The Evacuation of Vietnam...from this blog!

 
What happen to all of the 10mm Vietnam blog entries?!?!? Well, I am moving all of my 10mm Vietnam blog entries from this blog to a website that I set up for my Vietnam projects, called Sapper Joe's Vietnam Wargames. 

The reason for this is mainly that I wanted to do away of my insane ramblings of how my project is progressing and now start storing everything in a more traditional sense of a website with a more organized format, plus to free up some memory by deleted pictures that show WIP, when I have completed one of the same model. The website is still under construction, but pretty much the format that I want. I will still use this blog to show any new work for the Vietnam project and also for any AAR's. 

Also, you will notice some other changes on this blog. One, the new "hot links tabs" underneath the big picture at the top. Click on these and it will take you to a separate page with something about that gaming project. They are still WIP.

Second, you might notice that I removed a lot of the "tags" for the different posts. I decided to remove a lot of them to reduced the size of the "tag" bar in the left hand column and just to make it less confusing with all of the different options.

Next, you will notice that the sidebar on the right hand side is gone. As I created a "hot link tab" for links & other blogs. So I was able to delete that one column. I will update these links make them a little more specific to which projects that I am using them. Also I moved my "Followers" to the top as well.

Finally, you will see two new gadgets with links. The first at the top of my blog entries is "My Shelfari Bookshelf" which allows you to see what kind of books that I have or read. I have not figured out how to separate them by topic yet. At the bottom of the site is a music player of clips of sounds written by someone after see Antarctica on a tour. I guess since I have also had a moving experience on my tour, that I decided to add it to my blog. It will not start automatically and to hear it, you have to start it yourself.


Cheers,

Joe

Just a little urban renewal project

Below are some pictures of my 20mm urban residential board for my UK troubles games: Ireland (1920's and 1960's+), 2nd English Civil (1970's-80's), Cold War Hot (Red Dawn 1970's-80's), Operation Sealion & Case Green (German invasion in WWII of UK & Ireland), A Very British Civil War (1930's), Sweeneys & Blaggers (Cops & Robbers 1970's), and Zombies....yes, I plan to make the most out of this project! Also, if anyone can point me towards some 20mm Daleks and Cybermen, that would be great.

The board is 3'x2' in size, so it would be for very small actions and the rare platoon action. I will be also later be working on a same size board which will be an industrial area, including a brewery for the Irish to fight over who will be in control of it.

Since taking these pictures, I have redone several things so the roads, specifically the back alley, are now narrower then what is shown in the pictures. Remember, to click on the picture for a bigger version of it.

Now some pictures with various vehicles and figures to give it more life.

Sapper Joe’s Current Gaming Projects

Well, I know that I have been very quiet and a little distant lately, but I figure I should pop up and say what my current gaming projects are that I am working on and to also let you know that I will be redoing my blog in the near future. As for the changes to my blog, I am planning to create a couple of websites specifically geared towards specific period / game system. For an example, one website will be on my Vietnam gaming, which will include my 10mm & 20mm French Indochina and 2^nd Vietnam War gaming articles, as well as general information on both of those wars. Another will cover my UK’s troubles 20mm gaming and general information. I will still keep this blog for general gaming information and what I am doing, but the websites will be the “storage” areas of past blog entries and a more organized format for finding things. I don’t know when I will get stuff done, but I will post it up on my blog when it completed.

Now as for gaming, I have not been working on anything really productive for the last several months…err, year; but I am trying to get back into things. The following are the key goals for this year.

1 – I am still continuing to sort out and sell off miniatures, books, and other game related stuff for dead projects (which, sadly to say is a lot). I am also weeding through existing projects to see if I can reduce the number of figures that I need and sell off the excess, if any. I hope to make a major impact on my pile of unwanted and unpainted miniatures and books by the end of the year. Whatever I get from the sales, I am mostly turning around and using that towards the paragraph below.

2 – I just sent off my first batch of miniatures to be painted by a painting service. I have been looking into different painting services for about the last six to twelve months. I have saved up enough to make it worth my wild to give this a shot in getting some stuff done and hopefully on the board this year. The first batch has 20mm Post WWII Brits, including a Scimitar light tank, for various projects: Falklands, Northern Ireland, 2^nd English Civil War, Cold War Hot, and Zombies. (I plan to really make the most out of my 20mm UK urban board and vehicles). Also included were 20mm Argentines for the Falklands. The next batch will be 1970’s civilians, rioters, armed criminals, and some additional Cold War UK troops. The plan is to be playing Falklands, NI, and 2^nd English Civil War by the end of the year.

