Road Race, Calais to St. Omer Road, May 23rd 1940 - A Battlegroup Scenario for EW

 With the release of EW by Battlefront I picked up a German - French and British - French starter box and I had planned to start with a French - German scenario. Sadly that box wasn't packed in the correct manner and it contained quite a few damaged parts. BF Customer Service will get this sorted but that is going to take some time.

So, change of plans, and I selected the British vs German scenario "Road Race" from the Blitzkrieg supplement.

 

 It comes with all the details you would need, and the listing is quite simple.

For the Brits I have the following.

Starting Forces

• Staff Car - I have no model for this yet, currently looking around for options, most likely a printed model.
• Vickers Light Tank Platoon -  I'm assuming these are the Vickers Mk VI B. For this I can take 3 models out of the Battlefront Dunkirk box as it comes with exactly 3 lights. 

 British Main Force

• A10 Platoon (3 tanks) - I've managed to find a seller in the EU that still had several boxes of the PSC A9/A10 so I just bought them all. Battlefront only does a blisterpack with 2 A9's and that gets expensive really quick.
• A13 Platoon (3 tanks) - The Dunkirk box comes with 5 A13's so that is sorted.
• Vickers MkVI C Platoon (3 tanks).  For this I have picked up another Dunkirk box, this also gives me additional British troops and 2 Pounders. 
• Additional A13 (Commander) that I can get for the original Dunkirk box. 

So besides the staff car, they are all in my collection and I can start to build them.

For the Germans I have the following:

Starting Forces

• 1x SdKfz 222 - I have loads of these in resin from Battlefront, so not a problem. I even have a Zvezda one that would make a nice wreck if I am honest.
• 1x SdKfz 232 -  it does not say if it is the 6-rad or the 8-rad, but the only one I have in my stash is the 8-rad from PSC so that is a moot point.
• 1x Panzer II - in my stash from BF

German Main Forces 

• Panzer II Platoon (3 vehicles) -  I can take these from the Maginot starter box (the German side was properly packed unlike the French, so undamaged apart from some damage to the Siocast crews.
• Panzer 35(t) Platoon 1 (3 vehicles) - I do not own any 35(t) but I do own several 38(t) boxes from PSC so I'm afraid these will substitute for the 35(t). After this those can be used for Barbarossa etc.
• Panzer 35(t) Platoon 2 (3 vehicles) -  Same,
•  Officer in Panzer IV (which assume is the D) - I have a blister of this model in my stash. 
• 2 offtable 88 shots. I have tons of 88's but I will need to check if I have Early War crew. I could get away with a counter but a real model (with a counter next to it) is more fun for me.  

And that is all the scenario needs.  

Limited in build time, I'm looking forward to building, painting, and finishing these. I have no set deadline for this project, so it will most likely come and go like the others before it. I've already looked at doing additional bits but those can wait till these are done. 

Northag in 3mm - British (de)basing standards and inspiration

 After foolishly looking for 3mm painting tutorials and realising a day late and a dollar short that 6mm painting tutorials work just as damn well......I've got enough set aside inspiration wise to get started. 

The basing standard I have chose for now is:

• Round 25mm for all the vehicles and infantry teams
• Round 25mm and/or 40mm for command team bases
• Rectangular with the top shaped like an arrow 20x20mm for Recce 
• Air support I'll use my 30x30 and 40x40 air combat bases
• Offboard artillery on 30x60 and 60x60

Everything magnetised so it fits easily into the RUB boxes, and I need to make/get inserts so I can stack up inside the basic 4 Liter ones. 

I have a couple ideas for objectives as well, but I need to put that down to paper first.

Inspiration wise I'm going for this (but in my own basing style) 

painted by Little Ninja Painting, not me!

 

Crisis 2024 loot

 Took a trip to Crisis 2024, together with the girls. They managed to keep themselves going for over 3 hours, colour me impressed. They each got a Primaris Marine so we will paint that the next weekend they are over. Emma even bought a blister of Dolphins....cause she likes Dolphins. Best reason I'd say.

It was nice to talk to the old guard, people I had not seen in a long time. The new place looks great, spacious. Plenty of vendors, even if there were a few cancellations that dropped the entry fee down from 12 to 10 Euros. Quite a bit of choice but not nearly as much as the old Crisis, but I wasn't expecting that. A lot of gaming tables but not crowded at all. Nice variety too.

My purchase goal for the day was 28mm scenery for Stalker, 28mm trees and nothing 15mm. Well.....that dind't quite pan out. 

• Scavengers II for Stargrave/Stalker, had my eye on this one for a while. 

• Silver Bayonet Carpathia and vampires, the Forest Witch and a blister of Cultists. These were from a pre order I made, on the show I saw hardly any SB stuff.  Only 1 seller had a few warbands that I could see, and he had no sales/discount. Saw quite a few plastic army boxes suitable for them but buying a 30 euro box with 40 troops of which you need just a few.... (says the man who routinely buys boxes for just that reason)
•  Gravestones....as I can't find my bag
• Tents....for a Stalker camp. 
• Large scrap piles from Kraken Wargames at 50% off.  For my Postapoc collection. They had some nice bags of barricades as well, but even at 50% off these were expensive....and I think I prefer to make my own anyway. Eventually.
  

I found no 28mm scenery for Stalker that I liked. Some printed stuff, but with (for me) too prominent lines. The MDF choices were limited to mostly Western and what I already have. Foam I can make my own. Trees, I only saw the same stuff. Plastic stem, reindeer moss for the shape and coated with flock. Not my thing. 

Well, 15mm then.

