Mark’s Conquistador Contest – for my loyal blog followers!

Welcome to Mark’s Conquistador Contest – a FREE chance for you to join me on my next part of my journey to field troops for my 16th Century Spanish Conquest game supplement for Feudal Patrol™ – “Civilizations Collide” – AND to have a chance to win – yes WIN – some free miniatures! Read on!

I have participated in a few painting challenges from others over the years – and those are great fun. But I am currently so desirous of seeing my Conquistadores painted up and ready for gaming that I will not stop until they are done and game-ready to my standards (such as those are). So I won’t be joining any challenges (unless they dovetail with me finishing my Conquistadores). However, I thought of another way to get you involved on this project other than just reading this blog. What about having my readers compete and guess the date that I’ll actually finish the Conquistadores? And what about offering actual prizes just to make it interesting? That’s exactly the genesis of Mark’s Conquistador Contest.

I have filed, washed, and partially based the force. I have not yet primed anything, and expect to start that on December 15th. I decided that I wanted to get all my filing of mold lines and washing (yes I wash all my figures before painting no matter what they are made of) done, do a massive priming session, and paint away. How long will this take – YOU get to guess.

My goal is to have some fun, and reward my followers and share some stuff that I enjoy. Secondly, it’s to get more followers and to grow the community. Thirdly, it’s to have fun (yes that’s fun twice). I do not currently monetize my blog, and I’m not looking to anytime soon by the way. Here are the rules:

Rules of Mark’s Conquistador Contest:

To enter and to win:

You must be an email or WordPress follower of my blog.
You must pick a date (day, month, and year) that I will finish the Conquistador miniatures shown here in this post. Finishing means, to me, that I am ready for the figures to be shown on my blog and used in a game. That is my call!
You must let me know that you want in on the contest by midnight EST (US East Coast time) on January 2^nd, 2021. You do this by posting a comment that “you are in” here on this blog post in the comments section with the date information requested above in (2).
Only one entry allowed per follower except as described in (5) below.
If you get another person to follow my blog, you can earn another entry! For each new follower that credits you as a referrer, you can get another entry. All that person needs to do is comment on this post as in (3) above stating that he or she is “in” and who the referrer is. The referrer can then reply to that comment with an additional entry date.
Winners will be whoever is closest to the date I announce as the “completion date”. That can be earlier or later – for example picking a date that is one day before is as good as if it’s one day after. As there are multiple prizes, 1^st place gets first choice, then 2^nd, then third. If two people pick the same date, ties will be broken by who submitted the date first. I reserve the right to add more prizes!
I also reserve the right to be the final judge on the contest – somebody’s gotta do that. When I finish, I will announce the winners.

So as for prizes, they will be metal miniatures – mostly old and vintage lead – and in original packaging. Great stuff I love but may not be able to paint soon – and which deserve a home. And I will pay to ship them to the winners (including the US, UK, Australia – as long as I don’t need to hit the lottery for shipping)! So here are the current three prizes (and I may add more):

Three vintage Ral Partha Aztec Blisters (25mm)

Three Minifig blisters for the English Civil War (15mm)

Two Vintage Ral Partha blisters from their colonials collection (25mm)

Again, depending on participation and interest – I may add more. Hell, even if you win and don’t have a plan for them, these could be used as trade, or you could just tell me to reward the next player as victory is enough for you?

Your next questions should be – “what exactly is Mark trying to paint?” and “how fast is he?”. For the second question, just check out my pages that show my previous projects. For example, 2020 is here, and 2019 is here, but I list all my projects from 2016 onward under the “Miniatures and Projects” dropdown. This menu lets me track all I have done – and how, and can give you an idea. There is a bit more I have to do here than just painting – there is some assembly too. Here are the Conquistador subjects of my quest and this contest below:

Wargames Foundry SB012 “Audacious Arquebusiers” – 6 figures

Wargames Foundry SB014 “Merciless Adventurers” – 6 figures – all with arquebuses.

Eureka Miniatures 100CON04 “Crossbowmen” – 5 figures. Crossbows are separate and shown below.

*Eureka Miniatures 100CON06 “Officer” and an unknown bonus officer that they gave me – 2 figures*

*Outpost Wargames Services CONC1 “Conquistador Foot Command” – 4 figures*. There is a bannerman with no banner that I will make a standard for, and a few shields you’ll see below.

*Outpost Wargames Services CONS06 “Wardogs” – 8 figures. This is the first group of war hounds I have.*

Eureka Miniatures 100CON13 “Dog Handler and Dogs” – 8 figures. This is the second group of war hounds I have. I’m going to make the handler a pikeman as in my game the dogs can be added to any figure for points – I have no need for a handler alone.

Wargames Foundry SB015 “Swaggering Swordsmen” – 6 figures – all with shields shown separately.

Wargames Foundry SB016 “Brutal Sword and Buckler Men” – 6 figures – all with shields shown separately.

Wargames Foundry SB017 “Bold Bladesmen” – 6 figures – all with shields shown separately.

Outpost Wargames Services CON001 “Sword and Buckler Men” – 8 figures. There are at least 6 shields I’ll do here – maybe 8 – not sure yet as two of the figures have two-handed broadswords.

Outpost Wargames Services CON5 “Conquistador Cavalry in light armour 1” – 8 figures (4 riders and 4 horses). There are also shields. I made two armed with lancers and two with swords. Note my rigging for painting riders – and yes those are screws with washers on old paint bottles.

Outpost Wargames Services CON6 “Conquistador Cavalry in full armour” – 8 figures (4 riders and 4 horses). There are also shields. I made two armed with lancers and two with swords. Note my rigging for painting riders – and yes those are screws on bottles again.

Eureka Miniatures 100ANMo5 “Moving Horses” – 8 figures. Obviously not moving, but de-based and mounted to be used as hacked up and downed horses that could be used as cover or block movement.

All the previously alluded-to shields for the cavalry and infantry, as well as crossbows, a banner pole, and a pike.

Outpost Wargames Services CONA1 “Falconet and Crew” – 3 figures (2 crew and 1 falconet (small cannon)). I’ll paint parts here before assembling the falconet.

If you’re counting (and that helps) that’s 89 figures – if you count each cavalry as two figures (horse and rider). I used a lot of poster tack and bottles as you see all of them collected here with some of my painting guide resources.

I hope that you enter and wish you the best of luck! Referrers always welcome – just need to follow the rules and importantly be one of my blog followers. Hell, I need the luck too – this is a lot of lead!

Stay tuned for updates as I finish pieces of this project – and I really hope that you find this fun. I’ll leave a synopsis as usual like below. Stay safe!

Miscellaneous details and references for those interested in that sort of thing:

Posts on games, units, and other projects for my 16th Century Spanish Conquest supplement for Feudal Patrol™ – “Civilizations Collide”

Mark’s Conquistador Contest – for my loyal blog followers! (this post)
Montezuma and Chieftains – Wargames Foundry #AZ011 for Feudal Patrol – 6 Aztec figures (Montezuma, 4 Chieftains, 1 Warrior Priest)
Aztec Shock Troops – Cuachic Warriors aka The Shorn Ones – 8 Aztec cuachicqueh warriors
Tloxtoxl and the Priests of the Great Temple, Wargames Foundry AZ021 – 2 warrior priests, 1 priestess, 1 priest, 1 leader, and 1 signaler
Civilizations Collide – The Wars of the Aztecs, the Inca, the Maya, and the Conquistadores is now available as a FREE Download for Feudal Patrol™ – plus a Feudal Patrol™ review!
18 Aztec Novice Warriors for Feudal Patrol Walk into a Bar – 18 Novice Warriors
Aztec Warrior Priests (painted as Tlaxcalans), Ral Partha 42-302, circa 1988 (this post) – 6 figures – 6 Tlaxcalan Warrior Priests
Tlaxcalan Novices, Elite Warriors, and Command Group – 18 figures – 8 Novice Tlaxcalan Warriors, 8 Elite Tlaxcalan Warriors, 1 Tlaxcalan Captain, 1 Tlaxcalan Conch Blower
Tlaxcalan Archers – 8 Veteran Tlaxcalan Archers
Aztec Game for Feudal Patrol across thousands of miles – via Zoom!
Aztec Snake Woman and Drummer – 1 Aztec General, 1 Aztec Drummer
A June and July Jaguar Warrior Frenzy (plus some Aztec Veterans and a Warrior Priest to Boot) – 3 Aztec Veteran Warriors, 17 Jaguar Warriors, 1 Aztec Warrior Priest
Doubling Down – Aztec Veteran Warriors – 24 Aztec Veteran Warriors
Aztec Arrow Knights, Ral Partha circa 1988 – 6 Aztec Arrow Knights
Aztec Eagle Warriors from Tin Soldier UK – 6 Aztec Eagle Knights
Aztec Novice Warriors and a few Frinx – 12 Novice Warriors

Total figures completed to date for this project: 141 figures: 109 Aztecs, 32 Tlaxcalans, 0 Spanish Conquistadores

Civilizations Collide – The Wars of the Aztecs, the Inca, the Maya, and the Conquistadores is now available as a FREE Download for Feudal Patrol – plus a Feudal Patrol review!

