Making some Sci-Fi Terrain

This week’s modelling has focused on scratch-building and kit-bashing additions for my Star Wars collection. Earlier in the week I kit-bashed a dinosaur from the discount shop with a mounted figure from my spare parts box (see previous post).  While I had been rummaging through my spares collection, I came across a collection of old seedpods I had collected years ago on one of my walks. I am always on the lookout for items that could be used as terrain. So it seemed timely to add to my Sci-Fi terrain collection.

Additional terrain made from seedpods.

At first, I planned to simply trim the bases so they would sit flat on the tabletop, but they looked a bit dull and boring. To give them more character, and to better match my retro-style sci-fi terrain, I decided to apply some washes and use some dry brushing to highlight their shapes.

The seedpod brown colour was uninspiring and boring.

I cut the bases off the seedpods to make them sit flat.

For the washes, I used watered-down craft acrylics applied liberally with a brush. Once dry, I then dry brushed them with my regular model paints. There were two types of seedpods to work with. One set was washed in blue, dry brushed in light blue, and finished with touches of dark red around the openings to give them a look of a carnivorous plant. The second set was washed in red and dry brushed with yellow, producing a spiky cactus look.

The blue carnivorous plant life.

The red looking cactus.

These new pieces will add some more colour to the tabletop and can double as dangerous terrain when a scenario calls for it. I will most likely be using the blue, carnivorous-looking plants for that particular role.

I couldn’t resist getting these new additions on to the tabletop and play a few solo Star Wars games using the Squad Hammer Core rules from Nordic Weasel Games.

Kit-bashing a couple of Star Wars Legion models

This week I was rummaging through my Star Wars Legion spares box, filled with all those leftover and unused bits from past kits, to see if I could find enough pieces to kit-bash a couple of new models. I managed to come up with two, the first model was a Mandalorian riding a dinosaur. The model began with a child’s plastic dinosaur that I had picked up from a local discount shop. The rider uses the spare body of a seated Clone Trooper combined with an unused Mandalorian head and jet-pack. The figure fitted neatly on the dinosaur, and I sculpted a saddle and straps using Green Stuff epoxy putty, while the reins were made from thin wire.

A kit-bashed model for my Star Wars Legion collection.

The hardest part of this model turned out to be painting the dinosaur. In my first attempt I used a grey base with a blue wash. It did not look right at all. So, after a bit of research into dinosaur colours and patterns, I tried again with a clay tone and yellow shading. This gave the creature a far more natural and interesting appearance, well suited to a desert environment.

The unpainted model with the plastic toy dinosaur.

The dinosaur colour and. patterning took a while to get right.

 The Mandalorian rider will be able to serve with either Imperial or Rebel forces. 

The reason I decided to make the rider a Mandalorian, was so the model could serve with either Imperial or Rebel forces. The idea of using a dinosaur came from my existing Imperial Dewback Rider, and the scale of the model fits perfectly alongside it.

A comparison to the "Official" Dewback Rider.

The second kit-bashed model I put together was a repair droid. Its body comes from the centre console of another model. I always paint in the windows so I can skip building the interiors. The head and tracks were taken from an unused variant of a different droid kit, while the spare arms came from a more humanoid-style of droid. With all these mismatched parts combined, the finished model definitely has a bit of a Frankenstein vibe to it.

The kit-bashed droid.

he droid seems to be waving his arms around saying "Danger! Danger!"

I plan to use the droid to undertake repairs to any damaged vehicles in my Star Wars games.

Napoleonic Naval Game Report and Rules

Last week my daughter visited for the day. When she is over we will often play a couple of One-Hour Skirmish Wargames using my Games Workshop Necromunda figures. It is a fast card-driven game that delivers plenty of fun moments.

A naval action underway using some ships scratch built from MDF and card.

This time, however, I decided to try something different, a Napoleonic naval wargame. I started with a simple set of rules from the Junior General website, but modified them to use a deck of playing cards instead of dice. I also introduced changes to the activation and movement rules, and the model ships are moved on  a hex grid rather than free movement. The full set of rules can be found under the “Napoleonic Naval Rules” tab at the top of the blog (or you can click here). The idea to play a naval came was prompted by week marking the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar on 21st October, 1805.

Over the course of the day, in between a few other tasks, we managed to fit in three games. The first couple of games were small engagements with just a few ships as we familiarised ourselves with the rules. The opening scenario was a simple patrol, with opposing ships unexpectedly crossing paths. The second scenario saw a blockade runner attempting to slip past three enemy ships.

