Hot Lead 2016: Fear and Loathing in Stratford, Ontario

Last Sunday I got home from a weekend at Hot Lead, Canada's Finest Miniature Gaming Event (patent pending) in Stratford, Ontario. Unfortunately, the first thing I unpacked was a flu virus. I was immobilized for a week and now even typing leaves me wheezing.

Hot Lead started off large with an opulent urban brawl in a 1924 Chinese port city. The GM, Patrick Mooney, based the scenario off of the Steve McQueen movie, "The Sand Pebbles". Striving to release hostages, French and American marines storm the docks and battle the local Tong warlords. What made this game so exceptional was the scenery, including huge, scratch built cargo ships; trilingual graffiti; and hand-painted Chinese banners. The whole effect was grandiose and cinematic.

On Saturday morning, I played another pulp game, this one set in the 1960's in the Belgian Congo. Presented by veteran Game Master Dan Hutter, this game was also based on a movie: the ultraviolent "Dark of the Sun" starring Rod Taylor and Jim Brown. In this set up, Captain Curry (Taylor) must break into a vault and escape with a bag full of diamonds as hordes of African militias close in. Curry must then run to catch a slow moving train which will take him and his men to safety.

I think this is the way to create a truly successful wargame scenario: steal your plot from the movies. This way, it comes with all sorts of action and drama baked right into the pie. And certainly Dark of the Sun was the most dramatic game I've played in years, with the excitement of running for the train, fighting from the train and finally busting through an improvised barricade.

My final game of the weekend was Festung Kolberg -- a Bolt Action WWII game set in March 18th 1945. The Soviets have taken the port city of Kolberg. But a rear guard from the German 3rd Panzer Division is trying to keep them off the docks for long enough to allow for the rest of the German forces to escape by boat. With his dreary, destroyed cityscape and well painted miniatures, the Game Master Ross Cossar really conjured up the sense of the Nazi's Götterdämmerung.

A couple other games that I couldn't play really caught my eye, including this modern Afghanistan action, complete with beautifully rendered canals and orchards. This game was presented by Mr. Rabbits-in-my-Basement, who's responsible for putting all of Hot Lead together. And his website has some superb instructions on how to put this sort of table together.

I fell in love with "The Battle for Dorkshire" presented by Mike Martin and Gary Schofield. This was a battle right out of HG Wells, using home made, glossy painted 19th century 48mm bleisoldaten (solid lead German toy soldier) reproductions. I love how the houses look like they've been re-purposed from a Christmas store... it gives the whole table a dreamlike quality.

AMAZING.

And finally, the most attractive game of the weekend was Graham Wilkinson's Westridge Farm set in Massachusetts, 1675. My opening picture of this post is from his game, as is the one below. The lush, detailed and layered scenery made this game seem more like a museum diorama rather than a gaming table. As I turn my mind this year to creating some of my own terrain, Graham's work will be front of mind.

As always, a big thanks to Mr. Rabbit-in-my-Basement, Mrs. R-i-my-B, and the rest of the Hot Lead crew for putting on another great show. It is the highlight of my gaming year.

Painted Miniatures for Dead Man's Hand

We see pictured below Ma Pounder, also known as the Ole Widder Pounder. Ma is not originally from Cremation -- she was actually born into a family of Yankee farmers in Massachusetts. Her husband and many brothers owned a string of prosperous farms along the shores of the mighty Miskatonic River, not far from where the Aylesbury Pike branches off into the uplands of Dunwich.

Tragically, one by one, each of her siblings (and their families) died. Some went missing; some wasted away as lunatics in Arkham Asylum; others were butchered in the wilderness with strange, ritualistic wounds; and a few were found as liquescent corpses, almost as if they had been half-digested. Her husband, Melchizedek Pounder, passed after eating a cabbage irradiated by a strange meteor that had landed in their vegetable garden. No one knows for sure how Ma Pounder survived all these calamities, but her proficiency with a double-barreled 12-gauge may not be a coincidence. In any case, she retired to Cremation "fer some peace and tranquility."

