First Test of the Great War Tank-Hunter rules

 

grenades worked pretty well, small arms were weak but numerous

      Trunkmonkey and R.U.P. were kind enough to donate their Saturday night to testing and critiquing my beta version of the Great War Tank hunter rules. We played two games, both ending in victory for the Germans and identified several areas of the rules that needed development/clarification. Unfortunately I was so busy sorting through my scribbled notes (i.e. the beta version of the rules) that I forgot to take any pictures. Thanks to R.U.P. for keeping a cooler head and snapping a few frames.

Gaming Update

 There will be games on Thursday 1OCT20 at 7pm and again on Saturday 3OCT20 at 7pm as well

Thursday will see a land action in my 30 Years War Imaginations campaign,

 Saturday's event is still to be determined

Operation Barracks Blox

 

they accumulated slowly, as I painted the figures

       The other night as I was looking for a place to tuck my newly-painted German Great War Infantry into my Toy Room I stood looking at one of the many shelves packed with boxes of minis. They were packed away in their storage boxes; plastic shoe boxes mostly, that I had bought as need occurred. As I contemplated trying to wedge another box onto the already crowded shelf it occurred to me that the plastic shoe boxes were wasting a lot of valuable space, I mean a LOT of space.

Mistakes made, Lessons learned

       I happened to be strolling through Hobby Lobby when I spotted a bright pink sign exclaiming "40% all Boxed Kits!". Intrigued I took a look and quickly spotted two Pirate Ships from Revell, a closed glance caused me to see that they were labelled as being 1/350th scale. I am always looking to enlarge my 1/350th fleets and thought that these would be a nice addition, and the thought that they were nearly half off caused me to buy both of the models available in the store. 

A One Night Stand With Babs UPDATED

        Having completed the WW1 German tank hunters I didn't much feel like painting any minis for a little while and, lacking the need for additional terrain, I was at a loss for something to turn my hand to. Without a wargaming project I decided to take a pass at Mount Plastic; an entirely unscientific method brought me to choose an LS model of the KI-15 "Babs" that was sitting on the top of the "Spats" pile.

 

Gaming Updates

We will be gaming this Saturday, 26SEP20 at 7pm

Be there, or be reviled behind your back!

Mark IV....Once More

 

       Having finished the German Stosstruppen there was nothing left but to turn my attention back to my scratchbuilt model Heavy Tank Mark IV. It had been left unattended since I started assembling the German infantry. Really, all it needed was a coat of paint and some weathering so it wasn't too bad an ordeal to get it finished. I decided to forgo the addition of rivets, there being about 1300 or so to add, and tiny rivets are quite the bother to make.

A total loss of self-control......

the guilty party (I remember the box-art being different though)

       About a half-century ago my Dad bought me a 1/72nd scale model of the Hawk P-6E. As we built it he explained that, as a child, he had seen this same type of plane flying out of Selfridge Field (then a grass landing strip, now an Air National Guard Base)  with the Army Air Corps . My ten-year old's mind was fascinated by the aggressive appearance of the airplane with it out-thrust spatted landing gear painted to look like the outstretched claws of a Snow Owl. Ever since that formative moment I have always liked the look of fixed landing gear with aerodynamic spats, the bigger the better (Lockheed Vega wins hands down). 

Hail! Hail! The Gang's All Here! The last of the Wargames Atlantic 28mm Tank Hunters

 

and no two of them are the same

       It took me a whole week but I have finally managed to get the rest of these guys painted. As happens with so many of my projects the closer that I got to completing the job the less enthusiasm I had for it. But I want to move on to other subjects so I forced myself to sit down and add the last little details that I had been putting off. One of the real joys of plastic figures is that they are so much easier to modify than metal ones, others might say that this is a good thing because you often get far less selection of poses in plastic, a point that I can't argue against. I made it a point while building these figures to be sure that I didn't create any duplicates, the kit is molded with arms in specific set and only has six torso/leg combinations so this took some planning (and not a little of chopping and repositioning). There were a couple of near-misses (let's face it; there are only so many ways to fire a rifle or throw a grenade) but no two of the same. I am rather pleased with the lot aside from the old-timer in the picklehaub, the pose strikes me as awkward......he might just get disassembled and re-positioned with different arms.

