(Wargaming) life is about making choices

It's been a busy week sofar. Monday I had my exam for Windows Office; Advanced that I passed with a 9.2/10, and I'm now looking over the next course and how this is planned. It's 8 lessons, cut in half by a 6 week summer holiday, so it would be 14 weeks till my planned exam, over 3 months! After chatting with the teacher we agreed to plan a exam on the last day before the summer holiday and see how it goes. As the course is about sales, adevertising and customer service, in which I have 10+ years of experience and a diploma from 2004, it means I will be spending quite a bit of time in the local library to study for the next 3 weeks to get it all into my system. So fingers crossed. The course after that is another 6 weeks, and I also have to pass my blind typing exam, but in theory, if all goes well, I could (in theory) finish my course 2 months ahead of schedule, so I can start the German Language course sooner as planned. Though tbh I still have not decided which one, the starter or the advanced course. I can read German, I can understand most German (be it on tv or live), my spoken German is way better then the average Dutch, but my writing skills are a bit lacking. In the meanwhile, I got a Spanish language DVD to play with once a week, just for funsies.

Right, back to the hobby.

2x M4A3 105mm guntanks for my future Iranians.....back to the past for me, if anyone remembers the ones I painted back in 2009, which got sold off when I sold my Iraqi army?

They are almost finished, just adding lifting rings to both of them in the right places and when the time comes to paint them, behead someone for the commander and maybe drop a few empty 105 shellcasings on the rear deck.

Did squat diddly building wise today. pent a good 30 minutes in the attic (always a smart move on a hot day, lifting heavy items in already sauna like environment and grabbed almost every single kit I have no need for in the near future.

That is another 50+ kist of stuff that is either the wrong scale, I have more then a few off already or are modern(ish) day fighter jets because if there will ever be a Battlegroup Modern(ish) the only likely aircraft you will see over a active battlefield are fighter bombers. A pure air to air fighter like a Tomcat or a Russian Stealth Jet is a bit pointless for the era (though I'm keeping 2 of those stealthjets to be built as wheels down versions for Black Ops games). Combine this with about 50+ resin kits, a couple of bags of metal miniatures and some painted stuff (yes, painted stuff) I have the rest of the week to bag and tag everything in one large list so it can go online in the weekend on the various groups and forums. Kim is really happy with my efforts of building as much as possible of what I want to keep and selling off what do not intend to use any time soon.

Plenty to do for the coming days. Including repairing my WIP Kursk Windmill as a knocked the fella down from a plank and one of the sails came flying off. Nothing a pin can't fix, and more motivation to get him done so he can join his brother.

2nd Joker spent, or That spiralled out of control quickly!

Ok, a second hand lot of 20 riflemen from Portugal for 20 euros, a BTD order of SMG's, officers and a HMG for 35 euros and another second hand lot from the UK of 38 troops including 2 mortars for 40 euros today. Almost 90 troops in under a week, all BTD, all Early War, for just over a 100 euros. God I love the LAF.

With the new additions this is now fully complete troop wise.

• Command Squad - 6 men
• Infantry Squad - 7 men
• Infantry squad - 7 men
• Infantry squad - 7 men
• MG team - 3 men
• MG team - 3 men
• MG team - 3 men

I can now choose to spread the SMG's one per squad (as per the real TOE) and save some for the HQ options. Also, I've now filled the third MG team slot. With the new additions I can also field 2 80mm mortars,  a always handy weapon in Battlegroup (and real life). JP has mentioned he can supply me with a Russian greatcoated AT rifleman that should be converted to a German one for free.  So that is another slot filled in.

