Battlegames 3

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Copy and advertising closing date for next edition: December 19th 2008

The times, as the song says, they are a-changing. I’m writing this just a

couple of days after the United States of America has elected the first ever black President, the world’s financial markets have been shaken to their very core and we are told that we are plunging head-first into a prolonged recession.

Well, Battlegames is just a very small minnow in this vast economic sea, and with overheads rising inexorably, I’m afraid I’ve had to increase the cover price of the magazine to £4.25. Ironically, with the Pound in freefall recently, overseas purchasers will be almost unaffected by this.

However, on the upside, with Christmas on the way, this issue carries more advertising than we’ve ever had before. So, there was I, close to finishing the layout a few days ago, when I sat back, looked hard at what my readers would be getting for their money and felt the content was rather thinner than I would have liked. So, taking yet another huge risk, I decided to add another four pages of content.

My ability to keep Battlegames at this new and beefier size is dependent on two things: the continued support of the advertisers who have kindly supported the magazine with publicity for their wares; and your response to those advertisements, with the hope that they will be convinced that it’s worth buying the space in these pages.

As a final, technical point, I have changed the way the dates work on the cover. This brings us into line with standard practice of publications stocked in shops, so that we better reflect the ‘on sale’ dates for the benefit of readers and advertisers alike, since many of you often seem to have been confused in the past.

Now, if this issue leaves you feeling slightly damp, it may not just be the perspiration of excitement, for we have not one, but two marvellous articles about the wetter aspects of wargaming from the pens of those modelling maestros Phil Olley and Barry Hilton. I could have printed them in separate issues, but it seemed obvious to me that publishing them alongside one another creates, in effect, a one-stop-shop for all your aquatic needs, so I hope you agree, and pay attention to the lifeboat drill, which some of Barry’s miniatures will have wished they had done.

We also have a major piece about 6mm gaming, including an interview with Peter Berry of Baccus. This

Editorial Contents

Cover: Confederate and Union cavalry clash amid spectacular scenery at Gettysburg. Baccus 6mm miniatures, painted and photographed by the effervescent Peter Berry of Baccus himself. More of his work features inside.

Editorial 3

You’ve done what?! 4Diane Sutherland, UK

Tabletop tips 6Phil Olley, UK

Figure mutilation therapy 8Barry Hilton, UK

The joy of six 10Peter Riley, UK

Forward Observer 19Mike Siggins, UK

To boldly go 21Roger Smith, UK

Spartacists and swastikas 24Gary Chapman, UK

Table top teaser 28C. S. Grant, UK

Recce 33New goodies reviewed by our team

The Battlegames Combat Stress Appeal: update 41Help to support ex-service personnel

Competition 42Win a coveted box of Perry plastic French infantry

Battlegames classified ads 42Sell or announce your stuff here

The Battlegames shop 43Order your goodies in time for Christmas!

is just the first in what I hope will be a regular series of ‘behind the scenes’ interviews with well-known names in the hobby and, perhaps, some less publicised worthies. Not everyone can get to shows and meet these folk face-to-face, so I hope that these chats will give us all an insight into how a wide range of wargames businesses are run and what they are hoping to bring to the hobby.

This seems like a good time, then, to welcome a new face to a long-established brand: Iain Dickie, editor of Miniature Wargames, has decided that 25 years is quite enough for any man, and has passed the reins to newcomer Andrew Hubback and his lovely wife, Colette. We wish them well.

And finally, it is of course at this time of year that we remember the fallen of all conflicts, past and present. Our thoughts are with the families and friends of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom and security.

Sam

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4 Battlegames

You’ve done what?!The continuing tales of a wargames widow

by Diane Sutherland

Tim “Mastermind” Hall and I were an unbeatable Trivial Pursuit combination. We ruthlessly grabbed pieces of pie in our quest for domination.

Now, like old soldiers with a clutch of medals on our chests, we can only dream of past glories, sweeping all before us like the Thin Red Line.

