It’s been a while for the return of several blog-related things here.
First, this marks the first hobby post I have done in a while. The last one I did was on Professor Nitpik’s Mechanical Mini Swarm back in April. I also never got around to a recap of my games at HUZZAH in May (but I hope to at some point as I do have a good number of photos).
Secondly, I have not done any WWII-related hobby work since March of 2020 (wow 5 years!). After my last What a Tanker tank project, I did a lot with my Feudal Patrol Mesoamerican project (Aztecs, Conquistadors, Maya), and then Wars of Ozz. Luckily for me (and maybe you), I catalog and link all my posts by genre on multiple pages for easy recall. As an aside, for new readers, here are the links for all of these:
There are others as well, and these pages help me to remember how I did certain aspects of projects in terms of painting and assembly (and anything else).
Additionally, as many of you know, the US Army is celebrating its 250th Anniversary. The Historical Miniatures Gaming Society (HMGS) is celebrating that anniversary as its theme for this year’s HISTORICON gaming convention. As a proud US Army veteran, I just HAD to get a game or two together for it. As game submission was back in March, that might seem like plenty of time to get such an endeavor together. But I had HAVOC, HUZZAH, a Florida trip, my reelection, and golf in between then and now! Blogging took a back seat to actually finishing off any projects. Until now!
I usually try to create scenarios and run games that are not common or run-of-the-mill. For the US Army, there is a wide swath of stuff to choose from.
I ended up deciding on looking into the early days of WWII. I dug into Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa. I further read up on the combat in Morocco, where the US and Vichy France actually fought for several days before agreeing to an armistice and coming over to the Allies’ side. I chose to focus on the Western Task Force under then-MG George S. Patton, that invaded Morocco in three places. My specific focus would be on Sub-Task Force Goalpost, which was led by MG Lucien Truscott, Jr. – and what really intrigued me, as I did my research, was his response to a Vichy armored counterattack. Apparently the Vichy French launched an armored counterattack with what they had to interdict one of the US landing beaches. Truscott sent all his armor (7 M5 Stuart tanks) and some support to stop the threat, which outnumbered him by more than 2:1. Now I had a game concept!
As for research, here are all the books I read and used:
Certainly a lot of Steven Zaloga here, and the Breuer and Osprey books were the most helpful. There indeed was significant armored Vichy forces in the North African colonies. In Morocco was a motley assortment of tanks (WWI -era FT-17’s, Hotchkiss H35’s and H39’s, plus some R35’s that had been hidden from the German and Italian Armistice Commission). Sources vary as to what was available, but certainly these types were in Morocco in November 1942. There also were multiple old armored cars dating back to the 1920’s and early 1930’s. Vichy also had naval assets there, plus any of their air force that had flown there to escape Armistice terms. A good number of Dewoitine D.520 fighter planes and others made up a strong air component for Vichy.
The US here did not have M3 Lee’s or M4 Sherman tanks available to stop he counterattack. Those were on large ships that needed a port to unload, unlike the M5 Stuarts. The US had the Stuarts, M3 GMC’s, M3A1 Scout Cars, and the weird stopgap M6 Fargo. On the other side, the US had F4F Wildcats and Avenger TBF’s. Offshore were these significant naval assets that I would also add to the game design. Interestingly, many French tanks were hit with impact-fused depth charges from the air – plus naval gunfire from the USS Savannah.
The US Army in November 1942 was seeing its first real amphibious landing and combat in the ETO, so I incorporated that with regards to their shooting abilities. The Stuarts had gotten their radios wet, and hence inoperable, in the landing – so that was another aspect I added. The French had a lot of very worn out vehicles, and I did add an aspect of mechanical unreliability to them as well.
With these equipments as my baseline, I resurrected my WaT rules. Sourcing all of the vehicles took time, and I will chronicle each of the types in successive posts. My thought is that its better to focus on each vehicle type with a short post than a massive one now that blurred the lines. Writing all of these will take some time, and I also hope to share a review of my HISTORICON 2025 experience. If you are at the convention, I will be in the H.A.W.K.’s room as below. While my games are “sold out”, you never know if space becomes available! Besides my two Ozz games on Thursday and Friday, I’ll be running the “Operation Torch: Vichy mounts a Counterattack” game twice on Saturday. Come by!
Here is a tease on the 31 French and 22 American vehicles that I have amassed and painted for the game since March. All are 15 mm/1:100 scale. They will get their own posts in the next few weeks (I hope).
It’s that time again – when I review the past year and reflect a bit and look towards 2025. I do like to see what I did versus the goals that I set out to accomplish for myself back in January of 2024.
This post will also be where I set my 2025 goals for Life, Golf, Miniatures, & Other Distractions (after all that is the subject of this blog of mine since 2015). I use these goals to guide and motivate me, but I have seen that others can appreciate this type of post. 2023 was, like 2022, one very busy year on multiple hobby, golf, and life fronts. I did set some pretty aggressive goals for all aspects. Some were around gaming, some around hobby production, some were around golf, and more.
How did I do versus my 2024 goals?
Paint 365 figures or more
I thought that would be a stretch – but in the end I destroyed that particular benchmark, setting yet another personal high for the number of miniatures painted in one year ever. These were mostly figures for Wars of Ozz. I managed to paint 556 miniatures – 126 more than I did in 2023!
2024 Production
2023 Production
Complete 2 brigades of Quadlings for Wars of Ozz
My Quadlings at HAVOC in 2024
I’ll give myself a B+ here, as I painted up all the Quadlings that I currently have – 3 regiments of infantry, 2 batteries of artillery, one witch, and 3 individuals that can be brigade or army commanders. That is 79 figures in total, 1.24 25-point brigades’ worth. At some point I’ll get the Quadlings some cavalry.
Complete a brigade of Whim Whim & Noobi for Wars of Ozz
Whim Whim infantry and cavalry engage King Jack and his Great Pumpkinheads at EllisCon 2024
I think I get an A+ here as I painted up all my Whim Whim and Noobi in 2024. That army now is made up of of 7 regiments of infantry (5 Whim Whim, 2 Noobi), 4 cavalry regiments (all Whim Whim), 3 wizards (2 Noobi, 1 Whim Whim), and 7 individuals/leaders. I painted all of these except for 1 bannerman which was a gift from Buck Surdu. That is 216 figures in total, nearly three 25-point brigades’ worth, making them the largest painted contingent in my collection at present.
Complete a brigade of Temujicans for Wars of Ozz
5 regiments of Temujican Infantry4 regiments of Temujican infantry
I think I get another A+ here as I painted up all my Temujicans in 2024. That army now is made up of of 5 regiments of infantry, 4 cavalry regiments, and 3 individuals/leaders. That is 142 figures in total, exactly two 25-point brigades’ worth, making them worthy opponents for the Whim Whim.
Continue to run and play more games – and continue tracking them too
I ran a total of 30 games (all Wars of Ozz) in 2024 as a GM(I think I get an A+ as that is nuts). As for games played, I get a C- as I only played in 6 games.
Attend and run games at conventions. This would include TotalCon38, HAVOC, COLD BARRAGE, MAYHEM, HUZZAH!, HMGS Fall In, EllisCon, and others…
2024 Dave Award winner!2024 Best of Convention AwardRight after getting the HUZZAH! Award with happy players!
My 30 games that I GM’d came from these conventions. I was proud to have been awarded not one but TWO best of convention awards – one for HAVOC (the Award) and one for HUZZAH! So at least an A…ok A++😁
Complete one more scenario for my scenario booklet for Civilizations Collide
Total F here – never got to it.
Paint up a platoon from Wargames Supply Dump for Combat Patrol™
Total F here again – and sorry yet again Roger! With Ozz being a priority, I never got to it.
Try to get my Nomonhan WaT project off the ground. Note I said “try”. Again…
Same as last year…F. Maybe this year.
Get the Mass Pikemen more active
I have not been able to do this well at all. I do see many at conventions, which occupy a lot of my winter time. Once golf season starts, that takes precedence. I’ll try better this year.
Have another nice trip to Florida
I think A++ – our trip was amazing to Clearwater Beach and Orlando was a blast!
At the JW Marriott in Clearwater BeachGreat hotel – the previous photo was taken from the balcony in the middle.Took the previous photo from Captain Memo’s Pirate Ship ride – was a LOT of fun.Had a great time hanging out with Tod and Tara Jeffers in Clearwater Beach. This place had amazing seafood.Then on to the Grande Vista in Orlando for golf lessons, golf, and relaxation!Lynn’s “favorite”sign at Grande VistaAction shot on the range! Hit the ball first then the turf!Even got to visit with the Surdu’s. I joined Buck for a Napoleonic game.
Post on the blog 50 times or more – make them of good quality
I think I get a B- here, as I think my output dropped a bit. I made 32 posts in 2024. Quality – well I let the readers determine that!
Be a good blog follower – still a goal but one that I cannot measure!
Ditto on this grade-wise – trying my best.
Have multiple Zoom chats with fellow hobbyists
Probably a C. Could do more and hope to this year.
Go to a golf school and get my golf handicap down below 16
My 2024 Handicap Review from Massachusetts golf.
As shown earlier , I did go to a golf school in Orlando -AND benefited greatly from lessons there. But, I think I made more progress with our club pro, Jim LeBlanc at Quail Hollow Golf and Country Club. My handicap went down to 16.1, so I’ll give myself an A-.
Update the Tour of the Brookfields on my blog.
Tom Orszulak and Lynn Morin high-five at the Tour of the Brookfields!
This worked very well at sharing information with the players and documenting each of the six regular tournaments and the FINALS. I think A is appropriate.
Play golf (in season) at least twice a week – get in 80 rounds
A+ here – as you saw, I had 102 rounds posted (some were 9-hole rounds of course), plus around 10 other events of 18 holes (scrambles).
