2nd Edition Eldar

Hi!

I've been busily painting my way through my unpainted small scale stuff in the form of several stands of 6mm Gobbo wolf riders but whilst having a rummage through my leadpile, I happened across my unpainted Eldar gubbins.

While I doubt I'd have much use for them game wise as I move towards 15mm scale, I do find myself tempted to paint what I have for a bit of retro enjoyment!

While the temptation is there to go for a classic Rogue Trader sort of mini project, I think I am going to paint them as 2nd edition Eldar in all their technicolour glory!

Remember when armies were pretty small and the biggest thing one could expect on the board was usually a dreadnought or a Rhino?

Armies were universally brightly coloured and usually sported backbanners and fought over lush green battlefields rather than the Grimdark that later editions developed.

Last time I discovered them, I painted up a handful as Saim-Hann Wild Riders but am tempted to go for something else this time round as I'm not sure how much bright red I can cope with painting.

Looking at what I have got, there's about a dozen Guardians of a mixture of Rogue Trader era and 2nd edition metal with plastic arms sorts, a couple of Dark Reapers, a surprising number of Harlequins and a fair few walkers of various sorts.

I think I'm going to have to prime up a couple and see how I go with a test paint scheme or two but I'm quite interested to see if I can replicate some of the classic 2nd edition bright era finish that I have such fond memories of.

We shall see what progress I make in the coming week but I'm quite keen to see what I can accomplish.

Thinking about it, I also have a few more odds and ends soaking in dettol at the moment which could do with being cleaned up and put to good use rather than lying unloved in a box or tub...

Progress pics to follow along with further ponderings, ramblings and so on!

In the meantime, All the best!

Vongola Command Ironclad

Hi!

I've managed to finish another of my Vongola City State Land Ironclads in the form of the Capo di Capo Command Ironclad:

Capo di Capo

Armed with a heavy gun turret and a fearsome broadside, the Capo di Capo is the largest of the Vongola's landfleet and is the city states proudest achievement. 

The Capo di Capo is also equipped with a supercharged quad boiler which can allow it to put on an impressive head of steam when least expected. 

As all things Vongola, it is somewhat temperamental though and prone to exploding at inconvenient times. This is not seen as too much of a hinderance though as it has allowed the mighty machine an advantage in combat, be it getting into a position that will allow it to bring its full armament to bear or speed out of the way of a battering from enemy ironclads.

Originally a Sovereign class from the Brigade Models range, I reworked the broadside as it was slightly miscast and added more super structure and a new smokestack. It took a surprising amount of work to paint it but I am quite pleased with how it turned out.

I've already put it through its paces in a quick throwdown game between Vongola and Dwarven Ironclad landfleets and despite losing the game (Lambo class Ironclads explode very easily when trying to attack larger Dwarven vehicles!) it did quite a bit of damage to the Dwarven command Ironclad and if I'd managed to play a few more turns, I suspect it would have made mincemeat of my Anvil class Ironclads who were defending the Black Water facility from the rapacious Vongola!

Capo di Capo and Lambo class Ironclads

I have been reworking my Song of Blasters game to work with 2mm and am quite pleased with how it has thus far turned out and I am looking forward to playing more games with more fleshed out Landfleets duking it out in the near future!

I'm also seriously pondering the foolishness of trying to put together a Middlehammer force in 28mm scale for some retro nonsense which I fervently hope to talk myself out of as it is a very silly idea but than again...

Anyhoo, enough of my ramblings! 

All the best!

6mm Skirmish!

Hi!

Last night I found myself hankering after some 6mm gaming so had a rummage through my collection and settled on Chaos versus Ultramarines!

As I didn't have much time to play, I settled on tiny forces with less than half a dozen stands a side to see how Song of Blasters works with small numbers and I fancied a skirmish.

 Ultramarines

The Ultramarines had a command squad, Rhino, two tactical bases and a Centurion.

 Khorne!

The Chaos side consisted of an aspiring champion, Rhino and two marine stands, one of which toted a missile launcher.

The game itself took place on a nameless agri world somewhere on the border and the scenario called for both sides to take control of two settlements in order to win.

