Some new prints in the wargames room

Hey all!

Well, I FINALLY got around to framing a few more of my prints.  I've had the frames and everything for a year... I just never did it!  No idea why... I think the room felt so complete I didn't need to?

But I did.  Two by the stairs (below) and then I moved the piece next to my painting table (above) and put two more underneath it.

Generally I think they look fine.  I do wonder if the one at the top is a bit busy.  I'll have a few folks by and see what they think.

Thanks for coming by to look!

25mm Viking houses

Hi all!

Well, I am continuing work on the 25mm Viking project!

I finally got around to cobbling together some Viking houses.  Now, these are supposed to be simple houses; nothing fancy, like a longhouse, although I think I'll need to make one:)

So overall I think they turned out fine.  I DO have to go back and add a spot for the smoke to come out (I forgot about that.)  Then I've got to make some wattle fences (NOT looking forward to that!) and whatever else the village needs... and, of course, the coastline!:D

My 28mm Viking with War Dogs

Hey all!

Well, I am starting in on getting my Vikings on the table.  So one part of that will be cobbling together one or two more figures to add to the collection.

So, I had three wolves sitting around that I wasn't using, and some Viking bits and pieces, along with a few big round bases and a cavalry base for Lord of the Rings.  So... voila!

I tried to paint the wolves up, so they look like dogs... I think it basically worked?  I don't remember what breeds they are... I looked them up, but am drawing a blank:)  I sculpted a pelt on the hound master, as well as a rope for his horn.

Here is the overall collection; as of right now, I think they look awesome.

What SUCKS is that I am actually short heads for the last unit of infantry!  I want all of my Vikings to have helmeted heads, but I seem to have run out!  Very upset... I've got to look around and see if anyone out there has eight for sale:(

Anyway... thanks for coming by and taking a peek!:)

Micro Machines Star Wars Rebels

Hey all!

Well, my son has become a BIG fan of "Star Wars - Rebels."  He is a bit young for it still, but we watch together, and I explain stuff to him, and he is turning into a damn fine Star Wars expert... kid knows the difference between a Venator Star Destroyer, and Imperial Star Destroyer, and a Victory Star Destroyer, and LOVES when Grand Moff Tarken is on-screen.

He also has a huge collection of Micro Machines Star Wars figures... so I thought he should have the Rebels crew!

Two of these are actual Micro Machine figures... Hera and Kanan, although I did a bit of paint touch up.  I cobbled the other guys together from different figures.  Ezra is a Luke figure, with some hair added.  Chopper is an R2D2 with a new head (although it really should have been better... I might need to touch it up a bit...) and Sabine is a Boba Fett, who I could have done a much better job on.  Honestly, Ezra is the real winner of the bunch; in person he looks SO damn good it actually looks like a production figure!

Anyway... I don't think there are any real Micro machines Star Wars Rebels figures outside of Hera and Kanan, so I am glad to get these together.

Oh, and what a kid... he just uses all my X-Wing ships, and never has a single one been dropped or broken.  I actually bought the Ghost for him:)

Did some weathering on my X-Wing Ghost

Hey all!

Well, I got a Ghost for X-Wing... mostly for my son to play with:)  But I DID think I would grab a few colored pencils and do a bit of weathering!  Here, below I am putting an unmodified one... you can tell that I added a bit!  I think it looks okay...

Thoughts?  I think it looks pretty good... not too much, I hope?

Armada TIE Defenders and Decimator painted

Hey all!

Well, I got a few of the new Armada squadrons painted up!

First up was a trio of Defenders.  I couldn't help but paint one as a Royal Guard... I can use that as the hero, or just as a cool looking ship.

And then I did up a Decimator... again, as an elite, but it can also just be used as a random Decimator.

So a few more Defenders to paint up, and another Decimator... and then who knows what?:)

The Workbench; more "Retreat From Moscow" stuff

Hey all!

Thought I would catch folks up on the workbench!

I've started getting back to painting a bit.  I've been spending a LOT of leisure time playing video games, and it occurred to me that it is rarely as satisfying as toy soldiers.  So I am making a concerted push to work on toy soldiers more.  While it might not be as mindless as video games, I think it is a bit more satisfying:)

Anyway... here are two stands of skirmishers for the Perry "Retreat From Moscow" project... working on the base coats right now.  These guys have a LOT of colors... so many random little bits of cloth and scarfs and the rest... it takes a while to pick it all out!

So that's what I am working on.  I finished a few new Armada ships, and I'll get them up shortly!:)

Thanks for coming by!

"Retreat from Moscow" sled unit finished

Hey all!

Well, I've gotten back in the saddle after a bit too much video game time, and have started in on my Perry "Retreat from Moscow" project!

I finished up the next bit (although looking at the pictures I noticed I missed a detail), which is a unit of sleds, from Perry Miniatures.

Some info from the Perry website itself:

During the Retreat from Moscow, Colonel Marbot seeing that
his regiment, the 23^rd Chasseurs a Cheval, was falling apart,
decided to dismount them, use their remaining horses to pull two-man peasant
sledges easily found in local villages. The 23^rd formed up with the
24^th Chasseurs a Cheval to create a sledge born brigade. At night
these formed squares which were frequently used by Marshal Ney and General
Maison for shelter. Each man was ordered to have two muskets to enable them to
resist attacks with ‘the liveliest musketry’.

