The Penny Whistle

Star Trek Fleet Captains in the Lion's Den

2012-01-11T05:40:00.000-08:00

The wargame club gathered around the Lion's Den table at Ken's for a try at the new November birthday present, "Star Trek Fleet Captains." Many people have reveiwed this game and the production quality is reknown for the obstacles and difficulty of actually acquiring a playable copy. I was in that group that purchased a model kit instead of a game. After 3 attempts by customer service I was able to put my copy in play. I bought it in November. It's January.

Enough griping, cue the theme music...

We played a four player version with all 50 space location hexes in play. I got the motion picture soundtrack and played it on the cd player. We had a video from youtube as a game precursor. I emailed this link to the players pre game night. I also downloaded some cheat sheets from the board game geek web site.

The game is fun and has a variety of victory paths. This game went to the might of Klingon combat force. We scored our 12th victory point by causing a catastrophic kill on a Fed science vessel.
Go figure.

We will be playing this game again now that it is on it's legs.

Song of Arthur and Merlin

2011-11-04T07:01:00.000-07:00

It was the Duke's birthday and the castle was festive in preparation for the event. The household knights had been in training for weeks to put on a grand melee. The twins Cadlew and Connor watched from the parapet as the retainers and house men at arms assembled on the melee field. Gwynfannon and his band was an easy favorite.

Gwynfannon (right) would prove his mettle this day on the field. Surrounded and being assailed on all sides he would sweep the opponents from the field and cause wiser men to rethink even to cross lances with the castle champion.

Sir Tyllid surveys the field and tries to send in his lance to his advantage.
The day went well for Tyllid and his warband but the strength and prowess of the castle champion became too much. In fatigue and disgust Tyllid retired from the field to try and fight another day.

The height of the action. 90mm wargame fun in the Lion's Den using Ganesha Games, Song of Arthur and Merlin.

Napoleonic 5MM Battle of Knieffer-Haffen

2011-10-21T06:50:00.000-07:00

The Lion's Den Wargamers convened for an evening of Napoleonic warfare using the DBA period variant DBN. The rules are DBA with element alternatives that depict Napoleonic troop types and weapons. Very easy to adapt to if you are familiar with DBA. The download from Fanaticus prints out on 3 pages with combat factors and outcomes listed for the variety of new elements during this period

These images are of new troops in uniform from my scratchbuilding 5mm activities. The figures are made from needlepoint knitting plastic. They are based on 40mm element bases as per DBA.

Our game pitted myself and Carl vs. the Napoleonic afficianado Nick. Nick commanded the British in their attack of the Belgium commercial center of Knieffer-Haffen. Nick won by demoralizing two of our divisions and commanded a successful river crossing in the attempt.

Aerial view of the battlefield showing the Knieffer river and tributaries leading into the city.

My left flank division crossing the river to try and outflank the British.

The British cross unopposed and gain the foothold that would threaten the center of the French defense.

This is an early disposition shot after turn two or three.

Pre-battle.

Troops on manuever.

Aliens - This Time It's War 54mm Sci-Fi

2011-09-02T11:13:00.001-07:00

The Secondhand Lions converged on the Lion's Den this Thursday the 1st of September 2011 to prepare our convention presentation at Recruits September convention. We did a practice run through the Aliens Leading Edge title "This Time It's War." This is a recreation of the movie reactor room scene where the colonial marines face the xenomorph in an attempt to get the hell out of the alien hive. Double click images for a heads up display.
"Hicks check your helmet cam.."

For those about to Rock We Salute You!!!!

Initial deployment screens with fire.

Xenomorph encounterd and neutralized.

Being watched.

The retreat is cut off.

I played Crowe and was about to be consigned to the bagage column. This xeno incapacitated me and next thing I knew was waking up in the APC on the way back to base.

A view of the reactor room.

Our left flank is wave attacked by multiple contacts!!!!!

My other marine, Dietrich was to remain behind for close personal contact with the new alien species. She did in the course of the retreat whip 2 xenos off of Apone. Only to be the last marine in the hive firing away with the flamer as she was covered in acid and dead bodies of the aliens....

7 marines made it to the awaiting APC for a complete marine victory. I however was down 50% and wounded.

Wilson's Creek 150th Reenactment August 14th

2011-08-15T20:03:00.000-07:00

Union forces.

12 pounder called "Thunder". This gun shook my teeth!

View of the assault on bloody hill.

View from behind the Missouri lines.

To our right was the confederate artillery.

Out front was the Federals on the far hill.

Confederates moving into line.

Pre battle muster.

Total tourist. I bought the caps at Gettysburg and my son Aaron and I wore them to root for our favorite side. Here we pose before a confederate gun. Got the tourist program, and t-shirt along with a bullet from Stones River battlefield.

Had a really great day with my family and enjoyed the event.

The Battle of Wilson's Creek August 10th, 1861

2011-07-29T09:15:00.000-07:00

The Secondhand Lions celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Wilson's Creek this last Thursday and played our 54mm reenactment game featuring significant battlefield terrain and positions of troops at the outset of the battle.

This image shows the battlefield and Confederate bivouac. We used the club's VBACW rules that were written and compiled back in 1993 which are a chromed version of J. Morschauser's rules.
In this image we are looking northwest across Wilson's creek at Sharp's cornfield and Bloody Hill.

This image shows Sharp's cornfield looking north at the valley of camped Confederates. The scenario required the Confederates to roll a 1D6 and score a 6 to come out of bivouac and be able to move. Subsequent turns the needed score was 5,6 and then the next turn would have been 4,5,6. The Confederates activated two regiments on the very first turn!! This allowed for a quick reaction to the federal attack.

As the Federal attack begins the Missouri troops are called to action.

Formed troops turn toward the hill and see the attacking Fed's coming into view over the rise.

Franz Sigel's battery opens up on the Texans camped in Sharp's cornfield. The battery was to get off three turns of fire into the troops before they could roll their activation and begin to fight off the bombardment.

Another view of Sigel's battery bombarding the cornfield.

The Pulaski Arkansas battery lies in ruin in this fight and was put out of action by the federal artillery on Bloody Hill!

This image is a pretty neat recreation of the battlefield.

Description: Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Lyon’s Army of the West was camped at Springfield, Missouri, with Confederate troops under the commands of Brig. Gen. Ben McCulloch approaching. On August 9, both sides formulated plans to attack the other. About 5:00 am on the 10th, Lyon, in two columns commanded by himself and Col. Franz Sigel, attacked the Confederates on Wilson’s Creek about 12 miles southwest of Springfield. Rebel cavalry received the first blow and fell back away from Bloody Hill. Confederate forces soon rushed up and stabilized their positions. The Confederates attacked the Union forces three times that day but failed to break through the Union line. Lyon was killed during the battle and Maj. Samuel D. Sturgis replaced him. Meanwhile, the Confederates had routed Sigel’s column, south of Skegg’s Branch. Following the third Confederate attack, which ended at 11:00 am, the Confederates withdrew. Sturgis realized, however, that his men were exhausted and his ammunition was low, so he ordered a retreat to Springfield. The Confederates were too disorganized and ill-equipped to pursue. This Confederate victory buoyed southern sympathizers in Missouri and served as a springboard for a bold thrust north that carried Price and his Missouri State Guard as far as Lexington. In late October, a rump convention, convened by Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson, met in Neosho and passed an ordinance of secession. Wilson’s Creek, the most significant 1861 battle in Missouri, gave the Confederates control of southwestern Missouri.

Fourth of July Dawn Patrol 2011

2011-07-06T20:20:00.000-07:00

The Dawn Patrol game for the Secondhand Lions was played as per tradition on the morning of the 4th. We began at 8:00 with mimosas on the patio. Flying sorties began around 8:30 featuring Jasta 11 vs. Squadron 60. The German planes were dominant this year despite repeated jamming of the guns. All three allied planes were destroyed and forced down.

I am teaching at a summer camp this year and have passed the tradition of clothespin aircraft on to the next generation.

Best regards to all readers and happy fourth of July.

Song of Arthur and Merlin Song of Blades and Heroes

2011-05-20T07:56:00.000-07:00

King Vortigern had given the summons to call out the retinue. All artificers and craftsmen had been summoned to build a tower of refuge for the king. The land was invaded and loyal house knights must earn their keep and pay homage to the usurper king and try and keep their fief controlled and free of invading looters.
Sir Gafannon, Sir Tylyd, and Sir Tywain and the men at arms that were in the vicinity of Lincoln castle began a progress of the fief looking for invaders. Duke Aeron knew that being so far to the north of London it was not likely that a large army was in the area...

Near the perilous chapel an enemy patrol was encountered. Saxons mounted on horseback and a fyrd levy were looting the local countryside.

The Song of Blades was commenced.

Sir Tylyd and Tywain charge in amongst the fyrdmen. Hacking and slaying the enemy.

Sir Tylyd pokes the Saxon Rider right in the eye!!
The evening ended with one of my favorite kinetic adventure games. Dragon Strike MB.

and I got the Dragon's eggs out of the cave and won.

Cheers.

Kurita Command Report From Proserpina Leads the Evening News from PRSPNN

2011-05-06T07:48:00.000-07:00

Guest article written from the desktop of the Kurita commander, Ted Conn.

we rejoin our broadcast already in progress...

