Category: Personal

HUZZAH! Con 2024 – Part 2 – my recap on Saturday’s Wars of Ozz Games

Welcome! This post is part 2 of my three-part recap – and will cover the Saturday morning, afternoon, and evening games that I ran on May 18, 2024 at the “HUZZAH! Con 2024”. (To read about Friday’s games in part 1 you can go here).

As a reminder, this convention was held between Friday, May 17th and Sunday, May 19th, 2024 at the Doubletree by Hilton in South Portland Maine. It is run by the Maine Historical Wargame Association, a fine group of folks.

The theme for this year was “HUZZAH 2024 GOES HOLLYWOOD”, so games with an association with movies or TV shows were categorized as theme games. I ran 6 Wars of Ozz games here, and given its association with Baum’s books and the 1939 movie, they all counted as theme games.

Once again, lot’s of photos here – and some descriptions of them best as I can remember.

Saturday Morning – Learn To Play Wars of Ozz

This was yet another permutation on the LTP format that I have run before.  I had 6 player slots set up for this game – and had 4 players show up. To keep play more adaptive to the learning process, we played the game with each player just having one brigade – and left the other two brigades on the tabletop for the next game’s set up. The Saturday morning game was listed on the registration website as follows:

Wars of Ozz Battle – Learn to Play Wars of Ozz

Take part in this big battle set in the horse & musket/black powder fantasy world of Ozz. This is definitely not Kansas anymore.  Various factions, including Munchkins, Winkies, Gillikins, Impkins, Quadlings and others will fight for victory in this fast-paced and easy-to-learn fun game.  Beginners are very welcome.  Rules will be taught. Players are invited to bring their own 25-point brigades of official Wars of Ozz figures if they have them or they can use one of the several brigades that we will have available for play.  Players under 13 only with a playing adult.

I used 21-22 point brigades – and the gamers were a mix of 2 new players and 2 experienced ones. The forces were, from nearest to farthest in the photo:

Red side (on the left side in photo from nearest to farthest):

  • One Munchkin Brigade
  • One Quadling Brigade

Black side (on the right in photo from nearest to farthest):

  • One Harvest Brigade
  • One Harvest Brigade
At the start of the game with three of the four players. Leif looks glum, and Brad looks happy.

As on Friday, victory is determined by scoring. One point is earned for each enemy base destroyed or routed off of the board. A half-point is earned if an enemy base is still routing and not successfully rallied when the game ends.

Brad (Quadling commander) discusses strategy with Andrew (Munchkin commander).
The Munchkins send their ally, the Great Owls, up into the town. The Harvest troops were advancing on the other side of the town.
The Quadling 4th Infantry Regiment deploys into line. To its right, the Quadling 1st Light Battery unlimbers as the Harvest forces approach.
The Great Pumpkin Heads hunger for battle. Always.
The Menacing Hammerheads move forward – knocking out a fence with their, well, hammer heads. They have allied Lesser Apes on their right.
Brian moves his Great Pumpkin Heads forward. Closer to the camera, you can see that a Harvest ally (Admiral Jinjur’s female pirates) is moving into the Mushroom forest for cover. Meanwhile, another Harvest ally, Professor Nitpick’s Mechanical Tin Axemen is approaching the Munchkin Sharpshooter Regiment.
The Industrial City Witch, TotalCon37, successfully casts a “Fleet Feet” spell on the slow Axemen, and they manage to close with the Munchkin Sharpshooters. These Munchkins are great at using their rifles for long-range fire – but in Melee they are woefully outclassed by their metal-clad enemy here. Still, the Munchkins rolled well and gave as good as they got – until they decided to run away…
The Munchkin Sharpshooters rout away from the Tinmen, and the Quadling 1st Infantry Regiment moves up to plug the gap while the Tinmen redress their ranks post-melee.
Back on the Quadling’s center, the Great Eagles of the Harvest forces flies over and hits the Quadling 4th Infantry Regiment in the rear. Glenda the Sorceress can only look on in horror. The 4th would not survive the battle.
The Great Pumpkin Heads try to hit the Quadling 1st Battery as the Great Eagle attack was successful.
Munchkin Landwehr (National Guard) take out a base of the Lesser Apes before the simians exact a heavy toll on them in Melee.
The Harvest attack was successful at driving way the bulk of the Munchkin and Quadling forces.

At this point in the game, nearly every Munchkin and Quadling unit was either destroyed or running away. Therefore, scoring was unnecessary as the Harvest forces were totally victorious.

Saturday Afternoon – Heavy Meeting Engagement (Wars of Ozz)

I had 6 player slots available for this game – and ended up having 5 players. The scenario design is similar to the last game, but with 6 brigades in the battle (3 per side). I also swapped the two Harvest Brigades from the previous game, and added a third on the Black side. On the Red side, I added an Impkin Brigade. As for the scenario description, I listed it on the registration website as follows:

Several allied brigades from the sides of good and evil are coming to blows of the open plains of the world of Ozz!  Of course, who is good and who is evil is in the eye of the beholder!  Both side’s forces are equal in strength, but are their commanders?  That’s up to the players!  This battle will be a fast-paced one using the easy-to-learn fun game of Wars of Ozz.  Various factions, including Munchkins, Winkies, Gillikins, Impkins, Quadlings and others will fight for victory and glory.  Beginners are very welcome.  Rules will be taught.  All miniatures/brigades will be provided for play.    Players under 13 only with a playing adult.

All were experienced Ozz players. They were as teamed up as:

Red side (on left side in photo from nearest to farthest):

  • One Munchkin Brigade (commanded by Brad)
  • One Quadling Brigade (commanded by Brad)
  • One Impkin Brigade (commanded by Bob)

Black side (on the right side in photo from nearest to farthest):

  • One Harvest Brigade (commanded by Leif)
  • One Harvest Brigade (commanded by James)
  • One Harvest Brigade (commanded by Steven)

Here again, victory is determined by scoring. One point is earned for each enemy base destroyed or routed off of the board. A half-point is earned if an enemy base is still routing and not successfully rallied when the game ends.

The players ready for action.
Bob’s Impkins deploy successfully into line with his “slingshot light battery” similary lined up. He also had his Guardian Swamp Fairies lined up as well. Sorceress Mother Ophelia (and her Cats) watch from behind.
Steven’s Harvesters get into Melee with Bob’s Impkin’s and lose three bases to the Impkins two -and subsequently rout (red marker). Steven moves up the savage Carrot Creatures and the Mystic Crone to fight Bob’s Impkins (aka the Creepy Fighting Baby Dolls).
Similar to the last game, the Great Owls (Munchkin allies – Brad) move up into the town. This time, the Harvest forces counter with their own aviation – the Great Eagles (Leif). The ensuing flyer on flyer Melee resulted in the total annihilation of the Great Owls by the Great Eagles.
This time Brad’s Quadlings successfully move forward and deploy into line along the fence – with their right flank supported by the Munchkin Sharpshooters (also led by Brad). The Menacing Hammerheads (James) take out more fence and go into line formation.
Brad also got his Munchkins into line – here you see his Landwehr and Sharpshooter regiments in line to maximize firepower. Leif’s Lesser Pumpkin Heads take cover behind a wall and secure his Great Eagles’ flank by the town. James has his Admiral Jinjur’s Female Pirates and Lesser Ape regiments moving up against the Munchkin sharpshooters.
A view of the battle in the field as the James’ Menacing Hammerheads start to take fire from three defending Quadling units of Brad at close range.
Back on the far end – Steven’s Carrot Creatures deploy into line and fire their bows at the Impkin infantry (Bob) armed with muskets. A back and forth firefight ensues (well bows and muskets anyways).
Leif moves up his Great Pumpkin Heads to attack Brad’s Landwehr.

Notably in this game there were a number of critical spell failures – by the Harvest side – all of which redounded to their favor. One notable one was when a spell of Steven’s witch failed, but the result would cause the nearest inanimate thing to animate and leave the battlefield. This resulted in the Impkin’s slingshot deciding to head for the hills, leaving their crew dumbfounded. Another critical failure by James got him a unit of Dire Tigers added to his forces. These, and a few others were hilarious.

The Impkin Slingshot rans away to the casualty pile…
And James got free Dire Tigers – which were too late to arrive to make a difference but were amusing anyways.

In the end, the Quadlings/Munchkins/Impkins were victorious over the forces of the Great Land of Harvest by a score of 24-15. It was a fun game and all enjoyed it. I believe this game also won the runner up award as the best game in the time slot.

Saturday Evening – The Battle for Toto (Wars of Ozz)

For the Saturday Evening game I had 8 player slots available for this game – and ended up having 7 relatively experienced players. The scenario design is my own, the Battle for Toto – and I have ran this a few times in the past. However, in the past I had a bigger table – so I modified it for playability here by deleting a few units and rearranging the deployments.

As for the scenario description, I listed it on the registration website as follows:

The Battle for Toto (Wars of Ozz)

“I’ll get you my pretty – and your little dog too!”

The two rival witch sisters – Evora (a.k.a. The Wicked Witch of the East) and Arella (a.k.a. The Wicked Witch of the North) have both learned that a force of Munchkins has taken refuge in a small town near the border of the Great Land of Harvest.  Moreover, their spies have also confirmed that the town also harbors other notable Munchkin-lovers – such as the Kansas Farmgirl and her friends.  These include the Tinman, the Lion, and the Scarecrow – and importantly Toto.

Both witches believe that possession of the little dog Toto will bring power and leverage over their enemies.  Plus, any opportunity to hit the Munchkins is always enticing. 

Unbeknownst to the other, the two witches have each simultaneously gathered their forces and allies to attack the town.  The two rival forces are converging from oppsite cornesrs of the tabletop.  Arella has a reinforced Gillikin brigade and has allied with two Harvest brigades under King Jack, the King of the Pumpkinheads.  Arella has recruited King Jack in her quest. 

Evora has a both a reinforced Winkie brigade as well as two large Impkin brigades as allies.

Will the two witches put aside their differences and join forces?  Or will sibling and tribal rivalries win the day and the two converging attackers try to take on each other for the right to assault the town?  And, will Toto be safe?

Looking at the photo below, Toto is secretly hidden in one of five buildings in the town, which has two Munchkin brigades in defence (one on the left commanded by Michelle and one on the right commanded by Vicki). Toto is represented by a secret card placement – and even I as the GM would not know where Toto is placed.

The Gillikins (Brad in the top left corner) are allied with two Harvest Brigades (Keith in the bottom right corner). For the Winkies – Leif was in the top right corner, and was allied with the two Impkin brigades in the battle bottom left corner (commanded by Sam and Matt). Understand that there is no obligation for these rival bad guys to fight – but they can decide to do so (and the Munchkins would just love that).

The Battle for Toto begins.

Victory is determined by scoring, but the points awarded are different.

For the Munchkins, one point is earned for each enemy base destroyed or routed off of the board.

For the attackers, one point is earned for each Munchkin base destroyed or routed off of the board. However, 1.5 points are awarded for each base of the opposite attacking force that they take out.

Additionally, possession of Toto by the Munchkins is worth 10 points at the end of the game. For the attackers, possession of Toto and getting him off the tabletop successfully is worth 10 points at the end of the game.

Keith moves up his Harvest forces – here you see one regiment of Admiral Jinjur’s Female Pirates approaching a Munchkin Medium battery deployed behind a fence. A follow up Jinjur regiment is behind, as are the Carrot Creatures.
In the Winkie corner, Leif makes a mad dash for the town and the Munchkin Guard with his Winkie Infantry. He also deploys his Winkie Light Battery to hammer Vicki’s Colonel Tik-Tok infantry who are behind a stone wall. Great Owls, Winkie Sharphooters, and Zilk-riding Winkie cavalry are in the follow-up positions for Leif.
Winkies mass for the attack!
Back on the Harvest corner, the Great and Lesser Pumpkin Headsmaneuver around and through the woods to threaten the Munchkin Medium Batteries other flank.
While the Winkies make a direct assualt, the Gillikins move up Dire Bears, infantry, and skeletons to hit the Munchkin’s other units. No fratricide…yet…
Eric of the HAWKS shows up to briefly offer Vicki advice on her defence.
The Lesser Pumpkin Heads take carbine fire from the crew as they approach the Munchkin Medium Battery outside of the gun’s firing arc.

