Austrian Army Marches Out 5mm Goodness

This is a quick cut needle point army created for DBN, the Napoleonic variant for DBA.  These will be used to augment the games using the French and British forces already created.  This post shows from creation to finished project the steps I use in scratch building with such small material.  Click images for a closer look.  In the above image we see all of the requisite 15mm based DBA bases for the infantry.  These are double rows cut to separate the arms of each individual soldier.  The arm cuts are irregular to create a textured look of an assembled body of  troops.

This image is of the artillery units.  Three gun batteries on a 40mm square card.  Assembled from needlepoint plastic frame 2x3.  Glued at an angle atop another u shaped piece of needle plastic.  The wheels are from large hole punch cardstock.

You can see in the above image the u shaped needle point plastic shape it is 1x2 with somewhat less than a full 1 row height.

All units are taped to a strip of corrugated cardboard for painting.

At the painting station I use a can of flat black first and then a coat of Italian olive.  Both paints are from WalMart and this give the units a finished altogether ground color.

Go green.

Sorry for the blur of this last image but you can see I paint these in one huge swath with all figures still glued to the cardboard that they were primed on.  The process allows for rapid use of the color on the brush at the time.  These were painted in about 3 hours.  The entire process occurs over several days and from cutting fresh plastic to game table ready I estimate about 9 hours of hobby table work.

Song of Blades and Heroes Ginsu Blades

Electric Football Annual Tournament 2012

Broncos 21 - 20!

Recruits Convention Spring of 2012

A Frontier on Fire Rules: This Very Ground

French and Indian War Scale: 54mm
This game was put on by Chris Cluckey
The frontier is aflame! A small wooden fort, defended by desperate Colonial Militiamen, is under attack by French Marines and their Native allies. As the commander of the Militia, can you hold out until reinforcements arrive? Or as the French leader of the raiding party, can you kill all of the Militia, capture the fort and cut the British supply lines?

I played in this event on Friday night and got command of the Indian allies.  We broke through two wooden doors and into the blockhouse proper and scored a French victory.  This was a great game and quite a treat to get to use such fine lead prepainted minis.

Rapscallion Rules: Full Sail
Period/Era: 17C Scale: 28mm
GM: Ken Van Pelt Club: Secondhand Lions Sponsor:
28mm Pirate Brawl. Can you provision your ship from the innocent seaside town of Nevis? And evade the pirate hunters?
I just had to get my crew and ships out and game them prior to the "big" event with 16 Miniatures on a Lead Man's Chest.  I ran a short pirate island hop scenario that allowed the Secondhand Lion's boats a chance to get their hulls wet. 

Mid day I spent "In-country" on the FNG table umpired by the author himself.

Hearts and Minds Rules: FNG

Period/Era: Vietnam Scale: 20mm
GM: Darby Eckles Club: Sponsor: Two Hour Wargames
Rumor has it that the VC plan on trying to wipe out a "disloyal" village. Its your job to stop them. Can you protect the villagers or will the enemy have their day. Presented by the Creator of Two Hour Wargames FNG 2nd Edition Darby Eckles!

And then:

The Secondhand Lions set sail in Scott Christian's "16 Miniatures on a Lead Man's Chest."
Event: Sixteen Miniatures on a Lead Mans Chest Rules: FFoS (unpublished)

Period/Era: 18th century as Hollywood Scale: 25/28mm
GM: Mr. Christian and the Mutineers Club: Sponsor: Old Glory 25s (Prizes Provided)
Come about ye scurvy dogs and run up the colors! The Largest pirate game in the Midwest just got bigger. More Ships, more locations, and more adventure than ever before. Brave over 600 square feet of table space in one of 20 ships, raiding, trading and cannonading your way to the title of most infamous captain to sail the Caribbean. Governors, cannibals, smugglers, merchants, pirates and agents of the crown all scramble for their share of fame and fortune in a world of limited resources and infinite possibilities. Prizes will be awarded to both the best and worst career; participants are encouraged to dress the part. Anyone under the age of 14 must have an adult at the helm of their ship. If you are interested in bringing your own tall mast ship to play, please contact me before the convention to write up a sheet for game play. Located in the Lecture Hall near concessions.

Hungry canibals lunch on some Captain Crunch.

Mystery Island in the distance.

Pirate Island...a certain refuge at table's edge.

The Secondhand Lions ships in the fore is the HMS Cyprinadae and to the starboard is the Zeolot.  Off in the far distance is the Hotspur.

So much going on all at once.  This game really becomes an environment unto itself.

The Cyprinadae bravely throws her bulk between an agressor and the ship it is meaning to attack.  What a selfless act of heroism.

The Hotspur, commanded by Captain Carr, escorts the Dutch trader to the English port.

Chuck gets his just deserts as the worst pirate career.

Bill turns out to be a man of honor.

and our man Ted scoops up a load of crew and a ship to add to the Secondhand Lion's fleet.

I managed to reduce the captain of the Spanish Galleon to zero with the earstwhile help of the corporation and we as a group collected the Laser Dreamworks ship as prize.   This is the second time the Lion's have been victorious over the treasure galleon. 

All in all the convention was a superb weekend of gaming fun.  I sold a few items in the auction and bought some games and dice at the vendor's tables.  Can't wait for the fall Recruits convention at Lee's Summit High School.  Lee's Summit, Missouri.



Session Three "Stuck In" Wherein it Becomes a Stand Up Fight and Not Just a Bug Hunt

The Marines of Sulaco Strike Force Lion's Den pressed on into sector 007.  The terrain was mixed destruction and alien ectoplasm and egg casings were evident in the corridors leading to what must be the queen chamber.  The APC was pressed in on all sides by the deployed marines of squads 1, 2, 3.  The seargants Carr, Lathrop, and Cowney were keeping up a constant radio chatter to LT. Conn in the APC.  "Get us outa here" was frequently the non-standard sign off to each fervent message.

The column advances into sector 007.  High walled and densely packed terrrain added to the terror.

Into the valley of death rode the 30 + heavily armed badasses!

And then all hell breaks lose.  Casualty count consisted of at least 12-16 MIA. HUD went static on the APC monitor but life signs didn't always extinguish.  Damn xenos!  This was a regular Thursday night wargame in the Second-hand Lions game club.  Leave a comment or sign up for a full tour of duty.

Regards