A fist ful of Zombies,

New Recruits

The Horde so far!

 Good morning. In the last couple of days I have managed to source and paint 5 additional zombie gunfighters. Again these are Wargames Foundry figures and thus they are all duplicates of figures already painted. As can be clearly seen there are only 5. The pack would normally contain 7 figures but as they were a gift from a friend it would be churlish in the extreme to whine about it. Let us be blunt when it comes to lead all donations are VERY gratefully received. So thanks Matt, he's not a blogger or known to my club but we go back years and he used to ref "Deadlands RPG" and these are the left overs. I have never played "Deadlands" as I was not living in the same part of the world at the time.

The second picture shows the horde at this stage. It is quite meagre at this time but it is slowly growing and increasing. As mentioned previously I will be using my normal 20th Century horde zombies just to bulk out the ranks and create much more of a threat. My players will already have been looking at the tufts on the bases. This is because I activate zombies in two separate phases Those with "tufts" on the base and those without. This system came about when it became apparent that players were waiting for the zombies to move and then move just far enough away not to get eaten. By having two separate activations it makes it harder for the players to act in this way. Both activations are random as are individual players so usually one or more players will act between the zombie activations.

That's todays painting. I shall be travelling to the Milton Hundreds Wargames Club Open day today (yes I will take some snaps) and The club Wild West Zombie game tomorrow so a busy games weekend for me. So with luck I will post the AAR on Monday and the open day report on Wednesday. At least that is the plan! take acre and chat again soon. Best wishes Clint.

Western Gunfight Zombies.

 Some of you will know I am planning a Western Zombie Game for the club on Sunday, the rest of you have just found out! That being the case I thought I should start painting a few more zombies. Most zombies in the game will be my "normal" horde zombies but I thought to add a few more zombies toting weapons and dressed in period clothes. They will of course function slightly differently in the game. The top two pictures are freshly painted "Foundry" castings and the Third picture has two zombies which have been shown before, just included for completeness.

7 figures to a pack armed and dressed with a variety of weapons and clothing. Quite obviously they can be used for any Victorian era setting but are most suitable as wild/weird West figures because one of them is wearing chaps. 5 are pistol armed including a couple of heavy pistols. 1 has a rifle and the other a double barrelled shotgun. They all look suitably zombie like in both pose and facial grimace. While Foundry only do 1 pack different colours on the clothing should or the skin tone should allow for enough variety especially if the figures in the same poses are on different parts of the Table.

I hope to get the opportunity either today or tomorrow to give the rules I shall be using for the game on my dedicated zombie blog (28 Dice Later ). I do not update it very often and am not looking for followers or page views as it is mostly for club and ZBA interaction.

I shall do another post on this blog on Saturday. Until then take care enjoy a quiet few days and with luck talk soon. All the best Clint.

Hakan the barbarian.

 And today's offering is a Barbarian figure by "Reaper Miniatures". I have only managed to get one figure painted in the last couple of days. Oh well!

HAKAN, BARBARIAN OF HEIMDA is the name on the pack. Obviously the figure is ridiculously muscled but we have to expect that from figures portraying barbarians. As such another exercise in painting flesh. Clearly fantasy figure, well just look at that weapon and tell me anyone could seriously wield it is such a manner. No I thought not! Still part of fantasy is always a bit larger than life, so not a serious problem as far as I am concerned.     Originally I purchased him while looking to put on a Conan game. While never intended to be Conan himself I did think to use him as a supporting cast member. I do have a couple more to fit in with this game idea so you may get to see them soon, Indeed one is on the paint table at present.

With luck I hope to have more than 1 figure to show in 2 days time. So Until then take care and enjoy yourself.  And hope to see you soon.

Pinkertons

The three figures are from the Artizan range of Wild West miniature. The actual pack was AWW025 Pinkerton Detectives 1. Each was a joy to paint and will suit any Western or Victorian game. Yes even a game with zombies werewolves and other such things that go bump in the night. The Out House is another building by Tim Wade at Frontline Wargaming. I am not sure if it is still available as he seems to has stopped producing his Western Buildings now that companies are producing laser cut wooden ones. Personally I think this is a same the resin ones do not require assembly and being heavier are less prone to movement on the table top (which should not happen but we all know it does!)

 Ok each in turn.

The first one is armed with a single pistol. I went for grey hair and bear as I wanted the figure to appear as a grizzeled veteran. There is a mended tear/rip in his duster on the right leg hinting that he would rather spend his money elsewhere than on fancy duds. And yet his grey bowler hat does appear new. Maybe either the coat is lucky or the hat is new and he would rather have town clothes than country clothes.  Whatever his story is I painted him with the name "Warm Leg Bob" in my mind as that is the name given to me by one of the players in my series of planned games in the Zombie Wild west!

