Painting Challenge Submission 16 - Plastic Death Korps of Kreig

A squad of "Death Korps of Krieg" troops - plastic from GW.

Continuing with my wrap-up/catch-up posts of final AHPC submissions, we have a selection of cheerful fellows to represent a squad of troopers from the "Death Korps of Krieg", a military unit set in Games Workshop's "Warhammer 40k" universe. With a name like that, you know they MUST be happy chaps, right? These are multi-part plastic 28mm figures from GW.

The "Death Korps" have a specific story in the lore of the 40k setting, but it's a bit TL/DR. Suffice to say the setting offered the sculptors at Forge World, (the sort-of-associated-but-not-totally-coordinated-but-still-wholly-owned-or-something GW studio) a chance to explore a particular design theme for the "Imperial Army" troops - that theme is "World War I, but, you know, in the year 40,000". This sort of look had been attempted by others, but the Forge World sculptors at the time hit it out of the park with the "Death Korps of Krieg" - a full range of figures blending the kit, look and despair of troops on the western front in 1916 with certain 40k flourishes (skullz!).

Lots of detail on the kit.

Can you spot the small skullz?

The Krieg sculpts from Forge World were amazing. They were - and still are - a stark contrast to the plastic offerings of the day (either the deeply uninspiring Cadians, or, much worse, the complete-crap Catachans). As nice as they were, however, they were only available from Forge World, and so were seldom seen on gaming tables.

Communications trooper.

Love the flare pistol.

Another comms trooper...not sure what I was thinking by doing two of them...oh well...

Really like this pose.

Fast forward to summer 2021, and the release of a new edition of the "Kill Team" rules from GW. The new box set had guardsmen from the "Death Korps of Krieg" - and they were plastic! I picked up a set, and wow, I think this might be the start of something...the figures are so cool, with lots of options for assembly.  I built this unit mostly to represent a basic infantry squad (one sergeant, one special-weapon trooper), but I did mix in a couple of specialists with comms equipment for use with "Kill Team".

The grenadier is fantastic, loading another round...

Suitably action-ish pose for the officer.

It would make sense for GW to add a couple of more plastic sets for the Krieg troopers - all they need are heavy weapon crews, and some officer sets. That said, GW's moves often don't...make much sense? We'll see. But I certainly am going to track down a few more boxes of these fellows, it will be a fun new-project for the future!

A couple of the regular chaps aiming their laser rifles.

I loved working on these figures. It will take a bit of time, but watch for more to appear in this space, as I don't think I will be satisfied with just one squad...thanks for reading!

Challenge Submission #17 - A Horde of Shambling Zombies

 

This is the first of two large batches of zombies that I did for the Painting Challenge. I am starting with two boxes of plastic Wargames Factory Zombies that I picked up at a local hobby store at least a decade ago. They have languished in the 'big box of unpainted minis' until now. These seem to have gone out of production in the interim.

Each box contained five identical sprues with enough parts to build 30 figures. Every sprue provided one figure in a lab coat, four different pairs of legs, four upper torsos, and a variety of heads. All the left arms were part of the upper torso, but the right arms were separate. This allows for some mix and match, although some combinations work better than others. I will let the pictures tell the rest.

The figures were assembled and then glued onto 1 inch fender washers. I wanted to leave the bases quite plain to look like concrete, so I used some spackling paste to create a smooth transition from the molded base to the washer. Once everything was dry and sanded, the figures were primed grey from a rattle can. They were then painted using Vallejo acrylics, followed by a coat of Army Painter Strong Tone Quickshade. Here is the end result.

 

The Horde, out for an evening shamble

 

 

It has been quite a while since the Conscripts had a Zombie game, and I am looking for a chance to get these minis on the table top. Stay tuned for some upcoming Zombie mayhem.

Painting Challenge Submission 15 - Are We Ready For Some Blood Bowl?

It's Blood Bowl time! Here come the Hochland Hammers!

Spring has arrived - on the calendar, if not in the climate - and that means another edition of the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge has come to an end. The final couple of weeks of the AHPC tend to be a real mad dash, as Challenge participants cram to finish off projects old and new, and rack up as many points as possible. You can see from the frenetic activity here on the blog (which is awesome - keep it up!) just how much paint the Conscripts tossed at figures through the final phases.

