First up for this week we have a wonderful Quar Tank from Phil. I always liked the look of the Quar. Too late now of course I have far too many projects on the go.
Stephen has been busy finishing up the Sci-Fi figures he’s been working on.
And finally for this week, I’ve finished my Medieval houses. I made 13 in total, more than enough to represent a small hamlet.
Keep on modelling the end of lockdown is in sight …
Marcus takes us through a recent game of Galactic Heroes.
Fist-Full Of Lead: Galactic Heroes
The boys and I have played a few skirmish games of late, and Fist-Full of Lead (FFOL) is a great option for a quick set-up bit of fun. Galactic Heroes is a stand-alone product in the series for space opera style action. It is produced by Wiley Games in the US and available in the UK from Oshiro Models.
A week ago I threw together a scenario which my youngest, Sun Two, and I blundered through (because it wasn’t that well developed, as a spur of the moment thing), but I forgot to take any photos! This week I wrote up a more complete treatment and we decided to give it a go on Saturday.
With some obvious inspiration (hint for those who didn’t grow up with the obligatory Cold War fiction) I pulled out my home made skirmish board with a surface that works for anything from an arid planet to the ocean depths and broke out all the sci-fi scenery (cue aquarium plants and buildings (some home-made from coffee jar tops) and some geodesic shelters from the lovely range by Alternative Armies Ion Age).
FFOL games rely on a deck of playing cards for activation. A player can use their own ordinary deck or use the bespoke ones available. These not only have some appropriate art, but also include on the relevant prompts with benefits that accrue from activating on certain cards. (e.g. +1 to combat (Jacks), heal a wound (Queen of Hearts) or (Sixes) reload). A player is dealt cards for the number of models they control. Then one player calls out the cards in rank order. When that player calls “kings” a player with a king can activate one of their models. If two or more players have kings, activation is completed in suit order. Each activation gives two actions. The models mainly use 1d10 for shooting and close combat, but a wide choice of traits vary the characters. Crews all receive one common “crew” trait (e.g. advanced comms or camo), leaders get three traits plus leadership, a specialist two and a regular one. The traits provide a lot of character and variation to the crew.
Planetary Research Station Zulu
The war for control of Galactic Space is the coldest war of all. The mighty, technically advanced fleets of both the Rim-Ward Confederation and the Core Union conduct an unceasing ballet of probe and counter probe, patrol and surveillance in the effort to accrue the slightest advantage should the fragile peace fail. Unfortunately, this peace is threatened as a Union stealth probe has crash landed on moon Zulu. Before it crashed it transmitted critical information to a receiver on the planet. But the only occupants of this arid dustbowl are a group of scientists. Communication has been lost and a violent sandstorm rages.
Each side has inserted a team of specialists with instructions to bring back the critical information. Each side needs to contact the remaining civilians and roll successfully to gather information (tokens). After turn five each side has an opportunity once each turn to roll under the number of tokens gathered, which will provide enough evidence to recover the crucial data cache. The side which gets off the board first secures the vital data. However, where there are secrets there are spies! It is unclear how either side came to infiltrate agents into the expedition, but needless to say they did. No-one knows the identity of the spies. When questioning civilians, on a 9+ the subject is a proves to be a spy and attacks the team. The spy is then controlled by the other side, which is dealt an extra card next turn for the additional character. If an opponent’s spy is killed, deduct 2 from their intel total.
There were also some random events in the scenario, including weather changes (the game started with a lull in the storm), buildings blowing up and the dreaded sandsharks…
Finally, I controlled the Core (entering from the left in the layout picture). Sun Two the RimFed.
Turn 1
The game started with a brief lull in the storm. Both teams approached the research station from opposite sides, failing to make any contacts during this turn.
Turn 2
The first random event produced…nothing! No-one was wounded, so despite a sandshark roll, none appeared on the board. The Core Sniper having advanced toward a civilian was, ironically, picked off from a hill to the south east by a RimFed sniper. Out of action immediately! Snarot (a snake-parrot hybrid) struck back with a shot similarly wounding RimFeds Catman.
Turn 3
The weather closed back in with visibility cut to 12” and short range up to 6”. A RimFed trooper interrogated a mechanic (Picture 3), gaining 2 info. with a roll of 7.