Win my flight in the Club Championship
Fell short here again, but I was more competitive than in 2023. Bad play on Day 2 sunk me.
Defend in the Club Derby
That definitely did not happen – my partner Tom Orszulak had an injury, and the virus finally got me and knocked me out of any possibility of playing.
No golf that weekend…and it SUCKED.
Be a competitive golfer
I’d say I was – I did tie Matt Stepanski for 1st place in the year-long quest for the Quail Hollow Sunday Sweeps “Fedex Cup” run by Dennis Rice. I think I was competitive overall – helped by a dropping handicap.
Be a good friend
I guess so. Always a work in progress!
Personal Highs in 2024
Recovery from knee surgery.
For the third year in a row – the Florida trip and golfing with my wife Lynn – and she continues to get better. Her teams actually did better in the Tour of the Brookfields than I did!
Clearwater Beach, Florida. Wow!
Getting together with the Jeffers and Surdus in Florida.
Getting together with family especially my Mom, my daughter Ellen and my granddaughter Tabitha.
Winning my first “Dave” award for my Wars of Ozz game “determined to be the best game at the HAVOC (Convention) that year. The criteria for the best game includes excellent concept and execution in game play, and player enjoyment.”
Winning my first “Best in Convention” award for my Wars of Ozz games at the HUZZAH! Convention in Maine.
Knocking out 556 figures for the Wars of Ozz!
Having EXCELLENT wingmen in Brad Gosselin and Leif Magnuson at MULTIPLE conventions.
Getting together with Dave Wood, Buck Surdu, Greg Priebe, Chris Palmer, and Duncan Adams, Eric Schlegel, and all of the other HAWKS in person.
Getting together with Fitchburg High School buddies Bob McNamara, Phil Schoenig, Peter Collette, and St. Bernard’s HS pals Mike Sullivan, and Eddie Tarka (and Tom Orszulak) to honor our late friend Leo Thibault, who passed away way too young back in 2007. Best part was getting his widow Sandy there to surprise us all at the end.
Being on the Committees for the Tour of the Brookfields tournaments and the New England Service Academy golf tournaments.
Amazing Halloween Party at Quail Hollow!
Great get together for an Army-Navy game watch party with amazing friends!
As a team, tying for first place for the Fedex Cup at Quail Hollow.
And again, being with my wife Lynn, every day (seriously, and she won’t likely read this).
Retirement is GREAT!
Ed Tarka, Bob McNamara, Phil Schoenig, me, Sandi Thibault, Mike Sullivan and Peter Collette at “The Leo”Halloween party!Army-Navy Game Watch PartyLynn and Tabitha – fun at Cracker Barrel!Me, Lynn, my Mom, Tabitha, Ellen, and Nick
Personal Lows for 2024
COVID.
Army losing to Navy…not personal, but always feels that way!
Life’s been pretty good otherwise!
My goals for 2025
Well, its time to set my Life, Golf, Miniatures, & Other Distractions goals for 2025.
Have a great Florida trip again.
Paint 500 figures or more.
Continue to run and play more games – and continue tracking them too.
Attend and run games at conventions. This would include TotalCon, HAVOC, COLD BARRAGE, HMGS COLD WARS, MAYHEM, HUZZAH!, HMGS HISTORICON,HMGS FALL IN, EllisCon, and others…
Get the Mass Pikemen more active.
.Complete the Musculite faction for Wars of Ozz.
Complete the Professor Nitpik faction for Wars of Ozz.
Complete the Ix faction for Wars of Ozz.
Complete the Noland faction for Wars of Ozz.
Paint up a cavalry regiment for the Harvest and the Quadling factions.
Complete one more scenario for my scenario booklet for Civilizations Collide.
Paint up a platoon from Wargames Supply Dump for Combat Patrol™ .
Try to get my Nomonhan WaT project off the ground. Note I said “try”. Again.
Paint SOME tanks.
Post on the blog 40 times or more – make them of good quality.
Be a good blog follower – still a goal but one that I cannot measure!
Have some Zoom chats with fellow hobbyists.
Get my golf handicap down below 14.
Update the Tour of the Brookfields on my blog.
Play golf (in season) at least twice a week – get in 90+ rounds.
Win my flight in the Club Championship.
Win the Club Derby
Be a competitive golfer.
Be a good friend.
Of course, again I must say THANK YOU to all who make the time to read this blog and comment on my stuff, craziness, and madness – Have a Happy 2025!
The first question that I am sure that you have is – “what the hell is a Temujican?“!
To answer that, let’s ponder the wild and wonderful world of the Wars of Ozz for a minute. Recently, my posts have shown the mighty Whim Whim and their leader, Sultan Whim. While the Whim Whim are indeed a force to be reckoned with in the Great Impassable Desert of the South- they do face a rival force in the Temujicans. These green-skinned desert nomads are cousins of the Gillikins (and are somewhat goblin-like).
Map of Ozz
As for the name “Temujicans”, it has an origin, and I had a hand in it. When the force was launched they were called “Eastern Desert” nomads. Rather mundane to be sure. The great Buck Surdu challenged several of us to come up with a better name that would evoke a historical reference for a cavalry-based force that could sweep across plains and deserts. My first thoughts went to considerations of the history of Genghis Khan:
Now you see. As he was born “Temujin”, and the Gillikins were their cousins, I came up with the name “Temujicans”. Thus this was adopted as the official name of the faction! I contributed!
In any case, I decided to start building my Temujican army with the four infantry regiments I had. While in the game they are more cavalry-oriented – I decided that starting with infantry was a reasonable way to get going on the faction. Like the Whim Whim, the Temujicans do not have artillery or musketry.
As cousins of the Gillikins, they do have access to units of “Mercenary Gillikin Longbows”, which are SKU OZZ-409. I had two of these regiments to paint. I also had two other infantry regiments of “Infantry with Command – Unknown Immortals”, which are SKU OZZ-533. All four regiments have 21 figures each for a total of 84 figures for this post. All are metal and 28mm – though both Gillikins and Temujicans are somewhat diminutive in stature. They are bigger than Munchkins though. The Unknown Immortals, have their faces hidden, and all have the same pose except for the leader, drummer and regimental commander. The MGL’s have multiple poses.
Mercenary Gillikin Longbowmen from the Wars of Ozz websiteUnknown Immortals from the Wars of Ozzwebsite
Both types are armed with bows, but the Mercenary Gillikins have longbows (regiments hereafter referred to as MGL). An advantage for the MGL’s is that longbows can fire over intervening troops. The Unknown Immortals have bows and spears.
The MGL’s cost 5 points apiece – and have values for Marksmanship, Melee, Resolve, and Elan of 6/10, 5/10, 6/10, and 5/10. Each brigade can have up to two of them. The Unknown Immortals cost 6 points and have similar values for Marksmanship, Melee, Resolve, and Elan of 6/10, 5/10, 5/10, and 6/10. There can be up to two regiments of Unknown Immortals in a Temujican brigade.
So why are Temujicans green skinned? In Wars of Ozz, all races, to include Gillikins and Temujicans, were affected by the viruses and mutagenics released in the Last Great War. One of those effects was mutation of humans (and others) into different races. Another was the effect of “color mania” – with different factions being affected differently. While the Army lists (found here) describe the Temujicans as being outfitted in different sandy and brown shades, I thought they must have some residual affinity for purples as the Gillikins do. Hence, I decided to use some magenta and purple colors on them. I also used some darker bronze for some of the metallics like buttons and badges. You will also notice some neon colors like yellow and yellow/orange as liners and shield colors. Additionally, like I did with the Whim Whim, I tried to have common colors among the units designated as 1st or 2nd. I did this so as to manage to make sense on the tabletop as I deploy brigades. This will be more clear after you see some photos, so let’s start with WIP shots and discussions
WIP Discussion and how the Project Progressed
I started back on October 14th, and finished all on November 2nd. In between all this I had several golf events plus a costume party! More on those in a bit. While there were 84 figures in total – the Immortals had each a shield, a bow holder, and a quiver.
First, I needed to do lots of filing!
The Unknown Immortals regiments in prep.Close up of the sprue that held the Immortal’s bow holder/sword handle combination, and a quiver with arrows.
Then it was on to washing and organizing it all:
All pieces for this Temujican infantry project filed, washed, and ready for assembly/painting on October 15th.
By October 24th I had made some progress on the accouterments and the figures.
As I mentioned, there was golf and Halloween too. I did end up shooting an 84 on my home course – which was a personal best – plus coming in tied for first in the year-long contest at my club – but I digress…
Plus for Halloween we had a nice visit from Elsa (aka Tabitha my granddaughter):
My daughter Ellen, Tabitha (as Elsa), and my wife Lynn
Then our Halloween party saw this couple (us) as Gru and a Minion:
Gru and his minion
Back to the Temujicans!
By October 29th, I was nearly finished with initial painting and assemblies:
Basing work on the figures followed:
Gluing the figures down AND SURGICALLY covering the bases with the sand paste and rocks took some time. I did not want a mess on the paint jobs, so typically I glued down 3 out of 4 of the figures first, then applied the paste, then added the final figure. Below you’ll see that after the paste dried, I added pigments to the bases. One regiment has no pigments as a comparator. I really like the effect of the three pigments I use on the sand paste – and recommend their use if you want a desert look.
Bases showing 3/4 with pigments.
Then I varnished the lot with an airbrush, and once that dried I added flocking tufts and rocks.
All the paints that I used are listed at the end of this post – but let’s share some…
Eye Candy
1st Mercenary Gillikin Regiment
1st Gillikin Mercenary Longbow Regiment in line formation. Their coats are reddish brown with a sallow yellow/orange liner.1st Gillikin Mercenary Longbow Regimental Commander. Note the magenta bicorne hat.Typical stand of the 1st Gillikin Mercenary Longbow Regiment.Command stand of the 1st Gillikin Mercenary Longbow Regiment.1st Gillikin Mercenary Longbow Regiment in column formation.
