Bud’s Blast Markers!

                                                  Bud’s Blast Markers! 

 World War II - exploding Panther tank and burning building in the background.

These things rock! You’ve got to see these blast markers on the table. I know we’ve all used cotton balls painted in various styles and shapes over the years, mounted on washers or unmounted, etc. Some of these are really awesome and many of you hobbyists are extremely talented. I love making terrain, building, kits, and painting figs, however, I just don’t have the time that I used to and some of my skills are lacking! When I see a cool product for a good price it’s hard to pass that up. 

                            Colonial period: Sudan 1880s - burning gunboat.

I’ve seen markers like these before, but these are the best markers that I have found for representing artillery rounds impacting or explosions. They are also great for representing a burning structure, vehicle, or vessel, and they really look cool on the table top. 

                              Colonial period - destroyed native gun and crew.

They can be used for ancients games all the way to ultra modern, and beyond. Bud makes 3 different sizes, single, double, and triple.  

Here's a picture from the HMGS-South's face book page. Burning Chinese houses during a 15mm TSATF Boxer Rebellion game, "55 Days at Peking" run by Ray Phillips, boy we had big fun. Ray did a great job, ran an awesome game, made amazing scratch built terrain, and great painted minis! The burning bldg markers are Bud's single size small Blast Marker. The report states:

American cow kicks over a lantern or that's the story they are telling. Americans burn their legation not to be out done by the French or the Germans, alcohol is to blame....

 He also has some with fiber optics and in different colors. I’m a standard meat and potatoes historical gamer but if I were a scifi or fantasy gamer I can see how these would be way cool for fantasy and scifi games for blast markers, chemical fires, spells, acid clouds, etc.

                                                      Scifi Air strike!

I recently met Bud and his son at one of our HMGS-South conventions in Orlando Florida. They are great guys and we had a blast gaming. Needless to say we all got and used Bud’s markers in our games. Look him up on FB or email him what you are looking for.

The Congo Boats have arrived!!!

The Congo Boats have arrived!!!

My new custom made Congo / Darkest Africa boats have arrived from the “Last Stand Dan’s Boatyard”.

With all the hubbub about the new rules set “Congo” visions of river excursions, dense jungles, ancient ruins, angry natives, and evil slavers danced in my head fueling multiple scenarios. So I decided to ask my buddy Dan to make me some Congo style boats, and boy he didn’t disappoint! He makes all sorts of colonial vessels, gunboats, stern wheel and side wheel steamers, dhows, junks, etc. Check out his blog for pics, WIP’s, details, and prices (which are VERY reasonable by the way!).

http://laststanddan.blogspot.com/

Here is his prototype “Congo” steamer. Simple, effective, designed for gaming, sleek, and elegant! I especially like the paddle wheel assembly and the decks. One look at this boat and I immediately envision it steaming down the Congo delivering trade goods, transporting adventurers, packed with archeologists, or troops and supplies to assist a beleaguered mosquito infested garrison.

 

Dan has added steel hidden under the decking in the bow and stern to accommodate guns with small magnets added to their bases to easily change the boats armament or have it unarmed without spoiling the look of the deck.

With a quick change of a flag inserted in the attached rod these boats can fly anyone’s colors. Dan will also be supplying various nation’s flags for us to choose from and possibly even various types of armaments.

No Congo or DA game would be complete without Dhows! Picture the evil Slavers prowling the rivers, supplies being ferried up and down river, natives fishing, etc. These boats are at home on the Blue Nile as well as the White Nile River, carrying Dervish tribesmen, armed with cannons, attacking paddle steamers and gunboats!  These boats are once again VERY user friendly and designed for gamers.

this Dhow actually does double duty as a Chinese Junk. With the removal of the single sail and the addition of bow and stern pieces plus two masts this Dhow can be a junk in under a minute! Dan used the same hasp type hardware and thick fabric masts to make this cool Junk.

