Friday 28 September 2012

Updates on The Followers


Blogger was misbehaving and didn't show some people's blogs. I found it out yesterday when a friends blog didn't show on his profile, and today I checked all followers that I listed with no names. 
I found that Lee Harvey, Daddy Grognard, Scotty, Peter Bonami, Bruno Lorang and Ian-Willey had their own blogs, and I was a follower of several. Sort of embarrassing… Sorry guys.
Anyway, I updated Part 2 and Part 1. Do check them out, because they’ve got some great blogs.

Also, welcome Dizaster156 with a blog of the same name. Interesting photos.

Thursday 27 September 2012

The Followers – batch 3


A typical follower...
So, we’re getting to the end of the lot.
Rousell68 writes Don't Throw a 1 about playing with toy soldiers, and Ray's Music Emporium about, well, music.
The Dark Templar is about wargaming, painting and thoughts about the hobby.
La Long Carabine writes One 72nd Fantasy Figures about 1/72 figures strangely enough, and Organic Adventures in Farming about starting an organic farm.
JFaria writes O BRIGADEIRO about 1/285 scale WWII and other stuff.
Remco de Groot writes Remco's Miniatures and it’s all about his scale miniature models. At the moment it’s Asterix figs. Tempting, so tempting.
Ludo Weyden writes Studio Cyberlab is about scratchbuilding. Amazing stuff.
The Angry Lurker with the blog with the same name. Very interesting site, about wargaming, movies, books and other stuff. Contrary to the name, he really is sweet as sugar J
Paul’s Bods got three sites, Federation of Bodstonia about a fictitious 18th century country, Paul´s Bods about Paul’s little miniatures, and Emperor vs Elector about imaginary nations of the 18th century.
Thanos writes Miniatures & Terrain, one of my favourite sites. Lots of WWII.
Beccas writes Wargamer Blue and likes Tobruk. Lots of WWII. Good site.
Thomas Nissvik is a gaming buddie of mine, and writes Learning by doing, about IABSM, WWII in 20 and 6mm and currently Dux Brittaniarum. New is Dux Gondorum, I want to follow but can´t do it on the site…
Geordie the exiled Fog writes Geordie’s big battles about modelling, wargaming, fantasy and lots more. Like it!
Laffe is also a member of the gaming gang, the Scandinavian Lardies. Writes Figurfanatikern (in English) about WWII, 40K and other gaming related stuff. My first follower!
JonasM writes A Conflict of Interests about wikings, dark ages etc.
José Manuel Chasco writes 1/72 Depot about 1/72.
brownk29 writes Keith’s Wargaming / Painting Blog about SF, fantasy and historical minitures, historical sites and more.

And a bunch of people who don’t seem to have blogs of their own; EnfermagemVirtual SeuSite, lalebrasil and Dimitri Kremmydas.  (If I’m wrong, post in the comments below, please)

Welcome The Mad Padre who writes Platoon Forward Stories about the Too Fat Lardies’ solo IABSM-rules Platoon Forward, The Mad Padre's Wargames Page about this and that in wargaming, currently Weird WWII – fun, and Mad Padre about this and that.

From now on I will try to present each follower as they appear, in ordinary posts.

Tuesday 25 September 2012

The Followers – batch 2


More about the followers of this blog, and what they are blogging about.

