PA River Barge

In a world gone apocalyptic, shelter and safety will be at a premium.  Whether its defending against radioactive raiders, or fending off hordes of the walking dead, water-craft are some of the safest place to be.  Surrounded by water and mobile, these floating fortresses will be bastions of safety in a hostile world.

Here's my entry into the informal "2011 Boat Building Challenge" over on the Post Apoc Wargames forum:

In scale feet, the barge would be approx 65 ft long by 37.3 ft wide

Wood planking covers the hold, giving the occupants shelter and storage

A cabin, made from scraps of wood and metal affords topside shelter

Sandbags provide protection against marauders

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A WIP thread can be found here, detailing how it was made and showing pre-paint photos.  The sandbags are the only new edition since that thread and are from Acheson Creations.  I plan on carrying this project over into 2012 by adding the following modular pieces; although I am not sure if it will stay on the Workbench list.

An armored watch tower
Goods and portage for the deck
An ACE ZU 23-2 kit

Another thing that occurred to me to do is to create a concrete levy in order to create a river bank/dock feature for my developing PA table.

TEOTWAWKI - Blasted Ruins WIP, Pt 2

Prepped some more ruins for painting. These are actually the second batch I' readied for painting.  The others, which have previously been post on the Post Apoc Wargames Forum will be posted here on ZSS sometime in January.

The upper floor of this piece comes off, so that figures can be placed in the basement.  It's cramped so no large figures won't fit; making it a good defensive position, when hiding from big nasties.

A Ranger and a Rogue

I still like a lot of the old mini sculpts from the 80s and 90s.  Some of the old Ral Partha and Grenadier figs have held up well against the test of time.  A friend of mine gave me a big box of unpainted metal and I dig through it from time to time looking for figs to paint as a change of pace and to practice technique on.


Here are a couple of figs I did last weekend.  The same friend needed a fig for and RPG character he has, so I whipped one out for him, as well as a second one.

Ral Partha Ranger

He  had a very bad, teenage paint job from the 90's so I resurrected him. Originally, his shield was all white and had a what looked like a tree on it, so I recreated it as well.

Ral Parth Rogue

This is the fig for the RPG character.  Not sure if it'll fit the bill.  If it doesn't his group has a mountain of unpainted metal I can dig through to find the right one.

TEOTWAWKI - Blasted Ruins WIP

I pulled this post from a PA gaming forum that I haunt, in an attempt to bring all my efforts under one roof.

The first step in building the world of TEOTWAWKI is to make some blasted ruins. I started with a laser cut foam core 6 story building from Gamecraft.  With shipping it cost me $20.  It might seem a little steep in price, unless you've ever build ruins from foam core.  For me the money spent was worth it.  I'll most likely post a review of this item in the near future.  Here is is laid out on the table.

I then took and drew out my ruins and started cutting.  I numbered the pieces, so they didn't get mixed up in the pile.  In the end, I had very little in the way of unusable scrap material.

After I had the basic shapes cut out, I shaped them to look more like broken concrete and such.  I ended up with 13 pieces total; 9 corners and 4 standing walls:

Here's a close up of some of the corner pieces in various stages:

TEOTWAWKI - My PA Project Gets A Hard Reboot.

I made the "mistake" of ordering some Post-Apoc figures from a company called Lead Adventure Miniatures.  I say it was a mistake, because when they arrived, and I was gob-smacked by how good they are.  They are so good that I decided to reboot my PA project, and build a new one around LAM's "The Last Project" minis.

The back ground will be reworked, giving it a much grittier, hard bitten flavor. The world will be much more devastated than what I envisioned in its predecessor.  Life will be harder and a lot cheaper.

The up side of all this is that there will be a lot less I will need to build.  All I need now is:

1. 4' x 6' mat of some sort
2. Enough ruined buildings to cover said 4' x 6' mat
3. Bits and bobs to fill empty space between ruins
4. 4 to 5 factions, with the possibility of more.
5. 4 to 8 vehicles

The good news is that some of the stuff I have already will work in the new setting; the Salvage Crew and some ruins I am building.  Also, good news for other PA enthusiasts is that I will be selling some of the finished minis I had collected for the now defunct original project.

I hope to have something gameble  by fall of 2012, so I can run a game at Fall Recurits in Lee's Summit, MO.

Stay tuned, between now an the end of the year, I will be posting items I have finished, and am going to keep for this new incarnation.  I'll be bringing together some old posts from other sources.  Come Jan. 1, 2012, it will be all new content.

