Wargaming Musings?

I'm a bit of a butterfly in terms of my attention and sticking to gaming projects long term isn't my strongest point. On the bright side, atleast I flit between the same things. Expect an ecclectic medley of Moderns, Dark Ages, Quar and Early Wild West, almost all in 28mm... (with some 1/48 moderns thrown in... )

Thursday 3 September 2015

Finished lead - Engineer and officer!

I decided to have a short break from painting Northern Nomads, so had a  go at some oddments from the AtR world (heavily inspired by Mortal Engines).
Here we have a member of a London Engineers Guild security team from Mortal Engines and an officer from the Neu-Hansa trade caravans from our AtR setting

Tuesday 1 September 2015

AtR: more nomad teaser pics...

Seb came across on Saturday and helped me get some more nomad figures prepped. Add in some painting time and things are coming along quite nicely. All things going to plan I should have the nomads finished long before the display game at Reveillie  (!)

Which is good,  as my brain is wandering about the setting we started building, coming up with all sorts of ideas... The heavily armed trade caravans  of the Neu-Hanseatic League, wandering London Engineers seeking lost archeotech, scavengers, savage tribes, giant subterranean worms (tremors style), landships, mutated dwellers in long lost catacombes, the list keeps going on. From my perspective, I can see masses of scope for steampunkish post-apocalypse adventures, with heavy hints of  Mortal Engines but with everything from Indiana Jones (archetechologist being chased through a ruined sewer system by misshapen troglodytes) to Beowulf (a nomad tribes camp is being plagued by a monster of prodigious capabilities and a wandering hero is in town to help) via His Dark Materials Trilogy (there's got to be space for a mercenary Texan aeronaut!?).  And heavns know what Seb will come up with... (although he has already confessed to being heavily influenced by Darwins World)

Anyway, enough waffle.  On to the  WiPs!

Thursday 27 August 2015

All That Remains Teaser - Northern Nomad WiP shots.....

A few WiP snaps from my desk, showing some of the stuff I'm working on for the ATR display game - please ignore the part painted Valkyrie crew and the horde of  grey-primed dark-ages types on the paint station in the background! Most of the figures are based off either Gripping Beast Jomsvikings or Wargames Foundry Cossacks; and I'm trying to convey the image of a post-apocalypse, nomadic warrior culture. These folks are mammoth (don't ask) and reindeer herders, who trade and raid as the opportunity presents itself. Technology level is black-powder, with occasional bits of scavenged pre-apocalyse technology (such as the Carn's pump action shotgun). I'm hoping that by mixing Rus Vikings, cossacks and generic hair barbarians together I'll get a group that looks unmistakably 'northern warrior', without looking too much like anyone thing....
Inspiration definitely stolen from the World of Mortal Engines books!

If these guys are interesting - please do check out the ATR blog:  http://armiesoftheaftermath.blogspot.co.uk/

-Xander

 From L: A scav/archeotechologist, nomad warrior, Carn Ikea Torsson, a selection of pack mules and part of a hunting dog. The building in the background will be the 'traders hut' in the display game... Yes, it does have a sofa and a washing machine outside it. No... I don't know why either!
From L; Hunting dogs, light cannon 1 (Warlord Frame gun), light cannon 2 (Boot Hill 'come take it' gun), 2 part-converted Warlord gun crew (ECW Scots -> Northern Nomads) & a part built cart as scatter for the village in the display game.
The gun crewman hunched over will be getting a slung shield and will have some GSing done on his coat. The chap leaning forward with the fuse needs some work done on his trousers, and may well get a belt...
Assorted part painted Northern Nomads
(Note: angry northern lady!)
More assorted part painted nomads....
Close-up of Carn Ikea Torsson, my commander for the display game
(Ancestral shotgun for the win!)

Wednesday 12 August 2015

All That Remains

Hello all,

Just a quick note to say that Seb & I are putting on a display game at Reveillie later this year, with the aim of taking it to Salute next year. We have set-up a blog to chart our progress http://armiesoftheaftermath.blogspot.co.uk/
Please check it out for platoon level post apocalypse games, atleast one force of which will have a World of Mortal Engines-ish twist... Realistically, I probably won't get around to cross-posting my work to here despite my best intentions to do so!

-Xander

Friday 17 April 2015

40mm vehicles

Just finished weathering a 1:50th Solido BRDM and a 1:43rd 'Russian Diecast' Moskovitch....

HLBS and Graven Images 40mm size comparison

From the left: HLBS, HLBS, GI, HLBS, GI Conversion, HLBS. 
All Graven  Images figures were removed  from their internal bases, but generally scale up pretty well (although definitely at the  'strapping' end of the  spectrum!)

Saturday 4 April 2015

Goodbye thesis - hello hobby time

Just a  quick note to say that I  have  finally  finished my PhD  thesis, and  that it has been submitted,  so I  will hopefully be  back  to getting  hobbying  done soon

Until  a proper  update, here are some  views of the paint station, a few WiPs  and some  figures  in need of  basing...

Wednesday 18 February 2015

HLBS 36mm/40nn/1:48th 'HEAT' modern crime range list

Richard at HLBS was kind enough to end me the original catalogue listings for the Heat 40mm modern crime range he used to produce, and I thought I'd pop it up here as an appendix to previous catalogue post

"40mm Police and Criminals range.
PC1        S.W.A.T. 6 multi-part figures with separate heads, torsos and legs. MP5, M4, M8 Shotgun and M24 sniper rifle. £14.00
PC2        S.W.A.T. 6 multi-part figures with separate heads, torsos and legs. G36, M8
Shotgun and M24 sniper rifle.           £14.00
PCS        SW1 & 2 Deal both sets     £25.00
PC3        Neil         £2.50
PC4        Chris       £2.50
PC5        Michael £2.50
PC6        Tony      £2.50
PC7        Tony#2 £2.50

Other useful figures that are compatible with this range.

Urban Guerrillas

UG1        European designer Guerrillas             £6.00
UG2        Militants in ski masks         £6.00

Law Enforcement

LE1        US Cops                £6.00
LE2        Undercover cops or armed perps      £6.00
LE3        US security and VIP                                            £6.00

CIA/FBI/Undercover cops                                              

US27      3rd Special forces group/CIA civvies gear       £6.00     


The great thing about 40mm is the amount of 1/48th scale models that are available to use in games. O gauge in model railways are actually 1/48th scale, so buildings and street furniture are quite easy to obtain. Also because the figures are on bases making them a little taller on the ground 1/43rd diecast vehicles don’t look out of place either.

Useful websites

www.wholesaletrains.com large range of “O” Gauge buildings and street furniture stocked
www.ashevillediecast.com stockists of 1/43rd diecast cars such as GEARBOX police cars NEWRAY trucks amongst others

www.policecarmodels.com Stockists of 1/43rd diecast police cars and decals"