These castings were originally player tokens for Monopoly City that I had acquired in the process of building my Monopolis. For some reason, likely to resell them on eBay, I put them aside years ago. They came to light a couple of weeks ago as I was cleaning out my game room, and I noticed they fit in perfectly with the new battlemechs from Catalyst Game Labs.
Some spray paint and a few details later, here we are! Anyone else using these minis?Sunday, November 17, 2024
6mm civilian vehicles
Saturday, August 31, 2024
Still around
I know it's been awhile--OK, a year since my last post. I have fallen out of the blogging habit, with no real motivation to post more regularly.
Don't worry, though! I am still gaming and still painting miniatures. As proof, here is some sort of giant model I picked up at a flea market last year. I think it's from a Vikings boardgame.
Who knows, maybe I will start blogging more soon. Meanwhile, happy gaming.
Thursday, August 31, 2023
A different kind of convention (for me anyway)
My favorite panel was the first one we attended, "Spotlight on Southwest-Themed Sci Fi and Fantasy," which had four Texas authors talking about (mainly) the Lone Star State and its influence on speculative fiction.
I enjoyed that all the panel members were from or currently living in parts of the state where I had resided at one time or another. I also got a kick out of the fact that two of them were originally from my old stomping ground in West Texas, and their discussions about that region took me back there. They also name-checked several Texas writers, including Robert E. Howard and Elizabeth Moon.
Other panels were just as interesting (like the one on "What have Texas Infrastructure Failures Taught Us About the Coming Apocalypse?") and had may authors from around Austin as well as other parts of the state. We also heard from local horror author Gabino Iglesias, and went home with a couple of his books as well as his autograph.
The highlight for us was special guest Cory Doctorow reading an exceprt from one of his upcoming books, The Lost Cause. His writing captivated my spouse and I, and his take on the future, which can be described as "hopepunk" is one I enjoy.
So that was our first science fiction convention. I think we'll be going again next year.
Wednesday, August 2, 2023
Back and there again: Battle of Five Armies with Oathmark
Some time ago, I discussed gaming the Battle of Five Armies using Hordes of the Things. I want to return to that theorizing, but since my friends and I have been playing Oathmark for the past year or so, let's talk about using that ruleset to recreate the scenario from the book version of The Hobbit.For convenience, we'll go with a figure scale of 1:20, meaning one miniature represents around one score of participants in the battle. Single figures represent certain leaders or other characters along with their bodyguards/companions/retinue.
DwarfsDwarf King (Thorin & Company)Dwarf Prince (Dáin Ironfoot) with 9 Dwarf Linebreakers15 Dwarf SoldiersMen of LaketownHuman Captain (Bard) with 9 Human SoldiersElvesElf King (Thranduil) with 19 Elf Warriors20 Elf Spearmen10 Elf ArchersOthersHuman Spellcaster 5 (Gandalf)Indrik (Beorn)5 Gargoyles (Giant Eagles)5 Gargoyles (Giant Eagles)GoblinsOrc King (Bolg) with 4 Orc Warriors (huge goblin bodyguards)20 Goblin Soldiers20 Goblin Soldiers20 Goblin Soldiers20 Goblin Archers10 Goblin Wolf Riders10 Goblin Wolf Rider Scouts10 Wolves5 Gargoyles (giant bats)Set-Up
Use hills to make a L shape, with each leg about 36" long with the apex to the north. Put some rough ground about 8" across in between the two legs of the L (about 15" from the apex) to represent the ruins of Dale. Place the elves and Gandalf on the left (western) leg of the L. Thorin and co. are at the apex, behind a defensive fortification. The rest of the dwarves are on the right (eastern) leg closest to the middle, and the men of Laketown on the outer end of that hill. All units are facing inward, and the ground behind them is considered impassable except as noted below. Beorn and the Eagles are not placed at this time.
Goblins deploy in the valley within 12" of the south edge of the map and at least 12" away from any elevation.
Special Rules
To represent the vast hordes beseiging the Lonely Mountain, any Goblin unit (except Bolg and his bodyguards) that is destroyed may attempt to come back the following turn. If the destroyed unit activates, it uses one action and may take one action after placement. Units may not be placed within 3" of an enemy unit. Roll to determine location:1 no placement this turn2-4 south edge of map5 left half of western hill6 right half of western hill7 left third of eastern hill8 middle third of eastern hill9 right third of eastern hill10 player's choiceBeginning on turn 5, any unit of Giant Eagles may be placed on the western edge of the map with a successful activation roll and may then take two actions.
Beginning on turn 7, Beorn may be placed on the western edge of the map south of the hill with a successful activation roll and may then take two actions.
Outcome
The game lasts until either all characters on one side are destroyed or until the Goblins move at least two non-flying units into the fortification where Thorin is initially located.
***
I think that pretty much covers everything except Gandalf's spells. I don't see him using fireball, so I wonder what magic I should give him for this battle. Any suggestions?
Monday, July 31, 2023
Solo wargaming
After watching a number of videos discussing this book on the Joy of Wargaming Youtube channel, I decided to pick up The Solo Wargaming Guide by William Sylvester.
While I'm fortunate to have a regular gaming group, I found some of this publication's ideas about creating solo campaigns intriguing. Although the book mainly focuses on historical wargaming, he has some suggestions for more modern and fantasy settings as well.
And the ideas around the solo campaign (create a map, dice for each side's plans, and see where they end up) can also help create scenarios that aren't your usual matching points, line 'em up on opposide sides of the table and have at it.
In addition to the traditional historicals or imagin-nations, this book will prove useful for campaigns of Oathmark, Ogre, and even Full Thrust.
Has anyone else read this book?
Friday, June 30, 2023
Mounted Bretonnian Sorceress
I haven't played that game; however, she worked great as a mounted human spellcaster for my first Oathmark army.
I enjoyed painting up the Lady Monique de Ville, and I used her in many Oathmark battles, where her Sieze the Initiative spell helped my kingdom triumph against their foes.
I accquired this figure a few years back secondhand, from a vendor at MillenniumCon.
I could have kept her in the blister pack as a collectible or for resale, but where's the fun in that?
She belongs on the tabletop, as do all the miniatures I've bought over the years--and these days, some of them are actually seeing action!
I know it's not perfect close-up, but on the tabletop against my oponents, this casting looks great!
Wednesday, June 28, 2023
Dice tower/terrain piece
I cut off the top and bottom, then cut three slits at 45° angles to bounce the dice and cut an opening at the bottom. The wood planks surrounding that doorway are just craft (popsicle) sticks. For the stones, I used scissors to cut dollar-store foam board into irregularly sized and shapes stone blocks. Then I took those foam pieces and shook them in a can with real rocks to add texture.
After gluing on all the foam bricks, I painted it with Black Magic Craft's suggested mix of black paint and Mod Podge to strengthen the build and to protect the foam from the solvents in spray paints. I then sprayed it with a matte black.
I painted the stonework with overbrushes and then drybrushes of successively ligher shades of gray. Once that was done, I gave the whole thing a black wash, and then I picked out a few stones to hit with some shades I had--green, blue, and brown.
Details included some flocking mixed with white glue to simulate moss, and some store-bought trees and tufts and a treasure chest mini to close off the dice corral. Then an overall spray of matte varnish, and it was done!
The dice corral is a little small, making it difficult to remove more than three dice, but it does its job and I am happy how it turned out.