6MMRPC Week One: Panther Gs and PaK40s WiP

So far this week I've had a surge of renewed Flames of War initiative in preparation for the West Coast Nationals at Kublacon later this month.  I've assembled and primed a Fallschirnjäger 7.5cm PaK40 platoon and a unit of three late model Panther G medium tanks.  Now I just need to unbury my paint booth from the bowels of my garage...

Guns and crew are Battlefront metals, Panthers are plastic PSC with metal MG barrels from Battlefront.

6 Month Mountain Reduction and Painting Challenge- 2018 Edition

Since 2015 I've participated in the Six Month Mountain Reduction and Painting Challenge, but honestly haven't been able to make much of a dent in the miniature pile the last two years.  I'm hoping that a new interest in Bolt Action and coming home to my regular gaming crowd will help with the motivation to put paint to little army men.  Rules are similar to previous years:

1. No purchasing of new miniatures, except if you use a Joker.  You get three Jokers to use on a miniature purchase.  Can be a blister pack, an eBay bundle, or a single figure.  The only exception is if you need to buy a single figure to complete a unit.  In addition, you can earn additional Jokers by completing an entire project, complete with starting, WIP, and final pictures.

2. Gifts do not count against you.  Holidays, birthdays, and gift cards given to you do not count against you.

3. Paint, terrain, and hobby supplies do not count against you.

4. At least one hobby-related blog or Instagram post a week.

5. Zombie-related stuff during October is encouraged. 

I've been playing Armada pretty regularly now that my friend Kevin has purchased a sizable Imperial fleet, and also have a new Imperial Japanese Army force to put together for Bolt Action. (Thanks Dai!)  I've also a few platoons to paint for my Kublacon Flames of War event later this month, and hopefully a few other things in the works.

6MMRPC Final Report- 2017

At least it's something!

All Flames of War, Fallschirmjäger, Deutsches Afrika Korps, and a generic bunker.

I was glad to see the challenge return for 2017, but a move from New Mexico to California would see about a three month break for me without any hobby time at all.  I was able to get handful of items done before the move, and have worked on some assembly since.  I also stayed within the financial confines of the challenge, having purchased a total of three items (Panzer IIIs and StuGs for Flames of War, and a Grand Inquisitor for Star Wars Imperial Assault) 

Stated goals:

    Yes: Finish a few partially built items for my Fallschirmjäger

    Yes: Get started on V4 Mid War

    No: Get to some Star Wars Armada ships

This is everything I accomplished:

    -Assembled and painted a Sniper and an Anti-tank Rifle team for my Fallschirmjäger (FoW)

    -Assembled and painted a 2.8cm Anti-tank Rifle for my DAK (FoW)

    -Continued work on several units for a Führer Begleit Brigade army (FoW)

    -Painted a HMG bunker and mostly finished several other bunkers (FoW)

    -Assembled some Tiger Is for a DAK army (FoW)

    -Assembled a platoon of StuH 42s for the FBB army (FoW)

Here's to another year of painting little army men!

6MMRPC Week Twenty-Six: Tigers and StuHs WiP

December is always jammed full of family holiday activities but I managed to get in a little hobby time.  I plan on going to Shifting Sands this year and need to paint up a pair of Tiger Is and another anti-tank rifle, and I also built three StuH 42s for a Late War army I've had on my plotter since 2016.  I started a pair of Möbelwagens as well.

All models from Battlefront, the StuHs are from the new plastics.

These will be Late '44-'45 StuHs so have the remote MG which I'll add later.  I scratch built some stowage rails, as these had become standard by then.

Thus ends the latest 6MMRPC, the move really killed my progress, but I feel like I got something going and stuck to my limit of purchases.

6MMRPC Week Twenty-Two: Repairs and X-Wing

This week I finally finished repairing all of the damage from the move, at least the models that still had all of the parts.  There are a few more that will need more extensive repairs from my spares box.

Paint touch-ups on these.

Had a few broken crew and hatches on these.

I also got a game of X-Wing in with my friend Kevin, his first and my first in several years.  I really can't imagine playing this as competitively as some do, but I understand the depth that it allows.  I'm quite happy to keep it a 'beer and pretzel' type game.

Kevin's TIEs make a head-on attack on one of my Y-Wings!

Jek Porkins scores the first kill vs. a TIE Interceptor!

