Marine Snipers

   Adding nightmares to the Japanese, I present the perfect engine of war: a Marine and his rifle. Scoped Springfield '03 rifles, to be precise. Very precise, actually. In Flames of War Pacific, a Marine rifle company can have up to three snipers. So here they are.

Sniper 2 (on the right) is based for a volcanic island beach landing, like Iwo Jima. 

That's real volcanic rock (from my garden) on that.

Closeup of Sniper 1, partially hidden in a clump of bamboo.

  You can't see in these pictures, but I used a mold from Happy Seppuku to impress fern leaves into the putty on the base of Sniper 1. They are the brighter green bits on the base. It looks pretty nice, but I might go back and hit it with a drop of ink to darken it and add extra depth to the base and highlight.

Sniper 3 is standing for his shot, rising out of the bamboo and grass like an avenging god of war...

Or something like that. I'd shoot from prone, myself.

   The 'bamboo' is just some plastic rod cut and painted with darker green rings to hint at segments. It looks okay and it's dead easy. 

What do you mean, "Flash Gordon Approaching?"

From Crooked Dice

   I may need help with two of these. One is obviously Flash Gordon from the film of the same name, and another is just as obviously Doctor Emmett Brown from Back to the Future.

  I think the fellow on the left is supposed to maybe be John McClain, from Die Hard? And the fellow in the blue jeans looks an awful lot like Colonel Steve Austin, the Six Million Dollar Man, to me. But not in his famed red track suit.

  Any help?

  By the way, Crooked Dice has loads of really great looking figures for all your nostalgia gaming needs. I may have to place an order soon.

Terrain woes

   I'm realizing just how little terrain I have. Well, not so much terrain in general, as in the specific. I have a good bit of rivers, and some roads, a few trees, a few rock outcroppings... I'm doing okay with the generic stuff, but I have almost no buildings. In fact, the only sort of building that I do have in any sort of sufficient amount is 15mm Desert buildings. And honestly, I could use more of it, too. At least those can be used for both historical and sci-fi.

   I have one more 28mm Victorian building (a store) that needs assembly and paint, to go with the one that I currently have. For a total of two 28mm buildings. Total. Full stop. Well, that's not entirely accurate. I have a few huts as well, and one or two painted.

   I've been working on the 15mm sci-fi buildings and terrain a bit as well. I have some industrial stuff, a bit of security fencing (need to make more, but I can make a 12" square gated compound as it stands. I've got a couple of desert sci-fi buildings made by Bart "Smokey" Allen for me. I've made some headway on the hab domes from Ion Age, but need more pieces to make that a true compound. Right now, call it a scientific outpost. I have a growing collection of street scatter bits, too.

   I do have a couple of very nice ridgelines, one done up as jungle and one as desert. Perfect for Venus and Mars. And the custom made canals - though I really need to build a few bridges for those.

  So what do I need?

   Well, a good deal of Victorian 28mm stuff. That's good for both VSF games and Very British Civil War, if I ever get off my duff on that project. At least four more terraced houses, a warehouse, a factory, some more shops, and a train station. Maybe some sort of government building to represent a library, town hall, museum, or something of that sort. Oh, and a church. And some walls.

   Same in 15mm, except that I have a train station and a sawmill for that. I'm thinking a mix of Battlefront and Miniature Building Authority. It means putting in more 20th Century Euro than Victorian, though. But at least it comes ready to play, which seriously improves the odds that it hits a table soon.

   6mm isn't as vital. A few buildings as representational is probably going to have to do a lot, and the same for fleet scale stuff. Of course, I haven't much of either of those. And, typically, what I do have is unpainted and sitting on a shelf. Or in a cupboard.

   The goal is to be able to put at least a small town in each of the scales. I want some specific pieces for each, and there are a couple of different genres: desert, modern/sci-fi, fantasy, and historic/VSF.

   Sorry, this post is mostly a bit of mental calculations and considerations of what I have and need. But I figured all of you have probably faced the same predicaments. Maybe someone has a pointer or two for me?

Marine Infantry - Gung Ho!

   I have a few stands of Marines finished as well. I'm mostly waiting to get my hands on bases to really start trying to crank out some motivated Marine infantry. As previously mentioned (I think), I am building a USMC Rifle Company for Flames of War Pacific. Most of the infantry figures will be Peter Pig - all of these are.

