Game Plan 2014 – Fall/Winter

It’s feeling like summer is drawing to an end already. Says are getting shorter… evenings cooler… and so my thoughts turn to what I’m going to be doing for the rest of the year. There has been a lot of other planning at my place lately – mostly classes and activities for the kids, and Amanda, and even me! Honestly I don’t know how were going to fit everything in.

Looking back at the last Game Plan 2014 Update I was mostly considering what I was going to be painting over the next 6-8 months. Not a lot has changed, I’m mostly planning on working on much the same stuff. I may not reach my objective of painting more than I’ve purchased… but I’ll be close… and I’ll do WAY better next year! (This year’s acquisitions were skewed a bit by the 400+ super cheap plastic Hät figures – at $7 per box the whole shebang was about $100 and worked out to 25¢ - or less - per figure… who could pass up THAT action!?)

Anyway, the plan…

Song of Blades and Heroes Campaign

From September to November I’m going to run a A Song of Blades and Heroes/Song of Deeds and Glory campaign on Saturday evenings – when I’m not playing in the GURPS Modern Horror Campaign (see below). Why Song of Blades and Heroes and not Song of Shadows and Dust right away? Well I HAVE enough figures I could supply warbands for SoBH for any number of players right now – and some other players could currently supply their own warbands (and I’ll be encouraging some of the others to work on their OWN!). This will also give us time to all build more factions and terrain to run a proper SSD campaign in the new year.

GURPS Modern Horror Campaign

What the WHAT!? My friend John is threatening to run a GURPS Modern Horror Role-Playing campaign starting in October – once a month for 10 months. I’m actually pretty excited about the idea of PLAYING in a role-playing game… even if it is GURPS…

Other Role-Playing Games

I’d like to run a role-playing game for the kids (and possibly some friends) in the fall, but I haven’t quite figured out when or what… I’m thinking I will probably use  A Tale of Blades and Heroes and run a campaign set in Greek Mythology or the Roman Empire in the first century AD (perhaps using some stuff from Cthulhu Invictus…?). maybe I’ll run both over the winter… I’m really torn – both seem really appealing to me right now.

Song of Shadows and Dust Campaign

As mentioned above I’m planning on running a Song of Shadows and Dust campaign in the new year. Over the next few months I'll be working on some new figures to build new factions or add options to factions I'm currently working on. I hope some others around here might build some of their own factions!! I also plan on building a whole lot more buildings so that I'll be able to run a few games concurrently. 

Board Games

I’ve been playing a lot more board games with the kids lately. They’re both getting old enough to play some more sophisticated games and we’ve been trying out ones I’ve been sitting on for a couple years – mostly ones thematically related to stuff we’ve been reading about in the history we’ve been studying. This week we’ve been kind of crazy about Smash Up (which is not-so-thematically related…), but some of the other thematically related games I have lined up to try out include Ra, Parthenon: Rise of the Aegean,  Quo Vadis?, Ostia, The Hanging Gardens ,  Palatinus, Ostrakon and Conquest of the Empire… and I wouldn’t mind getting in a few more games of Ur or Ark… or some other not-so-thematically-related favourites such as Small World, or any of the Munchkin we have.

DBA/HOTT

While I’m not really planning on doing a DBA or HOTT campaign for the 11^th Annual Tim’s Wargaming Birthday Bash/Winter Wargaming Weekend as I had been thinking of at the time of the last Game Plan 2014 Update , I would still like to at least finish up the New Kingdom Egyptians and Nubians, and at least TWO (of five) Greek Hoplite armies, and something to fight my Early Imperial Romans. I would definitely still like to run a Greek City State campaign at some point – as well as a Roman Civil War and a Campaigns of Alexander and/or Wars of the Successors campaign(s) – as I HAVE figures for all those… just got to get them painted… For now though… just enough to play a few more games “thematically related” to our studies.

Painting, Modelling, and Terrain-Building

In the immediate future I’ll likely be working on ancient and fantasy subjects for the remainder of the year – mostly individual figures and terrain for A Song of Blades and Heroes or Song of Shadows and Dust, but, as mentioned above, I would also like to get a few DBA/HOTT  armies finished up as well.