The game started with both command units roaring forward in their Rhinos to take control of the larger hab block whilst the Ultramarine tactical squads cautiously approached the peasant quarters. The Khorne marines took command of the centre of the board on top of a hill where their missile launcher could hit pretty much anything they could see.

Turn two had the chaos troops gain the initiative and whilst the champion moved into heavy cover and took potshots at the command rhino, it's rival machine hurtled round the side of the settlement and fired on the Ultramarine command stand causing a wound and blast marker.

Shrugging off missile fire from the distant Khorne marines, the Ultramarine Centurion turned it's lascannon on the Chaos Rhino and succeeded in damaging it at long range.

Meanwhile the Khorne marines realising they weren't acting very in character by standing around shooting stuff, decided to charge down the hill and into the village and engage the Ultramarine tactical squads. The ensuing firefight and combat saw the Ultramarines driven back out of the village after losing a base to the rampaging berzerkers.

Seeing his followers spilling blood in glorious close combat, the Khorne champion bellowed a challenge and burst from the cover of the building and charged the Ultramarine command stand. Weathering a storm of fire, the two units exchanged blows eventually seeing the Imperial forces driven back out of the hab zone too leaving the battlefield under Khornate control.

Whee! What a fun little game! I'm quite pleased with how Song of Blasters is developing and I'm now eying up my unpainted Epic gubbins to see what I can add to my armies.

Hopefully I'll get chance to play another game or two in the coming days and have been putting together some game aids to help move things along a bit so watch this space!

All the best!

Vongola City State Ironclads Sighted

Hi!

I recently picked up some of Brigade Models' Land Ironclad miniatures as a trade and after stripping the paint, a bit of clean up and a fresh coat of paint, the first three are ready for action!

 Vongola Land Ironclad Formation

I must admit that I had initially thought of just adding them to my Dwarf force but as soon as I finished the clean up on them and picked one up to paint the black and yellow livery sprang to mind.

I am currently reading my way through the manga Hitman Reborn which features mafia families with magical powers and the Vongola clicked as the name of the city state that these somewhat sinister ironclads call home.

Needless to say, I'll need to somehow incorporate them into my setting but it shouldn't be too difficult to add a somewhat ruthless Human city state flexing its muscles to seize control of independant regions in the wartorn and lawless border regions of Aeroth.

I was pleasantly surprised by just how much fun the tiny tanks were to work on and am not sure why Brigade's Land Ironclad range doesn't get more interest as I've very rarely seen anyone else working on it.

These miniatures are from the British range and are called Brunel Tractors and are essentially a steam engine mounted on tracks with a couple of light guns mounted on turrets fore and aft.

I actually have a bunch more to work on including some larger ironclads which will just need a few infantry and cavalry stands to give me an entire new army to duke it out in the badlands and I cannot wait to work on some more of them!

Hopefully I'll get chance to finish another formation or two before the end of my hols but we shall see as I continue to flit from project to project.

Vongola Ironclads clash with Orcish Necrosaur Wartowers in the badlands

Speaking of flitting, I am feeling the urge to play some Rogue Trader again so will need to put together some 15mm scale gubbins for a bit for retro gaming fun in the next couple of days with the Governor General deploying his armour against some troublesome Badmoon Boyz...

Till then, All the best!

Spring Hobbytime Ponderings

Hi!

Well we're almost two months into 2020 and I seem to be achieving more with my scattergun approach to my hobby than I ever did with trying to focus.

Thus far I've painted 32 things ranging from large 28mm to teeny 2mm and pretty much everything inbetween and I must admit that whilst it's a bit frustrating not getting one project done and dusted, I cannot help but feel that this approach seems to be working for me!

I'm enjoying painting all manner of bits and bobs and my leadpile is shrinking for the most part faster than I have added to it and whilst games are running a bit sparse on the ground, I am slowly making progress towards having enough stuff painted to cover several different projects that have stalled badly over the last couple of years.

My 2mm Land Ironclads project is gathering steam and I've recently added a Dig Bomber to my Dwarven force:

Dwarven engineering at it's finest

I've also picked up some of Brigade Models Land Ironclads as a trade over on Facebook and have stripped some with the intention of adding them to my Dwarf force but as soon as I looked at them an entirely new army came to mind! I've since painted the first two of my Vongola Famiglia Land Ironclads (bonus points if you get the reference!) who will be giving me some city dwelling humans to brawl with my Dwarves and Orcs, or they may yet inhabit another world entirely but we shall see...

