Saturday 25 May 2019

Another big (well small)gun

I continue with my alien 15mm army of Snakemen (Astragar). Just a few figures painted. The are of course 15mm CRITICAL MASS Games.  Yes I do have some more ordered. Not too many, just a few.

This is a second gun team. I have decided to group all the heavy weapon teams together. The reason for doing this is that it is different from current 21st Century human thinking in Most armies.  As such some different organisation level thinking seemed just right as I want an alien force. And I imagine Aliens would think slightly (or completely) differently.

Not a huge amount painted but as they say "Every little helps!"

Thanks for looking and have a great weekend.

All the best Clint.

Thursday 23 May 2019

28mm Crimean war figures.

Here are some wargames Foundry 28mm British Infantry of the Crimean war. Firsty I know VERY little about this war or the uniforms and units so If I get anything wrong 10 Please tell me, so I can learn and 2) Bare with me as I am all at sea in this period.

Not knowing Matt provided me with pictures \nd I have copied them as best I am able in the hopes that they are right. A total of 6 riflemen each 3 to a base now ready for action. I have 12 more to do so you shall be seeing more of them soon. Well soon(ish) as I shall start the next 6 tonight.


 In addition to the 6 foot-sloggers I have 1 mounted officer done. One more to do. I showed it last time unfinished. But now it n is finished better to reveal it complete and with the first stands of infantry.  With luck this will give some leadership to the men and allow some games to better be played. But on this score time will tell.











I had more than 1 enquiry about the make of the robot last time.  As such I went up the loft. Straight away I found the box the kit came in now stuffed with old decals. None the less it does show the scale 1/35 and the name "Crusher Joe" of the kit but as yet I am unable to find any ore of them. So if you are looking good luck and comments below on where to get them would be appreciated. (Not holding my breathe though)

Until next time, good luck, good gaming and may  the dice e favourable  to you and also hinder your opponent!

Tuesday 21 May 2019

15mm Robot ( and sneak peek. Historical)

Firstly here is a robot model from about 30 years ago. RE-PAINTED. At the time I was using it as a 28mm model but now I feel more of a 15mm model. The joy of Fantasy/sci-fi is no one knows so it can be whatever you want it to be. No one knows and few (if any) care.

I am afraid I do not know who makes it or what it is for. I remember that our local toy store got some and as such I bought 3 (the other 2 are in pieces and are missing heads. But rebuilding them is for another time/post!

This was a very easy re-paint. Almost too easy, or embarrassingly easy. Just 3 colours of brown on the legs and a thin brown was overall. It really was that easy.  About an hour in all including drying time. In fact the base took longer!

I look forward to finding the missing pieces and getting the other 2 finished now. Obviously this will bulk out my 15mm sci-fi army and give them some mech support.  And we all lke a bit of mech support. The only conversion work is the adding of a gun to the right arm. Way back in the day (no not quite when dinosaurs walked the earth) GW used to do separate weapons and arms. Not for a long period, but they did, Anyway the weapon is a cut down "Lasgun" I just chopped it about and added it on. Mech  with guns is usually a good idea!
Just the mech and a random 15mm alien, (on the to paint pile)
and a random 28mm figure. Just as a size/scale cmparison.

 Ok all Historical nuts can breath now. Finally some 28mm Crimean war WIP. Nearly finished ths mounted officer still got the face and the flesh and a few other bits to do, and a tidy-up. But it at least shows what I am working on for Matt. And that perhaps I have not been as lazy as I appear to have been. This is a 28mm Wargames Foundry and I have needed the practice in 28mm as it seem to have been a while. So I had best do some 28mm figs next!

Thanks for looking and more again in a day or so. Okay 2-3 days more likely!

All the best Clint

Saturday 18 May 2019

Re-PAINT

I decided to "Re-Paint" the BRMDI painted earlier in the week. I can hear you already screaming at me (And with some justification).  I am Happier now. I still have not sorted it but at least happier.  It is still the same vehicle 3d Printed and still (to me at least) such a great model. I intend to send for another as soon as time/effort allows.
This time though I shall start with this cammo scheme and leave well enough alone. (Why am I thinking famous last words!"

As you Can NOW see it is closer to the finished real life thing. Additionally it can easily be used in a desert setting such as the Gulf war!"

