Figures for Paleo Diet

I needed figures in a hurry for Paleo Diet, the new Ganesha Game.  

Paleo Diet - Eat or be Eaten

Looking around, I had a bunch of Descent figures not being used any more. 

The Spear and Club men were Descent Beastmen, with toothpicks added.  The Archer was a Descent Skeleton Archer.  I used greenstuff to add hair to his bald skull.  Maybe archers shave their heads as a sign of their craft?

And here is their first "domesticated" animal.  This took a lot of cutting parts off of the Descent Fire Wolf creature (or whatever he is).  Had to get rid of the flaming tail, and most of the back hump.  Still a work in progress.

Now for the Huntees.  Most figures came from a "tube" pack of prehistoric creatures from my local Michael's Craft Store.  I just based them on styrene bits, did not do any repainting.  

First, an apex predator and his mate.

Next, a giant grazer.  This was a stand-alone figure from Michael's.  A bit out of size, but he would work as a Steppe Mammoth

A baby mammoth?  And a generic herd-beast.  Might buy a couple more tubes to get more of these.

These are the other figures from the tube.  Haven't based them up yet.  But I think we should hunt the giant sloth...

And finally, the rules contain a large section about fire and its use.  I made up a few fire markers (1 short on each side), and a way to designate if a club-carrier was using fire.

Thor Battery Control Center Fix

Solar on the Hurricane, Part 2

Well, the hardware bit arrived so it was time for a late afternoon install.

The dead center of the roof had the least obstructions.  It was also the shortest run from the fridge vent, so I actually ended up with about 6 feet of excess cable.

Put the panels where I wanted them, marked the area, then moved the panels and cleaned the spots.

(When I say "I", I mean "WE", because the 14 year old actually conquered his fear of heights and came up.  Made 5 trips up and down the ladder for me!)

After cleaning, laid down a chunk of Eternabond tape under each Z-bracket, then drilled 3/8" holes.

Once holes were drilled, I put a blob of caulk in each hole, then put the rubber well-nuts in.  This was the hardest part of the operation.  The wellnuts were very reluctant to go in the hole.  The final solution that worked best:  Insert screw into wellnut, tighten just a couple threads so it is connected.  Push that mess into the hole.  Wipe off excess caulk and remove the screw.

Very messy.  But once in place, we just dropped the panels back over top and all the screws snugged right up.  A lot of prep work but the install was easy.

BUT:  I attached one end of the first panel before realizing I hadn't connected the 2 panels.  Thankfully my small helper could snake his hand under the panel and grab the connectors. 

Here's the 2 Z-brackets, in a position to drive all OCD people crazy.  The panels themselves are only about 1/8 inch offset.  The brackets have some play in them.  The bracket is sitting on top of the Eternabond tape.  The white goo is the caulk pushing up around it.  Stainless Steel screws were recommended, but zinc plated was all I could find.  All screw heads were covered in a healthy glob of caulk afterwards.

Renogy makes a big deal of recommending these rubber wellnuts instead of just screwing into the 1/4" plywood roof.  Just for fun, I took an extra one and cinched it up under some scrap plywood.  Definitely looks worth the effort.

Other steps not shown:  

padding the wires as they went into the roof vent

using expanding foam on the various holes I drilled to route the wires

Oh, and half an hour after the top picture was taken, once everything was buttoned up, I was still getting 15 volts on the panels, even with one shaded by the house.

Solar on the Hurricane, Part One

This is part one of the Solar Install on my 2009 Four Winds Hurricane 34B

Purchased the Renogy 200W "Premium" kit.  

This kit comes with monocrystal panels and an MPPT controller.

renogy-200-watt-12-volt-solar-premium-kit/

The inverter is still an option.  We did find a couple issues right off the bat:

• 20 feet of cable isn't enough for this motorhome layout.  Ordered extension cables
• The remote only has 6 feet of cable.  I couldn't move the controller inside.  
• Renogy ships the z-brackets with self-tapping screws, then says not to use them on RV roofs.  Now waiting on another order of fasteners.

Started by mounting the controller unit.  Renogy recommends vertical mounting, but there wasn't quite enough room.  It's as high and protected as possible.  Nice 20-amp fuse as part of the kit.  

It's pretty important to hook up the controller to the batteries before the panels, so I just started at this end and worked backwards. 

Next is the remote head-unit.  It uses RS485 connectors, not RJ45 (ethernet).  With only a 6 foot cable, I couldn't go far.  Put the unit in the pass-through storage ahead of the batteries.  It has an aluminum brace behind it in case stuff slides around.  

