Civilians and Settlers for the French and Indian War

Work has been extremely busy lately which is why I've been silent for a few weeks ... however fear not as progress has been made on several fronts!  I've been fortunate enough to have another large wave (perhaps my final wave) of French and Indian War miniatures completed for Muskets and Tomahawks.  I'll be making a separate post for my French reinforcements that are done now - this post is focused on the civilians and settlers that will be filling out my local habitations - both native and not.  Once again a special thanks to Artmaster Studio for great work.

First up, those awesome Perry Miniatures wagons that are available.  I just had to have these are they are a excellent added touch to any battlefield.  I have three wagons of various sizes that I'll use for scenarios (escort for example) or to just add some flavor to the local battlefield.

Powder cart, Perry Miniatures AW125

Tumbrel cart, Perry Miniatures AW127

Ammunition wagon, Perry Miniatures AW126

I've added 12 native "civilians" as well (as I have a few long houses and will do up a small native settlement).

Conquest Miniatures

Conquest Miniatures

Redoubt Enterprises

Redoubt Enterprises

My american colonists are led by the Mayor (local leader) and his lovely wife.

The Mayor and his wife (or mistress)

Rounding out the american colonists are 20 of the sort you'd find around town or on a farm.  These are a mix of Conquest Miniatures and Perry Miniatures.

American colonists

American colonists

American colonists

American colonists

I'm working through basing a new French regiment of regulars (La Reine) and an officer and two units of Canadian Militia (Coureur des Bois).  I'm also doing a large batch of Bolt Action vehicles for my German and British armies (~15 vehicles), and of course more terrain - so lots to come!

Anti-tank? Yes please!

I just finished painting my British 6pdr anti-tank gun.  I also wrapped up my PaK40 the other day and now both my British and German armies have anti-tank gun teams added to them.  I haven't done any camo on the PaK40 yet ... I may do it ... I may not ... going to wait and see.

Before we get to the pictures ... how about a quote from Kelly's Heroes (after Cowboy drives into the barn at the beginning and crashes into a support column):

Corporal> "God dammit Cowboy!"

Cowboy> "I don't know what shit you talk'in bout boy; there aint three tanks out there, there's about 20 of them - aint that right Willard!"

Man I love that movie!  Pictures below of the gun teams.

Ready for action!

British 6pdr

British 6pdr

British 6pdr

British 6pdr

German PaK40

German PaK40

German PaK40

German PaK40

I'm looking forward to using these soon in a game of Bolt Action!

Explosions and Craters

With my recent games of Bolt Action I've been inspired to build some blast markers/explosions and some craters to represent artillery and mortar strikes.  Hopefully you like them --- I'm looking forward to using them in my games!

Materials list:

1 x Armory Matt Black Spray Primer
1 x GW Skull White Spray Primer
1 x Woodland Scenics Clump Foliage Package (any color)
1 x Hot Glue Gun with lots of glue sticks
2mm thickness MDF bases 60mm round (from Warbases - for the large blasts)
25mm round Rendra plastic bases (for the small blasts)
Several stripes of round balsa wood dowels (for creating the armatures for the large blasts)
Several wire spears 50mm long (for creating the armatures for the small blasts)
(optional) 2 x packs of blast craters from Architects of War

The first thing I did was my blast craters from Architects of War.  Below is a picture and the steps I used to finish them.

Step1: Black primer.
Step2: Drybrush of GW scorched earth.
Step3: Drybrush of GW graveyard earth.
Step4: Light drybrush of Foundry Sand 10C (can also use GW bleached bone).
Step5: Painted the rocks with Foundry Slate Grey 32A.
Step6: Drybrush the rocks with Foundry Slate Grey 32B.
Step7: Drybrush the rocks with Foundry Slate Grey 32C.
Step8: GW static grass around the blast hole.

AoW blast craters

I started with the armatures.  I used my drill to drill holes at angles for the "outside" ring of the blast and drilled a straight up hole for the center of the blast.  I used my small hand drill for the small blast marker to achieve the same structure for the armatures on the small base.  Picture below.

Base and armatures done

Next I used the hot glue gun to glue the Woodland Scenics clump foliage to the armatures.  You really do need a proper hot glue gun (they are cheap) for this as if you just try to glue it you'll have a slow and/or difficult go of it.  I start by getting foliage on the base, then I work the armatures individually, then I fill out the bottom of the blast a little as needed.

Now, using a hot glue gun for this you are going to get lots of "streaks" from the hot glue.  Let them dry then use tweezers to remove them.  If you try to remove them while they are not dry they'll make a bigger mess. Pictures below.

