Strange Aeons: Threshold Ahoy!

 This week I picked up probably the most fun kit I've "tackled" in awhile... a waterline rowboat from Hamm River models.

I got this boat for a 4'x4' terrain board I had built that has a jetty/dock and shoreline. Seems appropriate to have some Threshold agents set up in a boat if the ocean is their deployment zone. At very least, I'll use it to dress the scene the right way.

I picked up the Hamm River rowboat on Ebay for US$8.00 plus shipping, total US$10, not a bad deal at all for what you get. It was well-packed in a padded envelope, arrived on time and minimal assembly/paint is required. There are 3 styles of rowboat available (collect 'em all!)

It is a one-piece, open-mold resin hull with what looks like laser-etched balsa oars. Thwarts for the inside of the boat are plastic sprue. I simply cleaned the mold lines at the bottom of the boat and spray-primed everything white. Use a sharp Xacto to trim the wood sprue away from the oars... CAREFULLY.

I did two coats of Citadel Graveyard Earth inside the boat, brushing the same direction each coat. I painted the thwarts separately in a  faux wood style by using a  ragged, long-haired flat brush, having backbrushed the wet paint (one coat) into stripes, like the grain of wood planks. After they dried I trimmed them and glued them down, checking the clearance of 2x2" bases in the boat. Perfect!

The hull was just a wash of flow enhancer and Sage Green craft paint over the primer, dried on wax paper. The dried, pooled green paint on the bottom even looks good as a battered hull.

From unpackaging to finish and placement on the table it was probably an hour of effort, if that and the boat holds two 28mm figs perfectly.

I give the kit an A for any Strange Aeons players who want a solid waterline boat for their games. I'll probably pick up more for no other reason than how much fun they are to put together. I also want to get their $25 # 270 Freight pack, which has 60 pieces... that's a fantastic deal.You can get most of these items on Ebay from what I've seen.

My suggested boat rules for Strange Aeons:

Row Boat

Capacity: 2 standard-based (2") Human/Humanoid models. One model may roll vs Dexterity to row, each Action. If passed, move boat that model's full Movement distance. If failed, go half Movement speed. I'd give it Constitution 7 and 3 wounds before it sinks. Swimming models use an action to swim half Movement and water gives a 6+ save for concealed silhouette. Boat grants 6+ cover save to models in the boat (even on land!) All embarked models count weapons as Ready when boat is in water.

There are many ideas to consider for boats in Strange Aeons: Fighting amphibious models in water next to the boat, capsizing, weather/tide, fighting in the boat! Have fun with it and share any ideas you have!