Fireforge Games 28mm Teutonic Knights figure reveiw

     Anyone that has followed this blog for any length of time will be well aware of my enthusiasm for hard plastic miniatures, if you are new here let me just say that I have long thought that they are the future of the hobby. Thus it will not be a surprise to anyone that I warmly awaited the release of Fireforge Games Teutonic Knights in 28mm. Having seen what the likes of Perrys and Victrix (not to mention Warlords, Wargame Factory and Gripping Beast) have done with with this media I was truly eager to see what these would look like in the flesh.

      Well, let me tell you, they have exceeded my expectations in every respect, they are simply beautiful, I can scarcely wait to get these put together and primed. The detail, scale, proportions and energy are of the highest order. I know not who the sculptor is but I am deeply impressed; congratulations and due praise these are lovely models.

      Now for the dull stuff, the minis are cast in a light gray plastic that seems a good bit harder than the usual GW stuff but not a hard as the plastic one finds in a styrene airplane model. The detail is crisp, mold lines are scarcely noticeable and flash virtually non-existent. In the the very well-done box one will find six sprues of horses and three sprues of knights as well as a single sprue of bases. I got mine from Michigan Toy Soldier for $41.99US; the only real fly in the ointment being that price tag, it is at the top edge of plastic models, hopefully larger production runs as they go forward will allow some price reduction.

Now on to the pictures;

now that is box-art, you can almost hear the thunder of the hooves

New Russian Heavy Weapons from Plastic Soldier Company 1/100 15mm

    Here at last are the Russian Heavy Weapon set from PSC, Fresh from the shelf at Michigan Toy Soldier we have the stuff that you need to complete your Russian infantry company for Flames of War or any other similar level game. Inside you will find the HMGs, anti-tank rifles, light mortars and heavy mortars to provide the indigenous support weapons found at company level. I think they have cheated a little on the box-art as it appears that they used photos of painted 28mm figures (judging from the size of the static grass vs the figures) but no matter, these are cast with the same attention to detail that is the hallmark of PSc;s products. In a true 1/100 scale they may not go together with the 15mm "scale" figures produced by some companies but they are consistent with the Soviet Infantry set PSC has released in the past.

box-art, not inspired, but effective

Cool stuff on the web

     Sometimes I just waste time. I know it is true. Then there are the times that you stumble across really neat stuff. Nearly everyone has seen the "Keep Calm and Carry On" poster that a British bookseller saved from oblivion;

      This was intended to be posted if the Ge

Strange things I found on vacation

     The reason for the low output over the last couple of weeks was that I was on vacation in sunny Florida, it takes me a while to get back up to speed  afterward so please accept my apologies. Anyways while perusing a gift shop I stumbled across some items of interest, die-cast toy pencil sharpeners made to look like vehicles and buildings. These odd little items were mostly of no use to a wargamers but I found a few that might tickle the fancy of some members. I have included a Copplestone Castings figure to give a sense of scale.

Blueboard silliness nearing completion

      I have given the Temple of GorkaMorka eyes and a good dusting of white, now it just needs a base and interior. I plan on lighting the eyes from behind with some battery-powered lights. I am still working on the details for that.

I thought that the fangs didn't stand out enough so I laid on the white dry-brush pretty heavy

cheap children's "gems" from the  Dollar-Store provided Orky red eyes

Further Distractions

     My inability to focus on any period/genre is constantly exacerbated by stuff like this;




Check out the website here.

The stuff that you can do with a CAD program, a decent quality laser cutter and some Medium Density Fiberboard is getting out of hand! 

Make it stop!!!!!

Axis and Allies model tanks in 1/100

       Two of my friends (Tom F. and Mike B.) have been collecting the new 1/100 scale Axis and Allies model tanks. They are widely available on EBay and cost very little from that source, often as little as a dollar each. While at Tom's I had a chance to photograph some of them "in the raw" fresh from the shipping box. They do come painted and assembled but to my mind would be in need of a new paint job. Please excuse the make-shift photo work, it was set up ad-hoc on Tom's game table.

Pictures after the break;

Decidedly less dramatic hills

     Having spent (way too many) hours repainting the dramatic hills so that the sedimentary layers matched from hill to hill I gave them a coat of Grunge Wash (see the posting below for the "formula") to tone them down from the slightly garish colors. This dulled them down in a pleasing manner.

Still More Silliness with Blue Board

     This morning before work a threw a coat of "grunge wash" on The Head. Grunge wash is a mixture of the crud that has accumulated in the bottom of the paintbrush cleaning cup, a shot or two of Future Floor Wax and a touch of black. This was liberally applied to the entire surface of the model. I have to say that I was happy to see the wash running in leggy streams over the surface of the model as I finished, much like a sweet Port will leave "legs" on the inside of a glass when swirled. I was excited to see what it looked like when it had dried. Upon my return home I was confronted with this:

More Silliness with Blue Board

     When I was a little kid my mother would often ask of me in exasperation when I had done something particularly daft, "What has come over you?" . Being a might bit simple I would answer, "I haven't a clue", which often earned me a spanking (my poor mother thinking that I was being a smart-aleck). This sort of thing still happens to me from time to time (the being daft, not the spanking). Witness this, I was sitting in my basement bored to tears of painting sedimentary layers on the "dramatic hills" (more on that in a bit) when I was overcome with the desire to cut foam.

       Casting about for something to carve I remembered that we have been slowly gathering steam for a new GorkaMorka campaign and were also building a table-sized Mektown (more on that in a bit as well) and it occurred to me that even Orks need a place of worship. Inspired by this thought I grabbed a stack of circular off-cuts and began carving away at them, the result being this;

not finished yet but moving along

The Hazards of Coastal Travel WW2 1/600 naval game

      When I first saw this listed on the game schedule at Battlefields I knew I had to play. I have always been intrigued by the small-scale naval fighting that took place in both World Wars. Tiny ships, usually hilariously over-armed, banging away at each other in narrow seas or shallow water, I mean what could be better?  The game was hosted by Jim Casey and used the Flaklighter II rules and 1/600 scale miniatures both from PT Dockyards . The rules were easy to pick up and fun to play while the minis were very good looking and just the right size to show good detail while leaving plenty of tabletop to play on.

the level of detail is on a par with similar scale plastic kits

here we see the German E-boat, fast but lightly armed

Plastic Soldier Company Panther 1/100 15mm

     I finally made it over to Michigan Toy Soldier when they had the new PSC Panther in stock, these apparently have been selling like hotcakes.  Having taken a look I can see why, as is to be expected you will find another detailed and easy to assemble model when you open the box. I know that I can tend to get on about details and how much better plastic is compared to metal or resin but these are simply beautiful. Molded in a Panzer Yellow plastic there are five kits in the box, complete with different upper hulls to make the D and A models. OldSarge has found some details that need fixing if you wish to make an early D model, find his hints here 

box art