Friday, May 29, 2009

Bloody Hair Rollers The Roman Army Marches Out










The above photos are of my current creation. Three DBA Marian Roman Armies with some options and accessories for a 6 player DBA campaign. I learned how to make these figures following some information I read on rice armies on TMP. The figures are nominally 5mm in scale and I have based them on the 15mm scale DBA bases. I think the overall effect was worth the effort as I made these in about 5 nights of hobby bench work that includes cutting, basing, priming, painting, touch up. I cannot wait to get them into action.

http://freewargamesrules.blogspot.com/2007/04/hair-curler-armies.html
Here is the link to a cool article on the process of cutting up a hair roller to make strips of tiny men in rank. The horse is my own creation and I call it the "Van Pelt" cut.
To make the horse: acquire some plastic grid used for needlepoint craft.
http://www.enasco.com/prod/images/products/40/AC031634l.jpg



You will cut a horse silhouette from the grid to scale with your army men.

VAN PELT CUT copyright 2009

Each of the black lines above indicate an Xacto slice. There are some subtle cuts you can do on the item to create a mane, a helmet on the rider, legs under saddle.

I have shaded in the horse and rider you are trying to sculpt. Don't cut these out one at a time.
Cut one for practice and then cut strips out - counting the number of lines you need to get each model. Then pick one of the slices and cut a multitude of figures all sequentially at once.

Using Aeleene's tack PVA glue, glue them down to the cardstock base and paint them in place on their final DBA stand.

I am so proud of this design idea. Beats gluing together rice.

Wait till you see my Lima bean hephalumps.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a comment.





Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Patagonian Splendor


When you absolutely have to have an impressive flag that overwhelms explanation and expression go to the clip art site above!



A New Banner Unfurls in The Wind - Long Live Auricania

This is the flag my son designed. Makes a nice battle flag and is recognizable from a distance.

Auricanian-Patagonia Naval Campaign

This is the Auricania-Patagonia naval campaign map my son Tony and I will use for our ImagiNaval game. It is posted on our family refrigerator and the campaign fleet markers are magnetic labelled ships. We will move the fleets via written orders and when opposing fleets are at the same coordinates we will transfer the action to the wargames table.

Our goals are outlined as in "Sea Battles in Miniature" A Guide to Naval Wargaming by Paul Hague.

Victory Conditions
1. Protection of friendly seaborne commerce.
2. Interruption of enemy trade.
3. Landing armies of invasion and keeping them supplied.
4. Protecting the coastline from enemy attack.
5. Establishing and maintaining contact with overseas colonies.

From the map my son sails the Auricanian fleet out of the Blue Capital at K1 and I sail from the Red Capital of Patagonia at K8.

We have playtested one rag wagon duel with 74 gun SOL and I won that one after he wanted to see how boarding actions worked so he rammed my ship and lost in the ensuing melee.

The rules for the playing out of the battles will be "Full Sail" by Lion's Den Wargames Club.

Imagi-Naval An Ocean Bound Campaign Game

This is the map for the Auricanian-Patagonia naval campaign. If follows the principles laid down in the great wargame book,"Sea Battles in Miniature A Guide to Naval Wargaming" by Paul Hogue.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Auricanian Recruiting Station is Open for Business

The painting and sorting of the RISK 10mm figures has begun. Tonight I posted some photos on TMP and will begin the BLOG of my SYW Imagi-Nations. I have two belligerent factions that are named Auricania and Patagonia. The name comes from a real Imagi-Nation I read about in a Douglas Porch book on the conquest of Morocco. The mentioned names where a bogus or fictitious nation that someone used to purchase warrants in Moroccan political scheming. They even had a flag that was of course entirely bogus but was paraded as a real south American country!

Well our current Auricania and Patagonia are fictitious nations that have went to war against each other on the high seas. This is basically going to be a naval campaign game using Pendraken "very tiny" ships and played out with campaign magnets on the family refrigerator.

One naval battle has been fought and one is in the making.  Our first battle pitted two rag wagons against each other and the Patagonians where successful in a botched Auricanian boarding party.
And of course we will need land troops at some point so I am in the process of cobbling together some 10mm RISK figures into two nations armies. Red force Blue force, Red Fleet Blue Fleet etc..


Here is a picture story:














































Comic Book Toy Soldiers





Comic Book Toy Soldiers


American Revolution Collection

Have kept these figures through a lot of hobby purges. I was in eigth grade when I ordered these out of the back of a Warlord or Sgt. Rock comic book. Painted them from some research book from the local library and designed to be played using the Joseph Morchauser rules of wargaming.























20mm Comic Book figures I painted in 1977. Testors paint and the brush that those paints came with back in the day (it was a Wednesday).