between. You could see the lighter highlights, but it did a nice job of blending the brush strokes and giving a nice, brown color. I went ahead and finished the rest of the pieces and still have some more left over. So, it had definitely been plenty! Once dry, I inspected the pieces. I liked them, but felt that the recesses and cracks were still too light. Hmmm.

I decided to do one final step on the pieces. I took my dark brown vehicle wash and applied it with a small brush only to the cracks and crevices. Although in a few places you can see where this stops and starts too clearly, in my opinion, I was overall happy with how it turned out. I think on my next batch, though, I will swap the last two steps. I will do the brown vehicle wash in the crevices and recesses and then do the overall wash on it. I think it will blend the whole rocky surface together well. A final clear matte spray coat finished off the pieces.

    You can see how the size of these pieces would work for either 15mm or 28mm scale

You can see the 3-D print lines in some of the close up photos. However, since it is a sandstone like surface, this actually doesn't look bad. It gives the impression of even smaller details on the rock surfaces itself. I like how these turned out, and I said before, will likely be buying more of them from Diabolical Terrain. They will be used on the tabletop for sure in my next planned scenario in our Star Wars campaign using Space Weirdos rules.

    One final look at the rocky pieces from above to show you their variety in size and shape

So, what else is coming up or in progress? Lots! Too much!! Seriously, I will post tomorrow my next batch of 28mm Viet Cong. Posing with them will be my first dozen jungle scatter terrain pieces that I scratch built using plastic plants from the local craft store. I actually took the photos of those at the same time as these. I had finished the rocky outcrops first, though, so they get to be featured on the blog first! Fair is fair...ha, ha! Of course, there are more U.S. and Viet Cong figs in process. In addition, there are a LOT of terrain pieces that I am preparing for the sole purpose of selling at my flea market table at Historicon this July 17-20 in Lancaster, PA. Stay tuned for updates on those and other miscellaneous terrain or figures I am squeezing into my painting schedule.

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 145
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 85 

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 21
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 32

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 93
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 60

Players Able to "Get Your Goat" in 8th Post-Apocalyptic Scenario

    F Troop & the Followers of the Dark Prophet behind them scour through the trees looking for goats

We got together last night for our eighth scenario in our post-apocalyptic campaign. I'm pretty pleased to have kept this series of games going for so long. I may run it only once every 3-4 months or so, but still, not bad longevity in the "Ooh, shiney!" world of miniature wargaming! I had encouraged nearly all of the players after the last mission to spend their accumulated points and upgrade the characters. A couple had been giving the majority of the new skills to the same few characters in the gang. So, I told them that *I* would choose which four characters from their survivor gang would take part in the mission. I wanted to even things out a bit, as the different survivor gangs have accumulated widely varying amounts of Renown Points. That meant a lot of the characters with fewer skills took part in this mission (and no leaders).

    Players move their figs on my hexagon mat as the action heats up in our post-apocalyptic campaign

The briefing told the players that one of their gang members had spotted tracks of a herd of goats passing through their territory. Food was short now, with many of the stored or canned foods they'd scavenged expired by now. Some members of the group were getting sick from eating spoiled food. So, fresh meat would be nice! I used my hexagonal shaped board that is roughly 4 feet across, with each gang starting on their own side. The six goats were placed within 6" of the center of the board in woods (light cover). With them groups of players creeping towards each other, I figured it wouldn't be long before they started taking pot shots at each other.

    The Bucknuts creep through the forest towards some goats, looking for some fresh meat

Remarkably, the players were somewhat disciplined and stayed "on mission." Mike W's Bass Reeves were the first to shoot at another player, though, wounding one of Joel's F Troop. Otherwise, when shots rang out across the board, it was goats that were falling to the ground. I took out the normal damage rolls when hunting goats, ruling that a hit was a kill. However, they had to drag the carcass off the table, or at least get it within 6" of their starting edge and remain in their possession. Some gangs struggled to "get their goat" more than others, but eventually, all had their supper heading towards their own table edge.

