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Awesome. Vader is particularly impressive.

GiraffeX: Thanks! He was great to paint. Actually just a few into painting him I remembered all the reasons why he still is the coolest bad guy ever and put on a "imperial march 10 hours" video on youtube on (I didn't listen to it all the way through ). I tend to forget it and get annoyed (mostly due to people posting star wars related "humour" or references on facebook), but Star Wars is cool. I don't like the prequels, I'm not passionate about the upcoming film or watch any of the animated tv shows, but I don't have to. There's the original three films, they're fine, and that's that. It's like with Neon Genesis Evangelion or 40k. Just because something stupid has the same label on it doesn't make the good stuff any worse.

@Gitsplitta: Thank ye, good sire!

@solar_lion: Cheers, thanks for commenting!



Speaking of 40k, here are a few guys who totally look forward to be killed for their very own nightmarish totalitarian state!




Veterans Squad:




Check out that shweet camo design on the camo cloaks! Had to come up with a camo scheme which is more camo-y than their regular uniforms, uses roughly the same colour scheme and isn't digital camo. So I went for something very time intensive to do, but I really like how it turned out. :-)


Commissar (okay, I gotta admit, these new commissars look different but are pretty cool):








....aaand a forward artillery observer artillery officer advisor ordinatus designatio magnus mucho caliente or what ever they're called now. I got the guy lying around as well come to think of it. Unpainted of course. :/






Hope you like them!

After looking at these guys I hear the Russian national anthem playing In the background.

The camo on those cloaks must have taken ages but very worth while.

I only really like the first three Star Wars as well, not really bothered with the rest.

@Solar_lion: Well, or any other really.

@GiraffeX: Thanks, it was kinda nice doing that camo. But I guess large amounts of that nicety were due to knowing that I only got to do two minis with that scheme.


Here's a WIP shot of the AT-ST walkers:

One of the dreaded in-between project posts! It's a few more armoured vehicles for my 20mm early-to-mid-1980s British Army of the Rhine. They of course were the British armed forces stationed in Germany after WW2. To this day the British army keeps a garrison force of about 20,000 in Germany (but were renamed to British Forces (in) Germany, BFG in 1994). The British Army of the Rhine was one of the principal frontline forces in the case of a Warsaw Pact attack in Europe.

Built last November, primed at christmas, now added the final bits of stowage and camo and painted on the base colours! I got fed up with forgetting to buy the right kind of gauze, went ahead and just used the flexible, fluffy kind. I think it went reasonably well and hope to get to do more on them soon!

Here's a WIP picture:



The big one's a Chieftain main battle tank (devised in the 1960s, was replaced step by step from 1983 on by the Challenger I), the light tanks all are from the CRV(T) series of vehicles. The ones with the longer guns are Scimitars (in addition to the one I already got) armed with 30mm autocannons, the one in the middle with the shorter, larger caliber gun (75mm) is a Scorpion. The Scorpion was introduced in 1974 and was retired in 1994 (holds the Guiness world record for the fastest tank as I just read) whilst the Scorpion still saw action in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. Here actually is what looks to be an ad for the series of vehicles with 80s music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igs6jJRuhPk

Hey Sigur, I'm not seeing any of your WIP shots... maybe it's just me?

This is weird, a friend of mine recently had the same problem. Have you tried Shift+F5 yet?

That... apparently doesn't do anything on my computer...

Those IG look great, especially the camo. The problem I always have with camo, other than taking for bloody ever, is that I lose the model on the table all the time. Not bad when I play at home, a bit of a problem at a store...

The tanks look very nice Sigur. I need to try to make some netting at some time for a future project, is it just a case of glueing on the gauze then undercoat as normal?

 Gitsplitta wrote:
That... apparently doesn't do anything on my computer...

Err, yes, because I'm a dork. What I meant to write was "Crtl+F5".


@Wehrkind: Thanks very much! Yeah, camo on 28mm figures is a tricky thing, especially so with fantasy/sci-fi/40k stuff, as you want the camo to look like camo, but to not WORK as camo should. I guess it's like on that Simpsons episode in which they explain that they use painted horses on TV instead of cows because they don't look right on film. However, part of the job on these IG dudes was writing a tutorial on how to paint camouflage which should pop up on 40k-campaigns.com as soon as the site launches proper (along with two more painting guides).