The game was super fun and I barely took the win.  Out of two X-Wings and two Y-Wings vs. Kevin's three TIE Fighters and two TIE Interceptors, it came down to a single X-Wing vs. a single TIE Interceptor, and I got a lucky four hits to finish the TIE.

6MMRPC Week Twenty-One: Imperial Assault?

I played my first game of Fantasy Flight's Imperial Assault last night and had a very good time.  Only problem: Those minis need paint!  I'm considering making an investment into the game now that I'm back in an area with friends who game, and my usual D&D group is looking for an alternative for when one or more of us can't make it on game night.  I picked up The Grand Inquisitor figure from the Rebels animated series and it's a pretty nice little item.  Only problem is the usual drooping lightsaber blades which I may try to replace.  Joker number two burned, but maybe something completely different will kickstart my painting mojo!

6MMRPC Week Nineteen: Moving In!

Hey, I've finally moved in to the new place enough that I got to unpack my minis.  They've patiently sat in boxes for the last two months while everything else for the new house was taken care of first.  Most of them made in in one piece, but there were a few casualties.  Until I get these repaired and some paint touched up, I won't be cracking into the mountain of lead.

6MMRPC Week Ten: Leaving Las Cruces

I'm all packed up and I'll be on the road Friday for California.  Doubt I'll have anything to post next week, but you never know!

6MMRPC Week Nine: The First Transport is Away!

Sorry I'm rather late this week, I've been continuing the move prep, this time boxing all of my Armada, X-Wing, and painted Flames of War models.  We'll be leaving in one week for California!

Nothing left in the cabinets but dust!

6MMRPC Week Eight: HMG Bunker

So, I had a chance to work on those bunkers from last week a bit more and finished them as far as I can without an airbrush, which is packed in a box somewhere.  Once I get established in our new home, I can finish the gun turrets for the rest of them.
I started by leaving the gray primer color on all of the concrete area, then built up a few layers of varying grays by drybrush.  I then did any detail areas with Vallejo acrylics.  Once that was done, I used a few colors of acrylic wash from Secret Weapon and then did the ground area with washes and dry pigments before adding some static grass and tufts.
I get to count the single finished bunker towards my mountain reduction, but I'll consider the rest almost done.

Rear area with MG port and enfilade walls.

Forward area with MG port.

The two large bases can fit Panther, Panzer IV, T-34, or P-40 turrets, the smaller can fit Panzer II, or several french designs.  The large bunker is for a 5cm KwK gun.

I probably won't have much else to show for a few weeks, almost time to leave Tatooine!

6MMRPC Week Seven: Bunkers In Progress

I managed to get some work in on the bunkers, just need to do a few washes, some weathering, and some basing work still.  I should have these done by next week, minus any guns or turrets since my airbrush is all packed away.

I hate weathering concrete, it never looks right...

6MMRPC Week Six: Building Some Bunkers

While continuing the packing process in preparation for moving, I kept my eye out for projects that I could work on simply, since most of my collection and my airbrush have been boxed up.  I stumbled upon several old bunkers and gun nests that have languished in a forgotten box for several years and I think these should prove to be simple enough to work on without most of my tools.  Hopefully I can get some of these completed by next week.

Two Pantherturms, two gun nests, a 5cm KwK bunker, and a HMG bunker.  

6MMRPC Week Five: Passing Along the Hobby

This was supposed to be the week that I packed up all of my hobby stuff and moved back to California, but we're still waiting on some things for the new house.  That said, my packing was basically done and I didn't really have anything to work on!  I did manage to get a few partially assembled projects primed and put a little bit of paint on a few stands of infantry for a Late War Führer Begleit Brigade list, and helped my seven-year old build his first model, a Zvezda snap-together King from the Pixar Cars movie.  He really loved putting it together and applying the stickers, while I trimmed all of the parts off of the sprue for him.  I remember building my first model when I was about his age and he can't wait for another go at modeling.

Otto-Ernst Remer is an option for the Führer Begleit lists, I updated the Mid War figure by swapping the head and replacing the PPsH with a panzerfaust.  I also started on a command team and an observer.  The figures are a mix of Volksgrenadiers and Begleit.

So far, I've got primer on some Panzer IV/70As, Panzer IV Js, SdKfz 231s, a platoon of armored infantry, some Nebelwerfer crew, and Remer.