    Allen's Followers of the Dark Prophet also stalking through the woods looking for game

I decided to modify my arrival rules for the Machines in this game. Instead of counting characters put out of action, I went with the total number of shots fired across the entire board. The Machines have listening points throughout the countryside that monitor for sounds of gunfire or voices, and dispatch bots to investigate. So, by the beginning of turn 3, the first Scout Drone flew onto the table. I used my aerial drones rather than the monowheel ones this time. I rolled for a random table edge and the Bass Reeves were the lucky winner! What's more, it was perfect timing as the two characters carrying the goat back were grouped together nicely with another member of their gang. The machine gun on the drone could get all three with one blast template! Mike seemed unhappy with his luck, but he shouldn't have been. The others could have consoled him by reminding him that I was rolling for the attacks! True to form, I missed with all three at short range -- rolling a 2, 3, and 4!

    Bad timing for the Bass Reeves as a drone surprises them grouped together near their table edge

Tom's Green Dragons crept through the woods towards the gun battle between machine and men. They saw an opening and fired at the drone, inflicting one hit. The Bass Reeves also began to light up the lightly-armored drone, and sparks flew from its surface. They also wisely spread out. Soon, the drone was down, only to have another one fly on in the exact same spot! In fact, four of the six machines that would come onto the tabletop rolled "6's" to arrive on that same board edge. The other two came on behind the Bucknuts. Not very random "random" die rolls...!

    Tom's Green Dragons investigate the gun battle going on between the drones and Bass Reeves

The Bass Reeves and Green Dragons were able to shoot down the second drone, too, but not before Tosh was machine gunned and taken out of action. Mike W showed no gratitude for the assistance of the Green Dragons, and promptly opened fire on them. A gunfight broke out between the two, but no one was knocked out of action. One by one, the Bass Reeves darted off of their board edge, disappearing into the forest. 

    Despite the temptation of extra Renown Points, Joel's F Troop was not drawn into a gunbattle

Meanwhile, on the other side of the board, the Bucknuts had finally gotten their goat. However, the heavy clomping of a Sentry Bot behind them made them all dart into the woods for cover or concealment. Both the Sentry Bot, and the Military Bot that followed it on, opened fire on any Bucknuts they could see within 1" of the edges of the woods. When Mike S wisely retreated all of them into the central patches of the woods, and out of line of sight of the Machines, the bots opened up on Keith's Nightstalkers at long range. My rolls to hit had improved, but all the machines could inflict from this point on in the game were points of "Shock."

    'What's that?' Yeshua and his companions creep towards metallic structure overgrown with greenery

Allen's Followers of the Dark Prophet had spotted something, though. A metallic or glass reflection shone from the central patch of woods. Some of the other gangs had seen it, too, but fearing bots, kept their distance. Allen's gang crept forward to investigate. They soon realized the patch of vegetation was NOT the outline of a tree, but of a metallic structure overgrown with weeds and other greenery. Intrigued, Yeshua sneaked forward and was able to discover a door and pry it open. Inside, the electric hum of machines grew louder. "We could use some of this tech back at the base," Yeshua said to his companion that had joined him. Together, they began removing monitors and other pieces of machinery in case the smart guys back at camp could get it working to help them. They were joined by Earle of the Bucknuts, who after making sure a "truce" was agreed upon, joined them in dismembering parts from what appeared to be a radar or communications relay station.

    Followers of the Dark Prophet and Bucknuts agree to a truce to investigate the building

After the Bass Reeves had fled the board, the Green Dragons moved in to do the same thing with the two downed Scout Drones. They unscrewed, hammered, and pried free some weaponry from the smoking bodies of the drones and began to head back to their own lines. However, just as Feng was finishing up, he heard a heavy metallic tramp and looked up to see the terrifying sight of a Military Bot just yards away. It opened fire, but once again my rolls were crap and inflicted only a point of Shock. Feng hightailed it into the trees and outpaced any pursuit of the slower moving Machine. 

    Nasty surprise! Military Bot clomps onto the table while Feng was scavenging parts from the drones

Luckily for the Bucknuts, when I had chosen which of their gang would be take part in this mission, I happened to pick ones who had the "Ranger" skill. This meant they weren't slowed down by moving through the trees. It would be a near thing, but by calculating how fast his guys could move, I told Mike S that if his guys got the jump on the bots on the next turn, there was little the Machines could do to catch or stop them. We dealt out the cards, and all of his survivors moved before the three Machines remaining on the tabletop! The GM's bad luck -- and the player's fortune -- continued. 

