tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21124777510786437462024-03-17T20:58:03.938+09:00sixtwentyeightThis blog hosts my hobbies which are mainly Wargames, Miniatures, and History related.
The name of the blog refers to the scales I have been gaming with so far, 6mm up to 28mm going through 10 and 15 and 18mm... Six Twenty Eight!Braxenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09659777580502075412noreply@blogger.comBlogger360125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2112477751078643746.post-11136231602283312032023-08-05T09:07:00.004+09:002023-08-05T09:10:12.373+09:00Painting 3mm<h2 style="text-align: left;">Painting 3mm miniatures</h2><p>Painting 3mm miniatures is not exceptionally difficult but it requires methodology. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbIAugiH0hjvOcY_lHBFZlMDIdDQJb-ezazGNB2wUinc26IJmYDYOtYxz_n0reVwB1H0pFfSJTBoGVMxP5xP9o-U69ZFyYxo9q6vc2F4Q8Gj7i3oGYxLjRmp0KOkFP5nBay5RIFk1nhLknDA9j2JcQDXQhmEznj-Vyf3hmeB2WYVxSd7iNT1MkWX2IRA/s1008/20230804_153156_resized.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="1008" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbIAugiH0hjvOcY_lHBFZlMDIdDQJb-ezazGNB2wUinc26IJmYDYOtYxz_n0reVwB1H0pFfSJTBoGVMxP5xP9o-U69ZFyYxo9q6vc2F4Q8Gj7i3oGYxLjRmp0KOkFP5nBay5RIFk1nhLknDA9j2JcQDXQhmEznj-Vyf3hmeB2WYVxSd7iNT1MkWX2IRA/w640-h480/20230804_153156_resized.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Here is what I do:</p><p>I first prime everything in dark brown. I am not quite sure why people still prefer to prime in black but I find brown a less harsh base color to work with as a base. Then you splapchop the minis and use contrast paints, et voila!</p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPjSfKjgdb7AujKKtTvsPF1HVJz9QOcKVRO_2SiIGpAWWTCF3mPs3zKWlzOyo_V-fFWzQhAaTAuR2GyHUZoyhNoKiC_L_bb2IOjW_GFpgN1jDwo3vZCEE-F2jtOfhx8U-ZmulGPe_H4cARoppXg7c_jJ5vnllxSUYSCAE2CP3OuReFLYxx2KLdfRYlDA/s1008/20230804_094830_resized.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="1008" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPjSfKjgdb7AujKKtTvsPF1HVJz9QOcKVRO_2SiIGpAWWTCF3mPs3zKWlzOyo_V-fFWzQhAaTAuR2GyHUZoyhNoKiC_L_bb2IOjW_GFpgN1jDwo3vZCEE-F2jtOfhx8U-ZmulGPe_H4cARoppXg7c_jJ5vnllxSUYSCAE2CP3OuReFLYxx2KLdfRYlDA/w640-h480/20230804_094830_resized.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span>Here, I used Vallejo's Sick green for my French Nato base colour. It is ugly at first, but as with many painting techniques, one needs a bit faith in the final result.</span><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQehrCglaJwEEhgMwUahOwmN3foDuTfXMowjL2G9sf8uD7TkhoCXIw40AHMAt8w_7rK4eOb7jk-zbfaeAlz-Gb28UmtRu-mzi1JTqLh_B6sGjNjCoHrTDVuSCF6Mh9eFfY7REUHYOygU96CXoTlP4Kl4VztpvS7alQZPqt5L-yrwfHGOGi5iyCUkCCvw/s1008/20230804_095716_resized.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1008" data-original-width="756" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQehrCglaJwEEhgMwUahOwmN3foDuTfXMowjL2G9sf8uD7TkhoCXIw40AHMAt8w_7rK4eOb7jk-zbfaeAlz-Gb28UmtRu-mzi1JTqLh_B6sGjNjCoHrTDVuSCF6Mh9eFfY7REUHYOygU96CXoTlP4Kl4VztpvS7alQZPqt5L-yrwfHGOGi5iyCUkCCvw/s16000/20230804_095716_resized.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Then, I painted the four corners of my vehicles with charcoal grey and one diagonal band. To be noticed that French vehicles of the same type should all have the same camouflage and, per regulations, all vehicles of all types should have their four corners painted black. At this scale, I do not use pure black but mix it with sunny skin from Vallejo to obtain a darkish grey ("charcoal grey"). The reason is that pure black with make "holes" in your minis instead of integrating with the other colours.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUqek8hhLvvdSh_CI56DkFE9xP4ZLQ9TU3wZBblGczCTOsA7ELEt9mAF-3SumtslPeXWC2VqeDAByLzeZspIS1khjMP6pdeyVXqjOx-SG98JTm5bpk2ShqJ9je4RJJkl_6Zkf3XXcSToW2c-q4UuanLJ9IKTX3Q0b7pvyWvpLgQrT_JS5acoEISIY27Q/s1008/20230804_102505_resized.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="1008" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUqek8hhLvvdSh_CI56DkFE9xP4ZLQ9TU3wZBblGczCTOsA7ELEt9mAF-3SumtslPeXWC2VqeDAByLzeZspIS1khjMP6pdeyVXqjOx-SG98JTm5bpk2ShqJ9je4RJJkl_6Zkf3XXcSToW2c-q4UuanLJ9IKTX3Q0b7pvyWvpLgQrT_JS5acoEISIY27Q/w640-h480/20230804_102505_resized.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Then I used Vallejo's Red Leather to paint the brown patches. You will notice again that I have tried to stick to exactly the same pattern for all the vehicles. It still looks uggly.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR62kJgfGPEWaa2MkliwA6R16G6rz54ACuwQR5tfI9KY7COMOmXkecZ0E4zk2fVOP9hdTX5De8dZdA7kuPfIj5DMcQO502zCk5kq1j5mspKpcaniwQHuQTdpIdWaF2keMAFFoynElqtaJXa6bEQKOiCIR0hO2jqOT4FnHNBEYbveorkF-425R0bMJejA/s749/20230804_110753_resized.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="604" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR62kJgfGPEWaa2MkliwA6R16G6rz54ACuwQR5tfI9KY7COMOmXkecZ0E4zk2fVOP9hdTX5De8dZdA7kuPfIj5DMcQO502zCk5kq1j5mspKpcaniwQHuQTdpIdWaF2keMAFFoynElqtaJXa6bEQKOiCIR0hO2jqOT4FnHNBEYbveorkF-425R0bMJejA/w516-h640/20230804_110753_resized.jpg" width="516" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Now is the phase where the magic starts to happen. Apply a wash, either GW's Agrax or Army painter's strong wash (depending on camo, you may use the medium tone)</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The vehicles at the top don't have the wash applied yet, at the bottom the wash just has been applied and will be mat after drying.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz_CR3cQbNp6XAe-gif5It2SHfsvEt4yam3HiDx1bAXXgVKJ0Tmo9AmVI9EJoyLbn6jvjr4h7iU9XJEBhCMoFY5E4g_t0Wv_Tsz_sA6ceml1QGSPU_CYW9X2w_2npmskqwQVA3GB9m7HZBopzcbOzMi_cUvWbeXpViGDRSodTf5QvX26YUNdx5fflliQ/s853/20230804_114122_resized.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="642" data-original-width="853" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz_CR3cQbNp6XAe-gif5It2SHfsvEt4yam3HiDx1bAXXgVKJ0Tmo9AmVI9EJoyLbn6jvjr4h7iU9XJEBhCMoFY5E4g_t0Wv_Tsz_sA6ceml1QGSPU_CYW9X2w_2npmskqwQVA3GB9m7HZBopzcbOzMi_cUvWbeXpViGDRSodTf5QvX26YUNdx5fflliQ/w640-h482/20230804_114122_resized.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">You can see below the bases after the wash has dried.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQukeIK4QaOpF5sLBEFD29opxH6xhTtEdOZd2WOFAjaW9RlL5OeQ6qoQ2TjC4i_4HSx660hgVemrA_UuEpbkQNhtsor1pUNX_mszvj8qRY9MTiBiCKuWijeRkrq3foiUXvieWXMcpvhvi9pdb09xnHnhKed0B3jh235JOLyN4Pr1BitLCAELgytGC5VQ/s783/20230804_124507_resized.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="655" data-original-width="783" height="536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQukeIK4QaOpF5sLBEFD29opxH6xhTtEdOZd2WOFAjaW9RlL5OeQ6qoQ2TjC4i_4HSx660hgVemrA_UuEpbkQNhtsor1pUNX_mszvj8qRY9MTiBiCKuWijeRkrq3foiUXvieWXMcpvhvi9pdb09xnHnhKed0B3jh235JOLyN4Pr1BitLCAELgytGC5VQ/w640-h536/20230804_124507_resized.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Then, I go back on all the raised parts with the initial colour lightened up to two levels.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Here below is an example of this two level jump that I am using to highlight. We have the base (centre on the picture), the first level contrast (up on the picture) and the second level contrast (lower part of the picture). At this scale, if you use two consecutive contrasts, it will be all blurred on your model and will mix into one uniform colour. For better model definition, I strongly recommend to use a two contrasts jump to really outline your model.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ZB8fZ_mrC-Uwp_Yjqz9mq5BGVeFEO79E8Vw_jf4ogGlMWCInhjKBuezE4rou2rLVEegVaIA0YpbtrG8EcBryA4BdvnzGsk6eboJ5dnc1-i6ph-dIpddhP8VnHg5AFg7wBBUUL68v6vtgZcpoznDM_Viqk3MXkxaX4YOAJs_6X4hL9ogCBDMbVe1SMw/s569/20230804_114130_resized.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="489" data-original-width="569" height="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ZB8fZ_mrC-Uwp_Yjqz9mq5BGVeFEO79E8Vw_jf4ogGlMWCInhjKBuezE4rou2rLVEegVaIA0YpbtrG8EcBryA4BdvnzGsk6eboJ5dnc1-i6ph-dIpddhP8VnHg5AFg7wBBUUL68v6vtgZcpoznDM_Viqk3MXkxaX4YOAJs_6X4hL9ogCBDMbVe1SMw/w640-h550/20230804_114130_resized.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Below is an example of the use of the two level contrast difference. On the right, the high contrast highlight was applied and the left the model is still in its base colour. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">For this series, I do not think that I have applied any wash because the base colour was already dark enough.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilv26lARrGmTJoh81G-4b76cjsBk8MJhe2Z_-Doy8W9SPvtmopzlk1ajVh93j6MeGVqhWd0PZdP-UlGlhb6XBOa3oRf4yba8-jUCfi58-ONhpIfVv_dY5FHrTEjD6ZfJowtWBntllKk5WRZZjzYcTW9cCOKiDpWu49NTR8-JUmoT3YeAHjU7O2c65ALw/s1008/20230803_141315_resized.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="1008" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilv26lARrGmTJoh81G-4b76cjsBk8MJhe2Z_-Doy8W9SPvtmopzlk1ajVh93j6MeGVqhWd0PZdP-UlGlhb6XBOa3oRf4yba8-jUCfi58-ONhpIfVv_dY5FHrTEjD6ZfJowtWBntllKk5WRZZjzYcTW9cCOKiDpWu49NTR8-JUmoT3YeAHjU7O2c65ALw/w640-h480/20230803_141315_resized.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Here is the final result, a Milan section with its accompanying VABs. The base represents a platoon and its dimensions are 60 x 45 mm.</div><div><br /></div><div>I did the labels in Excel and printed them on photo paper for the extra rigidity and finish.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8HeOXjt6QJt0V5mtHkToR6ASDRddIVQyKYwPcFqcs7jloz2o9D1_Y001BZBECfL1YsVt8ZuizaNUUJkETZqMfJi4Nc19WzOGu40eEpjhp1xxqL_b0mB-BG0JrETkbRDvjgIwUGMUUndjKfQS0DcRfagXpMFofwvggXw6y0r-DLqqTyEl5MA56vwlvuw/s1008/20230804_153156_resized.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="1008" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8HeOXjt6QJt0V5mtHkToR6ASDRddIVQyKYwPcFqcs7jloz2o9D1_Y001BZBECfL1YsVt8ZuizaNUUJkETZqMfJi4Nc19WzOGu40eEpjhp1xxqL_b0mB-BG0JrETkbRDvjgIwUGMUUndjKfQS0DcRfagXpMFofwvggXw6y0r-DLqqTyEl5MA56vwlvuw/w640-h480/20230804_153156_resized.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Don't hesitate to like, share, monetise but I don't think Blogger really cares about our obscure hobby. If you really want, leave a word, and you will be 100% absolutely guaranteed it doesn't help the channel, but at least it is nice to know we can connect as people.</div><br /><p><br /></p></div>Braxenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09659777580502075412noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2112477751078643746.post-37387793087935807172023-07-19T22:42:00.006+09:002023-07-19T22:42:45.301+09:00New projects<p> After a 2 years hiatus because of the covid, it seems the club is meeting again so it is a good chance... to buy new figures.</p><p>What I am thinking of, at the moment, is </p><p>For Saga in 28mm:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>A Pagan Rus army</li><li>A medieval Russian army</li><li>A Viking Army</li><li>A Norman army</li></ul><div>For Lion Rampant in 28mm:</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>extending my Crusader army with more foot soldiers</li><li>extending my Saracen army with more food soldiers</li></ul></div><div>For DBA in 15mm:</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>a Norman army</li><li>a Aztec army</li><li>a Byzantine army</li></ul><div><br /></div></div><div>The games I am interested in at the moment are:</div><div>For WWII:</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Fireball forward in 15mm. Company level where one stand equals one squad. Looks like it gives good game for two platoons of infantry and a platoon of tanks</li><li>All Hell Let Loose in 3mm, battalion level where one stand equals one platoon. Looks simple enough to teach to new comers</li><li>Fireteam WWII in 28mm: definitely replacement of Bolt Action. More fluid, as easy but a better tactical feel</li></ul><div>For Ancient/Medieval:</div></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>In 15mm, definitely DBA that we should give another go</li><li>in 28mm, SAGA is hot at the moment at the club</li><li>Still in 28mm, I think we can try again Lion Rampant that does away with the "magic" boards of Saga</li></ul><div>For Napoleonics:</div></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>I really what to give a go to Rebels & Patriots, modded to Napoleonics in 28mm. Just to paint some nice Victrix and give them a spin on the table</li><li>In 6mm, I have the three armies for Waterloo painted and based for DBN. We could probably start with simple games at 12 elements a side</li></ul></div><p></p>Braxenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09659777580502075412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2112477751078643746.post-74457593913268811242021-10-08T17:04:00.004+09:002021-10-08T17:04:30.138+09:00Some Battletech miniatures<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibnQjqgFBqrN7f0MBz2ycOHEQPaGEKLa3bfQ3gQIle8JH0mxBW7S4cJm5Fu0c71a3i68GcNnC4zWQCMhnoJuBdICmGe4cbfqWFV2lX1eyVMXdot4W-XXVBqmWvX2bd4AY5ZIimrWJ9qHw/s734/20211008_111232_resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="655" data-original-width="734" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibnQjqgFBqrN7f0MBz2ycOHEQPaGEKLa3bfQ3gQIle8JH0mxBW7S4cJm5Fu0c71a3i68GcNnC4zWQCMhnoJuBdICmGe4cbfqWFV2lX1eyVMXdot4W-XXVBqmWvX2bd4AY5ZIimrWJ9qHw/w400-h358/20211008_111232_resized.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEeVhLI2jZIsLyx3nXhmpCEuFo9W3Z8-mOC4WAHnwflGAooci_fyXEfS_zRWPe52dJAKr6KMm9XlFXyK30ugoI5D4UnQJpVuO63OVhyTWHsekhlqIBOqVlGFnOiYXAXX564G54O1iPTvU/s706/20211003_055957_resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="529" data-original-width="706" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEeVhLI2jZIsLyx3nXhmpCEuFo9W3Z8-mOC4WAHnwflGAooci_fyXEfS_zRWPe52dJAKr6KMm9XlFXyK30ugoI5D4UnQJpVuO63OVhyTWHsekhlqIBOqVlGFnOiYXAXX564G54O1iPTvU/w400-h300/20211003_055957_resized.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Braxenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09659777580502075412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2112477751078643746.post-49149492047088641072021-07-23T11:15:00.002+09:002021-07-23T11:48:00.968+09:006mm painting<p> A few units recently painted for DBN in 6mm.</p><p>The Empress dragoons (Adler miniatures):</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEZlkJW5lPo_i1R9vXA5itDmTHSZV1ajda9ysEuY5pnq_srKPO441SzgcWUVLtdzv9q1BMDV4gTtvl6GrUNQvieQ9qQuqUUU5CjW4MwATpI-nzqtkKP_eyJ6Cl1oM7XF8a0G5TeFapcvk/s933/20210718_075828_resized.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="322" data-original-width="933" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEZlkJW5lPo_i1R9vXA5itDmTHSZV1ajda9ysEuY5pnq_srKPO441SzgcWUVLtdzv9q1BMDV4gTtvl6GrUNQvieQ9qQuqUUU5CjW4MwATpI-nzqtkKP_eyJ6Cl1oM7XF8a0G5TeFapcvk/w640-h221/20210718_075828_resized.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Two regiments of the Young Guard and a unit of British rocket launchers in the background (figures are from Baccus)<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAPfargnrX1TLGhL7Us9VsWS0cTcgyco0JF7IQFYkFakAbEsEeOxqDoLv8v-P7IzYt5hng5hKMvrkesis_sQ56scf-egWxAPKwGpzmX_61q6sqPRZjHrZ3lTyk_rYRwpUeHkWQV2uJdoA/s1008/20210723_105824_resized.