End of University Splurge (over the course of a few months)

As it came to the end of my time at university, I started to celebrate each milestone with a little and also not so little purchase. Finished the final assignment? Buy some figures. Pass all the assignments in a course? A set of kits. Finish all the coursework? Well then that had to be a large purchase. As you can imagine now that all the various things have arrived I have quite the haul. So what did I get? Well let's go over it all shall we.

It fills up my bed. Too much to go over in one caption let's break this down.

So I am going to give a run down of what I have got. Given how large this stash is I will be breaking it down by which imagination they will be used for. I will also give a brief explanation as to what they will be used for. Partially so this crazy splurge can make a little more sense but also because I would like to get your input as to what I should do with all this. This is going to be a very, very long post. Anyway let's start with the imagi-nation who perhaps more than anyone gained out of this splurge: The Pan Andean Peoples Republic (PAPR)

The S-Model kits and the Caesar Infantry. Getting two sets of Chinese and French infantry was actually an accident on my part.

The PAPR gets a lot from this splurge, I essentially have a complete force minus specialised elements such as artillery. I have a stash of 1/144 aircraft I can use for them too so not much left to get in future. Let's give a run down of what they have.

• 6x T-55s (2 x 3 kit sets from the Plastic Soldier company.)
• 5x BTR-60PBs (2x 1+1 S-Model kits and one in the ICM motorcade)
• 3x Urals in various configurations (Part of the ICM motorcade)
• 2x BMD-2s (one 1+1 S-Model kit)
• 2x Chinese infantry (from the combined French-Chinese Caesar set)
• 1x Vietnamese infantry (Italeri reissue of an Esci set)
• 1x Warsaw Pact Troops (same as the Vietnamese infantry, will explain more later)
• 1x T-72B (ModelCollect)
• 1x T-62 (Italeri, part of the Gulf War anniversary set)
• 1x Mi-25 Hind (same as above)
• 1x IS-4 (Trumpeter set)
• 1x IS-7 (same as above)

Now let's go over what these will be used for. Some of it is pretty self explanatory. The T-55s are going to form the mainstay of the PAPR armoured force, with rarer but superior tanks augmenting these forces. That's where the T-72B and T-62 come in and it is likely that others will be used in future. The BTR-60s and the Urals are similarly quite self explanitory.

The Vietnamese infantry will be used to represent the mainstay of the PAPR force, their dress being appropriate for the similar climate and mountainous jungle environment of the PAPR - Oronegro - Orotinian border region. This force will however, be largely untrained and not well equipped. Which will put them at a disadvantage. To complement this force the Warsaw Pact troops will represent different local and regional forces reflecting a coalition of people's within the overall PAPR. These forces will be highly variable with some being well trained and equipped with others being nothing more than hastily raised militia. The Chinese infantry will represent the most advanced special forces available to the PAPR. These troops will be uncommon, less common than the Spetsnaz I already painted, but will be equal to many of their rivals. Speaking of which the Spetsnaz will mostly be deployed by the Hind and the BMDs. I may get some BMPs in future however, given the terrain of the border the lighter BMD may be preferred.

Now some wild wards are the heavy tanks the IS-4 and IS-7. These will complement the IS-2T tanks I painted up before. Essentially acting as the command tank. They will likely also appear alongside the regional troops as surplus from the main tank force.

So these are the the first post WW2 kits in 1/72 made by the Plastic Soldier company. Having had a look at the spures I am impressed. Really looking forward to more from them.

Now let's go see what Oronegro gained. What did the land of black gold get in the mail?

• 1x Challenger 2 (Trumpeter)
• 1x Boxer Command Vehicle (Revell, Dutch variant)
• Modern US Soldiers in Action set 2 (Caesar, mortars and machine guns)
• American Special Forces (Italeri reissue of Esci set, Vietnam War era)

So the Challenger goes to reinforce the Oronegrean tank force, which will certainly need it given how many PAPR tanks they are likely to face. The Boxer has finally been accepted for services with the British Army which means that Oronegro, using British vehicles, can use it too. Now I don't know how strict I will be with the using British vehicles vs US infantry and that being distinct. It does give a good contrast to Gran Bolivia (see below) but I do think that overall it will be covered by the rule of cool. Talking of US infantry the Caesar miniatures complete my main force adding heavy weaponry to the collection. Meanwhile the Vietnam era US infantry can represent reservists, national guard or militia. They may even stand in for other nations, they are suitably generic

So some very exciting kits form ModelCollect. However, the one from Revell was 48% off so a real score there. Then there's the ICM motorcade another one bought while on sale.

