Gatling Walker - 'Firepower Test' - Stop Motion Movie

I've been thinking about another stop-motion movie for a while now. The main issue as ever is time, or should I say, lack of. Anyway, in-between entertaining youngster and pushing on with a homestudy course I managed to find time to rattle off a quick one today. I find the editing always takes 3 to 4 times as long as actually taking the photos, although on this occassion to my amazement Windows Movie Maker behaved, and didn't crash once ! :)
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Figures - The Colour Dilemma

I'm sure you've all been there. You have some nice new figures, and can't decide on the scheme to go for. Well, that's been me over this last week with some Critical Mass Games infantry. I wanted a different scheme from my other troops, but these guys have so much details on them (amazing really) that I've had difficulty setting on one was
(a) something I liked,
(b) something I could paint, and
(c) something that wasn't going to take hours.

Anyway, I'm just about there with them now. Pictures to follow in a couple of days when I've more of them sorted, along with the bases.
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Jims Product Lab

Whilst following a thread on the TMP I came across this interesting site selling some great looking terrain. Worth checking out. Link
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News Link - Fallen Fromelles Soldiers Laid To Rest

The first of 250 unknown British and Australian soldiers who died in World War I have been reburied in France amid chilly conditions. Link
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News Link - Russia launches plane to rival 'US stealth fighter'

Been very busy these last few days, so little time to get on the PC, or do any gaming / modelling, sadly. Did come across this interesting link however about the new Russian fighter. Link 1 and Link 2.

Towing the Tiger 2 - King Tiger 104

Towing the (UK) Tank Museums King Tiger back into the museum after a brief stay in the workshop area. It's a great shame IMHO that they haven't restored it so it can move under its own power...
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15mm Gatling Walker Arrives And Brings Platoon Up To Full Strength

Just about finished painting my latest Critical Mass Games walker, the one I mentioned on my Sunday posting. I couldn't resist banging some photos off this evening, even though the lighting conditions do leave a lot to be desired.
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This is my most heavily modified Walker to date.
1. Both main guns have been replaced with spare twin mounted gatlings.
2. Both gatlings are fully elevatable thanks to being fitted with Rare Earth Magnets.
3. The torso is twistable, magnets have been fitted between that and the hips.
4. The chin mounted gatling can swivel, as that too has been fitted with a magnet.
5. A GZG missile launcher has been installed on a fixed mount direct to the body.
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Painting pretty much as described in my previous posting regarding the Walkers, with the exception that the legs were given a Citadel Gryphonne Sepia Wash.

Just working on a script for another Stop Motion Movie.... :)
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Long March To Freedom

This is an interesting article on the BBC Today page.
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This week, a group, including relatives of the survivors and young RAF recruits, retrace the 1,000-mile march which followed the evacuation of the Great Escape camp, Stalag Luft III, and which resulted in the death of 200 POWs. Andy Wiseman, a former POW at the camp and a veteran of the Long March, tells his extraordinary story. Link

Walker In Progress + Terminator Hunter Killer

A few weeks back James (who incidentally has started his own blog) and I swapped unbuilt vehicles. He took a Critical Mass Games tank off me, and in exchange I took a Walker off him. Well yesterday I finally finished assembling it.
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Currently I'm on with the painting, and making fair progress. Base colours are all sorted, and the base is sanded. Just need to give it a good dry-brush, and add some extra detail. With a fair wind I should be able to post some photos maybe Wednesday.
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A posting on the TMP last week pointed me in the direction of Toys-r-Us who had a sale on. They have been selling the Terminator Salvation Hunter Killers off for £5.99. I was so sure they would be the right size for either 28mm or 15mm, I bought two ! Anyway they came on Saturday, and are excellent. I'll post some photos later in the week.
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Company Of Heroes - Eastern Front Mod

On the 21st Jan the long awaited Company Of Heroes (CoH) Eastern Front Mod was released. Link
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FAD 4 Game AAR

