MINI WARGAMING: "Barbary Pirates Are Back!" (23 June 2008)

.

TOP: The workbench is cluttered as usual!

Hi All,

Well, any weekend I get to work on the hobby is a good one and I was able to spend a good amount of this past weekend working on miniatures projects.

The above photo is of a 1'x1' project board loaded up with models. On the far right is a Flagship Games resin ship loaded up with some of my 28mm undead pirate crew. To the upper left of the photo are some armored orcs that I picked up cheaply awhile back. And most of the rest of that project board is covered with orcs that I am converting to become a 28mm fantasy pirate crew.

As a side note, I picked up the "project board" practice from an old gamer buddy of mine named Kris. He would buy a cheap sheet of chipboard and have it cut up into rough 1'x1' sheets. The typical 2' x4' sheet yields eight "project boards" They're sort of like building puzzles on a flat piece of card board. By working on the "project boards" I save my tabletops and they make it easy to move projects around. At any rate, I found it a good idea years ago and am still using them to the present day. Thanks, Kris!

I've also been saving spare plastic 20mmx20mm mini bases for my fellow blogger and gamer, Drunken Samurai. If you've never checked out his blog, I highly recommend you do so. He does some pretty neat work.

Drunken Samurai URL located here:

http://dspaintingblog.blogspot.com/

Please excuse the low quality of the photos. I was having some difficulty with my digital camera and decided to go with low-quality shots rather than have none to share.

TOP: 25mm Barbary Pirate crew - mostly RAFM Ottomans and pirates.

Well, I'm up to almost 30 Barbary pirate figures at this point divided into two crews of fifteen men each. The above unit is mostly equipped with firearms. I got a deal on some old RAFM Turk and Ottoman figures so the latest acquisition really plumped out my tiraleurs (riflemen). The last batch proved difficult to work with, but this batch was a breeze. I'll update this post later with product numbers.

I haven't found a good ship for these fellows yet, but I have an extra galley or two that might do the trick.

TOP: 28mm Barbary pirate crew: mostly old RAFM.

The above lot is mostly a close-combat crew armed with cutlasses and various small arms. The two gorilla-like corsairs had their weapon swaps repositioned to stick straight up so that they'll rank better. The RAFM figures are definitely older 25mm ones and they are puny compared to "heroic sculpts" of 28mmm or larger scale.

TOP: 28mm armored orcs ... in need of headgear!

And the last batch if figures that I worked on have been orcs for my nephew Vincent's upcoming 28mm fantasy orc army. I picked up this batch of armored orcs used somewhere... I think that they are Harlequin / Black Tree although they might also be RAFM. I have a bunch of GW Bretonnian heads with nice medieval helms in my bitz box so I'm planning to add headgear to these fellows in the near future.

Have a great Monday!

And good gaming to you!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

MINI WARGAMING: 28mm Barbary Pirates (27 April 2008)

.

TOP: My work bench is as cluttered as ever!

Hi All,

Sorry for not having updated recently... as I might have previously mentioned, I've put most of my efforts into finding a new job and pay dirt finally hit. After going to what seemed like about a million interviews, I finally got picked up and started a new job just this past week. It's a good job and came with much better pay, a shorter commute, and a great, new boss. In other words, I'm very happy and that means I can start putting my "job search" energy back into my blog! Huzzah!

Gaming has been good and the April MWS meeting was nothing short of fantastic. We had something like six games, which I'll have to write about later. Several of the local guys have taken a keen interest in FOG (Field of Glory), Osprey's new ancients rule set. That excites me since I've put alot of energy in to building some ancients armies this year, specifically a Samurai army, a barbarian army, and an Arab army. I'm looking forward to getting those minis into action!

