2013 Review

I thought I'd have a look back over the past year and see what I'd achieved (or not) from a wargaming point of view:

28mm Macedonian Successors:
Apart from the first batch of 16 skirmishing archers I've not really got anywhere with this army. Bit disappointing really. I think the lesson to learn here is only to invest in 28mm if I have an opponent whose doing the same, building two armies in this scale is well beyond me these days. The Aventine Miniatures figures are really really good and well worth a look.

28mm Wars of the Roses:
I've been more successful with these having worked out a method of painting them that I was happy with and able to keep doing (if a little slowly). The same method could be applied to the Macedonians if I ever get around to doing them. At least in the case of this army I do have an opponent who will be painting up his Wars of the Roses collection.

6mm WWII:
Through a combination of reorganising what I already had and painting up some new models I've completed over 85% (450+ bases) of the models needed for the 6 WWII armies I have on the go. I think I've painted up about 150 bases this past year which isn't bad going.

I still have plenty more models (painted and unpainted) that could be used for yet more armies but I think for the moment I'll focus on completing the 6 paired armies I have already started.

From an army list point of view I finished the process of converting them all to platoon scale but have been tinkering with them from time to time, adding one or two units or amending others.

6mm Moderns:
I've recently finished a few models for the Cold War era including a battalion of M1A1's which hasn't been flocked yet. I have two pairs of matched armies planned out and have all the models for them but so far have only painted about 10% of them (700+ to go!!!).

Admittedly I'm not that sure I want to game the modern period or not as I find WWII more interesting and my resources are very good for that period and much poorer for the post 1945 period. There was a point in the summer where I nearly sold the lot but decided not to (partly because Dettol is wonderful (if smelly!) stuff for correcting paint jobs you're not happy with!). I'm tempted to just pack all the modern stuff away and focus on other periods (700 models is after all a few years worth of work and I would like to do one or two other things).

6mm Napoleonics:
Having found a really good step by step painting guide I did manage to paint up quite a few of the Adler French I'd had sitting around gathering dust for many years. I'm really quite pleased with how these came out but do realise that I need to do more reading around the period before I take this project any further or buy an opponent for the French.

6mm Anglo-Zulu War:
I've made some progress with these this year mainly in terms of rules and basing. I invested in a copy of Black Powder and rebased all of the completed figures on to company bases (100x60mm). I'm very pleased with the way the bases have come out but haven't yet got around to trying out the two completed "brigades" on the table top.

6mm Scenery:
I invested in some new scenery from the Leven Miniatures range but haven't yet painted that much of it. I've got various farm buildings, bunkers, command posts and sand bag defences still to do. Mick at Leven Miniatures also very kindly produced me a set of supply dump markers which he's subsequently been able to add to the range.

A friend of mine has also very kindly painted up a load of 6mm train track and a German BP44 armoured train for me which I look forward to using on the table top in the near future.

Games:
I did manage to get in a few games this past year (mainly thanks to my wife taking pity on me, though she does have a habit of winning!) but didn't for a variety of reasons get all the games in I had planned.

Aims for 2014:

1. Finish the 6 WW2 armies.
2. Try and get a game in at least once a month even if they are all solo.
3. Finish more of the 28mm Wars of the Roses figures (I have plenty more).
4. Try out Black Powder with my Zulu War figures - I don't doubt that Black Powder will work for the era I just want some experience with the set before painted more figures so I can plan things out properly.
5. Finish the 6mm scenery I brought from Leven Miniatures and add a few more pieces.
6. I'd like to do something Ancient or Early Medieval but at the moment am not sure exactly what but I do know it will be something small scale (perhaps 12-15 bases/units a side). I suspect I'll get hold of a copy of Dux Bellorum at some point as one of my friends is building an army for it so a Romano British army might appear at some point as I'm very tempted by the Pendraken 10mm Late Romans. The new Crusades period 6mm from Baccus also appeals to me as well....

Happy New Year to all

Richard

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Men at Arms Completed

Here's the finished Men at Arms unit complete with their close order movement tray:








Overall I quite pleased with the way these have come out, though to be honest I could never do masses of 28mm in a short period of time like some people do but at least I can do them in a way that I'm happy with.

Now back to something smaller.....