3 – I have been negligent into getting around and ordering the last of my buildings from Metcalfe for my 20mm UK residential urban board. I plan to order the remainder of them next weekend (finally). After they arrive, I will start finishing up buildings and streets part of the project. I will still have to pick up some more vehicles and street scenic’s (light poles, mail boxes, phone boxes, etc.) I have also bought some PDF files of additional UK buildings in 20mm that need to printed out and try my hands on them as well. I already have some buildings for the next board, which will be an industrial area – with a brewery for the Irish to battle for control over!

4 – I am dropping the use of “Cold War Commander” as my rules for 10mm Vietnam. While I enjoyed it, it was failing for a multiple player game system. I have been reading the Too Fat Lardies, “Charlie Don’t Surf” rules lately and got a set of CDS cards from Artscow.com. I also have an order out for some 7mm white & red dice and 7mm dice stands from S&S for keeping track of shock & kills on the different units. I am going to try to run a small trial game maybe at the end of this month to get more comfortable with CDS. If all goes well, I plan to start picking back up on doing 10mm Nam.

5 –Also on switching rules, I am dropping “Force on Force” for my Northern Ireland and other low level skirmishing (2-12 figures per side.) This is mainly due the results of my trial NI games of “FoF” for the low level skirmishing. The actions were too fast, making the games extremely short. Also, the results were too bloody compared to actual engagements. So I am looking into some different games systems that are designed specifically for very small actions, like “Geezers! Shut It!” by Killer B Games, “Cold War: 1983” by Wessex Games, and possibly “Flying Lead” by Ganesha Games. 

6 – I am also looking at Two Fat Lardies, “Troops, Weapons, & Tactics” / “Through the Mud & the Blood” for possibly doing my 20mm skirmishing, instead of “Force on Force”. Mainly this is because of the action / reaction / reaction to reaction / etc. system in FoF. Originally I thought it was good, but in each passing game, it became more and more bogging down of the fast flow of the system, especially if you have over a platoon with a couple of support weapons. I held off from pre-ordering the 2^nd Ed. of FoF, because I don’t know how drastic it has been changed or not from 1^st Ed. rules. If anyone buys the 2^nd Ed., let me know what differences there are and I will be willing to try it out. I know TW&T/M&B were designed to work for platoon size actions (20-50 figures per side) like FoF and they are suppose to be able to handle up to company size actions (50-100 figures per side). So I would like to try them out and see how they will work. Because, I am really looking for a system that will work well for small patrol actions as well as a two platoon assault without get grinded down into a standstill of dice rolling and reactions.

7 – While I am selling off a lot of miniatures and planning to do most of my work on the Falklands / Cold War troubles projects this year, I did finally decided that I will start one new project this year. By this, I mean a project that I do not have any miniatures already for it. It will start off as a medium size project (50 - 100 figures per side), but has the possibility to grow into a large size project (100-200 figures per side) over the next year or two. With that number of miniature involved, we are looking at 15mm for the scale. It is something that I have been thinking about for few years of doing, but just did not start over that time. I am going into the land war of the Great War, 1914-18. But I am going to do the Middle East / Asia Minor front with the forces of the Empire fighting Johnny Turk. I already had for years most of the terrain, several books on the subject, and the two rules sets that I will be using. What I am doing is mounting everything individually (except the MG teams) separately. This way I can use them for Too Fat Lardies’, “If the Lord Spares Us” (each stand is a platoon) and “Through the Mud & the Blood” (each stand is a man.) I looked up all of the ITLSU’s scenarios and made a list of what is required to cover almost all of the scenarios. I then decided on which scenarios had the most in common so not to buy too many figures and that is what I am going to buy for figures. Later on (next year), I will buy some more to do additional scenarios.

8 – In discussing of starting new projects, if I get time this year I will try to restart some old projects or add on to active ones. High on my list of projects to restart will be the Gangs of New York, especially with the beautiful Perry’s ACW rioters coming out (Dead Rabbits, B’hoys!) and add on to my 10mm Vietnam – maybe the “Snoopy” gun truck will finally be finished!

