Lord of the Rings, Cruel Seas and Light Upgrade
The Rohan reviews for next week are ready, I had the time to tinker on these kit and prepare some scale pictures. Very interesting kits, beyond the fantasy setting. But more on that later.
Black Powder – Compagnies Franches de la Marine
The box of the Compagnies Franches de la Marine was published years ago by Warlord Games, but came into focus again with the publication of the black powder supplement "A Dark And Bloody Ground" for the French and Indian War. Various special offers from Warlord Games included this box, so it's worth a look.
Krupp Protze in the Spanish Civil War
Around early summer last year, I added another light vehicle (a T-26) to my Spanish Civil War (SCW) army. And I am always looking for further, small and/or light (armoured) vehicles to add to this project.
I knew about the heavy field car Krupp Protze being used by the Wehrmacht, mostly as Sd.Kfz. 70 or 69. As it was service since 1934 until the end of world war 2, it would fit into the time frame of the SCW. But when I found this picture in the spanish Bolt Action group on facebook, in service of the nationalist army during the spanish civil war (as Sd.Kfz. 69 towing a PaK 36), I thought it might be a good addition to that project.
And indeed, it would be a good fit for the Bolt Action project. I play the Nationalist as an early war army and the Krupp Protze is simply a heavy field car with a transport capacity of up to 6 and / or a tow for smaller guns. As it would be either a nice transport for a small veteran unit, or to tow a PaK 36 as it is shown in the picture. The civil war was even the first theatre of war, where the gun saw action. So "fluff-wise" we're absolutely safe here.
Weekend Update and January White Dwarf
My vacation is over, work has me back, so the overall output was a bit more relaxed compared to the week before. Last year, when the Rohan buildings were released, I was in touch with Games Workshop, so that I could a larger review on the new buildings. Unfortunately the Stronghold sold out unexpectedly quick and it took a bit of time to find an alternative. Long story short, in addition to the single Rohan House and Palisade & Watchtower kit, a batch of houses arrived from Radaddel. Thanks to both of them, now I can get started.
Because that was the reason, I didn't already do the review. I wanted to cover as much of that multi-purpose awesomeness that I think this kit is. And that will probably take the most time to handle the input and agree in my mind, what I am gonna build from the pieces.
Kick-Off 2020
As promissed, instead of closing the year with a summary, I want to look ahead into 2020 with a proper Kick-Off.
I could begin with the usual new years resolution, setting unrealistic goals like not buying any new miniatures before the others are painted and such. But I want to focus on activities that are fun, that are pro-active. And as such, I want to have a good time in 2020. The goal is not necessarily to have a better time, but to keep on having a good time with(in) my hobby. As pictures speak more than words, more of this:
Outlook for 2020 – What’s on Dino’s table…
2019 is history and, as it always is, every new year begins with a series of excellent intentions. For me, however, the list is very short. I could make a lot of great promises to myself, but if we're honest, we already know that this is a wasted effort in the hobby anyway. But as a german saying goes, " Realizing is the first step towards improvement".
For this reason I looked at my unpainted minis and I realized one thing in particular - there are way too many. So the only good intention I have made for this year is not to buy any new minis and to get rid of old stuff I won't paint. The only exception is at the beginning of the year, because I always wanted to have an Ogre team for Blood Bowl and it was already the plan to get the Orc booster for the second season of the Journey of the Maulers project. So my whole shopping list for 2020 looks like this:
- Orc booster for season 2 of the Maulers
- Ogre team
- Ogre booster
Cruel Seas US PT boat
In the January 2019 issue of Wargames Illustrated (WI 375) they gave out a free sprue of the US PT Boats (or Torpedoes) for Cruel Seas, and cover an Elco and a Higgins PT boat each. The sprues are the same from the US Navy PT boat flotilla (included there 3 times). I have covered the other two plastic sprues for the game, the German S-Boats and British Vospers already here.
In the mid of World War 2, the US Navy only had 3 squadrons of MTB (motor torpedo boats) or PT boats (patrol torpedo) as they were named in the US. The US Navy had access to the Vospers due to a licensing arrangement with Great Britain, and roughly 146 units were build for Lend Lease and were exported to Allied Powers like Canada, Britain and the Soviet Union. Yet only 50 were used by the Roval Navy and none were used by the US Navy.
And I am back!
We began the new year with a brief vacation in England, with trips to London and Nottingham.
Spent the majority of the time in London, going for a city tour. We had our daughter with us, so this was a family trip and not a guys tour as some of the other journeys I have covered here. Therefore content and focus was a bit different, but I'll come to that later.
While in London, we went for some of the must-haves, parks and squares, that would be accessable with a stroller. While near Hyde Park I came across the Animals in War Memorial, and had to think of of the Man with the Donkey in Wellington, NZ at the National War Memorial. Of course, with my latest interest in the age of sail, and Black Seas, a visit to Trafalgar Square was out of question. And you know about my gusto for burgers, so having the chance to drop by one of the very few Shake Shacks outside of the United States, I just had to.
4th Advent Weekender
I hope you had a solid december so far and can enjoy the upcoming holidays! It's the 4th advent and we're pretty close to Christmas. So let's take a look on what's cooking this weekend.
The new Rohan Buildings seem to be very popular, thus the Stronghold bundle was sold out in no time. I managed to acquire a kit of the town house and the tower / wall segment, that I'll cover in the new year. I am really looking forward to this, as the multipart kit provides a lot of freedom towards your creative needs.
3rd Advent Weekender
We are heading fast towards the end of the year. And an expected envelope from Sweden arrived. Didn't connect any of the nordic countries with the fulfillment of the subscription or parcel services.
Wargames Soldiers & Strategies Great Wargaming Survey, prices for the survey participants have been sent and received. I went for the tank commander sprue, as you can see casting is well and less glossy than in the past with human miniatures.
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