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WotR WIP

Just some WIP shots of the 3 men-at-arms I'm working on at the moment. These are just about to receive washes and highlights for their clothing, belts, scabbards and my first attempt at a painted helmet (it appears quite bright at the moment but it will get much more colour depth as I apply the shading). The armour itself is actually finished, basically what I do with armour is dry brush the black undercoat heavily with Citadel Chain Mail paint then pick out the joins between plates, rivets etc with black. Some areas are also touched up with a detail brush (00) and the chain mail (if the figure has any) is washed with a thin black wash to make it appear different to the plate armour. The detail of the armour the designer has moulded on to these figures is really really good so they're actually quite rewarding to paint.








These are codes WR63, WR58 and WR71 respectively from the Front Rank WotR range.

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WotR Part 4

A change of colour scheme for the archers:


And another Man-at-Arms in very detailed German armour:


All figures are Front Rank (codes WR24 (archer) and WR64 (man-at-arms)).

I'm planning to do a test paint this week with a couple of Aventine Miniatures Thureophoroi. They did take a bit of assembling (they have separate heads) but they're really nice figures so it was worth the effort.

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Wars of the Roses Test Paint

These are for a Wars of the Roses skirmish game we have been thinking about recently. I thought I ought to have a go and see if I could actually paint figures for the era:









All figures are Front Rank (codes WR12 (archer) & WR65 (man-at-arms)).

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Napoleonics - Test Figures

Here's some of the first batch of test figures, please feel free to let me know what you think good or bad:






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Update

Just a quick update today. I've not managed that much recently as one of our cats suffered a serious leg injury and lost his leg as the damage was too extensive to repair.

Firstly I've completed the rebasing of the first batch of Anglo-Zulu War figures. This means I now have a total of 2 "Brigades" of troops for Black Powder so should hopefully be able to try the rules out soon. The British "Brigade" is a bit of a mismatch of units consisting of 1 company of Natal Native Contingent, 1 company of British Regulars and 1 detachment of mounted volunteers (the Natal Carbineers). I'm not 100% sure how this would fare on the table top. The Zulu "Brigade" on the other hand is pretty uniform having 4 warrior bases and 1 of skirmishers. Overall I'm pleased with the way they've come out.

I've also found a very good painting guide on the net for my Adler Napoleonic French (see here for the guide). I painted up a batch of 8 figures as a test and it was quite easy following all the steps. I'm now confident I can attempt the rest of the Division....

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AZW British Infantry

Still no sign of any bases yet but I have been working my way through the first batch of British Regulars. Admittedly I did find these hard going but they did come together in the end which is good considering I have another 174 more to do.....

Here's the first 18:


A close up of one of the 8 figure painting strips:


The command strip including a Colour Sergeant at the end (you might just be able to pick out my attempt at a sergeants stripes on his right arm):


The other end of the painting strip:


I'm toying with the idea of using these across 2 bases rather than just one as I originally planned (and also increasing the number of bases that make up a Zulu "unit"), each base would represent a half company (2 sections) which coincidentally was a real sub-division of a British Company in 1879. The two bases would, of course, operate as one unit.

Having 9 figures (8 privates and 1 officer or NCO) per half company might make the base appear underpopulated in comparison to the 24 figure Zulu bases but a British infantry company would of been deployed in a very open skirmish order with up to 3 yards between men (they don't call it the thin red line for nothing!). So there's historical support for my basing ideas.

All figures are Baccus from pack CBR2.

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Anglo-Zulu War WIP

Okay so I got distracted by re-basing my Zulu's:






I've based these as a pair of companies from the uKhandempemvu Regiment both moving in line ready to attack. All figures are Baccus from pack CZU1.

These will be used with the copy of Black Powder I finally got around to ordering last night.

Thanks to those that commented on the Roman basing idea it has helped me come up with more ideas for that and other eras.

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Basing 6mm Romans Part 2

Thanks to Dr Mike's (aka Cranium27) suggestion I've added a third rank which really does make the unit look a whole lot better:









I was planning to add a black 10mm thick strip at the back for unit details somewhat like this.

I'll see if I can complete this base this week then I can see if it's a worthwhile project.

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Basing 6mm Romans

I've been playing around a bit with the basing for my 6mm Romans and came up with an idea that sort of shows a unit in motion (based on the fact that no straight line of men can stay straight as it moves cross country) and thought I'd blog some pictures of the mock up I've done to see what other people thought of the idea?

