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.

GZG Alien Mercenaries

Here are a bunch of pics of my GZG Alien mercs, on my recently built rusted refinery. Sorry some of the pics are a bit blurry. I think the blue skin colour gives them a nice alien look. Could also be used as mutants I suppose.

Future Plans...

Just some thoughts on my hobby plans for the near future...

Make more ruined buildings. I want enough to cover a 4' x 4' board. I might buy some more of JR Minatures' great buildings too. Along with these I've still got lots of sprues of Platformer and Chemical Plant sets from Pegasus. I want to do some more industrial type terrain, so these will come in quite handy. Thinking of some ponds of toxic waste, wrecked cars, desert type bases of rocks and junk.

I plan on ordering some more stuff from GZG, once the new NAC power armour is out. Jon said that will be very soon, I assume once he is caught up on orders as apparently GZG is getting swamped with 15mm orders! And there is some more stuff I want from Khurasan.

Still have a bunch of stuff to paint. Khurasan post-apoc gangers, the Alien king and queen, two predators, Alien eggs. And with my vehicle order coming in the mail from Old Crow that will mean lots more stuff to paint! I think there are about 10 or so vehicles coming if memory serves.

This will also lead to beginning to properly write and test vehicle rules for my sci-fi ruleset. I've got some rough ideas, but nothing too concrete. The infantry rules seem to finally be about done so it's nice to be making progress with the rules.

At some point I want to re-visit my 10mm Sudan project as well. I need far more Mahdists. And another brigade of Imperial Troops wouldn't hurt. Still not too sure about rules. Black Powder is the main contender, though the new set A Good Dusting by David Bickley seem rather intriguing.

So what are you working on, dear reader?

Post-script: I forgot to mention in my last post where I got the inspiration for the red and grey paint scheme. So, credit where credit is due! I got it from this fine blog: http://crowmag99-the15mm.blogspot.com/

GZG NSL Platoon

Another batch of photos! This is my GZG NSL platoon, consisting of a mix of regular armoured infantry as well as two units of power armour. I thought I would do them in a rather striking red and grey colour scheme, and I'm pretty happy with the results. I'm thinking of using them as a Russian faction. Or maybe Japanese. Armour for them is currently on it's way in the mail from Old Old Crow...

The first two pics are from their first game (as well as the bugs' first time on the table) and I'm sorry to say our brave red lads were beaten! Only a single fireteam managed to escape the horrid beasts. The remaining pics were set-up just for photographing.

10mm Sudan Close-Ups

Here are some close up pictures of some of my Pendraken 10mm Sudan collection.

I must say, I was rather disheartened by the fact that seeing them this close really highlights all the imperfections in my painting!

Khurasan Aliens

Well it's been far too long since the last post. I've gotten lots of new stuff painted and work on my sci-fi rules is progressing nicely. Tonight after (and during) a test game I took a load of pictures.

First up is Khurasan's excellent 15mm Aliens. These are really lovely minis.

How I painted them was as follows:
1. Black undercoat
2. Light spray of Testors metallic blue spraypaint
3. Dip
4. Very light drybrush of silver/blue mix
5. Dullcote

I'm quite pleased with the results.

Still need to paint the King and Queen...