Gasbag (zepelin 2)

Yes I know my work bench needs a tidy.

It takes a while and it goes a long time through what I call "The NASTY stage". By that I mean a time of construction where you think it will not get better and it is worth scrapping it! BUT rest assured I shall continue.

At present I am only working on the gas bag. Yes it is not historically accurate. It is a model for wargames and not for a museum. So Who cares?

the basic shape

At this stage I have given it 3 layers of paint/glue and tissue to build up the skin. It is too big to paint in one go for It has to be done in layers.  At present I am repainting with a mixture of paint an glue not settled on a colour just yet but I am hoping/planning a dirty beige!

All I care about at this stage is the look and while I realise a 3 year old would destroy it in second I am hopeful (but only just) that it will be strong enough for wargamers.  I plan for it to have 2 or preferably 3 more coats of paint and glue. By which time it may be strong enough. Which of course mean not even close to strong enough.

Rear end (so far)

The read is always awkward. And being as it has 5 lumps maybe doubly so. Fins, rudder and ailerons need to be added at the next stage and will be discussed then. So at this stage not really to much more to say mostly it is do 15 mins work and return the following day. With luck I should have more to talk about next Zeppelin update.

Until then paint  and blog if you can and I shall get more out next time..

All the best Clint

Just a very brief post today, as most things are drying.

I have managed to finish 2 of these figures. They are 15mm Alternative armies and to make the unit complete and finish. Just 2 cavalry I am afraid. But they add to the unit command and as such round the whole unit out.

I am still a long way from finishing the army. well not such a long way really. That aside it does finish another unit. Strictly speaking it should have a letter A-I on the flag. (J was used for John troop which was usually a recruiting troop so the troops were not fully trained! Or so I am led to believe, but take that with a pinch of salt as it is only what I have been told so may not be true at all.

As yet I have not decided if they will be 10th or 9th cavalry. Both of which were (I believe) called "Buffalo soldiers" by the Indians and both (again so I am told) had white officers!

I do have another small unit started so they will be along soon.


Complete Unit

 ELSEWHERE:

Ok the airship/zeppelin is currently drying and with luck I shall get another coat on this afternoon and allow it to dry overnight. Expect me to be saying that a lot!

6mm Cold war. been buying but not painting but expect that to change very soon. Once post arrives.



Pulp Zepplin (1)

Additional Stretch goals

I had a sleepless night last night. (Not though choice I hasten to add!) As such I did some thinking. (Yes it  did hurt and I am sick of listening to the worlds smallest violin before you ask!) Anyway Long story short. I had an email from Karl at Crooked Dice to let me know that my Kickstarter should be ready to ship in a week or 2. As all the stretch goals are now finished and delivered to his home.

Starting Point

Anyway as I wanted to build a "PULP" board any way I decided to start. And what is more Pulp than an Airship!?  What a Zeppelin? Who in their right mind build a Zeppelin? The answer is NO ONE! But I thought it was worth a try anyway! I decided it would not be all that large, So swigging down the Pepsi I figured 2 2 litre bottles would make a good enough "hull" (I am sure that HULL is the wrong word but until I think of it HULL will do!)


 Needed a nose of some description. So I simply cut a pimg pong ball in half! I am sure there is a better option but I just went with what I had! As with the hull I am sure there is a MUCH better option but I could not wait for that. I NEEDED to crack on!








So using some UHU general addehisive I stuck 2 Pepsi bottles together.  At this stage I have no idea if it will work but am hopeful! It is now about 3 foot long. Judging that to be sufficient I stopped there. At this stage it is all pretty rough but with scissors glue a scalpel and a saw I am not overwhelmed! (That comes tomorrow!).

This afternoon allowing PLENTY of time to dry I shall give it a skin. I ran to the local store (A tescos as it happens) and bought some cheap Kitchen towel. So I will detail my endevours later on maybe Sunday.

Now while I wait for this afternoon to arrive and me to get a little more spare time I have some questions about Zeppelins. I promise not hard ones.

