10mm Palm Tree Tutorial

Welcome to my first terrain tutorial. I will be discussing how I am making palm trees for the Sudan campaign in 10mm. I have seen several tutorials on making palm trees in other scales but I was unsure how well they could translate to a smaller scale so I searched through the floral department of my local little old lady hobby store, a.k.a. A.C. Moore and purchased some materials to try my hand at making some itty-bitty palm trees. I think you will enjoy the final results. Enough introduction let's get to it.

While looking through the fake plant isle I came upon this Queen Anne's lace plant. The plant was $2.00 American and will yield approximately 15 palm trees. You may find uses for the stem and leafy bits, save them for another project, but for this tutorial we will be using the flowers.

The picture to the left shows a close-up of the flowers. They are attached to the stems through a tube at the base of the flowers. I choose this plant because the little flower bits curve out and downward which will help to simulate our palm trees.

Here is a close-up of an individual flower once removed from the stem. I was surprised to find out that the flowers were not even glued on which is a bonus for me as I did not have to remove any glue, however the plastic has white flocking on it. I used my fingernails to remove the flocking.

A close up of the flower with flocking removed, I know you are thinking that might be a spider or alien but not a palm tree. Just go with me for a little longer.

I also purchased some floral wire. I selected a gauge that looked like it would be about the right size for a palm tree trunk in 10mm and as a bonus might fit in the prexisting hole in the flower.

Here are some tools I used. Snippers to cut the floral wire and trim the flowers. A pin drill to make small holes in the flower, the wiring was a bit thicker than the hole and finally some hobby glue from my local hobby store.

Here I am displaying the way not to drill through plastic. Please be aware that you could drill into your fingers this way. The photo is a results of my having to hold the camera with one hand but you get the point. Carefully drill a hole in the center of the flower.

Cut the tube from the top of the flower making it flush, you could use an Exacto knife or even nail clippers.

The flower has now had a hole drilled through it and the tube removed.

Here is a photo of the flower placed on the floral wire, starting to look more like a little palm tree but seems a bit flat and bare.

To me two (2) flowers on the floral wire looks fuller and more like a palm tree. I worked the plastic a little bit to generate more of a curve to the branches instead of the flat look earlier.

I used the Captain to figure out a height for my palm trees in advance and to see if the trunks looked in scale. Close enough for me. You can purchase several different gauges of wire if you would prefer a beefier trunk. The Captain is mounted on a penny so I decided that I would make a small objective marker with the palm tree, a water well, and mount it on a similar base.

I purchased a pack of washers from a local hardware store. The washer is about 2 inches in diameter and approximately the thickness of a penny. The pack came with about 10 washers and I believe they wer about 10 cents per. The hole in the middle will serve as my well hole, however you could just fill it in with modeling clay or put a piece of tape over the hole and place your basing material on it.

I made three (3) palm trees to surround the well. I decided that a slight bend in the trunk made them look more natural and I decided to include different heights.

I placed some modeling clay along the sides of the washer and poked holes in it with the foral wire prior to baking it in the oven per the manufacturer's instructions. Modeling clay is fairly inexpensive and I got the clay from the same store as my glue.

After baking I glued the trees into place and glued some model railroad ballast in two (2) layers to build up the well. Oh no!! the new well has already attracted two (2) of the Mahdi's scouts. *On a side note the Mahdist camelry figure to the right in my opinion is one of the best sculpts I have seen from Pendraken, I can not wait to field an entire formation with them. The unpainted fig is a turbaned infantry from the same range. The figures are for scale comparison.

Next up I used water-downed PVA glue and playground sand to coat the base which helps hide the modeling clay. I also glued some paper on the bottom of the washer so that when the piece is placed on the table top that the terrain beneath would show. You need to let the sand dry overnight and then apply a second layer of water-down PVA glue on top of the sand to protect it.

Next to last step. I primed the piece black and let dry.