9 – In the non-gaming area, but sort of related to the gaming research end, I found out about a local monthly meeting of people interested in the Civil War. They normally have an author of Civil War books, or a university professor to give a one and a half hour presentation at their meetings. I have been to one already and really enjoyed it. Also with this being the 150^th Ann. of the ACW, I am planning more ACW weekend trips through Missouri. One of these trips will be to see the 150^th Ann. exhibit at the Missouri capitol (and hopefully see many more surviving flags), as well as visiting Wilson’s Creek for the 150^th Ann. I have been lay out a trip outline and will forward it on to anyone interested.

 

Well, that is about it for the planning of the year.

Joe

Fighting an Addiction – Or: My Battle with Lead Mountain

“Hello, my name is Joe and I have an addiction for buying too many miniatures…”

A few weeks back, someone I know was complaining about having to buy another army and the cost of certain figures, etc., and why he keeps putting himself in this position. While I never got around to replying, it did get me to think about my own addiction as a compulsive buyer of gaming stuff, mainly miniatures, and what I am doing to keep my mountain of metal under control. Plus, this could be a cool subject for my blog for others to think about before they start buying into a project that will go nowhere.

While I have always known that I had way too many miniatures, especially unpainted, it was about a year and a half ago that I realized how much unpainted miniatures I had in my collection. That is when I realized that I really needed to let some things go and stop getting involved in a bunch of periods, armies, or other projects because of something I read/seen/or talked about. I had made a decision to stop being a miniature-holic.

The first big step was to list out all of my projects by scale and armies that I have, have started, would like to do, or had at one time. After doing that, I saw that for some periods, I had multiple scales for it for the same armies. For an example, I had at one time or still have figures for WWII in France for 1940 in 3mm, 6mm, 10mm, 15mm, and 20mm! Five different scales of the same French and German forces! (Literally – The French forces were the exact same force for numbers or each type of vehicles, infantry stands, etc.)

Next, I struck from the list all of the projects that I sold off or have given away. From there I made out a rough estimate of the amount of minis that it would take to finish projects that I still had, plus storage requirements for everything (armies, buildings, terrain, etc.) Once that is done, I started to cry over how unrealistic everything has been and how much larger my house would have to be to finish everything. Now, I was ready to start cutting the fat.

Then I reviewed all of the projects on the list. I first terminated the projects that I had I not started on, those that I didn’t have a solid start on, and also projects that I have absolutely no interested in any more. This was followed by marking what periods that I have finished, also finished, and those that I really still wanted to do. Everything in between I made a decision on whether to keep or get rid of based on interested, what is need to complete, storage, cost, etc. So now you know why I am selling off a lot of miniatures (unfortunately, which is rather irregular still.)

But now what is to keep me in check? Part of this is to control myself from starting new projects before I start buying a bunch of figures and drop it later. That is where I came up with a series of questions to ask myself as sort of a “litmus test” on determining if the project is something I want to give it a “Go.” All of these questions might not apply to everyone, but everyone should ask themselves some of the questions before they buy their first pack of miniatures for a new project.

• Do I really want to do this project and it is not just a passing fad?
• How many other projects do I currently have going on?
• Am I going to duplicate an existing or past project and why?
• How much am I willing to budget towards this project, $100, $500, $1000 (include everything – miniatures, terrain, bases, rules, paints, painting services, resource books, and shipping costs)?
• Am I going to have to eat putter butter & jelly sandwiches at work for a while? - Seriously, if you have to ask this question – get out now!
• Am I willing to do both opposing forces, terrain, and know all of the rules?
• How many gamers will typically play in a game and how many figures are needed per player for a normal game?
• Is there anyone else willing to help and how committed are they to the project if they are to do their part, especially if it is a vital part?
• Will this be a one-shot project (once it is bought, it is finished) or living project (you continuous have to keep adding more to it as rules/armies change – i.e., GW, FOW, Modern gaming)?
• Are the rules available to cover the project (do I have them or need to buy them) and do I like the rules?
• Basing requirements: universal (used by many rules sets) or unique (only one rules set) and do I want to commit to that type of basing?
• Miniature availability: What scales, manufacturers, and quality are available for the project and would I be willing to use a smaller scale, different manufacturer, or lesser quality to do the period to stay in budget (instead of 25mm, can I use 10mm, if they are available)?
• Can I cut down the number of figures needed or find other ways of reducing what is needed (maybe use 3 figs on a stand vs. 4)?
• What number of figures do I really need to play a normal size game (10, 40, 100, or 1000 per side)?
• Can I still play games with fewer figures / stands until I get everything done?
• Do I really have the time to paint that many miniatures or will I use a painting service?
• Can I use these figures for other projects or games that I might be interested in (like using a “commonly” played scale of miniatures that can be used to fight several different opposing forces vs. an oddball scale / army that can only be used for that one project )?
• Will I get enough enjoyment from this project for the effort that I will be required to put into it?

