$23 Castle Board (Alternate Title: How I learned to love secondhand shops)

While one is a more current Hogwarts, the rest are Fisher Price little kid toy kits (from 20 years or so back) plus a random girlie princess palace (see previous post for it in all its pink glory). I think the castles were $20AUD for the pair, and the palace was $3. Admittedly Hogwarts was $30, but it is on loan from my daughter so it doesn't count. 

We have been hunting more dollhouses; we want a larger wooden one for a multi-level cyberpunk skyscraper with many floors, (I may even use a secondhand book cupboard), and some more rustic Sylvanian-esque ones for Mordhiem-y Euro village buildings.

Yep, I've also found more LoTR models in storage. The 28 orcs and 6 Knights of Dol Amroth bring my 2023 total to 196 painted. Apart from a few random spares I'm 100% up to date. I'll try to get a few more so I get a nice neat 200. However I found some glorious old metal Confrontation sculpts when digging; so the painting crusade is not yet done....

The latest addition to the collection. While not 100% to scale it's certainly acceptable. Basically I just spray black undercoat and use cheap craft paint to drybrush messily. It only takes 45 minutes or so.

I've got some LoTR siege ladders that should work to bridge the levels.

A closer shot of my Dol Amroth metal knights. I'm glad I picked them up years back (~$30) as now I wouldn't be able to afford them. They probably cost that each! I've now painted ~100 standard orcs and I'm a bit bored with both their sculpts and their drab paint scheme. It kinda puts a damper on my plan to get started on my horde of 15mm WW2 tanks next.  Camo = dull. 

.....Although my daughter is agitating for Girls Und Panzer paint schemes...

I've mostly been buying Plastic Soldier Company and Zvezda models. Zvezda is lots cheaper and except for the Lee and Su-76 (major pain in the butt) they were simple and neat to assemble and look crisp. They came with gun/turret options but lack the extra customization bits PSC has. Zvezda's model-kit approach feels a bit flimsy though - might be nice to add a bit of weight underneath to get more 'heft.' The gun barrels are also flimsier than the PSC ones, but due to the pricing I'm going to keep with Zvezda while stocks last (Russian company etc). 

Although my to-do list should be the same as my last post, I DID discover some metal Vostroyans which look kinda neat....

Lord of the Rings + "Hogwarts"

My daughter and I spent an afternoon in the shed - she painting her toy Hogwarts into a medieval monastery, and I pottering around finding and painting some LoTR models - I found 9 Easterlings from 2022 which brings my total painted LoTR for the year to 344.

The Hogwarts may not win any modelling competitions but it's not bad for a 9-year-old occasionally assisted by dad. Here's what it originally looked like:

 

As part of the deal, she had to help me paint some barrels I found in a box before I helped her with the inside.

 

Conveniently, both my kids now can basecoat and drybrush competently. I may have had ulterior motives in training them...

Hogwarts before....

and after...

 

They aren't to scale at all, but it kinda looks OK from distance. Maybe a medieval inn or manor house?

Finally, I managed to paint some Rangers as "Blackroot Vale Archers" and Prince Imrahil and some random Fiefdoms dude who will be a captain for them. Along with 4 more Guards of the Fountain Court it brings my total of LoTR in 2023 to.... 10.

OK, just 335 more to go this year to beat my record...

In other news, my Battletech: Game of Armoured Combat arrived. The mecha minis are great but the rules are just as clunky and awful as I remember.  Back to scratch building my own rules I guess...

As I was disgusted with the $50+50 postage price of Spectre:Operations I decided to make my own game, and bought two rulesets with the money I saved. Since they were $40 and $45, I actually "earned" $5. Or that's how I explained it to my wife...

Both purchases somewhat have my kids in mind. As we are reading Redwall, Burrows and Badgers looks interesting. While my daughter likes the cute models she was asking about pirates (I do have some nice Black Scorpion metals) and my son was asking about sailing ships as we have been playing Sea of Thieves together on PC.  I've dug out a copy of Fighting Sail (the least clunky sailing rules I own) and some Tumbling Dice 1:2400 which haven't seen the light of day since 2018.

