Many of you who follow my blog have read about Buck Surdu, my good friend and author of multiple wargaming rules systems. Of course, he is a fellow West Pointer so that’s in his favor! He is a major shaker and mover in the H.A.W.K.’s (Harford County Weekly Kriegspielers) in Maryland, and has been involved with BARRAGE for years.
Little Wars TV interviewed Buck, and I thought some of you would find this interesting.
This will be a very short blog post – but for those of you who love the old Archive Star Rovers figures, this will touch your heart! As many of you know, I have been collecting and painting Duck Wader, Star Ducks, Power-Armored Frinx, and a number of other Archive gems. I use them in Combat Patrol™ retro-sci-fi games – many of which my daughter Ellen Morin and her fiance Chris Smedile have played in and enjoyed.
Ellen’s birthday is in September, as is mine, but we did not get around to celebrating until the first Saturday in October. She got me a couple of very cool gifts. One was an awesome Boston Bruins sweater (cannot have too much Bruins gear by the way). The other was a painting of Duck Wader and some Frinx breaching a wall, with Star Ducks jet-packing through the air above! She used photos from my blog to sketch and ultimately paint the scene. I think it was an awesome gift! Here is the painting below:
I’m a lucky Dad! Thanks Ellen, love ya!
The H.A.W.K.’s held their BARRAGE convention in Havre de Grace, Maryland at the end of September 2018. They had over 70 gaming events, and it had been on my “hoping to attend” list for most of 2018. Also on my wish list was to be able to run my “Attack of the Warbots” game using the Combat Patrol™ card-based system. I was hoping to attend but was unsure (for several reasons) up to a week beforehand as to whether I was going to be able to go or not. In the end, the stars aligned, and I also got to run my game! Box checked!
There was a lot going on here – and I saw a lot of great games. The following is just a snippet, through my eyes, of the experiences that I had. The games and the game masters that I saw did an incredible job. Truly impressive. Certainly, the H.A.W.K.’s put on a great gaming convention and my kudos to all of them and the other game masters.
I started on Friday with running my latest iteration of “Attack of the Warbots” with my Archive, Mega Miniatures, and Wargames Supply Dump figures, all of which are OOP. I had seven players, with three on the Warbot side, and four on the defending side. Of note, I was lucky to have had as players both Buck Surdu (my old West Point buddy and the author of the Combat Patrol™ rules) and Dave Wood (my old West Point roommate who introduced me to tabletop gaming in 1982). I also had the good fortune to have Greg Priebe playing alongside Buck – and Greg wrote the Star Wars supplement for Combat Patrol™. Buck is very fond of ducks (in a good way of course), and was in command of Duck Wader and some Star Ducks, while Dave was on the Warbot side with a couple of Mark 1 Sphere tanks. Greg commanded the Aphids and the Frinx. A few other players were there but I did not get their names (sorry). The Warbots needed to recapture a lost Mark 1 before the defenders could repair it and get it off the board.
I then turned into a player, and decided to try a Lion Rampant game ably run by Philip Jones. We were the Vikings who had seized prelates, monks, and treasure in a raid, and were trying to escape to their longship, while being pursued and blocked by Welsh troops.
Our casualties mounted! The game points were tallied, and rightly called for the Welsh. I did find the system fun, and Philip ran the game in a very fun way.
After this, I was walking around, and was recruited for a “What a Tanker” game run by Brian Lipscomb. It was set in North Africa, 15mm scale, with the British set against the Germans and Italians. Brian asked if I wanted to have a German or Italian tank. Being a sucker for a challenge, I of course said Italian. I was given a Fiat M13/40 tank.
Needless to say, I really enjoyed this game and the mechanics. Brian is a superb GM. More on that in a bit…but this was a fun way to end Friday!
On Saturday, I had really looked forward to playing Buck’s Sea Lion game. There weren’t enough players, so it was called, BUT I wanted to share the unbelievably beautiful game set up. Buck will run this game at Fall In and you can read about a play test of the game here.