Painted up final. I believe the palms, although not perfect, give the impression I want for a very cheap price. they fit into scale and are easy to produce. The only nit-picky part is the top where we removed the tube but maybe I can find a way to hide it in the future, or maybe not. If anyone has some ideas for an easy fix let me know. I am going to work on modeling a water sack and rope for the well in the future.

Final pic as it would look on the table. Although not perfect the trees work as an impressionist representation of palm trees which works well with my impressionistic painting style. I hope this tutorial will help many 10mm players as palm trees are a staple in many theaters, WWII Japan, Vietnam, Colonial Sudan, Napoleon in Egypt and many others.

Up next more painted up Mahdist, a review of Howard Whitehouse's Battle in Africa book, spoiler it is flippin great and a tutorial on making a mosque in 10mm.

Captain out.....

Captain Verbeek in 10mm

To the left is our hero, Captain Lucien Verbeek and his pinto, Teuffel, in 10mm Technicolor.

The miniature is 10mm Pendraken British officer on horse painted up as Les Captain and his faithful steed. There are a few differences between the 10mm version and the original 15mm Peter Pig mini. I have added a red sash to the pith helmet and changed the straps of the uni from from white to leather, other than that the figure is painted up fairly close to the 15mm including the captain's trademark blond goatee.

I am using non-metallic metallic painting on the 10mm Sudan figures as I believe this will not detract from the rest of the figure the way metallic paints do. I believe that Mr. Pengilley does a great job with the level of detail on these little 10mm figs and the Mahdist camel figures that I received this week are fantastic and I can not wait to paint them.

A shot of the back of the captain. I am hoping to spend a little extra time on the command figures and hope to perfect my new camera techniques soon. Reminder you can click on the photos for a blown up version of the figure. My camera can zoom in very close and shows the brush strokes and the highlight contrast fairly well.

In this shot you can see the extra pair of shoes and thrown across the front of the horse and the captains pistol holster. Very good detail but a fairly static pose, I wish the mini were a bit more animated like the Peter Pig mini but that is just my taste and I really can not complain this is a very nice sculpt. These pictures are better than the last few I have taken, however being this close up loses a little bit of the detail of the figure. From arms length this guy looks really good if I do say so myself.

Finally a longer shot showing how the captain would look from the table top. The shot also shows the Knights of the Air game box I used for the background. I used a black base-coat on the fig but have been using brown base coat on most of the Mahdist and British infantry. I hope to crank out a rub of the Mahdist this week. Looking forward to gaming colonial conflicts in 10mm and I hope you enjoy the photos.

More Pendraken minis have arrived

My next shipment of Pendraken 10mm have arrived. I now have Mahdi Camelry, Mahdi Cavalry, more Mahdi foot, some British mounted commanders, can you say Captain Verbeek in 10mm, and a captured Krupp with Egyptian crew. I am off work tomorrow so am planning a big day of painting Sudan figures. I played a game of Colonial Adventures with my buddy Ray last weekend. Ray collects 1/72nd scale plastic men and we had a fine patrol game with the red coated British and the Zulu. Ray enjoyed the game so much that he has been diligently painting up Brits and Zulus at a feverish pace. For my contribution I am building some Zulu beehive huts. I will take some pictures as I progress. I now have a fairly sizable mob of Mahdist troops Hedendawa, Jihadiya, captured krupp, camelry and cavalry. Much painting to be done. I received a video camera for Christmas last year and took some footage of our Zulu game and some pictures. I will try and get them on here soon. Here is to much adventuring ahead, huzzah!!!

Pendraken 10mm miniatures arrived.

