Recent Painting/Basing

Just some recently finished bits and pieces.

3x Panzer IVs with various gun options.

Plastic, Battlefront Miniatures

Fiat Cr.32 "Chirri" for the Nationalists in Spanish Civil War

1:100 by Minairons

It's a cool piece but a little fiddly to put together.

Goblin Pyros for Pathfinder

Reaper Bones

Trees and Terrain

   I actually finished all of these in the last week of June, but scheduled this post to come up later for some reason. Anyway, one of the things I have been pushing out lately is a good bit of terrain. Mostly adding to existing stocks because I don't have enough trees and such.

A tray full of trees!

I use this cheap plastic tray to carry minis and spray them with clear coat. Then I can move them back into the air conditioned spaces in the house to keep the clear coat from getting all cloudy as happens in humid conditions. Like Houston is, eight days a week.

Bamboo stands. Need a lot more of these, not as tall mostly.

Primarily for 15mm jungles, Flames of War Pacific, etc.

Regular old deciduous trees. Just some cheap Chinese

model railroad trees and basing.

Same as above, but palm trees in the desert.

Again, need to do more for jungles too.

Flowering model railroad trees.

These are a bit different to my usual. Wire trunks.

I like them. Mostly I like a bit of variety.

Runestones from Fenris Games. Unlike the earlier ones painted for Frostgrave, these are two in

a temperate/verdant scheme and one in a desert.

A third Team Yankee minefield and emergence tunnels for the giant worms I shared a few days ago.

A Rare Victory at Glucken Ridge

   I played a game of Team Yankee a few weeks ago with my friends at this local club called Board and Brew. I say "local" but it's a good 30 miles from my house, forty five minutes with traffic on a good day. Anyway, it's a pretty good place with plenty of tables and they have beer. So its good.

   I played a fellow I have known for several years but rarely get to see, named Anthony. I was his first opponent ever in Flames of War. He plays Italians, I play Indian Army British. Anyway, in this game, I played a Czech Force with Soviet allies and he ran an American force.

Soviet T-64s advance on the left flank - daring the Yankees in their flashy M1s to attempt to do something about it. One Hero of the Soviet Union is made.

Minefields slow the Czech armoured advance, but a few turns of rocket artillery have softened up the American infantry defenders and the T-72M assault drives them from their foxholes.

All of my scouts are killed. Because I stupided. And my infantry never disembarked.

Beyond the trees in the background to the left, T-64s keep reinforcing M1s occupied.

Burning platoon of M1 Abrams. A sight sure to please any Warsaw Pact player.

In fact, I got very lucky and took them all out in one turn.

   In the end, I won by pushing the American infantry off the objective. The Americans did destroy enough of my units to make it a 5-2 victory rather than a 6-1 overwhelming victory. But I will take it! Anthony was a great sport about it all and a lot of fun to take on as an opponent.

Finished Minefields

 Here's the finished product: a regulation size minefield for Team Yankee.

With the token, on a Cigar Box Battle Mat

WIP: Minefields for Team Yankee

   As I really don't like the measure from the counter sort of thing that Team Yankee is using, I thought I would make some pieces that actually model the area of the minefield. It may make it easier for my opponent to avoid blundering into the field, but I think it will look nicer.

   Anyway, I started with CDs as they are pretty much exactly the right diameter (4"/10cm across).

   First step: prime them. I used a rattle can of ultra flat dark forest green I had handy. Same thing I use for my Soviet vehicle base, actually. That bit of sheen is because I didn't spray it very heavily and there's a bit of plastic showing.

   Next, I put little dots of PVA glue all over, and some of my preferred dirt, which is brown fine ballast. Each dirt mound will indicate a hastily emplaced mine. I added some bits of grass tuft (Army Painter Wilderness) and flowers (also Army Painter).

   Aaaand... that's all so far. I am leaving town for a few days this afternoon so the rest will have to wait until I return. Actually, as this posts, I am in Las Vegas, waiting for my plane to go home. But I scheduled it to post while I was away, being a clever boy that wants to entertain his friends whilst away.

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

WARPAC Reinforcements Painted!

   In what may be record time for me, I completed three boxes of Soviet/Warsaw Pact reinforcements that I received over the past couple of weeks. Also, I finally finished up the basic paint on the BRDM-2 hulls. These make great, cheap recon units with the Spearhead rule which effectively expands your deployment zone in Team Yankee.

Good shot of the Gophers

BRDM-2s

I have had these for a while but never finished them. Now they are done!

As a bonus, I can put the missile turrets from the Gophers on two of them and proxy them as Gaskins. It's not an exact match, but it's good enough to get the idea across.

Air Defense Artillery

SA-13 Strela-10 "Gophers" on the left, ZSU-23-4 "Shilkas" center

All the Reinforcements together.

