Vikings in 10 mm

 

This is the first all card or paper 10mm army that I have made. There are approximately 350 individual models, mostly based in groups of 10 per base. These bases are 20 mm by 40 mm as per Warmaster.

Generals and lesser leaders I wanted to show were different so put them on hexagonal bases.

I intend using these to play games of Hannibal from Little Wars gaming club. Each pair of stands combine to create a unit, 40 mm by 40 mm

I have to say that cutting 350, 10 mm miniatures was a labour of love, but since they were pre-coloured at least there was no painting.

Easier to see the bases from this angle. Also possible for me to notice that I haven't put any grass tufts onto most of the bases...work still to do it seems!

I mount my paper models on black card, just my preference. I feel it gives each figure more contrast than a white which I think can look a bit insipid. My opinion, each to their own.

Why individuals I hear you say and not strips, wouldn't strips be easier? Well yes they would but you wouldn't get the feeling of depth with strips. Singles can be angled so that the base can be seen from various positions and still look interesting. More effort, but worth it I feel.

Before I glue the models down on the bases, made from packaging from "Nile", the well known international company, I bend the figure up the centre line on the model so either the centre line is foremost or the feet on the model are. It gives a slight sense of animation and makes them easier to glue down. Sometimes I turn models more side on to illicit even more animation. (Imagine!)

These Vikings are unusual for me because they were drawn in 15 mm and reduced by 33% on my printer. Since these were made I have only drawn in 30 mm and reduced by...

Makes a massive different to the detail, far easier to draw and colour.

Spot the lonely 10 man berserker stand loitering in the woods, means that at some point I will have to make a stand to complete them, can't leave them alone.

I have a few bits to complete on the Anglo Saxons, although a very similar army in many respects, and when they are complete will post some pictures.

Thanks for tuning in, take care all.

Frostgrave Camp and Wagons in 10 mm

In the last two weeks I have been working on some small pieces of scatter terrain for my 10 mm Frostgrave game. You know what I'm doing, I'd rather make something else to enhance the game than actually get on and play. It is stupid...

I started by creating a camp for the gang to sleep in while travelling, something I intend doing, see last posts maps. I thought it might lead to some interesting night time situations/encounters. 

The idea they might get attacked by wild beasts or ambushed by Gnolls or cultists really appeals to me.

Three tents, some barrels, crates and a fire makes a camp to my mind...

Of course a wagon to haul the tent and for future booty is essential. I do intend making a couple of horses to pull the thing sometime soon.

I didn't just make a single small wagon I went for it big style, in case a travelling caravan needs protecting or robbing in the future.

Also I few barrels had to be created to make the effect work. You can see how I get drawn into the whole process....can't help myself!

Just to turn things on their head, the caravan in this instance is owned by some orcs on the way too or from a brewery by the looks of things. The first wagon pulled by boars and the second by keen beer drinkers.

Looking to keep warm by our heroes fire. Hope it goes well for them all

The wagons not used in the exciting scenario above....the tension

Thank you for visiting my blog, it seems many of you do. Sometimes as many as 60,000 in a month which is astounding. 

See you again soon.

Daxio 

Preparing to play Frostgrave Solo

Today I am going to run through some of the background thinking and organising I have been doing in preparation to play an extended version of Frostgrave. 

Where I travel across wilderness terrain in a sort of Hex crawl manner, using terrain cards and dice rolls to decide if the players have managed to navigate successfully to where they need or want to be.

Visit some locations which have NPCs and thriving communities and others that are more typically Frostgrave by nature, ruined cities and dungeons. To this end I have created a few maps and systems to create the world they will explore. I have also used many supplements that I will list at the end of this post to help in that endeavour.

A close up of the local area the gang will be travelling through and investigating as they do. Starting in the village of Sagan and travelling North  between the two blue glass beads. 

The Gang record sheet that I have put together for this adventure.

The first Hex to be travelled through on the first day. The terrain created by using some cards that I copied from a guy called Avian about 15 or 20 years ago now, and which I recently redrew for clarity. They originally designed to create a random battlefield for Warhammer or Kings of War, so many thanks to Avian.

I like to made colour maps for D&D and have used the same method here, but when it comes to the practicalities of running a game, D&D or otherwise, I prefer to use black and white version to make notes on and for clarity.

This particular Island is one I have used before to play D&D in. Its called Calandara and is part of the Shattered Archipelago consisting of many different sized islands. This particular area has not seen any action in any of the last 5 years of play, so I decided it needed some attention.

A couple of views of how the whole set might look, prior to any tabletop play.

Each Hex on the larger map is represented by another Hex shown below for more detailed exploration.

As you can see, if you squint, it takes 4 days to cross a hex in a straight line. Of course there is always the chance of getting lost or having a random encounter slowing the procedure down.

Thanks to the following for helping in various ways:

Frostgrave, Shadowdark, D30 Sandbox Companion, Une, The Perilous Wilds, Sandbox Generator.

5 Parsecs from Home

Hope that's them all, if not will add some more in subsequent posts.

Cheers.

Dead Trees for 10 mm Play

 

It recently occurred to me that some dead looking trees would go very nicely with all the ruins I had built. Since I had none I set about rectifying the situation.

My first attempts made form a basic card shape and smothered in PVAcrete looked absolutely awful and even after several tries at saving them I could see no future for them other than the bin, which is where they ended their days.

I had seen a couple of You Tube videos using gardening string to create bushes so decided to give it a try. Luckily Mrs Daxio has plenty of course string just right for the purpose, so I set too. 

I immediately preferred where these skinny, gaunt trees were taking me and so persisted.

They look suitably cobwebby and the original colour of the string meant I had little painting to do to get them to a playable state.

Disaster had been avoided and there would be dead trees in the city tonight....I was happy.

Buildings in 10 mm: Frostgrave and Warmaster

This is another small set of buildings I intend using in my 10 mm version of Frostgrave. These are different from the first set in that they are more obviously medieval and featuring lots of timber work made from matchsticks. 

I  intend mixing these in with the other models, they give me the opportunity to create sets or groups of terrain that expand variety and keep games from looking too repetitive and boring.

A few close ups to give a little more incite into how they were made and painted. The only materials I used here that are different from before are the tapers for floorboards and matchsticks for timber sections.

I think these will work well for both Frostgrave and Warmaster, either fantasy or historical.

I am currently working on some rocky outcrops and an Orc or Viking village.

Future projects will include some complete buildings which I think will come in handy for D&D city encounters.