The Hills of Mars...

I am doing a little bit of terrain work these last few days. I have finally come up with a method that I like for using pink 1/2" thick foam insulation board.

I have a hot-wire foam cutter, a cheapie I got at Hobby Lobby a couple of years back for $10, I think. That's what I am using to shape the pieces, cut smooth bevels for the hillsides, rough faces for cliff sides, that sort of thing.

I'm using spray adhesive. Sounds a little crazy, I admit, but it seems to hold like cement and doesn't eat the foam. This way I can stack multiple layers for more impressive rock outcrops and hills.

So I cut the foam to the shape I want using the hotwire. Then I glue the layers together. So far so good.

The next step is painting. I found some black latex wall paint I had leftover from a DIY project, so I used that. Painted it on the foam, let it dry. Now when I spray paint the colors on the foam, the foam doesn't dissolve away!

Finally, once the black is dry, I hit the foam with three colors of spray in at least two layers of each color. You don't have to wait for each layer to dry - I like the mixed look, it seems mroe natural.

I'll post pictures once I get some decent lighting. I tried to take a few shots tonight, but... too dark.

The Hills of Mars...

I am doing a little bit of terrain work these last few days. I have finally come up with a method that I like for using pink 1/2" thick foam insulation board.

I have a hot-wire foam cutter, a cheapie I got at Hobby Lobby a couple of years back for $10, I think. That's what I am using to shape the pieces, cut smooth bevels for the hillsides, rough faces for cliff sides, that sort of thing.

I'm also using spray adhesive. Sounds a little crazy, I admit, but it seems to hold like cement and doesn't eat the foam. This way I can stack multiple layers for more impressive rock outcrops and hills.

So I cut the foam to the shape I want using the hotwire. Then I glue the layers together. So far so good.

The next step is painting. I found some black latex wall paint I had leftover from a DIY project, so I used that. Painted it on the foam, let it dry. Now when I spray paint the colors on the foam, the foam doesn't dissolve away!

Finally, once the black is dry, I hit the foam with three colors of spray in at least two layers of each color. You don't have to wait for each layer to dry - I like the mixed look, it seems more natural.

I'll post pictures once I get some decent lighting. I tried to take a few shots tonight, but... too dark.

Caravan Raid, Part Two

So, the rest of the Caravan Raid playtest report...

   Turn 6: Sergeant Harbuck and his half platoon of the 23rd Foot clear the crystals and charge the Ghost Archers who have slain two of the British soldiery. In response, the cowardly dogs fled the field of battle (failed a Morale test, ran right off the table)! Rightly afraid of cold British steel! Martian levies pounce upon the malfunctioning spider-bots, and wreck five while they are immobilized. The toolbots manage to return to their programming, and turn to prepare an assault on the levy hacking apart their many-legged friends. HMLS Prince Albert finally fires its first combat shot, only to watch the shell fly wide of the target: one of Maton's giant Brass soldaten. The other half-platoon of the 23rd Foot, under command of Captain Compost-Pyle fire a devastating volley at the same target, and strike it seven times! One round finds a weak spot in the ammunition feed for the massive gun, and BOOM! One brass soldat, blown to bits. Meanwhile, the pack mules - you remember them, the entire focus of the mission? - are wandering about the landscape.

   We ended the game at this point, after almost 3 hours of play, although it is still setup on the table. The game is scheduled to run 3 hours at the convention. I am hoping we can get at least one more turn in during the convention, if not 2 or 3 more. Additional tests will bring my familiarity with the rules up to snuff, and better positioning of the forces will help move the game along too.

   I got a lot of valuable information from the game, and Zach (the Martian player) and I are zipping emails back and forth in regards to ideas for improving the game. Plans are being made to make further tests, although a second set battle might not happen for a few weeks. I am anxious to get at least one more full scale test battle in before Historicon.

   I'm a little unhappy with the automatons. They seemed to break down a little too easily. Once in combat, they were pretty nasty, though. One consideration would be to break them into smaller units (this would be nice for convention play anyway), so that a malfunction roll (which affects the entire unit) would not affect as large a percentage of the entire army.

More Tales of Ol' W.J.

17 May 1881

Another week and three more dead herbivorous reptiles. W.J. Struthers III, our overbred and overpaid civilian 'guest' was bragging about how he shot all three "on the run." However, Sergeant McKay of the dragoons was out on a patrol and he said the stegosauruses were calmly eating swampweed when he killed them. The stegos just looked at him as he approached to within thirty feet before he shot. The funny part was when Ol' W.J fell in the muddy swamp water, and got soaked from head to foot as a stego charged him because he was creeping up on one of her three hatchlings. Just like one of our longhorns back home! As he was telling the story, McKay's face was contorted in an amazingly accurate caricature of Struther's ugly mug. Sergeant Garcia spit the beer he was drinking across the room at the sight, drenching Sergeant Mendoza. Continuing the story, Sergeant McKay said Ol' W.J. was running for dear life as the mom's spiked tail was swinging dangerously close to him. W.J.'s men were running for their lives as well, except for the cook who was just watching the show from a safe and sensible distance.

