Friday 30 December 2016

Congo: Copplestone Female Ngoni Archers

in the second half of November I put in an order with Caliver Books for some minis I wanted for my Africa/Congo collection, as I could get them with a discount, and with free shipping on orders of £20+.

I had all but given up on the stuff, as I enquired about it shortly before Christmas and was ensured that the package had gone out on November 20th.

I was not able to get through to the mail over the holidays, and then suddenly the package showed up in the mail this morning, 40 days after dispatch...

Well, here is one of the blisters from my order: I had the pleasure of playing with a nicely painted set of these in the Congo game I participated in at Horisont VIII, and I really want those models as part of my Africa games!


Our 'Christmas Diorama'

I promised to show the little 'Christmas Scene' for which I originally started panting Santa and his assistant - and if I am to do that while it is still somewhat current, I think I have to do it today.

It lacks snow, I know - I'll work on that for next year....



Thursday 29 December 2016

Strange Aeons: FFG Grey Sleeves Sized Card Holder for Solo Play Deck

This Card Shoe/Deck Holder is sized to hold cards in FFG Grey sleeves, and accommodates the Strange Aeons Solo Play Deck as shown in the photos.

This build uses glue and cardboard tabs to keep it together, and is completely devoid of the scotch tape I used to assemble my first Card Shoe for the Star Wars Armada Damage Deck (FFG Yellow Sleeves).

I think I can make a template for a one-piece build, and I expect to do that for my next Deck Holder.

I do not think that I shall find the time to build more of these this side of New Year's Eve, though, but I still may have a few things to post the next couple of days...


Wednesday 28 December 2016

My First Pile of Shit

I started making a dung heap for Dark Ages/Medieval/Fantasy settlements today.

Basically, until now it is a CD, some Renedra plastic wattle fences, some styrofoam, a foam scourer, used tea leaves from tea bags, and lots of PVA.

I think I need to add some filler and gravel and maybe some bristles from an old brush or something, to get more coarse structure, before adding even more tea leaves of different kinds...

Any suggestions are welcome!


Dark Ages/Viking Village WIP

Anna and I started building a large longhouse today. I let Anna decide on the type and size, so this is probably going to be the Chieftain's/Hersír's longhouse, while I am going to make some smaller ones of the type with the door in the gable wall.


We are using this drawing as pattern for the house, and in restrospect it would have been easier to use the simpler designs for our first building, but Anna is always very ambitious when it comes to any kind of creative activity.


December 2016 For the Win!

Despite the recent tragic deaths of more pop-culture icons, I have reasons to celebrate December.

As of earlier today, this month is now the officially most viewed ever on this blog, and I would hereby like to thank my readers for their time and interest!

Thank you all, and may 2017 bring lots of games, and may the dice-gods smile upon you!

Chrismas Wars: Scooby and the Gang WIP

I have been cleaning up and basing Scooby and the meddling teenagers, as I think they are just the kind of material that will go well with my Christmas Wars project (as well as for other, just as cheerful settings 😉 )


I am not gong to paint any of these, until I have finished the two Skeleton Horde units I am now building for God of Battles, but it never hurts to have some nice minis ready for the paint station!

Tuesday 27 December 2016

GoB: More Skeletons for Argonor's Undead Horde!

As mentioned in connection with the last God of Battles AAR, it is may plan to have a basic infantry battleline for my Lords of Undeath army, cosisting of four units of Skeleton Horde, and two of Skeleton Warriors.

As I already have two of each, I need to get another two Skeleton Hordes ready for the table - and I have decided that the time to get that done is now!

I have been roughing up the edges of a lot of 20 mm washers this last couple of days, and I have found most of the models and components I am going to need.

One of the next days, I am going to find my Dremel, and start removing most part of each slotta-base from the skeletons, so that I can glue the models to washers (same procedure as last time, of course).


The blisters are containing two command groups - I am not going to use the armoured 'Wight' commanders, instead the two finished models with shields will be apponted leaders of the units.

The Wights will most likely be used as Blacksouls or Guardians of Midnight - but that is for the future to bring.

Star Wars Armada: DIY Card Shoe

I took the holidays as an opportunity to start playing around with making some card shoes for some of my games using cards for several purposes.

I like putting sleeves on my gaming cards to protect them from wear and tear, and that makes the decks rather tall and unstable, and the sleeves add thickness to each card, and the sleeves are somewhat more smooth/slippery than the card themselves, so the stack/deck topples over easily when handled.

