"The Soviet Union Was Able To Pull Ahead..."

"...And claim a major victory by landing on the Lunar surface."

This 32mm resin Russian Astronaut is produced by "Black Site Studios", and forms part of the Lunar Core Game pre-order I made with the American-based manufacturer way back in July 2021. These days the figures are available as either part of the five-figure set SKU: LNR6805BSS - Soviet Cosmonauts, or the manufacturer's current Two-Player Starter Box, and was rather patiently assembled from an almost overwhelming number of tiny pieces which came inside the starter box.

To begin with the rocketeer was super-glued to a "Citadel" 30mm circular stand, as opposed to one of the bases which came with the kit, and then armed with a whopping great ceramic tiled panel and a brain-bustin' monkey wrench. The fearsome spaceman was then undercoated with plenty of "Two Thin Coats" Sanguine Scarlet, drenched in "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson, and dry-brushed with (more) "Two Thin Coats" Sanguine Scarlet.

"Black Site Studios" WIPs - Three primed NASA Astronauts ready for some shading

As I wanted the Cosmonaut's equipment/weaponry to stand-out from his suit, and felt that the coated LI-900 silica ceramics would be light coloured, I decided to pigment the model's shield using a combination of "Two Thin Coats" White Star and plenty of watered-down "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. The panel's rim and interior was later treated to some "Vallejo" Gunmetal, "Citadel" Nuln Oil, and a dry-brush of (more) "Vallejo" Gunmetal. Lastly, I picked out some of the stray wires protruding from the piece with either "Vallejo" Heavy Blue and "Citadel" Drakenhof Nightshade, or "Vallejo" Escorpena Green and "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green.

The miniature's face-plate was carefully painted using some "Vallejo" Gold over a Heavy Sienna basecoat, and subsequently shaded with a little "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. Whilst it's large wrench was given a lick of "Scale 75" Decayed Metal, washed with "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade, and given a dry-brush of (more) "Scale 75" Decayed Metal.

The French win a narrow victory in "The Silver Bayonet" by killing a homicidal Hobgoblin

Alongside finishing off my Soviet Cosmonauts, as well as starting my NASA astronaut squad, I have started a campaign playing Joseph A. McCullough's "The Silver Bayonet" ruleset by "Osprey Games" using a selection of my Napoleonic miniatures. We've gone right back to the first of the scenarios to begin such an adventure, and stuck to the recommended 3x3 foot table too - as opposed to the significantly larger cloth mat we had been playing on. Having fought "The Investigation" a few times, I also thought it might help mix things up a bit if the two opposing forces fought over an Egyptian-themed field, rather than a European one.

Perhaps the biggest impact for my (up to this point) unbeaten British (Coalition) party was how much more quickly the French came within musket range of my green-jacketed Riflemen. Admittedly, my forgetting to use their +2 Accuracy bonus didn't help either. But compared to our previous encounters, it wasn't very long before Napoleon's men were peppering my elite sharpshooters with plenty of withering fire. Needless to say, I never properly recovered from this increasingly frantic exchange of lead balls, and narrowly lost the scenario by a single Victory Point when the French surprisingly cut down the vindictive Hobgoblin who had been slaughtering nearby settlers...

“Warfare" Showcase 2024

"Warfare, is one of the largest [wargaming shows] in the country."

With "Warfare" traditionally being the last of my local wargaming shows for the year, I decided to once again make the hour-long trip to the Farnborough International Exhibition Centre and see what goodies were on display. This year I was particularly excited by the Wargames Association of Reading's claim that the organisers were "welcoming several first time traders", as this is precisely why I like to physically attend both events and stores as opposed to just ordering online.

Some of the models on show by "Full Metal Miniatures" which caught my attention

Furthermore, I hoped some potential 'new stuff' might help lessen my unease at the rise in entry price to an initially off-putting £12 - something which has not gone without criticism from other hobbyists I know. I totally get that the Conference Centre is a rather splendid venue with plenty of facilities, and resultantly comes with a significantly high cost. However, a good two-thirds of the Main Hall were rather disappointingly unused, and that was despite the fact that the majority of the Tournaments were also being held there. Indeed, I ultimately left the building with an uneasy feeling that my entry fee was probably funding the twenty-two competitions taking place more than anything else.

