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Steam Wars – Navy Flyer.

Flitting back and forth appears to be the norm again. The Steam Wars Navy got a new edition recently in the form of this 1/48 scale biplane.  I have no idea what this aircraft represents as it was a second hand kit found in a toy store in a nearby town.

I have not heard of this manufacturer and not really looked at traditional model kits often as sources of inspiration.  This was bought as I suspected it could be kit bashed into a steam punk flier of some sort.  No need for kit bashing as it turned out to be ideal straight out of the box.

A light, very open plan airframe, rear facing propeller and distinctly odd look make it ideal as something that would need to be ship launched.  A new pilot is needed, as the plastic blob of a pilot that came with the kit was nowhere near as crisp as the model itself.

Yet another unit needing a set of stats for use in the game.  I may also need to get a paintjob and flight stand sorted out too…

Pirates Ahoy

Lately I have been painting whatever came to mind.  Mostly steam tanks and other Victorian sci-fi stuff.  In contrast we have been playing in a very different era.

Pirates have been firmly on our radar for a month or so lately.  We identified a number of games we owned, and planned to get a number of games played to try them all out.

Cutlass (by Black Scorpion) started things off and proved to be enjoyable with some nice unique touches.  The activation system was slightly too controlling for our liking though. We found that it was dictating the actions of the whole crew each bound, which meant it could stop individuals from acting if the group action was not doing what they wanted to do.

On the seven seas (by Osprey) came next and proved to be too slow for us.  The mobility and actions in the game left us feeling like we were constantly waiting just to get there.  On the prescribed table size we fired our first shot only after about 30min of play…

Our last game was played using Legends of the high seas (by Warhammer Historical) sadly now out of print when Warhammer Historical stopped publishing, a real shame.  This rule set is the largest book but is actually the simplest of the rule sets we have tried.  Its one down side (something all the sets have in common) is its somewhat short movement distances and weapon ranges.  This slows the game slightly but this is made up for in its fast turn sequence. Combat is decisive and brutal and reminds me of the system used by Westwind’s Empire of the Dead.

We plan to get some more pirate action in when Coronasan returns from his Gin soaked holiday.  While he is away though, I will be looking into how to populate a somewhat empty harbour, so that boats can start to feature in our upcoming games.

Finishing Touches And New Ideas 

After such a productive time I am starting to wain again.  The last batch off the painting table are great.  I am very pleased with the armoured division that now supports my naval force.  I will have to put up a page for these guys as they deserve their own place as my first completed ‘large army’ since starting this blog.

I say completed, but I still have lots of unfinished and undercoated figures to add to the force.  Completed in this case means fully playable, with extra options.

I have what could be called a sizeable force.  More than can be fielded in an average game.  I would say that that is something quite astounding by my standards.

As I briefly pause to reflect on my Steam Wars painting spree I can see what should be next up on my ‘painting’ queue.

I finished this small shop recently, but it left me thinking it needed something more before I could call it done.  That something turned out to be signage…

I have decided to try making my own decals…

The images above are test prints on plain paper. They give a good impression of the size if not the colours that will be used.  I suspect that the final items will not be far off from what is shown.  I may need to add a sign board to the hotel, but the awning and parking sign are meant to be painted on canvas or brick, so will have the details behind, left to show through…  As the Decal paper I have is A4 in size I might need to get a few more designs lined up before I finalise my images and print them out.

So, what else do I have that needs a sign or image printing on it.  Anyone know a good source of Martian tripod markings?

Wish me luck.  I will update my progress when I get the first test prints completed.

Steam Wars – Steam Truck Two, Finished

Now, with so much artillery now available to the navy force, I feel that more tows are needed to drag it all around.

Luckily my store of small, already undercoated, trucks seems unending at this point.  One more would be easy to knock up.  One with a slightly different look is always nice. So, this one was picked out as it has a removable covered rear.  A nice tarp to cover the trailer is enough to make it less like the last one.

A slightly different colour scheme this time and I am quickly done. (No detailed painting or weathering here…)

I did give it some Navy decals to help it look part of the wider force.

For a Corgi toy car it does the job very well.

Two trucks and a tracked artillery tow should be enough for now.  After that many Steam Wars vehicles I feel a change coming.

What’s next then..?

Oh! Looks like I still haven’t finished off all those buildings yet…

Steam Wars – Final Tank, It’s A Big One

So the slow, unorganised process I call my painting hobby proceeds at its usual stop start pace.  I have done quite well (for me anyhow) lately, and have finally come to the last of my Ironclad Steam Tanks.  This is the only tracked tank I own, but although it is the largest of my tanks, it is still small compared to some of Coronasan’s British or Prussian Steam Wars armour.   

