It's all in the bag

Remember those Bags of Holding that Babo was helping me to sell at Convergence?  Well, I just had to have one for myself!

Of course, one does not simply own a Bag of Holding.  Others will claim it for themselves, it seems!

It really is popular!

The empty bag before the loading process begins.

And this is what I am hoping to stuff inside it!  Anyone who has seen me in person has seen me haul this bad boy around.  It does hold a ton of stuff, and it is on wheels, but it can be very difficult to get this into smaller vehicles, and it is murder on escalators!

Also, it can be very difficult to get things to stay in place.  While it is very huge inside, the dimensions do no stay the same throughout.  As a result, I end up stacking all kinds of plastic cases of various sizes in it, which are a nightmare to keep straight, and it is way too much like hobby Jenga.

Marty has been using stackable cases like these for his hobby stuff, and this version fit perfectly inside the BOH.

I learned that I could fit two of these stacks inside, and still have room for one more case!!

Filling up the plastic bins.  You recognize these bases!  They were mostly flopping around inside the giant case...

Wild West Exodus 'Serenity inspired' figures!

Side pockets!  I was able to get all the brushes in one pocket, while the other held multiple containers of terrain compound.  Heck, I even squeezed a giant bottle of brush on primer inside.

The front pocket held glue and other items.

More surprises for Memoir '44!  These went in the top compartment.

The full stack of seven plastic bins contained!

The final result.  I slipped the backpack on, and was walking around with ease.  It was much lighter, since I was not also carrying the weight of the big plastic case!

Here's the link to the bag:

http://www.offworlddesigns.com/bag-of-holding-backpack/

One more dose of the 'flat'

Here's a few more 'old timey' art pieces for you.  There are a few of my favorite spacescapes here, including "Arc of the Heavens".  I had a ton of fun with this piece.

"In the Shadow of Olympus".  This was the first of what was going to be a series of images of a long since terraformed Mars.  I love my architecture and astronomy, and this was a fun way to combine them!  I could not resist doing a coastal skyline scene, given how much time I spent gazing at my own Chicago skyline.

"Chaos and Creation".  I have actually painted this scene a few times.  I enjoy painting crater scenes such as this, with the way the lights and shadows play on the surface.

I originally painted this as a watercolor.  Years later, I scanned it, and went into photoshop.  The background was reworked entirely in photoshop, while the dragon was manipulated extensively as well.

This is another sketch of a Reaper Miniature.  I have only gotten an opportunity to do a few drawings in this manner, starting from a neutral grey piece of paper.  Typically, I am working with a white piece of paper, and adding only dark shading.

Since I am already provided with a 'middle tone', I can bring out the white colored pencil and do the highlights!!

Old Timers

Here's a batch of Lord of the Rings elves that I painted years ago.

These are the elves of a previous age, which I don't think I have used in an actual game thus far.

I don't think the stat lines are all that different from the Galadrhim elves, unless the defense value is different.

At some point I will have to give them a try!

In both cases, the unique armor shapes were fun to paint!

Bring in the Fly Boys!

Now you get to see some planes in action!

They work very differently in the campaign setting than they do when you use the typical command card.

You have to make more strategic choices with them, which I love!  You have to choose between a strafing run, or ground interdiction, etc.

My favorite use for them is to deny terrain cover, with tank units nearby!

This, by the way, is the continuation of the Campaign for Caen.

However, you have to make sure that they have a safe place to end their movement, or they can be easily shot down.  That hands free victory points to the opponent.

You also need to have an order card that can move that plane on your turn, or else it leaves the field.

In this case, I took the chance to leave it nearby the fortified units, potentially sacrificing it so that my Shermans could get in some nice shots on those units.  Sadly, it didn't work out.  I didn't do that much damage, and the plane was shot down!

However, I got my revenge with some long range artillery!  BOOOOOM goes the tank unit!

The Axis responds by moving troops in the center to deny the town to the approaching British...

The German infantry is backed up by all kinds of armor here, including entrenched armor on the hill!

The Tiger tank responds to the barrage by advancing on the infantry hiding out in the forest.

Surprise!  Out comes an ME 109, ready to do some ground support.

Not looking good for the Brits right now!

Some fortunate shots by the British stun the Axis temporarily, until the tanks can get up and support the infantry attack.

They arrive!  Another big risk is taken as they try to dig out the troops in the town.

Oh no!!  The Tiger tanks break out into the clear!  This could be very bad.

The brave British soldiers are unfazed by the monstrous vehicles bearing down on them...  They hold the line miraculously.

One more desperate charge.  Can the Allies reach the Bridge Objective?  Or will they be crushed under the treads of the mighty Tigers.  Stay tuned to find out!!!

A little bit of weathering...

Time to finish off the last of the details on those Wild West Exodus bases.

Using those Happy Seppuku moulds, this set ended up having some more weathering than originally anticipated.  It just felt that I should put some more of it on them. :-)

It will probably add some more details to them once I add the figures themselves.

I see myself adding something fun for each character.  For example... some cow pies for the cattle rustling episode!

I was glad that I still had some of the plastic deck plating texture left.  It is fun to paint, especially with a touch of rust.

I may also add the 180 degree lines of arc on the bases as well, since that can be important for playing the game.

And now for a few shots of the entire set!

I really am looking forward to having some of the figures attached to these.  It always places the base in such a different context.

One last view!  It will probably be a number of hours before the next post, since we will be getting on the road very early tomorrow morning!