At the Huntingdon & District Wargames Society last night I had a much looked forward 15mm Sci-Fi game using the Fast And Dirty (FAD) rules with two of my friends James and Francis. As we are still getting to grips with the rules, (my 3rd game, James's 2nd and Francis's first) we used just the basic set. The battle took place on a 8'x4' table across the width. The objective for night was to secure the damaged gunship in the middle of the board. We had pre-planned forces of 500 points apiece. I was 99.9% certain that James would be using one of a pair of Critical Mass Walkers that he has recently bought, so I (cunning so I thought) decided to counter this by buying a light scout AT grav vehicle and having a specific AT squad armed with RPGs. The walker being armed with two autocannons and chin mounted double Gatling gun would slaughter my (clean living god fearing) infantry if it wasn't taken out quickly. With the remaining points I bought a light APC and 3 squads of Heavy armoured infantry armed with a mixture of high-tech assault rifles and SAWs.
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The battle with the initiative going to James and he aggressively used his walker to tear my APC apart. Francis and I countered by moving our AT Grav forward, and with a good dice roll took it out of play ! (At this point the weakness in my strategy of buying an entire team with RPGs came to light, as now they had nothing to do !) Both sides maneuvered for position, exchanging some fire as various units came into sight.
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Whilst James feinted with a couple of squads he managed to rush another to the dropship, at the same time deploying a pair of HMGs on a hill and tearing up a squad of mine that was trying to make for the objective. Losing 5 out of 8 men in one turn, left them Pinned (unable to move, and unable to fire).
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Francis and I riposted by damaging several of his squads with small arms fire, and launching missiles at the HMGs teams took one out and routed the other.
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At this point in the evening we ran out of time, and had to stop, with James although not in the gunship, certainly right next to it.
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Overall an excellent little game, enjoyed by all. We're now planning out next one in a fortnight, where we'll use double the number of points probably.
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Tiger I vs T34/85 and JS-2

Having seen this clip on U-Tube I just couldn't resist embedding it. Some excellent footage of Tiger 1s here.
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Irregular Magazine

This is worth checking out. The Irregular Magazine is produced on a quarterly basis as a downloadable PDF file. It contains no advertisements, and all content is supplied at no cost by community members. It covers Wargames, RPG, Miniature Painting, Scenery Building and much more. Link
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Good Quote

Saw a brilliant quote on the TMP by a contributor called Harmonward.

"It doesn't matter what the scale is, as long as your friends have an extra army. What matters is the friends."

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Stug IV

This is some fascinating footage of a very rare WWII German Stug IV assault gun getting dragged out of a river, followed by a short clip of the same vehicle running after it had been restored. Beautiful.
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Lead Adventure Forum

The web is such a big place and such a useful resource for the wargamer. Stumbled across a forum I haven't visited before, the Lead Adventure Forum. With 1,473 members, a large number of whom seem to be active posters, this is a forum that seems to cater for all periods and scales of figure gaming. Well worth checking out.
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JOKE - A LITTLE KINKY

A German guy approaches a lady of the night.

'I vish to buy sex viz you.'
'OK,' says the girl, 'I'll charge 20 an hour.'
'..ist goot, but I must varn you, I am a little kinky.'
'No problem,' she replies cautiously, 'I can do little kinky.'
So off they go to the girl's flat, where the German produces four large bedsprings and a duck caller.
'I vant zat you tie ze springs to each of your hans und knees.'
The girl finds this most odd, but complies, fastening the springs as he had said, to her hands and knees.
'Now you vill get on your hans und knees.'
She duly does this, balancing precariously on the springs.
'You vill please to blow zis kwacker as I make love to you.'
She finds it odd, but figures it's harmless (and the guy is paying.) She finds the sex is fantastic, as she is bounced all over the room by the energetic German, all the time honking on the duck caller.
The climax is the most sensational that she has ever experienced and it is several minutes before she has enough breath to say,
'That was totally amazing, what do you call that position ?'
'Ah,' says the German . 'zat is ze....
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scroll down.......................................
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Four-sprung
Duck technique
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Beamstrike Stats For Heavy Grav Tank

A friend asked me what stats (from the Beamstrike rules) I'll be using for the recently completed Critical Mass Games Heavy Grav tanks ...
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Vehicle Category: Heavy Tank
Armour Front: VH-VA
Armour Side: M-VA
Armour Rear/Top: L-VA
Propulsion: Grav
Crew: 3 (Regular)
Passengers: Nil
Weapon Pintle Mounted: Mk1: Nil
Weapon Pintle Mounted: Mk2: Support Bolter Weapon Turret: Railgun
Auto-Defence: Mk1: AI Turret + 20mm Gatling Cannon
Auto-Defence: Mk2 AI Turret + Rapid Fire Gyrobolter
Sensor 1: MAD
Sensor 2: Mk1: Nil
Sensor 2: Mk2: Sensor Array
Smoke Dispensers: Yes
Shields: AP & AM
Notes: Mk2 has a collapsible Satellite Comms Dish.

