A Small Gift

No wargaming stuff today- it was a weekend swamped with relatives doing the pre-Christmas rounds drinking tea eating cake and giving cards. The knock on effect is that I got No painting done. Absolutely nothing, and I did have such good intentions as well.

In fact the closest thing I could manage was to send out a small Christmas pressie to a couple of other bloggers whom have kept me amused with various antics through-out the year. With that introduction you already should know who they are. (Stadler and Waldorf). Also known as Ray and Fran.

Pictured above are the actual contents. One Each guys and you get what you get. The coin (a 20pence piece) is for scale only and is not part of the gift. Ideally open it when you are both together at work where you will or can be undisturbed. No arguing and play nice! I have a written promise from Ray already so I shall trust you Fran to do the same! The pressie was sent 1st class yesterday so you may well receive it later this day.

For any other readers I should be able to get some painting done later today (with luck) so I intend to update again on Thursday. All the best Clint.

Loud Zombie Hunter!

Many games have zombies attracted by loud noises. This zombie hunter is not so worried about making noise as getting the job done and getting the hell out of there. Firstly let me say I have no idea who makes the basic sculpt. It has a Copplestone/foundry quality to it but I can't locate it, in any quick search of the listings, which is a shame a I would like a few more of them. I have had to convert both arms. The left arm started on a Gripping beast Viking but with some green stuff and a HUGE amount of luck I finally managed to make it fit. The Right arm with the sawn off was a much easier job. It came without any clothing so I just added a ragged sleeve to the leather jacket. I won't dwell on how the leather jacket got ripped so badly, we shall just gloss over that and pretend it looks right. Sssh don't mention the sleeve! I have decided that painting motorcycles is a pain. In the end I settled on a bright red single colour having first tried black which looked too dark and green which was meh! I did consider putting some flames on it, but after a very quick trial on a piece of paper decided that painting hot rod style flames was really not something I was any good at (And that is an understatement, I was utter rubbish at painting flames).

The left arm has as you can see with a quick inspection had a small "filler2 section added between the wrist and the sleeve. His hand was not long enough to reach the handle bars other wise. You don't notice it from more than a foot away, unless you are looking for it of course. And this is also why the bike is turning as opposed to going in a straight line. As I type this I am thinking myself foolish for highlighting all the mistakes. But as I think I can get away with them on the table top I am not all that worried and it is the overall feel of the figure that is important, as it is in no way a competition piece. Although I did at one stage (before I started assembly) think I could use it for the ZOMBIE BLOGGERS ASSOCIATION Christmas competition. That idea has quickly faded! You can also see a V patch on the left sleeve. The Motorcycle club ("not gang of course it's only a club 'cos our Lawyers sez we gotta call it a club") is called VERMIN with purple and white gang erhm I mean club colours.

The right arm shows a deep scratch on his forearm (a happy painting accident) and a better view of the sawn off shot gun. The combination of sawn off shot gun and chopper is bound to attract attention from all the zeds in the area and pull them towards the figure. So he will be a Zed-magnet in most games, but if used cleverly this could be a good thing. Collect all the zombies in an area up and get them to follow you and the other players can happily loot the area, just don't run out of fuel!

That's it on the painting front for today but I would like to thank Irqan at http://lrqan.blogspot.co.uk/ for nominating me for the Liebster Award. Having thought long and hard about it I have decided not to pass it on. I mean absolutely no disrespect to anyone, least of all the nominator by doing this. But it seems to me that everyone whom I would choose to give it too has already had it. As such I feel at a dead end with it and perhaps it has run its course. At least that's my take on the situation.

 

Lastly, I am very interested in the Painting competition being run by Carl at Analogue-hobbies. I very much intent to participate next year assuming I remember and can stock up on things to paint. Yes I know I have enough unpainted already, but everything has to be historical and the key to success seems to be in numbers painted with larger figures getting more points than smaller ones. But I see this as an opportunity to start and finish a whole army (or two) from start to finish in as short a time as possible.

 

Final thoughts about the figure above If anyone can positively identify the manufacture I would be grateful. All the best keep up the blogging and hope to post again on Tuesday.

