Smoke gets in your eyes. (and WIP)

Ok these were made for Peter Pigs PBI rules. That said  there is no reason not to think they could and will not be used for other rules. However I wanted something a little "better" than cotton wool. I know most of you will use cotton wool without issue But I wanted something different.

Therefore I created 5 smoke clouds. (5 more are started and 10 should be enough for me!). They were simple to do just "clump foliage" then sprayed white (3 coats) and then the bases painted and they are good to go. I must  say I am very happy with them. You only need 1 in a PBI square to represent the whole square being filled with smoke so they are indicators only and not realistically modelled terrain. I am  sure you shall do better on your own with a little thought.

 Aztec farm (2) WIP

 As you can see I have started the second part of my sci fi farm. So I HOPE  to get that finished in the week. More details when I do. Please don't try to hold your breathe it is still several days away at the very earliest.

Donner vehicle ! WIP

Yes more WIP, and this is a while off so really don't try to hold your breath (that would be a very bad idea! Continuing my dieselpunk obsession I wave started a donner vehicle. All I have done so far is break things up. Ok saw things but you get the idea! On this model (thanks eBay) I need to rebuild the radiator and the headlights. remove (that's done) the side wheels and rebuild the running boards. And then either rebuild the rain cover or rebuild the back seat not sure yet and add some MGs and some other bits and bobs, like maybe a new hood ornament.

So expect this to take weeks and not days to do. The chances are I  shall get bored and throw it away before I finish so PLEASE don't suggest anything to do with this car. But at the very least you know it is a live project.

That's all for now folks have a good Sunday and try not to get too much done or I shall be disappointed in myself.

All the best Clint.

WIP

Figure ONLY shown for scale.

I dislike Work in Progress blog posts. So I tend to not do them. None the less here is what's happening... At least as far as I am going to show.

Yes I have been working on my "Dieselpunk" game idea. The rules are started and this is my first vehicle. STARTED.

I have loads to do. So far as far as I can see no one make any rules. If you know better please feel free to let me know. there are several makes of figure which can be used but NOTHING as far as I can see directly aimed at this era. THat is not a problem any figure that would fit Spanish Civil war or VBCW or 1920's Gangster is appropriate.

On the right is the START (And only the start) of a vehicle for this period. I started wit a matchbox model of "yesteryear". I have several more to do and yes before you ask vehicle rules shall be in the rules I am writing.


 I have mentioned an idea to Dave Stone (WTW  . LINK ) so the first step in that direction has already been taken. I HASTEN to add it is only a 1st step. Nothing more.

I plan/hope to have a show game done by September, fingers crossed. I know very many of you will have no interest in this project.

Until I have something else to share I shall just shut my big mouth!
All the best Clint

Flying Girl

This is one of Col Bills "Belt Fed" miniatures. Totally unsuitable for Victorian Science Fiction, but totally suitable for Dieselpunk.  I realise that I may be the only person into "Diesel-punk!" but to be honest I don't care. As a Col Bills figure available a MOST UK shows for the princely price of £3. (At time of Typing).

I realise that many of you are thinking "All well and good but what are you thinkin!" Well it is a long term plan and not one to be discussed here. I Know I am a tease but I hope al shall become clear in the dim distant future.

That's al my finished painting up to date and I know it's not a huge amount but sometimes Real life stops me picking up a paint brush.

They came from benethe the waves

As I still have relatives here. Painting has been quiet. So rather than start something new I have been re-painting! These are Crooked Dice "Conch Kin". I have of late gotten back into 7TV and in 2 weeks time shall contenmplate buying the rules again. (2nd Edition, I currently have 1st)

So why re-paint these. Well let us just say "Long term plans". I shall talk (I hope) to Carl at the SELWG show  and with tremendous luck get a game in. Just a small skirmish to re-ignite my interest. If all goes well I shall make a board in which these shall feature.

All terrain making has ground to a halt due to awaiting a delivery. But the mentioned delivery is but a few days off.  So back to making terrain , I hope< by the weekend.

Meanwhile I am finally reading the rules for Crimson Skies. The old FASA game. Yes I am looking to play some of this game. But I cannot say for sure UNTIL I finish reading the rules.

That's todays update. Not huge I know but relatives have slowed me down no end. All the best Clint.

Maximillian 34 (Kind of Review)

Each to their own. And As I have been banging on about Dieselpunk for more than a year you might guess (correctly) that this is my cup of tea!

Ok what do you get? A full colour, soft back, stapled rule set 54 pages in all. 

Production: I would say a lot of time, effort and energy has gone into the production values of this set of rules. Which is not to say they are well padded with junk, however there are a lot of Photos and a lot of things that could easily have been condensed. (More of this later). The booklet when you pick it up feels of good quality and is a pleasure to flick though. Being stapled is not a bad thing it allows the pages to be turned very easily with no fear of it falling apart in your hands. Overall I do like the production, it is so much better than many rule books as it feels as if the whole thing was a passion project and not started just to take money from the gamer. Good Quality throughout the book.

