Gallery – Page 43 – An Archive For The Steinberg Shed Space Blog

Blowing The Dust Off Dust

My friend is again showing me up by displaying his Dust Allies on his blog and reminding me I was supposed to be keeping up with his painting frenzy with my Axis…

In past posts I have shown off the collection of dust models I have and they have seen maybe 2 games since then. Well past time I ‘Dusted’ them off again.

Coronasan’s Allies are looking great and will be almost all completed soon (until he buys even more of them).

My Axis, at the start of this week, was one unit and one hero painted and… Lets just say all the rest (100+ models) unpainted.

This week all that changed… well, a little bit.

The first unit of Axis Gorillas is done, along with Markus the Gorilla hero. 4 down lets not say how many to go…

I have however started the remainder of the Gorillas including their heavy assault option the Blutkreuz Pioneer Squad “Sturmaffe”. I have also started the central Axis hero of the Dust world, Sigrid Von Thaler. A lady of obvious talents and steely resolve. Also quite nicely psychotic it seems too.

To make sure that the apes are all individual I performed head transplants (never let it be said that my medical talents are lacking) to mix things up a bit.

We have a Dust game planned so I will be trying to get more models done for that over the next few days… Zombies next I think!

Tank War, City Fight. More Tanks, More Buildings, More Mayhem.

As the Tank War reports so far show, the tally of wins and losses are even at this point. So I will let the next game push me forward towards a new win.

The table was set for a fight over the local city scape and would again be decided by three objectives. These were placed fairly evenly over the centreline of the table; one to each flank and one near the plinth at the tables centre.

The game played very differently from the last with the open lines of fire of a cities streets. The open roads allowed movement at much higher rates and resulted in rushing moves by tanks and made recce vehicles very effective.

Troops were also very useful as they could traverse the gardens and narrow lanes that the vehicles could not pass through.

The German forces this time had more variety of forces and this opened up more options for them. The Allies tried to hold their far right flank with one of their heaviest tanks. This decision lost them the option to benefit from its power elsewhere on the table. When they realised that it was blocked from crossing back past the canal, it was left holding one objective, but became powerless to help when they needed to reinforce their troops elsewhere on the table.

The final 2 objectives fell to the German advance and the game ended 2:1 in favour of the Axis. That score is representative of the score between us for games up until now.

Next time the results will change again. Will it be in my favour? Lets hope so…

Further Updates On The Deadzone Scenery With A Few Extras.

Only one piece (granted the biggest piece) is left unpainted of the Deadzone scenery I have been working on. It wont be long before it too gets the fast and dirty paintjob that I am using for these terrain elements.

The rest of the sections are now done, and have been made up in a range of sizes, so that they can be mixed and matched to create a wide variety of layouts.

The smaller elements like the barrels, crates and lamps can be used as objective and scatter terrain. The footbridge from Hurlbat can be used to bridge the building sections or to widen the footprint of the setup. It also allows for more range in heights for foot troops to move through.

Some platforms are destined to be used by gunners and snipers as their extra height will give a wide view of the table.

Two new storage cylinders or water tanks also got a similar paint job and fit in well when mixed in between the other sections. These are a couple of the silos made by Sarissa Precision. I picked these up earlier in the year, at Salute, but have only just found themselves a use. These went together easily and look great, but I was slightly upset when I found out that the taller silo does not come with any access ladders. These are available for £5 each on the Sarissa website (add postage and that goes up to £7.50).

At this price I may wait to see if I can pick some up next time I see them at a show. With everything I have left to paint, even if I did get some, it would likely be a while before I got them done.

Just need to get a game played on these pieces at some point…

Do I Have To Post Game Reports Where I Lose? According To Some People I Do.

A friend asked me why I posted a Bolt Action Tank War report where I won but have not yet posted a report of the game where he managed to win.

Well…

Its my Blog! So my Rules!! Apparently not!

So, for the benefit of Veganman1961 (not his real name).

The game was fought in the rolling hills and hedgerows of France. The Allied forces were trying to gain control of three objectives and took the decision to set up with the weight of their armoured column on the left and their recon section to the right. They did not have enough vehicles to cover the centre too so were relying on rolling in from the left to support the right flank from the centre once they had won it.

The German forces were never going to make it an easy win. Using the cover of the hills and hedges they moved to cross to the centre of the field.