• 40% off on PSC kits if I'd buy 5 kits. You always need trucks, more AT guns are always useful, if only for the towed versions and a box of 38(t) for my future. Pity that yet again, no Russian trucks to be found anywhere.
• 40% discount on all Nam stuff at one shop, seller was kind enough to discount it even more to 5 euros per blister when I took his entire stock of T-34M's....cause I love the T-34 with starfish roadwheels. I want a small stash so I can build them for Iraq, the PLO, AK-47 etc. I doubt Battlefront will ever release these in plastic.....but a man can dream

No where near my usual amount, half of it is just for stock now, the other half I can get working on next week.

After that a quick trip to a Delhaize supermarket to get the kids some Eclairs (not for me, I got pickled flavoured crisps and a big bottle of French herbes cause I'm weird like that - crisps for eating and harbs as forest floor scatter) and then gassed up the car with some much needed and much cheaper Belgian gas and went home again. Spent almost 4 hours driving back and forth, including the traffic jams due to work on the Belgian roads. Like war, that also never changes.

Kids are beat, I'm beat, and a lovely day of nothing tomorrow.

Forlorn Hope at Sachsendorf - Russian WIP part 2

 Tonight all T-34 hulls got equipped with a block of the (not usable anywhere else because

partly hardened) greenstuff with 2 bolts in it so that the models have a little more weight and

glued all hulls. Rheumatism and kneading could just be a war crime.

 

Oil drum fixed, worst of the 2 running wheels glued flat and fixed, nicer of the 2 with the best

successful side placed at an angle and 1 axle of the German Truck set slightly shortened and made 

into a gas cylinder. (oil drum, lubricants, gas cylinder and the Russian habit of smoking 

wherever it is not allowed. I'm sure it will go well). Also a crate of the Accesopires set 

attached to the side of the hull as a toolbox. 

 

Now let's see what else can/must be put in the cargo box and then start working on covering the 

rear part with a tarp. Then pull cables from front to back and back to front and the rest of the 

detail work.

Raising the 20mm German Army

No, not like a Necromancer

 

Facebook reminded me I got back from Ireland 10 years ago and I think it is time I bring the German army back to life. I made it for Normandy, but there is no reason why it can't work for Russia 44 onwards, so...

Grabbed some old bits and ran it through primer.

I made these aeons ago from Britannia figures for foxholes (in Battlegroup moving out of them removes them) and I like the visual aspect of proper things on the table. I can't remember if I made more, but these are a nice start. I still have my old notebook so I know what paints to use, always handy. 

Also picked up some boxes of PSC 20mm GAZ trucks (been promising myself those sinced April 2021) and will copy this prime bit of Beute AA. The keying on the bed to the frame could be better (well, there is basically none) but otherwise I'm not having any real issues and I like it. As soon as my new greenstuff arrives (I'm out) I'll rebuild the tarp as in the  photograph. I need to find my AA mounted DHsK that is in my stash ....somewhere. The open part of the bed isn't correct, but this looks better visually as the inside has no detail. I'll grab my scribing tool and do the next ones proper, easily done when when on the sprue. Now, not so much, but hey, challenges!

Also, nothing is stopping me from making a German and a Russian gunner of course on a drop in base. Well, maybe.

Not dead yet :)

Hi guys,

Hand is healing up nicely, stitches came out fine, most of the skin surrounding it has dried and fallen off (no, I'm not a lizard alien, thanks) and I'm slowly....and sometimes not so slowly, using the hand more and more. 1 thing I keep forgetting is that I should not, in any way, should shake hands with men with even a half decent firm grip. It is improving, slowly, but sofar I've let a few (very manly) tears after meeting new people for trades, cause it <bleeping> hurts.

The numbness is still there, but I guess a bit less. The non finger parts of my hand still feel like someone has stepped on it with a hefty boot, and the entire hand feels thick and unresponsive at times. This has not stopped my hobby time, just it is slow going.

I'll live. Been told it will take 6-12 months to completely heal up to 95% effectiveness. Pain wise I just keep using the max reccomended dosage as my doc ordered and that is that.

Right, the hobby.

The gaming table is gone. Thought about selling it, but for the type I might get 10 euros a pop max. So...recycled into a workbench in the shed, managed to find some 2nd hand kitchen counter feet from a excellent quality, and a used kitchen counter top that was spot on what I wanted.  30 Euros spent on used parts but a good investment I think, makes a nice workspace for the 6-8 months a year I can work there

WIth the space now empty I've been looking at a Ikea Norden foldable table, but after getting outbid a few times in the 80-100 range for that sort of table, I looked at other options as I just wanted to get this done. Well, the Ikea Nordenfeld is a fold up table you connect to the wall and is new 35. Sure, not as heavy duty with storage as the other one.....but I found a used one for 10 euros 10 clicks from here, so picked that up and mounted it at standing level (for people of my limited height). Installed extra sockets that have USB connectors so I can install USB lights for photography. Been using it for a few afternoons and it works great, just thinking about making a small rig to support my phone so I can make top down shots easier. But that is no priority atm.

My hobby progress has been focussed mostly on 2 models, my Ork Battle Kroozer, now a Battleship as I read the stats wrong, and my fist crewmember of the Salvagers.

I'm not a power player, nor will I ever be. So a (hot shot) Laspistol, a grenade, 2 flares and a bionic hand is added to Joe Average. Maybe enhanced scanners because of his head. Still a bit rough around the edges, needs clean up and small extras, but otherwise ready to be painted.

 

The Battleship is being built organically, it just grows a bit whenever I work on it. After doing the math on how expensive it is to get the bits I want, I've run her up to Battleship status. That and after spending a good 2 hours on a turreted bombardment cannon, I found out the Battle Kroozer uses a combined torpedo tube/ bombardment cannon (Ack! Ack! Ack!) 