The second is I have been cleaning out old minis by the simple expedient of handing them to my son. Since we are reading Rosemary Sutcliffe's Beowulf he has come into possession of some PSC vikings with the warning I regard them as annoyingly breakable, so his viking dudes flimsy weapons may not survive long.  Thus I bought a copy of Ragnarok: Heavy Metal, a game which seems almost impossible to obtain a review or playtest (or perhaps my Google-Fu is weak). For a game with several follow-up expansion books, it seems pretty unknown. Like Burrows & Badgers, it is also a skirmish, narrative campaign system about vikings who collect and level up god powers after said powers were scattered about after Ragnarok. Hopefully they are winging on their way, and Australia Post doesn't lose them like my $90 skateboard trucks *shakes fist*.

More Fast Cheap Terrain-from-Toys... "Wooden Block Cityscape"

 It's holidays. Mum is sick, so the kids and I camp out in the hobby shed, leaving her in peace.

Dad is cleaning, the kids are ferreting around in boxes messing stuff up discovering old toys, some of which I offer to 'spruce up.' So I get distracted too!

Here is a cityscape I made out of a box of blocks. We are going to use it for mecha, as my 7-year-old and I are enjoying playing Mechwarrior Online together. (I may do a post on this PC game, as I think there is a fair Venn diagram overlap between wargamers/old dads with bad reflexes/tinkerers/mecha nerds...)

 

This was maybe an hour with the spraypaint. I reckon Bunnings should sponsor me...

 

 

The original blocks...

 

A few more shots of the board in use...

 

You could see it would be easy enough to dab on windows with black paint...

Cheap and nasty, but it does the job. All it cost was $3 of grey spray paint, and hour of my time... ...and having to store a box of toys in my shed...

 

As my son and I have also been playing War Thunder together, we have bought from $1 Hot Wheels tanks to play a simple tank game I will invent. I'm going to see if the board will work in larger scales.

The kids tend to hand over stuff fast if I ask if they want me to 'do something with it.' I've even started to get requests! My daughter brought in her Hogwarts set and asked if I could help her "make it more real-looking.' I'll do before and after shots once we finish.

 

You can see a few toys in the early stages of being worked on... They don't necessarily use them for minis - they just want them to look less 'kiddy'

 

The city board was just the reverse of my son's "Ant Wars" MDF sheet - from what I can determine, his "Ant Wars" game bears a suspicious resemblance to Risk with a lot of cinematic creativity thrown in...

The "Ant Wars" side of the cityscape board. You can see I have been waging IRL 'ant wars' in my backyard between painting and cleaning!

 

Something I have noticed with my kids (age 7 and 9) is they like dice rolling but dislike measuring. They also tend to have a grasp of 'odds' -. when they make up their own games they tend to do 4+ on d6 to succeed, but may change it to 3+ if it's 'easier' or 5+ if it's 'harder' or '6' if it's 'really really hard' - which they tend to do organically by just eyeballing the situation. They also like 'saving throws' or 'extra chances' for favourite minis (heroes?). Might be food for a game design post...

Cheap Wargames Terrain: Toy Medieval Castle Repaint

This was part of a $20 find at "Lifeline" - the secondhand charity shop.(There's more stuff but it has already been claimed for the sandpit!) 

I decided to only use cheap craft paint and old brushes; basically whatever I had lying around. My aim was also to make the toy castle look tabletop-worthy in 2hrs and not waste any of my good paints and brushes.

Kids toys are a great cheap source of wargaming gear. I used to carry around a 15mm and a 28mm mini in my glovebox but I am getting pretty good at eyeballing things now.  I notice the Buzz Lightyear space fighters will do well in 15mm scale I think; the included plastic pilots are very close to 15mm.... 

....anyway, back to the castle - some before-and-after photos.

I used only craft paint; I spraypainted black; then lightly with grey, then a VERY rough light grey drybrush. You can see some of the original 'minis' it came with besieging the front gate.

