Club night, new project alert, painting update and the SM challenge...

Last Friday saw the first game of the year. Stef and I faced off in a game of Songs of Blades and heroes, Stef bringing along a warband of LotR Southrons and I dug up my Confrontation Griffons. Normally this games is supposed to be a quick one, but because of some crappy dice rolling we switched turns faster than statistics would predict so it took a long time before we had something resembling two battlelines forming in the center of the board.
Stef had sent a pair of archers out in front as skirmishers, always good for a quick kill, right? Not even close. I managed to get one kill in before the end of the game, on the other flank where there were no archers. A good thing, as those two archers would kill (or help killing) no less than five of my troops. The heavy infantry were looking on from a distance (and fearing job cuts in their branch of service).

At this point the game ground to a halt as a long lost member made a re-appearance after a long absence and the three of us got talking "Old School Gaming" and "Imagi-Nations". Something Stef and I have discussed as a possibility many times before, mainly based on the Wars of Faltenian Succession series in the excellent Battlegames magazine. I reread that series over the holidays as it came up in one of the "View from the veranda" podcasts, so the idea had come to the front again. Just what I need...
Later that evening I checked out Peter's blog "The Nyudrev Chronicles" (see my list of blogs) where he describes his efforts on "De Dietsche Unie", his Imagi-Nation based on the local area. I also looked at his Minden miniatures for his first infantry unit and I immediately started drooling. Great looking miniatures with a definite Old School look and reasonably priced...
Maybe I'll send for a small trial order next month, ten or so figures... But first I would have to decide on the background for my own little nation (as I was typing this bit, I came up with one of my silly, double entendre acronyms, but I'll keep it to myself for the moment).

This would bring my counter back up off course, but I'm on track to push it down again in the next couple of hours as I'll be finishing another batch of Blitzkrieg Commander infantry stands. When these are done I'm going to go back to 28mm for a bit and finish some of the odds an ends that heve been stranded on the painting table for a long time.

And now we get to the SM bit... Knowing the kind of guys that frequent blogs like this one, I am pretty sure all of you were thinking Space Marines, right? On the table was a five man SM squad and as I started slapping on a first coat of paint I started thinking (I know, nothing good ever came from that). Given the high point cost of Space Marines I should be able to finish, say 100 points of figures each month, giving me a smallish force by the end of the year.
I had painted and finished three figures as a test for the clour scheme, all I have to do is redo the base from the "Green fields of Kent" to the more realistic grey gritty bases I paint presently and finally give them back banners. That way I can claim about 100 points for this month as the figures are an officer and two sergeants. And the squad I just started will give me the points needed for February.

So in short and on the plus: played a battle, had a great club night, kept on painting and started a limited side project based on figures already owned...
Bad thing: I see something new looming on the horizon...


Happy painting and gaming!

Quick update

So what have I been doing since the last post? Not as much as I would have wanted, even though I'm still steadily working my way through the painting desk.

I finished a batch of infantry and mortar stands for my late Russian Blitzkrieg Commander and have prepared the next one. They're glued, washed and base coated, ready for the painting brushes. Last friday at the club the painted ones got a lot of amazed looks from the warhammer crowd... amazed that these tiny 6mm figs can have painted webbing straps and even wooden rifle butts...

Other than that I've only been working on some pieces of streetfight scenery, made by UK based "Black Cat Bases". They produce a rather nice assortment of mundane items, ranging from discarded matrasses to vending machines to trash bags etc etc... Always great stuff to fill up the alley ways and streets during your gang wars/zombie runs...

And I really shouldn't hit myself over the head about the slow pace. After all, I did finish 33 figures this year, short as it may have been untill now. That still is more than one per day. I'd be a very happy camper if I can keep that up for the rest of the year...

Wait and see!
Happy painting to you all...

Going negative...

...and I'm not talking about the temperature. I just finished a few stands of BKC infantry, plunging my counter into negative territory. The next few stands are only slightly behind, so the counter wil drop again in a day or so. OK, I'll still have to spray them with matt varnish and flock them but that will have to wait till the temperature climbs again. And because that is only a minimum of work left on these figures, I declare them finished...

