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Post by GRWelsh on Mar 24, 2020 11:56:40 GMT -5
I received "Castle Branzoll" in the mail yesterday, and it is tiny -- way too small to use with 25mm miniatures, maybe even too small for Lego pips. In the old days, before we had miniatures, some of us used single Lego pips as character miniatures, and they worked surprisingly well for a 1" = 10' scale. In some ways I still miss that scale, as it doubles the scale you normally work with using 25mm miniatures (roughly 1" = 5') as well as allowing figures to be set up at longer distances for missile fire and spells... It also works better with the surprise and encounter distances given in the DMG. That makes me wonder what they used for miniatures back in the days of 1" = 10' scale... Anyway, "Castle Branzoll" reminds me a lot of those plastic models from the 70's that you had to glue together. There are lots of little plastic pieces, so here is a nice little project for me to work on during self-quarantine.
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Post by geneweigel on Mar 25, 2020 12:20:08 GMT -5
Heh, I remember a few 15mm figures I had went missing. Do they even make those anymore?
I remember the Buck Rogers playset that I had with a big UFO-looking starship had 10mm sized figures. The Twiki was super small. I think the Spiderman Web Fluid figure that I had was about 10mm as well.
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Post by GRWelsh on Jun 4, 2021 9:40:09 GMT -5
One of my goals going forward with the live game is to have more set pieces, custom miniatures and art work. The Reaper ogre I painted who appeared in the 'Dwarvenite' dungeon went over really well in the last game. It adds something to the game, not just aesthetically, but with tactical positioning and movement for the big or important encounters. For some upcoming games I think I'm going to do fieldstone ruins in the forest, and a cave. Something else I want to build in the near future is a Stonehenge-like circle of megaliths. In game terms, what are some effects a stone circle might have? I know in the past Scott has had druids use them to open gates to other circles -- like a druidic secret of fast travel. I was thinking as well there could be some magic amplification and perhaps a boost to certain divination or abjuration spells. Thoughts?
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Post by geneweigel on Jun 4, 2021 9:48:51 GMT -5
Something else I want to build in the near future is a Stonehenge-like circle of megaliths. Erol Otus type Deities and Demigods outdoor altars in the middle of nowhere are always popular as well...
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Post by GRWelsh on Jun 4, 2021 10:32:53 GMT -5
Great idea! Yes, having things player characters can examine, interact with and wonder about it is a crucial element of D&D.
I have a bunch of things like the Mage Knight Artifact Sets with custom pillars, altars, thrones, fountains and pools that I am planning to use in upcoming games. I love that sort of stuff where the players aren't sure what it is or what to do...
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Post by Scott on Jun 4, 2021 12:19:51 GMT -5
There's a lot you could do with the stones and other outdoor similar locations: increased casting level or increased effects like duration, etc, spells aren't erased from memory, spells written on the stones that can be cast like scroll spells 1/day or 1/week, effects similar to a necklace of prayer beads
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Post by geneweigel on Jun 4, 2021 13:49:05 GMT -5
I think the gradation of the powers of freestanding outdoor magic effects must have equivalent nearby dangers that are rapidly replaced, if "solved" or defeated, by attracted or deliberate monsters. Or just have access destroyed after a certain time if things get too civilized in the area (e.g. " We're building a wood fort right over this!"). Unless it's "name level" that is.
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Post by GRWelsh on Jun 13, 2021 6:46:42 GMT -5
I spent yesterday afternoon trying to create bases for fantasy terrain trees -- and failing! I used wooden discs with holes drilled in them, and modeling clay around them to seal it, but they weren't heavy enough to be decent bases. Also, those train set trees look nice -- 12 deciduous and 12 evergreen -- but are really messy. The green stuff flakes off every time you touch them. Next, I'm going to try using metal washers with modeling clay around the base, and use the loose green flakes as flocking around the base. They're going to look great when I'm finished, as I wanted to have about two dozen trees to represent outdoor encounters in the Dim Forest or the Oytwood.
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Post by geneweigel on Jun 13, 2021 8:20:27 GMT -5
I use a clear sealer spray to keep loose stuff in place. It usually comes in acrylic matte or acrylic gloss.
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Post by GRWelsh on Jun 13, 2021 9:28:21 GMT -5
Thanks for the suggestion, Gene. I saw some of that at the Hobby Shop yesterday but didn't realize I would need it. That will certainly help to make the trees usable for the tabletop without making a big mess!
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Post by GRWelsh on Jun 14, 2021 10:05:54 GMT -5
Yesterday I bought 50 steel washers and some clear sealant at the hardware store, and added steel washers to the tree bases and that worked perfectly. If the modeling clay finishes drying today, I will spray on the sealant and then 24 trees are finished and usable! Next project is fieldstone ruins. I'm planning to build them in a modular way so they can be in both ruined and unruined form. I'm starting to write adventures around the terrain and miniatures I have. It reminds me of when I was a kid and I would 'mod' action figures into my own imagined story lines. For example, I had Mego superheroes who were 8" tall and a G. I. Joe who was 12" tall and so he became Giant-Man; the Micronauts were aliens or robots but Baron Karza was also 8" tall so he made a great villain for the Mego superheroes; I used masking tape to create webs and bridges or even additions to costumes; I had erector sets, tinker toys, Legos, etc. and it all became part of my own imaginary, cinematic universe. That was all before I ever knew about D&D or RPGs around 1974-1979.
