I must have been feeling very flush one day, as apparently I've had the 'Dustclouds' terrain pieces on back-order from Battlefront for some time.
Now just why anyone would need a marker for dust in the desert I don't know...but then again, they do look good and I obviously felt the need at some point! Whatever the reason, and whether I really need them or not, they were a nice surprise. Some people, eh: more money than sense!
One of my as yet unused T-55s with dustcloud!
One of my purchases at Warfare were some of Commission Figurines 15mm ruined buildings in laser-cut wood.
I was quite excited by these, so let one of them jump to the head of the painting queue, and knocked it up in a few hours late on Sunday.
This particular building, Konig Strasse, is easy to put together: four walls slot together and then mount onto the four pavement pieces if pavement is required.
Painting was pretty simple too: I painted the whole thing orange, then put a very heavy black ink wash over the top. Once that was dry, I dry-brushed very lightly in orange again, and then in a bone colour to bring up the relief. The doors I did in brown, the pavement in three shades of grey. The interior I just painted all grey, with no washing or dry-brushing.
I'm very pleased with the result, and can't wait to build the others. I think they'll do for any big city: Berlin, Stalingrad and even sci-fi...and at £13 for the one below, quite good value too.
Waugh Games, a wargaming retailer/online shop based in Teeside, is now producing its own range of resin 15mm WW1 and WW2 vehicles.
At the moment all that is available is a handful of German vehicles, but they look good to me and are very competitively priced.
The vehicles are in resin, with integral bases (which won't please everyone, but that I quite like) and metal turrets/gun barrels.
Currently listed in their store are:
And at the moment they are running a series of promotions that make the models even more affordable.
They need some good pics to really sell the models, but here's the Opel Maultier:
Now I need some Maultiers for my Gebirgsjaegers, so I'm going to buy some (probably the three for £7.50 offer...very good value) despite the fact that although, as I said, I like cast-on bases, the base shown above is VERY big and, if you look carefully, there do seem to be lots of bubble-holes in the paneling on the main body of the truck. Or maybe they are supposed to be, or will look like, bullet holes. We shall see!
I'd been wanting to add Minairons' 15mm Flakpanzer Is to my early war German army for some time, but had been put off by the cost: £17.25 for a box of two makes for just over £8.60 per model, and they are mostly plastic. Must be something to do with the import from Europe, but that makes them even more expensive even than Battlefront!
Anyhow, a Plastic Soldier Company sale gave me the excuse I needed to get them, so get a box I did.
The models go together pretty easily, although I did have a problem with bent gun barrels. They arrived a bit bent, and must have been battered during the construction process somehow, as one barrel needed gluing to keep it from falling apart, and the other took ages to get properly straight.
The crew figures that you get with these models are nice, but pretty damn tall. The chap standing up leaning forward slightly, must be at least 6' 9" tall; and the kneeling guy is as tall as a standing infantryman from most other manufacturers.
Here they are painted up. In summary: nice models, but crew very tall, and very expensive for what they are.
Those of you who have gamed with me or seen my AAR will know that most of my infantry figures are based individually: a typical eight-man squad being made up of six figures on 5p pieces and the LSW team of two figures on a 2p piece.
This means that I can remove casualties without the dread "rings of death" ruining the look of the tabletop, and also position them along uneven terrain features as well.
Those are the positives.
The main negative, however, is that it takes an awful lot of time to move individual figures around the tabletop.
I have got around that in the past by using rectangular movement trays as shown in the picture below:
Functional...but not pretty!
These are fine: very functional...but they are not at all pretty.
Now, however, I have the solution, thanks to Warbases.
I contacted them a couple of weeks ago asking if they would do some custom bases for me: movement trays that would take my unique squad basing regimen both for 8-man squads and for 10-man squads. Needless to say, they came up trumps.
Here, for the first time, are my patent Avery-bases for IABSM:
Well, this is one of them after I've painted it a simple green and then flocked its upper surface.
You can immediately see that in addition to the holes for the figures, there's even a hole for a mini-dice which, in IABSM, I'll use to note Shock. Other systems could use mini-dice of different colours to differentiate units.
Here's how they look full of figures:
The new bases allow me to move figures around the tabletop quickly and easily, to remove casualties, and to make sure I don't get Shock dice lost or mixed up as well.
Well done, Warbases. I am one very happy customer!
The second platoon of US Paras are now done.
For these I used Battlefront figures rather than painting another platoon from Forged in Battle. Nothing against FiB, I hasten to add, just fancied a change.
These are nice figures in my favoured slightly-cartoony style. There are a couple of differences with the FiB set: the Battlefront have no dressing-packs on their helmets, and they all have these irritating little daggers strapped to one leg. On the plus side, however, the platoon comes with three machine gunners with a tripod-holding crew, which are very nice indeed. Also of note are the chaps throwing a grenade: nice action pose.