At this point in the games, the convention organizers stop all games to announce the winners of the raffle and the best in session awards. I was honored to win the “Best of Session” award for the Satuday night game slot! Huzzah!

Hey, I won “Best in Session” for my game!
Very cool! Btw, the sheets I use to score the game and a card denoting a building searched that Toto was not in are shown here.

Now back to the game!

Fratricide begins! The Guardian Fairies of the Impkins strays into a forest where Savage Apple Trees of the Harvest forces were – and fighting ensues. However, neither was able to inflict much damage on the other in the exchange.
A view of the right side of the town – getting swarmed!
The Carrot Creatures search successfully and seize Toto!
As their Harvest allies have Toto, Gillikin forces move to hit and damage any Winkie units that they can.

The Harvest forces successfully got Toto off the board for the 10 points. The final scores were:

  • Gillikin/Harvest (Brad and Keith): 31 points
  • Munchkins (Michelle and Vicki): 25 points
  • Winkie/Impkin (Leif/Sam/Matt): 11 points

What a fun game with a lot of twists and turns!

That wraps up Saturday – with only Sunday left to report on in part 3. And there are surprises (yes more) for Sunday, so stay tuned!!

To all my players -THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!

Again, I MUST thank and acknowledge the great help and assistance of Bradley Gosselin and Leif Magnuson in helping me set up and take down the games. Wingmen supreme!

I also want to thank the Maine Historical Wargamer’s Association (MWHA) for running HUZZAH! and doing it so very well. Thanks also for honoring me with your “Best in Session” award for Saturday night.

Don’t forget that there are more surprises coming in part 3 (yes I said that again!). As before, please let me know if you like the post (or if you do not) in the comments section. I’ll share Sunday’s game in a few days (hopefully).

Thanks for looking!

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.

As you may want to check out the excellent Wars of Ozz figures’ range – there are two places to get them and to get your own copy of the rules. The game rules and the figures are available from the following two places:

In the US Old Glory has a site – Wars of Ozz Miniatures.

In the UK go to Sally 4th.

HUZZAH! Con 2024 – Part 1 – my recap on Friday’s Wars of Ozz Games

The “HUZZAH! Con 2024” was held between Friday, May 17th and Sunday, May 19th, 2024 at the Doubletree by Hilton in South Portland Maine. The theme for this year was “HUZZAH 2024 GOES HOLLYWOOD”, so games with an association with movies or TV shows were categorized as theme games. I have run many games at previous HUZZAH! conventions, it is one of my favorite conventions. With that said, it was a no-brainer for me to submit Wars of Ozz games for the convention with its association with Baum’s books and the 1939 movie that they inspired.

As has been my (admittedly somewhat insane) habit this year, I submitted games to run in every time slot – that being two on Friday, three on Saturday, and one on Sunday, for a total of six 4-hour games.

I took a lot of photos worth sharing here – but to do so all at once in just one post seems a waste and probably overwhelming for you the reader (let alone for me trying to write such a behemoth-like tome).

Therefore, I will share my HUZZAH! Con 2024 experiences in three parts – one for each day. This post – part 1 – will cover Friday’s games – during which I ran one game in the afternoon and one game in the evening.

Friday Afternoon – Learn To Play Wars of Ozz

I had 6 player slots available for this game – and it quickly sold out. It was listed on the registration website as follows:

Wars of Ozz Battle – Learn to Play Wars of Ozz

Take part in this big battle set in the horse & musket/black powder fantasy world of Ozz. This is definitely not Kansas anymore.  Various factions, including Munchkins, Winkies, Gillikins, Impkins, Quadlings and others will fight for victory in this fast-paced and easy-to-learn fun game.  Beginners are very welcome.  Rules will be taught. Players are invited to bring their own 25-point brigades of official Wars of Ozz figures if they have them or they can use one of the several brigades that we will have available for play.  Players under 13 only with a playing adult.

I ended up using 21-22 point brigades – and the gamers were a mix of new players and experienced ones. There were 6 brigades facing off on the tabletop as you’ll see below. The forces were, from nearest to farthest in the photo:

Black side (on left side in photo from nearest to farthest):

  • One Gillikin Brigade
  • One Winkie Brigade
  • One Harvest Brigade

Red side (on right in photo from nearest to farthest):

  • One Quadling Brigade
  • One Impkin Brigade
  • One Munchkin Brigade

Victory is determined by scoring. One point is earned for each enemy base destroyed or routed off of the board. A half point is earned if an enemy base is routing and not rallied when the game ends.

The players are ready to go – black side on the left, red side on the right.
Glenda the Sorceress and the Quadlings face off against the Gillikins.
Gillikin infantry and Dire Bears next to their Lesser Witch.
The Gillikins maneuver their Dire Lions (with the Lion as an attached hero figure) and their Dire Wolves forward against the Quadlings.
A view past the Gillikin forces shows the center of the black side – with the Winkie Brigade moving up through a field toward the Impkins.
Both sides close.
The Harvest Brigade was reinforced by an allied Winkie Light artillery battery – shown here with noted artillerist hero Boom-Boom Palmer attached. They faced the Harvest Brigade. They would not survive the day.
Both the Dire Lions and the Dire Wolves took damage from the Quadling muskets and artillery, and found it difficult to get the gumption up to subsequently charge them. In the rear of the photo, you can see the Impkins successfully getting into line formation to maximize firepower and to hold off the attacking Winkies.
The Dire Bears decided that it would be more fun to attack the Impkins instead of the Quadllings. This led to a series of morale results that led them to charge multiple units of both Impkins and Quadlings on a mad rampage across the tabletop. These bears almost single-handedly turned the tide of battle, until they were wiped out.

In the end, the Quadling/Munchkin/Impkin alliance inflicted slightly more casualties on the Winkie/Gillikin/Harvest forces. The final score was 33.5 to 27.5. The black side’s loss of both their Dire Bears and the Winkie artillery (with Boom-Boom as well) were instrumental – and not evened up by the destruction of the Munchkin Aerostat by the Harvest forces.

Friday Evening – Attack on the Munchkin Border Post

I had 6 player slots available for this game – and it also sold out. It is a scenario design that is in the rulebook. I redesigned and reworked it for 6 players, and listed it on the registration website as follows:

The Munchkin Border has been quiet, but terrifying storm clouds are brewing.  The Munchkins are determined to defend their frontier by fortifying a series of small villages & positions along their border.  Shockingly, their unknown enemies are launching a surprise attack!  The local Munchkin commander has sent runners up to division to request reinforcements.  Will the Munchkins stop their foes?  Will help save the day?  Will the border be protected?  Beginners are welcome.  Rules will be taught.  All miniatures/brigades will be provided for play.    Players under 13 only with a playing adult.

In a town there is one brigade of Munchkins reinforced by Admiral Jinjur’s Female Pirates and Admiral Jinjur’s Personal band. A relief column in the form of a sister brigade of Munchkins is on the way. Attacking are four brigades – two each from the Winkies and the Gilikins. The Munchkins and Jinjurs are all in strong defensive positions. An additional rule for this scenario is that if the attackers are routed and cross the river, an additional base is lost.

Victory is determined by scoring here again. One point is earned for each enemy base destroyed or routed off of the board. If the attackers can drive all Munchkins from the town at the game’s end AND have at least one base in the town – they would earn an additional 6 points.

The players – on the left are the two Munchkin Brigade commanders. On the right, from nearest to farthest are the two Winkie Brigade and two Gillikin Brigade commanders.
Gillikins begin their movement.
A Gillikin Skeleton Regiment moves up to the Jinjur’s wall and attempts to flank, while the band plays a rousing tune. The band can be shot at but not engaged in melee.
The Munchkin relief column is approaching on the left, led by light cavalry.
The Winkie Zilk-rider cavalry and infantry move up to intercept the Munchkin pony riders.
A view from the back of the Munchkin relief column.
Gillikins and Winkies swarm across the battlefield towards the town, while the defenders fire away at the attackers.
The Munchkin and Winkie cavalry meet in battle. The Winkies took slightly more casualties than the Munchkins despite the advantage of the Winkies.
Winkie infantry brave the dedicated rifle fire of the Munchkin Sharpshooters and assault the town.
The Winkie’s advantage in Melee proves too much for the defenders, and the Sharpshooters are pushed back with heavy losses. The Winkies enter the town.
Meanwhile, while trying to retreat to a safer location (away from the flanking skeleton attack), the Pirates become the target of the Winkie’s Great Flying Apes. The GFA fly over and launch a vertical envelopment to try to hit the Jinjur’s in the rear. The female pirates manage to make an about face just in time. Now they are wedged between the skeletons and the GFA. And the band plays on…
The Winkie cavalry, though damaged, interrupt the relief column effectively.
The best Winkie infantry – Evora’s Body Guard – hits Colonel Tik-Tok’s infantry hard. This Munchkin unit would not survive the day.
Admiral Jinjur’s Female Pirates lose all taste for the fight as the Gillikin forces stream over the south side of the town. And the band played on…
Gillikin troops breach the town’s defenses.
Some Munchkin relief column troops (Zoraster’s Guard Infantry) reach the extreme edge of the town as the Munchkin cavalry attempt to screen their approach. The Sharpshooters have been able to stop the Winkie infantry’s progress and hold on desperately.
Gillikin Dire Lions and skeletons devastate the Munchkin Medium Battery.
Gillikin infantry move through the town to eject the Munchkin Sharpshooters and finish what the Winkie infantry started.
The Munchkin players worriedly survey the merciless attackers savagely over-running them.
A view at the end of the game – the Munchkin relief column was arriving but the defenders were badly outnumbered, though they held a sliver of the town.

In the end the Munchkin players denied the attackers the bonus 6 points for the town. They also exacted a total of 21 enemy bases, but lost 30 in the process. So it was a victory for the Winkie/Gillikin team 30-21 in the end.

After the game, I reset and prepared for Saturday’s three games, which I will share in my next post. I do believe this last game was a runner up as best in time slot at the convention.

I do want to acknowledge the great help and assistance of Bradley Gosselin and Leif Magnuson in helping me set up and take down the games.

I also want to thank the Maine Historical Wargamer’s Association (MWHA) for running HUZZAH! and doing it so very well.

There are more surprises coming – and I will pace these posts out. Please let me know if you like the post (or if you do not) in the comments section.

Thanks for looking!

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.

As you may want to check out the excellent Wars of Ozz figures’ range – there are two places to get them and to get your own copy of the rules. The game rules and the figures are available from the following two places:

In the US Old Glory has a site – Wars of Ozz Miniatures.

In the UK go to Sally 4th.

May 2024 Tour of the Brookfields Golf Tournament – The Still Harts Open

Our second regular season TOB event – the May 2024 Tour of the Brookfields Tournament – the Still Harts Open – was held on Saturday, May the 25th at Quail Hollow Golf and Country Club in Oakham, MA. It was a BEAUTIFUL DAY!!!

We sincerely thank Still Harts Cafe in North Brookfield for their longtime sponsorship of the event. This TOB always has a big turnout, and this one was no exception.

We were maxed out at 27 teams (108 players)! With so many players, we broke the field into 4 divisions/flights. Three of the divisions had 7 teams and one had 6.

As is becoming the norm for the TOB, all of the flights were very competitive. We had not one playoff – but two three-team playoffs (in the Nicklaus and Palmer Flights). The other two flights were narrow one or two stroke victories. There were only 3 skins!

Because of the addition of a 4th flight, this time there was no addition of a second place prize in each flight, but we did add a second closest-to-the-pin consolation prize – so two other teams won those.

The results table and some photos that I took will follow the narrative and some notes below.

As mentioned earlier, in the Nicklaus Flight, there was a three-team tie for first place at -7. The teams played off on the 18th hole – and the team of Mike Ellis, Ken Begin, Keith Tytula, and Brian Leveille were victorious with a birdie in the playoff! Congratulations to all – and of note this was Mike Ellis’ second win in a row as an A-player. The other two teams in the playoff (who got par and tied for second in the playoff) were the team of Jim Kularski, Dan Foley, Mike Kularski, Matt McLeod and the team of Ryan Kularski, John Desimone, John McQuaid, Ed Sanborn. (There certainly were a lot of Kularski’s in that playoff!).

