Confessions of a Lapsed Gamer; Scale modeling or How to Deal With Burnout

So you have had your fill for a bit of small human shaped lumps of metal/plastic/resin or what have you and you just want to have a pallet cleanser?  Just need something that you can put together and finish with minimal muss or fuss?  Well, good thing I have gotten here to share my thoughts and experiences.  After all, I’m old, I’m supposed to do this kind of stuff.  Yes, I do them.

Late in 2025 into early 2026 I had a bout of miniature burnout.  I have this happen every few years and I know what to do to fix it so I pulled some scale models out of the stash and built them in a fit of creativity that required that I look at historical eras and do research on the aircraft in question.  In doing the research there was a new appreciation for the amount of units, markings, bases and nose art!  Especially the nose art.  Also, you will see that there is a larger set of hobbies that miniature gaming overlaps with in many ways.  Though there are some who would debate that, no we are not an island.

Before we get to the pics I have to make a couple confessions; my skill sets for larger scale projects have atrophied and I need to work on photography skills.  Statement of fact not and apology.

The first kit is a recast of the Revell AG 1/72 P-47M from the Polish Firm: Hobby 2000 with new decals and colour schemes.  I bought it a few years ago at the local and decided.  It is a nice little kit with all the lines for the ‘Hot Rod’ of the P-47 series of aircraft.  It was stripped down to be used against the V-1 and the early jets like the Me-262.  It could reach 500+ mph.  The kit markings were used and ‘Jersey Bounce’ now graces the shelf.

The second kit was that now venerable Hasegawa 1/72 P-47D Bubbletop.  The molds are from 1988 though the boxing is from 2025.  It is typical of 1/72 kits from Hasegawa from that era; minimal cockpit details, some dimensional issues and some sanding and filling needed.  It was a fun build as with all the ‘bad’ there is far more good.  The outlines were close to perfect and the damned thing kinda fell together.  All that said, it is a P-47 and it was a fun build.  

The third kit is the equally venerable Hasegawa P-51D in 1/72 scale.  This kit was originally released in 1994 and this reboxing is from the 1998 ‘Little Lady’ release.  I bought it at the local for $2 after I saw that the kit was complete but the decals were old and shattered upon contact with water.  A sheet of new decals was found on Amazon (shocking) from Kits-World Decals for P-51B/D and I picked ‘My Achin’ Back’ as I liked the red nose rather than the others.  The kit has the same issues as the P-47 with minimal cockpit and some fit issues.  Still a nice kit and with more that the P-47 the P-51 looks excellent in Natural Metal Finish.  

Finally, in the early spring I finished a kit I started years ago; the Academy 1/35 M60A1 with Desert Storm Applique armour.  It was part frustrating and part satisfying considering that the kit dates back to the early 90s but the extra armour was an add-on to keep the kit current to the era.  I had a bit of trouble with it as the instructions were vague as well as unclear at times to what went where.  The gear on it came from a number of sources to include the spares box, Tamiya’s ‘Modern Equipment’ and MRE set.  I think they looked good.

I had finished the M60, well I went as far as I could with building it while on vacation, and wanted to get another kit.  We went to the local Hobby Lobby in the hopes of getting another kit.  Well it was a 40% off week for model kits so I was quite excited to look for something interesting.   For scale models there was nothing that really drew my attention but for Gundams, well, I decided to get it for less than $20 and give it a try.  I had not built one since I left Okinawa Japan in ‘97.  That build is for another blog.  

The builds were fun and they joined the others I have on the shelf.  It was fun to do something a bit different and to bring some skills back.  I have more builds that I am working on and they will appear here with some commentary.  As always I want to end with an admonishment; build what you want, paint them how you want and don’t let anyone tell you that you’re wrong.  It is a hobby not brain surgery.  The stuff is yours. 

Confessions of a Lapsed Gamer; Interwar Skirmish or Is That a Fedora?

It’s July and at this point in the year I want to see where my painting count is and review ongoing projects.  So, today I can say that they are, for the most part, not Scifi or fantasy minis.  I have been on a tear of Western and Pulp minis.  Looking on the table in front of me are a number of Pulp Ally/Reaper painted and then there are even more waiting in the ‘to be painted box’.  To go along with the Pulp Figures and 3D prints that I have finished and there are more on the paint table.  I am not really doing more than painting what I want but also there is the urge to work on some themes.  Since I have pulled some of the minis off the shelf I thought I would show some off and make commentary.  It’s what this blog is for.

The time between 1919 and 1939 was a period of extremes.  Technology, particularly aviation, advanced with breathtaking speed.  On the other hand, it seemed that civilization was teetering on the edge with wars, economic upheaval, disease and crime.  Still, the people who lived in these times worked hard and hoped to have a better life from that toil and their children would have an even better situation.  Yeah, it was in the words of Dickens sixty odd years before, ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times’.  For what that’s worth.

It is one of the best periods for skirmish games and ‘shoot outs’.  Here are a few of the folks I use in Pulp Ally and other rule sets that I enjoy.  Some you have seen some of these minis before and I want to say a bit about who they are in my head canon;

Augustus Eriksen; Dapper, well spoken and utterly ruthless, Gus ‘The Gent’ has been a character in my scribblings for a few years.  Here we have him in a stylish grey suit, his long overcoat and blue grey fedora, he cuts a fine figure of the ‘Man About Town’.  His choice of weaponry is the M1928A1 Thompson and an M1911 in .38 Super hidden in the small of his back.  His past is shrouded in a bit of mystery, what is known is that he has a Silver Cross from the Great War and that he was a Marine.  The mini is D. A Denton from Pulp Alley.  I could not stop myself from painting as Gus.

