Big battles in Song of Blades & Heroes

Karl and I got together recently to try out some big battles in Song of Blades & Heroes, our go-to skirmish game (and the ruleset that helped this game club coalesce in the fall of 2010!).

Though it has a well-designed rules engine, Song of Blades & Heroes is definitely meant to be played around the 300-point benchmark, which equates to anywhere from 5 to 10 models per side. Seeing as how our club has dozens of SBH games under its collective belt, Karl and I decided to push the envelope a little bit and try out a 500-point game, followed by a 1,000-point game.

Playing at this level required two important rule tweaks: We required 1 leader for every 250 points on the table, and we allowed each player to fail one additional quality roll before his turn ended. Normally in SBH, if a player rolls two or more failures when trying to activate a figure, his turn ends immediately, even if he hasn't activated all the guys on his side. With this change, it gives the player one last chance to get something going, even after he fails once.

Both of these changes enhanced the game immensely and really made things hum at the 1,000-point threshold.

In the first game, Karl's 500-point elven warband faced off against my 500-point dwarven squad. In fantasy, the elf/dwarf animosity is a known quantity, so it was a cinch to come up with a plausible scenario: the two warbands were trying to take control of a small hamlet located on the windswept frontier. Whoever controlled 2 of the 3 buildings on the table by turn 6 would be the winner.

As it was, the 500-point game was hardly a contest. Karl's force was much more optimized than mine ("That's very 40k of you," I recall saying as he carefully positioned his troops to box out my dwarf leader), and he won a clean victory by slaughtering my poor dwarves and occupying 2 buildings.


In the second game, Karl recruited another warband, this one composed of fanciful woodland critters, alongside his elves. I added another 500-point hobgoblin warband as allies for my dwarves. We set up another scenario using a big ol' 3-tier hill in the center of the board. The objective was to seize the high ground and hold it until the end of the game. The side with the most troops atop the hill would be the winner.

Then we added a fun little wrinkle: a "fast travel" rule that allowed models to enter a passage behind a waterfall and emerge, one turn later, from a cave at the base of the hill objective. Here's the layout:


We actually used this rule quite a bit, and it resulted in some fun photos, such as this dwarf warrior emerging from the caverns to aid his fellows atop the hill. That is SO METAL!


At 1,000 points, we found that our turns took a bit longer than a typical game, but the house rule allowing two "fail out" rolls meant that we were still able to mobilize our dudes. Karl sent his elves charging to the top of the hill, where they met my huge troll warchief and his big honkin' axe. He was full to the brim with special rules (that's very 40k of me) and he held the elves at bay for several turns before dying.

Across the table, a major fight was developing around the waterfall. My dwarves attempted to create a stout blue line to block the entrance to the cave passageway, thus denying Karl the chance to use it to transport his guys across the table. We quickly added another house rule about the waterfall: it was actually holy water, and models standing in it received a bonus to combat! Here's how that scrum looked.


Yes, that's an anthropomorphic enchidna with a sword fighting against my dwarf crossbowman.

(Side note: It's a lot of fun playing with gamers who aren't super competitive and "in it to win it." The fact that Karl and I were able to come up with flavorful house rules on the fly, all in the name of adding some coolness to our game, speaks to the sort of game environment we've tried to foster with Chicago Skirmish Wargames. I think this sentiment describes just about everyone who we've ever gamed with at a club event.)

Anyway, after my troll warchief was killed, the game started going sideways for me. I still pulled off a few upsets, though: I used my flying manticore to swoop in and kill Karl's elf leader, which resulted in a morale check for his guys, and I sent my two mounted knights galloping up the hill to join in the fight the last minute. Here's how the table looked just before my troll warchief bit the dust and we called the game.


On the middle tier of the hill you can see my four hobgoblins swarming up the slope while Karl's two pesky critters (a hyena and a cougar) harried my flank. Atop the hill, my troll warchief is doing his thing against a gaggle of elves, most of whom are wisely keeping their distance.

All in all it was a fun game, and we proved that larger SBH battles are not outside the realm of possibility, at least for experienced players.

— Patrick, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member

With liberty and brush dipping for all!

Though I love the look of painted figures on dramatic terrain, I find painting to be one of my least-favorite parts of wargaming.

Since I discovered dipping a few years ago, it has revolutionized my hobby experience. I'm painting more figures, enjoying it more, getting better results and spending far less time per figure.