Among my gaming musing lately has been the 28mm pirate project I've been working on. I now have a goodly-sized 28mm undead pirate crew built to complement my historical crews. I have also got an Orc / Goblin crew planned, but only a few fellows built so far. And the latest idea to captivate me has been the idea to build a 28mm Barbary Pirates / Corsairs crew and ship. I still have now firm idea what to use for a ship since the Xebec is so distinctive and noone makes a perfect match in 28mm that I'm aware of yet; I might just have to scratch-build one...

I posted in several forums soliciting advice:

Here:

http://forum.backofbeyond.de/viewtopic.php?t=5148

And here among others:

http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=140000

But enough of my writing, please allow me share some minis photos with you:

TOP: Three RAFM Corsairs...

My find of three packs of the above minis are what inspired me to start a Barbary Pirates / Corsairs project. The package was labelled RAFM JT-10 CORSAIRS and came with three crewmen. The kneeling, be-turban'ed fellow on the left is armed with a musket. The center fellow is a truly gruesome sculpt with an oddly proportioned body (huge head, Popeye-like arms, etc.), but nevertheless I like 'im! His left hand comes with a pistol while his right has an oddly positioned knife. I think I'll be modifying him. The fellow on the right looks more properly Colonial Egyptian with a fez, baggy clothes, and a cutlass. Again, I think I'll play with some weapon swaps with this guy and perhaps reposition his head.

With the exception of the middle guy, the other two figures are decidedly old-school 25mm and wouldn't fit in perfectly the the overgrown scale-creep 28mm pirate figures made by most manufacturers these days. However, I'm not so picky so they'll do fine by me... even if some of their crew mates will have been obviously eating their Wheaties and genetically modified "Frankenfood."

TOP: A mix of motley old North-African & Arab sailors...

The above three figures have come from used bins and off trades for some time. The fellow holding a small chest of loot on the left is unidentified although he looks like an old 25mm Hinchcliff to me. The fellow in the middle is Ral Partha and he needs a new spear tip, of which I have a few waiting in my bitz box for him. And the fellow on the right who looks suspiciously like Sinbad came from a 1980's Grenadier line if I'm not mistaken.

TOP: 28mm Sudanese Spearmen...

My Arab WAB army is all but done with nearly 95% of the figures painted. I'm re-basing some off of fender washers onto some Litko 20mmx20mm's that I ordered. These 28mm Sudanese Spearmen are probably Artisan and Gripping Beast, but I'm not sure which are which. While they are meant for 28mm WAB El Cid, I'll have them double up for Crusades Saracens as well... And who knows, a few might even join the Barbary Pirates...

TOP: Another batch of old Arab warriors...

The above based lot have come from a variety of trades and flea markets. I have no idea who manufactured them except for the un-primed fellow leading the unit. He is Gripping Beast and out of a command pack if I'm not mistaken. Behind the Arab warriors, are some cheap plastic plants I based on fender washers.

TOP: The un-washed (...and un-primed) masses of undead pirate crew...

And lastly, the last photo is of some undead pirate crew along with Flagship Games ships in progress. The crew come from a variety of sources including Reaper, Black Cat Minis, Moonlight Minis and others.

May your gaming be good and...

Have a great Sunday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (...if it is indeed an infringement).

GAMING NEWS: "LOTHS Is Here!" (27 February 2008)

TOP: LOTHS is a mighty fine tome!

Hi All,

Well, my copy of Warhammer Historical Legends of the High Seas (LOTHS) came in today and I'm very impressed with it. The production value is very high and after a few glances, I still have yet to find a typo. Another bonus is that the language is understandable and lavishly illustrated with diagrams. And for us miniature mavens, the most important detail of all is there... it is richly filled with photos of well-painted 28mm miniature pirates, pirate ships, and terrain.

After a cursory reading of it, I'm also impressed with the rules. They aren't quite as fast-play as Pirates! from Flagship Games, but they are about as quick-play as I think anyone could make a game using the Warhammer engine. The color text and character rules for heroes and the like are well-done... I can't wait to give them a good run-down at my local club. The campaign rules also look to be very entertaining. However, like most Warhammer games, LOTHS is a D6 based game. I've never liked the probability range on a D6 or even 2D6, but that's small price to pay for such a well written and produced rule set.

