Anyone have a weedwhacker?

In an earlier Feb 2018 post ... "Jungle Trees Growing Taller" ... I began work on some new jungle trees. My couple of tests produced some good results. I am heavily indebted to Paepercuts for his techniques that I utilised ... mostly. I made some modifications that I'll describe below. 

Firstly I worried about using sticks/twigs for the branches. My storage methods are not always delicate, as are my packing away or mid-game handling. Sometimes other people pack away for me. These reasons combined in me wanting something more sturdy. I decided I'd order some quite large trees from the good folks of China and snip off the branches. 

(I've glued the above to temporary bases right now so I could spray the foliage. I was losing lots each time I handled the tree so I decided I would give it some PVA and water. At the last moment I changed my mind and went for something I have seen before on the interweb - hairspray. I only did it earlier today by it does seem to have had the desired effect. I didn't want my trees to be without leaves once I had finally affixed my branches to the trunk.)

These I'd then glue the snipped branches onto my trees. I drilled holes in the trunks of the trees to help stick them on. This seems to be a good idea thus far but it also hasn't been tested apart from me holding the branches in place with my fingers and thinking it all looked pretty good. 

Since my practice two trees and my two first tabletop intended tress I have made three more bases. I use drink coaster MDF circles. I decided to use two sticks nailed to each base ... well ... I don't know why I just thought it looked good. 

The sticks I chose are between 12cm-20cm in height - a shorted and taller one for each base. I have added a fallen log to one base. I used string for vines. These were painted with a very dark green then a lighter olive to finish. PVA holds all together with its usual reliability. 

The trees have been given a coat of dark brown and black as a base (paint from local cheap shop) then a dry brush of a lighter brown, a first highlight of a even lighter brown then a final highlight of this last brown mixed with some creamy coloured paint. I used good old Vallejo paints for these other coats. 

Here are my original test tree (right) which worked out so well I'm scheming to pry it somehow from its base to use it on the tabletop. One of my first trees (left) I now consider to be just too chunky. Wish I could swap them as Mr Chunky is on a perfectly good base - that I'm now out of. 

The final painting touch is the shading - here with a Sepia wash (damn I love that paint - millions of uses.) It's usefulness is here shown well around the vines and the buttress roots that run from the base up the sides of the tree. The image also shows well the texture achieved with toilet paper. My stippling technique became better with each attempt. 

The bases are complete. Three layers of brown, cork brown and scrofulous brown (then last two were just in randomn patches) then a final dabbing a very dark brown again in patches. I also washed these three bases as I initially thought it was too bright for the moldering rainforest floor. I still think I made the right call. 

(Above and below also display the far better stippling effect achieved with toilet paper and PVA and water.) 

I use an old ball of string I've had around the house for ages for the vines. Its a perfect size. I'm thinking about adding a little flock here and there to simulate vine foliage. 

Three bases ready for the next stage. This will happen later in the week when my plastic plants from the mystic and bargain basement East arrive for ground foliage. Once these are in place I'll add the canopy. At the moment I am very happy with the results but I've been using the technques of Mr Paepaercut. I'm about to delve into my own inventiveness which - it must be said - has often consigned large amounts of terrain work to the bin more than once before. 

More than anything else in wargames, I find terrain work to require the most practice runs and is very hit and miss. 

Lion Rampant Wargame

This week's game saw Lion Rampant return to the table but with a Dark Age variant. This is something I've been wanting to do again for some time. It was Saxons trying to eject the Vikings - as usual in such a setting. 

For those of you that don't know "Lion Rampant" is one of Osprey's many wargame rule sets. Although brief and inexpensive it is an excellent set of medieval skirmish rules that not only delivers a fun evening but also interesting choices for the player. This set of rules certainly proves it doesn't need a $80-$100 price tag to be a quality wargame. 

The armies were both 24 pts (a normal sized army) for the Bloodfeud scenario. This is scenario L in the book - showing what a range of different encounters this wargame offers. 

The Vikings had a bodyguard unit (men at arms), 3 huscarls (foot serjeants with one upgraded to expert representing bearded axe men) and one beserker unit (fierce foot.) 

The Saxons also had a bodyguard but 2 thegn units (foot serjeants), 2 fyrd (foot yeomen with javelin upgrade) and one skirmisher unit (bidower.) 

(Note the anachronistic use of 'hyperspace' by the Viking player above. Ruined my immersion.) 

We played the scenario twice just to get my opponent more used to the rules. Both ended the same way - the Viking warlord ran for the hills once the thegns had killed his bodyguard. No Viking will be foolish enough again to follow this coward. 

We used 1d3 +1 pieces of terrain each. Players alternated placing but with the proviso that each quarter needed a terrain piece before any addition could be place. If all quarters had a piece then a player could elect to move a piece by up to 6" but it could not be moved a second time. 

Players roll to activate units until one fails then the opposing player has their turn. This system works well but I keep stuffing up by adding the leaders courage bonus to activations. I am thinking about a pip system per turn that would allow the leader the ability to aid activations or rally a warrior back to action. 

In the first game the Saxon skirmishers peppered the beserker foot with javelins, stones and arrows. These troops had a low armour value of 2 (between 1-4) meaning for each 2 hits in shooting or combat one casualty would be suffered. Once battered these troops stopped their advance leading to even more disastrous shooting losses. The Saxons then weathered the storm of Viking charges, gradually inflicting casualties which drained their opponents of strength. 

This is one of the neat aspects of this extremely engaging rule system. When a unit looses a model to shooting or combat a courage test is taken. The dice result is modified by the number of models lost thus far. With each loss units become more fragile. This leads to courage test failure and becoming battered - when units refuse orders making completion of a battle plan difficult. 

Combat and shooting is equally uncluttered as units roll 12 dice if above half strength and 6 when equal or below. 

Above shows the isolated Viking leader seconds before he legged it. 

The lesson of the evening was to use the powerful bodyguard units later in the battle as all those spear armed units in shieldwall are chillingly effective at soaking up damage and dishing it out in defence. That 4+ hit when defending is really good. They are not as effective in attack but setting on one unit multiple times and chipping off a model or two each attack will soon see it in jeopardy of loosing a courage test. 

An addition I did make was to allow units in shieldwall (schlitron is the rules) could move at half speed. Both players agreed this gave the right "feel" for the Dark Ages with units moving into position then locking shields for the fray. 

I will be back in the Rampantly Dark Ages soon as these two games did nothing but encourage both players to return. My opponent has already indicated the Viking warlord was given a "special welcome" on his return to the fortification at Repton and a new face may be in an executive position for the new raiding season.