Firstly the engines and bomb rack will be external to the gondola! But what else would you like to see in the gondola.  I shall put a cockpit and Matt has suggested some machineguns. But what else is needed bearing in mind it shall be quite small? Please add serious ideas to the comments and I will see what I can manage!

COLD WAR WARGAMING.
As mentioned last time I plan some cold war wargaming. With a bit of tidying up I have a modular desert board. So it makes sense to me to work in a middle east setting. I shall say no more until I get the basics done. But remember you heard it here first! Or forget all about it if you choose.

Oppps i did it again!

NO not a song but feel free to hum it while you read!

Okay the problem. Myself and the club has a LOT of 6mm Cold War era stuff. (mostly Vehicles) that we do not use. So what I am proposing is not a new idea. Very simply it is using these rules (yes I know I like Challenger!!) and swapping scale. Very simply this will allow almost All the club members to participate. Even those player with nothing! If you have nothing you will be lent enough to get you started, although probably a company or two and NOT what you want!

That said I think there is enough Soviet/American and British stuff that can be used that has been "donated" to the club in the past. But if you want something quite obscure you will be on tour own.

The idea is that eventually and this is a LONG way down the road we have enough to play "The Zone!". That may not actually happen But the Idea is there. The next stage is to read the rules and pick a setting! Yes a setting. That will depend on what players want! They may want West Germany (Fudal Gap) Which is the classic Cold war/ Zone setting but  they may well want Canada/Alaska (Shortest route) or even Arab Isreali wars. Only time will tell. And to some extent I shall leave it to them.

Until next time all the best Clint.
Post script: I am supposed to be painting some of my figures but it went wrong. So if I can pull it back they may be next time or the time after.

Three little (well big actually) robot walkers

I have waited for the Salute hubbub to die down. It will not be out of everyone's minds yet, nor would I wish
 
it to be. Personally I am in a wargames limbo at the moment  with lots started and little finished and absolutely NO desire to paint at all.

So I selected 2 old models and painted them for my 15mm sci fi Alien force. While 3 are in the pics the one on the left was already painted and has been seen on the blog before.

These are Brigade Models (LINK) old 15mm figures. So old They no longer have them on the web site. Yeah well forget that as I have some! And am determined to paint them.  So I have 3 of these now and they are actually an easy paint! (Yippee!)

Elsewhere on the painting table I have some 28mm "Wild west" figures. Which I really do need to get done. AND some 15mm US cavalry that I really do need to get done. So those 2 projects are in the works! I shall most likely do the 28mm Wild west next as they are most of the way done. But be warned I may just skip back to 15mm Sci Fi, It's the kind of logic I have at the moment! Or just to be perverse some 1980's 6mm figs that I am umming and ahrring about. You are warned.

Until then all the best  Clint

Sci fi heavy weapons 15mm

Just a quick post of the Astragar heavy weapons. They are of course 15mm Critical Mass Games . At present I have just 1 of these my dilemma (although dilemma is far to dramatic word) is Do I a] have one with each squad or b] have them as separate things. I do have enough APCs to do either so that is not an issue.  It is just that I have an option in the "gruntz" rules and have no idea what will be best. Squad support or a weapons Squad. There are advantages to both approaches. and also drawbacks. Finally I could do both! Doing both seems wrong but I just do not know at this stage.

If you play "Gruntz" and actually know what plays best I would be delighted to know. If you don't play "Gruntz!" (probably most of you still feel free to comment and I shall take it from their.

Finally started some more 15mm vehicles so with luck the next post will be on Sunday.


Until then take care and paint if you get the chance. All the Best Clint

The Hills are alive!

Firstly a repaint. If I knew  what I was doing a re-paint would not be nessercary as I would have bought the right thing to begin with!

Back in February I purchased these 2 hills from "the Scene" in a desert colour! Why desert well I was going to do western desert PBI (by Peter Pig). All that has gone out of the window so these have now been re-painted. They will still remain for PBI but now I am concentrating on the Pacific! (Both 14th (forgotten) army as well as Japanese and American.) As the Pacific islands tend to have "shallow" hills and not steep ones (yes I know there are exceptions) re-painting seemed to be an obvious step.

