Having completed my Irish Army, I dont really have a ‘big’ project on the go at the moment, except a secret one that I’ll show you at the end of this entry….
I’ve been working on a number of 1/48th scale subjects. These include an Airfix Snatch Landrover, a SMER 1/48th scale Swordfish, and a couple of Blitzkrieg models, The Firefly and an AEC armoured car. The Firefly is pretty much done, although I will be adding some extra stowage. Here’s a couple of pictures of the Firefly.
In between writing this blog and publishing it, I actually finished the extra stowage as well as the AEC armoured car. I was pleased with the AEC car. Even though it is resin, a few extras, stowage, wing mirrors, the drivers screen and a commander have brought it to life. The drivers screen was added by simply cutting an old blister pack down to get the clear plastic!
As far as my WOTR collection goes, I have already painted the Richard III figure that was available at Hammerhead 2023. The figure is a bit fat in the face for Richard, but he will make a nice addition to my collection and he’s in the cabinet rather than the leadpile!
I’m also working on a small vignette. Andy Callan gave me a set of stocks for my medieval village that is progressing at glacial speed. It seemed a shame not to have a subject locked up in them so I’ve converted a Wargames Factory Celt to fit. There’s a bit more work to do, as you can see.
So on to the secret project! Andy Callan has been working on another spin off of Never Mind The Bill Hooks. This time it is Bill Hooks Fantasia or Never Mind the Warlocks – a fantasy rules set using the basic Bill Hooks game engine. Andy had written a fantasy version some time ago for his Grand kids to play. However, Bill Hooks had moved on and the rules never made it to the table. There has been a lot of back and forth between Andy and some keen Bill Hooks players as the new rules were added.
So it was time to put the rules to the test. I’m not going to go into specifics but I’m happy to report that we had an excellent game, full of cinematic cliff hangers. The Riders of Rohan pulled of a spectacular charge, repulsing a horde of angry goblins. Tony the Troll went walkabout in the woods, although we did test his effectiveness in combat. The wizard was a bit of a damp squib and the heroic infantry did what heroic infantry are supposed to do against the baddies!
With the first play test out of the way and some re-assessment of the troop types and the new introductions, we are ready to go again. The next stage is to widen the player participation and see how the new mechanics will work. Watch this space!
So this has inspired me to get on with my LOTR painting project. I am now on issue 27 of the magazine and this came with a sprue of ‘seige Uruk Hai’. I actually have tackled two sprues as another sprue was given away later in the series. So another 10 Uruk Hai are added to my force!
Also on the wargaming front, we played another epic game of Never Mind the Boat Hooks. There an excellent battle report on the ‘Bill Hooks’ facebook page, written by Austen Kime, chief chronicler and co commander.
NEVER MIND THE BILL HOOKS FACEBOOK PAGE
So a busy month, despite no real focus and my collection is growing nicely!
THE COMMERCIAL BIT
I hope that you all enjoy your hobby as much as I do – our web site will have much of what you need to finish your models! Click here to see our shop.
Happy Modelling!