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.
 

 

Q13: Chuhuac Herdmaster

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What I should be doing is continuing to paint my Six Day War lead mountain: no point in having ten Egyptian T-55s if they have no supports and no-one to fight.

What I actually did this weekend, of course, was to dive into my sci-fi lead mountain, painting up a few bits and pieces from projects that needed completion.

Here's the commander of my Chuhuac mercenaries, the Herdmaster, and his APC:

I'm still loving the Chuhuac: just got to get them onto the battlefield again.

You can see the rest of the Chuhuac gallery by clicking here.

TFL Painting Challenge: This Week's Update

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Lots to post about today: not a huge amount of submissions, but a lot in those submissions.

First up, Joakim sends in pictures of his amazing Soerabaja Harbour in the Dutch East Indies in 28mm. This is an incredible piece of work, and there are more pics on his blog, which can be reached by clicking here.

Secondly, Mr Hooge sends in a suitably hooge entry (did you see what I did there!) culminating in a couple of snaps of his games room. They didn't make his gallery, but appear below: a man cave of astounding astounding-ness:

The Games Room

The Games Room

The Bar in the Games Room!

The Bar in the Games Room!

Next three of the regulars send in their latest work:

  • Mr Bowler has three ships a-sailing
  • Mr Luther has some more 20mm Aussies and a fistful of 1/285 tanks
  • and Mr Helliwell has some more AWI and ACW 15's

Finally, Treadhead sends in another ten Taliban, almost the last in his lead mountain, which gives us our final picture with which to finish things off for today:

12oct5.JPG

Keep those entries coming: it will be the end of the year and too late before you know it!

6DW: Egyptian Tanks

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Some of you will remember that I got all excited by the Six Day War sale from Battlefront, and bought a whole load of figures and wrote army lists etc (army lists available here).

Now some six months later, the first of the figures have rolled off the painting table: a company of ten Egyptian T-55 tanks.

I've tried a few new things with these tanks. Firstly, I have used the new Texture basing system from Games Workshop. This is a fancy way of saying a pot of sand-coloured paint with lots of tiny silicon balls in it so that you paint it on and have an immediately, well, textured base. This is obviously a lot faster than my usual 'dipping into ballast' system, and has actually turned out quite well. I'll definitely use it for the rest of my 6DW armies.

The second thing was to use pre-made clumps of desert plants to dress the bases. These are also new from Games Workshop (called Mordenheim Turf or something!) and have also worked out quite well. Ditto as regards using them for the other figures I'll be painting.

Being GW, of course, they are a lot more expensive than you can get this material elsewhere: but then it is so convenient just to be able to pop in and buy what you need. You takes your choice...

Incidentally, I also had to learn how to count in Arabic in order to get the numbering right on the ten tanks. For those who might need to know, here's one to ten:

New 15mm WW2 Manufacturer: Waugh Games

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Waugh Games, a wargaming retailer/online shop based in Teeside, is now producing its own range of resin 15mm WW1 and WW2 vehicles.

At the moment all that is available is a handful of German vehicles, but they look good to me and are very competitively priced.

The vehicles are in resin, with integral bases (which won't please everyone, but that I quite like) and metal turrets/gun barrels.

Currently listed in their store are:

  • Tiger I
  • Panther
  • King Tiger
  • Jagdpanther
  • Panzer LV70
  • SdKfz 250/1
  • Opel Maultier

And at the moment they are running a series of promotions that make the models even more affordable.

They need some good pics to really sell the models, but here's the Opel Maultier: 

Now I need some Maultiers for my Gebirgsjaegers, so I'm going to buy some (probably the three for £7.50 offer...very good value) despite the fact that although, as I said, I like cast-on bases, the base shown above is VERY big and, if you look carefully, there do seem to be lots of bubble-holes in the paneling on the main body of the truck. Or maybe they are supposed to be, or will look like, bullet holes. We shall see!

Dux Britanniarum, An October Deal

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I usually keep my posts on here to either my own wargaming stuff or something about one of the TFL company-sized games (IABSM, CDS etc). Today, however, I'm happy to pass on news about a sale involving one of the TFL skirmish-level games, Dux Britanniarum. I'll let Big Rich tell you all...

With the Dark nights creeping in and the inclination to spend the evening sat before a warming fire, what better time could there be than to reach for a copy of Dux Britanniarum, our Dark Age rules, and summon up tales of valour and heroism as told in the halls of Arthurian Britain?  Indeed, what better incentive than a magical twenty percent off the Dux Britanniarum rules and the Raiders rules supplement throughout the month of October.  Even Merlin would be impressed!

So what is Dux Britanniarum all about?  The main rules focus on the British defence of their island in the face of a Germanic invasion by the Saxons, Angles and Jutes.  Choose the region of Britain over which you want to fight and enjoy the campaign system which allows you to conquer lands, amass experience, gain additional supporters and build fortifications and other enhancements to allow you to hold on the your kingdom.  Typically a campaign begins with a Saxon force of around forty five models raiding from the Sea before attempting to win land and settle.  Meanwhile the British player will attempt to keep the invaders at bay and hold on to his lands.

The Raiders supplement allows you to introduce three new factions, the Picts, the Scotti and the Irish and extend your campaigning to the northern lands above the wall and the island of Ireland to the West, both of which stood unconquered by the Romans and have very different cultures which are represented in the rules.

Normally £25.00, Dux Britanniarum bundle of the main rules and card deck are just £20.00 during October, whereas The Raiders expansion set with book and card is now £14.40 rather than the usual £18.00.  The Double Dux bundle, with both sets of books and cards is now just £32.00.  Now is the time to go forth and conquer with Dux Britanniarum.

You can order the above by clicking here.

