MINI WARGAMING: “Barbarians on the Bench” (14 October 2008)

October 14th, 2008 MaksimSmelchak Posted in 28mm, Barbarians, Dick, MWS, Mark Steinberg, WAB, Work bench Comments Off

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Top: Conan says "Bring those Barbarians on!"
Hi Everyone,

I've missed posting, but my camera has been on the fritz and the Jewish holidays hit so I've been rather occupied. I haven't given up on gaming and attended a 1920s Bootlegger Gangster game last week as well as the September MWS meet in which I played a zombie game.

Dick wrote this about the September 2008 MWS meet:
Maks and Joe R. killed my zombie horde. Mostly with a flare gun, pistol, and a chainsaw. Maks's farm girl was the Lara Croft of the cornfield and Joe's Sheriff was unusually accurate for a small town lawman. Nice change of pace game.
And Mark wrote this about last week's Bootlegger Gangster game:
The Gangster game was well attended. We had the kids (Dave and Pete), George, Mike McGraw, Mike O., Roger M., Maksim, and John all play. Not bad for a first time out. The gangsters rules will need a little more work and the scenario as well. Still, it was fun and got a lot of attention as being unique.
And he wrote us this snippet beforehand:
So I will run the Gangster game this Friday. I have the trucks, figures, some buildings and 6 cobblestone sheets to be the streets. This is more a trial run of a game to be done again later.

I actually have figures for 7 gangs if we get that many players. Two gangs will be made up of former cowboy figures that work, i.e., my Pinkertons, and the figures in long coats that hide their holsters, or that are only armed with a shotgun. The actual gangster figures are the Sepia gang, the Dorians (Primarily Grey), the Cat Litter gang, (Base flocking material), My Cops (Boys in Blue), and "Fat Guys and Dolls" (6 armed women with 4 fat guys, painted by my daughter Carly).

Be there about 6 to start. Rules are a simple modification of Legends of the Old West, with Tommy guns added, melee simplified, movement and shooting order randomized and hopefully lots of prohibition gun play.

The game turned out well for a playtest session and there was plenty of rumbl'in on the streets of our berg.

My workbench has a couple of projects on it right now:

1. 28mm Samurai
(…Jones'ing to do some Oriental Adventures again, played a game early this year and loved it. Might want to try a Clan Wars themed game…)

2. 28mm Crusaders
(Also Jones'ing to do a Crusades game or a medieval siege with my Saracens. Hattin might be fun…)

3. 28mm Pirates
(Been enjoying these guys for some time now… have played several historical games and am ready for fantasy pirates games next… building up undead and orc pirate crews)

4. 28mm Barbarians AKA Picts AKA Celts AKA Gauls Etc.
(Bought a nice second-hand Minifigs army that needs to be re-based. I'd like to play WAB with it.)

I've been mostly working on the Barbarians. I think I've watched Gladiator too many times now.

Top: Barbarians; They don't look like much...
...until a zillion of 'em swarm you!

And, of course, like every gamer out there, I have half a dozen other projects, but they are all in storage waiting for attention. I can't wait to do some more 6mm or 10mm sci-fi and AIW microarmor. Amazingly, I've kept some project discipline and have been cranking out minis this year. Monsterpocalypse also makes me want to break out the kaiju… LOL ;o)

Have a great Tuesday!
And good gaming to you!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (...if it is indeed an infringement).
6mm-Minis is Maksim-Smelchak's blog to discuss gaming, miniatures, books, movies, Israel, Judaism and life in general. My favorite scale of miniatures is 6mm, which is also often called 1/285 or even 1/300 scale. I enjoy many different kinds of games including ancients, Napoleonics, WWI, WWII, the Arab-Israeli conflict, Car Wars AKA Autoduel (a sort of crash'n'derby automobile combat game), 6mm Godzilla AKA Kaiju games, and science fiction games. I'm open to everything though!
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MINI WARGAMING: “Battle of Basrah” (24 July 2008)

July 24th, 2008 MaksimSmelchak Posted in 28mm, Colonials, George G., Hal L., Marcus, Mark Steinberg, Mike McGraw, Mike O., Mikos, Mini Wargaming, Miniatures, WWI Comments Off

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TOP: Turn 1: An aerial view of the Battle of Basrah 1914-15...
...with Allies on the left and the Ottomans on the right.
Hi All,

Last Friday on 18 July 2008, a number of gentleman got together to play a colonial game, although a late colonial game from World War I. Mark Steinberg and Mike McGraw hosted. The game was loosely based on the actual Battle of Basrah from 1914-15 although the results (an allied defeat) much more resembled the Siege of Kut, the battle that followed Basrah in 1915-16. For those readers still gaining proficiency in geography, Basrah is located in modern-day Iraq.