Pictures: I am an old school wargamer who grew up on Table top Games rules. As such I like the whole thing to be about the rules. It is after all what I am paying for. As you can see to the right there is a lot of "wasted" space. The Contents and the introduction could quite easily be put o one page on the inside cover. and not 2 pages in. These are VERY Minor gripes though. The Pics of the minis are good and the minis well painted and overall the layout is fine. It has a nice mix of 1930's pics (mostly associated with either war or racing, seriously what else did we expect) Pics of minis, diagrams and film poster(for modern films set in the 1930's or 1930's style adverts. Overall the pictures do add to the rules But as they an take up 1/2 a page (or in the pages above 1/3rd of a page) I do wonder if they may have been better on the internet or just reduced in size. Again only a minor gripe as they are all relevant and do add some flavour to the rules booklet.

Mechanics: Yep how does it play? The answer is that the rules are simple. I mean that comment to be positive. They are so much easier than Car wars by Steve Jackson. Players are allowed to premeasure and are not forced to make abstract judgements about corners or distances. There is even a nice rule suggestion that anyone taking this too far buys the other players a drink. I am guessing NOT a Cup of water! Most of the mechanics revolve around a player rolling 2 different coloured d6, with more or less D6 depending on circumstances. With only 5's and 6's counting simply add the positive dice and take away the negative dice to determine a result. As most wargamers have D6 in a variety of colours this is not much of a hardship. So all moving and shooting mechanics are very simple and logical and straight forward. mechanics for shooting and moving are similar but not the same. Which lends to consistency and logic and not having to learn 2 different mechanics to complete a game turn. Again overall the mechanics are good , sound, quick the learn and logical. Range for example is for every FULL 12" you add one negative dice.
 So 0-12" no dice added, 12+"-24" a negative dice added, 24+"-36" two negative dice are added to the dice roll (and so on ever 12" an extra die is added). Like I said Simple and effective an straight forward. So Simple logical and straight forward that it is easy to explain as a show game for participation purposes!

There is a section on Building the cars to play the game ( NOT a section on Model making but all the starts needed and there are not too many.)
A couple of weapons have been left out, no smokescreens for example, but no silly weapons have been included either. |So a very healthy 1930's feel is maintained.

Overall the mechanics are very sound.

 Background: There is no Background. This maybe to include more options, So "Back of Beyond" Very British Civil war" "A Right Bloody mess!" (I think that is what they call the Australian Civil war (fictional before anyone questions the notion)), "Crimson Skies" (but on the ground) or your own dystopian alternative history are all playable. Just remember the 1930's and you can't go far wrong. I personally like background in these types of games. to me it is more useful and interesting than pictures, but each to tier own.

Negatives: There is in my opinion too much wasted space.  Take the double page spread above and to the right. If the publisher and games designer feels this is absolutely essential to the rules (you  may guess that I do not)Putting it all on a single page should be quite sufficient, not a page for each vehicle. I do realise that the publisher does try to make the page numbers devisable by 4 but as there are more than 4 pages of "Fluff" I feel it could be reduced.


Conclusion: I will admit to being bias towards this period so please be aware of that before I sum up. The rules are clear enough for a dyslexic (I am one) to understand. They are not complex and they are (to me at least) logical. The main drawback is the lack of vehicles that are available without conversion and model making. I know at my club if the rules take off there will be some "GOD AWEFUL!" contraptions . I guess at many other clubs as well. Therefore I have 3 choices. 1) Make everything myself. (this is currently my favourite option). 2) make players stick to the official Eureka miniatures (I know this will be limiting) or 3) just put up with it (he types through gritted teeth).
Overall I am impressed and look forward to getting some vehicles done and up and running.

Thanks for reading al this. If you have any questions more than happy to answer them. If no questions comment as you choose or choose not to comment. I am happy either way.

Take care, have fun and paint/game if you can.

Very little painting

Well a mixed bag today. As the title says very little painting. But here goes.

Firstly here are 4 15mm figures. They are from the Bodyguard pack by Peter Pig AK 47 Range. I just had 4 figures left over an they were doing nothing so I thought "Why not?" I did not have an answer so it was either get them painted and ready for wargaming or leave them to rot in the lead pile. I have painted these up as professionals so they shall join my AK force and while not big enough to be a unit in their own right they can always be lumped with the professional troops should the need arise.

Just 4 15mm figures painted and based and now ready for action. I did wonder about the colour of the berets finally settling on Blue (Generals Bodyguard have white) as blue and white are the national colours. LOL but they were very nearly yellow.


