A bit of AA for FOW

   And today we have some photos of recently finished toy soldiers! These are all Battlefront Miniatures figures, for the Flames of War (v4) game. Of course, they can be used in any 15mm World War 2 game. But that's what they are for.

   Also, I am using my new pop-up photo box for the first time with these pictures. I don't know if it's a LOT better, but I think they are at least improved somewhat. Still just using my iPhone for the camera, since the old Sony died a year or so back.

8th Army 40mm Bofors AA gun scans the skies for the Hun!

The full battery of three guns. A nasty surprise for any lurking Stukas!

The DAK response: SdKfz 10/4: A halftrack mounted 2cm gun.

A platoon of four will help protect all those lovely Panzers

from nasty British Hurricanes.

Plans for 2019

   As we near the end of another year, I think it's a good idea for me to look forward to the year to come. I am hoping that with a plan I will perhaps stay more focused and therefore be more successful in finishing some projects so that I can play the games!

   First is to finish off a project that I thought I already had done. That's the 15mm Spanish Civil War force that I built for Spain in Flames. I am doing the Nationalist Carlists, the requetes. What do I need to do to finish this up? Not too much, really.

• Paint the Fiat Chirri biplane.
• Paint about three platoon command bases for the machineguns, mortars, and AT guns
• Consider a small armoured contingent, of perhaps three to five PzKW Is.
• Get a few Mediterranean terrain pieces. Battlefront's Italian houses will work fine.

   The second project to work on is Frostgrave. I bought a couple of wizards in November of 2017. I just bought a box of the plastic soldiers.

• Paint the wizards and apprentices. (4)
• Assemble and paint the soldiers.(20)
• Obtain and paint objective/treasure markers.
• Obtain terrain. I have a little bit, but more is needed. This is probably the hardest task for this project, though I already have a battlemat from Cigar Box Battle Mats.

   The third new project is a SAGA 2 Viking force. I am going to just do 4 points this year.

• Obtain and paint minis - about 25 
• Obtain terrain. I'm thinking a few 4-Ground Viking buildings will fit the bill well.

   Next, I want to finish off my Soviet Team Yankee forces. It's pretty much all vehicles.

• Finish 4x BDRMs
• Finish BMP-1 OP
• 10x BMP-2s
• 3x DANA SP Guns
• 3x Carnation or Acacias
• 2x Shilka AAA
• 4x SA-13 Gophers

   Then there are the few odds and ends for my Flames of War DAK and 8th Army...

• 4x Light AA half tracks
• 4x BOFORs 40mm
• Some sort of extra tanks for the Brits. Crusaders, maybe.

   Finally, I want to get my VBCW forces into a game!

• Terrain. Primary need for this to happen.

   Well, that's all. I think that's a pretty ambitious list for me, actually. I'm hoping to do the terrain as table ready as I can get it.

Stuff on the Table

   I have prepped a bunch of stuff for the table, if you follow that listing on here. Much of it is 15mm Deutsches Afrika Korp (DAK) for Flames of War v. 4. Of course, the same minis can be used for earlier versions as well, though possibly in different numbers per unit.

   I will soon have a decent DAK selection for North African warfare. That would include a small infantry company, two platoons of Panzer IIIs, a platoon of Panzer IVs, a battery of Lorraine Schlepper 15cm guns, a Panzer II OP, and a pair of the dreaded Flak 36 8.8cm guns. I want to add a pair of Stukas, enlarge my infantry sections, and build a second pair of Flak 36s. I may go ahead and get a pair of Tiger IEs from Schwere Panzerabteilung 501, too, but I am wavering on that. There were only like a dozen in all of Africa, after all. I own a fair number of unpainted halftrack transports, and a Kradschutzen motorcycle platoon for version 3.0, but I don't think they have rules for them in version 4. Maybe upgrade cards?

   I also took a look at what I already have for my British 8th Army forces to oppose the Huns. My infantry is solid - I have Indian troops. I have a section of India Pattern recon vehicles, too. For heavy stuff, there is a battery of 4x 25-pounders, a Honey OP tank, some Grants, some Crusaders, and a pair of Hurricanes. I have some 2-pdr and 6-pdr portees, but I have to look at how the game treats those in 4th Edition. I think there is an upgrade card for it, just like there is one for Indian infantry.