Acacia Heavy SP Artillery in rear.

Warsaw Pact Reinforcements Arrived

   Just in time to hit the battlefield a week or two after the end of our Firestorm Campaign... but they are here.

   I just got some air defense systems and some heavy artillery support. The ADA comes in the form of a pair of ZSU-23-4 "Shilkas" and SA-13 "Gopher" missile tracks. The Artillery is a trio (battery) of 2S3 Acacias.

SA-13 "Gopher" (NATO designation)

9K35 Strela-10 (Pact)

2S3 "Acacia"

SO-152 Akatsiya

ZSU-23-4 "Shilka"

Named for the battery of four 23mm cannon... tricksy Russians!

   Now if I can just get them painted... but I think I have come across a quick paint solution for Soviet vehicles, which, let's face it, don't have the most difficult paint scheme of solid green. I'm trying it out on some BM-21 Hail MRLS trucks and a battery of Czech DANA SP guns. Wish me luck.

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.

Ion Age War Mecha "Arcus" Magog

   Okay, I am on the cusp of ordering one of these. I just love the rocket pods. From the Ion Age line, and you can find them here. They've a good sale with it right now as well, if you hurry before 27 November, I think.

Skipping MillenniumCon This Year

   I won't be there this weekend in Round Rock. Life gets in the way sometimes, and I have a ton of research papers to finish grading. But it was a good convention last year and I think worth the time for folks to attend.

   I have been getting a few things finished up. The biggest deal is that I finished up enough Afrika Korps infantry to field a full Africa Rifle Company for Flames of War v4. That's a Company HQ consisting of two HQ stands; two platoons of four infantry stands, a 2.8cm AT gun stand, an sMG42 stand, and 8cm mortar stand; and a 5cm Tank Hunter Platoon of three PaK38 stands.  And that means I can field both sides!

The full company required to make a formation in FOW v4

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

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.

The Town of Baderimschott

   I got out all of my 15mm European terrain yesterday and set up a West German town for a future game of Team Yankee. It's pretty tight quarters throughout - a tanker's nightmare! Mostly, I wanted to see what all I actually have, and what I may still need. Plus, it was fun. I took a few photos, and here is what you get: the completely fictional town of Baderimschott, somewhere in West Germany.

   All pieces are Battlefront/GF9 Battlefield in a Box unless noted otherwise. The mat underneath is from Cigar Box Battle Mats.

Das Altquartier

This is the older part of town, undamaged by the previous war.

The cobblestone roads are JR Miniatures, and the little hedges are from someone else and I can't think who right now but I got them at Historicon.

Down the High Street

On the left is Die Waffelhaus,

On the right is the offices of FabrikwerkenGeheimschellschaft.

Aerial View of Baderimschott

Ignore the mess around it. The table is 4'x6'.

The back of the Park house and the hotel (with the garden on the plaza). The flowered hedges are railroad scenery that I glued to flocked popsicle sticks, and Shazaam! Instant terrain.

Industrial Park

Town Center

Note the apartment complex on the corner. Very modern. 

(I just painted the aircon units and need to add them still)

The Orchard Farm is on the right, the petrol station to the left, across from the FuntimeGames factory.

The fields are home made, the trees are railroad trees I put on washers.

   So, I have a few things I think I need to add:

• At least one more Modern Roads Expansion. I need the crossroads and the short road pieces. I may cut some of my extra long roads down to help with that.
• A couple of packs of the cobblestone roads
• A couple of the rural roads, while I am at it. I don't have any good dirt roads for this scale
• Two more apartment buildings, maybe three
• More Cobblestone Squares, probably two sets
• The new Brick Factory
• 1 of each of the houses: Antwerp, Munich, Cherbourg, and Dieppe, especially if I can get alternate colors.
• 1 set of House Extensions
• Another Mechanic's workshop. Might paint it red to make a fire house (an idea I saw online); what's the German for firehouse?
• Another set of concrete walls. Maybe 2 of those.
• The European Farm. Again, maybe two.
• A second department store, again, especially if I can get an alternate paint scheme
• The cafe, if I can ever find one for sale now.
• More trees. I am working on some forest bases to make better area terrain.

   I do have, though I didn't put any out on this table, some of the train tracks, and the rail station and the switch house. I also have the road overpass and a couple of bridges. I have a billboard sign or two that I haven't painted up yet. I need to decide what I want to put on them.

   Finally, I have a few pieces by Miniature Building Authority, but I like the FOW European stuff better for 15mm. I didn't put them out but I could if I had to make it bigger. I also have a sawmill but thought it would look out of place, as it's more old-fashioned.

   One last note: if I wanted to make it an East German town, I would get rid of the fast food joints and the flowery shrubs and trees. I would definitely want more apartment blocks, factories, and industrial stuff. Give it a bit more of a grim feel.