Sectional Terrain: Craters

I got a little bored making the terrain panels and decided to add some shell holes in the corner of one of the flat ones just to add some interest.  Sometimes these spur of the moment decision end in disaster but this one may work out.

Making shells holes with an extruded polystyrene material is easy - just use a heat gun to "melt" a depression and the base form of the creator is done.  I've used a heat gun to also break up the flat contour of larger panels.

Safety Note: Do this outside for both ventilation and fire control risk.  Polystyrene is flammable and one wants to do this where in the odd change it catches fire you can let it burn out on its own.  Doing this in an enclosed workshop or even worse a basement doesn't give you that options.  Outside also vents the fumes.

 The next step is to build up the crater edges and for that I use my trusty pre-mix grout and white glue mix.  I ring the depression with the grout/glue mix and then carve some slots with my custom crater making tool in the upper left.  OK it's just a wooden paint stirrer but it get the job done.

I then use my finger and a little water to smooth out the slot and make it look like the earth was ejected out of the crater.

And their done - a little creative painting and I'll have some craters.

I also managed to paint all three panels with the basic ground cover.  The grout edges of the crater haven't fully cured so I'll need to touch them up today.

Next step - apply ground cover (mostly static grass).

Battle of the Buffet - After Action Report

 First a shot of the opposing army - as you can see I am greatly outnumbered plus this horde of future dental surgeons is commanded by a most fearsome leader - my lovely wife (extreme left of the first row).

I doubt I've ever seen a more fearsome order of battle.  Obviously, we were using the ruleset "Hordes of the Things" for this battle.

 As with any siege,the most important factor that determines success or failure is supply.  We laid in a significant food store including this table for the main supplies...

 A secondary table for the warmed food - what's in it?

 Quiche made by yours truly.  In this tray are my quiche Lorraines and some ham-n-cheese quiches.

 In the second warming tray are the vegetarian ones - some have broccoli other asparagus and one test one with artichokes.  The artichoke was a hit.  At the risk of sounding pompous, I am the King of Quiche.

 A secondary defensive food line was made in the kitchen with finger food

 And finally the redoubt of last hope - the desert table.  Hopefully three interlocked defensive lines would hold off the impending assault.

 An advance party of the enemy shows up under the guise of helping to set up.  These women warriors are most crafty indeed.

 Battle is joined and in the time it takes me to roll double sixes the walls are breached and the enemy floods into my kitchen to sack and plunder.

 Oh the carnage....

 Unlike many barbarian tribes these amazon warriors pride themselves on good table manners and

 a proper sense of decorum while plundering a city.

I think I can recall this conversation "oh Dr Reidy, you must be so proud of your husbands miniature collection"....

 My wife addressing her victorious troops

and they are held in rapt attention - perhaps I can make my escape whilst these blood thirsty warriors are enthralled by ministrations of their leader.

 Drat I've been spotted by Oxanna!  Hmm they seem to be giving my wife some form of tribute

 Noooo!!!!!! its gardening related which means more work for me!!!

Alas, we must bid a fond failure to the graduating class.  I shall miss the young lady on the left in the first row the most - she makes a wonderful peach pie.

Thus ends the game which was ignoble defeat for me.  You ever have one of those games you knew you were going to loose before the first die is cast?

Awaiting the Onslaught of the Golden Horde

Golden Horde of female dental students, that is.

Yes it's that time of year where my home is over run by 30-40 twenty something female dental students for my wife's annual bash.  Usually this chaos happens in April but it's been delayed to May this year.

Luckily no catering disasters like last year (I do make a mean quiche by the way) but lots of house cleaning and stern warnings from my wife to behave.  To be honest, I'm a little offended that she thinks i'm capable of such rudeness.  It's not like the stripper pole incident of 2011 wasn't just a nice bit of good natured fun and a whole lot of mis communication - it's not like I contractually guaranteed them "A''s...

Anyway, most of the prep work is done and I'm off cutting veggies for some type of veggie tray and then I'll be making a few quiches tonight just to hold in reserve.

Wish me luck - these things can be very dicey and never-ever stand in front of the buffet table and the ravenous horde.

Just don't do it

My son and I do hope to escape tomorrow for some sailing if the weather holds.

Sectional Terrain: Ground texture Applied

I managed to get 2 of the 3 panels ground "textured".  The third will wait for today as I ran out of gap filler (spackle) and need to grab some this morning from the hardware store.

The ground texture is 2/3 pre-mix flexible tile grout (sandstone colored) and 1/3 white glue.  This concoction has worked well in the past as it dries rock hard but retains some flexibility so it doesn't crack from usage and/or moving the boards.

I'm still tweaking the hill design.  The sides have been beveled down to a 30 degree angle which will support most figures.  There will be an exposed rock face on the other side but that's just cause I like making them.