I'm afraid that you'll have to use your imagination somewhat as I haven't done anything to the base yet and I didn't have a spare Optio (the chap at the back with the yellow shield) available with the right shield colour:









My thinking is that Roman units wouldn't be solid ranks of men (except perhaps if attacked by cavalry) as the Roman historian Polybius (writing in the 2nd Century BC) tells us that a legionary occupies about 6' of space. Being primarily a swordsman a legionary would need this space to move around in to fight effectively. That's some of my reasoning anyway.

Each of these bases would represent a 480 man cohort, and there would be 10 per Legion (with the first cohort being 800 strong).

All figures are Baccus and are from pack AIR1. The mdf base is from Minibits.

Any comments positive or negative would be welcome.

Thanks

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US Artillery WIP

Just a quick update tonight.

I've found time to add all of the gun crews to the US artillery pieces:


Hopefully I'll get these flocked tomorrow night.

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US and German Artillery - WIP

These are what I'm currently working on. As usual the Heroics and Ros references are shown in ().

B Company, 635th Tank Destroyer Battalion (Towed)
3 platoons of 76mm anti-tank guns (US23), each platoon will have a M3 halftrack tow.


7th Field Artillery Battalion
3 batteries of 105mm howitzers (US28).


5th Field Artillery Battalion
3 batteries of 155mm howitzers (US29).


IV./Artillery Regiment 352
3 batteries of 150mm howitzers (G062). These guns will also double up as III./Panzer Artillery Regiment 73 for my 1941 Panzer Division 1 list, technically they'd probably be in a different colour but it fits nicely in to my multi use unit plan.


Will post pictures of the finished guns later in the week.

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16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division 1944

Here's the almost complete 16th Infantry, the crew figures need adding to the anti-tank guns and the yet to be painted command figures need adding as well but at least you can get an idea of what the completed regiment will look like. I'm actually missing the 105mm infantry gun as I forgot to buy some crew figures for it, doh! The Heroics and Ros references are shown in ().

HQ and HQ Company
This consists of a recce section (USR1), a HQ (US58 - to add) with jeep (US38) and a 57mm anti-tank platoon (US22) and Studebaker tow truck (US40).


Rifle Company
There are 3 of these in each battalion each with 3 platoons (USR1 & US01 for the bazookas). Each infantry stand has five figures which is my standard way of representing infantry stands.


Support Company
There is a single one of these in each battalion. This company consists of a 81mm mortar platoon and 2 HMG platoons (USR2). All support stands consist solely of the weapon and its crew, occasionally I will add additional infantry figures if the weapon is crewed by only 2 figures.


The Full Battalion


The Full 16th Infantry Regiment
Well almost the full regiment anyway. At the front you can see the yet to be completed CO stand complete with a Dodge Weapons Carrier (US39), along side the CO we have the Regimental anti-tank company which I've modelled as two stands due to its size (9 guns - I use the WW2/Modern Spearhead method of representing small companies as two stands, this method will make more sense when you see the larger (12 gun) 76mm anti-tank company in my next posting).



Thanks for looking, more to follow....

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An Update

Sorry it's been a while since I posted, works been pretty busy of late and thats taken up much of my energy. I thought it was about time I posted an update:
Painting:
I have gradually fought my way through the two 1944/45 era Russian tank brigades and they are now both complete (pics to follow later), though at some point I want to add the bits needed to make them usable for 1943 - I have everything I just need to paint it.
I have also painted up a IS-2 Regiment, which at 1:3 scale has 9 of the beasts (2 per company and 1 HQ tank) and I'm just in the process of painting up the SMG company to give the regiment some infantry support. This unit represents the 14th Guards Separate Heavy Tank Regiment which was attached to the 29th Tank Corps in June '44. This regiment was part of the 5th Guards Tank Army as an army asset rather than being a permanent part of the 29th Tank Corps. I will also be painting up the earlier KV-1S equipped version of this regiment for 1943/early '44 games.
Also on the painting table are the two company command units needed to complete the two Panzer Grenadier Companies I did earlier in the year.
Old Models:
Recently I discovered how effective Dettol is in stripping the paint off old models. So far I've managed to recover 69 models and have plenty more to go at. It does take a bit of effort and Dettols pretty pungent stuff but it's definitely worth the effort as you do end up with effectively new models (which are also germ free!).
Projects:
Having recently sold off some of my old 15mm I used the proceeds to finish off a few of my armies so I'm now looking to paint up the following formations (how long they'll actually take me is another matter entirely!):
Various Russian and German WWII units including various assault gun, heavy tank and artillery units. The 29th Tank Corps will get its SU-76's, SU-85's, SU-122's, SU-152's, ISU-152's and Lend-Lease M-10's. A Panther Battalion will be added to the existing 1944 Panzer Regiment. There's lots more on top of all that.
October War 1973 - I have put together the models needed for an Egyptian Tank and Infantry Brigade (more on these units as they get built). I have also put together a few Israeli Battalions to give the Egyptians something to fight - these battalions will be made up of M48's, M60's and Centurions and there will also be some infantry though the actual type of infantry unit is yet to be decided (probably mechanised but Para's are also an option). I also have some brigade (Israeli) and divisional (Egyptian) level support.
Cold War 1989 - I have created a BMP (BMP-1/2 & T-72) equipped Motor Rifle Regiment and a Tank Regiment (T-72's, no BMP battalion) from one of the Motor Rifle Divisions stationed in Czechoslovakia. I also have the models to do the Divisional Anti-Tank Battalion, the Divisional Recce Battalion, a 2S3 Battalion and various other divisional assets. To face them I have elements from the US 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanised) which will include an M1 Abrams equipped tank battalion and a M2 Bradley equipped mechanised battalion, again there will be plenty of brigade/divisional level support.
Thats all for now.
Cheers
Richard
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BKCII - The Build Up Part 2

