The German rocket troop propaganda cartoon from the movie The Rocketeer.
Good puply fun - thanks to Ogrefencer for the clue to look this up!
30 June 2010
29 June 2010
German Rocketpacks
Another awesome 'secret weapon' that arrived a little too late in the war to be implemented fully, but makes for some great WWW2 "Raketentruppen" options!
The “Himmelstürmer” (Sky Stormer - but literally Heaven Stormer) flight pack was an experimental project that would allow German combat engineers and infantry to cross bridgeless waters, minefields, barbed wire, and other obstacles without hindrance.
As such, the device had to be for short duration “jumps” of ranges up to 50-70 meters. This was not meant to be a individual flying machine to achieve any sort of altitude or long flight journey, so emphasis was placed on finding a suitable type of propulsion to accomplish the limited jump range.
http://discaircraft.greyfalcon.us/HIMMELSTURMER.htm
28 June 2010
Space Hulk wins Origin Award!
27 June 2010
Korean War: 50 years on
50 years ago this week saw the invasion of South Korea by the communist North and the start of the Korean War. Technically, this war remains ongoing after an armistice only was signed in 1953. UN Resolution 83 enabled a multinational response and saw many Allies combat the Northern aggression in harsh climatic conditions in a political environement that had barely emerged from WW2.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War
Australia committed Naval, Land and Air units (including Aircraft Carrier based naval aviation) to the conflict. Read more about our contributions here:
http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/korea.asp
Lest We Forget
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War
Australia committed Naval, Land and Air units (including Aircraft Carrier based naval aviation) to the conflict. Read more about our contributions here:
http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/korea.asp
26 June 2010
A Big Day in the Brewery
Lots of beer activities today. First up, I bottled my Irish Cream ale:
...then I set off my next Brew, another full-body malt beer (I liked the last one so much that its all gone!)
...and now I'm off down the road to show a buddy how to do his first home brew. More goodies to sample in due course :-) In the mean time, here is an inspirational project everyone can join in on!
30 English Ales You Must Have Before You Die:
http://www.ratebeer.com/Story.asp?StoryID=275
Back to painting tommorrow!
...then I set off my next Brew, another full-body malt beer (I liked the last one so much that its all gone!)
30 English Ales You Must Have Before You Die:
http://www.ratebeer.com/Story.asp?StoryID=275
Back to painting tommorrow!
25 June 2010
23 June 2010
More Bag the Hun
The Too Fat Lardies have released their "Summer Special", and its 146 pages include a few new articles for Bag the Hun:
Lifeline to Malta - A mini-campaign system for Bag the Hun.
Brag the Hun - Strap-on rules for attacking ground targets in Bag the Hun.
You're Havin' a LAAF - Lazy Anti Aircraft Formula for Bag the Hun from Fightin' Joe Legan.
Tally Ho! - Stephan Milam looks at British jets (and a few others) of the Bag the Mig era.
http://toofatlardies.co.uk/blog/?p=160
Lifeline to Malta - A mini-campaign system for Bag the Hun.
Brag the Hun - Strap-on rules for attacking ground targets in Bag the Hun.
You're Havin' a LAAF - Lazy Anti Aircraft Formula for Bag the Hun from Fightin' Joe Legan.
Tally Ho! - Stephan Milam looks at British jets (and a few others) of the Bag the Mig era.
20 June 2010
Spearhead 1943 released!
Pre-orders start shipping this week, so it should arrive for for my Birthday! 
Read about it at Byron's blog here:
http://publisherperspective.blogspot.com/
And if you are as excited as me you can d/l the rules and 8 situations (scenarios) here:
http://www.frontlinegeneral.com/html/sp_downloads.html
First production copy of Frontline General: Spearpoint 1943 (plus an extra box cover), taken at the printers (from Byron's Facebook page):
Read about it at Byron's blog here: http://publisherperspective.blogspot.com/
And if you are as excited as me you can d/l the rules and 8 situations (scenarios) here:
http://www.frontlinegeneral.com/html/sp_downloads.html
First production copy of Frontline General: Spearpoint 1943 (plus an extra box cover), taken at the printers (from Byron's Facebook page):
18 June 2010
WWW2 Mecha in action
I appreciate clever photoshop manipulation. These ones from around the www show the use of Mecha (some being familiar Imperial models) during WWW2:
(Actually this one is a rendered digital picture, and very well done too)
17 June 2010
Tigermech review
on Youtube by John of "Beasts of War". The video certainly gives a great overview of the model, its components and its large size
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ_IxMdjYkM
16 June 2010
World War Z
Just finished reading this novel by Max Brooks and really, really enjoyed it! Its done as a series of short journalist interviews with survivors of a world spanning Zombie apocalypse which almost wipes out humanity.