The Core leader, Sharon (looks a little bit like an ‘80’s Sharon stone-every collection should have one!), approached a venerable orange robot to interrogate it, but on a roll of 9 it turns out to be a deadly spy, rolling an 8 to wound. Sharon however is “Lucky”, so forces a re-roll…9! Sharon is not so lucky after all and out of action for the game. Core forces have already lost two figures and have no information. RimFed’s Silva Slither (metallic sheathed worm) encounters another civilian and rolls for information, only to uncover another spy. The spy shoots but misses. By co-incidence both spies roll the trait “sixth sense” from my short “spy” list. They can re-roll one shot each turn (but the Core spy overlooked this at the time)
As the turn closed, Snarot tried to finish off the orange spy with a couple of shots, but missed. The Core’s own red worm (red and silver worms have a deep-seated enmity!), Slippery, again tries to shoot the orange robot, causing severe damage (a wound) and shock. For the Core, Spartan closed with Silva and engaged in close combat alongside the Core spy in support, wounding the metallic nematode.
Turn 4
Surely things would improve now for the Core? The random event indicated two information points in a random building. It turns out they are almost immediately adjacent to RimFed’s Antman. He not only collects these but encountering a civilian in the building, also gets another token from him! Slippery tries to finish off the robot, but fails. The RimFed uses a Queen of Spades to activate the robot, shaking the shock off but failing to return to action from the wound (You can attempt to recover; stand up and function after a wound. However, you need a medic to attempt to heal/get rid of it). Snarot again fails to finish it off.
Elsewhere, the Core spy shoots RimFeds Kanga, putting him out of action. RimFeds Hawk tries to get more information out of a yellow robot to no effect. Silva overcomes his wound, and while he remains injured, manages to stand. Antman, sensing the tide of the game is flowing substantially in favour of the RimFed, moves toward their edge of the board.
Turn 5
Visibility clears again. With a staggering 9 intel., the RimFed roll a 6, meaning that they have enough information to recover the secret data package. While slippery finishes off the orange robot spy costing the RimFed two intel., it is too little too late from the Core forces. As the RimFeds forces pull back they callously leave two of their team and their brokenspy behind. Snarot and Spartan try some long range sniping at the retreating forces to no effect. Hawk, Antman and an injured Silva (who makes a sliding equivalent of a limp) make it off the board for a substantial, if brutally efficient win, even while the Core spy puts Catman out of action.
A very bad result for the Core. No intel gathered and their leader out of action. The fact they knocked out the enemy spy and two combatants is cold comfort in this cold war. And no sandsharks. Again. Very disappointing.
FFOL provides a very quick, interesting, narrative game with very little effort. It took no more than 90 minutes, if that. I am thinking seriously about a future campaign in a post-apocalyptic setting using FFOL – Wasteland Warriors and a road race element. This would allow a series of micro-games in a campaign where a number could be played in a day at the club.
One day…
The short lesson today is read by Andy…
I’ve recently finished a couple of dozen Dark Ages figures. Here’s the first instalment: eight Gripping Beast monks from two packs SSC03 Monks Parading Cross and SSC10 Pious Monks
One of the Dark Ages rulesets I use (Dux Bellorum) allows some armies to have a unit of Monks to provide spiritual support to the rank and file. They may also be used as the less combatant targets of Viking raids under other rules.
All paints are Vallejo unless stated otherwise. The monks’ habits are English Uniform, with an Army Painter Mid Brown Wash. The under tunics (where relevant) are Khaki Grey and the Scapular White. Black and various shades of brown were used for their hair (what’s left of it).
The rope on the cross and monks belts are German Camouflage Beige.
The Abbott gets a nice AP Crystal Blue waistband and has some silver metalwork on his crook (Vikings may like those). The preaching monk’s bible has a Chocolate Brown cover and Pale Sand pages.
Here endeth the lesson.
* Anyone old enough to remember the TV series?
Welcome to another Work in Progress Wednesday. We start with some English Civil War miniatures from club member Kimber. The image above is of the Royalist Commanders, below we have a Parliamentary unit.
Next up Stephen has been adding more characters for both Sci-fi and fantasy.
Because I ask about this last week Andy has provided evidence of the various baggage terrain pieces he did fitting into his Ox cart.
But that’s not all Andy has been working on. Here he has started painting a kit of an Eagle from Space 1999.
And finally (again) I’ve built even more 15mm medieval buildings for my Wars of the Roses battles.
I’m currently engaged in a discussion with club members over the colour of plaster for buildings in the medieval period.
I should have the results by next week.
Society member John describes how he made a Zona Alfa battle mat. This was written up after the mat had been made, so there aren’t many WIP shots.