With one Oro nation to another lets move to the very interesting country of Orotinia. Now I finally decided upon a theme for the former antagonist of the Latin Wars, it's actually to keep that the same theme. Namely a Germany analogue. Although this time with some other exciting extras such as the Swedish S-Tanks. Orotinia will be quite ecclectic although the German theme will make getting equipment for them rather easy. The previously painted Germans will be re-purposed for Orotinian infantry. So what did they get? Well quite a lot.

• 1x Modern German Army (Caesar)
• 1x Leopard 1A5 (Revell from the Leopard 1A5 + Biber set, got that at 48% off! A bargain.)
• 1x Biber, bridge laying tank (Revell, from set above)
• 0.25x Cold War German Infantry (from the Italeri reissue of the Esci NATO infantry set)

So Orotinia has some of the basics already with them getting more of the essentials from this splurge. The bridge-layer opens up some very interesting possibilities for games, with one side trying to set up a crossing under fire. The Cold War infantry can serve as reservists. Meanwhile the Modern infantry will be combined with the set I painted already to form the standard infantry. Whether the Orotinian forces will remain so consistent is another matter. But we will see.

So I am not sure what the "unicorn" horn on the boxer is for, I am guessing and aerial? More importantly these Italeri reissues of the old Esci cold war sets are something I have been really looking forwards to.

Moving onto Gran Bolivia we encounter another nation who has done quite well from the splurge:

• 1x M1A1 Abrams (Italeri from the Gulf War set)
• 1x AH-1W Super Cobra (same as above)
• 1x British Paratroopers (Revell reissue of the Matchbox Falklands War set)
• 1x British Infantry in the 1970s (A Call to Arms)
• 0.25x British Cold War Infantry (Italeri reissue of the Esci NATO infantry set)

Gran Bolivia then does very well. They will also be receiving the old Airfix NBC/CBRN cold war British infantry which I painted ages ago. So as you may have noticed Gran Bolivia is the mirror of Oronegro. US vehicles, British infantry. On the whole the equipment they have is slightly out dated, at least the units that are on the border with Oronegro are not first in line. Many old legacy units, including some ancient half-tracks I have had for a while but not painted yet. In future I may buy more up to date British infantry for them and it is not that hard to get some M113 kits or perhaps some newer vehicles for them.

So here's the tank corner, including another combined box set. Got for a song too. Although that Armata, now that's exciting.

Over in the infantry corner we have a nice mix. Revell seems to be confused as the figures are in 1/72, at least mine are. Confusing.

Now we do have a few wild cards too. These have no clear definitive use and will likely be used for many things. I am going to go over this in two bits. First the tanks.

• 1x Armata (Zvezda, a really fine looking kit.)
• 2x Black Eagles T-80UM2s (Modelcollect, actually innacurate, the hull is just a standard T-80 hull when it should be longer and include another road wheel, the sets do include T-80A turrets so can be used for that too)

These tanks may see service in the PAPR but more likely only for rare special instances. I don't want the PAPR to be too high tech. More guerrilla/asymmetric warfare, with rather outdated conventional kit. The tanks can also be used in the Kievalsk/Ororussia setting. Which may be where some of the Warsaw Pact infantry are also employed. Speaking of infantry let's move onto the infantry wildcards.

• 2x French Infantry (from the combined French-Chinese Caesar set)
• 1x Counter Terrorist Elite Forces (Caesar Miniatures)
• 0.5x NATO infantry (The set mentioned above but the French and Italian elements)
• 1x Warsaw Pact Troops (Mentioned above)

The real question is what to do with the French? Specific forces for one of the nations? replacements for UN Troops? A new faction? If a new Faction what to do? It a difficult one and I am not too sure. I could always paint them us as French infantry........ but that's boring so I can't do that. The Italians for the NATO set are going to be an interesting one to use. Same goes for the Warsaw Pact troops. Some will be good for the PAPR. However, the winter troops are less usable, although perhaps there's some high snow capped mountains? Might be more usable in the other setting which is temperate. The Caesar miniatures are suitably generic so will likely find themselves quite a range of uses.