Intro: It has been almost a year since we started the Proserpina campaign. For info on the first installment of this campaign, go to http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/522394/the-battle-for-proserpina-part-1.

I will refresh some information originally relayed in ‘part 1’, as it has been a while! The variant rules we use in this campaign are here on BGG. Info on the variant, called Call To Honor, can be found here: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/271685/mechwarrior-call-to-honorSetting:Proserpina is a world ravaged by war. Nuclear fallout, scorched earth policy and various highly contested engagements on the world have led to the creation of several continental 'Dead Zones'. Fast forward several years. The Draconis Combine (House Kurita) rules with an iron fist. Dirt poor people scratch out meager existences by foraging in the 'Dead Zones' and finding lost tech or anything else of value. The populace rails silently against the oppressive Draconis regime. The Highlanders, a collection of mercenaries (terrorists?), aim to throw off Kurita’s yoke and return Proserpina to its original ‘glory’...for some unknown entity.Situation:Kurita’s iron grip on Proserpina was challenged. Pride Town had been attacked in a most devious, yet disconcerting manner. Draconis High Command, while commending the actions of the planet side commander for his role in maintaining order during the attack, issued a military lock down. All civilian traffic was considered hostile while the situation was further assessed.

Within a day after the battle ended, recon ‘mechs to the NW of Pride Town reported a large column of civilian vehicles heading toward the ‘Dead Zone’. A majority of these vehicles appeared to contain supplies that a settlement would require: Foodstuffs, housing fabrications, etc. As this information was relayed, a sizable force of armor and infantry appeared from the ‘Zone’ in question and assumed a defensive position along the vehicles’ route. Oddly, their IFF signatures didn’t signify ‘foe’, even though the recon ‘mechs could clearly see they weren’t Draconis forces. The planetary commander didn’t waste any time dispatching three lances of ‘mechs, air cavalry and power armored troops to the location. The order was clear: There are no civilians in this conflict. Kill anything in sight.

Map:The map featured a road that ran from the SE to the NW. There was another road that intersected and ran straight north about 1/3 of the way into the map. The terrain was mainly comprised of rock formations and was considered ‘rough’ terrain for wheeled vehicles. There were two built-up areas on the map: A small resupply station in the SE corner and a heretofore unknown collection of buildings along the road, in the NW area of the ‘Dead Lands’. The insurgents were formed in a defensive position along the length of the western edge of the board. The Kuritan forces entered from the east, with the ‘mechs entering along the road in the SE corner of the board. Game:The objectives for both sides were clear. The insurgents had to get their ‘civilian’ vehicles off the western edge of the map. Kuritan forces had to inflict as much damage to the insurgents as they could.The game started with Kuritan forces, the 9th Benjamin Regulars (Ted and Carl), coming in ‘hot and heavy’ from the east. The ‘mechs pushed their heat sinks as they hurried to catch up to the fleeing ‘civilian’ vehicles. With insurgent military forces looming on the horizon, but still out of effective range, the ‘mechs fired on the convoy, knocking out a couple of vehicles and damaging a couple more. They then blended into the resupply station’s buildings and waited of the enemy to close the distance. Meanwhile, the air units and armor moved to engage the enemies’ defensive perimeter. They started giving and taking fire almost immediately. Even under this storm of tightly-knit energy beams and hot flying metal, the transport VTOLs continued to head due west, directly into the heart of the enemy’s formations.

The Highlanders (Bill and Ken) reacted immediately and aggressively. The SW mass of ‘mechs and armor moved toward the resupply station and the Draconis forces. They opened fire on anything within their HUDs, inflicting light damage to a couple of units. The center (west) Highlander forces didn’t have to move to engage their enemies, as the Draconis VTOLS and air support helicopters had not only moved in and started deploying power armored infantry, but had split into two formations near the Highlander rear. These aerial units took a great deal of damage, with two VTOLs knocked out of the sky.

The second Kuritan turn included a lot of action. A large ‘mech battle along the southern flank raged without any Highlander or Kuritan losses. The battle’s center was littered with dead forced from both sides (mainly infantry), but the insurgents’ IFF scramblers were discovered. Unfortunately, there wasn’t time to destroy them. The northern flank was stalemated by rough terrain and poor shooting, but both sides were closing to get into short range.

Unfortunately, the evening ended before a firm resolution on any part of the front could be established. We sat around the table and discussed what most likely would have happened, which brings us to…
Ending:The outcome of the battle wasn’t clear, as the conflict wasn’t carried to the end. Five convoy vehicles had been destroyed or rerouted to the north. However, some key points in the campaign were established.

Draconis-
The insurgents established a base of operations in the ‘Dead Zone’, which was believed to be uninhabitable. The exact location of this base is unknown. It is also known that the insurgents have the capability of masking their IFF signatures. This was evidenced in the initial Pride Town attack and was also observed during the attack on the convoy. This reinforced the need for martial law and the ‘shoot first, ask later’ mentality Kuritan troops had adopted. Some supplies did make it into the ‘Dead Zone’, indicating that the rebels’ continued viability in the area should be considered a fact. Incursions into the ‘Dead Zone’ to locate and destroy the insurgents’ base of operations are highly recommended.

Highlanders-
Things went according to plan, more or less. The damned Kuritans caught wind of our convoy and destroyed valuable supplies, but we did get quite a lot of supplies, ammunition and people to further our cause. We didn’t figure they’d open fire on the convoy, but evidently they are taking us seriously. Good. They should, because we’re in this for the long haul. With the old man’s information, we can pursue our goals to rid Proserpina of House Kurita and the Draconis Combine. They did discover our IFF jamming stations, which is a shame, but the information cost them dearly.

Operation Bulldog Part II After Action Report

2011-04-29T09:10:00.000-07:00

The military activity on Proserpina has accelerated after a fortune in mercenary money was donated to the cause. One of the first targets the insurgents attacked was the Bulldog Tank works on Proserpina.

Bulldog Enterprise is located in a northern sector of Pridetown and is heavily guarded by the 9th Benjamin Regulars. The Highlander Mercenary Unit that attacked them was paid for using a sizable donation from a retired mechwarrior named Thomas Clearwater.

This view of downtown Pridetown includes portions of the Bulldog campus. 9th Benjamin Regulars can be seen moving into responsive positions to intercept Highlander mechs.

An aerial view taken from the Highlander command vtol.

An urgent looking Goshawk from 2nd Batt. 1st Co. 9th Benjamin crashes through the lush palms on the Bulldog industrial campus to try and halt an encroaching Atlas.

The Highlander force has a toehold in the wasteland and has landed on planet additional forces that have still to be encountered or accounted for...
This attack signals a new and reinforced threat to Kurita control over Proserpina.

Bulldog Red building is being looted by the Highlander infantry. Part of the objective was to secure mech specifications and technical data from the industrial complex.

From top of image to bottom: Blue, Yellow and Green buildings are in view. Each of these buildings was targeted by the rebel army in an attempt to gain valuable technical data for use in the wastelands to refit mechs needed for further success in the fight to free Proserpina.

Combat footage courtesy of PRSPNN

The first and greatest success occurred because of a united Highlander front crashing into the south border of the Bulldog complex. Red Building was ransacked during hot fighting that included gutted mechs just within 200 yards.

Operation Bulldog : Long Lost Connections

2011-04-29T08:03:00.000-07:00

the soft tapping of a keypad on an invader class jump-ship at the nadir point below Kathil was the only sound in the room.

The investment broker leaned forward to pick up the small note-card containing the last digits of the account number.
"this is the correct account?" he asked.
"That is the number we received from our contact on Proserpina," the woman in the room with him responded.

The omnipotent hum of the jump-ship filled the vacant space between the verbal exchange. Strong light raked the room from the distant Kathilian sun. Down below on Kathil a computer responded to the keypad input.
If dust could collect on digital data, this account would be buried in two inches of the powder of decades, hell, centuries.
Thomas Clearwater, account active, access code 790393T1987.000
Occupation: mechwarrior
Affiliation: mercenary
Last Data Access: E 1993 Kathilian Standard
Cr:345,000,000.00 K

tap,tap, withdrawal, tap, tap,

Cr:0

Routing number: Proserpina 04282011

The silence after the last data entry was prolonged.

The broker leaned back from the data pad and looked at the woman.

"I think we have a deal"
"Your information looks legit."

The silence once more fell over the room as the woman looked out the view window at the arcing light along the length of the jump-ship hull.

12 parsecs away at the nadir point below Proserpina, a cluster of three overlord class drop-ships began the descent process and detached from the shepherding jump-ship and rotated for their descent toward Proserpina. The woman had no way of seeing this but as she stared into the vacuum of space the quiet was remarkably the same.

Un-couplers popped and securing lines were cast off and into the quiet the behemoths of metal floated freely as the gravitational pull of Proserpina began to exert her influence...

The Highway of Death Proserpina 3057

2011-04-16T15:25:00.000-07:00

Critical connections have been made in Pridetown. The exodus of the faithful has begun in earnest. The Dragon has been caught sleeping. Here on Proserpina eons of suffering will be erased by the desert winds.