On a more serious note, this week Doctor Palmer and Caruthers uncovered a coffin elaborately decorated with artwork showing the life of its owner. On the walls there was also pictures and more of the strange writing. The crypt under the temple had four guardians idnetical to the ones in teh upper temple, but on a smaller scale as they were only six feet in height. No one has moved the coffin yet, as the explorers were all searching for traps on it. Crypts and temples like this one back on Earth are often full of many nasty devices that have killed many would-be thieves and explorers.

Well, it is time to hit the Mess for dinner, a fine cigar, and hopefully some more funny stories about Ol' W.J.

Battle Report: Caravan Raided!

   A caravan of the strategically important unobtainite ore has been ambushed as it left the mining facilities in the Ghola District of the Crown Colony. Witnesses report that two different groups apparently tried to ambush the column as it moved towards the Ghola Canal.

   Turn 1: The British begin their advance towards the canal. The automaton force moves towards its nearest foe, the Martians, and prepares to attack. Not waiting to be charged, His Royal Highness Prince Musta Gopotty urges his deathray-mounted friends into an attack against the squat toolbots. A flurry of chainsaws and powered claws erupts as the lances dip towards the mechanical monstrosities, and the deathray cavalry are wiped out in their first action! The losses are 7 to 2, and only HRH remains! Finally, a Martian cannon fires at extreme range, striking HMLS Prince Albert (also in its first outing) in the tracks and damaging the running gear.

   Turn 2: Things look bad for HRH! Although able to fly away from the toolbots, the Professor's flying minions the Hoverbots are immediately to hand. Maton orders the charge, but the delicate mechanical minds of the hoverbots have been damaged in the harsh Martian deserts, and 7 crash to the sands as lifeless hulks. Not to be outdone, the toolbots also immediately malfunction and begin to wander aimlessly around the battlefield. Martian troops begin to re-align themselves to avoid confrontation with the automatons, the musketeers of the Imperial Guard's Emerald Legion leading the way to block access to the canal. On the British end, Captain John Compost-Pyle orders the advance southward to continue, though both the HMLS Prince Albert and ASA #41 lose steam power at this point.

   Turn 3: Wanting nothing more to do with the mechanical monsters, Prince Musta spies a lone woman on the battlefield, servicing the automata. He couches his lance and charges her bravely, slaying Madame Lucille D'Amonds of Skye. A Brass Soldat fires his cannon at the Prince at close range and misses him, as does Professor Maton with his electro-rifle. The remaining hoverbots swoop in to exact bloody revenge for the Prince's cowardly deed, but fail to penetrate his defenses. Maton's serv-a-tons malfunction and begin to wander aimlessly as well, blundering directly into a unit of Emerald Legion halberdiers, who promptly charge their helpless brass foes, destroying 5 of them. At the northern end of the battlefield, the tank regains power and begins heading southward again. Also, Martian infiltrators appear from the sands just south of the unobtainite crystals, but unable to draw a bead on the nearby 23rd Foot. Their appearance is noted, and the stout lads in red move to punish the poor Johnnies with ASA #27 in support.

   Turn 4: HRH continues to have a dismal day; in fact, it's downright fatal. Unable to escape the flying constructs of Maton's fiendish mind, the Prince is cut to pieces by their sharp shears. In celebration, the hoverbots immediately freeze up, processing their regicide. The Martian ghost archer infiltrators move into cover, hoping to pick off a Tommy or two before ASA #27 can get within range. The Martian halberdiers continue to wreck three more of the oblivious serv-a-tons, who merely wander off aimlessly. A second cannon shot is fired at the Prince Albert, narrowly missing it. Lieutenant Heribert Popinjay orders his sepoys to screen the tank from any further long range harassment by the Martian cannons.

   Turn 5: The Martian cannon crews need more target practice, missing yet another long range shot at the sepoys screening the landship. Martian Ghost Archer infiltrators fire their poisoned arrows from the cover of a cluster of unobtainite crystals, killing two of the 23rd Foot. The 23rd Foot respond with a volley and kill two of the sneaking assassins. The Emerald Legion halberdiers fail to charge the remaining 2 wandering serv-a-tons (roll of 19, an 18 or less would have worked!), but luckily, part of the levy is nearby and they rush in to finish off the hapless machines. Meanwhile, Maton's Brass Soldaten open fire on both the Ghost archers and part of the 23rd Foot, missing the fleet Martians, but killing one of Her Majesty's finest. To finish off the turn, the steam spiders, who have been slowly moving towards the retreating Martian levy, malfunction and freeze in place.

Exciting conclusion tomorrow!