Italian 75/27 artillery from GHQ in 6mm

Finally done with the four 75mm Italian artillery-pieces we need for tomorrow’s el-Alamein game.

They’re from GHQ, as are the crew. Fantastic details, as you can see from the photos.

The men are painted as usual, as are the hard-ware.

Otherworld on Indiegogo – there goes $280

- $280

+ lots of cool minis

Yep, I’ve pledged for level 7 in Otherworld’s Indigogo campaign. After much thinking, especially how much I would regret not supporting this, it was rather clear.

How could I not do this. I’ll get a lot of new metal figures, that can never be wrong!

A very cool looking adventurers' cart

Another stretch goal has been reached, and my package will now also include a pack of Magic Users’ Familiars (special) – quasit, pseudo-dragon, brownie, imp, homonculus.

Just a $1000 short of another goal, meaning I will probably get dwarf mercenary warrior as an extra.

If you want to join, now is the time. Just 35 hours left.

Welcome new follower Niels Peter Lindemann.

------------------------------------------------
A small update.
The Indiegogo campaign is over, and three more strech goals were reached. Meaning I will get more fun stuff - the dwarf mercenary, 4 slain adventurers (the fighter, magic-user, cleric and thief from the first pack) and said (living) magic-user in a sitting pose to be used with the adventurers' cart.
I'm more than happy about the outcome of this.

Otherworld on Indiegogo

It was bound to happen…

I guess you’ve seen all those fantastic crowd sourcing miniatures thingies on the interwebs. Kickstarter and Indiegogo seems to be filled with them, and I have been oh so tempted by a lot of them.

But, I have persevered! I have been proud of myself. I didn’t really need those figures, most were another period/style etc. I could say to myself that it wasn’t for me.

Until now.

I browsed Kickstarter and Indiegogo for miniatures, just to see what was out there that I hadn’t seen on other sites or heard of.

Quite a lot of interesting stuff. But suddenly I saw a very familiar logotype.

Otherworld - my number one favourite producer of fantasy minis. The recipient of much hard earned cash already. I bought my first Otherworld minis in 2008, amongst them the hill giant seen in my profile-shot.

They are making a massive release of old-school Dungeons & Dragons adventurers. Massive as in 4 sets of 12 figures each, plus extras.

You can pledge as little as $10 giving you one miniature, up to $280 giving you all four sets and a lot of extra nice stuff.

From the Indiegogo site:

“The miniatures will depict archetypal fantasy adventurers, human and demi-human, male and female, wearing practical clothing and armour and carrying realistic weapons and equipment. They will be posed for exploration, not combat. And these characters won’t be muscle-bound superheroes waving Vorpal Swords in the air - they’ll be grim-faced dungeoneers, a little bit down on their luck, and ready for action on your table-top!”

Yep, just the sort of minis I am looking for.

Notice that these guys wear backpack, just as they should in real fanatsy-life

What’s there:

”DAB1 – Dungeon Adventurers I – Human Male Characters (planned release – January 2013)

• Fighter in Plate Mail, with Bastard Sword & Torch
• Cleric in Chainmail, with Mace & Cross
• Magic User in Robes, with Staff & Lantern
• Thief in Leather Armour, with Shortsword & Sack
• Druid in Leather Armour, with Scimitar
• Ranger in Leather Armour, with Bow
• Monk in Robes, with Quarterstaff
• Barbarian in Studded Leather, with Spear & Shield
• Illusionist in Robes, with Scroll
• Assassin in Studded Leather, with Blade Venom
• Paladin in Plate Armour, with Longsword & Shield
• Bard in Chainmail, with Longsword & Lute”

”DAB2 – Dungeon Adventurers II – Demi-human Male Characters (planned release – March 2013)

