Tag: tabletop wargaming

Munchkin Medium Artillery Battery (Wars of Ozz)

Any Munchkin Brigade needs a good dose of heavy firepower to fend off the enemies of the Emerald City at long range. For my Munchkin Brigade for Wars of Ozz games, I finished off a Munchkin Medium Artillery Battery with Crew (OZZ107). Let’s call it MMAB.

In the game, the MMAB is the stronger of the two artillery choices (the other being a light battery). For comparison, a medium battery can fire at targets up to 24″, while a light battery range is out to 18″, with musket range being at max of 14″. In the game, firing at half ranges is more effective as one would think, and short range for the MMAB is 8″, while a light battery is 6″, and muskets are 7″. So this MMAB gives the brigade a bit of standoff firepower.

The artillery batteries in Wars of Ozz are composed of 5 figures plus a gun. For close combat, they are armed with carbines (which are slightly more than half of the range of muskets – but hopefully they don’t have to get into melee – but the odds are that they will!). While an infantry or cavalry regiment has 5 bases – each of which can take 4 hits – the battery can take 5 hits (one per figure). Each hit removes a figure and loses a die for attacking. The scale is 28mm and these figures are metal.

I started parallel-working on these while I worked on Colonel Tik-Tok’s Infantry Regiment back on November 25th. When I needed to let something dry, I did a little work on this unit. The gun with its carriage required assembly. With the carriage needing serial painting – so as to get the right bluish look per Ozz canon (pun intended – see how I did that!) – and the gun being pretty big, the parallel approach got it done without causing me impatience. I followed the same procedure as to painting these figures as I did with the previous units, by priming in white, then washing with a dark shade, then painting, highlighting, and shading.

A major consideration for me was how to paint up the cannon and carriage. First, there were undersides to the gun and carriage to consider for painting and assembly. Second, there were the choices of colors. I experimented with several blues and bluish craft metallics for the gun. Initially, I went with a classic grey gun metal look for the gun, but changed it to brass as I liked the look better. As Munchkins are being very fond of blue, I thought that was appropriate. As is my custom, I list all the paints I used on this unit at the end of this post for those interested in that sort of stuff (and for my own use for later reference as well). First, I’ll share some WIP shots, then some eye candy of the MMAB.

WIP shots…

As discussed, I started on November 25th. This was mainly preparatory work on filing, washing before priming. My main effort was the CTTIR during this time.

As received – washed
Mounted for priming
Primed

There is an MDF base available for artillery batteries with slots for the gun and figure – that even allows for removing casualties and for denoting if the gun is limbered or unlimbered. That needed assembly, so another thing to do while other things were drying. I also was thinking about transport and storage – so I added steel bases under the MDF ones for the artillerists and the gun.

Gluing steel under the MDF
The larger base

Then, I slowly worked on painting the cannon and carriage components and assembled them by December 1st.

The cannon painted and varnished resting on its MDF base. Above, you can see how I traced so that I would be able to score the base under the tracings. This would get a better hold for gluing.

The figures came next, but unfortunately do not have any WIP shots of them. I followed Ozz canon (yes, I did that again) for the colors.

On December 4th, this brought me back to completing the magnetizing the unit for gaming, storage, and transport. My artillerist figures were mounted on 3/4″ steel washers. These would be glued to the MDF bases, which had 1/2″ steel squares glued to the their undersides as seen above. I drilled out 1/8″ holes in the center of each of the base’s recesses. Then, I glued another 1/2″ square steel base below the holes with 1/8″ neodymium magnets in each hole. In the end, the figures were removable from the base (but won’t fall out), and the base will store safely in my magnetic sheet-lined Really Useful Box with my other units. You can see this below in the photo.

By December 7th, I had the unit painted and was ready for final assembly and flocking.

December 7th progress

And…by December 9th I was done!

MMAB DONE!

How about some…

Eye Candy…

The unit can be shown as limbered (as above) or unlimbered as you can see below. A casualty is taken out on the right.

My favorite shot:

So now I am up to three units plus two Wizards. The Munchkin Light Cavalry is next. As you may want to check out the figures range – there are two places to get them (and I make no money from this btw). The game rules and 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.

Thanks for checking this post out and please let me know what you think in the comments section. Yes, I still have more 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 THIS MUNCHKIN MEDIUM ARTILLERY BATTERY:

  1. Vallejo Premium Primer “White”
  2. Vallejo “Flow Improver”
  3. Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
  4. Gorilla Glue
  5. 1/2″ x 1/2″ square steel bases from Wargames Accessories (#16)
  6. MDF Artillery base from Wars of Ozz Miniatures
  7. 1/8″ neodymium magnets
  8. 3/4″ steel washers
  9. Poster tack
  10. Citadel “Nuln Oil” (wash)
  11. Vallejo Model Color “White”
  12. 1 1/4″ x 1″ square steel bases from Wargames Accessories (#FOW1)
  13. Elmer’s PVA Glue
  14. Vallejo Model Air “Gun Metal”
  15. Armory “Dark Blue”
  16. DecoArt “Peacock Pearl”
  17. Tamiya XF-6 “Copper”
  18. Vallejo Model Color “Dark Prussian Blue”
  19. Martha Stewart Crafts “Pale Bronze”
  20. Army Painter “Speed Paint – Dark Wood”
  21. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Contrast Medium”
  22. Army Painter “Blue Tone”
  23. Secret Weapon Washes “Golden Brown” (wash)
  24. Army Painter “Speed Paint – Crusader Skin”
  25. Citadel “Nuln Oil GLOSS” (wash/shade)
  26. Citadel “Cryptek Armourshade” (wash/shade)
  27. Army Painter “Speed Paint – Hardened Leather”
  28. Army Painter “Speed Paint – Grim Black”
  29. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Frostheart”
  30. Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matte Varnish”
  31. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Baal Red”
  32. Vallejo Model Air “Bright Brass”
  33. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Bad Moon Yellow”
  34. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Karandras Green”
  35. Vallejo Model Air “Armour Brown”
  36. Vallejo Model Air “Steel”
  37. Army Painter “Speed Paint – Holy White”
  38. PS Model Color “British Brown Drab”
  39. Army Painter “Battlefields Grass Green” (flocking)
  40. Army Painter “Battlefield Field Grass” (flocking)
  41. Army Painter “Battlefields Field Grass” (flocking)
  42. Shadow’s Edge Miniatures “6mm Dark Forest Dark Blue Tufts” (flocking)

Colonel Tik-Tok’s Infantry Regiment, Zoraster, and a Munchkin Mayor (Wars of Ozz)

I am continuing to build my Munchkin Brigade for Wars of Ozz games. In my last post, I shared OZZ-101 – Zoraster’s Guard Infantry Regiment (ZGIR).  This time I have built and painted up a different Munchkin infantry unit – Colonel Tik-Tok’s Infantry Regiment (hereafter referred to here as CTTIR). I also painted up Zoraster (a Wizard) and a Munchkin Mayor as a lesser Wizard.

In the game, the CTTIR is slightly less capable than the ZGIR, but still better than a militia or Landwehr unit. Like the ZGIR, the regiment is composed of 20 figures plus a mounted regimental commander. It is similarly armed with muskets while sporting cool carabiner helmets. In the canon of the Wars of Ozz, Zoraster is “the Wizard Supreme”, and is the creator the Munchkin Army. The Munchkin Mayor figure came with the Kickstarter and confused me for a bit as you’ll see in the discussion below. The scale is 28mm and these 23 figures are metal.

There are 4 figures per 2″ square base, so five bases plus a commander make up a regiment. 16 of the based figures are of the same type, while the fifth base has four different figures – two standard bearers (with the Ozz flag and the regimental colors), a drummer, and another leader figure. This “command” stand fights like the others, but has an aesthetic effect on the tabletop of being nice to see. The regimental commander has his own base and can have special attributes, but its stand never engages in combat. It exists mainly for the attributes tab (on its MDF base) and also aesthetics. If the regiment dies, so does he. There is magic in the game – and Zoraster is a designated Wizard. There are also “unnamed Wizards”, so I will likely use the Munchkin Mayor as one – or maybe just an objective marker.

I pretty much followed the same procedure as to painting these figures as I did with the ZGIR. I prime in white, then wash with a dark shade, then paint and highlight. If I need more shade or highlight, I add it.

A major difference here for me was how to paint up the helmets and officer hats. While Wars of Ozz canon has this regiment in white, it also has all Munchkins as being very fond of blue. But after looking at images of Napoleonic era carabiner helmets (below) I decided that I wanted a similar metallic brass and chrome look.

Napoleonic carabiner helmets

I also decided to give the officers white hats. I did give the drummer a bit of blue on the drum and of course the standards have a lot of blue, so I think I’m safe. For the regimental commander’s pony I went with a slightly sallow pastel yellow. One cool aspect of the universe of the Wars of Ozz game is the use of a lot of color (hence the pastel ponies and more). The rules say that for CTTIR the facings, plumes and epaulettes are red – and that the coats and vests are white. Here I used a lot of Army Painter “Holy White” Speed Paint mixed with Citadel “Contrast Medium”. In fact, I still mix all of my Speed Paints with that medium. The combination of using the Citadel “Nuln Oil” wash post-priming and then the Holy White helped a lot with the less-detailed recesses on the figures. As usual, I list all the paints I used on these at the end of this post for those interested in that sort of information.

As I did previously, I’ll share some WIP shots, then some eye candy of the regiment.

WIP shots…

I started on November 25th. Below, you see the figures are based for priming, primed, and then I added a Citadel “Nuln Oil” wash before moving on to painting them. I have not tried “slap chop”, but I do like this way of using contrast/speed paints as part of my technique.

I was confused (as my Kickstarter order was a while back) as to which figure was Zoraster. Eventually, I determined that the smaller one was a Munchkin mayor thrown into the Kickstarter and that I had mistakenly ordered 2 Zoraster figures! I’ll keep one unpainted for trade. The Munchkin figure looks like the Boston Celtics mascot.

Two Zoraster figures and the Munchkin mayor doffing hats…

During the next three days, I made decent progress. I ended up numbering the specimen bottle labels with mistakes and keeping a list so I could fix them – this helped a lot.

Dec 1 progress morning
Dec 1 progress evening

The figures were all painted less any varnish and flocking by December 2nd.

Then it was on to the varnishing the figures, adding the standards/colors, and thereafter flocking the bases. I noticed that when I cut out the standards from card stock that the edges stood out as white. So, to remedy this, I used a black Sharpie pen to color in the edges as the standards have a black edge as well.

As for flocking, this time I pre-flocked all of the regimental bases with one type of grass, then added the other two types after affixing two, then three, then the fourth figure to each base. It’s probably overkill but I do like how they have come out. For the two Wizards, I just went with the first two grasses and added Shadow’s Edge Miniatures blue forest tufts.

My three sequential grasses, clockwise from the left. The first two may be different iterations of a similar type, but they are different enough to give some texture and more depth to the bases.
Flocking with the first grass type
The command base after two types of grass flocked on it

By December 4th, the CTTIR was done, plus the wizards as well. Now onto some eye candy…

Eye Candy

Colonel Tik-Tok’s Infantry Regimental Commander

A look at 2 stands…

A look at the command stand…

A look at the whole regiment…

A look at Zoraster…

A look at the Munchkin Mayor (Lesser Wizard)…

Howdy folks!