The 40 euro, and the Joker, came from my Crisis budget (the show, not my real life Crisis budget!) so that has now dropped to 260 euros. Yes, Crisis is in November, but I have already started planning what I need. Additions to my 20mm Kursk forces will be mostly PSC vehicles as they are so damn good, but those are something I will fill out on the day. Sofar, the only bit planned is another 100 slot paintstand for my budding Vallejo AIR and AK paint collection for the airbrush, meaning I will have 3 of them and that should fill up my desk nicely (splitting the desks into a PC only and painting only was the best decision I ever made, even if the actual event hasn't happend yet :P ) A painstand that size is another 50 euros. The 2 that I have are from Miniaturicum, and they won't be at Crisis, but several other companies do so I will have a gander at them when the time is there (and see if they offer up discounts for pre orders). If this 28mm has progressed as much as I hope it will, I might be tempted to grab a few more extra support options like a PaK and a IG, or a small car suitable for the Luftwaffe officer (for which I have a very nice Foundry model in my collection). I don't think I will go for any of the tanks, for me a 28mm game feels like it should be a infantry game, tanks feel too overpowering for me. Having said that, I don't mind fighting one in Early War, when even a ATR had a chance of putting one out of action.

Anyway, some PSC tanks, a painstand, maybe some 28mm guns. That is the plan sofar, and any money left over from the Crisis fund will be allocated to the buying of a Xbox One for when Fallout 4 comes out. I'm a huge fan of the series, and with the demise of my PC not so long ago this office desktop that I have as a replacement won't cut it.

Battlegroup Aircraft

While sorting out the attic I refound my plastic kits collection, which is rather extensive (+300 kits and counting). I've put quite a few aside for sale next year, but hoarded quite a few others cause they fit in with my build plans.

Some of these are aircraft. Now aircraft in Battlegroup are a fickle thing. You can pay for a scheduled attack by a fighter, fighter bomber and sometimes even a bomber so that it attacks a certain point at a certain time. If I understand the rules correctly they can be driven off by AA guns or even destroyed when they take too many hits. Or you can pull a aircraft chit and roll a 5+ for it to arrive, and then roll again to see what type of aircraft arrives. Again, these can be driven off by AA guns  but give you more flexibility in their attack mode. Buying a Forward Air Controller raises the chance that a aircraft arrives when you pull the chit (and grants you a extra offcier), so that's very helpful too (and another great modelling oppertunity

As I will be focussing on these rules, it would be nice to pick up my old hobby of model airplanes again, I made quite a few when I was a kid....I just never painted them. These days I do paint them and modify them with a wall plug and a magnet inside that so I can use them on my flight stands. It is the best of both worlds really, model aircraft that actually get to be used on the table.

So what do I need? Well, the focus lies with Germans (Early to Late), Russians (Early to Late) and British (Late), so I will need all of the books.

Barbarossa
Kursk
Overlord
Fall of the Reich

Barbarossa first then. The Germans get the Ju-87D Stuka, the Fiesler Storch and the Bf-110. All 3 are in my collection, ready to be built. The Russians get the I-16, the I-153, The SB-2 and the Il-2 Sturmovik. I have all of these except the SB-2, and I keep eyeing ICM kits of the model on Ebay, but this is not in any hurry.

Kursk. The Germans get the Ju-87D and G Stukas, the FW-190F, the HS-129B, the Fiesler Storch, the FW-189A Uhu, the HS-126 and the He-111.I can reuse the Early war Ju-87D. The rest I have in stock, apart from the Uhu, but I'm chasing that on our local Ebay. For some reason I feel like swapping out the He-111 with a Ju-88, but I have both kits so maybe both will get built, who knows. No rush again. I would like to use the Bf-110 strike fighter here as well, plus a Me-109E strike fighter as they would be fun to build for the Hornisse Zerstorer Gruppe. It is not too hard to make stats for the 109E. I have a Bilek Hs-129B but it doesn't feel right, like it is a underscale model, but it does come with a 50mm cannon pod. The Russians get the Il-2, now with a backseat gunner, the Pe-2, the Yak-1 and -9, the P-39 Aircobra, the Po-2 and the Il-4 (the book calls it a 4 engined aircraft while in fact it only has 2). The Pe-2 I picked up recently in the shape of the excellent Hobbyboss kit, I might have to source another Il-2. I don't have a Yak-1/-9 but the prices on Ebay don't seem very high so we'll see. A  P-39 i have several, 1 in progress, the Po-2 I'm trying to aquire but sofar no luck, and the same goes for the Il-4. I'm eyeing both on the local Ebay but sofar my bids have not been accepted or even replied to.