I did experiment with cutting a groove in the hill but really don't like the look and will fill that in later today.

The new terrain making workbench is working out very well as I can work on multiple panels at the same time.

Sectional Terrain: A bit of progress

The pink foam was cut and placed inside the frames.  On the spur of the moment I decided to make one of the panels a rather large hill.

I may take the second level off or lower it a bit.

Next step sealing and adding ground texture using a mix of flexible tile grout and white glue.

Historicon 2016 PEL is Out!

The Preliminary Event List (or PEL) for Historicon 2016 is out and once again Mike and I will be running some games.

In fact we've got 6 events set for the con as we both enjoy putting on games more than playing in them.  Unlike the past 4 years which have featured American Civil War themed games were changing up a bit - still on the same continent, but a bit earlier with the War of 1812 and the American Revolutionary War being the topics.

First off we're scheduled to run 4 versions of our "big Battle game titled "Grapeshot on the Chesapeake, with a hint of Garlic?"  Here's the game description from the PEL:

It’s 1814 and an invading British / Canadian army is besieging an American shipyard near St Michaels, Maryland – can the US forces hold out long enough to complete the refit of the USS Wasp and get her to sea? Will the relief force of an unexpected ally arrive in time? This game will be an extremely hypothetical contest that features a French intervention into the War of 1812. The game will have over 1,500 28mm scale figures, a 3 foot long frigate model plus several gunboats and a few surprises. It will all be silly fun but may offend some historical purists. Children over 12 are welcome if accompanied by an adult. Prizes will be awarded to all players. 

We'll be using a modified version of Longstreet for the game as I've found that ruleset to be really fun for con games - easy to teach but with tactical nuances that keep a game interesting.

The game is set to run 5 times over the con and will likely have a few unscheduled plays if there is demand

Thursday (July 14)

Start Time        Game #      
10:00am           T-293        

4:00pm             T-314        

Friday (July 15)

10:00am           F-311        

Saturday (July 16)

9:00am             S-316

9:00pm             S-317    

We'll also be running a skirmish game set in the Revolutionary War using the same table called "A Madman's Steeple Chase, which is described in the PEL as:

In the dewy morning mists of the American colonies, the pickets begin to stir, unaware of what the day will bring... A 28mm American Revolution (or American War of Independence if you must) skirmish game using Perry Miniatures. This game will focus on fun. Children over 12 are welcome if accompanied by an adult. Game Masters are Mike Marchant and Miles Reidy 

Scheduled game times:

Friday (July 15)

7:00pm            F-294        

Saturday (July 16)

3:00pm             S-318        

Both games will be using the same terrain (we'll just move it around a bit).  The table will be pretty big at 18ft x 6 ft but I think we'll have enough miniatures to properly fill the space.  The kind folks at HMGS have graciously allowed me to use the same table for the entire con which really helps with the logistics.  We do have a bit of terrain to build to get ready but all the mini's are done.

I'm looking forward to the con and hope to see a lot of you there.

Historicon 2016: Terrain Building

Hisoricon is just under 11 weeks away!

The good news is that the armies are pretty much done - some minor rebasing but not more than a few hours of effort.

The bad news is that there's a good bit of new terrain I need.  First up is 3 new terrain panels which at 2' x 4' each allow me to extent the battlefield for 6x10ft to 6 x 14'.  On Sunday morning, I built the frames for the new terrain panels.

2 of the panels will be generic flat terrain and the third will have some rolling hills and maybe even some pre-planted trees.

I still need to build 6 ft of shoreline and then a host of terrain details to make the board interesting.

It's terrain building season!

St Michael's Con 2016

 I really like gaming conventions but being an obnoxious "Type A" personality, I always wonder how hard could it be to put one on a gaming weekend for a group of like minded souls?  Rather than post on TMP with uninformed thoughts, I decided to find out and hosted a gaming weekend for 11 of my gaming buddies over a long weekend.  While my little event will not rival Salute or Historicon, it was a nice experiment and a whole lot of fun.

Set up started on Wed night when Steve came over and we were able to baptize his new gaming table with it's inaugural game of X-Wing!

Thursday am was devoted to prep work, which mainly involved laying in food supplies.  11 adult male gamers will consume "mass quantities" of food and have been known to turn violent if not fed properly.  Don't worry there was also an ample supply of beer.

One thing I did decide early in the planning was to go with low set up / take down games (X-Wing / Armada and other board games.

Later thursday, Steve's table got a real work out with the start of another "Heroes of the Aturi Cluster" X-Wing campaign.   This picture is actually from Friday as I forgot to take pictures on thursday.  The first six initial arrivals on thursday were treated to a dinner in town and then there was gaming to 3:30am

 On Friday morning we had an uninvited guest - a 5 foot long queen snake.  You can also see we get a little bit of pollen out on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

 All of the guests arrived sometime friday and the serious gaming began - here is a pair of strategic thinkers playing the new star wars rebellion game.  I made breakfast for the crew on Friday - eggs and bacon.  We went through a lot of bacon that weekend.

