FLAMES! (papercraft terrain)

 Just a quick message to say that the next video has gone live :)

...and, as usual, you can pick up the (pay what you want) pdf file HERE.

* * *

Now, the video itself is just more of my usual 'print & paste' content (though I have improved the spinning logo in the intro sequence) - however it IS the first video to be put together on my new computer (with up to date software).

And I have to say that I'm impressed. To render/encode a ten minute video would have taken anything from 1 to 2 hours on the old computer/software (depending on how much stuff was going on).

On the new computer it took less than 5 minutes :O

So yeah - I'm pretty pleased about that!

 

MINIATURES REVIEW – Bulldogs (Wargames Atlantic)

As some of you will be aware, I will usually include ‘action shots’ at the end of most of my videos – and in those final images I’ll sometimes include a few miniatures.

Now, these are usually miniatures that I’ve bought and painted myself (though I do always check with the manufacturer to make sure that they are OK with me doing this) – but in the LATEST EPISODE I’ve actually included a few ‘review’ miniatures that WargamesAtlantic have sent to me.

(everything that arrived in the mail)

Anyway, as you can see in the above pic, they’ve actually sent me three different boxes to take a look at – but in this article I’ll be concentrating on the Bulldogs from their Death Fields range (as those are the only ones I’ve got painted yet).

Now, I will say that, when I first saw previews of these, I knew that I’d probably be picking them up at some point – as I already have a few of their other miniatures (see the ‘Cannon Fodder’ miniatures at the end of THIS video), and these ‘Bulldogs’ looked like a pretty versatile set (especially when you consider the kit-bashing possibilities with some of the other Wargames Atlantic stuff). So, as you can probably guess, I was particularly pleased to receive these. 

(the box contains 4 identical sprues – each containing 6 miniatures)

 

Now, as you can see, you get a ton of head options on each sprue (as is common with the ‘Death Fields’ range), and I expect that a lot of folks will be using the pith helmets to create Praetorian-style Imperial Guard units (as the original GW models are pretty expensive to get a hold of nowadays).

(pith helmet with and without gas mask / WW1 style cap / Brodie helmet with and without gas mask)

However, I quickly noticed that if I instead used the beret wearing heads, they’d have a similar vibe to some of the early Stormtrooper models that GamesWorkshop released – and that’s a look that I rather like (as it will work quite well for the OnePageRules ‘firefight’ army that I’m putting together).

(models assembled with the beret heads)

Anyway, as far as the assembly goes, they did require a bit of mould line removal, and a tiny bit of greenstuff work on the back of the arms and around the neck (i.e. the kind of thing I’ve come to expect with most multi-part kits) – but, as you can see in the above picture, the detail on these guys is pretty good.

Then, when it came to painting, I just used my usual technique of priming in grey and then:

• Paint in all the base colours.
• Apply washes (different washes over the different colours).
• Highlight (and tidy up any ‘tidemarks’) with the same base colours.
• Add a final highlight here and there (mostly just on the face, clothes, and armour).
  

(the finished models next to some of the ‘cannon fodder’ miniatures)

And I think they’ve turned out quite nice. I mean, I’m not an award winning painter or anything like that – but I do like to put nice looking models on the table… and I do think that these are nice looking models (i.e. there’s plenty of depth in the recesses of the models for washes to do their job).

So, I suppose the only question that remains is – would I buy them?

Well, as I’ve already said, I was thinking of getting some of these anyway – and now that I’ve seen them in the flesh, that hasn’t changed. In all truth, I think they actually look a bit better in person than they do in some of the pictures that I’ve seen online.

However, the main complaint that I can see people having with these is that they don’t come with any bases. For me though, that’s a bit of a non issue – as I always use (2mm thick) mdf bases for all of my miniatures (to maintain a consistent look). But I can see how that might be annoying if you were hoping to get everything you need in one box.

Be that as it may, if you’re looking to add some ‘space Brits’ to your collection (possibly even steampunk looking guys if you use some of the other heads), then I don’t think that you can go wrong with these.

In the UK they’re priced at £25, and since there’s 24 models per box, that’s a tiny bit more than £1 a miniature – and you really can’t grumble about that!

