Friday, 30 May 2014

Lancers

And here today I have finished some more 10mm colonial mounted troops. This time lancers. As they were bought on eBay I cannot be sure of the make, but I do not think they are Pendraken. Still they are nice enough and have kept me busy of late. Again I have gone for the earlier coloured uniforms as I am not such a huge fan of the khaki later ones. This means I will be able to use them from Zulu Wars. Yes I will also use them for the Sudan just because I see little point in getting them and painting them again in a different coloured uniform. I am not a purest!

As you can see I have taken them head on and in side view. 6 stands in all, 2 figures to a stand for a total of 12 lancers. This I hope will give me more than enough for what I need.

The Final picture shows all my 10mm British colonial cavalry. The very observant among you will note that the lancers helmets are a different colour. This is deliberate as the Lancers had a cream helmet in all the pictures I have seen and the other cavalry had white helmets! If you know better please let me know and I will re paint them.

That's it for today. More again on Sunday. I will admit I am not sure what I am painting next so that could be a pleasant surprise for both of us.

Until Sunday, have fun and with luck I will see you again soon.
All the best Clint

Wednesday, 28 May 2014

10mm Bullet Magnet.(and Garden)

Despite the bank holiday I was not able top get so much done. Well I did but no so much wargames related, so I will leave that to the end of the post. What I did get done however was a 10mm SCW era Petrol tanker with trailer. It's again originated from my Skytrex DAK force which is now defunct. But more importantly driving a petrol tanker around any wargames table is just asking for trouble. We all know that all but one gamer will want to see it explode. (The one that will not want to see that is the one in charge of it, but even he might!... you know what they are all like). They may even claim that the red squares are the target aim points in some futile attempt to get a modifier to hit! Anyway this was inspired by Colgar6 who thought that trailers might make good objective pieces so I have also included a petrol trailer for it as well. For the scenario I may say it's a milk tanker instead of petrol as that may keep the driver alive for an extra turn. Yeah who am I kidding!

Elsewhere over the bank holiday weekend I have lain a path to the compost heap. Yes I know that the gaps are not even but every thing fits in the space allowed without me having to cut the slabs so that's good enough. And more importantly no more muddy trips to the compost heap.
The thing I am enjoying most in the garden at the moment though is that we have a bees nest! They have taken over a bird box attached to my garage. To me this is brilliant as it means that all my plants are getting pollinated. If you look closely you can see some flying in and out.
I am not the greatest with wild life, but I have even seen the queen with 3 males on her back. I did not want to intrude on an intimate moment so I have enlarged the picture as much as I can. As you can see she is considerably larger than her mates!
That's it for today and I should have some colonial stuff done for Friday when I post next. (with any luck) until then take care and enjoy spring!
All the best Clint

Monday, 26 May 2014

SCW more trucks

Normally I would do an AAR after a club day. But as only 3 people could make it to the club yesterday there was not a lot going on. I did play a game of ACW river warfare. And while I sunk more ships Colin managed to destroy the objectives so he actually won. So well done Colin.

So instead of an AAR here are a few more 1/200th scale (10mm) vehicles for my planned Spanish Civil War game. I painted these as they are uncomplicated and therefore easy to get done and by doing so I think I have some enthusiasm back. Well let's hope so!. They are all Skytrex action 200 WW2 German Range. Available here (http://www.skytrex.com/). I have taken the view that a truck is a truck and as long as it is about the right period it is good enough.

First up we have 2 heavy trucks (sorry I can't give an exact make and model). To be honest I am not too worried about it after all they could be civilian trucks pressed into service. These two trucks are considerably bigger and heavier than the standard Opel Blitz. As such these will count as heavy trucks in the game, so don't expect them to do very much of roading!



Next up we have two light trucks. Yes I know they are German (I scrounged them out of a failed DAK project of about 30 years ago. (OK maybe 25 years ago). One clearly has been painted as an ambulance this is clearly an attempt to make them look less military and more civilian. The other truck is just green in colour and while it is identifiable as WW2 vintage I shall get away with it as the time difference is only a couple of years.

Lastly we have an Opel Blitz (I still have a few of these in DAK paint jobs) but it looks like a generic truck and that's good enough for me. Additionally there is a WW2 staff car but again it is generic so I am happy to re use it. To go with any of the trucks I have two medium trailers. I am not sure the trailers will get used, but it's nice to have the option of using them and I think trailers are seldom used in games.

