Centis.

Very little done wargames wise these last few days, Well nothing I can talk about anyway.

So instead of posting nothing I have managed to paint up 3 Centurion tanks in 1/300th scale (or 6mm if you prefer).

These will be going to my Aram Israeli wars collection for cold war commander. In the rules no matter how big your army you can only have a MAXIMUM of 3 of these tanks. So no point in painting many more. I suppose I could paint another 3 as Jordanian Centurions! And that would be just to scare the Israeli player!

In the game it has a range of 100cm and a firepower of 5d6 which for the time period is pretty impressive. More so a it has 6 hits. I knew it was an impressive tank for the time after all in the Korean war not a single one was  knocked out despite one vehicle being hit (mostly by RPGs) over 90 times.

So in the rules I do Like the fact that a maximum of 3 are allowed in any one game. Which considering 3 Centurions would be nearly half your points in a 1000 point game! But we all know players who would want more "super tanks" in a combined arms game than anything else including infantry, artillery, command, recconisence, air support  or everything else put together. Which does not in anyway lead to a balanced game. And that is just because they want to win. Even if you played a 5 or 10 thousand point game you would still only be allowed 3 in the game MAX.

That's my very small post today as I have sickness in the family and my painting/hobby focus is elsewhere.

All the best Clint

Dust clouds

Some of you may remember my desire to do some 1/300th scale Arab Israeli wars as I harken back to my youth. Well I have moved it ever so slightly forward as a Project. Yes I have painted 2 SU 100
Soviet Tank Destroyers used by the Egyptian army in the wars up to and including the 1973 Yom Kippur war. So that is an extra 2 vehicles done.

Also I think I have found the rules I like. Simple enough for big battles yet detailed enough to have a good fun game. The rules in Question being "Cold War Commander." The rules do cover most actions from 1946 to about 2010. But you may have to do some slight research to get balanced forces and NOT use vehicles out of period with other countries. For example some WW2 tanks, APCs and artillery were being used in the Yom Kippur war including German Panzer Mk 4s but the main front line troops were not using them very much at all. Also the famous Russian T34-85 was being used by both Egypt and Israel (Israel captured about 300 from the war of 1967 and they were used but only in desperation as the main Israeli tanks were either British Centurions or US M48 Pattons) and while the rules do give a very good place to start the army lists are very broad in regard to who can have what. But seriously nothing that a little background reading on the Net would not sort out, that is UNLESS you have players who want to always have the best equipment in unlimited numbers..... We have all come across them I am sure.)

 One of the things about the desert is the fact that vehicles moving (Particularly if moving fast) tend to have dust trails following them. I stole this idea shamelessly from BIG LEE LINK and I hope he does not mind me sharing it and does not want to batter me for doing so!

So following Big Lees example I decided to make my own.

This was done in a very few easy steps.

Firstly MDF bases were used, although you could use other types of bases and for bigger scales that is probably the right thing to do. To the MDF bases, some "Woodlands Scenes" Clump foliage was super glues.

Once dried I watered down some PVA white wood glue. (Which is technically a resin ("Resin W" if you want to know) ) I then soaked the clump foliage in the watered down PVA and left it for a couple of weeks. This allowed for thorough drying and... (Yeah it was up the garden shed and I forgot about it!I will confess!)

But Once dry it had a solid texture and not spongy like Clump foliage usually is. So once dry I sprayed the bases with Grey Primer. Other colours are available it was just what I had available. Then I used two Highlights to colour the dust clouds. Starting with the desert floor colour and then adding about 50% white for the second coat.

The grey still shows through and the desert colours tie the dust clouds to the terrain and setting.

Other than drying time (which was long... too long really as I forgot about them) the 15 dust clouds took about 45 minutes from start to finish.

Simply placing one behind a vehicle will tell me if it has mover either this turn or last turn.  Which may alter its chance to hit or be hit when firing occurs.

