Most Wonderful Days 12 and 13

Quite the jump, going from day 1 to 12 in one leap. But to be honest, the first week of my time off was mostly spent hanging around, catching up on some chores, emptying the hard drive of my digital tv decoder and going for some walks in the forest, enjoying the ridiculously good weather.
The amount of painting and reading rules and other gaming related activities was too small to make a blog post worth the effort. And when I got back into action on day 8, it would have just been "painting my French troops", "painting my French troops", "still painting my French troops" for days on end... I just kept that for the paint table post.

Meanwhile I was cuting into my painting and gaming by dipping into my SF collection and rereading Jack Vance's Night Lamp... Doing stuff like that doesn't just eat up time, but the Gaean Reach background where several of Vance's stories are based only leads to thinking about a Traveller version of that leading to pondering 15mm SF gaming leading to ogling the different sales announced on TMP leading to "must resist temptation"... 

But I might just be able to resist those dark urges, mostly because I might be spending my money on old books. I must have come across a mention of the Fighting Fantasy books recently, making me dig out the 10 book edition I picked up a year ago or so on ebay.
So now I'm fighting my way through Firetop Mountain again. I was pretty lucky when rolling up my character, getting the maximum skill score and all but 1 of the possible stamina points. To compensate the character then rolled pretty low for his own luck. But with those scores you don't want to be lucky enough to sneak past someone, you just want to go and bury your sword in its skull :-)
Now all that made me look up how many FF books there are... leading to a possible outbreak of "Pokemon Syndrome" (gotta catch'em all). Only 49 more books to find... Here we go again.
Less money to add to Mount Plastic and Lead Hill though, the idea might have some advantages.

Possibly one of the reasons I have been painting that much over the last few days was that my HWK-290 didn't arrive before christmas. I needed this X-wing model to play several of the scenarios in the Heroes of the Aturi Cluster Solo/Co-op campaign. I have yet to play it, but it looks like a great fan made product and being free, you can't go wrong.
But first things first, where's that warlock hiding?

Happy painting and gaming!!!

Paint Table Saturday 13: Les Boches sont là!

After skipping a week because, well, there was nothing to report, I'm back with some real progress. The first week of my vacation wass all but productive on the hobby front: I painted pretty much nothing, blogged nothing, barely read anything games related... where did that week go and what did I do with it???

And then week 2 began! Now, a few days later, two thirds of my French infantry is painted and has moved to the varnishing stage, the remaining third needs only a few more details to be done and should be finished ome time tomorrow.

I've been googling my vehicles to pick out some camouflage patterns, though I wonder in what part of France that Somua's camo would actually work. They'll all need some heavy drybrushing to tone them down... tone them down a lot.
I started cleaning up the first of my PSC early war Germans and here they are, waiting very impatiently for their turn. So, not only will I finish one project/force in a mindblowing short period, I will start the opposing force right after it... I must be dreaming...
Just don't get sidetracked by those pesky kids :-)

Happy painting and gaming!!!

Most Wonderful Day 1

I guess it's all downhill from now...First thing during my time off from work was:

With cinema programs changing on wednesdays here in Belgium, the movie opened here on the 16th.  So come 10 am, there I was :-)
Without spoiling it for you, let me just say that George Lucas is now the second best Star Wars director. Star Wars is back!!!

When I got home I found my copy of Iron Cross had allready arrived after ordering it during the weekend. Shipped about as fast as the rules are supposed to play. I'll probably post a small review later during the holidays, but if you want to know more, just go the Meeples and Miniatures podcast that made me buy this set of rules.

After taking some time to recover from the shock and stun left by The Force Awakens (you'll understand soon enough) and reading the Iron Cross rules I got stuck in with the first of my new Gunpla kits: a production run version of the Gundam prototype.

For day they are forecasting a rather sunny day with temperatures up to 15° (I love global warming!) so that means some cleanup in the garden... There goes my hobby time. Good thing it's dark early.

Happy painting and Gaming!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

As if getting home from work for the last time this year wasn't enough fun by itself, I was greeted by a big(gish) box from my Japanese plastic Crack dealer :-)

Kitty says, watch me, watch me, watch me, I'm here too, watch me!!!

Looks like my French platoon might have to wait a few more days before I continue painting them. Watching the first three Star Wars movies again in anticipation of tomorrow morning's trip to the cinema has been cutting into my painting time, but now this arrives...