2nd Mercenary Gillikin Regiment
2nd Gillikin Mercenary Longbow Regiment in line formation. The coats are a sandy brown with neon yellow/greenish lining.1st Gillikin Mercenary Longbow Regimental Commander. Note the purple bicorne hat.Typical stand of the 2nd Gillikin Mercenary Longbow Regiment.Command stand of the 2nd Gillikin Mercenary Longbow Regiment.2nd Gillikin Mercenary Longbow Regiment in column formation.
1st Temujican Unknown Immortals Regiment
1st Temujican Unknown Immortals Regiment in line formation. Their coats are greenish brown. Their shields have alternating chevron colors of green (for Temujicans flesh color) and sallow yellow/orange.1st Temujican Unknown Immortals Regimental Commander. Note the magenta bicorne hat.Typical stand of the 1st Temujican Unknown Immortals Regiment.Command stand of the 1st Temujican Unknown Immortals Regiment.1st Temujican Unknown Immortals Regiment in column formation.
2nd Temujican Unknown Immortals Regiment
2nd Temujican Unknown Immortals Regiment in line formation.2nd Temujican Unknown Immortals Regimental Commander. Note the purple bicorne hat.Typical stand of the 2nd Temujican Unknown Immortals Regiment.2nd Temujican Unknown Immortals Regiment in column formation. I thought this showed the command stand pretty well.
Group Shots
Here are some group shots of all of the 4 regiments:
Video
Lastly, here is a very short video I took of all 4 regiments that is nice:
Alternatively, I did post the same video on Instagram with some music from Thin Lizzy:
I did think about how many “points” IRO or Wudugast would have given me for these 84 goblinoids for their “Orktober” painting extravaganza (if I was in it), but that’s more curiosity than anything else. Plus I really took until November 2nd to finish. Given that my 1984 West Point class was having our 40th reunion during that (last) weekend (which I did not attend) AND that Army beat Air Force in football too (which I did watch) – I did get to remember my 84 class with finishing these 84 figures.
So next I am on to the Temujican cavalry. I have two regiments of heavy and three of light, plus three brigade commanders to do. Onwards!
PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THE TWO REGIMENTS OF MERCENARY GILLIKIN LONGBOWMEN:
Square MDF Brigade Leader bases from Wars of Ozz Miniatures (used as regimental commander bases)
Wargames Accessories number 21 bases (2″ square steel bases)
Wargames Accessories number 17 (1.5″ X 1″ steel bases)
Temujican flag designs from Wars of Ozz Facebook page (printed on card stock)
Card stock
If you want to check out the excellent Wars of Ozz figures’ range – there are two places to get them and to get the rules (and I make no money from this btw). The game rules and the figures are available from the next two places:
It’s that time again – when I take a look back and see how well I did – or did not do – versus the goals that I set out to accomplish for myself back in January of 2023. This post will also be where I set myself some realistic (and hopefully challenging) benchmarks/goals for 2024 in the areas of Life, Golf, Miniatures, & Other Distractions (after all that is the title of this blog since its inception back in 2015!). It’s more for my own motivation, but I have found that others have enjoyed the ride (especially the spreadsheets for Roger and John!) – so here we go.
2023 was, like 2022, one very busy year on multiple hobby, golf, and life fronts. I did set some pretty aggressive goals for all aspects. Some were around gaming, some around hobby production, some were around golf, and more.
How did I do versus my 2023 goals?
Paint 250 figures or more
Well, I blew goal that out of the park and had my most productive miniature painting year ever – mostly Wars of Ozz figures obviously! I managed to paint 330 miniatures – 128 more than I did in 2022.
2023 Production
Complete a brigade of Winkies for Wars of Ozz.
This was a big part of the 330 – 107 Winkie figures painted – and much bigger than just a single brigade! 1 witch, 3 leader bases, 1 cavalry regiment, 1 artillery battery, and 5 infantry regiments as shown below.
2023 Winkie units and leaders production.
Complete a brigade of Land of Harvest creatures for Wars of Ozz.
I really fell in love with the Great Land of Harvest figures – and painted 111 of them. 4 leaders, 1 witch, 9 infantry 1egiments, and an artillery battery. This was close to just not 1 brigade but 2+ brigades.
2023 Harvest Production
Run and play more games – track them too.
Leif Magnuson, me with my wife’s least favorite headgear, and Brad Gosselin at TotalCon37. They both played in multiple Feudal Patrol and Wars of Ozz games at multiple cons and were EXCELLENT wing men.
The Battle of Lake Texcoco at HMGS Fall In.
Wars of Ozz at HUZZAH! 2023.
Wars of Ozz at EllisCon.
Yes indeed, I did both run AND play, and track them as well. I attended and ran games at several conventions and club nights. The conventions included 2023’s TotalCon37, HAVOC, HMGS Cold Wars, HUZZAH!, HMGS Fall In, and EllisCon. I also played in several. All tallied, I played as a player in 12 games – 8 Wars of Ozz, 1 Feudal Patrol, 1 Axis & Allies Miniatures, and 2 Eagles and Empires games. I acted as GM for no less than 20 games - 9 Wars of Ozz, 10 Feudal Patrol (Mesoamerican era/Spanish Conquest skirmish, and 1 What a Tanker game.)
Complete the scenario booklet for Civilizations Collide.
That’s a miss – though I have written 10/16 scenarios.
Try to get my Nomonhan WaT project off the ground. Note I said “try”.
Nope – not enough time, but this stays on my list.
Get the Mass Pikemen more active.
The Battle for Toto (Wars of Ozz) playtest at the Mass Pikemen.
I think that happened at about the same rate as last year, so not more active, but active.
Have another nice trip to Florida.
In Orlando at golf school with Lynn.
We had a nice escape from dreary cold New England to sunny warm Florida for fun and Golf School. Also got to get together with Buck Surdu and play Eagles & Empires.
Eagles and Empires in Buck’s amazing gaming room.
Post on the blog 48 times or more – make them of good quality
I exceeded this – mainly because I started using the blog for The Tour of the Brookfields golf tournaments – to share information and to share results. As we do have a Facebook page – but not everyone is on it – this blog became crucial to sharing information. Also, this kept it free from the FB bots that, for example, decided that a post of a winning putt “violated community standards”. I posted on the blog 54 times - a good average for me.
Be a good blog follower – still a goal but one that I cannot measure!
Always on the list – but others can decide (like you dear reader).
Have multiple Zoom chats with fellow hobbyists.
I had a few very nice ones – can always do more.
Go to a golf school and get my golf handicap down below 18. This time.
Well, did hit the school, and I barely got under 18 – but done!
Stats on my handicap history. And a Siri circle!
Yes! As shown above, I managed to get to 17.6.
Update my golf tournament progress on my blog – either as posts or a page or both.
OK, I did not record my individual tournament progress – though I did start to use the blog for the Tour of the Brookfields, so I’m going to say yes. Certainly, I left off most of the club tournaments that I played in, but still posted a few. It certainly rained – A LOT.
Play golf (in season) at least twice a week.
Exceeded this as I had 86 handicap rounds plus maybe 8-10 others that were scrambles.
Win my flight in the Championship.
Nope – not even close.
Be a competitive golfer.
I had my moments – and did do well in the annual Club Derby. Knee injury in August (and playing on a bad leg) did not keep me down too badly.
Tom & I win!2/3 was Tom, 1/3 was me – or less.
Personal Highs in 2022
For the second year in a row – the Florida trip and golfing with my wife (she’s getting better)!
Getting together with family especially my daughter Ellen and my granddaughter Tabitha.
Winning my second “PELA” GM award at HMGS Cold Wars for the Battle of Lake Texcoco.
Winning my third “Al” award for the game with the most stunning visual appeal at the Battle Group Boston HAVOC Convention for the Wars of Ozz!
Knocking out 330 figures and terrain for the Wars of Ozz!
Having EXCELLENT wingmen in Brad Gosselin and Leif Magnuson at MULTIPLE conventions.
Getting together with Dave Wood, Buck Surdu, Greg Priebe, Chris Palmer, and Duncan Adams, Eric Schlegel, and all of the other HAWKS in person.
Getting honored by Old Glory by them putting my painted Great Pumpkinheads on t-shirts!
Being on the Committees for the Tour of the Brookfields tournaments and the New England Service Academy golf tournaments.
Having fun Zoom chats.
As a team, winning the Club Derby with Tom Orszulak by one stroke over 36 holes over two days.
And again, being with my wife Lynn, every day (seriously, and she won’t likely read this).
Tabitha & Lynn
My daughter Ellen, grandaughter Tabitha, my Mom, and me.
Winning te PELA.
Chris Palmer, Dave Wood, and me sporting some cool t-shirts!
Personal Lows for 2021
Knee injury in August.
Knee surgery in December – though that’s a long-term plus for my golf game (I hope).
My goals for 2024
Well, its time to set my Life, Golf, Miniatures, & Other Distractions goals for 2024.
Paint 365 figures or more.
Complete 2 brigades of Quadlings for Wars of Ozz.
Complete a brigade of Whim Whim & Noobi for Wars of Ozz.
Complete a brigade of Temujicans for Wars of Ozz.
Continiue to run and play more games – and continue tracking them too.
Attend and run games at conventions. This would include TotalCon38, HAVOC, COLD BARRAGE, MAYHEM, HUZZAH!, HMGS Fall In, EllisCon, and others..
Complete one more scenario for my scenario booklet for Civilizations Collide.
Paint up a platoon from Wargames Supply Dump for Combat Patrol™ .
Try to get my Nomonhan WaT project off the ground. Note I said “try”. Again.
Get the Mass Pikemen more active.
Have another nice trip to Florida.
Post on the blog 50 times or more – make them of good quality.
