Makeshift Barricades

I picked up a couple of Warlord resin pieces of scenery from one of my go-to guys - these are from Warlord's Anglo-Zulu War range.  I got these with an eye to using them in games set in America - so Dracula's America, Dead Man's Hand and Rebels and Patriots.

First up, a versatile barricade/supply pile made up of boxes and bags:

That will work either as a makeshift barricade, or even just as some scatter next to a general store or the like.

Secondly a rather impressive piece - the wagon barricade.  Obviously, this is a bit more for special scenarios rather than every day shootouts in our little town of Bethany, Nevada but I couldn't resist buying one as it's just too cool!

A cool feature is that it is designed to hold some miniatures - from testing it seems designed more for smaller base sizes, I could only fit one 25mm based chap on it but it's still a nice option.

There was a lot of paper-thin flashing on the wagon barricade piece, but easy to clean up.  The boxes and bags barricade required only minimal work.

They are nice pieces that will add some much needed cover for our outlaws and lawmen!

The Kushites - Hêtshepsu's Retinue

"Get off me! Arrgh!! Help!" screamed the prone Roman legionary as a warcat savaged his left leg. 

Hêtshepsu walked toward the man calmly, and in a gentle tone ordered his pet, Nebibi, off.

"Now, Roman, tell me what you and your accursed band were planning in this most holy temple?" the chieftain addressed the bloodied legionary.

The Roman spat "I'll not answer to you, Kushite scum"

With a flash Hêtshepsu swung his heavy golden scepter into the face of his enemy and the legionary fell silent.

"Well if you won't tell me, I suppose we'll have to hunt down more of your people to get to the root of this."

And now for the final warband for Broken Legions - my homebrew crew, the Kushites.  These, except where mentioned otherwise, are all from Warlord's range - but last I checked they weren't available as they are due to be re-released later in 2021.

Anyway, first up the Chieftain, Hêtshepsu and his beloved warcat Nebibi:

I gave the Chieftain a spare shield and clipped the leash off the cat so he could be based separately.

Bringing some divine/magical power to the band is the Priest of Apedemak - called Anok Sabé.  Of course, as a priest of a lion god he had to be accompanied by a lion! The rather hefty lion is called Baraka and is from DeeZee Miniatures:

A pair of Champions round out the Heroes choices.  Here's Mkhai (L) and Khenti (R):

Carrying the warband's standard is a proud chap named Ashai:

Providing a strong core to the warband are the warriors (L-R) Wati, Mdjai, Buikhu, Nomti and Urshé:

Of course, with the Kushites being famed archers it was important to have a strong contingent of bow-armed troops too! (L-R) Shenti, Sebi, Benipé, Adjo and Mshai:

I'm really pleased with how they've turned out - I'm glad I waited until I had suitable skin tone paints from Foundry for these guys.  As with the rest of the Broken Legions collection they feature tufts from Tajima 1 and Boon Town Metals so place them all in the same world.

So, that's all the warbands for Broken Legions - but there's still plenty to come; auxilia and wandering monsters... then there's the small matter of playing some games! 😆

Ubara-Mulge the Chaldean

A devout man and priest of an almost-forgotten god of the Underworld, Ubara-Mulge traces his line back through to the times when the Chaldeans were a mighty people.  He knows many prayers of supplication to his patron god and, using the powers granted to him, he is able to raise and command the restless dead – an ability that makes him feared and hated in equal measure.

Ubara-Mulge is seeking ancient knowledge to supplement his studies – his deepest desire is to summon forth his god to claim the lands of men for himself (although it’s no surprise he keeps this quiet from the warbands who hire him).

This is our option for the Necromancer Auxilia.  Ubara-Mulge is the special Necromancer 'book mini' for Warlords of Erehwon (they call it 'Arise O Restless Dead').  The skeletons for him to summon in games are from Wargames Atlantic's Classic Fantasy range (I picked up a single sprue from eBay).  These are perfect for this project - I had tried the Warlord Erehwon skeletons first but they were absolutely horrendous (separate feet, y'wha?!) so got binned - thankfully Wargames Atlantic released much better skeletons!

The Argonauts - The Queen's Hand

Hippias, named the Devoted for his unwavering dedication to Hera, entered the Heraion.  He approached the statue of his Goddess and laid a small golden talisman at her feet between the flickering candles and burning incense.  

