Bolt Action... The game we love and hate

 I have been playing Bolt Action for almost 10 years now and a lot has changed since I first picked up the rules.  I started playing towards the end of 1st edition and generally played the Bolt Action . (dot) net modified rules - I believe these are what they were called at the time.  I went in head first and collected and painted a number of Armies however this has slowed down over the years.  I have thoroughly enjoyed 2nd edition however it feels bloated and slightly stale and I am really looking forward to the much anticipated 3rd edition.  

A Stug famously destroys one of my mate Joe's American Half Tracks.  We had an epic game of Bolt Action Tank War many years ago.

I have been fairly critical of Bolt Action in the past but one thing I noticed as it gained more and more popularity is the small but vocal minority that criticise the game.  My criticisms are minor compared to my praise for the game and its obvious by my Social Media Networks that I thoroughly enjoy the game as a casual player and have had some success in the competitive scene.  I far prefer casual and historic match ups over competitive gameplay however I do enjoy the social aspect that attending an event provides.  

I am not the biggest fan of Competitive tabletop gaming but I can hold my own and have has many successes over the years.

Most criticisms I see for Bolt Action are on the Bolt Action Facebook group or other historical Facebook groups for WW2 Games that are not Bolt Action.  The Bolt Action Facebook group is a mixed bag and at one stage I left the group due to mixed reasons but I re-joined a couple of years ago as the page became overwhelmingly more positive and better moderated.  It still has the odd know it all, or just plain rude person bringing someone down for what they posted but that is to be expected now that the page has over 26,000 members. 

The Experimental Warbird Rules are always fun.

26,0000 members is a lot! Take aways the bots, the multiple accounts, the lurkers and the people that no longer play the game you are still looking at a very large player base for what is undeniably the most popular WW2 tabletop miniatures wargame.  If you look at all the other WW2 tabletop miniature wargames Facebook groups and combine their memberships you wouldn't even get half of the following that Bolt Action has.  Facebook however is a guide only and I appreciate there are other Social Media Platforms that have large followings of other rulesets such as Chain of Command on the Social Media Platform Twitter.

Large Thematic Group Games of Bolt Action are always Fun.  My Favourite way to play the game.

The negative attitudes to Bolt Action are often humorous and harmless however I have a laugh to myself whenever I see someone ranting about how it is the Hollywood version of WW2 or it is just a re-skin of Warhammer 40k.  The game can be broken by the competitive sweatys, but after all its a game and a game that has a large player base, so this is bound to happen.  

Early War is my favourite era for Bolt Action - A very level playing field

Say what you want about the game and its historical errors, it is the juggernaut of WW2 Wargames Rules and whether you agree or disagree it is a fantastic introduction to WW2 on the Tabletop.   Some of Warlord Games' sculpts are questionable and the grumblings of button counters are heard, however they have the largest range of 28mm WW2 Miniatures and their sculpts are continuing to improve.  I see Bolt Action through my own experiences as a Gateway Game for historical Wargaming.  If it wasn't for Bolt Action, I wouldn't of played and collected a large number of forces over a number of historical periods.  I would not have discovered the Too Fat Lardies world of wargames or brands such as Perry Miniatures if it wasn't for this game.  I would still be stuck in the Games Workshop ecosystem.  

Perry Miniatures and Offensive Miniatures DAK are a match made in Heaven

Bolt Action will continue to grow, especially with the hype for the upcoming 3rd Edition of the game. From what I can see so far, its the shakedown the game needed to refresh its rules and reinvigorate the player base.  The sweatys will no doubt break the game and you will get the win at all cost types bending the truths of history for glory on the tabletop.  I however look forward to playing lots of themed games with my mates and most of all having fun.  

Keep painting those Fallschirmjager Helmets Blue, for every time you do, a button counter will criticise another Warlord Games Sprue.  

My version of Winter Fallschirmjager for the Ardennes 

4 years later...

 Well it has been over 4 years since I have made a blog post.  I could go into a long and detailed explanation as to why I have not posted but I will just keep it short... I became demotivated, and I didn't really see the point as I thought Blogs were a redundant platform.

I have been hobbying though, I have had a few breaks but I have painted hundreds of miniatures since my last post on here.  I have been posting on Twitter, now known as X, Instagram and to a lesser extend Threads.  I think Twitter and Instagram are the strongest platforms for hobby content and I really think Facebook is losing its way and I rarely post hobby related content on it.  

Some of my motives to return to blogger include:

• Blogging is the best way to store and categorise your content
• Your content shows in google searches more easily
• I want to practice my writing skills
• Your Hobby gets lost on Facebook and other social media platforms

My Hobby remains extremely diverse, I have been doing a range of genres, periods and scales.  I have drifted slowly away from Historicals, but, I still dabble in them and will always have a strong interest in WW2 and hobbying it.  I will not be posting everything I do onto Blogger but I will try and replicate some of the content I have created on here.

I will include a few photos of what I have done over the last four years to give you some idea of what I have been up to for those that do not follow me on X, Instagram and Threads.

