MINI WARGAMING: "Barbarians on the Bench" (14 October 2008)

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Top: Conan says "Bring those Barbarians on!"

Hi Everyone,

I've missed posting, but my camera has been on the fritz and the Jewish holidays hit so I've been rather occupied. I haven't given up on gaming and attended a 1920s Bootlegger Gangster game last week as well as the September MWS meet in which I played a zombie game.

Dick wrote this about the September 2008 MWS meet:

Maks and Joe R. killed my zombie horde. Mostly with a flare gun, pistol, and a chainsaw. Maks's farm girl was the Lara Croft of the cornfield and Joe's Sheriff was unusually accurate for a small town lawman. Nice change of pace game.

And Mark wrote this about last week's Bootlegger Gangster game:

The Gangster game was well attended. We had the kids (Dave and Pete), George, Mike McGraw, Mike O., Roger M., Maksim, and John all play. Not bad for a first time out. The gangsters rules will need a little more work and the scenario as well. Still, it was fun and got a lot of attention as being unique.

And he wrote us this snippet beforehand:

So I will run the Gangster game this Friday. I have the trucks, figures, some buildings and 6 cobblestone sheets to be the streets. This is more a trial run of a game to be done again later.

I actually have figures for 7 gangs if we get that many players. Two gangs will be made up of former cowboy figures that work, i.e., my Pinkertons, and the figures in long coats that hide their holsters, or that are only armed with a shotgun. The actual gangster figures are the Sepia gang, the Dorians (Primarily Grey), the Cat Litter gang, (Base flocking material), My Cops (Boys in Blue), and "Fat Guys and Dolls" (6 armed women with 4 fat guys, painted by my daughter Carly).

Be there about 6 to start. Rules are a simple modification of Legends of the Old West, with Tommy guns added, melee simplified, movement and shooting order randomized and hopefully lots of prohibition gun play.

The game turned out well for a playtest session and there was plenty of rumbl'in on the streets of our berg.

My workbench has a couple of projects on it right now:

1. 28mm Samurai
(…Jones'ing to do some Oriental Adventures again, played a game early this year and loved it. Might want to try a Clan Wars themed game…)

2. 28mm Crusaders
(Also Jones'ing to do a Crusades game or a medieval siege with my Saracens. Hattin might be fun…)

3. 28mm Pirates
(Been enjoying these guys for some time now… have played several historical games and am ready for fantasy pirates games next… building up undead and orc pirate crews)

4. 28mm Barbarians AKA Picts AKA Celts AKA Gauls Etc.
(Bought a nice second-hand Minifigs army that needs to be re-based. I'd like to play WAB with it.)

I've been mostly working on the Barbarians. I think I've watched Gladiator too many times now.

Top: Barbarians; They don't look like much...
...until a zillion of 'em swarm you!

And, of course, like every gamer out there, I have half a dozen other projects, but they are all in storage waiting for attention. I can't wait to do some more 6mm or 10mm sci-fi and AIW microarmor. Amazingly, I've kept some project discipline and have been cranking out minis this year. Monsterpocalypse also makes me want to break out the kaiju… LOL ;o)

Have a great Tuesday!
And good gaming to you!

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).

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

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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).

MINI WARGAMING: "28mm Undead Pirate Crew Work" (23 March 2008)

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Top: Two Black Cat Minis skeleton captains.

One is customized with a GW militia pistol.

Hi All,

It's been awhile since I last posted... I've had alot going on. Prime among those obligations has been a job search. I feel like I've been to a thousand interviews, when in reality it's only been a few more than a dozen. With any luck, I'll hear back from one of the better options later this week and may be moving to a new position soon. My references have been checked and I've submitted work portfolios so here's hoping. Please wish me luck.

Top: Two Reaper Razig characters.

One is customized with a GW militia cutlass.

On the gaming front, I've been keeping busy with the local MWS gaming club... But the majority of my effort has gone into 28mm pirates. I volunteered to host a 28mm pirate game this month at MWS and DID! I wanted to give LOTHS a whirl, but I didn't have enough time to learn the system so we went with a very simplified fast version of Pirates! from Flagship Games. The game went really well and there were six players plus myself game-mastering. I ran it as a very simple beer & pretzels historical pirate bash. And true to form for Pirates!, the fellows on the smaller ships all ganged up to try and work Greg M, in the hulk. Greg was a great sport about it and I want to give my thanks to Don, Greg, Mike O., Harry, Joe and Mike W. I also owe a hearty thanks to Nils who lent me his Asian pirate ship.

