Creating a WWII Vichy Counterattack Game Scenario

Over the summer, happily, golf dominated my free time for the most part. I didn’t really have much time for hobby work or wargames. Blogging about what little I did complete or participate in fell to the wayside. The “little” that I refer to is work on my 15mm/1:100 scale WWII scenario, Operation Torch: Vichy Mounts a Counterattack. This scenario is part of a What a Tanker game. It is set in Morocco in November 1942. The Vichy French responded to the American landings during this time with an armored counterattack.

It is a little-known clash. France the June 1940 post-armistice was titurlarly neutral, and had the responsibility to defend its colonies against any allied invasions. At this time in 1942, the Soviets were under massive German pressure on the Eastern Front. They were begging the Allies to get in the fight against the Germans – anywhere at all. However, at this point in the war, the US/UK were not in a position logistically to assault Fortress Europe. They also lacked the necessary forces to execute such a mission successfully.

The invasion of North Africa – and the colonies of Vichy France – became the compromised option. Operation Torch thus came to be. In addition, this assault would open up a line of attack on Rommel’s rear. This would reduce pressure on the British 8th Army in Egypt. However, no one knew how much the Vichy French would resist.

As I write this, the 2025 golf season is over now. At least it is here in balmy Massachusetts in November. It’s time for me to capture my summer and fall efforts that led to my running this games at conventions. This post will cover some of my preparations, upgrades, and the actual games themselves. I will discuss the initial games at HMGS HISTORICON, then my upgrades, then the games at HMGS FALL IN! and EllisCon.

By the time I attended HISTORICON in July of 2025, I had the scenario pretty much where I wanted it. I had play-tested it with friends, and was ready to roll it out. This year, in total I have run the game twice at three different conventions. These are HMGS HISTORICON in July, and both HMGS FALL IN! and EllisCon in November. This makes six iterations so far since the spring.

For vehicles for the game, I have finished many AFV’s for that I have discussed in previous posts. Here below are those posts in reverse chronological order in case you missed them:

In addition to the vehicles, many game aids also were on my to do list. Before HISTORICON, I made road sections and town bases out of poster board and painted them. I also built dice boxes and dice frames for ease of play. Plus, I needed more blast markers for destroyed vehicles.

I was making these dice aids to make play better. What a Tanker is a great game. However, for a multiplayer game at a convention, the activation sequence is not the greatest. It does not keep the players engaged. I decided to borrow Buck services Double Random Activation^TM activation methodology, and that seemed to serve the game well. I also added Bonus Attack Cards and other changes as discussed in the next section.

Overview of My Scenario Rules Modifications

The game uses modified What a Tanker rules. The major modifications that I use are:

The game starts with each player receiving $75 in Tanker Bucks.
Before there are any play or purchases of extra resources, there is a VICHY FREE ATTACK PHASE. All US vehicles on the table will receive both 1 French infantry attack and 1 French AT attack. This phase represents the Vichy infantry attacks that were repulsed in November 1942 prior to the armor engagement. This happens only once at the beginning of the game.
There is an ACQUISITION PHASE after the free attacks conclude. More vehicles and Bonus Attack Cards may be purchased. This phase happens once at the beginning of each turn.
Uses of Bonus Attack Cards in the game simulate infantry, anti-tank, artillery, naval gunfire, and air actions. These are deployed by scout cars according to each sides’ historical capabilities. These cards can be shared across the team. Bonus Attack Cards are purchased with “Tanker Bucks”, which also play into Victory Conditions. Having more Tanker Bucks at the games end is better, as high amount remaining wins the game. I allow teams to share their Tanker Bucks as well. However, you need to use resources to defeat the enemy. You earn $25 for each AFV or plane destroyed. See the card below to see the costs for acquisitions and for rewards. So, a balancing act exists for the players. Do they hoard their Tanker Bucks, or use them effectively against their opponent?

Costs and Rewards as shown on the requisition form.

To represent the French vehicles’ advanced age and mechanical unreliability. “OLD” French vehicles that try to move and roll a 3 or less will lose 1 die to temporary damage. Mathematically, there is an 8.33% chance of that happening. So a good number of the Vichy Forces are indeed OLD (mainly the armored cars and the FT-17’s). In addition, all of the French tanks and some armored cars are SLOW – which limits their advances. But, in the game, there are more of them, and not all of the French tanks are OLD.
Any vehicle touching a road can convert any die to a DRIVE dice.
Armored and scout cars may engage other armored cars and tanks with heavy machine guns or deploy Bonus Attack Cards. Also I have rules that show how devastating any cannon fire would have been against thin-skinned vehicles. Cannon fire causes double hits on thinly armored vehicles that are not tanks.
The US Army was inexperienced before these landings. To represent that, their status is GREEN at this point in the war. GREEN means their base roll needed to hit increases. It goes from needing a 6 on 2d6 added together to a 7 as a base number. Most of the French vehicles are SMALL. This necessitates an additional +1 to hit at short range. There is also another +1 at long range. Oh yeah, the Stuarts have just a 37mm gun. This means that the US has a tough time making damaging hits at long range against French tanks.
The US use of Bonus Attack Cards is limited to just the US Scout and French Armored Cars. The M5 Stuart’s radios got wet during the landings and were not working. Many French tanks in North Africa did not have radios. The one-man-turrets in all of these Vichy tanks made coordinating activities very difficult.
To represent the fight for air superiority, I added Bonus Attack Cards that allow the deployment of French Dewoitine D.520’s and American carrier-bases F4F Wildcats. These vie for air superiority and can also convert to ground attack missions with other Bonus Attack Cards as well.
Having air superiority enables the US player to deploy the Avenger TBM’s as spotter planes. These can improve US artillery accuracy significantly. They also can also bomb the French vehicles with depth charges (yes that happened). Lastly, Avenger deployment also opens up the chance for devastating naval gunfire from the light cruiser USS Savannah.
Modifying the activation sequencing methodology by using Buck Surdu’s “DOUBLE RANDOM ^TM ACTIVATION” method.
Because of the different activation sequence from What a Tanker, I now use three types of dice. Larger white d6 are used for COMMAND DICE (these let your AFV take actions). Larger colored d6 are used for ACTION DICE (for rolling for movement and firing). Smaller colored d6 are used for ACTIVATION DICE (to, well, activate an AFV in the game).
Scoring is done with TANKER BUCKS. Most wins at game end. See the rules file below (downloadable) for all the details.

I was asked to share my rules on the Facebook What a Tanker page. As I am a wicked nice guy (as we say here in Massachusetts), I am happy to do so. Below is the Word document that outlines all of the rules changes in detail. Feel free to download. If you use them, please do share your thoughts and experiences with me, I’d love to hear them.

VICHY COUNTERATTACK RULES (NOV 2025)V3 Download

Let’s look at some photos from the HMGS HISTORICON convention games next.

HMGS HISTORICON 2025 PHOTOS OF THE GAME

I ran the scenario twice at HISTORICON in July 2025. The games went well. Each side won once.

The tabletop set up from the French side. Note the painted poster board roads and town pavements.

Each French player started with 5 vehicles. The number of American vehicles varied by player, usually 2-3 including one M5 Stuart tank.

Set up with Tanker Bucks. I did eventually decide on $75 per player on each side with the differentials being the cost of resources.

The players from the first game – the French won here.

In the second game, the US won. This victory was mainly because Dan Eustace successfully used his Bonus Attack Cards. He successively achieved air superiority with Wildcats, then got the Avenger deployed. This led to calling in naval gunfire from the USS Savannah – unleashing a volley from its 15 6″ guns. The results on the French armor was devastating.

After the game, I pondered what improvements I could make. The tweaks in the rules are reflected in the file I shared previously. However, I need to add:

More game aids like dice holders
More blast markers
Better roads – I wanted rubber ones that laid flat and took up less space in a box.
Better town bases that also were rubber and laid flat on the tabletop.
Actual plane models to represent the aircraft. I was using photos on flight stands at HISTORICON for the planes, and I wanted better.

I wanted to read a book on the campaign that I learned about. It was recommended to me in a comment to one of my blog post links on TMP. It focused on this phase of WWII, and I planned to do this before I did any more hobby work. Rick Atkinsons’s An Army at Dawn is a true gem of a historical book, and a must read. This was my August effort.

After reading these, it was time to get going on the additional “stuff” listed above. I knocked out the dice frames and similar tasks quickly. I had enough for 8 players, and now I was set for 10.

Building Dirt Roads and City Bases WIP Shots

Now it was time to make the roads and city bases. I stumbled on this excellent video on how to make rubber wargaming roads. It became the blueprint I used and I highly recommend his process.

Here is a link to the excellent video.

Below are progress WIP shots of how I built 54 sections of road and 4 bases.

What I needed included a small paint roller, a caulking gun, and paintable caulk sealant. It also involved cutting up rubber floor runner material. Additionally, play sand and chinchilla dust were used on the roads for texture.

I cut the floor runner rubber with a box cutter on a wooden cutting board. I made the same number and types of dirt roads I had previously made with the poster board (54).

For a working space to work on the roads, I covered one of my gaming tables with paper. The sheets were secured with packing tape and this was sufficient to protect the table.

Here you see some of the road sections in progress. Sand and chinchilla dust were both rolled onto the caulk with a wet paint roller.

…and here painted minus some final dry brushing.

Then it was on to the city bases. I limited the width of the city bases to accommodate using a Green Stuff World Mega roller. The roller made a cobblestone imprint.Greg Priebe was kind enough to gift me the roller. Here I cut the first piece of rubber floor runner. As I did with the roads, I beveled the edges slightly. The edge angle was around 45 degrees.

A caulking gun spread out the sealant. Then I smoothed it as you see with two different putty knives, before rolling the cobblestone patterns. This was the approach for all four bases – I just sized and shaped them differently.

The painting scheme was basically the same for all four. Here you can see the imprinted cobblestones. To accentuate them, I used a Liquitex “Burnt Umber” ink cut with thinner. Then I let them dry before adding a quick dry brush.

The final bases completed. I would place 15mm buildings on them.

This was far more economical than buying similar roads. Now that the dirt roads and town bases were completed, it was time to add my 3 aircraft.

Aircraft Model WIP Shots

My search initially was for the right three 1:100 scale planes, but that effort proved fruitless. No one really makes aircraft in that scale, at least not the ones that I was looking for. Most models were 1:72. I did find some die cast models that would work just fine. They are more like game status makers. Those diecast models were the carrier-based Grumman F4F Wildcat and the Dewoitine D.520. Both had flight stands – an important feature as I wanted their landing gear to be retracted in flight.

