Wild West Minehead Entrance

Marko Paunović, 25th June 2020

Idea and planning

All who know me, know my mantra about how crucuial planning is in any bigger project. Since this is a more or less typical structure for Old west, I started my google search and instantly I found pictures of several types of wooden structures that I was going for. A bit down the order, after a couple of Lego versions, I managed to spot a tabletop terrain. Being curious I opened the link and was surprised that the link took me to Sarissa Precision site. I frequently go over their site and in fact my club owns a great number of their product. Sarissa Precision is an UK company from Derbyshire that designs and produces a range of laser cut products for retail and trade. They have a huge and ever growing range of laser cut buildings and accessories for wargamers and model makers including but not excluded to buildings, movement trays, bases, templates and tokens. They also manufacture a large number of products and components for other manufacturers and retailers and are happy to work with hobbyists. They are even kind enough to ship worldwide at affordable rates.

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First thought I had was to use their Minehead Wheelhouse kit and build a small hill around it. The kit costs 22,5 GBP which is really a great price for a kit of this size (L290 x W110 x H290mm) and that features internal detail with a removable roof. However, I then reconsidered and thought it might be a really nice idea to make a sort of a comparison article. My intention was to find out how much it would cost (in materials) to copy the design of the structure and make one myself. I printed out the boxart pics I found on their internet store and using the rough measures provided (above) I quickly sketched my own version of the minehead. Once I had all the measures, I calculated how much material I would need to construct all the wall and roof segments. I was really surprised with the result as it turned out I „only“ needed one 5mm thick balsa plank (10x100cm) and some small pieces of 2mm thick balsa plank (about 30cm in length). A rough estimate of the cost revealed that to build this exact same structure, I would need only one tenth of the price of the kit. That said, I would need more time to build it than it would take me to just assemble the pre-cut terrain that comes from Sarissa Precision.

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Materials and tools

After the rough sketch, I could make a definite list of materials and tools needed for this project. Those are as follows:
- one 2x2 mm linden slat
- one 5x5 mm linden slat
- roughly 30cm of 2 mm balsa wood (they come in 10 x 100 cm planks)
- roughly a full plank of 5mm balsa wood (they also come in 10 x 100 cm planks)
- a small piece of 5cm thick HD styrofoam
- an even smaller piece of 2cm thick HD styrofoam
- about 45x45 cm piece of 4mm thick MDF board
- superglue
- PVA glue
- DAS air drying clay
- gravel (four sizes)
- static grass / tufts
- pine trees
- sanding paper (1 sheet)
- thin card
- masking tape
- toothpicks
- some pins
- one piece of HO train set rails

The tools needed are:
- scalpel blade
- marker pen
- scissors
- modelling saw
- pin vice (or an electric mini drill)
- brushes – various sizes – for painting/washing and for drybrushing
- pliers and pincers
- icepick
- hot wire cutter
- electric jigsaw*
- electric disc sander*
- electric table mounted circular saw

* In order to speed up the process I will be using my Proxxon disc sander, jigsaw on the MDF to make the base. However, the base can be done with styrofoam only. In that case, if you don't have the jigsaw and disc sander.

Building the base

Using a marker pen I drew a rough outline of the base on the MDF board. Once I was satisfied with the layout, I proceeded to cut it with my jigsaw. The remaining piece of MDF, I stored for later use. They would come really handy as bases for smaller scatter terrain. When the cutting was done, I chamfered the circular edge using my disc sander. This will ensure the nice transition between the table and the base of the terrain. As mentioned before, if you do not own a disc sander, you can always make the base from HD styrofoam. Alternatively, you can sand the MDF using sanding paper. However, it will take a while but it is doable. Next, I drew the outline of the hillside on top side of the 5cm thick HD styrofoam. I also added a crevice that will house the mine itself. After drawing, I cut the styrofoam carefully with my scalpel blade. Remember to always use a really sharp blade when cutting styrofoam and bear in mind that the foam dulls the blades rather quickly so regular change of the blades is unfortunately necessary.

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When I was finally happy with the basic shape of the hill, same as last time I used my hot wire cutter to model the vertical surfaces. I again used my cheapest wire cutter, powered by two AA batteries. The electricity from the batteries heats up the wire that then melts the styrofoam performing a perfect straight cut. However, as it heats the wire elongates so you should take into account that fact when fixing the wire to the cutter. If the wire is too long, it will still perform the job, however it won't be as handy and you (like me) will have to stoop to some really fiddly and strange handling of the device in order to get a nice cut. Using the same method (varying between 5cm and 2cm thick HD styrofoam) I built some more levels to my hillside and engraved the errosion patterns with the hot wire cutter.

