Painting more Rebel Troopers

In the Star Wars Legion starter box you get fourteen Rebel models, with two each of seven variations. There are two offices, four with heavy weapons and eight “regular” troopers. Having started to revisit my Star Wars Legion Rebel Troopers, flocking their bases and giving them a white undercoat the next stage will be painting them. I spent some time planning the painting of my Star Wars Legion Rebel Troopers.

As there are duplicate models in my collection of Rebel Troopers, that gives me an excuse to use different colours across the force. Seven will be mainly green and seven will be mainly light brown. Initially I painted a couple of models, one with Militarum Green contrast paint and the other Snakebite Leather. This worked for me, so I painted the rest of the Rebel Troopers.

Basing the Bolt Action Royal Navy Section

When I reflected on possible forces for Operation Sea Lion games I was looking around to see what is available. One unit that has been released which caught my attention was the Warlord Games Bolt Action Royal Navy section. So I bought a box.

Armed primarily with the reliable Lee Enfield rifle and often supported by a Lewis machine gun, sections of highly disciplined and well-equipped naval ratings with considerable experience of close combat fighting are a fearsome opponent.

Clad in their dark blue uniforms and 1908 pattern webbing these Jack Tars will provide a dash of colour to an otherwise khaki British force.

As the war progressed, it was Royal Navy Commandos or Royal Marines who would lead shore parties rather than Navy sailors. However in the realms of Operation Sea Lion you can easily imagine German Fallschirmjäger attacking a British Navy base to secure it to defuse any opposition. The only thing they weren’t expecting was some sailors to fight back.

Another idea would be, following a German invasion and the establishment of a successful beachhead with troops moving inland, the British command send in a Royal Navy shore party secretly to rescue a key scientist who has been left behind the lines in a seaside resort. The shore party need to find the scientist, whilst avoiding Wehrmacht patrols. They may have the support of local defence volunteers, potentially even members of an Auxiliary Unit.

Of course these Naval forces will also be suitable (as will my other Sea Lion British forces) for games set in the realm of A Very British Civil War.

You can see how in the turmoil of a British internal conflict, local militia attempting to secure weapons from a naval base, find that it wasn’t going to be as easy as they thought. They did bring a hastily improvised armoured civilian truck, however then the Molotov cocktails started to rain down on them.

The rules for the Royal Navy section can be found in the Bolt Action Campaign Sea Lion expansion. When I first read this campaign book, I didn’t expect that Warlord Games would release “obscure” units such as this for the game, however I have been pleasantly surprised by the variety and number of releases for the expansion. I am probably thinking in the past of rule publications that “talk the talk” but due to a range of issues didn’t “walk the walk”. Part of this was probably down to the fact that there were companies who made miniatures and then there were companies who published rules. There were a few who did both, but not many. Warlord Games are one of those companies who do both, and do both well; you can tell their Games Workshop heritage in their business practices.

The boxed set contains ten models. A petty officer leading the squad armed with SMG. There is a two man Lewis Gun LMG team, which will provide much needed fire support against an Fallschirmjäger attack.

There are seven unique sailors all with rifles and three have Molotov cocktails. Well that Lee Enfield isn’t going to be much use against those Jerry Panzers!

Though I have been working on a Great War Mark IV Tank to provide them with some armour.

The first stage was to clean the miniatures, and base them.

Rather than use the included plastic bases, I used some two pence pieces, which add more weight to the model and also lower their centre of gravity making them less likely to fall over during a game.

I used Citadel Sand for the bases, to give texture.

The next step will be giving them a white undercoat.

Munitorum Armoured Containers

One of my Christmas presents was the Battlezone: Manufactorum – Munitorum Armoured Containers.

I did like these when they came out, but had never got around to buying a box.

The perfect purchase for anyone looking to put some variety on to their Warhammer 40,000 gaming table, the Munitorum Armoured Containers set is a versatile, easy to assemble collection of scenery pieces. They can be freely stacked and arranged in any way you please – use them as cover, break lines of sight, and to add chokepoints and strategic interest to your games of Warhammer 40,000!

