One thing that I need to get ready before COW is my FUNNY LITTLE WARS army. I have sorted out the units which are:
I am open to any ideas regular blog readers might have that will solve this problem, but in the meantime I am going to persevere with my current design.
- A Regular Infantry Regiment of 20 figures
- A Reserve Infantry Regiment of 20 figures
- A Militia Light Infantry Regiment of 20 figures
- A Machine Gun Battery (A Gatling Gun and 2 crew)
- A Regular Cavalry Regiment (12 figures)
- A Field Artillery Battery (2 x Field Guns and 3 crew each)
- A Heavy Artillery Battery (1 x 4.7-inch Gun and 4 crew)
- A General
I am open to any ideas regular blog readers might have that will solve this problem, but in the meantime I am going to persevere with my current design.
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Must admit I have not considered movement bases for my 'Funny Little' wars figures - think they will be essential for outdoor play . Probably your are on the right lines - MDF and balsa wood strip edging maybe ?. Good luck !.
ReplyDeleteHi Bob,
ReplyDeleteBamboo barbecue skewers or wooden coffee stirrers like the ones from Starbucks.
Next time you are in there you can liberate a few!
All the best,
DC
Mosstrooper,
ReplyDeleteWe intend to fight our battle outside on the lawn, so the movement bases will stop the figures falling over except when they are hit. For indoor battles like yours, I don't know if movement bases are necessary. MDF and balsa wood sounds like a good idea, and I will see if I can hold of some over the next few days.
All the best,
Bob
David Crook,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the ideas ... the only problem is I am a Costa Coffee man rather than a Starbucks aficionado!
All the best,
Bob
magnets
ReplyDelete(I like to use thin rare earth magnets for mine, but some people seem to have success with sheet magnets, the kind used for sticking business cards and stuff to refrigerators, for example)
I'm with you on the Costa Bob.
ReplyDeleteIn the U.S. there is a craft store chain called Michael's that sells 4" x 7" wooden trays (with a lip around the edges no less) for about a Pound. If there are stores like that in the U.K. you could try there. Can't beat the price, that's for sure.
ReplyDeleteFailing that, you could cut balsa to size, and glue strips of small square balsa around the edges. It's not hard, just tedious.
Best regards,
Chris
Hi Bob
ReplyDeleteI just use oblongs of cardboard painted to match the the colour of the figure bases and fix the figures to the board with blue tac. I use cheap light plastic figures which would fall over, when moved, without the blue tac. This may not be such an issue for you using Deetail figures as their metal bases give a lot of stability.
Regards, Brian
Fitz-Badger,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately I am using Britains Deetail figures, which have hollow bases and I am not sure how I would fit the magnets to the bases.
I use magnets and steel bases for other, small figures, and that has been an ideal solution to the problem of mixing single and multiple figure bases.
All the best,
Bob
Steve's Wargame Stuff,
ReplyDeleteI have only drunk Starbuck's coffee once ... and I must admit that it was not a pleasant experience! I am so happy to go to Costas that I even have a loyalty card!
All the best,
Bob
Chris,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestion. The trays sound like a good idea. I will have a look in our local Hobbycraft store ... which I think is the equivalent of Michaels in the UK.
Other than that, then it is probably going to have to be balsa or foam-core with a lip of thin wood stuck around the edge.
All the best,
Bob
Brian Carrick,
ReplyDeleteAs I know that you have had to deal with this problem yourself, I will bow to your practical experience.
How thick is the cardboard that you use? I already have some green mounting board that is thick and can be cut to size with a modelling knife. That might make excellent movement bases for my forthcoming game.
All the best,
Bob
If you use Blu-Tac or magnets, will the figures fall over when hit by the artillery?
ReplyDeleteMike,
ReplyDeleteUnder the FUNNY LITTLE WARS rules the figures do not need to be knocked over to be 'killed'; you use a 'blast circle' from the point of impact of the projectile, and that determines the casualties, which are then removed if they are ‘killed’. If a figure is hit, it is deemed to have been 'killed' even if the projectile lands somewhere else.
This is why the movement bases are useful. They speed up game play and figures cannot get knocked over and 'killed' by accident.
All the best,
Bob
Bob,
ReplyDeleteI have been using only thick cardboard for basing material for quite awhile. The kind I use is taken from the front and back of vinyl-covered 3-ring binder notebooks. Just cut off the plastic covering and there you are. It cuts very easily with a razor blade or sharp mattknife, takes paint well, doesn't warp, and is (for me at least) free, as the government has been disposing of its binders.
Best of all, if you decide to rebase your figures, not that any of us have ever done that, the top-most layer peels off, leaving you with a still-useable base.
Best regards,
Chris
Chris,
ReplyDeleteA nice bit of environmental re-cycling ... as well as being an excellent solution to the problem of basing (and possibly re-basing) figures.
Thank you for sharing this idea with me and the other regular blog readers. I might not use it for this project ... but may do so for my retirement project!
All the best,
Bob
Dear Bob,
ReplyDeletehaving tried many methods - I tend to use blutac and cardboard with plastics - wood and a light glue with metal figures.
I also base and re-base after every game - and it can be done very quickly
good luck with the game,
as ever
Paul
Funny Little Wars - Garden Campaigns (Paul),
ReplyDeleteThanks for the very practical advice. I think that I am tending towards using green mounting board (of which I have a reasonable supply) and either blu-tac or something similar ... at least until I have time to make something more substantial (another job for when I am retired!).
The game will certainly feature in a future blog entry as well as in the pages of THE NUGGET ... and possibly somewhere in the files of the FUNNLY LITTLE WARS Yahoo Group as well.
All the best,
Bob
Hi Bob,
ReplyDeleteWhen are you and Tim planning to run the FLW game at Knuston? It isn't listed on the COW programme and I'd quite like to see it in action!
Mike
Mike,
ReplyDeleteAs you will see from my latest blog entry, Tim and I decided to hold fire on staging a full-scale FLW battle at COW2011. Instead we are going to fit in a skirmish battle at some point so that we are properly au fait with the rules before we go for the 'big one'.
I will write a blog entry about this 'unofficial' session after I return from COW2011.
All the best,
Bob