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When the hillside was built, it still looked a bit dull and plain so I decided to make some escarpments along the sides of the cliffs. In order to do so, I needed to build up the volume there. I could have done it using HD styrofoam once again, but I opted against it, choosing to sculpt the escarpments using DAS air drying clay. DAS comes in two versions, white and terracota. Both are equally good, don't crack during the curing period and are reasonably good for sculpting. (Note: you won't be able to sculpt your minis with DAS, but you will be able to model brick or stone walls, cobbled streets and whatnot.) I spread some DAS in several places throughout the base and when it was partly dry, I used a slightly watered down PVA glue just to fix it better to the base.

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Before applying the texture, there was one thing left to do. I needed to make the embankment for the mine rail system. Again I turned to HD styrofoam and cut a slightly curving piece that was slanted inwards so the rails would appear to go down into the mine. I glued the piece with PVA glue. However, as I was in a rush, I decided to use some masking tape to better and faster stick it to the ground. Then I returned to my garage and using my Proxxon table mounted circular saw, I cut the curving piece of HO railings to size. If you don't own a circular saw, same can be done using a circular bit on your Dremmel. Note: be careful when using it as the sparks will fly and they can cause harm to your eyes so eye protection is a must. In case you don't own any electrical tools, you can cut it using a modelling saw. However, it will take time and it will probably dull your blade a bit, breaking a couple of teeth. When the cutting was done, I bent the rails to follow the curvature of the embankment. It did take a couple of tries.

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Finally we come to the stage of adding the texture. First, I decided to put the rails in place. I covered the embankment with pure PVA glue (as I needed the rails to be glued properly) and I carefully placed the rails positioning them so they snuggly fit the embankment. To make the joint stick immediately, I put several blobs of superglue on each end of the rails. I could do that because I covered the HD styrofoam with masking tape. If there was no masking tape there, this method wouldn't work as the superglue would dissolve the styrofoam beneath. When the rails were fixed, I sprinkled the medium sized gravel over it making sure the texture covered every surface equally. Then it was time to add the texture to the rest of the base. I did the whole base in several segments (each level at a time). As always, I covered the surfaces with diluted PVA glue and started adding the gravel. I started with the biggest granulate and end with the smallest. I used four different sizes, from small pebbles to chinchilla sand. The larger pebbles and gravel I placed strategicly around the base to form some clutter and especially on the escarpment. The two smallest granulates were freely dispersed throughout the terrain making sure I get even coverage throughout and no area is left without texture. Around the places leading up to the entrance of the building, I used only smallest grain sand (for chinchillas).

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Making the structure

While the texture was drying, I proceeded to make the minehead entrance/wheelhouse structure. I decided to go for the easiest and the fastest method of building the structure. Unlike the old west church where I first made the wooden frame and then glued each plank separately, here I opted to make the walls from a single piece of 5mm balsa wood. Balsa of such thickness is sturdy enough to withstand gaming abuse without any damage/breakage. As with MDF and styrofoam bases, I first drew the outlines of each wall on the balsa plank using my marker pen. Then I carefully cut each wall. I used my modellers saw for cuts against the grain (perpendicular to it) and used the scalpel blade for cuts going with the grain. When every wall segment was cut, I used an icepick to carve each individual plank both on the inner and the outer side of the wall.

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Using superglue, I glued all the wall segments into my structure. To make the roof structure, I used 2mm thick balsa wood. The roof of the small hut in the back (with the door) was intentionally left unglued so you can actually play inside the building. Once the roof structure was made, I used the same material I used on the church to make the roof – sanding paper cut to size. I just love the texture it has. Once everything was finished, I took both the structure and the base to my garage for a quick sprey of undercoat. Remember to always sprey in a well ventilated area! When the undercoat was dry, I first dryfitted the building to the base, closed the gaps with some balsa planks and applied with a large brush a coat of black colour to the places the sprey didn't reach.

