The other scratch build with a little bit of painting

Yet another painting work in  progress.  This one is barely 40% painted.  Lots to do on it, but you get the idea!

This was for the beloved Demonhunter army, which was all done in these bloody reds.  You can see the rest of that army in the Demonhunters section, and read all about the Brotherhood of the Sacred Chalice.

As you can see from the original pictures showing the scratch build, I switched these sponsons to bolters from the original lascannons.  That was the whole idea behind the project :-)

The Assault cannons were actually made from plastic wall hangers!

All the rest was done in pink foam, matboard, and sculpey.

More to come as I continue the process on these guys!

Putting a hex on your minis

Or is that minis on a hex?

Anyway, this is the next stage in developing the stands of Memoir '44 miniatures... the infantry in particular.

Just like Warhammer Fantasy, set up can take a while, since each infantry unit has four figures.  When you have the average 7-9 units to pull out of the box each time, you start to get bored placing all those figures.

So, I figured we would do the same thing that I do with my WFB units.  They are all magnetized on the movement trays, which are in turn magnetized to the container.

Thus, set up is little more than pulling the movement tray out of the box and placing it on the board!

Fortunately, I have many scraps of matboard around, and it is the same thickness as the terrain hexes.  I traced them out onto the matboard...

And brought out the sand and gravel!

Time to do some cutting.  The metal ruler and some cork comes in very handy!

We have a pile of hexes, all ready for units.

The magnets are self adhesive, so I went directly to gluing on the rocks.

I had to forgo some of my heavier rocks, due to the tiny size of the figures.

It didn't take long to get the whole batch covered in gravel!

We wanted to test and see what the rocks and sand would look like on the figures themselves...

And it seemed to be very cool!

On future stands, I will add extras such as road signs and other elements.  There will be further posts showing what these look like painted, and with flock, grass, foliage, etc., added.  Stay tuned!!!!

Work in progress... the beginnings of color on the scratch built raider.

Here are some images of the partially painted Land Raider scratch build (see previous posts for images of the unpainted vehicle).  It is about 50% complete.

Again, all of the weaponry was made with the extra firm gray sculpey.  It worked very well for that process!

The sponsons and turrets are all removeable, and can turn in any direction.

The various parts and weapons can be exchanged with the other land raider, which was given storm bolter sponsons.

Eventually, I will get to finish this guy!  I have a TON of freehand to do.  It will be a lot more like the eggshell Grey Knight Land raiders you saw at Adepticon.

It was fun to actually take some pictures of this.  I had not even looked at it in years!  It was tucked away in a cabinet... so far back that I had not noticed it was even there!

When I do finish this off, I will take many more images for you!

Right down to the last man...

When we last saw our intrepid Axis partners, things were looking a wee bit dicey.  Since it only took four victory points to secure an Allied victory, each unit was of vital importance.

I was unable to move the heavy German units on the right very far, since the order cards just weren't there.

However, that would soon change, as they launched an all out attack on the US infantry squads.

The damage was not as much as I had hoped.  Fortunately, the US was not able to do much in response... leaving them even more vulnerable to my heavy units.

Just the trick!  A massive attack, spearheaded by all the armor I could bring to bear.

The American units would suffer heavily, and the survivors were forced to flee!

This put a serious dent in the Allied offensive, and gave me a chance to re-position my units.

Yet another all out advance.  Even the infantry units join in.  The S.S. squad valiantly assaults the tank unit, wiping it out!  

More American infantry units suffer major losses and retreat.  These critical delays allow me to press my own offensive.

Alas, the S.S. unit ends up sacrificing itself in an effort to take out the mobile artillery.

Worried about the heavy losses they had taken, and the menacing approach of Tiger and Panzer units, the survivors of the American infantry dig in.

However, my spotters notice this action, and give advance notice to my own troops.  Clearly more well trained and battle hardened, my own units dig in for an even more solid defensive posture.

This meant that I could unleash my Tide of Iron without the worry of giving up those last few victory points.  That is, unless the Capitalist Pigs are able to eliminate those Italian units which have been trapped in the town.

The Americans attempt to bring in their own feeble Sherman tanks in a desperate move to eliminate on of the dug in German units.

Somehow, that unit survives!  This means that I can set up one last final push...

Look out!  The US have a prime chance to kill off that last member of the infantry squad stares death in the face... and death blinks!!!!

Now for my Ace in the Hole.  A card that allows me to move any four units of my choice.  This spells doom for the Americans, as I can now surround one hapless mobile artillery unit.

They are so frightened by the encounter, that they become mobile enough to flee off the board... thus ensuring an Axis victory!

Rich did a great job writing this scenario, finding as much balance as possible.  I really should have lots, but 4 key cards allowed me to stave off destruction and launch those deadly counter-assaults.

The Italian Connection... Part one

You saw the Italian troops on the painting table... now you will see them on the battlefield!!

First, Wage had to help me with another round of kickstarter boxes.  Shipped out seven yesterday, and ten more today.

Then we walked the 800 feet to D' Anardo's for some fantastic pizza!  Best in the world.

Here is the scenario that Rich created, and the story behind it.

A battered Italian unit is trying to hold out to protect their precious church.  The Germans are attempting to "rescue" their  Italian allies, and hold the village and set up an observation post in the church.  The location also contains a key roadway, necessary for the Germans to keep the campaign supplied.

The Americans are seeking a quick end to the Italian invasion and puncture the soft under-belly of Europe.  The command sees the importance of this location, but is unable to get a heavier force to the battle quickly.

A view of the battlefield, forces deployed.  The Italians are on the far left, holed up in the church and cemetery.

I have to worry about these guys, because they are 3 easy Victory Points for Rich and the filthy Amerikanners.

My heavy units are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay over here on the left.  As you know, if you don't have an order card in your hand that will move stuff over here... it will just wait there until you do!

Here are my starting cards.  The recon card will be vital, since that might help me get more cards to move stuff on the left flank.  The Ambush card should help if he attempts to assault one of my dug in positions as well.

I start out with the Probe card so that I can take advantage of the road (units move one space further if they start and end on the road), and move these guys the heck over to the left!!

Here I used that Recon card so that I could get some help on moving these heavy units.

Ambush!  Rich was very tempted to wipe out the last of the machine gun squad... a Victory point, and also the elimination of one of my heavy units.  His mobile artillery had targeted them earlier.

I tried to get the Italians in a better spot, and also fire at the Americans.  No luck there!  They need to go back to gunnery school.

The Shermans move out to come after the light Italian units.  Uh oh!

Not looking good over here.  One unit wiped out already, and the others in a perilous position.  Fortunately, some light weapons fire from the infantry frightened away the Capitalist Pigs, and they retreated.

Medic!!!  This MASH card was the first of several game saving cards for me.  Remember, all Rich has to do is kill 4 units.  I saved the Machine Gun squad, bringing it back to full strength.

The Americans press their advance once again on the right... would the German heavy units be able to disrupt this inexorable surge?  Will they be able to rescue their Italian "allies"... stay tuned!!