Bela Gish; I have written about Bela before and her story has not changed.  There is far more to her than just a woman in a red dress.  From Reaper’s Deadlands Noir line ‘Femme Fatale’.  She carries a small SIG 9mm automatic that she can hide in a thigh holster.  She is a far more dangerous combatant in close combat.  

Erish Namtar;  Mystic from the Near East.  Is she British? Mesopotamian?  She has joined the league in Pulp Alley to help fend off those madmen who would engineer the return of the Old Ones and cause the end of the world.  Lenora from Hasslefree.  I wanted a different kind of character in the group and looking at Lenora and realized that she was the perfect Erish.  She needs no firearms.  Trust me.

Seamus K. Sullivan;  Detective Second Grade, NYPD.  A 20 year cop in the Detective Bureau.  The only break was two years during the Great War.  He is tough, unflappable and willing to use the .45ACP he carries as needed.  Sullivan has a desire to make his city safe and bring malfactors to justice; he is quite cynical about getting that job done.  The mini is from Pulp Alley named Jack Spade.  Part of the Red Queen’s syndicate I think he is her muscle.

Isham Q. Strong;  He was a Union Soldier who was part of the force that occupied the city under Gen Ben Butler.  He fell in love with the City and the people there.  When the City Police was re-established after the Civil War he would move there and join the Department.  Sometime in the 1880s he would be murdered by devotees of the Ancient Ones.  He would be raised from the dead by those he was protecting but something went wrong.  Isham would continue on as a protector as a zombie of sorts.  This metal mini is from Reaper, Stone from the game Deadlands Noir.  Armed with two .45 automatics he is quite threatening.  I decided on his background after seeing the badge on his lapel.

Just a few Pulp minis to show off.  Only Seamus is not part of the current League I am playing with for Pulp Alley.  I am going to try and revisit this when I have a few more painted and will get some villains done.  I have picked PA to play as it is not just Cops and Robbers.  So, there is all I have right now.  

Confessions of a Lapsed Gamer; The Dapper Adventurer or Who Would Wear That? Part 3: Carrying on in Space or What’s This Hissing Sound?

Hello and welcome to Part 3.  My temper has cooled and I have decided not to lay to the point.  And what will we talk about?  Science Fiction minis.  I want to talk about space travel and combat rather than post-apoc minis as I will be talking about them later.  No, in case you’re wondering, it will not be a rant about Games Workshop or any other issues with game companies.  Yes, most of the Scifi minis in the collection are from GW but there are a number of others there on the shelf from others like Reaper Miniatures, Alternative Armies, Heartbreaker and others. 

Ancient Eldar Squad

Do you have to paint Space Marines by the Codex?  No, why?  They are yours to paint.  You’ve seen the picture of the Blade Guard I painted up for the Lion mini in my collection.  They are not bone and I did some kitbashing with them.  I also have a number of non-Astarte minis.  For example I have three generations of Arbites. They were meant to be Citi-Def for Judge Dredd but never really got into the game (maybe with Pulp Alley I can do something) but there they are.  The first group were meant to be just that; for Judge Dredd when GW held the franchise.  To go with them are the Imperial Army, yes what it was called in the original game, along with other Imperial Agents.  I will not forget the use of those (discontinued?  Superceded?) old minis that are no longer available in GWs catalogue.  Like the original Eldar, Orks and Squats.  I also have a small collection of the incredible minis prior to 3rd edition 40K.  Ships officer, Pilot and Trooper Lee.  

Citadel Spacers from the 1980s

The first space skirmish game I ever bought was the game ‘Snapshot’ from GDW in ‘81 when I was stationed in Hawaii.  It was a game that was small enough to pack and take with me on deployments.  I have oft thought about the game, pulled it out and considered the minis to go with it.  Then paint minis that could easily be used in that scale of game.  Minis from GW, when they still did individual minis, Reaper, Alternate Armies and so on.  If there were any issues it would be that some, particularly AA minis, have pudding bases that are huge.  Still nice minis.

Alternative Armies

The cool thing is that, regardless of the ruleset, just about any modern or near future mini can be used.  Paint them as individuals.  Let your heart be your guide.  Take for example Kendra from the now defunct Hasslefree Miniatures.  She is fairly generically painted and can be used in modern, post-apoc and future settings.  A number of the minis from that most lamented of companies could.  Witch Hazel as a Psyker, Ekaterina and Dionne as Imperial Agents, and Sadie as a denizen from a low tech world.  

Hasslefree

Reaper, as I have mentioned, is also producing nice Scifi minis.  They look like they would fit in Star Wars miniature games and they make good individual fighters.  There is also a squad of ‘Blackstar Corsairs’ that will fit in a number of skirmish games like Xenos Rampant.  I have more in the pile to paint up but wanted to show these off.  I included ‘Rex, Dark Future Hero’ as I like to use him as a down at the heels spacer that is looking for that last big haul to set him up in retirement.