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Painting

When the undercoat was dry, it was time to paint the terrain. Normally, I would have glued the building to the base at this point. However, I wanted to be able to paint the terrain inside the mine so I left the two parts separate. I started painting the base first. Wanting all my terrain to fit one theme (and consequently one tabletop) it was only natural I use the same colours and colour scheme as on the earlier terrain. Therefore once again I used Pebeo Deco color range. I used Brown (29) for the basecoat and continued drybrushing with Ocre (51). Lighter shades were done with a 50:50 mixture of Ocre (51) and White (41). The final highlight was done with Antique White (69).

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With the base painted, I could now attach the building to it. I used PVA glue to glue it in place and once it was dry, I started painting the structure. The building has two different surfaces and consequently textures – roof and wooden walls. I proceeded to paint the wooden walls by drybrushing first using a 50:50 mixture of Black (55) and Grey (54). Next layer was pure Grey (54) and the finishing highlight was Ash Brown (70). I was not quite satisfied with the result, so I added another highlight of pure White (41). The roof was painted first with a mixture of Black (55) and Grey (54) and then a mixture of Grey (54) and Antique White (69) finishing with almost a pure coat of Antique White (69).

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Vegetation

After the painting, it was time to add the vegetation to the base. First up, I decided to plant some pine trees. I used Ziterdes ones that come in a big pack of 20 (or 25, not sure). They come on long shafts and in several sizes and heights. In order to glue them in place, I first had to cut their round bases as they got in the way. I also added metal pins to the pine trees. The easiest method of pinning metal pins to the plastic trunks of the trees is to heat the metal pin using a candle and just stick it into the trunk. The heat will melt the plastic locally and as the pin goes into the trunk the heat dissipates and once the pin is cool it will become lodged into the trunk without any need to glue it. The pins in the trees that were intended to be glued to the styrofoam base were left longer than the pins in the trees meant to be glued on the MDF base. Also, I used a pinvice to make the hole in the MDF base to accommodate the pins. I glued the trees using both PVA and super glue.

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With the trees in place, I could now add the static grass. I made a mixture using several green, brown, yellow and black shades of static grass and when I was satisfied with the end product, I glued it in random patches throughout the base. One thing I made sure of is that I put static grass over any and all of the remaining holes where the wooden structure met the base in order to hide the unintentional mistake. Once the static grass was in place, I applied several shades of different tufts. Again, as in the former articles, I used tufts made by a company called Gamer's Grass.

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In the end I added a staircase I got in a NOCH train set in order to connect the entrance to the mine with the door of the house on the first level of styrofoam base. Finally, I added a couple of miniatures to test whether the dimensions I used work. And I was pretty happy with the end result.

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    Sebastian Søgård, 24th March 2025
  • Exhibition of Miniatures and Tabletop Scenery Agram 2025
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        string(56) "Exhibition of Miniatures and Tabletop Scenery Agram 2025"
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    The exhibition of miniatures and models "Agram 2025" was held this year from 20.2. to 09.03. 2025. The exhibition was set up on Wednesday 19.2. and was attended by a large number of members and friends of the Association who exhibited their works.

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    The opening of the Exhibition took place on Thursday, February 20, 2025, starting at 6:00 PM. The exhibition was organized on the occasion of our twenty-second birthday.

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    As always, the Exhibition presented a cross-section of the work of the Association, its members, participants of its courses and workshops, and members of the Miniature Painters Croatia FB group. In a large number of showcases, there were numerous miniatures for tabletop strategy games, board games, and an entire showcase was dedicated to award-winning exhibits from previous miniature competitions. Several showcases were dedicated to projects that the Association has been implementing for 22 years, such as the UMS „Agram“ Library and Reading Room, the Workshop for Making Spatial Models and the Miniature Painting Workshop, as well as new ones such as the Agram Group Build, the Agram Lego Section and the Back to Basics painting workshop for the youngest.

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    During the first weekend of the Exhibition, 22-23.02., we held the 19th annual international miniature painting competition Black Queen Hobby and Miniature Painting Competition!

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    As contestants arrived and registered for the competition, our hardworking staff photographed all the exhibits before sorting them into categories and carefully placing them in glass cases. The entries can be seen on our social networks!

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    By noon, all the display cases were full and the competition could officially begin.

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    WARGAMING DEMO GAMES

    This year, organized by our friends from Slovenia from the Amulet D20 club, demonstrations of the Turnip28 tabletop strategy game were held. Over the course of both days, a handful of games were played on beautiful terrain!

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    SELLERS' COURT

    During the weekend we hosted our sponsors with their sales stands: Swood.si and Carta Magica.