I hope that this was interesting for you. I am hoping to take 7-10 days per regiment or battery until I get through the Kickstarter. This should take me into next year, but hopefully I can keep a good pace. I have plenty of space in the box for this in-progress brigade…

Munchkin Brigade to date…

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

Thanks for checking this post out and please let me know what you think in the comments section. More 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 THIS MUNCHKIN REGIMENT, ZORASTER, & THE MUNCHKIN MAYOR:

  1. Gorilla Glue
  2. Paper clip wire pieces
  3. 1/2″ x 1/2″ square steel bases from Wargames Accessories (#16)
  4. 3/4″ steel washers (wizards)
  5. Poster tack
  6. Vallejo Premium Primer “White”
  7. Vallejo “Flow Improver”
  8. Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
  9. Citadel “Nuln Oil” (wash)
  10. Vallejo Model Color “White”
  11. 1/2″ x 1/2″ square steel bases from Wargames Accessories (#FOW1)
  12. Vallejo Model Air “Gun Metal”
  13. Vallejo Model Air “Bright Brass”
  14. Vallejo Model Air “Chrome”
  15. Army Painter “Speed Paint – Dark Wood”
  16. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Contrast Medium”
  17. Army Painter “Speed Paint – Crusader Skin”
  18. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Baal Red”
  19. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Magmadroth Flame”
  20. Army Painter “Speed Paint – Grim Black”
  21. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Ironjawz Yellow”
  22. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Gore Grunta Fur”
  23. Army Painter “Speed Paint – Hardened Leather”
  24. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Karandras Green”
  25. Vallejo Model Air “Steel”
  26. Vallejo Model Air “Armour Brown”
  27. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Aggaros Dunes”
  28. Army Painter “Speed Paint – Pallid Bone”
  29. Army Painter “Red Tone”
  30. Citadel “Nuln Oil GLOSS” (wash/shade)
  31. Citadel “Cryptek Armourshade” (wash/shade)
  32. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Doomfire Magenta”
  33. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Nighthaunt Gloom”
  34. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Asurman Blue”
  35. Americana “Bahama Blue”
  36. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Pylar Glacier”
  37. Vallejo Model Color “Black”
  38. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Snakebite Leather”
  39. Citadel “Warpfiend Grey”
  40. Citadel “Longbeard Grey”
  41. Battlefront “Skin Shade”
  42. Battlefront “European Skin”
  43. P3 “Flesh Wash”
  44. Army Painter “Speed Paint – Holy White”
  45. Martha Stewart Crafts “Pale Bronze”
  46. Vallejo Mecha Color “Olive Green”
  47. Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matte Varnish”
  48. PS Model Color “British Brown Drab”
  49. Black Sharpie pen
  50. Elmer’s PVA Glue
  51. Regimental MDF base from Old Glory
  52. Army Painter “Battlefields Grass Green” (flocking)
  53. Army Painter “Battlefield Field Grass” (flocking)
  54. Army Painter “Battlefields Field Grass” (flocking)
  55. Army Painter “Brown Battleground” (flocking)
  56. Shadow’s Edge Miniatures “6mm Dark Forest Dark Blue Tufts” (flocking)

Aztec Raid – Mass Pikemen Gaming Session June 5, 2021

The Mass Pikemen returned to tabletop wargaming with live face-to-face interactions on June 5th! We played a game of Feudal Patrol™ in Mesoamerica (using my Civilizations Collide supplement. The game scenario was as follows:

Surprise Raid on Outpost

A Tlaxcalan village is being raided by the Aztecs, seeking to take wealth, food, and prisoners.  The Aztecs know the majority of the Tlaxcalan troops are with the Conquistadores elsewhere, and expect an easy task.  Unbeknownst to the Aztecs, there are some Spanish troops at this town who will help to defend it.

The battlefield.

Objectives:

  • A: a maize storage structure – 10 points to either side for control
  • B: Cuezcomatl Granary Structure – 10 points to either side for control
  • C: Tlaxcalan Noble’s House – 10 points to either side for control, 5 more for securing the gold inside and having possession of it.
  • Additionally, the attacking Aztecs gain 5 points for each prisoner taken, 2 points for each enemy otherwise incapacitated, and 1 point for any enemy that runs off the tabletop.  The defenders gain 8 points for each prisoner taken by Tlaxcalans, and 3 points for each enemy otherwise incapacitated, and 2 points for any enemy that run off the tabletop.

Deployment and special rules:

Aztecs: 

  • All Aztecs troops deploy anywhere on the south side of the tabletop 6” from the long end of the mat.
  • The Aztec Warband Leader controls two Warrior Priests

Conquistadores and Tlaxcalans: 

  • The Conquistador leader (a Warband Leader) deploys from C.
  • Each of the three Spanish/Tlaxcalan elements deploy in 1,2, and 3 and are hidden from the Aztecs but predetermined before the game start.  This means that some will be out of command and cannot swap dice at the beginning of the game (24” command radius). At start, they can be outside of their huts.
  • Tlaxcalan element cannot swap dice, and cannot be considered out of command radius.

The map:

  • The fields are muddy and movement rate through them is at half-speed.

In this game, an element is 4-11 figures depending on type, and warbands are made up of 2-5 elements.

The Aztecs had an overall commander with his conch blower as a signaler. Under him was one warband leader commanding two “twinned” 11-figure veteran/novice elements, an elite 6 figure cuahchic (“Shorn Ones”) element, an elite 5-figure Eagle Warrior element, and two warrior priests.

The Spanish had an overall warband leader commanding an elite element of 5 figures and an elite element of 5 figures plus a war dog. The Tlaxcalans – who were separate but allied – had an elite warrior leader with 4 veteran bowmen.

The overall troop points were 54.75 for the Aztecs and 36.5 for the defending Spanish/Tlaxcalans. The fields were slightly moved for the actual game. Of note, the command radius for a warband leader is 24″ – so the Conquistadores have two command and control challenges. First, they start with one of their elements starting the game over 24″ away from the leader making them “pinned” – meaning they only get to activate half as much as normal until they can be made “unpinned” (not an easy task). Second, the Tlaxcalans are independent actors – meaning that the Spanish have limited command and control of them – but they are not limited by command radius restrictions either.

The Tlaxcalans ended up starting at 1, with the other two Conquistador elements at 2 and 3. The Conquistador leader was at C. The Aztecs deployed their elements (from the Aztec left to right) as follows: veteran/novice twinned element, cuahchic elite element, elite Eagle Warrior Element, and the other veteran/novice twinned element.

Scott looks over the tabletop. He would command the Tlaxcalans.
Glenn moves up his twinned veteran/novice element while his ally Chris watches…
…and promptly takes fire from a Spanish arquebus and a crossbow! The blue glass beads indicate morale checks that the Aztecs had to take and did pass here.

On the Aztec left, Chris moved up his veteran/novice twinned element to take on Scott’s Tlaxcalan bowmen. Historically, the Tlaxcalans were superior bowmen. Chris had to cross a lot of open ground, and the Tlaxcalans dispatched two novices from long range (novices typically are without armor). He then tried on a subsequent activation to charge into melee with the Tlaxcalans – a good move – but the Tlaxcalans were able to react and loose even more deadly arrows into the Aztecs.

Scott grins after sending an initial hail of lucky arrows into Chris’ approaching Aztecs. The incapacitated Aztecs are lying off their bases. The blue beads each indicate a morale check that the Aztec element would need to pass – and more would come…
Only 4 out of 11 figures made it to the Tlaxcalan bowmen, and they had little effect as the Tlaxcalans repelled their assault.

In the middle of the tabletop, the two elite Aztec elements were making good progress forward. The Conquistadores were lucky enough to unpin their handicapped element, making their defense much stronger. That element had a wardog, and they challenged the advance of the cuahchic and the Eagle Warrior elements. That scrum left the Conquistadores with several dead – including the war dog. The cuahchicqueh (plural of cuahchic) advanced, but the Eagle Warriors lost heart and failed morale – running away from the fight.

Then Chris had even more morale checks to make. Luckily for him he endured them, but his unit was pretty decimated. Chris’ Aztecs had 14 morale checks to make. They passed, but were a spent force.

The Shorn Ones (cuahchicqueh) do a number on the Spanish and their war dog.
The Shorn Ones advance to the cuezcomatl granary storage structure (objective B), while their Eagle Warrior comrades run away.
Here you see Chris’ Aztecs – or what’s left of them – and their pile of morale check pips.

Glenn’s advance on the right of the elite elements was making good progress. They had a bowman, an atlatl user, and several slingers in their veteran/novice element. His non-missile weapon-armed Aztecs charged into Leif’s Conquistador element, hoping to take them down (especially as they had the arquebus and the crossbow). Glenn and Leif both did damage to each other in the ensuing melee.

Leif defends against Glenn’s Aztec assault. At this point, the Aztecs were threatening also to take out the Conquistador officer.
Scott and Leif appear confident in their defense.
Leif – commanding the Conquistador officer – takes out an Aztec – but quickly three more of Glenn’s Aztecs gang up on the leader, who kills another, and wounds one more but…
…the Conquistador officer is overwhelmed by the Aztecs, and is incapacitated and dragged off for sacrifice. This left both of the remaining Conquistador elements in a “pinned” status – meaning that they would only activate half as much as an unpinned element – a significant disadvantage.
And finally, an Aztec Warrior Priest showed up to make sure the granary remained in Aztec hands.

The Conquistadores were able to sprint one remaining unwounded trooper over to objective C (Noble’s House), gaining control of it, and its gold, for important end of the game points. The Tlaxcalans were also able to secure the maize storage structure (A). Meanwhile, the Aztecs gained control of the granary (B). The overall scoring led to a Spanish/Tlaxcalan victory with a score of 63-38. If the Spanish had not secured the Noble’s House and it’s gold, it would have been 48-38.

The players all had a good time and really enjoyed the game. Some are already on the way to buying their own copy of Feudal Patrol™ !

I do like the scenario -and I thank Buck Surdu and David Wood for an earlier week Zoom playtest. When I update my supplement (which is coming by year’s end or sooner), it will be one of the scenarios I add. I do need to finish off my cityscape and THAT is in progress.

I do thank Saturday’s players as well. It was soooo nice to finally have a face-to-face game for the Mass Pikemen’s Gaming Club. On the next go-around, I will adjust the forces slightly – probably giving another element to the Aztecs and maybe a falconet or another element to the Spanish – depending on the number of players. I will also add points for incapacitating or even capturing warband or higher leaders.

So, when will that be? June 26th at 1 PM at the Great Stories Comics and Gaming Store in Uxbridge, MA! The Mass Pikemen are taking this (and other future games) to a great hobby store, Great Stories in Uxbridge, MA. We will be gaming there and at our home in East Brookfield going forward – hopefully alternating between sites for gaming.

I hope that you enjoyed this battler report – let me know your thoughts in the comments section!

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

Aztec Temple Rehab

Sounds like a good concept for a reality show doesn’t it? Circa 1520 or so…

Actually, it’s my latest attempt at adding another structure to my Aztec terrain/buildings for games of Feudal Patrol™ in Mesoamerica (using my Civilizations Collide supplement). There have been a good number of buildings from me lately (which is why I did my contest). There is also a link at the end of this post on all of my project terrain and miniature builds for it.

And this particular post is dedicated to Ryan MacRae and Chris Rett. Why?

Well, this temple piece has a somewhat unclear past. It was given to me by Ryan MacRae and Christopher Rett. It was left over from their back room cleanout at the Great Stories store in Uxbridge, MA. Ryan said it was maybe originally found in his dad’s garage? Was it a souvenir? A kit project? A piece for a terrarium or even an aquarium? Who knows. All I saw in it was potential as a reasonable secondary temple-type building for Tenochtitlan. It was in two unconnected pieces, had a few cracks, and seemed to be somewhat ceramic. Obviously, I needed to have it match my other pieces. I was not thrilled with the stairs and their alignment, and it was mostly (but not totally) symmetrical. Though I believe something is either symmetrical or its not right? The top would not stay on the top if bumped. Anyways, I thought I could try to make something more useful out of it gaming-wise.