Be a good blog follower – still a goal but one that I cannot measure!
Have multiple Zoom chats with fellow hobbyists.
Go to a golf school and get my golf handicap down below 16.
Update the Tour of the Brookfields on my blog.
Play golf (in season) at least twice a week – get in 80 rounds.
Win my flight in the Club Championship.
Defend in the Club Derby
Be a competitive golfer.
Be a good friend.
Of course, MUCH thanks to all who make the time to read this blog and comment on my stuff, craziness, and madness – Happy 2024!
This regiment to me resembles the Munchkin equivalent of Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, especially with their hats. That historical unit was composed mostly of cowboys, which (as officially designated as the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry) fought in Cuba in 1898 mostly without any mounts. As the Munchkin Sharpshooters are also dismounted save the regimental commander – the similarity for me holds – except for height.
Colonel Roosevelt in his Rough Rider uniform.
The 1st Munchkin Sharpshooter Regiment is SKU OZZ-116. There are 21 figures for the regiment – including the mounted regimental commander and 20 riflemen. Yes, these guys have RIFLES with scopes, not muskets. As such, their range is the same as troops with muskets, but they can fire at the equivalent of short range all the way out to long range. Normally, at greater than 7″, missile fire effective strength is halved. Not these guys! They can fire at full power out to 14″.
All of the figures are metal and 28mm in size. They are based 4 apiece to a 2″ square base – so five bases for the regiment plus the regimental commander on his own separate MDF base. No assembly was required for the unit other than to add the flags and for a small modification I made to an NCO figure that you’ll see below. The regiment is good at missile combat with their rifles – having a Marksmanship value of 6/10 with that great range. As for Melee, they are really weak with a poor value of 3/10 (maybe they needed bayonets!). Their Resolve value is okay at 6/10, but their Elan value is lousy at 4/10. The unit costs 6 points. As I always do, I mixed and matched the figure types and poses such that no two bases of the five in the regiment were identical.
I am currently expected to be waylaid because of minor knee surgery. So, in terms of painting and blogging, I decided to hurry up and paint these and post them now. I’ll be able to read your posts and replies of course, but the painting and blog creation booths are to be closed for a couple of weeks – so Merry Christmas to you all! I am hoping to participate in Dave Stone’s Wargamesculptors Blog “PAINT WHAT YOU GOT CHALLENGE 2023/2024” painting challenge as I should be ok by then.
Also, I did not take any WIP shots, so I’ll just go right into eye candy. Apologies as I had some struggles with my lighting – but I think the photos are getting a bit better, just not as consistent as I’d like.
Eye Candy
Regimental Commander Base
Base 1
Base 2
Base 3
This base 3 had a unique figure – he is probably supposed to be an NCO. He is the bald guy. Instead of a rifle, he is holding what looks to be a guidon/spear/streamer signaling thing – and that looked too plain to me. So I added a couple of ribbons and a shrunken down pair of crossed rifle images with the “1” insignia on card stock to its cross bar.
The added ribbons – each of the two ribbon pieces is only 1/4″ wide by 1/2″ long. Note the tiny added crossed rifles with the “1”.
Base 4
Base 5 – Command Base
Group Shots
Top view of the 1st Munchkin Sharpshooter Regiment in line and ready to fire!
The 1st Munchkin Sharpshooter Regiment in column and on the march.
Frontal view of the 1st Munchkin Sharpshooter Regiment on line andready to fire!
I hope that you enjoyed seeing this unit – and I am happy that I was able to get this post in before I had to wait a while. I think when I recover I’ll be working on some Munchkin artillery and some Munchkin National Guard (Landwehr) for Dave’s challenge. Thanks for looking!
And yes, I still have much more Ozz to come…
Miscellaneous details and references for those interested in that sort of thing:
For all of my previous posts on Wars of Ozz games, figures, units, and other related projects – please see this page.
PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THE 1ST MUNCHKIN SHARPSHOOTER REGIMENT:
Rectangular Brigade MDF base (used as a Regimental base) from Old Glory
2″ square steel bases from Wargames Accessories (#21)
1.25″ x 1″ square steel base from Wargames Accessories (#FOW1)
1/2″ Everbilt steel washers
3/4″ Everbilt steel washers
Poster tack
Vallejo Premium Primer “White”
Vallejo “Flow Improver”
Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
Citadel “Nuln Oil” (wash)
Vallejo Mecha Color “Off White”
P3 “Brown Ink” (ink)
Army Painter “Speed Paint – Royal Robes 2.0”
Vallejo “Thinner Medium”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Aethermatic Blue”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Contrast Medium”
Vallejo Model Color “Black”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Pylar Glacier”
Army Painter “Speed Paint – Crusader Skin 1.0”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Magmadroth Flame”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Ironjawz Yellow”
Army Painter “Speed Paint – Ashen Stone 2.0”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Black Templar”
Army Painter “Speed Paint – Ruddy Fur 2.0”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Cygor Brown”
P3 “Midland Flesh”
Citadel “The Fang”
Vallejo Model Air “Gun Metal”
Army Painter “Warpaint – Weapon Bronze”
Vallejo Mecha Color “Sky Blue”
The Armory “Dark Blue”
Vallejo Model Color “Wood Grain”
Army Painter “Speed Paint – Satchel Brown 2.0”
Army Painter “Speed Paint – Hardened Leather 1.0”
Army Painter “Speed Paint – Speed Paint Medium 1.0”
As I wind down from Memorial Day weekend activities, I wanted to share some of my photos from the Huzzah! 2023 gaming convention. I ran 5 games there – two Wars of Ozz games on Friday, two Feudal Patrol games based on the Spanish Conquest in Mesoamerica games on Saturday, and a final Wars of Ozz game on Sunday. Each game slot was 4 hours long.
As usual, setting up and running a convention game (let alone 5) takes away from being a photographer. In the end, I want the games to take priority – and find a moment or two to take some shots for you, my readers. I do not have a good play-by-play to share, but I will give you the general gist of the games and hopefully the pics will suffice – there are a lot here.
If you like wargames photos – or you were at Huzzah! 2023 – this post is up your alley!
As background, the Huzzah! 2023 gaming convention was held in South Portland, ME, from May 19th to May 21st. It is run annually by the Maine Historical Wargamers Association (MWHA). There are two Facebook pages associated with the group, one is for the MWHA and one for the Huzzah! convention that you can access.
I arrived early Friday the 19th – around 11 AM – so that I could check into my hotel and move all my stuff from my very full car into my room and get my first game set up for 2 PM. Unfortunately, the hotel would not let ANYONE check in before 3 PM – and yes, that was during my game slot. The staff of the hotel claimed that they needed to keep rooms free for flight crews (not the fault of MWHA btw). In any case, my car was not packed such that I could just grab stuff and go – and after a bit of transloading in the parking lot I got my stuff into the convention space and set up my first 6-player Wars of Ozz game. The table was smaller than I had planned – and had a lot of figures on it, but with all of the scrambling, I made it work.
Friday Afternoon Wars of Ozz Game
I set up all of my Ozz games as “meeting engagements”. The idea was to expose the players to the rules and for them to have a fun and straightforward game. In the first game, on the “bad guys side” I had a brigade of Gillikins (loaned to me for the convention by my friend Chris Comeau), my brigade of Winkies, and another Winkie brigade (loaned to me for the convention by my friend Chris Palmer of the Maryland HAWKS club). On the other side I had my Great Land of Harvest Brigade, my Munchkin Brigade, and a Quadling Brigade (also from Chris Palmer), At future conventions, I should have enough of my own Ozz troops, but thanks to the two Chris’s, and Eric Schlegel (the HAWK who brought the Maryland-based figures m to the convention), I was set. Each player had a brigade – and here below are some shots of the action.
The players ready to play. The bases with more than 1 building represent towns.Brad advances his Lesser Apes and Winkies.A view of “the good guys” side – from nearest to furthest are the Great Land of Harvest Brigade, the Quadling Brigade, and the Munchkin Brigade. Some of the units will be the subject of future posts (I had not had enough time before HUZZAH!).A Winkie zilk-riding regiment is disordered after fighting and routing the Great Pumpkin Heads. Moving up to challenge the Winkie cavalry is the Carrot Creature Regiment – supported by both Mushroom Creature and Corn Creature regiments. You can also see the Great Pumpkin Heads routing to their right.Carrot Creatures and Winkie cavalry are disordered after melee. A Harvest Witch prepares a spell.The Great Owl regiment attacks and disrupts the Gillikin goat-riding cavalry in front of Munchkin infantry. The Gillikin cavalry had just routed the Munchkin Light Cavalry at the top of the picture.Munchkin infantry and artillery move up – while Munchkin cavalry continues to flee the battle.Later, the Winkie cavalry broke the Carrot, Corn, and Mushroom Creature regiments. Unfortunately the Harvest player’s dice were set on rolling badly – very badly.In the middle of the battle, Quadlings and Lesser Apes collide – while the other Winkie cavalry moves forward.The aftermath of the Quadling/Ape scrum was a routed Quadling infantry.
The first game was an overwhelming bad guy victory. I reset the game, finally got checked into my room, and prepared for the next band of players. As for dinner – a bag of crackers and a Coke had to suffice for the time being.
Friday Night Wars of Ozz Game
When I reset the game, I removed some of the terrain to alter it a bit. I also deployed the forces closer to each other. Here below are some shots of this game.
The game 2 players – and yes the gentleman on the left middle (James) played again – in fact he played in all 5 of my games! This game had several of the “Berkshire Boys” playing, as well as Sam and Matt who are veterans of many of my convention games.As before, the Great Pumpkin Heads made contact with the enemy first, and again they were routed! This time though the Harvest troops fought better.An overview of the battlefield.Some Winkies advance – while others are routed…The battle develops – and the casualties (on the blue tablecloth) mount.Forces of good and evil collide!With a bold move, Sam fly’s her regiment of Great Flying Apes towards the Quadlings and Munchkins.The Munchkin Light Cavalry hits the Great Flying Apes.The end of the game (due to the hall closing!).
