Purchase Plans for Fall-In!

I saw a post at "Lord Ashram's House of War" blog and decided I'm stealing his idea and using it here.

When I attend a convention, I always go with the idea that I'm "not going to spend much this time!" Really, I do try to buy my miniatures from my FLGSs in the area. There are miniatures that my FLGS cannot stock or special order so I am left with either not starting projects that use those miniatures or buying them at conventions. I rarely buy over the internet unless there is a sale or I get a deep discount. With Old Glory raising their shipping cost to $9 per order I won't be ordering online with them very much.


Old Glory
WWI: I need some Old Glory WWI German Heavy Machine Guns. I also want to get a Mark IV tank for my son, who's building a WWI British force to roll over my Germans.

Ancients: Ships, we like 28mm ancient ships so a trip to the Merrimack Shipyards (part of Old Glory) is in order

Napoleonics: I was going to purchase a few Austrians from the new 2e line. However, with the increase in shipping costs by OG I may not start this project.


Age of Glory
WWI: More British Infantry from Great War Miniatures

AWI: Perry Miniatures Tarelton's Cavalry, Southern Campaign British and Patriot Militia.




The Warstore

I really like the guys that run their booth so I have to stop by to say "hi" and then end up buying stuff from them. They have a great selection of terrain odds and ends (for me) and also good discounts on historical plastics. At least in the past they have.

Napoleonics: Victrix British Centre Company, maybe a box of French Line




Terrain
Do you know of any company that will be there selling pre-made trench system for WWI?

That's pretty much all that I need so far and it seems Age of Glory is destined to get most of the money I plan on spending. 2010 is shaping up to be an AWI, Napoleonic and WWI projects in 28mm for me.

Games in Education Day - AAR

Consul Scipio went to the Games in Education Day last Saturday. Along with the Consul came his son (the Son of Scipio) to help with selling some stuff at the Flea Market, play a game and check the space out for next year. Neither took a lot of pictures.

Getting to "Balmer" was easy and unloading at the Charles Street entrance was very quick. There was a very helpful gentleman wearing a bright orange "Flea Market" hat there to help us.

After dropping off my car in Lot C I walked back to the convention center. That took about 5 minutes. Once at the flea market room we settled in and got to talking to others. That's one thing I really enjoy about flea market selling is I get to meet so many nice people. It was a small turnout and I wasn't expecting to sell everything. I did this really to see how difficult it would be. It wasn't a problem at all.
















Fellow blogger Standagard had a table next to us. Together we were able to setup a table to run a game while manning the flea market tables. However, due to a storage in staff (Son of Scipio cannot watch two tables at once) we had to call it off. We plan on offering it (this time we'll remember the SNOW) at Fall-In! 2009. We use the rules "Disposable Heroes and Coffin for Seven Brothers" by Iron Ivan Games.





















Standagards' US Paratroopers and SS:













Son of Scipio got to play in an Ambush Alley game. He had a great time and the guys running the game and playing in it were great sports to let him play! Thank you! Isn't this a nice looking table with a lot of great terrain?















I'm not into "modern" wargaming but I wish I had had a chance to play in that game. We plan on getting the Ambush Alley rules.

At the end of the day (for us, we left around 2PM) Son of Scipio bought some WWI British Infantry from Age of Glory. I'm so proud that he used his own money to start his own historical force. Way to go son! Packing up and getting out was a breeze. The flea market support was again very helpful in getting us out of there. If you'd like to know more about the specifics of the BCC Logisitics and another bloggers observation, I highly recommend Walt O'Hara's Blog.

Space Hulk Returns

For fans of the old Space Hulk Game: Space Hulk is back for a limited time!! Follow the link below to check it out!

At $99.00 it's a bit steep. Apparently the folks at Games Workshop have failed to notice a minor dip in the global economy. :-/

Space Hulk

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Space Wolves Wolf Pack

Although I've long been out of the Games Workshop gaming arena, I still have my Space Wolves. When the latest edition of Warhammer 40K was released, most of the forces in the game received new "Codexes". The Space Wolves have been using their old codex for a long time; however, the wait may soon be over! Space Wolves fans, jump back into the game howling! Run with the Wolves!

Space Wolves Wolf Pack | Monday, September 07 | What's New Today | Games Workshop

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Ceasar's Legions for $9.99 only on 09/09/09

I realize this appears to be a total advertising gimmick - and for the Wargames Factory, it is! For us, it's simply sharing a great deal on good figures with our loyal readers!