Reaper

Now that we are at the end of this final rant, I want to remind you that you can paint any mini you own, any way you want to, and enjoy gaming with them.  Don’t let the Gatekeepers and the ‘Purists’ keep you from trying something new or something different.  Remember, the hobby is ours to follow.  Take your own path and make it fun. 

REX

Confessions of a Lapsed Gamer; The Dapper Adventurer or Who Would Wear That? Part 2: The Fantasy Adventurer.

What can I say about fantasy minis?  Possibly (possibly?  Look at the shelf!) my favorite subjects to paint.  A quick count of the ones in my collection I quit counting at around 700+ as I was getting ready to write this. They are delightful in the myriad of species that you can paint and game with.  Humans, dwarfs, elves, orcs, gobbos and many, many more are out there.  Tolkien had no idea what he was creating when he wrote The Lord of the Rings.  It would lead into Dungeons & Dragons and hundreds of other RPGs, not to mention skirmish or mass battle games.  They are the bedrock of the miniature game industry.  There has to have been billions sculpted, cast, sold to support the hundreds of rule sets for fantasy gaming.  There are so many that I doubt they could even be catalogued.  There are a number of sites on line that have tried to do just that.  My two favorites are The Stuff of Legends (solegends.com) and Lost Minis Wiki (www.miniatures-workshop.com/lostminiswiki).  They cover all of the genre but mostly fantasy.  They can also be a source of inspiration for painting ideas.  I use them every time I get an old mini just to make sure I identify it.

Gandalf, Eowyn, Beregond

There are few ‘rules’ about painting fantasy.  In mass battle games the rules could  say this or that unit should be these colours to match this or that realm.  Perhaps in some skirmish games but I’ve not seen it.  Okay maybe a GW game but really that’s about it.  Still I tend to paint command groups with a bit more care and detail.  I like to see painted minis on the tabletop that look like cohesive units.  Yes there are some variations between the individuals but overall there is a thematic core to the unit, and the army for that matter.  But that is part and parcel of building armies.  The only minis that are painted as individuals are, in the case of human armies, magic users or irregular units like in the Warhammer; the Old World, Free Companies.  I have painted them as individuals in my collection and put them all in a unit to put on the table.  Just for fun.

WOTC Dwarf, Hasslefree Mage, GW Thane

Crocodile Games Asir, GW Amazon Priestess, WOTC Human Death Cleric

That can be a bit daunting to make some of the more plain minis interesting but easily thought through.  A simple female magic user that is pretty much just standing there in a long dress with her hand raised casting a spell is an easy paint scheme but with a bit of thought you can make it tell a story.  Strong colours, patterns and good basing will make that plain mini better.  Even more dynamic looking sculpts can be enhanced with some imaginative basing.  And that basing does not have to be extensive, just something that tells that story.  I have done a blog on this.  

Reaper Hellborn, GW Knight Templar, Reaper Vampire Hunter

Reaper Orc Chieftain and Mage, Warlord Mayan

Possibly the most daunting task, not just with fantasy minis, are the painting of skintones.  I’m not just talking about actual tones, but the more eclectic ones in fantasy games.  Reds, blues, grey and others can be applied to fantasy minis to make them unique.  I use pretty much the same techniques I use in ‘normal’ fleshtones.  Take your time and use a bit of thought to make the most of the paint and mini.   Most times it works, but sometimes, well, you hope that you can make it work but that is why I have a sonic cleaner.  Probably the minis that I am happiest with, for exotic skintones, are the Djinn and Efritt minis I have from Reaper.  They helped me take the plunge into larger scale figures.  

Reaper Djinn, Citadel HQ Mage, Reaper Effrit

Let me close with this; Orcs don’t have to be painted green, any shade of green.  Elves don’t have to look like they live in trees, and Dwarfs don’t need to be painted like Scandinavian Metal Bands.  Putting your veteran rogue in lacquered armour rather than leather is okay.  Fantasy by its very name is meant to be fantastically painted.  Gold armour, bright colours and uncanny species are all here.  Remember too that these are fantasy minis not historicals.  Let your imagination run free.   

Confessions of a Lapsed Gamer; The Dapper Adventurer or Who would wear that? Part 1: The Rant.

Let me start from what I am going to say at the end of this blog.  Paint your minis the way you want.  There, I said it, and I mean it.  This is the first part of what I think will be at least four, maybe five, in a series.  It is going to be more about my approach to minis and games.  Just me writing a blog on that, oh and a bit of a rant here and there about the HOBBY.  

Have you ever heard someone tell his buddy, who was just starting out in the hobby, that you can only paint Space Marines by the codex of their Chapter or you can’t play in any tournament?  Perhaps it’s the ‘you have to use an airbrush on a <fill in the blank> or it won’t be right.  I could go on about what I have listened to about painting, basing, priming, yada yada.  There are no absolutes in this hobby but there are a lot of fads and you need to keep that in mind as this can (can?) get expensive.  I will draw the line at slap chop and wet palates as I have strong opinions on those things.