So now 2 re-purposed hills ready for action. Which is all good as far as I am concerned.




Ok now for the pre-salute orders.  Firstly the Crooked Dice kickstarter has finished. So with luck I shall have those before the end of the year. This is very likely and I can start the new year with some "!Pulp" shenanigans! At this stage I am most keen on the monkey idol scenery piece! I am already looking to use that 2 years hence so the chances are we will all have forgotten about it by then.

Elsewhere my Alternative armies Order has arrived so I can sort out my Peter Pig cavalry army for "Wild west!" As mentioned  previously I am doing 9th or 10th Cavalry AKA Buffalo Soldiers. I really think this would be a grand Ammerican TV series as they fought bravely and are often (at least in the UK) overlooked.

Not going to Salute

Yep that's right I am not going to "Salute" show this year. It is just TOO big and TOO expensive. As has become my practice I have made 2 (so far) "NOT GOING TO SALUTE!" orders over the weekend.


Order 1 :

Yes I caved! I caved in and succumbed! Yes I am weak and I have pledged to this Kickstarter. ( LINK ) I only went for the "Heroes" option. as I have more of a use for them. I did look at the Villains very closely but as there was only 3 I would (at this point) use I dismissed it. MAybe in the future I will get the 3 I want from these selection. maybe I will  not.

Most importantly I am also going to get the "stretch goals!"  So for the price of £22 (plus postage) I should get the Heroes and the stretch goals. And to be honest the stretch goals are more to my liking at present than the figures.

Yes I am an awkward cuss!" At present the Ark of the covenant is not in the stretch goals but maybe by the time it closes it will be. (Fingers Crossed).  We  all like a few stretch goals!



Order 2:
As "alternative Armies" was having a sale I splurged and ordered some figures.  ( LINK ) Not a huge order but (I hope) enough 15mm US cavalry to finish an army! We both know that I will still buy some more at a later date. But this should be enough for my 9th or 10th US CAVALRY "Buffalo soldiers!" yes I could have done 7th Cavalry as seen as famous in the films but these are more interesting.

END NOTE
Sorry it is only talking today. I have had a step back and rethink on a project. Enough of a re-think to make me start again but using some existing items.

Ad a special thanks to Ray for getting me back in touch with an old friend. Not that they are old but we had lost touch over the last 23 years. So thanks again Ray I appreciate it!

If 5 are good surely 10 is better?

Year it's a long way of saying I have made 5 more smoke clods. Bringing the total to 10. This I think is enough for now.

4 may be used in PBI if an off board strike is called for either in a 2x2 block or in a row of 4 (NO DIAGONALS) wither as a row or as a column. Then a roll for deviation of each piece. They tend not to move much. But expect 1 in 4 to move. (Roughly).

If being used by on board guns (or tanks) a single square is affected. That being the case you can only have 1 off board asset a turn and on board gun (or tanks) tend to use HE in our games as they would tend to cause the most casualties!
Yeah we tend to be bloodthirsty!

Therefore 10 I think is the right number as they do tend to disappear over time. So that for now is job done on the cloud markers.

All the best Clint

Smoke gets in your eyes. (and WIP)

Ok these were made for Peter Pigs PBI rules. That said  there is no reason not to think they could and will not be used for other rules. However I wanted something a little "better" than cotton wool. I know most of you will use cotton wool without issue But I wanted something different.

Therefore I created 5 smoke clouds. (5 more are started and 10 should be enough for me!). They were simple to do just "clump foliage" then sprayed white (3 coats) and then the bases painted and they are good to go. I must  say I am very happy with them. You only need 1 in a PBI square to represent the whole square being filled with smoke so they are indicators only and not realistically modelled terrain. I am  sure you shall do better on your own with a little thought.