From their website: "To celebrate 09/09/09 (the last time we'll have single digit dates until New Year's Day 2101 (01/01/01)) we've made the 48 figure Caesar's Legion set $9.99 for ONE DAY ONLY! Click here!"

Have fun, but consider: What have the Romans ever done for us? ;-)

"Roman Seas" at Historicon

Here is an interesting development that you all should know about. If any of you ever longed to reenact that great naval battle scene in "Ben Hur" you will soon have your chance.

Eric Hotz, the same gentleman that produces the Whitewash City cardstock scenery and also the Larry Leadhead comic strip, will soon be publishing a set of rules to accompany his "Roman Seas" cardstock model ships. The cardstock ship models have been available for a couple years now. They are the same scale as 6mm wargaming figures so you can use 6mm infantry to man the ships. The ship models are superb! They look great on the table and you have to get real close to realize that they are only make of cardstock (heavy paper).

I had an interesting experience at the recent Historicon convention in Lancaster, Pennsylvania with all this. I went there thinking I was going to play in a game based on the Battle of Camerone using the "Sword and the Flame" rules. Instead I found out that I had been given my second choice which was a playtesting of Eric Hotz' yet unpublished rules. What a great second choice it turned out to be! Brian Cantwell ran the game and he said that the goal of the rules was to provide playability and a cinematic feel. I have to agree with that. The models and scenery were quite a spectacle and the game drew a lot of admiring onlookers. Better still, I pulled off some extremely lucky die rolls and ended up winning the grand prize which was one of Eric Hotz' seascape game mats with hexes printed on it. I also obtained a CD containing some of the Roman cardstock models. You can see more on the game at Brian's "Repple Depple" blog.

I hope to soon be attempting to build a few models so I can be ready when the rules come out.

To Mud or Not To Mud: That is the Question:

Few folks realize that William “Billy Bad Bones” Shakespeare was an avid wargamer. You see, when he penned the famous line, “To be, or not to be: that is the question:…”, he originally wrote, “To be muddy, or not to be muddy: that is the question:”

But seriously, whether or not to apply mud to wargames figures, and how much to apply if you choose to do so, is a great discussion topic.

Being an old soldier, I operate under the maxim that there are no clean uniforms or vehicles in a warzone or even on the training field. Clean uniforms and vehicles belong on the parade field!

In a warzone, paved roads are luxuries that are more likely to bring sudden, violent death, than traipsing around in the woods, through all that “nature stuff”. Dirt roads are only marginally less dangerous, though most vehicles require some sort of road to travel on. Infantry wisely avoids the roads or even trails, in order to avoid potential ambuscades.

I tend to sling a lot of mud on my figures, working my way up from the boots or tires/tracks. I recently described the reasons for mud to a friend by saying:

“Mud.

Imagine it has rained for a week or two... the grass in your back yard is so soggy that when you step in it, muddy water squishes up between your toes.

Now imagine that you are running an "I’m on fire" drill in the back yard.

You run - mud slings up your legs... you drop, you get mud on your stomach, chest and fronts of your legs... you roll... you get mud on the back of you. As you go to get up, you use your elbows - turning them as dark and muddy, as your knees, which have borne the brunt of the mud.

That's combat - minus the "4000 guys trying to shoot me" while you do all that! ;-)

Mud tends to be darkest on knees and elbows - the initial points of impact for a body in motion in a dirty/muddy place.

Uniforms don't need to be obscured, cuz it's a wargame... a game. Toys. In real life, I've had uniforms become the color of the soil I was operating on - almost all over!

Add sweat (white salt) stripes around your webbing... Heh! It’s nasty!”

Dirt and mud are an unavoidable part of warfare, whether in real life, or in any historical (or fantasy/sci-fi) war.

So, to mud or not to mud:

To mud: Add mud for the added realism and to add, through the painting of your figures, the gritty, dirty feel of real war. Real soldiers fight. “Wanna-be’s” prance on the parade fields! (Editors note: Quit with the mudslinging!)

Not to mud: Choose not to mud because mud obscures. Some wargamers prefer the “parade ground” look for their figures.

They’ve spent considerable time painting a very detailed, lovely miniature. To throw mud on it would obscure or detract from all that work.

I believe that a compromise can be reached between the “mud” and “pristine” camps. After all, if we didn’t want folks to see what a nice paint job we put on our figures, we could just paint them muddy brown top to bottom and leave it at that. Obviously you can have too much mud!

For those who don’t want to obscure the paint jobs on their figures, I recommend a light touch of drybrushing mud onto the boots, perhaps a touch on the knees – and for “modern warfare models” (call that WWI to current time and sci-fi models), I’d lightly touch on the elbows as well. Add an occasional splotch of mud to the helmet or head, and that will give the feel of warfare sufficient for a game!

