VT-49 Decimator repaint for X-wing miniatures game

Hi Everyone,

So last week i repainted my Decimator miniature for the X-wing miniatures game by Fantasy Flight Games.

Here is a picture of the original off the FFG website - the one i got out of my box was even more simple than this (basically grey with a black ink wash):

Boring!!!!! zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

Now as you can see from the pic above, straight out of the box its a very basic paint job and not very inspiring. Now ive owned this model since it first came out but only just used it for the first time a week ago and think i want to use it more so it definitely needed some brush love!

I sprayed it black and then went to town with a series of different grey's on random panels to break up the monotone nature of the basic model and then added a couple of stripes of red to add a little colour as well as adding a few coloured lights. i finished it off with a basic blue glow out the engine (not my best effort but it will do for now).  As a last minute thing i decided to damage up some of the paint job to make it look like it had seen a little action - in the miniature game this thing is a flying brick and cant avoid anything (Agility 0!!!!!) so i think a little damage is appropriate.

What do you think? Better? Worse? What would you have done to make it look better? Keen to hear all your thoughts as i may end up doing another one up in a different scheme. (Two of these in a 100 point game would be nasty!).

That's it for today, catch ya next time,

Mark
:)

Union regiment finished

Hey Guys

I just finished up Robs first Union unit.

You can check it out on my American civil war blog: http://acwim.blogspot.co.nz/

Mark
:)

2014 New Years Resolutions.

I know I'm a little late with this but I've been pretty busy lately. Firstly 2013 in review…
2013 was a year of many ups and downs for me.
From a gaming and painting point of view i achieved quite a lot. I finished 2 full 800 point fog Armies, a 1750 point flames of war army and many other small side projects.
From a work perspective i had a massive upheaval by leaving a 20 year long career in the gaming industry and  starting a new career in insurance.  I have to say although i was sad to be out of the gaming industry i am much happier now.  I find myself looking forward to gaming and painting more now than i have in years.
From a health perspective i decided early last year that i would set myself a goal of getting back into shape before i hit 40.  well 8 months on and and 3 months before my 39th Birthday i can happily say I'm fitter and stronger than i have been in years. With 15 months to go I'm confident that i can reach my goal.
Now for 2014!!
Painting wise I've already started off well. I’ve been working on LOTR miniatures and have finished an Oliphant and a pile of Uruk hi berserkers, siege troops and scouts.
Exercise wise I'm not sure exactly what i want to achieve. just keep getting fitter and stronger i guess. i do need to add in more cardio work so i guess that will be where i start.
Anyways here’s a few pic’s of stuff I've done over the last 30 days.

Sorry about the crap photos. i need to set my camera up and take some decent shots of these but they give you an idea of what I've been working on (or at least what I've finished so far.)
On top of the painting i have also played some games. 3 games of Fog won 2 and lost one. A game of lord of the Rings which was a close run thing as well as a couple of games of Malifaux and Legends of the old west.
Hopefully i can update this Blog a bit more often now.
Cheers till next time – Mark

Hordes Back on the Painting Bench

Over the last month ive been trying to consolidate my hobby some what.  This has entailed going through many, many boxes and deciding if i was going to keep models and play a certain game or get rid of them to generate some cash for other things.

I was doing well getting rid of a lot of models when i came across my Trollblood's in a figure case. One look and i knew i couldn't sell them so i decided i had to finish them. Here's what ive managed to get done so far:

More to come soon.

8.8cm FlaK 36 - the mighty German 88!

Hers some pics of a mid war German 88 as it would have looked on the eastern front in 1941/42.

Another Mid War platoon finished

Here's a few pics of my midwar Pak 38's.

New Midwar Toys

Here’s some shots of a couple of SdKfz 7/2 (3.7cm) i just finished up. Nothing flash but they should add a little support from nasty Russian planes.

More FOW painting work goes live on the FOW Website.

A couple of new releases this week done by me.
4.5" Howitzer Battery (BBX22)
The origins of the Ordinance Quick Fire (OQF) 4.5” howitzer go back as far as the Boer War of 1899-1902. The British forces begun to realise that their own field artillery was being outclassed by the more modern pieces being fielded by the Boers. The British immediately got to work developing potential contenders in an attempt to catch up.

Hotchkiss 25mm Gun (BR505)
In addition to arming the French Army, the canon de 25 also saw service with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). By this time, all available 2pdr anti-tank guns were needed by the artillery ant-tank regiments, so the infantry purchased canon de 25 from the French instead.
Hotchkiss 25mm Gun (BR505)...

This one is just a blister pack so no fancy box.

Even more Vietnam Goodness.

Here’s three more box sets i did for the FOW Vietnam release. These boxes are available from FOW retailers or the FOW store today. Get them fast as the Sheridan’s and Patton's are screaming out of the NZ, USA and EUROPE Warehouses.

M48A3 Patton (VBX04)
The M48 Patton tank was completely modernised version of the WWII M26 Pershing heavy tank, designed to fight Soviet tanks on a nuclear battlefield. Oddly, many of the lessons of WWII had been forgotten and the M48 lacked a stabiliser and was likely to catch fire when penetrated. Its impressive anti-tank capability was of little use in Vietnam.
M48A3 Patton (VBX04)...

