Catching up

I have been participating in the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge for the last 3 months or so. It's been a bit of fun and has encouraged me to get a fair bit of painting done. I actually managed to finish 8th in the points total, which was very pleasing as I had set my original target at 600 points, and in the end finished with over 2000. If I (hopefully) participate next year, I will be better prepared in terms of figure variety, and more ambitious with my targets.  

It also strikes me that while I have been furiously painting, unlike many other participants, I have also been printing stuff. So while others have reduced their lead/plastic/resin pile, I have actually added to mine... Ooops...

And I suspect I have also painted a lot of stuff that hasn't appeared here. So this is by way of a catch-up. Bear with me if you have already seen it.. 

Some demented pepperpots, these are the classic movie Daleks from the 1966 move, Invasion of Earth. Dots, so many Dots.. 

Just for a giggle, and to reach the bonus for a planet of ancient robots. I printed off a couple of copies of Bender from Futurama, and 'weathered' one to represent an Ancient Bender.

Having posted my Indian Mutiny (1st War of Independence) Sepoy figures and the Elephant towing a limber, I also painted up some AW Miniatures Sepoy Cavalry - in this case, the 3rd Bengal Cavalry. These were part of the original  group of Mutineers at Meerkut. This group have discarded their issued 'French Blue' trousers and are ready to cause havoc..   though I realised I had run out of bases, and I am waiting for replacements to arrive. 

A few other things got done, that I didn't post here. 

Some 1/144 3d printed German WW1 aircraft, There were also 2 Recce aircraft that absconded from the picture. 

Storm Giant - another 3d print.

Some kit for when I choose to invade Manchuria, 3d prints as always - a Type 89 and a Vickers Crossley Armoured Car.

Transport... 

 

And in case I need 6 Ha-Go for a scenario, another 4 3d prints

Not forgetting 12th SS Panzer. 

Did I mention all those Spitfires needed some serious opposition?

I think that's it for the minute..   more to come soon. I have been working away on various bits and pieces so they may emerge in the not too distant future, and hopefully, I will get some actual gaming in.. 

 

Chocks Away with the 20 Minuters

Or as they say, it's not all a bed of roses in the Womens' Auxiliary Balloon Corps. Enough Blackadder references. Suffice to say that I have always had something of a thing for WWI aircraft, a diet of Biggles books as a child, movies growing up. 

A perfect confluence of events - the purchase of a hex mat to play Battle of Britain games, Alex from Storm of Steel making the 'Algy' rules from the Too Fat Lardies available, a 3d printer and perhaps most importantly, Jimbo from the Virtual Lard Discord channel generously sharing the STL files he has created, next thing you know I have way more 1/144 WWI aircraft than I will ever need. 

Early prints without crew but showing just how lovely these little things can be...

So my regular opponent and I got out some early war Fokkers and DH2 - 

Much fun was had as we tried to get on the tail of the opponents, and in the end - the British Flight Leader was forced to return to base with a damaged engine, while the German Flight leader survived a series of hits including one that severed his fuel line. Each side had one pilot lightly wounded and a great deal of ammunition was expended to little effect. But all of them survived their 20 minutes.

All in all it was great fun, and who doesn't love a game where you can shout 'Tally Ho!' and make 'dakka dakka' noises?

Doctors & the Fokker threat!

Been quietly painting away, and I also got my 3d printer working again. One of the lovely chaps on the Virtual Lard Discord channel, Jim, has been designing some very nice aircraft in 1/144 and has kindly shared them with me.  The upshot has been some Whovian nonsense and planes to play a first game of 'Algernon Pulls it Off' from the Too Fat Lardies.

There's also been a top secret major painting project underway.. but I will save that one for when I drop a points bomb for the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge...

Ready for Barbarossa

Picked up some new tank models a week ago, including a couple that I had been looking to find for a while, they will fit really well with the 'Early War' Germans I am building, and they work well for Barbarossa 1941.

So here they are:

This is the S-Model Panzer II ausf C, a lovely model - including a brass main gun barrel, and photo-etched parts, unfortunately, I lost the right-hand headlight during dry-brushing, with an AB Panzer commander from Eureka Miniatures. Highly recommended - went together beautifully and quickly.

The Hasegawa Pz IV F1. again, the commander is from AB, decal numbers are stolen from the S-Model kits. The rod assembly under the barrel (intended to deflect the aerial when traversing the turret), unfortunately part broke when detaching from the sprue. A very nice kit. The later kits from Hasegawa include their re-modelled wheels, which are much better than the original kit versions.

So now, I just need to finish the T70s, T34s, and KV tanks they will be running into.

Cold War Redux

Ok, I admit it, I am a child of the Cold War, CND badges, Greenham Common, nuclear armageddon and admiring the EE Lightning on full afterburner take-off at RAF Leuchars..  Whooheeee .. yeah! You know what I am talking about.. 

So when I saw a pre-order on Amazon, for the extension of FoF for the Cold War: 'Cold War Gone Hot', a mere nine quid plus postage.. well..  It arrived today... because real men use SLR, and drive Chieftains.

I also see that the third mission (omitted from the book) is now online at the Cold War Hot Hot Blogspot.. so get on over there sharpish and treat yourself to some 70's and 80's goodness, when men wore bad moustaches and the German plains were a giant exercise ground.

Also in the mail today.. enough lovverly QRF WWI Highlander figures to do a desert force for HiTT - including Rolls Royce Armoured Car, 18 lb artillery, and some Vickers HMG. At some stage I am going to have to find the figures to do opponents..

French - done!

The French finally got completed...  

HitT 3 x Army

105mm Artillery

French Part 2

Discovered some 30 x 30 mm bases lurking in the bottom of the paint box. So was able to base up most of my French. Also touched up the FT17, but a comparison of the two models shows they are hugely different in size. I think one of them is Minifigs and one QRF, but I can't remember which! If anyone can help - please post.

So here's Angel & Eva, with their supporting cast of 75mm, and Hotchkiss MG. Mixed in there are a FOO, a General (with compulsory Red Kepi), at rear, the rifle bases, at front the Trench Raiders, with bombs and pistols.

'Angel'

'Eva'

Artillery, Trench Raiders, behind Hotchkiss, and Rifle Companies

The Famous '75'

French Progress

Making slow progress. If only I could focused for longer than 5 minutes at once.

Undercoated & Wet Brushed

On the Painting Table

A very nice selection of 15mm WWI French for HitT (Hordes in the Trenches). Mainly Minifigs. Not much to them, spray black, wet brush 'Space Wolves Grey', added bags, belts and rifles, so now just waiting for that to dry thoroughly before doing a wash, and then flesh. And I just have to wait for my bases to get here from the UK. I am hoping that having to Blog my progress should get me motivated to do more painting.