So again, I wandered around, and saw another Brian Lipscomb “What a Tanker” game, this time set on the Eastern Front. After Friday, I was happy to give it another go. I was teamed with two others who had not previously played the game. We had a certain number of points, so I volunteered to take a lesser tank (a T-70 light tank) so that they could have better ones – in this case a T-34 and an SU-76.
At this point, Don Hogge and Buck Surdu visited the table put up a dollar each for anyone to kill me! Talk about motivation! We were being outmaneuvered by the Germans at this point, so I moved back and used my kill points to upgrade my T-70 to an SU-85.
The scenario that Brian devised also had infantry (controlled by him as the GM and using a random events chart) – with the town as an objective. I used the SU-85 to hammer the German infantry as Soviet infantry was arriving. I killed four stands and got a bunch of kill points. I reminded my teammates that I had started off as a T-70, and they gave me one extra kill point, which allowed me to get a monster ISU-152. At the same time, the Germans were reinforced with a Jagdpanther and a Sturmgeschutz III.
Immediately I maneuvered the ISU-152 to hit more infantry. The Germans decided to try to get me with their Jagdpanther and the Sturmgeschutz III. I moved my tank destroyer next to a building to face the Jagdpanther down the main street. He fired.
He missed!
I returned fire and destroyed the German tank destroyer.
At this point, the Sturmgeschutz III was maneuvering to get a flank or rear shot on me. As the ISU-152 is very heavy and slow, I was only able to spin to face the Sturmgeschutz III. It was a question of initiative – and I got it, hit the German assault gun, and got kill #6 for the weekend (and the $2 bounty on me!).
I then participated in a play test for a near future warfare scenario using cyber warfare with the Look Sarge No Charts system. It was run by Dave Wood and was interesting to do.
Every BARRAGE there is a pickup WWI air combat game that is a hoot. I’ve never managed to get a kill in the game before, but I did this year as a German. Eventually, I got shot up and had to glide home.
The last tabletop game that I played in was a First Boer War Combat Patrol™ game. I was on the Boer side and we had to defend our wagon from being seized by the British. The game was fun, but there was a low point. We had a couple of players from New Jersey who vanished mid-game without so much as a notice that they were leaving. I think they hated defending. Anyways, we struggled on and ended up winning the game. The other players were great sports, and were great company.
After this game at the end of the con, I got to play in the traditional LARP pirate game. I had a nerf crossbow (treated by the GM as a musket) that took out Buck with a shot to the glutes. My weapon later misfired, and the resultant damage took me out. That LARP is always a fun game though!
The flea market presented many vendors and items for sale. I grabbed a Verdun game that I had last played with a gaming club in Monterey, CA in 1985! I’m not sure when I will get to play it, or with whom, but it was OOP in 1985, so a nice find! Buck and I visited the Verdun battlefield in 1987 or so, so it was nice to get this game here.
I must congratulate again the H.A.W.K.’s on a well-run con. Little Wars TV attended and filmed so you can see more of the convention here.
Thanks for looking and as always, I love any feedback!
The July 2018 session of the Mass Pikemen Gaming Club was fun time for all. We had an epic battle using the Combat Patrol™ gaming system. The battle (called “Get The Data!”) was between the attackers (an alliance of the Texican Space Rangers and the Hurraku Space Phraints) and the combined forces of the Robot Peacekeepers and the Space Dwarves. The objective for the attackers was to seize weapons design data from a computer in an abandoned and ruined factory/research facility. The defenders mission was to exact a high price in casualties from the assault force.
So why did I align the Texicans and the Hurraku? One picture in the Star Rovers game shows them having a drink at Moondog Maude’s Cantina – so I went with that.
I assigned points differentially for the attackers and the defenders based on the mission. The Hurraku attacked on the defenders’ left, and the Texican Space Rangers attacked from the defenders’ right. The defenders also had Robo-Sentry guns deployed run by RT22. I also gave them Roberker, a flame-throwing giant robot to help with their defense.
