Building John Stone

I realized the other night that many of my friends don't know much about this little hobby of mine.  They've seen photos of painted minis, and maybe some AARs of games, but not much of the behind the scenes.  Below, I'll outline the steps for building one of these little figures that I'm so addicted to.

For the Pequot Indian War project, I've decided to use the scenario book from First Command Wargames, written specifically for the Song of Drums and Tomahawks ruleset.

The first scenario in the book represents the battle between the crew of John Stone, an English privateer, and a band of native Indians in 1634.  From my reading, this encounter seems to be the generally accepted start of the Pequot War.

Basically, John Stone and his crew were killed by natives.  There's some fuzziness about which tribe actually carried out the attack.  In fact, there's some fuzziness in who started the attack, Stone, or the Indians.  The fact, however, is that Stone was killed, and the English used that as a catalyst to attack the Pequot.

It didn't really start there though.

Apparently, in the early 1630s, the Pequots were on good trading terms with Dutch colonists around what is now called the Thames River in Connecticut.  Things went sour, however, when other local tribes also began trading with the Dutch.  Sometime around 1633, in a bid to gain back their trading power, a band of Pequot warriors killed some Narragansett Indians.  The Dutch, in response, took the Pequot Sachem, Tatobem, hostage.  The Pequot, to get their Sachem back, paid the demands of the Dutch, however the Dutch killed Tatobem, returning just his body to their trade partners.

Back to John Stone.  In 1634, John Stone, an English colonist/pirate from Massachusetts is killed, along with his crew.  Stone, to put it mildly, wasn't very well liked by the English.  In fact, he had been banished from their colony.  The English, though, seeing an opportunity, blame the Pequot for his death, though some sources think the killers may actually have been Niantic.  The English demand retribution from the Pequot, who state that, if the killers had been Pequot, the killing was revenge for the death of Tatobem.  The English point out that the Dutch killed Tatobem.  The Pequot say that they don't recognize the difference between the Dutch and the English.  And so, a series of back and forth revenge attacks starts.  The Pequot War.

To kick off my Pequot War project, I ordered a set of Warlord Games Pike & Shotte Infantry, designed for the Thirty Years War.  I also ordered a command sprue of four fancier figures, one figure on horseback, and some casualty figures.  These should give me everything I need for the campaign, though I'll probably have to do some customization.

The first figure I built is the hero/villian of Scenario 1, "Death of Stone."  John Stone's game stats show him to be carrying a matchlock musket, a pistol, and a sword.  Almost everything I needed was on the command sprue.

John Stone, in the Raw

In the upper left corner of the sprue was a suitable body in a dynamic pose, with a pistol arm, open arm, and sword.  The sprue also contained a number of floppy hats.  I'd have to do a bit of customization to have Stone carrying a musket and a pistol.

Parts removed from sprue. Body, left and right
arms, hat, and sword.  Base and musket arm from
my spare parts bin.

Step 1: Remove any mold lines or sprue bits

Steps 2 thru 4: Cut of molded base, glue to round
base, glue on sword.

 

Oops!  I grabbed the wrong arm!
There's a left, and a right.  Now I have a spare.

Steps 5 & 6 - Glue on hat and left arm.
All the standard bits are now in place.

With all the standard pieces from the command sprue in place, it was time to do a little customization.  As molded, the figures are set up to carry a single weapon.  Due to his stats, my version of John Stone needed to be carrying both a pistol and a matchlock.  With no suitable arms on the sprue, I went through my bits box and found an arm from a militia figure from the American Revolutionary War.  It's molded to be used on a figure with their musket propped against the shoulder of their left arm, but I could fix that.  Some people don't like plastic figures, preferring the heft of metal, but I really like plastic, exactly because it's easier to do things like this.

Steps 7 thru 9 - Customization.

First, the arm was cut from the musket.  The piece was a bit brittle, so it broke at the wrist of the musket, but that is what glue is for.  Next, the hand was carved away, leaving just the weapon.  Finally, the musket was glued into the open right hand of my John Stone figure.

John Stone, fully assembled

Now, time to work on the rest of his crew.

British Infantry

In addition to the weird war units in the Konflikt '47 British starter set, there are a number of regular infantry figures.  These were my first attempts at World War 2 era infantry, and are fairly drab, especially compared to AWI units that I'm used to seeing.

For these figures, I did some basic base-coating, attempted some shading, and did a bit of black-lining to pick out details.  I also attempted eyes, which, fortunately, I've become better at since these figures were done.

The infantry men make up the bulk of my K'47 army.  They could also be used for Warlord Game's Bolt Action, or Two Fat Lardies' Chain of Command game, which I'm looking into someday playing.

