Medic!

I got a medic as part of the HQ pack from Warlord Games - over the years I've added a couple of other minis to allow me to field a small team if I choose to:

The central chap is the Warlord Medic, the pointy chap is an Artizan Fallschirmjager Command mini - I picked him as he has a couple of satchels that look like he is carrying medical supplies.  The chap with the stretcher I got from a random eBay seller but can't find a source for the mini - if it rings any bells with you, please let me know!

Wargaming Idea Stew

Like all good hobbyists I have tonnes of ideas reaching far beyond what I already have - I think of it as a kind of wargaming stew on the stove being slow cooked - some of these bubble up to the surface with more regularity than others and are likely to be dished up sooner rather than later (keep stretching that metaphor Alex!).  

Photo by Shikhar Singh from Pexels

Anyway, I thought I'd ramble a bit about the current ideas that just seem to keep popping up!  These are in no particular order, they are just what most commonly comes to mind when I start thinking about that 'next project'.

Germans vs Black's Division (Černý oddí)
A very small BA project to pay tribute to my Romani heritage in some small tabletop way (I have plenty for my Irish side already after all!).  This idea had floated around a little while (largely inspired by the article on Romea.cz - They weren't just victims: Roma, forgotten heroes of the anti-Nazi resistance) and the freebie Winter German sprue that came with an issue of WGI cemented it a little bit more.  So for the German side, I plan on sorting a very small list on Easy Army to guide the purchases to finish that half.  For Black's Division I'm toying with a couple of options - Artizan's Resistance and Partizans range and/or Crusader Miniatures Partisans. I'm going to keep this very small - couple of small squads of Germans and then a Resistance force of equivalent points - around 500 points I think should give a few options each side but not break the bank.

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth vs Ottoman Empire
I spotted the 16th century Polish and Ottoman ranges on Pendraken's site whilst ordering my Tyrone's Rebellion stuff and haven't been able to shift it from my head since. Seriously, it just keeps on popping back into my brain! I think I'll see how I feel painting up my Tyrone's Rebellion stuff - if I take to 10mm, this could shape up to be a decent sized project.

Post-Human Republic
I'd toyed with the idea of starting Dropzone Commander a few months ago, but couldn't quite make the value for the Post-Human Republic work out enough to convince me to take the plunge and I didn't want to 'make do' with one of the others that offered a better value starter.  Well, TTCombat must have been reading my mind or something because they are releasing a PHR Starter Army in a couple of days time that looks a great value starting point! This is definitely on my radar now - might not even need much beyond that starter set... who am I kidding, those walkers all look awesome!

Achaemenid Persians
I mentioned about 6mm catching my eye on Twitter and ended up having a conversation with Trials... about it - he mentioned that he had eyed the Greeks for this scale, which as luck would have it would be a perfect foe for the Achaemenid Persians that had piqued my interest! Not sure what ruleset to use for this project, which is a bit of a sticking point to this moving forward at the moment.

Between all the existing stuff and this little lot I think that should keep me going... yeah right! 😉

Soldiers of the Eagle - Legio II Adiutrix's Finest

Former Centurion Gaius Vinicius was not one to complain, but he was questioning the Gods right now.

Two years ago he'd been taken from his Legio with a mere handful of men and ordered by Praefectus Hostus Allectus himself to carry out work for the glory of Rome. Gaius didn't really understand the importance of what he was doing - most of his orders came through the Frumentarius he knew only as 'the Shadow'. 'Fetch this clay tablet' or 'find this forgotten temple and note the carvings', that kind of thing.  Sure it might be important to Allectus, and maybe even important to Rome, but Gaius wasn't convinced.

His men had begun to grumble; these were once marines, taken into Legio II Adiutrix and serving with distinction in many campaigns. Errand boys they were not. But still, thanks to their loyalty to Gaius Vinicius they continued to carry out their duties.

Little did Gaius and his men know, they were about to be plunged headfirst into a secret war that was being fought between Rome and her many enemies.

Well, it has taken a while (now I look back, over two years 😱) but remember those Soldiers of the Eagle I posted about? Well I've only gone and actually painted them!

First, thanks to Quick Play Rules on Twitter for providing the seed of inspiration behind the colour scheme - and therefore the fanciful background for this warband above!