StuG writes ARMOURED FIGHTING VEHICLE. About modelling and AFV:s. Lots of scratch-built goodies.
Lee Hadley writes Big Lees Miniature Adventures, a blog on miniatures, museums and other worthy stuff. Good!
Headologist is a long-time wargamer, writing An Englishman's attempt to learn Welsh about that, Cake or War which seems to be in the process of starting (I prefer cake, by the way), Charlie's London about Charlie Chaplin and Do You Have A Flag? about wargaming nonsense and miscellany.
Paul writes Quickly, Quietly, Carefully with ideas for old-school fantasy role-playing games.
Daddy Grognard got a blog with the same name, and it's about raising the next generation of old school wargamers. A worthy cause and a good blog.
John M writes MiniatureZone Blog about plastic soldiers, MiniatureZone Archives (2000 - 2005) being that, and El Brazo de Nelson about plastic soldiers and battle reports,  
William Dowie writes World of Garnia about development of that world.
Peter.Bonami writes Peter's Cave and it's about miniatures :-) Good painter and good blog.
Andy Walker writes The Lair of the Breviks about a grumpy old bugger with a paintbrush. A very talented painter…
Erhan Atalay is another reader.
Phil Fry writes L'atelier de Phil about scratchbuilding and kitbashing HO-scale model railway stuff.
Matt writes Blood, Fire and Death about miniature figure painting and wargaming.
GReg got a blog cunningly called GREG'S WARGAMING BLOG about WWII modelling in mainly 20mm. Quite a lot of good terrain tips.
Captain Richard's Miniature Civil War got a blog with the same name. I think the titles tells it all, if you know it the American.
Scotty writes Scotty's Wargaming. An painter of amazing speed. 
Itinerant writes Itinerant Hobbyist about his journeys through various hobbies. Currently 6mm wargaming. You can’t go wrong with that!
Smillie has a Painting Diary.
Dalauppror with a blog of the same name. A lot of dark ages, Vikings, Swedish medieval armies, beautiful painting and terrain. Well worth a look.

Last batch has to wait….

Update september 28: Blogger was misbehaving and didn't show the blogs of several people. I've updated Lee Harvey, Daddy Grognard, Scotty and Peter Bonami. Haven't found anything on Erhan Atalay. 

Friday 21 September 2012

The Followers – batch 1


I don't consider my followers mindless zombies :-)
So I’ve passed 50 followers, and that is rather cool. The followers are rather cool themselves, and I’d like to point you to what they do. I’ve presented the latest already, so here’s the first bunch of the others. I’m sure you will find something that might interest you.
Bruno Lorang writes the faboulus site Lonewolf's Welten. I became an instant follower. Much recommended!
TamsinP – something from the myths of gaming – a Wargaming Girl with a blog of the same name. A bit of everything, and I’m so happy I’m not as fast a painter as she is. My tin and plastics mountain would be gone in no time! On the other hand…
CreativeMountain – seem to work in the gaming industry, and has a couple of blogs on that: Grymwald Gazetteer, MF Wars and Creative Mountain Games.
Ian-Willey writes The Blog With No Name about painting little soldiers, and Wall Advantage about Advanced Squad Leader...ah, the memories....
Mick the Beachcomber has a couple of blogs: Musings of a cigarette smoking gamer, Samoahu, and Heart of Oak that seem to be in the process of starting.
Graham has his own page, cleverly named Grahams Page. A bit about his work in truck driving and a bit about wargaming and models.
Anibal Invictus has something very much in common with me, we both enjoy gaming with Too Fat Lardies' rules. His blog is also cleverly named, Gaming with TooFatLardies and is worth a visit, or several. He also writes Pecunia Olet about economics, politics and other interesting stuff.
Alfons Cànovas writes MINIATURAS MILITARES POR ALFONS CÀNOVAS about miniatures, uniforms, heraldry and a lot of other stuff. In Spanish but Google Translate fixes that if your Spanish is a bit rusty (as mine is…)
Kriz blogs with KrizKreations, where inspiration and creativity collides. Models, cool stuff, fun.
Ben is a wargamer, newly wed and a proud father. He also blogs with Breakthrough Assault (FoW) and TOCamo (soon to start with Infinity and Dreadball, could be interesting).

More to come...

And welcome to zuper_nissen who don’t seem to have a blog of his own.

Update september 28: Blogger was misbehaving and didn't show the blogs of several people. I've updated Bruno Lorang and Ian-Willey. Should be right now - sorry guys

Tuesday 18 September 2012

Book review – Italian Light Tanks 1919-45


Italian Light Tanks 1919-45, Filippo Cappellano and Pier Paolo Battistelli with illustrations by Richard Chasemore, Osprey New Vanguard 191, 48 pages, 2012