That's my very quick update. I hope to have some fresh lead painted tomorrow! All the best Clint

POST SCRIPT: I am unlikely to do a post tomorrow after all. Will try again on Tuesday.

Thursday 16 May 2019

35+ years later!

That maybe a record for me. More of that later though.

While I have finished very little that is a long way from thinking I have not done a lot. Just most of it is not anywhere near finished! So let,s start with what I have done.

Here is a platoon of H+R infantry and transports. The transports are 6mm BMP 1's the infantry are equally small. Strickly speaking I need another BMP and a couple more stands of infantry for the HQ of the platoon. But this is a start.

OK so what has taken 35+ years. ? Yes I can hear you ask even from there so I will keep you in the dark no longer.  Yes my desert. This is how it was and as I have always been led to believe it might stay. BUT. And that is a big BUT with a capital B. I looked on line and found I can afford the nessercary materials. That being 10mm thick "Foam Board" so I ordered a pack. And Yes it arrived. So my 1/300th scale desert has taken a step forward.

As I only started with 2 A1 sheets buying 5 more sheets Should (I hope) be enough. Time will tell but I am hopeful. So expect desert to feature in upcoming weeks. (You are warned).


The spending continues ,while I work on some 28m figures, appearing soon on this blog. Firstly I squandered money for Pulp alley and bought a Clapper board. Traditionally in Pulp Alley the person with the initiative has a "Directors Megaphone" But at about £2.50 inc postage this was cheaper and will work just as well.

Finally I bought some MDF buildings for Pulp Alley wild west. Or Ghost town as I am currently calling it. The 2 Sarrissa buildings are exactly the same So I should be able to get them up and running in a week or three! The TTCombat "Grand Hotel" (on the left may take a bit longer! But at least I am on my way.

Until next time (and I hope) some 28mm figures take care good luck and remember everyones paint brush needs to taste paint one in a while.

All the best Clint

Monday 13 May 2019

BRMD 2 (15mm)

Yep here is my BRMD2 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRDM-2) . Clearly a Soviet scout car. I will need to get some more (at least 1 more). While not a heavy tank it does have its uses. Without reconisance an army is without it's eyes and ears in a fight. So scout/armoured cars are important although as a young kind you and lead by your peers and by the rules perhaps to think differently. I know I was. 

As mentioned in my previous post this is 3d Printed By BPM (https://www.butlersprintedmodels.co.uk/) . It is attached to a 2mm thick base and has been painted (without markings). Typically they are just a standard green, but I shall be honest it looked boring like that. They are of course painted other colours as the Bovington Picture clearly shows, but generally they are plain green.

That's it for today. More again soon (Fingers crossed) Until then thanks for looking and paint if you can.

Cheers Clint







Thursday 9 May 2019

Sometime you need to try something NEW

What 2 blog posts in 2 days, has he gone MORE insane ? well the answer is quite possibly! Yesterday I received a parcel.  Not a huge surprise I had sent for one from this company .butlersprintedmodels  I was expecting it and to be frank it was not a company I knew about or had heard of. But I thought "Why Not?" so I sent for some samples. The company had kept me informed so I knew the parcel was dispatched and in the hands of Royal Mail. For those of you who do not know Butlers Printed Models make wargaming pieces on a 3d Printer. They mostly do 20th century vehicles and NOT figures. But I would suggest they are worth checking out. I know I am glad I did. Anyway here are my samples and 1 model cleaned up and primed.

Delivery was very prompt. I ordered late Thursday night and it arrived on Wednesday morning after a bank holiday. Everything is well wrapped and I am confident other deliveries to me will be equally swift.

All prices are correct at time of publication.

Samples:

1 T72 A (Mk I believe). £4.40. 2 Parts. A Standard Soviet main battle tank still seen in 2nd rate units and in satellite nations. BUT for cold war 1980s perfect! This 15mm model was simple to assemble (der the turret goes on the hull) and required next to no work. Apart from paint this tank can be played with straight from delivery. This is deffinitley on further shopping lists as I shall need 1 or 2 more at least to start.


 1 SA13 "Gopher!" Again 15mm and again £4.40. Obviously it comes in 3 parts, and requires some assembly and cleaning up. I have not started it yet but I have high hopes. I needed (I thought) some air-defence and this made a pleasant change from the Zvezda Shilkas . Cost wise it is cheaper and I suspect more robust. Although on the last point time will be the judge.


