Exciting News!

Hail, my readers!

The reason I have been so quiet of late is because I am setting up my own business. I have decided to take the plunge into the world of figure painting for a living, and thus ATP Painting Studio was born.

I am currently working on things like getting a dedicated website up and running, sorting out customers to keep a roof over my head and food on the table, and painting figures for money.

As a result this blog will probably not be updated until October, so I apologise. In the meantime you can keep an eye on ATP Painting Studio on Facebook; I will be updating the page there fairly regularly.

I am cheaper than Artmaster Studio (by quite a bit) and less expensive than Golem. I will paint anything, from 6mm Prussians to 120mm busts, from My Little Pony to Waffen-SS Grenadiers.

Please do e-mail me at: patrickcullen317 [AT] btinternet [DOT] com if you want to commission me: I have favourable rates and discounts are available. A full price list will be going up on the Facebook page within the week.

And because I am not a liar:



Derpy Hooves, a character from My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, painted to sell (search 'Derpy Hooves' on eBay).

What? It's a miniature! :p

The Last Words-Only Post, If I Have Anything To Say About It

I just wanted to make a little post detailing my current wargaming plans for the remainder of this year.

Currently, my wargames stuff is spread between my parents' house and mine. I don't have anything like the storage space that I want for it all, so what I'm aiming to do is rationalise what I have, gather it all together in one place, and organise it properly. Off the top of my head, I have the following armies, either started or half-way complete. I don't really have any 'complete' armies because I'm a classic Wargaming Butterfly...

1:whatever:
Battlefleet Gothic: Imperial Navy and Chaos fleets

6mm:
Epic Imperial Guard, Orks and Space Marines plus Titans and flyers
Battletech

15mm:
AK-47 Republic armies (Dictatorship, Popular Front, Super-power Backed, and White Supremacist)
Vietnam War US infantry company (1 figure = 1 man) with support

20mm:
WWII 1940 British
Russian Civil War Bolsheviks
Vietnam War US Infantry platoon

25-30mm:
Historical: Pirates! Just one crew, though
Historical: Chinese Warlord army
(A)historical: VBCW - BUF, reds, Skye Battalion
Moderns: Mogadishu
Moderns: Congo Simba Revolt
SF: Foxglove's Fighting Band - desert-based mechanised mercenaries (company)
SF: Force Generica (platoon)
SF: Women's Battalion of Death
SF: EuroFed Police and Rioters
SF: Viridians and a Triad gang for Urban War
SF: Gangs of Mega-City One gangs
40K: Imperial Guard (lots), Space Marines (three kinds), Chaos (LatD and Marines), Inquisition, Eldar, Dark Eldar, Orks (lots), Tau, Necrons, Tyranids.
Gorkamorka: Grots, Gorkers and Morkers
Necromunda: Escher, Goliath, Orlock and Ratskins, plus Hired Guns galore
Mordheim: Vampires, Skaven and Mercenaries
WFB: Empire (Wissenland), Empire (Solland), Vampire Counts, Bretonnians, Dwarfs, Dark Elves, Wood Elves
LotR: Haradrim, Gondor (Last Alliance) and those ghosties that are bad.

1:35 and 54mm:
Inquisitor warbands (two)
Operation Squad: Germans, with Russians on the way

Which is a conservative estimate. That's a minimum of about 64 armies, not counting all the 1-5 model starts for some armies (like my Savage Orc Shaman, Skaven Grey Seer, or Nova Castellan command squad) or any of the random crap I have like my 1:48 figures or the two 1:200 US carrier aircraft.

Even if we just narrow it down to rules sets, I have:
Ak47 Republic, Operation Squad, Stargrunt II, DropWing, LotR: Return of the King, WFB 6th Edition, 40K 4th edition (and 2nd), Necromunda, Gorkamorka, Battlefleet Gothic, Epic 40K, and a good few others.

