Hobby Updates

Has a week gone by already?

First up this week, after the picture of a smashed Dark Angel base, is the creature that is now finished.

I picked up a Carnifex when Hobby Craft were having a clear out and had 33% off Games Workshop stuff; and after finishing most of my unpainted models, I fancied a change.
Whether this will lead to any other Tyranids, I don't know, but this monster wasn't the only thing I picked up cheap that day!

 



Since finishing the Carnifex, I have been working on some Flames of War American tanks for Dave

 



Lordybloke played his first game in our new Dead Mans Hand campaign, and decided it was as good a time as any to do some more painting on his Banditos. With three down six half done and plenty more undercoated, this is going to be one big Mexican gang

 

 

 

Zed continues on his Warrior of Chaos painting with more warriors ready for dipping. Hopefully we'll have a completed unit(s) for you next week.

 

 

Cortez is another Lonewolf who has his fingers in many pies. As well as building WW2 models for Zed, he is also painting his Space Wolves and 15mm British for Battlegroup.

Wednesday Photos

Often on a Wednesday games night, you can hear the sentence 'we really should have taken some pictures'. Well this time I did take some pictures, but not enough!

So now you may hear the call of, 'we really should have taken more photos'

Battlegroup Kursk - After Action Report

The second half of the game was played the following week but I have been too busy or distracted to post the remainder of the report - scant that it is - I have it here now.

The Panzer Ace advances to get a better shot at the T34 he has been duelling with.  The supply truck unpins ready to resupply as required.  At this point the German commander is nearly Winchester rounds

Sd Kfz 251/1 D and C - Finished

After several games of Battlegroup Kursk I came to realise that trucks are dangerous to be in and whilst a halftrack isn't going to be amazing protection it is about twice as good

I have both C and D variants because that is what I had built

Battlegroup Kursk Campaign Game First Charge at Hill 252.2

After much procrastination Lordy and I finally got round to starting the campaign in the BGK book.  We are playing the historical scenarios with the forces provided.  The aim was to play fully painted but in the end Lordy had to borrow some T34’s that were just built.  The Germans were fully painted.  Smug

We set up an 8x6 table and played over two weeks but even so we failed to reach the break point of either army and were unable to leave the table set up for a third week.  We had a great game although turn 2 for the Germans was awful but they were given a reprieve when the Soviet turn 3 was nearly as bad.  The final turn for the Germans saw 6 x T34's destroyed another pinned along with the soviet Senior commander.  I have put some captions on the photographs below. 

 

The Germans are deployed around the barn near the T junction – objective 1 with a platoon and 2 Pak40’s dug in.  The other platoon and Pak40 are deployed in the farm in the centre objective 2.  Hill 252.2, objective 3, is outside the German deployment zone but Tiger 313 is at the base ready to advance.  The remaining objective 4 is held by a Panzer IV G platoon and Tiger 311.  The Battlegroup commander and another platoon hold the centre ready to respond to the soviet attack.  5 T34’s are central ready to advance on the farm.

Battlegroup Kursk Battle Report

 

Neil and I played our second game of BGK last night.  We had previously played the clash of reconnaissance scenario which allocates units for each side.  This time we opted to try 500 points and a scenario. 

I believe both Neil and I have an idea of what we might like to take in our forces and it was only once we started list construction the subtle limits and restrictions that push you towards a combined arms list were fully realised.  In a good way.

 

In my Battlegroup

Tiger 313 + Panzer Ace
Panzer IV G Sqn (3)
Panzergrenadier Squad 3 MG teams, 3 Rifle teams, 1 HQ team (trucks but i forgot to use them)
12cm Heavy Mortar (2) +1 truck
Supply Column (2 trucks)
Kubelwagen Ambulance
Sd Kfz 7 with 20mm AA cannon
Sniper – Lucky Johan
Battle Rating 35

 

Neil’s Battlegroup

Forward HQ
NKVD Officer + jeep
KV1
T34-43 Platoon (3)
T34-43 Tank
Zis 3 Battery (2 guns)
45 mm AT Battery (3 guns)
BA 10 armoured Car
Recce squad (Inf)
Supply column Steptoski & Sons (3 horse drawn cart)
Rifle Platoon, 3 squads, HQ, AT Rifle and HMG attached
Sniper & Spotter
Battle Rating 34 + d6 (NKVD) = 36

SS Panzergrenadiers - Battlegroup Kursk

 

I have finished my first platoon for Battlegroup Kursk at the same time I have attempted to paint SS camouflage.  I employed several different methods and none were better or worse to do.  They have come out ok but whether it is worth the effort for 15mm I am still undecided.  Up close they look quite nice but at arms length they look like anything else at this scale.  I will listen to comments from the chaps and decide what to do with the next unit.