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    MINIATURE PAINTING WORKSHOPS

    The ZZTK premises allow workshops to be held during the weekend in the cinema hall in the basement, so we also organized demonstration workshops during the weekend. The lecturers' work was recorded with a camera and projected onto the projection screen in the hall. Many thanks to our domestic and international lecturers: Ana Polanšćak (CRO), Vladimir Matić-Kuriljev (SRB), Luka Jare and Vane Dolenc (SLO), doc.dr.sc. Winton Afrić (CRO) and Marcello Rizza (I).

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    SPEED PAINTING COMPETITION

    Thanks to our sponsor Hobby Chest, who provided us with a large donation of coloring materials from AK Interactive, we organized a speed painting competition on Sunday afternoon. Participants had 90 minutes to paint one miniature.

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    With that, we came to the very end of this wonderful weekend and all that was left was the awarding of prizes and recognition to the winners.

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    Over the next two weeks, our volunteers held open miniature painting workshops on weekdays from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM. Miniature painting workstations were set up where our visitors could paint miniatures we had prepared (or their own if they had brought them) using our materials and tools.

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    In parallel with the open miniature painting workshops, our volunteers also held demos of the tabletop strategy games Kill Team, Full Tilt and Frostgrave!

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    BACK TO BASICS MINIATURE PAINTING WORKSHOPS FOR YOUNG

    On weekdays from 17:00 to 18:00, we held our new workshops for the youngest, in which our youngest participants painted their first miniatures.

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    AGRAM LEGO SECTION lecture: LEONARDO DA VINCI - THE INVENTOR

    On Wednesday, February 26, 2025, as part of the activities of our Agram Lego Section, Mario Grgurev gave a lecture on the topic of Leonardo da Vinci - The Inventor. Admission to the lecture was free, and upon completion, a LEGO model of da Vinci's flying machine was made by members of the Lego section

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    During the second weekend of the Exhibition, 01.-02.03., we organized a MINIATURE PAINTING WORKSHOP - Frostgrave.

    The workshop was held over two days (the entire weekend) and participants painted five different figures for the game Frostgrave, which can also be used for DND sessions. The focus of these lectures was on painting multiple miniatures at once, but the knowledge from the workshop is equally applicable to painting armies for board games and figure collections for pen&paper RPGs. The workshop presented paints and equipment, figure preparation, several miniature painting techniques from basic to advanced, and techniques and tricks for quickly and efficiently painting larger quantities of figures at once. Water-based acrylic paints were used as part of the workshop.

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    On Wednesday 05.03.2025. the annual session of the Assembly was held, where we elected the new old leadership and determined the guidelines for work in 2025.

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    On Sunday 09.03.2025. The exhibition was over, our exhibits safely stored, and the Gallery cleaned.

    The most important part of every year when holding this Exhibition is the social aspect, the socializing of our members both among themselves and with our international friends who visit us! With these few photos from our joint gatherings, we greet you until next year!

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    " ["content_hrv"]=> string(33021) "

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    Izložba minijatura i maketa "Agram 2025" održala se ove godine od 20.2. do 09.03. 2025. Postavljanje izložbe je održano u srijedu 19.2. i sudjelovao je velik broj članova kao i prijatelja Udruge koji su izlagali svoje radove.

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    Otvorenje Izložbe održalo se u četvrtak, 20.2.2025. s početkom u 18:00h. Izložba je organizirana povodom našeg dvadeset drugog rođendana.

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    Kao i uvijek, Izložba je prikazivala presjek rada Udruge, njenih članova, polaznika njenih tečajeva i radionica te članova FB grupe Miniature Painters Croatia. U velikom broju vitrina našle su se brojne minijature za stolne strateške igre, igre na tabli, a cijela jedna vitrina posvećena je nagrađenim izlošcima sa prethodnih minijaturističkih natjecanja. Nekoliko vitrina bilo je posvećeno projektima koje Udruga već 22 godinu provodi poput Knjižnice i čitaonice UMS „Agram“, Radionice za izradu prostornih maketa i Radionice bojanja minijatura, ali i novih poput Agram Group Build, Agram Lego Sekcije i Back to Basics radionica bojanja za najmlađe.

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    Tijekom prvog vikenda Izložbe, 22.-23.02.,održali smo 19. godišnje međunarodno natjecanje u bojanju minijatura Black Queen Hobby and Miniature Painting Competition!

