Some Terrain Pieces

A Great Buddha with some trees around it.

Frostgrave Cemetery

Based on a CD, obviously.
I considered adding names and such to the tombstones but eventually chose not to do so.

These will go along with the Mausoleum and the statue.

A grating for Frostgrave. I should probably put some sort of black card or plastic beneath it to make it seem as if it goes down into the lightless depths of some Stygian underhive...

Another shot of the graves, with a better view of the statue

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.

Some Recent Painting

   Just a few quick snaps to show some of what I have been working on these last few weeks. I am almost "done" with my Flames of War Afrika Korps forces for v4. I just want to finish a trio of Panzer IVs, five stands of infantry and support weapons, and get some AA trucks (Sdkfz 250/4, I think...).

A Great Pillar to Great Cthulhu

For Frostgrave or just for fun...

3 PaK-38 5cm AT Guns for Afrika Korps in Flames of War

Afrika Korps infantry and support weapons

Better shot of the 2.8cm AT gun

DAK 8cm mortar

Closeup of the Phone Box for VBCW (28mm)

Police Box, Phone Box, and Post Box, all 28mm for VBCW

Pair of JU-87 Stukas for FOW v4 in Africa

And some more minis

   A few bits and bobs here. I got some more Bolt Action figures finished today too but I haven't taken photos yet. I will get those up next time, I promise.

A trio of Minotaur Howitzers. This particular battery is based out of Mexico

in the North American Combine, hence the flag on the concrete pads.

(OGRE, 6mm sci-fi)

A Republic of Wales medium machinegun team.

These are Territorial Army forces.

(Very British Civil War, figures by Warlord)

A repainted Fast Food Restaurant for Team Yankee.

When I get the sign on it, it will be a Waffle Haus.

Thinking about trying to do some window inserts, too.

(Battlefield in a Box, from Battlefront, repainted by me)

Finally, a humble cart for Pathfinder or D&D, or any RPG

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.

The Republic of Wales Wishes You...

...a very happy St. David's Day!

   Oh, the Free Welsh project. Wow, is it languishing. Too many other things going on I suppose. There was some initial enthusiasm for Very British Civil War in 28mm amongst my friends but they all tapered off from it. I think I might still get one or two guys interested in it. I think Zach has a fair number of 28mm Condor Legion figures which we figured would work as a Fascist force in England as well as they did in Spain. The Fasco-Royalist oppressors invade our sacred Welsh homeland again! 

   One of the big sticking points is a lack of suitable terrain in house. What a shock, right? I have exactly one piece that would work, besides generic rivers, roads, and trees. Heck, most of my trees are really too small, especially the deciduous and conifers (as opposed to the palms, where I have a few really tall ones). So... I have a nasty suspicion the Free Welsh will languish further.

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.

Project Review, Fall 2016: 25/28mm

A recap of what's going on:

    With the start of fall coming on, I decided I need to survey my madness. To wit, I am looking at each wargaming project I have ongoing, and what the status of said project currently is. 

   To define, a 'project' is a faction or force for a particular genre in a particular scale. Therefore, 15mm British WW2 and 28mm British WW2 are two different projects, as would be a 15mm DAK force, as would a British Paras vs. a British 8th Army force. Since there are so many and in so many scales, this shall be a short series of posts rather than one mega-post.

   For status, I shall use 'planning' (want to buy minis), 'active' (not playable but I am currently working on it), 'inactive' (unplayable but on to-do list), 'dead' (can't play, not doing anything, don't plan on it), 'playable' (enough to play, still adding to it), and maybe rarest of all, 'finished' (can play, no plans to add to it).

   I've already done the Small Scale projects, and the 15mm projects, if you missed those.

25/28mm

1. VSF Eureka Pond Wars: dead
2. VSF Lizardmen: inactive
3. VSF/Colonial British: playable
4. VSF German: playable
5. VSF Automaton: finished
6. VSF Martian: inactive
7. VSF Vardu: inactive
8. VSF French: inactive
9. VSF Russian: dead
10. VSF Japanese: dead
11. VSF Turkish: dead
12. VSF Parrotmen: inactive
13. VSF Characters (HM Victoria I, others): playable
14. Skyrunners VSF Racing: dead
15. EOTD/IHMN Werewolves: finished
16. EOTD/IHMN Gentlemen: finished
17. EOTD/IHMN Police Constables: playable
18. IHMN Lord Curr's Company: playable
19. IHMN Servants of Ra: playable
20. IHMN Society of Thule: playable
21. Colonial Boers: dead
22. Gutshot Cowboys and Lawmen: finished
23. Gutshot Banditos: dead
24. Terrain Old West: dead
25. Terrain Sci Fi: inactive
26. Terrain VSF: inactive
27. Terrain Fantasy: inactive
28. SAGA Normans: dead
29. SAGA Vikings: dead
30. SAGA Arabs: dead
31. Roleplaying Heroes: playable
32. Roleplaying monsters: playable
33. Doctor Who Daleks: inactive
34. Doctor Who Doctor and Companions: active
35. Doctor Who Angels: active
36. Doctor Who UNIT: planning
37. VBCW Free Welsh: playable
38. Warmachine Cygnar: playable (marginally)
39. Hordes Circle Oroboros: inactive
40. Hordes Minions: inactive
41. Warhammer Empire: inactive
42. Warhammer Lizardmen: inactive
43. WH40K Imperial Guard: inactive
44. WW2 British Paras: planning
45. WW2 Germans: planning
46. AT-43 Therians: dead
47. AT-43 UNSC: dead
48. AT-43 Red Blok: dead
49. Star Wars Prepaint: dead
50. Warhammer High Elf: dead
51. Warhammer Bretonnian: dead
52. Highland Badgers: playable (old and need re-paint)

Note: EotD is "Empire of the Dead," IHMN is "In Her Majesty's Name," VBCW is "A Very British Civil War."

