Category: Modern

My plan after Historicon was to get straight into working on my Pavia 1525 project for next year’s Historicon. However, at the show I purchased a number of buildings from the Miniature Building Authority’s Shanty Town range. I then supplemented these with some after show purchases. These buildings were so good that I just couldn’t leave them unpainted, but I was aware that I really needed to get back to the Italian Wars project. I therefore set myself six weeks to complete this new endeavor – Haiti, the six week project.

Scope of project

I already had some parts of the project. I had seven Humvees painted along with all the US Marine infantry from my Afghanistan project. I also had all the jungle terrain that I needed from my modern Japan v China Senkaku islands project. I also have a lot of 28mm scatter terrain from various projects and a very nice desert terrain mat. This random collection gave me a good base from which to start. What I needed to complete was:

• Painting about 70 Haitian paramilitary figures.
• Painting about ten to twelve buildings, including detailing the insides.
• Building and painting five more Humvees.
• Preparing the terrain mat.
• Completing scatter terrain around the buildings.

The race was on.

The terrain mat.

A lot of the inspiration for the project came from someone who goes by the handle Garb3n on TMP. I encourage you to look at his work on TMP. Although I don’t know him, I stole some of his ideas shamelessly. He had two ideas on his “Jagged Alliance” modern game that I really liked. The first was using a desert terrain mat as the base layer (for the roads) and then adding cut out green terrain mats on top of it to represent the other areas. This idea gave a lot of depth to the base terrain.

The second idea that I really liked was that each of his buildings was put on its own base. This method of construction had two advantages. The first was that each building could have its own vegetation and scatter terrain fixed to the base allowing a level of super detailing that would not otherwise be achievable. The second advantage was that it allowed the terrain to be deployed very quickly at a show. The whole terrain was set up in less than 15 minutes.

Overall I really like the look of the table and it is great to be able to set up and take down the table very quickly, as most of my tables normally take hours.

The Buildings

As I mentioned in a previous post, I chose Haiti 2004 as the theme for the project as it is a very colorful location to model. Also, I chose it as I have never seen modern Haiti done as a war-game and I like to do unusual subjects.

I tried to make all of the buildings colorful without being garish. All of the colors were copied from photos of actual buildings in Haiti to ensure realism.

Also the signs were taken from photos and were made into decals using decal paper and my printer. Using real signs again added to the realism and capturing the feel of the location.

I also tied to detail the insides of the buildings. At the moment I do not have photos of the insides, but I will do a future post with some new photos.

A video overview

Here is a short video showing the whole table with some close ups.

Final thoughts

Although I had a number of significant elements of this project available from other projects, there was still a lot to do. This project shows what is able to be completed in a relatively short amount of time. Haiti, the six week project was completed on time and I was very pleased with the results. Hopefully it provides some inspiration to someone to push through and complete a project. I will be running a game at Barrage in two weeks time using this project.

Here is a trailer for my Historicon games.

Earlier I made three 20mm AAVP-7A1 for the JGSDF. These were the fully tracked versions for the land battle. However the assault will be from the sea in the for of an amphibious landing, so I needed three in water version of the amphibious vehicles for Historicon.

Modeling the vehicles

The first step was to buy three additional kits and cut them down to the in water height. This process was much easier than I expected. I firstly went on the internet and found some pictures of the AAVP-7A1 in water, and then I used a razor saw to cut down parts. Only eight parts in each kit needed cutting and the entire process only took just over an hour for the three vehicles.

I was thinking about using the models in this state, but with the bottom missing I was worried about how much handling they would be able to withstand. I eventually decide to base the models on some ABS plastic sheet. The first step was to cut the ABS leaving enough room for some water effects. Again I used a real life photo to decide where to place the model on the base.

Putting on the water gel effects

I then matched the paint color of the base with the color of the water on my terrain mat, this meant combining dark blue, green and grey. Once matched I painted the base and then glued the vehicles onto it.

The next stage was to model the waves and splash using the photos as a reference. I used some really neat products produced by AK Interactive, their “water gel effects” and their “water foam”. Here is a link to their products page.

Firstly I applied the water gel effects using a brush. This product goes on white but dries clear. It is used to provide the surface texture of the water and can be used to simulate waves. For the higher wave peaks I put on two layers and allowed it to dry in between. Putting it on too thick in one go may prevent adequate drying. In the following photo you can see the drying in progress. The top vehicle had the gel effects applied first and the bottom one last. The phot allows you to see how I applied it and what it looks like when it starts to dry.