28mm WW2 is by far my largest miniatures collection and will always feature on here

28mm Fallshirmjager by Warlord Games, some minor kitbashing done

Blitzkrieg Germans are best Germans

I love 3D printing and continue to do so

I still enjoy 20mm WW2 and I have a large Panzer Lehr Force.  These miniatures are from Elhiem.

I absolutely love Warhammer Fantasy Battle and I am glad The Old World is back

28mm Sci Fi is another love of mine

I prefer the "First Born" Space Marine aesthetic over Primaris

I got into Turnip 28 a few years ago and will return to it someday

I love Dungeon Crawls and Mantic's Dungeon Saga Origins has caught my attention

Zombicide is my favourite boardgame.  I love all versions of it

15mm Vietnam is something I am hoping to do more of

In conclusion I would like to blog more, I might try and make it a fortnightly thing and go from there.  Currently I am doing a minor renovations to our home and I am losing my dedicated Hobby space but will be replacing it with something better soon and am looking forward to blogging about that.

Thanks for reading.

What a Strange Month It Has Been!

So much has happened over the last month! Everything as we know it has changed and we will certainly come out of this hopefully for the better.  But lets not even mention why things are the way they are.  I would just like to wish you all the best and let's see everyone get through this troubling time.

I have been working so much over the past few weeks I haven't got much hobby in.  What I have got in is something completely different and refreshing for me, Sci-Fi!

I am doing up a nice mix of models from Anvil Industry and Victoria Miniatures however I will not reveal yet what the models are primarily for but I will also be wanting to try out Zona Alfa.  I am also 3D printing a load of Modular Sci-Fi Terrain by Warlayer. 

It is nice living in Australia and supporting a local manufacturer like Victoria Miniatures.  I have some really cool and interesting sculpts by them and I am most impressed with the quality.

I really enjoyed painting some of my Anvil Industry Zombies and they are perfect for a multitude of Genres from Modern to Sci-Fi.

Victoria Miniatures Female Soldiers

A Crooked Dice Sci-Fi Character - Recordist Junger

Anvil Industry Zombies

Terrain by Waylayer and 3D Printed

More Anvil Industry Goodness

Frostgrave Plastics - A Necromancer and their Apprentice

The Northstar Military Figures plastic kits for Frostgrave are simply superb.  I love the sprue options and the creative abilities they present.  I recently received both boxes of the Plastic Wizards for Frostgrave.  The first box is for Male Wizards and the second box is for female Wizards.

I created a Necromancer and his apprentice from the stock parts on the included sprues without using any other options from the many boxsets that exist for Frostgrave.

I will be using the Necromancer as the villain in a solo campaign I am currently developing.

For painting the black robes I did something different.  I primed them black, drybrushed them white then washed them with Citadel Contrast Paint Black Templar.  It was too dark so I drybrushed them again white then used Contrast Baslicanum Grey and gave a much better effect.

A Frostgrave Wizard's Apprentice and the Wizard - Necromancer

The Necromancer

The Necromancer's Apprentice

Scaling It Down - Part 4 - A Squad of AB Figures Brits

I have just finished painting a squad of 10 AB Figures 20mm British for Normandy and beyond.  I am most impressed with the detail AB Figures manages to get into such small miniatures.  These guys will be used for Battlegroup, Chain of Command and a relatively new ruleset I really really want to try called Ultracombat Normandy.  They are painted as Riflemen as part of the British 7th Armoured Division.

A squad of AB Figures British

A different way of using Citadel Contrast Paints

It has been over six months since Games Workshop released their Contrast Paints range.  The hype was too real with the claim that "one thick coat" can help you paint your miniatures fast with a satisfactory finish.

I won't discuss this too much however I am not the biggest fan of the "one thick coat" as I think it works for some colours and some colours just look saturated and flooded.  Saying this, Contrast Paints might be the savior for many a painter. 

I have been experimenting quite a bit with the contrast paints and overall I wasn't satisfied with applying them directly over the recommended primer.  However, I have found an excellent use for them, that is as a glaze or a wash over a colour similar to the contrast paint. 

My contrast paints on a 3D Printed Paint Rack

My suggestion is give it a go.  For example, my Frostgrave Plastic Wizard and his apprentice were based with, Citadel Regal Blue, followed by bold highlights of Ultramarines Blue, Lightning Bolt Blue and some white was added at the end.  Once dry I thinned down Citadel Contrast Paints Talassar Blue with the Contrast medium at a ratio of about 50/50.

Using Contrast Paints as a glaze

The Robes came out really vivid and blended in the layers using Contrast Paints as a glaze

When I painted the red, I simply went Vallejo Dark Red followed by Vallejo Scarlet and washed it with Contrast Paints Blood Angels Red straight from the pot.  I think it looks rather nice.

Using Contrast Paints as a wash

Using Contrast Paints as a wash gave a very rich and deep red

Prior to this I painted the flesh of a giant using the same principal.  I applied my flesh colours then thinned down Contrast Paints Guilliman Flesh and used it as a glaze over his flesh and the results I believe are excellent.

The Giant on the right used Contrast Paint Guilliman Flesh as a glaze

So get painting and do some experimenting with Contrast Paints.  I think they are one of the most over-hyped products by Games Workshop but they do have their use depending on your skill level and patience.  I am far from finished with them!