Category: Painting
Row, Row, Row your boat
It’s been a while since I posted; the tedium of real life has gotten in the way of the fun stuff.
However, I managed to finish something, and decided to stick some photos up.
I seem to have been a little too enthusiastic with the water, never mind. Models are all Tumbling Dice 1/2400,
We shall probably give David Manley’s He Hemetera Thalassa, Mare Nostrum rules a go.
All I have to do now is make some coast. Can’t have galley fights without shore.
These probably would be dark brown or black. But I thought that would look rather dark on such small models so I headed straight toward historical inaccuracy with all flags flying
Flags. Maybe I should have done flags. Next time…
A rare occurrence
I suspect, in common with many gamers, that I start rather more projects than I finish. So it seemed appropriate to have a minor celebration when something actually got done.
Some time ago I decided to paint some transitional ships (~1840-1860s) for use with Broadside and Ram fleet action rules (by David Manley, and which I can recommend. Not Mr Manley, whom I do not know, the rules). The project has more or less reached its designed goals (though those posts do shift every so often).
Also, the basing protocol changed at least twice, and the rigging method once. I’d go back and alter things, but if I starting that, I should never get anything done.
The models are 1/2400 scale, mostly Tumbling Dice, with some few being Hallmark (so idea of a vendor for these, I think I picked them up at a show before contagion rendered those fairly rare), which all look smaller and more fragile.
Of course, on consideration, I should probably look at some fortifications. And some sailing ships? I’m looking at you, Crimean war.
i did some minor research on the Battle of Sinop, and though the Russian side looks fine, there is not much on the Turkish side to spark enthusiasm. So maybe a Sebastopol breakout? Something in the Baltic?
I wonder can I get a good image of the Aland Island fortifications.
Probably enough merchants for any rational use, even though Brunel appears to be an early adopter of mass production. The second Great Western is masquerading as the Acadia up there.
Probably need more torpedo boats too, though I do recall reading somewhere that the Russians used rowboats with towing torpedoes on the danube at some stage. that could have been 1877 though.
And I certainly seem to have enough rowing boats.
Usual apologies for the Photography. Not enough time to learn everything one needs.
Oh well. Back to the painting table. I feel this urge to listen to HMS Pinafore…
The Light Brigade
It took some considerable time, but I finally completed the Light Brigade at about 1:20. A little less than that because maths is not really my strong suit.
The figures are all Great War Miniatures, which are a pleasure to paint, though on the large side.
I am pleased with how they came out, overall.
However it might be some considerable time before I paint any more horses……
Messing around with boats
Despite appearances, I’ve still been painting things, and gaming. I just haven’t been writing about it that much. Probably because there was nothing much worthy of photography.
Some 1/2400 ships from Figurehead and Tumbling Dice.
I’ve painted something new, though, and thought I might share. I’ve become interested in mid-19th century games, and I found two companies producing small scale naval miniatures for the period (Figurehead and Tumbling Dice). For the moment, I’m sticking with wooden ships. I may do something with ironclads later, but my current interest is around the time of Crimea, so wooden ships it is. I was just pleased to find someone making the things.
The ships are in 1/2400, which is fairly challenging for me, so I regard this bunch as test pieces. I can only hope they’ll improve as we go along. Also, the manufacturers pieces are different, with Figurehead’s stuff looking smaller and frailer, and Tumbling Dice models having the ratlines moulded on. I’m not sure which I prefer.
Steam ships of the Line. Only 3, and I managed to put Agamemnon’s name on the wrong side of the base. And the bloody photo is fuzzy too
I even attempted to rig them, in a number of different methods, hoping to find something that will be acceptably fast and not result in my fingers getting stuck together and me swearing.
Two steam screw frigates
The bases I got from Warbases and etched them with a dremel. Again, I’m hoping that practice will improve the results.
Four paddle frigates and corvettes
I chose the names and color schemes with the help of reference books and Google. Most, for the moment, ended up being British, so I’ll try and insert more foreigners later. I’m not overly concerned with nationality, I think they are going to end up being pressed into service for somewhat imaginary things.
For rules, I’m planing to use David Manley’s Broadside and Ram rules, so clearly I need more boats as this is very much a fleet set. I could certainly use his Dahlgren and Columbiad rules, but for the moment, I’m enamored with the command and control elements so I’ll keep those as a backup.
Biggles in the Desert
If there wasn’t a Biggles book titled this, there certainly should have been.
Over the Desert Rats, 1940 style. Lyslanders and escort
I painted up some 1/285 aircraft for Check Your 6, and it took an unconscionable length of time. Some are Raiden, some Heroics and Ross, I think. Its been so long since I bought them, I’m not sure.
A flight of Gladiators
And then the matte sealer went all funny on me, causing much heartache. I managed to pull the worst of the damage back, though.
6 Gladiators and 2 Lyslanders, probably 7 more aircraft than a rational person needs
I also spent a while browsing websites to try and find the right colors. Then I gave up, because in this scale, who is to know?