 Aztec farm (2) WIP

 As you can see I have started the second part of my sci fi farm. So I HOPE  to get that finished in the week. More details when I do. Please don't try to hold your breathe it is still several days away at the very earliest.

Donner vehicle ! WIP

Yes more WIP, and this is a while off so really don't try to hold your breath (that would be a very bad idea! Continuing my dieselpunk obsession I wave started a donner vehicle. All I have done so far is break things up. Ok saw things but you get the idea! On this model (thanks eBay) I need to rebuild the radiator and the headlights. remove (that's done) the side wheels and rebuild the running boards. And then either rebuild the rain cover or rebuild the back seat not sure yet and add some MGs and some other bits and bobs, like maybe a new hood ornament.

So expect this to take weeks and not days to do. The chances are I  shall get bored and throw it away before I finish so PLEASE don't suggest anything to do with this car. But at the very least you know it is a live project.

That's all for now folks have a good Sunday and try not to get too much done or I shall be disappointed in myself.

All the best Clint.

2nd squad

 Yes here are my 2nd squad of Snake-men. (AKA Atragar) The vehicle comes from Brigade Games but is currently not available (unless you talk VERY nicely to the guys at a show! Bringing Cake helps!!!) While the Snake men are from Critical Mass and are actually "Astragar" should you  go looking for them.

As mentioned this is my 2nd squad and 2nd Vehicle (I have 1 more to do) so expect them next month most likely. But do not hold your breathe!

I have yet to sort out stats for them and the vehicles as I have been busy. I do have a heavy weapon team as well (currently undercoated but no further) I am tring to decide if they belong at squad level or as a separate support section. I'll let you know when (if ever) I decide. IF I decide on squad level I shall need to buy 2 more.

Elsewhere I am working on a couple of things which I hope to show next week. Some historical and some (like part 2 of Aztec Fram) sci fi!

As you see slowly I am getting it all done. (OK very slowly)

Until next time take car, have fun and paint if you can. All the best Clint

Skirmish battle

At the skirmish show we were asked to put on a Sudan game. Everything was left up to Tim. He supplied the figures and the terrain and using the "Men who would be Kings rules by Osprey. I happened to notice they were used by some other clubs as well.

The battle we fought was a combination of two historic battles. With British against the Egyptians. In History Britain won both battles so could the beefed up Egyptians do any better this time?

Graham and Peter had the Egyptians while Gar and myself had the British. (Well at least 1/2 my troops were Indians from the Indian Division!

All photos were taken from my seat so a very limited point of photo view!

 

The Indian Division close to (my best troops)
 headed down the rail track to try to catch the train.
My Other division was to tackle the redoubts.
Gary was to take the redoubts on the far side of the table.

As Graham moved most of his troops up from the town.
I used  the trees as cover and brought fire on the closest redoubt.
Meanwhile as I looked around the show Another club member took control of my forces.
The result was a wild unsupported charge by my cavalry.
I can't say I would have done very much different as the cavalry did wipe out a unit of Egyptian infantry.
It is the kind of rashness  that left them exposed and pinned down under  the Egyptian Infantry riles.
Needless to say they all died in 3 or so turns.

Unable to pull the cavalry back I advanced with all the infantry.
Despite losses I did take a major redoubt and did force the
Egyptians back into a no mans land.
Gary was likewise doing the same and although he lost some marines
I had lost cavalry so was not in any position to feel smug.

He game ended as a slight British Victory.
We had taken 4 of the 6 Redoubts so we were equal on victory points with the Egyptians.
We had failed to take the train and the Egyptians still held 2 redoubts but were not in a fit stare to carry on.
If time and effort and energy had continued, but the show was packing up,
I have no doubt te British would have had a decisive victory. But time was up and we achieved what we achieved in the time.

Conclusion: Hard to finish a game at a show unless it is a skirmish game. But I suspect "Her majesty" would have approved as no awful reports of a British massacre reached "the times!" To make this a very competitive game though the Egyptians should have been given more Omph or at least more reinforcements. But 20/20 hindsight is a marvellous thing.