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.

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

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

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

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

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.

Pulp Zepplin (1)

Additional Stretch goals

I had a sleepless night last night. (Not though choice I hasten to add!) As such I did some thinking. (Yes it  did hurt and I am sick of listening to the worlds smallest violin before you ask!) Anyway Long story short. I had an email from Karl at Crooked Dice to let me know that my Kickstarter should be ready to ship in a week or 2. As all the stretch goals are now finished and delivered to his home.

Starting Point

Anyway as I wanted to build a "PULP" board any way I decided to start. And what is more Pulp than an Airship!?  What a Zeppelin? Who in their right mind build a Zeppelin? The answer is NO ONE! But I thought it was worth a try anyway! I decided it would not be all that large, So swigging down the Pepsi I figured 2 2 litre bottles would make a good enough "hull" (I am sure that HULL is the wrong word but until I think of it HULL will do!)


 Needed a nose of some description. So I simply cut a pimg pong ball in half! I am sure there is a better option but I just went with what I had! As with the hull I am sure there is a MUCH better option but I could not wait for that. I NEEDED to crack on!








So using some UHU general addehisive I stuck 2 Pepsi bottles together.  At this stage I have no idea if it will work but am hopeful! It is now about 3 foot long. Judging that to be sufficient I stopped there. At this stage it is all pretty rough but with scissors glue a scalpel and a saw I am not overwhelmed! (That comes tomorrow!).

This afternoon allowing PLENTY of time to dry I shall give it a skin. I ran to the local store (A tescos as it happens) and bought some cheap Kitchen towel. So I will detail my endevours later on maybe Sunday.

Now while I wait for this afternoon to arrive and me to get a little more spare time I have some questions about Zeppelins. I promise not hard ones.

Firstly the engines and bomb rack will be external to the gondola! But what else would you like to see in the gondola.  I shall put a cockpit and Matt has suggested some machineguns. But what else is needed bearing in mind it shall be quite small? Please add serious ideas to the comments and I will see what I can manage!

COLD WAR WARGAMING.
As mentioned last time I plan some cold war wargaming. With a bit of tidying up I have a modular desert board. So it makes sense to me to work in a middle east setting. I shall say no more until I get the basics done. But remember you heard it here first! Or forget all about it if you choose.

Oppps i did it again!

NO not a song but feel free to hum it while you read!

Okay the problem. Myself and the club has a LOT of 6mm Cold War era stuff. (mostly Vehicles) that we do not use. So what I am proposing is not a new idea. Very simply it is using these rules (yes I know I like Challenger!!) and swapping scale. Very simply this will allow almost All the club members to participate. Even those player with nothing! If you have nothing you will be lent enough to get you started, although probably a company or two and NOT what you want!

That said I think there is enough Soviet/American and British stuff that can be used that has been "donated" to the club in the past. But if you want something quite obscure you will be on tour own.

The idea is that eventually and this is a LONG way down the road we have enough to play "The Zone!". That may not actually happen But the Idea is there. The next stage is to read the rules and pick a setting! Yes a setting. That will depend on what players want! They may want West Germany (Fudal Gap) Which is the classic Cold war/ Zone setting but  they may well want Canada/Alaska (Shortest route) or even Arab Isreali wars. Only time will tell. And to some extent I shall leave it to them.

Until next time all the best Clint.
Post script: I am supposed to be painting some of my figures but it went wrong. So if I can pull it back they may be next time or the time after.

2 steps back wards

Well that is what it feels like. It really does.

That aside. I have been working on my 6mm (1/300th scale) Cold war stuff. I know It does not amount to much, but here they are.

They are Heroics and Ros (LINK) miniatures of BTR 60's . While not a front line cutting edge APC in 1985 they were still used and I for one have always liked them. This is enough for a company of Infantry transport. Perfect for a Nava regiment or for very front line troops of a satellite country. So Perfect for me should I do an invasion of Turkey! (Which I have mentioned before).

You have 3 platoons each of 3 vehicles and a HQ Platoon of 2 vehicles. (One command vehicle and 1 security vehicle from memory).

Easy to paint and get finished which is why I am showing them today.

As I wait for the post to deliver at least 2 parcels I have started a terrain project. I hope to have more to show on Saturday. If the parcels arrive and if I get more done I will show then. But for now just realise that not everything is new, sometimes I take old projects and revamp them and this is a case in point! Do not guess what it will be as I assure you all shall be clear in days yet to come and I zoom out and don't crop the photograph.


Until such times keep plugging away and get what wargames stuff done as you can. And rest assured that I am as well, but not always in the foreground!

All the best Clint

T 55 (6mm)

Firstly I am sorry for no posts for a while. I was not up to it. Alright now so Please say nothing and we can get back to normal as swiftly as possible. I would say a "Thank you to the person (hero) who did email to enquire. Cheers mate I appreciate it.

Not much of as post today. I am working like a swan though and all will be revealed in due course. Anyone asking will be ignored though!

 Here are a COMPANY of post war Russian T-55s. That's not true though I had extras so there is an additional PLATOON (Engineering) of 3 tanks. ( Right in the first picture).