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="1008" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAPfargnrX1TLGhL7Us9VsWS0cTcgyco0JF7IQFYkFakAbEsEeOxqDoLv8v-P7IzYt5hng5hKMvrkesis_sQ56scf-egWxAPKwGpzmX_61q6sqPRZjHrZ3lTyk_rYRwpUeHkWQV2uJdoA/w640-h480/20210723_105824_resized.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>I usually spend 30 to 40 minutes painting in the morning before work and focus on applying one to two colors at most during each session.</p><p>The Dragoons were thus painted in 1 week and both foot unit together took one week.</p><p>DBN uses around 12 units (brigades), so theoretically, in 3 months, your army is finished.</p>Braxenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09659777580502075412noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2112477751078643746.post-38521729774545461212021-07-18T08:26:00.001+09:002021-07-18T08:26:24.516+09:00Investments<p> I bought these transparent drawers for USD 50. It made my hobby life sooo much better!</p><p>All the paints are put where they should be after each finished project and I find them when I need them...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Lk68uYD1LtfJujgSLVqwcMiLkMzv0XweRft4OPeCvVA1CAeLfA4mKvpbUZTC61jRjLcxBleagJEUbvJ8GZvFGQI_-1aC2LhJ4qiCCDa-A7QC5JlmAe08o80W03rEmJYDf9lKKZi-uws/s1008/20210718_080855_resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1008" data-original-width="756" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Lk68uYD1LtfJujgSLVqwcMiLkMzv0XweRft4OPeCvVA1CAeLfA4mKvpbUZTC61jRjLcxBleagJEUbvJ8GZvFGQI_-1aC2LhJ4qiCCDa-A7QC5JlmAe08o80W03rEmJYDf9lKKZi-uws/w480-h640/20210718_080855_resized.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p>I have reds, yellows, greens, blues, browns, black/white/flesh, metallics, technicals. It just make life sooo good. Really have at a glance what I need and put them back when I am finished. It improved so much my peace of mind as a painter. Never suspected it would have such an impact.</p><p>Recommended!</p>Braxenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09659777580502075412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2112477751078643746.post-1280814543913287042021-06-28T17:37:00.003+09:002021-06-28T17:37:50.730+09:00DBN in 6mm<p> 3 games today from noon to 3:30 pm (including set-up), playing British vs French in 6mm.</p><p>The rules we used were DBN V2. They play fast, maybe too fast as the first side to lose 4 units (out of usually 12) breaks.</p><p>Here is the British artillery in a duel with the French artillery for battlefield dominance. We should have applied the optional rules that makes counter battery fire difficult because once the enemy artillery was destroyed, the game was won.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrSep-TNCxGYyRIGEtc4UeccycDEOyKOm7AtnfWddfiXO1vateuMAwuW2rqFV5PjRTo6Tk_5DHQxl37Iya2UN6G1jSVBqxNESA0fgZaxeXoQI5EzGzLWtRxJxrci1cPUwmJGN6q2AW-HY/s1008/20210628_134842_resized_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="1008" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrSep-TNCxGYyRIGEtc4UeccycDEOyKOm7AtnfWddfiXO1vateuMAwuW2rqFV5PjRTo6Tk_5DHQxl37Iya2UN6G1jSVBqxNESA0fgZaxeXoQI5EzGzLWtRxJxrci1cPUwmJGN6q2AW-HY/w640-h480/20210628_134842_resized_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>A British cavalry charge into a French division. DBN assumes that the infantry brigades adopt the best stance possible and here form a square. We might use in the future the optional rules that calls for the infantry to attempt to form square instead of being automatic.</div><div><br /></div><div>The British cavalry was repelled in this particular instance.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSkXB3CHEf4lstFLA3CP1hTo3ICj3sT-SJVF488lFN3Vf7ZOV_L0psNLW6vajVZ1b8jKhOWfn063i_TIj348d5f2VPmUalOfJt0K93B_u7tqguiJLyV06o6885GRj2XJRp3dQlPAtw3qE/s1008/20210628_135934_resized_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="1008" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSkXB3CHEf4lstFLA3CP1hTo3ICj3sT-SJVF488lFN3Vf7ZOV_L0psNLW6vajVZ1b8jKhOWfn063i_TIj348d5f2VPmUalOfJt0K93B_u7tqguiJLyV06o6885GRj2XJRp3dQlPAtw3qE/w640-h480/20210628_135934_resized_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div>The British guards attempting to charge the French in their flank, there again the British were repelled (I lost again...)<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyjMBb_NnA4ylTjhnnwlLCUrErY26TSkiumj8c7613M84FddbRRyYDU2VHZ5ZHX8iUSXg3uOPWAKGQ6T-TODH74f7WVaFs-RHrgvEoaVKd3eF7zFu7y9G08N5noGHVqmehavskevqZWxA/s1008/20210628_143357_resized_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="1008" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyjMBb_NnA4ylTjhnnwlLCUrErY26TSkiumj8c7613M84FddbRRyYDU2VHZ5ZHX8iUSXg3uOPWAKGQ6T-TODH74f7WVaFs-RHrgvEoaVKd3eF7zFu7y9G08N5noGHVqmehavskevqZWxA/w640-h480/20210628_143357_resized_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>The British army I picked for our games. Two elite Muskets, two elite artillery. The Hussars in the center were used as a command stand as Welington is still on the painting table...</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM5U9iirjUMPDcDRfPKfHSjnnf-vmjwRwaoNkXfeic62MS1wUsSYPnKL2YLaXBwI21cUSkwBK9bJ_8Mb1DNc6PNZnWyhBfd16G6BIVm24v5idHUtat6dkiJWDJGJydnXv1D8V12wF6Eo4/s1008/20210628_144332_resized_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="1008" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM5U9iirjUMPDcDRfPKfHSjnnf-vmjwRwaoNkXfeic62MS1wUsSYPnKL2YLaXBwI21cUSkwBK9bJ_8Mb1DNc6PNZnWyhBfd16G6BIVm24v5idHUtat6dkiJWDJGJydnXv1D8V12wF6Eo4/w640-h480/20210628_144332_resized_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>We enjoyed playing something other than WWII or Moderns. My opponent is a lot more patient and strategic than me, deploying his units were it will have the most impact while I basically haven't understood the game yet... So in total, 5 losses for a 1 win. The win was my last game and I try to concentrate my columns against his line and deploying them my British in line for superior firepower, not before my batteries reduced his to silence.</p><p>DBN gave us simple Napoleonic flavored games that could be lead to conclusion within one hour each. Maybe we will try different set of rules later.</p>Braxenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09659777580502075412noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2112477751078643746.post-87992058018734863182021-06-27T11:21:00.002+09:002021-06-27T11:21:27.761+09:00All hell let loose and Combat HQ rules<p> A couple of rules that I have received recently.</p><p>I found out during the lock-down that there are actually many excellent publication on <a href="https://www.wargamevault.com/">https://www.wargamevault.com/</a></p><p>They also have the benefit to be printed on demand, most of the time close enough to where I live to shipping fees don't cost as much as the book.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxS8IBAAXwa5dNtUm5n55H0lFKlfpdSpbHH8Tj4s_5LFjU8UthKIBKTDY1oQdiGWaKI6ykXNwuRAWtb7y0CFlePFtyPbvDGftGbD2Mfqul1oYLAC0oecQ_EPLh6A5S0E5wdiZURKZLCe0/s1103/20210626_145756.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1049" data-original-width="1103" height="608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxS8IBAAXwa5dNtUm5n55H0lFKlfpdSpbHH8Tj4s_5LFjU8UthKIBKTDY1oQdiGWaKI6ykXNwuRAWtb7y0CFlePFtyPbvDGftGbD2Mfqul1oYLAC0oecQ_EPLh6A5S0E5wdiZURKZLCe0/w640-h608/20210626_145756.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>The recent acquisitions are</p><p>Combat HQ : <a href="https://www.wargamevault.com/product/344717/Combat-HQ-Total-War?src=newest&filters=40101_0_40010_44301">POD</a></p><p>All Hell Let Loose: <a href="https://www.wargamevault.com/product/333294/All-Hell-Let-Loose?filters=40101_0_40010_44301">POD</a></p><p>Both sets are battalion level (smallest element is a platoon). They seem perfect for these guys:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtm-8xvv9_R2FscqTvkwwloEh92PNUX2ZhBJsR5-vkrkSxY0Fwgz4AS2u62kxBphh9WLdnDwTfBugAjCqMBhq8VVIs17GummvWUyHelKGivS1-DPLoNwSPgypJJdoIpI7Pj2qunG-JHVE/s1008/German2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="1008" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtm-8xvv9_R2FscqTvkwwloEh92PNUX2ZhBJsR5-vkrkSxY0Fwgz4AS2u62kxBphh9WLdnDwTfBugAjCqMBhq8VVIs17GummvWUyHelKGivS1-DPLoNwSPgypJJdoIpI7Pj2qunG-JHVE/w640-h480/German2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBRdmp8bgCLCKz1cjeELZBipZY7n5J44-rF_PXdZ8L5Z6A66VM3ZUeeP7grD4TWAIsTYSxdWAywqIeBq2zZZSz-aqUyb7qdxmmdUjAceQGWD2JfHx3ewGdq948_F9j-Bf9mfkH9Scl0-8/s854/US2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="854" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBRdmp8bgCLCKz1cjeELZBipZY7n5J44-rF_PXdZ8L5Z6A66VM3ZUeeP7grD4TWAIsTYSxdWAywqIeBq2zZZSz-aqUyb7qdxmmdUjAceQGWD2JfHx3ewGdq948_F9j-Bf9mfkH9Scl0-8/w640-h512/US2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>Criteria for ruleset selection were:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Base element is a platoon</li><li>Strong emphasis on command and control mechanisms</li><li>High interaction</li><li>Fast play</li><li>Not overly preoccupied with details</li></ul><p></p><p>I wanted something a bit more interactive, with a "realistic" feel without bogging down gameplay in too many details. These rules seem to deliver.</p><p>I haven't played them yet because at the moment we are focusing on Napoleonics but I will most certainly write up a review once we start pushing WWII minis.</p><p>Nevertheless, let me share what I think are most relevant for the time being: activation and sequence of play. I believe that the movement / shooting phase are, generally speaking, reasonably standard to most game engine.</p><p>Please bear in mind, this is only a first quick read.</p><p><b>All Hell Let Loose:</b></p><p>Platoons are organized in formations. Each formation has a colored dice that is put in a bag (same as Bolt Action). Dice are picked alternatively from the bag and once a dice of the appropriate side is selected, the player can activate one of his formation.</p><p>A die is then rolled giving no activation, a single activation, or a double activation to the formation according to the formation quality and modifiers linked to current losses</p><p>If the formation is successfully activated, units (platoons) in this formation can perform the following actions:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>move</li><li>fire (can be chosen only once in a turn)</li><li>assault</li><li>ambush</li><li>rally</li><li>engineer activity</li></ul><p></p><p>This means that a platoon in a formation with double activation could: move and fire, fire and move, rally and move, rally and fire, etc... I like it!</p><p>I have not seen any overwatch (yet!) but I suspect that this method of activation could very well make the overwatch unnecessary.</p><p>The book is very clear and well organized, there are army lists for late war 44/45 UK, US, USSR and Germany.</p><p>I am rather pleased with the purchase. I wish though that lists for the earlier period of the war could be made available.</p><p><b>Combat HQ:</b></p><p>Let me describe the units and their activations which is where the game really shine of one thousand lights:</p><p>Units, according their level of experience (7, from Conscripts to Veterans) have different statistic dice separated into 3 categories: Reaction dice, Fire dice, Anti-tank dice, with 3 range bands.</p><p>In addition, each player has command dice (4 to 6, if memory serves) according the quality of the command and control at the time of the war.</p><p>At the start of the turn, both players roll their command dice. Each 1 matched by a 6 is discarded for this turn, the 1s not matched are given to your opponent as wild dice. </p><p>Then, each side arranges his dice in chain: e.g.: 6, 5,4,4,4,2</p><p>The side with the highest dice start to activate his formations first. A formation can be activated only once per turn but can perform several action per impulse.</p><p>With example above, a Pz IV company could be activated 3 times in a row for various actions (move, fire, rally, etc...) in the impulse 4.</p><p>My description of the mechanism is very simple and doesn't do justice to the richness of the game. Command and control has many aspects that makes this game fascinating to explore.</p><p>There is opportunity fire in the form of reaction dice.</p><p>Combat HQ comes with a ton of army lists for ETO late war. More are published and made available as free pdf on the author's website. </p><p><b>A Hell Let Loose</b> clocks at 55 pages. It is a simple game, quite straightforward and ranks probably as an more interesting game than Flames of War or Bolt Action while retaining their simplicity.</p><p><b>Combat HQ</b> has 113 pages and is not much more complex but provides a richer experience if you are interested in command and control and running orders with what you are dealt with. It provides in my opinion a more interesting experience than Blitzkrieg Commander with the same level of complexity if not even simpler!</p><p><u><b>Final comments:</b></u></p><p>I hate complexity for the sake of (misunderstood) "realism" and both systems are very elegant, very well written and clear. It seems the community has matured yet to another phase of gaming and that we are evolving towards richer and more streamlined gaming experience. I have been waiting for these sets forever, in particular Combat HQ (while AHLL seems to nicely fit its niche). </p><p>The king is dead, long live the king.</p><p><br /></p><p>PS: I really hesitated to acquire O group ruleset that operates at the same level. What decided against is the scale at which it is played and I did not feel that my platoons could be easily used with the representation they have chosen. Please let me know if you like O Group.</p>Braxenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09659777580502075412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2112477751078643746.post-29816992091231540992021-04-29T06:15:00.009+09:002021-04-29T06:17:54.525+09:00Random pics of the joy of 3mm<p> </p><p>I should put up more pictures of my work in 3mm.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4fR7A1lrHiDsrsMdbKtswBsgx97gjpynoEN95mBX7C0gbSvvEnf-DU8ctVNh6Ld2s7QhDKJmV_8yiRnFNlANZbuQuTONuFp835-WxK8UeYg0AFIhzWwxGtNbnoB24PGpkRhth8mCANt8/s960/T72.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4fR7A1lrHiDsrsMdbKtswBsgx97gjpynoEN95mBX7C0gbSvvEnf-DU8ctVNh6Ld2s7QhDKJmV_8yiRnFNlANZbuQuTONuFp835-WxK8UeYg0AFIhzWwxGtNbnoB24PGpkRhth8mCANt8/w640-h480/T72.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivr4-FMhKurUwtClmr-mVP1ATaUxyWoB9DGlBmG7kZCT9xKXNFz2FeVi08qbgTXLkWE-WwxivE1H4TPlJFyfGCoumFHN6lvqob3VpvZ2T6G83gK_pOU23B-rreBA0lXHRbtR3QUozERII/s960/IDF.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="883" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivr4-FMhKurUwtClmr-mVP1ATaUxyWoB9DGlBmG7kZCT9xKXNFz2FeVi08qbgTXLkWE-WwxivE1H4TPlJFyfGCoumFHN6lvqob3VpvZ2T6G83gK_pOU23B-rreBA0lXHRbtR3QUozERII/w589-h640/IDF.jpg" width="589" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>Braxenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09659777580502075412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2112477751078643746.post-12382039087149462692021-04-04T16:39:00.004+09:002021-04-04T18:51:50.215+09:00Goodbye Warlord Games<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg412v4djC2GIGLVvkuEyBEJWUVFLP_5gZR5ulSzmzs_QVbwohgJQU7s9i3p4rgoz1beZV9pXKj6vnSpbnI6ZsVlGYKwPLfs-UqOJZBGZTpSKSGVnGhDLaq1RDNQta4Fyw6SApbgLhGHcs/s1986/Screen+Shot+2021-04-04+at+4.26.46+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="694" data-original-width="1986" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg412v4djC2GIGLVvkuEyBEJWUVFLP_5gZR5ulSzmzs_QVbwohgJQU7s9i3p4rgoz1beZV9pXKj6vnSpbnI6ZsVlGYKwPLfs-UqOJZBGZTpSKSGVnGhDLaq1RDNQta4Fyw6SApbgLhGHcs/w640-h224/Screen+Shot+2021-04-04+at+4.26.46+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;">Warlord set in UK price: 164.99 GBP</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLSw4SqiTeUxiX1qibD-wghgErQ5LqKqLVTAKXu4qn6NSTbAQ7SqkJRXMGkSDt3oI8wehyphenhyphenTbMUEdqkhJXL9IKCTRP2BLzSNG9v9xi1qBy5_GHI06DrhIQ9vr945mI2R3sAvDLhBdI0DJc/s1243/WLGJPY.