I wanted a battle mat for Zona Alfa so decided to make my own following the Sea mat I made for Galleys and Galleons using the same techniques. Here’s what I used:-
As much weed control fabric for as many mats as I’m ever likely to use for £3.99 from Poundstretcher. 4 x decorators caulk from Wickes £4.00. The Wickes caulk appears to be the best. I’ve found lumps of dried caulk within the tube in other brands
Construction
The fabric appears to be polythene with paper fibre bonded to it in a small waffle pattern. If possible I wanted this to show through in on the finished mat so decided to start on the reverse of the mat with a thin layer over all of it, using a caulking gun without nozzle fitted to the caulk tube.
Firstly, I taped the material down to hardboard with masking tape, smoothing out any creases, before applying the first coat. I applied a thin layer of the caulk and smoothed with a trowel. Here I hit upon a snag. Some of the mastic seeped through the fabric and bonded to the hardboard I was using, I ended with a number of tears which were easily patched with packing tape – they would be covered with caulk later. I’ve tried using greaseproof paper under the fabric when applying the first layer and this seems to prevent the problem.
When the first layer was dried, I flipped the mat over and applied a thin coat on the second side. When this had dried, I decided which surface was going to be the playing area and applied a second coat to the reverse side. After this dried, I checked any areas with packing tape patching showing and gave these another coat of mastic, I dabbed the surface with a sponge to provide some texture.
Finishing
When fully dry, I cut the mat to shape (3 foot square) with a Stanley knife and straight edge and painted the playing area with grey match pots, blending the colours in. Now it was time to get creative with washes to get some variation in the colours. I used burnt umber and black acrylic tube paint. I started by applying blobs of paint on the mat and taking a jar of water, diluted the paint outwards. You can see that here.
I always use fairy liquid in the water when using acrylic paints to break surface tension. This created bubbles on the mat. See detail near base of photo.
I then placed cans under the mat to let the washes flow across the mat. You can see this near the top corner of this photo. Accidently, I spilt drips of wash on the mat and decided to leave them, see below.
When the mat was fully dried, I then dry brushed any raised detail with pale grey and then white acrylic, before applying some light green wash to indicate moss or alga growth.
Storage and Transport.
For the two mats I’ve made, I store them in the garage on top of other items, I haven’t tried storing them rolled up and I wouldn’t stack mats on top of each other (I had a problem with two pieces of marsh terrain I made which permanently bonded together when stacked). Any creases disappear if the mat is rolled and unrolled. From the above photo you can see it unrolls flat.
Further Ideas
I’m thinking of making some 2 x 2ft mats for Perilous tales – a desert area, a swamp, desolate moorland as the techniques are quite versatile.
John puts the 3D printed galleys supplied by fellow club member Colin into battle. This is a solo battle report using the Galleys and Galleons rules.
Introduction.
Rum Baba, an infamous Barbary pirate had been driven eastwards by the Christian warships but was still a thorn in the side of Venice. It was decided to despatch one of the newly built Galleass to their base at Chania in Crete to rid the Mediterranean of this menace for ever. En route, the Galleass and it’s escort were ambushed by Rum Baba and his pirate crews.
The Opposing Squadrons (details in Appendix)
The Venetian Squadron comprised the Lanterna Flagship commanded by Linguine, the new Galleass and a small Galliot to act as scout and draw the attention of the Ottomans. The Ottomans comprised Rum Baba in the Lanterna and three swift but lightly armed Galliots.
Move 1
The Ottomans win the initiative roll and will move first each move. At the start of each move every vessel has to roll up to three D6 and roll equal or above its Q value to gain a successful action
The Galliots rush towards the Venetian Galliot intent on its destruction. Meanwhile, the Venetians move up cautiously and the Galleass takes in sail to maintain formation.
The Ottomans move up and use their final action to open fire at long range. One point of damage is inflicted on the Venetian Galliot from this fusillade.
The Venetians move into close range and fire back
Two Galliots and the Ottoman Lanterna close in on the outnumbered Venetian flagship and the two Galliots who have locked in combat fight to a standstill. The Galliots have the Derring Do special rule and attack with reckless ferocity. In the first round, all base combats are reduced to zero.
With the Venetian Flagship on 3 damage points, the Ottoman Lanterna moves in to deliver the Coup de Grace and Linguine Strikes his colours
With the Galleass now a dot on the horizon, Rum Baba takes Linguine’s surrender and collects his prizes. He hoped for a profitable ransom for Linguine and whilst He would sleep well tonight in the company of concubines, that Galleass worried him. His captains had been reckless, they would need to be more savvy next time.
