oMAD

Here’s an update from the painting table.

First a couple of Panzerjäger Tiger Elefant (or just Ferdinand) for the German to kill some tanks.

Then back to Middle-earth with another Gimli and an Aragorn model.

Three different Gollum models. Two are GW, the other is not. I’m not even sure it’s Mithril, but no doubt it’s Smeagol himself.

And now a treat. The first in many, many trolls. This is the cave troll from the Mines of Moria set with a little armor from another plastic troll kit. I just love trolls so much I’m seriously considering making a big troll force to play around with. Painting it was a pleasure, and it’s become one of my favorite LotR models so far.

And to finish with the Moria set, here’s the remainder of the scenery. The hollow well required a base, so I just went and based all of the smallest scenery pieces on balsa wood (and then some texture) except for the chest, which I can see being used for lots more than just Moria. Guess I’m off to Khazad-dum soon (all figures and scenery finished now).

Next up. Let’s see. Six dwarves for sure. A goblin shaman as well. And a russian tank killer this time, a SU-85. That’s about it for now.

Thank you all who have made comments on the previous post for your ideas. Instead of replying in the comments I thought about doing an update on the subject.

Regarding the excellent idea of making beach or shore boards to connect sea and land boards, I must say I completely love it. But thankfully I have an even better option than making complete 60×60 cm boards of that.

Remember I said something about very little waste when cutting the boards, but also that I had them cut too? Well, what I brought home with me was three little boards measuring 60×18 cm. They are just perfect for shore connection boards, and having three of them means I can use them for wide or long beaches.

Hell, the possibilities this opens up makes the boards way more than just 4 gaming tables. I’m thinking Epic Armageddon scenarios with sea, land and cityscape, all in one. And it’s not all thinking, for I have started making the tables already. I must say though that I underestimated the amount of paint they take. By a lot!

Right now the desert boards are gaining votes for the remainder six boards. They are pretty useful both for sci-fi as well as ancient gaming. Wouldn’t have Alexander charge through green fields now would you?

Here’s a pic of the connecting boards, though they’re already turning into shore as I write this. I will show some progress in the coming weeks. I’ve also got some Khazad-dum scenery on the way, as well as many figures. Maybe a tutorial or two!

Thanks again for your comments.

…is this? This, my friend, is four different 4×6 feet gaming tables. Each of those 12 boards is roughly 2×2 feet (60cm), 5.5mm thick MDF. Cheap as hell, made from just one big board (less than 2% waste, which was also cut to my requirements and brought home), and ready to receive some texture.

I will make 4 different boards, six panels each, texturing both sides of each panel. One is generic dirt/grass. The other, your regular wasteland/cave terrain (AKA Khazad-dum). A third one will be water, ocean boards for several uses. The fourth one, I still don’t know. I do not wargame space combat (yet).

Do you have any ideas for it?

PS: They will not be modular terrain boards. Just texture. I like my scenery completely independent of the gaming table.

PPS: Both my mother and my brother got themselves a Blackberry phone today. I got me 12 wooden boards. Now, guess who was the excited one?

So wonderful…

Peter Cushing and toy soldiers

Just follow the link. You will enjoy it.

And here’s a little quote from the man.

Television is rather a frightening business. But I get all the relaxation I want from my collection of model soldiers.

Found via Battle Game of the Month.

I’ve been looking closely to a couple of WW2 skirmish games. I’m really letting NUTS! off the table right now, because I want something a bit bigger. NUTS! gets a little slow when you go beyond a couple of squads a side, and the tank rules never seemed nice to me.

So, I’ve been reading two games that give you a platoon level game, that can be toned down or up easily, and that give you good use of tanks, vehicles, and even some air power. They are Battlefield Evolution: World at War, and Disposable Heroes and Coffin for Seven Brothers.

They are both really good rules, with exactly the same level of play, and both supported by a healthy flow of supplements with either scenarios or force lists. So far the biggest difference is that BE: WaW uses the same basic mechanics for both infantry and vehicles, while DHC7B has a different way of dealing with it. However, the game’s design philosophy is clear about why, and might make up the (very little) extra complexity with better results when playing with infantry and tanks together.

What a nice dilemma, having too much too good to make a decision. Planning to give both a spin, and of course share the results here.

A ton of ruskies waiting for some paint.