My solutiuon for this: Card 'shoes'.!

I had been playing with the idea of getting some pre-made kits for this, but as it were, they do not seem to be commercially available in all those different sizes I would need, so I decided to make some from cardboard - an almost free solution, as I have plenty of sturdy cardboard in store, I just need to add some glue/scotch tape and elbow grease ✌

This, my first 'proto type' was made exclusively from cardboard and scotch tape. It is for Star Wars Armada Damage Cards, and I made it taller than necessary to accommodate a double deck, if I decide to incorporate both Damage Decks form the two starter sets I have.

I applied good old Pythagoras to find the necessary depth of the shoe, and as it turns out, I need to add a little depth to give a few more degrees of dimensional tolerance to the build, but - hey - that is what proto types are for, right? 😎

My next build is for the Strange Aeons Solo Play Deck, as I intend to start delving into that mind of madness very soon (just have to make a nice 2x3 playing mat out of painter's felt, of which I have an abundance from when we  moved to out current home.

Expect to see more of this kind over the next couple of days (plus updates about Christmas Wars and God of Battles - things have been brewing lately, and I should have more to show very soon)!

Monday 26 December 2016

HobbyZone Paint Station(s)

I got my kids a paint station each for Christmas. I found this product in a Polish online store called HobbyZone, and both delivery time and packaging was really top notch.

The MDF kit is quite easy to assemble - although I thought I would have to bend the curved pieces a bit into shape before glueing, which was NOT a good idea (as you can see on the station furthest away).

Apart from the frame, the kit is made of a laminated light-weight kind of MDF, and I think it has a tiny tad too low density, but only time and wear will tell if I am wrong or right.

The paint station (the smallest type) comes at only about €16, and if it proves to be sufficiently sturdy for my kids to use, it will have been worth every penny.


Sunday 25 December 2016

Trump and Putin...

...we better get ready.








































OK, only one mask - for spray painting, working with resin, etc. But still...


It's Christmas!

It was Christmas Eve yesterday, and due to Family Business, I have nothing to show for it, other than a couple of photos of our tree.

Well, I also have some pics of my wife and kids... and mother-in-law, but the latter I shall spare you for. Again, shortly before my wife drove her home (220 km), she and I had differences, this time she wanted to let me know that it is not necessary to have 'all those electronics', and that 'then she didn't want to hear about us having trouble getting the ends to meet'-

My wife currently drives over 200 km each way to help her get wooden pellets into her shed/stoker room and get them loaded, twice to thrice a month, which costs us the equivalent of £120 extra a month in gasoline (not counting the wear on the car), and I really think she should get rid of her house (she lost her husband (may he rest in peace) about 2 months ago, and he used to do ALL the practical chores/work around the house - she doesn't even have a drivers' license, even though her husband was a driving instructor) and find a place that she can manage herself without being depending on my wife helping her out. Am I being unreasonable? We are not rich, we have a house, kids, and a car to take care of, and I really think it is up to her to arrange herself in a way as to not depend on others to get by.

Do not get me wrong - of course my wife should help out her mother with BIG issues - but everyday issues like making the heating work, really is something that should run seamlessly without outside interference, I think?



Saturday 24 December 2016

Christmas Wars: Santa's Assistant - With Snow, but Without Lipstick!

Time ran out for me on this, so I did not quite get it to the point I wanted to.

Julia was late this morning (if you know my language, you will get her name), so she forgot to put her lipstick on, and I think she grabbed the wrong pair of silk stockings, as thes eare light grey instead of white or red (or even green).

I like the way her hair turned out, it was:
    1. Citadel Desert Yellow
    2. Coat d'Arms Buff
    3. Army Painter Skeleton Bone
I thin I could have gotten away with another highlight - shall experiment on my next blond mini!


All in all. I like how she turned out, and she is now joining Santa in our winter/Christmas scene on the sideboard, of which I promise to post a photo either later today or tomorrow. No snow landscape though - I think I shall make a mat out of painter felt, then upgrade it with some Woodland Scenics snow later this winter!

MERRY CHISTMAS, HAPPY CHANNUKAH,

and whatever festival YOUR culture/religion is celebrating right now (sorry, I am too ignorant to know them all - I celebrate 'Christmas'  more in line with the original Norse Jól, anyway, without any particular religious meaning).





Friday 23 December 2016

Christmas Wars: Santa - Now With Snow!