Below are a series of photos of my recently arrived Pendraken 10mm Sudan miniatures, British and Hedendawa. The sculpts were fairly clean and detailed. The heights of each mold are between 10-12 mm. Only one figure broke while cleaning. I bought two (2) packs of Hedendawa (Fuzzy Wuzzys) they contain 30 figures per pack in three poses. I purchased one command pack 30 figures 15 standard bearers and 15 strangely dressed Khadifs. Finally I ordered one British pack 29 soldiers in two (2) poses and one (1) captain standing. I am very happy with the figs and am planning on doing a one=ten scale. In my research so far the Mahdi's forces were organized into flags these were divided into rubs (800-1200 men, further divided into tribal sections of 100 men (centuries) each would have it's own flag and centurion to lead them. So I have cleaned and primed seven (7) 10 man units. I am priming all of the Sudan figs with a dark brown instead of my normal black and am happy with the effect. I am going to put together a post on my process for painting up the Hedendawa units. I am including one picture of the 15mm Egyptian infantry that I am not happy with and lead me to purchase the Pendraken miniatures. I also believe the 10mm figures will capture the desperation as a few british soldiers are surrounded by hundreds of Mahdist figures and will make my table top deserts feel vast. I will have to figure out this new blog system. Enjoy the pics.

Watching the Mailbox

I have not posted in a while as the adventure has been on hiatus. I received some 15mm Old Glory Egyptian troops but really don't like the way they painted up. I am my own worst critic, but something about the all white uniform and red fez, which I have difficulty painting red, have really stumped me. I have tried a couple of techniques but I am not enjoying painting the Egyptians, maybe it is the poses or perhaps just my technique but I am not feeling them. So I may paint them up slightly different as Bizerrcans. I have ordered several packs of Pendraken 10mm Sudan and have been waiting a couple of weeks now for them to arrive. I have not played any other colonial games lately but have been reading and scheming. I have been experimenting with building palm trees and terrain but am not happy with these efforts either. Who thought desert terrain would be so hard to get correct. I am hoping the Pendraken 10mm figures fit the bill. I have been drawn to 10mm figs for a while and hopefully the mass feel and level of detail will give me a fix. I will try and post some pics of various stages of modeling in a couple of days and of the new Pendraken minis when they arrive.

ciao,

THW Colonial Adventures - playtest

Score: 8 out of 10

Over the holiday I play-tested Two Hour Wargames Colonial Adventures rules. First impressions is that this game has some real promise. The rules are written for solo or multi player gaming, the game can be played with miniatures of any scale or alternatively you can play the rules without any miniatures just paper, pencil and dice.

After Thanksgiving dinner I set up a small patrol scenario and played a game in about 45 minutes, the game probably would have taken less time but I had to look through the rule book several times as this was my first game. Before I get into the battle report I will give a brief overview of the rules.

The rule book is laid out as follows: Introduction,

Getting Started (stuff you need to play), Game Basics (discussion on how to determine troop characteristics),

Armies (divided into European and native, also there are additional army lists on-line at their yahoo group), Rules (Turn Sequence, Actions, Movement, Melee, etc.) and Scenarios (set-up, scenario specific rules). The rules are well written and organized. The scale is one (1) base equals approximately five (5) men so a standard platoon is 20 stands, although they do have rules to modify this down to 10 stands per platoon.

The main mechanic of the game is taking a series of "Crisis Tests" against the value of your units and/or leader's "Reputation". The more successful you are at passing the tests, (better rolls) the better the outcome and more options allowed. Example if your Ansar swordsmen want to charge a British Square, you must take a Crisis Test, if you pass you charge. Since the British are being charged they must take a Crisis Test, if they pass they do an action, (fire, stand, etc.) When the British fire at the Ansar, the Ansar must take a Crisis Test to see what happens when they are fired at. If you don't like rolling dice, you will not like this game. The game is played exclusively with six-sided dice so the variance in units is somewhat limited, however the mechanic is simple and elegant.

Players roll dice to determine which side goes first and based on the die roll for each side which reputation troops may activate. Each side complete all of their actions prior to the second side activating. However, Crisis Test will effect the ebb and flow of the turn. The ranged combat and melee are based upon unit reputation as well ,with some situational variables, (high ground, ferocious troops, etc.)