Time to get out the Samurai Robots Battle Royale rules by  Ganesha Games and give them a good read. Plenty of time to try them out with a few solo skirmishes. Just one of many gaming activities for the next 19 days!!!

Oh, and blogging is on the list too, so a small milestone is just around the corner...

Happy painting and gaming!!!

Paint Table Saturday 12: the Early Bird Edition

Well well, aren't I spoiling you? Another paint table post, on a Saturday no less... and earlier than ever. Ok, I had to get this out now or be late because I'll be off on a family visit in a bit so that's the day done for. So I did a little quick spot of painting, snapped a few pics before I have to move out.

Still working on my Peter Pig French and I got to a pretty surprising point earlier in the week. All models were on the table now with at least the basic flesh and uniform (or basecoat for the vehicles). Did I really go from picking up a new force at Crisis to have everything based and out of bare metal to work in progress in a month time???

Now I'm even contemplating being able to finish, yes, FINISH, this project within the "1 figure average per day" limit with the count starting at Crisis. I have until the 29th to pull that off. And being at the webbing and weapons stage now and my year's end vacation starting this Tuesday evening... it's definitely on the table (pun intended).

Happy painting and gaming!

Paint Table Saturday 11: Now With Extra Plastic

For my doing, hot on the heels of the last installment and for once bang on schedule... I had hoped to finish prepping my entire French platoon by now, but I got sidetracked a bit earlier this week when my order from Tokyo Hobby arrived. With his low low prices and cheap shipping, I just can't find those kits in Europe at that price level.

After picking up a load of other cheap 1/48 modern US kits for the Terminator Genisys I was still looking for a Hummer in that scale. And there seem to be surprisingly few of those around. So back to my favourite Japanese plastic crack dealer for the Tamiya model. Not completely finished yet to have easy acces while painting, but that's just some small details. 

The Hummer was so cheap that I still had enough room left before hitting the €22 dutyfree import limit to buy a gunpla kit. Those Bandai kits are incredible value for money! A multi coloured fully poseable snap fit kit standing 12cm tall... for about ten euros (including shipping). To give Ganesha Games' big robot game a spin I now have another three kits on the way from Japan and am brushing up on Gundam history on Youtube.

So with the plastic kit building done, it was back to the painting table to continue work on my Peter Pig French forces. Some more batches of infantry were added to the line as were the antitank gun and the Panhard armoured car. Leaving only the Somua tank and nine more infantry to get the entire force in production, leaving a few gun crew that I don't need at this time. All in all, no too bad for me...
Let's see if I can keep up this blistereing pace :-)

Happy gaming and painting!
See you next time...

Paint Table Saturday(ish) 10: Surprised?

Admit it, you must be surprised to see me again after more than seven months... Yikes, seven months... and nothing to show for painting wise. That last handfull of Russians? Still there just as I left them after finishing my last post. Oddly enough, just as I was about to finish those last troops, I lost all interest in FoW. Haven't played a game of it since then. Not that I have stopped miniature gaming all together, many a battle of Confrontation, Star Wars and lately Kings of War has been fought.

The post is called Saturday(ish) mostly because the picture was taken on Sunday, not so much because I only got around to posting it half a week late.

In the last few weeks I did return to painting just a little bit. I had some 15mm plaster walls that I got around to. In the background, the abandoned Russians. And in the foreground, the project that got me painting again: a small platoon of early war French from Peter Pig for Bolt Action and in a later stage Battlegroup Blitzkrieg. I picked those up at this year's Crisis show in Antwerp and after putting together another pile of 4Ground MDF buildings I cleaned up and based the first few riflemen and got out the paintbrushes again. At the time of writing I have been slowly working away on those and the next few figures are about to join them.

Untill next time (no promises about when :-)  )
Happy painting and gaming!

Paint Table Saturday 9: The Final Push

Last time you and I were confronted with an as good as empty painting table and me not really sure what to do next... The week after that I put the finishing touches on a couple of guns, some more 15mm Russians, a bunch of 6mm SU-85s, catching up with some odds and ends....
And I also started (and completed) a few 15 Russian gun crew bringing me back to my seriously depleted stash of FoW Russki's... With only about fourty figures left from the infantry gun kit and a Maxim platoon (and there should also be one or two bailed out tank crew somewhere...) left, I decided the time has come for the Final Push and claim victory over my Russian infantry models.