The piece as it was when I got it.
  • The first thing I did was to drill and install 1/8″ neodymium magnets to secure the top.
  • The next step was to pry off the old stairs, which I did with a screwdriver and nearly hitting myself in the eye with broken ceramic shards – I should have been more careful.
First steps

I thought it needed a base, and I did have an spare piece of Revell plywood that I cut to size up to the piece – as symmetrically as possible.

  • I debated about whether to use balsa or plywood, and went with the latter
  • Good quality hobby stuff
  • This mess shows my outdoor wood cutting setup – a Black and Decker cordless circular saw and my Craftsman workbench I bought in 1988.
Cutting the base.

I then sanded the edges of the plywood and the bottom of the piece, and attached the two with wood glue. As you can see, I found a way to compress the two while the glue set!

  • Lots of wood glue
  • As symmetrical as I could get it to be on the base.
  • Add an MBA reference book and a hematology textbook as weights and let dry overnight.
Mounting the piece.

I then decided to use black Milliput to construct the stairs. Why black? It was what was available! I don’t have a lot of experience with it, and I chose it due to being cheaper than green stuff. I did not expect to get great sculpted details on the stairs – I just wanted something that would be aesthetically ok on the tabletop. I did consider using square wood dowels, but the work involved in sizing them seemed disproportionate to the needs of this project. I also would make the steps wider and more visible – but still they would not useable by a figure on a base.

  • I traced out the stairs – note I made them wider as the original piece’s slots for stairs was both irregular and not quite centered.
  • I drilled two 1/8″ holes per stair for paper clip wires. These were at the bottom of the stairs to help with mounting. Note the asymmetry on this side.
Prepping for making the stairs.

As for the sculpting – it was a bit more difficult than I had imagined beforehand. I tried to use the existing lines on the piece as guidelines, and was successful for the most part. It’s not Michelangelo, that’s for sure. I actually was a little disappointed at this point, but I pressed on thinking the rest of the rehab may go better, and let the Milliput cure.

  • The sculpted stairs in black milliput.
  • Getting ready to dust the piece with chinchilla dust.
Sculpted stairs.

The dusting process was similar to my previous efforts with MDF – that being painting the model with a PVA/water slurry and dusting with a salt shaker containing the dust. I did add (temporarily) extra neodymium magnets so as to prevent the dust from blocking the installed ones.

All dusted up – note the extra magnets as masking.

I then moved on to painting it. I dry brushed it and then painted it in the same color schemes as my MDF.

The piece after first dry brushing and base coating.

I then used Army Painter “Light Tone” on it and let it dry. Once dry, I added more highlights.

After adding the tone but before the final highlighting.
Completed!

To get a feel for the model, here are some eye candy shots.

One side
Opposite side
Top side view
Some Eagle and Jaguar Warriors and a Warrior Priest by the piece.

I learned a bit during the processes of this project. I’m on the fence on Milliput as an architectural sculpting agent – it was not easy to sculpt into the stairs and I did face a challenge with regards to the Milliput’s “slump” (a term used to describe how wet concrete settles and does not hold a shape). Though, the extreme slope of the stairs (as is found with the actual ones) made gravity NOT my friend in this aspect. Maybe green stuff or Apoxie Sculpt would have been easier but more expensive. I am unsure. I think my approach in the end worked out ok, and the painting helped I think – and you, dear reader, can let me know your assessments.

My biggest goal was for this piece to be a good add to my little mini Tenochtitlan tabletop. The next two pics are good comparisons. I think it succeeded. Not my finest work, but it is acceptable.

Next to the Temple High Throne
The piece seen next to all of my Aztec terrain (with some WIP Conquistador War Wagons in the back – more on them in a future post).

I think now my terrain just needs pavement and some causeways – I already have a working concept (below) and I will be making the surrounding lake swampy with some neat floating flora. More on this when I’m done with that!

My tabletop urban Aztec battlefield concept. There will be textured pavement and causeways on this MDF – and this will also be a future post! For rural areas, I have the other buildings.

The pavement is in WIP. I used MDF with sculpted DAS clay (including a Green stuff Aztec roller in judicious spots). It needs to set and get matte varnished, but I’m excited on the potential. I also need to build the causeways.

Pavement WIP

So that’s it for now – hope you enjoyed this post – let me know your thoughts – good, bad, or otherwise – in the comments section. Thanks for looking!

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

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THIS MODEL

  1. Wood Glue
  2. Plastic Plates
  3. 1/8″ neodymium magnets
  4. Gorilla Glue
  5. Revell Birch plywood (1/4″ x 6″ x 12″)
  6. Paper clip wire
  7. Black Milliput
  8. All Living Things Dry Dust Bath (chinchilla dust)
  9. Vallejo “Flow Improver”
  10. Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
  11. Vallejo Model Air “Sand (Ivory)”
  12. Vallejo Model Color “Dark Sand”
  13. FolkArt “Yellow Ochre”
  14. Vallejo Model Color “Black”
  15. Vallejo Model Color “Red”
  16. Army Painter “Light Tone” (wash)

Aztec Temple High Throne

At the center of Aztec life was their religion, which drove many of their cultural, military, political, and economic practices. The Aztecs had over 200 deities, of which the chief one was Huitzilopochtli, the patron god of the Mexica and of their capital Tenochtitlan. He was also the Aztec god of war.

In trying to replicate an appropriate Tenochtitlan cityscape for 28mm games of for Feudal Patrol™ games in Mesoamerica (using my Civilizations Collide supplement), I have been building and painting multiple types of resin and MDF buildings. This plan by necessity would be clearly downsized from the original, but should have the flavor of the era and location. The painting below from LFIllustration is one that I saw recently on my Pinterest feed. It that gives an idea of what I have been going for conceptually in terms of the cityscape, the farms, the causeways, and more if dealing with Tenochtitlan and its environs circa 1519-1521.

I really like this picture – note the war canoes by the causeway. This appears to be a depiction of Cortes’ arrival at Tenochtitlan and his meeting Montezuma II for the first time. Of course, the causeways would later play a major part in Cortes’ forces escape from and later return to (and conquest of) Tenochtitlan.

In order to motivate myself to get through my terrain building as efficaciously as possible, In mid-March I devised “Mark’s Aztec Building Challenge Contest”. This was to reward my followers with a guessing contest as to when I would finish all of the terrain in the challenge – as well as to give me impetus to getting through all I was setting out to do. As I wanted like terrain and building pieces to be matching/similar in color and texture, and I needed several paints, I did end up having some materials delays – and others that I have described previously as well. But finally, I have finished all of the pieces in the challenge! I will be posting the winners on a separate and subsequent blog post that will shortly follow this one, so I am adding a bit more suspense to the contestants – but not too much. I just felt I should give this piece its own due, and do a separate contest wrap-up.

So, you ask, what piece is it? Why, it’s “Temple High Throne”. It is another MDF kit. This one, like my previous Aztec MDF, also came from from Things From the Basement via 4Ground via Badger Games – you can see it here. Basically, it is a high raised platform, and as such, Montezuma II would have this platform as his throne overlooking Tenochtitlan in the temple complex. It is adorned with serpent/snake heads and a giant idol image of Huitzilopochtli. Overall, the kit was of good quality and I enjoyed building and painting it. I will have to add some rules about the steepness of the steps with regards to both movement up and down and melee combat.

I built and painted parts of the kit contemporaneously with the Temple Sacrificial Altar for economy of effort. I will go over some WIP and share some eye candy after that. As is my practice, I list the materials I used is at the end of this post for those interested. Also, as Huitzilopochtli is – at least to me – quite monstrous – and physically quite large here as well, I am adding this bad boy/building to the painting challenges being run by Angry Piper over at Dead Dick’s Tavern And Temporary Lodging called “Monster Mayhem 2021” (subject to his assent of course). I found the image below on line and used it as the basis for my painting of the large Huitzilopochtli idol. It’s a bit different than the others I have seen, but I thought it would be a good general guide.

Huitzilopochtli – I can spell this pretty easily now! I liked the charcoal and sky blue-colored face paint.
The kit box.
  • I cleaned off the MDF with a moist microfiber cloth,
  • I used pencils and the tower top to aid with gluing. This helped keep glue off of the rubber bands.
Early building of the model.
The model all glued together with the top idols just dry-fitted for planning.
The idols and the serpent heads were then given their chinchilla dust treatment. The idol face on the right is described in my last post.
I started multiple serial dry brushing and tone applications as you see here. I also decided the circle colors on the tower should match those of the Huitzilopochtli image, and that the serpents/snakes should as well. The chinchilla dust gives a great result to the dry brushing and tone applications.
As the chinchilla dust surface of the dusted model is quite rough and porous, I painted in the idols’ lines in the MDF with relatively thick black paint. While this felt like “paint by numbers”, I did find it gave a sufficiently primitive look while making later color choices more effective for me.
The rear view of the model shown above.
A close up view of Huitzilopochtli’s idol face after I lined it. I decided that I would paint the front and sides of the idol, basically treating it like a billboard in terms of color application.
Early painting of the idols and circles but before toning it all down on the sides. I did apply a diluted brush matte varnish to the idols as I wanted them to pop and not be dulled down by the tone. I thought that some poor Aztecs would have been enslaved to keep the idol paints fresh. You can tell me if that worked or not conceptually.
A face only a mother could love, and maybe not even then. The brush on varnish is still moist here.

After all the painting, I glued it together. A challenge was the Huitzilopochtli idol due to its height and its thinness. Both prevented using rubber bands during the gluing process, but I think it worked out ok. Now, I will share some eye candy shots of the completed model.

Front left side.
Back side.
Front right side.
Aztec Temple High Throne – close up shot of the top.
Montezuma, and an Aztec Captain and his conch blower signal the troops to muster…
And the Jaguar Warriors answer the call!

Thank you for taking a look. I have a few more buildings and some other stuff coming up for this project, as well as a rules update, but I’m pretty happy with the progress. I will share those shots on the next post, and eventually I hope to have a nice shot of all the terrain on the tabletop – I’m just not there yet. But, my gaming club is back LIVE on June 5th, so I’m close!

All my terrain so far.

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

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THIS MODEL

  1. Elmer’s PVA Glue
  2. Poster tack
  3. Plastic Plates
  4. All Living Things Dry Dust Bath (chinchilla dust)
  5. Vallejo “Flow Improver”
  6. Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
  7. Vallejo Model Air “Sand (Ivory)”
  8. Citadel “Ushabti Bone”
  9. Vallejo Model Color “Dark Sand”
  10. Vallejo Model Color “Black”
  11. Vallejo “Thinner Medium”
  12. FolkArt “Yellow Ochre”
  13. Vallejo Game Air “Desert Yellow”
  14. Vallejo Model Color “White”
  15. Vallejo Mecha Color “Sky Blue”
  16. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Warp Lightning”
  17. Vallejo Model Air “Base Grey”
  18. Vallejo Model Color “Red”
  19. Martha Stewart Crafts “Pale Bronze”
  20. Citadel “Yriel Yellow”
  21. Vallejo Model Color “Clear Orange”
  22. Secret Weapon Washes “Sunshine” (ink)
  23. P3 “Red” (ink)
  24. Vallejo Game Color “Bloody Red”
  25. Vallejo Mecha Color “Sand Yellow”
  26. Vallejo Mecha Color “SZ Red”
  27. Vallejo Game Air “Moon Yellow”
  28. Vallejo Mecha Color “Turquoise”
  29. Vallejo Model Air “Silver”
  30. Army Painter “Light Tone” (wash)
  31. Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish”
  32. Army Painter “Mid Brown” (wash)

Aztec Temple Sacrificial Altar

Historically, the Aztecs and their Empire were well known for dominating Mesoamerica prior to the arrival of the Spanish. One of the more gruesome aspects of their way of making warfare involved the priority of capturing their enemies for both slavery and human sacrifice. A lowly commoner’s only way to ascend the social hierarchy in Aztec society was be a warrior who captured many enemy of perceived value (in other words not easy marks).