   Other than Flames of War stuff, I have a variety pack of 28mm stuff. That's basically stuff that has been sitting about, and I can use them as relaxation from the eyestrain of painting 15mm. That's getting harder these days.

And more progress!

   This will go down as the busiest month on this blog in a long time.

   Here I present for your enjoyment and comments the remainder of my productivity over the past two months or so. A few 15mm Flames of War items and some terrain.

PzKw IV

   I bought these Battlefront Panzer IVs a long time ago in a platoon box. I have all five. Problem is, they are really a later war model than the Afrika Korps would have had. Note the Zimmerit anti-magnetic mine coating and the protective skirts on the turrets. Neither would have been in Afrika. When I figured it out I had already sprayed them in the basecoat. So I just inked them, dry brushed over it, and painted one or two minor details. I didn't bother with the track skirts, as they are both a  bit fiddly and inaccurate in the desert as far as I know. These will have to do until I get some more appropriate models.

Four of the six desert palm trees I finished

A pair of Hurricanes, ready to hunt the Hun in the North African desert.

These are the newer Battlefront range.

A resin palisade. suitable for 15mm as a tall fence or 25/28mm as a somewhat short one.

   Pieces by Ainsty Castings, I think. Or maybe Acheson Creations? I bought them years ago at Historicon from a big bin they keep, made from their leftover resin. Rather than waste what's left in the pot after a pour, they pour it into some small molds. The result is a lot of small pieces that they sell for relatively cheap - like a buck or two each.

Hurricanes inbound...

 These guys are ready for clear coat.

We have painted minis! At last!

To be fair, these guys were mostly done before the move, so it's not quite as exciting as all that. But still! These days, any progress is good progress. So yay!

First up, some of Warlord Games' Bolt Action figures. These are Early War British (BEF) and Home Guard figures that I am planning to use both for Bolt Action and Very British Civil War.

Running to the front. Traditional enameled teacup accounted for!

Medium Mortar and Heavy Machinegun

Notice the Free Wales armband on the bombard gunner.

   Also, a few more. Here, Mister Bertram Wooster, of London, does battle with a Weeping Angel...

Bertie is another bit for my Home Guard/VBCW collection.

The Angel is from Reaper.

From Victoria Miniatures. This octopoid fellow is a slave labor

heavy weapons crewman - he carts ammo. The story behind it is 

that the German Empire rules the part of Venus from which his people

hail. They are used as heavy laborers in the colony. (VSF, obviously - I hope?)

   I hope you enjoyed them. I have several more figures similar that are nearing completion, then I am going to move on to painting a Soviet force for Team Yankee. Maybe I can get that completed before my gaming group moves on to another game...

Recent Purchases

   Since the storm I have been engaging in a great deal of retail therapy. I know it's probably not real healthy, but I've spent a fair amount of money lately on a wide variety of games and accessories. SO, just to keep it in my mind, and give you faithful few an idea of where my madness has been leading me lately...

Rulebooks...

• Frostgrave Thaw of the Lich Lord

• Starfinder RPG Core Rulebook

• Bolt Action, 2nd Edition
• Armies of Germany

• Gothic: An Expansion for In Her Majesty's Name
• FOW 4E: Desert Rats

And Accessories...

• FOW 4e: Desert Rats Command Cards
• FOW 4e: Desert Rats Tokens

• Dystopian Wars: Cards
• IHMN: Tokens/markers
• Vallejo Paints and Brush On Primer

And boardgames...

• Machi Koro: Bright Lights, Big City

• SmashUp: Big in Japan
• SmashUp: Monster Movie Mashup
• SmashUp: Cease and Desist

And minis...

• Red Vectors Martian Skiffs (x2), custom scaled to work for 15mm.
• Trollbloods Starter Battlegroup

• Circle Oroboros Starter Battlegroup (old)

• Dystopian Wars FSA Valley-class Airship
• Ogre Miniatures: Hover Trucks and Light Artillery Drones (x3 each)

• Ogre Miniatures: Paneuro GEVs (x6)
• WH40K: Necron Canoptic Scarab Swarm (x6 bases) for use as Automaton Insects
• Bolt Action BEF Vickers MMG Team
• Bolt Action Home Guard Blacker Bombard Team

• Bolt Action BEF 3" Mortar Team

And a lot of terrain, too...

