More Afrika Korps Pzkpfw. IIIs and a Matte Varnish Comparo Test!

I painted a bunch more Batttlefront Pzkpfw. IIIs in a variety of configurations for my upcoming Birthday Game, and thought I would spice things up a bit with a comparison test of matte varnish spray.

This is obviously an important issue for those of us who game with our models, as the paintwork needs to be protected from damage while in use. I know that the best way to do this is to varnish first with tougher gloss finish, then hit with matte, but I am lazy and hate wasting time so the models usually get only a matte varnish. HOWEVER when applying decals I usually hit the spots with brush-on gloss before applying the decal to improve adhesion and avoid silvering.

Since I have five pretty much identical models in this post I varnished each one with a different product. You can read about the results below. Test conditions were 20C, moderate humidity, two coats sprayed in my basement.

Testors Dullcote

What can you say about Testors Dullcote. After a brief and inexplicable market absence the champ is back and he's got no worries. The smell is the smell of victory (it IS pretty pungent) but Dullcote is the best, albeit getting on the expensive side...

 

You can see here how it did on the decal, it looks great (that was high gloss finish there before the spray). It took two coats to really eliminate that gloss but the model is uniformly flat.

Krylon UV-Resistant Matt 

Krylon Matte (or as we used to call it, "Fini-Matt") has a new UV-resistant formula which seemed unnecessary but whatever. What I can tell you is that it isn't as flat as the old one, which was great. But maybe I will have egg on my face when all my models have crumbled into dust from UV exposure. Oh wait, most of them are in cupboards or cases in a windowless room in the basement. So never mind.

Pretty good but not dead-flat. You can see the slight gloss on the storage bin behind the turret.

Mr Hobby Matt Water-Based Topcoat

This was kind of the impetus for the post - I saw a guy on Facebook Marketplace selling a can of this stuff for $10 and thought I'd give it a try. Apparently it's popular in the "gunpla" community (that refers to GUNdam PLAstic models, not something sexual) and the seller's models looked good in photos.

"I've used Testors Dullcote and you, sir, are no Testors Dullcote." Having said that it's not bad, a bit more on the satin side than dead flat but worth a try in a pinch.

Winsor & Newton

I tried the W&N product in a fit of desperation when neither Dullcote nor Krylon Clear Matte was available. It's all right but not great, still leaves a pretty satin finish. It's also pretty pungent.

Citadel Colours Purity Seal

OK I guess I have to cut this can a bit of a break because it's likely 20 years old... but I tried it anyway. And it's terrible. Pretty glossy finish and I wouldn't recommend it, even if you could find 20-year-old Purity Seal.

You'll notice one glaring omission in the test, and that's Army Painter Matt "Anti-Shine". Well I have a can of that at home and I recall it being not-great, but I wanted to retry it. When I popped the top the trigger button wasn't there. I guess it must have gotten clogged or something but that put Army Painter out of the test, sorry.

The contenders on test

I really like spray varnish. It's a time saver and if it's Testors Dullcote, it works great. I have a couple bottles of brush on matte varnish I've used, but only occasionally, as I find it a pain. I just ordered two more cans of Dullcote from a vendor here in Canada so hopefully the Dullcote pipeline will stay open in future. 

And since it was new Afrika Korps tanks in the test... Heia Safari!

Executioner Infantry Done!

 Judging by my low number of blog entries, it would seem that I’ve been rather idle this summer. Hobby time has definitely been in short supply this summer, but I have been working on stuff. Mostly I’ve been building models for a few small projects for the upcoming analogue hobbies painting challenge. What I intend to paint for the challenge and what I actually end up painting are often different, but I figure I at least need to have a few options. 

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve finally been able to sit down and paint which has finally allowed me to finish all the remaining infantry models for the Executioners chapter. This encompasses 3 tactical squads, 1 sternguard, 1 assault squad, 1 terminator squad and a command squad. I also completed a Chaplain, apothecary and (presented in this post) a librarian. The only thing I’m missing is a techmarine, but I’ve never really liked them. A lone marine running around repairing tracks and tightening bolts during a battle seems a bit silly. It would make more sense for them to be riding around in some sort of armored recovery vehicle. Hmmm…now I want one of those!

Tactical Squad

Sternguard 

Next up is a large assortment of vehicles for the chapter. I’m hoping to get the bulk of those finished before, or more likely, during the painting challenge.

Thanks for visiting.

8th Army Machinegun Platoon, Heavy Weapons and Company Command

Gearing up for a birthday Flames of War game on Thanksgiving weekend, I thought I'd better finish the Brits before moving on to painting the Afrika Korps infantry contingent. So this weekend I painted a machinegun platoon of four Vickers .303s and crew, the Boys AT rifle and 2' mortar teams from the second infantry platoon, and two stands to represent the company command.

