VBCW MILITIA

Well here they are the latest batch of figures for Matt and his VBCW Collection. A variety of manufacturers these latest 6 together with previously shown troops should form another squad. They are all 28mm figures and all painted in acrylics by me and all rifle armed.

The last picture shows the squad all together including Jeeves, Wooster, the Verger and Private Widdle. And while the majority are rifle armed a Lewis Gun 2 revolvers and a Thompson submachine gun are also present. making the squad very well armed and dangerous in a 1937-39 setting.

Thanks for looking. next post on Monday and hopefully an AAR.

Cheers guys all the best!

A Very British Carry on. (Charles Hawtrey)

Treat this as a bonus post as I will post again tomorrow with the latest batch of Miscreants. For today though in homage to the great British Actor Charles Hawtrey who is unfortunately no longer with us.

One of the regular cast in the carry on films and as a kid probably the one I most identified with! So when I found this model among the ones waiting to be painted for Matt I just had to acknowledge the fact! Needless to say the painting and photography are not top notch but it should be enough to put a smile of your face and remember the man. For me it was pure joy when I realised who the sculptor had taken inspiration from.  I also think a VERY fitting character for a Very British Civil War!

I do wonder if Matt has anymore of this range and if there may be anymore Carry on Figures as I am sure we all have our favourites!

Like I said another post tomorrow just to show the rest of the figures in this militia squad.

So until then take care, have fun and enjoy yourself.

God Squad

Yes more VBCW figures for Matt and his Anglican league. Posted a day early as they were to be finished tomorrow, but it is either post this or watch naff TV!!! So we have to secular  clergy, one in a brown suit and one in grey as well as a Verger. Yes the Verger does have a lot of similarities with a character from Dads Army. However he is carrying a Flag of the city of Rochester. The last time I claimed it was a flag of Rochester the figure was carrying I was wrong, This one I am more confident of though as it does have a white "Invicta" horse in the top left.
 There have been some slight amendments to these figures post photography as I remembered to put a cross on each helmet and a armband on the brown suit! That's all done but batteries for the camera are low so I will not re-take the pictures, but will do a group shot when they are all done this week. (Hopefully Saturday).
I am unsure of the make of the figures but the flag I believe comes from Solway. A head swap had been carried out on at least one of the figures prior to paint being slung at it so very possible that the figures are from more than one manufacturer. Matt will most likely email me the truth tomorrow when he reads this. But 28mm VBCW figures based and painted by me (aka Paint Monkey).

Thanks for looking today. Take car and have fun Clint

Last ones for now!

Yesterday I was back finishing my 20mm SHQ Local Force Viet Minh. And these last 8 finish of all that I have available at this time. Which is not to say I will not buy some more in the future, I know I will as I want at least 1 Viet Minh Mortar, which I will pick up at a show later this year. I will also need to buy Helicopters for the US troops.

So anyway just to reinforce the point these are the last 8. Only 1 armed with an AK, 6 with bolt action Rifles and 1 with a light machinegun.

Thanks for looking today and now back to VBCW for the next few posts. Who knows after that!

All the best from Clint

Jeeves and Wooster. (VBCW)

One of the great joys of VBCW is that you can let your imagination loose. So with that in mind Matt did ask me to paint these two figures as Jeeves and Wooster from the PD Woodhouse series of novels (And the Fry and Laurie TV series of course!). Needless to say Bertie Wooster is the one in yellow socks! I have tried to keep the colours as close to the TV series as the figures would allow. Bertie usually wears a grey suit in town and tweed when in the country, Jeeves clothing does not change!

One has to wonder what kind of shenanigans Mr Wooster will get involved in and what Jeeves will be able to extract him from. Will there be an "Unwanted love interest?" Some woman being engaged to the young sir. (IT seems to happen a lot!) Maybe Madeline "the stars are God's daisy chains" Bassett, or Stephanie "Stiffy" Byng, or Lady Florence Craye or Daphne Dolores Morehead or from the TV series Honoria Glossop a slightly more formidable female (and perhaps my favourite!) Or just maybe there will be a new one. But whatever happens we all know that Jeeves with a Lewis gun will overcome any obslical in the last scene!

A thoughouly enjoyable pair to paint and I shall have to get a few female characters just to provide a plot. And Maybe a "Gussy" Fink-Nottle as well just to make the plot thicker!

