Category Archives: Scenery

Blotz Highways

Blotz have got some fairly impressive new highway pieces available.  These roadways are suitable for any 10mm modern or sci-fi game system such as Dropzone Commander or similar.  The ramps have a 2 inch raise over about 8 inches which looks right on the table and gives a a gentle enough slope for vehicles to stay on.  As with the rest of Blotz stuff these are laser cut MDF

https://www.facebook.com/BlotzTerrain/photos/pcb.423595121129789/423594914463143/?type=1&theater

They are available from their website;

http://blotz.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=23_57_111

Taken from their Facebook update;

“New pieces are 1-lane on/off ramps, 30 degree curves and broken sections along with an entry/exit section for the 2-lane flyover (depending on which side of the road you drive on). Can be used to add a ramp to a different level (see pic) or simply to whizz off using the 1-lane flyover sections to elsewhere on the board.
All are now available via the website.”

 

 

Kickstarter Update – Spartan Games cancels Modular Terrain

Spartan Games have pulled their recent Kickstarter Initiative for the ‘Universal Modular War-games Terrain

Taken from the last update;

“Spartan Games has chosen to end its Modular Terrain Kickstarter project after feedback from customers and potential backers sent us back to the drawing board. We’ve always been firm fans of listening to customer feedback, and what became clear with our Kickstarter was that different parts of our project appealed in different ways to gamers, with our concept of generic terrain not hitting enough sweet spots.”

Kickstarter Update – New Wargames and Boardgames outlook

This is just a round up of some of the wargames and game stuff on Kickstarter which caught my attention this week.

 

Spartan Games: Universal Modular Wargames Terrain

On the wargames front there is a new terrain system from Spartan Games (of Dystopian Wars fame).  This is a modular scenery system using plastic bases and up-rights which have printed card inserts slotted in to make the floors and walls (and doorways etc.)  The designs cover a variety of themes including medieval, sci-fi, modern,  and a ‘woodeny’ western/mine theme.  Prices don’t looks like they will break the bank.  Coupled with resin and acrylic upgrades as well as the ability to stack these units into multi-level features looks like this will offer a wide modular system.  My reservations were the look of the modular up-rights but Spartan seem to be responding to this feedback and the final solutions will be a lot more discrete and aesthetically pleasing.  My other concern was the amount of time it would take to set up the terrain for an evening  club game.  If you have appropriate storage I suppose most of the set-up could be prepared in advance.  Worth a look with basic sets really starting at £50 for 3′ by 3′ and £70 for 4′ by 4′.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/921886974/spartan-games-universal-modular-wargames-terrain

 

Space Cadets Away Missions

This is a miniature heavy retro sci-fi game with the players taking on the role of ships crew exploring space. The game has a starting entry of $60 which also seems to cover worldwide shipping as well.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/strongholdgames/space-cadets-away-missions?ref=category_popular

From the Kickstarter page;

Space Cadets: Away Missions is a cooperative, scenario-based, tactical action game set in the Golden Age of science fiction. In this game, the third standalone title in the Space Cadets franchise of cooperative/team space-themed games from Stronghold Games, players take on the roles of adventurous human spacemen (“Rocketeers”) who explore UFOs, acquire alien technology and fight hordes of hostile extraterrestrials.’

 

Don’t Turn Your Back

This is a worker placement/deck building card game based in the Don’t Rest Your Head roleplaying game world.  Anticipate a cost of $70 ($40 for the game and $30 postage!)  there is also an ink-intensive Pn’P for $10.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/evilhat/dont-turn-your-back?ref=category_popular

This looks to be a very intriguing game and the Print and Play may be worth a look if you live outside the USA.

 

Among the Stars: Revival

This is an expansion game for the previously successful ‘Among the Stars’ game.  Whilst the funding arrangements do allow you to get the original game for $140 (along with a host of expansions and stretch goals) you can play the Revival expansion as a stand-alone game and only need to find $40.  Being European the postage is already included which is always a pleasant surprise given the horrific uplift which the US projects usually apply to their postage to the UK.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/241478362/among-the-stars-revival?ref=category_popular

From the Kickstarter page

Players use a card drafting mechanism, select location cards, place them on their station, and score victory points according to where in the station they place them. Construction lasts 4 rounds and the player with the most points in the end wins the game.