It was a great game with lots of beautiful terrain, a host of 28mm figures, a British armored car, several light artillery pieces, two massive river boats, the French Foreign Legion, plenty of Brits, plenty of Scots, Indian troops, Arabs, Askaris, Boers, and everything a colonial-minded gamer could adore. I had a fabulous time and it was a great way to spend a lazy evening.

Mark's notes:

Here are some photos of the BASRAH 1915 game. Players were Maksim, Tim, Mike McGraw, Mike O., Hal L., and Nils. I took the photos. Observers included Carl O., Jim C. and Mark Cuomo, Mikos, Mike S., Marcus, and George G.

And the photos:

TOP: By turn 3, the Allies (left) had taken considerable casualties.
TOP: One of the mighty riverboats, that arrived too late!
TOP: The other mighty riverboat!
TOP: The two boats heading upriver to Basrah.
TOP: The mighty river itself!
Ottoman lines on the right.
TOP: The Ottomans had the advantage of holding the town...
And the Germans had vowed "...to fight to the last Arab."

TOP: Maksim's Arabs set up in a strong town building...
The fellows out of cover were quickly routed.

TOP: The British forces were bolstered by an armored car (left).
It's machine gun tore up Ottoman lines.

TOP: The brave Scots troops charged Basrah with valor in their hearts...
...to no avail!
TOP: A set of ruins in the foreground saved the Allies from a worse defeat.
TOP: By turn 2, the Allied ranks had been decimated by rifle fire.
TOP: But the Allies still held the rocky outcrops outside Basrah.
TOP: Part of the motley crew of Colonial heroes!

The game itself went well and all had a good time, but the scenario was, perhaps tilted a little in favor of the Ottoman side since by turn two, the allied lines had been considerably thinned. In fact, the game was an absolute bloodbath with both sides taking roughly 40% to 70% casualties within just three turns! Next time, the Allies will receive more troops and the Ottomans less and we can see how it turns out!

Link to Battle of Basrah (1914-15):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Basra_%281914%29

First Link to Siege of Kut (1915-16):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Kut

Second Link to Siege of Kut (1915-16):
http://www.1914-1918.net/meso_bat3.htm

Have a great Thursday!
And good gaming to you!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (...if it is indeed an infringement).
6mm-Minis is Maksim-Smelchak's blog to discuss gaming, miniatures, books, movies, Israel, Judaism and life in general. My favorite scale of miniatures is 6mm, which is also often called 1/285 or even 1/300 scale. I enjoy many different kinds of games including ancients, Napoleonics, WWI, WWII, the Arab-Israeli conflict, Car Wars AKA Autoduel (a sort of crash'n'derby automobile combat game), 6mm Godzilla AKA Kaiju games, and science fiction games. I'm open to everything though!
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MINI WARGAMING: “Barbary Pirates Are Back!” (23 June 2008)

June 23rd, 2008 MaksimSmelchak Posted in 28mm, 28mm Fantasy, Blogs, Drunken Samurai, Flagship Games, Mini Wargaming, Miniatures, Pirates Comments Off

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TOP: The workbench is cluttered as usual!
Hi All,

Well, any weekend I get to work on the hobby is a good one and I was able to spend a good amount of this past weekend working on miniatures projects.

The above photo is of a 1'x1' project board loaded up with models. On the far right is a Flagship Games resin ship loaded up with some of my 28mm undead pirate crew. To the upper left of the photo are some armored orcs that I picked up cheaply awhile back. And most of the rest of that project board is covered with orcs that I am converting to become a 28mm fantasy pirate crew.

As a side note, I picked up the "project board" practice from an old gamer buddy of mine named Kris. He would buy a cheap sheet of chipboard and have it cut up into rough 1'x1' sheets. The typical 2' x4' sheet yields eight "project boards" They're sort of like building puzzles on a flat piece of card board. By working on the "project boards" I save my tabletops and they make it easy to move projects around. At any rate, I found it a good idea years ago and am still using them to the present day. Thanks, Kris!

I've also been saving spare plastic 20mmx20mm mini bases for my fellow blogger and gamer, Drunken Samurai. If you've never checked out his blog, I highly recommend you do so. He does some pretty neat work.

Drunken Samurai URL located here:
http://dspaintingblog.blogspot.com/

Please excuse the low quality of the photos. I was having some difficulty with my digital camera and decided to go with low-quality shots rather than have none to share.

TOP: 25mm Barbary Pirate crew - mostly RAFM Ottomans and pirates.

Well, I'm up to almost 30 Barbary pirate figures at this point divided into two crews of fifteen men each. The above unit is mostly equipped with firearms. I got a deal on some old RAFM Turk and Ottoman figures so the latest acquisition really plumped out my tiraleurs (riflemen). The last batch proved difficult to work with, but this batch was a breeze. I'll update this post later with product numbers.