 

First off - the machinegun platoon. These models are from Forged in Battle and are pretty nice. You get four machineguns and 12 crewmen for 10 GBP. As you might recall from my previous FiB post there was a bit of post-delivery followup required as I didn't get enough gunners for the MGs, but fortunately that was sorted.

 

They're pretty nice models. The guns and tripods are one piece which makes putting it all together quite easy.

There are two variations of the "third crewman" - one kneeling and one prone with binoculars.

These will come in handy in the desert if I can get some German infantry done!

Next up are some heavy weapons for the second infantry platoon. As you might recall the platoon was mostly from FiB, but they only supply one Boys AT rifle team and one 2" mortar team in their platoon pack, so I needed to go elsewhere for a second Boys team and mortar team. Where else but Peter Pig?

 

The Piggies supply the models in 8-figure packs - two moving teams and two prone. The prone models are too long to fit on a Flames of War small base (booo!) but the moving ones are great, so that's what I used. Above, Boys AT rifle team.

 

Here's the 2" mortar team. A little bit harder to determine how they're armed at first glance but the assistant is carrying a large box of mortar bombs.

Lastly we have the company command stands! These are also from Peter Pig.

Great character in these models, I love the officers gesticulating enthusiastically while the poor sod on the radio looks on with a bemused expression. Check out the mustache on the Major!

The second stand's models are also from Peter Pig. In fact I had to pinch a rifleman from the Boys AT pack - he is the assistant gunner from the second "moving" team and really came in handy.

I think I've discovered a repeatable basing technique for these Flames of War models - I paint the infantry on popsicle sticks, then superglue them down to the black-primed bases. Next I prepare a slurry of basing gel tinted with brown paint and apply it to the base. The groundwork is painted with Khaki and drybrushed Rakarth Flesh. Finally the static grass and tufts are applied.

With that, the infantry company is ready for a game. Next up 'll paint the Afrika Korps infantry - but looking at the Flames of War army list there aren't nearly as many of 'em, which is fine by me. Stay tuned for that in the next two weeks.

Toodles! 
 

Xenos Rampant - A 30k Battle Report

The Galaxy is in flames! The Horus Heresy is played out...using "Xenos Rampant" from Osprey.

It is always great to welcome a friend from the hobby world for a game - and a particular treat when they travel from far away. So it was pretty awesome to welcome hobby enthusiast and unbelievably talented painter "MartinN" (aka Nick) on a recent visit to Canada. It's a long, long way from his home in Bavaria, so to make the trip worthwhile, I wanted to run something a little different for Nick. Lucky for me, he is a very relaxed fellow - and when I suggested giving "Xenos Rampant" a go, he was happy to oblige!

What is "Xenos Rampant"?

"Xenos Rampant" is a set of sci-fi skirmish rules published by Osprey. They were first released in 2022, so this is hardly breaking news here. Those familiar Osprey's wargaming rule ouevre in general will surely note the word "Rampant" in the title and suspect a kinship with the "Lion Rampant" rules - and you would be right to, as they share a common author. You can find many reviews and play-throughs of the rules elsewhere online, but I can confirm that, while the two rule sets share many familiar ideas in terms of core game mechanics, "Xenos Rampant" is a delightful, figure and scale agnostic tribute to sci-fi wargaming in general. I had a specific goal for the games with Nick - could they be made to work for the 30k setting?

Spoiler alert: YES. I loved it. Here are a few photos and notes of our own game. 

The Mission: Scenario Kilo - VIP Extraction

I love the whole "both sides show up and try to kill each other" type-game as much as the next gamer. And we are talking 30k setting-wise, of course, so that style of game pretty much tracks. But the 30k setting is also so much more - at its best, it reaches into some of the sci-fi-of-the-absurd from the Rogue Trader days. I figured the "VIP Extraction" mission might make for a nicely warped background. We just needed the right sort of "VIP" for the setting.

The VIP and his flunkies await assistance...

And so - meet Totally Legitimate Plenipotentiary Ruler Effrey J. Trumpstein.  TLPR Trumpstein and his staff have been out on a tour of the explodium refinery facilities in the desert segments of their world. Suddenly, the shuttle is forced down in an isolated area. The vessel is wrecked, but Trumpstein and his staff have (mostly) made it out from the wreckage...they access a terminal near the explodium pipeline and signal for help...but that signal is intercepted by more than Trumpstein's planetary militia...

"It's not all wall-building! We've got work to do!"

Both loyalist and traitor detachments detect the signal. The chance to take "custody" of TLPR Trumpstein is too much to pass up - and in any case, his custody must be denied to the other side! Detachments from the Loyalist VII Legion Astartes and rebel XVI Legion Astartes descend on the target coordinates with a clear objective - secure Trumpstein, and eliminate any problems that arise.

