MDF Buildings, Part 2, Painting

So I finished the building this weekend, and at first, I was freaking out. I thought I'd just about ruined it.

So what did I do? Well, Tactical Painter has a host of house paints to work with. All I have is white. I used that as a primer coat. It worked very well, but you must put on more than one coat for total coverage. News flash, you don't want or need it. Just enough to get some texture here. Next, I used some arts and craft paints, namely a milk color, and then a fawn color to kind of tone down the white and make it look a little more brownish grime and that sort of build-up. I then used Citadel Agrax Earthshade to work on the corners and the lines to bring them out. That worked well over the permanent ink pen I initially used.

What really made this thing pop was a mix of more craft paint, this time, another craft paint, this time, a True Red mixed with Vallejo Model Color Ivory. It nailed the "faded red look" on the doors and windows I was going for. And thus, I was very pleased with the end result. I might work on some other ideas, like curtains and the like, but who knows. It turned out pretty nice in the end. 

I am sold on MDF now, with a little work, and some forethought, you can really make a building sing. I have a lot more to paint, so I'll be doing them here. My future endeavors will turn out as nice!

20mm MDF, Part 1 Construction

 I felt this deserved a write-up as though there are not a lot of 20mm Cold War era buildings in MDF, there are some good reasons for this article.

1. There's plenty in 15mm and 28mm and the advice here is scale agnostic.

2. This is a newish development in the hobby.

What I built yesterday was Sarissa's Two Story Colonial House, it's a very simple kit. One sprue for the buildings, one for the windows/doors, and one page of instructions.

I hope mine comes out looking half as good! Pic taken from Sarissa's Website.

I've taken some improvement ideas from the Tactical Painter blog, which even though his ideas are geared toward WWII, makes a lot of good points for MDF. I'd certainly take his advice.

The first floor is not too shabby, also note the Chopper II in the background, it was a recent procurement, and well worth it. I see this thing getting a lot of use. 

The actual book construction was really easy and I liked how fast the actual construction was. It really was a snap, and white (PVA for those in the UK) glue is really the preferred adhesive, as it's far more forgiving than super glue for this sort of thing. 

The second floor, sans balcony

As I said, the model itself was a total snap. I think I had the basic kit together in about ten to fifteen minutes tops. 

I did make some improvements to the kit as suggested by Tactical Painter, first, I used some decorative toothpicks to make some nicer-looking columns for the balcony, and I used the remains of said toothpicks to make columns for the front of the building. I then used Woodland Scenics Foam Putty to hide the joins. That didn't work as well as I would have liked, but it did the job mostly. I will probably just use some regular home spackle next time.

I stopped my work once I got to the windows, as I wanted to get some emulsion or house paint to do the initial coat for the building. I know a lot of folks tell me that normal acrylic is going to get absorbed by the wood, and you need something a bit hardier. I don't wanna get the full-sized containers, hard to store. And I don't need that big, samples are fine for me. 

We'll see, as I have yet to paint any of my MDF as of yet. But if I can make this work, then I should be able to make the rest work well. Does anyone know a cheap source of samples online?

Here are the final results, thus far.

More to come as this project continues! 

So, What's New?

 Hi all,

 Been doing a lot of work on non - Twilight:2000 projects. That would include some stuff for Battletech, a novel I've been writing, and some other potentially paid gigs. That said, I am working on some miniature items of interest that I have recently come across, including...

• Some "rescue dog" M1 tanks I am fixing with the aid of some aftermarket parts and my spare bin. 
• A few kits I managed to source from fellow fanatic Jorge De Rio, who sold me some parts I needed for fixing the other rescue dogs, and some M551 Sheridan kits, a M106 Mortar Carrier, and a Leo 1.
• Rebasing and modernizing my 20mm lead collection. I am not happy with what they're based on right now, and I know I can do better.
• Writing my first real adventure "Charters of Freedom" for Version 2.2, and I am going to see if I can make it into something fun and miniatures suitable. 
• Discovered the joys of MDF buildings, and there's a few of interest to the T2K gamer that I'll be talking about shortly, including BILLBOARDS!!!! Nothing says "the world has gone to hell" like a peeling billboard. (Currently working on these, and I see it as an ongoing series).

So, if you like what this portends, stick around, I promise I'll have more out. I know I've been infrequent, but hey, when you're a working writer, deadlines and paying clients take precedence.

That said, if you'll notice the red "Buy Me Coffee" button, and you feel inclined? Throw me a couple of bucks. It helps me get more stuff to add to the collection, review and gives me more stuff to talk about here on the blog. You don't have to, but I'd appreciate it.

Anyhow, that's it for now, figured I'd let people know we aren't dead.

Plus, tomorrow, I turn 50. It was time to take stock, and think about a few things. And I admit, I missed this place.

Book Review: Setting the Scene - Winter Wargaming, A Guide for Creating A Winter Layout for the Games Table.

Taken from the Wargames and Terrain Webpage

Setting the Scene - Winter Wargaming, A Guide for Creating a Winter Layout for the Games Table.
Author: Pat Smith
Publisher: Self-Published, 2018
Dimensions: 8.5 x 11"
Cover: Soft Cover
Pages: 103pp

  Setting the Scene is to me, probably one of the best terrain books to be published for the hobby in a long time. What I like about it is, unlike other wargaming terrain treatises, like Games Workshop's How to Make Wargaming Terrain, (the older, red covered edition is superior, by the way), this book is geared towards the historical terrain market, and from the looks of it, the 15 and 20mm gamer.