Soon that advance was being stopped by the heavy guns of the Allied tanks.

A key to the Allied strength was their very effective tank destroyer. This light hulled tank not only managed to destroy Axis tanks but was able to shrug off a number of returned shots.

Finally the Allied flanking move rolled around the Germans and began to attack the rear of the German tanks. The loss of their Tiger II was only one setback that they failed to overcome.

As the Axis forces rushed to the objectives late in the game the Allies slowly reinforced their hard won gains and in the final push came out on top with 2 out of the 3 objectives under their control.

The Allies were victorious to the dismay of my German forces and out classed their opponent in all their manoeuvres. It would seem at least one general was having a very good day….

Busy Doing Nothing… Not Really…

Work life often gets in the way of home life. Know how that feels?

Lately work is casting a slight shadow over play. But I have managed to get a few things done. Mostly due to the kindness of the girls in my life who have allowed me to get out to the shed as a place to chill for an hour or so when things get hectic. Thanks to them I have things to show you. Sadly work demands are stopping me from getting these things on the blog as regularly as I would like.

Anyway things to show…

A friend (as is often the case) turned my head to these little beauties. He placed a copy of a rulebook and a team in my possession and left these seed to grow. 4 months later we played a game and 4 days later these were painted.

Dreadball is Mantic’s futuristic sports game and reminds me of Bloodbowl to some degree. It is however much more playable and fast moving meaning even we got a game in, in an after dinner hour or so.

I can see us playing this more in the next months as a small pick up game for those days when a larger game would take too long.

Will be painting up a human team in the next weeks for another friend to get involved.

I now just need to get a copy of the rules for myself and a board to play on. Oh, and maybe a ball or two!

Progress Report…

I have made some progress with some of the previously featured items in the last week…

Unusual I know, but maybe this blog is helping my productivity more than I realise.

I did a rough and ready drybrush over black spray on the footbridge from Hurlbat. This was in a GW Brass. I then tried to dulled that down a little with a drybrushed coat of the grey I am using for the Deadzone stuff. I am hoping it will then match in with those items enough to be used alongside those pieces.

The brass proved quite difficult to cover so a second coat of grey helped to tone it down a bit more.

Also this little (actually quite large) item turned up from Hurlbat. These guys are always super quick with their eBay deliveries.

As I was in the painting mood, it almost instantly got one coat of paint. I find very thinned down paints and inks best when painting MDF buildings. I cant say this is the best method but it works for me. All those very flat surfaces can look slightly odd if I leave the paint too thick. Any detail can be lost very easily too with thicker paints.

Don’t know quite what to do with the centre of the column at this point… Grey is my new best friend so I will attempt to paint the lighter areas without getting any on the carved areas of the iconography thereby ruining the whole thing. Then it will be time to find something that will sit on top (anyone know any good, generic, 40-54mm figures?)

More of the Deadzone scenery got done too. The VERY basic paint job is coming on well. Quick enough to not cause me problems but the insides of the buildings are remaining unpainted as I thought about doing them in a second colour. However, drybrushing inside a box is not as easy as it could be…

Plenty more to do though…

We Got a Game Played You Know.

Its whole purpose, was to have the shed for gaming. Lots of games have been played, but if I am honest, not a lot has been played recently…

This little book turned up in the post and changed all that.

Bolt Action is a game I like and have played a lot over the last year. We haven’t played it for a while though as the next shiny thing came along I guess. I have a good sized and fairly well painted (by my standards) German army. With a few small tanks…

Tank War allows more Tanks… And all manner of other vehicles as well… But mainly MORE TANKS!

My collection of vehicles for the Germans (lazy person that I am) is a smattering of painted models, and a collection of, mainly, diecast-prepainted vehicles. 1/43 and 1/48 scale do well (if slightly larger than the ‘true’ 28mm scale). They are also usually cheaper and easier than buying plastic or resin kits.

We set up in the fields around a small hamlet and rolled for the amount of objectives. this is when we found out that we would be playing with only one… It was, from that point, always going to be quick, and bloody, as all our units would be focused on gaining and holding the sentry box at the centre of the table.

First blood went to the Americans with their first Sherman gaining an easy kill on a German transport. Its surviving German Medium Anti Tank Gun quickly set up with the only field of fire it had left open to it, but without its tow it would not prove very effective for the remainder of the game.

