Bolt Action German Additions

One of my last games of 2018 was a game of Bolt Action against a friend with Soviets.  I though that this game would make a great excuse to get my generic German army on the table again.  This army is old, way older than Bolt Action.  I've had the army for years and used it with tons of different rules but I have not used it in Bolt Action for a very long time.  Well, I was in for a bit of a shock as it was not in the same condition I remembered it being in.  Specifically there were lots of models missing so it was bit of a challenge to put a decent list together for the game.  After the game I resolved to fix this long neglected army by filling in the gaps.

I set out to find some Crusader Miniatures Germans as they are some of my favorite 28mm figures.  I started checking eBay and watched a few auctions as my plan was finalized.  I was still a bit confused as to what had happened to the army and I gradually remembered that I had planed to update the army years ago and had sold off a bunch of figures I did not like.  Then it hit me - if I had forgotten selling stuff off what else had I forgotten.  So I set off to check the dead lead pile to see what I might already have.  And wouldn't you know it, I had basically every pack that I was currently watching on eBay.  It was like I had already worked this out once before.  Damn I hate getting old.

With my newly acquired (but likely 10 year old) stash I miniatures I set out to paint them all up.  I have 35 more Germans for the Bolt Action army.  It is pretty satisfying to have finally completed these.  And yes, they were in the same box as the cavalry and the motorcycles I recently completed.  This now completes all the 28mm Germans in my collection.

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WWII German Cavalry

Many years ago, probably about 11 years ago, I ordered a bunch of stuff for various projects. This was actually a bout of retail therapy. During that time my family and I were going through some tough times and I was not thinking too clearly for a while.  As a result I ended up with a whole bunch of stuff that I never got to or just plain for got.

Enter my Crusader Miniatures German Cavalry collection. These are actually from the now defunct Crusader USA.  I did manage to assemble these back in the day but for about 10 years they have been in a box in my garage.  They did not do too well in the box.

The Crusader USA figures were manufactured my Old Glory and for some reason they used a much softer alloy then their other figure lines.  As a result these soft figures bent very easily especially the thin horse legs as you can see.  II was able to straighten them out but several figures required green stuff reinforcements on the ankles.

After a few days of work I now have a nice cavalry squad for my Bolt Action Germans.  I am really happy with how these turned out.  I wouldn't mind adding a few more and I really wish they would do a mounted MG34 team.

British Para Army for Bolt Action

My hobby funk issue last month inspired me to just grab some stuff and start painting with no real concern as to why.  I pulled down a large assortment of British paras from the shelf above my paint bench and got to work.  A month later I have added 47 miniatures to this collection.  I realized that this collection has been documented in bits an pieces going back to the start of this blog 10 years ago.  It now seems like a good time to do a full documentation of the collection considering I have now painted all the miniatures I have for this force.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have never really build a 28mm army for Bolt Action specifically and this collection is no exception to that.  The first figures in this collection were acquired from my friend Tom more than 15 years ago.  These first figures were painted by another friend, Kevin.  Even though I was not a huge fan of the paint jobs on these original figures I never went back to repaint them,  As you will see below, I think they still match OK with my painting style.  A style that has evolved over the years.

Since this collection was not built with Bolt Action in mind it is WAY too big.  This is really a company of paratroopers and more than I would ever use in one game.

Company HQ and Support

First up we have Major Howard, a limited edition figure from Warlord Games.  He is accompanied by a Crusader Miniatures para with a captured MP40.  These are both recent paints by me.

This is my para sniper team.  The sniper is a Foundry model painted years ago by Kevin.  The spotter is also a Foundry model painted by me this week.  

The flamethrower is a Foundry model painted by Kevin and the assistant is a Crusader figure I painted about 10 years ago.  You can see the differences in the colors and style that make the figure painted by Kevin stand out.

The forward air controller/forward artillery observer team are Foundry miniatures.  The radio operator was painted by Kevin years ago and the observer was painted by me 10 years ago.

The medic is a limited edition miniature from Warlord Games and is a recent paint job by me.  I am really excited to have this one in the collection!

The 6pdr anti-tank gun team are Crusader models and recently painted by me.  This is a nice set but the gun is a little flimsy for a game piece.  I orginally had the gun and the team on a single base but I did not like the look.  With BA2 now specifying individual bases I will attempt to stick with that whenever possible.

First Platoon

The first platoon commander is from Foundry and was painted by Kevin.  Back in the early 2000's it was still fashionable with my friends to paint eyes.  I got over that years ago.

The medium mortar is from Crusader Miniatures and is a recent paint job by me.  I like Crusader a lot but their lack of variation in weapons team figures makes me sad.  I think I have 5 of the dude pointing.

The Foundry Piat team was painted by Kevin.  Again, the eyes.  Thankfully my eyes are getting to the point that I can't see this except in a picture or if I really study the figure.

This is a Vickers medium machine gun team from Crusader Miniatures recently painted by me.