 

 I keep tacking on stuff, and on occasion ripping it off again. As she is my first Ork Battleship, I've chose a supporting one one, so Gorbags Revenge, the big Ork Carrier it is. Mine will just have a different name....to be decided later. This is the work done on the Starboard Launch Bays

And work done on the Port Launch Bays. Just using bits I have on hand, and mixing and not really matching as hey, Orks :) Also added the bridge  and more turrets and shield generators.

Also started a bit of work on some light tanks....a M3 for my Russians, and a TKS rearmed with a MG-34 for my Volkssturm.

Right, hand needs rest. I'm knackered.

Panzerturm WIP

Panzer 4 tank as used in the defence of Berlin, dug in.

 The real deal

My version

Need to break some bricks, add more debris, detail the tank and then paint it. And I need to look up where I put the stats for it for Battlegroup. PSC kit I had left over after using the track, plus brass barrel, and Juweela bricks.

Siegfried Line, double the pleasure

Managed to make a deal for another 5 boxes of Defences afterv selling off some of my old painted work.....was it worth it? I think so.

Currently I have 90 inches of double tooth line, 6 45 degree corners and 4 90 degree corners. Last to make is 2 gates, 2 destroyed sections and 2 bulldozed sections (though I might skip the last 2). I might have a deal with someone for a load of scrap and that includes a bag of these defences, so I might be able to get it up to 120 inches in total. We'll see.

What's this then? A Trumpeter StuG IIIC top half mounted on a PSC StuG III body as I want a C Lang for my 1945 Germans. It has taken a lot of eyeballing but surprisingly little mod work to get it to fit (for the most part). The front section does have some isses, but nothing a fw lengths of track and sand bags won't be able to fix of this old banger. Other details need to be filled/fixed, but I'm in no rush with her.

It really helps to read an army list BEFORE you build stuff, you know?

So, in between my studies, I've managed to build and base 2 Russian 45mm M1937 AT guns for my Partisans, one on the move and 1 in position, after getting inspired.

Apolagies for the shitty quality pictures....still using just my phone....

 Gun on the move in to (or out of?) position. Most pics I've seen of it being manhandled is with 2 people at the front of the gun and 1 in the back steering it....I think? Put a muzzle cap on it to keep the dirt out plus 2 cases of shells. I have no gun crew yet so these are just stand ins. It's my (current) standard towing base (which is T shaped) with the back end held in place by a pin, to keep it level with whatever is towing or pulling it. I thought about adding lift handles on the legs, but stopped after adding doing the tow hooks on both guns. I just want to have these done so I can move on to the next lot.

I've added some extra reinforcement between the shield and the base of the gun as for some odd reason both guns had the mounting pin bent and split and even after bending it back and using glue, the gunshield sat at a tilted angle. Not anymore :)  The in situ gun is placed on my favourite Y shaped base. This way I can easily add and remove troops and keep them as close to the gun as possible.

So, all good then, innit?

Nope. I got inspired by seeing pics of the Partisan 37mm AT gun in action:

....and assumed that the 45mm one would be the upgrade for the Partisans. I assumed wrongly :(

The basic gun is the 37mm (for which I can use a captured PaK36 or 37mm M1930 - for wargaming purposes the same gun) and the upgrade is the 47mmL32

Technically speaking a licence built Böhler. Drat. I don't have those in my stash. No, ffs.......

Well, not to fear!

After comparing the stats of both guns, they have a identical HE and AP value, so there is no problem using them as is.

Crisis averted! Now get these suckers painted up asap.

PS: The guns are PSC 4 in a box Russian AT guns (45mm 1937, 45mm 1942 and the Infantry gun) and the spare barrels can be used for bunkers or other purposes. The Partisans are from the Kelly's Heroes range from Grubby Tanks.

Swerving wildy off topic! Panzerturm! What?

So, I sat down lastnight to work on the big Japanese house, did jack all for 30 minutes, then decided to go up in the attic to check my inventory and clean up a bit. It helps to check your stuff before a convention, lest you return home with the same stuff over and over (Like the fact that I have 13(!) FW-190 kits in stock.....really). I quickly filled a box with incomplete kits and stuff suitable for wrecks, and dunked a PSC 38(t) box on top, and made my way down again.

So, lots of stuff I can use for Afrika, and what do I do?

...I go and buil myself a Armoured Supplvehicle for Barbarossa. The army that I sold off to Piers for the book a couple of years ago.....for the love of God man :). Anyway, that was 10 minutes of work. And then I had spare turret. 38(t) turrets were used in Tunisia, Sicily, Italy etc, so why not make a fitting bunker?

Looks simple enough, if a tad tall on the table, but I have a plan for that.

Template for the bunker outline, and the metal mounting plate. The underside of the turret was clipped off, sanded smooth, and I sealed the hole with a thin sheet of plasticcard with a magnet epoxied on it (which now sits inside the turret).

First 2 layers, sand the corners (didn't work perfectly but good enough for government work).

4 layers of plasticcard, I've not sanded it all the way smooth, the layering helps with the poured concrete effect when painted. The bacl hole in the back is where the doorway would be....yes, the roof would be a bit thicker then that but this is a wargames model for the table for people who don't dig holes in foam to mount bunkers into.  Mount this on a base, add some space in the back, paint the illusion of stairs and presto.

The bunker sans turret. Underneath the mounting plate is a a hole into the first 2 layers of plasticcard and a magnet epoxied into it, and the mounting plate glued on top so it is not going anywhere. I can now use the same bunker for Normandy by mounting a FT-17 turret on it, for instance.

I'll make a MG and Mortar Tobruk in the same fashion and send both off to the Hobbyden for casting as Piers mentioned he would like a couple and Bryan likes them too.