1BRDM 2 Armoured car. 15mm and just 2 pieced. This required a little more cleaning up. That said the company DO have a video on Youtube and instructions on their website so do not be afraid, you can do it with a little time and effort. More of this model later.

 1 SDKFZ 7 with  quad 20mm (to scale) AA guns. This is ww2 german. It comes in a choice of variants, it come in at £4.13,. I went for the unarmoured deployed option. Of the medels I got this needs the most work but I am hopeful it shall be straight forward and easy. NONE of the vehicles comes with crew but that is an easy fix I suspect. (Looking into it today). Again 15mm and for the price well worth the sligh hassle of cleaning up.
 1 BA 3 Russian armoured car. THIS IS 1/200th or 10mm) I changed scale for 2 reasons. firstly this is for my Spanish Civil War wargames. This cost £2.20 again it comes in a variety so just read abut and then order the one you want. There is tidying up to do but nothing that should put a serious wargamer or modeller off. It most definitely does not put me off. It is about 1/2 the price of a similar Pendraken one so fill your boots!

With the exception of the BA3 armoured car all the models shown are 15mm (or 1/100) for wargaming purposes. BEFORE odering I would watch the Vidio the company has on youtube. ALSO be aware that as they are 3d printed perfect curves are NOT going to happen. But if you can get past that they are great wargames models.

As I only have wargames vehicles that is the only criteria I use to judge them. That side they are perfectly good for wargaming. And as that is what I want I shall order more.

Yeah but I don't play 15mm. Well good news they also make them in 20m and 28mm (but the price as expected does increase. So have a look and you may see what you are looking for. Afterall what have you got to loose.
BRMD2 Armoured Car.

Firstly it took about 10-15mins to clean up. So I would suggest make a cuppa before you start. The Plastic cuts easily ad with a scalpel (no 11 blade if that makes a difference to  you, it makes very little difference to me). I did find the model light so added an MDF base. Although it should not get eaily moved on the table really. To me though a base finishes it off nicely.

 There are only 2 parts so a very quick internet search (If you have NO common sense) will show you how it should look when finished. There really is very little to it. I am confident you will do a good job. It is worth highlighting that there is no accurate curves and they are instead made up of little steps. But the steps are so small that a layer or two if  paint will reduce them dramatically.  As wargaming pieces go you will already have dealt with bigger metal flash issues.
Overall I am impressed and will paint it tonight but expect no issues. I am already planning my next order and maybe get some larger scales to try out. But generally I would buy some items from this company (If you have a reason to) and make the judgement for yourself. I have and I like them

All the best Clint

Wednesday 8 May 2019

Pulp Alley started!

I have spent the last few days thinking (No jokes about "burning dust" please!).At the club we do have one player (Peter) who plays Pulp Alley at another club! So I know we are not totally adverse to the idea. (Some people will be no matter what  while others embrace the idea!) Anyway over the last few days I have been thinking we should play "Pulp Alley" at the club. But what kind of PULP I hear you scream in my head. Now there is the rub (misquote Shakespear). I want to do Dieselpunk. BUT I am away from doing this at present just because it will take some time.

So what about Western Pulp? Now I think it is a good idea. There is PLENTY of precedence for Western pulp. (Just do a very quick internet search if in doubt). And for this I am READY TO GO. I have about 75-100 painted figures and a model western town. So a standard western game is a possibility! A good and strong possibility.

BUT knowing that Peter (as mentioned above has a Vampire league (I know as I painted it for him) I was thinkin Wild West Horror!

So That is the plan now. Some of you I can tell are delighted.  This also allows other club members with amore historical bent to play  straight cowboys and Indians. (Should they choose, and some will). So I have now started to convert some of the wild west setting to more Horrific than normal.

Ghost town.

OK where to start.  I have started with  a derelict house. Yes this a pre-cut MDF building. (Sarrissa I think). I shall get some more and make them for my Ghost Town (in my head I am calling the town "Bitter-Creek!" but that is  subject to change. ) Anyway the Ghost town does not need many buildings. I think 5-6 is enough As "Pulp alley" is played o a 3' by 3' table and we are not looking for a metropolis!


 While I only have 1 building finished at this stage. I shall add more in the next few weeks.  I already have 2 more to add but at present they are still wrapped and pristine.