In the Player Flight, the team of Gary Ward, Mark A. Morin (yup me), Wyatt Alm, and Jeff McLeod narrowly won with a score of -7. The team of Adam Kettles, Amanda Pierce, Jim McKeon, and Deb Durgin came in at second one stroke back at -6. 

In the Palmer Flight, we had another three-team playoff on holes 16-18. Two of the teams tied after the three holes at seven under par – that being the team of John Markey, Dave Ashworth, Paul Wyman, and Pete Stafford and the team of Ryan Auger, Paul Davis, Bill Gaudette, and Mark Bruso. Both these teams finished the three playoff holes at -1. The other playoff team was the team of Dave Daoust, Brandon McEvoy, Jason Mcarthy, and Christopher Thibaud, who came in one stroke back in the playoff.

In the Daly Flight, the team of Jack Dorman, Kevin Kokansky, Dave Fiske, and Barbara Orszulak shot the low round of the tournament at -9 to take a two-stroke win over the second place team of Rich Johnson, Stan Nolin, Brian Chaffee, and Lisa Persson. Nicely done!

There were only three skins – all Eagles on holes #5, 7, and 12. See the chart below for those results.

Lastly – the closest to the pin on #6 was won by Jim Wilson (1′ 7.5″) and on the 17th by Ryan Kularski (13’0″).

Now for the results table…

2024 Still Harts Open Results

The results – and some photos I took – are below – and click on any of the photos for a bigger image. Congrats again to the winners!

And now, a few photos…my phone was a bit smudged so these are less clear (sorry):

Brad Earle and Mike Kularski sign in Ed Sanborn
Marc Kokansky and Jeff Bennett
Lots of folks to sign in!
Paul Boulette, Jeff Bennett, and Jim Lovett
Ron and Tara mugg for the camera – well mostly Ron!
Tom Orszulak and my wife Lynn Morin get ready.
Mark Bruso and Tim Nason, Jr.
Ken Dorman and Keith Tytula
Anne Jette and Jim Lovett

The Next Tournament and some notes

Thanks again to all the players, to Still Harts Cafe for sponsoring this event, and to Gary and Debbie Donlin, Jim LeBlanc, and all the staff at Quail Hollow who work so hard to make the Tour of the Brookfields possible.

The next tournament is in June coming up FAST on Saturday the 15th of June. It will be the famous Toomey-Lovett Open.

Sign ups for the Toomey-Lovett Open will come down on Sunday, June 9th at noon.

Registration starts at 7:00 AM on June 15th. This event will also likely be VERY well-attended, so sign up early at Still Harts, at Quail Hollow, or on the Tour of the Brookfields Facebook page!

REQUESTS AND FYI

  1. If there is a playoff, your team will need you! All playoff teams PLAY TOGETHER AT THE SAME TIME ON THE SAME HOLE!
  2. Today was better, but PLEASE we need you to arrive WELL-BEFORE the shotgun start time. If you are showing up at 7:55 AM for an 8 AM shotgun – YOU ARE LATE!!! This is very inconsiderate, and just not fair to the committee members at the sign-in desk. PLEASE you MUST arrive BY the registration time – we have a lot of players to sign in.
  3. Not showing up does carry with it a likely suspension for the TOB – just a reminder.
  4. Scorecard accuracy is the A-player’s responsibility – please work with your team to ensure it is correct before turning it in – after that it is official and no changes can be made
  5. A reminder, once a ball is holed out, that score counts – so if you tap in a ball at the edge of the hole before another player gets his turn to putt, the hole is over.

If you have any feedback or comments on this blog post – there is a comment section that you can use below. I will continue to put up these events on Facebook – with results posted here on this blog.

This blog is titled, “Life, Golf, Miniatures, and Other Distractions”. I do post other stuff here – mainly around miniature toy soldiers and tabletop wargaming (my other passions). Feel free to subscribe as an email follower! (and it is free and you’ll get instant updates).

A consolidated list of 2024 Golf Posts is here.

Wars of Ozz at MAYHEM 2024

MAYHEM 2024 was held in Lebanon, NH from Friday, April 19th to Sunday April 21st. I attended and had signed up to run 4 Wars of Ozz games there – 2 on Friday and 2 on Saturday as I had a golf commitment on Sunday.

Before too much time had passed – I wanted to give a photo summary of my experiences there. It was my first MAYHEM and came quickly on the heels of HAVOC two weeks before. I packed up the car Friday morning and headded up through Western Massachusetts and Vermont and into New Hampshire.

Upon arriving, I was able to get a luggage cart and move all of my stuff into the convention hall in one move.

The convention was held at the Hilton Garden Inn in Lebanon, NH. Below you will see the layout of their small convention ballroom and the gaming tables. I got to stay at #4. The diagonal table set ups were a bit strange – but probably used to maximize the space. As you can see there were tables in the hallway and even in the hotel lobby.

The convention set up and Friday afternoon’s games listed.

I set up my tables similar to the previous conventions, with 6 brigades deployed 3 to a side.

Friday Afternoon “Learn to Play Wars of Ozz” game

Set up on Friday for my afternoon game.
View from opposite end.

My first game was sold out – and went well.

Friday afternoon game at the start – I asked for “happy gamer faces”. Results varied!

The players were all newbies to Ozz, and picked up the game quickly. What follows is some of the mayhem at, well, MAYHEM…

Dire Lions (Gillikin Brigade) and Quadlings clash – with casualties on right.
Having suffered two bases of losses, the Dire Lions rout.
The Great Owls (allied with the Munchkins here) attempt to move behing the Gillikin’s Skeleton regiment while the Munchkin Landwehr and Sharpshooters deploy.
The Great Owls hit the Skeletons from the rear and drive them into a town.
The lesser Evil Witch “The Soothsayer” (Winkie Brigade) traps the Munchlin’s Guard infantry with a “Poppies” spell. Meanwhile, the Winkie player also maneuvers the Winkie Sharpshooters onto the Guard’s flank.
It was rough on the Quadlings – here the Gillikin’s Dire Bears (reinforced by the Lion)overrun a Quadling Light Battery and rout it – while hero Wood the Courier takes damage.

In the end, the game was actually very close, with the Quadlings and Munchkins eking out a 26-24 victory over the Winkies and Gillikins.

Friday Night “Heavy Meeting Engagement Wars of Ozz” game

My Friday night game was surprisingly not well-attended – I had only 2 players. Usually my games had been full or close to full at previous conventions. I guess I was due. Luckily, my set-up allows for this possible situation. I had one player play the Quadlings (Ken – his second Ozz game) and another (sorry I failed to write down his name but he was a nice guy for sure) played the Winkies. With only two players, it went fast.

Below are the two opponents:

And here are some action photos:

Quadlings deploy into line but their artillery was decimated by the Winkie muskets of the Sharpshooter regiment.
The Quadling Infantry took heavy casualties and Wood the Courier was dispatched as well.
A big firefight.
The firefight led to routing Quadlings and command of the battlefield for the Winkies.
Ken took this shot of me as GM.

The game ended amicably, although the Winkies won 11-3.

I ended Friday with a couple of pics of a nice challenge coin given to me (army guy) by a Navy veteran Frank Preziosa. Very cool and thanks Frank!

Saturday morning was extremely disappointing as I had zero players. It happens. I left my tabletop set up for the Saturday afternoon game and joind a Napoleonics homebrew rules game of the Battle of Marengo on the Austrian side. The GM ran the game twice, in two parts. The morning results would be the basis of the afternoon game – which I could not join as I did have players on Saturday afternoon. The GM was gracious and the game was fun – and my Austrians did pretty well.

Marengo game from French side
Austrian troops.
I had Engineers! (Pioneers). Used to build a bridge which was successful in the attack.

After lunch, I ran my last game – as I had set up for the morning with 6 players.

Saturday Afternoon “Heavy Meeting Engagement Wars of Ozz” game

Well, this was with smaller brigades, but still a fun game.

The players.
The “bad guys” deploy.
Dire Wolves (Gillikin Brigade) and Great Owls (Munchkin allies) fight it out while behind them Munchkin Sharpshooters rout away from the Gillikin Dire Bears and Dire Tigers.
Quadlings deploy into a town for safety – well, they thought so…
…the Great Flying Apes had other ideas – and hit them from the rear and wiped the Quadlings out.
At the other end of the table was a fiesty Gillikin versus Munchkin scrum.
Gillikin Dire Lions hit the Munchkin Landwehr.
Quadlings get slowed down by a “Poppies” spell setting them up for a Great Flying Apes envelopment. To their left, another Quadling regiment seeks safer ground by routing away from the enemy.

In the end, The Winkies and Gillikins solidly defeated the Quadlings and Munchkins 34.5 to 19.

I want to thank the players who participated in my games, as well as the MAYHEM staff for running the convention. I hope that you readers enjoyed these photos. I will be running many of these games at the “HUZZAH Goes to Hollywood” convention in May.

Hopefully, I can share a couple of new units with you shortly. Thansk for looking!

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.

As you may want to check out the excellent Wars of Ozz figures’ range – there are two places to get them and to get your own copy of the rules. The game rules and the figures are available from the following two places:

In the US Old Glory has a site – Wars of Ozz Miniatures.

In the UK go to Sally 4th.

Admiral Jinjur’s Personal Band (Wars of Ozz)

Admiral Jinjur is a female pirate who has gathered females from all of the various main factions of Ozz. As I wrote in my post on my two Admiral Jinjur regiments that I painted up:

In the world of the Wars of Ozz, Pirate-General (Admiral) Jinjur is said to:

…sail on the (Great Nonastic Ocean). She commands a flotilla of ships big and small, all crewed by female pirates. Her pirates board ships and raid seaports, ruthlessly overwhelming any resistance.Wars of Ozz, Section2.6.6, The Lands Beyond Ozz, pages 45-46

Her pirate forces are composed of females from all over Ozz – so her troops are made up of Gillikins, Munchkins, Winkies, and Quadlings – all the main races of Ozz. 

There is, however, one other unit that is affiliated with her – Admiral Jinjur’s Personal Band. It is SKU#OZZ-517, and is composed of 7 figures. The unit has no combat capability and can take 4 hits before it is removed. Otherwise it has no Melee, Marksmandship, Resolve, or Elan values. The unit costs 3 points. It has this ability:

The Band may play a rousing tune when it activates instead of moving. All units, friendly or enemy, within 9″ of the band increase their Elan by 1 during its next actvation.

Wars of Ozz unit stats

This ability would be very helpful to get either timid troops or those that have been previously routed to get up the gumption to get into Melee (or at least to stop routing away).

I built out mine as follows:

  1. Band Leader (Quadling)
  2. Trumpeter (Gillikin)
  3. French Horn player (Quadling)
  4. Drummer (Munchkin)
  5. Flautist (Quadling)
  6. Fiddler (Winkie)
  7. Concertina player (Quadling)

Let’s get into the build and painting. First, some:

WIP Shots and Discussion

I started working on the unit on April 9th in conjunction with more stuff (units and individuals that I’ll post about soon). In my collection of potential bases, I had a leftover hexagonal 4″ basswood base that I had made when I painted my Minifig “The World Of Greyhawk 9 Cavemen” waaaay back on April of 2015. I’m glad I saved it, as I did not want to use an artillery MDF base for the band. As this unit only takes 4 hits, having 7 figures on a single base would not make any sense to use (as the artillery bases allow for figure removal to equal hits).

Mocked up on hexagonal base
Close up of unpainted band leader

Then, it was on to filing off the flash, mold lines, and giving the figures a quick wash before priming. The figures are great and have a lot of character. No assembly was required.

Instead of using my airbrush to prime the band, I mixed some old grey and white primer that was no longer airbrush-suitable – but that was certainly fine for hand brushwork.

Cleaned up and awaiting priming.

I did (and do still) have other issues and projects going on as I stated earlier. As you may have noticed, I also am part of a committee that runs the monthly Tour of the Brookfields golf tournament here in Central Massachusetts (the latest one is here). So, in between that, attending and running games at MAYHEM in New Hampshire (which went from April 19-20 for me and for which I still need to do a blog post), other golf, and other units/individuals, I worked on the band with the hope of having the unit done for HUZZAH Goes Hollywood in May. Yeah, retirement is busy!

