Between Now and Back Then; Update and Round Up for the end of 2020

Richie, Danny and I have played on some fantastic looking
tables over the years but this one is my personal favourites
when Richie's Fallschirmjager met my US Infantry earlier
this year. Richie did an excellent job of putting together a
very realistic looking Normandy table

Cutting To The Chase. It's been a funny old year as I am sure you are aware. But I won't waste time with comments or views on the current state of the world, instead I'm just going to cover what I have worked on since my last update and look forward to what I have in mind for 2021.

Stalingrad Terrain. If you are a follower of this blog then you will know that I recently had a blast playing out my take on the Bolt Action Stalingrad Rail Station 1 scenario. Preparing for this took up a fair bit of bench time over the last few months and resulted in a some very nice terrain bits indeed not least my advertising column which I am really pleased with. 

     In fact, on reflection, I am really quite pleased with what I have put together for this project. Three ruined buildings, a pretty nice railway layout, a coal yard, piggery and hen coop and the small scatter pieces; trees etc. And all for one scenario! No wonder I was scunnered (cheesed off)!! But it was worth it in the end.

About 75% of this terrain was made for this one scenario

Telegraph poles in progress and my finished advertising
column

Advertising column pre-painting showing how
it was put together should anyone else feel the
need for an advertising column in their terrain
collection

Winter trees made from twigs with added
tactical signs, based on coins and with mixed
herbs used to represent fallen leaves  

Rubble scatter made utilising toy cars and cat litter 

Sarissa Precision's Ruined Town House

     The final ruin I put together was Sarissa Precision's Ruined Town House kit. A decent enough kit but I was a tad underwhelmed with it as it's somewhat small in comparison to TT Combat's Ruined Lexington Building. I had originally planned to use the Sarissa kit to represent the three story railway station but as you see below it's lacking stature for that central, some might say pivotal role. The TT Combat building proved the better choice in the event as I rather foolishly glued the six separate pieces of the Ruined Townhouse together which made it difficult though not quite impossible to fit my figures inside with my big, sausage fingered hands...Doh!! part 1

     Other Sarissa bits that I employed were two of their excellent rolling stock kits; a goods wagon and a brake van, which were coated in Bitter Chocolate paint then given a rudimentary paint job. I also invested in a tram car and two wheeled cart from Warbases but they never made it to the table. Maybe another day, eh? 

Sarissa's Goods Wagon...

..and brake wagon

Don't worry, little tram car and two wheeled cart,
your day will come soon....

Further Stuff Other bits and pieces that have received attention are the second of my two 4Ground Mordenburg ruins. A very nice kit (I do like the russet red colour) but the roof tiles need to be replaced or covered with Warbases tile sheets. This also needs a small base added with scattered rubble etc modelled on it. I hope to be able to put together enough timber framed buildings and ruins for some future Bolt Action games set in late WW2 East Prussia. 

     And speaking of Bolt Action in late war East Prussia, I have made more progress with my late war German force. These have become something of a passion project of late. I have finished off my RSO/PAK40 and expanded my infantry units; partly by painting up new figures and partly by converting my winter German figures. I also added support units; medium mortar, sniper team and medium machine gun. I have more, much more to add to these chaps, hankering after such exotic units as Sturmgewehr totting Volsturm squads, Feldgendarmerie squads and a panzerzerstorer squad (three panzerschreks in one unit!! Can you imagine?) 

Finished RSO/PAK40 ready to go. The crew are removable
so that they can crew my other artillery pieces

late war Germans, lots of them...Sehr schon 

  v  Another recent purchase was Sarissa Precision's Japanese Mountain Village for the game Daisho, the rules for which I bought a while back. All I need to do now is to wait for the terrain pixies to sneak into the cubbyhole and put it together and paint it up for me....or I can do it myself, which will be a lot quicker....but not by much!!

     Hovels Ltd also received some business from me as I bought their 28mm single span bridge as I now have a small river that I can add to my terrain tiles which expands my available gaming area to a massive 5'x4'!  Whilst in real terms it's not actually much it does mean I have a bit more room for tactical maneuvering when I game as I can place the river tiles upside down and cover the terrain tiles with a suitable mat. And of course I can use the river tiles as intended...sweet

The massive gaming area a la Maison McCabe

and I bought some 6mm terrain from Hovels Ltd as we are looking to play Black Powder in 6mm!!