It looked pretty 'plastic-y' and not quite the right scale....  ...but because it is meant for younger kids it is very robust - good for gaming. 

You can see the men of Gondor don't look terribly out of place, and when I consider how much a terrain piece of this size would cost from GW, I am happy enough how it turned out. A fair return for $20 and 2 hrs, I reckon.  I have promised to play LOTR with my kids and I have sneakily been teaching my son the core rules through my home-made 'army man' game (we play at the beach with a dozen or so plastic army men each - last mission was for him to retrieve data from a downed fighter and escape - I control the opfor in a 'cinematic' manner...)

We've also been playing a lot of Mechwarrior:Online so I suspect mech-related wargames will emerge. More randomly, I'm thinking about inventing a rock-wars game (glue eyeballs on rocks and they have stats/combat values based on how shiny/how big/heavy/what colour etc)....  

...Anyway here are the 'after' shots....

Easily Stored Terrain - Cheap, Easy Tree Basing

As a dad with limited gaming space, I am always "scaling down" my terrain, or making the terrain more "storeable." For example, I replaced my expanding foam hills with flat rubber mat hills which stack flat and take up 1/3rd of the space.

Obviously trees with fixed bases take up too much space - it's easier to store the trees and bases separately. So - how to easily do detachable trees?

You can have removable trees, but usually the trees either come with integral bases, or you have to make the base, using say 40K bases or washers.

But I'm all for cheap and easy. And my (cheap) Chinese trees didn't come with special bases.  So I just got  some 5mm hose from the hardware shop.

The base itself will be MDF (a kinda plywood-thickness glorified pressed cardboard) which costs only dollars for big sheets.

I picked a big drill bit the same diameter as the hose, and drilled into my MDF base.

 Since it was a snug fit, I just jammed the hose into the hole. Didn't even bother to glue anything.

You can see the piping poking through. I could disguise them more, but I'm talking cheap easy terrain. I'm not a railroad modeller!

The "dirt" texture is just my usual PVA glue + sand on top + painted with cheap brown craft paint.

You can see the pipe sticking out if you look (like in the first photo) - at normal tabletop ranges like this shot, it isn't noticeable.   I made 6 more of these with my ingredients which fills out a table nicely.

Total cost for a table of terrain = $22: $5 for 120 x 90cm MDF sheet, sand = free, big pack of cheap Chinese trees $10, lifetime supply of 5mm pipe $5, brown craft paint $2.

Total time = An hour?  Cutting out MDF, PVA glue + sand sprinkling, painting, drilling holes + adding tubes - each step was about 15 mins.  Waiting for stuff to dry actually took more time.

"Storability"? Yes. The bases stack into a A4 size box, and the trees go in a separate bag.

"Adequate" Cheap+Fast 1:300 Terrain with Dieselpunk Tanks

Blog regulars will know I subscribe to the "cheap and nasty" school of painting and terrain - i.e. my theory is it is better to have purpose-built terrain that is made quickly and casually rather than rely on printed paper cutouts, tissue boxes and books under a sheet. Likewise, my painting standard is also pretty poor but I think fielding unpainted or only basecoated minis is a sign of laziness and disrespect for your opponent.  In short: "barely adequate" effort is better than no effort at all.

Here's an example of my terrain for my new dieselpunk tank game  which I whipped up this morning:

French forces approach a stranded landship, intent on capturing it or salvaging it for parts.  

You can see my as-yet-incomplete landship (it's a 1:700 Japanese CV flipped upside down) which obviously needs some turrets and perhaps a control tower (yet to be sourced) and, of course, a paint job.  (My no-unpainted-minis rule does not apply in the privacy of my own solo playtesting sessions!)

From the other direction, Imperial Russian forces have also dispatched a squadron to investigate the stranded landship.

Building the hills took about an hour. With a Stanley knife, I sliced up some of that foam sheeting you get from a camping store (the sort placed under mattresses or tents). I think it cost $10. 

I then coated the top in a mix of water and PVA glue. I sprinkled sand on top (the kids' sandpit comes in handy).

