On The Workbench 6/12

May was one of those months that puts truth to the saying "The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray".  I fully intended to go on a blitz last moth and finish a bunch of small projects. It didn't happen. Between the hobby cave flooding, due to torrential rains, family emergencies and obligations, and a temporary change in my work schedule not much got done.  When I did have time to paint, the motivation to do so was not there.  All month long, I managed to fully paint just 9 minis, with another 20 or so primed up with smatterings of paint on them.  Thank God for scheduled posts, or I wouldn't of even had any postings last month at all.  Oh well these things happen.

The work schedule will be back to normal in a week, family emergencies are still happening (Mrs. FF is in Arkansas right now dealing with one), and the Hobby Cave has been (hopefully) water proofed.  I am going to try to get back into the swing of things this week (at least an hour a day), and see how things go.  The up side of it all is that I didn't lose anything in the flooding, I didn't add anything to the "pile o' minis" and I drank a lot of beer, and Caribbean rum (the Mrs. went on a cruise and came back with 5 bottles of the good stuff) last month.

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

On the Workbench for June 2012:
(This is all stuff that is partially finished; in no particular order)
27 Gnoblar Fighters - After selling the metal ones, I decided to paint up the plastics to see what I could get for them.

21 x Khurasan Zombies - 21 excellent sculpts for 15mm zombie gaming
24 x WH40 Tyrnaid Termagants - I got these in trade for the Gnoblars I painted a couple of weeks ago.
10mm Ruins Project - I got a pile of old Epic plastic ruins, which are replacing the foam core ruins I was going to build and use for my Mech Warrior project. 
4 20mm Ruins - Plastic 20mm ruins I am building for resale. 
8 Acheson ATZ Minis - More minis for paint and review.
6'x4' Zuzzy Mat - Gaming Mat for my TEOTWAWKI project. 
15 28mm PA Survivors - 3, 5 man packs from Lead Adventure Miniatures 
18 Heroclix Figs - Figures for conversion into sci-fi and horror gaming minis
6  Pulp/Steampunk Minis - 6 figures left on the commission painting of some Fiendish Fabrications figures
20 Mantic Ghouls - Mantic Ghoul Regiment 
6 28mm Survivors - Obelisck Nighthawk gang
28mm Post Apoc Ruins Project - Ruins made from Gamecraft's Foamcore 6 story building.  This one is half done.
28mm Vehicles - 6-8 vehicles for my survivors
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


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

4 x Acheson ATZ Minis - 4 down, 8 to go!

5 x GWFB Gnoblar Fighters - 5 down, 27 to go!

Hedges - Quick and Easy Tutorial

Materials
Foam Padding - Electronic Packing material (free)
Woodland Scenics Course Turf (aka Flock) - From local Train Shop ($9.99/32oz Shaker)
Large Freezer Bag - Pilfered from Kitchen (free)
Spray Adhesive - From Hobby Lobby ($3.00)
Spray Matte Finish or Clear Varnish(not pictured) - From Hobby Lobby ($3.00)
Sharp Knife (not pictured)- For cutting foam
Disposable gloves (optional/not pictured) - Pilfered from work

Step 1 - Cutting The Foam
Start by cutting the foam into strips. The strips can be any size you wish. In this example, I am making hedges for use with 28mm figures. The foam strips measures roughly 4.5in x 1.25in x .5in. Cut them slightly smaller than what you want the final hedges to be; I will explain in a bit. Also, they don't need to be exactly the same size. Variation is good.

Step 2 - Texturing The Foam
Take your thumb and forefinger and start tearing chunks of foam off the strips. You'll want to do this along all the edges, and randomly across the flat sides. They should look as below:

 Step 3 - Applying the Flock
Now we need to turn the foam strips into our hedges. Fill the freezer bag about half full with the flock. In this case, I am using a 50/50 mix of Woodland Scenics Light and Medium green. One at a time, liberally apply each foam strip with spray adhesive. I wear the gloves at this point, because it can get rather messy, if you don't. It's up to you, though. Then take the foam a put it in the freezer bag. Give the bag a good shake, so the foam is completely covered with flock. This is where cutting them smaller comes into play. As it sticks to the foam, the flock will make the finished hedges that much larger than the foam. Place the hedges to the side to dry.
Sorry for the blurry pic. It's hard to get good help at 8AM on a Saturday around my house :-)

Step 4 - Finishing The Hedges
After the hedges are sufficiently dry (tacky to the touch is OK), liberally spray them with the Matte Sealer, or what ever you wish to use. I used Krlyon Oder Free/Clear Finish (the small can in the middle) that I had from a previous project. This will act to keep flock from coming off as the hedges are handled.