Over the last few nights I have found time to base up a few new models from Heroics and Ros:

On the front row we have some T-34/85's (S09) (the first of a batch of 23 to finish one tank brigade and add a new one). On the second row are some Panther G's (G017) which will form part of the first of 4 companies of Panthers from I./Panzer Regiment Grossdeutschland which was attached to Panzer Regiment 11. Finally on the back row we have the Sdkfz 251/9 (G041) and Sdkfz 251/2 (G021C) to complete the 2 companies from I./Panzer Grenadier Regiment 114 and a single Sdkfz 251/7 (G151) as transport for the engineers from II./Panzer Regiment 11. All are now undercoated.
Next up are the completed Panzer Grenadiers that form most of the first two companies for I./Panzer Grenadier Regiment 114:

These have been repainted to bring them up to the same standard as my new models and the bases re-flocked. Each of the two companies consists of 5 Sdkfz 251/1D, 4 bases of Panzer Grenadiers (1 on the left with a Panzershreck) and 1 base of tripod mounted MG-34/42. On the top right of the photo you can see the engineers for II./Panzer Regiment 11. I took a few more close ups:


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A New Year a New Army

Happy New Year to everyone.

Just before Christmas I finally gave in to temptation and brought a selection of Aventine Miniatures very nicely sculpted figures from their Pyrrhic range. I have to say that the service I got from Aventine was very good and quick plus they were able to tailor my order to suit my requirements.

These 16 archers (codes SK03-06) are my first batch, they are Cretans in mercenary service (which appears to have been a common occupation for Cretans in the Classical, Hellenistic and Roman periods) which is evidenced by the bull motif shown on the standard.
















I really like these figures and have started the next batch of Thureophoroi. The next batch will take somewhat longer than the archers as there are more parts to them and assembling them ready for undercoating is more time consuming.

All bases are from Minibits who very kindly produced a series of movement trays for me (more on them another day). Minibits service was also very good and very quick.

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Fiona's WIP

My wife (Fiona) has decided that she will attempt to get me painting 28mm Napoleonics:


She has very kindly undercoated most of the components (the red jackets were painted by me some time ago) though I suspect that with my rather poor record of painting anything bigger than 6mm she will have to complete the figures herself if she wants to ever see them finished!

The figures are all plastic multi-part Peninsular British Flank Company made by Victrix.

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AZW WIP - British Camp

The first part of my British camp is now well underway:


I Didn't quite get the light right in this picture as they are all the same colour (same as the top one). I have a load more tents, cattle, wagons and other camp/supply column models to do and I'd like to get hold of some Zulu huts if I can find some in resin or metal (I think Irregular Miniatures do them?). Wargaming the Zulu War doesn't feel right without having some sort of camp to defend, a supply column to escort or a scattering of Zulu homesteads across the table.

The tents are all resin models from the Baccus equipment range.

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AZW WIP - Zulu Command

Just finished the Zulu Command:



Not the best of pictures but I am planning to learn how to use my Samsung digital camera over Christmas (these are all taken on my phone camera).
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