Villains and a Couple Allies

Well, due to unforeseen difficulties, Cheef and I didn't get to play this past Saturday night, but we're working on a reschedule.  Still excited about the game and we'll see how it goes.  However, the night free did give me a chance to work on a some more Bolt Action super powers.

First up my allies finally got a Bucky to partner up with Captain America.  Most of the ones I had seen I didn't care for, but finally stumbled across one that I liked and he's now part of the crew.  He was a simple rebase and that's it.

And even though I only have a British Bolt Action army, I wanted to do some Axis Supers/Enhanced as well just because it's been fun and not expensive at all to do these.  Just a small collection of villains to start with, but there are more planned.

Baron Blood (John Falsworth)
    Union Jack's younger brother who was disappointed by his lack of recognition like
    his older brother, John sought out Dracula as a source of power.  Enslaved by the
    evil monster, he became Baron Blood and was used to assist the Axis cause.
Yes, this isn't the Baron Blood model, but I can't stand the look of him even though he makes a great model as a counterpoint to Union Jack and Spitfire.  So Dark Hawk gets vilified with a rebasing to fill in instead.

 

Iron Cross (Helmut Gruler)
    A German champion with an armored suit that gave him enhanced abilities, he was
    a reluctant combatant for the Nazi regime who felt it nessecary to fight for his country
A foe of Ironman getting re-purposed here with a rebasing and a slight dry brush to bring out the detail on the solid green armor.

U-Man (Merrano)
    An Atlantean who challenged Namor for the throne, he was banished and turned to
    German scientist to enhance his abilities and help him claim the throne of Atlantis.
Another foe of the Invaders that I wanted to use that didn't have a model, but Black Manta makes a perfect substitute.  He was rebased and given a light dry brush to accent the black armor/suit.  I don't like the swords he has and they'll be replaced once I find something I like.

 

Batroc (Georges Batroc)
    French collaborator trained in various martial arts and close combat tactics as well as
    various means of infiltration and sabotage

Not a WW2 villain but the character makes sense, is a cool villain, and helps pull in the occupied French territory.  A quick rebase and he joined the vault of villains.

Feuerkopf (Hans Wilhelm)
    German scientist who found a way to safely channel fire by means of a special fuel
    and protective suit.
I've always liked the character Pyro as a villain, so he was a quick re-purposing as a villain of my creation in the vein of pulp type characters.  Quick easy rebase and the foes of liberty continue to grow.

So that's where we're at for now.  I still want to do a Baron Zemo, Red Skull, Crossbones, and Chameleon  for sure.  Perhaps a few more as I get an idea.  Being the holidays, it's been a bit busy at work for me so not a ton of free hobby time lately which makes these easy conversion so much fun.  That's all for now this go around.  Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you next time!

Gearing Up To Go Again

Leftenant Franklin Smythe, newly graduated from Kilbourne Academy, was sorely disappointed when he was assigned command of an armored lance in a militia command no less.  But then Caselton was visited by a raiding lance of Marik Militia and he saw his chance for glory.  Using his personality to overwhelm his rather meek commanding officer, he was now on the way to lead a reprisal raid against the same militia unit that attacked Caselton.  He and his two platoons of armor will return to glory, promotions, and recognition.  He'd show them all he should be in charge of a line unit of mechs or die trying.

So the all UrbanMech battle was a lot of fun and we decided to follow it up with an all armor battle that will take place tomorrow evening.  It's set for 8,000 Battle Value per side which should shake out to right at 8 or so vehicles.  Well for me it was 8 anyway, a nice round 2 platoons.  We'll see how this round of battle comes out with the first round being a draw.  Considering the size of my BattleTech collection, it feels good to get some fo them on the table.

I also got a few more models for my Bolt Action heroes.  First up is a Dr. Mid-Nite.  A great classic JLA-er, he was one I definitely wanted to work into the collection.  He got a quick rebasing and into the group he went.  He had a great pose and detailing, so I'm happy I found this version of him.

