Monday, October 17, 2011

Conquest Approaches

I had a bit of an accident last weekend. I was unpacking after a weekend at the bach and my bag wasn't fully closed and my camera fell out and landed on the concrete- the result wasn't pretty- the lens case took a bit of damage. It's in being repaired and I'm waiting to hear if it is fixable so its back to the old camera for a few shots of what I've been up to.

Less than two weeks until Conquest. My Cassino FJ are almost ready. I've painted the infantry and most of the supports- including a pair of 88s, 3 hornisse and last night repainted four stugs.

Still not sure on my final support slot. I've decided against the 88s as I am concerned that reluctant trained 88s might be too easy a victory point when targetted (despite Dale's ones always seeming to pass morale tests).

So it comes down to 4x stugs or 3x hornisse as the last support option. Usually I field the stugs no questions asked but am a bit worried about my ability to get flank shots vs Crocs and other high front armour behemoths so am seriously considering the hornisse... anyway a few shots of the latest additions.

Fallschrimjager
I like the way the basing has turned out- cat litter rubble at its finest



Stugs with tea leaves (soaked in PVA) added as comoflage netting or foliage




Reluctant trained 88s.




3x Hornisse


LW British: Tyne & Tees
I have also been working on my LW British. Bede is running a comp in Wellington in December and I've decided to go. The theme is Normandy so I've decided to take a Tyne & Tees force (I haven't run my Brits in about 3 years). It will be a rifle company supported by, amongst other things, 8 priests. My previous version had Sextons but as these are no longer an option in Turning Tide I've had to reassigned my priests that had been earmarked for an Alamein themed list.

So I've been rebasing my LW infantry, repainted some tanks (including 3 crocs) and spent one night last week making new storage trays for the army.

I have put the base coat and wash on the priests. I also decided to drill out the 50 cals and add a length of paper clip to the bottom and have them so that they can be taken out of the mounting- that way I hope that I won't damage/lose them.




Finally, fun with chain saws.
We have a very large fir tree on our northern boundary. It protects (or should that be protected) the house vs the infamous Canterbury Norwester that blows across the Southern Alps, but also cuts down on our evening sunshine (and views) so yesterday I finally took to it with the chainsaw. It wasn't as straightforward a job as I had hoped and in the end we needed to use a tractor to make sure it did not take out our power lines but eventually the tree came down and we now have quite a spectacular view out over farmland to the nearby Wallaby infested Hunter Hills (yes we have wild wallaby's in this part of the country- imported for hunting and now a major pest) .

A couple of shots taken this morning with the mist rising over the paddocks.





Craig

7 comments:

  1. Nice painting, I like camo/tree foliage on the tanks. That's a great view at the back of your house, and a wallaby park over the back fence!!!Lucky devil!!

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  2. Great painting. Like the tea leaves camo netting.
    Nive view.

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  3. Great work Craig. Roll on Conquest.

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  4. The tea leaves work relly well- they key once the PVA is dried to seal them with a second layer of watered down PVA before painting them.

    Looking forward to seeing your demo game Rodger

    Craig

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  5. Hi Craig as last night's amusing email no doubt indicated - I've finally started to take Conquest seriously and think properly about lists.

    I think I'm at about the point of admitting that I have possibly forgotten to play FOW at this stage (but am I gliding under the radar, like the French?) so am now taking any and all list advice that comes my way.

    I think you should all be horrified at what Chris W and an open creditcard could bring to an event. I' dubious about whether his 'funnies' are that balanced but certain lists wouldn't want to meet them in a Dark Alley!

    Have you not got the Marders in your list anymore? RE: the RT 88s, is Stephen not scoring like Conquest last year? I think that is a unit that is underestimated. The CV version is too expensive but the RT version just seems to work somehow though YMMV.

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  6. Funnies as in Hobart Funnies?

    I have no idea about the scoring system but no matter what method is played my aim is always to always give away as few points/platoons as possible.

    re: marders. I can't remember when I last played a German list without marders- they are my first choice AT so they are still there- just haven't been repainted so no pictures.

    Good points re the 88s they hit hard but can be singled out so the key would to be to give too many other targets. They are pretty uncommon on table though (except for Dale's CV 3x 88s h runs with his Lehr force)

    Today's latest inspiration is 3x panzer IVs and 2x MkIIILs!

    Not too many days to make my mind up though

    Craig

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