15mm Sci Fi Battle Armor

I'm always on the look out for different and unique figs.  Figures that can be re-purposed, converted and given new life always catch my eye.  I was working on a MechWarrior inspired project (more on that later) and I ran across some singles that would fit perfectly into 15mm Sci-Fi.  They are the Salamander and Undine Battle Armor from the MechWarrior Age of Destruction release. 

The Salamander Battle Armor figs come one to a base. I just popped them off the clicky bases, glued them on US pennies, based them, gave them a black wash and picked out highlights.

Salamander Battle Armor

The Undine Battle Armor come 2 to a base.  I finished these off in the same manner as the ones above.

Undine Battle Armor

In the comparison pic, below, you can see their size compared to a Rebel Mini Policeman and a Peter Pig US Marine.  The Salamander suits are in a crouched over walking pose, giving this example the sense of being smaller than it is.

(L to R) Undine BA, Rebel Mini Policeman, Salamander BA, Peter Pig US Marine

All in all they fit the part, and can be gotten at excellent to reasonable prices, depending on how to procure them.  Both of them are still fairly available through online sources for about .49 cents each.  Buying them from people who are dumping their collections (like I did), you can purchase them for pennies apiece.

Golden Oldies - Ral Partha Giants

I dug up some photos of a couple of RP giants I painted up a while ago.  These are two of my favorite sculpts.  They both hold up despite their age.

The first is a Storm Giant:

I love the bushy eyebrows

 

The next one is a Frost Giant.  This is by far one of my favorite minis.  I usually sell stuff I paint, the Storm Giant found a home someplace on the east coast, IIRC; not in this case, though.  This one has stayed in my personal collection:

I was especially pleased with the way the eyes and jewels turned out.

On the Workbench - 12/01/11

4Here's this month's "On the Workbench" post.  Despite my best efforts, I ended up adding more stuff to the pile of unpainted minis.  My finished items and new items offset each other, a bit.  Still, not a bad month's output for November.

The new items and projects that I added stuff to are denoted by an * next to them.

On the Workbench for December 2011:
(This is all stuff that is partially finished; in no particular order)

15 28mm PA Survivors* - 3, 5 man packs from Lead Adventure Miniatures
20 Clicky Zombies* - Beefing up the amount of clicky Zeds I have.
20 Mantic Ghouls* - Mantic Ghoul Regiment 
20 28mm Zombies - Wargames Factory Plastic Zombies
6 28mm Survivors - Obelisck Nighthawk gang 
6 28mm Vampires - Pontoonier Wierd West vampires for Two Hour Wargames.  Unfinished commission work that needs to be done ASAP, as I've really let Ed down on this.  I have a feeling that I am just going to finish the project gratis
12 28mm Survivors - Atcheson Designs ATZ figs.  I will be doing an in depth review and size comparison on them 
28mm Post Apoc Ruins Project - Ruins made from Gamecraft's Foamcore 6 story building.  This one is half done.
10mm Ruins Project - Foamcore ruins for a BTech style game using Mechwarrior figs; another half finished project.
28mm River Barge - Post Apoc watercraft
28mm Vehicles* - 6-8 vehicles for my survivor; added another vehicle in November
15mm Suburbia - Paper/foamcore houses for suburban Lazarus. 
50 20mm WWII Russians - Minis for a semi defunct NUTS! East Front project I planned
2 T-34/85s - Same As Above
Various Fantasy/Sci Fi minis* - I have a box of old minis I use to try out techniques and hone my skills.  I have quite a few half painted figs that I'd like to finish


November's Finished Projects/Minis 
 (I will be posting these up through out the monthr, as I get photos and such)

15mm Armor - USMC LAV-25 and a US Army M2 Bradley
30 28mm Zombies - Mantic Zombie Regiment Box (Look for this post over at Welcome To Lazarus in the future)
2 "Clicky" Zombies - (Look for this post over at Welcome To Lazarus in the future) 
1 Foundry Street Violence Figure (Look for this post over at Welcome To Lazarus in the future)
6 man 28mm Post Apoc gang - Junior's Salvage Crew
10 15mm Survivors -You can see the first half of the "Here"
15mm Suburban House Test - Test house for modeling a suburan area for Lazarus
1 "Clicky" Scarecrow Conversion - Not sure where this one will show up, yet.