Inspired by some of your comments about Aeronef boarding actions I decided to make a cheap board. So I nipped in to Poundland and bought 2 packs of floor tiles maybe I should have bought 3 but this will tell me if the idea works. My thought is that if I coat them in the old blue peter "Sticky back plastic" (also bought from Poundland) the floor tiles will act as the base board for minimal expense! I Will let you know if this works. My initial thoughts is that it will, but I have no idea how 1) easy it will be (I am hoping for very) and 2 Light and portable it will be (Again hoping for very). As always you shall be the second (After myself) to know.


And Finally I succumbed!  I bought the Rule book Maximillian '34. I do intend a review after the club have seen it and I have finished reading it and I will be most interested in how it compares to Gaslands . So no review yet but initial thoughts are positive, with all rule sets you always think why have they done it that's way and what if. But so far so good. But be aware there is not a lot of BACKGROUND about the world setting in the book but that can be positive as much as negative.

I shall give more details when I have read it unless I hate it in which case it will hardly be mentioned again.

Have a good weekend. Al 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.

progress is slow.

It is kind of like 1 step forward a massive re think 4 steps to the right, 1 step back, 2 steps to the Right and a few inches forward and then a load of doubt! You get the idea.

So instead of making scenery/terrain I painted up possibly the easiest things imaginable. Which is to say 2 "Tire Trips" from Ainsty Castings (Oh go on here is a LINK).  Will they be used? The awnser is Yes, I already have 2 ideas for them as I restart today my Dieselpunk idea.

In case you cannot see each base is 2 tires sunk 1/2 way into the ground. As I start to take a single step to the left it is possible I might have a WIP post next! Ahh but what for, that is the question!

So until next time a very indecisive Clint out for now and maybe back in a day or 2.

All the best Clint

Wargames Club Gifts.

One of the great things about my club, and not every club is like this, is that if a member has more than he needs he gives it to another member. This week for example I gave Matt a figure (right) and a set of rules I had a spare copy of. (Thanks to Jon Rogers who very kindly gave the spare set to me). I only had his thanks which is actually worth more than I can say. Likewise Tim knew I wanted some 20mm tank turrets. (Dieselpunk project maybe something to show by weekend, don't know yet.) and he likewise gave me 3 resin Tank turrets. He claims they were miss cast, and the hulls might be but the turrets are fine. And I am likewise very grateful.

Now about this figure.... Yes it is a 28mm "Belt Fed" Girl from Col Bill. Firstly let me say It was an absolute joy to paint and I may well get one for myself! As a gift it was not expected and I am sure Matt was delighted. It should fit in with his VBCW 28mm figures quite well. After all (Repeat after me) "You can never have enough Lewis Guns!". I gave her a blue skirt so she could be a member of the Anglican league! matt did say that her state of undress would not make her suitable! feel free to disagree.
I did take a pic of her from the back but the pic was out of focus and if you have seen 1 cream coat you have seen them all. The figure (unpainted) retails for £3 and to my mind is one of the better of the sculpts but most are quite good IF they are of the right period for you.

3 20mm Turrets

There is a battle report coming but being honest it is not very visual so I may leave it out. I will just have to wait and see what else I get done this week.

So until next time take care have fun and paint figures. All the best Clint




++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Post Script: I forgot to mention I was also given a few LotR figures, they are still in my bag. Thanks Tim

Cavalier swag!

Show report probly tomorrow.

Internet has been down here so I missed a few posts but I have not been Idle so posts will come soon.

However until they do ... Just got back from the Cavalier show so I thought to share the loot/swag haul.  Here it is.

left to right top to bottom.

2 28mm Panserschrek teams for WW2 Germans got Chain of command.

6 Lewis Guns. These will be for conversions for my diesel punk project. Which I HOPE to START this week.

2 packs of Anstiy castings (Tea chests and stacks of boxes.) generally useful but also I do have a specific plan for them.

4 28mm Victorian Science Fiction Robots. (Ironclad Miniatures) Wait and see!

2 20mm SHQ Modern British gulf war soldiers. To paint as BAOR troops part impulse buy and part I want to do some "Cold War"

1 pack of plastic slotta bases because I am running out.

1 pack of German Aeronef Digs.

2 rule sets (Gift from friend so no cost) "Triumph and Tragedy for BoB. I already have the rules so either for Matt or another at the club.
and the Spanish Civil war supplement, which I was not expecting and now I am thinking of starting SCW in another scale!

4 Pots of Paint. I always need more paint since I found that the world stops spinning if I do not buy paint regularly! (No it does truly it does and if I wash my hair in it I will never go bald..... one of these comments may not be true, but why risk it?)

1 other secret thing I hope to get painted as a gift, But if I tell you it will not be a secret so I may just have to stick with the paint shampoo!