Mass vehicular traffic clogs route B out of Pridetown. All through the night civilian vehicles have created a dust cloud of anticipation into freedom and a new life across the desert.

Known as the "exodus" our rebel brothers and sisters have formed a caravan of innocent civilian vehicles loaded with the essentials for a new life in a reclaimed land.

.....every flight to freedom has it's pillar of fire and it was no different in this event. The Dragon awoke to send angels of death on our peaceful exit.

Jump troop infantry fall from the sky as VTOL traffic buzzes like an un-holy wind above our people.

David faces his own goliath as our soldiers in their newly born suits of holy armor face the wind of chaos from the Dragon lair.

I remember the noise of the VTOLS mostly...and the screams of our innocent. We escaped that night into the desert and created a new land of promise some of our band paid the price of this freedom and some of the Dragon lost a few teeth.

They preyed like vultures on our innocent caravan.

Pouring out of the Dragon lair and into our chance of freedom. We fought that night and half into the next day to secure a place far from the Kurita yoke.

to be continued.......

Call to Honor Mechwarrior Rules,

Mechwarrior Clix

and a new lease on an old game system.

Recruits After Action Report

2011-03-28T12:12:00.000-07:00

Rode into Recruits convention March 24, 25, 2011 on a Friday evening and got to play in the DBA Chariot Wars Tournament. I tied for 2nd place in a great four game round robin tourney. The army I was using is owned by Steve Gross and was painted by him. Lch General and his Cv bodyguard charge impetuously into the only defeat I had that night!! I let my general stand get shot three times in the back but I had pushed and defeated two stands of enemy - light horse and knights. Would have been decisive because I had turned the flank until the bowmen finally scored a hit on my general!! The Trojans on the right are beating the Asian bow army on the left. This battle gave the lead to the Trojans. Here we see an overhead view of my Gallic army defeating the Trojans.

This victory came down to a die roll that went my way. Those hephalumps should have sealed my fate.

The big Clockwork Century American Civil War game set in the blakanized US was my entry into the convention program. I used my 5mm ACW and Steampunk collection to portray the 1880 battle of Nouvelle Orleans. This envisions an ongoing North American War that pitted the Republic of Texas and the Confederate Nation against the New France, Union and German allied contingent. The game featured landship Ironclads, Aeronefs, and steam tanks of every description.

This aerial view is courtesy of the Fleur di Lis airship. Well below we can see a knot of aeronefs engaged in a swift gun duel fight high above German walker steamtanks. The infantry trudge nearby as the mechanized monsters beat at each other...

Circling behind this fight we have descended for a better view of the German Mechanics.

Here we have an image of the Texan "Wall of Steel" as it plows earth and opposition in it's move toward the Union lines.

A pinnacle point in the battle was the slugfest that occurred between the "Star of the West" landship and the "City of Texas" landship. The 9th Illinois Blackhawks infantry regiment assailed the Texas in a boarding action and eliminated all crew and guns in a desperately hard fought battle. The Aeronef descended and retrieved the commander of the Texas and his immediate body guard before the infantry could lay hands on him.

Here we witness the Steamship Betty plowing through French infantry formations the aeronef bombards and the landship Flambeau fires its weapons but the large black Betty plows on unmercifully.

This was a fun game with a lot of cheering the die rolls and cursing the unlucky turn of the die.

5mm GASLIGHT based Landship Ironclads game.

I had a chance to command an army of gnomes in a Splintered Light game demo. David McBride was giving introductory Mighty Armies demonstrations and had a variety of armies to test out. I chose gnomes as my forces and clobbered the behebus out of the goblins!

Way cool minis and a great demonstration game. Thanks to David and Splintered Light Minis.

Death in "Tedrock"

This western town just blew into existence like a tumble weed from the creative hands of one Secondhand Lion - Ted Conn. 10 player gunfight scenario that had a keen interest and played well through mid day.

Sneaking and shooting.

The Deadrock Bank.

Got your back.

Omnipotent god save me from a sucking chest wound!

We here at the Penny Whistle anticipate a full after action report soon on the scenario and story of the shoot out in Deadrock.

High above the action in the sky over Lee's Summit.

What a great convention this last weekend (March 25-26, 2011) I got to play in a number of games, spend money on a bundle of new toys and visit with old friends and new. Here are some images from Aaron Lococo's Aerodrome game. I had 1 victory over what I was told was a very skilled pilot! I am the blue and white pfalz in the background flying toward my kill in the red SE5a. This game was later Saturday evening and was very fun.

The ground troops view of the circus.

View from the CAP.

Tip my wing and head home.

Renewed Hostilities Battle of Nouvelle Orleans

2011-03-11T09:01:00.000-08:00

In the Clockwork Century war continued at a mechanical pace in North America. Nations from around the globe found cause and means to enter into the civil war that raged across the continent. In New France a defensive stand by the colonial regulars repulsed the Confederate - Texan attack. Renewed hostilities included an influx of Prussian and Northern German Confederation attacks with clockwork walker tanks and Aeronefs. Again the French and pro Unionist forces prevailed. We take you now to images obtained through the steam pixelation device on board the Fleur d lis.

From the battle of Nouvelle Orleans, here we see Prussina clockwerk tanks approaching a Union column of cavalry supported by field artillery.

View from behind the walker looking west toward Union lines.

Aerial view of the conflict. Clicking images will make them easier to see.

A final view of the battlefield. After action report would include a heavy butchers bill for the Confederates. The lost landship Ironclads could not be definitely secured and the night was spent by roving bands of belligerents trying to pry technology from the fires of battle.

Victorian Science Fiction in 5mm Battle of La Nouvelle-Orleans

2011-03-05T08:15:00.000-08:00

The Secondhand Lions wargmers played a Victorian Science Fiction game last Thursday featuring my complete scratchbuilt 5mm ACW armies with the addition of my newly built steam tanks and Ironclad Landships.
All forces on the table represented armies from an alternate past that has the American civil war lasting well into the 1880's. Inspiration for this game world came from two sources that I want to develop into our club's backstory for further games in this genre. Internet googling for alternate U.S. history timelines produced two quick results of immediate interest.
I point you to the following linkage:
http://users.rcn.com/mwhite28/misc/balkanus.htm
This point of departure has the separatists winning each conflict that occurred in the U.S. development. I like this map a lot and will probably make a Victorian "aged" adventure map from this information.
The second backstory thread comes from the literature works of Cherie Priest:
http://theclockworkcentury.com/?page_id=2
The Clockwork Century is an alternate history filled with the full stock of mechanical, biological, and fictitious toy box trade items that wargamers love to model and game with in this genre.

Aerial photography of the battle was obtained by the airship Fleur-di-lis, and includes descriptive high points of the action. Sailing from the aerodrome in La Nouvelle-Orléans our tour of the battlefield will be seen from behind the French lines and looking north to the oncoming Confederate and Texan combined force. The French forces of Louisiana posted a defensive line across the main road into La Nouvelle-Orleans. French allies included the United States Federal force from Missouri. They were expected to arrive from the western flank and hit the attack column approaching the front lines.

Image is oriented as standard compass points. We are looking North. Federal forces with one landship and a handful of steam tanks approaches from the west. Texan TLS "Alamo" is seen upper right.

Contact and desparate fighting in the wooded area Confed/Texan vs. Union. At the bottom of the image we see the Confederate Landship plow through the French lines. The French landship pummels it with high explosives.

View looking west, above French lines at the Union Landship "Western Star"

An after action pixel of the CLS Black Betty as she rests in her demise, steam pouring out of large holes shot through from the French Ironclad, "Flambeau". As the "Fleur-di-lis" landed to take these pictures it was reckoned that the French/Union forces had held the cross roads and main line of approach was secure for the evening. Renewed action is fully expected along these coordinates and the Aeronefs have been put on alert. In our next action we fully expect to see the land Terrines reinforced by Aeronauts.

On Considering another Scale to Wargame

2011-02-18T19:36:00.000-08:00

When 54mm gets old there are other.....larger scales.

Merry Christmas One and All

2010-12-27T13:59:00.000-08:00

Come to find out. My browser had issues with Blogger. I sat down and read the Blogger FAQ. Recent posts have been all wonky. Followers can anticipate better quality in posts as I have updated to Mozilla Firefox. Here are some pixels of my Christmas toys.

Arthur and his noble Knights are in for some ruff and tumble.

The Joust in Song of Arthur and Merlin

2010-12-26T15:47:00.000-08:00

Sir Kenneth spurs his mount to the far end of the clearing. The Black Knight of the Forest Adventurous does likewise. The format for such encounters is three long move sticks apart. At this distance both knights closed their helms and tilted forward in the saddle and urged their mounts on.

The rest of the party watches from mid-field, the anticipated point of contact.

The horses clambor forward at the gallop.

Contact is made and Sir Kenneth finds purchase for his lance tip!!

The Black Knight is unhorsed in honorable combat.

