Stuff on the table - January 2018 UPDATE

Here's what I got up to in January:

• Zvezda 1/144th Ju-87 Stuka (2017) - no further progress
• Revell 1/144th Me-262 (2016) - assembly completed
• Newline Designs 10mm Roman Princeps x30 (2016) - painted, varnished, based COMPLETED

Additional items worked on:

• Artizan/North Star Dark Confederate zombies x4 (2017) - cleaned up and primed
• Artizan/North Star Jackalope (2017) - cleaned up and primed
• Newline Designs 10mm Roman Triarri x30 (2016) - cleaned up, primed, main painting complete

I've set myself the target of 30 10mm Punic Wars figures a month which means I should complete by October/November time. I'm slightly ahead as I'm just completing the details on the Triarri as we finish January. They'll be varnished and based ealy in Feb. Probably wise to switch focus and then gear up for another batch at the end of the month.

January Purchases

Privateer Press Cryx Bloodgorgers. These were an absolute bargain at £17.60 for a painted unit of 10. They retail at around £60! The paintjob is ok. I'll leave the metals and redo the skin and bases. 

6xArmy Painter washes. My stockpiled Citadel ones are finally running out so I thought I'd give these a go. I also restocked a few essential Vallejo paints and bought a set of Javis fine sable brushes to help with all that 10mm painting.

And that was it, quite restrained. I'm happy with what I've got on the go so no need to buy anything more.

Stuff on the table - December 2017 update

Here's the final update for stuff on the table for 2017:

• Zvezda 1/144th Ju-87 Stuka (2017) - no further progress
• Privateer Press Hordes Ravagore (2016) - COMPLETED

Additional items worked on:

• Battlefront 15mm Panzer Grenadier platoon (Winter) (2016) - cleaned, primed, painted, varnished, based COMPLETED 
• Newline Designs 10mm Roman Princeps (2016) - cleaned, primed, started painting
• Revell 1/144th Me-262 (2016) - started assembly
  

And that's it. I'll do a summary of 2017 early on in 2018 and I wish everyone all the best for the new year and beyond.

Stuff on the table - December 2017

Here's what's on the table as we enter the last month of the year:

• Zvezda 1/144th Ju-87 Stuka (2017)
• Privateer Press Hordes Ravagore (2016)

The Ravagore is virtually complete, just needs final assembly and details and a bit of work on the base. It's the last Privateer Press item that I have to do. I like to have one or two to work on a year but no more than that as they are really time consuming. 

The Stuka has been sitting there complete and waiting a paint job for a couple of months now. I also have a Revell and two Eudard 1/144th Stukas to be done. Annoyingly all of them are slightly different sizes. I need to make a decision on what to do with them.

Time permitting what with Christmas and everything, I'll start on some of the 10mm Punic Wars backlog and/or some plane kits and/or the 15mm Panzer Grenadier platoon. 

Stuff on the table - November 2017 UPDATE

Updates to the items in progress during November:

• Zvezda 1/144th Ju-87 Stuka (2017) - no further progress
• Minicraft 1/144th Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero (2017) - COMPLETE
• Privateer Press Hordes Ravagore (2016) - painted and based, final assembly and details to complete
• Artizan Designs 28mm WW2 Maquis (2013) - COMPLETE
• Newline Designs 10mm Greek Hoplites (2015)  - COMPLETE

November was a good month. Completing the Maquis and Hoplites was a landmark as they were the oldest outstanding figures. They'll be a separate post about those hopefully but here's some shots of the Zero.

Stuff on the table - November 2017

Here's what's on the table as the start the month:

• Zvezda 1/144th Ju-87 Stuka (2017)
• Minicraft 1/144th Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero (2017)
• Privateer Press Hordes Ravagore (2016)
• Artizan Designs 28mm WW2 Maquis (2013)
• Newline Designs 10mm Greek Hoplites (2015) 

As we go into the last two months of the year it's all about trying to clear up the pre-2017 stuff. So the Ravagore, Maquis and Hoplites are the priorities for this month. The Maquis just need basing, so once I decide on a basing scheme these will be completed. The Hoplites are in a similar state but I also need to complete the shield designs.

The Ravagore has some awkward parts which can only be painted prior to assembly. This will be quite an involved process of paint a bit, assemble a bit and repeat. 

