Pushing eastwards across the Prairie

Having been landed in a clandestine manner, the Blood Pact forces do not initially appear to be shoring up the PDF, rather they deploy skirmishers in a series of screens across a wide front. Obviously they are trying to increase the amount of verifiable intel.  72 AGs response is to slow their advance to the point where rough riders (animal and mechanical) can act as DRs carrying written orders; the airwaves fall silent, denying the enemy valuable SIGINT.

72 AG recce assets, including airborne forces as well as terrestrial elements, are widely deployed to hunt down Blood Pact recce teams.  Here a troop of autocannon armed sentinels chase down a five man Blood Pact detachment.

Generally, 72 AG scales its response to be able to overwhelm the small Blood Pact detachments where they find them.  SOPs are developed where elements are to make initial contact and then stay in contact without trying to force an outcome until other nearby assets were moved up to support a planned prosecution.

An assured outcome is what this SOP is designed to achieve.  Once in contact, radio silence is lifted, allowing calls for fire (ie artillery support) to be made and requests for air support to be made.  Unfortunately, all too quickly, the Blood Pact have discerned  what is happening and appear to be as comfortable as the DKK are when it comes to using themselves as bait.

A separatist T-65 strike fighter appears at an extreme low level.  Repeated instances of this effectively prove that the Blood Pact and remnants of the PDF are cooperating on a tactical level at least.

The prevalence of Imerial Navy Thunderbolt fighterbombers over the battlefront means that any appearance by a T-65 is going to be limited to one attack run, if he wants to fly another day.

Sculpting (updated 01 Sep 15)

You may remember me saying that this guy, the furious charging BT Terminator without a helmet:

He was modified by a guy I used to work with, who also sculpted his head. 

He now has a blog detailing his sculpting exploits:

https://ltminis.wordpress.com/

And a new 'site as well:

www.itminis.com

This is one of his.  He does commissions !  and not just fantasy/SF

Just teasing

Work done by PVP

There is projecty stuff going on.  I'm hoping to have something to show you soon.

But in the meantime, continuing the theme of non-hobby stuff, I offer you this:

Aliens lego film

And looking at other people's projects:

Card board warhound

Reasons Beer is good for you.

1. It keeps your heart healthy

While glugging wine might be the boozy pasttime that we associate with decreasing cardiovascular disease risk, beer may be just as heart-healthy a beverage. Research has found that moderate beer drinkers have a 42 per cent lower risk of heart disease compared to non-drinkers. Although it’s good to note that the researchers suggest keeping consumption to one pint - at around 5 per cent alcohol by volume - a day.

2. It can make you live longer

It’s not the elixir of life, but Virginia Tech researchers found that regular, moderate beer drinkers were 19 per cent less likely to die during a given time period than people who never touch a drop. Well, there’s a good enough reason than any to toast to your health.

3. It can get your creative juices flowing

There’s a reason why you do your best thinking after you’ve polished off a pint. According to a study in the journal Consciousness and Cognition, knocking back a beer or two can boost your creativity. When 40 men watched a movie while completing verbal puzzles, beer-drinking blokes with a blood alcohol content of .075 solved the problems a few seconds faster than their sober counterparts.

4. It can protect you from Alzhiemer's

Short-term memory loss during consumption aside, a recent study found Xanthohumol, a compound in the hops used to flavour beer, is able to protect the brain from degenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

© Provided by Independent Print Limited pintbeer1708a.jpg

5. It can give you stronger bones

Conscientiously objecting to buying a pint of milk? A 2009 study concluded that the elevated levels of silicon in beer can contribute to higher bone density.

6. It has fewer calories than skimmed milk or orange juice

Here’s one reason why you shouldn’t feel guilty for a having a pint for breakfast while on holiday -  Guinness released statistics showing that its heavy stout is lower in calories than both OJ and skimmed milk.

