Monday, August 31, 2009

A new Spacehulk on the way!


While I do not collect or play any Games Workshop games, I still read White Dwarf regularly, just so I can keep up with it... I've been collecting White Dwarf since the very earliest issues and have just about every one from issue 100 on.

Anyway, I was THRILLED to see that not only is Space Hulk being re-released, but it is coming back with a VENGEANCE!

The miniatures that come with it are STUNNING; probably the most beautiful non-Perry plastics I've ever seen. I love that the Genestealers are so... well, creepy and creeping and nasty:) And the Marines look great.
I must say I am also happy that they look to have gone back to the first edition for the rules! No more "special" dice... I always liked the simplicity of regular dice, and I am glad they seem to be getting back to that... and judging by the flamer template they have gone back to that simpler mechanic too.

Only bad news? I can't afford the game:( A hundred bucks is not cheap, and unfortunately, after buying multiple sets back in '89, I don't think I can buy a new one:(

Still, great to see an old face return... albeit with a touch of botox!

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Some photos of ACW, Napoleonics and WWII Germans...

Hey all! Just thought I would throw some photos up... I was recently lent a super nice camera by my father-in-law, and am now familiar enough with it to take a few decent photos. So; here are three!

First up, the shot of a 15mm German 88 position at the top. The trench was made by a buddy of mine to fit two guns. It is a pretty cool little piece, and when it is correctly flocked into the table it looks pretty sharp.


Next up is a shelf shot of my OLD school 15mm ACW figures. I painted these many, many, many years ago when I was a kid... they are mainly Stone Mountain and somewhat craptastic, but whatever, a nice dense group of troops is always fun to look at, even if they are pretty poorly painted.

Next, here is the command of my 25mm Napoleonic French army! Obviously I have shot them before, but...

Then finally, to finish off the ACW photos, here are two shots of the beginning of my 25mm ACW collection... two units and a brigade commander isn't much to look at, but it is a start, and I must say, these guys paint up pretty quick. If only Games Workshop varnish wasn't such rubbish it would be three units...

So... now I am wondering if I should go back and rephotograph all of my soldiers! I probably won't because it would be an AWFUL lot of work... for now, I am off to paint a bit... I have some 25mm Napoleonic Austrians who are all undercoated and ready to go!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Painted very small soldiers...


Well, I threw a little paint on these guys, just to see how they would look!

Here they are with some 10mm British and some 25mm ACW Federals... the smallest guys are TINY!!

I painted them up as French troops; doing the blanket rolls and turnbacks took an extra second, but it wasn't really that hard. I tried to make the packs look correct (i.e. the cow pattern) but I am not sure it worked...?

Anyone have any guesses as to the size of these guys?

Some VERY small soldiers...


Hey all!

I've had these guys sitting around for a long, long time.

They are Napoleonic soldiers of a VERY small scale. They were actually given to me by the father of a student... he owns a machining/fabricating business that makes jewelry, but apparently a client asked that he make these guys. Knowing I had a real affection for toy soldiers, he brought them in and gave them to me!

Now, they are TINY; I included a shot with some 10mm troops to give you an idea of how small they are. However, they are VERY nicely detailed; you can really see a LOT of detail on them, unlike the metal equivalents. I told him he might be able to make some money selling them... would anyone be interested in buying them?

Saturday, August 15, 2009

A gift from Paris!


Well, one of the huge advantages to having a father who is one of the premier antique book collectors in the world who also happens to own a small pied a terre in Paris AND who enjoys my love of things Napoleonic is that you get some wonderful gifts as he finds some amazing things in his time in book and print stores!

In the past he has brought back all sorts of goodies that now adorn my war room, including a wonderful book of prints and a print of Napoleonic French cavalry, a handkerchief produced by the French to teach their conscripts the intricacies of soldering life, and a fantastic print of Napoleonic French musicians and officers.

However, he may have outdone himself this time! In a small print shop in Paris (where even the bags are beautiful... check it out to the left) he found this collection of twenty-some-odd French Guard prints from approximately 1812. They are really delightful; beautifully colored, and the engravings are ever-so-sharp.

Anyway, any suggestions on how to frame them is very welcome! I was thinking of doing three or four per frame (which would give me about five frames worth.) Individually could be neat, but... and the greatest problem is that I am almost completely out of space in the wargames room! Not totally sure what I will do, but I'll come up with SOMETHING... maybe even individually framed and put around the kerchief?

Thursday, August 13, 2009

The Workbench


Hey all!

Well, I finished up another unit of 25mm ACW Federals, making the current count a massive two!

It would have been 3 if not for craptastic Games Workshop varnish, but we won't dwell on that... lest my skin turn green and I pop out of my purple pants.

Hm. That sounded terrible.

Anyway... here are my ACW Federals, along with their brigade commander, who I think turned out quite nice!

I also included a shot of the dead, who are spread among the units and include a few conversions.

Good stuff!

Friday, August 7, 2009

The Workbench


Well, I got the Federals undercoated and mounted... now to put some paint on the bases, some flock, drybrush the rocks, attach the flags and paint the poles, and then touch up the base edge, and these fellows are done!

The casualties are pretty cool; I thought it might be too much, but the trick is that one stand from this unit will be switched with one from the first unit so both have casualties spread among them; I had forgotten when I did the first unit that I had bought them with casualties in mind!

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

The Workbench


Hey all!

Well, slowly but surely I'll start getting posts up again on the blog... I was out of town and busy for a while, and have started work on a new computer project, so these take up some time. However, while I was out of town I managed to finish up a new unit of 25mm Federal Infantry. Man the dip makes them SHINY! They are currently sitting and drying after being varnished, and I can only hope and pray (I did spray a test figure and he was fine) that my move to Testors Dullcoat will help my spray problem:(

Sunday, August 2, 2009

More updates coming in the next week...

Hey all!

Sorry it has been a while since I updated; life has gotten a bit busy! However, in the next two weeks I'll get back to regular posting, so fear not, lots more to come! And if you have any requests about what you want to see, please let me know!

Thanks!