 

Cheers Clint.



 

German Squad Transport.

Here we have two Horsch 4x4 troop carriers. These were the squad level transports used by the German Regiment that will be played in the Caen Campaign. They are 20mm Resin cast modes from FRONTLINE (Frontline Wargaming). They come as five peice kits the main casting and 4 wheels. Quiet nicly sculpted and cast and they go together easily and without fuss. As you would expect from the need to just attach the wheels. Quick simple and easy, just how I like it. As you can see I have not gone overboard with the paint scheme I have tried to keep it looking scruffy and unkempt the kind of vehicle which will do the job but without any frills.

There is still a lot to paint for the campaign but it is getting done at the right pace for me. However you should expect the next few posts from me to be centred around this task. I still have a lot of Canadian troops to paint as well as a couple of German. There will be very few vehicles on the tabletop so don't expect too many more to be blogged by me in the near future.

As you can see by the black and white photo of the real thing it is not the most glamorous and exciting of WW2 vehicles but it does serve a distict purpose of carrying a single squad and thier kit to where-ever they are needed be that across a farm in France to the depths of Russia or even through the deserts of North Africa. I don't tend to see too many of these on the wargames table as most games tend to concentrate on larger elements than squads. I think one of the reasons is that we tend to go tank heavy. I can honestly say I have seen more Tigers being used in wargames than these.

Elsewhere in my wargames life the Kickstarter run By Fasa was cancelled last night.

Below is the explanation I was sent and my moey returned.
"Dear Valued Backer,
Our project of 1879 iPad App, RPG, miniature game and figures has been live for over a week now. Based on the number of project backers, pledges and trends it looks like meeting our goal will be very challenging. Considering all of the factors, we have decided to suspend our project as described.
I would like to thank you for backing our project. Your commitment is what Kickstarter is all about.
We had hoped that the combination of miniatures, RPG and software would appeal to a large number of backers. Unfortunately, this has not been the case. So while work on the core miniatures game and rpg will continue, albeit at a slower pace, work on the iPad application will be halted.
Look for a revamped Kickstarter project early in the New Year. This streamlined project, focused on the new 1879 game system and miniatures, will hopefully be more successful.
Once again thank you, and if you decide to participate in our future projects, we will see to it that you receive something extra.
Thank you,
Ross Babcock"


So that's it for today more again on Sunday weather you want it or not! All the best Clint

Pre Campaign Admin.

At the club on Sunday I played the board game "Arkham Asylum" Having been a Call of C'thulhu reff about 20 years ago I have a working knowledge of the mythos. I have probably failed more San checks than you've had Christmas Dinners. As a board game it was OK and I don't mind the occasional board game, but there is something more full filling for me if the game is figure based.

The game for me was secondary to getting the Caen Campaign pre game admin done. Everyone playing the campaign will be taking the role of a sergeant, and leading a single squad of soldiers. Each side also has a Captain (Hauptmann), and a Lieutnant (Oberleutnant) so 4 players have to wear 2 hats. I went for an Oberleutnant as opposed to a Leutenant for the German officers but should the Oberleutnant suffer a fatality he will be replaced with a slightly junior rank of Leutnant.

The Campaign Players are as follows (In no particular Sargent order):
(Canadian)

• Captain P Wade.
• Lieutenant I Hannington.
• Sargent Downs
• Sargent Capps
• Sargent Smith
• Sargent Hannington
• Sargent Wade
• Sargent Wheeler

(German)

• Hauptmann T Vade
• Oberleutnant A Relf
• Unteroffizier Relf
• UnteroffizierVade
• UnteroffizierGiles

As is clearly demonstrated the Allies in the form of the Canadians out number the Germans 2 to 1. This is very very deliberate.

I started with the Captain Ranks and got them to mark on the campaign map (a simple grid of named squares) where if they were lucky they could call in Pre-planned Artillery barrages or keep their artillery in a counter-battery role. They also had to mark on the map where they thought the platoon objectives should be. (As several of those concerned read this blog I can't go into too much detail. At Sargent level they just would not know certain things at company level).