In the end, it’s about gaming and having fun, and your figures are your own. Do as you see fit and as suits your style, since your figures are likely to spend more time on a shelf being admired than they are actually being pushed across the table, unless they are the only army you own, for the only game you play!

How to apply “mud”:

1. Pick a “dirt color” appropriate to the area you plan on wargaming. If the area was not renowned for a particular color, then select a good middle ground brown. Games Workshop’s (GW’s) Graveyard Earth is a wonderful mud color. Snakebite Leather, also a GW product, works well too.

2. Apply mud coloration from the bottom of the fully painted and inked (I use brown GW ink, mixed 50/50 with water – or the new brownish wash, Ogryn Flesh) model towards the top, using the drybrushing technique.

2.a. For vehicles, some “throw back” is recommended. By painting up and towards the back of the vehicle you effectively show the forward movement of vehicles through dirt and mud.

3. Apply “splashes” and splotches. A little dab’l do you here; some on helmets and turrets, perhaps partly obscuring unit or number decals – but only partly obscuring!!

4. Seal with your favorite clear coat sealant to protect your hard work!

5. Bask in the glow of your fellow gamers admiring your handiwork – or revel in the verbal warfare than ensues about “To mud, or not to mud:”

28mm hard plastic Viking warriors under development

Here is the latest development rumor from the Wargames Factory. Their next product line will be 28mm Viking warrios in hard plastic. I also hear that ther new line of Numidians is out and they will be giving away free samples this weekend at Historicon.

U.S. Army Enters the Mediterranean!

Bwana Bill and I have been discussing getting back into Flames of War (FoW) for some time now, so we put lead on the table and made it happen!

Bwana is used to playing his Deutsch Afrika Korp (DAK); however, for our return to the desert after nearly three years, Bwana ran the game and assisted his son in playing, while running his all new, fresh off the table U.S. Army Tank Company!



Two platoons of Sherman tanks, an infantry platoon, a Company Command platoon in Sherman tanks, and a platoon of tank hunters - M-10 tank destroyers made up the U.S. Tank Company.

On the German side were the following platoons; Company Command in Panzer Mk IVs (x2), two platoons of Panzer III (with the long barreled 50cm gun - 3 shots per turn if they don't move!) and a platoon of armored Panzergrenadiers.

This appears to represent two fairly evenly matched opposing teams; however, there are benefits and detractors each opponent had to deal with.

After a rousing rehash of the rules (did I fail to mention that it's been nearly three years since we've played FoW?) we placed our units on the table and prepared to duel.

On the first turn, due to the special rules of the scenario we were playing, our units had effectively moved - so could only shoot at reduced rate of fire.

The Germans started the game; my first time running DAK, so I was anxious about my ability to run the army properly. However, this was offset by the fact that Bwana Bill and his son had not fielded an 'Ami' army before!

I rolled to dig in my infantry on one objective - and failed. Since they didn't move or shoot, they were considered concealed and gone to ground.

A few shots at long range from the 50cm guns and the 75s of the Panzer platoons and the Company Command team resulted in one American tank bailed out, one in flames and the 2IC tank(the Executive Officer or 2nd in command)in flames.















First blood to the DAK veterans!















American 2IC tank in flames


On their turn, the Americans chose to move closer to the Panzers with one tank platoon, and wisely elected to place their surviving Company Command tank behind a building. A leaderless company usually results in an epic fail!

Maneuvering deftly up a wadi, the Americans closed the distance and opened fire on the Panzers. The results were one Panzer III bailed and one burning.

On the other half of the table, the M-10 Tank Destroyers also closed the range and fired into the flank of the first DAK Panzer platoon, bailing one and killing another.

The American infantry moved out of their vehicles into buildings on their side of the table and consolidated their positions.

Turn two:

I rolled to dig in my infantry on one objective - and failed.

Having forgotten my Stormtrooper move at the end of my turn, I decided to stay where I was and slug it out with the Sherman tanks. 2nd platoon of Panzers opened fire on the Shermans at range, killing two.

1st platoon lit up the second Sherman platoon, killing two tanks, and also took a "just for kicks" shot at an American halftrack in the open, missing miserably.

I succeeded in remembering my Stormtrooper move, and rolled successfully for two platoons to move, and moved them four inches - one towards the enemy, one away.

The Americans moved their 1st tank platoon towards the objective guarded by the DAK Panzergrenadieres. The half tracks, free of troops but armed with machine guns, moved towards the hapless infantry this turn as well.

