Monday, November 7, 2016

Sarissa Precision Ltd: New Side-wheel Paddle Wheel Steamer

Sarissa just released this cool looking kit you could add to you ACW or African Pulp fiction game. 


Another boat, this time a side wheel Paddle Steamer to partner the rear wheel kit already available.
 

Saturday, November 5, 2016

Kickstarter: Tabletop Hex Terrain Toolkit

I came across this very interesting Kickstarter for making your own modular hex terrain. I have for a long time been looking at a multitude of different options and always made compromises. I think this might just scratch all my itches for modularity and realism all in one little tool.


Thursday, November 3, 2016

Warlord Games: Free PDF Painting Guides

Been a bit since I've posted the move to the midwest has put a temporary damper on my hobby which I hope to improve over the next few months.

But somehow I missed this from Warlord Games until today.

FOCUS: BOLT ACTION PAINTING GUIDES – FREE!

If you’re new to miniature wargaming, and – more specifically – the world of historical wargaming, the prospect of sitting down and adding a little colour to your newly acquired troops can be a daunting one…
“What colour Grey should I paint German jackets?” – we hear you cry… Well, never fear – Warlord are on hand to walk you through the process, step by easy-to-follow step…. here’s a quick example, taken from our American Painting Guide;
us-painting-guide-page


Step-by-step, we recommend which paints to use, with hints and tips built upon decades of painting experience and know-how…
To date, we’ve launched eight painting guides – covering the main Bolt Action protagonists – Britain, Germany, USA, the Soviet Union, Italy and France – offering guides on how to paint both standard infantrymen and tanks. Including tips on undercoating, base coats, washes, highlighting and basing, these guides are ideal for beginners and experienced painters alike – and they are now FREE to download!

GERMAN ARMY PAINTING GUIDE

gm-painting-guide

The German Army painting guide focuses on the mid war period basic infantryman of the German Heer (Army) and one of the most ubiquitous German tanks of the war – the Panzer IV.

AMERICAN ARMY PAINTING GUIDE

am-painting-guide
The US Army painting guide presents a step-by-step guided to painting a GI (general infantryman) and easily the most ubiquitous American tank of the war – the M4 Sherman.

SOVIET ARMY PAINTING GUIDE

sv-painting-guide
he Soviet Army painting guide covers painting the basic rifleman of the Soviet Red Army and perhaps one of the most innovative tanks of the war – the T-34.

BRITISH ARMY PAINTING GUIDE

br-painting-guide
The British Army painting guide takes you through painting an infantryman of the British Army, and the Cromwell Cruiser-class tank.

JAPANESE ARMY PAINTING GUIDE

rp_jp-painting-guide.jpg
he Japanese Army painting guide takes you through painting an infantryman of the Japanese Army, and arguably their best tank the ShinHoTo Chi-Ha.

ITALIAN ARMY PAINTING GUIDE

it-painting-guide_1024x1024
The Italian Army painting guide takes you through painting an infantryman of the Italian Army, and the workhorse that was their Semovente 75/18 self-propelled gun tank.

FRENCH ARMY PAINTING GUIDE

fr-painting-guide_1024x1024
The French Army painting guide takes you through painting an infantryman of the French Army, and the stoic Somua S35 tank.

BLITZKRIEG GERMANS PAINTING GuIDE

blitzkrieg-germans-painting-guide
A perfect guide to starting your early war period German army with clear & detailed step-by-step descriptions and full colour photographs. Ideal for anyone new to painting or experienced painters looking for an extra piece of inspiration.
This guide takes you through painting your typical German Heer (army) infantryman, and a vehicle with one of the most iconic silhouettes of the war – the SdKfz251/1 Ausf C ‘Hanomag’.

VIEW BLITZKRIEG PAINTING GUIDE IN STORE

Article written by Richard Dando

Friday, July 29, 2016

Historicon 2016 Part 2 Painting Horses Chestnut, HMGS HobbyU Class

One of the class I most look forward to was a how to on paint horses. I started picking up some 28mm American Civil War to play Sharp Practice by Too Fat Lardies. Hope that this will help someone else looking to paint their cavalry. I will post some pictures as I get painting my own cavalry.







Wednesday, July 27, 2016

This Is Not A Test: Land Snapper

A few months ago one of my friends introduced me to a new post-nuclear apocalypse skirmish game called This is Not a Test (TNT). Written by Joseph McGuire and published by World's End Publishing, TNT is becoming and interest to me as of late.

