My Table

Just a couple quick shots to show my current 15mm sci-fi layout. The table is 5' x 3.' I have a number of scenic projects on the go that I hope to complete over the holidays which should give me quite a nice selection of scenery.

Can you ID these minis?

Can anyone identify these colonial minis? I bought them some years ago at a local toy show. The standing highlander measures about 27mm from foot to eye, while the Gatling gun crew is about 32mm from foot to eye. I'd guess due to the tall slender nature of the Gatling crew they could be Stadden miniatures? I'm quite unsure about the highlanders though. Minifigs? Connoisseur? Something else?

First Hordes Mini

It's been ages since the last update I know, but the rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated. Had a busy summer, spending most of August in England and Ireland.

My interest in Hordes and Warmachine was re-kindled over the summer, so I raked out the old minis, and even bought a Circle of Everblight starter for a second Hordes force. I just finished painting up my first Hordes mini (had them for years, but never painted them), a Trollblood Axer. It was strange painting 28mm again, as I've grown so used to 10mm and 15mm. 28mm seems massive now! Anyway, here he is. As usual, comments, criticisms, and insults are welcome.

Product Tip: Simple Green

For awhile I've been searching for a good paint stripping method. I had heard Pinesol worked so I tried it. While it does get the paint off...somewhat, it wasn't ideal. The paint turned into a gooey, sticky mess which was hard to actually get off the minis. This meant it took several soaks in pinesol with brushing/cleaning in-between. Quite time consuming and labour intensive. Plus, the pinesol smell stays on the minis for weeks!

I then came across a number of people recommending Simple Green on TMP. I figured it was worth a shot so I picked up a jug. And boy does it work! Just let the minis soak for awhile (I'd say at least 4 hours, if not more) then the paint is easily removed with an old toothbrush. For the small recesses you may need a toothpick or even a pin. Simple Green gets the paint off easily and fairly quickly. Far easier than pinesol, that's for sure!

Curiously, we tried it on some old GW plastic minis we got for free from our FLGS (the minis were old Necromunda plastics, no idea how many years they have had paint on them, nor what type of paint was used) and we found the paint didn't really come off them. Not sure why. Maybe the type of paint that was used bonded with the plastic? Anyone else have this issue with plastic minis and Simple Green? Though on the bright side there was sign of the Simple Green melting the plastics or damaging them in anyway, so it is safe for plastics.

So if you have any minis you want stripping it's worth it to head to your local hardware store and pick-up a jug of Simple Green. 3.7-liter jugs can be had at Canadian Tire for $14.99.

A Slight Delay

I'd thought I'd have new pics up on the blog by now, but have been distracted by a few things. Finished school for the summer last week. Then on Monday I began experiencing abdominal pain. It lasted through the night and into Tuesday when it became localized on the lower right side of my abdomen. Went to emergency, and after much waiting found out I likely had appendicitis and had to stay in for immediate surgery. Had the op on Tuesday night and was in hospital for most of Wednesday. Now home, but can't move or walk very well (at least not without a considerable amount of pain). On top of it all I had to miss going to Vancouver with a bunch of friends to see Rush today, which was more of a kick in the ass than the surgery! So it will probably be another week or so before I get around to more painting and taking pictures for the blog.

Hope you all are well and haven't had to lose any organs lately!

A Brief Update And Some Ideas

It's been months since my last post, and I apologize for that. I have been pretty swamped with classes these last few months, but after this coming week I will done for the summer. That means more time for the hobby.

There's some sci-fi stuff I want to finish up and take some pictures of, such as my Hammers Slammers force.

The Sudan collection has been added to a bit. Slow, but steadily, the forces are growing. Maybe one day I'll actually have enough Dervish for a game!

Expect eye candy in the coming weeks.

I've also started another project (not that I needed another!) in the last few months: 15mm Vietnam. I've had 25mm Vietnam minis (the sadly now defunct line from London War Room), but I want to do reinforced platoon level games with vehicles, and I don't have the table space nor the budget big enough to handle that in 28mm. The minis I'm using are a mix of Flashpoint, Battlefront and Peter Pig. I've already got a Huey done and my US Infantry platoon is about half done. Pics to follow...

I am re-writing my sci-fi skirmish rules for the umpteenth time. I am changing the initiative system/turn sequence again. This time going for a card based system like IABSM. Hopefully it will work. I am also expanding the rules to cover counter-insurgency style games so I can use them for Vietnam and modern Afghanistan and Iraq. Of course they will still work for conventional warfare and for sci-fi forces. I think I may be finally closing in on the rules I really want. Maybe.

I've also lately been temped by a few periods. The Indian Mutiny is one I've been interested in for a couple years. Dixon is really the only option in 15mm and I'm not fond of their single, static poses for each troop type. In 28mm there is the lovely range by Old Glory, as well as the pricey old Foundry range. Oh yes, and the new range from Mutineer Miniatures. Not too cheap, but they look nice. A 10mm line is high on Pendraken's request list, but even if it does happen I imagine it won't be for a good year or two at least. What to do...

The War of 1812 is a period I have wanted to do for many years now. With the bicentennial fast approaching now seems as good a time as any to finally get the project on the go. I still can't decide what scale I want to do it in. 15mm is certainly the more affordable option, with nice ranges from both Minifigs and Old Glory. But the smaller battles and interesting units makes me want 28mm. The Old Glory 28mm line looks good, and Knuckleduster is steadily releasing minis for the period as well. Plus the British regulars would be easy to do with lovely plastics from both Perry and Victrix.

With both the Mutiny and 1812 28mm seems the best bet, but again there is the issue of space and money.

While painting tonight I got a few ideas for some rules for 19th century conflicts like 1812 and the Mutiny. I'll need to flesh it out a fair bit, but I think these ideas should make for a good game. And more importantly allow a small British force to take on a large, well armed Mutineer or Sikh force and actually win. Thinking about these rules has got me wanting minis for these conflicts even more.

What are you working on, gaming wise, dear reader?

Old Crow Vehicles For The Reds

Here are the first 2 of my recently arrived Old Crow vehicle order. I have another tank to paint (though I buggered it up by gluing the track on the wrong way!) and 2 more APCs. Then its onto the Hammers Slammers vehicles.

Anyway, these two are painted for my red/grey faction. I used a spray technique I got off a buddy of mine. More info on that here.

I think his actually came out better than mine, but then he is a better painter than me! Still, I'm pretty satisfied with how they came out. I went for a rather dirty look, as though they have been in the field for awhile.