So what I am aiming to do is sell off the stuff I don't need or want. A shortlist of that includes, but is not limited to:

Some of my Imperial Guard,
My 15mm Vietnam stuff,
My BattleTech,
My Pirates,
Some of my Inquisitor 54mm stuff.

More will probably go on the 'sell' pile as and when I find it. I am aiming to stop being a butterfly by the end of the year, and instead stick firmly to my PLAN-PURCHASE-PAINT concept developed earlier on this blog. As part of that, from now on I will not post any updates unless I have pictures of stuff I've painted to show you.

More for OpSquad

A collection of thoughts regarding weapons not included in the rulebook that perhaps should be:

Rifle Grenades:The rifle-grenade fires, using a bullet-catching device, an explosive charge over long distances, giving infantry squads a handy extra 'punch' in combat. As such, the following stats may be used to represent this:

Rifle Grenade: Short +1d6, Normal +1d6, Long -, Extreme N/E, Rate of Fire 1, 5(A),
Single Shot
The rifleman may alternatively use his rifle as a standard weapon of its type, e.g. a Kar 98K or an SMLE.


Shoulder-Launched Anti-Tank Rockets: There are two significant types of man-portable anti-tank rocket launchers; the re-loadable Panzerschreck or Bazooka, and the single-shot Panzerfaust. As such, they really require two different statlines:

Panzerfaust: Short +2d6, Normal -, Long N/E, Extreme N/E, Rate of Fire 1 10(A), One Shot, Bunker Buster

Bazooka (etc): Short +2d6, Normal +1d6, Long -, Extreme N/E, Rate of Fire 1, 10(A), Single Shot, Support Weapon, Cumbersome

One Shot: May only be fired once per game.
Bunker Buster: -1d6 from any cover.

Incendiary Weapons: By which I mean Molotov cocktails, flamethrowers, and WP grenades.

Molotov Cocktails, WP Grenades: Short +1d6, Normal/Long/Extreme: N/E, Rate of Fire 1, 5(A), Minimum Range 10, Incendiary
Flamethrowers: Short +3d6, Normal +2d6, Long/Extreme: N/E, Rate of Fire Special, Incendiary, Cumbersome

Incendiary: Any figure hit by an incendiary weapon will be set on fire. A figure on fire must roll 2d6 each turn, adding one every turn after the first, as though shot (e.g. they can be pinned, wounded or killed). A friendly figure may attempt to put the fire out by spending one turn in base contact with them, and rolling 10 or more on 2d6 + VT.
Rate of Fire Special: Draw a straight line from the flamethrower operator up to a maximum of 50cm. Anyone within 3cm of the line is hit.

And, lastly, Body Armour: Rarely worn, but most of all by Red Army assault squads and combat engineers, WWII body armour comprised sheets of shaped steel. Any figure wearing body armour may roll an extra d6 when being shot at.

I'm sure those will alter as playtesting reveals the kinks and weaknesses, but should suffice for now. In the meantime, I've built the first four Germans for my late-war Eastern Front force, and worked out what I'm getting for my 1944 Western Front stuff - two boxes of Dragon British Infantry, a box of Tamiya British, and a couple of boxes of Tamiya Germans (which I intend to paint up as straight German Whermacht, rather than my late-war W-SS/random squad). So in the end I'll have two German squads, a Russian squad (from Zvezda) and a British squad. Depending on how that pans out, I may splash out and get some US Airborne or something as well.

Look! Pictures!

Right then! I will now post a flurry of pictures of the commission work that I have recently done for a few people. If you are interested in commissioning me, my prices are as follows:

Toy Soldier Style (block colours, gloss varnish): £2 (£1 for 20mm, £3 for 54mm and up)
Wargames Standard (basic highlights, semi-gloss varnish): £4 (£2 for 20mm, £6 for 54mm and up)
Display Standard (at least 3 highlights, specific varnishes to give effects, etc): £6 (£3 for 20mm, £10 for 54mm and up).