Now to find some Italians.
Avanti Savoia or whatever
The local crowd, or some of them, at least, have become enamored of the Chain of Command rules from Two Fat Lardies. I will refrain from any comment about out physiognomy matching that of the rules authors (mostly because I am a major offender myself) and say that I do enjoy the rules, with some reservations about the amount of luck that can occur in one game. Having said that, I must admit that all the games I have participated in, or even watched, have been a bunch of fun.
So coming late to the game (ha, beware weak pun) and lagging much behind such skilled painters as this guy (I do love his stuff, no idea how he turns out so much in such a high quality) I decided to paint some Italians, on the grounds that no-one had any, and I could avoid invidious comparisons.
And the PDF with the army list was free online……
The first squad. Endless chaps with rifles, and 2 LMGs
So, off I went, trying to build up a reasonable force, without the traditional wargamer “overbuy”, of which I am usually terribly culpable.
So I got 2 full squads, at squad having a rifle team and 2 LMG teams,
The other squad. Notice that the Italians have carefully applied bullseyes to their hats
a scout squad of 12 guys and an NCO, 47mm and 20mm Antitank guns, a 65mm I dunno what sort of gun, it looks like it should have been on the Northwest Frontier or whatever the Italian equivalent is, an mug and 2 small mortars.
Yeah, I didn’t overbuy…. at least did not have many figures left over.
The support. Scouts squad, some mortars, MMG, and light ATG.
The figures are a core of the Perry ones, with some Artizan ones mixed in. The mortars and the 20mm atg came from Warlord games (to be honest, my least favorite figures of the bunch). The 47mm is a Perry piece but some of the gun crew are Battle Honors and some Askari Miniatures, who supplied all the Libyan type chaps in skullcaps, used for artillery fill ins and the scout squad. The 65mm gun took some getting, finally turning up as a Battle Honors model, which came also with the guys in helmets, which I ended up rather liking.
The artillery, such as it is.
One of the advantages of sourcing figures from all over the place was that it gave the bunch a kind of “assorted” look. anything I read on the Italian army in North Africa indicated that the equipment was very mixed; people standing around in pictures with different type of webbing equipment, with different rifles, with grey-green stuff mixed in with the desert yellow. I tried to make them look like the photos, a bit. Added to this was the idea that the officers wandered around in paler coats, bleached by the sun, making them that much easier to distinguish from the regular troopers. I cannot think that this was a good idea, but what do I know…..
Some tanks were purchased also, being the subject of a later (much later, knowing me) post.
In the service of the Tsar
Horunzhy Nemiroff leads the Half-Sonia through the village. Outpost guys in front, old Glorys behind
I probably have more than enough Russians to fight the colonial battles I have started documenting here. However, prolonged exposure to wargamers has shown me that “more than enough” is not a concept most of them are entirely comfortable with; so much so that it might be more accurate to say that is a concept that most of them are not aware of. In any case, because I am a wargamer for more years than I really care to think about, I decided my Russians needed more Russians.
Though that is probably some sort of terrible faux-pas or misnomer, because what they got was Cossacks, and I’m not sure if they get upset by being called Russians any more. One would probably have to consult some modern geopolitical chap, of which I am definitely not one.
In any case, I needed some Cossacks. Originally I though the traditional Nelson Eddy ones, with the fur hat and the long cloaks, you know, the bad guys in Dr. Zhivago.
Then I found that I had some Old Glory Russian cavalry in forage hat, and found that The Orenburg Cossacks looked something similar. I also came across the wonderful Outpost Wargaming Services, which had both mounted and dismounted guys. As the uniform for the Orenburgs pleased me greatly (dark green and sky blue, whats not to like?).
Parading through the village, the natives all discreetly absent
The result is these lads; seen on the left parading through the recently liberated/conquered/colonised (delete as appropriate) village. The offices and Bugler are Outpost, the bulk of the troopers old Glory, from their Boxer Revolt range.
This being for Sword and the Flame, they needed to get off their horsies. Outpost provided the foot figures, and I am very pleased with them, they have truly impressive beards. The standing dismount horses are Old Glory from their ACW range, where they have a bag of standing horses with some horse holders. well worth it if you are interested in the look of the thing.
Horunzhy Nemiroff and his lads prepare to hold an enclosure. I think the dismounts look well
I am not going to go book on the Cossack uniform; the only images I could find were somewhat incomplete. but I figure it is close enough, and will certainly do for me.
The rest of the locals
Well, as can be seen here, we have altogether too many forces of colonial aggression for the locals to handle. Therefore we made more locals, of course.
The second war band. I had not noticed the roadwork needed on the top right
Dipping deep into the lead mountain (I wonder does every wargamer have a lead mountain?) I found a selection of basically “chaps in turbans” to use as a second Sword and the Flame tribe.
One of the 3 war bands; a total of 60 locals.