At the game’s end, the bad guys had the advantage – but the tide was (in my opinion) turning in favor of the good guys. All had fun in these first two games.
At this point, I grabbed another Coke, a bag of Goldfish crackers, and a microwaveable frozen mini-pizza for the room, and crashed.
Saturday Morning Feudal Patrol Game – The Battle of Centla
The next morning, I got in early and set up my next game – the Battle of Centla. This is a Feudal Patrol skirmish game based on the first encounter between the Conquistadores and the Maya (Cortes would later fight the Aztecs).
I again sold out! It was nice to have a full table.
The players assemble on Saturday morning.Leif and Brad – veterans of the game – brief their teams and strategize.The Spanish advance towards the Maya city. Their victory conditions were to get to the city, or inflict excessive casualties on the Maya, or to incapacitate their leader, Tabscoob. To win, the Maya needed to inflict excessive casualties on the Conquistadores, incapacitate Cortes, or just avoid any Spanish victory conditions being met by the game’s end.Brad advances his warband led by Alvarado.Alvarado (red hair at bottom left) sends his war dog at the Maya in the bushes.Maya atlatls hit the Spanish advancing on the middle road.The Spanish players coordinate their actions.As the Spanish move toward the city, the Maya take up a defensive position astride the jungle path.The Maya get timely (and lucky) reinforcements to confront the Spanish bringing a smile to Michelle.The Spanish under Alvarado try to hack their way through the Maya, but are stunned by atlatl fire, slowing their advance.In desperation, Alvarado hurls himself at the Maya, but is stunned by an atlatl hit.Back in the middle of the table, the Spanish are near a breakthrough as well.However, the Maya hold.The game ends with a narrow Maya victory – the Spanish nearly succeed!
Thankfully, I was able to get this game dismantled (with a lot of help especially from Leif and Brad) and put away and moved to my final table of the weekend. Fortunately, this was going to be a BIG table – five 6′ x 3′ tables of watery battlefield – Lake Texcoco – where the Aztec capital used to be.
Saturday Evening Feudal Patrol Game – The Battle of Lake Texcoco
This game would be in the evening on Saturday – so I set up during he afternoon – all 23 war canoes (with 5-6 Aztecs inside) and 5 Spanish brigantines (with 13 or so figures in each ship). Each side gets Victory points differently. The Spanish get points for successfully firing their primitive lombards and falconets (cannon) at the city. The Aztecs get points for successfully boarding each brigantine. Both sides get points for inflicting casualties on the enemy – with the Aztecs getting more points for inflicting them than the armored Spanish do. There were 9 players.
At the start – Spanish on the right, Aztecs on the left.The Aztec players advance their war canoes,The Spanish players try to advance their brigantines.The Aztecs move quickly as the Spanish do not raise their sails and instead rely on rowing.Close up of the war canoes.Another shot of the war canoes as they advance.Long view of the battlefield from the other side of the table.El Dolar is boarded!James eyes the approaching war canoes and fires his lombard (in the stern castle obscured by the sail) at an approaching canoe. It’s a bad scene on El Dolar – half the crew was killed or jumped overboard – plus it got damaged hitting an island.Near the end of the battle.The massive number of Morale pips on the dashboard of El Marcos tell a sad tale…
In the end the Spanish lost the game – as not a single shot hit the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. The Spanish players were somewhat cautious in their advance but also too willing to fire valuable cannon opportunities at war canoes. While they inflicted a lot of casualties, the lack of cannon hits doomed their chances at victory. Meanwhile, the Aztecs boarded all of the brigantines, and that was the difference in points.
After a cleanup, I had help setting up Sunday morning’s upcoming Ozz game on this same table.
Sunday Morning Wars of Ozz Game
I only used 4 brigades this time as I dropped the Winkie and the Quadling brigades that I had borrowed from Chris Palmer. There was a LOT more maneuver space and several of the players were from Friday’s Ozz games. Also there was lot of action in this game as you will see below!
Ready for action!Stephen advances the Gillikins.The Harvest Brigade here – with the Munchkin Brigade to their right. The two opposing forces were deployed at opposite corners of the tabletop.The Mushroom Creature Regiment enters a town.A view of the Munchkin Brigade.Gillikins move through and around a town with their skeleton allies.Harvest forces try to get into the town before the Winkies.Munchkin forces advance.The Munchkin Medium artillery battery safely in the hard cover of the town with their infantry on the right flank. An amazing Ozz scene as Union Civil War reenactors watch the Ozz game unfold – black powder weapons on the table and around it!Forces close on the town.The Harvestland artillery (the pumpkin chucker) is wiped out to a man (or pumpkinhead) by Winkie Infantry. Meanwhile, the Great Pumpkin Heads seek revenge and deploy into line.The Great Pumpkin Heads repel the Lesser Apes.The Great Flying Apes manage to get behind the Great Pumpkin Heads and attempt a rear hit. The GPH manage to turn to face them, but now have enemies to the front and to the rear.A Great Pumpkin Head base close up as they are surrounded.The GPH have had enough and rout…On the Munchkin front, the Winkie zilk-riders attempt to charge the Munchkin Medium battery – and fail to make it – and are staring at the business end at point-blank range.Meanwhile, Evora the Witch cast “poppies” in front of her Winkie Light battery to deter any assaults on the gun. Gillikins have turned the flank of the Harvest left side,The Harvest center begins to weaken.Forces converge.The zilk riders are smashed by the Munchkin battery and flee, pursued by the Great Owls.The Lesser Pumpkin Heads form line, and turn to face the rear attack of the Great Flying Apes.The Harvest left flank crumbles!
That was the end of the game as time expired. It was not really over as the Munchkins were still intact and the Winkies had taken losses too. Had it gone on longer, I expect that it would have been very close – but as it ended the Winkies and Gillikins made it a three for three weekend.
I hope that you enjoyed the photos – and I want to thank all of the MWHA folks for all of their hard work – and I want to thank the players as well. I do believe that everyone had a very good time at my games – plus I think I will see some of them at future Mass Pikemen games – and I really look forward to that!
As always, I appreciate any feedback from you in the comments section. Thanks for looking!
Last weekend the Cold Wars 2023 gaming convention was held in Valley Forge, PA at the Valley Forge Casino Resort. I participated as a game master and as a player. I ran three games of Feudal Patrol, played in two games of Wars of Ozz, and participated as a player in an American War of Independence (AWI) game. I really enjoyed the convention – and personally had some special moments as you will soon see in this post. I, a Massachusetts “carpetbagger”, am grateful once again for the welcome, hospitality, and friendship of the HAWKS club, especially Buck Surdu, Greg Priebe, Chris Palmer, Dave Wood, and Eric Schlegel – who all contributed to making my experience a memorable one. I also want to thank the players who chose to play in my games. I also must thank the HMGS staff and volunteers for making the convention work so well.
I thought the best way to share this with my readers was to focus on photographs – with a little bit of description. Some of these photos came from Chris Palmer and others on Facebook, and some are from myself.
AWI Playtest
This was on Thursday night in the HAWKS room and was a playtest of a set of rules being worked on by Buck Surdu, Chris Palmer, and Greg Priebe and other HAWKS. Basically it is taking the Wars of Ozz/Eagles and Empires engine and applying it to the AWI. I needed to set up my first game (The Battle of Centla) so that I could play on Friday morning in a Wars of Ozz game without any concerns. I played on the British side with 3 line regiments and two grenadier regiments. I had nothing but open field in front of me and a mission to take out an American gun battery that was surrounded by colonial infantry in soft cover commanded by Chris Palmer.
The set up for the AWI playtest. You can also see my Battle of Centla game all set up for Friday in the background.
I advanced my troops as quickly as possible but got shredded by canister as I git close – though I did do some – but not enough – damage to Chris.
At the start……my casualties overflow…
I got trounced but it was not a situation that I think I could have attempted differently, but hey, it’s a game and a playtest at that.
…and a satisfied Chris surveys the battlefield!
Wars if Ozz – Winter of Discontent (Wars of Ozz)
This was a “bring your own brigade” game GM’d by Chris Palmer – and to help I brought both my Winkie and my Munchkin brigades in case they were needed. As it turned out, I commanded the Munchkins, and faced my own Winkies!
Several different factions are shown below.
MunchkinsWinkiesAnti-Yule
And here are some more – click on the images for a better view:
GnomesQuadlingsYule Forces led by Bobbo Natale – Teddy Bear Infantry, Elves, and Toy Soldier Cavalry
The board was fairly open with some hills and woods in a wintery scene.
The game set up.
It was a fun game, though I felt like I was a bit torn fighting my own troops!
Moving my forces out.Looking across to my fun opponents – here I have moved Colonel Tik-Tik’s regiment on the left into line to optimize missile fire – but the Winkie zilk-riders went into line and smashed into them.
That Winkie cavalry attacking player rolled 5 dice for hits – not a single miss (the roll was amazing) – and those hits would be doubled due to impetus. All 5 hit rolls yielded 10 hits – and that took out fully 50% of Tik-Tok’s regiment in one fell swoop. Tik-Tok routed, but I was able to rally it and keep it in the game.
I deploy……but the zilks roll fantastic movement……and hit the infantry! No misses!with 50% casualties after one hit, Colonel Tik-Tok’s Infantry routs away from the zilk riders.
While successful in their attack, the 20th Winkie Light Cavalry was now disordered – and my Munchkin battery and my own pony riding cavalry took the opportunity to hit the zilks from both the flank and the rear, and sent them into a retreat.
“Avenge our dead” – was the cry of the survivors of Colonel Tik-Tok’s infantry as their brethren close on the hated Winkie zilk riders of the 20th Winkie Light Cavalry.
