June 2022 – Mark A. Morin

My HUZZAH! 2022 Recap

HUZZAH! 2022 was held in South Portland Maine from Thursday May 12th to Sunday May 15th. This would mark the first time that this great convention ran since the beginning of the pandemic.

I had previously attended HUZZAH! as only a gamer in 2019 and blogged about it here. I was impressed with the games there and as well with the Maine Historical Wargamers Association (MHWA) that runs it. I was determined that I would run some games there in 2020….

That became 2021…

And that became 2022 – which was the return of HUZZAH! By this time I had a LOT of games that I had build for Mesoamerica and the Spanish Conquest. There were 8 four-hour game slots available at the convention – one on Thursday evening, three on Friday and Saturday, and one on Sunday morning. Of course – I had just ran 4 four-hour games at HAVOC in Massachusetts in April. So, I thought, why not push myself and run 6 Feudal Patrol^TM games in four days? Hell, it would be fun my using my supplement for Civilizations Collide for so many games to a brand new audience.

That’s 6 out of the 8 available four-hour slots! That’s 24 hours of GM’ing in about 60 hours…not counting set up and take down. Well, I gave it a shot, and while as I write this it’s late June, I thought I’d share some pics with you folks as it was a BLAST! I’ll take each game in turn.

Besides, you all DID ask for game pics – buckle up, there’s a bunch here!

Thursday Evening, “Cortes’ Causeway Escape Attempt”

The first game scenario that I ran was “Cortes’ Causeway Escape Attempt”. This involves the Spanish trying to escape Tenochtitlan on June 28, 1520. For those who have not seen my HAVOC posts on the scenario – here is the game briefing:

While Cortes was away confronting Narvaez at the Battle of Cempoala, some of his troops under the command of Pedro de Alvarado had remained in Tenochtitlan. Cortes had previously bloodlessly seized Montezuma as his prisoner/puppet, so he felt relatively secure to make the trek to Cempoala. This was not the case with Alvarado. He feared that the Aztecs were planning to surprise his troops and massacre them; thus, he decided to strike first. At the Feast of Toxcatl (an annual Aztec religious festival), hundreds of the political and military elite of the Aztec Empire were participating in the “Serpent Dance” – and were unarmed. Alvarado took the chance and attacked all of those celebrating with no quarter. Most were murdered and some were captured. The warriors killed by Alvarado and his men were among the best in the Aztec Empire. Still, the Spanish and their Tlaxcalan allies were far outnumbered in Tenochtitlan, and they now faced an entire city that was rising up against them. Cortes returned from the Battle of Cempoala. His forces were reinforced by the men and equipment of Narvaez who had defected to Cortes’ banner. He was able to enter Tenochtitlan with his men, and soon learned of the general uprising. As a goodwill gesture, yet a strategic mistake, he released Montezuma’s brother, Cuitlahuac – who had been captured by Alvarado at the massacre. Cuitlahuac almost immediately became the leader of the Aztecs, effectively becoming the new Emperor – and Montezuma’s replacement. The siege of the Spanish began in earnest. The Spanish had occupied the Palace of Axayacatl, were without water, and were coming under increasing attack. The Aztecs even tried to burn the palace down around the Spanish, but were stopped with artillery, crossbow, and arquebusier fire. Cortes tried to use Montezuma one last time – to see if the Aztecs surrounding them would stand down. Montezuma was brought out at the Palace of Axayacatl try to get the attackers to stop their assault. Montezuma’s exhortations not only failed to sway the crowd of enraged Aztecs, but he was hit in the head by a rock from an Aztec sling. That wound would incapacitate him. Shortly afterwards, he died. The cause of his death was the slung stone or perhaps he was murdered later by the Spanish as he lay unconscious – the truth is forever lost to history. In the end, Cortes realized that he had no safe escape route to the causeways. In any such attempt, his troops would be vulnerable to a massive volume of missile fire. Cortes ordered his men to tear out any lumber available from the palace to build a number of war wagons. These would serve as similar devices to the Hussite war wagons of the 15th Century, but would be moved by humans, not horses. Cortes hoped that they would hopefully provide cover for his own missile troops from withering Aztec missile fire – and therefore help his forces make it to the causeways. With these war wagons, Cortes launched an escape attempt that he hoped would be able to punch through the Aztecs and escape to the causeways – and then onto the safety of the mainland and the his Tlaxcalan allies.

In the game. the Spanish broke through the Aztecs, though at significant cost. The Aztec commander was taken out by the Tlaxcalans (Conquistador allies). This was effective at reducing the Aztecs command and control, allowing Cortes to live for another day…again. Below are some game pics with a few descriptions.

As the Aztecs surround the Spanish War Wagons, they find the Spanish full of fight.

One of the Spanish war wagons (on the left here) breaks, but the fight to escape continues on the right.

The Aztecs surround the broken war wagon.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the tabletop, the Tlaxcalans take out the overall Aztec leader (Cuitlahuac), greatly diminishing the Aztecs command and control.

Friday Morning, “Surprise Aztec Raid on the Spanish Outpost”

On Friday Morning, I had a full table for my “Surprise Aztec Raid on the Spanish Outpost” scenario. I also ran this game at HAVOC and at TOTALCON 2022. Here is the game briefing:

Near harvest time, a Tlaxcalan village is being raided by the Aztecs, seeking to take wealth, food, and prisoners. The Aztecs know the majority of the Tlaxcalan troops are with the Conquistadores elsewhere, and expect an easy task. Unbeknownst to the Aztecs, there are some Spanish troops at this town who will help to defend it. This is a generic scenario based on Aztecs launching a surprise raid Veracruz or a Tlaxcalan Village serving as a supply base for Cortes.

It was a lot of fun and I was honored that the game won the Best in Time slot award which was nice. It was a pretty exciting game with a few twists and turns. In the end, it was an overwhelming Spanish victory (64-6) as the Conquistadores and their Tlaxcalan allies held off the raiding Aztecs.

The Spanish deploy awaiting the Aztec assault,

The Aztecs attempt to hit both Spanish flanks.

One Aztec Element moved around the muddy field, while another got a bit bogged down.