 

Basing the Hedges
At this point, the hedges are done, and ready to based as you wish. I usually base my on large craft sticks that have been finished as described in my Basing "how to" here on WTL:

Figure Basing - Basic Technique
The hedges can also be used as part of a larger display, if you wish
Finished Examples
Below, as some close of of some finished hedges (prebased) of different sizes:
w/ 28mm GW Space Marine

w/ 25mm Cowboy and 20mm Liberation Mini

All in all, it took me about 25-30 minutes (including drying times) to make the six hedges in the tutorial. This is a simple project, and is very quick and easy to do.

Diamond Tread Base Tutorial

As promised, here's a repost of a tutorial I did about 4 years ago on how to make make Diamond Tread bases, for use with modern and SciFi minis.

The Materials
You will need:

• A Base (slotta or not) - I am using a slotta base in this example
• A square of nylon window screen
• Super/Krazy Glue
• Tape - if using a slotta base
• Hobby Knife
• Nail Clippers
• Sand Paper - not pictured

Step 1 - If using a Slotta Base...
you need to cover the slot. Take a piece of tape (I just used some packing tape that was handy) and cover the hole. Next, take your knife and cut off the excess, leaving the hole covered, like so:

Step 2 - Take the Nylon Window screen...
and lay it across the base. Take the Super/Krazy Glue and apply it liberally to the base. We want to cover the entire base. 

You can use a bit of scrap paper to smear the glue around. This will get glue down into every square of the Nylon Screen. You can see that I use two fingers to hold opposing corners down, while I do this. This will keep the screen from sliding around, or wrinkling during this step. Be sure to let the base completely dry after this step.

 Step 3 - Trim the excess screen away, by....
Flipping the base over and using your knife to cut away the excess. Try to get as close as possible; although you can leave some excess behind.

 After trimming with the knife, take the nail clippers and finish trimming away the excess. You should make the screen flush with edge of the base. After trimming the excess away, take the sand paper and sand down the edges. Use a downward motion only. Going up and down will cause the screen to fray.

Step 4 - Painting the base...
Is the last step. If you used a slotta base, flip the base upside down and prime it black. This will blank out the clear tape used in step one. Next prime the top with black, and dry-brush. I used a three color scheme that uses 1) Neutral Gray 2) Dove Gray 3) Sand. You can use whatever colors you like. (Note, I've since added Burnt Sienna for a rust effect)

Finished Examples:
Here are several repainted/rebased Clicky mini on home-made Diamond Tread base:

Based on a 1" Fender Washer

 

Based on 25mm Round Slotta Bases

TEOTWAWKI, Another Ruin For The Table

Here's another ruin for my post apocalyptic table. It's the corner of some long destroyed garage, or warehouse.  I haven't decided what is going on the sign, yet.

 

Here's a close up of the roll up door.  I actually bought a scrap booking tool, so I can make corrugated metal, anytime I want:-)

50 Cent Mini Challenge: Update

Managed to work out a trade for the Gnoblar Trappers I painted:

The trade worked out very well.  Although, I will admit that I think I got the better end of the deal.  I traded the 8 metal figs for 2 boxes of un-assembled GW40K Termagants.

I do not game 40K.  In fact, I don't game with any GW models, at all.  These are superb figs, though.  I need to paint up the remaining 32 plastic Gnoblar Fighters, then I can start on these.  The only down side to this trade is the amount of $$$ left in the Challenge fund is $0.  That means the next item to go out the door either gets delivered by hand, is sold for cash, or puts the cash value into the negative.  Eventually, it will all work out.

Days Remaining: 245
Cash Value: $0
Items In Hand:

• 32 plastic GWFB Gnoblar Fighters
• 2 Boxed set of GW40 Tyranid Termagants

Recruits Spring 2012 - Pt 5 (The Vendor Eye Candy)

This is the last post on Spring Recruits 2012.  This time around I'm going to highlight some of the commercial vendors and the eye candy they had out.  Of course, I've already posted about Laser Dream Works and DGS Games.

Combat Wombat was there, showing off their 15mm vehicles, if only I had the money and where withall to venture into 15mm SciFi.

Micropanzer was there, with 15mm SciFi, as well.  I really like Jason's stuff, and he's always got something under the table that he's working on, and willing to share with you.

