New and Old Toys, Part 6 Stalingrad

You ever set up your game table for a specific scenario and end up with 'free play'? Such was the case one day after I set up my Stalingrad table intending to skirmish an urban ruins clash against the usual suspects of belligerents. After the table was set (...the battle lines are drawn...) I had some visitors 'oohing and aahing' over the set up. Now mind you, these visitors of mine were not gamers. And unbidden they started pulling minis from collection and placed them on the table. The result was pure fun and unplanned...

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The initial setup: 28mm urban ruins on
my 5'x7' gaming table

A PanzerGrenadier column with BMW Troopen scouts
and fullysupported with a PZII and SdKfz 251 Halftracks
with some command elements in tow entering the sector

The objective: ammo and supply dump made up with
my collection of crates, barrels, oil cans, sandbags, etc.

Soviet Strelkovy and Maxim MG Team race to get into
position when all of a sudden, the Bugs attack!

At the opposite side of the table StormTroopers advance
supported by an AT-ST while a trailing Rancor goes amok

Standard StormTrooper maneuvers as they fan
out outflanking an unsuspecting T34 and the dinos

A T-34 and a BA-6 are duly engaged with the Alien and
a raptor as a T-Rex and a Bug are locked in combat 

A Stug IIIG with some BMW Troopen get in on the action

The Alien sneaking up on an unsuspecting Soviet Scout
observing the passing of the PanzerGrenadier column

Blade showing up for a cameo appearance

A soviet sniper sights on a T-Rex from Hobby Lobby

A mixed bag of belligerents including an armor
clash between a KV1 and JagdPanzer IV 

A melee and free-for-all ensues!

"All together now!"

2' x 2' Mini Terrain Table

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Because gamers like a big area for viewing and admiring, most of us have the typical 4' x 6' playing areas. Realistically, most of my games end up in tight quarters. Especially my skirmish games in 28mm. Solution: make a mini terrain table for those close quarters.

Start with a standard 2' x 2' acoustic ceiling tile
available at any hardware store.
Paint the edges with flat black for a better border

Inexpensive but very effective for most of my painting needs

Apply with a metal spatula a good base layer of a slurry mix
(sand, white glue, cheap gray acrylic craft paint and water).
Let dry and cure overnight then apply successive coats of dark brown wash

Again let dry and cure overnight

After the board was dry-brushed to my liking I then applied
white glue to random areas and sprinkled copious amounts of
static grass from Gale Force Nine

Let dry and cure overnight then take a tooth brush to
tease out (stand up) and remove excess static grass and Voila!

My whole intent was as mentioned above but after it was completed I knew that I could pose some of my minis on it for some cool diorama shots.

Steppe this way!
My Mongols from The Assault Group
and Old Glory lines in 28mm

Assortment of German Panzers: Stug III, Sd.Kfz 222 armored
car and Sd.Kfz 251 half-tracks from Bolt Action in 28mm

Same Panzers supplemented with 25mm BMW motorcycle 
troopen from Battle Honors (incidentally, putting them in the
foreground mitigates the scale disparity)

My 28mm Soviet Tankovy: KV1 and T34/76 from Battlemart
and armored cars: BA6 and BA64 from Bolt Action 

Showcasing some of my 6mm Modern micro armor from
GHQ: M1 Abrams, British Challenger and German Leopard 2
alongside Timecast buildings and haystacks

Ditto

Composed shot for my Instagram

WIP: Soviet and German Armored Cars, Part 5: SdKfz 222 and SdKfz 231 (8-Rad) DONE

Oh boy! I finally finished my German armored cars and can't wait to get them on my table. 

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More fun with my armored cars.

Zombies supporting my armored car are from my Incursion collection.   

I decided to stay with Panzer Grey for better weathering and
highlighting effects as opposed to Dunkelgelb (Armor Dark Yellow).

Here they go tangling with some APEs also from Incursion.

WIP: Soviet and German Armored Cars, Part 4: BA-6 and BA-64 Soviets DONE

Back to my current favorite flavor of the month: WW2 skirmishing with Bolt Action. That means completing my Soviet Armored Cars for recon operations.

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BA-6 with two MMGs (coaxial and hull mounted)
and a 45mm ATG on a T-26 turret.

BA-6 with infantry support (L-R): BTD, West Wind

BA-64, an armored Soviet Jeep armed with a DT MG on a turret.

Coming up: German Armored Cars

WIP: Soviet and German Armored Cars, Part 3

Annnd the arms race continues with armored cars for infantry support and recon for my upcoming Bolt Action games. They are progressing swimmingly, I might add.

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L-R: SdKfz 231 8-rad, SdKfz 222

L-R: SdKfz 222, SdKfz 231 8-rad

SdKfz 231 8-rad

L-R: BA-64, BA-6

L-R: BA-6, BA64

WIP: Soviet and German Armored Cars, Part 2: How RAD is that SdKfz 231?

Another favorite of mine, the German 8 wheeled armored car: SdKfz 231 (8-rad). Just assembled and ready for priming. What's not to like:

• sleek, timeless chassis design with different turret configurations
• turreted 20mm auto-cannon with coaxial mg
• excellent maneuverability: forward and reverse movement with no penalty
• recce special rule 

and how sexy can you get in an armored car? Want more info? Go here for everything you always wanted to know about the 8-rad but were afraid to ask:

http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/nazi_germany/Sd-Kfz-231_8-rad.php

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In case you're wondering the cars in the back were featured in Part 1.

Truly a sexy beast!

To supplement my Black Tree Design Soviets,
I've since acquired some West Wind SMG troops.
They're just a tad smaller than BTD but
compliments them well scale wise.