I couldn't tell you who this model was orginally but he'll be acting as a Green Hornet in my force.  A nice pulp fiction favorite that has too much personality to not be included.  He's not quite the original but he's close enough that it'll work for me.

I also did a couple noncombatants up to represent scientists to be used as high value targets for Bolt Action games.  They're nice models and after a rebasing didn't need any touch ups and are good to go.

So that's all for now and I'm glad you all stopped by.  I should have the BattleTech BatRep up sometime early next week unless the weather causes some issues with playing the game.  That's all for now and I'll see you next time!

BattleTech, BattleTech, and Then Some Bolt Action

So with a major retail holiday upon us, I've not really had any free hobby time.  Between family things and work, it's just been a hectic couple weeks for me.  However I did manage to get a few things done and this will be as much a progress report as anything else.

 

So first I got another shelf unit and finished getting my BattleTech forces organized.  Leading off is my beloved Eridani Light Horse, 21st Striker Regiment.  The first picture is the Command Company, the 3rd Striker Battalion, and the 5th Striker Battalion.  The second picture is the 7th Striker Battalion and the 1st Armored Infantry Battalion.  The only thing not complete about this regiment is that one day I need to talk someone into assisting me get the 3 pages of Fighting Piranha Graphics decals added to them all and then one day I need to find some bases that I like for the aerospace fighters.  Other than that, this is a 100% complete force.  This is an entirely pre-3025 force but could be played later in the timeline with newer variants of the models.

 

Next up is my 8th Donegal Guards Regiment.  This first picture is the 1st and 2nd Battalions and the 3rd Battalion is in the second picture.  This force is complete as far as painting and basing and it makes a nice pre-3025 force and of course could be used later in the timeline with more modern variants.

Then we have the Davion's Caselton Militia.  On the left is the 38th Defense Battalion and on the right is the 43rd Reconnaissance Battalion.  Definitely a defense style force with just a company of light mechs and then heavy tanks and artillery and then a company of hover tanks with 2 companies of recon vehicles and mechanized infantry.  This unit is 10% painted and based and I've no plans to expand it any further.

Then we come to my only Clan force, the Ghost.  We have from left to right, the Alpha Galaxy's 1st Bear Guards Cluster's 312th Assault Trinary and 23rd Elemental Support Binary.  The last unit on the far right is the 44th PGC's 144th Provisional Garrison Trinary.  This is another completed force and I've no plans to expand either unless I just stumble onto a really great deal on some Clan Mechs.

And then finally we've got a bit of Bolt Action.  I've finally based my Captain America, have rebased the Black Knight and Torch (of the Invaders not the Fantastic Four), and then after a light wash to give a bit of detail, have rebased the Namor as well.  So my version of the super humans to assist the Allies have finally made some progress.  Since this force will end up a mix of DC and Marvel characters, I'm still playing around with a name for the group with Justice Defenders being the current top choice.  Opinions and suggestions on this are as always welcome.

So that's all for now and going from how the rest of my week looks, I'll likely not be back for a new post until next weekend at the absolute earliest.  So I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and see you all next time.

No Dreads This Time

Well, this update is a bit later than I had planned and not on the subject I had wanted.  But between work being about to hit the yearly inventory and the sudden weather changes hitting me with plenty of allergy/sinus issues it's been a pain in the butt of a week or so.  So no update on the Dreadtober this time around but now that things are better on the health front and just a couple days away from getting a lot better on the work front, the Dreads are coming!

So a few weeks or so back I had made a small BattleTech purchase to get a Rommel Patton tank to finish off my Eridani Light Horse regiment.  Well the seller was from Florida but was up in East Tenn about 30 minutes away from where I live.  I got a message inviting me over to a yard sale he and where he was staying were holding to look through a lot of BattleTech stuff.  So there were 5 plastic trays of vehicles, a small box of mechs, and a pile of books.  I picked up 3 of the vehicle boxes and a few of the books for $300.  However, after setting aside a good portion to keep, I still sold or traded off the rest to make my money back which meant I had well over $100 of vehicles for free.  I'm pretty happy with how it all worked out.  So now onto the LOOT! or I guess the proper term for BattleTech would be salvage or a Brion's Cache.