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="1243" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLSw4SqiTeUxiX1qibD-wghgErQ5LqKqLVTAKXu4qn6NSTbAQ7SqkJRXMGkSDt3oI8wehyphenhyphenTbMUEdqkhJXL9IKCTRP2BLzSNG9v9xi1qBy5_GHI06DrhIQ9vr945mI2R3sAvDLhBdI0DJc/w640-h290/WLGJPY.PNG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Same Warlord set with their localized price on their webstore: 45,700 JPY = <b><span style="font-size: large;">298 GBP!!!</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Same story across all their product ranges. As a consequence:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span>if I find the equivalent from another manufacturer, I will buy from the other manufacturer</span></li><li><span>if I need something from you again (and miniatures are <i>not</i> a priority), I will not buy direct</span></li><li><span>I will not support your products</span></li><li><span>I will tell you what I think of your pricing policy every chance I get</span></li></ul></div><div style="text-align: left;">But I am good, the message is loud and clear, you are not interested in selling overseas. No doubt you'll come up with some BS explanation. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Well done champions!</div><p></p>Braxenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09659777580502075412noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2112477751078643746.post-49355884405383170472021-01-24T10:26:00.004+09:002021-01-27T17:04:43.145+09:00In the quest for 6mm Sci-fi miniatures<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUOjbolzvMC5fMO9F63nOhRBoPOfxvf7eIW8e9SHA_v63Rg4Dt8hw0XL-9P1sWjw-ooZThRWeYh9IASC4PmvFqDLK6Agp1Ymy-mGW5Pv5b0cXCGu_XyMDvBYWq1oDKJy4CwkV2HiTNvdw/s200/Inspection.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUOjbolzvMC5fMO9F63nOhRBoPOfxvf7eIW8e9SHA_v63Rg4Dt8hw0XL-9P1sWjw-ooZThRWeYh9IASC4PmvFqDLK6Agp1Ymy-mGW5Pv5b0cXCGu_XyMDvBYWq1oDKJy4CwkV2HiTNvdw/s0/Inspection.jpg" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p>As it may seem useful for other wargamers entering the 6mm sci-fi field, let's keep track of the manufacturers I could identify:</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Vanguard Miniatures:</b></p><p><a href="https://vanguardminiatures.co.uk/">https://vanguardminiatures.co.uk/</a></p><p>Style a bit retro</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Onslaught Miniatures:</b></p><p><a href="https://www.onslaughtmini.com/">https://www.onslaughtmini.com/</a></p><p>Style specific to the range in a GW way</p><p><br /></p><p><b>MicroWorld Games (US):</b></p><p><a href="https://www.microworldgames.com/">https://www.microworldgames.com/</a></p><p>A bit of everything medium sci-fi</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Brigade Models:</b></p><p><a href="http://www.brigademodels.co.uk/">http://www.brigademodels.co.uk/</a></p><p>Style is minimalistic</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Black Earth (EU):</b></p><p><a href="https://ns-games.com/">https://ns-games.com/</a></p><p>Hard sci-fi / mech miniatures</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Bradley Miniatures:</b></p><p><a href="https://www.alternative-armies.com/collections/bradley-miniatures-6mm-range">https://www.alternative-armies.com/collections/bradley-miniatures-6mm-range</a></p><p>Suitable for Mechs but in WWII53 style</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Khurasan Miniatures:</b></p><p><a href="https://khurasanminiatures.tripod.com/6mmscifi.html">https://khurasanminiatures.tripod.com/6mmscifi.html</a></p><p>Neat hard sci-fi miniatures</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Dark real miniatures</b></p><p>https://www.microworldgames.com/collections/dark-realm-miniaturesGround zero games</p><p>Availability to check</p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>Irregular miniatures</b></p><p><a href="https://irregularminiatures.co.uk/6mmRanges/6mmSciFi.htm">https://irregularminiatures.co.uk/6mmRanges/6mmSciFi.htm</a></p><p>old school retro</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Reaper Miniatures:</b></p><p><a href="https://www.reapermini.com/miniatures/cav:%20strike%20operations/latest/page4">https://www.reapermini.com/miniatures/cav:%20strike%20operations/latest/page4</a></p><p>Nice fit in look however you need to be a bit careful as I have been told they are in 10mm. That still may work as larger mechs.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>CP Model:</b></p><p><a href="https://cpmodels.co.uk/product-category/6mm-ranges-2/generic/">https://cpmodels.co.uk/product-category/6mm-ranges-2/generic/</a></p><p>Serious</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Plasma Blast</b></p><p><a href="https://plasmablastgames.com/product-category/6mm-marhaf-legion/page/3/">https://plasmablastgames.com/product-category/6mm-marhaf-legion/page/3/</a></p><p>interesting</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Metal Core:</b></p><p><a href="https://www.metalcorecollectibles.ca/">https://www.metalcorecollectibles.ca/</a></p><p>Nice design very close to Battletech</p><p><br /></p><p><b>EM4:</b></p><p><a href="https://em4miniatures.com/collections/science-fiction-near-future-miniatures">https://em4miniatures.com/collections/science-fiction-near-future-miniatures</a></p><p>Cool bubbly miniatures.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>P-C-in-C:</b></p><p><a href="https://www.pfc-cinc.com/solar_empire_marines.html">https://www.pfc-cinc.com/solar_empire_marines.html</a></p><p>Looks interesting</p>Braxenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09659777580502075412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2112477751078643746.post-52757668086016829392020-09-07T17:22:00.011+09:002020-09-07T18:21:15.813+09:0015mm ss comparison<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzo7qEhSC1CY3XgxK-C4gcPxm4kVeNL7x7IT4qiZ5tNxjVoofVawNU0QfsUX526BbtCM6YVKraqUXKkUUK84JSbWEwirAZuj5iwYBJqPpXksHhGfiVqPwxqqaoYdUo82vEHdQLVcnoVmQ/s1794/20200907_163337_resized.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="1794" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzo7qEhSC1CY3XgxK-C4gcPxm4kVeNL7x7IT4qiZ5tNxjVoofVawNU0QfsUX526BbtCM6YVKraqUXKkUUK84JSbWEwirAZuj5iwYBJqPpXksHhGfiVqPwxqqaoYdUo82vEHdQLVcnoVmQ/w625-h205/20200907_163337_resized.jpg" width="625" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Foreword:</span></b></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">I have recently received the 15mm ss infantry from Battlefront and from Forged in Battle. I am not sure it is necessary to remind that I do not condone the ss and despise what they represent and fought for. It is clear in my mind that as wargamers we also need bad guys to represent certain fights between several belligerents. You will not find of this blog any attempt to glorify them. </span></span></p><p><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">On to the review:</span></b></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;">I would like to mention that figures you like or like a little less are really a matter of taste. Some people swear by certain brand and although sculptors are more talented than most of us, I prefer certain styles to others. This is in no way a criticism of the effort and attention put in the figures by the companies. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-align: justify;">So really, take everything with a grain of salt. It is just my feedback and what I like.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><b>What are the criteria:</b></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333;" /></span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b>pose quality:</b> describe the life into the figure, whether I find them interesting or not</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b>sculpting:</b> does the sculpt appeal to me (I like folds, crisp and well defined details)?</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b>casting:</b> it is basically how much work and effort I need to put into the figures before painting them</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b>love factor:</b> the purely subjective criteria that depends only on the amount of chemistry there is between the figures and me. Like love, it may be entirely different from one individual to another.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><p style="color: black; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: times; font-size: medium;">It is worth mentioning that the figures are assessed on their full pack and I have chosen to show only a few that have similar poses as example. The full review is based on all the different figures and not just the few displayed in the picture.</span></p><div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">On to the review:</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Light grey are Battlefront new ss, metal are Fireforged ss and dark grey are Battlefront hard plastic </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The new BF are the chubbiest, BF's hard plastic are the most slander while Forged in Battle are in between.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Worth to mention that BF new ss and Forged in Battle ss only come with the camouflaged blouses and none of them wear the peadot uniform.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #333333; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2H32N7DOYL4oFzYqLIAIFJ8sMvSrjUmam4hsET5HlW9QD1K3kyyG-B5-RkVA_a01-lrDyeMNzksi78iSauAp9SMo468m7rQc4Ovgsi_hyphenhyphen_FQFmXS89cZrmvp1fgNKCdyUCDKiQSjfwXU/s1794/20200907_163337_resized.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="1794" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2H32N7DOYL4oFzYqLIAIFJ8sMvSrjUmam4hsET5HlW9QD1K3kyyG-B5-RkVA_a01-lrDyeMNzksi78iSauAp9SMo468m7rQc4Ovgsi_hyphenhyphen_FQFmXS89cZrmvp1fgNKCdyUCDKiQSjfwXU/w781-h256/20200907_163337_resized.jpg" width="781" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><u>New Battlefront hard soft plastic ss:</u></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The new hard soft plastic is not as bad as in the beginning. Details could be better but are not blurred, and plastic is not as soft as with toys figures. They are OK.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div></div><div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b>pose quality:</b> It is probably where the figures are the most lacking. The poses are a bit rigid and generic. They don't really look like actual period pictures, and, the sculptor who was doing the metal figures had more inspiration than what we have now.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b>sculpting:</b> The figures don't really have easy to paint features. Without being totally featureless they are not as well defined as metal figures. This is probably due to the limitations of their new casting technique with the new hard soft plastic.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b>casting:</b> A bit cleaning will be necessary but not that much.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b>love factor:</b> no. No love. They are functional and, for a lack of a better term, lazy.</span></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><div style="color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><u>Forget in Battle ss:</u></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><div style="color: black; text-align: left;"><div style="color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b>pose quality:</b> Pretty boring. The pose coming back most often in numerous variations is a soldier advancing holding his rifle. No real combat poses in the lot.</span></div><div style="color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b>sculpting:</b> The figures are nicely sculpted with well defined details.</span></div><div style="color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b>casting:</b> More metal to clean but the casting is not bad.</span></div><div style="color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b>love factor:</b> Okay-ish. In terms of painting, I believe that slightly more interesting results can be obtained, but nothing to call home.</span></div><div style="color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><div style="color: black; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><u>BF hard plastic germans:</u></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><u><br /></u></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">I put them there only for comparison with the new plastic figures.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><div style="color: black; text-align: left;"><div style="color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b>pose quality:</b> these figures have the most variety and interesting poses of all three. They are not entirely realistic in term of combat poses but they do the job much better than the two previous ones.</span></div><div style="color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b>sculpting:</b> The figures are very nicely sculpted with well defined details, poses and details.</span></div><div style="color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b>casting:</b> hard plastic can provide very good detail and these figures are no exception</span></div><div style="color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b>love factor:</b> to be honest, those figures are the ones I like the most and I am most looking forward to painting. They have nice detail and variety, they have interesting poses and are well animated. Painting them should be fun.</span></div><div style="color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b style="color: black; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><u>As a conclusion:</u></span></b></div><div style="color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">This new soft / hard plastic strategy from Battlefront probably reduces their cost in casting and development (3D sculpted) but do they really represent a step up in quality and wow factor? Certainly not. They are mainly a compromise and as such they are neither terrible nor extraordinary. I will just paint them and will stop worrying about meaningless little toy soldiers. Life's short :)</span></div><div style="color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">So there will be two platoons to paint. The new ss from BF will have their own platoon and I will paint them as a hobby chore while the figures from Forged in Battle and BF's hard plastic will be mixed together to provide a variety of uniforms: the camouflaged smocks and the pea dot ones. Intuitively, I believe I will have more fun painting this platoon.