I have written on this before, why do we paint our minis a certain way?  I like mine fairly neat and tidy with only a limited amount of weathering.  That’s how I approach a mini when I paint.  Usually with some wet blending and washes and glazes to make the paint job look the way I like it.  No, you don’t have to paint them all like you’re looking for a Golden Demon but enough to make the folks looking on wonder how they could do the same thing.  A large part of the hobby is emulating the folks you have really admired.  So I look at those who were in the old White Dwarf Magazines of yore.  Wayne England, Mike McVeigh, and the Perrys to name a few.  I was not, nor am I now, a John Blanche fan.  His art was evocative but his minis were not my cuppa.  It is a matter of personal taste to be sure.  But there you are.

Dark Angels Blade Guard. Standard on Right, Kitbashed on left

Most of us start out looking at the minis on the box or magazine and try to make our paint jobs look like them.  It can be a terribly disappointing effort, and ultimately self defeating.  Sooner or later you stop and take stock of what you are doing and decide that you’re going to paint what you have, how you want.  It can be liberating and daunting.  If you look at the shelf there are dark grey and light grey Space Wolves, High Elves in drab colours and so on.  The years, in my opinion, will give you an insight on what you like, don’t like, how you want something to look and how to make it so.  Should work for painting individuals, warbands, or whole armies.  Plan the armies a bit though.

Space Wolves

I am going to blaspheme now.  Quit watching the internet ‘experten’ who are trying to sell you something.  I do watch some youtube channels but not many and I am pretty particular about them.  Once you realize there are no ‘mini police’ that will come after you, quit thinking that the ‘pundits’ are always right and that there are no rules that you have to follow then you can probably paint better.  With your mind free from all the fear of being tossed out of the HOBBY then the experts lose their gloss and become just skilled 

Night Goblins. Painted as Green, Brown and Red. Green is that standard.

Having said all that, go and paint some minis, build a scale model, work on some terrain, PLAY A GAME, do something hobby related.  Most evenings I try to spend sometime, an hour or so, at the table painting, modeling or what have you.  You will get a feeling that your project is moving forward and you are making progress as a hobbyist.  You shouldn’t be afraid to set a mini aside if your enthusiasm has waned and it just seems a labour to finish.  Better to put it aside and return to it when you can.  There is a Space Marine Chaplain, in Terminator Armour, that took me years to finish only because I had bad painters block with it.  I would paint a bit of it and then it would go back into limbo.  Then one evening I spent maybe an hour on it and finished it without a second thought.  You should keep that in mind too.  

High Elves

So there is the starting rant.  It may seem some of the things I said are contradictory but I stand by them.   Paint minis the way you like, do your own thing.  Keeping in mind that once you buy them, those minis are yours.  You can use any paints you want.  Any shade.  This is your hobby.

Confessions of a Lapsed Gamer; Discontinued or the Island of Misfit Minis.

Last year Hasslefree Miniatures closed shop and went the way of the dodo.  Sad really as; a. I had an order I made to them as they were going under that was never fulfilled, and b. They were one of the best mini companies around.  I know, I know, they had some issues about getting orders filled and all but that was not my experience with them.  Mine was always good and I had two previous orders filled without issue.  Sad to see a company that was good at creating great minis go under but I hope that they, or their minis, reappear.  I’d order from them again.  I hope that they will get someone to lease the molds and put more out.  There are a number I would still like to get.   

Lenore (mage), Sadie (adventurer), Hayden (Troll Slayer), Kendra (adventurer)

Hasslefree is not the only minis in my collection from companies that are no longer in business.  Companies like Target, Heartbreaker, Cipher, AEG, and Hobby Products are on my shelf.  Not to mention Grenadier (whose molds are disbursed among a number of companies) and the original Ral Partha (Who lives on as Iron Wind Metals and Ral Partha Europe.  A lot of them are being recast by other companies but most are in the limbo of miniatures.  Molds may be gathering dust in a warehouse somewhere or destroyed, that’s how this business works, I guess.  Yeah, some measure up to rivaling Citadel minis but most don’t but they are still fun to paint and I like seeing them on the table top.  

Blade Maiden Leader (Target Games), Elf Prince (Heartbreaker)

If you troll a garage sale or go on to places like EBay or some other second hand site you’ll see that there are a huge number of minis out there that are not from GW.   You will see that you can pick and choose and find some deals.  Add to that, if you have a local that allows games, ask those guys if they have a way to trade or buy/sell.  Some places don’t allow it, I’ve heard, mine does.  It is a great way to get rid of minis you’ll never paint and get some you will.  I have been a collector of Citadel since the late 80s but I started buying others from the Mid-90s.  Stuff that interested me regardless of the subject matter.  This led me to have quite a few odd and esoteric minis.  Not the least are in the pics on this blog.  I am of the belief that you need those in your collection.  That Heartbreaker Elf Prince or Chaos Knight in your Morheim/RPG/Dungeon crawl will look good on the table because it’s different.

Ships Crew Navigator with Phagon Guard

With the number of places online you also have the opportunity to see if you can buy some discontinued minis, or game agnostic for that matter, to add to your collection.  They are usually, even if you have to strip them, cheaper than the new ones and can fit in with an existing unit or game in a similar milieu.  They make great unit fillers and proxies.  Just make sure you base them similarly to the unit you’re putting them in and you’re good.  

WEG’s Star Wars minis from Grenadier

Finally, no matter where you see them, getting them and putting them on the paint table, giving them a nice coat of paint and baseing them appropriately is part of the reason we do this game.  Any mini that appeals to you can make a nice addition to the collection and look nice on the shelf.