A great read with lots of subtle political and social commentary.
Highly recommended!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Z
A great read with lots of subtle political and social commentary.
Highly recommended!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Z
14 June 2010
German Snipers
Just finished up a pair of SOTR German Snipers by West Wind:
Number Eins - crouching in Autumn Oakleaf camo pattern poncho (over a summer pattern uniform)
Number Drei - standing in summer oak leaf pattern. I added some extra cam bits to the poncho, which tuned out pretty well without over-doing it I think
Number Eins - crouching in Autumn Oakleaf camo pattern poncho (over a summer pattern uniform)
Number Drei - standing in summer oak leaf pattern. I added some extra cam bits to the poncho, which tuned out pretty well without over-doing it I think
13 June 2010
Tactical Nuclear Penguin found!
Remember this?
http://tasmancave.blogspot.com/2010/05/tactical-nuclear-penguin-and-other.html
Found some at the local beer specialist - a mere $165 per bottle
Luckily, at 32% I dont think you'd get through many!
http://tasmancave.blogspot.com/2010/05/tactical-nuclear-penguin-and-other.html
Found some at the local beer specialist - a mere $165 per bottle
Luckily, at 32% I dont think you'd get through many!
New Brutal Gladiators
The guys at Dark Art Miniatures have released the next three true Human Gladiators for "Brutal".
First up, the ultra-heavy "Breaker" class:
Armed with a huge two handed weapon, Breakers are by far the most heavily armoured and damage giving fighters in the arena. Breakers wear jury-rigged mechanical suits adapted from the old age. Servo-motors, pistons and energy packs allow these power suits to give out vast amounts of damage. With every strike of a Breakers two-handed weapon that hits an opponent causes the foe to be knocked down or knocked back regardles of their size.
Then there is the long range "Piercer" class:
Piercers use the longer range of their pole-arms to keep opponents at bay. These lightly armoured fighters can easily out-manoeuvre a more heavily armoured foe. They are also trained in the use of small 1 handed weapon’s that are used in hand to hand combat should the enemy get too close! http://www.darkartstore.darkartminiatures.com/products.php?product=True-Human%3A--Piercer
And finally, the quick and agile "Stinger" class:
Stingers are the skirmish fighters of Brutal. They are lightly armoured allowing them to out manoeuvre the heavier armoured opponents and they use death blades to get around the arena more quickly. They take advantage of the use of throwing weapons such as javelins and hand axes and use a small shield for defence. They are skilled at ‘hit and run’ attacks allowing them to evade many attacks whilst still attacking back. http://www.darkartstore.darkartminiatures.com/products.php?product=True-Human%3A--Stinger
I'd already promised myself I'd paint up the four I already have before I got any more though....
First up, the ultra-heavy "Breaker" class:
Armed with a huge two handed weapon, Breakers are by far the most heavily armoured and damage giving fighters in the arena. Breakers wear jury-rigged mechanical suits adapted from the old age. Servo-motors, pistons and energy packs allow these power suits to give out vast amounts of damage. With every strike of a Breakers two-handed weapon that hits an opponent causes the foe to be knocked down or knocked back regardles of their size.
Then there is the long range "Piercer" class:
Piercers use the longer range of their pole-arms to keep opponents at bay. These lightly armoured fighters can easily out-manoeuvre a more heavily armoured foe. They are also trained in the use of small 1 handed weapon’s that are used in hand to hand combat should the enemy get too close! http://www.darkartstore.darkartminiatures.com/products.php?product=True-Human%3A--Piercer
And finally, the quick and agile "Stinger" class:
Stingers are the skirmish fighters of Brutal. They are lightly armoured allowing them to out manoeuvre the heavier armoured opponents and they use death blades to get around the arena more quickly. They take advantage of the use of throwing weapons such as javelins and hand axes and use a small shield for defence. They are skilled at ‘hit and run’ attacks allowing them to evade many attacks whilst still attacking back. http://www.darkartstore.darkartminiatures.com/products.php?product=True-Human%3A--Stinger
I'd already promised myself I'd paint up the four I already have before I got any more though....