Sci-Fi Generators (print & paste terrain)

It's been a while since I've worked on any sci-fi stuff - but since I've been checking out some of the OnePageRules skirmish games recently, I seem to have been bitten by the sci-fi bug :)

Anyway, if you've been following along via social media, you will have likely seen the development of these ...from some of the initial concepts/prototypes:

...through to the final design:

And I have to say that I'm pretty happy with how it's turned out :)

Anyway, as usual you can grab the (pay-what-you-want) pdf file HERE, and the video showing how to put it together is posted below:

Hope you like it!

The Fantasy Index (a listing of all the print & paste terrain)

I think it would be fair to say that, over the past few years I've made quite a bit of terrain over on the YouTube channel.

However, that does come with a bit of a drawback - as it can be a bit difficult to keep track of all the different pieces that I've made and/or figure out what pdf/video they are found in.

As such, I've compiled a comprehensive list in a (searchable) google doc - as described in the video below...

...or, if you prefer, you can just head straight on over to the INDEX itself.

And with any luck, that should help everyone find exactly what they're looking for  (that's the hope anyway :) ).

Torture Chamber

I refrained from posting about this one until I had both parts of the video uploaded...

...but, as you can see, I've added a little torture chamber to the Print & Paste dungeon :)

Anyway, as I say, I split the video for this one into two parts (as there was a lot to get through) - the first of which contains the instructions for making the rack...

...whereas the second one features the cage and pillory (stocks):

Though, as expected, it would appear that YouTube doesn't like the word 'torture' in the video titles (for obvious reasons) - so they aren't being recommended/seen as much as the usual episodes - which is a shame, as I think the torture rack in particular has turned out rather nice.

Anyway, here's hoping you like them all the same :)

YouTube Channel Membership

Before I go into all the details (as I know that talking about money can be a  bit contentious - plus it's not something I'm entirely comfortable talking about at the best of times) I just want to say that NOTHING IS CHANGING - this is just going to be an additional/alternative way that folks can support the channel - if that's something they're interested in doing.

Anyway, YouTube Memberships have been available for some time now, and a little while ago I began the process of setting one up for the Crooked Staff Terrain channel. However, I never completed the process - for fear that folks might think that I was getting a bit too greedy (as I already have a Patreon and all that).

However, since then, a few folks have inquired about me setting up one of these 'memberships' ...and so I have decided to give it a try!

That being said, I'm really NOT looking to double-dip (if that makes sense) - this is just going to be an ALTERNATIVE way that people can support the channel financially (if they insist on throwing a few coppers my way :) ).

So if you already support me over on Patreon ...there's no need to do this membership thing as well.

Similarly, if you occasionally pay a dollar or two for the pdf files over on DriveThruRPG ...then there's no need to do this membership thing either.

On the other hand, if you want to support the channel, and (for whatever reason) you would find youtube's membership system a more convenient way of doing so - then that's now possible.

THE DETAILS

Right now it's set up so that there's a 99 pence option and an £8.99 option.

For the 99 pence option I might occasionally share some work in progress pdfs for you to have a play around with - for example, I recently shared  (over on Patreon) the preview pdf that you can see here...

...parts of which have since featured in a couple of videos. So, it'll essentially be the same as the $1 Patreon pledge (which is why you definitely don't need to subscribe to both).

Similarly, there's also an £8.99 option - which will be the same as the $10 Patreon pledge ...in that, while you're a member at this level,  you'll also get your name (or nickname/handle) listed in the credits at the end of each video.

Admittedly, these aren't great rewards (though I am open to other ideas) - but, as I said at the beginning of this post, I'm NOT going to be hiding any of the finished pdfs/videos behind a paywall or anything like that ...that's NOT the idea behind this at all!

This is just an alternative way that folks can support the channel if (for whatever reason) they don't like using Patreon, or DriveThuRPG, or whatever. Essentially, I'm just trying to cover as many bases as possible (though please don't ever feel obliged to subscribe to any of this nonsense ...just give the video a like, and I'm happy to call it even ;) ).

And that's all I have to say really. So thanks for reading down until the end of this post, and here's hoping that you're still finding some of this stuff useful!

Curved Passages

This latest episode isn't anything special - but it is something I've wanted to have a go at for quite some time.

And while it would have been possible to just slap a few curved walls on top of any of the existing floor tiles (as shown in the image on the right) - it doesn't really facilitate the kind of 'two abreast' movement that you normally get in 2"/10ft wide passages...

...whereas the version shown on the left (which is still far from perfect) is much more to my liking.

Anyway, as usual, here is the video where I put the tiles together...

...and HERE is the pay-what-you-want pdf file.

So, here's hoping that you can also find a use for them!