 The next figure Not intended for the Weird West is one of the few figure I have for this period who is wearing spectacles. Rather than painting them black or blue I decided that red-pink was exactly the right colour. The rose tinted spectacles will help with the glare of the sun and give the figure a very specific character. Spurs can be seen below the brown duster and the '73 Winchester rifle makes me think he's been tracking down don heinous villains out in the old west. This is one of the joys of this period all the figures are very characterful and as you paint them you make your own story up as you go. Obviously who ever picks him up and commands the figure on the table can and probably will make up their own reasons for the clothes and armaments.

Lastly for today probably the figure I liked the most prior to painting. (Now of course I like them all). This detective has obviously spent some money on duds and gives the appearance of only wanting the best of things. The hat the coat the bow tie all look new and in good condition and while he also has spurs on the fact that he wars a monocle suggests he's more used to a civilised setting. Finishing his look is a gold watch chain and gold monocle chain which hopefully should make it look like his the most successful Pinkerton of the three.

That's it for today. As you can tell I have really enjoyed painting these three and I think they will add considerably to my growing Wild West setup. there are of course more to follow and with luck and a bit of work they should be ready for Tuesday's next blog post. So until them take care and have fun. All the best Clint.

Crocs and Trolleys.

As my self imposed "figure fast" draws to a close on Saturday I do not see myself heading into a "Figure Feast". So first up today is the second Croc from Michael over at 28mm Victorian Warfare who sent me them to flesh out my TAR7AN game, which I really do need to spend some more time finishing. I had one finished before so here is the second one as well, both together. So one very small step closer and again my thanks to the gentleman Michael. Thank you Sir very much appreciated.





Obviously these are not at all related to the crocs, except that they might be considered as articulated if coupled together. These are very well priced at £5 for the set. Ainsty Castings.  (the link will take you to the right page.) On the Ainsty site these trolley Cart train is painted silver. While I did like the silver look as being very science fiction or Spy-Fi I wanted these to stand out on the table top and yet still fit into either setting. As a result I went for a bright yellow main colour with a series of red, brown and a very very dilute black washes. The black applied only into the joins on the cylinder tanks but quite heavy on the grey trolley bases. Given the boldness of the cylinder tanks I settled on a simple grey for the wheeled bases which carry the cylinders as I wanted the tanks to be the focus and not the wheeled bases. I have no immediate use for them but in any science fiction setting or scale I am sure they will get some game action. As we all know cover is cover and a welcome  addition in pretty much on every tabletop game. I must say for the price these really are a good addition and I am strongly considering getting more.

Thanks for reading today. Next update will be on Sunday. So until later take care have fun and blog like crazy! All the best Clint.

6mm Baccus Wss trial figures.

It has been many years, (probably close to 15-20), since I last painted any 1/300th scale or so called 6 mm figures. So I thought it wise (others may say foolish) I should start small (no pun intended) and with a very limited type and amount of figures. As such I have completed 2 units. Completed is the wrong word as I have yet to add the flags. The flags are commercially available from Baccus and thus I will purchase them in due course as it saves mucking about trying to make my own.

The first unit is painted to represent Sir Edward Derings Regiment of Foot, Captain General John Churchill 1st Duke of Marlborough, at the battle of Blenhiem during the War of Spanish Succession. The colours were taken from The War Office. web site. While I am staying close to the colours in many games they will not represent the actual units as they will need to take many roles in a few different eras and theatres.




The second unit has been painted to represent the  Welch Regiment of Fusiliers. Again colours and markings taken from the War Office as mentioned above.

Each unit has been based to match Tim's troops so that if we attempt big games there will be no disparity in sizes. With 3 bases to a unit they will also be usable for "Beneathe the Lily Banners" rules as well.
 While Tim was able to fit 12 "Irregular"figures to a base I was only able to squeeze 8 figures in the same area. Baccus figures are slightly wider and many people say they have big heads. They are most definitely better quality than "Irregular Miniature" and indeed with larger heads, but as they cost more one would hope for better quality. I do appreciate "Irregular Miniatures" and would be willing to get more at a later date but for now Baccus is the way forward for me. I think these may be the re-start of my War of Spanish Succession project despite the fact that I have purchased an army in 15mm as well. 6mm will at least dovetail with Tim's figures which will stop me having to buy two armies and will in the long term save money ..... well maybe, it might just mean I buy more! You know what it's like

I have kept the bases simple with just a paint finish as putting any texture on them would have cluttered them considerably. The base sizes are only 22mm by 12mm so once the figures are attached there really is not much room at all for the little extra bits which make them visually more appealing.

That's it for today. Thanks for reading this and I have several things started on the painting table so I really have no idea what will be finished next. However I have offered to put on a Wild West Zoimbie game in 10 days time or so. Therefore you may expect to see some figures for this game in the very near future.

Best wishes Clint

They don't like it up 'em.