Another Aztec Element advanced up the middle – using the cornfield as concealment.

Surprise! The Spanish had a falconet as reinforcement.

A Spanish war dog valiantly defends his incapacitated master, stunning an attacking Aztec.

Mid-game, the MWHA came by and honored me with the “Best in Time Slot” award for this game! Yeah, I was happy!

Conquistador arquebusier volleys hold back the Aztecs, allowing them time to consolidate their defense.

The falconet’s langridge (similar to grape shot) disperses an Aztec charge, though one of the crew is incapacitated.

The defending conquistadores and Tlaxcalans begin to pick off the disorganized Aztecs.

The Aztecs’ attack slows and begins to be pushed back.

Friday Night, “La Noche Triste – Bloodbath on the Tacuba Causeway”.

This game was on Friday night, and is one of my favorites. It has war canoes, cavalry, and desperation! I had another full table for the game of “La Noche Triste – Bloodbath on the Tacuba Causeway”. I also ran this game at HAVOC. Here is the game briefing:

The struggle for the high ground of Temple of Yopico had been a fleeting success for Cortes. Importantly, the Spanish had not succeeded in the most important task at hand – allowing Cortes and his troops to escape Tenochtitlan and reach the safety of Tlaxcalan allies on the mainland . While the Spanish did temporarily seize the high ground of the temple, their war wagons were now destroyed, their supplies of food and water were gone, and they found themselves again trapped in the Palace of Axayacatl surrounded by thousands of angry Aztecs. Times were even more desperate. For those trapped in the city, one last try would either succeed or fail. Either way, a Spanish failure meant either death on the battlefield or on the Altar of Huitzilopochtli. Success might still mean death on the battlefield. Cortes knew that the Aztecs had removed multiple spans over the canals on the causeways, which effectively meant that he would have to bridge those gaps to get to the mainland. Cortes’ men stripped beams from the palace, and had constructed pieces to make temporary haulable bridge pieces. No matter which causeway the Spanish took – they faced a dire situation. Cortes decided to try to make a night escape attempt with all of his forces – and head for the Tacuba Causeway – which was the shortest way out of the city. He left at midnight, and under the cover of darkness, made headway undetected – for a while. The Aztecs finally detected the Spanish movements, and raised an alarm. War canoes, manned by Aztec warriors, surrounded Cortes’ troops on both sides of the Tacuba Causeway, and he faced enemies to his front and his rear. Cortes’ men and his Tlaxcalan allies had taken with them as much looted treasure as possible, as well as prisoners (sons and daughters of the now-late Montezuma). The Aztecs are hell-bent on stopping their escape. A Tlaxcalan warband will try to help clear the way to the Spanish from the mainland.

The Spanish fought valiantly but this time Cortes was not successful. The Spanish managed to bridge the causeway gap but the Aztecs would not yield and their war canoes were effective.

Here are some battle shots:

The Spanish successfully bridge the gap and get “a burst of exuberance” – but the Aztecs were determined.

War canoes deploy against the Spanish on the causeway.

Eagle Warriors pursue the fleeing Spanish, while slingers pelt them mercilessly from the canoes.

Arrow Knights hold back the Spanish at the gap.

Spanish casualties (on the right) mount. Almost all of their cavalry got taken out in the city.

A long view of the mayhem. Not a good day for Cortes.

Saturday Morning, “The Battle of Otumba”

On Saturday morning I ran “The Battle of Otumba” scenario, where the conquistadores held out on a rocky hill against a massive Aztec onslaught while hoping that Cortes would arrive in time with the cavalry to save the day. The cavalry arrived, but were ineffective (just damn unlucky) and the Aztecs won an overwhelming victory with the casualties that they inflicted. I also ran this previously at TOTALCON and HAVOC, but with very different results (which I believe speaks to a balanced scenario).

Here is the game briefing:

For almost two weeks, the troops under Cortes retreated across central Mexico – hoping to reach the safety of Tlaxcalan territory. All of the Spanish were wounded to some degree – many died each day from the wounds suffered during La Noche Triste and the subsequent skirmishes that occurred as the Aztecs, under Cuitlahuac, pursued them mercilessly. The Conquistadores found themselves on a small rocky outcropping – and according to Diaz nearly surrounded on two sides. They were just short of the mountain pass that would bring them to safety of Tlaxcala. They took up an infantry square position bristling with pikes and halberds upon on the rocky outcropping overlooking plains. The Aztecs rained missile fire upon the Spanish, and subjected them to numerous human wave attacks. The brutal end was near when Cortes noticed that the attacks were being coordinated by the cihuacoatl, the High Priest of Tenochtitlan, the Cihuacoatl Matlatzincátzin. He was the one who was acting as the Aztec General. This High Priest was using signalers and bannermen to coordinate the attacks. Cortes personally rounded up what remained of his cavalry and with great personal courage led a mounted charge towards the High Priest and his retinue. The Aztecs had never before faced a massed cavalry attack. While the hooves of the Spanish cavalry were previously unable to make such a charge on the smooth pavements of Tenochtitlan – at Otumba, they were able to make a classic cavalry attack. The charge succeeded in killing the High Priest and many of his officers. It was reported that Cortes himself dispatched the High Priest with his lance. With the death of their leader and disruption of his communications system, the Aztec attack faltered. It quickly fell apart without the command and control that the signals had provided. Cortes and what was left of his troops were able to escape to fight another day, and eventually conquer the Aztec Empire – but this battle could have changed the course of history.

Here are pics of the game:

The Spanish fight back valiantly, but the Aztecs are having a good run.

The Aztecs begin to move onto the hill – the Spanish take more casualties – where’s the cavalry?

The Aztecs start taking casualties – and the impending Spanish cavalry attack looms large!

In the end, the cavalry attack was thwarted by brave Aztec novices and warrior priests. Victory to the Aztecs!

Saturday Night, “The Battle of Lake Texcoco”

As followers of this blog know, I built a fleet of brigantines (well 5) for this game, “The Battle of Lake Texcoco”, which you can read about here and here. I was REALLY excited to roll this out -and I needed a BIG table -which MWHA did accommodate.