In the box you get three identical sprues. Each sprue allows you to build a container, three oil cans and four ammo boxes.

The models are quite simple, so should go together quite easily.

I am thinking about using two sprues as is, and then converting the third into Orkish versions.

Zone Mortalis: Floor Tile Set

One of my Christmas presents, was the Necromunda Zone Mortalis: Floor Tile Set.

These highly detailed pieces of terrain allow you to build your very own dark and gritty corner of the Necromundan Underhive. They can be used to make a variety of board sizes, from narrow corridors and abandoned dwellings, to sprawling industrial complexes. This contains a set of four 12″ square plastic Zone Mortalis floor tiles.

I had been thinking for some time in getting this set, for small games of Warhammer 40000, but also for games of Star Wars: Legion. So was pleased to get a box for Christmas.

In terms of painting, I am thinking simplicity, dark grey base coat, drybrushing and weathering. I have some Forge World weathering powders as well.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas
and a Happy New Year

May your stocking be full
of the right kind of presents

Basing Darth Vader

Darth Vader was one of the first models I constructed for Star Wars: Legion.

Using some Citadel Sand I landscaped Vader’s base.

The next stage will be a white undercoat. Despite the fact that Vader is mainly black I think the white will help the black cover better.

I will also need to sort out his light sabre.

Sopwith Pup

The Sopwith Pup is a British single-seater biplane fighter aircraft built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It entered service with the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps in the autumn of 1916. With pleasant flying characteristics and good manoeuvrability, the aircraft proved very successful and was regarded by many pilots at the perfect flying machine.

This Pup was at RAF Cosford. Built in 1916 and flew on the Western Front. It was extensively rebuilt this plane was recovered from France around 1960.

It last flew in 1976.

Many thought the name “Pup” was undignified and wanted the aircraft to be referred to as the Sopwith Scout, which did more than anything else to ensure the name Pup was used.

74-Z Speeder Bikes

The 74-Z speeder bike was a model of speeder bike used by the Galactic Empire for combat reconnaissance purposes during the Galactic Civil War. They were usually piloted by scout troopers and were able to jam comlinks. All machinery the Empire deemed unnecessary was stripped off to maximize the speeder bike’s speed.

In the Star Wars Legion box you get two 74-Z speeder bikes with Scout Trooper riders.

The models go together really easily and I like the look of them.

The next stage will be a white undercoat. I did think about doing a black undercoat. Storm troopers appear to be wearing black with white armour plates. Giving the models a white undercoat doesn’t stop me from painting them (all) black, but I think I will try and avoid that. Another reason for a white undercoat is the bikes will be brown.

Basing the Imperial Stormtroopers

Stormtroopers were the infantry soldiers of the Galactic Empire. The members of the Imperial Army’s Stormtrooper Corps served on the frontline as elite shock troops, and their loyalty to the Empire was absolute as a result of their training. The stormtrooper armor that they wore consisted of white plastoid plates over a black body glove, and their standard weapon was the E-11 blaster rifle.

In the Star Wars Legion box you get fourteen Stormtroopers, eight (regular) Stormtroopers, four heavy weapons and two unit leaders.

After constructing the Imperial forces I stuck them to their bases. Like my Rebel Troopers I have been using Citadel Sand for the bases of my Star Wars Legion Imperial Stormtroopers.

Here are the four regular troopers. I have two each of these.

There are two troopers with heavy weapons. The kneeling Stormtrooper has the HH-12 rocket launcher. The other is armed with a DLT-19 heavy blaster rifle.

The unit leaders are armed with a blaster pistol.

Constructing the Imperial Stormtroopers

In the Star Wars Legion box you get fourteen Stormtroopers, eight (regular) Stormtroopers, four heavy weapons and two unit leaders.

The unit leaders are armed with a blaster pistol.

Here are the regular troopers.

All together there are eight model of four variants.

There are four troopers with heavy weapons. The kneeling Stormtrooper has the HH-12 rocket launcher. The other is armed with a DLT-19 heavy blaster rifle.

This kneeling Stormtrooper has the HH-12 rocket launcher.