Captain Crow, Company Commander

You can barely see it in this shot, but the Medic's bag has a Red Cross emblem.

Also, that's one big radio the poor radioman is humping.

Forward Observers - Either calling for naval gunnery or a load of napalm...

F4U Corsair for Flames of War Pacific

   As I may have mentioned previously, I am working on a company of US Marines for the Flames of War Pacific rules. Marines need air cover, and it is ably supplied by the Vought F4U Corsair.

   I did a bit of research on paint jobs for the Corsair, and essentially there are three. I went with a sort of midwar version, the three-color. On top is a dark blue (I used Prussian Blue), with a thin intermediate blue color (Pale Grey Blue - too light, really) transition of irregular shape, and an underside of insignia white (Ivory). The engine cowling is yellow (Deep Yellow). All colors used are Vallejo Model Colors.

   I used decals for the national insignia and the aircraft number. You may note the lack of kill markers. It seems that the Navy and Marines by extension were much stricter about the personalization of an aircraft; also, it was unusual for a Navy or Marine pilot to have a single aircraft assigned to them. So personalization was even less common, and strictly forbidden by the Navy. I am painting mine as land based (hence the lack of tail markings which would denote the carrier from which the squadron operated) and therefore Marine Air Wing, not Naval Aviation.

   This particular Corsair isn't quite finished. I need to add the rockets under the wings. Historically, apparently they should be olive drab. But that would look like crap. So I think I am going to go with white rockets. It might be a bit anachronistic, but it will look better, and this is just toy soldiers, after all...

Some 15mm Sci Fi goodies

   More goodies for 15mm science fiction today. I believe everything here is Khurasan Miniatures.

   First up, the scientists. These are hapless civilians, in three varieties of posing: standing, running, and dead (well, one is). I have another pack of them, I think I shall paint them in more alien colors. I think alien scientists still wear white lab coats, though, right? Oh, maybe a set of antennae and a green skin for one of them? Go classical?

   Next is the vending machine. Yep, a vending machine. Good for cover in a city and a quick bite to eat, keep one's energy levels up when fighting the Felid Domination or the Pelagic Empire or whatever. I'm currently painting its cold beverage companion. I went for a neon-esque look on teh sign. These should not be confused with the AI-robot vendors that I have already painted and posted previously. Those are from Ion Age, and are very fun.

I painted in the snack bags. You can have Freetoes, Cheesie Puffs, Chocobars, or Roast Chicken crisps...

   And a Recyclebot, there on the lower right hand side. An autonomous solar-powered refuse retrieval robot, programmed to deliver garbage to the recyclers. Notice the green tri-arrow cycle and the green leafy logo. From EcoBots, the Giant Robotics MegaCorp that Cares. It's really just for street scatter in an urban setting. 

   Finally, you can also see some more scatter or perhaps objective markers: crates. I have left them loose rather than gluing them to a base and stacking them or something so that they are more flexible. I might get a few more packs though, just to do a base with a pile of them.

   I'm also working on a park terrain piece that is a larger base, with benches and a statue and everything. Maybe even a hedge. The benches are done, and the statue is mostly finished.

Be Careful if you look at this.

The image of an angel becomes an angel, after all.

   These are Reaper Bones figures. I have another pack as well. I like how these came out, and will enjoy painting the others as well. They paint quickly, too.

   I am trying to think up some sort of mechanic to use them as a sort of landmine or something for In Her Majesty's Name. I think that they activate if a) any living creature approaches within 12", and b) no one actually has them in their line of sight, based on the figure's facing (again, within about 12"). The Angel then moves adjacent to the target (nearest first) and makes a melee attack. The merest touch sends the afflicted model back in time. A successful Pluck roll means that the model is saved by a Mad Man in a Blue Box (yes, I have a TARDIS in 28mm). At the END of the next turn, the Blue Box appears in a random location, disgorging the model. A failed Pluck roll means gone for good.

Hordes and VSF beasties

   No, not police officers. Shame on you.

   These are big piggies, warbeasts from Hordes. The Minions faction. Razor Boars, if I remember rightly. I plan to use them for both Hordes and VSF games, where they are mutant giant pigs created by the twisted Doctor Vardu.

