Final hours of the Barrage Miniatures Terrain Kickstarter

A few weeks ago I posted about Barrage Miniatures launching a Kickstarter for a terrain system they had developed. Recently, they  kindly provided me a few samples of their campaign's products. Well, wow, I can confirm that the quality is amazing and the utility of the various pieces are wide and varied. 

The terrain is provided in a flexible resin, which seems to have a colour pigmentation imbued within the material itself. Pretty ingenious.

Forest floor (trees not included)

After having auditioned them on various different surfaces and with a wide assortment of miniatures I can say the pieces work wonderfully and look terrific.

If you are like me, in that your hobby time is usually weighted towards figures rather than terrain, this range of products may interest you. I know it has for me. Highly recommended.

Barrage Miniatures Kickstarter

 

Hi All,

Many of you know Alf and Clara over at Barrage Miniatures. They're good friends of mine and for years, they've been very generous supporters of the Painting Challenge. I think many readers of this blog can attest to not only the quality of their products, but also their amazing customer service. 

Alf and Clara recently launched a Kickstarter campaign offering a wide assortment of excellent pre-painted terrain pieces to adorn our gaming tables. If you have a moment, please check out their campaign and consider giving them your support. 

Thanks!

Curt

New WWII Skirmish Rules, 'Rattenkrieg!'

My good friend Alf over at Barrage Miniatures has recently released a new set of WWII skirmish rules titled, 'Rattenkrieg!'.  

Over the past few years Alf has shared with me several of his design concepts for these rules and I must say 'Rattenkrieg!' is  one of the most detailed and nuanced rulesets out in the market today. 

As a thumbnail description, I would say that 'Rattenkrieg!' is much like 'Advanced Squad Leader' for miniatures, but with even more tactical detail. Yes, these rules are for the dirt-under-your-fingernails grognards who don't mind going through a few charts and tables to get the results they desire. 

Alf has kindly allowed me to show a few pages from the beautifully designed rulebook. You will quickly see that these rules exhibit tremendous amount of research behind them and have been a labour of love.

If you're interested in the nitty-gritty details of tactical warfare, do yourself a favour and pick up a copy of these rules. They are worth every shell casing.

'Rattenkrieg!' can be purchased in PDF form through the Barrage Miniatures website.

URAAAAH!
 

Entry #16 to the AHPC - 28mm WWI era Russian BK-2 Riverine Gunboat

Last week we had our 'Nautical' theme over at the Challenge and this was my modest entry: a 1916 BK-2 Russian Riverine Gunboat.

This 28mm resin model is from my very talented friend Alf, over at Barrage Miniatures. In retrospect, I think my work on it is a little too pristine, so I think I'll make it a bit more careworn before I take it out for a game. Nonetheless, you get a good idea of the model -  I think she's a sweet little runabout and good for skirmish games as it's not too overpowering.

These small gunboats saw a lot of service during their service life.  They debuted during the First World War, but also saw operations during the Russian Revolution, the Polish-Soviet War and World War Two. It's probably not too much of a stretch to think that one of these little babies could see some Pulp adventures as well...

Interestingly, due to their complex design requirements, which called for a very small hull, high speed and a balanced weapon placement, the Russians were forced to look abroad in order to have them manufactured. Being that the Great War was raging, all the European shipyards were either enemy states, or furiously building their own wartime craft. Undeterred, the Russians turned to the United States, who at that time were not in the war, and in 1916 a contract for 18 boats was filled by the Mullins & Company of Salem Ohio. 

In this final shot we have the enchanting Madame Ting-Ting and her salty associate Capt. Douglas (DSC/RN Ret) 'negotiating' with a Russian sailor for a BK-2.  She simply HAD TO HAVE the BK. She was heard saying after the gunshot, 'This little 'dreadnought' will look sooo darling with my flag fluttering above it...'

Next up: Something Simian and Steampunk

28mm Spanish Civil War Republican Guardia de Asaltos (Assault Guards) and a Spanish Romanesque Church from Barrage Miniatures

In an attempt to be somewhat simpatico with our recent hot weather I thought I'd feature some more Spanish Civil War figures, this time a few squads of tough-as-nails Republican Assault Guards.

The Guardia de Asaltos were a large body of para military police created by the Republican government in reaction to increasing instability throughout Spanish society. The Assault Guards were primarily tasked in maintaining public order in urban areas whereas the Guardia Civil's jurisdiction focused on rural areas.

When civil war broke out in Spain in the summer of 1936, the majority of the Assault Guards remained loyal to the Republican government. They quickly proved to be a highly dependable force for which the government relied on time and again in its struggle to control the cities of Spain. They were particularly effective during the siege of Madrid and it has been mentioned several times that of the Assault Guards that were in uniform in 1936, very few remained alive by 1938, being ground-up in the vicious street fighting in the intervening years.

These guys arrived from Empress Miniatures less than a week before my game with the guys from The Fawcett Ave Conscripts and so being a complete idiot I decided to try to get them done in time for kick-off. After several extremely late nights I managed to get the sixteen of them done and ready for deployment. 

Of course, as these things always work out, they never even made it onto the table as they kept missing their reinforcement rolls. Sigh. Anyway, they are now sitting in the wings, gnashing to get at the Nationalists. I know Peter has been chomping at the bit to get stuck-in commanding the Republicans so I think this is the unit for him. 

Also seen here is a 1:56 Spanish Romanesque church, a very generous gift given by the vastly talented Alf from Barrage Miniatures. This was part of the loot that I managed to smuggle home after visiting his workshop in Madrid earlier this past spring. 

This resin-cast building is inspired by the very picturesque 12th century Sant Quirc de Durro church found in the Vall de Boi, Catalonia. 

The church is a wonderful model, with loads of deep relief for easy of painting/drybrushing. Like a dolt, I first primed it dark brown, but then realized by looking at photos of similar mediterranean buildings, that the mortar used is typically cream coloured - so I traipsed back outside to respray it a light khaki. 

I can't say that I'm completely happy with my efforts, but I finally decided to throw in the towel and call it done. Nevertheless, it will be a welcome addition to the growing SCW and Napoleonic Peninsular terrain collection.  Thanks so much Alf!! 

Finally, I want to give a big shout out in celebration of the debut of Wargame Bloggers Quarterly which was launched this past Saturday. WBQ is the brainchild of the ever-industrious Millsy, one of the famed contributors of Canister & Grape. I had the pleasure to witness the whole production unfold (being characteristically lazy, I can't say I helped that much) and can attest to the high standard and tremendous level of work that has gone into this publication. So, please download the premier issue and enjoy! I understand that the editorial duties of WBQ will change from issue-to-issue so there should be a wonderful variety of articles and viewpoints as the Quarterly moves forward. Congratulations Millsy - this is a real triumph!