More Trench Crusade Minis!

 Well, those TC models didn't last long on the work table! A week and job's done. That's a far cry from the last lot which lingered for months. I found these miniatures easy to paint and once I had a uniform worked out in my head, everything just clicked. I was really wondering how the bright green was going to turn out on the big mechanized guys. I'm very happy with that result. On with the show.

The lot

The mechanized heavy infantry. Who says bright lime green isn't "Grimdark?" 

Shock Troopers. I gave these troops distinctive dark green armor. Kind of a badge of "I completed the training" sort of like a special forces beret. These guys are obviously melee-focused. The banner-carrier has a bit of a painting flaw. The brow of his helmet took some flesh-colored paint. I've gone back and fixed it.

Some specialists. Two lieutenants, a Trench Cleric and Combat medic. I carried the gold and blue "national colors" through on the leaders' helmets. I also went back after the photo shoot and fixed the back of the cleric's robe where it looks like some rust pigment made it's way into the white highlights.

More specialists. Two sniper priests and an engineer. I gave the engineer the same dark green armor that the shock troopers have, indicating he went through that same training.

And finally some grunts - Yeomen. I'm not sure why one is kitted out more like a WW1 infantryman, but, well, what do I know. Yeoman can be upgraded to Trench Moles which gain the ability to infiltrate on the battlefield. I suppose that's what I can use him as.

And the painting corrections...

Paints are my usual combination of Vallejo, P3, MIG and Army Painter. The bases are primarily painted with cheap hobby store paints because I just hate using the "good stuff" on dirt and rocks. The big mechanized guys also got a visit from the pigment fairy to add some stains. Everything got a heavy black oil-paint wash, allowed to almost dry, then wiped down with cotton swabs. It's such a good technique for getting that heavy, sooty look and like a good sauce on food, "brings it all together." There's a lot to be said for consistent basing and a consistent finish on a collection like this.

Now that I have two very nice forces, I'm ready to but Trench Crusade on the table for a run!

The damage done. 🤣

In Progress Painting

 Since we don't get much snow in Savannah, yesterday's dusting was a neat novelty. It felt appropriate to be painting Russians this morning!

Copplestone Castings Bolsheviks and leaders / commissars. 

Completely unrelated but also on the painting table as a second Trench Crusade group. I picked up this New Antioch force on Etsy from the same guy I got the Black Grail minis from. This set is excellent and includes four different Lieutenant models. I only assembled two. Very happy with the quality and shipping speed. I did up the bases during the week while the models were in the mail. I wasn't expect the cleric or extra leaders do I had to whip up a couple extra bases yesterday evening. 

Fun stuff!

A Classic Battletech Revisit

David,  Ziggy and I got together for a refresher game of traditional Battletech on Saturday afternoon. It had been at least a year since the last time we played that version. There's something about the "crunchiness" of the game that scratches a particular gaming itch. I pulled six similar point-valued mechs from my collection and we randomly drew our mechs for the game, which was the always maligned three-player free-for-all. They usually turn into a 2 v 1 but somehow this time we managed to avoid that.

I drew a Wolverine, David got an Executioner and Ziggy got the white PPC-armed Catapult.

Initially, David and I chased each other around a bit, initiative being king in this scenario. We were both very hesitant to engage Zig's pair of death rays.

David ended up skirting around Z's left side and Zig pursued. I had backed off after being smacked and heating up a bit much.

At one point we did back Z into a corner but it wouldn't last and David took advantage of the situation to bushwhack me.

By the end of the game, my mech had lost its good arm (with a Large and Medium Laser). Ziggy's Catapult was in terrible shape with two engine crits. David's Executioner was unreliable and slow with mucked up hip and gyro hit. All in all, a very busy and eventful game that thankfully didn't devolve into a 2 v 1! I think we're ready to add BT into our gaming rotation. It was good to step through everything and hit the books to answer the questions that came up during the game. 

Painting and Planes

 A bit of recent painting made its way through the queue this week. First up are agents Scully and Mulder, from X-Files of course. These are 28mm 3d prints purchased via Etsy. I hated the models. Heads are cast separately from the bodies, as are the hands. The way the right hands are attached to the sprues is miserable. Both of mine broke. I had to use less interesting alternatives donated by other minis. Frustrating.

They painted up nicely and will fun characters to add to my modern What a Cowboy games.

 The other painting I did during the week was on some 1/600 aircraft. The pictures are off-the cuff but get the point across.

Swedish J35s, F-105s and MiG-15s.

And then some F9F Panthers and more MiG-15s.

I've also spent a few hours in the last couple weeks re-basing the other planes in my collection, getting rid of the magnets. I'm very close to being done! I also put together a couple of Check Your 6 Jet Age scenarios for the next time the group gets together for a game.

Some New Year's Check Your 6

 David, Ziggy and I got together for some CY6 for a first game of the year on Saturday afternoon. We played up at Roll the Bones game store in Savannah. This was to be the first real test of my new flight stands that I put together a few months back. 

The first scenario we played was "French Surprise" out of the CY6 MRB. The setup is that the USN is attacking a Vichy French airstrip in Morocco as part of the Torch landings. Ziggy commanded the four F4 Wildcats while David and I split the French D.520s 2 and 2. David's two were just taking off from the airstrip so had to start at altitude 1, speed 1. 

My two, flapping their wings as hard as they can!

I'm happy with how the flight stands worked. David and Zig also approved. I think the game ended with one French plane downed and two (?) USN planes taken out? Might have just been 1 to 1. 

We played a second game, this time in the far east with four Flying Tiger P-40s versus six Ki-27s. David flew the P-40s while Z and I split the Japanese target drones, I mean, Nates. 