As we are playing the desert war, and especially early action with Italians, I have read up a bit on the equipment used. Finding something on Italian armour isn’t the easiest, so I was pleased when this title showed up.
So, let’s see what we get. The different chapters:
Historical Background – how it started and why
Early tanks and units – Fiat 3000 (an Italian version of the famous French FT 17), CV 29 and the first tank units
The CV 33 / L3 tank and derivatives – the well-known turret-less tankette, useful against tribesmen in Ethiopia but more or less worthless against someone with armour and AT-guns. Also flamethrower variants and others. A photo of a silly one-man MG-armed tank weighting 470 kilos – fantastic suicide vehicle.
The L 6/40 Tank, L 40 self-propelled gun and derivatives – a light tank with a turret-mounted 20mm quick-firing gun and a Semovente with a 47mm gun.
The interwar years- Ethiopia and the Spanish Civil War, the development of Italian armour
World War II – Experiences during the war, how they were used etc. Also a bit on their use in German hands.
Camouflage and markings
Surviving vehicles – very short on where you can find them today.
Specifications – for the L3/35, L 6/40 and Semovente L 40
Bibliography – understandably but unfortunately mostly Italian titles.
Index

Lots of very good pictures and some colour ones on surviving vehicles, a cut-away two page spread of an L3/35, four one-page plates of different vehicles, and two action plates, that I feel is a bit of a filler. Now, these two are rather good, so it is forgiven for this book…
I feel this is what I want from an Osprey. Good text, informative plates and photos and very little filler. So, I’m very happy with this book. I rate it a strong 4 out of 5. Recommended!

And welcome to new follower Chuck Cathcart, who don’t seem to have a blog of his own (correct me if I’m wrong)

Monday 17 September 2012

Book review – Humber Light Reconnaissance Car 1941-45


Humber Light Reconnaissance Car 1941-45, Richard Doherty, illustrations by Henry Morshead, Osprey New Vanguard 177, 48 pages, 2011.
Another British armoured car getting a well-deserved Osprey. This time it is the Humber LRC.
The chapters:
Introduction
Design and Development – Humber Ironside (LRC Mk I), Special Ironside Saloon (used by the Royal Family and Members of Cabinet – a ‘luxury’ model), Humber LRC Mk II, Mk III/IIIA, production totals and users.
Operating History – The Mediterranean, North-West Europe
Other Users – RAF regiment, Royal Navy, Other Allied nations, A Canadian cousin
Bibliography
Index
The above looks promising, and the book started as a good read.
The Humber LRC was designed shortly after Dunkirk, as a defensive vehicle in case the Germans invaded, and production began in July 1940. I guess they were rather desperate for anything with armour at the time… Mk I was, well, not the optimal AFV, so in 1941 Mk II came, a much better vehicle, with an open-topped turret among other things. Later the same year Mk III appeared, having four-wheel drive, a bit better armour and other improvements.
That’s the first 20 or so pages. Then comes Operating History, and now we get snippets of a lot of operations. Some details on what happened, but not enough to give me something to build a scenario on, or really to interest me much. I left this long chapter disappointed. As it was only fragments of operations I really didn’t remember much, it all merged into a vague feeling of what had happened during the war (essentially: it wasn’t altogether healthy to travel in a LRC). No, not good enough.
Other Uses, bibliography and index covers the last four pages.
As usual in an Osprey we get a lot of interesting photos, a cut-away two-page spread of the Mk IIIA, four one-page plates showing different vehicles and camouflage, and two one-page ‘action’ plates showing the vehicles in an action scene. Let’s just say that Mr Morshead should concentrate on vehicles, and don’t mess with people and especially heads…
So, mixed feeling for this book. A lot of good stuff, and a lot that really gave me nearly nothing. I’ll give it a rating of a weak 3 out of 5 if you’re interested in British AFV:s.

Sunday 16 September 2012

28mm Veer-Myn from Mantic


I got this as an extra in the huge box of Mantic goodies I bought this summer. A nice little figure, that I don’t really have any use for, but I painted it anyway.
It got a basecoat of white with a wash of Citadel Devlan Mud.
Skin: Vallejo 835 Salmon Rose
Leather: Formula P3 Bootstrap Leather
Trousers: Vallejo 822 Middle Stone
Cloth on the arms: Vallejo 847 Dark Sand
Metal: Citadel Chainmail
Pipe: Citadel Blood Red
Everything got a wash of Army Painter Strong Tone Ink.
We have at least one relative of his in our garden at the moment; a rat was seen several times last week. We called for a Space Marine to take care of it, but was only sent an ordinary human exterminator. The traps are set. No heavy bolters…I’m soooo disappointed.