Probably in November/December our Reaper Miniatures Bones II: The Return Of Mr Bones! Kickstarter figures will be arriving…. Theoretically those are “for the kids”… so hopefully it shouldn’t affect my plans.

ToonCon?

Earlier in the year I had been thinking I’d run stuff a ToonCon again this year. I had fun running Force on Force, Ambush Z  and Wargaming Nineteenth Century Europe 1815-1878… and I thought I might run some “Song of…” games this year… but then I just got feeling overwhelmed by all the other stuff going on this summer and fall and decided to give this year a miss… It seems I get to them every other year… so… maybe next year.

Great War?

The great War projects have fallen by the wayside somewhat this year… Maybe next year… I would still like to do the Canadian Corps attack of Vimy Ridge in 2017… (See Vimy Project Planning)

and finally, thinking ahead into 2015... 

11^th Annual Tim’s Wargaming Birthday Bash/Winter Wargaming Weekend

Well, considering the success This Year’s skirmish campaign I have decided to put off the DBA or HOTT Greek campaign for another time and instead run a Song of Shadows and Dust campaign – perhaps incorporating some of the more detailed campaign/faction building rules from Song of Deeds and Glory for the “main event” on Friday/Saturday. Then, following the Same Format on the Sunday we will play a thematically related boardgame: Conquest of the Empire… and any other (shorter) board/card games we happen to be able to cram into the remains of the day… but more on that in a couple months… 

The Mummy

For my brief foray into 200mm gaming…

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Sticking with the theme of “ancient Egypt” at least… sort of…

Okay not really for wargaming… but making use of those same mad-hobby-modeling-skillz…

This is actually an old Aurora Monster Model of “The Mummy” I assembled and painted for a friend. I’ve had it – working on it a little bit every-so-often – for an embarrassingly long time (I should just never promise I’ll paint things for friends…). But now, finally, it is finished. Huzzah!

(Now I just have three more to finish up!)

(Hopefully they won’t take nearly so long!!)

Coming soon on Tim’s Miniature Wargaming Blog:

Back to gen-u-ine gaming stuff

Dire Boar, Henchmen, and Egyptians

A few items rolling off the workbench.

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Two henchmen for Song of Shadows and Dust I converted from a couple of Dark Age Old Glory miniatures.

The Dire Boar… which I think was from Wizards of the Coast’s Chainmail line…?

He’s a big beastie:

Here he is with the hanchmen – just for a little perspective.

I’ve had the mini for a few years but quickly painted him up last night as I suddenly  have an immediate use for him in a RPG/tabletop adventure I have planned for the kids…



A Carpet Dealer from a Mega Miniatures pack (Sultans' Harem...?) that will go nicely with the Carpet Seller's stall I painted a few weeks back. 

Egyptians Spearmen from Wargames Foundry  for a  Hordes of the Things/DBA (New Kingdom-ish) Egyptian army.

The rest of the army so far…

A pair of Black Tree Design Dark Age figures. These have been sitting on my workbench, finished, for some time now waiting for me to finish a couple more Dark Ages guys for me to take pictures of them with... but that's not likely to happen any time soon, so I thought I'd just add them to this post and tuck them away in the appropriate storage box.

Coming soon on Tim’s Miniature Wargaming Blog:

More games... More painting...? I've been slowing on the 23 figures per week schedule... and while I had been planning to finish the Egyptian and Nubian DBA armies over the next few weeks, I have a feeling Greek and Roman subjects are likely going to take over for a bit... 

Walking Like an Egyptian

Or an irritable donkey…

Here is this week’s work.

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Still mostly working on ancient subjects and mostly for Song of Shadows and Dust

“YOU DENSE, IRRITATING, MINIATURE BEAST OF BURDEN!!!”

A couple of Donkeys from Pegasus Hobbies farm animal set. They look a little small – mostly because they’re on REALLY BIG bases! I’ll be using these as “Irritable Donkeys” in Song of Shadows and Dust (it’s supposed to be “Irritable Mules”… but donkeys are all I’ve got…). They’re essentially a small area of dangerous terrain. We found that the mules/donkeys we had on regular-ish-sized bases weren’t much of an obstacle – perhaps our cities have been too open… for now we’ll try these larger bases… if it doesn’t work I can easily pop them off and put them on something else.