 The dining room table was protected by a painting tarp.  It proved to be a wise decision.  One side note - our dining room table is 8ft x 4' so it must have been designed for gaming!

 Yet more X-wing - I think I played in 14 X-wing games during the event!  As the gaming stretched into Friday night we ordered Pizza and played yet again until 3:00am

Happy geeks

Satruday dawned to a pancake breakfast cooked by your's truly and yet more bacon.

 Dano on the left is usually very shy and reserved but somehow we were able to coax him out of his shell.  The group is playing the Zombiecide "Black Plague" game which was a real blast.
I got to play a lot of new games but the one that stuck out the most for me was "Lords of Waterdeep" - what a fantastic game.

 Dinner Saturday night was a group cooking event.  I really need to get better kitchen staff.  We had a wide array of grilled meats, some star wars mac-n-cheese and steamed crabs.  There were also some lettuce for the burgers so we could say we ate a vegetable.

Gaming Saturday night stretched again to 3:30am with very raucous games of "Bang" and "Panic on Wall Street".  Three nights in a row staying up to 3:30am is an impressive streak for me.

As Sunday morning dawned it was time to close out the con and I bid a fond farewell to my guests.

So what did I learn?

Hosting a gaming event like this is the most fun I've had gaming and I will definitely do it again next year and increase the size to 20 or so.

Things that went well

(1) Food
Everyone seemed to be well fed and there was enough options to keep everyone happy regardless of dietary restrictions - The group BBQ on Saturday night went really well and was a lot of fun.

(2) House Wear and Tear
My house sustained no damage - while we may all play rather silly war-games, this group of friends are class acts and knew what fate awaited me from my wife if they broke something in the house.  My lovely, yet fierce, wife was both impressed and surprised at the lack of damage

(3) The Participants
All 11 of my guests were a joy to host and I'm grateful they decided to give this whole experiment a go.  Most of them are associated with the WWPD "gang" or put on convention games with me.  I kept the initial guest list pretty restricted as I didn't know how many would show up and if they'd have fun

I'll post a group picture of the participants as soon as I track one down.  I'm pretty sure Chippendales has nothing to fear from us.

(4) The Location
I think people really liked St Michaels.  It's a bit off the beaten path but is a nice vacation spot and offers a lot to do if people one day bring their wives and/or kids to next years event.

(5) Fun
Perhaps the most important indicator of success is that everyone appeared to have fun.  No one was left out of any gaming opportunities and there was a lot of laughing and high-jinks.  I didn't keep a formal tally but my best guess is that there were at least 60 games played across 6 or so game types.


Things that could have gone better

(1) Game planning
I really didn't do any and it worked out fine but next year I'd like to have more historical games and maybe a tournament of some sort.  That requires more advanced planning and, more importantly, enlisting volunteers to run different types of games.  I don't think we'll have a detailed PEL on online registration system but I do think a little more effort here on my part will pay real dividends

(2) Accommodations
We have a relatively nice place in St Michaels and the pool was open.  but it was straining at the seems to sleep 11 adults.  If I moved the event back a few weekends we could setup canopy tents for some outside gaming and even get the heartier souls to camp on the property.  It will also still be off season so I can also negotiate a cut rate hotel cost for those with more discerning tastes.

(3) Healthier food options
Next year I need to make sure there are wider array of healthier food options (fruit maybe even a vegetable of two).  While eating charred meat is fun and all, three days of a carnivorous buffet can take it's toll on ones waistline.

Overall
I had a blast doing this and will definitely put on another one next year with a larger size and a good bit more advanced planning

Ok here's the real reason I put this show on - left behind gaming stuff - I got two tokens from X-Wing, an empty plastic dice box and the timer from "Panic on Wall Street".  I'm sure I'll have full games after only a few years of hosting these events - Muuuhawwhawwahaawww.....

Steve's Table - In Use!

 Steve's new gamin table got it's baptism of fire this weekend at a Mini-gaming "con" I put on in St Michaels.  I had 13 friends join me for three days of gaming, drinking beer and eating grilled meats - you know, Valhalla.

I'll do a more detailed report on the "con" but this was a test of an annual event I'd like to throw and it seems to ge really well.  We had a total of 13 people attend and we all had a great time.  But more on that in a future post.

Steve's table got's it first use and seemed to do really well.  It's now in Richmond for Steve to finish up the sanding and then apply his stain of choice.

I'll be building another table for Mike (far left in the second picture) as he just bought a house and needs a house warning present...

