Israeli Air Support!

I feel like I’ve been a bit quiet on the blog recently, mainly because I have not really gotten anything finished…. My Jagdtigers have been slowly pushing along the painting front with the 3 colour camo applied and pin washed, whilst the Dust SSU walkers and infantry are slowly progressing to the point where they would be ready for washing this weekend. Meanwhile I decided to take a little break and knock out an Israeli Ouragan for Fate Of A Nation. I’ve had this model sitting on my desk for goodness knows how long so I thought it would make a quick and easy side project so I could feel like I have managed to finish something this month.

I airbrushed it with a couple of different Tamiya silver paints, pin washed it, applied decals, then painted the bombs, wing tip noses (whatever they are called) and canopy. It was a really quick and simple job – so much so I am thinking about painting an Egyptian MiG-17 just for fun.

 

 

 

Pushing ahead with my Dust SSU

It has been a very busy month on the hobby front with lots of things pulling me in multiple directions and as usual not getting much finished. Last week though I managed to get the base coats airbrushed on my Steel Guard HQ squad and Matrioshka.

I gave the models a quick clean up to get rid of the worst of the mould lines, then airbrushed them Tamiya Red Brown, with a directional spray of a 50/50 Red Brown and Dark Yellow mix. In some respects the results are a little subtle but I think they look quite good. If nothing else they help to make the real life lighting effects come out a little more.

I love the different backpacks for the HQ squad. Tossing around ideas on how to make it obvious which model is which. Currently thinking that the Officer (middle) will have a dark grey backpack, Mechanic (left) will have light grey, and the Medic a white backpack with a red cross.

The photos make the modulation appear quite subtle but I think in person they make quite a difference, especially on the armour panels on the side of the ams.

Next job will be to a little bit of detail work, then varnish and pin wash the models. However I have a few other tasks that need to take priority including getting my Jagdtigers ready for Panzerschreck as well as a little painting for a work project so I am not sure how long they will sit in this state....

2014 Painting Plans: Thinking about the Rhulic

Later this year a group of us will be heading down to Hamilton for the Annual Warmahordes Teams Tournament. We have put in some solid performances over the past few years, winning a couple of match-ups to keep us off the bottom of the table!

This year we thought we might try to theme our lists, each taking a different Rhulic caster and going for theme rather than substance. I am leaning towards taking Gorton as he is painted and I'm keen for any options to reduce my painting load..

I haven't really fleshed out the rest of the list yet, other than wanting to fit in a Ghordson Earthbreaker and (assuming I can convince my fellow Rhulic partners) Thor Steinhammer.

In preparation though I have begun assembling all of my remaining Rhulic models to I can pick and choose. The plan is to get everything built, based, undercoated and primed - that way I can start play testing a little later in the year and slowly finalise my plans.

Earthbreaker assembled and ready for action. A little tip: paint it in parts before doing your final assembly. I've made a 'Colossal' mistake fully assembling it as it is going to be hard getting into some spots

 

The rest of the assembled Rhulic boys. I have second units of High Shields and Forge Guard, as well as a Artillery Corps and Tactical Arcanist Corp still to put together.

 

 

I am currently thinking of a list that has an Earthbreaker, Thor, a couple of units of Forge Guard and maybe Brun Cragback & Lug. My intent is to begin painting some time after Panzerschreck (which is in July) depending on what other commitments come across my painting table.

SSU Red Tornado and Silent Death Finished

I've finally completed my first squads of Steel Guard, with two Red Tornado sections and two Silent Death sniper teams. This gives me a little over 60 points of painted troops, just need to get my HQ section done and a walker and I'll be close to having a fully painted Dust army!

I've decided to number the Steel Guard using some of the Flames Of War Vietnam PAVN decals. The big yellow numbers stand out nicely, and there are just enough numbers for what I need.
#00 - ?
#1-3 - HQ Squad
#4-6 - 1st Red Tornado section
#7-9 - 2nd Red Tornado section
#10-12 - ?
#13-15 - ?
#16-17 - 1st Silent Death team
#18-19 - 2nd Silent Death team
 
I am hoping that we will see a Steel Guard Hero (to take the 00 slot) at some point, along with some heavier weapon options (please be quad RPG launchers without limited ammunition!) so I can run a full 100 platoon without needing tanks or walkers.

