Demo Video for the Combat Patrol Skirmish Rules' New Star Wars Supplement

     I was privileged this past week to take part in the recording of a demonstration video for the just-released Star Wars supplement for Buck Surdu's innovative Combat Patrol: WWII skirmish rules.  I played in a small 2-player game, along with the supplement's author Greg Priebe.  The scenario we used was based on the first episode of the first season of the Clone Wars animated series, Ambush!.  Combat Patrol author, Buck Surdu, acted as our Game Master.

     It was a really fun and close game.  I commanded the Droid forces, and the Clones did managed to take out my two tanks;  but by the end I had severely wounded Yoda, and decimated the Clone force down to just a few remaining troopers.

   The free Star  Wars supplement, as well as Star Wars specific organizational unit cards, can be found on the Combat Patrol webpage: Combat Patrol .  Note, the basic Combat Patrol rules, and at least one Combat Patrol activation deck are needed to use this supplement.

Dollar Tree Sand Mold Sci-Fi Terrain

   When scouting the local Dollar Tree this past week, I saw this sand mold of the Sydney Opera House.  It's part of a collection they have along with other world landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, Pyramid, and Leaning Tower of Pisa.

     I thought is looked like it might be useful as some sort of Sci-Fi industrial structure, like a large generator, pumping station, or engine of some sort.   So I glued a couple stick-on gems to it and a simple plastic cap off of something, to give it a little texture.  In retrospect, you could apply even more cool add-ons to it, like access panels or make shift repairs covered in rivets.  The possibilities are endless, but I was in a hurry to get going with the painting, so I kept it kind of simple.

          I thought this piece would be another perfect chance to practice my salt and hairspray chipped paint technique, that I have ever only done once before.  So, I began by spraying it with a flat dark brown camouflage spray paint, and then splotched on some light brown and orange to give a rusty look to some areas.

      I then applied the hairspray, and while still wet, sprinkled kosher salt on it; mainly on the lower areas.  I let it dry for a short time, and then sprayed it with some medium blue satin-finish spray paint I happened to have.   I let the spray paint dry the minimum manufacturer recommended time, and then ran the piece under some warm water, and with a soft toothbrush gently brushed at the areas of salt.   I then let the piece throughly dry, and after that I painted the very bottom base layer with some medium gray paint to make it look a little like a concrete slab.

      When that was dry, I applied an allover wash of Citadel "Nuln Oil" wash using a wet brush.  Then, when the wash was dry, I gave the piece a light blue dry brushing .  Lastly, I applied some decals, and then applied a little paint to make the decals look aged and chipped up.  I let it sit over night and the next day my final step was to spray it with some Testor's Dullcote.

Shown with Reaper 28mm figures for scale.

    I'm really pleased with how this project turned out.  And considering it was only a dollar, I think it's pretty great!

Quick and Easy Cardboard Game Piece Frame Sci-Fi Building Ruins.

   So, a while back I saw someone's blog entry where they made some neat Sci-Fi ruins out of the cardboard frames that are left over after you punch game counters out of them; and ever since I've been looking for an opportunity to try it.  Then, I was with a friend a while back who was punching out the counters for his newly purchased copy of the Congo ruleset, and I asked if I could have the remaining cardboard frame left after all the counters were punched out.

     I first cut the frames into sections to look like partially destroyed walls, and glued them on to 6" x 6" cork tiles.  I made one 6" x 12" base by gluing two of the cork tiles together, in order to make one larger building.  I then added a few odds and ends to the walls using some dollar store lego and other plastic bits.

 I first gave them a base coat of some old Army Painter "Necrotic Flesh" I had on hand.

     When that was dry, I gave the ruins some burst sprays of some Krylon "Aqua" Sea Glass paint I had been wanting to try out.  I think it gave an interesting "alien" effect.

     I then painted the slabs with Americana "Terra Cotta".   I think it adds to the alien look.

    I added some other colors here and there to the detail bits I glued on earlier.  Then I slathered the ruins in some Citadel "Nuln Oil" wash, using a wet brush.  When that was dry, I drybrushed them with Americans "Bleached Sand".   Lastly, I sprayed them with some matte varnish.