Overlord. The Brits get a Spitfire or a Typhoon, with an Auster as AOP. The Spitfire would be a Mark IX or Mark XII, and I have neither. Looking at Ebay, the Italeri Mark IX one seems nice and cheap too. A Academy Typhoon has been with me for years, so it is time it gets built. Austers tend to go for silly money, and I'm not sure if the Antartica one builds the same aircraft. The Germans get the Me-109G and the Fw-190 G. Neither I have in stock and unless I trip over one, won't be bought this year unless I can trade some of my kits for one.

Lastly, Fall of the Reich. The Brits get the Typhoon and Auster again and a Tempest. Since the Academy Typhoon is so cheap I'm tempted to build 2, one with and 1 without D-Day markings. I have no Tempest, but plenty of those on Ebay right now. The Germans get the Fw-190G, the Ju-87G and the Me-262. I can reuse the Fw-190G from Normandy and the Ju-87G from Kursk, so I will only have to build the Me-262 with bombs. I'm tempted to stat out the Arado Blitz and the Ju-188 just because I have the models and give the Germans the option of a 20-30 Point bomber strike, albeit one that is Unique cause by then fuel is scarce.

I have no plans for American aircraft yet other then the L-4 as a placeholder for the Auster. That doesn't mean I won't build them (I have plenty of the models in stock) but starting US forces isn't on the cards yet till 2016 or 2017, if ever.

Also, refinding German wunderwaffe kits like the Flying Wing, Panther F turrets and even the first helicopter makes me dream about things 1946, though a book like that will probably be all fan based. Maybe later.

Catch of the day

...or, more precisely, of the week.

I've been spending the proceeds of my sale on items that will help me with, or are part of my projects. A great help for this Ebay and Marktplaats, a local Dutch variant on that theme. Ebay has the minor issue in that it clashes with the 2 weeks rule. Auctions tend to run for a week, so that doens't really work, hence I just made a list of items that I want, made searches for it on Ebay and saved those. If there are new items posted that fit the bill I get a signal. If after 2 weeks I no longer require the item, I delete the search, easy as that. Marktplaats is easier, people put stuff on that stays on for a month. More then enough time for me. But I have to be honest, I sometimes break that rule if there is a very good deal to be had. On Ebay, this means sellers offering low or free shipping, or a very low opening bid. On Marktplaats this means making a low bid and then just seeing if the seller responds, or not. If after 2 weeks I still want it and there is no reply, I can always raise my bid.

This week I received and won the following items:

On Marktplaats, I made a bid of 2,50 euro for a 1:72 Revell Me-262. This was accepted after a few days. As I didn't need the box or the instructions, the seller agreed to mail it to me in a brown unmarked envelop instead of a package, making the total cost a mere 4,75 euro. I'm going to combine this with a 1/72 Quickboost resin starboard engine that is partially dismantled (which I won for 6,50 Pounds incluyding shipping from Australia recently) and base it wheels down as a late war German forest plane on a wooden platform. A piece of scenery for short :) I still have plenty of aftermarket decals in my stash so that is covered too.

On Ebay, I used Buy it Now to buy a early example of the engine used in the Me-109, amongst others. This set me back 10 Pounds including shipping, plus I bookmarked the store for the future as shipping from the UK to me was a mere 60 pence. I can't even mail a average envelope inside Holland for that. They send out normal kits for 1.65 Pounds shipping, normally this is 5 Pounds minimum for most Ebay sellers from the UK to Holland. I don't know how they do it, but I like it. The engine will be used in my casting experiments, and the casts (if they succeed or not) will be used in the Me-109 wrecks I'm planning on building. A few years back I got a great deal on a stack of old Matchbox(?) Me-109E's for 1 euro a piece from Italy, and besides making Crimson Skies planes out of them, they have not been used yet. Since I like making wrecks, this one should be fun.

