They made camp here (Sharp Practice Blinds, Part III)

An Iroquois war party investigates the remains of a hastily abandoned campsite deep in the woodlands. They followed a trail through miles of forest, but it vanishes at this site. Is this a trap?

Dollar Tree(s)

Ah, Christmas. A season of love. A season of hope. A season of miniatures terrain available at every corner store...

I would make a terrible magician. (Scenic Photo How-To)

Like a movie villain, I cannot help but monologue the details of my plans, so allow me to gratuitously lay out the details of how I staged the photos of my last blinds marker project.

Woodsman's Ambush (Sharp Practice Blind, Part II)

There! Behind that wall!

Sharp Practice Blinds (Hidden Movement Markers)

After playing a few games of Sharp Practice, I was convinced that something more photogenic than cards was needed to represent the movement of hidden troops within the fog of war.

Mobile Frame Zero

My brother Tim is to be held responsible for introducing me to Mobile Frame Zero. This was a kickstarter project to create a miniatures skirmish game for Mech-suits using LEGO bricks.

Giving in to the [Grim] Dark Side

Well, I have finally gone and done it. After years resisting, I have started to work on some Warhammer 40k Space Marines.

Can't see the forest for the trees

A column of Hessian Grenadiers march though the wilderness of New England, as Continental Militia rush out from the nearby woods in ambush.

Continuing on from my first two tree stands, I have been building toward a forest that can cover half of the surface of my gaming table.

Foam sale at Jo Ann's (Make your own figure case inserts!)

Attention miniatures wargamers! JoAnn's fabrics is currently running a 50% off foam by the yard sale, good till Saturday August 24th, 2013. This is your chance to get a good price on a key & costly ingredient in making your own figure storage and transport cases!

In the coming weeks, I'll be constructing my own foam figure inserts to line a cool ammo crate I picked up at the last reenacting event. Stay tuned for updates!

Arming the HMS Sophie part 1

Having come across a good deal on a set of six turned brass cannon barrels at a local hobby shop, I am finally able to start properly arming my ship models. However, since they did not come with laser-cut wood parts, this means building my own naval gun carriages from scratch.

HMS Sophie Part 6 - Aft Cabin Renovation

Finally jumping back into my 28mm Royal Navy Brig project, it is time to revise the windows for the aft cabin. I feel my current version detracts from the rest of the model, so I am removing the part, and adding windows based on examples of 18th C. warships, and simplifying them to fit the look and scale of the ship.

1812 Sharp Practice Meeting Engagement

Returning once again to the War of 1812, I introduced a combined force of British Regulars with native allies in a game against the US line in another Sharp Practice match with my friend Dave.

Don't forget your Old Shipmate (Navy basing part 1)

Having completed painting the uniforms of my Royal Navy Landing Party, it is time to give some attention to their bases.

8th Regiment of Foot, 1812 (WIP)

Having completed my test model, I have been working on my commissioned 1812 British regiment. 

The force is a part of a series of figures I have been painting for my friend for gaming the War of 1812 using Sharp practice ruleset. The models here represnet the 8th Regiment of Foot, which fought in America during the war. They wear the blue facings of a royal regiment, and fielded in the earlier stovepipe shakos. The models are still WIP, but nearing completion.

29th REG'T Drummer, 1776

Continuing to flesh out the Crown Forces of my AWI collection, I have been working on a series of musicians and a standard bearer. Musicians are an interesting challenge to paint at this scale,
as their uniforms are much more intricate and complex than an infantryman's. The coats are made inverse to the rest of the regiment, most of the time. In the case of the 29th REG'T, this makes them yellow with red facings. Also noteworthy is that they are absolutely covered in a web of regimetnal lace. Not just outlining the buttonholes, but essentially outlining every major seam on the garment, and having a ladder of chevrons up each arm.

An interesting historical note: as a tradition, drummers in the 29th during the Revolution were black. This made a bit of a fuss while they were stationed in Boston during the occupation, as it was the drummer's duty to dispense corporal punishment. The slave-owning locals apparently did not enjoy watching them scourge white soldiers in the town square...

The next addition to my AWI British command will be a fifer, and perhaps the King's Colors.

Rebels' Redoubt: an AWI skirmish with Sharp Practice

Exploring the built-in diversity of the Sharp Practice ruleset for small skirmishes, I ran a game set during the American War of Independence. Dave and I played a scenario that had an outnumbered and outclassed Rebel force holding a dug-in redoubt with one functioning field gun against an onslaught of elite Redcoats.

