Thursday 29 December 2016

Fallschirmjager Squad 1

So I've mostly finished painting a squad of my Fallschirmjagers for Bolt Action (minus a touch of luftwaffe blue for helmets and hats as well as metallic grey for weapons. I still need to apply decals to panzerfausts as well as texturing bases but I thought I'd post them anyhoo.

I think they've come out quite well - having said that I do feel the detail on the jacket fronts could be better. I also would have preferred a few more options for the panzerfausts (say a firing pose?).

Now I've done these - I'm going to work out a 500 point list and paint up the necessaries including the platoon commander.


The squad is made up of an NCO wielding an MP40, a second man armed with an MP40, a MG42 (with a second man as loader), 3 Riflemen and 3 Riflemen with Panzerfausts.

For my records (and if you want to know);

Part
Colour
Make
Skin
European Skin
Colours of War
Hat/Webbing
Mechanised Standard Grey
Citadel
Base Uniform
Worn Canvas
Colours of War
2nd Uniform Colour
Battlefield Brown
Colours of War
3rd Uniform Colour
G. I. Green
Colours of War
Uniform Lines
Army Green
Colours of War
Bag
Wool Brown
Colours of War
Rifle
Dryad Bark
Citadel
Leather
Dark Leather
Colours of War
Boots
Abaddon Black
Citadel
Trousers
Sicily Yellow
Colours of War
Uniform Wash
Athonian Camoshade
Citadel
Skin/Trouser Wash
Agrax Earthshade
Citadel

Thursday 22 December 2016

2016 in Review

So here we are, approaching the tale end of one of the more interesting years in recent history. Mass celebrity deaths at start if year, storm recovery, politicians playing to the rule to win (gamey), unlikely sporting events (including me playing American Football) and my youngest (and last) going through her first year.
Anyhoo, with all this going on, my actual gaming time has been sporadic, with most games I've played being noted on here! Because of this, my painting tends to have been more a case of what I fancy doing at the time rather than completing projects and because of that I have multiple projects on the go at once.

Having said that; I am moving forward with getting my bolt action Fallschirmjager force complete asap (getting 500 points done first so I can play some kind of game in January). I also am slowly getting Vietnam forces done and I have got my storyline sorted for when I get this going (currently based off a 4 man campaign).

Other forces are on more of a slow burn - my SYW Prussians have no opponents yet, my 10mm WW2 (and Falkland War) forces aren't really a priority and I have enough Frostgrave models for the moment (although I intend to get what I have finished so I can tick that off).

I also hope to buy a lot of plastic boxes to hold my forces (and bigger ones for boardgames) so I can be more organised and therefore more efficient with my time.

I'm also going to try and be more interactive and attempt to go for polls and things as well as hosting more games (a lot easier now the boy can be put up to bed earlier). Alongside this I really need to build up my fitness for the new season (my core effectively doesn't exist at the moment).

Thanks for reading and I hope to share more with you in the new year.

Thursday 15 December 2016

Rogue 1 (No Spoilers)

I am not going to spoil Rogue 1 (because most people haven't seen it) and this won't be a proper review because I haven't had chance to process it all or talk it out but I do have this to say - IT WAS AWESOME!

#####Before continuing I have not written any deliberate spoilers and my opinion is based upon being born after the original films but before the prequel films. I have also watched both animated series so some comments only apply there.#####

  • First of all, it is not a long film (2h12m) but it packs a lot in without feeling rushed. Scenes flow - there are no unnecessary scenes and wide lens shots are long enough to appreciate without dragging on.
  • The graphics are great, makes the most of modern technology without making it seem "wrong" next to A New Hope. Some of the things they do in this film are a true nod to the original films to truly tie it in. (NOTE: Watch "A New Hope" shortly before or after "Rogue 1". Alternatively just have watched "A New Hope" a lot .
  • This film ties in the whole Star Wars Universe (with an exception to Force Awakens) together with references to the original trilogy, prequel trilogy (thankfully minimal) as well as the "Clone Wars" and "Rebels" animated series.
  • The 3D is good, not quite as mindblowing as Dr Strange, but not eyebreaking like "Days of Future Past".
  • The storyline is what it should be. The characters have flaws and life isn't a perfect happy story.
  • The Rebels are not perfectly equipped at all, its motley with all sorts of bits and pieces thrown together - exactly how it should be.
In a couple of weeks I might revisit this (more likely to when released to Blu-Ray) and actually review it properly, but for now - WATCH IT.

On a side note, I got 6 FJagers base camouflage colour on - going for a beige base followed by brown and green before a green wash, whilst the trousers shall be desert yellow.

Monday 12 December 2016

28mm Mass Painting

As I've previously stated, I have large quantities of 28mm models to be painted and I need to stay motivated and do them. I am currently spending an hour or so a night putting together my Fallschirmjager and these are nearly done (just the Pak40 and Mortar to put together) - this is working well and its quite nice doing it whilst the missus plays Sims.

As such I will shortly have my Frostgrave Barbarians, Fallschirmjager and my Vietnam forces already to go  - its enough to be daunted - so I need timetables. I want to get my FJs to be undercoated by Christmas so I can paint a couple of squads before Rookie Day for Morecambe Bay Storm after which time may be more limited and hopefully get some games in.

With planning in process I therefore need to calculate which paints I need to paint them up for Monte Cassino.
Image from Warlord Games
I've used various paints in the past including FoW own ranges as well as GW. What paints do people suggest and if possible colour codes?


Tuesday 6 December 2016

Warlord Games StuG III

28mm has taken over my painting table. I have 10m and 6mm armies I want to paint but take a lot of effort to get everything out (paints, models, light, correct colour guide for my 7YW Prussians) and at the moment my paint times tend to be an hour here or an hour there at the end of the day.

On the other hand with a lot of 28mm figures, once they are put together and sprayed, I can just work on a figure in front of the tv and get it done in a night (minus basing). As such at the moment on the go I have:

28mm

  • Frostgrave Barbarians
  • Vietnam (US, NVA and VC)
  • Fallschirmjager Starter Army
10mm
  • Fallschirmjager
  • Canadians
  • British Paras
  • Russian Infantry
6mm
  • Prussian Seven Years War
Last night I sat down and glued together the StuG III from the Fallschirmjager boxset. I've decided not to attach the side skirts as I want to use this for mid-war and I'm thinking of painting the force up as part of 1st Fallschirmjager in Italy. I also didn't want too many pieces which could be broken so didn't attach the top machine gun and shut the secondary hatch up.



The model went together fairly easily (although I don't personally like the two part tracks. The details seem decent enough for a wargaming model especially the grenade launchers.

I need to decide on the paint scheme now, obviously dunkelgelb underneath but then . . . ?

I think I'm going to get the whole force put together before I paint it, whilst I keep up painting habit on my other bits. Having said that if I get a decent spell to myself I might try and get 500 points done so I can play a game in January (fingers crossed). Any volunteers?

On the Football side of life - we find out in less than a week if we're accepted into the league. All fingers crossed. I've been unable to do much fitness myself with family commitments and surgery but give me a week and I'll be back on my bike and attempting to bulk up.