Right, that is it for now, I'm slightly deceased after taking a trip to the TWENOT event at the Overloon museum today....a single crutch and 3 bags full of model kits don't really mix. I did not recognise the museum anymore, it's completely different from the one I went to as a child. Back then I felt all tanks looked big, but this time I came eye to eye with the restored Panther and it blew me away. I picked up my pre order, a few boxes from the 2nd hand stalls, and the paintset for Caunter. I was pretty beat after an hour or so, decided to leave, drove to the Supermarket for a simple lunch as the canteen was way to expensive for my wallet, and when I wanted to leave I suddenly remembered I had forgotten to pick up another pre order! Crap. So I went back, picked it up, and then found out there was a salesbooth hiding behind the Panther! I picked up a real gem there, but more about that later this week.....

To boldly go.....pink?

I decided I wasn't busy enough yet and did something I should have done aaaages ago. I set up a Dutch Battlegroup FB page. Now I can finally start to take in how many are interested, what scale or scales they use, what kind of questions they have and perhaps find a way to do a meetup for people who are interested in learning about the game and giving it a try. Well, that is the plan anyway.

Then real life intervened as due to a miscommunication Kim actually wanted me to clear out the girls room and replace everything with new furniture in 2 days time (GREAT) and on the 2nd day, in the eraly hours we got a phonecall from my dad telling us both girls are sick, please pick them up asap as they kept us up all night. Best laid plans and all that....I rushed through the building process, cursing along the way, but we got it finished and Kim picked up the kids as my knees are now really shot. As sick as they were though, they loved seeing ther new layout, beds etc, and fell asleep in record time.

The room when I was finished....Kim then came in for cleaning, matress covers, sheets etc. Supergirly, superpink, and the first thing they did when they saw the bed is stuff their stuffed animals in the little house at the end. So cute :)

Dead tired, but a lot less stressed out now. The payment for school has been sorted, I'm slowly getting the hang of typing blind, and I've sold over a dozen kits in the past week so just made a preorder for 1 box of S-Models Crusader I/II's, 1 box of S-Models Matilda CS and 1 box of Roden Armoured Car 1920 for pick up at the TWENOT meeting at Overloon in March. I had preferred to pick up 2 boxes of Crusaders but alas, he only had one left. This will be the start of my British force for Afrika. I had planned thne Light Mark VI's to have been the start, but the JB Model comes without sand channels so I've put those in the BEF box for later. The PSC Mark 9 is now also put in the Afrika box and one box gives me a full unit. Now to raid the bits box as there should be a spare 40mm Bofors plus tow there somewhere. Troops can come later, Piers keeps dropping hints about something from PSC and I'm pretty curious about it.

And there seems to be some grand conspiracy about getting my room back in order...every time I plan to make an effort of clearing it, something else unexpected pops up and ruins it. And I'm stuck in some mental blockade that I want a lot of this mess gone and sold before I do anything useful hobby wise.

Oh well, that gives me more time to find a Caunter colour I like and can replicate a ton of times (and does not have any blue in it). Oh, and 2 kilos of 0.6mm floral wire is a lot of wire! But it will be fun, I say.

On the first week of school, my teacher gave to me....

A splitting headache, for starters! :D Nothing that unusual, ever since the accident I have them 3-5 days a week, but only in the evenings. It will pass though, I think my brain just has to get to grips being used in a very different then usual. First class on monday (20 minute drive became a 60 minute drive due to traffic jams, I'll have to remember that) was 3 hours on the Dutch language - spelling mostly. I've never been great at spelling tests (aka I really suck at them) but the chapter we got was very to the point and after a good read I was able to finish each set of 20 questions with 3 errors on average. And the errors I did make is something I can work on. Since I made my tests on  my notebook (a old school paper one btw) the test book is still clear so I can repeat the test at my leasure anc check for the correct answers. After about 6 tests the teacher signed me off on this chapter as it was pretty clear I can spell in Dutch and other then refreshing my memory, no real issues popped up. She then took some time explaining the course to me, how it works with exams, that I must attend each lesson and there can be no exceptions unless you are really sick (and I have no intention of skipping any classes as this is very important to me and I'm highly motivated.) And then 3 hours had come and gone already!

My homework for the day was math, and lots and lots of math, all kinds of it. And a calculator is not allowed.....just the way I like it. I'm actually better at it then spelling, and made a lot less mistakes, except 1 entire column where I kept forgetting to add the same thing over and over.....but that's just sloppyness and/or not having done those kind of calculations since 2007 when I left my job as a sales employee (and even there rarely). So I spent a good 2 hours doing my homework and then I just kept it up till the kids came home.

Next day, again school from 9-12 but in a different city and one that is known for it's traffic jams so I though, let's leave 15 minutes earlier then yesterday. And what do you know it, no traffic jams what so ever on my route. I arrived more then an hour before class, I arrived so early the building the class would be in wasn't even opened yet. Jay. When it did open I just took a desk in the lobby, grabbed my homework and starting checking everything with a calculator. The teacher arrived 15 minutes before the class started, and then I took another 3 hours of math tests just to complete the book and to make sure it all stuck in my head. Homework for next week is the first chapter of the Word 2010 book (I have the 2013 version at home) and to put the roster she gave me into my online agenda so I know what to train for and what homework to make and when my tests are. Though what I've done now in 2 days isn't actually covered till 3 months into the course......good reasoning behind that from the teacher. Better see how good I can spell and do math now, then wait 3 months at which point we can't cortrect it anymore. So, 2 mornings a week till the first week of June, and then 1 morning a week till November, and a 6 week holiday in the summer time.