Adventures in the Perilous Forest

2010-12-25T08:21:00.000-08:00

The noble adventure continues with a third try at crossing the fjord. The party of knights knows full well that the river is guarded by a knight which requires a test of arms on foot to prove worthy of passing the fjord he defends. A herald is sent ahead to ascertain if this noble knight defender is still active and in the area. Sir Cadric becomes impetuous and spurs his horse to action in a headlong charge for the river crossing. His activation brings him into contact with the Fjord Knight! In a moment it is over. A crash of the lance tip of Sir Cadric and the Fjord Knight with his fish adorned helmet is defeated and sent headlong into the river. And then enchantment occurs. The fjord knight vanishes and a large carp the size and shape of the helm crest splashes into the water. It shimmers in the afternoon light and then swims away regally upstream
.

The death and escape of the Fjord Knight (enchanted).

As he vanished a large regal carp was seen to swim away upstream.

Our party crosses the fjord. A little embarrassed at the number of attempts this took and a little chagrined at the reckless impetuosity of sir Cadric. -1 chivalry.

Sir Kenneth hails a black knight. The knight challenges us to a joust. We consult the Song of Arthur and Merlin manual and set about demonstrating martial courtesy.

To be continued......

"None Shall Pass" Song of Arthur and Merlin

2010-12-20T09:03:00.000-08:00

Played a delightful game of Song of Blades and Heroes over the weekend. I am beginning to collect a substantial Papo and Schleich medieval collection and I am using Song of Blades to game these large scale miniatures. I have the Song of Arthur and Merlin supplement and have created some warbands in an effort to resurrect my old Pendragon characters. My current warband included two knights two archers and three men at arms. I set up the wargames table in vignette area encounters. I practiced a minotaur pit combat to warm up the table and then I set up a Chapel Perilous and an Adventurous Forest for my warband to traipse around and fight out encounters. I had a small rivulet running through the woods with a fjord and of course a knight errant defending the fjord against all who should try and pass without a test of arms. This knight proved so dedicated to his task that he defeated both knights in combat not once but on two occasions. In the second fight I had to even resort to gang rushing him with men at arms and shooting him with arrows to try and give an edge to my knights who actually had honorably dismounted and fought the combatant on foot. The reaction of our foe was to behead gruesomely one of my men at arms, shrug off all arrows that assailed his armor and tump both my knights into the water defeated!!

Pictures will be added if the blogger beast will cooperate.

Sir Kenneth and party meet the knight defender of the fjord. He proclaims that no one passes this way without a test of arms. the fight will be to "first blood"! Not lethal but a test of a knights worthiness nonetheless. Sir Kenneth dismounts for a chivalrous fight at the river's edge.

Sir Kenneth and Sir Cadric are defeated and the men at arms come in to hold off the mysterious Knight of the Fjord!!

An enchantress of the Forest Adventurous. I will have to pass the Fjord encounter before I meet the likes of the magic perils of the forest.

ZULU War Pongola River Region Chapter 4 Attack

2010-11-13T18:08:00.001-08:00

A great baritone chant echos across the field punctuated by a stacato call and response as commands and intent of the impi are expressed in musical singing.

Thousands of iklwa (spear) beat a rhythmic and staccato thunder as the impi is put in motion.

Djemdande leads forward the impi.

Shots from the Royal Rifle Corp. fell onrushing zulu.

Down the full length of the european line companys volley fire into the mass of zulu.

The battle is joined as zulu ibutho crash like untimed waves into the assembled europeans.

Native fights native on the far right flank behind the mission station buildings. Natal Rifle contingent go hand to hand with the white feather ibutho.

12th foot stand firm next to their gun.

Eyes front and double clik your images! The lancers poise for action.

Near mid morning the tide is beginning to rush out as the zulu have impaled themselves on european firepower.

Danger!! The right flank is decimated in melee with the zulu imp.

Places Where I Get "Wood"

2010-11-06T13:00:00.000-07:00

Hey Craftee,
Check out this eye candy.

If mature images offend you - avert your eyes for the next few images.

And definitely don't double click.

Michael's wood.

Hobby Lobby Wood.

Hobby Lobby Chenille miles of it baby!!!!

Hobby Lobby wood isle. Oh! the possibilities.

ZULU War Pongola River Region Chapter 3 Prelude to Battle

2010-11-06T12:35:00.000-07:00

The Zulu Impi of Djemdande appears on the border of the Greenwood Station.

In three images we can pan from left flank to right and see the Bull's head formation.

Djemdande's right flank consists of two ibutho. The ostrich plumes and the ocelots. They are pictured on the left. Part of the main force can be seen at the right which consists of two Ibutho, Sulphur and Homeguards.

This next image shows Djemdande leading the Bull's head and immediately behind him is the Tiger tails and the Ferrets. Two highly trained and deadly ibutho.

Now looking at the left horn of the bull we can make out two final ibutho the Tiger tails and the White tails. Also captured in this image are two errant bushmen caught between the advancing impi and the European mission.

Here is a file photo on loan from the collection of Dr. Ward, Botanist with the Geographic Society.

Here we see a bushmen family group in the natural setting. Contact with these people is sketchy and this photo was taken when Dr. Ward accompanied a Natal Native Contingent into the field.

The soldiers can be seen in the trail behind the trees.

Newly arrived in Greenwood Station are the small scouting party of Frontier Light Cavalry.

ZULU War Pongola River Region Chapter 2

2010-10-31T16:43:00.001-07:00

Somewhere in the Pongola River basin a Zulu Kraal seethes in the aftermath of contact with the Europeans. The ultimatum is un-liveable and the Zulu Kraal of Djemdande cannot abide by the restrictions, conditions, and oppression of the British crown. War is inevitable and the impi begin to gather.

Djemdande's kraal.
The 24th Lancer commander, Ashley D. Day, and his aide, Captain Robert Davis, ride at the head of the column of 24th Lancers.

The arrival of the 24th Lancers, into the Greenwood Station parish.

The two cavalry commanders meet and report on the situation.

We can see Lt. Col. Blackford's command returning from the zulu interior and a hot confrontation.

Blackford and the Natal Frontier police return from delivering the crown's commands to the people of the bantu tribe of Djemdande.

The 12th foot drill and parade in Greenwood station. An artillery piece has been unpacked and the lads are reading the instructions.

More reinforcements. The King's Royal Rifle Corp has also arrived this week from a short march up the coast and inland to the now well fortified station. Here we glimpse Lt. Walters, and drummer boy Pope (who hopes to distinguish himself) leading a column of the 60th foot.

ZULU collector cards. Get yours today! These G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. detailed cards let you know who's in the game and how they're hittin'.

Full Sail: Fleet Actions in the Deep Ocean

2010-08-22T16:10:00.000-07:00

Full Sail
Fleet Actions in the Deep Ocean
Naval Battles and Heroes in the Age of Sail

The concept for the combat system and most of the rules structure are indebted to Brother Aelred Glidden and taken from printings in the Midwest Wargamers association Newsletter.
The adaptation that the careful reader is now considering is a description of how the rules where used in the ten year long campaign game that has been played by members of the Lion’s Den Wargames club of Kansas City, Missouri. We have embellished the game with the requirements of our campaign and refer to it as Full Sail, which in turn is a play on the title of a space-based ship to ship combat game, which our club plays. Much of what occurs in a role-playing campaign based miniatures wargame is off the cuff interaction between well wishing members of a fraternal organization and can never be captured on paper. What we have here is only the remembered useful bits that are recorded for ease of use. Where these rules fail you, you must realize that they are only the merest wind on a huge sea of encounters that were adjudicated under these instruments. Sail with a fair wind lad and keep a sharp weather eye to the horizon and cry out from the quarterdeck – FULL SAIL!

Lion’s Den Wargame club players:
Terry Carr, John Cordry, Jon Mark Haworth, Brady Kopek,Carl Lathrop, Ken Van Pelt, Matt,
Lion’s Den Wargames

ALIENS This Time IT's WAR 54mm Boardgame AAR

2010-07-30T06:25:00.001-07:00

Deployment

Game on.

"We haven't lost anyone yet."

Contact with the xenomorphs.

Tight spot.

Vasquez gets it.

Home stretch.

Drake gets an acid spray blast as he took out one alien.

Played the game to a draw. Apone, Dietrich, Hicks, Frost, and Hudson made it out to the APC.

ALIEN USCMC APC

2010-07-28T11:49:00.001-07:00

This Action Figure Vehicle actually scales nicely with my THK collection of ALIENS figures. I like the look of it and will use it as a backdrop for the tabletop wargaming I will do with the Aliens figures.

The crew onboard the Sulaco prep the APC with weapons and provisions.
"Elbows and Assholes people...Move IT!!"

Opening hatches and access doors are Freakin' Cool!

"Load up! We aint' bein' paid by the hour people!"

Weapons test. (That always makes me smile and laugh just a little....)

ALIENS Boardgame Conversion 54mm

2010-07-28T11:36:00.000-07:00

Here are some shots of the board game prepared for this Thursday.
The game is scaled up to 54mm and features all the terrain from the original board game plus the addition of the play-set pieces that will not effect play.

A complete walk around the table.

The terrain was made by gluing card stock printouts of GI Joe diorama backdrops from this web site:
http://www.joedios.com/dioramas/browseimages.php?c=8

They make great scenics and will add tremendously to the flavor of the game.

