Autumn Skirmish Show report.

I was having one of those days I had forgotten 5 things, or more rather I had remembered 5 things I had forgotten pertinent to the show on the car ride up to Sidcup. I may well have forgotten a few more but 5 I can recall. Luckily I did remember my name, some money, a packed lunch and mostly what I wanted to buy if the right traders were there. The bad news is most of the traders I wanted were not there. One of the traders was their BUT he had sold out of what I wanted and was not getting any more! So for Shopping I will need to wait until SELWG at Crystal Palace.

But here is what I did buy. (Let's get that out of the way first). 1 pot of paint from Tolehaven. and One OH6 "Loach" Model from a mate (Thanks Ian) and yes I did get a discount. The helicopter was an impulse buy but I can always use stuff for my Vietnam Project in 20mm scale. And that gives me 4 helicopters I have yet to build. I hope to do them in the AHPC later this year, but I will need to buy some crew first. So Total spend was only £6.20

Right on with the games. (A couple of games are missed out just because I did not like them,... call it editing)

Tonbridge Wargames Club/Society

28mm Bolt Action

Part of operation Market Garden

Herne Bay/Whitstable Club

I think 20mm  Napoleonic not sure what rules.

Medway Wargames Club.
28mm American war of Independence
Or As I like to think.
Traitorous Colony Scumbags
Betray the King
(Honest I am not Bias!)

Using the "To the Strongest" rules.
 Just because they work better than some rules
specifically for the period.

Gravesend Gamers Guild
Space Marines Vs Chaos
40K

Nuff said.




Hornchurch Club Playing Guildball.
Looks nice and a fun game, but I for one do not need any distractions.

Old Guard Wargames Club
(I Know at least 2 Old Guard wargames Clubs
so this may not be the ones you think!)

Not sure of the scale the rules
or what the two sides were
BUT
I do know they were enjoying it!

I will do a report on the Game we put on later this week. By We I do mean the Rainham wargames club. But if you want a sneak peek pop over to Ray's Blog and the kind mister Rousell willgive you some clues. Here is a link (http://onelover-ray.blogspot.co.uk/) he claims his blog was never called "One Lover!" I think Google thinks different!

NAC SQUAD 1

Very occasionally I get some 15mm Stargrunt painted. It is a long process and one from which I do get side tracked incredibly easily! But now as I have finished my FSE (Federal States Europa) Platoon I have started my NAC (New Anglican Confederation) forces. At present I do not have much but I can see it expanding rapidly in the run up to Christmas.

While I prefer the look of the Ghurkha Squads and will be concentrating on them it is always worth having some normal squads. And this is a Normal squad.

8 men in a squad mostly armed with the L7a3 Individual weapon. (Advanced Assault rifle with grenade launcher). 2 support weapons are also with each squad, far right is a L5 Binary propellant light machine gun and (one in from the right) is a L18 Portable guided missile launcher.

I have yet to do a squad transport for them, but expect that this week.

The figures are Ground Zero Games ( https://shop.groundzerogames.co.uk/ ) 15mm Stargrunt figures. Painted for a desert world (In my Head Called "Burnett's Folly") so a couple of stripes of camouflage on the outfits and some light green to break up the guns. (Yes I could have painted the guns the same as the uniforms but decided that a little contrast might be a good thing.)

And when I get a platoon sized force complete I will happily do a group shot.

Thanks for looking today, all the best Clint

? SANTA ? Pimped!!!

Well the call has gone out.  Both Santa Claus (Chris @ http://cstoesen.blogspot.  And Secret Santa  (Cath and Ian @ Blog with No Name ) are running Santa gift blogs again this year. Firstly let me say I did enter them both last year and did have a LOT of pleasure doing so. So I would consider doing both again... But see below.