To took two photos of the infantry corner and couldn't be bothered deleting them so enjoy.

Well that covers just about everything. This post took quite some time to write. For those of you who have made it to the end, well done. I almost didn't reach here myself. I am really interested to know what people think, what themes you suggest I follow, what alternative uses might be good for different kits. That kind of thing. I have finally got my airbrush with me so perhaps these kits will be churned out a little more quickly.

That is all for the future though. I hope you have enjoyed this post and I look forward to reading your comments.

Until next time I wish you all a good day/night.

Building up the armies, and some works in progress

Well in the Northern Hemisphere its spring cleaning time, which means for me... buying time. I am currently going through what I need and what I would like. For the main part I am focussing on the Soviets! Oronegro is going to have loads! lots and lots of them. Why? Because I can and they look cool, US soldiers look professional and deadly as do most European ones but Russians look cool!

this is one of my favourite tanks, after the Leopard 2, the challenger 2

Well then what am I planning to get? 3 things currently

1. I am purchasing some second hand goods from an old friend Emmett, better known as Winttrix, he's downsizing his war-gaming collection after his big move so I am paying for the postage of a nice collection of models. :-D This I shall pay for shortly
2. I am saving up for this deal! A Dutch member of the Wargaming Guild is selling off lots of kits, I hope to buy some T-80BV's, because they look cool! and also some BM-21 Grands because my first kit was the BM-24 so it seems appropriate for some reason. I'll save up and get those.
3. another Friend also from the Netherlands, has offered to by me the Orion Chechens and their modern Russians. I got him some figures to its basically present giving! He has already given me some things but he said that he was more than willing to get the figures as well, despite my insistence that he didn't have to. ah well, I should not turn down such a kind offer, I am getting him some more figs for his Birthday anyway, also something to save up for.

 Also I will be nice and show you the Two kits my Dutch Friend sent me already, ones on the work bench (which is now actually my workbench and not the dinning room table) that is the LKW 7t. mil gl (6x6 Truck)

I needed some transport and now with this I have some :-D

The truck is proving to be a complex kit! But I shall soldier on just as the Truck itself would in the boggy muddy ground on jungle roads of Oronegro! I am also adding something not included in the kit... Crew, conversions of the Esci NATO ground crew they shall be designed to show either a sense of ease or at watch. so far only the driver is in place. I might even put a gunner in. Using the DShK included in the T-90A disaster kit as a mounted weapon, that is if the gun is not bent to buggery like the rest of the kit... we'll see. This tanks crew is looking pretty generic, which is good as the truck itself shall be also.

There is also another kit... a Tank... My Favourite tank :-D... its already named in this post... The Leopard 2 A6, what a beautiful tanks. sinister looks and a deadly armament this tank means business.

its mine... my own... my precious.

well I think this tank shall be used by the Germans but like some of the others I may paint it up without to many or any decals so it can be used by anyone. Why can't Oronegro use my favourite tank? it uses my second favourite. This shall be made once I get the truck done, but I think they shall be presented together.

well Oronegro is set to grow, with more baddies in the mix with all those lovely soviets, who of course will do good things, this is Oronegro both sides shall do good and bad, no innocence in war. And with the Good force almost complete except for some AFV's and APC's its going to get ugly once the soviets are ready for battle. Once again feel free to contact me at GJDitchburn@Gmail.com if you have any offers of second hand moderns, although I am going to make these purchases, they are basically going to be all the spending I shall make this year.

now onto the new follower... I have not had a new follower on one of my blogs for a while... greetings to Alfons Cànovas from miniaturas militares por alfons canovas welcome to this blog.

and once more have a great time guys.

hmm one more set should do it! Oronegro infantry

well I am not saying that one more set and I am done with them totally no no no I mean to get a century! 100 soldiers + some command and back up... currently I have 88, 60 standard soldiers 8 Command and support and 20 specialists This set should do it...

