Friday, October 4, 2013

Yondza Campaign National Forces

My plan is a world still holding on to the ancient powers but with newer nations evolving towards the medieval types of armor... or .. possibly parts of the world that have collapsed and evolving to plate armor....... anyway, breaking out my Ancients and rebasing for use in the campaign to avoid to much "fantasy" medieval forces:

The Might of Rome!
Front cohorts have to be rebased and shields finished but 13 cohorts in the picture plus 3 units of Auxiliaries.  With the number of figures I had available I went with 8 figures to the cohort, giving them a nice dense, shield locking look!

Fifth century Roman infantry, probably for a client state. As always, grassing of bases is lagging...

Light, Medium and Heavy cavalry units waiting base conversion. Mostly Minifigs from the 70s...

Sunday, September 29, 2013

They keep coming

Yet more troops:
Sorceress and adepts to the left and a Holy Order to the right.
Palace Guards and a minor deity.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Yet more Reinforcements!

Marching along:

Hey, its fantastical! heh

Dark Elven Knights, and bird mounted desert cavalry

Amphibian troopers, Adventurers pressed into a militia unit.

Monday, September 23, 2013

Yondza Reinforcements

Here they come:
4 Units of cavalry. also plan to use these for my native venus forces.

Shambling humanoids, 2 handed weapons.

More duel purpose troops, units of magicians to act as ranged attack and double in as more native venus vsf troops.

Sunday, September 22, 2013

More Units for Yondza

So here's more:

On the left, Demonic 3 armed guardsmen, probably rank them as Swordsmen +1. I'm using a some what modified version of Fantasy Rules! for the campaign battles and sieges. On the right are summoned angelic beings that will have pluses when fighting demonics.

Left are amphibian creatures that will have to be controlled via beastmaster. To the right are sworn slayers, mercenaries to one of the city states.
To the left is a winter dragon, rates probably as a large monster, on the right is a Slag Troll, large monster, who tends to be erratic........serve an evil city state or mountain keep power.

Fantasy Army Grows

Have been busy with that real life stuff but with winter, less house painting so more miniatures for my Yondza Fantasy Campaign are being finished up. I'll post pictures of units added over the next few days.

Snail headed spear units.
Snake riders from the wastes. Still waffling on the underside coloring of the snakes.......

Small monster unit on the left and demonic unit to the right.

Sunday, June 9, 2013

VSF Artillery

Time to make up some artillery batteries for Martian Empires after discovering I am really lacking any! So, check on line... 16$ per artillery piece!!!!  Kit bash time, plastic styrene and some Lego Wheels later:

Extra kneeling WWI Austrians become kahki clad VSF gunners. As usual lacking base details and finish painting in general.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Lunar Campaign Battle Report

The Selenite's rise from the subterranean caverns and smite the first force they encounter, the Belgians Lunar Expeditionary Force!

The terrain set up favored the Belgians but such considerations beyond advancing to engage are beyond the Hive Mind of the Selenite's! A big draw back for the Selenite's was their still waking Supreme commanders mind.... failed command rolls held up the army's advance and allowed the Belgians time to occupy the crater on their right and utilized rough ground and rock ridges to cement their defensive position.
With precise commands they set up their firing lines and maneuvered their vehicles into position.
Selenite artillery fire from their walkers pounds the Belgian vehicles, utterly destroying their heavy tank and covering infantry. Especially dangerous to them was the Selenite Sparks ingenious devices!
The Selenite commander finaly gets his thoughts clear and a general advance ensues.
Heavy fire from the Belgian Infantry fails to deter the Selenite's and the loss of their heavy tank on their right flank finally convinces the Belgian commander to order a withdrawal on turn 5, leaving the smoking hulk of their heavy tank behind.

Monday, May 27, 2013

Selenite Walkers

Just whipped these up:

Figure to add some strappings and such to better represent how the weapons are mounted to the creatures, but  the Selenite's were lacking some mobile fire power that is now taken care of!

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Fire Escapes 101, how to

Couple of requests on How I made the Fire Escapes so here goes.

Start with 1 sheet of Darico 7 Mesh which comes in 10.5 in x 13.5 in size, they have larger but this sheet will produce probably more than you will ever need for fire escapes. I purchased it from Joann's, though Michaels and other craft supply shops carry it, in a variety of colors and overall sizes.  I picked the BLACK sheet so as to avoid trying to paint it and miss endless corners and inside corner spots....

Here I've made the first cuts for all the pieces. Basic floor is 2 inches wide. Set your proposed side wall piece next to a typical miniature you will be using and determine the "waist" height you prefer.
To clean off the stud ends on the basic cuts I used a pair of scissors and snipped away to clear them all.

Cutting the "Bars" is a process I used an xacto knife, place the tip in the spot for the first cut and slowly pull it down through all but the last cross bar, move it over to the other side of the bar and pull and cut all but the last bar, move to the other side of the bar and repeat.

You can flip the pieces over and trim any remaining bits a little more if you care to. I shaved off maybe 6 to 10 additional rough parts on the back of the bars.