Dr. Schadenfreude

In the 1880's, Felix Schadenfreude was the toast of Vienna. A talented doctor and an early proponent of psycho-analysis, he had many rich and noble clients. His career took a turn when he pioneered "laughing therapy". His technique was to encourage a patient to disclose his deepest insecurities and desires, at which point Dr. Schadenfreude would laugh uproariously in his face. 

In 1889, this course of treatment led directly to the double suicide of Crown Prince Rudolf (the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne) and Rudolf's mistress. Hounded by the wrath of the Hapsburgs, every hospital in the civilized world was closed to the good doctor. He has come to Arizona and opened a medical clinic with the goal of rehabilitating the reputation of laughing therapy. If it can work on mental illness, surely it can also cure gunshot wounds.

Eustace Bledge

Eustace Bledge is the closest thing that Cremation has to a leading citizen. He began as the local coffin seller and undertaker. The rich returns of this business allowed him to open the Cremation Bank & Deposit, the Cremation Hostelry, and then the Firearm Emporium. His business dealings are so Machiavellian, it is rumoured that he hires outlaws to rob his own bank.

Ennio Leone

Ennio Leone moved his family from New York to Arizona because the landscape reminded him on the countryside in his native Sardinia. Although he runs the general store, he dreams of opening an restaurant. "I will make-a pasta the American way... how your say? Spaghetti Western!"

Albert Prince

No one knows why Albert Prince always appears to be wincing in pain. Apparently, he once consulted with Dr. Schadenfreude, but the good doctor laughed so hard that he fell out of a window.

Caleb Cain

The outlaw Caleb Cain attempts to intimidate his enemies by shouting out long passages from the Bible before, during and after every gunfight. Caleb views this as a trademark move. Unfortunately, Caleb's appears to select his verses at random, resulting in some perplexing choices: "While the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof. A bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts. Muthafukka!"

I leave you with one last shot: Ma Pounder defending Cremation from Pinky and his bandits...

Thanks for looking!

Dead Man's Hand: Denizens of Cremation

Welcome back to Cremation, the dusty hole that I constructed for the Wild West skirmish game, Dead Man's Hand. This week, I want to introduce you to some of the unlucky residents of my town.

Since the incommodious death of Sheriff MacGrudy (see last week's post), the chief lawman of Cremation is "Gentleman" Jack Maubrey (pictured above). A well-mannered native of Atlanta, Jack began life as a dentist, switched to selling health tonics and then to gambling on the river boats of the Mississippi. Paternity suits and bad debts kept pushing him toward the frontier, and he finally took up law enforcement rather than resume a dental practice. As the only man in town with clean fingernails, Maubrey is widely seen as a natural authority figure. 

Pinchus "Pinky" Schorr

The desperado known only as "Pinky" was born Pinchus Schorr of Red Hook Brooklyn, the youngest child in a large Jewish family. Rather than follow his father in the schmatta trade, Pinky drifted west into the Arizona Territory, leaving a trail of plundered trains, broken banks and busted jaws. Regarded as one of the best shots this side of Laredo, Pinky is also renowned for his thorough understanding of menswear and fine ladies' undergarments.

Roger "El Maestro" Delgado (left) and Big Dirty Dan Slocum (right)

Roger "El Maestro" Delgado and his enforcer, Big Dirty Dan Slocum, are the most feared outlaws in Cremation and its environs. El Maestro is heartless killer with a penchant for uttering mysterious threats like "To do my will shall be the whole of the law!" or "I only need two things. Your submission and your obedience to my will!". Stranger still, he claims to sleep inside a grandfather clock.

Dirty Dan is a rich man, thanks to his stranglehold on the local cock fighting ring, dog fighting ring, and mixed cock-dog ring. Yet he cannot afford soap.

Melvin Friendly

Melvin Friendly is a professional bounty hunter and amateur psychopath. His favourite activities include challenging his shaving mirror to a staring contest, compulsive shoe-shining and killing all the witnesses.

Baltasar María Inmaculada de Jesus

Baltasar María Inmaculada de Jesus led a bandit company in the California region during the years following the Mexican-American War. De Jesus was valorized by some Californios as a patriot who opposed the American annexation of their land. The US government thought otherwise. With many federal bounties on his head, De Jesus fled inland to Cremation in hopes of recapturing the simple joy of non-political murder and rapine.

