More recent painting

 

(with tremendous apologies to the "Iron Mitten" blog)
(Go see it... it's worthwhile!)

A recent purchase at the Hot Lead con...
For The Silver Bayonet. I thought it was a War of 1812 US cavalryman.
It appear he is an AWI Continental Cavalryman.
I won't tell if you won't.

A ghost from the RAFM listing
RAFM is now closed and out of business.
I am in mourning at the loss of some great figures
from a great Canadian company.

A Prussian Musketeer in the later uniform for TSB.
My original Prussian team was in the 1806 uniform.
I found a bag of these at the bring-and-buy at Hot Lead
and was able to form a second team.

A "plague doctor" painted for my eldest
who is fascinated by the the concept of the plague doctor.

A French officer for TSB,
trained in special operations against
"Ghosties and ghoulies and things that go bump in the night."

An ogre for TSB
Actually a 40mm gladiator who is just about right for an 
oversized lug serving the Harvestmen,

For my Gangster/Prohibition era gaming, some National Guard troops...
...for when things get really our of hand.

More National Guardsmen. The centre figure will serve as an NCO.

Back to TSB for another US cavalryman with a carbine

More Prussians
A rifle-armed Schutzen and a Musketier

New Old Vehicles

 

In my recent blog, "The Streets of Glenndon" (March 4), I mentioned I wanted to increase the number of contemporary vehicles for such "gangster games." After the Hot Lead convention, I ordered a few vehicles from Dobbie's Hobbies ( https://www.dobbieshobbies.net/), a company that sells 3D printed vehicles and the like. I looked at the "Inter-war", WWI, and WWII vehicles and found a few great ones. The company's service was excellent and the products were just fine, one being quite flexible.

This offering will serve as a civilian car or some sort of 
unmarked police vehicle.

It is actually an Italian Command Car from the WWII range.
Quite a vehicle on its own. Basic black seemed best.

Listed as a GAZ truck from the USSR WWII vehicle range.
A number of machine guns are included but they weren't appropriate
for a civilian vehicle, whether it were for the bootleggers or for 
delivery of groceries.

The GAZ factory was set up by the Ford Motor Company
after the Revolution so the GAZ vehicles are more-or-less
Russian/Soviet Fords at the time.
The kit includes a cover that can be added to the stake body.
I simply relied on gravity to keep it in place.

The third vehicle is listed as a Jeffreys/Nash truck in the 
British WWI roster. This is the "stake body" and the kit includes 
a box body, a low covered body, and a tall cover to be placed over
the box body. It has a nice "Roaring 20s" look about it.

The box body or the stake body will take a number of barrels
or crates in the back. I've used some tape to keep the body options
in place since I want the flexibility of being able to change them at need.

These models are from a more futuristic range, but they have the look and feel of a no-nonsense State Police crew. I painted the first and didn't much like it so I repainted it in a darker grey. I was going for a cross between the Pennsylvania State Police and the New Jersey State Police.

Pennsylvania State Police constables ("The Staties")

New Jersey State Police officers

A private detective
I swear it's Conan O'Brien

A dapper gentleman

barrels of hooch or poison...
Who could tell?

This is referred to as a "hay barn."
I'll use it as a shelter for what-ever.

All for now. I'm hoping to a do a blog on the recent Longwoods War of 1812 reenactment. A small health issue is slowing me down.

The Streets of Glenndon

 The Streets of Glenndon

     On Saturday, I had the opportunity to host a game using Wiley Games' Fist Full of Lead (FFoL). We used the core rules and fielded a Roaring '20s style "gangster" game. FFoL was originally written for Wild West games and since then has branched out to cover all periods of skirmish gaming - Ancients, Horse & Musket, WWI & WWII, Sci-fi, Horror, Post-apocalyptic, and Grimdark. (For that last one, think 40K-ish things.) I like the rules, especially since the mechanics do not change no matter what the period. Things like armour, automatic weapons, Sci-fi equipment and the like are added and/or subtracted as needed. So if you wanted to have a game where Greek hoplites faced Chaos Space Marines, you could do it... although I doubt the game would last long!

     Although I messed up the rules of the game a bit, everybody seemed to have fun. The game took place in storied "Glenndon" since Glenn 3D printed the majority of the buildings and vehicles... which were absolute grand!

Glenn watches over his city... gleefully.

