Atlantis née Aurora 1/48th M46 Patton Tank - WIP

Picked this kit up at Hobby Lobby the other day. Couldn't pass it up with the usual online 40% discount coupon. Came out to about $11 USD. Although not the usual 1/56th - 28mm size, all my other AFV's are either 1/50th (Corgi) or 1/48th (Tamiya and other diecast). I managed to get most of the kit done in under 2 hours. The major effort was spent getting the wheels on - still not hard though. In fact, the wheels can spin if you use the glue sparingly on the end caps.

Some filler putty was used around the seams on the turret. This kit is a tad larger than the Tamiya 1/48th Pershing I already have. I'll post some comparison pics later once it's done - along with some 28mm figures. Granted this isn't the scale a lot of folks use for gaming, but as I don't intend to pick up a Korean War force anytime soon, it'll be mainly a display piece.

Speaking of Korean War, I hope to paint it up with the "tiger" markings as many of these were - not the least the 6th Medium Tank Battalion attached to the 24th Infantry Division. That's them below:

Anyway this is just a mini-project while awaiting the arrival of the 6-bottle Vallejo WW2 Desert British & German set I ordered off of ebay.

Warlord Games British 8th Army and Afrika Korps Infantry - WIP

Finished putting together the two boxes of infantry from the El Alamein set. The 8th Army guys are in three squads of 10 figures. One squad each of British in steel helmets, Scots in Tam O'Shanter caps and Sihks in turbans. The Germans are also in three squads of 10 figures wearing a mixture of Sun helmets, field caps and Stahhelm.

They are very nice sculpts that allow a variety of poses. I'm thinking of giving them a sand or khaki basecoat to speed up painting. So much for now. Thanks for stopping by and until the next post, good gaming and happy painting.

Warlord Games Stuff

Picked these up at the local post office yesterday. These actually should've been delivered to my home mailbox earlier, but for some reason my mail was placed on, "Vacation Hold." I never did this, but I suspect my neighbor may have a few weeks ago and the post office mixed up the address. Anyway, these were all on sale -

Bolt Action El Alamein Starter Set - including a handbook version of the 2nd Ed. rules - which I didn't have, so a big plus there. A copy each of the Age of Bronze and A Dark and Bloody Ground supplements for Hail Caesar and Black Powder, respectively. And finally, an inflatable projectile that I couldn't pass up at 50% off.

For the record, I've always had excellent dealings with Warlord Games - my orders have always arrived in excellent packing/condition in a very short time. I usually get stuff from them in about a week and a half - all the way to Washington State in the Pacific NW. I have a hard time resisting their deals and sales, as well as the free shipping for orders only over $50 USD.

Well, I may be preoccupied for a while, so until next time, happy gaming and painting!

North Star 1866 Prussian 4pdr w/Saxon Crew

The crew are actually the same figures from the 12pdr set, but I painted them up as Saxons in green coats. The helmet crest should be a sun burst, but I left the Prussian eagle and just painted it up to represent the Saxon crest.

Another nice set from North Star's 1866 range. Nicely sculpted details which make painting them a joy. I did use my usual Minwax staining over a block paint job, followed by highlighting.

This gun should be it for Prussian fire support, as the French currently have none. I'm waiting for Eagles of Empire to release a Mitraileusse set.

Wondering if I should use both this and the 12pdr next month at a game day at the Fort Lewis Army Museum. Might be too much Prussian firepower, even with the French Chassepot having a greater range than the Dreyse Needle Gun - 24" to 18".

I wanted to have this painted up before the Warlord Games El Alamein boxed set arrives - hopefully soon. Until next time, happy gaming and painting to you all!

North Star 1866 Prussian Cuirassiers

Finally managed to get motivated and paint these few figures up. Great sculpts that are very sturdy for gaming. Only six figures as they are intended for Bolt Action skirmish gaming - mainly as supports for infantry. They'll have 3 x Attacks in HTH, no carbines and a Damage value of 5.

They have nice detailing, yet not overly complicated to paint up. The horse are mostly posed at the walk or standing - which is good as they have all four legs firmly on the base. The Eagles of Empire French Hussars are more delicately sculpted - beautiful as they are, some have only the two rear legs on the base. This creates some handling issues; in fact, I had to add brass rods to some of them for stability.

The flag was downloaded from Warflags, and it might not actually be one for cuirassiers, but it looks the part. Edit: I now see that I put the flag on upside down. Lol!

The figures were block painted, then given a Minwax Tudor Satin stain. Highlighting was added afterward. The horses were sprayed painted with rattle cans from Walmart and also stained and highlighted. Quite a quick process to get them on the table soonest.

Next up is a North Star 1866 Prussian 4 pounder and crew. I might paint the crew up as Saxons in green coats; just to spice up the battlefield. Until the next post, best wishes and happy gaming and painting to you all!

Fix Bayonet Game Day at Fort Steilacoom

Experienced another fine Fix Bayonet game day at Fort Steilacoom. Now that I live just a few miles away, it was even more enjoyable than usual. I missed most of the morning session as I had a dental appointment, but was still able to check out the morning games and talk to the local crew.

I hosted the Franco-Prussian War Bolt Action game. As there were several other great going on, I was lucky to get four players in my game. Here's some pics from today's event.

Bavarians and Prussian Jager advancing on a French occupied village.

Bavarian infantry at a disadvantage in rifle range. I gave the French Chassepot rifles a 24" range to the Prussian and Bavarian Dreyse Needle Gun's 18" range. I did give the Prussians a Morale of 9 and the French 8 to somewhat balance it out.

Zouaves and Turcos using their longer range rifles to good effect.

AWI Skirmish (somewhere in the Carolinas), Rebels and Patriots rules, hosted by David S. and Kevin S.

Battle of Abensberg-1809, Black Powder (modified) rules, hosted by James S.

LZ X-Ray (Vietnam, November '65), home rules, by Damond C. and Lawrence B.

Vlad Revisited 1869, Super modified “The Sword and the Flame” (TSATF) Hosted by Bruce S

Fist full of lead hosted by Ron P.

"For those about to die, salute you!" Jugula (Gladiators) rules, hosted by David S.

Gates of Antares, hosted by Scott M.

On the projects front, I've hit a bit of a slump - probably due to things picking up at work. However, I received another order from North Star in record time - about a week and a half. A small unit of Prussian Cuirassiers and 4pdr await the paint brush. Also, succumbing to the temptations of Warlord Games' recent Summer Sale, I ordered the F&IW Black Powder supplement as well as the Age of Bronze Hail Caesar supplement. Oh, and last but not least, I ordered the El Alamein Bolt Action set - just couldn't pass it up at the price. Again, thanks for dropping by and happy painting and gaming!