I'm well motivated and I'll setle into a routine quick enough I think. If for some reason I can't study during the day I'll just take a set at the kitchen table with a cup of tea in the evening and work till it is finished. If I need to practice things on the PC I can do that too, but it's rather cluttered here atm so better get that sorted before next week to create a better working environment.

First Aid class is going pretty fast too, we have almost finished the book, we have a week off next week, and after that we will just practice, practice and practice some more till it's time for the test. We have been asked, if we get our diploma's, to help with a big training excercise a few weeks after our graduation. If I got the geste correctly it would be a simulated explosion/fire at the local church so a bit of everything. casualty wise.

Tuesday is a bit manic though, morning class, get home asap and take over the kids from Kim, and then First Aid in the evening and I've declared wednesday to be a resting and reading (and Blogging) day.

Final note before I start on the hobby stuff is that I've placed my updated resume on job sites and I've received 3 emails this week. 2 are a bit of a joke as they are in Ireland and in the Czech Republic, and my resume clearly reads that I'm willing to travel to work no more then 1 hour / 50 km. My knee just can't take much more then that, especially in traffic jams with continuous use of the clutch. But the 3rd one is a for a job at a printers for commercial support staff near Eindhoven Airport (a good 20 minutes from here (45-60 during rush hour) and I have a meet and greet this friday afternoon. I'm not expecting much of it, I mean I just started my training, but it will be a good excercise in promoting myself and maybe making an new contact for the future.

Right, hobby time......

I helped a few friends by reposting their sales posts in the appropriate groups that I'm a member off and both managed to sell everything that same evening. I'm happy, they are happy, and I score some more Brownie points. I sold a couple of kits this week, and some Warhammer stuff, nothing major, and decided to put all the Italians I gathered up sofar up for sale in on big bundle. If anyone is interested,

4x boxes of Italian vehicles (4 tanks, 1 AT truck) for 40 Pounds plus shipping or your best offer, and 4 Italian aircraft (Early to Mid Afrika cmpaign) for 30 Pounds plus shipping or your best offer. Take everything and I will split the shipping costs with you.

They are going because with Erik focussing on the Germans I really should focus all of my efforts on the British, and the Italians, while interesting, just don't seem to capture my imagination so much. So they can go.

Other then that, not much has happend here, but I'm delighted Piers posted a pic from the new Tobruk book....

PSC A9 Cruiser tanks. They look lovely :)

Also he posted the planned release schedule:

April 2017 - Battlegroup Tobruk
Autumn/Winter 2017 - Battlegroup 'Spring Awakening'
April 2018 - Battlegroup Westwall
Autumn/Winter 2018 - Battlegroup Iwo Jima

Discussion is ongoing for a release date for our first non-WW2 release - Battlegroup NORTHAG.

Earlier, PSC posted their planned release schedule for 2017 and onwards.

• 15mm German SdKfz 231 8 rad armoured car
• 15mm British Universal Carrier (and variants)
• 1/72nd German SdKfz 231 8 rad armoured car
• 15mm Modern Soviet T55 tank
• 15mm Valentine
• 1/72nd Valentine
• 15mm Sexton
• 1/72nd Sexton
• 1/72 A10 Cruiser Tank

In the Pipeline

• 15mm Steyr heavy car
• 1/72nd Steyr heavy car
• 1/72nd Tiger I with zimmerit
• 15mm Stuart M3
• 1/72nd Stuart M3
• 1/72nd SU76
• 15mm SU76
• 15mm Lee/Grant
  
• 1/72nd Lee/Grant
• 15mm 250 neue Halftrack
• 1/72nd 250 neue Halftrack
• 1/72nd Universal Carrier Conversion Kit
• 1/72nd 17 pdr with M5 Halftrack tow
• 15mm 17 pdr with M5 Halftrack tow
• 15mm 88mm and tractor 

Of the up and coming releases, the Valentines and  A10 Cruiser are on my wanted list. A 20mm Fastbuild T-55 would be nice but doubtful as the market is flooded with cheap Die casts (which I hate and refuse to use). Of the future releases, I'm looking forward to the Stuart M3, Lee/Grant and the Su-76. The Carrier conversion kit  sounds nice but I have no idea when they would release that and I feel my first 2 sections would/should be done before that.

Good times to do 20mm.

Now a final note before I take some much needed R&R, I've managed to find every single box of Epic that I have and I will be putting that up for sale soon. I had planned to in vest it in Wikkywok buildings and AB troops but lately my PC has been freezing up almost every evening as it just can't keep up with my use.....so I might have to reserve funds so to that sorted first.... 

Take care and cu again later this week :)

I survived Crisis....and got more then a T-shirt.

Well, I didn't get a T-shirt, just a L sized Plastic Soldier Company polo to fit over my XL frame. Talk about form fitting!

Kudos to the TSA. Antwerp is a bloody mess with roadworks everywhere but their FB page was up to date and markings had been set up at all the turns needed to get there. I got there at 9:00, and was fully expecting to have to set up shop like last year, only to find Will and Ross already having done most of the work. I handed over my offerings of Belgian beer and Dutch treats, put on my Polo and went to work, as the place was already packed with browsing shopkeepers, TSA staff and people doing demos. It stayed crazy busy till 13:00, with a small cue most of the time, after which it died down just a little. By then several items had already been sold out :D 20mm was in high demand this year compared to 15mm.

Around 13:30 I could go on my break and dropped off a prepaid package at Wargames Illustrated and then went to the Bring and Buy to drop off another pre paid package for Migs at a table manned by Brecht. I was told he was the one selling Warhammer stuff. Qua comedy hour with me having to ask at virtually every table if the person selling was Brecht, as everyone seemed to be selling their Warhammer tat :D Fortunately, a guy in the que overheard me and pointed me to a chap way in the back, which was Brecht. I was so relieved to drop that off as I could finally start browsing for myself.