Current state of the Ravagore

Stuff on the table - October 2017 UPDATE

Updates to the October list:

• Zvezda 1/144th Ju-87 Stuka (2017) - no further progress
• Minicraft 1/144th Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero (2017) - underneath painted and shaded, top surfaces base coated and weathered. Just detail painting and decals to do.
• Privateer Press Hordes Ravagore (2016) - some further prep work done. 
• Battlefront Miniatures 15mm USA WW2 Parachute rifle platoon (2016) - COMPLETED

The priority for the month was to complete the parachute rile platoon which was achieved. And here's some shots of the lads on their snowy bases. 

Additional items worked on:

• Artizan Designs 28mm WW2 Maquis (2013) - cleaned, primed and varnished, awaiting basing.
• Newline Designs 10mm Greek Hoplites (2015) - shield designs started (9 of 32)

These are the oldest figures that are outstanding. The Maquis were picked up very cheap from a Wayland Games stall at the Writtle Wargames show in 2013, with a whole batch of other Artizan WW2 figures they were selling off. I think it averaged about £2 a pack. I sold most but kept these, some partisans and the LRDG and i didn't really know what to do with them for awhile. Recently though I began to mull over an idea I had  about 6 years ago when I started to collect towards a squad level, early WWW2 game set in Nazi occupied Britain using AE:WW2 rules. This didn't go far but I kept some of the figures so I think I may resurrect this idea and the Maquis will fit well into this - they could as easily be British as French!. 

Stuff on the table - October 2017

A mixed bag to kick off October:

• Zvezda 1/144th Ju-87 Stuka (2017)
• Minicraft 1/144th Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero (2017)
• Privateer Press Hordes Ravagore (2016)
• Battlefront Miniatures 15mm USA WW2 Parachute rifle platoon (2016)

The priority is the parachute rile platoon which is part of my North West Europe winter 1944/45 project. 

Stuff on the table - September 2017 UPDATE

Updated list for September:

Zvezda 1/144th Ju-87 Stuka (2017) - assembled

Minicraft 1/144th Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero (2017) - assembled and primed, painting started 

Additional items worked on:

Privateer Press Hordes Ravagore (2016) - cleaned up and started assembly

Battlefront Miniatures 15mm WW2 Parachute rifle platoon (2016) - cleaned up and primed, painting started

I was away for a couple of weeks so not too much was done on existing projects. However, when I returned I got straight on with my winter project which is North West Europe winter 1944/45. 

Falling in love again

When I got the original black and white edition of Prime back in 2004 I fell for Warmachine in a big way. Khador and Cryx battle groups were duly collected. I was there at Salute 2006 for the release of Hordes and a Circle of Orboros battle group was added to the collection. A Legion of Everblight battle group followed in 2007 and then a steady addition of models for my existing factions. And every new book and each edition of No Quarter. 

Then in 2010 PP released Mk II and I was pissed off with the thought of spending all that coin on new rule books, forces books, cards etc. I stayed pissed off until 2014 when I revaluated and got hold of the mini rulebooks and the MkII faction decks, even going so far as to get the correct tokens for all my factions and I was all set again. I even bought a small Skorne army off eBay. 

Then we got to the end of 2015 and they announced MkIII. And that pissed me off. So I really thought that was it. I'd play the occasional game of Mk II and leave it at that.

Then I got an email from PP about the Grymkin faction. It appealed. Dangerously. So I had a look and discovered that PP had made all the MkIII cards available for free in a nifty database that produced a pretty PDF for your factions. And the rules were a free download (like MkII). And then I got the new rules digests for a few quid each from a nice fella on eBay. So I'm all set again. It's 2004. I love Warmachine (and Hordes of course).

Stuff on the table - April 2017 UPDATE

Here's the update for April:

Newline Designs 10mm Greek Hoplites (2015) - no further progress

Oathsworn Miniatures 28mm Burrows and Badgers Toad Animist (2016) - no further progress

Oathsworn Miniatures 28mm Burrows and Badgers Badger Mercenary (2016) - no further progress

Battlefront Miniatures 15mm WW2 Japanese Hohei platoon (2016) - Cleaned, primed, started painting

Privateer Press 30mm Hordes Gatormen (2016) - COMPLETED

Most of my hobby time this month was spent on the 5 Hordes Gatormen. These were the first plastic Privateer Press figures I've done. They needed a fair bit of clean up to remove flash and although they were supposed to be assembled using superglue I found this didn't work. I ended up assembling them by packing each joint with green stuff which did the job nicely. They came up pretty well and I'll add some photos when I get a chance. 

