An 'aircraft carrier' for HotT.. one final naval element

Can you ever have too much of a good thing? Well maybe. There was a craze went around the 'modelling' web a year of two ago for building space ships from clothes pegs... it eventually went quiet, but not before folk had demonstrated some wonderful creativity.

Having created three 'naval' elements for my HotT armies, I had the bug, but realised this was not something that could go on forever. However I wanted to create just one more.. a matter of indulging the creativity, and the old fashioned model building, rather than any necessary desire to create elements for the games, simply because I had enjoyed the process and the challenges so much. After all we have not yet trialled the 'naval' rules, so have no guarantee that this will actually work.

That said, as friend Jon and I have discussed, this is a hobby of multiple dimensions, one is the gaming, and another is the modelling. So .. given that in our 'mind's eyes' these naval elements are likened to airboats, it did seem reasonable that one of the elements should be some sort of 'VSF aircraft carrier'. Aren't airboats about projecting airpower? This is it.

The core of the ship based on a couple of shapes carved from core board.

The core is 'clad' in light card. I wanted some sort of pseudo- carrier/dreadnought (a bit of a cliche, I guess), so it needed gun turrets down each side

A flight deck is added

A bit of a superstructure, and three funnels

Based, and the water texturing added to the base

Basic painting, some flight deck markings, and a base deep green applied to the 'water'

Lighter blue water and white foam added around the ship

I wanted some sort of 'flyer' on the flight deck, and it took four failed attempts before this came out .. a sort of gyrocopter.. far from perfect, but at arms length it looks okay, just don't peer too closely

The finished product

The final products, from left to right an orc ship, two VSF ships, and a VSF submarine

This has been one of those projects that hasn't necessarily been 'gaming focussed, but a lot of fun. The project engaged some good old fashioned imagination, and model making skills, using spares, scraps, and recycled materials.. the sort of thing I love most. I am pleased with the final products, and am looking forward to seeing some of these on the table. Now I just hope we can generate some 'naval' rules that work. Watch this space.

Returning to the painting table ... finally

I've in many ways been MIA 'missing in action' for a while now, partly the pressures of work (I've now stepped back from my role as a secondary school Principal) and partly as my vision has been problematic. A cataract operation a week ago brings to an end (I hope) a four year journey with incredible eye surgeries, and has already yielded huge dividends, and I have been able to get back to the painting table, starting with something larger .. necessary at this stage as I need to wait for the eye to settle so I can get a new lens prescription that gives me the best quality vision I can. 

I have had the bits for this piece of fantasy/sci-fi terrain sitting on the table for a year ... one of those projects in which I try to indulge my creativity and see what I can make from those odd bits. The terrain is intended for use with my HotT (Hordes of th Things) armies.

Here I was playing with bits, moving them around, looking for inspiration. The small cardboard 'tubes are the centres for dog 'poop' bags... with two Border Collies, we have plenty of these

More bits arrived, and I tried this ..

Before settling on this

It is intended to look something like a possible science and industrial complex. I didhave to do a quick photo shoot of this new piece alongside another copuple that I have created, and a couple of bases from the HotT Undead army.

This isn't about acquiring quality scenery. Chances are I could have downloaded a 3D print file and got friend Andrew to print something for me (maybe). This is about indulging ones creativity, about re-using what otherwise might be simply 'waste'. It's about the heart of our hobby, I think, and I love it.

References for buildings for Normandy - wargames terrain

We've just returned from a two week jaunt that took in California and France. While in France we stayed with my brother and sister-in-law who have restored and live in a Norman farm house. Their house is situated in the small village of Fresville, just 5 minutes by car from St Mere Eglise.

The French leg didn't include any battlefields this time, but it did strike me that I number amongst my friends and wargames colleagues a number of people who game World War 2 in north west Europe, and some who scratch build their own wargames terrain. So with that in mind I went for a wander and snapped a range of shots of Norman buildings with the thought of creating a small reference tool for wargamers/modellers, something that they could use to create terrain suitable for games set in Normandy.  I've added short captions for some of the photos to help interpret the structures. These are not modern facsimiles of Norman buildings: they are the authentic/original thing, the structures themselves are often 300+ years old.

The Fresville 'church hall'.

Close up of the buttressing of the walls of the church hall.

The Fresville church

Housing

Detail of the entry to a courtyard area behind housing.

Classic Norman house profile.

Another classic Norman house profile.

Entry gate details

Village 'communal well' .. a nice detail that could be included with any wargames terrain building.

Yes, some Norman buildings have dormer windows

Often seen, external brackets indicating the presence of structural reinforcing within.

Outbuildings ...

Another classic farmhouse profile

Outbuilding to farm house.. this one was originally the bakery for the farm workers