The new Future is Pledge

This post is to share my hobby-geek joy with you all. I am close to running out the original Future Floor Finish. I've been using it since the late 90s, mixing it with black acrylic paint or India ink for a wash. I've tried a whole bunch of brands of pre-made washes, but none compare to using Future Floor Finish. What I like about it is that you can control the ratio of paint (or ink) to floor finish.

For reasons I don't understand, the S. C. Johnson company re-branded Future as Pledge Floor Care Finish. I cannot find this anywhere I live! Fortunately, Amazon.com sells it. It wasn't really all that expensive to order it online. This new bottle should last me quite awhile. I've heard all kinds of rumors that isn't as good as the original stuff...I guess I will find out. Word of warning: they make a similar product, but it has a detergent in it.

 This is stuff is pure liquid acrylic love! 

Bridge Dilemma

Now that I've made what I feel are enough river sections, the next step is to make (or buy) some bridges. Thinking about it, I can go two ways:

1. I can build or buy a bridge model that can be plunked down anywhere along the river segments.

2. I can make a small river segment, like I did for the river forge, that incorporates a bridge.

There are pros and cons to both.

Free standing bridge:
Pros: putting it anywhere means that a road can cross the river at any point. I don't have to force the road to fit a location along the river. Second, I can make various bridges to fit various games: European-looking bridges for WW2 or fantasy games; more generic or jungle-looking bridges for my fictional Gambusia campaign.
Cons: Won't look very pretty. Second, I will have to make sure that a bridge will span any point along a river. There may be the problem that a bridge is much longer than the width of the river section. That is more of an aesthetic issue, but a bridge that is too short will just look stupid. Also, if the banks are irregular in height (which they are to varying degrees) the bridge won't sit very well on it.

River segment with built-in bridge:
Pros: Will look much nicer. Will eliminate some of the problems listed in the above cons regarding free-standing bridges.
Cons: May be a big problem when there is a road crossing a river at a point where a bridge segment cannot be placed. I would have to force the road to conform to the river or reconfigure the river segments to conform to the road. Second, would take a little longer to build them. As much as I really enjoy building terrain, I'm getting a little burned out on it and want to finally do some gaming.

I have been combing the internet and both methods are used. I have noticed that the built-in bridges tend to be on tables that use terrain modules. I am not going in that direction. It might be that the free standing bridge is the way to go.

Any comments or suggestions are greatly welcomed.

Warp-free Rivers!

I recently bought a fancy label maker, so for about the last week I've been labeling my boxes of fantasy figures. That, and I finally completed my rivers.

I made them by cutting out the segments from sheet styrene  (for sale signs), then using caulk to make the river banks. Once the caulk dried, l painted the river with the appropriate colors. Yes, rivers are not really blue, but I gave up after several tries to get a more realistic color using greens and browns. The river was given two coats of gloss Mod Podge.

I have two widths.  The wider river segments I can also use for 15mm games. The bottom picture shows a short segment that is supposed to be a ford. It looks a little better than the photo....it look more like peanut brittle here! I am not happy with it, but it will do.

I will probably use painter's masking tape to hold them to the gaming table.

These turned out better than the ones using the foam core and took 1/3rd the time to make them.

Air Mail

I got a box today in the mail:

I had ordered some models of Japanese commercial commuter aircraft off of E-Bay. The company that made them is called F.toys. You get ten in a pack:

You get eight plus two random planes. As far as I could tell, which plane is in the package is not stated on the box. However, I was guaranteed the eight different models. Here is what you can get:

Yes, I did say eight, even though there are five shown. That is because three had variants....same plane, different airline. Unfortunately, only two of these models were at 1/300 scale, the others were at 1/500 scale, but I can probably find some use for them, or give them to my son to play with.

Here is what you get inside:

The model, an instruction sheet, and a little piece of gum. The instructions has clear illustrations, so the Japanese isn't an issue.

Here is a close up of a model still in its plastic box:

What you get is a stand, landing gear, and some have props or an additional tail fin that needs to be attached. I don't know if these need gluing or snap on, but I will find out when I put them together.