So, it became obvious that a suitable sacrificial altar-type building to drag these poor souls to their sad end would be necessary for games based in a city like Tenochtitlan. Obviously, in 28mm scale, I can only try to approximate the elements of a cityscape on a 6′ by 4′ tabletop, but the Aztecs would have had a place for ritual sacrifice as part of one.

In this post I will share my latest – and largest to date – MDF kit build for Feudal Patrol™ games in Mesoamerica (using my Civilizations Collide supplement). It is called Temple Sacrificial Altar and is scaled for 28mm figures. It has a large idol overlooking a small altar on a raised platform. This one, like my previous Aztec MDF, also came from from Things From the Basement via 4Ground via Badger Games – you can see it here.

The kit in its box.

This is part of “Mark’s Aztec Building Challenge Contest” (which you will read more about shortly in this blog post), as well as being part of not one but two painting challenges being kindly run by a couple of great bloggers. The first is “The Summer Solstice Painting Challenge” from Ann’s Immaterium. Its supposed to be an entry that you consider your “best”, and as I think you’ll see I think this building is one I feel qualifies – and this is my entry. The second is from Angry Piper over at Dead Dick’s Tavern And Temporary Lodging called “Monster Mayhem 2021”. As the idol on the building is pretty monstrous, and Angry Piper concurred – it’s my entry here too!

On to the project – the kit was an enjoyable build but much more detailed than previous attempts – so it took longer. Plus, as you’ll see, I had to do some circling back on the paint job. It happens. I did also dust this baby up with chinchilla dust again – and thanks again to The Imperfect Modeler (TIM) for introducing me to Chinchilla dust. There are a few WIP shots this time as well.

I started by wiping down the kit with a moist microfiber cloth.
Assembly was pretty easy. After earlier using rubber bands to secure the walls and stairs while they were being glued together, I used large washers to secure the top while it was being glued.
Next I dusted up the idol here (the dragon heads are for the next project) and the base.
Using my airbrush, I base coated everything.
I added the stairs and began painting. The model pieces are dry-fitted here and not glued yet. Here you see my initial – yes INITIAL – color choices for the idol. That would change.

Thanks to Pinterest, I got an image on my feed – of course on the day after I painted it – that would, well, make me somewhat aggravated but also allow me to take a new direction. The idol face apparently comes from an Aztec calendar – and the reddish image I saw on my feed fit my concept much better than what I originally chose.

  • My original paint scheme and a printed copy of the one from Pinterest – I had to redo!
  • And the second option is done.
Repainting the idol.

I found that lining the recesses with black paint helped greatly. As the chinchilla dust is very absorptive (especially on MDF), I mostly used somewhat thicker paints – even craft paints with the brush. Otherwise, you can get some capillary effects. My list of the materials I used is at the end of the post.

More or less a repeat photo with the new idol shot – plus the little sacrificial altar dry fitted to the base.
I ended up using the white and red and black scheme you see here on the model. You also can see the highlighting of the chinchilla dust. I did find that I needed to go over the highlighting again with Army Painter Light Tone (the initial highlighting was over a toned-down base coat) – but I liked the final outcome.
  • I secured the final assembly as shown her with rubber bands while glue set – plus another on top of the idol (not seen here).
  • Back of the model view.
Final assembly.

It took me from the end of April to complete this model. I had some needed supplies finally arrive, allowing me to proceed. And I think now I’ve single-handedly bought the world’s supply of Army Painter “Light Tone”.

An aside as it affects how the contest challenge is proceeding. I had several delays beyond the supplies and repainting that I described, such as, well, golf, and mundane medical issues. Not that my game has been any good mind you! As for medical stuff, count my final COVID-19 jab that knocked me down a bit the next day (AND it was also at a golf tournament – bad call to schedule that on my part), plus a series of allergy/sinus issues, and a nearly broken toe (got a bit lucky with a bad bruise) – all causing me to slow down a bit. Oh yeah, multiple meetings and a town hearing to get (hopefully) approval to tear down and build a garage. And I still need another hearing! I hope to post on that IF AND WHEN I get approved.

The contest rolls on though.

A reminder on the contest!

Without further ado, let’s look at the final completed model and some Warrior Priests checking out the new digs.

Front view.
Top view. Note the bloody altar with a little BFTBG.
Detail of the front and the altar. There were two golden eagles and two faces on each side of the model. I also stuck with the red and white symbols on each corner.
Right side.
Rear of model.
Left side.
This Wargames Foundry warrior priest has the heart of a poor Conquistador – who was apparently already dragged away.
All my Warrior Priests (and a Priestess) checking out the new building. All are from Wargames Foundry, and you can see their stories here, here, and here.

All that I have left in the contest challenge is this model below. FYI, some work has been started.

Thanks for looking and I hope that you found this post enjoyable to read and check out. As always, please do let me know your thoughts in the comments section !

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

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THIS MODEL

  1. Elmer’s PVA Glue
  2. Poster tack
  3. Plastic Plates
  4. All Living Things Dry Dust Bath (chinchilla dust)
  5. Vallejo “Flow Improver”
  6. Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
  7. Vallejo Model Air “Sand (Ivory)”
  8. Citadel “Ushabti Bone”
  9. Vallejo Model Color “Dark Sand”
  10. Vallejo Model Color “White”
  11. Vallejo Model Color “Red”
  12. Vallejo Model Color “Black”
  13. Vallejo “Thinner Medium”
  14. Vallejo Game Color “Bloody Red”
  15. Vallejo Game Color “Livery Green” (REPAINTED)
  16. Citadel “Waywatcher Green” (glaze) (REPAINTED)
  17. Citadel “Bloodletter” (glaze)
  18. Vallejo Game Air “Sun Yellow”
  19. Citadel “Lamenters Yellow” (glaze)
  20. DecoArt “Light Buttermilk”
  21. Vallejo Model Color “Dark Blue” (REPAINTED)
  22. Vallejo Mecha Color “Turquoise”
  23. Vallejo Model Air “Fluorescent Red”
  24. Vallejo Model Air “White”
  25. Vallejo Model Air “Silver”
  26. Martha Stewart Crafts “Pale Bronze”
  27. Citadel “Carroburg Crimson” (glaze)
  28. Citadel “Yriel Yellow”
  29. Vallejo Game Air “Beastly Brown”
  30. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Warp Lightning”
  31. Army Painter “Light Tone” (wash)
  32. Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish”
  33. Citadel “Blood for the Blood God”

Aztec Buildings and Scatter Terrain from Acheson Creations

This post will cover the Aztec resin terrain/structures from Acheson Creations that I have recently finished for my  Feudal Patrol™ games in Mesoamerica (using my Civilizations Collide supplement). I purchased 6 structures from the company, and they were kind enough to throw in some scatter terrain that I believe will prove to be quite useful. The six buildings plus the 4 scatter pieces are all part of “Mark’s Aztec Building Challenge Contest“, as are all of the MDF I listed in the original contest post. While the buildings in this post would be probably more suited to a rural setting versus a cityscape, I think that the scatter terrain will be useful in several gaming ways.

Originally, my plan was to do finish all of the MDF structures first, and then move on to the resin ones. That concept did not pan out as I ran out of some key items for the MDF. The MDF need to match exactly so that visually the collection makes a nice panorama.

So, those shortages moved me onto the resin, which I had luckily prepped for priming back in March. I thought Acheson had made the recommendation to prime with Rustoleum “Painters Touch Ultra Cover Flat Black” – a rattlecan – something I usually avoid. (Now that I looked back at his website, that recommendation is not there?) Anyways, I got another delay in priming as the Massachusetts weather also did not play nice (it’s been cold and we even got 6″ of snow on April 16th).

I thought it prudent – prior to priming them – to give all a thorough scrubbing and washing. I also saw a need to install 1/8″ neodymium magnets for the resin structures with roofs – to make them more stable (and stay on the buildings during games). This would be useful on the tabletop and yet keep them easy enough to open up for gaming. I used different patterns for the magnets as you will see below – so the roofs won’t end up on the wrong buildings in error.

Subsequent to washing, I based these pieces back in March on 1.5mm sanded styrene card – so as to appear more flush with the tabletop. When the weather finally cooperated (one day), I primed them all with that flat black and then sprayed a coat of Army Painter “Leather Brown” over the pieces that would be lighter or brown. This group of pieces all needed different paints – I am listing what I used by type at the end of this post (this helps me remember for future consideration and projects but you may find it useful too). As I started them all before April began, these will be 10 more entries in the April painting challenge from Ann’s Immaterium called Ann’s “Paint the Crap You Already Own” challenge.

The pieces washed and with neodymium magnets installed. I would also have to figure out how to paint and finish the inside of the roofs so that I could mount them for the roofs’ exterior painting. I would mount all of these on styrene card.
The pieces mounted on styrene card and primed.

One major difference here with these pieces versus how I have painted previously is my use of Army Painter “Soft Tone” (the “dip”) applied with a brush. This is an oil-based product, which I do not employ usually, mainly as I hate the need for cleanup with paint thinner. However, I thought that it would be a good use for the stuff that I bought back in 2017 – especially on the thatched roofs as it would both shade and provide a varnish-like protection. I could then dry brush over them with abandon and dull the dip’s shine with a final matte varnish.

I would need to finish the roofs’ interiors prior to the outside – and I basically treated them as separate pieces to be worked on.

Below, you will see I broke each of the pieces out so you can get an idea of the transformation. I must give a shout out to TIM of The Imperfect Modeler who graciously gave me some excellent advice for these pieces.

Cuezcomatl Granary Structure

The term cuezcomatl refers to a granary storage structure that was used in Mesoamerica before the arrival of the Spanish and even up to today in some rural areas (see reference here). The model was interesting to paint, and working on it also helped me to prepare for the other thatched roofs. In the end, I decided to use Army Painter Soft Tone (the “dip”) with a brush. This allowed me to both get some good detail shading as well as to protect the model. I can see this model being useful as a terrain piece, as well as an objective marker. The Aztecs were quite avid practitioners of raiding their neighbors for food as well as captives (or anything else that they wanted to take), as were all Mesoamerican peoples of the era. The Aztecs were just more adept at the practice.

  • Unprimed and on its card base
  • Primed
  • Added texture to the base
  • I base coated the piece, then used the dip as a shade, then later I did a lot of dry brushing
  • The finished terrain piece
Progress on the Cuezcomatl

  • Cuezcomatl Granary Structure (door side)
  • Cuezcomatl Granary Structure (back side)

Jaguar Warriors seize an enemy cuezcomatl

Maize Storage Structure

This piece had a few areas that I worked to improve upon. One was to fill an open storage well with “maize” – or at least something that could approximate it. Another was to convert the dowel-like smooth front pillars into a more convincing-looking pair of period wooden supports. The pillars did have a slight wood grain, but I wanted to make them more rustic. Lastly, I did need to do some drilling and magnet installation so as to allow the piece to stay together. As with all of the other pieces here with separate roofs, I needed to finish the inside of the roof (including up to varnishing) before I finished the outside.

Similar to the cuezcomatl piece, this one can serve as both terrain and an objective marker due to the food storage bounty.

