Felix, Author at Felix's Gaming Pages

Down at the Tank Museum

I’ve never been to the wargaming show at the Tank Museum before and it has been many years since I last visited the actual museum, but this year I did manage to get down to Bovington.

There is something rather inspiring about visiting a gaming show amongst the many different kinds of tanks and armoured cars on show. It’s one thing to see a 15 mm Tortoise on the table in an 1947 game and then just on the other side of the museum is the real prototype.

I probably spent more time looking at the exhibits than looking at the games or shopping, but there are some great exhibits. Those first tanks from The Great War were those that impressed me the most.

These metal monsters designed in an era when they didn’t really know what they were doing and there was a lot of trial and error. The Mark IX reminds us that the APC is as old as the tank.

The exhibition is great because you can get right up and close to the tanks and you get a much better understanding of the strength but also the weaknesses of the armoured fighting vehicle. You can see how tall the Sherman was for example and why those flat sides were a real target for the panzerfaust armed Germans.

Having recently enjoyed the film Fury it was great to see the real star of that film, the M4A3E8 Sherman.

On the gaming front, there were some great games on display.

Lots of traders there too ready to take your money, though I went with some ideas of getting some Sarissa Precision models they weren’t in stock and no one had any Copplestone Castings, so in the end I got one of the new 4Ground The Chicago Way buildings and some 28mm Edwardian policemen.

Steaming

So in the Old West one thing you need to do, is to rob a train! However in order to play this scenario on the table you will need a train!

I have been thinking for a while about getting a train for some Old West games. First thoughts were to get a toy train and repaint it, but knowing my history in buying stuff and not painting it, I decided that if I was going to go down this route then I would have to leave it until I had the time to do it justice. Also getting one which was the right scale and didn’t look too much toy like was also a challenge.

I also thought about getting the Dixon Miniatures model, which was nice. Another however was that this was a metal kit which means nice and heavy, but again experience tells me I would find the construction of such a kit a bit of a challenge.

So I was intrigued by the new Sarissa Precision railway range which includes an engine, various wagons and carriages, as well as track. All the models are made from laser cut and etched MDF. I was lucky enough to receive the engine and tender from the range as a present.

At a show last year I saw another manufacturer’s range of 3D models made from laser cut and etched MDF. There were old style trucks and cars, as well as tanks and armoured vehicles. The layered approach allowed for curved sides and bonnets. This was quite a paradigm shift in the use of the material, mainly used for flat surface models such as buildings.

The Sarissa train uses a similar construction methods for the boiler and from the pictures on the packaging and the website looks quite effective.

I am wondering if I can hide the layered effect on the boiler to make it look more like boiler plate than layers of MDF.

So at this time, it’s still in the shrinkwrap…

Painting the roof

After my success with painting (or colouring) my Gaslamp Alley building I looked back over my Old West buildings from Sarissa Precision and decided to paint the roof.

Looking back over a previous post back then I reflected on how to do this. For the roof I used 995 German Grey, which I did water down, to avoid painting out the etching and let it come through the paint.

I think I might add some weathering and detail to the roof later.

The Germans are coming

Though I really like the concept behind Battlefront’s World War Three game, Team Yankee, and I have the rules, I have not got any of the models as the US vs USSR hasn’t really appealed (and to be honest I have a bundle of Flames of War models still to paint).

Last year Battlefront teased us that there would be British and German models for Team Yankee and in the recent update we saw the first preview of the Germans.

There will be three new plastic kits: the Leopard 2 MBT, the Marder IFV and the Bo-105P Helicopter. Here is a nice video preview of the Leopard Tank

This is still NATO vs Warsaw Pact, but I have been reminded of an article I wrote for Wargames Illustrated back in the 1990s on a modern English Civil War set in the 1990s. Based on the break up of Yugoslavia, the background had the United Kingdom falling apart and descending into civil war. One aspect of the background was European involvement, as well as from the USA. Now with the Germans, the US and forthcoming British forces I could move the whole background back ten years and play games with British on British forces, with German allies and US forces on the side.

