KoW Armada

One of the mats I am going to be using is a green water design that will, eventually, double up for a Carnevale table. But it does mean that the blue water terrain I already painted won’t match, so here is a little set that will match up better.

I decided to go with a more sandstone look on the rocks, because why not.

While brainstorming names for the event, we realised that we could take the Oxford boat race idea a step further, and make it a part of the event!

The concept is that during each game, there will be an additional tiny ship given to each player representing some VIP nobility that the higher ups consider of political importance to be kept alive.

Each player will be attempting to get their race ship across the table, if at the end of the game it has reached their opponent’s deployment zone then they will be awarded +1 tournament point, aiding them on the tournament score board but not influencing the victory conditions of the scenario being played.

Additionally, if they are able to surrender/sink their opponent’s race boat then they will be awarded a second +1 tournament point, so there are two points to play for in each game.

My brother, Grey Hunter on the site, 3D sculpted both the boats and navigation buoys to mark deployment zones then we printed a bunch which I have painted brightly because why not. Poncy nobility wish to be seen on their adventures!

Sandbanks aren’t the only treacherous navigational obstacles out there, one must also evade the jagged rocks!

These are 3D prints using files from the Mantic Vault. There is enough here for a couple of tables and I am working on a third set in a different colour scheme to go on a green water mat. Other club members are going to work on more and we shall be well on our way!

The first thing you need for an Armada tournament is sandbanks. And lots of them. The most a scenario asks for is four, and as I’m planning around needing up to ten tables worth I set about making forty!

Fortunately they are quick and easy. I saved up some cardboard from cereal boxes and Amazon packaging and cut to shape.

I have some thin XPS foam sheets and carved some small pieces to bulk up the dunes, sticking them down with PVA glue.

Step two was to sprinkle cork shavings and sand over for texture on the dunes.

Step three was to tear up toilet paper and mash it down with watered down PVA. At that point I painted!

Following a successful Kings of War tournament at my club back in October, I thought it would be a good idea to follow it up with… Armada!

I haven’t seen many tournaments being run for Armada so it seemed like a thing to try. Not having much to copy from means figuring it out as I go and as this is my first time running any sort of tournament there is a fair bit of muddling through!

I settled on three 2.5hr rounds at 200 points. I figure that between myself and club friends we could pull together ten decent tables of terrain in reasonable time so the event is capped at 20 players, although I don’t think we will hit that first time out. Still, one can dream.

My club is based in the little Oxfordshire village of Brightwell-Cum-Sotwell where there is a small village shop run by volunteers but nowhere to grab a sandwich so I am also catering the event! Such are the trials of trying to find a decent space to hire for a sane price in Oxfordshire.

But being in Oxfordshire and playing a game about boats does help to find a theme for the event….

https://facebook.com/events/s/the-great-oxfordshire-pannitho/720499463378586/

Fliers! Also painted a few months ago I’ve had several games with them. The flames are a magical green fire to match the Elohi ships I have already done for the fleet.

I like the Phoenix quite a bit, they do a fair amount of chip damage and have the speed to get into position. And the hover rule to change facing keeps them in the game after pulling off a drive by.

I’m not as sold on the Sky Altars. Their ability to give friendly ships a reroll on nerve tests is situational and I think the aura is a tad small on it. With no hover ability they are also harder to get into position near the ship that needs it. But maybe I am using them wrong? Quite possibly!

I painted this months ago after 3d printing it but never got around to posting it up. Whelp!

This is a beast of a ship and pretty fun to use, when those broadsides hit right they dish out some serious punishment!

Had an issue with the printing though, and not because anything failed. When the files were uploaded to the Vault there was a version where the prow wings were separate like on the resin cast product. Only there was no file for the missing wings. But there was a second file for the hull with integrated wings I noticed after printing. Whelp again, I’m going without!

I’ve been playing a fair bit of Armada this year and am slowly working my way back towards adding stuff to my collection.

First thing is these fancy order dice that my brother 3D modelled to replace most if the fiddly tokens in the game. These little beauties feature all four speed states (anchored, slow, battle and full speed) plus surrendered and fire.

The STL is freely available here:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6122583

They are also the first project for my new resin printer! Yes, I am one of those people now

They are also the first project for my new resin printer! Yes, I am one of those people now.

As we have been fostering a nice little local scene for Armada, I went ahead and printed up a batch to give out at the club.

I am also now a Mantic Vault subscriber (it actually pushed me into buying the printer) so have lots of potential things to come!

As the end of the year draws ever closer, I finish off the last two ships in my to do pile.  An extra Elhoi and Gur Panther join the Armada!

So to celebrate, here are a couple of group shots of the entire thing.  At some point I will pick up the Dictator XL ship and some fliers, then probably start a second fleet for variety and demo purposes.

Oh, and I need to upgrade my terrain from the card templates as well…

From the large ships to the tiny, I have been working on these four squadrons of Basilean Sloops.

Oh yellow, white & black, how I needed a little break from thee!  Not too long though, because I wanted these Abbessi on the tabletop soon.

Now in my next game I can up the tonnage and get some serious broadsides on the go!

And now on to basing.  Obviously flat bases are dull, so I adopted the toilet paper and PVA glue technique.  It is very simple, you tear up strips of loo roll, mush them up a bit with the glue to break up the texture, ram the boat in to get the prow shape and push the paper up against the hull.  Take away the ship and paint!

This video shows it off nicely and is what I followed.

The fleet so far!  I have more to get painted, including sloops and a pair of Abbess battleships, but there is plenty here to get a few games in.

The next step shall be bases!

I wanted to keep it simple but punchy.  And maybe to play with yellow and white.  And black, because apparently I hate myself.

To save time and use a thing I bought but didn’t use, I bust out a can of yellow spray primer.  Which did not adhere to the minis properly.  It started running and as soon as I tried to paint it also began to flake off!

So I had to strip that off and start over.  I did wash the resin before spraying so I don’t really know what happened there.  Maybe it’s a yellow paint thing, maybe it was a bad can.  Who knows.  Either way the can went in the bin!

Going back to white primer, I used Demonic yellow on the sails glazed with Hot Orange, and Ivory glazed with Bonewhite.

The woodwork is Beasty Brown basecoat with other browns used to pick out random planks.  The trim is Golden Yellow and Heavy grey then the whole thing was given a wash of Army Painter Strong tone.