Learning Experiences, Case #1 - Working with Cardboard

This started with some small cardboard pieces I found around the office. Here is what one looks like:

They are just the right size and shape to hold small items. Prior to this project, holding bits was their main contribution to my gaming projects.



They are just the right size and shape to hold small items. Prior to this project, holding bits was their main contribution to my gaming projects.

Then, one day, I flipped one over. It was about the right size and shape to be some kind of 15mm building. Maybe a bunker or a small house or something.

Eventually, I was inspired by a thread over at TMP about cobbled-together colonies. I used some other cardboard pieces and other bits to make something that wouldn't look out of place in a sci-fi setting like Firefly. So far, so good.

(By the way, I wasn't the only one inspired by that thread. Check out these MDF pieces offered by GameCraft Miniatures. Good stuff.)

The failure occurred when it came time to paint the thing. This was supposed to be a quick, cheap, and easy project. An afternoon prototype. The kind of thing that gets done in between more time- and resource-consuming work. So I reach for some black spray paint.

Now, in my defense, I had yet to try painting cardboard. Imagine my surprise when the cardboard starts coming apart. I expected some warping, but the material started to fray where I sprayed it. I'm not sure if it was the cheap spray paint or the amount I used, but the piece was unusable after that.

No pictures, I'm afraid. The offending piece got thrown out. I have some ideas on a new approach, but it will have to wait a little longer.

Learning Experiences

I've heard it said that failure can be a learning experience. Unfortunately, I've also heard it said that “learning experience” is a way to say “total butt kicking” with a positive spin.

No, this isn't about why I haven't undated in a long while. That can be attributed to a combination of too many other commitments, too little time, and just plain laziness.

The particular failures I'll be describing are a couple of terrain projects. They started out with high hopes and limited budgets. One ended up in the trash and the other ended up getting stripped of paint for another try.

Next: Case #1 - Working with Cardboard.

Scored a Copy of Survive: Escape from Atlantis!

I tried out Survive: Escape from Atlantis late last year and liked it enough to put it on My List of Stuff to Get When I Have the Money. Unfortunately, by the time I got through the Holiday Season with some gift money burning a whole in my pocket, I heard that the game was sold out. Word from Stronghold Games was that it would be reprinted sometime in 2012.

This blew a hole in my post-Holiday plans. Survive: Escape from Atlantis struck me as a good family game. Getting it was to be a step towards getting a regular family game night going. Now I would have to look for alternatives while keeping an eye out for the new printing. Checking online came up empty. The game made My List of Titles to Check For Every Time I Set Foot in a Game Store.

I resigned myself to a bit of a wait.

Imagine my pleasant surprise when I saw some copies at Barnes and Noble. I had already sold my wife on the game awhile back, so a copy got rung up with a book for each member of the family. (My book was Erwin Rommel's Infantry Attacks.)

I unwrapped the game and set to reading the rules. My wife, daughter, and me started up a game after dinner. We all had a good time and it looks like it will be a staple once we get family game night going again.

I guess you just get lucky, sometimes.

Matchbox Finds For 15mm #1

The Oshkosh HEMTT A4



The Oshkosh HEMTT A4 in box, out of box, and with a 15mm ARC Fleet rifleman for scale. From the Matchbox Real Working Rigs line. HEMTT is short for an even bigger mouthful: Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck. The real thing is made by Oshkosh Defense and is in service today.

My plans for this pair involve a repaint to match my existing collection. Although they are modeled on a current design, they should serve well as generic space military trucks. And there is an added bonus – the container in the back is removable. That simplifies customizing the truck to carry other loads or simply using the containers as terrain.

Stealth Launch



The Stealth Launch in box, out of box, and with a 15mm Arc Fleet rifleman for scale. From the Matchbox Sky Busters Missions line.

The Stealth Launch is available in gray and black. I felt that the gray was more “military” looking than the black with racing stripes look of the alternative. At least I could pass the orange racing stripes on the gray ones as warning markers of some kind. I might touch these up a bit, maybe put a wash on them to bring out the details, but they do look good out the package. I have a scenario involving a raid on an airstrip in mind, but that's pretty far down my “to do” list.

Tucker Sno-Cat



The Tucker Sno-Cat in box, out of box, and with a 15mm ARC Fleet rifleman for scale. From the Matchbox Real Working Rigs line.

These are likely to see use a civilian vehicles. They look similar to some real life amphibious all-terrain vehicles, so they could serve as colonial exploration vehicles after I remove the plow blade. Or I could use them as technicals after adding some weapons and painting them up with a “Road Warrior” look.

Matchbox For 15mm

Matchbox vehicles are promising to be a handy addition to modern and sci-fi 15mm miniatures wargaming. They will never replace the variety of vehicle models available online, but work well to supplement a vehicle collection. True, they're not perfect, but their limitations are manageable.