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    Kako su natjecatelji pristizali i prijavljivali se na natjecanje, naše vrijedno osoblje je fotografiralo sve izloške prije nego li su ih rasporedili po kategorijama i pažljivo ih postavili u staklene vitrine. Radove možete pogledati na našim socijalnim mrežama!

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    U podne, sve vitrine su bile pune i natjecanje je moglo službeno početi.

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    WARGAMING POKAZNE PARTIJE

    Ove godine u organizaciji naših prijatelja iz Slovenije iz kluba Amulet D20 održane su demonstracije stolne strateške igre Turnip28. Tijekom oba dana odigran je pregršt partija na predivnim terenima!

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    PRODAJNI KUTAK

    Tijekom vikenda ugostili smo naše sponzore sa njihovim prodajnim štandovima: Swood.si i Carta Magica.

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    OGLEDNE RADIONICE BOJANJA MINIJATURA

    Prostor ZZTK omogućuje održavanje radionica tijekom vikenda u kino dvorani u podrumu, stoga smo tijekom vikenda organizirali i ogledne radionice. Rad predavača snimao se kamerom i projicirao na projekcijsko platno u dvorani. Veliko hvala našim domaćim i inozemnim predavačima: Ani Polanšćak (HR), Vladimiru Matić-Kuriljevu (SRB), Luki Jaretu i Vanetu Dolencu (SLO), doc.dr.sc. Wintonu Afriću (HR) i Marcellu Rizzi (I).

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    NATJECANJE U BRZOM BOJANJU MINIJATURA

    . Zahvaljujući našem sponzoru Hobby Chest, koji nam je osigurao veliku donaciju materijala za bojanje od AK Interactive, organizirali smo natjecanje u brzom bojanju minijatura u nedjelju popodne. Sudionici su imali 90 minuta vremena da obojaju jednu minijaturu

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    S time smo došli do samoga kraja ovog predivnog vikenda i sve što je preostalo je bila podjela nagrada i priznanja pobjednicima.

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    Tijekom naredna dva tjedna, naši volonteri su radnim danima od 16:00 do 20:00, držali otvorene radionice bojanja minijatura. Postavljene su radne stanice za bojanje minijatura na kojoj su naši posjetitelji mogli bojati minijature koje smo priredili (ili svoje ukoliko su ih donijeli) koristeći naše materijale i alate.

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    Paralelno sa otvorenim radionicama bojanja minijatura, naši volonteri su držali i demo partije stolnih strateških igara Kill Team, Full Tilt i Frostgrave!

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    BACK TO BASICS RADIONICE ZA NAJMLAĐE

    Radnim danima od 17:00 do 18:00 održavali smo naše nove radionice za najmlađe u kojima su naši najmlađi polaznici bojali svoje prve minijature.

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    AGRAM LEGO SEKCIJA predavanje: LEONARDO DA VINCI - IZUMITELJ

    U srijedu 26.2.2025. u sklopu aktivnosti naše Agram Lego Sekcije, Mario Grgurev je održao predavanje na temu Leonarda da Vincija - Izumitelja. Ulaz na predavanje je bio besplatan, a po završetku su LEGO maketu da Vincijevog letećeg stroja izradili članovi Lego sekcije

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    Tijekom drugog vikenda Izložbe, 01.-02.03., organizirali smo RADIONICU BOJANJA MINIJATURA – Frostgrave.

    Radionica se provodila kroz dva dana (cijeli vikend) i polaznici su bojali pet različitih figura za igru Frostgrave, a koje se mogu koristiti i za DND sessione. Fokus ovih predavanja bilo jebojenje više minijatura odjednom, no znanja s radionice jednako su primjenjiva i na bojenje vojski za boardgame igre te kolekcija figura za pen&paper rpg-ove. Na radionici su bile predstavljene boje i pribor, priprema figura, nekoliko tehnika bojenja minijatura od osnovnih do naprednijih, te tehnike i trikovi za brzo i efikasno bojenje većih količina figura odjednom. U sklopu radionice korištene su akrilne boje na bazi vode.

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    U srijedu 05.03.2025. održana je godišnja sjednica Skupštine na kojoj smo izabrali novo staro vodstvo te odredili smjernice rada u 2025..

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    U nedjelju 09.03.2025. Izložba je završena, naši eksponati sigurno spremljeni, a Galerija počišćena.

    Najbitniji dio svake godine prilikom održavanja ove Izložbe je socijalni aspekt, druženje naših članova kako međusobno tako i sa našim međunarodnim prijateljima koji nas posjećuju! Uz ovih par fotografija sa zajedničkih druženja, pozdravljamo vas do sljedeće godine!

