HAWKs First Armies-for-Kids Project a Success!

The HAWKs completed their first Armies-for-Kids project at last weekend's Historicon. The club gave away 16 painted plastic AWI armies to 8 kids who took part. The kids also got a goodie bag filled with gaming aids and terrain. Two games were held: one Friday GM-ed by Buck Surdu, and one Saturday GM-ed by Duncan Adams.
The club is already making plans for next year's Historicon. We want to thank the folks who dropped off donations of figures and terrain at the convention, as well as those who gave financial assistance, and those who offered to paint armies in he future. We were thrilled by your support.

Gamemaster Buck Surdu (blue shirt) ran Friday's session

Two of the young generals command their forces.

American cavalry advances through the woods.

Two of the proud owners of new armies!

Pathan Hill Fort for GASLIGHT Extravaganza

I finished the Pathan hill fort that will play a key roll in the GASLIGHT Extravaganza that Buck Surdu and I are running at Historicon, and wanted to share some pictures.

This is the beginning stages. I cut out the hill from some scrap pink foam board, and am trying out some different looks for the fort. At first I was going to do a square tower.

This is the finished fort. I decided to go with a round tower instead of a square one.

Here's a closer look at the entry-way detail. The two sections of scrap insulation foam I used didn't quite match up evenly, so I used this misalignment to create a nice rock crevice.

Here is a rear view into the fort, showing the tower entrance and the stairs up to the firing platforms.



Look for a full report on the game when I return from the convention next week!

Scratchbuilt Aeronef German Aircraft Carrier

When I was playtesting the Fleetbattles portion of the GASLIGHT Compendium at HMGS-East conventions over the past few years, I met Bob Seitz, a fan of the rules, and an avid modeler. He generously gave me a scratchbuilt German aircraft carrier he had made, after we had had a conversation regarding the lack of such a carrier in the Aeronef range and my use of a French carrier painted in German colors to fill the bill in one of my games. The carrier Bob made was based on the Blucher Dreadnought design, and is constructed from plastic sheets and tubes. I am very honored to be the recipient of this beautifully executed model, and have painted it up to use in my Fleetbattles game at Historicon this Summer.

Here is the carrier with a gray spray primer applied.

Here is a view from the stern.


For the first step of painting I applied a dark gray color to the hull, and then washed with black ink, and then dry-brushed with light grey.



Next I painted all decking a medium brown and then washed with dark brown ink.




Then I began the detail painting.

The finished aircraft carrier.

Another view.

I'm very pleased with how the model painted up. If you want to see it in person, visit my "Hunt for the Valkyrie" game in the HAWKs room Saturday night at Historicon

EDIT: Thanks to those of you who pointed out that I accidently mounted the flag upside down on the mast. I will correct the mistake asap! :-)

HAWKs Historicon Playtest Day, 5.21.11

As the HAWKs gear up for Historicon '11, we've been scheduling several Saturday playtest games to give the members more time to playtest their events beyond the regular meeting schedule. One such event was held in my game room last Saturday the 21st. We had the opportunity to playtest three great games.

We got underway at 9:00 am with the first scenario, which was Duncan Adams' "Longlier, 1914" Command Decision game. The game pitted Germans against French, and the objective was to control the most points in built-up areas, the largest of which was Longlier located in the center of the table.

One German Battalion moves into the town as another and some cavalry perform a flanking maneuver.

The French enter the town from the other direction.

The German artillery takes a position on a nearby hill.



French troops maneuver through a woods on the outskirts of town.



Close-quarters fighting develops in the center of town.

The second game of the day was Buck Surdu's "Moros by GASLIGHT" event. This was a purely historical scenario, with none of GASLIGHT's VSF elements. It pitted U.S. forces against Moro rebels in the Philippines in the early 1900's. The Americans had to capture the Moros' fort, while the mores had several objectives to claim around the table.

The American column heads out towards the fort.



An overview of the battlefield. The fort can be seen on the back corner of the table.



Moros take position in a rocky outcropping as the Americans push forward.



The U.S. cannon sets up to take on an approaching Moro band.


Fighting swirls around the base of the rocky outcropping.

The third game of the day was James Nickle's "Champion Hill" American Civil War game using A Union So Tested rules. The Confederates had to guard four key positions on the field, while the Union were trying to capture the same objectives




Union forces surge up Champion Hill.


Overview of the battlefield.


Union brigades try to sweep around the flank of the hill, as the Confederates try to form a hasty defensive line.


As The Union surge over the hill, the Confederates block their way.

The GASLIGHT Compendium PDF Goes on Sale Today

As announced earlier the GASLIGHT Compendium goes on sale today at RPG.com for $30.
The Compendium contains all four of the original GASLIGHT rulebooks in their entirety, plus new additons like airship combat.
Be the first in your gaming group to own it!

Here is a direct link to the Compendium on RPGNow:
http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=90907&src=FrontPage

The hardcover version will follow in a few weeks and will be priced at $49.

Quick and Simple Parrotmen Houses for Venus

About six months ago I saw these small (appox. 5") .99 cent wooden bird houses in the craft store and thought that they would make cool houses for my Venusian Parrotmen. Where better for Parrotmen to live, than in birdhouses? I bought a half dozen of them with plans to finish them in a suitable woodsy style, but was always stumped at the best quick and easy way to texture them to resemble a trunk-like bark surface without doing a lot of spackle work.
Then last week, when I was in JoAnn's, I stumbled upon rolls of thin paper-like "bark". Ideal for my purposes of texturing the surfaces of my parrotmen houses. The stuff appears to be made from a composite of flattened decorative fungi. With this stuff in hand, I began to create my houses.

How the birdhouses come; straight out of the craft store.

First, I paint the top portion and the bottom a dark brown.

Shown also is an example of rolled "bark" in it's craft store packaging.
It comes in several different lengths, and I found it in the floral department.



I cut the bark to size with scissors and applied glue,
then held it in place with rubber bands while it dried.



Then I slathered the roof with glue, and applied a big clump of "floral moss",
pressing the moss firmly down into the glue.



When all this dries, I remove the rubber bands and trim up the moss for a neater look.
I also wrapped a bit of twine around the perch to give it a finished look.



Here's the completed house with it's base flocked and detail plants added. Next to it, on the right, is an ornament that is very similar in style that I found in Walgreen's at Christmastime last year. It was loose in a box of similar woodsey themed ornaments labeled "Natural Ornaments"

Compendium PDF to be Released Early