Project La Haye Sainte - Buildings Completed

Finished painted the structures of the farm compound.

Over a grey primer, the basic colors were lightly brushed on in successive coats. I tried not to gob on the paint too thickly as I didn't want to obscure/lose the shallow laser-engraved details.

The small pond still needs to be added to inside right of the gate.

The red brick areas were easier to do as they were given a wash/stain to fill in the details.

The rear doors of the barn were actually torn down and used as firewood by the KGL the night before the battle.

This is side that had a hedged, vegetable garden.

Toy Poodle for scale.

Besides the pond, there are still carts and farm equipment from the kit. After these, I'll start on the figures that came with the set - KGL Light Infantry and a battalion of French. Thanks for dropping by and wishing you all good gaming and happy painting.

Project La Haye Sainte - WIP

Finished putting the buildings together. The laser cut MDF pieces fit together very nicely. There was one corner section for the tongue and groove which apparently wasn't cut out. It was easily snipped out with a sprue cutter.

The instructions sheets, which they are several, are clearly illustrated and the steps are in logical (to me anyway) order. I followed the instructions step by step and had no issues.

Except for the working main gate doors, all the other come closed, but can be gently/carefully pushed open to create a less static appearance. If any of the doors break off, which I did on a couple, you can glue them back using strips of paper at the hinges.

Some Victrix and Perry figures on 40mm squares shown for size comparison. This is the largest piece of terrain I have, but it has a lot of usefulness as it is modular and can be used separately in different scenarios.

Some 79th Cameron Highlanders - not sure if they took an active part in this battle, but they are listed on the OOB for La Haye Sainte.

The set comes with complete (undamaged) doors, but in actuality, the large doors for the barn were torn down by the occupying KGL troops, and used as firewood the night before the battle. Warlord has an upgraded (read: more expensive) version of this set which includes a pile of dead French that can be used as a makeshift defense. This set comes with metal branches and other debris for this.

There are five main sections of buildings: Great Barn; Gate and Pond, Farmhouse and Pigsty, Stables and Hay Lofts, and Farm Garden House; all of which have removable roofs.

Need to pick up some craft paint - namely off white and brick red. The roofs will be painted gray; although the instruction sheets shows some of them red. The roof color has been a matter of debate - either red or gray, but I'm going with gray. Until next time happy painting and good gaming to you all!

New Project - La Haye Sainte

Couldn't pass up this ebay purchase - it was listed at 30% off. The seller's description said the box was opened (which it was), but all contents were intact (which they were; although a lot of the metal figures had bent muskets/bayonets).

I've seen this set on YouTube videos before and always thought it would be a cool gaming scenario. With the discounted price this will now become a reality. Plan to start on the buildings first as it will be the largest terrain build I've ever attempted.

A few Perry sets have also been ordered, namely Nassau troops, to flesh out the troop strength. For French, the already completed Middle Guard in greatcoats will be used along with the plastic French that came with this set. A box of Victrix British Flank Companies to paint up as KGL infantry may also be added.

Until the next update, happy painting and good gaming to you all!

Bolt Action Tank War Game

Thanks to my buddies showing up today, despite the slim chance of snow, managed to play out a Bolt Action Tank War game. We used the the Bastogne scenario which had a crossroads in the center of the table being the objective. The victory condition having a unit within 3 inches of the center of the crossroads at the end of Turn 6 - and also no enemy units within 3 inches of the same. The victory went to the Germans, as the Americans were overly cautious and failed to move towards the objective in time. I was only able to take a few pictures as I was preoccupied being one of the American players.

Above - the one Panzer IV the Americans were able to take out early in the game. The Germans had one Panther and two Panzer IV's, as well as an Sd.Kfz 251 halftrack. They also had several Fallshirmjager squads and one each Waffen SS and Panzergrenadier squads - and several tank hunter teams as well.

The Americans had three Shermans, one M-10 TD, an M5 Stuart, an M20 Scout Car and a couple of M5 halftracks. For infantry, a couple of 4th AD squads and several 101st squads - all with bazooka teams.

The P-51 failed to make a successful attack on the Germans - but did strafe a Sherman by an inexperienced pilot.