</span></div><div style="color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Until next time!</span></div><div style="color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></div></div></div></div>Braxenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09659777580502075412noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2112477751078643746.post-80031206827839826892020-08-05T08:41:00.008+09:002020-08-06T06:45:59.355+09:00Rules shoppingAs a wargamer, you need sometimes to try new era and rules. This time has come...<div><br /></div><div>As with anything, I sometimes get carried away and rather agonizing on whether I need or not to buy the set of rules, whether I will play it, I just stop wasting my time, buy it and move on. Honestly, I find it less expensive that way. Why? Time has become my scarcest resource. Searching for a new set of rule can take me several days. Cutting this to reading a few reviews, making a shortlist and buying the top 3 rather than hesitating a long time is actually a huge time saving that I can spend reading books, relaxing or actually painting models...</div><div><br /></div><div>Wargaming is a expensive hobby but less expensive that boating or motorcycling. There's this.</div><div><br /></div><div>On to the purchases, I will make a review for them in the near future.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><font size="5"><b>Rebels and Patriots</b></font></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWP9URIvCDLAjo2AtRgxU2Z4vOml_l85XuXK0uNtfMX5QNeZcsj_ZpwpLz5RQ9p1soFzIeJzi8Esh8ynTgVLGjQQ-5pUaeE0wv4fcrBt1vgsyMnqYwgu8SxNq8jAe9b22O3pJmR3tYNgw/s2048/91edhxmz9lL.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1518" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWP9URIvCDLAjo2AtRgxU2Z4vOml_l85XuXK0uNtfMX5QNeZcsj_ZpwpLz5RQ9p1soFzIeJzi8Esh8ynTgVLGjQQ-5pUaeE0wv4fcrBt1vgsyMnqYwgu8SxNq8jAe9b22O3pJmR3tYNgw/w379-h512/91edhxmz9lL.jpg" width="379" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>I was initially looking for Musket and Powder skirmish game that I could play with a few figures. Browsing for the rules, it was one candidate. I could play the French Indian wars. The rules were cheap and had good review. What appealed to me</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>not too much micro management, base element is a squad</li><li>well written and clear</li><li>interesting activation with a die roll per unit</li><li>low figure count</li><li>could do FIW, AWI, ACW all themes I am interested in but don't really want to invest more than a few plastic boxes from Perry, Victrix or Warlord.</li></ul><div>Really, keeping the investment to minimum</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Although, reading further some of the comments on the net, it seemed that other set of rules dealing more specifically with the ACW were much loved as well.</div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><font size="5"><b>Brother against Brother</b></font></div><div style="text-align: center;"><font size="5"><b><br /></b></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfxHUQppBQLE7_3g5UKDUgSOF86j4dldi1I4YJjJsMKW0V6aI0ncwGow9Nw_phNXno4HnERwBl0bgmNs26jdhfLU0EJm-s69O1FN0Na8RFv-BTMhKGBriHwMklJgqbCgoI7KMuoIN9hNQ/s630/pic4747642.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="439" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfxHUQppBQLE7_3g5UKDUgSOF86j4dldi1I4YJjJsMKW0V6aI0ncwGow9Nw_phNXno4HnERwBl0bgmNs26jdhfLU0EJm-s69O1FN0Na8RFv-BTMhKGBriHwMklJgqbCgoI7KMuoIN9hNQ/s0/pic4747642.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div></div><div>Although, it looks to cover FIW, the rules were designed with the ACW in mind. As a pdf, I could buy for a fair fee and print them. I already have read them and they look light. Just what I need. They are a bit at the same scale than Rebels & Patriots.</div><div><ul><li>again, base element is a squad</li><li>well written and clear</li><li>low figure count</li></ul><div>At least, I have both of them now for skirmishing and I am happy with the purchase. I hesitated a long time about buying <b>Musket and Tomahawk</b> that looks very good and is designed by the same French team that delivered <b>SAGA</b>, a fun and innovative game. I just could not find French plastic figures for the period so I did not put this as a priority purchase.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>I also have <b>Sharp Practice</b> that I bought a few years back. I know the Too fat lardies have a well deserved following but I cannot wrap my head around their concepts and ways of gaming. I'd certainly play their rules if invited to a game, the mechanism are clever but so far they are not talking to me beyond a passing interest.</div><div><br /></div><div>Since I did not know anything about the ACW like most European games, I have started to watch movies, documentaries and read articles and books. Truth to be said, it is still a bit confused but focusing only on a few battles has really raised my interest to understand the conflict at a larger scale...</div><div><br /></div><div>Which leads us to purchasing even more rules with a particular focus on Brigade level as a base element.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><font size="5">Altar or Freedom</font></b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDHmpOLF16NymL2valedDZMjPavrkzXy4rQ6nZ5Dx9ASn88s3HE3Z6HKGY2ppepKAn3RFBqStLMUosMzqsWylfa50ZCdnqAiJdlP9d-tazc9LPi0qhsNTp3sYuSwewVeTgU7OVNgX4a9o/s824/163575.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="824" data-original-width="637" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDHmpOLF16NymL2valedDZMjPavrkzXy4rQ6nZ5Dx9ASn88s3HE3Z6HKGY2ppepKAn3RFBqStLMUosMzqsWylfa50ZCdnqAiJdlP9d-tazc9LPi0qhsNTp3sYuSwewVeTgU7OVNgX4a9o/w396-h512/163575.jpg" width="396" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">These rules look exceptional. Simple, extremely well written and clear, it is a pleasure to understand you can play a game after an evening reading. I could buy them as a PDF, print them and read them quickly. Greg Wagman is a name to remember. Many people have asked him to design a set of rules for Napoleonics and it will be probably a blind buy if he ever gets to publish some.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>base element is a brigade</li><li>you have a system to simulate initiative and tempo on the battlefield that is both simple and very interesting</li><li>easy movement and combat resolution</li></ul><div style="text-align: left;">I want easy and interesting. That's the first time I read a set of rules and feel that the author is explaining to me the rules in person at the club and we can start playing right away! It makes you feel... clever.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And also, although it is sometime ignored, I cannot recommend enough the scenario book (there are two. I bought the east battles one). It is literally packed with tons of battles, a pure gem for total neophytes like me. Really, really well done, very clear, makes you want to play right away.</div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYn-rm7_L5Osqk5v31e3OtuHBIymIP_VZp0SnVFF4LTkcA1CuLBUTXDC6XkYyJ6dCLIw4_J6DVPgcIuEq3riyhUlhwlnCge6YY8kbL2bYicdtJ4MlsfWvCipdig96hO2Do0WVfqtrL6x8/s323/2457499.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="323" data-original-width="250" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYn-rm7_L5Osqk5v31e3OtuHBIymIP_VZp0SnVFF4LTkcA1CuLBUTXDC6XkYyJ6dCLIw4_J6DVPgcIuEq3riyhUlhwlnCge6YY8kbL2bYicdtJ4MlsfWvCipdig96hO2Do0WVfqtrL6x8/w313-h404/2457499.jpg" width="313" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><font size="5">On to Richmond</font></b></div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgprgWYgqbmfwbazBmv8p-Hd4g_I7zWCvnD9xBirZeCbo32VDphVL4o-GxDMQpL_txXxbWL6JwUpRCTnY9-OStGnYo5TQ1dYBzY6AGL1vHWYIYStLi7IQgaoijg-cg4qzoq2dyBgyAKbHw/s287/97502.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="287" data-original-width="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgprgWYgqbmfwbazBmv8p-Hd4g_I7zWCvnD9xBirZeCbo32VDphVL4o-GxDMQpL_txXxbWL6JwUpRCTnY9-OStGnYo5TQ1dYBzY6AGL1vHWYIYStLi7IQgaoijg-cg4qzoq2dyBgyAKbHw/s0/97502.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>I had heard good things about <b>On to Richmond </b>but the way people sell it as an "old school" ruleset made me reluctant to include it in my shortlist. I heard there was a slightly modified new edition but it still did not look attractive. But I figured out it was actually available through Wargame vault as past of a magazine for 3 dollars. So again, instead of "not knowing" and being curious for ages, I pressed the buy button and got them. I still don't know what they are like, but at list I can read them if so pleases me...</div><div><br /></div><div>I contemplated buying <b>Fire & Fury</b> and I read the Quick Reference sheet that looks exactly like the type of game I could enjoy but I thought that <b>Altar of Freedom</b> was already covering my needs in a way I wanted to try right away. I will play <b>Fire & Fury</b> with pleasure but I am determined to invest in one direction, and this is <b>Altar of Freedom.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Talking about all this high level command renewed my interest in grand tactical Napoleonics. Which led me to... <b>Age of Eagles</b>, the Napoleonic sibling of <b>Fire & Fury</b>!</div><div><br /></div><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><font size="5">Age of Eagles</font></b></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO56U98CeSy50pM9HWjy86OiBIuhHHtjHiw_raxf7vPabl4AlCS_ixg7GHqKd7p0RDwCu_gc1zYFD45aPzGtPIFEYNRSon9xlgrlhS8xJEwXfKnp99QaQXZd-14IYu4gNV_PrkTUZztlg/s630/pic5303039.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="487" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO56U98CeSy50pM9HWjy86OiBIuhHHtjHiw_raxf7vPabl4AlCS_ixg7GHqKd7p0RDwCu_gc1zYFD45aPzGtPIFEYNRSon9xlgrlhS8xJEwXfKnp99QaQXZd-14IYu4gNV_PrkTUZztlg/s0/pic5303039.jpg" /></a></div><font size="5"><br /></font></b></div><div>So basically, I could still get a taste of <b>Fire & Fury</b> in a different period. Again, they look like </div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>clean rules, intuitive and fun. </li><li>basic element is brigade</li><li>don't require too many stands</li></ul>Some people have commented it plays a bit like ACW rather than Napoleonics but we will see. I am happy with the purchase I get to experience the system.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Which leads us to the hybrid....</div><div><b style="text-align: center;"><font size="5"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span></font></b></div><div><b style="text-align: center;"><font size="5"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Volley & Bayonets: road to glory</font></b></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2r4sI0NhkM65vSXIPz22aJYrodqs9MMu1H_V3ZKsSFsEU-rWl5WHHPPEqU-STxfgPoT8fxLzwDW8KH-ph5fZyG_zC3NrcbKcYFVB7JsufENa1IfP1EVgsPyH3wqwgqrvypp6UbK9wBaw/s630/pic375858.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="485" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2r4sI0NhkM65vSXIPz22aJYrodqs9MMu1H_V3ZKsSFsEU-rWl5WHHPPEqU-STxfgPoT8fxLzwDW8KH-ph5fZyG_zC3NrcbKcYFVB7JsufENa1IfP1EVgsPyH3wqwgqrvypp6UbK9wBaw/s0/pic375858.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><b style="text-align: center;"><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: center;">I wasn't interested initially although it ticked many of the boxes</span></div><div><ul><li><span style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: center;">Easy and fast</span></div></span></li><li><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: center;">Grand tactical</span></div></li><li><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: center;">cover ACW and Napoleonics</span></div></li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;">The main deal break for me were the straight forward IGOUGO formant and ability to control most everything on the battlefield without too many restrictions. With years passing by, I tend to want a bit less control over my troops and make do with what we have. This is quite similar to work life and not that far I suppose from even more chaos on the past battlefield. I don't want to be able to control everything and this tension should be part of my games.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So I did not see the need to purchase these rules but I found them on ebay with their Napoleonic and ACW supplement at a <b>40% discount</b>... so it was hard to ignore them in face of all the praises they received.</div></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><b style="text-align: center;"><br /></b></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxmczEJ2e5WlXGR6EfwqNfyHZTzf0eHSC8IR35kGmVxa9gFAIGOShvZ25O255V4b4Q0Z1eInf09u2uX1o0pvnyQOArUJBZUaTvOdpe1fubTUmErNAnnMSyvz9Dk90hk5EtoTY0WqwLc-E/s1110/napoleon_returns.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1110" data-original-width="824" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxmczEJ2e5WlXGR6EfwqNfyHZTzf0eHSC8IR35kGmVxa9gFAIGOShvZ25O255V4b4Q0Z1eInf09u2uX1o0pvnyQOArUJBZUaTvOdpe1fubTUmErNAnnMSyvz9Dk90hk5EtoTY0WqwLc-E/w380-h512/napoleon_returns.jpg" width="380" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSM5WWfEVhZCN8BAwUPSTJE-8jzBEGleV5igGnVlFsdIjaDpLQBCNTsZkSNUvH6nRPAjZVpB27Ux7WiEksWL0YNE9UUsrmfUWXyNq4HmGR7a9hvHSU6td-MjGanr4OIVrTHq933CtnLEs/s500/61GX3QhF6pL.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSM5WWfEVhZCN8BAwUPSTJE-8jzBEGleV5igGnVlFsdIjaDpLQBCNTsZkSNUvH6nRPAjZVpB27Ux7WiEksWL0YNE9UUsrmfUWXyNq4HmGR7a9hvHSU6td-MjGanr4OIVrTHq933CtnLEs/s0/61GX3QhF6pL.jpg" /></a></div><font size="5" style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></font></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="text-align: justify;">I was also recommended </span><b style="text-align: justify;">Blucher</b><span style="text-align: justify;"> and </span><b style="text-align: justify;">Grande Armee </b><span style="text-align: justify;">from Sam Mustapha. The rules look indeed attractive, simple to learn and play with a lot of elements you cannot really control but in the end I decided against. Sam is a very creative and interesting game designer. I have a couple of his games that are quite innovative. However, I cannot find chemistry with his designs. The persistent feel I have is a mix of good idea and gimmicky mechanism that don't bring all that much to the game. So I am not totally convinced they are the games I want to push at the top of my list. </span></div><div><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="text-align: justify;"><b>Et sans resultat</b>, <b>March Attack</b> didn't make it to the top mostly because they seem to require a lot of figures the QRS did not appeal to me or they did not inspire me for a reason or another.</span></div><div><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="text-align: justify;">I had the old edition of DBN but learned that a new one was released so it was time for the upgrade with a hard copy as my own older version is a printed one.