Thanks for looking today. Next post on Tuesday. Have a good weekend and see you soon, (I hope) Cheers Clint

More Viet Minh

Yes some more 20mm SHQ Viet Minh for my Vietnam collection. It was a repaint and re base exercise on some old and much loved lead. So No new lead painted so far this week. But there should be some on Sunday.

Firstly an RPG team, 1 to fire the RPG and 2 to fetch ammo up and out of hiding. This gives me a couple of Rocket propelled grenade teams in all and should give the US troops a reason not to go blundering about in armoured personnel carriers. But knowing what most players are like this really will not stop them at all. (They will be more worried about mines!)

  Then there is a .30 Cal Browning machinegun I do not have a lot of "heavy" weapons for my local force/militia Viet Minh this being my only medium machinegun but placed in the right locations this should be quite effective indeed. Again 2 extra figures for bringing up ammunition and if need be defending the gun. They are both armed with older and less effective weapons (an AR7 Survival rifle and an M3 "Grease Gun") as befits local forces who have been active for some time and may not always have access to the latest and most powerful weapons.

Lastly 5 standard Viet Minh armed with Ak's and bolt action rifles which will fit in with the other figures in my force. Every army needs more rank and file than specialists so I am happy to get them finished and ready for the table-top.

A special mention should go out to "Smiffy" one of Posties rejects for two reasons. Firstly he has been playing a few games and as with many projects that has inspired me somewhat. And secondly I have been after "Body Count" The tabletop games rules for about a year and he has not only passed them on to me but also passed me a copy of "Buckle for your dust" rules as well. For which I am very grateful.

There are more figure I want for this conflict, but other than Viet Minh mortars and some wildlife I think I am ready. So I would expect an AAR before the end of the year.

"Born to be wild"

Yes I have Steppenwolf in my head as I type this. So today we have a 1930's "Quadbike". A 4 wheeled jalopy with a small engine and a large machinegun. I am not sure what Matt plans for it, other than finishing of my troops of course! But I hope he will just use it as a machinegun as I do not need the agro of an extra vehicle to contend with as it nips across the board.

It is a 28mm sculpt and I think specifically for a VBCW as I have never seen one in any book or heard about one in any part of history. And that is one of the exciting thing about a Very British Civil War. If we anted historical accuracy we could always do one of the real wars of the period! And there were a few that were interesting as well. Not just the Spanish Civil War.

Painted for Matt the rider has a blue armband with cross for his Anglican league forces. There will be more coming by the weekend. (you are warned!) There should be a gun shield as well, but I have lost that for now, but I expect to have that found and finished in short order. I am sure when I do it will enhance the model a little. The model does come as a kit of parts and the lack of instructions did allow me to get it wrong a few times but overall it did go together easily. I just wish I knew where Matt got it from as there would be a web site where I could just check a few details.


A bit of a kooky addition to his force, which reminds me I will need to get my own force finished very soon as we are planning a game in 10 days.

Well thanks for looking. Have a great day as I am sure you deserve one and with luck more to show on Friday as I plan to finish a few more Viet Mihn either today or tomorrow as I have been inspired by another Reject and want to get them all finished off. I also want to re-write my Spanish Civil War homebrew rules.

So until next time take care and have fun.

Battletach try out.

Well yesterday at the club we played Battletech. I have not played the rules for 20 + Years and the other guys had not played them at all.  That being the case we kept it very simple with just a medium mech each. Relfie had a "Hunchback, I had a "Witworth", Ian an "Enforcer" and Kev a "Trebuchet|". For any one who knows Battletech well I had a 40 ton mech as I knew the rules and the others all had 50 ton mechs.

SO Kev and Relfie were against Ian and myself.  2 mecha a side and no clever scenarios just a get in and kill the opponents. Ian and myself set up to ttarget Kevin and leave the Hunchback alown as it only had short range weapons. (9 Hexes max).  And generally speaking the game went a little like this.



We try to shoot at Kevs trebuchet. But I miss with my LRMs but Ian makes a hit. This chips away some armour but nothing to worry about. Kev fires back at Ian and again scores hits but again just chipping away at armour.










 The next few turns sees me in the witworth running hot and firing all weapons and missing everything. Ian scores his with the LRM 10 rack but rolls very low for the number of missiles. In the game he manages to roll 2 2's and 4 3's on 2d6! I swear I did not touch his dice!Kev starts heating up and only launches missiles back, mostly at Ian's Enforcer! So I take very little damage and am able to steer clear of too many problems and manage to cool down. Kev finds the water and his heat sinks start to act more efficiently.