Grenadier Dwarfs

Cipher Miniatures Helle Moeller

AEG’s Matsu Tsuko

Confessions of a Lapsed Gamer: 2025 or Don’t Fear the Reaper

Well now, another year has come and gone and I am ready to take a look at what I painted, built, and my hobby year in general.  I did have a good modeling year and got to do some new techniques. I even got back into scale modeling with a handful of 1/72 scale planes started and one finished.  That one will not be appearing in this blog.  Maybe later.  

So, here we go.  77 minis done.  A bit more than last year and a bit more of a variety.  I went through a dry spell this year also and I hate them 

Reaper:  So, that little company down in Texas was the one with the most minis painted this year.  I love Reaper’s stuff and I am quite happy with just about every mini I have ever bought from them.  I made two orders from them and that gave me a boost with what went on the painting table.  And what went there was an eclectic group from pure fantasy to Western to pulp.  I probably left some out but I do want to share some; The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come was the first one for the year to start.  She was very satisfying to paint and was a good start to the year.  Then there is Stone for ‘Deadlands Noir’, I have a plan to use him in Pulp Alley as an undead hero.  There will be more in the photos.  Let me add one more comment on Reaper; Some of the minis I ordered are 3D prints.  First time I have seen that from a mini company.  I hope to write a blog on them this year.  Total 22. 

Catalyst Game Labs:  19 painted.  I was rather surprised by that number as I did not think that I had done that many.  I did something that was a ‘happy accident’.  I had been organizing the Mechs by unit and factions and found that I did not have enough for making my homebrew Clan Wolf force complete.  While looking for some boxes at the local I mistakenly bought two of the Clan Striker Stars.  So I broke on up to fill out the Stars needing mechs.  I also started to paint the Mercenary boxes that were taking up space, along with a ‘Legendary’ box and the always fun Salvage boxes.  I even played with camouflage schemes.

GW:  Eight?  What?  I don’t know why, Lord knows that I have boxes of unpainted Space Marines, Old World and LOTR minis.  Yep, breaks down as follows; 5 Dwarfs, 3 Dark Angel Bladeguard Veterans (from the Lion box) and one Blood Angel.   The Dwarfs are a metal Slayer and the cannon and crew from Battle for Skull Pass for 7th Edition WHFB.  It is not bad once I got started on it.  The Dark Angels were painted as the bodyguards for the Lion but I replaced their heads and shields with some 3D printed bits.  I think they look good.  The last Space Marine I finished is a Blood Angel and I wanted to try my hand at sponge painting.  I think it turned out well.

Wizards of the Coast:  From the ‘Heroes’ boxes from 2002, I wrote a blog about them, and it took longer than it should have for me to paint 12 miniatures.  The last six were a slog and a half.  Some were nice but others were uninspiring and the paint jobs I gave them show it.  Not my best work but I was ‘feeling it’ as they say.

Warlord:  This is a company who’s minis I like but I really don’t play any of their games.  I built one US Marine on a whim that turned out well.  A British Para that I received in a Mystery box.  A Judge Dredd mini also from the aforementioned mystery box.  The real surprise was a Samurai mini that I was gifted.  A gaming buddy bought the ‘Wars of the Samurai’ book for the Pike and Shotte system.  The mini was free with the book but he was not going to raise a Nippon army and asked me if I wanted it.  The total is 4.

Knight Models:  I painted the Joker and Robotic Dollies for their Batman Miniatures game.  The Joker was not that fun to paint and the Dollies were very cartoonish.  They were part of the ‘Dark Knight Returns’ set from the Frank Miller series of the same name.  If I have any criticisms of the minis outside of some scale issues is that Knight Models are damnably expensive.  Nice minis though.  Total of 4.

Modiphius:  Two minis from their Fallout game, yes from the Amazon series.  They are resin on a sculpted base.  Lucy was difficult but Maximus was a quick and easy job.  Now to finish The Ghoul and Dog Meat.  

Mantic:  For all my excitement over the return of this game to Mantic’s catalogue I only painted 2.  I still love the game and the fact that I have painted all of the minis in the bin is a crime.  I will have to recify that this year. 

3D Printed:  The Ghost, a Shadow like character that This is a minis that I broke in 2024 and took me some time to get up the nerve to attempt a repair. 1

Crocodile Games:  I was in a slow period and thought of the Aser Warhawk Hero with Eagle.  I enjoyed the mini and liked the way the mini stands and thought it would make a nice pulp game NPC.  

Cipher:  Never heard of this company?  They created a game call Hell Dorado.  No impact, no idea?  You’re not alone.  Found this mini ‘Holle Moeller’ in the bargain bin at the Local.  It looked like a quick and fun project for me to do.  Turns out I was correct.  I am going to use her in some pulp stuff or maybe an Apocalypse survivor.  

Croc and Cipher

I really didn’t buy any new games except for the one in Mantic’s 2025 Advent Calendar, it is simple, fun and a time killer, but nothing really caught my eye and I do have games that hold my attention.  I did buy the ‘BattleTech Aces:  Scouring Sands’ expansion for Alpha Strike.  It adds Solo and Coop rules as well as expanding your terrain stash.  It is a good expansion as well as an excellent value for your hobby dollar.  