    Early in the game, (from left) Mike S, Tom, Mike W, Allen, and Keith survey the tabletop

All six gangs would be dining on fresh goat meat that evening around their campfires. Only the Bass Reeves had a player knocked out of action (Tosh). I'll have Mike roll for what happened to him, campaign-wise, next Sunday. I joked with the players that this was most disciplined and "on mission" that I'd seen them behave yet! Much as I tried to tempt the players with bonus points for knocking out members of the gangs they owed payback to, the inter-gang gunfire was limited. Still, the players said they had fun. The Wiley Games rules played quickly and we finished up earlier than we have in previous games. Hope you enjoyed the pictures and AAR. Stay tuned for more, we have lots more miniatures gaming coming up!

    Tom has taken control of the Green Dragons -- good to have our old friend gaming with us again!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 100
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 15 

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 10
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 14

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 51
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 26

Cincycon 2025 Purchases

    Do you have one of these? You would if you had attended Cincycon 2025 like I did this past weekend

It's Monday after Cincycon 2025, so that means it is time for a quick overview of my acquisitions from the convention. My spending was certainly not over the top at this convention, partially because there were only so many vendors that carried things I needed. I would also like to take credit for being more disciplined in spending, but I know that is likely a matter of opinion! I spent about $100 at the show, but did not attempt to offset that with flea market sales or similar. I did recently receive birthday money, so I guess I could say I was just buying presents for myself!

    3-D printed "dead trees" from A Critical Hit to enlarge my growing (??) dead forest

I dropped the biggest amount of money at the booth for A Critical Hit. Blair carries 3-D printed scatter terrain and has greatly expanded her line since I first saw her last year at Cincycon. She makes lots of useful scatter for modern, fantasy, Sci-Fi -- you name it! What first caught my eye were the "dead trees" in various sizes. I grabbed five of them (only $3 each, and they are fairly large!). These will "paint up" very quickly. I intend to just do a base coat, dry brush, and black wash on them. After flocking their bases, they'll be added to the dead tree collection I've picked up from Jarl's Workshop and Mantic Games. Expect to see them done quickly, as I want to keep my Acquired vs. Painted at a reasonable ratio...!

    I love A Critical Hit's Sci-Fi scatter -- especially the pieces that use the 'color shift' filament

Some of my readers may remember the Sci-Fi scatter I painted up from A Critical Hit last year. I was struck by the "color shift" effect the material she uses to print some of her pieces. I asked her about it and she said it is three separate colors spiraled together into a filament, which causes the surface to change colors when viewing from different angles. Even though I knew I had plenty of Sci-Fi scatter, I couldn't resist buying a handful more pieces. One is another weird vegetation-encrusted alien nodule. Three are Sci-Fi containers for objective markers, and the last has three cylinders that look like rockets laying on their sides. These may not get painted up immediately, or at least until I start my Sci-Fi gaming back up.

    These tables & chairs will likely be the first thing from my purchases that is readied for the tabletop

What may be the first to be done are the two wooden tables and four chairs. Already printed in brown, I will likely do a dry brush of tan on them and a dark brown wash. Hopefully, they'll look just perfect after that and I won't have much else to do on them. They'll work perfect for any modern, post-apoc, or zombie game.

    These capitals, or tops of Greek or Roman columns, will take almost no time to be ready as well!

Another purchase that should take even less time is the "capitals" or tops of Greek or Roman columns. They're already in printed in gray, and I will likely do only a dry brush and black wash on them, too. I'll toss the three of those that I bought in with my ruins scatter that I can use in various games. 

    I like how they print much of their scatter in colored filament so that you can use them 'as is'

For modern games, I picked up four fire hyrants and four trash cans. These will also take very little time to prep for the tabletop, mainly just a dry brush and wash again. I like how Blair prints much of her scatter so that it can almost be used straight off the shelf. Some people may use it that way, but knowing how quickly a dry brush and wash can be done and how much better it will make it look, I have no problem putting in this amount of time. The 3-D material used has a slight sheen, though, so at the minimum I would suggest people doing a clear coat spray on the pieces to take that luster off.