  • The base of the Maize Storage Structure primed. Note the altered sculpted posts.
  • After adding the Vallejo texture.
  • The underside and inside of the roof – I needed to drill carefully for the magnets.
  • Made a template out of card for a base for the maize.
  • I wanted the base to fit.
  • Used shaved and cut toothpicks as maize. This is a test to see how many I would need.
  • Used a piece of birch wood to support the card.
  • I made a paper form to hold the toothpick shards and PVA glue to make a “maize mass”.
  • The maize well and the maize mass drying.
  • The finished piece with roof off.
The maize building process I used broken out.

Structure completed.
  • With roof off showing maize
  • Back of piece
  • Left side
  • Right side

Aztec Veterans defend the maize.

Aztec Peasant/Farmer’s House

I had three peasant houses – this is the first one.

  • The piece with magnets installed and on the styrene base awaiting priming weather
  • Primed with black and then brown.
  • Main painting completed prior to final shading.
  • Completed and united with its roof.
Progress on the Aztec Peasant/Farmer’s House

  • Right side
  • Back side
  • Left side
  • Front – showing pathway of chinchilla dust.

Novice warriors defend a peasant’s house – maybe not even theirs at the beginning of the day!

Huaxtec House

The Huaxtec were a people who lived near the east coast of Mexico. They were related to the Maya and were conquered by the Aztecs. I found this structure to be quite striking visually and I have to imagine that it was somewhat common. In any case, it was different than the others, so I thought it worth adding. The only issue that this piece presented was that the roof size did not line up as easily for the magnets – but enough to make a couple work enough to keep the roof on.

  • You can see the two magnetic positions that I could drill.
  • Primed.
  • Added Vallejo texture to the base.
  • Finished bottom.
  • Finished with the roof.
Huaxtec House progress

  • Finished front view of Huaxtec house.
  • Back view.

The Aztecs pillage the Huaxtec House.

Aztec Stone House

The third type of house is an Aztec Stone House. This is one of the two stone houses in the group. I decided that I would go for more of a sandstone or light limestone look for these.

  • An example of how I created a template to make sure that the roof and building magnets lined up.
  • On styrene base showing magnets installed
  • Primed in black
  • Added Vallejo earth texture
  • After pigments and early base dry brushing
Aztec Stone House progress

  • Right side
  • Back side
  • Left side
  • Front of Aztec Stone House

Aztec Veteran and Novice Warriors deploy from the stone house

Aztec Noble’s House

The Aztec Noble’s house had an interesting roof and a bit of opportunity for some color.

  • Using a template with thumbtacks to align the roof and magnets
  • Magnets installed and structure based
  • Primed
  • Added Vallejo texture to the base
  • After adding some talus, chinchilla dust, I dry brushed
Aztec Noble House progress

  • Left side
  • Back
  • right side
  • Front of Aztec Noble’s House

The Aztec Snake Woman (General) and a Noble Captain depart for battle.

Miscellaneous Scatter Terrain

It was a nice surprise to get this scatter terrain. I used all of it except one – which was an African mask. I based it and primed it but did not paint it. As I will not likely use it, it will be another (5th!) prize in “Mark’s Aztec Building Challenge Contest“.

These will be nice treasure markers for the games. I played with some shiny (and tiny) beads (from Japan) and Swarovski glittery crystals from Michaels to make the treasure and fill the pots over some steel BB’s. I also had a chance to do some minimal Aztec freehand work on the pots.

  • Cleaned and based freebies – the mask on the right is another prize in the contest now.
  • Primed and based textured.
  • The leafy pot that I added the freehand to – loosely based on a design I saw online.
  • This marker had bones, skulls, a treasure chest, and more.
  • Some larger gold and silver items.
  • A barrel – I was going to make it a water barrel but made it full of treasure instead.
  • Tiny little beads – gold (2 sizes), silver, and turquoise.
  • Treasure!
Scatter Terrain progress

The Leafy Pot treasure. Why is it on leaves? You got me – I don’t know!
The “Bones” treasure marker, replete with two skulls, a partial skeleton, a barrel, a pot, a treasure chest and an old sack.
The gold staff treasure – with a treasure chest, a silver carafe, a gold vase, and a large gold staff of some type.
Top view of the treasures
Elite Warriors – Cuachiqueh (“Shorn Ones”) – protect Montezuma’s gold.

That rounds out my pieces for April. I now have just two more pieces of MDF left for the contest – though I do have more planned terrain and structures – keep following!

Coming up next – these last two MDF.

I’d love to hear any feedback on these – and I did use a different photo set up as well – so let me know on that too if you want. Getting my last “jab” this weekend, as well as trying to play in two golf tournaments – so when will I get done and end the contest…who knows?

As far as Acheson, I must give them a very positive review on these resin pieces. Check out their stuff here. Their offerings and ranges are quite extensive across many periods. The sculpting is good and the details are nice, and the extras they threw in were very cool too. And other than the freebies that they threw in, I have not been paid by them in any way.

Thanks for looking and please let me know what you think in the comments section!

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

The next sections are references on the paints I used – mainly for me – so skip the rest if you are so inclined. Thanks for looking and I hope that you’ll let me know what you think about these models.