A bit of assembly for these two diecast models was required, but not much. That left the Grumman Avenger TBM to source. And lucky me, I found one on eBay – obviously left unassembled since at least 1979 – if not much earlier. It was an Airfix plastic model, and it was complete. The papers inside were amazingly yellowed with age as you will see. I had not built a plastic model like this since I was a kid. It was probably for sale back then!

The F4F Wildcat, the Dewoitine D.520, and the Avenger kit. It says “new”, but…I guess it was at some point in the 1970’s? 1960’s?

The components laid out so as to figure it all out. The directions were fine. The decals were, well, as you can see, trash. I did order some replacements from eBay as you will see.

As for assembly, it went fine. I painted the three crewmen. The tail gunner will never be seen because the acrylic window was not too clear. As for the outside, I went with a Vallejo “Deep Prussian Blue” – it seemed closest to the box color. In my research, I saw several different color schemes for the undercarriage. Some were blue, some were two-toned. The model would be on a flight stand. This stand would not afford visibility to the bottom, so I decided that blue was sufficient.

The three crewmen and the rear landing gear and tailhook. The tailhook would not survive the build.

Avenger TBM assembled and painted (and below in the gallery).

The last assembly from the kit for the Avenger was the rockets underneath. I assume that any depth charges would have been in the bomb bay – as unseen as the gunner underneath. So that works!

The rockets are mounted. Next, we moved on to applying appropriate decals. That proved to be the most difficult part.

The decals I bought were from the US and came via a modeling shop in Latvia of all places. I have no idea of the age – except likely post-Cold War I imagine. I used multiple coats of Microscale “Liquid Decal File” to restore them as best I could. Even with that, several of them disintegrated into multiple jigsaw pieces in the progress of placing them on the model. This led to my having to reconstruct the decals while wet. Ugh. I made it work.

But wait – before all the decal work – I needed a flight stand! I made one with a 1/4″ wooden dowel, green stuff, and a 2″ acrylic base. I carefully carved out a hole on the model to accommodate the stand.

Then it was on to applying decals as best as I could.

Mid-stage with the decals. The tail and rudder ones were really finicky.

Finally the planes were done. I also built a special travel box for the Avenger. For the other two, the original package blisters served that purpose.

All three planes for the game, frontal view…

Upon completion, I could mock up the tabletop in the cellar in preparation for HMGS FALL IN! in Lancaster PA and EllisCon in Danielson, CT.

Mock up of the Tabletop

I used photos of this mock up in my cellar to guide its recreation at both upcoming gaming conventions.

First up, HMGS FALL IN!

HMGS FALL IN! 2025 PHOTOS OF THE GAME

The game as set up in the H.A.W.K.’s room.

The players in my first game. It was nice to have my Wargame Wingman Leif Magnuson in the game. Several Maine Historical Wargame Association members joined as well! As I am also a member of MHWA, that was VERY cool.

The French tanks and armored cars were cautious about leaving a town here.

The US then deployed air, achieved superiority, and brought on the Avenger.

The F4F Wildcat about to dispatch the Dewoitine D.520.

While US vehicles burn in the background, the Avenger deploys, and calls in naval gunfire…

With that, the US won the first game I ran.

In the second game, the tables turned. The US never got going very well. Or, perhaps, the French were very lucky. Take your pick. I don’t have any photos of that game (apologies) – but it was a complete French victory.

Next up, one week later, was EllisCon.

EllisCon 2025 Photos

Here I also ran the game twice.

The first game at EllisCon had 4 players. Leif joined us again for both games. Here he strategizes for the French with his teammate Brian.

A Laffly S15 TOE armored car is hit and burns early in the game.

The US players are then hit hard, as the M5 Stuart “Beast”, and M3A1 Scout Car “Annie” are destroyed. The M3 GMC “Hurricane” takes cover in a brush firing position.

Once again, though at a different convention, the Vichy armor looks to leave the town safely in the face of “Hurricane”.

An AMC Schneider P16 (the old armored car on right) uses its 37mm gun to destroy the M5 Stuart “Beast”.

The FT-17 ” Marechal Foch” is taken out near r=the end of the game.

At the end, the Vichy claimed a victory, as their Tanker Bucks were more than the Americans total.

In game two, the fortunes reversed yet again. Leif played again and was joined on the other side by Gregg Belevick. Both were involved in my initial play testing of this scenario.

The players discuss their game strategies.

The French players move up – and Gregg has a twinkle in his eye – does he have a plan?

Yours truly GM’s the game. Photo courtesy of David DeVeau

I guess Gregg did have a plan – naval gunfire! Convention history repeats itself as 5 Vichy vehicles burn on the Moroccan sand.

The US won this game with the last barrage destroying 1/3 of the Vichy force deployed at the time. A massive US victory!

I really like this scenario. So far, the victories have been 3 for each side. It seems pretty fairly balanced. It’s fun and highlights a little-known part of WWII. It’s likely coming again to a convention in 2026.

I list the paints that I used for the roads at the end of this blog post. For my records, I am sharing these materials I use for these projects with you, dear reader. You’ll see the list below detailing the process and materials for both the roads/bases and the Avenger torpedo bomber.

I hope that you found this tale of my journey interesting. If you do use my rules modifications, again please let me know how they worked out. If you have any questions, certainly throw them at me. I’d also enjoy any feedback on the work or this post in the comments section. Thanks in advance for that.

Lastly, I have compiled all of my posts on WWII games and projects. There is a consolidated list of posts and their links located here.

MATERIALS USED

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS AND FLOCKING USED ON THE DIRT ROADS:

TrafficMaster Rubber Floor Runner from Home Depot, SKU 1003092882
DynaFlex Ultra Advanced All Weather Sealant “Cedar Tan”, (paintable caulking)
Quikrete “All Purpose Sand”
Chinchilla Dust
DecoArt Americana “Cinnamon Stick”
DecoArt Americana “Deep Ochre”
DecoArt Americana “Raw Sienna”
DecoArt Americana “Raw Umber”
Apple Barrel “Burnt Umber”
Vallejo Thinner

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS AND FLOCKING USED ON THE TOWN BASES:

TrafficMaster Rubber Floor Runner from Home Depot, SKU 1003092882
DynaFlex Ultra Advanced All Weather Sealant “Cedar Tan”, (paintable caulking)
Quikrete “All Purpose Sand”
Chinchilla Dust
DecoArt Americana “Cinnamon Stick”
DecoArt Americana “Deep Ochre”
DecoArt Americana “Raw Sienna”
DecoArt Americana “Raw Umber”
Apple Barrel “Burnt Umber”
Vallejo Thinner
Liquitex “Burnt Umber” (ink)

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS AND FLOCKING USED ON THE AIRFIX AVENGER TBM-3 MODEL:

Airfix Grumman Avenger TBM-3 1:72 plastic model kit
Tamiya “Extra Thin Cement”
Vallejo Surface Primer “USA Olive Drab”
Vallejo Surface Primer “Sun Yellow”
Vallejo Surface Primer “German Dark Yellow”
Vallejo Surface Primer “Leather Brown”
Vallejo Surface Primer “Black”
P3 “Midland Flesh”
Army Painter “Soft Tone” (wash)
P3 “Flesh Wash”
Vallejo Model Color “Dark Prussian Blue”
Vallejo Thinner Medium
Hataka “Gris Clair Neutre”
Reaper MSP Core Colors “Pure White”
Vallejo Model Air “Black Metallic”
Tamiya “XF-16 Flat Aluminum”
Green Stuff
Vallejo Model Air Metallic “Signal Red”
Vallejo Model Color “Red”
Vallejo “Mecha Gloss Acrylic Varnish”
Vallejo Thinner
Citadel “Nuln Oil Gloss” (shade/wash)
1/4″ square wooden dowel
2″ Clear acrylic disk
2″ steel washer
Gorilla Glue
Microscale Industries “Liquid Decal Film”
Avenger decals from eBay
Microscale Industries “Micro Set”
Microscale Industries “Micro Sol”

Thanks for looking!

Mechanical Mini Swarm with Pulse Blasters (Wars of Ozz)

And now little bots from the apocalyptic ruins of the Industrial City!

This unit is a part of Professor Nitpik’s Industrial City Army. This regiment is composed of 40 mini-mechanical men (robots), deployed on five 2″ bases. The figures are metal and 28mm in size.

I have described my work on the good Professor’s background and army in three previous posts that you can check out:

I decided to go red on gold again. I really liked the effect I got on the artillery battery.

After priming – a good airbrush application of Createx “Pearl Red” on April 15.

The pearlized red works well with pearlized copper. I faced a downside. It was unbeknownst to me that my spray booth filter needed cleaning before I started. As a result, my basement had some residual fumes after painting, which I otherwise never see. Luckily I always mask up when airbrushing.

Finished hand brush painting these on April 16th, to include a wash.

The regiment does not have a regimental commander. However, I thought it would be good to give them a standard. So I took a wire spear from my unused Aztec bits, and a nut. With some green stuff, I crafted an ersatz standard pole.

I then varnished all the bots with a gloss coat. This allowed me to handle them and better mount them on the bases without causing any damage.

I mixed and matched the bots into different places on the bases. I also drilled out one bot claw and base to hold the standard. Next came a generous flocking of Army Painter “Black Battlefield”. I also added rusted bits and brick rubble before adding pigments.

After a matte varnishing, the last step was to add the standard!

That’s a wrap on this regiment – and for my Ozz painting for a while. I will be starting a new project in support of my upcoming HISTORICON 2025 games. Yes, I will still be running Wars of Ozz games – BUT I’m branching out a bit after painting over 1,000 (1,040 to date) Ozz figures…

Hint – I’ll be plowing new ground – but not totally new ground…yes, TANKS! But for which period and theater…hmmm….do you have a guess?

I will get back to Ozz painting sometime this year, so I can finish off my forces.

Here’s the Instagram link for a video that shows the command stand:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mark Morin (@markamorin84)

Final Notes and Links

Want to learn more about Ozz and its world? If you want to check out the excellent Wars of Ozz figures’ range, there are two places to get them. You can also get the rules there. (I make no money from this.) The game rules and the figures are available from the next two places:

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

In the UK go to Sally 4th.

And the new Wars of Ozz Supplement is available as a PDF download from the next two websites:

Below you’ll see the list of paints and the like that I used on this project. They are more useful for me when I need to recreate a color scheme in the future. They are not likely as useful for you as they are for me. I have had to refer back to a post more than once. This happens when I need to recreate a color theme. It also happens when I need to repair a unit. In any case, that’s why I post the lists.

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

For my earlier posts on Wars of Ozz games, view this page. It includes figures, units, and other related projects.