   I have also finished a Bull Snapper Light Warbeast, also for Hordes and seconding in to Vardu's plans. He's the lesser cousin of the big Blackhide Wrassler I already have.

There is a puddle at its feet.

   I've got a new camera, so I am still fiddling with it. These photos seem okay, though.

Tournament Results

   Well, this is going to be short because it's late and I am tired, and there are no pictures because I was too busy trying to play to take photos. Sorry about that, because there were some really nice looking minis on the tables.

Game 1: Victory, 5-2

   The mission was Fighting Withdrawal." I played against a guy with, I think, pretty comparable skill level (mediocre). He was running an Italian tank company, so I was the defender. I made some mistakes, the biggest of which was forgetting to place an ambush of anti-tank guns the turn before his tanks assaulted my infantry in the objective. My air support made a big difference in the end, causing enough casualties in the last turn to force a company morale test, which he failed. There were lots of assaults, and my Indians proved how tough they are when defending the trenches.

Game 2: Victory, 4-3

   The mission was "Breakthrough." Again, I played someone of roughly equivalent skill level, and again I defended. This mission is not one of my favorites. It was a blue on blue situation as well, with the 'enemy' being an American Armoured Rifle Company. This victory was largely on the strength of his dice failing him on a couple of key points, mainly with two major units being pinned or bailed out, slowing his momentum. They did still wipe out my tank platoon in the second turn. I had fun bringing my Indian Pattern Carriers into his backfield, shooting up his nasty 105mm artillery. He also had some difficulty with his reinforcements bogging down in a wood, preventing them from bringing enough firepower onto the infantry platoon defending the objectives. My artillery was helpful, and air support made a difference again. I held a platoon in reserve one or two turns too long, and I forgot to move my portees again, which cost me that platoon (and made it 4-3). Honestly, I won this one by the skin of my teeth - time ran out and he was denied a 5-2 victory which he probably would have had in the next turn or two.

Game 3: Loss, 1-6

   The mission was "Dust Up." I played against Chris Jackson, a nationally ranked player running a German Armoured Pioneer Company. I got creamed. He played a very clean game, and was a great sport. I both made some serious mistakes and had some terrible luck. My air, for example, never came on the table the entire game. Eight turns, eighteen dice, and not one came up 5+. Also, my delayed reserves were very delayed. I lost before the first turn, however, as I had NO effective anti-tank on one flank, the very spot where his reinforcements would come into play. Additionally, he was ready for dug-in infantry with a platoon of SP guns with the "Bunker Buster" special ability (SiGs). In the end, Chris won 'Best General' in the tournament, for his scores in win/loss.

Results:

   I came in somewhere in the middle of the pack. I don't know what my actual placing was out of the sixteen players, as only about the top five were announced. I did get a $25 gift certificate for bringing a table, which helped offset the $35 entry fee. I won't be doing that again, though, as I heard several people complain about the table I set up. They felt that the North African desert was 'too open', with a village in the center of the table, a couple of largish rock outcrops, a palm grove, railroad, road... Fine. I won't bother to pack it up and drag it across town next time. Sound a bit childish of me? Probably. But it was incredibly rude on their part, when most of them didn't bring anything to help. I think this is my last FOW tournament. I've never really enjoyed them much, but I got lured into this one by a chance at part of the $1,000 worth of prize support. My lackluster performance, the expense of playing, the hassle getting stuff in and out and setup and taken down, the rude comments about what I did bring, and how tiring it is to play for almost 10 straight hours (only had 30 minutes for lunch because first game ran long)... offset by meeting a few new people (not that I played against anyone new - I've faced all three of my opponents before) and winning a minor prize. Just not enough reward. I should have stayed home and set up something to play against a friend down here.

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

Eight of My Favorite Things

Favorite British Politician: Winston Churchill

   This one is almost a no-brainer. I mean, who doesn't think Winston Churchill was an amazing individual? He was a Victorian cavalryman. He was a war correspondent. He was a prisoner of war. He was a Lord of Admiralty. He was both a Liberal and a Conservative MP. He held Britain to the course through World War II as Prime Minister. He wrote histories. He painted. Just an amazing fellow.

Favorite Ice Cream: Bluebell Homemade Vanilla

   It's the simple pleasures, isn't it? But, when I am in the UK and Bluebell is basically unavailable, I do enjoy a Mr. Whippy.