Appendix – Data sheets for vessels involved in the conflict
This week we start off with some Sci-Fi rogues and scoundrels from Stephen. The miniatures are all converted using various bits from other sets and miniatures.
Next up Andy has made more progress on his Ox cart. I wonder if any of Andy’s terrain pieces will fit inside?
Now we have some RAF and Luftwaffe forces from Marcus.
And finally (why do I always leave my stuff to last?) I’ve made some progress on my Tudor buildings. I’m trying several different colour schemes and seeing how grey thatched roofs look, since that is normally the colour of thatch after a short time.
See you next week.
Jeremey puts the Romans to shame by building a marching camp in just a few hours!
This all started because I wanted to expand my Wars of the Roses army to the point where I could field both sides. In many rulesets dealing with Medieval warfare a camp is required for each army. I only had one camp as I previously only had one army.
I therefore set about making a camp from scratch. Yes I could have ordered some tents and camp equipment miniatures but I was in one of my “Just make something” moods.
I thought the easiest option would be a stockade/Palisade style camp. I already had a base and dug out the air drying clay to make the bank and interior terrain of the camp.
It was at this point things just didn’t work, the clay just would not stick to the wooden base as I was sculpting it into shape. So I took it off the base and continued on the work mat. But then I realised I needed to make an indentation for the cocktail sticks, sorry wooden palisade fence before the clay dried.
At this point I threw my toys out of the pram as I couldn’t see it working and I’d have to wait for the clay to dry. Then I had a eureka moment and turned to my old modelling friend EVA foam. I make everything out of the stuff so why not the camp.
I cut off of a EVA foam floor mat a couple of strips to act as the defensive bank and also (just because I could) another couple of pieces to turn into a hut/shed.
I then fired up the hot glue gun and stuck the foam to the base. Instant results and no waiting for clay to dry.
Ah I hear you cry but how did you create a gap for the palisade. All that was needed was to cut down through the top of the foam bank and then push the cocktail stick down through the cut. I simply used a little bit of superglue to stick them together. I then went across the top with my wire cutters to trim all the sticks to the same height.
At this point I could have gone back to some for of putty/clay to model the inside terrain of the camp. But I was on a roll and wanted the camp finished in a day!
So I went back to the hot glue gun and used it to build up the ground against the foam banking, and I also used it to create the muddy path between the two entrances. This is easy to do, you just use the nozzle of the glue gun to melt the glue as you run back through it. I also made a little pile of logs for scenery.
I then turned to painting the camp. A simply covering of brown followed by a bit of dry brushing with lighter shades took care of the camp and surrounding palisade. Once the paint had dried a bit I spread PVA glue and sprinkled some flock.
Having to pause to let the PVA glue dry I turned to the other piece of scenery the hut/shed. To build this I stuck two pieces of foam together wit the glue gun and then cut out the entrance, I then cut the top of the block into a slanted roof shape. The roof was made by cutting a very thin layer off the foam floor tile and sticking it down on top. This formed a nice curving roof.
To create the look that it was thatched was done by drawing the craft knife gently across the top. Just enough to score it not cut it.
A quick paint job on the hut including painting on the wooden beams in the wall for that medieval look took moments and then I stuck it in place.
At this point for finishing flourish I added some different flock to break up the grass areas. I do have a couple of figures I might add to this, but for a model that took me about 3 hours I’m really pleased with the results.
Here are the answers to Peter’s latest quiz…
Q1a: “Green Grow The Rushes Oh” was widely sung by American troops in which war?
Answer: 1846 War with Mexico
Q1b: What nickname did the Spanish/Mexican population give these troops?
Answer: “Gringos”
Q2a: What TV series usually ends with a rendition of ‘Over The Hills & Far Away’?
Answer: Sharpe
Q2b: In which century was it first regularly sung by British troops?
Answer: 18th – it was a folk tune in the 17th (at least), but ‘army lyrics’ were 1706.
Q3a: Many regiments in the 19th Century had a band. Apart from signalling & boosting morale, what other key function did they often perform in combat?
Answer: Helping with the wounded.
Q3b: How did the Romans employ musicians in actual combat with Carthage?
Answer: Used to help scare the Carthaginian elephants.
Q4a: For a full orchestral staging, what unusual instruments do you need for a performance of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 overture?
Answer: Cannon!
Q4b: What was the WW2 ‘Red Orchestra’?
Answer: German intelligence name for a loose network of Soviet spy rings across Germany & Europe.
Q5a: The song ‘Lili Marlene’ was already very popular among German troops before WW2. Where did the British army first start to take it up?
Answer: North Africa.