I had a change of heart and decided not to attend Salute. Various factors went into this decision which I won't bore you with, but the key was that there was nothing I wanted to buy. Strange but true. I'm content with what I've got to work on. I spent the £12 cost of admission ordering a copy of the Osprey rule book Scrappers instead and spent the time working on my 15mm WW2 Japanese infantry platoon. 

Stuff on the table - April 2017

Here's the starting point for April:

Newline Designs 10mm Greek Hoplites (2015)

Oathsworn Miniatures 28mm Burrows and Badgers Toad Animist (2016) 

Oathsworn Miniatures 28mm Burrows and Badgers Badger Mercenary (2016) 

Battlefront Miniatures 15mm WW2 Japanese Hohei platoon (2016)

Privateer Press 30mm Hordes Gatormen (2016)

Of course April is a big month as it's Salute month. My wargaming year starts with Salute and I like to try and get as much cleared up so I can justify buying shiny new things! The plan for this month is to concentrate on the Gatormen and if time allows press on with the remaining two Oathsworn anthropomorphic miniatures.

What's on the table - September 2016

Here's the list of what's on the table as we start September:

• Cromwell 1/76th Pz IV H (bought 2014)
• Oathsworn Miniatures Burrows and Badgers Mouse Knight (bought 2016)
• Revell 1/144th Bf-109E (bought 2015) 
• Revell 1/144th Hawker Hurricane  (bought 2015) 
• Newline Designs 10mm Greek Armoured Hoplites (bought 2015)

The Cromwell Pz IV is proving to be a pain in the rear which is why it's been an ever present on the What's on the table since I started in May. It's a resin kit with incredibly fragile turret schurtzen. All of the supports were either broken when I got it or have broken just by looking at them.  As is well documented on various forums, whilst producing lovely models Cromwell Models are a nightmare to deal with, so there's no chance of approaching them to get a replacement. In fact to get this kit I had to go through a third party. Additionally the model didn't come with the side schurtzen or with the supports on the model which is pretty poor as all Pz IVHs had them. So I'm going to have to do a fair bit of scratch building to get the model to look half way as it should. It's a real shame because the rest of the kit is lovely.

This is the smallest list of items in progress since I started the blog in May.  I'm on holiday for the first two weeks of September and this made me focus on getting things finished rather than starting anything new. When I return from holiday the goal is to complete the Mouse Knight and the two 1/144th planes but I don't envisage there to be much else that's happened when I publish the update at the end of the month. I really want to crack on now with my Punic Wars project. 

So until mid September...

What's on the table - August 2016 UPDATE

Updates to the original list:

• Privateer Press Hordes Satyr Shadowhorn – COMPLETED
• Oathsworn Miniatures Burrows and Badgers - Mouse Knight - some progress, base textured
• Oathsworn Miniatures Burrows and Badgers Ferret Rogue - COMPLETED 
• Oathsworn Miniatures Burrows and Badgers Fox Brigand – COMPLETED 
• Cromwell 1/76th Pz IV H – no progress
• Airfix 1/76th Cromwell Mk IV – COMPLETED
• Airfix 1/76th Opel Blitz – COMPLETED
• Revell 1/144th Hawker Hurricane – good progress, just detailing and decals to complete
• Revell 1/144th Bf-109E – good progress, just detailing and decals to complete
• Revell 1/76th Sherman Firefly – COMPLETED
• Newline Designs 10mm Greek Hoplites - no progress

 Additional items I worked on:

• Newline Designs 10mm Greek Hoplites - additional 23 figures cleaned and primed

August was quite productive considering I spent a lot of time watching the Olympic cycling and gymnastics and Team GB generally being very impressive. How refreshing it was to watch what appear to be intelligent, normal, well-rounded people represent their country with pride, dignity and integrity.  The contrast couldn't be greater to the Euros debacle. Rant over and back to the important stuff.    

All of the 2014 purchased figures are now complete which is a milestone I'm pleased to have achieved. And for the first time since I started this blog I don't have any Privateer Press figures on the table. I love these but I take a lot of time trying to do them justice. For the time it took me to do the five figures that I've completed this year I could do platoons of 15 or 20mm figures. I've still got a Gatormen posse unit and the Carnivean/Ravagore/Scythean kit to do but they were 2016 purchases and are well down the schedule. Once I've completed the 10mm Hoplites that'll be 2015's purchases completed as well. I think that the blog is serving it's purpose of keeping me focused.