I ordered my copy from Black Scorpion Miniatures:

http://www.blackscorpionminiatures.com/

And took advantage of a deal to not only get LOTHS, but also two FREE minis as a promotional deal: a cabin boy and a captain! I would like to commend Black Scorpion Miniatures for excellent service.

LOTHS has its own Yahoo E-group here:

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/LotHighSeas/

And I couldn't write about 28mm pirates without mentioning two of my other favorite pirate manufacturers:

http://www.flagshipgames.com/

http://www.blackcatbases.com/

I have received excellent service for many years from Flagship Games and over the last year from Black Cat Bases. Most of my ships are Flagship Games beauties and most of my newer crew will be based on resin bases from Black Cat Bases. Long live the Pirates!

Have a great Wednesday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

P.S.
I also wanted to mention the awesome new 28mm pirate ship that my fellow 6mm miniatures fan, Kieran made. Link here:
http://6mm.wargaming.info/page1010.shtml

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (...if it is indeed an infringement).

MINI WARGAMING: "28mm Pirate Ship Coming Together" (26 December 2007)

.

TOP: Master Necromancer Maksimok's shipyards.

Hi Everyone,

One of the projects I have been enjoying the most lately has been a 28mm pirate ship.

I was browsing E-bay one day and found it for considerably under a C-spot ($100.00 USD) and decided to lowball the bid and miraculously I WON! So, the next thing I know, the pirate ship arrives and my work bench is covered in the undead, which effectively meant that the pirate ship project was forced to wait.

TOP: A dark PIRATE SHIP appears out of the foggy night!

So then a work colleague and friend, Cheri, calls me and, knowing I speak Spanish, asks me to tutor her daughter, Keri, in Spanish language studies so I came and started working with her. After a tutoring lesson one day, Keri chats me up a bit and asks how I liked the most recent "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie. I mentioned that I enjoyed it and was even building a pirate ship model. This intrigued them and Cheri offered to lend me her corner table so I could build it with them... so I did. The next thing I know I started assembling a pirate ship at my friend's apartment with a teenage assistant who wanted to learn the craft. I started learning the parts of the ship, teaching my assistant nautical terminology, and, at the same time, teaching hobby skills.

And it's slowly coming together...

TOP: The aft castle has adornment made out of cheap jewelry charms.
TOP: Shaping the fore castle railing took some work...

The white tubes sticking up are mountings for masts.

The ship itself is an out-of-production 28mm model from Merrimack Miniatures / Old Glory called the adventure galley. I have slowly been cleaning it up and customizing it. I plan to use it with the excellent Pirates! rule set from my friends at Flagship Games, so I've built the masts to be removable. The masts are made from 3/8" dowels that fit snugly into 7/16" hollow plastic tubing.

TOP: The ship is coming together as seen from the side.
Both the fore and aft castles are removable...
With cabins accessible underneath them.
TOP: From this angle, you can see...
The cabin under the fore castle...
Has a custom bulkhead installed.

There is also custom railing, a hand-made front bulkhead and more.

I haven't decided what sort of crew to populate her from yet... I have three in mind:

1. A traditional, historical human pirate crew.

2. A demi-human, mostly Orc pirate crew.

3. A skeleton & zombie undead pirate crew.

Keri likes the undead crew best. I'm of a mind to keep the ship flexible and allow all three crews on board... just not at the same time!

Here are some 28mm pirate links for you:

Flagship Games link:

http://www.flagshipgames.com/

Old Glory Miniatures link:

http://www.oldgloryminiatures.com/

Pirate Wargames Yahoo discussion E-group:

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/PirateWargames/

The rest of my 28mm pirate ship photos at my Photobucket image gallery:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f23/Maksim-Smelchak/28mm_Pirates/

Have a root'in toot'in great Wednesday!
And happy holidays!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (...if it is indeed an infringement).