My three were closer to David, so he wisely sent all four of his MUCH better planes after me, leaving Ziggy a longer flight to just get into the fight. 

There was a lot of dodging, weaving and fist-shaking. Zig and I got got so many hits on the P-40s but it didn't matter. The weak guns on the Nates just couldn't make a dent. I lost a couple planes, I think Z lost one. Two of the Flying Tigers ran out of ammo which was really our saving grace! Overall it was a really enjoyable match, it was just a shame our guns weren't up to the task. A great kick off to the year and we're all looking forward to more. 

New Models for the New Year!

 Happy 2026 everyone!. My cold symptoms are on the mend, I'm real happy about that. All that coughing and congestion was just the worst. After finishing up those KVs int he previous post, I got to work on some 28mm moderns for my WAC variant. These models are from Spectre Miniatures. Resin 3D prints, very good quality. A tad pricey, but that's everything these days, plus a Christmas discount at GCminis helped!

First up... the Trailer Park Defense Force. Where I live, these could be west Chatham, Effingham, Bryan or Liberty counties' primary residents. 😁

Two melee folks with a baseball bat and a broken beer bottle. Two with ARs, a shotgun and one with an SKS. Very crystal meth. 

I'm not good at tattoos on my minis but this crew demanded it. There really should be a lot more. A fun gang for sure! Loads or character.

And the last two - a couple of Feds. An FBI agent and a plain clothes agent for whatever agency seems appropriate.

Should have some WW2 Check Your 6 on the schedule tomorrow to ring in the new year!

Christmas Tanks

I didn't get a whole lot of hobby stuff for Christmas but I did get these two nice 1/72 KVs. They're Pegasus models and come two in a box, which includes for KV-1 and KV-2 turrets! Also, Pegasus models tend to be easy builds and look great. Not much else to say, they're seriously strong early war Soviet tanks. 

 The insignia decals were pulled from aircraft red star sheets I have. East builds, easy painting. Looking forward to putting them on the tabletop. 

Completed Painting - Trench Crusade Minis

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas! Mine was good, except that I've had a nasty head cold that's made me miserable.

This week I finished up the group of 3D printed Trench Crusade models I picked up a couple of months ago. Overall, I'm delighted with the results. They're dark, nasty and horrible - exactly what TC calls for. The particular "faction" in game terms is The Cult of the Black Grail. If you're familiar with the GW IP, not a far cry from Nurgle. If you're not familiar, they're minions of the devil Beelzebub and spread misery through disease and decay. The head cold I've been nursing has been ironically appropriate.  On with the pageant.

Front Row: Three Grail Thralls. They represent the actual shit end of the stick.

Back Row : An Amalgam and a Lord of Tumors. These are the high-end monsters. A walking wall of corpses and the bossman.

Hug me!

Bossman has a couple of unfortunate sods with him acting as weapon bearers.

Grail Thralls. The bullet-sponges of the crew.

Back Row: Three Heralds of Beelzebub

Front Row: Three Corpse Guards

Adding some color and weird to the gang! The iridescent wings are fun.

Working our way up the ranks!

The weird parasites on these fellows also have fun shiny wings.

Four Hounds of the Black Grail. Some speed and assorted weirdness.

The model in the leaping pose is nice.

There was a lot of base space to fill with these critters. I rather enjoyed that process.

And finally, three Plague Knights. 

These are the elite warriors of the group. I rather like their look. Kudos to the designer of these. Like the other things with wings, these are also iridescent but the photograph's angle doesn't really do it justice.

The kids have come a long way.

The bases were done up with putty, wooden bits snapped at random angles, wound wire, straws, gravel, skeletal bits from other kits, etc. Painting the models wasn't anything unusual. After basic painting, I applied a heavy but thinned black oil paint wash over the models. After 30-40 minutes of drying time, some cotton swabs are used to remove excess black, leaving the very heavy shading. Some highlighting here and there, picking out some colors in other spots and boom, job's done! Now, it looks like they could use an opponent...

It's a Battletech Christmas Game

 Ziggy and I got together for what's likely to be our last game of 2025. We pulled out the BT Alpha Strike toys and I quickly assembled a themed game to go along with the thematic scenery. 

Sitrep: One of Santa's Sledtech units was inadvertently shot down in the northern polar region of Bethlehem IV. The combatants on the planet (Fire Mandrill Clan and House Steiner) dispatched units to collect what gifts they could from the accident. Let's face it, these guys weren't exactly on the "good" list and desperate times call for desperate measures.

Ten gift tokens were placed on the battlefield, each with a different hidden value. Units could pick up one and only one gift and claim it. If the unit was destroyed, they'd drop the gift where they stood. We deployed in opposite corners.

I finally put my Elementals on the table. They're fun and interesting. I'd use them again with no hesitation.

My heaviest hitters, a Sun Cobra and a Pouncer held up my center.

My Griffin IIc keeps tabs on a distant enemy mech. Retaining loot is more important than knocking out enemy units, of course knocking out an enemy mech carrying loot is useful too!

An overhead shot of much of the table. An visit to Hobby Lobby earlier in the day was well worth it, I picked up 64 2-inch red, green and white trees for just over $20 (Christmas items were 60% off).

I had been hoping for some King-Konging and got it! My elementals ran off the filthy Steiner mech.

We ended the game after 6 turns or so. We each had snagged five tokens and magically only one point separated us at the end - my gift pile was slightly more valuable at 28 points to Zig's 27. A darn entertaining game and having the focus taken off just killing each other was a nice change for Battletech.

Merry Christmas and I hope your loot piles are wonderful! Peace and Love to all.