I have now poked the Snow-Tex around on Santa's base, and I think the finish is OK,

It is not quite the effect I was looking for (I wanted sparkling 'postcard' snow), but I may be able to achieve an enhanced result by drybrushing some clear varnish over the Snow-Tex.

I do have a feeling, that I could create a similar compound myself - the Snow-Tex feels and looks very much like 'gloop', which is a mix of paint, sand, and PVA glue (the Snow-Tex even could be only white paint and sand), and if I keep using this stuff for winter bases, I think I should experiment with beach sand and white emulsion paint.

I have all but finished Santa's assistant, and I hope to be able to post pics of her tomorrow morning (before I start bringing in The Tree), and of the small Christmas Village Scene we have on our sideboard.




Thursday 22 December 2016

White Knight Miniature Imperium: The Daughters of Graf Weisz von Schnee (Christmas Wars)

Many of my esteemed readers may not be aware of the gems provided by LAF's White Knight - and if these are new to you, please go visit http://whiteknightminiatureimperium.blogspot.com , to find out what is available!

I got these in the mail yesterday, and am going to get them prepped and primed for painting over the holidays, because, if these are not suited for the Christmas Wars, I do not know many minis that are... 👸

I have also got the two Winter Sorceresses from North Star, and I am going to dig them out and get them prepped and primed, very soon, Do you feel a song coming up...? 😉

Wednesday 21 December 2016

2016-12-19 GoB: Lords of Undeath vs Orc Warlords, 2nd Battle, Part 3 - Conclusion

As the following will show, I still have not quite gotten the hang of, how to use my Heavy Chariot to full effect. As it has the same arcs, and move the same way as a formed unit (but without the Area of Control, if I have understood correctly), it is a bit difficult to place it effectively to make use of its Charge ability - especially when using it in a formed battleline like I did in this game.

As it were, I opted to move it forward, to be able to threaten a wider area and/or turn it to face enemy units as necessary. Furthermore, my Skeleton Horde was almost worn down, now, and I needed the Chariot to get clear of the War Orcs, not to get charged in the flank (flanks are really the weak point of the God of battles Lords of Undeath).


There must be a reason for the next photo, altough it is hard to determine what happened since the last one. I think the Troll charged the Necromancer's unit, and was beaten back - he now has an 'activated' token.


I didn't realize ti at this point, but the Greenskins really did not have much punch left close to my units to pose a real threat. Instead, I worried about my Skeleton Horde which was now rapidly crumbling to dust.


And finally the Skeleton Horde was destroyed. It held against the War Orcs until now, because I was able to raise a few Skeletons on previous turns, and again I fell that the Necromancer means a huge difference for the Undead army - never leave the graveyard without one!


I now turned my Chariot to face the triumphant War Orcs; note, that I could not charge them, as they were outside the Forward Arc when the Chariot started moving.


Again, my Necromancer drove his Skeleton Warriors into the Troll, and again the Troll was pushed back, but at a cost!


My Ghouls attacked the War Orcs, killed a couple of Orcs, and miraculously did not lose a single model. As the War Orcs are Tenacious, though, they had to Recoil after combat.


My Undead Knights had finally built up their resolve and started a headlong charge towards the Orcs' War Machine. The Orcs fired a shot, but missed miserably.


After ransacking my Baggage Train, the rampaging War Orcs started moving towards my rear, most likely to attempt taking my Camp.


I moved my intact and enhanced Skeleton Warrior unit in to support the Ghouls, and then I do not quite remember what happened. I think that I used my Chariot to charge the reduced unit of War Orcs, annihilating it - which meant that the Greenskin horde was reduced to exactly 24 points of scoring units + Camp and Baggage, which is the break Point for a 36 points battle.

I had lost 9 points (Skeleton Horde = 5, Baggae Train = 4), and thus had 39 points left on the table!


My first victory with my Lords of Undeath, yay!! 🙌🙌🙌

It feels like the Lords of Undeath benefit tremendously from strength in numbers; the more units in play, the more likely it is that enemy casualties are caused, and each time casualties are caused in Melee, there is a chance that an Undead model can be raised - giving the Necromancer the possibility to boost a unit that has lost models. This is potentially a very powerful ability - in this game a single Skeleton Horde (a rather powerless unit at 5 points) tied up one of the enemy's main fighting units for almost the entire battle, decimating it to be easily annihilated. As Undead units 'fight to the last Skeleton', not routing when reduced to 4 models like most other troop types, an Undead unit being boosted by raising new troops can become really difficult to get rid off! Of course, you have to draw cards with at least face value 5 for it to happen... 🙈🙉🙊

This battle clearly showed that armies consisting of many Formed Units should fight in a tight 'medieval/renaissance' kind of formation, thus protecting the vulnerable flanks, and limiting the enemies' freedom to maneuver with their 'Threat Areas'.