HUMOUR: "Nice Jugs, Want Some Beer?" (25 October 2007)

.

TOP: "Nice Jugs, want some Beer?"
"Now that's what I call a few Jugs of Beer!"

Hi All,

Now there's talent and then there's TALENT! This must be about Reason #23 to make sure that you attend a local Renaissance Faire at least once... Of course, Oktoberfest often provides the same fare... Either way, a site to see is a sight to see.

If you'd like to see more photos like this one, this is the place:
http://www.humorpix.com/images/2423-Nice-jugs.html

Have a great Thursday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

P.S.

Happy birthday to my friend Thomas F. from Flagship Games!

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

MINI WARGAMING: Traitorous "Tzeentsh" Titans From L-4!

. TOP: One of the Titans from L-4's awesome "Tzeentsh" legions.

Hi All,

My buddy L-4 is always working on something or another... ever since he retired from the Army, he spends part of his time at the gym, whether working or working out, and practically the rest of the time modelling and/or playing games. I've known him for something like over a decade now and seen him develop from a basic painter and customizer (...like me!) to a master in his own rights (...unlike me!). Today I'm going o showcase two of this latest creations, both Epic Titans, giant robots, made for the traitorous "Tzeentsh" legions of L-4's home-brew 6mm sci-fi gaming background.

The first Titan to be featured is one I call "Sorcerer's Bird of Prey," a four-winged walker with limited jump capability, medium to heavy armament and a bad attitude!

TOP: A front view of the "Sorcerer's Bird of Prey."TOP: A side view of the "Sorcerer's Bird of Prey."

TOP: The "Sorcerer's Bird of Prey" as it might appear to an enemy.

And the second Titan to be featured is one I call "The Master's Eerie Mount," a two-legged, two-armed walker with little to no jump capability, very heavy armament and an equally bad attitude!

TOP: A left side view of the "The Master's Eerie Mount."

TOP: A right side view of the "The Master's Eerie Mount."

TOP: A rear view of the "The Master's Eerie Mount"...

...accentuating it's rear defense turret.

TOP: A top view of the "The Master's Eerie Mount."

These basic chassis of these Titans were both made by the now out of print Seventh Street Games, which later turned into Flagship Games. L-4 mined his near-endless bitz box for pieces and decals, which he used to transform these cool models. Believe it or not, the mecha were originally AZTEC mecha in the Spirit Warrior background! While Seventh Street Games is out of business, Flagship Games is still alive and well although the miniatures themselves are most likely still out of print. If you wanted a couple, I'd recommend first making an inquiry with Flagship and then going to Noble Knight Games if Flagship doesn't have any.

You can find the Flagship Games site here:
http://www.flagshipgames.com/

You can find the Noble Knight Games site here:
http://www.nobleknight.com/default.asp

You can find all of the photos of L-4's "Tzeentsh" Titans here:
http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f248/Legion4/Tzeentch%20Titans/

Have a great Friday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

GAMING NEWS: A Tale From The New World of Lustria!

.A view from the endless jungles and swamps of Lustria.

Hi All,

My latest gaming enjoyment has come from a Warhammer Fantasy Battles (WHFB) / Mordheim / Warhammer Fantasy Skirmish gaming campaign I’ve been playing with guys from the local DodT club… it’s been a blast. And, of course, we’re only about a year late and a few Dollars short since GW ran their Lustria campaign season AT LEAST a year ago, but what the heck! We’re having a good time! One of the little joys from the campaign has been to read some pretty fantastic short fiction written in the form of battle reports from our campaign.

Here’s a gem that I really enjoyed:

“First Blood: A Story From One Of the Empire’s Conquistadors”
By: Mr. Thomas Foss Esquire the Third

Defender of the Realm, Drinker of Fine Beer & Clown-o-phobe.