Q5b: “We’ll Meet Again” by Vera Lynn is sung during the closing credits of which famous Cold War film?
Answer: Dr Strangelove.
Q6a: Why did Beethoven’s 5th Symphony have such massed appeal in Britain during WW2?
Answer: The opening 4 beats formed the morse letter V (for Victory).
Q6b: Which award-winning Sci-Fi film used five notes as its main theme/signature?
Answer: Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Q7a: A special version of ‘Men of Harlech’ is sung in a famous scene from which film?
Answer: Zulu.
Q7b: What is the full title of the British army unit primarily depicted in the film?
Answer: 24th Regt of Foot (2nd Warwickshires). Note – they only became South Wales Borderers in 1881.
Q8a: Hollywood notwithstanding, the song ‘Garryowen’ was most famously adopted by which unit?
Answer: U.S. 7th cavalry
Q8b: ‘The British Grenadiers’ was introduced to the UK by William III, but actually first adopted by which British army unit in 1716?
Answer: Royal Artillery.
Q9a: Hail The Conquering Hero’ was played in the film ‘Waterloo’ on what occasion?
Answer: Duchess of Richmond’s ball in Brussels (entry of the Duke of Wellington)
Q9b: For which victorious British Commander was it originally devised/dedicated?
Answer: Duke of Cumberland, post-Culloden
Q10a: General Grant famously said he could only remember two tunes. Which was his favourite?
Answer: Dixie (he couldn’t remember the name of the other one!)
Q10b: ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ has been the national anthem of the USA since 1931. Which war was it written to commemorate?
Answer: The War of 1812
Q11a: Music has often been used to intimidate the enemy. Which track was played by the 1st / 9th (Air Cavalry) in their Hollywood debut?
Answer: ‘Ride of the Valkyries’ by Wagner; during the air-assault in the film ‘Apocalypse Now’
Q11b: Where was ‘rock music’ actually first used officially as a psyops weapon?
Answer: 1989 assault on Panama (attack on General Noriega’s palace)
Q12a: Which BBC series was one of the first ever to use all-electronic theme music?
Answer: Dr Who
Q12b: Why was ‘Deep in the Heart of Texas’ banned by the BBC in 1942?
Answer: Because it was thought that the clapping chorus caused too much production loss by factory workers!
Peter sets the latest quiz with a musical theme. Answers on Sunday.
All together now…
Q1a: “Green Grow The Rushes Oh” was widely sung by American troops in which war?
Q1b: What nickname did the Spanish/Mexican population give these troops?
Q2a: What TV series usually ends with a rendition of ‘Over The Hills & Far Away’?
Q2b: In which century was it first regularly sung by British troops?
Q3a: Many regiments in the 19th Century had a band. Apart from signalling & boosting morale, what other key function did they often perform in combat?
Q3b: How did the Romans employ musicians in actual combat with Carthage?
Q4a: For a full orchestral staging, what unusual instruments do you need for a performance of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 overture?
Q4b: What was the WW2 ‘Red Orchestra’?
Q5a: The song ‘Lili Marlene’ was already very popular among German troops before WW2. Where did the British army first start to take it up?
Q5b: “We’ll Meet Again” by Vera Lynn is sung during the closing credits of which famous Cold War film?
Q6a: Why did Beethoven’s 5th Symphony have such massed appeal in Britain during WW2?
Q6b: Which award-winning Sci-Fi film used five notes as its main theme/signature?
Q7a: A special version of ‘Men of Harlech’ is sung in a famous scene from which film?
Q7b: What is the full title of the British army unit primarily depicted in the film?
Q8a: Hollywood notwithstanding, the song ‘Garryowen’ was most famously adopted by which unit?
Q8b: ‘The British Grenadiers’ was introduced to the UK by William III, but actually first adopted by which British army unit in 1716?
Q9a: Hail The Conquering Hero’ was played in the film ‘Waterloo’ on what occasion?
Q9b: For which victorious British Commander was it originally devised/dedicated?
Q10a: General Grant famously said he could only remember two tunes. Which was his favourite?
Q10b: ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ has been the national anthem of the USA since 1931. Which war was it written to commemorate?
Q11a: Music has often been used to intimidate the enemy. Which track was played by the 1st / 9th (Air Cavalry) in their Hollywood debut?
Q11b: Where was ‘rock music’ actually first used officially as a psyops weapon?
Q12a: Which BBC series was one of the first ever to use all-electronic theme music?
Q12b: Why was ‘Deep in the Heart of Texas’ banned by the BBC in 1942?
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