I plan to use them for various airport scenics. I thought about painting them, but I think I will leave them as is. I don't think I could reproduce the windows and doors on them.

I am now slowly working my way through the gum:

I'm Confused

For a LONG time, I've hoped that either GHQ or C-in-C would make the M103 US heavy tank. Here is some info on the M103 if you've never heard of it.  Why do I want one? Well, to make a long story short (which you know I'm not good at), it was one of the Roco minitanks that I owned as a kid. I thought it was really cool...so what if it wasn't successful! It was part of my Roco "holy trinity," the M103, the M47 Patton, and the M42 Duster. When I started my ImagiNation game, the trinity had to be a part of it. For a long time, GHQ only made the M47. Yes, Heroics & Ros and Soctia made the M103 and Duster, but they weren't the greatest models. I was excited when GHQ made the Duster. I hoped that the M103 was right around the corner. So far, it hasn't happened.

So here's my rant and its directed at GHQ because C-in-C hasn't made any new AFVs in who knows how long. GHQ just released a set of WWII German trailers. I'm sorry, but why???? For that matter, they have HMMWV w/ Towed Generator. Again, why? What in the world do you do with these trailers and a portable generator in a wargame? Did I miss the section in all my microarmor rules where the trailers are used? Is there a huge demand for microarmor trailers?  I don't understand why a company would put out trailers as well as a lot of other stuff that are not combat vehicles, and not something like the M103? I really like GHQ's products, but come on, guys!

Point of Origin

My wife declared a major purge on all stored stuff in the house. We are packrats (my wife more than I) and can't seem to throw away anything. I've been slowing sifting through the boxes and container earmarking items found as things to keep, things to be donated, or things to throw out or recycled. I came upon a box that I have been looking for, for a long time. It consisted of various military history and technical books, wargaming books, and how-to books on sculpting and painting.

Sandwiched among these various books was a copy of Wargamer's Digest, that dated June/July 1977 (volume 4, number 5). At the time this was THE magazine for miniature wargaming, at least as far as my friend Mark and I were concerned. Of course didn't know better. I bought them back in the late 70s and I have kept a number of them, though I am not sure where I kept them all. Definitely not your slick publication of today, with colored graphics and professional type setting (or even good editing at times!). It also seemed to contain a hodge-podge of topics, though later issues tend to have themes. The editor was a big WWII gamer and later issues reflected this. Despite its weaknesses, at $1.25, even back then, it was worth the price. 

There is one article in particular that is particularly important to me, in fact, its probably the reason why I kept this issue. The article was entitled The Battle of Ged, by Mike Covell (pages 24-25).

It was two-page after action report of a fantasy battle between the Royal Amy and the combined armies of the Haradrin, the Woodsmen Tribes and the Dwarves. Based on the one photo, it was gaming with 25mm figures.  Not too surprising given that 15mm was not that popular then, I don't even think there were any 15mm fantasy around at that time. If I had to guess, he used Chainmail for the rules. I like the use of LEGO bricks for terrain. He included a large map of the battle. 

This short report is important to me because between reading The Lord of the Rings, buying my copy of Chainmail, and this article, I got interested in fantasy wargaming. Something about this article lit a fire under me for fantasy gaming. I know that I already had Chainmail, but I think this article gave me some ideas on how to put together a battle.  Call me old school, but I've never been all that attracted to games where you had to use figures from one company in order to play the game. Even though he never says what brands of miniatures he used, I have the sense that it was whatever had had on hand. This agrees with my philosophy that its O-K to have a game where you field troops made from different companies, so long as they are reasonably compatible. 

Whatever the reason, it propelled me forward into a hobby that I has given me pleasure since I was a teen. 

Nation Building the Nordic Weasel Games Way

About a month ago, I got Nordic Weasel Games' Nation Generator for 20th Bush Wars and Not Just a Bush War. Turns out that the same nation generator is in both publications...oh well. This is a combination test run/review of them.

In addition to the nation generator, Not Just a Bush War has a lot of fun stuff for creating an army for the country you rolled up. This is what I ended up with. I've added some comments throughout. Warning, its a long post!