    Even though I have no current need for them, I couldn't resist these colorful crystals

The final purchase from A Critical Hit was a series of variously sized crystals. I bought two larger ones, two medium ones, and three smaller ones. The larger and medium sized ones do not have a "base" and will take zero preparation. They don't have ground depicted on them and will be used "as is." The smaller ones have a surface depicted. I plan on giving them a black rocky surface using a coal ballast material I picked up from the train store. I want to get them completed soon, too, as I know how little time they'll take...!

    I think I can handle putting together these MDF double-barreled turrets from Dad's Armies

I also visited the booth for Dad's Armies, who carries MDF structures and buildings for various periods, especially Sci-Fi. The genesis of many of his products was from the Impudent Mortals line of MDF products, which he purchased and now produces. Last year, I bought four packs from him at Advance the Colors. However, I struggled to put them together. I am not good at jigsaw puzzles (nor do I enjoy them). After attempting to put the simplest of the four together a month ago or so, I gave up. So, I brought the two more complex ones with me, knowing he would be at Cincycon. I placed them on his table, and confessed to him that I suck at jigsaw puzzles. I offered to give them back to him so he could sell them to someone else. Unexpectedly, John asked me, "Do you want me to put them together for you?" I said yes, and asked him how much. He said no charge, but it might take awhile. I told him to take his time -- no hurry. Much to my surprise, he had the largest of the buildings ready by Saturday at Cincycon! Now, THAT is service!!!

 

    In gratitude for John at Dad's Armies generosity, I purchased this laser pointer from him

Since he wasn't charging me anything, I felt that I had to buy something from his stand. I picked up a laser pointer for doing lines of sight on gaming tables, and an MDF kit that looked so simple even *I* could do it. It was a pack of 12 MDF double-barreled turrets ostensibly produced for Gaslands. To me, they looked more like something for a space station or Sci-Fi game. If I ever get back to doing Space Station Zero, they will come in handy. They can also be used in various other Sci-Fi games as perimeter defenses or whatever. I think I should be able to handle putting these together...!

    This book covers the Big Red One's engagements in Vietnam -- which is exactly what my new project

My last purchase was a great find at The Nafziger Collection. George is from Ohio and a loyal vendor at regional conventions. He sells books and other source material and has been coming to our conventions since I can remember. He had a book that covered the engagements of "The Big Red One" (1st Infantry Division) in Vietnam. I was actually planning on having my platoon that I paint up for my Vietnam project be from the Big Red One, so this was a serendipitous find! So, this was a great birthday present to myself!

 

    Individual, 3-D printed cinder blocks from Bad Goblin Games -- I requested these & they delivered!

My final acquisition was not a purchase at all (I think...I hope!). Two members of Bad Goblin Games, who make the amazing 3-D printed trailers you've seen here on my blog, were going to be in Cincinnati for several weeks for work. Since their visit coincided with Cincycon, they told me they were planning on attending when I saw them at Siege of Augusta in January. I told them that if they wanted to run a game, I would be happy to bring down a game mat and terrain for them. They messaged me a month later to say they had signed up to run a couple games. They had their miniatures and plenty of scatter, but would I bring some of my trailers? Absolutely! I brought all five of my trailers and two other buildings for them to use. In gratitude, they brought me a pack of individual cinder blocks (I'd asked if they made them, and in response, they printed some out). They also brought me three of their 3-D printed, 28mm miniatures for my post-apocalyptic, zombie, or Sci-Fi games. They didn't ask for money when they handed them to me, so I hope they were meant to be a thank you for bringing my terrain (and promoting their products on my blog and on Facebook). If I was meant to buy them, that would be a giant-sized, "OOOPS!" 

    These are the 3 figs that Bad Goblin brought with them to Cincycon for me (pics from their website)

Oh wait, there was another "acquisition" or two! Attendees to Cincycon receive a free 28mm Cincycon miniature. It is always a pig-faced humanoid of some sort. Jenny always gives me hers because she doesn't want them. Appropriately enough, this year's figure is a Sci-Fi one. So, two of them were added to my collection of anthropomorphic "oinkers" I've collected over the years of my attendance.

