Anyone After a Flames of War related bargain?

Not something I like to post on the blog very often, but I'm offloading the last of my Flames of War figures on eBay.  Almost all US Airborne figures, but a couple other bits and pieces, have a look here. Drop me an email if anyone's interested in any of these outside eBay...

It isn't the case that I dislike FoW in particular or gaming WW2 in general; I just collected quite a lot of scenery and figures as I planned to have a permanent table set up in our new house.  Now that didn't work out (I'm back home living with my old man,)  I've no desire to look at these any more as they remind me too much of the unpleasant time I've had this year.

My gaming mojo is still in full swing however.  I've roped a friend into collecting 10mm Carthaginians (gave him my Pendraken figs to paint,) so really in the mood for painting the opposing Romans.  I've picked up yet another miniature game - I know I was moaning about being skint earlier this month, but my Grandparents wanted to get me something as a wee present, so more figures it was!  Actually, I can't get enough gaming in lately; a different game at the club each week, but still need more Android: Netrunner and Dreadball regularly.  Bloody real life getting in the way!

Battlefront European Village Bundle

The postie turned up with a heftly parcel today, one I really wasn't expecting; the next batch from Battlefront's European Village subscription deal.

Battlefront changed the release schedule recently from their original plan (one house per month) to increase the supply of their buildings.  The subscription deal could have easily sold two or three times the initial offering, judging by the earlier grumbling on the FoW forums and some crazy prices on eBay.  That alone makes me glad it took up the offer.

So this release has the next two houses; Cherbourg and Dieppe, as well as the two expansion kits, walls and house extensions, and a blister pack of villagers.  First things first, the paint jobs on the latest two houses is a vast improvement on the first four.  I wasn't particularly bothered by the initial quality, taking a little time to tidy up the houses wasn't that big a deal, but these two look outstanding in comparison; better coverage and depth on the main colours, tidier roofs and much neater painting all told.

The expansion sets are to the same standard and are a nice, flexible set.  The villagers comprise six vignettes, including some nuns, a couple at a cafe table and a couple ladies of the night (charmingly, one has a gendarme telling here off, while the other has a gent doffing his cap to her. Quality.)  Not sure how much use I'll get from them, but it's an enjoyable wee set.

As I recall, Battlefront never explicitly said whether the extras were free or not, so I was delighted to see that the credit card was only charged for the two houses!  Result.  Still to come are six more houses, the Bastogne church and whatever else they come up with.  I'd still like a duplicate house to make a terrace building, but I can cope without for the moment.

Another New Army - Easy Company!

Well, I cracked and ended up ordering a couple blister packs of US paratroopers from Battlefront.  Looking at the Parachute Rifle Company list from Nuts, you can build a reasonable 1200 point Flames of War force with about five blister packs, so I figured "what the hell" and, as I'm on holiday for a week, I'd get straight to work.

So while I was doing the prep work on the first platoon, this turned up from the postman:

Nice, a week earlier than expected.  I suggest you have a look at the Flames of War page for an idea what's in the pack.  As I plan to use a Toccoa Sergeant in each platoon, I cracked open the pack and picked out my favourite guy from Band of Brothers, Denver "Bull" Randleman, ably portrayed by Michael Cudlitz.  How good a sculptor do you need to be to get a likeness in 15mm?

I decided to try and save a bit of time by basing all the figures before priming them.  Normally I like to glue them to wooden sticks in order to paint figures individually and then carefully base them afterwards.  It's a fairly laborious process, but it appeals to the obsessive-compulsive in me to get each figure painted properly.  However, with only four figures per base, that shouldn't be as much of an issue.  And, to be honest, I could do with worrying less about painting each individual detail, than actually finishing units.

Using the snow basing tutorial in the Nuts book should also shave off valuable hours texturing and flocking all the bases, so I'm anticipating fairly rapid progress (at least, rapid for me...)

Battlefront Dunkirk House

Hot on the heels of my Bastogne Church post comes the latest of Battlefront's Normandy range, The Dunkirk house.  Much earlier than expected as it's not in the stores for at least another week.

This is the fourth house in the range and the first since the pause in the releases due, apparently, to the massive uptake of subscription offers.  It was probably a bit of an extravagance getting the sub deal, considering they've only been used on the table once, but I'm really happy with the quality of releases.

I'd say the Dunkirk house is the best quality of the four releases so far, there aren't any dubious colours there and the painting is both neat and effective.  Although, don't take this as a guarantee of universal quality, there are some notable bloggers who have had a fair few issues with the range.  Oddly, the house I've been sent isn't the same as that on the FoW homepage even though it is correct name.  I assume it's a typo on the site rather than the wrong product

At some point in the near future, I plan to spend a day or two pimping the houses out a bit. I've some ideas for ivy on the walls or window boxes etc, along with evening out the paint jobs on a couple houses.

