Ships: Part One....

With only 45 days until the pack date of March 7^th, last week was pretty awful as far as preparation for Cold Wars goes. This week I need to focus and get the High Seas game “in the box.”

While watching the playoffs yesterday I managed to work on the ships:

Prime applied in 2 thin coats…..

 I used brown Rustoleum as the primer.

Then I completely covered the ship with Dark Chocolate.......

...then a heavy dry-brush with Light Cinnamon......

..followed by Milk Chocolate...

..then Raw Sienna...

..and lastly Honey Brown.

Here are the four I finished up.

Step one is done. Tonight I'm going to finish the details and add some color.

Fantasy Hockey part 2; Orcs.....

To All,

This is the Orc team for Fantasy Hockey.

I will be running demos of the rules and using these figures Friday night, March 8th, at the HMGS Cold Wars convention.

Here is the Brigade Games link to the figures.
http://www.brigadegames.com/Fantasy-Hockey_c_57.html

Fantasy Hockey......

To All,

On Friday afternoon and all day Saturday we are going to be putting on Gnome Wars games. I want to give you guys a preview of what I'm bringing for Friday night -  Fantasy Hockey.  A few years ago Lon from Brigade Games showed me these figures and I started working on some rules. The games are pretty quick, the rules easy to learn, the figures are top notch! There are three teams:  Rats, Orcs, and a Dwarf team.

Here is the link if you are interested: http://www.brigadegames.com/Fantasy-Hockey_c_57.html

Here is the rink...

....and a close-up of a Rat vs. Orcs face off.

The Rat Team:

Orcs tomorrow......

The Masts, part 2....

To All,

Here is the mast I made yesterday put into a ship. I also put the wooden part in the front. Last night I continued working on the ships.

To wash off the release agent from the casts I soaked them in warm, soapy water for about 30 minutes.  This is a sometimes overlooked but important step when working with resin models. The release agent, which helps protect the mold when the cast is removed from it, is oily and can prevent paint from adhering to the model.

Then I gave them a scrub….

….and a good rinse….

….and set them out to dry.

I also went to the bench and worked on the 8 masts I need. There may be a modification to the design – I’ll keep you posted.

Masts...

To All,
Last night I came up with a prototype for the mast I'm going to use for the ships. I’ll post a picture tomorrow of it actually on/in a ship.

I'm pretty happy with it.

As far as cannons go, I'm going to have to with Old Glory Shipyard cannons. $3.50 a pop but what am I going to do?

The best-laid plans....

To All,

Last night I spent my "painting time" just organizing my bench. This is what it looked like at the start of my hour.

And this is what it looks like now. I'm going to be spending some serious time here over the next couple of months and I just needed it straightened out.

I found a couple of Old Glory ships I had on my shelves and am happy to add them to the armada.

The issue I have with the ships I made is that they don't have cannons or mast/sails. I spent the other half of my "painting time" making a list of things that I need to complete the ships. I'm going to have to pick up some wooden dowels, bass wood, and muslin to create the masts. I'm going to have to poke around the internet to come up with some cannons.

The Next 59 Days.....

To All,

For Cold Wars I am going to be putting on a Gnome Wars Event with Eric Jacobson and Kevin Jacoby. On Saturday afternoon at 3 o'clock we will be running 3 interconnected games:

S-211 - Gnome Wars: High Seas
Sat. 3:00 PM, 4 hrs, 8 players
GM: Kevin Jacobi with Jim Stanton and Stout Gnomes
Sponsor: Brigade Games, Prize: Gnomes!!
Age of Piracy 28mm, Rules: Gnome Wars!
The landing parties have headed to shore to get the treasure. The
members of the crew that stayed on the ship must try to keep it
afloat and free from rival crews, ghost and zombie crews, and
pirates. Hoist the black flag and load the cannons!

S-210 - Gnome Wars: Treasure Island
Sat. 3:00 PM, 4 hrs, 8 players
GM: Jim Stanton with Steven Stanton and Stout Gnomes
Sponsor: Brigade Games, Prize: Gnomes!!
Age of Piracy 28mm, Rules: Gnome Wars!
Standing in the shade of the palm trees on this uncharted island,
looking down at the faded map in his hands, Lon the Lunkhead felt
a tad uneasy. Was the map real? The answer to his question was
just a few feet below his shoes. Lon drew a thin breath and ordered
his gnomes to start digging.

S-212 - Gnome Wars: The Raid on New Providence
Sat. 3:00 PM, 4 hrs, 8 players GM: Eric Jacobson with Jim Stanton and Stout Gnomes
Sponsor: Brigade Games, Prize: Gnomes!!
Age of Piracy 28mm, Rules: Gnome Wars!
The British Marines are planning a raid on New Providence to look
for pirate scum. What they don't know is that there are more than
just pirates with "business" on New Providence and the marines
are just pissing them off.

Cold Wars is March 8-11th. I usually pack on the Wednesday before the convention so that gives me 59 days until I need to be ready. Over the next 7-plus weeks my intent is to chronicle the preparation for these games.

My immediate concern is the High Seas game. My vision for the game is to have 10 or more ships battling it out. Of course the problem is that I do not have any ships at all. So my first step in getting ready was to get together with my buddy Chris Dubuque, known in the 40K world as Jawaballs, and come up with a quick ship. After a few hours of clay work we came up with something that will be serviceable.

Last night I started working on the Gnome Armada:

                                         The mold:

                                         Smooth On:

                                          The Measure:

                                         The Pour:

                                         Setting Up:

                                         The Set:

Unfortunately I attempted to make all the ships in one night and ruined the mold (the side ruptured). Jawa told me that the mold needed to cool down between pours. He is (grumpily) working on another sculpt and mold for me.

Tonight I have to work on organizing my painting space:

and organize figures so I can order from Lon at Brigade Games.

The Stout Smurf