Exclusive Residential Development

Hello again,

Having recently finished the figures from "The Good, The Bad and The Mutie", the starter set for Strontium Dog, published by Warlord Games/ Rebellion, it was high time I set to on the terrain that comes with the set too. I have some experience with MDF buildings, so was not concerned about the usual things you see on social media about the MDF soaking up paint, warping and so on. Thus, "set to" I have done!

In the set, you get a basic dwelling-cum-office, a generator and windmill to accompany the dwelling-cum-office, an observation tower and four solar panels, all in an easy-to-build mix of MDF and card. They are form the Sarissa Precision range of kits, which cover various eras and locales, and the wider range includes several other suitable kits in what is akin to their post-apocalyptic range. I will be adding a few in due course.

So, I sprayed on an undercoat, selected Army Painter Green as my basecoat and then weathered and highlighted up to taste. I wanted a dusty, arid environment for "Scum's World", my fictional planet on which to stage my SD games, so all effects and basing considerations were built around this. I am pretty happy with the results, but have a look and see what you think. All I need to do now is actually make some arid terrain tiles, or at least acquire a suitable cloth or something, as I have no other arid/ desert terrain on which to plonk these kits!

G

The base is 3mm MDF, not supplied with the kit but sourced from my stash. The texturing is small grade model railway ballast stuck down with PVA glue, painted and sparsely flocked.

I glazed the windows to give this palatial abode something like a civilised feel. The building may be from a post-apocalyptic range, but I did not want that for this use.

Four solar panels should be more than enough for the needs of a simple "shack".

I guess the watchtower is to look out for supply vehicles, dust storms, hostiles and anything else the occupants might desire/ fear.

A Chance Buy For The Autumn Gloom

Hello again.

Even with a south-facing conservatory for a mancave, there are times, especially at this period of the year, when it is just too gloomy to see anything properly to be able to paint. Natural light is my preference, but there is not much around at the moment! So, I went on a recce for Christmas presents for the brood with my wife last weekend and we ended up in a place called "The Range", a sort of Hobbycraft and similar outlet if you do not know it. We were not looking for anything for me, but needless to say, I found a few things!

 

 

For the princely sum of £4, I bought these two Christmas decoration kits, which, as you can see stand around four to five inches high when built. I think you are supposed to build them, paint them, and then either hang them on your Christmas tree or put a tea light in them. BUT WE DON'T WANT TO DO THAT, DO WE!?!?!?

 

I did at least build one, but those awful tags had to come off...

...so off they came!

 At this point, you will obviously have gathered my reasoning. For that paltry £4 outlay, I wanted to investigate whether I could add to my terrain pool something unique after finishing my initial purchase of Sarissa Precision kits for "Burrows & Badgers" that I got from the Chillcon show last month.

So, with stage one complete, what now? Well, I could have drawn a plan of what I wanted to do, but that would be too technical! So I winged it.

Stage Two saw the building of an entrance lobby, a simple lean-to affair and I added one of the doors from the Doors Pack from Sarissa that I bought at Chillcon. We will overlook the fact that I had already added a floor at roof level to give added structure to the piece BEFORE I thought to glaze the upper windows...D'oh!

Stage Three saw me build up the living space. I decided on a sort of wrap around lower storey, knowing full well that the subsequent roof angles could be a total pain...

The end wall features another of the Sarissa Precision doors. I will add a shuttered window on that side too in the near future.

Stage Four saw the need to roof the lower storey. With some careful measuring from which I cut out paper templates, I was able to fit a pretty decent roof.

Et voila!

Stage Five saw me needing a chimney stack, which I fabricated from a scrap of 3mm MDF. The same material was used, along with some 2mm mounting card, to build the actual stack above roof level, topped off with some plastic tubes pots.

So that is the basic build.

 

It has taken me around four man hours to get this far, which is probably longer than the equivalent kit would have taken, but you obviously have to fabricate parts yourself without a kit. However, a self-built thing is unique.

I still have to tile the rooves and finish the body of the building with timber framing, rendering, brickwork, window sills and whatever, but the structure is built and sound in that it is not going to fall over any time soon. I will also base it for added stability and the idea of a vegetable garden is one I think I will pursue for this dwelling. I will finish this one as and when work, light and time allow. Then there is the little matter of the second building and what to do with that one...

G



The Root of All Evil

Hello again.

So, just what is the root of all evil?

Could it be greed? Over-weaning ambition? Vegans? People who drink tea with their little finger pointed outwards?

I am taking a punt on model buildings with windows.

You buy a kit in all innocence, thinking you are doing the right thing. You build the kit and, as you are doing so, that moment of clarity arrives. You had not noticed the window at the back. That window looks straight into a one room dwelling. That window is an eye on the world for the dwelling's inhabitants. That window is an eye into the dwelling for the world's inhabitants.