So what I kept was the 5 Long Toms, 6 LRM Carriers, 2 SRM Carriers, 4 J Edgars, 4 Pegasus, 2 Packrats, 2 Skulkers, 8 Goblins, 4 Drillsons, 4 Manticores, 4 Alacorns, 4 Shreks, and then a batch of support vehicles including a number of GHQ trucks, some BattleTech Ammo Carriers, MASH Vehicles, and a Mobile Command Center.

I also traded for a trio each of Unseen Griffins and Unseen Wolverines.  I don't have any plans for any of this at the moment but I'm sure an idea will come along soon enough.  Looking for some type of combined arms reinforced battalion, perhaps mercenary rather than a house force.  Still digging around for ideas and possibilities so we'll see how it goes.

I also found what I was looking for and purchased a few HeroClix to convert to Bolt Action to join my Captain America and Union Jack to form my version of the Invaders.  There is a Human Torch figure that will just need rebased as I like the look of this model completely.  Then there is a Namor the Submariner that will need at least a wash layer, maybe another touch up or two and then rebasing as well.  And lastly while not part of the original group, or any of it's reincarnations, but I like the Black Knight too much as a character and he'll be joining the British representations on the team once he's rebased as well.  I'd also like to make it more inclusive of the other allies by including a Thor for Norway but I've yet to find a Clix version of him that I like yet.  Other members pending good ideas including perhaps even mixing universes for a representative from DC as well.

So that's where we stand and I'm looking forward to getting going again on the Dreads.  It looks like I'm going to hopefully get 5 painted by the end of the month if this weekend and coming week are as productive as the first couple weeks were.  Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you all the next go around.

Getting Organized

So the organization of my hobby storage, projects, and so on continues.  I'm still looking for a long term idea for bits storage, so keep sending me suggestions if you have them.  I'm also trying to get all my projects and such organized as well.  So here's where the state of my hobby and what's on the list to be worked on.  This is going to turn into a long one I think, so let's get going.

Battletech
Eridani Light Horse, 21st Striker Regiment
This is my unit closest to fully completed and should be able to finish it in the next couple weeks assuming I can track down the tank I'm missing.

1. Need a Rommel/Patton or Von Luckner tank to finish off 1st Arm. Inf. Bat.
2. Finish painting aerospace fighters

8th Donegal Guard
This one will also be done soon.  I've got all the mechs for the 3rd Battalion and it's just a matter of painting and basing.

1. Paint and Base 3rd Battalion of Mechs

Caselton Militia
This one isn't too far from being done as well.  Again it's mainly just painting and basing, though painting all those little GHQ apcs and halftracks .

1. Paint and Base rest of mech infantry platoons and Demolisher Tanks

Ghost Bears
I've got some clan and SLDF era mechs from trades and such that I've organized into a Provisional Garrison Cluster.  Since it's not part of the Alpha Galaxy like the rest of the completed Ghost Bears, they'll need a different paint scheme but still something that goes with them.

1. Paint and Base PGC unit 

20th Arcturan Guard
I have nothing to do to this unit.  It's two lances and no plans to add or mess with this unit any farther.

Terrain
I've got a few ideas of some pieces I want to do, but no immediate projects as I have to figure out the hows and with whats.

Warhammer 40K
Lions of Harlech
This is hands down my largest project to get done.  There are hundreds of marines plus dreadnoughts and vehicles that need painted.  I really need to get myself motivated to start clearing some off these up.  Out of the entire chapter, I'd say close to 35 to 40% of it is painted so a ton of work here to be done.

