A very strange and unsettling graveyard

This is a project I started about 18 months ago, although I'd bought the various bits and pieces months before I started work on it. I finally completed it last week. Here is the overall piece, looking down from above;

 The model is around 40cm by 30cm, based on a sheet of MDF. The perimeter is made of Renedra railings and gate pieces and the pieces inside are all from Fenris Games with a couple of extra gravestones from Bad Squiddo. Below are some closer views of the graveyard, with Jon Hodgson backgrounds.

Now, this is clearly not your common or garden graveyard and who knows what kind of people, if people they are, might lie under the ground in such a place? Those gravestones seem to be slowly sinking into the ground and some of them a clearly very old indeed.

The various obelisks and columns hint at some very unusual religious practices and one really has to ask "Why is the water in the pool bubbling?". Of course, another relevant question might be "Who lies here and why are all the interments carried out at night under the baleful light of a gibbous moon?".

I'm really happy with how this piece has turned out. I think it is the perfect place to carry out some investigations into the practices of the locals and examine the sacred books kept under lock and key in the crypt of the local church.

Renedra fencing

Still doing scenics. Now it is Renedra 28mm scale fencing. First two lengths of ordinary wooden fencing;

I think that this is pretty nice fencing, but I think the wattle fencing below with the gate sections is even nicer;

OK, fencing isn't the most exciting thing ever, but it is very useful on a gaming table.

I'm pretty happy with how they have turned out and I think I'll probably get more of the first set at some point, because I'd like to have some shorter lengths and maybe some corners too.

Four Renedra plastic 28mm huts (scroll down to see them all)

I've had these kits lying around for a couple of years, maybe longer. I thought it was time to get them put together and painted.

First, a simple wooden hut;

Next a stone hut;

A wattle and daub one. I think that this might be my favourite;

And finally, a Norse hut on a larger base. I added a few Gamer's Grass tufts on this base.;

Behind every hut is a nice Jon Hodgson backdrop (books available from the Bad Squiddo website).

These are very simple kits, generally three roof pieces and four walls, the Norse one being a little bit more complicated. It also comes with various accessories like truckle beds, a fire and various pots. I haven't made the beds and pots up yet, though. I'll find a use for them, I expect.

I did have to fill in a few areas with green stuff, no doubt my faulty construction techniques. They are absolute simplicity to paint too. I think that they look pretty good. All I need to do now is get them onto a gaming table.

My next task is some Renedra fencing to assemble and paint.

The Battlezone scatter stuff....

 .... and this really is the last of it!

Below is a big piece of Battlezone pipework, which will fit in anywhere, seeing as one end rises from below ground and the other end has a couple of closures. The piece at the back is a length of 2cm plastic plumbing pipe stuck on a couple of little legs capped shut at one end and with a connecting piece at the other. It is designed to come out of the side of a building. Why might that be? Who cares, but it'll look good.

Here are a couple of large generators with attached pipework. These will fit in anywhere, ideally with a building at the end of the pipes.

There is also a platform made up from a few odds and ends and a pallet of some kind of cargo.

Finally, I've made a few barricades/roadblocks from a few odds and ends of doors and wall sections, held up with braces. These are bound to be useful. Everyone and everything needs to hide or shelter from getting shot at. In all of these pieces, I've chosen a grimdark colour palette, especially for the generators. Maybe how they work is an obscure and arcane secret, but so long as the initiates/operators chant the correct prayers the things will keep on generating whatever they generate?

Once again, my Bad Squiddo Ghost of Gaia is here to provide a sense of scale.

So, that's it for the Battlezone stuff.

The last of the Battlezone buildings

These are the last of the actual buildings. There are a few pieces of scatter that I'll put in my next post.

Above we have a nice piece that gives players the opportunity to put figures above street level. Below is a similar piece, with some nice railings added on, obviously for Health and Safety reasons. Once again, we have mysterious plumbing emerging from this building.

The final piece below is a complicated two-sided creation, with an upper gallery running along its length and a crawl space below that because nothing horrible ever lurks in crawl spaces in science fiction films, does it?

These last two pieces have a lamp post like the first one, but I had to cut that off in the photos to get sensibly-sized and shaped images.

The eagle-eyed will notice that the electrical panels on these buildings are all orientated differently. The ways of electricians are clearly as inexplicable as those of plumbers in the grimdark future.

I'm really pleased with how these pieces have turned out. They will be really useful on the table.

