TFL Painting Challenge: So Many Entries, A Special Monday Nighter Is Needed!

Having updated the challenge on Saturday, I thought I'd be okay for a couple of days, especially as I am in the middle of writing up the AAR from Saturday night's game...but, no, unfortunately not: so many entries flooded in yesterday and today that I have had to sacrifice my AAR writing for a special Monday Night update.

So, in no particular order, we have achievements from:

• Treadhead in 28mm, a couple of Shermans and a farm
• Mr Douglas with yet more LOTR figures
• Benito hasn't painted much recently (been playing rather than painting, lucky man) but here are a fistful of grenadiers 
• Egg is re-born, sending in his first entry of the new year, a lovely company of Skytrex and Forged in Battle early war British infantry
• Jason Ralls has a platoon of his own to send in: Soviets in 28mm. These take him over the 1,500 points mark: huzzah!
• Topyob submits some 15mm infantry of his own...but no pictures again!
• Mr Luther pops in seventy Aussie militia: also no photo, but one is sure to follow. This entry takes Mark over 500 points.
• Jon Yuengling enters sixty-three 1/600 tanks...and could someone make him three Crusader AA tanks, please, in the same scale
• Matt Slade achieves his usual high painting standard with 36 VSF infantry in 28mm
• and, last but not least, Mr Baldwin submits ten tiny houses from Bacchus

Inspired by the above, I'm off to do some painting of my own now, but before I do, here's today's picture: Egg's British infantry in 15mm

TFL Painting Challenge: Post-Rugby Round-Up

Now that the rugby is over for the day (magnificent game Wales vs Ireland...more mixed feelings about the England vs Scotland game), it must be time for a painting challenge update.

A high volume of entries today:

• Mr 'I Am Bruce' submits some 28mm Romans and Polish-types (I have answered your query re farmyard animals via e-mail)
• Richard Naylor achieves some more 6mm modern Soviet tanks
• New entrant Lloyd Bowler (must not make a hat joke, must not make a hat joke) smashes his way onto the scoreboard with a whole range of 1/600 ACW riverine craft supported by some 20mm Soviets
• Topi is back with some 15mm BEF figures (you're still just ahead!)
• Mr Plowman submits some lovely 15mm sci-fi figures
• Carole had apparently finished painting figures for the moment (at least until the postman arrives) and so turns her hands towards building terrain, lots of terrain
• Matt Slade goes very small and then very large, with entries from 6mm to 35mm
• and finally Mr Yuengling pops in some more 28mm cowboy types

Three photos today: a close up of Mr Plowman's sci-fi figures; one of Mr Bowler's 1/600 ships, and Carole's walled garden...

Great Paint Job!

USS Ossippi in 1/600th scale

Carole's Walled Garden

IABSM AAR: North of Caen/02

Here's the second of the three promised IABSM AARs from The Wargaming Addict.

Keen to make up for his previous performance, the Addict plays the same scenario again, but this time with very different results.

Click here or on the picture below to see another great battle played out not on the tabletop, but on the Battleground Engine.

All this posting of AARs has made me quite jealous for a game: lucky I have one tomorrow night!

Oh, and I'll update the painting challenge this weekend too.

IABSM AAR: North of Caen

Although I have occasionally played computer wargames or wargames moderated by a computer, I have primarily always been a wargames who games on the tabletop with figures, dice and a rulebook.

There's something immensely satisfying about pushing lead around a tabletop loaded with brilliant terrain, and nothing beats the feeling of dice in the hand ready to roll just what you need!

Tabletop gaming, however, does require an awful lot of room.

I, for example, have only recently reclaimed my wargaming room from its sabbatical as a 'kids playroom', and so am very familiar with the effort involved in having to clear the living room, set everything up, and then put it all away before the house can resume normal function.

The Wargaming Addict has apparently solved that problem with the use of the Battleground Gaming Engine. You can visit his site by clicking here, or more simply read the AAR describing his first foray into non-figure gaming using IABSM from December 2013 by clicking on the picture, below.

Interesting stuff...with two more AARs to follow over the next week or so.

IABSM AAR: The Ponte Grande Bridge

Martin981463 posted some great photographs of a recent IABSM game onto the TFL Yahoo group, but Yahoo being Yahoo, the pictures came out in all the wrong order and without the captions.

Here are the pictures again, carefully organised into a gallery, and with captions included.

Click here or on the picture, below, to see the storyboard unfold: enjoy!

TFL Painting Challenge: Sunday Night Update, Quite Large!

Plenty of entries flooding in: last update was Tuesday, and easily enough new achievements to justify another update now.