TNT-FrontCover

So one of the creatures in the game is the Land Snapper, an irradiated enormous mutated Snapping Turtle. I choose the Privater Press Iron Back Spitter as a model to represent the model.  Here are some Work In Progress and final finish pictures







Friday, July 22, 2016

Historicon 2016 Part 1 28mm Face & Eyes HMGS HobbyU Class


Thursday of Historicon was a fast day since we live in Northern VA, so the run down to Fredricksburg was quick. Took a couple of classes with the Hobby University gang. 

Tanya Brewers's  Painting 28mm Faces & Eyes was outstanding. I have wanted to improve my painting of faces on my minis to try and take them up a notch. Until this class and the hands-on nature, I have no been able to get satisfactory results. Reaper Miniatures donated a metal spure of heads for the class to practice on.


This is one of the best faces I have done so I am pleased just need to transfer this to my 28mm. Not sure if I can do this for an entire army put for my center piece units oh yeah.

Below is a copy of her handouts and the eye painting practice sheet. The eye painting practice sheet is great for getting warmed up the bottom is set of eye outlines is and average 28mm sized eyes.



 
 
















If anyone wants a pdf copy just leave me a note with your email and I can forward these to you. 



Wargames Soldiers & Strategy Magazine: The Great Wargaming Survey 2016

If you haven't had a chance yet take a 10 minutes to fill out this survey by WSS magazine on the state of the hobby. It helps all of us out in the long run by having your opinion heard. 

The Great Wargaming Survey 2016 is here!

The 2016 edition of the Great Wargaming Survey is here! If you can spare a few minutes to fill it out, you’ll have our gratitude, you’ll get a EUR 5 gift certificate, you’ll have a chance at winning some awesome prizes and we’ll all learn more about this great hobby of ours. 
Go here to take the survey.

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Company B: US-AFV M4A3 Sgt Oddball's Sherman

Came across this new release from Company B. Going to have to pick this up when I finally get back to working on my US forces.



US-AFV M4A3 Sgt Oddball's Sherman

US-AFV M4A3 Sgt Oddball's Sherman

  • US-AFV M4A3 Sgt Oddball's Sherman
  • US-AFV M4A3 Sgt Oddball's Sherman
  • US-AFV M4A3 Sgt Oddball's Sherman
US-AFV M4A3 Sgt Oddball's Sherman

1:56 model of the Sherman Commanded by Sgt Oddball from the film Kelly's Hero's. 
Set Includes:
• Full M4A3 model kit
• Unique Stowage
• Turret MG's .30al and .50cal
• Sgt. Oddball
• Custom Decal Set

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Studio Tomahawk: Congo Teaser and Details


CONGO - Teaser

hursday, July 14, 2016

CONGO - Adventures in the heart of Africa / Adventures in the heart of Africa




With the imminent release of our new game, it seemed that the time had come to paint a quick picture of Congo.

With the upcoming release of our new game, it seemed that the time had come to draw a quick picture of Congo.

Congo is a miniature game that offers you to follow the footsteps of great explorers like Stanley & Livingstone and head out to the heart of Black Africa, deep basin of the mighty Congo River, which gave its name to our game .
This new album is primarily an adventure game, for the use of intrepid players who have not cold eyes and ready to risk everything in a desperate quest for fame, wealth and knowledge.

The period covered by Congo is fascinating. Well before the massive arrival of westerners, the pioneers of the discovery of the African subcontinent were explorers, scientists or Arab merchants and traders. At the head of men of columns, they disappeared into the jungle or roamed the paths of the savannah, with various more or less worthy objectives. And throughout their journeys, their path crossed that of some indigenous tribes who have never seen white or oriental and their path took them through the realms of major African powers like the Azande.

In an era where a single click allows us to contemplate vast exotic landscapes or communicate with friends at several thousand kilometers, it is not easy to imagine the difficulties faced these explorers. Climate, environment, flora, fauna and local populations were so many obstacles and could transform the expedition fiasco. He had a good dose of courage, recklessness or greed to sink into the Congo Basin.

Congo is a miniature game that offers you to follow the footsteps of great explorers like Stanley and Livingstone and head out to the heart of Dark Africa, deep into the Bassin of the great Congo River, which gave its name to our game .
This new venture is primarily an adventure game, aimed at intrepid players, willing to risk everything in a desperate quest for fame, wealth and knowledge.