  Another thing I like about this book are the production values. All of the pictures are fairly good sized, the text is on a white background and is easy to read (which, with my eyes, is a damn good thing), and the steps are clear, workmanlike and don't have a lot of unneeded detail, which, for a guy like me (who isn't the world's best modeler in the first place), a godsend.

Isn't this picture gorgeous? Yeah, it is! And yes, it's in the book. Taken from the Publisher's Website.

What makes me the most happy? He shows you how to do this with a lot of easy to get items. No having to kill yourself to get that "special spray" or that effect from <fill in the blank> hobby company that does cost more than the average pot of paint. And here is the little secret...the terrain can be built for any season. He has a separate "winterizing" step, that if you don't want to build something (like hay bales) for winter, just skip it! 

 While books of this nature do not lend themselves well to bibliographies, he does have a very helpful links section for places to get ideas, and materials. (And many of it costs less than purposes created mats, though, I will say this much, don't sell the purpose built mats short.) It's got something for everyone, and even though it's oriented to the Ardennes in World War II, the ideas here can be adapted for anywhere and anytime with a little imagination and forethought. 

 The author is also accessible, friendly, and is easy to procure the book from at Wargaming with Silver Whistle, where he usually sends you a Paypal invoice for the book within 24 hours of request. The price of the book is 17.50 GBP, with an additional 7.45 for shipping, so all told, it will set an American gamer back about $34.50 (going by current conversion rates), but it's worth is for the quality of the book alone.

 I have to say, I really liked this book, and plan on undertaking a few projects from it soon. I encourage everyone out there to get this book, as it's worth it, and can really improve the look of your table. I give it 5 out of 5 mushroom clouds. Run, do not walk to get this book. 

More News Coming About!

A New Game Store in Chantilly, VA!

There's a new game store in Northern VA! And yes, Virginia, color me excited. Chantilly isn't TOO far from me, right down 66, and I am excited to know people who love 20mm have a storefront for me to hop down and pick up stuff to fill my gaming needs.

 Where in Chantilly is it, you ask?

4124 Walney Road, Suite H
Chantilly, Virginia 20151

(Do us a favor, tell them "500 Miles..." says hi when you visit!)

The store, from photos on their Facebook page, looks well stocked and has pretty much any gaming needs filled you might want. And yes, dear reader, we will be paying a visit soon to do a proper review, but one could not let something like this go without letting folks know. We have quite the readership in VA, and yes, we want this store to do well! And their grand opening is THIS weekend! So, go on down, and say hello!

Images taken from Wargaming and Terrain Website

And there's more. A new book is out, called "Setting the Scene: Winter Wargaming" and we'll be doing a review on it as well, as soon as I can manage it. On first blush, it looks gorgeous, and hey, winters and Twilight: 2000 go together like nuclear explosions and gamma rays! We'll have a review shortly for you, but the book looks very useful indeed.

We also should have a review of the new PSC T-55s that were finally released, and I put some together and I will have my thoughts on the assembly and details.

So, lots to come in the coming days.

Finding Terrain for the Post Apocalypse -- Commercial Terrain in 15 and 20mm

One of the things you will find as a Cold War-era gamer (and Twilight: 2000 is firmly a Cold War-era game) is that terrain is tough to come by, and what terrain you can find is difficult to make look "right". You're often reduced to just putting lots of ruins on the table and calling it "done". Now, granted, most cities in Central Europe in Twilight: 2000 look like Berlin in 1945, with the added complication of an elevated rad count, but we can and should try to do better than this.

So what are our options? Well, if you're willing to do the internet legwork, there's plenty out there. Also, this article from the Cold War Gamer blog is very useful in assisting one with improving the look of your table. Now, it's written for "Sunday Drive to the Rhine" games, but there's a lot of stuff for Twilight: 2000 if you're willing to look. I have also written some ideas of my own on the subject, but let's take a look at what is out there commercially, shall we?

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is going to be something of a "living" page, as I want to make sure that as people find stuff, they can let me know and I will review and add it here. So if I missed something, lemme know!

terrains4games

Taken from Spikey Bits blog, Image is of terrains4games product

terrains4games is a Polish outfit that seems to make something of everything. I haven't dealt with them myself, but the stuff they make looks good, and it seems to have quite a good number of reviews. For 20mm, they make the usual collection of ruins, as well as 15mm, but they also make a "Cold War City" that has the ubiquitous apartment blocks one sees throughout Central Europe and would do very well in a Twilight: 2000 game. While the company is in Poland, it's got a nice storefront, and all prices are in USD, making ordering a snap. When I get a chance to pick up something from them, I'll let you know how it goes.