Favorite Comedy Film: Blazing Saddles

   I will still argue that this is both the funniest film ever made and one that could never be made again. Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Harvey Korman, Slim Pickens... pure genius. Made racism absurd. And gave us Lilli von Schtupp and candygrams for Mongo.

Favorite Band: Queen

   This one is a little harder, because I also really like the Beatles, the Eagles, and Metallica. But Queen wins. Bonus: my favorite Queen song is (duh!) Bohemian Rhapsody, and my second favorite is probably Don't Stop Me Now.

Favorite Beer: Shiner Bock

   At least, based on what I have had the most to drink in my lifetime. I also really enjoy Newcastle Brown Ale, Spaten Optimator, Franziskaner Hefeweizen, and a pretty wide variety of other beers. Strangely, beer is not my favorite alcoholic beverage. 

Favorite Sweet: Pie

   I love pie. Not all pies - not a huge fan of most fruit pies, honestly. But Key Lime pie, or peanut butter pie, or coconut cream pie, or chocolate almond pie, or - oh sweet God in Heaven - fresh homemade apricot fried pies... Yep. Love 'em. Cake, you can keep. Just let me have my pie.

Favorite Car I've Owned: 2002 Mercedes Benz C230K

   Actually my current car, but its getting a bit long in the tooth. Still runs really well. Cosmetics are starting to wear though, and it's a bit low to the ground for me nowadays. I'm looking to replace it in the next year or so with a newer Mercedes, either an E-class sedan or a G-class SUV. Not new, though.

Favorite Car, Period: Aston Martin DB5

   Most beautiful car ever. I hear they aren't particularly comfortable, nor particularly fast. Still beautiful. Second place is the Jaguar E Type.

This list was going to have ten items on it, but I'm out of time. Off to have dinner with the missus and then watch Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan on the big screen.

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.

Project Check, Fall 2016: 15mm

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 smaller scale projects, if you missed that.

15mm

1. VSF/Colonial British: playable
2. VSF/Colonial French: playable
3. VSF Martians: playable
4. VSF Venusian Lizardmen: playable
5. VSF Automatons: finished
6. VSF/Colonial Germans: playable
7. VSF Monstrosities (Dr. Vardu): inactive
8. VSF Japanese: dead
9. VSF Texicans: inactive
10. VSF Papal States: dead
11. Colonial Zulus: finished
12. Colonial Mahdists: dead
13. WW2 German DAK: inactive
14. WW2 British 8th Army: playable
15. WW2 US Marines: active
16. WW2 British Paras: dead
17. 30YW Imperial: inactive
18. SF FedArms: playable
19. SF PLA: playable
20. SF Xin: inactive
21. SF Tigrids: playable
22. SF Prang: planning
23. SF Chuhuac: playable
24. SF New Vistula Legion: inactive
25. SF Xenomorphs: dead
26. SF Civilians: active
27. SF Star Vikings (multi-race force): active
28. Terrain SF: playable
29. Terrain desert: playable
30. Terrain jungle: active
31. Terrain urban historical: inactive
32. Spanish Civil War Requetes: inactive
33. Fantasy Football Orc Team: inactive
34. Fantasy Football Human Team: inactive

   Again, I think that's pretty much it for 15mm projects. I may have missed one or two. Up next is the 25/28mm list. It's even longer, I fear.

Project Check, Fall 2016: "Odd", Fleet and 6mm

   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, I think 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).

Fleet Scale (smaller than 6mm)

1. Dystopian Wars (DW) Federated States: playable
2. DW Prussian: playable
3. DW Indian Raj: planning
4. Sky Galleons of Mars (SGOM) British: inactive
5. SGOM Martians: inactive
6. Aeronef Italians: dead
7. Terrain: inactive

6mm

1. VSF French: inactive
2. VSF German: inactive
3. VSF British: inactive
4. VSF Venusian Lizardmen: planning
5. VSF Martians: inactive
6. OGRE - Combine: playable
7. OGRE - Paneuropean: playable
8. Quar: inactive
9. BattleTech (multiple unspecified houses): playable
10. Modern/Cold War US: planning
11. Modern/Cold War Soviet: planning
12. WW2 Allied North Africa: planning
13. Kaiju: planning
14. Terrain: inactive

"Odd" Scales

1. Matchbox Scale Car Wars: playable
2. Silent Death: dead
3. X-Wing: playable
4. Dark Future: inactive

   That pretty much does it for the smaller stuff. Unfortunately, these are the shorter lists - 15mm and 25mm will be longer, and will each get their own post in the next few days. Each has more than thirty entries...