Top: Another shot of the Black Cat Minis skellie captains.

Mike O. wrote this about the game:

Maksim ran his Pirates! game using a very simplified version to try out the game at theclub. Several of us had a rousing good time shooting up Greg M.'s ship!

This weekend I've been working on my 28mm fantasy undead pirates since my game finally passed. During the weeks leading up to the Pirates! game I hosted, I exclusively worked on my historical pirate crews and let the fantasy ones sit neglected. So, this weekend I pulled out the 28mm undead pirates and went to town. About a year or two ago, I first became interested in doing a 28mm undead fantasy army and at the time, one of our local gaming shops had a huge clear out sale on Reaper's 28mm Razig undead pirate faction so I bought out the lot. While I got a great deal, I also got alot of doubles and even triples of the rank & file and character minis. That's not such a problem for rank & file, but having three of the same character running about the board always looks odd so I planned to build one stock version of each character and customize any extras. I primarily used some odd metal bitz from my collection and alot of GW plastic sprue bitz from the Vampire Counts skeleton, zombie and Empire militia sprues. A last note is that all of the undead pirates are based on resin deck basing from Black Cat Miniatures.

Top: Two Reaper Razig characters.

Top: Two more Reaper Razig characters.

Top: A back view of two Reaper Razig characters.

I also bought at least two packs of Razig's Chain Gang, which I didn't care much for, but I figured would mod up well. And they did.

Top: Two originally identical mod'ed Razig Chain Gangers.

Top: A view with a watch lantern in full view.

Top: Another two Razig Chain Gangers.

Top: The last two Razig Chain Gangers.

Good gaming to you, reader!

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).

MINI WARGAMING: "Maksim's Workbench: Undead Today!" (25 November 2007)

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TOP: Some of the vast undead hordes of Maksimok the Mirthless!

Hi All,

Well, I needed to prove that I'm still working on models so these two photos are getting some blog time. The both came from the 20 October 2007 MWS meet, and only one of from me, but they still show how much progress I've made on my 28mm undead army, the undead hordes of Master Necromancer Maksimok the Mirthless. I now have at least 2,000 points painted by WHFB standards, of undead that I can field as a Vampire Counts army. That's been my big project this year... and I've really been enjoying the heck out of it.

You can see more of the minis from my collection here:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f23/Maksim-Smelchak/

TOP: Joe painted this 10mm Warmaster Tomb Kings army.

If you've never seen my buddy, Joe Riddle AKA Sukhmet's work, then you're really missing out. He's an incredibly talented miniatures artist. I'm a painter... he's an ARTISTE! At any rate, one of Joe's latest triumphs has been this 10mm Warmaster Tomb Kings army that he's painted on commission. Joe's also a great guy to game with, except if you put him in charge of the zombies... he lets out a "Bwwwaaaaiiinnns" that's downright spooky... maybe creepy is a better word.

Joe's Photobucket account:
http://s203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Sukhmet/WM%20Tomb%20Kings/

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).

MINI WARGAMING: 28mm Converted Zombies! (4 October 2007)

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TOP: Alakazaam alakazoo! ...from 25mm fantasy fig garbage to ZOMBIES!

Hi All,

One of the things I really love about the undead is how easy it is to convert them... Take an old figure, preferably a cheap used one, lop the head off, replace it with a skull or zombie head and:

VOILA! New undead troops swell the ranks!

I have been buying a whole bunch of walking corpse figures (...used figures that others had cannibalized for arms, heads, legs, weapons, etc.) at swap meets and they're now picking up new zombie or skull heads, arms, and legs from my bitz box... I converted half a dozen new zombies for my undead army yesterday and have a bunch of other lead miniature wrecks of 25mm to 28mm fantasy figures awaiting the zombification process... MUWAHAHAHAHAHAH!

TOP: They're a not-so-pretty bunch, ain't they, sonny?

TOP: I love this convert from a puny stub of a 25mm fantasy fig...

...missing an arm and with a big gouge in his former head...

...to a fine looking zombie swordsman!

And this wouldn't be a Maksim-Smelchak post if I didn't share a link or two as is my wont:

Fat Goblin's ultra-cool Modern Zombie Guide:

http://fgminis.blogspot.com/2006/10/modern-day-zombies.html

Shelldrake's zombie wargame blog:

http://zombiewargame.blogspot.com/

Matakishi-Paul's awesome zombie pages:

http://www.matakishi.com/zombieinvasion2005.htm

And...