It was hot - dreadfully hot. It reminded Captain Jan Carlos Flikker of standing next to the Heretic fires with his mother, back in his homeland of Castillia. Now he was wading through jungles and swamps halfway across the world, scouting for an elector count and trying to earn enough gold to get back his commission and form a new regiment of pistoliers. To do that, you curry favor of the Count - and that means gold and weird stone - and lots of it. And everyone knows that both are flowing out of the New World known as Lustria!

“Captain - we have found some ruins!” called out one of his swordsmen.

Flikker’s small but able scout party, like his own bloodline, was a mix of Castillian and Marienburger soldiers. Hire the best swordsmen and the best marksmen, and you get a war band that can deal with most anything.

As the group of ten soldiers fanned out into the clearing, the scouting party could see two temples, one about the size of a house, the other the size of a small church. Between them in the center was a large rectangular stone pool. It actually looked clean enough to be inviting. One of his three marksmen pointed his musket towards the opposite edge of the jungle. Movement - lots of it.

Like a lancer at full gallop, half dozen brightly colored lizards sprang from the jungle and dove into the pool with barely a splash. To both left and right larger lizard creatures, one with a brilliant red fan crest, bounded and skittered towards the warriors, using the jungle’s edge for cover. With professional ease, Flikker ordered his three gunners to shoot the creatures swimming towards them in the pool, the angle of fire was difficult, affecting no hits. The rest of the party fanned out to both sides, pistols, axes and swords ready.

Franz, one of the champions, was hit by an arrow but it glanced off of his armor and only knocked him down. A hail of small arrows erupted from the pool raining down on a gunner that did not make it to cover in time; he fell with an arrow through his throat.

Two large lizards broke out on the right flank and charged the Castillian swordsmen, who managed to hold them off and return blows. Firing his pistol into the pool at the swarm of small lizards who were the cause of the bow fire, Flikker and two of his heroes ran to the aid of the swordsmen, only to be knocked down and stunned by another hail of arrows. At the same time a swordsman ran his blade clean through a big lizard.

Franz, halberd in hand got the attention of the lizards in the pool by standing alone at the edge and taunting them. The small lizards stopped their firing for a moment and looked up at him, giving the marksmen just enough time to draw bead and drop two of them. Blood started mixing with the water.

On the Left flank, held only by an archer and the champion Carl, who was also knocked down by bow fire, came three man-sized lizards - one of them appearing to cast spells. Before they could get too close, Carl fired his pistol dropping one on the ground with a huge hole it it’s chest. A loud bellow rang from the Lizard with the red crest- his throat expanded into a large ball, reminding Flikker of a frog, or that Nurgling that exploded when he shot it, a few campaigns ago. All the lizards heard it too - and just as quickly as they closed in on the war band, they skittered away and into the jungle, leaving one of their own floating in the pool.

Carl helped revive one of his swordsmen who got clobbered by a large stone club. The hand gunner was not so fortunate, having bled out from the neck wound. After securing the perimeter and chastising one of the marksmen for even asking if the lizards were good eating, Flikker sat down, took off his boots and dangled his feet in the water. “Go search the temple, lads. Anything shiny belongs to us!”

It was going to be a long campaign, but after this skirmish the coffers were much fuller. Now to see about replacements - luckily the army has plenty of hand gunners.

And here’s a short and very probably incomplete list of our players with their armies and “action film” names:

The Dagger Brothers
Aron C. – Vampire Counts
“Ritchie Dagger”
Nils – Beast of Chaos
“Harry Dagger”
Thomas F. – Empire
“Perry Dagger”

The Butz Brothers
John R. – Lizardmen
“Seymour Butz”
Peter G. – Wood Elves
“Harry Butz”
Rob B. - Lizardmen
"Lakshmi Butz"

The Other Brothers
John S. – Slann
“Johnny Sunnyside”
Maksim-Smelchak –
Vampire Counts
“Ezer Shtuyot”
(Hebrew for "What rubbish!")
R-Cap - Skaven
“Mike Rotch”

And the story itself was written by none other than the infamous Thomas Foss, one of the proprietors of Flagship Games, one of the most fun game companies around and the creators of Pirates!, Gunfight! and a number of other well-loved gaming rule sets.