1. Finish 8th Company, missing 6 Assault Squads
2. Painting and Basing .... SOOOOOOO much painting

Void Lions
This is the successor for my Lions where all the Primaris marines are going.  I've got an Intercessor Box and a Primaris Dreadnought to assemble   I also need to get their background written as well as figure out a paint scheme.  With the Primaris marines from the 8th Edition Starter Box, that'll give me a nice small unit of them that I have no plans on growing.  I just wanted to have a few options of these for use on the table top.

1. Finish assembling Primaris Marines
2. Paint and Base the Primaris force
3. Finish writing fluff for Void Lions

X-Wing
For a while this was played in bulk but seems to have died down for a while.  I still love my ships though and no plans to thin it out any.  I do need to get it all reorganized as it's outgrown my original storage and organization plans.

1. Get cards and ships organized
2. Figure out if I need/want to add any ships

Bolt Action
British Airborne
This is pretty far down the priority list due to there being little interest in Bolt Action lately it seems like.  But I do want to get this group done at some point.

1. Paint and Base entire force
2. Assemble 2nd Bicycle Squad
3. Look into adding a few more Bren Carriers

Mordheim
Dwarf Band
With the news that Mordheim might be being re-released by Games Workshop as well as it's occasional resurgence among players around here, I need to look into getting this force finished.

1. Paint and Base the force 
2. Finish fluff for the force

Saga
Viking Warband
This group is somewhat partially painted and while it isn't played locally, I think I could talk Bob into giving the rules a try if I get the force finished.

1. Paint and Base the force
2. Finish the unit fluff

Space Fleets
This is more of a for fun project than something that will probably every see the table top.  I don't know anyone that plays these.  It includes my BattleTech Aerospace ships as well as generic ships from several systems to use for civilian ships or whatever.  Again no priority on this force at all, but it'll be a fun project to work on at times.

1. Get all the ships painted
2. Figure out basing solution

Organization
I still have a lot of work to do here as well, mainly in getting all the bits still floating on sprues to a final home so I can find what I'm looking for or at least have a decent idea where to look.  A pile of partial sprues on my desk, a large tote of partial sprues and about 4 random boxes with looks stuff in them just isn't working for me any more.

1. Finish sorting hobby source books into boxes
2. Bits storage solution and implementation

Well, that's pretty much it.  There are a few other small things that aren't on the list due to them being so far down the list of stuff to do that they aren't even on the radar.  These include 10mm stuff, Aeronef, Rogue Star force, and Guild Ball.  That's all for now and thanks for stopping by.  I'll see you all next time and don't forget to send those bits storage ideas.

Time To Get Going Again

I know, it's been a while.  The holidays were a bit rough at work due to personnel reasons and then my computer decided to pack it in during the midst of all that.  But it's all straightened out now and we're ready to go again.  So, while little progress was made during the holidays, there is some news out there.

First up let's look at my Bolt Action British.  During a post Christmas online sale I picked up a DUST Tactics mobile AA walker for some covering support for my British Airborne.  I still need to get the US markings changed over to British ones.  I'm tentatively giving this the identification of Crusader III AA Walker Mk II.

Also as part of the same sale purchase, I got some DUST Tactics British armored infantry.  They're a bit larger scale than Bolt Action infantry, but should work ok for the Konflict 47 British armored infantry.  I got a total of 12 of them, so they'll be organized into 2 sections of 6 SAS Commando Armored Infantry Troopers to help secure the landing zones for my British Airborne.

On the BattleTech Front, there are some more additions there as well though in book form.  First off I got the First Succession War Source Book by Catalyst Games.  It's got a ton of stuff in it and while it's not an easy to get through book the way it's laid out, it's been enjoyable to pick through.  I also managed to win an eBay auction for three of the original House sourcebooks.  They're not in great shape, but I've only ever had the Steiner one before now so it's nice to get some of them.  I got a Steiner replacement, a Liao, and a Kurita.  Hopefully I'll find a Marik and Davion one someday soon.