• Battlefield in a Box: Pacific Landing Mats
• Battlefield in a Box: Extra Large Dune
• Battlefield in a Box: Desert Escarpments

• Battlefield in a Box: Desert Scrub
• Battlefield in a Box: Desert Administration Building
• PlastCraft: Colored Desert Building Set (x2)

• PlastCraft: Colored Desert 2-story Desert Building
• PlastCraft: Colored Desert Dwelling
• PlastCraft: Colored Desert Dwelling with Stairs
• Ainsty 28mm wooden jetty
• Four Hirst Arts molds and plaster

   Ummm... I may have a problem.

British Indians going to FOW Tournament

   I am taking another swing at a local tournament today. I will run my British 8th Army Indian Rifle Company. I haven't ever had a lot of luck with these fellows, but I do like them. Part of it may be that I just haven't got how to use them best figured out. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

One thing I lack is a Tiger killer, except maybe for air support. But I have gone an entire game before without getting air support to arrive.

Here's the list for 1500 points of Mid War. Indians are Fearless Trained.

Company HQ (Indian)

• Company Command Rifle Team
• 2iC Rifle Team
• 2x Blacker Bombards

2x Rifle Platoon (Indian) - I usually plunk one over a key objective. They're really hard to root out.

• Cmd Rifle/MG Team
• 9x Rifle/MG Team
• Light Mortar Team

Carrier Platoon (Indian)

• 6x Indian Pattern Carrier - I use these to keep ambushes back and to machine gun the hell out of a position my infantry is about to assault.

Mortar Platoon (Indian)

• Cmd Rifle Team
• 3x Observer Team
• 6x ML 3" Mortar

Machine Gun Platoon (Indian)

• Cmd Rifle Team
• 4x Vickers HMG

Infantry Tank Platoon (Confident Trained)

• 2x Valentine III - useful against lightly armoured opponents
• Valentine VIII - 6-pdr gun can do some damage

Anti-Tank Platoon, Royal Artillery 8th Army (Confident Veteran)

• Cmd Rifle Team
• Jeep
• 2x 2-pdr Portee
• 2x 6-pdr Portee

Field Battery, Royal Artillery, 8th Army (Confident Veteran)

• Cmd Rifle Team
• Staff Team
• Observer Team
• 15-cwt Truck (I usually leave this off table)
• 4x OQF 25-pdr

Air Support

• Limited Air Support, Hurricane IIC

Gift from a Mate

   Knowing how much I like the TV series, and prompting me to do a bit of painting, too, my friend Zach saw these on sale at a nearby shop and decided they were just the thing for me. Personally, I was quite happy to receive them.

   The staunch defenders of Walmington-on-Sea will move a bit off the coast, transforming into supporters of the Free Welsh faction I've been working on for A Very British Civil War for a few years now. I have so many projects that just get bogged down and forgotten - see my recent posts there. This may be enough to at least muck about a bit with it.

  So these could be used as a bit of organized local troops. Proper rifles, and even a Tommy gun for a bit of covering fire. 

   As emergency Citizen's Militia... A stupid boy with his cricket bat, a pretentious bank manager with his brolly, and an antiquated butcher with his assegai (souvenier of his service in South Africa). The cold steel, that's the thing. They don't like it up 'em!

   Some proper Anglican clergymen, siding with God and the Right against that illegitimate king in London and his fascist thugs. The Vicar's not going to like that.

Photos from England

Some of Tamsin's 15mm Minis - Neu Swabian League, I think

Gruntz Game - NSL v. Crusties

Here come those pesky UN "Peacekeepers"

Tamsin, Dane, Zane, and Me

That's a Roman D6.

Hoth game, using X-Wing

6mm Fortified Town

Jungles of Vietnam (Weymouth)

Get the Running Dog Yellow Imperialist Lackeys!

Failed Unit. Oh no!

