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.

Painting By Numbers #2

This set of curious little aliens (Reaper Chronoscope, 50130: Gray Aliens) was intended to be a quick and easy project. The idea was to complete something fast to generate the momentum needed to keep working throughout the holiday season.

Well, they painted up pretty quick. Once I got around to them, that is. There's not much to these guys. One thing I wish I was more careful with was trimming the mold lines. The sculpts are very smooth, so everything I missed shows up with close inspection. It's a good thing I was only shooting for tabletop standards.



Overall, I like this set. There is a tongue-in-cheek approach to the details. The leader is making a promise with his fingers crossed behind his back. The doctor is putting on his gloves with a flourish. The scribe is taking notes on an old-fashioned clipboard and has a suspicious zipper on the back of his head. The soldier and his rifle are fairly straightforward, but still fits right in. These miniatures might not fit into a dark and serious campaign, but should find a home in a game with a sense of whimsy.

The Austin Gaming Scene

I've called the area in and around Austin, Texas home for the past several years. It's the home to a fair number of gaming stores and events. A little research on my part led to this handy list.

Gaming Stores:

(From north to south, for no particular reason.)

Rogues Gallery in Round Rock has a variety of RPGs and board games. In-store gaming is mostly D&D Encounters and Magic the Gathering due to space limitations.

Wonkos hosts game nights on a rotating schedule. The selection is focused on collectibles and Games Workshop products.

Dragon's Lair has a good mix of RPGs, board games, and miniature wargames. Their gaming events calendar is online. They have a good amount of space for gaming, but it can fill up fast.

The main focus of Great Hall Games is on classic games, board games, and historical miniature wargaming. They have a dedicated play area in the back.

Tribe Comics and Games prides itself as the only comic and gaming store in south Austin. They have a variety of games for sale. The owner sometimes manages to get some out of print or rare stuff, but it goes real quick.

Gaming Events:

South Austin Game Night is a board gaming meet up held every Tuesday night in south Austin.

Give To Game is a charity board gaming event usually held in April, but recently threw together an impromptu event to benefit the Bastrop County Food Pantry. Show up, make a donation, and jump into a game.

The Austin Board Game Bash is a board game convention scheduled for August. It started last year and attendance was high enough to send the organizer looking for a new venue. Their website has a list of board game groups in Austin.

Millenniumcon is a miniatures wargaming convention in Round Rock. The main emphasis is on historical wargames, but fantasy and science fiction wargaming take up a fair chunk of the schedule.

I hope this list comes in handy for those new to the area and long time residents alike.

Critical Mass Games Delivers!

Well, the USPS delivers, but the order I placed with Critical Mass Games showed up today. I get a couple little plastic bags of 15mm Arc Fleet Infantry, my wife gets some stamps from the UK, and you get some .jpgs and comments whenever I paint up my new miniatures. Everybody wins!

Kudos to Critical Mass Games for getting my order out so quickly. From the UK to Texas in a little over a week is pretty darn good by anyone's measure.

The Holiday Season, the Death of Campaigns, and Finding Alternatives

I was expecting a stronger reaction when I announced to the group that I would not be starting any RPG campaigns until next year. Instead, I got sage nods and knowing looks. November and December is a hard time for long-term games here in the United States. The demands of family during Thanksgiving and Christmas, the shopping season, the disruption of the New Year, not to mention things like religious observances, all work to make a mockery of scheduling. New campaigns die stillborn as GMs cannot find the time to sit down and work out their ideas. Established campaigns wither away as attention wonders and interest declines. Even non-RPG gamers have a rough time. It's tough to convince people to join in your multi-week wargaming campaign when the Day of the Turkey is just around the corner.

But the holidays don't have to be a hiatus from gaming. There are ways around the issue. A willingness to work with less and accept certain limitations can go a long way.

Time is the biggest limiting factor. Not only will there be fewer gaming sessions, but those sessions may tend to be shorter. 4+ hour games of any sort might take too long to finish. All day gaming is probably right out for most of us. Shoot for something lighter and faster. Write a quick one-shot RPG adventure with per-generated characters. Seven Wonders is one example of a board game that doesn't take long to play. Work out a small scale miniatures scenario with strictly limited numbers and objectives. Not every game has to be an epic tale. Aim for something short, sharp, and satisfying enough to last until January.

Outside of actual playtime, there is plenty to be done with the little bits of time that can be found here and there. There might be game books waiting on the shelves for a good perusing. Those miniatures won't assemble and paint themselves. That oft-delayed terrain project might be a good distraction from the pressures of the holidays. And it might be a good time to plan those campaigns that will get started early next year. Down time is a good time for things that tend to get pushed back otherwise.

If nothing else, there's always looking forward to the gaming goodies from understanding relatives. Or, failing that, planning on how to get the most bang out of the gift certificates and cash from relations who don't quite get the gaming hobby.

And if that doesn't work out. Well, there's always next year.

Millenniumcon 14 - Saturday Night After Action Report

After barbecued brisket for dinner and some shopping in the Millenniumcon 14 Dealer's Room, it was time for another game of Ambush Alley Games' Tomorrow's War.

The Crusties are Coming!!!

Chris Arnold wrote and ran this scenario. He clearly knew the rules cold and smoothly handled a situation not covered in the book.

Once more, humans were defending their homes against the Crusties. This time, Bowie Company of the 141st Aerospace Mobile Battalion most hold the line as three APCs load up with civilians and make a run for it. Wave after wave of Crusties were ready to overrun the brave men and women of Bowie Company.

This time, I decided to play on the alien side. You know, for a change of pace. Total number of players: six, three on each side. The scenario would end in six turns.

The Crusties began the scenario with the initiative. Worse, any unit of Crusties other than the "boss" could reappear at a randomly determined hot spot after getting wiped out.

Meanwhile, Bowie Company could not move the APCs until the beginning of turn two. It takes time to load civilians, after all.

The Crusties spent the first turn either moving into position or exchanging fire with Bowie Company.



On turn two, the APCs started up and hauled off. Fortunately, the Crusties' had an anti-armor team in position to fire on the retreating vehicles. I picked up the dice...



...and both of my units got wiped out. I did get one of the APCs. And my units respawned elsewhere a turn later.

Bowie Company spent the rest of the game trying to get around the destroyed APC and through everything the Crusties could throw at them.



So Bowie Company got desperate.



And desperate times involve pulling concepts out of other miniature wargames. That's right...



...tank shock!

But even this was not enough to change the outcome. By the end of turn six, none of the APCs had escaped the board.



All in all, the scenario had some rough edges, but everyone had a good time. Thanks to Chris Arnold for a good time and all the players for a good game.