They are a neat little unit, and a nice addition to the collection.  Next up I have a few stands of skirmishers... I'll post a workbench picture soon:)

BTW, photographing these guys is... interesting, as far as backgrounds:)

Thanks for coming by for a look!

An updated view of the wargames room

Hey all!

I picked up a bit, and a few things are moved around, so I thought I'd snap another shot of the war games room!

I am very happy with how it has turned out so far.  There is another treat coming for the wall, and then I have to frame one or two more things... and then... who knows what will be next?!:)

Thanks all for coming by... and if you are in New Jersey and fancy a game, lemme know!

The House of War: Shelf #3

Hey all!

I recently realized that I never posted the rest of my shelves... so, I thought it was time!

So here is shelf three.  I have to admit, the more I look at these, the more I realize I need to add another shelf to the bottom of each... so I'll get on that, because I need the space!:)

Here is the top shelf; my Viking collection, along with their objectives and such.  I am going to be getting these guys on the table soon, and start up a little Viking project!

My 25mm Napoleonic Russian commander and centerpieces.  At the left rear is my captured French soldiers, and to the front right is my marching Pavlov Grenadiers.

The first shelf of my 25mm Napoleonic Russians... lights in front, infantry behind, with the cavalry (in this case, cuirassiers) taking up the rear.

My second shelf of 25mm Napoleonic Russians... same as the one above, although there is a unit of Grenadiers in this group.  Also, it is light cavalry instead of heavy cavalry.  I still have more Russians to paint, but I'm not sure I'll ever muster up the strength to do them!

The final shelf... my 25mm Napoleonic Austrians take up most of the space.  I have another ten units of them, including cavalry and more artillery, in my tiny lead pile.  In the front you can see the 25mm Napoleonic British I painted up!

Anyway... that's shelf #3, and I thought folks might enjoy!  I WILL be adding another shelf to the bottom... it looks a bit empty, and I need the space:(

Thanks for coming by!

A 40mm AWI game... with my son

Hey all!

Well, after he got his two cannons for his AWI collection this Christmas, my son asked if we could play a "toy soldier" game... so we did!

We played "The Battle of House" (his choice)... he was in command of the British, under Cornwallis, and I commanded the Americans, under Washington.

Here are the initial set-ups... My army (on the right) had several patches of wood on its left flank.  My son had the house on his left flank.

Here are the British... Grenadiers on the flank, then the artillery, Cornwallis with the jaegers, and then the Regulars.

Here are the Americans... artillery at the top of the shot, then the two units of militia, Washington, the American Rifles, and the US Regulars.

My son advanced his jaegers defending Cornwallis.

I moved my regulars and rifles towards the cover of the woods, planning to keep the militia on my left as blocking units.

Here is the second turn; you can see my son's British army on the left, and my Americans advancing on the right.

And the next turn, as my men begin to reach the edge of the woods, and fire beings to erupt across the field.

My regulars begin to take fire from the British Grenadiers, and begin to fall, even with the trees offering cover.

I finally begin to advance my militia, as counter-battery fire destroys my artillery!

The jaegers exchange fire with the American Rifles, although it is a tough fight, with nowhere to hide in the open fields!

As the field begins to get full of smoke, I advance my regulars forward a bit, trying to close the distance with the British grenadiers...

Here is the next turn, as my son advanced his regulars into my flank.

And slowly but surely, I get ripped apart!

The British regulars pour fire into my militia...

And Cornwallis gallops up to direct their fire, finally battering the Americans into submission!

When I only had one soldier left, my son looked at me with big doe eyes and said "You know, daddy he can run away."  Because he didn't want him to get shot:)  So, the Americans fled the field!

This was his surviving force... his artillery, 6 of his regulars, and Cornwallis!

The Ghost and Phantom for Star Wars Armada!

Hey all!

Well, I painted up the Ghost, from Star Wars: Rebels, for my Armada force!

But I also felt like having it alone wasn't good enough, so I went ahead and made the Phantom for it too.  I used an E-Wing, a TIE Advanced, and some random bits and pieces to put it all together

Overall I think it turned out reasonably well.

Some Christmas Armada reinforcements arrive!

Hey all!

Well, after a few generous gift cards found their way to me, having already held off on Wave 4 and 5 of Armada... well, I thought it was time to pick up some reinforcements!

I actually held off on the Interdictor and the Arquitens... because I provide most of the ships for the games I play, I sort of like keeping the Empire to predominantly Star Destroyers.  I know that is silly, but it works for me:)  So I picked up a second ISD, and then two Gozanti flotillas... I feel like a bunch of smaller ships are important to a fleet feeling like a FLEET.  I also picked up a single pack of the Empire Squadrons 2... I'll need a few more at some point:)

For the Rebels, I don't mind a bit more mishmash, non-movie ships type of fleet... I feel like a good messy fleet is exactly what the Rebels should have!  So I did get them a Liberty (because it is in the films) but also got them the Phoenix One pack, as it DOES visually fit in nicely.  I also got two flotillas of Transports (which I love, because they are SO iconic) and a pack of the Rebel squadrons.

So!  They are all still boxed, but I'll start breaking them out soon!

Good times!