Kickstarter Roundup: Week of 30 Sep 2013

As it turns out, the week turned out to be kind of hectic, but the delay did let me include a couple of interesting Kickstarters…

The Bones be Back

Reapers Bones II kickstarter is now back. I didn’t take part in the first one, but it was big. Is this one going to be big? Not going to even dignify that with a response. It’s already over 1 million in funding, and that’s just a couple of days in.

But I’m not likely to take up. The stuff are mostly fantasy, and are diverse enough that it’s mostly useful for RPG, or for its own sake. There’s only really one that I’m interested in. So.. pass. 🙂

Continue reading

Kickstarter Roundup: Week of 23 Sep 2013

Thinking about doing a semi-regular series, since I poke my head in once in a while. Usually in the Games/ Tabletop section, but I get around. Generally I look for things that are interesting to me, so the following is really just my opinions.

So this week..

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/defiancegames/28mm-power-armor-hardsuits-defiance-games

I like the concept, but it’s a little too close to MaK for comfort. The number of minis per box seems good, but it’s a small company, might have issues. I’d watch it, but.. after nearly 20 years in the hobby, I don’t really need more stuff.

Continue reading

BAM: And It’s a Wrap, Folks! (Yeah, right.)

So, that Brit army I keep wailing on? Yeah it’s pretty done. The last step was basing, and for some stupid reasons I kept forgetting where my flock is. Ended up digging quite hard for the stuff and found a tub of Army Builder Grass Green. Like these as they aren’t your usual flock, more like thick sawdust which has a look that appeals to me. Anyways…

20130923-144230.jpgFirefly with my “advancing” squad. Casual buggers at the back.. Well the size difference between the Tamiya and the Warlord BAM miniatures really show up here. Warlords being more thick-headed. 🙂

Continue reading

BAM: Sherman Firefly

So yeah, I’ve been working on the Sherman Firefly. More or less finished, just need to do a bit of weathering.
20130919-180320.jpg
20130919-180332.jpg
20130919-180402.jpg
The Firefly paints up quite nicely, not having too many details on the outer hull that requires attention. Quite like the last pic.. 17 pdr does have a nice stretch to it. There is a bit of weathering on the Firefly, but as it turns out Vallejo Panzer Aces Dark Mud and Vallejo Russian Uniform are so close that you have to squint in order to see the differences. I’d have to go over it with not so Dark Mud later.

Other than that, there’s a bit of Sepia wash done to bring out the finer details, so not much weathering. No, I’m not going to do the half-barrel camo that 17 pdrs often are depicted in… That’s overdone already.
20130919-180422.jpg
Not saying that it was all smooth going.. Even with only 3 bogies a side, that still adds up to twelve road wheels to do. It’s just kind of monotonous to work through those.
20130919-180440.jpg
The track gave me some issues. The long sections were fine, although the top section needed a ruler to keep it down on the return rollers while the plastic cement did its work. The curvature around the drive sprocket and the idler wheel comprises of individual links though, and that was annoying to work with. The drive sprocket in particular.. The links could pivot down and the. You suddenly end up without a proper contact point for the next link. I ended up ramming a metal rod — actually a reamer — in to keep the link up while the cement cured.

Overall I liked the assembly of the Sherman Firefly and the painting wasn’t too bad either. It was just a few items that made it a bit more annoying. I won’t want to put together another Sherman in the near future, but they are rather fun kits to work with.

BAM: Yet Another Batch of Recruits

Well there are times when I feel like I’m a trainer at one of our Army recruits training centers. Every so often, a new batch of freshly assembled minis would pass through..

So on Monday, a new batch of BAM Brits came through the door, and I started by getting them into uniform and basic flesh tones:
20130829-082909.jpg
I actually managed to get ahead of myself by putting down a layer of black for the webbings. Normally those go on the second day.

Continue reading

BAM: Platoon Ready!

So I managed to get enough Brits painted up at the start of the week to form a minimum sized BAM force:
20130824-192337.jpg
And took some more photos today with some terrain I have lying around.
20130824-192419.jpg
My Lieutenant and one squad moving up.
20130824-192430.jpg
Quite like the above shot as I managed to frame it almost totally just using the iPad.
20130824-192441.jpg
The second squad firing from cover. Made me realise that this terrain actually doesn’t quite support a squad with hard cover fully.. which is good, from a terrain perspective.
20130824-192450.jpg
Another view of the firing squad.

Going to have to work on another squad, then some specialists, before I can move on to the two vehicles I have in this force. But, a milestone. 🙂

BAM: In the Trench

20130816-015212.jpg
So, I had a slight fall this evening and as a result did an inspection on the minis I was carrying. Turns out a few base chips (I was using wood filler, so no surprise), one broken Bren barrel (which broke previously already), so it wasn’t too bad. But since the minis are out… 🙂
Continue reading

Exactly What’s On The Box

20130811-200800.jpg
So recently, I picked up Renedra’s Ramshackle Barn. Renedra produces, amongst other things, a limited number of building kits, and I’ve been curious to see what they are like. Recently my Bolt Action minis started to require certain specific bases, which Renedra does produce, so. I put in an order for bases with them and since I’m getting those, might as well spring for one of their building kits. And who doesn’t need  a ramshackle barn somewhere on the table? 🙂
Continue reading