Gamecraft Miniatures

Image taken from GameCraft Miniatures

GameCraft Miniatures is nothing short of prolific. They make it all in 6, 15, 20 and 28mm. I've ordered from them in the past, and I found the process painless and easy. Now if I could just figure out how to fill the big empty space in the factory warehouse I purchased from them? I do have to put it back together again too. Also, I bought a barracks, which looks a lot like some of the barracks I saw at Ft. Knox, and that one looks a bit complicated. My one complaint there? Instructions would be nice. That said, the quality of the work is very good, and I cannot complain as to the workmanship. Any faults in the construction are mine, and I readily admit it. But, if you want to find good, solid buildings to fill your Twilight: 2000 table, this is a darn good place to start. They are based in the US, with an easy to use storefront, so us American gamers have a good source of terrain, but folks in the UK might have some issues with postage costs.

Lancer Miniatures

Taken from Lancer Miniatures website

Lancer Miniatures is the current license holder to the RB Buildings line and these are, in my opinion, some of the nicest terrain to be available in resin out there. I have some older pieces of this line, purchased 2nd hand, and I do rather like them, a lot. Their quality is good, and they paint up rather easily. Just drybrush, paint a bit of detail and off you go. Now, while a lot of it is strictly geared to World War II, with some slight modification as per the aforementioned Cold War Gamer blog article, you can make some of this terrain look really good for your Twilight: 2000 table. The main issue is that due to the size and weight of these pieces, they won't ship outside the UK without discussing the shipping prices with you first. To me, this is more than eminently fair. These pieces are big, and resin is heavy folks, shipping costs, even with a depressed pound, aren't going to be cheap, and many wargaming companies are small outfits, so bravo to Lancer for at least warning folks ahead of time what they might be in for.

I know that much of this line is available through RLBPS, but they're in the process of transitioning their website, so I will let you all know when that is complete so US gamers can avail themselves of some of this line.

Sarissa Precision

Taken from Sarissa Precision's Website

Sarissa is a new, up and coming UK company that right now, is everywhere. I've seen their 15 and 28mm products at more than a few cons, and even some of their 20mm. I have purchased some French telegraph poles for WW-II and I liked them, they went together fast with the clear instructions provided. It's made me want to build some more stuff of theirs. Shipping at 2.50GBP worldwide is pretty awesome for this US-based gamer, and their storefront looks simple with a variety of payment options. Now, for 15 and 28mm gamers, this is a cornucopia of options for Twilight: 2000, but it's a bit limited for 20mm, as most of the "World War Europe" line is meant for Western Europe, but the Eastern Front stuff (minus the Russian Orthodox church) is almost spot on for your average small Polish farming village that you would still find in Twilight: 2000. In short, there's a lot to be had here, so give these folks a look. They also design to order (I have not made use of this, so I cannot comment as to what the final product might be, or how one goes about it?), so don't be afraid to special order...

Ironclad Miniatures

Taken from Ironclad Miniatures

Ironclad Miniatures is a newer UK-based company and I just received a bunch of their terrain for Christmas from my wonderful wife, including some very nice stuff from their Field Positions and Ruins range. The pieces were crisp, without any visible flaws, what bubbles there were were on the underside of the base, and that's fine by me, in short, I liked what I saw. The ranges come in the standard 15, 20, and 28mm scales and if the ones I got are any guide, they look great. The shopping experience looked pretty painless, and the packing survived the rough treatment the mail put the box through.  I would recommend their field positions heartily for a Twilight: 2000 table, as such positions are going to be found everywhere, and the Vietnam defenses range would work well for your average cantonment, and mixing it with the WW2 range would make it look very unique indeed. As for the ruins, you get a lot in the bag they give you, I think what I may do is glue the ruins to a plasticard base, add some bricks from GaleForce 9 and voila, a nice ruined building base or two?

Battlefront

Battlefront's been pushing out quite the terrain range (it's rather prolific) for their Team Yankee rules. And having seen the buildings, they look great, and could be used for Twilight: 2000 with very little need for improvement (Might want to make some look abandoned or burnt out). But they are a bit pricy, to be honest, but that's Battlefront as a whole, IMO. Now that said, they do have a very easy to navigate website, and they do have awesome customer service, and the terrain is very easy to find and get if you're doing 15mm (I would not use this terrain in any other scale), as it's as close as any hobby shop that carries Team Yankee.

Impudent Mortal - (Thanks Michael Brown for the heads up about these guys!)

Image taken from Impudent Mortal

I cannot say I know much about Impudent Mortal, but their stuff looks good for the 15mm Gamer, and their Entry Level terrain packs are very nicely priced for an entire die cut town, which when mixed with the Sarissa Eastern Front stuff, would make a very nice Polish village for Twilight: 2000. They even have a ruined version, and they also have an industrial range for doing games in the ruins of oh, say, Silesia, or perhaps the Ruhr? Shopping looked very simple and they are a US based company, so shipping for those of us on this side of the pond is manageable. They also design to order, they say, so don't let their catalog limit you.

German Railway Buildings- Link is to eBay, the best place to search for them cheap.

Taken from eBay

A lot of the German railway buildings are just dead on for the type of buildings one is going to see in any Central European based Twilight: 2000 game. But, a few things you want to keep in mind. One, these are model railway buildings. They aren't meant to hold up to the rigors of gaming, and they come no frills on the interior. So, they're going to be a bit of work, to put it mildly. Next, they are not cheap at retail, or even on ebay for that matter, but there are bargains to be found if you know where to look and more importantly, how to look. Some of the best search terms to use are "Vollmer", "Faller", "Kibri", and "Pola". Finally, keep in mind HO and N railway scales do not correspond exactly to 15 and 20mm wargaming scales. You might want to make sure that your buildings don't stick out too much like a sore thumb on the table. But, if you can find stuff for a price you're willing to pay, and put in some improvement work, you can get some really nice buildings out of it that will look great on the table.