The Winkies then attacked – buy mainly piecemeal – and the Munchkins were able to hold and repel both charges by the Winkie Sharpshooters and their ally the Lesser Apes. The artillerists did abandon their gun when the apes hit, but short range canister and a round of melee had already sent the Lesser Apes packing.
The Munchkins hold!
In the middle of the game was a big scrum between the brigade of Ice Trolls, Elves, Dark Elves, and that of the Teddy Bear Infantry, Teddy Bear Artillery, and the Toy Soldier Cavalry.
Scrum in the middle.
The game was a “good guys” victory!
The Battle of Centla (Feudal Patrol)
On Friday afternoon, I ran the Feudal Patrol game of the Battle of Centla – a battle between the Maya and the Conquistadores under Hernan Cortes.
The Spanish needed to reach the Maya city or kill 50% of the Spanish, or kill Tabscoob, the Maya leader. The Maya needed to prevent the Spanish from achieving their victory conditions, kill Cortes, or kill 50% of the Conquistadores. In the game, the Maya do get reinforcements, and the Spanish do not. Time is not on the Spanish players’ side.
The game set up – the Spanish are on the beach.Maya moving onto the beach.Buck Surdu joins the game replacing a departing player – and commands Cortes.
The Spanish were not initially as aggressive as I expected – though as the game progressed they did start to advance.
Buck and I confer on his troops’ data.Battles on the beachThe Conquistadores’ advance is held up due to atlatl attacks.
Unfortunately, the Spanish needed to take some risks – and Buck moved Cortes up and into the fight. This was very appropriate given the state of the game at that point. A Maya warrior got a lucky hit on him and cut off his leg – yielding a victory for the Maya. This game is very cool – I have run it several times and both sides have won in the past.
Surprise Aztec Raid on the Spanish Outpost (Feudal Patrol)
After the Friday afternoon game (Centla), I quickly got my next game ( this was held on Friday evening) set up with a lot of help from Buck, Dave Wood, and Greg for Friday night. This is a scenario as described below:
The game went back and forth and it was not clear at all which side would eventually win. There was a lot of action.
The game at the start – the Aztecs needed to cross muddy field to reach the Spanish and the Tlaxcalans. There were also food and gold objectives, and of course VP for inflicting casualties or taking captives.Greg Priebe advances his Aztec commander, Asupacaci and his warrior priests.
The Spanish used their war dogs and arquebuses to good effect – but the Aztec Elite troops berserked and fought bravely.
Arquebuses fire.Aztecs collect many morale pips for getting shot at by the arquebusiers.The Spanish fire their falconet.The berserking Cuachicqueh engage the Conquistadores.
Finally, both the Aztecs and the Tlaxcalans started taking prisoners for sacrifice – and gaining victory points in the process. Eric Schlegel successfully fired his falconet again with langridge at a swarm of Aztecs, taking out several of them in the last turn. This was to be pivotal.
Tlaxcalans get into the melee.Morale pips pile up on both sides.Captives are taken.Unlucky prisoners being dragged away by both sides to a fate worse than simple death.
I tallied the points – and it was a TIE! 46-46! I call that play-balanced!
I then set up my massive Battle of Lake Texcoco, which would be played on Saturday afternoon. This way I would have all the time I needed to enjoy my next game as a player on Saturday morning – which would be the Wars of Ozz game described next.
War to Save Yule: Battle for the Bauble of Time (Wars of Ozz)
After a short sleep, I played in another Ozz game on Saturday morning. This one was the second of three linked Wars of Ozz scenarios that Chris Palmer and Buck Surdu ran pitting the forces of the Ice Queen, Aurora, versus those of Babbo Natale (really Santa). Aurora wants to seize the Bauble of Time – a magic item that can bend time and lets Babbo deliver all his toys in one night. Of course, Aurora wants it for her own evil purposes. The Bauble was hidden in one of three buildings – and the neither the forces of Yule or Aurora knew which one. The goal of the attacking Ice Queen was to search each of the three areas – which meant that her forces needed to clear defenders from them first. I played on the Yule side in this game, on the Yule’s far left flank.
The game set up. Bruce, Buck, and Chris discuss the scenario.
The three possible search zones were as shown below.
The 3 search zones and defending Yule.The 3rd zone up close (Yule left flank)My game view – Teddy Bear infantry, artillery, & Toy Soldier infantry.Teddy Bear Infantry base.Toy Soldier Infantry base.
Here is a photo of me by Chris surveying the battlefield:
A view towards my position. Aurora’s forces were attacking from the right here. I think I look tired!Opposite view as Chris briefs the players earlier.
The forces defending the buildings/search zones on the Yule right and center were overwhelmed. Only the one on the Yule left held.
Ice Trolls hit the Yule center.My Toy Soldier Infantry are engaged by Krampus troops.
The odds were in favor of the Ice Queen at this point with 2/3 search zones in her control.
Bruce tries to fight off the Ice Trolls.
In the end we were lucky as the Bauble was in the last search zone and safe from the Ice Queen, so a victory for us. Chris would run a second follow on game later that I will share a few pictures of at the end of this post with others that I did not play in or GM. I did play in the 3rd linked game as well – more on that game in a bit.
The game ends.
The Battle of Lake Texcoco (Feudal Patrol)
I always look forward to running this game – yes it’s massive but more importantly a lot of fun. Basically there are 5 brigantines loaded with conquistadores and primitive cannon (lombards or falconets) that need to cross the tabletop and shell the other side of the table – where the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan is located. Opposing them are 21 war canoes filled with Aztecs hell-bent on boarding the invaders’ ships and stopping them. VP are awarded for shelling the city, boarding a brigantine, sinking canoes, and for casualties on both sides. The Spanish have to try to navigate the uncharted waters to do this too.
The set up for the game.
The players were excellent!
The start of the game.
The Spanish moved out and avoided collisions with each other or the islands. Only one got stuck on an underwater obstacle (El Gregorio) – resulting in the Aztecs getting a “Burst of Exuberance” which allowed it to be boarded first. Eventually, all of the brigantines would be boarded to greater or lesser extent.
Boarding!
The Spanish held on and were able to get three ships to shell the city.
Tenochtitlan takes its first hit of solid shot from El Marcos.A photo from Chris Palmer showing me helping to adjudicate a fight.The battle rages on the lake.
Of course, there was even more boarding!
El Marcos is boarded.
The game was pleasantly and briefly interrupted at this point by the HMGS staff. As it turned out, my game was selected to be honored with a “PELA” award for the time slot. PELA stands for “Pour Encourager Les Autres” which in English translates to “For Encouraging the Others”. These awards are defined by HMGS as going:
“to the games that best embody the positive traits of miniatures gaming, such as well-painted figures, great looking terrain, interesting scenarios, enjoyable rules, good sportsmanship, and an enjoyable time – events that do the most to “encourage others”.”
This was something as a GM that you can really appreciate! I was really honored – and it was nice to get applause from the room and my table too. I think that there were about 30+ games in my time slot – so this was tough to get. The award was a lovely knight figure on a plinth and a voucher for the vendor hall. Thanks HMGS, it has a place of honor at home! Thanks players!
I am awarded a PELA!The PELA among Spanish casualties (hey, I was still running the game!).
In the end, the Spanish narrowly won the game by a score of 367-316. If the Conquistadores had made one less shot into Tenochtitlan, it would have been only a one shot victory.
As this was my last game to GM, I was able to get most of it picked up (thanks again to the HAWKS for all the help) – and get into playing my last game of the convention.
War to Save Yule – Ambush or Fighting Retreat (Wars of Ozz)
This was the third Ozz linked game run by Buck Surdu. In the second game, the forces of Yule held on to the Bauble of Time. Here, the Ice Queen’s forces are ambushing a convoy of Babbo Natale who is trying to get the Bauble to a safe place. I did not get as many pictures of this game – but I played on the side of the Ice Queen this time. We ended up taking the Bauble (Giant Evil Snowmen charged the convoy and stole it). It was a lot of fun.
My Ice Trolls take a beating from the Toy Soldier cavalry.
I was on the far left flank of the Ice Queen’s forces – and I after the Toy soldier cavalry and the Teddy Bear artillery beat up my Ice Trolls and Krampus, I was able to flank the Teddy Bear battery with Dark Elves. This attack sent them fleeing and the rear middle of the battlefield became congested with forces. Meanwhile, Chris Palmer valiantly pursued the Snowmen with the Toy Soldier cavalry. Luckily for our side, the Snowmen escaped into woods where the cavalry would not move as quickly – with the Bauble. Victory!
My Dark Elves move up the Yule flank.Snowmen abscond with the captured Bauble!
Other Game Photos
There were of course many other games – and I tried to get some photos of them plus I have included many from Chris Palmer. This is not all of the games at Cold Wars by any means.
For the gamers, please enjoy these here! For the GM’s, kudos on the work you put in on some amazing games, and apologies in advance if I get any descriptions wrong here.
Battle of Hanau, 1813
Dave Wood’s Fate of Battle game in 10mm looked amazing.
The Natives Return to Schlegel’s Ferry
Eric Schlegel had a really cool board for his colonial Chesapeake game of Feudal Patrol.
Let’s Play Combat Patrol – France 1940
Greg Priebe ran a France 1940 scenario for Combat Patrol.
Greg and Buck survey Greg’s set up.
Wars of Orcs and Dwarves (WOOD) Playtest
Dave Wood ran a few WOOD games with amazing set ups.
War to Save Yule – River of Ice (Wars of Ozz)
This was the first of the linked Ozz games. This is the one that I did not play in as I was running my Aztec raid game.
Counterattack Near Dubno (Battleground WW2)
Don Hogge’s always popular WW2 games are so cool. This was a 28mm game set on the Eastern Front on June 28th, 1941.