Deputy Waylon Kristofferson

Deputy Sheriff Waylon Kristofferson had promised his mother that he wouldn't grow up to be a cowboy. But the ladies love outlaws, and he became a ramblin man. However, he changed his ways after he went riding out one dark and windy day. He rarely speaks of what he saw that night. But sometimes he mutters in his sleep "Yippie I aye ye ye...Ghost riders in the sky!"

Dead Man's Hand: Welcome to Cremation

Welcome to Cremation! It's a frontier town that I constructed for Dead Man's Hand, the 28mm skirmish game by Great Escape Games. I love this game... it's fast, has lots of old-west flavour, and boasts a dedicated range of excellent miniatures (by Great Escape) and terrain (by 4Ground). 

Cremation is my first attempt to create my own battle-board -- a custom built battlefield with integrated scenery and buildings. I was inspired by the step-by-step how-to video on Great Escape's website. It was the most satisfying modeling experience I've ever enjoyed. I suppose part of the pleasure comes from the fact that a battle-board is so BIG. But it's also wonderful to lose yourself in a space that can accommodate so much detail. I guess this is a joy that model train enthusiasts know well. And urban planners.

I became pretty obsessed with Cremation while I was building it. This is part of the pain/pleasure of working with 4Ground buildings. Constructing them is easier than painting a miniature, but leaves one with a true sense of accomplishment because they're so good looking when they're done. But more than that, there are so many possible accessories, that it is easy to go overboard. Soon I didn't just want buildings... I wanted furniture. And boardwalks. And shelving. And pictures. And posters. And flower pots.

For instance, I blew about $60 on eBay on various out-of-print Letraset transfers just to do a couple of the store signs (such as "Bledge's Bank and Deposit"). As a result of all this madness, I like the pictures of Cremation without any actual miniatures better than the pictures with them.

Cremation also was the first time that I employed weathering powders in any serious way. I wanted to use these pigments in order to create a variegated but blended pattern of dust and clay for the streets of the town. And frankly it was a joy to see how quickly and easily the powders can achieve life-like results. 

I imagine Cremation as a watering hole in the south-east of the Arizona Territory: east of Yuma, west of Flagstone, south of Red Rock and north of Ague Verde. It's just a pimple on a map of wastelands -- it's main attraction being the fresh water of "Pineapple Creek" (so named because I melted the plastic beads for the river in a used can of pineapple juice). 

But despite its small size and barren environs, Cremation attracts a colourful crowd: Apache raiders, Confederate deserters, bad banditos, bank-robbers and rustlers. And lawmen. Lots and lots of lawmen.

Why, here's a lawman now. In the picture below, we meet Sheriff Dexter MacGrudy, accompanied by the famed Comanche scout, Isaiah Youngblood. If they can't bring order to the streets of Cremation, no one can. Ole MacGrudy may look like he's seen better days, but he's still meaner than a coot and faster than a hungry rattler. Yes, you have to get up pretty early in the morning to get the jump on Dexter MacGrudy.

Uh oh. 

Here we see someone who has gotten up pretty early in the morning. Even earlier than Sheriff MacGrudy. Simply going for a pee is dangerous in Cremation. Too bad. Time to get another lawman!

Thanks for looking! Stay tuned for more pictures of Cremation next week.

A Perilous Light: 1980's Lord of the Rings Miniatures

Here are the rest of the classic 1980's Lord of the Rings miniatures from Citadel that I painted for The War of the Ring (and its expansion Lords of Middle Earth). I've included some of Tolkien's descriptions for each character, plus my own take.

Gothmog, Lieutenant of Morgul

Gothmog is one of the most lightly sketched characters in the trilogy. He appears only during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields after the Witch King was killed:  "...new strength [of Mordor] came now streaming to the field out of Osgiliath. There they had been mustered for the sack of the City and the rape of Gondor, waiting on the call of their Captain. He now was destroyed; but Gothmog the lieutenant of Morgul had flung them into the fray." (RotK, Chapter 6, Book V)

Tolkien doesn't even tell us what race Gothmog was. In Peter Jackson's movies, he's portrayed as an orc with a goiter problem. In The War of the Ring, he becomes a Black Numenorean who wears armor that echoes/perverts the armour of Gondor. This is how I've portrayed him myself, using a lightly converted ME-24 Gondor Citadel Knight (1985). The main changes are his shield bearing the Eye of Sauron, and his banner (which reads in the Black Tongue "One Ring to Rule them All").