I have always wanted to be part of a putting together rules for a tabletop wargame. Now, I can officially say that I can check off that box on my life’s “To-Do” list – at least in a smallish way.

Feudal Patrol™ – Buck Surdu’s rules for “Skirmish Miniature Gaming in the Ancient, Medieval, and Fantasy Periods” is now available commercially. In the US, it can be bought from On Military Matters website here. It is also being sold in the US by Noble Knight Games website here. In the UK, it is being sold by Sally 4th on their website here.

It is a fantastic skirmish system, similar to his Combat Patrol -WWII™ and Albedo Combat Patrol™ systems. Unlike many other games, the Combat Patrol family has eliminated the clutter of multiple charts and markers with the use of specialized playing card decks. The decks in each game enable players to resolve movement, melee, missile fire, morale, cover protection, and more all from a single 50 card deck. Feudal Patrol™ is appropriate for periods when melee dominated warfare instead of firepower – so the 16th Century and earlier, as well as being adaptable for fantasy gaming. To be clear, I am not totally unbiased. I have been friends with Buck for nearly 40 years since our cadet days at West Point, and I did participate in several playtests of these rules and helped as I could.

As for a good review of Feudal Patrol™ by a more neutral party, there is a fine one on the BoardGameGeek website by Scouter (Brian Ivers) that you can see here. You can see that this is a game worth checking out. Here’s a snippet from the review:

Overall an Excellent effort by Buck and his band of Tabletop warriors. The cards and rules were purchased by me under a pre order program through On Military Matters. The rules were produced by Sally4th, a wonderful company out of the UK. Noble Knight games are also a US conduit. The amount of support available for this product is excellent, this can be found on both Buck Surdus web site as well as Sally4th. And Google Groups IO page. Buck has produced an excellent You Tube video introduction to Feudal Patrol. https://youtu.be/SlpLbMdgVv8
I highly recommend this rule set.
Brian Ivers.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/318641/feudal-patrol/ratings

My official copy of the rules arrived in early November! The book looks great, and the layout inside is equally nice.

The inside cover. Thanks for the shout out Buck! BTW, the “Ma’k” is a nod by Buck to my Massachusetts accent that I will never lose.

Buck asked me if I was interested in writing a supplement for the rules. I was very interested and thought it would be a fine opportunity to check the box I wrote of above. I also wanted to develop a skirmish game for the Spanish Conquest as the period and the garb of the period was fascinating to me. So I agreed, and did a lot of research on the period, and developed my supplement to Feudal Patrol™ that I called “Civilizations Collide”. That supplement is a FREE download – and I hope all who read this will download it and please take a look (after all it’s free! – did I mention that?). Plus it has a lot of pics of the miniatures that I have painted up (and more will come in this blog of course!

Where can you get it?

Civilizations Collide is available for download on Sally 4th’s website here or the Feudal Patrol website here.

As readers of this blog know, I have been also actively painting figures for the period from many companies. You may want to get started – so as a help, here is my list of what I have found available:

Wargames Foundry (I get them in the US here from Badger Games but Foundry’s own UK website is here) – 28mm
Outpost Wargames Services (I get them in the US here from Badger Games but OWS’s UK website is here – 28mm
Eureka Miniatures (US site is here, Eureka Australian website is here) – 28mm
Tin Soldiers UK (I get them in the US from Silver Eagle Wargames here, UK website is here) – 25mm
Naismith and Roundway sells some (I have not bought any yet) here – 25mm
Even the old Ral Partha (which I have), now sold by Iron Winds Metals, has some here – 25mm

All of these are still commercially available. I do prefer the 28mm over the 25mm, but I do use both

Thanks for checking this out and a real big thank you if you downloaded the supplement! More to come!

Miscellaneous details and references for those interested in that sort of thing:

Posts on games, units, and other projects for my 16th Century Spanish Conquest supplement for Feudal Patrol™ – “Civilizations Collide”

Civilizations Collide – The Wars of the Aztecs, the Inca, the Maya, and the Conquistadores is now available as a FREE Download for Feudal Patrol™ – plus a Feudal Patrol™ review! (this post)
18 Aztec Novice Warriors for Feudal Patrol Walk into a Bar – 18 Novice Warriors
Aztec Warrior Priests (painted as Tlaxcalans), Ral Partha 42-302, circa 1988 (this post) – 6 figures – 6 Tlaxcalan Warrior Priests
Tlaxcalan Novices, Elite Warriors, and Command Group – 18 figures – 8 Novice Tlaxcalan Warriors, 8 Elite Tlaxcalan Warriors, 1 Tlaxcalan Captain, 1 Tlaxcalan Conch Blower
Tlaxcalan Archers – 8 Veteran Tlaxcalan Archers
Aztec Game for Feudal Patrol across thousands of miles – via Zoom!
Aztec Snake Woman and Drummer – 1 Aztec General, 1 Aztec Drummer
A June and July Jaguar Warrior Frenzy (plus some Aztec Veterans and a Warrior Priest to Boot) – 3 Aztec Veteran Warriors, 17 Jaguar Warriors, 1 Aztec Warrior Priest
Doubling Down – Aztec Veteran Warriors – 24 Aztec Veteran Warriors
Aztec Arrow Knights, Ral Partha circa 1988 – 6 Aztec Arrow Knights
Aztec Eagle Warriors from Tin Soldier UK – 6 Aztec Eagle Knights
Aztec Novice Warriors and a few Frinx – 12 Novice Warriors

I ponder life with poor Franco the unlucky Conquistador

Aztec Game for Feudal Patrol across thousands of miles – via Zoom!

Last Saturday morning I had the chance to GM and play…(wait for it)…a real tabletop wargame!!! We were able to play a game of Feudal Patrol™ via Zoom. This game is a member of the Combat Patrol™ WWII family of games, and will be available soon from On Military Matters in the US and Sally 4th in the UK. The players were all alone at home and included myself (in Massachusetts), Buck Surdu (in Florida), Dave Wood (in Maryland), Greg Priebe (also in Maryland), and Chris Abbey (in the UK). Buck hosted the Zoom meeting, and I ran the game with some of my Aztec figures in my cellar that followers of this blog have seen completed such as my last one here.

The scenario is called “Raid to Satisfy Huitzilopochtli”. Huitzilopochtli was a major deity in the Aztec religion, and was particularly noted as a god of war and sacrifice. The scenario uses the supplement I wrote for Feudal Patrol™ called Civilizations Collide. It takes 60 points of attackers against 26 points of defense. However, this being an Aztec attack on another Mexica town, the focus is on capturing incapacitated warriors and dragging them back for sacrifice on the altar of Huitzilopochtli. Of course, the defenders would be trying to take captives to satisfy their particular deity as well. My rules focus on this, and other aspects of Mesoamerican warfare – to try to create an authentic feel – and a different wargaming experience. Even the difficult-to-pronounce names of the weapons (macuahuitl, tepoztopilli, cuauhololli, atlatl, sling (well not that one)) add to the feel. I aimed to create a scenario that is similar to a “Flower War” – where both sides deployed for a ritualized pre-arranged showdown.

The attackers would split their forces equally between Zones #1 and #2, which would also be where they would need to drag their captives.

The defenders would get more victory points for the same achievements – such as taking captives or incapacitating an enemy figure. One interesting aspect of the Aztec supplement rules is that as you take out an enemy you must take troops away from the battle to drag the incapacitated figure back to a prearranged spot for your side. Which means that as you achieve success on the battlefield, you lose troops for “captive duty” as it were.

The score sheet and possible points available for success for each side.

Dave, Buck and I were on the attack – and Buck and Chris defended. At first, the defenders were a bit concerned with the seemingly overwhelming odds facing them. But they had the advantage of choosing to deploy after the attackers, as well as the chance to use the defensive terrain around the fields.

Logistically, I had two cameras logged in for the game – one from my iPad and one from my iPhone. I had acquired a nice inexpensive tripod from Xenvo via Amazon called a “Lobsterpod” that worked really well. I moved the figures based on the gamers commands and the game moved along fairly well on the Zoom platform, though not as fast as if the players were all in the same room. Of course, the option to actually see my figures in all their “glory” was compromised (I’m pretty proud of them) – but hey – they are on my previous blog posts for all my readers to see so no problem, right? I only used Aztec figures, but later I will be able to augment the defenders with Tlaxcalans (when I get them painted). I planned here and for the future to allow the gamers to pick their figures beforehand from a menu of available ones, and organize their forces prior to a game.