The rules can be taught in less than 5 minutes and each game lasts approximately 30 minutes.

 

The Great War

This is a a new venture by The Plastic Soldier Company along with Richard Borg to produce a World War One boardgame based upon the Memoir’44 game engine (also see Battle Cry – ACW, Commands and Colors Ancients, Command and Colors Napoleonics, and possibly Battle Lore).  The game should be sound as it’s been tried and tested in multiple formats already, and the figures will be coming from The Plastic Soldier Company so the components should be of a high standard.

Funding really starts at around £60 for the game (you can fund a host of T-Shirts and miniatures for less).  The stretch goals don’t look particularly sexy and I’m unsure how the £60 fares against what the final commercial price will be but worth a look all the same.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1992455033/the-great-war-0?ref=category_popular

 

 

Print Your Own Cargo Containers

I needed a reasonably large amount of scenery in very short order a while ago so made up a template for some steel cargo containers.  These aren’t anything clever and definitely very simple to put together – it is just simply a long box.

The attached template is a simple Powerpoint slide in black and white.  To add colour simply print out the slides onto coloured card.

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I needed my containers for a Judge Dredd campaign so I decorated them with appropriate adverts etc. relevant to Megacity One.  The containers have seen a fair amount of use so I probably should have straightened out some of the containers before photographing them.

Vid Reporters capture the Judges arrest of the Ape Gang.

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Click on attachment here for powerpoint slides.

Cargo Container lite

 

 

Constructing a Caravanserai

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Constructing a Caravanserai or ‘Serai’

Caravanserais were a common feature of the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asian landscape from Medieval through to near modern times. They were more often than not quite simple affairs designed to provide security and refreshment along the many trade routes. They were usually spaced a days travel apart or at major crossroads. If the region was disputed these compounds could take on a more martial role with stronger and higher walls as well as fortified towers and parapets.

 

This design is for one of the more common examples. This one has been constructed for North West India but with some simple adjustments, mainly to the gateway it could easily be made to represent one of the multitude of other caravanserais in other areas. This basic structure has a basic hollow box square compound with four walls surrounding a courtyard containing the well.

 

The dimensions have been specified to enable decent space for figures to be placed without significant danger of them falling from the walls.

Tools

  • Cutting board or surface
  • Metal straight edge ruler with handle
  • Sharp knife/scalpel (preferably with new blade)
  • Ruler + pencil
  • Set- square
  • PVA wood glue
  • Masking tape
  • Plaster/filler with the means of applying it such as a spatula, paint knife or large brish
  • Sand to mix into plaster
  • 30mm circular tube or compass (or similar) to describe the arches
  • Sewing pins (small heads)

Components

5mm Foam-board

Exterior Walls

  • 2 x 300mm x 100mm
  • 2 x 290mm x 100mm

Interior Walls

  • 2 x 290mm x 70mm
  • 2 x 190mm x 70mm

4 archways should be cut into each of the interior walls where they face into the inner courtyard – except for the wall containing the main gate. These archways will need to be 50mm at their highest and 25mm wide.

Roofs/walkways

  • 2 x 290mm x 50mm
  • 2 x 190mm x 50mm

Courtyard Well

  • 4 x 60mm x 10mm

Baseboard – thin ply

  • 320mm x 320mm

Coloured felt or fine striped material for interior curtains

Mount-board card for constructing main gates 2 x 90mm x 70mm as well as interior doors (2 x 40mm x 25mm) – refer to the sample templates. Alternatively 4Ground do a very useful set of 12 doors.

Mount board or thin balsa for the tiling around the top of the courtyard well (4 * 6mm x 60mm). Lightly score tile impressions into the card using a ball-point pen and ruler.