Hotz Mats

Picture of Piers Brand's Cold War Big Game. Picture taken by Piers Brand, taken from Hotz Website

Hotz puts out some really good stuff for wargamers. They have quite the catalog of mats, roads, and fields to choose from, all in durable felt (I should know, I own a standard green felt one that ate a beer during a WWII game, bit of time on gentle wash and an air dry later, no one ever knew).  Prices, considering the production these mats and other products go through, is pretty reasonable, but yes, 8 weeks can be a long time. But that said, it's very much worth the wait. My Hotz mat has seen a lot of gaming action, and I can highly recommend it. I can also recommend their roads, as I own a gidundus amount of their 6mm roads that I got second hand one Historicon. They wear really, really well, better than my older Geo-Hex roads I was less than pleased with (they never stayed in place). In fact, you can see their 20-28mm roads in the photo above! Their webstore is easy to use, and they have very good communication with their customers.

So, all that said, I would highly recommend their product. They are more than worth taking a look at and they will make a mat to pretty much any standard you like (within reason).


Cigar Box Battle Mats

Picture taken from Cigar Box website

Cigar Box is another maker of some very high quality mats that I have played on, but have never myself owned. I like the fact they seem a bit lighter than Hotz, and they come in a bit more variety, but some of the printed on designs can limit one's "creativity" in setup. Happily, they give some very good advice on how to get around that. 

I keep trying to hunt down their urban mats, but every time I come to Historicon, they seem to be out of the ones I am seeking, but the work they do is nothing short of gorgeous. I haven't ordered from them online, so I really cannot say what their webstore is like, but with a lot of gamers raving in a good way about these mats, you really cannot go wrong giving these a look either. Prices are a bit higher than Hotz, but for US customers, I suspect the shipping might be a bit lower, so it probably balances out.

You could do worse than give these guys a look.

Anyway, that's it for this piece. Let me know what else you'd like to see that would be of interest to Twilight: 2000-themed miniature gaming, and I will write it up. Until next time! 

Hell By Daylight is Back, and tons of movement on the "Cold War Battlegroup" front.

  Remember when I mentioned a little rules set called Hell By Daylight? I also mentioned that a copy of them was extremely difficult to get one's hands on. Well, god bless Jim Webster. He's reprinting it in a 4 part series in Miniature Wargames Magazine.  Part 1 has come out in the current issue, 418.

Picture taken from Miniature Wargames Magazine website

Now, I will caveat the rules with this. For a small set of figures on either side (like an encounter in Twilight: 2000?), these rules are perfect. They aren't really for larger platoon sized games, like Force on Force, or No End in Sight. (To confess, the mechanics are a bit dated, by modern standards, but I think they hold up well, personally). They have good solid rules for reaction under fire, and they make such reactions unpredictable, to say the least. These were my go-to rules in my high school years, and they were great for those small encounters one finds in every war.

I am very excited about this, and am looking forward to my next three issues to arrive in my email inbox.

In other news, I know I have been going on about Battlegroup NORTHAG, and it's being worked on, I can assure you of this. But in the meanwhile, the Cold War: Hot, Hot, Hot blog has released their own unofficial Battlegroup Cold War rules. Now, that said, we're hoping we can convince Leigh to work on a Twilight: 2000 variant for the rules. Another Battlegroup variant for Cold War era stuff is Battlegroup Fulda. I have yet to try either rules set, but I am eager to do so. I will let you know how it goes, and if I can get any breaks from my busy writing schedule, perhaps I will gin up something for Twilight: 2000 myself.

As for other news, rumor is a Korean Sourcebook for Twilight: 2000 might be coming out on Drivethru RPG soon as well. At least, that's what my own RUMINT tells me. I don't know the veracity of such rumors, but they are coming from reliable sources, so I will keep you posted.

Work on my own Charters of Freedom continues apace, and I am also looking at some other projects that will hopefully, be mostly off of my desk in the new year, but as someone who knows the industry can tell you, deadlines can be a bit flexible.

On the modelling front, I found this small company, called Boundless Brooklyn, that does of all things, NYC watertowers that to me, would look good on a wargaming table with a bit of paint and weathering. It comes with everything you need to put it together for $10. It looks great for a potential Armies of the Night - themed game.

Image taken of completed model. Looks pretty good, huh?

My wife also got me some terrain stuff from Ironclad Miniatures for Christmas, and it arrived a bit late. She got me some hedgerow kits for WW-II France, which look great, and a couple of field defenses and a ruins pack. Now the latter items are great, they are well sculpted, the items arrived without cracks or bubbles visible in the surfaces that are to be painted. In short, I am very pleased with the products I got here.

Here are all the products laid out in their glory. Everything looks awesome.

So, lots to report, and more is to come, but I wanted to post all this so you didn't think I was just neglecting this blog. Nope, no chance of that! You keep reading, and I will keep writing.