So now all I have to do is decide which manufacturer gets the vote for platoon three. Let me know what you think I should do: FiB again, or Battlefront again, or someone else?
US Paras from Battlefront
I've already mentioned how I bought several half-price Battlefront blisters at Salute and the fact that for most of them it was just because they were half-price!
Well one pack I would have bought even if it were at full price as it fits in perfectly with my current US Airborne project: a pack of ten bazooka teams i.e. all you could need for a Paratroop or Glider company and more.
Having used Forged in Battle for one platoon, the LMG teams and the light mortar teams, I must confess it was quite nice to get back to familiar Battlefront infantry grounds. Nice big surfaces, nice big faces...suits my Perry-three-layer style very nicely.
Here they are:
That puts me on 427 points for the painting challenge, with my target for the year being 1,000 points...which means only 73 points needed to paint before the end of June to stay on target.
Well, there's 42 points on the painting table at the moment, and another thirty-three in the garage, undercoat drying.
Last year I missed by only a smidgen. This year I am going to hit 1,000 points!
Part of my loot from Salute: a couple of Lorraine L38 carriers.
These are (badly photographed!) Battlefront models in resin i.e. come as one complete piece each and mounted on a base. Nice figures: paint up easily, and the integral base saves a lot of time.
God knows if I'll ever use them, mind you, but they were half-price in a bargain box, so an absolute must buy anyway!
Next up in my building of Band of Brother's Easy Company are the 60mm mortar teams. I've used Forged in Battle figures again, and am again very happy with the results, even if the photography is a bit pants.
Now onto the bazooka teams: Battlefront figures for them...and a pack of ten 2-man teams bought for half-price at Salute!
Here are the mortar teams:
What should I have been doing this afternoon? Well either painting some more US Airborne figures, or some of the six alien races for Q13 I have on the go at the moment, or uploading more 19thC battle reports to this site so that I can get that section finished and move on.
What have I actually been doing?
I've actually spent a very pleasant afternoon re-organising all my US forces for IABSM, amending the photo galleries of the Rifle and Tank Companies to bring them properly up to date, and finally getting around to constructing the gallery for the Armoured Rifle Company. Seems like I need an awful lot of half-tracks of the M2 and M3 variety, along with a handful of 1.5 ton trucks!
Five down, an awful lot to go!
But seriously, I do think that properly cataloging your troops is an important part of our hobby...a part that's sometimes sadly neglected. I have a master spreadsheet of all my figures (all 15,000 of them) by period and unit, which also notes how many times each unit has been on the tabletop. Dividing one figure by the other then gives you a master efficiency quotient, so that I can see which of my armies are the most cost-efficient!
Then I have OB workbooks, where I list each force I've built by order of battle. This is really useful when playing pick-up games, as I can just print out a force's OB, then add or subtract units as required. The galleries on this website are a reflection of these spreadsheets: so far they're complete for my WW2, Vietnam and sci-fi armies, but I haven't even started on my 19th century, ancients or fantasy collections yet!
Thousands of them? Let me just have a look at my spreadsheets and I'll tell you exactly how many there are!
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I keep a workbook with how I painted each army in it. Very useful when adding extra units to an already existing force.
Nerd?
Maybe so, but then to me the spreadsheets are all part of the fun!
As some of you may know, I have started putting together a company of US Paras, plus supports, in 15mm.
The MMG Platoon proved a successful test paint, so I decided to bite the bullet and get on with the first of the big paints, the first platoon.
Being a bit sick of painting Battlefront figures, and wanting to spread my cash between manufacturers, I decided to get my first Airborne platoon from Forged in Battle. I like their vehicles, their infantry is metal, and some of the poses I'd seen in various images looked very good.
Well that platoon is now finished, and very pleased I am too. The poses proved excellent, the castings were almost totally flash free, and there wasn't a dud figure in the pack (Battlefront take note!). Here they are:
As you can see, they have taken the paint very well indeed.
For those interested, my painting method was as follows:
Phew! That's twenty-five steps for each of the 32 men (three squads of ten and two Big Men), but worth it as I'm very pleased with the results. Here's my favourite figure:
Now onto to platoon two, for which I have figures from Battlefront.