Incidentally, my own opinion is that Gothmog is neither a man nor an orc, but one of the Ringwraiths. After all, the only hard fact that we have about him is that he is "the lieutenant of Morgul". And Tolkien provides us with a lot of information about Minas Morgul, courtesy of Faramir:

"As you know, that city was once a strong place, proud and fair, Minas Ithil... But it was taken by fell men whom the Enemy in his first strength had dominated, and who wandered homeless and masterless after his fall. It is said that their lords were men of Númenor who had fallen into dark wickedness; to them the Enemy had given rings of power, and he had devoured them: living ghosts they were become, terrible and evil. After his going they took Minas Ithil and dwelt there, and they filled it, and all the valley about, with decay: it seemed empty and was not so, for a shapeless fear lived within the ruined walls. Nine Lords there were, and after the return of their Master... they grew strong again." (TT, Chapter 6, Book IV)

So the leaders of Minas Morgul were the nine Black Riders, with the Witch King as their head. This fact suggests to me that the second in command of Minas Morgul would have also been a Ringwraith. This is also consistent with the only other named Ringwraith in Tolkien's writings: Khamul who was in charge of the fortress of Dol Guldur.

The Witch King

We get our best glimpse of the Haggard King as he's leading Sauron's army out of Minas Morgul:

"Before them went a great cavalry of horsemen moving like ordered shadows, and at their head was one greater than all the rest: a Rider, all black, save that on his hooded head he had a helm like a crown that flickered with a perilous light. Now he was drawing near the bridge below, and Frodo's staring eyes followed him, unable to wink or to withdraw. Surely there was the Lord of the Nine Riders returned to earth to lead his ghastly host to battle? Here, yes here indeed was the haggard king whose cold hand had smitten down the Ring-bearer with his deadly knife." (TT, Chapter 8, Book IV)


Saruman the White

Saruman is "...an old man, swathed in a great cloak, the colour of which was not easy to tell, for it changed if they moved their eyes or if he stirred. His face was long, with a high forehead, he had deep darkling eyes, hard to fathom, though the look that they now bore was grave and benevolent, and a little weary. His hair and beard were white, but strands of black still showed about his lips and ears." ((TT, Chapter 10, Book III)

I love this miniature, both for its simplicity and its artistry: a force seems to emanate from the Palantir that swirls Saruman's beard and robes. And his hands are covered in rings, which is an accurate touch ("For I am Saruman the Wise, Saruman Ring-Maker, Saruman of Many Colours!")

In an effort to keep him from looking like Joseph and the Technicolour Dream Coat, I avoided a multi-coloured robe and instead painted Saruman off-white ("I am Saruman the Beige!"). However, I tried to add a little interest to the miniature by giving his Palantir a dim red glow.


The Mouth of Sauron

The Mouth of Sauron's most fascinating feature is his magical steed: "... there rode a tall and evil shape, mounted upon a black horse, if horse it was; for it was huge and hideous, and its face was a frightful mask, more like a skull than a living head, and in the sockets of its eyes and in its nostrils there burned a flame. The rider was robed all in black, and black was his lofty helm; yet this was no Ringwraith but a living man. The Lieutenant of the Tower of Barad-dûr he was, and his name is remembered in no tale; for he himself had forgotten it, and he said: ‘I am the Mouth of Sauron.’ But it is told that he was a renegade, who came of the race of those that are named the Black Númenóreans; for they established their dwellings in Middle-earth during the years of Sauron’s domination, and they worshipped him, being enamoured of evil knowledge." (RotK, Chapter 10, Book V)


Gollum

"Deep down here by the dark water lived old Gollum, a small slimy creature... as dark as darkness, except for two big round pale eyes in his thin face. He had a little boat, and he... paddled it with large feet dangling over the side, but never a ripple did he make. Not he. He was looking out of his pale lamp-like eyes for blind fish, which he grabbed with his long fingers as quick as thinking." (The Hobbit, Chapter 5)