You can learn more about Flagship Games here:
http://www.flagshipgames.com/

Have a great Thursday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

P.S.
Hi Rod & Karly!

P.S.S.
I’m going to Rivercats baseball game tonight so I’m excited – my first professional baseball game ever! Peanuts and Cracker Jacks and all that!

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

GAMING NEWS: The Shield Convention Report & More...

Hi Guys,

As many of you might know I attended The Shield gaming convention this past weekend and had a good time.

Here's a short encapsulation of the convention:

Hi Mike,

I attended (Saturday-only) and had a good time... definitely $10.00 USD worth, although not $20.00 USD worth.

I only played in two games:
1. Pirates Games hosted by Flagship Games guys.
2. DBA Tournament.

I felt that there was good vendor attendence for a smaller convention and ran into tons of friends that I've made over the years. I didn't see Ron's B-17 game (Avalon Hills B-17 Queen Of the Skies) although I did see him and his son.

One of the odder things I encountered was there being no registration when I arrived. I actually had to track down Manny (the convention director) to pay him!

If I had to capture the feel of The Shield, I would call it a slightly larger and more glorified MWS meeting... nothing fantastic, but there was plenty of good, clean and fun gaming.

I would go again.

=================

The big reason I attended the convention was to play in the DBA tournament with my friend Dick. Dick was kind enough to bring armies for both of us. He played a Roman army and I played an Indian army.

The DBA torunament rules can be found here at The Shield web site:

http://www.geocities.com/ancientconference2004/conference_002.htm

Northern California 15mm DBA Tournament
- (4) Rounds
- DBA Version 2.2
- Preset Terrain
- BUA's treated as bad going and all BUA rules ignored.
- No dismounting during the game by armies capable: must be dismounted at deployment.
- 2 Variations of army list may be used.
- Rounds will begin at 6pm on Sat.

I used the following Indian lists:

We were allowed two different variations of one list:

#1.
x1 Elephant general
x2 Elephants
x2 Chariots
x2 Cavalry
x5 Bow

#2.
x1 Elephant general
x2 Elephants
x2 Cavalry
x6 Bow
x1 Blade

I may be off a unit or two, but that's it or close to it off the top of my head.

The biggest news for me on a personal level was that I WON the torunament!

I really wasn't expecting to do well... let alone win.

I think I was out-maneauvered and out-strategized almost every match, but...

I wasn't out-fought!

Sometimes, that's enough...

==================

One of the bigger vendors there was Monday Knight Productions:

http://www.mondayknight.com/

I spent most of my "play money" with them and came out with quite a lot for my purchase... several stackable Battletech buildings, some small starfighters, some 6mm MAATAAC AFVs, a bunch of mini bases, and a 25mm resin vehicle.

The 25mm vehicle I ended up with was a big six-wheeled high-mobility affair. I couldn't find a link to it in 25mm, but I found its 6mm counterpart:

http://www.gtns.co.uk/store1....0.12070

It's product code and name are: DSM-115 STRIKER MMRAV rocket artillery vehicle (MRL)

The top hull comes in two pieces and I'll covert a flatbed cargo area for the rear of mine to take the place of the rocket launcher. I plan to make the rear flatbed module magnetic so that I can switch the rocket launcher and cargo module in and out.

I'll be using the 25mm vehicle as a "Salvage Dog" for the Star Mogul campaign that my friend Mark is running.

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

P.S.
I almost forgot to share a link for the Pirates Game from Flagship games:

http://www.flagshipgames.com/

http://www.flagshipgames.com/Pirates!.htm