Gallery – Page 39 – An Archive For The Steinberg Shed Space Blog

Wild West Town – Pop.6 (So Far)…

It seems a long while again since an update, so here are some images of the finished store fronts from the western town. The 6 Buffalo Soldiers I painted up have played out a few games now and Dead Mans Hand is proving to be a nice, simple distraction for the time being.

I had a couple of store fronts half heartedly done with printed signs already. Some of these were less tidy or clear than I wanted and when painting the windows and frames of these buildings, some had to go. The old Jail sign was a quick Google image steal that never looked good, or fitted the signboard it was stuck onto either.

This has been redone as a US Marshalls office along with the large store being made into the Tail Feathers Saloon. The Saloon also doubles up as the Telegraph office and the back room is planned to be a small undertakers offices… Obviously owned by someone with hopes of starting their own boardwalk empire.

The hotel came with its own sign so didn’t need an update after the painting was done.

The only sign to stay on its building is the Cattleman’s Club. I think of it fondly as a smaller, seedier bar for desperados and outlaws to frequent.

The medium store front, with the covered boardwalk, has been updated as a Post Office and General Store.

So far the town is not big enough to cover any more than a 3 foot board, but that should be perfect for Dead Mans Hand or Malifaux (if we ever go back to that).

The hotel needed some bath or shower facilities so a small water tower will come in useful to keep the residents from complaining about the water pressure.

And for when those outlaws finally find themselves falling foul of the law… We can always hang them high…

Campaign MK AKA Guess What I Bought In My Local Shopping Centre.

In my part of the world we have quite a few game shows that are only 1-2 hours away from us through the course of the year. Reading usually has two shows, London has one great big one, Oxfordshire gives us another one. The nice thing is that one of the clubs in our area hosts their own show, and has done since I was little. I have learned to appreciate this smaller but usually worthwhile event. It even has something for the whole family as it is run in one of the local shopping centres…

Campaign MK is Milton Keynes own game show and lets regular shoppers see what we the gamers get up to when left alone. Lots of normal shops and coffee shops, restaurants and bars, 20 or so participation games and a good mix of traders adds up to a fun day for all the family.

This year the family stayed at home and I was let out with the lads for a couple of hours fun. We played some games chatted with people we had not seen for some time and purchased things we really didn’t need.

My best buy was a copy of Dead Mans Hand from Great Escape Games. We did play a home brew western game, about 10 years ago, using 40mm plastic Cowboys and Indians. I must admit to having never played this period seriously at all. Surprising really considering how many western style houses I own.

The benefit of DMH is that it only needs a few figures (always a good idea for getting the painting for a new game done – although this has not helped yet with my Bushido crew).

I wanted some different figures, to play as lawmen or cowboys (or maybe desperados if they were deserters). One of the joys of this game is that there are thousands of figures already out there that can be used to represent your chosen faction.

I went for Buffalo soldiers. These are from Artizan Designs. I have never painted any figures with a skin tone other than pink. Even that gives me trouble sometimes. This time brown skin was the only option.

My reliance on shading with inks was never going to work here so eyeballs would need to be painted and dark hair made them even more in need of colour to bring them together.

Nice blue uniforms and yellow trim (not exactly authentic) helped to lightened them up a bit as well. Calico shirts were planned but a happy accident resulted in some pink shirts too. The white I was using picked up some old red ink from my pallet. I kept it that way as it reminded me of the pink underwear you sometimes see them wearing in cowboy movies…

The western town got enlarged by the purchase of a two-storey hotel at Campaign. This one comes from a small company named products for wargamers that is run by one of our local gamers. A great guy and great item.

The town is coming together nicely… A couple of bits need finishing off and I need to see what else I have that will fit in too.

Bushido Progress

I managed to get only a few minutes this week in the shed. Not enough time to get much done but the undercoat was finally applied to the Silvermoon starter set.

The scale, when compared to the shorter Wolsung Triad Orcs, is notably different. Even more so than I first expected. Some will fit in with my Triad crew, sumo wrestlers are meant to be huge aren’t they? Others may not be quite so useful for the other games we play.

When they are painted though, it will not be Wolsung that gets played first. We really need to get some games of Bushido played. Just so that I can lose at another game. It helps to make sure that I feel that I have made another great investment.

A Little More Wood.

Salute also resulted in the usual additions to the scenery in the shed. Less than most years and smaller parts too.

4ground supplied the first bits in the form of these wire barricades.

They go together easily and with little need for trimming or complex gluing. In fact, fitting the wire was the most complex bit! My advice would be not winding it too tight, this may seem simple but is harder than I expected when putting it into practice… keep this in mind if you pick up any yourselves.

I actually got ten of these (2 packs) for less than £10. A price that I think is very good. They should be useful in Bolt Action and Dust Warfare/ Battlefield as well as any post apocalyptic game. They may even be useful for the new Judge Dredd game if we go that way…

Sarissa Precision supplied me with a number of bits this year. Yet to be painted but they will get a simple basecoat and touch up very soon. These walkways will add the height to our games that we found useful when we played with the Deadzone scenery recently. The scale is good (the only figure I had to hand does not quite fit the scenery I know…) and it should fit in well with a number of the other industrial style items I already have in the shed.