Here is the game briefing:

To seize control of the Aztec island capital of Tenochtitlan, Cortes realized that he needed to control the surrounding waters of Lake Texcoco. This meant building a fleet. To accomplish this, Cortes used scavenged lumber from his previously-scuttled seafaring vessels to build brigantines in pieces in Tlaxcala. These prefabricated pieces were then man-portaged by his Tlaxcalan allies to the shore of Lake Texcoco. Here they were assembled, and made ready for combat on the lake. While simultaneously he sent land-based conquistadores to attack Tenochtitlan’s causeways, Cortes launched his brigantines to attack Tenochtitlan. In his way were hundreds of Aztecs canoes waiting to swarm over the Spanish.

I was really thrilled at the response. What fun it was – an Aztec vs. Conquistadores naval game! It was total mayhem! How? Collisions, ramming of canoes, brigantines getting boarded, canoes getting sunk by arquebuses, ship cannons firing and wiping out whole canoe crews, Aztecs avenging their comrades by wiping out the same cannon crew, and the overall Aztec commander personally boarding a conquistador brigantine to make an assault that cost him his life and the game.

WOW!

And I was honored to receive my second Best in Time Slot award of the convention! Not bad for a naval game scenario designed by a West Pointer !

Here are some battle shots:

The game set up – the tabletop is > 6′ x 10′. Here are the predeployed brigantines awaiting to enter onto the tabletop. You can see the war canoes in the rear.

A view of the set up from the opposite side.

Each brigantine had a dashboard showing the crew and artillery.

**El Marcos** and ***El Dólar*** deploy!

The gamers are filled with anticipation.

The Aztecs try to board **El Conquistador** (on the left) which has gotten grounded, while El Marcos moves forward.

Yay! My second “Best in Time Slot” award!

***El Marcos*** loaded langridge and fired its falconet at the three war canoes in the center. The fire was devastating, nearly wiping out two out of the three. The third war canoe avenged their comrades’ demise with atlatls – subsequently killing all of the falconet crew. The blue beads represent morale checks that would need to be taken by the riddled Aztec canoes.

In a desperate attempt, the overall Aztec leader attempted to board **El Marcos** and kill Cortes. That ended up causing the Aztec leader’s untimely demise.

Sunday Morning, “Raid to Satisfy Huitzilopochtli”

On the final day of the con, I an my 6th (!) Feudal Patrol game in 4 calendar days, “Raid to Satisfy Huitzilopochtli”. This is set pre-Spanish Conquest and simulates a “Flower War” that the Aztecs historically used to seize food, wealth, and people from their unlucky neighbors like the Tlaxcalans. This was the first scenario that I had designed for Civilizations Collide, but I had not run it in a while – so it was nice to see how it played out.

Here is the game briefing:

The Aztecs conduct a raid of a neighboring village to gain captives for slavery and blood sacrifice. The defender may choose to be Aztecs of the Aztec-Chichimec Alliance, Mixtec/Zapotec, or Maya. This is similar to a “Flower War” during which both sides deployed for a showdown.

Here, the Aztecs outnumbered the Tlaxcalans and used maneuver effectively, and inflicted a good number of casualties . Meanwhile the Tlaxcalans made good use of terrain and made the Aztecs pay for their assault. In the end, the defenders got more points than the Aztecs and eked out a victory. 32.5 to 22. It was a really nice way to end the con with a good group of players!

Here are some game pics:

The set up – Aztecs attacking from the left.

The Aztecs move up while the Tlaxcalans use the wall for defense.

The Aztecs take arrows from the Tlaxcalans.

Eagle Warriors attempt to flank the defenders.

The Tlaxcalans take casualties, but hold the wall.

…just as the Eagle Warriors go berserk and cross the wall.

The battle turns into a scrum – and the count of casualties inflicted gives the Tlaxcalans the winning edge.

I want to thank the MWHA for a great convention – my only wish was that there were no masking requirements – but I can overlook that in the light of the events of the day.

I had a great time and look forward to next year’s HUZZAH!

Thanks also to the players, and a special thanks to Leif Magnusson, who helped me GREATLY during set up and take down (out of the goodness of his heart too!).

I hope that this post was of interest to you all – and thanks to for looking and sharing any feedback in the comments section below.

And yes it’s a bit late!

Conquistador-crewed Falconets & Lombards for my Brigantines in Feudal Patrol Games

Now that’s not a short title – and this was a big project. But as I shared in my last post on Building Cortes’ Conquistador Fleet, I needed to kit out my Spanish brigantines with artillery and appropriate crews for my scenarios for my games of Feudal Patrol^TM using my supplement for Civilizations Collide.

This post will cover that effort, as well as a brief review of the Army Painter “Speed Paints” that I used on the five crews. I also will share some additional photos of the firing/smoke markers and the storage/transport solution I arrived at for the fleet. The five are again El Dólar (The Buck), El Gregorio (The Greg), El Perro de Guerra (The War Dog), El Conquistador, and El Marcos (The Mark).

After looking at each ship, I decided that each crew would be a warband unto itself and be generally composed of three elements plus their Warband Leader:

1 Warband Leader
Rowing/tiller Element – 6 Conquistadors rowing (3 per side), plus one at the tiller acting as their leader (7 total in that Element)
Artillery Element – One falconet or lombard crew of three figures plus the gun with one of the crew acting as a leader
Arquebus/crossbow Element – One to four figures deployed in the opposite castle (fore or stern) from the ship’s Artillery Element

I needed a few criteria to be satisfied here. First, I wanted the 28mm crews and guns to be different both in terms of paint scheme and in terms of figures/poses. Given that, sourcing the crew proved to be a bit of a challenge. I found the one two-man crew set from Outpost Wargames (via Badger Games) that I previously painted for land warfare (detailed here) to be lacking for my needs here on ships due to size and composition. (I do like that set but not on a ship.)

Secondly, I wanted their bases to reflect a ship’s deck. And yes – my other Conquistadors would still have ground-flocked bases – but the artillery needed to belong to a specific ship in my view and look just like that. Thirdly, deck space on the ships was tight. So, getting a three-man crew to fit with any gun would require that I use smaller bases than my usual 1″ bases – and I ended up using Wargames Accessories square .75″ for the crew members and 1.25″ x 1″ steel bases for the guns.

