Wargaming Week 27/07/2020

Posted on by Michael Charge

It’s a new week, time for a new update!

Not much hobby done as I spent a chunk of last week fixing the website again. I wrote a little bit about what has been changed up on my Twitter (and warning about what I think caused them). Fingers crossed this is the last time we’ll have this issue.

NEWS

Brigade Games are running a new Kickstarter that is perfect for anyone working on some action in South or Central America. Drug War Z is all about some zombie fighting action, but the figures could very easily be used for more regular missions. I’m definitely a fan of the Policia guys – this style of uniformed but less well equipped figure has plenty of uses.

UPDATES

The White Dragon Mastiff arrived! As you can see this is a lovely piece of kit (if a little delicate) and I’m already enjoying building it. It uses the White Dragon design of a hollow two piece design, much lighter than any similar. I’ve got my concerns about the scale (it’s 1/56 rather than my preferred 1/50) but we’ll see once I’ve assembled it.

Seeing as I love resin, I also ordered a Technical Charlie from Spectre (just to sate the completionist in me). Seeing as it arrived the next day (the joy of living back in England), I managed to crack it out and take a look. A full impression is coming but from a quick look it’s some wonderful Spectre design, with only minimal cleanup. The downside to it is that the rear cargo bay is fractionally smaller than the other technicals, so my modular weapons templates don’t work on it. Some work may be required…

Another element from Spectre was a very lucky ebay purchase. Thanks to a heads up from a friend, I managed to snag a pack of African militia I had been mostly missing from my Spectre collection. This was the support weapon pack for the Militia – an UZI carrying fighter, a well dressed man with a shotgun, a marksman with a Lee Enfield and an LMG gunner with a Bren gun. These figures have had some of the fine detail knocked off (as you might expect from a second hand figure) but still I’m very glad to own them.

A couple of years ago I made up this bingo chart to compare my collection against the releases from the original kickstarter. Since then, I’ve picked up a few more figures, either through Spectre re-releases (such as the Technical Charlie or the Warlord) or through ebay. As you can see, I’m slowly clawing my way to 100%. I’ll admit, the only figures I’m desperate for are the original PKM for the technical and the missing two figures from the Witch Doctor pack -The Bulletproof Militia and the sapeurs are perhaps a little too extravagant for my tastes – the African guys I’m focusing on will be much more focused on East Africa, far away from the cultures that the militia were originally inspired by. However, I’m kind of happy to be in the single digits for missing items

Finally, and on a more practical/civilised note, I finally got myself a dice tower. I’ve been wanting one for ages but never spotted the design I quite liked. But, while picking up the Infamy Infamy PDF (no intention of playing it but I like reading the Too Fat Lardies rules), I spotted their version of the Warbases design. It’s a great setup and I especially like the green baise surface on the top. Assembly was fun to work out and I have to admit, it is the most satisfying way to roll dice.

That’s it for this update, expect more updates next week!

Wargaming Week 19/07/2020

Posted on by Michael Charge

Another week, another update.

You might have noticed some more posts are missing images. Looks like the gremlins have got back into the system and something is removing files from my uploads folder – the price of running a blog install for 10+ years. I’m going to spend some time hunting through it, making sure to get everything fixed up. So there may be some downtime over the next few days.

NEWS

White Dragon Miniatures are releasing their Mastiff! It’s finally up for pre-order and by the time you read this will be available to purchase at it’s full price. I’m really excited to pick this vheicle up – the mix of WDM’s vehicle production (resin but hollow to save on weight) and the bar armour should make it a lovely kit to build and use. More details when it arrives!

Footsore Miniatures have released the first of their Modern range in the UK. If you’ve followed SASM, then you’ll recognise them as the most recent sets of figure releases – vehicles and older figures will be following soon. I’m really interested in looking at them but the price is giving me pause.

It is quite a lot of money – the SBS set of six figures is over £30 for 5 figures (and a dog). It works out cheaper than ordering them from the US (and you have less concerns about them going missing in the post) but its far too expensive for me to justify sadly.

UPDATES

SITREP: US Marines FIreteam 3 Pt. 2

This week was mainly finishing off the last fireteam in my US Marine infantry squad. It took longer than planned but honestly I’m just grinding away at it all. I am happy about how they are turning out though – the USMC have been sat for far too long.