I then sprayed it, using up a $4 can of black spraypaint. Finally, I brushed some el cheapo $2 brown craft paint over the top. 

Whilst it is not amazing, I feel it is very reasonable, for $16 and an hour's effort, and is much better than using paper terrain or books under a sheet or similar.

Russian forces continue to advance on their objective.

As usual, my aim is to show there is a "minimum standard" that is easily achievable, as so much terrain on blogs are amazing masterworks that takes hours and hours for a single piece, that are so detailed that I find them discouraging (I know I can never measure up).  My terrain posts are to encourage the rest of us - the time-poor, money-poor dads who just want to get reasonable-looking stuff on the table, those aiming for adequacy rather than mastery.

A supporting force moves up onto a nearby hill to provide overwatch fire.

The Russians prepare to unload engineers to inspect the landship, but French forces have crested the hill and prepare to engage.

I chose the "flat wedding cake" style layout for my hills to simplify the rules for cover/hulldown/line of sight. It also means the models sit flat on the terrain and don't slide around. 

I may create a matching terrain board (simply a sheet of MDF similarly coated in PVA, sand and painted) to replace the sheet if I have an hour free next weekend.

....Anyway, the kids are clamouring for attention so I'll sign off.  Have fun - and remember, in terrain making there's a broad range between exceptional and awful. There's no shame in inhabiting the "adequate" part of this spectrum.....

Multi Storey Terrain // Homebrew Rules

It's holidays, and I am dutifully putting shelves in a cupboard for my beloved wife....

...who am I kidding.

Ah, bookshelves...NOT!

Some of the shelves are....    ...a tad unconventional.

It will form the basis of some multi-storey terrain, that I can store the terrain in.  The cupboard will form the "base unit". I will put balconies etc off the outside, and more walkways (like the top floor) with ladders etc connecting the floors.  I can use foamboard (like the castles on top) for lighter attachments; the wooden bookshelves will just form the core support.  And in the end, I can pack away my minis...   ...inside the terrain?

It will serve as a castle dungeon, a hollow mountain, an Umbrella Corp/MJ12 corporation secret base, an undersea base, a vampire tomb, a multistorey modern apartment block...   ...I have plenty of ideas. 

I'm not sure how to make doors as I'm not terribly handy; maybe some sort of Dremel cutting blade to cut out small doors to connect the two "sides" of the bookcase?

Obviously only early stages, but you can see where it is heading.

I've decided to standardize templates to 3" and 6"; with my own homebrew spray template which works the same for 6" and 12" range versions. 

In other news, I am making some templates for Middlehiem and Modern Pulp (working title); two rulesets that are increasingly sharing mechanisms.  Originally Middleheim was a mix of modified Bolt Action activation, Warmachine (but d10 not 2d6 + stat), with DBA/SoBH damage resolution.

However the game (in play) had a pleasing SoBH/Infinity vibe and I've decided to emphasize this and try making an engine for modern pulp games.  Annoyingly, this off-the-cuff creation (I think I wrote it in an hour) played much better than Middlehiem, so I'm now porting the better ideas back to Middleheim, sans the Infinity-esque unlimited reactions. 

I like both rulesets (especially Infinity), but regard them both as flawed:

Infinity has excellent decisions and player involvement, but a ridiculous amount of (complex) special rules, but it's excellent for shooting combat, though it suffers from cheerleading (models who stand around doing nothing);  SoBH has an excellent risk-v-reward activation and momentum shifts, but is  overly simplistic/bland with limited customisation; whilst ironically suffering from excessive special rules and a shortsighted marriage to d6. In contrast to Infinity, it is weakest in shooting combat. 


Modern Pulp uses "roll under d10 TN" and unlimited reactions similar to Infinity, whilst using a risk vs reward activation like SoBH; eliminating the cheerleading from Infinity whilst allowing the momentum (who is active - a major advantage) to switch fluidly within the turn, making it a bit more dynamic. 

So far I'm liking Modern Pulp better than both games.  I'll do a Middleheim test soon once I fully convert in the mechanics to suit medieval/fantasy. If folk are interested, I'll start doing up illustrated examples and work on making the rules more coherent as I think I'm now content with the core concepts (after completely overhauling activation twice, and replacing the complete mechanics once).  

