Wednesday, December 28, 2016

40mm AWI Artillery


Hey all!

Well, as part of my son's Christmas gifts, I painted up some artillery for his 40mm AWI armies!


Now, I have to say... I had a hard time finding uniform references for the artillery... it looked like the Americans and British artillery had nearly the same darn uniform!  I made the Americans a bit more of a mix (pants a bit of a mix, no hats on two guys) just so he could more easily tell the difference.

Overall they turned out very nicely (although the pictures aren't very flattering... after all these years I am STILL struggling to take the perfect picture!)  Next up, a bit of scenery for the boy!

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Great Christmas Gift: A Brown Bess!


Hey all!

Well, thanks to an overly-generous set of in laws and parents, I picked up a pretty cool Christmas gift... a Pedersoli Brown Bess!


I was very happy to get this guy... the gun that basically won the British Empire.  Given how many theaters it saw action in, I figured it would be a GREAT addition to the war room!

Above you can see a shot of the lock... it is a very pretty gun.


Here is the bayonet, with the scabbard.


Hard to get the whole thing in the photo at once, but here is another view.  The strap just finishes the gun... without the strap, it just doesn't look right!

Anyway, thought I would share the neat new addition to the war room.  There is actually another piece on the way, but I'll share that when it arrives:)

I do have more toy soldier stuff on the way... sorry the blog has been so quiet of late, there ARE things getting painted!  The son got some new AWI stuff that I'll post in the nearer future...

Thanks for coming by, and Happy Holidays, all!

Sunday, November 27, 2016

My new modular Star Wars tiles!


Hey all!

Well, after I made those three Star Wars play tiles for my son, I went ahead and made a bunch more!

Again, I tried to keep them generic, so they could be used by either side.  Also, I kept them very low-detail and clutter... they are meant really for playing on, and I didn't want them being so fiddly they would get broken or would be annoying to play with.

They can be configured in any sort of way, and also are made so they can just be spread out, with the space in between being hallways or whatever ones imagination makes it!

Anyway, here is a look at each one...


Here are two... a generator room, and a spaceship repair room/landing pad.


Two more, including my first "oversized" one... a med bay, and a command center, complete with a vid screen showing a Star Destroyer on orbit.


Another two rooms... a "rec" room for soldiers, complete with a newspaper and a checker board, and a prison block.


Finally, the one room that would be hard to use for BOTH sides... the Emperors Throne room, complete with Death Star model

Sunday, November 6, 2016

A great Star Wars project for my son


Hey all!

Well, in an evening of inspiration in the garage, I cobbled together these play tiles for my son!

He has an ever-growing collection of Micro Machine Star Wars figures that he LOVES playing with, so I figured I'd make him some quick, modular "sets" to play on.


They are meant as squares that can be played apart, but also linked together if he wants.  One is a prison, one a command room, and one a repair hanger.  They are meant to be used for either side; I've avoided any identifying markings.


I am making three more, including one that will likely be exclusive to the Empire... the Emperors Throne room.  So far, he loves them!:)

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look!

Saturday, October 8, 2016

Lighting for my son's cabinet



Hey all!

Well, I finally went ahead and added lighting to my son's shelf, where he keeps HIS toy soldier army!  I think it looks SUPER super sharp, and he is SO happy with it... he just goes down to the toy soldier room and looks at his guys without me!:)  Good stuff.  We've also played a few games recently... my British won one pretty handily, and then in the next one his Americans routed me.  He is getting pretty good at this stuff!

Sunday, September 25, 2016

10mm Napoleonics - Alain Valley, Part 2


Hey all!

Well, a friend came by last night, and we got in the second piece of the Battle of Alain Valley!

As you can see above, there are two corps involved, three divisions apiece.  On the left of the photo (British point of view) one French division is about to cross the river to hit the fragile Spanish division.  In the center, the French Old Guard are advancing up to (and over) the hill to meet a large British division head on.  On the right, the British and Brunswick brigade tried to turn the French flank, but the attack has stalled as the British cavalry support was routed.


The Old Guard advance a bit in the middle, but run into the British firepower.  The British stay in line to maximize their firing power, whereas the French get into column to maximize their morale.