Battle with Dark Templar (WH40k)

I recently had the pleasure of running a Warhammer 40K game with my friend Michael, pitting my Valhallan Imperial Guard against his Black Templar space marines, at his FLGS.

Tree Stands

Good terrain makes for a much better looking game. This week I have been working on improving my tabletop experience with some new tree stands.

The Wreck of the Dred Hawk

My friend Zach was back from D.C. to visit, and what better chance to catch up than on the tabletop! We decided to play a scenario of Sharp Practice using my Napoleonic Era figures. Here are the highlights (at least the ones that photographed well):

The Royal Navy Schooner Dred Hawk has run aground on the French coast. A patrol of Voltigeurs has spotted the stranded seamen.

British Line infantry, War of 1812 (Test Figure)

Allow me to present the first of a small British army from the war of 1812. This force will be a group of 38 infantrymen in early war stovepipe shakos sculpted by the illustrious Wargames Foundry, and serve as opponent to the 1st US Infantry.

Rescue the Riflemen! (a War of 1812 Game)

It was my privilege to play a War of 1812 game of Sharp Practice with my friend David this last weekend. We have been looking for a good ruleset for a large scale black powder era skirmish game to run some War of 1812, Peninsula War, and AWI games, so far this has been the most fun.

There's a first time for everything

I have been building various models since I was about 7 years old. During this time, I have had many hobby-related accidents. I can safely claim to have impaled myself on virtually every sharp implement commonly used in model building, as well as a few of the more obscure ones (I once got my hand caught in miniature barbed wire I was twisting...).

That being said, last night I managed a feat I had so far only strived toward in vain: I have now officially glued my fingers together.

After a half hour in Loni's nail polish remover, I am ready to press on with the armies!

Trial & Error

Though I was, for the time being, content to play games on it with the panels attached via some C-clamps under hanging over the edge of the host table, I had come to a standstill on my portable game table. With the four sections complete, the project awaits assembly so that it can finally have a unified playing surface.

Then I ran into the fact that I am not nearly as good a carpenter as I had hoped.

A Pleasant Surprise

I came home the other day to a very pleasant surprise. When I opened my front door, a large red envelope fell at my feet, from a friend from my naval reenactments. Inside were several boxes of of esci Napoleonic wars British soldier figures, from Royal Artillery to Hussars.

It was a very thoughtful surprise, and I look forward to trying my hand at these fine sculpts.

1st US Infantry Division, 1812 part II

Today I'd like to show the whole of the American army from 1812 that I've painted so far, including some figures I haven't photographed yet. The officer leads his men from horseback while the NCOs keep the troops in line.

Since I've been working on my friend David's American army  in small batches, I have not even seen all of them together myself yet. He has kindly assembled the men and taken some shots for me. I am liking how the bases rank up for a good unified look. When I get to the riflemen, they'll have a variation on this basing technique with a little more undergrowth and rocks to give an impression of skirmishing over rough ground.

It is a lot of fun to see the whole regiment arrayed out like this, and I can't wait to face it on the tabletop!

1st US Infantry Division, 1812

Continuing on with the American force from the War of 1812 for my reenacting friend David, for use with the Sharp Practice ruleset. These are Old Glory 25mm US Infantry in the 1812 coatees, which look quite a bit like blue versions of the British uniform of the time.

Bases are magnetic 20mm squares, allowing for dynamic adaptability between rulesets. I am currently experimenting with refrigerator magnets as movement trays vs. sheet metal. Basing is somewhat simple, using only sand (painted of course), ground foam, and some small bits of static grass.

Next in line for the US in 1812 are the 1st ID command figures, mainly ensigns and musicians. After that I'll try my hand at some American Riflemen.

British Napoleonic Infantry Close Up

I've been playing with camera settings tonight, and the above is the result of a lot of fiddling. Camera set to TV mode (time variant), shot with diffused light coming from the sides, white balance corrected in Photoshop, to counter the effects of indoor lighting. The model is an existing part of my British Penisula War collection.

Hearts of Oak

I have been working on a set of Brigade Games 28mm Royal Navy shore party figures that Loni gave me for Christmas, and these are some of the most accurately clothed figures I have ever seen.

Miniatures Photography

One of the hardest battles of showing miniatures work online is the ability to get a photograph that does your painting justice.

Königstiger Rescue, Part II

This is the second installment of my Königstiger refurbishment project...