The bulk of the work fell on the lieutenant ranks, particularly the German one. They had to assign any platoon level assets to squads. Platoon assets include things as diverse as Binoculars and medics.  Each squad will be put into separate sealed envelopes so that no officer can give all the assets to the squad they will control and starve all the others. I don't think any of the players would, but this removes the temptation from them. I needed to know if I would need to paint anything special for the campaign and needed to be able to buy it should I need to. As it happens the painting yes the buying no.

The Lieutenants also had to place their squads on the map without knowing which squad they would actually get to command. Again this removes the temptation of trying to give themselves either an easy path to victory or a greater level of challenge.

I should say a couple of words about the Map. As mentioned above it is a simple grid with each square representing a VERY abstracted section of country. Each section has a one or two word title/description, for example "Cherry Orchard"or "L-Shape Field". The kind of objectives a squad could expect to receive.

There will be no Tanks! Yes I know a WW2 game with no Tanks that must surely be some form of heresy! The realty of the situation is that Tanks in WW2 were not that common. We tend to think they were much more common as wargamers than they really were. At Caen for example the Germans had about 50 tanks but 17,000 men. This figure does not take any account of other armoured vehicles such as half tracks or mobile artillery, but it does help to show that tanks are rare for the common soldier to encounter. There are several reasons we do think we should have tanks in WW2 games is the tendency of both still and cine photographers to capture them on film. Yes Tanks are cinematic and lend a feeling of awe. That said each platoon does have an anti-tank capability, a single Piat for the Canadians and a Panzerschrek and Panzerfausts for the Germans. These are held at platoon command and therefore most squads just won't get to see them let alone use them.

In conclusion: we are now ready to start and the first game will be a very complicated affair as it will be a rules learning experience with I hope 6 plays as well as me as a umpire all playing on one table. (maybe two).

That's a lot of waffle about where we are in the campaign at the moment. I hope you might have fond it of some interest. All the best and I should start showing the troops to be used on Friday. 90% of the Germans are done and about 1/2 the Canadians.

Till then all the best Clint.

"Grant" Zombie Hunter

Although this figure is called "Grant" by Hasslefree Miniatures. I am calling him "Edwardo". I deliberately used Mediterranean colouring for the skin with black hair. I see no reason why there should not be zombie hunters of all ethnic heritage. With a darker skin tone he can of course come from a wide variety of places around the globe. From India all the way round to Brazil. Hispanic American is the most obvious choice for a US setting. While Indian is more Likely in a UK game. Maybe he's Spanish or Italian, French Portuguese or Egyptian. His actual origin need not be pinned down to a specific country. This figure is heavily armed, sub-machine gun in right hand, Knuckleduster in left. In addition he carries two pistols and a large knife as well as several magazines should he need to reload any weapon. His SMG is the same type as Tonys' and as we all saw last week Tony is festooned with ammunition.


Overall another nice figure to paint. The black tee shirt and green trousers give him more of a military feel and less "street" than Tony. so maybe he is ex military, or wants people to think he is. Either way with the selection of weapons he carries he could be formidable if and when he gets on the tabletop.

As I forgot my camera yesterday for the club I am afraid not battle reports and just a single figure finished over the weekend. That being the case I shall blog again on Wednesday. Until then good luck with all your endeavours. Cheers Clint