Exciting news for all 28mm 20thC/modern gamers: the TooFatLardies and Warbases have got together to produce a new range of laser cut terrain pieces. Here's the news item from Lard Island News:
Part of the joy of wargaming is the opportunity to, albeit briefly, suspend our disbelief and see ourselves as Napoleon or Wellington, commanding vast armies, or Sidney Jary at the head of 18 platoon. For me, a big part in creating the environment which encourages that immersion in the narrative of our games is getting a table that not only is pretty, but also looks right. In so many cases it is the small detail which makes a big difference. In all of the games we have run around the shows, it has been stuff like telegraph poles and (believe it or not!) cabbages growing in the garden which have received the most comments. Interestingly, it is small detail like this which I have so often found myself having to scratch build, with varying degress of success if I am honest, as most terrain companies tend to focus on the big stuff, like buildings, bridges and walls, rather than the minutiae. Well, that’s all about to change.
Before Christmas I had a long discussion with my old chum Martin up at Warbases and floated the idea of starting a range of terrain for Chain of Command. To my mind it is the skirmish or platoon level game which really comes to life when you add some extra detail, and I wanted us to work together to start producing the type of items which I really wanted to see in my games. As always, Martin came up trumps, as my dodgy sketches and vague ideas were turned into something practical and VERY pretty. The great news is that we will have the first two packs available at Salute. These are as follows:
Pack One includes the following:
Pack One
As you can see below, the lean to greenhouse will fit neatly onto any flat walled building
Pack Two contains the following:
PACK TWO
All of the models are in laser cut MDF and, where shown they have suitably embossed paper to cover the roofs and serve as tar paper or roof felt as used in the early 20th century. Even better is the news that each of the packs will be retailing at just £16 each, great value for models which will really transform your wargames table. We hope to have these available on the web site immediately after Salute, although I reckon these will be a sell-out at the show!
These look great! Now all I need is for them to be produced in 15mm as well!
I've never been big into terrain.
I am never going to make any (far too much like hard, and messy, work) and in the past it's always seemed like a waste of money that could be spent on more soldiers.
That, however, was before I got my wargaming room back after its sabbatical as a kids playroom, and before I moved this website to Squarespace. I'm having more games now, and the photos are easier to process and upload, and my existing terrain...well, it just isn't up to scratch any more.
Wooden huts for the Eastern Front from 4ground
I have had very good experiences with 4Ground's range of wooden huts for the Eastern Front, so I thought I'd see if I could get some more of that sort of thing, but this time for the Far East.
A quick search of the web, and I found Sarissa Precision Ltd: a UK company that do a nice little range of laser-cut wood buildings just like 4Ground's.
They have six different village huts in their Far East range, so I bought one of each, and have spent the last few days putting them together: I love the smell of laser-cut wood in the mornings!
Once built, however, I felt they were slightly lacking something. Not in the models themselves, I hasten to add, they were lovely, just that the setting demanded something more.
So I have been very brave, and I have pimped them up!
First I've added a toupee of wool roving (whatever that is!) bought from the local Hobbeycraft to their roofs. This was quite difficult: it involved smearing white glue over the roofs, then carefully snipping off and sticking down layers of wool cording so they look a bit like some kind of vegetation. Don't ask me what sort of vegetation: just enjoy the look!
It didn't turn out just how I wanted it too.
Building One: Planked Style Village House - Low
Apparently you're supposed to be able to comb this stuff, and I had envisioned a sort of green thatch effect...whereas what I have achieved is more Boris Johnson! But I like it, and I think it will look good on the tabletop amongst the plastic palm trees and lichen.
Next, I thought that the empty holes for every door and window (on some of the huts: others have a wooden lattice effect) looked a bit odd.
Building Two: Small Village House
So back to Hobbeycraft and the purchase of a roll of hemp trimming. From this I have made crude blinds/curtains which actually round things off nicely. Flocked bases and the odd shutter finish things off: at least until I can buy some little pots and other household detritus with which to decorate the bases.
So a little bit of work to make them look super, but highly, highly recommended. Oh, and they cost £52.50 for the six, with only £2.50 p&p.
Here are the other four:
Building Three: Woven Palm Style Village House - Low
Building Five: Planked Style Village House
Building Four: Woven Palm Style Village House
Building Six: Small Village House - Low
A Small Village Somewhere In The Far East
I've taken the plunge and finally decided to get myself a company-plus-supports of US Paras.
I think it was watching Band of Brothers again that did it: it was either the Paras or early war Poles, and somehow seeing Dick Winters and co. charging round Normandy and onto Germany tipped the balance.
It also means I'll be able to play the multitude of available scenarios involving US Airborne forces using the proper figures!
Here are my first efforts: the Light Machine Gun Section:
The figures are from Forged in Battle: I decided I needed a change from Battlefront and Peter Pig, and so decided to give FiB a go. It's not a conversion though: I've only got the machine gunners, above, and a single platoon of infantry so far. We'll have to see how the first platoon paints up before deciding which manufacturer will have the privilege of providing platoons two and three!
