Close Combat - Panthers in the Fog

I've been playing the Close Combat series of real-time, tactical wargames since 1997 and after a little deliberation, dived back in and grabbed the latest incarnation, Panthers in the Fog.

A host of improvements, including higher resolutions, graphical effects and additional command screens, to name a few, have resulted in the most polished version of this classic veteran to date.

The combat remains the same, tense, top-down squad by squad affair; although the new(er) maps with their additional detail add greater clarity and compliment the enhanced effects, such as the smoke and explosion effects.

The pre-battle operational screens give welcome depth and context to the ensuing tactical duels, although they are limited somewhat in scope.

Despite the influx of 3D, action strategy titles such as Company of Heroes and Combat Mission, it is Close Combat - for me, at least - that remains unsurpassed. Of course, it's now showing its age a little and some of the old issues remain, such as the occasional spinning tank and poor pathfinding; but the tense, unforgiving combat remains the best available.

That's it for now,

Monty

Total Wargamer

Just a quick post to sing the praises of supplier Total Wargamer and their excellent service.

I ordered Warlord's Ruined Hamlet - very nice and more later - on Saturday; which was 30% below the recommended price quoted on every other site I'd seen, and it arrived three days later  - fantastic.

All I will say is,  based on this service and price point, they will be first stop for any future custom from me and come highly recommended.

That's it for now,

Monty

28mm Judge Dredd Lawmaster

The little woman came up trumps again and got me Judge Dredd, Judge Anderson and their awesome Lawmaster bikes from Mongoose Publishing, for my birthday - very nice they are, too

The Judge Dredd range is ever-expanding and Mongoose plan a raft of additions over the coming months, which is all good stuff for a life-long 2000 AD fan such as myself.

Dredd and Lawmaster in their component parts; there was considerable filing, application of green stuff and manipulation of (his) limbs - tentatively with pliers - to enable the great man to 'sit' correctly during the usual clean-up phase.

Partial assembly with all parts receiving an undercoat/prime with some black car primer; I based the bike on a recycled plastic base from some 28mm plastic figures after drilling and pinning the wheels due to the model's considerable weight.

Almost complete, awaiting final highlighting and gloss varnishing...

...and he's off! The Judge roars away to rid Mega-City One of its lawbreaking creeps...

I really enjoyed completing this model and love the chunky version of Dredd's iconic bike Mongoose have created. I shall finish Anderson in due course (all hair flowing and Lawgiver drawn) and post soon.
Meanwhile,this range comes highly recommended to all JD fans and those wanting some high quality sci-fi figures for skirmishing/displaying.

That's it for now,

Monty

Blogger Issues!

Anyone else experiencing Blogger issues at present?
My account is playing up and won't let me edit, create or post updates - bloody frustrating!
This post is being produced on my phone; not sure if the problem is Blogger-centric, or something to do with my clapped-out PC.
The irony is that I actually have some update stuff to post for once!
Time will no doubt tell...
That's it for, now,
Monty

300: Rise of an Empire Trailer 2013 Official Teaser - 2014 Movie [HD]

Hmm...this looks pretty good...larger in scale, but hopefully not losing that original, graphic novel feel. Time will tell, no doubt.

That's it for now,

Monty

Classic War Films Upgrade

I'm very aware of my lack of posting lately - there is painting (of sorts) going on in the background - but life has been soooo busy recently.

I will put some stuff up soon, but in the meantime, I though I would quickly highlight my latest classic war film upgrading to blu-ray from DVD (yes, extravagant, I know - but necessary...)

All are fantastic conversions with excellent full HD picture quality and Dolby 5.1 sound which breathes new life into them all round.

More to follow, including The Dambusters, which should have arrived with these, but has been delayed - drat!

That's it for now,

Monty

Ryse: Son of Rome Official E3 Gameplay Demo

Is it to be the PS4 or Xbox One? Don't know, but games like this could tip the balance; Call of Duty meets the Roman army...looks fantastic.

That's it for now,

Monty

The Eagle's Nest

A hectic period of relocating, changing jobs and general confusion has largely passed and allowed me to settle into my new surroundings - the spare box room - now dubbed, ahem, 'The Eagle's Nest'.