So this week I started cleaning and prepping some of them and made some nice progress towards the objective even though it got stalled for a few days. And the (at last) nice weather is delaying operations a bit too, the inevitable yearly power washing of the deck and other garden chores need getting done too. But once the big jobs were done, out came my mini painting station and last post's Stormtrooper (excellent kit btw, no Star Wars fan should be without one :-) ).

Hope you are having a beautiful weekend with some nice weather too. See you next time!

Happy painting and gaming!!!

And now for something completely different...

Nothing to do with wargaming (well, maybe when they release some Rebel Alliance troops) but just something "ooh shiny" I wanted to show to you...

A Bandai 1/12 scale Imperial Stormtrooper model... Pom pom pom popopom :-)

Lots of parts, poseable joints and several weapon options, what's not to like?

Banday have started releasing a range of new Star Wars kits both in 1/12 with (currently) this Stormtroopers and Darth Vader (going on the must buy list) and 1/72 kits of fighters like the X-Wing and TIE with bases modelled as the Death Star surface.
I haven't seen them in stores in Belgium yet so I got this one through ebay, whole the way from Japan itself. Even with shipping that was the cheapest option, none of the European sellers could beat this for just the kit! Let alone shipping. So if you are looking to get one yourself, search for Tokyo-Hobby on ebay...

Happy painting and gaming!!!

Paint Table Saturday 8: Tumbleweed Alert

A tad late... again, but within reasonable margins... So, since my last post I finished three command stands and the halftracks for my Barbarossa project, leaving me with this:

A vaste expanse of well, not much at all really... The last thing to paint before I can send in my next order for Barbarossa is the Stuka, here getting ready to have the wheels glued on. And thrown in at the last minute, a few crewman from the PSC Russian 45mm ATG set...
With no "must finish X before next club night" pressure on me I'll be surprising myself over the coming week as to what I'll be pulling out of the "nearly finished and long abandoned" pile... Dwarf cannons? Russian ATGs? Scooby and the Gang? Be sure to come back and see...

Happy painting and gaming!!!

Barbarossa 2: Some Progress

After the MDF madness, I started painting figures again... I had been going through another dry spell for a bit, but after constructing all that scenery I am eager to get some more miniatures finished.

And while I thought painting these Heroics and Ross would be a quick affair (not a lot of detail, right?) I did spend more time on them than I had anticipated. Once the first coat of paint went on, all kinds of details like ammo pouches appeared. In the end they turned out a lot better than I imagined.

Anyway, that's the infantry bases for my Panzerschuetzen platoon taken care of, now I'll do the last details on their halftracks. I need to order a few more bits for the command and support weapon stands, but other than that I'll have another unit slot filled in my Barbarossa army.

See you in a few days,

Happy painting and gaming!

Paint Table Saturday 7 - Back to Barbarossa

Still Saturday somewhere on the planet, so for once I'm on time :-)

With the unglued wood pile out of the way and after some reorganizing and clearing of the painting room and desk (yet again) I'm back to painting!!!

I cleaned up the Heroics and Ross infantry for my Barbarossa project, mounted them on bases and started painting. When I have completed this infantry platoon, I only have the StuKa left to paint and then I can order wave three for this army.
Aftermuch delibirations and changes of heart I'll be going for a heavy Flak battery and all the bits and vehicles needed to make an HQ for an armoured infantry company and the second platoon of infantry. That way I'll be able to choose between two army lists and have more choice between supporting assets... I'm even able to include one for the infantry list with that order: a pair of SIG33's. Five quid will allow you to buy an amazing amount of stuff at Heroics and Ross.

Happy painting and gaming!!!

MDF Madness Marathon 3 - The Finish Line

At last, very early last Monday morning (there is an upside to insomnia apparently) I glued the last of the dormers and the chimney to roof of the La Haye Sainte farmhouse, last building of my stash of 4Ground buildings... Just over a week to complete all that scenery.

OK I could have finished earlier but another purchase at Warcon 27 had me stuck behind my computer for way too much time. While faster than a real game of Bloodbowl, the PC version still takes quite a bit of time to play a single game and let's just say I played more matches than I planned (you know, just one more, then I'll stop...)

At last, no more blackened fingertips or the smelled of charred wood...

My pre Warcon 27 collection of 4Ground, the result of picking up one or two at a show over the last two years.

And now pretty much triple the size in a single day (not considering construction)

Want to know the worst of it all? I still have more stuff I "need"... the church, those corner shops,... Will the madness ever stop?