Needless to say, I'll have to get a proper Flames of War game in with these.  My new Fallschirmjager is slowly goosestepping towards completion (man, German camo takes an age to paint,) but I'm quite tempted by a US force.  I would have thought that with the Band of Brothers/Nuts book that at least someone around here would have done the Easy Company army, no one has so far, so I might have to take up the challenge.  Although. . . that would be five new projects in the space of three months.  We'll see what Santa brings!

Battlefront Bastogne Church - Tiny Nerdgasm!

Although it's apparently been there for a few weeks, I've just seen that Battlefront have their Bastogne Church up in their online store.  It's been heavily featured in the last couple Wargames Illustrated issues and, presumably, in Nuts as well.

Got to say that it looks absolutely lush.  Price is a little on the high side, but I have the same thoughts on this as I do on their house deal; namely that I wouldn't buy it bare and paint it myself, but am happy to pay a little extra to get it pre-painted (even if it needs a little work out of the box.)  Who am I kidding, I'm certainly going to buy this.

Flames of War has taken a little bit of a back set lately, too much "new shiny!" syndrome around here, but FoW is a slow burner, I always drift back to it.  

I bought a house today.

OK, sorry, that's a corny old post title.  The first of Battlefront's french village range arrived today; the Calais House.  On impulse I opted for the subscription deal for all twelve(?) buildings, plus some extras.  I've no idea of the release schedule or what building is when, but as BF are billing each house separately, it isn't a big initial outlay.

To be honest, I've not bought this for immediate use, but with an eye for the future.  Not only are my Fallschirmjager sitting accusatively on the painting desk, but I really struggle to set up a 6 x 4 table in our house.  However, we are trying to sell up and move somewhere bigger (and if the economy would like to pick up, that would be a big help.)  The Mrs is a big of a obsessive lister and on her prospective house checklist (big kitchen, reasonable garden etc) she has put "Scott's space or Nerd room" in the definate column.  So I'm starting to look forward to the time when I'll have a dedicated space for gaming and painting (and, you know, raising a family etc.)

Onto the Calais House though.  The house comes in three separate resin pieces and each floor easily holds two medium Flames of War bases.  The paint job is pretty basic and quite rough in places.  Like most of the Battlefield in a Box range, this will benefit greatly from a little extra work.  I've heard that the painting standard varies quite wildly so be prepared for a little work if you go for one of these.

Despite this, I'd say that this is still well worth the slightly high price for two reasons.  Firstly, I'm quite happy to pay a little extra couple pounds to have someone else fo the guts of the painting.  Secondly, and probably more importantly, it will take a big effort to force me to buy a lot of unpainted resin and get it on the table (hell, haven't got my army done yet,)  so buying these simultaniously prods me to get some painting done and should make gaming more enjoyable in the future.

An Inspirational Shot in the Arm

  

This morning I picked up the latest issues of both Wargames Illustrated and Wargames Soldiers & Strategy.  I was surprised by how much I enjoyed both issues - the last few issues of WI didn't do much for me and the last WS&S was garbage.

Instead, this issue of WS&S had plenty on offer; an interesting theme of Colonial warfare including a Saga variant, a Dux Bellorum dark age rules Q&A and the usual entertaining editorials.

Of particular interest was the Norman scenario article (I automatically associate Normans with the Conguest) and a showcase of 15mm WW2 rules manufacturers.

Speaking of World War Two, Wargame Illustrated devotes a fair chunck of space to the new Flames of War book, Devils Charge.  Fortunately, it looks really impressive.  I mentioned earlier the great studio paint job on the German tanks; WI has not only the Konigstiger, but Panthers too.  Both, along with the new American gear, are showcased in a huge battle report that didn't sound too scripted.  Great work.

And staying with World War Two, the designers notes for the Warlord/Osprey rulest Bolt Action are really engaging.  Bolt Action reads like a fairly predictable game with the odd flourish thrown in - the random activation mechanic sounds interesting, it could be a blast or be absolute pants.  I've begun painting my Bolt action Germans in preparation for the release.  That's still two months away, surely I can finish a platoon of figures in that time?

Other than that, there are two hobby articles, one on painting skin and faces and the other on photographing miniatures, both areas where I struggle just now.

What really got interested though was the amount on new releases announced.  Victrix are apparantly releasing plastic Republican Romans (can I get a woooh at the back!)  Quality, the Punic Wars is THE period in history that gets me going - my first wargaming army was an "eclectic" mix of plastic and metal figures that vaguely resembled Romanan and Carthaginian armies.  Nowadays, with so many different ranges of 28mm figures, it would be much easier (and cheaper) to build up a legion or two.  Maybe I should get some Warlord Macedonians painted now, so I've an enemy of Rome ready to go.  And now I think about it, I've been looking for an excuse to buy that metal Phyrrus figure someone released.

