So what's new? I hear you ask.
Well, I have played a few quick test games of Empire of the Dead by Westwind Productions, and I think it was quite fun, although we only had a few games involving basic grunts, with no crazy gear or special powers to confuse us. So displayed below this paragraph are some pictures of the games I played during February/Early March;
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| The layout of the board for our first Empire of the Dead game, the house did have another floor and a roof that are removed here for gaming purposes. |
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| Another victim of Victorian gang warfare....... and a good jab with a shank from behind. |
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| "Ross Kemp" - a rather portly Victorian gent with a bold head, despite being unarmed, this guy proved to be the game maker, taking out people with a good swing of his fists! His name goes down in glory amongst those of us that played the first Empire of the Dead game. I owe him a good paint job now! |
Since then, however, I've been playing Bolt Action again, using both my British/US force and my rather under-used German force. It was decided last week that the German force was a tad under-strength, due to some lack of building on my part, and so I'm building more infantry that had't been built before now, and in the process I decided in discussion with some of the other players at my local games club that I ought to equip them as rather well equipped Grenadier Veterans, armed with the STG 44 assault rifle. The only problem with this is that the plastic boxes only come with a few on the sprues, 3 at most per box. So as I have had to order more bases,( I use 25mm round ones from Games Workshop), I have also ordered metal STG 44s from Warlord Games, along with 20 black order dice for Bolt Action, so my D6s can be used in game rather than as order dice. Some pictures from previous weeks games:
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| My Brits/US from Europe Late War take on a Russian horde. |
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| My Late War European theatre British and USA force. Some of the men were made up using US Marines from the pacific I am still assembling for a seperate force, this includes a painted officer seen kneeling in the middle of the picture. |
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| My low strength German force deployed for battle and being outflanked by British on the right of the ruined building. |
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| Russians advance on the left and my Germans take a battering from a artillery strike called by an Artillery Observer. |
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| Outflanking British get shot up by one of German squads in a rare moment of success! |
I have decided to turn my force from a reinforced platoon into a full Grenadier / Panzergrenadier company (the difference is mainly to do with mobility/transport related).
Another rather more obvious addition to my German force is an extremely unsubtle method of adding to the force's strength, my Panzer IV Ausf H, has a new friend to help it, a Tiger I, which is being painted at the moment, along with most of the rest of my Bolt Action forces. I have however, finished my first German NCO armed with a assault rifle. The Tiger is having a base, as each time I pick it up I rub a bit of paint off the tracks at the moment, this is made from a Games Workshop movement tray, filled with old bases and gree stuff to flatten it, and then I plan to make track marks and rocks to make it look like a dirty old track worn in the grass for the Tiger to move along. In progress pictures shown below:
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| The assembled Tiger. |
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| First basecoat of paint before I begin applying a camouflage colour scheme I have found online to it. |
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| The base I made for the Tiger tank before any paint is applied or any more flock, this layer is to be painted before more flock and static grass is used to make a field that the Tiger is tearing its way through. |
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| The base with pins to hold the tank, the first layers of paint, a basic green and two tracks for the tank, made using Games Workshop Agrellan Earth texture paint, the flock and static grass will cover the green areas with flattened patches being stuck to the track areas to simulate flattened areas the tank has torn up. |
The Tiger also saw it's first game on the 18th April, but it suffered from Tiger fear and was instantly destroyed by the first shot from the enemy during the game (unfortunately, this was the first shot of the game full stop) - a shot from a 17 pounder anti-tank gun. I lost the game, despite a few good rolls and a valiant defence of the farm by my German force.
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| Gaming Table, 18th April. |
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| My German force I used on the 18th April, not even half of what I will have when everything is assembled. |
However, this morning, the 19th April, I got some more reinforcements for the force, with the addition of two SDKFZ 251/1s or "Hanomags" to help my Germans get more mobile on the field, and hopefully save the infantry from being shot before they have a chance to act. I haven't fully decided how, but I want to make these look slightly different with some field conversions. One of the Hanomags is already being constructed. Work in progress pics below as usual;
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| Purchases from Pegasus Hobbies and Games, Monmouth, on its opening day. |
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| Flame marker |
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| Smoke marker |
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| My first Hanomag so far, other elements will be added to make a unique looking vehicle. |
These goodies were purchased from a new store run by a former Dice and Decks club attendee.The shop is found in Monmouth and is called Pegasus Hobbies and Games.
I have also painted a few more German infantry, with a variety being added into the uniforms, the Sniper now has his spotter in a splinter camouflage pattern as well, on both his tunic and his helmet. I have tried to make sure there is a bit of variety as this adds realism to a sligtly unrealistic force (the Germans by the late war weren't very well equipped when compared to what they were expected to be armed and carried around in, the ideal was Stg 44s and half-tracks, when rifles and trucks were more likely as the war drew to a close).
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| Front view. |
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| Rear view. |
I have also got my hands on a copy of Star Trek Attack Wing to have a go with, but a game hasn't happended yet...
So for now that concludes news from me. Till next time folks.....
