New and Old Toys, Part 7 Star Wars Minis and More

As George Lucas once said, "One thing about 'Star Wars' that I'm really proud of is that it expands the imagination. That's why I like the 'Star Wars' toys." I couldn't agree with him more. In this case I use whatever is at my disposal. I'll usually set up my table with something interesting and things just evolve.

It's been awhile since I've played with my DropZone Commander building models and really love the ease of set up using these cardboard pieces. They photograph well and are very usable for different games systems or a casual diorama setup.

A Rancor mixes it up with AT43 Red Blok mechs, Bugs,
and miscellaneous MechWarrior units and vehicles

New and Old Toys, Part 6 Stalingrad

You ever set up your game table for a specific scenario and end up with 'free play'? Such was the case one day after I set up my Stalingrad table intending to skirmish an urban ruins clash against the usual suspects of belligerents. After the table was set (...the battle lines are drawn...) I had some visitors 'oohing and aahing' over the set up. Now mind you, these visitors of mine were not gamers. And unbidden they started pulling minis from collection and placed them on the table. The result was pure fun and unplanned...

(click on the pix to enlarge)

The initial setup: 28mm urban ruins on
my 5'x7' gaming table

A PanzerGrenadier column with BMW Troopen scouts
and fullysupported with a PZII and SdKfz 251 Halftracks
with some command elements in tow entering the sector

The objective: ammo and supply dump made up with
my collection of crates, barrels, oil cans, sandbags, etc.

Soviet Strelkovy and Maxim MG Team race to get into
position when all of a sudden, the Bugs attack!

At the opposite side of the table StormTroopers advance
supported by an AT-ST while a trailing Rancor goes amok

Standard StormTrooper maneuvers as they fan
out outflanking an unsuspecting T34 and the dinos

A T-34 and a BA-6 are duly engaged with the Alien and
a raptor as a T-Rex and a Bug are locked in combat 

A Stug IIIG with some BMW Troopen get in on the action

The Alien sneaking up on an unsuspecting Soviet Scout
observing the passing of the PanzerGrenadier column

Blade showing up for a cameo appearance

A soviet sniper sights on a T-Rex from Hobby Lobby

A mixed bag of belligerents including an armor
clash between a KV1 and JagdPanzer IV 

A melee and free-for-all ensues!

"All together now!"

New and Old Toys, Part 3

Sci-fi doors, crates and barrels are perfect for adding those nice extras to your gaming table. 

(click on the pix to enlarge)

Narrow and wide doors, section and air lock doors
from the Sedition Wars Terrain Pack are great!

Staging the shot

Various items from my collection: Starship Trooper,
AT-43 and Hero Clix Alien to name a few

Finally gotten around to painting some
cool bio-hazard and nuclear waste barrels (red
and yellow respectively) from Fenris Games

More sci-fi crates and hatches from Fenris Games 

Put 'em all together and you get some nice dioramas
"Meanwhile, at the loading bay of HMS Rourke's Prime
currently orbiting Rajanatha 3 in the Gamma Sector"

That's a repainted AT-43 Mech UNI Fire Toad
"Preparations are underway for the massive landing
expedition and support base operations"

"I need that load out as soon as possible!
Otherwise I'm going to miss my timetable
and be late for the jump point."

2' x 2' Mini Terrain Table

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Because gamers like a big area for viewing and admiring, most of us have the typical 4' x 6' playing areas. Realistically, most of my games end up in tight quarters. Especially my skirmish games in 28mm. Solution: make a mini terrain table for those close quarters.

Start with a standard 2' x 2' acoustic ceiling tile
available at any hardware store.
Paint the edges with flat black for a better border

Inexpensive but very effective for most of my painting needs

Apply with a metal spatula a good base layer of a slurry mix
(sand, white glue, cheap gray acrylic craft paint and water).
Let dry and cure overnight then apply successive coats of dark brown wash

Again let dry and cure overnight

After the board was dry-brushed to my liking I then applied
white glue to random areas and sprinkled copious amounts of
static grass from Gale Force Nine

Let dry and cure overnight then take a tooth brush to
tease out (stand up) and remove excess static grass and Voila!

My whole intent was as mentioned above but after it was completed I knew that I could pose some of my minis on it for some cool diorama shots.

Steppe this way!
My Mongols from The Assault Group
and Old Glory lines in 28mm

Assortment of German Panzers: Stug III, Sd.Kfz 222 armored
car and Sd.Kfz 251 half-tracks from Bolt Action in 28mm

Same Panzers supplemented with 25mm BMW motorcycle 
troopen from Battle Honors (incidentally, putting them in the
foreground mitigates the scale disparity)

My 28mm Soviet Tankovy: KV1 and T34/76 from Battlemart
and armored cars: BA6 and BA64 from Bolt Action 

Showcasing some of my 6mm Modern micro armor from
GHQ: M1 Abrams, British Challenger and German Leopard 2
alongside Timecast buildings and haystacks

Ditto

Composed shot for my Instagram

New Scav Alert! Part 4: Decoration Sites

Continuing my series of re-purposing found objects from the different craft worlds online and in brick and mortar sites I found these great pre-painted metal gate and fence on a popular seasonal decoration on line store: Department 56 Village Replacements http://www.department56corner.com/.

Here's a tip: their store is not that organized and have lots of variety. If you do find something that you like, better to pull the trigger then and there since you might not find it the next time. 

My Black Scorpion Pirates fit nicely

The stone wall with some snow was another
item that I found at the same site

Observation tower courtesy of a flea market find at Historicon

Mix and match: the dark brown crates are pre-painted
models from Pegasus Hobbies

Wood pier on the left was also another item in their catalog.
Good luck finding it, though. Last I check, it wasn't available.

New Scav Alert! Part 3: rafting Store Floral Dept. Finds

It's that time of year again where I discover some great finds from my local, neighborhood dollar store.

If you're in the continental U.S. there should
be one of these babies in your neighborhood

Just a serendipitous find. As usual, I kept my eye peeled for any potential item that can be used for all my gaming needs. Case in point, I looked at these plain, unobtrusive objects with a miniaturist's eye and always imagined how they can be utilized as part of a scene on my gaming table. 

I saw these seemingly innocent items at the crafting,
floral aisle and I immediately thought of moss covered
boulders perfect for any period / fantasy skirmishing 

A bit of an imagination goes a long way for creating
our gaming scenes and I'm always on the lookout
for 'eye candy' opportunities. 

28mm metal Viking figures are from my Gripping Beast

collection with rune stones from Fenris Games and the odd

bits of trees I've collected through the years 

One on one

Incidentally, those pines trees were an earlier purchase from same Dollar Tree and was featured in an earlier post: New Scav Alert! Part 1