Papa Midnight's amazing Displaced Miniatures zombie galleries:

http://www.displacedminiatures.com/Pappa%20Midnight/images.html?galleryId=1388&from=Zombies

TOP: This is one of the few unconverted zombies I've recruited...

He's a classic Grenadier mini who was awaiting Master Necromancer Maksimok.

TOP: I love this pair...

They have that Fritz Leiber Fafhrd & Gray Mouser look!

...only zombie-style!

And two more links:

All about Fritz Leiber:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Leiber
And...
All about Fafhrd & Gray Mouser:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fafhrd_and_the_Gray_Mouser

And at this rate, my dream of recreating the "Army of Darkness" skeleton army siege scene in 28mm might just yet happen!

Long "live" the Deadites!

Have a great Thursday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

P.S.
A special shout out to Kai AKA FAT GOBLIN! Howdy, mate!

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 Undead Return To My Workbench (3 October 2007)

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TOP: Another skeletal regiment ready for battle!

... except for a bit of texturing and painting of the bases!

Hi All,

I've been sick the last few days hence the paucity of posts, but I did take advantage of my sick day to do a little modelling... particularly on the 28mm undead army I've been working on. I'm rebasing all of my figs onto Litko bases from GW plastic ones. I like the look much better and, in the process, I'm adding metal bottoms so I can store my figures magnetically.

TOP: Skeletal crossbowmen, you can never have enough!

I have also been working on some conversions and have started experimenting with green stuff sculpting... the early experiments aren't very promising, but Rome wasn't built in a day either.

One of the things I really love about the undead is how easy it is to convert them... Take an old figure, preferably a cheap used one, lop the head off, replace it with a skull or zombie head and:

VOILA! New undead troops swell the ranks!

I have been buying a whole bunch of walking corpse figures (...used figures that others had cannibalized for arms, heads, legs, weapons, etc.) at swap meets and they're now picking up new zombie or skull heads, arms, and legs from my bitz box... I converted half a dozen new zombies for my undead army yesterday, but the piccies turned out like crud, so I'll have to share them later this week.

And at this rate, my lifelong dream of recreating "Army of Darkness" in 28mm just might yet happen! Long "live" the Deadites!

Have a great Wednesday!

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).

MINI WARGAMING: The Undead Re-visit My Workbench (2 August 2007)

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TOP: My work bench is being overrun with the undead... and cactus!

Hi All,

My photo editing program finally went bad so I need to find a new one... if anyone has ideas which editing software is good or where I can find trial or free versions for downloading, please let me know! Many of these photos are overexposed, which is easily fixable with good editing software.

So, here goes with a few projects on my work bench:

TOP: I like these old Essex skeleton sculpts with over sized heads!

Mostly I've been working on my undead army, putting together new pieces, cleaning old ones, priming, base-texturing and the like. The above three undead fellows are Essex 28mm sculpts of which few photos exist. They are attractive sculpts although they have very oversize heads sort of like Adler figures in 6mm.

TOP: This is the "Gnarly Ancient Ones" undead company.

And I've made enough trade to have a really gnarly collection of very old 1970s and 1980s skeleton, zombie and assorted other undead sculpts (...vampires, ghouls, banshees, spirits, etc.) including some of the figures in the above photo. There are a few Grenadiers, an old Citadel or two, a Pewtercraft, some Ral Partha's, and several sculpts I can't seem to identify. I want to extend a special thanks to Matthew H. AKA Mr. Mysterioso from TMP who traded me several very cool old sculpts.

TOP: Some old Grendel Egyptian archaeological pieces along with a Reaper statue.

And the last project on my work bench is one for my mother... you see, she loves Egyptology and many years ago in the early 1990s, I bought her an Egyptian terrain set as a gift, which she recently re-discovered and would like to paint. The rub is she doesn't like gluing, pinning, or filling in gaps ...so I volunteered to get that done for her and then prime the pieces. Pretty cool stuff, almost tempting enough for me to want to get into the Egyptian theme... but I'll resist for now.

Have a great Thursday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

MINI WARGAMING: 28mm Robot Gang In The Works!

.TOP: A 28mm robot gang in the making.

Hi All,

I've been long wanting to create a 28mm sci-fi robot gang and my friend, Dick's plan to run a "Savage Worlds / Necromunda" 28mm sci-fi skirmish game this upcoming weekend has been the catalyst to help me get my "robot gang" project going. I've always loved robots from the shiny, chromed bots of the pulps to the tubey-appendaged bots of the 1950s to the latest CGI bots of Battlestar Galactica and the present. I've been collecting robot miniatures for ages waiting for a project to use them on.