I set up the tabletop as shown below – some of my 15mm Normandy hedgerows served well as protection around the fields. The walled section of the village is pretty basic here as it does not come into the game except as a collection point for captives.

This view is from the defenders’ side. The defenders’ walled village is in the middle on the right and served as the point for their captives to be collected for sacrifice/slavery.

The attackers tried to flank the enemy on both sides of the board while simultaneously making a frontal assaults to tie the defenders down at the wall. The attackers got a bit unlucky (to say the least) as a veteran/novice “twinned” unit (Dave) moved slowly (even at a sprint). Buck took a unit of Jaguar Warriors straight at Chris’ Arrow Warriors (yes I know they may not have been historical – think of them as elite atlatl troops with limited ammunition), and got mauled – losing two Jaguars Warriors to the defenders as potential sacrifices. On the other flank, I faced off against Greg, and despite his having a terrible early morale result that dispersed his troops, he was able to inflict good damage on my greater numbers. In the end, the defenders were able to do enough damage and take enough prisoners on the attackers for a pretty convincing victory. All agreed that the scenario was well-balanced, and all seemed to have a good time.

Buck took some screen shots that I will share below (click on them for a better view) – and he also wrote a blog post on the battle that you can read here.

Dave attempts to flank while Buck assaults.

The assault on the defenders’ right devolves further.

At this point, the defenders have triumphed by great play.

I used color-coded and numbered magnets to try to keep the forces straight, and it worked. But magnets in melee do attract…so next time I will use poster tack and small hole punched card of different colors. A gaming challenge is to make sure that the Aztecs and other forces are identifiable for the player, either in remote mode or live. The card solution should be an easy fix.

Here are some shots that I took after the game:

Lastly, here are the gamers:

My thanks to all who participated. It was a nice test of my scenario and the special rules I wrote for Civilizations Collide, which will be a free download from the game’s website when it goes live in September. I must say it was a gratifying experience, and one that I hope to repeat.

I intend to buy Zoom if there is enough interest and host some more games – at least until we are clear of the COVID-19 virus. I could see my running more Feudal Patrol™ games, and even What a Tanker games. If you would be up to a remote game, let me know in the comments section – maybe we can make it happen!

Check out the links for Feudal Patrol™ – its a great and easy card-based system that is really a great step forward.

My Hobby Origins – and Wow – I’m on The Imperial Rebel Ork Podcast!

Last weekend I had a lot of fun being on the Imperial Rebel Ork podcast. It was a lot of fun, and I really appreciated the opportunity. Though the Imperial Rebel Ork himself (aka IRO) apologized for the audio quality – I thought it was fine. Hell, we had to have our chat over quite a few miles:

All 10,463 of them.

The podcast is fun (and NOT just because I was lucky enough to be on it). Here is the link where you can access the podcast on Apple – though it’s on other platforms as well:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/imperial-rebel-ork/id1508066553

And of course IRO has an excellent blog that is well-worth following – he’s amazingly creative.

If you listen to the podcast (and YOU SHOULD 😁), it’s clear that there are some background details of our discussion that might be of some interest to you. Basically, it’s about how I got into the hobby back in 1982 or 1983, and how I got back into it in 2015, plus where I’m at now. So, I will share some anecdotes, pics, and links that many of you may not have seen before.

I described how I was a traditional board game wargamer – I really got my first wargame – Avalon Hill’s Afrika Korps – probably when I was 10 or 11. Others followed, like Waterloo, and War at Sea. Finding opponents was not easy – most of my friends and family thought these games to be uninteresting at best. Later, at West Point, fate got me as a roommate the irrepressible Dave Wood – who was a wargamer as well! We spent hundreds of hours playing the aforementioned games, but also especially Victory in the Pacific and Panzer Leader.

VITP & WAS — Dave Wood and I played these games hundreds of times.

Panzer Leader — A great platoon level game with decent realism. I even acquired the France 1940 expansion.

A major influence on my hobby was to come through Dave – and that was an introduction to Buck Surdu, who was at West Point in the class behind me and Dave. Buck had already written and had published his own sets (sets – not a set) of rules for different wargames. My first meeting with Buck was when Dave brought me up to a session that Buck had set up in the Department of Foreign Languages classroom – it was a giant fantasy miniature battlefield covered with old 25mm Ral Partha, Grenadier, Minifig, and other miniatures. This was set up on desks put together and covered with old US Army OD blankets as mats. I had never seen anything like this before – and I was stunned – and hooked. Buck had written the rules for the game as well. Before long, both Dave and Buck were lending me figures to paint for them as I wanted to try that too.

The first units I painted for them still exist! One was a group of Minifig halflings that Dave had that he let me paint for him. I did not really know anything about painting with highlights, washes, or dry brushing back then. Kindly, Dave gave them to me a few of years ago that I described here. I flocked their bases and varnished them, but left them unchanged otherwise.

A second unit was one I painted for Buck – a group of pig-faced Orcs that I think were from Minifig. I decided to give them a pretty gaudy paint job – with a Captain America theme. They were the “All-American Orcs”. Buck still has them and took a couple shots to show them to you in all their ancient “glory”:

All American orcs 1 — The All-American Orcs

Mind you, these were painted before my class graduation in May 1984, but I used no varnish back then so there are chips, and no flocking (washers were enough for me then) – but I’m happy to see them again, and humbled that Buck has kept them around.

Another unit (that I don’t have pictures of but Dave has somewhere) was a punk/new wave blue, red, and green mohawk-wearing group that I called “Paddy’s New Wave Bar and Grill Conscript Militia”. Yup, that was a thing back then.

Also, I, Buck, Dave, Doug Morris (’85), and another ’84 classmate Ken Thrasher also had Sunday night campaigns of Tunnels and Trolls (a role-playing game that competed with Dungeons & Dragons back in the day). The campaign I ran focused on a Balrog wizard who had dimensionally transported himself to the US in the 1960’s – and used LSD and other drugs – and then returned to rule a mountain lair replete with monsters, traps and puzzles with a 1960’s theme. The Balrog’s name? Why Purple Haze of course…

After graduation, I still puttered around with painting my own figures, as well as casting some in Prince August molds using – of all things – fishing lead weights. I was deployed to Germany, and got to host Buck and a friend of his in 1987 for a couple of gaming weekends and a side trips to Paris via Verdun. They were stationed in Italy. Buck recently shared this blast from the past with me – a big game using Buck’s Fantasy Miniature rules with some edits that I made. You cannot see a lot, but I made the game analogous to a Bastogne 1944 scenario – with sprites, dwarves, halflings, orcs and more. We used stuff like lichen and Styrofoam as terrain.

Me and Buck’s friend Mike at the game in Hagenbach, West Germany. I am wearing my 249th Engineer Battalion (Combat Heavy) t-shirt. I still have the card table in the back!

November 1987 Buck, Me, Ellen — Buck, myself, and my daughter Ellen. I was a single parent 1LT in Germany. Ellen was 2 here. Now she’s a mom with a three year old!

Then my hobby activities slowed to a crawl. I was a divorced single parent, then remarried, then divorced, then remarried…in the Army, then out…in many parts of the US, then more this and that…fast forward to 2015…

I had always saved all my miniatures and paints. I knew I would eventually get back to the hobby, but when? Well, a chimney fire required us to move a lot in the cellar during a rebuild, and my wife was moving my minis – and I said, “I’ll take care of them”. Next thing I know I’m painting again, gaming again, and blogging about it starting back in 2015. My first project was “The Nightmare Legion”, which only took more than three decades to complete – and was the subject of my first blog post in March of 2015,

12 Ma'kcon — Myself, Buck Surdu and Dave Wood at “Ma’k Con” (in my basement) back in 2017. If the hobby is a crime, these are my bad influences!

On the podcast, IRO discussed a few aspects of my hobbying that you may not have seen before if you are a relative newcomer to the blog. So, here are a few links if you want to take a gander if you’d like some context:

Casting

Duck Wader and the Star Duck Platoon

Aphids

Mark 1 Sphere Tank

Aztecs

WWII tanks using poster tack

I hope you enjoyed this romp down memory lane in conjunction with the podcast – if you have similar memories, or completely different ones – feel free to comment.

Oh yeah, if I follow or comment on your blogs, or you on mine, you all inspire me.

Thank you!

Wars of Ozz game and Kickstarter Coming June 27, 2020

Dorothy, this definitely ain’t Kansas…

This looks to be an exciting new game! My buddy Buck Surdu has teamed up with Old Glory and Sally 4th on this project – the link is here. It launches on June 27th, 2020.