The Detachments

A 24-point detachment resplendent in the fine colours of the XVI Legion Astartes

When I started reading through the "Xenos Rampant" rulebook, one immediately encouraging clue was that the competing sides are described as "detachments", and not "armies"...it's a little thing, but to me this is always a clear signal that the writers have a sane take on gaming...

Stubborn idiots wearing yellow. 

Anyway, for the test game, I opted to use similar detachments for both sides - after all, we were experimenting here, and I wanted to keep it relatively straightforward. One great feature of the "Xenos Rampant" set is the provision of different rules to customize the troops types so that they might closely reflect your chosen setting as possible. 

In "Xenos Rampant", each unit in the detachment has a number of "Strength Points" ("SPs") - either 5, 10 or (in some cases) 15. Note that "SPs" are not the same as the "points cost" to select the unit - so I try to keep each element straight in the roster below.  

Each side, Loyalist and Rebel, had a 24 point detachment:

Example of how you can just use a bunch of cool figures to represent the flunkies, rather than worry about which model has which power/ability/etc. This is the Commander and his detachment. They are bad-ass. The apothecary is a reminder that the unit has the "combat medic" ability.

- Space Marine Commander and command squad (i.e. Elite infantry/detachment commander - enhanced with "high powered blades" and "combat medic") - 9 points, 5 SPs

- 2 x 10-man tactical squads with bolt guns (i.e. Heavy infantry, with "increased squad size") - 4 points each, 10 SPs each

- 1 x 10-man assault squad with chain swords and pistols (i.e. Heavy infantry, with "increased squad size", "assault doctrine", "close quarters doctrine", "mobile" and "skimmer" rules to account for the jump packs and close assault weapon load out) - 7 points, 10 SPs

As you will see if you squint at the photos, each SP= 1 model in each unit. And while the assorted special rules let you capture some flavor among the different squads, they are abstract enough that you do not sweat the load out of a specific figure too much. This is the sort of thing that I observe to be slightly triggering to a lot (although by no means all) GW players, but I find personally awesome and liberating.

The Table

The table was 4'x4', featuring some old temple ruins from some long-gone, pre-Imperial compliance civilization. Explodium pipelines ran over and through these ruins, as well as a roughly paved service road. Finally, the remnants of the VIP's downed shuttle craft dotted the site. 

The Imperial Fists hunker down, as is their wont...

The VIP placed right in the middle - near the terminal his flunkies were using to signal for assistance. The detachments competing to put him into custody deployed 9" in from opposing table edges. I took command of the Sons of Horus while Nick took charge of the Imperial Fists. Battle was. joined!

Another photo of the VII Legion setup...

The Engagement

Both Nick and I sought to advance to the VIP, take him "into custody", and spirit him off our respective table sides. The forces were evenly matched, and fittingly enough, the opposing assault squads repeatedly assaulted one another on one flank. My jump troopers were ultimately able to wear out Nick's guys, driving them back. My jump troops were now free to pounce on one of Nick's tactical squads, and while we were not able to rout them, we tied them up and opened a clear path for my Commander to reach TLPR Trumpstein and his entourage...

It's brother vs. brother in a chain sword brawl! Oh yeah!!

On the other flank heavy gun battles wore down one of my tactical units - lucky for me, they bent-but-did-not-break. All together, they tactical and assault marines were able to jam up the Imperial Fists long enough for my Detachment commander to spirit Trumpstein away to a, er, secure location. Yes...that's it...a secure location...safety first with The Warmaster, of course!

"Sir, you'll need to come with us."

In all the action took about five turns, tops. On reflection, I wish I had more terrain available, particularly some buildings, to break up line of sight a bit more - that might have compelled more maneuvering. I would also expand the size of the playing table, as a 6' x 4' would still provide plenty of fun while challenging players with a bit more maneuvering. 

My assault squad can be seen here fleeing tactically repositioning after a less-than-successful attack on the Imperial Fist tactical squad at the right side of the photo - but at least we delayed them.

Conclusion

For my part, I loved "Xenos Rampant"! You roll buckets and buckets of dice while exchanging fire and hurling your units into violent assaults. The units for the most part wore down very slowly, but this made sense given the nature of the stats of the troops involved - to me this "felt" right, very much "marine vs. marine". It's got enough detail to provide for flavor and character, but abstract enough that you are not fussing about which precise version of plasma pistol or power sword or whatever is equipped on the model. 

XVI Legion Praetor, accompanied by flunkies, sets out to accomplish the mission. His iterator is already putting out the good word! 

It is also SO easy - and fun! - to assemble detachments. In the future I can see how it would be fun to, say, include a lightly-equipped militia rabble alongside the Marines, or to include a unit of Marines from an allied Legion featuring some different traits. The newer version of 30k is certainly more flexible in terms of force construction, but there are still a bunch of rules to watch and hoops to jump through. "Xenos Rampant" keeps it WAY more simple.  