So, yes, expect to see some of these items being prepped and ready for the tabletop here soon. Otherwise, what is on my desk at the moment? I have a batch of eight mounted Dark Age Welsh cavalry under way. I also have just finished priming two scratch-built shipping container buildings. I got the idea from a Miniature Building Authority purchase, and converted two Reaper plastic shipping containers. I'll start painting them as soon as tomorrow. Otherwise, it may be a few more days before I publish another post. These things on my desk will likely take a bit of time! In the meantime, check out the hit my Acquired vs. Painted has taken below...!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 100
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 15 

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 10
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 9

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 51
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 5

My Hurried Week of Dark Age Town Additions

    Much to my amazement, I got all of this prepped and ready for the tabletop in one week!

Knowing that I was going to be running my playtest of my Viking Town Raid using Sellswords & Spellslingers this past Sunday, I spent the week leading up to it hurriedly getting some more stuff ready. I wasn't 100% sure I actually needed any of it, but figured it would be nice to have them. I readied two Dark Age buildings for the table, painted up nine more armed peasants, added four highland cattle, two oxen, and a burning fire pit with flickering LED light. 

    This Dark Age hut by Tim Peaslee needed only a minor fix to become part of my Anglo-Saxon town

Amazingly, I ended up getting all of it finished, which honestly surprised me. When I first set up the raid's terrain on my hexagonal gaming mat, I felt it could use a few more buildings. I glanced through my unpainted terrain list that I keep in the Notes section of my phone and saw a couple items I likely could get finished in time. One was a gift from master terrain maker and friend Tim Peaslee. A year or so ago, he had handed me a Dark Age/Medieval looking home that he'd created out of insulation foam and wood. He does the thatch, I believe, by running a wire brush through the insulation foam to give the pattern. Tim then paints the thatch and you would never know it was originally pink foam -- except the one he'd given me you could barely see glimmerings of the pink beneath the thatch color. Being anal, I wanted to get rid of that before I used the building, of course! So, I watered down Walnut brown acrylic paint by about a third and brushed it on thickly. It soaked through, covering any pink. A tan dry brush brought the thatch highlights back, and voila -- one more building was ready for the tabletop!

    My "Made in China" rustic stable needed only a black wash and flocking to be ready, as well

The next building is a rustic-looking stable that originally came from Michaels or similar craft store. I bought this resin piece years ago at a flea market and it still has the "Made in China" sticker on the bottom! It had been obviously mass produced in China, but needed only a little more work. I did a black vehicle wash on the wooden timbers and wattle walls. Next, I painted the green base with my usual earth brown that I use for bases. I flocked it with fine brown ballast and then Woodland Scenics Blended Earth flocking. A second building was ready for the table!

    The Reaper Bones oxen in their stable, happy to be finally painted up and part of a game!

Now, I needed more animals for the stable, right? The stable is rather large, scale-wise, and my current collection of 28mm animals would look diminutive inside of it. Luckily, already based but not painted up, were two large Reaper Bones oxen. I primed them with gesso white, even though I know you supposedly don't need to prime Reaper Bones figs. They got a quick paint job as they were the last things I was working on. I did a base coat of acrylic Bambi Brown and dry brushed them Wild Rice. Next, I painted the thatch of hair on their shoulders Autumn Brown, their horns ivory, and their eye sockets, nostrils, and mouth black. A brown vehicle wash over them and they look very passable for a quick, two-day (?) paint job!

    Four 28mm Gripping Beast (I believe) highland cattle wondering what all the noise of the raid is...

Also already epoxied onto bases were a family of four 28mm highland cattle from Gripping Beast. I had put one adult and one calf on each round base back when I was basing them up as objective markers for Saga (that never got painted). They also received a gesso primer, then a "Georgia Clay" acrylic color base coat. I did a tan dry brush, and picked out their eye sockets, and facial features in black. I did their horns ivory, as well. Once they were dry, I did a brown wash on them, as well. At first, I wasn't too happy with how they looked. Now that they are all flocked and based up, I'm much happier. More animals were in place for my Viking players to steal!