Photos from the Workbench

Yes, it was for a World War II game, but a lot of this stuff is useful for any genre, and as urban table scatter? It's just how useful and resourceful you can be with a little bit of effort.

During the leadup to the game, I managed to flock a ton of trees, paint up some figures for my German Volkssturm (some LMGs they needed), and a 5cm gun (it turns out I do not in fact, have a Pak 97/38, lucky me I have the means to make some)! I also made a clock suitable for a park anywhere in the world, and a ton, and I mean a ton of barbed wire.

So, first, let's see my other efforts first?

Here is some of the flocked trees and the clock tower, it's mounted on a bit of precut balsa found in a variety pack at Michaels, and flocked with a mixed flock that makes the grass look a little like it's gone to seed. All in all, not too bad.

This time, I did the barbed wire differently than I usually do it. I used some posts this time...and honestly, it came out a lot better. Here is a list of materials: A supply of 1" x 1.5" bases or other cut materials (the size doesn't matter as much, but keep it consistent). A supply of dowels (purchased at Michaels, I meant to use them for spent shells for AT gun bases, but they worked really well for this) Barbed Wire (whatever you use for it, I use GF9's brand, but you can use whatever strikes your fancy). Brown paint (red-brown works best) The process is quite simple. First, take the base, then using super glue, cut the dowels in half, or about the size of 2/3rds of a 20mm figure (or 2/3rds of whatever scale you wish to use). Then glue said dowels to the base on the flush (not the cut ends, you use those for the ends facing up). Let this dry overnight. Next, paint the entire thing brown, mix, slather it on a bit, as you're going to need it. The bases before flocking and application of the wire Next, slather on some white glue, cut with a bit of water (50/50 mix I'd say) and carefully brush on, then flock the bases with whatever flock you like. I used the same mix of flock I used on the clock tower, but whatever works for you.  After that, cut a length of barbed wire, and wrap it around a pen or sharpie (something medium sized), and then carefully wrap the protruding ends on both sides around the posts. You can glue the wire to the posts with super glue, but if you get a tight fit, it's not really required.  I think I spent about 2 hours of total work to churn out about 30+" of barbed wire for very little effort or cost. And the results? Look either to the left or the right in the photo, I think you will agree, pretty darn good, no?

Not bad for a few hours work, eh? By the way? It's Post # 50! Wowsers! 50 posts of this stuff, and you still want more!

Also, something else just crossed my desk. It seems that the 20mm T-55s being crowdfunded by Plastic Soldier Company are very, very close to fruition. They need a few more orders to put them over the top, they say, so, if you need T-55s in 20mm, these are a very good buy! Run, do not walk to get your box, or two!

<Waves hand in Jedi-like motion> "These are the T-55s you are looking for, consider no other!"

Some News, and a Bit of Commentary

Hi all, first off, I wanted to thank everyone for the response to this blog, again. You all keep surprising me about the level of interest there is in this blog, and I promise I will do my best to keep this blog going with relevant content and ideas to share, so long as you all keep reading.

Now, the news is good, PSC has hit the halfway mark on those 1/72 scale T-55s! Now I know, it's only the halfway mark, but the fact is? It's a demonstration that there is interest. I personally would like to see fast build kits for the modern 20mm gamer out there. In a lot of cases, we have had to make do with models. (S & S and Libmins, or perhaps random diecasts notwithstanding) It's a long time coming, and while S-Model sorta counts...I have a feeling PSC is going to knock it out of the park.

So, what do I need from you dear reader? Please support the campaign. It's important and if it gets these models made, then others will follow from PSC, and that can't be bad at all.

As for the commentary? I guess I have to state that so far, it has been amazing running this blog. I enjoy hearing people have found my articles fun, easy to read, and altogether useful. It's something that makes me awfully happy especially when all of the module reviews are both eagerly awaited, and just as importantly, they are enjoyed.

I intend to write up the remaining 1st edition adventures...and yes, that does include City of Angels, lord help us, that book makes Kidnapped read like something from the Bard himself. I do not intend to lose my focus on the miniatures aspect of Twilight: 2000, in fact, once the wedding is over, I do intend to work my tail off gluing and painting. I want to get some pics of my work up on this site, and I have some pretty interesting ideas for where this all might go?

Reviews, Reviews

Images taken from Casemate Publishing 

Images taken from Casemate Publishing 

So, I am working my way through Volume 1 of the series, and I understand Volume 3 is due in November and Volume 4 in December. So far, it's a easy, if distracting read. There are some issues, no hyphens between numbers for some strange reason, and a number of photos with transposed captions. These errors all conspire for a distracted read, to say the least. I will say the color plates have so far, proven to be useful, as well as a discussion of Iraqi and Iranian equipment holdings, but what does all this mean for Twilight: 2000 gamers? 

Well, you have some pretty good informational sources for RDF Sourcebook. The descriptions of the terrain to be found in the area, along with the defensive preparations the Iranians made make a good bit of research for games set in and around the area. 

I am not wholly convinced the books are worth $35 a piece. I got them on special at Williamsburg Muster this year, and I still think that the MSRP should be more like $25..but I don't price 'em.

In short, try to get them on sale if you can.

Cool Stuff on the Internet

In one of the games I played at Historicon, "That's my USAID", there were these awesome shanties that frankly, would fit right into a Twilight: 2000 milleu. I asked the author, Mike Demana if I could repost a link to the article here, but I also wanted to show off a photo of the finished product. It's simply gorgeous for very little effort, or cost.