A patrol game.

A blockade game underway.

For the third and deciding game had both the French and British fielding a squadron four ships, with the objective simply to engage and destroy the opposing force.

The French squadron, deployed in two lines running with the wind, closes in on the small British squadron sailing in line ahead. 

The French ships move into gunnery range, opening fire as they bear down on the British who return fire.

One French ship becomes entangled in the British line while others swing around to cut off the lead British ship.

The battle lines quickly become confused amid the smoke and cannon fire. One French ship has already struck its colours.

The fighting devolves into a series of fierce, ship-to-ship duels as the formations breakup.

Both fleets have suffered heavy damage, with several ships sunk or with colours struck. The remaining vessels manoeuvre to re-engage any enemy still afloat.

In the end, two battered ships remain locked in combat, neither able to gain the upper hand. The battle ends in a hard-fought draw.

A fun day of wargaming, with the final battle ending in a draw and honours shared. After the games I thought about adding a few more ships to the fleets, but with the space I have available, anything more than four ships per side would start to limit the ability of ships to manoeuvre.

Preparing for a cheap and cheerful Naval Wargame

While sorting through and tidying up various free rule sets I have downloaded over the years to my computer, I came across a set of Napoleonic naval wargame rules. With the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) next week, it seemed like a good idea to get my scratch built semi-flat Napoleonic ships out of their storage box and onto the tabletop for a game.

I made these ships back in 2018 using 3mm MDF and card. However, they have rarely seen any action since. For those interested, the original post with details on how I built them can be found here.

My scratch built ships in action.

One thing I never finished at the time was adding flags to distinguish the ships of each side. So this weekend I set about remedying that by making some simple flags using nails and masking tape. The flags will slot into small holes drilled into the stern of each model ship. That way it gives me flexibility to use the ships for other nationalities.

Masking tape is attached to the small nails.

 

Holes are drilled into the stern of the model ships.

The flags are painted and await a coat of PVA to seal them.

The flags added to the French fleet.

With the ships now flying their flags, I set up the tabletop using a blue felt cloth which on one side is marked out in hexes. Each hex corner (or vertex - I had to look that up) has a small dab of whitish paint to suggest waves, and the entire cloth is covered with a clear plastic sheet, which helps give a wet and watery look.

The dabs of paint mark out the hexes. I have drawn out a hex to give an idea of a hex.

Another missing element was a way to track hits. In my first test game, I used dice, but they looked rather out of place on the table trailing behind the ships. To improve on this, I cut some small square counters from 3mm MDF to record damage. Each counter has its sides numbered and is placed beside the ship to show the hits it has taken. Originally, the tokens were simply painted blue, but before adding the numbers with a marker I added a couple of washes and dabbed the surface to create a dappled effect. This helps to break up the flat colour.

The square counters. One counter as 1-4 on one side and 5-8 on the other. The second counter has 9-12 on one side and 13-16 on the other. This way I can if needs be track up to 16 hits.

The ship in the foreground has taken 7 hits and the one in the background has 3 hits.

All being well my next post will cover the game and rules for a small Napoleonic Naval engagement.

Sci-Fi Squad Hammer games, rule additions, and terrain

It has been quite some time since I last had any of my Warhammer 40K collections on the tabletop for a game. In recent months, my Star Wars Legion forces have been my focus for my sci-fi gaming, they are the new and shiny project at the moment. For my Star Wars games, I have been using the Squad Hammer Core rules. These provide an enjoyable and flexible set of rules for my solo sci-fi wargaming, and I thought I would give the rules a go with my Warhammer 40K forces.

Space marines advance. One of the last factions I painted more than a decade ago.

For a number of years I collected Warhammer 40K and I have quite a few armies to choose from:

• Ultramarines
• Sons of the Sword Space Marines (a chapter of my own creation)
• Necrons
• Orks
• Tyranids
• Tau
• Chaos Space Marines
• Imperial Guard

For my game, I chose the Sons of the Sword Marines and Necrons. Playing on a 4' x 4' tabletop, I kept things small and manageable, with each side fielding around seven to nine units.

After the first game, I started thinking about how to bring more of a 40K narrative to the tabletop by incorporating some of the special rules that give each faction its character. My initial idea was to use chance cards, but I decided instead to create some army-specific tables to roll against.

