Friday, November 17, 2017

TooFatLardies Game Day Georgia - Nov 11 2017

Saturday we held a Lardy games day at Gigabytes cafe in Marietta, Georgia. We had three games of Chain of Command, two of Sharp Practice and a game of Coastal Patrol. I was able to play in the Coastal Patrol game run by Jim, the author of the rules.

I managed to take two lousy pictures of the game. I played 3 higgins boats. My ships did well at first and landed some minor hits on some German S Boats that were moving at maximum speed. But once my ships mixed it up with the convoy, the heavy guns on the trawlers left me with one ship sunk and one dead in the water. The other running for its life at reduced speed. I had great fun but lost badly. The british player had more success and sunk two of the convoy ships. That made the game a draw.

Then I ran my pirates game. It was a naval landing by Spanish regulars and marines being landed by the Spanish Navy. They were attacking a pirate base at night. It started well for the Spanish. They made good progress before the pirate sentry awoke and raised the alarm.

I took few pictures of the game. I was too focused on running it. I think the players had a good time. The Spanish committed their forces as separate groups. When the pirates finally tried to charge the Spanish, the Spanish quickly crumbled. Pirates in close combat are fearsome. The Spanish eventually were either captured or forced back to their boats. It was a fun game for me.

While the coastal patrol game was going on, there was another pirate game of sharp practice. In the game masters words it was peter pan meets Captain Blood.

Then there were games of Chain of Command that I wish I could have joined.

It was a fantastic day all around.

Friday, November 10, 2017

Painting Update

There is nothing like the very last minute to get one in the mood to paint. I just finished four more oarsmen, three seated militia, three seated spanish regulars and three pirate gun crew. I now have the figures that I need for the game tomorrow.

I have also been busy working with my new 3d printer. I have a three piece shipwreck printed. That will be the prize for my game. The aft section took several reprints to get it right, but it looks great. I also have printed a pirate shack that I won't have time to paint for the game and a tudor style caribbean house. These really look good but since they are still the black PLA, they do not take pictures of well.

Another item I printed was a rowboat. It came out great. It has deeper seats and the crews I have painted ride in them much better than the other ones that I have. If I had the time, I would print more and used those instead. The one part it had trouble printing was the rudder handle. It snapped off immediately. But that can be replaced easy enough.

Also started work on an east front windmill. I have the blade finally glued in place. I also have it based and the base textured. I should start painting it next week. My goal is to get all the terrain I need for Second Kharkov done before year's end. The second battle of Kharkov was mainly fought in the small villages that surrounded the city rather than in the city itself. So my rural terrain if perfect for it. The Kickstarter that I participated in for the East Front has everything that I need to complete out the terrain requirements. Stay tuned. It should be fun.