Can I use them in 1980's "Challenger 2" WARGAMING? Yes of course! I can use them in a Russian Naval regiment OR By Bulgarian or Hungarian support forces, perhaps to invade Turkey in a cold war era game I have suggested. But that is years away just yet , and ONLY in my head.  I shall of course be adding to this force in the  coming month until my "Spaniel" attention span gives me other "shinies" to take a look at.

The models are all 6mm or 1/300th scale Heroics and Ros. As yet I do not have any boards to play on but that is all planned for the future. (BUT do not hold your breath).

I PLAN to be back posting ever 2nd day this week and should I think already have enough posts.

So pack up any worries you may have, enjoy your hobby and paint or game if you get the chance.

All the best Clint

WIP and Spendz.

Yes it has been a SLOW week wargames wise. However here are the first Work -in-Progress (WIP) photos of the Dieselpunk project. I HASTEN (Capitals and underlined) to add that is only the rough and is subject to change  in a very big way. In fact I have reached this stage before and scrapped it all so I am aware that it may happen that way again.

The "donor" vehicle is a Matchbox "Yesteryear truck and equates to about 28mm. All good so far. I have to add some armour to the sides and a turret and maybe a mine or oils slick dropper to the back. I will have to see as I get closer to completion.  The biggest problem of course is that each panel is a 3d curve so it has to be cut and shaped separately, tried in place and then attached with superglue. It's tricky time consuming and frustrating BUT when it is finished I am sure it will look very Dieselpunk and will become a much cherished vehicle, even if it is horrible in game terms. As for game terms we will just have to wait and see. I have at this stage NO clue how it will do.

Wargmes Terrain Workshop
A great display
I am told Dave is a regular
visitor to the shop
so if he wants to meet face to face one time
just let me know and we will
make it Happen.

LUCID EYE
in sock

You may remember that 2 weeks ago we (as a club) could not attend a local show due to the POOR weather. So I thought I would cheer myself up and have a little spend. I was of course in Rochester Wargames and model Railway shop.  They seem to have a lot more stock in most of it of interest to me

LUCID EYE (LINK) are now stocked. A figure range I have seen on eBay but not in the "Flesh". If youi do not know the range click the link to find out more.

The shop has also started to stock 15mm figures. WW2 Flames of war has been in stock for ages, but now some ancients and I must say BRAVO for that.

I was also interested to see some 15mm Vietnam stuff. I am VERY picky about Vietnam wargames so I did not get any. However it is a pleasure to see it  among the usual GW fodder.

No I did not look for necromunda. I meant to just forgot.

Here is what I did buy!

• A 1/100th scale JS 2 This will be a quick add to my AK 47 force for battles in Africa. After all we all need some heavy tanks!
• A pack of Savage Core (lucid eye) figures. More of these when I paint them. I hope to start them this week
• 2 pots of much needed paint
• A rules supplement. I had to import this from America, took about 9 working days and is the supplement I really wanted for "Force on Force" but was never able to find in this country. (sold out was the most common answer) again more on this (but so far not able to put down) in an upcoming post.

Well that' it for today I promise to get on with some hobby stuff today after I make the Roast Dinner (No none for you) wash up and then paint the kitchen cupboards. So that is my day planned out.

All the best Clint. Have a good day folks.

Epiphany (well sort of)

Ok that might be over doing it. (and It may be spelt wrong) but you get the idea. The figures are 20mm SHQ purchased at the recent Cavalier show (on Impulse). Personally I like 20mm figures and I like SHQ Miniatures and I like Cold war wargaming. Thus for me it is a shame they will possibly never get used.

I know the kind of wargame I want and have never found the correct rules. You can imagine what I wanted looking at the pic on the left. I have even looked into making and casting the "Iron Cow" Yes Bryan I know if I ever do you want one in 28mm scale. I know this. But I would be working in 20mm IF I ever did it, or maybe in 15mm depending on the other manufacturers and what they make to fit in as opposition. But my plan has always been 20mm.

Anyway that will have to wait. Probably till I die and someone else does it! So hold your breathe if you want but I would not advise it!

OKAY so why the Epiphany? Well while looking for some suitable "The Zone" rules I can across "Black Opps" by Osprey. Now I will admit they would be kind of suitable, but they would need a few tweaks to get the flavour right. What they would suit is Vietnam. Now the Vietnam conflict is just my thing and I have 2 forces ready to go. In fact they are itching to get going and have been for a LONG while. In a weeks time I do have a Veitnam game (Peter Pig rules) at a show. Personally I do not like these rules as I feel they are more about the game than the conflict. Yes I have looked at SEVERAL other sets of rules Including (but not limited to) FNG, Buckle for your dust, Body Count, Force on Force, Skirmish Sangin, Specte and even Flames of War. None of them quite give what I am after. FNG is closest but I do not like the mechanics as they come across as unwieldy. However "Black Opps" is the right scale (about a squad) easy to explain and use and should I hope, give a good Vietnam game. So that is my plan at this stage.

Thanks for reading my babble. next time some Vikings. (I hope)