While some are the same Old Glory Northwest frontier guys, I am fairly sure there are some Wargames Foundry Sikh Wars and Indian Mutiny blokes too. No idea where they came from, honestly. There seems to be rather more lads with swords than firearms than I had in the first tribe; I wonder is this lot going to fare worse. In fact there are two under dressed blokes with swords visible in the background of the photo of the tribal leader below; I wonder where on earth they came from. At the very least, they are going to be cold.
Once more, painted in acrylics with a wash followed by a highlight. Not, perhaps, the most wonderful quality paintjob, but definitely serviceable. I resisted the temptation to use what one might call “historical” or
The tribal commander. I wonder what we shall call this fellow. For that matter, I wonder what I called the last fellow….
“accurate” colors, because, honestly, they would be unsupportably drab if decked out in browns and greys, and the fun of this game is playing with the pretty toys. Once more, the tribal command stand has a banner from Little Big Man Studios.
Besides that, given the nature of colonial gaming, being brightly colored will not be any disadvantage at all; so they may as well look stylish.
One of the questions I have is, what with 2 tribal leaders does one go off and make a superior leader in The Sword and the Flame, or is the local leadership left as some sort of committee?
In any case, this should be enough for the local forces; One small addition to the Colonial aggressors and we should be able to continue this.
Allies from the Desert
Allies from the desert
It has been a terrifically long time since I have updated this; I wish I could say that was because I was involved in critically important work which overtook my gaming.
This is, completely untrue. I have been buried in the minutiae of life, and any periodically have managed to pop my head above the drifts of trivia to have any fun.
But a few things have got painted, and I should pop up some posts of them, I think.
Here they are, on their horsies. I know the clothes are too bright, but I was feeling cheerful that day.
There also has been a lack of focus on my part recently, so the most progress has been on the Sword and the Flame project that I started to document here. Other little things have got done also; and I shall show a couple of the least embarrassing ones.
And where we have some of them off their horses. Hard work walking in that desert
In any case, if my progeny are are going to continue to crush the restless natives/ inflict the horrors of colonialism on harmless indigenous peoples (delete as to your taste, I’m not bothered) it was clear that the forces of anti colonialism needs some more guys, ‘cos we have way too many Russians.
With that in mind, I poked around in the lead pile, and came up with this lot. And yes, I realize that the other bunches are more or less South Central Asian, and this bunch would be a lot happier in the neighborhood of Fort Zinderneuf, but that is how the desert dunes roll. And the locals will accept help from wherever it comes to fight the Russian oppressors.
In any case, they are all from the Old Glory Sons of the desert range, which I owned for much longer than I care to remember. So much so, that I cannot remember when or why I bought them, but never mind.
I painted enough for a standard Sword and the Flame Native cavalry band, and nine chaps as dismounts. I don’t ever recall using cavalry with this ruleset, so we shall see how it works.
The forces of oppression
The Glorious 54th Siberian Rifles on exercise, 3rd and 4th platoons in support, 2nd platoon in a firing line, and 1st platoon skirmishing in front. No-one is entirely sure what the mongols are doing on the hill, or whose side they are on (probably including the mongols)
Well, here we had one side of the forthcoming colonial hi-jinks, so I need to present the other one. Honestly, there is no excuse save the business of life for this taking so long, because most of the imperial forces have been painted for years, but never mind.
3rd and 4th platoon on their long and dusty march.
These are almost all Old Glory 25mm Boxer rebellion Russian infantry. I have had them painted for at least 10 years; they really have not been used much in that time.
1st and 2nd platoon looking aggressive
When I decided to do some colonials, though, it was clear that this was the shortest route to an Imperial force. All I had to do was divide them into 4 platoons, and provide a command group, giving them a Sword and the Flame organisation for an Imperial infantry battalion, which I am without compunction going to use for a Russian Battalion.
So there you go, 1st Battalion, 54th Siberian rifles. I do not recall what motivated me to paint these lad’s shoulder boards yellow, but I just kept at it when I did some casualties (for wounded men) and the command group.
The command group watching the activities below dubiously. Col. Stolichnaya, Cpts. Absolut and Smirnoff
The command group itself started out to be a mix of Copplestone Castings for the 2 company commanders and Battle Honors for the mounted Colonel (probably should only be a Major if it is a battalion in the Tsarist army, but it is essential to have some form of Colonel, preferably with a mustache or whiskers, in a colonial game, so a he gets a promotion. I’m sure his family will be pleased.) However, though the Copplestone figures (very nice ones from the Russian Civil War Range) turned out to be much to big to match the Old Glory ones, which are closer to “true” 25s so I grabbed 2 foot officers out of the Battle honors WWI Russian command bag I am got the Mounted officer from and used them instead. They fit in very well size wise. The flag comes for Redoubt Enterprises Russo-Japanese war range, and will serve them just fine.
The assembled mongols look on with interest. Or distain. Pick one. More Old glory 25mm from the Boxer range.
I am going to set off a sub-blog (and if that is not a thing, it is now) to cover the colonial activities. it can be found here.
Tales of cunning (losing) plans for gaming 