I haven't found a good ship for these fellows yet, but I have an extra galley or two that might do the trick.

TOP: 28mm Barbary pirate crew: mostly old RAFM.

The above lot is mostly a close-combat crew armed with cutlasses and various small arms. The two gorilla-like corsairs had their weapon swaps repositioned to stick straight up so that they'll rank better. The RAFM figures are definitely older 25mm ones and they are puny compared to "heroic sculpts" of 28mmm or larger scale.

TOP: 28mm armored orcs ... in need of headgear!

And the last batch if figures that I worked on have been orcs for my nephew Vincent's upcoming 28mm fantasy orc army. I picked up this batch of armored orcs used somewhere... I think that they are Harlequin / Black Tree although they might also be RAFM. I have a bunch of GW Bretonnian heads with nice medieval helms in my bitz box so I'm planning to add headgear to these fellows in the near future.

Have a great Monday!
And good gaming to you!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.
6mm-Minis is Maksim-Smelchak's blog to discuss gaming, miniatures, books, movies, Israel, Judaism and life in general. My favorite scale of miniatures is 6mm, which is also often called 1/285 or even 1/300 scale. I enjoy many different kinds of games including ancients, Napoleonics, WWI, WWII, the Arab-Israeli conflict, Car Wars AKA Autoduel (a sort of crash'n'derby automobile combat game), 6mm Godzilla AKA Kaiju games, and science fiction games. I'm open to everything though!
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MINI WARGAMING: Simple Trees (3 May 2008)

May 3rd, 2008 MaksimSmelchak Posted in 28mm, Mini Wargaming, Miniatures terrain Comments Off

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TOP: A few 28mm Arabs with some cheap plastic trees in the background.

Hi All,

I actually made these trees awhile back, but I took a few photos during my last shoot...

One of my favorite kinds of terrain is cheap, simple, quick-to-assemble terrain... Plastic trees, cactus, bushes and the like aren't so hard to find...

They often come with cheap toy packets, cake decorations, party favors, and many other sources.

I found this tree in a bin packaged with cactus and a few other pieces of foliage and it cried out to be mounted on washers with some pebbles and sand to give it a good foundation. The tree looked a bit funky before so I nipped off a spare branch and made it into a new tree.

I've found all kinds of trees over the years: evergreens, palms, oaks, those tall, skinny ones (forgot the name), and many more.

TOP: The main tree on a 1&1/2" washer.
TOP: The "nipped" branch on a 1" washer.

May your gaming be good and...

Have a great Saturday!
And Gut Shabbos to my Jewish readers!

Shabbat Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (...if it is indeed an infringement).
6mm-Minis is Maksim-Smelchak's blog to discuss gaming, miniatures, books, movies, Israel, Judaism and life in general. My favorite scale of miniatures is 6mm, which is also often called 1/285 or even 1/300 scale. I enjoy many different kinds of games including ancients, Napoleonics, WWI, WWII, the Arab-Israeli conflict, Car Wars AKA Autoduel (a sort of crash'n'derby automobile combat game), 6mm Godzilla AKA Kaiju games, and science fiction games. I'm open to everything though!
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MINI WARGAMING: 28mm Barbary Pirates (27 April 2008)

April 27th, 2008 MaksimSmelchak Posted in 28mm, Ancients, Artisan, Black Cat Bases, FOG, Flagship Games, Grenadier, Gripping Beast, Hinchcliff, Moonlight Minis, Personal history, Pirates, RAFM, Ral Partha, WAB, Work bench Comments Off

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TOP: My work bench is as cluttered as ever!

Hi All,
Sorry for not having updated recently... as I might have previously mentioned, I've put most of my efforts into finding a new job and pay dirt finally hit. After going to what seemed like about a million interviews, I finally got picked up and started a new job just this past week. It's a good job and came with much better pay, a shorter commute, and a great, new boss. In other words, I'm very happy and that means I can start putting my "job search" energy back into my blog! Huzzah!

Gaming has been good and the April MWS meeting was nothing short of fantastic. We had something like six games, which I'll have to write about later. Several of the local guys have taken a keen interest in FOG (Field of Glory), Osprey's new ancients rule set. That excites me since I've put alot of energy in to building some ancients armies this year, specifically a Samurai army, a barbarian army, and an Arab army. I'm looking forward to getting those minis into action!

Among my gaming musing lately has been the 28mm pirate project I've been working on. I now have a goodly-sized 28mm undead pirate crew built to complement my historical crews. I have also got an Orc / Goblin crew planned, but only a few fellows built so far. And the latest idea to captivate me has been the idea to build a 28mm Barbary Pirates / Corsairs crew and ship. I still have now firm idea what to use for a ship since the Xebec is so distinctive and noone makes a perfect match in 28mm that I'm aware of yet; I might just have to scratch-build one...

