Tuesday, February 28, 2012

A Renaissance Diversion

The latest of my troops to be based up for Impetus are these, well, cheveaux legers?  I bought them years ago second hand and they've been rebased a couple of times but I don't think I've yet used them.


I have to say I'm more pleased with the appearance of the basing in real life than in these photographs.

Airfield Control Tower

There's a small civilian airfield south of the Lippe that should appear on the relevant table for the Crisis Point game.  This MGB resin control tower should do nicely for it.


It's obviously British in design and the underground storage is a bit military-looking but I'm prepared to overlook that.


I can just see Soviet VDV airborne troops descending on it.


Sunday, February 26, 2012

Big Box of Goodies

I managed to get over to Steve (The Baggage Train)  Oates’s house on Saturday evening to collect the Arnhem Bridge model that Steve has kindly donated to the SOTCW for use in the Crisis Point game and beyond. 
Steve very kindly provided me with a huge box of goodies:
Quite apart from the bridge:
...which is going to be a bit of a challenge, Steve also very kindly provided a whole load of Atlantic Wall style bunkers and command positions:


Oh, and another bridge!



I don’t see why the NATO forces shouldn’t reuse old Westwall fortifications so some of these will be used in the big game.  Others will see the light of day in future SOTCW demo games.
I can’t recommend Steve’s stuff too highly.  Check it out at The Baggage Train.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

More Big Game Buildings

Just completed - a couple of apartment buildings for Venlo:


They're mostly cardboard and balsa.  The front door and steps on the grey-green building are by Irregular Miniatures.

Mud Movers

In preparation for April's big Cold War Commander game I've been thinking about rules for air support.  I've decided to follow Ian Shaw's suggestion of using randomised air support.  Rather than drawing up tables I'm going to have a card for each available aircraft and let each side draw cards to see what they can call upon.  That way we can add new aircraft as players arrive.


Each aircraft gets a card that includes the relevant stats and any relevant rules for special munitions carried.  The five aircraft in the foreground are recent eBay purchases I've yet to repaint.  The F-111, the Belgian F-104 and the Su-24 are strategic strike aircraft and shouldn't really be used for tactical air support but needs must in time of war.  I'll probably restrict the options in using these elements.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Back from Disneyland Paris...

... where there was not much to see of interest from a wargaming point of view except for the three French Army types who turned up each day, armed to the teeth, to patrol the area between the park and the railway station.

Not The Biggest Bridge...

This isn't planned to be the biggest bridge in the Crisis Point big Cold War Commander game but it is fairly chunky.

It's presented here because I'd told Richard Phillips it wouldn't go together in this asymmetrical formation but now discover that it will!


The big river is 8cm across (including the banks) while the smaller river is 3cm.

This is supposed to be a 10mm scale model I understand but I find it works fine with 6mm toys.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Vapnartak Today...

... and sadly, I forgot to take my camera.

So instead here are a couple of pictures of Somerset's completed liveried billmen.


Saturday, February 4, 2012

On the Workbench - a German Factory

The latest addition to my collection of 1/300th scale scenery is this German light industrial unit.


It was originally planned for use in a WW2 game but then I decided to adapt it for the Third World War game in April. Parking bays on the front concourse seemed a good way of saying "modern".


As you can see, the defenders have started fortifying the factory by adding breastworks of sandbags to the roof and car park.

6mm Unit Basing


The impending Big Cold War Commander Game in April has raised the issue of basing standards for 6mm scale models.  This is what I do.
My basing material is artist’s mounting board.  You can get it from an arts and crafts supplies shop.  I back mine with self-adhesive steel paper before cutting out the bases.  This is available from a company called Magnetic Displays.  It’s not cheap but a pack lasts a long time.  My storage drawers are lined with “magnetic foam” which you can pick up for about 60p an A4 sheet from Hobbycraft.
Having cut out the bases with a Stanley knife, I try to remember to mark the bottom of the base to show what kind of unit the base will be.  I use a fine-pointed Staedler felt tip designed for writing in CDs.
Next, apply a thin layer of PVA glue all over the base.  Place the model into the glue and sprinkle finely sieved sand over the rest.
You can if you like add small stones or twigs to the base before the sand but I tend not to bother because most of my bases aren’t much bigger than the model.


With infantry or command units I sometimes disguise the thick bases of the figures by blending them in with a little tile adhesive tinted brown with poster paint.



When the base has dried (usually over night) you can invert it and tap the bottom to remove the excess sand.  The base is now ready for painting.

I start off with a base coat of Miniature Paints’ Earth Brown or Games Workshop’s Khemri Brown (or if I’m feeling particularly keen, irregular patches of the two).  I make sure to paint the sides of the base to match the top.


I then drybrush.  For small, single vehicle unit bases I usually just go straight to Vallejo Iraqi Sand or GW Bleached bone but for larger unit bases I use layers of increasing lightness - GW Graveyard Earth followed by Vallejo Camo Orange Ochre, Khaki, Iraqi Sand and finally Iraqi Sand mixed with white.




I then paint the base with patches of thinned down PVA and scatter on static grass.




My bases are to the following sizes for the Blitzkrieg Commander series of games:
CO bases 40mm width x 40mm depth
HQ bases 30mm x 30mm
Tanks, trucks, armoured cards APCs etc. 20mm x 30mm
Infantry, MGs etc 30mm x 20mm
Mortars, artillery, AA elements 30mm x 30mm
FAOs and FACs use a 2p coin, and
Snipers use a 1p coin.