Uniform-wise, they are portrayed in the drab uniforms worn for D-Day. I think this provides a more iconic image than the more green gear worn later on in the war. You'll note that I have painted on the eagle insignia: I did try using those teeny-tiny transfers, but they proved too fiddly to manage, despite Model Dads video tutorial.
Right: on to the first platoon now...
Not quite sure why I bought these, as I don't have any Tirailleurs for French in North Africa, but I'm sure it seemed like a good idea at the time, and they have painted up quite nicely.
So, here they are: two Laffly S15 TOE armoured trucks...
I've now almost finished all the models I bought in the Battlefront early war sale. Here are a couple more: two 25mm SA-34 Portees for a French Escadron de Fusiliers Portees.
These are fine models that paint up beautifully. Although the picture is not a particularly good one, there's some nice layering on the crew's uniforms and helmets, and you can see that the brown patches that form part of the vehicles' camouflage has come out quite well too.
Right, back to the sci-fi figures now...
I've wanted some A13s for use with the Operation Compass scenario book for some time, but have never wanted to spend the money on metal or resin models. I've got A13s for France 1940, and they ably substituted during the booklet's playtesting.
Late last year, however, Russian manufacturer Zvezda released plastic A13s that were available at just £1.95 a model...and I couldn't resist and immediately bought a squadron from PSC.
Let's start with the downside:
However, the upside easily outweighs the above: ten tanks for under £20 that paint up very adequately for use on the tabletop. An absolute bargain, and I don't think they look too bad. Let me know what you think...
A bit blurred, but here's the Squadron HQ tank
And here's No 1 Troop
You can see them all in the British Desert War gallery (click here or use the navbar, above).
Here's an actual picture from the western desert. You can see that there's no divisional ID number on the front mudguard, and that there's an the 'added on' track guard along the sides...but otherwise it looks about the same. Camo scheme seems right, although I'm intrigued by the track guard colouring. Also love the tattoos on the bloke on the turret's forearms, and the pith helmets on the front deck!
Keen to clear the painting table ready for my next major project (WW2 US Paras modelled on Band of Brothers' Easy Company), I've just finished a couple of British Morris CS9 armoured cars for the desert.
Nice little models these, from Battlefront, and with some nice detailing on the hull and crew figure. They will represent vehicles from 11th Hussars for Operation Compass.
One of my purchases at Warfare this year was Peter Pig's new 'Soviet Dancing Group': eight figures, two with accordions, two with balalaikas, and four doing the stereotypical Russian male dancing thing.
Now those of you who have read my previous post about the Gebirgsjaeger heavy mortars, and the unlikelihood that I will ever get them on the table (minimum range 76"!), must now be concluding that I have finally flipped my lid and decided not to paint anything that I will actually use ever again. I mean, when will I ever need to field musicians and dancing soldiers?
Well I'll tell you when: every time I field any Soviet MMGs.
You see, under IABSMv2, MMG teams were almost always crewed by three men; but under IABSMv3, they are almost always crewed by five men. It's a better fit with the durability of MMG teams, but does cause pain for those of us who have all their MMG teams crewed by three figures not five.
Well not any more!
Now my Soviet MMG teams will appear with their existing three crew members, but each will be accompanied by a couple of music-playing/dancing soldiers. Representation of correct crew numbers problem solved!
Here they are: both as a group and so you can see the (nicely sculpted) figures:
I think I'm going to need a bigger table.
With a minimum range of 76", I shall need to put my new unit of German Gebirgsjaeger (mountain troops) Heavy Mortars somewhere out in the garden in order to be able to actually use them in a game!
So why did I bother to buy and paint them up?
Don't know: except for the fact that they are some of the really good Gebirgsjaeger figures from Battlefront - those of you who have read my review of the range (click here) will know that for some reason the Battlefront 15mm Gebirgsjaeger range is neatly divided into two halves: one half being some of the nicest 15mm figures I have ever seen, the other half being one of the worst!
Well, of course I do know why I bothered: it's because they're on the list.
Yes, of course the main reason I have got them is because the IABSM army lists for late war Gebirgsjaeger say that they have heavy mortars as support at Battalion and Regimental level...I've just chosen to ignore the comment that follows stating that they should always be considered as off-table and be actually represented by an FOO unit!
Maybe one day I will get a chance to field them...once the extension is finished!
Here they are:
Vis Lardica is a website devoted to wargaming and military history, with a special emphasis on the company-sized rulesets produced by the TooFatLardies: I Ain't Been Shot Mum (WW2); Charlie Don't Surf (Vietnam); and Quadrant 13 (science fiction)
Welcome to Vis Lardica, a not-for-profit website mostly dedicated to the company-sized wargaming rules produced by the TooFatLardies, but encompassing my other gaming interests as well.
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