Wargames Foundry has a nice set (#SB018) available from Badger, and I used two of them – less the halberdier that I added to my land-based forces (and also used some as leaders/helmsmen). For the other three, I did a cobbling together of figures and guns from Gringo 40’s, Iron Wind Metals, and Eureka Miniatures.

This project was going to have to be squeezed in between HAVOC 2022, my Florida trip, and get finished before HUZZAH 2022 where they would debut on the tabletop. I also received my Army Painter “Speed Paint” set and decided that this was a good time to try them out as completion speed was indeed of the essence.

The crews and guns ended up as follows for each brigantine:

El Dólar: a falconet and three crewmen from Wargames Foundry #SB018 to be deployed in the stern castle facing to the starboard side
El Gregorio: a falconet and three crewmen from Wargames Foundry #SB018 to be deployed in the forecastle facing forward
El Conquistador: a Gringo 40’s lombard (#CONQA3), crewed by three Iron Winds Metals figures #DH412 (wick/match), #DH413 (swab), and #DH414 (ram) to be deployed stern castle facing to the port side
El Perro de Guerra: a Gringo 40’s falconet (#CONQA2) , crewed by three Iron Winds Metals figures #DH412 (wick/match), #DH413 (swab), and #DH414 (ram) to be deployed stern castle facing to the port side
El Marcos: a Eureka Miniature’s lombard (#100CON12), crewed by one figure from Wargames Foundry #SB018 (wick/match), and two Iron Winds Metals figures #DH413 (swab), and #DH414 (ram) to be deployed in the forecastle facing forward

Mocking up the guns to see what size bases would work.

I broke up popsicle sticks and made each base look like the decks.

I lightly primed each figure and gun base lightly. I decided to paint the guns and then affix them to the bases.

I broke into the Speed Paint set and made a comparison chart.

First, I painted the guns.

I used mostly AP “Sand Golem” on the wooden parts of the carriages, with Vallejo Model Air “Gun Metal” as the base colors for these. All of the paints used are listed at the end of this post for those interested.

I needed a painting plan (starting point anyway) for the 15 figures. I tried to use as many of the Speed Paints as possible.

I returned from Florida on April 28th – and HUZZAH was 13 days away! I hit the Speed paints again.

I did not take a lot of pics during the painting – but these are good I think.

By April 29th, I had basically had the figures painted and saw that washes on the metals and highlights on the flesh were definitely needed.

These are DH414’s on April 29. The flesh needed highlights.

A Wargames Foundry figure on April 29th.

Next up was varnishing on April 30th. I waited as I had read on Azazel’s blog that the Speed Paints can reactivate – so I wanted to leave 24 hours+ to dry.

I did see some of the Speed Paint (“Sand Golem”) on the guns reactivate and migrate – but that was it. It was easily fixed.

Close up showing the Speed Paint “migration” on this gun. Apparently the Speed paint reactivated and splashed onto the gun and wheels during airbrush varnishing. Again, easily fixed – but not desirable. I’ll use the Speed Paints again, but with caution.

I then needed to add smoke to the figures lighting the fuses – and make smoke markers for the falconets and lombards.

Added wisps of smoke to the matches. I think these came out fine for tabletop play.

Then I was on to making some big smoke markers.

Finished eye candy time! Here are the completed cannon crews on each ship – plus I loaded up the ships with their entire crews for good measure.

El Dólar

El Gregorio

El Conquistador

El Perro de Guerra

El Marcos

The Fleet Fully Crewed

Ready for HUZZAH! – oh wait, what about transport and storage?

Oh yeah, to get these ships safely to conventions I built a transport box for the hulls with posterboard and hot glue (and minor burns) and used a Really Useful Box for the sails (the crews go with my other figures). I also used the box to fit in my war canoe box.

All of this got done just under the wire – next up I’ll show you how they did at HUZZAH 2022!

(hint – they were a big hit)…stay tuned…

Miscellaneous details and references for those interested in that sort of thing:

For all of my previous posts on games, units, and other projects for my 16th Century Spanish Conquest supplement for Feudal Patrol™ – “Civilizations Collide” – please see this page.

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THESE CONQUISTADOR ARTILLERY CREWS AND GUNS:

War Games Accessories .75″ square bases
War Games Accessories 1.25″ x 1″ rectangular bases
Gorilla Glue
Elmer’s PVA Glue
Popsicle sticks
Army Painter Speed Paint “Sand Golem”
Citadel “Nuln Oil” (wash)
Vallejo Mecha Primer “White”
Vallejo “Flow Improver”
Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
Poster tack
Vallejo Model Air “Gun Metal”
Vallejo Model Air “Black”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Crusader Skin”
Citadel “Runefang Steel”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Malignant Green”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Magic Blue”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Cloudburst Blue”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Holy White”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Speed Paint Medium”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Blood Red”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Grim Black”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Plasmatic Bolt”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Hive Dweller Purple”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Orc Skin”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Gravelord Grey”
Citadel “Skrag Brown”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Fire Giant Orange”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Slaughter Red”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Camo Cloak”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Hardened Leather”
Vallejo Model Air “Chain Mail”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Pallid Bone”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Runic Grey”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Highlord Blue”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Zealot Yellow”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Absolution Green”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Purple Alchemy”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Dark Wood”
Vallejo Mecha Color “Off-white”
Citadel “Balor Brown”
Vallejo Model Color “Black Grey”
Vallejo Model Air “Bright Brass”
Citadel “Nuln Oil GLOSS” (wash)
Army Painter “Tanned Flesh”
Army Painter “Flesh Wash” (wash)
Citadel “Agrax Earthshade GLOSS” (wash)
Vallejo Model Air “Armour Brown”
Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish”
Vallejo Game Air “Black”
Vallejo Model Air “Base Grey”
Vallejo Game Air “Wolf Grey”
Pillow batting
Hot Glue

Building Cortes’ Conquistador Fleet

One of the most fascinating aspects of the Spanish Conquest of the Aztec Empire is the story of how Hernan Cortes and his Conquistadores built a ragtag fleet of small brigantines to seize control of Lake Texcoco. This body of water – (located then where Mexico City is now) – in the 16th Century surrounded the Aztec island capital of Tenochtitlan. To defeat the Aztecs, Cortes knew that he must control that lake as well as the lands around it. But how?