This one again has the turret supplied with the kit, and one I have added in as an alternate weapon option. I also added a HMG to the hull as this is something that I always find helps in our games of Steam Wars.

I have to admit, this being the last of these tanks, it got a pretty basic paint job, as I am feeling in need of a change on the painting table.

As usual its grey, and with some extra metallic colours, not a challenging or award winning effort. A wash helps to dirty it up and hide my mistakes.  A few decals and its done.

The heavier 3 gun option for real fights.

A lighter 2 gun option for those less challenging opponents.

With 4 Steam Tanks (with alternate turrets) and assorted artillery in support, I feel more prepared for any of my Steam Wars opponents.

Now, what’s left to do…  Oh…  Lots…

Steam Wars – Old Rocket Launcher, Revived.

Some models have sat in the to do pile for far too long.  So long in fact that their undercoat, applied way back in hopes of getting it done quickly, has begun to chip off.  This artillery piece is an empire of the blazing sun Kawachi-Kanpon Type-17 Launcher. A model made by Spartan Games for their Dystopian Legions game.  It has sat in a drawer for years and been badly treated when other lead has been piled on top and sifted through.

As the barrels are resin and the wheels are lead most of the damage was to the undercoat on the metal wheels.  That said it cleaned up nicely with a basic covering of US Navy grey.

A rather top heavy model, it was originally mounted on a base, but that would not have fitted in with my plans for it.  Add heat, and a bit of brute force, and the shape changed and balance was found.

Add in some contrasting silver and brass along with red rocket tips and we are on our way.

Brown wheels and a wash of dark tone and as always all my errors seem to disappear.

Its nice to see something this neglected finished at last.

Just needs to have some crew…

And maybe a tow…

I had best look out another steam truck I guess.

So far so good.  One steam tank to go then all I will have left is more squads of Navy Marines to paint.

Oh, and a small land ship…

 

Steam Wars – Steam Truck Finished

This started life as a Matchbox toy car.  I bought it originally back in 2014 as part of a job lot of trucks and other cars.  It was already undercoated in grey so I don’t know for sure what colour it started life out as.

Google images has a number of variants on this model to show. Most would do fine without a repaint.  I have some original ones myself for use as scenery in my Victorian town.

This one got a simple paintjob over its original grey as I wanted to add some transport options to the already grey Navy force.

Troop carrier, tow or technical, I like how it turned out…

 

Steam Wars – Steam Tank Upgrade

Next up and even quicker (because the tank was already painted) is the upgrade turret for one of my first Ironclad Steam Tanks.  This was painted as part of the original Navy force as it sports a Nordenfelt Gun.  A weapon that I always associate with the navy for some reason.  What may be described as an early heavy machine gun. This tank has been used in a number of games as a HMG tank.

Effective as a light fast tank but my Navy force has always struggled to bring enough anti-tank weaponry to the table.

A new, alternate, turret has helped to rectify this problem.

Same tank, but now aimed at a different target.

Always good to keep my options open…

 

Steam Wars – Steam Tank Finished

Next to get finished off is another Ironclad Miniatures Steam Tank.  This comes as a 3 wheeled tank with small turret and optional armoured wheel covers.  I went all out and added the wheel covers and picked up a second turret (just email Ironclad and for a couple of quid he will sell you anything, parts wise that is…)  I went for a very large turret so that I could field this as a heavy or medium weight tank.

I had a spare HMG so added one to the front of the hull as you can never have too many guns.

Some Navy decals from an old set I have put to one side to use with this army and I am calling it done.

Above is the lighter (original) version.

Heavy…

Lighter…

You get the picture…

Steam Wars – Tesla Cannon Finished

So, the Tesla Cannon is finished.  I went for a more subdued colour scheme to the one on the Ironclad Site.  Gold was never my thing.  If its going to be stored on board ship with my Navy Marines then battleship grey may be the best colour for it.  That and I am a lazy painter, so when undercoating, everything gets done in the colour I have to hand.

I am still playing about with the Citadel Technical Paints I picked up a while back.  I tried a silver base and blue gloss.  Works for me in this case but doesn’t do anything especially amazing in my opinion.  Others may have the patience to do more with it.

The Gun itself is simple and easy to paint.  I always like designs that give me easy to paint areas without too much detail.  As I had some decals to hand it got a couple to make it look more finished.

I still can’t resist painting silver on rivets though, no matter how hard I try…