TFL Painting Challenge: A Small But Perfectly Formed Update

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After last week's massive submission, folks seem to be resting up a bit!

No matter, we have Messrs Slade, Plowman, Burt and Douglas to keep us going.

  • Mr Slade with plenty of ruined buildings and some lovely 15mm sci fi troops from GZG and Khurasan
  • Mr Plowman with some 15mm sci-fi buildings and troops
  • Mr Burt with some Natal Native Contingent from the Zulu Wars
  • Mr Douglas with seventeen dwarves in 28mm

Today's pics are from Mr Slade and Mr Plowman. First up, some of Matt's sci-fi troops:

And in the same theme, Ralph's assorted 15mm sci fi troopers:

Now we're coming up to the end of the year, so could people get their final entries for 2015 in sooner rather than later please. Thank you!

Q13: More Dwarves in Space

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I've finally got around to basing and finishing my first platoon of not-powered-armour space dwarves: the Lethlings platoon from Khursasan.

These are lovely figures: as detailed (and just about as big!) as any other 15mm figures out there. These I painted as if they were full-size 15's i.e. basecoat, wash, then two highlights. Although the photography doesn't really do them justice, they look great.

Highly recommended.

You can see the whole Space Dwarves gallery by clicking here; and visit the Khurasan website (if he's open) by clicking here.

Sci-fi Buildings: The Next Generation

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One of the other things I saw at Warfare was some incredible sci-fi terrain from the Laser Terrain Company.

This is best described as slot together, modular corridors and rooms made out of plastic, and with the option to include working lights - achieved through very thin, almost paper-that-lights-up that can sit behind or underneath pieces of plastic with holes in them to look like panels, signs, floor lighting...whatever!

Now this terrain was 28mm, too big for the God's own scale (15mm) that I use, but the lads on the stand did mention that they were considering 15mm as well. Consider harder please!

You can get to their website here, or they have a Kickstarter going here.

Here are some pics to wet your whistle:

Looks amazing in daylight

And lights up at night

Some details

At Warfare, Laser Terrain were giving away samples. As I was with Neil and Tahir, and they didn't ant theirs, I have thus ended up with three barricades. Yes, they are 28mm, but they will do for gates, roadblocks, all sorts of things in 15mm. Here they are with one of my space dwarves:

Ruined Buildings from Commission Figurines

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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.

Q13: Updated "Dwarves in Space" Army List

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As I work my way through painting my space dwarves, I find myself needing to tweak and amend their army list. This is all part of the natural evolution of a Q13 army list.

For simplicity, for example, I've now consolidated the space dwarf infantry into two basic types: squads of 8-10 in armour; and squads of six in powered armour. This should make managing them on the tabletop slightly easier.

I've also added a few bits and bobs. The Goanna tanks can now carry shield generators in their turrets (see previous post), with a platoon now consisting of two 'fighting' vehicles and one 'shielding' vehicle...something that really adds a bit of flavour to things.

Likewise on the flavour front, I've finally succumbed and added a couple of GZG's excellent civilian CLEM (Construction, Logistics and Engineering) Mecha to give the little fellas some engineering back-up, and I'm looking forward to seeing what one can do with a shearing laser and a chainsaw!

hercules "b" mecha from ground zero games (click on the image to go straight to gzg's website)

hercules "b" mecha from ground zero games (click on the image to go straight to gzg's website)

This is the great beauty of Q13: you can field anything you like provided it can be properly represented on the tabletop and fits in with the coherence and consistency of your army's story.

You can download the revised space dwarf army list from the Army Lists page of the Q13 section of this website, or by clicking here.


More Space-Dwarves: Gruntlings in Exo-Suits

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More infantry for my Dwarves in Space army, and the first contingent from Cactus Games: a platoon of Gruntlings in Exo-suits.

These are very cute figures indeed: squat, rounded, and with lots of relief to make painting easy. I undercoated in black, then a coat of metallic blue, then a dry-brush with a dull-metal colour to bring up the detail. 