Coming back to the weather, the forecast is for lots more snow coming in over the weekend. Tomorrow after work I'll be doing my shopping and then I won't be leaving the house for a few days (took monday off as well to give road crews time to clear the roads for me ;-) So I'm looking forward to three days of painting, reading the new BKC rules, etc etc.

Hope you guys have a wargames filled weekend to look forward to as well!

What's up, Doc?

I seem to have reconnected with my paintbrushes over the last few days. Compared to most I'm still awfully slow but I think I should have finished the Blitzkrieg Commander stands and the first Impetus units by the end of the week. Plunging my counter solidly into negative territory (where it should be)... And no real need/urge/opportunity to buy anything new at the moment. Wierd, doesn't sound like me...

I dont know why, but it looks that GHQ 6mm infantry is by far my favoured painting job, even with all the detail that is on these microscopic men. I am considered to be quite mad by my fellow club members because I paint the webbing straps, but they are that good, they deserve it.

And finally a big welcome to the latest follower of this little blog: Tim. Almost into double digits now

Plans for 2010

But first a quick look ath the last figures from 2009. These are a pair of Minbari Torotha class escorts and a Morshin class carrier from "A Call to Arms". The pictures are that good because of the light conditions outside (the snow reflects too much light) and the models themselves only have their satin varnish coat on, it's way too cold to break out the spray can. I kept the paint scheme very basic (and close to the picture on the fleet box they came in): a bright blue basecoat drybrushed with some light grey... Simple but effective.


So, what are my plans for the new year? I will be sticking to last year's "spend less, play more, paint more" idea. I have also decided to focus on the following projects for now:

-Blitzkrieg Commander: get to grips with the new version that just came out and continue painting my late war Russians

-Impetus: at long last my Carthaginians will emerge from their cupboard onto the painting table. The first two units of Balearic slingers are already mostly finished.

-A Call to Arms/Federation Commander: more of a side project really, painting those spaceships will break the drudgery of painting loads of similar infantry.

-World at War: add the last finishing touches to my infantry and get those tanks done.

-Clearing the painting table: get rid of all the odds and ends that clutter up my table.

All in all rather limited objectives for the moment and I'm hoping to keep it that way...

The Battle for Hechtel

Slightly later than promised a week ago, but here are some pictures from this demo game played at the Fallen Angels meeting.

This was the weather on arrival, when we left there was up to 5-6 inches of snow on the cars.

Being there waaaaay before everyone else we had all the time and place to set up our table.

Looking at Hechtel from the south-east, the crossroads of dirt tracks to the front of the picture would become my battleground for the rest of the day.

As you can see on the picture above, even before all the houses and hedges were added, it was a big table (6 by 8 feet), covered with loads of scenery. The British enter along the western and southern edges. Being in charge of the southern command, I covered the main road from Hasselt to Eindhoven and the dirt roads with my small forces: an AT gun, a couple of squads and a MG unit and one SPAT vehicle for both of the approaches. All dug in of course and invisible to the enemy at the start of the game.

The Brits after their opening move

The Brits decided to throw everything in the south through the dirtroad crossing which was regarded as the weak spot (the main road had some wire obstacles and a small minefield as well). So it would be 4 Shermans, Eight squads in carriers, an AT gun and a recce unit vs my AT gun, MG, 2 squads and a JPzIV lurking to the back. My troops waited till they could see the whites of their eyes, so all I did was call in mortar fire through my HQ, knocking out two carriers. They would have a long way to walk...


The Brits moved their tanks into a firing line and parked the carriers in a nice row on the road. My AT gun opened fire, knocking out another carrier. Other than a little fire support from a Grille that pinned a squad, nothing much was happening yet.


After pouring a ridiculous amount of firepower over my AT gun (14 dice in a single activation and not a single hit) they at last kill it. Ah well, it did its job as speedbump admirably.However, opportunity fire from the MG in the farm had driven the suppressed squad back into his HQ, meaning that next turn he wouldn't be able to give any orders.