I am wondering what British forces they will be releasing?

Walking down Gaslamp Alley

One of recent purchases was a couple of Sarissa Precision buildings, Victorian brick buildings, part of their Gaslamp Alley range. I had bought the terrached house and the terraced shop. Here is the model from the Sarissa website.

Gaslamp Alley Terraced House

The Sarissa Precision models are laser cut MDF and come plain. I do quite like how the 4Ground models come pre-coloured and though I have few Sarissa Old West buildings, as these are made from wood, the plain MDF look works okay.

The Gaslamp Alley models are brick, so I originally decided when I was going to put mine together, I would paint them later. So when I read the instructions that it was suggested to paint the window frames and doors (which were etched onto card) and the walls before gluing them together, it meant I had to think quickly about how to paint the walls. The instructions did advise about doing it sparingly, my concern was that would the paint cover the eteching.

I took some Vallejo paint red brick colour and watered it down. I was quite apprehensive about the initial result, so had started with the chimney. However after it dried I was quite pleased with the final result.

Gaslamp Alley Terraced House

After the walls were dry I picked out some individual bricks with the unwatered down paint, and some varied brown paints.

Gaslamp Alley Terraced House

After this I painted all the walls. I wasn’t sure about the window frames, decided a wood effect would be okay, so I used a watered down brown paint and almost drybrushed it.

The model went together really easily, though with the way the walls fit to the floor, I wasn’t sure if I should fix the walls first and then put them in the floor. In the end I went with taking it one wall at a time, gluing it into the floor, and doing all four walls in one sitting, so that there was some movement whilst the glue was still wet.

Gaslamp Alley Terraced House

I was quite pleased with the end result.

Gaslamp Alley Terraced House

The building was much deeper than I thought it would be and also much bigger. I really like the model and am now looking forward to building the shop that I got at the same time. I am also adding the corner pub to my shopping list, and thinking I should get a bundle of the houses too, so I can have a proper street.

Steampunk Soldiers: The American Frontier

Those of you who are regular readers of the blog will know that I have been playing around with Old West figures and games, but have also been adding Steampunk elements to my games, as reflected in various articles published on the blog.

The new release from Osprey, is right up my street. Steampunk Soldiers: The American Frontier.

Even as the discovery and exploitation of hephaestium helped bring the Civil War to its close in 1869, the arms race it engendered resulted in a cold war just as bitter and violent as the open hostilities had been. With neither side willing to rely solely upon the talents of their scientific establishments, saboteurs, double-agents, and assassins found ample employment. Against this backdrop of suspicion and fear, thousands of Americans – Northerners and Southerners alike – headed west. Some to escape the legacies of the war, some to find their own land, some for the lure of that great undiscovered strike of hephaestium that would make them rich, and some simply to escape the law. Ahead of these pioneers stood the native tribes, behind them followed the forces of two governments, while to the north and south, foreign powers watched closely for their own opportunities. This newly unearthed collection of the works of Miles Vandercroft fills a considerable gap in our knowledge of the travels of that remarkable individual, and also provides a fascinating guide to the costume and equipment of the forces active in the great drive westwards.

It sounds like an ideal background for a steampunk version of the old west. This publication accompanies the original Steampunk Soldiers which was published in 2014.

Between 1887 and 1895, the British art student Miles Vandercroft travelled around the world, sketching and painting the soldiers of the countries through which he passed. In this age of dramatic technological advancement, Vandercroft was fascinated by how the rise of steam technology at the start of the American Civil War had transformed warfare and the role of the fighting man. This volume collects all of Vandercroft’s surviving paintings, along with his associated commentary on the specific military units he encountered. It is a unique pictorial guide to the last great era of bright and colourful uniforms, as well as an important historical study of the variety of steam-powered weaponry and equipment that abounded in the days before the Great War of the Worlds.

Both of these Osprey publications follow a typical Osprey publication with text and pictures.