Anyway, I hope this helps someone from making that horrible discovery one day of a big sinkhole where your house use to be before sank due to the weight of all of the unpainted miniatures in your basement.

Civilians in Wargaming – The Black Topic

On another blog that I periodic check up on, “Lebanon 1982”, the author Jon asked a question on one of his recent blog entries about how do others handled civilians in war gaming. See the following link for the blog entry: http://lebanon1982.blogspot.com/2010/12/civilians-in-modern-wargames.html I started to reply to his blog, but then realized that my reply was rather lengthy. So instead of replying to Jon’s blog entry only, I decided that I would write it for my blog on this subject, as I do use civilians in my games. So let us start this black topic!

Comfort level

Unfortunately, the sad fact is that civilians are very much part of war and suffer usually the worse. Because of this, most gamers have refuse to include this element in their gaming as they prefer to sanitize their views of war on the tabletop, even so much as not to even have miniatures of wounded or dead soldiers in their games. I am not berating these gamers, as I fully understand the reason why they want to sanitize their games to be strictly a game about combatants. I will say that the essay is probably not for them, but I am still encouraging them to read this entry to at least see possible options that can be open to them with the inclusion of civilians in wargaming.

The issue of whether or not to use civilian figures or stands in a game comes down to the comfort level of the game master and the players in the end. If a game master plans to have civilians on the table that can or will be used as possible victims, they should clearly spell that out at the beginning of the game so any players that will have issues with it can leave and seek a different game. If a game master has issues with the possibility of civilians getting harmed in a game, then they should not design a game where civilians are present. My own personal comfort level is that I am willing to have civilians on board that could possibly have harm done towards them as it reflects the more realistic challenges faced by combatants.

Why should civilians be in games?

Along time ago, I remember reading what I thought to be a best description of asymmetrical warfare as to carry out a guerrilla campaign in the mountains, forests, and swamps might get stories and songs written about you, but to fight in the cities and towns will win you the war. While small maneuver groups of irregulars would still need to operate in a mobile war against regulars in the mountains, forests, or swamps, but with every advancement of technology made available to the regular forces, it will become harder and harder for the irregulars to fight that style of war. They will then be forced to fight almost entirely in population centers. The controlling the population centers is a needed requirement for irregulars to gather supplies and recruits. As such, most asymmetrical engagements should take place in or relatively near civilization. So if one was to doing any wargaming based off of asymmetrical style of warfare, then it is almost a requirement to have civilians represented in the games.

Rules for civilians in games

Several gaming companies have addressed the issue of civilians in war gaming in their rules, with two that I think have a good handle on this are Ambush Alley Games’ “Force on Force” and Too Fat Lardies’ “Charlie Don’t Surf.” I will not discuss the details for these rules but both look at the Rules of Engagement (ROE) by regular forces and repercussions for regulars engaging civilians. I highly suggest either one for game mechanics. In any game, regulars’ players should have clear cut ROE laid out to them on about civilians in the game and what the penalties are if civilians are engaged. Like wise, the irregulars should be told what penalties there are if they shoot up civilians, like maybe they will have a harder time recruiting or taxing for supplies, etc. or even possibly having some civilians take up arms against them!

Civilians as part of the game

Depending on the game, civilians can be a hindrance to movement or combat; used as part of the mission objective; supportive role to one or both sides; or possible hostile force. I will discuss each one of these in a little more detail and will try to provide at least one scenario idea for each one. It would be better to add to the game two or more of the following ideas to will a proper challenge to the players. For an example of this, in a Vietnam game that I ran a while back (see blog entry - http://sapperjoeswargamingtoys.blogspot.com/2009/04/recruits-convention-march-2009.html), the civilians were both a mission objective and a hindrance. They were a mission objective as the US forces had to round up the civilians and move them back to their village. Then they were also a hindrance to the US forces as the Divisional commander (me, the game master) would not allow the US players to use indirect fire or airstrikes until all civilian stands are under control by the US ground forces so not to accidentally bomb or shell civilians.

