2025 Year in Review

First things first: we live in Hawai'i and its fantastic! 

We hosted a bunch of great visitors, family & friends alike, snorkelled & hiked on multiple islands, and even saw a volcano erupt on the big island of Hawai'i (super cool!)

Mrs Man Cave and I just celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary, and this year I travelled to Australia, Japan, Phillipines and 6 other states in the U.S. including visits to NASA Huntsville, Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, and Udvar-Hazy Air Museum. 

"Rocket City", Huntsville Alabama

OV-103 "Discovery" - the most flown of the Shuttles

Apollo-11 Capsule

So clearly I en joyed getting my space geek on this year! But from a Hobby lens its been a more mixed bag.

The Good

I reconnected with Rich after many years, and we've been playing some remote Pulp SciFi games which we wrote up here on the blog. Super fun and more in-person games are planned together in 2026. 

I managed to see a few of the lads when I slipped home for a work trip back in April, and even managed to get a 6-player Trojan Wars game in using Midguard, which I enjoyed. Was great to see John, Alan and Gav.

And thats it, those were the two games I managed to play over the whole year. The local gaming scene is 40k and Age of Sigmar only. The search continues but hope is fading. Didn't get to any game conventions either. 

I missed my good mates, our regular gaming and egging eachother on to get our next projects to the table. So I lived somewhat vicariously through other's gaming and Owen favoured me by posting a few of his battle reports here, which I really appreciated.

With the move overseas it also took me another 6 months to get a brush back in my hand too. I really missed it and most of my materials had to be reacquired. Projects were planned, sometimes acquired and then drifted into silence. Still, I did manage to paint up a couple of things for my Black Templars collection (which is in storage back home).

And for the first time ever, I entered into a local painting competition with his guy, which felt out of my usual depth!

On the upside, a range of diverse projects are now in hand for AHPC Season 16, where I'm really enjoying reconnecting with the guys back home on our interweb "paint & chat" sessions. I'm going to actively ride this wave of enthusiasm into next year

In the absence of the tabletop I re-engaged with some solo board wargames this year to fill my tabletop void, and enjoyed my narrative Stuka Ace campaign. I have a few others lined up for next year.

I missed catching up with David & David this year, and appreciated this 'missing man' pic and libation!

After helping out as a playtester, I was also thrilled this year to see Frank go gangbusters with his Blood on the Sands kickstarter and know he is working hard to get it ready for shipment. Cant wait to see that in hand of lanistas across the world!

And finally, I finished my Goodreads reading Challenge which I enjoy each year. 16k odd pages read, unsurprisingly focused in SF and fantasy genres.

If I had to pick a favourite read of the year this would be it

Thanks to all I've chatted and connected with across the year. 

May 2026 be a great year to all.

Black Templar Apothecary

I've loved this model since it came out yet somehow never painted one despite the wonderfully evocative posing. 

Brother Euthenasius of the Black Templars

Having just extracted the progenoid from the deceased battle-brother at his feet, his stares contemplatively at it in remembrance of his fallen comrade before it joins others dangling around his neck, speaking to other recent losses (and ultimately the complete futility of a grim darkness of a far future where there is only War, but I might be reading too much into that...)

Anyway, he joins my growing Black Templars force that I've been working on this year with my Crusader squads.

Painted like the rest of my Black Templars in the Zorn palette style using a combination of Apothecary White (what else?) contrast paint as well as experimenting with some make-up sponge dabbing techniques.  Details were painted separately and assembled at the end. Mars styled basing to match the rest of my BT army.

Submitted to the AHPC16 Challenge here:

https://thepaintingchallenge.blogspot.com/2025/12/from-paul-og-astartes-apothecary-9.html

Its Open Season for AHPC16!

The Wait is Over! 

Thats right! The 16th Season of the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge has kicked off! 

Around the world, 95 sets of sweaty palms are now desperately grasping brushes to crack on toward their targets. It was particularly cool to have a "paint & chat" session as we crossed the start line

Infamous characters from Canada, US, NZ and Australia

Best wishes to all Challengers and I look forward to seeing the results of your labours!

