Bolt Action Plastic T-34/85

For my birthday I got a very useful kit for my Soviet Army, (thanks Colin!). The Bolt Action T-34/85 isn't one that would have picked myself but it will be very handy for future BA games where some German player just must have his kittys. (Panthers or Tigers). I've heard there is a T-34/76 turret available on its own somewhere. Anyone?

Everything fit nicely but I got a good tip about bogging the surface.

I did some butchery of the mudguards as it's a lot easier with platic kits vs resin.

Waiting on final detail and tank riders!

Getting some Game on Board

Trying to get some gaming back aboard.

Actual gaming has not happened yet. But...

Tamiya M10 is a very nice model

The M10 was a complicated pleasure to build with very few boondoggles involved. Even with approximately thirteen pieces of track for each side. The inside of the hull contains plenty of hints for those viewing from the outside, including ammunition stowage, seats, traverse crank and gun details. I love these Tamiya 1/48 kits and only wish that they made, and I could afford, more.

Fully assembled and base coated, blocked and first dry brushing. Ready for decals.

Uh, decals...

Rubicon M5 Stuart comes with an M8 Scott deck and turret

The Rubicon model is more brittle plastic than I’m used to with my favourite Tamiya kits. It also has a bunch of cheats to make it a simpler model to build. However, most of these simplifications leave plenty of detail for war-gaming purposes and on my desk it still looks very good next my other models. I chopped off the mud guards to  make it look more like pictures I have seen of Stuarts during the Pacific campaign. My main list that it will be used for is my WW2 Marines.

Helpfully my mate Jamie pointed out that the Soviets used some Stuarts as well, they was even an amphibious raid involving a dozen of them. We won’t get into the results of this attempt, yikes*, but this historical fact is enough for people like me to run with it.

Yes, really. Do not look at the bow gun...(force suggestion).

The Rubicon model has quite a trick up its sleeve however. A M8 Scott option! Pooch pointed this out about five minutes before I clicked BUY. It is possible to build it to have a swap-outable hull deck and turret. Voila! So now this double duty Stuart just turned into; the heavy support section for an American WW2 Cavalry Recon or Armoured Recon Squadron or Troop, as well as part of a Colonial Cavalry Squadron in French Indochine (Group Mobile 101?)! All three of these options pair with the M8 Greyhound that I have mostly sorted out below, and two of them with the M10 tank destroyer above.

Base coated with Zandri Dust, my latest fave for minis.

*Soviet Naval Infantry, the term should be understood to imply stalwart bravery in the face of certain death and fighting to the last man. In contrast to the eventual victory implied in American Marine narratives. Perhaps because the latter were purposefully raised as infantry whereas the former were pressed into service from their suddenly less important shipboard roles. Please note my American conceit may be coming into play here.

First Day of Gaming in 2015!

So during the break I've done a bit of modelling as well as painting on some old projects indeed.
First up is my long forgotten Autosaharianas. Nearly done!

These are coming along. Nearly ready Andy!

 Then my forgotten Fallout army. Need to paint my jump troops and finish basing the rest of my Reavers. They need to score really bad, it's been ages.

Fallout! What's Fallout?

 On the first Jamie came over for a bash at Infinity. (I had played it once before with Martin and company last year, or longer ago.) I had just read over the new 3rd Edition rules. Free at Corvus Belli btw.

Eye of Sauron beer cap is my Fiday (Ninja). Ghulam and Djanbazan Sniper cover the right flank.

Jamie's Akalis combat jumped into my deployment zone!

Wrought havoc on my Janisarie as well as a Ghulam, (my Lieutenant!) and hid!

Had a very fun game. Jason showed up to rules advise and provide terrain (and beer!) we had a great chat in between me fumbling around the rules. I got some good kills in revenge for my troops but Jamie rolled over me with four versus two objectives. He got some pics so hopefully he'll post up a better report. I'm studying!

Scratch-built Shipping Containers, 28mm or 1/48

So I decided that I needed more modern like terrain a while ago and I had an idea to make some shipping containers. I put it off several times, thinking 'aren't there some cheap ones floating around somewhere?', and ' how much time 'til this essay is due?!'.
Ahem, then the other night I had it visualised and decided to strike while the iron was hot. lol

Quick dimensions... IRL 2.59m x 2.44m x 6.1m for a 20' 'standard' container, (12.2m L for a 40' obviously) Those translate to 5.4cm x 5.1cm x 25.4cm for a 40' 'standard container', (which makes a 40' container pretty big on a 1200mm square tabletop!) So I made two 20 footers, (12.7cm long for a 20'), rationalising that they had a better chance making it to remote areas of Central Asia in any case.;-)

I would also like to add that there have been several attempts to change the standard container size and there are some regional ones as well with slight variation, but this shape has been in use for decades and will be for some time as there are millions in circulation! (No fellow CHCH peeps, they are not all here. Just all of the traffic cones are here...)

Using thick cardboard or foamcore cut the floor and reinforcing for the walls

Roof is cardstock and the walls are stripped cardboard

The second ready to go

Glueing with PVA and weights to add strength to the bond

More of the same

Added cardstock front and split back for the doors

Just need to add locking bars and other details. One red primer the other blue primer, both with random shipping logos. This is intended to make them usable for near future Scifif as well.
The scale looks good. My converson was based on 1/48 if anyone cares. Most of my models for 28mm are 1/48 and look pretty good for wargaming purposes.