The Dhow came packed with the mast down and lying flat in the boat. I easily inserted the mast, clipped the (2) rigging hasps, clipped the (1) hasp for the sail, placed the sail line magnet on the hidden steel, inserted the front sail line in the small hole in the bow of the deck and it was ready for the game in under a minute. The mast comes out without having to remove the rigging as the rear is permanently attached and the front lines use hasps to secure it. This is a perfect Dhow for 25/28mm figs. I fit a full 20 man TSATF unit in the rear and a gun with crew in the bow with space to spare.

These boats will look stunning on Dwight’s tables at Hurricon and Recon in Orlando, Florida and Rapier Con in Jacksonville, Florida, where he runs his Darkest Africa games. We use the rules set “The Sword In Africa”. It’s a Darkest Africa rules set from Sgt’s 3 that are in the same rules book as “The Sword And The Flame”. This is our preferred rules set, which we play as often as possible. We usually play in (2) TSIA games at each of our South Florida cons. These games are HUGE FUN and The Sword In Africa is an excellent set of rules for this period and theatre. I may be biased, but I think Dan’s boats are a beautiful addition to anyone Congo, Darkest Africa, or Colonial collections! Dan’s customer service and communication are excellent as well. If you are lucky you may see Dan and his boats at a con anywhere from Colorado to Florida.

A fully loaded and armed Dhow.....

I may be biased, but I think Dan’s boats are a beautiful addition to anyone Congo, Darkest Africa, or Colonial collections! Dan’s customer service and communication are excellent as well. If you are lucky you may see Dan and his boats at a con anywhere from Colorado to Florida.

Here's the link for the local Florida chapter of HMGS-South and the (2) conventions a year that we run as well as the other awesome Florida con, Rapier Con that the Jacksonville Garrison runs each year.

www.hmgs-south.com  &  http://www.rapiercon.com/

Cheers,

JB

Foxhole Terrain - Ship Review by Bill Hogan

28mm Naval 4-Gun Ship Review

By Bill Hogan

Suncoast Skirmishers, Tampa, Fl.

REVIEW:

In the interest of full disclosure I purchased and detailed three Foxhole Terrain 28mm ships long before I offered to do this review.  I used them in a game at HMGS South’s annual Hurricon convention in Orlando and was complimented on the converted variants, so I offered to write up my opinion on the casting and the conversion process.

The boats as provided are well done. They represent what is needed in war-gaming models as opposed to collectible vessels, namely space and durability without compromising too much detail.  My ships arrived without air bubbles and required minimal sanding for leveling or flash removal. The goal of this review is to give the gamer a workable model, doable within most gamers skill levels with results that add visual appeal to the game table.

Figure one demonstrates the basic additions required to take the ship onto the table. Although a dowel is supplied with the kit, my need to super detail and provide some visual variety took over .  I constructed three distinct variants by changing the sail design and surface details of each ship.  To keep the text to a minimum I have provided illustrations of most of the techniques.

Most of the detailing components are available within your budget.  Ultra small fishing tackle is available at Wal-Mart, Balsa is available at the hobby shop, only small amounts are required. Wood dowels are everywhere from yard signs, Home Depot or the hobby shop. You may need to go on line to ship kit manufacturers for intricate parts such as the Ship’s wheel although I used some figures with casted on steering wheels.  The lead foil is stripped from the necks of wine bottles although good foil is getting hard to come by.   

TOOLS & MATERIALS

The tools and materials I used are probably available to the average modeler or war gamer. The Electric screwdriver is a must and preferred for most tasks because it has a higher torque and slower speed than a power drill.  You may need to obtain the hand held reamer from a specialty shop however the other tools are fairly common.  When using the scalpel and hobby knife have extra blades.  An Old Modelers tip says, “The sharper the better”, when cutting sail cloth.