The other thing that is going on is that a large group of Mechs have gone into a Simple Green bath.  I just can't seem to make myself paint any more green mechs so I've completely cut off my Eridani Light Horse at just the one regiment.  With the fun of some of what has been done in the First Succession War book, they're going to become something I've ever done which is a white painted army.  I'm going to do a Level III of Com Guard pre-3025.  We'll see how they come out once they're done bathing.

So that's all for now and I'll see you all later.

All Over The Place

Oh we're in for a treat today.  We've got 40K, more BattleTech Ghost Bears, and even some Bolt Action.  So sit back and enjoy the ride.

First up, let's see the last of the BattleTech Ghost Bears.  All the Elementals are based so the entire force is 100% complete.  Now I just have to talk Murl or Screech or someone into a game to get them on the table top.  I don't enjoy the painting part of the hobby and I often have to force myself to make progress on this front, so for me to have an entire force of ANYTHING entirely painted is a real achievement I'm proud of.  Now I need to start clearing some more Eridani Light Horse off the list.

Next on the list is some reinforcements for my British Airborne forces.  I've been wanting to Paras on Bikes for a while now.  A three paycheck month happened to fall just as I got a discount code from Warlord.  So two squads of bikes were ordered and arrived the middle of this week.  Half of them are now assembled, and I should have the rest assembled sometime next week.  I also still need to finish the rest of that box of Commandos to use as Paras as well.

Now on to the biggie.  I finally bought a 40K (ok, technically 30K) Calth box.  With my love of almost all things Dreadnought, the Contemptor was the first thing to be assembled.  I used the spare arm on the armless Contemptor I've had for quite a while, so now it just needs one now.  And yes, that means I now have 5 Contemptor Dreadnoughts and 20 total Dreadnoughts of all types now.  And no, I don't have a problem, I could not buy any dreadnought that wasn't interesting or appealing anytime I want.

Ok, moving on!  The Chaplain model from the Calth box was next.  This will be Chaplain Tobyn Pyke, Master of Sanctity, head of all the Lions of Harlech's chaplains.  It's a great model and I love the Crozius and how the cloak looks on the model.  It's got a lot of personality and went together really easily.

Then I've got the Captain in terminator armor and four terminators put together.  The Captain will be Captain Pedr Dyfedd, Regent of Cymru, Commander of the First Company (the Icons of Honor).  All five have chainfists so are ready to dish out massive destruction to anything in their way.

But way I hear you say "the Calth box comes with FIVE terminators, not four."  No, I'm not missing one.  The last one I got having fun with the bits box to create another character from my chapter's fluff.  Using some bits from the Mechanicus Warstrider box (yes, I bought one of those a while back just to use the bits out of it) as well as some other bits, we now have Inquisitor Jaemes Kaelleon, Ordo Hereticus, Radical Inquisitor (Libricar), one of my chapter's allies.  Being a Radical Inquisitor, he has the sort of tech weapons that might be frowned upon in some quarters, but he gets the job down.  I really like how he came out and this is the sort of conversion that makes 40K so much fun.

So that's where we're at for now.  What's up for the next couple weeks?  The rest of the British Para Bikers, some Eridani Light Horse hopefully, the marines from the Calth box, ..oh there is so much more lined up that I need to get through.  I'm also planning to go back and start redoing the chapter pics and blog posts of the Lions.  I never got half of them done before and what was done is out of date now too.  There's lots and lots of fun stuff coming this summer and I hope you all are enjoying the ride.

Ghost Bears, Light Horse, and a Bit of Bolt Action

So a bit of progress on several fronts here in the hobby realm.  First of all, the Bear Cub was finished for the Ghost Bears to finish off the Charlie Star of scouts/recon.