That's it for today. I will try to get a show game report done tomorrow

All the best folks.

Clint

More ECW Cavalry < well just 1 more.

Yes I only have 1 to go. Which considering there were only four is not a lot of cavalry. I started to get together a small force for "En Garde" and as 3 other club players already had ECW forces It made sense to get something that would fit in so I could swim with the tide and not against it. Hence I started an ECW force. First I knew I needed a leader so started with a Mounted plastic sprue. I only wanted 1 mounted figure so as this was still one of the cheapest ways I took the plunge. And having got them they wee quite nice so I decided to paint another figure..... and now I am on 3. You see how this goes. I will do some foot troops soon I promise, and you can count on that.

here is all three painted and together. Not an impressive force but a fun one and easy to get done. I am still looking for the sprue as I have finished assembling the last one (with a different weapon!) but need to add some pistol holsters to it just to round out the corners.

Lastlty. 10 d20 all the way from China. Cheaper to get them from China than to travel to my local shop and get just 1. Sad but true. But why am I buying any D20 dice?  The short answer is that I wanted some dedicated "Dieselpunk" dice. You see these little things go on behind the scenes without notice and I will very soon start painting for the project. A couple of things to clear from the table first, but things are starting to take shape. Price wise 10 D20 cost £2.71 including postage from China and I got to select the colours (as long as they were all the same..... in this case Grey and Coffee) so naturally I selected colpurs of diesel and petrol and rust and well I say no more.

Have a good day and thanks for popping by for a quick look.

All the best  Clint

All I want for Krimbo is......?

Well I must say I am very pleased with the gifts I received this year.
And here they are.

 Firstly my mother is very nearly back to normal and this is the best gift.

As she was poorly she could not get any gifts so I treated myself. I bought the new Osprey rules "Gaslands" which I must say are rather quite good. While designed for a specific scale and setting there is a paragraph in the rules For changing the scale or the setting, so I think I will be edging towards Dieselpunk games.

I was also VERY lucky and managed to snag (on eBay) a mint version of Crimson Skies. It really does not look like it has ever been played with so I am just going to have to play it like crazy! I have about 20 "Wizkid" planes and will be working on getting this game as fully 3d as possible. Maybe not straight away, but soon my precious soon!  More Dieselpunk!

My sister got me the DVD of Rocketeer so that will add to the dieselpunk vibe very nicely. It is what I asked for and I am grateful.


Lastly from Matt and completely unexpected I got some German Aeronef ships. These are Brigade Models and they are helping to lift my spirits immensely. Totally unexpected and again I am very grateful for them. Cheers Mate.

Not (so far) a bad Krimbo at all. Yes I did buy everything in the top 2 pics myself, but I got exactly what I wanted and am smiling like a Cheshire cat!

Another post (Assuming I get anything finished) in 2 days

Until then take care have fun and paint if the mood takles you.

Best Wishes and seasons Greetings Clint

And so the madness begins.

For those expecting "Burpas" this week, there has been a delay. They are being worked on so they will be along shortly.... maybe NEXT week. Until then I received these this morning. Purchased on eBay for less the £7 including postage. Ok so why get them?
 
 Well you may recall I did mention Dieselpunk! Well these are destined for that project. One has some slight damage so that will be the one I start on. While 4 can be used for VBCW, Gangsters, C'thulhu or anything else I can think of. As they are all 1/43rd scale and thus suitable (only slightly too big (and I do mean slightly) ) for 28mm figures. In fact once on bases 28mm figures will be about the right size.

The 2 trucks will e weathered and don't really need much beyond that. But you know me they will have a complete paint job. as a fuel truck is better than a condensed milk truck! At least in wargames terms if not real life.

So what needs to happen and by when? Well firstly there is NO rush and I would rather get it right than get it wrong. Not that they are at all expensive BUT that I am well shall we say "Frugal" that sounds better than miserly.  I shall start on the green car. As you can see the radiator grill is missing and the "Canvas" top is broken. So starting on a broken one seems to make the most sense.  As I do intend to base them all it will need a base. I am thinking hardboard. This will allow me to cut and "stretch" the vehicle. I know this will be a hard job so expect it done over the Christmas period. Although I do hope to start to "Chop" it next week. I might do a step by step walk through.

Knowing that someone... you know who you are! Will ask about both rules and Figures. I can confirm I already have the figures and will get more as soon as I can acquire them both at the right price and condition. But you will see below that I already have some.

 Rules wise I am looking at 3. Osprey "Gaslands" which MAY be either good or bad I have yet to see. "Gorka Morka" the old GW set but heavily modified, or "Mad dogs with guns!" which are a 1920-30's gangster set but just may be right.

That's it for today. And NOW I best get on with the Painting of Burpas and get my head out of the clouds.


All the Best Clint