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THE MECHANICAL MINI SWARM WITH PULSE BLASTERS REGIMENT:

Popsicle sticks
PVA Glue
War Games Accessories Steel Bases (number 16)
Vallejo Surface Primer “Black”
Createx Wicked Colors “Pearl Red”
Createx Wicked Colors “High Performance Reducer”
ComArt “Opaque Carmine”
Createx Airbrush Colors “Pearl Copper”
Vallejo Model Air “Tire Black”
Vallejo Model Air “Gun Metal”
Vallejo Mecha Color “Off White”
Army Painter Warpaints Fanatics Effects “Blue Flux” (effect)
Citadel “Nuln Oil GLOSS” (wash/shade)
Aztec leftover wire spear
Steel nut
Green stuff (kneadatite)
Army Painter “Black Battlefields” (flocking)
Citadel “Gehenna’s Gold”
Gorilla Glue
Juweela 1:35 Debris
Juweela Metal Scrap Rusty
Juweelinis “Diorama Mix” – various metal scrap, tires, bricks
Vallejo “Carbon Black” (pigment)
Vallejo “Titanium White” (pigment)
Vallejo Acrylic Varnish “Gloss”
Vallejo Flow Improver
Vallejo Thinner
Vallejo Premium Color “Matte Varnish”
Pendraken 12mm dice frame
Card stock
Wars of Ozz flag from supplement
Black Sharpie Pen
Brown Sharpie Pen

If you have any questions or feedback – go for it in the “Comments” section! Thanks for looking as always!!

Nitpik Mechanical Men Artillery Battery (Wars of Ozz)

Artillery for the forces of Professor Nitpik’s Mechanical army!

This medium artillery battery will play a prominent role in my Wars of Ozz games. It will be featured in upcoming gaming conventions (HAVOC, MAYHEM, and HUZZAH). The artillery battery consists of 6 crewmen and the gun. It is 28mm and metal, SKU OZZ-541. Assembly was required for the gun and to attach the mechanical men’s heads.

Amazingly, this unit for the army of Professor Nitpik is personally significant. It marks that I have now painted 1,000 figures for Wars of Ozz. I started back in November 2022 with Zoraster’s Guard Infantry. What a journey!

In my last post you saw my cavalry additions. I already had painted up an infantry unit of axemen before Nitpik had his own faction. So, artillery was the next logical addition.

This post will be brief. I did not take as many photos as I normally would. I am trying to shorten my posts going forward. I said “trying”.

Conventions beckon so time was short.

The pieces of the battery filed and washed.

I primed everything in black to include the MDF sabot base.

The gun came with a gun shield. The shield was perfectly flat, but thin and malleable. It looked to me less like a black powder-era weapon. It resembled more an anti-tank gun like a WWII German Pak 38. So, with that inspiration, I shaped it to be curved as well.

A German Pak 38. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5_cm_Pak_38

I added a lot of rubble pieces to the sabot base. I also used pigments and washes to create a sooty and oily look. As with Nitpik’s cavalry, I used pearlized red and copper airbrush paints here.

Below are shots of the battery. In the end, I think I achieved a retro sci-fi/”Iron Man” look to the unit. I may continue this theme for future Nitpik units. All of the “eyes” were painted with fluorescent paints – though that might not be so obvious in the photos.

Here is a video for your viewing pleasure:

OZZ-541

I hope you enjoyed this post. Next up (after conventions), will be more of this faction. Plus…I have a plan for a new WWII tank project…

Final Notes and Links

Want to learn more about Ozz? If you want to check out the excellent Wars of Ozz figures’ range, there are two places to get them. You can also get the rules there. (I make no money from this.) The game rules and the figures are available from the next two places:

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

In the UK go to Sally 4th.

And the new Wars of Ozz Supplement is available as a PDF download from the next two websites:

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

For my earlier posts on Wars of Ozz games, view this page. It includes figures, units, and other related projects.

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THIS NITPIK MEDIUM ARTILLERY BATTERY:

PVA Glue
MDF Base
War Games Accessories Steel Bases (FOW1)
1/8″ neodymium magnets
Gorilla Glue
Vallejo Surface Primer “Black”
War Games Accessories Steel Bases (Number 1)
Alligator clips and stands
Poster tack
Specimen jars
Createx Wicked Colors “Pearl Red”
Createx Wicked Colors “High Performance Reducer”
ComArt “Opaque Carmine”
Createx Airbrush Colors “Pearl Copper”
Tamiya “Titanium Silver X-32”
Vallejo Model Air “Gun Metal”
Tamiya “Chrome Silver X-11”
Vallejo Model Air “Black Metallic”
Vallejo Model Color “Off White”
Army Painter Warpaints Fanatics Effects “Data System Glow” (effect)
Army Painter Warpaints Fanatics Effects “Neon Yellow” (effect)
Army Painter Warpaints Fanatics Effects “Blue Flux” (effect)
Citadel “Spritstone Red” (technical)
Citadel “Nuln Oil GLOSS” (wash/shade)
Army Painter “Black Battlefields” (flocking)
Juweela 1:35 Debris
Juweela Metal Scrap Rusty
Juweelinis “Diorama Mix” – various metal scrap, tires, bricks
Popsicle stick shards
Vallejo “Carbon Black” (pigment)
Vallejo “Titanium White” (pigment)
Vallejo Acrylic Varnish “Gloss”
Vallejo Flow Improver
Vallejo Thinner
Vallejo Premium Color “Matte Varnish”
Pendraken 12mm dice frame

If you have any questions or feedback – go for it in the “Comments” section!

Wargaming Terrain for Wars of Ozz – part 3 – Magic Mushrooms, Ancient Crystals of Power, and some base rehabs

For part three of this series, I wanted to share some smaller Wars of Ozz games projects. These projects included making some game markers. These are for a convention scenario I will be running. The scenario is called “Wars of Ozz – Battle for the Magic Mushrooms & the Ancient Crystals of Power“. There will be 6-8 players, each controlling one brigade, all converging on the center of the tabletop. At that center will be the Scarecrow Girl that I spotlighted in part 1. She will be surrounded by the Magic Mushrooms and the Ancient Crystals of Power. The players’ goal is to secure supplies of these and get them off the table to their homelands. Naturally, all the other players will compete for the same objective. Alternatively, they might try to deny possession to their competitors. Here is the game flyer:

Naturally, I would need to have some markers or tokens to denote actual possession of either mushrooms and crystals. Therefore, I put some together – that would at least look like terrain. These were not difficult to make, cobbling together some bits from here and there. First, I saw some wooden miniature bowls at Michael’s that I thought would fit the bill. I got 12 in 2 packages, and based them on wooded disks atop steel washers. I primed them green.

I decided to paint one third of these copper, one third gold, and one third silver. Then I flocked them as I was also working on the trees you saw in my last post.

The next challenge would be to get small mushrooms and crystals to fill the bowls. To that end, I used multiple products to bling out the bowls as full of ancient magic crystals.

I used Gorilla Glue to mount them in various combinations for the crystal markers.

As for the mushrooms, I found some colorful little ones on Amazon. They serve the purpose. I can use them on unit bases too.

And these were done!

I hope that these were fun to look at. In the game, possession of these will cause detrimental effects to the holders! So I expect a free-for-all in the game!

Additionally, I did adjust two units’ bases. The Great Flying Apes had one base that still needed adjustment to stay upright. I added a support wire and camouflaged it with some tall jungle turf.

The other basing challenge I needed to rectify involved my regiment of Mushroom Creatures. I really like the regiment, but their big caps obscure their eyes from above. The issue is that players struggle to identify the actual facing direction of the Mushroom Creatures’ bases. The same little mushrooms that I used for the markers shown here were the solution. I added them to the front of each base – problem solved!

I initially thought that this series would be one with just 3 parts. Now it will be 4 as I have finished off a very cool set of terrain pieces. I made these as gifts that simply MUST be shared. Stay tuned for a bonus part 4 and see if you agree!

Final Note

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

In the UK go to Sally 4th.

And the new Wars of Ozz Supplement is available as a PDF download from the following two websites:

Below you’ll see the list of paints and the like that I used on the markers. They are more useful for me when I need to recreate a color scheme in the future. They might not be as useful for you. In any case, that’s why I post them.

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

For my earlier posts on Wars of Ozz games, view this page. It includes figures, units, and other related projects.

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THE MAGIC MUSHROOM AND ANCIENT CRYSTALS OF POWER MARKERS:

1½” wooden disks from Michael’s
Everbilt ASD 1½” steel washers
Gorilla Glue
Twinkle 7mm plastic rhinestones
TOHO glass beads from Michael’s
Recollections purple bling stickers
Make Market Miniature Bowls & Plates (2 sets) from Michael’s
Everbilt ASP washers
PVA Glue
Binder clips
Vallejo Surface Primer “Russian Green”
Citadel “Auric Armour Gold”
Tamiya “XF-6 Copper”
Tamiya “XF-11 Chrome Silver”
Woodland Scenics “Blended Turf” (flocking)
Exasinine Mini Mushroom Resin Figurines for Home DéCor (Style 1, Small)

Wargaming Terrain for Wars of Ozz – part 2 – Cacti, Oases, and Trees

On the last time that I posted, I shared my Scarecrow Girl statue that I cobbled together. After Christmas, I was able to add even more to my scatter terrain with a myriad of pieces. In the case of this post, I’ll share how I built out and painted up desert/cactus pieces and some oases. I also did a bit of tree build and rehab work that I will share here.

It’s all for my Wars of Ozz games. I needed some more desert pieces – especially now as I have significant numbers of desert units from both the Whim Whim and Temujican factions. I did previously use some cacti from Hobby Lobby in my Mesoamerican games.

Two Christmas gifts from my Mom – cacti and trees (both kinds the types for model railroads or dioramas) – brought me an opportunity to go further. On a side note, she says I’m tough to get a gift for – to which I say I really don’t need any at my age – but I do appreciate her a lot and it was very thoughtful (she’s probably reading this too!). In any case they will outlast golf balls for sure…

The cacti were great for building some scatter terrain. Additionally, I needed to make objective markers for one of my desert games – and oases seemed appropriate for that purpose. Lastly, my deciduous and evergreen tree collection (which is mostly second-hand from a flea market) needed an upgrade badly as they were looking like victims of Agent Orange defoliant. So, Mom’s tree gift of three Hobby Lobby trees was another scatter terrain opportunity. I’ll discuss the cacti scatter bases first, then the oases build, and lastly the trees.

Cacti Bases

Cactus plants from JTT Scenery – I had two packages of 15 cacti.

