And "Joanie" Gets More Kit

Back in September of last year, I showed a batch of "Rugged Adventure" figures that I had painted.  One of them was Bob Murch's "Bernadette of the Resistance" whom I renamed Joanie (after Joan of Arc -  see link for explanation).  She's armed with a German MP-40 but didn't have any spare ammunition magazines.  A friend was able to donate a couple of 3-magazine packs from a plastic German sprue.  The other day I added them to the figure.

And she's now ready to dish out some firepower on the unsuspecting Boche.

Some "Rugged Adventures" Painting

Over the past several weeks I've been painting some "fun" figures.

First up is one of Bob Murch's excellent Pulp Figures sculpts.  She is part of the "Dangerous Dames 2" pack (PHP 19).  Bob calls her Bernadette of la Resistance, but I'll probably refer to her as Joanie, after St. Joan d'Arc.  One of my former co-workers who studied in Paris told me that there were mounted statues of St. Joan all over France.  She and some of her less-reverent friends referred to them as "Joanie on a Pony."

Armed with a German MP-40 and wearing her best necklace and lipstick, she brings a certain 'dignity' to what otherwise would be a vulgar brawl.

And here's what she would look like in a "period" picture.

 The next figure is a medic for my "mercenary" White Russian detachment which was featured in the previous post.

He's also a Brigade Games sculpt from their 'Storm in the East' Russian Command I pack.

And finally, I completed painting my small collection of Bob Murch's "Movember" miniatures.  I have six of the seven Bob has released since 2013.  The seventh and latest didn't appeal to me as I don't collect Wild West figures any more.  Here are my interpretations of them.

From left -- Lord Lippinbrush (2013), Stash Gable (2014), and Captain Krustache (2015)

Pasha Moustasha (2016), Muff McGillicutty (2017), Barnabus Tash (2018)

They will all be used in one way or another in my various Back of Beyond, Very British Civil War, and Rugged Adventures games.

And now back to the mundane of painting more WW2 German infantry.  But once I finish them, my planned painting queue involves more White Russians, British 1930s/1940s naval landing party, and a goodly selection of Bob Murch's figures.

Y'all stay safe!

Back to Painting in the "Back of Beyond"

After an almost two month painting hiatus, I knocked off some additional figures for my forces in the "Back of Beyond" China in the 1920s/1930s.

The first batch are two Cannon Fodder (no longer in production) Chinese I picked up from the collection of my late wargaming buddy Mark "Doc Ord" Stevens.  These two will reinforce an already painted unit of ten warlord Chinese.  I still have to terrain the bases.

The second batch were also picked up from Mark's collection.  They are a disparate group of Russian Civil War infantry that will constitute a unit of mercenary White Russians living in China after being chased out of "Mother Russia" by the Communists.

The soldier and officer to the camera left of the banner bearer are Brigade Games RCW figures while the remaining four are from unknown manufacturers.  The banner bearer and the rifleman on the far right are from the same sculptor.  The banner is patterned after the flags carried by the White forces in Siberia.  These bases will also get a terrain treatment in the near future.

They will be joined by a medic and a group of twelve White "shock" troops, also Brigade Games figures.

I'm happy to be able to get back to the painting table after so long!

 

September Painting



For my game at the Colonial Barracks convention in November, I needed a number of differently armed figures for the troops in the army of the notoriously unstable warlord.  (See http://jacksongamers.blogspot.com/2014/09/send-in-marines-play-test.html for the play test report.)  So I sorted through my mountain of unpainted figures and came up with two units of poorly armed "native" figures to join the ones I was using that were already painted.



The first batch are eleven Foundry Belgian askari in straw hats.  They are counted as being armed with percussion rifled muskets, even though the game is set in the 1930s.  The white lines on the front designate the forward center for facing during the fire sequence of the rules I am using, "The Sword to Adventure" which is a variant of "The Sword and the Flame."

They are joined in one command by nine musket armed tribal warriors, also from Foundry.  Eventually both of these groups will join my Darkest Africa forces.