Steel Guard ready for the tabletop

Red Tornado section

Silent Death team

Slow Progress on the Eastern Front

It has been a while since I posted anything about my SSU Army for Dust. Victor and I have been playing a lot of Dust Battlefield games over the past couple of months and really getting into it. Unfortunately on the modelling and painting front I have been splitting my efforts and making very little progress across a variety of armies, rather than any real progress on one!

However I did have a good “Thursday night painting session” and got most of my Steel Guard to the “almost finished” stage – just decals and 3 crewman left to paint on my first 10 figures. Once they are done I will get the HQ squad done, then move on to the vehicles.

That's big badda-boom!

Almost finished

What I am really enjoying is the fast and furious nature of the game. Things do stuff, things die, things come back, and a 100 point game (which seems to be the average "throw-down" size) can be played quite quickly, letting you get through a couple of games in an evening or afternoon.

Victor has also been making some progress on his Germans so hopefully we can get 100 points finished and put together a short battle report.

Portable Light Box

Late last year one of the guys at work came across a project on Kickstarter called the Foldio - The 1st foldable studio. For a start, who knew that Kickstarter was for anything except Tabletop and Computer games??? Anyway, the concept behind Foldio was that it was allowed anybody with a smartphone to easily take high quality pictures by providing a small light box. The light box itself was compact and (thanks to some magnets) able to be folded up when not in use, or easily packed away and carried around.

I am at best a barely competent photographer but I do like playing around a little. I've also been cleaning out the cupboards of excess miniatures so I figured that a small investment was worth it if it would mean that I could start taking some photos at home more easily. My primary use would be for work in progress shots etc because I could use the white table at work for anything more serious, or for taking shots for ebay.

The Foldio turned up on time, which must be a record for any Kickstarter product! Packed nicely, with a functional but pretty boring little carry bag. It was a little bigger than expected at around 28cm-ish square, meaning I could easily fit a Colossal in there. My version came with two little LED light strips and after watching the assembly video (which was not really necessary) I was up and running.

Foldio on the bookcase by the computer.

Picture, straight out of the camera, with no Photoshop wizardry (other than re-sizing etc).

Same photo with a little bit of Photoshop work (as you can tell, barely competent with Photoshop either!)

Same figures on the bookshelf, where the Foldio now sits.

So, thoughts? In life you can have things fast, cheap, or good - pick two. 

• Foldio is in my opinion quite cheap given that it was around $40 (delivered, with different coloured background sheets, with an extra LED light strip).
• It is fast - lets substitute quick and easy to use.
• As for the last one lets say that it is definitely okay, and it is definitely much much better than what I had (which was nothing). The one thing I do not like about it is that it does not provide particularly great source lighting, but what was I expecting for the price. Also I've spent all of 20 minutes playing around with so probably a ways to go yet. I do have a second LED light strip so I thought I would play around with the placement of that to see if I could introduce a little more light.

Closing thoughts - definitely a well design lead project that looks cool and is easy to use. It was never going to be as good as a "proper" (read more expensive) light box solution, but it sits on my shelf out of the way and with a little practice will become a nice addition to the blog toolbox.

As for buying one, in the short term you cannot as they are still shipping out orders from their Kickstarter campaign but you can always jump on their website to find out more about when they will begin production and distribution through conventional channels.

Ides of March 2014

Time once again seems to be flying by thanks to work and home, so I have failed to do a follow up to Ideas of March till now. IOM was a great Warmachine weekend with 40 players turning up from all over the country to duel it out. I took my Circle out for a run, using it as an opportunity to get my Woldwrath (pictured below) painted, along with a Druid Wilder and Gnarlhorn Satyr.