Shown with some Reaper 28mm Sci-Fi figures for scale.

     I'm really happy with how these turned out.  They are't too complicated or detailed, but I think they'll look good on the table.   I especially like that they're made from what would have been trash. :)

A Pair of Simple 28mm Sci-Fi Storage Tanks (Testing a Chipped Paint and Rust Technique)

    We bought a package of cheap plastic ornaments at Michael's this past Christmas, and I commandeered two to make a couple of simple storage tanks with the goal of trying out a chipped paint and rust technique I had seen on Youtube.
   I began by gluing the ornaments cap-down onto a pair of small plastic cups, after first cutting holes in the bottoms of the cups to fit the ornament caps into. I then glued the cups to 1.25" fender washers.  When all the glue was dry, I sprayed the finish storage tanks with flat white spray paint.

      I then painted the bases and the undersides of the tanks with Ceramcoat "Walnut", and then added splotches of Americana "Terra Cotta", to give a weathered rusted look.

      Then when the rust paint had had a day to dry, I prepared a jar of kosher salt and can of hair spray, that I had purchased a while back at the local Dollar Tree store for this purpose.

      I liberally sprayed the bases and underside of each tank with the hair spray, and while the hair spray was still wet, I sprinkled the areas with the kosher salt.

      I let everything dry overnight, and the next day I sprayed the storage tanks with a khaki tan spray paint

      I then weathered the tanks with a wash of Citadel Agrax Earthshade" wash,  applied with a wet brush, carefully so as not to dislodge the salt.  When the wash was dry, I drybrushed the tanks with Americana "Bleached Sand".

     I let everything dry overnight, and the next day I ran the storage tanks under a weak stream of warm water as I gently scrubbed at the lower ares with an old soft toothbrush, to remove the salt.  When everything had overnight to dry, I gave them a spray varnish with Testor's Dullcote.

Shown with a 28mm Reaper Nova Corp Sgt. for scale.

     I am really happy with how they came out.  They're not perfect, but it was a good learning opportunity for the process.   I'm looking forward to making some more things I can try this on.

10mm Scourge Tank Battalion for LSNC: Sci-Fi

   We are slowly gearing up to begin work on our latest rulebook in the "Look, Sarge, No Charts" series of rules.  This will be geared towards Near Future and Science Fiction battles.   Therefore, I have been busily working on assembling some forces to use during playtesting; and have just completed my first full tank battalion.

The entire battalion

    I used tanks from the Scourge faction from Hawk Wargames Dropzone Commander range.  Since I didn't see needing a ton of Anti-Aircraft vehicles, which came with the Scourge Starter Sets I purchased,  I converted them to be HQ tanks for each company and the battalion.  I chose the Scourge becuase I like hover tanks, and I felt they had a cool alien look about them.

The Battalion HQ stand.

     I organized the battalion in a basic 3 by 3 arrangement of three companies with three platoons each.   I will probably eventually create an actual AA platoon stand to attach to the Battalion HQ once we start working on the aircraft support rules.

A company of three platoons and an HQ. 

10mm Sci-Fi Wrecked Battle Mech Terrain Build

     This past week I completed a new terrain piece for my ongoing 10mm Sci-Fi project.   I have a bunch of leftover Mechs from the clicky Mechwarrior game, and I got it in my head to construct a destroyed one  that was all rusted out; like it had stood for decades or centuries in the same spot where it had been knocked out.

   I began by slicing the mech from its clicky base, and then I used a pair of pliers to rip the arms and head off.  I then used a drill to make a big hole in the torso to look like where a missile had hit, knocking out the mech.  I also used the drill to enlarge some of the  holes where the arms and head had been connected.  I used my hobby knife to pry open the cockpit, and then cut down a 10mm Warmaster skeleton figure and glued it into the cockpit to represent the mech's  long-deceased pilot.
      Next,  I cut some small sections of thin wire and glued them in the holes with superglue to look like cables that had been ripped apart when the mech was destroyed.  I glued the parts with hot glue to a 3-inch plastic base that I had beveled the edge of with a hobby knife; and then covered the base with Tacky glue and applied a coating of sand.

