US Special Forces.

I had some fun painting these but made some mistakes when putting a dark wash over the uniforms and skin colours. I had to repaint the skin and then used the correct wash afterwards. The Tiger stripes were looking very nice but I had not quite got the ERDL looking correct as I made a mistake when putting down the base colour. You probably cannot see the difference between the two uniform types from the photos anyway. The three figures in black uniforms are going to be my A team members to go with my Montagnards. (They need a bit more Matt varnish)

From reading various accounts on the Internet it seems that LRRP Teams can operate from 6 to 12 members. 12 members are hard to conceal so they would normally have just six. I have painted a few extras so I can field a large team when I want to. I also have a Rambo figure who can fit in with these guys as I cannot think of another use for him.

A Team members

LRRP Team

LRRP Team extra figures.

Vietnamese Local Bar.

Just finished this little bar for my Vietnam setting. I've been thinking of a suitable name for it but have only thought of "The Tiger Wood Cocktail lounge". Sorry bad joke and rather out of date.

 It was made out of Foam Core and a sunbathing mat for the walls, and an old towel for the roof. The roof has come out a different colour to the other buildings which meant that I have not dry brushed it yet as I am deciding how much I like it.

The signs were copied from the internet but I had to go over the Coke sign with a marker pen to get it a brighter red. I also made some larger signs which are too big to fit to the building so I might save these for a more Urban setting. I was lucky to have made the roof in one piece which fits nicely over the front area and did not need glueing down. I was worried about it warping so am happy about how it looks. This meant that the little shop counter is accessible to fit figures in. I am intending to buy the Baker Company civilians at some stage to populate this. I should make a short time room to go out the back when I find time.

Latest Militaria

I have slowed down on collecting Militaria as I am finding that it is not easy getting the last items that I am after, and also explaining to the partner why I keep buying more old stuff to fill my room with.

First up a Vietnam era Aussie M56 pattern Water Bottle and cover.

Woodland pattern Jacket with patches that belong to a Drone piloting unit, if I did my research right.

Repro Tiger Stripe jacket and pants, from different manufacturers.

OG107 Vietnam era pants.

A green modern pants belt to use with my Woodland Uniforms. 

I also need a Black one for Vietnam era.

My partner attached an early type Army badge on my OG107 shirt.

I bought a complete M51 pattern entrenching tool but swapped the covers 

with my earlier pattern version as it looked nicer.

British 44 pattern belt in very good condition which was very cheap, bought online locally.

My partner gave me an old magazine rack for my room. 

I have not told her what I intended to display in it yet.

I really want a Woodland pattern Helmet cover for the Helmet that has the NZ pattern DPM cover on it already. I might end up buying the complete item though as there is a bunch available right now on the local trading site, but a bit more expensive than I want to pay. I am also thinking of getting a Repro K-pot and cover seeing as I have gotten interested in the Cold War era.

Small Demons

I have just completed some small Demons/Monsters for Frostgrave from Reaper and Grenadier. The two Ghouls and the Serpent Man are from Grenadier and required stripping of the old paint jobs which quite easy. The Floating Polyp and the Formless Spawn are also from Grenadier. The Rat bases are from the new Reaper Bones range which I undercoated against the advice I've read and heard about but think they came out alright.

To be honest I am losing interest in Frostgrave as I have not had a chance to play with anyone. I may just finish painting all the older Monsters just to display in my cabinet and move onto another project fairly quickly. I am quite happy just plodding through my Vietnam lead pile so will continue doing that for the foreseeable future. I also found my box of my Congo vehicles which it turns out that I had reboxed into smaller boxes and put them with my 20mm WW2 collection.

Webb Ellis Cup

I had a couple of items that I was going to post today but the events of last night would seem to be more newsworthy if you are a Rugby follower like me. I attended my works Christmas Function last night and was warned that the Web Ellis Cup was to be attending just before the posted time of the function starting. While waiting outside I was lucky enough to see Dane Cole the All Blacks Hooker and also of the local teams, The Hurricanes and Wellington Lions player walking into the venue carrying a small black box which looked like a speaker. Once inside the box turned out to be holding the Webb Ellis Cup. No security guard was required and everyone who was there had the opportunity to hold the Cup and have a photo taken. Later on the sales guys decided to fill it with beer and have a drink out of it.

I was under the impression that only the actual winners of the Cup are allowed to touch it, but being New Zealand traditions are soon ignored. I just checked online and found that indeed you are not allowed to touch the Cup.

"If you are going to any of these events, it’s worth checking with the local event hosts nearer the time to be sure no details have changed. And remember, you can have your picture taken BUT you can't pick it up, that privilege is purely for World Cup winners!"

I am now having a stupid and annoying online conversation on Facebook with my sister about how an Englishman is not supposed to be holding the Cup. Considering that I am a permanent NZ resident, had held a season pass to the Hurricanes and Wellington Lions for 11 years and only gave it up when my mate died (who I used to go with). I also pay through the nose for Sky to get the coverage of local games. I do like to follow English Sport, History and Culture as that is part of my heritage and interests me. My Sister however became an instant Kiwi at the age of seven and has no interest in her past. She is also a fair-weather supporter of Sport usually Football rather than Rugby. I alone seem to enjoy Rugby out of my family having played in School in England before we emigrated to NZ. Truth being I cannot control a round ball as I am rather top heavy with small legs so opted to play Rugby.

