An update! And about damn time too.

So, an update!

I've been away on business trips, and then a 4-week holiday, and then back, but lacked motivation to much of anything. Now that's all done, here's a little update...

But first of all, some better pictures of my horse artillery!

I think these pictures do the painting more justice, as opposed to the previous shots.

So at the moment, I'm currently working on two projects:

1. Finalization of my French army for Napoleonics - notably the Elite Infantry Brigade (Lasalle Rules). I finished my elite light infantry earlier, so now I'm in the process of doing the Elite Line infantry, specifically the 57e Regiment d'Infanterie de Ligne. One battalion finished, one more to go.

And then maybe an optional Young Guard cavalry regiment (Eclaireurs) just for shits and giggles.

And then finish off my Austrian army. Nnnnnngh so much to do.



Also painting up some Gemans for a Nachtjager list. These guys are awesome! As you can (maybe) notice, I'm trying to get the two types of splinter camo all painted. I love how these guys are turning out so far, and once I add them to the ruined urban bases, they'll be fantastic!

I think they came out a little blurry :(

Sd.Kfz 234s

Small little beauties I painted about a month ago, which I had totally taken close up pictures of.

These are one of my most favorite units in the war, and if anything, I believe we still see the influence of armored recon cars like these in modern armies, certainly in European armies. The modern German Fuchs armored car is basically a modernized 234/1.

Even the 234/4 with a 75mm has a modern impact - case in point the French armored cars in the modern army. The ERC-90 "Sagaie" with its 90mm gun, and the AMX-10RC with its 105mm main gun stand to prove that armored "cars" with large guns still play an important role. And if anything, combat performance of both the ERC-90 and the AMX-10RC in Africa has been stellar.

For the actual color scheme, I went with a different green and brown than what I have used normally in previous paint jobs for Flames of War. This time around, I went with more muted down colors. The "dunkelgelb" is basically Citadel Kommando Khaki washed down, and Doombull Brown as the brown/red and Deathworld Forest green. The green doesnt really show up much, but with the wash they clearly stand out, and it really fits a more "Late-1945" theme as opposed to my previous paint work.

The images above show one patrol, of which I have two. I love them to bits, and the 234/4 in Flames of War is certainly not something to underestimate.

Gaming and Battles all round - Flames of War

I have begun to play Flames of War fairly regularly now. Usually it's once every other week, and occasionally it's once a week on Fridays.

My gaming partner is in the same boat as I - that is to say, more painting, and gaming as a side entertainment. Lately, however, we've started to really begin 'playing' the game. Learning the rules, experimenting different army list compositions, different tactics. It's been fascinating, and it has shown me a way to appreciate the game that is Flames of War better.

I really enjoy the game, especially having battles on Friday evenings after a tiring week at work but I can't say I find the actual rules super engrossing, as I feel that its very... "generic" in a way.

I don't like how the game basically forces you to play and finish the game in under six turns. I understand that it has "2 hour tournament" play in mind, but I suppose I was expecting something a little more realistic. Its crazy how 3 turns to get reinforcements almost feels forever.

Not that I'm saying I don't enjoy it, because I do, but I understand more why I had begun painting more than gaming in the first place when I started to really get obsessed with the miniatures hobby. I used to game WH40K a lot back then (almost 8+ years ago), and I had found that the game was too abstract, and there were a log of rules munchers that would find some obscure loophole to screw you over. That's certainly not the case with the person I play with, but it'll take some time for me to warm up again and to really appreciate the gaming side of the hobby.

Meanwhile though! I have my own 10mm napoleonic rules I'm still trying to work on. It's taking its sweet time as I continue to decide how I want to do it, but there is some progress.

Still, I enjoy being able to bring out various armies due to my huge collection, and test out different tactics and just enjoy the game for what it is.



In the meantime... here are some pictures of my last FoW game:

SS panzergrenadiers defend the objective (truck), and fortifies the house, while being covered by a Tiger

Russian motor rifles advance through the field through machine gun fire

What is this? A T-34 advance? Excellent, come closer!

21cm Nebelwerfer battery and Tigers

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Ersatz Panzer III preview!

Some preview shots of my Panzer IIIs (well, one for now) for my future Ersatz Panzer platoon for either Market Garden or Desperate Measures list.

These Ersatz tanks were either replacement tanks, training tanks, or simply last ditch efforts to bring armor to the front.

Hence these look like as if they've gone through hell and back.

First time I've actually gone this far in adding battle damage in the form of wear and tear to the paint, and this being the preview, I've still got quite a few more details left to add - and I plan on adding as much dirt as I did to my Panzer IV Js.

Models are Plastic Soldier Company Panzer IIIs.

First FoW battle of the season!

People have returned from holidays at work... and I've succeeded in convincing one to paint more of his Russians for late war, and the other has started Mid-War Brits (MID WAR?! WHY?!!)

