Riddle me this...

I pushed a few more Heroclix repaints through the production process last night. These are a bunch of villians.

Up first is the Holiday Killer, a foe of Batman's that I'm not familiar with. I think he would also do as a generic bad guy (just a hint of gestapo about him) or even a detective. He is very tall and thin so looks a bit out of scale with the rest. I was quite happy with the repaint of his mono trench coat.

Then the Riddler. I think this is one of the better faces among the Heroclix that I have seen.

Catwoman wearing some sort of welding goggles, it appears.

Then there are these five generic figures with body armour and guns. They could be a well-turned out gang of villians. Or some special force police officers.

Up next: Some Star Wars snow speeders are based and drying. And a 1/72 wagon train and US command stand for the War of 1812 are being based. I have a bunch of other War of 1812 camp figures that require painting. Thereafter likely some more 1812 line troops. I just can't get motivated to deal with the 28mm Normans that are left. I also have a game of Hail Caesar Saturday night and probably will run another game at the club on T Tuesday.

War of 1812 British Artillery

This week I also finished some War of 1812 British Artillery. These are mostly 1/72 Imex Alamo figures standing in for British with the larger cannon being from HaT's accursed French 1805 artillery box.

I think this is all of the artillery that I will ever use for the War of 1812 using DBHx and I'm happy to have these guys done and out of the way.

There are a few figures left over and I will be using them to create a command base for the US side (an officer is binoculars and two fellows hustling a crate of something--hooch is my guess). This is to allow us to use the mobile general optional rule.

The Imex figures are pretty good. I'm not crazy about the guy with plunger, though. No positioning I could come up with really looked natural.

Up next: I have some superheroes (villains, actually) on the way and I'm painting up some tiny snow speeders after I figured out a cool way to base them. Then a camp suitable for 1812 and then perhaps back to some 28mm Normans (or maybe some more 1812 troops).

War of 1812 American Artillery

After a break from 1/72 plastics, I've returned to make some progress on my War of 1812 DBHx armies. The 200th anniversary of many battles is not that far off and I have a fair number of units to go.

First up are four bases of US artillery. The majority of these figures are from HaT's 1805 French Artillery box while the smaller cannon are from an Imex Alamo set.

The smaller cannon went together reasonably well. There were four pieces (two wheels, chassis, barrel) and the fit was solid. The figures are all HaT. The kit is likely not correct (based on the re-enactor photos I have seen) but they will do.

The larger cannon are from the HaT set and were a horror. They are very soft, bendy plastics and each cannon comprises 8 pieces (five for the chassis). The plastic was not reactive with regular model cement so I used the Locktite plastix glue. This holds but the plastics is so bendy that assembling the chassis causes the locktite glue to sheer away where it has bonded.

Eventually I got them to hold together, spray primed them and then reinforced the bond with a coat of Future floor wax. There was still some breakage while painting that needed to be fixed. While I don't mean to make a mountain out of a mole hill, if the purpose of a model is to be assembled, shouldn't it be manufactured in way to facilitate this?!?! That is the last box of bendy HaT figures requiring assembly that I will ever buy.

On a lighter note, the fellow lighting the fuse looks a bit like he's casting a spell with a wand. "Accio a professional officer corp!"

Up next: British artillery for the War of 1812. Then likely more superheroes. And then I might have the jam to go back to finish the 28mm Normans. And then back to some 1/72 War of 1812 camps and militia.

28mm Super Heroes

While working on a large lot of 1/72 War of 1812 figures, I managed to also push through a few more super heroes.

First up is Black Lightening. This appears to be a later costume, not the disco-inspired costume he wore during much of the 1980s.

Then Metamorpho, another Outsider from the 1980s.

Here we have a generic thug that I painted up to look like gaming buddy Dave.

Finally we have Beast Boy/Changling. I think this costume was from before he was a Teen Titan and was a part of the Doom Patrol (amazing what sticks in my memory from 30 years ago). This figure includes a partly transforming arm as he turns from mild-mannered (albeit green) teenager to raging beast of some kind.

Up next: I have finished both some American and British artillery for the War of 1812. These 1/72 figures were a mix of Imex and HaT. There are some Normans waiting to be primered but I'll likely work on some 10mm snowspeeders first to finish up my daughter's Star Wars armies.

Hail Caesar at the Club

We had seven guys out at the club last night with two games running. Scott and Kevin played a test game of Hail Caesar, using Normans and Saxons respectively. Roughly 10-12 units per side using centimetres so we were playing on the equivalent of a 10x16 foot table.