1st section of my 1st Infantry squad

2nd section of my 1st Infantry squad

Automated Infantry

Back to trying to get caught up on posting.

Continuing with my Konflikt `47 army from a couple of years ago, here are my Automated Infantry from the British Starter Box.  These figures are actually the reason that I chose to go with the British, and even to get involved with K47 at all.  They just looked too cool on the box, and had the Weird War aesthic that called to me.

 

 

 

Automated Infantry Squad

 

 

 

 

The reality is, they are difficult to assemble, and often difficult to play.  Being sort of mindless automatons, they don't always follow orders, often not reacting at all.  When they do, though, they can deal out some massive damage.

Ready for duty

I've found the best way to play them is in pairs.  Thus, I usually wield two small squads of two automatons each, keeping my fifth one as a spare for when one of the ones on the table falls apart (the joints on the models are super fragile).

Even when they don't work as planned, they are fun to play.  Such as the time I spent an entire game trying to get one squad to activate.  They refused every turn, until the very end of the game, where they malfunctioned and fired on the closest friendly unit, which in this case was a single figure all the way across the board, who sprinted from a treeline trying to reach better cover.  They mowed him down in spectacular fashion.  Not a great outcome for my army that day, but *very* cinematic.

Backing up the infanry during a city fight

Taking cover in the woods

Guardian Light Walker

 Over a year ago, back in June of 2020, I completed the Guardian Light Walker from the British Konflikt `47 starter set.  Instead of photos, I attempted to show the results with a turntable and short video.

I attempted to use the same paint scheme that I used on my Cromwell tank, with a bit of blue to show off the walker's engine.  Decals were added to give the Guardian the look of being labeled in the same manner at British armored units.

Cromwell-T

After my wife purchased a BritishKonflikt `47 starter set for me, I settled in to assemble and paint. One of the first items that I tackled was the set's Cromwell tank.

British Cromwell - World War II Version

Assembly of the kit was strait-forward. The top went on the bottom, the treads were added, and the turret was popped on top. Being Weird War, the set actually came with two turrets. The standard, historical version, and the Konflikt Tesla version. For mine, I also added tank commanders in the hatches to add a little more life to the model.

If I've ever assembled any World War II armor before, it would have been 30+ years ago when I was a kid, though I don't recall building any before. Being my first, I browsed the world of the Internet for ideas on colors, markings, etc. I came across Pete the Wargamer's video on painting a Cromwell for Bolt Action.

Front View

Following this video, I gave the tank and turrets a primer coat of dark green. A lighter green was dry-brushed over the top, bringing out the various panels and greebly bits. I think I also added a bit of gray or silver for chipping and weathering. The treads were given a treatment of dark brown and black to muddy them up a bit.

Rear View

I can't recall where I found it now, but the marking were added based on some research into British World War II vehicle markings. A career military friend of mine mentioned that the Allied star was upside down, but based on my research, that's how the Brits painted it, if they painted it all. Many of their vehicles apparently were left bare.

K`47 Tesla Version

For the Tesla version of the turret, I did a quick search online for how others had painted things like laser weapons. I wanted sort of a lightening look, to match the fluff images in the Konflikt `47 rule book. If I remember correctly, I started with a watery dark blue, then a dry-brush of lighter blue, then some streaks of whitish blue to represent the light. Overall, I was happy with the results, and very happy that both turrets look completely at home on the tank body.

K`47 Tesla Version

 

Flashback: Konflikt `47

As I mentioned yesterday, I wasn't completely absent during the Pandemic of 2020-2021. In fact, 2020 saw me enter the world of Warlord Games Konflikt `47 game.

I'd been eyeing Konflikt `47 for a bit. The story line of the game is that, during World War II, a couple of space/time/something rifts open in the United States and Germany. Due to these rifts, Germany learn show to animate corpses, and some troops begin to change into things like werewolves. On the Allied side, technology jumps forward and bit, and armored walkers and Tesla-coil weapons start appearing on the field. The alternate history has the War continue past 1945, and into 1947.

Early in the summer of 2020, my wife innocently asked if I needed anything when she went into town for groceries. “A British Konflikt `47 starter set from the game store,” I joked.

To my surprise, she arrived home with said starter set.

The British are Coming!

Being in pandemic lock-down, there weren't going to be any games happening anytime soon, but I'd have plenty of painting time. Thus started my foray into the weird world of K`47.

Weird War Elements

I'll cover individual units in upcoming posts. For the short story, I painted up the box set, added some command and support units, and generally had a good time putting together an army. As summer went on, the world started opening up again, including the game space at our local game shop. There was a small group of regulars in the area who played K`47 weekly. On July 6^th, I joined them for my first game.