The game was fun, and when the tide turned, the attackers did a good job of exploiting the openings presented. I love it when maneuver is executed well. The Texican Space Rangers aggressiveness resulted in nearly 50% casualties, but helped the Hurraku press their assault on the other flank. The defenders did get some very unlucky morale results, but so did the attackers so it was a wash there. Next time I run this scenario, I probably will include some defensive indirect fire support as well as some time constraints on the attackers.
Still, it was a fun session, and I am appreciative to the players! It was nice to meet everyone, and I’m glad that they got to learn the system so quickly. Our next session is tentatively scheduled for August 18th.
This gaming convention was held January 19-20 in Havre de Grace, MD, which is close to Aberdeen. It was a blast and well-run by the HAWKS gaming club.
I played many games over many time periods and genres. Mostly I played a lot of Combat Patrol™ games!
You can see many more photos here of all the games, including the LARP that concluded the 1.5 days of gaming. I’m here wearing a Boston Bruins sweater or a West Point sweatshirt in these photos.
The first game I played was a Second Boer War scenario where the British were attacking the Boers defending a hill and farmstead. I played the Boers. The Brits needed to kill or capture the Boer leader, which they failed to do, so this was a good start for my day.
The second game that I played in was a scenario involving a German attack on the Poles in 1939, run by Buck Surdu. I was on the Polish side with two other players. The Germans had 4 Panzer 38(t)’s, and several squads of infantry, including some antitank rifles. The Poles had about the equivalent amount of infantry, but fewer machine guns. For armor, they had two TKS tankettes, one with a 20mm gun, and one with a machine gun. They also had 2 Wz. 28 armored cars. The surprise of the game was that German armor was decimated by the TKS with the 20mm (killed 3/4 of the panzers before being knocked out by the last panzer). In the end the game was called a German victory, but I felt we acquitted ourselves well.
The next day I first played a Napoleonic scenario run by Dave Wood. I played on the French/Swiss side against a Portuguese and British attacking force. Their objective was the Vittoria Bridge. Eventually we were routed.
I then played in a Civil War skirmish for a short time between games using the Brother vs. Brother rules. It ended up being a draw.
I then moved on to a Star Wars Combat Patrol/Frostgrave mash up scenario, where I was on the side of the Droids vs. Clones of the Republic. We were supposed to grab crates of goods and move them off the battlefield. Our sides leader was killed on turn 1, and later the game had to be halted due to GM Greg Priebe’s refrigerator blowing up at home…sorry Greg!
The last game was a Moro Insurrection scenario involving US and Moro troops trying to seize cattle from a pen. We had about 6 players. Buck Surdu ran this game using the Combat Patrol™ rules. I had a squad of US infantry that got caught in the open by the Moros, and got pretty shot up. It was a very bloody affair, with the Moros winning by getting the cattle.
The last event was a LARP using the Blood and Swash rules. Three teams competed for a treasure chest. I was a Man-at-Arms, and got involved in a pretty close battle with Buck Surdu, another Man-at Arms. I nearly killed Buck, but he managed to kill me first. The good news for Buck was that his side won.
I had a great time, and want to thank all the HAWKS for a great gaming convention!!
Buck Dave, Ellen, and Chris early in the game before the carnage unfolded. Last weekend, my buddy Dave and I drove up to Massachusetts to visit another buddy, Mark (“Ma’k”) for a day of gaming. Dave, Mark, and I used to game at West Point. Mark has recently gotten back into gaming, and we […]
Buck I returned from holiday in England and then spent a week at work, including the weekend, finishing up a proposal. This weekend was our club night and a comparative play test of some post-apocalyptic rules sets. I didn’t have a chance to start a new project, so I just finished some partially-completed figures that […]
I had the chance to see Philadelphia’s own Joe Ciccarone present at our sales meeting today. That’s our selfie above after his presentation.
He succinctly shared some great wisdom and frankly I was blown away! At 7 am on the last day of a meeting he drew a standing ovation – pretty damn cool talk!