I will catch up myself now, with a series of posts showing my final work for AHPC XII. And to get started, I have this submission, which would push me across the line for my own points target. It felt it fitting to use a Blood Bowl team to push across the proverbial line. So I present the "Hochland Hammers", a team of Imperial Nobility, for GW's Blood Bowl. 

I think these are the bodyguards...I assume meant to protect the thrower, like offensive linemen or something.

So what can I tell you about Blood Bowl? Nothing! I have never played it. I have been aware of it for the entirety of my 30+ years of interest in the hobby and GW, but I have never, ever played it, or given it much more than a glance and a chuckle. 

My thrower...hasn't played a game yet, and he already looks like he wants to re-work his contract...

But, having moved to a new town, I am keen to meet new hobbyists and gamers. And here in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, they play Blood Bowl. There is a league, entering its third season, and all of the players in the league, polite and fun participants in the assorted historical and 30k demo games I have been staging here at the local hobby shop, have been urging me to play Blood Bowl. 

The blitzers. I wonder how they will do against Khorne-worshipping linemen?

I was reluctant, feeling I could not get a team painted in time, as the league starts in March - but since it appears you only need 12 or so players, I thought "why not?". When in Rome, right? I want to meet new players, and get to know the local gaming community a little better. Plus, there are always hilarious Blood Bowl-themed entries in The Painting Challenge. I picked the Imperial Nobility box off of the shelf at the beginning of March, and got cracking with the brushes. I chose the colours of Hochland - the same colours of my very, very old Empire Army from Warhammer Fantasy Battle, that still sits on my shelf today. 

Ah, the colours of Hochland - quick and dirty to paint!

I already can't recall what position these two play, but the fact that they keep tankards with them at all times makes me confident they have "what it takes" to succeed in Blood Bowl.

This team includes a thrower, linemen, bodyguards, and a couple of blitzers - I think? I'm not sure. The box came with two thrower figures, but I only painted the one, thinking that you would not have two throwers on the field on the same time - although I don't know that, as I don't know a thing about Blood Bowl. 

Blood Bowl appears to involve a ball and violence. So this fellow should come in handy.

I've sourced a jaunty hat for this guy, but that is still in the post, so this is how he will likely play his first couple of games.

Multiple members of the local league, upon hearing that I was painting up the Imperial Nobility team, assured me that I would "need" an Ogre. So I ordered one of those too, and got him ready to go.

I also painted up some trinkets/markers that came on the sprues. I am trying to find figures to represent coaches, and an apothecary, but I am assured I "have what I need to play a game" at this point. We'll see!

Are we ready for some Blood Bowl! Hell yeah!

So...I am finally trying Blood Bowl! Travel plans will delay my first game, but I do hope share tales of my trouncing in the local league as it starts to occur! Thanks for reading!

Challenge Submission #16 - Soviet Infantry in Winter Uniforms

 

 

Here is another contingent of defenders of Mother Russia that was completed for the Painting Challenge, specifically 42 Soviet Winter Infantry from the Warlord Games boxed set of the same name. The set consists of five identical sprues of eight figures, plus three weapons sprues, enough to build 40 miniatures. I transferred two additional figures from the Siberian Veterans I did last week to beef up the numbers a bit. They are dressed in either greatcoats or quilted jackets, many wearing mitts, or having them dangle from 'idiot strings'. The selection of heads provided a lot of choice from a variety of fur hats, pilotkas, or helmets, with many of the faces wrapped in scarves. The only criticism I have with the set is that the weapons sprues don't provide enough basic Moisin-Nagant rifles. but I was able to make up the shortfall by carving away telescopic sights, or grabbing rifles from the sprues that came with the box of Siberian Veterans.

These were all painted in my usual style, starting with a dark brown primer. All the basic colours were painted using Vallejo acrylics, followed by a coat of Army Painter Strong Tone Quickshade. At times it was a little tricky getting the brush into the deep recesses. I might try a method I saw on YouTube where all the parts were painted while still on the sprue and then assembled. I used AK Diorama products 'Snow' and 'Snow Sprinkles' on the bases to give them that frosty look. The dead grass is Vallejo Scenery 'Wild Tuft - Beige'. The end result is a platoon of three identical 10 man sections, each with a submachine gun, a mix of Moisin-Nagant rifles and carbines,  a DP-28 light machine gun team, plus some hand grenades and Molotov cocktails, and a section of 9 conscripts armed with rifles, all led by a senior officer with a pistol. Add to that a PTRS-41 or Simonov anti-tank rifle team, ready to engage the Fascist invaders. 