There’s a great description at Beasts of War here’s a snippet from that page:

Wars Of Ozz Kickstarter Coming Soon

The idea is that the rules here take Baum’s world and give it a little bit of a post-apocalyptic Earth twist. Things then get even more quirky with the addition of the “Madness Bomb” which got dropped into the mix during the “Last Great War” where survivors were mutated and chaos reigned until the Wizard finally arrived.

This then all distills down into a new mass battle game with miniatures sculpted and cast by the team at Old Glory. All of the miniatures are cast in lead/tin and are you’ll be able to buy armies to build up your mass of troops as well as characters to lead them into battle.

There is more there to check out, and the miniatures look amazing. Here’s a shot of the Pumpkin Men:

I love the Tin Men:

And whatever these are – they look cool!

Just to be clear, I have no financial stake in this whatsoever, though I will likely be diving in to get some of this stuff, as well as the rules.

Thought my followers would enjoy checking this out, what do you think?

An Eagle Has Landed…On My Scorecard!!

Well, yes – a golf post for a change (this blog is titled Life, Golf, Miniatures & Other Distractions after all)!

Please note that normally I would not just post a mundane golf story about myself. So, apologies in advance if I seem to be a bit self-focused here. I would not want to be too narcissistic, but some background for the reader may help.

I have been playing golf, mostly as a hacker, since I was 12. My late grandfather (who drove an M24 tank in WWII and was a hero of mine) got me started. He was absolutely terrible – he would be lucky to break 110 or even 120 for 18 holes. He did imbue me with a love of the greatest game – and I carry that with me to this day. I still have golf balls of his that I carry in my bag to honor his gift to me.

In the Army, I played when I could, and even joined clubs at Ft. Rucker, Alabama, at Ft. Belvoir, VA, and even the Canadian Forces course at Lahr in Germany. That Canadian course was fun as for one you had CF-18 fighters zooming overhead (quite low) and secondly it was the only place to be able to get Canadian beer like Labatts (the Germans would not allow it to be sold and the US had only American and German beer for sale at the Class VI store). I left the Army in 1992, and I did not play very often until 1998.

At that point I had moved to East Brookfield, MA, and was happy to discover that there was a golf course 0.3 miles away! The first tee was closer to my house than it was to the first green! That was Bay Path Golf Course – and I was a member there for 21 years. I was playing nearly 70 rounds a year (mostly at Bay Path), which is a lot when you consider that our Massachusetts weather is only good for golf from April to October for the most part. I kept a spreadsheet of all my scores, just to track progress and focus on improving. One goal eluded me, that being getting an eagle.

For those of you non-golfers, an eagle (not to be confused with my Eagle Warriors) is a score that is two shots under par. On a par three, it would be a hole-in-one. On a par 4, it would be a 2, etc. At Bay Path, it became a running joke that I had not gotten an eagle, even just from luck. I came close several times, only to be denied. I even hosted a pool for charity where members could bet whether I would get an eagle that year or not. Most all bet “not” by the way. Last year, Bay Path closed (sadly), forcing me to join a new club, Quail Hollow in Oakham, MA. It’s about a 15 minute drive from home. It’s a nice club, but a much more difficult course than Bay Path.

According to my spreadsheet, by last Tuesday, June 9th, 2020, I had taken 115,136 plus strokes since 1999 with never an eagle. That equates to 1,293 rounds – not including any scrambles by the way, So effectively, that’s about 5,172 hours of golf – or 215.5 days of golf! Many birdies, but no eagles!

stats (2) — Data as of the morning of 6/9/2020

Even more sadly, play was delayed here because of COVID-19. So while normally I would try to play in March or April, I did not get to play or even practice until late May. My game does not rely on any real talent – it’s based on hard work and practice. I also track my golf progress here for myself on the blog (see the main menu as well). So I had little expectations about early play and knocking off any rust.

There is a group that plays on Tuesdays at Quail that I joined up with called “Pit’s Crew” after the guy that runs it, Pit Caron. We play a 4-man scramble. On June 9th, we approached the 3rd hole, a par-4, 249 yard hole. I was the “B” player, and drove my ball right next to the green on the left fringe – maybe three feet off of it. For me this was a very good result as the fairway is quite narrow and the green is guarded by a deep bunker in the front. I then used my 56 degree wedge and chipped my second shot – it went up, up – it rolled – and plunk, it dropped in nicely!

EAGLE!!!!!

I was happy that one of my teammates was a fellow former Bay Path golfer, Jim Kularski, who was our “A” man. It was gratifying that he got to see me accomplish something that he knew well that I had been trying to get for so very long. I also had on lucky golf gear from my West Point reunion last year. While it was a scramble, I played the same ball (a found Titleist Pro-V1 that I was using so as not to lose one of my preferred Titleist ProV1X’s), from the same position, so I am counting the eagle as having been my first. After all, at this pace, my next one will be in 2060 when I am 98…

Oh yeah, we also came in first place out of 18 teams.

So here’s some pics (thanks to Jim Kularski for the pictures – again, more to commemorate than to brag – but like I always say – it ain’t braggin’ if ya do it!

1 Eagle in! — IT’S IN THE HOLE FOR AN EAGLE 2! (note the mask too!) I am holding my putter along with my wedge – no need for the putter on that hole that day!

2 Get the Eagle ball! — Get that ball for safekeeping!

3 Get the Eagle ball! — I was sooooo happy to pull this ball from the hole! And nice Army hat huh?

5 HAPPY! — Unfortunately I could NOT stop smiling for days!

Thanks for indulging me by looking!

Views From My Windows – Sort of…

Greetings from the Massachusetts lock down! I hope all of you are safe and that soon life will be returning back to normal for us all. If you have lost a loved one, a friend, or a job, or just been stressed out, my thoughts and prayers with all of you. This will eventually pass.

I have not been doing much on the blogging front except trying to keep up with others’ posts. At the beginning of April, the projections for death in the US were for 100,000 to 200,000 if we were lucky and did everything correctly in terms of mitigation. Frankly, that floored me and I went into a bit of a focus on the news, keeping up with my family (Mom and daughter/granddaughter). My Mom is on her own, and I worry about her. My daughter lives nearby and has taken walks with our 3 year-old granddaughter so we have gotten at least to see them. It kills us not to hug them both, but as my daughter works in a cancer radiation treatment clinic at a hospital in Worcester, we have painfully practiced “social distancing” during these brief but welcome visits. Of course there is communication via phone and Facetime, but it’s not the same.

The death toll has been mercifully less, but still very bad. Here in the US, as of this writing there have been over 48,000 US deaths, and approaching a million cases. In Massachusetts the surge/peak is coming up – and we have had 42,000 cases and nearly 2,000 deaths. I know that all of you are dealing with this and it’s horrible. I have some strong opinions on this, but I don’t want to get too political on my blog. My thoughts could be summarized by the article here.

My wife has been home on paid leave, but who know what will happen on this front. I have still been looking for a job, but with millions of Americans out of work and the understandable difficulties with interviewing – I have been staying home. I did fly to Virginia on March 9-10 for a face-to-face interview – which was an eerie experience. By the end of the week, everything was shutting down and we were in lockdown. And then the job did not come through.

Needless to say, tabletop wargaming is at a halt – and golf is impossible as all the courses are closed as nonessential.

I kept busy researching and working on a supplement for Buck Surdu’s upcoming game of Feudal Patrol™ – basically a new game similar to his Combat Patrol™ WWII card-based gaming system. It will cover the pike and shot era and earlier. My project was based on the Spanish Conquest of the 15th Century – so Aztecs, Maya, Inca, Tlaxcalans, Mixtec/Zapotecs, and of course Conquistadores. This has been on my “bucket list” – and I will share some more of that in future posts – but it did consume a lot of time (which I had to spare). I started painting Aztecs as well – but more on that later as well.

By the way, Buck redesigned his website – and it is an incredible free resource for unit organization and equipment for WWII. Here is an example.

Also, besides watching the news and the business channel, I watched TV, played cards (a rummy type game) with my wife, and did the grocery and pharmacy shopping. Thankfully I have a respirator that I use when I airbrush – so I wore that on these infrequent trips out of the house. It reminded me of my Army days with the old M17 gas mask.

I have a treadmill, and that helps with exercise too.

Earlier this month maenoferren22 at Bogenwald posted a challenge to share the view out the front window. I’ve enjoyed looking at others – so I thought I’d join in. It took a bit longer for me to get involved – as we are in early spring and it’s been cold and rainy. So. here’s some shots of my East Brookfield, MA home from inside and outside.

View 1 looking at porch — The front of our home – daffodils are out and grass is just turning green.

View 1 porch — A look from the front porch towards our church across the street (St. John the Baptist). We last were able to attend on March 15th – and since then (including Easter) – we have watched the Bishop of Worcester’s Masses on TV.

View 2 house — The other side of the house. It’s a “Dutch Colonial” and probably dates to the 1930’s or 1940’s.