Dipping is a shortcut method, and advanced painters may find little of use here, but for those who want tabletop-quality models quickly, dipping is an excellent option. It is not only quick and easy, but can also be quite inexpensive. It seems that every other week the same questions about dipping appear on the forums I frequent — and to that mass of interest I present the following article on brush dipping.

What is dipping?
For the purposes of this article, dipping is the application of a polyurethane-and-stain combination product (referred to hereafter as the dip) to a miniature to create shading and highlighting. Traditional dipping involves the immersion of the figure in the dip. Brush dipping refers to using a brush to apply the dip instead of immersion, and is the subject of this article.

What does dipping do?
Dipping is a time-saving painting technique that in one step achieves the following results:

• Gives a shading effect to the model
• Darkens the recesses of the model like a wash or ink
• Creates a pseudo-highlight as it settles away from the edges of the miniature leaving it lighter than the rest of the model.
• Provides an extremely durable protective coating on the figure.

Why brush dipping?
In the author's opinion, applying the dip with a brush (called the "splash on" method by some) is preferable to the immersion method for several reasons. First, it allows the hobbyist more carefully control the application of the dip. Second, by virtue of not requiring the painter to shake off the excess dip, it can be done indoors with far less mess, effort and preparation. Lastly, there is not a major difference in the results or the amount of time required.

Army Painter Quickshade vs. Minwax Polyshades Satin
Might as well get this one out the the way early. Much ink has been spilled on the interwebs over whether Army Painter Quickshade is a re-labeled variation of Minwax Polyshades, a highly specialized revolutionary wargaming hobby product, or something in between.

Having never used Army Painter products, I cannot say for certain how they compare to Minwax. However, I have extensive experience with Minwax and can recommend their products with confidence. Also, I appreciate the fact that they cost one-quarter to one-third the price of Army Painter's products. I will be using Minwax Polyshades names for this review, but for those using Army Painter, the approximate Quickshade-to-Polyshade equivalents are below.

Army Painter Quickshade/Minwax Polyshades equivalents and Description

• Soft Tone/Pecan — A light brown dip, best used for applications where only a little shading is called for. This is my least used dip, but good to have around.
• Strong Tone/Antique Walnut — A more heavily pigmented brown dip. This general purpose dip is good for almost everything. This is by far the most common dip I use.
• Dark Tone/Tudor — This is a unique dip with black pigment. It is best used with colors that you would not want to add a brown hue to. Blues and some greens can look great with this dip, though it is by no means limited to those colors. I find myself using this dip more and more frequently.

To choose the correct shade of dip for your project, I recommend visiting the extensive Army Painter Gallery pages. The galleries are searchable by game, army, and basecoat color and often provide side-by-side images of the results of the three different shades of dip.

Supplies

• Dip — See above. Minwax Polyshades are carried by most US hardware or home improvement stores. The exception is Tudor, which can be hard to find. I've either found it, or special-ordered it from ACE hardware. It's worth the effort. Army Painter products are available online or at most gaming stores.
• Paints and Brushes — Whatever you normally use for painting your figures is fine for this. I use cheap craft paints and brushes, but there are definite advantages to high quality supplies as well.
• Brushes specifically for the dip — Buy cheap brushes for applying the dip. As long as the bristles aren't too coarse, any ultra-cheapo craft brushes that aren't too small will do.
• Paint thinner/brush cleaner/mineral spirits — The dip is not a water-soluble product, so you will need some paint thinner for brush cleaning and general cleanup. Don't bother with specialized model thinner. A can of mineral spirits from the Hardware store will do just fine.
• A small glass jar to hold the mineral spirits.
• Newspaper for protecting your surface and wiping dip off your brush.
• Matte varnish, either the brush-on variety or a simple spray can. This will take away the shiny surface that the dip leaves when it dries.
  
  

Brush dipping step by step
Let's follow the brush dipping process with a group of fantasy elves.

1) Priming — As dipping will darken the model overall, I recommend a white basecoat to keep the initial painted colors brighter. Grey or colored primers may be acceptable, but try to keep them a shade or two lighter than you would otherwise use.


2) Painting — The basic dip technique requires only basic block colors. Neatly applied base colors are all that is necessary, though some folks will do a bit of highlighting before the dip. At this point, I also do the basing (sand, one color of paint) but no highlight/drybrush or foliage. As with the primer, remember to compensate for the darkening effect of the dip by using colors a shade or two brighter than you otherwise would.


3) Prepare the dip — Stir the can of dip to make an even consistency. It should be a pretty smooth flowing liquid. If it seems to viscous (sometimes it will thicken over time), you can stir in a bit of mineral spirits, but don't overdo it.