What's on the table - August 2016

Here's the list of what's on the table as we start August:

• Privateer Press Hordes Satyr Shadowhorn (bought 2015) 
• Oathsworn Miniatures Burrows and Badgers - Ferret Rogue, Fox Brigand and Mouse Knight, (bought 2016)
• Airfix 1/76th Cromwell Mk IV (bought 2014)
• Revell (Matchbox)1/76th Sherman Firefly (bought 2016)
• Cromwell 1/76th Pz IV H (bought 2014)
• Airfix 1/76th Opel Blitz (bought 2015)
• Revell 1/144th Bf-109E (bought 2015) 
• Revell 1/144th Hawker Hurricane  (bought 2015) 
• Newline Designs 10mm Greek Armoured Hoplites (bought 2015)

I only managed to complete the 2 figures in July.  For August my aim is to complete the Cromwell Mk IV, Sherman Firefly and Opel Blitz as a minimum and also make some real progress with the Oathsworn Miniatures figures. 

What's on the table - July 2016 UPDATE

Updates to the original list:

• Privateer Press Hordes Titan Gladiator and Cannoneer – COMPLETED - HURRAY!!!
• Privateer Press Hordes Satyr Shadowhorn – no further progress
• Oathsworn Miniatures Burrows and Badgers - Mouse Knight, Ferret Rogue - no progress Fox Brigand – good progress, all base colours complete
• Cromwell 1/76th Pz IV H – no progress
• Airfix 1/76th Cromwell Mk IV – minimal progress, 2^nd base coat applied
• Airfix 1/76th Opel Blitz – no progress
• Revell 1/144th Hawker Hurricane – minimal progress, primed
• Revell 1/144th Bf-109E – minimal progress, primed
• Revell 1/76th Sherman Firefly – minimal progress, 2^nd base coat applied

 Additional items I worked on:

• Newline Designs 10mm Greek Hoplites - good progress, cleaned and primed

Titan Cannoneer

Just one more new project

As we approach the middle of the month I thought I'd better do an update for my not so many readers.

The month so far has been a titanic struggle or perhaps that should be a struggle with Titans. I've finally gotten round to painting the Skorne Titan Gladiator and Cannoneer that came with the small Skorne army that I got off eBay in 2014. These are big figures covered in detail and are taking up all my hobby time. 

As I persevere with these I'm thinking of starting a new project. The last new project I started was back in 2013 when I took a diversion to Afghanistan and which ended up as a 1920s NW Frontier project. Since then all of my purchases and time has been spent on adding to existing projects. Ah, not quite true as I bought a load of Burrows and Badgers minis at Salute.  However, that doesn't count.

In the frame and being researched at the moment are:

• Six day war - 6mm or 10mm 
• Vietnam war - 10mm
• 1980s Europe - 6mm

I've definitely been influenced by the Battlefront offerings for each of these eras, but I baulk at paying the BF prices. However, I do like their books and their website is full of useful information. 

The three conflicts offer something different for me. 10mm is a brand new scale. And for the Six day war and 1980s Europe these would involve far more armour than I currently use for my WW2 games which are no more than a troop of armour per side. 

I'm currently working out costings, looking at suitable ranges and manufacturers and reading about the conflicts. I'm hoping that by the end of the month I'll have made a decision and ordered my first units.

What's on the table - July 2016

Here's the list of what's on the table as we start July.

• Privateer Press Hordes Titan Cannoneer (bought 2014)
• Privateer Press Hordes Satyr Shadowhorn (bought 2015) 
• Privateer Press Hordes Titan Gladiator (bought 2014)

• Oathsworn Miniatures Burrows and Badgers - Ferret Rogue, Fox Brigand and Mouse Knight, (bought 2016)

• Airfix 1/76th Cromwell Mk IV (bought 2014)
• Revell (Matchbox)1/76th Sherman Firefly (bought 2016)
• Cromwell 1/76th Pz IV H (bought 2014)
• Airfix 1/76th Opel Blitz (bought 2015)

• Revell 1/144th Bf-109E (bought 2015)
• Revell 1/144th Hawker Hurricane  (bought 2015) 

The eagle eyed will spot that it's virtually the same list as for June minus the Pak 40 and picket fencing which was all I managed to complete. Whereas June was all about assembly, July should be a lot more pleasurable as I hope to get down to some proper painting. The aim is to complete any items that I bought in 2014. 