The game plays quickly, is simple and the solo version had just the right amount of tension and desperation. A few draw-backs, there were no drawings showing combat situations only text descriptions and a couple of the rules could have been fleshed out a bit more rather than left up to the discretion of the player. I will post my questions on the yahoo group and report on the level of assistance I receive. All in all a very fun first game, I look forward to trying the rules out with friends.

Battle report:

Set up: I selected the Patrol scenario. I played a company of Egyptian infantry sent out from their garrison to search for Mahdist troops and survey the surrounding lands. I rolled for terrain and below is a map of the area with hills, one clump of wooded area (oasis) in the middle and stick men (Possible Enemy Forces - PEF) where Mahdist troops might be. The Egyptian forces are given a Reputation of three (3), nothing to write home about. I rolled for my leader's reputation and ugh, a two (2) reputation, he would be no help at all, however as is usual in legend the NCO was reputation five (5). I imagined a young upstart Mulazim Tani (2nd Lietenant) leaning on the experience of his Sargent. My platoon consisted of 100 men (20 stands). The Mulazim ordered his men into line at the base of a hill and sent 15 men (3 stands) to scout the near hill and the wooded area. The scouts observed no movement along the ridge and slowly moved toward the oasis. Upon cresting the hill the scouts had direct line of sight to two (2) of the possible areas of Mahdi activity. The tension builds, no troops are to be seen, that means troops must be in area 2.

The rules dictate that when a unit moves into the center of a grid that the unit check for the enemy even if there are no PEF figures there. My Egyptian troops slowly marched over the hill and down into area four (4), the line of Egyptians inch forward when two (2) bands of ferocious Ansar spring up in the middle of area four (4). The Egyptians are outnumbered 150 to 85 and the Ansar are exceptional hand-to-hand fighters (I rolled really well for them).

At the top of the next turn the Egyptians and Mahdist roll the same activation number, in the scenario this could trigger possible re-enforcements and sure enough two (2) more PEFs popped up on the board.

While the Mulzim fumbles at his sword while the Egyptian NCO barks out the command to fire at the smaller Ansar unit in front of them (Crisis Test passed), the Egyptian line erupts in Volley Fire and causes 10 Ansar (2 stands) to fall. The Ansar seem inspired by the death of their comrades (Crisis test passed) and charge. The Egyptian NCO orders the troops to reload and fire just prior to the Ansar piling into the line (Crisis test result from charge) and the Egyptians once again unload their carbines, five (5) more Ansar fall (one stand).

Screams and curses are heard over the pitch of battle as hand-to-hand fighting erupts along the line. The Ansar inflict heavy casualties on the Egyptians (20 men, 4 stands) while another 20 men run for their lives (Crisis test Egyptians pass). The Lt. is nearly killed in the action (leader killed on 11-12, I rolled a 10). At the darkest moment the Ansar pause allowing the Sargent to call a fighting retreat and the line is reformed at the top of the hill.(Egyptians rolled higher on activation roll and broke from melee). The scouts are running to the sound of small arms fire but may arrive too late.

With the line depleted the Egyptians manage a smaller volley and inflict more casualties on the smaller Ansar band (5 men, 1 stand), 10 Ansar have enough and flee (2 stands). The Ansar mob ascends the hill (Crisis test to charge past), the Egyptians fire at will but have depleted most of their ammunition (low ammo roll). The Ansar mob crashes into the remaining Egyptians do not have much fight left in them and scatter toward their garrison, the Mulazim and Sargent with a small contingent of troops fight their way out. the scouts can see the Mahdi's men celebrating on the hill and do not dare to approach.

