Copplestone - III. Seebatallione - Ready

Okay, only eight figures, but these paint up really quickly. A basic block paint job followed by Miniwax Tudor stain, and finally Testor's Dullcote. I am very impressed how the stain works it way into the folds and crevices, yet doesn't obscure small details - in this case the tricolor on the helmets. Also, Tudor stain seems to work very well with whites.

They'll be ready for this Saturday's The Great War game - need as many Germans as possible - seems everyone else wants British.

Copplestone - III. Seebatallione WIP

Finally started on these guy - won them off of ebay for a good price sometime ago. I held off painting them because a couple of them had rifle barrels broken off. I ended up putting pins in those and adding some Green Stuff for the sights. They painted up really fast. I used Krylon Khaki for the basecoat and then added some highlights of Vallejo German Camo Beige with a little white. Here they are prior to getting a dip in Miniwax - maybe tomorrow.

Here's a cool site for German Colonial troops
I plan to use these guys in a game this Saturday. Later they'll be used in a Tsingtao scenario using The Great War rules.

Old Glory A7V - Crosses Added

Fueled by a recent The Great War game, crosses were finally added to the Old Glory A7V tank that was painted sometime ago.

The crosses were painted on since I wasn't sure if the available decals would fit in the tighter areas. Still need to give the tank a name; was going with Mephisto, but then I'd need to paint the little devil guy and the area on the original doesn't match the model. The model has the covered view ports where the actual one doesn't.

Speaking of The Great War - my buddies and I have a game scheduled this coming Saturday; probably a play-test for game next month at Museum of Flight.

Crusader Spanish Scutarii - Completed

Added the shields; about half of them are LBMS transfers and the rest hand-painted simple designs.

The bottom two rows are the shields with LBMS transfers. The top two are the hand-painted ones - the one on the top right is a spare Gripping Beast Celt/Gaul shield. One more shield was needed as a Wargames Factory converted Numidian was added to the unit; plus the command set doesn't supply one for the musician.

This unit will be part of a Carthaginian 2nd Punic War in Italy army.

Fix Bayonets! 9/24/11

Another winner 2nd year in a row. This is a smallish game day put on by a few local gamers at an historic venue; Fort Steilacoom. It is held in quarters number 2 - the fort's original commanding officers quarters. Here it is restored with a bunch of Canadians marching out in front.

In the first period, I got into a Command & Colors game hosted by Mike G. His figures are superb, and the game was quick and fun to play - first time for me.

In the afternoon I ran a Sharp Practice game. It's really cool to host a game with players who've never played the rules before. The game is fast-play, and the only thing new players have a little trouble with is the concept of Initiative and Actions. It was French victory - the Artillery Train managing to make it to the safety of the garrison. Here are some snapshots I managed to take of the game.

A couple of photos I lifted from my buddy Adrian's blog - View from above the French garrison; hussars riding out to search the woods for guerrilla activity; 12th Legere within garrison walls; cuirassiers rounding bend in the road to the right. In the distance British troops - 60th & 95th Rifles, as well as 23rd Fusiliers.

And the ever "loyal" Spaniards under Tuco; a mandatory unit for Sharp Practice (at least Peninsular scenarios).

Perry Foot Dragoons - Completed

Didn't spend too much time on these guys; I used Miniwax Tudor stain over a basic block paint job. Then gave them a little highlights on their coats and helmets.

The swords and slung reversed and hiked higher up for dismounted movement.

These will join the small mounted detachment that I painted for a fellow gamer here. He'll be back next Friday from his battery recharge in Hawaii - hope he likes them - if not, I'll keep 'em:)! Tomorrow is a game day at Fort Steilacoom - Fix Bayonets! I should use these guys for the game, nah! I have enough figures, but dragoons in Spain would be most appropriate. After that, I will finish up the Crusader Spanish Scutarii - the LBMS transfer came in for them the other day.

Droogish Interlude

Not at all wargaming related, but figured I'd post it anyway. It's part of a costume I'm putting together for Halloween - at least for work that day. Maybe they'll escort me out of the building and be part of my record for mental instability. Anyway, these are my take on the bleeding eyeball cufflinks worn by Alex in "A Clockwork Orange" - as if you astute blogites wouldn't already know. Here are the components used - some liquid latex, "vampire blood" and last but not least eye ball cufflinks off of ebay.