This is not my final solution, I want the head unit inside. 

Now it's time to start routing the PV wires.  Cable clamps just behind the charge controller to start things off.  Hooked everything up to one panel first just to make sure it works.

Routed the cables across the underside, above the frame rails.  Followed other wiring looms as much as possible.  Battery box is on the driver side of the vehicle, under a large slideout.  Best roof access is further aft on the passenger side, using the fridge stack vent.  So wires went across the undercarriage.  Underneath the fridge is the propane tank, and a storage compartment just in front.  I followed the propane lines.

Here are the propane lines coming in to the storage compartment, then exiting the top into the body of the coach.  I added a new hole for the wires.  Still to do:  rubber grommet and new foam insulation. 

The wires entering the coach.  This will be a good place to add the extension cable.  

From here, the cable will continue:

Up into the fridge area, then on up the stack to the roof.

But all that is waiting for Part II, the Need for More Parts...

Edit:
The sequel is here:  Solar part 2

storage space for sewer hose

Good spot?

Armies and Hordes Playtest 2

Back at it again, this time in an alternate 1812.  Used but modified) many existing profiles.  Each side was to have 1 General, 1 Mage, 1 large beastie, and several regular units.  For the Indians, I combined the General and Mage in 1 character. For the Americans, they were 2 characters, but we experimented with the artillery rule.

This game is one of the SoBH conversions of the old Mordheim scenarios, re-converted for Armies and Hordes

1811.  General Harrison's Hanky

In the aftermath of the Battle of Tippecanoe, General Harrison realizes his personal handkerchief was dropped on the battlefield.  Hand-embroidered by his wife Anna, whoever gains control of the hanky will gain power over Harrison.

Indian side: Pts Qual Atk DEF Specials
Tenskwatawa "The Prophet" 167?   3          3   7       General, Spell Caster, Extra Lives 2,
Tough Spells:  Alter Terrain, Armor, Destroy Undead, Lightning Bolt, Meteor Storm
Indian Braves unit           34   4        2      6      Shooters 2
Indian Braves unit           34   4        2            6      Shooters 2
skeletal Archers unit      27   4       1      5      Shooters 1, undead
Red Dragon   ??   4       2      7      Monster 3, Dragon Breath 3, Tough, extra lives 3, Flying, fast

US side:
William Henry Harrison 124   3       3     7    General, Tough, Extra Lives 2
Old Nathan 57   3       2     6    Slow, Spell Caster, Spells: Blessing, Curse, Futuresight, High Priest
Regulars unit 45   4       2    6     Shooters 2, Drilled
Regulars unit 45   4       2    6     Shooters 2, Drilled
Rangers unit 70?   3       3    6     Forester, Shooter 2, Resilient
Airship 118   4       1    7    Airship, Artillery 2, Tough, extra lives 3, Flying, fast

Scenario rules:
no more than 6 areas of rough / very rough terrain
Take turns placing 6 markers, no more than 1 per area, none on starting edge areas
Each side is attempting to search for, find, and escape with the hanky; while preventing the enemy from doing so.
The game will last until one side escapes with the hanky, or fails morale and flees (leaving the other side to search at leisure).
Note:  After playing, escaping with the hanky should give a big bonus of points to one side, not be the game winner.  That way, in a campaign it would still be worth it for the side without the hanky to keep fighting.

Searching for the Hanky
Each area with a marker can be searched by any unit (with exceptions) in the area and free from HTH combat.
Seaching units cannot be Monster, Animal, or Artificial. (I included the airship in this)
Searching takes 1 Action. The same unit may not search more than 1 area in a single activation.
Roll 1d6:
1-5 The Hanky will never be in that area.
6 You found it.
Remove the marker from any area that has been searched.
If 5 out of 6 areas have been searched without finding the hanky, the Hanky will automatically be in the 6th marked area.
In our game, Hanky was found in the 3rd area.

Finding the Hanky
Any unit that finds the Hanky gains the Resilient Trait.  Gains Tough if already resilient.  No extra bonus if already Tough.
Give the unit the Army Standard Trait. Follow trait rules for dropping/picking up the Hanky.
Morale
A fleeing unit will drop the Hanky, leaving the marker on the field.
After completing it’s compulsory fleeing moves, the unit may return and pick up the Hanky.

The Board:

 Looking from the American end, the gold nuggets represent areas that can be searched.