    Three of the 28mm peasants I added "just in case" cluster near the Bad Goblin Games firepit

You have also likely noticed, by this point, the flickering fire pit. This is one of the three 3-D printed LED fires that I bought at Historicon from Bad Goblin Games. This one was the most "Medieval" of the three, so I snatched it out from its brethren to add to the atmosphere of the tabletop. The piece comes with the LED light and the watch battery you slide into the slot ready-made for it. The fire pit itself comes in four pieces. There is the cylindrical, stone base, which I painted black with shades of dry-brushed grays. The orange plastic flames and wood pieces are the second piece. I painted the pieces of wood rather than leave them brown, but left the flames, "as is." I have heard some add a reddish wash over the orange flames. Maybe I will try that on the dumpster and garbage can fire from Bad Goblin Games that I still have to paint? There is also a bronze colored ring that goes atop the pit, which I just gave a clear gloss.  Finally, if you want the fire to be "out," they include a circular disc of "ashes," which I once again did in black and grays. I really like these flickering LED scatter pieces. They are incredibly affordable -- just $5 or less. Bad Goblin will be at Siege of Augusta this January, and I will be sore tempted to pick up more of their incredible terrain!!  

    Next batch of three peasants take their turn faithfully defending the oxen, who watch with interest

Last but not least, I spent most of the week working on nine more 28mm peasants I can use for Dark Age or Medieval games -- especially the raid! Some of them are Ancient Germans from Foundry, while others are Scots/Irish (or Welsh, I forget...) from Old Glory. I needed to put weapons in the hands of some of them, so used some of my spare axes or short swords from my unpainted weapons stash. Other than that, I wanted these to look as poor and simple as possible. So, no patterns or checks or stripes or anything, even though I knew it would make them look nicer. Also, I was in a hurry...ha, ha! I used earth tones -- tans, browns, grays, and some grayish greens or blues. I think they turned out pretty good for a quickie rush job. Did I end up needing them for the game to reinforce the peasants I already had? Well, not really! But hey -- I was prepared! 

    The final group of three Anglo-Saxon peasants ready to heroically chase off the Viking raiders

What's next? I have a couple Sci-Fi pieces of scatter on the paint desk right now. No miniatures, as I'm taking a breath after this hurried week of painting! After that, I am thinking of working on some of the MDF scatter that I bought from Dad's Armies at Advance the Colors...

Miniature Painting & Purchasing Tally for 2024

• Miniatures acquired in 2024: 227
  
• Miniatures painted in 2024: 254 

FASA Starfleet Game - Federation Convoy Smashes Through Klingon Blocking Force

    Mike W, standing with Star Trek ships shirt on, explains the rules to FASA Starship Combat

Our usual host wanted to take a trip down memory lane and play some FASA Starship Combat this past Sunday evening. He and Keith had played the game extensively with counters and hex maps in their college and post-college days. Mike W even showed off his tub with two binders full of ship display sheets. However, wanting to play a miniatures version of the game, he had his son Phil print off dozens of Federation and Klingon starships with base stands and got them ready for use.

    Situation towards the end of the game after Mike S and Joel's Klingon squadron had been destroyed

Awhile back, Mike S had run one of the many iterations of the game Starfleet Battles. Mike W, a FASA fan, had not been impressed with Starfleet Battles' complexity. Excessive complexity, in his eyes (and mine, to be honest)! As a gaming group, we had also played Starfleet Battles decades ago when we were in our 20s. We'd given up on it back then because we recognized it as one of those games that rewards the veteran player too much and makes it next to impossible for a newer player to stand much of a chance (with all other points being even). Most of us simply didn't play it often enough to "get good" at it, unlike the bigger fans of it in our group, who practiced at it regularly.