Adding the clump foliage

Adding the clump foliage

Next I got my spray paint out.  The first thing you want to do at this point is get a healthy base coat of black primer on the clump foliage ... but that doesn't mean spray it from 1cm away!  I recommend about 4 "rounds" of black spray.  The first I try to hit it from about 8-12 inches away ... getting "under" it (as much as you can while it is not on it's side), in the sides, from the top down, all around.  The reason you don't want to be too close is that the power of the spray will blow off the clump foliage.  By taking a lighter approach first the paint will help secure the foliage that isn't set firmly by the glue.  The second round I tip it on it's side and hit it from the bottom.  The third round is really just touch ups ... making sure that I have got black into all the cracks and such.  Pictures below.

Black and white spray primer

Sprayed black

Ok, almost there!  This last step is critical.  Time for the white spray primer.

Take your black blast markers ... get the GW white spray paint.  It is critical that you do this from about 2-3 feet ... yes, feet, away.  I start far away and move a little closer depending on how the white is applying to the clump foliage.  If you are too close you'll get black recesses with very white clumps ... it will look not right.  You are attempting to get the blast marker into the "mist" of the spray paint.  I spray at all the various angles until it looks right.  Once you get this done the blast marker is complete.  Pictures below.

Completed blast markers

Large blast (for artillery strikes)

Large blast size comparison (that is a Warlord Games
28mm Bolt Action miniature)

The small blast marker (for mortar strikes) - note it
is sitting in one of my blast craters

Small blast marker beside a blast crater

Ok, they'll do ... not the best but good enough for me.  You can of course add some "flames" in there if you want using colour washed cotton, or the Flames of War pre-coloured flames (not sure if they still sell it ... I used to have a bunch).

Until next time - happy gaming!

Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures - Set Complete

With the release of Wave 2 (huzzah!) of the ships for the Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures game by Fantasy Flight Games I've been able to complete my fleet of ships for both the Rebel Alliance and Imperial Fleet.

The fine folks over at Battle Foam have several sets that help protect your miniatures.  I had picked up the P.A.C.K. 216 set that includes foam trays for all the ships I have and the rules, markers and such.

My Rebel fleet rounds out with the following:

1 x YT-1300
6 x X-Wing
4 x Y-Wing
6 x A-Wing

My Imperial fleet includes:

2 x Bounty Hunter
8 x Tie Fighter
4 x Tie Advanced
5 x Tie Interceptor

Pictures of the fleets below.

My Rebel fleet

My Imperial fleet

Bolt Action British

Progress ... huzzah!  My base British army for Bolt Action is now complete.  I used every last bit of Swamp Tuffs I had to wrap this up ... almost got stuck waiting for more to arrive.  I'm happy with how the army has come out, and I'm particularly pleased with the decals that are included in the Warlord Games boxed set.

I'm nearing completion on a 6pdr anti-tank gun and have several vehicles to complete, but this is the core of the army.  I need to add a sniper and forward observation team.

1 x Officer w two extra riflemen

1 x Medic

1 x MMG team

1 x 3" Mortar team

1 x 2" Light Mortar team

1 x PIAT team

10 x Infantry (1 NCO w SMG, 1 LMG and 8 riflemen)

10 x Infantry (1 NCO w SMG, 1 LMG and 8 riflemen)

10 x Infantry (1 NCO w SMG, 1 LMG and 8 riflemen)

Pictures below - enjoy!

My base British army.

Ready for inspection!

Officer with two extra riflemen.

"Medic!"

3" mortar team.

Vickers MMG team.

2" light mortar team.

PIAT team.

One of three infantry sections.

As always, more to come!

Give Your Dice Some Love!

As many of you may have seen in my gaming pictures I use a clear bucket to roll my dice in --- this is called a "Dice Shield" and is an exceptional piece of gamer bling.  The Dice Shield I have is actually just a prototype of the product ... I was lucky enough to bribe the creator at a local convention with enough cash for him to give it up to me!  I've just been informed that the project is now live up on Kickstarter ... which is great ... because I want one for each corner of my table (right now we share a single one in the middle of the table ... would rather have one on each side at least).

Disclaimer:  I'll be clear, I have no financial investment involved here ... I'm merely a "user" ... and I have no real connection to the creator who, beyond meeting him at a local convention once and chatting with him a couple of times over that weekend, I have no other involvement with him.

The Dice Shield - even comes with extender legs
(pegs - not pictured) so it hovers above
your miniatures and terrain.

Anywho, please check it out ... and get one for yourself on the Dice Shield Kickstarter!

Battle Report 2/15/2013 - Bolt Action

I was fortunate to get a game of Bolt Action in last night.  I very much enjoyed my first game of Bolt Action a couple of weeks ago and was excited to get another go at it.  Since the last game I was able to finish basing my Germans ... but I'm still in the process of basing the British.  I still need to fix the helmets on the German MG42 team (MMG) as they should be camo - I'm getting to it soon!  I still have a lot of work to do on my terrain for the period ... but I have enough to gear up a fun game at the moment.