Here's (former) Centurion Gaius Vinicius, leader of the warband and soon to find himself up against all sorts of enemies!  He's pictured with his loyal (and fierce) dog - Cerasus:

Next up are (L-R) Flavius and Titus - in Broken Legions these are Praetorians (think of them as Champ level guys):

Next is the shifty Frumentarius, Aspasius the Shadow - he's not just Gaius' handler, but will take to the field too to ensure success for his master's ambitions:

Next up is Marcus - a legionary with the standard upgrade:

Providing the backbone of the warband are the legionaries (L-R) Caelus, Oppius and Tertius:

Three more legionaries armed with pila give another option - (L-R) Placus, Appius, Sextus:

Finally, a couple of auxiliaries have been conscripted - these Baleares give another ranged option to Gaius' warband. Here's (L-R) Lyco and Citro:

All are Warlord Games minis except the Frumentarius (Footsore's Gangs of Rome range) and the Baleares (Victrix).  Having decided on blue shields I tried to tie in the non-Legionary minis - I think it works well enough.  I finished the bases with tufts from Tajima1 (grass) and Boon Town Metals (flowers) - I hope to do similar basing across all the Broken Legions collection to tie them into the same world.

Forward Observers

 

Early on in my Bolt Action journey my good friend Trials of a Casual Wargamer gifted me with the German Heer FOO team - the chap with the map became a spotter for my Mortar, but the pack included a couple of other Observers - first the rather cool radio operator:

This mini is almost like a self-contained little diorama with the SMG resting against the radio. Really nice mini - probably one of my favourites in my Bolt Action collection.

The pack also included a scissor scope-using mini (the scope was less than co-operative to get to stick to the base!):

Finally on the Observer front, when I got an HQ pack (primarily for officers), it included another Observer, this time firing his flare gun to call in a barrage:

I based them all on the pill-style bases from Warlord to give them a little more room to breathe! Of course, these can also see use in games of Konflikt 47 too.

Medium Mortar Team

Another weapon team included in the Army Box was the Medium Mortar:

It's quite easy to fit into force lists for Bolt Action or Konflikt 47, but I found I wasn't making great use of it, so I added a spare observer mini I had to use as a Spotter:

I cannot lie, I'm quite pleased with his little map!  I still don't make great use of the Mortar due to tactical ineptitude, but the Spotter does help a bit!

MMG Team

What's a German army without an MMG team eh?

This team came as part of the Army Box I bought - of course, machine guns are a staple in German armies due to one of their national rules in Bolt Action and this does see a fair bit of use.  It's often fielded as part of Okkultekorps forces for Konflikt 47 too - even if it didn't do much to help protect the Okkultefabrik!

Wave Man Buntai (up to no good no doubt!)

I've previously posted the Onna-Musha and Ninja Buntai I've prepped - well here's the last (for now!) Buntai - a Rōnin Buntai.  I've deliberately gone for a non-romanticised version of these masterless warriors for this force - these are dangerous and desperate men, not honourable, tragic figures.

The bulk of the Buntai is from Footsore's Warring Clans range.  First I picked up a selection of rōnin and unarmoured samurai models to use as 'average' types:

L-R these are: Walking Samurai with Katana, Yoshito the Rōnin, Rōnin and Travelling Samurai.  Obviously they'll get cool names when they are painted!

Also from Footsore I picked up a couple of my favourite miniatures from the Warring Clans range - these I intend to use as the 'lieutenants' of the Buntai:

On the left is Akagi Kazki, Rōnin Swordmaster and on the right is Banzuiin Chōbei.  I replaced the metal pike that was included with Chōbei with a plastic spear from the Warlord plastic samurai sprue that I found in the old Test of Honour box.  Again, these will get cool names when they've been painted.

Finally, for the leader of the Buntai I picked up one of the (now) Warlord of Erehwon Samurai Heroes from an eBay seller I frequent:

This nodachi armed chap is the the only one in the Buntai to wear a bit of armour - but he's clearly also the most bad-ass as he is strolling around bare-chested! I liked this model back when it was first released but just didn't have a reason to pick it up before - I think he makes a suitable boss for this Rōnin Buntai!

Okkultekorps Commanders

The Okkultekorps has a hierarchy of commanders that lead the field-efforts of the sinister organisation.  Most were former SS officers, seconded over at the creation of the Okkultekorps - one of the most cunning and, most would say, conniving of these is Untersturmführer Heinz Mayer.

His fortunes are closely tied to those of Professor Lange - the two might dislike and distrust each other greatly, but together they are a dangerous threat to the enemies of the Reich.

Untersturmführer Mayer surveys the scene

Soon after successful mass production of the Totenkorps, Professor Lange turned his mind to the creation of a superior form of these horrific troops.  Whilst he had some success, this was not able to be replicated on a wide basis - and to make matters worse for the Professor, Mayer requisitioned them as bodyguards.  Lange had no choice if he was to maintain the position of privilege he has at the helm of the scientific arm of the Okkultekorps.