EDIT for those Anonymous posters:

Constructive comments are welcome. Trolls are not. 

You are welcome to be a harridan, termagant, curmudgeon or misanthrope elsewhere with all your friends.

This hits so hard...

More Black Templars!

I few months ago I confessed to starting some new units for my Black Templars army (which is still back in Australia) just to get the brushes moving again.

https://tasmancave.blogspot.com/2025/10/back-on-brushes-crusader-squad.html

I've now finished a second (melee equipped) crusader squad, who are ready for action.

I stayed with the fresher, brighter look for this look, and yellow weapon casings help a lot with that. Its been fun to experiment with the "magma" style effects on the power weapons too.

These 20 wrathful lads are led by the cool new Execrator (read Chaplain) figure.  I spent a bit of time on him, keeping his colours muted to help make the sword pop, and then doing some different OSL effects where the sword glow reflects off his armour. Learned lots.

Pretty cool model - tempted to get another and make him with different weapons

Just for fun, I entered him into local Honolulu painting competition "Iron Brush". No prizes but did make the top 10, which was nice. It was fun to really focus on quality output and new techniques.

https://other-realms.com/iron-brush-2025

Thats it for now, but expect more Templar love during the upcoming painting challenge

Until next time, Suffer not the Witch, Mutant or Heretic to live!

Exectrator Modelling Notes:

Black Undercoat then Abaddon Black base coat

Corax Black heavy Drybrush then Dawnstone

Metals:

Iron Warriors - Nuln - Leadbelcher - Mithril Silver

Bathasar Gold - Agrax - Retributor Gold

Red robes:  Mephiston red - Reikland Fleshwash - mephiston, Crimson highlight

Leather: Mournfang Borwn - Agrax

Review: LUNAR Astronauts

I pre-ordered this from Black Site Studios earlier this year. Its their first foray into plastic for their game LUNAR, with the previous models all being resin. I've been saving these for AHPC and as I'm now prepping them, I thought a review might be useful.

The box comes with two identical sprues. Each sprue has an Astronaut half and a Cosmonaut half (which keeps it clear whose bits are whose) and each with 5 models. So all up the box makes 10 Soviet and 10 American moon walkers in 32mm scale. 

Each model is comprised of a waist&legs bit, a torso with PLSS (personal life support system backpack) cast as a single piece for cosmonauts and separately for astronauts, a helmet or exposed head (makes for a quick game I guess!) and then a series of arms.

Sprue detail - Cosmonauts on the left side, NAAS on the right (BSS picture)

Arms are generally a pick what you like affair, but some are matched (eg labelled 11A and 11B) where they are naturally paired for two handed weapons. Shoulder attachment points are flush so its easy to attach a 3d printed alternative if desired. There are different equipment options for each side but notably weapons are in short supply so don't expect to build them all as rifle toting assault troops with just this box. 

Note that I haven't assembled any models yet, so can't comment on how well they all fit together or if Green stuff is needed for residual gap filling. 

GW style bases are included but I'm considering using clear, transparent bases to blend in better with the lunar (or Martian!) play mat. Also, no decals which is a missed opportunity. But overall a nice boxed set and the plastic will be easier to work with if I want to do conversions.

Thinking I’ll make up one full sprue for now (5 per side) and keep the other intact for when I understand what other weapon combos I might want for our games.

Here are some models that Blogger Mike has posted at his blog - I like the gritty effects he has achieved including gold plated helmet faceshields. You can find his blog and his LUNAR paint recipes here: 

https://medium.com/@wargamermike/lunar-black-site-studios-58c03c92a1de

Mike's great NASA Moon Walkers

This boxed set is available from Black Site Studios here:

https://blacksitestudio.com/products/lunar-multipart-plastic-astronauts

EDIT: BSS have been out of stock of decals for a long time. I've now found an alternative source here:

https://districtminiatures.com/collections/black-site-studios-lunar-32mm

Counting the Trojan pile

Did a bit of a count up of the big box of Bronze Age figs I inherited from a friend who sadly passed away last year and hadn't gotten to this particular project. It was a little melancholy with his hand written labels amongst them, but I know he'll be glad they went to a good home. 