M551 Sheridan (VBX05)
The M551 Sheridan was developed as an amphibious cavalry tank or air-landing tank capable of tackling Soviet tanks. As a result its main armament was an anti-tank missile launcher that could also fire conventional shells. Getting this complex weapon system to work delayed the introduction of the Sheridan, but it finally reached Vietnam in 1968. Once there, its crews liked its firepower, speed, and ability to cross flooded rice paddies, but missed the thick armour of the much heavier M48 and its ability to smash its way through thick jungle.
M551 Sheridan (VBX05)...

PAVN Divisional Fire Support (VBX15)
Equipped with an array of different armaments for a diverse number of roles; the PAVN Divisional Support was armed with equipment that was either Chinese copies of Soviet equipment or actual Soviet-made weapons.
PAVN Divisional Fire Support (VBX15)...

  

That’s it for all my Vietnam work.  If any of you want to know how i painted any of the miniatures shown over the last 3 weeks worth of posts just drop me a line.

More VIETNAM goodness

The Flames of War Vietnam releases keep coming and that means i get to show off more of the painting work I've been doing for Battlefront Miniatures over the last 6 months.


M113 APC (VBX06)
The M113 APC (armoured personnel carrier) was developed to fill the same role as the WWII M3 half-track carrying infantry up to the edge of the battlefield safe from artillery and longrange fire. In Vietnam the mechanised infantry battalions used their M113 ‘tracks’ much more aggressively.
M113 APC (VBX06)...

M132 'Zippo' (VBX08)
The M132 was an M113 APC modified into a mobile flame thrower. The cupola was replaced with the M10-8 flame gun and the passenger compartment was taken up by four 50 gallon (190 litre) spherical flame fuel tanks.
M132 'Zippo' (VBX08)...

PAVN Infantry Battalion HQ (VBX12)
The basic unit of the PAVN is an infantry battalion called a Tiểu Đoàn Bộ Binh (pronounced tee-eh-oo daw-an boh bin), or just a Tiểu Đoàn, a battalion. The battalion commander is a Thiếu Tá or Major, but is usually referred to in typical revolutionary fashion as a D Trưởng or D Leader (after the code for a battalion, ‘D’).
PAVN Infantry Battalion HQ (VBX12)...

PAVN Infantry Company (VBX13)
The bộ đội, foot soldiers, are the core of the infantry companies. As the troops of B3 Front are some of the best in the PAVN, they have an almost equal mix of the newer AK47 assault rifles and older SKS carbines. The squad automatic weapon is the RPD machine-gun, a modernised, belt-fed version of the WWII-era DP ‘record player’ machine-gun. Each squad also contains a B40 rocket launcher, a Chinese copy of the Soviet RPG-2.
PAVN Infantry Company (VBX13)...

PAVN Weapons Companies (VBX14)
The PAVN weapons companies were equipped with an array of different armaments for a diverse number of roles. Much of the equipment was Chinese copies of either Soviet weapons or American equipment that was captured during the conflict in Korea.
PAVN Weapons Companies (VBX14)...

That's it for now, next up should be the Sheridan's and the Patton's.

Small yay moment for me…

 

Today the first FOW Box Set that has my painting work on the box cover go’s on sale in retail stores. http://www.flamesofwar.com/Default.aspx?tabid=53&art_id=2424

It’s nothing super special but its a nice moment for me as this is what I've been wanting to do and working towards for years. Over the next 6 months a fair amount of box sets will be coming out with painting work done by me (this is why my blog has been very quiet as of late as I've been painting like a mad man morning, noon and night!).

As always I'm keen to here your thoughts on how i painted the Jagdpanther platoon.

Hope you guys like them.

Katyusha’s

 

Hi Guys

Here’s some models i finished a few week packs for a friend.  I rather like how these turned out.

Russian BM-13 Katyusha multiple rocket launchers, based on a ZIS-6 trucks.

EW Panzers

Hi Everyone

Been a busy first couple of weeks in the new job but im loving it. Making terrain and writing articles beats customer service any day :)

My Early war army is finally finished - Yay!! (Well actually its just the first 1500 points but its a good start. Im looking forward to trying this out at Rallypoint in Hamilton in November.  A couple of games in and ive already noticed a few things the army is lacking. (Pics of the upgrades will follow in due course.)

I painted this army up for work - the first article can be seen here:  http://www.flamesofwar.com/Default.aspx?tabid=53&art_id=2146

 

Command HQ of 2 Panzer 38(t) with 18T Recovery vehicle.

 

Panzer 2 c (early) platoon.

Panzer 38(t) Platoon 1 and 2.

8 Rads. 

 The full 1500 Army.

Im Very happy with how this force has turned out, (considering it was painted over the last couple of week during my lunch breaks) Check out the Flames of War web site for lots of close up pictures.

Let me know what you think.

Big Cats

 

Just finished these three King Tigers for a friend. Figured id get a few shots before they go to their new home.

     

I think they have turned out really well.

Flames of war goodies

 

Here’s a few quick shots of a couple of Flames of War bits i did for a friend.

 

Warhammer 8th Edition

With the 8th Edition of Warhammer just around the corner i thought id pull out a couple of my armies and think about which one i would put on the table first. As is normally the case the Orcs won. Going through my case i dug up one of my personal favorites.

I painted this miniature as a entry into last years Australian Golden Demon competition. It made it through the preliminary comps in Auckland NZ before being shipped over to the main competition in Sydney Australia. It didn't end up getting into the finals but im happy with it none the less - what do you guys think?