Cortes realized that he needed to build a fleet. To accomplish this, Cortes used scavenged lumber from his previously-scuttled seafaring vessels to build small brigantines in pieces in the safe haven of his native allies in Tlaxcala. The ships’ prefabricated pieces were then man-portaged by the Tlaxcalans to the shore of Lake Texcoco. Here they were assembled, and made ready for combat on the lake in the spring of 1521. Then, Cortes simultaneously sent land-based conquistadores to attack Tenochtitlan’s causeways while launching his brigantines to attack Tenochtitlan. These ships were manned by conquistador infantry and had significant firepower – to include lombards and falconets with their crews. In Cortes’ way were swarms of Aztecs in hundreds of war canoes waiting to swarm over the Spanish vessels.

To me, this sounded like an incredible scenario for tabletop wargaming. As covered numerous times in this blog, I have been developing tabletop wargaming scenarios for games of Feudal Patrol^TM using my supplement for Civilizations Collide. I had previously amassed and painted the war canoes…but I needed a fleet for the Spanish. Of course, there were no “dedicated” models for the types of ships the conquistadores would have manned. After seeing an image from the Mexican Naval Museum of a diorama of the battle by Alejandro Linares Garcia via Wikimedia Commons I was inspired.

A photo of the diorama of the Battle of Lake Texcoco at the Mexican Naval Museum. This photo inspired me!

Looking at this image, I had a good concept for the war canoes – and I decided to that the Spanish would likely would have used simple designs for their prefab brigantines – like medieval cogs.

I decided that for a game I would need 5 brigantines to go up against my 21 war canoes. Sourcing these ships became a challenge but help arrived from Buck Surdu and Greg Priebe who kindly offered to assist me in the way of two different 28mm scale medieval cog models that were 3D printed! Meanwhile, I found that Sarissa had a medieval cog kit (#L031), and I ordered two. By early March of 2022, I had all four ships in the building queue, and I had decided as well to scratch-build one as well so that I would have a varied fleet of five. Naming them became the next step – so the 3D models became (for obvious reasons) El Dólar (The Buck) & El Gregorio (The Greg). I named the Sarissa models El Perro de Guerra (The War Dog), & El Conquistador (The Conquistador of course). Lastly, for totally self-aggrandizing reasons that escape me now, I decided that my yet-to-be-designed scratch-build would be El Marcos (The Mark).

I will go through each ship’s build and share some photos and my processes of both building and painting them. Building these and painting these (and building the last one) were FAR more work than I had imagined at the start. Still, I think the MANY pics below will tell the story (it was a big project).

El Dólar & El Gregorio

These two had similar hulls, but different forecastles and stern castles. They came in bags that Buck and Greg had put together – and I needed to figure out how to assemble them by looking at photos from the 3D printer file. I decided that I would double-prime them then paint them with a series of airbrush browns. I also would modify all of the brigantines to have rowers as well as sails as historically that was the case.

Lots of 3D printed pieces to figure out!! It turned out I would use most – but not all of them. On the left is ***El Gregorio*** with the half-purple half- gray plastic hull, with the black **El Dólar** hull at top. There were multiple stern and forecastle options.

***El Gregorio*** showing sanding after washing the plastic.

***El Gregorio*** mock up. I had already glued the mast pieces together and used green stuff to secure the different pieces. I also had drilled out holes for neodymium magnets in the main mast and the hull, and inserted these as you see here.

I ended up needing to do a lot of drilling, pinning, and sculpting with green stuff to create the masts, and yards/spars. By the way, if I misname any parts here my defense is that I am a graduate of West Point, and NOT Annapolis! Though if you feel the need to correct me that’s all good – and GO ARMY BEAT NAVY! Ok, back to the builds…click on the pics for a better view.

The magnets I had inserted into the mast bases and the decks were insufficiently strong to suitably secure the masts to each hull. While I wanted to be able to remove the masts for transport, the situation was such that the masts would just easily fall over. My solution came in the form of some excess vinyl/rubber tubing I had lying around and hobby matchsticks I had purchased while stationed in West Germany in 1987! Real Cold War era matchsticks REALLY absorb PVA!

By using the cotton twine fibers and PVA, I was able to custom fit the masts into each support. Importantly, as these two had two hull pieces, I used some styrene sheets to affix them together. This way there was more strength than just gluing together the hull halves. – and I could paint them to look like they were moving through the water. As a side note, I did not give the other three a water base so that I could use them for an Aztec raid scenario where they are in assembly on land and the Spanish are surprised.

I also mocked up the oars and put some together to see how they would go together.

I masked up the twine sections with painters masking tape and double-primed the components outside on the first day that was warm enough in March to use a rattle can. I had separated the pieces so I could more easily paint all of them and then assemble everything afterwards. It proved to be a good call.

These were now all brown. I wanted to add some styrene on El Dólar so that its forecastle supports would mount better. I also prepped all of the oar locks by drilling out holes for 1/8″ wooden dowels. This caused some unwanted damage to the brittle plastic, so I then fixed/strengthened each hole with green stuff and brush-primed the oarlocks. Then I serially applied different browns via airbrush in a zenithal fashion until I was happy with the base color on both ships.

At some point in the past I had bought some Pebeo Studio Acrylics “Auxiliaries Modeling Paste HD. I added some in a wavy pattern to the water bases.

Regarding the color of the ropes, I was unhappy with the look of the ropes. I had used “Apothecary White” and hated the look. I redid them (thanks to a suggestion from Chris Palmer) with “Skeleton Horde” – and I liked them much better.

The old rigging color – no good. I would adjust this.

