Some New Toys

Its been a strange start to the year. I have yet to pick up a paint brush but I have managed to acquire a bunch of new lead. Yesterday I started to go through what I picked up.

First up is the US Infantry that I received last week. These are Cold War era US troops. There are very few poses. There are a bunch of fellows running, a few standing and shooting and a few kneeling and shooting. Then there are a few other sorts mixed in. I grabbed three packs in total and it provided enough for my 1980s Platoon.

The minis appear to be a bit on the small side. The prone figures are unbased. There is a lack of clear officer or NCO figures in the pack. There are some figures that look like a guy might be throwing a grenade. Those were promoted to squad leaders. Overall, I am OK with the figures but they are not the best. If Khurasan or Eureka were to come up with something, I would drop these for the newer figures.

I also splurged on some terrain. I grabbed the Battlefront Mosque and Mosque walls off of Amazon. It is a nice size piece of terrain and will be great for a Western Desert game of Chain of Command.

Next up is a moment of weakness while cruising through eBay. I noticed a pack of Baudea Romans They are the AUC1 work detail pack. I really don't need these figures and they were a complete impulse buy. I really need to learn a bit of restraint.

Last up was the arrival of my winnings from a blog contest. I am now the proud owner of a bunch of Napoleonic Prussians in 15mm. These are great figures and perfect for creating a small force for Sharp Practice. What I now have is 31 infantrymen, two NCO types, three officers, three standard bearers and three drummers. These are great! The only downside is having to paint them.

Painting totals for 2015 still stands at 0.

January 20th and 0 Progress

I don't know how this happened but I have not even picked up a miniature to paint since the year started. How is the time speeding by so fast. I have not worked at all on my West Virginia campaign either. Anyone else had a slow start?

Back from Vacation and Look What I Found Waiting For Me

Paul Smith from the End Transmission blog recently did a contest and I found out that I had won. I received a box on my desk this morning. Contained within were a vast array of goodies. There are two plastic miniatures in gray plastic. One might be a zombie with a samurai sword and the other is a dapper looking chap holding a pistol in one hand. He could be from the cover of the old Top Secret book. Next was a bag of tokens from Wargames Tournaments. These look like they would make fantastic Jump off Points for a desert game of Chain of Command. At least this is how I plan on using them. Next up is a plastic sprue of what looks like 28mm Republican Roman troops. They appear to be skirmishy type fellows. These are very tempting. Next up is a robed fellow who looks like he could be a ring wraith or death or something like that. Then there are what appears to be 4 infinity figures. All in rather dramatic poses.

Thank you so much Paul. These are nifty.

Next up I received a great book from Edwin over at the Depressed Diplomatist site - Barbarossa Through Soviet Eyes. Fantastic book on Soviet point of view of the first 24 hours of Operation Barbarossa. This is something I have been looking for and am very glad to have received it. It was reasonably priced and I cannot complain at all about the shipping from the UK. Honestly, he has my favorite bookstore now. I told him what I was interested in and he kept an eye out until he found this gem. I am a very happy guy.

The disappointing part is the missing figures from Old Glory 15s. I ordered them on December 29th but still no sign. I will just have to be more patient.

I will post some pictures once I get home.

Planning Stages - Cold War gone Hot

Having received my Secret Santa present, my mind is whirring on what to do with it. I have three full squads of Cold War era Brits based on the TO&E that I found online. I need a few more packs for the Platoon Command section and four vehicles (FV432) to round out the base platoon. But what supports do they need or would likely have available? I am really unsure of what to get or even what would be reasonable.

For the Soviets, I have started expanding their forces. My order just came in from Eureka USA. I have a tripod mounted HGM and one of those automatic grenade launchers. Both only have a crew of 2 at this point, but a couple more guys with AKs would round them out. Both of those would be battalion level support elements. I am not sure what other support I should get them. Any ideas?

I also picked up their models with the Soviet equivalent of the M203 strapped under an AK. Not sure when those went into use with the Soviets. It may not be appropriate for an early 1980s force. Eventually I will buy some more armor for them. I want three T-62s and three T-72s for the armor. Enough that there is a platoon each. At the moment, I just have a single Syrian T-55 to proxy in.

My US force is coming together. I have ordered the miniatures for the infantry and am still waiting on them to arrive. I received my IrishSerb M113s. What I lack is armor and support weapons. What would be useful for troops based in Europe in 1982 or so?

Secret Santa, Santa Clause and Welcomes

Santa Clause

I am pleased to report on the wonderful pieces that I have received from my Santa Clause. Since I was running the Santa Clause, I knew who was painting the miniatures that I received. I did not pick but it was the result of a random number draw. I have to say I am very happy with the miniatures that I received.

The miniatures are wonderful Peter Pig French Civilians from their WWII range. I will definitely be using these. They were wrapped and included a very thoughtful card. Well done. They came wrapped and had a card included. I was a very happy boy Christmas Morning. Thank you Ian for letting me be a part of the fun.

Secret Santa

This was my first year in participating in Ian's Secret Santa program. I have no clue who my secret Santa is as my wife snatched up the gift as soon as it arrived and wrapped it as she did not want the mailing envelope under the tree. I know roughly where it came from based on the manufacturer.

What was there when I opened the package was nearly a complete 15mm Modern British Platoon in berets. I was very pleased. They are QRF miniatures. I received two packs of advancing infantry, a pack of GPMG wielding fellows, a pack with Carl Gustavs, and a Command pack. This is great. I really don't need much more to round out the platoon headquarters.

Looking at what else I need, it looks like QRF will be one stop shopping. They have FV432's as well. A big thank you to my Secret Santa. This is well appreciated. Any suggestions on how to paint these fellows?

Welcomes

Apparently, I am not paying attention as I looked today and there are three new followers. Welcome!

First up is Tim Gow of Interbellum and Megablitz and More. Interbellum is interesting and I had never seen it before. The site seems to be about imaginations campaigns including a WWII one. This will be one to follow for me. Megablitz has some nice AARs of modern games. I need to spend some time looking around.

Next is Conrad Kinch of Joy and Forgetfulness. He is a blogger I have seen commenting around other blogs and did not realize that I was not following him already. The blog is rather nice with some very nicely painted models on it. Another one I am glad to follow.

Last up is Bill. I can't find a link to Bill's blog. But welcome anyway. If you have one, let me know and I will gladly post a link.