The M20 Scout Car burns after being taken out by the Panther. US infantry taking cover in a wooded area.

 A squad of 101st in heavy cover. They failed to move up close enough to use their bazooka team. Meanwhile a Sherman burns, having been taken out by a Panzer IV.

The surviving Panzer IV moving up to hold the German's left flank. A tank hunter team with Panzerschreck taking cover behind it.

 A Fallshirmjager squad occupying a the ruins of a building near the center of the town.

 The P-51 piloted by Wrongway Feldman about to strafe a friendly Sherman.

The view towards the center of the town early in the game - before the Panzer IV was taken out.

All in all, it was another nice Bolt Action game which allowed us to get more familiar with the rules for armor and aircraft. Thanks for stopping by and wishing you all happy painting and good gaming.

Henry Plantagenet, Earl of Derby, Duke of Lancaster, KG - Verlinden 120mm English Knight

Finished up the Verlinden 120mm figure. He's on a temporary base until I can find a more suitable one - smaller.

I used Vallejo acrylics for the entire figure, and pretty much painted him up like how I would a smaller figure. Painting the separate parts and then putting them together afterward.

The great helm and cap of maintenance with royal lion crest makes him look a bit top heavy, but that's probably realistic.

As I mentioned in the previous post, the heraldic lions on the jupon had shallow outlines, which assisted in their painting.

Henry was a great-grandson of Henry III and campaigned in Scotland and Flanders. He was at the Battles of Sluys and Crecy, as well as the Siege of Calais. He died of the Black Plague in 1360.

Here he is below alongside a Front Rank 28mm mounted figure painted in the same arms.

That was a nice little project and now I can concentrate on the Bolt Action game I'm hosting this Friday. Thanks for stopping by and wishing you all the best in the hobby!

Verlinden 120mm English Knight 14th C. (aka the Duke of Lancaster) - WIP

Started on the 120mm resin kit today; which is the first actual painting project for 2020. Finished most of the main parts of the figure. The lions on the jupon/cyclas are outlined on the figure a bit shallow and faintly, but useful nonetheless. As you may be able to see, I've used brass rods to assist in attaching the various separate pieces together.

Although the box art calls this figure an English Knight, he's actually based upon Henry, Duke of Lancaster, as illustrated in the Osprey Armies of Crecy and Poitiers book (image below):

One thing I forgot to mention in my previous "first of the year" post, was that I have committed to host two Franco-Prussian War Bolt Action games at our annual big con in May, Enfilade!

Thanks again for visiting and wishing you all the very best in 2020!

Just a Quick 2020 Update

Haven't done much hobby stuff recently - partly due to me pinching a nerve and not being able to sit for extended periods; as well as just getting over a 2 week bout of the common cold. That all said (and done), I'm slowly get back into the groove.

Finally finished putting together the Academy "Da Vinci Armoured Car" kit I got off of ebay over a year ago. It's actually a snap together kit with minimal parts, and took only about 20 minutes to finish. It's a wind up "toy" that can roll along the table top. Here it is below next to an old GW Empire Master Engineer.

Those are supposed to be cannon sticking out around the car - I drilled out the ends of the barrels. It's probably a bit small for 28mm, but could be used nonetheless. Possibly as some war engine in Dragon Rampant. Still need to decide to paint it or not.

Here's what it looked like during the build. The top of canopy is what is used to twist the gearing for propulsion.

I also picked up a copy of the Tank War Bolt Action supplement. I had intended to use it for a game I"m hosting next week. However, besides a few bits of special rules and crew experience upgrades, I probably could've just used the main rule book. The scenarios aren't really detailed and don't include illustrations of table set up for them either.

Lastly, I also picked up a Verlinden 120mm resin figure - "English Knight 14th Century." It actually looks exactly like the illustration of the Duke of Lancaster in the Osprey Crecy and Poitiers book. I haven't painted large scale figures in a while, but couldn't pass it up as it was going for only about $20.00 on ebay.

Well, so much for now. I hope to post details of next week's Bolt Action game - however, there's snow in the forecast, so might have to cancel it for the sake of folks having to drive here. In any case, hope you all are have a great start in the new year - the "Roaring '20's"!