It was then time to work on the sails, more rigging, and the water base. I made the sails with dowels and card stock and PVA. Binder clips helped immensely with the shape. I mounted the sails with tiny metal jewelry rings through holes I drilled in the dowels . I also made ladders for El Dólar., and dry brushed everything on the ships wood – then shaded as needed. The water was dry brushed as well

Making sails with card stock, dowels, PVA, and binder clips

I then thought that the sails were too pristine. As I was drinking some Darjeeling tea, I used the tea bag to stain up the sails – and I would do this for all 5 ships eventually.

Lastly, I want to show the completed 3D printed ships:

I was pretty happy with these – but now it was time for the Sarissa MDF kits!

El Conquistador & El Perro de Guerra

These two models were a bit smaller than the 3D ones. Unsurprisingly, these took a lot of gluing and patience. I did need to modify some damage to one of the tillers as well when a rubber band snapped it off of one. Still, the kits were fun and well-made – I just needed to try to match the colors (relatively) of the 3D versions. For this I relied more on washes than paint. I also needed to modify these with oars and sails. Here are the photos:

Then LOTS of gluing…

I mocked up one to see how the figures might fit inside.

Mock up of a Sarissa model – I had yet to work on the masts or sails.

In the above photo you can see the two-man falconet crew are looking less than ideal size-wise. At that point I ordered more falconets, lombards, and crew to better suit the brigantines – but that’s another upcoming post!

Then it was washing time – lots of washing…Army Painter must be happy…

Then I moved on to sails and rigging.

Sails, oars, and rigging done – though the sails and rigging need work yet here with paint and Darjeeling.

Now let’s see El Conquistador and El Perro de Guerra as completed:

El Marcos

I decided to give scratch-building a brigantine a go – if only because I wanted the challenge. Luckily, I had learned a bit from the previous models, though as you will see below there was overlap during my builds. Also, I was able to repurpose some leftover MDF as a template for a new hull and keel!

The Sarissa leftover was a nice template

Unlike the Sarissa models, where the hull glued to the ribs of the cogs, I glued the deck to the square dowels and then added the hull by gluing it to the combination of deck and keel. Then I inserted 1/8″ dowels as ribs into the slots – gluing them to the inner hull and keel.

At this point, I had the hull basically constructed.

For the stern and forecastles, I used basswood. I was not happy with the look as the basswood was too smooth. I decided to glue a bazillion (I think) custom-cut matchsticks inside and out of the castles to give them a more rustic look.

The next step was to mount the castles – which I did by drilling out holes for dowel supports. Then I adjusted the heights of the supports with 1/4″ steel washers to get the right look. I also made the mast and yard.

Added a dowel as a tiller for the helmsman

Once again during this project, I had to wait for the glue to dry. On a side note, that need alone dragged the duration time out every time I needed to glue something – which seemed unending. I then started the washing and painting of the brigantine as I found that easier to do before adding the castles.

Mounting the stern and forecastles and letting the glue set…again…

I also needed oars and oar locks.

After some work on El Marcos‘ rigging, she was done.

So now I had the five brigantines – and only two were exactly alike (the Sarissa models). I hoped to outfit them all with different lombards and falconets (both early cannon) plus crew. As I built these just before HAVOC 2022, this post had to wait, as after HAVOC was my vacation trip. And as mentioned – I had 5 cannon and 15 cannon crew to build for these brigantines – plus game aids for the battle. I hope to post about that project next. But first let me share a couple of group shots.

Thanks for checking out this post – it was a lot to build and if PVA was toxic I’d already be dead after this. Let me know which of these you liked best (or liked least) I’d love to read any thoughts you have on this project. More to come!

Miscellaneous details and references for those interested in that sort of thing:

For all of my previous posts on games, units, and other projects for my 16th Century Spanish Conquest supplement for Feudal Patrol™ – “Civilizations Collide” – please see this page.

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THESE SHIPS:

On the 3D-Printed Brigantines (El Dólar & El Gregorio):

3D printed Medieval Cog ship kits from Buck Surdu and Greg Priebe
Gorilla Glue
Hobby matchsticks (from West Germany in 1987!)
½” rubber tubing
Rustoleum black spray primer
Army Painter “Dark Leather” primer
Vallejo Surface Primer “German Green Brown”
Cotton twine
Wooden popsicle sticks
Wooden dowels (3/8″ and 1/8″)
Small (tiny) nails
1/8″ neodymium magnets
Paper clip wire
Jewelry/bead wire rings
Green stuff
White card stock
Elmer’s PVA Glue
Plastruct 1.5mm styrene sheets
Plastruct Bondene cement
SCI Grip Fast Set solvent cement
Pebeo Studio Acrylics “Auxiliaries Modeling Paste HD”
Vallejo Model Air “Armour Brown”
Vallejo Model Air “First Light”
Vallejo Model Air “Brown”
Vallejo Model Air “Wood”
Army Painter “Mid-Brown” (shade)
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Apothecary White”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Skeleton Horde”
Citadel “Agrax Earthshade” (wash)
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Talassar Blue”
Citadel “Chronus Blue”
Craftsmart “White”
Darjeeling tea bags

On the Sarissa MDF Kit Brigantines (EL CONQUISTADOR & El Perro de Guerra):

Sarissa Medieval Cog ship kits #L031
Elmer’s PVA Glue
Gorilla Glue
Hobby matchsticks (from West Germany in 1987!)
Wooden popsicle sticks
Army Painter “Mid-Brown” (shade)
Jewelry/bead wire rings
White card stock
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Skeleton Horde”
Citadel “Agrax Earthshade” (wash)
Darjeeling tea bags

On the Scratch-built Brigantine (El Marcos):

Recycled MDF from the Sarissa #L031 leftover MDF
Elmer’s PVA Glue
3/16″ balsa wood
Revell 1/8″ Basswood
Gorilla Glue
Hobby matchsticks (from West Germany in 1987!)
Wooden popsicle sticks
Vallejo Surface Primer “German Green Brown”
Cotton twine
Wooden popsicle sticks
Wooden dowels (,1/4″, 3/8″ and 1/8″)
1/4″ steel washers
Small (tiny) nails
1/8″ neodymium magnets
Paper clip wire
Jewelry/bead wire rings
White card stock
Vallejo Model Air “Armour Brown”
Vallejo Model Air “First Light”
Vallejo Model Air “Brown”
Vallejo Model Air “Wood”
Army Painter “Mid-Brown” (shade)
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Skeleton Horde”
Citadel “Agrax Earthshade” (wash)
Darjeeling tea bags

Escape (albeit temporary) from Massachusetts 2022 – Orlando, Golf School, and Wargaming at RECON

With the unhappy demise of our beloved Caesar on New Years Day (discussed here), and Lynn having subsequently joined me in retirement, we found ourselves for the first time in many years being able to travel. We decided to drive down to the Orlando Florida area in April to visit with friends, for some recreation, to attend a Marriott golf school, and to attend the RECON HMGS South Gaming convention. It was a needed break. The garage+ project would continue while we were gone – so no need to hang around in Massachusetts – off to Florida!

