fredag 27 december 2013

Panther G platoon #1

The four Panther Gs are now ready for the table-top, all base colors in place and varnished to withstand the battlefield. A bit shiny in the photo from the gloss varnish but that will change when they have been highlighted and weathered.
I'm happy with how they came out and it was really fun to paint them up. 

The inspiration for the pattern are these pictures:



Let's hope they will do some good on the table this coming Sunday, facing the great, green horde of Soviet armor!

fredag 20 december 2013

Panther G teaser

A quick post just to show what the camo will be looking like.
It is not a pattern used by Totenkopf and it is not 100% accurate (the yellow/brown stripes are a bit to big) but I like how it came out. 
With just a week left before our Total War game, I'm just aiming to have all four Panthers base colored and varnished. Everything else is a bonus.

torsdag 19 december 2013

Picking up the brush

After a nice holiday in New Zealand, visiting my sister and her family, I have finally gotten back to some painting. This autumn have been too much video games, so now I have un-installed them and decided to focus my spare time on the miniatures.

Currently on the table: Four Panther G, a Nebelwerfer platoon and the final touches on the Panzer IV platoons. There are also some Kübelwagens sitting around but they are not that important at the moment.


I started working on a two piece extension for my modular hills, about half a meter in length. It was in the shed outside and at this time of year drying times are not that good. Guess it will have to sit inside for a few days before I continue with it.

måndag 4 november 2013

Terrain tests

Since I finished the gaming table I have tried to build some terrain but it has been going pretty slow. I think I need deadlines for my miniatures to really get me going, like the upcoming Total War event at the local gaming club that I am helping to arrange. This will require a bit more of terrain and tanks.

Some of the terrain tests I have been doing just to try out techniques and materials:

Simple fences (tongue depressors, tooth picks and coffee stirrers)

onsdag 14 augusti 2013

E Tenebrae Lux II - Done for me

My contribution to the Blood Angel's sub-forum is now done.
Four characters: Commander Dante, Corbulo, a Reclusiarch and Mephiston.

Basing will be done later as I am saving up a bunch of miniatures to do at one go.

söndag 4 augusti 2013

Operation: Overlord - Saint-Lô - Final fight

Taking up their final stand around the church in Saint-Lô, the Fallschirmjägers will fight until the bitter end.

The lists are like before:
1st ID: 
Compulsory Rifle Company HQ - 1x CinC Carbine, 1x 2iC Carbine
- Bazooka - 2x Bazooka

Compulsory Rifle Platoon - 1x Command Rifle, 1x Bazooka, 9x Rifle
Compulsory Rifle Platoon - 1x Command Rifle, 1x Bazooka, 9x Rifle

Mortar Platoon - 1x Command Carbine, 4x M1 81mm Mortar
- Bazookas - 2x Bazooka
Independent Tank Platoon - 1x Command M4 or M4A1 Sherman, 2x M4 or M4A1 Sherman
Field Artillery Battery - 1x Command Carbine, 1x Staff, 1x Observer Carbine, 4x M2A1 105mm Howitzer

995 Points, 5 Platoons

6th FJ:
Compulsory Fallschirmjager Company HQ - 1x CinC SMG, 1x 2iC SMG

Compulsory Fallschirmjager Platoon - 1x Command Rifle/MG, 9x Rifle/MG
Compulsory Fallschirmjager Platoon - 1x Command Rifle/MG, 9x Rifle/MG

Fallschirmjager Machine-gun Platoon - 1x Command SMG, 4x MG42 HMG 
Grenadier Assault Gun Platoon - 1x Command StuG G, 1x StuG G
Luftwaffe Anti-Aircraft Assault Platoon - 1x Command SMG, 2x 8.8cm FlaK36 gun
- Extra Crew - 2x Extra Crew

995 Points, 5 Platoons

Added some more houses to the table, turning it into a smaller city.

In the cover of the houses, the Americans manage to push up towards the church, with a lucky ToT from the 105s one FJ platoon is almost wiped out and leaves the table. Not having the full force on the table from the start and a better route with more cover for the Americans in this last battle, made them move quicker over the table without suffering any casualties. The last FJ platoon made a good last stand in the church but it was not enough to win the game. No platoons wiped out on the American side, 6-1 victory. Hopefully enough for the Allies to win the Overlord-campaign.

Operation: Overlord - Saint-Lô - US Rifle vs retreating Fallschirmjägers

Even though the Fallschirmjaegers repelled the attack from the Americans, they will not be able to hold on for much longer and plan for a withdrawal to improve the defenses in other sectors.

Operation: Overlord - Saint-Lô - German FJ vs US Rifle

Finally, the goal for the operation is in sight: Saint-Lô!
The church tower making for the skies in the distance with the rest of the city spreading out around it. The Big Red One has taken up positions outside the city and are making ready to go in to take a foot hold in the outskirts.

