Ave Caesar morituri te salutant!

So for something a little bit different after months of painting English Civil War and Afrika Korps I decided to dig these fellows out and give them a lick of paint. They are the last 6 Gladiators in my collection. The rest were painted up and sold off many years ago. I kind of regret that now. So with the club a buzz with getting some gladiatorial combat in, it was time to get them done. If my memory serves me right I think these figures were from Blacktree Designs, bought a long time ago. Still have a decent amount of detail and stand up well to more modern figures.

Dimarchaerus and Laquearius

Secutor and Bestiarus

Thracian and Samnite

With other club members painting up a few gladiators each, we should hopefully get some games in soon. For rules we will be trying out  Arena of Blood by Wiley Games. I'll also be looking to add a few more, probably from Crusader miniatures to fill in the gaps of the collection.

Last of the Covenanters

With the decent weather yesterday I managed to complete the last of my Scots covenanter infantry. So pleased to finally get these done. If I never paint another pikeman I'll be happy. The flag like the rest is from Wargames design.

So now it's time to get them all out as I needed to add some labels to the bases of the commanders. The force in total consists of 12 regiments of infantry, 6 regiments of horse split between Haqubusiers and lancers. A regiment of dragoons, 2 light guns and 2 field guns. The horse and artillery are a mix of Warlord plastics, Peter Pig and Alternative armies.

I've only a few things left for this project, a couple of villagers, 3 more casualty markers and adding bits of flock to some felt fields for the game. Just waiting on Mitch to complete his last few units and we can have a proper run through of the game and rules.

Covenanter horse and casualty markers

The end is getting closer. Today I finished the last regiment of Scots Covenanter cavalry. These are made up of Peter Pig, Alternative armies and Warlord plastics. Pleased to get these done and mark off another contingent as complete. The flag is from Wargames designs.

After our last play test, I decided I needed some casualty markers to track both casualties and hits. I had already put 10 together, but knew I would need more. So here is another batch of 8 to add to the collection. Still not sure if 18 will be enough. I do have 6 more that I can paint up.

So for me, just 1 more regiment of Scots Covenanter infantry to complete. I may also paint up another unit of commanded shot to help Mitch out as I have the figures. He just has the last 3 Royalist infantry to do and some Cavalry for Parlaiment.

Scots Covenanter Regiment

I'm getting very close to having all the troops done for Marston Moor. Mitch provided an update this morning with 2 of the 3 horse regiments he needed done now completed. I managed to soldier on and complete the 11th of 12 Scots Covenanter regiments we require. The flags as usual are from Wargames designs.

The 12th regiment has now been started, hopefully completed by next weekend. The last Scottish horse regiment is nearing completion. Just some highlights then basing to be done. 

I've also done another 8 casualty bases, now up to 18 for the game. Should be enough.

Back to ECW

After a couple of months painting up my DAK forces, I thought it was time to get back on to the Marston Moor project to get the last few units done. I had left it requiring 1 Covenanter horse regiment and 3 Covenanter foot regiments. Mitch still has 3 Royalist foot to do along with some commanded shot and 3 horse regiments for the Parliamentarians.

So the 1st of the 3 foot regiments I require. Didn't take long to get these done as they have sat half painted for a couple of months.  The flag is from Wargames design.

So pleased to get re-started on these. I've even managed to get the last of the figures undercoated and ready for painting over the next couple of weeks.

Rapid fire Reloaded - first game

So last night my DAK forces got their first game in. A 200 point force with a 50 point support option against Mitch's New Zealanders commanded by Sean. Mitch concentrating on the rules and umpiring the game. Pretty certain we got a few things wrong with the rules, but they seem quite quick to pick up and easy enough to play. For future games a stat sheet for the vehicles in use for quick reference would speed  up the game while learning the rules. As you play them more, less need for a reference sheet.

I didn't produce a AAR so just some photos of the game. In essence it was a meeting encounter in the desert. My Panzers attacked down the left, knocking out a couple of Shermans before eventually being caught in a crossfire and forced to retire. On the right my infantry and artillery got into a slugging match with their New Zealander counterparts, by games end it looked about honours even.

DAK artillery advancing

Panzers sweeping across the desert

New Zealanders appear

First casualty of the day

1st company moving up to support the gun line

Let's get them two Shermans

Bren carriers. These were a pain all game

Bail out!!!

1st Sherman taken out

The second one up in smoke as well

1st Panzer IV taken out from a Grant hiding in the dunes

2nd Panzer IV knocked out by artillery

3rd Company deploy to support the Stug

Lots of New Zealander infantry advancing

So, we go again next week. Mitch is organising a smaller scenario as we continue to learn the rules. Must admit, I enjoyed the game and looking forward to the next one.

Last minute DAK additions

So with 1 day to go to their first game  I needed to add a little extra firepower to the army. First up is the Pak40 75mm AT gun, just in case Dave fields plenty of armour. The model and crew are all from Peter Pig.

Next up was a pair of 105mm howitzer. Lovely models from Forged in battle.

The last addition was a pair of 81mm mortars, these are from Peter Pig.

I've now got the last of the AT guns and crew on the painting table. I just need my order of MDF bases to arrive for them. Dave also kindly dropped of the last of the 3d printed vehicles for me. 7 sdkfz 10s to tow the AT guns. 1 though will be used for my early war Germans.

Once these are done I can get back to the last remaining units for the Marston Moor game.

More DAK

With my first game on Thursday night getting closer, a few more figures crossed the finish line. First up is a battalion commander with a 50mm mortar team and 3 spare bases of riflemen. These are all from forged in battle.

The second batch is some sdkfz 10s to tow my AT guns. These 4 are from forged in battle. Just need to get the drivers painted up.

Now I have a race on to get a few more pieces done for Thursday. Doubt I'll get them all done but I've a Pak40, 2 x 105mm howitzer, 6 Pak38s and 2 x 81mm mortar teams on the painting table.

A few more DAK vehicles

I've made some more progress on these. I am aiming at the 400 point force from the Tebaga gap handbook which should give a decent size force with plenty of options. So first up is a Sdkfz253 OP halftrack, an additional kubelwagon and a Opel Maultier command truck. These are all 3d prints provided by Mitch.

Next up is a couple of Sdkfz 11 prime movers to tow some 105mm howitzers, when I get around to getting them painted up, These are also 3d prints from Mitch.

The last two are a couple of Panzer IIs, again 3d prints from Mitch. I love these small early war tanks, useful for recce but not a real match against other tanks.

So another 7 vehicles were added to the pool. I've got four sdfkz10s on the painting table. There is also a number of AT guns to do but I need to order some bases first as I've run out.