Rankin-Bass Themed Elf Unit for "Wars of Ozz"

    This past week I finished an Elf unit for my "Wars of Ozz" Yule force.  When I first saw these sculpts from Old Glory, I decided that when I got my hands on them I'd  paint my Elf unit to look like the Elves in the old Rankin-Bass "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" Christmas TV special.

   When I got to basing them, I debated about whether to go with snow bases or regular grass bases. In the end I decided on partial snow bases with the hopes that they will look okay on both a snow table cover or a regular grass table cover. 

     I used mostly Citadel Contrast Paints on these.

"Wars of Ozz" Game Report

   I ran a great game of Wars of Ozz last night at the HAWKs meeting. We had 6 players on a 6"x10" table, and used the beautiful Ozz figures from Old Glory.  The battle featured a force of 3 Winkie Brigades attacking a combined force of 2 Munchkin Brigades and 1 Land of Harvest Brigade.   The Winkies were tasked with setting fire to 5 crop-filled fields on the table, while the Munchkin/Harvest alliance attempted to prevent this.  
     It was a fantastic fight with much back and forth action.  In the end, the Winkies were only able to torch one of the fields, so the game was declared a Munchkin/Harvest victory.  All the players had a great time; and I had a great time running the game, assisted by co-GM Greg Priebe.

An overview of the battlefield at the start.  Munchkin/Harvest faction on the left, WInkies on the right.

A view of the Munchkin right wing.

Evora the Witch runs forward and casts a fireball into the flank of a nearby Munchkin regiment. 

On the Munchkin/Harvest left flank, the Great Pumpkinheads advance from the cover of a wall to engage the advancing Winkies.

One of the Munchkin commanders and the Harvest commander prepare to maneuver their units.  

The Lesser Pumpkinheads move forward to join their big brothers in attempting to halt the Winkies. 

In the center, the Winkie Heavy Cavalry moves up and prepares their assault.

The Great Pumpkinheads charge the Winkie Sharpshooters.  Much carnage ensued!

A view of the table about halfway through the battle.

The Winkie line presses forward towards the town.

The Munchkin right fires upon the approaching Winkies.

The Winkies charge the town

Munchkins in the center issue fire on the attacking WInkies as well. 

A vicious hand-to-hand battle ensues as the Winkies slowly push the Munchkins back through the town, eventually routing them. But it is too little late, and with with most of Winkie forces battered, and the target crops still beyond their reach, the game comes to an end.

Wars of Ozz Kickstarter 2: Last Few Days

    There's just 4 days left to get in on the newest Wars of Ozz Kickstarter!    The kickstarter is introducing 3 new factions to the world of "Wars of Ozz"; the Land of Harvest, Impkins, and Gnomes.  It also features the debut of the new "Wars of Ozz" Campaign Boardgame; which can be played as a regular board wargame, or used as a campaign engine for your miniatures battles.  A truly novel concept!

     Be sure to check out all the great new minis offered in this event. Old Glory has done a great job of bringing charm, whimsy and life to this range of models.   And rules author Buck Surdu, as done a great job of giving each new faction its own characteristics while still keeping everything balanced and not adding dozens of new special rules.  The old factions won't be outclassed, and still will offer a competitive exciting battles with the new.  

     I've had a chance to play both the Land of Harvest and Gnome Armies in playtesting and have enjoyed both.   And I can't say enough about the figures!  There's so many delightful and unique concepts among them, like the Harvest Land's Corn People, and the Gnomish 4-Wheeled Artillery.  

   So, be sure to check out the Kickstarter before it ends.  All the details can be found at:    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/blackstone/wars-of-ozz-wave-2

 And also consider joining the very active Facebook group to keep up with all the latest information on "Wars of Ozz": https://www.facebook.com/groups/2913158765445476

Munchkin Artillery Batteries

      This past weekend I finished up a a pair of Munchkin artillery batteries for "Wars of Ozz", produced by Old Glory.  I painted one Medium Battery, and one Light Battery. 