Elrond Half-Elven

"The face of Elrond was ageless, neither old nor young... His hair was dark as the shadows of twilight, and upon it was set a circlet of silver; his eyes were grey as a clear evening, and in them was a light like the light of stars. Venerable he seemed as a king crowned with many winters, and yet hale as a tried warrior in the fullness of his strength." (FotR, Chapter 1, Book II)

The Citadel sculptors gave Elrond a saucy little mustache, which makes him look less like an elf lord and more like one of the Village People. I thought about shaving it off with my hobby knife, but decided instead to go where the lead led me... it certainly makes him unique. I further departed from canonicity by making him a red-head.

Galadriel

"Very tall they were, and the Lady no less tall than the Lord; and they were grave and beautiful. They were clad wholly in white; and the hair of the Lady was of deep gold, and the hair of the Lord Celeborn was of silver long and bright; but no sign of age was upon them, unless it were in the depths of their eyes; for these were keen as lances in the starlight, and yet profound, the wells of deep memory." (FotR, Chapter 7, Book II)

There is no 1980's Citadel miniature for Galadriel, so I improvised, using a solid-base Citadel C08 High Elf Wizard (1984). My version of Galadriel looks like a drag queen to me, but there you have it. Sometimes you try to paint a beautiful elf queen, and she comes out looking like Bianca del Rio.


Gandalf the White

There goes an old man in nice white duds. "His hair was white as snow in the sunshine; and gleaming white was his robe; the eyes under his deep brows were bright, piercing as the rays of the sun; power was in his hand." (TT, Chapter 5, Book III)

Aragorn son of Arathorn

"And the cloaked man spoke and said: ‘He is come.’ And they saw as he stepped into the light of the lantern by the door that it was Aragorn, wrapped in the grey cloak of Lórien above his mail, and bearing no other token than the green stone of Galadriel." (RotK, Chapter 8, Book V)

Hands down this is one of my favourite miniature sculptures of all time. It's compact, dramatic and perfectly composed. I love the way Roheryn is rearing and how this is contrasted with Aragorn's steady gaze... for me, it perfectly captures the level-headed audacity of the leader of the Grey Company.

Painted Miniatures for "War of the Ring"

Here is Citadel's ME-53 "The Mouth of Sauron" (1985), the Lieutenant of the Tower of Barad-dûr. As I mentioned before, I collected and painted miniatures from Citadel's classic range of Lord of the Rings miniatures in order to play Ares Games' War of the Ring. I've never played a game that better captures the flavour of Tolkien's work. Perhaps the best part of it is that while staying true to the essentials of Tolkien, the game give you the freedom to re-shape the events in his trilogy.

What if the fellowship avoided Moria? What if Legolas followed Frodo into Mordor? What if Sauron had waited longer to build up his forces before attacking Gondor? Or attacked right away? What if Rivendale had marched to war? Being able to simulate these scenarios within the confines of a coherent and elegant set of rules is a deeply satisfying experience. 

Gandalf by John Howe

Often these what-ifs lead to surprising results. When Gandalf avoided Moria, it gave the fellowship the continuing benefit of his leadership... but then the Balrog emerged unscathed from the Misty Mountains and plundered Lorien. When Sauron led a lightning strike attack against Minas Tirith in the early stages of the war, he was able to seize the city... but he galvanized the rest of Gondor into a stiff resistance.

I've never seen a board game where story is so central. Strategy, luck, and rules are all important, but they take a supporting role in creating a larger narrative. This emphasis on story makes the game a lot of fun to play solo. It is not at all designed for solitary play -- but I enjoy playing it alone anyway because it gives me a chance to re-imagine the course of The Lord of the Rings. 

Another element of the game that I have to mention is the artwork by John Howe (a fellow Canadian by the way). The game designers are to be applauded for getting such an iconic illustrator of Tolkien to paint the card art for the game. Whereas most game companies favour flashy, exaggerated or cartoonish artwork, Ares/Asmodee went in a completely different direction by going with Howe. His stately, elegant and sad paintings set the tone for the game, giving everything a mature air that would surely please Prof. Tolkien.