   As you can see, there are a lot of dead projects in this scale. Ambition and ooh shiny got the better of my good sense over the years, and I almost never get rid of anything. Most are things where I have only a few figures, just testing the waters really. Which is good, I suppose. It's also by a fair margin the single longest list, which honestly surprised me. I thought the 15mm list would be the biggest.

   Also, I am shocked to see that I was considering up to 20 (!) different VSF projects in just 28mm. Twenty! I'm a sick man, really, I need help.

Happy Saint Daffyd's Day!

   CAERNARFON-- Today is, of course, the feast of Saint Daffyd, patron saint of Wales. Across the Republic of Wales, hundreds of thousands of Welshmen are celebrating. Here at the Castle, fireworks are planned for the evening, and a salute from the great guns of the battery.

Zach's Scary 88

   Quick Late Night Posting of my good friend Zach's Spanish Civil War 88mm Flak. Crewed by Condor Legion volunteers. He plans to use this along with some other SCW Nationalist troops as supporters/foreign volunteers in a Very British Civil War. This thing will open up my Free Welsh Rolls Royce Armoured Car like hitting a soda can with a 12-lb sledge hammer...

Brazos Evil Empire: Tanker's Tuesday:Medium Mk III tank

   A lovely article on a British tank design from the B.E.E. I want to obtain one of Warlord's Bolt Action A-9 tanks for VBCW. This one is similar.

Brazos Evil Empire: Tanker's Tuesday:Medium Mk III tank: In 1926, the British War Office wanted to replace their existing Mark II tanks with a new design. In May the Royal Tank Corps Centr...

Perfect for VBCW: the Armadillo

The Armadillo was an armoured fighting vehicle produced in Britain during the invasion crisis of 1940-1941. Based on a number of standard lorry chassis, it comprised a wooden fighting compartment protected by a layer of gravel filling the 'walls' of the fort and a driver's cab protected by mild steel plates. Armadillos were used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Home Guard.

   Warlord Games makes this historical but unusual improvised vehicle for their 28mm Bolt Action WWII game. When I saw it on TMP, my first thought was "Huh. That'd be perfect for Very British Civil War." Anyway, it runs $35.00, and you can order it from their webstore.

PanzerKaput's Painted Review: The continuing Work in Progress

PanzerKaput's Painted Review: The continuing Work in Progress: Here is the latest stage of the cover for the Winter of Discontent and I have to say it is proving to be one of my favourite pieces to date....

  I am a big fan of PK's artwork. It is part of what made me interested in A Very British Civil War in the first place. He does a lot of the artwork (all of it?) for Solway Crafts and Miniatures, the publishers of the VBCW books.

Summer Gaming Plans, Ver. 1.0

   We all know how 'buggy' a version 1.0 can be, right? So don't hold me too strictly to these plans. But in a few weeks I will go on summer vacation, and have significantly more time for gaming as a result. The thought occurred to me that some sort of plan might help with gaming productivity in my slow time. Thus, the following:

• Send 20 Kroot to painting service for Venusian Parrotmen.
• Send the boys' frogs to painting service.
• Obtain and paint about 15 Victoria Miniatures "Ood-like" figures.
• Paint eight 25 pdrs plus crew and staff for FOW.
• Paint an Indian mortar platoon for FOW.
• Obtain and paint more Cygnar figures ( a unit of trenchers and at least 2 warjacks).
• Finish painting Dragonfly Lancers.
• Finish painting 10 Empress Miniatures British.
• Obtain and paint replacement VSF British from Victoria Miniatures.
• Finish 5 German VSF figures.
• Obtain 10 more Prussian infantry. Paint all 20.
• Paint 10 more Aetherbattalion figures.
• Complete Volume 3, Issue 1 of The Aethergraph.
• Play some Star Frontiers RPG with the boys.
• Attend Historicon.
• Obtain a lot of terrain for 15mm desert and city.
• Obtain a lot of terrain for 25mm desert, jungle and city.

Ummmm... I think that's probably it. Look for updates, though. This is only v. 1.0, after all...

VBCW-related Kickstarter

Ladies in Lace

 

 

   This is an interesting project out of the UK to make two lines of female soldiers. One is for Lacew Wars era soldiers (think 17th-18th Century, tricornes, that sort of thing) and the other is for interwar females, especially in consideration of A Very British Civil War.

 

   Not much in the way of images yet, and I have suggested a stretch goal of an artillery crew - no gun, mind you, just the crew - or a mortar and crew. I have not yet decided if I am going to back this one or not, but I am intrigued, and thought some of you might be interested in knowing about it.

 

 

Image from the Kickstarter



PanzerKaput's Painted Review: Welsh Flags without Writing

   PanzerKaput's Painted Review: Welsh Flags without Writing: Here is a second and requested Welsh flag for the use of. I hope you like it :D

   PK did this one on request for me. I love it. I present the flag of the Republic of Wales!