One objective is placed near a small square on the US right flank and another behind a house on the left. The Germans deploy one FJ platoon and two 88s in ambush, leaving the Americans to guess where to attack. In reserves are two Stugs and another FJ platoon. Both FJ platoons get two HMGs attached to them.
On the American side, the commander let a battery of 105s dig in, put a the first rifle platoon on the left flank and the second on the right and a tank platoon of three Shermans in the middle. A support platoon of four 81mm mortars find a nice spot behind a small hill to assist the grunts with some smoke, they dig in just like the 105s.

tisdag 30 juli 2013

Operation: Overlord - Tank engagement

After the Allies having made a great inland from the landing zones a small force of British Churchills find them self face to face with two platoons of Panzer IVs on the fields outside Conteville.

The area has a few smaller hills, a couple of fields and a three way cross road with two ends on the German side and one end on the British side. At the intersection are two smaller houses.

After making contact the two forces slow down and spread out with a platoon of tanks on each flank, the Germans having their stronger five tank platoon on their left and a weaker three tank platoon on the right. To avoid getting flanked, the British put a tank platoon on each side and the commanders in the middle, protecting the 25 pounders at the start.
With their weaker armor but better training, the Germans decide to hold off and try to pick off some targets before moving on. The plan might have been sound but the execution did not go so well, the right hand platoon is quickly decimated by the determined British tankers. Two Panzers are destroyed while only one Churchill is set aflame.
On the left flank the Germans hang on and manage to survive through an air strike a few rounds of artillery bombardment but are forced to pull back when the company commander is struck and catches fire. With only one tank lost the British score a great victory and gains even more ground.

söndag 7 juli 2013

Operation: Overlord - Fallschirmjägers defending versus 1st ID

The Big Red One has gotten off from Omaha beach and started their push inland. Reports have come in about a Fallschirmjäger company defending a road junction which is needed to secure the supply transports for further progress inland. Initial recon confirm two anti tank bunkers and a platoon of Green Devils having set up defences around a farm just outside town.
Two platoons of GIs with artillery support and a few light tanks begin their advance through the fields. 


söndag 23 juni 2013

Building hills - Finished

Gave the last pieces of the hills a protecting glue surface last night and also added some medium colored flock to make them less cow patchy looking. The two single piece hills look quite OK but I am not totally satisfied with the four piece hill. The edges are not completely straight since I gave them a bit of plaster to cover up the textured sides. They will do but next time I will skip that step.
Another thing I learned in this process is to add some dish soap to the water/PVA-mix, this really helps in making the mixture flow and reach everywhere.



fredag 24 maj 2013

Building Hills - 2

Time to turn those black piles into something more lively. I use some fine turf from Woodland Scenics (Green Grass and Earth).

torsdag 23 maj 2013

Building hills - 1

After the completion of the gaming table (part 1, part 2, part 3) it is time to get going with some terrain. I felt some smaller hills would be nice to have.
For the build I am using:

  • Left over styrofoam
  • Hard board (I think that is the name for it, used in drawers and as back plates in bureaus )
  • PVA glue
  • Filler
  • Acrylic paint
  • Woodland Scenic's flock and grass


First, I started off by cutting out the shapes and beveling the edges a bit. I decided to try to build a four-piece hill that can go against the edge of the gaming table or all four pieces together to form a larger hill.

onsdag 22 maj 2013

More assault marines

A proper army for Flesh Tearers should have a lot of assault marines.
So here are some more to join the fray. Basing is not done as I am saving up a good bunch of minis and base them all at once.

fredag 17 maj 2013

Gaming Table - Finished

A month later and it is now finished. 
With the two boards in place, the folding legs are working as expected and it was a quite simple solution compared to the other ideas I had.


onsdag 17 april 2013

Gaming table - 2

After a few smaller building sessions, the table is almost done.
Mounted the legs first.

tisdag 9 april 2013

Gaming table - 1

Today I started building my gaming table after having discussed it bit with the old man.
It will be a middle part of one 2' x 4' which will have two fold-able legs on each side that will support the side boards which will be just two 3'x'4 MDF pieces with a locking/supporting piece in the middle. My first plan was to have hinges for the side boards but that will make the whole table a lot heavier so I decided to just have them rest on the fold-able legs.

måndag 25 mars 2013

Totenkopf part 1 done

The progress on my Totenkopf company has been quite slow, the main reason has been a pregnant wife and the fruits from that: my lovely little son. Quite a project in itself.

This weekend I managed to put the final touches of part one of my SS Panzer Kompanie. 

The force so far consists of my fictional SS-Hauptsturmführer Ernst Braun and his second in command Victor Hauber.
Forming Zug 1 are another three Panzer IV (one with magnetized barrel).

Zug 2 is formed by five Panzer IV G.

Zug 3 is made up from five Panzer III G, shown behind the recon platoon.

All tanks are from Plastic Soldier Company and the recon platoon are Zvesda's SdKfz222 (one slightly modified with an antenna made from a paper clip), this made the cost of this core for my German force quite low at about €60, resulting at about 40 points per euro. Of course it adds some time when it comes to building the tanks but I find it OK in comparison to the prize.

The force has gotten the basic colors, a gloss varnish and a wash to black line them and I consider them battle ready. Next step is to add highlights, weathering and the final varnish but that will probably have to wait a while.