Sally 4th Terra Formers: Once More into the Sectional Terrain Breach

 In my never-ending quest to find the "perfect form" of sectional terrain, I decided to give the new Sally 4th Sectional terrain system a try, via their recently completed kickstarter.  The "Terra-Formers" are a neat concept 1 foot square laser cut box frames that are held in place with magnets (round ones placed in the precut holes.  The interior of each frame is filled with Extruded Polystyrene foam (EPS - aka insulation foam).

There are 33 unique types of terrain squares that allow you to incorporate hills, caves, rivers trenches, etc).  Given this years painting challenge now has a terrain aspect, I suspect you'll see a lot of these on my blog over the next few months.

 I decided to build a simple right angle jig to facilitate building the frames and ensure everything stays square.  Given that the laser cut pieces fit together snuggly you can get away without a jig but it speeds up production.

It took a sheet of 1/4 inch MDF and cut it down to a 24" square.  At one corner I glued to pieces of scrap 1x2 to form a right angle.  Make sure you use a good quality square to ensure the pieces form a 90 degree angle.  If you're off every terra former square will be off.

 Once the glue on the frames has set, covert area where the frame will rest with painters tape - the glue squeeze out will not stick to the tape.  If you don't cover with tape then you have a very high likelihood of glueing the terra former frame to the jig, which really isn't that helpful.

An action shot of the jig in use - it really doesn't get more exciting than that.  Feel free to oooh and aaaghh.

After 30 minutes (plus some drying time) I had assembled 8 frames so it goes pretty fast.  I've only built some of the flat panels and a few river sections - you can see one of those at the top of the stack.

I need to go to the hardware store to get some EPS and will use my trusty proton hot wire cutter to cut out foam to fill the frames.

I'm really impressed with both the product quality and Sally 4th's turnaround on the Kickstarter - it was only a few months from the close of the kickstarter until I received my stuff.

Nicely done Sally 4th!

Analogue Hobbies painting Challenge VIII: Weapons of Mass Pigmentation

I always break out a new set of Winsor & Newton brushes for the Challenge.  To me good brushes make a huge difference to the painting experience and I'm a big fan of  W&N Series 7's.

SO here they are - brand new brushes in sizes 0, 1, 2 & 3

The size 2 tends to be the work horse

Oh we, we happy few, we band of Pigment Warriors.

RIP Oliver the Cat 2005 - 2017

 Oliver, our family cat-overlord, slipped the mortal coil this morning and has left us.  He was ornery but good companion who seemed to tolerate living with us.

Oliver was a true hunter and would often stalk my son and attack from behind corners and such.  The size disparity never really seems to bother him.  Oliver wasn't really cuddly cat but could be fun - but only on his terms.

He will be missed.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

To me one of the signs of a truly successful Thanksgiving meal is a kitchen left in a shambles.  This picture of last years kitchen is a testament to a wonderful meal.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and one that is very special (and rather messy) for my family. I hope it is the same for you and yours.

Here's wishing to all of you truly messy kitchens and the wonderful family event that comes along with the chaos.

More Prep

Yet more figure prep for the Challenge - a bunch of vehicles in the background and 2 Pirate factions for Blood & Plunder.

The B&P factions are French on the left and "Unaligned" on the right.  The figures come "pre-based" on metal stands that are textured to look like ship decks.  I decided to mount mine on 25mm round bases to give a bit more stability.  I'll cover up the metal stand with some sand-like ground texture.

The Blood and Plunder figures are really very good and I'm looking forward to painting them.

WoodWorking for Wargamers: Shelving, post 15

 Storage - its the bane of all miniatures gamers.  If it can be said that a woodworking shop can never have enough clamps, then it can be also said that a gamers lair can't have enough storage options.  Last Saturday, I received orders to clean up the basement to be ready for guests over Thanksgiving so I needed some more shelves.  I decided to build a unit that would slip into the closet I've been allocated.  The total size of the shelf is 48" long, 18 inches high and 18 inches deep.

This one is built for utility not looks and and requires:
- one 4x4' 8" sheet of 1/2 inch construction grade plywood cut into
     2 18inch wide by 4 foot long sheets (These are the shelves)
     2 18x18 inch wide squares (these are the sides)
     4 48 inch long strips for backing

- 12.5 feet of 1x2 pine cut into
     4 18 inch lengths
     6 15 inch lengths
     2 approx 8.5 inch lengths (more on these later)

 Each side will use 2 of the 18 inch 1/2 for supports along the top to bottom and then 3of the 15 inch sideways to support the  shelves.