Truly, he was superb. His talk was based on his life and what he has learned, and much of that he shares in his weekly blog. It really is a great read, and worth the time. He is a deep thinker, but writes with impact. Even if you are not in sales, its very apropos to life.
Thanks Joe for a truly motivational moment! You fired me up!
His latest entry follows:
“Get comfortable being uncomfortable. That’s how you break the plateau and reach the next level.” – Chalene Johnson How do you get to the next level? A mentor of mine told me I needed to become UNCOMFORTABLE. He said, “What do you think about that makes you uncomfortable? That’s the project you should be working […]
This blog is about the second figure that I painted for Chris Smedile’s birthday. It is a 28mm Reaper Chronoscope figure, “Bonnie” (#80025) sculpted by Julie Guthrie in 2015 or 2016. This was a challenging project mainly as I have so little experience in this type of fashion (if it can be called that). This is also my first “Reaper Bones” figure (resin) as all my others have mainly been metal. You can see the website link for it here.
I noticed that the figure had visible mold lines, which I tried to remove with an Exacto knife and some light sanding. Then, I decided to apply a wash with Citadel “Agrax Earthshade” over the figure so as to see the details better.
I initially had a struggle trying to have a vision for this figure. Basically, she is a well-armed (probably overly-armed) post-apocalyptic warrior or perhaps a zombie hunter. After looking at her attire, I decided that she needed to have a bright comic book look – after all, who wears this in the apocalypse? Also, early on I was not so enamored of the details (or lack of details) that were molded on her face. I ended up thinking about it a bit – and eventually going with a patent leather and purple/pink/violet and glossy black theme.
First, I base-coated the figure. I began with her flesh, using P3 “Midland Flesh”. I used Citadel “Ceramite White” for the whites of her eyes, and Americana “Ebony” for the pupils.
For her midriff vest/leather armor, I used Americana “Slate Gray”. Regarding her socks, halter top, and wrist wraps (I’m sure there is a name for them but hey, my fashion sense is limited!), I broke open my Americana “Bubblegum Pink”. I did not like the solid pink look on the top and the wrist wraps, so I mixed that with a little Americana “Vivid Violet” and “Dioxazine Purple” and that seemed to work better. For her hot pants (or shorty-shorts if you’re Larry the Cable Guy), I went with a very distinctive purple – Americana “Dioxazine Purple”. I gave her boots and straps a patent leather appearance with Armory “Gloss Black”. I decided that her hair should be black, so I went with Americana “Ebony” and a Citadel “Nuln Oil” wash. I gave her some hair highlights in with the three colors – “Vivid Violet”, “Dioxazine Purple”, and “Bubblegum Pink”.
For her two submachine guns, I applied Vallejo “Gun Metal”, which I also used for the triggers on her two sawed-off shotguns in holsters on her back. I painted the handles of the shotguns with Armory “Musket Brown”, followed by Vallejo “Wood”. For the base, I used Americana “Zinc”.
I moved on to some finer details and shading. I drybrushed her boot laces with “Bubblegum Pink”. I used Secret Weapons Washes “Armor Wash” to shade the submachine guns and her midriff armor. I highlighted the guns with “Gun Metal”. I washed her flesh with a light use of Citadel “Reikland Fleshshade” . Also I highlighted her ribbed sock tops with “Dioxazine Purple”. For her bottom lips and the inside of her mouth, I chose Polly-S “Demon Deep Red”.
As you can see above, Bonnie looks pretty tan, and I felt as if she needed to look a little less of a tanning booth patron. So, I lightened up her skin by mixing in P3 “Ryn Flesh” with some “Midland Flesh”. I also tried to clean her up overall in a number of small fixes. I used Americana “Slate” to highlight the base, gave it a wash of Secret Weapons Washes “Heavy Body Black”, and painted the washer on the bottom “Ebony”.
I then gave the figure two coats of Testors “Dullcoat”, allowing for adequate drying between steps.