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    Marko Paunović, 18th March 2025
  • Turnip28 demos at Black Queen H&MPC 2025
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    Our most important weekend of the year, the BQ competition, was packed with content and everyone could find something for themselves - with all the lectures and workshops, I was very happy that there was a chance to play and learn new games!

    Thanks to our dear friends from Slovenia, Vane and Luka from Amulet d20, we had the opportunity to learn and try out a game that has recently experienced global success, and is the dream come true for many painters and kitbashers in the hobby: Turnip28!

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    The game itself is simple enough for beginners: two armies (regiments) clash on the table, led by 3 nobles - one Snob, who is the most important part of the army, and 2 Toffs, who are slightly weaker. Each noble brings units with him - the Snob brings two, while each Toff brings one unit to the table. In total, each army consists of 3 nobles and 4 units.

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    What a table looks like with the guys gathered around it

    Like most tabletop strategy games, the game is played in rounds, and during them the players change the order of activations. The player who is first in line activates one of his units or nobles, makes a move, and then the other player takes over the order, until all the units on the game board are activated. Nobles are important because they are activated first, and they issue orders to their units: attack, march, shoot. If you don't have a noble, if he is killed or missing, then your units are activated only after all the nobles have been played, which can put you in an awkward position.

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    What my demo game looked like

    For my first turnip game, I had the honor and fortune of playing with our own Anna from Gardens of Hecate - we both wanted to try the game and now we had the perfect opportunity to learn the basics of the rules with the mentorship of the Amulet guys.

    We got our regiments, which were pretty similar - we had a Snob, 2 Toffs, a large infantry unit with rifles, a smaller infantry unit with melee weapons, and a scout unit with rifles. The biggest difference was that my last unit was a cannon, while Anna's was a large hand-to-hand monster known as a Lump. I think her pink Furby Lump with glowing eyes was probably the most memorable figure on the table (kudos to the guys from Amulet on the miniatures).

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    p>The party itself started with Ana's initiative, and from the beginning started to win strategic points on the table. My response to her conquest of the field was to resolutely fire everything I had into her ranks. As I watched her troops slowly but surely fall under my fire, I got lucky and my scouts managed to get one of her Toffs in front of the firing squad - which gave me a pretty big advantage at the start.

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    Her troops continued to advance towards my side of the table, including a rogue who came uncomfortably close to me - and I tried in vain to attack him with my infantry, who were just out of powder. After failing to even scratch him, they fled, leaving room for the artillery to finish their job - and that unit definitely deserved a promotion in this game!

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    We finished the game quickly, because we had other workshops starting, but we are both excited to play a few more games, and with some other Agram members we are thinking about putting together our regiments - the number of miniatures needed is not large, and the creative possibilities are quite large!

    Btw, the guys from Amulet gave us a lecture about their association and the activities they are planning - this year they have prepared H.R.E.N. 28, a turnip28 tournament, so be sure to check out their activities and projects - they are close by and you can visit them if you find something interesting!

    Just some of the miniatures that the Amulet team prepared for the demo game - sugar at the end: Furby Lump!

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    Naš najvažniji vikend godine, natjecanje Black Queen H&MPC 2025, bilo je krcato sadržajem i svatko je mogao pronaći nešto za sebe - uz sva predavanja i radionice, jako me razveselilo da je bilo prilike igrati i naučiti nove igre!

    Zahvaljujući našim dragim prijateljima iz Slovenije, Vane i Luka iz Amulet d20, imali smo priliku naučiti i isprobati igru koja je nedavno doživjela globalni uspjeh, a predstavlja ostvarenje sna brojnih paintera i kitbashera u hobby: Turnip28!

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    Sama igra je dovoljno jednostavna za početnike: na stolu se sukobljavaju dvije vojske (regimente), koju predvode 3 plemića - jedan Snob, koji je najbitniji dio vojske, i 2 Toffa, koji su nešto slabiji. Svaki plemić sa sobom donosi jedinice - Snob donosi dvije, dok svaki Toff donosi po jednu jedinicu na stol. Ukupno se svaka vojska sastoji od 3 plemića i 4 jedinice.