In no particular order, we have:

• Richard Naylor with a company of 6mm Russian APCs and some 20mm WW2 US infantry and supports
• Mr Douglas with some orcs and Uruk Hai
• The painting machine masquerading as Carole bangs in a brigade of 15mm French cavalry and a couple of terrain pieces
• The notorious AJH rides again with large numbers of 6mm ACW infantry and artillery
• Mr Stapells has, in his own words, gone Fallschirm-crazy, submitting a platoon of late war troopers plus enough supports to justify his opponent fielding a company of Shermans!
• Jason Ralls rises phoenix-like once again, with some dead cowboys and a massive beastie from the depths of Brimstone
• Mr Baldwin prepares for Market Larden with over two score 28mm WoR infantry and a Spanish guerilla (the freedom fighter sort, not the great ape)

Plenty of pictures to choose from...let's have one of Mr Baldwin's WoR units:

Still plenty of you who haven't submitted anything yet for the new year: time for a catch-up submission if you ask me!

25mm SA-34 Portee

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... 

IABSM AAR: Normandy Game

Another great battle report from Mike Whitaker: a game of I Ain't Been Shot, Mum set in Normandy.

Mike has a great and regularly updated blog that you can reach by clicking here.

To read the report click here or on the picture below.

TFL Painting Challenge: Tuesday Night

Hi all.

Enough achievements posted to merit a quick Tuesday night update.

In no particular order, we have:

• Joakim with some completes he forgot to mention last time
• Mr Helliwell with some more Hessian types
• Fred Bloggs lists what he painted in February
•  Andrew McCarthy enters more (pictures, Andrew, pictures!)
• Jon adds some men to his cacti
• And Topyob bangs in some AWI and FOW figures

Plus I've had several requests to badger Rich for pics of his painting...but I think I'd rather leave him to get on with rule-writing. After all, he's got to hurry if he's going to get everything finished by Easter!

As for today's photo...well, it's a few days late but it's my tribute to an actor who both was and was not his most famous character. RIP Leonard Nimoy, 1931-2015:

Live long and prosper!

Weedl Scout Flyer

I've mentioned before how much I like Zombiesmith's Quar: WW1 era anteater types with suitably Heath Robinson vehicles.

One of their latest releases is the first of the 'aerocraft': the Weedl Scout Kite. This is a lovely model that is easy to put together and paint. It even comes with a propeller in thin brass.

Here's my attempt at painting one of them:

TFL Painting Challenge: Saturday Night Update

Ah, as I listen to the oft-heard sound of wife and eldest daughter arguing about...well, I don't know what and, quite frankly, have no wish to know as I might then get dragged into it, I think it's time for a painting challenge update.

Today's entries are from:

• Mr Douglas with more LOTR figures
• Mr Baldwin with an entry that originally got lost and is now found: some 6mm Sudan figures and some 15mm WW2 American Paras (I must get started on mine)
• Joakim with twelve Brimstone figures
• Mr Luther with over 100 6mm infantry and 24 6mm AFVs
• Jon Yuengling submits some cacti
• Mr Slade submits some Prussians
• Our friend Topi submits some 15mm WW2 vehicles and guns
• Mr Ralls returns with some more re-basing and also a spot of Brimstone painting
• Bad news for Carole: she's been laid up with a bad foot...but good news for her painting challenge score as it's given her a chance to ready another prodigious entry

Carole also becomes the first person to beat her 2014 score (new entrants don't count) although I suspect her previous year's score was so low because she only started submitting entries late in the year!

Today's picture is a reminder to me to get on with my US Paratroops: it's Mr Baldwin's US Paratroopers...

CDS AAR: The Horror, The Horror!

Something we haven't had for quite a while: a Charlie Don't Surf! after action report.

This one comes from the excellent A Wargaming Gallimaufry blog (click on the name to go there) where you'll also find AARs for Chain of Command  and other, non-Lardy games.

The scenario pitches a Free World aid station coming under attack from NVA while an under-strength company is on their way to relieve it.  The aid station has the advantage of a Platoon of special forces but were likely to face a heavy assault before the relief force could get there. Click on the picture, below, to see the full report.

Q13 AAR: Harook Play A Blinder

I'm still playing lots of Q13...and still getting beaten with monotonous regularity!

Here's a quick AAR of a game featuring the Harook (bird men) versus some Weird World War 2 Americans. I played the Americans and...well I'm sure you can guess what happened!

Click on the pic to see the whole AAR:

TFL Painting Challenge: Sunday Night, Lots of Achievements

So here we are, Sunday night, the calm before the storm of a week's work ahead of us. What could sustain us through the darkness? Why, the TFL Painting Challenge of course!