The cacti are from JTT, and are plastic, and hence, they have that glossy look. I used a wash to knock off the glossy appearance and to give some depth to the plants’ striations. This was easy to do as the plants are set in the package into a styrofoam base. That base holds them loosely enough for applying a sepia wash and removing the cacti and bushes afterwards was simple.

After applying a sepia wash. The mounting styrofoam made this easy.

As for bases for the plants, I decided it was a good opportunity to clear out a bunch of different plastic and wooden bases from my collection. One was even the same as I used on the Scarecrow Girl statue. You can see them below – I ended up with 20 bases. All of them got appropriately-sized steel washers underneath.

Some of the bases I used – well 19/20 anyways! The other one was a wooden scratch-built base that needed a purpose.

I glued the plants to the base, then added the AK basing paste, let that dry, then added pigments. When that was set, I added flocking to match my Whim Whim and Temujican unit basing schemes.

When I sent my mother these pictures on my phone, she thought they were cookies! Below you can see all 20 of them in a Really Useful Box.

Oases

Some of you may remember that for my Conquistador/Maya game, I built some sandy scrub-like terrain pieces, that had a few palm trees. These did not look like an oasis to me – so I decided to make some that did. I found some model landscape palm trees on Amazon from OrgMemory.

The plastic palm trees would need (similar to the previous situation with the cacti), a sepia wash. To ensure that a sepia wash would adhere properly, I washed all of the palms in soap and water and let them dry. This would also let me figure out what sizes would be best to use on this scratch-build.

…and drying. Now I needed somewhere to put them and to determine the appropriate mix of types and sizes. The little prongs on the bottoms of the trees would help later with mounting on the oases.

While the palm trees dried, I used my scroll saw cut up four polystyrene sheets into random shapes for the oases’ bases (that rhymes?). Apoxie Sculpt was applied on the sheets to create the shapes of the terrain. In the end, I only used three of the four sheets. I’ll save the other for later use.

The polystyrene sheets cut into shapes for the oases.

The Apoxie Sculpt setting up and hardening as shaped on the three oases. It cures in 24 hours.

Once the Apoxie Sculpt had cured, I primed all three with a light yellow primer – and let that cure before adding the desert paste.

Here you see the AK dry desert paste applied and starting to dry.

Once dry, I added three different pigments (similar to my desert bases and scatter terrain), and let the pigments set.

The next step was to paint the bottom of the water holes a distinct turquoise in anticipation of adding the Vallejo Still Water product later. I wanted the water to really stand out color-wise.

Once all the flocking was in I added the Vallejo Still Water in – mixed with some Secret Weapon Washes blue ink.

I then mixed and matched the palm trees to see what worked. The cured Apoxie Sculpt was pliable enough – yet strong enough – such that I was able to use an awl to make the holes for the trees’ prongs you saw above to set in the oases. This allows them to be removable, which is a plus, while the holes stay strong for reinsertion of the trees.

Lastly, here is a video of them and a brief description by yours truly:

Here is the Instagram link for the same video:

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A post shared by Mark Morin (@markamorin84)

These three oases are the objective markers for my game, “The Desert Wars of Ozz“. The flyer for that game is below. You can see the some of the cactus bases and the oases – though they lost some color on the flyer being in the back.

I will be running this game (or a similar one) at multiple gaming conventions this year.

Tree Builds and Rehabilitation

My tree collection that I have used for years was in need of rehabilitation. The other gift from Mom was a JTT product that you see below:

These were nice trees, but the foliage was a bit stringy in places. Plus I needed to wash the plastic limbs and trunks down with sepia and a darker wash. I assembled and mounted these three on large 2″ steel washers. Then I went to my tree collection and stripped off the stringier foliage on the older trees I already had. I applied Woodland Scenics Hob-E-Tac to the older trees and the newer ones. After the glue had turned clear, I used Woodland Scenics Light and Medium Green clump foliage to finish them off. There were 32 trees in all.

The stripped trees with the three new ones in the back – all with Hob-E-Tac drying.

As trees are just so essential to a tabletop, I was happy to have these in better shape for my games going forward.

That wraps up part 2 of this mini-series on terrain. I think I got a lot done here and it was fun. The cactus bases and the oases also qualify for Dave Stone’s annual “Paint What You Got Challenge”. Please, check it out – Dave is a great guy and runs this every year between Christmas and the end of February.

If you have any suggestions or feedback, as always, let me know in the comment section.

And part 3 (the last one) in this series will be coming soon…

Final Note

Want to learn more about Ozz? Well, if you do 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). The game rules and the figures are available from the next two places:

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

In the UK go to Sally 4th.

And the new Wars of Ozz Supplement is available as a PDF download from the following two websites:

Below you’ll see the list of paints and the like that I used on these – and they are more useful for me when I need to recreate a color scheme in the future than maybe you – but in any case that’s why I post them.

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

For all of my earlier 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 CACTUS SCATTER TERRAIN BASES:

2 packages of Cacti/desert bushes from JTT Scenery (SKU 95666)
Homemade wooden hex base
1½” wooden disks from Michael’s
Games Workshops 3½” Plastic bases
Games Workshops 2½” Plastic bases
Unknown 1¼” Plastic bases
Unknown 1½” Plastic bases
Unknown 2¼” Plastic bases
War Games Accessories Steel Bases (FOW1)
Citadel “Seraphim Sepia” (shade/wash)
Vallejo Surface Primer “German Dark Yellow”
PVA Glue
AK Terrains Diorama Series “Sandy Desert” (texture/basing paste)
Small stones
Army Painter “Battlefield Rocks” (flocking)
Vallejo Thinner
Vallejo “Dark Yellow Ochre” (pigment)
Vallejo “Light Yellow Ochre” (pigment)
Vallejo “Desert Dust” (pigment)
Vallejo “Gloss Acrylic Varnish”
Vallejo Premium Color “Matte Varnish”
Shadow’s Edge Miniatures “6mm Pink Sunset” (flocking)
Shadow’s Edge Miniatures “4mm Badlands Tufts” (flocking)
Shadow’s Edge Miniatures “6mm Nightmare Tufts” (flocking)
Shadow’s Edge Miniatures “6mm Scorched Earth Tufts” (flocking)
Shadow’s Edge Miniatures “4mm Neon Orange Tufts” (flocking)
Shadow’s Edge Miniatures “6mm Flaming Harvest Tufts” (flocking)

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

SIBE Automation White Polystyrene 8″ X 12″ X 1/8″ Plastic Sheet
Apoxie Sculpt
Vallejo Surface Primer “German Dark Yellow”
AK Terrains Diorama Series “Dry Ground” (texture/basing paste)
Vallejo “Dark Yellow Ochre” (pigment)
Vallejo “Light Yellow Ochre” (pigment)
Vallejo “Desert Dust” (pigment)
Vallejo Thinner
OrgMemory Assorted plastic tropical trees
Citadel “Seraphim Sepia” (shade/wash)
Citadel “Agrax Earthshade” (shade/wash)
Vallejo Mecha Color “Turquoise”
Gamers Grass “6mm Light Green” (flocking)
Gamers Grass “6mm Dry Tufts” (flocking)
Shadow’s Edge Miniatures “4mm Neon Orange Tufts” (flocking)
Gamers Grass “Tiny Beige 2mm Tufts” (flocking)
Woodland Scenics “Prairie Grass”
Vallejo “Still Water”
Secret Weapon Washes “Blue” (ink/wash)
2″ Square War Games Accessories Steel Bases (SKU Number 21)

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

JTT Super Scenic 4″-5″ trees dark shade deciduous (SKU 92158)
Everbilt ASC 2″ steel washers
PVA Glue
Citadel “Seraphim Sepia” (shade/wash)
Citadel “Agrax Earthshade” (shade/wash)
Woodland Scenics Hob-E-Tac adhesive
Woodland Scenics Medium Green Clump foliage
Woodland Scenics Light Green Clump foliage

Wargaming Terrain for Wars of Ozz – part 1 – Scarecrow Girl Statue

Several upcoming wargame conventions are looming on my horizon, so I needed to get going on adding some new terrain and game markers for my Wars of Ozz games. I will be posting about these three parts for ease of reading. I have been (as you will see) very engaged with multiple terrain projects. Luckily, I was able to get all of them completed in early January after finishing my brigade of Pollywomps. At Christmas, I received several cool gifts that would be useful to convert or build as terrain pieces. This post will cover the first one I finished, a Scarecrow Girl statue.

My wife Lynn saw a 3″ tall resin figurine of a scarecrow girl at the Dollar Store – and got it for me. It was factory-painted. When I saw it, ideas in my brain began to churn. I thought with the statue’s size she would make a nice centerpiece as a statue. I’ll share how I worked on it and then some shots of the finished product.

WIP Shots of the Project

The figurine in its package with wrapping paper shard still attached!

My plan was to build the terrain piece as a metal statue on a granite plinth. I had various plastic bases that I had not been using – and I selected one that was not originally even designed as a base for figures. It was probably came from something household-like that I assembled years ago and came as an extra piece. I saved it as I thought someday I could use it. I sanded off its shiny surface for better primer adhesion. Also, I had saved a plastic lid from a Tropicana orange juice bottle that had a nice shapes on its outside surface. Lastly, I added a heavy large steel fender washer underneath the plastic base for stability and adhesion to a magnetic sheet in a storage box.

The Tropicana lid, steel fender washer, sanded and repurposed base, and the Scarecrow Girl shown here at the start.

The steel washer was glued to the underside of the plastic base. I primed the lid and base all black, except where I was to glue the lid to the base, and let that cure. Then I affixed the lid to the base with PVA and let that set up.

Primed lid and base that would serve as the plinth

For the figure, I just overlaid the factory paint with gold paint in a dry-brushing fashion. Then I built out the Scarecrow Girl’s base with enough green stuff that it would cover the “Tropicana” logo. to do that, I had cut a piece of card stock to determine the size and shape that I would need to obscure the logo. After gluing that card stock to the statue, it was a lot easier to shape the green stuff perfectly.

Primed plinth and statue with enlarged base

I washed the statue down with a metal wash to give better definition. and added another dry-brush application of gold.

Statue after adding the dark wash and more gold. I also painted the green stuff as granite to match what I wanted for the plinth.

Then, I started to dry-bush the plinth to look like stone, but I saw that it had a small gap underneath. The steel washer was just thick enough to make the plinth seem to hover over the ground. I visited Michael’s store for inspiration, and saw a rope for decorative hobby projects – and voila – solution!

I cut the rope such that it would be the same circumference as the plinth. I then massively saturated the rope and where it touched the plinth with PVA glue. I drove the ends of the rope together where they met with a combination of toothpicks and small-gauge steel needles, and let it dry – hoping that approach would work.