I posted in several forums soliciting advice:

Here:
http://forum.backofbeyond.de/viewtopic.php?t=5148

And here among others:
http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=140000

But enough of my writing, please allow me share some minis photos with you:

TOP: Three RAFM Corsairs...

My find of three packs of the above minis are what inspired me to start a Barbary Pirates / Corsairs project. The package was labelled RAFM JT-10 CORSAIRS and came with three crewmen. The kneeling, be-turban'ed fellow on the left is armed with a musket. The center fellow is a truly gruesome sculpt with an oddly proportioned body (huge head, Popeye-like arms, etc.), but nevertheless I like 'im! His left hand comes with a pistol while his right has an oddly positioned knife. I think I'll be modifying him. The fellow on the right looks more properly Colonial Egyptian with a fez, baggy clothes, and a cutlass. Again, I think I'll play with some weapon swaps with this guy and perhaps reposition his head.

With the exception of the middle guy, the other two figures are decidedly old-school 25mm and wouldn't fit in perfectly the the overgrown scale-creep 28mm pirate figures made by most manufacturers these days. However, I'm not so picky so they'll do fine by me... even if some of their crew mates will have been obviously eating their Wheaties and genetically modified "Frankenfood."

TOP: A mix of motley old North-African & Arab sailors...

The above three figures have come from used bins and off trades for some time. The fellow holding a small chest of loot on the left is unidentified although he looks like an old 25mm Hinchcliff to me. The fellow in the middle is Ral Partha and he needs a new spear tip, of which I have a few waiting in my bitz box for him. And the fellow on the right who looks suspiciously like Sinbad came from a 1980's Grenadier line if I'm not mistaken.

TOP: 28mm Sudanese Spearmen...

My Arab WAB army is all but done with nearly 95% of the figures painted. I'm re-basing some off of fender washers onto some Litko 20mmx20mm's that I ordered. These 28mm Sudanese Spearmen are probably Artisan and Gripping Beast, but I'm not sure which are which. While they are meant for 28mm WAB El Cid, I'll have them double up for Crusades Saracens as well... And who knows, a few might even join the Barbary Pirates...

TOP: Another batch of old Arab warriors...

The above based lot have come from a variety of trades and flea markets. I have no idea who manufactured them except for the un-primed fellow leading the unit. He is Gripping Beast and out of a command pack if I'm not mistaken. Behind the Arab warriors, are some cheap plastic plants I based on fender washers.

TOP: The un-washed (...and un-primed) masses of undead pirate crew...

And lastly, the last photo is of some undead pirate crew along with Flagship Games ships in progress. The crew come from a variety of sources including Reaper, Black Cat Minis, Moonlight Minis and others.

May your gaming be good and...

Have a great Sunday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (...if it is indeed an infringement).
6mm-Minis is Maksim-Smelchak's blog to discuss gaming, miniatures, books, movies, Israel, Judaism and life in general. My favorite scale of miniatures is 6mm, which is also often called 1/285 or even 1/300 scale. I enjoy many different kinds of games including ancients, Napoleonics, WWI, WWII, the Arab-Israeli conflict, Car Wars AKA Autoduel (a sort of crash'n'derby automobile combat game), 6mm Godzilla AKA Kaiju games, and science fiction games. I'm open to everything though!
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MINI WARGAMING: “28mm Undead Pirate Crew Work” (23 March 2008)

March 23rd, 2008 MaksimSmelchak Posted in 28mm, 28mm Fantasy, Black Cat Bases, MWS, Pirates, Undead, Work bench Comments Off

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Top: Two Black Cat Minis skeleton captains.
One is customized with a GW militia pistol.
Hi All,

It's been awhile since I last posted... I've had alot going on. Prime among those obligations has been a job search. I feel like I've been to a thousand interviews, when in reality it's only been a few more than a dozen. With any luck, I'll hear back from one of the better options later this week and may be moving to a new position soon. My references have been checked and I've submitted work portfolios so here's hoping. Please wish me luck.

Top: Two Reaper Razig characters.
One is customized with a GW militia cutlass.

On the gaming front, I've been keeping busy with the local MWS gaming club... But the majority of my effort has gone into 28mm pirates. I volunteered to host a 28mm pirate game this month at MWS and DID! I wanted to give LOTHS a whirl, but I didn't have enough time to learn the system so we went with a very simplified fast version of Pirates! from Flagship Games. The game went really well and there were six players plus myself game-mastering. I ran it as a very simple beer & pretzels historical pirate bash. And true to form for Pirates!, the fellows on the smaller ships all ganged up to try and work Greg M, in the hulk. Greg was a great sport about it and I want to give my thanks to Don, Greg, Mike O., Harry, Joe and Mike W. I also owe a hearty thanks to Nils who lent me his Asian pirate ship.