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1770/aliens

This link will show you the game I am recreating in 54mm. All the rules, cards, and scenarios are available on this site. The table above is set up to be the Reactor Room scene from the movie.

Everything is ready.

ALIENS Xenomorph

2010-07-28T10:08:00.001-07:00

The THK Deluxe Playset ALIENS comes with some nice 3" tall plastic ALIEN figures. Pictured below are some that I rebased due to a wonky base that always had them falling over.

Alien egg pods.

A brood of rebased xenomorphs. Original bases can be seen in the foreground. Not all were misformed -some stand quite well on their own. Others were very much in need of re-basing.

Let's just pull out and nuke the site from orbit. "It's the only way to be sure."

Aliens

2010-07-28T09:44:00.001-07:00

My latest war-gaming project includes painting and gaming with all of my Alien collection from Tree House Kids play-sets. About three years ago our local discount dollar stores had mini window box sets of Aliens and USCMC from the sci-fi icon Aliens. I bought up a ton of these minis always hoping to do the game as a 54mm project for sci -fi. I also acquired around this time 4 of the play-sets from THK or Tree House Kids toy company. The box above is one of the great sets and it comes with a three level diorama set up and a handful of useful Alien with egg casings and USCMC. A really cool set up and it occupied a spot on my computer desk for at least 2 years. Then it was packed away after collecting a number of other support items needed for a decent club event game.

A xenomorph in his environ on LV 426.

The full station assembled in all it's glory.

As projects come and go this one was itching to be drug out again and painted up and over the course of the next few blog entries I'd like to take you on a tour of what I have collected and how our games go.

Here I present my complete Strike Platoon in formation on deck of the Sulaco.
43 Officers and Men in formation. I include some of the crates from the diorama set and I have added three sentry guns kit-bashed from "bag-o-figs" generic action figure items. The printed backdrop was from a dio-joes site I will footnote later.

Another view of the strike platoon.

ZULU War Pongola River Region

2010-07-13T20:09:00.000-07:00

The Kraal of Djemdande of the Bantu people languors in the noon day sun. Hunting parties are out and life moves at it's own heat scorched pace.

No matter how far the hunting parties range. An eye is kept toward home.

The arrival of a courier group of Europeans - The Natal Frontier Mounted Police.

The dusty column meanders it's way toward the Kraal.

"Natal Mounted Police, may we have a word with Djemdande?"

"Yes tell him it's urgent...."

The scene is an audience with the Chieftain. It devolves into a skirmish.

Two of the party make for a small break in the fence enclosure.

Outside the kraal the scene is more strikingly violent.

The escape of Major Blackford.

More than a few of the Natal Police don't make it out.

On an uncontrolled mount trooper Juergens is pulled from his horse and dispatched.

The kraal is an angry hornet's nest.

Major Blackford and one half of his initial command make it back to friendly advancing column of the 12th infantry. Defenders of Greenwood station!

Next episode the battle at Djemdande kraal.

World War I Dawn Patrol Game 4th of July

2010-07-09T20:44:00.000-07:00

The Allied planes at the start of the backyard game.

Allied base is well defended by barrage balloons.

The officer's mess breakfast was amazing. That's me in the foreground.

My tripe being shot to bits.

The German Circus in early action approaching the trench line garden hose sector of the front.

One of those really cool pics you sometimes get in a game.

Thanks for looking in on my blog and checking out my clubs 4th of July tradition.

Alexander Calder performs his "Circus" - Whitney Museum

2010-07-06T19:56:00.000-07:00

Why an Artist may Want to play with Clothespins

2010-07-06T19:53:00.000-07:00

To be in good company and have good times.

Cheers

Boxkites WWI Aircombat Game

2010-06-23T19:44:00.000-07:00

You double click the image and then save to print. This is placed in the bottom of a copier box lid. You use barrel thumbtacks to plug in the air speed and altitude. You can also use another tack to mark the protractor arc to plot moves. On the ground in the backyard you move the aircraft model 1 yardstick each time you get an asterisk in the turn phase. You get three shots per turn and you can fire in any phase at any time. Use 6 sided regular dice.

Questions in the comment box will be answered.
Click comment below.

Cheers

Clothespin Aircraft in Action

2010-06-19T11:11:00.000-07:00

Backyard wargame tradition in the Lion's Den. This game has been played for years as a 4th of July morning wargame. Dawn Patrol! This year we ran a play test on June 19th.

Tony, Bill, and Ted fly for the allies. Airplane models are mounted on drill rod and stuck in the ground. The cardboard boxes have the control sheet, dice, fire markers, and thumbtacks for the game.

Brian was my ally on the German side.

Yardsticks are the movement increment. D6 are used to fire the guns.

Terry flys in for the Germans in game two.

Please double click this image to open a much better view of the aircraft models. It will improve your view of the homemade aircraft.

View from my cockpit in game two.

Great game with some fun wargame friends.

Enjoy.

World War I Aircraft Made from Clothespins

2010-06-14T20:43:00.000-07:00

Ready for action. The planes are made from clothespins. Two different styles - square pin and round. Wings are made from large flat popsicle sticks cut to pattern. Machineguns are from dowel.

Pilot is a plastic bead glued to a cardstock holepunch. Decals are made from mailing label and some art copied off of the internet.

All aircraft were glued together quickly with a hot glue gun and the whole batch was built at one sitting.

My flying rules are in the image and you can see the simplicity of the game if you enlarge.

Enjoy.

Clothespin Toy Soldiers Tutorial Chapter 3 Figure Decoration

2010-06-05T14:11:00.001-07:00

In this chapter our figures take on final decoration painting and additional craft items.
These Zulu in the following picture had felt loin cloths added and pipe cleaner arms pushed through the drilled hole. Our earlier made rifles are passed out and arms posed in a variety of ways to suggest a rabble. Items are hot glued into position.

Our British officer is attempting to get this Native Rifles platoon into manageable order.

These lads will serve on all of my crew served artillery and Gatling guns. These hands on the pipe cleaner are made by dipping the arm into paint once inserted into the figure. Kinda liked it at first but I have a better method now.

These figures are made up to serve as Natal Mounted Police. The clothes pins were selected for their particular deep head shape that suggests the helmet quite nicely. The hands are made from mailing label sticky paper and colored with a felt tip pen.

Full Squadron ready for action in the Natal frontier.

The clothespin horse. Pretty successful depiction with a limited palette. Three clothespins were used and cut in a variety of ways to get the parts. Two large flat pins and one small flat pin for the head. The horse neck is one of the tines cut from the large clothespin. Dismounted policemen nearby.

ZULU chief and his harem.

Natal Policemen and Zulu Chief discuss issues.

Clothespin Toy Soldiers Tutorial Chapter 2 Painting and Rifles

2010-05-22T05:48:00.000-07:00

Here is the pegs all primed. For the Zulu I use Walnut brown or Leather Brown suitable final color. Front rank is the NMP on their dismount peggs.

Secret ingredient for painting eys.

More secret ingredient revealed.

A trip to the barber. The tray contains black yarn that I cut from a wadded bundle into very fine fluff. A spot of white glue on the peghead and a dip in the tray and you have a hairy zulu.

This next section shows how to make quick 54mm rifles of the era.

A visit to the armory.

Cut to length.

Sniped with the edge cutters. Double click the image to see the rifle in the foreground. Two quick cuts and a craft stick pops into the silhouette of a rifle. I prme em black with india ink.

Rifles with a couple a brush strokes of pewter or gunmetal acrylic.

Next Chapter will be on dressing out the peg with arms, weapons, clothing or uniform detalis.

If your making some along with me please post a comment with info on a peek at your forces.

Clothespin Toy Soldiers Tutorial Chapter 1

2010-05-19T15:53:00.001-07:00

Hello fellow craftees fans. This tutorial will show you how to make my ZULU set with clothespins. You will need. 1 bag of clothes pins 20+, cardstock scrap for bases. A saw - I use a miter saw and box.

Cut your clothespin to 2" to 2 1/4" for a 54mm figure. I use a miter box and saw as pictured

I also work in batches of 20 + to create full units for GASLIGHT.

These figures are for natives. I am thinking they will be allied natives armed with rifles and with a red rag tied around their head. This image shows them on a cardstock jig to drill arm holes.

1/16" hole will allow the chenille wire for arms. The jig assures that the arm hole is perpendicular to the legs.

These lads will be my Natal Mounted Police. Look closely at the helmet spike!

I am also designing these to mount a horse and dismount onto an infantry stand.
The horse is not fully realized yet so these may end up just being glued to a base.

This is my idea for an infantry stand. The cardstock will be painted and flocked and the figure should squeeze onto the stand and remain.

These are my infantry, cut, drilled, glued to a 1" square. The two styles are going to make artillerists for the Brits. Native rifles. Zulu High command and a bevy of harem babes.

Next chapter will be on spray painting the figures. I use Wal*Mart cheap black and white primer, budget colored spray paint. You can prime these with any suitable figure primer.

They could use a seal of white glue but that would be extraordinary.

