29! Let's go! - the 29th Division Arrives

On Friday I got two boxes of the new US Perry GI figures, which will form the basis of the US force for "29! Lets Go!"  I've got some Perry Napoleonics - lovely figures - and the US GI's don't disappoint either.  Great figures and they paint up well.  The only problem I find with them, is that the arms are a little fiddly to put together leaving some gaps...I may have to try out some filler on them. 

First off, I assembled and painted a test figure both to see how easy it was to make, and also to test out my planned colour scheme.   I decided to make a medic- a support option in Chain of Command - which seemed like an appropriate start. 

Seemed to turn out OK!  I used the following colours:
 - Trousers/Shirt/Helmet strap: German Camo Pale Brown (Vallejo)
- Jacket/Gaiters: Karak Stone (Games Workshop)
- Boots: Flat Brown (Vallejo)
- Helmet: Olive Drab (Vallejo)
- Webbing/Water bottle (Grey Green)

Washed all over with Earthshade and then highlighted in the base colour.  Good enough for me!

With the test figure done, I assembled a few more.

L-R: 3 Infantrymen, the medic, and the Platoon Lieutenant (Senior Leader in Chain of Command)

L-R: 3 Extra crew for support weapons and Adjudant.

Although you don't need an adjudant model in Chain of Command, the GI set lends itself to making one.  I might use him as a Morale Tracker Marker.  I also switched up the colour on his pants - green grey to give a slightly different look. I might add a couple of troopers with trousers that colour to just add a bit of variation.

So, the figures are great, and paint up well. looking forward to assembling and painting the rest of the Platoon.  Having bought two boxes, I can also make up a lot of support options including, extra crew, Forward Observers, 30. Cal MG and additional BAR gunners.

I also started assembling some more terrain - roads, buildings and fields, but that will have to wait for another post!

Terrain

As mentioned in my last post,I have decided to go all in and play the Chain of Command "29! Let's go!" Pint Sized Campaign.  I have ordered the new US GI figures from Perry Miniatures, but while waiting for those to arrive, I received a large box of MDF buildings from Charlie Foxtrot Models.

The pint sized campaign requires several buildings and I have none....so time to get building.  I started small with the Charlie Foxtrot "Workshop" building.

To improve the look of the basic structure, I added some plastic brickwork, bought from a model railway shop.

Then smeared the walls with very thinned down modelling clay.  Next steps will be to cover the building with a mix of filler/PVA and water to make it more unified.

And while I am about it, I've started making some roads as well - following the expert advice of Mel the Terrain Tutor.

Updates to follow.....

.... updates to buildings:

I slapped on some very thinned down modelling clay around the walls to represent plaster and then painted the brickwork, walls and doors.  I made a small base and added more modelling clay to represent muddy ground, and small grit to represent soil.  just need to flock the base, and add a couple of bits of detailing. 

29! Let's Go!

wow...two posts in one day.  You wait ages for anything to happen, then two come along at once!

As I mentioned in my last post, I had played in a Necromunda Campaign at the start of the year.  While my gang did poorly, I really enjoyed the set of linked games an the fact that both the characters and the narrative developed over the course of the campaign.  While the Necromunda campaign fizzled out (hopefully it will start up again soon), I definitely liked the idea of doing more campaigns in future, for other game systems.

I've been a big fan of Chain of Command and have been impressed by the various Campaigns that are being run on other blogs and on Yoututbe.  with my new found interest in Campaigns, I jumped in and bought the "29, Lets Go!" campaign and the "At the Sharp End" Campaign Supplement (yes, its another new project....)

"29! Let's Go!" - Too Fat Lardies

In large part I chose "29 Let's Go!" because of the new plastic US forces from Perry Miniatures (pictured above).  Although designed mainly for the Mediterranean Theatre, they can also be used for the early days of D-Day and the Normandy Campaign. They look great, although probably a bit thin compared to my chunky Artizan Germans....

In addition to the "29! Let's Go!" book and the Perry miniatures (when they are released), I'll need a couple of Sherman tanks, and a load of scenery.   I've been following both the Terrain Tutor and Lukes APS on Youtube, and they have some great tips and advice.  So I am feeling confident that I can make some decent scenery for the campaign (and maybe...even a wargames table?!)  I've already ordered a handful of buildings from Charlie Foxtrot models (https://www.charliefoxtrotmodels.com/)  and started on building some roads and other terrain pieces for the game.  So looking forward to getting this one started... who knows, I might even finish a project....nah!

US Platoon project tracker

US Platoon
Core Platoon
Senior Leader #1 (Lieutenant)	incomplete
Senior Leader #2 (Platoon Sergeant)	incomplete
Bazooka Team	incomplete
1st Squad	incomplete
2nd Squad	incomplete
3rd Squad	incomplete
Support
Sherman 1	incomplete
Sherman 2	incomplete
Medic	incomplete
Engineers (Mine)	incomplete
Engineers (Demolition)	incomplete
30. Cal MG	incomplete
50. Cal MG	incomplete
Bazooka team # 2	incomplete

Hobby update

So, it's been a long time since I did anything substantial on the blog - time to remedy that!

Games Played:
At the start of the year I took part in a great General De Brigade game refighting the Battle of Ligny (see previous post).  The same club is due to refight Quatre Bras in May so hopefully I'll get to play in that.  The Necromunda campaign I was in fizzled out during a break - my gang, the "Maniax" started badly, losing 2 gang members in the first game, followed by the leader "Vasko", two games later.  They never really recovered, and ended up near the bottom of the campaign table.  That said, it was a lot of fun and I really started to develop characters within the gang - Ganger "Syko" really started living up to his name, gaining the highest kill-count of the gang, while the Champion "Ko-Nan" stepped up to the plate and took over the leadership of the gang.  Hopefully  the campaign will start up again and I can take the "Maniax" to greater success.

The "Maniax" when the Campaign ended.  "Ko-Nan" took over from the deceased "Vasko", the gang was bulked out by two new Juves as well as "Fat Lars" a ganger reassigned by House Goliath from another gang.


And actually, the General De Brigade game and the 4 necromunda games I've played in 2019 is more games than I've played in the previous 5 years combined, so it's all good :)



Projects:
Projects are still ongoing, but slowly as ever.   In a vague effort to make progress on the Marengo project, I bit the bullet and paid to have 3 battalions painted by Battle Brush Studios (https://www.battlebrushstudios.com/) 2 battalions of French and one Austrian.  that should give me the impetus to start painting some more of my own.  the 1813 project is still ongoing, I have primed 2 battalions of Prussian Landwehr, just need to get the actual paint on!

I also was drawn back into 40K with the new Genestealer Cult army.  A box of brood brothers and neophyte acolytes have been purchased... as if I need another new project!  (oh and two Ambots for Necromunda!)

Finally, Chain of Command related projects.... I have started building an early war french force.  I also bought the "29! Lets go!" Campaign and the "At the Sharp End" campaign book.  The Necromunda campaign, for me, was fun in that you really got the sense of characters developing and a narrative forming,  as well as being more cautious with your forces than you would in a one off game. Having only played 2 Chain of Command games - solo - to test the rules, I've decided to jump in and do a campaign from the off. (more in the next post)