This week's whimsie

There are two things that don't belong in this picture.  May the Force be with you!

Wednesday's Whimsie

Elvis & Nixon

I am SO going to see this movie!  Long live the king, baby!

Allied Intervention in Russia 1918 - 1920 Project (with pictures!)

I got my package from Fernando Painting a few weeks back, but with everything going on with our dog I was spending more time with him instead of opening my package.  So, I am just now getting around to opening the box and posting pictures of the miniatures. 

I am pretty happy with Fernando's services.  As you will see in the pictures, I sent a variety of 28mm this time to be painted.  This was the first batch of 28mm's that I had sent.  The figures were all painted to the 'Collectors' quality, which is not their best level, but sort of their middle level.  They are a lot better than what I could have painted.  This was also the first time that I had them base and flock the figures. There was a mistake with the Red's machine guns, but I will explain what happen later with the picture.

This batch was 178 figures (including the machine guns), plus two artillery pieces.  The turn around time from when they received my package, until I got it back was four months.  With the 'Collectors' quality painting, basing/flocking, assembling the machine guns and artillery pieces, a 10% discount for over $300 painting services, and finally the shipping cost (I forgot to write down my shipping cost to them, but I am guessing no more than $0.50 per figure), the average price per figure is about $3.15 for the services.  Excellent deal in my own opinion. Only the shipping cost is the hardest to swallow as it is 1/3 of the overall cost, but if you figure it out as an average cost per figure, it is not bad at all.

This project is mostly done with this batch of painted figures.  There are still some more things I want to add to this project.  Mainly, I need to add the other half of the Siberian Rifles platoon, a Soviet armored car, and a second U.S. Army platoon.  Possible future expansion might include a White Russian platoon, plus a machine gun team; a platoon of Czech Legion (and MG team); a mounted Cossack half platoon, and possibly a British tank.  I really wish to add a Japanese infantry platoon with winter clothing for the Siberian Expedition, but there are no miniatures that will work for them.

Since the Soviets have the home field advantage, they will be the first group of pictures.  First is the Soviet Command Group with a mounted overall commander, a flag bearer, a commissar, and a heroine which could be a spy, nurse, or some brave girl, and finally two sentries.  The figures are Copplestone Castings, except the sentries which are Footsore Miniatures. (Remember to click on the pictures for a larger version!)

Next is the Soviet support of two machine gun teams.  These miniatures are from Old Glory.

OK, notice the wheels are not on MG carriage.  That was my fault for forgetting to be very specific, and use simple directions on my instructions when dealing with foreign language barriers.  They placed them exactly where I had them laying in my picture to them for the placement of the soldiers.  I will have to fix this later, but it is a lesson learn for clarification in my instructions to them.

Now is the first Soviet platoon of one officer and four squads of ten riflemen.  I wanted a non-uniformed look to them to represent the collection of non-military troops or poorly supplied peasants that made up the Soviets initially.  The bulk of the figures are Copplestone Castings, but eight of them are Footsore Miniatures.

Finally is the second Soviet platoon at half strength with one officer and two squads of Siberian Rifles.  They are to represent the veteran, ex-Tsarist army troops that served in the Soviet army.  I accidentally didn't order enough of these guys to have gone out with this batch to be painted, but the second half will be in the next batch.  All of this figures are Copplestone Castings.

The Canadians are the next group of pictures.  Only the Canadian artillery was in the North Russia Expedition and the Canadian infantry were part of the Siberian Expedition.  First picture is of the Canadian Command Group.  While I only really need one or two officers for the platoon, I went ahead and had all of the figures in the pack painted up.  All of the Canadian figures are from Tiger Miniatures.

Next is the Canadian Support Group with a machine gun and a 18 pdr gun.

Finally is a weak platoon of infantry of an officer, a platoon sergeant, and four squads of eight.

The final group of pictures are the U.S. Army forces.  The 339th Infantry Regiment 'Polar Bears' served in the North Russia Expedition and the 27th and the 31st Infantry Regiments served as part of the Siberian Expedition.  I am more familiar with the North Russia Expedition over the Siberian Expedition, but I plan to read up more on it soon. In both cases, there were no U.S. artillery with the expeditions, except were part of an infantry regiment at the time, but I went ahead and got one artillery piece for my War Plan Crimson project.  In the first picture is the American Command Group from Tiger Miniatures and sentries from Brigade Games.

Next is the American Support Group with a machine gun and 75mm gun.  These figures are from Tiger Miniatures.

The camo pattern for the 75mm is an actual pattern for the US Army in the winter at this time.

This picture is of a weak U.S. infantry platoon of four squads of eight.  The specific platoon has a BAR squad which would have part of the Siberian Expedition.  All figures are from Tiger Miniatures.

Finally, this Lewis gun squad is to replace the BAR squad from the infantry platoon for the North Russia Expedition as the 339th Infantry were issued with Lewis guns and not BARs.  The figures are from Brigade Games.

So there you go.  Unfortunately, April is totally busy for me to game and I will be traveling for vacation for about half of May.  So, I am hoping do a game of of this project in July.  I am getting my next order to Fernando ready to go and hope to have it sent off by the end of April.  This will have the second half of the Siberian Rifles platoon for this project.  The rest will be more Arctic winter theme figures for War Plan Crimson with a second U.S. infantry platoon plus more BAR gunners for the TO/E change to have one in every squad, some more Canadian Lewis Gunners for the same reason, RCMP, trappers, Inuits, dogs, and explorers.

Grab some pemmican, a Mosin-Nagant rifle and setting in for a cold, freezing night,

Sapper

RIP - Scott McCoy

We will miss your bantering at our lunch groups and at the gaming store & table.

The Empty Chair
Eulogy for a Gamer

There is an empty chair,

at the table this day.
A hallowed place where,
a friend once played.
The roll of his dice,
my ears long to hear.
 
Or perhaps it would suffice,
if he should suddenly appear.
With character sheet in hand,
and a bag of Cheeze-doodles to share.
All his friends would stand,
as he sat in the empty chair.
I hear his voice a-callin’,  
and it ties my heart in a knot.
 
For he cries, “Though a comrade has fallen,
You must play for those who cannot.”
We conquered worlds on the run,
he and I in the name of fun.
And as others may come and go,
I make both both friend and foe.
But what I long for most,
is our past now long a ghost.