Here they are together; the latex backing on the left hasn't completed cured - it should become transparent like the one on the right. They will be trimmed once the "blood" is dried. Viddy well, viddy well. EDIT: This "blood" doesn't dry - I washed it off and will use paint instead.

Okay, now back to my rum and coke and block painting some Perry foot dragoons.

The Great War - Trench Terrain!

Several of us showed up at The Game Matrix today hoping to meet a few gamers new to the area. However, they had to cancel at the last minute. Luckily I brought my French Poilus and Germans - including an A7V. As it turned out, we had more than enough figures and terrain to get a good game on. Bruce D. brought some of his French Foreign Legion - actually early-WW2, but looked fine on the table. James Ruth brought some of his British and a fantastic 8X4' modular trench terrain piece he scratch-built.

James is quite the terrain builder too - he has also built a fantastic looking Vauban fortress in 28mm - yet to be gamed! Anyway, here are some pics from the game. The scenario had the Allied British & French moving through No-Man's Land to oust the Germans from their trenches.

It ended in an Allied victory after numerous waves of Allied infantry attacks, and when the German A7V's 57mm cannon dropped their rounds short and killed off their own infantry.

Pat Lowinger (former host of SoCal Warhammer Radio) actually showed up at the tail end of the game. It was great meeting him in person and talking to him. In fact, a couple of us stayed quite a while after the game getting to know him better and discussing some near and long term gaming plans. Welcome to the Pacific NW, Pat!

Perry Mounted Dragoons - Finished

Only six, so it didn't take too long to finish this project. As noted in the previous posts, this is a group I painted for a gaming buddy - he is currently braving both blazing sun and the ever-present danger of volcanic eruption on the Big Island of Hawaii. It'll be up to him to properly base them upon his return in a few weeks. I also apologize up front for the way Blogger now views pictures - irritatingly (to me) in a slide show format. Hopefully an option for the earlier way will appear.

Once again, the use of Miniwax Tudor Satin stain really sped up the project. The mounts were given the treatment after a basic block painting. Actually, the horses were given a little bit of highlights prior to the dip; and the saddle cloth did get a little highlight after the dip and subsequent Testor's Dullcoat.

After the Miniwax stain:

Now I head out the door for some WWI The Great War gaming with some veteran gamers who've recently arrived to the local area. Plan to post an AAR and some pics when I get back. The foot dragoons (only 8) will also be started.

Perry Dragoons - WIP + 1

Riders are done; save their scabbards and muskets. Will work on their mounts next.

They're painted for Peninsular scenarios with Spanish cloth for the line troopers. The officer is well-off enough to have retained a coat of green, as well as providing his musician with a coat in the usual reverse colors.

P.S. I saw a post on TMP about this new way Blogger is posting images (as a slide show) - I don't like it either & hope they go back to the regular way of viewing images.

Perry Dragoons - WIP

Here are some Perry Dragoons that I'm working on for a local gaming buddy. He wants them in Spanish brown cloth. I'm thinking the trumpeter should be in reverse facing colors and maybe the officer - in bearskin - should be in green. I'll ask him if this is okay.

In addition to these six mounted figures, I'll also paint up some of the foot figures too. He only asked for the mounted, but I told him I don't mind painting the foot guys too.

On the gaming front, I will meet a few new to the area gamers this Sunday at The Game Matrix for to get in some WH The Great War. Pat moved up from Southern Cal; and Tom from Connecticut, I think. The following Saturday is a game day at Fort Steilacoom for the second annual Fix Bayonets! I will host a Sharp Practice game in the afternoon.

Crusader Spanish Scutarii - WIP

Haven't added their shields yet - ordered some LBMS transfers for most of them. I really like Crusader Ancients; they are purposefully posed and perfect for ranking up, yet have some individualism. I've always wanted some Scutarii mainly for their cool shield patterns; However, I wasn't keen on building an army just for them. Luckily, these can be used in a 2nd Punic War in Italy army list from the WAB supplement. I plan to use some of my existing Greek Hoplites as Trained Africans, as well as other units from the Macedonian/Successor armies.

