Painting Update

I never seem to get enough time to paint figures. This year I have hardly painted any. However, after hearing about the theft (from the back of a van) of most Ainsty Castings stock, which unfortunately also included Rogue Miniatures professionally painted display miniatures, several members of the Frother’s Unite forum got together and offered to paint some new display miniatures for Rogue/Ainsty. As I had bought a few bits and pieces from Ainsty at a show earlier in the year and I have plans to get some more, I felt I wanted to join in.

The figures I chose arrived very promptly and I turned them around in a couple of evenings, definitely faster than my usual painting speed! I am pretty pleased with the result.

I would recommend that everyone checks out both Ainsty Castings and Rogue Miniatures, they produce some excellent and very useful figures and scenic accessories!

Once I had finished and sent them off it got me wondering what I would paint next. This shouldn’t have been much of a problem as I have several half painted projects on the go. I soon settled on painting the next batch of Critical Mass Games ARC Fleet figures and vehicles, more about them as they progress…

Carronade 2012 Wargames Show

This time of year is the busiest for me. The students I work with are approaching their final assessments and the workshop is very chaotic. We are all stretched to the limit and as such I find it difficult to do much hobby work in my spare time (this is why I haven’t posted to the blog for a while). So it makes a great break to get away to a decent wargames show for the day.

Carronade (in Falkirk) has been the highlight of the Wargaming year in Scotland for the past two or three years (at least as far as I am concerned – I haven’t managed to get to Claymore for three or four years so I can’t comment on the new venue for that show).

Last year I went to Carronade with a friend, Mike, who has since moved down to Durham. So this year I gave Jeff a lift down and we were also accompanied by my 7 year old son, who was really looking forward to having a try of one of the games!

I spent the first hour selling off a few things on one of the rentable Bring and Buy tables. This worked out really well as I ended up covering all of my spending for the day (including the petrol to get me down to Falkirk and back).

Anyway I suppose I should really get on to the Eye Candy…

Firstly, here are a selection of the wargames tables that were on display. I will identify the ones I can, but didn’t get a chance to speak to everyone so some will have to remain nameless…

54mm American War of Independence

Card Stock Mordheim. I am not a great fan of card terrain systems (as a professional model maker they somehow seem like cheating), however this table did look excellent!

I am not quite sure what this table was trying to achieve, it was split in two, with half being a WW2 game and the other half being a fantasy or sci-fi game…

WW2 Desert War

Epic W40K

A very nice Malifaux table.

A rather good Vietnam display. I have always been attracted to the Phantom, since my father and I built a 1/32 scale kit when I was a boy.

This was a great looking Pirate table, divided into several islands, each with a different piratical feel.

I was quite taken by the look of this Setting the East Ablaze game. The games is aimed at the period between the World Wars and mainly further east, this table was se in Egypt however and look great fun. I may well have to pick these rules and get some of Copplestone’s Back of Beyond figures to go with them.

The Urban War Demo Table, reminds me, I have some of these building sets… really must put them together!

A Very British Civil War, put on by The Gentlemen’s Wargames Palour

Warhammer Fantasy Battles, Lizardmen against Ogres!

Empire of the Dead, the new Steampunk rules from West Wind.

World War 2, probably Arnhem.

I didn’t get much time to look at the Painting competition, but this airship model did catch my eye.

Now moving right along, here are a few of the newer items from the various traders.

I am very impressed with Four A Miniatures, they are consistently adding interesting miniatures to their range. They seem to have an eclectic taste, jumping from fantasy to near future Sci-Fi quite at random, but all the miniatures have a very appealing style. I bought their new barbarian figure, and was sorely tempted by both their snow troopers and these brand new drop troopers (excuse the poor photography). What impressed me even more was that the proprietor actually remembered me from last year…

Next up we have a selection of Scheltrum Miniatures new releases. They have been expanding their Shattered Empires: German November Revolution range a lot recently and these new vehicles have got some real character.

These historical armoured cars will surely have uses for everyone from Back of Beyond fans, to VBCW and even Steampunk gamers.

Anyone who has read this blog before will know that I am a fan of the Critical Mass Games range of 15mm Sci-Fi miniatures. I participated I one of their demo games at Carronade last year and since built up sizable ARC Fleet and Praesentia armies.

After meeting Craig last year I work with CMG to design a series of laser cut game counter for their game. As I don’t have manufacturing facilities I wasn’t able to do the actual production counters for them (just some prototype samples) and the project has languished on the back burner for a good while. I was pleased to here, while I was at Carronade this year, that they have finally sourced a manufacturer for their counter. As such I was glad to see some of the prototypes in use on their demo table this year.

