I have mixed feeling about the holidays. They're great for catching up on things because of the relative free time that's available. On the other hand I get lethargic as well for a variety of reasons. As this year closes, I wanted a new project to get my teeth into.
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| Gingerly getting my toe in the water again. |
I craved some inspiration so I can start blogging about my latest creative push. I also needed a muse to get my juices flowing again. Eye candy is what gets me going. So I either watch some movies from my collection...
*PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL THESE PIX ARE CLICKABLE FOR ENLARGED VIEWING.*
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| Opening sequence from 'Enemy at the Gates". |
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| The ill fated Strelkovy charge also from
'Enemy at the Gates" |
or go on the web where it'll link me to awesome imagery.
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| The ubiquitous SU-76. |
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| The ubiquitous SdKfz 251 HT with 37mm gun. |
Getting inspired yet? I surely did.
And if you'd read my earlier posts you'll note that I'm quite a fan of Stalingrad and the Eastern Theater. My later projects involved lots of 28mm. Bigger scale and better detail for these aging eyes...
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| A Stalingrad table we set up at Justo's house while he was still in Houston for a game day. |
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| NKVD Maxim mg crew from BTD. |
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| Assorted Strelkovy from BTD.
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| Fallshcirmjagers from BTD staging for a mission. |
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| Stealthy Fallshcirmjagers on their way avoiding the T34 beyond. |
"Take out those Stalin's Organs!!"
However, I did start out in 15mm when I was consumed with FoW. This smaller scale has its advantages.
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| The infamous 88 from Battlefront for FoW. |
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| A pair of Sd Kfz 7/2 with the 37mm AA gun. |
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| My all time favorite German tank: the Panther!! |
Looking through my collection I realized the wealth of material that I already have in hand. But like most gamers I'm a pack rat/collector/accumulator and I always want more!
Then recently, Chris Trevino from our group (who's NOT my muse) ran a few Crossfire games. That got me intrigued because I've been itching to use my already completed Flames of War (FoW) Eastern Front Germans and Russians for something else. Since I was burnt out of playing FoW I sadly put them in mothballs.
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| Kubelwagens and Sd Kfz 7/1 (Quad 20mm AA) |
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| Assorted Sd Kfz 251 HT and Opel Blitz |
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| KV8 (flame tanks) |
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| Panthers and Maultiers |
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| BA10M Armored Cars, Stuarts and Honeys |
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| Mid War T34-76 |
All of a sudden I got excited thinking about using them again with another rules set. I had to get them out of storage and back on the table! And what better way to do so than to start another terrain table.
'So why not another Stalingrad-ish, urban ruins with a rail yard to boot in 15mm?" I thought to myself. And this time, I'll do it better than my previous half-hearted attempts.
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| My recently sold generic and unweathered box cars on equally uninspired flocked Kato tracks. |
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This was taken in February of this year where I staged them with some
of my FoW Soviet Scouts with a KV1 in support. |
After a little ruminating and eye candy research to get me primed I immediately set out for my local train store and Eureka! I found all kinds of cool stuff. Here's my latest acquisitions.
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| Compare these beautifully weathered boxcars from the ones above. |
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Just a small part of my Stalingrad and rail yard table. The Kato tracks will
definitely be weathered and flocked just in case you're wondering. |
Scav Alert! Make sure that you do check out the consignment shelves of these stores b/c they're chock full of pre-assembled HO scale buildings, water tanks, towers, gantries, weathered boxcars, etc. that's perfect for 15mm.
Stay tuned...