So, here I shall share you my latest game and my thoughts -

For this, I brought out a little KG Peiper list:

We were playing a 1780pt game and while in the end it took FAR too long (we're still novice at the rules thing... and thus is took a while), I brought the following to the table:

Command Tiger II
x1 Tiger II
x3 Panther Gs
x4 Panzer IV Js
x2 Sdkfz 251/9  7.5cm
x1 Gepanzertepanzergrenadiers platoon
x1 Sporadic Me-262 support


I haven't played Flames of War since last year, so I was incredibly rusty.

DEPLOYMENT / TURN 1

I wasn't really sure what to do - so I decided to go for the standard military operations tactic - delaying operations on the left flank, and effort on the right with my Tiger IIs and Panthers.

TURN 2

My opponent was attempting a pronged attack approach, so I decided to use the Tiger II's advantage in the open fields facing the T-34/85s. As the T-34 are incapable of penetrating the Tiger II's front armor, I simply held ground and poured shells down range... great effect other killing the platoon commander, and bailing one. The skillful company commander's Tiger II would prove to be the decisive Tiger Ace as the other one ended up being wholely worthless for the rest of the game (missed about 80% of its shots.....). With the commander killed, the Russian T-34s could no longer move - meaning that as long as I stayed hull down and firing, it would be a one-sided fight.

 TURN 3

Opponent continues to advance, and double times his T-34s on my right flank to envelope me. I use my Panzer IV Js to fire back, bailing 3 of the 5. Not very useful, but enough to hold back any further daring attacks on that side. Meanwhile, my Panthers and Tiger IIs combined fire takes out the scary SU-152s at the back, killing 2 of the 3.

TURN 4

The opponent's motor rifle infantry attempt to assault my infantry in the woods, but the sheer amount of MGs as well as MG support from the Sdkfz 251 half tracks simply moved them down. I counter attack, killing all but one team. I try to press the advantage with my Panthers in the center to surround the enemy, but poor shooting bogs down the attack.

At this point we realized that we were shooting on +4s (Veteran), instead of the +3 (Trained) that our armies were rated at. No wonder things were dying so slowly! So we continued playing as if we were all Veteran. Lesson learned!

TURN 5

The Panther's prowling in the town definitely cost me. Not only did the attack bog down, they got surrounded and I lost one Panther to that. Ugh. I got my revenge, but... costly maneuver on my part. The lone SU-152 attempted to flank my Tiger II, and was promptly denied and turned into a flaming hulk.

The T-34s that I ended up ignoring my left cost me as well, destroying my Panzer IV platoon. Here I learned how flimsy these Panzer IVs are! At this point I pretty much realized that the game was lost - there was no way I could defend my objective now, as I have been surrounded.

TURN 6

The opponent has full control of my objectives now, and my Tiger IIs are stuck fighting defenseless T-34s.... who due to poor shooting on my part are STILL alive. Ugh!

At this point in an action of pure spite, I snipe the opponent's command T-34 with my Panther and turn that into a wreck. Take that, dirty Russian!



CONCLUSION

Well, it was a fun game for sure. It did end up taking about 5 hours to full play through due to us not really knowing the mechanics, and while as expected my Me-262 did cause a few frights, it was wholely underwhelming and did no damage. Similarly, I think my opponent's aggressivity paid off as I was still bogged down in the center of the battlefield getting nowhere, and my objective contested.

I think the game in itself is quite interesting. There was a distinct lack of terrain which I felt was rather disappointing, but I also felt that the lack of a certain amount of realism was disappointing. I think that that's really the plague of wargaming - especially when in a "I go, you go" sort of system. I also have to admit I dont like the Flames of War scenarios. It just feels so arbitrary.

My opponent and I agreed that we'll be fighting more 'historical' / 'realistic' scenarios next time around, ie "seize and hold the village" or "fighting retreat". I think it was maybe the terrain that made the game disappointing - there simply wasnt enough of it.

It almost made me question why I painting so much Flames of War and that I should maybe continue working on my10mm Napoleonics, who's "linear" style of battle has a bigger sense of realism. I suppose time will tell, but it certainly did make me think about continuing my 6mm and 10mm napoleonics for precisely that reason.

Can't seem to choose though - the 6mm look great when assembled together in divisions and corps, but I think the 10mm could look just as good.... if only I could bring myself to paint them more.

'Utrinque Paratus'

I find myself with a quiet Sunday and thought that I would take this opportunity to introduce the first of my three projects.

Leon got me into Flames of War last summer and since then I have collected enough models to field a decent sized army of the stubborn buggers. I haven't really made any concerted effort to get them all painted however so hopefully this blog will give me the kick up the ass that I need!

I do not currently live in the UK which means that getting hold of models can be a bit tricky to say the least. I'll tend to 'stock up' on models and then paint them over time before my next trip back to Blighty allows me the opportunity to pick some more up.