It worked well as you can see below. All I needed to do was remove the needles and clip off the toothpicks flush with the rope.

I had also tried to use toothpicks underneath as “bridges” to hold the rope ends together. PVA is great here as the rope and toothpicks are porous enough to make great bonds.

Underneath view of the plinth showing the steel washer thickness that caused the gap. You can also see the toothpicks used both in the rope and as bridges.

Then I glued the statue to the plinth. Having previously applied the card stock that the green stuff rested on to the underside of the statue – I got a great bond to the plinth with PVA.

I used a different (darker) metallic gold color on the rope to simulate it as part of the entire work, then applied a dark wash. Lastly, I decided that there would be a “garden of guardian mushrooms” protecting here around the plinth. I did not paint them as this would allow me to treat the little guys as either carved or anthropomorphic!

Finished Scarecrow girl with little miushrooms’s glue drying (front)…

I of course had to show my lovely bride how much I appreciated her gift and what I had done with it! I think she liked it.

Eye Candy and a Video

And the video:

And here is the Instagram version:

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A post shared by Mark Morin (@markamorin84)

In the video I mention that I did not have a game for it – well, I decided that she will be the centerpiece on the tabletop for my “Wars of Ozz – Battle for the Magic Mushrooms & the Ancient Crystals of Power” game, described as follows:

The world of Ozz is nothing if not magical – and there are many talismans & powerful weapons that spring up everywhere. In a remote section of Ozz, a wonderful magical find of a field of Magic Mushrooms near some rare Crystals of Power – has led to an Ozzian “Gold Rush”. Here, several Ozzian nations are scrambling to take seize & control of them. Factions have teamed up & are ready to fight to get these valuable resources and deny their capture by their enemies, but what will happen?

Here is the flyer for that game – and you can see some game markers that will be fully shared in part 3 of this series.

Thanks for looking – this was a fun change of pace. It also qualifies for Dave Stone’s annual “Paint What You Got Challenge”. It’s a fun and global challenge to paint up figures between Christmas and the end of February, check it out!

I’d be interested in hearing your feedback on this – thanks in advance for any sharing!

And part 2 in this series will be coming soon…

Final Note

While this figure is NOT official, if you do 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). The game rules and the figures are available from the next two places:

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

In the UK go to Sally 4th.

And the new Wars of Ozz Supplement is available as a PDF download from the following two websites:

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

For all of my earlier 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 THIS SCARECROW GIRL STATUE:

Ashland “Scarecrow Girl Mini Decoration” statue
Black plastic disk
Plastic Tropicana Orange Juice lid
2″ Square War Games Accessories Steel Bases (21)
PVA Glue
Card stock
Green stuff
Ashland 7mm Rope Cord
Vallejo Surface Primer “German Panzer Grey”
Citadel “Liberator Gold”
Citadel “Retributor Armour”
Citadel “Cryptek Armourshade” (wash)
Americana “Slate Gray”
Toothpicks
Secret Weapon Washes “Stone”
Citadel “Slaneesh Grey”
AK Terrains Diorama Series “Muddy Ground” (texture/basing paste)
Mini Mushrooms from GDZRDFLH

My 2024 “Life, Golf, Miniatures & Other Distractions” Roundup

It’s that time again – when I review the past year and reflect a bit and look towards 2025. I do like to see what I did versus the goals that I set out to accomplish for myself back in January of 2024.

This post will also be where I set my 2025 goals for Life, Golf, Miniatures, & Other Distractions (after all that is the subject of this blog of mine since 2015). I use these goals to guide and motivate me, but I have seen that others can appreciate this type of post. 2023 was, like 2022, one very busy year on multiple hobby, golf, and life fronts. I did set some pretty aggressive goals for all aspects. Some were around gaming, some around hobby production, some were around golf, and more.

How did I do versus my 2024 goals?

Paint 365 figures or more

I thought that would be a stretch – but in the end I destroyed that particular benchmark, setting yet another personal high for the number of miniatures painted in one year ever. These were mostly figures for Wars of Ozz. I managed to paint 556 miniatures – 126 more than I did in 2023!

Complete 2 brigades of Quadlings for Wars of Ozz

I’ll give myself a B+ here, as I painted up all the Quadlings that I currently have – 3 regiments of infantry, 2 batteries of artillery, one witch, and 3 individuals that can be brigade or army commanders. That is 79 figures in total, 1.24 25-point brigades’ worth. At some point I’ll get the Quadlings some cavalry.

Complete a brigade of Whim Whim & Noobi for Wars of Ozz

Whim Whim infantry and cavalry engage King Jack and his Great Pumpkinheads at EllisCon 2024

I think I get an A+ here as I painted up all my Whim Whim and Noobi in 2024. That army now is made up of of 7 regiments of infantry (5 Whim Whim, 2 Noobi), 4 cavalry regiments (all Whim Whim), 3 wizards (2 Noobi, 1 Whim Whim), and 7 individuals/leaders. I painted all of these except for 1 bannerman which was a gift from Buck Surdu. That is 216 figures in total, nearly three 25-point brigades’ worth, making them the largest painted contingent in my collection at present.

Complete a brigade of Temujicans for Wars of Ozz

I think I get another A+ here as I painted up all my Temujicans in 2024. That army now is made up of of 5 regiments of infantry, 4 cavalry regiments, and 3 individuals/leaders. That is 142 figures in total, exactly two 25-point brigades’ worth, making them worthy opponents for the Whim Whim.

Continue to run and play more games – and continue tracking them too

I ran a total of 30 games (all Wars of Ozz) in 2024 as a GM(I think I get an A+ as that is nuts). As for games played, I get a C- as I only played in 6 games.

Attend and run games at conventions. This would include TotalCon38, HAVOC, COLD BARRAGE, MAYHEM, HUZZAH!, HMGS Fall In, EllisCon, and others…

Right after getting the HUZZAH! Award with happy players!

My 30 games that I GM’d came from these conventions. I was proud to have been awarded not one but TWO best of convention awards – one for HAVOC (the Award) and one for HUZZAH! So at least an A…ok A++😁

Complete one more scenario for my scenario booklet for Civilizations Collide

Total F here – never got to it.

Paint up a platoon from Wargames Supply Dump for Combat Patrol™

Total F here again – and sorry yet again Roger! With Ozz being a priority, I never got to it.

Try to get my Nomonhan WaT project off the ground. Note I said “try”. Again…

Same as last year…F. Maybe this year.

Get the Mass Pikemen more active

I have not been able to do this well at all. I do see many at conventions, which occupy a lot of my winter time. Once golf season starts, that takes precedence. I’ll try better this year.

Have another nice trip to Florida

I think A++ – our trip was amazing to Clearwater Beach and Orlando was a blast!

Great hotel – the previous photo was taken from the balcony in the middle.

Took the previous photo from Captain Memo’s Pirate Ship ride – was a LOT of fun.

Had a great time hanging out with Tod and Tara Jeffers in Clearwater Beach. This place had amazing seafood.

Then on to the Grande Vista in Orlando for golf lessons, golf, and relaxation!

Action shot on the range! Hit the ball first then the turf!

Even got to visit with the Surdu’s. I joined Buck for a Napoleonic game.

Post on the blog 50 times or more – make them of good quality

I think I get a B- here, as I think my output dropped a bit. I made 32 posts in 2024. Quality – well I let the readers determine that!

Be a good blog follower – still a goal but one that I cannot measure!

Ditto on this grade-wise – trying my best.

Have multiple Zoom chats with fellow hobbyists

Probably a C. Could do more and hope to this year.

Go to a golf school and get my golf handicap down below 16

My 2024 Handicap Review from Massachusetts golf.

As shown earlier , I did go to a golf school in Orlando -AND benefited greatly from lessons there. But, I think I made more progress with our club pro, Jim LeBlanc at Quail Hollow Golf and Country Club. My handicap went down to 16.1, so I’ll give myself an A-.

Update the Tour of the Brookfields on my blog.

Tom Orszulak and Lynn Morin high-five at the Tour of the Brookfields!

This worked very well at sharing information with the players and documenting each of the six regular tournaments and the FINALS. I think A is appropriate.

Play golf (in season) at least twice a week – get in 80 rounds

A+ here – as you saw, I had 102 rounds posted (some were 9-hole rounds of course), plus around 10 other events of 18 holes (scrambles).

Win my flight in the Club Championship

Fell short here again, but I was more competitive than in 2023. Bad play on Day 2 sunk me.

Defend in the Club Derby

That definitely did not happen – my partner Tom Orszulak had an injury, and the virus finally got me and knocked me out of any possibility of playing.

Be a competitive golfer

I’d say I was – I did tie Matt Stepanski for 1st place in the year-long quest for the Quail Hollow Sunday Sweeps “Fedex Cup” run by Dennis Rice. I think I was competitive overall – helped by a dropping handicap.

Be a good friend

I guess so. Always a work in progress!

Personal Highs in 2024

Recovery from knee surgery.
For the third year in a row – the Florida trip and golfing with my wife Lynn – and she continues to get better. Her teams actually did better in the Tour of the Brookfields than I did!
Clearwater Beach, Florida. Wow!
Getting together with the Jeffers and Surdus in Florida.
Getting together with family especially my Mom, my daughter Ellen and my granddaughter Tabitha.
Winning my first “Dave” award for my Wars of Ozz game “determined to be the best game at the HAVOC (Convention) that year. The criteria for the best game includes excellent concept and execution in game play, and player enjoyment.”
Winning my first “Best in Convention” award for my Wars of Ozz games at the HUZZAH! Convention in Maine.
Knocking out 556 figures for the Wars of Ozz!
Having EXCELLENT wingmen in Brad Gosselin and Leif Magnuson at MULTIPLE conventions.
Getting together with Dave Wood, Buck Surdu, Greg Priebe, Chris Palmer, and Duncan Adams, Eric Schlegel, and all of the other HAWKS in person.
Getting together with Fitchburg High School buddies Bob McNamara, Phil Schoenig, Peter Collette, and St. Bernard’s HS pals Mike Sullivan, and Eddie Tarka (and Tom Orszulak) to honor our late friend Leo Thibault, who passed away way too young back in 2007. Best part was getting his widow Sandy there to surprise us all at the end.
Being on the Committees for the Tour of the Brookfields tournaments and the New England Service Academy golf tournaments.
Amazing Halloween Party at Quail Hollow!
Great get together for an Army-Navy game watch party with amazing friends!
As a team, tying for first place for the Fedex Cup at Quail Hollow.
And again, being with my wife Lynn, every day (seriously, and she won’t likely read this).
Retirement is GREAT!