There are many things that happened in the hobby this year.  Contrast/speed, or whatever you call them, showed that, while they have their uses, regular paint is still here.  Paint pens are here now, I’m talking about the ones that actually have paint to use, not the speed paint ones, and seem to be the next big thing.  I have a handful and they are good tools also but they will not replace my paints.  Like 3D printing these things are here and have a niche in the hobby but they are not the end all of what we’ve used for years.  I also played around with zenethal shading and sponge painting.  The Blood Angel mentioned above was painted using these techniques.  I think he turned out well and I will try to paint more with them.

Finally, I want to talk about Army Painter.  They have ditched their old lines of paints and brought out their new line of “Fanatic” paints.  They are not perfect but are far better than the old lines and quite nice.  Creamy with good coverage and quick clean up.  Army Painter has also come out with a historical line of paints that have been curated for accuracy by a former curator of the British National Army Museum.  I bought the American set and it is all that it is advertised to be.  I highly recommend them.  I am hoping to get the British and German sets.  I would like to see a Russian one and perhaps French and Polish.

Operation Galvanic; First Opposed Landing or going into the Mouth of Hell

When I get to Heaven

St. Peter I will tell

Another Marine reporting, sir!

I’ve served my time in Hell…

— Marine Corps Cadence

Contrary to what the Navy or Army will tell you, US Marines had written the book on amphibious warfare theory during the 1920s and ‘30s.  Starting with the ideas and theories of Earl Hancock ‘Pete’ Ellis, Col. USMC and the support of the Commandant USMC, Lt. Gen. John A. Lejeune, later Marine Officers, with the support of like minded Naval Officers, would refine the ideas into Doctrine.  The Culebra training exercises in the Caribbean would show what worked and what didn’t.  This in turn would lead to the tactics and operational art that would be refined throughout the 1930s, that would change after December 1941 as the theory and doctrine would be put to the test.  The landings on Guadalcanal were unopposed but the ensuing battle was a close-run affair with the Japanese and the Island itself.  The Canal would blood the officers and Marines of the 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions and in turn, provide experience for those leaders who would lead the attack on Tarawa.  Those officers and NCOs who led the assault on Betio would explain the truth to the ‘new guys’ who filled out the ranks of the Division training hard for the attack, of the old Military axiom; ‘No plan survives first contact’ in the Pacific.  Further they would tell the lads that the ‘Japs weren’t pushovers.’  

On 20 November 1943, elements of the 2nd and 8th Marines, 2nd Marine Division would cross the line of departure and make the first opposed amphibious assault in history.  For the next 76 hours the American Marines and Imperial Japanese Navy’s 7th Sasebo Special Naval Landing Force (The Imperial Japanese Navy Marine equivalent) and 3rd Special Base Defense Force would fight a vicious no holds barred battle over a dot of land far out in the Pacific.  The IJN forces would be killed almost to a man and the Marines would be blooded as never before.  The embattled Marines would use every weapon and man available to defeat the fanatical and determined enemy.  Those weapons would include air support, naval gunfire, and tanks would all play a role in the final victory.

Officially, the Tarawa Atoll is part of the Gilbert Islands, but the battle took place mostly on the islet of Betio.  A place less than a mile square composed of sand, palm trees, scrub brush, and concrete.  It was heavily fortified after the 2nd Raiders epic raid on Makin Island, also part of the Gilberts, so heavily in fact that the Japanese Commander, Admiral Shibasaki, said; “it would take one million men one hundred years” to take Betio.  Shibasaki was a military engineer and used all the materials at hand to build concrete blockhouses, pill boxes, gun pits, artillery emplacements and more to stop the Marines at the water’s edge.  He almost succeeded.  And he built an Airfield.  That was the real importance of the island, the airfield that the US could use for the further drive into the Japanese first line of defense.  The Navy, who was in charge of the central Pacific, was already looking into driving further into the Japanese Defence Zone.  It would be the fight on Betio that would help with the next stage; the Campaign for the Marshalls.

What about the boast?  The Marines would take up the challenge and from H-hour on D-day to the final declaration that the island was secure the Battle would rage almost without respite.  Both sides had problems from the start.  The Divisional Commander, General Julian C. Smith, was aboard the old battleship Maryland (BB-46) and was his Command Ship.  When Maryland joined the shore bombardment, at the start of the battle, the concussions of the guns caused the loss of all communications with the landing force.  The Japanese Commander lost the same ability to coordinate his forces as the phone lines that were laid to his command post were cut from the onshore impacts.  The reef tides, as the locals told them, were dodgy and the assault Higgins boats couldn’t get over the reef and the men had to wade ashore, some places 500 yards under fire.  The tracked landing vehicles, their first major use in combat, were not stopped by the reef but were shot up fairly quickly due to  lack of proper armouring of the hull.  What allowed  the Marines through was their intensive training and tactics but mostly from individual courage and unit esprit.  They had great leadership and quickly adapted to the situation.  Not that the Japanese were not brave, well trained and confident.  Rather the Marines couldn’t quit.  In a captured journal from a Japanese officer he described that they watched the Marines come on into their defenses and regardless of casualties they just kept coming.  Kill one and more appeared.  