I have several more DAK vehicles that I could use and will probably get around to repainting them in due course. Thanks for popping by and I hope to see you all again soon. I have been given an excellent magazine article to read which has sparked a game Idea so I may well get side tracked!

All the best Clint

Thursday, 22 May 2014

4 Wheels on my wagon

And I'm still rolling along. Are you old enough to remember that song? I can! Ok I will admit that I am posting early. This is because I have been told that my nephew has a "Bakers Day" and as such I will be looking after him tomorrow. So I would not get a chance to post again until Monday! I Know I would normally post on alternate Sundays and am scheduled to post again on Sunday, but sometimes real life gets in the way.


Anyway on with the figures. As I am in a wargames rut, nothing too fantastic just a single wagon for my colonial wargames in 10mm by Pendraken Miniature. Although the pictures are not clear it is pulled by 4 oxen. These come in a pack of 2 wagons and teams for £4.50. And while not fighting troops it is always good to have some logistics. I suppose I could always use this for Spanish Civil War as well, after all the German Army in WW2 was still using horse drawn transports.

And Finally for today I thought I should share the palm trees That I have imported from China. These are nothing to do with 10mm troops  but will be used on my Arab revolt game which I hope you will remember is 1/72nd scale. I have kept 1/2 the trees the same height as the arrived and I have shortened the trunks of the rest, just so they have different canopy heights with luck they should look more natural that way. I may has shown these before but they have gone forward a stage since then and are now Milliput(ed) to coins so they can keep upright. Including shipping these trees cost me about £8 if I remember correctly from eBay. So for the price I am very happy.

That's it for now I hope to see you on Monday.
Best Wishes Clint.

Wednesday, 21 May 2014

Paint Monkey strikes again!

As you can see this is me hard at work. Ok truthfully I am probably a little messier! I also probably get more paint on my fingers and clothes!



















Ok so what have I got today. Well I have finished the WW1 Germans for Matt. Here are the last 3 officers. While not sure of the make I will confirm that they are all 28mm.

It is funny how you notice things when it comes to taking the picture that you had overlooked in the painting. This time the horses eye's need a pupil! Still that's a quick fix and will be done long before Matt gets his hands on them.



Wargaming wise I have hit a little slump and am struggling for motivation. I know it will come back in a day or two but for now I am just in a wargames rut. I have prepped some Sudan 10mm figures and will try to crack on with them. With luck I will have something for Friday. Well that should motivate me a little anyway.

So with Luck I will see you again on Friday and let's all hope the Mojo comes back quickly!!

All the best Clint


Monday, 19 May 2014

Death in the Desert.

Well I did forget my camera, but Graham took some photos and sent them to me. So not too much choice of pictures.

Tim set up a colonial club game for us yesterday. We used the Blackpowder rules and his figures and terrain. Only 2 of us had used the rules before and we are both dyslexic so it was slow going! WE had to look up many things but got there in the end.

I was cut off in a camp and very low on ammunition. Only able to fire 10 times before the supply caravan reached me. I had two units (Companies) and one Gatling gun. The Gatling gun would use up 2 shots each time it fired and each company would use 1 ammo point each time they fired. Colin pictured above had the supply convoy 3 companies of Infantry and 1 company of cavalry to protect the supplies and come and rescue me. Tim and Graham each had about 6 units of Marhdist troops in addition Tim had a smoothbore cannon and some Camalry, while Graham had some cavalry. They each had some hidden units. The rest would arrive in random positions on the table edge.

The Anglo Egyptians had the first move. Colin sent scouts ahead and moved his cavalry to screen the left flank of his column. The Mardist troops started to arrive. Colin's Cavalry charged some Ansar., Both forces came to a standstill one rolling very good dice and the other player rolling poorly. Down near my camp some Ansar came in range so I shot at them and missed everything. The following turn I hit everything so the Dice gods were not being unkind. Anyway the Camels were making slow progress towards me and I though that I would get support before I was over run.