12 June 2010
Gamefest 2010
You may vaguely recall that Comrade James and I had a games night in Sydney last year in which he whipped me 2-1 (http://tasmancave.blogspot.com/2009/06/games-night.html). Last week we had a repeat session (again in Sydney), this time including four games over two nights. Here's how it unfolded: 
Game 1 - Uncharted Seas James played Elves while I took a Human Fleet in out first ever game. I suffered from some tricky wind changes, aided by some Elven magic, but I managed to keep my fleet concentrated and pouring out heavy fire. Screening is a very effective tactic and allowed my cruisers to fare very well, taking two prizes, then the opening salvo of the Battleship duel inflicted a critical against Jame's Battleship and it exploded HMS HOOD style! A decisive victory to me, whilst listening to the Pirate heavy metal band "Alestorm"! 
Game 2 - Combat Commander: Pacific[Girly edition pictured!] Its been ages since I played a hex and counter game and I really enjoyed this one by GMT. Very reminiscent of ASL, but with a fast playing card mechanic which worked well. We played a scenario where my Japanese convoy was ambushed by Jame's Gurkha's. On highlight was me infiltrating a Japanese infantry squad into Jame's rear lines an rushing into close combat with the enemy mortar teams only to have the Gurkha's smash their mortar tubes over the heads of my lads and defeat them! Didn't get to finish, but James was probably ahead when we stopped for the night. 
Game 3 - Wings of War: Fire from the Sky Played a scenario where I took a pair of USAAF escorts defending against an axis dive bomber raid and escort. The axis were defeated beneath my cannon fire - huzzah! 
Game 4 - Down in Flames In this late war aerial duel, James took a pair of "Franks" while I had a couple of Corsairs. Playing twice resulting in 4 dead Corsairs, and only 2 crumpled Japs. Well done comrade!
Overall 2 wins each, so much better than my drubbing from last year, and of course great fun to boot! Trying out Uncharted seas and Combat Commander were particular highlights. Thanks for the fun Comrade!
Game 1 - Uncharted Seas James played Elves while I took a Human Fleet in out first ever game. I suffered from some tricky wind changes, aided by some Elven magic, but I managed to keep my fleet concentrated and pouring out heavy fire. Screening is a very effective tactic and allowed my cruisers to fare very well, taking two prizes, then the opening salvo of the Battleship duel inflicted a critical against Jame's Battleship and it exploded HMS HOOD style! A decisive victory to me, whilst listening to the Pirate heavy metal band "Alestorm"! 
Game 2 - Combat Commander: Pacific[Girly edition pictured!] Its been ages since I played a hex and counter game and I really enjoyed this one by GMT. Very reminiscent of ASL, but with a fast playing card mechanic which worked well. We played a scenario where my Japanese convoy was ambushed by Jame's Gurkha's. On highlight was me infiltrating a Japanese infantry squad into Jame's rear lines an rushing into close combat with the enemy mortar teams only to have the Gurkha's smash their mortar tubes over the heads of my lads and defeat them! Didn't get to finish, but James was probably ahead when we stopped for the night. 
Game 3 - Wings of War: Fire from the Sky Played a scenario where I took a pair of USAAF escorts defending against an axis dive bomber raid and escort. The axis were defeated beneath my cannon fire - huzzah! 
Game 4 - Down in Flames In this late war aerial duel, James took a pair of "Franks" while I had a couple of Corsairs. Playing twice resulting in 4 dead Corsairs, and only 2 crumpled Japs. Well done comrade! Overall 2 wins each, so much better than my drubbing from last year, and of course great fun to boot! Trying out Uncharted seas and Combat Commander were particular highlights. Thanks for the fun Comrade!
10 June 2010
Next beer a'bubbling
...because my others seem to be 'evaporating' far too quickly!
Actually, its hidden under the stairs so it can brew in the heated house, not the cold conditions outside. SWMBO hasnt found it yet...ssshhhhh
Actually, its hidden under the stairs so it can brew in the heated house, not the cold conditions outside. SWMBO hasnt found it yet...ssshhhhh
09 June 2010
08 June 2010
Sternkrieg:1949
In the spirit of Mad Science and Weird WW2, Martin (owner of Little Soldiers) has developed some goodies for orbital combat in late WW2! Sweet! not that I need nother project right now of course...
http://sites.google.com/site/martinsmodels/sternkrieg
07 June 2010
Spearpoint 1943
I pre-ordered this WW2 card based game by Collins Epic Wargames some time ago and understand its now at the publishers. There are a few reviews of the demo version out now and it sounds just awesome- cant wait to get my copy delivered in a month or two!
http://www.frontlinegeneral.com/html/spearpoint_1943.html
http://www.mataka.org/wp/?p=101
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/56320/frontline-general-spearpoint-1943
06 June 2010
Death Angel
A card based version of the beloved Space Hulk Game?Scalable from solo to up to 6 players?