Munchkin Mounted Officer Corps for "Wars of Ozz"

      This part month I've been working on completing my Munchkin forces for the "Wars of Ozz"rules, and painted up all my mounted Munchkin infantry officer figures.   I had painted up many of the infantry units last year, but because they were pre-public release figures made by Old Glory for us to run demo games with, none had their mounted officers, for the simple reason they hadn't been made into molds and cast yet.   Note that the officers all ride the distinctive Munchkin "Horses of a Different Color". 

    I have mounted these on the great Ozz officer MDF bases made by Sally 4th and distributed in the US by Old Glory.  The upright section in the back of the base is for an insertable label with the officer's characteristic on it.

The entire officer pool.

     For the divisional officer, I was lucky to have a left over cavalry sample figure that I used as a messenger or scout to put on the base with the officer to help make a little scene, and help his base look distinctive.

The Divisional officer.

Two Brigade Officers.  

The officers for my two Landwher regiments.  (Note one holds a large lollipop, since I say he is a member of the Lollipop Guild and volunteered for the army.)

The commanders for the various named regiments. L to R: Hardsole's Regt.,  Zoraster's Guard Regt., Tik-Tok's Regt., Sourdough's Regt.  

Named Regiment character commanders: L to R: Col. Sourdough, Col. Tik-Tok, Col. Hardsole.

"Wars of Ozz" Kickstarter in Final 48 Hours!

     The Wars of Ozz Kickstarter is completely funded and closes Saturday, July 25 2020 3:00 PM BST

     Wars of Ozz is a fantasy miniatures game set in the marvelous world of Ozz first chronicled by L. Frank Baum's in 1900, and now the inspiration for a totally unique mass battle tabletop experience. Russ has taken Baum's world as an inspirational starting point for creating our own 'Ozz', a post-apocalyptic Earth where after the last 'Madness Bomb' fell in the 'Last Great War', survivors mutated and chaos reigned until several hundred years later the Wizard arrived.

The Campaign
     The Kickstarter Campaign closes Saturday, July 25 2020 3:00 PM BST
Wars of Ozz is completely funded and some great Free miniatures have been unlocked for Backers including female munchkin pirates from Admiral JinJars famous crew and the Adventurers of Ozz character set that includes Dorothy, Toto, The Tinman, Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion.
Over 60 packs of miniatures are available in the wave one release including all the troop types needed to field a Munchkin, Quadling, Gilikin or Winkie Army.

     The rules written by Buck Surdu have been designed from the start to support solo, two player and team play. The rulebook contains everything needed to play a streamlined and intuitive ‘fantasy’ horse and musket mass battle game, together with full background of the world, it’s factions, scenarios and uniform guides.
There are just a few days left of the kickstarter campaign, so if it is of interest, check it out now!

Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/blackstone/wars-of-ozz

"Wars of Ozz" Kickstarter Launches this Saturday, June 27th!

     "Wars of Ozz" is a 28mm Mass Fantasy Battle Game inspired by the ‘Oz’ series of books written by L. Frank Baum between 1900 and 1920. The inspirational literature has been greatly expanded by Russ Dunaway, to form a unique new fantasy gaming world to battle over, populated with Munchkins, Quadlings, Winkies and Gillikins combined with Witches, Wizards, Pumpkin Men, animated Scarecows and Tinmen, Giants, Trolls, Skeletons and much, much more.
The miniatures range has been designed, sculpted and manufactured by Old Glory and when fully released will include 60 packs of miniatures.

     The ‘Wars of Oz’ rules are written by Buck Surdu, author of Gaslight and Combat Patrol among many more published works. The game is a mass battle rather than a skirmish game. Infantry units are 20 strong, mounted 4 to a base. Two or more units of Infantry, Cavalry or Artillery are formed into a Brigade and an Army is comprised of one or more Brigades. The game is designed to be played on a standard 6’ x 4’ wargames table, with a typical game reaching its conclusion in two to three hours. The rulebook covers the background and history of Ozz, army building, movement, melee, ranged combat, magic and morale together with points lists for tournament play, scenarios, maps, campaign and painting guides.

Check it out here: "Wars of Ozz" on Kickstarter  , and don't miss the kick-off on Saturdayt!