Points:
Mk1: 175
Mk2: 185

Conventions / Shows In 2010

For those wanting to / thinking about attending conventions / shows over the coming year, it is worthwhile checking out the excellent Newark Irregulars web site for the 2010 Show Diary. Link
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Night Vision Goggle Treatment

Javelin98, one of the contributors to the Sci-Fi Discussion message board on The Miniatures Page (TMP) has modified one of my photos and given it the Night Vision Goggle treatment :)
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Many thanks Javelin98, it looks excellent ! :)
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Help For Heroes - Big Battlefield Bike Ride 2010

A work colleague of mine is looking for sponsors to help him raise money for our (UK) wounded servicemen. Please take time to read his message below:

"Dear All,
After watching 'Wounded' on BBC1 last year I felt inspired to go MAD (Make a Difference) and signed myself up for Help for Heroes Big Battlefield Bike Ride 2010

This event takes place during the last week of May this year and we will cover about 350 miles over 4-5 days. Overall, I must raise a minimum of £2200, of which £900 must be paid on 1 Mar 10 and the balance by 1 Jul 10. Please help me to reach this target with generous donations to this worthy charity. I have set up pages with BMyCharity.com and JustGiving.com to make life easier for everyone and so that donations can make use of Gift Aid wherever possible.
(NB although it makes no difference to me, bmycharity.com does not charge, so all your money will go to HfH.)

Although I continue to cycle to and from work as much as possible, my training schedule starts in earnest in the next few weeks, so I am praying that the cold, icy weather will soon give way to something more like spring!

Finally, please feel free to forward this message to anyone that you think might be willing to sponsor me - it would be amazing if I could exceed that minimum figure!

Thank you in advance,

Gerard Bland"

News Link - Sunk Australia WWII hospital ship Centaur: First images

An Australian World War II hospital ship, the Centaur, has been seen for the first time since it sank more than 60 years ago with a loss of 268 lives. Link
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Here's a bad joke for you, passed onto me by a good friend of mine :)
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'The price of gas in France'
A thief in Paris planned to steal some paintings from the Louvre.
After careful planning, he got past security, stole the paintings, and made it safely to his van.
However, he was captured only two blocks away when his van ran out of gas.
When asked how he could mastermind such a crime and then make such an obvious error, he replied, 'Monsieur, that is the reason I stole the paintings.'
I had no Monet..
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AFVH10 MkII Heavy Grav Tank (Command Variant)

Guys
Here's the second Critical Mass Games tank I've completed, the AFVH10 MkII Heavy Grav Tank. The basic vehicle is identical to the MkI tank I covered on the 3rd Jan but with the additions of two crew men in the turret. I've made a few modifications to personalise it somewhat, as I wanted this vehicle to fill the role of company command tank :)
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Like with the MkI I've left off the side turret weapon mounts, although on this occasion I've used the recesses for aerials; I've added a GZG sensor ball, satellite dish, and automatic close in defence robo-turret. A rare-earth magnet helps keep the turret in place (a bit wobbly otherwise).
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As before, I wanted to go for a dirty / weather-beaten battlefield look.
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The painting / assembly sequence I used was a follows:
1. After assembly, a spray of car primer grey.
2. Figure base painted with Colour Party Paints MA19 'Green'.
3. Entire vehicle painted in a Coat d'arms 233 'Linen'.
4. First camo line of Foundry 33A 'Arctric Grey' added.
5. Second camo line of Citadel 'Catachan Green'.
6. Some recessed areas painted Foundry 39B 'Storm Blue'.
7. Entire model given a Citadel 'Devlan Mud' wash.
8. Very light dry brush using Foundry 33C 'White'.
9. Metal areas, painted 'Black, along with crew visors'.
10. Metal areas lightly brushed with Citadel 'Boltgun Metal'.
11. Figures painted with Citadel 'Catachan Green'.
12. Figures dry-brushed with Citadel 'Rotting Flesh'.
13. Crew visors painted Foundry 22B Vivid Blue'.
14. Crew skin painted with Citadel 'Bronzed Flesh'.
15. Artwork and lettering added.
16. Base gritted.
17. Aerials added.
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I really like these models, for a sci-fi tank they are just the ticket.
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A month in Helmand: the soldiers' stories

Stumbled across this article at lunch-time called 'A month in Helmand: the soldiers stories' written by The Times war correspondent as he revisits his old regiment and reports on the daily ordeal of life on Afghanistan's bloodiest battlefront. Must confess I found myself choked after reading it, and had to go for a short walk before returning to my desk. Salute to all our guys out in Helmund ! Link
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Tampa and Gaming