The survivors of the American 2nd tank platoon fired on the Panzer IVs of the Company Command team - knocking out the German 2IC. The American Commander, peeking out from behind the building fired his rounds into the panzers, with little effect.















The Americans maneuver aggressively

The M-10s, now in range, fired at long range, and knocked out a Panzer III of 2nd platoon, on the German left flank. Between the M-10s and the survivors of the American 1st tank platoon, the German 2nd Panzer platoon lost another tank, and two more bailed.

Turn three:

I rolled to dig in my infantry on one objective - and failed.

I rolled to get my tank crews that were bailed out back into their vehicles. One failed. The other crew jumped in and prepared to resume the battle.

Since the Americans were now in range of the "doorknocker" 37mm gun on the infantry command half track, it fired two rounds - hitting once, and true to form, the shot bounced off.

Did I mention my infantry failed to dig in, on three tries???

2nd Panzer Platoon fired at the American 1st platoon, killing another tank and bailing one other, leaving only the platoon command tank fully operational.

1st Platoon and the Company Commander chose to shoot at the survivors of the American 2nd tank platoon, and destroyed it nicely. One unit dead!

The Americans rolled to get their tank crews back in the fight, and succeeded.

The Americans returned fire from the M-10s, bailing three of the remaining Panzers in 1st Panzer platoon, and killing one.

1st Tank platoon charged up to the (not) dug in Panzergrenadiers, alongside four half tracks. The armored juggernaut lashed out with machine gun fire, pinning the infantry thus reducing their "defensive fire" to one shot per section, vice the normal three shots. The German defensive fire managed to knock out one American half track.

After killing one section with the MG fire, and nicely pinning them, the tanks and tracks charged into assault. They rolled, I rolled, they rolled, and the infantry was dead. Poor guys never had a chance against tanks, all unsupported like that! However, the German half tracks remained on the objective, thus contesting it.

Turn four:

I rolled to dig in my infantry on one objective - and failed. Oops - hehehe! Never mind, they were dead at this point.

At this point I march moved the Company Commander towards an unguarded American objective. He closed to about eight inches.

On the American turn, Bwana Bill and son attempted to consolidate their position on the German objective by killing all the remaining tracks. They accomplished this without too much trouble - half tracks against tanks aren't much of a match! With those tanks and half tracks on my objective, I needed to pry them off or get a vehicle there to contest it, before the start of their next turn.

The American Commander made a run for the objective, which was about to be contested by the German Commander, and fired a shot at the German Command tank, but missed. Nearly an epic fail; however, he now contested the objective, and on my turn I would need to blast him off the objective to win it, and perhaps the game.

The M-10s fired at the German 2nd tank platoon, managing to bail three tanks - leaving the platoon combat ineffective.

Turn five:

I rolled to get my three bailed crews back into their vehicles, succeeding on two, but the third crew were certain their vehicle was about to brew up, and stayed cowering beside it. Rommel would have been able to inspire them - Rommel I'm not!

The Panzer IV Company Command tank fired at full Rate of Fire (RoF) at the American company commander, penetrating his armor and cooking off his ammo. A leaderless company is not a good thing.

I charged one tank of 2nd tank platoon up onto the recently captured objective, placing its barrel almost onto the rear of one of the surviving American tanks. The remainder of the platoon (the ones that were in the battle!) and 1st tank platoon then opened fire on the Sherman tanks and the two half tracks. Results, all in flames - you gotta love those long barreled 50cm guns, firing 3 rounds each! I do recall the many games when my Brits were on the receiving end of that fusillade, and it is unpleasant seeing that many die rolled against your vehicles!

At the bottom of turn five, I rolled for Stormtrooper moves for each of my units, and all three got it. I moved closer to the objective to insure the Americans wouldn't attempt to retake it with the M-10s, and eased the Company Command tank up next to the burning American CO's tank.

At this point I controlled one objective, and the Americans were without their CO.

As Bwana Bill and his son began their turn, they realized they needed to take a morale check; however, without a CO, there is no morale check. Game, set, and match.

A win for the doomed DAK, and a good first mission for the fresh faced Americans!

Mare Nostrum

I don't know if any of you have noticed, but there seems to be a lot more interest these days in the Italian Army's role in World War II. I think that our friends at Battlefront.com might be largely responsible for this when they produced a very nice product line of Italian pieces and background information for the Flames of War rules.