A simple game addition which will remind me if the vehicle has moved and will look the part in game without distracting from the look of the game.

Thanks for looking today.
I may not post for a couple of days as I am about to start a conversion and I dislike doing work in progress blog posts.

Cheers Clint

More Burpas!

Starting with a group shot of the 10 I have finished. Some you will recognise from a couple of days back and yet 6 of the 10 are new.

As with the last lot I painted. these are a little bright as they were all started on the same day and I am yet to get in the swing of it.  I have managed to tone down some of the colours though and the next lot will be more toned down as well as I fear if I carry on in this same style they will look like sweets on the table and not like tribesmen.

All the figures are Foundry 28mm Indian Hill Tribesmen and all are painted for my Mate Matt.  The things I am painting for myself are a lot less interesting!!!!! It is things like painting a real life (NOT MODEL ) Garden wall!

As you can see there are a mixture of missile and sword armed troops so a nice balance for skirmish games. You may note that one fellow has a two handed sword! (Bottom Picture in brown) I suspect this is more a ceremonial be-heading implement than a true weapon of war. But I have to admit I do not know very much at all about Indian weapons so take everything I say with a pinch of salt.

All in all they all look all right so I will pass them on to Matt Tomorrow all being well.

Carry on Up the ....

Yes I am sure you guessed and fondly recall Charles Hawtrey and the missing underpants and the shame of the "Devils in Skirts!". If none of that makes sense you are probably NOT from England.

So anyway today are 4 foundry Indian  Hill Tribesmen. These are painted for Matt and he says there are more to come as well, I already have another 6 started!

Colour wise I have been a little too bright on the first 10 so will tone the next few (after I finish the next 6) down a bit. But I was having such fun painting things that are colourful I could not resist!

Anyway "Up the Burpas an d down with the devils in skirts!"

Another 15mm SCi FI Vehicle.

Yes the title says it all. This vehicle is a Ground Zero Games (GZG) 15mm Tracked science fiction vehicle. Not the largest or most complicated vehicle . ( Here is a link to the GZG Shop ). Just 6-8 pieces in all, a 2 part hull, 2 tracks, turret and hatch and 2 optional pieces. ! being a vehicle commander to go in the hatch if you choose and the other being a choice of gun.
I went for the gatling laser aa gun to make this into a air defence vehicle as opposed to a twin barrel Mortar. Both looked nice but I thought the AA Gatling laser would be more of a menace to infantry!!!

I was lucky enough to be given this model by Fran (THE ANGRY LURKER) who is a jolly nice chap and hardly angry at all. It has taken me some time (2-3 years I forget which) to get round to making it. But Now that I have I feel so much better for doing so.

I hope to have something new to show in a couple of days as I am now working on some more 28mm figures for Matt, but not VBCW this time.

So hope to see you in a couple of days all the best from the South East of England.

Crystals

Not much painted today, Just these two bits of Sci Fi scenery based.  Just 2 coloured resin Crystals. They are by a small company called "Wargames Terrain Workshop" (LINK ) The joy of this company is that they can and do make the crystals in a variety of colours. Blue, Green, Purple, Yellow red and  Opaque Resin . When I bought these at a show they had literally just sold all the blue to the guy in front of me so I went for the purple instead.  The bases are the same resin as well but I just went for a simple desert yellow with some static grass. Nothing fancy or clever but better than leaving the bases purple!

These are the small Crystals on the left and the medium crystals on the right.  From both the front and the back.  In retrospect I should have put a figure in so you can judge the scale. But the small one is about 1 1/2 inches across and 1 1/2 Inches tall.  So plenty big enough for space marines to hide behind. Having said space marines I will probably go down a scale and use 15mm troops.

Talking of 15mm troops I will not be posting for a few days as I am about to start a new force and am prepping them at the moment.

All the best from a dull overcast and now raining Kent!

Cheers Clint

Not a power loader finished!