Hindrance: This would be the most realistic use of civilian figures in a game. Civilians will be dodging in and out of line of fire causing regulars to hold fire, forced to move to a different location for clear lanes of fire, use a detachment to keep people back out of the fight which also prevents them from being used in combat, or suffer the effects of shooting through the civilians. Also civilians can also be used to block movement routes with broken cars, masses milling in the streets, etc. This blocking of movement should affect both sides and should be non-deliberate or random in their directions of movement. An example of this is in one game, I had a vehicle check point (VCP) set up next to a farm that was manned by regulars. The irregulars had a sniper and a small protection cell to shoot up the VCP and leave the board. On the board were also civilians in cars driving up to the VCP and the farm’s staff going about and doing their jobs. This forced the regulars to act against everything, since they had to secure the area and did not know who was with the irregulars. After the irregulars attacked, the civilians in the cars rolled for individual morale to see how they would react to the firefight. It was very well possible to have someone run over a soldier or crash into the regular’s armored carrier, etc. 

Mission objective: This would be the second most realistic use of civilians in a game. Depending on the scale of the game, several options are open to explore. In large scale games, the most likely best option is that of relocating the civilians. This could be an abstract thing of combatants holding off an opposing force while their civilians move off board. Or another option is for combatants to take a direct approach of rounding up the civilians to a central area so they can be protected or moved out of the area, while other combatants are trying to prevent this. This example is reflected in the Vietnam game that I mention above where the US players had to up to and take control of the civilian stands and move them back to an assembly point. 

In a smaller scale of actions (skirmishes), the above options can still be done, but now additional options become more available like: snatching key individuals, VIP protection, hostage rescue, and making contact with key individuals. These themes are pretty straight forward for scenarios ideas, but one game could have a patrol of mercenaries hired to rescue a group of civilians from a foreign power in a prison. Both sides don’t want to kill the prisoners for various reasons (a political barraging chip or the money bonus for a successful mission).

Supportive force: By supportive, I am not referring that the civilians actively helpful to one side, but that their role is supportive in a passive means. When civilians take a more active role against one side, then I will refer it to be hostile which will be detailed in the next section. Supportive force can be neutral or for / against one side. The game master should first determine the mood of the civilians towards both sides and the overall willingness to be supportive in a combat zone. Some of this information could be shared with one or both sides so the players can try to think out side of the box about how to interact with civilians to defeat the opposing forces. You may not want to provide everything to the players so to encourage them to try to figure it out by themselves. Some supportive roles can be the following: medical assistance; providing information on enemy forces or equipment (including bombs or mines); providing information or identifying key persons; showing a route to or around the enemy; or even assist in hiding or supply a force. Some examples of the different scenarios for supportive civilian help can be in a neutral city with high willingness to be supportive maybe during the firefight, the local church’s nuns and a local doctor will walk around the battlefield with a white flag and carrying the wound off to cover to treat them. This is especially good in skirmish games where wounds matter and would not be to out of place in a WWII game. Another possibility is in a friendly town with low willingness might see a regular force being told where an enemy’s cache of weapons is located after successfully interview with a civilian. Yet another possibility is in a non-friendly town with average willingness might have a civilian willing to lead a detachment of soldiers on a route that will get them lost and cause them to be taken out of the game (really lost) or delayed entry (it takes them a while to finally figured out where they were.) 

Hostile force: Hostile civilians are where they are willing to take a more active role against one side. This is different than irregulars in that the hostile civilian would not normally be actively involved in combat, but is drawn into it by the heat of the moment. The hostile civilian would probably not be willing to be involved in any actions afterwards after it leaves their area of concern. This active hostile role could be as minor as throwing up barricades in the streets to deliberately block off the routes of march for the opposing forces but retreat when challenged. As the willingness increase, it could become stone throwers or manning the barricades with successful morale rolls against the opposing forces. Next would probably result in full blown rioters and attacks with improvised weapons (clubs, knives, a rare firearm or gasoline bomb) but limited to a small section of the battlefield and not willing to move too far away from that area. Finally this willingness would end in active combatives with firearms and improvised explosives willing to move around on the entire board. In “Force on Force” rules, it is possible for irregulars to recruit armed combatives from groups of civilians and also has rules for hostile groups of civilians causing issues with regular forces. I believe that various levels of hostilities are pretty much straight forward that one does not need help on scenario ideas.