The American airship. Surprisingly fragile, it died early.

Late in the battle.  The Indian unit with the hanky is high-tailing it through the woods.  Miles moved his skeleton archers in to block the only pursuing force.

End game.  Tenskwatawa may have lost the battle of fallen timbers, but he gained a powerful talisman against Harrison.  When will he use it?

Spoiler Alert:  William Henry Harrison died in office as President from pneumonia...

Thoughts from the game:

• Scenario goals need to be modified as above.
• It is very hard to catch a fleeing unit.  Especially if your only fast unit is gone.
• Magic was sparingly used.  Need to try them more.
• The Indian player (Miles) felt he was very underpowered at the start, looking at the units.  But he changed his mind when his dragon took out my entire unit of elite rangers in 2 attacks.

Armies and Hordes Playtest

We managed to swing one game of Armies & Hordes in.  Since it was Independence Day, figured it was appropriate to have a 1776 battle.  Of sorts.

 The Loyalist, or British forces included 2 units of regular infantry, 1 unit of Indians, 1 unit of Indian Skeleton Archers, their General, and a beastly Scottish Hill Giant.

The Rebel, or American forces included 1 unit of regular infantry, 1 unit of Rangers, a unit of Beastmen (from the frontier) and a pack of hell hounds.  Their General had an attached unit of bodyguards.

 Our first attempt at a board.  Dark green patches with trees were forested terrain (very rough), the white/green were fields (rough), and all else was clear terrain.  The road was split into 3 sections for movement.  The big patch of forest in the foreground should have been split into 2 areas.

Initial deployments.  British from the South.  In a surprise move, the American player (Sara) deployed her fast unit on the road.  We both thought that would be dramatic, watching it sweep ahead.  Then read the rules on fighting from column and realized it was not a good idea.  My unit on the road also quickly abandoned it for a better formation. 

 American player (A) goes first and attempts to activate her beastmen.  Rolled 2 failures.  British (B) take over.  A pushes the beastmen up the hill, they become fatigued.

B activates first unit of regulars - 1 fail.  A moves hellhounds up the road.  B pushes the unit into the rough ground.

Realizes he doesn't want to fight on the road.  Moves giant up.  Wants to move the other unit off the road to where the giant was.  Has the General with the unit. Fails his unit activation with a 1.  A rolls for beastmen and become refreshed.

Skeleton archers fail their activation. 

Indians move up.

General moves to the side.

Turnover.

A rolls to activate her first group.  2 fails again.  B takes initiative right back.

B rolls to activate giant.  2 successes, will be able to charge into the side of the hellhounds in column on trail.  A uses the reaction die to move the hounds into an adjacent area.

Giant still attacks hounds, but no longer gets the bonus.  Hounds lose 1 stand and retreat in disorder into an adjacent area.

Rebellious colonist-bred hell hounds attack a Loyalist Hill Giant

Indians move in to attack hounds.  Completely blow the shooting roll.  Blows the melee roll.  Loses 3 stands. Then gets 3 sixes on the morale roll.  Retreat into woods.  

Rest of units activate and move up.

On last reaction of round, A moves the bodyguards up (I forgot to give them shooter) and shoots the giant dead without even moving in to melee.  

Turnover.  A rolls to activate her first unit, using the bonus from her General.  Double fails again.  A keeps blowing her activation rolls.  I just use reactions instead of taking over.  Beastmen advance down the hill.  Indians set up an ambush. 

B advances units.  On a reaction, A moves her rangers into the woods, roll 2 sixes on the shooting roll.  Wiped out.  

Turnover.

Surprise!  Ambush time!  Oops, we forgot to load first.  

A fails (1) activating her first unit.  I use the reaction to attack the beastmen.

Shooting takes down 2, melee takes down 2 more, the last 2 fail twice the morale roll and run off the board.

Then she turns over again.

rit unit moves into the woods.  Loses the combat and the morale roll, runs away. 

Just a staged picture for furn

So, thoughts?  SoBH and it's variants are the only wargames my wife will play.  If it has the variable activation mechanic, she loves it.  At first she was afraid of trying a "big battle" version.  Movement trays and facings were new concepts.   She clearly picked it up quickly, and despite have horrible luck on activation rolls, still smeared me.  We need to get some painting done so we can field more "traditional" armies of halflings, mushroom men, etc.

William Buchele Rifle

this trip

in the books.

25 Days
6,336 miles
17 states.
average 8.4 mpg!