Adding the foam

Once the product was completely dry and clear, I then wanted to add the foam. Again I used reference photos. The shape of the foam at the front and rear is exactly how foam forms in real life. On the sides, I initially modeled reality, but when it was complete it looked too much. So I decided to back off the foam on the sides, particularly on the diagonal waves. In the end it looked much better. This case is one of those times where modeling accurately just does not look right and I had to achieve a balance that I was happy with.

The application was again done using an old small painting brush and dabbing the product on. The process only took about five to ten minutes per model.

Amphibious vehicles for Historicon

This was the first time that I had used these products and I was very happy with the results. I now have my amphibious vehicles for Historicon.

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This week I have been making hills for the Senkaku islands project. The scale of the game is 20mm and I wanted to make rocky hills that are typical of the island’s terrain. This project is the first time that I have tried carving rocks from foam and I have spent a number of hours viewing tutorial videos on YouTube.

Making the base structure

I first of all needed to decide how many hills that I needed and what size they would be. Finally, I settled on one large hill with a footprint of around 30″ wide and 18″ deep with a two part structure – a large base and a smaller outcrop on top. I will also have a second hill that is around 18″ wide and 12″ deep. these sizes will have an imposing position on the 6′ x 4′ terrain mat, but will still leave enough space for the game.
I was looking to achieve some height on the table so that the hills are taller than the lower level jungle terrain.

The first photo shows the two hill bases on the left and the top piece for the larger hill on the right. I first cut the green foam layers to the shape and size that I needed using my hot wire foam cutter. I then stacked and glued the green foam pieces using my hot glue gun. Finally, I cut pieces of the pink foam to represent the rock faces and “glued” them in place using insulation spray foam. This spray foam had the added advantage that it filled in the gaps between the pink foam pieces.

Carving the rocks.

The next stage is carving the rock using a knife. After watching a few videos, this process was not as difficult as it seems. I also used an old large paint brush to beat up the surface of the rock and change the texture. This process also causes realistic micro-cracks. I then filled in some gaps between the foam pieces with Dental Plaster, which is not shown in the above picture.

Base paint

The next stage was to paint the structure with an umber acrylic paint from Blick. I modified the color by lightening it with white and mixing in a touch of black to make it a light grey brown. I diluted the paint with water to allow it to get into all the nooks.

Detailing the rocks.

To detail the rocks I used a black wash to put a shading into all of the nooks. I also added some dilute rust color to some rocks for added color variety. After all of this dried, I over-sprayed the top half with a light grey misting of paint and the bottom with a darker grey. I used spray cans for this process.

In a later step I added some green wash near the bottom indents to represent moss. I still need to dust some of the rock edges with a white dry-brush to catch the light.

I also then sealed the top and some land-fall areas with a mud effect.

Flocking

The last thing that I added this weekend was the flock to the top. I used two colors of flock from Woodland Scenics. More detailing will need to be added over the next week or two. I also need to complete the second layer for this hill and do the second hill. The scene will also need bushes, extra flock and some water effects. I will also do some dry brushing to add contrast. The second layer should prevent the top looking too flat.

Making hills for the Senkaku islands

Making hills for the Senkaku islands was a new process for me, but I am happy with the progress. I think that they will go very well alongside the jungle terrain and terrain mat that are already complete. In May I plan to put everything on the table for a test run, so I should be able to get some good pictures of the finished table.

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This week I finally completed the Naval units for Historicon 2024. They are part of my Senkaku project and include both Japanese and Chinese ships. These vessels have taken me way longer than I expected. I have used a combination of three different scales for the naval units.

• 1/2400 is for the naval battle using the Harpoon V rules.
• 1/700 is for the naval units during the amphibious assault phase.
• 20mm is for the actual ground battle.
• I will be adding some 1/300 aircraft later for an additional scale.

The LCAC – Landing Craft Air Cushioned.

These are the hovercraft that the Japanese forces will use to bring units ashore. The Osumi LST carries two of these craft in its rear well-dock. I have built both of them in 20mm and also in 1/700 scale. The 20mm scale units took a lot of time to build and tested my airbrushing and weathering abilities.

The JMSDF – the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force.

The Japanese units consist of:

• The Osumi – A Landing Ship Tank with 2 LCAC and 2 CH.47 helicopters
• A Kongo Class destroyer capable of Ballistic Missile Defense
• An Akizuki Class destroyer
• Two Takinami Class destroyers

The Chinese fleet

The Chinese fleet will consist of:

• Two Type 56 Coast Guard vessels
• A Type 52D destroyer
• A Type 54A frigate

Next steps

With the naval units for Historicon 2024 complete I will be finishing the 1:300 aircraft before moving onto the cliffs and hills for the 20mm terrain. The project is finally starting to come together and March and April should see me get close to completion. I plan to do a test run of the game in May.