Oldest Figure I Still Have

   This is him, a halfling from the old Grenadier Miniatures box set 2002 Halflings.

   I got the boxed set for Christmas when I was in fourth grade (I think - maybe fifth). That was 1981.  I would have been nine years old. He was painted with Testors Model Enamels and a Q-tip for a brush.

The old box

For almost 35 years old, that enamel really did hold up pretty well.

From the halls of Montezuma...

   I spent a couple of hours on Wednesday prepping a lot of 15mm WW2 US Marines. The figures are from Peter Pig, and are destined to be the core of a Marine Rifle Company in Flames of War - Pacific.

A selection of Marines, ready to charge to the spray booth.

   So far, I have trimmed up and de-flashed (not that there was much of that) and glued them to 'jumbo craft sticks,' aka tongue depressors. Each stick is a mix of figures that will make up an individual base or team, if you prefer. I've done enough to make:

• 24x 4-man BAR Infantry teams
• 4x 3-man HMG teams
• 3x 3-man 60mm mortar teams (plus the mortar, of course)
• 4x 3-man 81mm mortar teams (plus mortar)
• 2x 2-man observer teams
• 6x 3-man command teams (CO, 2iC, platoon commanders)

   If my math is right, that's about 158 figures on 43 tongue depressors. It nets out to two infantry platoons, two mortar platoons, a HMG platoon, and a scout platoon. I will still need a few things to finish off the force, like some more LVTs, some war dogs, and the Marine Engineer Assault Section.

This may be what made me decide to collect a USMC force.

War dogs!

Images from Battlefront and the Flames of War website.

   Next step is priming. I have an ultra flat olive drab spray that I am thinking would work as a base. It would speed up the painting process, maybe, since these Marines are all in the old pickle suits. I'm going to try it on a couple of 'extra' figures and see how it works before I commit to the whole company.

Tigrid Air Support

   I recently finished painting this Matchbox Turbo Tornado aircraft to fit in with my Tigrid alien force for Gruntz. These were produced in 2014 and 2015 in different color schemes. They run a couple of bucks on eBay.

It started off like this:

Now, after a shot of black primer, and a lot of Vallejo Ochre Brown, it looks like this:

   I'm pretty happy with it. I just need to figure out a flying stand for it to make it more useful on the table.

Affirmative, Master!

   Another little fun project I have been playing with has been some Doctor Who figures. These are more for fun and maybe for background civilian figures than for serious gaming. Unless of course I paint up that mighty Dalek Horde sitting upstairs in plastic.

   At any rate, I have a few figures: Third and Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane, and K-9. So far, K-9 is finished. The rest are about 80% done. I just dug them out of a box, though, so maybe in the next week or so I will get to them. Not that I don't have plenty of other things that actually need my attention, both painting and otherwise...

He's a good dog.

Oh Bad Doggies!

So my dogs ate two minis last night.

Well, not ate them, but chewed up pieces of them beyond any real hope of saving them. Bulldogs, even ones that are only 10 months old, have rather powerful jaws. I think the chihuahua taught him this trick, as she has gnawed on minis before.

Here are the remains:

The front of a hull for a small airship. Remains of the paint on this one.

It's been warped pretty badly so that it won't fit any longer.

This was a driver/pilot for the Minion Quadricycle.

He's lost his head. Legs are crushed. One side is mashed flat.

LOTS of toothmarks.

  To top it all off, these minis are irreplaceable, essentially. They are from Parroom Station and the related Secret Science lines, sculpted by Bob Charrette and formerly produced and sold through Brigade Games. When they split last summer (2015), I snapped these up before they were gone for good, or at least until Bob finds a new manufacturer. Total loss on them.

Here is how I am dealing with the situation.

Flee! I mean, Flea!