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

Cuezcomatl Granary Structure:
  1. Rustoleum “Painter’s Touch 2X Ultra Cover Flat Black” (spray can)
  2. Army Painter Color Primer “Leather Brown” (spray can)
  3. 1.5mm styrene sheet
  4. Sci-Grip “16 Fast Set Clear, Medium-bodied solvent cement”
  5. Vallejo “Brown Earth Gel Leather Brown”
  6. Vallejo Game Air “Desert Yellow”
  7. Vallejo Model Air “Sand (Ivory)”
  8. Vallejo Mecha Color “Sand Yellow”
  9. Hataka “Jaune d’Ochre”
  10. Vallejo Model Color “Wood Grain”
  11. Citadel “Ushabti Bone”
  12. Citadel “Aggaros Dunes”
  13. Vallejo Game Air “Ivory”
  14. Vallejo Model Color “Dark Sand”
  15. Vallejo Game Air “Red Terracotta”
  16. Vallejo Model Color “Red”
  17. Army Painter Quickshade “Soft Tone” (dip)
  18. Hobby talus
  19. Gorilla Glue
  20. Vallejo “Flow Improver”
  21. Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
  22. Vallejo Model Air “German Red Brown”
  23. FolkArt “Yellow Ochre”
  24. Vallejo “Dark Yellow Ochre” (pigment)
  25. Vallejo “Burnt Umber” (pigment)
  26. Citadel “Skrag Brown”
  27. Citadel “Steel Legion Drab”
  28. Citadel “Tallarn Sand”
  29. Citadel “Karak Stone”
  30. Americana “Desert Sand”
  31. DecoArt “Light Buttermilk”
  32. Army Painter “Soft Tone” (wash)
  33. Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish”
  34. Army Painter “Grass Green” (flocking)
  35. Elmer’s PVA Glue
  36. Shadow’s Edge Miniatures 12mm Jungle Tufts
  37. Poster tack
  38. Plastic Plates
Maize Storage Structure
  1. Rustoleum “Painter’s Touch 2X Ultra Cover Flat Black” (spray can)
  2. Army Painter Color Primer “Leather Brown” (spray can)
  3. Green stuff (kneadatite)
  4. 1.5mm styrene sheet
  5. Birch wood
  6. Sci-Grip “16 Fast Set Clear, Medium-bodied solvent cement”
  7. Vallejo “Brown Earth Gel Leather Brown”
  8. 1/8″ neodymium magnets
  9. Reaper MSP “Black Primer”
  10. Vallejo Game Air “Desert Yellow”
  11. Vallejo Model Air “Sand (Ivory)”
  12. Vallejo Mecha Color “Sand Yellow”
  13. Vallejo Mecha Color “Brown”
  14. Vallejo Game Air “Beastly Brown”
  15. Vallejo Model Air “Wood”
  16. Vallejo Model Air “Yellow Ochre”
  17. Vallejo Model Color “Wood Grain”
  18. Army Painter Quickshade “Soft Tone” (dip)
  19. Vallejo Model Air “German Red Brown”
  20. Wooden toothpicks
  21. Elmer’s PVA Glue
  22. Citadel “Hexos Palesun”
  23. FolkArt “Yellow Ochre”
  24. Citadel “Iyanden Yellow”
  25. Army Painter “Strong Tone” (wash)
  26. Citadel Air “Balor Brown”
  27. Citadel “Skrag Brown”
  28. Citadel “Aggaros Dunes”
  29. Hobby talus
  30. Gorilla Glue
  31. Vallejo “Dark Yellow Ochre” (pigment)
  32. Vallejo “Burnt Umber” (pigment)
  33. Citadel “Steel Legion Drab”
  34. Citadel “Tallarn Sand”
  35. Citadel “Karak Stone”
  36. Americana “Desert Sand”
  37. DecoArt “Light Buttermilk”
  38. Vallejo Model Color “Dark Sand”
  39. Vallejo Game Air “Sun Yellow”
  40. Citadel “Lamenters Yellow” (glaze)
  41. Army Painter “Soft Tone” (wash)
  42. Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish”
  43. Army Painter “Grass Green” (flocking)
  44. Shadow’s Edge Miniatures 12mm “Jungle Tufts”
  45. Poster tack
  46. Plastic Plates
  47. Vallejo “Flow Improver”
  48. Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
  49. Army Painter “Light Tone” (wash)
Aztec Peasant/Farmer’s House
  1. Rustoleum “Painter’s Touch 2X Ultra Cover Flat Black” (spray can)
  2. Army Painter Color Primer “Leather Brown” (spray can)
  3. 1.5mm styrene sheet
  4. Sci-Grip “16 Fast Set Clear, Medium-bodied solvent cement”
  5. Vallejo “Brown Earth Gel Leather Brown”
  6. 1/8″ neodymium magnets
  7. Gorilla Glue
  8. Vallejo Game Air “Desert Yellow”
  9. Vallejo Model Air “Sand (Ivory)”
  10. Vallejo Mecha Color “Sand Yellow”
  11. Vallejo Mecha Color “Brown”
  12. Vallejo Game Air “Beastly Brown”
  13. Vallejo Model Air “Wood”
  14. Vallejo Model Air “Yellow Ochre”
  15. Vallejo Model Color “Wood Grain”
  16. Army Painter Quickshade “Soft Tone” (dip)
  17. Vallejo Model Air “German Red Brown”
  18. Army Painter “Soft Tone” (wash)
  19. FolkArt “Yellow Ochre”
  20. Citadel “Hexos Palesun”
  21. Hobby talus
  22. All Living Things Dry Dust Bath (chinchilla dust)
  23. Army Painter “Light Tone” (wash)
  24. Vallejo “Dark Yellow Ochre” (pigment)
  25. Vallejo “Burnt Umber” (pigment)
  26. Citadel “Skrag Brown”
  27. Citadel “Steel Legion Drab”
  28. Citadel “Tallarn Sand”
  29. Citadel “Karak Stone”
  30. Americana “Desert Sand”
  31. DecoArt “Light Buttermilk”
  32. Elmer’s PVA Glue
  33. Vallejo “Flow Improver”
  34. Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
  35. Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish”
  36. Army Painter “Grass Green” (flocking)
  37. Shadow’s Edge Miniatures 12mm “Jungle Tufts”
  38. Poster tack
  39. Plastic Plates
Huaxtec House
  1. Rustoleum “Painter’s Touch 2X Ultra Cover Flat Black” (spray can)
  2. Army Painter Color Primer “Leather Brown” (spray can)
  3. 1.5mm styrene sheet
  4. Sci-Grip “16 Fast Set Clear, Medium-bodied solvent cement”
  5. Vallejo “Brown Earth Gel Leather Brown”
  6. 1/8″ neodymium magnets
  7. Gorilla Glue
  8. Vallejo Game Air “Desert Yellow”
  9. Vallejo Model Air “Sand (Ivory)”
  10. Vallejo Mecha Color “Sand Yellow”
  11. Vallejo Mecha Color “Brown”
  12. Vallejo Game Air “Beastly Brown”
  13. Vallejo Model Air “Wood”
  14. Vallejo Model Air “Yellow Ochre”
  15. Vallejo Model Color “Wood Grain”
  16. Army Painter Quickshade “Soft Tone” (dip)
  17. FolkArt “Yellow Ochre”
  18. Citadel “Hexos Palesun”
  19. All Living Things Dry Dust Bath (chinchilla dust)
  20. Army Painter “Light Tone” (wash)
  21. Vallejo “Dark Yellow Ochre” (pigment)
  22. Vallejo “Burnt Umber” (pigment)
  23. Army Painter “Soft Tone” (wash)
  24. Elmer’s PVA Glue
  25. Citadel “Skrag Brown”
  26. Hobby talus
  27. Citadel “Steel Legion Drab”
  28. Citadel “Tallarn Sand”
  29. Citadel “Karak Stone”
  30. Americana “Desert Sand”
  31. DecoArt “Light Buttermilk”
  32. Vallejo “Flow Improver”
  33. Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
  34. Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish”
  35. Army Painter “Grass Green” (flocking)
  36. Shadow’s Edge Miniatures 12mm “Jungle Tufts”
  37. Poster tack
  38. Plastic Plates
Aztec Stone House
  1. Rustoleum “Painter’s Touch 2X Ultra Cover Flat Black” (spray can)
  2. Army Painter Color Primer “Leather Brown” (spray can)
  3. 1.5mm styrene sheet
  4. Sci-Grip “16 Fast Set Clear, Medium-bodied solvent cement”
  5. Vallejo “Brown Earth Gel Leather Brown”
  6. 1/8″ neodymium magnets
  7. Gorilla Glue
  8. Reaper MSP “Black Primer”
  9. Vallejo Game Air “Desert Yellow”
  10. Vallejo Model Air “Sand (Ivory)”
  11. Vallejo Mecha Color “Sand Yellow”
  12. Vallejo Model Color “Wood Grain”
  13. Army Painter Quickshade “Soft Tone” (dip)
  14. FolkArt “Yellow Ochre”
  15. Citadel “Hexos Palesun”
  16. Vallejo Model Air “German Red Brown”
  17. Vallejo “Light Slate Grey” (pigment)
  18. Army Painter “Soft Tone” (wash)
  19. Americana “Raw Sienna”
  20. Vallejo Model Color “Dark Sand”
  21. All Living Things Dry Dust Bath (chinchilla dust)
  22. Army Painter “Light Tone” (wash)
  23. Hobby talus
  24. Vallejo “Dark Yellow Ochre” (pigment)
  25. Vallejo “Burnt Umber” (pigment)
  26. Elmer’s PVA Glue
  27. Citadel “Ushabti Bone”
  28. Citadel “Skrag Brown”
  29. Citadel “Steel Legion Drab”
  30. Citadel “Tallarn Sand”
  31. Citadel “Karak Stone”
  32. Americana “Desert Sand”
  33. DecoArt “Light Buttermilk”
  34. Vallejo “Flow Improver”
  35. Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
  36. Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish”
  37. Army Painter “Grass Green” (flocking)
  38. Shadow’s Edge Miniatures 12mm “Jungle Tufts”
  39. Poster tack
  40. Plastic Plates
Aztec Noble’s House
  1. Rustoleum “Painter’s Touch 2X Ultra Cover Flat Black” (spray can)
  2. Army Painter Color Primer “Leather Brown” (spray can)
  3. 1.5mm styrene sheet
  4. Sci-Grip “16 Fast Set Clear, Medium-bodied solvent cement”
  5. Vallejo “Brown Earth Gel Leather Brown”
  6. 1/8″ neodymium magnets
  7. Gorilla Glue
  8. Reaper MSP “Black Primer”
  9. Vallejo Model Air “German Red Brown”
  10. Vallejo “Light Slate Grey” (pigment)
  11. Armory “Dark Blue”
  12. FolkArt “Yellow Ochre”
  13. Vallejo Model Color “Red”
  14. Army Painter “Soft Tone” (wash)
  15. Citadel “Drakenhof Nightshade” (wash)
  16. Americana “Raw Sienna”
  17. Vallejo Game Air “Desert Yellow”
  18. Vallejo Model Color “Yellow Ochre”
  19. Army Painter “Light Tone” (wash)
  20. All Living Things Dry Dust Bath (chinchilla dust)
  21. Hobby talus
  22. Vallejo “Dark Yellow Ochre” (pigment)
  23. Vallejo “Burnt Umber” (pigment)
  24. Elmer’s PVA Glue
  25. Citadel “Ushabti Bone”
  26. Citadel “Skrag Brown”
  27. Citadel “Steel Legion Drab”
  28. Citadel “Tallarn Sand”
  29. Citadel “Karak Stone”
  30. Americana “Desert Sand”
  31. DecoArt “Light Buttermilk”
  32. Vallejo Model Color “Dark Sand”
  33. Vallejo “Flow Improver”
  34. Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
  35. Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish”
  36. Army Painter “Grass Green” (flocking)
  37. Shadow’s Edge Miniatures 12mm “Jungle Tufts”
  38. Poster tack
  39. Plastic Plates
Miscellaneous Scatter Terrain Pieces
  1. Rustoleum “Painter’s Touch 2X Ultra Cover Flat Black” (spray can)
  2. 1.5mm styrene sheet
  3. Sci-Grip “16 Fast Set Clear, Medium-bodied solvent cement”
  4. Vallejo “Brown Earth Gel Leather Brown”
  5. Vallejo Model Air “Wood”
  6. Reaper MSP “Black Primer”
  7. Vallejo Model Air “German Red Brown”
  8. Citadel “Skrag Brown”
  9. Vallejo Game Color “Livery Green”
  10. Vallejo Game Air “Beastly Brown”
  11. Vallejo Model Air “White”
  12. Vallejo Model Air “Silver”
  13. Citadel “Waywatcher Green” (glaze)
  14. Vallejo Model Air “Dark Brown”
  15. Citadel “Yriel Yellow”
  16. Battlefront “Dark Leather”
  17. Vallejo “Thinner Medium”
  18. Vallejo Model Color “Red”
  19. Citadel “Skeleton Horde”
  20. Citadel “Retributor Armour”
  21. Citadel “Gehenna Gold”
  22. Citadel “Auric Armour Gold”
  23. Vallejo Mecha Weathering “Rust Texture”
  24. Swarovski “Shimmer Effect Crystals”
  25. Steel BB’s
  26. Vallejo Mecha Weathering “Light Rust Wash”
  27. Citadel “Nuln Oil GLOSS” (wash)
  28. Army Painter “Mid Brown” (wash)
  29. Vallejo Game Air “Desert Yellow”
  30. Vallejo Model Color “Yellow Ochre”
  31. Play sand
  32. Elmer’s PVA Glue
  33. Army Painter “Soft Tone” (wash)
  34. Citadel “Ushabti Bone”
  35. Citadel “Steel Legion Drab”
  36. Citadel “Tallarn Sand”
  37. Citadel “Karak Stone”
  38. Americana “Desert Sand”
  39. DecoArt “Light Buttermilk”
  40. Vallejo Model Color “Dark Sand”
  41. Vallejo “Dark Yellow Ochre” (pigment)
  42. Vallejo “Burnt Umber” (pigment)
  43. Vallejo “Flow Improver”
  44. Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
  45. Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish”
  46. Toho Gold 6/0 “E” Beads
  47. Miyuki 11/0 “Delica” Turquoise Beads
  48. Miyuki 11/0 “Delica” Gold Beads
  49. Miyuki 11/0 “Delica” Silver Beads
  50. Gorilla Glue
  51. Army Painter “Light Tone” (wash)

Aztec Temple Sentinel Tower & a Challenge Update

In this post I will share my latest MDF kit build for Feudal Patrol™ games in Mesoamerica (using my Civilizations Collide supplement). I was able to finish off another Aztec-inspired MDF kit. This one also came from from Things From the Basement via 4Ground via Badger Games (see it here). It is called Temple Sentinel Tower and is scaled for 28mm figures – and is just what it is described as being – a Temple Sentinel Tower which would be a nice piece of high ground for some missile troops.

This is part of “Mark’s Aztec Building Challenge Contest” (which you will read more about shortly in this blog post), as well as the April painting challenge from Ann’s Immaterium called Ann’s “Paint the Crap You Already Own” challenge.

The kit as received.

It was an enjoyable kit to build. This one had a few challenges for the build as I needed to make sure that I could paint the inside of the tower as well as dust it up with chinchilla dust as I have been doing. I want all these cityscape Temple structures to match in character – and in color and texture. Basically, as you will see, I broke the kit into two parts until final assembly.

The kit after wiping down with a moist microfiber cloth. The instructions were good.
First day of assembly and setting up with PVA, rubber bands, and clamps.
The lower tower section is on the left – and the top here has been left to work on separately with paint and chinchilla dust as I have previously described (see this page). Having steel washers around held as weights with PVA gluing.
The tower sections awaiting base coating after dusting up with the chinchilla dust and watered down PVA slurry.
The sections after the base coat was applied and the dry brushing of the textures. The red, black, and yellow colors were painted after the dry brushing.

The finished Temple Sentinel Tower next to my previous MDF builds. I put a few missile troops up in the tower as examples.
Different angle view.
An Aztec veteran with an atlatl peers out while a macuahuitl-armed comrade guards the ladder access. A sling-armed novice is at the top of the ladder.
A close up of a bowman (front) and another slinger (left) in the tower.

I think this came out well – what do you think?

For the other pieces in the building contest, I was also able to airbrush a decent base coat on my remaining resin structures, as well as to start on the ground cover on their styrene bases.

The remaining resin structures – I have a good start on them.

This now leaves me with two more MDF builds – the Temple High Throne and the Sacrificial Altar – in addition to the resin. These are going to take a back seat to finishing the resin pieces. This is because as I have more paint on order to properly finish them similarly to my previous MDF kits. I have found that I’m going though a good amount of paints and washes (chinchilla dust and MDF can be thirsty).

My remaining MDF kits!

I have also tried to show you, dear readers, the progress in my challenge in a non-award-winning video on IGTV and Instagram (well it hasn’t won yet, so there’s hope…).

My main communications channel is THIS BLOG! But, I’m just trying to keep up with the young ‘uns like IRO. It’s a bit of an unscripted thing – so enjoy! Without any further ado – here is the video link live from my cellar (that I cannot put on WordPress without paying more $$).

So as for the contest – I have a shot below that shows the range of guesses:

The contest IS ON! Who will win?

We’ve got American, Aussie, and Brit entries (what’s up with the rest of the world?). Thanks to all for entering and best of luck – and follow my progress (and your chances) here! The average is May 19th, with Azazel the earliest on 4/24/2021 and Ann the latest on 6/30/2021. Hell, your guesses are as good as mine at this point for sure.

A couple of small side notes. I was quite surprised and happy to see that 4Ground featured my work on their Facebook page – here is that Facebook link – and much thanks to our pal Kuribo who let me know on the blog that he saw it. Also, this marks my 30th post on this subject – and while I’m happy about the progress I’ve made – the listing of all the posts is getting to be a bit much (never mind approving all the WordPress pingbacks that this generates).