Not a major haul, but with an average kit price of 6 euros I'm not complaining. They are all destined to become wrecks (eventually) except the Bishop and the AT-1. The AT-1 I have been eying ever since Barbarossa came out, and I found out it had only 2 had been made and the project had been cancelled it 1936, but it is such a cute vehicle on the ubiquitous T-26 frame. Sadly, Ebay prices back then were a bit through the roof so this find was great! The Bishop I picked up cause it will go in the British forces for Afrika box. I'm normally not a artillery man (I feel it has no place on a 4x4 or 6x4 battletable) but I do like the idea of making this one day.

Then I started zig zagging the halls with my very tired legs to pick up the few pre orders that I had, and made 2 impulse buys, a TT Combat Brownstone for TNT and a full set of 20mm DAK tank commanders from Adler (new releases). The pre orders were a upgrade pack, 2 vehicles, 3 boxes of scenery and some more weathering paints. The grey blob in the lower right is a pre release cast (well, castst) I got from Ywan and that has just become nr.1 with a bullet on my painting list. You'll see. (also nice to put a face to his name....it feels like I had been talking to him for ages and I've never even seen the guy till today, and his simple rules mean so much to me :D )

Sadly none of the shopkeepers who had FoW scenery had the railway track. I had pre ordered it 6 weeks ago but the shopkeeper had been unable to get it from the UK. Cue meetings with all of the shopkeepers who sell Flames of War. Answers varied from "Leave your adress, and I will see what I can do" to "Battlefront are scum and we will drop them next year". The general concensus was is that they aren't the best at keeping promisses. But yeah, I need those tracks, so I put out some feelers for 1 or 2 boxes. That should last me forever.

 Around 16:30 we started to pack up, I set aside some boxes that I would like to purchase (sadly for me, by then the 20mm Blitz truck had been long sold out) and the new Wacht am Rhein book.

When we finished packing up, Will and Ross thanked me for all my help, all of the beer and treats, wished me a belated happy birthday and Will said, let's do the math on what you want. Here, this pile is a birthdaygift (stack of boxes). Yeah, this is a birthdaygift too (another stack of boxes). These 2 boxes have been opened so here, no charge (we really wish people would just ask us to see the contents instead of tearing open the boxes......Will can't sell them if they are torn open.) Hmm, what will I charge for this pile of boxes? I'll have to deduct that from your wages, young man. And hands me another pile of boxes and almost my full wages. Also I'm practically ordered to come and work for them next year, something I am happy to oblige.

So, what does my birthday present look like?

Yeah. Missing from this picture are 2 more boxes and the Wacht am Rhein book. Cripes, that is a lot of stuff.

I really like Will. No, not because of the gifts (well, it helps) but he keeps rehiring me every year, he knows I just like to work and sell stuff, i know almost the complete product line by heart now, and trusts me enough that he will go on his merry way sometimes and chat with fellow shopkeepers and leaves the shop to me. If only I had a every day boss that would do the same. <sigh>

With that, the long haul back to Holland started.....almost felt like I was migrating! I managed to work all day at Crisis without once sittin g down, and while my knee and feet are now killing me, I'm glad I can still do it. Sure, I'll be pretty dead tomorrow and maybe even sick for a couple of days, but it was all worth it.

Tired as I was, I just finished hanging the laundry, cuddling Emma 4 times and she kept crying for Kim (who is out for an evening of Christmas card making with her sister) and she toutched my heart when I asked her if she missed me much today and she just smiled , said yes, and then hugged me and pulled me into her crib at the same time and didn't want to let go either! And we repeated this 2 more times within the hour till she finally fell asleep.

And why not, I thought, lets clear the boxes from the living room and put them where they belong.

I think I have more PSC kits now then the average shop..... I swapped a box of modern kits last week for 2 boxes of WW2 kits that should be in next week and after that I'll sort everything into Early, Mid, Afrika and Late war piles (for the Germans that is) and I really want to start painting again.

I'm not ending this on a high note though, due to 2 things. 2 Reservations of 60 and 70 euros each had not been picked up, and to my dismay I found out I had no Internet in Belgium (I had checked last week and was told it would not be a problem) so I could not send a message to the 2 individuals.

When I arrived home I paged both, and both had managed to "forget" that they had such expensive reservations. At least one of them was so nice to ask for a shipping quote to get the stuff, but the other chap said sorry and after that I got no more replies.....which pisses me off even more as this stuff has been reserved for more then 6 weeks now and I had other buyers for it then. Oh well, live and learn. I still managed to leave Crisis with more money then I entered so Kim is happy.

Second item is that a felow blogger listed only as Blogger ( I kid you not) has been replying to new and older blogposts of mine with adverts for cheap sigarettes, soda, greencards and links to websites that help you make money off your Blog. I've been deleting around 5 of his posts....well, spam really, a week for weeks now and I just filed a complaint. I'm also thinking of setting my comments to moderated so this shit doesn't happen anymore, but not sure about that.

No pictures from Crisis from me sadly. I barely saw more then a few tables, heck, I barely saw what most shops had for sale .....and that only saves me money so it's a good thing! I'm sure plenty of people will Blog with pictures of Crisis and the pretty tables.

Now, I'm off to bed for a loooong sleep. Well, untill the kids jump on the bed anyway.

Frankenstein and a Crisis (of the good kind)

After yesterdays let down I decided to keep my head up and move on. I emailed Hasegawa for spare parts in case my seller turns out to be a dead beat (and then emailed team USA by accident, who now has directed me to our local importer....not sure what good that will do me), and then grabbed a spare PSC Panzer IV chassis to do some dryfitting.