• Dwarf Fighter in Plate Mail, with Battleaxe
• Dwarf Cleric in Chainmail, with Warhammer & Shield
• Dwarf Thief in Leather Armour, with Shortsword
• Gnome Illusionist/Thief in Leather Armour, with Shortsword & Sack
• Gnome Fighter in Plate Mail, with Polearm
• Half-orc Fighter/Cleric in Banded Mail, Warhammer & Shield
• Half-orc Assassin in Studded Leather, with Heavy Crossbow
• Half-elf Fighter/Thief in Leather Armour, with Shortbow
• Halfling Fighter in Plate Armour, with Axe & Shield
• Halfling Thief in Leather Armour, with Shortsword & Sling
• Elf Fighter/Magic User in Chainmail, with Longsword & Wand
• Elf Thief in Leather Armour, with Shortsword & Rope”

”DAB3 – Dungeon Adventurers III – Female Characters (planned release – June 2013)

• Human Fighter in Plate Mail, with Longsword & Shield
• Human Cleric in Chainmail, with Flail & Holy Symbol
• Human Thief in Leather Armour, with Rope & Grappling Hook
• Human Magic User in Robes, with Dagger & Torch
• Dwarf Fighter in Plate Mail, with Warhammer
• Gnome Fighter in Chainmail, with Light Crossbow
• Half-elf Ranger in Leather Armour, with Shortsword & Dagger
• Human Druid in Leather Armour, with Spear & Torch
• Elf Magic User in Robes, with Dagger & Scroll
• Half-orc Assassin in Studded Leather, with Longsword & Hand-axe
• Paladin in Plate Armour, with Longsword & Shield
• Monk in Robes, with Quarterstaff & Lantern”

”DAB4 – Dungeon Adventurers IV – Hirelings & Henchmen (planned release – June 2013)

• Mercenary Swordsman
• Mercenary Crossbowman
• Mercenary Spearman
• Pack Bearer I
• Pack Bearer II
• Lantern Bearer
• Torch Bearer
• Squire
• Scribe/Mapper
• Mule Handler
• Expedition Mule
• Expedition Equipment”

On top of that a lot of extra goodies as stretch goals are reached.

I’m sooooo sold on this.

At the level that tempts me the most, the highest level at $280, you’ll get all 4 12-figure boxed sets DAB1 - Human Male Characters, DAB2 - Demi-human Male Characters, DAB3 - Female Characters, DAB4 - Hirelings and Henchmen. 3 bonus figures, only available as part of this Indiegogo campaign, a Henchman Pack-bearer, a Lantern-bearer, a Mule-handler + with achieved stretch goals: 'Weapons & Equipment Pack', 'Treasure Items Pack', 'Adventurers' Campsite' featuring bed-rolls, a campfire & cooking pots, and other paraphernalia, 'Adventurers' Cart Set', pulled by an expedition mule and piled with adventuring gear, looted treasure, and a fallen comrade, a pair of War/Guard Dogs – 1 sitting, 1 standing, wearing studded leather collars & harness, 'Adventurers’ Stores' – crates, boxes, chests, sacks, barrels, pack of Magic Users’ Familiars (standard) – cat, crow, hawk, owl, toad, weasel and possibly more if a couple of more stretch goals are achieved.

Can you say no?

The question is, should I invest in this? It’s a lot of money, but minis I really would like to have/paint/use.

This campaign continues until October 24, so if I or you want to get in, now is the time.

Hät WWII British Mortars in 1/72

I’m in WWII-mode at the moment, and grabbed a box from the plastics mountain. This one is British mortars from Hät, and it consists of 4 sprues, with eight men and a 3” mortar on each sprue. Rather soft plastic, detailing is a bit crude, especially the faces, and with very little gear on the figures. But they do the job.

These guys will be used in our IABSM (I ain’t been shot mum from Too Fat Lardies – great company!) games, and will be based to work with that.

What is need in the game are two-man teams for the 2” mortar and five-man teams for the 3”.

A two-man 2” mortar team

3” mortar with three men out of the five needed.

I will probably base my further 3” mortars on bases with two crew members and three crew on individual bases. I’ll have to scrounge extra crew from other sources. 