Cons

• Scale can vary from vehicle to vehicle. You'll want to take a close look at each potential purchase while still in the store. Nothing is worse than bringing something home and finding that it's too big or small. Fortunately, the clear blister packaging makes this pretty easy.
• The paint jobs vary from glossy and garish to flat and uninspired. Many vehicles will need complete repainting to match the look of everything else on the table.
• Not every need is covered. There aren't many armored vehicles on the market, for example.

Pros

• Matchbox is widely available. Most of the big box stores that carry toys have Matchbox available.
• The level of detail is good.The prices are reasonable compared to metal and some resin models.
• Civilian vehicles are common, a niche not filled by many 15mm miniature vehicle lines.

Next: Matchbox finds.

Painting By Numbers #4 – ARC Fleet Test Batch

As promised way back in November, here are some pictures of the 15mm ARC Fleet miniatures I got from Critical Mass Games. I wanted a simple, fast paint scheme that I could use to get them done as quickly as possible.



For this test batch, I mixed up a batch of watered down Liquitex Payne's Gray for use as a wash. The first layer of wash was applied over a light gray basecoat. The faceplate and shoulders were painted on and a second layer of wash was applied. After touching up the details, I used sand and static grass to complete the basing.

Painting By Numbers #3 – Cygnar Battle Box Completed!

February wasn't nearly as productive as I hoped. I only made progress in a couple of projects, but I'll take “some” results over “no” results.

Here is a project that I really wanted to get done. It's Commander Coleman Stryker from Privateer Press. Keen eyed fans of Warmachine know this as a variant miniature. I picked it up after an unfortunate accident occurred to the Commander Striker that was in the Cygnar Battle Box. It's just as well, I like this pose better, anyway.



Commander Striker completes the Cygnar Battle Box I started awhile back. These were all painted using techniques (loosely) based on the ones Matt DiPietro described in No Quarter #35.



Of course, I have the Black 13th Gun Mage Strike Team around here, but they can wait until some other miniatures get painted.

2012 – Looking Forward

I'm not in the habit of making New Year's Resolutions, but I do have plans for early 2012. Bear in mind the old saying about how long plans survive in the face of opposition, though.

Quarterly RPG Campaigns

Divide the year into quarters and run a new game every quarter. This puts a hard deadline on story lines and promotes more variety.

I ran this past my regular gaming group and they all approved. Now comes the tough part – what to run first?

Terrain Projects

Look into low-cost alternatives to commercial terrain pieces and kits. Not that there is anything wrong with well-made, good-looking terrain being produced these days. Many of them are available for reasonable prices. However, limited funds are forcing me to choose between buying terrain and buying miniatures. Given the difficulties of playing miniatures games without miniatures, I'll be trying my hand at creating terrain rather than purchasing it. Not that I'll pass up good deals on commercial terrain if I find them.

For the immediate future, this means preparing more trees for the tabletop. I picked up a package of plastic pines suitable for 15mm or 28mm scale at Home Depot's after-Christmas clearance sale. A little paint, some flock, and new bases will make them ready to go.

There are also some odds-and-ends that I've collected that would be good for creating futuristic terrain. That will be a little further down the road.

Painting Projects

Knock down the amount of unpainted models in my collection. No more impulse buys. If I have no immediate plans to put it on the table, I don't buy it.

Clear off the desk. There's a couple of models that were repeatedly pushed aside in favor of other projects last year. Got to get them done before moving on.

Base and paint my 15mm ARC Fleet troopers from Critical Mass Games.

Base and paint miniatures appropriate for upcoming RPG projects – pirates and sci-fi at the moment.

2011 – Looking Back

2011 brought changes in how and what I play. There wasn't as much gaming as I wished for, but that's something that I've come to accept as time passed. Getting more out of the limited time and funds that I could put into gaming inspired me to look for new options.

Role Playing Games: I was planning on running more RPG campaigns and one-shots in 2011. Some of them stalled out in the planning stages, others ran aground on conflicting schedules. I've got some thoughts on how to address these issues, but the basic principle is to simplify. Long running campaigns are out, campaign ideas that can be developed in a mini-campaign or one-shot are in.

Miniature Wargames: The chance to play Tomorrow's War at Millennium Con has left me wanting more. 15mm wargaming is going to play a bigger role for me in 2012.

Board Games: Give to Game, the Board Game Bash, and (most of all) the board gaming group that took me in showed me that board games can deliver a satisfying game experience. Part of my Christmas money went to Arkham Horror and Pandemic. More will likely follow in 2012.

Post Holiday Clean Up

It never fails. I manage to catch whatever is going around almost every holiday season. This despite getting a flu shot, monitoring my diet, and getting better about exercising regularly. Maybe it has something to do with living in one of the allergy capitals of the world.

The good news is that I'm getting my energy back. It was taking everything I could muster to make it through a day of work. Now, I can get some things done at home before looking for a place to lie down.

The first order of business was digging out my office and hobby area. Something about a flat surface tends to attract every loose paper around it. Cleaning up turned into re-organizing. My hobby tools and supplies are back in place. Next up will be the bookshelves – I haven't even looked at some of that stuff in years. It might be time for a trip to Half-Price Books to sell some of it off.