Piggy-wigs… also from the Pegasus Hobbies farm animal set.

A pig on his own… could be used as one that wandered off… or one that’s particularly independent minded… or Gryllus the Pig from The Pig Scrolls…

An element of Spear for my New Kingdom Egyptian DBA/HOTT army (though for soe reason I think they may be classified as “Blade”… figures are from Wargames Foundry

More Egyptians from Wargames Foundry - these lot are, I think, supposed to be commanders – but I figured I could used them as henchmen in an Egyptian faction in Song of Shadows and Dust.

 

Still more Egyptians from Wargames Foundry - these are supposed to be two guys practicing sword play, but, again, I figured they could be passed off as club wielding goons in the violent streets of some Mediterranean city…

STILL more Egyptians from Wargames Foundry - some heavy hitters – armed with bow and Kopesh.

The last of the Egyptians from Wargames Foundry - a slave girl.

I also did a few old Mega Miniatures, which, I think, were from a “Sultan’s Harem” pack.

Coming soon on Tim’s Miniature Wargaming Blog:

Be nice if I could get back to gaming and posting reports… Hopefully by the end of the week… Otherwise – more Egyptians and other ancients! 

Egyptians, Nubians and… Superheroes?!

A few more odd items rolling off the workbench…

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Ancient Egyptians from  Black Tree Design.

I’m not sure how I ended up painting these and the Nubians below…? Perhaps I was thinking I’d play Of Gods and Mortals…? I’m sure it made sense at the time when I pulled them out of the drawer.

Nubian archers, also from Black Tree Design.

Nubian civilians from Wargames Foundry

After playing that first game of Power Legion last weekend I got to thinking I should paint up a few more of the old Super Hero figures I had kicking around.

A Super Hero from West Wind Productions.

And another Super Hero from West Wind Productions.

I should really make up some names and powers for them and stat them up! 

Coming soon on Tim’s Miniature Wargaming Blog:

I’m hoping to play a few games over the weekend – especially a few more play tests of Power Legion!

Scorpions

Giant Scorpions… Not like GIANT giant… but pretty gigantic for your average scorpion….

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These scorpions are form Black Tree Design

Just to give you a sense of HOW “giant” they are…

Coming soon on Tim’s Miniature Wargaming Blog:

PAVN Support

All Over the Place Again: Zulu War, WW2, Assorted Ancients, etc…

I had a fairly productive long weekend… Here’s some of the stuff I managed to finish up.

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Nubians from Black Tree Design. The multi-figure base is a Psiloi element for a Nubian DBA army, the other fellow is just a sapre I based up single for skirmishy gamin’ and to try out some different leopard print pattern… Still not totally happy with it.

As above; a Early Greek Hoplite DBA Psiloi Element and ancient Greek skirmish figure, also from Black Tree Design.

A WW2 Soviet NKVD Maxim team (also from Black Tree Design) – for those “There Shall Be NO Retreating” scenarios…

Dead Paras and a German (also from Black Tree Design).

More British/Canadian Paras. These are a mix of Black Tree Design, Artizan Designs, West Wind Productions, and Warlord Games Bolt Action Miniatures. I should do a Para Figure Comparison post… as I have Paras from five different manufacturers…

Still more British/Canadian Paras – a 6lb AT Gun and Crew from Artizan Designs. The crew I painted years ago, and only just finished up the gun!?

British Infantry from the Zulu War (also from Black Tree Design). The chap on the larger stand is a casualty marker – I like to do them on larger bases so that it is clear that it is a marker and not just another infantrymen (especially ones, like this that aren’t prone!)

I suppose the fellow with the amputated leg could also be a casualty/morale failture marker… but it doesn’t look like it was “on the spot”. He looks like he was cleaned up and bandaged up nice and neat some time after the damage to his leg… Actually the more I look at that figure the more odd I think it… Why is someone with a fresh leg amputation hobbling about in full uniform – with his uniform trousers tucked into the bandages!? Makes no sense to me…

A modern(-ish) African Warlord/General from The Assault Group.

