Whither Shall I Wander

We had a game of Lord of The Rings Battle Game on Saturday and Tony had made some terrain pieces that just add that little bit extra to a games table.

So with that in mind, and a wet and miserable Sunday to fill, I decided to make one as well. Only I was a little bit more ambitious. Rather than just a sign post on its own I decided to make it a bit more comprehensive and to theme it to a medieval setting since road junctions in medieval times were important boundaries and points for outsiders.

I’m afraid I didn’t take any work-in-progress shots, but it was surprisingly quick to make. I thought it would draw out over several days. But no. Got it all done in a day!

The gibbet cage was made from styrene strip. It was a straightforward build, but fiddly whilst waiting for the glue to dry. The posts were made from balsa and the stones around the base made from milliput. Most of the time was spent waiting for the milliput to set – put it in the boiler cupboard where it’s warm and then off to Sainsburys to do the shopping whilst it cures. The water trough and parish boundary stone were also made from milliput.

Painting was simple as well. Both wood and stone were from the same colours – a mix of khaki and medium grey. But more medium grey in the stone and more khaki in the wood. I decided to keep the destinations on the signpost generic. Then add some ballast on the base, then add some static grass. And finish off with some clump foliage. The water in the trough is from epoxy resin (the Wickes’ home brand one is nice and cheap). The skull was from GW’s excellent (and splendidly OTT) ‘Box Of Skulls’.

And there we have it – a signpost with gibbet cage, boundary marker, and water trough for tired animals.

Gaslands Monster Truck Build

John Lambert shows us his latest Gaslands build

I’d always wanted to build a chrome Monster Truck after I’d seen ‘Fury Road’ so this is how I did it. The build also coincides with the Gaslands TX2 supplement which includes details of new weapons.
From this:

To the finished article at the top of the page.

Truck body
Firstly, I drilled out the rivets on the Pickup Truck to separate the components. The bonnet air inlet on the truck is a bit naff so this was removed and replaced with a resin part. I added mesh for the windows and windscreen and built a weapon mount from plastic tubing and plastic strapping. I put it all back together, sprayed with Humbrol chrome and dry brushed Burnt Sienna as rust. Job done.

Chassis
I drilled out rivets to separate the body and cut down the chassis to the top of the springs and checked the fit. I toned down the garish chrome on the original, sprayed the suspension parts chrome and black washed over to pick out the detail on the springs which is really good.

Harpoon Gun
I wanted this to be like an old whaling gun. I built it from plastic rod, tube and plastic card. I added a gunner and a 28mm wire spear cut down made an ideal. I painted the harpoon dark grey and dry brushed gunmetal.

Doomriders of the Wasteland

John Lambert sets up our Christmas Gaslands game

A Nation is crushed. Cut off from it’s neighbours, supplies of food and medicines rapidly run out. Power supplies are interrupted and anarchy rules the streets. In a desperate attempt to restore order, weapons destined for a foreign power are unleashed on the population, cities are shattered and a once green and pleasant land is turned into a desolate wasteland. The economy crashes and Petroleum becomes the new currency, supplies are jealously guarded. All is despair.
Yet there is hope! A small convoy with a precious load of fuel breaks out from the city in search of Nirvana in Arcadia but their every move has been followed by the evil “Guvnor” who unleashes a feral gang to recapture the fuel. For the Gang it’s an opportunity for personal glory at the expense of all others – winner takes all with the chance to topple the “Guvnor” from power.

GAME NOTES
The game will be played along a series of game boards featuring a road and other terrain features. The escorted convoy ‘ Riggers’ will fend of attacks from the ‘Gangers’ during the course of the game. There are no victory points for the ‘Riggers’, they will get enough satisfaction from destroying as many ‘Gangers’ as possible. The ‘Gangers’ only score victory points by knocking off War Rig hull points. The winner of the event (and there can only be one winner) is the player with the most victory points at the end of the game and points mean prizes!

Riggers – John, Tony. Dave, Chris

Gangers – Everyone else. So far 6, but if you want to join in the mayhem and haven’t yet let one of the ‘Riggers’ know.

A ‘Ganger’ vehicle must be maximum 25 cans on the Gaslands listing and you can equip your vehicle with as much weaponry as you like as long as it complies with Gaslands specifications, build slots etc. If you vehicle cost is less than 25 cans, we can look at upgrades and perks to top out your vehicle. All vehicles will be checked by scrutineering prior to commencement of the game. If you are in any doubt, please ask.

In addition to the vehicles you will require a dashboard to log the current status of your vehicle. We will provide blanks on the day or you could go for the classy laminated look to your dash for which we can supply templates.

All ‘Gangers’ can provide up to 2 vehicles for the game and vehicles will be offered to those without. The chances of winning the event may be increased if a ‘Ganger” enters with two vehicles. During the course of the game, Vehicles may lose all of their hull points in which case, they are not out of the game but ‘respawn’, re entering the game at the entry point of the game board they are currently on but in first gear and half hull points.

That’s enough information revealed for now, so if you haven’t started, get building!

The Gesta Owaini

Stephen regales us with another saga of the SAGA campaign

There is safety in numbers. Mind, there is also cowardice and dishonour.

It happened that Fritjolf Erlandsson had been raiding the coasts of Britannia and his raids took him north, around the rocky shores of Cape Wrath, and down through the Hibernian seas and the Isles of Manannan. He took landfall at Anglesey before heading down the Conway and harrying the good people who lived in the fertile valley.

This news soon passed to the bishop of Bangor who called upon his bondsman, Owain the Wolf Tamer, to fall upon the norsemen and bring slaughter to them. Owain was pleased to do the bishop’s bidding and he said his prayers unto the Lord that he may prevail in this endeavour.

It was in the woods of Tal-Y-Bont that Owain found Fritjolf and his men lurking, taking camp amid a collection of hoary stones engraved with the symbols of the ancients.

Fritjolf bellowed out to Owain, challenging him to a duel. But Owain was known for his wisdom and canniness, and he knew the deceit of the Vikings, and he was cunning in his actions for he made the leader of the Norse think he had been fooled, but he knew that Fritjolf had hidden his men in the woods and would lay upon him when he drew near. In his turn, Owain had arranged his own warriors and loyal bondsmen, so that Fritjolf would be trapped and Owain could take him back in chains to the bishop in Bangor.

Owain drew his javelins and let a flurry fly at Fritjolf and such was the accuracy of his aim that he pricked the Norse leader terribly. At this Fritjolf showed his true self and hastily fled from Owain and sought sanctuary amongst his men, too cowardly to take the fight to Owain as man against man,as he had entreated. Oh no! This Norse warrior, who had boasted and goaded the bold Owain, soon hid behind his men whilst Owain stood firm, alone, without need of hiding behind the men he was responsible for. So much for heroics when this cursed raider could do nothing more heroic than use his own men, men who had come to his banner, as a shield to protect his own dishonourable hide.

Owain had long since inspired devotion and loyalty in his followers who willingly moved forward to engage the Norse raiders to protect their lord and land.

Many times did Fritjolf and his raiders know the bitter taste of Welsh iron and fell sorry sore at the points of their javelins.

Owain danced around the raiders, his knowledge of the land of his fathers playing into his hands, and the vikings were at a loss at what to do.

And so it happened that Fritjolf and his raiders were sent packing. Lucky them that they were not sent in chains to the bishop, but with their tails between their legs they were beaten off and they made for their longships and took to the seas once more.

They would have no joy in the lands of Cymru!