Alpha Legion Progress

Hello again,

I have been making progress on my Alpha Legion force for Shadow War and Warhammer 40000 (well, 30000). I have found a metallic blue that matches near enough to my planned designs and have begun to apply it to an old Rhino, Marine and Terminator.

The Rhino

The Terminator, the one I'm happiest with so far.

Basic Marine Legionary

There is still more detail work and finishing touches to be done yet, as well as a lot more marines and vehicles. Stay tuned for more info....

Warhammer 40k/30k Restart for Me!

Hello folks, long time no post,

But anyhoo, I am looking with hope at the new Warhammer 40k 8th Edition rumours and playing in a campaign of Shadow War: Armageddon - an update of Warhammer 40000: Kill Team. 

I have got my hands on some new 40k models, which will go towards a force of Space Marines for both Shadow War and 8th Edition 40k. However, 40k technically is incorrect for these guys, as they fit more into the 30k/Horus Heresy era of the 40k fluff. They are Alpha Legion, with currently models being plastic Mk4 Maximus armour marines and some Tartarus Terminators.

Tartarus Terminator in pre-heresy Alpha Legion colours!

The above image shows a rough idea of what colour scheme that I intend to use on my own Alpha Legion, a mix of metallic blue, black and silver. I'm using the Forgeworld Horus Heresy books colour illustrations as shown above as inspiration. Here's some more:

Additionally, I have been given an Ork Kommando belonging to a friend that I have the chance to tidy up, base and paint as my Kill Team "captured" him in the campaign before he was eventually rescued. So I am painting him with a hydra tatoo of the Alpha Legion, more on that soon....

April 2014 - Been a while.

My apologies for such a long gap between now and my last post, but events have kept me busy. However, I have some more wargaming news to share, especially to do with Bolt Action and my German force.

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;

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.

Another victim of Victorian gang warfare....... and a good jab with a shank from behind.

"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:

My Brits/US from Europe Late War take on a Russian horde.

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.

My low strength German force deployed for battle and being outflanked by British on the right of the ruined building.

Russians advance on the left and my Germans take a battering from a artillery strike called by an Artillery Observer.

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:

The assembled Tiger.

First basecoat of paint before I begin applying a camouflage colour scheme I have found online to it.

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.

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.

Gaming Table, 18th April.

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;

Purchases from Pegasus Hobbies and Games, Monmouth, on its opening day.

Flame marker

Smoke marker

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).

Front view.

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.....

New Year update - Additions, Games and Painting Updates

Hello folks, hope you had a good new year. This is going to be a reasonably long article, I hope, and one which will be interesting.

I have made some substantial progress in several new wargaming areas, and a slightly older one.

The first of these is Dystopian Legions, I have finished two standard troopers and my musician (if you have any knowledge the one in question is the one in a flat cap with a more intact uniform). I have also started painting the two characters from the starter set, my Lieutenant and the special character; Captain Smethington II, who I will be using the rules as him, but am painting him as a character from my own Dystopian Legions background. The Lieutenant wears virtually the same uniform as the main troopers, with more armour on the legs, a stripe on the trousers, and goggles. I have also started painting the rather exotic Sky Hussars, posh-dressed soliders armed with flamethrower pistols and equipped with jet packs, and the models come with a rather well made resin jet plume to give the impression of flight. I have painted one plume, but have made little progress on the accompanying trooper bar the black undercoat.

The finished Troopers and Musician

Carrying on with Dystopian Legions I have also played two games of it with a fellow member of Dice and Decks Gaming Club, I may have mentioned the first game and the start of the painting on some of these models in my Pre-Christmas update post. The second game (which took place on 28th December) was a much more comfortable game than the starting game, with rules knowledge needing less help from the actual book, although my game cards were being slightly less friendly than before, but they still proved useful. The game also included the Musicians for my British, whilst the Prussians used their Medics, and we each had an additional rifle squad. The game included three objectives, one of which my Lieutenant ended up guarding by the end of the game, as my riflemen from squad 1 were forced to move up to a flat-topped hill in order to contest another objective, half-way up this hill, they fired a full volley and virtually annihilated an opposing Prussian rifleman squad, leaving two from the full sized squad, and forcing them back, only my opponent’s cunning saved him from leaving me with the objective; he had hidden his own Lieutenant at the bottom of the hill (a Games Workshop terrain piece called the Temple of Skulls). Another Prussian rifle squad was also suffering due to constant shooting attacks from my other riflemen throughout the game, although they also managed to cause a few casualties to my own troops. I believe that the game was in my favour due to my opponent making a tactical error and hiding his Teutonic Knights (Super-sized and heavily armoured troops armed with machine  guns) in a wood, and then, in my opinion, not using them to full effectiveness, using them to cause minor damage to the squad that took the hill. As a whole, I can so far state in fair confidence, that Dystopian Legions is a very good game that I highly recommend to fellow war-gamers.

My Dystopian Legions force for the second game, comprising everything I have collected for the game so far. You can see some of the finished model in the foreground, and the partially completed Lieutenant.