Congolese paratroopers patrol a shantytown looking for signs of insurgents

(Caption and Photo taken from Mike Demana's Lead Legionaries Blog)

It would take very little, if any work to adapt this scenery for a cantonment outskirts, or a refugee camp, and it would give the table an awesome look. I am going to give this a try as soon as I can managed it, and will keep you posted on the results.

So, our next article will be a review of Return to Warsaw, as promised, and I will also be working to get out the first guest article for this blog. No telling on what that is, but I am working with the author as we speak, so stay tuned folks, more is coming for the pages of "500 Miles..".

Villages, Part 2

I want to thank Phil Hatfield for pointing out some things I had neglected when I had written the original article about villages. His points were excellent and as such, inspired this sequel.

A Glimpse of A Town

As stated in my previous article, villages are like road stops on the post-apocalyptic road trip that Twilight: 2000 often is. And every village has a certain look, in fact, a village can have many kinds of looks depending on who's running the place, as well as the materials and skill base available, this is especially true when it comes to the defenses of the village, which is the thing that interests most miniature wargamers the most.

As stated in my article on buildings, the look of Twilight: 2000 buildings are a mix of pre-war buildings held together with contemporary materials (and most of them not having been cleaned recently), or post-apocalyptic shanty towns and tent cities to accommodate the hordes of refugees that have shown up to seek any sort of "lifeboat in a storm."

The village defenses will range from amateurish to deadly professional and will be as much a mix of materials as one can find. Everything from scavenged explosives, punji pits, cheaveu-de-frix, abatis, to simple walls made up of earth, rubble or both can and will be seen as part of a village's defenses. Entering a town is an experience in Twilight: 2000, as many towns have become wary of well-armed strangers. Most of the time, any strangers will be asked to disarm before they are allowed entry and the doors into a village wall are usually some of the best guarded and fortified in town.

All roads into town will be blocked by whatever is handy, from 18-wheelers, to (if you want to borrow a neat idea from the movie Stake Land), functioning railroad locomotives. The interior of town will be shabby and crowded, with trash pickup a memory, though how shabby will depend on how serious the town is to avoiding disease and vermin infestation.

Any and all gas stations or stores that sold propane are long since empty, probably with boarded-up windows, their snack bars long since looted. The town might be using the place for the municipal still(s) now, but there are other places they might be using as well.

Other than the outer walls, the town hall and the police stations are both heavily guarded, if your nation had permissive gun laws before the war, the sporting goods and gun stores have either been likewise looted, or the guns and ammunition seized to help form the local militia.

Any grocery stores likewise either stand empty, or are now the town municipal larder, and are as well guarded as the town hall or the police station, though this will depend upon the construction of the store in question.

Most villages in Twilight : 2000 do not have any sort of real electrical power. The ones that are often generated either by water, wind, or a surviving nuclear power plant. In any of these cases, the village will take great pains to disguise the fact that it does, in fact, have electricity. Nothing will attract marauders to a town like unshielded light in the distance.

Every square inch of land, including former parks, play fields, and playgrounds will be cultivated to grow food, and most farm animals will be breeding stock. Meat will be somewhat rare in the average villager's diet unless they go hunt for it.

Any roads in town will be in poor repair, and nobody should be using any road bonuses on a table.

Scenario Ideas

• A typical Marauder attack on a fortified town, numbers and defenses should be carefully balanced to make for a challenging game, but keep in mind that both sides are fighting for their lives. The villagers cannot afford to give up the amount of food the marauders want, and the marauders need the village's larder to get through the winter to come. A neat twist is to have a small band of infiltrators loyal to the marauders available to sabotage the town's defenses.

• A riot breaks out in a town occupied by government forces when the government brings in refugees and forcibly resettles them in the confines of the town. The militia, of course, sides with the village. The refugees should be a large number, but unarmed for the most part, while there should only be a small, but well-armed force of government troops.

• A small force of villagers have hired some American mercenaries to help them retake their town (or what's left of it) from a band of marauders. The marauders have left little standing and few survivors, but the villagers won't know that till they get into town. After that, they might not bother with a thing called prisoners...

Our 10th Post!

This won't be just a celebratory post, I promise. I actually will discuss what cantonments look like in Twilight: 2000 and why they're important for a) the combatants, and b) a great idea to focus a game around.

First, the response to the blog has been simply, well, phenomenal. I want to thank everyone who has commented here, on Facebook and elsewhere. It's really inspired me, not just to write more about something that has been my gaming obsession since 1985, but to get painting again (now if I can find the time, with my upcoming nuptials in October). This alone was a great thing with this blog.

In short, thank you everyone.

Cantonments and the Logistics of Broken Backed War

Now onto our subject at hand, Cantonments.

Cantonments are the revival of an older concept. To quote the definition from wikipedia:

A cantonment (/kænˈtɒnmənt/, /kænˈtoʊnmənt/, or UK /kænˈtuːnmənt/) is a military or police quarters.^[1]

The word cantonment derives from the French word canton meaning corner or district.^[2] and describes a place during a military campaign, such as winter quarters, where units of an army may be encamped for longer periods than they are during advances and retreats. The term shares an etymological origin with the Swiss Cantons though the meaning has widely diverged.