I am now more determined than ever to make my 'Main Infantry Battleline' basic 36 points force, consisting of four Skeleton Hordes (4x5=20 points), and two units of Skeleton Warriors (2x8=16 points). I only have to rebase and partially repaint two Skeleton Hordes, and make and paint standard bearers and leaders (and possibly musicians) for them, which I intend to do just after Christmas!

My Necromancer will then probably be placed in a Chariot behind the main battleline, hopefully able to hold out on his own, should the enemy outflank or break through my formation. 😣

This game was a blast! The Alternate Activation structure of God of Battles keeps both players immersed in the action at all times (it actually feels like breaking the tension to stand back and take a photo), and there is hardly an idle moment from the last unit is placed on the table, to the last dice are rolled. I wrote it before, and now I write it again: I am very fond of this game!

At some point, we may begin to use the weather rules, and even further in the future maybe also the special terrain rules, but that is still blowing in the wind... 😏

Tuesday 20 December 2016

Let it Snow...

A nice bloke at the LAF, going by the nick 'Hu Rhu', was so kind to send me this tub of scenic snow, so I can decorate Santa's base (and other, season-themed models) in an appropriate manner.

Gestures like this make me all warm and fluffy inside, and I raise a horn of mead in salute to this fine Gentleman!


I am going to make a test one of the next days, and then get some show on the base, just in time for Christmas, and maybe also on the base of Santa's Assistant - if I get her done in time, that is.

2016-12-19 GoB: Lords of Undeath vs Orc Warlords, 2nd Battle, Part 2

The Greenskin Shaman had used the 'Wait There!' Miracle, which was the reason for my battleline changing into an echelon. As I did not want to present the flanks of my Chariot and Formed Units to attack, I held back and let the Orcs come to me. Which they did.

The two enemy units in the centre now closed in on my left flank, and I despatched my Undead Knights to at least delay them.



More War Orcs joined the fray. My Ghouls placed themselves to act as a bump on the road, if need be.


The Necromancer urged his Skeleton Warrior unit forward, and pushed back the Mountain Troll.


The other Skeleton Warrior unit, enhanced with a Blacksoul and some Skeleton Dogs, veered off to support the Knights.


Lots of blood spilled, and bones split, in the ensuing grand melee. I shall have to read through the rules very thoroughly to check if we actually handled the situations correct. I have already found some things we definitely did not...


Some Goblin Pests (yes, they are called that), exploited the wide open gap in my lines to push forward and spray the Ghouls with arrows. The Ghouls may have been dug in, because all hits were saved.


On my far left, the lone unit of War Orcs finally arrived at my Baggage Train. The Troll charged back in. This must have been in Turn 4 or 5 - it is a bit difficult to keep track of the turns because of the Alternate Activation sequence, but this is actually a good thing, as one is kept on one's toes all through the game. Love it!


Although I - as always - rolled some very catastrophic batches of dice, and kind of felt that nothing I did was all that successful, things slowly but steadily went my way. The two units of War Orcs in the centre were worn down and finally routed, and the War Orcs on my right flank were nicely tied up by the Skeleton Horde, which, helped by the Necromancer raising new Skeletons, refused to be annihilated, and the Mountain Troll was pushed further and further back by the Necromancer's unit of Skeleton Warriors.

My almost 'oblique order' of battle effectively kept the War Machine guarding the enemy Baggage out of the battle, while the Orc Warlord swallowed the bait left out for him, taking another unit of War Orcs out of the equations.

Although my initial battleline was now disrupted, the Greenskins really did not have the units to exploit it, and my vulnerable flanks could not be threatened in force.


The last Goblins in the centre were despached by my Knihgts, who now prepared for a wild charge at the lonely War Machine. The Orcs manning it loaded and prepered to sell themselves as dearly as possible, with no hope of help arriving in time.


The Ghouls seemed bothered by the constant hail of arrows from the Goblin Pests, and decided that the little buggers would make a nice snack. Nom nom!


This concludes the second part of this AAR, as I have some other stuff to attend to (and another post to write). The third and last part will be written and posted tomorrow.