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My last post, about my Pavia project, discussed terrain mats. I mentioned that my terrain mat for my Historicon 2024 game was due to arrive in the next week or two. Well, the mat arrived today and I couldn’t resist posting a couple of pictures of the mat for my 20mm Senkaku Project.

The Senkaku islands are not far from Taiwan and are contested by Taiwan, China and Japan. The game will be a modern Japanese amphibious assault against Chinese forces that have captured the islands. For the terrain mat I needed some coastal terrain that would allow me to put hills and dense vegetation on it. The mat was made by Warsigil.

The two photos below show me putting down some of the vegetation, an LCAC and a couple of AAVP-7. I still have a lot to add, but I wanted to get a feel for the size and layout. My next job is to make some hills and rock faces.

I was very happy with the mat when it arrived. I can now finish my figure bases so that they match the color of the mat. That is all for now on my 20mm Senkaku Project.

With Pavia on the horizon for Historicon 2025, it is important for me to finish all the preparations for Historicon 2024 as soon as possible. This does not mean that I am not planning to put on a good looking game for this years event. This year, I am running a combined modern naval game using Harpoon V rules, with an amphibious landing using Force on Force rules. The conflict centers around the Senkaku Islands between China and Japan.

Progress on figures and vehicles

The first thing that I have been working on is two LCAC hovercraft for the Japanese. These are still not finished but they are getting a lot closer. I have been working on the weathering. In one of the pictures I have included a figure for scale, these are impressive vehicles and have taken a lot of time to build, paint and weather. These truly have been a labor of love.

The next thing that I have been working on is painting the 20mm infantry. I have now finished these figures. They were quite a challenge trying to paint modern digital camouflage in this scale. The main issue was trying to make sure that the Japanese and Chinese figures were distinguishable, In real life the uniforms have similar colors but are slightly different. Trying to bring that out in this scale tested my skills. I have textured the bases, but still need to paint them; I am waiting until my terrain mat arrives in a few weeks so that I can make the bases match.

Progress on terrain for Historicon 2024

There are two main items of terrain, in addition to a lot of scatter terrain. The first is some dense vegetation. The second is going to be some hills and rock faces. Before starting the hills, I wanted to finish the vegetation. It consists of nine bases and has taken me a lot longer than I anticipated. It is now almost done apart from some ground cover leaves and some vines that I still need to add.

I wanted the vegetation to be very dense. This required purchasing a lot of smaller plants and some sea-foam. I then used wet ground from AK Interactive Terrains to give a mud effect and blend stuff in. For trees I used various palms that I bought at shows, but I also wanted some larger jungle type trees. I had trouble finding these type of trees in the size that I wanted, I was looking for about 12″ tall. In the end a 3d printer custom printed some tree trunks and branches. I then painted these models and added the canopy.

The following photos show the completed vegetation stands. The photos don’t really do justice to how I think that they look. I was really happy with how large and imposing they appear. But, they took a really long time to make. I hope that they have a visual impact at Historicon 2024.

Aircraft.

In a previous post I discussed the aircraft that I already had for this project – AH64, V.22 and CH.47s. This month I got two Chinese Su.30MKK. I really like how these models look. They are huge. I now need to work on some decent stands for the game.

Next steps for Historicon 2024

I want to make sure that I sculpt and paint all of the hills and rock faces in February. I also want to finish all of the scatter terrain, such as the Chinese tents, ammo store and other camp equipment. The work for Historicon 2024 continues.

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Fall In! will be at the Lancaster Host at the beginning of November. With less than three weeks to go I am finalizing my game. This involves painting figures, buildings and getting data sheets ready. The basis is the USMC in Afghanistan in 2011.

The theme for the convention is “America, Rise to world power – 1898 to Present”. With big plans for conventions in 2024 and 2025, I didn’t want to take on a new project for this convention, so I decide to use what I have as the basis of my game. Last year I put on a modern Afghanistan game with the British 3rd Para forward operating base. I decided to modify this game by removing the forward operating base and adding more buildings. I then decided to paint up US Marine Corps troops to replace the British troops. All of this work involved painting about ten new buildings, about 75 USMC troops and about twelve new USMC vehicles. I still have some flags and ariels to put on the vehicles. This approach will allow me to put on a theme game.