</span></div><div><b style="text-align: center;"><font size="5"><br /></font></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="text-align: center;"><font size="5"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span></span>DBN</font></b></div><div><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7tcY59XptFuFlgHJgaB-VodzOspbyWgsPzPz2un_0T2qT7cxPcI94ElHkJQh2LaGnpXVnh-cD7yM5o2_TEdNKvaUGDzWKYS0sA0gxXlq6JwJHM2j0EHH-O2-HU-QYAirCcIdJ2TkFu5k/s594/Screen+Shot+2020-08-05+at+8.07.05+AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="594" data-original-width="490" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7tcY59XptFuFlgHJgaB-VodzOspbyWgsPzPz2un_0T2qT7cxPcI94ElHkJQh2LaGnpXVnh-cD7yM5o2_TEdNKvaUGDzWKYS0sA0gxXlq6JwJHM2j0EHH-O2-HU-QYAirCcIdJ2TkFu5k/w314-h380/Screen+Shot+2020-08-05+at+8.07.05+AM.png" width="314" /></a></div><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Simple rules, you can play with a dozen elements a side, quick and fun games. There is nothing revolutionary anymore at this stage but they play fast and let you focus on your strategy and what you can do when you do not have full control of your troops. They don't have as much historical flavor as other sets but they largely compensate this with playability and tension. I do not know why they are so confidential, maybe because of the low figure count and the lack of commercial impulse the rule creators have. Nevertheless, a interesting set of rules that has room in my library and gets out more often than other rules. Recommended and pdf price is totally affordable. It may be better to watch a few videos or have someone teach you first.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">and then I was playing <b>Lion Rampant</b> and thought that I needed to check what was going in the Ancient/Medieval gaming world. I have <b>Sword and Spear</b> that is quite interesting, again, low base count and interesting command and control mechanisms. I was recommended <b>To the Strongest!</b> but still can get past the playing cards on the table and one unfortunate gameplay video where nothing happened for a good 45 minutes. Wasn't convinced by the activation system and the grid is restrictive. I still feel I want my knights to ride from point A to point B rather than transferring the unit from grid A to grid B. End result is the same, you could also roll a die and see who wins for simplification purposes... yes and no. Maybe I wasn't sold to the game but many people seem to like it so there must be something to explore.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In any case, I heard that a clear DBA like interesting set was out, I could get the pdf from Wargame vault and print it. I give you</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="text-align: center;"><font size="5"> Triumph!</font></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0VzOHCm8xxApxHkQtOtB9me2gW2Zr_n52lVkChzOUrQZK-efLpDhuaTsvAW2eGUsHwV7CsCfahF64zU28kF8c3pPL_fFX9kWgByjCM-3pCd42qfAdyqPeHxDKECgAA_MWjvyDtADL61s/s2048/triumph-cover-image.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1449" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0VzOHCm8xxApxHkQtOtB9me2gW2Zr_n52lVkChzOUrQZK-efLpDhuaTsvAW2eGUsHwV7CsCfahF64zU28kF8c3pPL_fFX9kWgByjCM-3pCd42qfAdyqPeHxDKECgAA_MWjvyDtADL61s/s640/triumph-cover-image.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Although, there might not be much new to DBA, having a clearer version with some improvements doesn't hurt and at this stage I feel that supporting the hobby is not all that bad either...</div><div>Rules are clear, I like DBA to start with and you can paint up new armies very fast. So yes, I could pull the trigger. I also considered <b>Age of Hannibal</b> very seriously, again for the command and control system, but the figure counts seemed a bit high and it has particular focus on the punic war which do not interest me all that much right now. If it had been a bit more general, I may certainly have taken the plunge.</div><div><br /></div><div>And then, because <b>Lion Rampant </b>is an easy ruleset to introduce new players to miniatures wargaming, having Dragons, orcs and elves in your armies may be appealing to even younger new players...</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b style="text-align: center;"><font size="5"> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Dragon Rampant</font></b></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"></span></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihh65JNG1NZ3yVoUnZPry77XQt4PTVLeRx4k39CH44JlsuDI6UQ4-t3IMEQB0U0nCH1N9CySmPcFzlXo5-q3vDaZOx4RyURGkpv2EZGUIAli6SkXi7XwFA0GyL3AD12qY46Yj3FN6hIKk/s261/download.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="261" data-original-width="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihh65JNG1NZ3yVoUnZPry77XQt4PTVLeRx4k39CH44JlsuDI6UQ4-t3IMEQB0U0nCH1N9CySmPcFzlXo5-q3vDaZOx4RyURGkpv2EZGUIAli6SkXi7XwFA0GyL3AD12qY46Yj3FN6hIKk/s0/download.jpeg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Good reviews, simple and fast play (we finished a<b> Lion Rampant</b> game in 70 minutes including setup and packing!), this fantasy version was too affordable to pass. So here we are, we have a set of rules that let us re-use the fantasy toys without having to take a PhD in fantasy gaming as Gamesworkshop assumes we should...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My stash of figures is quite important but nevertheless I am acquiring a few Perry and Victrix 28mm figures boxes for ACW and Napoleonic skirmish games. Baccus 6mm figures will be purchased for the brigade level games and I still have have 6mm Napoleonics.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Books about the FIW and ACW were purchased and no mistakes were made. I am interested.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cocaine and Heroine are a lot more expensive and I don't do either. So all things considered, it is not hugely costly, I guess, I suppose, maybe. Right? And anyway, don't start me on GW's prices. 😀</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Until next time, if there is a particular ruleset you would like me to review among the books above, let me know and I will if I can review them in a more formal way.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Braxenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09659777580502075412noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2112477751078643746.post-16884809317633323652020-08-03T20:52:00.001+09:002020-08-03T20:52:06.827+09:00Playing miniature games online<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGDBBbUFTEx3YNcCVk4nZNO231_WKHvFH_AEZ5k193CVBMBgN1_gytdYUkEJpncROVyKwyu5Q_ieJMfzMN6ZSqTpIuFx55U9iqL2Ix0IcgKuclOkgd5TrlUhoDmNVbrn-7PdlQ4vLNi5M/s2528/Screen+Shot+2020-08-03+at+8.18.11+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1198" data-original-width="2528" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGDBBbUFTEx3YNcCVk4nZNO231_WKHvFH_AEZ5k193CVBMBgN1_gytdYUkEJpncROVyKwyu5Q_ieJMfzMN6ZSqTpIuFx55U9iqL2Ix0IcgKuclOkgd5TrlUhoDmNVbrn-7PdlQ4vLNi5M/w640-h303/Screen+Shot+2020-08-03+at+8.18.11+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;">It is quite difficult with all the ongoing mess to meet with friends, and play miniature games. However, the good folks at Little Wars TV gave me very good ideas on how to play miniature games.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Mqf43Auqn-A" width="320" youtube-src-id="Mqf43Auqn-A"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">I will take the example of FOW.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Setting up a FOW game online is a bit involved initially but once you understand what to do, you can set it up in a couple of hours and you are ready to go and play very easily. Let me share the different steps, I have taken. You can search on google how to do each steps in details, but it is not overly too complicated.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">First of all, you need an account on Roll20 platform. This is an online platform that allows you to play with friends online role playing game.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><ul><li>You create a game on Roll20</li><li>Open a page</li><li>Disable the grid</li><li>Play around with the page scale. I am using 70 pixel = 4.2 inches</li><li>Find a tactical map online and upload it as your gaming map</li><li>Resize the map so it become in your game a 6x4 foot map</li><li>Find a VASSAL game mod with tactical units (I have used Blitzkrieg mod)</li><li>Unzip the mod (you can rename the mod .zip and unzip it)</li><li>Select into the mod the icons you will for your FOW game (I selected units for my British and my German models)</li><li>Upload them into your game</li><li>Upload them on the map as Tokens</li><li>Resize the tokens so they look the correct size in regard of your map (I totally eye balled it)</li><li>Duplicate the token as needed for your platoons</li><li>You can them move your units around, roll dice, measure distances</li></ul></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">I know it is a bit succinct but I hope I have given you enough elements to start exploring and learning how to do that.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The first step is really to understand more or less how roll20 works and how you create games in this environnement. Having a friend showing you goes a long way to help and make the learning curve easier.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">But it is a good (small) investment.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Don't give up, once you understand how it works, you can play tons of miniature games. I think that any set-up takes at most a couple of hours, you can reuse it and playing goes probably faster than in real life.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Happy gaming</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div>Braxenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09659777580502075412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2112477751078643746.post-12001160714026150722020-06-29T12:04:00.001+09:002020-06-29T12:05:08.937+09:0015mm IDF Mechanized company<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEATrPfU32wMdF5FsFOe3iu7p1SYkFV1YKn4CtJ_AIj1JfCzTDJcy0JS70DqW2hU4oPGEVBmGq67scyTJqKMxOpdyMfUGwbg-hImwXJ5uS7qlC-acEh_64TPMxE96RsQQ8lkrwVtgPNXQ/s1600/20200629_104022_resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="751" data-original-width="1227" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEATrPfU32wMdF5FsFOe3iu7p1SYkFV1YKn4CtJ_AIj1JfCzTDJcy0JS70DqW2hU4oPGEVBmGq67scyTJqKMxOpdyMfUGwbg-hImwXJ5uS7qlC-acEh_64TPMxE96RsQQ8lkrwVtgPNXQ/s640/20200629_104022_resized.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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IDF mechanized company and Pioneer platoon drying up (Mat varnish).<br />
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Braxenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09659777580502075412noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2112477751078643746.post-27448583357480976982020-06-27T08:06:00.001+09:002020-06-27T10:32:36.272+09:0015mm IDF support<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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IDF support APCs that I finished yesterday. Quite a lot of modifications on the original battlefront models that I bought. This is also one of the joy of working with plastic, I find it much easier to make modifications.<br />
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We have TOW launchers, AA Gatlings, Mortars and observers.<br />
I added the side racks, desert exhaust, extra stowage, additional mounted machineguns.<br />
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The markings are my understanding of Israeli designation but I am sure they are some points I have missed, such as the small white squares that appear sometime on the M113. Back doors could be also painted white (presumably for night travel on road with low lightning).<br />
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The do take long in spite of the single color. I still have 12 infantry APC to finish, a couple of Chapparals, 3 x Pereh, a couple of infantry platoons, a few cobras and two F-16s that I really would like to do.</div>
Braxenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09659777580502075412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2112477751078643746.post-78206215880327915362020-05-26T11:31:00.001+09:002020-05-26T17:41:41.950+09:00AI photorealistic portrait<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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When AI brings back photorealistic portraits. Stunning, just stunning.<br />
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Some explanations:<br />
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It is a composite image made from known drawings of the Emperor and photos of real persons combined with AI. They used a site called Art Breeder.<br />
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Basically, the algorithm understands the features from the drawings and rebuild a "photography" from thousands of features from pictures of real persons.<br />
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You get a photorealistic Napoleon. It is astonishing.</div>
Braxenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09659777580502075412noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2112477751078643746.post-29502873526405429292020-05-21T04:41:00.000+09:002020-05-21T04:41:16.483+09:0015mm IDF M60<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Eventually finished my ERA M60. Really like how they came out.<br />
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I am waiting for my decals but I continuing the IDF army project and adding one color a day, so step by step we are getting there.<br />
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Braxenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09659777580502075412noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2112477751078643746.post-21460733526803395062020-05-15T08:59:00.001+09:002020-05-15T17:12:34.990+09:00IDF vehicle conversion<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>Credit: </b><br />
First of all, credit goes in part to the extraordinary work of Thomas Stark that inspired me to try a bit harder and model IDF vehicles. Thomas is super accurate and has really invested in making his models, try to search for his work on one of the Facebook Team Yankee group.<br />
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<b>The base:</b><br />
On one hand I was a bit disappointed by the rather bland look of the boxes that Battlefront released, but on the other hand they provide a great basis to have fun and model on your own very exotic vehicles.<br />
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<b>General philosophy:</b><br />
It is always difficult to find the right balance between accuracy, time spent and fun. So I decided right away to make my vehicles look IDF but not necessarily be 100% accurate. I went for effect mainly and once I took the decision, I was relieved and had fun with my project.<br />
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Secondly, my cuts are not exceptionally accurate either. You will see on the pictures and close up are not super flattering. You can be a lot more accurate without a doubt. However, when you will see the vehicles as a group, those inaccuracies become almost invisible. Again, mass effect trumps minute precision. Once painted, it will be even less noticeable not too mention gaming distance.<br />