Forest Encounter (Mobile Suit Gundam: The Gravity Front)
Here’s a look at Kevin Fischer’s game set up.
Got Skogskatter (SAGA)
James McWilliams ran a couple of SAGA games.
Pierce’s Hill, Philippines 22 December 1941 (Combat Patrol)
Buck Surdu ran a very cool looking game set during the Japanese invasion of the Philippines in 1941. He worked hard to get the 1941 look right – and he nailed it.
Let’s Play Feudal Patrol! – Viking Raid
Greg ran his introductory Feudal Patrol Viking Raid game and had a full table!
Can the Ratlings save their homeland again from the army of the Necromancer? (Wars of Orcs and Dwarves)
Dave Wood ran yet another visually stunning game – and for fun he used my Winkie Cavalry and Infantry in the game, plus my Lesser Apes. The feedback I got was that they acquitted themselves very well while I was off in Mesoamerica!
Game view.My Winkies!Another viewDave running his huge WOOD game.
Al Capone Comes to Schlegel’s Ferry (Blood & Swash)
Another great use of Eric’s terrain for a 1920’s game.
A truly engaged table deals with smuggling and gangsters in the 1920’s.
Concord to Lexington – Theme
Geoff Graff ran this game of 15mm figures set in my home state in the beginning of the AWI.
Test of Honour – The Last Yamashiro (Test of Honour – Quick Play)
I saw this in the adjoining room to the HAWKS – WOW what a set up! GM was David Hill.
This is a HUGE game!
At the other end of this beauty was a harbor and ships too.
Beautiful set up – nice to see young gamers too.
WWI – Battle of Gnila Lipa (Fall of Eagles WWI)
This set up caught my eye as well – GM David Rollins had a huge table for this battle between the Austrians and the Russians in WWI.
Mars Attacks – Beach Head! (Wings of Glory Tripods and Triplanes)
What a concept – Martians in Tripods taking on Spads and Nieuports in the aftermath of a post-WWI meteor shower! GM was Mike Jacobs.
As I said, this is a big post but I hope that it was enjoyable to look at. Sorry if a game you were or that you ran in was not included – but I’m sure somewhere else there are photos for the world (at least I hope so)!
The scenario involves a beach area with a jungle nearby and a Maya city. The Conquistadors start on the beach and try to move inland. You can see a description of the game in my recent TotalCon 37 recap post. Below is a set up of the battle – note the seven printed green card stock areas at the juncture between the jungle and the beach near the ends of the jungle paths. These areas I described as being easy to cross (no movement penalty) but providing a degree of concealment and cover – basically a scrub-type area.
I used these card stock pieces in lieu of the 7 scatter terrain jungle bases that I ordered from our blogger friend Dave Stone of Wargames Terrain Workshop in the UK back at the turn of the year. I even sized my card stock pieces to match the ones that I ordered from Dave.
Dave built them post-haste – and sent them to me via the Royal Mail on January 11th – so we both thought I’d get them in time to prepare for the February 23rd TotalCon37 convention. Unfortunately, a combination of a cyber attack on the Royal Mail and labor strikes in the UK combined and conspired to keep them from arriving at my home until Wednesday February 22nd – one day before the convention. As I wanted to detail them for the game, and I did not have enough time to give them the justice I wanted with less than a day’s preparation, I decided to work on them after TotalCon 37 so that they’d be ready for Cold Wars. I want to say that Dave was great in following up with me and this situation was definitely not his fault. The seven bases that I bought were as follows:
I started them on February 27th and worked on them alongside some Winkie cavalry (that I will post about next). All of the 7 bases came unpainted with a very generous supply of different plastic foliage on sprues – which allowed me to customize them. The bases themselves were resin with multiple small conical prongs with which to attach the plants. Dave recommended attaching them with green stuff – but I went with Apoxie Sculpt as I had some mixed already for a box handle I needed to repair.
The first steps were to wash the resin and the foliage so that paints and washes would adhere properly.
Washing the plastic foliage and the bases.Two of the washed resin bases showing the prongs, right before priming – on the right!
I primed the bases green-brown and let them dry overnight. I list all the paints and other materials at the end of the blog for those interested in that type of information.
Five of the seven bases primed and drying.Lots of available foliage!
Then, I then mocked out where I would apply the foliage with 1.25″ washers. When I was happy, I applied the foliage with Apoxie Sculpt to 5 of the bases and let that cure overnight. Why five and not seven? Well, as I said, I was also working on Winkie cavalry, and two of the primed bases were hiding under a paper towel and I missed them.
Small base with foliage affixed with Apoxie Sculpt.The 5 non-missing bases with the foliage attached as above – plus the extra prongs have been removed down to the base level.
The next day, the Apoxie Sculpt had cured, I did a quick inventory and I was concerned that I did not buy enough bases! After finding the hidden two, I decided that I did not have the luxury of time to wait another day to wait for Apoxie Sculpt to cure on these last two – so I went with hot glue – which worked great and instantly. I then painted over the Apoxie Sculpt and glue with a couple of green craft paints. Next, I applied three successive green hobby washes to the foliage, and let that dry. Then I cut off the remaining prongs, and applied brown texture paint over the places where the prongs had been removed.
Glue gun to the rescue.The 7 bases are shown here after I added the brown texture paint over the removed prong locations. These are shown over the card stock stand-ins I used at TotalCon 37 – so size-wise I was pretty close. Note that the washes on the foliage have lessened the plastic look significantly.
At this point I moved on to adding multiple pigments (like 7!). My goal was to blend the edges to look as if they bordered a beach, with a more jungle-like ground surface towards the centers of the bases. I added the 7 pigments, and fixed them with Vallejo thinner and let them dry.
First pigments session.
I was not satisfied with the first go with the pigments. I felt that the blends could be better – especially the transition from the beach areas inward. I also was not happy with the beach-bordering areas themselves. With that, I gave it a second attempt to address the shortcomings. That did address the issues – and then I added some scatter leaves and some laser cut low lying Gamers Grass plants that I bought from Things from the Basement at TotalCon – plus some Shadow’s Edge Miniatures jungle tufts.
I was pretty happy with the final products seen below.
The seven bases completed. Note the added low-lying plants and tufts.Close up of a medium base with a conquistador halberdier and an “underdressed” Maya novice for scale. For the Maya’s sake, let’s hope there are very few thorns.
I can see using these bases for many other games – and I believe that they work well with my jungle bases with the palm trees. As to now storing and transporting them – I modified a 32-liter Really Useful Box with hot glue and posterboard/foam board into a three-level “apartment” Jungle Box. The bottom level is lined with adhesive magnetic sheets (my jungle bases with the palm trees have steel washers embedded underneath). The jungle paths also fit in here rolled up with the trees being upright. The next two levels fit the seven bases described here – four on one, and three on another. Both levels are made of posterboard and are resting on posterboard pieces that I hot-glued to the walls of the box. I did need to make the level that is immediately above the trees into three pieces so that I could get it by the supports of the top level (which is in one piece). No levels will crush any foliage (thankfully). Voila – a Jungle Box ready for Cold Wars transport!
The top level – rests on one solid piece of foam board.Side view of the Jungle Box showing the three levels.
I hope this was useful to those of you considering similar projects. I do highly recommend Dave Stone’s stuff – I also previously shared his Aztec Style Serpent Statues that have been very popular at my games. Check him out!
My next post will be coming (hopefully) somewhat quickly as I need to finish preparations and packing up for Cold Wars. It will show my Winkie Zilk-riding cavalry – stay tuned! For my fellow bloggers, I’m trying to keep up with you, and know that I always read your posts and try to give you feedback. This month is, however, nuts, so I might be a bit tardy, mea culpa. As always, much thanks for taking a look – and let me know what you think!
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 JUNGLE BASES:
This was a fun convention. I promised that I’d share some photos and some descriptions of the 5 games that I ran here at TotalCon 37. The five games were all Feudal PatrolTM games using my Civilizations Collide supplement. Check out the photos to see what it was all about – and if you played you might just recognize yourself! There are a LOT of photos – hell I ran 5 games!
It’s not easy to both run a game and take pictures. Let me add a caveat – it’s not easy to do both and do justice to the game and to the players’ needs. I was fortunate this time that a lot of the players had experience with Feudal PatrolTM and were very helpful to the new players. It’s been a week since the end of TotalCon 37 – so without further ado, let me get into the games that I ran.
Raid to Satisfy Huitzilopochtli
This game took place on Thursday the 24th at 1 PM. It pits the Aztecs against the Tlaxcalans before the Spanish Conquest. I have run this game many times – and it has won awards at both HUZZAH! and Fall In in 2022. I had not run it at TotalCon, so I thought it appropriate to do so.
I had 8 players for the game.
Happy gamers ready for battle. The Aztec players are on the right, the Tlaxcalan players are on the left.The Tlaxcalan defense prepares.The Aztecs mounted a strong attack right down the middle with Jaguar and Eagle Warriors.Tlaxcalan bows took a heavy toll on these attackers.
The Aztecs assault in the middle faltered due to accurate bow shots of the Tlaxcalans. On the Aztec left, a force of Arrow Knights and Jaguar Warriors took the long way around hoping to flank the defenders. On the Aztec right, a veteran/novice force moved up – reinforces by the elite Shorn Ones – and also took some casualties before making it to the very gates of the Temple and the Tlaxcalan leader Xayacamach.
Despite the Tlaxcalan bows, melee finally happens.The Aztec right closes on the Temple.Things are looking desperate for the Tlaxcalans. That Temple is worth a LOT of VP.Tlaxcalans begin to drag away Aztecs as prisoners for sacrifice.
