AUSCON - 30th April to 2nd May 2011

Hi Guys,

For those Gamers who can make it AUSCON is on for the first time this year.

I have bought my ticket and entered for the Late War Flames of War Tournament with a mate.

I am really looking forward to seeing everything instead of having to look at pictures from conventions overseas.

A great deal of hard work (by Mark and Allan) has gone into making this possible so make sure you attend if you can and if you are there, come and say G'day :)

Hopefully it will be the first of many AUSCONs!

Now which Army do I take?  That will probably be the focus of my next update.  lol

Happy Gaming,

Allan

I have been busy. Honest!

Hi guys,


I pre-ordered two boxes of The Plastic Soldier Company's 15mm or 1/100 scale T-34 tanks.

5 sprues per box each with the parts to make one Soviet T-34 tank with a second turret for the T-34/85 so Late war and Mid War Soviets here I come!

Sorry for the photos.

I will say the plastic is a hard type and the detailing is nice.  For the price I am more than happy.

Zvezda is also releasing plastic vehicles in 1:100 scale (15 mm) and they look just as good as is the price.  Also being released are 1/144 planes.  Perfect for Flames of War.

I love playing Flames of War but I am a clumsy bugger and it is nice to think these models will bounce and not shatter if dropped.

The other advantage is weight.  The models are so light.  Good for gamers with a bung back like myself.

I hope Battlefront comes to the party and is up to the challenge.

There is a nice quick review over at World War II Central including some much better pictures than I take.

Some other reviews of his you may like:

The Plastic Soldier Company - 15mm Russian Infantry

Zvezda - 1/100 plastic tanks review


I will follow up with another update soon.

I have rambled enough for now.  Back to Housework for me :P


Happy Gaming,

Allan

Wargames Factory Shock Troopers

Hi Guys,




After picking up some of Wargames Factory's Greatcoat Shock trooper boxed sets at Quartermaster IV last year I decided to pull my finger out and paint some up.





Just some small conversions:  Pig Iron Heads.





Followed by some speed painting, Army Painter Strong Tone Quick Shade and Army painter Matt Varnish Spray.





Lastly some Silfor Tufts to make the base less boring :P 




I also have some 28 mm WW2 models on order along with some skirmish rules sets.  More about that when it gets here.


Happy gaming,


Allan

Dystopian Wars

Happy New Year Guys!

My resolution is to spend more time on my own pile of unpainted models rather than spending it looking at all the other nicely painted miniatures on the internet.

Dystopian Wars was released at the end of 2010 by Spartan Games makers of games like Uncharted Seas (Fantasy Naval Warfare) and FIrestorm Armada (Sci-fi Space battles).  I did not buy into any of the other games as I have played and enjoyed Bablyon 5: A Call To Arms   for Space Battles and Uncharted Seas looked great but I wanted to see how Spartan Games went as a new miniature company before committing to buying models.

I spent about one and a half weeks having a cooling off period after listening to the D6 Generations Podcast about Dystopian Wars and trying to read up any review I could find on Google and the usual gaming sites (TMP etc..).  I found Varcan Cluster (link for Dystopian Wars posts only) helpful for close ups of the actual models for Dystopian Wars and a lot of the other games I love to play.


I finally caved and picked up the rules and all the starter sets for Dystopian Wars.  Dystopian Wars is a fun Air, Land and Sea game set in the 1870's.  It has a Steam Punk, alternate history to our own with some masterfully crafted models.

While I am cleaning up the models and prepping to paint them I thought I would post a few pictures of one of the Starter sets to show the contents.

A few close ups of the Kingdom of Britannia Starter set.

The nice thing is the models come with Unit Cards, Counters, Templates and 10 bases of Fighters  :armata_PDT_37:




The packaging is nice and there were no broken models.

]

Some flash on the models but very easily removed!



Some Detail shots of the KoB Battle ship and Frigate:





Lastly a size comparison shot to other models:



From Left to Right:  KoB Frigate, Flames of War German (15mm scale), KoB Cruiser, Warlord Games Celt, KoB Battleship and GW Terminator marine.



I hope the photos help those with questions about quality and what you get in a starter box.  I am happy with what I have received and like the fun nature of the game.

Back to work before the kids wake up :)

Until next time, Happy Gaming!

Allan

Flames of War - Hells Highway Irish Guards

Hi Guys,

A couple of pics. I have started an Irish Guards Armoured Regiment for Flames of War's new release Hells Highway. Hells Highway covers the first half? of Operation Market Garden.

Onto the pics:


Colonel Vandeluer:



RAF Forward Air Controller:



More updates will follow. I have Some of Battlefront's new Shermans and Guards Rifle platoon on order.

Sorry for the pics. I am still figuring out how to upload them to fit within the display allowed.

Happy Gaming,

Allan

Life has been busy :P

Hi All,

Life has been very busy for a while now hence the lack of updates. I have done a few commission assemble and paint jobs since my last post but very little of my own.

Tonight I have added some of the links and blogs I like to visit regularly.

I have always enjoyed gaming and for the most part the gaming community but lately I have changed my interests from Games Workshop 40K and Warhammer Fantasy to more Historically based games.

Warhammer Ancients was the first with an interest in Ancient Greeks and Romans.

I have played Flames of War (World War Two table top game in 15mm scale) for a few years now and enjoyed it thoroughly. There is something about looking at Historical miniatures, painting them, reading about their history and culture and events surrounding their time period that has really got me hooked.

Fortunately companies like Warlord Games, Perry Miniatures and Victrix Limited have started to produce excellent plastics for historical figures. Even Wargames Factory has started to produce some nice plastics now that sculpting and casting issues have been sorted out.

This has allowed me to explore historical gaming in an inexpensive way. Most troops and Core Choices for Romans, Celts, English Civil War, American Civil War and now the Napoleonic Wars are now in plastics. These ranges are also supplemented by some very nice metal models for Command and Support figures.

Recently I have taken an interest in the Napoleonic Wars. I knew very little about them other than some of the protagonists were Britian and France after watching "Waterloo" the movie as a child.

I now own some Perry Miniatures British and French Infantry and also have some Victrix British figures. All of these are extremely nice to assembled and paint. Soon I will post some updates on painting these models and other aspects of my hobby. At the moment I have to go back to reading and researching a little on the Napoleonic wars. So much more to it than I ever though possible.

Until my next update, Happy Gaming!


Allan

Flames of War - 78th Sturm Division

Hi Guys,

Long time no updates from me but life has intervened from time to time.

I recently ordered 78th Sturm Division StuG Batterie figures, heavy mortars, pioneers and the Army box.

So far I have only painted up the warrior figure for 78th Sturm Division Dietrich Uthoff (purely fictional from Stalins Onslaught Handbook). Very recently I have taken more of an interest in the Eastern Front. No war is good and this area saw some of the worst of it in WWII.

Anyway here is the first figure and the rest should arrive at my Local Gaming Store - Battle Front in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia in the next week (hopefully sooner).

Happy Gaming,

Allan