Review: Maelstrom's Edge

I recently recieved the starter box for Maelstrom's Edge by Spiral Arms Studios. Now, I'm not really interested in getting into a new miniatures game, but I can't say no to free models.

So first off, the artwork is amazing. I'm a sucker for awesome game art, and I love the style this game has. I'm not going to go into the rules because, I already have too many rulesets in my head right now. But perhaps I'll come back later and look at them.

The models themselves are very nice. The sculpts are crisp, and there was very little flash and mould lines. They are in the "heroic" style like those by Games Workshop.

 I really like the Epirian Foundation. They kind of look like the Colonial Marines in Aliens, and they could be a nice alternative to the Imperial Guard. They also have some awesome mechs. They really fit my image of Sci-Fi militaries.

The Karist Enclave are from what I can tell are the "Bad Guys". They have very sleek armour and these crazy looking demon models, which will probably be fun to paint (I haven't cut them off the sprues yet).

The box also comes with a pair of sprues for terrain building which is pretty great, You can use the pieces for any sort of Sci Fi Terrain!

One complaint was that the models didn't come with instructions in the box. I had to go to the website to find the kit instructions.
Another complaint is that the chits are just thin cardboard, but seeing as this is a new game/company it could be a lot worse. But again the art looks amazing.

All in all they are decent models, and I expect that the game will be fun to play.

I'd give the game 3.75 out of 5 stars. But that may change when I look at the rules.

Review: Charlie Foxtrot Models

Ruined House 1

"Tabac tobacconists shop" and "Dormer House 2"

So about a month ago, I ordered some buildings from Charlie Foxtrot Models. They are MDF kits, which seem to be a standard in the hobby. One thing that sets the Charlie Foxtrot kits are, in my opinion; they are very characterful. I really like the unique look that each building has, especially the shops. Each building seems like it's own building, unlike other manufacturers. Now, I'm not saying I don't like other manufacturers, but Charlie Foxtrot Models are easily my favourite. They assemble with out headaches, and they for sure paint up nicely.

My first complaint with the kits are is that they didn't come in sprues, but where already punched out. Which isn't a massive complaint, but it was a bit surprising. My last complaint, is that getting the squares used for securing upper floors can be a bit fiddly. But that's probably just my poor craftsmanship.

All in all, I have fallen in love with these kits and will definitely be purchasing more in the future! I encourage everyone to check out the kits.

I would love to see Colin make some kits in 1/72 for the Vietnam War, such as village buildings and bunkers.

Charlie Foxtrot Models gets a 4.75 out of 5 Stars!

Into the Bush (Galen's Vietnam Project)- Tutorial: Jungle Scatter Terrain.

So the Vietnam War has been a fascinating subject to me for a long time. Probably due to hearing stories about the press coverage from my parents who grew up during the war. So when I started Wargaming, naturally I wanted to game the conflict. Over the past year or so, I've begun collecting forces and vehicles. But the most daunting part of gaming Vietnam is probably to model the dense jungle that makes up the Vietnamese Highlands. I've conducted numerous experiments and now I feel confident to share one of the methods I came up with.

Materials:

• Your prefered terrain basing material
• Plastic Aquarium/Terrarium Plants
• Clump Foam
• Flock/turf 

Step One:
So I decided to use balsa wood for my scatter bases, because I'm limiting my spending to save for a trip to Normandy in 2019. Also it's easy to cut without power tools. In fact you can just use a hobby knife to cut it. I shaped it in an oblong shape, trying to remove any super straight edges. I also sanded down the edges to make a bevel.

Step Two:

I spray painted it with Army Painter "Leather Brown" Primer, so if the flock gets rubbed of it looks like there is dirt.

Step Three:

With PVA glue I flocked around the edge 

Step Four:

Now using a punch to make holes to place my plants in. I like to make them in triangular patterns. Then just with a dab of super glue stick your plants onto the base.

Step Five: 

Keep adding plants around one edge of the base.

Step Six:

Once you have about a third of the perimeter suitably foliage. You may want to go in and put flock/turf among the plants to hide the base. 

Step Seven:

Another way you can hide the base is to use clump foliage to make the plants appear more dense than it really is. This is just up to personal taste. I like the way it looks.

Step Eight: 

Keep adding plants and clump foliage until you are happy with the look. This took me maybe two and a half hours, leaving time for the glue to dry.

Tutorial: Elephant Grass/ Bamboo Stalks

So I've had a fascination with the Vietnam War for a long time now, and I've always wanted to game it. But only recently have I begun to build and collect models and terrain for the conflict. One of the things I've been scratching my head at is the infamous Elephant grass. I've seen a lot of references to using grass mats for the grass, but upon looking into this, I've never liked the way it looks. It looks too fake for my tastes (even at tabletop distance). Thus I came up with a scatter terrain idea.


Supplies:

• A hand broom
• Washers (I used 50mm)
• Green stuff
• Super glue
• Scissors 
• X-acto knife

Step One: 

First off, you're going to get your scissors or x-acto knife and cut the bristles off of your broom. You can super glue the bristles first but I've found it doesn't make the nice splayed look that plants have.

Step Two:
Take a bundle of the bristles and wrap green stuff around one end. You can also wrap it around both ends to get more coverage for one bundle.

Step Three:

Now stick your green stuff onto the washers. I always place a tuft over the hole.  Then repeat steps two and three until you are satisfied with the base. You can also supplement the bristle tufts with long grass tufts, but wait until you've painted the bristles.

Step Four: 

Trim the top of your tufts with scissors to get the tops a fringed look.

 Step Five:
Paint your bristles with green paint. I like to mix the the colours in small amounts to create an interesting and realistic look. It looks strange if all your grass is the same colour. I also paint the base.

Step Six:

At this stage I would glue your long grass tufts onto the base. But, I would use them sparingly because they aren't the most sturdy. 

Step Seven: 

Now just flock your base in what ever manner suits you.

One thing i've noticed, that due to not priming the grass, light catches the bristles and give it that sort of translucent look that plants have. I've found that this method will work well with 28mm and 20mm. You could also paint them in different colours for alien planets!

Size comparison of my grass with a 28mm and a 20mm figure.

I just want to say that this is the coolest thing ever.

Tutorial: Pimp My MDF Building- Part One

So I've picked up a few MDF buildings from Sarissa Precision and 4Ground. Now some of them don't come painted. Now I could have just painted them quickly and been done with them, but I've decided to actually spend some hobby time in making my buildings look nice. Also I wanted to share my methods. So, here we go.

Supplies:

• Fine Grit Sand
• PVA Glue/Modge Podge 
• Kitty Litter
• Hobby Knife

 For this Tutorial I will be using Sarissa Precision "Large Farmhouse - Destroyed" which you can find here. So This being a destroyed building, there is clearly a large chunk of it that has been exploded. And I thought that the empty top floor didn't look right, and I wanted to come up with a way to have rubble, but not so that it would disrupt miniature placement.

Step One
So I came up with a neat little idea to have removable rubble. I took some spare MDF parts from the sprues and found a piece that would allow for an interesting pattern in the building. I glued the bits from the windows and built them up as a base for the kitty litter.

I also arranged some rubble in the corners. just to sell the illusion. a bit more.  I also added some spare parts to the roof as broken shingles


Step Two
I then added sand and kitty litter around in the corners; which I forgot to take a picture of. Sorry.

Step Three
Now before you start painting, you'll want to add the stucco onto the side. I left the cracks visible but you don't have to.

Step Four
Prime in what ever colour you want. I used black.

Part Two Coming soon!