TFL Painting Challenge: Monday Night Update

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Some very nice submissions this week. In no particular order, we have:

  • Keith Davies with some 20mm figures for CoC
  • Mervyn Douglas gets some Afghans in 
  • Steve Burt finishes off his Napoleonics
  • Koen sends in a host of Desert Rats and DAK
  • Kev pops in another twenty Gladiators
  • Mr Ralls posts from sunny Devon with some 15mm armour and some bigger zombies
  • Stephen Miller make a welcome return with some exquisitely painted figures
  • and Sapper submits his new 10thC Western Turk army

A couple of pictures from Mr Miller:

Renaissance Gun Emplacement for French Italian Wars

Renaissance Gun Emplacement for French Italian Wars

Warlord 28mm 88mm AT "behind cover"

Warlord 28mm 88mm AT "behind cover"

And the next submission will be mine: a host of Egyptian Army T-55s for my Six Day War project...once I've finished basing them!

"Dwarves in Space" and Related

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I've added a new figure manufacturer to the list of companies that make 15mm sci-fi miniatures: Cactus Games.

They have a line of what they call Gruntlings that includes troopers in armour, and troopers in ornate powered armour.

At the same time, I note that ClearHorizon have just launched a range of what they call High Gravity Mercenaries. These come just as a single mercenary squad of eight, but are wonderfully full of character.

Both of the above are obviously space dwarves, dwarves in space, squats, whatever you want to call them...so I have updated the Dwarves in Space army list as well by adding stats for Gruntlngs and the Mercs, and standardising the overall squad sizes slightly.

All I have to do now is paint them all: five platoon's worth of infantry, and a couple of squads of vehicles!

TFL Painting Challenge: A Tuesday Update

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Evening all. 

So here's this week's post-weekend update:

  • Matt Slade adds to his already incredible total with loads more 28mm figures. How does he do it?
  • Mr Davies bangs in a ton of 6mm vehicles
  • Leif adds a lovely DAK Panzer IV in 28mm
  • Kev moves away from his usual scale and period with some 28mm Gladiators...and a bridge
  • Mr 'Hat' Bowler adds to his impressive collection of WOTR Perry figures with another two batches of thirty each, and adds a couple of 1/285th ships as well
  • Paul Baldwin has some nice Greeks and Undead, along with a couple of houses
  • and Mr Luther takes a break from extending his AAR lead over me with eleven more 1/285 vehicles

Today's pics are from Leif, his Panzer; and from Matt, his Ancient Britons; and from Kev, his Gladiators:

Leif's Panzer IV

Leif's Panzer IV

Matt's Ancient Brits

Matt's Ancient Brits

Kev's Gladiators

Kev's Gladiators

As for me, I've now dived into my Six Day War project and am busy building and painting T-55s...lots of T-55s. Must hit the 1,000 points total this year!

Flakpanzer I Ausf. A from Minairons

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I'd been wanting to add Minairons' 15mm Flakpanzer Is to my early war German army for some time, but had been put off by the cost: £17.25 for a box of two makes for just over £8.60 per model, and they are mostly plastic. Must be something to do with the import from Europe, but that makes them even more expensive even than Battlefront! 

Anyhow, a Plastic Soldier Company sale gave me the excuse I needed to get them, so get a box I did.

The models go together pretty easily, although I did have a problem with bent gun barrels. They arrived a bit bent, and must have been battered during the construction process somehow, as one barrel needed gluing to keep it from falling apart, and the other took ages to get properly straight.

The crew figures that you get with these models are nice, but pretty damn tall. The chap standing up leaning forward slightly, must be at least 6' 9" tall; and the kneeling guy is as tall as a standing infantryman from most other manufacturers.

Here they are painted up. In summary: nice models, but crew very tall, and very expensive for what they are.

TFL Painting Challenge: the Post SanFran Update

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Quite a few entries submitted whilst I was across the Pond in SF.

In no particular order, we have:

  • Kev with some lovely WOTR command types and a new resin fence
  • Mr Treadhead submits some more Taliban: lovely figures as always
  • Steve Burt fires in a few more Napoleonics: a British rocket team (did you see what I did there?)
  • Mr Plowman adds some more rather spiffing sci-fi terrain objects
  • Mervyn D finishes his US collection, and immediately starts on the Germans
  • Dave Humm adds some Biblicals, some Germans and some halflings. Generously I didn't award half points for the halflings...
  • Chris Gilbride with some colonials...and a little story, told below
  • Mr Helliwell with some more AWI troops and some German mortars in 15mm
  • Leif enters some Star Wars figures in 28mm
  • And Mr Naylor, whose entry arrived just as I was writing this post, scrapes across the line for this update with some Germans...which apparently take longer to paint that Soviets.

Before the usual pictures, we have a little story from Chris Gilbride about the troops he had been painting. I'm sure we've all had similar:

Last year I found and finished some long lost Dervishes. Well now I've found and finished the ones to fight them. These were probably started 14+ years ago and only needed basing and a couple needed rifles gluing on. Easy points I thought. I then discovered that the uniform colour was wrong, they had a more WW2 khaki brown colour and the webbing was a sandy brown. Bugger. Re-paint the uniform and the webbing, stuck them on bases and then added the quick shade. They were looking good, now for the varnishing.

It was during the varnishing that the table tipped over dumping all 23 onto the concrete floor. Those that survived the impact ended up covered in ... bits of stuff. Did you ever think that maybe some figures are just not meant to be painted and finished?

Not bad, Chris: 14 years to finish a unit!

Right, today's pictures are from Kev and, of course, of Chris' British troops, bits or not!

How lovely are these?

How lovely are these?

"Fourteen years I waited to get into the action: fourteen long years!"

"Fourteen years I waited to get into the action: fourteen long years!"