As mentioned in my previous post this is not a power-loader from Aliens. But It does have some resemblances.
Enough resemblances for me to want to use it as both a 28 (or 25) mm miniature and also a 15mm miniature. Hold yor horses there is a scale comparison at the end I promise!

Obviously I went for the fork lift arm version although GZG do make a couple of other versions. But the fork lift seemed a better fit for any 28mm shenanigans that I may have tucked away in the back of my mind.  (And there are some).

I painted direction indicators on both the front and the back of the legs and hazard lights as well. The vehicle is supposed to be civilian so I had no issue doing that to make it look road legal!

Likewise I went for yellow colouring as most Industrial building plant is painted yellow and I though it might make it look a little more civilian and besides the power loader in Aliens is also yellow! I went for a pale yellow and dirtied up the feet and the legs and also the engine on the back, just to make it more "Lived in" and not straight off of the factory production line.

Overall I am happy with the result and will now move onto something else. But for now I am just basking in the joy o getting it finished as it did take longer to paint than I first though it would.

The model, a foundry 28mm street violence figure
and a battlefront 15mm Modern Russian,
All just to show size comparison.

As you can see despite the model being designed and built for 15mm there is enough room for a 28mm to sit behind the  roll cage and operate the machine. So totally usable in a variety of scales and I hope to use it in 2 scales at least. But probably NOT 1/300thscale SCI FI.... but you never know!

Thank you for looking today and I hope to do some more 15mm sci fi this week as I have another force to get together. After that perhaps back to 28mm figures for Matt.


Cheers Guys, all the best Clint.

Not a Power Loader from ALIENS.

While at the club yesterday |I played a board game so no Photos of that.

So here instead is a model I purchased at Salute 2015 from GZG (John Tuffley) It is Mec -02 (Link to GZG shop ) and costs £12 plus postage.  It is the closest thing I could find to an Aliens Power loader. Now I did put of building it for over a year as there were no instructions AND I had NO immediate use for it. I currently do have a use for it though so it was about time I got it started.

So Today It is a how to assemble a suitable model for a power loader. Simply because I had to figure it all out myself and I can imagine someone getting stuck.

All the pieces cam in 2 resealable bags
There are NO instructions

 

Stage 1 is to lay all the pieces out and make sure they are all there.
There was no list of contents
 

Keeping the arm pieces that came in 1 of the bags separate
I layed out the other pieces.
I started with the torso and worked
out from there

Each foot came in 3 pieces
And were assembled as above.

Once a foot is built,then build a leg.
One thing to remember is that the legs
are not the same, there is a left and right.
Very minor diference but make sure
the Bulge goes on the outside at the "ANKLE!"
 

Then attache the hip.
In the Photo you can see the bulge on the right of the leg.
Having 2 Bulges together at the ankles would impede movement
on a finished walker and make the model
more awkward.

The Torso comes in 3 pieces,
The centre Torso the Front (I went for the open cage effectand a rear section
with an engine. You have a choice of fronts and a choice of backs

On one leg I arched the foot so as to give it a
slightly bent leg as if it was just about to take a step.

I then attached the Torso
And glued the upper arm to the shoulder joint

The fore arm was then glued to the upper arm and an elbow created.
Kindly note the "Forks" are not glued and are in fact upside down.
You want the flat surfaces to face each other.

Shoulders and upper arms attached to torso.
There is a lot of positions you can put them in so
find one you are happy with before applying any gule

The forks are now facing each other and both arms age glued together.
I deliberately placed the forks DIFFERENT distances apart as
I realised that if I made them the same but got it wrong people would notice.

Two additions to place on the torso.
Holes are present (mine did need a little cleaning out) but the
Order you place them is up to you. Or even to place them at all.
 

Finished assembly from the front.

Finished assembly from the rear.

And also from the side.

At the end of the build I had 2 pieces left over.
1 is an alternative engine.
1 is an alternative cabin.