Most are Redoubt figures with a few from Eureka thrown in, and I'll need to split them between "Greeks" and "Trojans" and all their respective Allies. I plan to replace the soft lead spears with wire or something better - I hate that wobbly, bent look.

Line troops

Spearmen - 92 assorted

Swordsmen 54 assorted

Missile troops

Archers (helmets) - 18

Archers (no helmets) - 6

Naked Slingers - 12

Javelins - 18

Lukka - 8

Dendra - 19+1 damaged

Myrmidons - 8

Major Heroes

Achilles

Hector

Sarpedon

Agamemnon

Odysseus

9 light Chariots (2 horses)

Now to see if I can entice Slowpainter John to join me in this endeavour!

Stuka Ace: Russian Missions 7&8

 Back in the Stuka cockpit and back to Russia!

15 July 1941. The Smolensk Cauldron

The war no longer felt like a campaign. It felt like a furnace.

A week after Minsk fell into German hands and the great encirclement swallowed whole Soviet armies, the front surged east toward Smolensk. Columns of refugees, abandoned trucks, and shell-scarred forests slid beneath Andreas Voss’ canopy day after day. Army Group Centre was driving hard, too hard, some whispered, but the Panzers continued to claw forward with the momentum of a steel tide. Between the Berezina and the approaching Dnieper, more Soviet formations were trapped or dying on the roads.

And like the rest of the VIII. Fligerkorps, Andrei and Stuka staffel flew constantly.

Morning Sortie. Breakout Column West of Orsha

Dawn came pale and washed grey over a sky rubbed raw by exhaust. Six Stukas lifted into the morning haze; Voss in the lead, five more spaced neatly in echelon like predatory birds. Their task: smash a troop column attempting to breakout of the Smolensk cauldron and rejoin the retreating Soviet army.

Even from altitude, the road was unmistakable: men, guns, horses, guns, lorries, all stretched thin across the dusty earth.

Voss broke radio silence.

“White Staffel- target sighted! Free attack pattern. Engage!”

He tipped his wings, rolled, and let gravity take him.

The scream of wind filled the canopy, echoed by the familiar sound of the Stuka's Jericho trumpets. Milo called out range, height, slip. The column bucked and swerved below like a wounded animal. Trucks slewed into ditches and Russian soldiers scattered to cover. Voss steadied his thumb and released, the sticks of light fragmentation bombs stitched up the centre of the road, engulfing two guns, men, and horses alike in black-red spray.

White 3 was next, then White 5, and in seconds the column was fire and splinters.

Light MG fire snapped upwards; angry, wild, and frightened. Not trained AA gunners, just boys machine guns firing into the sky. Still dangerous.

“White 2 is hit. Oil pressure dropping, engine rough,” came Rohr’s voice, tight but steady.

“Keep formation, we’ll get you home,” Voss replied.

And they did. Five aircraft returned, one trailing smoke. But no medics required.

Afternoon Sortie — Vitebsk Railhead

Barely two hours later, refuelled, rearmed, and having enjoyed a snack from the field kitchen, the Staffel climbed again into a sky now thickening with heat and thunder clouds. Intelligence reported Vitebsk rail yards under emergency repair. If the Soviets restored even a single line east, thousands might escape the cauldron.

Visibility was good as they crossed the Luchesa River. Smoke from burning depots silhouetted the rail junction like black veins through the town. Voss keyed the mic:

“White Staffel, attack in sequence! Take the rolling stock first, then the repair sheds.”

He put his Berta into a clean, deliberate dive. No theatrics, no hesitation. AA fire climbed up toward him. No scared infantry this time, but men who knew their work. Luckily they had only light calibre guns.

Focus. Utter focus. And the 1,000-kilo bomb fell true.

It hit the central siding, then the world below became a new colour — coal dust, fuel, flames tearing across sleepers like a wind-fed grassfire. The Staffel followed in ruthless rhythm. Carriages flipped. Roofs peeled away. Boilers burst. Railcars jumped from their tracks like toys struck by a hammer.