On Marktplaats again, I ran into a seller who was liquidating his Ho train collection, and had quite a few lots of scenery items as well. He was selling each of the items you see for 3 euro per lot, the normal store price for this lot is well over 35 euros new online. 17,50 Inlcuding shipping, and a nice addition to my forest which I refound last week in the attic. The Kohl & Salat (Cabbages and Salad) is especially welcome, as in one of my pre orders for the Crisis show I have 2 greenhouses and 2 smaller ones. These will mix very well, and so I can do back gardens for the Wikkywok houses.

Marktplaats, I picked up this for a mere 5 euros, and I only had to divert my ride from work by a little bit to pick it up. Now, wait a minute, I don't have a American army, right? That is correct, but there are 2 reasons I've picked it up. I do want to make an American army, but that probably won't be till 2016 before I start it. Secondly, the British army I want to start needs an Auster, and these are hard to find and go for high prices (usually). This will be a nice stand in. The price helped a lot too.

Back to Ebay, I was browsing the shop were I bought the 109 engine, and found this Pe-2 for 9.20 Pounds including shipping. I already have a Pe-2 kit from a obscure Russian company which is a dramatically bad piece of engineering. I've read stellar reviews about the Hobbyboss one, and the price was very good so hey, another kit for my Mid to Late War Russians. On opening the kit I was pleasantly suprised at the low parts count, which is perfect for me. It will be easy to modify to take a flight stand.

I've been watching the old Matchbox Churchill AVRE ever since I picked up 4 boxes of PSC Churchills, as I think these will make a great add-on piece for one of them. Problem was that whenever I was watching, these went for 10-15 Pounds plus 5 Pounds shipping minimum. I made some bids here and there and was always outbid. Till last week. My opening bid of 4.99 turned out to be the winner, and for 10 Pounds including shipping this one is mine. Now I just want the bridge, and the add on parts, so I have no idea yet what to do with the complete tank. Maybe sell it, or build it as a wreck, who knows. A great find, this one. The decals are still crisp too, very nice.

I also picked up some Oyumaru plastic clay from Ebay, from Hong Kong, for casting purposes. I'm a bit late to the party, I believe this hit the scene 1-2 years ago, so I won't bore you with details on who and what. This has been explained in better detail by many Blogs, like this one. I want to use it for the engine block, and wheel rims that I will use for burnt out wrecks, and other engines that I can find, as these tend to be pricey online. If I can make my own casts for private use, the better. I'll probably will do even more things with it, who knows. Anyway, 30 sticks put me back 20 Pounds including shipping, but those should be enough to last me quite some time. I'll grab a few boxes of Milliput when I'm at the Crisis show.

I have a commission running with Wikkywok at the moment, and he shown me some lovely photos of the first testhouse he made for me. Aside from 1 or 2 minor points, I was quite happy with it already so I'm looking forward to having all 4 right here with me. More on that at a later date.

Lastly, a purchase arrived from mid August :) For some reason, mail from Canada is incredibly slow at best and glacial at its worst. Dunno why. But I received 2 Blue Steel books today, namely Civil Wars: The Gun Trucks and Blue Steel IV: M-50 Sherman tanks and APC's in South Lebanon. These were, with shipping included, quite pricey, but that is normal for such a specialist publication. The Gun Truck book gives descriptions of photographs of various gun trucks used, also explaining to which faction they belonged, very handy! The M-50 book gives details about the M-50 and the APC variants, and lots of detail shots of rusting hulks. Both books will come in very handy for my Lebanon project as these were used by the SLA, one of the militias I will focus on.