There is one other theme, but I don’t know if I should place it under Mission objective or Hostile forces, as it overlaps both ideas. This theme is to have the some civilian figures represent irregulars in hiding. To paraphrase Mao Tse-tung, “Be like a Fish in the Water.” While Mao was actually referring to in that saying is that the irregulars should not alienate themselves to the general population as they are needed to keep the irregular army functional, but it also took on a different meaning to be able to conceal oneself with the general population. In games where there are hidden units, civilian figures can be used to represent hidden units or blanks instead of something like having poker chips on the game table. You just move the civilian figures around to show the hidden movement until the opposing side makes a proper spotting check or the irregulars decide to come out of hiding and place the actual irregular miniatures on the board and remove the civilian marker. Another version of this is to have games where one of the irregulars is in civilian clothing and tries to get close enough to shoot some one, throw a grenade, etc., or just trying to escape with vital information or weapon, etc., or even to open the gate to fort so the enemy can come riding in on horses! In this type of theme game, the other side should be explained how to conduct searches and interviews in game mechanics at the beginning of the game. If they can’t figure out that this is hint that they should be looking out for an irregular disguised a civilian or the failed to make a proper search roll, then they just deserve that RPG round that was hidden under the trench coat!

Civilians in non-traditional wargames:

Huh? What do I mean by a non-traditional wargame? Well, what I am referring to are wargames that are not with normal combatants (standing armies and irregular forces). Examples of this would be police games with gangsters, rum runners, or riots; Wild Westerns; and monster games, like zombies. With these types of games, the ideas of how to use civilians in games discussed above still hold true and should be even more of a factor in every game. How can one game a 1930’s bank robbery without civilians to be in the bank for the robbers to possibly used them as hostages or civilians on the outside of the bank to possibly notice that the bank is being robbed so they can notify the police and even possibly take up arms against the criminals?

But the one gaming theme that I do not understand the complete lack of civilians is in monster games. I am not referring to heroes / fighters that happen to be civilians, but the screaming, helpless masses. I especially find the lack of civilians in zombie games completely an enigma, especially considering how graphic the zombie miniatures have become over the years. In almost every monster movie, book, etc., civilians are monster chow or screaming and running away and need to be directed or protected by the government forces. Even in these types of games, most of the above listed ideas on how to use civilians in games still hold true. Especially in games where the monster(s) are humanoid, for the searching to find the hidden bomb that they are trying to sneak in a blow up the secret space mission rocket. Also in monsters games, civilians can become one more thing that was not addressed before and that is food! In a game system a monster eating a civilian stand might be able to heal hit points or gain new powers or even charged used powers. Or in the case of zombie games…more zombies. Even in an alien invasion plan, like #9, the aliens could change civilians into zombies to create an army of the undead to attack the humans!

Conclusion:

In the end, my own personal feelings are that by excluding civilians in games that you are denying greater challenges and possibilities in wargaming for the players. Also, by excluding civilians, one can really cannot give a realistic challenge for any game that is based off of asymmetrical warfare or non-traditional wargames. By not having civilians in asymmetrical game, you might as well play a version of “Wack-a-mole” with the irregulars popping out of empty buildings. Some people will find this fun and will be happy with it. To others, the endless hordes of irregulars pouring out of various buildings will eventually become boring and unchallenging. Others may also be contented to really playing symmetrical style wargaming with irregulars playing like regulars in the aspects of combat elements. Again, this is perfecting fine, but it only reflects the challenges for symmetrical style of warfare and not that of asymmetrical warfare.

 In conclusion, the use of civilians in gaming should be discussed between the game master and their regular players or club members to determine at what comfort level people are with civilians in games, so future use in games can be decided on how civilians should or should not be represent on a the gaming table.

Now, for something completely different!

Well, sorry that I have not posted anything in just over three months. I have been busy with work and sorting through unpainted lead to sell off (check out my selling blog just after Xmas...a lot of stuff will be going up then.) I started to work on my urban terrain for my 1970's UK games, but have not finish it. I sort of side lined it for a while so I could use my table to sort through the tons of unpainted lead to sell. But besides that bit of news, I have some other interesting news to tell!