 Tim, Graham and myself had a Sudan game at the  club yesterday. Tim took the Mahdist's forces while Graham and myself were given a supply column and troops of her majesty's most glorious empire. The rules used were "A Good Dusting" Tim supplied everything, troops terrain and the rules and scenario.

The mission was to take the supplies from one table edge to the opposite side. the carts could not cross the hills but everything else could. So we planned the best route and set of moving at the speed of our infantry (4" a turn).

There were two obvious "pinch points" which we would need to take the wagons through. And then the Mahdists turned up. My cavalry scouting ahead trying to secure the first pinch point was met head on by the native cavalry who managed to get the charge in and melee was joined. A melee that was to linger on and on and on. I won each round of combat but the heathens just would not break no matter how hard I tried. My infantry were the advance guard and ever so slowly caught up with the meleeing horse. First I tried a firing line behind them thinking my own might run before the native fanatics then I fanned out to either side to counter the approaching Beja.

My second unit of cavalry were caught in the open and shot up thus retreated and let the foot-sloggers get involved. Eventually they dismounted and formed a skirmish screen on the columns left flank to counter more Mahdist troops streaming in from that side. (Mahdist troops were set up randomly by use of a scatter dice with a chance of more arriving each turn.)

Madist camel troops and a very few fuzzy wuzzies turned up behind the column but Grahams troops made very short work of them. While a horde turned up on my left flank and my cavalry skirmish screen had to edge backwards each turn giving fire and ground in equal measure.

Eventually the Mahdist Cavalry died to a man having refused all decency and not routed and the pinch point opened enough to get some wagons rolling through. But seriously it did take all day to get that result they just would not run the blighters! So I swung my now free horse into the flank of the closest Beja and launched a bayonet charge with a foot unit at the same time.

We ran out of time but it was clear that Her majesty would have been pleased with the action in the Sudan this day. All my troops had taken losses but none had actually broken and disgraced themselves.

There were a number of issues that the rules and situation bought up. I think the British had about twice the number of troops they should have and the fact that the Mahdists turned up in dribs and drabs which meant Tim would never be able to make a strong concerted effort. Which did not lead to a very balanced game in the end which is a shame as I would like to do more of this period. A string of emails have been sent both ways with ideas and suggestions and Tim has amended some of the rules to suit our club more even sending updated quick reference sheets to Graham and myself. I can't say I out played Tim in any regard despite the clear win it was just that at no stage did the poor chap manage to get enough troops on the table. Then when he did get troops into the game they were so scattered that the long range of the rifles (30 inches when foot move 4 inches a turn) meant they could be severely weakened to the point that they could not really impact. So Other than the native horse I initiated the charges with my infantry. We all like a bayonet charge after all!

A slightly disappointing game I have to admit, but lessons learned so with luck next time we play a more even result has the potential to emerge. That's it for today thanks for reading and I will blog again on Wednesday. Best wishes Clint.

Bicycle Boys!

 A couple of old Foundry figures from their Home guard range. I hasten to add that I am still working through my old lead pile and at present have no use for these chaps. I am sure I will find a use for them but what that will be and when is anyone's guess. Painted more for fun and pleasure than anything else following the WW1 figures I was finishing off last week. For now I'll put them in the same box and maybe use them as WW1 dispatch riders.

Not really a whole lot more to say about these two figures.  Something a little different but only a little. I used the same colours as the WW1 figures as British army uniforms did not seem to change colour too much between the wars. That is of course the time for someone to jump in and contradict me. And if the colours are very much different I have an eye test in September so let's not worry about it.

I may have originally got these when VBCW was planned in 28mm but now the club is doing 20mm these might never get used. Oh well never mind, sooner or later they'll either get used or put on a bring and buy.

Changing the topic, I am due to play a Sudan game at the club on Sunday so with any luck an After Action Report on Monday. So until then, take care and hope to see you soon. Best Wishes Clint.

6mm Buildings (2)

 Well here are the other two buildings. Both from the same source as the ones I showed a couple of days ago. Again they have a wide variety of construction techniques displayed on each model (stone work, brick work, timber framed, weatherboarding etc etc.. ) Traditionally Weatherboarding would be white washed but I thought the blue just looked better. If we are being strictly accurate then weatherboarding is a Kent (and Kentish.....you have to be local to appreciate the difference) contextual feature which would mean the building (or Builder) was base in (or from) Kent.  I can already hear the snores so I'll move on.

The third picture shows some of the side views as opposed to straight elevations. This is to show that the details extend to all sides. I really like this approach as when on the table top we would never see a simple facade.  It also goes to show how much fun they are to paint.

Of course now I have these painted up there is no excuses not to do some of my 6mm troops. While I have none on the paint table at the moment, I have as mentioned previously now found them and even had an email back from Tim at Frontline with the sixes of the bases he has used. So perhaps I need to stop procrastinating and get on with it.