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Report of the action of 6 July, 1947.

Orders received at 16:21. Intelligence indicated the presence of a small strategic point just past enemy lines, roughly one city block from our position. With enemy infantry on the ground in the area, it was requested that we take their strategic point while simultaneously holding our own. A Bren gun team was stationed on our right flank at the axis of two main roads, providing cover along both open ways. A team of automatons was sent forward along the right to scout. On the left flank, a medium mortar team was set up. Their spotter, overlooking the city, was in radio communication from the top of a building near the machine gun team. A second team of automatons and one infantry squad were placed in the center.

Infantry, with Automaton backup, take up positions.

Sniper fire began instantly, targeting our infantry. A member of the mortar team spotted the muzzle flash, and a shell was immediately laid down on that position, destroying the threat. With our first pair of automatons clanking slowly up the right side, our infantry moved across the road to take cover along the walls of a ruined cathedral. The machine gun team was ordered into defensive position, keeping an eye on both roadways. Enemy infantry were spotted, just out of range, moving on our right and center. Infantry from our reserves arrived near a ruined farmhouse in the center of our line. Calls for armoured support went unanswered.

As enemy infantry approached carefully on our right, a second section of infantry rushed into the ruined cathedral, firing on our second automaton squad, which was destroyed. The first automaton section, firing into the building through the windows, caused casualties among the enemy riflemen. On our left flank, a Spinne Panzemech appeared in the distant rubble. Mortar fire was directed to its position, but no damage appeared to be caused. With the appearance of the Panzermech, our amoured division brought forward a Cromwell-T to support our men on the ground. A Guardian light mech was requested, but was not available. The newly arrived infantry took shelter in the ruins of the farmhouse in our center.

On our right, while our machine gun laid down defensive fire on approaching enemy troops, infantry from both sides traded fire. On the left, there were reports of Nachtjager in the area. An anti-tank team was also spotted, firing into the left quarter of the newly arrived Cromwell. Keeping an eye on the Spinne Panzermech, the Cromwell's crew moved their vehicle into cover next to a nearby building, aligning their turret to be able to fire at the enemy through broken windows. Another call was made to the Guardian, which was still not in the area. The platoon medic and myself arrived on scene, positioning ourselves near the farmhouse, just as an enemy Panther-X tank came into view up the street to the right. As the tank approached, our machine gun defensive position was eliminated.

Light Machine Gun team covers intersecting streets.

 
Heavy fire continued along our front. A couple of men in the farmhouse had been hit, but our medic was able to save one, a Private Orwell from Shropshire. Enemy infantry was beginning to come out of the rubble of the cathedral, but took immense fire from our boys. On the flanks, however, the fight had turned against us. The Panther tank, moving quickly up on our right, shredded our brave infantry who had sheltered against the cathedral wall. On our left, two Nachtjager did indeed appear, ripping apart the rear of the Cromwell-T before the crew had fired. Our forward observer, who had taken shelter in a building right across from the tank, sacrificed himself, calling down an artillery strike on his position, and the fowl flying beasts, keeping them from taking our location. Back on the right, a pack of Schreckwulfen attempted to jump our remaining automatons, but were eliminated by the team's machine gun fire. Distracted by the Schreckwulfen, however, the automatons fell to the enemy infantry still on our right.

Tesla armed Cromwell arrives for support.

 As our defensive line crumbled on both flanks, the requested light walker finally arrived. It traded shots with the Panzermech, but strategically blundering by placing its back to the Panther while taking cover behind a building. The Guardian was quickly eliminated by a shot to the rear.

With our forces nearly eliminated, we were required to retreat with the small remains of our infantry, leaving our strategic point in the hands of the enemy.

- 1st Lt. Nigel Teetotaler

Australian Jungle Infantry

Australian Jungle Infantry in New Guinea

Voting has ended for the first round of the Lead Painters' League, so I can finally reveal my first steps into painting miniatures for World War II.  These ten figures represent a section of of the Australian Jungle Division, organized in 1943 to fight in the southwest Pacific.

The figures are from Warlord Games Bolt Action range and, honestly, I chose them because I really liked their hats.  Never having worked with Warlord Games figures before, I was really impressed at how well they were sculpted and molded.  These really were a lot of fun to paint.

Being my first time taking part in the Lead Painters' League, I find myself seriously outclassed by more experienced painters, however, after one round, I'm currently ranked 19th out of 24 contestants.  Given that I had to give up 10 points for not meeting the first round's theme (the gothic figures that I ordered never arrived), I'm pretty happy with my standing.  Had I been able to meet the theme, I'd be somewhere near the low middle, which I feel is a respectable placement for someone painting to a tabletop level.