7. It can prevent type 2 diabetes

Dutch researchers analysed 38,000 male health professionals and found that when men who weren't big drinkers began drinking moderately over 4 years, they were significantly less likely to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. However, that doesn’t mean you should order in a ten pint round - researchers found that, increased alcohol consumption over time didn't lower the risk in men who already had a couple drinks a day, so moderation is the key.

Just for fun...

So, thinking about putting things up on the blog, this is just for fun.  Please don't write the answers in the comments, just your score before you had to look anything up.  Now updated with the answers. 

1.   Operation Tonga was the airborne assault phase of which larger operation ?  Overlord

2.  Aircraft belonging to what organisation made the first confirmed fighter kill of WW2 ?  FAA

3.  Aircraft belonging to what organisation made the last confirmed fighter kill of WW2 ? FAA

4.  What was Midas Betancore’s job?  Inquisitorial henchman and pilot

5.  What is the missing name; Eagle, Victorious, Centaur ?  Trick question !  Hermes and Ark Royal

6.  What is a Sverdlov ?  Cold War era Soviet destroyer

7.  Homeworld of the Imperial Guard’s only Thunderbolt unit in the Sabbat Crusade ?  Phantine

8.  What do COSSAC, ISAF and SACEUR stands for ?  Cheif Of Staff Supreme Allied Command, International Security Assistance Force, Supreme Allied Commander EURope

9.  The name of the Royal Navy ship stolen by Jack Sparrow ?  Interceptor

10.  Put the following engagements in the correct date order; Copready Bridge, Edgehill, Lowestoft, Stow on the Wold.  Edgehill, Copready Bridge, Stow on the Wold, Lowestoft 

11.  Which nation’s army contains the Winter Guard and the Widowmakers ?  Khador

12.  Which country is Eben Emel in ?  Belgium

13.  “White City” was a base of operations for which military formation ?  The Chindits

14.  English pop singer whose unit were NATO troops at Pristina Airport in 1999 ?  James Blunt

15.  “Peshmerga” means ?  Those who face death

16.  British Infantry Regt wearing an additional badge on the rear of headdress ? For which battle ?  The Gloucester Regiment, The Battle of Alexandria 1801. 

17.  M-1A2SEPv3 is better known by which name ?  Abrams

18.  What part of the UK was occupied during WW2 ?  The Channel Islands

19.  Corcorans were worn by whom ?  US Airborne forces in WW2

20.  The current Deputy Commander of 3UK Div comes form ?  USA

21.  Who killed Cock Robin ?  The Sparrow

Blood Pact

Potentially on their way here soon:

Paint by Siege Studios.  There's a video of these up on their fb page.  Curious construct renegade torsos, max mini heads, VL arms and legs, mostly GW weapons, either Secret Weapon or someone else's backpacks.

The second tranche will be a little more eclectic.  The plan for these includes three of the VL artillery pieces from the Bones KS.  And I'll cogitate about half tracks and other Blood Pact goodies from the Daniverse.  But all in line with the DKK Siege Regt list - they can be 'counts as', because reasons.

Teeny tiny amounts of progress. And it's the not-millennium-falcon.

It's the summer holidays and I am up to my nuts in Peppa Pig and My Little Glue-beast. (No1 daughter now calls them 'coloured donkeys' when talking to me as I have started to not respond to their real name).

So "Progress" has been even slower than usual. But there has been some.

There are large blank areas on the model where Hasbro/Plaitoy/Licence holder has provided stickers (windows, engines, side panels and those six circular blank spaces).  To be fair, unlike a lot of surfaces intended to take a sticker, these ones are both flat and smooth, so it makes the next bit a little easier.

Fans from Zinge Industries.  Can't have stickers or blank spaces on a Ordos Tempestus Gun Cutter.

Appropriate scale little fans in other places.

All the new fans together.

Well, there you have it.  Nine blobs of Uhu and that's all I have to show for months.  Oh well, c'est la vie.  I'd better catch up with what Fluttershy and Spongebobsquarepants are up to.