Oh, and welcome follower number 50 - András Szilvásy has his own blog, Random&Creative that looks interesting. A bit of this and that in modelling. 

Saturday 15 September 2012

Crew for Revell 10,5 cm leFH 18 in 1/72


I built the field howitzer a couple of weeks ago, and the crew has been on the painting table since. Really nice figures.
I started by coating them with glue, to give the paint something to bond to, then white undercoat with black wash to bring out the details.
Paints used (Vallejo unless otherwise noted)
Uniform: 830 German Field Grey
Trousers: 836 London Grey
Helmet: 869 Basalt Grey
Belt and boots: Black
Washed with Citadel black wash
Skin: 955 Flat Flesh
Shirts: 821 German Camouflage Beige (I think)
Skin and shirts washed with Army Painter Quickshade Soft Tone Ink.
Everything coated with matte varnish.
Bye, bye!

Friday 14 September 2012

28mm Zombie from Mantic


A very quick zombie from the huge box of Mantic stuff I bought this summer.
Nice plastic model that will be used both in a fantasy setting, and also modern zombie games.
Painted with Citadel Rotting Flesh and cloth with Vallejo 821 German Camouflage Beige, and given a wash of Army Painter Strong Tone Ink. Eyes white and red, mouth red and pink. Hands, feet and wounds got a wash of Citadel Baal Red.

Wednesday 12 September 2012

Book Review – The Rolls-Royce Armoured Car


The Rolls-Royce Armoured Car, David Fletcher, illustrated by Henry Morshead, Osprey New Vanguard no 189, 48 pages, published 2012.
If you ever wanted to travel in style wearing an uniform, then a Rolls-Royce would certainly have been the thing to drive. The armoured car saw its debut in 1914, it was used during the inter-war years and even saw action in the desert war of WWII.
The chapters of this book, totally dedicated to this luxury car, are:
- Introduction: Who had the idea to put armour on his Rolls, why were Rolls-Royce chassis used, and a bit on how the early cars evolved.
- Design: what it says
- World War I: Naval Operations, The Machine Gun Corps, Gallipoli, Africa/Middle East, The Yeomanry and India.
- The Interwar Years: The different patterns (marks), RAF-use, Ireland and India
- World War II: Home Guard and other uses
- Bibliography
- Index
As usual in an Osprey there are colour plates, five one-page plates depicting two different cars each (great if you want to get a feel for the different colour schemes and differences in the patterns), one two-page spread with a cut-away view of a 1920 pattern car with numbered details (interesting) and a one page in-action drawing (not impressed, the figures really don’t look human, perspective is hard… a apge-filler that could have been used far better)
This is an Osprey as they are supposed to be: a good primer for a specific vehicle in this case. Recommended, I’ll give it a 4 out of 5 if you have any interest in British armoured cars.

Friday 7 September 2012

28mm Slaughterpit Zombie Gnoll from Chainmail/WotC


I bought this fabulous figure, sculpted by Paul Muller, around ten years ago, and it has patiently waited in the tin-mountain. The main reason for the long wait was mainly because it was multi-part, 4 pieces, and it needed a lot of green-stuff to be presentable. Let’s say that I haven’t felt totally comfortable with green-stuff, so everything that needed green-stuffing usually sinks to the bottom of the mountain. Anyway, I’m learning, and it doesn’t feel like such an obstacle any more.
So, after a heavy dose of green-stuff, I really like this figure. Rather morbid with two heads and four arms. It really has character.
Paints used:
Armour – Citadel Chainmail
Flesh – Citadel Rotting Flesh washed with Citadel Baal Red in places
Fur – Vallejo 875 Beige Brown
Shield – Vallejo 975 Military Green and Vallejo Bone White
Leather – Vallejo 872 Chocolate Brown
Everything washed with Army Painter Strong Tone wash.
Braiiiins!