Meanwhile, on the British left flank, the French columns begin to cross the river, harassed the whole way by Spanish skirmishers.  One Spanish brigade forms up on a steep hill, prepared to meet the French.


Here is a table shot of the next turn.


On the British right, the Brunswickers form line and exchange fire with the advancing French columns.


On the British left, the Spanish begin to pour fire down into the French columns as they advance up the hill.


And in the center, the Old Guard get a little packed in, and the front columns of the advance begin to take horrific casualties.  They do manage to stay steady, but the commander begins to question his advance.


Here is the next turn.


The French attack on the British left continues, and the two sides pour fire into each other.  The Spanish, who are rather brittle, manage to inflict some casualties on the French, but it doesn't seem like enough.


Nearer the British right, the Guards Brigade advances, looking to split the French line in half.  The French pour fire down the ridge at the advancing British.


And here is the next turn!


In the center the British continue pressing forward, and the Old Guard begins to pull their right flank back a bit, worried that their second Guard brigade advanced too far...


And the center becomes a mess, as the commander of one British brigade (the one in column on the right) surges forward, ignoring the orders of the Duke of Wellington and charging his men forward!


Here is the last turn.


The French center is under such pressure that Napoleon himself comes to the edge of the wood, to urge his Old Guard on!


And while in practice that doesn't have any game play impact, it sure seems to work this time!  The ENTIRE left flank of the British attack collapses under the fire of the Guard!  Three battalions of British infantry rout, despite the fact that they haven't taken terrible casualties yet, while the Old Guard stand fast, despite the fact that two battalions have taken horrific casualties!


Meanwhile, on the British right, the cavalry is finally forced to charge the Brunswick square securing the far flank of the army... otherwise they might be sitting the whole fight out!  Dozens of Brunswickers are dead and dying, and the square begins to falter...


And here is a shot down the table at the end!

It looks like it will take one more day to finish this one up... and I'll take photos when we do!


Monday, September 12, 2016

The "eyes" have it!


Here you go!

Sunday, September 11, 2016

28mm Richard Sharpe commission finished!


Hey all!

Well, the 28mm / 25mm Sharpe's Rifles commission is FINALLY done!

I got the figure for Teresa on Friday, did the converting that night, and got the paint on her.

Above is the entire group, all together.


Here is Teresa Moreno and a few Spanish partisans.  For Teresa I had to sculpt on the hair after removing the hat, replace the sword with a rifle, add a cross belt and cartridge box, extend her sash, and of course add "The Needle," her stiletto!


Here are the Rifles, along with Major Hogan.


Here are the foot personalities... Sgt. Patrick Harper, Teresa, Richard Sharpe himself, and Captain William Frederickson, in his 60th Rifles uniform.


Here is Major Hogan.


Here are a few of the Rifles.  I gave several of them French packs, as in the book a bunch of the veterans have them.


Here are a few more of the Rifles.


Some of the infantry.  The one with the poached pheasant on his belt is meant to be Dan Hagman.


One more shot of the foot personalities.

Monday, September 5, 2016

Some more detailed shots of the 28mm Sharpe's Rifles project


Hey all!

Well, the 28mm Richard Sharpe commission is nearly done, so I thought I would post some photos!


Here is Sharpe, Sgt. Harper, and "Sweet" William Fredrickson, from the 60th Rifles... before the whole Lucille nonsense, which I just ignore anyway.


Three Spanish partisans, since a lot of the "Sharpe's" series takes place in Spain.


Three riflemen from the 95th.


Three more riflemen, including Dan Hagman on the right... you cannot see it in this photo, but he has a poached pheasant hanging off his belt in back.


And Major Hogan, who is always a trusted ally for Richard!

Now, there is one person missing still; Teresa Moreno!  Unfortunately I bought the figure from a UK manufacturer through the US distributor for the company, and good lord it is taking FOREVER to get here... ordered it maybe a month ago.  I forgot that in today's day and age it is better just to order directly from England:(

Anyway... that's how they look so far.  I'll take some nicer shots when Teresa is here and finished, and once I've done some touch ups... details like a few buttons, sling swivels, and a few other bits and bobs.  Unfortunately I got a very nice email from the gent who commissioned these, and he sent along a photo of his own work... that moment where you realize the person you are painting for is better than you are is a painful one!:D