Salvage Crew - Blood N Gutz Faction

Since I started this project (pre-Zero Sum blog) the concept has changed a bit.  I am going with a more ruined desolation motif, instead of a partially detroyed world.  The background I have formulated (to be posted, soon) still works; the action will be shifting to the more nuke blasted portions of the world, first.

The first faction is Junior's Salvage Crew.  Salvage crews are groups of entrepreneurial individuals who risk the sundry dangers of the rad zones in search of treasure.  They are intrepid individuals, if not eh most savory or stable ones.  Junior's crew is one of the better ones in the region

Junior's Salvage Crew:

                                                                              

Junior, leader of the group:

 Junior is one of the stingiest people this side of the Rockies.  His operation is a shoestring affair, on its best days.  He does manage to get his crew to regularly bring in the best finds, and has a sizable nest egg to show for it.

Sid, No. 2 in charge

Sid is Junior's only real friend, which is good for Sid, because he's not a very likable individual.  Sid is the muscle of the group, not because he is the biggest, rather because he is the meanest of the lot.

Meat; All brawn, few brains

Meat isn't the brightest guy in the world; he makes up for it by being strong as an ox.  Sid is the only person he's truly afraid to stand up to.  When Junior needs a head busted, and Sid isn't around, Meat is who he turns to...he's easily manipulated.

Tiny: Jack of all trades

 

Tiny, somehow manages to stay the size he is; despite the grueling nature of the world.  He knows a little about almost everything, and is one of the smarter fellas on the crew.  Despite his reputation; due to an unfortunate argument/chainsaw incident, he's not a bad guy.

Frankie: The mechanic

Frankie is a top notch mechanic, but he's a little touched in the head.  He runs around wearing an old pilot's helmet, and talks to himself.  Despite it all, he can fix almost anything.

Trashcan: Finder of all things useful or not

Trashcan has an amazing capacity to see value in everything he lays his hands on; much to Junior's dismay.  He has to constantly "refocus" Trashcan's attention on what's valuable and what's not.  Trashcan is the crew's finder.  He's small enough to fit into places others can't, and crazy enough to do it. 

The Professor and his steam powered suit

The professor is a genius, and dwarf; a real live dwarf.  With Frankie's help, he built a steam powered suit; some say just to compensate for his small stature.  The crew uses it to retrieve their salvage.  Junior sees the value in humoring the professor, who he finds irritating beyond belief, because he is constantly coming up with money making ideas.  Plus, he has willed Junior is suit, which is worth it's weight in salvage, once he passes.

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All the figs in the crew, except The Professor and his suit, are Salvage Crew minis (sold by MegaMinis). Junior and Tiny had their weapons removed and replaced with guns from one of the Reaper Chronoscope weapons sprues. Junior, Sid and Meat had Sci-Fi bits and funky hair dos scraped off their heads, as well. The professor is a clicky miniy that I re-based/painted.

Blood n Gutz - My Post Apocalyptic Project

My big project at the moment; the one I am determined to complete to a playable state, before all else, is a Post Apoc setting, n 28mm.  Based in the remnants of California, the world of "Blood N Gutz" will pit various groups of survivors against one another is a world devastated by a limited nuclear war.

I've been working on this for a while and have various bits partially completed.  I've been posting finished bits, fluff and ideas on the Post Apoc Wargames Forum.  I am going to try to bring them all together here and make the the primary site for updates and such.

My To-Do list for the project is as follows:


Survivors - There will be 8-10 factions having between 6 and 30 figs each
Vehicles - Various vehicles for the factions
Terrain - I will have 3 main settings; Blasted City, Desolate Settlement/Wilderness, and  Abandoned Suburbs
Background and Fluff -just a bit to give the world a bit of flavor

Fantasy Fixture's Gaming Emporium Up And Running

I've posted a static page entitled "Fantasy Fixture's Gaming Emporium.  My hobby activities are solely financed by the sale of stuff I paint, build, or find at various locations.  None of it comes out of my house-hold budget.  Yes, times get lean in my hobby world from time to time; but there is no arguing with "She Who Must Be Obeyed" about my hobby activities.  I manage to stay afloat in the hobby realm, though, so it's all good.


As a result of my mercantile activities, I am occasionally left with items that sit on my shelf, for want of a good home.  Various reasons; too eclectic, I want too much for them, etc.  That's where this page comes in.  I am going to post items up for sale that I have on my shelf.  If someone stumbles across them and wants one, great!  If not, I am no worse off than when I started.  The content of this page will change over time, so check back occasionally to see if anything strikes your fancy.

Where To Start?