I recently acquired a new book called "Iron Hulls, Iron Hearts," by Ian W. Walker, which proved to be a very interesting attempt to rehabilitate the image of the Italian Army in the North African campaign. The book focuses on the armored divisions and makes a very convincing argument that they achieved impressive results given the resources at their disposal.

Now our friends at Iron Ivan have published a companion book on the Italian army to their Disposable Heroes/Coffin for Seven Brothers rules. They have given it the title "Mare Nostrum," which is a reference to the Roman Empire and its attitude that the Mediterranean Sea was "Our Ocean." I have not purchased a copy yet, but I certainly intend to. My pals and I want to try some North African scenarios in the hopefully not-too-distant future, and we are bound and determined to not leave units like the Ariete and the Littorio out of it.

Assembling the Sturer Emil

Well, I'm excited as I bought my Mid War Monster so I thought you might like to see the contents of the box and how the models look after assembly.

First, the miniatures come in a nice box. Note that Sturer Emils are 3 per box at $30.00. That's $10.00 each. For those quick to do the comparison, these are CHEAPER than "normal" Battlefront Flames of War tanks!

On the back of the box they list all of the models in the series.

Packed by Noriey. Let's see how well Noriey can pack!

Looks like Noriey can pack in it!

It's all there! Note that after I took the shot, I found the sixth crewmember. He was squeezed in between some tracks!

Here is a close-up of the resin. Notice how "clean" it is. The entire resin model is like that. Very clean castings.

Now it's time to clean up some of metal parts and assemble the models. Only minimal cleaning

was required. The metal tracks fit to the body perfectly. The inside of the separate gun barrel that fit against the body required some cleaning out to fit properly, but not much.

I then glued the crew to a tounge depressor as I like to paint 15mm individual figures in this manner.

Here are some closeups of one of the assembled models.

So far, I've enjoyed putting these models together. Next I'm going to spray them black, spray Testors Panzer Grey and touch them up.

Mid War Monsters?

OK, I'm into just about everything regarding Wargame Miniatures. Historical, Fantasy and Sci-Fi in particular.

I enjoy Flames of War. It's a fun game and simple enough for me. Great way for me to get my toys on the table and kill a few hours. However, I do enjoy history, in particular "North Africa" in WWII. But that's another post.

Recently I got a chance to get a quick look at the Battle Front "Mid War Monster" book at my FLGS, Eagle and Empire. For a book about vehicles that were hardly or not at all used, I was impressed. It's clearly written for "fun". The articles for each vehicle were detailed and, I will admit, included a bit of fiction for vehicles that didn't see combat, although that is clearly indicated as such. One pleasant rule that applies to all these vehicles is they are disallowed in tournaments and used by "opponents permission", keeping these in the "fun only" category during game play. I enjoyed it so much I put myself on the pre-order list for this book and for the Sturer Emil and Boarhound. I mean, a giant 27 ton armoured car is simply not to be passed up by those of us who are Anglophiles. I had no plans to order any of them so I suprised myself that I did so.

Sturer Emil on the Eastern Front in WWII

New "Napoleon" rules

Good news for all you Napoleonic fans out there. Foundry miniatures in the UK has now released its own set of rules. It looks like a very beautiful book with a lot of color photos, painting guides, background articles, and maps. Here is what Foundry has to say about it: "Napoleon is not just another set of rules, it is packed full of information on one of the most colorful and dramatic periods in European history."

"Napoleon contains a unique set of entertaining rules that are flexible enough to be used with almost any basing conventions. It also includes many army lists for the most popular Napoleonic armies, plus advanced rules covering such diverse subjects as pontoon bridges, grand battery fire, ground conditions, setting fire to buildings, friendly fire and ambulances!"

"Napoleon also features articles on painting and collecting Napoleonic models, plus many other sections detailing uniforms and historical background. This 232-page, full-colour, A4-sized hardback has over 400 colour photographs and illustrations, including many Knotël prints, plus numerous diagrams, maps and other illustrations."

As far as we here at this blog are concerned, we are going to let you readers try them out and report back to us. None of us are into Napoleonics. Not that we have anything against it, it's just that none of us have storage space for yet another game system!

Consul Scipio's Projects

Every so often, I like to review the miniature wargaming projects I'm working on. I think this helps to keep me a bit focused. As focused as someone who collects and games just about every genre and many different sizes of figures available can be I guess.