 

Fabricating the masts and sails may take a trip to the fabric shop. The most essential material is the fabric itself.  You need something durable that is either already colored or easily dyed to look like sails.  I found curtain backing fits the bill.  Curtain backing is cheap because it is designed to support fancy curtain material.  A small amount of material will last forever.

Another specialty product is the “Fray Check” liquid.  Seamstresses use this product to prevent cloth from fraying or a hem from coming loose.  I used it to stiffen and strengthen the fabric and ship rigging.  It will also prevent knots from coming loose.  Speaking of the ship rigging, having several gauges of thread and twine available is a good idea.  Some use thin wire, but it is harder to use and when using Fray Check twine still gets very strong. You can even paint balsa wood with it to strengthen the soft wool.  Alternatively, you can paint everything I’ve just described, with a mixture of white glue however, the Fray Check leaves things more flexible. (White glue also needs a few drops of denatured alcohol, which breaks the surface water tension and allows it to get fully absorbed.)

MAKING MASTS

Giving your masts that tapered look adds a lot to its visual appeal and accuracy.  Skipping this step will save a lot of time but I think the looks are worth it.  Insert a wooden dowel into the mouth (the Chuck) of your cordless electric drill.  For single end tapers install a slightly longer dowel into the chuck.  It will leave marks you can cut off later.  For double ended tapers you will need the actual sized dowel inserted with packing to prevent the chuck from marring the surface. The wood must be more firm that balsa so I used Popsicle sticks cut down. Some sanding may still be necessary.

Once you have your wood work done assembly is straight forward.  One advantage of the Foxhole Terrain casting procedure is that you get a flat thick deck to mount your sails.  As mentioned in figure 1 you will have cut down a bullet casing (or brass tubing) to accept your completed mast. The casing has the advantage as it has a bottom with a lip.  The lip can be mounted flush with the bottom and the mast will not drop through if smaller in diameter that the tube.  Wrap any exposed metal in ship rigging twine and paint with Fray Check.

I always cut my mast dowel slightly longer than I actually need.  You can always sand or cut down later.  I stain the naked dowel with diluted paint.  In this case I used a wood brown color.  Notice the difference between unstained and stained wood in figure 5. To get the multi-level mast effect make two mast braces, paint and install.  Tack with glue and then wrap twine and paint again with your Fray Check.  Install this portion before installing the cross frames at the bottom of the sail.  When dry lay the bare frame over plain paper (or for our high-risk takers, over the cloth, and draw slightly over sized sails.  Cut them out with an extra sharp scalpel and Tie them onto the masts.  You can use previously installed mast eyes or just drill a hole through the mast and pull the thread through.

The Middle Eastern Dhow Variant in Figure six shows another version of the sail tie down procedure.  It also illustrates how the small scale fishing tackle can be installed into the well-built walls of the Fox Hole Terrain casting.  This version requires extra hardware due to the weight of the sail.  It has a tendency to fall backward unless secured.  I found it a pleasant surprise that the Foxhole Terrain ship’s basic shape fit well with all three variants I built.

PUTTING THE SHIPS IN PLAY

Nothing separates the trash from the treasures like putting a model on the table top.  I have used these ships in a variety of games and they have been handled, dropped, admired and sloshed around in the trunk of the car without damage.  I will say, I do remove the masts when the game starts, but they are designed to take real world use.

Figure 7 illustrates how well suited their 4 gun ship takes a full sale in this cutter version.  There is ample room for figures and ordinance.  I installed 12 pounders for the photographs however I normally use 6 pounders to make room for more crew.

Figure 8 displays the table-top visual experience to its full effect.  The three ships illustrated are l functionally the same vessel which shows how altering the paint scheme and sail configuration can take your game-top visuals to another level.  The three ship variants shown are only a small sample of the possibilities.  I tend to make my sail configurations flat for storage, they create a small fingerprint on the gaming table, and they need far less rigging and tie downs than cross sails.