99% perfect fit tbh. Technically it should not have 4 return rollers but 3, but the way the track is designed you can't just go cutting off bits. I'll leave that one for the purists to catch. I've plated up the underside of the casemate so you can't look through it sideways. I'll need to cut the front lower chin off the original kit and splice that to the front the PSC hull. Shave off the first 2 roadwheels and stick the metal ones to them. And plenty of the parts will go nicely on this kit. Guns like these scream out for a nice commander figure so I will go over my boxes and see who fits best.

Which brings me to Crisis. The failure to find the correct filter made me go over the list of retailers to see if anyone has them, and while I was at it, I thought why not look if anything else has my fancy too. So here's the shortlist (for now)

*Gringo 40's - He has a Saint-Chamond-Mondragon 75mm gun in his Mexican Revolution range for 5 Pounds that would be just the gun I need for my 28mm Anglican Church gun team. It's old enough at least! (some really interesting history in these guns >> Saint-Chamond-Mondragon ) I have no interest in making forces for VBCW btw. Just this gun team for funsies and to get rid of the itch. I can always sell it later. Scroll down for the gun

*PK-Pro has Mig Ammo 1506 Brown for Dark Green in stock so that is a must for me. 4 euros.

*Shellhole Scenics - 2x 4.7PaK on 36R chassis, good for Barbarossa and Overlord/Fall of the Reich and Holland/Belgium, 15 Pounds for the 2.

*Charlie Foxtrot Models - Just the swimming pool I need for TNT. 7.25 Pounds. >> Pool

*Adler - 2 or 3 packs of the new German Tank commanders for Afrika. Cause the Russian steppes got mighty dusty too. 8-12 Pounds

*Ainsty Castings - 9206 Full wheelie bin plus pile of rubbish. 4,50 Pounds. Wheelie bin

Roughly 40 euro worth of stuff for pre orders. I'm getting soft at my old age :D I've got my eye on some terrain but the compnaies discount program is a bit "vague" so I'm waiting for email confirmation before I commit to an order.

2nd Joker spent, or That spiralled out of control quickly!

Ok, a second hand lot of 20 riflemen from Portugal for 20 euros, a BTD order of SMG's, officers and a HMG for 35 euros and another second hand lot from the UK of 38 troops including 2 mortars for 40 euros today. Almost 90 troops in under a week, all BTD, all Early War, for just over a 100 euros. God I love the LAF.

With the new additions this is now fully complete troop wise.

• Command Squad - 6 men
• Infantry Squad - 7 men
• Infantry squad - 7 men
• Infantry squad - 7 men
• MG team - 3 men
• MG team - 3 men
• MG team - 3 men

I can now choose to spread the SMG's one per squad (as per the real TOE) and save some for the HQ options. Also, I've now filled the third MG team slot. With the new additions I can also field 2 80mm mortars,  a always handy weapon in Battlegroup (and real life). JP has mentioned he can supply me with a Russian greatcoated AT rifleman that should be converted to a German one for free.  So that is another slot filled in.

The 40 euro, and the Joker, came from my Crisis budget (the show, not my real life Crisis budget!) so that has now dropped to 260 euros. Yes, Crisis is in November, but I have already started planning what I need. Additions to my 20mm Kursk forces will be mostly PSC vehicles as they are so damn good, but those are something I will fill out on the day. Sofar, the only bit planned is another 100 slot paintstand for my budding Vallejo AIR and AK paint collection for the airbrush, meaning I will have 3 of them and that should fill up my desk nicely (splitting the desks into a PC only and painting only was the best decision I ever made, even if the actual event hasn't happend yet :P ) A painstand that size is another 50 euros. The 2 that I have are from Miniaturicum, and they won't be at Crisis, but several other companies do so I will have a gander at them when the time is there (and see if they offer up discounts for pre orders). If this 28mm has progressed as much as I hope it will, I might be tempted to grab a few more extra support options like a PaK and a IG, or a small car suitable for the Luftwaffe officer (for which I have a very nice Foundry model in my collection). I don't think I will go for any of the tanks, for me a 28mm game feels like it should be a infantry game, tanks feel too overpowering for me. Having said that, I don't mind fighting one in Early War, when even a ATR had a chance of putting one out of action.

Anyway, some PSC tanks, a painstand, maybe some 28mm guns. That is the plan sofar, and any money left over from the Crisis fund will be allocated to the buying of a Xbox One for when Fallout 4 comes out. I'm a huge fan of the series, and with the demise of my PC not so long ago this office desktop that I have as a replacement won't cut it.

Crisis 2014

Finally it was the 1st of November, the day of the Crisis show.

It seems that with each passing year, I seem to get exited earlier and earlier, like a child looking forward to Christmas. And thats a good thing! With my new found resolve to plan ahead, this year wasn't any different. From August, I was eveying the TSA site for news about Crisis and who would be coming this year. I used the list of traders to visit their websites to see if anything drew my interest, and noted that in my trusty Crisis Excel file. As the weeks drew closer to the 1st of November I would spend several evenings going over the list to see if I really needed the items for my projects, using the 2 week rule. Quite a bit got written off, I tell you. But, a few traders were emailed with orders and all but one paid in advance.

Crisis-day!

I picked up a mate of mine in Tilburg who wanted to go as he had some 28mm Bolt Action needs to be fulfilled, and we arrived early at the Waagnatie. The cue wasn't very long yet, and the wait was spent exchanging some bits and pieces and talking about our expectations of this years show. Sharpish at 10 the doors opened, we paid, got our yellow tag and a goodie bag.

Now I have to say I did not open the goodie bag straight away, and I probably should have, as inside was the program with a big sized map of the show. Naturally, I found that out when I got home.....