This gang was originally planned for use with Star Mogul so there are a few support bots that might be less useful in "Savage-munda." We'll probably only need gangs of about eight, but I provided more bots to have a fuller roster. So, without too much more talk, here's the robo-gang I'm working on:

BOTTOM: The Brains of the Outfit - "Dr. Sinestro"...
And his two bodyguards, DCK-550 "Dick" & RCK-565 "Rick."

TOP: These figs are all recycled Heroclix collectible miniatures.

BOTTOM: Foot troop "Robo Enforcers":
LNY-15 "Lenny", BRC-55 "Bruce," & SQG-35 "Squiggy."TOP: These are all old Grenadier minis from the 80s Paranoia line.

BOTTOM: A second shot of the "Robo Enforcers."

TOP: I love these old sculpts, I had to repair the left one who came in two pieces.

BOTTOM: Sergeant Bots:
ROK-1525 "Sgt. Rock" & STF-1515 "Sgt. Stiffy."TOP: These are the newer Mongoose Paranoia sculpts.

BOTTOM: Lieutenant Bots:
VLD-116 "Lt. Vlad" & IGR-118 "Lt. Igor."TOP: The left guy is an ancient 1970s Star Guard sculpt from Reviresco and...
The right one is a mangled I-Kore sculpt that I found a right arm for...
And will need to find a left hand for...

BOTTOM: The General:
DGR-1000 "Old Digger"TOP: This is an OOP Global Games - Legions of Steel figure that I had to strip.
The old paint was plastered on like Tammy Baker's make-up.

BOTTOM: Master Sergeant Bot:
MGO-001 "Mongo"TOP: This is a Reaper fig, "Iron Golem" or something like that.
It was a gift from my buddy, Mikos. Thanks, Mikos!

BOTTOM: Support Robot:
SPKY-5000 "Sparky" (right), a mechanic bot.TOP: I have no idea where this sculpt came from (Wish I did!)...
I REALLY love its' funky retro-50s look.

BOTTOM: Support Robot:
BNS-911 "Bones" (left), a mechanized medic.TOP: The doc-bot is also a Mongoose Paranoia sculpt.

So, priming is on tomorrow's docket...

Have a good one!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

GAMING NEWS: 28mm Undead Invade My Work Bench!

. The 28mm Undead invade my work bench! Aaahhhh!

Hi All,

I worked on miniatures this past weekend as well some other activities such as visiting the local Rennaissance Faire, which wasn't all that exciting this year. Lots of cleavage in tight bodices, overly fried foods guaranteed to give indigestion, lots of folks speaking with fake-o British accents and you pretty much have the Faire summed up.

My work bench.
Gamers Union #1031 insists that the "cluttered look" is the ONLY way to go!

I don't think I'll have any problems fielding 1,500 or even 2,000 WHFB points... and maybe more.

My flocking section along with files. And, yes, I love that huge rusty file!

The collection is pretty gnarly... you could say I resurrected the remains of all sorts of undead toss-outs, bargain bin specials, and the accumulated left-overs of about half a year's worth of looking and E-bay scavenging. I have all sorts of GW, Grenadier, Ral Partha, Broadsword, Essex, Magnificent Egos, D&D Chainmail lead, D&D plastic collectible figs, Rackham Confrontation, Pewtercraft and only the good Lord has any idea who manufactured some of the rest of the figs.

Posters are important. I have CAV, Serenity, Monster Island, and a map of the Middle East!

Quite a few were conversion casualties I found in bitz bins and healed back up to fighting trim with the application of spare parts AKA bitz and generous amounts of vigor-restoring superglue.

The skeleton archer on the far right came headless...
So I gave him a spare Reaper demonic skull...

Many thanks to Nils and others who have generously contributed to The Mighty Necromancer Maksimok's shambling hordes...

Oy! I have ghouls loose among my glue and ink... bloody blighters!

I took these few snapshots to share with the gang and my blog visitors. I'm really looking forward to hauling the army out to play with Nils, the DotD gamers, Harry & Terry, and the rest of the Sacramento WHFB scene as time and the local DotD campaign allows. We're playing a Lustria campaign... a day late and a Dollar short.

The dismembered undead awaiting the elixir of glue while being guarded by zombies...

Uuunnnhhhh... BRAINS!

There are quite a few gnarly characters here... BOO!

Have a great Monday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

P.S.
Litko rocks! I'm using Litko cut wooden bases with all of my figs. I have thin steel sheet under them so I can store my figs magnetically.

Link here:
http://www.litkoaero.com/products.php