In IABSM the leaders (big men) are rated level one to four, depending on how good they are. My friend Laffe at Figurfanatikern (he writes in English, very god reading!) had the excellent idea of showing the respective level of leaders with the number of figures on the base. A puny level 1 corporal would be represented by one figure, but a heroic platoon leader of level 4 would have four figures on the base, representing himself and runners, radiomen and whatever.

Time to do something about that idea with the final men from the sprue..

A level 3 British Big Man with his trusty biographer and radioman.

Paints used (Vallejo):

Uniform – 921 English Uniform

Anklets – 821 German Camouflage Beige

Helmets and hardware – 894 Russian Uniform WWII

Boots – black

Webbing and pouches – 819 Iraqui Sand

Water Bottle – 875 Beige Brown

Everything washed with Citadel Devlan Mud

Welcome new follower Encourage One Another with the blog of the same name.

Pak 36 in 1/72 – Comparison Italeri, ICM, Zvezda + 2 more

The final Pak 36 post (for this time at least).

 Italeri, ICM and Zvezda

Here is a comparison of the guns from my previous posts, from Italeri, ICM and Zvezda.

I let the photos speak for themselves.

 Zvezda, ICM and Italeri

As a bonus, the ICM gun next to Revell’s (from the old Matchbox 1/76 Krupp Protze kit, noticeably smaller) and a metal monstrosity from Brittania. I will not even paint the metal one as it is simply too bad. What a horrible thing!

Brittania, ICM and Revell/Matchbox

 

 

There will actually be one more Pak 36 post. I bought two Zvezda kits, and I’m finishing one on the base with crew members. Sooner or later.

3xPak 36 in 1/72 – no 3 Zvezda

The third of my Pak 36’s comes from Zvezda, and their Art of Tactic series. The gun is made up of 7 pieces and in the box are two crew members and a small base. Also, you have two variants of the gun carriage, either emplaced or in limbered position.

It is made of soft plastic and is supposed to snap together, but I’m not happy with that, as it gave some very weak joints that didn’t hold together. The plastic didn’t take ordinary polystyrene glue, and my liquid superglue didn’t do much good at all. I tried with superglue gel, and that held, but it isn’t a strong joint.

As can be seen, this is a rather simplified model, but with decent detailing and it looks OK. The Art of Tactic series is made for gaming, and that is of course positive.

This is a kit that does what it is supposed to do. Recommended for wargaming.

In my next post I will compare the guns next to each other. Italeri, ICM, Zvezda and a bonus 1/76 Revell and a metal monstrosity from Brittania.

3xPak 36 in 1/72 – no 2 ICM

After building the Italeri Pak 36 I stumbled on this model from ICM. A very detailed kit, and as such it is certainly not a model for wargamers primarily.

So, you’ve got 34 pieces to fit together. It is a small gun, and with that many pieces it is inevitable that some of them are tiny. If you know what you are getting yourself into that is not a problem in itself, but it demands very clear instructions on how to put the pieces together, and that was sadly missing. The drawing is small and not at all clear on where to put the different tiny pieces. I had to go back to my own photos of a Pak 36 to see where everything should be glued, and got it mostly right I think.

The result is a gun that is the most life-like of the ones I have made. It is fragile though, so I guess it won’t hit the gaming table at one of our convention games. I might base it to give it some protection, but I haven’t decided yet.

A great looking model, but maybe not the best for wargaming. It contains no crew-members.

3xPak 36 in 1/72 – no 1 Italeri

Do you see something strange in this picture?

Maybe you noticed part of the subtitle? 3.7 cm Pak 37….. Pak 37?

The real name of the 37mm German anti-tank gun is Pak 36 (or 35/36). So, Italeri didn’t get the facts right on the box. Embarrassing I should say. By the way, the kit is originally from ESCI.

This should have had me somewhat sceptical, but I really needed a Pak 36.

Opening the box and checking the stuff I became more and more sceptical.