20mm Strelets War of Spanish Succession French Musketeers Firing

 

 

front of the box, more of that odd Russian photo-montage artwork

       Fresh off the presses we have the latest edition from Strelets in their 1700's series; French Musketeers Firing. Inside you will find 44 figures, 40 infantry and four command/standard bearers. These are molded in a stiff gray plastic that shows detail superbly. All of the figures are in useful poses and are well proportioned in realistic poses. This is the sort of thing that makes me regret having painted hundreds of 28mm figures a few years ago! These figures are simply beautiful, the level of detail is simply breath-taking.

Scratchbuilt 28mm WEX Flammenwurfer

 

       Wechselapparat (WEX) was introduced in 1916 to replace the much heavier and less user-friendly Klief version. The WEX was light enough to be carried and used by one man (although two were normally assigned the job). While not specifically designed to be used against tanks it could be quite effective if the operator could get close enough to land the jet on the top of the vehicle.. Thus my 28mm tank hunters needed one.

28mm Great War Tank Hunter Part II The T-Gewehr

     In an effort to give the Great War Panzer Jagers a fighting chance I decided to build them an anti-tank rifle. The famous Mauser T-Gewehr, a 35lb, 13.2mm monster that was essentially an upscaled Gew-98. It was the very first gun designed from the ground up to kill tanks and its performance at armor penetration was certainly up to the task. Capable of punching a hole in over 18mm of armor at 500m it was enough to take on even the heaviest of French or British tanks.

Gaming Update Saturday 12SEP20 1900hrs

We will be gaming at my place on Saturday 7:00pm on September 12th, 2020.
All are welcome, bring your lucky dice!

Wargames Atlantic Great War German Tank Hunters

       Well, I finally got into the mood to paint some minis and took a swipe at the German Tank hunters that I had put together from the Wargames Atlantic Great War Germans that I assembled a while back. Nothing special about the way I painted them so I won't do a step-by-step but I think that they turned out OK. I painted them to be 1918 Stormtroopers for the Kaiserschlacht and they can be used through the end of the war in that uniform. Having built and painted these minis I can agree with the criticism that they are too wide in the shoulders (I would love to see the work-out regime that they use!). In the future some X-Acto and sanding work will bring them down to a more reasonable size before painting.

A Stitch in Time....

 

crystal clear and dead flat, just like the label says

       I have a habit of picking up tools and paints from sources outside the normal "hobby" line-up. Hardware stores are one of my favorite alternatives. So when I saw this product, from a name I  know and trust, I decided to pick it up. None of the local brick-n-mortar stores can get Armory Matte finish anymore so I have been seeking an alternative for  large projects such as terrain (and my out-sourcing has lead to the occasional disaster including one infamous incident that melted  a 36" square terrain board!). 

       Having learned my lessons I now conduct tests on newly-acquired products, and I'm glad I do!  Observe the test results below, a 1/2 second burst at a distance of 4" in both cases, the hole in the white styrofoam is almost 3/4" deep the one in the blue extruded polystyrene board is a fairly uniform 1/8". Either way this product is going to get my bright red "metal only" sticker so I don't melt any minis or terrain. Too bad because it dries fast and clear with an excellent flat finish.

 

 yes, I'm that much of a nerd, 

I actually test and record the results

Better Than Ebay!

       I have finally conceded that I really don't need to do WW2 in three scales on all fronts and covering both opposing sides. After due consideration I am thinning the herd. Right now there is a bunch of Russian Front stuff, mostly Russian but some German as well, along with a lone battery of US 155mm Long Toms. Click on the "Better Than Ebay" tab in the header (right next to "Home") and take a look at what I'm offering. Strictly first-come, first-served. with the deciding factor being when your email hits my inbox. Free shipping in the Continental U.S.