I forgot to take a picture of the aside supports but you but the go in between the two vertical supports, with one at each end and one in the middle.  You can see them in the next picture.

I used wood glue with a few screws to hold everything in place.

 The next step is to attach the shelves to the side supports.  I attached the top shelf first and then the lower one.  You need to shorten the length of the lower shelf by 1 inch since it sits inside the frame and cut notches in each corner.

It's really import to check for square as you go about each step.

 I added center supports long the back out of approx 8.5 inch 1x2's.  These need to be cut to size.  This will help prevent the center of the shelve from sagging.

 Another shot of the front.  It's not pretty but it's functional and very sturdy.

To prevent wobble, I added some plywood strips along the back  I didn't encase the entire back to reduce weight as I need to carry the unit from the garage and down into the basement and I'm lazy.

I'll likely build a few more but this is definitely a function over form project.

Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge VIII: prep work commences

The first preparatory step for the upcoming 8th iteration of the painting challenge (which I will call the "Ocho") is to clean of my painting workbench and get the game room organized.  I spent most of Sunday afternoon cleaning up the space and getting organized.

 The initial inventory for painting.  All 28mm, with a strong influence of Pirates for Blood and Plunder.  I wonder how Curt will score the sailing ships?

The first model for the "Ocho" was assembled late Sunday afternoon - a 28mm Panzer II from Warlord.  I suspect one or two models may join it shortly.

After a 3 month break from the hobby workbench, it's good to feel the super glue on my finger tips again.

Woodworking for Wargamers: Proxxon Wire Cutter Straight Edge Guide, post 14

If you use Extruded Polystyrene Foam (EPS) for terrain making then adding a Proxxon Hot Wire Cutter to you tool inventory is a must.  However, even really good tools can be improved and I decided to add a 90 degree cutting guide to improve the accuracy of my cuts.  Total time to build this tool / jig was 45 minutes excluding glue drying time.

 Why do this?  The miter gauge that comes with the tool is ok but isn't that precise.  It's also really low (only 1/2 inch high so larger pieces can shift when passing through the wire.  If the face was higher this wouldn't happen.

The gauge also doesn't stay square as the far ends veers off.  A straight edge guide that doesn't stay straight isn't that helpful.  If you click on the picture you can see how the gauge wanders off to the left.  It's set at 90 degrees but just doesn't hold that well.

 Here are all the parts I needed - 2. 5.5 x 12 inch sheets and two 45 degree angles all cut from MDF.  Remember when cutting MDF it's imperative to wear a face mask.  The material release super-fine dust which isn't that good on the ole lungs.  The last piece is a guide cutting to fit the channel along the side of the Proxxon.  It's about 3/8 of an inch.  I may mine out of a basswood strip - it took some sanding to get a cut fit.

Glue up is pretty easy - glue the two sides together and add the 45 angles as support.  It's really important to make sure the face plate is at a 90 degree angle.  Wood glue will be enough to hold these pieces in place.

 Once the main assemble is dry, its time to add the guide rail.  I added a few pieces of paper to raise the profile of the rail and then added a thin line of wood glue.  When cutting the guide to shift also err on the too wide side and then sand into place.  If you cut it too thin you have to start over.

 Carefully but the guide fence on top of the rail and ensure it's square.  It pays to invest in a top quality machinists square as you don't want to be off.  Once I was sure the fence was square I added a drop of super glue at each corner to hold the rail in place while the wood glue dried.

I also added a handle at the last minute to help with uses.  It was just a scrap piece of 1x2.

 An action shot - cutting perfect 1/2 wide 4 inch squares.

I made 10 perfect squares from some scrap EPS in less than 3 minutes.  This guide improves both accuracy and efficiency.  I wonder what I'll be doing with those squares?

I got his idea for a you tuber named Jeremy Pillipow who has a channel called Black Magic Craft and demonstrates how to make terrain to role playing games.  I've learned a lot for that channel and recommend it highly.  The specific episode that discusses a proton guide is here

You can also buy laser cut guides for the Proxxon tool from a EU based company called "Shifting Lands"  It looks like shipping to the states is pretty expensive but his tools look amazing.

I plan on making a 45 degree guide with the remaining MDF but that's a project for another day.

Let me know what you think.