This Sunday, depending on snow and weather (and work), my friend Combatcolours will be running a WWII game at the local gaming shop, Miniature Market, using those fabulous rules, "I Ain't Been Shot, Mum!" or the equally fabulous rules, "Troops, Weapons & Tactics", both from TooFatLardies. I hope to make it and remember to bring a camera along. 

The next bit of news is about a project that I started on a while back (during the summer) and just have not been very active on getting in it for a while. Tonight while trying to force myself to stay awake and not going to bed by 7:30 p.m. (!!!), I decided to send some time fiddling with it again. I decided that I just better get it out in the open and maybe I will start send a night a week working on updating it. It is a very unfinished piece of work, but figured that some might be interested in seeing what I have finished. A couple of years back, I seriously had been bitten by the American Civil War bug for seeing the battlefields and monuments. I have traveled to many sights in Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas, as well as some sites on the other side of the Mississippi River. So I am now trying to get a website built of my travels and sights, so those who are not able to get to some of these out of the way sites can see the area and the monuments. I hope people enjoy this electronic road trip as much as I really enjoyed making the real trips. 

https://sites.google.com/site/missouricivilwartraveller/

Metcalfe Buildings - A Review

Hello again, this blog entry will be about Metcalfe Models & Toys' OO gauge cardboard buildings. http://www.metcalfemodels.com/acatalog/Metcalfe.html 

I really fell in love with these cardboard kits and I want show a little bit about how well done these kits are done by Nick Metcalfe and gang. I have order from them a couple of times already and they are great to work with on purchases and shipping as well!

First, a quick comparison of Metcalfe to Superquick Models, another cardboard OO gauge cardboard buildings. http://www.superquick.co.uk/catalogue.htm 

Superquick are also some nice kits, but they are follow the more traditional style of paper models with minimum structural support inside the models. Below is Metcalfe's Low Relief Terraced Houses Front (#PO220) on the left and Superquick's Terrace Backs (#C5) is on the right. Neither kits are completed at the time of the pictures, but close to be completed for comparison. Notice the interior structural support.

The following is a pictorial of my assembly of a Metcalfe Model's Terraced Houses kit (#PO261). I will add in some remarks periodically with the pictures.

This is the packaging of the kit and what comes in it. In the right picture, you will notice the small plastic bag with parts in it. I found that very useful to have a container to put all of the little pieces in something that is able to be closed so you don't lose anything.

T: Keep all of the scrap cardboard! You will found them very useful for the backing behind the windows to glue the curtains on to. This gives the model a depth look to the curtains.

C: I use UHU glue and find it very good for the job.

B: Metal binder clips are extremely useful for holding pieces in place while the glue dries. This will give you some free time to work on other items.

 

T & C: Place the scrap cardboard to the windows so the curtains are set back.

B: This is the base and the tiles for the pavement are to the left. Notice that most of the tiles are missing as this sheet is from another kit and I am trying to use them up first before using this kits tiles. Also you will notice a pavement sheet that is laying on the base. You could use that instead of the tile if you don't want to work on laying tiles.

T: Some of the tile has been laid down on the pavement sheet. I glued the pavement sheet down on the base for a guide. You don't need to this.

C & B: Assembly of the building. Notice the curtains over the windows and the reinforcement cardboard walls to hold the floor up. Also notice the inserts to give the chimney support.

The building is glued to the base and the rear gable is assembled and also glued to the base.

Assembly of the back yard fence. In the last picture notice that there needs to be a gap along the edge on the bottom and side of the fence. This allows the fence to sit properly on the base and connect to the house.

At this point, you are finished with the main model, minus some details and optional items. The last picture is one of the optional details of adding dormer windows.

T: How the dormer windows are assembled
C: The tile wall tops to line the top of the brick wall
B: Another optional item, bay windows

Next, the bay windows are installed and the ridge tiles to cover the roof folds. What is left to do is the chimney pots which I am still deciding if I want to add or not because I am afraid that they will be damaged regularly when shipping and storing the buildings.

Just a couple of pictures of the Metcalfe's Corner Store (#PO263) with the Terraced Houses. Neither kits are complete, but it gives an idea of how a street scene will look like.