Some more of the Battlezone buildings

Here is the next tranche of my grimdark sci fi buildings and installations. Once more, my Ghost of Gaia is here to set the scale.

I have no idea what the plumbing here represents. Who knows the workings of the minds of boiler engineers in the grim darkness of the future? Anyway, the windows offer some firing opportunities.

This above is just a wall, albeit a wall with some strange machines attached. What are they for? Maybe they are vending machines or 41st millennium ATMs? Anyway, walls are useful in skirmish games. Bad things can hide behind them. Maybe bad things like giant spiders with rayguns?

The final piece below is definitely a building, another one with some more inexplicable plumbing. I'm sure it'll look fine on the table. It's perfect for Xenos Rampant etc.

Mantic Battlezone sci fi buildings

Ages ago at the club's tabletop sale, I bought a big box of Mantic Battlezone plastic buildings, which I never got round to assembling until now. Here are the first few pieces. Scroll down to see them all.

The Bad Squiddo Ghost of Gaia is for scale purposes.

I'm showing two views of this final piece for today. This is because there is some nice detail on in interior. The down pipe in the interior photo isn't Mantic. It is a piece of 2cm diameter plastic plumbing pipe cut to fit.

I have to say that the separate components are tricky to put together and I eventually resorted to using model glue to ensure a nice strong bond. I didn't want my buildings coming apart in gaming use. In hindsight, I should have used greenstuff or Milliput to fill the more obvious gaps, but it is too late now.

Having said that, I am really pleased with the painted and based results. These pieces could be used in so many settings; gang warfare in the depths of a hive city, scavenging the remains of an abandoned mining base on a forgotten planet, post-apocalyptic survival against mutant or alien hordes, Games set in a wretched hive of scum and villainy or just on a battlefield between implacable enemies. The possibilities are endless.

I decided to go for a grimdark, worn-out and run-down feel to everything. That kind of look and feel appeals to me when it comes to science fiction gaming. There is plenty of rust on the walls, grimy floors and a general appearance of a civilisation fallen on hard times or outposts on hostile planets or moons.

I've finished everything off - a couple of weeks of hard slog, I have to say, and I'll post everything over the next week or so. 

I am planning to use some of these pieces with my Jon Hodgson sci fi backdrops to create some nice little dioramas. They will obviously have lots of uses in Xenos Rampant and with my own Reivers Of The Outer Rim rules, which I am currently planning to simplify and re-write.

Egyptian ruins, plus a fountain.

 First, the fountain;

This is another 3D print from Dungeon Scenes. The murky green water has been given a coat of acrylic gloss varnish. I allowed the green paint to go up the walls of the fountain, hoping to create the effect of algal growth. I think it looks OK. The 28mm guy is for scale only.

Next a number of resin pieces from The Square, who can be found at many trade shows. These are all based up for desert-based gaming;

Spot the 28mm guy, he's looking pretty small against these pieces.

These were easy enough to paint; base coat spray, dry-brushing in lighter colours, a wash here and there to bring out the details, a few bits of Gamers' Grass and lots of sandy ballast. Job done.

Hopefully these will get plenty of fantasy, pulp, VSF and eldritch horror use.

I'm going to have to get back to painting actual minis now. Sadly, the painting mojo is still hiding somewhere.

More 3D printed stuff - this time science fiction

This time it is sci fi terrain pieces.

 Once again, this is all from Dungeon Scenes. The figure is for scale purposes only.

I thought that I would go for a Grimdark theme for these pieces rather than shiny clean advanced technology or a Mandalorian-style dusty Cowboys in Space look.

The big rusty blue thing at the back has been painted to be an abandoned installation of some kind, mainly because I had previously dropped it and one of the sticking up pieces had got broken. The two generator type pieces are clearly the kind of ancient technology that suits a degenerate and xenophobic civilisation that doesn't really understand how its machines work, or maybe it is alien tech that does abominable things in strange and incomprehensible ways?

The hexagonal sensor array (or whatever else it might be) at the back isn't as Grimdark as the other pieces, especially the bronzed tower.

I'll get these in front of some of Jon Hodgson's sci fi backdrops at some point.

The two generators could definitely feature in Pulp or VSF games, as well as more conventional science fiction settings.

Overall, I am pretty pleased with how they have turned out, even though this photograph doesn't really do them justice. 