Of course, this has been quite the expense, so it is back to selling again, as I still have a lot of micro armour to sort for sale. Back to that right after posting this :)

German AT Rifle Team

As painted for my Barbarossa till Kursk army for Battlegroup (in which case 2 figs are the team and the third is an extra)

Britannia Miniatures, my favourite no matter what. Colourcoded to match my army.

 

Battlegroup Dispatches Issue 1 released!

Finally!

 Battlegroup Dispatches Issue 1 has been released!

http://ironfistpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/ATT_1380660299696_Dispatches-1.pdf

Content:

Battlegroup Partisan

Partisan Army List

New Vehicle Data

Gebirgsjäger Army List

Painting British Infantry Uniforms for the ETO, 1944-45

Kampfgruppe Phillips, Normandy scenario

Hell in the Bocage, Normandy scenario

Pimp My Panzer – StuG III stowage box

‘On to the Dneipr’ new Battlegroup Kursk vehicle data

A bit for every rulesset released sofar plus a full armylist if you want to game Yugoslavia
in 1943! I'm liking that list a lot cause I like ambushing convoys like no other, which makes 
you set up a game with a very limited figure count and rulesrestrictions and can be played
in an hour or so as a precursor to a normal wargame. The paintingguide makes painting 
British Infantry easy-peasy....just add effort and job is godun. The 2 Normandy scenarios 
are a nice addition and something to try out for me when my 6mm armies are further
along the line, or my daughters have grown up, whichever comes first :D Pimp my Panzer
is something that I hope will be a frequent addition in the dispatches....tips and tricks like 
that are always handy to know. On to the Dneipr adds vehicle data for mostly post Kursk 
vehicles, but lets you include a T-70 company for Kursk as well. Imagine 10 of the little 
ones buzzing towards you....attack of the gnats!

On the whole, a nice read, plenty of food for thought and the eyes, and well reccomend. Issue 2, whenever that will be released, is already highly anticipated!


In case further downloads for Battlegroup interest you, go here: ironfistpublishing.com

Tick, tack....

Brummbär and Funklenkpanzer (minus commander) done.

Kursk is coming closer.....

Some better pics of the Borg, now with antenna:

The Flammpanzer III is finished as well:

And some progress on the Funklenkpanzer III:

Attack of the Borg!

Attack of the Borg.....wards.

Finished the 3 plus 1 charge.

It will be a right demolition derby at Kursk :) Models are converted Wanze from Britannia (driver and rocketpack removed, sides altered, new exhaust system, antenna and marker, plates for the engine and driver)

Just a little bit more (for Kursk)

Not 1, not 2, but 3 Borgwards will be rumbling across the table. Updated the original as well with jerrycans, cleaned up the front and added handles to the charge. Also made a seperate charge.

And the man who will be in control, a converted Italeri Fast Build Panzer III

Working on getting the control box looking proper now, then back to the rest of the tank. Open hatches nicked from a PSC Panzer IV.

2 months till Kursk!

Better get cracking!

First up is a demolition Borgward to take care of the Russian minefields.
The base is a Britannia Wanze with the driver and panzerschrecks removed to get a clean Type C Borgward. Sadly this is the wrong type for Kursk, I need a A or B for that. Technically I can't use this one as it is a bit longer then the A or B but frankly I don't care  :grin:
Engine bay sanded down, sides and rear cut, new exhaust made (which varies in location on all of my pics so I went for the middle ground), stick with a ball on it (what does it do, does it make it easier to see or what?) cover for the driver who won't be present and a new cover for the old drivers seat (The A and B had the driver on the right).

Then we add something to get the Russians from their trenches, the Kebab Machine.....ok, its a Flammpanzer III. Pretty far along with this one, time for weathering and detailing.

And completing todays post, 3 Panzer IV's from PSC, with some minor upgrades. I was just working on adding the brass barrels.

And that's it for today.