They were given a wash of Miniwax Tudor Satin; a new can I bought after the other can got air in it and the stain got dried out. This time around I transferred some of the stain into a plastic container and sealed the can for later use. Here's how the Scutarii looked in their very basic block paint job. I've found that as long as you paint fairly cleanly, the stain will do a lot of correcting. For instance, you can paint belts and straps without worrying about going over the "lines" too much, as the stain will do a good job black-lining. Also, you can always go back and touch up figures - if you want to.

Speaking of stain - I tried a little bit of Miniwax Bombay Mahogany, since the local Walmart doesn't carry Tudor Satin. As you can see it is too red, and stains light colors heavily. I ended up re-painting this test figure and gave it a a proper Tudor Satin stain. BTW, I managed to return the can for a full refund - as I only used tiny bit and was careful to keep the lid area clean.
Here are the unpainted Crusader figures, along with one plastic Wargames Factory Numidian - since I wanted a 21-man unit - three ranks of 7.

While awaiting the LBMS shield transfer, I plan to start on a few Perry French Dragoons that a gaming buddy asked me to paint for him.

Langton 1/1200th & Valiant 1/900th Ancient Ships - Ready for Battle

Okay, only eight total ships, but it's a start.

Here are the three 1/1200th Langton ships - two quinquereme and one trireme (the one with two masts/sails). One of the quinquereme has a catapult. Really tiny stuff, but looks pretty much like what it should be.

And the five 1/900th Valiant pentekonters - which will be used as liburnians.

As you can see, they are all in a red/yellow color scheme borrowed heavily from the designs Eric Hotz created for his Roman Seas paper ships. My buddy already painted his Langton ships in blues; but I actually like red better anyway. Hope to get in a small Roman Seas refresher game soon.

Langton 1/1200th & Valiant 1/900th Ancient Ships - WIP

Finally got around to putting these fine models together - without tweezers too! The top row are Langton 1/1200th models - left to right, trireme, quinquereme w/furled sail and quinquereme full sail. The curved part of the stern for one of the quins was missing, so I fashioned one out of an old credit card. The bottom two rows are Valiant 1/900th pentekonters; but will be used as liburnians. The bases for the Valiant ships was made from plastic styrene and textured acrylic caulking.

Old Glory 23rd Royal Welch Fusiliers

These are the guys that TMPer VirtualScratchBuilder so kindly gave to me after I posted a want ad on TMP. They've been given the "dip" of Miniwax Tudor Stain. I was a little afraid they'd be too dark, as the stain had gone thick and lumpy since the lid wasn't sealed properly - I had hammered the lid shut too hard and bent the rim. I chucked the can after this dip with over 80 percent of the stain remaining - I hate wasting stuff, but it was no longer any good. I'll get a smaller can and be more careful sealing the lid.

Here they are with a basic block paint job - a Victrix guy next to them for comparison. I converted the ensign guy into a sergeant. The tip of his spontoon has a cross-bladed yari point that came from the Perry set. It was reshaped a bit with a nail file. This will be a nice Group for Sharp Practice. The 23rd served in Egypt, the Peninsular, and even Waterloo; most-likely never wearing their bearskins in action, but they look cool!

I also test fired the Walther P1/P38 yesterday morning. It seemed to shoot low - I aimed with the top of the front sight post flush with the rear sight aperture. The shot group circled in red was the first magazine where I aimed in the center of the target. The one circled in green was the second magazine after aiming at the top edged of the target. The blue circled grouping is by my buddy Scott - he had aimed at the top edge of the target too. Winchester 115 grain ammunition was used.

I've since read that others have had the same experience - that is, it seems to fire low. Someone suggested using 125 grain ammo, but I think I'll stick with 115 and just adjust my aiming point. The last time I fired a weapon was in 2007 with an M9 Beretta - when I was still in the Army.

Perry Foot Samurai - Completed

These guys are from packs SAM19, SAM20 and SAM22; all with spears.

They are tough to rank up with spears and sashimono - in fact there's about a 10mm gap between ranks here.

Closer-ups:

They will form the sole foot samurai unit - still need to add a command group.