Steve's Gaming Table: Part 9 - Parts List and Build Advice

This post will feature a parts list and some advice on the tools you need to build a similar table.  Before doing anything the most important tools to use are a pad of paper and a pen - draw / list some ideas you want for your table.  Really think through what you want / what you don't need etc.

I tend to spend a week or so planning (my wife calls it day dreaming) and often end up changing the design / project goals several times before I land on what I think I want.  It's a lot less expensive to throw away a design on a piece of paper that a project that is halfway built.

In terms of tools needed for the project, I'll divided them into "got-to-have" and "nice to have".  A reason will be supplied for each "nice-to-have".

Before starting any project like this, you need to have 2 things firmly planted in your mind

(1) An understanding and respect for shop safety:
Power tools can be very dangerous if they are not used in a safe way.  Always wear eye protection (I keep a pair of safety googles with each power tool) and make sure your feet are clear of obstructions when using the tool.  The table is not a good project for a first time wood worker unless you've got an experienced friend to help you build it.

(2) Patience
One of the leading causes of shop accidents is haste - doing things too fast leads to accidents which can be unforgiving when a power tool is involved.  Take your time and don't get frustrated when you make a mistake (I make lots of them).  Have more than the lumber you need for a project on hand to account for mis cuts and always remember it's far better to go to the lumber yard for extra wood than the emergency room.

In terms of time to finish, the table took 3 weekends to completed assemble.  There's another few days of sanding and finishing work to do which will occur onsite at Steve's house.

Got-to-Have Tools:

- Carpenters Square

- Quality Tape Measurer (you use this tool the most, so don't go cheap)

- Hand Saw
- - I've become a big fan of Japanese style woodworking saws but any kind will do - very helpful for small parts or trimmings where using a power mitre saw is unsafe

- Power Mitre Saw
- - I have a big one (12" blade) make sure yours is big enough to handle a 4x4 post and cut 90 and 45 degree angles easily

- Power Router w/
- - 3/8 inch straight bit
- - 3/8 inch T-Slot bit

- Cordless Drill
- - 5/8 inch drill bit for mounting pegs
- - 1/4 inch drill bit  for T-Bolt holes on accessory trays
- - 1/8 inch drill bit for screw guide holes
- - Philips head screw bit

- Rubber Hammer (for "persuading" parts to fit without leaving a mark)

- Block Plane

- 3/8 inch chisel (for cleaning out the grooves)

- Clamps, lots of clamps

- Philips head screw driver

- Hand files

- Sanding Blocks ( pieces of scrap (usually a 6 inch length of 1x2 with sand paper wrapped around it)
- - 150 grit sand paper
- - 220 grit sand paper


Nice-to-Have

- Table Saw
Really helps with building the accessory trays, cutting the mounting lip

- Router Table
You can cut all the grooves needed with a standard router and guide but a router table makes it a lot easier, faster, more accurate and safer - other than than that there's no real difference.  Rumors that I used this project as a way to justify to my wife the purchase of a new Rockler Router Table (the Rolls Royce of Router Tables) are true.

- Nail Gun
For this project I wanted to go with no visible screw heads or other metal fasteners, using a nail gun will "speed-up" the glue drying process.

- Marking Gauge
Used for accurately marking cut lines where consistency is really important (multiple parts)

Part List:
The costs associated for the parts is based on pricing from a large big box US Home Improvement retailer (Home Depot to be exact).  You can trim the costs for wood by 20% by getting the stock from a lumber yard.

Parts List
Table Part	Name	Number	Cost Per	Total Cost
Top Apron	1x6 Pine, 6'	4	$6.75	$27.00
	2x2 Pine 6'	6	$7.96	$47.76
Bottom Apron	1x4 Pine 6'	4	$4.38	$17.52
	1x2 Pine 6'	6	$3.52	$21.12
Legs	4x4 Cedar 8'	2	$22.70	$45.40
End Caps	scrap exotic wood			$0.00
Top
	2x4 1/2 plywood	3	$15.00	$45.00
Bottom Shelf
	2x4 1/4 plywood	3	$10.00	$30.00
Hardware / Fastners
	L Brackets (2 per pack)	8	$3.97	$31.76
	http://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-2-1-2-in-Zinc-Plated-Double-Wide-Corner-Brace-2-Pack-15052/202034033
	3/8 Dowel, 3'	1	$3.50	$3.50
	1'1/4 Wood Screws	40	$0.12	$4.98
	Wood Glue
Total Parts Cost				$274.03
Accessory Tray Parts
T-Slot Bolts (1/4/20, 1.5 inches)		10	$1.00	$9.98
Knobs (1/4/20)		10	$2.49	$24.90
Scrap Wood for the trays				$0.00
Total Project Cost				$308.91