The only thing not to like is that it hasn't been released yet!
The mission seems impossible. Survival seems unlikely. Failure is not an option.
http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite_sec.asp?eidm=118&esem=1
05 June 2010
Little Soldiers
There is now an Australian retailer for Incursion and Secrets of the Third Reich: Little Soldiers in South Australia. I met Martin from Little Soldiers recently at Little Wars- a great fellah who is planning on putting on a Demo game in Melbourne in August, which will be a hoot and I'm looking forward to it already of course!
So Aussies should drop by Litle Soldiers for all your SoTR and Incursion needs!
http://www.littlesoldiers.com.au/
WW2 on Facebook
This is pretty funny- WW2 facebook style: http://www.fogu.se/?p=1190
01 June 2010
Jurassic Reich - detailed report
The forbidding Castle looms over the countryside:
Including a variation on the "Eagle's Eerie":
4 German Players were arranged with 1 in the castle commanding the Pterowaffen and some infantry, and three others with an Infantry squad and a group of 5 Kriegclaws. I commanded the German far right and was in charge of the Dinolaager. Attacking in the still morning air were three Allied players, each with two high calibre infantry squads. As the Allies advanced, Nazi film direktor ”Dino” de Laurentis was trying to finish off his propaganda masterpiece.
Early, long range fire from the Allies shook the morning and alerted the Germans to the invaders' presence. Owen (commanding the Allied centre) scored first blood with a long range bazooka shot frying up some raptor steaks! So easy it seems he even did it with his eyes closed.
The centre and right flank became a swirling advance to contact, pitting the heroic and heavily armed Allies against the Nazisaurs!
On the right, two squads of Kriegclawstrapped a bunch of Amis in a barn. Any Amis who came out got chomped, and dinos that put their heads in got them singed with flamethrowers!
Impressively, this GI hero held off two Raptors simultaneously! This lead to much Commando Comic style quotations...
On the extreme right, some GIs had commandeered a Truck and were driving up to the castle's gate, menaced by the Pterowaffen!
And the Nazi centre, stopped cold by Owen's heroes and their withering fire across the road and bridge, redeployed using the amphibious capabilities of the big lizards
Big alas!they were too late- a large explosion came from the castle as the GI infiltrarors destroyed the ancient artifact that made the dino presence possible.
All this was but a minor distraction to me on the far right though. Seeing thebottleneck in the villiage, I swung my kriegclaw into the rear of Owen's troops withut mercy- lunch time for Fritz!
With that the game concluded - the Allies had successfully attacked the castle, while the Germans had protected both the propaganda film and the dino-laager. Overall a win for the players who all had a ball!
Thanks again to Alan and Greg for a fantastic game - a Man Cave double thumbs up!
Including a variation on the "Eagle's Eerie":
4 German Players were arranged with 1 in the castle commanding the Pterowaffen and some infantry, and three others with an Infantry squad and a group of 5 Kriegclaws. I commanded the German far right and was in charge of the Dinolaager. Attacking in the still morning air were three Allied players, each with two high calibre infantry squads. As the Allies advanced, Nazi film direktor ”Dino” de Laurentis was trying to finish off his propaganda masterpiece.
Early, long range fire from the Allies shook the morning and alerted the Germans to the invaders' presence. Owen (commanding the Allied centre) scored first blood with a long range bazooka shot frying up some raptor steaks! So easy it seems he even did it with his eyes closed.
The centre and right flank became a swirling advance to contact, pitting the heroic and heavily armed Allies against the Nazisaurs!
On the right, two squads of Kriegclawstrapped a bunch of Amis in a barn. Any Amis who came out got chomped, and dinos that put their heads in got them singed with flamethrowers!
Impressively, this GI hero held off two Raptors simultaneously! This lead to much Commando Comic style quotations...
On the extreme right, some GIs had commandeered a Truck and were driving up to the castle's gate, menaced by the Pterowaffen!
And the Nazi centre, stopped cold by Owen's heroes and their withering fire across the road and bridge, redeployed using the amphibious capabilities of the big lizards
Big alas!they were too late- a large explosion came from the castle as the GI infiltrarors destroyed the ancient artifact that made the dino presence possible.
All this was but a minor distraction to me on the far right though. Seeing thebottleneck in the villiage, I swung my kriegclaw into the rear of Owen's troops withut mercy- lunch time for Fritz!
With that the game concluded - the Allies had successfully attacked the castle, while the Germans had protected both the propaganda film and the dino-laager. Overall a win for the players who all had a ball! Thanks again to Alan and Greg for a fantastic game - a Man Cave double thumbs up!