Back to the band – by April 22nd, I had made some progress.

April 22nd progress.

And by the 28th of April, I had the figures painted and ready for varnishing, basing, and flocking. Chris Palmer’s Pi-Rats that he had painted had inspired me to go back and paint a few of these band member’s pants with stripes. As I did this before with my Conquistadores, it was a nice flashback to many of my previous fond projects.

Gillikin with trumpet
Quadling Band Leader
Munchkin Drummer
Winkie Fiddler
Quadling flautist
Quadling concertina player
Quadling concertina player

By April 30th, I had finished the band for April as you can see below!

Admiral Jinjur’s Personal Band Eye Candy

Photographing the unit was a bit difficult given the configuraton that I chose. First some close ups – these ladies of Ozz are all in fine form:

And here is the entire base flocked and done:

I also decided that with my new WordPress plan that I should try to add a video – as that might be of interest as I get to describe more and rotate the unit:

A brief video of the Admiral Jinjur’s Personal Band

I’m probably going to add this unit to a brigade that already has the other Jinjur pirates. We’ll see how I can work that into HUZZAH!

Lastly, Jinjurs in the Jungle:

With apologies to Jethro Tull – Jinjurs in the Jungle, that’s all right by me!

So why the jungle shot? Well, first, pirates are known for hiding out on jungle-infested islands, no? Second. well, this is a tease for my next unit post. Though my next post will likely be a MAYHEM wrap up. To my fellow bloggers, I look forward to more of your stuff too – I have been remiss in commenting, but not in reading. WordPress is intermittenly still not allowing me to “like” your comments on my PC! Grrr…

As always, much 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 ADMIRAL JINJUR’S PERSONAL BAND:

  1. Homemade 4″ hexagonal base made of 1/8″ basswood
  2. 5/16″ Everbilt steel washers (ACA)
  3. Black Sharpie pen
  4. Green Sharpie pen
  5. Poster Tack
  6. Vallejo Surface Primer “Grey”
  7. Vallejo Mecha Primer “White”
  8. Wargames Accessories FOW #1 (1.25″ X 1″ steel base)
  9. Elmer’s PVA Glue
  10. Army Painter “Dark Tone” (wash)
  11. Vallejo Model Color “White”
  12. Army Painter “Speed Paint – Peachy Flesh 2.0”
  13. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Ork Flesh”
  14. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Talassar Blue”
  15. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Baal Red”
  16. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Aggaros Dunes”
  17. Vallejo Mecha Color “Off White”
  18. Army Painter “Speed Paint – Purple Swarm 2.0”
  19. Reaper MSP “Pure Black”
  20. Vallejo Mecha Color “Magenta Fluorescent”
  21. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Imperial Fist”
  22. Vallejo Model Air “Chrome”
  23. Army Painter Speed Paint – Hoplite Gold 1.0
  24. P3 “Midland Flesh”
  25. Vallejo Model Color “Brown Rose”
  26. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Apothecary White”
  27. Citadel “Squid Orange”
  28. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Basilicanum Grey”
  29. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Bad Moon Yellow”
  30. Army Painter “Speed Paint – Shamrock Green 2.0”
  31. Army Painter “Speed Paint – Murder Scene 2.0”
  32. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Snakebite Leather”
  33. Vallejo Model Air “Wood”
  34. Vallejo Model Air “Black ” (metallic)
  35. Citadel “Dryad Bark”
  36. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Garaghak’s Sewer”
  37. Army Painter “Speed Paint – Dusk Red 2.0”
  38. P3 “Blazing Ink”
  39. Citadel “Drakenhof Nightshade” (wash/shade)
  40. Vallejo Model Air “Gun Metal”
  41. Polly Scale WWII “German Armor Dark Olive Green”
  42. Citadel “Agrax Earthshade GLOSS” (wash/shade)
  43. Citadel “Nuln Oil GLOSS” (wash/shade)
  44. Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
  45. Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Gloss Varnish”
  46. Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matte Varnish”
  47. Vallejo “Flow Improver”
  48. Gorilla Glue
  49. Woodland Scenics “Blended Turf”
  50. Army Painter “Moss Green” (flocking)
  51. Army Painter “Grass Green” (flocking)
  52. Army Painter “Brown Battleground” (flocking)
  53. Pendraken 12mm dice frames
  54. Army Painter “Battlefield Field Grass” (flocking)
  55. Pendraken 12mm dice frames
  56. Shadow’s Edge Miniatures “6mm Wildflowers – Primrose” (flocking)
  57. Gamers Grass “Yellow Flowers” (flocking)
  58. Shadow’s Edge Miniatures “6mm Dark Forest Blue” (flocking)
  59. Shadow’s Edge Miniatures “6mm Dark Forest Purple” (flocking)
  60. Gamers Grass “Wild Shrubs” (flocking)

As you may 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 following two places:

In the US Old Glory has a site – Wars of Ozz Miniatures.

In the UK go to Sally 4th.

April 2024 Tour of the Brookfields Golf Tournament – The Country Auto Open

Our first regular season TOB event – the April 2024 Tour of the Brookfields Tournament – the Country Auto Open – was held on Saturday the 27th at Quail Hollow Golf and Country Club in Oakham, MA.

The weather was chilly – but thankkfully NO RAIN! We thank Country Auto in North Brookfield for their sponsorship of the event.

We had a nice turnout of 24 teams, with many new players and new A players especially. There were 95 players (one no-show) on 8 teams of 4 in each of the three flights/divisions.

All three flights were very competitive. We had one playoff (Nicklaus Flight), with the other two flights being within 2-3 strokes. There was only 1 skin!

A change this time was the addition of a second place prize in each flight, with teams having to match cards on the most difficult holes for 2nd place. We will do this going forward.

The results table and some photos that I took will follow the narrative and some notes below.

In the Nicklaus Flight, the 3-player team (due to the no-show) of Rick Lindsten, Ken Burnham, and Keith Tytula and the 4-player team of Kevin Paradis, Bob Demaio, Brian Chaffee, and Susan Benoit both shot 9 under par to meet in a playoff. After two playoff holes (they could have gone 3) the teams settled for a tie and split the first and second place pools.

In the Player Flight, the team of Mike Ellis, Tom McCarthy, Lisa Kularski, and Tim Nason, Jr.  fired off a stellar 10-under par to tie the best score across the tournament. The team of John Markey, Tom Foley, Jonathan Foley, and Barbara Orszulak came in at second at -7. Congrats!

In the Palmer Flight, the team of Matt Desimone, Pete Peloquin, Sr., Nelson Malin, and Christopher Thibaud also finished at 10 under par – AND this team got the sole skin of the tournament with an eagle on hole #1. The second-place in the Palmer Flight playoff was the team of Tom Orszulak, Dean Malin, Ed McLeod, and Sherry Peterson. Kudos!

The closest to the pin was won by Spencer Rice for his team on the par-3 17th hole at 8′ 0″ away! Nice shot Spencer!

2024 Country Auto Open Results

The results – and some photos I took – are below – and click on any of the photos for a bigger image. Congrats again to the winners!

And now, a few photos…

Debbie Donlin and Jim LeBlanc chat with Bill Gaudette in the warm clubhouse.
Checking out the weather at the bar.
Hey – I know those two!
Tom and Barbara Orszulak
Committee members Mike Kularski and George Fiske perform their check-in work.
The Rice Brothers – Clayton and Spencer – show up with their game faces!
George Jette and Jim McKeon get to see that no injury stops Bill Gaudette from golf.
Lynn Morin and Barbara Orszulak chat while awaiting the start of play.
Corey Heyes and Reese McLeod get in some pre-round putts and trash talk.
The golfing couple of Lisa and Jim Kularski in a nice pose.
Ed McLeod seems to be putting Tom Foley to sleep while Dave Fiske seeks a club.

The Next Tournament and some notes

Thanks again to all the players, to Country Auto for sponsoring this event, and to Gary and Debbie Donlin, Jim LeBlanc, and all the staff at Quail Hollow who work so hard to make the Tour of the Brookfields possible.

The next tournament is in May on Saturday the 25th. It will be the Still Harts Cafe Open. Sign ups will come down on Sunday, May 19th.

REMEMBER IT WILL BE EARLIER IN THE MORNING – Registration starts at 7:30 AM. This event will likely be VERY well-attended, so sign up early at Still Harts, at Quail Hollow, or on the Tour of the Brookfields Facebook page!

REQUESTS AND FYI

  1. We need you to arrive WELL-BEFORE the shotgun start time. If you are showing up at 7:55 AM for an 8 AM shotgun – YOU ARE LATE!!! This is very inconsiderate, and just not fair to the committee members at the sign-in desk. PLEASE you MUST arrive BY the registration time – we have a lot of players to sign in.
  2. Not showing up does carry with it a likely suspension for the TOB – just a reminder.
  3. No one should be practice putting or chipping on a green before a hole is complete. Even afterwards, this is discouraged for pace of play reasons.
  4. A reminder, once a ball is holed out, that score counts – so if you tap in a ball at the edge of the hole before another player gets his turn to putt, the hole is over.

If you have any feedback or comments on this blog post – there is a comment section that you can use below. I will continue to put up these events on Facebook – but if you are not on Facebook and want to sign up, you can use the comment section here on this blog. This blog is titled, “Life, Golf, Miniatures, and Other Distractions”. I do post other stuff here – mainly around miniature toy soldiers and tabletop wargaming (my other passions). Feel free to subscribe as an email follower! (and it is free and you’ll get instant updates).

A consolidated list of 2024 Golf Posts is here.

THE QUADLINGS ARE COMING! THE QUADLINGS ARE COMING!

With apologies to Paul Revere, of course! (these DO have red coats!)

But this post is not about one Quadling regiment – it is about 3 infantry regiments (63 figures), 2 artillery batteries (12 figures), 2 generic brigade commanders, a named brigade commander (Rolf von Guufling), a Quadling faction witch (Glenda the Sorceress), and 2 hero conversions (Zeb the Scribe of Ozz and Wood the Courier of Ozz). Yes, that’s 81 figures, AN ENTIRE QUADLING BRIGADE!

Quadlings are the “beefy farm boys” of the world of Ozz. They are the most human-like of the factions, and are great friends with the Munchkins. Their color fixation is red. Most of their army is made up of militia. I had not had any of my own Quadlings on the tabletop at previous conventions.

I was about to hit another two gaming conventions (HAVOC and MAYHEM) in April. I am also going to HUZZAH! in May. After 3 weeks of being away on vacation, I returned back from Florida on March 19th, hoping to make a dent in my mass of Quadlings. These I had previously gotten from Greg Priebe (80 figures) and Chris Palmer (1 figure). It would make up an entire Quadling brigade plus two heroes – but the HAVOC convention would start on April 5th – could I do it? In just 17 days? I decided to try to and plow on and get a whole brigade of figures done for my upcoming Wars of Ozz convention games. I finished on April 4th!

As I did not have enough time to do my usual type of post with WIP and all that – I focused on painting these – and getting them fully tabletop-ready. So this post will just be fully painted stuff. I’m not even going to add the paints this time! (ok I might edit and add them later next week).

So enjoy the photos – and if you are coming to an upcoming convention (add HUZZAH! to that list too), these will be in play – so join me!

Here we go – EYE CANDY!

Eye Candy

1st Quadling Infantry Regiment

This (and the other regiments I painted) are all Northern Quadling regiments – with a slighly better Melee value of 7/10 and a Marksmanship value of 6/10 than other Quadlings. Their Resolve and Elan are average at 5/10 and 6/10 respectively. As all of these regiments are the same sculpts, I painted each with slightly different colors to match the flags that Buck Surdu designed. On this regiment I used a blue facing theme of color over white pants. The plumes on the shakos are red. They are all armed with muskets.

2nd Quadling Infantry Regiment

I went with a sallow yellow-facing theme over light grey pants – and put white plumes on the shakos.