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I wanted to make IDF like vehicles NOT competition level models. It is a different hobby that I respect a lot. I just wanted to have fun with this project and this was how approached it.<br />
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<b>Pictures:</b><br />
I do not really have work in progress pictures but I will put enough pictures and explanations for you to get some inspiration and build upon it.<br />
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<b>Material:</b><br />
I have used evergreen and plastruct <b>styrene</b>, there are the same. Picked them up at my local hobby shop but you can order them online or through ebay<br />
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<a href="https://evergreenscalemodels.com/">https://evergreenscalemodels.com/</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.plastruct.com/">https://www.plastruct.com/</a><br />
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They can be cut very easily and are glued with your usual plastic glue.<br />
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I recommend thick one to model boxes, thinnest one to model locks, covers and smaller parts. For the ERA blocks (reactive armor), there are two types that have worked well for me but you may wish to experiment with different thickness.<br />
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I recommend <b>1.5 x 3.2mm and 1.5 x 2mm.</b> First figure is the thickness, the other number is the width.<br />
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<b>Extra stowage</b> is from the Fate of a Nation Israeli range from Battlefront and resin from Reddog on ebay<br />
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<b>Crew figures </b>are from a mix of Battlefront and Peter Pig<br />
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<b>Extra FN Mag machinegun</b> are from Peter Pig (I believe in supporting everyone in the hobby and there should be enough room for all to live harmoniously).<br />
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I have used <b>metal wire</b> as well but it is not all that much necessary.<br />
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<b>Costs:</b><br />
To be honest, this is not an expensive project but not a cheap one as well. There is a lot of trials and errors in terms of what styrene to use. You may need many different types and thickness. The extra equipment needs to be purchased as well. So cost per vehicle may easily increase by 50% but on the other hand, we are not talking about motorcycling during the week-end... so keep things in proportion. It's fun, requires a bit of an investment in your models but it's still a hobby on the cheaper side.<br />
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One last important point: I eye-balled almost everything! Don't over stress about the exact dimensions, it just needs to fit more or less according to what you can see on real pictures.<br />
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<b>The Magach 6</b><br />
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Nothing more emblematic of an IDF Magach 6 but their ERA blocks for protection. I love the models that Battlefront has released and plastic is very easy to work with. However, some work is a bit necessary to make them look more like Israeli tanks:<br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>gun barrel: I kind of disagree with the one that is indicated in the assembly instructions. The other one is closer to what the Israelis are using. </li>
<li>Tank commander hatch: the Israelis have opted on their later model for a lower one, be careful to use this one</li>
<li>Extra machinegun: Israelis are not using M60s but FN Mags, you need to add an extra machine gun to the loader side (left side of the turret)</li>
</ul>
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For the ERA blocks, I have used 1.5mm thickness, 2mm width on the hull and 3.2mm on the top of the turret. Side of the turret are a mix of the two, mainly 2mm.</div>
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I have also glued a metal wire to simulate a bit more the hand rails. It is not all that necessary but it looks good.<br />
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I regards of simulating the blocks, it is quite difficult to represent them very accurately but give them an angle.<br />
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One important trick that I have learned for the turret is to just glue a strip and when it's dry cut it to size from the turret base. It will go much faster than trying to determine for each brick what is the exact dimension at each particular place in the row...<br />
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The smoke projector should really be a bit thicker. I might glue an additional layer of styrene. I will simulate the smoke grenade with paints but you could cut and glue thin round strips of styrene to represent them. For the sake of my mental health I did not go into this...<br />
Other noticeable point: the <b>ERA blocks 1</b> are characteristics and have different sizes. Shape them at an angle with your cutter.<br />
<b>ERA blocks 2</b> on the hull and at its front are 2mm wide. I could not fine styrene at 1.75mm so they are a bit bigger and one is therefore missing to have the exact number... well right. To glue them, you may have to remove details on the tank.<br />
<b>ERA blocks 3</b> on the top of the turret are 3.2mm if I remember correctly. There are 6 of them.<br />
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You will probably have to buy different sets of styrene to try (width and thickness). There is no real way around it. You will probably end up with sets you will not use. Accept it as the cost of customizing your models, not such a big deal.<br />
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<b><u>A trick to cut the blocks</u></b> you need to cut them to the same size: cut one that you will use as a template. Super glue it vertically on a surface, put the styrene strip by its side and cut your series. You will have hits and misses but it will go much fast than measuring each one to cut at the same size.<br />
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<b>The M113s:</b><br />
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Israeli M113 come in all shapes and flavors, but basically they are overloaded with personal equipment, ammunition, and weapons. There again, the FN Mag machinegun should be the weapon of choice to equip the vehicles.<br />
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Battlefront has provided figures to represent crew manning these weapons, but to be honest, they don't look so good and it might be a production compromise, so we will add the extra machinegun instead of these figures. They did not provide the Israeli exhaust either that hangs of the left side, however these can be found in the Israeli stowage packs from the Fate of a Nation series or you can make them yourself. I will show you.<br />
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So really several points that are representative of Israeli M113s:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Stowage racks on the sides of the vehicle</li>
<li>Two FN Mag machineguns, one on each side of the hull</li>
<li>Long exhaust hanging on the right side of the vehicle </li>
</ul>
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But as said, Israeli M113 come in many flavors, some with extra armors, some with better organized storage as you can see bellow...<br />
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Israelis have the painful habit (for a modeler) to maintain an airtight operational secrecy so I do not know what are the front plates on the vehicles. My guess is that these are wood planks used for engineering purposes.<br />
Which leads me to believe that these vehicles are used by combat engineers and I will therefore use them in my tank companies as support infantry or Recce according to points.<br />
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So what did we modify:<br />
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For these vehicles, I have made good use of the floatation skirts provided in the box for the VADS options. See on sprue, the parts that I have used:<br />
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Cut them, put space between the parts, reshape them and glue what's left vertically. You'll figure out!!! :)<br />
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To be honest, that was a lot of fun and not all that tedious. The exhaust might have vent holes on the green part, but honestly, there's a limit to the detailing I want to do, so they are fine like that. The exhaust itself is made of a round strip of styrene heated with a candle and bent at 90 degrees. You will need to shape the connecting part with a knife and sand the top connecting to the hull but that's not complicated. You will also need to cut a small bit on the hull where the exhaust connects.<br />
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The edges of the sprues are very good to use as cover because one side is completely flat while the other side has a round shape.<br />
<br />
In terms of stowage, be careful. Not everything is just thrown together and loaded up on the M113s, there is some practicality to it as well as "once upon a time there were directives". So all is not randomly placed. Be careful.<br />
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The infantry M113s will be simpler but still we need to pay attention to:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>The two extra machineguns</li>
<li>The storage racks on both sides</li>
<li>The long exhaust on the right side</li>
</ul>
Most of the M113s in my mechanized infantry company will be along the same model:<br />
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For each of these, we have:<br />
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I simplified a bit the racks. To make them to scale and add the extra guard would be too complicated. With the stowage anyway, I am sure it will look good once painted<br />
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So that's it for how I customized my Israeli M113s. Not all is 100% accurate but I feel I am fielding a fun unit now that looks a bit more authentic.<br />
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I hope you enjoyed the tutorial and that it will inspire you for your own projects. Leave a comment, it is always fun to know people actually read what you spend time on. Thanks!<br />
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Now, on to painting!<br />
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Braxenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09659777580502075412noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2112477751078643746.post-86681842102886266722020-05-11T18:29:00.001+09:002020-07-01T07:49:00.580+09:0015mm Team Yankee IDF force<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEici1wpOGbseyTpIcFn9GcIbCAV5tmh8MjNIQ9zYgHJjQqOijLtBRzkYtENPIYWmd5847vb1I3v01VflmpJl7HBqOYr0-IABkCkxbiHD-Zh8-g4rQUOEEoWlNE_1Yn8CCy_S8lkksrlpdw/s1600/20200511_163903_resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="1008" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEici1wpOGbseyTpIcFn9GcIbCAV5tmh8MjNIQ9zYgHJjQqOijLtBRzkYtENPIYWmd5847vb1I3v01VflmpJl7HBqOYr0-IABkCkxbiHD-Zh8-g4rQUOEEoWlNE_1Yn8CCy_S8lkksrlpdw/s1600/20200511_163903_resized.jpg" /></a></div>
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So I have built an IDF force in 6mm (sold) and 3mm. It is now time to do it in 15mm (and no, I really don't want to do it in 20mm, however, I do not promise anything about 28mm...).<br />
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I really was interested in checking out the models produced by Battlefront. But I must say, they were a bit bland and a lot of stowage needed to be added, as well as the ERA protective armor on the M60s.<br />
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I'd probably need to count again, but I believe there is the equivalent of a re-enforced Mechanized Infantry company and a Merkava tank company, plus some support in the form of A.A and artillery.<br />
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I still have jeeps, a box of M60 and some additional infantry but if I don't get started, I will never paint these up.<br />
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I have been very slow to start painting them because I wanted to have a complete air force assembled. I was still missing one Phantom F4-E but I reached the conclusion that as the schemes are very different, I can paint the helicopters and planes in a different session.<br />
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So once, I am done with my Flames of War Fallschirmjagers company (3 stug III left to paint and flocking the bases) I can start this project.<br />
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To come back to the models, I like them now that they have modifications that make them look more IDF, however, I still hate like the plague the resin ones (the Perehs and Chapparals). Too heavy and too fragile in my opinion. But they will do, and then the paint will chip off, and it will be another headache...<br />
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It will be something like:<br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Washing</li>
<li>Putting the models on sticks</li>
<li>Priming / Base coating</li>
<li>Base color</li>
<li>Highlights</li>
<li>Stowage</li>
<li>Tracks</li>
<li>Possibly dust</li>
<li>Details</li>
<li>Washes</li>
<li>Chipping / weathering</li>
<li>Crew / infantry</li>
</ul>
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Braxenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09659777580502075412noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2112477751078643746.post-62466052615010956152020-05-09T19:27:00.001+09:002020-05-09T19:27:39.693+09:00Normandy 1944: book review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This is a book review of Normandy 1944 written by Niklas Zetterling.<br />
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This book is very different from most of the books I have on the battle of Normandy. It is not as much an account of the engagement of the different German units in Normandy as a detailed analysis of their strengths...and this is where it becomes complicated. Not only a lot of the archives have been destroyed but some assessments made by most historians of the battle appear to be very general and based on theoretical organization charts. If you want to know the Order of Battle of a particular unit, it's there.<br />
<br />
What Niklas Zetterling used are not only the unit reports that survived, but testimonies from high ranking german officers who had access to the logistic and operational view, crosschecked with factory documents and higher echelon reports.<br />
<br />
The author spent time to painstakingly assemble a full jigsaw and the conclusion is that a lot of what we have taken for known and almost granted is actually quite erroneous, according to him, in terms of strength, losses, equipment availability.<br />
<br />
