Just when you thought it was safe to step outside and take a breath of fresh air...........Trench Crusade Sniper Priests

       In the dark and hazardous world of Trench Crusade there is the lurking threat of snipers. Not just your ordinary bloke with a scope and a steady trigger finger, divinely inspired priests that have given their lives (and eyesight) to taking our bad guys from extreme range and with extreme prejudice.

        Produced by Archon Studios in Poland for Factory Fortress Inc in California I got my copy through Michigan Toy Soldier in Royal Oak MI. Inside the box you will find one sprue and a set of bases. The minis are multi-part models that will assemble into two Sniper Priests. The models are superbly cast in a medium gray polystyrene that displays an immense amount of detail with a good selection of options as to weaponry. An idea just how detailed the models are can be gained from examining the twenty-three page assembly guide! Not to worry, if you have built a Lego set with their step-by-step instructions you will feel right at home.

 

 

evocative cover art gives a good idea for painting 

A little place in the country

       I just finished a commission piece from the Dungeon Artifacts collection. These are 3-D printed buildings (there is a bunch of other stuff too, their catalog is expansive) that are very well detailed and nicely characterful. They are easy to paint as the detail is crisp and deeply molded. I use a rattle-can primer and Americana water-based paint and get excellent results. A big plus is that these are FDM prints which means they are nearly as tough as a hockey puck and can survive a lot of rough handling.

 

Trying out a few things

 

 

I started painting this guy as a test of how well printed minis look

 

       I have heard a lot of complaints about how minis printed using the FDM  process turn out. Having just printed a batch of minis for The Housemartin I took the liberty of printing another to slap some paint on. I am using a stock Bambu A1 Mini with a .02mm tip and cheap filament from Micro Center. The mini was printed standing with the usual supports generated by the Bambu software. The mini was primed using a rattle-can of Krylon Matte White and painted using Americana paints from Hobby Lobby. I managed to snap off his staff while removing the supports but a spot of superglue set that to rights. My meager painting skills provided this look, no award winner but he will certainly be inspiring my Dark Ages troops. He could use some more highlights/shade and his gloves need a bit of refinement to be presentable. The mini come from the Cruciform Order set from Hollow Crown Miniatures.

Trench Crusade: Prussian Stosstruppen from Archon Studio

       Fresh off the press we have the latest iteration of Prussians to fight the forces of Evil. Prussian Stosstruppen, those brave warriors that charge into battle without a moments hesitation. This box was provided by the good folks at Michigan Toy Soldier who are currently carrying the full line of plastic and resin miniatures for these rules. This set is produced by Archon Studio out of Poland and is molded in a solid gray plastic with no trace of flash and only the faintest hint of a mold-line. The kit will assemble into five figures that can be equipped in a variety of ways. Assembly instructions (as well as free rules and mountains of lore) can be accessed via a QR code on the outside of the package, an idea that I wholly support. These will mix well, both in size and style, with the previously released Stosstruppen Warband.

 

the front of the box, they had me at the picklehaubs! 

More mucking about with 3D animation

        I spotted this over on the Louis the XIV blog where he commented on a picture-to-3D software. I was impressed with what he had on display so I gave Meshy a try and got this as a result!

 

a picture of a Swedish Dragoon from 1676 that I grabbed as a reference from a website, 

my apologies to the artist I cannot recall where I found it 

        This is an excellent bit of artwork and would make a nice model to 3D print so I gave it a go. I just uploaded the image to the software and I got this in under two minutes. It is a full 3D model that I can export to my Bambu Mini direct from the screen!

 

 

 https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/b8045b5bb1e1478ba648db89b8c39077

       I promptly started rummaging around through old files and found this magnificent looking lad that I turned into a 3D model (the best part is that the software is so powerful that I didn't need to edit out the background shrubberies!)

 

 https://www.meshy.ai/s/3zkCaA

 

here is a screenshot of the software in action, I loaded the piture using the window in the upper left, clicked om the  "Generate" button in the lower left and a minute later had a 3D model ready to send to my printer, this is going to be a lot of fun!

Trophies from Battlefields

        It is rare any more that I am in "acquisition mode". Having been in the hobby for over a half-century I just don't have much need to go hunting, that being said there are occasions where Life just throws you a slow one right down the center and you simply have to take a swing! I was presented with just such an occasion at Battlefields this last Saturday, a couple of opportunities that were just too good to let pass. Behold the booty I secured on the field of Battlefields!

