Saturday 27 July 2013

This heat is killing me

Well in true English fashion I am complaining about the weather. Seems we are never happy, it's either raining, too cold or  too windy, but this heat is draining me. The muggy nights mean very little sleep and after a day at work I cannot be bothered to paint figures or update the blog, it's just too hot.

So the figures below were painted a couple of weeks ago, it's only now that I've got around to posting pictures of them So without further ado here they are. First up is a 15mm Skytrex Sherman tank from my spare box, must of been a left over from the US force I sold last year. The commander figure I believe is from Battlefront.



I'll need to get some decals to finish the model off. I have also discovered a second tank that I will get painted up. A shame they don't fit with my Early war Brits.

Next up is further progress on my Crimean War project. I have finished all the infantry for the 13/14th division. I have also painted up 2 divisional commanders and the command base for Prince Menshikov. The infantry are all from Pendraken and the Officers from Old Glory.

Prince Menshikov and Officers
13/14th Division
13/14th Division
Now I've got 3 more regiments undercoated and ready to paint as well as sufficient figures to complete a second division. However these have been sitting for over a week as I cannot bear the heat in my painting room. Oh for a little rain to cool things off.

Saturday 20 July 2013

Bolt Action game

On Thursday night at the club I put on a small game using the Bolt action rules from Warlord. Seemed only fitting as i had finished painting up the German platoon to face the British. I even copied an idea from Neal and used a gaming cloth to cover the hills to tray and give the layout a more natural look as it was meant to be rolling countryside. The pictures don't give it justice but both the players and myself were impressed with the look of the layout.

The British force consisted of a 2nd Lieutenant, 3 squads of riflemen with a Bren team each. A light mortar team and anti tank rifle team. Their role was to hold a bridge and prevent its capture by the Germans. The Germans had to take the bridge and push through to a farm house. The Germans consisted of a 2nd Lieutenant, 3 squads of 10 infantry, a light mortar team and 2 Machine gun teams.

The game was played more to get an understanding of the rules as both John and Chris had never played them before and I've only had a couple of games with Neal umpiring. I think we got through about 4 moves, slightly slowed as we used normal dice and had to keep checking what each number was for (need to get some Bolt action dice). The game petered out into a bit of a stalemate, both sides got into cover and became reluctant to move from it, very realistic in both my and the players view. It would be at this point that both sides would probably have called in support to shift their opponent.

A view from the German position
Germans go to ground
British infantry in position
All in an enjoyable game and we are sure to give the rules another run out, possibly introduce a couple of armoured vehicles though proxies may be required as I have nothing yet for the Early War period.

Saturday 6 July 2013

Crimean War project part 2

I have manged to get a second infantry regiment done. This time the 9 stands of the Minsk regiment. As usual the figures are all by Pendraken and the bases from Warbase. Sorry the pictures are not the best as I need new batteries for the camera and just used my mobile.

Minsk regiment
Minsk regiment
I've now got the next 2 regiments prepared ans ready for undercoating. These 2 are only 6 stands each so I may paint them simultaneously. As Pendraken do not produce any Generals in their range I have picked up some 10mm Russian Napoleonic generals from Old Glory. These are very nice figures and are compatible with the Pendraken range.

On a gaming front I managed to get in a game of Bloodbowl on Thursday night against my nephew. Now I haven't played these in years but we had fun. To keep things simple we both used the basic human teams, with my Norse used as a proxy. I eventually ran out the winner 2-1, but we both put it down to a training game.

Brionne Cavaliers try to protect the ball carrier
Odins Fury smash their way through
Thrower lines up a pass to the first score
Carnage on the sidelines
Both sides struggled in the first hals to inflict any casualties. That changed in the second half when I managed to remove 4 of the Brionne Cavaliers players from the game.

Monday 1 July 2013

10mm Crimean War Project

In conjunction with Neal I have decided to take part in putting together some 10mm forces for the Crimean War. Neal is going to concentrate on the British while I have agreed to do the Russians. Hopefully we can keep working on Dave who could then do the French. Why 10mm? mainly to keep the costs down, also I do kind of like the little chaps and they look good massed together, especially considering a lot of the Russian units work out at 12 stands, that's 36 figures.

We are using the order of Battle for the Battle of Alma, this gives me 3 infantry divisions and half a cavalry division to complete. SO on to the first unit (the testers). These are the Volhynia regiment that were part of the 14th division. All the figures are from the Pendraken range. I chose the figures in Great coats as I reckon that I will be able to paint these up rather quickly.

Volhynia regiment
Volhynia regiment
Volhynia regiment
Volhynia regiment
I've now got the 9 stands for the Minsk regiment prepped and ready for painting. I've also been looking into the cavalry. Pendraken only produce Dragoons and Cossacks, not the Hussars which were present at the Alma. This means I will have to use Magister Militum which produce the full range of cavalry, then I get into issues of compatibility. Also MM figures are more expensive than Pendraken....mmm decisions decisions.