Quick and Easy Cardboard Game Piece Frame Sci-Fi Building Ruins.

   So, a while back I saw someone's blog entry where they made some neat Sci-Fi ruins out of the cardboard frames that are left over after you punch game counters out of them; and ever since I've been looking for an opportunity to try it.  Then, I was with a friend a while back who was punching out the counters for his newly purchased copy of the Congo ruleset, and I asked if I could have the remaining cardboard frame left after all the counters were punched out.

     I first cut the frames into sections to look like partially destroyed walls, and glued them on to 6" x 6" cork tiles.  I made one 6" x 12" base by gluing two of the cork tiles together, in order to make one larger building.  I then added a few odds and ends to the walls using some dollar store lego and other plastic bits.

 I first gave them a base coat of some old Army Painter "Necrotic Flesh" I had on hand.

     When that was dry, I gave the ruins some burst sprays of some Krylon "Aqua" Sea Glass paint I had been wanting to try out.  I think it gave an interesting "alien" effect.

     I then painted the slabs with Americana "Terra Cotta".   I think it adds to the alien look.

    I added some other colors here and there to the detail bits I glued on earlier.  Then I slathered the ruins in some Citadel "Nuln Oil" wash, using a wet brush.  When that was dry, I drybrushed them with Americans "Bleached Sand".   Lastly, I sprayed them with some matte varnish.

Shown with some Reaper 28mm Sci-Fi figures for scale.

     I'm really happy with how these turned out.  They are't too complicated or detailed, but I think they'll look good on the table.   I especially like that they're made from what would have been trash. :)

HAWKs Host Huge Zombie Mall Game at Har-Con

     This past Saturday, the HAWKs attended the HAR-CON convention put on by the Gamers Guild and Anime Club at Harford Community College, the local county's community college.  This con is a multi-genre con, with video games, role-playing games, card games, board games, miniatures games, anime, and cosplay.   This year's theme was Post-Apocalypse and Zombies, so we decided to run our big Zombie Mall game.
     With the success of last year's large French and Indian War game, we decided we would once again make our main effort a large game where interested gamers could come to the table at any time, be assigned a group of survivors and a mission, and enter into the game with one of the HAWKs to help tutor them in the rules, and then leave whenever they wanted.

     We arrived early to set up, and it wasn't long before we had our first players.  As the day continued we were pleased with the number of folks who stopped by to play, and the consensus was that we had more players this year than in years past.  Attendance at the con as a whole also seemed to be really high.
      Buck Surdu and I, as co-authors of the Zombies by GASLIGHT supplement,  were also asked to take part in a panel discussion on the Post-Apocalypse theme, along with a local author and film-maker.

       The club had a great time as usual, and we are looking forward to returning for another big extravaganza game next year.

     Another HAWKs run game at the con was Kevin Fischer's Sci-Fi Alien Invasion Game using his beautiful collection of 1/144 Gundam models.

HAWKs Hold Second "Armies for Kids" Painting Session

  This past Saturday a group of the HAWKs got together to have a second painting bee for this year's Franco-Prussian War themed "Armies for Kids" project.   The group met last February to begin the project, painting almost 500 15mm French figures; and this time the plan was to paint the Prussians.  Since many of the Prussians that had been donated were already painted, we only had 250 Prussians to complete.

     With all the infantry done, the plan now is to schedule a third session to work on the cavalry for both armies.  
    Once completed, the armies will be presented to six lucky kids who take part in a specially designated game at this year's Historicon.  Each kid who participates in the game will get a set of opposing armies, terrain, rules, and game aids.

A Pair of Quick and Easy Homer Simpson Idols, Just for Fun

    Recently I saw a thread where someone made a fun little terrain piece that was an idol made from a Homer Simpson figure.  Then, the other day when I was in my local Dollar Tree store, I saw these Homer figures, and thought they might be good fodder for some Homer Idols of my own.

     The figures easily popped off their bases.  I then cut some simple rock pedestals out of some scrap insulation foam.  Next, I glued the pedestals to some round MDF bases, and then glued the Homer figures to the top of the pedestals.  I sprinkled a little sand around the bottom of the pedestals where the glue oozed out.

     When the glue was dry, I sprayed the pieces with some Krylon with Fusion Camouflage Ultra-Flat Black.  When the black undercoat was dry, I sprayed the pieces with a faux stone-textured spray paint.

   When the stone texture was dry, I repainted the pieces black again.

   I then gave them an initial grey drybrushing.

  I let the initial drybrushing dry, and then gave the lefthand one (which I plan for use in warm weather/jungle setting) some staining with a little green ink and some Agrax Earthshade wash.  I gave the one on the right (which I plan to use for Frostgrave) a little wash with a little blue ink.

   When the inks were dry, I gave each idol a final light grey drybrushing.   I then added some foliage to the greenish one.   I let them sit overnight, and then the next day gave them a spray varnish protective coat.

     I'm happy with how these turned out; not great masterpieces, but just right for a quick fun project. They will be fun to put on the table and see who notices. :)