09JUN15 15mm Strykers

Before getting my BMP's from Khurasan, I received my QRF Strykers from the American dealer, Scale Creep Miniatures.

 Wasn't it nice of them to send me a couple of suckers?!  As you can see, I ordered three Stryker IFV, Infantry Fighting Vehicles (or is it Variants?).  These are your 'vanilla' Stryker variants, and the basis for all other variants.  There are lots.  But only the IFV's in 15mm for now that I have found.  At least for the moment.  Though in 10mm, I've seen the others, such as the Mortar Carriers, Engineering, Scouting, and others.  Common 15mm makers, catch up!  Lets just say, they are on my bucket list...  I'm a proud Styker Brigade Combat Veteran after all.

I'm pretty happy with the level of detail QRF put into these Strykers.  All hatches are modeled closed, and the bodies are pretty solid (they are 'hollow' in that on the underside they are open to save material and reduce weight).  This is not a limitation for me, as the rigors of the wargaming table would result in damage to any open hatches in this scale!  They certainly were made to be handled on the table.  Being pewter, once assembled, they commend the weight and respect traditional pewter gaming miniatures just feel they have.  It almost makes you want to use lead fishing weights on those plastic kits...

I cannot say the quality of casting was perfect.  There was quite a bit of cleanup required.  Just look at that Ma Deuce (Browning M2A3 machine gun) on the RWS (Remote Weapon System).  This barrel is shorter than spec, and tappers horribly.  I'm going to have to either live with it or cut it off and finagle a new barrel out of a needle or pin.  The racks along the rear of the hull (they aren't the standoff slat armor, and if they aren't racks, they got used that way anyway) required some pulling into shape.  The cooling of the pewter resulted in these being slightly warped.  Really, that was a minor nuisance.  One expect that from pewter, and even resin.  Some of the mold lines required some filing.  Based on the single piece cast in pewter, it was to be expected.  I didn't need any filler, again, a result of a single piece casting.  Small scale has its advantages.

OUCH, barrel melted...

Tires required a bit of cleanup on the bottom.  Not a big deal again considering they are cast from pewter.  These shapes don't always lend themselves to good mold lines.  I had to test fit and file a few to get them pretty level.  These miniatures almost don't need a base, but for uniformity they are likely going to all get glued to a 2.00 x 3.00 inch base (metric people, 25.4mm = 1.00 inches).  

Once cleanup was complete, assembly proceeded without any hitches other than assembler error with gluing the RWS onto the top of the first Stryker before priming and painting.  Don't do that.  You need to leave the RWS off so that you can rest the model on its top to prime and paint it fully.  

What the RWS and Ma Deuce should look like...

While there are some quirks to QRF's product, it is indeed solid and serviceable for the wargame table.  In fact, I'd say I'm very happy with the level of detail they put into these models and I won't hesitate to buy more when the time comes to expand my vehicle collection.  I just hope they make some more of the other variants.

07JUL2015 "BIMP" spotted...

Soviet designed, and very first, Mechanized Infantry Fighting Vehicle (MICV) BMP-1 that is.  This one is a Khurasan Miniatures  15mm/1:100 scale version.  I ordered these back in May, and they were worth the wait.  Khurasan is a small miniature company based out of New York (the state, not  the city).  While small in corporate footprint, their work is nothing less than spectacular in the world of 15mm wargaming on this side of the pond (as the majority of the hobby is produced in merry ol' England).

Being a fan of Osprey's publication of Ambush Alley Games "Force on Force" and "Tomorrows War" I jumped at the chance to spend my tax return money (thankfully I got one this year...) on a good force.  Having spent some time in service in the USAF TACP training to hunt Soviet trained and equipped forces (no matter how long the Cold War ended, American and Soviet methods and equipment are still the two most proliferated in the world, even with local modifications and upgrades), I decided to dig up some TO&E from an old manual (FM-100-2-3) and make a Mechanized Rifle Regiment (MRR) rifle company.  Another good reference is the suggested force list in the back of "Force on Force".  I like the FM reference a bit more, with some added information from sources that have come forward since the end of the Cold War.  I've read about extra machine gunners attached to platoons, and in the Warsaw Pact Forward Area MRRs facing NATO, a couple of extra BMPs at the company level carrying laser/optic jamming gear.   Such variations are to be expected, as any good military organization can be that flexible.