This weekend, 7/31

Hello,

Well this weekend I plan to run a trial run game of "Force on Force" rules at a local gaming shop on Sat. The scenario will be based loosely on 'The Troubles' in N. Ireland. I had plans to get everything painted and done before than, but alas...that was not to be. Due to work and several bad things happening there, I have not had much free time in the evenings or in any kind of mood to paint. But the game will still happen (minus any disasters). It is going to be a small game in size with less than three dozen figures total. I plan to take my camera, but I have been known to forget it and take pictures of unpainted (sigh...) figures in action (Yeah!)

The scenario, I hope, will be an interesting one. There will be some interesting scenario "rules" for the lack of better terms. I will post up an AAR or two, as I am hoping that it will go fast enough to get in two or maybe even three games in with switching up the players. The main goal is for me to get use to running these rules and try a couple of scenario "rules". If all goes well, I will out line some of my ideas for various scenarios in the future.

As I have been reading the two of the other blogs on the alternate UK 2nd Civil War (England Prevails..., and Winter of '79) has been fueling some ideas.

I have recently sent money to became a Platinum Member (sounds exciting, yes?) to the Oxford Diecast Collectors Club to get some more 1/76 scale UK vehicles a bit cheaper (doesn't sound as exciting as before, does it?) I figure that it will be cheaper to go ahead and do that...plus I get a special limited edition car for Christmas! Cool Beans!

Anyway, I know that I should be painting tonight, but I have to go to bed earlier and it is already about 90 minutes to bed time...so no painting tonight. But keep an eye out for some time Sunday or next week for an AAR of Saturday's game(s).

Be seeing you...

I get by with a little help from my friends...

First off, I want to apologize to Mr. Ringo Starr for stealing his work for the title to this blog entry...but I could not resist it!

OK, why the interesting title for this blog entry...well, I need some help from my friends on the other side of the pond to explain to me the various road markings on the English road systems for my up coming Great Britain games. I might have future mundane questions like road signs and parking as well. Also, do all of this road markings work for the 1940's and the 1970's - '80's?

But before I go into that, just some quick notes about the pictures below. The roads are from a download PDF file from Scalecenes.com (http://www.scalescenes.com/). They have some really nice PDF buildings and accessories, like this British road set. They even have a couple of free PDFs!

The next thing is I want to apologize for the really bad photos. I had to take them inside since there is a thunderstorm outside. When I tried to use the flash, the details were whited out. So I had to use no flash, which caused most of the pictures to be blurry. Sorry...

Now, on to the questions...

1. What is that marking for on the left? I am thinking it is to yield, but it is not in the right side of the same lane, so I am not sure.

2. What does the ZZ mean? Also, does the double white line mean no passing zone?

3. What does the yellow checkerboard mean? I know the other marking is for a cross walk.

4. What does the red strips mean and what does the yellow strips on both sides of the lane mean?

Just a quick lay out of the road with a couple of OO scale (1/76) vehicles on it to give it a size comparison.

Thanks in advance for anyone's help!

Metcalfe buildings and OO scale vehicles

As promised, some pictures of Metcalfe Model's OO scale cardboard buildings compared to 20mm Hotspurs miniatures and some 1/76 scale UK model diecast cars and trucks. I really like the Metcalfe Models and find them to be a complete treat to work with. They are mostly complete, but I need to add a few minor details, like chimney pots.

Above is bottom and top shot of the Manor Farm's barn. It is the only model that has a removable roof to my knowledge. But what it does show is all of the additional support & bracing that these models have to maintain their structure unlike most paper models.

Below are pictures of the two structures that come in the Manor Farm Barn set, a barn & tractor shed. Also in the picture are a BW Model Hummer Pig, some 20mm Hotspur / Stonewall miniatures, and 1/76 scale diecast vehicles from the UK. As you can see, everything fits to scale. Also a nice touch to the Manor Farm sets is that all of them are based off real buildings that the owner of Metcalfe Models, Nick Metcalfe, grew up around as a child.

Below to the left is the Manor Farm House set, which has the Manor house and a worker's cottage. To the right is the Manor Farm Buildings set, which has a silo pit, a modern barn, a small hen house, and a large hen house.

Next is a front and side view of the Coaching Inn kit.

Finally is the Village School set, which includes the school and outbuilding for toilets and storage. This kit is also based on Nick Metcalfe's childhood school.

Finally, a picture that has some foreshadowing meaning...hmmm....(side note, after taking this picture, I accidentally broke the front landing gear and lost the wheels...sigh...I am going to have to make some crappy replacements now.)

Until later...