Relfie keeps closing the distance and finally lets rip with his AC20. This chews up Ians Mech quite badly, but he's still in the fight. The enforcer looses all the armour on one location and takes a hit to his autocannon 10. Ian gats a luck shot on the Trebuchet and causes a critical on the engine. This Gives Kev 5 extra heat each turn.Which in turn means that the "treb" starts running hot and from now on suffers 1 less movement point and a penalty on shooting.




Ian and myself try to put distance between the Hunchback and use only LRMs. This does not work all that well for me and I get hit and it penertrates the armour and scores a critical on my gyros. So jumping and running become MUCH more likely to result in me falling down. Kev and Relfie team up on Ian and back him into some harsh terrain. Which makes it much harder to get away from the hunchback. Ian fights on. We both target Kevs Trebuchet as much as possible and Kev gets 2 more crits against him, a second engine hit (now +10 heat a turn) and I hit a gyro of his and he decides not to run or jump from now on.

 The game ends with Ian loosing an arm (with the autocannon) and having all his torso shot out be repeated attacks. I in return stay at long range and launch LRMs as much as possible.  This finally has it's effect and I get another crit on Kevs engine and with 3 engine hits his mech is no longer functional.

Tis just leaves me an Relfie to fight it out. The bad news for me is that I am now low on missiles and can't run or jump without risking falling So the lumbering Hunchback will eventually "Muller" me! so I concede the game.

The good points: The game still plays well and has lots to recommend it. The new players picked the rules up quickly and understood the mechanics and hit numbers within 40 min for start of play and I am sure could very easily play again with little or no help. They said the rules were very instinctive.

The Bad points: Well for me it was all about the rose coloured glasses and while I did enjoy the game it was not the same as back in the day (25+ yrs ago!)

Thanks for reading today. The game was quite balanced and worked very well as a set of rules, it's just that you cannot beat nostalgia so after the game I was feeling a little underwhelmed!

All the best Clint

The Friars (Squad 2)

Continuing the VBCW theme and most notably the Friars of Aylesford Priory the next squad is completed. I finished the first squad about 8 days ago and blogged them on 2nd July, so not very far to go back and check if you missed them.

Anyway here is another squad done. As mentioned previously the figures are Artizan Design WW2 French troops but painted up to look like British Clergy.

The bottom picture shows them all together and a right religious lot they look to. Following comments on the first squad they all have crosses on the front of the helmets (where appropriate) as I have gone back and added them to all the figures.

As mentioned it is a Battletech day for me at the club on Sunday. I am not sure there will be an AAR as such as it may be too detailed and therefore slow reading but none the less I will try to post something.

All the best have a good weekend and with luck see you online soon.

Cheers Clint

Another Lance of Mechs

Yes a Lance. In Battletech 4 mechs are known as a lance. This is the second time of doing this blog post this morning, having done it once I then pushed the wrong button and accidently deleted the whole lot. Oh well never mind, he says after kicking himself and swearing a bit so here is go 2!


Jagermech: Using a similar design philosophy as the Rifleman, the Jagermech is a 65 ton heavy mech with flip arms able to be effectively used against aircraft. However the Jagermech uses light auto-cannon as opposed to large lasers. With 2 auto cannon in each arm (an AC5 and an AC2) The Jagermech has reduced the heating issue which some Riflemen pilots encountered. In addition to the Auto-cannons the Jagermech also has 2 medium lasers. It has only average speed and no jump capability which again also reduces the heat build up. The down side is that for a heavy mech it is lightly armoured and like the Rifleman is very lightly armoured in the rear torso areas. So only use this mech if accompanied by something which can take a lot of punishment.

While I have never used the mech in a game I can see from it's stats that it has plenty of ammunition and would advise log range shooting as opposed to getting in close as that is where the weak armour will take its toll.


Dervish: One of the largest medium mechs at 55 tons the Dervish is above average in speed, manoeuvrability, and jump capability. It has reasonably strong legs  so can carry out the so called "Death from above" jump attack on smaller mechs IF you have a good pilot. A poor or average mech pilot tends to topple over if attempting this tactic! (I speak from experience!) Most noted for its twin Long range missile systems (2x LRM10s) the Dervish also carries Short range missiles (and lots of ammo for them) and Medium lasers so do not rely on the Lrms to do all the work! The head armour is very slightly weaker than most mechs even those of a lighter displacement but not overly so and all mechs have a vulnerable spot there. Just as well it is the hardest area to hit.

