Adventures on the Wargames Table

But first ... The Wargames Table has just passed 100,000 visits! Many thanks to all of you who visit and post comments! I really do appreciate you reading my blog. Last year (crumbs was it really that long ago?) I started building a modest fort for my Romans to shelter in after a hard day of showing barbarians the potential benefits of joining the Empire. Part 1 - http://thewargamestable.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/roman-outpost-fort-part-1.html Part 2 - http://thewargamestable.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/roman-outpost-for-part-2.html Part 3 - http://thewargamestable.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/roman-outpost-fort-part-3.html However, as with a lot of projects I ran out of steam. Now, after a long time enjoying Dark Ages gaming, I'm getting back in to my Romans! You may have already noticed the change of blog banner. Anyway, back to the fort. Whilst there are plenty of figures waiting to be painted I couldn't resist expanding my fort in to something more substantial. So here it is. ...

Following the recent success with fir and deciduous trees , I decided to branch out (groan!) and make some Palm Trees. The green foliage in the following picture seems to have gone a bit "luminous" in the photos, but it was actually a mid-shade of green!? They were made from some bits and bobs I found in the garage and study, so they were something of an experiment. They are actually for my eldest to use in her homework project on desert environments. Here's an old White Dwarf article explaining how they're made. I wrapped the trunks of my trees using masking tape (the paper tape used to protect edges when painting), the sprayed them brown and washed on some ink. A darker green for the leaves and some more detail on the bases would help, but for a 'first go' I think they're fine.

Have you ever played a game where you had to improvise a counter or token to denote a unit's status? Perhaps a D6 is placed next to the unit to indicate that it is disordered or shaken. Then have you ever, in the cut-and-thrust of battle, grabbed a handful of dice only to later realise that you've also picked up the marker dice? I certainly have! :o) This is particularly true for units in Shieldwall given the amount of Dark Ages games I've played in the last few months. Therefore I've spent an evening using up some spare shields and transfers to make these counters. These are the Saxon counters And these are the Viking counters They're just 25mm round MDF bases (from Warbases) to which I've glued some rocks and grit/sand. The rocks are there to provide something to prop the shields against and make the bases a little more three dimensional. They're painted black, then highlighted with the Foundry Slate Grey palette followed by a final highlig...

As those of you who have played War & Conquest will know, it's important to keep track of which player has Strategic Advantage and, given the potential for I-go-you-go sequence to 'swap', what is the current player turn. This usually isn't a problem, but recently I've have a number of games that have been quite interrupted, particularly when demonstrating the game at shows. Although I do enjoy telling people all about the games, the rules, figures, scenery, etc. :o) Therefore, I've made some counters or tokens to help keep track of these things. Chits of paper or odd dice work perfectly but can seem, well, a little "utilitarian" for my liking. So here's my solution. These are simply two larger Warbases MDF round bases; one has two 20x20mm squares attached to act as "dice plinths", whilst the other has a 25x50mm cavalry base on to which I've glued a nicely printed Strategic Advantage sign. They've been modelled, flocke...

Eorl Hrothgar Godwinson had pushed his men hard throughout the day. The columns of smoke rising  from burning thatch clearly showed the raiders path across the countryside. Sometimes it was the hated Normans exacting revenge for an ambush or perhaps showing what happens to those who will not swear fealty to William. But this time he knew it was the Danes of Snorri Ragnarsson.   Fleeing villagers had brought tales of how three longboats packed with Vikings had pulled up on the coast to the south and begun raiding far and wide. At Swyneford none were left alive save those taken as slaves. At Byrnsege, Ealdorman Aethelwold and his men had bravely fought off the attackers. Aethelwold had perished but Snorri’s Danes were dealt a severe blow with many of his men now wounded. But more ships had arrived, the rest of Snorri’s army in fact, and the Danes continued to ravage the countryside. They came for gold, silver and slaves. Hrothgar’s plan was to reach the Danish ships and burn th...

I think battlefields always look better with plenty of trees - assuming we are talking about temperate zones, otherwise please insert your preferred local flora. So I recently ordered some more K&M trees. I chose these as the Woodland Scenics "realistic" trees I have are rather too fragile, although they do look superb. For ease of play I prefer to have trees either individually based, or perhaps in small groups, rather than a whole forest. At some of the recent shows people have been kind enough to comment that they liked the way I based my trees and asked how I did them. So, this post is a short step-by-step on how I base my trees. Since the trees are K&M I also use the appropriate plastic tree bases - make sure you get the right size for the trees!. These are glued on to small, irregularly shaped pieces of 3mm MDF. Take care to chamfer the edges. To these I add a few rocks, some coarse grit and a layer of sand, all held on with PVA glue. This is the result. ...

Here's some more figures from the GB casualties & killers range. These are technically Early Saxon vignettes, but they could just as easily be Viking Raiders. I may add some discarded weapons to this base. Another particularly gruesome set of figures! Again, a broken spear or dropped shield would be a good addition. These sort of figures are great for adding an extra bit of drama or atmosphere to the table, or they can be used as markers for things such as Fatigue (SAGA) or Push & Shove (War & Conquest), etc.