Canadian Wargamer Podcast Episode 28, With Byron Mudry of Northern Lights Terrain

 James and I recently chatted with a lovely fellow named Byron Mudry, owner of a thriving Winnipeg-based business in MDF wargaming terrain and bits called Northern Lights Terrain.  We also chatted about the wargaming scene on the Canadian prairies, as well as games he is currently excited about, including Trench Crusade, and finished up talking about wargaming Canadian Great War military history.  Give it a listen!  MP+

Foundry Roman Legionairies

Marching off the painting table and mustering to the eagles this week are eight 28mm Roman legionaries from Foundry.  They are sculpted wearing mail shirts, so they don't have that classic segmenta lorica look of Romans in the films, but I think they look well enough, and from what I understand, there would be a variety of armour types in the same legion.

As I noted in a previous post, there shields are hand painted.  Sometimes seeing another painter's work, in this case a far better painter than I, provides inspiration to say "I could try that" and I'm glad I did rather than try to find shield transfers that would be the same size as the Foundry shield blanks.   The results are a bit uneven, but I have another 24 in the painting queue to practice my skills on!

Another decision that I made while painting was to give them simple linen shirts, unlike the film Romans who always seem to wear the brightest red fabric even though they're grunts.   I like the "warriors for the working day" look.  I did make a concession to the movies by giving them red neckerchiefs.

These are the first proper legionaries that I've added to my Roman force, all the other figures thus far are auxiliaries.    It will be interesting to see how some rules, like Hail Caesar or Three Ages of Rome, rate the difference.   In a build your own army points system, like Midgard, I think you'd rate them as Heavy Infantry, but not sure they would have any better armour rating than auxiliaries.   Bears thinking on.

Thanks for looking and blessings to your brushes!

MP+

Miss Maple, A Pulp Investigator

Every now and then I find it's pleasant to have a figure in the panting queue that isn't part of a project or an army I'm building, but is simply a pleasant diversion.   Bob Murch's Pulp Figures line fits that bill perfectly.   This Murch figure is a lady investigator with a kitty, who I've named Miss Maple.    Aided by her clairvoyant kitty, Justin, she's investigating a nefarious plot to rename Canada the 51st state.   She has goggles pushed up into her brunette curls, so she seems to be ready to move quickly.  Justin must be more patient with motor vehicles than my cat is!

The kitty is painted in tribute to my own buddy, Marshal Luigi, who sometimes graces this blog.  The paints are a mix of Vallejo, Foundry, and craft paints.

I've started using clear Litko bases for my pulp figures, as they work well with a variety of matts and backgrounds.   I suppose Miss Maple could be assisting some Mounties I painted a ways back, if I ever resurrect my Rockies Aflame project.  Hmmm.

Thanks for looking and blessings to your brushes.

MP+

Shipyards Update 2: Naval Warfare Bases

 A few weeks back I showed some work in progress on basing GHQ 1/2400 scale model warships.

After some trial and error with cutting techniques, and thinking through some standard base sizes for ship classes, I've made some progress.  Here is HMS Hood steaming proudly alongside my first trial piece, a Flower class corvette.  The wake and bow waves are a combination of white carpenter's glue mixed with off-white paint.  It would have been nice to put them on a proper sea mat, but I had to settle for slapping them down on the dining room table.

I try not to look too suddenly at the Hood model just in case it blows up.

Also finished is a little Great War RN squadron, two Calliope class light cruisers with an escort of three K or Acasta class destroyers.

I figured as these are all light ships, I would exaggerate the wake to suggest travel at speeds.

I find that painting these ship models is actually easier than cutting and painting the bases.

Next up:  Prince of Wales, Bismarck, and Prinz Eugen - of course.

Cheers and blessings to your brushes, MP+

Canadian Wargamer Podcast Special: Learning Midgard

Not an episode per se, we just left record on while we got together via Zoom and tried to figure out the Midgard rules from Reisswitz/Too Fat Lardies.  Had a good time, but may be hard to follow.  On the other hand, you might like this sort of thing.

 

Update from the Shipyards: Making Ship Bases

Lately I've been taking a break from Ancients gaming stuff to try and formulate a plan to base my growing collection of 1/2400 scale naval models, a side project that is rapidly becoming an addiction.

There's a running joke in our hobby about whether model tanks should be based (the correct answer is yes, they should) but basing ship models seems essential as they are delicate and are constantly being pushed forward, turned, etc.   I've learned this the hard way in my first two naval games.  So below is a glimpse of the shipyard and the materials I'm using.

I found these small, fairly thin clear plastic sheets from the local DIY store.  They're small, but surprisingly pricey.  Since my Olfa craft knife wasn't doing well scoring the plastic, I also purchased a cutting tool and a clamp to hold the ruler in place as a cutting guide.

Since the Naval Thunder rules I'm using don't have any basing requirements, I'm trying to establish some standard sizes that I can repeat for ship classes, so shown below are bases for a battleship (HMS Hood), for a light cruiser (RN Leander class) and a small escort (RN Flower class corvette).  Also shown on the cork and currently being painted is a WW1 RN Acasta or K class destroyer). The models are all from GHQ.  Given the current political and economic climate, I'm not happy that GHQ is a US company, but their products and service are first rate, even though the exchange rate on the poor Canadian dollar is painful.  

I am thinking of leaving the bases clear as I have a Geek Villain fleece mat with a very convincing wave pattern, but I'm leaning towards painting them, and maybe using something textured to create waves and wakes.   I also haven't yet figured out what sort of glue to use.  In past with American Civil War 1/600 scale models, I've tried glueing them on plastic bases but the glue doesn't hold for long.   Grateful for any suggestions you may have.

More photos once I get it all figured out.   And yes, since I'm painting HMS Hood, there will be a Denmark Straight game soon.  Blessings to your hobbying!  MP+

Freehand Roman Shields, or, Scutum Selfies

 Ave, amici!

Currently I'm working on a test batch of Foundry 28mm metal early imperial Romans, which come with separate shields, or scuta (neuter plural if I recall my college Latin).  I was vaguely considering ordering some shield transfers, but then I came across some work on the Bluesky social media site by the supremely talented @moiterei.bsky.social who still maintains an excellent war-games blog here.  

His Roman legionaries are stunning and their shields were all painted freehand, as you can see (nota bene - the image below is his work, not mine).  

His work gave me the courage to try my own freehand work, and I totally cribbed his design.   The result isn't nearly as good but to me it's good enough.

As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Blessings to your brushes,  MP+