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.

Lost Patrols in the Sudan

The 28mm Triumph and Tragedy game on Tuesday has re-ignited my interest in the Sudan and, in particular, my long lost Patrols in the Sudan project from three or so years ago. I picked up the latest flashy edition of the rules at Colours last month and have been flicking through it to see what changes have been made to the system, set up and scenarios. I already have an 80% finished Dervish army which I could finish off as part of my virtuous attempt not to start anything new this year.

As my VBCW A World Aflame project has fallen through for various reasons, it would be an ideal time to pick up the PITS project and finish it off. I have plenty of figures for the British and Egyptians, together with some Hademdowah 'Fuzzy Wuzzies', so there's no shortage of lead in the pile. As the British units are relatively small, I reckon it would be quite straightforward to put together a force to oppose the Dervish hordes that I already have in the nearly ready to go box.

I'll give it some more thoguht over the weekend but it could easily turn into my next big project. I already have some terrain sorted and have played a few games with the original edition of the rules, so it shouldn't be difficult to pick up where I left off. I'll have to shift the Bag the Hun aircraft first but I have some time set aside over the weekend which should move things on a bit so that I meet the all important deadline for the game on the 16th.

...I have a Plan B ready just in case!

Truimph and Tragedy in the Sudan

Here are some slightly wonky photos of the Sudan game that Mark Backhouse ran at the club this evening. It was a very close run thing at times but the plucky jack tars and stalwart Royal Marines of the HM Naval Brigade were suitably resolute and sent the Dervishes packing. The terrain and figures were superb, as was the flow of the game, which was mainly due to the umpire's guidance and explanation of the rules. A jolly good game which all of the players really enjoyed. You can't ask for more than that!

Bag The Hun North Africa [15]

I think I've fixed the undersurfaces of the Bf109E's with a simple wetbrush of Vallejo 907, which I could have used to start with rather than trying to improvise.

Anyway, it's not quite right but a lot better than the previous effort, especially as it's highlighted some of the detail that I'd lost with my cack handed mix and match approach.

It still looks a bit bluurgh but I'm sure it'll be fine after a bit of a tidy up. I'm off to the club tomorrow evening for a change, so further work on the Bag the Hun stuff will have to wait until later in the week.

Pulp Figures Lost World Safari Scenario Competition - Pick the Winner!

Enter your vote today!

A new poll has been created for the Lost World Safari group:

Pulp Figures Lost World Rugged Adventures Competition - vote for the winning scenario!

o Terror on Tapu Island!

o Vacou Captive Rescue!

o Obnoxious Occultists On Obsidian Olympus

o Terror on Papunapi!

To vote, please visit the following web page:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lostworldsafari/surveys?id=3118346

Thanks

Jim

PS If you're not already a LWS yahoo group member, please feel free to sign up!