The guys at the show did not have all the bits that I needed so they were kind enough to post the extra parts at no extra shipping cost to me. I am currently awaiting a couple of parts (longer straight walkways) but I will more than likely end up buying other bits from this set in time…

This little industrial unit was new on their catalogue for the show and looks great. Simple, and easy to build, and the roof looks like it should be removable. This is however, too fragile to be taken off and on regularly (I broke part of it on the second time I removed it). Mine will be fitted in place permanently to stop me causing more harm but this should not cause too many problems from a game play point.

My plan is to use a paint job that matches or at least compliments the workshop I have by Warbases. The slightly worn look I managed on that building should be good here too.

Lastly I picked up something I have wanted for some time. The Bandstand is a great idea. It has little use in gaming but as a project should be fun and add flavour to the ever growing town I have hidden all over the shed.

All in all a great little haul. Very pleased with what I have got. The only item I regret not buying is the new Warbases cricket pavilion. Again it has no great gameplay purpose but I think it has to be something every town needs. Maybe next time…

Bushido And The New Oriental Push.

Salute, the biggest one day gaming show in the UK, happened recently. We made our annual trip all the way to London (not too difficult as the UK is only a small country really). This year though I had less on my list of things to buy…

The central aspect for my plan was to dip my toe into a new game. Not an uncommon expectation for an attendee of a game show. This year though, I had the name of that game clear in my head.

Bushido – by GCT Studios. Coronasan had introduced this game to us a year or so ago. I liked it back then, and the more observant of you may have seen an increasing number of oriental items appearing in the shed and in these posts. The general theme of the last months has varied but a lot of the games have shown an oriental edge. These influences include Ronin by Osprey, my Wolsung Triad Orc crew, new bamboo groves and smaller stands of blossom trees.

I succeeded in picking up a starter crew and the main rulebook for Bushido at Salute at good prices. On the day after, during a family shopping trip, I found these great little items. The arch was a fishtank ornament and the Buddha was a tea light holder from a pound shop. Both Bargains to my mind.

The starter I chose was for The Silvermoon Trade Syndicate. The fluff in the book describes them as a group of criminal gangs that have used their ill gotten gains to make themselves into the bank for the Bushido world. As such, their power is now widespread and they have gained influence over the other families due to their loans and debts.

The crew itself fits in well with my Wolsung Triad crew. The figures are however, of a notably larger scale than those for Wolsung.

The figures are great although the smaller parts are very fine. So fine that the weapons and hands were too fine to pin (not that I am any good at that anyhow).

My solution is one I have used in the past. Glue coated thread and a heavy frown on my brow while I am carefully winding it around the wrists. If you do it right the thread looks like bracelets or bindings. If you do it wrong it looks like you wrapped the arms in glue and thread…

Even after all the hassle with the arms, this chap stands out as a great example of the effort taken by GCT Studios to pose their figures. From the momentum expressed by the clothing and ribbons to the flip flop stretched to its limits as he leaps forward. The effort they have put in is greatly appreciated by me. We will see how the whole thing comes out after I paint him up.

Judging by our owning Wolsung for a year before playing it, I will wait and see how long it takes to get this on the table.

A Dystopian War And Some New Additions

The new fad that is Dystopian Wars, has led to a modest spend on my own fleet. Ebay has again come through with a collection of new and used ships that should allow me to field an effective force. This is a force from the Covenant of Antarctica army list.

This small collection included a new dreadnought and group of destroyers for about a quarter of their retail price. I also picked up a used starter fleet with rules for about half normal retail price…

Not bad as all they needed was a quick scrub to get some of the original paint off and a respray with a slightly darker base coat colour. The full paint job will be lighter with a couple of dry brush coats and then picking out the details. I am not expecting to do a detailed paintjob as at this scale the overall look is what I am aiming for not a master class in fine details.

While these were drying we actually got a game in to see how the Americans (and the basic rules) played out on a table. Coronasan, who has a large British fleet, was up for a game and we cobbled together the mix of rules and thrashed them out using version 1 with some more up to date and advanced tiny flyer rules. Coronasan’s Dreadfleet mat proved a good size and added a simple and very effective backdrop. We decided to leave all scenery and islands off the table, and keep things simple, for this first run through.

Overall it went well. I learned the importance of escorts and the fragility of smaller ships. My fleet carrier is a massive ship but appears fairly limited in its worth on the table. This may be because I do not manage my tiny flyers as well as I might at the moment, but time will tell as to whether this will show its worth.

Flyers play an important part in what is essentially a combined arms set of rules. These air ships were a useful asset as their mobility and speed added something to the force the ships seem to lack.

In the end the British Dreadnought was king of the waves and the Americans were sent packing with their tails firmly between their legs…

My tiny flyers proved useful and I suspect that they will be useful in future games. I do think they are the under used and under estimated aspect that I will need to get to grips with before my next game.