Squad 1 is a mix of Foundry figures and Crusader.  About half these models are painted by Kevin and the other half are mine from 10 or so years ago.

Squad 2 is almost entirely Foundry with, I think, only one Crusader.  I think all but one of these were painted by me over the years.  

Squad 3 and again we have a mix of Foundry and Crusader.  Paint is also a mix of mine and Kevin's work.  This picture shows the difference in basing from one paint batch to the next.  They don't really match but they still look good together.

Second Platoon

Platoon 2 commander is a Crusader model recently painted by me.

Here we have another MMG team just like first platoon.  Painted by me.

This medium mortar team is from Warlord Games and was recently painted by me.  

Warlord PIAT team is a recent edition to the collection painted by me.

Squad 1 is back to a mix of Foundry and Crusader.  Most of these are older paint jobs by me with  one or two by Kevin.

Squad 2 is another recent edition to the collection painted by me.  These are Warlord Games figures that came in my Pegasus Bridge set. I was a little sad to see one duplicate figure but otherwise a nice set.

Squad 3 is mostly Crusader miniatures with the exception of the Bren team that are Foundry figures.  These are all recent paint jobs by me.  

Even though this represents all the figures I currently own for a British Para force I don't think I can say I am done.  There are still a couple of different gun teams I would like to add as well as Jeeps.  It will likely be a while before I tackle and more projects for this army.

Fallschirmjager Reinforcements for Bolt Action

Last weekend Tim and I decided to play one last game of Bolt Action first edition.  The 2nd edition books were just hitting the stores and everyone was excited for the new rules but it didn't seem right to not have one last go at a game we have enjoyed for 4 plus years.

In an effort to get over my recently commented on game funk I decided I needed to finish up a few lingering figures before the game.  These models has sadly been on my paint bench for many YEARS.  It has take some long to finish the mortar team has actually been used in multiple games with incomplete paint - shock!

It felt really good to finish these units up and the 80mm mortar and the 105mm recoilless rifle were put to excellent effect in our game.

I am in the process of painting some more items for Bolt Action so stay tuned.

Can It Be? More Fallschirmjagers!

I just finished up another 23 28mm Fallschirmjagers.  This is in addition 12 I did a couple of months ago (and failed to photograph and post).  This brings the collection to more than 100 of these guys!

These figures are a mix of Foundry, Black Tree and Crusader.  This addition brings me to 6 full squads and a couple of dozen extras.  I have lots of support options done now but I still have a few team left to paint.  I still need to add a PaK40 and maybe a Nebelwefer.  I also want to add some motorcycles and a kettenkrad.

Stuck in a Fallschirmjager Rut

I have come to the conclusion that I am stuck in a bit of a rut when it comes to my World War II projects. It seems that I am painting the same Fallschirmjager force, for the same period of the war, in 15mm and 28mm. I am not sure how that happened.

he good news is I have added a fourth manufacturer to the collection - Artizan. I only have the four figures with MP44 pictured below. Artizan makes very nice figures and I know lots of people who really love them but for me there is something a little off with them. I am not sure what it is.


Next is a batch of the old Foundry Fallschirmjagers by the Perry brothers. The are nice figures but are showing their age.


I have added a bunch more Black Tree Designs Fallschirmjagers to the collection. These are mostly pioneers. This is another line of figures that is nice but a little off. The faces are scary.


Finally we have some Crusader Miniatures Fallschirmjagers. These are probably my favorite FJ figures so far. I am really going to miss adding these to the collection. With the closure of Crusader USA there is very little chance that I will be adding many more of these to the collection.

In all I have added another 45 figures to this army. Not too bad. I still have about 25 figures left to paint so keep your eyes open for more.

More 28mm British Paras

Last weekend me and the guys got together to play some 28mm WW2. We were trying out our Legends of the Old West adaptation that Tim and I experimented with last year. Just the thought of playing some 28mm WW2 was enough to inspire me to do some painting. My British Paras had not gotten any love for nearly four years even though I had made several purchases. So I decided it was time to expand this force a bit.

This installment has 16 figures that are mostly Crusader with a few Foundry leftovers. My previous batch of paras used a painting guide I found online. This time I used the painting guide from the Flames of War D Minus 1 book. I like hoe these turned out but they are different from the other figures.


Here you can see the three different painting styles side by side. The figure to the left was painted by a friend years ago and is the starting point for my collection. The figure to the right I painted about 4 years ago. The one in the middle is the new one.

In the back view the difference in the Dennison smocks is more noticeable. Even though these are fairly different paint styles and colors there is enough in common that they look good all mixed together in the same army.

I have a few weapons team left to paint for this army. I am also planning one last Crusader USA order to flesh out a couple more squads.

Crusader Cowboys

Some of my game friends are planning another Legends of the Old West campaign day at the end of March. I am not sure what I want to play but I have been inspired to paint some more cowboys. Here er have some cowboys from Crusader Miniatures.