And a side view below:

Some close ups:

4th Quadling Infantry Regiment

For the 4th, I went with a bright green-facing theme over dark grey pants – and I put red plumes on the shakos. I skipped the 3rd because its flag is red, and I wanted a contrast with the red coats!

Marching in column:

Lastly, a gallery collection of views:

1st and 2nd Quadling Light Artillery Batteries

These I only varied in the plume colors (white and red). I also painted the guns slightly differently. They have Marksmanship and Melee values of 6/10 and 4/10 respectively. They do have good Resolve at 7/10 and the Elan of 6/10 is good for artillery.

2 Generic Brigade Commanders

Overall I had 7 mounted leader figures to deal with (each regiment had one, I had the leader pack with three from Greg Priebe, and Chris Palmer gave me one at Fall In 2023). This allowed me (if you had not previously noticed above) to vary each regimental commander’s pose for each infantry regiment. I decided to use two of the remaining ones as generic brigade commanders – and save two more as conversions for Ozz heroes for which there are no dedicated figures to buy. For these two, I painted them slightly differently as they were the same pose.

Rolf Von Guufling, named Brigade Commander

A named brigade commander has 2 additional abilities/skills versus generic ones that have only 1. Of course, the generic ones are free to each brigade, and a named one cost 2 points. Greg’s lot of Quadlings included named Rolf, with his plate of cookies (which as anyone who knows me that the cookies HAD to be chocolate chip). He has Magical Protection plus one additional randomly selected skill. I thought that his bringing chocolate chip cookies to the battlefield merited a burgundy/pink theme for his facings – or maybe his magical protection…

A view from the front:

Glenda the Sorceress

Of course each faction has a witch – and this one is Glenda. She has spells: Transport (can send any unit 10″ in any direction – even behind enemy lines), Fleet Feet (can increase a friendly unit’s Movement rate), Confusion (can rattle an enemy unit’s attacks), and Good Luck (can improve a frienly units. She also can act as a commander with the ability of Charismatic as an as overall leader which is very powerful.

And a view from the side:

Ain’t she pretty in pink?

Zeb the Scribe of Ozz

As I mentioned, I converted two of the mounted Quadling commanders (all are mounted on giant boars) to heroes. They could be part of any faction. The first was Zeb the Scribe, an homage to Zeb Cook, a legend of the early days of Dungeon & Dragons and other games. Zeb played in one of my games at TotalCon 38 in February. I found some small resin books and used green stuff to create a sort of book rack for the figure. When attached to a unit, Zeb can rearrange one attribute of that unit to the best value of the four.

Zeb’s theme was very purple and yellow:

From the other side:

Wood the Courier of Ozz

This one I really thought a lot about as well as it is an homage to Dave Wood, my West Point classmate/roommate and longtime buddy. Over the last months, Dave has helped transfer many figures for other GM’s for Ozz games and more support of conventions – hence the “Courier” appellation. Dave is also a ultra-distance runner who thinks marathons are short (seriously). I knew that Dave’s drink of choice is Diet Mountain Dew (caffeine-free if possible as well). But this is Ozz, so what about Munchkin Dew? So, I found some doll house/diorama Mountain Dew bottles, and designed and sculpted a couple of baskets to hold them, and voila! I think it will be fun on the tabletop.

The figure gives +2″ of movement to an attached unit.

Another view:

A nice side view:

Cheers Dave!!

Lastly, I put all of the Quadlings into their own box – with Zeb and Dave joining my box of heroes separately.

That concludes this post. On April 5th – they will be on the tabletop!

I’d love to hear your thoughts on these – any favorites or suggestions on my insanity are all welcome fodder.

Until next time – thanks for looking!

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.

As you may want to check out the Wars of Ozz figures’ range – there are two places to get them and the rules (and I make no money from this btw). The game rules and the figures are available from the following two places:

In the US Old Glory has a site – Wars of Ozz Miniatures.

In the UK go to Sally 4th.

And if I update the paints I used – it will be after this sentence!

UPDATED (and in no order of use – and I’ll never not use a list again!) :

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

  1. Vallejo Flow Improver
  2. Vallejo Premium White Primer
  3. Vallejo Model Air Surface Primer – German Dark Yellow
  4. Vallejo Surface Primer – Gray
  5. Vallejo Airbrush Thinner
  6. Vallejo Mecha Varnish Gloss Varnish
  7. Vallejo Mecha Varnish Matt Varnish
  8. Wargames Accessories #16 (1/2″ Square steel base)
  9. Wargames Accessories #21 (2″ Square steel base)
  10. Wargames Accessories FOW #1 (1.25″ X 1″ steel base)
  11. Wars of Ozz Miniatures Round MDF base
  12. Wars of Ozz Miniatures Square MDF Sabot Base
  13. Vallejo Black Citadel Contrast – Black Legion
  14. Citadel Nuln Oil GLOSS Citadel Nuln Oil New Formulation
  15. Citadel Contrast – Aethermatic Blue
  16. P3 Cygnar Blue Highlight
  17. Citadel Drakenhof Nightshade
  18. Vallejo Mecha Color Sky Blue
  19. Citadel Soulstone Blue
  20. Army Painter Speed Paint – Caribbean Ocean
  21. Army Painter Speed Paint – Royal Robes 2.0
  22. Battlefront Colours of  War Battledress Brown
  23. P3 Brown Ink
  24. Citadel Contrast – Cygor Brown
  25. Citadel Contrast – Gore-Grunta Fur
  26. Citadel Contrast – Snakebite Leather
  27. Citadel Cryptek Armourshade Gloss
  28. Battlefront Colours of  War Dark Leather
  29. Vallejo Model Air First Light
  30. Citadel Seraphim Sepia
  31. Army Painter Speed Paint – Dark Wood
  32. Army Painter Speed Paint – Satchel Brown
  33. Vallejo Model Air Wood
  34. Vallejo Model Color Wood Grain
  35. PSI Kneadatite (green stuff)
  36. Wars of Ozz Miniatures Regimental and Faction Flags
  37. Vallejo Brown Rose
  38. P3 Midland Flesh
  39. Army Painter Speed Paint – Peachy Flesh
  40. Shadow’s Edge Miniatures  Lavender Flowers
  41. Pendraken 12mm Dice Frames
  42. Army Painter Battlefield Field Grass
  43. Woodland Scenics Blended Turf
  44. Shadow’s Edge Miniatures Blue Flowers
  45. Army Painter Grass Green
  46. Army Painter Green Meadow Tufts
  47. Army Painter Lowland Shrubs
  48. Army Painter Moss Green
  49. Shadow’s Edge Miniatures Pink Flowers
  50. Shadow’s Edge Miniatures Red Flowers  
  51. Small Stones  
  52. Twigs
  53. Army Painter Yellow Flowers
  54. Gamers Grass Yellow Flowers
  55. Elmer’s PVA Glue
  56. Card Stock
  57. Gorilla Glue
  58. Citadel Contrast – Basilicanum Grey
  59. Citadel Contrast – Space Wolves Grey
  60. Army Painter Speed Paint – Battleship Grey 2.0
  61. Citadel Contrast – Striking Scorpion Green
  62. Vallejo USA Olive Drab
  63. Polly Scale WWII German Armor Dark Olive Green
  64. Sharpie Black Sharpie
  65. Craftsmart Amethyst
  66. Vallejo Model Air Black (METALLIC)
  67. Vallejo Model Air Bright Brass
  68. Vallejo Model Air Gun Metal
  69. Army Painter Speed Paint – Aztec Gold 2.0
  70. Army Painter Speed Paint – Hoplite Gold 1.0
  71. Vallejo Model Air Steel
  72. Crooked Mile Cottage Doll House Mountain Dew Bottles
  73. Sharpie Yellow Sharpie caps
  74. Citadel Contrast Paint – Magmadroth Flame
  75. Citadel Changeling Pink
  76. Vallejo Mecha Color Magenta Fluorescent
  77. Reaper MSP Core Colors Pink
  78. Army Painter Speed Paint – Familiar Pink 2.0
  79. Citadel Contrast Paint – Luxion Purple
  80. Citadel Contrast Paint – Magos Purple
  81. Citadel Contrast Paint – Sigvald Burgundy
  82. Citadel Astorath Red
  83. Citadel Blood for the Blood God
  84. Citadel Contrast Paint – Baal Red
  85. Citadel Spritstone Red
  86. Citadel Contrast – Aggaros Dunes
  87. Secret Weapon Washes Parchment
  88. Citadel Ushabti Bone
  89. Vallejo Thinner Medium
  90. Vallejo Mecha Color Off White
  91. Craftsmart White
  92. Vallejo Model Color White
  93. Citadel Contrast Paint – Ironjawz Yellow
  94. Army Painter Speed Paint – Ancient Honey Reaper
  95. MSP Core Colors Sun Yellow 

Until next time…

10 Games of Wars of Ozz at TotalCon 38!

TotalCon 38 was held in Marlborough, Massachusetts between February 22nd, and February 25th, 2024.  I was a GM there for 10, count them, 10 games of Wars of Ozz. 

It was wonderful – the games were sold out quickly and the players were excited to play the game.  I even had more players than I had slots (I let extras in when I could).  I have some photos and a brief synopsis – but if you think I can remember all the details of 10 four-hour games over 4 days, well, you have greater faith in me than I have! 

I had 67 players over the weekend. Some came ready to play!

Big thanks to the TotalCon38 staff, especially Bryan Clauss, Steve Parenteau, and Gregg Belevick.  Extra special thanks to ALL the players.  And EXCEPTIONAL thanks to Leif Magnuson, Bradley Gosselin, and Chris Comeau for all their assistance above and beyond the call of duty.

Thanks also to David DeVeau and Ken Howe for some photos.

With that said, here are some photos and descriptions of the games that you might enjoy.

Game 1 – Thursday Morning, February 22nd, at 8 AM

Scenario: “Learn to Play Wars of Ozz.”  6 players out of 6 slots – lining up 3 brigades per side.

Opposing forces:  3 brigades of Gillikins vs. 3 brigades of Munchkins

Objective:  Take out more of their bases than they take out of yours.

Duration: 4 Hours

Final Score: Munchkins eke out a 17-15 victory

Game 2 – Thursday Afternoon, February 22nd, at 1 PM

Scenario: “Learn to Play Wars of Ozz.”  5 players out of 6 slots – lining up 3 brigades per side.

Opposing forces:  3 brigades of Gillikins vs. 3 brigades of Munchkins

Objective:  Take out more of their bases than they take out of yours.

Duration: 4 Hours

Final Score: Munchkins got a major victory over the Gillikins, 22-8

Game 3 – Thursday Evening, February 22nd, at 7 PM

Scenario: “Rear Guard Action – Pursuit of the Fleeing Gillikins.”  5 players out of 6 slots. 

Opposing forces:  4 Brigades (2 Munchkin, 1 Harvest, 1 Impkin) pursue a retreating force of 2 Gillikin brigades.

Objective:  Pursuers – destroy as many bases as possible of the Gillikins.  Gillikins – escape and save as many troops as possible to fight another day.

Duration: 4 Hours

Final Score: Gillikins manage a narrow victory over the attackers, 23-20, by having a light battery abandon its gun to save the crew – yielding a 4-point swing on the last turn of the game.

Game 4 – Friday Morning, February 23rd, at 8 AM

Scenario: “Learn to Play Wars of Ozz.”  8 players out of 8 slots – lining up 4 brigades per side.

Opposing forces:  2 brigades of Winkies and 2 brigades of Gillikins vs. 2 brigades of Munchkins and 2 brigades of Harvest

Objective:  Take out more of their bases than they take out of yours.

Duration: 4 Hours

Final Score: Munchkins eke out another narrow victory, 25-23.

Game 5 – Friday Afternoon, February 23rd, at 1 PM

Scenario: “Heavy Meeting Engagement” 7 players out of 6 slots (worked in an extra and I played to round out the game) – lining up 4 brigades per side.

Opposing forces:  4 brigades of Winkies and Harvest vs. 4 brigades of Munchkins and Impkins

Objective:  Take out more of their bases than they take out of yours.

Duration: 4 Hours

Final Score: The Munchkin/Impkin alliance got a major victory over the forces of Winkies and Harvest by a score of 38-27.