The only thing that needed improvement was the miniatures. I have no complaints about the sculptures themselves, designed as they are by Citadel alumnus Bob Naismith. But they're small and formed in a soft plastic, which makes them poor for detailed painting. Hence my decision to turn to Citadel miniatures from the 1980's (some of which were sculpted by Mr. Naismith back in the day).

For example, here's my Treebeard. It's actually the C31 Giant Monster Treeman (1983) later released as "Klinty" from The Tragedy of McDeath scenario pack (1986). I selected this miniature because I love his gorgeous texture, his tangled branches and his sad eyes. But most importantly, he can fit on a small base, which is terribly important for The War of the Ring, where real estate is at a premium.

Treebeard by John Howe

Next week I'll post the rest of my Lord of the Rings miniatures. Thanks for stopping by!

A Balrog! A Balrog is come!

Behold one of the great early Citadel miniatures: the solid-base C31 "Giant Monster" Balrog (1983). This was among the first miniatures that my brother and I bought when we we're tiny tots. That original miniature is long lost, but my current interest in miniatures for The Lord of the Rings prompted me to seek out and paint a replacement.

While I was researching The Fellowship of the Ring to plan my colour scheme, I became fixated by one of Tolkien's lines, as delivered by Legolas the elf. Let me set the scene: The nine walkers are fleeing through Moria and suddenly they realize the true nature of the great evil that's pursuing them:

'Ai! ai! ' wailed Legolas. 'A Balrog! A Balrog is come! (FotR, Book II, Chapter 5)

What would you say if you just discovered a Balrog was chasing you? I can think of several options. "Holy fuck, a fucking Balrog!" is top of mind. Other options include "GAAAH!" or "I just shit myself" or  "A Balrog? We're only 4th level! You are a dick DM. I liked this character."

Ad for the Balrog from 1st Citadel Compendium (1983)

I'll tell you what I wouldn't say. I wouldn't say, "Ai! Ai! A Balrog is come!" Let's break it down. "Ai!" is a clearly an exclamation, although it's not certain whether it is pronounced with one syllable ("Aye!") or two ("Ay-Eeeeee!"). In any case, it's rarely used in English, mainly being confined to 19th century poets who were looking for an exciting new ejaculation to place before lines like "Woe is me!" Legolas may be forgiven for saying it once, but saying it twice? It sounds like he's hog calling.

Equally odd is "A Balrog is come!". This is just an archaic way of saying "A Balrog has come!". But it is really archaic. It was becoming picturesque when Sir Walter Scott wrote "O, young Lochinvar is come out of the west" (Marmion, 1808) or when Isaac Watts wrote "Joy to the World! The Lord is come!" in his 1719 chart-topping Christmas carol. All of which is to say, when I see a Balrog coming, I wouldn't say to myself "How can I express my dismay? I know: I will swap 'to be' for 'to have' as the auxiliary verb in the construction of the perfect tense of 'to come'. Only grammar can save us now!"

So, here is my suggested re-write for Tolkien:

"Fuck! Fuck!" wailed Legolas. "RUN you BITCHES!"

Well... back to the miniature. My own paint job was much inspired by this beautiful rendition. I was hoping to capture the mixture of fiery light and darkness described by Aragorn: "It was both a shadow and a flame, strong and terrible." (FotR, Book II, Chapter 7). I'm not sure who sculpted the C31 Balrog, but I'd guess it was Bob Naismith -- if anyone knows for certain, please let me know. I like the fact that this figure is (as Tolkien described the Balrog) in "man-shape maybe, yet greater". Not many other interpretations pick up on this man-like form.

By way of comparison, here's another Balrog-inspired monster... The C-29 Winged Fire Demon sculpted by Nick Bibby (1985). 

With its monstrous visage and ram's horns, Bibby's Winged Fire Demon prefigures many later interpretations of the Balrog (including the one featured in Peter Jackson's trilogy). Nick Bibby's future as a fine-art sculptor can be glimpsed in this miniature's unique flare: the pronounced slouch and the way it drags its whip behind it. The demon's heavy, menacing progress reminds me of the lines from Yeat's poem The Second Coming (1919):

     And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, 
     Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

Thanks for looking and stay tuned for more Lord of the Rings miniatures (and less
grammar).