View 4 house pond — The backyard – my garage (which is not great) on the right. The pond in the back has a nice view – and a lousy name “Mud Pond”. There is a beaver lodge in it – and I have seen many Great Blue Herons hunting here. I have seen a bald eagle as well, and many hawks and falcons. There are raccoons, bobcats, snakes, turtles, and bears as well.

View 5 pond — A little closer view of the yard and pond.

View 6 house — A reverse view from the pond towards the house.

View 7 porch — View from the back porch.

View 8 upstairs window — The view from the upstairs bathroom window.

That’s it. Oh yeah, I do also listen to a couple of podcasts. Many of you know IRO (imperialrebelork). Along with his buddy Big Waz in Australia – he has The Fly on The Wall Podcast. He also just started a nice hobby podcast named, Imperial Rebel Ork podcast. I enjoy both – and TFOTW has been around a year now. Helps to get over the pandemic a little bit.

Here is my little promotion pic, with my Australian-descended friend, Caesar (who is 26 years old now).

Stay safe and more to come, I’m back!

Goodbye Dad, RIP

I have been dreading writing this post.

As you can tell, I lost my Dad, Anton (Tony) Patrick Morin, on February 7th at the age of 81 years, 6 months, and a day. His obituary can be seen here.

I am Mark A. Morin. The A is for Anton. I have his name. Dad was a proud Air Force veteran. His obituary has a lot of that information. I guess this post is my way of breathing – and finding peace.

Dad declined quickly. He was sent by ambulance to the hospital on Thursday, January 30^th after he fell and had a mental break during which he was confused and yelling and just out of it. He had resumed a degree of normalcy (such as it was) by the time I saw him that morning/afternoon in the hospital. It appeared that he might have had a mass on his lung, but no explanation for the cognitive issues. We did not know what was going on medically, and still do not (he had a lot of health issues). My Mom was exhausted physically and emotionally, so I sent her home and I stayed with Dad. He was in pain, but we did get to have some conversations. He prayed aloud in pain and was worried about his soul and Heaven. His own Dad abandoned him in the 40’s – and was absent in his life. I got to tell my Dad that I wished that he had had a great Dad like I had. And despite his pain, he smiled.

I knew he was dying, but one never knows how soon. Ten years ago, he nearly died (he was hospitalized for months). Thank God he lived another ten years. This time, I waited until my Mom left and asked the nurses to get him a priest. Father Jose came later around 7 PM and Dad was finally asleep. He began to pray over him and Dad gently woke up. Dad spoke with Fr. Jose and even in Spanish a bit (Dad was a multi-lingual guy). He gave him The Last Rites and I got to pray The Our Father with my Dad. He then went to sleep, and I left.

The next day (Friday February 1^st) he was scheduled for a lot of tests so I did not go to see him. I went Saturday morning and by then pretty much his mind was gone. He could not communicate in any effective way and was totally confused. His mental state never got any better from then on, and the cause of his condition remained a mystery.

Six days later, at 2:15 AM on Friday, February 7^th, my Mom called to tell me that the hospital had called her to tell her that it would not be long. We got to the hospital, and he was unconscious, on oxygen, but struggling to breathe. His family was with him. He was given some morphine for comfort, the oxygen mask was removed, and I held his hand as he took his last breath.

His funeral was at St. Camillus, our old family parish in Fitchburg, MA, on February 15^th. I got to speak and give a remembrance of Dad. I was honored to do so and share what my Dad meant to me – about his Work Ethic, his love for his family, and his Faith. It’s tough now, for sure.

However, I have Faith, the greatest gift he and my Mom ever gave to me. I feel especially blessed that I got to pray with him the last time he could with me.

I will go on to blogging about the significantly less important aspects of life, but I felt that I needed to have a blog entry about Dad before I moved on. I also held back posting from late January onward as all this was going on. Dad loved history and loved seeing my miniatures, especially the tanks. We all lose our Dads someday, and our worlds get smaller as a result. But I believe Dad has earned his Eternal Reward and we will be together again someday.

I am not looking for pity – just needed to put this down in a brief way. Thanks to all who reached out to me and my family – I will never forget your love and your compassion, and your friendship.

Love ya Dad, thanks for everything. I’ll do my best to honor your memory and what you meant to me.

Dad and Ellen circa 1995 — My Dad and my daughter Ellen 20 years or so ago

Dads hat — The US Air Force hat I bought Dad that you see in the pictures. I now display it proudly.

2019 Hobby, Gaming, and Blogging Roundup

2019 was a bigger year for this blog and my gaming and hobby activities. I was able to run several games of Combat Patrol™ and What a Tanker© at HAVOC, BARRAGE, the Fort Devens Games Day, The Historical Gaming Club of Uxbridge, and monthly sessions of the Mass Pikemen Gaming Club. I managed to get an award at HAVOC – and attend HUZZAH for the first time in Maine. It was a busy gaming year.

Always happy to get this type of recognition!

In support of all these activities, of course I had a number of projects in terms of assembling, painting, and creating. I documented these here. Being an analytical type of guy I kept a spreadsheet of my hobby activities (below) and listed them on a page of this blog with links (also below).

The entire list and links are at the end of this blog which will refer to each project. These links are very useful to me in reviewing previous projects as to what paints I used, what techniques, etc.

The building and painting of tanks and support materials made up the largest part of my 775 project activities in 2019 (106 tanks I believe – 43 German, 23 UK, 18 US, 15 Italian, and 7 French), and the remainder were models for retro sci-fi games (around 50 or so).

The blog itself grew by a lot, and I was very pleased about that. In 2019, there were 20,965 views (versus 13,743 in 2018) by 13,819 visitors (versus 8,295 in 2018). I managed to get in 36 posts, 3 more than in 2018. I must say a huge thanks to all of my readers and followers of my blog! I especially appreciate all of you (and you know who you are) – who took the time to give me feedback – it was great to hear all of your perspectives. THANK YOU!

So what’s next for 2020? My goals are always changeable (hell, its a hobby right), but here is my current list:

Games:
- Run convention games at TotalCon, HAVOC, HUZZAH, BARRAGE, and the Fort Devens Game Day (and a few more maybe)
- Grow the Mass Pikemen Gaming Club with new members and new GM’s
- Support the Historical Gaming Club of Uxbridge
Models:
- Build a suitable force of French and German tanks for the Battle of France scenario for 80th anniversary of this event
- Build 2 or more new platoons for retro sci-fi games of Combat Patrol
- Start the Nomonhan project
Other:
- Complete a supplement for Feudal Patrol for Mesoamerican warfare (Aztecs, etc)
- Be productive, but never sacrifice quality
- Grow the blog and find new ones to follow!
- Entertain my audience!
Golf:
- Get my handicap below 14 (if I have enough non-gaming time!)

Thanks again for reading this and making my little hobby blog a part of your day! Here are the massive details of 2019 below:

2019 Total Miniatures & Projects to Date: 775

153 figures painted
57 figures cast
86 figures assembled
28 terrain pieces made or assembled
36 terrain pieces painted
1 figure conversion
2 creation or component sculpted or scratch-built
2 molds made
410 game pieces/game aids made and/or painted

January: 52 projects

Figures painted (26):
- 9 British tanks painted for What a Tanker© in North Africa:
  - 2 A10 Cruiser Mark IIA (Desert) tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR023)
  - 1 A13 Cruiser Mark IVA (Desert) tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR026)
  - 1 Valentine II tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR060)
  - 1 Valentine III tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR061)
  - 1 Crusader II tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR032)
  - 1 Crusader III tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR034)
  - 1 M3 Grant tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR100)
  - 1 Churchill II tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR070)
- 17 German tanks/tank destroyers painted for What a Tanker© in North Africa and France 1940:
  - 2 Panzerjager I’s (one for France 1940 and one for North Africa)(15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GE100)
  - 3 Panzer IIC’s (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GBX108) for France 1940
  - 6 Panzer IIF’s (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GBX108) for North Africa
  - 2 Panzer IIIE’s (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GE030) for North Africa
  - 1 Panzer IIIH (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GE031) for North Africa
  - 1 Panzer IVF2 (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GE042) for North Africa
  - 1 M3 Stuart “Honey” tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR006) – one captured by the Germans for use in North Africa
  - 1 Tiger I (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GE070) for North Africa
Figures assembled (10):
- 10 German tanks/tank destroyers assembled:
  - 2 Panzerjager I’s (one for France 1940 and one for North Africa)(15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GE100)
  - 5 Panzer IIC’s and F’s (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GBX108) for North Africa
  - 1 Panzer IIIH (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GE031) for North Africa
  - 1 Panzer IVF2 (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GE042) for North Africa
  - 1 Tiger I (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GE070) for North Africa