4) Apply the dip — With one of your dip brushes, apply the dip all over the model. One or two brushfuls of dip is usually enough for one 28mm infantry model.


5) Draw off the dip — With your dip brush, dab away dip from the places it is pooling on the model. Wipe your brush on the newspaper often. You want the dip to darken the recesses without completely filling them and to shade the other surfaces without making them look overly muddy or pooled. It's ok to leave some on the base to shade the basing as well. At this point and periodically throughout this process, it's a good idea to clean off your brush with some mineral spirits.

6) Final draw off — After you've drawn off the dip from the model, check again to make sure that it hasn't pooled up again, and then set it aside. If at any point in steps 4 through 6 you find you've missed a spot, you can always apply some more dip. The pics below show very clearly how the dip will pool and how it looks when the dip has been properly drawn off.



7) Last check — After a few minutes, or when you've finished 5 to 10 models, check your figures again. At this point, the dip will have thickened too much to be drawn off, but if you find that it's pooled or gotten too thick at any part of the model, a brush dipped in mineral spirits can be used to clean off that spot (or the entire model). When you've removed the offending gunk, you can repeat steps 4 through 6 for that section of the model.

8) Allow to dry for 24 to 48 hours — I highly recommend 48 hours if possible. If the dip is not completely dry, it can interfere with the later steps. Matte spray on top of not-quite-dried dip can produce an ugly crackled film.

9) Edge the base and do any additional painting — Most of my models will receive very little additional painting. The most common additional painting I do at this stage is painting the edge of the base, drybrushing the base texture, adding eyes and sometimes drybrushing any fur on the model. If you find that the glossy post-dip surface is too smooth and slippery for effective painting, you can proceed to step 10 (matte finish has more "tooth" than gloss finish), then return to step 9 and repeat step 10 again.

10) Matte finish — A matte finish will take away the glossy shine that occurs when the dip dries. It also provides an additional level of protection. I use clear matte spray from the hardware store or artists brush-on matte varnish, both of which are very affordable. Lately, I've been using the brush-on stuff more often, as it is much easier to apply at my desk, dries faster, and requires no additional setup.

10) Base foliage — Some folks prefer to add foliage to the base before the matte finish and some prefer to do so afterwards. I prefer before as the matte finish can help in adhesion, but it's by no means a firm rule. With the elves here, I was going for an early 90's Games Workshop look, so I went with the old-school method of ballast painted green with a drybrushed highlight and no foliage.


11) And you're done! Now get those miniatures to the table!

Want to see more? Here's a gallery of miniatures from my collection that have gotten their own dip treatment.

These two Void Junkers, the fantasy giant and the dwarf were dipped with Minwax Antique Walnut.




This Reaper Echidnox was also dipped with Antique Walnut. I include it as an example of heavy drybrushing applied after the dip.


This Scots Terrier shows that even over a fairly dark brown, the black pigment in Minwax Tudor can still provide contrast.


The Jaguar's spots were not painted first. The coloration is all due to the Tudor dip!


I hope you found this article useful. Any questions? Please post in the comments section and I'll do my best to respond.

— Karl, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member

28mm on the cheap: Sci-fi hovercraft

While finalizing my entry for the Tomorrow's War Strike Force Contest over at Ambush Alley Games, I realized I needed an APC for my mercenary company to ride around in. I found a likely conversion candidate with this toy, part of a group that Karl picked up for cheap at a gaming auction.


It's from an old toy line from the 90s. The model is the right size to cart around a half-squad or a reinforced fireteam. It just took some quick conversion work and a rough coat of paint for this grav vehicle to fit in with my strike force. Here's a closeup of the finished product.


And here's a photo of the entire strike force. Almost all of the figures are Pig Iron Heavy Infantry troopers. Vote for me if I end up in the running for the fan favorite award!


— Patrick, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member

28mm on the cheap: Post-apocalyptic vehicles, before and after

In my last "28mm on the Cheap" article, I offered a how-to guide on turning toy cars into gaming models. As promised, here's the followup article showing before and after shots of a few more toys-to-models conversions.

All these followed roughly the same easy process as in my previous article: disassemble, convert, prime black, drybrush colors, a few heavy washes, drybrush with tan for dust and seal. Thus, I haven't included much in the way of instructions or procedure. These are mostly just before and after pics to get you inspired, along with a few tips along the way.