Some of the great Vietnamese terrain

Another nice set piece, a downed Huey

Gaming in the UK

   Well I am home safe and sound from my exploits Across the Pond. Had a great trip, saw a lot of neat things, and met a lot of really nice people. I even managed to get a few games in while overseas, attended a gaming show, UK-style, and had one or two cups of tea. I might have had a beer or two as well. Oh, and I bought a few interesting things...

   First off, the games. On our first night, Tamsin and her mate Simon hosted the boys and I (that's my son Dane and my non-biological son, Zane) to a large game of Gruntz. We all had a good time, I have a better understanding of the rules, and they introduced me to a really fun method of activation. I will give it a go myself sometime. Best of all, my corporate forces managed to damage the Crunchy outpost before those do-gooder UN types could stop me, helping my corporation lay claim to the planet (I won).

   A week later we were in Weymouth, home of Martin Goddard and Peter Pig. Martin's working on revamping his rules for Vietnam, and I played two nights with him and the boys and some of his gaming mates. My record was 1 and 1, playing the wily Viet Cong both times. I won't spill the beans on it, because I don't know what all Martin is keeping secret, but it was a lot of fun. The rules are quite easy to pickup and play, and a game can be completed in about two hours, really.

   In between games, I attended the Joy of Six show in Sheffield. The Joy of Six, as the name implies, focuses on 6mm size/scale gaming. I saw some really interesting things being done. One of the most interesting was a modification of the popular SAGA rules, using stands of multiple 6mm figures in place of the individual 28mm figures the rules expect. I don't think any other rules were changed, but I am not sure about that. What it did do was give a visually appealing game that could be played in a small area and still look like real raiding parties. I was strongly tempted to buy some Dark Ages figures - and still may.

  What did I buy? A few books - including reprints of both the Instructions for American Soldiers in Great Britain and German plans for the invasion of Britain. But as far as figures go, I picked up some Baccus 6mm Imperial French for Franco-Prussian War, destined to become Imperial French VSF troops, some Baccus Highlanders (VSF British) and Mahdists (VSF Martians). I also bought some 6mm sci-fi buildings for OGRE, some of Brigade's Small Scale buildings for Dystopian Wars. Finally, I bought a batch of Peter Pig's 15mm US Marines for some FOW, and a few packs of Peter Pig colonials that I muled back for a friend.

   Went to Scotland, wandered about the Old Town and the Castle. Drank an Irn Bru. Went to Loch Ness in the Highlands. Saw part of Hadrian's Wall at Segudunum in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Had a Nucky Brown (Newcastle Brown Ale). Went to the Royal Armories in both Leeds and the Tower of London. Saw both the Scottish and British Royal Treasures (Crown Jewels). Walked across Tower Bridge. Ate a good scotch egg. Went to the IWM again (noticed their WWI exhibit's SMLE was a Mk. III* from 1944 made by Lithgow in Australia - that's not cricket at all!) Saw the changing of the guard at Buckingham in their red coats (Grenadier Guards). Explored the East End on a Jack the Ripper walking tour. Rode the London Eye in daylight. Had some really good Chinese and Indian food, some really good Thai food, some really good English food, some really good beer and cider, haggis (which is quite good, actually), more beer, a lot of bacon rolls with brown sauce, plenty of crisps, fish and chips, Mr Whippy ice cream...

   I will post pictures when I get them downloaded off the phone.

Some British Tanks Finished

 4th Indian Division Sikhs manning a captured Italian gun

 

   I have finally finished a few miniatures this year. Yes, these are the first truly start-to-finish items I have managed to paint so far this year. Nine 15mm tanks for my Flames of War British 8th Army collection. These will support my 4th Indian Division infantry company.

The Lot

Matilda II, Valentine VIII, Crusader II

Another Crusader - with commander.

7th Armoured Division marking

Yep, turret markings are done too.

Valentine III

Matilda II/CS

A not-quite-complete India Pattern Carrier

   This brings my total British tank force to seventeen, I believe: 3x Grants, 3x Crusader II, 5x "Honey" Stuarts, 2x Matilda II, 1x Matilda II CS, 2x Valentine III, and 1 x Valentine VIII. I can't field any sort of Armoured Squadron or Company, but I have a variety of support choices for the infantry. Finishing the two India Pattern Carriers puts me at eight total: two carrier scout patrols and a spare pair for observers or company command.