List 1:
Baldur the Stonesoul
- Woldwrath
- Megalith
- Woldwyrd

Druids of Orboros (full unit)
Shifting Stones
 - Stone Keeper

List 2:
Kaya the Wildborne
- Druid Wilder
- Feral Warpwolf
- Pureblood Warpwolf
- Warpwolf Stalker
- Gnarlhorn Satyr

Druids of Orboros (full unit)
Shifting Stones
 - Stone Keeper

The weekend went..... even worse than expected on the gaming front! I had played a couple of practice games leading up to the weekend so I thought I had an idea of how to play eBaldur, but I knew Kaya was going to be a little more difficult. In the end though my usual lack of match fitness really cost me. I did however have some truly epic moments with Kaya Spirit Door'ing into pButcher, flailing away, popping her feat and needing to roll up on a couple of attacks, failing badly and dying to his big choppy axe! eBaldur took on a Stormwall and learnt that those bad boys are bad for a reason - also realising that I started that turn with a plan and then threw it out the window a couple of minutes into it. On the positive side the guys that play at the lower end of the table are a great bunch, we all want to win but we also want to have a good time so the games were played in good spirits.

I leave my final placing till after the pictures of the Woldwrath to build the suspense!

So yeah.... highpoint was finishing the Woldwrath, coming 35th (out of 40) was not so great (in the context that we all want to win some games!) but this was evened out by bringing home the Best Sport Trophy - apparently having fun even when you are being curb stomped by a Cryx eGasphy list pays off.

So, great weekend, great organisation, great players.... shame it is 12 months till we get to do it all over again. Maybe I should start thinking about what I want to take and playing a game or two before then!

Battlecry 2014 Photo Dump

I've given up writing some sort of event report from Battlecry as time seems like it is flying by! Instead here are some brief notes, and some photos - sadly I was very slack with my in-game shots...
The list:  
HQ Platoon
1 Tiger I E

Combat Platoons
Schwere Panzer Ausbildungs Platoons
2 Tiger I E
2 Tiger I E
2 Konigstiger (Porshe) 

Leichte Panzer Ausbildungs Platoon
4 Panzer III N

Weapons Platoons
Panzergrenadier Ausbildungs Platoons
3 Grenadier Squads with 6 Pioneer MG teams

Support Platoons
Luftwaffe Light Anti-aircraft Gun Platoon
3 3.7cm FlaK43

Round 1 vs Lance (British Commandos). I spread my forces to avoid the NFGS whilst I waited for reserves. Luckily Lance got a little keen with his Archilles and I knocked them out early.

My Panzer IIIs spent the game dodging 6"shells and shooting up infantry, at the far end of the table my Tigers, King Tigers, and 37mm AA fought hard to keep the objective safe. In the end the Pz IIIs took the centre objective and I won

Round 2 vs Steven (Soviet 76mm horde). Steven and I had been discussing this match up at work, thinking that he would need the right mission to have a chance... turns out he got it. With half of our armies in reserve and mine turning up at the far end of the table he was able to jump them and easily knock them out one at a time. At the near end my infantry found themselves assaulted by another T-34 tank company and were quickly knocked out... a 1-6 loss

Part of Stevens horde on the starting line!

Round 3 vs Rob T (PAA500... with an extra King Tiger, but no Panzer IIIs). Rob and I had a bit of a mirror match, from lists through deployment. Unfortunately his extra King Tiger meant he had a leg up and I had to attack.... and that ended badly! I pushed on both flanks but lost things early, my King Tigers rescued some honor though by taking out his 37mm tucked behind the treeline by the river!

Round 4 vs Tony (Hero Motor Strelk). Tony and I are old mates and I knew he had a few tricks up his sleeve. I deployed hard on one flank knowing I would have to attack up the length of the table. I hide my infantry and 37mm AA inside forests to stop him picking up easy kills

Advancing up the table, slowing grinding my way (one infantry company down)

Tigers in trouble... luckily I diced my way out of that one! I eventually managed to knock out enough of Tony's infantry that I freed up some terrain to move around, allowing me to pick off some of his units piecemeal, resulting in a drawn out win.

Round 5 vs Rob S (PAA500...same list as the other Rob). Last game, another half on, half off mission... and lots of objectives to defend. Rob and I danced around a little, trying to minimise and maximise (depending on perspective) the effects of the 3rd King Tiger. In the end Rob got Tigers near one objective, and infantry on the other but I managed to hold him off (I even employed a dirty trick Tony taught me about making tanks flee off table in an assault) whilst my Panzer IIIs snuck down the near flank and took out his AA, resulting in Rob's company breaking.