1:12 scale statuettes, busts, and other large items (e.g. tanks, walkers etc) are costed seperately, usually in the region of £15-25. I don't charge extra for 'special figures', one infantryman costs the same as one cavalryman or character. I will paint anything, at any scale, and do my best to ensure a one-week turnaround.

Discounts are available for large orders.

P&P is 10% of the total cost or a minimum of £5. I send all items by Royal Mail Signed For 2nd Class (48 hours for delivery). I can be contacted for further information at patrickcullen317 [AT] btinternet [DOT] com.

And without further ado... the pictures!





Airfix 1:12 statue of Julius Ceasar. Display Standard.



Wargames Foundry Gladiators. Display Standard.





Wargames Foundry emperor, Warlord Games Romans. Display Standard.



Wargames Foundry Roman Slave Auction. Display Standard.













Immortal Miniatures' Greek Hoplites. Display Standard.



Napoleonic French (1812). Wargames Standard.




Games Workshop Dwarf Warriors. Display Standard.



Revell (?) British Paras. Display Standard.






Games Workshop Dwarf Longbeards. Display Standard.



Warlord Civilians, Foundry Praetorians and Officials. Display Standard.









Warlord and Foundry Romans. Display Standard.

And that's all for now! Still to come: Dark Elves, Dark Eldar, Grey Knights, Roman Legionaries, Veterans, Auxiliaries, a Testudo, more Emperors, Turks, ANZACs, 1/35 W-SS... and more!

Thoughts On Operation Squad, or: Last Post Before Pics

Right, so I don't forget, here are my current thoughts on modifying Operation Squad for 1/35 and general play:

1/35 modifications:
Ranges: all ranges increase by 50%. Area effect of grenades and mortars increases by 5cm each.
Movement: 10cm becomes 15cm, 15cm becomes 20cm, 20cm becomes 30cm.
MGs and Assistants: Assistants must be within 3cm of the gunner, rather than in base contact.
Table size: 6' x 4' rather than 4' by 4' is preferred.

General modifications:
Motivation: This is scenario dependent. Squads can be classed as having LOW, NORMAL, or HIGH motivation. A squad with LOW motivation reduces its Break Point by 1, while a HIGH motivation squad increases it by 1. Note this does not affect the number of figures in the squad.
Shoulder-launched AT Weapons: E.g. Bazooka, Panzerfaust. They act as direct-fire weapons as follows:

SHORT: +2d6 NORMAL: +1d6 LONG: N/A EXTREME: N/A
Characteristics: Single Shot, Support Weapon, A(10)

Multi-Player Games: 4-8 players. I recommend that each player takes a Squad, with one player taking a Platoon Command Squad, or acting as the force commander. Each Squad should have an objective, which should in turn act towards the force objective(s). Platoon Commanders should issue orders before the game starts, and if they wish to alter these orders may only do so if either:
1) Their figure is within 20cm (28mm) or 30cm (1/35) of the squad leader he is giving new orders to, and with a clear LOS; the Platoon Commander must also be visible to the Squad Leader (i.e. in his 180 degree field of vision).
2) Send a runner from his squad to the other; the runner must use RUN actions where possible to get to the Squad Leader in question as quickly as possible. Once within 5 (or 10) cm of the Squad Leader, the orders may be relayed as a single Action on the runner's part.

What do you think? I reckon those mods will be easy to use and improve play, at least for me. Next post - pics. Promise!

A New Obsession (Oh Help! Oh No! It's A Wargamerlo!)

Thanks to my commission work, I have rediscovered the joys of 1/35th military figures. So much so, in fact, that I have purchased a copy of Torriani and Del Castello's Operation Squad WWII rules (from work, ahahaha) and some 1/35 Dragon late war Germans to start with. I have on order (from work) a few sets of Russians to oppose the Fascist Vipers, and I intend to do them all with winter bases for games set in the winter of '44-'45. Which allows me access to all the funky toys like StG-44s and Russians with body armour. And, of course, old men and young girls fighting to defend the Vaterland!