The American plan to move forward early and take the first shot left their lead Sherman open for multiple shots in return. It weathered most of these but finally the weight of fire proved sufficient to destroy it outright.

Focusing so much on one target bunched up the German forces and left them in the open for reprisals though. Their AT Gun and Puma were soon smoking wrecks as the battle raged on elsewhere.

The other flank saw the lighter armour and faster units converging at a pinch point to the right of the objective. The only way through to the objective would mean going through the enemy column. German Panzerfaust armed troops and a plucky little Panzer 38(t) were too much for the light American recon vehicles but would be held up long enough to stop them reaching the objective.

As the game came to a close the Americans were unable to move their remaining units up to support their initial advances and the Germans managed to hold the objective to win the game.

This played quicker than normal Bolt Action and was a nice change. We did not use the advanced crew rules or crew skills this time round but will be looking to get the guys to try an escalation style campaign over the next few games to add in these rules. It looks like quite a few more tanks are going to be seen on the table over the next months.

More Laser Cut Goodness, And Some Odds And Sods Of Resin.

First up, 28mm hand carts… These are from an eBay seller who went out of his way to sort out just what I wanted even though I missed out on one of his auctions. These are due to be used on my Victorian Gothic table and any Mid East Bazaar I manage to set up in future. Seller s_j_day is the guy to go to for a wide range of items in all scales and with some novel ideas to. School room sets anyone? (Complete with a blackboard and an upright piano).

Hurlbat Games makes this little beauty. They call it their footbridge and it’s from their expanding Sci-Fi Cityscape MDF Scenery Accessories Range. I see this little footbridge featuring in a number of settings, as its wrought iron look fits in very well with my Victorian stuff and even my Deadzone stuff. It’s a great size for street level skirmish games, with bases fitting perfectly onto the steps. This range also includes some simple barriers to block off roads and now even features a lovely little statue plinth complete with carved effigies on the sides. The plinth is new to the range since I picked up my bridge and will be in my shopping basket very soon. Shipping is free for these items and at only £2.50-£3 an item even my, post Disney, pocket can cope with that.

I appear to be back in a wagon period as well, as these bits are all awaiting a finish. The first is an ox cart for my Saga games. The second is from those lovely Warbases chaps and was sat, flat packed, on my bench for months after Salute where I picked it up… Can’t find a horse to fit this yet as my blitz box is currently bereft of anything equine at this time.

Thankfully the chaps at Westwind do supply theirs with draft horses. The last is a Black Mariah (Victorian police van) that, one day, will be finished off to join the peelers crew I have for Empire of the Dead. Then I will need to read the extra rules for wagons from their Requiem Kickstarter.

The last little lot is from various places and finally got started (and in the case of the crates, finished) recently. I have to admit, table scatter like planters and pots appeal to me as a nice way to get usable blocking/ cover terrain on the table, and do keep things looking natural. How often in real life is a tyre barricade found to be in just the right place when you want to take a pot shot at some villains? Never… Planters, pots and wheelie bins however, now these are all over the place…
Reminder to self: I must find some 28mm wheelie bins.

Some Mixed Table Scatter Too!

These two 25-28mm resin bits were kicking about for a couple of months before I got to them. Made by Warbases if I recall.

The cobbles are curtesy of a friend who was doing some test moulds for resin roadways, these were off cuts that were just asking not to be thrown away.

Still got two more of these, must resist painting the other phone box blue…

Simon’s cobbles also form the base of a small town square statue. It is made from a couple of the off cuts he made his masters from, and a never to be used napoleonic horseman from the bits box.

For fun I included a good dose of bird poo on the shoulders. In some cultures its good luck I’m told! The cobblestones are not such a vivid colour in reality. Honest.

Actually, I’ve been up to more than I thought…

Just reviewing my photo stream tells me that I have done a lot more than I thought. Yay!

These test pieces from the Deadzone scenery range were done before my summer Disney excursion.

These pieces were simply sprayed black then given a heavy dry brush of privateer press P3 Greatcoat Grey, with bolt heads and detail picked out in GW Kislev Flesh.

It’s a quick and easy method, as painting lots of bits this size often bores me to the point of not completing them. (I still haven’t finished the remaining pieces yet although they are very good pieces and do deserve a place on my Sci-fi table.

Note to self: I must inventory my Sci-fi stuff to see what I have got, as we seem to be playing more of this recently.