The small Novus Mallum tabletop by "Enviro Games", and part of "Rapier Miniatures" Ancients display

To make matters worse though, parking at the venue was arguably a bit of a disaster, due to joining a long, slow-moving queue for a space. In the end I gave up waiting, and simply drove further along the access road to another turning where there were plenty of spaces. I was admittedly already a bit grumpy from the drive, as despite entering the recommended postcode into my satellite navigation, the route provided took me to one closed-off gate after another, and it was only after spotting a tiny rectangular Warfare sign attached to a lamp-post that I finally saw Gate A. Later on, I was not surprised to overhear one of the club members talking about how poor the parking had become, and when I left I couldn't help but spot many a car precariously positioned at all sorts of odd angles on a variety of grass verges and escarpments.

This "Crossover Miniatures" display formed part of the "Pendraken Miniatures" booth

Setting such quibbles aside, the show itself was a bit of a triumph, with several of the promised 'fresh faces' taking a heavy toll upon my wallet. There were also some rather splendid displays by some of the show's usual stalwarts - such as "Pendraken Miniatures" showing off all the splendid-looking super-heroes and villains from "Crossover Miniatures", and "Baccus 6mm" almost tempting me with plenty of wonderfully painted World War Two armour and infantry.

Part of the "Baccus 6mm" stall, and a glimpse of Shepway Wargamers' participation tabletop

I was also taken by several of the participation games, and spent quite a while chatting to a chap from the Shepway Wargamers about his awesome scratch-built "Warhammer 40k" lite tabletop. This impressive Imperial Guard verses Chaos conflict had been specifically set-up to help get new players into the rather hefty "Games Workshop" rule-set, and resultantly had had its numerous stipulations stripped right down to their basics to encourage attendees to simply throw some dice.

A rather splendid-looking Battle of Alexandria 1801 game using the General d'Armee rule-set

Perhaps unsurprisingly considering my spending at "Colours" 2024, I splurged most of my meagre funds at the "Sarissa Precision" stall on "The Silver Bayonet" - coming away with both the Spanish Unit and the Egyptian Unit boxed sets. I was going to leave it at that. However, I then saw a blister of Army Deserter Bandits, and thought it would be rude not to pick them up too, especially as I could always incorporate the unscrupulous soldiers into my other warbands as a Veteran Hunter or plain Infantryman, should the fancy take me.

"Athena Miniatures" range of Franco-Prussian War and Post Apocalyptic figures

Easily this show's biggest surprise for me was stumbling upon "Athena Miniatures" and their characterful range of Apocalypse Survivors. I was initially attracted to their stand in the Discover Hall by their fantastic Franco-Prussian War figures, and was thinking about picking up a small sample to test paint prior to visiting the company again at next year's "Beachhead" 2025. But then its fiendish owner directed my attention to a number of British civilians "dressed in cold weather gear armed with a variety of weapons" who were apparently "ready to do battle with Zombies or Aliens or whatever has brought about the apocalypse!"

Some of the models by "Conquest Games", "Parkfield Miniatures", and "Disdain Studio"

Coupled with a number of hand-sculpted "heroic British squaddies", some additional riflemen wearing NBC suits, as well as a ton of Russian Spetsnaz Special Forces (to act as the obligatory bad guys), and I simply found this all too much to resist. So ended up leaving what I thought was overall a very successful show with twice as much metal in my shopping bag as I had originally intended. Now I just need to paint all this stuff up before February next year, when I start attending wargaming events again...

3D Printing - "Lost Heresy Miniatures" - Vulgorn Guards

"Lost Heresy Miniatures" WIPs - Three of the Vulgorn Guards currently being progressed

All of these models were created using "Elegoo" Water Washable Resin on a Mars 3 Pro 3D Printer and are available as STL (Standard Triangle Language) files from "Lost Heresy Miniatures" on "MyMiniFactory". The rotund extra-terrestrials are part of an eight-figure collection, whose sculpts have clearly been heavily-inspired by the Vogons as seen in Garth Jennings' 2005 movie "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy".