Why, you may ask, do I reminisce? In fact, you may well ask. Gone is the main board, I’ll come back to that. Gone are Genus and Baby Boomer. The board, well that’s got laminate flooring underlay stuck to it. Not a dreadful accident, it was deliberate and premeditated. Now my Trivial Pursuit board is an Arab village. It was supposed to be one of those “very nice, dear” moments, when you have something metal, resin or plastic shoved under your nose. You are expected to smile and say how life-like it looks, but this time it was: “You’ve done what?!”

The Trivial Pursuit board came to pieces with a series of deft cuts with a Stanley blade. This left four equally-sized sections. Not one for town planning, we simply decided that a normal single height house would be 5cm tall (allowing 3.5cm for doorways) and the windows 2cm from the ground, 2cm tall and 1.5cm wide. Luckily enough, this meant that when we put in the lintels, the doors and some of the bigger windows, they were half a matchstick wide and the other windows a third of a matchstick. The town is designed for 25-28mm figures, but if you reduce the size of the doorways and drop the windows to 1cm from the ground, they would be ideal for 20mm.

The first major job was the carcasses of the buildings. The underlay is very easy to cut. Simply mark out your rectangle and slice through; one cut will do it. We marked out the windows each time, along with the doorways. The underlay fixes nicely together with a line of white wood

glue; here and there, you might need to push a sharpened half-matchstick into the joint to get a secure fit. We also measured up some sections of the underlay to hold the flat roof sections. They were 1cm wide and were around 1.5-2cm shorter than the height of the house. We don’t need to be too precise at this point because if the heights of the walls are slightly out, once the whole thing is dry, we can use sandpaper to deal with that and bevel the tops of the walls.

We also laid out some pieces of the underlay to use as pavement slabs. We used a Biro that had run out of ink to scribe the basic detail of the stones. We also found a card tube from some kitchen foil and sliced five short sections off. We stuck four down for the tanning yard and another slightly bigger one for the well. We allowed an inch all around the buildings on each of the boards to make it easier to move figures around and as our figures tend to be based on 2p coins, we allowed 3.5cm for the alleyways.

Once the whole town is dry and the top edges of the walls have been sanded, it’s time to start painting. We used Sandtex Bitter Chocolate for the interiors of the houses. One coat is fine, but you might need a second coat here and there. Also paint the windows, including the lintels and the doorways.

For the external texture, we use a cheap tile grout or tile adhesive. Apply with an oil paint spatula and have a cup of water ready. Smooth on the grout as best you can, then leave it for a couple of minutes. Wet the spatula and smooth out the grout – half of what you’ve put on will come off and you should have a reasonably flat surface left. Don’t overdo this because you want a slightly rough surface. As an alternative to the grout, we used cheap terracotta exterior paint. It is ready-mixed and rough and goes on like a dream. Don’t worry about the colour, we’ll be covering that up later.

Now cut the roof sections. You will discover that however careful you might have been, the buildings will not be square. Oversize the roof sections and cut them to fit. Make sure you also cut a small hole, otherwise you will never get them out again! A couple of the houses have half a children’s

Carcasses of the buildings are in place; note that the foam is light blue. It comes in packs of ten sheets roughly 2 feet by 4 feet. A one inch gap has been left around the edges of each of the boards and the buildings lined up

so that they are geomorphic. Base coat of Sandtex Bitter Chocolate for the insides of the buildings and around the windows and doors. You might need an extra coat here and

there, but one coat of decent emulsion is usually all you need.

Sam

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plastic ball stuck to the roof instead. Stick these down with wood glue, then cover them in the external paint for texture.

We’ve recently discovered the 1829 range of domestic emulsions. You can find them in most DIY stores. Papyrus, Tangy Yellow and Regency White are very useful, sample pots cost under £2. In addition, we used Sandtex Midstone and Cornish Cream, also available in sample pots. The only other colour used was Slate emulsion from Focus.

Work from dark to light, Papyrus, then Tangy Yellow then Regency White, or Slate, then Midstone, then Cornish Cream. Each successive coat needs to be lighter and more of a dry brush than the last.