So now your going to prepare to hot glue the pieces together. Hot glue and slick rubbery plastic are not friends to each other.... So... I apply a very thin amount to all 4 the base platform rail sides and then use the side of the hot glue gun snout to run the edge of the platform across to really smear it on the leading edges, then set aside and repeat on the side wall pieces, though I did not smear the top "hand rail" side. This wiping effect makes sure the hot glue is

A: Thinly applied
B: the front, upper front edge and bottom edge of the plastic bar is now coated.
C: the smearing it on the hot snout of the gun prevents it from cooling to quickly

At this point you can cut a ladder access hole or wait till the side walls are on. I did the first ones by waiting but now that I have the size and placement down I can pre cut them while its unassembled.

Now to assemble it. Hot glue the leading Top edge of the Base plate and immediately set the top hand rail piece in place with a bit of a push to set it. The side rail piece I put the hot glue on the inside edge of the 2 sides that will contact the base plate/front rail and push it on to the Out side edge of the base plate/front rail. (won't fit if you try to top mount it) and repeat with the other side. Almost done... now use the hot glue gun to fill gaps with a Small amount of hot glue and finish by using the side of the hot glue gun snout to wipe the seams to smooth them down and remove excess hot glue.

Ladders are cut as shown. The size scale of it would be roughly 2 feet wide.

The same method can be used for cages or possibly jail cell bars.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Fire Escapes

Finally put together a fire escape system for one of the pulp city buildings. I tried to keep the appearance of functionality while keeping the construction simple.

I found various types of fire escapes, those with the bottom ladder folding down from the bottom of the last landing, and variations of the one I have here where you could pull or push the ladder down to the ground with your weight, and went for the latter for simplicity.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Cobblebrick Roads added to Pulp City

Finally got the computer up and running again. So more progress. Time to pave the roadway!

The main street tiles are 6x6 and the side road tiles are 9x6. I made them small so I can lift them up to expose the subway/storm drains that will be cut into the foam board under them.

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Selenites Forward!

The Natives are restless, so time to get some Lunar Natives ready for the battlefield.

Were using Martian Empires so I have 7 line units and 2 Elite units, 1 Battery of Artillery and Im not quiet sure what yet...though I can split it in to two .. hmmm.

Closer look at the Artillery piece...made all from spare Lego pieces..
Now that's a Big gun! mahahahha  Bases still to be finished .... as usual..

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Pulp City Street

Okay, having completed many of the building I thought I would lay out one combination of the city street to have a look at what Im working towards.:

On the right we have The Splash and Dash bar, the corner market store, across the intersection is City Hall with the Chicago Hotel on the far right end. On the left is the probably fresh produce market and a shop (undetermined yet.. maybe a law office...always a den of evil!) The light colored building on the left is the laundry mat with an undetermined split level building.

Moving down the street we see a bit more of the street. I have the cobble brick for the street sections, but have to cut some thin plastic to mount it on, after all, they will be covering the subway cut out.

Another side of the corner store, wall plastered with posters. And on the work goes.

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Fire Escape Balcony Prototype Test

Worked up a prototype Fire Escape balconies. Ladders and openings to be worked out yet, but in the mean time:

Clipped plastic grid material down to make the "bars" of the balconies. Just hot glued them on a building side to get a feel for their placement and snap a quick Pic.

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

City Hall

Figured to build the largest building as City Hall. Got the first 2 floors done. Finding a suitable front doors took some doing.. my google fu was weak. Found the doors and spent an hour trimming and tweaking to get what I got done. Some light post from beads and bamboo skewers to fix up the front, though Im leary about the duration for the attachment method...
Hard to see the wall mounted globes... Getting the glue method to attach paper to foam core down better, and Tacky Glue works MUCH better than standard White glue. Also picked up some decorative trim wood pieces that I will cut and use to wrap around the building at the division between 2nd and 3rd floor.

Monday, April 29, 2013

Hotel Chicago Complete

Quiet a learning experience from start to end on this first block for Pulp City.
And yes, I did glue the sign to the supports... straightening it up after the picture! I made the sign larger than life to give it some character. Last thing I might add would be a "carpet" from the front door out to the curb edge, but otherwise I'm starting the next placard. Hope to have a stack of side walk papers and the road way sets shortly to get things moving along faster.

Friday, April 26, 2013

Hotel Tweakage

Corners of the Hotel were bothering me, how to get those edges to glue down and stay down, when inspiration struck:
This being the first complete building, well short cuts and work arounds are the rule, including the not dry yet glue holding the awning posts... heh. Still have a clock to mount, as well as the name of the hotel... not sure if the name will go on the awning or on an upright marque sign board...which Im leaning towards.  Windows behind the shrubberies and the side wall, another awning over the hotel café area to go. Then , on to the next of the 5 remaining placards.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Pulp City Hotel

After way way to much calculating to figure the print scale from PAINT, I broke down and bought some peel and stick paper to get to work on Hotel windows and doors.

