In the Beginning...

So these first few posts are going to be catching up with where I am, rather than what I'm doing. I've been seriously into mini's since the late summer of 2008, but I'd had mini's since the early 80's (had no patience as a kid to do them) and I'd been haphazardly "planning" to get back into them since the late 1990's. In a burst of enthusiasm in July 2008 I ordered some GHQ WWII mini's, and I've been running ever since.

These first few pictures, however, are going to be of my 2mm projects, which I jumped into later that summer with a project set in an alternative 1860's era I call "Rifles and Regiments". The short version of that background is pretty much every twist in history that could have happened in North America up to that time, did. The result is a very balkanized continent, with a Union, a Confederacy, Texas, Chinese and Spanish colonies, and a messed up Canada. Oh, and the Russians are hanging onto Alaska. My intended rule set for this period is the free "Republic and Empire".

I'll also being doing some historical gaming in this period, using other rules, including "They Couldn't Hit an Elephant" (Too Fat Lardies), "They Don't Like It Up 'Em" (also TFL), and at a skirmish scale with Gaslight (LMW Works) or Sharpe Practice (TFL yet again - just realized I need to fix my list of links).

So onto the pictures...

A close-up of my first regiments, of Chinese colonial troops from what would have been California in the real world.


All of my first week's efforts, from a gaming perspective that gives the "big battle" effect, where 2mm really shines.


Troops approaching the plantation/capitol building/courthouse. The building is made from some wooden blocks bought from Michael's, various doo-dads lying in my bit box (including some bracelet charms), and a bit of sheet styrene for the steps and veranda.


More buildings - a factory, hotel, and well-off residences. For when gaming near the edge of a city. All are also made from wooden craft blocks and doo-dads for the chimneys, sheet styrene for the awning on the hotel. The windows are done with a Sharpie, but I've had a bugger of a time with Dullcote then wrecking the windows. Nothing seems to protect the ink, I've tried long drying times and a coat of Future. So for now I'm trusting my terrain pieces to stay healthy without a sealing coat.


Village pieces, mainly made from Sculpey/Fimo or more braclet charms, with a wooden block used for the slave trading house on the right.


A kraal for colonial or fantasy battles (in the world of Imaro/Dossouye). The huts are Sculpey, the nettle wall is a brass sink scrubber, disassembled and stretched out.

For "northern" terrain I'm just using a straight-up green (Shamrock) paint over sand to create a grassy surface, but for my African-esque terrain, it's a bit more complicated, and I've settled on a yellow paint base (Moon Yellow) followed by a very light green ink wash, followed by dry-brushing Cadmium Yellow on top.

I should at this point mention that my link list includes the two best starting guides for 2mm - Tony Hughes site helped with an identification scheme, basing, and how to "do" grass at this scale, and SteelonSand's blog is the most active for in-progress 2mm goodness.