Zulu Wars 54mm Greenwood Mission Attack Pongola River Region

2010-05-17T14:58:00.000-07:00

On May 16th, 17th, and 18th, 1879 the 12th Regiment of Foot (nearly half as good as the 24th), garrisoned Greenwood Station in the Pongola river region. Two platoons of infantry under the competent command of Lt. Dewey Wright withstood 4 separate attacks by Zulu tribal clans.
This scene portrays the overall view of the area surrounding Greenwood Station. Lt. Wright and color Sergeant Holtmeyer can be seen in the center of the compound directing the defense. This view looks directly south with First Platoon manning the western perimeter and 2nd platoon defending the eastern wall. If the kind viewer will picture in his mind the standard map depiction of the mission with north at the top of the map the action commenced with the rolling of 1D6 and the clans of tribesmen assigning themselves to entry points along the eastern and western map edge numbered 1,2,3 eastern edge and 4,5,6 western edge.

Morning of the 16th. First Wave assault would prove to be the big push as four clans descended on the mission garrison. Attacking from sections 1, 5, 6.

The attack coming from the western edge three clans strong.

The single clan attacking in stealth from the northeast.

Aftermanth of wave one. Seven soldiers incapacitated and one walking wounded. Pvt. Tripoli is wounded but fit for service.

Wave two can be seen poised for the assault.

May 17th. Wave two begins. Attacks come simultaneous from the west and east.

North is the right map edge. Map is oriented west at top.

The desperate gamble. Lieutenant Wright decides to bring full fire power onto one clan and then about face and hit the second attacking clan.

Look out their behind you.

Wave two saw the most agressive hand to hand.

"At one hundred yards; volley fire. Front rank fire! Second rank Fire!!

Initiative rolls allowed the puma clan to close with the converged 1st and 2nd platoon defenders.

Color Seargent Holtmeyer falls and recieves his first of many mortal wounds.

Brutal hand to hand fighting had the 12th Reg. winning but unable to break from the continued reinforcement of the assault. Abismal shooting in one bound could have pulled their biscuits from the fire but was to no avail.....

Second wave created 4 more walking wounded and 3 incapacitated and reporting to the infirmary.

The dead lay in piles.

The wounded in the hospital.

Pvt. Stuckey was pulled from a pile of dead zulu and added to the walking wounded.

Third wave was a half hearted attack from a single clan. Converged firepower kept them from even closing to hand to hand.

Fourth wave was a final single clan attack and again - firepower kept the enemy from closing to hand to hand.

GASLIGHT rules. Homemade figgys.

End of action.

Greenwood Station will post it's wounded and KIA list.

Seargent Holtmeyer, color guard, KIA

1st Platoon 12th Foot

Pvt. M Ashley KIA

Pvt. A Bowen KIA

Pvt. A Fisher KIA

2nd Platoon 12th Foot

Pvt. M. Johnson wounded

Pvt. Reinhardt KIA

Pvt. R. Tapson wounded

Thanks for looking in on this project.

54mm Scratchbuilts

2010-05-16T19:28:00.000-07:00

Joined a Yahoo Group that builds figures out of wooden bits from craft stores.

Made some Zulus and British figures from clothes pins because....

Have the whole set up on my games table this weekend and have run a bit of GASLIGHT with the troops and it is pretty cool.

Aerial view of the "set".

Enjoy. Wish you were here.

Fini.

Proserpina Game III Mechwarrior Clix Call To Honor Rules System

2010-05-05T12:21:00.000-07:00

Secondhand Lions gaming on Proserpina 3057.

Aerial view of Downtown Pridetown.

Mixed civilian and military traffic. Insurgents make a bold push at the combine military base.

Actual news footage from PRSP NN.

Clicking images will make you jealous.

And now citizens of the Combine we bring you an after action report by

Kublai Conn

Police Chief of Pridetown Precinct

Draconis Combine Military Constabulary

Intro:
One of my gaming buddies, Kenny, found an alternate set of rules for MechWarrior here on BGG. Info on the variant, called Call To Honor, can be found here: [thread= http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/271685/mechwarrior-call-...][/thread]

Kenny has toyed with this variant for the better part of a year or more and has run a couple of games on the world of Proserpina. This time around, however, he had something more in mind...

Setting:
Proserpina is a world ravaged by war. Nuclear fallout, scorched earth policy and various highly contested engagements on the world have led to the creation of several continental 'Dead Zones'.

Fast forward several years. The Draconis Combine rules with an iron fist. Dirt poor people scratch out meager existences by foraging in the 'Dead Zones' and finding lost tech or anything else of value. The populace rails silently against the oppressive Draconis regime. The Highlanders, a collection of like-minded guerillas (terrorists?), aim to throw off the Combine’s yoke and return Proserpina to its original ‘glory’.

Situation:
Draconis
I, the Commander of the local constabulary, have been hearing rumors that there is severe Highlander infiltration in the city. I have a police task force (headed by Carl, a fellow player) consisting of two light wheeled recon, two grav recon vehicles and various powered armor squads. One squad has jump capability. My task, as outlined by Central Command (a la the GM) is to first and foremost keep the peace on the planet and uncover any Highlander cells. My informant tells me that the traffic on the streets is intermixed with Highlander partisans, so my police force is needed to form a blockade and ferret out the malcontents. If I can handle the insurgents with only this task force, then that’s a feather in my cap. If I can’t, then I have more power to bring to the fray. The military base has four medium mechs at my disposal. If the need is deemed warranted, I will not be reprimanded for their use. If a major furball ensues, I can call down a lance of heavy and assault mechs from an orbiting battleship. To do so would imply that I’ve lost control of the planet, which would mean the end of my career and life, most likely.

Highlanders
There’s an old-timer in a nursing home that used to be a tech during the war days. He’s got insight into the stuff our people are hauling back from the Dead Zones. Our mission is to glean as much information from him as possible, download the data and then escape. His life is expendable after we retrieve the information. We will use this information to identify and utilize the materials we’ve salvaged to eradicate the Combine from Proserpina. To make this a viable sortie, we’ve infiltrated the city with several partisan groups in civilian vehicles as well as placed a mech in a city lake with IFF jamming equipment. The civvies will block police advancement and the mech will mask our intentions until it’s too late for the Draconis scum to react. Secondary goals? Kill as many of them as possible, but get as many of our troops out unscathed as we can. Note - The Highlanders were ran by Kenny, Terry and Nick.

Map:
The map was built in four quadrants. The NE, SE, SW quadrants featured buildings, trees and multiple ponds/lakes. The NW quadrant housed the police building, which was located at the corner of the local Draconis military complex and the crossroad of two major avenues.

Game:
Carl and I were informed by Kenny of our objectives and that we’d have to place a cordon somewhere in the city to try to find the Highlander cell(s). During this time, Terry and Nick were placing their units on the table. When Carl and I came back to the table, there were definitely military forces on the board! Due to time constraints, the pace of the game had to be accelerated. We lost the ‘search & find’ RPGish portion of the game, but we were setting up for a great war game!

Nick and Terry had set their initial forces to head directly south along the avenue, heading for the military base. They were using as much cover as possible for their infantry, but also had some light recon vehicles, a VTOL and a converted mining mech. In response, Carl and I set the task force around them. The recon vehicles went on the flanks, while the jump jet troops positioned themselves on top of buildings, flanking the street. The rest of the troops spread themselves around the rebel scum. I sent in the call to the base and the mechs were prepped for the next turn.

Turn 1
The action was hot and furious the first round. We won the initiative (the game’s ‘you go, I go’) and were able to take out the VTOL. We didn’t discover until later that the VTOL was the Highlander commander’s vehicle and we’d scored a victory in bringing it down quickly. Several of the smaller units on both sides jockeyed for firing positions. The converted mech started taking fire immediately, but continued to plug along. Note - The civvie traffic was controlled by the Highlanders, making it nigh impossible to distinguish partisans from innocents.

Turn 2
Casualties began to mount in the smaller units. We lost a recon vehicle and a power armored unit, but our jump-capable troops were proving elusive. The Highlanders continued to slowly advance into the intersection. They, coupled with the civilian vehicles in the area, were slowly closing off cross fire points from the Combine forces. In addition, four heavy tanks and four light mechs could be seen coming down the avenue heading east, yet the IFF scanner remained strangely quiet. I, hunkered in the bunker basement of the police building, began to wonder why I didn’t see this coming. The thought was accentuated when one of the newly arrived Highlander units put a very large laser blast through the building, creating an awful mess of steel, glass and debris. The Draconis mechs, now on top of or around buildings, began raining fire on their enemies. The mining mech took heaps of damage, but refused to fall.

Turn 3
An enemy is exposed! The jamming mech reared its ugly head from the lake and attacked the adjacent recon vehicles! Suddenly my IFF register went haywire. There were Highlanders everywhere! I was sorely tempted to call in the orbital lance, but stayed the command. Our medium mechs were relatively unscathed and should be more than able to handle the threats against them. In the meantime, the recon force continued to bleed units, but their diligence was paying off. Highlander units were dying as well. The mining mech took another volley from various sources, but refused to die. The heavy tanks were injured, but began linking fire on the Draconis mechs. It was getting hot and ugly in the city! Unbeknownst to the Combine players, the guerillas were executing their plan to perfection. The high level of ‘civilian’ vehicles on the street ran an effective screen for the true purpose of the attack. The Highlanders were able to locate their target, gain the intel they needed and eliminated the witnesses. It almost seemed too easy.