Quite a lot of 3D printed ruins

A couple of years ago, I bought a load of 3D printed scenic items at the club's Tabletop Sale from a guy who trades as "Dungeon Scenes" and who can be found on Facebook, here. For a variety of reasons I'd not got round to painting any of the stuff until now. Here are various bits of ruined buildings, you'll have to scroll down to see everything.

First, some nice ruined arches and columns (the Bad Squiddo Amazon is for scale purposes only).

Next, a corner piece with arches and another piece which shows an overgrown red tiled floor and low walls.

Finally, seven pieces from a much larger ruined building. This could represent a manor, church, an abbey or maybe some kind of Elven stronghold?

Obviously, all the above could feature in fantasy games, pulp, horror or historical settings and I am planning to use them as parts of the scenery to sit in front of Jon Hodgson's backdrops.

I found these remarkably easy to paint. I washed and dried them off before priming them in Halford's grey plastic primer, which pretty much provided the base coat and then the rest of the work was dry-brushing and adding grassy flock mix and other odds and ends of vegetation. I'm very happy with the climbing plants entwined around the windows in the final photo. They are wire-stemmed model railway small scale trees and really add some nice atmosphere.

I have some sci fi bits and pieces to paint up next, and I have also finished off a small fountain piece which I need to get varnished.

Wagon loads using Bad Squiddo scenic items

A while ago, I posted about a pair of wagons I put together, initially for Infamy, Infamy, one being an open cart that could carry various loads.

I also posted about the Bad Squiddo resin cargo items I had painted. So, I thought that I should put the two things together and put some cargo in the wagon.

I think that these look pretty good and suit pretty much any period, maybe even up to WW2, although in reality they will work best with Ancients, Mediaeval and Horse and Musket games.

A wagonload of barrels and other containers would be a terrific objective for an Escort scenario.

At last! The sun is shining, Pt. One - resin cargo items.

These are from Bad Squiddo Scenics, sculpted by the incomparable Ristul.

Everything that Ristul sculpts for the Bad Squiddo range is wonderful; detailed, crisp and full of possibilities. 

These items have lots of opportunities to appear on all manner of tabletops, from ancient games right through to fantasy and pulp ones. I was delighted to discover that the smaller pieces actually fit in my open-topped Roman cart, so that is a huge bonus. There will be nice things in the cart for the Romans to escort around, and also be nice objectives for the Romans to loot while out foraging for supplies. I can see these pieces being incredibly useful for 28mm Peninsular War games of Sharp Practice too.

I have had these sitting around since last Saturday, but the weather has been so wet, I didn't want to risk them getting fogged while varnishing them. This morning was perfect for the job.

Another cart for the Romans

This one is more of a strongbox on wheels, ideal for transporting valuables, such as the salarium paid to the cohort.

This is another 4Ground MDF kit, that I bought from North Star, and it is another nice model. The draught oxen is, once again by Front Rank. 

I decided that this cart should be finished in a more impressive colour, befitting its importance and therefore I used Windsor and Newton Deep Red drawing ink.

This particular model is probably somewhat anachronistic in style, but it has a certain style about it. It is certainly going to see action in other settings too.

A cart for my Romans

This is something that is required for one of the Infamy, Infamy scenarios (Scenario Four: A Foraging Party).

You will immediately recognise the auxiliary accompanying the cart. 

The cart is by 4Ground, but I bought it from North Star, as part of a larger purchase. The draught oxen are by Front Rank. 

The cart can be constructed with an open top, as I have done, but also with a hooped top that can be given a canvas or animal hide cover.

I can see this cart appearing in other settings, namely Sharp Practice, but there are bound to be other uses for it. 

Some more resin scenic bits and bobs.

Following on from the Fenris Games resin scenic items, here are a few more pieces for Horror and Pulp games. These are all from Crooked Dice. Once again, the intrepid archaeologist is only there for scale.

Here is the complete set; three monoliths, a statue of Cthulhu and a pile of skulls.

The monoliths have a lot of detail and therefore, here is a view of them from behind. Are those green things creepers growing from a crevice in the rocks, or might they be tentacles? Just don't get close enough to find out!

Next up, everyone's favourite tentacled abomination from the stars;

Now, here is a statue of some obscure amphibian deity on a blood-stained plinth;

Or is it just a statue? Might it be some kind of unknown inhabitant of the reefs and caves near one of those fishing villages where the locals have an odd, vaguely batrachian appearance? 