Cantonments in Twilight: 2000 fit the French definition to a "T". They are the encampments (mostly temporary, but just as often, permanent) of the remains of the various divisions and brigades (in name only in many cases), that are still in action.

"Action" in a large, conventional sense in Twilight: 2000 is a bit of a misnomer. Considering most military units have their hands full with their own logistical concerns (often growing their own food, and locating a source of potable water)..the fact remains, many forces in Twilight: 2000 have a very short window in which to campaign, before they must get their crops planted, or harvested. It's all very reminiscent of warfare before the 19th Century.

Consider something? In the adventure Ruins of Warsaw, the community of Silece could only put 300 men into the field. And they were pretty well armed by contemporary standards, and that was only for a short time, because the crops needed to be brought in. And they were still outnumbered...and outgunned by the Baron Czarny, who had 1000 under arms..but not enough food to feed all the mouths in his confederation of cutthroats. He had to take the city before the first snows. And he had to resort to some pretty desperate means to do so (including getting chemical weapons, or trying to).

In short, the big push in this adventure? The onset of winter. Winter in Twilight: 2000 isn't sitting by the fire and enjoying the holidays..It's praying you don't either freeze or starve to death.

So how does this matter for the tabletop?

Because for most armies, cantonments are their homes, their encampments, and their winter quarters, and other groups of all kinds, if they are desperate, or well armed enough, are going to want them for themselves. Smaller scenarios also lend themselves well to this, foraging and scrounging parties might be ambushed by marauders. Deals between cantonments (even in the same army) might go bad, the possibilities are endless.

But what does the average Cantonment look like?

Glimpse of a Cantonment (taken from Krypton Radio site and IP is GDW/FFE)

In short, imagine a cross between a Vietnam-era firebase, and a shanty town. The shanty town is populated by a mix of camp followers and what we would call independent local contractors who serve the various needs of the unit in the cantonment (brass re-loaders, machinists, etc.) These people are there to serve the unit, and often follow it on campaign, in return, the unit protects them.

Defenses are a mix of improvised (dug in tanks that no longer run, punji stakes, abatis, homemade land mines, fougass barrels, etc.) and piles and piles of sandbags,  trenches and sheet metal. There is often a ring wall around the camp, where there is all the buildings such as barracks, garages, warehouses and all the other sundries a unit of a given size needs to run.

Sentries on the walls are often given what little night vision equipment that the unit still possesses, the sentries are often the only warning a unit is given that there is something wrong before there is an attack on the cantonment.

Farms should surround the cantonment, and should be walled off with either rubble or barbed wire fence walls. Again, these are mostly tended by the civilians, but the unit will place a high priority on the protection of these farms, though they won't defend them to the death, it would be a foolhardy extension of the perimeter.

To show one on the tabletop, you could start with the myriad of Vietnam-era firebase terrain out there in 15 and 20mm. Most of the buildings in the interior would be of the post-apocalyptic "franken-build" variety, or issue tents that have somehow survived that long. The motor pool, still farm, and grain storage areas, not to mention the armory will all be as heavily guarded as possible, but the main emphasis will be to make sure no attacker gets past the wall in the first place.

The shanty town will be close to the wall, but there will be a cleared area between it and the wall, as the unit commander will want good fields of fire, and as such, has probably burned down/tore down with an AFV a few shanties to make his point to the unit followers.

In short, think Roman Castrum, but with automatic weapons and the deviousness of 5000 years of warfare behind it to develop all sorts of nastier surprises.

Scenario Ideas for the Tabletop

• A full out attack on the cantonment, it's either a raid in force by a smaller marauder band meant to snatch and grab what they can, or a larger band meant to take the cantonment for themselves.

• A small foraging/scrounging party is in an abandoned village when it is hit either by a marauder band, or by the former inhabitants.

• A coup is launched by a dissatisfied officer for control of the unit. Various elements of the unit must now decide whether or not they back the coup, or remain loyal. This scenario can have elements of roleplaying, and should also reflect what happens to the camp followers.

Twilight: 2000, The Look on the Table, Part 2, Buildings

Today's piece will continue on the vein of part one with terrain. Terrain as we all know, makes the wargame. You can have great looking figures on a lousy table and it can ruin the effect. But vice versa can often make a game memorable in a good way.

Twilight: 2000, is as I said before, is a unique post-apocalyptic experience, not everywhere was nuked or fought over as part of the frontline, but everywhere felt the war. Everywhere felt the shortages, the collapse of modern civilization, law and order, and the lack of fuel. Everywhere is crowded, dirty, neglected, and standing in mute testimony to a lost age, but not a forgotten one. They are also symbols of what could be again, and what may still be worth fighting for.

This article will mostly concentrate on man-made terrain, as natural terrain will have not had much time to change, with only 2 years having elapsed since the exchange.

So, how do we reflect this on a table top?

Home Sweet Home

Very few buildings in Twilight: 2000 have power. Most haven't had their exterior cleaned in years. Many are either abandoned completely, left to the elements, or overcrowded with refugees looking for any port in a storm. Which type of building is entirely up to the proximity of said building to a conflict zone or a nuclear strike.