Two turns (and some shopping) later the Brits destroyed the farmhouse with loads of tank fire, killing the MG unit. So now I'm left with two infantry squads (that are still not known to the enemy) and a lone JPz. That one did kill its first Sherman after some long range duelling.

So the Brits hadn't gotten anywhere till now and the first reinforcements coming from neighbouring Eksel started arriving near the front line, taking positions along the road to Peer.


After a couple more turns, this is the situation in my sector at the end of the game. My two infantry squads had survived, the one in the front despite all the fire the British poured into it. Together with the support of the Grille, they killed a few enemy squads. My lone JPzIV had knocked out three of the four Shermans and was now reinforced by a Jagdpanther. This sector would become a sideshow as the real battle would be beginning in the north as well (if we hadn't run out of time). The reinforcements sent to cover the Hechtel-Peer Road would be able to turn their attention north, making it very difficult for the Brits to take the town quickly enough as not to interfere with the Market Garden timetable.

I had a blast and thoroughly enjoyed the battle. The small area and minimal forces at my disposition were not a drawback, after all this was a key point in the battle. Had the Brits broken through the line then my friend on the western side of town would have found enemy troops to his rear. I really look forward to being able to play the full battle one day, with the northern front opening up as well. We did manage only ten of nineteen turns planned to depict this six day battle.

The counter goes up...

Shopping for presents for my nieces at the loacal toy store... never a good idea. The store might be getting out of GW, but there still is quite a bit of stock left.
I have way too much 40K stuff hoarded, so I plan to do some gaming with it in the coming year. And I didn't have the "Cities of death" book yet. Stage 1 of the ending sale discount earned. To get the full discount, I also bought an Ent from the LotR range. Nice model, and it will probably end up in a "Songs of Blades and Heroes" warband toghether with some of the Confrontation Daïkinee Elves (woodelves) I rediscovered in my recent reorganisation.
This brings the counter (top left on the page) to 12, thanks to the b*%£*%ds at GW who decided to put two dead orcs with the Ent. Later today it should go back to 9 as I should be varnishing my three Minabari ships later on. If I push myself a bit, the counter could reach zero before the new year. Let's try anyway...

Taking stock...

In the last few weeks I bought some more cupboards for the gamesroom (aka pack rat paradise).
So now that I have plenty of time with the holidays I started reorganising the stockpile and decided it was the moment to draw up a detailed inventory. Better call the boss for a few more days off...

So far I have gone through my ancients collection: a few 15mm DBA packs and a enormous pile of 20mm, mainly plastic 1/72 scale soldiers.

The collection of 15mm figures can be considered reasonable:
Spanish army (punic wars era) - 43 figures
Carthaginian army - 61 figures
Bactrian army - 54 figures
This makes a total of 158 figures, sadly enough only four horses are somewhat painted by yours truly. The previous owner of the Bactrian army had painted the elephant and crew, but that's it. The first symptoms of unpainted lead syndrome...

But it will only get worse!!!

I own (hangs head in shame and mumbles) 1091 20mm figures with a grand total of 5 (five!) figures that have met with a paintbrush...
Sumerians - 113 figures
Nubians - 42 figures
Sea peoples - 42 figures
New Kingdom Egypt - 208 figures
Gauls - 134 figures
Mercenary hoplites - 96 figures
Carthaginians - 303 figures
Indians (metal) - 152 figures
Persians (metal) - 1 figure (free give away, in case you were wondering ;-)

And then there still is the 10mm warmaster ancients army and a small amount of 28mm left to count.

PS I have been doing a little bit of painting as well: Uma and Micheal (see previous post) are progressing nicely...

Come Hell or High Water...

...or a snowstorm that practically shuts down the whole country, early this morning we got in the car to slide, I mean drive to Leuven to put up a demo game at the convention of the "Fallen Angels". Not exactly a big event on a normal day, let alone on a snow day like today. Several other clubs that weren't from the local area didn't show up. Quite understandable, not everyone is as mad as our group.

With one notable exception: the owner of the British forces decided to stay in bed and ride out the storm. And this caused a big problem: our demo game of the battle for Hechtel is a prelude to operation Market Garden and features Germans defending the town and crossroads against... You guessed it! We packed up some Russians and substituted Shermans with T34s, Carriers with trucks etc etc and just used the UK stats. Not the most elegant solution, but it was this or cancelling the game. More on the game with loads of pictures wil follow tomorrow...