Not to mention, of course, the Lithuanians, Spaniards, French, Latvians, Danes, Belgians, Italians, Dutch, Estonians, Russians, Ukranians... etc etc. I'd gleefully paint their national shields but, sadly, all my Panzergrenadiers are in thick winter gear or camo tunics.

Terrain will be fun, too, and I think that I may have to make a few alterations to the rules. Chiefly, increasing all the weapon ranges by 50% and removing the bloody stupid tournament-based points system. Frankly I don't give a damn about points in historical games; I'd much rather do it by scenario requirements.

Should be fun, especially as my dad is going to have his shed wargames-room-ified by the end of the year.

My current thoughts on my German squad org are something as follows:

1iC with StG-44
2iC with MP-40
2 PzGrn with MG42 and G43
8 PzGrn with a mix of K98, G43, MP-40 and StG-44

Leaven with a couple of panzerfausts, stick grenades, etc... job's a good 'un!

Oh - and there'll be another post tonight: WITH PICTURES

IT LIIIIIIIVES!!

Aha! I have a power cable! I am going to spend the next umpteen million man-hours uploading the hundreds and thousands of pictures that I have to post. Then I will post them. Then I will write more... and so on!

I have mostly been doing commission work, most recently a zillion Romans leavened by ANZACS, Turks, and 1/35th Waffen-SS Grenadiers. So expect a lot of Ancients.

Oh - yes - I have just started a new blog over at Parallel Futures, discussing SF in all its forms. Pop across, have a read, and help me formulate a new analysis of SF! Or just laugh at my ramblings. Either way... go! Read! COMMENT!

Of Superquick and Metcalfe...

Fairly recently, my Dad and I engaged in a spot of WW2 gaming (as is our wont) with a Fallschirmjager assault on the sleepy village of Lower Bimble, defended by a company of Home Guard. A report from the jackboot side of things can be found here on the Gentleman's Wargames Parlour. I will be putting in a report as soon as I can get a replacement power cable...!

Anyway, what I was really going to be talking about was Superquick and Metcalfe. For the uninitiated, they are two companies that make cardboard kits of houses, factories, pubs and so on for model railways and, yes, wargamers, in 1/72 scale. We used their stuff for Lower Bimble. It works remarkably well with 28mm, and perfectly with 20-25mm too.

The amount of kits they do is incredible - between the two of them there's enough stuff to produce a whole town with industrial estate, railway station(s) by the dozen and an airfield. And I've got a load of them at work. They look at me, tempting me to get them and make them so that, next time, we can have urban warfare in the streets of Upper Bimble as the Field Army and its Home Guard comrades try to fend off the fanatical Nazi paratroops and their Whermacht chums.

Should I give in, or stay firm? Help!

Disasters

Well, I'm excusing my lack of photo-updates and two missing battle reports with the following joyous bit of info:

My multi-adaptor which powers my laptops has died, spectacularly. So now I can't use either of them! Arrrgh!

On top of that, I have discovered the hard way that my shed (garage) leaks. I lost three books to water damage on Friday. One is easily replaced, one can be either picked up 2nd hand as a book or printed off as a PDF...

...and one is now only availiable second hand for upwards of £100!

For the interested, they are Codex: Space Marines (5th Edition), Mordheim: Empire in Flames, and Tactica Imperialis: A History of the Later Imperial Crusades.

So, in all, woe and misery. Expect reguar updates to begin again once I can reliably power my laptops. Bloody hell! What a saga!

Lego and Other, Stranger Things

A quick post - almost a placeholder for another one tonight.

Lego is a good thing to use for wargaming, particularly skirmishes. SF and F are very easy to do, while my introduction to wargaming came in the form of Lego ironclads battling it out on a carpet Potomac...!

I am also going to plunge back into the Guard and Dark Eldar armies that have been simmering for some time; with the upcoming release of things like the Venom, Talos, Cronos

JOOLS HOLLAND IS IN THE SHOP RIGHT NOW whee