Scale Model Kits As mentioned in my last update I had taken a notion to paint display models; planes, tanks, figures that sort of thing. The first of these I present here, a Revell 1/72 scale WW1 Albatros DIII which has the distinction of being the first model aeroplane I have ever painted. I say painted because as a lad I built quite a few model aeroplanes but they were unpainted even though they often saw combat with sound effects supplied by yours truly..."eeee....oooww...dakka dakka dakka! Take that Fritz!!"

     I really enjoyed building and painting this so much that I intend doing more; aircraft, tanks and figures. I have always shied away from attempting aircraft and vehicles as I felt I would make a complete arse of it; especially as I have fallen into the trap of thinking that the only good paint jobs on scale models can be achieved with an airbrush: which is a nonsense, and convincing myself that the standard seen in modelling magazines is what everyone else achieves so it wouldn't be worth my while bothering. Listening to a few of the modelling podcasts that are out there; On The Bench (which is hilarious), Plastic Model Mojo and The Plastic Posse, has revealed to me that this is definitely not the case. As it is I only intend to build and paint armoured vehicles that have single colour camouflage schemes or, like Cold War British vehicles and armour, have hand painted camouflage schemes so an airbrush isn't a necessity. Figures I am less intimidated by having painted a few of these in the past. Though of course the real reason I wargames this is only a diversion, the scratching of a hobby itch because the real reason I wargame is because I want to paint my toy soldiers etc and play games with them.

 

Airfix's 54mm Cuirassier. Not the greatest paint job but
I like i and enjoyed it and that's the nub of scale modelling,
you build for your own enjoyment....Doh! part 2

My first, serious 1/35 scale project in quite a long while.
The Tamiya Panzer Crew figures are incredible sculpts,
a huge leap forward in design and production from the
figures included in the Panzer IVD kit

The Christmas haul. I like marzipan...and
The Clash

A treat for myself 

      Which brings me to my next deviation from historical wargaming. My good chum Danny was fortunate enough to win The Walking Dead miniature game in a raffle a couple of years ago at Dunfermline Wargame And Roleplaying Fellowship's (D.W.A.R.F.) Winter War Bolt Action charity tournament. I found recently that I was in the market for just such a beasty so we did a trade.

     I had an idea to coerce the missus, the sister in law and number 2 nephew and number 2 niece into playing The Walking Dead miniature game over the holiday period (I am always naively optimistic they will play board games with me despite Talisman and Cluedo; the set with the 28mm figures in it, both being played out with obvious reluctance. Oh and yes, I painted up the figures in both sets...but I am digressing) little realising that The Walking Dead was designed for 1-2 players. So that family gaming idea has gone out the window (to the obvious and undisguised relief of the missus, sis-in-law etc). 

      But wait, all was not lost, I have done some research and after reading The Walking Dead compendium vol 1 through in one sitting (not a clever idea before going to sleep....brrrrrrr) I was rather taken with the back story for the game. So taken in fact that I have ordered the second compendium or compendium vol 2 if you will. I played through the first taster scenario from the game itself and quite enjoyed it sooooo I have ordered the terrain accessory pack that Mantic produced for it reckoning I have sufficient buildings for it (the game plays out on a 20"x20" area with 40"x20" being the maximum recommended area) that all I need do is paint up the figures and hey presto, new game system.

    Speaking of painting the figures, this is why I bought the graphic novel compendium thinking I would get an idea of what colours to paint the miniatures only to find out it's printed in black and white; so much for me and research. If I had bothered to pay more attention to the rulebook (and why would I do that, for cripes sake!) I would have seen a lot of lovely photos of the game jam packed with lovely painted miniatures...Doh! part 3.  By the way, I bought the video as I have never seen the programme and at £1.50 I thought "Why not; that won't break the bank" then walked home in the rain as I had spent my bus fare on that damned DVD!!

    So that's the end of this meandering update/round up post. I have a couple of narrative batreps in the pipeline as ever. And a new gaming project besides The Walking Dead that I will write about later once I have sorted out how I plan to tackle it. 

     Till then I hope you all had a lovely Christmas Day with your nearest and dearest; that Santa was good to you and that the rest of your festive season is full of joy and happiness.

Pip pip,

Jimbob (General by the grace of Blogger!!)