War of the Ring

This new game by Games Workshop is quite possibly the best game system they've released. Ever. It's not perfect, but if you're a fan of "Middle Earth", like 28mm sized miniatures all ranked up in formations, want a quick game but still give a tactical feel, this game may be for you! I've pulled out all my GW Lord of the Rings figures which had been stored away for a few years to see what I had. After review, I can field a 2,000 point Elven army with Rohan Allies and a 2,000 point Isenguard Army, with an allied Mumak! All I need to do is buy some bases for this game. Games Workshop is having a hard time keeping up with the demand for their new War of the Ring movement trays that the bases fit into though. I haven't been able to buy them from my FLGS, Eagle and Empire nor from online mega store "The Warstore". I do need to buy an Isengard Troll to add to my evil force too. So I will post updates as I get relevant pictures of games or modelling projects.

15mm Sci-Fi

A suprise project that snuck up on me. Perusing through the TMP forums, I saw a post on "Space Above and Beyond" being sold at SAMs Club for $18.99. A poster, Cacique Caribe provided some links and a couple were to manufacturers. I clicked on the link to the blog "Dropship Horizon" just to see what the Space Marines looked like. They looked very, very nice. So I looked up the manufacturer, Rebel Miniatures and I saw some stuff I liked so much I had to order it. I'll describe what I ordered and this project in more detail in a near future post. This is my "when I don't want to work on 28mm stuff" project.

Wargames Factory Romans

I am an enthusiast of the Ancient Roman time period. Whenever I find a book about Ancient Rome, I will read it. My first ancients army is an Old Glory 28mm Marian Roman force. Lately I've been thinking I should add to it but I didn't want to continue painting Old Glory Romans even though I am an Old Glory Army member. I ordered some of the new Wargames Factory 28mm Late Republic Romans instead. These are cheap but from what I've seen online, they look good for the price. This is my "when I don't want to paint Middle Earth miniatures OR 15mm Sci-Fi" project.

Other projects I am working on when I have the desire to do so:

• 40K - For the first time ever, I'm building a Space Marine force!
• Warmaster Ancient Battles - I have a Late Repbulican Roman army I'm adding to
• Warmaster Ancient Battles - I have an Ancient Indian army I need to finish
• English Civil War - 28mm Warlord Games and Perry Miniatures are staring at me
• American Revolution - 28mm Perry Miniatures are staring at me to get started
• Napoleonics - 28mm Perry Miniature French are demanding to know why they've been boxed up.

Now that I type this out, I really have a problem finishing projects. Moreso than I thought. What should I do about it, if anything?

Vale,

Consul Scipio

Marcus Aurelius in 28mm

Have you seen or heard of this new figure from Warlord Games? It is the Emperor Marcus Aurelius depicted as a tired campaigner somewhat like he was portrayed in the Russel Crowe "Gladiator" movie. It is an interesting departure from the typical heroic poses that we always see in miniature wargaming. Marcus Aurelius was the epitome of the "philosopher king" style of ruler, and here he looks like he is watching a battle or campaign unfold in front of him, not because he wants to be there doing it, but because he has to be there doing it.

It sort of reminds me of that well-known sculpture called "End of the Trail" (bottom right) that shows a Native American who has obviously also seen a lot of campaigning in his time. In any case, I think I like it, mainly because it is different, and it seems to capture the essence of Marcus Aurelius and what he was all about.

28mm Roman Cavalry in hard plastic

Check out what is now available for pre-order from the "Wargames Factory." 12 horses and riders for only $19.95!

And as if that was not enough, you can now also order Celtic chariots to use against the Roman cavalry. It should be an interesting match up!

Is there a Commands & Colors English Civil War game in our future?

Junior and I attended the HMGS East "Cold Wars" convention in Lancaster, PA this past weekend. In between games we like to walk around and look at what people are doing. I particularly like to see what rulesets people are using. So as we were strolling through the Lampeter Room where all the tournaments are held, we just happened to come across Richard Borg and a group of gents playing an English Civil War (ECW) game with 28mm figures on a cloth marked out with hexagons. Richard Borg is of course the renowned author of several popular games such as the Commands and Colors (C&C) ancients system, Memoir '44, Battle Cry, etc. In the first picture below he is the gent in the white shirt.

What struck me about this scene is they were obviously using the same card movement/action system that has become familiar to us in Richard's games, but this time the rules and cards appeared to be home made. I asked him if this was an experimental ECW version of C&C and he acknowledged that it was. I then asked him if we are going to see this published some day and he said "hopefully."

So there you have it folks; a great "scoop" from your favorite gaming blog! Remember, you heard it here first!

Tools of the Trade – a Prelude to an Introduction to Painting

It was a very wise man who said, “Use the proper tool for the job.” Of course, he was most likely single and therefore able to buy those tools, without the oversight of CINCHouse (Commander in Chief House), which often results in conversations similar to the following:

Wargamer: “Oh!! I need this tool!!”