The Bolt Action rules for Soviets allow a free section of conscripts as one of the force selection options, or I can use them to increase the strength of the other three sections up to 12 men, so this group will provide me with some options on the wargames table of either bigger sections, or a free group of 'Grot'. They will be teamed up with my Soviet Winter Support Group and my whitewashed T-34 for a battle in the snows of Russia.

 

A platoon of Soviet infantry in Winter uniforms

Veteran Officer and Anti-tank Rifle Team

Squad No. 1

Squad No.2

Squad No.3

Призывники Фосетт-авеню

 This was the last of my Soviet infantry. The last of the Soviets? Stay tuned for the next submission.

Challege Submission #15 - Another Smattering of Special Challenge Targets

 

One of the special challenge targets was to paint a Superhero figure. I didn't have any miniatures that were easily identifiable as a specific superhero, although the figure with the helmet and gun has a bit of a 'Peacemaker' vibe to him. I don't even know where I got these figures from or who manufactured them. They all stand 30-32mm in height, so they are slightly taller than the usual 25-28mm figures. Perhaps the Hive Mind can provide some clues.

They were first primed with black, and then painted using Vallejo acrylics. I used some GW washes on the skin areas, and on the hair. The colours chosen for two of the figures were based on suggestions from my wife, who used to collect Marvel and DC comics before we got married. The colours for the 'Peacemaker' figure are based on images of that superhero found on the net. So I give you 'Blue Moon' (named for the frequency of his appearances), 'Omega Dude' (named because of his fancy wristwatch), and my version of 'Peacemaker' (who is wearing his holster on his right side, but shooting left-handed. 😕)

 

 

Diving into my box of unpainted Sci-Fi miniatures, I found three West End Games Star Wars Snowtroopers as they appeared in 'The Empire Strikes Back' during the attack on Echo Base. They were primed in grey, and then painted using Vallejo acrylics. After the bases had been painted white, some AK Diorama 'Snow Sprinkles' was applied  While not as fancy as some of the newer Star Wars: Legion figures out there, I think they still look pretty good. 

I didn't have any robot miniatures in my 'big box of shame', but I had some wooden figures from the local craft store that were designed to be painted up as nutcrackers. I also had the book 'Boilerplate - History's Mechanical Marvel', by Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett, and I thought I might be able to do a conversion to make an 'old robot'.

 

An image of Boilerplate from the book

 

My starting point

 

I rummaged through my boxes of collected bits and bobs that I use for building terrain features to find the right pieces to convert my nutcracker figure into an old robot. Doweling of various diameters, tubes from dry ink markers, old chopsticks, hollow plastic sucker sticks, thin copper wire, and some epoxy putty were all pressed into service. In the end, the only pieces from the original figure that were incorporated into the build were the arms and legs. The end product stands 80mm tall (pictured below standing on a hockey puck, the Canadian standard for both size and mass). If I were to do another, I would make his head a bit shorter  his helmet a bit wider, and his arms a bit longer, but I am satisfied with the final result.

 

 

Thanks for reading.

Ogre Miniatures - 6mm armour units and another AI Supertank - 3 Ogre-related Painting Challenge submissions

Ogre Mk. V - Challenge Submission #5

A capital addition to my growing forces for Ogre Miniatures, the 6mm scale miniatures wargame based upon Steve Jackson's Games' 45-year-old board game.

The Combine Ogre Mk. V is a very large cybertank, with more than double the firepower of the Ogre Mk. III that I recently built. Above, next to the Mk. V you can see a normal sized 6mm (1:300) scale PanEuro "Jaeger" heavy tank. I went with a traditional Combine = red, Paneuro = blue paint schemes. For the Ogre Mk. V, the base red was accomplished with a light spray of Army Painter Dragon Red primer. I then laid in several glazes of GW Druchii Violet for shading. I painted highlights and some light weathering and damage using various artists' oils, especially Alizarin Crimson, Burnt Sienna, Cadmium Red, Cadmium Scarlet, Cadmium Yellow, and Peach Black.

I was hoping to get several troops of Paneuropean armour units done to go along with this Ogre: GEVs (armed, jet-powered hovercraft), missile tanks, super heavy tanks, howitzers, etc.). It ended up taking a couple more weeks.