My "Pulp Alley rules!
Additionally I have 2 packs of Foundry cowboy Zombies (painted), so they are ready to go. Add the figures from "Draculas America!" and I have enough of a selection to get me going until a player wants something odd.... which is probably straight away!


Currently on the painting table
  • 3 Wild west Mexicans in 28mm.
  • 1 platoon of 6mm Middle-east Modern troops with transport. (BMP1s or BTR 70s not sure yet)
  • 1 unit of 15mm Buffalo Soldiers (9th or 10 Cavalry) Then this force is finished.
  • 1 squad of 15mm cold war Russians.  (Just starting these.
  • Anything I get side-tracked onto!
Ok just a building finished for today. I am still struggling to get back into painting!

All the best Clint.



Saturday 4 May 2019

A Week has past!

Good Grief a whole week! I am slipping and big time! Yes the wargaming MOJO has gone Yes the painting Mojo has GONE.

Trying to get it back I have painted a few things. Here is an Alternative Armies 15mm Scout bike! not brilliant but as it had been waiting about 15-20 years a relief to get done. No I am still not happy with it but at least it is finished and can (for now) join the other 15mm sci fi figures. Yes I still have some to get done. (Several posts, most for the aliens but at least 1 for the French Foreign Legion (in space).

The "lump" to the left is an old unused part of a robot, but it makes good scatter terrain if nothing else. And it was quick to paint  and easy to finish.

Cold War update. Slowly getting my head around it. in 15mm I shall start on the Russian/soviet force first as that is what I have bought. Sent off for some more stuff as well from an unknown (to me ) company and I hope it will arrive in the week. Assuming it does, happy days and I can start>

Until next time take care good luck and I shall try to FORCE myself to paint as well.
All the best Clint

Saturday 27 April 2019

Most things arrive at once!

Yes I had a spend. NO the Crooked  Dice items have not arrived. But here is what I did get!

First to arrive. (but I was out and had to pick up from the post office today was "OIL WAR". The  supplement for Team Yankee. I have yet to read it  but I am already thinking 6mm when I buy some infantry (that and a few aircraft should be all I need). Maybe a few extra tanks but not as many or as diverse as you might think.

The Force on Force rules are an old set and now as rare as Hens Teeth. That  aside I feel they will make the best use of "The Zone" books by James Rouch.

OKAY so what figures to use. Ehrm 15mm I think! I was hung up un 20mm for a long time but then I discovered TT Gauge model railways and while the buildings are expensive I feel they could be worth the effort! So to try it out I went and bought some vehicles.

And some figures. I suspect the infantry to be Plastic Soldier Company 15mm modern Russian. Anyway bought yesterday from Cavalier Books and arrived lunch time today. And as service goes you cannot beat that.


I also went to my local Games shop and bought a Zvezda Hind. And although this is supposedly a tad small for 100th scale is close enough

While there I purchased a box of Russian vehicles.  5 T64s and 2 BMPS The BMPs can either be mk 1 or mk 2 perhaps very simply with a turret swap. I wil need to open the box and have a look, but fingers crossed!

I also bought a new paint brush. Fingers crossed it will allow me to paint better!
Finally as an impulse buy (or  is it) I got a Wargames Terrain Workshop post apoc car A. Maybe I already have a use for it and maybe it is a gift for a friend! I shall let you Know when the time is right.
Another gift for a friend.
Nuff said  for now but fingers crossed.

Thursday 25 April 2019

D Troop (15mm Pony wars/wild west!)

Here is my latest unit of VETERAN 9th/10th cavalry for Peter pigs "Western" rules.
Yes only 6 bases. (The maximum for a Veteran unit) so not a large unit by any stretch of the imagination.

The models are "Alternative Armies" 15mm figures. Old Table top Games. I used these not because they are the best but simple because they will fit in with the rest of the troops.

The unit consists of Leader (20 points) and 5 bases of Cavalry (Mounted, long shooter) Veteran figures. (12points  each base) for a total of 68 points for the unit!

Which considering you are allowed 300points in your farce is quite a large proportion.  I just hope the veteran status is worth the points.



Elsewhere I continue to work on my airship/zeppelin. More of this when it has dried a bit.
 So with luck more soon.

Also had an email from Crooked Dice my Kickstarter is now ready for payment. I paied as fast as I could so with luck an UNBOXING next week. Unless I have seen far to many of them on blogs before I receive it!

Until then, take care, have fun and paint IF you get the chance. See you later Clint