More flak burst, turning the sky white and orange. Two batteries more batteries, hidden among warehouses, adding to the barrage.

“I'm hit! White 8 hit in the engine cowling. Holding course.”

“Keep it tight, Kette 3. Do not climb into that fire.”

They dragged themselves west with an Me-109 escort arriving just as the last bursts faded behind them. Two damaged crates. No losses.

Evening

Hours later, in the long red dusk of the steppe, Andreas walked the line of patched, fuel-streaked, and silent Stukas. Men sat on ammo crates smoking mechanically, too tired for jokes, others asleep in the shade. The world smelled of hot oil and smoke.

The Russian Front was widening, consuming machines and men in equal measure. Inevitably tomorrow they would fly again, because the Panzers moved and where the Panzers moved,  Stukas went first.

Andrei rubbed a hand across his brow and looked east, where thunderstorms and war both rolled toward Smolensk.

No casualties today, he told himself. A small victory but maybe the best kind.

CoC Korea

 

Somewhere in Korea October 1951

Darryl Cox and I kicked off our foray into Chain of Command Korea with a Patrol Mission. The Australians from 3 Bn Royal Australian Regiment send a platoon strength Fighting Patrol out to identify Chinese PVA positions in this poor looking scrubby landscape…..

Although the Aussies rolled a meager Force Morale of 8 against the PVA of 10 they quickly got the upper hand. In spite of their right section taking suppressing fire their return fire was very effective using the Five Rounds Rapid inflicting shock and wounding the PVA Squad Leader. On the Aussies left flank their fire was more effective in inflicting significant shock on a PVA squad attempting to crawl in to assault range!

Not a good start for Chinese!

 

 

 

Suddenly the staccato roar of a Maxim Machine Gun rips out from the centre of the PVA positions! However this only inflicted a small amount of shock on the centre Aussie section.

To the horror of the Chinese Commander, the Aussies had a surprise of their own with a Vickers Machine Gun in support! In the ensuing Machine Gun duel the PVA gun team took 3 yes, THREE, casualties! The middle section adds its Bren gun teams fire with 5 Rounds Rapid and quickly the PVA machine gun is first Pinned and then a final casualty routs the hapless Maxim’s remaining team member.

 

The Chinese Force Morale is dropping rapidly and the Commander decides belatedly to send his right hand squads forward hoping to kill or capture the Vickers gun, the section next to it and the Platoon Commander who happens to be here as well!

While the right hand PVA squad has inflicted significant shock on the Aussie section to its front the return fire is equally accurate thanks to the Platoon Commanders fire direction (5 Rounds Rapid causing 9 hits and resulting in a LOT of shock!).

Unfortunately this move by the Chinese is too little too late and the Aussies are able to bring the combined firepower of two sections AND the Vickers team on the luckless Chinese. First the LMG team is wiped out, the Chinese Sergeant (Inferior Senior Leader) is then wounded and more riflemen killed and finally only two riflemen are left. With far too much shock (11 on 4 figures) they break and route taking both wounded Leaders with them.

With the loss of this PVA squad the Chinese Force Morale has dropped to 4 losing them a Command Dice and consequently the engagement; leaving the battlefield in Aussies hands.

Old Faithful 3 RAR have lived up to their name!

The last image shows the final disposition of troops.

The Chinese have one squad in good order and the second has accumulated too much shock to be effective although not yet Pinned, however the Chinese Commander is alone (except for his bugler) in the centre of the field and unable to help.

On the Aussies side there are two sections in good order supported by the Vickers and they have not yet brought forward the sniper, 2” mortar and M20 Super Bazooka teams!     

A great game and this will be definitely the first of many!

As usual the Chinese forgot to take advantage of the “Bunched Target” with the Vickers co-located with two other teams on the flank.

The Aussies made good use of the 5 Rounds Rapid fire control!

Great game thanks Darryl and well deserved win!

