2013 Round Up

I have passed the 5 year mark in the hobby since I started painting my imagi-nation figures while deployed in Iraq.

Plans for 2014:
1- Lots of figures still on hand for the fantasy project...will keep this at the priority for the year
---Humans
---Elves
---Dwarves
---Then buy next batch. Focusing on one manufacturer at a time.
2- Texture the bases on the imagi-nation figures
3- Update the blog with links and followed blogs
4- Small additions to existing projects...keeping each to about a week's work and finishing them as they are bought. Expect about a months worth of painting.
5- Attend Historicon and Cold Wars
6- Spend less than in 2013...need major work on this goal.
7- Start Pirates project

Let's see how I did on my goals for 2013:
1- Spend 50% less money than 2012. I am tracking all hobby expenses again this year.
---Sold off most of the figures I bought already painted over the past 5 years. Have decided to only keep figures I have painted. Last batch (quite large) is a mix of Napoleonic figures I use as imagi-nation enemy forces. Overall, a failure on this goal...spent the same amount as 2012 due to a few large unplanned purchases.
 2- Play games with the spaceships and Splintered Lands figures.
---Done, played a game with both sets of figures.
 3- Paint last 12 of the sci-fi figures on hand.
---Done, plus some others for the sci-fi project.
 4- Complete 152 German infantry (75% complete) and the German vehicles.
---Done
 5- Build bocage/hedges
---Failed...but bought a nice set at Historicon.
 6- Attend Cold Wars and Historicon
---Done, enjoyed both conventions with my son.
 7- Complete at least 50% of the on hand ancients figures.
---Done, blew this one away. Merged it into a fantasy project.
Added goals after start of the year:
8- Added a whole new project by painting planes for Check Your 6!
---Done
9- Paint the 5 cavalry, infantry, and 1 artillery unit I bought for my Katzenstein forces. Also start texturing the bases on this whole project. Target is to finish the painting by end of August.
---Finished painting all the troops, but have not rebased the existing forces
 10- Buy and paint several groups of fantasy figures...Halflings and gnomes from Splintered Light Miniatures to start.
---Great start on this project. Bought a huge load on sale from SLM. Great progress so far.

2013 Painting
J: 286
F: 148
M: 138
A: 100
M: 91
J: 92
J: 160
A: 155
S: 156
O: 212
N: 147
D: 305
2013: 1990 !!!!

2012: 1119
2011: 1013
2010: 1389
2009: 441


CURRENT PROJECT REVIEW
Zaquetta (ancients/fantasy): The continued focus into 2014. Finished the ancients figures and got a great jump on the HUGE batch of Splintered Light Miniatures I bought over the Summer. There are lots of other manufacturers figures I will pick up in the future.

WW2: A mature project. Will pick up an occasional British or German unit or vehicle.

Air Combat: A mature project: This was an unplanned addition in 2013 after my son and I played some games of Check Your 6 at Cold Wars. Have a small collection of US and Japanese planes. Could expand with more with some bombers or get into the jet age. Will buy a hex mat.

Katzenstein (imagi-nation): A mature project. Expanded the forces in 2013 and have a few more units I would like to build. Need to texture all bases and make a decision on selling my OPFOR. Could have a long range addition to add some generic enemy units.

Krasnovia (modern skirmish) and Ziva (sci-fi): A mature project. This has morphed and merged with the Ziva project. Basically it is one big individually mounted 15mm skirmish project with any sized force from squad to company. Will still pick up some figures (especially from Khurasan) and will get some more vehicles. Could be diverted into some Zombie gaming.

Splintered Lands:  A mature project. SLM just released a new set of five figures that I will pick up at Cold Wars.

Starmada: A mature project. Sold off the ships I bought already painted. No planned additions.

Terrain: Bought a large batch of bocage at Historicon after my efforts to make my own failed. Nothing specific needed, will just pick up what catches my eye. May get one more box of bocage at Cold Wars.


FUTURE (Possible) PROJECTS

Not that I need any more projects, but these are some ideas I have for the future.

Pirates: I have a big bag of figures on hand and a few ships. May start on these to mix things up in 2014.

Zombies: Been reading up on some of the zombie games...have lots of survivor type figures with the modern/sci-fi project. Could add zombies and maybe paper terrain.

Wild West: Still a possibility, but only after the Pirates get done.

Civil War: Considering 6mm or the Blue Moon 18mm figures.

Napoleonics: Considering 6mm or the Blue Moon 18mm figures.

Gladiators: would go 28mm with a custom built arena if I take the plunge.

Slaughterloo/Flintloque: love the figures, but not my preferred scale.

Spencer Smith Imagi-nation: I still think about starting another imagi-nation (larger scale).

Model Casting: Considering trying out my hand with casting my own figures from molds.

A Very British Civil War: Love the though of developing my own forces and the alternate history. Would be a 28mm project that comes with it's own terrain headaches.

MicroArmor: Interested in 6mm WW2 for larger games. The Look Sarge, No Charts rules got me interested.

German counter-attack

Ran another IABSM game with my British company defending against a German counter-attack. This will close out the games for 2013.

British held off the attack but took some heavy losses.

Germans Lost:

24 infantry

3 recon vehicles

1 PV IV

British Losses: 27 total casualties

7 KIA

14 WIA

6 WIA (RTD)

1st Platoon took 8 casualties.

3rd Platoon took 15 casualties.

The attached MG section suffered 4 casualties.

The company received 8 replacements. This leaves 2nd and 3rd platoons each down a full section.

1st post using the Blogger app on my iPad.

View from the British lines. Two platoons forward and the under-strength 2nd Platoon in reserve.

Germans entered in waves from both roads...recon elements 1st.

Well timed 3in mortar fire stops them cold.

Made worse by a lucky PIAT shot.