@GiraffeX: Yeah, it's pretty much soaking the gauze in PVA glue and water, then put it on the model. I suggest getting non-flexible gauze, but flexible (even self-adhering) will do alright too. If you want you can also sprinkle some fuzzy things over it for additional effect (like those fake leafs or stripes of hessian or whatnot on camo netting).

AT-ST walkers!











Here's a size comparison shot:

They look really cool, now I wish there was a good wargame version of Star Wars.

Tomorrow's War will work for roughly platoon-level stuff and if you want some vehicles in there as well as some ground aircraft, same with 5150:Star Army. Flying Lead will have you covered for smaller-scale stuff (squad level and the likes, pretty much what Imperial Assault covers). I'm quite the fan of Operation Squad lately and I'm sure it can beturned into a Star Wars game without much trouble.

In my experience there never is a lack of rules sets for anything.

Very nice work on those ATATs. They look very real.

Your starwars stuff has all been excellent, Sig'. and good job on the camo'.

@Gitsplitta: Thanks muchly. It was a bit of a challenge trying to make these grey things look somehow more interesting.

@Dr H: Cheers, much appreciated!


Phew, done!










dat...







And here are a few WIP dudes I do for a webstore:











Hope you like them!



Tomorrow I'll have a game again and it's Force on Force! There are only few games I like that much and play that little. So for the second time my Brits will get to see some action. You saw the tanks I posted a few days ago. Let's hope I manage to finish them by tomorrow!

Well okay, here's the latest WIP on those BAOR vehicles too:



The tank commander on the Scimitar in the middle seems to have a mug in his hand which I think makes for a great detail for a British tanker.

Man that white water spirit (?) is really cool. (has a nice butt too!)

@Gitsplitta: Thank very much! No idea what it is, I suppose it's some sort of ghost. (indeed with a nice butt)


Ha-haaa, they're done!





Now I got a proper medium recce troop of three Scimitars and a Scorpion:


Not quite right as it's either 4 Scorpions for Medium and 4 Scimitars (with autocannons) for Close recon or two of each if they're attached to an infantry formation, but oh well. As soon as the first shot is fired most plans go out of the window anyway.

Half a tank troop:



...and here's all the tanks in a box. Just so you see that they look a bit better out of the lightbox. :p And they go together surprisingly well despite the fact that they were painted in two batches with a pretty long time in between.


Hope you like them, hope to put many of them on the table tonight and hope for them to perform well.

Beautiful looking group of armor there Sigur. Hope they work well for you. Make sure to take some pics of them in action for us.

Yeah, great work.

@Gitsplitta: Thanks muchly. I will!

@Dr H: Cheers!


Okay, I'm still waiting for the proper battle pictures to be sent to me (Mr.Opponent got out an umbrella-screened flash network along with his much more expensive camera and last but not least more expertise than I have, so picture shooting was completely up to him this time). But here are a few preview shots of the table:








Really great table. It doesn't come out that much in the photos here, but the hills were properly tall. It looked like real proper terrain. Very good. Would play again. Hope to post the AAR soon!

Wow... you take more time with your tables than I do my miniatures!

Well, it's not my table, it's my wargaming buddy's table. I'm just a parasite. But especially lately he's putting a lot more thought and effort into terrain (as do I). The simple fact of the matter is that you'll only need say a platoon of 28mm dudes plus a few tanks and big guns, and we all got collections of many, many, many times that of various dudes withvarious shapes and colours of hats and pants. But terrain is something you ALWAYS need and terrain is what in the end makes a game look great. And we all know that we don't remember won or lost games, only good and mostly pretty ones.

And it really isn't that much of an effort to set up and pack up again.

Can't wait for the pictures to arrive. I have to admit that Mr. Wargaming Buddy is way better at taking pictures of games.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Now for two things I never ever painted before - a Zulu Warrior and a WW2 French soldier. Both still a bit WIP, but mostly finished.






...and here's some Freebooter's Fate stuff:







I really like that red lady. Second time I'm painting the mini and it's as fun as ever painting this red. I also absolutely love the hair on this mini. Can't beat good hair. Gotta have good hair. Good hair's the best. Bad hair ruins a mini. Which is why I was so massively disappointed in the re-release of the Everqueen and the Handmaiden minis. Those got mean-spirited, digitally designed, spiteful hair. :(



...and of course Raven. She's a pretty'un. Minis still need a few touch-ups and the photos aren't the best (experimented with slightly different settings and...meeeh... not perfectly happy with them.

wip franks!