Turn 4
A sudden withdrawal by the rebels was the first clue to me that something larger was afoot. Sure, the guerillas had taken losses, but not so severe that it would warrant a retreat. My forces manage to disable or destroy two heavy tanks and several smaller units, but a large majority of the Highlanders were still deadly. As they slunk behind buildings and through the trees, I pondered whether I should pursue. I decided against doing so (it was late in the evening). The remainders of the Highlanders were able to get off the map.

Ending:
Each side was victorious for achieving their goals. The Combine only had one civilian casualty and ‘saved face’ by truly needing the medium mechs. They also uncovered that there was a large Highlander rebellion in process. They were also able to kill the rebel leader. It wasn’t clear why there was an attack until a report was logged that the insurgents had killed an old technician soldier after some sort of interrogation. An inkling as to why they wanted said information tickled the back of the commander’s mind.

The Highlanders had a successful mission as well. They got their intel. They lost the sortie’s leader, but leaders can be replaced. They lost some light vehicles and soldiers, but deaths for the Cause against superior forces are expected. Their plan for using civilian vehicles as blockers was very effective. Soon they will be ready to take the fight to the oppressors en masse.

We discussed the nuances of the game afterwards. I wished there was more time to unfold the plot, but there wasn’t. I told Kenny that Draconis policy would be a total martial law lockdown. Any civvies ‘hanging out’ would be shot on sight, thus eliminating the possibility of innocent casualties. Who knows where the story will go, but it’ll be fun getting there!

ED: Ted,

Thank you very much for the text of the story. Your energy and fun in the game comes through and your contribution to the Penny Whistle is very highly regarded.

Ken

5MM American Civil War Battle Game Hair Roller Hog Heaven

2010-05-05T12:13:00.000-07:00

Your genteel host from up North Mr. Kenneth Van Pelt

Close up of the 5mm American Civil War troops.
3" x 3" cardstock base with a chit to record casualties.
Each stand is a Regiment and the battle was a refight of the Stones River campaign.

Mr. g blinked - I swear he was not asleep at his post.

Mr.s T, T, & C. enthralled with a description of some future weapon that could be called the "Machine gun!"

Thanks for looking.

The Pacification of Morocco II

2010-04-12T06:05:00.000-07:00

In the high mountain passes of the region of Alizal, a rebellious band of Taureg were attempting to hide from the pacification forces of the French. The French had more technology and called upon an aeroship to land troops high in the mountains and take the battle to the Taureg.

The Taureg, feeling jaunty, decided to push the French out of the mountain pass and they made a scrap out of the encounter. They could have retreated into any number of hidden passes and elude once again the encroaching European forces. But on this day, Abdula-Jabbar-Faruq heeded the advice of his henchmen, Baka-laka-durk and Lurka-durka-durk and charged headlong into the formed up French battle line.

The French platoons, well rested from their balloon ride up into the mountain pass, formed up in battle line with Adrian Carre' and his staff centered, focused, and non-plussed by the advancing avalanche of third world scum. An embedded adventurer in the main staff, one Charles Godfrey - crew of the Fleur de Lis and an avid big game hunter conversed with Christophe-Louis Bergeret and placed bets on their kills and trophies that were certainly walking into the deadly fire of the French. "I hope to bag a pot full of these ruffians this day!", Godfrey quipped.

The French fire and discipline scolded the recalcitrant natives into a headlong retreat. Carrying the body of their mortally wounded leader Abdul-Jabbar-Faruq.

Meanwhile, in a nearby clearing, a trumpet is heard.

And the sound of thudding trampling feet, mixed with a cacophony of guttural screams, taunts, and jeers.

Seems a turn of events has occurred. No one can bring words to the confused and bewildered French soldiers and crew as they see their vanquished Taureg foe replaced with something from another world, epoch, planet!!!???!!!

The cavemen chase the Mastodon into the flank of the French away team.

The French receive the charge and loose their commander Adrian Carre'.

Then they kill the beast.

Chaos ensues.
Adrian meets a long lost comrade amongst the cavemen?!?
Some of the cavemen speak a guttural version of French.!!
The French command falls to Christophe-Louis and the Big Game Hunter Godfrey.
They decide to pursue the Taureg band into the VALLEY OF THE UNKNOWN.

Stay tuned for the next installment.

If you like this adventure be sure to check the library for other books by this author:

Terry and the Indians
Sky Lions
How to Collect Model Soldiers

The Pacification of Morocco

2010-04-09T06:17:00.000-07:00

When last we left our adventure the Airship Fluer de Lis had crossed over the North Coast of Africa and into the interior of MOROCCO. Carrying the refitted howitzer and a compliment of Aeromarines from the ministry of war the buoyant craft floated over the lines of troops below that encircled the entrance to the mountain valley.

"Coils and Oils Mr. Thibeaux, take us up three degrees. I want to clear that crag by a rifle shot and not a degree further,"boomed captain Baptiste.

Louis, Lugnut to his friends, complied empathically to the captain's wishes. As he did not want holes in his precious envelope any more than captain Jean Luc or any of the crew for that matter. Louis's mind turned over the idea of the aeromarines manning the observation deck and any aperature along the port side of the airship that may face the crag and the hidy hole of any of the mountain tribesmen lurking there. "If they do their part and pot any of those bastages, I will keep us at the appropriate range," mused Lugnut.

The aeromarines had boarded ship and taken up retrofit aft quarters back in Tangiers. Their Lieutenant was a smart and military man named, Adrian Carre'. Their job, or so it was proposed, was to leap behind the mountain bandit fighters and stop the continuous escape of the vile and wily, Abdul-Jabbar-Faruq. A new tactic devised in the war ministry on the gaming tables of high command. Place troops in the rear of an escaping enemy by way of aeroship! Brilliant. Maneuver in war would be a thing of the past. Technologically advanced civilizations will from this time forward skip and jump to any point of the globe and arrive in time to put to the shot any that oppose them. A terrible age indeed.

What awaits our men in uniform in the mountain passes of the region of Alizal? Simple. Get behind the Jabbar and capture him and put an end to the menace of Morocco.

Pacification. It sounds so peaceful. Around the deployment encampment in Tangiers it made it sound like we were going on holiday. Pacification. Amazing what variety of experiences the word really entails. We headed into the unknown.

Pvt. Damien Marie-Jean Frassin, Aeromarine, Morocco 1852

The high passes in the region of Alizal were largely unexplored. The mission tasked to 1st and 2nd Aeromarines was to capture and detain or kill the Taureg bandit king. The encounters that unfolded make for a marvelous tale - if true. Or a madman's fantasy if false.

Hordes Out West 48 Point HotT Wargame

2010-03-19T05:34:00.000-07:00

Played an evening of Hordes of the Things with a US Western Plains Wars theme. 48 point armies based on American Indian Warfare of the 1870's. Pictures included for your plastic playset amusement. (Painting of the miniatures to commence once the idea is established and worth playing more games.)

The US Cavalry army of Lt. Conn deploys with one column on the left flank and one column on the right. 24 points of HotT US Department of the West divided into two commands. Lt. Lathrop would show up later to command the right column - and this would prove a decisive moment in the action.

Lt. Lathrop's command. Knights, blades, artillery and a magician. Yes that is a Marx Abe Lincoln. His pressence is that of an Indian agent - magician.

The western plains Indians danced and danced the whole night previous to the battle and brought into existence the very strong presence of the windago. The tribal spirit was embodied into a behemoth werecreature. Two bands of warriors divided into 24 point HotT commands.

Terry's command consisted of hordes, shooters, a hero general and a behemoth. Ken's command was riders, hero general and a magician.

The stream was fordable at all points and provided a +1 for the defender of the river bank.

The built up areas were villages. Terrain marked by the cloth and the village pieces being movable to allow troops to move through.

Ken's warrior band was doing well untill a small group of ponys were cut off and sealed the defeat. Lost 11 points to 12!

When windago's get hungry - nothing satisfies like a paladin snack!

Final action of the game. Lt. Lathrop sends the Indian agent to dismiss the foolish beliefs in spirits and werebeasties. Magician vs. behemoth and poof. No more beastie. Reminiscent of the final scene of Monty Python's Holy Grail were the authorities come in and pack up the whole lot and disperse the armies.

"All right then off with you. Get back onto your reservation. Go on!"

Another scene very near the battlefield edge. US Cav (Kn) vs. Hero General, riders and a magician.

Hordes Out West or "HOW"

2010-03-14T12:52:00.000-07:00

The new project of the day is to create a Hordes of the Things army with figures from my 54mm American Indian Wars collection. The variety of armies I have available is very diverse and made for an interesting evening of positioning and inventorying the miniatures into the rules set versions of 24 point armies. I made three armies for the US Western Army. All three had 6 stands of US army infantry/shooters (12 ap), 3 stands of mounted cavalry/Kn (6ap), and then 2 artillery pieces a gattling gun and a field piece (6ap).

The Western plains Indians were a blast to assemble. Lots of hordes armies capable and a full army of riders was easy. So much variety that it would be tedious to retype the permutations.