Here in the UK' we've had (for us) quite a cold snap. Nothing to do with wargaming but here is a great photo of our rabbit 'Tampa' in the back garden a couple of days ago, enjoying the snow.
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On the gaming front my son saw a piece of my 'Tech Tunnel' corridor terrain (made by Old Crow) I had out its' storage box, and before we knew it, he had all it out and a full scale battle in place between his Space Marines (may the Emperor protect them) and my Orc Mob (green is best !)
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On the painting front I've been pushing on with the Mk2 Critical Mass Grav tank, and part from the aerials and base gritting, it's all complete. I hope to post a couple of photos tomorrow night, time permitting.
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Bad Day At The Office

I'm still on with painting up my Mk2 Critical Mass Grav Tank at the moment. I hoping to get it finished this weekend. In the meantime here's a great vid on having a bad day in the office. As someone who works in an office I can closesly identify with some of these clips ! LOL. Enjoy...
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glumbert - Bad Day at the Office

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Flying Swiss

Check out this totally awesome flying in the Swiss Alps by one of their Hunters.
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glumbert - Flying Swiss

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Interesting Link - 'Man Who Never Was'

A historian claims to have conclusively proved the identity of the "Man Who Never Was", whose body was used in a spectacular plot to deceive the Germans over the invasion of Sicily in the Second World War, Ian Johnston reports. Link
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Last Day Of The Holiday

It was my sons' last day of his X-Mas holiday break, so I arranged to have the day off as well. We've had a day full of wargaming goodness :) Firstly I dug out of my garage over 30 square feet of ready made 1/300th terrain that an old friend of mine (Steve Hammond) very generously passed onto to me at X-Mas; and then proceeded to lay out 25 sq ft of it on the floor in the spare bedroom. We pulled out of the attic some of my Battlemech collection and we had a couple of entertaining hours battling with them on the terrain.
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After lunch on the orders of Mrs Vulture the two of us took a car full of rubbish to the council run tip / recycling centre. Whilst there I was astonished to see by one of the skips, a box of Warhammer 40k Terminators.
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I spoke to the attendance who said if I wanted them I could have them :) Five what were previously unmade Terminators are now as of this evening assembled uncoated and ready for painting :) To add to the new figures in our collection, today the postman brought the small order of twenty seven 15mm Orcs I had recently ordered from 'The Scene'.
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Fabulous little figures, this photo does not do justice to just how nice they are. Overall a good day here at the Vulture's Roost :) Sadly, back to work tomorrow though :(

AFVH9 - Mk1 ARC Heavy Grav Tank (Modified) Enters Service

Today I finished off the first of the Critical Mass Games (CMG) tanks I recently purchased after first seeing it on the excellent Dropship Horizon Blog back in Oct 09. The AFVH9 - Arc Fleet MkI Heavy Grav Tank went together without any problem as such, with just a little excess flash needing sanding off the hull and turret before gluing it all together using Araldite Epoxy Resin. The kit comes with a choice of three main gun options. I opted for the heavier of the three, which looks like it could be a type of Railgun (that's what I intended to use it as anyway).
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Two odd shaped contraptions are meant to be fastened to the back of the turret; I'm assuming they could be grenade launchers or something. Anyway, as soon as I'd glued them on I hated them, so I ripped them off and filled the fixture holes up. I decided to delete the pintle mounted top MG/Heavy Bolter in its entirety and also filled that hole as well, this because I'd decided to upgrade the close support weaponry by fitting a (beefy looking) spare Gatling Gun I had from one of the CMG walkers. Behind it I placed a spare sensor I had in my bits box (from a GZG vehicle). Okay the sensor stops the Gatling Gun from having a 360 degree arc, but it does allows me to claim that the gun can be on either manual or automated response mode.
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Painting wise an initial spray coat of car primer grey started the process off. This was followed with a 90 degree coverage of Coat d'arms 233 Linen, camo lines of GW Catachan Green, and random'ish spots of Foundry 13b Spearshaft. Recessed grills were done in Foundry 34C Charcoal Black. Over all this I gave a wash of GW Devlan Mud, followed by selective highlighting with a GW Rotting Flesh and Foundry 33C White.
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Oppsss, almost forgot to mention that I used 6mm x 1mm rare earth magnets (sourced off E-Bay) so the Gatling Gun gun can rotate, and a couple to keep the turret on the body. IMHO this is a necessity with these vehicles, otherwise with the slightest nudge the turret is off.
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The lighting conditions were interesting for these photos. I took them in the garage with a low winter sun bringing warmth and shadow in its last hour.
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I'm currently chewing on what scheme to paint the MkII tank in....
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HAPPY NEW YEAR

I missed posting yesterday for a variety of reasons, but even though it's the 2nd now, I'd still like to wish all readers of my blog, a happy safe and prosperous 2010.
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Yesterday and today I've been busy working on my new Critical Mass Games tanks. I'll post some details and pictures on how I've been getting on tommorrow.
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