Even though the outcome of the battle of Normandy is known, it seems we actually don't know very well what the German forces really were.<br />
<br />
Which leads to several interesting questions for us wargamers:<br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>How are Normandy wargames designed if previously no one has taken the huge task of actually digging into the million bits of separate information about the German forces?</li>
<li>How do we account for the gradual arrival of units to the engaged divisions?</li>
<li>On what basis combat effectiveness was assessed if lots of myths biased the overall understanding?</li>
</ul>
<div>
In his analysis, Zetterling managed to challenge some "accepted knowledge"about the German forces in Normandy in regard of how much were actually destroyed, the effectiveness of units, the actual Anti-tank use of Flak 88, the actual effectiveness of Allied air to ground attacks and on, and on.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Is everything to be taken as ground truth? Honestly, I do not know and the book left me more than often with the impression that the author was trying to reach conclusions where sometimes none could be drawn. Nevertheless, some very interesting points and food for thought were raised.</div>
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<div>
<b>The book contains</b> around 100 pages of analyses, explanation and theses. The next 160 pages are dedicated to the orders of battle of each German unit engaged, short history of their actions, positions, their strength, and losses during the days of campaign. For instance, the Artillerie-Pak-Abteilung 1039 will take one page while the 16th Luftwaffenfeldivision two pages and the 12th Hitlerjugend Panzer Division will take 8 pages of information.</div>
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<div>
Each description is not the theoretical OBB that you can find in most books in general but the best information to date, assembled and analysed by one person who researched the data from primary sources, reports, testimonies. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
<b>So who is this book for?</b> If you are into wargame design, this will lead you to much more questions than answers and you will have to take decisions on how to model units as they varied hugely other time, due to movements, losses, and replacements.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If you intend to model specific units as a wargamer, say a unit from the 5th Fallschirmjager Division it will tell you <i>a</i> truth rarely accessible besides the original unit records that more than often are fragmentary if not destroyed.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
If you have no interest in this level of detail, this book is certainly not about epic battles, tactics and combat. However, for the more "scientific" oriented reader, this is an extremely handy companion book to have in conjunction to any account you can read about the battle of Normandy. Very much recommended in this perspective.</div>
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PS: this book exists in two editions. I understand that there is not much difference between the two so might choose the cheapest you find.</div>
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Braxenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09659777580502075412noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2112477751078643746.post-16431397082937270782020-04-21T17:44:00.000+09:002020-04-21T19:35:03.263+09:00Next FOW project for Normandy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Little known photo (to me at least) to illustrate my next project, the opposition to the British in Normandy, a Fallschirmjager Company.<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">After playing around with the online Force application to build my army list, I found out that I could paint up a detachment of grenadiers as "beach defence" for this unit. It is not clear whether they should be grenadiers or Fallschirmjagers, the latter probably, but it will be a nice opportunity to paint up some Grenadiers in addition to my German Paratroopers.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">The unit is as follow:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
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<div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 14px;">
<div class="cssFrm" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; float: left; padding-left: 10px; width: 665px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><u><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Fallschirmäger Company</span></u></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Fallschirmjäger Company HQ <b>3 points</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="cssFrm" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; float: left; padding-left: 10px; width: 665px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Fallschirmjäger Platoon, 10 teams + Panzerfaust + 2 x MG42 + 1 x Panzerschreks <b>21 points</b></span><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Fallschirmjäger Platoon, 10 teams </span><span style="background-color: white;">+ Panzerfaust + 2 x MG42 + 1 x Panzerschreks </span><b>21 points</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Beach Defence Platoon, 7 teams </span><span style="background-color: white;">+ 2 x MG42 + 2 x Panzerschreks </span><b>11 points</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Fallschirmjäger 8cm Mortar Platoon, 3 x 8cm mortar </span><b>6 points</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Fallschirmjäger 7.5cm Tank-hunter Platoon, 4 x 7.5 cm AT guns <b>18 points</b></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Support:</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Fallschirmjäger StuG Assault Gun Platoon, 3 x StuG (7.5 cm) <b>17 points</b></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Cards:</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Defense of Brest </span><b style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">2 points</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Luck </span><b style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">1 points</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The formation itself is a solid 80 points and we will see how it plays out. It is more for fun with my friends and enjoy a game than with a competition in mind, but who knows...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There's a bit of everything, PSC and BF. The Pak 40 were a dog to assemble but eventually built. Nice surprise with BF's stugs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The hard plastic Grenadiers from BF are quite nice but a bit thinner compared to the new thermo plastic Fallschirmjagers from BF.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In short, everything is a bit all over the place but they still manage to work together, somehow.</span></div>
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So that's the new project. Next steps are basing, priming and eventually painting up the green devils. Will see how long it will take.</div>
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Braxenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09659777580502075412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2112477751078643746.post-25929467930525990842020-04-19T14:55:00.000+09:002020-04-20T11:15:40.190+09:00FOW D-Day British army finished<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
At long last, I have completed my project. Base comes from the British army starter set by Battlefront, probably one of the best so far, and rest is various additions from Battlefront, Plastic Soldier Company, Forged in Battle.<br />
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Here is the full army. There wasn't any real problem and I enjoyed the project.<br />
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6 pounders from PSC. The bases were not included however there were transport vehicles (Loyd Carrier) that I will assemble maybe later. The figures are a bit 2 dimensional but perfectly serviceable.<br />
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Forged in Battle Infantry. I have painted a command team, a piat team and a 2 inch mortar as well. The figures are metal and are a bit more dynamic than Battlefront's but not a lot more. I enjoyed painting these but I tend to go full plastic now so metal is mainly my second choice, mostly for variety.<br />
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The helmets were painted with Vallejo's Bronze green, it's a bit dark green but I like dark colors on my figures' helmets, gives me the sense it "bases" them. Uniform is, how surprising, Vallejo's British uniform... I decided to paint the webbing with Vallejo's green gray. It is a bit light but it emphasizes the contrast with the uniform and works better that way in my opinion.<br />
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PSC M5 halftracks. Good price and good fun to assemble, the 0.50 cal are a bit fragile but the kit includes stowage. No decals included so I had to buy extra that I used on other vehicles as well. I understand that halftracks were not so common in the British army but here they are.<br />
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Cute little Universal Carriers. Mix of PSC and Battlefront. The BF's ones have a spare wheels on the front. BF's model are quite easier to assemble but PSC takes the cake on two main accounts: number of options you can build (8!) and absolutely gorgeous crew figures. Review here : <a href="http://sixtwentyeight.blogspot.com/2020/03/psc-battlefront-universal-carrier.html" target="_blank">link</a><br />
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Pretty nice artillery set from Battlefront. I went quick with these not wanting to over-invest in painting them. They'll serve their purpose from the rear... to be noted that the models are in plastic and the assembly was super fast and easy, high praise to Battlefront!<br />
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Cromwell tanks! 5 are from Battlefront's starter set and one from their Tank! game series, 5 others are from PSC. The differences are minors and it is not obvious from the picture to notice which is which. I have posted a review here : <a href="http://sixtwentyeight.blogspot.com/2020/03/fow-british-armour-and-model-comparison.html" target="_blank">review</a><br />
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Churchills from Battlefront, assembled as Crocodiles (Flamethrowers tanks). You have to be careful with this kit. There are two options for the rear panel of the hull. One of them is with the a special hook where you can plug the gas tank. It wasn't clear and I made a mistake, glued the regular one. So in the end, I could not plug in the trailers and had to create a "leg" so they could be fit to the rear of the tanks. The main mistake in this project... Not sure I will use these tanks in my list but they can be fun, so everything is open...<br />
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Achilles from Battlefront, 2 are from the starter set and 2 were bought as extras. The crew are nice but somehow I wish they found a way to make the cabin more realistic rather than having "mannequins" cut at the waist and sticking out. I suppose it is a limitation of the design but maybe someday they will come out with something more realistic.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib6QuPo6q9Swoh1YOzfS9g6SIGORtkaYyh3yJay0g5mUCRxkA3G59KzljD5V-u_8zedLGLlTjWQOIOwom_5UHN-L91JTJA8wb96sz_HFgx5tj6ib3NlBhxjhZwcKgnowD1H216tMwbLgk/s1600/20200419_111448_resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="806" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib6QuPo6q9Swoh1YOzfS9g6SIGORtkaYyh3yJay0g5mUCRxkA3G59KzljD5V-u_8zedLGLlTjWQOIOwom_5UHN-L91JTJA8wb96sz_HFgx5tj6ib3NlBhxjhZwcKgnowD1H216tMwbLgk/s640/20200419_111448_resized.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Stuarts from the starter set, again very nice and very easy to assemble models. I am hearing that these are the wrong type for British Stuarts as the rear deck is not supposed to be elevated but we will assume that these tanks were borrowed from a US surplus.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggmg-dRbL6CLCoL9lh7GidhL5Yrc98XKGKxQPQEE45RJvfcyAD2Z2YpCydZPQr4SGDfesyVVozofNEsXwqx2vvmaw0vq5DoPEPNOE-dubsod7tQ1ra2gwASXqegfffsENmkO-hby4FJGE/s1600/20200419_111607_resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="806" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggmg-dRbL6CLCoL9lh7GidhL5Yrc98XKGKxQPQEE45RJvfcyAD2Z2YpCydZPQr4SGDfesyVVozofNEsXwqx2vvmaw0vq5DoPEPNOE-dubsod7tQ1ra2gwASXqegfffsENmkO-hby4FJGE/s640/20200419_111607_resized.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Sherman Fireflies!... 2 on the rights are from Battlefront's starter set and the one on the left is from a pack of 5 shermans from Plastic Soldier Company. There again, I prefer the models from Battlefront: Machinegun is stronger, models have better overall dimension, crew looks better, tools are better defined. Price wise, PSC is still king. Overall, there are not huge differences and you really have to observe with attention to notice them.<br />
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For the mythical British army green, as much as I hate mixing paints, I have used 60% Vallejo's Russian uniform + 40% Olive grey<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIiTsdM7bqu-T-7e0TEF_dQ6p63IbwxY8s1CL7S8cpLz6NaaDnE-_EL2fiqS0lMuhFGBl1ebkaxn-ZJU_C0Mwlq3HzWoAOPftLnFUUry-Bez6il9fzHMGQ0DPSV1ldX3PRmpjwN9IAlAw/s1600/20200419_111709_resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="806" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIiTsdM7bqu-T-7e0TEF_dQ6p63IbwxY8s1CL7S8cpLz6NaaDnE-_EL2fiqS0lMuhFGBl1ebkaxn-ZJU_C0Mwlq3HzWoAOPftLnFUUry-Bez6il9fzHMGQ0DPSV1ldX3PRmpjwN9IAlAw/s640/20200419_111709_resized.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here are the remaining Shermans from PSC's box. Nice and good value models even if now I have come to enjoy a bit more the ease of assembly of Battlefront's models. It is as if they had studied carefully what PSC did and decided to improve every bit they could. Well, they succeeded.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIRRAng4G4O7w6xcsGDQcckiUWvptrctutKUP3359IwDsoQyiKZjKLlOVlpEZIs5euOC0VHV1kVgtMmNPYxlGXyt7603B69zNKVYKRAMp9pwkXA_ZFdD0X9XS4LSg0G9IXm3xeagUaypw/s1600/20200419_111834_resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="806" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIRRAng4G4O7w6xcsGDQcckiUWvptrctutKUP3359IwDsoQyiKZjKLlOVlpEZIs5euOC0VHV1kVgtMmNPYxlGXyt7603B69zNKVYKRAMp9pwkXA_ZFdD0X9XS4LSg0G9IXm3xeagUaypw/s640/20200419_111834_resized.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Infantry command and support teams from Battlefront. The starter set includes British Paratroopers however I wanted my force to be coherent so I purchased a platoon of British infantry from BF. The figures are in hard plastic and the detail is very good. Everything is perfect, just the poses that are a bit too rigid (see below). I with they showed a bit more action...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj03ELtFw9qLRDXIDRDw8Vw0R-YtKBV1E2-ql3ouubKo_1TYL5UHV3SuL6uOEEJ4yG4OU_tPBkzKxKFA9JsuWKwQ9mKj7DF85tU-3OJFaQO6l-p7H9cV2Bo_7moKYyupNfRPxN9KCPCuXM/s1600/20200419_112036_resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="806" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj03ELtFw9qLRDXIDRDw8Vw0R-YtKBV1E2-ql3ouubKo_1TYL5UHV3SuL6uOEEJ4yG4OU_tPBkzKxKFA9JsuWKwQ9mKj7DF85tU-3OJFaQO6l-p7H9cV2Bo_7moKYyupNfRPxN9KCPCuXM/s640/20200419_112036_resized.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Lovely British infantry from Battlefront. Some people pointed out that 4 figures to a base looks a bit sparse. On the contrary, I feel that 5 figures a base are too crowded... anyway, it also cuts the work by 20% for there is this to take into account as well...<br />