If you are interested in gaming steampunk then check these publications out.

Old West Building – House with Stone Chimney

I already have two of the Sarissa Precision Old West buildings and I managed to build the third, which I have had in my cupboard for a while now. This is House – Stone Chimney 6.

This is the other side.

Like my other Sarissa Precision models, these went together really easily, and are for comparison purposes much simpler than the 4Ground models (but also as a result less detailed).

Still not sure how I am going to paint them, I have been told it is relatively simple and that the etching should still be able to be seen after painting.

New Buildings for Flames of War

I see from the latest update to the Battlefront website, there is another subscription set of “premium” buildings released for Flames of War (but would probably also be fine for Team Yankee).

This year we are launching another limited range of Premium Buildings to add some unique centrepieces to your battlefield. Each building is designed to be characterful, yet fit in with the existing Battlefield in a Box range of buildings and houses.

There are six models, a steelworks factory, a set of ruined buildings, a clock tower, a café, an estate house and a damaged eastern church. Out of the six available, my two personal favourites are the manor house and the ruins.

The Ruined Building includes a large two-storey house and two smaller houses, with extensive shelling or bombing damage, perfect for a war torn 15mm urban battle zone.

The Ruined Building includes a large two-storey house and two smaller houses, with extensive shelling or bombing damage, perfect for a wartorn 15mm urban battle zone.

As for the Estate House, this stately home will work equally well as the centrepiece of country battlefield or as a grand home or municipal building in a town street.

This stately home will work equally well as the centrepiece of country battlefield or as a grand home or municipal building in a town street.

They are also going to re-release the manor house and the farm house and barn from the previous premium subscription deal they had. I always liked the manor house, so if I can get one (from retail).

Manor House

I also quite like the farmhouse and barn which I had not seen before.

Farm House & Barn

At £35 each they are not that cheap (well not compared to the houses deal I did subscribe to), if you order them all in advance at £175 then you get the damaged eastern church for free.

So are you going to subscribe to the deal?

Down in the old west

At the weekend I had my second game using the Great Escape Games’ Dead Man’s Hand rules. The game saw my outlaws lose convincingly to Simon’s Pinkertons.

Most of the buildings (and this wagon) are from 4Ground models. These are really nice and well detailed, it shows how far laser etched MDF has come in the last few years. The models have interiors and swinging doors.

You can even do a jailbreak from the Sheriff’s Office. In front of the office is a Sarissa Precision stagecoach, alas still unpainted.

These are a couple of my old cowboys from the Dixons Miniatures range. I got these about twenty years ago (or possibly even longer). They are mounted on two pence pieces and I have upgraded their bases to fit in with my current old west miniatures, painting the base with Citadel Texture: Armageddon Dust. I drybrushed the base with Citadel Ushbati Bone. I then stuck on some Citadel Mordheim Turf.

One thing that I do like about Great Escape Games is they provide a downloadable sheet of “shop” names that you can stick to the front of the buildings.

These are Foundry Old West figures, Ned Buck and Emmet Gates though I have a fair few Foundry figures on my workbench that are being painted.

Overall a fun game and quick to play.

4Ground 15mm Corner Bakery

One of my Christmas presents was the 4Ground 15mm Shop 4: Corner Bakery. I already have a couple of the 4Ground 15mm buildings, a pair of semi-detached houses and one of the hotels.

The Corner Bakery is a great piece of terrain to enhance your battle board. It comes pre-painted with 4Ground Base paints with high levels of internal detail as well as shop specific signage and acetate shop windows.

Each floor is removable allowing access to each one and the different rooms usable doors. To keep the floors in place there are little locking lugs in each corner. The external walls are rendered with cracked detailing and acetate window.

I mentioned in a previous post on my Sarissa Precision Old West Buildings about how much I liked the concept of laser-etched mdf buildings.

The 4Ground models are pre-painted and come with a bundle of components. The corner bakery is much more complex than either the semi-deteached houses or the hotel I had made before.