Construction

  1. Glue exterior walls using the set-square to ensure edges are at 90 degrees to each other.
  2. Tip – use masking tape to secure the joins whilst the glue is drying. Joins can be reinforced by bracing them with the small-headed sewing pins through the two pieces of foam board.
  3. Glue in long interior walls and roofs.
  4. Glue short interior walls and roofs.
  5. Attach gateways and interior doorways.
  6. Dress walls with plaster/sand mix.       Apply with reasonable coverage using a spatula or paint knife. Don’t be afraid to create texture by dragging the knife or stippling with a thick brush.
  7. Tip – to achieve a more ‘organic’ and slightly worn appearance use your knife to remove the straight corners and apply slight divots into the corners prior to applying any of the plaster. This removes the rather engineered sharp corners and suggests a more mud/adobe feel once the plaster has been applied.
  8. Gently sand down the walls to remove any excess flaky plaster
  9. Tip – once sanded down apply a watered down PVA covering to the entire model to secure the plaster before any paint is applied. This should protect the model from any rough handling and stop the plaster falling off.
  10. Assemble courtyard well and attach top tiles.
  11. Paint. If PVA has been applied to the entire model earlier then spray paints can be used without damage to the foam core, otherwise apply a simple undercoat. Use of progressive lighter shades either by angled sprays, or dry-brush will finish the main painting required for the walls and walkways. Paint the gateways and doors a dark brown weathered wood effect.
  12. The baseboard should be dressed and painted as appropriate to the region which it is intended for.
  13. Cut and attach the coloured felt to the interior faces of the arches surrounding the inner courtyard.

 

Use of this model in Wargames

This model was originally constructed to support my interest in the Indian Mutiny (1857-1858). Two of the earlier battles involved serais, the Battle of Budli-ke-Serai on 8th June 1857 (the give away is in the name), and the Battle of Najafgarh on 25th August 1857. In both incidents the serais were central to the Mutineers battle plans representing the focus for their defences.

Comments

Attachments to come include;

  • Templates for walls, roofs, and well
  • Templates for gates and doors

Photos of finished model

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The Siege of Barwarie – Water Tower

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The Siege of Barwarie had a few significant features which ought to be incorporated within any game, including the various bungalows, but the most significant item which cannot be missed is the actual water tower where the Brits ended up defending.

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I have attached a powerpoint slide which can be printed off in A4 (unsure of appropriate scaling for US).  It is composed of three elements, the main central building and two side rooms.  This model was derived directly from the newspaper article of the day which was meant to reflect the notes and drawings of Mr Ryves who survived the event.

Barwarie Station Template – stripped

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Avoid Hotz Mats – I repeat avoid Hots Mats

This is just a quick flag to anyone considering ordering some mats from Hotz Mats.  I am still waiting 9 months after placing my original order in February 2014.

I ordered 4 mats and some fields and after some waiting got the first 2 mats and fields in July.  After chasing up again in August I got a reply in September to say that they had just moved studios and so they were experiencing some chaos at their end but things would soon get back to normal and he’d confirm where my mats were.

Despite several chasing e-mails being sendt subsequently from myself and my colleague we haven’t received any acknowledgement back since, and so have not confirmed status as to where I stand.

If the mats ever turn up I will be grateful, but in the mean time please take this as fair warning to avoid this aggravation for yourself and find some other supplier.  If you do find an alternative please let me know.

More on Andy’s Nissen Huts – part 2

Well I just received a few more details about Andy’s Nissen Huts.  In addition to the hut which I referenced in the last posts pictures Andy has already designed 2 further types which I have included the 3D images for.

Each of the huts is a single piece resin casting,

  • Length 136mm,
  • Height 37mm
  • width 77mm

Price: £7.50/each, or three for £20

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The are two more designed

  • one has industrial doors one end and large skylight windows down one side,
  • the other is more a hospital/barracks building as it has 4 windows down each side and doors/windows each end.

Dimensions are same for all models (nissen was a kit build after all, and only the ends and windows etc vary)

You can buy them from The Scene (http://thesceneuk.com)

Direct link to shop:  http://thesceneuk.com/product-category/buildings/15mm-nissen-huts/

Mike at The Scene is a very pleasant chap and will be able to answer any questions which you might have.

More on Andy’s Nissen Huts

I mentioned the great 15mm/18mm Nissen Huts from Andy and I’ve now got some pictures and more details.

He has a few different models going into production, but the first one available.  Here are just a few examples from a recent All Quiet on the Martian Front game held at Andy’s house.

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