Here, in no particular order, are this week's entries:

• Jon Yuengling paints more 15mm vehicles
• Mr Burt does Alexander and his Companions
• John de terre neuve submits some French, some pulp and some appropriately winter-like terrain
• Monsieur "I Am Bruce" enters some Dux stuff
• Carole, never off this list, submits another brigade of 15mm Nine Years War figures
• Treadhead pops in a squad of US troops for CoC, some heavy weapon teams to support them, and almost enough outhouses to see to their other needs!
• And Mr Helliwell adds some more 15s to his collection

Rare that I choose terrain as the pic of the day, but today I have. Herewith JDTN's winter terrain in 20mm:

More Garn, more Quar

Just filling in a few gaps in my Garn and Quar armies.

First up, the command and FOO teams for the Garn. These are the "new look" Garn just released by Khurasan: less T-Rex with guns, more sci-fi lizard- or dragon-men.

Here we have a couple of commanders, and a couple of FOO who are presumably calling in fire from their "Distant Tooth" satellites.

Then we have a few more Quar Coftyrans:  three Big Men and the howitzer from the Heavy Weapons section:

Clicking on the photos will take you to the full gallery page for each army.

IABSM AAR: Skirmanevo

Another amazing AAR gallery from Mark Luther. This one dates from 2008, and features the battle of Skirmanevo on the eastern front in November 1941.

There are over 85 photos in the gallery (I know, I've just spent three days captioning them all!) and although 6mm might not be my thing, you've got to say they look fantastic.

Click on the photo, below, to see them all.

Skirmanevo Before The Storm

TFL Painting Challenge: Is It Tuesday Already?

Some big entries tonight...no smirking at the back there!

We have:

• Mr Douglas with lots of LOTR infantry types
• Mr Ralls with lots and lots of 28mm infantry
• Mr Helliwell with some British Grenadiers
• Benito with some more DAK for CoC
• Tony Stapells swallows his embarrassment...
• The wonderfully named Maerk joins us, and enters some rather nice 28mm figures for Sharp Practice
• Topi reappears with a huge entry of 15mm figures that immediately sends him over the 250 point mark
• And Mr AJH pops in a triple brigade of 6mm ACW troops for Elephant

 Today's picture is from newcomer Maerk: a rather nice horse and cart for SP...

A Kryster Dosran-Ka or Two

I really like Zombiesmith's Quar: alien ant-eater types locked into a perpetual civil war in what is effectively World War One in terms of technology and troop types.

Available in 28mm, 15mm and 6mm, Zombiesmith regularly release new factions, each with their own distinct heritage and equipment.

The latest faction for release in 15mm are the Kryster: desert nomad types who fight in small companies of mixed infantry and armour. Best of all, the armour is typical Quar: wild, whacky and looks like something that could have been developed here on Earth.

First off the painting table is the armour: two Dosran-Ka, each comprising two Sothwyr armoured wagons and one Gwaeyr light armoured tractor. Here are the models grouped together rather than split by unit:

Sothwyr armoured wagons

Gwaeyr Light Armoured Tractors

See the rest of my Quar in their gallery by clicking here; or visit the Zombiesmith website by clicking here.

NB  I'll be updating the painting challenge again tomorrow: so get your latest entries in now!

TFL Painting Challenge: Sunday Morning Update

Yes, it's an odd one: a Sunday morning update.

Well, it's early and no-one else is up, not quite light enough to paint by...so it must be a good time to do an update and perhaps tidy up a few bits and pieces on the site.

BTW if you have your own website and like Vis Lardica, as I'm sure you do, whether you're in the Challenge or not, do please put a link to VL on your site: the Lard must be shared with all! Whatever it says in the top nav, www.vislardica.com will get you here, and it won't take more than a moment of your time to do.

Now, on to today's Challenge entries...

• Joakim enters some 28mm fantasy figures
• Topyob bangs in some AWI figures (photos please)
• The prodigious Carole finishes a whole brigade of horse and an orc found in the back of her drawer. That takes her flying past the 500 point mark: huzzah!
• Mr Yuengling pops in three more panzers 
• Owen is back, and with a vengeance. Three entries at once: some 15mm infantry, and then an enormous amount of 6mm sci fi including 58 houses. Takes him straight past the 500 mark as well: huzzah again!

To all you people who have been slaving away all weekend but haven't managed to send in your entries yet: don't worry, I'm sure I'll do another update tonight, tomorrow or Tuesday!

Today's picture is of Carole's brigade of horse: how does she paint so quickly?

IABSM AAR: Overloon

Here's another blast from the past: a 6mm IABSM game played by Mark Luther dating back to 2007.

I'm gradually loading up all Mark's 6mm AAR:  they do look jolly good!

Click on the pic to see the whole gallery.