The only negative is that there are only two poses: one with a built-in gun in one hand and a warhammer in the other; one with just the gun.

Here they are:

TFL Painting Challenge: a post-Warfare Update

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Plenty of tip-top submissions this week. In no particular order we have:

  • Mr Helliwell, with another regiment of ACW foot plus command and supporting artillery
  • Joakim goes large with a goodly number of figures for Dust, including two very nice looking walkers
  • Mr Luther adds another eleven 'planes to hi collection
  • Dave Humm adds his usual eclectic mix, with figure for Frostgrave, Flintloque, and a very early example of a war photographer!
  • Mr Ralls makes a welcome return with huge numbers of 28mm figures. Nice to see you back at the painting table, Jason.
  • Jon Yuengling also makes a welcome return, with a submission consisting of trees, lots of trees
  • Doug Melville is also back, with some lovely Medieval Scots and three bits of modern Soviet armour
  • and last, but by no mens least, Kev (Fat Wally) has gone Star Wars crazy, with two ships and a quite frankly huge-looking asteroid base

Today's pics are from Doug, his Medieval Scots; and from Joakim, one of his walkers. Lovely!

PS  Scorecard will be updated tonight, when I'm at home. Too difficult to do at work without the right software!

Warfare 2015

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A most enjoyable couple of days spent at one of my favourite wargaming shows, Warfare, which takes place at about this time every year at the Rivermead Leisure Centre in Caversham, near Reading, Berkshire.

As always, one hall was devoted to a large 'supermarket' of traders selling everything one could ever want. Not too crowded this year, although there were, of course, the usual rucksack bearing numpties who don't seem to realise that being bashed with a sack is not an ideal way of spending one's afternoon. I understand the need for rucksacks, I hasten to add...but for Pete's sake take them off and carry them when manoeuvring narrow aisles between stands.

One trader I must single out for a mention is Commission Figurines, who did me a cracking deal on some mdf ruined buildings for Stalingrad/Berlin. Their website is at www.commission-figurines.co.uk . I also bought a few bits and bobs from GZG, and another box of Battlefront SU-100s so that I can have one box for WW2 Soviets and one box for 6DW Egyptians.

The other hall was devoted to games: about half was the usual competition area, about half was a number of very nice demonstration games. The competition area was packed and busy, but not particularly good watching unless you happen to be taking part; the demo games were good, and there were plenty of them. Much better than Colours!

"Not as boring as I expected it to be"

Unusually for me, I brought a 'date' to the show: my eight-year old daughter. She was quite happy to wander round in my wake looking at everything on offer. Her verdict: "not as boring as I expected it to be", which is high praise from someone whose idea of a good time usually involves either Harry Potter or Minecraft.

So, in all, a good show, even with the usual car-parking nightmare. Good to see, Neil, Tahir, John, Matt and everyone from Huntingdon, including self-appointed Mother Hen, Tina. Recommended as one of the best show's on the circuit.

IABSM AAR: German Recon Breakthrough

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The Wasatch Front Historical Gaming Society (WFHGS) produce an excellent quarterly, free, full color wargames journal available to download from their site, called Warning Order.

Each issue of Warning Order features battle reports from their Friday night games, reviews of board games, figures, and gaming products, gaming analysis, and several regular features plus an editorial.

It's a very good read: I particularly like the regular Memoirs of a Miniatures & Board Wargamer and Blast from the Past columns...which shows you what an old fogey I'm becoming! The reviews are always useful as well.

Here's a IABSM battle report from the Spring 2015 edition (#40). Click on the pic of the front cover to see it.

IABSM AAR: Radekhov Station

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A nice little battle report from Mark Luther dating back from 2010.

Click on the picture to see all.

I have noticed a dearth of AARs for the TFL company-sized games (IABSM, CDS or Q13) out there on the net at the moment.