Toys as Terrain

Was browsing K-Mart (Wal-Mart to Americans?) and came across this $15 bucket of cheap plastic dinos. Since my 2-year-old is fascinated with dinos, and I have some in mind for a Jurassic World style game, I grabbed them.... not realising how much terrain is inside.

I've used fishtank-style plastic plants before, but never have come across them so cheaply and in such quantity.

I quickly drybrushed some brown over them to make them a bit less "plasticky"

Obviously they would look better on a jungle themed board.  You could certainly tart the bases up a lot more if you felt inclined (which I don't). 

You see, the reason I must use a sand table is because my co-inhabitor of the "man cave" insists on being exactly like daddy...

Little Miss was deeply impressed with daddy's sand table and was delighted to have her own - "thank you thank you thank you" - it also keeps her quiet for hours (and less likely to "help" me) when I'm in the shed.

Disturbingly, she now refers the gaming room as "her" shed as opposed to "daddy's shed" (the garage)... I may be evicted from my own man cave! Yikes!

On the upside, she is now showing an interest in tanks "this one shoots at this one - guns pew pew!" which is highly encouraging. A ready-made opponent - albeit one who insists on bandaging up the wounded miniatures after a game....

Anyway, pardon the rather self-indulgent post, and be encouraged to go scrounging your local toy shops - you never know what ready-made terrain you might find...

Cheap Sunken Terrain Board - Dock/Canal/Lava Pit (10mm/15mm/28mm)

Here's my latest quick terrain project.  Again, the aim is:

-Cheap, quick and easy to make
-Convenient to set up and to store

This is not an elaborate modelling project - there are plenty of blogs that do amazing scenic diorama-like boards.  This is for those of us who want to make the whole table in an afternoon, not spend the entire weekend adding rust effects to a doorknob.

Inspired by some of the interesting and varied Dropzone Commander scenarios, I wanted a board with sunken features  that could do service in a range of roles/genres (canal, river, chasm, lava pit, trench).  I plan to use it for 10mm, 15mm and 28mm.

I started with my usual 120x90cm (4x3ft) 5mm MDF. It's glorified cardboard - but cheap, light and surprisingly durable (I've got 4+ year old MDF tables).  I always use glue to seal the sides in case I want to use it for a sand table.

I've got some cheap and nasty 3mm MDF which I've cut 120x40cm. I nail some pine strips to the underside to support it and serve as the canal "wall".  You can see the board on the right (which I've flipped upside down).  

There is now a 10cm wide canal down the middle of the table.  It's about 5cm deep.

I had plenty left over so I made some 55cm x 40cm sections for a T-junction.

Then a few jetties to make it useful as a dockyard.

Here it is, combined with the block terrain I made last weekend.  I'll make better bridges when I get around to making interior stuff like doors, tables and beds. I'll simply swap the green cloth for a red one (lava) or black (chasm) or blue (ocean) as needed.  

1 x Grey primer spray paint $3
2 x 2.7m pine strips (42x11mm) $10
1 x 5mm MDF 90x120cm $10
2 x 3mm MDF 90x120cm $10
Total Cost $33

Total Time 90 minutes (including breaks to safely redirect an interested toddler)

So why bother do a "how to" of such simple terrain?

I find the super-realistic terrain diorama blogs a tad intimidating - I look at them and go "I don't have 500 hours and $300 to make that - even if I had the skill"   It's a bit like looking at Angel Giraldez studio-painted Infinity models - though lovely it actually discourages me from getting my own paints out as it sets a 'benchmark' which I know I can never achieve. I admire, but it doesn't actually inspire.

I found the how-to articles of rough and ready terrain, and realistic paintjobs in the hobby magazine Battle Games of Middle Earth actually made me want to paint and make stuff.   That's kinda the niche I'm aiming for. By showing my speedy, el cheapo terrain I'm hoping I'll inspire someone to actually go out and do it better.