Introduction to Miniature Painting, Lesson 1

We've started an irregular class at the Wargate designed to teach novice painters how to begin in the hobby from the ground up.  These introductory lessons will impart all the necessary techniques needed to begin painting gaming miniatures, and we've had a pretty decent turnout so far!  Today's article also begins a new section of the website:  the Paint Guide!

Some of our Gatekeepers hard at work during the class.

Lesson 1 - Base Coating and Flow Control

We began today on a set of old archers for medieval battles.  The models were cleaned and basecoated, and provided to the students to practice on.  They are old sculpts, and very "open" as it were.  Not a lot of hard to reach places and very straightforward color areas.

The most important thing you will learn painting miniatures is that the water on your brush tip can drastically affect how your paint behaves.  It is very important to learn this at the very beginning to avoid silly mistakes that almost all of us make when first starting.  It was a very simple session, designed so the students could practice applying the paint more than anything else.

The entire class painted one (or two, if slightly more experienced) of these archers to practice basecoating.  Flow control (using the water on the brush) was the watchword of the day, as all the students had to do was follow an easy, step-by-step order for applying each color.  Here, the class learned that sometimes light colors go on thin over darker base coats, and that multiple layers of thin coats of paint are how to achieve opaqueness in the color.

Hey bro, do you even camera?

Forgive our blurry, out-of-focus progress picture.  We'll have more updates on the class as it progresses, and we'll see what our students generate for some awesome games!  You can bet you'll be seeing these archers again...this time, finished and based by our staff.  The picture will be much better, I promise.

Introduction to Miniature Painting is held on Monday nights at 6pm.  The weather here might actually stop our progress, so the classes are informal affairs and attendance is not required.  We're going to make sure we have the best materials for you to practice with and learn the ins and outs of painting miniatures.

In addition, there will be some nifty opportunities coming up for painters around the Wargate, and if you're a brush for hire in the Ada area let us know.  We will soon announce we're looking for contractors to paint an endless stream of models, so get a jump-start on it!  That's it for today, and I'll see you for the next lesson soon!

Texas Regiment Takes Action in X-Wing!

The Smith reports from Texas Regiment, embedded right in the middle of the ongoing Rebellion...

The  summer X-Wing campaign heats up as we cover our second and third week of competition. We began our week two game day with a bar-b-que of bratwurst and burgers.  Afterwards we discussed many things concerning our club.  Topics included: 2015 Game Schedule, Possibility of adding Flames of War, X-Wing/Star Wars RPG joint campaigns and battles, and our next game for 2014.

The Empire maintains a firm grasp on the Karthakk system.  Boba Fett has now entered the Geonosis system with Ten Numb in hot pursuit.  Horton Salm and Gray Squad double back to take the offensive against the Empire.  Vader feels a desire for revenge from the Rebels and is impressed.  He senses the Gray Squadron long before engaging them.  Horton Salm proves the Force is truly with the Gray Squad as they blast their way to victory.

Surrounded by Rebels is the last place Darth Vader expected to be today.

Deeper into the Geonosis system Ten Numb has his eyes on the Slave-One.  The Blue Squad quickly dispatches the Imperial escort and completely destroys the Slave-Ones' shields.  Once again Boba Fett manages to escape Rebel capture.  Having expended a large amount of his payload in the battle he quickly makes his way to the planet Geonosis.

Yet another crafty escape by the bounty hunter Boba Fett.

On our third week of the X-Wing campaign we crafted and painted a 3'x3' game board.  Afterwards we discussed the further delays of Robotech RPG Tactics.  Decided to fill our fall game spot previously set aside for this new game with one voted for by the members.  We fought 2 more exciting battles on our newly-crafted larger battlefield, ending this game day with a fish fry to rival the gods.  Young Country caught fresh catfish from Lake Texoma.  It was served with fries, hush puppies, baked beans, and pie.  Now on to the action of week three.

The planet Geonosis, the setting of our week three battles.