We drove because frankly we prefer it. We were in no mood to deal with airlines, masking requirements, and the rest. Besides, we could more easily bring all the stuff we wanted to take that way.

It took us three days to get down to Florida (really two and a half). It’s a roughly 1200-mile drive. We left on 4/13, and stopped south of Richmond, VA and in Savannah, GA on the way.

The ride down was mostly done on I95 (avoiding NYC metro as that’s a nightmare). However, the most surprising aspect of the drive down was the number of dangerous/reckless drivers we saw – and really seeing no traffic enforcement to speak of on the way. Even while we were in Florida (where along with the metro DC area) we saw many drivers who were totally oblivious to safe driving practices. The only times we saw any cops on the highways happened twice in Florida when they shut down I4 – both for fatal crashes. Maybe this chaos was so because it was spring break week – but for the ride back we took a longer path inland towards I81-I84 and it was far less like a post-apocalyptic Road Warrior movie or a game of GASLANDS.

Arriving at our first hotel on Friday the 15th (the Wyndham in Kissimmee), we checked in and hit the pool deck for some needed drinks and relaxation. This hotel was also the site for the HMGS South RECON Gaming convention, but that was not to happen until the following weekend. That night, we got together with the Surdu’s (Buck and Candy) for dinner with them which was great fun.

As for Easter weekend, we decided that Disney and Universal costs were way too expensive – and we had visited both previously. Nearby SeaWorld owns both itself in Orlando, and Busch Gardens in Tampa. They had a decently-priced deal for visiting both parks in 5 days (well better than the ridiculous fortune that the other parks were asking for). We had not been to either before, so the plan became Busch Gardens for the 16th, and SeaWorld for Monday the 18th, with Easter Sunday being a hangout day at Casa Surdu.

On Saturday the 16th, we drove to Tampa to visit Busch Gardens theme park. It has a LOT of roller coasters and is a pretty good zoo. Neither of us like roller coasters, but the experience was good. The animal exhibits were quite good. Below I have put up a few photos:

The kangaroo pavilion – made me think of you Aussies…

The kangaroos and wallabies were cooling out – I sent this to IRO and he said it reminded him of his buddies after a good amount of beer consumption!

My favorite image – a Nile crocodile (not an alligator) and a very oblivious Florida egret that flew in to hang out. Apparently the croc wasn’t hungry.

We had an enjoyable day. The next day, Easter Sunday, was excellent as we got to hang out with Buck and Candy – whose hospitality was superb and thanks again you two.

On Monday the 18th we went to SeaWorld. Of course, it is known for its orcas. I have to say it was a very nice sea-themed park with fauna from all ends of the globe. Certainly they have changed practices with all of their animals since the unfortunate trainer death a decade+ ago.

This walrus was in the arctic section of the park – along with beluga whales and others from that area. This walrus really hammed it up for us at the window, blowing bubbles and cavorting.

The killer whales (orcas) were amazing to see.

Great to see these but we stayed out of the “splash zone”!

Both Busch Gardens and SeaWorld have partnered with Sesame Street to have a kids section of their respective parks. I thought it was tastefully done.

We also had purchased the “all-day dining” package – which was really not all it sounded like. It did not cover beer, and any food purchased under the plan started a 90-minute clock that prevented any other freebies until that 90 minutes was up. Also, most of the special kiosk foods were not covered (like the pretzel one below). Otherwise, we enjoyed the park – which also is loaded with roller coasters that we didn’t ride. The exhibits were really cool, as were the special show-type ones such as for the seals and the orcas.

Time for a beer (not free under the dining plan), a pretzel (also not free), and a selfie with Lynn.

Met a new friend – but he only cared for cookies…would not share as they were not under the plan either…

Now both at Busch Gardens and at SeaWorld there were some promotional displays. This one also made me think of our favorite Aussie gardener/landscaper IRO. And no I did not spend my entire vacation thinking of him – just being reminded of him was enough!

That night we left the Wyndham for the Marriott Golf Resort/School for two days of relative luxury and golf school for us both. Lynn picked up a lot, and I used the opportunity to rework my swing (which is now coming around as I write this in early June as expected two months later). Lynn and I have been playing golf more and it’s nice to have the chance to play together. She’ll never be a die-hard like me, but we’re having fun. The Marriott resort there is really nice too.

After two days (the evening of the 18th-20th) at the Marriott, it was back to staying at the previous Wyndham where HMGS South was having their RECON gaming convention. Lynn was indeed missing the Marriott…so I plied her with a blue drink…

Still we managed to have fun on the 18th – the Wyndham had an interactive game of dodgeball with zombies on a projection screen. Apparently the blue drink does not help accuracy with dodgeball against the undead.

Still we were having a good time.

The next day (April 21st), I had the privilege of gaming with with Buck back at his amazing gaming room (which you can see below). As a bonus, my old West Point roommate Dave Wood and Buck’s buddy JJ were there. We were also joined via Zoom for this gaming session with Greg Priebe and Chris Palmer of the Maryland-based HAWKS gaming club. While Candy took our spouses out, we wargamers playtested a massive Napoleonic game using a derivative of Buck’s Wars of Ozz rules. It is in development and will be called Wars of Eagles and Empires.

This game was a lot of fun, and despite its size, it only took about three and a half hours – not bad for a playtest.