RLBS was there as usual.  He's been at every Recruits I've attended over the last 5-6 years.  He even made it the year he had his heart problems.  He's a very prolific and exceptional painter...if only I had the time and talent...sigh.

There were a ton of other vendors there, as well (25 official ones, and more that just showed up) as well as a  very active silent auction.  I managed to pick up about $100 worth of items with the intention of reselling them.  I almost double my investment in less than a week, and still managed to keep a couple of goodies for myself.

That's it for my ruminations on Spring Recruits 2012.  I hope you enjoyed the posts, and found them informative.  I'll finish by saying that Duane and Laura, who sponsor the convention, along with everyone who helps them, are to be commended.  They commit a huge amount of time towards the effort and always manage to put on a great show.  The added bonus is that the convention is geared towards exposing the younger crowd to the hobby.  The convention isn't just about beardy old gits sitting around gaming.  It's about getting the younger generation into the hobby.  The games are child friendly, and there are always youngsters roaming the floor, asking questions and joining in games.

On The Workbench - 5/12

Didn't get much done last month; just a couple of projects.  Between work, family obligations, putting the garden in, being a bit under the weather over a long weekend, and what is becoming a really intrusive addiction to Modern Warfare 3, I only got 2 projects done last month.  This month should be a bit better, though.  Work is settled down.  The garden in and going like gang busters.  Graduations are happening towards the end of the month; they shouldn't be a hassle, though.  And best of all, I am back into good health and have a definite drive to get as many little tasks off the table as possible.

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

On the Workbench for May 2012:
(This is all stuff that is partially finished; in no particular order)
21 x Khurasan Zombies* - 21 excellent sculpts for 15mm zombie gaming
24 x WH40 Tyrnaid Termagants* - I got these in trade for the Gnoblars I painted a couple of weeks ago.
10mm Ruins Project - I got a pile of old Epic plastic ruins, which are replacing the foam core ruins I was going to build and use for my Mech Warrior project. 
4 20mm Ruins - Plastic 20mm ruins I am building for resale. 
12 Acheson ATZ Minis - More minis for paint and review.
6'x4' Zuzzy Mat - Gaming Mat for my TEOTWAWKI project. 
15 28mm PA Survivors - 3, 5 man packs from Lead Adventure Miniatures 
18 Heroclix Figs - Figures for conversion into sci-fi and horror gaming minis
6  Pulp/Steampunk Minis - 6 figures left on the commission painting of some Fiendish Fabrications figures
20 Mantic Ghouls - Mantic Ghoul Regiment 
6 28mm Survivors - Obelisck Nighthawk gang
28mm Post Apoc Ruins Project - Ruins made from Gamecraft's Foamcore 6 story building.  This one is half done.
28mm Vehicles - 6-8 vehicles for my survivors
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


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

11 x Khurasan "Not The Walking Dead" Survivors - I had get them; what with being a zombie fanatic
8 x GWFB Gnoblar Trappers - These minis were part of a FCM Challenge Trade

If you don't see the above posted here, now or in the future, you can check out Welcome To Lazarus for them.

Recruits Spring 2012 - Pt 4 (FNG Vietnam BatRep)

During the 3rd Session of the convention (Saturday afternoon) I joined in a game of Tow Hour Wargames FNG, hosted by Darby Eckles, the writer of the rules, and a THW contributing developer.

The game a based on a mission by a US Army platoon (run by the players), to go into a village that is under imminent threat of attack by Communist Forces (run by THW's Reaction System). They had to convince the locals to leave their homes and come under the safety of US Army protection.

The US forces entered the table in platoon strength from the NW and moved towards the village.

Unconcerned, the villagers went about their business.

Us forces started to round up the locals and talk to them.

Most were easily convinced to come along, although some balked, and had to be man handled by the soldiers.  One man broke and ran, only to be tackled to the ground.  he was treated as a possible enemy combatant.  The whole time this was going one PEFs (Possible Enemy Forces) were being generated and resolved.  The first two turned out to be nothing.  The third one, though was a 3 man scouting party.

They opened fire on a fire team talking to some villagers in a rubber tree stand; killing one soldier and one civilian.  At that point, all civilians, who had been against leaving the area had a change of heart, and took no more convincing..  The other half of the squad maneuvered to the trees and engaged the enemy, with an M-60 and a couple of M-79s.

There were a couple of out of ammo rolls for the US soldiers; in the end, though, the three VC were quickly killed.