As mentioned in the article above, the next set is going to be the SMAW launchers for the USMC. I’m looking forward to these guys, and the urge to get them on the tabletop is increasing. Maybe I need to do some terrain for them to bust first?

That’s it for this update, expect more updates next week!

SITREP: US Marines Fireteam 3 Pt. 2

Posted on by Michael Charge

Spending an evening watching films (Greyhound) I did the last few bits of camo and then finished off these four guys. They have turned out a little bit lighter than usual, although not different enough to be a concern. However, I feel happy spending a little extra time to finish them off, and they look pretty good alongside the other ones on my shelf.

This guy was perhaps the most interesting one to do. His helmet was the original test piece I did until I repainted it. Other things to mention was the mags on his chest (rather than the pouches most of the other figures have) and the water line running over his shoulder. Painting these up in the right colours really makes him look better, rather than just tan – perfect for a squad leader.

I also tried painting him up as an African American. Out of all the Marines I’ve painted so far, none of them have been black. So I thought it was time to make the group slightly more diverse. I’m still learning how to paint it – my current recipe is Burnt Umber, drybrush Beige Brown, highlight Beige Brown and then Agrax. I’m probably going to paint a few more using this technique.

Well with three fireteams done and an NCO to lead them, I’ve got myself a USMC squad. This, of course, means it’s time to break out the fun stuff. And seeing as I’ve been re-reading some Terminal Lance (and with his next book coming out end of the month), it’s time to paint up some Assaultmen with SMAWs.

Wargaming Week 13/07/2020

Posted on by Michael Charge

Another week, another update.

SITREP: US Marines Fireteam 3 Pt. 1

Managed to get some time aside to start painting four more US Marines. I was going to try and get more done this weekend but it was one of those weekends where the motivation dives into the toilet.

NEWS

Flytrap Factory are working on some cool 3D models of SIG assault rifles that might be part of a possible new range from them. Flytrap has done some cool modern figures in the past as tests for possible clients (in a scale that matches other modern brands) so seeing what they might come up with is rather exciting.

UPDATES

So not strictly hobby but I managed to watch the Outpost this week thanks to some VPN shenanigans. Seeing as it’s based on the same events as one of my favourite books (Red Platoon), it’s very interesting to see them from a different point of view. Overall, I think it’s a rather well done film – they merge some facts together, tweak a few details but it’s mostly on track. As for the film itself, the script isn’t the best but it’s serviceable and, more importantly, the action is what really ties it all together.

That’s it for this update, expect more updates next week!

SITREP: US Marines Fireteam 3 Pt. 1

Posted on by Michael Charge

A very WIP in post – this was the work from my Twitch stream on Wedneday night – fixing up the base colours, getting some details on and the first stage of the camo. It was a nice chill time painting and chatting, especially as I got to talk about some of my rules writing plans.

I’m aiming to finish these guys off later this week, so expect another SITREP then!

Wargaming Week 06/07/2020

Posted on by Michael Charge

Time for a new update! Not much in hobby news so today is mostly a news post.

NEWS

Empress are continuing their work to bring all the HLBS vehicles in house. This week sees two interesting vehicles for the Brits – the Warthog and Viking. These AFVs are perfect for fighting in Afghanistan, as well as any kind of amphibious operation you might want to try them in.

Empress has also been working on some new ranges – the previously mentioned BAOR release has now been preivewed. They look pretty good – I can definitely see people picking them up for the Cold War/Falklands era (as Empress is planning Russian Paratrooper and Argentinean ranges). They also look a good fit to go against the figures from Under Fire Miniatures (such as their Soviets and East Germans).

Finally from Empress – the PBR boat is now in stock. So if you’re wanting some Vietnam shenanigans, this is a great place to start.

White Dragon Miniatures are one step closer to releasing their upcoming Mastiff MRAP model. As you can see, it’s now been painted up and had the bar armour mounted. I think it’s looking rather cool and I honestly can’t wait for their release.

Finally, Skirmish Sangin lives! After the death of the forum, Skirmish Sangin related talk has now moved to this group on Facebook. It’s slowly coming back into action and also includes mention of a Version 2 of Skirmish Sangin. I’m very interested in seeing how this come about – even from the teases so far it looks like a slightly slimmer/faster game without losing that detail that I particularly liked. More details coming soon.