Land Rover by Fast Lane/New Ray

Fast Lane is the Toys R Us box name for a slew of toys, and many of their 1/43 vehicles are simply New Ray toys in a different box. New Ray toys are partially metal with lots of plastic parts and are notable for producing well-detailed toy vehicles at a very affordable price. Here's a very similar toy to the one I purchased.

Some paint and a lot of additional bits later, here's the final result.

The machine gun seen in this almost-completed picture is on a pin so that it can be removed for storage or switched out with some of my other vehicles that also have holes to accomodate weapons with a pin mount.

Peterbilt Tanker Truck by Fast Lane/New Ray

Another New Ray product, this truck is no longer available at most Toys R Us stores, but can be found elsewhere. Here's the original toy:

This toy was extensively diassembled and modified.

In order to make it possible for figures to stand all around the tank, the bed was halved and widened and moved outward, and the tank was moved back.

1/43 trucks are large enough to accommodate 28mm drivers. This driver was made from various Games Workshop Imperial Guard body parts. The pictures don't show that one hand is on the wheel and one is on the shifter.

One other tip: The paint jobs on toy cars are so sturdy that after the initial paint-over, you can usually scratch the paint you applied away with your fingernail to reveal the logos from the original paint job. In this case I was able to bring back the Peterbilt logos on the front and sides of the hood.

GeoTrax Dumptruck by Fisher-Price

This Fisher price vehicle comes from the GeoTrax line of vehicles that run on plastic train tracks. It cost me a dollar at a resale shop. The GeoTrax line has many vehcles that have an exagerated style that can be adopted easily to sci-fi settings. Here's the original toy.


And here's the final product. The wheels came from another toy found at a resale shop.

The roof is detachable, and I removed the plastic ballast and electronics (it had light and sound) so figures can be placed in the bed as well.

Silverado Dually by Jada Battle Machines

Widely available (with new paint schemes each year), this 1/32 scale vehicle is covered with guns and it quite usable right out of the box.

I still decided to raise the bed gun, add stowage and railings (made from the roll cage that comes inside the truck cab) and give it a good dirtying.

At 1/32 it's a bit larger than my other cars, but looks fine on the table.

How do they compare?

Here's all but the Fisher-Price truck in a rough scale comparison. The Mahindra Scorpio (far left), Silverado and VW are 1/32. The Peterbilt Tank Truck and Land Rover are 1/43.


We've decided to run a post-apocalyptic "Road Warrior" scenario at Little Wars in April, so these vehicles will doubtless play a starring role at the convention!

— Karl, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member

Happy New Year from Chicago Skirmish Wargames

As Chicago Skirmish Wargames heads into 2012 — our first year as both a game club and game blog — we decided to pause and take stock of what our members have been able to enjoy as gamers.

In a gaming world dominated by just a few big sci-fi and fantasy wargames — designed to both limit a player's options and force him to buy certain products — we have created a club that focuses on just the opposite. Our primary games (Song of Blades & Heroes, WarEngine, Tomorrow's War, and more) encourage players to collect, paint, modify and game with whatever miniatures they want.

In the photo above, which shows a typical game of Song of Blades & Heroes, we've got the following miniature lines in action: Grenadier, MageKnight (repainted), Confrontation, Reaper, WarMachine and Alternative Armies, all slugging it out on the tabletop.

And for a hobby that seems more and more to feature hordes of unpainted toys being pushed across a table, our club has kept to simple but effective standards for painted miniatures and terrain — resulting in visually inspiring tabletop gaming experiences that, incidentally, make for great battle reports on this blog. We're not hard-nosed about painted miniatures; rather, we try to build enthusiasm in players (even mostly-non-painters) so they are swept up in the excitement of gaming and painting with us. It feels pretty damn good to bring your latest finished miniatures to a game night and watch as 4 or 5 other players ooooh and aaaaah over them.



Lastly — and most importantly to many club members — in a hobby that has very real barriers to entry, we have tried to foster an environment where complete strangers can come in with little or no gaming experience and enjoy the hobby with friendly gamers who are happy to share their time, figures and knowledge.

This mission reached its zenith at Little Wars, a convention outside Chicago last year, where we ran our first-ever convention game. Here's a photo, showing players of all ages having a great time.


We're set to run another game for Little Wars 2012, scheduled for April 27 to April 29.

As always, if you're ever in the Chicago area and want to stop by for a game, check out our mailing list (and associated game calendar) or post a comment here and we'll get back to you!

Thanks again for a great year — on to 2012!