Force on Force - Cold War Gone Hot Battle Report


May, 29th 1984 - The Road to Haßloch

In this alternate history scenario open hostilities between NATO and Warsaw Pact forces in Europe broke out in early May 1984. All too open involvement of US special forces in Afghanistan, the aftermath of Able Archer, the imminent arrival of Pershing II missiles in Europe already lead to bad blood between the power blocs. A major incident at the inner-German border led for the whole situation to tip over and Warsaw Pact forces pushed westward.

Contrary to the estimations of some Pentagon scenarios, the onslaught of the Warsaw Pact could be stopped at the Rhine river. This allowed for NATO forces to rally and wait for overseas reinforcements to arrive.




Introduction

Mechanized spearhead detachments made it over the river and now have to be taken out. One of these formations is believed to have advanced to the village of Haßloch (Rheinland-Pfalz).



Several platoons of 1st Bn (The Royal Green Jackets) were to approach the village with troops of 4 RTR on hold in case any resistance was met.


The Table




I got to command 2 platoon. :-) They are to approach Haßloch along L532.



Platoon HQ:
1x Platoon Commander with SLR
1x Platoon Sergeant with SLR
1x Signaller with SLR
1x Gunner with Light Mortar
1x Medic with SLR

3 Infantry Sections, each:
Fireteam A
1x Section Commander with SLR
1x Gunner with MAW
1x Assistant Gunner with SLR
1x Rifleman with SLR

Fireteam B
1x Section 2nd in command
1x Gunner with GPMG
1x Assustant Gunner
1x Rifleman

The British platoon is to enter Haßloch and secure the entrance. If they are to meet opposition a Recce Troop is on standby as fire support, as well as two Chieftain MBTs.



My pal (who also set up the beautiful table) was to command the Soviet forces:



Platoon HQ:
1x Platoon Leader with AK-74
1x Assistant Platoon Leader with AK-74

3 Motorized Rifle Squads, each:
1x Senior Rifleman with AK-74
1x Machine Gunner with RPK
1x Rifleman/Medic with AK-74
1x Grenadier with RPG-7V
1x Rifleman/Assistant Grenadier
1x Rifleman with AK-74

The Soviet force all set up hidden. They too got their three BMP-2 IFVs on call if they should be attacked as well as a T-72 MBT.

We had made up this scenario on the fly, so it's not perfectly balanced or anything. The last game had been in October 2013 so we just wanted to get back into the rules and put what we had on the table.

We played on a 6' by 4' table, both forces had Initiative D8, no Fog of War cards (= random events).


The Game



So the Soviets were set up first. Being hidden means that they'd be visible to my guys if they fired, moved or if my guys were to get within optimum range (8” in this case) and spotted them.


The centre Soviet rifle squad sitting in hiding, platoon command right behind them

My guys got the initiative on the first turn and moved onto the table. All bunched up, but they didn't want to run across the exposed road in front of the village entrance. You know, in case there's a platoon of Reds sitting.


2 platoon enter the table along the railway

Force on Force is that game in which you pretty much start right where the action begins. This is why many of the scenarios are set on 4' by 4' tables or even smaller. I spent about five turns running my guys towards the village.







As I learned in Chain of Command, there's nothing better about playing British forces than dropping smoke all across the table via the platoon's light mortar. This is why platoon command humg back a little to drop mortar rounds, request reinforcements if required and send the medic out in case of an emergency. During all these turns my opponent pretty much had nothing to do but have his guys sit in their ambush positions. So he took all these great photos you're seeing now.



After a while my platoon was approaching the building. The idea was to get as close to this one as possible under cover of trees and such. If there was any imminent points of opposition it would be the building. The GPMG fireteam behind the smoke grenade (it doesn't completely block LOS, it just adds defensive dice and reduces firepower a little if firing through it) was placed on Overwatch while the rest of the fireteams got in position to take a closer look at the house.

After three fireteams had set up near the edge of the small forest, the fourth one took a chance and dashed across a patch of open ground to a hedge. This would have gotten them into optimum range of the house and they could have spotted the Soviet squad sitting in the building. The moment my fireteam left the cover of the trees, the riflemen in the house struck their ambush. Two of my four men went down, the rest retired to their prior position.

