[Doodler's 15mm] Gaming Trays (25 May)

[Idle Doodler]

It's been a handy project for remembering that 'fine and done' beats incomplete perfection. Better to have scouring pad trees than none at all, though after some extended gameplay I do think there's a need for trees better suited to clumsy fingers - doesn't take much of a nudge for these to tumble.

Sounds like your archers are getting their arrows from the same place mine does. He always seems to get one shot off and then run out!

It certainly forces one to remember that a single attack role doesn't necessarily equate to a single attack - not sure even the bumblingest of henchmen would surely think to bring more than two arrows with them!

[Idle Doodler]

Found this Makita case in a charity shop a few months back and, having done something similar with an art box for my sci fi collection, looked to turn it into an efficiently-stored gaming tool.





Little (admittedly sci fi) 15mm figure included inside for scale. Each interior side measures roughly 51cm by 27cm which up to 5cm in depth so, treating 28mm's inches as centimetres for 15mm games, it has space for a few different 2'-equivalent boards.

There's a bit more in the way of detail on the blog but here are the pictures I remembered to take to chart the progress of the project.





















Still closes now that it's done, and while I spent quite a bit of time up to halfway through ensuring that it remained functionally playable the project did fall either side of a house move, so I'm relieved that all the surfaces appear to have remained usable by minis after the extra coats of paint and texture.

It is, however, not really as travel-friendly as the sci fi art box - it's rather heavy to carry by hand, and too deep a case to fit in amongst the supposedly necessary clothing and toiletries in regular luggage, so for now I'll enjoy having something that comfortable slips under the desk when not in use and will start dreaming up some plans for a proper fantasy travel case.

[LouieN]

That is most interesting.  Clever

[DivisMal]

That portable tabletop is a most brilliant idea!

[Idle Doodler]

Cheers. Currently storing away two cheap square baking trays for something similar - need something which takes advantage of all the minis having magnetic bases.

Got some more shadowy figures done in time for the next 5 Leagues campaign turn. Got them through ebay, and have learned that they're available from CP Models.

[DivisMal]

Brilliant! I love how those black robes make them the perfect baddies!

[Major_Gilbear]

Very nice progress! I admit that I was a little sceptical about the Makita case in the first pic, but it turned out really well. 

I especially like the scouring pad trees on the previous page BTW, and the new cultists posted today would work well with the wraiths you did earlier this year.

[Cacique Caribe]

ID

Perfect choice in figures.  They definitely look the part.

Dan

[LouieN]

Great looking cultist

[zrunelord]

Nice work , terrain & minis both.
You just gave me an idea.
If one were to build hills, walls etc. like yours out of papier mache or something similar then the " terrain sheet" can be
Used on the reverse side also, as caves , tunnels etc..

Thanks for sharing
Z

[Reed]

These were originally from Crom’s Anvil I think it was the name of the company. The dude that ran it had a very exhaustive thread on a forum (The Wargames Website, perhaps?) with all the games he played and all the scenery he created.

[DivisMal]

Nice work , terrain & minis both.
You just gave me an idea.
If one were to build hills, walls etc. like yours out of papier mache or something similar then the " terrain sheet" can be
Used on the reverse side also, as caves , tunnels etc..

Thanks for sharing
Z

That’s actually a brilliant idea, Z, worth of an evil genius!

These were originally from Crom’s Anvil I think it was the name of the company. The dude that ran it had a very exhaustive thread on a forum (The Wargames Website, perhaps?) with all the games he played and all the scenery he created.

Yes, indeed. Angel Barracks was his name. He did some great stuff for the gamer with a budget, like 6mm sci-fi characters or Crom’s Anvil, which started as a mod from Matakishi‘s excellent Crom rules.

I like both rule sets, but Crom’s Anvil was accompanied by a shiny line of models. Angel Barracks and I were discussing new entries, as he was commissioning the models, and I nearly had a not-Subotai and a Cerebus the Aardvark commissioned in 15mm. Sadly I don’t remember anymore why  we didn’t do it…

[Idle Doodler]

Those very 6mm minis have led me down another red herring hole as I strive for an even more travel-friendly 5 Parsecs collection.

But I must not allow myself to be too distracted from other projects. Still got a fair few things on my 15mm painting desk, and some Blue Moon minis have just arrived to join them (big thanks to Old Glory's Andy, replacing a batch which Royal Mail have managed to lose somewhere).

I'd wanted to paint up a mini to represent Gorane's armoured state, but got too impatient and wanted to finally get another round of 5 Leagues in, and so:



While the rest of the warband went savenging for food, Boluaga spent her time in silent meditation and prayer, beseeching her gods for protection in her new role as warband leader. Confident that this would be granted, she had the group pack up and head for the small nearby hamlet of Murutegi. Along the way they picked up Amets, a travelling bard who took a keen interest in their tale of undead bashing, and who promised to keep his ear to the ground for rumours of further shambling activity.



Gorane’s contact in Murutegi, a priest who served the spiritual needs of the little trading hub, welcomed them in and, over a cheap ale, mentioned a nearby warren of tunnels which had recently become home to an unsavoury dabbler in dark arts and which, oh, most definitely held some ill-gained treasures needing rescuing.

Nodding solemnly, the party readied their gear and set off.



Duhin once again crept ahead of the party as a scout, and warned his comrades of the sound of many-limbed scuttling coming from the east. Warily the adventurers advanced and spotted a large hymenopteran creature disappearing into a narrow tunnel up ahead. Spotting a chance to prevent the beasts swarming anyone, Boluaga charged forward and hacked at the creature in the bottleneck.



Slicing her way through three of the creatures with surprising ease she found herself in a dead end with nothing of interest but a dusty old tome lying on the floor. As she picked it up, a cry from behind indicated the sudden presence of another trio of crawlers.

She, Gorane and Fede rounded upon them while the two archers took pot shots. Together they finished the beasts off in short order.



Buoyed by their clean sweep so far, the party started searching the tunnels in earnest. To the east they found the fallen body of an lightly-armed warrior surrounded by yet more cave crawlers, and the beasts leapt to defend their lunch. They knocked the heavily armoured Boluaga to the ground and ripped the unarmoured Erlea apart.

Adding to the adventurers’ problems came the sinister voice somewhere in the darkness beyond chanting some foul spell…



With Fede also being knocked out and the situation desperate, Caraile leapt into the fray, managing to clobber one of the beasts with his staff and charging towards the source of the chanting. The two spellcasters, unused to such exertions, proceeded to spend far too much time slapping each other ineffectually while Gorane and Duhin fought off the rampaging crawlers.

Eventually they slew the last of them and turned their attention to the slap-a-thon just as the cultist was able to deliver a eye-watering blow between Caraile’s legs, and he turned his sinister grin to the last of the adventurers only to find it disintegrating beneath Gorane’s warhammer.



The last pair choose to push their luck in searching the rest of the cave and, barring the odd physical obstacle, return bearing some more crafting materials, battle gear and a divine icon amongst a few other items they might be able to sell off.

Well-administered silvertree dressings ensured that Boluaga and Caraile would only require a week or so to recover. Fede had managed to damage the dagger given to her to replace her original damaged staff, and Erlea had already expired. The party returned to Murutegi battered, but with the potential for better equipping themselves for future excursions.

[Idle Doodler]

Finally got round to finishing off the replacement mini for the 5 Leagues' Gorane, suitably decked out with a warhammer and full plate armour. She's a 3D print from Etsy, and thus feels more detailed and slight than a much of the rest of the collection so far. Probably scales best next to the plastic Frodo figure.

[LoxIslay]

Nice addition like always!