Once done, we then apply a mix of medium brown paint and sand to the Trivial Pursuit board. Once dry, we dry brushed Regency White all over, then using wood glue, stuck random patches of static grass in green and dried grass colours.

In all, the project took us three evenings. One night to get the carcasses done and the Bitter Chocolate on to the interiors, doors and windows,

a second for the rendering and base painting, then a third to finish off and tidy up here and there.

I’ve decided to move on; Trivial Pursuit is SO 1980s darling. No, I’m not trying Sharp Practice or Warhamster (is that right?), perhaps I’ll just pop off to the bingo and leave him smothering my dining room table with tile grout.

The finished article with some static grass stuck here and there. You could of course add creepers (with Woodland Scenics coarse turf as described in the previous article) or the odd tree for extra colour.

“I say, pot that chappie Hawkins!” A pair of British officers encounter unwelcome hosts in the form of tribesmen; luckily they’ve got some loyal Sikhs at hand.

Sam

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6 Battlegames

Tabletop tipsWater features

by Phil Olley

No, I’m not turning into TV gardener Charlie Dimmock , but after the last article on fire effects on the tabletop, I have had a number of requests

and suggestions for the next piece; and in particular how I create the water effects on figure bases and terrain. So, it seems only natural to look at water features this time.

Remember this is for the tabletop, for enhancing the look of our wargames, not for dioramas. So we’re not attempting to recreate a perfect water scene, but a water ‘effect’ that is representative (i.e. looks wet). There are many diorama modellers who use resins and the like to do this for extremely skilled modelling projects, which may elude the average wargamer (they certainly elude me!). However, using a simple method it is possible to create a pleasing watery look that is perfectly adequate for our wargame requirements.

Let’s start with watery terrain features.

Marshes method 1: on terrain board modulesFor my standard baseboards I use 12mm thick MDF, covered with Games Workshop battlemats.

Begin by painting the baseboard a suitable blue •colour, mixed with a little green (gloss household paints) in the area which will be the marsh.

Take the battlemat and cut out the marsh area •before glueing the mat to the board using PVA.If you want some rocks, add large stones, and paint •according to taste at this stage (I paint mine black, then a layer of GW Graveyard Earth, followed by a heavy dry-brush of Vallejo Stone Grey, and then a final highlight of stone grey mixed with white).For the marsh, create the water effect using marine •varnish. This should be “blobbed on” very thickly, rather than painted. Leave to dry for a couple of days.Once dry, add another coat of marine varnish •and sprinkle various shades of flock over parts of the surface to represent mossy patches. Other features such as reeds can be added, in this •case, clumps of doormatting superglued around the edge of the marsh. But be careful, as the superglue can react with the varnish, and some touching up around the reeds may be required once all is dry.

Marshes method 2: stand-alone piecesIn other words, for placing on top of our terrain base boards. In this method, the approach is very similar.

Cut the required shape from a piece of 3mm thick •MDF using a jigsaw, mindful of the safety aspects of working with MDF (and jigsaws) of course.Then use Tetrion or similar filler to build up the •banks at the side of the marsh area. I add some sand and small stones here, before painting the

Polish Winged Hussars charging Cossacks on a marshy terrain board.All figures and terrain in this article painted and photographed by Phil Olleywhose inspiring website can be found at www.warcabinet.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

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Battlegames 7

banks a suitable brown (my method: GW Graveyard Earth, highlighted with Vallejo Yellow Ochre, then a final highlight of Vallejo Pale Sand).Paint the marsh area a suitable green-blue mix. •Keep it nice and dark (but be aware that the varnish will make it look darker once applied).Then use marine varnish again, applied thickly •over the marsh area, and again a liberal sprinkling of flock in patches to represent moss.As in the previous method, reeds can be added •if you like that look (you can even paint the ‘reeds’ if you want them to be green).Finally, flock the banks with grassy patches •to blend in with your baseboards.

RiversOf course the same methodology applies to rivers, depending on whether you are making your terrain as a series of modules with all features built-in, or whether you are going with the standard flat table with features modelled separately and then placed on top.