On Chris's Blog you paint a figure or group of figures and send them to someone who is involved and in turn someone, probably a very different person send you one back. Needless to say you are supposed to have a look at the persons blog and select something that appeals to them. But it is random who you get to paint for and who gets to paint for you and you have no real control over what figure they will send. But the idea is that it should be about £5 in value before painting.  So you could get pretty much anything, within that price band. And that is the fun bit.... you could get anything and it may be better than you can paint. But you could get something that while painted to the best of their ability just is not as good as you could have done yourself.  BUT it is the surprise that is the fun and you get to see your work on anothers blog as well when they un wrap it.

Ian and Cath (Ian runs the Blog while Cath runs the Santa) do it a different way. Each participant is given another random blog and they are to scan it and pick up clues as to what that participant might want. Many including myself tend to do a wish list to help any participants who ever they may be to focus them to what you truly want . BUT the list is optional and you can select something else to send them as long as you think it is what they would want. For example a participant may have a VERY narrow set of wants. "I only want this code XXX or code XXY from this manufacturer and nothing else!"  Which does to my mind take all the fun out of it after all where is the surprise, they might as well buy it themselves! But I know at least one person does so. So be Warned and if you get them well basically hard luck OR be prepared to think laterally and get them something else that fits in with their want but is not exactly what they have listed. So you may have to think creatively. I already have an idea what I will get them if I get their name pulled out of the hat.

So the good is that you have some fun and get a gift. Last year I got an absolutely brilliant gift from my SECRET Santa. It I so nice I am a little scared of painting it for fear of ruining it. Yes it is that good. But I hope to soon. Hopefully very soon. Maybe even next week. But I might need to take a bravery pill first.

And the Bad. I did not receive a painted figure from Chris's blog.  Not his fault, he is just the agent who selects people to paint for another. Chris is aware of this lack of figure and while he has apologised as far as I am aware the person who sent it has not. Maybe they have a good reason for not sending a painted figure, maybe the post office failed to deliver (ALWAYS GET PROOF OF POSTING!) maybe they just do not like me, maybe they have been ill maybe I am on Santa's naughty list. Their could be all number of reasons. All I know is that I did not get a painted figure.

having scanned some blogs I know both my gifts arrived and I think were well appreciated and that makes me feel good.

So for that Reason I will not be entering Chris's Santa Clause Blog painted figure scheme this year, but I will be entering Ian and Caths.

Sorry todays blog has been a bit of a rant.

All th best and for a little fun you might try either Santa scheme.

Not perfect, but it will do.

Yes the title says it all.  Just one Picture, I did take 2 others but they turned out not to be in focus! I am only claiming lack of skill on my part and not that the camera could not focus on the models due to the Camouflage.  My bad NOT the Camera.

As you can see a basic sand coloured base, with grey dark brown and cream squares on it.  If I was doing Proper Digital camouflage There would be more squares and it would be hard to work out the base colour, but I wanted the base colour sand to show through. Then just weathered (dry brushed a lighter sand tone (very lightly) and then two coasts of flesh wash over the top.

Overall I am not wildly excited by the result, but at least it is better than before. If I was starting again the brown should be a shade lighter and the grey a little darker, but overall not too bad really,

Thanks for looking today, more again soon.

Re do the Camo!

As I had finished all the painting that Matt wanted me to do. (He is getting more to me today and VBCW he says!) I was not sure what I wanted to paint so I had a rummage in one of the carrier bags full of unpainted. I was looking for some Islamic Federation I have for 15mm Star grunt.  (I did not find them so they are somewhere else! And not where I thought!).

I did want to carry on with some 15mm Stargrunt though so I read the rules again.... which is to say I flicked through them re-reading the juicy bits!

While rummaging I did find a second one of these though (as well as some other bits and bobs so back to Star grunt for a very short time.

One of the issues I have with sci fi games is coming up with suitably believable camouflage. I was never HAPPY with the vehicle on the left, it's Cammo is OK, but only OK! I want something more fitting for the far future! So when I paint the new one I will repaint the old at the same time.  Clearly the photo does show the painted is harder to make out than the unpainted version of the tank but it does not convey to me the feeling of far future colony world.

So this morning I am looking at different tank, animal (Including FISH) and uniform camouflage patterns and trying to figure something out. I have already a FSE camouflage pattern and a NAC camouflage pattern (Not as yet shown on this blog) but I want these to be somewhat different from both of my already established patterns. So a re-paint in on the cards.