I've actually had a bit of an 'on-off' relationship supporting this creator on Tribe in the past, as I've found their (predominantly science fiction) range to be a bit smaller than most modern-day models - probably being 25mm as opposed to today's 28mm scale. Happily however, I'm a bit more knowledgeable about the data preparation software programme "Chitubox" Basic than I used to be, so these days tend to upscale most of the smaller STLs I print out by 108.41% (measured using the Colonist Marine Cyborg Hero E-900 Exterminator figure by "Papsikels Miniatures" as the new eye-line height - also known as 'Arnie Scale').

"Lost Heresy Miniatures" WIPs - Three more Vulgorn Guards which have been primed, shaded and dry-brushed

This did admittedly make the aliens somewhat larger than a normal-sized human. But having viewed several photographs of Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz, it's clear that in the film (at least) the intergalactic civil servants are a lot bigger than mere Earthlings anyway. Regardless, as soon as I saw the set I simply had to get some printed out, especially as they're appearance was something of a welcome surprise - considering that up until this point recently "Lost Heresy Miniatures" had been focusing upon producing a splendid range of characterful Napoleonic Russians for "The Silver Bayonet" rule-set by "Osprey Games".

What I was not prepared for though, was just how difficult it would prove to print out some useable models to paint - and much of this frustration was unfortunately down to me as opposed to anything else, though it took quite a few failed attempts over an entire week before I realised what was happening. To begin with I thought that my upscaling had caused the pre-supports to become unstable, as several appeared to break away from the print mid-way through the production process.

The Vulgorn Guards pre-supported, then supported by "Chitubox", and finally with my (Large) supports

I'm always a bit sceptical of pre-supported files at the best of times, so subsequently tried adding some additional Large supports to the sculpts where-ever I felt there was a weak area. This helped produce a couple of working figures, as well as two which required some Green-Stuff repair work to make right. But was still largely creating failures. Indeed, having initially envisaged a plate of five nicely printed Vulgorn Guards every time I was now almost down to trying just a single miniature in case there were any resin flow issues occurring with an over packed plate.

I even tried completely doing my own supports and repositioning the models at a 35 degree angle - my failsafe placement. But even this caused repeated fails. Fortunately, I then spotted that the FEP (Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene) was actually touching the LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) mono 4K screen by the end of the printing process - indicating that the FEP's tension was no longer as taut as it should be - not a surprise considering that I last changed it almost a year ago. A quick swap of the resin bed for a factory-made one, and things finally started to work...

"On July 9, 1810..."

"...After the Kingdom of Holland was annexed by the French Empire..."

These two 28mm scale metal models are sold by “Wargames Foundry", and can be purchased as part of their identical eight-figure blister FN175 - Imperial Guard Dutch Grenadiers In Greatcoat Marching. The company's Napoleonic French range was sculpted by Michael and Alan Perry, and I was lucky enough to pick this set up in person when I visited the manufacturer's premises in Newark, late last year.

"Initially numbered the 2nd Foot Grenadiers Regiment of the Imperial Guard", the pair were initially primed using my usual mixture of "Citadel" Abaddon Black and Vallejo Surface Primer Black, before their trousers and various leather straps were layered with "Two Thin Coats" White Star, and 'weathered' with some heavily watered-down "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. I then applied some "Vallejo" Heavy Blue and "Citadel" Drakenhof Nightshade to each miniature's great-coat, as well as 'picked out' all the details around their waists - such as drinking bottles, swords and ammunition pouches.

"...The Dutch Grenadiers were incorporated into the French Imperial Guard."

To be honest when I had first selected this particular blister off of the showroom's rack I hadn't spotted half the equipment attached to each soldier's rear, so was originally a little despondent when I later saw just how much stuff each Frenchmen carried. However, despite having decided early on with this painting project that I wasn't going to go mad with buttons, small straps and cuff /collar braiding, I did feel elements such as the tassel tied around on the sword-hilt were worthy of some time, so gave them a lick of "Two Thin Coats" Sanguine Scarlet and "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson. Furthermore I applied "Vallejo" Heavy Red and "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson onto the two models' epaulettes, bearskin tassels and grenadier emblems.