Good cast parts on the BMP, with some 15mm QRF Strykers
in the background...

I ordered three BMP-1s from Khurasan along with their Motorized Rifle Platoon set of miniatures.  I look forward to getting the miniatures done next.  Today I'm going to discuss my building of the first BMP.  Upon opening the plastic bag and pouring out the parts, I must say I'm very impressed by the quality of the resin casting from this small company.  Very little cleanup was needed compared to other resin parts I've worked with from bigger manufacturers.  Just some slight mold lines here and there to tidy up, and the mold sprue lines were sized just right to make them easy to remove with just a No. 11 hobby blade and not have to grind with a rotary tool.  Mold lines were so well chosen on all the parts, including the pewter, that I hardly spent any time scraping or filing.  I did have to clean a bit of the sprue from the rear of the vehicle to make room for the doors.  If you look closely enough, you will see that Khurasan made the master with a very good 3D print.  This does not effect the detail in any way, as being familiar with armored vehicles, slight imperfections are only going to add to the realism when they are painted.

A close inspection of the deck shows the 3D printed pattern of the master, dwarfed by many fine details
including the drivers periscopes and screws holding the vents and other panels in place.

Only a little cleanup needed here.

Assembly was pretty easy.  I did have to reference some photos of BMPs to ensure I got the right door in the right spot.  I thought about making the doors open and getting some crew figures, but the rigors of handling during a game would make that a bit labor intensive on the constant repair side.  Last thing I want to do in a game is fix a miniature or lose a part.  I am only worried about the the AT-3 on the turret over the barrel.  In 15mm, these are TINY and don't have a lot of surface area for glue to form a bead and hold it in place.  Caution will need to be exercised when handling this piece!  Keep the super glue solvent handy along with tweezers, this is a part you will likely glue to Mr. Hand during assembly.  For once, luck was with me and I did not glue myself to the project leaving 1:1 scale finger prints.

Assembly went well with the tracks fitting the body of the BMP with a tighter tolerance than some more expensive plastic kits I've built in the past.  The only gaps were the along seams that exist on the real vehicle.  No filler putty was required.  Each of the road wheels could be glued into place along the bottom of the body, however I like the way the tracks were flexed slightly on the bottom.  This can add to the model when based on the appropriate terrain, as few armored vehicles I've ever seen have perfectly level tracks in contact with the earth.

Pewter parts attached to resin with good points of contact along hatch edges and hinge points.  Troop commanders door was a bit rough though, being a half moon shape, it fell into the hatch a few times.  Good candidate for gluing open for those who choose to do so.

I look forward to priming and painting this kit.  Khurasan Miniatures are well worth every penny and any wait to receive.

BMP-1 from Khurasan completed

BMP-1 from Khurasan, rear troop doors.

Hello Traveller Classic!

I've always been more of a wargamer than an RPG gamer.  I suspect I'll always love wargames.  Lately, I've been feeding an RPG habit more than wargaming.  I find I can get involved in RPG's more with the OGL D20 and D6 crowd (more so with the the BFRPG over at basicfantasy.org, see earlier postings...).

Space however has been my biggest gaming interest.  Travelling the stars and finding new species and contacting them, fighting them, or trading with them has always been big since before I even played wargames.  So, when this opportunity from Bundle of Holding came up, I could not resist.  Bundle of Holding is having a special in conjunction with Marc Miller himself: https://bundleofholding.com/presents/TravellerLBBs!  You can pick up the core of Classic Traveller Little Black Books for a simple donation, and part of your proceeds go help the poor of this world with Mr. Miller's charity of choice, Heifer International (they donate heifer live stock so families get access to milk across the globe).

What I like most about the LBB's can be aggravating at the same time.  These books are from the late 70's and early 80's, the infancy of RPG's, and therefore have little in the realm of high quality artwork.  Sure, that drives people nuts...  But at the same time, you IMAGINATION is engaged dreaming up what these worlds, peoples, and ships look like.  For those with a desire to see the ships, fear not, for the supplements come with some great black and white images of many of these ships, worlds, aliens, and other assorted things.