I also picked up the last miniatures for this year. Nothing I really needed, but while browsing through the boxes with less commonly available (read: not Evil Empire) figures one blister in the Call of Chtulhu range caught my eye: a white collar survivalist. Or Michael Douglas in the movie "Falling Down". Further digging turned up a female assassin (Uma Thurman in "Kill Bill") and a hired gun (Lara Croft). Taking advantage of the "buy one, get another one free" offer I picked up two more figures that are suited as zombie games survivors and a pack of four hooded terrorists.

So even with the bad weather it was an enjoyable day out. We were able to play a great battle (though only halfway through) and I bought a few interesting figures at a discount. With two weeks of holidays ahead of me and way too much snow on the road to go out, I'm looking forward to do some painting, and maybe a solo game or two...

TAP TAP TAP, is this still working?

It's been a long time since my last post, waaaaaay too long. So what's been going on? Well, hardly anything, and that was the real problem. Because of a medical problem I had to be given a new job but the people at Human Reources were not exactly in a rush to do so. And so I was left without any real work for a very long time... By the time the summer holiday season arrived this was really starting to get to me, so much that when I got home in the evenings after a day of doing absolutely nothing I just couldn't be bothered any more about any thing... Including gaming.

About a month or two ago, someone at HR at last looked at my situation and invited me for an interview. Now that I at least got some perspective again, I started waking from my hibernation and started to look at painting and gaming again. I still need to get back to the pace of operations that I achieved earlier this year, but I'm getting back there...


After clearing the painting table, this is what is currently being worked on:
-Some Minbari ships for "A Call to Arms" (I even played a couple of games with these rules in the last month or so)
-The Romulan squadron box for the "Federation Commander" game (picked that game up at Crisis 2009 in Antwerp), flanked by the good ship Enterprise (an oldie by FASA)
-A five man squad of EE Space Marines
-A couple of UK Airborne 6Lbs AT Guns for "World at War"
-A handful of "Blitzkrieg Commander" Russian infantry and mortar stands
-A couple of 15mm Russian farms and the Perry 28mm farm.

I'll be working on these first while I'm thinking about what will be the main project I'll work on in the coming months. There are two main contenders for that (aside from the BKC army): dig up my stash of Starfleet Battles miniatures and boldly go where many other gamer has gone before, or will Hannibal at last cross the Alps onto the painting table and start up an Impetus army?

Only time will tell...

July Lookback

In one word: great! I met the "Less, More, More" program requirements with great ease last month.

Spend less: what can I say, I can never do better than July. I spent absolutely nothing on figures, supplies, magazines or rules... OK, I went into town last Saturday and broke the dry spell (magazines, paint and brushes only though).

Paint more: I'm keeping the production going slowly but steadily with a bit of a slowdown near the end of the month. But that I can blame on one of my buddies who is moving into a new place and needs a bit of help with transporting stuff etc... and who rewards the effort with a couple of beers. 'nough said, I guess? I finished a few zombies and streetfight scenery, my Bloodbowl team, some infantry stands for BKC and several squads of 15mm Russians for WW2. I'm starting to chip away at the unpainted pile...

Play more: Even though the club was closed for the last half of the month I played two games. The first was a tryout of Ganesha's new Fear and Faith rules. We'll have to look into that a bit more, the zombies just don't want to die... did we do something wrong? The second game was (shudders while remembering) WH40K. A new kid came along at the club and with the resident 40K crowd being absent I offered to show him the basics of the game. This forced me to read the last edition again and at that point I remembered why I put it aside after glancing through it when it came out. Afterwards I dug up the Rogue Trader era books again... resulting in me digging up my squats and going through the army list... They are now safely back in the closet, awaiting better days.

And August? I've got the Russian HMG and mortar teams left to finish and three tanks to do for my World at War force and then I'll keep doing Russians, dropping a few scales to add more infantry to my BKC force.

Stay tuned!