Inspiration can be found in a lot of places for buildings that are in places that have been fought over..Grozny comes to mind:

Note the details in the photo, many of the buildings are bombed out shells, with soot stains on the upper parts of the windows, (the soot stains are subtle, weathering has done it's work there). All the trees are dead husks, and the road is quickly becoming a churned up mess as the asphalt has been damaged from multiple tracked vehicles passing by. This is what the average conflict zone in the Europe of Twilight: 2000 should look like.

Even in places where the fighting was either light, or non--existent, there would still be damage, more due to neglect, rather than deliberate, man made damage. It might look something like this:

Note the mix of boarded up and empty windows (looting of intact window glass in Twilight 2000 is going to be common, nobody's making it any more). Note also the weathering on the roof especially, the yards gone to seed and the beginnings of weeds growing up from the sidewalks. This look is going to be common in Twilight: 2000 Britain and North America.

For nuked areas, the look is going to be a mix of this, as the nuclear exchange in Twilight: 2000 was a limited one for the most part. You can certainly pull ideas from such movies as "Threads", "The Day After" and "The War Game", but remember, those movies depict an exchange far worse than anything Twilight:2000 does.

But, here are some images for ideas:

Note the soot and small bits of rubble EVERYWHERE. Everything is weathered and dirty from the fallout coming down, no effort has been made to clean up (people are just trying to see the next dawn). This is going to be common on the outskirts of most places that got hit by a nuke,

This would be common closer to ground zero. Note the lack of roofs or windows, but that most of the buildings are still standing. Everything has burned, so remember to reflect that on your table and there are veritable piles of rubble that have not been cleared (though in Ruins of Warsaw, you would see systematic clearing of the rubble to re-purpose it for walls and other structures).

Putting it Together

So, now that we have seen some ideas for how the look should be, how do we reflect this on the table top, remember the themes: rubble, neglect, and time. All of these are going to play on a Twilight: 2000 table. But yet, people are going to re-purpose things to reflect the new reality, and new needs. Have your buildings have a story, and do not be afraid to doctor up any kits you get. Remember, Twilight: 2000 is a fountain for your creativity, let it loose.

So with that said, let's look at a couple of buildings I did up:

This is the first of two railroad buildings I worked up, I was living in DC at the time, so it was not hard to look around for weathering effects on buildings, especially abandoned ones. The posters and signs were homemade, taken from signs on the internet, then appropriately weathered. The boards were made of Starbucks swizzle sticks. 

One of the sides of the building that show clearly the weathering of the brick face, some white and light grey paint, mixed together and painted gingerly, then washed with some black work wonders here. As for the bit of grey paint in the lower center, that is a painting over of graffiti, it is a method that is in common practice in the US. The sign is there to warn folks this area has been evacuated due to radiation on orders of CG, 1st Army in 1998. I pictured this building being on the outskirts of Perth Amboy, or Linden, one of the NJ refinery towns that got hit in the CONUS strikes.

Here is my attempt at a tar paper roof over the plastic one that came with the kit. I cut up strips of toilet paper, then glued them paper mache style to the roof after soaking them through with a mix of white glue and water. You then let it dry overnight, paint it black with a mix of grey (I would say 70/30 black), let that dry, and then drybrush some off white or light grey on the top..the effect looks great. I got it from a guy who was doing scratchbuilt buildings for zombie games.

This building has a different story, it's in a small town in the Ozarks, and New America (a right wing fascist group making a play to take over the US that figured in several adventures) has set up shop in this building..and the locals are demonstrating their displeasure..violently. Note the shattered window, and the bullet holes. The paint is fading and weathering, I did the same method with the roof as the building above, and the trim was in a light blue, which was also then hit with a blackwash after it dried. In short, a great, gritty look.

 The weathering is more pronounced in this photo, and a New American propaganda poster and a proclamation of  some sort has been affixed to the building. In short, for just a little bit of work, the building looks just great. 

This is more of a generic ruin set I made from some cork I got at CVS, it's meant for bulletin boards, but it works great for this. Just that, some pushpins and some super glue (I used wood glue, but it turns out super glue works better). It's all you need for some awesome ruins, the other items are completely optional, but they really added to the look. Note the poster taken from the internet. I scoured the internet for Soviet propaganda posters and film posters. It's a gold mine out there if you know where to look.  

A close up of a poster I found, it was an online collection of Soviet Civil Defense posters from the 1980s. They looked great, and a little bit of smoke wash, and they will just pass nicely. the base coat is a nice grey, then just drybrush it an off white or lighter grey, then hit the whole thing with a heavy smoke wash (I like my rubble burnt out).

An overall look at the project, the wooden beams are swizzle sticks and the grates are taken from cartridge boxes, they're the plastic inserts that hold the bullets in place in the box. One thing about being a wargamer...always be on the lookout for cool ideas to beg, borrow, or steal. I have done my share of it. The cork ruin idea came from the same website I have Maxim to Minimi posted.

In short, terrain items are only as limited as your imagination..and your bits box. Dare to try some things, you'll be surprised with what you can accomplish!

One note, I will be expanding this to a part 3, I want to discuss uniforms. I will be supplementing an article by Mr. James Langham, as he has done a fine study on the subject, but I want to discuss it from a miniatures standpoint.