You see, sadly, I am not blessed with the sort of grandiose bespoke gaming real estate ( 40 feet long gaming room/shed/outhouse/pavilion/basement et al.) that some of my more fortunate blogging buddies have; so it's a humble 7' x 7' domain that schizophrenically acts as office, library, painting room, retreat, sulking/brooding hole.

However, that said, I count my blessings and realise that I am more fortunate than some, who have to make do with less. Be aware, poor photography follows...

The centre of my 'empire', with recently acquired natural light lamp; painting activity - of sorts - has resumed.

Pretentious, 'panoramic', 360-ish view of my humble bolt hole...ho hum... ;)

I must  try now and squeeze some painting in somewhere between everything else going on at the moment!

That's it for now,

Monty

Unleash Hell!

My attempts at clearing (some) of my ever-increasing backlog of unfinished swag continues with the completion of warlord's 28 mm Roman general based on Ridley Scott's  Maximus from the epic film, Gladiator.

(Warning: Poor photography ahead) I quite like the model's sculpt which has nice, crisp detail generally, although the rear of his cloak is a little flat and lacking definition. The model's nose, too had become flattened during transit, despite its robust blister pack, so I had to improvise with a tiny blob of PVA glue, which, once dried, sufficed suitably.

I based both Maximus and his trusty hound individually, but made this scratch-built stand from which they can survey developments in Germania. 

I went for the closest match I could to the film for the colours of his kit, rather than go for my own version; not very original I know, but hey-ho.

Well, there he is, ready to stick it to the Goths, now what else do I have lying around still to be painted? Oh, yeah...tons :D

That's it for now,

Monty

Conquest Games 28mm Norman Infantry

Here are the first of my Conquest Games Norman Infantry that I received as a Christmas present from my lovingly sympathetic (to my "silly little soldier thingies") woman. I have been unfeasibly busy just lately due to relocating, being made redundant and leaving my previous career of twenty-nine years to starting a new job, to do anything else on the creative front; so these will have to suffice for now.

However, that said, I must say that I have been impressed with these latest additions to the ever-increasing multi-part plastic range from various companies now available on the market. It is possible to make up to forty-four Norman infantry soldiers wearing varying degrees of protection and armed with a variety of weapons, including Danish axes, swords and spears. Most carry the famous Norman kite shield, although there are a couple of round shields per sprue if you prefer to add a little more diversity to your troops' appearance. most are helmeted in a variety of head dress, although some are bare-headed and sport the distinctive Norman barnet.

One of the two command sprues featuring a handy 'dead' marker. The detail and sculpting is excellent throughout, although the figures are a little tall - 30mm toe to eye - compared to other similar ranges, which may cause a problem when it comes to matching them off against each other.

I painted up a selection of four initial examples, including the armoured knight from the command sprue and was pleasantly surprised. All figures are nicely proportioned and dynamically posed. In addition I used the excellent shield transfers from Battle Flag to complete the look.

 

I prefer versatility with my miniatures and so have based them individually, but in this case, added a scratch-built unit stand to allow figure removal.

 

To sum up, a great example of a quality product of my favourite early medieval troops just waiting for some dedicated Saxon opposition - can't wait.

That's it for now,

Monty

Battle Flag

This is a very quick post -  with poor phone photography - to hastily highlight the excellent quality and fantastic turn around (two days) of Battle Flag's very impressive shield water slide decals; in this case for Conquest Game's lovely Norman Infantry.

Here they are, jaunty photo angle and all, in all their glory - yes, I know, there is a horrible flash obscuring part of them; but they are amazing quality. Suitably 'grubby' with blood and mud effects spattered over them - perfect; I've never been into 'day-glo' historical figures, the grubbier, the better, I say, so they suit me ideally!

That's it for now,

Monty

Warlord Games 'Boadicea Triumphant!'

I've almost finished Warlord Game's excellent 'BoadiceaTriumphant' model and have attempted to do it what limited justice I could.

I would have completed it weeks ago as unlike me, I decided to mount a big push and get it done in relatively quick time.  The little woman had, after all, bought it me over a year ago and it was only fair I should make an effort to show her the completed version in order to ensure her continued procurement policy towards my chaotically disorganised hobby. However, my hospital stint and four weeks' convalescence put paid to that and so it was inevitably delayed.