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I did not paint the camouflaged strips on the helmets, my concern was that it would actually create a real disruptive pattern on the figures and would make them less readable from a distance, so there it is.<br />
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All in all, I totally enjoyed this project. I wanted to order more Universal carriers and more Shermans but it will have to wait. Let's first play with what we have, that's no less than 50 vehicles, infantry and guns in 15 days!!!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTDPhOQk-nqEHTkaspn8ZhWxrPqZ7BPaPkJR-Wh5CGzIVfViV4P4Q2mem08g3qfFgid_354ClpWXmBbt6o1ikCvd7q61aE461MixfUwrpK8hcS47QbtDVsSVma89QSPRfglvN-pzRkb5w/s1600/20200419_112136_resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTDPhOQk-nqEHTkaspn8ZhWxrPqZ7BPaPkJR-Wh5CGzIVfViV4P4Q2mem08g3qfFgid_354ClpWXmBbt6o1ikCvd7q61aE461MixfUwrpK8hcS47QbtDVsSVma89QSPRfglvN-pzRkb5w/s640/20200419_112136_resized.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Braxenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09659777580502075412noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2112477751078643746.post-84722877233509921972020-04-11T18:23:00.000+09:002020-04-19T14:57:07.868+09:0015mm WWII British infantry <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The full painted unit, artillery in progress. Quite a long time I haven't painted full platoons of 15mm WWII infantry.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBwMF_wt5MFQhlfFHJ8yVyqOgalwMWZvwTpETXo6gwr5Qd_VTZyzhRfcAJHA66x7ZzEqD3oDYj7kDXBU9ve8seTH8PS_wgPTJDfWlePXHJLmJchMiynfWs-T4d0A2C-i1PG7VSZAICQ_8/s1600/bkfib.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="1008" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBwMF_wt5MFQhlfFHJ8yVyqOgalwMWZvwTpETXo6gwr5Qd_VTZyzhRfcAJHA66x7ZzEqD3oDYj7kDXBU9ve8seTH8PS_wgPTJDfWlePXHJLmJchMiynfWs-T4d0A2C-i1PG7VSZAICQ_8/s640/bkfib.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Forged in Battle British Infantry</td></tr>
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To be honest, I lost a bit some of the techniques I used to know and it took me a bit longer than what I used to do, mostly because I did a few totally useless steps that I had to override anyway.<br />
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So that will be two platoons, even though I intended to have just one, in the end, I bought figures from Battlefront and Forged in Battle.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiResYcELEqLnUwytNICZONrLrAyQYhFfxT0FjlRD1Ujb6Yu1bevQKMNYUwerPN31ldUBHzm6ZkIBt0ttRrOMiAZZ8afQUFHNGQzoU9hBco8wII3Qsh9b88C_jsmmbBUc7QLMDoDs_vhA0/s1600/20200410_060745_resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="521" data-original-width="804" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiResYcELEqLnUwytNICZONrLrAyQYhFfxT0FjlRD1Ujb6Yu1bevQKMNYUwerPN31ldUBHzm6ZkIBt0ttRrOMiAZZ8afQUFHNGQzoU9hBco8wII3Qsh9b88C_jsmmbBUc7QLMDoDs_vhA0/s640/20200410_060745_resized.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Nicely detailed hard plastic figures from Battlefront</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIEoPc6fYuy_yYblyN3gP_qT5eDwx31XcyOryiWHE3QXu-QESlSrItD0E7QH0Yk-U_JbPv-ORaGKem32sZDkLfr-YSxtqnQAwnRsQuZIJyFUNpo2a9AP_jY3oCMLEzsSRIE0uc8tPa4z4/s1600/20200410_061128_resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="584" data-original-width="1000" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIEoPc6fYuy_yYblyN3gP_qT5eDwx31XcyOryiWHE3QXu-QESlSrItD0E7QH0Yk-U_JbPv-ORaGKem32sZDkLfr-YSxtqnQAwnRsQuZIJyFUNpo2a9AP_jY3oCMLEzsSRIE0uc8tPa4z4/s640/20200410_061128_resized.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Battlefront figures</div>
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So which is the "best".<br />
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Both sets are fairly similar and painted up have almost no difference. The sculpts are a bit more precise on BH hard plastic but the Forged in Battle have in my eyes a bit more character and less, and are a bit less rigid.<br />
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This being said, I am a fan of plastic and that would be the deciding factor pushing the tip of the balance towards BF's offering. Well done!</div>
Braxenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09659777580502075412noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2112477751078643746.post-44747785482462920252020-04-04T12:05:00.002+09:002020-04-05T06:48:14.792+09:0015mm WWII British Infantry size comparison<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I received today my Late war British infantry from Battlefront. I ordered a couple of sprues direct from BF because I don't really need a full company of them. Everything arrived rather quickly, I have the German D-DAY unit and command cards on back order unfortunately. Hope it is sorted out.<br />
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To make it short, the figures are superb, hard plastic, full of details.<br />
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They are 24 figures on each sprue, the poses are rather "active". Each sprue contains 24 figures, and if I have counted well, you have a PIAT and a 2 inch mortar team, 2 Brens, two officers, 4 soldiers with Stens (possibly NCOs) and 12 riflemen.<br />
You will probably need two sprues to build a full platoon of 6 teams + command + PIAT and mortar:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKWvy3W7qO1TXBtqG4uv2qwZslea2FR7bl2jjzcNnmqajwaJv1GVrgacSEN5knEugUJVEcZPteKH-xslAxXMz7gtkHZrJdO64mviCVGGd3l5Nn7PUK1O4Ki0S3TfRV00mniWO8MMiTMOU/s1600/20200404_103314_resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="657" data-original-width="961" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKWvy3W7qO1TXBtqG4uv2qwZslea2FR7bl2jjzcNnmqajwaJv1GVrgacSEN5knEugUJVEcZPteKH-xslAxXMz7gtkHZrJdO64mviCVGGd3l5Nn7PUK1O4Ki0S3TfRV00mniWO8MMiTMOU/s640/20200404_103314_resized.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here below is a comparison shot with the figures I have for the moment. Unfortunately none from Peter Pig but check them out, they do produce nice stuff and they renew very often their models to the latest standard in quality.</div>
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<u>From left to right:</u></div>
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BF LW infantry, Forged in Battle, BF LW infantry, BF artilleryman starter kit, BF LW infantry, BF airborne starter kit </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcuBUWHrHSD8WELmbfLINqmBRqXJMKGR_oTRQ8yb0lxgLqxOgPrbVeZuIq-nq9HOgFprXdmxJhesrmoIHFsItnDwAe_R6djaZGdqvlCO-ttAQIXkB5mLbDPgIhXSJyiS9H0zsUB_ujv9s/s1600/20200404_103830_resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="709" data-original-width="1421" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcuBUWHrHSD8WELmbfLINqmBRqXJMKGR_oTRQ8yb0lxgLqxOgPrbVeZuIq-nq9HOgFprXdmxJhesrmoIHFsItnDwAe_R6djaZGdqvlCO-ttAQIXkB5mLbDPgIhXSJyiS9H0zsUB_ujv9s/s640/20200404_103830_resized.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I don't have so much a problem of getting any type on the table as long as there are no screaming differences and the figures paint well. All are absolutely perfectly fine figures. I really like the para on the left even though it is slightly cartoonish, however the hard plastic figures are really nicely done.</div>
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If really a ranking is needed, I'd give the following grade:</div>
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<b>BF LW infantry hard plastic</b>: 9 - good sculpt, crisp and I like better when it is hard plastic</div>
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<b>Forged in Battle infantry</b>: 8.5 - good sculpt, crisp however required removing some lines and metal</div>
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<b>BF British paratrooper</b>: 8 - sculpt is interesting but with a moderate cartoonish aspect, new soft hard plastic, detail is a bit softer but still ok</div>
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<b>BF Artilleryman</b>: 7 - my least favorite but quite serviceable, definitely not for garbage bin. Plastic is a bit on the soft side but still hard, not soft (complicated, I know). Figure looks even more cartoonish, but honestly no one will pay attention to the little artillery people's shape once they are on the table.</div>
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Do you agree, do you have a different experience? Any comparative picture with Peter Pig's Late War British infantry I could add?</div>
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As usual, I buy my own figures, and I am not affiliated to any company. Will support our hobby companies in what they produce best.</div>
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Braxenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09659777580502075412noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2112477751078643746.post-47068882910598544242020-04-03T20:04:00.000+09:002020-04-03T20:41:10.650+09:0015mm Forged in Battle British Infantry review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Received today my British Infantry from Forged in Battle. I think the hard plastic figures from Battlefront are quite good but I like trying different brands. I will be receiving the Later War British infantry from Battlefront hopefully soon.<br />
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Meanwhile, here is a platoon of Late War British infantry from Forged in Battle. The pack doesn't include any base. The pack contains 45 figures (see below). There are 12 different poses for the riflemen. This is below the content of the pack:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX6P693Ut0BqCXvG4T2NQ-jQQo-2UvG87WAHA2H9sE8amUR0tW-Y8cvxCpd74LBHpnJUX1pDjYj497wHpyOskmtPeVSo8RwjZxK3aLhuz2Kzfn84WCmOEYTTw-uUuZncNkpUTU54ni4KQ/s1600/20200403_173822_resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="1008" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX6P693Ut0BqCXvG4T2NQ-jQQo-2UvG87WAHA2H9sE8amUR0tW-Y8cvxCpd74LBHpnJUX1pDjYj497wHpyOskmtPeVSo8RwjZxK3aLhuz2Kzfn84WCmOEYTTw-uUuZncNkpUTU54ni4KQ/s640/20200403_173822_resized.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I had barely to remove flash and I washed the figures. Below is a detail of the specialists.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2fg8psqbDTheTVZR_WcjQSEnaXXM_OwI2EpUacnGa4E7NZ6OqSisEohg42VnEyyRGgFAokdA7pYoNF1M3Z0Yiv0CgCVYjn82TMHvWn5pT4qjVTVsLI0mn4O3eHF3P-V1GrhLrHVd0hv8/s1600/20200403_173839_resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="1008" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2fg8psqbDTheTVZR_WcjQSEnaXXM_OwI2EpUacnGa4E7NZ6OqSisEohg42VnEyyRGgFAokdA7pYoNF1M3Z0Yiv0CgCVYjn82TMHvWn5pT4qjVTVsLI0mn4O3eHF3P-V1GrhLrHVd0hv8/s640/20200403_173839_resized.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The picture is a bit blurry but in the flesh the figures are crips and nicely sculpted.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilwYRGyfOpVSvIhlyJlzPUuy02OUo1vITae5THNOeyMqo_duniVYwdlL404RgG1pRsM5WecY52bW-NxT92J99R1XOzR85yfKjnPSQ4W0ymq-kxLmMcNzFNy1JrI8yMn9Mk4-VGOLe3V1w/s1600/20200403_173848_resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="1008" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilwYRGyfOpVSvIhlyJlzPUuy02OUo1vITae5THNOeyMqo_duniVYwdlL404RgG1pRsM5WecY52bW-NxT92J99R1XOzR85yfKjnPSQ4W0ymq-kxLmMcNzFNy1JrI8yMn9Mk4-VGOLe3V1w/s640/20200403_173848_resized.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Size wise, they are compatible in my opinion with the new plastic figures from Battlefront. In dark grey is one of the artilleryman from the FOW British starter set.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib-c-tf0Y6LtFFRKg2kEvmInIkLGIDS4acQwcD6Xx3eAEA6f5DzT8cdkNs577SN6N1cyjCIFbdOYi8rq3XErZdpTNIXUTKxHrSXkAmkeZQ0c6LCkb0bI3ZFKXNu3356_bj9mwLInRmDd4/s1600/20200403_174016_resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="1008" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib-c-tf0Y6LtFFRKg2kEvmInIkLGIDS4acQwcD6Xx3eAEA6f5DzT8cdkNs577SN6N1cyjCIFbdOYi8rq3XErZdpTNIXUTKxHrSXkAmkeZQ0c6LCkb0bI3ZFKXNu3356_bj9mwLInRmDd4/s640/20200403_174016_resized.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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A close up of the figures. The BF figures appear well fed and well built.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNY1o7jHbvynTXgF5vtU0gjwa1FYuuxbsZgR1eYPPYX3OJmn4DHqjdmltD8KIM-8DmYmtSrPTORAQ5JNc1WOW3omuk1WOr4RsDEIUUudd_5wt3zWUmRB1ncAH_xHucbYTWDrUA1MgLJU8/s1600/20200403_174038_resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="434" data-original-width="633" height="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNY1o7jHbvynTXgF5vtU0gjwa1FYuuxbsZgR1eYPPYX3OJmn4DHqjdmltD8KIM-8DmYmtSrPTORAQ5JNc1WOW3omuk1WOr4RsDEIUUudd_5wt3zWUmRB1ncAH_xHucbYTWDrUA1MgLJU8/s640/20200403_174038_resized.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here below are two figures more easily compared, the dark grey is Battlefront, the metal one is Forge in Battle. The figure from Battlefront appears a bit soft but it is not that bad. I really don't mind and I think they can come out nice with the appropriate painting.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpqlaVWXFCbqX__W1eaJQBgqSKVtPIj6_ZhARqSgzzhmA5G4hkUuHNsBANJxGLTm-9seHGfMiPYMvSSgoJRf6cYFZ7jM0UpC4Lx_t1AU4uenBA1lGRFZmtsSXawjeUktYnK191yBI-C40/s1600/20200403_174138_resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="434" data-original-width="600" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpqlaVWXFCbqX__W1eaJQBgqSKVtPIj6_ZhARqSgzzhmA5G4hkUuHNsBANJxGLTm-9seHGfMiPYMvSSgoJRf6cYFZ7jM0UpC4Lx_t1AU4uenBA1lGRFZmtsSXawjeUktYnK191yBI-C40/s640/20200403_174138_resized.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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It is a hobby for me and I have fun discovering what various companies have to offer and I like having original figures that nobody has as much as the main stream ones.<br />
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How do I like them? It's very subjective but they'll definitely go in the painting queue and will see table time. I think the coming re-packaged Late War British Infantry from Battlefront are very nice. Hopefully, I will get them next week but with all the mess, airmail may be a bit chaotic.<br />
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Until next time and, as usual, I buy my own figures and I am not affiliated with any company.</div>
Braxenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09659777580502075412noreply@blogger.com0