If only Colour Sergeant Bourne had been here to give me a hand. Oh well, we do what we can. Luckily, I have a high tolerance for disorder, so this grid will do for now.
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| "The enemy is nowhere near General, so push your Division forward with all speed" (Note the remains of the last of my hex shaped hills from 9 years ago) |
I could try to explain my clever plan to make sure the grid did not go askew by laying down a series of parallel dashed lines across the table, marking the alternating vertical sides then laying down a similar series of parallel lines at 6o degrees then finally reversing direction and doing it again, all while measuring from one side since the board is a mishmash of pieces and neither totally even nor quite square. I could , it worked for the first bit but then I went for supper, and.... yeah, we'll draw a curtain over things.
Luckily the board is make shift and has been repainted numerous times in an irregular fashion which made it easy to block out the wonkiest bits (technical term) and redo things. It won't win any awards for accuracy and precision but I think its functional.
Luckily the board is make shift and has been repainted numerous times in an irregular fashion which made it easy to block out the wonkiest bits (technical term) and redo things. It won't win any awards for accuracy and precision but I think its functional.
Now to start tackling hills, I think I can now manage something functional although my wood cutting tools and skill are not up to the sort of rolling terrain I could do with a hex mat laid over shapes. Always good to leave some possibilities for the future. But first, it needs to be tested and I believe an ACW game is in the queue.
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| Gratuitous close up. |
Must admit, apart from the Cadet Commander games, I've never done anything with grids - keep feeling I should give it a go sometime.
ReplyDeleteI started to use hexes when I began PW games. After the frustration of drawing them (my fault I was too busy lusting over Miss Cox, my geometry teacher rather than listening to what she was teaching...sorry Miss Cox wherever you are) they became a feature for a while. I am curious as to ‘how’ you use the hexes. For example, it seems that the layouts are oriented towards the points (wish I knew the proper terms) as in Memoir 44 or Command and Colors games. Of course in Bob’s PW game he follows the ‘conventional’ system, but I see advantages with either method. I would love to see your take on this debate.
ReplyDeleteIt depends......
DeleteFor linear warfare eg ACW facing the point allows me to form battle lines and units have clear front, flanks, and rear.
For other games, say, early 20thC I face a side giving a 180d frontal arc and the same flank/rear.
Hi Ross -
ReplyDeleteA few years ago I published on my blog how to draw up hex grids quickly. You might find it useful.
https://archdukepiccolo.blogspot.com/2017/03/portable-wargames-and-drawing-hexes.html
and
https://archdukepiccolo.blogspot.com/2017/11/marking-up-hex-grid-game-board.html
Cheers,
Ion
Thanks Ion I remember thst but you VASTLY overestimate my abilities to do math and measure carefully and accurately!
DeleteHexes are darned difficult to draw, without computer copy and paste. I reckon you have done a fine job. Functional and more.
ReplyDeleteRegards, James
Does the trick for me. Too much order and tidyness makes me uncomfortable anyway....
DeleteI eventually hit on the idea of using premeasured sticks which worked perfectly. Terrain was trickier. For large (5-6”) blocks I used my father-in-laws power saw which has the ability to angle the blade. Imagine almost perfect hexagon hills magically appearing.
ReplyDeleteYes the sticks are handy, in some ways I like them better than a grid except I lose them or leave them on the other side of the table. Good exercise but annoying! I do have a table saw which can cut at an angle and in theory can cut with precision. I had such hopes but appatently it requires a competent operator who can see straight. Oh well.
DeleteThat’s what I meant. I just use the thing, I don’t know what it’s called. I’m just grateful when I can count all my fingers afterwards. I meant by sticks, that I measure apex distances on the side of a stick and use that as a guide for my grid points. Then depending on what the widths are, I then move the stick over (making sure that I have turned it around). After an hour or so I have a hex grid with no tears involved. The last time I did this was on a fancy schamntzy vinyl mat that I didn’t want to mark. So instead I colored some sticky backed label paper and stamped out wee dots. They do the job even better for many reasons. If I mucked up I could just move the dots round and because of the colors I used they blended in nicely. Of course I then had little time to play on the blessed thing! I thought COVID and remote teaching would solve the problem but I seem to be busier than ever!
DeleteAh, I misund3erstood. I have sticks painted in alternating bands equal to a fixed distance, say 3". So now fussing over quarter inches and I can count range bands from across the table. (red, blue, yellow ok range 3...)
DeleteBut I see the value of a stick like you are describing. but you still need the angle right? (which I was using my hex template for to get a line started.
Time is odd. Retirement has given me more free time, but somehow not as much as when I was young and working, just more than when I was older and working overtime and travelling. Its one of these "demands increase to fill available free time" sorts of things.
A terrific effort, I would not have a clue...
ReplyDeleteLooks good to me Ross
ReplyDeleteYeah I like it, sort of comfy, practical and homey.
DeleteThat's an awful lot of work there, marking those hexes out by hand, I admire your patience Ross. I did it once but swore never again. I have tried to go hexless, but the grid just keeps on pulling me back, for my current project I had to go with a printed mat although I'm making the hills myself from 5mm foamboard cut from an MDF master and glued together. All good fun and keeps us busy :)
ReplyDeleteNot as much work as it looks. Got the trick of the thing now. If I hadn't messed up and gotten off track, it would have been less than 2 hours.
DeleteYour tabletop has a certain charm about it though that I really like. I believe the Cigar Box Mats people offer hex mats of various types/sizes. I once tried making my own hex paper many years ago as a 15 or 16-year old. Time consuming to say the least. And the less said about the results, the better. Fortunately, my mother scared up a pad of hex paper for Christmas that year.
ReplyDeleteBest Regards,
Stokes
There are various mats available from various sources but they all want money for them :(
DeleteCharm can sometimes get you a long way :)