Dust Tactics Quonset Huts.

I picked these up ages ago with only a vague idea of what to do with them, but thought I'd be using them for my Future War games. I have made but not painted the Italeri Versions in 20mm for use in my Congo project and was able to compare these to get an idea of how to add some details which would make them suitable for Vietnam. These are not entirely correct but are close enough to game with.

 I added shutters over the windows and made up some Air conditioning vents by cutting up an old Tamiya Sherman engine deck. The units were left as single units so they could be used in either single, double or a full unit of three. Some of the units were fitted with a large garage type door which would be handy for more Modern games.

I had some Tamiya spray cans in a Dark and light Olive Drab which went over the black undercoat. After this dried I then dry brushed with Vallejo Brown Violet and Russian Uniform. I then used some Mig Vietnam dust around the bases and Water effect around the windows. (which can hardly be seen after Matt coating)

Team Yankee 20mm

I have been following the discussions about Battle Fronts new Team Yankee game with interest. I downloaded the Novel to read again as I have not read it since it first came out. The first time I read it  I was really keen to play the PC game which was not much more than a Turkey shoot, although it was fun back then.

My issue with buying this in 15mm is that I am in the process of selling off all my 15mm Armies and terrain. I do have loads of 20mm WW2 terrain already and some more Modern buildings bought for my Congo project. I am still keen on doing a Warlord versus a Colonial Power in Africa project but may move some terrain to the West as it would be more suitable there. I am embarrassed to say that I have spent ages looking for my completed Congo vehicles but cannot find the box that contains them.

I will write more later when I have come up with something more substantial as I am just doing research about the setting. I am not an active Club gamer these days so whatever scale I get into will be played at home and I will have to provide both sides.

Some links.

Reforger 85 on Youtube

The Guild has some posts worth looking into.

20mm Modern War Game.

I have looked at a few  recordings of games of European Escalation on Youtube.

European Escalation the Game.

Fulda Gap

The A Team (and friends).

After spending so long on doing my Vietnam project (which is still not complete) I felt like doing something a bit silly. I've been watching the A Team on TV for the last couple of months everyday when I get home from work, which has helped me wind down. Don't worry about me doing a Mary Taylor Moore project though, as that follows the A Team at which point I'm in the shower.

I have an idea for a game based on the TV series which needs a few figures painting. I can use some of my terrain so don't need to build anything else.

Theses figures are from Studio Miniatures which I am happy with. I lost the lighter layers of Hannibal's Jacket and Faces suit when I matt coated them so they could do with a touch up. I am really pleased with Murdoch but ended up doing BA's skin too dark but love the jumpsuit I gave him.

Fool, this don't look like the Bank of Hanoi?

I also bought the Road Warrior and am happy with the paint job i gave him. The face is sculpted rather bland and needs a decent paint job to bring it out.

The Thing was shown on TV recently and I recognised this figure immediately. A very good sculpt.

Uh-oh, looks like I am going to have to find a MacGyver figure as the A Team has just finished to be replaced by MacGyver!!!

Vietnam Demo Game conclusion.

I have finally gotten the scenario to a point where I can say that it is done. The US forces have taken the tunnel complex but have failed to find anything of interest (using the CDS chart). All VC resistance has ceased in the area of the farm on the Free Worlds right flank. Any VC on the left rear of the area has either withdrawn or has gone to ground. The Free World forces have only found one rice cache out of the suspected three, but has razed the Farm complex to the ground and removed the civilians from the area.

The game took three full days of gaming at home plus the two short days at the convention. I feel that the rules are not really designed for a game of this size so it would be unfair to judge them on that. I have been playing the last couple of sessions using dice to determine the units orders rather than using the cards. I will write these up once I have sorted out a couple of things that have been bothering me, such as the random events you get when using cards.

After the game I started to rearrange the table as if the Free World forces have been there for a week, and have been clearing trees to make space for Helicopter pads as well as other improvements. I also extended the playing area to give the VC some space to work in. More photos of that when I am happy with the set up. In the meantime here are the last photos of this scenario.

Tunnel Rat locating the Tunnel entrance.

Did I mention that I shot down a Helicopter (finally)?

Hill and Tunnel entrance secured.

Left Flank finally in good shape with a fresh Platoon arriving.

Remaining VC infantry in bad shape.

VC support in bad shape and about to withdraw.

I had planned to bring a Bull Dozer by CH47 but only half of it arrived from the factory along with a midget Driver. The supplier said that they would sort out the problem with the missing parts. I intend to replace the driver with one from Westwind Productions pictured lower right, and use the Dozer Driver as a Vietnamese youth to drive a wagon.

The Dozer is a WWII D7 but I have seen these used by the Koreans in Vietnam and figure that the ARVN Army probably used these as well. I'd love to get a Rome Plough but have not found anything suitable yet.