 

as I was running my demo game of Midgard the Housemartin was perusing the Flea Market and spotted this assemblage, Turks, lots of them! and painted to boot! this bevy of 15mm beauties was offered at the princely sum of US$20 (the minis alone would cost thrice that to but as bare metal) I have been looking to add to my 15mm Turks so that they could play a more prominent role in my occasional Renaissance campaign, despite the need to re-base them I snagged these with unseemly haste
 

having finished my game and packing up my toys I took a spin around the Flea Market tables myself, I was delighted to find this little gem for only ten dollars, I have an interest in off the beaten track campaigns so this buttered both sides of my toast! the Manchurian Campaign between Japan and Russia AND the Second Sino-Japanese conflict with a digestif of the lopsided Russian riposte in 1945 to finish the volume

Battlefields 2026 21MARCH26

 

a game I ran a while back 

      One of the surest signs of Spring is the appearance on my calendar of the Battlefields Warming Convention. This year it will be hosted by the Pro-Or-Con guys on 21MAR26 at a new location. This is always a great convention with an impressive Flea Market and a friendly relaxed atmosphere. Sessions run from 9am-1pm, 2pm-6pm and 7pm-11pm and games run from skirmish-level actions to battalion sized games. Admission is a paltry $15.00, there is an on-site bar and a food truck will be in attendance with plenty of nearby restaurants. 

        You can find the full information and register on the Tabletop Events website. Better yet sign up to run a game. I will be running a Midgard game, I hope to see you there.

28mm Wargames Atlantic Operators

        When daring deeds need be done you call in your Special Forces Operators. In most cases these guys represent the end-product of incredibly intense and realist training, seasoned with years of experience and provided with the very best equipment money can imagine (in other cases you have military corporation LARPers or Third World despots that buy stuff that "looks cool" but lack the training and discipline). Either way Wargames Atlantic has given you the plastic soldiers to accomplish your mission. 

       As we have come to expect from Wargames Atlantic the minis are cleanly cast in medium gray plastic with no flash and only the barest hint of mold-lines. On each of the four sprues you will find five minis; four standing and one kneeling. These are accompanied by a large selection of weapons and a superabundance of heads. The weapons are clearly defined and easily recognizable, I'm sure a few favorites have been left out but there is a good working sample.

 

More monkeying around with video

       More playing with Picverse. I have no urge to paint right now so I waste time doing this.  

 

sometimes it works fairly well

 

 

and then, there are times when it's surprisingly good 

 

and then, other times when it doesn't want to follow instructions

28mm Wargames Atlantic Civilians & Survivors (2) Women

       We have the women who have been "lucky" enough to have survived the Fall of Civilization (via the cause of your choice; zombies, viruses, robot revolution, politics etc. etc.).  Armed to the teeth and wearing comfortable shoes these ladies are ready to tackle the toughest situations. There is none of the fantasy/scifi archetypes here; everyone is normally proportioned and decently dressed.The figures are normally and naturally proportioned and are of slighter build than the male survivors. The six figures are all standing and want heads and arms for completion. 

 

Taking a break from moving the library

 

 

       I found this silly video animation software and decided to give it a try animating my avatar. It will animate still photos or create pictures from text descriptions. It is a bit clunky and only provides a few seconds worth of video (unless you want to pay for the extended suite of products). I momentarily thought of using it for wargame battle reports but found it to be a bit tedious for my impatient temperament.

 

28mm Wargames Atlantic Civilians and Survivors (1) Men

        So the (Zombie, Plague, Economic Collapse, et al)  Apocalypse has come and gone and you are one of the "lucky" survivors. You have to head out into the Brave New World and do that whole survival thing. Well, Wargames Atlantic has just released a set of 24 male survivors so you can play out your mission before heading out into the madness. This set provides six different poses, all standing and moving with varying degrees of alacrity. The heads (as usual, lots of them) and arms are all cast as individual items to provide maximum flexibility. You can send your guys out bare-knuckled or armed with a good variety of modern assault rifles, and just about anything in between (I am certain this  set will be popular with converters such as I who will revel in the endless opportunities with all the spare arms and armaments). 

       On the technical side there are four sprues with the minis in them and three sprues of extra arms and firepower. All of these are molded in the medium gray plastic that is standard with Wargames Atlantic products without a trace of flash and only the slightest of mold-lines. These will also mix nicely with the other sets from Wargames Atlantic, so I can look forward to grafting arms and heads back and forth between the existing ranges. You can model anything from "peaceful protestors" to the street gangs of a Third-World favela.