Another TacWWII marker

I had a play around on Tinkercad yesterday and designed a new marker for TacWWII:

Sized at 75mm x 40mm, these company markers can potentially fill two functions.

Having spent ages advancing infantry companies through the dense forests of Manchuria in a recent game, I thought it would be useful to just have one base to move, specifically when the troops concerned were nowhere near the enemy.

In addition they could act as blinds allowing for limited intelligence as to enemy strength. Each marker carries an identifying letter on the rear.

These letters can be used to identify particular companies on the order of battle sheet. The opposing player will be kept in the dark as to unit type until the company can be detected (though speed of movement may give some clues!)

Units for Essel

I'm hoping to get in a game of TacWWII at the informal gaming club at one of the local pubs. I've adapted Bob Mackenzie's Breakout from the Essel Bridgehead scenario and found that it needed a few elements I didn't yet have.

These are all 1/300th scale wargames toys; not accurate scale models.

First up the Germans have a low probability of a single sortie by a ground-attack Me262. Fortunately I had a 3D print left over from the ones I did for Crisis Point:

Then there's a Loyd carrier to tow the British 6pdr AT gun. Don't know the manufacturer - it came in a bag of second hand stuff marked "British Support Company".

And finally I adapted an old Irregular Miniatures Universal Carrier to make the Wasp flame-thrower variant. The flames are from painted clump foliage and the fuel and propellant tanks are from plastic rod.

 

Workbench update

Looking back through recent blog posts I've noticed a few things that appeared here as work-in-progress but never got the final beauty shot.

First up there's the half-destroyed adobe building. 

Which now looks like this:

This building has already seen action in the Christmas Pavis game but the obvious destination for it is Puebla 1863.

Then there was the 3D printed medieval tower and its destroyed version.

Finished and added to 60mm square urban bases we end up with a couple of nice additions to the Prague 1948 city options.

And finally the Gauls:

These guys, intended for Infamy Infamy, now look like this:

These are Victrix apart from the guys at either end of the rear rank who are from Warlord. 

This leader is distinguished by his round base.

Finally, Gaullish cavalry in Infamy Infamy come with a free base of stewards; servants holding spare horses who can act as a rallying point for the horsemen if they need it.

The chap with the oval shield is an old white metal 25mm model, manufacturer unknown. The horse-holder is cobbled together model with legs from Warlord, Green Stuff torso and other parts from the spares box. The horse is, I think, Gripping Beast with a Green Stuff saddle.

On the workbench

I was putting in a Victrix order while they had their Black Friday sale running and was just short of the total needed to to get free shipping so I added in a pack of Gallic cavalry. I figure I may one day use them to play Infamy Infamy.

Feeling the urge to paint something just for the hell of it I made a start. Adding in a couple of existing Warlord Gauls I'm not far off a six-man unit with Leader.

There are only three horse sculpts - it doesn't look line the halves are interchangeable to give more variety in poses. I'm therefore working on using Green Stuff to vary the harness decoration. I'll share comparison pics when they're done.

Meanwhile I continue to persevere with the 3D printer despite problems with build plate adhesion. Successfully printed was this medieval tower. Yet another addition to the Eastern European 6mm urban terrain.

An earlier version of the print failed part way through so I'm working on a ruined version using quick-drying Polyfilla, grit, and slices of wooden coffee stirrer.

I've used a 6cm base, which I'll paint to resemble a paved square. 6cm happens to be twice my standard road width.

Finally, one of my planned Christmas games is another Song of Blades and Heroes skirmish set in Pavis. I wanted to reflect the fact that Pavis isn't depicted as all right angles so I've knocked up this cluster of buildings.

Very much made up as I went along, this one. The long balcony has been in my terrain bits box for years and the length of that side of the building was determined by the desire to use it. 

I even broke my usual rule of designing the building to fit an existing storage box but fortunately a new pair of walking boots provided exactly the size box I needed.

I generally make adobe buildings generic enough to pass for Pavis or Mexico but this time I'm thinking of going all-out fantasy with a statue in a niche above one of the doors and maybe painted runes on one of the walls.

Well that's it for now. I'll share finished pics when done.

Missing in Action

I've not posted here for a bit - the real world got in the way in the form of the Covid-19 virus. Having avoided it for three years, I finally picked up a case two weeks ago. I really do recommend that you avoid getting a dose if you can manage it!

I've not done anything much in the way of painting but did manage to do these civilian types for my Steel Lard game:

They are both from the 1st Corps range. In my game they'll represent Colonels Lewis Washington and Robert Lee.

The other recent development has been to finally take the plunge and buy a 3D printer. On a friend's recommendation, I went for the Creality Ender-3 S1 Pro. Several people recommended resin printers but I didn't fancy messing around with liquid resin, having to UV cure models etc.

So far I've produced a single Doric column (more to follow) and a sabot base...

It's a struggle to get the hang of this - I feel like I'm missing a genuinely comprehensive instruction book but I'm sure I'll get there eventually.