     Glenn ran a gang of bootleggers while Tom led a rival gang bent on robbing the bank. John was engaged in running the city police, with Beth's help until Bear joined in. Beth: "Bear, do you mind handling a group of cops?" Bear: "Not if I can have corrupt ones!" (Oh, yeah, they proved to be less than upright.) Beth then helped Shane who was in charge of a group of Federal agents - either FBI or Prohibition Bureau Treasury agents. John and Shane were not all that familiar with the rules so Bear and Beth assisted. Each group had a mission:

•    Glenn - get a truckload of hooch off the table
•    Tom - rob the bank
•    John - stop the bank robbery
•    Shane - find, stop, and seize the illegal liquor
•    Me, the gamesmaster - run some strange civilians, like street toughs including the famous Gorilla Brothers, a police informant, a lady of easy virtue, and a woman with a baby carriage. 

    The game is card driven with a number of special cards so off we went!

The back streets of Glenndon

The town square

Jimmy's Lunch - almost like a place to eat!
A really nice 3D print from Glenn.
Maisey trolls for "business" on the sidewalk.

The gentrified High-rent district... with the Feds mustering on the left of the photo.
These buildings were mine. The two on the left were bird houses and the one on the right
was a gift to me from Beth one Christmas back.

Looks like a nice place to raise your kids...
if you move fast and duck quick.

    Glenn's gang began to load the liquor immediately while Tom's guys stole a car and headed to the bank. John and Bear local heat piled into their car and head into the square leaving 3 cadets ("grunts" according to the rules) who almost immediately shot the police informant as he approached them. The Feds headed to the bootlegger's stock on foot. The Gorilla Brothers - Eek and Meek, if I recall - joined Tom's gang. (They were armed with baseballs and baseball bats. They could throw the balls and cause shock to any one hit. The bats could do more damage.) A few street toughs decided to stop Glenn's bootleggers to get a cut of the action. One died while the other was still fighting three bootleggers at the end of the game! I'd say "Hire that guy!"

Loading up illegal liquor with street toughs and a street walker watching.

The local Bulls load up their car.

The Cadets, left to walking, begin their advance.

The Cadets meet a stranger and shoot him.
He was Joe N. Fermer, the town's police source.
Accent on "WAS."

The Bootleggers stole a car and started out with their illegal goods.
The horse and wagon - a big hit in the game - held them up some.
Traffic is always a problem!

The Bank Robbing gang in their stolen car are about to meet the Cops
in their car. Joe N. Fermer has yet to meet his fate in this photo.
The gun moll on top of the car meant she was driving.
Gang leader, "Downtown" Brown and his BAR-toting associate are
on the far side of the car.

So John and Bear smashed their car into the robber's car.
That stopped them and started a classic firefight with
pistols, rifles, Tommy guns, shotguns, and at least one BAR.

One of the Gorilla Brothers is down so his brother takes the fight
to the cops since he took all that kind of personal.
(My shape-eyed readers will note that the luncheonette is named "Jerry's"
on the side and "Jimmy's' on the front. We all agreed that they couldn't
afford "Under New Management" signs and put their money into "Good Eats."

The Feds join the fire fight.
Beth took the one building off on the advice of either Tom or Glenn,
leaving the roof there to mark the place and allowing me to see the action.
By the way, THAT was the bank!

The fire fight gets real, the bootleggers move, while the horse-drawn
wagon runs interference. 

The Feds are in the fight.
The beads have a meaning: red indicates a wound, yellow shows shock, and
white means "out of ammo." A burst with a Tommy gun expends the whole magazine.
Each figure could take 3 three wounds unless they are small-ish (2) or big-ish (4).

The bank is saved! The Street is a mess!

Meanwhile in the luncheonette...
10¢ for a slice of pie! I'm in!!
I am in awe of the detail Glenn put into his buildings.
The bartender is from the Beth/John collection and he seems right at home!

Car crashes, rampant gangsters, less-than-honest cops,
a horse-drawn supply wagon, stolen cars!
Just like the movies! Better in fact!

      

At the end of the game, Shane had a Fed agent at loose ends.
We told him to go in the cafe and get a cup of coffee...and a slice of pie for 10¢!

    We closed up because both John and Bear had to leave with Tom soon after. Glenn actually fulfilled his mission. We all seemed to enjoy ourselves. I need to get a better handle on the rules but I'm learning. The main point is we all had fun. Cudos again to Glenn for his great buildings and cars. Thanks to all who played... and as always to my great wife, Beth.