Here's the front of the hotel minus a sign ... have yet to select a name and put it on the top edge, along with probably a Clock. Colored marker pen to touch up corners, though I found that if I wrap the pattern bricks around the corner it eliminates that particular problem. Back of the hotel is flat up against the back edge of the placard, hence no sidewalk for the flip side, but it can abut to a ally from the next 2x4 board. Planning on some low wide windows behind the foliage and a "café" front for the next part of the wide sidewalk.  Another tip was PAINT, set the basic paint area to 1500 x 1200 pixels, and then the area inside works out to 160 pixels = 1 inch (very roughly). When I ran a test print of a shop front based on it, it came out to within 1/16th of an inch of my target, unfortunately I also saw that I have to make sure the Doors will print in the scale I want and the rest of the building front has to be trimmed to fit based on the door! Constant learning process.

Probably on the left side of the buildings picture I might work on the Fire escape.... hmmmm.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Pulp City Update

Tried out a window Idea, placing the window prints on a thick piece of cardboard, then attaching the card to the side of the building.
Mixed results, not a good window print to start but I think Ill be using this method as I proceed along for some of the buildings. Still working at getting some 20s / 30s window pictures that are clear enough to use in PAINT to work up to print out.

Next up I have roof platforms on all of the buildings, with internal ledges to keep them from being "bumped" off the buildings. An assortment of top side walls and signs will be attached.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Pulp City Progress!

Put on some movies, broke out the cutters and hot glue and got to work on the recycled foam core boards. All the larger buildings will be perma mounted on their base 14 x 9s, the smaller buildings will be positional in any appropriate open block area. Some of the moveable buildings are very small so as to allow for a large Ally area behind them.

Here are a selection of the buildings with their Floor Designator boxes put in. One the floor of each small box will be the floor number. Some of the buildings that are lower looking I have decided, would be harder to get to the stairs for various reasons and added an extra box to simulate the time. An actual number of floors to the building will be put on the floor of the main area.

The buildings base "block" area will have sidewalks put on then the large buildings mounted (after they get their outside brick and window treatments!)

Pulp City Block Growth

After considering and discarding quiet a few options I settled on geomorphic ground tiles to use for the basis of the city block. Each rectangle is 14 by 9 inches. Large enough for either a very large building or a mix of small narrow store fronts.  Each will be edged on 3 sides with side walks to allow for maximal changes in placement but keep the side walks in place. I had tried the idea of separate side walks but it was resulting in way to many small pieces to place and keep in place.. especially hard when they are cut from foam board (super light weight).
The empty corner building will have to its other walls added but this quick layout gives the look of the block. The streets are 6 inches wide, not wide enough for parking but wide enough for 2 way traffic. With a smaller filler tile I can have no intersections or shuffle and have a 4 way intersection.

Building Interiors. Thinking that the "top floor" will be the "action" level for the building, rather than have multiple levels since the "bad guys" are usually located in one place in a building. Having this floor be the top floor will make it easier to reach with fingers! Also, borrowing on an idea from Skrapwelder, I figure to try to have a series of small "room" that are a couple of inches square for figures to be placed into, each having a number 1 to what ever story levels are in the building. The function of the small boxes is to have a physical record of what floor a character or party is currently on, rather than being distracted and then trying to remember where they, he or she was.....

The Foam block its all resting on will have channels cut for the Subway track, Sewer, Basements and secret passages. This will give it a dungeon set up so to speak. Cut out thin placards will cover each area to hide what might be lurking in it. Also have to mount the foam board on some other stiff board... back to the design pad for that.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Pulp Action City Block

Kicked off a new project, to make a city block intersection arrangement on a 2 foot by 4 foot board to feature a street with 2 side intersecting streets, but no cross roads. The street will be lined by brick buildings done with printed brick sheets. Some ally's will also be included as well as basement stairs, brownstone stairs, shop fronts, street lamps etc.

First picture of first building in progress:

Our lone hero is in what will become a shop front with windows and doors in the set back. The rest of the front will be a generic office front with apartment in the above floor level.  Tricky but not impossible will be the fire escape on the next building to abut to the right side of the 2 started.

A 2 inch thick Styrofoam board will go under the city to have the basements, and sewer system with secret passages linking some basements and to the sewer system, or........... subway train system.....

Friday, March 8, 2013

NEF Fleet Ready for Paint

And here they are after a long arduous laboring:

Plan is to spray them medium grey, black wash and then paint the decks in a wood color.

Friday, January 18, 2013

NEFs Under Construction

With the Lunar Campaign about to explode in war....finally... I need NEFs models at hand and ready, but with plenty of scratch building supplies and a want to make them duel purpose, air or land, I'm sticking to a more conventional build for the moment:

So first lets make a 4 inch long battleship hull. Six of them at once, clamp and file sand all the hulls...
For those not in the know, NEFs are a type of air borne ship of war in an alternate universe gener, sailing in the atmosphere and when battened down, sailing to the moon and other planets where their VSF armies wage war for expansion.

Here are the first 2 hours efforts from myself and the Mrs, working diligently away. After taking the picture she said they need barrels on the turrets..........so back to cut cut cut cut and she put on the magnifiers, grabbed the tweezers and glue bottle...

So, allow to dry fully and then prime and some dry brushing, put on a up lift base of some sort...hmmm probably cut some clear thin acetate and put a peg base under them for now.