Calamity's Railroad acquires some rolling stock

Although my town of Calamity hasn't seen a lot of work lately I have been keeping my eye out for good deals on rolling stock for the railroad portion. For those that haven't been following along I have abandoned my original idea of using S Scale, just do to the lack of equipment available and instead I am using On30. It has the right "feel" because of its narrow gauge proportions even though I consider 1/48th scale to be much to big for 28mm miniatures. I have been able to find some pretty good deals on Ebay and over the last month I have been able to pick up a box car and stock car. I would like to get at least 3-4 more box cars and another stock car so I'll keep my eyes peeled. I'm still looking for reasonably priced steam locomotives as well. I may have to bit the bullet on those. In the meantime I have decided that when I get my turn of the century railroad back up and running I'll be re-doing it in On30 rather than HO so everything can serve double duty as my Colorado and Northwestern RR.

Here are the latest acquisitions.

Kickstarter Rewards Arrive - Critical Mass Games - ZAS 15mm Mercs

Nothing like a little care package in the mail! There was a package from the UK in the mailbox today so that meant it was time to bring out the camera to record the unveiling of my ZAS Mech Infantry Co. I took the upgrade to add IFVs and the light Grav Tanks and added three of the Strike Hawks for a little air support. I know that CMG was going to be buried in their very sucessful kickstarter so I ordered some additional support troops before that. While the Kickstarter was still in the pledge stage II ordered three Warmonger Grav Tanks, three Vanquisher SPA vehicles, and three Hellfire SPAA vehicles. I should be able to field a pretty decent force for Tomorrow's War now.

At this point I have received 10 of the 18 Kickstarters I have supported. Only one is really late (and I do mean really late at this point) and five are just now approaching their delivery dates. A couple of them are so far out in the future that I'm likely to forget that I funded them until some thing shows up on the doorstep.

Since the pictures are always better than my words here is some visual reference:

Building Wargame Terrain by Tony Harwood hits the shelves!

Well not really, you have to order direct from Tony!

I realize that a number of people have already reviewed Tony’s book, but I try not to be shy about throwing my hat in the ring and I have deliberately avoided reading anyone else’s reviews. I may be a bit gentler with this book than with my other books as its numbered and signed! I might have to acquire a second copy so I have one that can take a beating and I think this book will be taking a beating as it is definitely a solid scratchbuilding resource.

In my hands is a paperback book with an orange cover although the image I used shows a black and white picture on the cover that has been replaced with a color shot instead. A good choice the color shot goes much better with the cover now.  What you don’t see in the pictures is the 98 interior pages printed on a heavy weight gloss paper! This book is meant to last! If you ever wanted to recreate some of those buildings you see in the White Dwarf Magazine or any of the wargame magazines for that matter, then this is the place to start. The book starts off simple and builds towards more complex structures as you move through the book. If you are new to scratchbuilding this is an effective style that develops skills early in the book with simple projects that build confidence as you tackle the more complex structures by the end of the book. There are techniques in here for the advanced modeler as well, while the style lends itself to the beginner there is plenty to keep the advanced modeler interested.

Tony has a very readable style and the book is well layed out. I would have prefered some larger in progress pictures but the larger the pictures are the bigger the book  has to become so I understand that there is a trade off to be made especially when you are self-publishing. In the end there are just enough larger pictures of finished pieces to refer to if you become stuck at some point. It is unlikely that you will get “stuck” Tony’s step by step instruction will see to that.

Again the book is geared towards establishing the basics and building from there. I did feel like there were to many fence project variations and some of those variations didn’t really deserve their own space in the book. I think two fence projects, with some variations shown at the end of each of the sections would have been plenty. One of my favorite projects in the book, the 15mm Normandy Café, suffers badly from the small pictures. This is easily the most detailed piece in the book and in a smaller scale. There is only a single large picture of it and a couple of larger in progress shots would have really helped this project. The small pictures just do not capture what is going on and even the step by step sequence is a little vague in spots. You can certainly figure out what to do and how to do it, it just lacks the clarity of the other projects. As an example one section on adding imperfections to the roof is so brief I almost missed it and a little more depth on how to apply the technique would have been greatly appreciated.

I think my very favorite piece is the 28mm Small Stone Warehouse. This is a neat little structure built up stone by stone. It could be expanded with very little effort or even serve as the entry way into a larger structure. I think this building is the best example of how to in the book.

I do feel that this is a must have book for your shelf. With the techniques and explanations that Tony goes into you can recreate just about any building you set your mind to. There is a sub-title on this book "Dampfpanserwagon Guide No. 1", let’s hope that means there will be future volumes! This one is going to sit on my reference shelf above my workbench right next to my copy of Ray Porter’s Model Buildings Masterclass (very out of print).

So head directly over to Tony's page and order your copy now! I mean do it right now, you can't live without this book! Building Wargame Terrain

Kickstarter - Hangar 18 Cancelled

I learned of this several days ago but I have been so busy its hard to find time to post right now. The folks at Hangar 18 have decided to shut down their Kickstarter. Things had been stalled at the $16,000 mark and it seemed doubtful that they were going to reach their initial goal of $25,000. Never fear though they will return in a couple of months with a completely re-vamped kickstarter that will likely feature 32mm versions as well as the 54mm and possibly some larger ones as well. Here is a link to their update:
Hangar 18 Update

Kickstarter - Hangar 18 Pinups - Death From Above

I know there hasn't been a lot of activity here lately but I have taken a position with another company and its definitely taking a lot of my time to settle in. I'm also traveling a lot and I can't really bring my supplies in my carry on luggage. Its a shame to because all of a sudden I have a lot of free time in the evenings now. I guess I should really spend some time on getting my Traveller campaign into shape.

The folks at Hangar 18 have posted the images for the 3D render of Death from Above. This is truly a classic WWII Bomber nose art piece. And if the paycheck comes through the way its suppose to I'll be adding this one to my pledge. If I can only afford one, this will be it. I have always loved the bomber nose art style and I love the way this render has come out. Great Stuff! Go over and lay your money down!
Death from Above

Kickstarter; Hangar 18 Pinups - Army Ranger

Hangar 18 has posted up a picture of the render for the Army Ranger. She will be kneeling on top of what might be the hood of a Jeep. I like this one, and its the one I'm currently on the hook for.

Make sure to head on over and sign off for some of these awesome miniatures: Hangar 18