Weekly WIP: Playing Bolt Action and Building Models

There has been a noticeable gap in my weekly WIP posts due to the simple fact that I haven’t been painting anything. That’s not true, I’ve been slowly finishing a scale model kit I started years ago but haven’t felt the same need to share the process as I do when painting a wargame miniature.

Still, the silence wears on me. Come Sunday evening I have an unease feeling that I’ve forgotten something. I am still focused on wargaming but when my interest inevitably switches to RPGs, and I must admit that I feel that distant pull, what will happen with my posting productivity?

The solution is to change the nature, but not the name, of my Weekly WIP. Instead of specifically focusing on what I’ve painted in the week I’m broadening the scope to anything hobby related I’ve been doing or thinking.

Of course I am keenly interested in feedback on this new direction. Did you know that you can comment directly on each post of my blog and that I am so desperate for attention I reply to every comment as soon as I see it?

Bolt Action

After missing the past two bi-monthly Bolt Action games at Boutique FDB I’ve finally managed to make it out. This time the organizer gave a specific point value instead of a range which meant I could make my list and arrive confident I wouldn’t have to make any last minute adjustments. Unfortunately my opponent was not so prepare and I ended up with a lot of time to wander the store while he made his list.

The scenario we randomly chose featured an objective in the center of the board which could be captured and carried off by a unit of infantry. My opponent is playing with a cavalry heavy army and it happened to be the perfect force for this scenario.

Moving my troops evening onto the field.  The rifle section on my left flank (your right) are too far to effect the fight for the objective. Bolt Action Gameplay at Boutique FDB.

Not that I didn’t have an opportunity to stop his units but I wasn’t considering the objective or the presence of infantry which can move 18″ per turn until it was too late. If I had I would have concentrated more firepower around the objective to make it less likely that a unit of cavalry could run out, grab the objective and run back without being annihilated by LMG and rifle fire.

Bandai X-Wing

For the past few years Bandai has been making a huge selection of snap-fit kits for Star Wars properties in the style of their Gundam kits. These are high quality kits which snapped together but weren’t simple or toy-like. They are cast with different colours and types of plastic on the same sprue which meant they could be build without paint for a reasonable effect.

Bandai 1/72 X-Wing Fighter

These models represent a break from painting miniatures. I can assemble them without worrying about painting. In the back of my mind, however, is the idea that I would like to paint them at some point. I even started one years ago but left it with just a simple base colour.

This is what I’ve been primarily working on the past few weeks. I decided just to “get’er done” and have used the supplied decals and even a paintbrush to add the different markings. I’ve made a number of mistakes in the process and will probably use masking and paint for future models. Despite the mistakes it feels good to be nearing the end of this build.

Batman Miniature Game Terrain

While I was waiting for my opponent to build his Bolt Action army list I noticed some laser-cut garbage skips from TT Combat. They were discounted because they had separated the fences that normally come with the kit, likely for a customer who needed more fence and have plenty of skips. It worked well for me since I had no desire for the fences which I hadn’t even realized were missing when I bought them.

Knight Models Batman Miniature Game Joker standing next to TT Combats Refuse Skip.

I had hoped that the skips would be low enough to provide cover without blocking LOS but sadly this is not the case. In order to allow them to do so I’m going to create some wooden pallets which I can stack to form cover or side next to the skip to form a firing step.

TT Combat’s website is dangerous, especially since I know I can have my local store stock it. I’ve found a number of things I’d absolutely love to have, such as:

TT Combat’s MSV Ironsides would look great on my table.

Designing Widgets

Speaking of laser cutting I’m getting in the habit of keeping a monthly booking at my local library in order to use their laser cutter. The idea is that by the time the booking rolls around I’ll probably have a number of things I want to make, as opposed to coming up with something to make and then trying to book the equipment. So far I haven’t been able to book anything earlier than a month out which means long waits to build what I need.

With Saga on the horizon I’ve been looking at measuring widgets, fatigue tokens and playing around with basing ideas. My biggest concern is deciding what I want to make my bases out of. 1mm card would be nice and thin but maybe be too thin for the magnets I plan to use. 3mm mdf will fit the magnets but may be too thick, especially if I want to make sabot bases or movement trays. Then there’s clear plastic bases which is another wrinkle all-together.

I’m also designing the wooden pallets I mentioned above. My plan to cut a number of rectangular strips, plus 6 risers which will be doubled for thickness. I should be able to fit a tonne on a 20″ by 16″ sheet although cutting time will probably be high.

That brings me up to date with my current plans. Once again, let me know whether this time of journal-style post is interesting or not in the comments.

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