The second unit is made up of descendants of escaped slaves, called Maroons in the local vernacular because of the reddish-brown color of their skin (This by the way is historically accurate, the maroons being escaped slaves from Jamaican plantations living in the interior hill country.)  These guys are armed with percussion smoothbore muskets but are also decent hand-to-hand fighters.  Their leader is in the red shirt in the center whose name is Daddee John, an ancestor of P'hat Daddee B'wonah, the President for Life of the Republic of Bongolesia (with apologies to Murphy).



This is the other half of the Maroons.  Although they fight for the notoriously unstable warlord, they really don't like him at all and, given the chance, would shot him in the back.  These figures are from Foundry's Pirates range.  They will join my small collection of pirates figures after the convention.

 

While these figures were fun to paint as I could almost let my imagination run away with me on their clothing, the last batch were more of a staid group, being more "armed civilians" for my Very British Civil War forces.

These armed civilians are from the Artizan Design partisan and guerilla lines that Brigade Games carries.  Their clothing also works for 1930s British.  Their leader is in the center and you can tell from his beret and leather jacket that he is a veteran of the Spanish Civil War.  They'll join the other armed civilians I already have.

September was a very productive painting month with 50 figures painted and two buildings made.  I think that I am finally out of my summer painting slump and I hope that the rest of the year will be just as productive. 



Pulp Figures Film Crew

Over the weekend I finally completed painting and basing my 28mm Pulp Figures film crew.  Bob Murch did a great job with the sculpting.  I just hope my paint job does them justice.

Posed in front of my British Union of Fascists propaganda truck, we have (from left) the script girl, director, camera man, and clapper.

I haven't assigned names to them yet so I'm open to suggestions. 

I plan on using them for various games in the Interwar period such as Pulp actions, Back of Beyond, and Very British Civil War.

Final Painting of 2012

Yesterday I completed a small batch of disparate figures that had been sitting around my painting desk for far too long.

First some Miniature Figurines American Revolutionary War figures:

An American general, using the MiniFig General Washington figure, painted from scratch.





And a Hessian general, using the same figure.  This was a repaint of a previously painted figure that I purchased.



New figures for Bland's Dragoons (American).  I previously had inherited a unit of nine of these from my friend Doc Ord.  With the acquisition of three more, they are now part of a six stand regiment.  The newly painted figures are the officer on the front stand and two of the four figures on the back stands plus three of those four horses.  I think I did a fairly decent job of matching Doc's paint job.

And the whole regiment together.  They will be used to help oppose my British cavalry - 17th Light Dragoons, Queen's Rangers, and the Loyalist York Dragoons (an "made-up" designation).

An Old Glory Darkest Africa figure:

This is the leader from the Old Glory bearers set.  I needed a senior leader for my Zanzabari units and he seemed to fit the bill perfectly.  He is a slightly taller figure than the rest of my Zanzabari so he'll stand out as their leader.



My Chinese Back of Beyond forces needed some additional leaders so I added the Pulp Figures PYG-14 Chun King warlord command pack.

The warlord in the center and the standard bearer will lead the entire Chinese force.  The two figures on each end will join one of his warlord infantry units to replace some leader figures who are getting promoted.  The bald-headed guy in khaki will lead my German uniformed Chinese forces.  He's armed with a submachinegun and looks rather nasty so he'll be a good guy to keep them in check.  The basing details correspond to the units that are already done to which these guys will be added.

And my early 20th Century "Pulp" forces got some additional stalwarts to increase the strength of the "Knights of the Cresent Moon."



Three Tommy Gun toting "Knights" from the Brigade Games line of figures.  They'll join the ones I already have painted.



To make a fairly heavily armed band to help protect the treasures of the Near East from those ravenous "tomb raiders" who plague that part of the world.



And finally, Bob Murch's Pulp Figures of "The Sergeants Three and Gunga Din."

Those three brave and rogueish sergeants plus the bugle tooting Gunga Din.  The bases aren't completed yet but they are ready for adventures.