Detail of Owen's Chinese force (1st Corps and Warlord figs)

By Paul:

WoW - what a fabulous looking game! I haven't tried CoC v2 yet and have had a Korea itch for some time, so this really appeals to me.

That's a great CHICOM force you've assembled mate, sorry to see them wiped out in their first game but we all know the fate of newly painted figures in their first game! :-) Maybe I need to do a USMC force....

Reminds me that I still have that modular Kapyong battlefield we made for the club open day back in...'98 I think? maybe it deserves to be unearthed for this!

Great work Owen and Darryl - looking forward to the next bout!

Paul

Its that time of the year again!

What's that that you ask?

Yes, its that wonderful time of the year when we get to sign up for the next season of AHPC!  

I missed out last year with the overseas move, so I'm chomping at the bit for...

Some changes to the format this year - themed bonus rounds and terrain are back for a start!

Thank you to Curt and his merry band of minions for their time and effort in making another season come to fruition. So get over there and sign up for the best online community event in our hobby

https://thepaintingchallenge.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-16th-annual-analogue-hobbies.html

I'm signed up for 500 points, focused on my Crimea Project, some LUNAR astronauts and cosmonauts, and some GW - see you there!

Udvar-Hazy Aircraft Museum - Part 2

Following on (apologies for the delay) from Part 1 here:

https://tasmancave.blogspot.com/2025/09/udvar-hazy-aircaft-museum-part-1.html

The German WW2 collection had lovely Focke-Wulf Fw 190 F-8/R1 and a Me 163 B-1a Komet on display, but their V1 "buzz bomb" and BF109 G-6 were under restoration. 

Me163 Komet - I've only previously seen one at the Australian War Memorial

Then they had some unique artefacts, including:

Dornier Do 335 A-0 Pfeil (Arrow), a heavy fighter with an usual dual nose/tail propeller design in a push/pull configuration that gave it an impressive 800mph speed. This is the only surviving example.

Arado Ar 234 B-2 Blitz (Lightning) - the world's first turbo jet bomber, fielded by the Luftwaffe from Sep 1944. This design was used predominantly for aerial reconnaissance (though at least 2 missions were sent to destroy the famous Remagen Bridge after its capture) and as the last German aircraft to overfly the UK during hostilities, in April 1945.

Horten Ho229 v3

This 'flying wing' design was commenced in 1943. A single crewed, twin-engine fighter/bomber, it was one of the earliest jet aircraft and had a design speed of 1000mph, significantly outpacing Allied fighters.

A prototype flew in early 1945, 3 months before the war's end but was far from ready for production when Germany surrendered.This aircraft was captured by the advancing US Army in April 1945 and is the only remaining example in the world.

This was the first in a series of large 'flying wing' designs, some of which were included in the 'Amerika Bomber' projekt

But my favourite in the collection was the recently restored Heinkel He 219 A-2/R4 Uhu (Eagle Owl) - probably the best nightfighter (nachtjager) of WW2.

Thats the FW-190 on the left and the Arado Blitz off to the right

https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/heinkel-he-219-2r4-uhu-eagle-owl/nasm_A19600322000

This aircraft design made its combat debut in June 1943, sporting a pressurised cockpit with twin ejection seats (the first military aircraft go be fitted with them), Lichtenstein SN-2 advanced VHF-band intercept radar, and six Mauser MG 151/20 20 mm autocannons - two in the wing roots inboard of the engines and four more ventrally. Later versions (model A-7 onwards) were fitted with the iconic Sträge Musik which fired 2 x 30mm upwards at 65 degrees.

 

This aircraft is one of 3 captured by the US Army Air Force at the end of WW2 (Operation LUSTY) from the Luftwaffe's 1st Night Fighter Wing at Grove, Denmark, and is currently the only one on display in the world.

Amazing crew vision from the cockpit

Closeup of the nose mounted Lichtenstein radar:

And was it really my favourite? Well lets just say its the only one I made video footage for :-)

In comparison the WW1 section was small, though boasted 3 'string-bags' of fame:

Nieuport 28C.1  

Spad XVI

Halberstadt CL.IV

Definitely a"must see" spot when travelling through Washington DC!