Top: Another shot of the Black Cat Minis skellie captains.

Mike O. wrote this about the game:

Maksim ran his Pirates! game using a very simplified version to try out the game at theclub. Several of us had a rousing good time shooting up Greg M.'s ship!
This weekend I've been working on my 28mm fantasy undead pirates since my game finally passed. During the weeks leading up to the Pirates! game I hosted, I exclusively worked on my historical pirate crews and let the fantasy ones sit neglected. So, this weekend I pulled out the 28mm undead pirates and went to town. About a year or two ago, I first became interested in doing a 28mm undead fantasy army and at the time, one of our local gaming shops had a huge clear out sale on Reaper's 28mm Razig undead pirate faction so I bought out the lot. While I got a great deal, I also got alot of doubles and even triples of the rank & file and character minis. That's not such a problem for rank & file, but having three of the same character running about the board always looks odd so I planned to build one stock version of each character and customize any extras. I primarily used some odd metal bitz from my collection and alot of GW plastic sprue bitz from the Vampire Counts skeleton, zombie and Empire militia sprues. A last note is that all of the undead pirates are based on resin deck basing from Black Cat Miniatures.

Top: Two Reaper Razig characters.
Top: Two more Reaper Razig characters.
Top: A back view of two Reaper Razig characters.

I also bought at least two packs of Razig's Chain Gang, which I didn't care much for, but I figured would mod up well. And they did.

Top: Two originally identical mod'ed Razig Chain Gangers.
Top: A view with a watch lantern in full view.
Top: Another two Razig Chain Gangers.
Top: The last two Razig Chain Gangers.

Good gaming to you, reader!

Have a great Sunday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (...if it is indeed an infringement).
6mm-Minis is Maksim-Smelchak's blog to discuss gaming, miniatures, books, movies, Israel, Judaism and life in general. My favorite scale of miniatures is 6mm, which is also often called 1/285 or even 1/300 scale. I enjoy many different kinds of games including ancients, Napoleonics, WWI, WWII, the Arab-Israeli conflict, Car Wars AKA Autoduel (a sort of crash'n'derby automobile combat game), 6mm Godzilla AKA Kaiju games, and science fiction games. I'm open to everything though!
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28mm Pulp or Victorian or Both!!!

March 13th, 2008 Sapper Joe Posted in 28mm, CombatColours, Victorian, pulp Comments Off

The first two pictures were painted by Combat Colours and the last two were by me.

The Secret Order of the Golden Dawn! All except the center figure are from Eureka. The center Aleister Crowley figure is from Grenadier, if I remember correctly.


"Don't eat the yellow snow!" The figure to the left is from West Wind and the one to the right is from RAFM.
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28mm Spanish American War

March 13th, 2008 Sapper Joe Posted in 28mm, CombatColours, Spanish American War Comments Off

The following is again miniatures painted by Combat Colours for my 28mm Spanish American War Personalities. At one time I thought of playing the Spanish American War in 28mm, but never got around to it and now I don't have a desire to do it in 28mm. BUT...I love the Personalities sets that were put out by Old Glory. I hope to eventually have rest finished for display or possible Victorian gaming.
This first picture is of William Randolph Hearst, Lt. Col. Teddy Roosevelt on Little Texas, and Richard Harding Davis.


This is my all time favorite display piece, Period! My photography does it no justice. The figures are Stephen Crane sitting on the ground and Frederic Remington sitting on a barrel while painting "Charge of the Rough Riders at San Juan Hill."



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28mm Victorians

March 13th, 2008 Sapper Joe Posted in 28mm, CombatColours, Victorian Comments Off

The following is my Victorians or figures that I am using for Victorians. Everything was painted by Combat Colours, except for the three religious figures in the fourth picture. They were painted by me. I will comment between each set of pictures for the manufacturer.

All five of these are from Foundry and were special editions.



Yes, I know that the first three are actually for fantasy, but they are useful for being workers at the "Ten Bells" Pub. They are all from Reaper Miniatures. The next three are from Foundry and these are the ones that I painted.

The "Teddy" like figure is from Foundry and the Ned Kelly on a penny farthing bicycle is from Eureka Miniatures.

"Will the real 'Jack the Ripper' please step forward?"
I can't remember who made the first figure, but I think it was Ral Partha. The 2nd Jack is from West Wind. The news crier is from Foundry. Both the 3rd Jack and the 'Lizzie Borden' are from Grenadier.
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28mm Gangs of New York Part 2

March 13th, 2008 Sapper Joe Posted in 28mm, CombatColours, Gangs of New York Comments Off

Well, I have been playing around with my camera and got some better shots of my Gangs of New York figures. They are still not the best pictures, but I am improving! Any please review my previous posting for the manufacturers. The first two pictures has miniatures painted by Combat Colours for me. The last three are of my work with a brush.