I suggested 15 points for the Ogre Mk. V (which is easily equal to or larger than the size of a 20mm T-34 or similar tank). Add 20 points for Skaro (Robots). The Ogre Mk. V is a giant robotic tank! This garnered me 35 points for this entry into the 2022 Painting Challenge.

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Paneuropean "Galahad" G.E.V.s - Challenge Submission #6

The Paneuropean "Galahad" G.E.V. (Ground Effect Vehicle) is my favourite type of  "armour unit" in the Ogre game universe. Something about these jet jockeys zooming in at 200 kph, then zooming out again to try and avoid the Ogre's weapons (two moves per game turn!). This entry is a squadron of such fast attack vehicles. I went with a traditional Paneuro blue paint scheme. 

After assembly, I primed all the units with GW Chaos Black, and laid in flat white zenithal highlighting with an airbrush. The base blue of the G.E.V.s consisted of several washes of GW Drakenhoff Nightshade. I then laid in highlights and details with oil paints, and did some light weathering with oils, acrylics, and powders. 

The relative size of the Galahad G.E.V. is shown against a "Jaeger" Heavy Tank above, and my Combine Ogre Mark V. Some more Paneuro vehicles, artillery, and a Fencer (Ogre), were next in queue for the Challenge. 

(8 x 2) points of 6mm or 1:300 scale G.E.V.s are a modest 16 points. Add 20 points for Klendathu, an Invasion Gone Bad. Some of the classic scenarios from the game I remember playing include Raid and Ceasefire Collapse, deep, fast movements of luftpanzer forces that ultimately did not prevent the rise of the A.I. overlords during the Descartes Revolution. TOTAL = 36 POINTS

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Ogre Miniatures 6mm tanks and artillery - Challenge Submission # 7

"Ajax" Missile Tanks (MSL) are another popular Paneuropean armour unit. Their missiles hit hard and at a longer range than their fellow Paneuropean G.E.V.s and Heavy Tanks. However, the Missile Tank's amour is lackluster, and they are slow. This entry includes a couple of platoons of Ajax's. 

The "Arquebus" Howitzer (HWZ) is the heaviest hitter in the Paneuropean arsenal, excepting only their own Ogres and actual nuclear cruise missiles. Long ranged, but immobile, there was a time when Ogre players tried to devise the perfect "4-Howitzer Defense". A combined arms force of various tanks, G.E.V.'s, and infantry is probably a better bet. I have included a battery of 4 artillery pieces.

The Paneuropean "Thor" Superheavy Tank (SHVY) is almost like a miniature Ogre. Dual main armament that can be combined or fired separately, and some point defense anti-personnel batteries give it a lot of firepower. However, it's human crew is still subject to disablement with a non-fatal hit. I painted up a platoon of two of these beasts.

In the basic game of Ogre, the objective of the Ogre player is to destroy the Paneuropean Command Post (CP). To the Combine, destroying the centralized Command, Control, and Communication at such a brigade or divisional level is worth the loss of an Ogre. What the Ogres think of that is anyone's guess.  

After assembly, I primed all the units with GW Chaos Black, and laid in flat white zenithal highlighting with an airbrush. I used a couple of different tones for the base blue, glazing with washes of GW Drakenhoff Nightshade or Indigo oil paint. I then laid in highlights and details with oil paints, and did some light weathering with oils and powders. 

The relative size of the various units is shown against a Galahad G.E.V. 

(9 x 2) points of 6mm or 1:300 scale amour units (6 MSL, 2 SHVY, and 1 CP), plus 4 points for the 4-HWZ battery, makes for 22 points. Add 20 points for Cybertron (Robot(s). In the basic game of Ogre, all the powered armour infantry, various tanks, and artillery that the Paneuropean player fields are opposed to a single Combine  robotic supertank. And there is a more than even chance that the Ogre will win.

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This completes the contents of SJG's Ogre Miniatures Set 1, plus a couple of the "Thor" Superheavy Tanks from Set 2. Didn't quite finish the Paneuropean Fencer Ogre-class tank. Maybe in a couple of weeks. 

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Thanks again to Curt, Sarah, and all the Minions for a other great Challenge. I fell short of my rather modest 300-point goal, mostly due to work commitments. But, I was able to paint up a couple of my favourite Star Wars characters, and I finally finished these particular Ogre miniatures, which I had assembled back in 2019!