Hey Look!! Another Rabbit-Hole to go down

        The guys at Bastion Gaming Center were all building forces in 28mm to play Napoleonics using  Black Powder rules. I already had piles of plastic that I had either bought to review or had acquired through trades. Happy to fuel the fire I let some boxes go at a discount to the guys that were assembling their armies. As I looked through the Hill of Guilt (the plastic one, the metal figures are stored in the Mountain of Shame) it occurred to me that I could build a Prussian force for the 1813 campaign only needing a unit of cavalry and a couple of cannon. Of course I fell for it!

Gaming Update 16OCT21 My Place

 The Housemartin has threatened to bring a bunch of his minis over and take over my gaming table this Saturday. The festivities will begin at 7pm on the 16th of October (I'm sure The Housemartin will be on time) so be there. The subject matter is to be a brush with skirmish gaming during the period of Napoleon.

Star Wars Armada at Bastion Gaming Center this Saturday 9SEP21

 

        This Saturday, September 9th at 1pm Bastion Gaming Center will be hosting a Star Wars Armada game. This game is open to the public and will be using a sizeable portion of the Center's large collection of of Armada models. If you would like to try your hand at overthrowing The Empire (or crushing the Rebellion for that matter) drop by and give it your best. All materials are provided and no fee is charged.

A Commitment Finally Honored

        Ages ago, in the Time Before Covid (TBC henceforth) Rod Cain, the genius behind Flintcon and an all-around great guy, asked me to be in charge of the Paint and Take table at Flintcon 2020. I happily agreed, and to provide some subject matter for the nascent artists to work with I busted out a box of Victrix Hoplites and assembled and primed them. To my chagrin the kids seemed far more interested in dragons and heroes than my dull old historical minis so I ended up bringing a good many of them back home. I promised myself that I would get them painted and put them in a project-box in the painting queue.

         Like good soldiers they stood there, patiently waiting to get their coat of paint, as I scratch-built tons of other things (including three 1/200th scale ships and an island with a starfort on it), painted hundreds of figures in 15mm and 28mm, assembled dozens of sailing ships and 1/72 scale aircraft. And yet they waited. Finally I could endure their accusing glare no longer and dusted off the box they had waited in for so very long and got to work. 

A Little Light Reading

 

time to hit the books, a fire in the fireplace and a good glass of bourbon 

           I had been saving up to purchase a rifle but Helion went and decided to offer 25% off any title in their comprehensive inventory so I had a sudden change of plan. I placed the order on the 28th of September and the package landed on my porch on October 2nd, to say the least I am amazed at the speedy service. This makes a big step toward filling in the gap in my book collection covering the 17th century rather well and touching into the early 18th in addition. The hardest part is trying to decide what to read first. Kudos to Helion for top-rate service and good prices!

Like a Phoenix rising from the ashes; Pro or Con 2021 a quick review

       What a pleasure it was to walk through the doors of the Elk's Lodge in Plymouth and see a host of familiar faces and rows of tables waiting to be adorned with toy soldiers! Conventions are back at last.  As was to be expected turnout was lower than in years past but better than one might expect. There were many games on offer and everyone was soon happily rolling dice and moving troops about.

 

Russian fighters on the prowl

       I presented my 1930s air combat rules Red Stars and Rising Suns with a scenario that had a Japanese attack against a road convoy being intercepted by a Russian fighter patrol. The players picked up on the rules right away and were soon busy shooting each other out of the sky.

Just A Reminder

       The venerable gaming event Pro Or Con returns from it's Covid-induced absence the first Saturday in October at the Elk's Lodge located at 31117 Plymouth Rd, Livonia, MI 48150, USA. A schedule of games can be found at Table Top Events. Take a look and sign up for something,, better yet sign up to run a game! 

         I will be showcasing my WW2 air combat rules so drop by and join the fun flying a nimble KI-27 or a rugged I-16.

         Don't miss out on the fun and take the opportunity to catch up with old friends. Also remember that the there will be the usual flea-market to either get rid of your spares or add to the pile.

1/72 Curtiss Hawk II in Nationalist Chinese colors

 

 

the old Revell kit from the 1960's but it goes together like a dream

 the overall olive drab is a striking, if sober, color scheme

       Taking a break for a second from the Russo-Japanese conflict at Khilkhin Gol I decided to build a model that I knew would be a breeze to build (having built one already). The molds to the Revell kit has been through a few hands over the years but they still make a lovely model that has near-perfect fit. I pirated the decals from the Encore Polikarpov I-15 that I had just finished and gained a quick addition to my Chinese Air Force.

1/72 scale Encore Polikarpov I-15bis

 

       In my endless quest for more aircraft with spats I managed to acquire two of these little gems. As usual with Encore kits you get a good-quality decal sheet with a nice choice of options and a faithful reproduction of some other manufacturer's kit; in this case an old ICM mold. The kit went together just fine until it was time for me to install the upper wing when a combination of my fat fingers and vague instructions made things a bit dodgy. But, in the end tube cement and careful adjustments brought things together in a satisfactory manner. This first one joined the Soviet Air Force (of course) I'm still trying to decide on Chinese or Spanish for the second one. Of course nothing is stopping me from rounding up another one and doing both!

Data Book for the KI-15 "Babs" for Red Stars and Rising Suns

 

       Fast and lightly built the KI-15 was used as a reconnaissance aircraft and light bomber by the Japanese Imperial Army and Navy. At first its speed made it almost untouchable but as the war progressed it was relegated to second-line duties.

Size Comparison between Wargames Atlantic Late Romans and Gripping Beast's models

 

 

ahh, yes.......the usual suspects, indeed

        One of the reasons that people go on about the metric system is that it so standardized.......in my experience there seems to be either a significant growth in the size of a millimeter or a problem with its application in the world of toy soldiers. Thus we are forced to use highly unscientific instruments such as the MK. I Eyeball when measuring our models. My work around is to simply stand them up side-by-each and take a look. It has worked well for me in the past so I present a photographic record of my efforts for perusal .

Wargames Atlantic 28mm Late Roman Infantry

 

 

the box front

 

       Wargames Atlantic has gone and done it again. I have already built and painted the Gripping Beast Late Roman Infantry (which look like they are from a slightly later period than this latest release) so I didn't really need these, but need is such a subjective concept. Let's just say I wanted them and leave it at that. Inside you will find twenty-four beautifully sculpted and detailed plastic multi-pose figures that provide a mind-boggling number of assembly options. Completely free of flash and nearly devoid of mold-lines these figures are cast in the softer gray plastic that is common these days, it takes the detail well and is easy to trim and modify (which means I will be spending simply ages making different poses out of these guys).