February: 71 projects

Figures painted (13):
- 12 Italian tanks/tank destroyers painted for What a Tanker© in North Africa
  - 1 M14/41 tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#IT040) for North Africa
  - 4 Semovente 47/32 tank destroyers (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#IT101) for North Africa
  - 1 Semovente Carro Comando M41 75/18 tank destroyer (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#IT110) for North Africa
  - 1 Semovente 5/18 tank destroyer (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#IT111) for North Africa
  - 3 M13/40 tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from Wargame Models in Ohio for North Africa (repainted)
  - 2 L6/40 tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from Wargame Models in Ohio for North Africa (repainted)
- 1 German tank painted for What a Tanker© in North Africa
  - 1 Panzer IVD (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GE040) for North Africa
Figures assembled (8):
- 7 Italian tanks/tank destroyers assembled for What a Tanker© in North Africa
  - 1 M14/41 tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#IT040) for North Africa
  - 4 Semovente 47/32 tank destroyers (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#IT101) for North Africa
  - 1 Semovente Carro Comando M41 75/18 tank destroyer (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#IT110) for North Africa
  - 1 Semovente 5/18 tank destroyer (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#IT111) for North Africa
- 1 German tank assembled for What a Tanker© in North Africa
  - 1 Panzer IVD (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GE040) for North Africa
Terrain pieces made or assembled (5):
- 1 German Panzer IVD tank wreck made for North Africa as a terrain piece using a defective tank (15mm/1:100 scale) from Battlefront Miniatures (#GE040)
- 4 smoke/blast markers made
Terrain pieces painted (5):
- 4 smoke/blast markers painted
- 1 German Panzer IVD tank wreck made for North Africa as a terrain piece using a defective tank (15mm/1:100 scale) from Battlefront Miniatures (#GE040)

March: 138 projects

Figures painted (5):
- 3 Italian tanks/tank destroyers painted for What a Tanker© in North Africa
  - 3 M11/39 tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from Old Glory/Command Decision (#CD-551) for North Africa
    - 2 for the Italian Army
    - 1 captured (by Australians) for the 8th Army
    - 2 British tanks painted for What a Tanker© in North Africa:
- 2 Commonwealth tanks painted for What a Tanker© in North Africa
  - 1 M3 Grant tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR100)
  - 1 M4 Sherman tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR110) for North Africa
Terrain pieces made or assembled (19):
- - 8 ITC Terrain Series Damaged Urban Barricades assembled
  - 11 smoke/blast markers made
Terrain pieces painted (23):
- 4 berms painted for use with my Wasteland mat
- 8 ITC Terrain Series Damaged Urban Barricades painted
- 11 smoke/blast markers painted
Game pieces/game aids made or painted (86):
- 22 dashboards built for What a Tanker© games
- 64 “Bonus Attack Cards” built for What a Tanker© games
  - 18 Infantry Assault Cards
  - 12 Combat Engineer Cards
  - 12 Artillery Support Cards
  - 12 Anti-Tank Gun Support Cards
  - 12 Air Support Cards

April: 16 projects

Figures assembled (16):
- 11 German tanks/tank destroyers assembled for What a Tanker© in Normandy and the Eastern Front
  - 1 Marder III tank destroyer (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GE104) for Normandy
  - 1 Panzer IVE tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GE041) for Normandy
  - 5 Panzer IVH tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GBX121) (2 for Normandy, 3 for the Eastern Front)
  - 1 Panzer IVF2 tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GE042) for the Eastern Front
  - 1 Panther tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GE060) for Normandy
  - 2 Tiger I tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GBX107) (1 for Normandy, 1 for the Eastern Front)
- 3 American tanks/tank destroyers assembled for What a Tanker© in Normandy
  - 1 M3A1 Stuart tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#US003) for Normandy
  - 1 M4A2 Sherman tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#US045) for Normandy
  - 1 M10 Wolverine tank destroyer (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#US102) for Normandy
- 2 American tanks/tank destroyers assembled for What a Tanker© in the ETO
  - 2 M24 Chaffee light tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from some guy on eBay (magnetized turrets and cleaned up model)

May: 25 projects

Figures painted (22):
- 3 American tanks/tank destroyers painted for What a Tanker© in Normandy
  - 1 M3A1 Stuart tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#US003) for Normandy
  - 1 M4A2 Sherman tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#US045) for Normandy
  - 1 M10 Wolverine tank destroyer (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#US102) for Normandy
- 2 American tanks/tank destroyers painted for What a Tanker© in the ETO
  - 2 M24 Chaffee light tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from some guy on eBay
- 17 German tanks/tank destroyers painted for What a Tanker© in Normandy and the Eastern Front
  - 1 Marder III tank destroyer (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GE104) for Normandy
  - 1 Panzer IVE tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GE041) for Normandy
  - 5 Panzer IVH tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GBX121) (2 for Normandy, 3 for the Eastern Front)
  - 1 Panzer IVF2 tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GE042) for the Eastern Front
  - 1 Panther tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GE060) for Normandy
  - 2 Tiger I tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GBX107) (1 for Normandy, 1 for the Eastern Front)
  - 1 Elefant/Ferdinand tank destroyer (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GE132) for Normandy
Terrain pieces painted (3):
- 3 fields painted

June: 190 projects

Figures painted (14):
- 8 German tanks/tank destroyers/armored cars painted for What a Tanker© in Europe and North Africa
  - 5 German armored cars painted for What a Tanker© in Europe and North Africa
    - 3 SdKfz 231 (15mm/1:100 scale), from The Plastic Soldier Company (#WW2V15031), 2 for North Africa, 1 for Normandy
    - 2 SdKfz 233 (15mm/1:100 scale), from The Plastic Soldier Company (#WW2V15031), both for Normandy
  - 1 Jagdpanther tank destroyer (15mm/1:100 scale), Zveda model – (#Z106) bought from The Plastic Soldier Company
  - 1 Jagdtiger tank destroyer (15mm/1:100 scale), Zveda model – (#Z105) bought from The Plastic Soldier Company
  - 1 Tiger II (King Tiger) tank (15mm/1:100 scale), Zveda model – (#Z101) bought from The Plastic Soldier Company
- 3 American armored cars painted for What a Tanker© in Europe
  - 3 M8 Greyhound armored cars (15mm/1:100 scale), Old Glory/Command Decision (#CD207) bought from Old Glory Miniatures
- 3 British armored cars painted for What a Tanker© in Europe
  - 3 Daimler Dingo armored cars (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR310)
Figures assembled (14):
- 5 German armored cars assembled for What a Tanker©
  - 2 SdKfz 231 (15mm/1:100 scale), from The Plastic Soldier Company (#WW2V15031)
  - 3 SdKfz 233 (15mm/1:100 scale), from The Plastic Soldier Company (#WW2V15031)
- 3 German tanks/tank destroyers assembled for What a Tanker©
  - 1 Jagdpanther tank destroyer (15mm/1:100 scale), Zveda model – (#Z106) bought from The Plastic Soldier Company
  - 1 Jagdtiger tank destroyer (15mm/1:100 scale), Zveda model – (#Z105) bought from The Plastic Soldier Company
  - 1 Tiger II (King Tiger) tank (15mm/1:100 scale), Zveda model – (#Z101) bought from The Plastic Soldier Company
- 3 American armored cars painted for What a Tanker© in Europe
  - 3 M8 Greyhound armored cars (15mm/1:100 scale), Old Glory/Command Decision (#CD207) bought from Old Glory Miniatures
- 3 British armored cars painted for What a Tanker© in Europe
  - 3 Daimler Dingo (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR310)
Game pieces/game aids made or painted (162):
- 72 Allied “Bonus Attack Cards” made for my What a Tanker© Normandy scenario
  - 18 Infantry Assault Cards
  - 6 Combat Engineer Cards
  - 9 Anti-Tank Gun Support Cards
  - 6 Artillery HE Attack Support Cards
  - 9 Artillery Smoke Support Cards
  - 6 Artillery HE Attack Support Cards
  - 6 Air Support Cards
  - 6 Naval Gunfire Support Cards
  - 6 Commo Problem Cards
- 72 German “Bonus Attack Cards” made for my What a Tanker© Normandy scenario
  - 18 Infantry Assault Cards
  - 6 German Pioneer Cards
  - 15 Anti-Tank Gun Support Cards
  - 9 Artillery HE Attack Support Cards
  - 9 Artillery Smoke Support Cards
  - 9 Artillery HE Attack Support Cards
  - 3 Luftwaffe (Air Support) Cards
  - 6 Funkprobleme Cards
- 18 lettered wooden markers for blind tank placement for my What a Tanker© Normandy scenario