There is no glazing. Do you bother to find some? Of course you do. Think of the draught, the ingress of rain and other environmental factors, the lack of security having a big hole in the back wall of your property.

So you glaze it with a bit of clear, plastic sheet cut from a blister pack. That in itself makes painting the exterior all the harder, as you now have to mask the window if you spray undercoat or be VERY careful if you choose to brush paint, and painting is an absolute necessity.

But will it just be an empty space? Will people get low to the table and look into a blank canvas with grey card and golden brown mdf the sole delights for their eye? Dilemma...

Should you furnish the dwelling? Will it be visible when you have done and fix the top of the roof down? Should you fix the top of the roof down or have it lift off to allow for the internal placement of figures? Should you at least paint the interior, even if you cannot access it?

You furnish. You cannot take the risk. You also therefore paint the interior. You also have to do it a little justice, not quite knowing how much detail to go into. You just know that if you do not make the effort, some smart Alec will ruin your day by pointing out your little abode is vacant possession. You spend most of a day when you could be enjoying life trying to come up with suitable ways to build beds, chairs, tables, utensils, just general signs of life in your dwelling, even if it is unoccupied at the moment. Someone was there and you needed to show that.

Like I said, model buildings are my vote for the root of all evil...

In truth, the kit itself was easy to build, being one of the Sarissa Precision offerings specifically for the "Burrows & Badgers" game. Built with the useable instructions provided and a reasonably liberal use of wood glue and specialist card glue, although ordinary PVA would suffice, the only real difficulty came with the aforementioned window straight from the bowels of some burning, undesirable other level of human existence, whose name cannot be voiced in polite blogospheric circles, rather like saying "Voldemort" for many of the inhabitants of Harry Potter's world.

But it is at least now built and detailed internally with a certain amount of ingenuity.

And, do you know what?

You can hardly see a darn thing with the roof on!!!

Will I go to these lengths on future builds? I think I will just pull the curtains! (And I have not even given this place any!!!)

G

That window, now glazed.

And all the internals I could be bothered with, using coloured paper, calico, card, plastic sheet, bits of scrap wood, the odd item from my bits box, etc, along with putty for the leather cushion on the chair (very shiny leather!) and the pillow on the bed.

I even dirtied the door mat and had some careless individual (have you met my kids?) tramp mud up onto the rug in front of the fireplace. Judging by the state of the bed, I think this is student accommodation.

And to add to the pain, the roof fits very snugly and securely without needing to be fixed down. Hm. Perhaps the effort was worthwhile after all...

Chillcon

Hello again.

Last weekend saw the advent of the Chillcon show, held at the Woodlands School in Allestree, Derby. I was not meant to be going, as it was time for second daughter to head off to university and I was driving, but the car was going to be so full that there could be only one (to misquote the "Highlander"), so my wife took her instead, which left me with a free day.

Anyway, whilst visiting Nephew Nick a couple of days earlier to meet my new great nephew, Edward (aka "Little Ted" or "My young apprentice" - congratulations to Nephew Nick and his wife Claire on the arrival of said baby on 12th September at over 10lbs in weight!!!), Nick got a free pass for the day too so we decided to go.

The show was spread over three halls, had a number of traders and games as usual, but a lot of the games were small, participation games, which was a bit different, with things like Taiyo Dynasties, Rattlebones, Stormhaven and Odin's Pyre all new to me and others new (-ish) on the market such as Adeptus Titanicus, Gangs of Rome and Blood & Plunder. I loved the look of Taiyo Dynasties, a mythical Japanese/ Far Eastern set up on a 2x1 foot board of cherry blossom and classic Nippon architecture. The green gorilla with double hammers and the Kung Fu Panda lookalike with the pole weapon were awesome! I have already decided that the gorilla needs to become my avatar, especially as my son calls me "Gorilla Dog" and my PlayStation name is GorillaDog67!

Anyway, a small show by some standards, but I went with a "to buy" list and stuck with it!

There were a couple of things I found very interesting about this show. I know some are done elsewhere, but one at least is unique to me.

1) As simple paying customers, we got a carrier bag of leaflets and a free Viking shield maiden figure. Also in the bag was a voucher for a discount at Sarissa Precision, which was most useful.
2) In addition to the standard carrier bag, you could pre-order a goody bag. I believe there were three sorts on offer for increasing amounts, but with figures and the like inside. The bigger offer you bought, the more you got!
3) The GAMER CARD. My carrier bag had a card in it. I had to collect two orange and four blue stickers on my card to gain entry to a prize draw. Orange stickers were issued by traders with whom you spent £10 or more, blue ones by game organisers whose game you played. Prizes were varied, but three £20 vouchers was not to be sniffed at.

So, a few pics and purchases to end on and I can get on with walking the dog and painting some more figures.

