Little Toy Soldiers and Such...: August Update: "Projects, and People, and Pirates! Oh my!"

So August is merrily steaming along.
Oddly enough, the summers here haven't been as hot as previous. Indiana is showing that the summer days overall average is approx. 6 degrees (F) cooler than in previous years, but the humidity is still here, and that is what is the killer.
Now that the humidity is starting to drop in the evenings, I am finally getting around to sealing off some of last months (July) figures that I did. I have also started working on Terrain Boards.
So let's hop into it shall we?

(Warning: Picture Intensive. Grab a drink and relax.)

(Please click on pictures to get a larger photo.)

Projects:

So for Little Wars next year, I am looking at running some pirate games, (Parent/Child/Dads/Sons, etc.) games.
So I needed to figure out the lay of the land.
I've decided to do with terrain boards to be able to show the difference between land and sea, (plus good terrain boards just really look cool.)
So I know that based on what a person uses, terrain boards can be limited, heavy, and hard to store. So there were three things I wanted to try to work around. After looking around I found out that my local DIY store had 2' x 2' 1" thick foam insulation board project panels, (pink board).

So I grabbed some of these.

(How they stack up...See what I did there? Btw...British officers for scale and size comparison...)

At this size they are easier to work with and store.
So I went ahead and got a few to work with.
My overall goal is to the table edges of them edged with thin strips of thin wood for protection and to give them a better look overall.
Then I started measuring and figuring out the info for each board including the holes to be drilled in the side.

(Terrain board showing the relevant information.)

(Side board holes. These were cut with a styrofoam hot cutting knife.)

So then I worked with the layout of the board.
This is my current layout, (minus some board sculpting, etc.). This is sure to probably change.

(I keep forgetting just how "big" a 28mm project can become. Note the two 28mm British Officers for size/scale comparison. Also note to get a better idea is that each of these tables is 8' in length by 2.5' wide, so we are looking at an 8' x 5' table here, or approximately 40 square feet.)

Right now while I am liking the setup of the boards, I am not really happy with the "beach part". It's too big for what I want and takes up too much of the water space. It looks like I am going to have to go with a smaller beach, which means, "yet another piece of terrain to build."

Sigh.

Each board is numbered in it's initial setup sequence. (Note to myself to put the same info on the bottom of the boards for reference.)

and the holes drilled in the sides are for 5/16" dowel rods (8" in length), to strengthen them and hold them together. The last thing we need is a gap developing between boards during game play!

Currently there are approximately 70 holes.

I am going to reinforce each hole with a steel spacer. The spacers will be going into the holes and seated in place with a strong glue. This will help prevent damage and give a tiny amount of weight to the boards, as well as providing an anchor point for the dowel rods.

At this point it's just getting down to the following:

1: Copy reference info to back of boards.

2: Install spacers. Test fit dowels.

3: Give boards a top coat paint color, (I am going with water based acrylic latex brown).

4: Attach the trim boards.

5: Continually test fit each piece during this process.

6: Drink heavily.

Okay so we have the land stuff figured out. "But Murph..." you say. "What about the water?"

Good question.

The overall idea that I want (in the far flung future is to have 12" by 12" thin MDF squares painted and modge-podged to resemble water.

However currently I am looking at purchasing 1-2 Caribbean Waters Battle Mats from Cigar Box Battle in the future. Water to be done at a later date.

Groundwork:

So while I was at Menards, I wandered around the store looking for stuff that I could use to make things, and wandered over to the carpet and rug section. There in a small corner they had carpet samples.

I looked through and grabbed a few of them.

("Grasslands Jade". Makes an excellent lawn, or grassy area.)

The next up was what was called "Champion". I really can't see this as a carpet but in 6" X 6" or 12" x 12" squares I can see that these make perfects fields of sugar cane.

Status Leather brown makes a nice plowed, or barren field.