Game 6 – Friday Evening, February 23rd, at 7 PM

Scenario: “Attack on the Border Post.”  Again, 7 players out of 6 slots – they shared.

Opposing forces:  1 brigade of Munchkins is holding up in a town, attacked by 4 brigades (2 Winkie and 2 Gillikins).  Another Munchkin brigade is moving in as a relief force.

Objective:  The Winkies and Gillikins need to clear all Munchkins from the town and be in the town at the game’s end.  Also, points are awarded for each base taken out on both sides.

Duration: 4 Hours

Final Score: The attackers nearly succeeded in clearing the town, which would have gotten them 6 points.  However, the spirited defense by the Munchkins exacted a heavy toll on the attackers.  The final score was 42-30 for the Munchkin defenders.

Game 7 – Saturday Morning, February 24th, at 8 AM

Scenario: “Learn to Play Wars of Ozz.”  8 players out of 8 slots – lining up 4 brigades per side.

Opposing forces:  2 brigades of Winkies and 2 brigades of Harvest vs. 2 brigades of Impkins and 2 brigades of Gillikins (this was a “Munchkin-free zone”).

Objective:  Take out more of their bases than they take out of yours.

Duration: 4 Hours

Final Score: This was the bloodiest game of the weekend with 73 bases taken out.  The Winkie/Harvest team won by 41-32 over the Gillikins.

Game 8 – Saturday Afternoon, February 24th, at 1 PM

Scenario: “Heavy Meeting Engagement.”  8 players out of 8 slots– lining up 4 brigades per side.

Opposing forces:  4 brigades of Winkies/Harvest/Impkins vs. 4 brigades of Munchkins and Gillikins

Objective:  Take out more of their bases than they take out of yours.

Duration: 4 Hours

Final Score: The Munchkin/Gillikin temporary alliance got a major victory over the forces of Winkies/Harvest/Impkins by a score of 36-23.

Game 9 – Saturday Evening, February 24th,  at 7 PM

Scenario: “The Battle for Toto.”  5 players out of 8 slots. 

Opposing forces:  10 brigades are involved here on three sides.  The Winkies are allied with the Impkins (2 brigades each on opposite sides of the tabletop longways).  They are vying with the team of the Gillikins and Harvest forces (also with 2 brigades each on opposite sides of the tabletop longways).  In the middle, in a town with Toto in a secret location, are 2 Munchkin brigades.

Objective:  Possession of Toto is worth 10 points.  Each base taken out is worth a point for the appropriate force.

Duration: 4 Hours

Final Score: The Impkins found Toto – gaining the bonus – and ended up with a final score of 19.  The Munchkins dispatched 19 bases, so despite the loss of Toto they tied the Winkie/Impkin team.  The Gillikin/Harvest alliance got 14 points in third place – despite turning on the Winkies with a sneak attack by Dire Bears on the Winkie artillery.

Photo by David Deveau
Photo by Ken Howe as I GM
Photo by David Deveau

Game 10 – Sunday Morning, February 25th,   at 10 AM

Scenario: “The Battle for Toto.”  8 players out of 8 slots. 

Opposing forces:  10 brigades are involved here on three sides.  The Winkies are allied with the Impkins (2 brigades each on opposite sides of the tabletop longways).  They are vying with the team of the Gillikins and Harvest forces (also with 2 brigades each on opposite sides of the tabletop longways).  In the middle, in a town with Toto in a secret location, are 2 Munchkin brigades.

Objective:  Possession of Toto is worth 10 points.  Each base taken out is worth a point for the appropriate force.

Duration: 4 Hours

Final Score: The game went slowly – and was called at 3 hours as players needed to leave.  In the end, the score was not close, with the Munchkins keeping Toto, and getting 18 points total.  The Winkies/Impkins got 8, and the Gillikins and Harvest got 0.

That’s all for now – I’ll be silent for a bit here as far as posting for a bit – but I will be back! To those whose blogs I follow, I will be checking them out while I am out.

Hope you enjoyed these photos – if you like them let me know – I’ll be running more of these games at HAVOC, MAYHEM, and HUZZAH!

Admiral Jinjurs Female Pirates Reinforced By Some Old School Figures from Ral Partha, Grenadier, and Citadel (Wars of Ozz)

In the world of the Wars of Ozz, Pirate-General (Admiral) Jinjur is said to:

sail on the (Great Nonastic Ocean). She commands a flotilla ofships big and small, all crewed by female pirates. Her pirates board ships and raid seaports, ruthlessly overwhelming any resistance.

Wars of Ozz, Section2.6.6, The Lands Beyond Ozz, pages 45-46

Her pirate forces are composed of females from all over Ozz – so her troops are made up of Gillikins, Munchkins, Winkies, and Quadlings – all the main races of Ozz. 

Because I participated in the Kickstarter for Ozz a few years ago, I got a bonus of 4 of these figures for Admiral Jinjur’s Female Pirates (AJFP), SKU #OZZ-516 with my initial order. Later, when I bought a number of Gillikin-affiliated Ozz units from a UK estate sale – I was surprised to see that three fully-painted stands of AJFP had been thrown in the shipment. This left me with a need for another just 4 figures to round out the group for a full regiment of 5 stands/20 figures. Russ Dunaway was kind enough to get me not just 4, but 10 more – which if you are doing the math added up to 4 (Kickstarter) + 12 (estate sale) + 10 (Russ) = 26! Now, I could have said, ok, that’s enough for 20, but part of me decided to push the envelope for two full regiments. Rather than beg Russ again, I decided to roust out from my lead pile 14 Old School female warriors – mainly Amazons, halflings, and female fantasy types, and convert them into appropriate AJFP’s. These would be 25mm Ral Partha, Citadel, Ral Partha Imports, RAFM, and Grenadier figures, that were 30-40+ years old. I would give them new weapons and paint them up as members of the the various Ozz factions and size them to be close to the 28mm originals in terms of faction assignment.

This post is a definite result of my predilection for being focused on completion of a project. I could simply not move on to the Quadlings and leave these AJFP undone! While I am not IRO when it comes to converting figures, nor Roger when it comes to sculpting with green stuff, hopefully the figures that I will share below will be fine enough for my standards for the tabletop. After finding the suitable candidates for “drafting” into the AJFP, the next question I had was how to organize and use the figures these “draftees”. I decided that because the 12 already-painted estate sale figures had a sandy/beach base, I would make that regiment entirely of original AJFP Wars of Ozz figures on sandy bases. This would take adding two stands – one of Quadlings and one of part Munchkin/part Gillikin. 

The other regiment would be based on grassy terrain, with a mix of original Ozz and the Old School warriors from the 1980’s. As I like to track where the Old School stuff actually came from, I will be sharing that research as well. Below you see my starting point – with all of the figures plus some of the conversion weapons. Some of the weapons were left over from other projects, and some were some I cast myself years ago. These would help me convert the draftees into more appropriate-looking Ozz types. While I hardly ever deviate from the “official” figures, I thought that this would be fine and a chance to paint up some older stuff and that was most intriguing.

All of the 40 figures shown here at the start – including many Old School figures still ensconced in their blister packs for the last 40 years or so.

Let’s start with the sandy-based regiment. As I mentioned, all of the figures were canon – original Ozz stuff. I think the three stands of estate sale figures were painted well enough. However, they were not fully varnished, and where they were, it was gloss – and I prefer matte as a final coat. Additionally, there was some paint loss/wear – and I would need to try to have the two new stands look similar to the estate sale stands – which also needed work.

A stand from the estate sale – showing the paint loss on a hat, some glossy varnish, and a base that needed work.
All three estate stands with the steel bases I added underneath.

For all of the figures that I would paint here – each would be painted in their faction colors – so red for Quadlings, purple for Gillikins, blue for Munchkins, and yellow for Winkies.

Early work on Quadling base
Getting close to the finish for the Quadling base

Below are in-progress close up shots of the three original OZZ-516 Munchkins and the one Gillikin that I used on the sandy-based AJFP regiment.

These 4 Quadlings, 3 Munchkins, and the the Gillikin figure, would go onto the green stuff covered polystyrene bases you see below, and then be flocked in conjunction with the estate sale bases.

Ready to be based with the three estate stands.

It turned out that flocking these to match each other was more involved than I initially anticipated. I ended up using a combination of chinchilla dust, cork rocks, washes, and tufts to try to make them look alike. The chinchilla dust came out more looking like snow so I needed to darken that up. The rocks and tufts helped. My two stands ended up thicker than the estate sale three, but I don’t think that will be a problem.

Sandy-Based Regiment

After finishing – here are the estate stands:

As for the two stands that I painted for this regiment – first the base with Munchkins and Gillikins:

3 Munchkins and a Gillikin

And now the Quadling base – btw painting these gave me an ear worm of Queen’s “Fat Bottomed Girls”:

And a group shot:

Now, let’s move onto the grassy-based AJFP regiment! Of course, there was a LOT more work to be done on the grassy-based regiment as it involved so many conversions.

Below you see the source of all of the figures I used for the grassy-based AJFP regiment – and I was able to find the origin of each except for one (and if you know that one please let me know!). The research here was not easy – even with the help of the Lost Minis Wiki and The DnD Lead websites – but those really helped. Check out both of them to see what you young folks missed – or what you old folks might remember.

As you can see from the chart above, six of the figures in this AJFP regiment were original OZZ-516 Wars of Ozz figures. They would primarily go on two bases – one with 4 Winkies and one with 4 Gillikins.

Here are a few shots of the original Winkies in progress for the grassy-based regiment:

Here are a few photos of the original Gillikins in progress:

Now onto the conversion figures. Six of these were Grenadier #3102, and were repackaged by Mirliton as female warriors. They were originally sculpted around 1992 by Sandra Garrity, and were called “Women of War”. Grenadier was later bought by Mirliton, and many of their miniatures were repackaged post-acquisition. These are not found on the Mirliton website so OOP.

I gave these warriors hats and pistols, plus I bent a few swords to look like cutlasses. My sculpting efforts here as I said are not great – and I learned to my chagrin that using old green stuff with the consistency of used hardened bubblegum (like from under a desk) is NOT what you want to use. Still, I used all as female Winkies due to their poses and sizes.

 Below is one of the conversions – I made all to have a different look.

With a new big pistol and a big hat.

A few shots of the 6 Grenadier “Women of War” later in the project:

Added a slouchy hat
Added a bandana
Added a tricorn hat and a pistol
Bent her sword to look like a cutlass
Bent her sword to look like a cutlass and gave her a pistol
Gave her a bicorn hat and a freehand skull & crossbones

The next figure was also a Grenadier figure, but much older, and came to me in an eBay lot. I remember stripping off her bad paint job years ago, but that was all that I did with her. She is Grenadier 102 (v2) from the Fantasy Lords First Series “Females”. The figure is called “Female Assassin”, and dates from 1981. I gave her a bicorn hat and designated her as a Gillikin.

Next up are the Munchkin surrogates. I found 3 loose little female halfling figures in my stash that could stand in as Munchkins. I discovered that they were from the Ral Partha AD&D Adventurers Series. The figure is named “Female Halfling Fighter Thief” #11-102 (b) from “Halfling Fighter Thieves” circa 1989. This figure is the “b” version, and is a Tom Meier/Dennis Mize sculpt. I removed the staff, and modified one with a leftover Munchkin carbine from the Munchkin Light Cavalry project, one with a pistol, and one with a cutlass. Plus, no one got furry feet painted…

With a pistol and a bandana
With a little garrison-like cap and a cutlass
With a Munchkin carbine.

The next one was to be a Gillikin. She is an Amazon figure originally sourced from Ral Partha Imports Fantasy Adventurers Series – FA-27 “Amazon with Sword” – from 1986. Back in the 1980’s, Ral Partha imports took Citadel figures and marketed them in the US under licence. I made her a Gillikin and left her alone – except to give her a purple shield. Maybe it was her chain mail bikini…

FA-27 in her blister pack. Nice price for back then – but “historical miniatures”? I missed that chapter in history!
After priming, dry brushing, and an initial wash
Ready to get based

The next figure was a bit of a mystery to research. It started with her blister package. As you can see below – the figure’s blister was mislabeled as FFA35 “Necromancer Slime Beast with Sword”.