Thanks for looking today and with any luck at all I will be able to show it on Tuesday.

Enjoy the Paralympics, any sun and any chance you get to paint.

Batch 4 (Finished)

Yep later than expected the latest batch of Burpas are now all based varnished and put away. I was expecting to finish them last night but a day later here they are. & figures finished since the last update, they are a mix of makes, Perry, Foundry and Empress miniatures.

Obviously another leader in the purple with a silver horse on his shield, the others are somewhat duller in colours with cream and brown dominating. There are other colours as well, mostly as turbans or belt sashes or shields just to break up the earthy tones. One rather flamboyant chap is in baby blue and pink (or as I like to call it faded red!)

They all fit in with the horde as the bottom picture shows as the whole batch stands together.

Quite a fearsome bunch!

Thanks for looking and maybe something on Sunday and maybe nothing til Tuesday I just cannot tell yet as nothing is even started.


So with luck see you soon, all the best Clint.

yet more Burpas!

yes one is on a horse. last night I finished 7 more Burpas, all 28mm from a mix of makes including Emperess, Foundry and Perry Miniatures. It gived them a nice mix and helps them look more like a rabble. Which I think is the look that Matt is going for. And to promote that look they are also from different ranges, some are North African and others Indian Hill tribesmen.

I have 7 more to paint in this batch so expect another 7 figures painted soon. Well soonish, I have the para Olympics which needs some serious watching as I do admire the atheletes who overcome adversity to achieve!

  AS you can see these do look quite diverse and yet still look realistic and to my uneducated eye just about right for a colonial period game.

Below are some close ups and it surprises me how well they seem to fit with the terrain. Considering the backdrop is actually America printed out on the computer.

 That's it for now, thanks for looking and I hope you day goes well.

All the best Clint

Yesterday at the club!

Firstly let me say it has been a good weekend. Firstly  I was given 2 cases of beer (And that is always a good thing). Not that I am a big drinker and this will most likely keep me going until Christmas!

Secondly on Saturday afternoon. Zombicide arrived (purchased via eBay) and the game was like new in condition despite the eBay listing saying it was used. So needless to say this made me happy as well.

And then at the club there was a large colonial game in 15mm British vs Egyptians but as my new zombicide game had arrived I passed on this game (it already had 6 players which should be enough) and sat instead with 2 board game players (Kev and Ian).

Our first game was "Mansions of Madness" a C'thulhu board game very similar to the Roleplaying game. It was run by an APP on a tablet and played very well indeed. I was really quite taken by the game.

Our mission was to check out the mysterious disappearance of the mansions owner. The game did start slowly despite there being a "Hunting Horror" in the kitchen which was terrifying the butler. Kev was playing a Grave digger, Ian a Secretary while I was playing an Urchin.  I am not sure why an Urchin would be involved but I was.

Things went well we had found loads of clues and very little monsters and I was encouraged to open the wrong door. So Open it I did. The result was a High Priest of Dagon (Who was the mansions owner) 2 Cultists in different parts of the building and 2 more Hunting Horrors all at once.

I became seriously wounded but still in the game. Kevin went insane and Ian also took a serious wound as we all tried to stop the rital and close the gate.

The conclusion was we failed! Kevin Died while Insane, Ian died out right and I went permanently insane trapped in another dimension struggling and failing to close the gate and stop the ritual.

Score 1 for the C'thulhu mythos and zero for humanity.

That game over (and not prematurely) we played "Zombicide!" We Played scenario 1 in which the object was to get food water and rice equipment cards and have at least 1 player escape from the board. None of us had ever played before and the game went slowly. Yes I did make a couple of mistakes with the rules. Nothing major. The first 2 times a fatty spawned I did not put the additional walkers on for example. We also played a house rule allowing players to shoot into other zones and IF they hit they did not hit other players.

The game started well but players being the individuals they are split in order to get more loot./Objectives. Probably a mistake as mass attacks do tend to make a difference when it comes to staying zombies.