Below you can see the two lines coming together, with the Saxons (on the left) about to contact the weaker Norman wing while the Norman cavalry had some trouble getting going and getting over a small stream (linear obstacle).

Tough dice and a bit of a mismatch meant the Norman wing in the foreground was crushed, except for a tough band of infantry that drove the Saxon troops back halfway across the board before throwing in the towel.

The Norman cavalry eventually got into the game and smacked the Saxon shield wall pretty good but the weight of the shieldwall (after the initial clash) was enough to turn the tide.

The guys switched sides and the Normans (on the right) had a bit of a command roll malfunction which put their cavalry far out in front. Kevin decided to keep charging and ran straight into the Saxons. He was quickly flanked and crushed.

The terrain rules were simple enough that they worked pretty well and did not impinge upon play. I think the sides might have been a bit unbalanced. We'll need to play on a bigger board next time and uses inches! But that will mean painting up a few more figures.

Bruce put on a game of FUBAR using some 15mm sci-fi figures. This tank eventually managed to activate but took too long to get into play. Cobra Commander will not be pleased!

Up next: A few more superheroes are underway. And likely some War of 1812 1/72 figures will get my attention this weekend.

28mm Normans

After some distractions, I'm now back to a serious and proper gaming subject, some 28mm Normans. These are a mixed lot from Scott, including some Foundry and some Old Glory.

First up is a base of 3Sp on the left and 4 Bd (General). The General needs a banner (red with white cross, I think) but I'm putting on a game tonight and simply needed the extra bases to flesh out the orbat.

I also have two bases of militia completed. I'm not auper happy with these guys but that reflects a decalling snafu. These fellows came with decals so I left lots of mono-colour shields. But then had a mother of a time getting the decals on (did not fit perfectly). So some I left off and will need to touch up with paint. But I also needed to base them for tonight's game so I'll painting shield designs in situ--fun, fun!

Up close with a hordes. He ain't pretty, but I expect he'd get the job done with the big chopper he's carrying. Looks vaguely like Dennis from this angle, but less witty.

I did three bases of 4Bd and again ran into the mono shield issue. These guys will be easier to fix up that the intertwined hordes, though!

And below there are two bases of 2Ps. A third is off camera as some drying glue pulled one of the figures over after I flocked the base (???) so he's getting some rehab.

Up next: Hail Caesar tonight with some 28mm Normans and Saxons (and friends). This is a second test game and this time I will add in terrain--trees and a small stream (linear obstacle). Then I need to take stock and mow the lawn. Probably some 1/72 War of 1812 artillery will be next. But there are also a bunch of 28mm Normans left to do plus a war wagon.

Still more Superheroes

As I push a bunch of 28mm Normans through the basing process, I continue to knock off some 28mm superhero repaints. First up is Helo, a member of the Outsiders.

This was a nice figure, with a cool, translucent halo surrounding the figure. All I did was touch up the paint and add a wash.

Then there is Aqualad. He is one of the lamer members of the Teen Titans but I got this figure in a job lot so thought I would rebase it with the rest. It is with some annoyance that I note the lamest figure ended up with the best paint job... .

Finally we have Wonder Girl, another Titan. This figure is reasonably complex, with the arms and lasso cast as a separate piece for a more active pose. The sculpter may have gotten carried away with, ahem, boot and bonnet aspects of this figure.

Up next: Hail Caesar at the club tomorrow night and some 28mm Normans are being based. I have another lot of 28mm Normans ready to be primed. I'm not sure I can face another bunch, but we'll see. If not, there are some 1/72 War of 1812 figures calling my name. Plus some 28mm Carthaginians that I picked up from Dennis this weekend.

More 28mm Superheroes

Bad weather has been keeping me out of the garden so I've been spending my lunch hours and evenings in the basement puttering. I'm making progress on a big batch of 28mm Normans. But I have been breaking things up by repainting more superheroes.

First up is a more 1980s version of Batman. I loved the Batman of this era. Not campy like in the 1970s but not yet so dark knight and Tim Burton as to be a turn off. As a hero, he is probably well suited to gaming--modest powers, a few tricks but mostly hand-to-hand combat.

This figure is Katana, one of the original Outsiders. I've tried to follow the history of the Outsiders since I last read a comic (about 1986?) but it is too complicated to make much sense of. Not sure why the figure is tilted so much in this picture--I'd guess it is the angle I took the shot at.

Of course we need some baddies and this Joker is a nice pose. I have a couple of different Joker figures. I'm not sure where most of these figures came from. Some are from eBay. And I got a bunch from Craig (whom I owe some painting to).

And below we have Speedy, who was a Teen Titan at one point and Green Arrow's sidekick. I've put my repaint next to the Heroclix paint to show the difference.

