Taliban Painted

Following on from my review of the Empress miniatures Taliban a few weeks ago, they got put in the paint queue fairly quickly. I originally intended to only do 4 of the eight I had before moving onto something else, but they turned out to be quick and simple to paint so I cracked on and got all eight done.

Here are the pictures. Please bear in mind that the last four are awaiting their bases in the photos (since done).

The blue was something I stole from a picture on the web. I wasn't sure on it initially but once based I think it works quite well. I tried to keep the look a bit rag tag, as I feel befits such a thrown together bunch of fighters operating in civilian clothing. Having recently watched the Koregal valley documentary, which features Taliban shot footage, I also feel I will be justified in mixing some of the Empress minis more general insurgent lines. These are more traditional terrorists with balacalavas and the like but I feel a few would mix in well, helping to represent Chechyen fighters and the like.

In terms of my modern project, the next phase will be the 8 man British section I have, also from Empress mini's. Not sure when they'll get to the front of the painting queue though. The good news is they are cleaned up and awaiting their undercoat though.

Empress Miniatures Taliban Review and WiP

I picked up several packs of stuff from Empresss Miniatures at Partizan the other month, and finally found the time to open up the Taliban packs. 

So first impressions. Lovely models. Mostly one part (only two came with loose arms). They are your usual white metal models, very solid with just enough give in them to bend back the odd warped weapon. The worst in this kit was the RPG guy, and that was nothing at all to worry about. 

Clean up wise, they had very little flash or mould lines. The biggest problem was on a couple of models the mould lines ran straight down the middle of the face. Not a big deal with a bit of patience but it's never the best place to have a mould line. They all cleaned up fine in the end. 

The poses are all fairly decent, you have your standard runners and firers, although there is nothing overly dramamtic or ridiculous. I like this, as I feel that it is generally more realistic for stuff routed in the real world. 

I have managed to get mine based and ready for painting, as you can see below. The only reason I have done these before the modern British troops I picked up at the same time is that these will be loads simpler to paint than a ton of camo:

I would certainly recommend Empress Mini's so far. Looking forward to getting these done and on the table. I shall be using them with the Force on Force rule set and shall, of course, let you all know how that works out. 

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Partizan Show Report and Review

Today was Partizan day! I have never been a massive show goer, but have been to a few recently and I am getting the taste for them. You get to see what's out there, because I imagine quite a lot of people don't have all these companies in their database so it's a nice reminder to see that pretty much what ever you want in the wargaming world someone is likely to be making. The down side of course is that you mentally find yourself starting about a dozen new projects. 

So first off, lets look at the swag:

This guy is the obligatory free mini you seem to get at every show these days. This is apparently some famous local actor as he appeared when he starred as Lawrence of Arabia. He's dressed in some kind of British uniform so I think with a half decent paint job I can use him as a an objective marker for Bolt Action - perhaps an aging British officer trapped behind enenmy lines.

One of the major purchases of the day was this book, for another forthcoming project, 20mm WW2. Should be an interesting read and give me some ideas to pick a force. 

Now these next two I've been considering for some time:

These are Empress Miniatures modern British (i.e Afghanistan) at the top and Taliban at the bottom. These are lovely sculpts, and I have wanted some for an age to try out the Force on Force ruleset I've had a few years. The only downside was nowhere today was selling the rules so I couldn't pick up the Afghan supplement for this game. Soon though. 

And that was it. Aside from a few paints and bases and I didn't get much else. I wanted lots more but managed to resist adding to the painting pile. Special mention to my mate I went with, if he had caved at the Baccus stand I would have too, resulting in me being the owner of several hundred 6mm Napoloenics. I suspect though, that neither of us can resist for too long and this will be another project.

Some pics of some games now:

These are from an excellent Indiana Jones themed game, complete with a giant flying wing:

Next up a rather awesome recreation of the battle of Salamanca in 6mm. I have to say I am not a fan of the hex based terrain (bit boardgamey for me), but 6mm is a big favourite of mine, so I was really impressed by this layout:

I really liked this large scale game as well, using a cold war gone hot theme. There were a lot of tanks on this:

And finally, the battle of Yellow Ford from the "Like a Stone Wall" wargames group. They certainly upped their normal high standards with this board, was really nice to look at. Based around a fight in a bog, the terrain was wonderful. I was offered a chance to play in this game but circumstance conspired against me, however, I managed to drop by and say hello.

So that was Partizan. Another good show. Whilst it's on the smaller side of shows, everyone is very friendly. The only real criticism is the venue, it's a little dark and crowded but I understand they are moving next year. But as a local, twice yearly show, for me, it's perfect. 

As always, my facebook page is here: A Cardboard Fortress