48 + 88 maybe be 136 altogether however that is not the end of the story... in this set I get 13 LMG's and 6 Rocket launcher troops, 3 potential NCO's and 25 normal guys

well lets try and get 100 troops I have this plan for the Oronegrean century so far...
a team = 5 soldiers (5)
a squad = 4 teams (20)
a unit = 2 squads (40) + 10 specialists; LMG's, stingers, Dragon etc. (50 total)
a century = 2 units (100)

this is what with this set I will have
136 total
85 standard troops (only need 80)
18 LMG's (4 M60 + 14 Saw)
2 dragon
3 stinger
3 Javelin
9 one shot rocket launchers
5 snipers
4 MP's
2 medics
1centurion
4 NCO's

how to reduce the numbers; take the 9 one shot guys and make them become normal soldiers after using the rocket launcher... I now have 27 to deal with, make the NCO's, medics, MP's, Snipers and Centurion not count towards the century... now I have 11 to deal with, 5 normal soldiers should become spotters for the snipers so I have only got only 6 soldiers to deal with, 5 LMG's (SAWs?) can be used as a body guard for the NCO's and the centurion so just on man to deal with and one Saw should become the Optio, a roman term for the second in command of the century :-) all neat and tidy, perhaps in future I can add some bomb squad troops, civilian relation teams and perhaps a could more medics to make a grand total of 150 soldiers 100 under the command of the centurion and 50 either acting in a command role or as support!

more goodies - no more till Christmas

well I have ended my recent spending spree with a trip to the annual? town rotary book sale, fair, thing. so I roved the tables full of thousands upon thousands of books and then made a bee-line to the History/war section and there in front of me, the first things I saw, were some books anyone with an interest in the cold war would jump for, I didn't though I did grab them quick :-) then I decided to buy my sister (who came with me) 2 books on dog breeds because she loves dogs and she chose a book for my mum! Then I went off to the Sci-fi section to see if they had for some strange reason some books in Isak Asimov foundation series, I have foundation and prelude to foundation, I looked for a while and almost gave up but then! there they were foundation and empire, second foundation and foundation and earth, I decided not to get foundation and earth because I only had $2 left. So how much did all this cost? I hear you ask.... $10 that's right just 10 New Zealand dollars, not bad for... 4 cold war comics (both in terms of subject and age) + 2 dog related items (one BIG magazine? or book from 1998 and a little book) + 2 smallish Sci-fi novels + one Book for mum. I will not show you all the books, just the cold war comics.

they are very similar to the Soviet war power book I can get out from school

they are old - for books 1976 they were published! at the time they cost $3.15 for all except the weapons and Uniforms book which cost $2.35 I got them for $1 each :-D take that inflation

the soviet war power book at school is from 1980 so these are slightly older

this one might be of use then it comes to doing more in depth structuring for my Oronegrean forces

this is a very useful book, its funny to see the prototype Apache though and the Hind A-B instead of the Hind F (totally different cockpits).

well there you go. these are just another useful source of information and if any of you cold war gamers are interested I can give you some facts from these books. OK spending over now to save as much as possible for the future, well until Christmas and birthday and then I can stock up on some more stuff if necessary.

embassies part2!!!! finnaly

yes well I found some batteries and I have got these pics. this is another board to add to the world of Oronegro. that's 3 down 3 bigger ones to go so not half way there but perhaps a third of the way. so here we go and I hope the model companies I represent here approve of it if not I am in trouble.... so lets get on with the presentation.

this is the addition not big but it adds quite a bit

still waiting from a response but here is the S&S models store, I could not find their logo so this is what I put up

the upstairs, it has a little workshop and some boxes with little models inside, are they tanks, trucks or figures?

downstairs and the store itself

there is the majority of the boxes, not looted??? this place clearly has good security

Elhiem models, producers of top quality figures.

