Progress against plan 3Q24

Well on the way to ending the year with 2,226 items completed, however about two thirds of those were reworking/rebasing.

Compared to my much looser plan than usual I have done the following:

1. Rework/Rebase as many figures as possible - underway but still plenty to do
2. Enhance/Add some new forces to the collection - still looking, but I've still not seen anything to tempt me into a new period, but tempted by Gangs of Rome or some variant on Wild West gangs.
3. Maintain or ideally reduce the stash - had another purge on ebay this quarter
4. Exploit the 3D Printer - Just completed a new print run using 8K resin with very good results for figures. The Creality FDM printer I bought for terrain wouldn't work and neither would its replacement so I'm back considering what to do
5. Enjoy Games & Shows - underway with plenty of trips. The Other Partizan and Recon are planned.

Amplifying the above:

1. Rework/Rebase as many figures as possible.

• Start on the Napoleonics (this may take a couple of years to do) - I made a start on the British last year - I've completed the British, Portuguese, Brunswick and Spanish plus my figures for skirmish games. French are now well underway
• WW2 Winter Russians - Completed
• Early War German Fallschirmjager - Completed

2. Enhance/Add some new forces to the collection in no particular order

• 15mm DBA Italian wars army (for the forthcoming inter-club tournament) - bought a Hungarian army but it didn't have all the necessary options, so I sucessfully used some borrowed "Florentines" for the games - This project is now shelved and the Hungarians sold off
• 28mm Female Gunfighters - not started yet
• Add a unit of WW2 Japanese SNLF - Completed
• Extra units for the Crusades - Completed
• French Dragoons for Egypt 1800 - Completed
• Modify the SYW Austrian Grenz to use for Prussian Frei Korps - I bought some specific figures and have just printed them
• Some extra Aztecs for skirmish games - not started yet, but I have trialled a couple of 3D printed figures
• Various figures and terrain need for Montgisard 1177 - completed and sucessfully ran the game at both Vapnartak and Phalanx, but I now need to think of a new scenario to offer
• WW2 BEF infantry (I plan to 3D print the extra needed figures, etc.) - I decided that the print files available were not good enough so the project has been shelved.

3. Continue to clear out all unwanted items, including painted figures

• Re-assess each existing period, army, and units to consider if I am really going to use them - Sold off my Boxers and Wind & Lion colonials among several others
• Reduce the stash (figure and plastic bits box) from 4 crates to 3 - Reduced to 3 crates but still more to do
• review my 1/300 collection and decide its fate - Cleared out all my old WW1 and WW2

4. 3D Printing - the bulk of my immediate needs have been printed so I will work on

• gradually replace existing diecast and other poor quality AFVs in my collection - slowly underway
• components for houses and other terrain - not started yet - I was hoping to use the FDM printer for this
• work on how to make/modify files to meet my specific needs - underway, I've enhanced my 1/80 Waco and I've created a similar bath-tubbed Horsa glider that has printed OK and now been painted

5. Gaming

• Continue supporting the Beacon Club and attending as many weekend events as possible - underway only two weekends missed so far due to other commitments
• Attend at least as many shows as last year - The list of shows completed are Vapnartak, Hammerhead, the Easter big game. Now attended Phalanx and Attack this summer.

On the workbench - October 2024

The year is rushing by and so I plan to work on:

• Complete the 28mm ECW gun crew I 3D printed now I have also printed a gun
• A British desert and Russian Model T for WW1
• Finish the Crusader gun tractors now I have sorted out the markings
• Rebase the Imperial Guard and other Allied Guards including the newly 3D printed command figures
• Rebase the remaining French Line Infantry, this will include repainting some Guardsmen and Grenadiers
• paint the 3D printed Napoleonic Austrian Commanders
• Maybe restart the 3D Resin Printer using 8K resin to produce some more figures

British Horsa Gliders

Just in time I finished painting my four 3D printed Horsa gliders for the Wargamers Forum Arnhem Speed build.

Painting the invasion stripes took a considerable time, when I last painted one (link) it came with decals for this as well. AS a reminder the Horsas are bath-tubbed by reducung the length and wingspan to 1/100 scale while the fuselage diameter is 1/80 just like my Wacos.

The only downside is that the models are tail heavy. I did debate modelling them with the undercarriage collapsed, but I thought I would wait till that happened with use.

Humber Light Reconnaissance Cars

I already had a single Ready to Roll Humber Light Reconnaissance Car, and I wanted to have a bigger unit, but I was never happy enough with it being the based, so I took the opportunity to buy the STL file in a recent sale and print off a batch. They are now painted and ready for action.

Backing them up are a Daimler and Staghound whose hulls had exploded and had to be replaced

Free French Tanakes

A blast from past with the old Rapid Fire books, a pair of Free French Tanake converted armoured Dodge trucks with either a 37mm or 47mm gun.

These were free 3D files found on Thingiverse, but I have yet to find the more heavily armoured "Conus"

Replacement hulls for Lanchester Armoured Cars

Yet again I have had to replace a couple of vehicles from my initial attempts at 3D printing. In this case the hulls developed a crack, one was too noticeable but the other was minor, so I decided to replace them both.

The original post is here (link)

Dodge WC-63s

I had already tried out a WC-63 that I had found on Thingiverse (link), but I wasn't happy with the way it turned out as it was quite low on it's wheels. Therefore when I found a very nice WC-53 I decided to modify it into a WC-63 and these are the results.

The original was scaled to 1/56 but as I was printing it to 1/76 some details were too fragile and had to be thickened up. It also came with a nice crewman, but is typically sculted in heroic style for Bolt Action and does look somewhat oversized for this vehicle.

Here is the original WC-53 Beep on Thingiverse (link)