Nation Generator
You need a D10 and percentile dice for all of the charts. The numbers in parentheses are what I rolled for each category. 

Size
(4) Small: between 1 and 5 million citizens

Natural Resources
(4) Building Materials
Er-r-r...Okay?

Urbanization

(7) Somewhat urban

Technological Standards

11-7 = 4

Four years behind the most modern technology, so 2011.

Heavy Industry

(10) Extensive Heavy Industry

Political System

(44) Secular Military State

Government Legitimacy

(7) Viewed as reasonably legitimate

Government Popularity

(3) Very unpopular

Religious Standing

(3) Follows dominant religion in region

Rule of Law

(7) Corruption is accepted but infrequent

Cultural Coherence

(8) Moderate coherency

Allegiances

(4) Ancestral ties

Pressing Concerns

1. Very unpopular government (scored a “3” in government popularity)

2. (62) Civil rights issues

3. (46) Inequality

Army Generator

I used the Army Generator found in Brigade Commander (BC) and Military Generator in Not Just a Bush War (NJBW). I am not sure if I used the generator correctly in BC, particularly for the manpower units, but this is what I got: 

It’s a small country, but because its currently under military rule, the army is beefed up more than it was under royal rule, so I rolled for three brigades.

2 Infantry brigades

1 Specialized brigade

For specialized brigade, rolled under Elite Units (NJBW) and got a 2: Marines

I decided an average force to generate manpower units (BC). I am not sure if I did this right in terms of separating out the manpower units into battalions and their companies, but this is what I got:

1^st Infantry Brigade

For main units, I rolled a 44 and got 6 main units, so

1 infantry battalion consisting of 4 companies

The extra company will be stationed as some sort of border unit

For secondary I rolled a 61

3 armored companies

Consists of Armored Cars (NJBW)

1st Brigade Attachements and Fire Support (BC)
3 Attachements
2 Fire Support Packets 

2^nd Infantry Brigade

Main units: Rolled a 47 equaling 7 main units

1 infantry battalion with 3 companies

1 infantry battalion with 2 companies

Secondary

2 armored companies

Consist of MBTs (NJBW)

2nd Brigade Attachments & Fire Support

3 Attachments
2  Fire Support Packets

1^st Marine Brigade

1st air assault battalion with 2 companies

1^st Marine landing battalion with 3 companies

2^nd Marine landing battalion with 2 companies

4 attachments

Air Force (NJBW)

Focus Air Superiority

Status: Limited

How Modern? Rolled a 5 so 2011 – 5 = 2006 +1 (for heavy industry) = 2002
So, aircraft can can be no newer than what was out in 2002. That's fine by me. 

Navy

Gotta have a navy! Especially if you have a marines brigade. Not in either booklet, so I modified Air Force generator in NJBW:

	Focus		Status
1	Humanitarian/Disaster Response	1-2	Bare Bones
2-3	Maritime security	3-4	Very Limited
4-6	Deterrence	5-7	Limited
7-8	Sea Lane Control	8-9	Moderate
9	Forward Presence	10	Extensive
10	Power Projection

I ordered the Focus at increasing levels of ambition. I assume that under Focus, the number rolled is the primary focus, or that which the nation is striving for, with those below its being secondary. Status still works because what their ambitions are and what reality is are two different things. If the nation has the very grandiose focus of Power Projection but has limited or very limited status, that would mean that the higher ups might waste all of their very limited resources on larger warships.

Modifications on Focus:

+1 if rolled a 9 or 10 on the Natural Resources category.

+1 if rolled a Dictatorship, Secular Military State, or Fascist Military state

under Political System

Modifications on Status:

+1 if maritime-oriented nation

Focus: Deterrence

Status: Moderate

How Modern? Used the same as for Air Force

Rolled 9, so 2011 – 9 = 2002 + 1 (for heavy industry) = 2003

Overall Training Level

I rolled this for all of the armed forces, with the Marines maybe being a little better.
6 (after modifications): Acceptable training but lacking practical experience.