A player could spend one of their orders to roll on their faction’s table. In the Squad Hammer Core rules, players get to roll two D6 and choose the higher result when determining how many units they may activate that turn. With forces of about seven to nine units per side, sacrificing one order to roll on a chance table felt like an interesting and hopefully balanced trade-off.

To capture the right feel and narrative for each army, I delved into my old Space Marines and Necron codexes. They are not the latest editions, I bought them more than fifteen years ago when I was collecting them and occasionally playing using the official 40K rules. They provided plenty of inspiration for some special rules and abilities I wanted to include.

Some of my old Codexes which still sitting on the book shelves. I particularly like the front cover of the Necron codex, very atmospheric.

Below are the initial special rule tables I used. If an order is used for a special rule, a player rolls a D6 and consults the table to determine which special rule will be used. The rules allow units in some cases to make an extra action in addition to any order they receive during the turn. A roll of 1 always results in a wasted order. 

Space Marine Special Rules Table:

1. Communications Disrupted – The order fails to get through.
2. Bolter Discipline, Brothers! – The Emperor steadies their aim. Add 1 to all target acquisition dice rolls.
3. Advance, Brothers! – One unit may make a free move or charge.
4. By Bolt and Blade! – One unit may make a free shot.
5. The Emperor Protects! – One unit of the player’s choice may remove 3 hits.
6. Storm from the Heavens! – A gunship screams overhead. Select one enemy unit within range of a friendly unit; it immediately takes D6 hits as strafing fire rakes its position.

Necron Special Rules Table:

1. Signal Interference – No special orders are issued.
2. Advance of the Deathless – The silent ranks glide forward without pause. All warrior units may make a free move, but cannot charge.
3. Resurrection – One unit of the player’s choice may remove 3 hits.
4. Disruption Field – Enemy units cannot return fire during this Necron player's turn.
5. Veil of Darkness – A unit within one bound of a Necron Lord or Monolith may deep strike anywhere on the tabletop. Use scatter dice to determine the exact position.
6. Death from the Skies – A Doom Scythe appears overhead, its death rays slicing through the air. Select one enemy unit within range of a friendly unit; it immediately takes D6 hits.

After a couple of games, I decided to add another twist to the special rules (which I had started to call Special Tactics). A player could now spend two orders instead of one to roll two dice and choose the special rule that best suited their situation. If doubles were rolled, they could be rerolled.

A game underway.

In addition to playing a few games, I took advantage of a very wet weekend to paint up some cheap Halloween skulls I had purchased a while ago for a couple of dollars. The intent was to use them as scenery pieces for my sci-fi or fantasy games. 

The original skulls sanded and gaps filled.

Painted grey, with a couple of washes added before they were dry brushed with a light grey and bone colour.

I did consider mounting the skulls on bases, but leaving them loose gives me far more flexibility in how they could be used. For example: singly with rocks piled around to block line of sight, grouped together as a larger terrain feature, or by carefully placing the rocks they can be used to create a vantage point for a unit.

Three skulls with rocks piled around to create a large feature.

Placed individually to create blocking terrain or objectives.

Additional rocks can be added to create a platform that can be used as a vantage point for snipers.

Next I will be adding some psychic rules as I hopefully get other W40K armies on to the tabletop.

Creating a morning attack scenario and battle report

Last week I posted about a remote game I played, hosted by Jon from Palouse Wargaming Journal. The game was the Battle of Quistello, 1734. Unfortunately, because I forgot to take screenshots during play, I had to recreate the flow of the game afterwards using a simple map and a few cut-out counters based on memory (you can read the post here).

The map and counters used to describe the ebb and flow of the remote Battle of Quistello.

As mentioned previously, the map got me thinking about creating a simplified scenario of the battle, with around 8-10 units per side (roughly a third of those used in the remote game). This past week I have been playing a few quick games, slowly refining and adapting the scenario. For the testing I used a variation of the One-Hour Wargames (OHW) Horse and Musket rules which are quick and straightforward using my Marlburian paper armies 

The Marlburian paper armies. These stand at approximately 42mm tall. I increased the size when photocopying them, it makes them easier to cut out and the wonderful artwork by Peter Dennis is easy to see.