July: 28 projects

Figures painted (9):
- 9 British tanks/tank destroyers painted for What a Tanker© in Normandy campaign/ETO
  - 1 Cromwell Mark IV Cruiser tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR041)
  - 5 Cromwell Mark IV Cruiser tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BBX31)
  - 2 M10 Achilles tank destroyers (15mm/1:100 scale), from Old Glory Miniatures (#CD-111)
  - 1 Churchill IV heavy infantry tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR074)
Figures assembled (16):
- 9 British tanks/tank destroyers assembled for What a Tanker© in Normandy campaign/ETO
  - 1 Cromwell Mark IV Cruiser tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR041)
  - 5 Cromwell Mark IV Cruiser tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BBX31)
  - 2 M10 Achilles tank destroyers (15mm/1:100 scale), from Old Glory Miniatures (#CD-111)
  - 1 Churchill IV heavy infantry tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR074)
- 7 American tanks/tank destroyers assembled for What a Tanker© in Normandy campaign/ETO
  - 5 M4A1 Sherman tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BBX42) – British Shermans to be used as Americans
  - 1 M10 Wolverine tank destroyer (15mm/1:100 scale), from Old Glory Miniatures (#CD-111) – Achilles with US gun to be used as an M10 Wolverine
  - 1 M36 Hellcat tank destroyer (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#US106)
1 terrain piece painted
- 1 Scratch-built chemical plant painted
1 figure converted
- 1 M10 Wolverine tank destroyer (15mm/1:100 scale), from Old Glory Miniatures (#CD-111) – Achilles with US gun converted as an M10 Wolverine
1 creations or components sculpted or scratch-built
- 1 Scratch-built chemical plant built

August: 49 projects

Figures painted (7):
- 7 American tanks/tank destroyers painted for What a Tanker© in Normandy campaign/ETO
  - 5 M4A1 Sherman tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BBX42) – British Shermans to be used as Americans
  - 1 M10 Wolverine tank destroyer (15mm/1:100 scale), from Old Glory Miniatures (#CD-111) – Achilles with US gun to be used as an M10 Wolverine
  - 1 M36 Hellcat tank destroyer (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#US106)
Game pieces/game aids made or painted (40):
- 40 tank destroyed/blast markers made for What a Tanker© games
  - 20 brewed up tank burning markers
  - 20 knocked out/disabled tank smoke markers
Molds made (2)

September: 72 projects

Figures painted (11):
- 1 Archive THE MIND (#2103) from the Archive Miniatures Cosmic Encounters line “THE MIND AND THE MACRON”
- 10 Archive THE MACRON (#2107) from the Archive Miniatures Cosmic Encounters line “THE MIND AND THE MACRON”
Figures cast (57):
- 10 Mark III Warbots
- 4 droids/robots of indeterminate make
- 5 Slag Mounds
- 9 flying troopers of indeterminate make
- 3 Mark 1 Sphere Tanks
- 10 Space Phraints
- 9 Dragonspawn kneeling
- 7 Dragonspawn advancing
Terrain pieces made (4):
- 4 slag mounds on old CD’s.

October: 23 projects

Figures painted (5):
- 5 classic movie monsters painted for Halloween diorama piece
  - 1 Ral Partha 25mm “Dracula” (#01-014) from the “Personalities and Things that Go Bump in the Night” line, circa 1976.
  - 1 Ral Partha 25mm “The Mummy” (#01-020) from the “Personalities and Things that Go Bump in the Night” line, circa 1976.
  - 1 Ral Partha 25mm “Were Wolf” (#01-061) from the “Personalities and Things that Go Bump in the Night” line, circa 1979.
  - 1 Ral Partha 25mm “Werewolf” (#98-003) from the “The Adventurers” line, circa 1979.
  - 1 Ral Partha 25mm “Frankenstein’s Monster” (#98-003) from the “The Adventurers” line, circa 1979.
Terrain pieces painted (4):
- 4 slag mounds on old CD’s.
Creations or components sculpted or scratch-built (1):
- 1 Halloween Diorama
Game pieces/game aids made or painted (13):
- 11 casualty cards made for “THE MIND AND THE MACRON”
- 2 unit data cards made for Combat Patrol™

November: 7 projects

Figures assembled (7):
- 3 French tanks assembled for What a Tanker© in France 1940
  - 3 FCM 36 tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from Old Glory Miniatures (#CD-608)
- 4 figures for my Retrovian Platoon
  - 3 “The Bra’sheer” three-legged Retrovian vehicles, 28mm scale, from Wargames Supply Dump Miniatures Dirk Garrison line (#DG-07)
  - 1 “Garkkon” monster, 28mm scale, from Wargames Supply Dump Miniatures Dirk Garrison line (#DG-11)

December: 104 projects

Figures painted (41):
- 7 French tanks painted for What a Tanker© for France 1940
  - 3 FCM 36 tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from Old Glory Miniatures (#CD-608)
  - 1 Hotchkiss H35 tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront (#FR020)
  - 2 Hotchkiss H39 tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront (#FR020)
  - 1 Hotchkiss H39 tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Peter Pig (#PP33)
- 34 figures for my Retrovian Platoon
  - 3 “The Bra’sheer” three-legged Retrovian vehicles, 28mm scale, from Wargames Supply Dump Miniatures Dirk Garrison line (#DG-07)
  - 1 “Garkkon” monster, 28mm scale, from Wargames Supply Dump Miniatures Dirk Garrison line (#DG-11)
  - 2 “Retrovian Captain” figures, 28mm scale, from Wargames Supply Dump Miniatures Dirk Garrison line (#DG-50)
  - 3 “Retrovian Trooper Aiming Blaster” figures, 28mm scale, from Wargames Supply Dump Miniatures Dirk Garrison line (#DG-54)
  - 15 “Retrovian Trooper Advancing with Blaster” figures, 28mm scale, from Wargames Supply Dump Miniatures Dirk Garrison line (#DG-55)
  - 4 “Retrovian Sniper with Vision Enhancer & Needle Blaster” figures, 28mm scale, from Wargames Supply Dump Miniatures Dirk Garrison line (#DG-56)
  - 6 “Retrovian Two Man Sonic Cannon Team” figures (6 figures total), 28mm scale, from Wargames Supply Dump Miniatures Dirk Garrison line (#DG-58)
Figures assembled (10):
- 10 French tanks/armored cars assembled for What a Tanker© in France 1940
  - 1 Hotchkiss H35 tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront (#FR020)
  - 2 Hotchkiss H39 tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront (#FR020)
  - 1 Hotchkiss H39 tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Peter Pig (#PP33)
  - 3 AMC 35 tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from Old Glory (#CD606)
  - 1 Char D1/D2 tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from QRF (#FFV10)
  - 1 FT-17 tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Peter Pig (#PP252)
  - 1 Panhard 178 armored car (15mm/1:100 scale), from Peter Pig (#PP25)
Game pieces/game aids made or painted (53):
- 7 dashboards built for French 1940 tanks in What a Tanker© games
  - 3 FCM 36 dashboards
  - 1 H35 dashboard
  - 3 H39 dashboards
- 6 unit data cards made for my Retrovians use in Combat Patrol™ retro sci-fi games
- 3 vehicle data cards made for my Retrovians use in Combat Patrol™ retro sci-fi games
- 3 vehicle data cards updated for my Mark 1 Sphere tanks use in Combat Patrol™ retro sci-fi games
- 34 casualty cards made for my Retrovians use in Combat Patrol™ retro sci-fi games

French Armor for the 80th Anniversary of the Battle of France: Hotchkiss H35 and H39 Light Cavalry Tanks

Amazingly, this upcoming May-June 2020 will mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of France. I am curious as to how it will be remembered – if at all. Certainly I would think that both the French and the Germans will likely shy away from commemorating the event for diametrically opposed reasons. Yet, it is definitely worth remembering it as a seminal event that without question fashioned all of the world’s history since.

I have studied this battle since my days at West Point. I was fortunate there to study with the then-USMA Department of History Chair COL Robert A. Doughty (now a retired Brigadier General). I was able to participate in a class (HI498 – a colloquium) with him and just one other cadet during my second semester senior year as part of my concentration of studies in French. A side note – my class – 1984 – was the last class not to have majors – we had concentrations. This meant we could choose 8 classes outside of the 44 classes in the core curriculum. As I love military history, especially French military history, this colloquium was a great opportunity. We studied Alistair Horne’s works among others.

BG Doughty has authored many books (just check out this list on Amazon), many that focus on France from WWI to WWII. I recently got two excellent books on the subject that he published after I graduated that I have not read: The Seeds of Disaster: The Development of French Army Doctrine, 1919-39, (which discusses how the French Army came to set themselves up for disaster) and The Breaking Point (dealing with the pivotal Sedan breakthrough in 1940). I also plan on rereading Alistair Horne’s To Lose a Battle: France 1940 as well.

