Adventures on the Wargames Table

Perusing the bits box the other day I found this lovely greenhouse kit from Warbases.  I wanted to build it as part of it's own little scene rather than a free-standing building on the table, so I dug out various bits of scenic scatter or 'clutter' to add to it. Rather than have an empty greenhouse I scratch built a potting table from coffee stirrers and found some other bits of resin ( Debris of War ) to fill the space.  I've not glued the roof panels in place as I want to be able to place figures inside, although you can't get too many figures in it! Outside is a small raised bed and some more DoW resin clutter.  The plant pot by the door is a cylindrical lego brick.  The planter trays are window frames.  Base from Charlie Foxtrot. Painting was quite simple: spray with AP army green primer, then paint the wooden frame in Foundry Forest Green, the bricks in Foundry Slate Grey or Stone then give it a wash with...

Bit of a 'filler' post today as I've been somewhat distracted of late!  I wanted an alternative to the usual "door mat" style wheat fields and these have been in the scenery bits box for some time.  A few were already painted but I didn't know the painting recipe, so a clean up with soap and water followed by a spray of AP Skeleton Bone soon had them all primed and ready to go. These fine resin items are from Hovels Ltd . The paint recipe was simply: A base coat of VMC 983 Flat Earth Heavy drybrush of VMC 877 Gold Brown Drybrush with VMC 847 Dark Sand A final very light highlight with Foundry Boneyard Light Think I might get another couple of packs.  I'm not sure if I'll leave them as is, base them individually or make a partially cut wheat field for them to inhabit.  Probably base them on some of the very reasonably priced Charlie Foxtrot oval bases .

My good friend George recently invited me to take part in a marvellous naval campaign set at the outbreak of WW1.  I've never taken part in anything like this before so I jumped at the chance!  My role was that of Admiral Souchon, the commander of a small German fleet stationed in the Mediterranean.  My mission was to (a) disrupt the French as they brought troops back from North Africa in preparation for the European war, and then (b) deliver the ships to Turkey at Constantinople as per a secret pact of mutual support.  Two other players (Simon and Rob) would be taking the role of Britian and France. My flagship was the battlecruiser SMS Goeben , shown here. George acted as the umpire, giving reports and map updates as the hours and days passed.  The players would then give orders, course heading, speed, orders for sighting the enemy, etc.  I opened the action by sailing for North Africa with the intent of shelling the ports and sinking whatever ships...

There is an old wargames adage something along the lines of "you can never have too many trees" and I think that includes palm trees. Bases from Charlie Foxtrot Models here .  Small Tree Bases 1, 2, 3 and 4.  My new hot glue gun (£7 from Hobbycraft) was perfect for sticking the trees to the MDF discs. The trees were sourced via eBay and cost very little, less than £10 incl P&P for this lot.  In the fullness of time I intend to repaint the trees (inspired by Lardy Rich's splendid jungle terrain ), but they'll do fine for now. The bases were simply covered in a variety of grit and stones then primed with a light brown spray.  Basecoat is Americana Country Maple, followed by highlights of Americana Tan, VMC Dark Sand then Foundry Boneyard light.  Garnish with some clump foliage and a few tufts to round it off.

Here are a few random pics from a recent game of Chain of Command set in the deserts of North Africa.  The scenario was Probe (with slightly increased support allocations) but alas Jerry couldn’t quite break through the British lines. The Germans begin to deploy Some decent firepower here Plenty of cover here amongst the rocks and craters Germans enfilade the position on the hill, so troops deploy at the barricade The German squad has had more than enough! British line holding firm The German forces couldn't seem to hit a anything in this battle.  The tank literally didn't cause even one point of shock on the British.  Then the Germans took a series of morale blows in quick succession so decided to withdraw and look for another road to Cairo. Thanks for looking.

Do not get me started on those selfish idiots clearing out the supermarkets... Grrr!  Anyway - given that many of us are going to be spending a lot more time at home, I thought it might be prudent to pick up some essential gaming supplies. Plenty still left on the shelves! The team at Charlie Foxtrot have stepped up to mark and provided a range of fab buildings. ( NB: Colin advises that a handful of 2mm MDF offcuts can be a useful substitute for toilet paper 🤔😬 ) Then there’s a heap of resin bits and scatter items from Hovels, Debris of War, Bad Squiddo, etc. So, plenty to be getting on with! On a more sensible note, please do spare a thought for those whose job it is to keep the country running (and us all healthy and safe) most especially those in the NHS.  Thanks 🙂

This first piece is a 28mm scale ruined building from Battlescale.  I bought an extra pack of the rubble as I wanted a more extensive ruin.  The kit was very cleanly cast and great fun to paint in my usual desert colours for scenery. I followed the same recipe as for my temple ruins , although I did wash the first base coat with Agrax Earthshade to help bring out the texture of the brick work. I think the model is really aimed at a Northern European setting but seems to paint up well in a desert theme I reckon. Next, a home made rocky outcrop.  Base from Charlie Foxtrot, stones from nearby countryside.  My new hot glue gun was great for sticking the stones on to the mdf. Approximately enough to comfortably fill another painting challenge cube, so 20 more points bringing the total up to 370.