Speaking of repainting an old model, I have also recently completed this chap for my Leviathan project:

Earth Elemental

He's an old soft plastic Elemental Wall or some such from D&D but has made for a great addition to my Barbarian warband!

I'm also working on an Earthbound Dragon for Leviathan which I will post up as a project log at some point but that's for another day.

At present I find myself pulled towards the tiny and keep finding new ideas filling my head which is both great and annoying as I really want to finish my Dwarves, paint up some more stuff for 15mm, round out my Epic stuff, add my Witches of Selene to my SD warbands, play games and generally potter around but with the approach I am taking, it may take the whole year to do it but I think I can keep all the projects bubbling on even if it's a somewhat circuitous route.

We shall have to see if I can keep this enthusiasm going moving forward but I must admit that I am finding it heartening just how much fun I am having being so scatterbrained!

In the meantime, All the best!

Anvil Class Land Ironclad

Hi!

Just a quick post this evening as I've finished a new Land Ironclad for my Dwarves in the form of the Anvil:

Anvil Class Land Ironclad

The Anvil personifies the Dwarves defensive choice of warfare. It is heavily armed and armoured and rather slow moving but capable of taking on much heavier foes due to it's heavy guns. It has been designed as an infantry tank and as such it's designers have constructed it like a mobile fortification with a blocky structure and good defensive as well as offensive weapons. 

Following early clashes with fast moving foes such as the Elves who often outmaneuvered the first Ironclads, The Anvil has rear and flank firing light guns to stave off attacks from unexpected quarters. It's broad tracks and two boilers ensure that it can cross even the toughest of terrain and whilst one of the slower of the Dwarven vehicles, it has proven to be a firm favourite with it's crews and the infantry it supports.

Ironclad and Anvil

As with all my Land Ironclad stuff, the Anvil is scratch built from some plasticard, paper and greenstuff and will be the standard medium contraption of the Dwarven Holds. I've got two more to paint and then I am going to move onto something bigger...

I must admit that I am surprising myself with just how productive 2020 has been on the hobby front and I seem to be happily pootling along in several scales at once. Better yet, I have a week of holidays starting tomorrow so hope to get more stuff painted and at least a couple of battle reports too so watch this space.

In the meantime, All the best!

Syntha Spotted!

Hi!

After all the 28mm stuff I've been working on lately I figured it would be nice to take a bit of a look in my 15mm scale collection to see if I had anything interesting to paint!

This resulted in me painting up a Syntha investigation team:

Codename: Omega Epsilon 

I had a couple of Alternative Armies figures as well as two GZG high tech chaps (I've no idea where the rest of them have vanished to!) and combined with a repainted Hotwheels, they look pretty good as a small recon squad dispatched on unknowable missions by their megacorporate masters.

I'm quite pleased with how they all turned out to be honest and their ride was really satisfying to paint too!

Syntha ATV

Although it's pretty sleek, it does look like it could manage the rough terrain of a frontier settlement and armed with a pair of heavy pulse rifles, it's going to add a bit of a punch to corporate negotiations.

 More Views

That's not all though! Buoyed by this vehicle painting malarky, I painted a light tank for my Imperial forces to trundle about in:

 Mongoose Light Tank

Lightly armoured and with only a heavy Bolter as armament, the Mongoose is nonetheless a workhorse of the Imperial frontier. It is cheap to manufacture, maintain and will run pretty much anywhere. This example is one of the Praetorian 2nd Armoured Cavalry that has been sent to bolster the Governor General's forces on Farpoint.
 

Scale Shot

With a two man crew it's very small and is originally a Matilda I Light Tank that I picked up from Hobbycraft for £4.00. I actually have another pair to work on next and look forward to seeing how they cope in battle. I replaced the rather tiny machinegun with a heavy bolter and painted on a few sci-fi gubbins to try and make it a bit less WW2. I decided to base it on a Warbases Pill Base that I picked up a couple of years ago as without the base, infantry towered over it a bit!

Hopefully I'll get chance to work on some more 15mm stuff soon but till next time, All the best!