 Colin was being cautious both being unfamiliar with the rules and wary of ambush. After 3 turns the camel train stopped and never moved again for the rest of the game. AHHHH! I need ammo! Colin had problems of his own. He put his troops into line and started firing at the rotten Ansar of Graham and Tim. He easily kept them at a distance with ranked rifle fire. But this was not helping me. Still as long as my supplies arrive in time I would survive.  Tradagy! Colin Blunders an order, the line is pulled out of position and isolated. The Marhdists seize the opportunity and swoop into melee with the company. It fails its break test rolling a 4 on 2d6 and flees the board!
NO!
Colin Gets More Cautious. I have six mardist units closing in on my camp and am now down to 4 rounds of ammunition. One group attack the Gatling gun. If the gun is to survive I have to use half my ammunition. I roll a d6 and miss, I am allowed another shot and roll a 1 and jam the gun! The Ansar close assault it and is over run! I have two walls to defend with my Infantry each of my companies facing 2 Ansar. In the first round I use my "steady" ability and pass my morale checks which was nessercary as the Ansar had "Ferocity" allowing them to re-roll misses in the first round of combat. Now out of ammo firing at point blank range I survive (By jammy dice rolls) for three turns until. Graham fudges his orders dice roll twice in a row and can't get his Fuzzies into combat!! So I am only actually out numbered 2 to 1 with no ammo! First one of my companies unit fails it's morale check and flees from the board. my last Company holds the torn bush defences but is eventually driven back having forced 4 of the 6 Marhdist units to flee the field. They are then forced to retreat further into the camp, abandoning the thorn bush defences.

Meanwhile back at the camels. Colin has lost the scouts (tiny unit). He then tries to fill the gap. And pushes his cavalry into melee with the Ansar which are threatening to push through the gap. The Cavalry bounce! They are worn and fail a morale check and are forced to flee the board. Colin still has 2 Infantry units but is now facing a fair amount of Marhdists and has a massive gap in his line. Tim sends his camalry in and they just seize the camel train ahead of Grahams troops. Does not look like I will be getting my ammo now!

Back at the Camp. Graham finally charges with his Fuzzies (beja) and as it is a ferocious charge and as I don't have my defensive thorn bush barricade and no units in support the thin Khaki line dissolves! Game over.

A really good game, the best I have played for ages, such fun. The scenario was really well balanced and the momentum changed sides several times in the battle. It really could have gone any way it just did not go the British way this time.

More painting on Wednesday. Thanks for reading and with luck I will see you soon.

All the best Clint!

Saturday, 17 May 2014

Jaeger Officer

I have now finished a Jaeger officer. Unlike the normal German troops of the early period of WW1 the Jaeger (Hunter) is in a green cloth trimmed with dark forest green. The main colour is a grey green with more emphasis on the green than the grey.

This figure has again been painted for Matt (my Friend) and it means just 3 more to go. I plan to have them ready and finished by Wednesday next week. And then I will really needs to crack on with the last finishing touches for my game at BROADSIDE.


Not actually a huge amount more to say about this figure, So I shall end it here and with a club game tomorrow you will probably get an ARR on Monday so until then take care have fun and splash some paint about.

All the best Clint (Paint Monkey)

Thursday, 15 May 2014

Paint monkey Part 2

Yeah I know silly title but a little fun. Today we have 4 WW1 German officers again Painted for Matt. All doing officer type things or at least holding papers. Maybe they are just in the cue for the loo. Time will tell when we play a game of  course!

All 28mm and all painted in the Blue/grey of early war Germans.

3 More Mounted ones to go and with luck I shall get them done before the weekend. Don't hold me to that of course, but I have nothing on the painting table other than them of course so I should be back to painting my own figures next week.

That's todays post and with luck I should see you all again on Saturday. Until then take good care and let's paint some figures.

Cheers Clint.

Tuesday, 13 May 2014

WW1 German Cavalry.

Yes I finally got them done.

Some 28mm Early war German WW1 Cavalry. While the lances all look different heights I can assure you they are not. But as they are being held in different ways it does give that appearance. Again these are painted for a friend (Matt) so not sure of the manufacture still never mind. You will note that one figure has a sword instead of a lance. This was a conversion done by Matt and not myself. I am just the paint monkey!

What I also want to say is checkout Alan Abbey's blog  ( LINK ) as it has the details of the Broadside show this year. It seems that each year we are plagued with mishaps and it is a huge benefit to have Alan beavering away getting things sorted.

