Today we have friend of the show Jon Chang (Black Powder Red Earth) and he is joined by Mike Durao and they talk about their new game Near Present which is a modern skirmish game set in the near future.
With my North African Italians finished it’s time to look forward to a new project. After attempting desert bases with my Italians, I had the idea to challenge myself with new-to-me basing themes for my next few projects.
The next project will take me from the sands of North Africa to the ruined cityscape of Stalingrad. If I said the German Veterans release from Warlord Games had nothing to do with this choice I would be lying. Having never attempted urban bases before, I spent some of my prep time looking for different ways of creating urban bases and came up with three options to experiment with: Green Stuff, plastic mats, and sand.
Today we have Robert Crandall from On Target Simulations. Robert and I talk about the upcoming release of Flashpoint Campaigns Cold War coming out here on Steam.
While day dreaming about my desert terrain I had a vision, or perhaps a mirage, of an oasis on my future table. As my palm groves came together I strategically left the largest of my bases in reserve for such a project. With the first batch of my palm groves completed I felt confident in trying to put together a desert oasis. This oasis will add a splash of color to a dreary desert table as well as could double as a fun objective for the two sides to fight over.
I started by priming the selected MDF base black.
Next I test fit different size pools using scratch paper.
I traced the pool template onto the base for future reference and then drilled holes for the palm trees with a 1/8″ drill bit.
I traced the selected size pool onto a piece of cardboard and then taped a flattened piece of plastic table cover on to the cardboard.
The three paints I used to paint the pool. I started by flicking some Vallejo Silver Grey onto the plastic then began layering mixes of Trail Tan and Olive Green on successive layers.
The first ring was a 1:1 mix of Trail Tan and Olive Green. The outline of the pool on the cardboard served as a guide as I sponged on the first layer of paint. The second layer was a 1:2 mix of Trail Tan and Olive Green and the third layer was Olive Green. I then added a few layers of Olive Green then Black to fully cover the bottom of the pool.
Once the paint dried I applied a layer of brown spray paint to the bottom. The photo here is after all the paint is dried and I removed the plastic from the cardboard and flipped it right side up.
I then traced the original pool template over the top of the pool to cut it to the desired size and shape with scissors.
I overlooked the fact that the pool was mirrored as the original template was at the bottom of the plastic. To fix this I flipped my base over to fit the two together as desired. I applied a 1:1 mix of PVA glue and hobby paint to the bottom of the pool and weighed it down under a stack of books to ensure it glued on flat.
Next I added 1:1 mix of PVA glue and craft paint before sprinkling on a layer of sand.
I painted the sand with a base coat of Black, then drybrushed a layer of Nutmeg Brown, then a layer of Trail Tan.
I then added a variety of tufts to the base. I chose to use the more lively, green tufts around the pool with the more brown tufts closer to the edge.
Insert the palms trees into the holes and the oasis is ready for the table.
Like my desert palm groves, the palm trees with this oasis can be removed to facilitate models moving through the terrain and to store and transport easier.
On 11 October, sixteen players gathered at the Call to Arms Convention in Williamsburg, VA for a 1250 point Bolt Action tournament hosted by Kalissa Skibicki. This is Kalissa’s fifth time running the Bolt Action tournament for Southeastern Tabletop Gaming Organization (SETGO)’s autumn convention.
This continuity has allowed relationships to grow between the repeat attendees even if it is limited to a once-a -year interaction over a tournament involving toy soldiers and measuring tape. The camaraderie is ever-present throughout the weekend especially as players arrive to the event and are heartily greeted by their soon-to-be competitors.
Image from Mantic Games Website’s 4th Edition teaser page
By Troy Hill
I began to write this a week ago, on 7 October. But new bits of information were trickling out of Mantic HQ so fast, the trickle was more of a typhoon. Or, at least, it was “Blowing a Hoolie” with news from Nottingham UK.
Now that Ronnie, Matt, and Kyle at Mantic have the information deluge at more manageable levels, let me recap the last several weeks for those living outside the world of Pannithor.
Mantic Games flagship game, Kings of War (KOW) is on the road to a new edition! And it’s been designed by one of the grand masters of the fantasy gaming genre, Alessio Cavatore. The reigning King (of Wargaming Rules) is back, baby!
Even though he’s been busy recently, ushering one of his other flagship designs, Bolt Action, by Warlord Games, into their 3rd edition, Alessio is recharging another game (KOW) he hasn’t touched since it came out back in December of 2010.
In the following article, I’ll share what a broad overview of what we know about the new edition at the time of this writing. Most of the images link to pages on the Mantic Website, so be sure to click them to learn more.
After completing my North African Italians I committed to building a set of desert terrain for them to fight in. In addition to the standard dwellings and walls I wanted to build palm groves to add some soft cover and greenery to the table. While wandering around a Michaels store I came across bags of palm trees on sale and decided the time to start the palm groves was now.
As many a tabletop war gamer has learned, the winter holiday season is a wonderful time for terrain builders. This past winter I stocked up on the three styles of Lemax mats in stock at Michaels with the idea of using them to build European style cobblestone roads for my urban tables.
I wanted to build 6 x 12″ sections of road that will allow me to easily stack and store the road sections as well as drop them down on the table as needed. I found a pack of 20 basswood sheets measuring 6 x 12 x 1/8 inches on Amazon and added them to my cart.
Nearly a decade since the release of Warlord Games’ first edition of Konflikt ’47, we are on the precipice of a new edition set to be released this September. Since it’s release in 2016, I must sheepishly admit that I have not taken a stab at this science-fiction, alternate history, cousin of Bolt Action.
I am hopeful that that will change soon as I have become more and more invested in the aesthetics and gaming of a competing science-fiction universe as well as having an advance copy of the new rulebook in front of me. As a veteran Bolt Action player, I have a familiarity with the foundational rules and an abundance of 28mm WWII miniatures and terrain. With this head start, it looks like a fairly simple leap to add Konflikt ’47 to my wargaming repertoire.
The next Late-War compilation for Flames of War is about to be released. Operation Bagration consolidates the previous Soviet, German, and Axis-Allies books for 1944 on the Eastern Front into a single volume.
It is now five years since the first of those books, Bagration: Soviet, was published. It’s fair to say that there haven’t been any earth-shattering updates to the Soviet lists. However, Battlefront has taken the opportunity to update the Soviets to include a few products that they have released in the intervening years, and it’s worth taking a closer look at those changes.