Trees for Battletech

Being a cheap gamer, I am always looking for ways to get nice looking terrain and scenery for little money.  I've seen pipe cleaner trees many times, and made some in the past from bump chenille.  I didn't like how these turned out, so I'm tackling them in a different way.

I prefer my trees to be based individually and be placed on a template, as I will use them for Battletech and other 6mm gaming.

Unfortunately these pictures turned out terribly, but they will still convey the basic process.

Start off with two regular pipe cleaners.  Brown or black is the best to use, but I've picked up all kinds of colors for very little money, so I will be using a variety.  An advantage to building these trees is that I can grind through TV shows on the DVR with my girlfriend and still get some projects done.

Twist the pipe cleaners together to form the trunk of the tree.  A bit will also be needed to attach the tree to a base.

Loop the long ends back to the trunk.  These loops will form the bulk of the trees branches and foliage.  When I do this I use it to create 4 "branches."  

Loosely twist the loops together to create branches.  

Roll the branches up towards the trunk.  

Use a lighter or other controlled flame to melt the chenille fibers on the trunk.  It stinks and is probably toxic (I'm guessing they are made of polyester), so do what you feel you need to do to protect yourself.  Don't apply too much heat or the fibres will liquify and drip off, leaving just twisted wire.  You want just enough heat to melt the fibers.  If you're really tough you can roll the trunk in your fingers immediately after melting the fibers to smooth it out.  It is hot though and may burn you, so touch at your own risk!

This completes the basic construction of a tree armature.  The steps below will lay out painting and flocking trees.  I am using a red tree as a test because I want to see if I need to dye the odd- colored trees before flocking and painting.  This tree is also a bit bulkier than the one in the example above because an extra pipe cleaner was used in bulking out the branches and foliage.

Start off by painting the trunk.  Use whatever tree colors you prefer.  I am using Delta acrylic paint, Burnt Umber.  This is cheap craft paint readily available at Wal Mart or any craft store (Michaels, Jo Anne Ect., Hobby Lobby, etc.)  I went pretty heavy to soak up and cover the red colors.  Coverage was adequate.

Insert the tree into your preferred base.  In my case I am reusing the bases from my previous tree project.  They are made from 40mm poker chips.  In Minnesota thrift stores always have poker chips, and they go for $1- $3 for 100 of them.  They make great bases for models and terrain.  These chips were primed black and based with my standard mix.  A hole the size of the tree trunk was drilled in the center.  The tree was then super- glued into place.  As you see in the picture the trunk pokes through the base a good amount.  When the glue is dry, clip this off flush with the bottom of the base.

The top of the tree is then coated in a liberal amount of white glue.  I made sure to completely saturate the fibers.  I then rolled it in Woodland Scenics Course Turf, then squished it in.  I then tapped off the excess.  Despite the heavy coverage, the red underneath still shows true.  The fibers will have to be colored ahead of time.  Spray paint might work.  Dyeing it black with watered down paint might work too.  I am going to mix black paint in with the white glue and see if I can dye and glue the turn down at the same time.

A picture of the tree on one of my typical woods templates with a Dragon and Jenner from the Introductory Box Set.  I will post more pictures as the experiments continue.

Woodland Scenics Model Graphics

I love cars, I love car games, and I love collecting Matchbox scale cars.  I've collected a handful of Matchbox highway patrols, and needed a way to make them easily differentiated from each other.  Numbers on the roofs of police cars is not unheard of, making them easily identifiable to air units.  A friend had success with some water slide transfers he had lying around, but unfortunately I didn't have that luxury.

I stopped by my local hobby shop for glue yesterday and decided to see what they had available for transfers.  I found these:

These are dry transfer decals, meaning you rub the graphics onto the surface you want to apply to, versus the waterslide or a sticker.  I've worked with dry transfer before, but was hesitant because of the high gloss surface of the Matchbox cars.  The pack was $7, so I thought I'd give it a try.

This particular pack is MG727 No. Gothic, R.R.- White.  As you can see the numbers come in a variety of sized.  Woodland Scenics makes other packs in different fonts, colors, and text.

Application is very simple, and detailed instructions are available on the back of the package.  I simply cut out a pair of numbers, removed the protective backing, lined it up on the roof of the police car, and burnished it with the end of a crochet needle.  You do need to hold the transfer in place to keep it from sliding around during application.  Also, the spacing of the numbers on the sheet were satisfactory to me so overall alignment of the transfers was easy.

The drawback to these numbers is they are kind of fragile.  I messed up a transfer, and easily scraped the part that did adhere with my nail.  A sealant is highly recommended.

It looks like I have a few Dodge tampos to remove from these cars.  This is easily done with a cotton swab soaked in a bit of non- acetone nail polish remover gentry rubbed over the tampo, then dried with a clean swab.

Warmachine, 10/4/11

Just thought I'd share some pictures of the Week 4 action at Village Games in Anoka, MN.