Happy painting and Gaming!!!

MDF Madness Marathon 2 - Halfway There...

... and I can't wait to get to the finish. Every bit of hobby time and the coffe breaks at work has been taken over by cutting out and glueing together a seemingly endless supply of MDF building parts.

4 of the 5 single buildings and the small outbuildings and walls from the La Haye Sainte set.

I'll be so glad when the last building is finished, I can't wait to actually paint something again :-)

Happy painting and gaming!!!

Warcon 27: Shop till You Drop!

With a only recently abandoned plan to visit Salute this year, I had a lot of money that I had been putting aside for that trip waiting to be repurposed? Did I do the sensible thing and put that money on my savings account? Or did I decide to go wild at Warcon instead?
Those were purely rethorical questions of  course...

When I left the big shopping bag in the center was filled to capacity with stuff to sell at the bring and buy, when I got back the few items left hardly filled the carrier bag at the left.

The plan was to go wild on scenery (check) and on airbrush paints. As there were no traders who had a good assortment of airbrush paints, I just went double wild on scenery... Even though I was expecting delivery of my airbrush set, I still went mostly for the 4Ground range. I already have quite a bit of it so this will give a more uniform table. Read more about it here.

Even more scenery from the Renedra range: their barn (a nice kit to practice my airbrushing on) and some packs of fences... you can never have enough fences...

When it came to figures, I didn't really plan on buying any. I have pretty much everything I need for the project that interest me at this time. Naturally I didn't go away empty handed, or what did you think? But the PSC anti tank gun set plugs one of the few remaining holes in my 15mm Russian army as they can also be built as infantry guns. Pretty much the only option I'm missing when building an infantry battlion in Flames of War.

And with Stonewall Figures running a "buy five get one free" deal on their 20mm vehicles, I had to pick up some of them. While they are not the best vehicle kits on the market I'm pretty forgiving when they go at £3.85 each. Some of them are hard if not impossible to find as model kits... Anyone see an Airfix T38 lately?

 

And being all early war vehicles they tie in nicely with Battlegroup Barbarossa. The collection is complete (for about a month or so and then Blitzkrieg is released) and I still have to play my first game... At least there are a few other club members interested in this game... Also for early war I picked up the France and Allies book for Bolt action.

And to finish the early war them I stumbled across "Britain's Wonderful Fighting Forces" in a box of old book at the Stonewall stand. No date of publication is mentioned but given the introduction mentions the declaration of war on September 3rd 1939 and no fighting is mentioned I guess this book was published during the Phoney War!!! What a find, I really like books like that.

And that leaves the bring and buy finds... Eastern Front Solitaire, still in the shrinkwrap... Bloodbowl for the PC... A bunch of sourcebooks for the Torg RPG. At just one Euro each I bought them mostly as inspiration for scenarios... a LotR Mordor Troll and last but not least one of the few Confrontation Wolfen characters missing from my collection.

So in case you are wondering, no, the Salute money didn't end up on my savings account :-)

Happy painting and gaming!!!
(I'll be stuck glueing MDF for now)

Warcon 27: Some Pictures

Here are some pictures of the Warcon 27 event in Gentbrugge (next to Ghent, Belgium) that I attended last Saturday. Bigger than any previous year but more cramped as well and a good selection of traders with a few from the UK returning after a few years absence.

The main entrance to the building, first time it was used for the event, hosting a big game table...

... the slightly too little second hand corner where I made more money than I spent...

... and a few traders too (with the smell of charred MDF filling up the corner).

The side hall, other years every club had a table you could walk around, pretty cramped conditions this year!

Our little contribution, a Flames of War table. The panzers are still smoking after my decisive victory (and some hot rolls of the dice)

The main hall, once again packed as tight as possible.

The inevitable Napoleonic game, Quatre Bras in 28mm by the Stipsicz Hussars.

The Alde Garde with a "what if" pike and shot battle in Holland in 1507...

... with a little nudge and a wink to our local fast food culture: the "frituur" (chips/fries shack) added to a corner of the battlefield. Armies marching on their stomach and all that :-)

French and Indians attacking a British fort. Dang, If only I remembered what war that was again... Ah well, a beautiful table anyway.

Market Garden: Oosterbeek

My fellow club members Lucien (back) and Henri (front) get an introduction to the Battlegroup rules.

Another great day of looking, gaming, chatting (and buying)... So, when is Warcon 28???

Happy painting and gaming!!!