Always read the instructions before starting!

The King, all finished and stickered!

6MMRPC Week Four: DAK 2.8cm PzB 41

Mission accomplished, I guess!  I finished the anti-tank rifle that I started last week, having located some suitable spackle at the local hardware store, and was able to get a match to the basing I originally did more than twelve years ago.  The figures painted up quickly and the gun was already painted sometime last decade.  I also finished a barrel swap for a Panzer III, giving me an undergunned, but cheaper HQ tank for my future DAK Panzerkompanie for V4 Flames of War.  This will give me a 75 point force to practice with!

I found my old formula for the basing, fine spackle, Vallejo Khaki paint, and a sprinkle of sand.

Gun and crew by Battlefront.

I downgraded this Panzer III N to a short 5cm KwK armed Panzer III J to squeeze a few points out of the list for V4.

I'm not counting the tank against my mountain since I only had to paint and swap the gun barrel, but the gun counts.  I finally get to subtract something from my pile of lead!  The single stands so far haven't helped thin the numbers, as I only count full platoons of infantry on my inventory sheet.

6MMRPC Week Three: DAK 2.8cm sPzB 41 In Progress

With V4 becoming the new norm for Flames of War I wanted to update my Africa Korps forces to fit the new lists.  Many of my vehicles are so far unusable, but I hope that future lists will help with that soon.  I was able to get a Panzer list together with stuff I already have, I just need to build a single Anti-Tank Rifle for the infantry platoon and swap a few gun barrels on some Panzer IIIs.

I switched back to the long 5cm gun from the short 7.5cm guns I was using previously on the Panzer IIIs.  This is what I'll be trying out at 75 points.  I still need to finish the short 5cm gun on the HQ Panzer III.

I was ready to do the basing on this last night, but my spackle had dried up.  This is now a mandatory item in the infantry platoon.

Nothing finished this week, but there was some progress!

6MMRPC Week Two: Fallschirmjäger Anti-tank Rifle Team

Another week, one more stand to show for it.  I'm trying to finish a few partially started projects before I dive into something more labor intensive, especially with only a few weeks until we pack everything up and move.  I originally started this for a Mid War list, but now with V4 there isn't even a Fallschirmjäger list available for that period.  Hopefully Battlefront will get something together for them within the next few releases, but I can still use it for the Early War list from Burning Empires (I think).

I tried to match the rubble look of my other FJ stands, figures from Battlefront.

Added some striping to the interior wall for some visual interest, wallpaper or something.

Hope I get to use this someday!

6MMRPC Week One: Fallschirmjäger Sniper

I don't have much to show this week butI consider it a victory.  The store down in El Paso was hosting a V4 event last weekend and I was determined to paint at least this one stand so I could try something new.  He came out pretty good and I was able to dress up the base to match the rest of the army which is now four or five years old.

The figure is from Battlefront, probably from the old Festungskompanie box set from a decade ago.  The base is also from Battlefront's Urban Rubble set.

I bulked up the base with a mix of ballast, stones, and balsa scraps.

Obligatory WIP shot!

It's a small start, but I painted something!

6 Month Mountain Reduction and Painting Challenge- 2017 Edition

Back in 2015 I had the pleasure of participating on the Six Month Mountain Reduction and Painting Challenge, and painted up a pretty fair amount of minis.  Last year there was a three-month version that I failed at completely, but I'm going to give it another go this year, though the first month I'll be prepping for a move back to California and I'm not sure what I'll be able to get worked on.  Rules are similar to previous years:

1. No purchasing of new miniatures, except if you use a Joker.  You get three Jokers to use on a miniature purchase.  Can be a blister pack, an eBay bundle, or a single figure.  The only exception is if you need to buy a single figure to complete a unit.  In addition, you can earn additional Jokers by completing an entire project, complete with starting, WIP, and final pictures.

2. Gifts do not count against you.  Holidays, birthdays, and gift cards given to you do not count against you.

3. Paint, terrain, and hobby supplies do not count against you.

4. At least one hobby-related blog or Instagram post a week.

5. Zombie-related stuff during October is encouraged. 

I'd like to finish a few partially built items for my Flames of War Fallschimjäger, get started in V4 Mid War Flames of War, and maybe get to some Star Wars Armada ships.  It might be really slow until I get moved next month, but I hope it picks up from there!