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28mm Gangs of New York

March 6th, 2008 Sapper Joe Posted in 28mm, Gangs of New York, Victorian Comments Off

All right, I will put up some pictures...please forgive the pictures, see my previous post about my camera problems. These pictures do the miniatures absolutely no justice.

This is from my 28mm Gangs of New York project. I read several of the Herbert Asbury's "Gangs of" books before the movie was released in 2001. And since then, I have read all of Herbert Asbury's books and have read several more books on the Gangs and Riots of old New York. Excellent stuff!!!

The gangsters in the first three pictures were painted up by Combat Colours for me. They are a mix of West Wind's Gothic Horror line and Eureka's Victorian's Thugs. They are mostly painted in a nautical theme to represent the "Day Break Boys".





The following three pictures of my handy work at a paint brush. The first two pictures are of figures for the Municipal Police for New York City. They are from Bobby Jackson's B'hoys! line from The Virtual Armchair General.


This last picture has an interesting figure on the right, but I will come to that soon. The first figure is from Foundry's Darkest Africa line and is also for the "Day Break Boys." The middle figure is a fireman from Brigade Games' Victorian line. He is painted up to represent Engine No. 33, "The Black Joke", of the New York City's Volunteer Fire Companies. The third figure is from Foundry's Wild West line after some conversion to the head gear. The figure represents a "Bald Knobber" vigilante from south west Missouri, specifically from a mask from Christian County.


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GAMING NEWS: “LOTHS Is Here!” (27 February 2008)

February 27th, 2008 MaksimSmelchak Posted in 28mm, Black Cat Bases, Black Scorpion Miniatures, Flagship Games, Pirates, Warhammer Historical Comments Off

TOP: LOTHS is a mighty fine tome!

Hi All,

Well, my copy of Warhammer Historical Legends of the High Seas (LOTHS) came in today and I'm very impressed with it. The production value is very high and after a few glances, I still have yet to find a typo. Another bonus is that the language is understandable and lavishly illustrated with diagrams. And for us miniature mavens, the most important detail of all is there... it is richly filled with photos of well-painted 28mm miniature pirates, pirate ships, and terrain.

After a cursory reading of it, I'm also impressed with the rules. They aren't quite as fast-play as Pirates! from Flagship Games, but they are about as quick-play as I think anyone could make a game using the Warhammer engine. The color text and character rules for heroes and the like are well-done... I can't wait to give them a good run-down at my local club. The campaign rules also look to be very entertaining. However, like most Warhammer games, LOTHS is a D6 based game. I've never liked the probability range on a D6 or even 2D6, but that's small price to pay for such a well written and produced rule set.

I ordered my copy from Black Scorpion Miniatures:

http://www.blackscorpionminiatures.com/

And took advantage of a deal to not only get LOTHS, but also two FREE minis as a promotional deal: a cabin boy and a captain! I would like to commend Black Scorpion Miniatures for excellent service.

LOTHS has its own Yahoo E-group here:

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/LotHighSeas/

And I couldn't write about 28mm pirates without mentioning two of my other favorite pirate manufacturers:

http://www.flagshipgames.com/

http://www.blackcatbases.com/

I have received excellent service for many years from Flagship Games and over the last year from Black Cat Bases. Most of my ships are Flagship Games beauties and most of my newer crew will be based on resin bases from Black Cat Bases. Long live the Pirates!

Have a great Wednesday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

P.S.
I also wanted to mention the awesome new 28mm pirate ship that my fellow 6mm miniatures fan, Kieran made. Link here:
http://6mm.wargaming.info/page1010.shtml

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (...if it is indeed an infringement).

6mm-Minis is Maksim-Smelchak's blog to discuss gaming, miniatures, books, movies, Israel, Judaism and life in general. My favorite scale of miniatures is 6mm, which is also often called 1/285 or even 1/300 scale. I enjoy many different kinds of games including ancients, Napoleonics, WWI, WWII, the Arab-Israeli conflict, Car Wars AKA Autoduel (a sort of crash'n'derby automobile combat game), 6mm Godzilla AKA Kaiju games, and science fiction games. I'm open to everything though!
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GAMING NEWS: “February MWS Meeting AAR” (10 February 2008)

February 12th, 2008 MaksimSmelchak Posted in 1/144, 1973 Yom Kippur War, 28mm, AIW, Air wargaming, MWS, Napoleonics, Post-Apocalypse, Sci-fi, Session report, WWI Comments Off

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TOP: Maksim-Smelchak (me!) brought some 28mm pirate ships & crews to show off.
Hi All,

I've really fallen behind on blog updates... still trying to find a new job. The search is really chewing up my free time.

However, I'm still getting in some gaming, modeling, and other good stuff... just cut out most of the time I spent on blog writing to put towards other pursuits for the time being. I hope that when I find the new job, I'll start putting more time back into the 'ol blog.