I will run a game twice on Saturday. From 9am to 1pm and from 4pm to 8pm. The first game will involve protecting a convoy that has stopped due to detecting an IED. The IED disposal team will then need to remove the IED. The second game will involve Force Recon units assaulting a compound to capture the bomb maker. A convoy of marines will then arrive to extract the Force Recon units and the target.

The terrain that I am using for my USMC in Afghanistan game will be similar to the terrain that I used last year. However, I will remove the forward operating base and replace it with more buildings. I have not set up the terrain yet, but here are some photos of the layout that I used last year.

If you are interested in a modern skirmish game using Force on Force rules, please stop by to see my USMC in Afghanistan game.

A quick update, here is a photo of the US vehicles with ariels and flags added. The flags add a bit more color to the table and the ariels really enhance the vehicles. $7.99 for a brush that will give a lifetime of ariels.

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Before I get into the Senkaku Project update, which is a project that I am planning for Historicon 2024, I have a couple of bits of news to report. Both of them involve blowing my own trumpet a little bit, but hopefully regular readers of the blog will forgive this little bit of self indulgence.

The first bit of news is that following my modern naval game at Historicon, “The first battle of the war of Taiwan”, I submitted the game as an article to the Admiralty Trilogy Group. From conversations that I have had with them, the article will be published in the October SITREP. The battle pits a Chinese Type 55 and a Type 54A ships against two US Arleigh Burke ships in the Gulf of Aden in early 2024. I will give more details when the SITREP is published.

The second bit of news is that I managed to take home the GM of the year award from HMGS. This was a combination of winning best of theme for my Battle of Ravenna, Italian Wars game and the Best of Show for my Modern British Afghanistan game. I also like to think that my Cossack Uprising Project helped, even though it has never won an award. It was a great honor to receive this award as there was some stiff competition. Here is a photo of me with the awards.

Now for an update on my Senkaku project (before I get back to painting US Marines for my game at Fall In! in November).

The Senkaku islands are a small group of islands off the coast of Taiwan that are contested by Taiwan, China and Japan. They are uninhabited islands. The game is going to involve a small unit of Chinese infantry claiming the islands in early 2024. The Japanese are then going to respond with a naval and Amphibious assault.

1/2400 models

The game is going to be a two part game and have multiple scales. The first part of the game is to be a modern naval battle using the Harpoon V rules. It is going to involve the Chinese navy and Coast Guard defending the islands against a small Japanese task force with a tank landing ship. This battle will be played out in 1/2400.

The vessel at the top right of the photo above is the Japanese tank landing ship Osumi. It carries two LCAC and two Chinooks as well as multiple vehicles and marines. If forms the key component of the Japanese amphibious force for the game.

1/700 models

The naval game will determine whether the landing is within sight of land or is carried out “over the horizon”. It will also determine if the Japanese have naval artillery support.

When the naval battle is complete, the naval vessels that survive will then be represented by 1/700 scale models. Above is again the Osumi, but in 1/700 scale. In the photo you can see two small LCAC (Landing Craft Air Cushioned). The Osumi is the first of nine 1/700 models that I will need to build. I still need to paint the Osumi.

20mm models

These 1/700 models are a perfect size to represent the ships off-shore for a 1/72 (20mm) amphibious assault using Force on Force rules. I chose 20mm as many of the kits that I need are available only in 20mm. In particular the LCACs and the AAVP-7A1s are available. Here is a picture of the two LCACs that are still in the process of construction.

I still have a lot of parts to add to these LCACs which are about 14 inches long. I will also need to weather them. It has been fun building them and airbrushing the metallic paint scheme. I have also built three AAVP-7A1s in both out of water and in water versions. The in water versions still need some basing and wave effects, but I am waiting for my terrain mat to arrive so that I can match the water color.

Cutting down the AAVP-7A1 kits to make a submerged version was a bit time consuming, but I think the effort will be worth it.

The infantry, both Chinese and US (I will paint in Japanese uniform colors), also arrived. They are from Elheim. I managed to base them and clean them up, but I have not done anything else with them and don’t plan on starting to paint them before Fall In!.

In the image there are some Japanese FH70s. There are two in deployed mode and two in transport mode. The transport mode will be for carrying under the two Chinooks from the Osumi. Speaking of the Helicopters, here are the two Chinooks and also the VF22 for the Japanese forces.

Terrain

Finally, for the terrain, I have ordered a really nice coastal mat from Warsigil. I will then be constructing hills and some dense jungle terrain. I have also ordered a lot of scatter terrain from Anyscale Models. Here is my first trial attempt at the jungle terrain, which overall I am very happy with. I still need to make some tall canopy trees from scratch.

Now back to my figures for Fall In!

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