Overall, I thought the figure came out ok. I was disappointed at the lack of facial details, especially as this was a Julie Guthrie figure, but perhaps that is a function of the resin. The mold lines were harder to cut and sand than I would have thought. I would use Bones figures again, but I am still preferential to metal.
The good news is that Chris like it, and I hope that he has a lot of great gameplay with it!
I apologize to my readers as its been a while since I have blogged, and as you will see I will be somewhat more active this week as I have completed some projects and now have a few things to actually write about! I expect that I will write three blog entries this week about projects that I have completed.
This is my first entry and concerns a RAFM Bard sculpted by Steven Koo in 1992 as part of the Women of the Ninth Meridian line. Here is a link to the 1994 catalog from DnD Lead website that shows that there were three in each set. The circled figure is the subject of this blog. The figure had pointed ears, so obviously she is an elf.
Chris Smedile’s birthday was coming up, so I offered him the chance to go through my assorted unpainted miniatures and pick a couple of figures that he would like me to paint for him. He picked two – this Bard, and a Reaper Chronoscope Bones figure (which you can read about here). It is 25mm in scale, cast in white metal (possibly lead-free), and had great detail.
I looked at the weather forecast as I wanted to finish this project in time to properly use spray varnish outside – and I need close to 70° F and low humidity for best effect. I wanted her to have a slight “Little Red Riding Hood” look.
Beginning the base coat process, I started with the flesh, and used P3 “Ryn Flesh”. I painted her flute with Tamiya “Chrome Silver”. Using a pine tipped brush, I painted her eyes with Citadel “Ceramite White” and Reaper MSP “Blue Liner”. Moving on to her hair, I decided to go with blond. For that, P3 “Sulphuric Yellow” was my choice. For her tunic and her earrings, I went with a paint I purchased in West Germany in 1987, Deka Lack “Dunkelblau” (dark blue). She had a thin sword, and the scabbard I painted with Vallejo “Gun Metal”.
Moving on to her cape, I got another oldie but goodie paint from 1984. This was Polly-S “Demon Deep Red”, which ironically is older than Chris is!! I also used that color to base her hair ribbon. For her breeches, I based with Armory “Prussian Blue”. For the trim and cuffs on her tunic, I used another Deka Lack paint, “Weiss” (white). She had a canteen and a pouch on her belt. These I painted respectively with Vallejo “US Dark Green” and Armory “Brick Red”. For her leatherwork and straps, I decided on P3 “Bootstrap Leather”. I needed to finish her metallics, and so I painted her brooch and sword pommel with Vallejo “Silver”, and her belt buckle and scabbard tip with Vallejo “Bright Brass”. She has a jewel in her brooch, which I painted with Citadel “Soulstone Blue”. For her base, I used Americana “Hauser Light Green” so as to make later base applications better.
I then moved on to highlighting and shading the figure. For her hair, I used successive washes, first with P3 “Sunshine Yellow” and then with Citadel “Reikland Fleshshade”. I then used a wash on the tunic with Citadel “Agrax Earthshade”. I then lightly washed her hands with “Reikland Fleshshade”. To highlight her facial features, I mixed Polly-S “Elf Flesh” with P3 “Ryn Flesh” and applied it to her cheeks, nose, hand and fingers.
For her breeches, I shaded with “Agrax Earthshade”, followed by highlighting with a mix of “Weiss” and “Prussian Blue”. Lastly, I moved on to her cape and hair ribbon. Here, I darkened the cape with “Agrax Earthshade”, then highlighted it with Americana “Santa Red”. I also painted her hair ribbon with “Santa Red”.
To finish the base, I applied Army Painter “Moss Green” flocking with white glue. Then the figure got two coats of Testors spray “Dullcoat”, allowing for sufficient drying time between coats. To finish her, I added a yellow flower tuft from Army Painter “Meadow Flowers”.
Overall, I was pleased with the work I did on the figure. It was a nice break from my very large Star Duck project.
Chris got it on his birthday, and he loved it! I am looking forward to hearing of her exploits!
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