Here's a battle report from this past weekend's MWS meet...

=================
MWS Meeting / Game Day Event
Date: Sunday, 10 February 2008
Time: 11:00am to 7:00pm or so…
Location: Marconi Public Library - Community Room
Link: http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/M_W_S/

Attendees:
1. Joe B.
2. Bernie
3. Mark Carper
4. Chris
5. Alex F.
6. Greg
7. Keith
8. Keith TM.
9. Kurt L.
10. Richard “Dick” M.
11. Mark from Viking Hobby
12. Mike O.
13. Barto R.
14. David R.
15. Bob S.
16. Maksim-Smelchak (me!)
17. Mike W.
18. Harry W.
19. Lots of interested library spectators…

=================
TOP: McLovins, a pre-war bombed-out department store...
...that the outlaw gang took over as their HQ.
Game #1:
Title: Junktown Episode V “A Menace in the Wastelands”
Rules: No Limits (free download)
Genre: Post-apocalyptic Sci-fi
Opponents: Junktown’s 1rst Army Division vs. the Mekaniak Wasteland Outlaw Gangs
Scale: 28mm
Link: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/34130

Participants:
- Mark Carper – Gamemaster.
- Mike O. – General of Junktown’s 1rst Army Division.
- Maksim-Smelchak - Captain of Junktown’s 1rst Army Division.
- Richard M. – The Big Kahuna of the Mekaniak Wasteland Outlaw Gangs.
- Joe B. – Chief Enforcer of the Mekaniak Wasteland Outlaw Gangs.

TOP: "Air Zed," Junktown's secret weapon!

Outcome:
- The game was a draw with the early game clearly belonged to the forces of Junktown and the later game devolving into a draw as the outlaw gangs managed to hold their ground after Pyrrhic losses. However, as always the real fun in Junktown is more about abysmally bad die rolling, incredible exploits of bravery & stupidity, bad puns, good jokes, and a great feeling of camaraderie.

More photos from this game can be found here:
TOP: A swirling WWI dog fight over the Continent...
Game #2:
Title: “Continental Balloon Buster”
Rules: Wings of War miniatures / card game
Genre: Great War (W.W.I.) aircraft dogfights
Opponents: German balloon and fighters vs. British fighters
Scale: 1/144 or 10mm
Link: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/31552

Participants:
- Mike W. – Gamemaster / German Krauts
- Barto R. – British Limeys
- Harry W. – British Limeys

TOP: British fighters successfully shot down the German Zeppelin...

...by running into it!

Outcome:
- The British managed to shoot down the German balloon although they lost two aircraft to the same balloon when they couldn’t avoid running into it. So, overall the British achieved their mission objectives.

=================
TOP: An Egyptian T-62 tank battallion advances across the Sinai...
Game #3:
Title: “Duel in the Dessert, 1973”
Rules: Cold War Commander
Genre: AIW Modern warfare during the 1973 Yom Kippur War
Opponents: Egyptian forces vs. Israeli forces in the Sinai
Scale: 1/285 or 6mm
Link: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/26474

Participants:
- Bob S. - Gamemaster
- Greg: Israelis
- Keith TM: Egyptians

TOP: Israeli Ben Gurions (Centurions) counter the Egyptian attack...

Outcome:
- In a bloody battle, the Egyptians were defeated by the Israelis, although with unacceptable loss ratios.

=================
TOP: 28mm Napoleonic fun was had by many...
Game #4:
Title: “Ney vs. Wellington, 16 June 1815”
Rules: Age of Eagles
Genre: Napoleonics
Opponents: British vs. French
Scale: 28mm
Link: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/31025

Participants:
- Alex F. - Gamemaster
- Bernie - French
- David R. - French
- Chris - British
- Keith - British

TOP: Ney's French storm through a village...

Outcome:
- The British had a terrible time of it and were defeated by the French.

More photos from this game can be found here:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f23/Maksim-Smelchak/Gaming-2008/MWS_2-10-2008_/28mm-Napoleonics_2-10-2008-/

=================

There was also a mini-trade / swap meet that went on.

TOP: 28mm Normans, Vikings, Fantasy Dwarves & WWI were up for trade...
A beautifully painted 15mm WWII British Army was also on the block...

