A Grand Redoubt

Well I squeezed a few moments in at the painting table recently and painted up the resin redoubt I picked up at Hotlead this past year. It's an Imex 1/72nd scale piece. I think I got it for a reduced price at $25. I don't know if that's a great deal or not. But it is a nice piece and I think it fits my 15mm SYW figures even better than the plastic 1/72nd figures it was designed for.



Painted redoubt, front view

It came cast in a terracotta colour. Some of the sculpting seemed a bit crude, with earth slopping over the duck boards and the tree stumps seem a bit primitive.

I gave it a wash in soapy water and then an all over coating of pretty runny burnt umber. Dirt was dry brushed "Mississippi Mud" (my favourite dirt colour). Logs and planking were dry brushed grey and then the wicker work on the gabions was dry brushed a golden brown. The ruts of the wagon track were given some dilute chocolate brown to make them stand out more. The stacks of stores were painted khaki. The broken wheels were given the ochre colour I paint my Austrian artillery carriages.

Back view

My mix of flock was then glued on in a rather patchy way since I figure the ground would be heavily trampled (especially between the wheel ruts) and scored by round shot. But I also know from my back garden that weeds will start popping up within a week or two, so I even have some patches on top of the gabions and the earth fill between them and the log walls.

Austrian artillery train tries out the new digs.

I'm quite pleased with the results and now just need to find time for a game. Perhaps it can cover a bridge that the Austrian baggage train must retreat over? Or the Prussians must break a siege?

I've also read the two Ospreys I picked up for a couple of songs at the Hotlead Bring and Buy, so I have now actually dealt with all of the small amount of stuff I got at the show. Within 2 months too, I think that's a record of sorts.

Happy VE Day!

Momentous day today; VE day and my birthday.


So to celebrate, from today until D-Day (6 June) my gift to you is 15% off any purchases in my webstore.

Just use the coupon code Happybirthday2013! on page 2 of the check out.
Don't let the WW2 theme fool you, everything else, even the ancients are included.

Vpered Na Berlin!

I treated myself to the latest I Ain't Been Shot Mum supplement to come from Too Fat Lardies last month when Richard Clarke ran a sale. I finally printed off the relevant pages the other night. For your 10 pounds you get 111 (yes ONE HUNDRED and ELEVEN!) pages of PDF detailing forces for the Eastern Front from 1943 to 1945. I didn't print off all 111, just most of the German lists and the Russians.
The lists follow the format used in Battle for Liberation. For each company there are core platoons and then a selection of options from battalion and divisional supports. Colour coding tells you which ones are off table and the text will tell you which ones are rare or limited. Which tanks would be typical in each platoon by year is also noted. The scenario design tells you how many platoons you may select from your list. Obviously some armies such as German panzer and panzer grenadier forces will get a dizzying array of possible supporting options and the Kampfgruppe rule pretty much lets you throw together whatever you think is appropriate. Other forces such as Volksturm, Yugoslavian Partisans or Finnish Border Jagers are much more limited for choice. Each national section is then rounded out with tables for rating your infantry, armour and weapon stats, plus card suggestions for putting your game deck together and adding extra Big Men.
The German lists from Battle for Liberation are expanded to include Cavalry and Cossack units plus anti-partisan Schuma battalions in addition to AFVs that only saw action on the Eastern Front. The Soviet lists are pretty straight forward, although I find myself drawn to the allure of fielding an entire Guards Heavy Tank Regiment (I mean it's ONLY 25 tanks...)
The book isn't just limited to the Germans and Russians. The Finns for the Continuation War are present driving their captured Soviet tanks. There are Hungarians and Romanians. Yugoslavian Partisans are also listed and the book includes rules for generating forces for anti-partisan games and a selection of scenarios.
The lay out and graphics are well done and the format is very easy to use. Another must have for IABSM players.
Of course I don't even have any WW2 Soviets.... yet...