Developments in Neulandia

Hey Guys! I finally got the map done and posted it to the Neulandia blog, sorry about the delay.

Upcoming Con Dates

Three months, three cons! SpartaCon is in the books, but we have two more cons coming up before we even hit Spring proper.

Flintcon 3 (THE REVENGE!)

When: 9 A.M.-11:00 P.M., February 4th, 2017
Where: St. Paul Lutheran Church, 402 S Ballenger Hwy, Flint, MI 48532
Website: Flintcon 
Cost: $10 per person, children 10 or younger free if accompanied by an adult

Flintcon is making its third appearance, and unlike most other conventions will be including rooms for Pathfinder and board games, along with a packed room for miniature wargames! I know I'm excited to be attending for the first time since its inception.

Battlefields (Presented by Pro or Con)
 

When: 9 A.M.-11:00 P.M., March 11th, 2017
Where: Livonia Elks Club, 31117 Plymouth Rd, Livonia, MI 48150
Website: Pro or Con
Cost: $10


The redoubtable Battlefields will be making its... I'm actually not sure how many times they've held Battlefields. It's been around since I can first remember going to cons in middle school. But at any rate, it'll likely fill the hall with games like last year. I'm not sure if we'll be running a game yet, but I'm sure Anton will update this as soon as he's sure he can!

*EDIT*

WinterCon 2017 (presented by Metro Detroit Gamers)
 

When: 8:30 A.M.-10:30 P.M., February 11th, 2017
Where: Oakland Center Gold Rooms, Oakland University, 2200 N Squirrel Rd, Rochester, MI 48309
Website: WinterCon
Cost: $15, $10 for children 15 years or younger with adult


As noted by our friend and contributor Gary, we have WinterCon at the wonderful facilities at Oakland University! Much like Flintcon, it will be supporting not only miniature wargaming but roleplaying and board games, with a good portion dedicated to classic railroad games like Ticket to Ride and the 18XX series.

SpartaCon Picture Trove: Second Session

        Another plethora of photos from J&R, I don't know how he found the time to take these as he was busy assisting me with the game that I was running. I have no clue what the games were, or who ran them, so if anybody can provide some help there I would be happy to cation them to give credit to the guys presenting the games.

SpartaCon Picture Trove: John's Dreadnought Game

        My able and energetic assistant, Justice&Rule, during the 28mm Pre Dreadnought game managed to take about three times as many photos as I did. He is half my age so that will be my excuse! They are offered here without commentary as I have already outlined the game in a different post and, frankly,  I really hate typing. J&R captured many angles that I did not so enjoy this cornucopia of photos.

Spartacon Picture Trove: First Session

Hey all! More pictures from Spartacon 2017. Not going to be much in the way of commentary, but tons of pictures.

Battle of the Big Fleets, 28mm Pre-Dreadnoughts at Spartacon

        I took my fleets to Spartacon and ran a game on the vast floorspace they were kind enough to provide. We ended up with twelve players involved using thirteen vessels over about a thousand square feet of playing surface. Now all I need is a week for my knees to recover!

        The scenario is that the French Fleet is escorting a group of troopships to add to the forces attacking a Prussian colony. They expect to encounter only the local Colonial Squadron, to their surprise the Asiatic Squadron has shown up as well. The Prussians have no intention of allowing the French reinforcements to get through and have launched an all-out attack with their more numerous, but slightly inferior, forces.

 

the dashing French Admirals commanding (L to R)

the Charles Martel, the Dupuy de Lome, the Bec de Corbin and the Nemesis

 

the phlegmatic Prussian Colonial Squadron commodores,

 commanding (front to back) the Thor, the Panther and the Beowulf

 

the Asiatic Squadron admirals commanding (L to R)

 the Blitz, the Donner, the Seydlitz and the Gniesenau

A Glimpse of Spartacon

          This year's Spartacon has come and gone. In the assembly hall of the Lansing Center we enjoyed the nicely carpeted floors and comfortable, well lit surroundings. I had the pleasure of playing in a re-fight of the battle of Kadesh in the early part of the day before running my 28mm Pre Dreadnought game in the afternoon session. Attendance was good with almost all of the player slots filled in both the morning and afternoon sessions.As I was playing in a game I didn't quite get the opportunity to get around and snap photos of all the games but here are a few that caught my eye.

 

Chris Maes and company presented the visually (and tactically) satisfying Battle of Kadesh  

using 20mm figures from Caesars

Crossfire, the Great War

Being a big fan of the Crossfire ruleset and The Great Wat I was easily convinced by Joe to give combining them a try. We made it easier for infantry to recover from pins and suppression and decided that tanks would be considered to be moving weapon systems that would have to take bogging checks.  That done I broke out my 20mm Great War terrain and figures and we gave it a go.

 

the notoriously daunting landscape of the trenches

New Vessels completed and they join their fleets

     I had the chance to complete the models and pulled out the complete fleets for a quick review. Now all I have to do is stat out the new models, balance the stats of the two fleets and put together a scenario. All in two weeks.

     Take a look at the new additions and enjoy the spectacle of the entire collection of boats on display on the gaming table.

 

crew figures lend a sense of scale, I still need many more to fully staff my fleets

 

I do love rivets

Something to Mollify Gary

     Sorry, Old Sarge. These aren't the giant flying bridges you were looking for (I tried, they made the models too top-heavy) but I hope this will keep you satisfied until I can build a full-sized battleship that can carry all that superstructure.

the Prussian went minimalist (or course)

 while the French were rather more extravagant

A Spot of Paint

I had a little free time so I threw a basic coat of paint on the models. I decided that the bigger, squarer one looked more Prussian than the elegant smaller model which, by default, became French. I am still tempted by Old Sarge's prodding to add a flying bridge to the French model. I also need names for these two. Suggestions are welcomed.

 

the funny part is that the hulls are exactly the same size,

 they were split longitudinally from one prefabbed hull, 

yet the black one looks much larger

Almost Ready For Paint

     I have been hammering away at the gunboats and have them almost ready for paint. This is the crunch-time. I have to finally commit to  which model gets painted into which navy. I am currently leaning toward the smaller one going to the French (it just seems to look French) and the other being Prussian.

the temptation to add a flying bridge to one  (or both) of these models is significant
I am constantly tempted to build something like this

Further Progress on the Gunboats

     I had a quiet morning to work on the boats and have added railings to the superstructures, fabricated gun barrels and, well, essentially covered the models in rivets. The smaller one has taken on a French appearance while the larger one has a distinctly Nordic flair. Like I said before, I really don't plan these things they just evolve as I work on them. I didn't go into detail on the construction techniques, for anyone interested in such things check the page listed at the top of the blog "Adventures in Blue Board and Foam Core" (or just follow that link) for step-by-step on previous projects.

 

I have had problems with earlier models losing their barrels due to rough handling,

I needed a sturdier way to attach the gun to the turret, voila! 

a roofing nail hot glued into place solves the issue handily