Don't forget that the offer is always open to post any reports you might have up here on Vis Lardica: just send me in the words and the pictures and I'll do the rest.

In the meantime, plenty of content to browse on here: over 250 AARs and growing fast!

 

Lest We Forget

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Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen

Bent double, like of old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind:
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.

Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!- An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling,
And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime...
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
If in sonic smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,-
My friend, you would not talk with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.

TFL Painting Challenge: A Dark November Afternoon's Update

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Well it's just about half three and already almost dark: just the setting for a painting challenge update.

Not many entries this week: must be the calm before the end-of-year storm. If you are sitting on entries, do please submit them in a timely fashion: I was doing more than one update a day last year between Christmas and New Year!

Anyhoo, here are today's:

  • Joakim pops in some pulp figures, including an eclectic looking WW2 Italian truck
  • Mervyn has been away, but manages to squeeze in two units of cavalry
  • Matt Slade submits his regular entry: some rather good looking special forces types from Crooked Dice
  • Mr Luther doesn't add to his total, but does send in a pic of his Mathildas. Very nice, Mark, but I think the field gun went astray.
  • Mr Naylor continues with his late war Soviets
  • And Treadhead sends in yet more Taliban

As I said, a short update today...and thus just the one pic: Mr Luther's Mathildas:

As for my own efforts, I am now ahead of last year and closing in on my target of 1,000 points. It's only early November, under 100 points to go, so I should be able to make it. Exciting stuff!

Q13: Drones for the Dwarves

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The great thing about Ground Zero Games is the huge range of 15mm sci-fi kit they make that can be added to any sci-fi army. 

Here, for example, I have decided to equip my "Dwarves in Space" with some spider drones with rotary cannon.

Thrainite Spider Drones

Now back to painting the legions of space dwarf infantry scattered all over my painting table!

Q13: More kit for the Space Dwarves

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A bit more firepower for my Thrainites from Khurasan: a couple of MDMS Goanna tanks supported by a Goanna tank hull mounting a shield generator. 

When you buy the MDMS tanks, they come with the option to be manned or un-manned. The manned version, the Goanna, has the full turret you can see in the pic below. The un-manned version (i.e. controlled remotely or by AI) comes without a turret but with a cut down gun mount. Looking at this, I suddenly thought that if I turned it backwards and didn't put a gun on it, it would make a rather good shield generator: something that I think suits the "engineer" aspect of the dwarves. Why risk too much injury when you can build something to protect yourselves with?

Anyway, here they are:

MDMS Goanna Tanks

Goanna hull with mounted shield generator

You can see the whole "Dwarves in Space" gallery by clicking here.

TFL Painting Challenge: A Pre-Rugby World Cup Final Update

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Just time for a quick pre-rugby update before rushing through the chores before settling down in front of the box for New Zealand vs Australia. If the All Blacks can keep their discipline and play like they did against the Boks (I was there!), then the trophy should be theirs.

Anyway, onto the update. In no particular order we have:

  • Keith Davies with some late war Brits and Germans
  • Chris Gilbride with some late war Brits
  • Mr Naylor finishes off his, wait for it, late war Germans
  • Mr Luther with some Matildas and Japanese
  • Joakim goes fantasy in 28mm
  • and Mr Helliwell pops in huge numbers of ACW Rebs

Today's pic is of some of Chris' Brits, the heavy weapons:

Q13 Gallery: The First Dwarves in Space

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I've always liked dwarves...right from my days playing basic edition Dungeons & Dragons through to GW's Squats through to Gimli in The Lord of the Rings and now through to the sudden explosion in 15mm space dwarf models.

My intention is to collect and paint up all the figures available, making each manufacturer's collection into its own contingent: the sum of which will combine into the space dwarf army as a whole. I'm seeing each contingent as coming from a different "mine", or whatever the Q13 equivalent ends up being.