Super cool Lego Star Wars!

 

In the end I came in the top half with three wins, but 2 solid losses. Really happy with how the list came together and found it to be really fun to run. Not sure if I would change anything to be honest... In a 1750 point event I would definitely upgrade the Pioneers to MG Panzerfaust teams, and try to fit in a 2iC to give the list a little more flexibility!

X-Wing After Hours!

Andrew and I had a little spare time after work last night so we decided to have a quick game of X-Wing. This subsequently triggered the realisation that it has been around 12 months since I had a game... damn, going to have to rectify this situation and play some more. In order to maximise my fun I decided to take models I had never used and quickly put together a list.

Captain Yorr (Lambda Class Shuttle)  24 points
- Gunner - 5 points
- Blaster Turret - 4 points
- Anti Pursuit Lasers - 2 points

Sabre Squadron Pilot (TIE Interceptor) - 21 points
- Adrenaline Rush - 1 point

Sabre Squadron Pilot (TIE Interceptor) - 21 points
- Adrenaline Rush - 1 point

Sabre Squadron Pilot (TIE Interceptor) - 21 points

Facing up against Andrew's Heroes of the Rebellion list:

Wedge Antilles (X-Wing) - 29 points
- R2-D2 - 4 points
- Proton Torpedoes - 4 points

"Dutch" Vander (Y-Wing) - 23 points
- Proton Torpedoes - 4 points

Ten Numb (B-Wing)- 31 points
- Ion Cannon - 3 points

My plan was to use the Lambda bus up front to absorb some damage and hopefully get in the way, using the Anti-Pursuit Lasers to score some free hits whilst the Blaster Turret kept it in the fight. In a second wave would be the TIE Interceptors, using their Adrenaline Rush cards to remove stress tokens, as well as Captain Yorr's ability to do the same.

Apologies for the quality of the photos as it was the iPhone to the rescue with pretty average office lighting!

Andrew deployed in the centre whilst I was off on one side, we both moved towards each other

I started to turn into him, with the Interceptors moving a little slower. The B-Wing and Shuttle traded shots, knocking out a few shields.

Up in each others faces there was a flurry of fire, the Shuttle loosing the last of it shields whilst the B-Wing took a pounding from the Blaster Turret and one Interceptor. Wedge lost his shields to some fine shooting from the middle Interceptor.

The B-Wing makes a dash for safety but is finished by the Blaster Turret on the Shuttle whilst everyone else flies past each other.

K-turns were the order of the day, Dutch and Wedge team up to knock out an Interceptor but Wedge is shot down with some outstanding shooting.

Dutch goes down the middle hoping to avoid too much fire.

But after a couple of turns of maneuvering ends up in a really bad spot.

And to add insult to injury the Interceptors (which rolled really well all game) continue their streak and finish the job easily!

In the end it was an outstanding game and the result was not really indicative of how close it was, I think my tactic worked well and at the same time I think Andrew made a couple of unlucky maneuver choices. Add to the mix that the Interceptor seems like a really solid choice for the Empire with a 3, 3, -, 3 stat line, letting it put a decent number of dice into the Rebel scum. Having the option of Focusing is outstanding as well as it is my preferred option (compared with Dodging anyway) due to the versatility of its use.

We are going to have a rematch over a couple of lunchtimes to see if Andrew can square up the series.

Last Models for Battlecry

Okay, so Battlecry has been and gone - more on that later, but in the rush to finish everything I am a little behind on the blog posts. I managed to finish my last two platoons 36 hours prior to the tournament (possibly a record for me, finishing so early that is!).

The Grenadier Platoon - I took a few liberties and made the MG/Assault Rifle/Panzerfaust/Pioneers...something for everyone for ultimate gaming flexibility... hopefully the purists won't notice!

FlaK43 37mm AA Platoon

I followed James' Splinter camo painting guide from the back of Desperate Measures with a few changes to suit my fast and loose painting style... I am unhappy with a few parts of the painting, primarily the rather average job I did on the faces and that the wash I put over the figures darkened up the camo pattern. However, the platoons are done and they look cool on the tabletop so...job done!