Bayou Wars Report - Part 2

The game I ran at Bayou Wars was held on Saturday morning as the Annual George Carr, Sr. Colonial Game.  This action pitted US Marines and a British flying column protecting American missionaries against a local Chinese warlord in the "Back of Beyond" China sometime between the wars.  I used The Sword to Adventure variant to Larry Brom's inimitable The Sword and the Flame rules with a few modifications to convention action.

A MISSION TOO FAR?

While American Marines man the perimeter of an American mission station to repel the Chinese warlord's troops, Number 30 British Flying Column must race to their assistance.  Will the British get there in time or will it be "A Mission Too Far?"

An overview of the game with the British entering from the left side and the Marines defending the mission on the right.

 

The Warlord and his son deploy some of their units while the Marines man the mission station walls.

 

Warlord troops advance against the Marines and begin to take casualties.

 

His Britannic Majesty's Armoured Car (HMAC) Ajax fires into the mass of Chinese troops that are overrunning the mission station.  Very few Marines are left.

 

British infantry and Ghurkha rifles deploy against the Chinese troops.

 

The Chinese troops flood into the mission against the last of the Marines.

 

The final bastion, the mission chapel, is overwhelmed and the missionaries and the two surviving Marines are captured.  HMAC Ajax's machinegun, while killing a number of Chinese, just couldn't help prevent the station from being overrun.

Although the British flying column moved as quickly as it could, they just couldn't get to the mission quickly enough to prevent it from being overrun.  Like their compatriots in 1944, it was "a mission too far!"

HMAC Ajax and the Crossley lorries are Matchbox Models of Yestreyear vehicles.  The troops are a mixture of many different manufacturers from old "true" 25mm MiniFigs to new 28mm Copplestone and Brigade Games, all owned and painted by ColCampbell.  But once on the table, all melded together almost seamlessly.  The roads and streams were made by the incomparable, late Andrew Doyle.  The rest of the terrain (except the "cornfield") was built and/or painted by ColCampbell, hisself.

NOTE:  The scenario was patterned after the "Bridge Too Far" of Operation Market Garden in 1944 with the Chinese playing the role of the Germans, the Marines playing the role of the British paras, and the British Number 30 Flying Column playing the role of the British XXX Armoured Corps.

Part 3 still to come!

Back of Beyond Troops Bases Enhanced

After my test game last Saturday, it was quickly apparent that although I could tell my units apart, my gaming buddies were having trouble.  So after some constructive comments from them, I spent today enhancing the bases so the different units of the same type of figure could be distinguished from each other.

I added dark green or brownish green flock, fine sand, fine talus, combinations, and additions to all the bases.  Now we'll be able to distinguish between the British, American, and Chinese troop units.  The bases aren't quite completed as I still need to fix the "flocking" and add the officer and sergeant rank insignias.

The entire group of units after basing enhancements have been added.

Front row are the missionary and his daughters (both their passive and action figures).  Front right corner contains the Marine headquarters element.  Both Marine sections are behind the missionaries.  One of the German-equipped Chinese units is behind the Marine HQ element.

Front left unit is one of the Chinese warlord units, while the Ghurkhas are to the front right.  Across behind them (from left to right) are two Chinese commanders (one in German outfit and the other the Warlord himself), then the senior British sergeant and officer, and the two British Vickers machinegun teams with their sergeant.

Finally the two British infantry sections are in front with a German-equipped Chinese unit (left rear) and a warlord Chinese unit (right rear) behind them.  On the far left are the Chinese mortar team and heavy machinegun team.

I was pleased with the way the enhancements added to the basing of the figures and helped to distinguish one national unit from another.

"China" Marines

After much starting and stopping and restarting, I finally completed my unit of "China" Marines for the Back of Beyond.  They are Brigade Games miniatures from their Caribbean Empires range.  I already had a few and bought the rest from my Metarie friend "Zombie" Ken.  So here they are:

The Headquarters Section - Captain Jack Kelley with his bulldog Chesty, his gunnery sergeant (left), and a two-man BAR team (right)

The 1st Section, commanded by an experienced 1st lieutenant and a veteran sergeant; consisting of four armed with Thompson sub-machineguns, two BAR gunners, and six riflemen.  You just can't fool around when you are facing the Chinese hordes!