On D+4 it was all over.  The Marines had triumphed.  The assault force was back on ship and the 6th Marine Regiment mopped up the Gilberts and joined the rest of the Division for rest and refit in Hawaii.  While that took place there was feverpitch to incorporate the lessons learned from the assault.  The lessons were many and bitter; More and better armed and armoured LVTs, more and better coordinated naval gunfire and air support, better assault loading, reorganizing the force from the ground up.  The initial changes would bear fruit in the Marshall Island campaign in January of 1944.  Tarawa would be the first penetration of the Japanese defensive systems and plans.  It was what needed to be done and Terrible Tarawa still resonates to this day.  If Guadalcanal showed that Marines could endure and win, Tarawa showed that the Marines would adapt and win.  The battle would cause an uproar in the US when Congress would be bombarded by people wanting to know why it was important and if it was worth the loss of 1,009 killed and another 2,101 wounded not counting the 687 sailors killed.  That debate goes on to a greater or lesser extent to this day.  That island was Betio in the Tarawa Archipelago, part of the Gilbert Island Chain.  The battle would be part of every Marine for decades after simply as Tarawa.

This was a brief look at the Marine Corps, and the World’s, first assault on an opposed and fortified beach.  It is fairly brief but if you’re interested there are a number of books out there on the Gilberts Campaign and on the Battle itself.  ‘Utmost Savagery; Three days of Tarawa’ By Joe Alexander, Col. USMC ret. is one of the best.  His bibliography is extense.  There is also Robert Sherrod’s ‘Tarawa”, Wukovits’ “One Square Mile of Hell”.  There are not just books but a number of monographs, white papers, commentaries and so on.  Go look.

Casualties many; Percentage of dead not known; Combat efficiency; we are winning.  –  Col. David Shoup, Situation report, 21 November 1943

Confessions of a Lapsed Gamer; Heroes III Boxset or Does the Third Time Pay for All?

I started this blog while painting these minis and was very negative about them.   Let’s talk about what is in the box.  You get six well cast metal minis with slotta bases and character cards along with a pamphlet for using them as NPCs in D&D 3.5.  The cards for the game Chainmail.  The box is sturdy and the minis are cushioned between layers of foam.  The minis are two humans (Glaiver and Sorcerer), two Elves (Wood Elf Scout and Grey Elf duelist), a Dwarf Zealot (Berserker or Slayer type) and a, no I’m not making this up, a Half Orc Fighter.  So five of the six are ‘Good Humanoid’ and Half Orc is Evil.  They are all a pewter alloy as behooves a metal mini of the time period.  (I have opinions on THAT subject but will leave that sleeping dog alone.)  They looked good with minimal issues like mold lines.  Having been through the other two ‘Hero’ boxes, I was undaunted.

These were done in the early 2002, the copyright on the box is 2002 and the source I have found online supports that.  They were against some pretty heavy competition from the big dog on the block; Citadel Miniatures along with others smaller companies like Reaper Miniatures.  Wizards of the Coast, owners of D&D, would hire some of the best mini sculptors and put these minis out to support the RPG and to support an attempt to make a skirmish game called Chainmail.  The game title can be traced back to 1971 when the hallowed Gygax was trying to create a medieval ruleset for use with minis.  It would soldier on until the final edition was published in 1985.  They just never really caught on.  Wizards would create a skirmish game for their D&D 3rd edition.  The only thing in common was the title.  It was not successful.

The Human Sorcerer was the first one painted and it was nice to paint, for the most part.  His quasi military outfit, bronze mace and spell effect was planned out before the primer dried.  The blue coat, the canvas trousers and tall boots were what I saw while considering what I want it to look like.  The only negative of this mini is in the softness of some of the details and the chin beard.  I had a hard time with it.  

The Glaiver is odd to me.  It seems rather flat and disproportionate.  Some of the lines between the details are not there and you have to figure out what’s there.  He was not fun to paint but not the slog some would be.  He was a mini I did the bare minimum with.

The Grey Elf Snakestrike Duelist is something of ‘meh’ for me.  Again, flat and uninspiring.  She was a tough mini to paint as I didn’t really have a lot of enthusiasm in the mini and can not really use it in a game.  Perhaps in a Pulp game as mystic or a mystic’s henchmen.  

I will tell you that the Wood Elf Scout is my second favorite mini in the box.  Quick, straight forward and nicely molded.  Fun to paint and had it done quickly.  She is a good scale for a dungeon crawl as she is not a skinny elf.

Ah, the Dwarf Zealot.  My favorite mini in the box, one of my favorites in the whole series, is almost without a vice for getting it painted in a short time.  I think that I did it as a one hour challenge and was successful with it.  I tried to avoid making her a homage to the Games Workshop’s Troll Slayers but I failed in that.  She carries a huge chopper and looks like she knows how to use it.  

In the end though, and all things must reach that, the final mini to paint is the Half Orc Fighter.  He is an ugly little thing with his giant sword and odd knife that looks more like a WWI trench knife than anything else.  I couldn’t get the face right so finally got something close and called it a day.  His armour is odd, there is a lot of metal just kinda strapped on here and there, just odd.  Then there is the fact that in D&D 3.5 Half Orcs were Player Characters.  Odd as that sounds to older players of the game.  