I enjoy the simplicity of Traveller Classic.  I've read through the games that follow (Mega Traveller, Traveller New Era, and of course Traveller 4 and 5), and I can't say they have any of the same charm in all the expanded features.  Mr. Miller has never outdone his first set of rules, and frankly neither has Mongoose or Steve Jackson Games (though I like the GURPS 3e and 4e ports in their own right).  LBB's are Miller's Masterpieces in spite of any flaws (who knew computers wouldn't take up that much tonnage on a starship in 1977?).

At any rate, if you can read this, get over to Bundle of Holding and make a donation to improve the lives of some family around the world, and then go build yourself a few new worlds to explore with your friends.

01MAR2015 Finishing the Bones painted with Ceramacoat

After the initial base coat of black Ceramacoat, I mixed up a nifty couple of earth tones inspired by the base colors of Multi-cam and other desert pattern camouflage.  I painted weapons with a darker earthy color similar to the FN SCAR battle rifle, and stuck with a traditional medium type green for the web belt and pouches.  Finally, I picked a red to be the color for the visor.  Made the eyes pop.  

This time, I did not force perspective with my paint.  I mixed up my white and yellow Cermacoat, and a little bit of Liquitex Burnt Sienna and Raw Umber and proceeded to paint a single coat of each color on the models.

I decided to use some dark walnut oil based wood stain to create the darker regions in recessed areas.  First phase was the infamous dip method.  A pair of pliers holding the base, and dip the models directly into the bucket of stain.

Eight hours later, or the next day, I can't say I liked the look.  Something was missing to my technique...  

...oh, yeah, now I remember!

I needed to wipe the stain off the higher surfaces leaving the stain to fill in the lower recesses of the figures!  

The effects of the simple dip and wipe on a single coat of paint are astounding!  Other than drying time, this technique works wonders for knocking out large numbers of miniatures in short period of time with decent detailing.  Why didn't I try this earlier with my other armies?

Finally, I finished them off with some model railroad ballast.  Fine and coarse.  Above is the first step using the fine ballast (N-scale track ballast).  Below is the last step using the coarse ballast (HO-scale track ballast).  All I might include in the future is static grass, and maybe a larger chunk of 1:1 scale pea size gravel to replicate a much larger rock.  In the mean time, the camo fits the arid climate base of the miniature.  

Part of a Squad of soldiers ready for duty on the gaming table!

I've determined I'm going to get some more Reaper Bones miniatures in the future!  They certainly are quality miniatures for the price you pay, and it would be hard to find a better mix of price point and quality mixed with ease of painting and detailing using some of the most basic wargame army painting techniques (and inexpensive materials).

26FEB2015 Reaper Bones and Delta Ceramcoat Experiment

I finally had the opportunity to buy some Reaper Bones minatures at a local game shop here in Omaha, well Bellevue really.  When I found a copy of Ogre (see previous article) for $2.95 I had to buy it since it was cheep.  I also found I had to spend $5 minimum if I was going to use the only form of payment I had on hand, my debit card.

So I bought some SF themed Bones Chronoscope 28mm miniatures. 

 Here is the Nova Corp Sgt. work in progress thus far.  Minimal clean up of mold lines was required in a few spots, and the base is slightly warped.  I opted to just paint right out of the box lacking any form of patience waiting for water to boil. 

I was itching to paint.  I jumped right in with a base coat of black using Delta Ceramcoat.  No primer is required for the Reaper Bones, they use a good polymer that requires none.  For that price you see on the bottle, I got 8 oz. of paint, and it rivals anything else I've used, to include Liquitex!  In fact, I didn't have to water it down like I do my Liquitex.  Forget spending $3 or more on an ounce or less from Citadel or Vajello!  Unless I need a specific color I can't mix, I'm sold on the Delta if they work as well as the black did.  Look Ma, no brush strokes on that mini!

 

The rest of the Squad out of the packages.  They came in blisters of three.  Three male guards in one, three female in the other.  All share the same pose.  Sadly, the female guards needed the most adjustments, but again I just base coated them without boiling water and straitening things out.  What was I thinking?  Oh, yeah, I was itching to paint.

 I got all seven base coated and ready to before heading off for my last final of this quarter!  Not too shabby for about half an hours work!  No spray primer, no brush strokes from the acrylic paint, and decent looking miniatures with crisp details ready to be picked out with good paint.

Now, the hard part, planning how I'm going to paint this force.

24FEB2015 Ogre Pocket Edition!

