Direction

After a bit of a break, I have re-started work on this project.  But before I flood my hobby table with miniatures, I ought to put some thought into a plan!

First off, I do not intend to use the miniatures for skirmish battles, no matter how tempting it will be to do so.  This means that single basing is out, and element basing is in.

Second, rules.  I have a couple of sets that I think would be suitable.  My preference will lean towards simple and quick sets, suitable to element basing.

Third, a schedule of purchases.  Much of this will revolve around the rules chosen, so as to prevent too much duplication and overstock in miniatures actually needed for the project.  Also important for this aspect will be to have an actual list of units and therefore miniatures, flags, etc. to buy.  I am going to avoid willy-nilly purchases and then try to assemble units afterwards!

New ships at War Times Journal!

It appears that War Times Journal, a producer of 1/3000 naval miniatures, has greatly expanded their selection.  By shifting to rapid prototyping methods, several new ships and many old favorites are now available in several scales, 1/1500 (!), 1/1800, 1/2400, and 1/3000.



For more information, please visit their web site here.



Please note that if you are a fan of their pewter miniatures, you should get them while you can as they are being phased out of production in favor of the new material...

Monsters, part 7

Several months ago, I posted this pic of some old miniatures that I am going to repurpose as nickers for the Half Continent:

The chap on the right spent some time (err, a long time...) soaking in some Dettol, and came out looking like this:

And now, with some fresh primer and a new, round base:

A fresh start for a miniature that was purchased over 12 years ago.


As for the other three miniatures from the first pic, they have been finished, mostly, and are just awaiting a final decision on how to complete their bases.

Where to now?

It has occurred to me that I have reached a milestone of sorts, finally, on this project.  With the veritable flood of new miniatures that have arrived (and another set that has been delivered happily - more on those later), the miniatures needs for skirmish gaming have been met.  I definitely have enough monsters and troops for some good gaming, so the procurement portion of the project will need to tack to a new heading.

Which direction is that?  Terrain, of course!

Simply put, I have no terrain pieces, save one, that could be used for a proper setting for gaming.  Everything will need to be obtained, from trees to fields to streams to buildings.  The one piece that I do have is a table covering, which I purchased very late in the previous century.  Simply described, it is a four-foot square of green-flocked rubberized felt.  I will need to drag it out from the closet and see if it will lay down flat on a table, and to check the color for base matching purposes.


Slow but steadily, the project plods on!

Paint stripping, part 2

It has been a while since I started this little experiment.  But before seeing the results, here is a pic of the test subject before taking the plunge:

The little fellow on the right is the star of the stage.  I do not remember the name of the miniature; it is from a range of D&D miniatures from WoTC a decade or so ago.  I intend to use it for a slightly different genre - as seen here.

So, what happens after a two-and-a-half month soak in Dettol?

99% of the paint and primer came right off under a stream of hot water and some gentle scrubbing.  I think that if I had a stiffer brush most of the rest would have come off as well.  The miniature had a mixed bag of coatings on it - enamel primer and acrylic paints.  This is quite good enough to start over!  NOTE:  Do remember to wear some gloves and eye protection when handling/scrubbing miniatures fresh out of a stripping solution - the left-over paint was quite messy when I first removed the miniature from the vat...


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Lesquins, part 1

The first set of miniatures from Warfare/LOA is now primed, and as stated before they are slated to become my first unit of lesquins, or the Half Continent's version of mercenaries.  Here are a few examples:

The details are a bit easier to see now that they are primed.  I am trying grey primer with this unit, as I do not expect the uniforms of this unit to have large expanses of black, or even dark colors.

The variety of poses is impressive.  There are few repeats within the battalion pack which will give the lesquin unit a more relaxed appearance, especially as compared to Imperial troops.  I intend to use the poses in firing positions as skirmishers for the main unit once they are used for a large-scale battle.

Now, to decide what the uniforms will be, and a spandarion as well...

More progress

And just a brief update:

I have completed the 'build phase' on most of the new miniatures - the jackstraws have yet to be opened however.  Priming is next, except for my new big beastie which needs some serious green stuff help with the join of the left arm to the shoulder.

More pics after the primer sets, including some more side-by-side comparisons!

Part Two!

I had intended to continue the wall of text approach with my decision of a genre to pursue more closely.  But, I think it makes more sense to just cut to the chase and get going.  WW2 naval it is, specifically The Med as a starting point.



Now, does this mean that I am taking the narrow historical account?  Nope.  The collection will start with some hypothetical French/Italian actions, maybe even as early as 1939.  It is my intent to collect the proper forces to do historical battles, but I do not want to be limited to only that approach.



Slowly, this will include the British and Americans as well.  Plan Rubber has not been forgotten, but I will not be working on it to a large extent for a year or more.



The task has started already:

The pic above shows what is left of my WW2 naval collection, being re-organized.  These are all miniatures from GHQ.  Over years past, I sold off all of my completed ships, including a large Italian contingent.  Now, I am starting with two battleships, a Littorio class and another BB which I have yet to identify - probably Cesare.  One French ship is there - Dunkerque.  Two US ships were spared, Arkansas and Texas.  Four British ships are waiting - King George V, Hood, Rodney, and Barham.  And, a lone German ship - Graf Spee.  I have a large quantity of bits from past work, and one can see that they are being organized into a more sensible system.



It is a start, yes, but much more needs to be done.  Basing, rules, paints, and more are still to be determined...  Clear for action!!!