The constituent parts prior to clean-up and priming; the figures have a nice, heroic feel to them, with 'Boadicea' herself bearing a passing resemblance to actress Alex Kingston, who, coincidently featured in a woeful television drama about the warrior queen some years ago.

There's not a great deal of room aboard the chariot, and so with this in mind and to ensure a good grip, I drilled locating holes in its bed and pinned the models' feet to assist their gluing later.

The (almost) finished model;  due to the unforgiving scale, I drilled the horses' bits prior to priming in order to feed thread through to act as reins but have yet to fix them. The problem will be where to feed them to as neither of the figures has been sculpted with them in mind.

I was thinking of maybe scattering a spare Roman scutum onto the base and even fix a couple of (bent) pila into the side of the chariot to represent battlefield chaos, but decided against it as being too 'busy' and distracting.

Really enjoyed building this one and look forward attempting more Warlord stuff in the not-too-distant future.

That's it for now,

Monty



Happy New Year!

I've been wallowing in the annual festive fug  and all normal routine has been duly kicked into touch. However, prior to breaking off for Christmas I did complete a number of long term jobs I had on the go for some time and will post them upon my return to London in the New Year.

In the meantime a picture of my very modest Christmas swag will have to suffice - the little woman and I decided upon austerity measures this year due to the impending, delayed global financial collapse.  There are a couple of things missing, a few bottles of grog and  a blu-ray of one of my favourite films, Gangs of New York.

Two things worth mentioning; wargaming took a back seat on my austerity list, as I already have numerous uncompleted projects littered about the place. However, I can't wait to get my mitts on Conquest Games' Norman Infantry, which upon initial inspection, look great.

Another pressie I'm looking forward to getting to grips with is 'Decision Points' - the political memoirs of George W.Bush. We all know he is widely ridiculed - often unjustifiably - particularly among the naturally Left-leaning European press and has made a number of gaffes, usually during public speaking events; however, I find him fascinating and am looking forward to reading his account; my thoughts of which will be posted in due course.

2013 is a monumental year for me on a personal front, as redundancy looms which brings to an end nearly twenty-nine years service as a soldier in the British Army due to defence cuts. Suffice to say, new challenges abound!

All that remains though is to wish you all a very Happy New Year and look forward to more painting, gaming and blogging (but almost certainly not in that order!)

That's it for now,

Monty

Combat Mission Normandy Tactics Episode I

Been playing this a lot lately and this Armchair General video gives a good introduction to the game's tactical depth (annoying - fire superiority - voice aside) and comparative realism.

Having played many WW2 computer simulations over the years, this series, since its inception in 2000, stands out as an engrossing and accurate interpretation of Second World War combat.

Bizarrely,  playing it has got me back into a Crossfire mood again and I'm drifting towards yet another project; this time 15mm PSC armies for use with these classic Arty Conliffe rules...although time will tell...hey ho...

That's it for now,

Monty

Leibster Award

Great stuff!

My paltry efforts have resulted in the fine gentlemen Nick and Greg kindly nominating me for this auspicious award. Many thanks, chaps!

Their respective excellent blogs are here and well worth following with immediate effect:

http://20mmgamer.blogspot.co.nz/2012/11/good-afternoon-steve-fine-fellow-behind.html



http://gregswargamingblog.blogspot.co.uk/   "The rules:

- "Copy and paste" the award on your blog, and talk about it a bit.

- Select for the award your five favourite blogs with less than 200 followers, leaving a comment on one of their post to notify them that they have won the award. You need also to list them in your own blog.

- Enjoy the moment, knowing that you have just made someone's day.

- Of course, there is no obligation to pass the award, but it is a good deed really."


The blogs, in no particular order, are:

Solo Wargaming in the UK
http://solowargamingintheuk.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/foam-card-buildings.html  


Chroniques du fort Bastiani
http://chroniquesdufortbastiani.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/flint-and-furs-stories.html


The Wargame Shed
 http://thewargameshed.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/first-look-saga-ravens-shadow.html


Geordie's Big Battles
 http://exiledfog.blogspot.co.uk/


Wargaming for Grown-ups
 http://wargaming4grownups.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/guns-guns-guns.html


There are of course many more, all of which are fantastic reads and worth linking up with.  

That's it for now,

Regards,

Monty