15mm Pacific War Complete

I probably could have got a few blog posts out of this batch of models, but I just got lazy. Plus, I don't believe people want or need an update from me every time I paint something. However, this last batch represents a milestone for me. It completes both my US Marines and Imperial Japanese Army forces!

Here's what I've got done. We'll start with the US Marines.

These are the various landing craft for my Marines. The top picture shows  all five LVTs. Leading the way (from the left) are two LVT 4 Buffalo, which are basically big troop transports with guns. Behind is an LVT (A) 4, which has the howitzer mounted in the open turret. The close up shots show two LVT (A) 1, Alligators, which have AT guns and MGs. 

The Alligators and Buffaloes were from Old Glory, and are solid resin pieces except for MGs and the turrets. The LVT (A) 4 is from Quality Casting. It's a solid hunk of metal, and was easy to assemble. My only complaint is that the deck and hull did not join and had huge gaps that required a lot of putty to fill.

You'll notice I slipped in some palm trees from Pegasus Hobbies. While I don't have a lot of jungle terrain, most of Peleliu was a coral wasteland of shell craters. Sure there was jungle, but most of my scenarios won't take place in them. So, the palm trees will do the trick for now.

Peter Pig 60mm mortar teams for the Marines. Nothing to write home about.  These guys round out the Marines.  I had forgotten to order them a while ago, and had to do a little catch up.

Moving on to the Japanese, we start with the armor.

The top picture shows two platoons of Type 95 Ha-Go tanks. These are the Battlefront models and as such they're on the bulky side. Assembly was easy, except gluing on  the MGs. These ended up getting glued to my fingers.

The second picture shows a comparison with Battlefront and Quality Casting. The QC tank is significantly smaller. It is also more detailed but a little bit more work to assemble than Battlefront. Still Battlefront leaves you no choice if you want two platoons, as they don't sell single blisters of the tanks.

Finally, here's the Japanese gun teams I needed. These are all Quality Casting models. I'll just say right away that these models suck.  They must be true 15mm, as they are tiny next to everything else I have, including Peter Pig.  The proportions are screwed up, too. If you look carefully, you'll find kneeling models that are as tall as standing models.  Really?

So besides looking like ass, they get the job done. The top models are Type 1 47mm anti tank guns and crew.  Beneath that is a 75mm mountain howitzer with extra crew. I did extra crew because some scenarios I plan to play call for larger than usual gun teams. Otherwise I added gun crews based on what their "normal" crew should be.

So that wraps it all up! I've been working on and off getting these painted over the last few weeks. Next, I'll play my first scenario with these forces. I'm excited to get them to the table.

I was going to take out all the models and do a nice group shot, but then realized what a pain that would be. So instead feast your eyes on a fuzzy, dark picture of both armies in their storage containers!

Malifaux: Lilith Starter Box and Friends

With the arrival of Malifaux 2E rules I figured it's time to paint the starter box I purchased a year ago. I have a few friends who are really into this game and want to try out the new rules. So now's a great time to get the painting completed.

The models shown here mostly come from the Lilith starter box.  The two young Nephilim and the Cherub were purchased in addition to the starter. I was advised these were key models to having a complete starting force for Lilith.

I like these models, though some of them were a bit fiddly to assemble. While I've never played the game before, I'm fairly sure I'll like it and didn't mind adding these to my collection. I'm a sucker for anything with a fantasy theme. Also, I like the small scale of these factions. While you can own a lot of models, you don't need to have many to start.

Here are some details of the group.  First is Lilith and her Terror Tot Nephilims.

Next are the Cherub and two Young Nephilim. I understand that the Terror Tots can transform into these Young Nephilim during the game. Sweet!

Lastly, here's the big guy -- a Mature Nephilim. I think the young Nephilim can turn into a mature one during the game. I'm not really clear on the rules for these models yet. I'll learn eventually.

So there you have it. I really want the Ten Thunders faction, but I'm scared to death of assembling those models. I understand even the heads come in three parts!  Who is the super genius that decided cutting a 28mm model into 1,000 pieces is a good idea?

Well, I'll have to see how much I like the game and how often it will get played before I drop too much of my sanity on the Ten Thunders. For now, I've got this stuff.  Now back to painting World War Two models.

15mm WW2: More Marines

Another slow week at the painting table has passed. I finished several support units for my US Marines, four bazooka teams, two flamethrowers, and three .30cal water cooled MGs.  Here's the whole lot of them.

Click for a larger picture with more details.

Not much to write home about here. I realized I didn't order my mortars, so they're on the way.  These are all Peter Pig models. They don't scale so well with my Command Decision models, but nothing so bad that it becomes distracting.

Bazookas and flamethrowers need something to assault, so I painted my MG bunkers from Battlefront.

Nothing too spectacular here. I didn't really know how to weather the concrete, so I just left them with a fairly crisp paint job.  After they were done, I realized that these terrain pieces are quite small even for 15mm.

Here's a comparison with a Peter Pig model, which is a lot smaller than Battlefront's models.  The marine is out of focus, but you cans see the scale.  He looks passable outside the log bunker.