So, I’ve added a new selection on my main menu (“Gaming & Hobby Areas of Interest”), and under that will be individual genre selections. I’ve started with a page with a list of and links to all of my Mesoamerican posts called “Aztec, Conquistador, and Mesoamerican Hobby Projects Posts” – and I will (over time) be augmenting it with other stuff, such as retro sci-fi, France 1940, Normandy, etc. But I won’t get to that for a while – I’ll be focusing here on the Aztec stuff! I’ll still add the paints and materials section as before, mostly for my own references.

Thanks for looking and I hope that you can check out the video link and no matter what – let me know what you think of the tower – or my accent – or my graying hair – or whatever.

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

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

  1. Elmer’s PVA Glue
  2. Poster tack
  3. Plastic Plates
  4. All Living Things Dry Dust Bath (chinchilla dust)
  5. Vallejo “Flow Improver”
  6. Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
  7. Vallejo Model Air “Sand (Ivory)”
  8. Vallejo Game Air “Desert Yellow”
  9. Vallejo Model Color “Dark Sand”
  10. Citadel “Ushabti Bone”
  11. DecoArt “Light Buttermilk”
  12. Vallejo Model Air “Wood”
  13. Vallejo Model Color “Red”
  14. Craftsmart “Black”
  15. Citadel “Yriel Yellow”
  16. Army Painter “Light Tone” (wash)
  17. Vallejo Game Air “Ivory”

Aztec Temple Corner Walls (Plus Some Life & Other Distractions Stuff Added In)

This blog is titled “Life, Golf, Miniatures, and Other Distractions” – and it’s not often that it’s about anything but miniatures. This post will definitely concern miniatures – but as the title suggests, a few other things are going to get added in after the miniature stuff.

Why you ask? Well, the long and short of my current predicament is that a member of my household is near the end, and I need to deal with the ramifications of that. It’s sad, but it’s time.

Oh, sorry, not a person, it’s my PC that is on its last legs – and it is already quite legless.

My PC has had multiple thermal shutdowns over the last few weeks – while in sleep mode! Argh! I decided that I would need to get a new desktop before I lose all my hobby work (plus everything else that is on the thing). I prefer a PC over a laptop, though I still look at WordPress on my iPhone and my iPad. I just compose on a PC. Anyways, I will be without a computer shortly – so I needed to get a post in. Therefore this post will cover some miniature stuff first and some fun (I think) extras – I hope that they will be somewhat interesting for you.

Plus, this is my largest list of hashtags ever (I think so anyways).

In my last post, as part of “Mark’s Aztec Building Challenge Contest” (which you should enter soon by the way!) I discussed how I assembled and painted 8 Temple Columns for my Aztec games of Feudal Patrol™ using my Civilizations Collide supplement.  I had moved onto the MDF kits over my resin stuff as temperatures had been too cold here in Massachusetts to use rattlecans to prime outside. I truly enjoyed building and painting the MDF of my last post, and I certainly still have a love for using chinchilla dust.

My next MDF effort would be two kits of the “Temple Corner Walls” – from Things From the Basement via 4Ground via Badger Games (see it here). Each kit had one square pillar-like structure and two walls – six in total. The kits are very nice and pretty easy to work with in my opinion. I basically used the second approach from last time – assemble first, then dust up with the chinchilla dust and paint them.

An example of one kit out of the bag after cleaning it off with a moist microfiber cloth.
I have found with these MDF kits that it helps to dry fit first and organize the parts. Here you also see that I put an “up” arrow on the inside of the walls to help make sure that I did not assemble anything upside down.
I assembled the wall sections first and let the PVA dry overnight.
The next day, I added steel washers as weight to get the wall tops to glue flush to the previous step’s work. Then I glued to the bases (with the weights again).
All of the “Temple Corner Walls” assembled and ready to get dusted up and painted.
Here you see my early dry brushing after dusting – I use three colors to dry brush. I decided to paint the triangles in a red, black, and yellow pattern. You can see the paints that I used at the very end of this post.
After I dry brushed the structures, I toned down the dry brushing with Army Painter “Light Tone”. Between the “thirst” of both the MDF and the chinchilla dust, I ended up using the better part of two bottles of the AP tone. Here, these are all complete.

I tried to use my spray booth again for some shots here but I did get some weird shadows and alternatively unwanted shine that I did not like. So I went with what you see below. I’ll need to investigate a light box (maybe).

Here you see a fight among the “Temple Column Walls” (this post) and the “Temple Columns” (from my last post) between a squad of Conquistadores (and a wardog) against an Aztec squad and a supporting warrior priest. I think that I was successful at getting all to blend in well.

So, the Temple Corner Wall structures of this post are part of two “challenges”. The first is mine as mentioned earlier – “Mark’s Aztec Building Challenge Contest” – in which I will give away free prizes to blog followers for being the closest to guess how long it will take me to finish all these buildings. The second is from Ann’s Immaterium, and is called Ann’s “Paint the Crap You Already Own” challenge. These definitely count there – and I hope there will be more for this April challenge.

I have ordered some more “Light Tone” – and with my remaining MDF I’ll need it. In the meantime, as an update – it warmed up here this week so I was also able to get my outside priming done – see below!

I was able to prime this week! I can now vary what I decide to complete.

I also am planning an update to my Civilizations Collide supplement, which will have rules for the falconet and some new scenarios (in addition to an overall update). So that might slow up my progress, as also golf might (haven’t played yet this year though). I also have been – wait for it – GAMING!

Well, remotely anyways. I was lucky enough to play in a Combat PatrolTM game last Saturday via Zoom with Sally4th’s Chris Abbey. Chris (in the UK) set up a James Bond game based on the 1977 film The Spy Who Loved Me that he called “Nobody Does it Better” (Carly Simon song of the movie). It featured the scene in the bad guy’s (Stromberg) supertanker interior hold (that held a captured US sub). The action focused on the scene where escaping British, Russian, and American crews fight the Stromberg goons to stop a nuclear launch. We had US and UK players – and I had James Bond. Our objective was to advance up the gantry and throw a satchel charge at the control room doors and blow it open. We had a lot of twists and turns in the game – James Bond’s satchel charge misfired, and so did a Stromberg flamethrower that would have fried him. A last second satchel charge throw from the Americans missed, but the explosive charge slid up to the door and blew it! Success! Notably, I had invited our blogger buddy TIM who got to watch the game – and it was fun to share the experience with him.

Take a look at the tabletop below – amazing!

The tabletop before the game.
Chris Abbey GM’s the game exceptionally well. We were moving up the gantry on the left – the control room was in the center of the far end.

I also had two other nice surprises. The first was in the mail from Buck Surdu – who sent me a couple of Wars of Ozz shirts. I did get in the Kickstarter for it (and the figures are available from Sally 4th and Old Glory in the US) -and the next project I plan to do is paint these figures.

Love these shirts and I will be happy to be wearing them at future gaming events! I won’t be bringing Caesar (our nearly 27 year old cockatiel) – he hates dice.

The second surprise came in our local weekly newspaper (see below). I’ll let Andy Newton’s words speak for themselves, but given the last few months, this was a heartwarming bonus for us.

From The Spencer New Leader

And though my computer is a problem, I did get the email from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that has allowed me and my wife to get our first “jabs” this weekend! Take that COVID-19!

So, until my computer situation is better – I’ll be painting and following up on my iPad. Maybe I’ll be back this weekend – in any case, let’s discuss this post! So feel free to let me know your thoughts and comment – and to enter the contest. Take care all and thanks for looking!

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

Previous posts on games, units, and other projects for my 16th Century Spanish Conquest supplement for Feudal Patrol™ – “Civilizations Collide”

  1. Aztec Temple Corner Walls (Plus Some Life & Other Distractions Stuff Added In) (this post)
  2. Aztec Temple Columns and My New Love for Chinchilla Dust
  3. Mark’s Aztec Building Challenge Contest
  4. Game Aids and Tools for Feudal Patrol games using the Civilizations Collide Supplement
  5. And the Winners of “Mark’s Conquistador Contest” are…
  6. Conquistador Cavalry. 24 figures total: Outpost Wargame Services #CON5 “Conquistador Cavalry in light armour 1” (4 horses & 4 riders); Outpost Wargame Services #CON6 “Conquistador Cavalry in full armour” (4 horses & 4 riders); Eureka Miniatures “Moving Horses” #100ANM05 (8 horses used as casualty markers).
  7. Conquistador Falconet and Crew (Artillery). 3 figures total: Outpost Wargame Services #CONA1 “Falconet and Crew”.
  8. More Conquistador Sword and Buckler Men. 8 figures total Outpost Wargame Services #CON001 “Sword and Buckler Men”.
  9. Conquistador Sword and Buckler Men (Wargames Foundry). 18 figures total in three blister packs: Wargames Foundry #SB015 “Swaggering Swordsmen”, #SB016 “Brutal Sword and Buckler Men”, and #SB017 “Bold Bladesmen”.
  10. Perro de Guerra (Conquistador War Dogs). 13 figures total: Outpost Wargames Services #CONS6 “War Dogs” (8 war dogs); Eureka #100CON13 “Dog Handler and Dogs” (1 dog handler/pikeman and 4 war dogs)
  11. Conquistador Foot Command, Crossbowmen, and a Couple of Officers. 11 figures total: Outpost Wargames Services #CONC1 “Conquistador Foot Command” (a leader, a banner bearer, a drummer, and a bugler); Eureka #100CON04 “Crossbowmen” (5 crossbowmen); and Eureka CONC1 “Conquistador Officer” and an unknown SKU officer (2 officers)
  12. Merciless Adventurers (this post) – Wargames Foundry #SB014 (6 Conquistadores with arquebuses)
  13. Audacious Arquebusiers! – Wargames Foundry #SB012 (6 Conquistadores with arquebuses)
  14. Mark’s Conquistador Contest – for my loyal blog followers!
  15. Montezuma and Chieftains – Wargames Foundry #AZ011 for Feudal Patrol – 6 Aztec figures (Montezuma, 4 Chieftains, 1 Warrior Priest)
  16. Aztec Shock Troops – Cuachic Warriors aka The Shorn Ones – 8 Aztec cuachicqueh warriors
  17. Tloxtoxl and the Priests of the Great Temple, Wargames Foundry AZ021 – 2 warrior priests, 1 priestess, 1 priest, 1 leader, and 1 signaler
  18. Civilizations Collide – The Wars of the Aztecs, the Inca, the Maya, and the Conquistadores is now available as a FREE Download for Feudal Patrol™ – plus a Feudal Patrol™ review!
  19. 18 Aztec Novice Warriors for Feudal Patrol Walk into a Bar – 18 Novice Warriors
  20. Aztec Warrior Priests (painted as Tlaxcalans), Ral Partha 42-302, circa 1988 (this post) – 6 figures – 6 Tlaxcalan Warrior Priests
  21. Tlaxcalan Novices, Elite Warriors, and Command Group – 18 figures – 8 Novice Tlaxcalan Warriors, 8 Elite Tlaxcalan Warriors, 1 Tlaxcalan Captain, 1 Tlaxcalan Conch Blower
  22. Tlaxcalan Archers – 8 Veteran Tlaxcalan Archers
  23. Aztec Game for Feudal Patrol across thousands of miles – via Zoom!
  24. Aztec Snake Woman and Drummer – 1 Aztec General, 1 Aztec Drummer
  25. A June and July Jaguar Warrior Frenzy (plus some Aztec Veterans and a Warrior Priest to Boot) – 3 Aztec Veteran Warriors, 17 Jaguar Warriors, 1 Aztec Warrior Priest
  26. Doubling Down – Aztec Veteran Warriors – 24 Aztec Veteran Warriors
  27. Aztec Arrow Knights, Ral Partha circa 1988 – 6 Aztec Arrow Knights
  28. Aztec Eagle Warriors from Tin Soldier UK – 6 Aztec Eagle Knights
  29. Aztec Novice Warriors and a few Frinx – 12 Novice Warriors

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

  1. Elmer’s PVA Glue
  2. Poster tack
  3. Plastic Plates
  4. All Living Things Dry Dust Bath (chinchilla dust)
  5. Vallejo “Flow Improver”
  6. Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
  7. Vallejo Model Air “Sand (Ivory)”
  8. Vallejo Model Color “Dark Sand”
  9. Citadel “Ushabti Bone”
  10. DecoArt “Buttermilk”
  11. Vallejo Model Color “Red”
  12. Americana “Kelley Green”
  13. Craftsmart “Black”
  14. Citadel “Yriel Yellow”
  15. Army Painter “Light Tone” (wash)
  16. Vallejo Game Air “Desert Yellow”

More Conquistador Sword and Buckler Men (Outpost Wargame Services)

Wait you say – Mark, did you not just finish a group of Sword and Buckler Men (SABM) on your last post? Yes, but those eighteen were from Wargames Foundry, and the eight that this post will describe are from Outpost Wargame Services (via Badger Games). These would round out my SABM for Civilizations Collide scenarios for games of Feudal PatrolTM . AND these are part of “Mark’s Conquistador Conquest” – so I know some of you are entered and wondering how that is going. All I’ll say is that it’s going well.

