Hello it's me

After just over 2 years I've decided to re-start the blog. The CV-19 lockdown (albeit almost a year in) but as I'm permanently working from home saving hours a day commuting and not being knackered all the time I've had time for hobbying. And that means time to blog again.

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

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 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 - 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. 

Stuff on the table - September 2017

Here's the starting point for September and it's not much at all: 

• Zvezda 1/144th Ju-87 Stuka (2017)
• Minicraft 1/144th Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero (2017)

The Stuka was a lovely modern tooled kit which went together like a dream. The Zero is a very old kit and horrid!  Not sure how much will get done this month as I'm away for 2 weeks. I'm much more motivated hobby wise now though so expect a strong finish to the year. 

Stuff on the table - August 2017 UPDATE

Here's the updated list for August:

• Oathsworn Miniatures 28mm Burrows and Badgers Toad Animist (2016) - painted, varnished, based COMPLETED
• Oathsworn Miniatures 28mm Burrows and Badgers Badger Mercenary (2016) - painted, varnished, based COMPLETED
• Battlefront Miniatures 15mm WW2 Japanese Hohei platoon (2016) - foliage added to bases COMPLETED
• Battlefront Miniatures 15mm WW2 USMC rifle platoon (2016) - foliage added to bases COMPLETED

A clean sweep this month - I don't think that's ever happened!  All things in progress as I started August have been completed. It's very satisfying. I bought some grass tufts to do the Japanese and USMC platoons and liked the effect, which overcame my natural tightness and I bought more to really fill the bases up. I've now gone back and added some more foliage to my Burrows and Badgers bases 

Additional items I worked on:

• Artizan Designs 28mm Partisan (2013) - cleaned up, primed, painted, varnished and based COMPLETED
• Zvezda 1/144th Ju-87 Stuka (2017) - assembled
• Minicraft 1/144th Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero (2017) - assembly started
  

My order for the Dracula's America Nickstarter came earlier in the month than anticipated. Beautifully produced book and some nice figures. I opted for the Dark Confederacy posse and they look suitably grim. I was a tad disappointed with the book and think there could be much more background and options for the various posses, but maybe that will be covered in a later supplement. 

Stuff on the table - August 2017

Here's the starting point for August:

• 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) 
• Battlefront Miniatures 15mm WW2 USMC rifle platoon (2016) 

The Japanese Hohei platoon and USMC rifle just need grass and foliage added to be complete. And then it really is time to tackle the last of my Oathsworn minis, the Badger and Toad. They've been looking at me for far too long on the painting table. 

I've bought in to the Nickstarter for Dracula's America with the Dark Confederates bundle. That should come in August so I have a good incentive to try and clear the decks for that. I have loads of suitable Old West figures that I can use for this so almost feel that I'm ahead of the game which is an unusual place for me to be. 

Stuff on the table - July 2017 UPDATE

Here's the update for July:

• 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) - Bases painted and highlighted.
• Battlefront Miniatures 15mm WW2 USMC rifle platoon (2016) - All figures painted and  varnished. Bases textured, painted and highlighted.

I made good progress with the WW2 Pacific project this month.

 

I took the USMC rifle platoon (above right)from primed to based and virtually complete. I also painted the Japanese Hohei platoon's bases (above left ). All that's needed to complete these two platoons is to add final highlights and then foliage and grass which I need to buy. And do two Japanese sniper teams which I managed to eke out of the Japanese pack. 

As you can see in the photo above I left an empty slot on six of the USMC bases. This enables me to add either a rifle man or BAR gunner as required. The BF pack provided options to add a BAR gunner per rifle team so I have a nice lot of spares. These figures have had their cast on bases textured and painting to fit in with the team bases. They also got an additional two coats of varnish as they'll be subjected to more handling. 

Stuff on the table - July 2017

Here's the starting point for July:

• 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) 
• Battlefront Miniatures 15mm WW2 USMC rifle platoon (2016) 

I really hope to complete the USMC rifle platoon and finish off the bases for the Hohei platoon this month. After that I'll take a break from painting little men and try and make some progress with the Toad and Badger or do something different like tackle some of the 1/144th plane stockpile. 

Stuff on the table - June 2017 UPDATE

Here's the update for June:

• 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) - based and sand added to bases
• Battlefront Miniatures 15mm WW2 USMC rifle platoon (2016) - cleaned up, primed, test figure completed

There was some progress with the WW2 Pacific Project this month. I based the Japanese platoon and added a layer of sand. I thought that by using the FOW bases with holes this would be a quicker process, However, the figure bases were much smaller than all the holes and I ended up filling all the gaps with green stuff. The USMC look they fit far more snugly.

Stuff on the table - June 2017

Another nice manageable list to start June:

• 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)
• Battlefront Miniatures 15mm WW2 USMC rifle platoon (2016)

The focus on this month is to make as much progress as possible with the USMC platoon. Their opponents, the Japanese Hohei platoon are waiting to be based. The plan is to do them and the USMC at the same time so there's a consistent look across all my WW2 Pacific troops.

Stuff on the table - May 2017 UPDATE

Here's the update for May:

• 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) - painted and varnished

I've been focused on the Japanese Hohei platoon this month. I completed a test figure, which turned out well and for once I had the forethought to write down all the colours and mixes I used. I could then crack on to complete the rest of the platoon. They are the usual Battlefront mix - some poses excellent, some woeful. However, there is a nice variety (more then Peter Pigs) and you get light mortars and lmgs, so the one pack has given me my core platoon for my Imperial Japanese Army Bolt Action force. I also like the bases with figure holes as this will speed up the basing process. I will do a write up on these at some stage.

Additional items I worked on:

• Battlefront Miniatures 15mm WW2 USMC rifle platoon (2016) - clean up started

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 - May 2017

A very small list to start the month:

• 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)

My priority for the month is to complete the Japanese Hohei platoon. I'll do the Toad and Badger when I fancy a change from the production line, which in itself is a nice change from painting the beasties (Oathsworn and Privateer Press) which has been my main focus this year. Therein lies the answer for me - swap it about to keep it fresh. I don't know how people can paint hundreds of the same thing. Hats off to them but it's not for me. 

I've removed the Newline Designs 10mm Greek Hoplites from the table and in progress list as I don't know what to do with them. The shields need completing and they need basing. However, I have another pack so may wait to do them and finish them off altogether. I have to admit I didn't enjoy painting 10mm that much which could be a problem as I bought about 300 last year!!!