The Survivors of Kursk – SoTR Army part 2

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Scorpius_GLC

So as you have probably read it is the road to the Secrets of the Third Reich UK Grand Tournament, I have built a 55RP Soviet force and have painted it in a record of 2 weeks……there are a few other bits to be painted as I may tweak my list for the tournament. I have gone with a Winter theme, heavy snow on the ground of the ruins of Kursk. Having lost the original battle of Kursk the Germans have decided to restore faith in the troops that a decisive win was in order and so they marched once again upon Kursk to crush the Soviets, these are the survivors of that battle! In the Weird War of Secrets of the Third Reich the battle is still raging in 1949!

Platoon Command Squad with the Special Characters: Hammer & Sickle

This was built using models from the SoTR range from West Wind Productions and models from the Bolt Action Range from Warlord Games. The models had all of their tabs removed and were based on these home made bases. The bases were made using Poly Filler and 28mm bricks which were then sanded and the models glued on, once painted snow was applied by mixing snow scatter and clear water and was applied to the bases with a cocktail stick, once dry blood splatter, mud, grass clumps and barbed wire were applied to the bases.

Platoon Survivor Squad 1

These are a mixture of Bolt Action models from Warlord Games and Soviet Survivor models from West Wind Productions.

Platoon Survivor Squad 2

These are also a mixture of Bolt Action and SoTR Soviet Miniatures.

76mm Anti-Tank Gun

This is a Plastic Soldier Company model and is a multi-part plastic kit!

Siberean Sub-humans Squad

These are the official Siberean models from West Wind Productions

Nayk “Spider” Mecha

This beautiful model is by West Wind Productions and is nearly all resin, it has been based on a 200mm base to match the rest of the army!

The Overall Army (as it stands)

So Comrades hope you like my latest project!!!

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POP!!! Goes My New Years Hobby Resolution

Posted on June 1, 2012 by Scorpius_GLC

As many of you are aware I am a magpie gamer, a hobby whore, whatever you want to call people who: COLLECT LOTS OF DIFFERENT ARMIES FOR LOTS OF DIFFERENT SYSTEMS!!!! What you may also know is that each year I make a New Years Hobby Resolution and each year since I left Games Workshop as a Store Manager this has been the same: Plan a new GW investment, work out its cost and then try to do 2 new systems/armies with a combined cost less than that of the GW investment. So we are now 6 months or half way into 2012 and I thought it about time I look at what I have done so far in 2012!

The Year so far:

I began 2012 with a catch up of my 2011 hobby resolution and the wonderful game of Dystopian Wars by Spartan Games. This was a total break from my plan but I needed to play games with my Prussian Naval Fleet, for this SteamPunk game, to finish off my previous years hobby resolution. A massive thanks to Ian Hill, Andie Harper, Edd Barfield, Dave Amos & Gordon Snellgrove for the company while doing this system, I had a Broadside Blast!!!

At about the same time:

I had the chance to paint up my Christmas presents from my brother….my MERCS USCR! I have yet to play a proper game of this system and as I didn’t buy them I can’t claim them as part of my New Years Resolution.

So by this point I thought it was about time to get on with my actual planned stuff for 2012 and the first being SAGA.

This is a really great game. It was not at all what I expected, I had images of historical wargaming and the quality of the models used for these games and these preconceptions were wrong. SAGA is a beautifully bloody, fast paced Viking-age skirmish game. I bought, built, painted and played with a Viking force. I planned out a 6pts army and have had an awesome time sending the enemy troops to the pile of the dead and wishing my battle brothers a safe journey to the gates of Valhalla! My gracious troop of fellow gamers collected themselves 4pts forces, 2 welsh warbands, a Scots warband, 2 Viking warbands, a Norman warband and a Joms Vikings! Thanks needs to go to Andie Harper for the AWESOME games on very late nights at Portal Wargaming!!

a little bit of this thrown in for the mix:

GRUNTZ is a 15mm Sci-Fi game that allows you to use any 15mm Sci-Fi models in your games and I decided to build a quick and easy force of humans from GZG and paint them up, don’t think I’ll actually get to play this game but I do enjoy painting 15mm models so it was a great experience!!!

and for the best part of the year I have anticipated and then rejoiced in the release of Empire of the Dead:

A total distraction from my New Years Hobby Resolution, I am totally in love with this game from West Wind Productions!!!! Victorian, Infernium fueled horror this game has absolutely everything you can want from a skirmish game! It is elegant, fast paced, fun whether you play it as one off games or link your games using the beautifully written Mordheim-esque campaign system!!! I have played so many great, memorable games of this that I have to say this has been my game of the year so far!!!! I have painted my way through 3 crews for this game and have a 4th waiting to go!! Thanks to Ian Hill, Andie Harper, Ben Cox, Edd Barfield, Stu Gadd & Damion Dakin for the great games so far and here’s hoping for many more throughout the year!

