December 2014 and January 2015

Hello again folks,

I hope everyone has had a good Christmas (if you celebrate said holiday).I offer apologies for such a long wait since my last post.

I have been doing a mixture of painting some of my 15mm modern Americans, and assembling and painting my Warzone Resurrection Imperials, which I am enjoying, except for a broken banner on one of my officers and a broken bayonet on one of the rifles for the Trenchers. Which is annoying as I will have to try and remove the remaining part of the bayonet from the rifle without causing further damage, for the officer, I will have to smooth the flag and hand area and make a pin to replace the broken top half of the flag-pole. However, I can show you my results so far on one of the Officers and also on one of the Trenchers.

I have also purchased and painted an Orc Banner Bearer for Kings of War to be the model I use for the Dice and Decks Gaming Club Christmas Miniatures Swap, a sort of secret style event where you fill out a form with a few armies and games you collect, what force you collect for the game, and in what colours you roughly paint them in, then this is swapped and you go out and have a £12 budget to purchase a model for that person. The results of the Orc Banner Bearer are shown below.

I also have been given two models kits by my work, an Airfix 1/72 scale Harrier Jet, and a Revel 1/1200 of a Nimitz Class Aircraft Carrier. I have started assembling the carrier, and it seems to be relatively straight-forward.

For Christmas I got an addition to my 15mm Americans for the currently test stage game of 3rd Generation Warfare, an Abrams tank from Quick Reaction Force miniatures, the thing is enormous in comparison to the other vehicles I have so far! Dwarfing the M113A3s and the Stryker APC that it will be supporting! I also got a T-80 for the Russians, but for now until I get some Russian Infantry to support the vehicle, I will be using it as part of my Chinese force. On a related note, I have finished my Medical M113A3 Armoured Personnel Carrier. The pictures shown below show these vehicles and the finished Medical APC:

I have also painted a 15mm US miniature as a US Army trooper in ACU camouflage, well, as near as I could manage given the size of the miniature. Results shown below:

In Airsoft news, I'm re-designing the kit I take with me, so it matches the USMC uniform I wear (as in the UK, it's not a particularly common camouflage scheme), which means I need to find webbing etc and a plate carrier in Cayote Brown and not the Olive Green I have started off with for the last few months. I chose a suitable plate carrier, a Cayote Brown Condor Exo Plate Carrier, which arrived in the wrong colour, but this was negotiated so I would get the right colour delivered and the incorrect one picked up, and a free pouch would also be delivered as an apology for the mistake. I also bought more Condor pouches, which has all had a test run a few weeks ago, and other than the need for one extra pouch and a re-sort of where they are, all is well.

I am also having a big Bolt Action sort out now, at the end of January, having been given a bag o 4Ground scenery for Dice and Decks Gaming Club, which I have been asked to build. So I have started on the Cookhouse, whilst repairing my own 4Ground house, which has slowly been getting damage from travelling to and from my club. I also painted the front door and window sills blue to stand out away from club scenery.

I have a new army for Bolt Action - Italians. As they are quite a characterful force, and I had a relative that was part of the British force that landed in Italy in WW2. So these provide a nice addition to my collection, I have the 500 point stater force - two squads of 10, an officer and his attendent, a forward artillery observer and attendent, medium mortar team, medium machine gun team, and as an addition, a Semovente 75/18 assault gun.

I also, due to a visit from Square Orange Games visit to Dice and Decks in late January, now own a copy of Star Wars Imperial Assault. 

My final game before posting this was last night (Friday 30th January), and was a game of Bolt Action, my British vs a German Panzergrenadier company. I won, I'm thankful to say, as some lucky rolls of the dice at the start of the game put my opponent on the back foot before we got really into the game. 

Update - 2nd and 3rd Weeks of June 2013

Hello again folks,

As always, I've been busy on the hobby front. I have been beavering away with Bolt Action with another game in the bag, as well as the assembling of more 28mm British Soldiers.
Although on Sunday 16th June I took a few friends and had a crack at Airsoft - at a local Airsoft place called C3 Tactical near Longhope, Gloucestershire. It was a really great day out, despite the exhaustion it bought on. I would love to carry on playing it.

In project news, I have been busy building Commandos to try and help me win a game of Bolt Action, as my second game ended with another loss. I played a fellow British player, as we were the only two attending last week's Dice and Decks Club meeting with any Bolt Action.
 