Anyway that's enough for today. 3 weeks to go before the show and I still have things to get ready so I had best get on with those now. I also found some more 10mm Fuzzy-wuzzies lurking in a secret stash so they will be put into the painting cue as fast as possible. So the New Project has been put back again! But it's coming Joe it's coming.

Take care and hope to see you soon.

All the best Clint


Sunday, 11 May 2014

Villa Citroen..... err not quite!

Well being honest I did not get the figures I was expecting done. I an now on the basing and the hooves and tidying up, so chances are I will get them done tomorrow at the very latest, maybe even tonight. However I do need to get this blog done (while they are drying).

As such I have decided to get some of the buildings I bought at Salute done. These are all 10mm (1/200th Scale) from a company I had not heard of before The Square. Probably my ignorance in not knowing about them, but had I known of them I would not have gone to Kerr and King! While the Quality of these is not as good as Kerr and King the price is so much better. I think they may be a new company as the web site is not fully functional yet. But click the link above to go there.

These buildings will do a dual purpose for me. The single story one I will use for my 10mm Sudan and the larger buildings I will use for my 10mm Spanish Civil war along with the single story buildings. The Square also do some dedicated 10mm Spanish Scenery so expect them painted in the coming months. They also do some Sci Fi Scenery and plants so quite a range of stuff and I will be getting some of those no doubt once my stalled SCI FI 15mm forces get on the go again.

That's it for Today, only a very quick post but sometimes it has got to be. I shall try to show some painted figures next time out. Until then thanks for stopping by and take care.

 All the best Clint

Friday, 9 May 2014

Standard troops.

Well I am still pumping out the Spanish Civil War troops. Two days ago I offered an "exotic" unit so today to balance it I have some more common troops. These are Pendraken 10mm figures again and can be used as either Republican or Nationalist forces by simply swapping the flag over. I have painted them in the Army uniform of the time but painted the blanket rolls in different colours in order to give a less regimented effect.

Gain 3 figures on a round MDF 25mm base to keep them all consistent with mu other troops. The 25mm round base was selected at the beginning simply for ease of handling after-all life is too short to worry about individual figures at a small scale.

Lastly I have also included a single machine gun. Most of the support weapons are only 2 figures to a base but I had far too many officers (in my opinion) in the army pack I bought at Salute this year so the odd one on a machine gun base is not a big thing.

I shall try to post again on Sunday, and with luck something a little different just to break the monotony. Also coming up soon will be some scenery for the SCW, but that will not be ready on Sunday. So until then take care have fun and  sling some paint on some figures!

All the best Clint

Wednesday, 7 May 2014

Dinamiteros

Dinamiteros  were a group of soldiers in the Spanish Civil War. There are two important traits to consider with Dinamteros, firstly that they used Dynamite and secondly they were killed if captured. The Dynamite was often not thrown but slung in slings and then hurled. Yes they set light to the fuse put the Dynamite in a sling and then twirled it round and launched it towards the enemy. This gave it a greater range than simply throwing it. The most famous Dinamiteros I could find were a bunch of Austrian Miners who fought on the army of the left but it is equally likely that the right also had a similar bunch of specialists.

As such I have painted a small group of 6 stands to represent these men. Or if not these exact men then general Bombers. In a slight variation I have given these troops bases a red edge so they can clearly be identified on the battle field. In game terms they will have a longer grenade range and will not surrender. That does not equate to always passing morale checks as they may well withdraw from the battle if things are not going their way, just that they will not surrender to the enemy as that will usually result in their death.

As they were not in huge numbers 6 stands with no support weapons will be enough to represent them on the battle field. While they are not elite their special ability will no doubt make them favourites mong certain players on the table top. Other players will no doubt discount this ability as just a gimmick in much the same way as officers sometimes did.

Additionally I have managed to get some more Guardia Civil finished. They will help round out some of my forces and bring the police force to a good level. No guarantees of course that they will all reach every battle I put on, but it does give me a few more options.

That's it for today. Take care all and check out Simon's Blog. HERE as he was kind enough to put me forward for a liebster award and while I am grateful for the nomination I have declined it. But the answers to his questions can be found in his comment section. All the best folks see you soon. Clint