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    Kako izgleda postavljeni stol s ekipom okupljenom oko njega

    Poput većine stolno strateških igara, igra se na runde, te igrači tokom njih izmjenju redoslijed aktivacija. Igrač koji je prvi na redu aktivira jednu svoju jedinicu ili plemića, povuče potez, i onda drugi igrač prezume redoslijed, dok se ne aktiviraju sve jedinice na igraćoj ploči. Plemići su bitni jer se oni aktiviraju prvi, te oni izdaju naredbe svojim jedinicama: napadni, marširaj, pucaj. Ukoliko nemate plemića, ako je poginuo ili nestao, onda se vaše jedinice aktiviraju tek nakon što su odigrani svi plemići, što vas može postaviti u nezgodnu situaciju.

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    Kako je moja demo partija izgledala

    Za svoju prvi partiju turnipa, imao sam čast i sreću igrati s našom Anom iz Gardens of Hecate - oboje smo htjeli probati igru te smo sada dobili savršenu priliku da usvojimo osnove pravila uz mentorstvo Amuletovaca.

    Dobili smo svoje regimente, koje su bile poprilično slične - imali smo Snoba, 2 Toffa, veliku jedinicu pješaka s puškama, manju jedinicu pješaka s oružjem za blisku borbu, te jedinicu izviđača s puškama. Najveća razlika je bila u tome što je moja zadnja jedinica bila top, dok je Anina bila veliko čudovište za borbu prsa o prsa, poznatija kao Lump. Mislim da je njen roza furby Lump sa svijetlećim očima bila vjerojatno najupečatljivija figura na stolu (svaka čast dečkima iz Amuleta na minijaturi).

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    Sama partija je krenula s Aninom inicijativom, i od početka je krenula osvajati strateške točke na stolu, Moj odgovor na njeno osvajanje terena je bilo odlučno ispaljivanje svega što imam u njene redove. Dok sam gledao kako njene trupe polako ali sigurno padaju pod mojih pucanjem, posrećilo mi se pa su moji izviđači uspjeli dovesti jednog od njenih Toffova pred streljački vod - što mi je u startu dalo dosta veliku prednost.

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    Njene trupe su dalje napredovale prema mojoj strani stola, uključujući lumpa koji mi je došao neugodno blizu - te sam ga uzaludno pokušao napasti sa svojim pješacima koji su taman ostali bez baruta. Nakon što ga nisu uspjeli ni ogrebati, pobjegli su i ostavili prostora da artiljerija dovrši njihov posao - a ta jedinica je definitivno zaslužila promaknuće u ovoj partiji!

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    Ubrzo smo završili igru, jer su nam krenula druge radionice, no oboje smo uzbuđeni odigrati još koju partiju, te uz još neke članove Agrama razmišljamo o slaganju svojih regimenti - broj potrebnih minijatura nije velik, a kreativne mogućnosti su poprilično velike!

    Btw, dečki iz Amuleta su nam držali predavanje o svojoj udruzi i aktivnostima koje planiraju - ove godine su pripremili H.R.E.N. 28, turnip28 turnir, te svakako bacite oko na njihove aktivnosti i projekte - blizu su i možete ih posjetiti ako nađete nešto zanimljivo!

    Samo neke od minijatura koje su Amuletovci pripremili za demo partije - šećer na kraju: Furby Lump!

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    Domagoj Krpan, 3th March 2025
  • AGRAM LEGO SECTION - Leonardo da Vinci's Flying Machine
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    U srijedu 26.2. u sklopu naše Izložbe minijatura i maketa Agram 2025, naša Agram Lego Sekcija je odradila svoj drugi projekt. Nakon Hogwartsa u 2024., prvi projekt u 2025. bio je Leonardov leteći stroj. 

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    Kao što je već tradicija kod naše Lego Sekcije, prije izgradnje modela, valjalo se malo educirati o temi. Ovoga puta naš Mario Grgurev održao je predavanje o Leonardu da Vinciju kao izumitelju sa posebnim osvrtom na leteće strojeve.

    Ulaz na predavanje bio je besplatan, a prijave nisu bile potrebne!

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    Izrada makete je rezervirana za članove Agram Lego Sekcije. 

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    Ukoliko se želite uključiti u sljedeće projekte, javite se za više informacija na ums.agram@gmail.com .

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    Sljedeći projekt bit će u travnju, a tema će biti Orient Express. Očekuju vas predavanja o parnim strojevima, parnim lokomotivama te o povijesti Orient Expressa, kao i o Orient Expressu u pop kulturi.

    Vidimo se!

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    Mario Grgurev, 27th February 2025

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