If that wasn't enough, Conquest Games have announced a date for their plastic Norman infantry set.  Suddenly a six point Saga force becomes readily affordable.  Lastly, one of the magazines (I didn't notice which) has the greens for Warlord Games plastic WW2 Soviets! Well, those Germans will need someone to fight, won't they.

I remember thinking this last year, but this really is a golden age for wargaming; plenty of new and expanding companies in the historical range; Privateer Press and Mantic muscling in on GW, GW responding with bigger and crazier kits, new RPGs on the way from FFG and Privateer Press, the appearance of Kickstarter etc.  I could go on.  This kind of inspires me to get some projects finished, lest I miss out on any of the goodness.

Fallschirmjager + Konigstiger = Win

Just a quick follow up to this mornings Fallschirmjager WIP post.  Battlefront have put up another preview for Devils Charge, their Battle of the Bulge supplement, here.  And it includes King Tigers with Fallschirmjager tank riders!  Quality.  I remember reading years ago that there was an FJ drop during the Bulge, so hopefully the Germans will at least get some FJ support, if not a full list.

None of the current FJ lists let you use either Tiger tanks, but a tank list with FJ support? Well that's tempting!  What's more, the German armour looks like it's all in that lovely hard-edged camouflage scheme (Surprise?) Great for those of us who don't have an airbrush. Looks like yet another purchase, even if its just one for for the hell of it.

Fallschirmjager - Flames of War WIP

After several months of prevarication, I've finally managed to get some paint onto my 15mm Fallschirmjager. A sold my original Fallschirmjager last year, I was never happy with the paint job I'd done, and have had the models lying around since then. Having looked around for some inspiration and worked on a couple test figures, I think I've settled on how I want the force to look.

I'm planning to get a small force painted (for me) relatively quickly; two understrength platoons, hq & weapons, mortars and some anti-tank guns. So these figures are for the first six infantry bases. Frustratingly, I've discovered that all the PaK 40 trailer components are quite badly miscast, so I'll have to get replacements from Battlefront.

  

For the last few 15mm projects, I've been undercoating in white rather than black. Although it takes more coats to get a good finish in some colours, it is much easier to get the right contrast between your colours than working over black.

Although I won't get close to their high standards, have a look at what I'm aiming at, John Boultwood here and Ruben Torregrosa here.

British Heavy Mortar Platoon

Feeling a bit more human today, so I managed to finish basing the mortar platoon.  I started these as a distraction and found them enjoyable enough to paint.

I tried a different way of creating a bush/hedge, but, to be honest, it looks exactly like my previous efforts.  I am quite happy with how the flock looks though - one tip I read somewhere was using multiple layers of flock/pva to get a thicker coverage and the colour mix you want.  Up next. . . Hoplites! ! !

P.S.  Tried to put all the images into one big image, but I don't think it opens out to the right size.  Anyone have any suggestions?  Like with the washing machine, I have an innate inability to use Photoshop.

An excuse, a couple photos and a good book!

We had a rare sunny day last week, so my immune system responded by going on holiday and leaving me laid up all week.  So instead of being productive, I've spent the last week lying around on the couch and generally being pathetic!

I managed to get started basing the British Heavy Mortar platoon I've been working on.  They have had the first layers of flock and some tufts added and next I'm going to try a new way of making hedges.  These were quite fun to paint up, I've tried a new way of applying the main colours using my wet palette and this certainly sped up the whole process.  I'm still concerned that overall the figures will be too dark, or at least lack contrast, when compared to the base.  Once they're finished, I'll see how they look under proper lighting.

Things haven't been all bad though, not least by getting to spend the entire weekend watching sport on the box!  I also treated myself to Adrian Goldsworthy's In the Name of Rome.  Goldsworthy is one of my favorite authors, siting somewhere between being a narrative historian and a "proper" academic.  Each chapter looks at a particular general (Caesar gets two, greedy bugger) and discusses two or three of their most notable battles or campaigns.  It's a wonderfully old fashioned history book, in that Goldsworthy doesn't bother getting bogged down in economic or political themes, but focus on each man, their military skill and the decisions they make.

In the Name of Rome is also a wonderfully "male" book.  Each chapter is self-contained, can be read in around an hour and has plenty of anecdote and amusing little notes, for instance, I never knew that Caligula means "Little boots."  None of the figures in the book are new to me, as I've read a fair bit of Roman history, but that doesn't detract from enjoying the little journeys the author takes you on - no matter how often you've heard it, I love reading about Pompey mincing around the Mediterranean.