My ad-hoc approach to creating the scenario started with laying out the terrain features on my 6 foot by 4 foot tabletop, running a test game, and then making adjustments. The terrain setup went through three iterations. The first scenario iteration closely followed the layout from the original remote game, with some compromises for table size and figure scale. I was using 42mm paper soldiers, whereas the remote game used (I believe) 15mm figures. I also matched the proportion of reserves as closely as possible to the original battle briefing provided by Jon.

The scenario had three objectives:

1. The farm on the defender’s right flank
2. The village on the defender’s left flank
3. The town to the defender’s rear

Victory conditions were: holding or capturing two objectives counted as a minor victory, while controlling all three secured a major victory.

Tabletop layout for the first iteration of the scenario. The objectives highlighted with a black circle and troop entry points are A and B for Blue force and C for Red force.

In the second iteration, the objectives were placed more symmetrically, rather than being concentrated on the defender’s left flank. This made the choices of attack and defence less obvious. The canal was also repositioned, set at a right angle to the river instead of running diagonally across the table, dividing the centre from the defender’s left. This adjustment was simply a “let’s try it and see” change, but it did not really improve or add to the scenario.

The defender’s forces were split into three equal groups, with any odd units assigned at the defending player’s discretion, but no more than one unit being added to a single group. Off-table reserves entered from the defender’s two tabletop corners, one unit per corner per turn, beginning on turn 3. So, on turn 3, a unit would arrive at each corner, and so on in subsequent turns until all reserve units arrived.

The tabletop layout for the second iteration of the scenario.

In the third iteration, the canal was once again positioned diagonally across the table, giving any defenders in the town some protection in hand-to-hand combat. By this stage, I had also settled on the rules for the on-table defenders. They could not act until: an enemy came within 12 inches, they were attacked, or until turn 3, when they became free to move and shoot. The later battle report is based on this version of the scenario.

The arrival of reserves remained mostly the same, with one unit appearing at each corner from turn 3 onwards, but with the added restriction that faster units had to arrive before slower ones. The order being: cavalry first, followed by infantry, and finally artillery.

The victory conditions were further simplified. The attacker must capture and hold two objectives by turn 15 to win. Otherwise, the defender is victorious.

The tabletop layout for the third iteration.

In all versions of the scenario, I added small clumps or copses of trees around the river and canal crossings. This prevented attackers from making crossings too easily and forced their lines to break up as they advanced. All units deducted 3 inches of movement when crossing rivers, while artillery could only cross via bridges.

In total, I played six games to test the different scenario variations. A couple of games were ended early when changes, such as placing the canal at right angles to the river, did not work out. While others went the full course. As expected from using the Battle of Quistello as the basis, the scenario proved challenging for the defenders.

Notes on OHW Horse and Musket War Rule Adjustments

• Dragoons replace skirmishers. They may dismount (costing half a move) and fire with D6–2. When mounted, they can charge, causing D6 hits, but are less effective than cavalry, who inflict D6+2 hits.
• Artillery must remain stationary once they have fired, reflecting the difficulty of moving guns in this period.
• Formations are less flexible: units may pivot only once at the start or end of their move.
• Flank/rear charges and enfilade fire: instead of doubling hits, roll 2D6 and take the higher result.
• Elimination thresholds. Infantry are eliminated at 15 hits (standard OHW) while Cavalry, artillery, and dragoons are eliminated at 8 hits. This makes frontal cavalry and dragoon charges against fresh infantry generally unlikely to succeed, unless the infantry are already weakened.
• Army Resolve: Once more than half of an army’s units are eliminated, all remaining units immediately suffer 2 additional hits.
• Commanders (typically three in play) may join a unit to perform one of the following actions:

1. Get a free movement, including a charge.
2. Rally the unit, removing D6 hits.
3. Direct an infantry attack, allowing the unit to fire twice.

• Once joined, a commander remains with that unit and cannot take any further action. Only one commander may be attached to a unit, and only one commander action may be taken per turn.

The Scenario - Morning Attack

Situation

The Red Army has marched overnight and is launching a surprise attack across a fordable river on the Blue Army, which is camped north of the river. Red’s objective is to seize control of the farm, village, and town.

Army Sizes

• Both sides field 9 units.

Deployment

• Blue Army: Deploy 3 units north of the river (running east–west) all within 12" of the bridge.
• Red Army: No units deployed at the start of the game.