 

Overall it was an enjoyable build and it will go to paint in a few days. The difficulty comes from a lack of instructions but given time and patience you will overcome that and work out where everything goes. (I managed it after all). While the model is supposed to be 15mm wargames scale I intend to use it for 25mm (and maybe 28mm) so sometimes a change of scale will work just as well.

It is not an exact copy of the ICONIC Aliens Power Loader but for me is close enough.

Thanks for looking today and with luck I will start to splash some paint on this and have it ready soon.

All the best Clint

A gift!

No Not for you!

The Figure is a Black Scorpion Miniature fantasy female Pirate. First on a slotta base and then on a wooden base. The base did come all black, but it looked heavy so I added a blue stripe around it as the figure did look too sombre for my liking.

being a resin cast I was not sure about painting it but it is now the 5th one I have painted in this material so I am gaining confidence!

As with all Black Scorpion figures it is a very nice sculpt but as always I did struggle to get the colours how I wanted them. The Coat for example started as a red coat, then went green before finally being painted again in blue.

Overall I am happy enough with the figure. Parts like the feather in the hat came out very well first time. But the face was a struggle as trying to get a brush under the hat with my level of dexterity was shall we say "interesting".

Still enough of me complaining about the painting. I hope you like the figure and I hope the recipient (NOT A BLOGGER does as well).































I also found near the bottom of one of the smaller Lead piles 2 Drinks machines by "Ainsty Castings" so while in the mood I slapped some paint on these as well.

Not the most challenging items but painted none the less. We have a "Coke" Vending machine and a "Water Cooler" Both for 28mm games and no doubt in the future both will be used but no plans for them just yet. But we both know having them painted does increase the chance of getting them on the table!

And that's it for Today another post on Monday. Thanks for looking and catch you all later!

Cold War US M113

The Start of my US Forces: A 15mm Peter Pig Resin destroyed M113. The model can be found in the Vietnam range and costs £4. (Plus Postage unless you buy at shows.) Because it is in the Vietnam range the foliage and undergrowth are more tropical than I would expect in Europe out side some botanical gardens.  But Once you get over that hurdle the model is a joy. And if you do want a tropical  setting what else could be better.

I on the other hand do not want a tropical setting for my cold war wargames. which is why I have painted it in a snow camouflage. Well as I am calling this a Cold war Project I thought to paint it snowy.

The scenarios will not actually be based in Europe but in Alaska! Alaska did at one stage "Belong" to Russia, but was sold to the USA by a Tsar.

My Basic thinking for the games is to have the Russians take it back! This gives me all the cold war drama but without having to build European battle boards and terrain. I will go into the full details at a later date, but needless to say I will make both forces seem like they have a reasonable excuse to fight in this wilderness. It may be things like a mistake in the translation of the original agreement that is misinterpreted. Not so very important to wargames but it does give me a new setting for Cold war wargaming!

Anyway thanks for looking today and if you live in The UK do not forget to vote! Vote which ever way your heart/soul/mind decides. All the best Clint

VBCW Womens Auxillery Bren Gun Team.

Well I think the title says it all really. I am not sure who makes the figures but suspect it is footsore miniatures. But whoever made them they did a really good job.

The flag is by Solway though if that makes any difference.

The only issue with the Bren team is that the bren gun had no rest and if any of you have ever lifted one you will agree they are not light! Matt did want it resting on a barrel (shown last time) but it just did not feel right so I did the sensible thing and decided to have it rest on a wall, or fence, which actually ended up as a tree!  Not my ideal choice, but it did work out OK.

The Ladies all have a yellow motif, in either dresses or neck scarfs as I did not want to paint them red or light blue and green when I tried it did not look right. So I settled on Yellow which is consistent and looks in my opinion right and yet is not so glaringly obvious as to stand out too much.

Matt wanted the socialist flag with them (he supplied the flag and converted the figure to hold it. So who was I to disagree with his choice. Because of the Black one might have thought it was an anarchist flag but the first word is "Socialist" so politically one has to assume these are more to the left.