Ed Tarka, Bob McNamara, Phil Schoenig, me, Sandi Thibault, Mike Sullivan and Peter Collette at “The Leo”

Lynn and Tabitha – fun at Cracker Barrel!

Me, Lynn, my Mom, Tabitha, Ellen, and Nick

Personal Lows for 2024

COVID.
Army losing to Navy…not personal, but always feels that way!
Life’s been pretty good otherwise!

My goals for 2025

Well, its time to set my Life, Golf, Miniatures, & Other Distractions goals for 2025.

Have a great Florida trip again.
Paint 500 figures or more.
Continue to run and play more games – and continue tracking them too.
Attend and run games at conventions. This would include TotalCon, HAVOC, COLD BARRAGE, HMGS COLD WARS, MAYHEM, HUZZAH!, HMGS HISTORICON,HMGS FALL IN, EllisCon, and others…
Get the Mass Pikemen more active.
.Complete the Musculite faction for Wars of Ozz.
Complete the Professor Nitpik faction for Wars of Ozz.
Complete the Ix faction for Wars of Ozz.
Complete the Noland faction for Wars of Ozz.
Paint up a cavalry regiment for the Harvest and the Quadling factions.
Complete one more scenario for my scenario booklet for Civilizations Collide.
Paint up a platoon from Wargames Supply Dump for Combat Patrol™ .
Try to get my Nomonhan WaT project off the ground. Note I said “try”. Again.
Paint SOME tanks.
Post on the blog 40 times or more – make them of good quality.
Be a good blog follower – still a goal but one that I cannot measure!
Have some Zoom chats with fellow hobbyists.
Get my golf handicap down below 14.
Update the Tour of the Brookfields on my blog.
Play golf (in season) at least twice a week – get in 90+ rounds.
Win my flight in the Club Championship.
Win the Club Derby
Be a competitive golfer.
Be a good friend.

Of course, again I must say THANK YOU to all who make the time to read this blog and comment on my stuff, craziness, and madness – Have a Happy 2025!

And now – time to get on it Mark!

Oh yeah, need more of this…

Creating a Pollywomp Brigade for Wars of Ozz

To paraphrase Monty Python’s Flying Circus, “…and now for something completely different…” – specifically, Pollywomps.

After Christmas but before New Year’s Eve I managed to complete a Pollywomp brigade for my Wars of Ozz games. The brigade right now will be led by my Sleestak Command Base that I shared a description of recently in this blog. It was actually completed by December 30th, qualifying almost the entire brigade (less the Sleestak) for for Dave Stone’s annual “Paint What You Got Challenge”. It’s a fun and global challenge to paint up figures between Christmas and the end of February. The Pollywomps were perfect candidates for it.

So who are these Pollywomps? According to the “Wars of Ozz supplement“, they are denizens of “The Principality of Dismal”, also known as “the Bottomless Swamp”, and subjects of Prince Wartskin.

The “Wars of Ozz Supplement” describes them as follows:

Nobody would ever accuse the Pollywomps of being smart. Savage, impulsive, sometimes clever – yes, but never smart. Thus, it was a wonderment when a trio of garishly accessorized Pollywomps visited each capital of the major kingdoms of Ozz and announced themselves as speakers for Prince Wartskin of Dismal. Nobody had ever heard of a place called Dismal, and with good reason, it didn’t exist until it was announced, nor was it called Dismal, but rather some blurpy Pollywomp word that sounded, at best, like Dismal. According to the Pollywomp speakers, Dismal was the city and the new principality, sometimes called the Bottomless Swamp. And just like that, another nation emerged overnight….

…The Pollywomps are more than just spear-armed infantry. In addition, Prince Wartskin fields Pollywomprats as light cavalry. Pollywomp artillery is all light cannons acquired from the Munchkins (and sometimes Winkies). They have unlimbered and strapped onto the backs of giant lumbering turtles raised in the swamp. While the turtles are slow, they do not require unlimbering to fire, and their massive shells provide some protection to the fishing crews. The wizard Nemo Mudbottom is Dismal’s foremost mage and often travels with the army. When he is among the ranks, his mere presence triggers the ability for nearby troops to blend with their terrain. Other wizards who serve, even if they are Pollywomps, lack this unique ability.

My brigade currently consists of an infantry regiment, a cavalry regiment, an artillery battery, Nemo Mudbottom, and the Sleestak Command base (which will lead until the Prince Wartskin figure becomes available anyways). I decided to consolidate the brigade into this one blog post as I worked on the units and Nemo simultaneously.

With the exception of the resin giant turtle, the figures are all metal, and 28mm. The infantry and cavalry soldiers look like the Gill-Man from the classic 1954 film “Creature from the Black Lagoon“, so I painted them as such, with some turquoise modifications around the gills and back fins.

Movie poster from “**Creature from the Black Lagoon**“

The artillery crew and Nemo Mudbottom are fishmen. Rather than make them look swampy, I decided to give them metallic blue and green shades to simulate their scales. The bases for all were painted up to represent swamp, mud, and puddles as you will see. As for combat stats, here are their stats:

There were 20 infantry figures, 11 mounted cavalry figures, 5 artillery crewmen, 1 giant turtle with a light cannon, and Nemo. Below is what I started with:

Let’s see each type of unit more closely:

Pollywomp Infantry Regiment

OZZ-514, “Pollywomps of the Bottomless Swamp”, as I painted them up.

I did give the regiment a banner that I made out of green stuff and a plastic jungle leaf, even though the regiment does not have a regimental commander. All have glowing green eyes.

Here are some jungle shots of the regiment in line and column formations:

Pollywomp Infantry Regiment in line formation

Pollywomp Infantry Regiment in column formation

Here are some closer shots of the individual bases:

Pollywomp Cavalry on Pollywomprats

The cavalry regiment rides on “pollywomprats” which resemble a cross between an alligator and a monitor lizard. As the pollywomprats are supposed to have varied colors (similar to how the Munchkin cavalry has ponies of different colors), I made sure that no two were alike. Unlike the infantry, the regiment does have a regimental commander, which gives the unit an ability as rolled by dice. This regiment got “The Swift” giving them a +2″ bonus when they move. I also gave them a leaf banner. The riders were painted exactly the same way as the infantry color-wise.

The Pollywomp cavalry regiment, OZZ-535, ready for varnish, basing, and final flocking.

The Pollywomp cavalry based and awaiting flocking.

Pollywomp Cavalry Regiment in line formation.

And here are some closeup shots of the bases, starting with the regimental commander’s single-figure base. Very muddy bases!

Both Pollywomp infantry and cavalry have limited missile capabilities. Each base can fire twice per game. So, for both I made small markers to keep track of that in the game. The markers are just toothpick pieces on washers, lightly painted, but small enough to put on the bases unobtrusively.

Pollywomps Artillery Battery

As described previously, the Pollywomps artillery is a light cannon on a giant turtle, crewed by fishmen. I painted the turtle to resemble a snapping turtle – like the ones that I shared photos of during my garage build. Both of these large turtles were trying to take advantage of my newly-seeded areas to lay their eggs.

Female snapping turtle digging out to lay her eggs in my yard

I painted up the turtle, its gun, and carriage and prepped the artillery base for the crew. I gave the gun a rusty iron look as befitting a swampy artillery piece.

For painting the artillery fishmen crew, I experimented on a leftover piece of polystyrene. I made a palette with it using some metallic and airbrush paints to get the right combination of colors.

My palette. I ended up using the far right combination for the main body colors and the fifth from the left for fin colors.

The crew painted up quickly.

Three of the five crew members. The one on the far left is supposed to have a match – but that did not cast. No worries, as I made one as you will see shortly.

I flocked the artillery base similar to the other Pollywomps as you see here below. The mud puddles were fun to do.

OZZ-546 Artillery with crew ready for battle – note the swampy puddles!

Let’s have a few swampy jungle shots:

You can see the artillerist with the match here.

Nemo Mudbottom, Magical Swamp Mage

Lastly, we have Nemo Mudbottom, the Magical Swamp Mage. This wizard has three spells – Raise the Dead, Fear, and Heal. He also can provide a chameleon-like benefit to nearby troops that makes them tougher to hit with musketry.

He is larger than the Fishmen crew, but I gave him the same color scheme.

Nemo Mudbottom (in middle) with two of the Fishmen artillerists

And some closer shots to highlight the figure:

OZZ-546, Nemo Mudbottom, the Magical Swamp Mage

After finishing the brigade, it was time to end 2024 in style as my wife and I usually do with some big lobsters!

Nice 3 pound lobster on New Year’s Eve!!

That is it for now – next in the blog I will do a roundup of 2024 as I have done at the end of every year (well usually anyways). 2024 has been a bit insane hobby-wise…and golf wise!

Final Note

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

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

In the UK go to Sally 4th.

And the new Wars of Ozz Supplement is available as a PDF download from the following two websites:

Below you’ll see a loooong list of paints and the like that I used on these – and they are more useful for me when I need to recreate a color scheme in the future than maybe you – but in any case that’s why I post them.