I won’t go into the full method here, as your Editor did a piece on making rivers in issue 10 of this very magazine. I can also recommend the Games Workshop book on making terrain which also has excellent instruction on this (along with many other aspects of tabletop terrain).

I like a rich deep blue colour, as a purely personal preference, so when it comes to painting the rivers I choose an Oxford Blue gloss paint. Again, Marine varnish is applied very thickly to create the wet-look. Make sure it is completely dry before you add any flock or static grass to the banks.

Water effects on figure basesWhen it comes to figure basing, we all have our own favourite way, don’t we? In fact, it’s true that if there are ten wargamers in a room, there will be twelve opinions on the best way to do bases.

Adding water in small pools and puddles can enhance the look of a unit, and over the years I have enjoyed doing this for many of my armies.

The method is simple enough:Base the figure on a suitable base (I use Litko bases), and •Milliput up to the edge of the figure stands to disguise the lip. Leave the base exposed where the puddles will be.Add sand and small stones.•Paint the earth areas.•Paint the water area black, then a black/blue/green mix.•Add a blob of enamel gloss varnish. As with the •marsh pieces, the trick here is not to paint the varnish on, but to apply it very thickly. Leave to dry (24 hours is usually long enough).Add static grass to the base.•Recently I have been using the Games Workshop water

effect liquid as an alternative to the enamel gloss varnish, and it is slightly shinier when dry. It also works out more cost-effective (which may surprise some readers).

The use of water effects doesn’t stop with terrain and bases of course. Fountains, water troughs and other items can be enhanced using the same approach.

As always, I hope to have encouraged you to give water features a try, whether as part of your terrain, or indeed on your figure bases. And be prepared to experiment as there are many ways to improve on this basic method.

Ponds, marshes, watery birch tree bases and some wettish Cossack bases!

River piece with bridge and Grand Alliance troops exchanging volleys.

Boggy Picts!

Sam

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8 Battlegames

Figure mutilation therapyHow to make river crossings interesting

by Barry Hilton

Despite its prominent positioning in the wars of William III, my tendency over the years has been to avoid

demonstrating the Battle of the Boyne at war games shows. Perhaps this is a result of playground hard-wiring whilst growing up in the West of Scotland during the 60s and 70s where, for reasons too complex and tedious to relate, an overly pro- or anti- stance toward the Dutch Prince was liable to get you a bloody good kicking or worse.

The battle, in military terms, was a rather minor affair, with an amateurish but enthusiastic volunteer army being outmanoeuvred and swept aside by a larger, more professional one. The political implications for the United Kingdom and how it is governed, however, reverberate even to this day.

The battle has interested me for a variety of reasons since I have been mature enough to look beyond the 20th century camouflage of blue and green which unfortunately dissuades all but the most persistent and objective from taking a peek behind the bigotry curtain. An army was ordered to cross a tidal river

under fire from the far bank by wading up to chest height through the water and then conducting an immediate attack using black powder weapons and pikes. The vanguard of this attack was not English, nor Irish, nor even Scots, but composed of Dutchmen and Frenchmen. William’s Gard te Voet and the French Huguenots of DuCambon, DeMeloniere

and DeCaillemotte were the troops chosen to make the initial crossing at Oldbridge. Curiously, none are mentioned very prominently in the modern popular anthems of both factions.

I decided to finally put this game on during 2008 at various shows and wanted to make this river crossing the main feature. It was important to visually create the disorder of units breaking up their formation to wade

into swift-flowing, chest-high water and then trying to form up on the far bank under fire from a determined enemy.

Often in river crossing games, troops are simply placed on the river and described as crossing, which is understandable if slightly abstract.

As the game was a relatively short-term project which I really only started to think about in late March, I had no grand plan. I had received a batch of Reiver Castings [sounds like a pun, but isn’t intended to be! Ed.] which I was painting for an

advert and of course had spares. I decided to use this handful of figures as a token visualisation of the crossing.

The Battle of the Boyne game in full swing, with troops wading the river. All photos by Barry.

A closer look at those wading troops. Some wonderful terrain work, as well as the half-drowned men!

Sam

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