Hordes of the Things - Dwarf Army (Part Four)

As I said in the opening to part one of this series, I love the flexibility of Hordes of the Things, particularly for building a miniatures army. Wargames Research Group did a great thing revamping their De Bellis Antiquitatis rules, originally to be used for Ancient (and Medieval) wargaming but revised for fantasy battles. The beauty of their rules for me is, in part, being able to pick and choose from across many miniatures lines to build a unique army with its own particular flavor. To that end I am building my Dwarf army.

I've always liked keeping a Dragon on the roster of Elements for a Hordes of the Things army.  I don't always use them, but having them as a potential threat and just for the fun of it seems like a good idea.  Plus, I like the way they look and their presence just screams "fantasy army" to me.  To that end, I made sure to include one on my Dwarf army roster, too.  I've had a more than a couple of different dragon figures over the years and have many currently.  For this usage, I needed one that would fit fairly well on a 60mm by 80mm base.  Often, I have noticed, dragon figures used for HotTs armies tend to overwhelm a base of this size.  While I don't like them to sprawl out over the front or sides, I don't mind if the tail prevents other elements from contacting the rear flank, though by the rules they can and certainly if an opponent wished to do so it would happen even if they had to set their own element off a bit to accomplish the combat attack during gameplay.

Nevertheless, I chose from my figures a Reaper Shadow Dragon which I had previously painted up as of the copper variety.  I decided for this Dwarf army to repaint it as a gold dragon and do something special with the base.

It took very little effort to slather the figure in gold over the copper (and the undertones worked for the shading), but I stepped it up using a red-gold mix to bring out even more darkness underneath.

The real fun part was enhancing the base.  Using some crystal gems/diamonds picked up at Hobby Lobby in a large bin, I used the flat mirrored sides to appear as platinum coins and arranged them as a hoard.

I also deconstructed some costume jewelry to garner a number of fake gems to add to the wealth beneath the dragon.

As you can see, the tail sticks out beyond the base but not egregiously so.

It took some time to place all of the individual coins and not have them extend beyond the base but it was worth the effort for the effect, IMO.

I love how this one turned out and I feel it really looks good on the tabletop for play.

Games Plus Floyd and his Creations (Part One)

For those who go to the Games Plus gamestore in Mount Prospect, IL, Floyd is likely no stranger.  Those who know him also know he is a fine craftsman of terrain and a top-notch miniatures painter.  He often puts his creations up for sale in the tall glass display case where staff and customer creations of note are for sale.  I took some photos of a recent addition to the display, a watch tower.  It's scratch-built and he has told me its core structure is a CD container.  It's based well and excellently painted.  If you are ever in the store, be sure to check out his work, and pick something up for your own game table while you are there.

 

Hordes of the Things - Dwarf Army (Part Three)

As I said in the opening to part one of this series, I love the flexibility of Hordes of the Things, particularly for building a miniatures army.  Wargames Research Group did a great thing revamping their De Bellis Antiquitatis rules, originally to be used for Ancient (and Medieval) wargaming but revised for fantasy battles. The beauty of their rules for me is, in part, being able to pick and choose from across many miniatures lines to build a unique army with its own particular flavor.  To that end I am building my Dwarf army.

I didn't have a Behemoth in my original army build but wanted some extra punch.  So after turn three when some adjustments were allowed per the campaign rules developed by Jeff of Games Plus though based on the simple campaign rules in the HotT rule set, I began looking around for a suitable figure.  People probably won't find this a coincidence that when I noticed a dusty box with a reduced price on the GP shelves I was drawn toward it.  When I discovered just what it was, I couldn't resist buying it.

This one has been around for a while, and though Emperors Choice still make a cyclops , the new one is a very different sculpt from this beauty by John Bager for their Giants of Arduin Series.

As soon as I saw it, I naturally thought of Ray Harryhausen, then I bought it.  Thankfully, it had been marked down, since it was a discontinued sculpt.  As you can see, it is a good sized mini.  I've got it glued to a 60mm x 60mm base, as per the Hordes of the Things rules, so obviously it is over four inches tall, and easily dwarfs (yup, went there) the other figures in the army.

I painted it fairly close to the picture on the box, though with slightly darker skin tones and a lighter horn for contrast.

It's hard to tell in these photos but the eye turned out well with some nice bloodshot lines.

I'm also very pleased at how the fur on the shoulders and the legs looks too.

Admittedly, there was a little more green stuff needed for the gaps than I would normally care to use but it worked out well and the base should come along fine with a few more rocks and some flocking after I spritz it with some matte finish.

Hordes of the Things - Dwarf Army (Part Two)

Allow me to reiterate that I love the flexibility of Hordes of the Things, particularly for building a miniatures army. Wargames Research Group did a great thing revamping their De Bellis Antiquitatis rules, originally to be used for Ancient (and Medieval) wargaming but revised for fantasy battles. The beauty of their rules for me is, in part, being able to pick and choose from across many miniatures lines to build a unique army with its own particular flavor. To that end I am building my Dwarf army.

One of the most creative parts of building an army for HotTs is coming up with a Stronghold idea.  Most are representational though you can certainly build one to scale with the army you field, these often coming in the form of a camp.  For my Dwarf army, I used some miscellaneous parts attached to a standard 80mm x 120mm base.  The idea for it began when I picked up some loose Stratego: Legends (1999) castle game pieces I found.  I added some trimmed plant stakes I picked up garage saling.

And the rest of the Stronghold developed as I pieced it all together.

I made a semicircle with the castle pieces.

Then built up a platform in the center with some foamcore board.

I ran some beams across the top, over the foamcore board, so it had a wooden platform, the foamcore acting only as a structural base for the wood pieces.