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

For all of my earlier 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 POLLYWOMP INFANTRY REGIMENT:

Popsicle sticks
PVA Glue
Vallejo Premium White Primer
Vallejo Thinner
2″ Square War Games Accessories Steel Bases (SKU Number 21)
Secret Weapon Washes “Sewer Water” (wash)
Army Painter “Dark Tone” (shade/wash)
Vallejo Mecha Color “Off White”
Vallejo Model Color “Off White”
Vallejo Mecha Color “Green Blue”
Citadel Contrast Paint “Akhelian Green”
Army Painter Speed Paint 2.0 “Maize Yellow”
Secret Weapon Washes “Green” (ink/wash)
Army Painter Speed Paint 2.0 “Carmine Dragon”
Army Painter Warpaints Fanatics Effects “Data System Glow” (effect)
Army Painter Speed Paint 2.0 “Brownish Decay”
Army Painter Speed Paint 1.0 “Malignant Green”
Citadel “Contrast Medium”
Craftsmart “Pearl White” (pearlized)
Citadel “Stirland Battlemire” (texture)
Citadel “Stirland Mud” (texture)
Gorilla Glue
Vallejo Environmental Weathering Effects “Slimy Grime Dark”
Americana/Decoart “Raw Umber”
Citadel “Warpfiend Grey”
Vallejo Flow Improver
Vallejo “Gloss Acrylic Varnish”
Vallejo Premium Color “Matte Varnish”
AK Terrains Diorama Series “Wet Ground” (texture/basing paste)
AK Terrains Diorama Series “Muddy Ground” (texture/basing paste)
Vallejo Environmental Weathering Effects “Still Water”
Gamers Grass “2mm Moss” (flocking)
Gamers Grass “6mm Dense Green” (flocking)
Gamers Grass “Jungle XL” (flocking)
Gamers Grass “Elephant Ear” (flocking)
Green Stuff (kneadatite)
MOMOONNON various pieces from 100 pcs Model Diorama Supplies Scenery Landscape Set (flocking and as banner)
4Ground TSM-123 “Loose Brown Leaves” (flocking)
Poster tack and specimen jars
Pendraken 12mm dice frames

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THE POLLYWOMP CAVALRY REGIMENT:

Popsicle sticks
Gorilla Glue
Number 18 x ½” wire nails
Paper clip wire
Vallejo Premium White Primer
Vallejo Flow Improver
Vallejo Thinner
MDF Base from Wars of Ozz Miniatures
2″ Square War Games Accessories Steel Bases (SKU Number 21)
War Games Accessories Steel Bases (SKU FOW1)
Alligator clips and stands
PVA Glue
Army Painter “Dark Tone” (wash)
Vallejo Mecha Color “Off White”
Vallejo Model Color “Off White”
Citadel Contrast Paint “Snakebite Leather”
Citadel “Stirland Battlemire” (texture)
Citadel “Stirland Mud” (texture)
Army Painter Speed Paint 1.0 “Sand Golem”
Army Painter Speed Paint 2.0 “Peachy Flesh”
Citadel Contrast Paint “Gore Grunta Fur”
Army Painter Speed Paint 2.0 “Aged Hide”
Army Painter Speed Paint 2.0 “Goddess Glow”
Army Painter Speed Paint 2.0 “Warrior Brown”
Army Painter Speed Paint 2.0 “Dusk Red”
Citadel Contrast Paint “Space Wolves Grey”
Citadel “Contrast Medium”
Citadel Contrast Paint “Gulliman Flesh”
Vallejo Mecha Color “Green Blue”
Reaper MSP “Pink”
Army Painter Speed Paint 2.0 “Maize Yellow”
Citadel Contrast Paint “Akhelian Green”
Army Painter Speed Paint 2.0 “Carmine Dragon”
Army Painter Speed Paint 2.0 “Brownish Decay”
Army Painter Speed Paint 1.0 “Malignant Green”
Citadel Contrast Paint “Bad Moon Yellow”
Army Painter Speed Paint 1.0 “Fire Giant Orange”
Citadel Contrast Paint “Baal Red”
Army Painter Speed Paint 2.0 “Moody Mauve”
Army Painter Speed Paint 2.0 “Moon Lake Coral”
Army Painter Speed Paint 1.0 “Zealot Yellow”
Citadel Contrast Paint “Magmadroth Flame”
Citadel Contrast Paint “Blood Angels Red”
Army Painter Speed Paint 2.0 “Purple Swarm”
Citadel Contrast Paint “Nazdreg Yellow”
Citadel Contrast Paint “Doomfire Magenta”
Citadel “Warpfiend Grey”
Army Painter Warpaints Fanatics Effects “Data System Glow” (effect)
Balsa wood
Pendraken 12mm dice frames
Vallejo Flow Improver
Vallejo “Gloss Acrylic Varnish”
Vallejo Premium Color “Matte Varnish”
AK Terrains Diorama Series “Wet Ground” (texture/basing paste)
AK Terrains Diorama Series “Muddy Ground” (texture/basing paste)
Vallejo Environmental Weathering Effects “Still Water”
Secret Weapon Washes “Sewer Water” (wash)
Gamers Grass “2mm Moss” (flocking)
Gamers Grass “6mm Dense Green” (flocking)
Gamers Grass “Jungle XL” (flocking)
Gamers Grass “Elephant Ear” (flocking)
Green Stuff (kneadatite)
MOMOONNON various pieces from 100 pcs Model Diorama Supplies Scenery Landscape Set (flocking and as banner)
4Ground TSM-123 “Loose Brown Leaves” (flocking)
Poster tack and specimen jars

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THE POLLYWOMP FISHMEN ARTILLERY BATTERY:

PVA Glue
MDF Artillery sabot base from Wars of Ozz Miniatures
Gorilla Glue
Red Sharpie Pen
1/8″ neodymium magnets
Vallejo Mecha White Primer
Vallejo Thinner
Army Painter “Dark Tone” (wash)
Vallejo Mecha Color “Off White”
Vallejo Model Color “Off White”
Citadel Contrast Paint “Snakebite Leather”
Citadel “Stirland Battlemire” (texture)
Citadel “Stirland Mud” (texture)
Citadel Contrast Paint “Gore Grunta Fur”
War Games Accessories Steel Bases (SKU number 17)
War Games Accessories Steel Bases (SKU FOW1)
Popsicle sticks
Citadel Contrast Paint “Aggaros Dunes”
Army Painter Speed Paint 2.0 “Brownish Decay”
Army Painter Speed Paint 2.0 “Carmine Dragon”
Citadel Contrast Paint “Creed Camo”
Citadel “Contrast Medium”
Army Painter Warpaints “Rough Iron”
Citadel “Blood for the Blood God”
Createx Wicked Colors “Pearl Blue”
Createx Airbrush Colors “Pearl Green”
COM-ART Colours “Opaque Aquamarine”
Reaper MSP “Pure Black”
Army Painter Speed Paint 2.0 “Aged Hide”
Army Painter Warpaints Fanatics Effects “Data System Glow” (effect)
Battlefront “Chocolate Brown”
Vallejo Thinner Medium
Pendraken 12mm dice frames
Vallejo Flow Improver
Vallejo “Gloss Acrylic Varnish”
Vallejo Premium Color “Matte Varnish”
AK Terrains Diorama Series “Wet Ground” (texture/basing paste)
AK Terrains Diorama Series “Muddy Ground” (texture/basing paste)
Vallejo Environmental Weathering Effects “Slimy Grime Dark”
Secret Weapon Washes “Sewer Water” (wash)
Vallejo Environmental Weathering Effects “Still Water”
Gamers Grass “2mm Moss” (flocking)
Gamers Grass “6mm Dense Green” (flocking)
Gamers Grass “Jungle XL” (flocking)
Gamers Grass “Elephant Ear” (flocking)
MOMOONNON various pieces from 100 pcs Model Diorama Supplies Scenery Landscape Set (flocking)
4Ground TSM-123 “Loose Brown Leaves” (flocking)
Poster tack and specimen jars

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON NEMO MUDBOTTOM, THE MAGICAL SWAMP MAGE:

PVA Glue
MDF Base from Wars of Ozz Miniatures
War Games Accessories Steel Bases (SKU FOW1)
Vallejo Mecha White Primer
Vallejo Thinner
Army Painter “Dark Tone” (wash)
Vallejo Mecha Color “Off White”
Vallejo Model Color “Off White”
Citadel Contrast Paint “Snakebite Leather”
Citadel “Stirland Battlemire” (texture)
Citadel “Stirland Mud” (texture)
Army Painter Speed Paint 2.0 “Brownish Decay”
Popsicle sticks
War Games Accessories 1″x 1.5″ Steel Bases (18)
Createx Wicked Colors “Pearl Blue”
Createx Airbrush Colors “Pearl Green”
COM-ART Colours “Opaque Aquamarine”
Citadel Contrast Paint “Nazdreg Yellow”
Army Painter Speed Paint 2.0 “Aged Hide”
Army Painter Speed Paint 2.0 “Carmine Dragon”
Army Painter Speed Paint 2.0 “Aztec Gold”
Army Painter Speed Paint 2.0 “Bony Matter”
Army Painter Warpaints Fanatics Effects “Data System Glow” (effect)
Battlefront “Chocolate Brown”
Vallejo Thinner Medium
Pendraken 12mm dice frames
Vallejo Flow Improver
Vallejo “Gloss Acrylic Varnish”
Vallejo Premium Color “Matte Varnish”
AK Terrains Diorama Series “Wet Ground” (texture/basing paste)
AK Terrains Diorama Series “Muddy Ground” (texture/basing paste)
Vallejo Environmental Weathering Effects “Slimy Grime Dark”
Secret Weapon Washes “Sewer Water” (wash)
Vallejo Environmental Weathering Effects “Still Water”
Gamers Grass “2mm Moss” (flocking)
Gamers Grass “6mm Dense Green” (flocking)
Gamers Grass “Jungle XL” (flocking)
Gamers Grass “Elephant Ear” (flocking)
MOMOONNON various pieces from 100 pcs Model Diorama Supplies Scenery Landscape Set (flocking)
4Ground TSM-123 “Loose Brown Leaves” (flocking)
Poster tack and specimen jars

The Wars of Ozz Supplement. An Unboxing Review.

The Wars of Ozz Supplement has just been launched in PDF form – and what a great add-on it is! At 124 pages – it holds a LOT of Ozz goodness.

Supplement cover showing an assault on the Emerald City

The supplement picks up where the original Wars of Ozz rules left off. Authored by two well-knowns in the worlds of wargaming and fantasy gaming, David “Zeb” Cook and John R. “Buck” Surdu. Zeb, according to Wikipedia:

Cook designed several games, wrote the Expert Set for Dungeons & Dragons, worked as lead designer of the second edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, and invented the Planescape setting for AD&D. He is a member of the Origins Hall of Fame.

I have known Zeb for a few years – since I have become more acquainted with the Harford Area Weekly Kriegspielers (H.A.W.K.’s) down in Maryland. He even played in one of my Wars of Ozz games last year at TotalCon 38 where he was an esteemed guest speaker on his TSR career and more. He’s a great guy.

Zeb (on the right) commanding Gillikins at TotalCon 38 in February of 2024 (his side did win!).

Buck has been my good friend for around 43 years – going back to our time at West Point. He retired as a Colonel in the US Army as an Infantry officer. Waaay back, he gave me my first exposure to tabletop miniature gaming back in 1982 or 1983, along with my good friend Dave Wood. Buck has published many rules sets as described here (you should check that link out!). He was also my inspiration for starting this little blog back in 2015.

So, while I love the Wars of Ozz game, and the new supplement, I am not without a small degree of bias! But I like to think I am fair in this review. As this blog has more than regularly shown, I have been very involved with painting up miniatures for Wars of Ozz games and running them at conventions (30 games in 2024 alone). So I know the game…

So what do you get with the supplement? First, let me share a short video that will help:

Supplement Unboxing Video!