Byzantium models producers of 20mm buildings

inside the store is a large selection of boxes, there is a large model building in the corner which is a product of Byzantium on display

some of these boxes are actually used as a sort of pick and mix as Elhiem models usually sell individual or small groups of figs, so each box contains a different type of fig, so either US marines from Afghanistan or some zombies, or perhaps aliens.

a shot of the rooms from above also a good shot of the wargaming club above the Elhiem/Byzantium store

the final building is a little workshop for a model maker/sculptor

downstairs and his workshop... I wonder what he is making

this is the upstairs bedroom of the workshop, with bed, chest of draws and a box

this is the roof of the Elhiem/Byzantium store, its tilled and has some Ivy growing on it

and last but not least the alleyway

that is a grim looking place

oh and some scaffolding

its removable, so I can put it anywhere

there you go hope you enjoy the update!

progress report...

well then I can tell you now that I have finished the first board for the new project! the only problem is that my camera has run out of batteries and I need to get some more... so what does this new board have to offer??? well it has 2 very important places! these are some hobby stores. based of some of the best companies in 20mm modern gaming... of coarse this is free advertising for them, but I still have to get a response from 2 of the 3 companies (2 share a store). so I have got the go ahead to have a Elhiem models models store! they do great 20mm moderns, ww2, Renaissance and much more (even some zombies which might be helpful; look at last post). the other 2 companies I am still waiting for approval... these being S&S models, great 20mm vehicles and figures for WW2 and modern, I have some of their stuff (the only company I've included I have actually got stuff from) and the other is Byzantium models who make a nice range of 20mm scale buildings for France, Germany and the middle east! they can be opened up to allow inside play, just like my buildings, I think they would be good for a variety of eras also. Elhiem and Byzantium share a store, only because of the fact their home pages are almost the same :-D.
Also there is a small alleyway, with an open drain through the middle, a small model workshop and the end of a building from the cross roads board. so there are lots of places to do with models you ask... well I went for the idea that in La Ley each road/ street in the newish half of the city would that were on the X axis (this is a metaphorical axis) would be devoted to one craft and or trade, in this case models and war gaming, which are very popular in Oronegro, replacing other sports as there can be no international competitions, except with neighbours and other "lost nations".

well there you go hope to get the pics soon. also hello to Austin B my newest follower! who does not appear to have a blog? Anyway welcome to the blog and its small comunity of followers

SPETNAZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

oh yes I have started the Russians. after the great soviet reunion these guys were trained in the thousands (thousands more than usual) the following are wearing the Urban/night Camouflage of the Oronegrean unit. this camouflage has also turned into their standard dress as the jungle uniform is tattered beyond belief. These men are well trained and well equipped with new AK-740's produced in rebel owned factors in Oronegro. these guns are so good that even the M-16 is not more advanced (about equal actually). their skills are only matched by those of the wests most elite units, and of coarse the Angeles Negros are far superior. they are the Rebels most dangerous ally and one of it's most elusive. any self respecting general in the national army would call for air-support as soon as these guys entered the fight, if he got the chance.

just a note, I am getting low on primer and so their bases have not been primed and the usual black paint needed a substitute of PVA to get it to stay on, and more PVA to protect it!

the shadow hides the most dangerous rebels I have painted yet!

these are the ones I have done so far, the others are nowhere near this stage

as you can see I have returned to my usual trick of adding beards and eyebrows

this guy is perhaps the most dangerous threat to my harrier, BTW the euro fighter is on the way

an RPG hopefully it will be accurate as it is rebel made, Oronegro's got a great reputation for it's weapon manufacturing

two average soldiers, I thing that these guys are cool, it's just a shame Esci did not make more combat poses

there you guys go. I hope that more will be complete soon and I can present the whole unit. and I hope that you all like the camouflage!

embassies part1 yes I have started

well OK then here are the first pics of the new boards, they are at different stages of progress. But as you can see they are well under way. no turning back now, it's just a shame it's school tomorrow. the holidays are never long enough.

as you can see this is no small project I have started... hence the long delays

this board is the most advanced, no embassies here but some more shops and houses

this is the smallest board too but stiff of decent size

then this the next most advanced, this will have buildings on one sides and small guard posts on the other which allow access to the underground car parks

those posts will be given signs or lights I have yet to decide. I have still to decide how to build the barriers

and these boards are the ones where the embassies will go. they are the leaset advanced but also the biggest. maybe in a few days they'll start to resenble a road layout and not a concrete mess

down here is the cross roads where the one way road meets a two way one, I think

well there you are guys, enjoy.
welcome to Commissarmoody from Moodys adventures I do believe I may have got that name wrong on the other blog but no matter welcome my friend enjoy this home of crazy ideas and plans