More Old World Exploration

Our second foray into the new rules to continue the fun, again my Beastmen but this time against Reilly playing our Chaos army for something different.

One of my favourite Chaos Champions, painted by Reilly for Father's Day 

Wanting to try something new with the updated Beastmen rules, I made a unit led by a Doombull Minotaur, with a Level 2 Shaman Banner and 22 more Gors in support.  This was an absolute blender of a unit with the Doombull and Shaman combat buffing them all. Reilly eventually took the unit down but it was a main effort for him and they dealt out a LOT of damage along the way. Super fun to play too (almost as much as the infamous Minobus!)

The Doombull (on temporary new upsized 50mm square base) leads his Blood Snout retinue

I also got my new Pestigor Regiment onto the table as bodyguards for the Wargor, BSB and Level 4 Shaman. They no longer have special rules in this new edition (yet, anyway) but its always good to get new models onto the table...

...and yes they were inevitably ground away to the last (beast)man by a unit of Chaos Warriors, so it was good to get that out of the way!

The..other forces of Chaos had some of the usual fare, from Maraunders and Chaos Warriors to Chaos Knights.... and also some heavy Gorebeast Chariots which were fun!

And some old school metal Chaos Ogres for a bit of fun too!

The action was fast and furious - a real mix of grinding close order infantry slogs, with wheeling light forces crashing into unprotected flanks

The Gorebeast chariots hit like trucks!

In the centre the Doombull seemed unstoppable, grinding through waves of enemy units

A Duel with the mounted Chaos Lord seemed the only way to bring him down..

But the Doombull laughed and he feasted on the remains of his fallen enemy!  

Eventually the Minotaur fell, but the day belonged to him

Great fun with lots of laughs and cinematic moments!

Metal Dragon Ogres Project

A few years ago (alright, it seems it was five...) I made myself a wonderfully indulgent big unit of old metal GW Minotaurs that were super fun to paint up:

https://tasmancave.blogspot.com/2021/03/ahpc-xi-snarl-of-minotaurs.html

Known as the "Minobus" it was brutally effective if pumped up with magic effects, and I had a few memorable games with them (including this one) before they were laid to one side in the name of sportsmanship.

Anyway, its now time to make another such indulgent unit, enabled by a surprise find at a local players' bring and buy held on Father's Day: metal GW Dragon Ogres from the late 90s.

Now I already have 3 of these beasts, plus the magic-using Shaggoth character...

2 of the 3 I ready have, acquired from an estate sale and need a strip &repaint

...and the maximum unit size is 9; so I'm thinking I can now field a maximum size unit OR 2 units each of 6 figures. That's rather terrifying!

Here is their entry in the Citadel Miniatures' 2000 Annual - looks like I have all the combinations. The cool spiked mace I have doesn't appear to be one of the original weapon options though so it must be a conversion.

Originally in WHFB these were on much much smaller square bases, but now in Old World they are on larger 50x75mm bases more suited to their length. Those are now on their way via EvilBay.

I'll get them stripped and prepped now but they may have to be a Christmas project - can't wait!

Michael Perry figures no less!

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Some inspiration for me to come back to later:

The model-painting workflow is:

Hyrex Brown undercoat → green skin → flesh → green shading/highlights → flesh highlights/wash → metals → leather → bone → scales → gold/brass → red plumes → final bone/eye highlights → leather highlights → base drybrush.

Paints used, in order

#	Paint	What it was used on	Stage
1	Colour Forge Hyrex Brown	Entire models, including the base	Warm brown basecoat/undercoat
2	Yellow Green – Dark	Lower half of the Dragon Ogres: legs/body sections	Green skin basecoat
3	Yellow Green – Standard	Lower green skin	Second green layer
4	Yellow Green – Bright	Lower green skin	Initial/highlight layer
5	Shadow Flesh	Human/flesh areas: face, chest, arms, belly and inner/sides of body	Flesh basecoat
6	Dark Warm Flesh	Same flesh areas	First flesh layer/highlight
7	Aonian Camo Shade	Green lower body/skin	Dark green shading/lowlights
8	Yellow Green – Bright	Green skin	Final bright green highlights
9	Darkest Flesh	Flesh areas	Flesh highlight
10	Warm Flesh	Flesh areas	Further flesh highlight
11	Wraith Flesh Shade (transcription uncertain)	Flesh areas	Wash/shade over the flesh
12	Leadbelcher	Metal: armour, weapons and other metal components	Metallic basecoat
13	Dark Umber	Leather straps and other leather parts	Leather basecoat
14	Black wash	Leather and metal; also used later to tidy areas around horns/metal	Shading
15	Sandy Dust	Teeth, horns, claws and back spikes — all bone-coloured areas	Bone basecoat
16	Green (specific colour not stated)	Individual scales, including scales on the back	Scale colour
17	Screaming Bell	Brass/gold areas, specifically the Chaos Star/sword and associated gold/brass details	Metallic basecoat
18	Retributor Armour	Same brass/gold areas	Gold highlight
19	Mournfang Bone	Horns and other bone parts	Bone highlight
20	Pale Yellow	Horns/bone highlights and pupils of the eyes	Final bone highlight + eyes
21	Golden Brown	Leather straps, including skirt/belt areas	Leather highlight
22	Bugman's Glow	Bases/sand texture	Drybrush/highlight of basing

Strategic Air Command Museum

I travelled a lot for work last month, including a visit to Omaha, Nebraska - home to US STRATCOM and the museum of its forebear US STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND (SAC). 

The museum houses some fabulous exhibits and unique artefacts from the SAC era.  Some of them my camera just couldn't do justice to, but here is a selection:

B-1A 'Lancer' bomber - this one is the fourth and last built. First flown in 1979 as a test bed for the B-1B program

Some of the original C2 equipment from SAC's HQ in "the Pit" as the the underground facility was known

Which then would pass targeting data and firing orders to launch platforms - airborne bombers, SSBNs at sea, and ICBM silos - like this MINUTEMAN launch facility

Readying these:

To deliver these to their targets:

Minuteman II ICBM delivery vehicle

All the while General Curtis LeMay would have been at his desk:

As well as strike and C2 assets, Aerial Reconnaissance and Intel gathering was strongly supported in the Museum also

Lockheed U-2 "Dragon Lady"

Gary Powers' Mission Map

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Gary_Powers

Gary Powers' Silver Star, awarded posthumously in 2012, for "enduring nearly two years of harsh interrogation and imprisonment in Moscow"

Specialised U-2 pilot suit

Coincidentally, a week later in the Spy Museum in Washington DC, I came across these:

The fabulous SR-71 also greets you as you walk in the front door!

I've got a thing for Sabres and MiG alley aircraft...

There was an incredible array of other large SAC bombers that I just couldn't get descent pics of, but it was amazing to walk around them including two B17s, B36, B47, and Vulcan bomber.

B-29: one of 22 airframes remaining intact

Just for you James! :-)

Inside the B-29 cockpit, including the Norden aiming device

Separately, they had some neat Aerospace artefacts on display too

Not so coincidentally, I then attended the Offutt Air Force Base Airshow at the end of the week. Lots of great displays, including some historic warbirds.

But what most took me was the opportunity to clamber around inside a B-52 bomber. A USAF friend of mine retired last month, and I got a pic in his old seat in one of his old tail numbers, which was pretty cool.

Tail number 60-0060 "Iron Butterfly"

B-52 Cockpit

B-52 Navigator Station

Yes- the same seat James Earl Jones occupied as Lt Lothar Zogg in the movie Dr Strangelove!

Interestingly, the seats in this lower crew section eject downwards! 

Thats all for this post folks!

Thor ICBM