I had placed a small pre-order with CMG for their latest Mercenary figures as well as the new Alien Jungle Tree Trunks as well. These seem suitable for use as simple alien plants, with no further work (beyond painting), or also as trunks that you can add our own foliage to the top of. The handy thing for me is, that they are big enough that they will suit both 15mm and also my 28mm Pulp Sci-Fi collection!

While on the subject of my purchases, here is what I came home with.

My main purchase was the 7TV rules and it’s two expansions from Crooked Dice, the Summer Special and On Location. I am a big fan of the 60’s and 70’s TV, as I am sure anyone who grew up in that time is. So these rules really scratch an itch that I didn’t even know I had. As reference material I already have DVD sets of Captain Scarlet and Thunderbirds (notionally they are for my sons) and The Champions, The Saint and Callan, so ideal feeding ground for scenario ideas…

The Bring And Buy was also fruitful on the buying as well as selling front. My gaming buddies and I have regularly played the Ticket To Ride board game, which belongs to one of the other guys. I have considered getting it or one of the other games in the series on and off for several years. So when Jeff pointed out the Ticket To Ride card game for £5 it seemed to good an opportunity to miss. I also picked up 3 (unread) W40k novels, all of which I had previously been meaning to buy, and 2 W40k audiobooks for £2 each. Absolute bargain!

Finally, after purchasing the 7TV rules I was inspired to pick up some scenic items from Ainsty Castings that would be useful for the Pulp TV genre. Utility buggies and a laser table (well I do run a laser cutter all day at work). Conveniently these will be suitable for both “Hip” 60’s style scenarios and also for my Pulp Sci-Fi figures…

On the social side of things it was a good show, with both traders and visitors being in a friendly and most sociable demeanor. I chatted with lots of people, caught up with some people I have not seen for a while and put faces to a few people I have encountered on online forums.

The only disappointment was that my son and I didn’t get to take part in any participation games. There seemed to be a severe lack of them this year. Oh well, we’re hoping that either Skelp or Targe can satisfy that for us…

So that wraps up Carronade for this year.

That time that all wargamers dread–rationalising your collection!

Recently I have been very busy, between a commercial sculpting project, putting together a new website for my pal Sholto at Scheltrum Miniatures (I did their old website as well, but it hadn’t been updated for a good few years) and my full time day job is at it’s busiest at this time of year too. Consequently I have had very little time to do any painting or terrain work since Christmas. While working on these other projects I have had plenty of time to consider my collection, decide what I want to paint next and make a few decisions about reducing my lead mountain to a slightly more achievable size.

I have started by listing all of the armies and projects I have started over the years and still have stored away ready to finish, as well as simply listing them  I have included a ranking based on my current interest levels.

Project	Priority
28mm Pulp Sci Fi	10/10
Weird War	8/10
40K Tau	5/10
Steampunk Skirmish	5/10
Shieldwall/Saga Vikings	2/10
20mm WW2 British	5/10
Sci Fi Terrain Project	10/10
28mm Samurai Skirmish (Perry Miniatures)	4/10
Necromunda	4/10
Mordheim	4/10
40k Kroot Army	7/10
28mm “Fantasy Mongols” (Ebob Miniatures)	5/10
Warhammer Dark Elves	3/10
40k Dark Eldar	5/10
Crimson Skies (metal models not the later plastic collectibles)	3/10
Confrontation Barbarians	2/10
Sudan British Colonial (Camel Corps. etc.)	6/10
Ancient British	5/10
6mm Sci Fi	4/10
28mm Post Apocalyptic Skirmish	5/10
28mm Fantasy Skirmish	6/10
15mm Sci-Fi GZG Kra’Vak	8/10
15mm Sci-Fi CMG Praesentia	9/10
15mm Sci_FI CMG ARC Fleet	10/10
15mm Mongols	3/10
15mm Barbarian Wars	7/10

There are several factors that I have tried to include in my priority score, firstly my current level interest, then completeness of my forces, and finally the possibility of my actually using them. This last one springs mainly from the fact that I don’t wargame regularly and I am not in a wargames club at the moment, my armies are based more or less exclusively on whatever I fancy doing rather than on what fellow gamers are playing at the time. I periodically consider joining Aberdeen Wargames Club (lack of time usually holds me back, but eventually I will get around to it), and so I intend to hold on to the obviously popular forces (28mm Ancient British, Sudan British) so that I will have something to use when I do get around to joining them.

Working my way down the list I will try to explain my thoughts on each genre.