One of the big motivators behind my current passion for all things Napoleonic is undoubtedly Joseph A. McCullough's "The Silver Bayonet" ruleset by "Osprey Games", and recently I was able to play a couple of the game's opening scenarios - pitching my British (Coalition) warband against a fiendish French raiding party. Littered with various buildings, a spot of marshland and a river running into a pond, the tabletop was somewhat larger than the 3x3 foot one recommended in the book. However, it gave us plenty of room for manoeuvring and exchanging musket balls across the village/town before each side closed upon the clue markers.

The British Officer leaves with the artefact whilst the French continue fighting Straw Bears

The first conflict was based upon the scenario "The Investigation", and was frankly a bit of a one-sided affair as the murderous Hobgoblin killing the locals was soon revealed by my forces, and then shot to pieces by a pair of British Green Jackets using their famous rifles. This caused us to quickly slap a disused barn into the centre of the battlefield so we could give "The Revenants" a try instead, and this battle against a horde of animated Strawbears (by "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" was much closer.

Indeed, there was some ferocious firefights between the Russian Infantrymen I fielded and some of the French side's more colourful characters - such as the Occultist, who successfully twice cursed one of my fusiliers during the skirmish. On the other side of the battle, my Riflemen were outnumbered by muskets and became locked in a truly deadly battle of attrition, with lead balls flying all over the place. In the end though, my Officer was able to snatch the missing artefact and bring it safely back behind the British line, whilst my opponent's Commander, Doctor and Sapper were still busy fending off the straw-based revenants around the village pond... 

(Lead) Mountain Musings - "Black Site Studios" November 2024

"Lunar is a skirmish game that pits rival crews of astronauts against one another."

Whilst I was extremely tempted to dedicate another month of hobby time towards my ongoing Napoleonic project using "Wargames Foundry" 28mm figures - especially when I've just received plenty of reinforcements from both "eBay" and the Newark-based manufacturer themselves - I thought it might be more prudent to focus upon my slow-burning collection of "Lunar" miniatures by "Black Site Studio" for November instead. To that end I'm planning on not only completing my force of Soviet Cosmonauts. But also assembling, pigmenting and getting tabletop ready a similarly-sized team of American Astronauts too.

In addition, I picked up plenty of resin scenery whilst visiting Colours 2024 in September, and intend to turn the various packs of unpainted Shell Holes by "Magnetic Displays" into various clusters of moon craters. This should at least give my spacemen something to fight over, as I continue to contemplate picking up some of the digital STL (Standard Triangle Language) file downloads "Black Site Studio" offer on their website - including a 110mm tall Soviet LK Lander and a crashed Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV).

"Warbases are proud to present these simple movement trays for your troops."

Of course, that doesn't mean for a second that I'm totally dropping my interest in the Napoleonic era for the next four weeks, as I have a quartet of partially-painted British figures taken from packet B041 Late Line Infantry Flank Company Shouldered Arms earmarked for completion. I've actually been a bit remiss when it comes to putting my brush-tip to any Redcoats, having always been put off by the red and white colour combination. So hopefully, this particular handful of soldiers will help me devise a method for tackling many more similarly uniformed infantrymen in the future.

Furthermore, I've started working on a number of MDF movement trays purchased from "Warbases" so I can hopefully play some games of "Black Powder" (lite) in the near future. To begin with I have only bought some four-figure (tiny unit) and eight-men (small units) stands, as I don't currently envisage having any larger units that these. But before this five-year project has concluded I'd like to think I'll be combining a few trays to make significantly larger companies for my tabletop.

October 2024 - No change in the standings for my favourite manufacturers over the past month

Somewhat disagreeably, the past month has not seen me as productive as I would have hoped. This lack of fruitfulness is an issue I lay somewhat squarely at the feet of the time-consuming, and occasionally intimidating, early Nineteenth Century historical models I'm currently obsessed with. Though I had felt that the much more straightforward "Lunar" offerings would somewhat off-set the time it takes me to finish the likes of a Dutch Grenadier - even when I omit many a brass button and baggage strap.

November should be a little different as I have several much more simpler sculpts to pigment, including a load of 3D prints by "Lost Heresy Miniatures". Indeed, I'm planning on cranking out quite a few resin creatures using my Mars 3 Pro 3D Printer, including a few mutilated monsters for the currently highly popular Trench Crusade universe - such as a Lord of Tumors and gaggle of disgusting Grail Thralls...