The Yuzbashi at the garrison waits for his report. The young Mulazim Tani arrives at his door. "Your report!", the Yuzbashi's voice is hard and short. "The enemy is in numbers to our east Effendi and my patrol barely escaped, I am sad to report 28 wounded and approximately 30 killed. Had it not been for the Sargent a fear it would have been worse." Just as the Yuzbashi was about to start his lecture on leadership and responsibility, a fellah burst into the room. "Effendi, we have spotted many men moving to the east and west, flying the green banner!" The Yuzbashi reached for his fez, "Mulazim prepare to redeem yourself ." "I will try my best, Effendi!"

The next scenario in the book is a raid by the winning force of the Patrol scenario. I will play this scenario with friends and report later. In summary Colonial Adventures is a fast, simple and good set of rules. I will report later and continue exploring other rules as well. On a crafting note I had a bit of time to work on my terrain table last night, I hope to post pictures soon.

Terrain, Miniatures and a New Book

My copy of Donald Featherstone's tel el-kebir arrived this past weekend and I have been enjoying it quite a bit. My knowledge of the period increases daily. I was pleasantly surprised that it was a hard-back first Osprey I have seen in hard-back. I have started building a scratch-built steam boat from a template by Gary Chalk that I found in Wargames Illustrated June 1999, which I bought at my local gaming convention a few weeks ago. I built one of Mr. Chalk's pirate ships from the templates on the Foundry page and have scratch built Dreadnought spaceships from card and foam core so I have a little experience at scratch building. The original plans are for 28mm miniatures so I copied the template at 66% for 15mm miniatures.

To the left is the beginnings of the stern-wheeler with a Peter Pig 15mm British officer fig on the upper deck. Speaking of miniature scale I have been going back and forth with scale for almost two-weeks now, the fear of selecting the wrong scale immobilizing me from ordering miniatures. I have done my Seven Years war armies in 10mm, 6mm and 15mm and they all have their merits. My first colonial miniatures were the Peter Pig 15mm but they don't seem to mix well with Old Glory, which for me in the U.S. is the best buy, my SYW is almost exclusively OG. I am tempted by 25mm or 28mm however the only appropriate miniatures seem to be Perry and they are quite expensive. Finally, I have been thinking of 10mm Pendraken, but having done the battle of Gettysburg in 10mm my painting style seems too dark for this scale or at least my impression of the level of detail gets lost. I have found a nice article on making a desert terrain board at the following link. www.quindia.com/studioart11.htm I immediately ran out and bought everything to make some terrain boards. I plan to make some desert boards and a couple with a river running through it. I will post pictures when I start the first boards, that makes deciding my scale paramount this week. I emailed my imagi-nation enemy Paul from http://www.bizercca.blogspot.com/ about possibly projecting out the Cavenderia - Bizercca war into the 19th century with the Bizerccans playing the role of the Egyptians and Cavenderi Imperial troops arriving to quash an uprising.

To the left another picture of the paddle boat started. If anyone would like a copy of the templates leave me a message, as Mr. Chalk published his pirate ship templates for free down-load I do not think he would mind my sending out an adobe of the paddle boat template. Cavenderi Colonialism seems like it would be great fun for a non-historical Egypt/Sudan campaign and allow me to paint up fictional Imperial units and fictional characters such as General Lindsey Wolsey leader of the Cavenderi expedition. I could even throw in references to the original 1757 conflict with names of ships, regiments etc. I will work on some fiction. Finally, I have been reading over Colonial Adventures by two-hour wargames and some house rules by Steve Hicks both seem very promising. My gaming group is playing Battlelore this Friday and with the holidays it may be a while before another rules review and battle report, however I will try and fill the time with posts on miniature painting terrain and book review, not to mention I put Khartoum in Que on NetFlix. Finally, Steve's rules can be played solo so I may be able to get in a battle report after all. Oh yeah nearly forgot, regardless of scale, rules, imagination or historical Captain Verbeek will be there for all of the action. I am thinking of painting up a Captain Verbeek in 28mm and sending him to Msr. Probst to see if he can't get attached to a military unit in his Captain Pedigree blog. Vive la Capitain!!

Yours truly,