First call of duty for me was to get rid of the stuff I had brought for others, 5 years of bound Wargames Illustrated and 16 euros worth of 2 eurocents for other gamers, and exhanged that for money, a resin house and a metal Pak40.

Then the scouting mission started. I like to do a quick tour of all that is there to see if anything peaking my interest, as well as picking up the pre orders I made, as well as saying hi to traders I know personally. Like Mark from MBM models who had unearthed a cache of old Esci kits in his basement and was selling them at 5 euros a pop. He had a ton of Esci Valentines, M48A2's(?) and Bishop artillery tanks. And Will from PSC who brought his wife this year. For a change, we also glanced over the Bring and Buy. By the time I usually get there the goodies tend to be gone, but I picked up a Hasegawa Ostwind and a Attack 38T Befehlspanzer for 4 euros a piece, new in box. Now they are not in the plans for 2015, but these bargains were too good to pass up. The 38T will come in handy later in the year when PSC releases the 38T set so I can build another Early War force, MarkII, and the Ostwind turret will be spliced onto a PSC chassis. I will then sell the rest of the complete tank or convert it into a wreck.

We were now at the back of the hall, and here I found a realy nice Normandy church from Flames of War. The price was very nice, so I had high hopes for it, until I saw the model, and, as advertised on the label, a 10-15mm model. Oh well, I can always order one from Wikkywok later. I was pleasantly surprised by a shop that had quite the assortment of Mininatur, my favourite Tuft company. I picked up 2 big boxes there to supplement my basing kit, so my order to Mininatur next year can be a bit smaller. Then I stopped and stared at figure cases again like I do each year. But untill a army is finished I think it has no point of buying one, so I passed again. Maybe next year.

I picked up some more preorders and made a quick run to the car to drop everything off, and then went back to do it all over again, but this time slow and watch at the demonstration games. As always, there were a lot of displays, demogames and a few participation games going on. A particularly big and crowded 40K table turned me off, but a few tables next to that a Ork fliers table with what seemed to be converted WW2 fighters with Orks as pilots really impressed me. I did not game, and I didn't ask questions, and in hindsight I really should have as it was lovely. Just my kind of quirkyness.

So what about Impulsebuying? Well, I said no quite a lot. I saw loads of really neat items, like the roads from EWM for example, but reasoned that I would not paint them next year so it wouyld be better to hold off and wait. Now I really need good WW2 roads but they can wait, I can still do the same with sand and it is not like I will be gaming a lot next year. I did drop some euros at Foundry for some more 20mm crew and passengers and added even more stuff on top of my Sgts Mess  pre order. I picked up a Weathering magazine I heard a lot about and after reading it tonight amd pretty certain that I will get the other editions as well, as they are really useful. I also bought 2 old Wargames Illustrated with a interesting article in them for 1 euro a piece and found a PSC Zis2/3 box discounted 30%, so I took that for my Moderns games.

What about paint and weathering powders? I had planned to purchase these, but found no real deals on them, nor on brushes or powders. Since I an pondering about buying a airbrush, any powders, filters or paint that I need can wait till after I made my decision, as if I do buy one I will need paint for the airbrush anyway. The airbrushes on show were interesting, but the cheapest compressor alone was like a 180 euros and this didn't even have a air tank. The one I'm eyeing online costs 133 euro, has an airtank and comes with 2 airbrushes that may not be great but just fine for someone starting out like me. Thats my idea and I am sticking with it. And I must not forget that I will also need cleaning fluid, airbrush thinner, pippets, small trays, a stand for the airbrush, a glass cleaning..ehm, thingie and all of that will add up and stretch my current budget of 200 euros....

So, what was my loot this year?

PSC: 2 boxes of M4A4's, 1 box of 6 Pounders with Loyd carriers, 1 box of M5 halftracks, 1 box of Carriers and 1 box of Zis-2/3 guns. Also 2 Minairion Ford AA Bookmobiles
Foundry: 1 blister each of German passengers, German tank crew and British tank crew
B&B: Hasegawa Ostwind and Attack Panzer 38(t) Command
Warbases.co.uk: 2 paint racks and several 3 and 5 1 eurocent movement bases
Brother Vinni: 8 various Fallout Robots
Sgts Mess: a whole lot of weapons packs, several bits and pieces packs, a policebox, 2 greenhouses and a 1939 bus that will be painted for VBCW.
Fenris Games: 15 sheets of orange and yellow 1.5mm plasticcard from his sale a few weeks back.
Early War Miniatures (and friends): 2x 25 Pounders plus carriage, Wurfrahmen for the 251 and the French tanks and a Citroen car.
Also 2 boxes from Mininatur, 1 dark grass and 1 with several big sheets of Ivy, 2 older Wargames Illustrated, a weathering magazine and a 2nd hand Marauder Dwarven cannon plus crew that is going to be gifted to my mate Piers Brand for his birthday (which was ages ago).

All in all I had a great time, saw quite a few old friends from the hobby,  had a long chat with Will from PSC about future releases (38(t) variants coming soon!) so my apolagies to all of the customers who were waiting in line for me to finish and I did not spend too much money. Will did ask me if I want to help out again next year as Warwick and Piers will be coming over to Antwerp again to promote the Early War book (that will be released at Salute next year) and I gladly said yes as it is just too much fun to do.

Well, that's that. My British now have all they need to get started, but more about that at a later date.

Now I'm going to crash, it has been a long day......zzzzzz......

Monument 3.0 finished!

Monument to Mother Russia

The tank is stuck on top with 2 magnets and can be swapped for a 20mm version, when I get one and paint one that is. Painted to resemble one of the many monuments that for some reason get the entire running gear done in gloss black and the rest of the tank lightly weathered.

More pics

 Tank is a plastic 15mm from the Plastic Soldier Company