The US forces set up a cordon to the east, along some rice paddies, by a river.  As they moved into position, another PEF was resolved as a mortar attack.  It landed well short of any troops and didn't pose a threat.

At this point my camera ran out of juice, and there are no picks of the game in the gallery for the convention.  So here's a rundown of what transpired.  No more threats came from the direction the scouts had come from.  A platoon of NVA regulars appeared from the NW; the direction US forces had come from.  This put them to the rear of the US forces.  The US commander scrambled to realign the units.  Good fortune would have it that another US squad arrived from the SW, to add to US firepower.

Shots were exchanged with the US forces come out on the better end.  There was an exciting incident where a US soldier crossed the river under fire to get some villagers and bring them back.  One to the villagers went to ground when they came under more fire, and the second one was swept away by the river.  The US solder re0entered the water and rescued the man from certain drowning.

The Communist soldiers were still a threat, killing another soldier, and wounding several others.  Still, the US had the upper hand.  At this point the silent auction was ending, and people's attention started to wander.  The session was drawing to a close, so Darby called the game.  Tallying up the points, the US forces won a handy victory by saving most of the villagers; despite sereval KIAs and WIAs.

It was a fun game.  I am biased, though, as I am a THW fan.  Darby complained that he had forgotten some of his terrain, and some of the villager figs weren't finished.  It didn't detract fromt eh experience, in the least.  Everyone ahd a good time, and at least one player decided to go with FNG for his upcoming Vietnam project.

Dolph and his "Little Friend"

Dolph is a beast of a man.  His motto is, "There is no problem so big that it can't be fixed with the proper application of violence, or high explosives."  To that end, he's found a gun that fits his motto and personality..."his little friend".

---

Dolph is another repurposed Heroclix miniature.  He's one of the Punisher incarnations.  I simply love this fig, despite the fact that it is HUGE.  As you can see below, he towers over 25mm scaled figs, even with the added height of a slotta bases.  He'd fit in great with large HorrorClix Zombies and Heroic 28mm minis, but would still be a mountain of a man on the table.

Recruits Spring 2012 - Pt 3 (The Games)

This time around, you get to see some of the games to be had at Spring Recruits, 2012.  There was a lot to do, as always.  For every picture here, there are 10's of others I missed.  There were a multitude of game to be played, spanning many genres.

The were Ancients in various forms from 54mm Gladiator combat to mass combat board games. 

Jay Allen, a long time TMP poster ran several games of Command and Color: Ancients.  I played a game against him, and found the game to be very enjoyable.  They have table top rules, and Jay said he's going to try to put together a 6mm game; hopefully next fall, or the following spring.

Moving up in time, there were several Napoleonic games, in various scales; some of the quite big affairs.

There were some other period pieces that were impressive, in their shear size.  The first was a 1/32nd scale FIW game with a block house as the center piece.

Posted From the Recruits Web Site

The other was a 28mm pirate game that took up its own room.  The people running the game were in costume, and there were a  total of 19 players in it.  The is the second time they've run the game at Recruits, and just WOW!

Posted from the Recruits Web Site.

Posted from the Recruits Web Site.

Next there was an impressive WWI; which was used to advertise the National WWI Museum, which is in Kansas City.  If you are a history buff, make a trip to KC to visit this museum.  I have traveled the world, and been to a lot of military/war museums.  This one is top shelf; you won't be disappointed.

Posted from the Recruits Web Site.

There was also a 1/72nd scale Dogfight game that was impressive, as well.

 There were several WWII games, as well; including a HUGE Stalingrad game and a Flames Of War Tourney.

 

For the modern era, there was an FNG game hosted by Darby Eckles, one of Two Hour Wargames prolific writers/developers that I played.  I'll have a BatRep up on it, next time I make a Recruits post. As posted last time, there was also a Ambush Alley game being run by Shawn Carpenter.

Science Fiction was well represented, too.  There was the ubiquitous WH40K tourney, that showcased some well finished forces, and some not so well ones, too, and some nice tables.

There were several space combat games, as well.  To my mind, I am seeing more and more of these at Recruits every year.  It seems mass space combat is picking up interest locally.

Like I said, I missed a ton of pictures on the weekend, so I would suggest going to the Recruits site and trolling around the gallery to see more of the fun that was had.

Next time around I'll post some pics of the eye candy some of the commercial vendors had, which I haven't posted, yet.  Til next time, keep your dice smoking and gaming happy.