It is back after thirty five years!

I'm a recent player however, having discovered Ogre through GEV on my dad's game shelf back in 1994 when I was in the sixth grade.

Needless to say, I'm still pretty excited to see another Ogre reboot hot on the heels of a successful Kickstarter campaign and the Ogre Designers Edition (which I could not acquire due to lack of game funding).  Clearly, this edition was WELL within my budget at less than $3.00!

While deceptively inexpensive and simple to pick up and play, it is the next best game to Risk to get a person into wargaming.  Simplicity is sometimes the best system when it comes to rules, and you would be hard pressed to find an easier system to pick up that can still yield an afternoons worth of gaming by playing through the scenarios and working with what you have.

All your classic Ogre scenarios are there in the booklet.  Old hands will appreciate the rules smelling new and feeling crisp in your hands with a sharp looking map and counters.

A huge plus with this edition of the game is the pre-cut counters on thicker sheets of card stock.  No more sore hands and mis-cut pieces on account of missing with the ruler and knife!

I figured I would show off my collection a bit here for a good comparison.  Around 2000 SJ Games attempted a reboot of Ogre, and I avidly sought out just about everything they offered during that period.  You can see how the new Pocket Edition compares with the 2000 reboot release of Ogre/GEV on the right.  PE has the classic map with nothing but simple filled in hexes for craters and bold rubble lines along hexes while the '00 edition has the full color and detail map.  I even have some uncut counters from my Ogre Reinforcement pack to compare with the new PE counters!  Pardon the miniature sculpting mess...

Now, I just need to find local players and punch the pieces out.

Summer 2014 Updates

Here are some updates with regard to my gaming activities.

I have been able to make some small strides in supporting the Old School Renaissance by publishing some art in Basic Fantasy RPG's very own Adventure Anthology 1.  Chris Gonnerman, the author and all around BFRPG head guru and Game Master extraordinaire, selected a handful of pieces I created based on a general request in the BFRPG forums.  I'm pretty active there from time to time posting my drawings so folks can have fun with them.  I'm quite honored to put some work out there in book you can print on demand and get a decent copy.  In fact, here is my Amazon ordered copy:

 One of my pieces created in collaboration with Deviant Art stock photographer and model Dewfooter, was selected to sit right there on the first page.  As you can see, the black and white image came out crystal clear.  All text was readable and indistinguishable from older forms of printing!  Quite the improvement, and sadly better than DriveThruRPG printing at this time (a copy of Skyward Steel I purchased for my father didn't come out that cleanly).

Reading this wonderful supplement, I have many available places to put PC's into if I get around to GM'ing a BFRPG, Microlite D20, OSRIC, or Swords and Wizardry campaign.  Most are smaller locations that can be plugged into a larger campaign, or alternately get someone into a good one shot game.

Next up on my workbench, I'm working on some 1:12th scale figurines for practice.  You can see my wire and epoxy armatures on top of a unique sheet I created using some top notch sculpting reference drawings from Massive Voodoo (Male and Female drawing pages).  We shall see how long these take to turn into suitable miniatures.

YouTube is one of the best resources alongside blogs like Massive Voodoo and good books by Katherine Dewey.  I'm not going to get into the details for these miniatures unless I finish them.  Even then, if I do there are going to be a lot of links to follow.  Not a bad thing however.  I don't know how many tricks I've picked up just because I found some random artists blog that leads me through links to a video that is very helpful.

Finally, I'm working on a WH40K piece.  A Tyranid Hive Tyrant I picked up four or five years ago, back when they were part pewter and part polystyrene.  I like the effects I'm achieving with Liqitex acrylics.  I also like how I can purchase a tube of Liquitex for less than a single can of Citadel paint.  I use the Liquitex Basic series of colors, and thin it down with rubbing alcohol or ammonia based window cleaner spray.  Nothing but brush, and dry brushing here folks.  Just take some time to mix your color pallet! I have to say, my work is maturing very nicely ever since I learned how to manage those acrylics for painting in my 2D Design course!  Well worth knocking out that pesky humanities credit with an art course!

I can't promise too much more over the next few months.  Tomorrow begins another fun filled quarter at my local community college where I am pursuing an Associates Degree in Precision Machine CNC Tool and Die.  Good thing about that is knowing what I'm going to do when I graduate, and having an in demand job.