Painting the Trench Crusade Stosstruppen

 

 

you've met these guys before

 

 

       I reviewed these minis back in April when they were released but haven't gotten around to assembling/painting until now (which, by the way, is a rather fast turnaround time for my painting schedule which often runs to decades). Of course I struggled with assembly, not because of parts fit or lack of instructions mind you, just my endless fascination with the huge variety of poses that are possible. The vast selection of weapons was another distraction. But, in the end, they were assembled and marched off to the spray-booth for priming. I had decided early-on that they would be painted fairly closely to Great War Germans rather than the rather garish schemes posited on the box artwork. Muted bluish gray and natural leather were at the top of the list.

 

I'm still up in the air about blood-spatter on the bladed weapons 

 

they might need another pass with the black-wash 

 

next up will be the  Prussian Stosstruppen Warband

somewhere in The Vault I have some largish Balkankruze from WW1 tank kits, 

they would look great on the shields, dig I must
 

Upcoming Gaming Convention, Pro-Or-Con 2026, September 26th in Westland Michigan

 

        One of Metro Detroit's premiere wargaming events returns to kick off the Fall season on Saturday,  September 26th. Pro or Con has long been a staple of the local gaming environment here in southeast Michigan and has always been a fun show. Participation games are the main fare mostly comprised of historical miniatures events but by no means is it a purist event. One low entry fee gains you access to joining games, the retailers, the raffle and the extensive Flea Market. The mood is laid-back and friendly. Gaming runs from 9am to 11pm in three sessions.

      You can check out a list of games and pre-register through Table-Top Events 

       I will be running a (largish) Midgard game set in central Europe in the 1300s. 

Send in the Cavalry! 28mm U.S. Cavalry from Great Escape Games

 

       I got this set courtesy of Michigan Toy Soldier for this review.  Completing their Wild West collection Great Escape Games has released dismounted U.S. Cavalry. This set compliments the earlier Mounted U.S. Cavalry (and neatly includes the same selection of faces so that you can build mounted and dismounted versions of your characters). Compared to other manufacturers Great Escape doesn't release a lot of sets of miniatures, but when they do, it is something to pay attention to. Inside the box you will find ten multi-part miniatures with a good selection of heads  as well as a wide selection of weapons. Enough pistols and carbines are provided so that you can arm all of your miniatures alike if you choose. Of course there is a sword-armed hand, somebody has to be in charge and nothing says "I'm the Boss" like a sword. Included is a trumpet equipped arm as well as a loyal dog (does every military unit try to adopt a dog at one point or another?)

 

       The minis themselves are cast in the common medium gray plastic with no flash and nearly no mold-lines. The detailing is sharply defined and the proportions and posing is well done. The minis appear a bit thick around the ankles which may come from the style of boot worn at the time or the sculptor strengthening the miniature to avoid breakage. The holsters are all loose, three of the minis have cartridge belts but there is no trace of cartridge boxes for rifle ammunition. The figures are mounted on small puddle bases.

 

 

cover art is pretty good 

Les femmes fatales 28mm Wargames Atlantic Partisans 2: French Resistance Women

 

the front of the box 

some painting ideas 

       I just picked these up from Michigan Toy Soldier. We now have the "better half" of the French Partisans in hand. Wargames Atlantic has released the second part of their Resistance fighters series and it is a handy set! It is titled French Resistance Women but I am willing to bet that they would do well as Dutch, Belgian, or Danish. Careful choice of which figure to use as well as attention to how they are armed could easily extend these minis into Poland or even move them temporally to earlier and later conflicts (Spanish Civil War, Irish War of Independence or the chaos in eastern Europe after the Great War) or into gangster scenarios as well. 

       The minis are all conventionally dressed, no pseudo-uniforms or high fashion outfits here. The figures are well sculpted with good proportions and reasonable poses. The clothing drapes over the figure convincingly. This is a well-armed band of heroines, enough SMGs are provided to give every mini one; other weapons vary from open hands to rifles, with a choice of revolvers, or semi-auto pistols and a viscous-looking knife as well. Of course there is a hyper-abundance of heads with a wide choice of hairstyles and headgear. The faces are excellent with clear expressions and delicate features. 

       The molding work is up to the usual excellent standards we have come to expect from Wargames Atlantic; medium gray plastic, with no flash and only the faintest of mold-lines. The figures are cast without puddle bases.

More Chariots, now with Dendra Panoply

       Having a shortage of time last week and next I decided against taking on another forty-plus figure painting binge and instead grabbed another batch of chariots. As much as I don't like the extra work in assembly and basing, the much lower figure count speeds the process and gives me a sense of accomplishment. This batch has two warriors equipped in the "Dendra Panoply", the full-length armor suit named after the nearly complete armor found in the tomb at Dendra Greece in 1960.  Although it looks clumsy tests conducted with replica suits of armor and volunteers from the Greek military showed that it really is quite functional .