Phil (AKA Rick) was the first to die as I sacrificed him to let Josh move away from any trouble because Josh was carrying some Rice. Eventually it was too much for us and despite kev having an uzi on each character (Found during play) and making 5 Noise tokens a turn there just were too amny of them. Ian was equally handy with a chain saw but we conceded the game when a wounded Josh was the sole survivor the other end of the board and only carrying 1 of the three things we needed.

But Both were good fun games despite our losses!

Dawn and time to storm the castle. (no Not yet)

Ok it is not dawn and time to storm the castle. But the photos have that quality due to the light levels when taking the pictures. THIS WAS NOT DELIBERATE! I think it was just too early in the morning and the sun (or I) was not awake just yet. I could muck about with the light levels on the computer but decide against that plan.

So 5 newly painted Peasants with a variety of weapons including one with a sickle! £ of the weapons were broken over time so instead of pitchforks and scythes they just carry clubs. I am OK with that as too many pitchforks and scythes would appear wrong in my opinion. I still have more pitchforks and scythes in my lead pile so if no more break I will be happy.

At the end is a group shot of the 15 so far painted, and an acknowledgement that I am about 1/2 way there. Looking at the group shot I see I need more yellows and mustards and creams so that will be my plan for the next lot. But before I even start them I have Burpas and Zulus already primed. So MAYBE next week.


 Thanks for looking today next post Monday and with luck a decent club game.


All the best to you and yours Clint

Back on schedule..... maybe only for 1 day

 being back on schedule is not all that! It just means that you are struggling to finish things for the next deadline.

Anyway 3 MORE Burpas for Matt all 28 mm figures and all (I think) different makes. (Empress Foundry, Perry). All Indian Hill tribes and all set for the colonial period.

Yes a group shot will be taken at a later date. the figure on the left has a breech loader with the other two have muzzle loading black powder weapons. And while the guy on the right is brandishing a knife I think we can be sure that the other two have knifes as well tucked into robes. (The guy on the left carries a sword and shield as well so we know he is ready for close combat!)

That's it for today, keeping it short and sweet.

Cheers guys thanks for looking

Just 2 more today!

Due to Dog sitting again I was unable to blog yesterday and also unable to paint last night and While I was planning/hoping to get 5 more finished there are only 2 completed. I am of course referring to more Burpas for Matt.

The one in blue is literally screaming "Shoot me!" he stands out so much. I did picture him as an officer or leader while painting so wanted him to look well equipped and richer than the average figure,  which lead to the lovely blue!

The other figure is just a normal rank and file and while just as important does blend into the terrain significantly better. His long rifle makes one think of a sniper but the truth may well be very much different. It will all come down to what Matt thinks.

I think they are both Foundry figures but from different ranges.

Currently on the painting table I have 3 more Burpas (1 being Mounted) and 5 more peasants and 4 more Burpas an another 30 Zulus which I hope to get undercoated before 8am. That way I can be painting for the next few days without any prep time!

So until next time, take care have fun and plan some games.

You can moan BUT......i don't mean it!

Yes and I do! Moan that is. I dislike painting 10mm Zulus! But when they are done I am happy with them. At this point I think I have about 250-300 left to paint! It is not that they are bad sculpts just that the colours are  very limited and it does tend to get boring painting them. But as I said Once painted and based they look very acceptable gaming pieces. And that is what they are for.

 I will be using the Black powder rules,  just for convenience they do work OK but the MGs and Cannon are underpowered in Colonial settings.  All my opponents and myself have found that if you form square with cannon on a corner all the tribes head straight ior the cannon and destroy the square like a hot knife through butter  , which is not what happened in reality! Still I will over come that I am sure.

Anyway these figures are 10mm Newline Design Zulus with headdress. 28 figures in all (there should be 30 but 2 have fallen under a wardrobe and at some point will need recapturing from their escape bid!)

That's it for today, enjoy the bank Holiday while I start to prep some figures for Matt....

Cheers Guys have a good one!