15mm German Pioneer Platoon

   

I finally got round to finishing the German Pioneer Platoon I've been working on.  They're all Battlefront miniatures, painted to my "B" standard i.e. they look fine on the table, but don't bear too much scrutiny close up.

  

My aim with these guys was to worry less about each individual detail and focus more on the contrast on and between each figure.  I think it has worked out well enough.

   

I also used some new basing materials, namely the Gale Force 9 blend range and some Army Painter tufts.  Although the balance isn't quite right (the bases are a bit too green) I'm still fairly happy with them.

   

I've started work on another SS Platoon and a British Mortar platoon, I want to try painting skin differently and practise camouflage at 15mm.  If these both work out I'll make a concerted start on my Fallschirmjager force.

Flames of War Version 3 Rulebook

   

My hardback copy of the new Flames of War rulebook arrived yesterday.  It's comes in at a hefty weight and in three parts.

No surprises with the main rulebook as it's identical in content, barring a brief history of the war and some maps, to the small A5 paperback edition.  The page numbers also match up perfectly - not a big deal now, but as more and more rules questions are answered, this will prove very handy.  Another nice touch is that each page has the topic covered printed along the outer edge, helpful while flicking through the book.  It's of the same high quality to other recent hardback rulebooks (Grey Wolf, Red Bear etc) so I've no complaints there.  It does smell a bit weird though. . .

  

The Forces supplement looks like it's a straight 100 page update of Fortress Europe. Thirteen army lists ported over from the old supplement with updated points costs.  My knowledge of the Flames of War isn't encyclopaedic enough to spot all the changes, but there's nothing obviously amiss here.

   

Having said that, all non-German lists are rated Confident Trained, whereas I thought there was more variation in FE.  There are no surprises in the choice of army lists (no Commandos, Fallschirmjager or Guards lists for instance,) but there are small arsenals for each nation with updated mortar and breakthrough gun profiles for the British and Americans.

   

The Hobby pamphlet is a scant 40 pages covering all the usual hobby stuff, choosing an army, painting, playing a game, FoW website etc.  It is nicely laid out and very well written, but there's absolutely nothing here for an existing player or experienced wargamer. Actually, for this reason, I think it was a great idea to include this separably from the main rules.

   

I really like the aesthetic Battlefront have chosen for the new edition, the red and stone scheme is much more atmospheric than the old scheme. Although there is a lot of recycled content, there is some loverly new artwork here and the hobby section in particular features some great photos. The design and layout of the new rules is also a great improvement over the previous book, the text is easy to read and the overall layout is much more logical than the last edition.  Both Battlefront and the community have talked about the number of  diagrams and summary/checklists used in the rules, but it's worth repeating here that they greatly improve the process of understanding and using the rules.

   

Overall, a nice package at a nice price.  I'm not sure how much use I'll get from the two supplements, but both are well done and I'm happy they're there (remember there were no army lists included in the V2 rules.)  And although I have an A5 rulebook, I much prefer having the hardback to actually study the rules properly, but that might simply be due to a combination of age and eyesight!

January, WIP

Just over halfway through the month, so how am I getting on with my resolutions.  Well, not bad to be honest.  Frustratingly, I've not been able to finish off any individual projects so far, but plenty of progress has been made.

In order of "almost completedness:" 

• Dystopian Wars Empire of the Blazing Sun Dreadnought and Destroyers (yes, before anyone asks, this is the same ship from October 29th last year)
• Vexillia 15mm Landsknecht Arquebusiers and Crossbowmen
• Battlefront 15mm German Pioneers
• Bolt Action 28mm SS

The biggest problem I'm having is deciding when a miniature is finished.  For instance, those Landsknechts are covered in little details (powder cases, drinking horns, sidearms) and I can't seem to say "That's enough detail, he looks fine, get on and base them!"  Add in the fact their uniforms are painted in a variety of colours, they are taking much longer than planned.

Away from the painting table, a pleasant surprise arrived in the post this morning - a Covenant of Antarctica fleet box set from Spartan Games!!! I won this prize from Tabletop Fix, so a big thanks to both them and Spartan Games.

We've had another Black Crusade session (our third,) this time with some new characters (Chaos Space Marines) and a heavy combat mission.  Still loving the rules, I'll try and get a write up of this session up in the next few days.  The first supplement is due for release shortly, hopefully once it's out, FFG will get on and product some player and GM books for this great game.

Lastly, for this update, my Infinity eBay purchases look like they've gone missing.  There shouldn't be any problem getting the cash back, but it's still a hassle.  Particularly considering I paid a lot less than the RRP, it'll cost more to get the same collection of figures.