Then it turns out that I got a great deal on some elementals on eBay, enough to do about 11 points for $16 and shipping.  Nothing in the 50th Striker Cluster has more than 5 Points of Elementals in it, so I needed to do a restructure of the force.  A quick peruse through the Invading Clans sourcebook at the Ghost Bears Tourman and I moved everything over into the 1st Bear Guards Cluster instead.  What I have will represent the 312th Assault Trinary (the Silver Kodiaks) and the 23rd Elemental Support Binary.  This uses up all 3 Stars of Omnimechs as well as all the elementals while still keeping in the Alpha Galaxy so nothing needs a repaint.  The elementals are all primed and I'm going to paint them before splitting them apart to get them on hex bases to finish them off.

1st Bear Guards Cluster (The Rage), Alpha Galaxy
Star Colonel Paul Bekker, Timberwolf (Madcat)

312th Assault Trinary (The Silver Kodiaks)
Star Captain Eddard Jamieson, Novacat

Alpha Star
Star Commander Rachael Baird, Hellbringer (Loki)
    Tomas Sarnow, Warhawk (Masakari)
    Lucian Pyne, Mad Dog (Vulture)
    Coleen Groenewold, Summoner (Thor)
    Oscar Esterhaus,

Bravo Star
Star Commander Freyja Wycliffe, Grizzly
    Simon Paulk, Mad Dog (Vulture)
    Fionna Giscard, Timberwolf (Madcat)
    Wilhelm Forsythe, Novacat
    Iroku Ashigara, Timberwolf (Madcat)

Charlie Star
Star Commander Jayne Cardones, Timberwolf (Madcat)
    Hideoshi Nakamura, Blackhawk
    Kaitrin Ericsson, Soiltaire
    Manfred Courvosier, Blackhawk
    Thorgeir Gaerwulf, Bearcub

23rd Elemental Support Binary
Star Captain Sarah Kabrinsky

Alpha Elemental Star
Star Commander Klaus Danitov
    5 Elemental Points

Bravo Elemental Star
Star Commander Travis Garroway
    5 Elemental Points

Next up we have something for my Eridani Light Horse.  The four LAMS (from way back here) were primed, got the base layer green, the brass highlights, and a wash layer.  I need to figure out what to paint the stand that holds them up off the base still then get them based as well.

And then my Bolt Action British Paras got a bit of love.  A while back I got a box of British Commandos to use as paras since they have the beret option.  I got the first five assembled for 2 rifles, 2 sten guns, and a PIAT launcher.  I'm aiming to get the other 20 in the box assembled over the next week.

So that's where we're at for now.  Goals for the coming week include getting the Elementals done, getting my Leviathan based when the ordered base finally shows up in the mail, and then getting more of the paras put together.  I also still need to come up with one more mech to finish off the Alpha Star of my Ghost Bears.  I've been trying to work out a trade or cheap purchase of a Kingfisher which would be a great fit but have yet to have any luck there.  We'll see how it all goes and I'll see you all next time.

Ghost Bear Progress and Air Support

Well we've got a bit of progress to show this week.

 

So the Grizzly and first Mad Cat got their black dots under smaller white dots added to the paint scheme and then the green basing and a last wash over the basing.  Overall, not too bad at all I think.  I still need to do something for the cockpit glass though and then they'll be done.

Then the Vulture and a Novacat got their under blue cameo and then the lighter blue layer and then the wash layer.  If I can keep this going, I'll have all the Mechs I have for the Trinary so far done in the near future I hope.

I also took advantage of some nice weather on a day I went into work later and got a lot of the white primered mechs for the Eridani Light Horse a dark olive green base coat sprayed on, followed by a lighter green.  A few new additions in the group to give some missing mech options in a Firestarter, a Hermes, a Crockett, and an Axeman.

Then last of all, I addressed air support for my American Bolt Action army.  My Brits have the Dust Tactics jet that I like, but my Americans didn't have anything.  So I came across a Testor's P-51 easy assemble pre-painted at a very reasonable price of under $10.  Fifteen minutes of work later and I've got a nice WW2 fighter to do some strafing in support of my Americans.

All in all, not too bad for progress.  That's all for now and I'll see you all next time.