The first contingent being painted are the Thrainites from Khurasan Miniatures. First up of these are the easy-to-paint armoured infantry: a platoon of so-called Young Nobles in four squads of six each:

With them are three MDMS Cane Toad APCs:

The rest of the Thrainites are currently on the painting table, so more to follow soon!

TFL Painting Challenge: A "Clocks Go Back" Update

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It's been a bit of a tough week this week, with real world events meaning I haven't been feeling it.

However, as I'm home alone on Saturday night now after being lucky enough to get to the SA vs All Blacks game, I've had a sudden surge of enthusiasm, so have caught up with all the outstanding painting challenge entries.

So this is a bit of a whopping update.

In no particular order, we have:

  • Steve Burt with the last of his Napoleonics...even 'though I'm sure you said that last time
  • Mr Ralls adds some more Germans to his WW2 collection
  • Andy Duffell also goes WW2: Kiwis in Italy or Poles in Europe plus some nice terrain
  • Benito returns to the fray with some nice French Dragoons
  • Matt Slade sends in his usual bumper entry: Rebs, shieldmaidens, Boudiccas, Zulus, British to fight them
  • Mr Miller is having to slow down a bit due to his robotics (no, he isn't building Thomas a painting engine) but still manages to send in a Polish king and entourage
  • Speaking of Thomas: some DAK, some Desert Rats, and a carrier
  • Andrew Helliwell sends in another batch of ACW infantry: two regiments
  • It really is very WW2 and very desert today as Koen sends in some DAK and a couple of guns. Perhaps you could send your entry here next time, Koen, rather than to my work. Lucky it wasn't those "gentlemen's miniatures" I asked you to paint!
  • Not wanting to add to the innuendo, but Sapper has a big entry this time: some Samurai-period bushi and a mob, some limbers, a SYW battalion, and some Americans with bazookas
  • Mr Luther sends in a cluster of 6mm equipment: planes, no trains, but automobiles
  • And last, but by no means least, AJH submits lots of lovely SYW figures

 We'll finish, as always, with a few piccies.

Here are Benito's Dragoons:

Here's a bit of detail on Andy Duffell's farmhouse...he's painted the inside too:

Finally, here are AJH's SYW Austrians: very nice:

IABSM AAR: Pouppeville

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Superb After Action Report from Carojon featuring a game  based on one of the scenarios in the All American scenario pack.

The tiny village of Pouppeville covered the end of one of the four designated exits from Utah beach on D-Day, so members of the US 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions were dropped behind Utah beach to help in the clearing and securing of the area prior to the landing of the seaborne troops.

See how they do by clicking on the picture, below:

CoC: Operation Martlet Scenario Pack Released

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Although we don't really do Chain of Command (or CoC, as it's known) on Vis Lardica, I've played the game a handful of times and always had a great deal of fun.

I'm pleased, therefore, to post about the latest TFL "pint-sized campaign" scenario pack for CoC, Operation Martlet, released today.

From the TFL website:

"Operation Martlet is the fourth of our Pint-Sized campaigns for Chain of Command, designed to be played using the campaign handbook At the Sharp End.  

"Twenty eight pages long, Operation Martlet follows the established Pint-Sized Campaign format, with an overview of the forces involed on both sides, their deployment shown on period maps and the course of the campaign described in detail before going on to present a mini-campaign covering this combined arms operation launched by the British 49th Division immediateloy prior to Operation Epsom to seize the Rauray Spur from the defenders from 12 SS Hitlerjugend.    

"The campaign is a total of six game tables with the duration running between six and eleven games.  Briefings are provided for both sides, along with measurable objectives, period maps, force and support option listings and everything you need to play this campaign through to its conclusion.  

"Like all of our Pint-Sized campaigns, this is available for the price of a pint in our local pub [Editor's Note:  Â£3.60 at time of posting].  We're sure that you'll agree, that is great wargaming value!"   

Click here to go straight to the TFL shop and buy Operation Martlet.
 

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