Magnetic Basing Bargain

I spent some time this afternoon re-organising my RAF and Luftwaffe collections for the Bag The Hun 2 game on Tuesday. As a result, I now have the early and late war RAF planes in one storage box and the early war Luftwaffe planes in another, rather than having them all mixed up. In the process of swapping the models around I realised how rubbish my 'stick 'em down with blobs of blu-tack' storage method actually is.

I have a plan, however, which will utilise my latest bargain find, in the form of several packs of magnetic photo paper from Poundland. These have two sheets of thick magnetised paper per pack, which can be cut up and glued to the underside of the resin hex bases. I can then use metal boxes to store the models in, thus avoiding the twisting and pulling to get them unstuck from the blu-tack, with the inevitable bending and snapping that results.

I suppose I could just re-base the whole lot with tiddly magnets but it's too late for that now, as I went down the permanent hex base approach a long time ago and have to stick with it. Anyway, I'm going to experiment with the cheapo fridge magnet paper which hasn't cost an arm and a leg. If it doesn't work for the planes, I can always re-use it for some other figures, with the BKC Italians or the Impetus Picts being good candidates for a trial run.

Curse You Waterstones!

A dangerous 'buy one get one half price offer' and some points on the loyalty card mean three more titles for the bookshelf, which is now in imminent danger of implosion under the combined weight of several hundred volumes. These three are, however, welcome additions to the inner sanctum of historical reading material, so I have no guilt.....well, not much.

Bag the Hun Channel Dash Cards

I've now decided that the Battle of Britain Channel Dash scenario is a definite for Tuesday's game, although I'm still going to push on with the RAF planes for Tobruk over the weekend. The Hurricanes, in particular are virtually done, so I should be able to sign them off given a couple of hours to spare. I need to paint the bases and add the decals, so it shouldn't be too difficult despite the shed re-felting, Laser Quest (TM) birthday party and rugby training for the sprog.

Anyway, I've been provided with a full set of top notch turn cards by Mr Duncan Hamilton Esq, who spotted the post I made a couple of days ago and offered to let me use his full colour spangly version of what would otherwise be my feeble card deck. He's even customised the cards with the appropriate pictures and names for the aircraft and aces in the scenario.

http://duncanhamilton.blogspot.co.uk/

Needleess to say, I am extremely grateful and will be posting some photos of the game that will feature Dunc's cards centre stage. I've also sent him the scenario sheets and briefings, which is a small return for his time and effort. I'm going to laminate the cards in A6 plastic to make them look the business, so I'm sure they'll impress the natives and make the game run like a greased whippet in lycra hot pants.

Thanks DH! 

Bag the Hun North Africa [18]

I had some time this afternoon to get the Hurricanes a bit further forward, so painted the canopy framing and the spinner hubs in dilute Foundry Charcoal Black, followed by the gun patches in GW Blood Red, toned down with Vallejo Dark Red. I then oversprayed the whole lot in Army Painter matt varnish, in order to tone them down and see what they look like without the shine.

I'm not very happy with the canopies but will learn to live with them, as I haven't got the time or energy to go back and repaint them again. The gun patches also look a bit garish but at least they'll scare the pants off  the Italians. Next up will be the decals but I also need to paint up the Blenheims before the weekend, so it'll be a rush to get them finished in time.

Bag the Hun Plan B

I'm going to find it difficult to get the North Africa stuff ready for the game on Tuesday next week, due to a pile of work that I have to shift and some weekend things that I can't wriggle out of. In case I don't get them finished in time, I have a cunning Plan B. A few years ago, I wrote a Battle of Britain scenario for Bag the Hun called Channel Dash and ran it as a demo game at the club.

It was a historical scenario set in July 1940, based on an interception of an out going bomber raid by No56 Squadron Hurricanes, which ran into some opposition from Bf109's on JG51 over the channel. Anyway, I have all the aircraft, cards and scenario notes to hand, so it will be my fall back if things go pear shaped in the painting department. I've even play tested it, so it actually works and here are pictures to prove it!

Bag The Hun North Africa [17]

I made some more progress with the Hurricanes, Blenheims and the Maryland yesterday, with the undersurfaces painted in Vallejo Pastel Blue and the glazing painted in Foundry Sky Blue and Sky Blue Light, followed by a highlight in Citadel Horizon Blue. This means that I'm on the home stretch if I can manage to crack the detailing and decals over the next few days.

This evening I debated whether or not to leave it at that but decided to outline the canopies with a fine black line, as I have done this on most of my other planes in the past. I'm still not sure if I like the look of the unlined version or the black lined version but, as I've only tackled one of the Blenheims so far, I can sit back and think about it until tomorrow evening before I make up my mind.

I really need a new 000 brush to do it properly for a start....