Finally, a big thank you and recommendation. All our long suffering, hard working traders deserve all the best for enabling us to enjoy our hobby via their often wonderful and innovative products - we simply could not be gamers without figures and the accoutrements of gaming - but I wish to give a very special mention to the guy at Laser Cut Architect (henceforth LCA), from whom I bought my sci-fi/ Necromunda terrain. Having bought a few pieces from him and wandered off to browse some more, I got a tap on the shoulder. The fellow had only come to find me around the show to give me a freebie of something I had not bought! If I had spent a fortune with him I might not have been surprised, but I only spent £57! A wonderful gesture form the man (whose name I did not get...) and well deserving of a massive THANK YOU for excellent customer service and for supplying a niche product I recommend to all who game this sort of area of interest. Check out LCA on Facebook or the web.

G

I think this was the "Stormhaven" game.

And I think this was "Rattlebones"...

One of the big attractions for me, having seen some posts on Facebook beforehand, was the planned "Burrows & Badgers" demo game, a shot of which you can see here. Some very  nice buildings.

The game also featured an out of town area, the town walls in shot at the left edge of the picture.

I like windmills! And I have also just painted the Otter Ranger figure standing next to the windmill, though mine is in rather more subdued colours!

Wildcat and Starling rogues hiding somewhere in town. The Bill Sykes lookalike wildcat rogue is one of the more enigmatic figures in the Oathsworn range. I love the figure, but am not quite sure how I would use it, but Nephew Nick is not a fan.

Those pesky zombies are bothering the good citizens of Mid-west USA again.

Purchase time! Oathsworn tapped me for another wad of cash!!! I needed some small stuff...

The £5 off vouchers in my goody bag mean this set of buildings for Burrows & Badgers (and other rules sets) came in a t just £30, over £10 off the list price of buying each individually. The £35 price tag itself was a reduction in the individual price, so double discount!!! Had to be done!

Torhild, the freebie in my goody bag

A new range of B&B buildings was out so I bought a couple more, which I will get around to building asap.

They also do a pack of doors to enable you to build your own more easily, so I added these to the list of purchases.

I need more bases for my 28mm stuff and 40mm square mdf is my material and size of choice.

I also wanted some specific terrain for sci-fi gang warfare a la "Necromunda", so bought these from Laser Cut Architect.

Needs must

Hello again.

With the Barrage Show in Stafford fast approaching, being as it is to be held this coming Sunday, 8th July, at Blessed William Howard High School in Stafford, England, and coupled to the fact that we were to play a game based on the relief of a fort (aka "The Relief of Fort Nummanmason"), I needed a few bits and pieces in a bit of a hurry.

I needed a fort, or at least part of it, and that fort had to show a bit of battle damage to indicate that it was in need of the aforementioned relief. I did that one a couple of weeks back, so check out that post if you will.

But you cannot have a siege/ bombardment/ assault of a fort and just have the attackers standing around waiting for the occupiers to surrender, can you? Not in my world. So, I needed some trenchworks, some fieldworks, some indication that the attackers knew they would be in for a bit of a wait and some reciprocal pain. I also needed some North America specific buildings I felt, to better show that we were in America and not Northern Germany with Ferdinand of Brunswick and the Comtes de Broglie/ Contades.

So, I built a few bits and pieces, in a hurry, to give me what I reckon I need to kick the game off on its inaugural outing. We in the "Wyrley Retinue" always add to or somehow change a game between outings, so this is a one-time only offer to get yourselves to Stafford to see this in the flesh. If the game emerges again, and I very much hope it does, some thing or other will be different - more troops, an altered layout, more buildings or terrain, different victory conditions, etc.

So remember:

1. 8th July 2018 at Blessed William Howard School, Rowley Avenue, Stafford.
2. 1000hrs start.
3. Barrage Show.
4. Wyrley Retinue.
5. "The Relief of Fort Nummanmason".
6. Come and see us and say "Hello". (I'll be the tall, middle-aged chap looking bemused at my lack of success with command rolls...)

G

The approach trenches for the French. MDF base, polystyrene, lollipop sticks and card to build up the sides, mounting card for the duckboards, Renedra gabions courtesy of Nephew Nick at The Sleeping Dragon Hobby Shop and paint to suit. This is a three piece set up.

And from the front. They stand around 50mm high from the terrain board to the tops of the gabions, to give the French room to shelter from the fire of the fort's defenders.

Renedra gabions again on MDF bases.

I had a mortar so had to have a mortar emplacement. Details as previously.

And with the aforementioned mortar. This piece is lower than the trench pieces by around 10mm.

I went with a Perry kit for my church.

And a Perry kit again for my house.

This scratchbuilt affair sits inside the fort, having been hit and burned out by the French artillery and mortar fire. I had to have something inside the fort and not just empty space.

And finally, some idea of how the defences will fit together on the tabletop this Sunday. The mortar emplacement will occupy the bottom left corner, artillery the right foreground and centre right positions.