Wargaming Week 23/03/2020

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Well things have gotten a little strange, haven’t they? Let’s start!

News

Well, the main news this week is that everything is cancelled due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. Pretty much all the wargames shows for the spring (such as Salute and Adepticon) are definitely cancelled or postponed, while even those in Summer and Autumn seem to be considering carefully if they are planning to go ahead.

Empress are still keeping the releases going with their Vietnam vehicles range. As well the PT-76 shown above, they also announced an Otter amphib, both of which are perfect for crashing through the waterlogged battlefields of Vietnam. Additionally, the PT-76 could pop up in any number of battlefields around the world.

Similarly, Empress is plowing ahead adding another nation to the battlefield. Last week saw a pile of ANAZC previews, once again showing off the wonderful sculpting work on them. There are lots of great little touches to them.

Spectre also had a few extra updates. The first is a pretty simple one – the starter pack is changing from Task Force Operator vs Russians to DEVGRU vs Insurgent Kill Team. This is a little easier for Spectre to produce (as these items were already being sold together in packs) and still provide some pretty reasonable forces to assemble. The only downside is that the DEVGRU (despite having one operator replaced with a dog) might just have the edge in terms of raw firepower.

Their second release is might potentially help them out – planned as an Adepticon exclusive, this Insurgent with a bullpup PKM looks perfect to match the Insurgent Killteam, while the great big bushy beard is pretty impressive.

Updates

My Deep Cut Studios order arrived! The mat and road strip are both lovely, really nice weight to them. The mat colour is perfect colour if you intend to cover it in buildings and your own foliage (otherwise it might be a little too dry and dead). Additionally, I think the road will get a little bit of work done to it, such as some texture and dust.

Of course, one of the advantages of having this means I can actually start planning layouts and putting figures down and getting to leave them in place. Of course, it will be even better once

And to add to the setup, I managed to pick some IKEA smart bulbs to replace those that came with the house – of course, I saw the multi-colour ones and I couldn’t help but pick one up. These photos are done just with the light bulb in the room (no filters) and I quite like the effect. We’ll see how practical it actually is but it’s just a neat effect.

Work is continuing on my US Marines (slowly) – been a little distracted with work stuff that I just haven’t felt like sitting down at the same desk. I’m tempted to move my painting area away so I have a change of pace, but debating exactly where to put it.

Finally, as part of getting into the new house, my parents offered up a wonderful display case/sideboard to clean some space in their house. One side is filled with various memorabilia and gaming figures but the other side just had to be for some models. I still have another shelf (and plenty of space) but I am already loving the effect of having them on show rather than shoved into boxes.


That’s it for this update, expect more updates next week! Stay safe everyone!

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6 responses to “Wargaming Week 23/03/2020”

  1. AbdelKarim Rouichi avatar
    AbdelKarim Rouichi

    Love the display case mate!

    1. Michael Charge avatar

      Thanks! I’ve loved it since I was a kid so getting it into my own place was lovely.

  2. Westbury Wargamers avatar
    Westbury Wargamers

    Well doesn’t that all look rather good in the new house! Good for you Michael.
    The Empress ‘Nam we are resisting, the Indo China project has scratched that particular itch, but they definitely are nice sculpts.
    As you know I’d already picked up the Adepticon figure (well I’m waiting for it to arrive) and after our discussion I’m going for him as a leader for my Hezbollah in Syria, just need to work my way through the various ranges out there that can work as decently kitted out militia in the C21st which is turning out to be more difficult than I thought – gone are the days of militia in US or Soviet hand me downs!
    Keep safe in these worrying times.

    1. Michael Charge avatar

      Really happy with how it’s all going with the house, just glad I got moved in before the worrying times!

      I’m also starting to think about some more teched up militia, just trying to think about what combination of heads and bodies I should be looking at.

      1. Westbury Wargamers avatar
        Westbury Wargamers

        After scrolling through the various manufacturers (and really there are only a few options) I’ve decided to go with Empress for my Hezbollah. The universal soldier they do is a reasonable start (8 poses) and I’ve gone for the woolly hat version – the Taliban heads look, well, too Taliban, and for some reason all the pictures you see of the militias they don’t seem to be wearing helmets. I’ve then added some packs from the Russian range and a couple of Chechen packs plus separate woolly hats so I’m going to end up with spare heads from the original packs. Not a perfect solution but best fit at the moment.
        My Spectre order is stuck due to their caster being closed so bummer there but hey plenty of other stuff to do.
        Be well.

        1. Michael Charge avatar

          Sounds like a good plan – there are also some insurgent heads they do (bareheaded except the head band). And besides, don’t worry about spare heads! You just have to modelling saw some of the Chechen/Russian heads off and use them there!

          Shame about the Spectre order – I’m also joining the sadly waiting pile, playing all this Modern Warfare has me REALLY wanting one of the Razor Bravos as a deployment point!

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