13 Warlock

 I backed a rather interesting kick starter that arrived recently. Its a collection of resin and metal minis inspired by 80s fantasy art. It consists of a beefy, ugly, mostly naked, male goblin, 2 mostly naked female goblins, a bunch of naked zombie women, and a heroin in multiple poses and also mostly naked. While they wont be suitable for many games I think they will work solo games like Rangers of Shadowdeep or when playing games with players who dont mind a more gritty and dark fantasy setting for some games. They will also offer me so new painting experiences which is a part of the hobby I really enjoy. 

Where have I been and what's coming up.

 So I have been absent from the blog for a while, not that many (if any) people follow it. In Feb I received orders to the UK and so began the process of pack up my collection and the rest of my house for the movers. After much drama with the Military Personnel we finally arrived on May 23rd and began looking for a place to live. We found one but it wont be available for move in until July 15th. In the mean time I have been getting stuck in with my new assignment which actually is quite slow paced and leaves me with much more free time. Around work my family and I have been getting out to see the local area as much as possible. We have seen 3 Roman Villa Ruins, a Roman Wall Ruin, couple of nice museums, and more. Once we get settled into our house (our belongings all arrived on the 18th) I can look to see what condition my collection is in. I did my best to pack it all to survive but you never know with military movers. 

Seeing all the Roman stuff and being in the same country and the amazing Victrix Limited I decided to order the bulk of my planned Syracusan army to fight with/against Republican Romans, Carthaginians, or other Greeks.

Army composition loosely inspired by the Battle of Krimisos

1st Division

- Syracusan Hoplite heavy Infantry 3x8 27pts

- Syracusan Hoplite heavy Infantry 3x8 27pts

- Syracusan Hoplite heavy Infantry 3x8 27pts

- Syracusan Hoplite heavy Infantry 3x8 27pts

- skirmishers x2

2nd Division

- Mercenary Hoplite heavy Infantry 3x8 32pts

- Gaelic Warband medium Infantry 4x8 28pts

- Samnite light Infantry 2x8 20pts

- Light Cavalry 2x3 17pts

- Skirmishers

3rd Division

- Mercenary Hoplite heavy Infantry 3x8 32pts

- Etruscan heavy Infantry 3x8 29pts

- Samnite Light Infantry 2x8 20pts

- Light Cavalry 2x3 17pts

- Skirmishers

This order, along with a box of Warlord Gaelic infantry and a bag of Victrix Greek cavalry I already have, will nearly fill the roster. All I am missing are Etruscans and I haven't settled on what I want to use for them.

Father & Son gaming

Saturday Thomas and I spent some quality time together and I took him to his first wargaming tournament. We played three games of the WW2 game Bolt Action. I let him make all the decisions and roll the dice while I made suggestions and kept everything within the rules. We both had a great time and he won an army pack for being the youngest player. 

 

Schutzmannschaft Battalion 118

For the upcoming 750pt Combat Patrol, Bolt Action Tournament I have painted up a force of using the German Anti-Partisan Eastern Front list. They will represent a platoon from the Schuzmannschaft Battalion 118 which was a Schutzmannschaft auxiliary police battalion (Schuma). The core of the Schutzmannschaft battalion 118 consisted of Ukrainian nationalists from Bukovina in Western Ukraine. While an auxiliary police force would most likely never be equipped with SdKfz 222 armored cars or 251/1 half-tracks, I figured for the purposes of a propaganda film they might temporarily be. As such I have included a videographer to film Battalion 118 in action to show how well equipped even the auxiliary police are and that the Communists Partisans have no chance. 

Additionally I build a 2x2 display board specifically for this Tournament and modeled it to look like it could be anywhere in the Ukraine countryside.

Platoon Roster:

Command

   -Second Lieutenant + 1 infantry

1st Infantry Squad

   -NCO w/ submachine gun

   -6 infantry w/ rifles

   -1 infantry w/ light machine gun

2nd Infantry Squad

   -NCO w/ submachine gun

   -5 infantry w/ rifles

   -1 infantry w/ light machine gun

3rd Infantry Squad

   -NCO w/ submachine gun

   -5 infantry w/ rifles

   -1 infantry w/ light machine gun

1 SdKfz 222 Light Armroured Car

3x SdKfz 251/1 half-tracks

1 Kubelwagen

Display Board pt5

 All the flocking is dry and complete and I have set up all the initial terrain I plan to use for the display. I'm still waiting on the water effects to arrive so I can add some in the ruts. I also need to add some glue to the thatched roof to get it to lay down. Initially I'll use it to display my Bolt Action German force in a tournament next month. I'm hoping to win best themed. I have left the buildings and other terrain elements removable so that I can customize it for skirmish games. Replacing the buildings with some half timber framed Saxon ones would make it work perfect for a skirmish battle. Could use it with Fistful of Lead rules Might and Melee set in early to mid medieval. I could put trees over the area were the log piles are to make the edge of a forest and run an ambush scenario. 

Overall I am very happy with this. I learned a good deal and think I could make more tiles that go together. I didnt make this specific one with that though in mind so it might be hard to integrate it into others but it served as a good proof of concept. 

Display Board pt4

Today I got the flocking done on my display/skirmish board. I used Army Painter flock and Huge Miniatures static grass and flowers. Glue is still drying in these photos so you can see it a bit through the flock. Next I'll add some water effects in the ruts. I decided not to flock the smaller fenced area so it could be used for live stock while the larger one will be a garden.