FASA Kickstarter

Fasa for these of you who don't know are a games company having produced several classic wargames and role-playing-games in the past, but not having released anything new for a decade. So it was some surprise to me that they have been seeking funds to start a new project. They are using "crowd funding" which is a system of raising cash from the masses without approaching the banks (whom we all love and trust!) Until now I have not gotten involved in "crowd funding" projects but given the track record of Fasa and knowing them as a reputable company from whom I have purchased a number of games in the past and not been disappointed I thought I should check out their offer. The system works by individual people pledging money in return for the company sending them an agreed upon reward when the project completes. I am thinking it is very little different from pre-ordering an item, but with a longer lead time.
The game they are proposing is called "1879". Hence the picture on the right, which is at this stage the logo for the game. I say "at this stage" only because until it arrives in my sweaty grasping hands I am aware that the design process may dictate a change of name or logo. But once it hits the shelves (assuming it does) then we shall all know for sure.  Fasa are running the "crowd funding" from the popular Kickstarter website. (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/783548120/1879-rpg-miniatures-and-app-0?ref=live). I was the 37th person to pledge money for the project. I have personally put $64.00 forward in exchange for the following rewards. The Miniatures rules and both army books, the British and the Samsut. The British should be fairly self explanatory, although there is a picture of British Cavalry riding large lizards, so it might have a few twists. The Samsut we are told come from a different planet/dimension/place/time/whatever and with a little bit of searching there troop types contain zombies and skeletons. Ral Patha have already signed in to sculpt the figures for Fasa and the scale for the tabletop game has been set as 15mm. If you know me you will not have to make a huge leap to realise the idea of colonial era British against the undead hordes is right up my street!

Having already pointed this Kickstarter out to a friend who just happens to have a 10mm undead army, I painted up the samples I got from Pendraken some years ago and based them on similar matching bases to the undead so the sizes would match. I have placed a 5p coin next to the figures for a size comparison. (Or take the front edge to be 40mm if you are unfamiliar with British currency). So the figures are quite small, and this is a single pack which currently retails for £4.00 and contains 30 miniatures (I lost one so only 29 in the picture and a rock!)

As well as the miniatures game Fasa are also planning an RPG and an electronic App game using the same setting background and one would hope forces. All the details are on the kickstarter and if like me the idea grabs you then check it out. Even if Fasa don't manage to achieve the funding goal I just love the idea so I may go ahead on my own as a personal project. After all who does not want to pit the British Empire at it's height against the forces of the dead.

That's today's post, hope you like the figures and the kickstarter. Thanks for reading, I shall blog again on Monday, all the best Clint


Serious Firepower

About 7 months ago I finished some Victorian naval British landing party figures. Yesterday I managed to up grade them with some serious firepower. I think this is by the Perrys, but not 100% sure, one carriage mounted Nordfelt machine gun with Royal Navy crew. This is the kind of Victorian firepower that is idea for maintaining the standards of the empire. I am sure they could have done with a few of these as Roarke's Drift or Isanwanda as well as several other places. As wargamers we all want something unusual and "fun" to play with on the battle field. Something to make us rub our hands together and chuckle. And that is what this is for. I have grand delusions about it being a game winner and sweeping all opponents before me. The reality will no doubt be TOTALLY different.

As a Perry Miniature it is of course 28mm figures, and not for the 20mm WW1East Africa show game. I have used the same background only for convenience and no other reason. It has a coat of gloss varnish which has caught the flash from the camera, but you should still get the idea of what it should look like.

 Just a couple more snaps to give you an all round view of the model, front and rear.

 

 

That's it for today. With luck I should be able to post on Saturday. All the best folks and speak soon. Cheers Clint.

Officers (WW1 East Africa)

I have really struggled to get anything finished these last 2 days. However I did finish the two 20mm IT miniatures ( http://www.frontlinewargaming.co.uk/) European Officers to go with the Asakari that I posted on Friday. There uniforms are darker but remain a similar colour to the native troops. I am told the ratio to Asakari to Germans was 11 to 1 so two Germans and 22 Asakai is perfect. Other nations had less European troops in relation to native troops I am not sure why this was but can imagine several reasons. The figures painted easily and are full of characters. Being the same sculpts and wearing the same uniforms there is only so much you can do to make them different from each other. As such all I have done is to give them different hair colours, different shade of the same brown hats and the one on the left a moustache. It was about all I could sensibly do to create variety. Given that they are 20mm figure I don't see a huge problem with them being so similar.


That's it for today, a really quick post. With luck I should have something more to show on Thursday. Remember we are now only 28 days from Christmas so if you are getting anything mail order for the day you'd best be thinking of it now. (Go on treat yourself, 'cos if you don't you just wont get what you really want!!) Have fun, take care and talk soon, Clint.