Mike W claimed FASA rules were "nothing like" Starfleet Battles, and emailed us the Basic Rules. I read through them and thought they were a nice, simple, stripping down of the excessive stuff (or "chewy" as my friend Andy says). I looked forward to giving them a try as I felt that, unlike Starfleet Battles, there wasn't enough variation in weapons systems and other things to handicap the newbie and arm the grognard. That said, I still think they were exactly like a simplified version of Starfleet Battles. You still have a ship display. You still allocate your power to movement, weapons, shields, etc. You still move on a hex grid using an impulse system. When you knock down a ship's shields, you still roll for internal damages (though not 40 times like in Starfleet!). 

    The two Federation freighters, left, and their three powerful escorts - 3-D printed by Phil

Mike W had concocted a three-sided scenario with secret components, he stressed. For example, Keith and I were not to discuss our Klingon squadron's victory conditions with our fellow Klingons Mike S and Joel. Allen and Phil ran the Federation's three starships and two freighters, facing our two Klingon squadrons of three ships each. We had a pretty good idea that the Federation ships, one on one, were more powerful than ours -- especially Mike S and Joel's squadron. We just didn't realize how vast that power difference was!

Our glory-seeking commodore Keith insisted that we move up slowly (we came on board after the first turn) and plan on letting the Federation ships destroy our fellow Klingons first. To score a major victory, both our allies and the Federation had to be destroyed, and both freighters captured by us. Even scenario designer Mike W was surprised by our lackluster approach and strategy. As it was, Allen detached his Enterprise class starship to deal with the three D7 whatevers captained by Mike S and Joel. Phil moved the other two ships, one a smaller one and another Keith said was a "monster" class one, towards us.

    Klingon squadron of D-somethings controlled by Keith and I, taking our time advancing

Allen needed no help from his ally to blow up the three Klingon ships, one after another. The slight bit of damage they put on him did not stop him from crippling my ship later in the game when our squadron belatedly arrived to fight the Federation. In fact, I fired only once on the very last turn of the game. I did zero damage to Allen (his shields absorbed it all) and Allen staggered my ship nearly destroying it in one salvo of phasers and photon torpedoes. I told Keith that my ship sent a transmission to Klingon High Command accusing him of sabotaging our chances of victory and blaming him entirely for the our losses...ha, ha!

    The doomed squadron of Klingon Mini-Ds commanded by Joel and Mike S

It was an overwhelming Federation victory. Whether it was Commodore Keith's tactical fault or scenario designer Mike W's imbalanced forces, we called the game as we had no chance at victory, at that point. The rules were very easy to pick up, though. Allen, who had never played FASA before, swatted aside Mike S and Joel's starships like he was the valedictorian from Starfleet. No one made any major rules blunders that I was aware of. If I am going to play a starship combat game, I am fine with FASA. 

    Counters mark where Mike S's 2 ships have blown up as Allen's Enterprise prepares to destroy Joel

Although Mike W insists the sides were more balanced than we (especially Keith, who'd played the game extensively) contended, I think it might take some adjustments to provide a more balanced game. For example, the weapons of Phil's monster class Federation ship (I forget what name they keep saying it was) and Allen's Enterprise class outranged ours noticeably. Their energy systems were more efficient, granting four points of shield protection for one energy unit vs. our two for one.

Of course, it could also be a case of "Federation bias" among the rules designers -- much like some World War II rules like to make Germans into supermen with super tanks. Or maybe not. I honestly don't know, but do know that the two most experienced players disagreed whether it was a balanced scenario. However, who am I to talk? I set up a scenario last week that (much to my surprise) gave the Vikings almost no chance of winning...! 

    Should the Klingons have been worried the GM was wearing a shirt with Enterprises all over it??

Still, it was fun to get together, roll some dice, move some ships around on a hex mat, crack jokes and have fun. Next week, we are trying a completely different take on my Viking raid on an Anglo-Saxon town. It will be much smaller, with each player controlling three Viking raider figures. We'll be using Ganesha Games' Sellswords & Spellslingers rules. The SS & SS rules have the "bad guys" (Anglo-Saxons) controlled by A.I. and cards, with all rolls being made by the players. It should be interesting, and hopefully a lot of fun. Stay tuned to see how it went...!

Miniature Painting & Purchasing Tally for 2024

• Miniatures acquired in 2024: 227
  
• Miniatures painted in 2024: 235