      My next step was to spray the piece with flat black paint

   I then began applying some splotchy brown paint to achieve the rusted look.

     I finished painting the piece, and then applied some static grass here and there to the base.  Afterwards, I sprayed the whole thing with Testor's Dullcote varnish.
     I'm very please with how it turned out.  I think it will make a nice little vignette to decorate a battlefield, and perhaps provide some rough terrain and cover for units in play.

Shown here with 10mm Dropzone Commander Scourge infantry and a tank.

It's funny, as I was making this, the famous poem, Ozymandias, came to mind:

Ozymandias

     by Shelley 

I met a traveller from an antique land

Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:

And on the pedestal these words appear:

'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away

Strangest Scratchbuild: The Spirometer Sci-Fi Pumping Station

  A question was asked today on The Miniatures Page regarding what was the strangest object you had ever used to scratchbuild a piece of scenery.  This got me thinking about my many projects over the years.  After some recollection, I landed on the 25mm Sci-Fi pumping/fueling station I made using an old Spirometer that many years ago I had come home from the hospital with, after a bad bout of pnemonia.

     A Spirometer is used to help exercise your breathing and help you to expand your lungs and maintain their normal function.   I mounted my old one on a foamcoare base, and added a small foamcore building, as well as other bits and bobs to help disguise it.

   It's been over a decade since I built this, and it is still one of the pieces I'm most pleased with.

28mm Sci-Fi Tanks from Made-in-China Toys Conversion

  Right before Christmas I made a pair of Sci-Fi tanks as a present for a friend.  I had seen other folks online who had modified inexpensive toy tanks into Sci-Fi tanks before, and it seemed like a fun project to do.  I was happy to have a reason to make a pair of them myself.   I started by buying a bag of toy soldiers that contained two plastic tanks from the toy aisle at the local Walgreens.

    I replaced the existing turrets with ones made from old Spiriva inhalers, and the gun barrels were made from syringe covers.  I also added some engine pods to the backs of both tanks made from dollar store toy binoculars separated into two halves.  Other model and toy bits were then added to round out the look.

 I glued a large fender washer into the hole where the old turret sat, and a section of copper tubing to the underside of each turret, allowing them to rotate when in place on the hull.  When everything was assembled, and the glue had had time to dry, I sprayed the tanks with light green camo spray paint.

      When the spray was dry, I added details, weathering and decals to complete the vehicles.

    I'm pleased with how the pair turned out, and am looking forward to seeing them used in a game.

GALACTA: Another Trip Down Memory Lane

   In a recent discussion on the Reaper Forum ,the topic came up of the old Sci-Fi miniatures game called "GALACTA", which was produced by Heritage Miniatures.  I got the basic game set for this game for Christmas in either 1980 or '81, and I can remember spending a good part of Christmas afternoon painting the figures.

The orignal rules sheet that came with the boxed set.

  So, I was inspired to dig my old GALACTA figures out of a box full of assorted gaming stuff I never use, and look through some cabinet drawers to find where I had stuffed the old rules sheets; and spend a little while with my memories from the beginning years of my journey in the hobby of miniatures gaming.  While not the first miniatures I ever owned (that would be 15mm ACW) , these were certainly some of the earliest, and in turn some of the earliest figure painting I ever did that I still own. Needless to say, my skills have improved in the past 35 years. And, I truly think there is a certain charm and character to these old sculpts.  In fact, I'm happy to report some of these old warriors still are part of my current armies.  The "Octopoid" figures that I got in that first basic set, still make up part of my force of Wellsian Martians for my VSF on Mars armies.
   

Rebel Leader, Rebel Adventurer, and Woman Assault Leader

Stormtroopers and Storm Trooper Officer.  These were the ones i got in the original boxed game  set

At a later date I added another squad

A pair of Alien Squogs (Squirrel Dog) and a big lizard guy.  One of the Squogs came with the boxed game set, the other was part of a later purchased Aliens blister, along with the big lizard guy.

Planetary Striker Officer and Planetary Strikers

2 Security Bots and Warbot

Octopoid Grenadier, Section Leader, and Cannonier. Note the updated bases to use with my current troops for Mars.

The original painting guide and scenarios sheet.