Overall I would say while there is nothing wrong with the Dervish as a mech it does carry to many SRM missiles at the expense of greater armour.


Enforcer: At 50 tons this is a well balanced mech for the weight classification. It is of average speed but does have jump capability so more than capable of out running a mech of average speed and NO jump. One must not rely on jumps of course and the Enforcer does not need to. For weaponry it carries both a large laser and a strong Autocannon (AC10) in addition to a small laser. Some variants and trial variants remove the small laser to get more ammunition to the Autocannon thus doubling the shots to 20. This has lead to problems from ammunition having to travel from the left torso across the body (past the engine) to the right arm so these variants are not common and also do lead to issues. The armour values on the Enforcer are good but not outstanding leading this mech to be used in a variety of roles including "Trooper mech" and barrage. Which makes it popular with many forces and in no way a one trick pony, but a multi role machine.

Generally I would recommend this mech to new players who want to try a bit of everything. And then work out what they want to specialise in even if (Like me) that leads to a jack odf all trades and master of none!)

Trebuchet: Another 50 ton medium mech. Like the Enforcer above this is another main line Medium mech. Unlike the Enforcer this mech has no jump capacity but is slightly faster on the ground. Armed with 3 Medium lasers the Trebuchets main strength comes at long range with two large Long Range Missile systems (LRM 15s). These should be enough to make people want to get close and most likely they will. Another multi-role mech and as such very versatile. The issue with multi role mechs is that you have to find the right pilot for them one who can adapt to the situation and instinctively know when to stay back and when to get close. Armour levels are good but not great so this mech should last a while in most confrontations as many players will try to target specialist mechs. As such this mech does tend to take a beating in a game but generally does manage to survive. Heat with the LRMs tends not to be a big issuse and the mech usually runs lightly on the hot side when at closer ranges or using jumps and firing at the same time. But overall heat is not a major concern.

Again like the Enforcer I would recommend this mech to players at the start until they find their game preferences.

As I will be playing Battletech on Sunday I am not expecting to paint any more mecha until September. All these Mechs cam in the 25th Anaversery box set and are cast in quite nasty plastic, but for the price I can do nothing but recommend the game. It may not suit everyone but I do know it does suit me and I hope I can impart the same level of joy and enthusiasm at the club.

Thanks for reading today and good luck in all you do. Have a good few days and I should have something  VBCW ready for Saturday.

|Cheers Clint

VBCW Command group

 2 Command figures for a VBCW Anglican League. These should give the "Friars" the first squad shown 2 days ago a little more "Omph". Obly 2 figures that I grant you and painted for Mat, so after the weekend I will only see them opposite me as I try to kill them.

The figure with the blue beret carries a bible and has the spirit of God and is armed with an SMG just for any who doubt his words. I do not know who makes him but clearly he does mean business.

WHile the figure with the flag is again from Artizan Designs with just a little conversion so he can carry a flag pole. The flag is by Solway and supposed to represent Rochester but living 3 miles away it is not a Flag I have seen before. They may well have done the research or they may have just made it up to fit the VBCW background I just do not know.

All in all the figures were a delight to paint and should make Mat happy. There should be another squad finished before the week end so you can look forward (or not) to that.

That's it for now, all the best Clint

Mecha

As mentioned earlier in the week I will be playing "Battletech" next weekend so I thought I should paint up a few more mechs (Mecha) just so the guys would not be playing with bare plastic and bare metal. I hasten to point out I have done a very quick paint job, nothing fancy, just slapped paint on.

So here we go!

Rifleman: The Rifleman is a heave Mech at 60 tons and is one of the best well known mechs out there. It is a specialist anti-aircraft platform but well capable of defending itself and battle with other mechs. Typically armed with 2 Large Lasers, 2 Medium Lasers and 2 Light Autocannon (AC5s). Which are the longest pre clan AC' in the game. Only 10 heat sinks so it does tend to run a little hot, but not disastrously so.  The Main drawback (In my opinion) for the 60 ton Rifleman is lack of armour particularly on the back. Given the long range weapons this mech is typically used as fire support. The lack of hands may be considered a drawback by many But that is compensated by it's perceived role and the fact that it can fire it's guns 180 degrees (Vertically) to allow it to track aircraft.

This is a re-paint of one of my older metal mechs (I only had 4-5 metal mechs). As such I feel it will get much use as a proxy!