The period covered by Congo is fascinating. Well before the massive arrival of europeans, adventurers pioneered the exploration of the African subcontinent. They were explorers, scientists or Arab merchants and traders. At the head of columns of many men (most of them natives), they went into the jungle or followed the tracks of the savannah, with various objectives (some of them being less than moral). And throughout their journeys, their journey brought them into the lands of many indigenous tribes who have never seen white people and their path took them through the kingdoms of major African powers like the Azande.

Today,  a mouse click allows us to contemplate vast exotic landscapes or communicate with remote friends living thousands of kilometers away, and it is hard to imagine the difficulties these explorers faced. The climate, environment, fauna, flora and local population were so many pitfalls that could transform the expedition into a terrible and deadly fiasco. And you really needed a good dose of courage, recklessness or greed to sink in the Congo Basin.



But our game is not just to move in the savannah in sweltering heat or painfully progress in the moist jungle infested with mosquitoes. For Congo also draws inspiration from contemporary accounts that mingled happily fantasies, embellishment and novelization of the stories of explorers like the penny dreadfuls that, rather than informed, were intended to distract the reader. Pulp novels before time!

Thus, Congo invites you to experience adventures, rather than play scenarios. These adventures are presented as newspaper articles on large format and are inserted in the rule book under the title " The Bulletin of the Geographical Society ."

But our game will not only about progressing in the savannah under sweltering heat or painfully advance in the moist jungle infested with mosquitoes. Congo also draws its inspiration from the contemporary accounts that mingled happily fantasies, embellishment and novelization of the stories of explorers (like the famous penny dreadfuls did with folklore). More than being informative, these papers were intended to distract the reader, kind of pulp novels of their time!

Thus, Congo invites you to experience adventures, rather than play scenarios. The adventures are the subject of separate sheets inserted in the book, and presented as a fictional articles published by « Le Bulletin de la Société Géographique » (ed. note : the Bulletin of the Geographical Society!).





Each adventure has a unique situation, which offers its share of adventures and tensions. Due to their nature, they have a large "replayability" and he will certainly be several parties prior to foresee all possible approaches and strategies for each adventure.

During these adventures, you will lead a column after a four crops proposed by the game: Shipments of whites, the Sultanate of Zanzibar, the tribes of Forestry and Kingdoms Warriors. Each culture has its own troops, colorful characters and special rules. Each column is generally composed of 20 to 30 figurines,

Adventures require only reduced playing surface (120 cm by 90 cm) to be played. The playing surface will accommodate several sets of elements that will enhance your gaming table without requiring a disproportionate investment due to the reduced size of the playing surface while allowing you to have a satisfactory setting for parties.

Congo is in the form of a book in hardback, 108 pages in color. Inserted in the book, you will find 8 adventures and a dangerous ground cardboard sheet. In addition, your dealer will give you a bag containing a pack of cards, a board precut studs and strips required to play. It will do you more than you get different kinds of dice (D6, D8 and D10), the figurines (available as columns of boxes for each crop) and some set pieces to get you fully in the adventure!

Each Adventure presents a unique situation, which will provide its share of incidents and tensions. Due to their nature, they have a great replayability, and you will certainly some game before getting a grasp on all possible approaches and strategies for each adventure.

During these Adventures, you will lead a column taken from on of the 4 cultures presented in the game: White Men Expedition, the Sultanate of Zanzibar, the Forest Tribes and the African Kingdoms. Each culture has its own troops, characters and special rules.

A column is generally made of 20-30 miniatures, and adventures only require a small gaming surface (120cm x 90cm) to be played. Thus, if the scenery items are an essential part of the fun of the game, the table surface will not require a disproportionate investment to provide a satisfactory framework for your games.

Congo takes the shape of a book (hardcover) 108 pages, full color. Inserted in the book you will find 8 Adventures and a dangerous terrain cardboard sheet. In addition to the book, your retailer will hand you a bag containing the deck of cards needed to play, and a punchboard with the tokens needed for the game and that also includes the measuring sticks.  Not included in the game, you will need some dice (D6, D8 and D10) miniatures (available as Column boxes for each culture) and some scenery to start your adventure!





We will return very quickly to you to briefly explained the Congo game mechanics, and hope that our invitation to adventure will seduce you!

We will soon return to the game mechanics, and continue to introduce Congo, hoping that this invitation to adventure was interesting!