Post by bruce on Jul 21, 2017 4:28:11 GMT
So.... first the pic. The Austrian III Korps deploys outside the town of Teugn prior to engaging Davout at the Battle of Teugn- Hausen. Note the 6MM Austrians on the upper right for comparison. These are 3mm figures I picked up especially for a travel game.
I have a small cottage in the Scottish Borders which I visit 2-3 times a year - but there are no armies there! Coming from the US, I have not wanted to risk my 6mm troops in transit, nor do I even check baggage most trips anyway. I wanted something small and convenient to carry but with everything I needed - so my travel game began to take shape.
First, I bought a bunch of 3mm Naps from Pico Armor, the US distributor for Oddzial Osmy, or 08 as they are known. These are cast by a guy in Poland who has an extensive line and incredibly clean and detailed castings for this tiny scale. I bought a couple of 300 figure armies and started painting. I quickly realized I was not going to do all the possible details with these figures - no way can you see them from gaming distance. You paint for overall effect - bright colors, basic uniform color first, then face, one hand, musket, shoes/gaiters, muskets, shakos, helmets, packs. I added some head gear detail, a bit more detail for the cavalry. But I found I could paint about 50 in an evening without too much difficulty. Simple bases - no flocking as you would not see it nor is it to scale for these. I added a plastic tab at the rear of each base to track hits with a cheap erasable marker.
Next I bought a vinyl Chessex Battle Mat with1 inch grids, 24 x 26 in. Easy to roll up, no measuring tool needed. I sponge painted some greens, browns on it. Rather than make roads, rivers fields etc, I bought a cheap set of soft pastels - basically colored chalk. I experimented and found I could draw roads, rivers and fields on the vinyl mat with these, then erase them when I was done with a damp cloth. I used a package of clump foliage, some of it glued to small green scouring pad canopy bases for woods, some to scatter for trees and bushes. Rolling terrain was to be created by stuffing some paper towels under the mat where needed - vinyl is great for this, looks very natural. I bought some cheap glossy clear plastic overlay sheets to lay on top of my pastel-drawn rivers so they would look wet.
Finally, the buildings. I have spent several years painting over a hundred Leven buildings for 6mm. But for this I needed something easy and light. I bought some balsa wood and one of those little xacto miter boxes with a saw and cut out a whole bunch of buildings in less than an hour, gave then a quick paint job and added detail with a Sharpie - this is the system Bruce Weigle uses for his famed layouts. I quickly learned I am not him. But it worked well enough. You are looking from a distance.
So, buildings, trees, 4 pastels, based 3mm figs, 2 dice, the red marker, overlays, all weighed - almost nothing! I packed them in a 14in x 6in x 2in depth craft box with dividers, also a bit of bubble wrap. I threw in a small Leven bridge. I rolled up the mat. My wife was checking a small suitcase and I threw the mat and little box in.
I set up everything on a desk when I arrived at the cottage and had a wonderful time working on adapting some Neil Thomas rules, adding some new solo play concepts and fighting several scenarios. So now I can play wherever I go! Theoretically, as my wife said. Bruce