At this point, the Tlaxcalan leader Xayacamach sortied with his signaler, put himself at personal risk, and engaged the Aztecs. His actions reversed the Aztec elites’ attack. The Tlaxcalans also held off the Aztec veterans who were on their left flank and threatening a food resource. back on the Aztec left, the long march of the Arrow Knights and the Jaguar Warriors reached a critical juncture with a threat to the Tlaxcalan corn supply and the rear of their bowmen. With the middle assault no longer a threat, the Tlaxcalan bows redeployed to face the new threat. Loosing a deadly barrage, they killed the Aztec Warband Leader and scattered the remaining attackers.
The Tlaxcalans defend their food.The figure with the “W” is the soon to be mourned Aztec Warband Leader. The Tlaxcalans defend the Temple.The Tlaxcalan defense is successful!
The final score was 95-41 in favor of the defending Tlaxcalans.
La Noche Triste – Bloodbath on the Tacuba Causeway
I had 7 players for this game which took place on Friday the 24th in the morning.
The game set up.
The Tlaxcalans on the mainland managed to drive the Shorn Ones away from the causeway entrance. Meanwhile, the Spanish took a long time to get the bridge installed – and by that time the war canoes were hitting them with missile fire from two sides. The rear guard lost a couple of cavalrymen, but managed to perform their role well against a surge of Jaguar Warriors.
The Tlaxcalans engage the Shorn Ones with missile fire – and eventually drive them away.The Spanish took a long time to bridge the causeway gap.The Shorn Ones flee.Still no bridge…
The war canoes made an effort to harry the Conquistadores.
War canoes approach.Still no bridge…I survey the scene – (pic from Facebook)Still no bridge…
After Turn 4 the bridge is automatically installed and the Spanish get a “Burst of Exuberance” move as they try to make it to the mainland! This was an important objective as getting as few as 1 figure to the mainland would negate a 100 VP for the Aztecs.
The bridge is in! Vamanos!Rear guard battle.The Spanish race to escape……but the few remaining Aztecs and the war canoes threaten their success.
On the last card of the last turn, the Spanish had one chance to get at least one figure to the mainland – Cortes’ Catholic priest. The priest had 11″ to sprint – and made 14″! (Good thing he had no armor to weigh him down!).
That effectively took away 100 free points for the Aztecs and won the game for the Conquistadores at the last possible moment. The final score was 71-22. Had the Spanish failed, the score would have been 122-71.
The Battle of Lake Texcoco
On Saturday the 25th, I ran two massive games of the Battle of Lake Texcoco, one in the morning, and one in the afternoon.
Morning Game
The morning game was all mayhem – lots of boarding, canoe ramming, and cannon fire. I had seven players.
Game set up from the Aztec side.Game set up from the Spanish side.Close up of El Dolar and the dashboard for this brigantine.Happy gamers!Forces close…El Gregorio fires her cannon and sinks a war canoe.Boarding about to happen!
El Dolar ran aground and was swarmed by Aztec boarders. The other vessels continued towards their goal of shelling the Aztec capital (at the end of the mat where the Aztec players were).
Boarding!More boarding!El Gregorio goes full sails towards the city walls.El Dolar is boarded on two sides!
El Gregorio, El Marcos, and El Perro de Guerra moved up to the city (well El Gregorio slammed into it at full speed but got lucky on damage). Cannon fire from El Marcos and El Gregorio rocked Tenochtitlan for 50 points apiece.
Fire at the city from El Gregorio!At the end of the game.
The battle was cinematic to be sure. In the end, the Spanish won 383-269 – with their successful artillery fire gaining the win.
Afternoon Game
I then reset and ran this game again with 8 players – unfortunately with fewer photos.
I brief the gamers for game two (photo by Peter Bostwick).At the start of the second game.
In this game, there was a lot less boarding by the Aztecs and a lot more ramming of war canoes – sinking a lot of them. As a result, it was a bigger Spanish victory – 391-145. The brigantines El Conquistador, El Perro de Guerra, and El Marcos all hit Tenochtitlan with solid shot for 150 VP.
At the game’s end.
Arofan Gregory took a very nice photograph of El Marcos (thank you sir) and put it on Facebook – and I’ll share it below:
Arofan Gregory’s photo of El Marcos.
The Battle of Centla
This was a very full game – 12 players on Sunday!
The battlefield set up.A happy full table!
The Maya were fighting a delaying action – they needed to keep the Spanish from reaching the city or incapacitate half of them. The Spanish needed to incapacitate half of the Maya or reach the city. The Maya can randomly get reinforcements from the dead pile – making it harder for the Spanish to reach that 50% Maya killed level. The Spanish get no reinforcements.
Spanish move up.View from the city.Maya fight stubbornly.The Spanish assault well – and use arquebusiers to good effect.
Meanwhile, Tabscoob’s (the Maya chieftain) leadership held his forces together – but taking on the Spanish directly in melee did not go their way.
In the end the Maya were unlucky with reinforcements and the Spanish were effective in their onslaught – resulting in a historical repeat – a Conquistador win.
I really want to thank all the players and especially Leif Magnuson, Brad Gosselin, and Chris Comeau who went above and beyond. I also want thank the whole staff – its a big convention and takes a lot of work. I want to highlight the work of Steven Parenteau and all his staff. Lastly, a big thanks to the incredibly helpful Bryan Clauss who headed up the miniatures section and who assisted in getting me the right table sizes.
Leif, myself, and Brad
Painting Contest
Finally, like last year, there was a painting contest. This year, I entered my Conquistador cavalry in the unit category – and won! Yay!
That’s it for TotalCon 37!
Going forward, I’ll be bringing “The Battle of Lake Texcoco” and “The Battle of Centla” to HMGS Cold Wars next week, plus “The Surprise Raid on the Spanish Outpost”. At the end of March, at HAVOC, I’ll be bringing “The Battle of Lake Texcoco” and “The Battle of Centla” as well as two “Wars of Ozz” games. I need to submit my games for HUZZAH! in May – and I’ll be doing that shortly.
I hope that you enjoyed this post – it’s been hectic with preparing for these conventions all so closely spaced together – but in the end I was very happy with how TotalCon 37 went – and I hope to repeat this at the other two planned gaming conventions.
As convention season is upon me – starting with TotalCon 37 this weekend – I wanted to make a quick post on some jungle bases I have sculpted for my new Maya scenario. I bought some inexpensive palm trees on Amazon – the one on the left was for cake decorating and the other on the right marketed for use on railroad dioramas. I had 30 trees in total – and they looked pretty shiny as one would expect of plastic. And shiny is not what I wanted.
The basic preparation of the trees involved removing mold lines (lots), washing them, and making a plan for their use. I needed some single trees for use on a beach (sandy bases) and some larger more muddy looking bases for the jungle around a Maya village. These are for the Battle of CentlaFeudal PatrolTM games I’ll be running in upcoming conventions. In addition to removing the mold lines, I lightly sanded and filed the plastic which gave the bark a more friable look.
After cleaning up bad mold lines – wash time……and drying time
I then mounted the trees into poster tack on specimen jars and used three different washes on the foliage (all the paints and materials that I used are listed at the end of this post for those interested).
Mounted for applying washes to the plastic foliage to make them look more realistic.
Next, I needed a more detailed plan – I wanted to make the bases such that the 30 trees were varied across all of the bases and spaced far enough apart for good gaming with miniatures. I decided to make one 5-tree base, one 4-tree base, two 3-tree bases, three 2-tree bases, and 5 single bases. The single ones would be beach bases and the others jungle bases.
The plan – with a shot of my game map as a planning guide.
For sculpting, I went with Apoxie Sculpt, a 2-piece resin that is very workable but hardens like a rock. I needed to have some support for the trees – otherwise they would have just drooped excessively while the Apoxie Sculpt cured and hardened overnight. To solve this, I removed the little tabs on the tree bottoms, and glued the trees to steel washers. I gave a few a little bend as well.
For the 2-tree and 3-tree bases, the washers were easy to sculpt around and provided support – and I added some popsicle stick supports connecting the washers that I encased with Apoxie Sculpt and sculpted over. For the two bigger bases, I made supporting bases out of several popsicle sticks, then glued the washers with the affixed trees to them. I sculpted over the bases. More or less, these actions provided structural support and allowed me to make the bases strong. I needed to make sure that I used a putty knife to lift them from time to time off of plastic plates and cutting mats else they would cure permanently to them.
Apoxie SculptThe larger bases gleed and setting up.Washer-mounted treesTrees on washers now glues to a 5-tree base.
After curing to tremendous rock-hardness, the next steps for them were to get painted and flocked. For the single-tree beach bases, I used chinchilla dust over PVA (thanks again TIM!) that I have used in the past. For the jungle bases, I used a texture paint, pigments, and different flocking materials.
Bases curing – a couple of jungle paths are in front. These I got from Buck Surdu and I muddied them up with a couple of inks.Early flocking drying – pigments still wet.Close up of beach bases with chinchilla dust and glue drying.
After the texture paint dried, I played around and added multiple (3) pigments, and let them dry.
5-tree base with pigments drying.Pigments after drying.
At this point, I wanted to add some tufts, debris, and low-lying foliage. I had some old 4-Ground leaves, and a Ziterdes “butterbur” laser-cut foliage that had been hanging around for years with no home. I mixed those with some tufts to create a hybrid jungle-looking plant. I learned butterbur is not native to the Americas, but with the tufts it looked fine.
The completed bases – showing the debris and low-lying plants.A close up shot of the base with a Maya warrior for scale comparison.
I have also acquired some more bases from Dave Stone’s workshop that I will eventually work into the game. These are very nice and I will also flock them similarly to match mine. Unfortunately, the UK cyber attack delayed them getting here in Massachusetts until today so they won’t get done until later – not Dave’s fault!
I hope that this was interesting – certainly it was a diversion from my recent Ozz stuff. I’m still going to run Mesoamerican games – and will be adding Ozz games too. I certainly have room for both!
Thanks for taking a look – let me know what you think!
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 PALM TREES AND BASES:
Mark A. Morin 