We rolled the "Point Defence" scenario.  The British decided to be the attackers and the Germans choose the table edge nearest the town.  Normally it is expected that the players will play across the 4' table span - but for fun we decided instead to play down the length of my 4'x8' table.  As a result, we adjusted the deployment zones.  Normally the defender deploys 12" in from the table edge - we modified this to 24" (anywhere in "front" of the river - see pictures for table layout).  Normally the attacker moves onto the table in the first turn - we modified this to be a full movement (so each unit got to "run" onto the table to start) - this meant most everything was at 12" with the exception of the Sherman tank which got out to 18" on the main road.

For the scenario, at the end of turn 6 you roll to see if the game continues.

BRITISH ARMY (Roy Scaife)
Regular 2nd Lieutenant (50), 2 x Riflemen (20) = 70pts
Regular NCO + 9 men (100), 1 x LMG (20), 1 x SMG (3) = 123pts
Regular NCO + 9 men (100), 1 x LMG (20), 1 x SMG (3) = 123pts
Regular NCO + 9 men (100), 1 x LMG (20), 1 x SMG (3) = 123pts
Regular Forward Artillery Observer (free) = free
Veteran Medic (30) = 30pts
Regular MMG team (50) = 50pts
Regular Medium mortar (50) = 50pts
Regular Light Mortar (35) = 35pts
Regular PIAT team (40) = 40pts
Regular Sherman tank (195) = 195pts
TOTAL POINTS = 839pts

GERMAN ARMY (Jay White)

Regular 2nd Lieutenant (50), 2 x Riflemen (20) = 70pts
Regular NCO + 9 men (100), 1 x LMG (20), 2 x SMG (6), 2 x Panzerfaust (10) = 136pts
Regular NCO + 9 men (100), 1 x LMG (20), 2 x SMG (6), 2 x Panzerfaust (10) = 136pts
Regular NCO + 9 men (100), 1 x LMG (20), 2 x SMG (6) = 126pts
Veteran Medic (30) = 30pts
Regular MMG team (50) = 50pts
Regular Medium mortar (50) = 50pts
Regular Hetzer tank (225) = 225pts
TOTAL POINTS = 838pts

The British preparatory bombardment put 1-2 pin markers on most of the German infantry units.  The unit advancing over the bridge took a single casualty.

Turn 1 saw the Germans moving their two infantry sections with Panzerfausts towards the nearest buildings in the town.  The British advanced and not much else of note other than moving into positions.

Turn 2 the two advancing German infantry units gain the two buildings (1st floors).  The British started their Mortar attacks against the buildings.  Most of those attacks saw the rounds explode on the roof level or 2nd level ... not making it down to the first floor.  The Hetzer moved towards and behind the blown up building - in position to pop out and take the advancing Sherman by surprise.  My plan was to activate the Hetzer first, and if it was unsuccessful in taking out the Sherman tank, I would use my medium mortar to lay a smoke screen on the road.  Of course, no plan survives contact with the enemy ...

Turn 4-6 saw the British continue to fire upon the infantry in the buildings while inching forward.  They would not get much farther than this point.  The mortar hits on the building continued to explode on the roof or 2nd floors ... but the pin markers started piling up.  The Hetzer did pop out and I rolled very well and the Sherman tank was knocked out.  That really took the luster out of the British advance.

In the end, on turn 6, we rolled and the game ended.  We started playing the game late at night ... we should have added at least two more turns ... but both of us were tired and Roy (this being his first game) was very happy with the rules/game ... so I'm looking forward to filling out my armies and terrain for this period.

Lots of pictures below.

The table setup - view 1

The table setup - view 2

The table setup - view 3

The table setup - view 4

German deployment

German deployment

German deployment - the red markers are the three
objectives that are required by the scenario.

"Hetzer - dang near killed her!"

Medium mortar provided support primarily
by laying smoke screens.

The two sections with Panzerfausts advanced forward
to occupy the buildings hoping for an opportunity
to fire at the Sherman tank.

The MG42 holds the left flank of the German line.

That 75mm is damn nasty!

The British get underway - heavy concentration
against the German right flank.

Everyone is deployed.

End of turn 1

End of turn 1

End of turn 1

End of turn 2 - the Hezter is position to
spring a trap against the Sherman!

End of turn 2

Just one more action ...

The trap is sprung - and my dice are hot!
The Sherman goes "KA-BOOM" ...

The smoking hulk of the Sherman provides
cover for the advancing infantry.

The British continue to push on their right flank
but the German infantry in the buildings
are keeping them busy.

I think we are going to need the PIAT ...

The Hetzer advances to MMG the PIAT team
that has moved out of cover - killing one of the team ...

Two smoke screens are visible.  The British are focusing
medium and light mortar attacks on the "green"
house - the pin marks on the German Infantry
are starting to pile up ...

More pictures ... showing turns 4, 5 and 6 (which when we rolled became the last turn).

Turn 6 - endgame - called in favour of the Germans.

That's all for now folks!