Overall Morale Level

Again, applies to all armed forces.
16 (after modifications): Willing.

Sources of Weapons

Primary: USA

Secondary: Germany
Germany? That will be a stretch, but that is the fun of the whole thing!

Putting it all together

Now comes the interpretation of the rolls. 

Country Name: Aquor-Ornur

From: http://nine.frenchboys.net/country.html

Capital: Janwalli

Population: 4 million

Percent population urban: 60%

Economy: timber, building industry products, and furniture.

Technological standards: at 2011 levels.

Government: Secular Military State

Religion: 80% Buddhist, 15% Muslim, 5% Other.

Aquor-Ornur is a small nation located along the coast of South-East Asia, between Burma and Thailand. It gets its name from the two main tribes that make up the nation. Historically agriculture, mainly in the form of timber, was the main economic driver, but with the reduction of the rain forests, the economy shifted to timber products for the building industry and as well a growing furniture industry. This growth in heavy industry has caused a major migration to the urban centers. Many foreign industries have set up manufacturing centers because of the relatively cheap labor.
Until the late 1990s, Aquor-Ornur was ruled by a monarchy. Attempts to institute democratic reforms led to a crackdown of dissidents. In 1998, a military coup backed by pro-democracy citizenry removed the monarchy. Promises to hold elections have yet to materialize and have made the military government increasingly unpopular. Persecution of religious and ethnic minorities has also been on the rise. Recently, there has been growing nostalgia for the monarchy

Traditionally, Aquor-Ornur had strong ties with both Burma and Thailand, but these have been weakened.  The monarchy is currently in exile. It is secretly building an army to retake the nation.

Armed Forces of Aquor-Ornur
Rising suspicions of both their neighbors has given cause for the military to increase spending. Aquor-Ornur does not have any real ties to either the USA or Germany, so most of their major weaponry is second hand. I need to flesh this out more, but this is what I have come up with.

All infantry and marines are issued the Heckler & Koch weapons. TheArmbrust light anti-tank launcher is the principle LAW.

Armored cars:
When I think of modern armored cars, neither the USA nor Germany springs to mind. I decided to arm the three armored car companies with M8 armored cars, with one of the companies having the turrets swapped with South African Ratel turret with the 90mm low pressure gun. 

Tanks:
I thought about the Leopard 1A1, but decided to go with US M48A3 MBTs. Since the US is the main arms supplier, it would make sense that their MBT is American.

Transport:
The infantry ride to war on trucks.

Aircraft:
The air force was easy. I decided on F5E Tiger II as its fighter jet. Its a common export fighter for US allies throughout the years. For ground attack and other roles, they use the BO 105 helicopter.

Navy:
I'm still working on that. Of all the armed forces, the navy will probably the most modern. Historically, ship-building nations built "tailor-made" warships for nations willing to pay for them. Today is no exception. There are plenty of shipbuilding firms that use modular construction to build ships. The results are shorter building time, potentially cheaper ships, and ships are specific to the needs of the buyer. An example of this is the MEKO class of ships built by the G
erman companyBlohm+Voss. Here is a short article on the subject of modular ship design.

Thoughts about Nation Generator
Overall, its fun to use and produces some interesting results. There are a few things that I found sort of odd. The biggest one is that it doesn't generate an overall economy. Is it a rich or poor country? It is hard to say based on the rolls I got. A country can be highly industrialized but the country be by-in-large poor. Some rolls seemed contradictory. For example, if its a country that relies extensively on heavy industry, I would thing it would have a higher urban population than what I rolled.  I suppose I could have modified things, but I wanted a country that was solely based on the die rolls.

I liked the army builder in Brigade Commander, though I am not sure if I used it right. Its general enough so that I could come up with my own units. Not Just a Bush War fleshed out what I created in Brigade Commander. Not Just a Bush War had a lot more added "fluff" (and "fluff" in the best sense!) to really give your units a lot of personality, but I was content for now. If you like pre-game parts of the first edition AK-47 rules, you will really love this!

Both Nation Generator for 20th Bush Wars and Not Just a Bush War are worth the price.