   Here's the finished Battletech FLE-15 "Flea" 'Mech. Painted in red and white scheme to go with my other light 'Mechs. I painted them about six years ago, thinking I would do different lances in different Warhammer Fantasy Battle Empire Elector State colors. I posted about that a long time ago here. These are Talabheim, I think.

Habemus Hab Domes!

   So it was more like a month than a week. I've been busy. Gimme a break...

   But here they are, with the change of color scheme (it's not huge, but it's there). One slightly more obvious thing I did was swap color codes for Security and Mechanicals. So now Security domes are red, and Mechanicals are yellow.

   The fact that I don't actually have a security dome yet is in no way concerning to the inhabitants of the colony.

The lettering leaves a bit to be desired. I thought about making neat signs to attach.

Then I didn't do that and just painted it.

   I will try to get a shot of the whole layout as it stands now. Maybe tomorrow. It has been nice breaking out the brushes again, though.

Too Blah

  I decided that I wasn't entirely happy with the hab domes and such, so I have been making some changes to the paint scheme. Unfortunately, they aren't done yet and I am leaving town tomorrow for a week, so you will all have to wait with painfully baited breath to see what I have wrought.

Just a little something

  This is an escort carrier from the Merchant Shipping set for Dystopian Wars. It's a nice little mini and it is good for convoy raiding scenarios.

Expanding the Habitat

   More stuff from the Ion Age, this time terrain. The Command dome was already 'finished' once, but I noticed I had missed some things and decided I wanted to make some changes to the color scheme. I'm thinking all hatches will be color coded from now on:

• Blue = Command Center
• Orange = Habitat (Living Quarters)
• Green = Science (Labs)
• Red = Mechanicals (Garages, etc.)
• Yellow = Security

   So, according to my scheme, this is obviously a Habitat Dome. I think I am going to make up some sort of signage for over the door on the hab domes. Or maybe at least a dome number beside the hatch? And... I just noticed I forgot to danger stripe the electrical cable on that dome. Back to the table for a quick fix.

   I have a few more pieces left to paint up for now: a four-way intersection, two domes, and two more corridor lengths. I think I am going to order a few more as well, at least one or two hab domes, a bit more corridor, the tower module, and maybe a blockhouse or turret section.

Cola Wars 39K

   Something a bit light-hearted today. As you can see, the Cola Wars continue to rage far into the grim future. Coke Machine #106, a veteran of many campaigns against Thirst, is on the left, while PepsiBot #042, in its iconic blue livery, is on the right. 

   Yes, these are robotic vending machines. I have another in bright yellow called VendBot. He sells hot ramen noodles.

   Minis are from the Ion Age. The bare bases are simply a function of their urban environment - concrete paving. I might add a line or two, maybe a spot of weeds poking through the paving. What do you think?

Felid Grav Bikes

    I've been a bit busy with my paint brushes lately. Over the next few days, I will share some photos. I thought I would start with a trio of grav bikes from Khurasan. These are 15mm Felids, a tigrid race, similar to the Kzin, I should think. This particular pack is the "Hostage Barons' Sons". I quite like them, don't you?

   The set also comes with an optional missile launcher instead of the twin gun. Well, it comes with one of them, at any rate. I'm considering picking up another pack to enlarge the squadron and field a pair of missile-armed grav bikes.

   I made new flight stands for them from a washer, some Milliput, and a bit of stiff steel wire.

   This is the Gruntz card I made up for them, using Barracks. Obviously, I hadn't finished painting them when I made the card, hence the lack of a photo. I'll correct that one of these days. I made the twin linked guns equivalent to a Full Auto Heavy Laser. The addition of the Peregrine Stabiliser Perk will insure that they always go in guns blazing.

   More photos soon!

Some terrain bits finished

   I finally managed to get a bit of brush time in a few days ago, and the results are the finish of a few terrain bits. While technically all of this is 25/28mm sized, they would work well for 15mm too.

These are from the Battle for Macragge Starter set.

I use them as a sonic barrier for Venus or any other Sci-Fi setting.

I would buy more if you have any...

The Sonic Disruption Fence's power supply.

A mysterious obelisk on a brick plinth. Innocent park decoration?

Or cleverly disguised arcane focus for Elder Gods?

   Naturally, I now realize I probably should have taken a few photos with, oh, I don't know, maybe a figure or two in the frame for a size reference! D'oh!