Hunchback: The Hunchback (my second) is a medium mech of 50 tons yet manages to carry the largect gun in the game and Autocannon 20 (AC20). This give it a distinctive look and for it's medium weight class makes it quite deadly at short range. Along with the AC20 it also carries 2 medium lasers and a small laser. This means that within range  (9 Hexes or 270 meters) everything other than the head mounted  small laser can fire at once! So at the shorter ranges this mech can strip armour from other mechs very effectively. The drawback as hinted at previously is that it has a relatively short range but when it does fire and hit you will know it! No mech is ever perfect and we all have favourites and this mech is rather brutal and usually does not need to carry more than 10 Ac shots to get the job done but it will get shot up while trying to get within effective range.

This plastic mech has a missing right hand, it's a shame to say but I got it in a box set and it came that way. (Oh well).

The Jenner: This is a light mech often used for scouting, Again lacking arms instead armed with weapon pods. It carries 4 Medium lasers and well as a Short Range Missile system (SRM 4) . At 35 tone it is on the larger size for a scout mech but it has a phenomenal speed of 11 when running (5 walking). So going in a straight line while on open terrain means it could travel 11 hexes in a turn. As mentioned above the AC on the Hunchback only has a range of 9 hexes so this really is nippy and is the fastest mech I have ever PERSONALLY piloted. One thing I have yet to mention about this mech is the jump capability. It can use jumpjets as well and they will propel it in any direction across any terrain 5 hexes a turn. (or less if you choose). Given all this speed and jump capability it does lack armour, but as a light mech in a scout role what did we really expect. It is not designed to fight toe to toe with other mechs but will happily take on mechs of it's own weight or lighter.Many weapons variants exist but the weapons listed above are the standard.

Not my favourite mech but I can and do respect it in the right hands. A good mech for the weight.

Grasshopper: A heavy mech of 70 tons this mecha lacks "Serious" firepower for it's weight. With 1 large laser and 4 medium lasers and a small (lrm5) Long Range Missile system for me it lacks "Punch". It is jump capable and does carry a good amount of armour (more than a Warhammer or Marauder or even and Archer all of which have the same weight limit.) The LRM5 does not give it enough long range capacity the large laser helps of course but this mech really does need to get within 9 hexes to inflict much damage at all. The Grasshopper has lots of heat sinks so overheating should never be a problem which means it can run cold and not worry about movement or aiming penalties at least until armour is penetrated.

Again not a fan of this mech from 20 years ago but played by an adult (Physically if not mentally) this mech could be quite useful as it can soak up a lot of damage.


Whitworth: The 40 ton Whitworth is on the lower side of Medium mechs. Which is not to say it's wimpy. It is quite a balanced build and can cause problems. Originally designed as a Scout mech to fill the gap between a Locust and a Phoenix Hawk it's main problem is that it now lacks a distinct on the battlefield. Not a bad mech by any means it has 2 Long range missile (LRM10') systems as well as 3 medium lasers and even jump capability.  The long range weapons are useful but not powerful enough for a stand off mech and the Medium lasers do not do enough damage at short range to make this a close in mech. Some variants replace the LRMs with SRMs which does give it a set role but it is a compromise. It is a good mech when used well but alas that was not something I ever managed to do well in the game. 10 heatsinks means that this can run hot when at close range but not as hot as some mechs get. If using this mech I would stay at long range and use LRMs and then get in close to finish off anything badly damaged by any other mech.  Not a bad all round mech but on the light side for a medium mech and it lacks an obvious use.

Catapult: a 65 tom heavy mech with some notable long range capabilities. Each arm carries a LONG range Missile system (LRM15) while the torso carries 4 medium lasers. Some varients exist with the LRMs stripped out and Phase Partial Cannons (PPCs) retrofitted but this can lead to heat problems and I believe the LRMs are better in this particular mech. The medium lasers are for close support and the mech does have a role in the secondary defensive line with some (but) limited offensive capability. On a one to one bases this mecha is very good at dealing long range damage sufficient enough to worry most mech of a similar size and hopefully weaken an opponent enough for the medium lasers at closer range.  It does have some jump capability so is capable of intricate manoeuvres through difficult terrain so will keep up with most (non scout) mechs. Like all mechs it does depend on how it is used but generally it is quite balanced.



All the comments are my personal views and experiences and it does depend on how you and your opponents do play. So if your experiences differ I will not be at all surprised. My main Mech was a Griffin for example so all my comments come from that background.

Not the best mechs in the world, but better than none at all. Thanks for looking and I hope you are having a really great weekend. \All the best Clint