Happy Halloween

Eric and Earnie this year.  No2 Daughter, who is six, did most of the cutting out on the bottom one herself.  Which was exciting for all the wrong reasons, but she's got to learn, y'know, don't have one hand inside the pumpkin when you're hacking into it with a knife, that sort of thing.

All things come to he who waits

You may remember this post, where I outlined why I wouldn't be buying the audio book (I know a lot of people love them, painting their minis to the soundtrack of the Horus Heresy etc).  But that what I'd really like is the real book...

Obviously someone in BL is listening, cause a few weeks ago, I got this:

Which is nice, and was quickly read.  I like the British Museum,  It's great, having almost nowt about Great Britain in it, but being full of cultural treasures from around the globe appropriated by our forefathers.  Regardless of the rights and wrongs of that, I love the Assyrian/Babylonian permanent exhibit.  The Shedu gates (the one on the left is a bull, the one of the right is a lion) are a particular favourite of mine and crop up in my FRPG campaign in the most impressive settings (not that the players would ever even notice).

So now the bounty that is the internet has provided something which could quite easily become a focal point in my long planned basilica.  Heck, it doesn't even need to be the front door.  Get a load of this:

On sale here and definitely one for the Christmas list.  Possibly the only one at 75 Euro Dollars.

Not a lot going on here.

You may have noticed.

Just recharging the ol' mojo...

Spartember Part One

I suspect that some of you will be familiar with Spartember, as Siph as posted here.

I don't have a large forgeworld tank to put together (sorry, Dai), but do have a couple of other models which have been hanging about for a bit and really need putting together.

The 1/35 Bradley was an impulse buy a few years ago on a rainy day, possibly when the small people were cheesing me off.  Academy kits have a decent reputation for accuracy and going together well (generally, the more detailed the scale kit, the more of a pain in the arse the build is - who'd have guessed ?).

Even as I took it off the shelf, this was going to be a Command Vehicle for a bit of one of the armies.  As things stand now, it's going to be the Blood Pact, which means 40Kificating the model as it is built.  I could build it out of the box as a US Army model; this is an attractive idea as you'd all be able to see how well I'd done.  However, it'd just get kicked about and smashed, whereas I could actually use a Blood Pact Command Vehicle.

My apologies for the glare on this picture, it's just to give you an idea of the number of pieces on the sprue.  It's an order of magnitude more complex than a GW kit, but nowhere near the recepie for tears which the Eisenkarn Mecha looked like.

But, scale models have good instructions.  Some are better than others but let's face it, if you've experienced Forge World instructions, then this sort of thing is both blissful and slightly daunting.

So all I have to do now is pull my finger out and get on with it.  I'm working Monday night but we'll see how far I can get by the end of next week.

902 Div force multipliers

Here are a few more of my photos from the parade day.  This time, the units which are force multipliers, that is, those whose contribution increases the combat power of the whole unit in a way which is more than simply adding up the number of dice they collectively chuck down the table.  

These guys are one of the Divisional Arty's FOO teams.  The Assault Bde list also lets me declare the Sqn 2iC's tank as a FOO asset as well, so that's another one.  These guys are mostly taking cover and have all the stuff one might expect, as well as having a real sniper to go with the nine mile ones they are actually directing.

Masta Cheef met some Death Riders in a Kill Team game the other day.  A great use of Death Riders - in their recce role.  As either a screening unit or a counter attacking unit, these fast moving 2 wound wonders are great for jogging around urban areas in a way that vehicles can't at a speed that footsloggers can't match.  The 11th Uhlan Regiment sits nicely in the Divisional ORBAT.

And of course, the Field Artillery;  262 Line Regt comes complete with batteries of Thudd Guns, Heavy Mortars in its Fd Arty detachments along with a generous sprinkling of Laser Cannons and Auto Cannons as AT and Fire Support.

And here's what that corner of the someone's world of hurt looked like on the day:

Not Work in Progress.

After a quick whiz around the garage, here is the to do list.  A lot of this is started, a lot more isn't.  And of course, this isn't a definitive list.  Where there is something already done, it's noted in green.

Mad max post apoc scavvies
Post apoc war rig
DKK rifles    Basecoated
DKK Engr, golliaths, Hades Drill Basecoated
2 DKK Engr Chimera
DKK Gren Built
DKK re-arms Need to be un-built
DKK Hvy Wpns Need to be un-built
DKK summer uniforms  A few more bits
Hrossy Yeomen  Basecoated
Jornathi grunts  Built
Meridian Infantry Coy
Delaques Built
3 BP BFGs
BP BFG Crews
BP Bradley
Blood pacters Basecoated
Last thunderer
Assorted civvies & pilgrims
7 BP Half tracks
4 Esienkarn APCs
2 Lynx HQ vehicles
1 Chimera HQ vehicle
Ad mech bodies
Macrons    Need a few more bits
SAM launchers  Need a few more bits
2nd regt rebuilds
2 Chaos spawn (bones cthuloids)  built
4 Star Wars Vendettas
ARC 170 fighter bomber
2 Thunderhinds
=I= Gun Cutter (Millennium Falcon) Needs more work
TGG Nuns with guns  Contracted out
And an entire Space Wolf army.

Work in progress

Whilst its nice to look at stuff already done, I'd not want you to think that I'm resting on my laurels.  No Siree, the long hobby war continues.  You've seen some of these summer uniform DKK before - from an lot of 2nd hand DKK who needed so much work that it was basically easier to just chop 'em up - I had a few DKK arm/rifle bits but most are wearing VL arms and VL arms to go with their VL legs.  Enough pouches and stuff to hide the join and these guys are good to go...

...into the painting queue.  There are still three without arms or arms and still ten head and torsos in the tin.  The order has gone to Australia's first lady of resin and sufficient bits to finish this job are on their way.

The summer uniform is going to be easier climbing in and out of vehicles.

Webbing items from FW, VL and Anvil Industries.  The Anvil bitz are really good and easier to use. And the guys who run are psychic or have a delivery TARDIS.  I'd swear blind that there was not enough time to put something in the post and have it delivered in between me clicking on 'pay now' and the little package arriving.

 These photos show all the bitz from all of the manufacturers.

The Macharian 203rd proved to have been Devos IV's most popular posts ever, with each getting over a thousand hits - not all of them me revisiting my own handiwork.  With some salvageable legs left over from the summer DKK, there's going to be a few more Macrons as well.

Again, Puppetswar swedes, VL torso and arms/arms (although there is one there with DKK arms !) when there are more done, I'll dress them in enough web kit to hide the join.

And whilst waiting for the bits to finish the Stugs to arrive from Models and Minis (six months, now); Admiral Drax has helpfully stuck the Ratguard SAM launchers together.  The missiles, already basecoated, sit nicely on the launch rails without gluing, which is nice.  This is one of the projects I wanted those Chimera hull sprues for.  Again, just waiting for Models and Minis track guards and back doors to finish them off.  This will give the ASL adequate AAA for their force component.

Flufftastically, of course, these HVM (high velocity missile) armed units would be covering the radar horizon in to about 2km.  Inside 2km, AD duties pass to the DKK's hydra battery.  In the game of course, IA1 includes rules for equipping your Manticore with AA missiles.  It goes without saying that unlike the FW and GW models, these quite obviously have a hull mounted HB for engaging terrestrial targets - those are SAM units with no ground engagement capability.  But that's what I wanted, real world realism in a fantasy game of flying tanks and so on.

Yes there is a radar dish missing from the top; it's in the box with the others.

And I may just have joined a September tank building challenge.  With a 1/35 Bradley.