People

Well then, since I've gone ahead and sealed some of the figures, I think I need to show them, (along with the backstories that so many of you want).

I started off with some 19th Century Western/American Townsfolk figures from Company D Miniatures.

(Two town doctor figures and a worker figure...)

First off is the worker figure:

Backstory:

"Hank Slocum walked slowly down the dusty street to the little shack on the edge of Rimfire (Arizona Territory), that he called home. It had been a hard day working the range and the corral bringing in part of a wild herd that had gotten loose and out into the open. All he could think about was getting home, washing the dust off of himself, and shaking it off his clothes, getting some beans and bacon for supper, and maybe a sip or two from a bottle, and having a smoke of fine Virginny tobacco that he had in the tin can up on the shelf. Then off to bed. Tomorrow was pay day and he'd collect his twenty two dollars and then go get some vittles, and a new pair of socks. After that maybe a haircut, and a cold beer at The Palace.

Hank was just being quiet and keeping low, while waiting for his brother to get back from prison in New Mexico, and then they would head back to Texas and fix Ol' Man Carruthers and his son once and for all..."

Backstory:

"Doc Jenkins is one of the current town doctors in Rimfire. He's a non-drinker and non-smoker and swears up and down that "One of these days they're gonna find that smoking tobacco will give you cancer or something!"

He originally didn't want to be a doctor. As a young boy he grew up wanting to be like his Uncle Harold, a Lutheran Minister, but found out that he was better at fixing wounds than he was fixing souls, so his calling changed.

Currently him and his wife Emma live at Widow Waltzers Boarding House. His wife works doing laundry, and teaching piano lessons, while he is working on sick and injured folks."

Backstory:

"Doc Claiborne is one of the town doctors currently in Rimfire. He's not planning on staying long. He tells people his stay is only temporary, although he has been here three years so far. He dreams of moving out to Nevada and establishing a practice in Reno. He heard there's a lot of pretty ladies in Reno looking for husbands, and he's never been married. He did pay for four mail order brides, but two of them never showed up, one was killed in a train wreck, and the other died of croop on her way out.

While he's lucky in doctorin', he seems to be unlucky in love.

He can heal your hurts, but he can't mend his broken heart."

Backstory:

"Otto Olsen came from Norway to New York, barely speaking English. He remembers some man speaking to him, asking him if he would like a drink, and going to have a whiskey with him. Next thing he knew he was in the Union Army headed off to some place called "The Wilderness".

That wasn't for him.

After escaping the Union Army, he headed out West, picking up some of the English words along the way, and staying with fellow Scandinavians until he found himself in Rimfire.

He's taken a job digging for silver at the Sumbeetch Mine and does a good job. He's been told that if he does a good enough job, and doesn't get caught in a cave in or have his fingers, toes, or other parts of his body blown off with blasting caps and nitroglycerine like his friend Ollie Olanger did, he'll probably end up becoming head miner and making 3 dollars a day. That's a lot of money for Otto Olsen."

Next up is some Foundry SYW British Infantry.

I'm pretty proud of these guys. They took a while to paint and to get to look decent.

(Right! Then...make sure those lines are BLOODY STRAIGHT!)

Backstory:

"The first element of infantry on the island stand straight and tall. Their muskets ready and bayonets are sharp and pointy and ready to do battle with any pirate, Frenchman, or Spaniard that the captain says deal with. The looks on their faces show their pleasure at enlisting in Her Majesty's Army, and allowing themselves to be shot at for six pence a day."

Next up was "The Governors Guard"....

These are two figures from the Foundry SYW British Artillery Pack.

(Privates Laurel and Hardy, stand ready to guard the Lord Governor of the Island, and make sure that no one comes in the governors residence without the proper invites and leaves with the silverware...or anything else for that matter....)

Then it was to paint up the last of two packs of Perry Townsfolk/Civilians. I went with two different styles and colors for these. I wanted them both to look "field hand grubby" and I think I got the look down pretty well.

