Other than paint...

...I think that the office is basically completed. It is a nice place now to work (when I work from home) and to game. The desk arrived Friday, and was actually quite the fiasco. I stayed out back with the dogs while the delivery folks were here bringing in the two desk pieces. Well, they did some measuring and said to my wife that they were not going to take if off the truck since it would not fit through the door into my office. Well, she got me, and the furniture was quickly off of the truck. The measurements were correct, it was not going to fit...but...I have dome this before as I worked for a couple of years in the office furniture industry. I took the "feet" off of the desk and took down the door to the office and one door stop strip and slid the desk in...no problems. This mess was going on when I was supposed to be on a conference call however...but, I was only going to be a listener anyway.

So, here are some pictures. This one is as you come into the office from the hallway. You can see the desk in the left. At the far right is an antique desk that has been in the family for generations - handed down to me from my grandmother. This desk spent some time in Seven Oaks Plantation (now long gone) near New Orleans. Also shown are my replica uniforms. I have a Confederate Major's frock coat, and a Confederate colonel's shell jacket (this is actually my brother's...now that he has a great house, he may want that back for his office), and an 1879 British tunic of the 24th Foot. A rebel kepi, British Glenngarry, pirate hat and WW2 ammo belt round out the items. The helmet above is from WW1 (my great grandfather's).

You can see that the walls beg for color (Mom!). Also, I think a reproduction WW2 German tunic would go nicely in here.

The next image shows the workstation. One of the selling points of my desk was the computer power center on the right. I have a 33" monitor for use when writing code, styling web pages, etc.

The final image is the chair my wife wished added to the room. Now when I am locked up in here gaming or coding, she can sit there and play sudoko. The images on the wall are from the awesome, and free, National Guard Prints. The golden framed picture is my great-grandfather from when we went off to WW1.

The First Viking Knarr

My friend Matt built a Knarr whilst I was working on Vietnam terrain. The Knarr is a Norse cargo ship...a seaworthy vessel used on many trading and exploration journeys. The model is 11.5 inches long and almost 4.5 inches wide at center. As you can see, it can hold many warriors and their loot. The steer-board is particularly cool! Dragon-headed attachments still to come.We intend to use this ship in an upcoming series of Viking games!

Leave some comments and let Matt know what you think!

15MM Vietnam War Terrain

Yesterday, I made some terrain for my brother's Vietnam War collection. He's a busy guy working long hours, and a new dad, so his time for such activities is limited and he likes to spend his free time actually gaming not building terrain. Plus, i like building this stuff and if I can build stuff for him that helps him have fun in our hobby, then it was worth it.

I acquired about 35 bases of 15MM palm trees for him the other day from a good friend here that was getting rid of them...but...we're still shy of some terrain for the jungles of the Mekong delta. So...I started with some "hooches" that would ripe for a "zippo raid". Binhan made the pattern and I filled it with some textures from the internet. Binhan then assembled them after we color-printed them on my bitchin' color laser printer. I think that they look pretty darn good.

Next, I did some bunkers. This first one represents an individual hole that an enemy guerrilla would use to pop up from and ambush a patrol. Depending on the scale of the game, this could represent a small unit of men dug in in this manner.

This next bunker is supposed to represent an left over French bunker (concrete) that has been reactivated. I based it on a diagonal figuring that the bunker would offer a 45 degree field of fire and the sides of the base would be perfect for that. In the rear, but not shown in the image, is a steel entrance door.

The last bunker is a simple log bunker that offers firing to the front.

None of the bunkers can actually hold a base full of miniature soldiers, as the Vietnamese bunkers seemed quite low. So, the bunker itself would be a unit in most rules.

Next up? Rice paddies!

Vikings Raid the New Table

Yesterday, my good friend Matt was unexpectedly available for gaming and visiting. As I consider him a very good friend, person and dad, I quickly suggested that we get together and christen the new gaming table in my office! With 28MM Vikings! He readily agreed and it was on.

First, the table. My upstairs wargame room doubles as my office when I work from home, so the table in there needs to be functional for many things. I have been looking and not finding a suitable table for some time. But, a week ago, my wife found the perfect table! It is 22 inches high (coffee table height) and is 42 inches square. A very nice size for playing games like: DBA, DBN, Legends of the High Seas, Legends of the Old West, Viking Raids, Modern Zombies, etc. Here are a couple of shots showing the table - dressed for a Viking raid on a hamlet in Engaland. The second shot shows how the table has four "stools" that slide under the table and offer excellent storage (terrain, felt, additional miniatures, etc.).

The following images are of the battle in progress. The Vikings were victorious but were roughly handled at first and Matt was nervous. In the end, some loot was gained (the inhabitants had warning of the raid and had hidden as much loot and as many animals and civilians as possible). Turns out I did not take as many photos as I had thought, but here they are...

I'll write a blog posting soon about the Viking Raid rules we use, as we think they are quite fun and interesting. I'll also post about the campaign Matt and I wish to run.

The War Cabinet

We took delivery today of a display cabinet that my wife bought for "my little men". It is upstairs in my office. The office is actually undergoing a little bit of a transformation - getting rid of the old crappy computer desk - adding the display cabinet - adding a 3.5' X 3.5' table for small gaming. The new desk won't arrive for about 10 more days. When completed, I'll post more images. In the fall, my mother is coming out and will help me choose a wall color and do some wall painting.

For now, here are some images of the display cabinet. I am filling it with miniatures that play well in a small gaming setting. The top two shelves hold the 28MM pirate collection. The next two shelves hold the 28MM Old West collection. The fifth shelf in the top half hold some of the 28MM dark ages collection. The remainder will be stored in the closet. The bottom half has no shelves at present, as I used them all in the top half. So, we'll get some glass cut for additional shelves in a few weeks. I think that those shelves are reserved for the 28MM American Civil War miniatures. However, they don't play well in the small gaming environment. So I may keep them otherwise stored and place 28MM zombies and 15MM Napoleonics on the remaining shelves. I have a few weeks in which to decide...

The mirrors on the back have a nice effect...