CINCHouse: “Why? You don’t use the tools you have.”

Wargamer: “I need this one for that special project!”

CINCHouse: “You haven’t finished the last (insert large number over 20 here) projects you’ve started. Finish those before you start a new one!”

Wargamer: ““But it’s on sale!”

CINCHouse: “And… this matters how? Buying another tool you’re not going to use, even if it’s on sale, is still a waste of money.”

And of course, in the end you don’t get the tool, try to make do with another tool you may have never used, and end up cutting off parts of the project, and perhaps your body, that you didn’t want to cut off.

In a perfect world, a guy could buy all the tools he needs to do the job right.

Since it’s far from a perfect world, we’ll make do with what we have, as best we can. However, there are some tools that, if you compromise quality, your project will suffer.

Paint brushes: This is the most important tool a wargamer will purchase. Skimping here WILL adversely affect the outcome of your figures.
Imagine having to pick hairs out of your paintjob as you go. This costs you in time taken to remedy a problem that could have been avoided, and costs you in a reduction in quality. Bad brushes make for bad paintjobs.

Be picky about your brushes. ‘Nuff said.

I use Reaper Brushes, almost exclusively. No, this is not an advertisement for Reaper – I just happen to like the brushes! They are good quality and are reasonably priced.

The average wargamer will need a broad range of sizes and shapes of brushes. For figures, you will need a very tiny brush to use for painting details, a medium brush for applying paint to small and medium areas, a larger brush for overall coverage of medium and large areas, and several sizes of stiff brushes for use in dry brushing.

For vehicles, I recommend the “Tank Brush” by Citadel. If you properly thin your paint, you can use the Tank Brush to paint a vehicle, without leaving brush marks, thus negating the need for expensive air brushes. (Not a knock against airbrushes!)

Soap, Water, and Paper Towels: No, I’m not going to tell you to wash behind your ears. Soap, water, and paper towels are essential items used to properly care for your brushes!

A bar of soap, such as Ivory or some other plain, square block of soap will work nicely. Any old dish will work to hold the water – just make sure it’s cleaned after each session, if possible – or soon thereafter!

The way this works is, you dip the brush in water and swish it around, then wipe it off on a paper towel. Then, after wetting the brush again, place it on the bar of soap and draw it towards you, rotating or spinning it slightly as you go. Then swish it around in the water and repeat until clean, periodically using paper towels to dry the brush off and remove excess paint-filled water.

Another technique, though perhaps not as economical, is to use surgical prep pads; cotton pads soaked with rubbing alcohol. These pads can be used in place of the soap to remove paint from a brush, or so I’ve been told!

It is critical to care for your brushes properly. Brushes will last longer, and be usable at a moment’s notice, if they are cleaned and stored carefully.

NEVER leave your brushes in the water dish for extended periods of time. Doing so will result in the paint being more difficult to remove, and the brush attaining a new, and likely undesirable, shape.

Artiste Palette: No, I’m not going all “artsy-fartsy” on you. A palette provides you with a place to thin or mix your paint, where it will not dry as fast or be absorbed. I use a glossy (that’s important!) square tile, such as is used for tiling floors or walls in bathrooms or kitchens. The glossy surface allows the paint to be mixed prior to use, and it cleans up easily. I use a putty knife and hot water to clean my palette when needed. There are other resources that can be used as a palette, such as a Styrofoam picnic plate – which, instead of cleaning, you simply throw it away.

Another, more environmentally friendly, item that works nicely is a Teflon painting mat. The one that I use, in addition to my "old style" ceramic tile, is called Slip Grip Mats. These mats are easily scraped clean after a painting session, and remain ready to use for some time to come! Bwana Bill bought some at a recent convention, and thinking of his old friend, decided to gift me one! I love it, and more importantly, my wife loves it too! That's especially important!

Water bowl: Folks, a word of warning here. Don’t use your nice china as a water dish for cleaning your brushes!! There are specially designed plastic dishes on the market that have a separator and places for brush storage. An inexpensive alternative is a “Cool Whip” bowl. I don’t recommend explaining to CINCHouse that you simply had to use the entire bowl of “Cool Whip” ‘cuz you needed the dish for your hobby. I can attest to the likelihood of this excuse resulting in a rough night in the doghouse.

Cleaning up: It is important to clean the water dish and palette regularly to avoid cross-color contamination and the introduction of dried paint chunks into your current project.