So what does the next 6 months have in store??

Later in the year I will be doing a Crusaders army for Warlord as planned but the title of the post you are reading is: POP!!! Goes My New Years Hobby Resolution so even though sticking with my Hobby Resolution was the plan, something has happened to make my pledge go POP!!!

It was pointed out to me that I haven’t actually done anything Games Workshop Since I left the company and have been focusing on mainly skirmish games, a rumour is spreading that I don’t have it in me anymore to paint more than a handful of models for a system and so I feel a challenge has been set and so it is time to break my Hobby Resolution and actually do some Games Workshop!!!

PROJECT ASTRAL IS ON THE HORIZON!!!

The Darkfire Club – Gentleman Students of the Dark Arcane Arts

Posted on May 21, 2012 by Scorpius_GLC

Behind the elegant doors of their London bases, the Gentlemen’s Clubs plot and manoeuvre to secure their power. Using the Dark Arcane powers of necromancy and summoning the Eccentric Gentlemen of the Darkfire Club bolster their membership with Zombies, freshly raised from their graves and the evil that resides not in this realm but in the dark infernal pits of hell! It is in the hands of these Gentlemen that the fate of the common people rests.

Welcome weary travel, sit a while as I talk you through my latest edition to my collection of Empire of the Dead Factions. As you will have read from my other blog posts I have fallen in love with the new game from West Wind Productions – Empire of the Dead. This is a 28mm scale skirmish game set in a weird Victorian setting where the nasties of horror come out to play amongst the backdrop of the countryside or the hustle and bustle of towns and cities! The game can be played as a series of one off games or can be ran as a campaign using the beautifully written campaign system which has a Mordheim feel to it!

So I have done my Lycaons, a Neutral Faction. I have done my Vampires, an evil faction. I am about to preview my Darkfire Club, an evil faction and in the coming weeks my Sons of the Empire, good faction!

I decided to use solely West Wind figures for my Vampires, Lycaons and Sons of the Empire and so looked around the Internet for some other 28mm Victorian Sci-Fi (VSF) figures that would fit the part as well as other manufacturers of Victorian models that would flesh out the membership. I also knew that I wanted to base these models on Cobbled Street Bases and so looked for an economical base set as I would have around 30 models to do!

So the bases were the Cobbled Street Set from Black Cat Bases. A UK company with a great speedy delivery. Theses are not technically bases but toppers that fit inside the lipped bases supplied for the Empire of the Dead Game. They come in packs of 10 30mm bases and can be bought with a mixture of other sizes. The pack includes 4 different designs of 30mm toppers and are really nice when painted up!!!

So the miniatures themselves are a mixture of West Wind Productions – Gothic Horror Range, Wargames Foundry Miniatures – Victorians, Ironclad Miniatures – VSF Characters & Ratnik – VSF Miniatures. With the exception of the Ratnik models these were all supplied with pre-cast bases so some extra work was needed to trim them from these bases ready to be mounted on my lovely Black Cat Bases!

President & Secretary by Ratnik Miniatures

These models are really nice but a little bit chunkier than the standard Empire of the Dead miniatures produced by West Wind. They caught my eye as they are equipped with some of the more obscure equipment available to the Gentleman’s Club and really helps to define the setting of Empire of the Dead.

The President – armed with a Sword, Pistol, Shield and Breastplate

Secretary – Armed with a Man Portable Gatling Gun and knuckle dusters

Vice President and Membership by Ironclad Miniatures

The Vice President model was a must because of the VSF pistol he is carrying and the others were just dark enough for my Darkfire Club!!

Vice President – Armed with Heat Ray and Sword-Cane

Membership Models – Armed with Pistols and Sword-Canes

Membership Models and Dog by Wargames Foundry

Foundry do a hunting party pack in their Victorian range and this is the pack I chose as I wanted rifles/shotguns as an added bonus you get a little dog, which I have painted up like my own dog. The Sewn-off was made by cutting the barrel short on the model!!! The P&P was a ridiculous £8 though!!!!

Membership - Armed with Repeating Rifle

Membership - Armed with Sewn-off Shotgun

Scrappy the Dog - Armed with Claws and Teeth

Membership, Alfred and Mr Chops the Demon Butcher By West Wind Productions

The Membership model is from the Gothic Horror Range and is part of the London Detectives Pack, Alfred the Butler is a Limited Edition figure produced by West Wind for Empire of the Dead collectors buying the “1 of everything set” and Mr Chops is one of the Special Mercenary Characters for Empire of the Dead, Rules for which are available FREE as a download on their Forum!

Membership - Armed with a Pistol and Knuckle Dusters

Alfred, The Butler - Armed with a Refreshing Drink and a Warm Smile

Mr Chops, The Demon Butcher - Armed with a Massive Cleaver

Let me know what you think of my latest faction and your findings of Empire of the Dead!!! Will update with a picture of my Zombie Mob Soon!!!

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