28mm Pulp Sci-Fi Skirmish This is always going to be a favourite of mine. I just love the Hydra Miniatures range, they are so evocative of the 1930’s to 1950’s Sci-Fi art. I have big plans for terrain, buildings and even more figures with this one. It will always be skirmish rather than large battles, as I think it suits the genre much more closely!

28mm Weird War  I can probably put together enough forces for a skirmish game. I enjoy the genre and have some plans for scenics and terrain that I know I will enjoy building and will also be usable for the Pulp Sci-Fi games.

40K Tau I bought into the Tau when GW first released them, even played in a couple of tournaments that GW put on in Edinburgh (didn’t win much but I enjoyed the days – I have never been particularly competitive anyway). I have enough Tau to build two or three 40K armies, partly due to Jeff giving me his Tau army when he was clearing out a few years ago. I put a lot of time into putting together my basic Tau army, converted every figure in a couple of the Fire Warrior squads etc. I still love the look of the figures and the vehicles, and to be honest I have always preferred a “shooty” army when I am playing 40K. So I wont be getting rid of these, although I may thin out a few of the spares…

Steampunk Skirmish This has been a period I have wanted to develop for a long time. I have read a lot of steampunk books over the past two or three years, which have fuelled this, but it goes back a decade or more to when I was sculpting VSF figures for Scheltrum Miniatures, and helping them develop and playtest their as yet unpublished VSF rules. As it is I don’t have many steampunk figures, three 54mm figures and a couple of 28mm one. So, as much as I want to try it I am probably going to side line this project. I’ll hang on to the figures I have, and possibly buy a few more, but purely for painting and modelling purposes.

28mm Vikings I could say the same for the Vikings I have. 60 or 70 Foundry Vikings that I have sitting the box they came in... Now, unless one of my gaming buddies, Jeff, talks me into playing Saga, I  can’t see myself ever using them. My army is far from complete and I don’t see a time when I will want to paint them. So it seems like a good time to part with the Vikings while Saga is drawing so much attention to that period!

20mm WW2 British I have quite a large collection here, both figures and vehicles. Definitely in need of thinning out, but the core is worth hanging on to.

Sci-Fi Terrain Project I am part way through creating a series of terrain boards, buildings, scenics and other items that will represent an alien planet. I am aim for this to be usable for both 28mm and 15mm (at least most of it). So this is a top priority project and will remain so for a long time to come.

28mm  Samurai Skirmish I have always wanted to have a go at a samurai game. I can’t see myself doing a fun size battle, but I already have enough Perry Miniatures Samurai, so this one will stay on the back burner, but I don’t plan on getting rid of them at the moment.

Necromunda and Mordheim I have both sets of rules (and of course they are free to download from the GW website now). I have played Mordheim a few time and really enjoy it. Never played Necromunda, but I imagine I would enjoy it as well. These two projects are both related to the later listing of Post Apocalyptic Skirmish and Fantasy Skirmish. Any figures will be interchangeable with those projects and I don’t have any of the official figures from these games anyway, just the rules and scenery etc.

40K Kroot Army I bought into the Tau because I liked the look of the Kroot so much. When GW brought out the original semi-official army list that was it I immediately started to convert up an entire Kroot army. Far from finished, but still much loved. I wont be parting with this one…

28mm “Fantasy Mongols” Ebob Miniatures produced this range of miniatures a few years ago, before GW had released their own range of LOTR Easterlings. I picked up the infantry and Cavalry army deals. I have not done anything with them, but as I have always been interested in the Mongols I wont be getting rid of these either…

GW Dark Elves I have been collecting GW’s Dark Elves since the very first pre-slotta based ones were released. I didn’t like many of the early slotta based ones but when Chris Fitzpatrick did the re-sculpts for the re-launch I started picking them up again. So I have a large collection across at least three distinct styles. I doubt I will ever field a whole army (although it is the only complete fantasy army I have now), so chances are, I will get rid of most of these and just retain a few choice figures for use with a fantasy skirmish game or Mordheim.

GW Dark Eldar When GW launched the Dark Eldar, back when they were included in the box with the rules. All my pals got rid of their Dark Eldar, so I acquired a large force for virtually nothing. I added quite a bit too it and had everything I needed to field a full size 40K army. I have also more recently had a small army given to me so, making my DE force even bigger. I don’t have any of the newer designs, they are all 1st ed. DE, but I will probably hang on to them as opposition for my Kroot and Tau armies.

Crimson Skies I have the original FASA rules sets and about two dozen of the original metal planes. Being pulp based I like the background fluff. I also like the FASA rules which share much with their Renegade Legion Centurion Sci-Fi Ground combat rules. These are in a limbo state in my mind, I like it and will probably keep it, but if someone made me a good enough offer I would probably part with it!