The 2nd Section, commanded by a green 2nd lieutenant and a veteran sergeant; with the same composition as the 1st Section.

These "Devil Dogs" will see action on April 21st in the play test of the game I am running at our regional Bayou Wars convention (June).  OORAH!!  Semper Fi!!

Newly Painted "Pulp" Figures

I just finished a batch of various "pulp" era figures.  Some of these had been laying around for a while and a few were brand-new arrivals.  Without further ado:

A group of four British "bobbies" led by a sergeant.  Three of the four are armed with "night sticks" while the fourth has a "new fangled" electric torch.  I cannot recall the manufacturer so anyone with an idea, please leave a comment.

Three of these four figures are from Artizan Designs "Knights of the Crescent Moon" pack and are armed with a pistol (2) or a submachinegun (1).  But the leader is from a different manufacturer and if anyone can place him, please leave a comment.

Maude, the missionary's wife (left), and Charlotta, her adventurous sister (right), both from the Copplestones "female archaeologists" pack.  My good wife provided the fashion advice with the color schemes.  As usual, she got them both just right.

But when danger threatens, they immediately assume their "alter ego" guises, armed with high-powered semi-automatic pistols.  You just don't fool around with these sisters!  They are also from the Copplestones "female archaeologists" pack.

Another look at Maude in her two guises.

And at Charlotta in her two guises.

These three ladies are very dangerous dames.  On the left is Elle Woods (from Legally Blonde) in her big game hunting outfit.  In the center is "Cara Loft," that well armed and dashing "tomb raider."  And on the right is Fiona (Burn Notice) with her high powered rifle, looking for someone to shoot.

And finally we see all of them together, joined by the missionary (center) and the huntress Ruby Maye Loveless.  Together they constitute the Justice Union League against International Espionage and Terrorism (JULIET).

I thought I would have a little fun with these rather disparate figures, grouping them into a 1920s/1930s predecessor of such 1960s organizations as CONTROL and U.N.C.L.E.  Some of them will see play in my 1930s back of beyond China game for Bayou Wars this summer.  Others may appear in other games during the year, maybe even in Bill's and my "Mayan Adventure" game planned for Colonial Barracks in November.

Maybe over the coming year I can obtain some opponents for them, such as a 1920s/1930s CHAOS or THRUSH.  Hummmm, some of Copplestones excellent Russian Civil War Soviet character packs would work.  We'll just have to see.

Between the Wars British and Chinese

Over the Memorial Day weekend, I completed my Between the Wars British "flying column" and also added some heavy weapons to my Back of Beyond Chinese forces.  All of these figures are Copplestone, from their Back of Beyond range.  Please click on the pictures for a larger image.

The flying column commander, a major, and his colour sergeant

Another view, showing the hand painted crown and chevrons on the colour sergeant's arm

The 1st Rifle Section, commanded by a captain, with a sergeant, corporal, Lewis gunner and loader, and seven riflemen

The 2nd Rifle Section, commanded by a Second Leftenant, with same other ranks

The machine-gun section with section sergeant and two Vickers .303 water cooled machine guns

The attached Ghurkha Rifle Section, commanded by a First Leftenant with his Ghurkha sergeant and corporal, British Lewis gunner with Ghurkha loader, and seven Ghurkha riflemen

I've had the Chinese heavy weapons for a while after purchasing them from Bobe's Hobby Shop when they were getting rid of many of their historical miniatures.  While I was painting the British, I took the opportunity to get them painted as well.

Chinese heavy machine gun team, with team commander, gunner, and loader

Chinese heavy mortar team, with two "active" pose crewmen and a "leader" (?) eating rice

Another view, showing the large mortar shell being held by the loader and the "leader" (?) enjoying his bowl of rice

These figures will see their baptism of fire in my friend Bill's game at Bayou Wars, our Gulf States regional convention.  Bill will be running his game at the Jackson Gamers table on Saturday afternoon, June 11.