Tony, Zombie Hunter

Today's offering is a single 28mm Hasslefree Miniature Tony.
(http://www.hfminis.co.uk/shop?product=tony-%28b%29~hfa058&category=miniatures~modern-adventurers) I picked up the box set of "Zombie Hunters" a few weeks back when I was doing all the overtime. Anyway I finished him this morning. I just have to tidy up the base edge and varnish him. I wanted himto have a "Ganger" feel so I went for a mix of military and ploice equipment and some more "street" clothing colours. My main reason for finishing him this week was in response to my character (Vonda) in Shelldrakes Play by Blog game. (http://zombiewargame.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/pbb2-after-action-review.html) Vonda might or might not survive, that being the case I wanted to be ready to roll with another character straight away should I need to. There may or may not be a link between the two characters, that has yet to be determined. But it's also nice to paint a single figure especially when I have been batch painting as with the Asakaris (last post). Also being a larger scale it is so much easier to add detail.

I am particularly fond of Tony's trousers with the stripe down each side. To me this gives it a sports apareal feel to the clothing which adds to the "Street" feel of the figure which I feel it needed to take it away from a paramilitary figure. It is clear that this figure has looted a set of police armour and has stocked up on ammunition for the two submachineguns he carries, one in each hand. This may not be the best tactic against a horde of zombies, but it will make him feel good. (And make a lot of noise which in turn will attract more Zeds!) So Maybe Tony's not that bright afterall, only time will tell. I shall enjoy painting the other Zombie hunters in the pack if they are as nicely sculpted as Tony. (I've had a look and they are)>

That's it for Today. Tuesday will be my next post. So enjoy the rest of the day and talk again soon.  All the best Clint

Askaris (German)

As I mentioned earlier in the week I have been working on the Askaris for the German force for the proposed WW1 East Africa show game. Despite my photography you can still probably make out that each area of the figure has three levels of painting, (hi-lighting and shading). I only have to paint the edge of the bases. I batch painted all 22 of the figures, I still have 2 European officers to paint, for that reason I don't feel as much of an attachment to them, but I know that will change as soon as they are placed on the table.

I had to mix the base for the uniform colour. A simple mix of "Coat d'arms Leather brown" and equal amounts of "Vallejo Sand Yellow (70916)" . The figures as mentioned earlier in the week are IT miniatures available from Tim and Maureen at Frontline Wargaming (http://www.frontlinewargaming.co.uk/). I used a Foundry dark grey for the leggings and blanket rolls and Games workshop Scorched brown for the webbing. The skin tomes were a mix of GW scorcher Brown and dark flesh, highlighted with dark flesh. These GW colours seem to have been discontinued, but as I still have working pots I will continue to use them. As you can tell I am not restricted to any one paint company just taking what I need from what ever source I can acquire. Overall I am happy with the colours and look of these figures as they fit very well with the Osprey book which I was using as my colour guide. I am in no way claiming that they are perfectly painted, but using the 2 foot rule I think they more than pass.




All 22 Asakaris

Close up

These last two pictures show both the close up and the the full amount of figures all painted and (almost finished). As mentioned above I have to edge the bases, but that is a job that can wait until later, much later! I think you should be able to get the feel of the quality of the figures from these pictures. The next part of the game preparations will need to be constructing the buildings that I think I shall need. Realistically I can see me cracking on with them in the break between Christmas and New Year. You never Know I might start them sooner, but no promises. About that time I shall get the next batch of figures from Tim. (I hope). I say I hope as I am not 100% sure exactly what I need just yet, I am even having second thoughts about what rules I shall use!

That's today's blog post the next one on Sunday. All the Best Clint





Apaches (2)

Not so much to share today, but here are 4 stands of Apaches on foot. I am still learning how to paint them, getting the colours and shades right. It takes me a little while to get comfortable painting new armies, I am just not the kind of painter who can start a new army and feel comfortable painting them straight off the bat. I just need time to settle in to it. I will be painting up more Apache Indians before too long partly to keep my hand in so I don't forget the colours I use and partly to chip away at the project.