So, we’ve reached the end of the three hero boxes put out by Wizards of the Coast in the very early 2000s.  Some excellent minis and some not so much.  BUT they are usable today in mini agnostic games like those from Two Hour Games and Ganesha.  They could also be used in some games like Pulp Alley to act as martial artists or ‘strangers from the east’ types.  Get them if you can find them and paint them up.  Put them on the table.  It’s what they are there for.  Certainly they will all, except maybe the halflings, find a place either as part of a party of adventurers or as denizens of a dungeon.  

You’re only limited by your imagination and that should have no limits.

Confessions of a Lapsed Gamer: Mercenaries are here or Hey! Are Those Tanks?

In September of ‘23 I wrote a blog about how I was pretty jazzed that CGL (Catalyst Game Labs) was working on a new boxset that was going to focus on Mercenaries in the BattleTech Universe.  This last June I managed to get my hands on a copy and it did not disappoint.  Two Lances of Inner Sphere Mechs and a Lance of Combat Vehicles for minis AND a number of counters for more vehicles, infantry and air craft.  Add in a couple big stacks of cards for those units and support/emplacement effects.  All and all a good box.  Oh, the maps are pretty nice too, LOL…

I have a soft spot for Mercs in BattleTech.  They have been in the game since the start so I am surprised that we are so far into the CGL license that we’d be getting a Merc expansion.  Names like Wolf’s Dragoons, Kell Hounds, Snord’s Irregulars, Eridani Light Horse, McCarron’s Armoured Cavalry, 21st Centauri Lancers and more have been part of the game with many being pretty much the focus of the factions you find in Second Edition.  They were not at all as fleshed out as they are now but they play pretty much the same.   Yeah, they play more or less like the Lances of the Great House but they come with some quirks for the unit.  I would recommend visiting your Local or go online to find the books for various eras and factions with the BTU along with the newest basic game box to get you started.  The Mercenary box is an expansion.  Or, you could go and download the quickstart rules from CGL.  There is a huge amount of information online for BT and it is pretty easy to find.  

Mercs also allow a great deal of flexibility in organizing your force.  Want to play mixed lances of Clan and IS mech, different Tech and Eras??  I mean, if it’s in the game and you can afford it.  Remember kid, life is cheap but Mechs aren’t.  Merc units have, in my opinion, the most flexibility in making your company stand out.  Working the Periphery area to raise funds for upgrades?  Yep, and you can salvage just about everything.  Mix and match the mechs of all the IS Houses, sure.  Mercs use all of the units available from all the factions of the Inner Sphere or the Clans.  Just keep an eye to the era you’re in.  The main boxsets are nice but you should consider getting the ForcePacks and the salvage boxes, but CGL doesn’t care if you use 3D prints of Mechs.  

So I am going to talk about the Merc Lances (and a Star) of what I have on the shelf.  Most are from the ForcePacks and the Mechs in the box may seem odd at times but I am one of those who don’t like to break up a set unless I have a good reason to rationalize away my fixation on keeping these in a set.

Now, before I talk about the Merc units, I suggest you go to Sarna.net and read up on the history of the setting.  Particularly from the end of the Star League and the IlClan era.  It’s about 500 years and it will give you a grounding on the Universe and the denizens within.  I may talk about the history of the BTU some other time. For now just ride along with me.

Arguably, the most successful Mercs of the Inner Sphere are Wolf’s Dragoons.  Most large companies are fairly independent of the Great Houses but the Dragoons are state by themselves.  I have been enamoured of them since I started playing and will continue to.  They are a huge faction in the game and there are a number of regiments and subunits that you can paint up.  The truth is I have a number painted for those units but I like to mix and match so I would probably offend a purist.  Here’s a selection; 

Atlas, Battle Master, Locust, Archer, Bushwacker

Eridani Light Horse can trace its roots back to the Star League Defense Force.  When General Kerensky decided to leave the IS and take most of the SLDF the ELH stayed and became a Merc unit.  It would survive the four Succession Wars, Clan Invasion and Jihad  to be all but destroyed by Clan Jade Falcon.  It would reappear in 3151 with the reunification of the survivors of the original Light Horse.  I misread the description of the ELH colour scheme and made them more green than drab of the SLDF.  

Exterminator, Annihilator, Wasp,, Grasshopper

Hansen’s Roughriders.  Interestingly the HRs started as a regular line unit of both the Federated Suns and Free Worlds League and went rogue in 3014 to form the HRs.  They would soldier on to the start of the IlClan era, changing their colour scheme from tan to blue.  Like most Merc units they are rebuilding.

Cataphract, Centurion, Mongoose, Longbow

Atlas, Enforcer, Hachetman, Penetrator

So, Joe, what about making your own?  Well, here’s one that just kinda appeared in my head while just painting a bunch of odd Mechs from the Clan Invasion Salvage Boxes.  I just wanted to make them pop after giving them a good coat of Testor’s Olive Drab.  (On a personal note it was my last can of the old Testor’s before they were bought out by Rustoleum.)  After a wash of Army Painter’s ‘Military Shader’ wash they just needed something.  So I gave them a Polish history.

Flashman, Phoenix Hawk, Crusader, Crockette

Finally, I haven’t figured out this unit yet but I just wanted to share this pic.

Atlas II, Marauder, Phoenix Hawk ‘Special’, Thunder Hawk