The battlefield just prior to the start of my second game of Bolt Action by Warlord Games. The building in the centre of the field is mine and comes from a company called 4Ground and is a fine piece of terrain for any game.

 I took a Veteran list, and so was low on numbers, the game was a decisive loss, ending with both my officers dying when a Churchill tank rammed the house they were in and bought it crashing down around them!

My force for my second game of Bolt Action, I bulked some the numbers using models from West Wind Productions Secrets of the Third Reich 28mm game. Although the models are far larger than the Warlord Games models, they can certainly be used temporarily!

 I have decided to make 2 squads of 10 Commandos, using the remaining five men in the set to make officers/medics etc as needed.

I'll be updating as usual this coming weekend after I've built some more Dwarves for a game of Kings of War this Friday at Dice and Decks Gaming Club. Until then folks....

Updates - First week of June - First Game of Bolt Action

Hello once more,

I've been busy this week on one specific project this week.

Having been nagged - I have finally cracked on and built more troops for the 28mm World War 2 game of Bolt Action by Warlord Games. Focussing mainly on British to help get the hang of the game by providing some reinforcements during a game last night (Friday 7th June) between two fellow Dice and Decks Gaming Club members.

By last night, I had managed to get enough troops together for the following:
1 Regular First Lieutenant
1 Sniper Team
1 Regular 8 Man strong Infantry Squad with 2 SMGs and 1 LMG
1 Sherman Firefly Vc tank

Emergency army list planning on the night!

My Officer (near left) and the 8 man infantry squad

My Sherman Firefly

Sniper Team

These added up to 551pts, and the entire lot ended up on the battlefield. Along with the following from the other British player;
1 17 pounder artillery gun
1 Artillery Observer
3 x 5 Man Infantry Squads with SMG and LMG
1 Light Mortar Team
1 MMG Team


The battle was 884pts vs 889pts - Germans under one person's command, and the British, who were under mine and another's command, so a split force. With the German side of the game consisting of the following units;
1 Panther Ausf G
1Command Squad and Artillery Observer
2 x 5 Man Infantry Squad
1 Sniper Team
1 Light Mortar Team

A look at my fellow British commander's force (well, a bit of it)

Me and the other British Commander got destroyed - the Sherman failed appallingly in taking out a Panther Ausf G, and was subsequently destroyed, signalling a huge threat to my side of the board, which was split by buildings, hedges and woodland. In transpired that the 17pdr gun on my fellow commander's side was not in position and by the time the night ended we still had men on the one side of the board, but my side had been obliterated. Not helped by the Lieutenant being charged into a building and trying to take on 5 German soliders by himself and failing dismally in the process.

The board just as we got going

My Lieutenant makes a break in to take on the Germans inside

He finds the German squad on the second floor and enters Close Combat

The Sniper team provides support as the Panther rolls on unopposed!

My infantry squad tries to reach the building

Snipers move off across the board

My fellow Brit player's infantry goes to take on a German squad

The Germans scarper off road the board avoiding the majority of the British infantry ready to ambush

I did however, despite the loss, enjoy a great game and one that I got the hang off quite quick off the mark and was a great deal of fun to play - although scenery seems to be key to having a good game, and I think if the board hadn't been as scenery covered as it had, it would have been a much quicker and even more one sided game. I highly recommend fellow WW2 wargamers to have a crack at it from www.warlordgames.co.uk.

Easter Holiday/Mid-April Updates

Been a while since I last posted, I apologise.

I have however, been busy enough to merit a reasonable length blog post this time around. Concering various gaming systems as always, and a little bit of scenery.