I am currently batch painting the German Askaris by It Miniatures and will try to get them finished to show on Friday's Blog. I am not a huge fan of batch painting as I get bored very easily. Call it a character flaw by all means but the repetition just seems to make it feel like work to me. That said I do want to get them finished so I am willing to put up with the process.

The "Caen Campaign" is slowly progressing, at a planning level. I had a chat with Kev one of the club members yesterday. I don't think I gave too much away, but have lent him the rules to read so I hope to have a few players with at least the basics of the rules.

That's it for today thanks for reading next blog post on Friday. All the best Clint.

Allsorts of everything....and a lot of nothing

I have come to the end of the overtime for the moment. (Yippee!) Which means I should be able to get more Hobby/wargames stuff finished. At present I have a lot started and waiting to take some paint, but not so much that I have anything to show today. I do however have lots of things to talk about, so in no particular order I shall start with the figures I acquired from Tim (Frontline/IT Miniatures yesterday http://www.frontlinewargaming.co.uk/ ) As you will recall the Rainham club will be putting on a WW1 East Africa Game at BROADSIDE next year (2013). As it will be a skirmish game I will probably only need 50 figures or less for both sides. So I collected a single IT miniatures pack of German Asakari. This will provide all the figures I will need for the German force. I must admit that I have never really looked at the figures before, having only a passing interest in WW1. The pack of 24 figures contains a nice mix of poses from marching to kneeling firing. 2 of the figures are European officer types while the other 22 are African Asakaris. For German Asakari my reading has revealed this to be the right ratio. Obviously on campaign this might change but on paper it is correct. I found all the figures well sculpted and nicely proportioned. There was absolutely no flash and very minimal molding lines so you can't say fairer than that. Overall I am very pleased with the figures and they have already been primed and shall go to paint today (once I have done some housework, which I have been putting off!).

I will briefly mention yesterdays club. I only attended for an hour and did not roll any dice, as I had a shift to do Sunday night and really wanted to erase my "sleep debt!" The guys, even Graham and Peter, played Saga, Graham used my Vikings seen to the right (against Dave's Normans). I can make no comments about any games as I was just not present but one person (Kev) has emailed me and said it went well. I will talk to Kev on Tuesday so I will no doubt hear more then.

While at the club I did propose a WW2 mini campaign using Operation Squad rules (OS). The campaign is to be set outside of Caen in June 1944. Each player will act as a squad leader and manipulate a single squad of figures. The two forces will be Germans and British Commonwealth troops. I will paint the lot ready to go in 2 weeks time. (Sometimes I need/like a tight deadline!). Not a single club member offered any dissent about the campaign idea (OK Tim did but only jokingly because everyone else seemed up for it.) Only Tim and Relfie expressed a preference to which side they would like to be, both selecting Germans. Peter wanted Americans, as he did not want to be responsible for any British casualties. However this time out there will be no U.S Troops so I suspect he will choose to be Commonwealth. Most players will take the rank of Sergent, some however will be Lieutenants. These "lucky" few will of course get greater responsibilities and of course be able to issue orders to there subordinates. How there troops decide to carry these orders out remains to be seen. The first job each lieutenant will be given will be to decide which squads under their command receive any additional equipment. I know one of the younger players will seek command but as I feel he will want all the extras for his squad and leave his fellows with a bare pittance, if anything at all I am reluctant to put him forward as an officer. Although the evil side of me thinks it would be a very good idea to let him be in charge! I shall divulge more of this as I get it written down, and finalised. As at this step I do not want to give the players too much insight into the campaign. You will note for example that no exact units have been specified, as one of the early scenarios will be to capture a prisoner to determine the force and disposition of said force that they face. I am at present preparing a starter pack for each side, so they will have background and some knowledge of what assents they might be able to call upon. I will say however that the German squads cost 400 points each, while the commonwealth squads a mere 235 points each. therefore expect the Germans to be up against it from the start.

Elsewhere on the paining table I have Apaches',  Mechs, Zombie Hunters and Napoleonic ships. So I may have to start finishing a few things off soon. Thanks for reading. Have a good couple of days and I will post on the blog again on Wednesday. All the best Clint