Here it is again, off of its plinth, showing the nice carved effects on the surface. This could be used stand-alone as a sacrificial altar.

Scarecrows!

These three scarecrows are from Bad Squiddo Scenics, sculpted by the incomparable Ristul. Annie used to sell them under the banner of Ristul's Extraordinary Market, but bought the line in 2018.

I bought these at Colours last year and recently painted them as a change from painting figures for 7TV. Of course, these would be perfect for 7TV games, especially ones involving strange goings-on in one of those inward-looking villages somewhere in rural England.

Anyway, I've photographed them from front and rear, to show off the truly splendid detail on these gorgeous resin pieces.

Worzel Gummidge would never have been allowed on children's TV if he'd looked like this.

I wanted to paint these up looking old, tatty and faded, so after undercoating in Army Painter leather brown, I used mainly pale brown and tan colours, with bits of green and dark red well diluted to act as washes on some parts of the figures. I wanted the orange of the pumpkin heads to look quite faded too, as though these scarecrows had spent too long out in the weather. There is so much detail in the figures that I did a fair amount of dry-brushing, both before and after an ink wash. I made up small mounds from blue foam, covered with mixed ballast. After finishing the figures, I used the same pale browns and tans to dry-brush the bases before finishing them with a mixed flock.

Another playtest for ROTOR

I felt like it was time to have another game of Reivers Of The Outer Rim, my skirmish level sci fi rules. I wanted to see how the game played out with all the latest changes and also see where there might be room for further improvements. 

In this game, each band of Reivers is looking for tech items in a settlement on a minor planet that had previously been ruled by a renegade warlord and his retinue. Defeated in battle by a military expedition launched by a powerful Mining Corporation, the warlord has moved to a safer location, leaving behind residual forces. Now Reiver bands have moved in to see what they can pick up in the aftermath of the fighting.

No one knows what forces might be left behind or even if there are any static defences. Therefore, each band has been allowed to take a sensor droid in addition to any combat droids they have, unless their band is not able to take droids at all. Normally, the rules specific that you can take either a combat or a sensor droid.

In this scenario, the range of possible NPCs on a roll of 1D10 is;

  1)  Renegade trooper 

  2)  Cyborg

  3)  Defence droid

  4)  Mutant

  5)  Rogue Psyker

  6)  Alien renegade trooper (+1 in H2H attacks, causes Panic)

  7)  Renegade trooper with heavy weapon

  8)  Renegade leader

  9)  Defence drone 

10)  Renegade trooper in augmented combat armour.  

There were four of us playing. Me, plus Clive (who once again provided his excellent scenery), Nick and Matt, all of whom have played ROTOR before.

We each started 12" from a corner. Once again, Clive's combat droid was a big imposing number.

Using sensor droids meant that both salvage items (marked by yellow gems) and NPCs (marked by green gems until within line of sight) were quickly revealed. 

The area shown below soon because full of dangerous NPCs. The defence droid behind the tree was a perpetual threat until it was destroyed late on in the game. The downed figure was an NPC. 

Matt pushed towards the areas where his sensor droid had detected salvage items. The big figure is his Alien Paladin.

Clive's Leader took up a commanding position high above the vegetation. This would also make him an easy target, but he survived. 

Nick's Reivers had problems with a mutant that emerged from a shanty, but was eventually killed.

The red-coated figure is a Rogue Psyker. Successful psychic attacks can be devastating, as lifeforms , apart from other Psykers cannot make a saving throw against psychic forces. Droids are immune to psychic attacks, but can be displaced elsewhere by psykers.

This Cyborg was a dangerous NPC, armed with a heavy weapon. Well, it was dangerous until it got killed.

Things were looking pretty dangerous for my band for a while, as the area was full of nasties.

This mutant NPC decided to drop in on one of Clive's grunts.

It was a fun game, things flowed a lot more smoothly than before and most of the questions that came up were around the searching mechanisms and what sort of things and locations could be searched. The question of looting dead opponents also came up. This aspect of the game needs further development. I shall give it some thought and draft some ideas.

Using sensor droids was a useful addition. They aided the placing of salvage items, but also got a large number of NPCs into play. For this scenario, that was a good aspect of the game, seeing as it was supposed to be occupied by the remnants of a Renegade army. Combat droids are very powerful, but sensor droids also have their uses. I am now wondering whether they should be a standard part of a Reiver band, rather than just an alternative to having a combat droid?