The reason for all this reading and research is (well, besides for pure pleasure) to prepare myself to be fully knowledgeable ready to run several tank battle games set in France in May-June 1940 using the What a Tanker© rules. Obviously, the games will be, at best, an abstraction of what happened. However, I wanted to have requisite knowledge of the battle and to prepare and build suitable models for both sides to give a proper flavor to the conflict that shocked the world. I did get an A- in the colloquium, but that was 35½ years ago, I want to refresh!

Previously, I have built French and German tanks and run several France 1940 games described in this blog – but my 15mm/1:100 scale tank inventory was quite lacking in terms of the wide variety of vehicles used. I aim to remedy that. I am currently planning on running a game at TotalCon in February, and at HAVOC in April. I may do others as well, plus club gaming sessions. This blog post describes the first chapter of my preparation and force building upgrades for those events – four Hotchkiss light cavalry tanks (one H35 and three H39’s).

I will go over a bit of history of the Hotchkiss tanks and then show some WIP shots of the models. I will then share some eye-candy shots of the finished models. Lastly, as per usual, I will share the paints and materials used in this project.

The H35 tank was originally rejected by the infantry, who chose the R35 instead. It was intended to be a light cavalry tank, though it did equip some infantry tank units as well. Hotchkiss built around 1200 H35’s and H39’s, with the majority being H35’s. The Hotchkiss company was actually founded by an American from Connecticut, Benjamin Hotchkiss. He was a Union ordnance engineer at Colt and a munitions builder during the American Civil War. Finding no US business after that conflict, he moved to France and set up his own company.

The H35 and H39 both had the same 37mm SA18 gun that many French tanks had though the H39 had a longer barrel with better armor penetration (30mm vs 23mm of armor with the shorter barrel). Given that a Panzer IIIE of the time had 30mm of armor all around, this was not adequate to be sure. It had a crew of just two, which made it challenging to operate effectively in battle. Three out of four of the armored divisions’ tank regiments had Hotchkiss tanks (the other one had SOMUA S35’s). The armor was adequate, but with a range of only 80 miles and a top speed of 17 mph, it was not very cavalry-like. On top of it all, it was tough to drive and mechanically unreliable.

After France capitulated, both Germany and Italy got Hotchkiss tanks. Some of these Italian vehicles faced US Army Rangers in Sicily. After the war, some Hotchkiss tanks served on with the Israeli Defense Force until 1952.

I acquired a 3-vehicle packet from Battlefront Miniatures (#FR020) and one single H39 vehicle from Peter Pig (#PP33). The Battlefront ones could be either H35’s or H39’s. In the end, one of the H35 guns was unsatisfactory, so I ended up with one H35 and three H39’s. In the game, there are no differences statistically between the two types.

1 Hotchkiss tanks at start — Here are the models – the Peter Pig one was all metal. The Battlefront ones had two different engine hatches depending on what version was to be built. These were relatively easy to assemble and prep for painting.

2 Hotchkiss tanks assembled — Assembled and magnetized Hotchkiss tanks. From left to right, Peter Pig H39, Battlefront H35, and two Battlefront H39’s.

3 H35 assembled — The Battlefront H35 gun was drilled in and affixed with Gorilla Glue. Later, the drill holes were filled with kneadatite (green stuff).

4 H39 Bottom Peter Pig assembled — The bottom of the Peter Pig H39 model. For reinforcement of the tracks, I added green stuff under the chassis. I also added a magnet to the inside of the turret so my knocked out tank blast markers would stick to an otherwise non-magnetic model.

5 H39 Battlefront assembled — H39 showing green stuff around the longer gun.

6 Hotchkiss tank chassis painting mounts — My mounting arrangement for the tanks. I did paint and varnish the tracks first.

7 Hotchkiss tank turrets painting mounts — Turrets ready to paint.

8 Tracks first! — This shows the H35 after the tracks were painted, washed, and lightly varnished.

9 Double Primed showing metal exposure — Then the models were mounted and primed. I had a challenge priming the exposed metal parts as you see here – I needed a few thin coats.

9a Double Primed showing metal exposure — The priming issue (exposed metal) was more difficult for the Peter Pig model as it was all metal.

10 H35 masked for airbrush — After priming, the H35 awaits set up for base coat painting. Protecting the already painted tracks with poster tack was the first step.

11 H35 masked for airbrush camo — I was not thrilled with the yellow, but I darkened it. Here, I applied more poster tack to apply a camouflage pattern.

12 H39 masked for airbrush camo — The H39’s got their base coats, and then I used an Iwata Micron airbrush to blend in some browns on the green. As I researched tanks of this era on the French side, I found that there was no standardization of tank painting schemes.

13 H35 masked for airbrush camo after — The H35 under the poster tack for a camouflage scheme.

14 H39 close up after camo — The Peter Pig H39 model showing the added brown color airbrushed across the tank.

15 H35 close up after camo — After removing the poster tack from the H35, this was the result.

16 H39 close up before decals and weathering — I then washed the vehicles with Army Painter Military Shader. All that was left was adding decals, weathering, and final varnishing.

18 Tiny decals — Battlefront decals – so tiny. I still do not understand why the roundels are two piece decals.

Now, I would like to share the finished vehicles – eye candy (at least I hope you find them nice to look at).

Battlefront H35

1 H35 left side — Right side view, Battlefront H35

2 H35 frontside — Front view, Battlefront H35

3 H35 right side — Left side view of the H35. The number is helpful for tabletop ID, but is historically correct. The unit insignia is from the 4eme regiment de cuirassiers, part of the 1st Light Mechanized Division (DLM).

4 H35 rear view — The roundel on the back right.

1a H35 left side — How I planned the paint job – I am hoping to get better tan/yellow tan paint for future French use, but after washing/shading, I think this is fine. Do you?

Battlefront H39’s (two)

5 H39 (B model) left side — Battlefront H39 “#8” left side.

6 H39 (B model) left front side — Battlefront H39 “#8” left front side.

7 H39 (B model) left rear side — Battlefront H39 “#8” rear view.

8 H39 (B model) right side — Battlefront H39 “#8” right side.

5b H39 (B model) left side — My plan for the “#8”.

12 H39 (D model) right side — Battlefront H39 “#64” left side. This was the only Hotchkiss tank I built with a number on the right side of the turret. Again, markings were definitely not standardized.

13 H39 (D model) right front side — Battlefront H39 “#64” right front side.

14 H39 (D model) left side — Battlefront H39 “#64” right side.

15 H39 (D model) rear view — Battlefront H39 “#64” rear view.

12a H39 (D model) right side — How I modeled the vehicle.

Peter Pig H39

9 H39 (C model) left front side — Peter Pig H39 “#21” front left view.

10 H39 (C model) right side — Peter Pig H39 “#21” right side view. After weathering was added, the side looked similar to the Battlefront models.

9a H39 (C model) left front side — I did not have a #41!

11 comparing Peter Pig vs Battlefront — This is a side-by-side comparison of the Battlefront (left) and Peter Pig (right) H39’s. I like both – though my preference is for the Battlefront models – which are resin and metal. However, many of the models I need for this project are hard to find and not made by Battlefront, and sometimes with some manufacturers you need to buy up to five vehicles. With Peter Pig, I can just get one vehicle (QRF with metal models sells one at a time as well – and you’ll see some of their vehicles soon too). Old Glory usually sells 3 vehicles (all metal) in a pack.

Group Shots

This concludes my very last post of 2020 – and the beginning of this project. (I will be doing a 2019 round up of course – but that will be coming later this week).

More Battle of France vehicles (French and German) will be coming and I hope that you will find them interesting. If you have any feedback, good, bad or otherwise, let me know in the comments section – I do appreciate knowing what you think.

Thanks for looking and Happy 2020!

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE USED ON THESE VEHICLES:

Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol 91%
Microscale Liquid Decal Film
1/8″ neodymium magnets
Green stuff (kneadatite)
Gorilla Glue
Poster tack and ¼” square wooden dowels on plastic plates
Reaper MSP “Black Primer”
Vallejo “Black Grey”
Vallejo “Surface Primer – USA Olive Drab”
Vallejo “Flow Improver”
Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
Vallejo Model Air “Pale Green”
Vallejo Game Air “Black”
Battlefront “Army Green”
Army Painter “Military Shader” (shade)
Battlefront “Dark Gunmetal”
Vallejo Model Air “Rust” (71.080)
Vallejo Model Air “Matt Varnish”
Vallejo Model Air “Sand Yellow” (H35 only)
Battlefront “Army Green”
Vallejo Model Air “Dark Brown” (H39’s only)
Battlefront “Oxide Red”
Vallejo Model Air “Glass Varnish”
Appropriate decals from Battlefront
Microscale Micro-Set
Microscale Micro-Sol
Vallejo Weathering Effects “European Thick Mud”
Vallejo Weathering Effects “European Splash Mud”
Vallejo Weathering Effects “Crushed Grass”
Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish”

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