Backstory:

"Lucy" works in one of the many fields on the island under the hot, hot, sun. Sowing seeds, feeding ducks and geese, carrying firewood, and helping with the crops. She dreams of escaping but also sadly realizes that there is nowhere for her to run to. And if she did and was caught...her fate wouldn't be pretty."

Next up was the other one...

Backstory:

"Susan O'Leary, coughed as she spread the feed among the ground, ignoring the crowding and clucking of the hungry chickens, and the ducks and geese trying to get a share of the tasty corn feed bounty. Her mind was on happier days that were to come when in just fourteen months, her term of indentured servitude would be up and she would be a free woman able to walk away from the work of the manor and to wherever she wanted. Her and her field hand husband Henry, would have a little home, and a child or two, and a garden and a goat, and maybe a cow also, as well as some chickens, just like the ones she was currently feeding. How she wished that day would come quickly."

(Historical Note: Susan O'Leary died of consumption two months before her free day came. Her husband died three days before his. There is no record of where they are buried.)

Field Hand from Foundry.

Backstory:

"Sean Kilmartin takes a nice big gulp of cool, clear, water from the dipper of Katie Munroe's buckets as she walks among the workers giving out water to those working long, hard, hours in the hot, hot, sun for his Lordship's benefit. While he appreciates the cool drink and momentary respite from his labors, he also appreciates the chance to get a good look at Katie's bosom, of which a portion of her generous woman-flesh was displayed from the top hem of her blouse. "Aye." Sean thought to himself. "Not a man on this island except for some of those fops at the upper houses that are charmed by young boys, wouldn't kick Katie out of bed on a cold, wet, Saturday night. She'd make a fine wife...heh." he thought to himself as he slurped the water from the dipper, (much to her annoyance)...."

Irritated and Annoyed Townsfolk....

Backstory:

"The smell of cheap rum on his breath, Lucas Willowsby shakes his fist as he makes his statement about "So many damn Negroes, Indians, Spaniards, French, Papists, Dutch, Welsh, on this island...And let's NOT forget about the Irish shall we? Coming over here and takin' our jobs. Hard enough to get work as it is that we want, but to have an island full of Irish that'll work for naught....bah! What we need is ANOTHER WAR to kill a bunch o' the men off." *BURRRRRRPPPP!*

Diligent readers will notice he didn't say anything about the Irish women....

Next up with a figure from Foundy Civ 001 Civilians pack.

Backstory:

"Abigail Watkins had been a flighty, nervous, girl all of her young life. Ever since she was a young girl walking with her uncle and brother through the apple orchard right as a storm was approaching and hearing the crack of thunder, and then the loud popping zapping of the lighting as her uncle on her left side, and her brother on her right side were both struck by lightning and fried up like so much meat for supper. Since then she had been said to "Have not been quite right in the head."

Today she was wandering the nearby meadows in her bare feet and collecting the beautiful wildflowers that grew there in abundance, so that she could make bouquets for the small house that she shared with her mother, father, and Aunt Paula, the widow of her long decease uncle that (along with her brother Randolph), was fried to a crisp by a lightning strike all those years ago...."

She stopped for a moment as the breeze changed direction. She sniffed the air, and she felt the sounds of the wind in sails coming from the breeze which came in from the sea.

The wind in the sails.

Pirate sails...

Her eye grew wide in fear as she realized what was coming in from the horizon...."

Towns lady offering fruit:

For the life of me, I cannot remember the maker of this figure. I thought it was Company D, but I honestly cannot remember. Nor can I find it in any of my records of what pack it belonged to.

If anyone can help I would appreciate it.