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Post by GRWelsh on Jun 14, 2021 10:38:21 GMT -5
I still think an old but tangential idea is a good one, i.e. build dioramas from classical modules or the World of Greyhawk and sell them online or at conventions. Lately, I've been think about the Church of St Cuthbert or the Guard Tower in Hommlet. I think people would pay good money for these. There are so many people around our age who have a lot of money but not much time. Once I build them, replicating them would become much easier. I need some smaller scale projects to start out with.
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Post by geneweigel on Jun 14, 2021 13:11:54 GMT -5
Yes, the hodge podged superhero was the cheapo companies replicating Mego then painting them to match.
In some of these cons you see costumes for a GI Joe knock off of the 60s where you would dress him as various famous superheroes
That was out of fashion when I was a kid. The 70s was more of the age of tapping into parent's nostalgia to get a toy boost. Everytime "The Lone Ranger" would have anything it was guaranteed purchase from my cheapo dad.
I remember when I was 5 and getting the Lone Ranger and Tonto on horseback the size of GI Joe. It was insane. It was the company that made the Erector set "Gabriel". They were huge and went the way of anything of value to sticky fingers relatives reselling my stuff
But Erector sets would slowly start to deplete in parts.
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Post by GRWelsh on Jun 18, 2021 12:46:32 GMT -5
Some days I feel like quitting my job and paying myself to get back into art, drawing, painting, and crafting miniatures terrain. Not just for gaming, but art in general. This is one of those days.
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Post by geneweigel on Jun 18, 2021 18:53:46 GMT -5
Creativity can come and go when you have all the time in the world. I'm setup with the home office but now I'm logjammed on a helmet for almost a week with the illustrations and I'm technically not working full time. Honestly I get revved just reading the Gary stuff sometimes. I have age old projects half forgotten that I don't even know where they are. In this particular case, doing miniature stuff I've come to a complete halt. Once I have a table space for minis it will erupt again.
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Post by geneweigel on Jun 20, 2021 9:15:34 GMT -5
This is weird. My wife (Yes, she is actually my legal wife now. Please don't congratulate its been 35 years of "sin"... ) did the floors upstairs the closet had rugs and she said just leave it. Then the installer of the wood laminate said they might have more pieces to do the closet. They didn't. Blah, blah, blah then she rips the rugs out and asks me if there is something to fill giant gash in subfloor so I go to Lowe's and grab some old timer and ask what could I fill in a cracked piece of missing subfloor with. He says to use "water putty" in an old timey way and says it'll never let you down you can saw it, sand it and even make figurines out of it. The leftovers in the can came out like a weird bubbly terrain. I wish that I had heard of this crap years ago.
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Post by GRWelsh on Jun 20, 2021 12:54:35 GMT -5
Yeah, water putty is listed on the Hirst Arts website as another option for casting or modeling material, so I'll have to try it. For casting I used to order 50 lb bags of Merlin's Magic (14,000 psi) from Clint Sales in Massachussetts, but it was expensive and cost a lot in shipping. Then I found a place in Pittsburgh named Ceramic Supply Company and they sell USG Hydrostone which is hard enough (10,000 psi) and I avoid the shipping costs. It's $37.00 for a 50 lb bag. The Durham's Water Putty is currently at $7.98 for 4 lbs/64 oz on Lowes.com, so that is more expensive than the Hydrostone, and I've had a difficult time finding out exactly how hard it is (psi). Regular plaster of paris is between 2000 and 5000 psi and is way too crumbly to use for miniatures terrain. One of the reviewers on the Hirst Arts website said the water putty is noticeably harder than plaster of paris, so that should mean it is strong enough for casting.
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Post by geneweigel on Jun 20, 2021 23:16:36 GMT -5
Seems like plastic. I wasted a lot of it as I put the powder in a clear plastic nut container that I drew lines on first. Then proceeded to add too much water.
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Post by GRWelsh on Jan 6, 2022 11:03:44 GMT -5
I've been using a lot of miniatures and terrain in my biweekly AD&D game. I've been using a combination of Dwarven Forge, Warlock Tiles and Hirst Arts that I cast and painted myself. I have to admit the newer Dwarven Forge 'Dwarvenite' (plastic) core sets are super useful and they've finally perfected the balance between utility and cost. I still prefer the classic resin sets for the artistry and weight, but the newer sets are less easy to damage, lighter and therefore more useful overall. In most of my games I've used the 'build as they go' approach so they only see what's immediately around them at the moment. A party 'mapper' helps me build as I describe what they see. I'll post more pictures in the future.
At this point I have enough Hirst Arts molds that I could recreate the Village of Hommlet, the Moathouse and the Temple of Elemental Evil... and I'm tempted to do that! Another idea is to build to scale Castle Bodenburg from SIEGE OF BODENBURG, inspiration for Castle Greyhawk, the Moathouse, and the Keep on the Borderlands! When you look at the plastic original, it's just so obvious... Note: there is an actual castle near a village of Bodenburg in Hildesheim in Germany, but I'm not sure if there is any relation.
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Post by geneweigel on Jan 6, 2022 12:16:43 GMT -5
I just looked it up the village seems to be the castle. I guess it was so badly damaged that they built over it again and again until its there in name only. They have an "outer bailey" remnant built over heavily. I don't see an inner bailey. The old images don't resemble anything so maybe they just used the name?
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