Sunday had a good turnout but I was unable to get any pictures.  We again had a good showing Tuesday, and here is some of the action.

Some of Casey's Cygnar.

Bob's Legion of Everblight.

My Cryx Necrotech, Slayer and Cankerworm.

Jeff's Trollbloods square off against John's Trollbloods.

My Cryx 'jacks assault Doug's Cygnar.

Robb's Gators take on my Cryx.

Doug's Cygnar mix it up with John's Trolls.

Doug's Lancer, Ironclad and Stryker.

My Cryx warjacks close in with Robb's warlock.

Gatormen thump on a bonejack.  The Slayer turns away in disgust.

Combat Cards Week 4, 7/20/11

We were town two players this week, but it didn't matter.  The four that did play were in games so engaging and brutal it was more than enough!

Jeff and Todd faced each other again.  This time the game was very quick and deadly, with Jeff scoring a win.

The table.  A small village surrounded by hills and woods.

Armor clash!  An M10 and a Sherman take cover in woods while German Panzers push the offensive.

German infantry and put "Out of Action" while moving towards a mysterious wreck.

Unfortunately these were the only shots I was able to get before the game ended.  Jeff won the day today!

For the first time I faced off against Dan, the current league leader, my boss, AND the creator of the game.  No pressure here! :)  Our table was a farm bordering a wood.

Russians hunker down in the farm yard. 

A look to the south from the farm.  Germans have entrenched themselves in one of the orchards, with Russians occupying the other. 

Late game carnage.  Both German and Russian forces have taken heavy damage from the fighting around the farm. 

The Tiger approaches a T34 it destroyed earlier.  Or is it destroyed?  The greenery around it is ablaze, but the tank seems to be OK!  The Tiger crew is Confused! (Don't worry, the T34 really was Eliminated.)

A StuG III burns brilliantly while Russian Infiltrators survey a hill.

No unit escaped the fury!  Three of five aircraft were destroyed in a vicious dog fight. 

In the end I was able to squeak out a narrow victory.  Regarless of who won or lost, fun was had by all!

Future War Commander- 3/15/11

Doug, a friend of ours, had a Future War Commander scenario he needed to playtest for an event this weekend.  Of course we were happy to oblige.  Future War Commander is an excellent game from Specialist Military Publishing.

Todd and Crow took the part of the Renegae Legion, defending their atrillery batteries from an assault by the TOG.  Jeff and I headed up the TOG.  Our goal was to destroy the Legion artillery that had been shelling our forces.  With a Legion fleet in space and heavy AA support guarding the artillery, the only way to take them out is a ground assault.

The city in the center of the board.  Tokens scattered about indicate possible militia units.

The artillery and AA guns are positioned in woods west of the city.

After a some really good (and really unusual) dice rolls from Jeff, the TOG sweeps in from the east and closed with the city on one turn.  Militia armor is spotted and opens fire.

Legion infantry moves in from the west and deploys power armor arond the batteries.

Legion armor crests a hill and lines up shots on the TOG hovertanks in the distance.

TOG medium and heavy tanks begin sieging the city from the north and east.  Militia scramble to defensive positions and return fire.

Casualties begin to mount on both sides.

A close up of the battery defenses.

The defenders of the second battery.

While the TOG armor tangles with the militia in the city, light and medium TOG troop transports sweep south and smash through the front line of the Renegate Legion.  Caution is thrown to the wind as all thoughts turn to completing the mission objective.

Heavy TOG fire softens the first battery's defences.  Another snake eyes command roll allows TOG Centaur troopers to move in and assault the first battery. 

TOG infantry have pushed too far into enemy lines with no support.  The armored units break off their fight with the Renegade militia to defend the infantry's flank from Legion medium tanks.  Militia armor tries to take advantage of the opportunity.

TOG has locked down the center battery, but Legion tanks decimate the light transports as they charge the second battery.

An overview of the late game.  Renegade Legion armor have covered their firing lanes and lay waste to anything that crosses them.  TOG infantry have pushed the Legion out of the center woods, leaving them little chance of saving the battery.

Militia armor mops up the last TOG tank on the east side and prepare to encircle the overwhelmed TOG forces. 

It was a tough scenario, but quite enjoyable.  Jeff and I were unable to destroy the batteries against the numerous and fortified Renegade Legion forces. 

The game has certainly sparked interest in the 6mm Sci Fi stuff again.  I will have to dig through my boxes and see if I can find my half finished army.

Thanks Doug!

 

Speed Rally Gear Markers

I've picked up a game called Speed Rally recently.  Part of the game is keeping track of your car's gear on a record sheet.  I found these specialty paper clips that work great:

These are Scrapbook Paper Clips from a company called Scrap Paper Scissors.  I picked these up on clearance at Micheal's craft store for $1.00 US.  Regular price is $2.50.

                                    

Here is an example of each clip used on a Speed Rally record sheet.  At first I thought the triangles would be the best, but it appears the circles and the square (diamond) work the best. 

Of course these could work for other games, too.