Submarine Safari Bargain

..it's behind you.!

I was in the local branch of The Entertainer yesterday on the hunt for birthday presents, when I spotted some bargain bucket toy dinosaurs in the pocket money shelving. They're the usual two part bendy plastic variety but actually quite well animated and nicely detailed models, if you can live with the joint line between the body and the tail. A bit of greenstuff and job's a good 'un.

Anyway, for a quid they're excellent value and perfect for populating a bit of Lost World jungle, especially as many of them are the 'right' size for 28mm. I picked out a rather nice plesiosaur for Submarine Safari and would have bought more if it hadn't been the only one in the pile. I guess I'll need to find another shop if I want to collect a full shoal (?) of the things..

We have a Winner!

The Lost World Safari Yahoo Group Pulp Figures 500 word Rugged Adventures scenario competition has a winner, by popular vote, which is Hugh's excellent....

Terror on Tapu Island!


A Lost World adventure for 4 players

Scenario

Somewhere in the South Pacific, a small island is tapu (forbidden) to the natives who live on the nearby, larger islands. Word has got round that there is something extraordinary to be found there and several bands of adventurers with different motivations have set off to discover the secret of Tapu Island!

Forces (from the Pulp Figures range, by Bob Murch)

Dinosaurs (non-player force): 2 packs of PLT 08 Saurian Predators

Big Game Hunters: 1 pack of PHP 08 Safari Into Danger (minus Jim Remington, the guide)

Film Crew: 1 pack of PHP 01 Film Crew (plus Jim Remington from PHP 08, above)

Seamen: 1 pack of PSS 03 Tramp Steamer Sailors 3

Natives: 1 pack of PSS 11 Melanesian Island Warriors 1

Setup

Tapu Island is a 4' square-ish tropical island, with narrow sandy beaches and rocky outcrops alternating along the outside and lush jungle filling much of the inside. There should be a few more open areas away from the coast, along with many narrow paths/game trails. A few small streams wouldn't go amiss and a tall
waterfall with a pool at the base would be excellent!

Randomly position 12 counters at least 8" away from the coast. If a character gets line of sight to a counter then roll a d6: on a 1 it's a large dinosaur; on a 2 it's a small dinosaur; on any other roll it's just nerves. A revealed dinosaur, or a counter if there is anyone within 6" of it, will move straight towards the nearest person on a 1-3, straight away on a 4-5 or in a random direction on a 6. Counters move 6".

Each player's forces start on a different beach, having just disembarked from a small boat or canoe.

Special Rules

+ The Big Game Hunters win if they kill a dinosaur, take a trophy from the carcass (takes 1 character a whole turn) and then escape by boat.

+ The Film Crew win if they shoot at least 2 turns worth of film that includes a live dinosaur (roll "to hit" for the cameraman to take the shots) and then escape by boat.

+ The Seamen win if they capture a dinosaur and then escape by boat. One of the seamen has an endless supply of bottles of chloroform; throw these as a grenade, a hit renders the target unconscious for 1d3 turns. It takes 2 men to drag a captured small dinosaur or 4 men to drag a large one. Dragging a captive is
done at half normal speed.

+ The Natives win if they prevent any of the white men from leaving the island, either by killing them or taking all the boats. The warriors have rubbed their bodies with the berries of the punga tree; this causes a dinosaur to ignore them in disgust on a d6 roll of 5+.

+ Random events could include goats (as bait), snakes and typhoons.


...a worthy winner and a great scenario for a club multiplayer evening or show a participation game. My humble offering came last but it was a bit of a laugh and I enjoyed writing the scenario, even if it got the elbow. It's interesting to see what you can squeeze into 500 words and how a handful of great figures can inspire some creative game design.

Admirals

The Oxfam bookshop turned up this very interesting hardback yesterday, which looks like a jolly good read and will make a welcome addition to the naval section of my bookshelf. I've acquired quite a few books recently but this one stands out as my the most promising title of the month. You can never have enough books for those rainy, cold and gloomy autumnal mights after all!

Bag the Hun North Africa [16]

I got some time in on the Hurricanes and Blenheims today, with the camouflage added to the extra aircraft and the whole collection washed in a dilute mixture of GW Gryphonne Sepia and Agrax Earthshade, one of the new inks in the GW range. I've also started on the undersurfaces in Vallejo Pastel Blue but have had to call it a day as the kids have to be put to bed.

If I get some time tomorrow, I'll do the undersurfaces in the remaining planes and then tackle the cockpit glazing, using my usual Foundry Sky Blue. On a quick trip into town this afternoon, to collect my son's trumpet from the music shop, I also picked up a pot of the new GW Armageddon Dust texture paint and quite like the idea of trying it out on the hex bases, but that will have to wait until the planes are finished.