So let's start things off with another dose of my amateur history - the military of the ancient Romans. I have once again returned to the realms of Hail Caesar, and the release of their latest Late Republican Romans has got me heading for a new and hopefully, will-be-finished-this-time force for the period of the Roman Civil Wars started by Julius Caesar and ended by his nephew Octavian.
My knowledge on the subject is quite extensive (he says) in the majority of elements as my collection of books on the subject is quite varied and large. However, I cannot say nor claim to be an expert in any sense.
I have a box of 24 Late Republican Legionaries, which is already partly under construction, although I am basing each legionary individually, but have a movement tray for gaming purposes. The Centurion is the first to be assembled, and is a very slight conversion, in that I have used a helmet from the later Early Imperial stock from Warlord Games, which has been shaved down to represent a Coolus pattern helmet from the era I aiming for, this is due to the fact I am not a big fan of the provided Centurion's helmet - designed to be a type based off Greek heritage, it includes a face element, but was not ever designed to be worn down on the face, and to me looks odd and so is not likely to be included in my force.
I have also taken to modifying some of the Montefortino helmets included in the force. In that in order to fit in with the style I am aiming for in my force I have removed the crests from the helmets, which makes the force look more rough and ready, and it helps make the Centurion stand out even more. However, I may not do this to every helmet, which makes the century look less uniform. Which I feel suits an ancient army, the romans were not 100% the same in terms of a uniform for every man, sword and dagger hilts were decorated depending upon the wealth of the soldier, the Lorica Hamata, or mail armour was a reasonably uniformed element, but tunics would probably have been various colours, which I will not enter debate on.
Here's the finished Centurion and a few work-in-progress pictures:

The newest romans from Caesar's legion

The sprues as they come from the box

View of the Centurion from behind, showing the chain mail and scabbard details

The front of my finished Late Republican/Civil War era Roman Centurion

Standard bearer/Vexillarius of the century being represented

Basic legionary, with the helmet cressed removed

A legionary mid-way through painting, this isn't the same one as above, in case my progress seems even slower than believed!

And to lead this new army are of course, Legates and associated ranks, which i found relatively cheaply from Foundry miniatures on ebay, brand new. They provide a bit more variety and a less "imperial" look to their gear, and so I feel more comfortable using them than another set of Roman officers from Warlord Games.I will post pictures of these in my next blog post after I have based them.

In other news I have started playing Malifaux, a game of Victorian and Gothic Horror mixed together. I have started with the Guild faction, the closest thing to the law in the game's background. I have a force, it is based around Lucius, a Henchmen, a low level commander in game terms, but perfect for my favourite aspect, the creepy soldiers of the guild, shrouded and kitted in long coats and deep shadow causing hats, along with large rifles. So far I have finished a Guild Captain, who came in the boxed set for Lucius, whilst this came with five models, and a further three riflemen came in a seperate box. Below is my progress for this force so far:

My Guild force under Lucius as it currently stands

The Guild Captain, fully painted

I have played my first game for this on Friday (5th April), and despite starting off with what I thought was a tactical advantage, I was resoundly beaten. I did come to realise that Guild Riflemen, a type of Guardsman and some of my favourite looking models from the range are very good units in terms of rules. They are capable of supporting each other, add defence to my current crew commander and can combine their activation to enable one riflemen to shoot three times, all the while ignoring cover bonus defences.

I have also gained an addition to my Kingdom of Brittania force for Dystopian Legions, one of my squads is equipped with a flamethrower, this was the squad from the starter set, and so is better off than the squad that I got second. This has been partially rectified by the newest addition, a HMG section consisting of a large HMG with gunner and a seperately based loader.

The new HMG section for my second squad

The Dystopian Legions force without the new HMG or the second Basset Tankette

In other game news, my UCM force for Dropzone Commander has grown and become stronger; with the addition of two Scimitar tank destroyers, large tanks with prototype laser turrets, a command Kodiak APC, which is based upon the Bear APCs used as standard transports, the final addition to this force is a Seraphim heavy fighter, used for ground attacks in game terms, it is a big aerial unit compared to the ground vehicles.

All of my UCM for Dropzone Commander so far

Top-down view of the Seraphim heavy fighter for the UCM

Seraphim before it's started being painted

Kodiak Command APC

A Scimatar Heavy Battle Tank

The three Condor dropships of the UCM force so far

My final current project not yet quite finished, but very soon is a Detached house for 28mm games, based on 18th-current era european architecture from 4Ground. It is pre-painted, but comes flat-packed and must be assembled, following the instructions as carefully possible. A door or two on the inside and the chimney are the only real things that still need to be done to polish this thing off.

The building as it comes in packaging

The sprues and assembly instructions

The ground and 1st floor mid-construction (yes, I did make a labelling error, but it made sense to me at the time), the building is now virtually assembled.

 And that concludes my latest updates, I hope to add another post before the week starts anew, with some more pictures of things in progress and hopefully, more finished miniatures. Until then, readers!