3 Month Mountain Reduction and Painting Challenge- It's Back!

Last year I had the pleasure of participating on the Six Month Mountain Reduction and Painting Challenge, and pushed myself to get a pretty decent amount of minis painted.  This year there's a three-month version, having started on September 15 and ending December 15.  I know I'm a week late, but I'm jumping in.  I'm not really sure what my goals are, except to actually sit and paint something, anything, really.  It's been difficult lately, to say the least.  Rules are similar to last year:

1. No purchasing of new miniatures, except if you use a Joker.  You get three Jokers to use on a miniature purchase.  Can be a blister pack, an eBay bundle, or a single figure.  The only exception is if you need to buy a single figure to complete a unit.  In addition, you can earn additional Jokers by completing an entire project, complete with starting, WIP, and final pictures.

2. Gifts do not count against you.  Holidays, birthdays, and gift cards given to you do not count against you.

3. Paint, terrain, and hobby supplies do not count against you.

4. At least one hobby-related blog or Instagram post a week.

5. Zombie-related stuff during October is encouraged. 

http://historyspiderweb.blogspot.com/2016/09/a-long-hiatus-and-return-of-6mmrpc.html

So far, I think I'd like to work on a few odds-and-ends for my Flames of War Fallschimjäger, a few Star Wars Armada ships that need some paint on them, and a continuation of some commission work.  I've set aside Friday afternoons for painting, let's hope it sticks.

First up will be an Anti-tank Rifle team for my FJs.

6MMRPC Final Report

First, the glamour shots of all of the minis I finished during the challenge:

Flames of War Germans

28mm miniatures for D&D

Custom ships for X-Wing Miniatures

Saving Private Ryan Diorama

Six months ago I jumped at the opportunity to join the Six Month Mountain Reduction Painting Challenge, thinking that it would be a great way to force myself to paint what I already have and save some money too.  I managed to stick with the financial rules of the challenge, spending my first Joker at the Historicon swap meet, my earned Joker (for finishing my Historicon army) on a small batch of unpainted Gebirgsjäger from a friend, and my final Joker on a trio of tanks during Battlefront's 33% off Sale last month.  I'm also happy to report that I was successful with some of my goals.  My initial list of planned projects, and their status:

    Partial - Assemble and paint a Great War British army for a commission. (Flames of War)
    Yes - Assemble and paint units to finish my Early War German army for Historicon. (Flames of War)
    Yes - Assemble and paint two entries for the Iron Cross Competition at Historicon. (Flames of War)
    Nope - Start a 1945 Late War German Volksgrendier army. (Flames of War)
    Yes - Paint some minis for my Dungeons and Dragons campaign. (D & D)
    Partial - Paint some samurai minis just because. (Kensei)
    Yes - Paint some custom ships for homebrew X-Wing Miniatures. (X-Wing)

Not too bad, considering the total burn-out I experienced after Historicon.  I achieved four of my goals, started work on two others, and only totally failed at one.

This is what I accomplished in the first three months:
     - Assembled about a platoon of infantry and three tanks for the Great War British. (FoW)
     - Finished four platoons plus more that I needed for my Historicon army. (FoW)
     - Finished two entries for the Iron Cross Competition and won! (FoW)
     - Painted four ships and a terrain piece for X-Wing. (X-Wing)
     - Started building a scale model of a Kawasaki Ki-45. (1/72)

This is what I worked on in the last three:
     - Finished a 7.5cm LG40 platoon for my Fallschirmjäger army. (FoW)
     - Basecoated, filtered, and washed three tanks and fifteen guns for the Great War British. (FoW)
     - Basecoated four Japanese tanks for a commission. (FoW)
     - Painted and based six D&D miniatures, assembled and started fourteen others. (D&D)
     - Painted several small batches of 28mm scenery items. (D&D)
     - Painted and washed the Kawasaki Ki-45, before losing the decals. (1/72)

I started and left unfinished about as many projects as I finished, which goes to show my scattered approach this year.  New games, new techniques, and new scales to try and combat painting fatigue.  

Thanks again to all of those who participated, you inspired me to keep posting every week, even if it was a day or two late a few times.  Special thanks to Dai, who introduced me to this event last year.  I look forward to the next, and I think I'll be continuing the not-buying-anything- until-you-finish-a-project aspect for the forseeable future.