Face Study - 10 MM Maurice

This is to determine which combination of color and wash produces a good result for a face. For these 10mm soldiers, painting a face is pretty easy. I always prime with black. For the faces a fairly bright flesh color was chosen and it was dry brushed onto the face. Then a flesh wash was applied to set the complexion color. The bright color is subdued, but shines through the transparent wash.

Personally, I believe that these soldiers have been out in the sun and weather and I prefer a more ruddy shade for their faces. That was my intent as I started this. Finally, by recording it here, maybe I can come back and remember what the heck I decided

Here are the colors: White, Fleshtone, Medium Flesh, AC Flesh and Bamboo. White is an experiment, and I was actually surprised that it is almost workable. It is a bit too bright at the end, but not by much.

Here are the figs with the background color dry-brushed in place. White on the left -- Bamboo on the right.

Finally, here are the faces after the have been washed. I use Reikland Fleshshade for the wash. I also have a Sepia but it tends to be a bit too reddish

The AC Flesh / Wash combination is my preference. The color here is just a bit off due to the photography being done under compact florescent lights. I wonder if there is a filter app for my phone camera?

Hauverstover First Infantry - Ready for Orders!

The First is ready for play! Here are a few photos of the unit on their bases. I believe this shows the importance of having some room to add some scenery. It makes the unit pop.

These are 10 MM Old Glory Marlburian figures on Litko 50x50MM bases.

The complete line Right Center Left Center - Lower Camera Angle

Painting is starting on the 2nd unit. There is not much to show yet, I am just blocking colors. Happy gaming!

An Evening of Gruntz

This past Thursday, Greg and Jay of the Basement Generals put on a game of Gruntz. There were seven players, so Jay decided to act as referee. Mainly because this was the inaugural game after one controlled play test.

The rules were clear, in fact by the second or third round we had all grasped the mechanics. This is the mark of a good rule set. There will be some tweaks to statistics of some of the units for future games, but as a first game it was fast and furious and a lot of fun.

There were three objectives, destroy or protect the power plant, seize or protect the cargo containers, and have the dictator escape in a plane or prevent that escape. The dictator had his units of professional soldiers and goons, while the rebels were mostly militia and some regular army that was supporting the coup.

The action opened with the rebels advancing toward the town in three teams, each with one of the objectives in mind. I played the rebel group that was trying to destroy the power plant. It didn't take long before there was a serious fire fight along the entire engagement.

This game turned out to be a rebel victory, we managed to control the power plant and were setting the charges as the evening ended. On the other flank, the plane had been destroyed from rocket fire, and in the center the rebels managed to seize several of the cargo containers.

Note, all of the scenery shown was supplied by Jay and Greg, and they put on a fantastic looking game. Hopefully they will post on their own blogs about this. I have linked to them here and here. Thanks guys, great game!

Flags waving in the breeze

The painting of my Hauverstoverian 1st Infantry unit is done. Complete with hand painted flags. These are not too bad, if I do say so myself. Now only 7 more units to go.

A few of the things I decided during this process:

• At 10MM, think impressionism.
• The cords on the flags are going to be the units facing colors.
• The drums will be a yellow body with light purple cords and rims. This will be standard on all units.
• If one breaks down the flag shapes to basic geometry, then it is easier to realize.
• For me, beer and painting do not mix! Fine motor control goes away too quickly.

Front and Back view of the flags

How they will look in a bunch.

Note - As I was test fitting the strips on the basing, I realized that the 50x25mm bases will not provide enough depth to comfortably fit two ranks of soldiers. They will fit, but there is not enough room left to add any scenic flair. At this scale, the bases have to look good. They represent the first impression of the unit. I am going to use the 50mm square bases after all. I am still going to base these for a combination of M&R and Maurice.

Hauverstover First Infantry

Work continues on the 10MM Hauverstoverian army for Maurice and Might and Reason. These little guys are almost done. All the colors have been blocked in, now I have to do some touch up and paint the flags.

I have been trying to paint an hour a day as Baron Von J has suggested. I am not able to do that every day, but four or five hours a week is definitely making progress.

I must admit a little trepidation about the flags. That is going to take an evening and a beer to get me over the hump. Happy gaming!

Hauverstover Grenadiers in the House

I am working on completing the first infantry unit for my 10MM Hauverstover Army. This required some Grenadiers to complete. Jaye was kind enough to loan me a couple of strips until my order arrives.

Macro photography might be a bit too close for these little guys. These are painted for the table top, and I think they look pretty good for that expectation. The top picture is a little further away, so squint a bit!

Basing Options - Maurice

When gaming with the Basement Generals, several rule sets are used to play the Lace Wars period. Maurice is the newest rule set for us. It is a fine little rule set by Sam Mustafa. However, we also play Sam's Might and Reason. This introduces the rub.

Might and Reason defines a unit as two bases, while Maurice defines a unit as four bases. In order to minimize my expenses and painting effort different basing options are being explored.

The goal here is to play both rule sets with the same stands with minimal derisive laughter from the rest of the guys. Not a lofty goal, but with this bunch one better not have a thin skin. Over the years, one does gain a reputation in the group for certain unintended actions. Hopefully with this study, I can avoid another dubious distinction.

I am leaning toward Option 1. It gives me Command to the left and the Grenadiers on their right hand side. I can then use a two stand unit in Might and Reason and it will look correct. Then when we play Maurice, I can use two two-stand units to arrive at a four stand unit. The Grenadiers will be a little out of place, but it will look good on the battlefield and columns will be okay as well. The Maurice unit layout will use option 2.

Option 5 would be the basing used if all we were going to play is Maurice. However, I don't think it will convert to Might and Reason as effectively.

Finally, for some reason Maurice wants infantry based on 50MM squares. I just don't think that looks right. These were linear formations and it looks too chunky for me. I will stick with the 50x25mm bases. The frontage should work just fine.