Ten Numb has his target in sight leaving the atmosphere of the planet Geonosis.  A grueling and epic battle ensues.  One by one the Rebels fall to the might of this fearsome bounty hunter.  Boba Fett cannot be denied as he shreds the Blue Squad.  This victory earns the Slave-One safe passage out of the Geonosis system and one step closer to Jabba's Palace.  The Rebels are no closer to rescuing Han Solo in this part of the campaign.

Boba Fett has no problem destroying  the Rebels and leaving for the Tatoo system.

Horton Salm stays on the offensive as they engage the Sigma Squad. T he Gray Squad find that The Force is more powerful than the Dark Side as they scrore another victory against the dreaded Darth Vader.  This win grants the rebels control over the Geonosis system.  This part of the campaign is tied with the Rebels and Empire each controlling one system.

Darth Vader was unwilling to speak with the media following his second loss.

The battles were intense and the feasts amazing.  A huge Thank You! to our favorite wookie Chewy, Young Country, and their entire family for the hospitality, fellowship and giving the The Wargate a permanent home in Texas.

Battle Reports
Week 2

Battle 3 - Sigma Squad vs. Gray Squad
                Points: 100
                Victory: Gray Squad

Battle 4 - Boba Fett vs. Blue Squad
               Points:100
               Victory: Blue Squad

Week 3

Battle 5 - Boba Fett vs. Blue Squad
               Points:100
               Victory: Boba Fett!

Battle 6 - Sigma Squad vs. Gray Squad
               Points:100
               Vicorty : Blue Squad          

Texas Regiment is pioneering next year's new games on the Wargate Global Schedule!  Lots of great sci-fi and steampunk action coming our way, as well as a proper historical game.We'll have an official announcement soon regarding said Schedule.  In the meantime, they will continue to fight the good fights of the Galactic Civil War! 

Head Into the Megaverse with Delta Front!

It's been a while since we had enough momentum to start a 2nd Schedule.  It feels good, even amidst all this new stuff and crazy activity, to be stepping up the game.  This next Tuesday, Palladium takes over the 2nd Schedule for a huge event that will last into 2016!

Into the Megaverse, Act I:  Delta Front is meant as an introduction to the Palladium system.  However, the awesome thing about this campaign will be it's inclusiveness.  In our inaugural sessions, we dive into the world of Ninjas & Superspies as imagined by our Gatekeepers.  These characters start out as international spies, but the campaign will develop into a great deal more - we have some serious surprises and events in store!  You can check out the Delta Front campaign page for the lowdown on the setting and scenarios, just click on the State of Play to the right.

We have a great many ways to incorporate far flung Wargate Regiments (formerly known as Wargate Chapters) into our narrative and establish their own within the world.  From Facebook posts and forum threads that players can interact with in their own time all the way to joining the Home Regiment for the live sessions via intarwebz masheens!  We'll be able to integrate your group in any (or all) of the following ways:

1. Online Operations
• Every week there will be a new scenario posted to a special RPG Play-by-Post thread.  Each Regiment will have a different objective within the scenario.
2. Facebook Leads
• Clues and Bonuses will be available to those following us on Facebook, including spontaneous bonus scenarios with a live GM on chat!
3. Video Conference during Live Session
• For the hardcore - get your mic, cam and conference software ready!  Tuesday nights at 6pm CST are live sessions!

For each Regiment that completes their operation, the group playing during the live sessions will receive various bonuses and penalties for the rest of the agency working toward their immediate goals.  Each operation will be posted on Wednesday, and will run until Monday night.  Tuesdays are live sessions, and the following Wednesdays your Regiments new assignment will be posted.  If you'd like your Regiment to participate, simply contact me in any fashion necessary and we'll get it set up.

So, let's get some participation going!  The first scenario begins with the live session this Tuesday (8.19.2014), and the operations for Regiments begin the following Wednesday.  Make sure your Regiment is signed up by this Sunday to make sure you have your custom operation ready to go!