Backstory:

"You boys are always hungry when you are out marching out and abouts." Sarah Wilmer said to the British troops resting in the shade of some trees. "I've a few fresh juicy apples, and plums for you, each for only 2 shillings." She smiled to herself as she knew that the lads would toss their coins into her palm and snatch the fruits from her outstretched hand, gobbling them down quickly and nosily before forming back up and continuing their march. "Soldiers are always hungry." she said to herself, smiling as she walked back to the nearby barn where her husband had packed away the apples and plums that he had stolen a day earlier from a local merchant.

Field-hand

Another figure from Company D. This one helps fill in that missing gap of "working field laborers". I'm really starting to like the variety of Company D figures.

Backstory:

"John Dill worked the scythe with quick and quiet efficiency. The motions were smooth and the swishing sound of the blade gave him quiet comfort, and kept him from thoughts that he shouldn't be thinking. He was a married man, yet his wife's sister , Charlotte, who lived with them made him think thoughts that a good God fearing church going man shouldn't be having. Evil, wicked, lustful, sinful thoughts. Wicked, wicked, wicked were his thoughts. What would his wife Sarah say if she knew of what went through his head? So he worked the scythe and the rhythm of the blades, the quiet "swish, swish, swish" sound kept his mind mostly focused on his task at hand, and not on dwelling on the idea of applying his hand to Charlotte's pale, white, bottom and giving her a good spanking, of which he thinks they would both enjoy...."

The Contessa

An Old Glory figure from their "Governor and Creepy Assistants" package.

Every Island needs a mysterious and possibly evil yet beautiful Spanish Contessa, right?

Backstory:

"The Contessa Maria Theresa Isabella Emilia Lucia Gabriella Rosalina Liliana Paloma, is a recent arrival to the island, and is already the "talk of the town". With her dark eyes, sultry looks, and tempting charm, one would wonder why a Spanish Contessa with all of her beauty, (as well as fine charm, and even finer jewelry), would be on this island? Oh and pay no attention to those "voodoo/witchcraft/in league with the devil rumors" that are starting to float around..."

And where would a pirate island be without "pirates"???

So here are some recents that I have painted up.

Pirates!

Backstory:

"Robert Woods and "Little Willie McKee" are two pirates who found their calling with drums and motivating pirates as they plundered the Spanish Main. Robert learning his trade in the army before he deserted and Willie learning so fast, he was almost a born natural, can sound out a "beat to quarters" with the best of them. Unfortunately they don't associate with the best of them, and both their lives were cut short at the end of a hangman's noose in a few short years..."

Captain Billy....

An Old Glory pirate with his pet monkey....

Backstory:

"Not much is known about Cap'n Billy, or that pet monkey of his. It's a well trained monkey. Cap'n Billy once said that "The monkey was trained better than his crew. That's why the monkey is still alive and the crew...well..." and he ends with a shrug of his shoulders...."

Foundry Townsfolk, Crippled Pirate....

From the CIV 006 Townsfolk set.

I was amazed at how much detail this one had.

Backstory:

"One Legged Pete hobbled down the cobblestone path to one of his favorite haunts, "The Red Lion" Pub. There he would take his usual seat at the front corner with his back against the wall, and able to watch the door, the stairs going up to the next level, the action at the bar, and of course, look out the window to watch the comings and goings of ships in the port, and more importantly, or people that were coming and going on those ships.

The information he found to be most important would then be taken back and given to his employers for a small purse of coins. He had come to find out that he had a better ability to gather information than he had for sailin', as he hadn't been at sea long before a Spanish cannonball took off his leg, and a French boarding cutlass took out his right eye and left the scar on this face. Perhaps if he had learned this trade earlier on, he'd still be in one whole piece. But that was then, and this is now, and Lord Mitchell would pay nicely to learn about the Dutch cargo ship that just slipped into the harbor flying a different flag than last time...."

Gentleman adventurer.

A Foundry figure. The light makes him look more glossy than he actually is.