In the ensuing fire fight the Soviets shot down a whole other fireteam whilst I also got some hits in, but the building proved to be excellent cover. And a full squad of Soviet riflemen can unleash a LOT of firepower, especially due to that RPG launcher.

After the first shots having been exchanged platoon command immediately called for backup. My close recce troop, consisting of four Scimitar and one Scorpion light tanks showed up at the same time the Soviet BMP-2 IFVs rattled in position.



They are the things Soviet motorized infantry are driven into battle with and they are pure nasty. Pretty much comparable to my light recon tanks (or vehicles really) overall, but in addition they pack those anti-tank missile launchers.

One of them immediately made one of my Scimitars light up...





...which made the rest of the four-tank troop rethink their approach. The Scorpion and one of the remaining two Scimitars drove off to take cover. The remaining Scimitar on the road opened fire at one of the BMP-2s, but to no avail.

In return an ATGM missile was launched in his direction and despite the driver's best efforts to dodge the missile they took a direct hit.




In the mean time the firefight between the Soviet rifle squad in the building and most of what was left of my platoon went on. This time the Soviets took heavier losses, leaving just two of them unwounded. But if these enemy IFVs would survive much longer my guys would have had to retreat.


Just in time the big boys arrived!



The Soviet side got more armoured support as well and if it wasn't for the two Chieftains this T-72 would have completely messed up things for me.



The old T-72 lit up and was destroyed after the first hit of the command Chieftain's 120mm shell. The T-72, introduced in 1972, a fair few years after the British Chieftain, could have just as well become a huge problem for my guys, but lucky reaction rolls got the Chieftain to fire first and another lucky roll on armour penetration neutralized that threat.



The other Chieftain immediately opened fire at the closest BMP-2 and it blew up as well. At this point the Soviet force retired.


Debriefing

Good game, good table. I hope it wasn't too boring for my opponent who's main job was sitting in hiding and then we started rolling dice for tanks and dudes firing at each other.

Looking up all the rules made for a fun easter egg hunt. It's not quite as bad as the Tomorrow's War rulebook, but the Force on Force rules are a bit of a mess in terms of layout. It does have an index, but that't not too much of a help if the index cites fifteen different pages if you want to look up one special rule. ;-) Of course this is mainly a problem of us not having played in one and a half years. The rules still work perfectly fine. I really appreciate the attention to detail whilst omitting stuff which isn't all that important.



Force on Force certainly is a very deadly set of rules. Probably the more 'realistic' sets I ever played too. But still, if your guys are in the open and an enemy team opens fire on them it's pretty likely that they will take severe damage. The worst is getting your whole fireteam disabled without any chance of getting to them to see how bad the wounds are. It's one of these great things about FoF – if your man is hit you don't know what exactly happened to him. They lie around until the beginning of your next activation. If you havea mini in base to base contact with the downed models they may look after them. Then you roll on the first aid table and see how bad the wound is (or if there even is any to speak of).




If there's anything negative I noticed about the rules it is that they might slightly favour larger units which makes little sense. I have to play more games to really get behind this.

Either way, good game, good table especially. Cold War games usually are not very 'pretty' when it comes to the miniatures, but the different height levels, all the vegetation and to top it all off the period fitting cars made for a great look.



I hope you enjoyed this richly illustrated After Action Report.


Well, that's that then. A job well done, time for a cuppa.

My Gebirgsjäger arrived today!





The pictures are a bit crap because my flash decided that it doesn't want to cooperate today, but at least there's some kind of pictures up. :p The sculpts are excellent and seem to be well researched (no tornisters, just belts, proper mountain shoes, correct caps, a bunch of snow goggles, some of them got some climbing gear with them and cold weather anoraks and all of that). Some very relaxed sculpts in there which I like, but might look weird on the table. 15 unique sculpts in 30 figures, so not bad. Not as varied as on the Soviets which had maybe two pairs of sculpts amongst the whole platoon, but Gebirgsjäger of course are a more niche-y thing. Now I gotta put them back into their box. No idea when I'll be able to do anything with them. :/

Today I got something special for you peeps. It was a very short notice project for a Kickstarter which is going to go online on June 15th, it's run by the people who made Across the Dead Earth (post-apocalypse in the UK) and the name is The Shattered Crown.


These are three Hellesburne Infantry:


This fella here is a Khra Hero:


They're metal minis, 28mm. Hope you like them!

Great stuff sig.

They look really nice Sigur, is that a freehand tat?