Where do I start?  Do I back fill with some golden oldies from my collection; in order to generate posts?  Do I start from scratch; and come up with an original new project for the kick off of this blog?   I think neither.  First thing I'll do is take an accounting of what all I have on the work bench at the moment and share the results.  This "On The Work Bench" is going to be a regular feature here and over at "Welcome To Lazarus"; my a fore mentioned Zombie gaming blog.  It, along with some of the content will get cross posted.  Hey, 2 for the price of one on the amount of work I have to do!  How great is that?

The workbench in the Hobby Cave.  It's actually much better lit than the pic suggests.

If anything, this running dialog will keep me on track and help me prioritize what I need to get done.  Your input is more than welcome, and you never know.  Maybe if there is enough hue and cry, an item will get bumped to the top of the list, just to placate the masses.

On the Workbench for November 2011:
(This is all stuff that is partially finished; in no particular order)
15mm Armor - USMC LAV-25 and a US Army M2 Bradley
30 28mm Zombies - Mantic Zombie Regiment Box
20 28mm Zombies - Wargames Factory Plastic Zombies
6 28mm Survivors - Obelisck Nighthawk gang
2 "Clicky" Zombies - Ongoing conversions
6 28mm Vampires - Pontoonier Wierd West vampires for Two Hour Wargames.  Unfinished commission work that needs to be done ASAP, as I've really let Ed down on this.  I have a feeling that I am just going to finish the project gratis
12 28mm Survivors - Atcheson Designs ATZ figs.  I will be doing an in depth review and size comparison on them
28mm Post Apoc gang - More survivors to battle in the rubble.
28mm Post Apoc Ruins Project - Ruins made from Gamecraft's Foamcore 6 story building.  This one is half done.
10mm Ruins Project - Foamcore ruins for a BTech style game using Mechwarrior figs; another half finished project.
28mm River Barge - Post Apoc watercraft
28mm Vehicles - 6-8 vehicles for my survivors
15mm Suburbia - Paper/foamcore houses for suburban Lazarus.
10 15mm Survivors - Figs from a company called "The Scene".  I have 5 Survivors and 5 Government types in the works.
50 20mm WWII Russians - Minis for a semi defunct NUTS! East Front project I planned
2 T-34/85s - Same As Above
Various Fantasy/Sci Fi minis - I have a box of old minis I use to try out techniques and hone my skills.  I have quite a few half painted figs that I'd like to finish


October's Finished Projects/Minis 
 (I will be posting these up through out November, as I get photos and such)

6 28mm Survivors - Look for them next Friday!
2 28mm Aztec Vampire Maidens - Part of my sidetracked Weird West commission for THW
1 Steam-powered Armored Suit - "Clicky" rebase and paint for Post Apoc gaming
90 15mm Rebel Minis (Zeds and Survivors) - Commission job for Scale Creep; looking forward to seeing what Mark does with them.  It'll be a hoot.
5 28mm Ruins - Part of my Post Apoc Ruins project

What is a Zero Sum Solution?

In game theory, a Zero Sum Solution is a mathematical representation of a situation in which a participant's gain (or loss) of utility is exactly balanced by the losses (or gains) of the utility of other participant(s). In other words;

"In order for me to win...you must lose"

Life is not full of strictly Zero Sum Solutions.  It is full of win-win situations.  On the gaming table, it's quite a different story; especially if you gamed in the same type of circles I have.  There was no such thing as a co-op game.  Eventually, every one would turn on every one and the victor would be the last man standing.

I started my first blog, "Welcome To Lazarus" about 7 months ago.  It's dedicated to Zombie war gaming, and all things related.  I have really enjoyed putting it together and getting all the feedback on it.  Well, I do a lot more genres than the Zombie Apocalypse.  It's become apparent to me that if I wanted to share my other gaming pursuits, I'd need to find another outlet; in order to keep "Welcome To Lazarus" true to its original intent.

Thus is born Zero Sum Solutions.  This blog will be a geared towards general war gaming stuff; all the various projcts and games I am fiddling with.  I'll post pics of finished miniatures and projects.  There will be AARs and Battle Reports, as well as reviews and showcase different products I run across.  I'll post inspirations I find as I wander across the web.  Occasionally, I'll even pontificate (or bloviate depending on where you are sitting) of various gaming related subjects.

In the end, I hope that I provide you, the reader with an enjoyable stop along the information super-hiway.  A stop that you'll find interesting and worth coming back to.  Enjoy