Clothes: If you own clothes that you would like to be able to wear in public, don’t wear them when painting. This does not mean that you should paint in the nude, but rather that you paint while wearing “scruffy” clothes, such as sweat pants and an older t-shirt. Even though many of the paints used today in the wargaming hobby are water soluble, they are readily absorbed by cloth, and are not easily removed.

In the Beginning…. Part V

5. Priming: One of the most critical issues of our time in the wargaming community, an issue that is hotly debated in numerous venues, and has yet to be decided one way or the other, is whether to use black or white primer.

Since this blog is about wargaming topics and is written for wargamers, I will attempt to remain neutral. To choose sides in “The Great Black V.S. White Primer Debate™” would be irresponsible, and would likely alienate half of my intended audience


My view in “The Great Black V.S. White Primer Debate™” is that one should use whatever performs best for the type of model/figure one is working on!

However, the reality is that I find it easier to use black spray primer on all the figures/models I work on, and then use a brush-on white primer for areas that require significantly brighter or lighter color paint.

I have used white primer in the past, but don’t like the overall effect. My metal colors do not come through as nicely as they do against a black primer. Additionally, when the end model or figure I’m painting will be using darker colors or modern military drabs, the white primer lightens up the model too much for my taste.


The operative statement here is: Use whatever works best for your style of painting!


My style of painting relies on a lot of shading and shadow, and I find it easier to highlight up rather than darken down. Thus I choose to use black primer the majority of the time.


I realize that some individuals will accuse me of not being a “real wargamer” because I choose to use black primer. I must state for the record that there are plenty of folks in the “black primer” camp who make the same statement about those who use white primer, although I would not be one of those people! I would never make such a sophomoric and judgmental statement!

So, let’s not discuss the barbarians flinging fire at the gates of the civilized wargaming world, who suggest alternative primer colors such as gray or rust brown! I cannot, in good conscience, recommend the use of gray or rust brown primers, unless you are intent on the destruction of civilization as we know it! We won’t discuss it here, because this blog is for wargamers, and those who suggest using gray or rust brown primer simply aren’t real wargamers!


But seriously folks:


I used to use GW (Citadel) black primer for most applications; however, that is now impossible, since GW no longer makes black primer. They claim that their “Chaos Black” spray paint also works as a primer; however, it dries glossy, and does not work as I believe a primer should work, that is, covering the figure and providing paint with a surface on which to stick.


I now use Rustoleum black primer, although I have used rust, gray, and white primers too. Rustoleum has the advantages of actually being a primer, is produced by a large company and is less prone to “bad cans of paint”, and it’s pretty inexpensive.

In the Beginning... Part IV

4. Basing – This post is about “flocking” your figures’ bases prior to priming.

Bwana Bill introduced me to a Pumice basing material similar to this. Although the brand I use is different, the effect is much the same – a grainy, gritty putty-like substance that hardens and effectively brings the level of your actual base up to the level of the figures’ base.

I use a sharpened stick to spread the pumice putty around on the figures’ base, attempting to even it out nicely; however, I don’t attempt to make it flat or smooth, to better emulate actual ground.

If you want a tile base or a “stone floor” base, there are several alternatives available. You can use “green stuff”, which allows for ultimate flexibility. I use scraps of green stuff to make larger rocks for bases. You can model tile or stone floors, or simply smooth surfaces. If you have particularly thick figure bases, you can use green stuff to even up the base (bring the level of the base surface up to the level of the figures’ base).

Other alternatives are molded plastic sheets that provide the appearance of tiled, stone, wooden, or metal surfaces. In fact, a search at your local train hobby store will likely provide you with a wealth of ideas that won’t severely impact your budget, and are not too difficult to implement!

Once the basing is completed, I let everything dry. Drying includes glue for figures and any “stuff” used on the bases for texture. The pumice requires approximately12-24hrs to dry fully, though it can be carved or sanded after it has dried.

Some more info on the use of the pumice paste in particular, and basing in general:

What if, as happened to me, you already have an army all primed and based – with no choice in flock on the base, and you just discovered the pumice paste, or some similar basing material.

If you are ready to apply your paint, you can also choose a primary paint color for your basing material and mix the paint directly into the paste. Upon drying, it will be the base color you selected!!! The pumice paste absorbs color nicely and in my experience, there is no detriment to the consistency after it dries.

Other basing alternatives include various types of green, yellow, brown, or sand “flock” that can be easily applied after the figure is painted. I don’t recommend applying any flocking on the base until after the figure is fully painted, due to the chance that paint or ink will drip or run onto your flock, requiring the addition of more flock to correct the problem!

After drying comes priming, which is a whole different topic!