The general idea is to model an army based on Operation Market Garden, and hopefully in the not-too-distant future take on Leon's Germans.

Below is a shot of what I have so far.

1 Para Company
1 Para Mortar Platoon
Some Para Snipers
1 Para Machine-gun Platoon
4 Para Pioneer Squads
1 Airborne Assault Squad
4 6pdr Guns
2 17pdr Guns
4 M1A1 75mm Howitzers
2 Cut-down 15cwt trucks
4 Para Jeeps
Lieutenant-Colonel Frost and an assortment of officers
I also have a Sherman Armoured Platoon (Not technically available to Paras)

I painted up a couple of test bases to work out an easy but effective colour scheme (I posted the images of these in my last blog so will not re-post them here). I was very happy with the look of the models but did not like the bases at all. I then got going on my 75mm Howitzer teams. This time I used the plastic rural bases that Battlefront do. They needed a little work as the bases were not designed for the older Para models (at least I think that this is the case). I am very happy with the final results. I'll put a step-by-step guide up in the near future.

Next up is to do a full platoon of regular Paras and re-base my test models. Plenty still to do!

"Believe me, nothing except a battle lost can be half as melancholy as a battle won."

The Duke of Wellington

Sound the advance!

Huzzah! And we are off! This blog is a first for me as I have never attempted anything like it before. I loved following Leon on his first blog and wanted in. Leon and I go way back. In fact his Space Marines stomped all over my Praetorian Guard in my first real game of 40k back in the day (honour was quickly restored when my Orlock gang ambushed and badly shot up his Delaques in our first game of Necromunda). Since then we have grown up (sort of) and although I still dabble in a bit of 40k, our interests have broadened with Historical Wargaming taking center stage.

Wargaming may be a bit of an overstatement as I haven't yet played any games and one of the main reasons for this blog is to get my projects done and on the tabletop. Knowing that Leon and others will be reading through progress will provide all the hobby momentum that I need!

Unfortunately as Leon has mentioned, we live on opposite sides of the world and it is not looking like this will be changing anytime soon. I am hoping to challenge him to a game of Flames of War sometime in the future which will allow us the possibility of getting a battle report on here. Most of what I post will be painted figures, ramblings about painting, building gaming tables, reviews of modelling supplies and a general report on what I've been up to.

That said I am a bit of a hobby butterfly and tend to flirt between several projects at any one time. This means that if I get bored of painting one thing I can move on to something different before returning a few weeks later. I find this keeps my enthusiasm up and I enjoy my painting more.

I currently have three projects on the go. I'll go into more detail about these in the future but I'll briefly introduce them here and include pictures of the first test models completed for each. The first of these is a British Para Company for Flames of War based on the Market Garden Campaign.

Secondly I have a Vostroyan Imperial Guard army for 40k on the go. Say what you want about GW I still think that they have created one of the richest Sci-fi universes there is and they are still world leaders in the production of miniatures!

Lastly is the project that I am most excited about. My 28mm British and French (Napoleonic) Peninsular War armies. The following is my first test base of the 1/88th Connaught Rangers (The Devil's Own).

There you have it. I'll delve into each of the three projects in turn and explain 'the plan', outline paint schemes and review models as we go.

"In war there is but one favourable moment; the great art is to seize it!"

Napoleon Bonaparte

And here we are for more!

Huzzah! New blog - and this time partnering up with an old friend of mine. Long are the days of blog posting with poorly taken blurry photos of olde.... or so I hope. My current phone/camera seems to do quite fine.

We actually decided to start up this blog as a means to exchange ideas, and keep both of us up to date with our projects. Seeing as we live practically on the other side of the planet, talking to him is damn near impossible : /

I should mention there be some friendly rivalry going on too. Damn you Ed for making me jealous with your Space Wolves back in the day!

For those thare are familiar with my work, sorry, there'll be some old stuff showing up again, but this time from different angles and new images. In its own selfish way, its for me to keep myself interested in the hobby without burning myself out.

I think "Painter's Depression" is a very real thing to many miniature painters, and once you're in that phase and you get used to *not* painting, motivating to get back into the hobby is quite difficult. I've noticed this especially when I paint too much of the same things for too long, or I start painting 6mm for too long.

Panzer IV J

So cute!

Panzer IV J roaming a freshly unboxed forest

My recently painted Panzer IV J platoon from Battlefront for the Flames of War ruleset was just a pure joy. Aside from the basecoating of the dunkelgelb. That's never fun, but the model as a whole was amazing. Perfect cast, none of the old metal track's flash and bad casting that would make the model lopsided. The plastic sprues that are now included in the Panzer IV J box really raises the bar for 15mm wargaming models. Hell, I almost feel like this is more like a model, rather than a wargame miniature.