Next up the aftermath of Salute…

A Flight Of Fancy And The Start Of The Dystopian Wars

A small change in direction was had recently (probably no surprise to regular readers). This came about as a result of my long fascination with finding a boat game to play that ticked all the right boxes but remained light and easy to play.

As I have never found that game, any cheap alternative will do I guess. It just so happens that about everyone I game with has at some point bought (but not always then used or painted) a Dystopian Wars fleet. In fact I am the only one without one…

Until now…

Well actually I still don’t have one, as this little American fleet is on long term load from a friend. He bought it half painted and as a second fleet, even though he does not paint or play Dystopian wars. I bet we all know some one like that… (Or maybe Veganman, you are more special than I thought)

When I say half painted I mean half the ships were fully painted and half were only half painted. So REALLY half painted. The problem with this is getting the remaining items, and any new ships, painted up to match. God alone knows what colours the original owner used but I think I did a fairly good job of finishing them off.

One new addition to the force was the carrier and tiny flyers. The flyers were easy enough as all were unpainted so I could do what I wanted. The green metallic colour was more of a challenge on the frigates and carrier to match the original. The decking came out ok too.

After painting over 50 tiny aircraft my desire to continue was struggling but it was worth it in the end.

Now to see how they play out on the waves. Only problem is we all seam to have slightly differing rule sets for this one (Versions 1 / 1.1 / 2). I am sure it will all turn out great in the end…

Next up their first outing…

Wolsung, Objective Based Games.

Another 3 feet of fun happened when we tried to play the objective based games that are listed in the online expansion for Wolsung.

The western town was back out for this one and gave us some simple terrain to allow us to focus on the objective (a small red telephone box) placed in the centre of the table.

A couple of proxies were used for the figures yet to be released and we were off again. The Ash and Oak, with their wheelchair bound leader were fastest to the objective while the Inventers carried enough fire power to pick off smaller models that popped their heads up. Shield spells were also used by the Inventers to good effect and covering every team member in 6 a inch radius.

Shields don’t work too well against hand to hand combat so the gentlemen decided to get up close and personal at the site of interest, the objective itself…

Overall this played well and added an edge to the game that was lacking from the kill the hero style missions from the original book. The objective ensured lots more movement and led to closer interaction than the usual stand off and shoot games of late.

Wolsung, More Bases And More Men.

The Wolsung buzz continues as I am thinking about new members for the Triad club I use. A second starter set adds 3 more henchmen. These are copies of the original 3 I own, but 2 come with slightly different options, allowing new poses due to customisable parts. Also, as I made green stuff bases for the first starter set, the addition of custom bases will allow me to change their look enough to make them individual.

I have enjoyed toying with greed stuff again and 2 out of the three came out as well as I would have liked. The sand base looked very flat when I made it so some water effect was added later to add some more interest.

The Proxy crew I am using for the Ash and Oak club needed some hounds to play with one of their heroes too. Warlord Games do some great little dogs in their Celtic range. These were smaller than I expected them to be when they arrived but look good when painted up. I guess I am used to heroic scale dogs, like those from my Wulfen Jaeger crew from Empire of the Dead, rather than true 28mm dogs.

Basic paints done and ready for figures to be finished…

Water effect gloss done and they fit quite well with the older bases too (thankfully…)

The puppies (as they are now called) based to fit my old Empire of the Dead Zendarians.

The next table is now set up for a game and I hope to run the Ash and Oak club myself next game to give my opponent a nice surprise.

Just as I was finishing the post this chap was finishing drying too. Trader No.2, ready to pop smoke all over the battlefield and obscure anyones chances of shooting my Triad heroes.

Until next time… When a second Fisherman and Shade will be completed (I hope).

Wolsung, In A More Traditional Setting.

My ‘Old West’ scenery, originally built with Malifaux in mind, was out recently to play phase two of our Wolsung games. Less height and more scattered cover makes any game play differently, but the game was just as quick and bloody if we weren’t too careful.

These boards are porpose built as a 3’x3′ setup and I thought they wouldn’t see too much use after we left Malifaux behind a couple of years ago. Its nice to have a game on that sized table again to get some use out of them. The river board can be swapped out to a grass board for more scenery to be added if needed. Or for larger games it can be a 3’x4.5′ board using all three pieces. The town is half old west store fronts from Sarissa Precision and half 4Ground frontier houses. I just need some higher points to add to the variety. A water tower and gallows would do that quite well I think.

Again the heroes went up and over while the henchmen covered their backs. This was a three hero fight and added an extra couple of chaps to each crew. Even so, this only left me with 6 Triad figures to play a game.

The old colonel was pushed about by the bruiser again and took pot shots at anything he could see.

My close combat hero, Phoenix, was no match for the Ash and Oak’s Heroes this time and they managed to take him out and retreat before I could retaliate in anyway. Strike and fade seems to play as a good tactic for these assassination games.

One of the triad tricks is to place smoke screens (mist clouds) as quick actions from lower grade henchmen. Add in one hero, Mr Cheng, and all these clouds become acidic and harmful…

A good couple of games again and next up we should be trying the new missions. I do need to find something to represent the many mist clouds I seem to be using in most of our games.