UPDATES

No updates on hobby news today – work consumed most of my time last week while any free time was spent either playing Modern Warfare or (more importantly) fixing this website and giving it a good clean. About 10GB of unused files were clogging up my hosting, as well as several broken posts. However, all this should now be fixed!

That’s it for this update, expect more updates next week!

Wargaming Week – 29/06/2020

Posted on by Michael Charge

Hi all – this is not a proper wargaming week. Due to a few issues with the site, I ended up spending my blogging time trying to fix some legacy issues (such as missing images which seem to have evaporated). Work is on-going so you may see some odd behaviour on the site. Effectively there is going to be a long-overdue overhaul so the site might change it’s look as I investigate any possible new themes.

But more on topic, I’m setting up a tiny skirmish game to try out my own rules (once I finish writing them). Using the new Geek Villian mat and my downed C130, I think this could be a fun little skirmish between two groups of Special Forces operators.

Also, the danger of spending all day working at the same desk I paint at is that it’s covered in things to distract while I watch code build. Combining turrets is always fun so I ended up doing this. Maybe I need a second Gage Commando where I widen the turret ring to fit the Humvee turrets OR I should assemble some kind of adapter. Either way, I thought this looked cool

SITREP: Dark Eldar Archon

Posted on by Michael Charge

Warhammer 40,000 is one of those worlds and settings I really love. However, being a lore fan, I find the dissonance between the actual game and the lore to be so much that I’ve never really got into collecting a full sized army. However, collecting the occasional model has always been fun – for all of Games Workshop’s fault, they do on occasion make some rather fantastic models. For this reason, I’ve bought a fair few, normally then tweaking them to look cool rather than technically useful for the tabletop.

I have a soft spot for the Dark Eldar, the piratical murderous elves that live in their city in the webway. They appear in the fiction as everything from “the terror in the night” to “moustache-twirling villain”. So as things happen, you start thinking up ideas and then suddenly Mi’kael Drakonis, Archon of the Ascending Spear was born.

The Archon available from GW, while cool, is a little limited – a shame seeing as in the lore, Dark Eldar leaders seem to have a huge variety in their exact gear and appearance (hard not to when you raid and pillage everyone else). Out of the Dark Eldar, I really love the Incubi – the totally not Aspect Warriors that act as the best bodyguard for an Archon to hire if they want to stay alive. In my concept, I decided to use the Incubi model (with their cool armour, trophy racks and brutal klaive) for my Archon, seeing him as a former Incubus returned home to rule his family’s Kabal. But no mere troop model would be suitable – Drazhar (a special character) seem much more appropriate, with a dynamic pose atop Eldar ruins.

In terms of tweaks, I got to work. The first part was removing the chain of soulstones around Drazhar’s neck. I think they look a little much, almost too much detail. This just meant I had to trim the chain away, leaking the shoulder pieces with less support. I also replaced his head with one from the Kabalite box (you need the bare head to show he’s a leader). Finally from the front, I removed the blade in his right hand and turned it into a pointing gesture. This makes him look more commander-y (if we obey the Games Workshop rules) while also being perfect for claiming that a rival’s soul is yours. In terms of assembling it, the finger is actually just an offcut of plastic I found while working on some models. I could have attempted to green stuff it, but this method was much faster and will look fine once painted up

Moving to the back, you see two tweaks. The most obvious is the sword. After trimming it down to only one sword, the model… lacked something. However, one of my writing buddies while talking about Dark Eldar came up with this alternative setup for a double klaive. It may look a little over the top but the idea of it being a weapon that is dangerous to use sounds Dark Eldar as heck. It also gives the model a little weight – the Archon has swung his blade and is now calling out his next target.

The other part is the cape. I was going to green stuff this, but then realised that Anvil Industry has plenty of glorious capes to use. To attach it, I trimmed off the pair of trophies at the bottom and then glues the dynamic cape into place. I need to do a touch more greenstuff to blend the edges but I’m happy with it.

So that’s the first update on the Dark Eldar project. I’m really happy with how he looks, a glorious leader that would be a nice centre point of a small Dark Eldar collection (currently made up of Incubi, Kabalites and Scourges

Next step (after finishing the green stuff) will be to get it undercoated. And as a first, I’m painting these Dark Eldar in pale colours, so I’ll be using a white basecoat. This is uncharted territory for me, so I’m a little nervous about it. But we shall see!