Defenders of the Galaxy. The Yoda figure is an official Grenadier Miniatures/West End Games Star Wars figure, the others are from Hasslefree Miniatures.

Coming soon on Tim’s Miniature Wargaming Blog:

I have an odd assortment of items populating the painting space: More WW2 (Germans, British/Canadian Paras, and Soviets, mostly – some alive, some not-so-alive…), Mounted Boers, Greek Cavalry, Greek Hoplites and Psiloi, More Nubians, assorted Star Wars characters, Those Greek Ships, Ashigaru Spearmen, Vietnam ANZACs, Amazons,  more Hellboy charactrers, … oh , the list goes on… Which I will finish up next…? Who knows!? Probably time to clean off the workbench and put some of those back into storage so I can FOCUS… although, NOT FOCUSING this past weekend has turned out to be fairly productive!? 

Egyptians

Just to switch gears for a bit, I painted up a few New Kindgom Egyptians yesterday…

Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)

This is an element of Spearmen from Wargames Foundry for my NKE DBA army (though I think they’re classified as “Blade” in DBA).

A couple of civilians for role-playing/skirmishing/occupying camps…

Coming soon on Tim’s Miniature Wargaming Blog:

More paintin’… Not sure what…? Some Hellboy Miniatures arrived today so I’m sure they’ll work their way onto the workbench very shortly… 

Assorted Ancients

A I’ve been working on some Greek and Amazon Hoplites… but managed to finish up a number of various ancient gods, heroes, and civilians in the meantime…

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First, a few goddesses from Wargames Foundry - from left to right are; Demeter, Aphrodite (with her precious Golden Apple) and Hestia.

Some slightly less that divine Greek Women. The three more voluptuous ones on the left are also from the Foundry. The two malnourished waifs on the right are from Warlord Games.

One of the Argonauts from the Foundry. I liked their colour scheme of black and bronze so I went with that…

A few Romans. The two in front are from Crusader Miniatures. I picked them up last summer during our Gladiator Campaign. The chap on the right I figured would be Ludus owner – some Neveau-riche pimp-daddy trying to look rich by wearing as much gold as he can but just looking gaudy… I just picked up Cthulhu Invictus… thought these guys might be handy…

Their attendant servant is from Wargames Factory.

Some ripped Egyptian Priest from Crocodile Games.

A not-so-ancient (more Dark Ages) Spanish noble – also from Crusader Miniatures.

 Coming soon on Tim’s Miniature Wargaming Blog:

 More ancients… Probably Greeks and Amazons…

 Ugh... not a fan of the new changes to blogger....

Greek Hoplite General Element (and others)

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)


A General element for Greek Hoplite army #2 (most of these are from Black Tree Design though the hornblower is from Crusader Miniatures)…


Why do a General Element for #2 whan I haven’t even completed #1…? Well… A while back I painted up minis for an element of BTD hoplites – just so see how many I could fit on a stand. Anyone who was paying far too much attention, however, will have noticed that in the preview of the shields post I’d done just before that, there was eight hoplites… but I only fit seven on the element… So I’ve had a single hoplite kicking around on the workbench – finished – and still on the temporary painting base…


I thought I’d best finish off a few more to complete an element… Of course, I didn’t actually finish off six more though – I used two that had been previously painted and based individually and rebased them onto the element with four newly painted figures!? (the guy pointing and the hornblower from Crusader Minis).

If you're wondering what I mean by "Greek Hoplite army #1" and "Greek Hoplite army #2", I've purchased enough 28mm minis for two Greek Hoplite Armies - with 8 figures per element of Spear. One army is made up of figures from Crusader Miniatures, the other is made up of figures from Black Tree Design. My plan is to get cracking on the Crusader Miniatures army and get them finished up in the next couple weeks. AFter that I'll concentrate on the second... or maybe the Amazons... We shall see...


A couple more Greeks and an Amazon– all from Wargames Foundry

Coming soon on Tim’s Miniature Wargaming Blog:

Looks like I might get a game in later this week… hopefully have a game report of that!

Before that though I should hopefully finish up a few more individually based Greeks and get them posted up – and hoefully get some skirmish gaming in with those some time soonish… (those reports you’ll find over at Savage Timmy’s Playhouse)