Needless to say – she is not a necromancer. Her base had FA-19 on it, which allowed me to dig deeper and find her image here. The figure is actually FA-19 V2 “Female Fighter with Breastplate and Sword”. She was sourced from Citadel Miniatures US FA-19 (v2) from “Fantasy Adventurers” line circa 1982. From what I can tell, similar to Ral Partha Imports, this brand was either manufactured or imported by Ral Partha in the 1980’s. I modified the figure with a bicorn hat. As I thought she looked more as if she was wearing a tunic versus a breastplate – I painted her accordingly and as a Gillikin. 

FA-19 on base
After conversion

The penultimate figure in the group of draftees was a RAFM figure of a female ranger and her hawk on her right arm. It appears that the figure was initially sculpted around 1986. Many RAFM figures (including this one) are still commercially available as Silver Fox Productions (SFP) now owns the RAFM lines. I sourced it from RAFM at some point maybe 8 years ago. It is RAFM Miniatures#3908 “Female Ranger”. I gave her a bandana and painted her as Winkie.

Love the handwritten SKU#!
Later in the project

The last of the 20 draftees is a female figure with a dagger. That’s all I know as the figure’s base was devoid of any markings and I could not discover her origin. As it was the last female figure I found (that was not topless – I couldn’t bring myself to put topless Amazons into Ozz – and I have a bunch of those). As she is, she seemed ok, so she was in. I painted her as a Gillikin but added nothing else.

The mystery stabbing Gillikin.

Let’s see the finished AJFP grassy-based regiment:

Grassy-Based Regiment

This first base has 4 Winkies – 3 from OZZ-516, plus one Grenadier “Women of War” figure. The die is a 12mm die.

The second base has three Gillikins that are original plus the Grenadier 102 (v2) “Female Assassin”.

The third base has three of the Grenadier “Women of War” figures and the RAFM Miniatures#3908 “Female Ranger”, all as Winkies.

The fourth base has three Munchkins (the converted Ral Partha “Female Halfling Fighter Thief” #11-102 (b) figures) and the unknown Gillikin figure.

Rounding out the grassy-based AJFP regiment, the fifth base is composed of two of the converted Grenadier “Women of War” figures in the front rank, with two Gillikins in the back rank – the Ral Partha Imports Fantasy Adventurers Series – FA-27 “Amazon with Sword” and the Citadel FA-19 V2 “Female Fighter with Breastplate and Sword”. 

Group shot of the AJFP on the grassy bases

These two AJFP regimentscount as my sixth and seventh unit respectively for Dave Stone’s “PAINT WHAT YOU GOT CHALLENGE 2023/2024” painting challenge that runs from December 26th, 2023 to February 29th, 2024. 

Both regiments will play a major role in many of my upcoming games for the multiple gaming conventions that I plan on supporting as a GM. The good news is that they will provide some firepower to a brigade as they are treated as having carbines. The regiments are good at missile combat – having a Marksmanship value of 6/10. As for Melee, they are middle of the road with a value of 5/10. Their Resolve value is similar at 5/10, but their Elan value is a little better at 6/10. Each unit costs 5 points. As Buck says, it’s nice for players to have some “shooty units”!

My convention games are coming up fast. At present, that support level is now at 25 four-hour games from February through May across 4 different conventions in Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire (TotalCon38, HAVOC, Mayhem, and HUZZAH!). Check them out and maybe just come?

A quick side note: I also got a surprise during the painting of these two regiments. My good friend Buck Surdu sent two more individual figures that can act as heroes in the game. One is “Boom Boom Palmer” (named after Chris Palmer). This figure can attach to an artillery unit and make it more effective. The other is Grand Admiral Priebe, who can give an attached infantry unit the ability to charge cavalry. THANKS BUCK!!

I did enjoy getting to paint both of these AJFP regiments- and to incorporate the Old School stuff really was a nice and fun change. But, now it’s back to more Ozz stuff!

As always, much 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 TWO ADMIRAL JINJUR FEMALE PIRATE REGIMENTS:

  1. Three original figure stands of Admiral Jinjurs Female Pirates
  2. Old School miniatures as detailed above
  3. Plastruct #91107 2.5mm polystyrene sheet
  4. 2″ square steel bases from Wargames Accessories (#21)
  5. Elmer’s PVA Glue
  6. Green Stuff (kneadatite)
  7. Gorilla Glue
  8. 5/16″ Everbilt steel washers (ACA)
  9. 3/4″ Everbilt steel washers (ABA)
  10. #8 3/8″ Everbilt steel washers
  11. Poster Tack
  12. Reaper MSP “Pure Black”
  13. Battlefront “German Camouflage Black Brown”
  14. Vallejo Model Air “Wood”
  15. The Armory “Dark Blue”
  16. Battlefront “Sherman Drab”
  17. Vallejo “Thinner Medium”
  18. Vallejo “Flow Improver”
  19. Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
  20. Vallejo Surface Primer “Black”
  21. Vallejo Mecha Color “Off White”
  22. P3 “Midland Flesh”
  23. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Ork Flesh”
  24. Army Painter “Speed Paint – Crusader Flesh 1.0”
  25. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Bad Moon Yellow”
  26. Vallejo Model Color “Brown Rose”
  27. Vallejo Game Color “Bronze Fleshtone”
  28. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Striking Scorpion Green”
  29. Vallejo Mecha Color “Green Fluorescent”
  30. Vallejo Model Air “Steel”
  31. Vallejo Model Color “Wood Grain”
  32. Vallejo Model Air “Bright Brass”
  33. Vallejo Model Air “Gun Metal”
  34. Vallejo Model Air “Black ” (metallic)
  35. Citadel “Balor Brown – AIR”
  36. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Black Legion”
  37. Battlefront “Boot Brown”
  38. Army Painter “Speed Paint – Hardened Leather 1.0”
  39. Army Painter “Speed Paint – Satchel Brown 2.0”
  40. Army Painter “Speed Paint – Enchanted Steel 2.0”
  41. Army Painter “Warpaints – Plate Mail Metal”
  42. Army Painter “Speed Paint – Aztec Gold 2.0”
  43. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Baal Red”
  44. Hataka “Gris Vert”
  45. Vallejo Model Color “Black Green”
  46. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Ironjawz Yellow”
  47. Tamiya “Titanium Silver”
  48. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Apothecary White”
  49. Army Painter “Flesh Wash” (wash)
  50. Army Painter “Speed Paint – Dusk Red 2.0”
  51. Army Painter “Red Tone” (wash/shade)
  52. Citadel “Nuln Oil GLOSS” (wash/shade)
  53. Citadel “Nuln Oil” (wash)
  54. Army Painter “Warpaints – Shining Silver”
  55. Vallejo Model Color “Dark Prussian Blue”
  56. Vallejo Mecha Color “Sky Blue”
  57. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Celestium Blue”
  58. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Talassar Blue”
  59. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Cygor Brown”
  60. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Pylar Glacier”
  61. Army Painter “Blue Tone” (shade/wash)
  62. Army Painter “Speed Paint – Purple Swarm 2.0”
  63. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Magos Purple”
  64. Army Painter “Speed Paint – Familiar Pink 2.0”
  65. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Leviathan Purple”
  66. Reaper MSP “Pink”
  67. Citadel “Daemonette Hide”
  68. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Doomfire Magenta”
  69. Army Painter “Warpaints – Bright Gold”
  70. Army Painter “Speed Paint – Runic Grey 1.0”
  71. Citadel “Waystone Green” (technical)
  72. Citadel “Longbeard Grey” (dry)
  73. Reaper MSP “Sun Yellow”
  74. Battlefront “Gunship Green”
  75. Citadel “Troll Slayer Orange”
  76. Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Gloss Varnish”
  77. Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matte Varnish”
  78. Chinchilla Dust
  79. Army Painter “Battlefield Field Grass” (flocking)
  80. Pendraken 12mm dice frames
  81. Army Painter “Battlefield Rocks” (flocking)
  82. Twigs
  83. Army Painter “Yellow/Meadow Flowers” (flocking)
  84. Gamers Grass “2mm Moss” (flocking)
  85. Army Painter “Highland Tufts” (flocking)
  86. Shadow’s Edge Miniatures “6mm Dark Forest Plum” (flocking)
  87. Shadow’s Edge Miniatures “6mm Dark Forest Blue” (flocking)
  88. Gamers Grass “Yellow Flowers” (flocking)
  89. Citadel “Agrax Earthshade” (wash/shade)

As you may want to check out the Wars of Ozz figures’ range – there are two places to get them and the rules (and I make no money from this btw). The game rules and the figures are available from the following two places:

In the US Old Glory has a site – Wars of Ozz Miniatures.

In the UK go to Sally 4th.

Recruiting problems solved – just summon the dead! The Summoning Bell (Wars of Ozz)

Let’s say you are on a battlefield in the world of Ozz as a either of the two witches Evora or Arella. Your recruiting efforts among your respective Winkie or Gillikin towns has not been stellar – so how to fix that? The Summoning Bell!

The Summoning Bell is a Wars of Ozz unit that has intrigued me since I first saw it on pages 24, 26, and 82 of the rulebook. Especially as the competing witch sisters Evora (Empress of the Winkies) and Arella (Empress of the Gillikins) have fought many times over posession of the Bell – with each having success. It is powerful for either the Winkies or the Gillikins – as it can summon skeletal troops to augment their forces. While ostensibly it is a Winkie unit – the Gillikins could have it too. The background is described in the rulebook as follows:

When Evora first appeared she was lugging about with her the Summoning Bell. This is an understatement; it is an enormous bell, so large it had to be toted about by slaves. It is not a creation of the Last Great War. It dates to a time much earlier and draws on powers that defy science. Where Evora found the bell and how she learned to use it is her secret. With it she can raise masses of skeleton soldiers with a single thunderous toll.

Its power has not escaped her sister, Arella. She has seen it used on the battlefield, both as an ally and against her. She has lusted for its power, and what Arella wants, she often gets. And in this case, that has been more than once. The two sisters have literally fought wars over the Bell…

Wars of Ozz rulebook, section 2.2.2.2, page 24

True, the concept of summoning the dead for a battle was already one used by J.R.R. Tolkien in The Lord of the Rings. But, it’s a concept seen in many other games as well since that time. I always find it cool.

The Summoning Bell is SKU# OZZ-315. According to the website, it is supposed to have “1 Large Summoning Bell on Cart pulled by 8 Skeletons and 1 Hooded Character Striking the Bell”. The hooded dude is “The Taskmaster”. The bell and the figures are all 28mm in size and cast in metal, while the Bell is cast in resin. 

I was fortunate in that when it arrived I found that it mistakenly had an extra two skeletons – so 10 versus 8 (thanks Russ!). Given that more is better, I definitely would incorporate the extra two skeletons into the model. According to the rules, the Summoning Bell can – similar to the “Raise the Dead” spell – raise a stand/base of skeletons as long as it is in the command radius (12″) of Evora or Arella and if the roll is successful. I am assuming that it would succeed by rolling under a spell value of 8 (so successful 70% of the time – the same as Arella or Evora). Each base of skeletons so summoned could be used in three ways – as a stand-alone unit; incorporated into an existing skeleton unit that has had losses; or to augment a previously summoned unit. The maximum number of stands/bases that can be summoned is 5. Now, Arella can also try to raise the dead on her own – so that potentially increases the maximum summoned to 10 stands or 2 full regiments of skeletons.

The Summoning Bell movement rate is quite variable and likely slow as it only has a movement rate of 1d10, not the best of 2d10. It is worth only 3 points – so it is relatively cheap. It fights poorly in Melee at 4/10. Its Resolve (desire to stay in a fight) and its Elan (desire to take the fight to the enemy) are both less than average at 5/5. As its use is not usually in Melee combat, this is moot I think, as long as it can generate skeletons. While the Bell is treated as infantry, similar to an artillery base it can take 5 hits – though when it gets to 4 hits the unit is eliminated.