I added some guard rails aroound the platform.

I lined the back with vertical joists.

Then finished off the structure with some spiky defenses.

I primed the whole thing black and drybrushed the castle pieces with a few descendingly-light gray-toned paints.

Painting the wooden stake-pieces dark brown, which were purchased with green stain already on them, I went over them again with some lighter brown to bring out the natural woodgrain.  It's a fairly simple design and while the wooden portions took some time to cut uniformly, it wasn't very difficult.  I may add some lichen to dress up the base but it is perfectly playable as is.  Just as a contrast, here is an even simpler Stronghold, though not for this army, that I threw together with garage sale finds.

You can't get more simple than this.  It's a Christmas tree ornament, a clear plaster church with the blinking lights guts pulled out and the little crossed removed from over the door.  That's glued to a five-inch-by-five-inch glass base with a piece of white felt glued underneath to represent snow or ice.  It took all of five minutes to construct and the pieces cost maybe two dollars but for all that it looks great.  I used it in a Pathfinder game as a marker for a Druid's house that was visited by a party of player characters, just to have something on the table.  By contrast, a more intricate Stronghold that serves as a Fortress, essentially a fortified Stronghold with more defensive oomph, is currently under construction for the Dwarf army.  I'll blog about the one when it is complete, or closer to it.

Hordes of the Things - Dwarf Army (Part One)

If there's one set of miniatures wargame rules I love for their flexibility it has to be Hordes of the Things.  Wargames Research Group simplified and enhanced their De Bellis Antiquitatis rules for Ancient (and Medieval) wargaming rules so that they might be used for fantasy gaming.  The ability to use any and all minis to build an army that can do battle with even vastly different armies makes this ruleset one of my favorites.

I'm nearing the completion on the construction of a Dwarf army for a current local campaign.  I shoulda, woulda, coulda (No Excuses!) had it completed but for some pressing thesis work.  I'll try to get some good pictures of the elements of this army and show them off, highlighting the variety.  Among the elements in the ranks are Axe Wielders (Blades), Crossbows (Shooters), Boar Riders (Knights or Riders), a Frost Giant (Hero) and a Pony-Mounted Dwarf (Hero), Bears and Handlers (Beasts), a Dwarf Spellcaster (Cleric), Bat Swarms (Flyers), Two Dwarves among Cargo (Lurker), a Giant Cyclops (Behemoth), a Gargantuan Dwarf on Clouds (God), and a Gold Dragon (Dragon),.  Part of the fun in the construction of such an army is the creativity that goes into making the bases new and interesting.  Sometimes just arranging the individual figures on the prescribed base sizes can be a challenge but it goes beyond that when a figure or figures come with attached bases that would make the base terrain appear odd or lumpy, or when the attached bases are bigger than the prescribed base size, or when the figure simply doesn't fill out enough of the base to make it appealing.  The camps and strongholds can get particularly fun to construct.

For a first look, here are some simple Bat Swarms from Games Workshop painted to fit the blue color theme much of my army sports, arranged in rock formations to appear as if they are emerging from a cave mouth.  I used Vallejo Paints and Reaper paints, some rocks from a craft store like Michaels, along with some Grey Pumice also from Acrylicos Vallejo, and they are mounted on George Bases from RGD Products (sold locally at Games Plus and at some conventions) in 60mm x 40mm size (standard Flyer base for 25mm to 28mm figure scale).  If you aren't local, I would suggest checking out the GF9 Econo Bases from Gale Force Nine which can be had in quantity for low cost.  I have yet to seal these elements (I'm a fan of a Matte Finish) because I might still hit the bats with a bit of wash, though I don't want them to be much darker.  The finish might do enough along those lines.  Plus, I want to go over the red eyes a time or two more, perhaps even switching to orange from red, since that might obviously contrast a bit better with the blue tones.  We'll see!

The Kamloopian's Website & YouTube Channel

As I was looking around for some tips on hot wire foam cutting and shaping I ran across the site of The Kamloopian.  His actual name is Steve Delaney and he is a mixed media artist among many other things.  What caught my immediate interest were his videos on terrain building which can be accessed from his main site through the video link.  That takes you to his YouTube Channel which houses 350+ tutorials on many different aspects of terrain building from simple hills to architectural structures.  He works in many different scales and it is all very applicable to gaming or model railroading hobbies.  He's got an easygoing style and although, as he readily admits, the naming of his videos could be a bit more consistent, using the search feature in the uploads section in the grid view (linked above) should help a viewer glean whatever they need from his stockpile.  He tries very hard to be quite complete with close ups when possible and has additional pictures on the main website for better views when necessary.  Check him out when you have the time and definitely bookmark this treasure of a website.

ePawn

ePawn?  Okay, I'm listening and liking.  Well, here is the affordable gaming tabletop that I have long wished to see be made avalable.  The question for me will be how easily can it be programmed and can individual encounter files can be produced and included with adventures and settings?

According to gamespot.com . . .

ePawn Arena
- Available early 2012 for approximately $400The ePawn Arena is one of the more curious devices at E3 2011. The Arena is a 23-inch touchscreen that responds to pieces (like chess pieces or miniatures) with electronics embedded on the underside. Each piece can be treated as a different unit, in the event you’re playing chess or a tabletop game, it will be able to differentiate a plane from a tank, and a king from a queen.
Games programmed for it will be able to tell which direction unit are pointing and even how far apart they are. If we take a tabletop war game as an example, a well programmed game will be able to determine whether a unit is in range to fire, and whether rendered obstacles are in the way. It can also generate graphical effects like smoke or blood if a unit is hit.
ePawn will likely come with embeddable electronic pieces, so you can use your own existing pieces, in the event you have your own well-painted miniatures