Table Top Battles - Second set of Jigwar terrain boards started

I have now finished my first set of Jigwar terrain boards. They have been given a coat of gloss polyurethane varnish to protect the surface of the terrain board and then a coat of matt varnish to deaden the glossiness.

As can be seen from the images on my previous blog entries, these are finished in a stone/brown colour so that I can use them for TABLE TOP BATTLES set in the Sudan.

I have now begun work on the second set. These will be for naval battles, and will be painted in blue acrylic emulsion paint (again from Homebase), marked with 10 cm x 10 cm squares and gloss varnished. These terrain boards will then be given a coat of satin varnish to deaden the glossiness.

Table Top Battles - First set of Jigwar terrain boards finished

These images show some of the first Jigwar terrain boards that I have painted and marked for use with the TABLE TOP BATTLES wargames rules.

The first set are for use with my existing Sudan Campaign figures, and are painted with an acrylic emulsion paint from Homebase. The lines were marked on with a permanent OHP marker pen.

The following image shows two Jigwar terrain boards 'clipped' together.

All the terrain boards now need is a coat of matt varnish to protect the painted surface and then they will be ready to use.

Nugget 222

I posted the latest issue of THE NUGGET (N222) this afternoon, and it should be with members by early next week.

The PDF version is now available online via the Wargame Developments website. All members should now have received the password they need to read the PDF, but if they have lost it or cannot remember it they should contact me.

Nugget 222

I hope to get the printed version of THE NUGGET (N222) out in the post later this week, and it should be with members early next week.

In the meantime I have uploaded the PDF versions of the latest issue of both THE NUGGET and THE NUGGET COLOUR SUPPLEMENT to the Wargame Developments website so that members (including e-members) can read it before the printed version arrives in the post.

Table Top Battles - Jigwar terrain boards

This is an image showing two different - and as yet unpainted - Jigwar terrain boards - a corner piece and a side piece.

This image shows the way in which the terrain boards fix together.

Table Top Battles - Making the Table Top

Now that I am committed to trying out these rules (with a few modifications because I can never leave anything alone!), I have begun to look around for something to make my gridded 'Table Top' from.

At first I thought of using a cloth, but I have found from bitter experience that trying to draw a grid on a cloth is not the easiest of things to do. I then looked around for some suitable wood, but a trip to my local DIY store soon showed me that:

1. This was an expensive option
2. It would produce a heavy playing board
3. The resultant playing board would be difficult to store in what my wife calls my 'toy room' (i.e. my wargames room)

In the end I remembered that some years ago I bought some of the last remaining stock of Jigwar terrain boards from Essex Miniatures. These are 30cm x 30cm squares of 5mm thick plastic that were cut so that they clipped together (like a jigsaw puzzle). I still have a enough unpainted squares to make both a land and sea 'Table Top'.

The plastic is thick enough to be rigid, and light enough (and thin enough) to store easily. It will also 'take' acrylic paint very well. All I need to do is remove the protective film covering from the squares, clean them, give them a couple of coats of paint, make out the grid and ... voila ... I can try the rules in earnest.

Table Top Battles - A great impulse buy

I bought TABLE TOP BATTLES - TABLE TOP WARGAMING WITH MINIATURES (by Mike and Joyce Smith) at Warfare 2008 on an impulse ... and it was probably one of the best impulse buys I have ever made!

I am a great lover of small, simple games - particularly if they can be played solo - and this has all these qualities. The rules are very flexible and can be adapted for a variety of different periods, and can allow a series of battles to be fought in a matter of a few hours. They have also been developed over a long period of time, and although they are not 'rules lawyer' proof (no wargames rules ever are!), they do cover almost everything that one needs (including naval warfare, air warfare, and campaigns).

Having read these rules I can see me using them - with minor alterations - for all sorts of small wargames projects ... including my 1930s Lauranian campaign.

Warfare 2008

I have just got back from Warfare 2008, and it was well worth the 90 minute drive there (and 30 minutes trying to park!).

There were lots of traders, and I could have spent a lot on money ... but I was sensible and mostly bought what I planned or had thought about buying:

• A box of Hexon II Desert terrain and related terrain features
• Some vehicles from Minimi Miniatures
• C S Grant's THE WAR GAME COMPANION (it has had some good reviews, and having seen it in on the Caliver Books stand I decided to buy it)
• Stuart Asquith's WAR IN THE SUDAN 1884-1898 A CAMPAIGN GUIDE

The only impulse buy was TABLE TOP BATTLES - TABLE TOP WARGAMING WITH MINIATURES by Mike and Joyce Smith. This was also on the Caliver Books stand, and when I realised that it used a gridded playing surface I just had to have it.

Lauranian Air Force - Yet more problems!

I managed to get hold of some more of the same model aircraft for the planned Lauranian Air Force but I am still having problems when I try to undercoat them.

This time I used a spray can of acrylic undercoat from a manufacturer whose products I have used before. I cleaned the models by washing them in a mild solution of soapy water to make sure there was no oil or other residue on the surface, and when they were thoroughly dry I sprayed the top of the models. I then left the paint to dry before turning them over.

This time the plastic did not react with the paint ... but the paint that was already on the models had begun to crackle and bubble during the drying process. This suggests that the original paint is probably cellulose-based. It should not have reacted to the acrylic paint - which is fairly inert - but has done.

So it is back to the drawing board for a third attempt!

Trying a new method of painting figures - more images

The images on my previous entry were a bit too sepia in colour due to my use of artificial lighting, so I have replaced them with photographs taken using natural light. At the same time I took individual front and back photos of each of the figure poses.