My gaming buddy in Osaka, Luke, has been putting together a set of interchangeable terrain boards for 6mm moderns games, and they are most impressive. If you want to see what can be done with interlocking foam boards, flock and a bit of paint, you can do so here.
Fingers crossed I get to have a game on them over the new year break...
Prufrock's Wargaming Blog
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Friday, November 29, 2013
Starting to look like an army...
Managed to finish off another 36 Gauls this week, and, annoyingly, lose a shield somewhere while basing them up!
They're starting to look more like an army now, which is good. Can almost do Bibracte and Sambre with Lost Battles now, but the plans are growing: Sentinum is a must, so the chariots and Samnites are underway...
Not all stands are flocked yet, but you get the idea! Another 90 or so troops to go...
They're starting to look more like an army now, which is good. Can almost do Bibracte and Sambre with Lost Battles now, but the plans are growing: Sentinum is a must, so the chariots and Samnites are underway...
Not all stands are flocked yet, but you get the idea! Another 90 or so troops to go...
Sunday, November 24, 2013
On battle reports and the appreciation thereof.
I don't know about other people out there in the wargame blogging world but one of the great pleasures for me in following other people's blogs is being able to see when they've posted a battle report, and then being able to read it.
I will read pretty much any battle report that I see. I'm not really much of a sci-fi man, but I'll even read sci-fi reports on occasion, which might give you some idea of how much I enjoy them and appreciate the effort that goes into making them.
I enjoy them for many reasons. It might be a good story, it might be lovely figures and / or terrain, it might be written in a style that grabs me, it might use a rules set I play or am interested in, it might explore a period I know, or a period that is new to me. It might be that I like the blogger personally (or as well as you can virtually) and am glad to see them writing; it could be for any number of other reasons I have not yet had occasion to think of.
But one thing that I do not like is any attempt to prescribe a format that battle reports must follow. There have been a couple of articles posted on various sites over the years - most recently on theminiaturespage.com* - about what the authors expect from a battle report and I must say that while I respect their right to a point of view I don't think that what one fellow likes needs to be turned into a list of commandments for others to follow.
It's hard enough to write a battle report as it is without someone creating a list of things that are supposed to be ticked off before a battle report can deserve the name. You put a bit of yourself into any report you write, and I think that needs to be appreciated and respected. It's all very well for someone with 100 followers and lots of mates down at the club to feel that they have a handle on what a report should be, but they don't have a mortgage on it, and everyone with 100 followers starts out at zero, and that can be a daunting place to be. Why make it harder?
Wargaming is a big hobby and there is room for all of us. I would not like to see the wonderful variety of individual approaches to after action reports being stilted by some kind of imaginary consensus on what makes a 'good' or 'bad' report.
So, write what you like, enjoy writing it, don't follow anyone else's idea of what a report should or should not be, and don't be afraid to share what you've written. If people don't like it they'll stop reading; if they do like it they'll carry on and, if you're lucky, leave a comment telling you so. Either way, all that really matters is that you've enjoyed yourself in the process.
*Edit: the chap on TMP has since said that he was not intending to lay down any hard and fast rules and was only saying what he likes to see in a report. I may therefore have been wrong in my impression he was being prescriptive.
I will read pretty much any battle report that I see. I'm not really much of a sci-fi man, but I'll even read sci-fi reports on occasion, which might give you some idea of how much I enjoy them and appreciate the effort that goes into making them.
I enjoy them for many reasons. It might be a good story, it might be lovely figures and / or terrain, it might be written in a style that grabs me, it might use a rules set I play or am interested in, it might explore a period I know, or a period that is new to me. It might be that I like the blogger personally (or as well as you can virtually) and am glad to see them writing; it could be for any number of other reasons I have not yet had occasion to think of.
But one thing that I do not like is any attempt to prescribe a format that battle reports must follow. There have been a couple of articles posted on various sites over the years - most recently on theminiaturespage.com* - about what the authors expect from a battle report and I must say that while I respect their right to a point of view I don't think that what one fellow likes needs to be turned into a list of commandments for others to follow.
It's hard enough to write a battle report as it is without someone creating a list of things that are supposed to be ticked off before a battle report can deserve the name. You put a bit of yourself into any report you write, and I think that needs to be appreciated and respected. It's all very well for someone with 100 followers and lots of mates down at the club to feel that they have a handle on what a report should be, but they don't have a mortgage on it, and everyone with 100 followers starts out at zero, and that can be a daunting place to be. Why make it harder?
Wargaming is a big hobby and there is room for all of us. I would not like to see the wonderful variety of individual approaches to after action reports being stilted by some kind of imaginary consensus on what makes a 'good' or 'bad' report.
So, write what you like, enjoy writing it, don't follow anyone else's idea of what a report should or should not be, and don't be afraid to share what you've written. If people don't like it they'll stop reading; if they do like it they'll carry on and, if you're lucky, leave a comment telling you so. Either way, all that really matters is that you've enjoyed yourself in the process.
*Edit: the chap on TMP has since said that he was not intending to lay down any hard and fast rules and was only saying what he likes to see in a report. I may therefore have been wrong in my impression he was being prescriptive.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
The most enjoyable part of painting...
Tonight I've had the pleasure of doing the most rewarding step of the painting process, so here they are, the time-consuming little beauties! Only the flocking left to do - oh, and another hundred and twenty or so to paint, of course...
The front:
The back:
The front:
The back:
And a little gloating:
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Painting more Gauls
Well, here are the results after a week or so of mucking about with the 'wet palette' and a reasonably small batch of figures.
The painting is certainly not earth-shattering, but I probably do pay a little more attention to detail in doing a smaller batch, so it's an approach that's perhaps worth pursuing.
These still have a little bit more to be done on them, but are pretty much done. Only another 150 Gauls to go...
Onward and upwards!
The painting is certainly not earth-shattering, but I probably do pay a little more attention to detail in doing a smaller batch, so it's an approach that's perhaps worth pursuing.
These still have a little bit more to be done on them, but are pretty much done. Only another 150 Gauls to go...
Onward and upwards!
Monday, November 11, 2013
Haul of hobby supplies ...
As I get more embarrassing for everyone one of the things I like to do when I have a bit of free time is pop down to the 100 yen shop or the hardware store and have a look around.
Today I managed to find a swag of items to put into the hobby cupboard. Any ideas on what they might be going to be used for?
Today I managed to find a swag of items to put into the hobby cupboard. Any ideas on what they might be going to be used for?
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| A) 30 x 30mm wooden cylinders |
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| B) 12mm washers |
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| C) Assorted felt pieces. |
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| D) Cotton balls 25mm in diameter. |
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Slingshot 288 now available
Slingshot 288 has now been sent out to subscribers.
In it you will find two campaign game frameworks, a battle report, three historical articles, an opinion piece, two book reviews and reviews of three sets of figures.
Contents:
Editorial: Slings and Arrows, by Perry Gray.
A Short History of the Iberian Peninsular from 400 to 1100AD, by Robert Heiligers.
St Albans, 17th February 1461, by John Graham-Leigh.
Transjordanian Tales, Part 5, by Alistair McBeath.
The Roman Republic Against the Italian Gauls, by Julian Lorriman.
Gauls and Romans Scenario, by Mark Wilson.
The Calamitous Fourteenth Century, by John Graham-Leigh.
Tablets of Stone, by Nick Harbud.
Book and Figure Reviews, by Duncan Head and David Edwards.
Slingshot is issued 6 times a year to members of the Society of Ancients.
Subscription currently costs ｣24 for six issues. You can subscribe through the store at the Society's website, http://soa.org.uk
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