Mayer's Bodyguards - Totenkorps Zwei

The head of the Okkultekorps is Obersturmführer Helmut Klingemann - no longer a mere man; he has developed strange and powerful traits as a result of secret tests carried out by Professor Lange.  Not even Klingemann knows about these tests, although it matters little - he is a terrifying prospect to face on the battlefield, and the British will surely feel his wrath!

Obersturmführer Helmut Klingemann - self-proclaimed Vampir

Klingemann is from Warlord Games, the Totenkorps Zwei bodyguards are Warlord plastics with, I think Westwind zombie heads.  Update: Mayer is from Artizan Designs were he goes by the name of Major Kreipe

PaK 40 - anti-tank gun

In the German Grenadier army set from Warlord there is a PaK 40 anti-tank gun.  Well, as it came in the box it would have been mean to not paint it up alongside the rest of the project - so I did just that (ordered a big MDF base especially to accommodate it!):

This was an absolute nightmare to assemble - found some tips on a forum from days past if I recall correctly that helped me get it right.  I'm actually pretty happy with how it turned out but it just doesn't see much use in games - partially that might be because I was quite late in adding some towing capability to my collection now that I think back on it....

Panzerfausts!

In that German Army Box I picked up when I started Bolt Action there felt like a ton of infantry sprues - I'd made up the squads and assorted other bits but had some bodies left over... what to do, what to do....

Panzerfausts of course!

I generally use these so that I can play 'properly' and sub them out once I've fired the 'fausts.  They most often get used in the 10-man Heer squads, but in smaller games of Konflikt 47 I have used them to offer an additional threat in one of my smaller SS squads too.

Ninja Buntai emerges from the shadows

So, one of the other Buntai I have recently acquired for Daishо̄ (and Ronin etc) is a Ninja Buntai - these are all Warlord Games minis, which have been repurposed from their time in Test of Honour back when Warlord still had that title into the Warlord of Erehwon range.  Now, I didn't need many - certainly not a box full, but I had a look and one of my favourite sellers of random single Warlord minis/sprues had the range available as singles... of course I snaffled one of each up!

The first is the 'Ninja Master' from the Samurai Heroes box - as he's the only one without a Zukin covering his head he can be the leader of the Buntai:

First from the Ninja box a couple of minis armed with dual swords (Ninjato) - one is more heavily armoured than the other but both have nice poses that differ quite a bit:

The final three are armed more exotically - L-R Tekko-Kagi (style claw weapons), Ninjato and Kama and Shuriken:

This gives a nice mix of weapons across the Buntai.  All the miniatures have lots of other gear - grappling hooks, kunai, kama and sai tucked away.

These will get the base texture dip before awaiting prime time!

Heavy Sniper Team - Panzerbüchse 43W

Early on in the development of Rift technologies it became apparent to Professor Lange that he needed to supplement his Okkultekorps with some good, old-fashioned munitions to help take out the armoured walkers of the hated British forces.

So, Lange contacted an old colleague of his - the gifted engineer Erwin Huber.  Huber developed an anti-tank rifle able to fire specially-treated full tungsten rounds - upon successful testing it received authorisation to enter full production and was granted the designation Panzerbüchse 43W - "Tank Hunting Rifle Model 43 Wolfram".

This is the German Heavy Sniper Team from Warlord Games.  Rather than the winter look of the catalogue minis I gave mine the camo scheme I used for my Heer.  They aren't the most useful troops, truth be told, but they are cheap, so they find themselves in many of my lists as a deterrent if nothing else!

SS Squad 2

To be able to make a full-SS army I needed a second infantry squad - well luckily I had enough bodies, and ordered some extra SMGs from a bits seller, to make a small squad of SMG-armed fanatics.

While not as useful as their Assault Rifle armed comrades, they cost a few less points so sometimes I'll switch down to these if I'm tight on points and don't need both squads (mixed Heer/SS force for example - or in Konflikt 47).

Here's the squad:

The pointy chap is the leader (obviously!) - so he gets a name: Oberscharführer Anselm Steube. 

These tend to get loaded into a Blitz and put on suicide missions - I'm not a subtle guy!

Type 4 - Codename Nachtalben

The newest development at the Lange Okkultefabrik is the fourth stable Rift creation - codenamed Nachtalben.

Taking the lessons learnt from the creation of the Nachtjäger and combining it with his own findings from attempts at Totenkorps Typ Eins A, Professor Lange has perfected the creation of intelligent super soldiers.  These elite Nachtalben are armed with SMGs and grenades and provide the Okkultekorps with yet another terrifying weapon against the hated British.

Fresh off the production line at a Lange Okkultefabrik

Nachtalben come in a box of 8 - two carry Panzerfausts in addition to their SMGs.  Most are single piece castings, but a couple have arms/slung SMG to attach - nothing too onerous though!