Should you ditch 30k to play "Xenos Rampant" instead? I'm not here to make that case per se - the 30k game is a specific sort of wargame experience, and I have enjoyed many, many games of 30k myself over the years. 

But I would still very, very much suggest picking up "Xenos Rampant" and giving it a try! Think of it as a fun, easy sort of palate cleanser. If you have a 30k force, odds are you already have more than enough painted models to try it out, so it is not hard. The "GW Hobby" can be engaging, but it's good to try different stuff, and this is a fun and easy way to enjoy the setting you love without burning the calories needed for the full GW rules experience. The hobby is not a zero sum game, after all and Osprey have some wonderful skirmish rules out there. Give them a shot!

Anyway, it was SO awesome to host Nick - thanks for visiting us in Canada. 

And that's it for this post - stay tuned for more painting (soon, I hope!). 

Forged in Battle 15mm 8th Army Infantry

I've now (mostly) finished the infantry company for my 8th Army in the Western Desert project. I do have some Vickers MMG teams and 3" mortars, as well as a couple stands of Boys AT rifles and 2" mortars, yet to complete but I wanted to post these models up.

 

The great majority of the models are from Forged in Battle, a UK manufacturer you might know better as West Wind - why the name change I'm not sure. I say "the great majority" because a couple Peter Pig models have snuck into the company (the pistol-armed platoon commanders). More on this later.

 

You'll notice that the models are based for Flames of War... so you might well wonder why I didn't just use Battlefront infantry. I sure would have liked to do that - but they are unavailable. From anywhere. I even emailed BF directly to ask when they would be back, and I was told that there were no plans but my request would be "passed on to the production team." Take that for what you will, but my experience with BF is that they're a hot mess.

 

There are a couple other options for 15mm 8th Army infantry - Peter Pig, Command Decision - but I chose FiB because the painted models on their website looked absolutely gorgeous. I was happy to paint these models, I think they look pretty great, but while it came good in the end, getting this order from FiB wasn't exactly straightforward.

I put in a large order of both British and Germans - a large infantry "platoon pack", a pack of MMGs, a pack of mortars, and a pack of two AT guns, for each side. The FiB shipping caluclator led me to a workaround as adding one more pack doubled the shipping... so I ordered one pack of AT guns as a separate order. That's additional hassle for the retailer for sure but a poor customer experience when the shipping doubles by adding one pack of models. Anyway...

  

The models arrived in "reasonable time" (I followed up with them once IIRC) and while many of the castings looked quite nice (including these 8th Army infantry) some of the castings were absolutely appalling (the German infantry and MMGs). I did communicate this back to FiB and their representative was very apologetic (apparently the molds were worn out and due for replacement). She offered to replace the bad castings and I heartily accepted that offer.

I also requested some missing poses from the British MMG packs (I only received one gunner figure for the four MGs) and the reply was somewhat puzzling... basically I was told that packs contained a random assortment of models. I get that in an infantry pack you might not get identical numbers of every pose (I didn't), but surely you need to include four actual gunner models in a four-machinegun pack!

In due course the replacement Germans arrived but FiB had forgotten to send the machinegunners. They eventually did send them but from start to finish the order took several months.

ANYWAY... I really like the British infantry (with a couple exceptions - the Thompson sub-machinegun carried by the NCO (photo below) is terrible-looking, and the Christ-like officer (all he's missing is a cross) is just strange and was left unpainted - hence the Piggie replacements. However the rest of the infantry models are all quite good, the equipment looks great, and the poses are all really useful. There are three prone Bren-gunners and number twos included, plus a prone Boys AT team and 2" mortar team. All really good stuff. 

Painting: helmet and uniforms AK Light Earth, washed Agrax and re-highlighted. Flesh Doombull Brown highlighted Cadian Flesh, socks Steel Legion Drab, rifles Leadbelcher, AK brown, highlighted New Wood. The webbing was left LE with the Agrax wash and the contrast obtained by highlighting the uniform around it, if that makes sense. Rifle slings are Deck Tan which I may tone down a bit as it's pretty light. For the groundwork I mixed Medium Brown into the basing gel and wet-brushed it up with AK Khaki and finished with a Deck Tan drybrush.

So my goal now is to get the rest of the infantry painted in the next month, with a target of having a game on Thanksgiving weekend. I'll keep you posted on progress. As for Forged in Battle... well it was an experience. The models I got were pretty nice but it took a lot of effort to get them - something I'm not really used to as a customer of an established business. The FiB representative was very friendly, responsive and accommodating of requests but honestly, most of the requests shouldn't have had to have been made in the first place. Worn out molds should be identified and replaced before miscast figures are sent to customers, and packs of special weapons should contain all the figures needed to crew them. Thankfully it all worked out in the end.

Toodles!