Then we moved on to run a final test of Dave’s RECON WOOD (Wars of Orcs and Dwarves) game. This also uses Buck’s Wars of Ozz-type mechanics, but with changes for fantasy gaming. It is close to publication. Here are some images – we would also play this game at RECON after any modifications.

The pig-faced orcs defend a bridge and river against the halfling onslaught.

Halfling cavalry on goats and giant roosters attack.

The next day (22nd) was our day 1 of RECON. We reran the Hobbits raid on the Orc village scenario at the convention and it was a hoot.

Hobbits on purple pachyderms force a bridge crossing!

The mighty GM (Buck) surveys the carnage.

I want to give EXTRA credit to Lynn as she agreed to game the whole day with me. During a lull in the game, I asked her with iPhone in hand if she was enjoying herself…

Seriously, she was a good sport but one day of gaming a year is the best I can expect!

We then played in a Combat Patrol™ game involving Star Wars figures that was fun.

Dave and Buck GM’ing the Star Wars game.

All had fun – though I think my side (clones) lost against the droids.

The last game Friday was a 7ITV game that Lyn and I played. There were three side-by-side games – and Lynn and I played the Scooby-Doo scenario.

Lynn and I play the Scooby-Doo scenario. Hey, she’s smiling! Next to her is JJ playing against Buck in a Jonny Quest scenario.

Here you can see the three scenarios – some other sci-fi scenario is on the end. Buck is looking distracted. I think the GM had a wonderful set of terrain but the games dragged as we took a while to grasp the mechanics. Also, I found it tough to get his attention with three games running simultaneously – so not as fun as I expected. But Lynn had served her gaming sentence and was free to hang out with Candy at a blueberry fest on Saturday while the con went on.

Saturday morning Buck ran a Philippines 1941 Combat Patrol™ scenario that I helped him as an assistant GM. I truly enjoyed this!

Buck surveys the tabletop in his happy shirt.

The Japanese players move up their Ha-Go tanks towards the bridge. Neither the tanks nor the the bridge would survive long as the Americans reacted.

The next game was my favorite – a massive Wars of Ozz game where I commanded a brigade of Winkie zilk-riding cavalry (think giant birds of prey). I maneuvered the brigade to assault the Quadlings and Munchkins opposing me.

The tabletop – my cavalry is in the foreground.

The game was an overwhelming Winkie and Gillikin (my allies) victory.

Lastly, Buck, JJ, and I (Dave left Friday) played a neat Spanish-American scenario for Blood & Steel. The GM did an excellent job – and the game came down to a final roll of the dice, which went for Buck and JJ, but it was a lot of fun to play them. The scenario was a very fun skirmish game. (no pics sorry).

After this, we said goodbye and I headed back to my room where Lynn and I packed up for the return trip to Massachusetts.

I have to say it was a great trip – and one I will always remember. Big thanks to Buck and Candy!!!! Dave and JJ too!!

Next up – how I built a Conquistador fleet for the Battle of Lake Texcoco for HUZZAH 2022 (in between taking this trip and HAVOC 2022)!

HAVOC 2022

The HAVOC 2022 gaming convention ran in Sutton, MA this year from April 8-10. It was the first one held since 2019 due to COVID. As I promised, I would share some pics and brief discussions about the four Feudal Patrol™ games I ran there. Yes, it’s a couple of months late post-wise, but I think the pics are nice enough to share. As I shared in my last post, the last two to three months have been very busy!

I ran “Surprise Aztec Raid on the Spanish Outpost” on Friday night, “July 7, 1520 – The Battle of Otumba” on Saturday morning, “July 1, 1520 – La Noche Triste – Bloodbath on the Tacuba Causeway” on Saturday night, and “Cortes’ Causeway Escape Attempt” on Sunday morning. Yes, that’s a lot of games, and each one had a four hour time slot. This convention also occurred right before our Florida trip (for RECON and golfing which you will read about in a future post hopefully shortly). Also, the HUZZAH gaming convention was coming up May 12-15, so I was aware that I had a LOT to do to be ready for that. More on HUZZAH later…

At HAVOC you will notice that masks were required for the convention – hopefully the next time HAVOC happens we won’t need them. I definitely think they kept attendance lower than otherwise. Just my opinion.

For this post, I’ll share my game briefing and then a gallery of photos that you can check out individually. The game briefings help the gamers to understand the basics of the scenario and how it fit into the history of the Spanish Conquest. I do not run the games in any historical sequence – I rather set them up based on the time slots and time required for setting up.

“Surprise Aztec Raid on the Spanish Outpost”

I have run this gaming scenario several times before – and it really works well at a con or club gaming day.

Here is my game briefing:

Below are the pics – as memory serves, the Spanish held on to a victory.

“July 7, 1520 – The Battle of Otumba”

This is another scenario that has been popular.

Here is my game briefing:

The Spanish took massive casualties but the arrival of Cortes and his cavalry managed to eke out a Spanish victory.

“July 1, 1520 – La Noche Triste – Bloodbath on the Tacuba Causeway”

Here is my game briefing:

This time, Cortes’ escape failed and the Aztecs won the day handily.

“Cortes’ Causeway Escape Attempt”

The last game I ran was my massive “Cortes’ Causeway Escape Attempt” game. I was honored to win the “Al” award for this game – described by Battle Group Boston as follows:

“Starting at Havoc XXVI (2010), this award is presented for the game with the most stunning visual appeal. Our crack team of experts (expert team of cracks) will vote on the game that made us say “Wow!”.” The Al award was created in honor of Al Garnache, an avid and active local player.

This is the second time that I was honored to win this award – the other being in 2018 for “Attack of the Warbots”.

Here is my game briefing:

I was pleased to run so many games and especially to see that the players had a great time. My personal thanks to all at Battle Group Boston for a fun convention – and especially to Leif Magnuson for ALL his help with setting up and taking down of my games.

And of course, a big THANK YOU to the players. It has been very rewarding to see players coming back again and again just to play in my games. As Cortes would say, muchas gracias!

Next up in the blog – RECON Convention in Florida, gaming with Buck Surdu and Dave Wood, and golf school with my lovely wife Lynn!

Thanks for taking a look and I hope you found this interesting – if late!

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