Overall nice figures and a joy to paint. I will show my latest moderns in 2 days time as it was finished over the weekend and I am now working on an assortment of things. Hoping to have them ready by Saturday.

That's it for today I have to get out of the house now and get some work done!

Cheers Clint

THE VBCW BROADSIDE game!

Firstly sorry it has taken a week,. Secondly I may have gotten some of the facts wrong as while at the show I was both distracted by the lovely traders and members of the public and yes even some of the games and a few bloggers. But everyone was lovely and I regret no distractions.

The game was very similar to a practice game (Link ) but with a couple of differences, Most importantly the card activation was alternative forces which meant I was not forced to move a tank only twice in a game when the enemy were able to move one of their tanks 6 times and fire 3 time to my ZERO ) which did make it seem a lot fairer, I know It was just bad luck that made that happen BUT being on the receiving end of such bad luck was not pleasant. Also this time it was both Graham (who needed to leave early) and Tim against me on my own, I had Peter  last time which is always nice even if I do consider him reckless at times and I am sure he finds me cautious at time)

So On with the game and this time I "Knew" how the rules worked... OK I did not know them but I did have a clue This time (as did the other players.)

And Matt who ran and supplied the game did a great job!

My troops begin to arrive and move up the board. My objective being the pub at the end of the road (No one say, "Just like real life!")

 As we arrive I deploy as best as I am able. A long way short of my objective as I found the Battle-taxi's slightly too fragile last time!

 The Boys Antitank unit had been upgraded to Veteran status and were so much better this game. First hitting and casusing a morale check that pinned the enemy medium tank to stay in place and not shoot for a turn. I did fire everything I could at the enemy tank even things I knew would not penetrate in the hope of a second morale check. But no need as the Boys fired again this time for a kill shot and the crew bailed out! (well most of them)

 the Antitank gun had no targets so elected to fire at the BUF Battle-taxis with limited success.

Elsewhere on the board some Anglican league fellows left the church and uncontrolled by me started taking and returning fire on my left flank. They all died within 2 turns gunned down by the BUF and I only became aware of them and tried to support them with a light tank in the second turn.

 The Tank never quite reached them and had to withdraw once they were dead or be out flanked by a horde of infantry. (seen on the left of this Picture)
My Infantry were lorried forward and it turns out the random  event was that my army had caught a severe cold and I had to loose a figure each turn to illness from now on.  Random events were a LOT kinder to me in this game than in the previous one, but Tim did seem to get of lightly as the only random event I recall was a light shower which had no effect on the game.


 Along with the Anglican league a wandering band of Morris dancers turned up. Having just sat down from a quick shop at Colonel Bills I was aware they were not mine so gleefully opened up and inflicted 2 casualties. Graham played in his absence.

 More and More Fascists arrive behind the Pub (theoretically my objective but I was going no where near it,) Including a Heavy MG which set up on the top floor. My troops in the centre field took a beating from that gun as it was a short range and they only had a hedge to hide behind.

 Tim got back to the table after a LONGER walk (about 3/4 of an hour) realised that the Morris men were not his and let loose and after 3 turns on the table not a single  Morris man was alive. Like the Anglican league they acted as a good cushion for my troops and really were BULLET Magnets!

Overall a much better game and It did look spectacular on the table and had many pleasing comments from the public. Some of whom had not seen a VBCW game before and were interested in the background and setting, so maybe a couple more players converted to the cause.





The show ended before a game result was achieved but my troops in the field did not fair well and a unit of 12 was still passing morale checks when just 3 survived! 

From my point of view a good game at a good show and a good result.

Thanks for reading today. If you have sun where you are enjoy that this Sunday and if you have rain stay in doors and paint like billie-OH!

Cheers Clint (Warm but overcast here in Kent today). Another post on Tuesday>>>