Layering Styrene - 28mm Stargate Insert

A few weeks ago I set about making a styrene insert for my Stargate model. After several attempts and some advice from guys on TMP I finally have a finished product. I ended up using 4 Pieces of blue water effects styrene from Plastruct and one sheet of plain white styrene. I made the insert look the same from both sides so, starting from the front I have a layer of wavy blue water, a layer of bubbly blue water, the layer of white, a layer of bubbly blue water and then a layer of wavy blue water. This gave me a depth that looks really nice and the appropriate blue color I wanted.

The most difficult part of the process was gluing the layers together without causing any hazing or dis-coloring of the water effects plastic. This was ultimately accomplished with Model Masters Airplane Canopy Cement around the edges. It worked exactly as I wanted and caused absolutely no discoloration. I then ran a bead of clear RTV silicone around the edge to hold it in place inside the gate when it was popped in. I originally intended to use magnets but this proved nearly impossible and good old friction ended up being the better choice.










Now I just have to make a dial home device of somekind and I'll be set.

SYW 15mm Closeups

I received some requests for closeups of the SYW figs from the below battle report and I finally got a few taken this week. I had some major trouble trying to take closeups so they aren't quite as clear as I was hoping for but hopefully they will suffice.

We'll start out with the Prussians and get to the Austrians further down the page. I generally use either 24 or 30 man battalions with a single battalion gun where appropriate. My figure scale is about 1:25. My figures are based so that I can use them for AOR if I need to, although I'm currently playing my own as yet untitled ruleset.

My latest 2 projects for 15mm SYW involve getting plenty of battalion 4 lb guns painted up for the Prussians and Austrians and also painting up Von Kleist's Freikorps. After that I have a ton of painted Russians I need to rebase.

The Prussians!

The Austrians!

That's about all for this post. I'll get some more stuff up in the near future.

A 15mm SYW Battle Report

These pictures are from a 15mm SYW battle that I ran a few months ago. Between the Prussians and the Austrians we had about 50 Infantry Battalions and about 25 Cavalry Battalions. All of the Infantry Battalions are either 24 or 30 man units. The table is 6' by 18' and it took us about 8 hours to play using my own house rules that I have been writing. We deployed on maps prior to actually placing our troops.

The Prussian plan was to anchor our left flank on a small village and deploy both of our cavalry commands on the right flank. The Austrians had a very similar plan and ended up with both of their cavalry commands deployed facing ours. The Austrians ended up with the first move and got their Infantry Battalions in the center deployed first. This gave the Prussian center some difficulty as they came under fire prior to being fully deployed.

However the Prussian Right and Left Flanks were faring much better at this point. The Left flank fully deployed and was awaiting the Austrian Right. The Austrians had not anticipated the refused flank and had a long march to bring their far right units to the fight. On the Prussian right the cavalry charged headlong into the Austrian Cavalry and a massive, whirling fight ensued. The Austrians were hampered in bringing the full weight of their Cavalry to bear by a small wood that cut their baseline. Ultimately this would prove critical on that flank and would end up turning the battle.







The Initial Prussian cavalry charge eventually crushed the Austrian cavalry facing it. This was mostly due to very poor dice rolling by the Austrian Commander coupled with the Austrians inability to bring over half of their cavalry to bear due to the restrictive terrain (The woods in the above pic). However, much of the Prussian cavalry was left exhausted and the benefit of owning the flank could not immediately be exploited.





Just down the line the Hungarians were doing their best to pepper the deploying Prussians. Despite the heavy losses and much confusion the Prussians eventually got deployed and a fierce firefight ensued.



In center of the line Fredrick moved forward to press the attack. A long and deadly firefight ensued in which 2 Prussian battalions took over 50% casualties. Things were looking grim until the Prussian reserves joined the fight. At this point the Austrian center started to suffer from fatigue and it appeared that the Prussians were on the verge of a breakthrough.

The fighting on the left flank was fierce with neither side giving an inch. After the initial Austrian deployment difficulties they had put a number of battalions into the fight but were unable to make any headway against the steadfast Prussian defense. The Prussian general holding the left flank did his job well holding up almost a third of the Austrian infantry and keeping them out of the decisive section of the battle.

Meanwhile back on the right flank the Prussian infantry was finally starting to pressure the Hungarians just as the Prussian Cavalry was finally reorganized and recovered enough to exploit the flank.

This proved to be a deadly combination as the engaged Hungarian infantry was unable to respond to a timely charge by a unit of Prussian Dragoons. The Austrian flank quickly collapsed as General Daun was sent from the field amidst the hoards of fleeing Hungarian Infantry.



This development in conjunction with the wavering of the Austrian center made it obvious that the day belonged to the Prussians. In all it was a great day of gaming and we all had a good time pushing troops around the table.

Note: The order counters in the pictures are from Litko Aerosystems.

28mm Stargate Pics

After seeing some Stargate interest on TMP I thought I would post some pics of my 28mm Stargate. I can't take credit for any of the work or paint. I bought the Stargate as is off of E-Bay a year or so ago. The base was made to order for it by Battlefield Architect... a frequent poster in the TMP marketplace. I've bought a ton of his terrain and he always has a great product and provides excellent service.

Anyway.. this proves that someone at sometime did make a Resin Stargate. It appears to be two halves put together back to back. The reverse side is identical except the chevrons were painted blue. I'm in the process of cutting some scenic effects plastic "water" sheeting to fit the opening to give the open gate look. I plan to mount it with tiny rare earth magnets so that I can pop it in and out.

15mm Zulu & Brit Pics

By request I have taken some closeup photos of my 15mm figs from the Isandlawana game in the previous post. Let me know what you think.

British Officers and a Supply Sergeant

Overrun 7lb Gun

Non-Overrun 7Lb Gun

Limbered Artillery

Limbered and deployed Rocket Battery

Natal Native Contingent

Natal Native Pioneers

British Line

Natal Native Horse

Various Volunteer Horse

Zulu Commander

Zulus

More Zulus

Even More Zulus

British Camp Stand