He starts to look a little small in front of the concrete bunker.

But if you flip the bunker around to see the door, the marine looks like a giant!

So what was Battlefront thinking when they designed these pieces?  That door is not big enough for a 15mm model's foot, never mind an MG team.  It looks more like a 6mm scale.

I won't let that prevent me from using the bunkers, but it was really disappointing when I found how small these bunkers actually are.  That kind of scale discrepancy throws me out of the game, but only when I pay attention to it.  I'll just have to not look too carefully, and I do have other terrain pieces that aren't really to scale.  It's all just meant to be a representation, anyway.

That's all for WW2 right now, though I'll be quickly returning to it. In the meantime, I'll be working on some Malifaux figures, and likely gluing my fingers together in the process.

15mm WW2: Japanese Reinforcements

Quick update today on my 15mm WW2 project. I'm gearing up to start my next campaign, which will take place in the Pacific. Specifically, I'm building forces to match the needed figures for Britton Publishing's excellent campaign book, Operation Stalemate II. This is the 1st Marine Division's battle for Peleliu in 1944. I'm looking forward to it.

So, here's what I've got done this week.

Working left to right: eight knee mortars; the standing guys look like they've got leaf blowers instead of mortars to me. Next are three suicide bombers. They've got explosives strapped on their back and have a detonator in their hands, sad and gruesome models. I painted up three flamethrowers, though they aren't needed for the scenarios. Behind the flamethrowers are two models with antitank bombs on poles.  Finally, there are three heavy machine gun teams.

These are all Peter Pig models. I used Command Decision models for my main force, and these Peter Pig models are really small in comparison. The Command Decision models are significantly larger and don't mix so well.  In any case, these are specialists and not included in every scenario, so it's no matter.

To complete my Japanese I need some AT and infantry guns along with some light tanks. The tanks are proving hard to come by, even though Battlefront makes them. These tank models don't seem to be in stock anywhere.

On to the US Marines next!

Reaper Bones II

My wallet is going to take a hit. Even though I've got tons of stuff to work through yet, in three days I'll be signing up for another round.

Completed Pathfinder Iconics

I finally polished off the Pathfinder Iconic characters last night.  Normally it wouldn't take me so long to do so few figures, but I'm busier than ever and lack time to paint. Anyway, there's my excuse.  These figures are not Reaper Bones, but metal models. I ordered the metals to complete the set needed for the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game. The only exception is the Bard model, which is Bones.

So here they are. Click on the picture to expand it.

From left to right, Droogami the Snow Leopard, Lini the Gnome druid, Lem the Halfling Bard,  Sajan the Monk, and Harsk the Dwarf Ranger. The final model is a Gray Maiden figure, and not one of the Pathfinder Iconic class models. I just liked the model and ordered it to bring my total high enough to qualify for Reaper's free shipping.

Here are some close ups, and front / back shots. The models have incredible details.

So that's supposed to be a Snow Leopard. It was looking fairly white / gray until the end where everything ended up tan.  Well, crap. I'm not repainting it. The paints looked warm gray on my palette, but turned out too yellow. So now it's a Sand Leopard. Problem solved.

The Monk models is pretty cool, though his knife hand snapped off and had to be glued back. So while people complain about Bones models being warped, we have to remember that metal is often not much better. I tried to match the iconic paint schemes but had to give the bard a pink shirt. It just says "bard" to me.

The Ranger is carrying a crap-ton of stuff on his back. It was confusing to paint and I think I got some stuff wrong. Still, it looks cool now that it's finished. The Gray Maiden was fun to paint, and I was really pleased with the blending of her red cloak. So you can imagine my horror when I found a huge part of the cloak paint job chipped off over night. Again, people complain about Bones not holding paint, but it was my metal model that chipped. I had washed the bare metal, but I guess I must've missed a spot. Anyway, since I had the triad colors, repainting was easy. The chip did leave a mark and you might be able to see it in the picture.

That's enough fantasy for me. I've got six skeletons I've primed, and I'll do those. Otherwise, I want to push to finish off my 15mm Pacific war project. I was hoping to start the next WWII campaign soon, but am far behind schedule.

Pathfinder Iconics

Here are seven more Reaper Bones models that I've painted recently. These are the Pathfinder RPG iconic character classes. These all came with my Bones Kickstarter.  For those unfamiliar with Pathfinder, all of their books contain persistent characters to represent different classes. These characters appear in all their supplements, usually in chapter page artwork where a bit of narration accompanies the illustration.

Click on the picture for a larger image. The characters from left to right are:Ezren the Wizard, Seelah the Paladin, Merisiel the Elf Rogue, Seoni the Sorcerer, Kyra the Cleric, Valeros the Fighter, and Amiri the Barbarian.

I still have other Pathfinder Iconic Class figures to paint, but they are metal and not Bones material. The reason I wanted all of these iconic models is for the new Pathfinder Adventure Card Game.  It's a great adaptation of the RPG to a card based system. You still roll dice and gain levels like the RPG, but the combat and loot mechanics are different. The game gives you cards to represent the characters, but these models will look a lot nicer on the table.