Warlord Games German Winter Pak 40

My Winter German forces are slowly being put together.  This force is mainly themed for the Battle of the Bulge however it can be used in a variety of battlefields across Europe especially on the Eastern Front.

I decided to paint up the Warlord Games Winter Pak 40.  This is a beautiful model.  The gun went together with ease.  The figures that crew the gun are well sculpted and you really get a feeling that the crew is in action against some enemy armour.

I based the gun on some MDF and used a variety of winter weathering products to capture the feeling of winter.  I used the Warlord Games Winter Tufts to provide a bit of color among the snow.  The tufts are nice and have a fine white material coating to them that sets well with a bit of matte varnish and appears quite frosty.

Any questions regarding specific details or techniques, please ask.

Warlord Games German Winter Pak 40

The Winter Tufts from Warlord Games break the white of the snow up

Frostgrave, well and truly overdue!

I first bought Frostgrave when it first came out.  I have read it cover to cover and have been dead keen on getting a game in however like most of my projects they sadly took a while to get some love and attention.

Probably about a year ago or so I painted up a test figure, one of the cultists.  I assembled more of the cultists, primed them then they sat in a draw.  The Analogue Hobbies Painting challenge gave me just the motivation to put some paint on the figures!

28mm Frostgrave Cultists - The purple headed warrior on the left was my test figure way back when

The test figure was painted with bright colours and using Secret Weapon washes.  The other two cultists, middle and right were blocked in, Army Painter Strong Tone Quickshade, left for three days then highlighted and detailed.  The bases are a mix of Wilder Snow, Citadel Valhallan Blizzard and Woodland Scenics Soft Snow Flake.

I really like the facial details on these chaps

The latest two I painted

Stay tuned for more Frosted Goodness!

Adding to the Austrians and The Polish Airborne

My latest 9 offerings are 4 more Austrians for my Napoleonics and 5 more Polish Airborne.  The Austrians are from the Perry Miniatures 28mm Plastic range and the Polish Airborne are from Warlord Games, again in 28mm plastics.

I have been asked a few times now on social media to do a guide for both of these so it is something for me to work on... soon!

Enjoy.

Warlord Games 28mm Polish Airborne

Perry Miniatures 28mm Plastic Austrians

 

Blitzkrieg Miniatures 1/56 Resin JU 87 Stuka

As soon as Blitzkrieg Miniatures released their 1/56 JU 87 B2 Stuka, I had to get it.  I built it straight away for my DAK project however the canopy really turned me off.  Painting was another thing which I put off however the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge gave me the motivation I needed to get it done.

Consider this article a minor review of my thoughts on the kit.  Any specific questions or details you want to know, just ask!

This was my first gripe with the model.  The canopy has lots of separate panels and the panel frames aren't the sharpest and I just didn't have the patience to mask it all off.  I was contemplating putting the Perry Miniatures 28mm Crew inside if I was to mask it off however the canopy isn't that transparent.  Additionally I wanted to use the model as ground terrain or for in game flying and if the crew were permanently in there it would look a little silly if ground terrain.  My solution... paint the canopy!  I'm glad I did this as the canopy isn't the best fit anyway.  A painted canopy gives it more of a "Wargaming Feel".

Blitzkrieg Miniatures 1/56 JU 87 Stuka

The model goes together easily, needs minimal cleanup and is of solid construction.  I used an airbrush to paint it, constructed my own stand and the decals I used are not historically accurate (after market separate purchase) which brings me to my second gripe with this model.  The decals incluided are absolute rubbish! They may be historically accurate however they are the worst decals I have ever worked with.  If they didn't dissolve when preparing them they either tore or shriveled up like a dead spider!  I went for some after market 1/48 and 1/72 decals.

This was my first ever entry into the Analogue Hobbies Annual Painting Challenge.

Perry Miniatures Luftwaffe Crew scrambling to their aircraft

Those two gripes aside, I am happy with the model and I can't wait to unleash it in Bolt Action and Battlegroup.

I would really like to see Blitzkrieg Miniatures release more aircraft in 28mm and the 1/56 scale. 1/72 is too small for ground terrain but looks nice in the air and 1/48 heathen scale is just too big! Canopy and decals aside it is a solid piece of kit and looks amazing!