Confrontation Barbarians Not a lot to say about these. Beautiful figures, I have a reasonable size force of them including their minotaurs, amazons, giants etc. but a dead system! I have an awful lot of 28mm barbarians, from various manufacturers, these are just lumped in with the rest now. Will I ever do anything with them, well maybe but I doubt it.

6mm Sci-Fi Another system I have had plans bubbling at the back of my mind! I have Future War Commander and also Renegade Legion Centurion. The actual models don’t take up much space and wont take much painting, so chances are I will keep them, but on the other hand, I don’t hold any particular urge to run out and game with them…

15mm Sci-Fi Anyone who has read this blog for a while will know I am very much into 15mm sci-fi at the moment. No chance of these disappearing anytime soon.

15mm Mongols As I mentioned earlier, I have a keen interested in this period of history, I’ve read several books on the subject etc. However, I am starting to think I will never do anything with these. I have a large collection from several manufacturers, Irregular Miniatures and Museum Miniatures for a start. Probably about time I moved them on…

15mm Barbarian Wars I took quite an extensive look at 15mm barbarians in my last blog post, but I have since found the carrier bag with all my Demonworld Orcs in it. So the plan for buying some Copplestones 15mm Barbarians and doing an REHoward style game has evolved a little into barbarians versus orcs. I am planning on building a terrain board around 3 or 4 foot square, possibly in square tiles that can be rotated to create different configurations. Something with a very Cimmerian feel, possibly with a hint of mythical Celtic Britain...

Now I need to sort through my store room (for that read garage) and organise all of those figures etc. into separate boxes so that I can find them a little easier. No doubt I will find other treasures that I have forgotten about!

Next I will have to start Ebaying off the stuff that rates a 1 or a 2 out of 10 on my priority scheme. I will also have to do some hard thinking about the 3s and 4s…

Toy Soldiers: Proxy Vehicles for 15mm sci-fi!

There seems to a much more relaxed attitude to gamers using a mix and match attitude to army building when it comes to 15mm scale gaming than with 28mm scale games. Obviously companies want you to buy their own products, but they seem happy to accept that gamers will just buy specific vehicles (and figures) to fill out their forces rather than stick to the prescribed models…

In this vain, I have picked up a few of the McDonald’s Happy Meals Star Wars walking tanks to add to my CMG ARC Fleet army as they complement the CMG Walkers.

Just this week I have just found a treasure trove of vehicles at a great price and I couldn’t resist letting everyone know!

A friend of mine recommended that I take a trip to The Works (a chain of remainder bookshops in the UK) as they had the die-cast Tron Legacy vehicles at a very reasonable price.

Last night I popped into the local Works and had a look. The models were priced at £1.99 each and as I was looking at them one of the assistants approached me and told me that they were were on offer, £1.99 each or 2 for £2! Well, that was it I couldn’t resist picking a few up…

Now for a better look at each model.

Firstly we have the two aircraft.

It is not easy to see as the pilot is in black (just about visible in the close up photo), but this jet has an exposed pilot. The figure is approximately 20mm or 1/72 scale. So a little large for 15mm games. However, I will probably remove the figure, or at least enclose the cockpit to make it look less like a sports micro-light and more “military”. I might even use it back to front, as it is quite reversible!

This is model that I was really pleased to get! It will make an ideal light fighter-bomber. The enclosed cockpit disguises the scale nicely (it is supposed to be a three seater jet, for those that haven’t seen the film).

I think that this model will make an excellent all terrain scout vehicle. It  is difficult to see in the photos, but it has an open cockpit. The seats look reasonable for 15mm scale, so it may just be a matter of adding a couple of seated figures. The strange twisty front end will just be glued in a standard configuration as I can’t see a use for it on the gaming table.

This ground car is a like strange and I am not quite sure what I can use it for. I imagine it will probably end up as a civilian vehicle, just used for table decoration etc.

In a similar way to the last car, this one will probably end up as a civilian vehicle, but I quite like the design and it may end up a command vehicle or anti-grav jeep!

I didn’t pick up any of the flying archway kind of ships, as I couldn’t see a use for them, however I am regretting it a bit as it may well make a good door, or indeed freestanding archway for table decoration… Oh well maybe they will still have a few when I am in their next time!

So what next, I will probably give them a quick spray of undercoat and them a quick paintjob. To be honest the paintjobs aren't that bad anyway, but I will have to decide how I want them to fit in with my ARC Fleet forces. A couple will need minor modification, but that shouldn’t take long, a quick look through my bits boxes and they should be ready.

I didn’t have any 15mm figures lying around when I took the photos, so you will have to take my word for it that they are just about the perfect size to compliment any 15mm forces…