Throwback – RPC 2010 Cologne Tabletop Demo Area
I somehow missed the proper opportunity for this throwback in 2020, as it would have fit the 10-year anniversary.
During my studies, while I was editor-in-chief for a German wargaming portal, I was approached by Michael Kränzle, back then with Leuchtameisen and owner / editor-in-chief at GamesOrbit, before being head of marketing at Pegasus Spiele and now fulfilling this role at Heidelbär. GamesOrbit was one of the media partners of the RolePlayConvention that moved from Münster to Cologne in 2009, and the show had its troubles to integrate tabletop wargaming into its portfolio.
Michael has a soft spot for miniature wargaming and wanted to push that hobby within the spectrum of tabletop games and was looking for somebody who could support that vision. And for that reason, he got in touch with me. He thought of some kind of christmas market, with small booths and lots of space for participation area. And that was kind of a problem, because usually you book a booth at a fair and depending on the pricing or the size of your booth, the venue may give you some space for that kind of activity. But it's usually pricy.
Cruel Seas – Royal Navy Flotilla
To counter the Kriegsmarine in Cruel Seas, we have a flotilla of the Royal Navy. This would be themed around the English Channel and North Sea, to cover the battles between the German and British vessels in those areas. Again, this is meant to be used as a stand-alone as well as combined with Blood Red Skies and Bolt Action, or other world war 2 systems for campaign games.
I am not even fixed on Cruel Seas for this one, I played Action Stations at CONflict and would be fine, using that as well.
For the names of the vessels, it is a bit different as it depends on the size or class of the ship, if it has just a number or a name. Wikipedia is quite helpful here, as they provide a proper overview.
Bolt Action A34 Comet Cruiser Tank
We've covered the lighter Cromwell tank before (the resin kit in 2013 and the plastic kit in 2014 - only in German), and we're following up on this class of British tanks, with another draft from 2018's backlog we're completing today - the A34 Comet Cruiser Tank.
My attention to the Comet Cruiser tank came from World of Tanks, as I really enjoyed playing the Tier VII medium tank back then. So, when Warlord Games added the kit to their range, I just had to have and now want to share the build report / review with a bit of delay with you.
Cruel Seas – Kriegsmarine Flotilla
So, here I am with my Kriegsmarine Flotilla for Cruel Seas. Next step would be painting the ships. Therefore I researched camouflage and denominations for those models.
With the German Navy it was not custom to give boats names. Some crews gave their ships inofficial names, but those were never documented in the navy records. The policy to name ship classes after the first boat of that class, was first used after the war and introduced by the Bundesmarine (the navy of the Federal German Republic). Sweeping boats didn't originally carry the class names listed on pages like wikipedia and such. A bit like with Hetzer for the Jagdpz. 38t.
Bolt Action Bishop Self Propelled Gun
We covered a few self-propelled guns in the past, and some that didn't make it to tank week, just like this Bishop QF 25 pdr SPG. But today is his day and we cover him in a review.
This is a 28mm resin kit by Warlord Games with a RRP of 31,50 GBP / 38 EUR. It is listed as a made to order kit, which does not mean he is mail order exclusive, but just something that is less likely to be on stock and is casted once ordered. Your local gaming store can order them in and it might not come in a boxed set with printed artwork, but a neutral packaging. As I had this kit for a long time (and this review is in draft since 2018), mine came wrapped in bubble wrap with a sticker on it.
Converting the Middle East Houses
A while back I've covered the Middle Eastern Houses in a review, and with a second box of these, I began tinkering. A bit of cutting, a bit of filling and re-arranging.
The first batch looked like this, incl. the general mud house available from Renedra as well.
So I grabbed myself the stack of sprues, and played around a bit.
Bolt Action Tiger I Ausf. E
This is one comes from the vault and prepared for a while now, but somehow got sidetracked with the further completion.
The Tiger I Ausf. E is a plastic kit, produced by Italeri for Warlord Games in 28mm / 1:56. We've covered Tiger I and IIs on here before, among others by Warlord Games and Rubicon, in plastic and in resin.
The Tiger I was a German heavy tank of world war II, with the official designation PzKpfw. VI (ordnance inventory Sd.Kfz. 181) and was produced by Henschel. A total number of 1,347 units were build between 1942 and 1944 and were in service on the Eastern Front, North Africa and Europe in the late war. The early variants were prone to track failures and breakdowns, and the tank in general was expensive to maintain and to produce (expensive materials and labour intensive production methods). One of the reasons why, even as it was an impressive "war machine", it was overengineered. There were prototypes, for example by Porsche on the Tiger I development, the VK 45.01 (P), the hull was later used for the Ferdinand.
June 2023 review
June was pretty heavy on the Leviathan release for Warhammer 40,000. And as I mentioned in the through the ages article, it kinda hit me with nostalgia. So, even when I'm not playing 10th edition of 40k, I had fun unboxing and covering the miniatures, and the overall experience - beside the scarcity (which seems to turn out not being that big of a problem) - was quite positive.
And to give you an idea, what it means when we cover such a huge release, more than 400 pictures were taken for the entire coverage. But I am looking forward to the next "epic" release in the Grim Dark future.
May 2023 review
In May we had another wargaming event, and I was at CONflict Rheinland, and I can't wait for the next event - which might not be earlier than August with BOYL (yes, we booked our flights). But as I said, had a great time at Langenfeld, met new people and played some games.
Bolt Action – SdKfz 250/1 250/3 and 250/10 variants Ausf. A
The German motor pool receives another addition. Warlord Games picks up the Sd.Kfz. 250 "Alte" again, and adds further variants for the Ausführung A.
The Sd.Kfz 250/1 is the leichter Schützenpanzerwagen, the standard troop carrier. Build straight from the sprues, no additional parts or conversion needed. There is already a multi-option box available, giving you access to the /9 leichter Schützenpanzerwagen (2 cm), a Reconnaissance variant with a 2 cm KwK 38 autocannon and a small turret, identical with the one of the Sd.Kfz. 222 armoured cars, and the /11 leichter Schützenpanzerwagen (schwere Panzerbüchse 41), with a heavy anti-tank rifle and an MG 34. This new set, covers two additional sprues, adding the /3 leichter Funkpanzerwagen, command variant, equipped with radio equipment and /10 leichter Schützenpanzerwagen (3.7 cm PaK), another reconnaissance variant with the 3.7 cm PaK 35/36, variants.
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