"O, Honoured Hera, of goddesses most excellent far, thine am I, all things are thine, and thou sittest authentic Queen of Olympus, and we fear no other female hand" the warrior said, as much with his heart as with his voice.

From his left Hippias caught a glimpse of the Oracle Clio.  She smiled gently as she approached, her arms open in greeting. "Hippias, the Queen will be most pleased at your offering - if you would let me, I can direct you to where more treasures await. Their liberation at the hand of those dedicated to blessed Hera would greatly please the Queen of all gods..."

Another warband is finished for Broken Legions - and this time it is The Argonauts (aka the shoehorn to allow people to use ancient Greek minis in the game).  Except where mentioned, these are all from Warlord.

Argonaut warbands are headed up by an Argonaut Captain - so here's Hippias the Devoted:

A pair of Heraclean Champions provides some muscle - here's Teukros (L) and Xuthos (R):

And rounding out the hero-level warband options an Orphean Champion called Icarion (L) and an Oracle called Clio of Mycenae (R):

Clio is a Gangs of Rome miniature from Footsore (Tisiphone).

Of course, you can't have an Argonauts warband without some Argonauts! First up, a trio of spear-armed chaps (L-R) Mydon, Agetos and Pythios:

And some with a mixture of xiphos and kopis style blades. These are (L-R) Iobates, Danaos, Koinos and Hypenor:

Using up the rest of the Warlord games sprue are a couple of Mercenary Hoplites.  I tried to make them visually different by using grey, which hopefully still complements the purple and white of the rest of the warband. These are called Eurybotas (L) and Ombrion (R):

Adding a little ranged firepower are a couple of archers from Victrix.  These are Diokles (L) and Anaxis (R):

I've once again kept the same basing theme across all the Broken Legions collection to place them in the same world.

Hollywood Germans HQ

Inspired by the Trials of a Casual Wargamer blog podcast on Bolt Action and Konflikt 47 (available on the podcast app thingy of your choice, so please do check it out!) I looked back over my related posts and it seems I missed posting my little three-man Bolt Action HQ back when I covered all my (non-vehicle) stuff!  About time I put that right I think!

It's headed up by one of the metal Officer minis from the German Army HQ (1943-45) pack from Warlord - the two bodyguard chaps were made from left-over SS sprue bits IIRC:

Yeah, I cheesed out a little by giving the bodyguards assault rifles - but as they aren't a massive squad it's not too bad I think!

Of course, these can be used in games of Konflikt 47 too where they are co-opted into the Okkultekorps!

Nagai Yasunari and friends

Back when Test of Honour was first a thing I got the starter set - but wasn't keen on the style of the plastics, so instead I put together a force from almost entirely Perry Miniatures wonderful Samurai range. 

Now, a while later and as we have an organise/clear out of our house I've found the force (one chap did make a guest appearance on the blog posing a little while back, see if you recognise any of them!) so thought I'd share them here as the mood strikes me.

Before I start, I feel I should make it absolutely clear that I paint my samurai and the likes as though they are in a Sengoku Musō game - colourful and without particular regard for historical accuracy of any kind! I'm really not sure why I thought circles would make good heraldry though 😅

That out of the way, what better way to start this series of posts than with the samurai to head up the force - and the leader is Nagai Yasunari:

He counts two boon companions - first Yamashita Takeshi, strong and true:

And Ishiwatari Kazunobu, a wily older warrior and mentor to Yasunari:

Finally for the samurai, and the only non-Perry miniature (it's the armourless samurai from Warlord that was part of the original Test of Honour pack - now found in a Warlords of Erehwon set I believe), Yasunari is sometimes joined by a master swordsman who eschews the use of armour; Amisaki Hyotaru:

I'll share more from this force when I've had time to check them over and photograph them - if you love blue clothes and armour you'll surely enjoy this project 😂

Flammenwerfer

One of the least-used units in the Bolt Action (/Konflikt 47) collection is the Flamethrower team:

I'm pretty pleased with how the flame turned out, but I just don't seem to find much of a place for it in my lists!  I'm still pleased to have it in the collection, maybe I'll have to try it out more to get to grips with how to better use it in games!