Tanks and Panzergrenadiers follow and start dishing out revenge.

While another platoon works the British right flank.

Losses mount with both sides trading MG fire.

The flank attack has some success, but the 2in mortar rips one squad to pieces.

The front line elements have pulled back to avoid the PV IV and Stug fire. British armor reinforcements are on the way.

A desperate bid to storm the church yard fails with heavy losses. This breaks the infantry attack.

Germans start to pull back as the British tanks arrive.

The PV IV gets a mobility hit for 1st blood...

But the return fire is more effective.

December 2013

Great painting month. Worked my way through the Dark Elves and Undead figures from Splintered Light Miniatures.

PAINTING
305 x 15mm figures: 305 points (Dark Elves and Undead)

2 units of Dark Elves with leaders

Specters, Wraiths, Skeleton Knights, Mummies

5 units of skeletons

3 units of zombies

Necromancers and leaders

Next up 96 human figures including a Merry Men unit and a bunch of character figures. Then have the Dwarf and Elf factions to finish out the Splintered Light Miniatures figures I bough back in July.

GAMES
1 game of Hostile Realms
1 game of IABSM

The Pridelands faction soundly defeated the City States...holding the fords over the river and routing many enemy units. 1st outing for the elephants did not go well.

Christmas Loot

A nice collection of reading material for the holidays.

November 2013

Hit a milestone...4 years of blogging. Posts have dropped off lately but I am still getting some painting done.

PAINTING
105 x 15mm fantasy foot: 105 points
21 x 15mm fantasy mounted: 42 points
TOTAL: 147 points

GAMES
1 x Bag the Hun

I have 2 units of Dark Elves and about 10 units of Undead primed for working on over the next month.

Finished the orcs and goblins below in November:

Orc leaders with savage orcs, heavy orcs, warriors, and hyena riders.

Goblin leaders with scout archers, warriors, and hyena riders...plus a troll.

October's production

Here are some shots of painted Splintered Light Miniatures figures.
Finished these guys in October.

Gnolls (Hyena-men)

Cougar-men

Lion-men

Lynx-men, great scout/ranger types

October 2013

More progress on the fantasy armies front.

Received some brushes for my birthday and the long awaited Wargames Compendium.

PAINTING
50 x Fauns: 50 points
162 x Lionmen, Lynxmen, Cougars, and Gnolls: 162 points
TOTAL: 212 points

Next up Goblins and Orcs.


GAMES
1 x Fantasy Rules (home grown)
1 x Sci-fi with a mix of Force on Force and Chain of Command rules
1 x Bag the Hun WW2 air combat game

Junior General's Wildcat is about to get his first kill on a Zero

Crossing the border

Ran a sci-fi solo game using a mish-mash of Force on Force rules (very modifier) and Chain of Command.

The scenario called for a Vistula Veague platoon to cross the border and retrieve the data recorder from a crashed drone in Babylon Emirate territory. A recon team was in place on overwatch, but they needed special technicians and tools (carried by the tracked mule).

Total casualties at the end were similar but the Vistula League owned the field and took the objective.

Vistula League
4 KIA
8 WIA
4 Light WIA

Babylon Emirate
8 KIA (5 left on the field)
6 WIA (5 left on the field, 3 POW)
6 Light WIA

Ready to cross the border (runs along the valley), objective in the swamp in the back.

Good progress early on.

Until the lead squad on the right ran into an enemy squad at close range in the woods. Luckily, the platoon sergeant was on hand to keep the squad in the fight.

1st squad wins the exchange but took some casualties and hunkered down in the woods to regroup.

Meanwhile, the Platoon Leader led 3rd squad up the left flank to link up with the Recon team.

The Recon team catches an enemy squad in the open going for the data recorder...inflicting heavy losses.

 

They then move forward to cover the technicians...but take some casualties to an enemy RPG.

The enemy pull back with heavy losses after a respectable showing.

Golden Idol Saved!

Another battle with my home grown fantasy battle rules. Enjoying tinkering with the rules as I paint up more fantasy figures...the Hobbits, Ratmen, and Fauns (brought in freshly painted) all appeared in this battle.

The scenario called for the city-states (that is what I am calling the Greco-Roman-Persian group of figures) with their sneaky Ratmen allies are trying to steal the Golden Idol found by the Gnomes and currently sitting in the nearby Hobbit village. The Hobbits would call on the local Wildman tribes (bribing them with mead) and their Faun allies to defend the valley.

The Idol is saved in the end...great performances by the Hobbit Militia on Pigs, the Hobbit Militia Farmers, and the Naked Fanatics.

The field of battle from the Gnome camp looking towards the village.

Golden Idol defended by Hobbit Militia.

Hobbit bounders mounted on wardogs ride in and shower the enemy with arrows.

Gnome and Ratmen slingers trade stones.

PIGS! These little guys disrupted the enemy main attack.

Falling back after damaging two units.

Then getting routed by a charge from the flank.

That carried on into the Hobbit Warders on the hill.

Gnomes bungled things at the beginning...these brave fellow would be sent to flight soon.

The Fauns arrived in the center and forced some enemy cavalry to flee the field.

The center held.

The left flank was in trouble for a while.

Gnome slingers soften up the Ratman warband.

Hobbits ready to defend the village, idol, and the mead supply.

The second Wild-man unit is defeated.

But the Naked Fanatics launch a furious charge that sweeps the enemy from the field.

While more Gnomes get things together and turn the tide on the Ratmen.

Bounders finish off the last threat to the left flank.

Heroes of Hobbiton! The militia countercharge the enemy spearmen when they fail to reach the Hobbit lines. VICTORY!

Fanatics earn an extra barrel of mead.

In the end, Junior General challenges an enemy commander and takes off his head with a single blow.