In other news, I have finally finished assembling my Huey for 28mm Vietnam War-gaming, using the Force on Force rules, with their Ambush Valley expansion. The only disappointment was that due to the quality of the plastic used in making the model, the model doesn’t fit properly under the chassis. Additionally, due to a cleaning error, I misplaced a component, leading to the Huey missing the rocket pods and machine guns from the mountings under the doors. However, the main purpose of the vehicle is as a transport, which is still possible. I am currently painting the model, and I am currently painting the model, and you can view my progress below.

In more 28mm Vietnam war-gaming news, I have now got both US and North Vietnamese Army models to use, and have finished some of them, although there are plenty more to paint before their finished. I have finished three US Army troopers; A Sergeant, shown in my previous post, the Commanding Officer, and a Soldier armed with the M14, which was phased out in favour of the M16, so I have a few M14s, but many more with M16s. I felt the M14s add a bit of variety to the otherwise rather same looking force. The North Vietnamese have Mat49 SMGs, RPGs and AK-47s, compared with the more various US weapons such as; M14s, M16s, M79 Blooper Grenade Launchers, and M60 support weapons. I have finished one NVA trooper so far, armed with an AK-47 and a grenade. The pictures of the finished models are displayed below as per usual.

The three completed US Army troopers and an NVA trooper

The UH-1 mid-way through painting, I have left the rotor blades seperate for ease of painting and for safe transporting around.

In Warmachine, I have now got my hands on a Choir of Menoth, which little progress has been made on due to the other new addition, a Judicator colossal. This model is turning out to be large group of medium paintjobs, as I have made most the parts into sub-assemblies for “easy” painting. So the head is one (finished, I would like to add) part, then the main torso, the rocket pods are two sub-assemblies, the engine pack, the shoulders, and arms, then the groin, and finally the two legs. This is partially due to me having to paint white, which as most war-gamers would attest, is a evil colour to try and paint in a smooth coat, and the Judicator is covered in large flat armour plates, all of which need to be white for my colours. Below are a few photos of progress on the model so far:

The finished Collossal's head

The left leg, with the grey on-top-of-black undercoat I use before I add the white colour, shown on the foot.

The completed forearm guard plate

The mid-complete forearm and hand

Hopefully I can complete or at least assemble the new Warmachine, so that I can get back into the action as part of the Warmachine Journeyman  League at Dice and Decks.

And that concludes my latest blog update; hopefully some more progress will have been made by the next update. Till then, have fun folks....

New Updates of the Week - Warmachine, Dystopian Wars and Napoleonics!

Hello again folks, 
Well, I've been doing bits and bobs in terms of modelling and painting this weekend past.
My Exemplar Cinerators I bought for £7 instead of £26 (Cheers Ebay!), arrived and I've managed to build 4 and start painting 1. Despite believing I was missing a head for the one, I found it and so all models can be finished. Here's a work in progress picture:

The Unit so far

Close-up

The one painted one work in progress so far

In the realms of Dystopian Wars I've glued some more of the tanks to the bases and started painting the Landship, and it's coming along well:

The Landship so far, with the St.Paul's Cathedral styled top HQ section on (leaving these interchangable for turrets and mortars etc).

A  better view of the Landship. I do like the details on these rather small models.

More tanks ready for painting.

And after a long break, I've started doing a bit more to my Napoleonics, both 28 and 54mm tall models, I've removed the crew from the base of the 9 Pounder cannon to make the job of painting easier, and so I've started detailing a crewman, having done the basics on all of them, and I've started finally painting the actual cannon; pictures below:

A crewman so far, now just to recolour the hair, and add the yellow detail to loops and then paint the bandolier.

The cannon, I'm thinking of doing a more basic silvery metal rather than brass now I see how it looks.

In 54mm, I've been painting my rifleman, that I converted from a Victrix Penisular War infantryman. Its an interesting model, as the photos don't show the true extent, but the uniform is a dark green (Ork-hide Shade from Games Workshop), and the trim is black. I did some more work to the rifle, now just the base and a few details and it'll be done.

And that's this week's major updates done folks, hopefully some more finished stuff will be in next week's updates, certainly some progress will be done.
Until next time.....

Greed.... and Horus Heresy

Above is a picture of the Primarch Angron, as sculpted and due for release by Forgeworld. 
This is not me praising, I am not a fan, and it's £50. Which even for Forgeworld, is too much money to spend on a single, infantry sized model. Hypocritically, slightly, given I own a Warhound Titan in my collection, but I think this isn't a price in order to make a profit, this price is pure greed in my eyes, the company knows Horus Heresy stuff will sell, and definately Primarchs. So they've made it a stupidly high price to get as much money as possible, which is what companies do, but this is too much. So no Forgeworld, I'm not buying it.....

However, the Forgeworld Horus Heresy stuff in general looks good, and is a part of the 40k background I have long liked, so GW models for it is a godsend.
Fellblades, jetbikes (hopefully other, better looking ones), old armour marks, crested command sets, new rules, and amazing looking books!  Looking forward to it, as long as prices aren't being set stupidly high just to scave money from hobbyists.

Update: Nice to see  freedom of speech, I wrote that the model was too expensive on the comments for the model and it's related video on the Forgeworld Facebook page and come back a few hours later to find it's gone.