I have to admit that I'm itching to start a new project and have been looking into the possibilities but I'm trying to be good and not buy anything until I clear the table of what's in progress.

What's on the table - June 2016 UPDATE

Updates to the original list:

• Privateer Press Hordes Titan Gladiator and Cannoneer - minimal progress, working on skin tones
• Privateer Press Hordes Satyr Shadowhorn - minimal progress, base coat of skin
• Oathsworn Miniatures Burrows and Badgers - Mouse Knight, Ferret Rogue - no progress Fox Brigand - minimal progress, base coat of fur and jerkin
• Renedra picket fencing - completed
• Cromwell 1/76th Pz IV H - no progress
• Airfix 1/76th Cromwell Mk IV - significant progress, assembled and base coat applied
• Airfix 1/76th Pak 40 - completed, pic with SHQ SS PAK crewmen below
• Airfix 1/76th Opel Blitz - good progress, assembled and primed

Additional items I worked on:

• Revell 1/144th Hawker Hurricane - good progress, assembled
• Revell 1/144th Bf-109E - good progress, assembled
• Revell 1/76th Sherman Firefly - significant progress, assembled and base coat applied

All in all June was a mixed bag of a month on the hobby front. On the personal front it was a month I'm pleased to see the back of. Early in the month we lost a much loved family member. And in the most extreme case of "cutting off your nose to spite your face" in history, the UK voted to leave the EU with a period of uncertainty now guaranteed. It certainly put my hobby angst into perspective. 

What's on the table - June 2016

• Privateer Press Hordes Titan Gladiator and Cannoneer (bought 2014)
• Privateer Press Hordes Satyr Shadowhorn (bought 2015)
• Oathsworn Miniatures Burrows and Badgers - Mouse Knight, Ferret Rogue and Fox Brigand (bought 2016)
• Renedra picket fencing (bought 2014)
• Cromwell 1/76th Pz IV H (bought 2014)
• Airfix 1/76th Cromwell Mk IV (bought 2014)
• Airfix 1/76th Pak 40 and Opel Blitz (bought 2015

This is what's currently sitting there in various degrees of completion at the moment. How much gets done depends on all those usual factors like work and normal life. Springwatch has started and then the Euros football starts next week so that;s already cut my hobby time down

I find it good to have some targets to help focus and I've being using a spreadsheet to track my collection for a number of years. Any new item gets logged and I track it through from purchase to completion. I'm currently working on completing all my 2014 buys while balancing it out with some newer bits. Once I get the 2014 bits done, the plan is to finish something within 18 months of buying it. I have got some bits pre 2014, but with those it's more a case of not wanting to part with them than really being motivated enough to get on with them!

The year so far

By my standards I've had quite a productive year, having completed the following:

• 30mm - Privateer Press Hordes Brun Cragback and Lug. 2 figures - pic. below
• 28mm - Empress New Zealand Wars Royal Navy Boarding party. 10 figures. 
• 20mm - Newline Designs NW Frontier Afghans. 48 figures.
• 20mm - Newline Designs WW2 Red Army infantry. 8 figures.
• 20mm - SHQ WW2 Waffen SS Pak crew. 6 figures.

When writing the above it struck me that two of the entries on this list perfectly illustrates the butterfly approach to how I've accumulated my collection. 

I don't collect/game the New Zealand Wars. However, the figures are lovely sculpts, classic Paul Hicks and I had to get them in somewhere. I have an eclectic loosely categorised "Old West" collection so they are now shoehorned in here. 

The NW Frontier Afghans shows how else I can get sidetracked. Back in 2013 I became interested in Modern Warfare, something that I'd not touched before.I decided to get some Modern Afghans from MJ Miniatures. After painting these, other shiny things grabbed my attention and I didn't do anything else with this. Then I got an email from Newline Designs with a very good offer and I promptly bought 40 of their NW Frontier figures thinking I'd use them with my Modern Afghans. But think again. By this time I'd read some bits on the North West Frontier Campaigns of the 1920s and 1930s, purchased some appropriate Brits from Early War Miniatures and my Modern project had morphed into a North West Frontier project. The MJ Minis with their AKs which started it all off  are sitting in a box with little hope of seeing the light of day. 

As is the norm I've yet to game with any of the above figures. Well it did take me 10 years after buying Hordes at the release event at Salute 2006 to actually play the game. 

Brun Cragback and Lug