Backstory:

"Roger Grant was a man of many talents. He looked good, was charming, intelligent and well read, and courteous to those around him. Some said that he left the rolling hills of his native England to escape a broken heart, while others say that he did something that he was escaping either an irate father or a hangman's noose. Nevertheless, all of that was behind him now. For now he found himself, sword drawn, facing three cutthroats determined to spill his blood on the sand. "Right." He said to them. "If it's my time, then let's get on with it, shall we?"

Pirates

These are three pirates from the Dixon line.

I got them back in the late nineties and they were originally painted up and used as part of my now (in)famous pirate game back in Las Vegas.

I redid them and made them look better.

(Pirates! Pirates! Pirates three....as awful and scary as pirates can be!)

First up is Lucius...

Backstory:

"Lucious charges forth with cutlass in his hand and anger in his heart.

His fate as a pirate is actually for the better as he was captured while being "cargo" aboard a slave ship, by a group of pirates. He willingly joined them, and now is a loyal part of the crew. He prizes his freedom and his life, vs what he would have been doing had be been a slave."

Next up, we have Andre.

Backstory:

Andre is a deserter from the French navy, and as he puts it, "Not a lapsed Catholic, but a collapses Catholic, as he has various disagreements with how the church does things. Nevertheless his issues with the church and their concerns for his soul are but a fleeting thought when he raids a village and helps himself to as much of the Parish gold as he can. "Oui..." He says to himself. "A village may be poor, and the church may be poor the priest will tell you, but they always seem to have nice gold and silver cups and candlestick holders within it."

And finally, we have Rudolph:

Backstory:

"Rudolph left his native Rotterdam after finding out that his mother and the man that was her current husband had conspired to sell him into the service of a foreign ship captain. "For a few guilders she was ready to sell her own flesh and blood to a stranger for God knows what all." He said to himself as he boarded and ship and worked his passage off.

He found that he actually likes the sea, and is more comfortable with a cutlass than a scrubbing stone or a mop and bucket."

And finally there is "Lafoote"

Backstory:

"Lafoote comes from France, or New Louisiana or Florida, or wherever it is that he tells you at the current moment which will almost certainly change the next time you meet him. With his trademark red striped pants and his fancy hat, he is well armed and ready to discover treasure and all that comes with it. "Why lookee here! Someone has left a chest on the beach. It would be a shame if the sea were to drag it out to it's bottomless depths. Perhaps I should do something to make it "more secure"? Ha! Ha! Ha! But wait! Why are there so many SKULLS around it???"

Other stuff...Projects and FOOD!!!

So while working on my terrain boards, one of my goals is to have a small fort for the island. I know, I know...This project keeps getting "bigger and bigger".

As part of the fort process I realized that one of the things I will need is a barracks for the troops. So with a little cardboard, (a cardboard block packing filler insert), and some foamcore, I started working on it.

(British officers to scale and size..."Hmmm.. a nice place for the lower enlisted scum to sleep...")

And while slumming around the aisles at my local Goodwill, I found a nice Plano storage box.

It's large enough to hold large tree stands in, or perhaps some small structures and scenics as well as numerous figures.

But sometimes your plans at the worktable just don't pan out, no matter what you do, and as a result, you simply need to sit back and relax and let your mind shut down some.

And have a drink.

I call this "Murphy's Strawberry Splash".

* Large glass.

* Ice.

* Sliced strawberries (2-4 depending on size and your taste).

* 3-4 oz of Malibu Coconut Rum.

* Fill the rest with strawberry lemonade.

Take the glass, and insert the sliced strawberries. Gently muddle them around, not smashing them into oblivion but getting enough of their natural juices on the inside of the bottom of the glass.

Add the ice.

Slowly pour in the Malibu. Allow it to set for a few minutes to mix with the strawberries.

Slowly pour in the strawberry lemonade.

Mix gently.

Give it about 2 mins for the items to mix favorably and settle.

Add straw, and enjoy.
And yes you can eat the strawberries afterwards.

It's sweet, tasty, and not very boozy strong, however it will creep up on you.