 

the Dendra panoply on display at Archaeological Museum of Nafplion

Come, up with you now, climb aboard my chariot! 28mm Trojan Wars chariots

       Having grown tired of painting infantry I turned to the Bronze Ages equivalent of knights; chariots! In most game systems they are either wildly overpowered or just a poor substitute for light cavalry. Midgard they can function as hard-hitting, but fragile, fast-movers. Depending on how you arm the crew they are a missile base or can charge home (preferably against the flank or rear of an already occupied opponent). The historical record is unclear as to how they were employed in Bronze Age Greece. I prefer to think of them as skirmishing knights that also acted as transports for the heroes who engaged in individual combat.  Either way they need paint and basing.

       So often I have seen chariot models popping off of bases. I don't care to do things twice so I worked out a method of securing my models that has held up across decades. Most important is that you are gluing the metal, not the painted metal, the bare metal. Even with commercial grade primer things will fall apart if you try gluing to paint. I get this by using a sanding board to strip the bottom of the wheels to shiny metal.

 

 

if it's shiny you have gone far enough, a little extra texture also helps the glue hold 

"...so many long-haired Acheans swarmed across the plain..." The first full batch of Bronze-Age spearmen

        I was satisfied with my first small test sample of spearmen so I went ahead and spent hours cleaning up a larg(ish) batch of spearmen for a "mass-painting event". Unfortunately the prep work took a huge amount of time. I always loved the sculpting that the Perry brothers did for Foundry but the actual castings left a lot to be desired. Flash, mold-lines in hard to reach places, vent sprues, and short-shots meant that I spent many hours with these lads before they were ready for primer (which instantly revealed all the places that still needed work). I hope that the current production is better than these ancient castings. 

       That being said they were fun to paint. Lots of colorful clothing and those wild boar's-tusk helmets were a great change of pace from the uniforms of later ages.  

 

these might be "later Trojans" I might just use them as Myrmidons 

A dark-drawn wall of sheilds, festooned with spears.....the first of the Trojan heavy spearmen

        This is a small test-batch before I start mass-painting the rest of the foot. I wanted to get a feel for the minis before diving in. I honestly was surprised at the difference between these (admittedly OLD ) minis and modern plastics. It seems that the millimeter has undergone considerable expansion in the intervening years as these lads are significantly smaller that the last batch of plastics I painted. I also noticed that the detail, while present, is both finer and a bit foggy compared to plastic kits.

       That said they turned out OK. I haven't based them yet as I wish to get the whole lot painted before I commit to basing the models.

 

 

the long spears promise to be a bother for both storage and basing 

 

the cow-hide shields remind me of Zulu warriors 

 

the sculptor was kind enough to include a post on the arm of the mini

 and corresponding hole in the back of the shield to help ensure a solid joint 

thank-you from the bottom of my heart! 

 

Heroes of Ancient Troy, or....stop Hectoring me!

        I'm still plugging away at the Trojan War stuff. This time it is the Heroes (don't ask me to identify them, I'm a bit rusty on my Bronze-Age mythical heroes). There was a nice variety to these, they all came with tiny swords to glue into their hands but some just looked more natural holding a spear. They would have made a nice looking unit if I had based them up for Midgard but I decided that I might just as well use them as leader figures, so they landed on pennies instead of a multi-base.

 

the boars-tusk helmets were a bit of a pain to paint 

 

as with all  Perry Bothers sculpts the posing and proportions are excellent 

 

 

if a more erudite reader can give names to these lads I will happily update this entry 

 

 

I'm not sure if the greaves are cloth-covered metal, 

or just canvas gaiters to protect the wearer from local thorny shrubs 

either way I think they look cool 

Happy Birthday to the United States of America

   I hope everyone has a wonderful Fourth of July. 
Please avoid blowing off any fingers! 

Breed's Hill and it's earthwork

        I finished up painting the earthwork for R.U.P.'s Battle of Bunker Hill game and then cut the green board for placing under the gaming mat. The little earthwork turned out OK. I had to resist painting grass onto it as it was dug in the hours preceding the battle there would have been little time for grass to grow over it.

 

I only learned after the fact that there was no timber in the  earthwork

A great chance to lend a helping hand; 45th National Veterans Wheelchair Games, July 9-14

       Anybody in the Detroit Metro area feel like lending a hand to wheelchair bound vets? Here is your chance, this coming weekend the National Veterans Wheelchair Games will be taking place at several venues around Detroit. There is a need for volunteers to lend a helping hand to our injured veterans, they gave so much, they deserve a little payback from "we he people" that they were serving. No experience necessary! Just a willingness to give up a little of your time for those who lost the ability to walk protecting us. 

       You can follow this link to the volunteer page