The busy dock scene with accompanying port buildings begins to illustrate how well the Foxhole Terrain ships compliment a variety of other manufacturer’s buildings and scratch-built features. Yes I built the docks, but that is another article. 

You may also notice that once the gaming action occurs around the boats I remove the sails.  Similarly I also remove the tops to my buildings when troops move inside.

Actually I had a blast working with these, very well made and utilitarian vessels.  I’ve received numerous positive comments on them and been awarded several “Best Gaming” awards at HMGS South Conventions. They are an excellent value at the MSRP of $22.00.

G.I. BLOOD'N GUTS - a Panzer Korps scenario book review

       G.I. Blood’N Guts, a Panzer Korps scenario book

I have recently received this scenario book, the sixth in the Panzer Korps series. This scenario book is very well done and laid out in an easy to follow format. The scenarios have obviously been extensively researched and thoroughly thought out. This module contains scenarios for the U.S. forces during WWII as the title implies.

As you can tell by the rules title this is not a skirmish set of rules, nor is it a company or battalion level game set. These rules are used for large operational games with divisions and corps maneuvering around the table top. In my humble opinion the rules are very playable, very fun, fast moving, and successfully give the feel of commanding an army during WWII. The scenario books can be easily adapted for other rules sets as well. 

The (11) scenarios are as follows:

Pacific: Henderson Field 1942, & Peleliue 1944.

North Africa: Sidi Bou Zid 1943 & Kasserine Pass 1943.

Sicily: Counterstroke at Gela1943.

France: The Atlantic Wall 1944, Battle for Vire 1944, & Battle of Bayon 1944.

Germany: Breaking the Siegfried Line 1944, The Huertgen Forrest 1944, &

A desperate Gamble the Ardennes west of Bastogne 1944.

The scenarios are set up with several sections, though the lay out for each scenario is not identical, each scenario will have ALL the pertinent info needed to play and enjoy each game. Each scenario starts off with the historical description of the actual battle with a brief synopsis of what happened, why, and which forces were involved. The next section is usually the “Map Notes”. Here you will find specific rules and modifiers for the local weather at the time of the battle and how it affects movement, visibility, cover mods, etc. This section will also contain troop set up, troop entrance locations, and the time of day the battle commences. Following this is the “Victory Conditions” section with a very clear cut explanation of the results required for one side or the other to be declared the winner of each battle. The remaining sections don’t always follow the same order but are still very well done, extremely descriptive and historically accurate.

The Maps themselves are great, very detailed, historically accurate from what I’ve found, and rather easy to replicate on the table top due to their simple layout in design. Here is where I have my ONLY criticism of this book, I’d love to see the maps in color! The legend and the graphics are well done enough to differentiate terrain items but it would be a huge step up to have them in color, just my personal preference. That being said, you can’t have a historically accurate game with out wonderful maps such as these.

*Here is an example map from the book but taken off the internet in color.

The meat and potatoes of each scenario is of course the OOB’s. These show the level of detail and the huge amount of research that has gone into making these scenario books, and all of the Panzer Korps scenario books, the great value that they are. Each scenario has amazingly detailed OOB’s for the forces involved which includes amongst other items, attached support elements, command structures, FO’s, off board artillery, and the special factor in the Panzer Korps rules set, the decorated leaders included in each force. Each sides OOB will contain all the units involved in the noted battles, special notes for each force which may contain air assets, communication notes, reinforcements schedules, option items, notes on why certain units were included or excluded, etc. etc. This is another great bonus of the book and once again shows the huge amount of research that went into this title. In closing I can honesty say that I highly recommend this Panzer Korps scenario book and I look forward to getting all of their scenario books and playing all of the battles, one day.

Here is the Panzer Koprs website, TMP link, and there is also a very active Yahoo group that supports this rules set.

www.panzerkorps.com

Yahoo group: PanzerkorpHQ

http://theminiaturespage.com/news/1972799212

Cheers,

Jeff

Sgtguinness.blogspot.com