Would love suggested corporate logos to use! One might have to be Blue Sun...

Multi-purpose Arid Wargaming Table

So at this point I have been super busy with family stuff, which is awesome, as well as school. I had to bag on an RPG session this week. (Sorry John et al) but I have been working on projects in between all of this and work.
As you may know my game room is now a sleep out and my old table was ruined in the floods. This time I wanted something a bit cooler than just painted plywood and I wanted it for use with Sangin or Infinity or what have you 28mm as well as the occasional 15mm or 6mm game.
So it's only 1200mm square but that's what I had left over from making this!

'Chuck Box' for car camping

So it basically provided me with my design constraints of the 9mm plywood and the 1200mm square instead of 1200x1800mm. Oh well, next one.;-)

After reinforcing and priming, perma-filla, sanding, and then ballast

Olive drab low ground and black spray high ground

Then a muddy brown bridging them

Shows it a bit better

Then a heavy dry brush of khaki over the high ground, (one more after this pic)

Finally heavily diluted muddy brown for toning down the olive

After this I will add some mud and water details in addition to flocking and static grass, while I finish my buildings.
I'm pretty stoked on it, for 6mm it looks a  bit like the Golan Heights to me. It still looks suitable for Central Asia in 28mm which was my goal. It was fun to remember when I used to paint and get a bit Pollacky as well.

Building a Section, brick by brick...(Kiwis in Afghan)

Here's a step by step of my newish ANZAC minis that I got from the guys at Radio DishDash, they who bring you Skirmish Sangin.
They had them commissioned by an awesome sculptor, EBob who has a line I've been waiting some time for. But that's a different story.

Here are my pics and notes on Kiwis in Afghanistan, circa 2001-08

Base color is Italian Armor, Kislev Flesh for skin

I'm going with desert DPM uniforms and DPM load bearing vests, two are painted over with desert camo. Helmets are green (Russian) with desert (Beige) paint.

Blocking with Beige and Russian Uniform

Khaki long blotches and Agrax Earthshade wash

 It's hard not to overdo the Khaki blotches and make them nice and thin, but not tigerstripe. The pattern is complex but just underdo it, other wise the washes will make it too dark. These are faded from the sun and dust!

Go light on the wash in high areas

Touch up those goggle, helmet, and pistol belt (Russian Green) straps.  

After some camo highlighting. Now with more light.

Next up final dry brushing and basing

So for the un painted DPM vests, I used Khaki, Beige and Black splotches on the Russian Green blocking. Then a couple more Russian Green splotches. Steyrs get Russian Green with Black barrel, and a Gun Metal highlight. Minimis are Black with Gun Metal highlights as well.

New Zealand Flag shoulder patches are Blue and the flash is Black with a White Kiwi. 

(More to come later...)

Tight 360, Recon in RVN

Something from the back of my mind, a haunting if you will, has always been the Vietnam war. It was going on when I was born and continued for years of course. In the Marines I was trained and led by veterans of the conflict. In fact we trained for it so much that we hadn't trained enough for the deserts and mountains that would dominate the terrain for the actual wars after I was out of uniform.
That said, there were a lot of lessons learned that shaped the modern military, including reconnaissance and scout sniping. Mission planning as well as employment changed a lot.

6 man Marine Recon team on my old trousers...

The challenge for me is really to make it work. I know the uniforms and equipment too well.
If that's possible. The camo scheme must be ARVN "Tiger Stripe", used by their Marines and Rangers, and so also used by our Special Forces as well as Marines and LRRPs, others especially advisors and journo's wore it as well.

I ordered a few minis from the Assault Group again, ages ago, they are actually ANZAC models but have the right webbing and boonie hats to make it work. I ended up with eight minis, two with M60 MG's which you usually wouldn't bring with you, and two with M79 40mm grenade launchers, which you would.

Marine Recon circa 1967

I'll have to do some customizing as well as a horrorshow paint job.

Rules wise, I might actually lean towards Skirmish Sangin since I can only bring five or six guys. For larger engagements I'll use Force on Force.
Urah!

Lots of news, no time to post!

Hi guys, most of you know I've been flat out with the arrival of a brand new co-conspirator.
My son Markian appeared a couple days early, nearly two weeks ago! We're hella stoked, to fall into the California vernacular which is in fact my native tongue. He is healthy and happy and we are all doing great.

Onto the PN news! Before and after this earth shaking event we've snuck in a couple games of the old school D&D 3.25, meaning whatever 3.5 stuff Jamie likes he keeps.;-) I'm good with that as I believe he has relatively sound judgement in these matters. I'm running my usual sneaky fighter type, in this case a Half Orc Barbarian - Rogue. Before anyone starts yelling, 'Min maxer!', I would like to add that he has no spiked chain... only because I couldn't afford one or the required feat.8P For those who point out that my Earthdawn character was also an Orc, I will point out that Orc is a racist Dwarvish slur, and shut up already!
Anyway fun times.

Half Magdan with Falchion

On the WIP front I have a few things going on as you know.
Priority One. ACW is ticking over nicely thank you very much.

Painting up the bulk of the sharpshooters

Union Zouaves, based on 5th New York of course

Union regulars

Some regulars led to the front by a sharpshooter

As well as my modern guys head swap and some mods.

Tamiya crew minis with Perry Zouave heads!

Black wash

Nearly done!

To base or not to base?

I'm just gonna leave this here for Simon who never posts here.