The Summoning Bell is my final Winkie unit unit at this time. (I am counting it as a Winkie unit in my inventory). This is my fifth unit for Dave Stone’s “PAINT WHAT YOU GOT CHALLENGE 2023/2024” painting challenge that runs from December 26th, 2023 to February 29th, 2024. It’s also going to play a major role in many of my upcoming games for the multiple gaming conventions that I plan on supporting as a GM. At present, that support level is now at 25 four-hour games just through May across 4 different conventions in Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire (TotalCon38, HAVOC, Mayhem, and HUZZAH!).

Building this unit was more of a modeling challenge than most – but painting it was also related as I needed to vary many steps – plus allow for the drying of glues, varnishes, and paints. As a result, I have many more, hopefully fun, WIP shots than I have in recent posts. Lastly, I’ll share some eye candy shots and list the paints and other materials that I used.

WIP shots…

I started the work on January 12th. The first challenge was to figure out the size of the base needed and what materials to use. I mocked up the 10 skeletons and the cart and figured that I needed a 5″ by 10″ base.

Determining that the base needed to be 5″ x 10″.

I took a sheet of polystyrene, and laid out a general idea of where everything would fit.

Sketching out a mock up on the polystyrene sheet.
Cutting the polystyrene sheet – the Hyde tool is perfect for this purpose. It scores nice and clean lines.

The model came with what appears to be 28-gauge wire to use as ropes with which the skeletons are supposed to pull the cart. I thought that given the backstory that chains would be far more appropriate. I had used jewelry chains similarly before with my Frinx glyptodon mounts. All I needed to do here was to drill small gaps on the skeleton figures to accomodate the chains later on and to make the chains look ancient and rusty. I cut a good length and bathed them for a while in a cup filled with rust texture paint and rust wash.

Rusting up the chains.

By January 17th I had primed all of the components as well as some dry brushing of the wood sections (that are made of metal). I also saw that the Bell had flames on it – as well as a skull. I decided that, unlike the photos in the rulebook, my Bell would have magical evil flames adorning it to announce the arrival of dead warriors.

On January 17th – I was on to priming and early dry brushing of the cart and the 6 wheels and prepping the bell for the painting of flames.

As for the augmented “skeleton crew” (there’s an oxymoron, no?) and the Taskmaster, they painted up easily and were pretty much done by January 17th less varnish and flocking. Luckily, there were 5 that would carry the rope or chain over their left shoulders, and 5 over their right – which was perfect for the model.

Skeleton crew and the Taskmaster by January 17th.

January 18th saw me doing a LOT of dry brushing of three colors plus washes to achieve a weathered wood look on the cart. I also tried to give its ironwork an appropriate rusted look. I drilled a hole through the Bell top and the metal of the Bell mount to reinforce with a paper clip wire – so that all the weight of the bell would not be supported by just glue. This might have been unnecessary as the Bell is light, but I did it anyways.

January 18th dry brushing progress.

The rest of the day was used to put on the cart’s wheels and to paint the Bell as shown below. I lined the edge of the Bell with black so as to give the three colors of the flames some depth. You can see how the drilled hole in the Bell helped with painting.

Painting the Summoning Bell.

As it was late – and I wanted to sleep on it – I put the cart on the base with the bell to see how I could mount it to the slippery polystyrene. I was concerned that the heavy cart would be needing some support, especially after the Bell structures were added. At that point, I needed to sleep on it…

The lower part of the cart and the Bell were done – but the supports and mountings remained.
A top view of the previous photo with the proposed wheel positions marked in pencil.

By the morning of January 19th, I thought that I needed to chock the wheels in some subtle way that I could hide with flocking. The solution came by way of an MDF OZZ-BAS2 artillery base frame that I had saved for future use. I used half of it to glue onto the PS base along the line of the cart wheels. Always save your MDF frames!

January 19th – I cut off one edge of the MDF frame and then cut that into two equal-sized pieces. This made alignment easy.

The frame pieces were then glued down, and I carefully carved out the holes to match the cart wheels. I also mounted the front chain mount to the cart using Gorilla Glue in conjunction with a small eyelet that I had rusted up to look like the chains.

The frame sections glued down with the cart used as a template. I also applied PVA all over the base except where the skeletons would go.

While the PVA dried, I assembled and glued the cart pieces and the Bell together.

While the cart PVA glue dries – rubber bands assist the connections getting glued correctly.

Once assembled, I varnished the cart/Bell and crew with two coats of varnish with an airbrush, and went back to the base. After the PVA on the base had dried, I covered most of the base with a Vallejo ground texture – and then let that dry.

The base after the texture paint was applied.

When that texture paint had dried sufficiently, I gave the base a flocking of grass. This would take care of the area under the cart flocking-wise.

The skeletons look on as the base gets its first grass and a Pendraken 12mm MDF dice frame.

The last thing I did on January 19th was to mount the cart in the holes, add PVA to the holes, and go to sleep with hope for the morning!

The cart mounted for overnight glue setting.
The end of January 19th – awaiting January 20th to finish!

In the morning of January 20th – I was pleased to see the cart was securely affixed to the PS base. The MDF’s frames absorbency, especially for PVA, really helped with the fastening. I now needed to mount the crew – and affix the chains – but first I flocked the base so as to have better room to do that. I used both yellow and purple flowers to represent the Winkies and Gillikins respectively. I also used a variety of green and tan tufts to create a field-like look. Then, I was able to meticulously affix two skeletons at a time and then their chains. I secured the chains to the skeletons’ little hand holes with Gorilla Glue applied by a toothpick. I later covered up the shiny dried glue with rust or paint so it would not detract from the model’s aesthetics.

Mounting the skeletons.
How I serially mounted the skeletons and their chains. Doing two at a time gave me much more flexibility in this process.

And yes, I finished this bad boy on January 20th!

Success!
Skeleton-level view.

The model is relatively heavy at 1.3665 pounds!

While the cart, the Bell, and the base are not metal – the supports are!

Finishing this was gratifying to say the least – now for some Summoning Bell…

Eye Candy

The Summoning Bell – left side.
The Summoning Bell – right side.
The Summoning Bell – from the front.
The Summoning Bell – back side.
The Summoning Bell – close up on right side.
The Summoning Bell – close up on left side.
The Summoning Bell – close up of the crew. I like my skeletons grungy.

I appreciate your indulgence at all of these photos. I thought that this would be a unit where all the WIP might be more interesting or possibly helpful you, to the reader. You can let me know in the comments section. 

As mentioned above, the Summoning Bell is my final Winkie unit unit at this time. I think that this was an epic way to finish the faction off.

While I am counting it as a Winkie unit in my inventory – I will let the Gillikins use it too – especially in some of the convention games. I will be transitioning to a different faction next – but will also be busy getting stuff ready for the conventions that start next month. I hope that I can get more done for Dave’s challenge. 

As always, much 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 SUMMONING BELL:

  1. Plastruct #91107 2.5mm polystyrene sheet
  2. Vallejo Surface Primer “Black”
  3. Green Stuff (kneadatite)
  4. Gorilla Glue
  5. Poster Tack
  6. Beach Landing Jewelry Chain
  7. Vallejo Mecha Weathering “Rust Texture”
  8. Vallejo Mecha Weathering “Dark Rust Wash” (wash)
  9. Vallejo Mecha Weathering “Light Rust Wash” (wash)
  10. Citadel “Dryad Bark”
  11. Vallejo Mecha Color “Off White”
  12. Citadel “Ushabti Bone”
  13. Army Painter “Speed Paint – Pallid Bone 1.0”
  14. Army Painter “Speed Paint – Speed Paint Medium 1.0”
  15. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Baal Red”
  16. Battlefront “Sherman Drab”
  17. Vallejo “Thinner Medium”
  18. Citadel “Longbeard Grey” (dry)
  19. Vallejo Model Air “Black ” (metallic)
  20. Army Painter “Light Tone” (wash/shade)
  21. Vallejo Mecha Color “Dark Steel”
  22. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Magmadroth Flame”
  23. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Bad Moon Yellow”
  24. Reaper MSP “Pure Black”
  25. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Apothecary White”
  26. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Snakebite Leather”
  27. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Ratling Grime”
  28. Army Painter “Red Tone” (wash/shade)
  29. Paperclip wire
  30. Artillery Battery MDF sabot base frame piece from Old Glory/Wars of Ozz Miniatures
  31. Steel Eyelet
  32. Vallejo Ground Texture “Rough Grey Pumice”
  33. Vallejo “Flow Improver”
  34. Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
  35. Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matte Varnish”
  36. Pendraken 12mm dice frames
  37. Elmer’s PVA Glue
  38. Gamers Grass “Dense Green Wild 6mm Tufts” (flocking)
  39. Gamers Grass “Dry Green XL Wild 12mm Tufts” (flocking)
  40. Gamers Grass “Beige XL Wild 12mm Tufts” (flocking)
  41. Gamers Grass “Wild Shrubs” (flocking)
  42. Army Painter “Yellow/Meadow Flowers” (flocking)
  43. Gamers Grass “Yellow Flowers” (flocking)
  44. Shadow’s Edge Miniatures “6mm Dark Forest Purple” (flocking)
  45. Shadow’s Edge Miniatures “6mm Dark Forest Plum” (flocking)
  46. Army Painter “Battlefield Field Grass” (flocking)

As you may want to check out the Wars of Ozz figures’ range – there are two places to get them and the rules (and I make no money from this btw). The game rules and the figures are available from the following two places:

In the US Old Glory has a site – Wars of Ozz Miniatures.

In the UK go to Sally 4th.

Man of TIN blog two

Toy Soldiers, Gaming, ImagiNations

The Wargaming Erratic

Gisby's Gaming Blog

Miniatures gaming projects, products, and reviews

Carrion Crow's Buffet

Narrative Wargaming, Fiction and General Musings on the Universe

Despatches from Fort Syllabub

An account of fictional adventures on the North West Frontier - and other times and places, real or imagined

Man of Tin blog

Toy soldiers, gaming, Imagi-Nations

Zauberwurfs Blog

Ein Blog über Tabletop und Miniature Wargames.

Frank Tank Rants

musings of a fat old bloke on tanks and wargames

Dragons of Lancasm

Games, miniatures, painting, books and more games

Tiny Painted Heroes

The Adventures of a lifelong Tabletop Gamer, Game Design hobbyist, and full-time Software Engineer

Steve's Paint Brush

Grimdark model making and mini painting

Wargamesculptors Blog

Life, Golf, Miniatures, & Other Distractions

Dead Dick's Tavern and Temporary Lodging

Life, Golf, Miniatures, & Other Distractions

Guru Pig - the gaming Guru

Guru's thoughts on wargaming, life, and the universe!

Wisely lead... without a head!

History, Miniatures and Wargaming

Kuribo's Painting

Fallout Wasteland Warfare, Warhammer, and Hellboy Painting, Terrain, Dioramas, and Battle Reports

ADC Gaming

Don't Give Greg Ideas

Seriously, just don't

War Across the Ages, and other dark horrors

A discussion of miniatures collecting, painting and gaming.

Classic Warhammer 40K

Painting diary focused on Warhammer 40K 2nd ed., 5th ed. WHFB, related GW games, and miscellaneous whimsy

Colonel Mustard

WW2 Modelling in 1/72 Scale

Bogenwald

Random painting and terrain making.

Pat's 1:72 Military Diorama's

Scale diorama tips and ideas

Convert or Die

Arcade Dreams

Building the Arcade Dream

Roll a One - Wargaming Blog

P.B.Eye-Candy

Phil's 20th century wargame pages

SP's Projects Blog

A futile fight against entropy or 'Every man should have a hobby'? Either way it is a blog on tabletop wargames, board games and megagames

30mmdave

Wargaming Plausible reality?

The Imperfect Modeller

Miniature Figure Painting and Diorama Modelling

Double Down Dice

Painting miniatures and rolling dice!

Just Needs Varnish!

My ongoing wargames projects!

miniaturepopcorns

Sculpting some worlds

Despertaferres

Wargaming with the ability of a dull nine year old

Dawn of the Lead

Miniature wargaming and the occasional zombie

Rantings from under the Wargames table

Wargames, Figures, Sculpting and Converting Miniatures

Simple as War

Miniatures & Terrains

The Vibe

Life

Buck's Blog

Life, Golf, Miniatures, & Other Distractions

IRO aka Imperial Rebel Ork

- I model - therefore I am -