2017 Year in Review

Well what a year it has been for me as I sit here waiting for some paint to dry on my latest project.  I have not blogged in a while as I have been preparing for the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge.  Expect some regular updates here as I progress in the challenge.

2017 has been a massive year for me.  I will discuss what I have painted and what games and social experiences I have had plus some personal achievements.  I have submitted 53 articles this year, that is a massive effort considering I submitted 16 in 2016!

Looking at what I set out to do in 2017 certainly turned out a lot differently!

Painting

A rough guess of how many figures I  have painted would be around 250 (slightly disappointed in this number).  As for vehicles I have probably painted around 25 (again not too happy).  I have build lots of terrain and I have invested in a 3D printer.

Gaming

I have played more games this year than I had previously over my small but brief wargaming life ( I wouldn't have a clue how many games I played as a teenager so this doesn't count!).

The following Games I have played this year in no particular order:

• Bolt Action
• Battlegroup
• Age of Sigmar (not a fan)
• Dragon Rampart
• The Men Who Would Be Kings
• Kings of War
• Zombicide Black Plague
• Zombicide Season 1
• The Walking Dead All Out War
• Terminator Genisys

I am sure I have missed something here.  Again I am slightly disappointed I have not played more, I got lots of boardgames and good systems that I really need to get playing!

I started painting some 15mm Fantasy which I thoroughly enjoy and started some 20mm WW2 stuff for Battlegroup.  I am a big fan of 20mm however as the more than majority of my gaming network uses 28mm, this later scale will remain my primary scale.

My 3D printer got a workout printing some terrain and I have finally started building my own terrain, I really need to ramp this up as my terrain collection is rather lacking!

Social

I have continued to make an appearance every now and then at Company of Dice and have really warmed to Company of Dice West (a second location for the club) run by a very good friend of mine.  Its a great environment and tones of space for gaming.

During MOAB I was introduced to Odin's Nights Gaming Club run by John of War and Peace Games. I have developed a nice friendship with him as a result of this.  I attended about 5 meetings in the later half of the year and thoroughly enjoyed myself as well as being introduced to new people and gaming systems.  I really look forward to Wednesday Nights now!

Another gaming highlight was my mate Joe's birthday who runs Company of Dice.  It was a great day had by all.  

I have also hosted a few games at my place with some locals and even a visitor to Sydney.  

I have definitely become more of a casual/social gamer and I think my tournament days are over.  I assisted running the Bolt Action Tournament at MOAB 2017.

Achievements

I was completely surprised to come 3rd Overall and win best Minor Powers at CANCON 2017, Bolt Action Tournament.  There were around 55-60 players so this was a great achievement.  I made Poland Great Again!

I set out and completed two challenges.  The first being 100 Days of Hobby.  Here I did a bit of Hobby every day for 100 Days Straight!  It was exhausting towards the end however has now set a habit of doing a little bit of hobby each day!  

I had some residue left over from 100 Days of Hobby on my bench so I set out to "Clear the Bench".  I successfully got this done in around 6 weeks.  Pretty stoked with that, and adding little red crosses was very rewarding to my progress.

The following work of mine was featured on other websites/facebook groups etc:

• 28mm Offensive Miniatures DAK - Ironfist Publishing Facebook Page
• 20mm Wartime Miniatures Panzer Lehr - Wartime Miniatures Facebook Page
• 15mm Fantasy - Dice Stormers Facebook Page
• 28mm Blitzkrieg German Adler and Pak36 - Warlord Games Newsletter

Getting featured in the Warlord Games Newsletter was very rewarding

I wrote my first solo scenario for Bolt Action and I intend to write more.

I was also interviewed and featured in the LRDG II Podcast where I spoke about Poland in WW2 and my experience of Polish Forces in the Game Bolt Action.  I really enjoyed being part of a podcast.

I am sure I have left other things out but that is enough for now..

2018

I am going to think about what lies ahead for me in 2018 and will blog separately.  Two things come to mind... Play more games and Paint more minis!

Happy New Year all and I look forward to a huge 2018!

Dave.