Reinforcements

• Turn 1: All Red units enter from the southern table edge.
• Turn 3: 2 Blue units arrive—1 at each corner of the northern table edge.
• Turn 4: 2 Blue units arrive—1 at each corner of the northern table edge.
• Turn 5: 2 Blue units arrive—1 at each corner of the northern table edge.

Special Rules

• Rivers and canals are fordable by infantry, dragoons, and cavalry, but not artillery. Crossing deducts 3" of movement.
• Blue units cannot move or shoot until: a Red unit comes within 12 inches, they are attacked, or it is Turn 3.
• Blue reserve units must arrive in the following order: cavalry or dragoons, infantry, and artillery.

Game Length

The scenario lasts 15 turns. The Red player moves first each turn.

Victory Conditions

Red Victory: Control at least two of the three objectives (farm, village, town). To control an objective, no Blue unit may be within 3 inches of an objective. Otherwise, the Blue Army wins.

Inspiration

Based on a remote game hosted by Jon at Palouse Wargaming Journal. The scenario draws from the Battle of Quistello (1734), during the War of the Polish Succession, where Austrian forces surprised the Franco-Piedmontese by crossing the Secchia River, capturing supplies, prisoners, and forcing a retreat.

Map

Tabletop layout for Morning Attack.

Table for selecting army units.

Battle report

The game is being played with my Marlburian paper armies, with the French as the defending Blue force and the Allies as the attacking Red force.

Order of Battle

The French rolled 5 on the table for selecting units. They will field the following:

• 4 Infantry units
• 2 Artillery units
• 1 Dragoon unit
• 2 Cavalry units

The Allies rolled a 2 on the table. They will field the following:

• 3 Infantry units
• 1 Artillery unit
• 2 Dragoon units
• 3 Cavalry units

Both armies will have 3 commanders. One French commander starts on the tabletop, while the other can arrive at the same time as any reserve unit.

Tabletop sets with 3 Blue army units positioned within 12 inches of the bridge.

The Allied forces advance swiftly towards the river. Cavalry on both flanks forded the water with little delay, while in the centre their infantry pressed forward under the cover of supporting artillery fire. The surprised French defenders along the river responded with musket fire and began to refuse their right flank as Allied dragoons threatened their position.

Opening moves as the Allied units arrive.

The Allies press forward in the centre while their cavalry on the flanks ford the river.

The Allied cavalry rapidly pressed forward, advancing on the farm and towards the town. By this time, French reserves had slowly begun to appear on the flanks, but all three objectives are currently controlled by the Allies. In the centre, a unit of dragoons charged the French infantry, who mounted a stubborn defence under their commander’s rallying efforts. Gradually, however, their centre began to take casualties, allowing the Allied infantry to start crossing the river.

Allied cavalry advance towards the town, while French reserves start to appear.

On the left flank Allied cavalry attack the French infantry and hold the farm.

In the centre Allied infantry start to make headway and begin crossing the river.

More French reserves entered the field as a cavalry clash broke out around the farm. Allied dragoons pushed into the town and waited for their infantry to arrive. On the Allied right, a brief cavalry skirmish quickly ended, leaving French infantry and artillery facing off against Allied infantry near the village.

A cavalry clash on the Allied left flank.

Infantry push up in the centre while infantry face off on the Allied right flank.

French cavalry and infantry soon gained the upper hand near the farm, overwhelming the Allied cavalry and routing them, leaving the farm in French control. In the centre, the last French infantry unit, being unopposed, began marching back towards the town. While cavalry from the farm also moved towards the town, which is defended by a single unit of Allied dragoons.

Near the farm the French gain the upper hand.

With the farm in their control, the French start to advance towards the town.

On the French left, their infantry hold firm against the advancing Allied foot, preventing them from supporting the single dragoon unit in the town. Overwhelmed by combined French infantry and cavalry attacks, the dragoons were swept away, leaving the town firmly in French control. With their numbers dwindling, the Allies are forced to withdraw, holding only a single objective.

French hold off the advancing Allied infantry who are trying to support the dragoons in the town.

The dragoons are routed and the Allies lose control of the town and another objective. They now only hold one objective, the village on the right flank.

Wrap up

The battle ended in a French victory. Their stubborn defence ultimately secured the day. Although the Allied cavalry and dragoons advanced swiftly, they lacked sufficient infantry to consolidate and hold their objectives. A more focused effort on just two of the objectives, the village and the town, might have been the better approach. 

This was the second play through using this last version of the scenario. In the previous game, it was the Allies who claimed the win.