As you can see from the last photo here are all the building together. I knew someone would ask for one so just to save you the effort of asking.

So here we go again another blog post over and with luck I shall look forward to hearing from you or to the next post which should be on Friday. All the best Clint

1/300th Buildings (1)

 Having played a game with Tim about 10 days ago using Black Powder rules with his 6mm Jacobites I knew I had some 6mm Malburians by Baccus. Yes I realise these are buildings, please bear with me. The Malburians I knew I had put somewhere "Safe". So I started the search for them and found these resin 6mm (1/300th scale) buildings. So the brush came out and the paint went on because it is always nice to have some scenery for games. There are 2 more which are half painted so look out for them in coming posts.

The first building I have painted I have made into a pub or Tavern. The sign says "Hop and Vine" so it is very generic and could fit in anywhere. The other three are not commercial building but dwellings. All 4 buildings have a variety of building styles and materials. Stone build, timber frame wooden planking and a rendered plaster finish are all in evidence. There is a mixture of tile and thatch roofs and different forms of stonework including quoining. Most buildings have a mixture of styles and techniques which adds to the very village feel of the buildings. over all I am very impressed with these buildings sculpts as they each are absolutely packed with character. When the other two are finished they will make a very charismatic and charming village to battle through.

I did eventually find the place the Malburian figures were hiding. This particular "Safe place" was tucked behind the printer by my computer. I have no idea why they were hiding there but they did  show up so that is another thing to get painted in the coming weeks.

That's it for now. I should post again in 2 days. So until then thanks for reading and as ever feel free to make comments if you choose. All the best Clint.

More WW1 28mm

 I was in a painting mood on Saturday so managed to get some more 28mm figures done. Obviously they are all late war, but I had them hanging about and as I am at present not buying and trying to reduce the unpainted pile it was worth getting them done despite the fact that the rest are early war mostly in caps. Which makes these the first helmeted figures for the force.

The figures are "Great War Miniatures" in a pack of Lewis gunners. I suspect that there should have been 3 Lewis Gunners and 3 Ammunition carriers. In my pack there was a duplicate munitions carrier, middle in the top photo and left figure in the second photo. This is not a complaint. and extra ammunition is rarely a mistake. I am guessing that somewhere there is a figure pack with an extra Lewis Gunner but no No:2 so he'll be short of supplies and may have trouble reloading. Many people would prefer the extra gun but troops carrying things through trenches can always be used in a WW1 setting.

6 figures in a pack at £5:40 including postage having just checked on eBay seems like a good price. I have no need of any more British for now so I doubt I will purchase any more in the foreseeable future. I did enjoy painting them though as the uniforms are straightforward and it means you can get them done without too much thought or colour worry.

Additionally I found this Renegade officer who had failed to get painted when I did the rest of the WW1 figures so I managed to include him in the batch at the same time. He had been attached to a "slotta" base which I must have done several years ago as opposed to a washer. I have no idea why I did not do him those years ago, maybe he was absent without leave at the time and I simply forgot him and then put him in the "to do" box! Who knows, I can't remember. You can see in the group picture at the bottom that despite my camera work in the individual picture he does fit in. (No idea why it came out so much darker and so much browner. Oh well never mind)




I am doubtful these will get any kind of tabletop outing in the near future I definitely have nothing planned for them but you never know. I would need to make another opposing army for them and that is a task I am not willing to take at present.

That is it for today. Thank you for tuning in. If I can get any painting done this afternoon I will post again on Tuesday. I hope to but nothing is ready yet. So until next time keep safe have fun and feel free to comment, or not as the whim takes you. All the best Clint

120mm mortar

Well despite many distractions I have managed to get a single 120mm German WW2 Mortar. While not rare it was on the Plastic Soldier Heavy Weapons sprue so it was worth painting it up just in case. It finishes the sprue so while it might not find an immediate use I am sure somewhere down the line it will get an outing.

Not having read the rules yet or dug on the internet for details I do have some hope of being able to use it for "Chain of Command." so I have painted the crew to match in with my late war Germans.

Nothing else painted in the last two days but a couple of other things started. On the Non painting front I finished "Farcry 3" this morning, By finished I mean all the quests, side quests, vehicles, letters of the lost, communication towers, pirate bases, assassinations, emergency supply runs and animal hunts. I will not be going for all the relics as I want a change now so maybe the latest Tomb Raider or Assassin's Creed II or Fallout 3. I have all the games but like to finish one game before starting another, Frugal of me I think! I don't know which will take my fancy but being drawn towards Assassin's Creed 2 due to my interest in Italian renaissance architecture!

That's todays very quick post. Thanks for reading. I may be able to get a little more done on the Tarzan Board next week no promises but it is my intent. That's it for now take care and hope you can pop by again. Cheers guys.