More general photos from the meet can be found here:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f23/Maksim-Smelchak/Gaming-2008/MWS_2-10-2008_/

Have a great Tuesday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (...if it is indeed an infringement).
6mm-Minis is Maksim-Smelchak's blog to discuss gaming, miniatures, books, movies, Israel, Judaism and life in general. My favorite scale of miniatures is 6mm, which is also often called 1/285 or even 1/300 scale. I enjoy many different kinds of games including ancients, Napoleonics, WWI, WWII, the Arab-Israeli conflict, Car Wars AKA Autoduel (a sort of crash'n'derby automobile combat game), 6mm Godzilla AKA Kaiju games, and science fiction games. I'm open to everything though!
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MINI WARGAMING: “Added Lanterns & Doors to The 28mm Ship” (22 January 2008)

January 22nd, 2008 MaksimSmelchak Posted in 28mm, 28mm Fantasy, Naval Wargaming, Pirates Comments Off

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TOP: The Fore Castle & Front Mast Socket of my 28mm pirate ship.
Hi All,

I've still been toiling away on my 28mm pirate ship project... and have finished the following:

- Added three pairs of conventional lanterns custom-made from card and beads.
- Finished two of the three sockets with railings for the eventual masts.
- Added two "skull lanterns" to the aft castle.
- Added three pairs of doors to the fore and aft castle cabins:
(A pair to rear aft castle cabin wall, and a pair each to the front and back of the fore castle cabin bulkhead)
- Almost finished drilling out the ship's grates.
- Added balsa wood trim across various parts of the ship.

TOP: The Aft Castle Deck with new "skull lanterns"...
...placed to the sides of the central lantern.
TOP: The Fore Castle cabin with new doors...
...and conventional lanterns added.

The project is coming along, but there's still plenty to do.

Among those chores are:

- Adding ladders between the central deck and the raised fore and aft decks.
- Adding the railing to the central deck mast socket.
- Building the three masts along with crow's nests.
- Creating three sails.
- Building the rigging.
- Adding balsa trim to much of the rest of the ship.
- Adding magnetic stripping to the aft and fore castle cabins.
- Adding steel paper to the bottoms of the aft and fore castle decks.
- Detailing.
- Basing the entire waterline ship on a piece of plasticard.
- Priming.
- Painting.

And being that real sailing ships required far more labor and skilled construction hands than my simple resin miniature, I can only imagine how much labor went into their construction. The rigging alone is tough to imagine putting together. I'm gaining new respect for the sailors of yesteryear.

A link to all of the photos I took here:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f23/Maksim-Smelchak/28mm_Pirates/28mm-Pirate-Ship_1-12-2008/

Good gaming to all and...
Have a great Tuesday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (...if it is indeed an infringement).
6mm-Minis is Maksim-Smelchak's blog to discuss gaming, miniatures, books, movies, Israel, Judaism and life in general. My favorite scale of miniatures is 6mm, which is also often called 1/285 or even 1/300 scale. I enjoy many different kinds of games including ancients, Napoleonics, WWI, WWII, the Arab-Israeli conflict, Car Wars AKA Autoduel (a sort of crash'n'derby automobile combat game), 6mm Godzilla AKA Kaiju games, and science fiction games. I'm open to everything though!
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MINI WARGAMING: “RIF & Zombietown Are Back!” (15 January 2008)

January 15th, 2008 MaksimSmelchak Posted in 28mm, George G., MWS, RIF, Vynnie, Zombie Town, Zombies Comments Off

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TOP: Bill Johnson, Zombie Abatement Technician IV, Specialist:
“On a Friday night, no less!
Why can’t these things eat people at nine in the morning?
Dammit, I’m claiming overtime for this.”
Hi All,

I'm still in job search mode which explains the low level of posts, but I have some more good news:

Recon In Force (RIF) is Back!
http://www.recon-in-force.com/index.html

My buddy, Vynnie, had some hosting problems but RIF is back and hopefully with its former problems solved.

TOP: A car sits on blocks at the corner of Elm street.
The night is quiet.

Vynnie also has some new material up at RIF, a wargaming source text that he calls:
"Humanity At War: 2100 AD"

Link here:
http://www.recon-in-force.com/Orbit/2100.html

We all gamed together this past weekend, another mob of about twenty guys, at the local MWSS meeting. Vynnie hosted a 28mm Star Grunt "Space Pirates" game, Manny G. hosted a 20mm W.W.II Vitebsk game, and Alex F. hosted a 28mm Samurai game "The 47 Ronin." It was great fun. I took alot of photos, which now means I have two MWSS battle reports to post along with their photos...

How wicked are the lazy like me! I need to find some spare time... What will my Blog readers do? OH, the shame! LOL

Have a great Tuesday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (...if it is indeed an infringement).
6mm-Minis is Maksim-Smelchak's blog to discuss gaming, miniatures, books, movies, Israel, Judaism and life in general. My favorite scale of miniatures is 6mm, which is also often called 1/285 or even 1/300 scale. I enjoy many different kinds of games including ancients, Napoleonics, WWI, WWII, the Arab-Israeli conflict, Car Wars AKA Autoduel (a sort of crash'n'derby automobile combat game), 6mm Godzilla AKA Kaiju games, and science fiction games. I'm open to everything though!
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