It is also the first time I have painted Plastic Soldier Company 15mm figures.  I like the true scale over the more usual heroic scale of Battlefront, Peter Pig etc but they are more challenging to paint.  I have plenty of figures left so will continue with them, although from the box i do not have anymore of the prone LMG teams. I like them to be deployed in any scale which is why an MMG is standing in for the moment.

It's safe to say that this is the last hobby item I will have finished this year.  Not the last item to be started though :o).  Ah well back to work on Wednesday

Happy New Year.

Battlegroup Kursk Progress

Whilst it has been a very busy Christmas holiday so far, I have managed to finish off a SdKfz 251 Recce troop and call signs 412 and 414 of my Panzer IV platoon.

I will leave the vehicles for the moment and do some work on the infantry platoon.  I am going to have a dabble at some SS camouflage patterns.  At 15mm it will have to be an approximation but hopefully it will be good enough

Hey, You, Get Offa my Kursk...

Firstly, all hail!!
The camera charger has been found. It somehow got buried under a pile of Christmas presents......
Yes, really.

Anyway
Following the Zedmeisters's post I thought I'd follow up with my own Battlegroup progress with some badly shot pics!

Here's the whole recce company awaiting paint etc. This includes weapon/support teams that have been based for FOW that will translate into BGK just fine (with the odd "wound" counter")

 And then a progress pic.
One squad done (a second is close behind) and the AT gun.
I think I've over weathered my BA10.....

Battlegroup Kursk - Clash of Reconnaissance

Getting ready for our first, delayed, game with Lordy so rather than paint everything as a batch as intended that I would concentrate on finishing the vehicles I will need for the mission Clash of reconnaissance.

I still need to do a tiny bit of correction and a coat of varnish but these are essentially done

Preparing for Battlegroup Kursk

Myself, Dave and Lordy have the new Battlegroup Kursk (BGK) book and a wonderful rule set it appears to be.  I say appears because we have not yet played a game.  Lordy and I were set for Clash of Reconnaissance last Wednesday but a family priority delayed our opening game.  Next week hopefully.  It has allowed us a little more time to work on our Battlegroups.  Why the delay when rules came out in October and so many people across the globe had to wait a number of weeks to get their copy?  We decided that with a significant commitment in 15mm Flames of War (FoW) figures and generous amount of in scale scenery and terrain that it made economic sense to reuse these figures rather than go to 20mm; tempting as it was.

However, it wasn't as quick or as economical as expected.  A decision to use some spare 15mm figures and to base them, more appropriately, for BGK was sensible.  We could have used wound dice or counters but my habit of 'clearing' the battlefield to keep it aesthetically pleasing has caused issues in the past.  Then a few extra tanks were needed; unfortunately our preparation coincided with a trip to the Warfare show at Reading and all the Plastic Soldier Company (PSC) deals mean I now have enough tanks for North Africa as well as the Eastern front and my painting queue has once again increased. 

Lordy finally realised that his ever so cheap Gamodls T70's weren't actually what he desired in a miniature tank and replaced them with newly released and ever so splendid PSC version and topped up his T34 strength.  I think he has plans to replace his KV 1's in a similar manner. 

I did manage to keep the spending at a more respectable level by purchasing Zvezda Sd Kfz 222's rather that go for more expensive versions.  The snap together kit needed a bit of glue and some swearing but for £2.50 vehicle it is worth it.

So where is the pay off, the punchline to this post?  There isn't one yet.  Just a picture of some progress I have made on my vehicles.  The camouflage is done, next will be the pin washes, the decals and then the weathering.  I am undecided if I should 'chip' at this scale.

Stay tuned.

I would just like to say for the record,  for a change it was not me that 'encouraged' someone into a new set of rules but Lordy himself.  Just sayin'.