-- There is a Flakvierling AA-gun. On the cover it deployed, but the kit is on its trailer in towed mode. That is quite a difference in my book, and makes it less useful

- The 75mm Pak 40 is in full recoil…. Really, it is moulded in full recoil. How useful is that? That makes its use quite more limiting than it should have been.

- The Pak 36 – well, that gun is what this review is all about.

As you can see from the photos this is a crude model. Made of 15 pieces, it is chunky, lacks details and is really not a very good representation of the original at all. 

The box also contains four crewmembers for all three guns, and a further four men pointing, looking in binoculars or firing a LMG. The figures are OK but I would have liked some more interacting with the guns.

I’m not happy with this gun, and considering the other two models in the box, this was a real bad buy.

It will be used on the gaming board though, as it will withstand rough handling rather well, and from a meter away it will pass as a small door-knocker.

But don’t buy it.

There are other manufacturers of this mainstay of early war, so next one to be reviewed is from ICM and then Zvezda. Stay tuned.

Echo in 28mm by Black Scorpion

Lovely Echo is one of these models I’ve had my eyes on for a long time. She is sculpted by Adam Clarke (I think) and from his company, Black Scorpion Miniatures.

I bought her a while ago, and was intimidated. I simply had no idea how to paint her. Anyway I started this summer, and she got a bit of paint now and then. I had to re-paint some things that didn't turn out the way I wanted it. 

Paints used (Vallejo unless otherwise noted)

Base-coated white with a black wash.

Skin – 003 Pale Flesh

Nipples – 835 Salmon Pink drybrushed with Pale Flesh

Hands and arms washed with Citadel Leviathan Purple and drybrushed with Pale Flesh (not altogether happy with how her hands/claws turned out)

Everything washed with Army Painter Soft Tone Ink

Drybrushed again with Pale Flesh

Lips – Citadel  Blood Red overpainted with 944 Old Rose

Hair – Coat d’arms 223 Horse Tone Chestnut with a wash of Army Painter Strong Tone Ink

Clothing – White with a wash of Citadel Bhaal Red wash

Hair-band – 922 USA Uniform high-lighted with Citadel Scorpion Green.

Feathers – 850 Medium Olive drybrushed with 885 Pastel Green

Arm- and necklaces – 56 Glorious Gold

Echo can be used in my D&D campaign as well as an possessed priestess in a pulp game. 

Book review – Images of War – German Guns of the Third Reich

Images of War – German Guns of the Third Reich –Rare photographs from wartime archives, Ian Baxter, Pen & Sword Books, 2004, 128 pages.

One book I really miss in my WWII library is one on German WWII artillery. I would like something with technical and operational details and detailed descriptions on the guns, preferably with a lot of photos and a blue-print or two.

This book looked promising.

.

So, what’s in it?

The chapters are

- Introduction

- Structure and training

- Infantry guns

- Heavy guns

- Anti-aircraft guns

- Anti-tank guns

- Transporting guns

- Super heavy guns

- Mounted self-propelled guns

Now this looks promising, and leafing through the book I was hopeful. But what I found out was that the text wasn’t that good really. Very basic about the different gun families, and a bit about some of the guns. But no hard facts.

But the photos? The book title does mention photos. No worry, they are here, there are a lot of really good ones, and it’s hard to find them.

Who decided that this book didn’t need an index?

That was a really bad decision! At the moment I build a couple of Pak 36. It would be nice to easily find some detailed photos of them.

That will not happen, unfortunately. If I check through the book, I find pictures of this 37mm gun on pages 25, 83, 84, 85, 90 and 109. And none of them give me a clear look on how it looks on the backside of the shield, the info I was looking for…

Well, I have a photo of that of my own, from Museo Militar in Seville

So, all in all, I’m a bit disappointed. On the one hand good photos, on the other hand… they are hard to find and don’t necessarily give the detailing I wanted, and the text wasn’t that informative really. But, the title really says it all, it's about photos. So, not the book I was looking for, but not a bad book. Not necessarily a great one either.

I give this book a rating of a 3 out of 5.