Back to the figures, they are metal, 28mm, and came in eight different poses. Six of the one-handed sword-armed figures needed assembly with sword arms and shields, and two had two-handed broadswords (they will of course get no shields but will have a more deadly blade). These figures came with eight shields as well – but these included shields were far too large to be considered “bucklers“. Therefore I replaced them with six better-sized Wargames Foundry shields. The figures are certainly “chunkier” and not at the quality of the previously-completed SABM that were Mark Copplestone sculpts. Still, this group of eight will bring my available SABM figures to 26. Additionally, this brings my project total to over 200 figures.

As I am stretching to finish the project and the blog posts about it, I did not do many WIP shots – and I did basically follow the same processes that I have done previously. Some of the figures here (and some future ones) were amenable to some amount of batch-painting, which has been helpful. I also do want to keep folks a bit in the dark on the contest’s progress until I can declare the winners officially. I MUST give another nod to Steven Thomas’ blog post on Conquistador painting – it and Osprey books were of great value – thanks to all the authors.

As a reminder, I started off with these like this:

The OWS SKU CON001 assembled (less shields which I mounted later) and mounted on poster tack on specimen jars for painting.

And my only WIP shot was this one:

Here you see this figure (CSW23 seen below as well) before I applied varnish, mounted the shield, and finished the figure.

So let’s get to it! Continuing on my previous numbering system, these figures are numbered CSW19 to CSW26. Click on any of the images for a bigger view.

CSW19

This Sword & Buckler man has a round bucker (rodela) from my excess Wargames Foundry shields. He has adopted the ichcahuipilli braided cotton armor favored by the Aztecs and Tlaxcalans.

CSW20

This was one of the two figures in the SKU armed with a broadsword. He can do more damage, and has decent plate armor protection.

CSW21

Another SABM with a WF rodela shield and decent mail armor. He has adopted Aztec sandals over his socks – not a great fashion look IMO – and these are wearing out like his clothes are overall. He has a scurvy dog look!

CSW22

This SABM has good plate armor and a WF rodela.

CSW23

This SABM has also adopted the braided cotton armor of the Aztecs, and carries a WF adarga (kidney shaped shield).

CSW24

Here is another SABM with braided cotton armor and socks and sandals. He has a steel WF rodela.

CSW25

The second figure armed with a broadsword wears sandals and (thankfully) no socks. His mail armor should provide him good protection even without a shield.

CSW26

The last of the group, with sandals, braided-cotton armor and an adarga.

Group Shot

I thought a quick comparison with the Wargames Foundry figures would be helpful – see below:

Comparison of similar Outpost Wargame Services and the Wargames Foundry SABM figures.

A couple more points – this group of eight also counts as yet another entry into Dave Stone’s Painting Challenge “PAINT WHAT YOU GOT CHALLENGE”.  Next up will be a falconet and crew, and then I’ll share the cavalry and dead horse markers. If and when I’m able to (or if I did already 😉) finish my personal challenge contest , I’m going to announce the winners. Then, if I do finish before the end of February I will try to take a one-figure break to complete a female figure for Alex’s Fembruary painting challenge. Then possibly I might run a similar guessing challenge to “Mark’s Conquistador Contest” for the terrain that I have – and yes, if I do, I’ll be giving away prizes. Interested? Stay tuned…let me know your thoughts about this post!

Total figures completed to date for this project: 203 figures:  109 Aztecs, 32 Tlaxcalans, 62 Spanish Conquistadores (27 more to go in Mark’s Conquistador Contest!)

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

Previous posts on games, units, and other projects for my 16th Century Spanish Conquest supplement for Feudal Patrol™ – “Civilizations Collide”

  1. More Conquistador Sword and Buckler Men (this post). 8 figures total Outpost Wargame Services #CON001 “Sword and Buckler Men.
  2. Conquistador Sword and Buckler Men (Wargames Foundry). 18 figures total in three blister packs: Wargames Foundry #SB015 “Swaggering Swordsmen”, #SB016 “Brutal Sword and Buckler Men”, and #SB017 “Bold Bladesmen”.
  3. Perro de Guerra (Conquistador War Dogs). 13 figures total: Outpost Wargames Services #CONS6 “War Dogs” (8 war dogs); Eureka #100CON13 “Dog Handler and Dogs” (1 dog handler/pikeman and 4 war dogs)
  4. Conquistador Foot Command, Crossbowmen, and a Couple of Officers. 11 figures total: Outpost Wargames Services #CONC1 “Conquistador Foot Command” (a leader, a banner bearer, a drummer, and a bugler); Eureka #100CON04 “Crossbowmen” (5 crossbowmen); and Eureka CONC1 “Conquistador Officer” and an unknown SKU officer (2 officers)
  5. Merciless Adventurers (this post) – Wargames Foundry #SB014 (6 Conquistadores with arquebuses)
  6. Audacious Arquebusiers! – Wargames Foundry #SB012 (6 Conquistadores with arquebuses)
  7. Mark’s Conquistador Contest – for my loyal blog followers!
  8. Montezuma and Chieftains – Wargames Foundry #AZ011 for Feudal Patrol – 6 Aztec figures (Montezuma, 4 Chieftains, 1 Warrior Priest)
  9. Aztec Shock Troops – Cuachic Warriors aka The Shorn Ones – 8 Aztec cuachicqueh warriors
  10. Tloxtoxl and the Priests of the Great Temple, Wargames Foundry AZ021 – 2 warrior priests, 1 priestess, 1 priest, 1 leader, and 1 signaler
  11. Civilizations Collide – The Wars of the Aztecs, the Inca, the Maya, and the Conquistadores is now available as a FREE Download for Feudal Patrol™ – plus a Feudal Patrol™ review!
  12. 18 Aztec Novice Warriors for Feudal Patrol Walk into a Bar – 18 Novice Warriors
  13. Aztec Warrior Priests (painted as Tlaxcalans), Ral Partha 42-302, circa 1988 (this post) – 6 figures – 6 Tlaxcalan Warrior Priests
  14. Tlaxcalan Novices, Elite Warriors, and Command Group – 18 figures – 8 Novice Tlaxcalan Warriors, 8 Elite Tlaxcalan Warriors, 1 Tlaxcalan Captain, 1 Tlaxcalan Conch Blower
  15. Tlaxcalan Archers – 8 Veteran Tlaxcalan Archers
  16. Aztec Game for Feudal Patrol across thousands of miles – via Zoom!
  17. Aztec Snake Woman and Drummer – 1 Aztec General, 1 Aztec Drummer
  18. A June and July Jaguar Warrior Frenzy (plus some Aztec Veterans and a Warrior Priest to Boot) – 3 Aztec Veteran Warriors, 17 Jaguar Warriors, 1 Aztec Warrior Priest
  19. Doubling Down – Aztec Veteran Warriors – 24 Aztec Veteran Warriors
  20. Aztec Arrow Knights, Ral Partha circa 1988 – 6 Aztec Arrow Knights
  21. Aztec Eagle Warriors from Tin Soldier UK – 6 Aztec Eagle Knights
  22. Aztec Novice Warriors and a few Frinx – 12 Novice Warriors

Total figures completed to date for this project: 203 figures:  109 Aztecs, 32 Tlaxcalans, 62 Spanish Conquistadores (27 more to go in Mark’s Conquistador Contest!)

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

  1. Gorilla Glue
  2. 1/8″ x 1″ Everbilt Fender Washers
  3. Poster tack
  4. Vallejo Mecha Primer “White”
  5. Vallejo “Flow Improver”
  6. Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
  7. Citadel “Nuln Oil” (wash)
  8. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Gore-Grunta Fur”
  9. Vallejo Model Air “Weiss” (off-white)
  10. Citadel “Ironbreaker”
  11. Reaper MSP “Black Primer”
  12. Vallejo Mecha Color “Dark Steel”
  13. Vallejo “Satin Varnish”
  14. Vallejo “Gloss Varnish”
  15. Citadel Air “Evil Sunz Scarlet”
  16. Vallejo Game Air “Black”
  17. Citadel “Runefang Steel”
  18. Citadel “Nuln Oil GLOSS” (wash)
  19. Army Painter “Red Tone” (shade)
  20. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Black Templar”
  21. Vallejo Mecha Color “Off-white”
  22. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Snakebite Leather”
  23. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Flesh Tearers Red”
  24. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Akhelian Green”
  25. Battlefront “GI Green”
  26. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Magos Purple”
  27. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Space Wolves Grey”
  28. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Blood Angels Red”
  29. Vallejo Game Ink “Red”
  30. Vallejo Model Air “Brown”
  31. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Gryph-Charger Grey”
  32. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Contrast Medium”
  33. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Iyanden Yellow”
  34. Vallejo Game Ink “Blue”
  35. Vallejo Game Ink “Yellow”
  36. P3 “Blazing Ink”
  37. Citadel “Waywatcher Green” (glaze)
  38. Vallejo Model Color “Vermilion”
  39. Vallejo Model Color “Neutral Grey”
  40. Vallejo Model Air “Silver”
  41. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Apothecary White”
  42. Vallejo Model Color “Brown Rose”
  43. Army Painter “Tanned Flesh”
  44. Vallejo “Thinner Medium”
  45. Battlefront “Dark Leather”
  46. Vallejo Model Air “Bright Brass”
  47. Citadel “Drakenhof Nightshade” (wash)
  48. Vallejo Model Air “Light”
  49. Citadel “Agrax Earthshade” (shade)
  50. Vallejo Game Color “Bronze Fleshtone”
  51. Vallejo Model Color “Sunny Skin Tone”
  52. Army Painter “Flesh Wash” (wash)
  53. Vallejo Model Air “Dark Brown”
  54. Secret Weapon Washes “Armor Wash” (wash)
  55. E6000 Epoxy
  56. Battlefront “Flat Earth”
  57. Elmer’s PVA Glue
  58. Army Painter “Brown Battlefields” (flocking)
  59. Vallejo “Dark Yellow Ochre” (pigment)
  60. Vallejo “Burnt Umber” (pigment)
  61. Citadel “Steel Legion Drab”
  62. Citadel “Tallarn Sand”
  63. Citadel “Karak Stone”
  64. Americana “Desert Sand”
  65. Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish”
  66. Army Painter “Grass Green” (flocking)
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