The brains behind the Okkultekorps

The infamous chief scientist of the Okkultekorps is Professor Doktor Egon Lange - a brilliant man who takes advantage of the freedom granted to him by his position to carry out ever more reprehensible acts of experimentation in the name of the Reich.

He has often taken to the field to lead special missions of the Okkultekorps where he cannot trust Untersturmführer Mayer - although his tactical acumen pales compared to his scientific mind he has not been without success in a series of bitter clashes with the hated Britische Schwein. 

Professor Doktor Egon Lange

Lange's long-suffering assistant (and nominally second-in-command of the research division of the Okkultekorps) is Doktor Karl Fischer.  Karl is an experienced and able scientist - but years of berating from Lange have torn his nerves to shreds.

Doktor Karl Fischer

Recently dispatched by Obersturmführer Klingemann to act as bodyguard for Lange, Sturmscharführer Helga Stocker was actually a childhood friend of the Professor - although he doesn't like to admit it, he is actually quite fond of the statuesque soldier even if she does sometimes annoy him with her optimistic attitude.

Sturmscharführer Helga Stocker

The Okkultekorps are often used by the Propagandkompanie to show the overwhelming power and certain victory of the Reich - it is common to find taskforces of the Korps accompanied by a cameraman to capture footage to show the Volk their successes.

Propagandakompanie Kameramann, probably called Karl

I got Lange from eBay but do not know the manufacturer.  Same goes for Karl and Helga!  The Kameramann was a gift from Trials... 😀

Boom!

Today I thought I'd share my Panzerschreck team - they don't seem able to hit a barn door with a banjo, but they provide a mobile anti-tank threat (at least in theory if not in practice - but then maybe the threat itself serves its own purpose? 🤔

The team are quite dynamic, posed as though running from cover to cover to try to line up the perfect shot... 'try' being the operative word! 😅

Headshot!

 

One of the options that is easily made from a standard sprue is the Sniper Team - so given I've had some spare chaps left over from the squads I've assembled it's no surprise I've got a couple of teams made up.  First this one is from the Grenadier sprue using a couple of kneeling legs:

I went for a map on the spotter guy (aka the first casualty to remove).

The other team used bits from the Waffen-SS sprue if I recall correctly:

The first casualty in this team is carrying a loaded rifle ready to hand off to the actual sniper.

I tend to take a Sniper team in almost every BA or K47 list, which one depends on which is nearest when I'm picking the list from the Easy Army PDF 😂

Barbarians - Orgetorix's Last Adventure

Even the thrill of the boar hunt didn't excite Orgetorix anymore.  He'd grown tired of ruling and tired of the easy life that his station offered him.  The towering chieftain let out a sigh.  His trusted companion Adnamati had a worried look on his face, but thought better of voicing any concerns.

The fierce Carino had no such qualms "Chief, you have bested your enemies long since, you have gold and land enough for your children's children's children.  What could cause you to sigh on the best day of the week - the hunt!".

Orgetorix was taken aback, he'd not thought about what was causing his malaise but the blunt words of Carino made him think.  

That was it - he needed some real excitement again! Time for one final adventure!

Those pesky Romans needed someone to face in battle and of my available options I decided to paint the Gauls first!

Here's the leader of the warband - Orgetorix the Great, with his two wardogs (L-R) Cintus and Allos:

Next are the Champions for the warband - Orgetorix's right hand men - (L-R) Carino the Strong and Adnamati the Brave:

Providing the warband with some magical power is Vitousurix the Wild, a druid:

Carrying the standard for the warband is the warrior Balatonux:

A couple of mainstay warriors next - armoured and carrying Celtic Lances - (L-R) Vocagni and Albic:

A trio of berserkers (linebreakers, semi-dressed shouty chaps, whatever you want to call them - the rules call them berserkers so we'll go with that) - (L-R) Remico, Victi and Licno:

Finally we have a couple more warriors - less tooled up than Vocagni and Albic, but offering some cheaper options - (L-R) Borso and Epos:

These are all Warlord minis - the warriors and berserkers (minus the standard) are from a single plastic sprue, the rest are metal minis from the Warlord range.  Despite not being a fan of the plastic Celt Warriors sculpts (seriously, too many are bent double at the waist) I'm happy with how the warband has turned out.  I kept the same tufts as for the Roman warband which should hopefully place them all in the same world.