Stuff on the table - March 2018

Here we go for March:

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

Revell 1/144th Me-262 (2016)

Artizan/North Star 28mm Dark Confederate Zombies x4 (2017)

Artizan/North Star 28mm Jackalope (2017)

Newline Designs 10mm Roman Hastati x31 (2016)

Newline Designs 10mm Celtic Warband x31 (2016)

The 10mm Punic Wars project is progressing steadily. The aim was to complete 30 a month so I'm slightly ahead on this. Similarly to this time last year I've been spending more time playing guitar than painting. But it'll even itself out as the year goes on no doubt. 

Stuff on the table - February 2018 UPDATE

Updates for Feb:

Zvezda 1/144th Ju-87 Stuka (2017) - no further progress

Revell 1/144th Me-262 (2016) - no further progress

Artizan/North Star 28mm Dark Confederate Zombies x4 (2017) - main painting complete

Artizan/North Star 28mm Jackalope (2017) - no further progress

Newline Designs 10mm Roman Triarri x31 (2016) - details painted, varnished, based, COMPLETED

Additional items worked on:

Newline Designs 10mm Roman Hastati x31 (2016) - cleaned up, primed, main painting complete

Newline Designs 10mm Celtic Warband x31 (2016) - started clean up

Purchases:

Enough Pre-cut premium bases from Warbases to base all the infantry for the 10mm Punic Wars project. Total expenditure for the month £10.18 - get in there!

Stuff on the table - February 2018

Blimey where did January go? Here's what's on the go for February:

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

Revell 1/144th Me-262 (2016)

Artizan/North Star 28mm  Dark Confederate zombies x4 (2017)

Artizan/North Star 28mm Jackalope (2017)
NewlineDesigns 10mm Roman Triarri x30 (2016)

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 - January 2018

Happy New Year to everyone let's hope it's a good one! Here's what I've got on the go as we start the year:

• Zvezda 1/144th Ju-87 Stuka (2017)
• Revell 1/144th Me-262 (2016)
• Newline Designs 10mm Roman Princeps (2016)

I only have 28mm or 10mm figures outstanding at the moment having painted up all the 15mm last year. The plan (and we all know what happens to plans) is to crack on with the 10mm but also have a few 28mm on the go as well to give some variety. I find that when you'be been painting a smaller scale and then when you work on a 28/32mm figure they seem really easy to paint.

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. 

What's on the table - December 2016 UPDATE

Not too bad a month, I completed 3 of my 5 key items and one of the additional ones:

• Newline Designs 10mm Greek Hoplites (2015) - no further progress
• Artizan Designs 28mm LRDG (2013) - COMPLETED
• Oathsworn Miniatures 28mm Burrows and Badgers Fox Rogue (2016) - COMPLETED
• Oathsworn Miniatures 28mm Burrows and Badgers Shrew Warrior (2016) - COMPLETED
• Cromwell Models 1/76th Pz IV (2014) - significant progress
• Artizan Designs 28mm WW2 Partisans (2013) - no further progress
• Battlefront 15mm British LRDG Ford V8 trucks (2016) - COMPLETED

Additional items I worked on:

• Oathsworn Miniatures 28mm Burrows and Badgers Rabbit Heroine (2016) - cleaned up
• Oathsworn Miniatures 28mm Burrows and Badgers Toad Animist (2016) - cleaned up

So that's it for this year. 2016 has been a strange old year in which the world has become a more uncertain place. Hobby wise it's been my most productive year since 2012. I've become more focused and I'm sure doing the blog has helped with this so it's served it's purpose and I'll be continuing it for 2017. 

I wish everyone a very happy New Year, all the best for 2017. 

What's on the table - September 2016 UPDATE

Updates to the original list:

• Oathsworn Miniatures Burrows and Badgers Mouse Knight - COMPLETED
• Cromwell 1/76th Pz IV H – no progress
• Revell 1/144th Hawker Hurricane – COMPLETED
• Revell 1/144th Bf-109E – COMPLETED
• Newline Designs 10mm Greek Hoplites - no progress

Bf-109 bouncing a Hurricane - Revell 1/144th Microwings

Additional items I worked on:

• Oathsworn Miniatures Burrows and Badgers Adder Mage - cleaned and primed
• Oathsworn Miniatures Burrows and Badgers Otter Rogue - cleaned and primed
• Oathsworn Miniatures Burrows and Badgers Weasel - cleaned and primed
• Revell 1/76th Comet - main assembly complete, base coat applied

I more or less stuck to the plan for September completing my third Burrows and Badgers figure and the two 1/144th planes. I'm not going to say too much about these as I want to post separately on each. 

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...

Punic Wars goodies

My Newline Designs Ancients order came through last week. As ever good service from Newline, they really are very easy to deal with. A good, easily navigable website, easy and clear order and account system, good postage rates and always speedy to get your goodies to you.

My order consisted of 1 pack (30 foot/12 horse/3 elephants) of each of the following (codes in brackets):

Roman Hastati (10R12)
Roman Princeps (10R11)
Roman Triarri (10R10)
Carthaginian Elephants (10CA04)
African Heavy Infantry (10CA01)
Libyan Heavy Infantry (10CA02)
Numidian Cavalry (10NU02)
Numidian Infantry (10NU01)
Samnite Infantry (10SA01)
Celtic Warband (10CE01)
Spanish Scutarii (10SP01)
Greek Hoplites Advancing (10GR02)

That gives me around 300 10mm figures to paint.

To support this new project I've been raiding the county library service and digging out the few titles from my collection.  Here they are in all their glory.

The butterfly calls

I refer to my posts of  15/07 and 22/07 where I talk about my next projects. I have to confess that in the last 7-10 days the wargames butterfly* has visited and although Vietnam is still very much in the frame I've started a different project. And it couldn't be more different to those mentioned on 15/07. I've started a Punic Wars project. 

Quite a diversion from the Vietnam War. I've started ordering library books, researching on the web, bought an Osprey and even ordered a few hundred figures without my usual agonising about it. 

I blame reading.  On the work commute I'd been reading the excellent Marathon by Christian Cameron. I had read Killer of Men earlier in the year and similar to then I started thinking about Ancients. I had already dug out the pack of Newline 10mm Hoplites (bought on a whim last year) as a bit of practice to try and decide on scale for the Vietnam project.  I think the stars aligned or something but coupled with reading Marathon and Newline's summer sale it all happened very quickly. 

I'd looked at the Greek/Persian wars before when I had some long since eBayed Immortal Hoplites and had decided not to collect. But the Punic Wars has a lot going for it. Hoplite armed infantry, Numidian and Celt allies, elephants, Scipio and Hannibal - what more could a lad want I ask you?

I have a lot of research to do and I very enthused. However, I haven't abandoned the Vietnam project at all. I'm going to order some Pendraken Punic Wars and when I do I'll get some 'Nam samples. And I'm going to split my research time between the two. Strangely I think they will complement each other as my autumn/winter projects. Terrible to think like that when it's only just August but the way the weather was at the beginning of the week it has made me think that way.

*wargames butterfly - thanks to Mike Hobbs mikehobbs.co.uk for naming the condition. I came across Mike's blog a few years back and recognised a fellow sufferer.