Up next: I'm a ways away from having the Normans finished--lots of figures on the go in this batch. I have a couple more superheroes I putter on when I have the right colour open in the palette. And I will run a game of Hail Caesar at the club on Tuesday. This afternoon I'm off to trade some figures!

15mm Greeks

I finished off a commission last night. This group of 15mm Xyston Greeks begins with three bases of Spartan psiloi.

There are also four bases of generic Greek psiloi.

Again, these are Xyston figures and they are lovely to paint.

A second batch of generic Greek skirmishers are bow armed.

These fellows will be bubble wrapped this weekend but alas will sit until the Canada Post lockout is over.

Up next: Four more superheroes are in the basing process. And I have a big lot of 28mm Normans with the flesh done. Then more superheroes and a game of Hail Caesar at the club on Tuesday.

Holy Hemorrhoids, Batman!

I've been amassing some Heroclix figures in anticipation of Ganesh Games releasing Power Legions in the future. As a break from the unending stream of dark age warriors, I pulled a few out to see if I could add some depth to the pre-paints.

First up is this classic Batman, I added some layered highlights to the black and grey paint job and then I gave it a wash. Overall, this was a massive improvement over the original for not much effort.

As I have several Robin figures, I picked the pose I liked the least to experiment on. Same process with an okay result. I note his crotch is alarmingly over highlighted. But that is not so visible when you look top down. Not sure what gunk got caught in the crook of his left arm. The glare off of the shiny wash also makes his skin look a bit patchier than it is.

Starfire was up next and I thought to compare the outcome to a similar pre-paint. I'm not that happy with how Starfire came out. Oh well, live and learn.

I experimented with a couple of different basing options, include round GW bases. The GW bases we better looking but weren't quite big enough and were a bit tippy. Yes, I could pack them with bearings. Or I could just use the fender washers that I have lots of. I was also uncertain about how to texture the base and went with grass. Most fights are going to be in Gotham Park so grass makes the most sense.

Below is a scale shot of Bats and some 28mm Wargames Factory Romans. Bats is a bit thinner and taller but overall is similar enough in size to work with 28mm figures.

Up next: Some more 15mm Greeks are drying. And I have a few more superheroes one step behind them. And then some 28mm Normans are prepped for painting.

Hail Caesar!

I dropped in on Bruce last night to try out the new ruleset Hail Caesar from Warlord Games. I sent Bruce a vague orbat and he picked medieval figures. Each side had 12 units--horse on the flanks, infantry in the middle. His side had bow and pike while mine had medium foot, skirmishers and an artillery unit. I thought this would give is a chance to try out most of the basic rules.

The game started slowly with some failed command rolls, but we ended up with a swirling cavalry battle (my light versus his heavy) on the southern flank. I managed to break one of his units and then sent a light unit around to threaten the flank of his foot. This degenerated into a bit of a slog and eventually both southern divisions broke.

In the middle, it was a slow advance by my troops under his bow fire. On the northern, both sets of heavy horse slowly advanced and eventually hit. This was not particularly decisive but Bruce had the advantage here.

By the end of the game, it looked like Bruce would break my northern division but I managed (with some luck--I love games where Bruce has to roll dice!) to break his centre, in part because of the one pike unit I pulled out of position with my light-horse breakthrough early in the game.

We played with 15mm figures using centimeters on a 4x4' table so, scaled up to full size, it was about a 10x10 foot table. Including learning the rules and some fumbling around during the first half, we managed to bring the game to completion in 90 minutes. We didn't use any terrain this time out to keep things simple while we learned.

Based on one game, it felt like it had about the same level of decision-making as DBA but there was a fair bit more detail, four times the figure count and about 12 times the number of dice rolls. But the rules worked quite well: it felt like a medieval battle, there was a decisive (but close) outcome and there were some interesting events that developed.

Up next: Some superheroes are drying, some 15mm Greeks and underway and there is club next week. I also have some 28mm Normans that need attention.

15mm Greeks

I'm halfway through the final batch of Greeks in a commission. These are 15mm Xyston figures. The first group are Cretan archers.

There are two bases of 2Ps and two bases of 4Bw.

There there is a group of 2Ps from Rhodes.

I thought these turned out well enough. Black primer, block paint, dip and done.

Some very nice figures that take the wash quite nicely.

Up next: Some more Greeks are underway. But I have been experimenting with repainting some 28mm heroclix superheroes. I have three experimental pieces done--two successes and one failure. These are partly prep for the new Ganesha Power Legions rules and partly as a diversion to reinvigorate my painting.