Pretty impressive! And here is the Instagram Link as well.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mark Morin (@markamorin84)

As for written text – here we go…

You get all the Army lists, flags, player sheets,and backgrounds for all of the newer and updated factions:

The Federation of Harvest (anthropomorphic veggies!)
Professor Nitpik’s Robotic Sanctum (black powder robotic infantry, artillery, and even cavalry)
The Sultanate of the Whim Whim (desert warriors with exotic mounts)
The Kingdom of Yule (toy-maker elves, reindeer, and more)
The Palace of Ice (or anti-Yule, the nemesis of Yule)
The Dominion of the Nome King (underground dwarf-like dwellers with blunderbusses)
The Unified Empire of Noland and Ix (The bickering blue and green big-headed cousins)
A Mischief of Musculites (nationless swarms of anthropomorphic mice armed with black powder weapons)
The Principality of Dismal (the Pollywomp Kingdom of Swamp Dwellers)
The Island of the Impkins (creepy animated baby fighting dolls)
Admiral Jinjur and Her Pirates (all-female pirates from every Ozz nation)
Mola (cavemen mounted on mammoths and pterodactyls)
The Lost Jungles of Noobi (orange-skinned and green-haired pygmy allies of the Whim Whim)
Cuniculia (anthropomorphic rabbits with black powder weaponry)
Quackie Barbarians (basically Viking-like ducks)
Ratavians (scurvy anthropomorphic rat pirates)
Salientia (anthropomorphic frogs with black powder weaponry)
Temujicans (desert-dwelling Gillikin cousins, enemies of the Whim Whim)

Additionally, you get all the Army lists and player sheets for all of the original factions:

Munchkins
Winkies
Quadlings
Gillikins

The Wars of Ozz Supplement costs a paltry $5.99 for the PDF – it is available for download from two places:

You’ll get cool stuff like this:

Cool backgrounds for all the newer and updated factions!

Lots and Lots of Flags for your factions!

Example of the Bunny Army List – there are Army lists for all the newer factions!

Plus, EVERY player chart and EVERY Army List for EVERY faction!

OK, that’s enough I think. Remember the Wars of Ozz rules and figures are still available. There are two places to get them and to get the rules (and I have no financial interest here):

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

In the UK go to Sally 4th.

I expect that at some point Sally 4th will publish a hard copy that will be available in both spots – but the PDF is available now as shared earlier on Drive Thru Cards and Wargame Vault.

Congrats to all involved – and let’s include the real Wizard of Ozz, Russ Dunaway!

Lastly, here is the link to the page that lists all of my Wars of Ozz posts!

More of my own OZZ stuff coming soon!

Sleestak-Inspired Miniatures for Wars of Ozz

Back in the mid-1970’s, there was the live-action show “Land of the Lost“. It was a Sid and Marty Krofft production that aired on Saturday mornings alongside all our other cartoon options. It was easily my favorite back then – and I eagerly watched every episode that I could. My daughter informed me that it was also rebroadcast in the 1980’s and 1990’s so her generation saw that too. It was also made into a Will Ferrell film in 2009 (that was apparently a box office flop that I never saw).

Short version: The premise of the original TV show concerned a family of three – Dad Rick Marshall, his son (Will), and his daughter (Holly). While rafting on a camping trip, the family is transported to another world through a portal. In this world, they hole up in a cave and try to find a way back home. Their new world has dinosaurs (stop-action and puppet-animated), friendly and diminutive hominid Pakuni (notably their friend Cha-Ka), and Sleestak.

The Sleestak are slow but aggressive bipedal reptilian creatures. Some carry crossbows and in the show have all the accuracy of an Imperial Storm Trooper. The Sleestak inhabit the ruins of an ancient city and temple complex, and are occasional nemeses of the Marshalls. Among the Sleestak is a differently-colored Altrusian named Enik. The Altrusian civilization fell 1,000 years prior to the Marshalls’ arrival – and the Sleestak are their corrupted barbaric descendants. Enik had similarly been transported through a portal from his time to the ruined Altrusian city of the show. He sometimes helps the Marshalls – and the Sleestak generally yield to him because of his powers.

So, what the hell has that got to do with my Wars of Ozz projects ???

Well, I was getting ready to paint up my Pollywomps and make a brigade of them. Pollywomps are swamp-dwelling reptilian humanoid that are ruled by Prince Dismal, ruler of their swamp. They have a passing resemblance to both 1954’s “Creature from the Black Lagoon” AND the Sleestak. For my Pollywomp Brigade, I have an infantry regiment, a cavalry regiment, and an artillery battery. All are VERY cool and I will share in due course in future posts. But unfortunately I needed a brigade commander – and Prince Dismal is not yet sculpted and available for purchase.

However, in surfing the internet I found Forge of Ice Miniatures up in Alaska that has a few extremely cool “Saleesa” figures that are pretty much Sleestak. As they brought back nostalgic feelings, I ordered some, and I was very pleased with them and especially the customer service from Alex Bates. The figures that I got were:

Saleesa with Slingshot Crossbows (2 figures)
Saleesa Leader (2 figures) (Enik and Index Skull)
Saleesa Warrior Number One (1 figure)
Saleesa Warrior Number Two (1 figure))

I’ll share below how I made these into a brigade command base for Wars of Ozz. My plan was to have the Sleestak surround Enik and his “Index Skull” on a base that would look like a ruined city overgrown by jungle.

WIP Shots

I used popsicle sticks and PVA to set the figures up for painting. These are metal and 28mm in size.

As for the base, I decided to use a balsa wood base left over from my Minifigs World of Greyhawk Cairn Cavemen project from 9 years ago. I would need to add a space on the base for the both the leader ability placard and the 12mm dice frame. To those ends, I additionally repurposed part of a placard frame from Wars of Ozz miniatures OZZ-BA5 and a square of basswood I had lying around.

Using PVA, I glued metal supports under the base and set with binder clips. I even reused a metal garage door sample that would adhere to my magnetic sheet-covered Really Useful Boxes that I use for storage and transport.

I painted up the miniatures in the theme of the TV show – and did not take any WIP of them except as you see immediately below. Here, you see the wooden base – and I used a black Sharpie to try to create tiles. While I was not happy with it – it was a start.

Base completed (less dice frame) with painted figures. It needed more…

I had some “Make It Fun Project Bricks” made of hard foam. I crushed several of them, put them in a Solo cup, added craft Americana gray paint, and mixed them until the paint covered it all. They were then useful as texture flocking together with Citadel “Astrogranite Debris”.

The crushed “bricks” painted and drying.

The next step was to mount the figures, let that dry, and then add the debris flocking. Then, I added undergrowth once the debris was dry, as well as the dice frame and support.

And then I added the undergrowth/foliage:

I tried to give the eyes a reflective look. Enough WIP, let me share the finished work with you!

Sleestak Eye Candy…errr…I mean Pollywomp Brigade Commander Base

As you can see, I rolled for the brigade commander’s ability – and it came up with “Magical Protection”. I am now making my unit abilities permanent once they are completed instead of changing them later on.

Gifts from Buck!

As a side note, before I get into the list of paints that I used on the Sleestak, I’d like to share a couple photos of the cool Christmas gifts that I got from Buck Surdu. One is “Nit-Tickers” – which is a single base of walking time bombs for Wars of Ozz. Buck scratch-built these and they will be fun in a game – they are more or less sentient IED’s/walking time bombs that will be part of Professor NitPik’s forces. I do believe that Wars of Ozz miniatures has actual sculpts in the works for these. Still, I love Buck’s creations!

I also got a second awesome gift! Buck took a Whim Whim figure to create a “bannerman”. In the rules he can be added to the Sultan Whim figure at an extra cost to increase subordinate brigade commanders’ command radii to 18″ (normally they are 12″). I rebased the figure on an MDF base and added the requisite flocking and placard as you’ll see below.

As for the Pollywomps, I’ll be sharing those units shortly as they qualified for Dave Stone’s annual “Paint What You Got Challenge”. The Sleestak base does not qualify (as I finished it right before Christmas), but my other Pollywomps will, so stay tuned. At least now they have a leader base!

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

For all of my earlier 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 THIS ERSATZ POLLYWOMPS/SLEESTAK COMMAND BASE:

Balsa wood hex base
Repurposed Frame from Ozz Placards MDF sheet
Bass wood square
War Games Accessories Steel Bases (FOW1)
Garaga garage color sample piece
Popsicle sticks
War Games Accessories 1″x 1.5″ Steel Bases (18)
PVA Glue
Vallejo Premium White Primer
Vallejo Flow Improver
Vallejo Thinner
Army Painter “Dark Tone” (wash)
Vallejo Mecha Color “Off White”
Vallejo Model Color “Off White”Army Painter Warpaints Air “Neon Yellow”
Vallejo Model Air “Brown”
Army Painter Speed Paint 2.0 “Satchel Brown”
Army Painter Speed Paint 1.0 “Dark Wood”
Citadel “Contrast Medium”
Citadel “Morghast Bone”
Vallejo Thinner Medium
Citadel Contrast Paint “Nazdreg Yellow”
Vallejo Model Air “Wood”
Vallejo Game Air “Red Terracotta”
Citadel “Spritstone Red” (technical)
Citadel “Soulstone Blue” (technical)
Secret Weapon Washes “Purple”
Army Painter Speed Paint 2.0 “Familiar Pink”
Citadel “Tallarn Sand”
P3 “Blazing Ink” (ink)
Citadel Contrast Paint “Mantis Warriors Green”
MSP “Sun Yellow”
Citadel Contrast Paint “Karandras Green”
Army Painter Speed Paint 2.0 “Bony Matter”
Citadel Contrast Paint “Gulliman Flesh”
Citadel Contrast Paint “Darkoath Flesh”
Citadel “Seraphim Sepia” (shade/wash)
Vallejo Model Color “Dark Sea Grey”
Secret Weapon Washes “Stone”
Pendraken 12mm dice frames
Pencil
Black Sharpie pen
Make It Fun Project Bricks (crushed, painted, and used as flocking)
Americana “Slate Grey”
Citadel “Astrogranite Debris” (texture)
Vallejo “Gloss Acrylic Varnish”
Vallejo Premium Color “Matte Varnish”
Vallejo Environmental Weathering Effects “Slimy Grime Dark”
Gamers Grass “Jungle XL” (flocking)
Gamers Grass “Dense Green 6mm” (flocking)
Gamers Grass “Alien Toxic 6mm” (flocking)
Shadow’s Edge Miniatures “4mm Flaming Light Green Tufts” (flocking)
Pendraken 12mm dice frames

Of course, the list above is of FAR more use to me for future projects – like I would remember otherwise!!

Final Note

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

In the UK go to Sally 4th.

Thanks again for looking I hope to share the Pollywomps units with you shortly!

Happy New Year!

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