Tried out a game today with my son Tony. He played US and took my base army and swapped out the mounted cavalry for another infantry stand and "The Great White Father" GOD (4 ap) in the figure of Abraham Lincoln!

Pictures will complete the afternoon of gaming and fun.

When a Hero confronts a God in the old West!

The armies are built and set up across a small stream near a built up area represted by an Indian village.

I think HOtT will allow for so much creativity and the ability to make complete projects. Somethng nice about having a do-able project. The reason the figures are unpainted is because the task always seemed so un-do-able and too much work to make happen. With Hordes Out West, I think I will paint at least two armies - one for each side and then maybe branch out and paint more of the options for the game.

Thanks for checking this post out and have a great hobby day!

5MM Carthaginian Project

2010-03-02T11:43:00.000-08:00

Built my three army Carthaginian DBA armies. Book II/32 Later Carthaginian 275 BC - 146 BC.

Littoral Ag:3 1x3Cv Gen, 1x2LH, 3x 4Sp, 1x3/4 Ax, 3x3 Wbor 2Ps, 1xEl or 3Cv, 1x El or 2LH, 1x2Ps.

Full 3 armies deployed.

One DBA army highlight.

Warband and Auxilia highlight.

Hephalump Highlight.

Cavalry

"La Petite Guerre" French and Indian Wargame II

2010-03-01T17:28:00.000-08:00

Our second game of the rules featured a rebuilt stockade fort. I built the blockhouses some 18 years ago and rebuilt the stockade walls just recently in February 2010. Each stick was cut and whittled by hand.

This battle featured French defending and with Courier du Bois and Pirate or Privateer allies.

Attacking were the British and their heroically brave Indian allies.

"La Petite Guerre" French and Indian Wargame

2010-03-01T16:45:00.000-08:00

"La Petite Guerre" wargame rules by *********. Got the rules off of the Free Wargames rules UK site and decided to pull out my old MPC French and Indian collection. These are mostly American Revolution figures painted as F&I forces.

Pregame table set up with lots and lots of woods.

The game was my February 54mm game of the month. I have decided to try for one 54mm game each month this year just to excercise my collection of miniatures. Game with them after they are painted up is the motto.

The British approach the portage camp of the French. Can we stop the supplies from reaching the fort?

The French are already loaded and have a start downstream

Waiting below the first rapids is our woodland ally!

A few second hand lions hanging out at the game.

Pendraken Fleets 1/3000 Scale Ships

2009-06-02T20:04:00.000-07:00

Auricania and Patagonia interact with each other through the medium of naval commerce.

Here are some fleet pictures of the miniatures used in our campaign.

Two different control sheets for the game. It is roster based and campaign actions carry over to the next game.

Patagonia-Auricanian Naval Campaign

2009-06-02T12:51:00.001-07:00

Recorded here for your enjoyment is the history of a naval campaign set in 1709 in a land far away over the horizon. The forces of Auricania and Patagonia where separated by land mass too complicated to traverse and both fell to ship building and naval expansion. Their meeting would occur on the ocean waves and to the irony of this story both societies had similar structure in culture and in naval development. The three masted ship was the naval development of the age and they set forth with the idea of expansion and new lands to civilize with allegiance to their own crown. Auricania was a monarchy ruled by Queen Madeline. Her royal family included only one heir, Princess Caroline. Auricania held a matriarchal lineage of succession.

Patagonia for it's part, was ruled by the fair and just King Michael. Little else is known of this society at present.

The history of these illustrious nations included much armed conflict and battles that where recounted in detail on the family refrigerator with small magnets.

Bloody Hair Rollers The Roman Army Marches Out

2009-05-29T09:46:00.001-07:00

The above photos are of my current creation. Three DBA Marian Roman Armies with some options and accessories for a 6 player DBA campaign. I learned how to make these figures following some information I read on rice armies on TMP. The figures are nominally 5mm in scale and I have based them on the 15mm scale DBA bases. I think the overall effect was worth the effort as I made these in about 5 nights of hobby bench work that includes cutting, basing, priming, painting, touch up. I cannot wait to get them into action.

http://freewargamesrules.blogspot.com/2007/04/hair-curler-armies.html

Here is the link to a cool article on the process of cutting up a hair roller to make strips of tiny men in rank. The horse is my own creation and I call it the "Van Pelt" cut.

To make the horse: acquire some plastic grid used for needlepoint craft.
http://www.enasco.com/prod/images/products/40/AC031634l.jpg

You will cut a horse silhouette from the grid to scale with your army men.

VAN PELT CUT copyright 2009

Each of the black lines above indicate an Xacto slice. There are some subtle cuts you can do on the item to create a mane, a helmet on the rider, legs under saddle.

I have shaded in the horse and rider you are trying to sculpt. Don't cut these out one at a time.
Cut one for practice and then cut strips out - counting the number of lines you need to get each model. Then pick one of the slices and cut a multitude of figures all sequentially at once.

Using Aeleene's tack PVA glue, glue them down to the cardstock base and paint them in place on their final DBA stand.

I am so proud of this design idea. Beats gluing together rice.

Wait till you see my Lima bean hephalumps.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a comment.

Patagonian Splendor

2009-05-13T14:03:00.000-07:00

http://www.heraldicclipart.com/catalog/index1.html

When you absolutely have to have an impressive flag that overwhelms explanation and expression go to the clip art site above!

A New Banner Unfurls in The Wind - Long Live Auricania

2009-05-13T13:32:00.000-07:00

This is the flag my son designed. Makes a nice battle flag and is recognizable from a distance.

Auricanian-Patagonia Naval Campaign

2009-05-13T05:21:00.000-07:00

This is the Auricania-Patagonia naval campaign map my son Tony and I will use for our ImagiNaval game. It is posted on our family refrigerator and the campaign fleet markers are magnetic labelled ships. We will move the fleets via written orders and when opposing fleets are at the same coordinates we will transfer the action to the wargames table.

Our goals are outlined as in "Sea Battles in Miniature" A Guide to Naval Wargaming by Paul Hague.

Victory Conditions
1. Protection of friendly seaborne commerce.
2. Interruption of enemy trade.
3. Landing armies of invasion and keeping them supplied.
4. Protecting the coastline from enemy attack.
5. Establishing and maintaining contact with overseas colonies.

From the map my son sails the Auricanian fleet out of the Blue Capital at K1 and I sail from the Red Capital of Patagonia at K8.

We have playtested one rag wagon duel with 74 gun SOL and I won that one after he wanted to see how boarding actions worked so he rammed my ship and lost in the ensuing melee.

The rules for the playing out of the battles will be "Full Sail" by Lion's Den Wargames Club.

Imagi-Naval An Ocean Bound Campaign Game

2009-05-13T05:07:00.000-07:00

This is the map for the Auricanian-Patagonia naval campaign. If follows the principles laid down in the great wargame book,"Sea Battles in Miniature A Guide to Naval Wargaming" by Paul Hogue.

Auricanian Recruiting Station is Open for Business

2009-05-12T21:29:00.000-07:00

The painting and sorting of the RISK 10mm figures has begun. Tonight I posted some photos on TMP and will begin the BLOG of my SYW Imagi-Nations. I have two belligerent factions that are named Auricania and Patagonia. The name comes from a real Imagi-Nation I read about in a Douglas Porch book on the conquest of Morocco. The mentioned names where a bogus or fictitious nation that someone used to purchase warrants in Moroccan political scheming. They even had a flag that was of course entirely bogus but was paraded as a real south American country!

Well our current Auricania and Patagonia are fictitious nations that have went to war against each other on the high seas. This is basically going to be a naval campaign game using Pendraken "very tiny" ships and played out with campaign magnets on the family refrigerator.

One naval battle has been fought and one is in the making.

Our first battle pitted two rag wagons against each other and the Patagonians where successful in a botched Auricanian boarding party.

And of course we will need land troops at some point so I am in the process of cobbling together some 10mm RISK figures into two nations armies. Red force Blue force, Red Fleet Blue Fleet etc..

Here is a picture story:

2009-05-12T16:27:00.000-07:00

Comic Book Toy Soldiers

American Revolution Collection

Have kept these figures through a lot of hobby purges. I was in eigth grade when I ordered these out of the back of a Warlord or Sgt. Rock comic book. Painted them from some research book from the local library and designed to be played using the Joseph Morchauser rules of wargaming.

20mm Comic Book figures I painted in 1977. Testors paint and the brush that those paints came with back in the day (it was a Wednesday).

Second Battle of Khenifra Recruits Convention

2009-04-27T17:05:00.000-07:00

On the second day of the Recruits Convention we played a 54mm French Foreign Legion game using armies in plastic figures as well as some Charbens and Reamsa figs.

BEN HUR Chariot Racing in 54mm

2009-04-21T13:55:00.000-07:00

The 54mm Chariot Racing Game at Recruits 2009. Tony, my son, and I ran this game on the Friday night session. It featured Marx Ben Hur chariots on a 7 x12 foot table.

Welcome to The Penny Whistle

2009-04-20T14:05:00.000-07:00

This is the place mark test blog to set up The Penny Whistle - news and informaiton of a 54mm Wargamer.